*Loud music*

The number of stares around Hyde didn't bother him. In fact, it was as if their owners were completely invisible to him. Hyde was in his own little world, in the middle of a lecture, but looking like he was hanging out on his own couch at home. Hyde wasn't too eager to enjoy life. But he didn't seem very out of place. He didn't choose a very prestigious college, so it would be a lie to say he was the only one in the lecture not paying attention. Even the professor was really only going through the motions, acting oblivious to everything in the class other than his lecture.

Hyde had spent the past few years "behaving." Having joined the military right out of high-school, he basically wasted four years of his life. But he did everything that was expected of him in those four years. And he did it well. Two years in, he had already had a team of his own, and, as a PFC, was telling Sergeants they were fucked up. After all, he could. Anywhere else in the military, such a thing would potentially cost you pay, rank, maybe even heavy labor. Repeated offenses may even lead to an early dismissal from service. But Hyde was too high-speed; every major big-wig in his unit knew him, or, more accurately, his abilities, and put their trust in him.

That sort of treatment is nothing new to him, though. For the past 21 years of living, he's been excelling at everything he put his mind towards. In the 3rd grade, he was reading advanced books on the anatomy of the human body, and similar books covering subjects you would usually only see a high schooler reading. Naturally, his over-achieving personality alienated himself from his peers and even his teachers. Obviously, no adult would react well to a child who was correcting their mistakes during class.

Even his own parents grew distant after a while. But Hyde wasn't bothered. For 17 years. For 17 long years, he didn't care. Until the beginning of his military career. He couldn't remember when, but he started to care. His curiousity outgrew what books could sate. He began to turn towards people to satiate his thirst for answers. But after four years in the military, he realized the answers he was looking for couldn't be found in an atmosphere that demanded his total attention to his job. So he got out with his mind set on switching to college, in an attempt to find more answers, while changing his pace to a casual lifestyle. He had already expected for the lessons to be boring and filled with elementary material. But. To this extent? Oh well, he thought. If he was looking for lessons on material he could appreciate, he wouldn't have chosen this college, anyways.

Back to present time, Hyde decided there was nothing more to gain from the classes for today. Without even caring to make an excuse, he got up and left the lecture hall. He left for the day to return to his apartment, ignoring the few disgruntled stares that were briefly sent his way by a few of his peers.

Back at his apartment, he took off his clothes and changed into something more casual. Hyde tended to wear baggy, loose clothes. He hated restrictive clothing. He never understood why society saw the attraction in tight fitting clothes. After changing into a sweater and sweat pants, he grabbed a drink from his freezer. Hyde was by no means an alcoholic. But being a grunt in the military, he would be lieing if he said he didn't walk away with a few bad habits. But he prided himself on his self-control, so he never went overboard with his drinking. After grabbing a drink he sat down and pulled out his laptop. He was about to answer a few e-mails, when his cell rung. Slightly annoyed that someone was interupting his personal time, he relunctantly answered.

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"Hello?" He attemtped to hide the sourness in his mood.

"YOOO! Hyde, my man, what's going on buddy?"

Great. The man he least wanted to talk to. Cris was his "buddy" from his years in the army. Cris was a salty, tanned vet who was a fellow leader in his company. He had a thousand-mile stare that deterred most people, along with the scar going across one of his eyes. But when they had met, they automatically hit it off. Cris was attracted to Hyde's give-no-fuck's personality, mastering his job and leadership role, while not giving two shits what anyone had to say. Hyde's attempts to shake Cris' advancements failed, only making Cris fonder of him. In the end, he succumbed and accepted the fact that Cris' friendship was inevitable. But he just got out, he wasn't expecting for Cris to contact him again THIS soon.

"I was fine, until I heard your voice." Hyde said jokingly, with more than a little honesty in his voice.

"Bahahahaha! Good to hear, I was worried you may have gotten scared of civilian life and turned into a complete shut-in!" Cris had completely ignored Hyde's hint.

"What can I do for you, Cris? I'm in the middle of something." He tried to bluff.

"Yeah, right. I'm sure you got tired of your classes and decided to ditch and go home and drink. Bahahaha" Cris called his bluff.

*sigh* "What do you need, Cris?" Giving up, he tried to get Cris to get to the point of his call.

"Well, I WAS curious if anything interesting happened to you, yet. But from the sounds of it, you're still your usual self. Anyways, I got you a little something as a going-away gift, but you left before I could hand it to you. I could have sworn I sent you a text to wait for me before you left. It must not have gotten through."

A bead of sweat rolled down Hyde's forehead. He remembered getting the said text, but as soon as it arrived, he deleted it, cut his goodbyes at his unit short, and jumped in a taxi for the airport. The last time Cris told him he had a gift for him, he was dragged to a dirty gentleman's club for his birthday and showered with alcohol. That night still haunts him. Just the smell of spiced rum is now enough to make him gag.

"Well, no matter. I would have liked to have handed it to you, myself, but no use crying over spilt milk! Bahahaha! So i sent your gift in the mail. It shouldn't take too long to get to you. I know it won't seem like something that you'll care for, but give it a try. It cost me an arm and leg, and my wife nearly murdered me over getting it! Bahahaha! I swear, women are more dangerous than any of the bastards I've come across overseas! Anyways, I gotta go. Give it a try, Hyde! Or else.."

With that, Cris had hung up. The bastard was still as spontaneous as ever. But Hyde figured that was why he tolerated him for so long. Cris kept things interesting. Which was a valuable thing in Hyde's life.

Slightly curious(but mostly anxious) to find out what Cris' gift was, and even more curious how exactly Cris got his hands on his address, Hyde shrugged it off after a moment and turned his attention back to answering e-mails.

When he was done, he closed his laptop and stretched his body, finishing what remained of his glass of whiskey. He figured he'd go for a run to the gym, workout, grab some chow and come back to his apartment to retire for the night. Nothing else was bound to happen today, and it wouldn't hurt to go to bed a little early to make the morning come faster. He had slight hopes that whatever Cris sent him, it would at least help to alleviate some of his boredom.