Tiptoe through the tulips

[Kero Sima]

Kero's heart was racing as he grabbed his black parka, slung a messenger bag over his shoulders and cast a furtive look over his shoulder, even though nobody was home to spy on him. Plus, he was in his own room, after having fled Andy's house because of the prank he played on Dragon with the soda. Still. He felt like he NEEDED to be secretive, because he and Ollie--yeah, that's right, Ollie--were going to investigate a murder and maybe get their hands on another magical dragon card.

No word of a lie, after seeing Kinley getting a dragon to pop out of his card, Kero sorta wanted one too.

He didn't want to make out with the dragon or get moony-eyed over him or anything like that, though. Kero copied his brother in nearly everything, but that went a little too far for him. He wasn't ready to be... whatever Kinley and Dragon were. (Lovers? Boyfriends?) He just wanted a dragon guy of his own, so he could brag about it a bit and be all special, too.

So. This was his chance! Plus he was hanging out with Ollie, his (guy) crush--hence the minor heart palpitations. Kero couldn't stop grinning to himself, all the way out of his room (sidling along the hallway, back pressed flat against the wall like a ninja keeping to the shadows) and down the stairs, then out the door to the back yard, where his bike was kept. He kicked off and rode out into the street, recklessly not looking left or right for cars before crossing the street. With the wind in his hair, he felt a burst of exhilaration. Finally, somebody who wanted to share in his madcap adventures! Andy was always just too... too... careful! And not fun!

Ollie, though, seemed totally open to scouring a dead guy's place and breaking into the police station, something that Kero admired greatly.

He grinned the whole bike ride down to Ollie's place, although some of those feel-good sensations dimmed as he got up to the building and realized that the creepy guy might be home with Ollie. Kero parked his bike near the entrance and chained it up, then tiptoed to the door. He knocked, timidly at first, then a little harder once nobody came to open the door.

Oliver Evans

[Oliver Evans]

Ollie was still gathering his things when he heard somebody at the door. When he came out with a backpack slung over his shoulder, he passed the couch. Nobody home. Ivar was out doing whatever Ivar did when he wasn't home. At least he hadn't brought anybody home with him tonight. That would have been... weird, especially with Kero on his way. Actually, Ivar had still been there, hence him telling Kero to meet him out front.

He unlocked the door and opened it without even looking through the glass, pretty sure he knew who it was. Lo and behold, there he was.

"I was almost done," he said, but then wondered if maybe he already kept Kero waiting and that was why he was here. That or somebody was creeping on him, which was completely plausible in this place.

Ollie left the door open and slung the other strap over his shoulder before waving a hand at his bike.

"Well, here it is! My zombie bike!" He patted it, half expecting it to zap him or steal his energy but as far as he could tell, it was still his usual bike. Ollie didn't offer to let Kero in, though. Turning the bottom lock on the door, he headed out, his voice falling lower as he did. "It's the place over there," he said, pointing down the hall, where police tape still decorated the front of the door.

[Kero Sima]

"Hey!" Kero bounced forward on the balls of his feet as the door burst open and Ollie appeared. His face split into a wide grin, which widened as Ollie showed him the haunted bike. "Wow, it looks... like a normal bike!" But wasn't that how haunted things always looked—normal? Kero ogled the bike—it stood there, unmoving—for a moment, until Ollie closed the door.

"Oooh, that one? That's so close to your place!" Like, same floor and everything! And a guy DIED there! Kero reached up to squeeze the strap of his messenger bag, steeling himself to approach the crime scene. Cautiously, he inched down the hall until he got to the yellow police tape. The door was closed on the suite, but he swore he felt something menacing and off in the air, around the place.

Owlishly, Kero blinked at the door. "How can we get inside? It looks locked."

[Oliver Evans]

"I told you it was a neighbor."

Not right next door but yeah, super close. The only reason Ollie knew about it was because after the fiasco with his bike, he'd been holed up in the apartment. Then he heard the sirens and heard all the thumping around as police and paramedics stomped all over the place. Now it was quiet again. Or as quiet as their hole in the wall apartment building got.

"It is locked." Ollie even tried the door to make his point. There was definitely something on the other side, though. Something not friendly. It felt like it was suffocating him. Still, he leaned down and took a look at the lock on the door.

"They're old locks. We can probably just... pick it." He pulled his backpack off and plopped it on the ground so he could rummage through it. Inside, one of the items was a pretty hefty wrench. He pulled it out and grinned. "Or we could bust it open with this."

[Kero Sima]

"You know how to pick locks?!" Kero gaped, impressed by Ollie's range of skills. A guy who could do art and commit crimes?! He watched Ollie setting his pack down and rummaging through it, expecting him to grab a hairpin or a lockpick, like they had in video games. Instead, he came out with a wrench. Kero's eyes popped almost out of their sockets.

"...do you just... keep that in your bag all the time?" He asked weakly, leaning over to inspect the wrench as Ollie's grin made his stomach do a weird flip-flop. Kero grinned too, after a moment. "Nobody's around..." The hallway was completely deserted and at this time of day, Kero imagined that most people were at work. He shuffled over to stand by the door, so that he could shield Ollie while he went to work with the wrench.