"Naruto, why are you here again?" he sighed clearly annoyed before I even had a chance to speak. Even though I had a legitimate reason to be here the last time, the same reason seemed to be drawing me back.
"Ah-ha well you see I-I," he interrupted me.
"You just left..." he turned his head to the digital clock behind him "...not even an hour ago. If you're not here for a friendly chat I suggest you leave," he started to close the door back but I wedged my foot in-between the frame to stop him. His obsidian eyes followed my foot and brought them up to meet mine with a frown.
"J-just let me explain," I paused raising my hands defenseless. "I just need a little more," I said in what I hoped was a pleading voice.
"Where's the bag I just gave you?" he hissed pushing me from his door back into the dimly lit hall. I stumbled back a few steps before I stood erect once again. I tried to focus in on his face, but my vision was slightly out of focus. I barely suppressed a chuckle feeling giddy with sudden kaleidoscope vision.
He scrunched up his face in disgust before stepping out of his doorway into the hall with me.
"Whaatt?" I stretched the word unnecessarily feigning innocence. I unconsciously sniffed whilst wiping my nose with my shirt sleeve. The frown on his face was just too funny at the moment.
"You're fucking eyes are dilated," he seethed, "You need to go home, Naruto"
"C'mon Sasuke, I have the money this time," I said frantically pulling out a wad of bills wrapped tightly in a rubber band. "It's only recreational, you know that"
"Recreational?" he gritted through his teeth. "Everyday isn't recreational; you were here not even an hour ago…begging. You're an addict! How about you get clean and get your fucking girl back!"
I paused, more at the mention of her than the accusation. She didn't have anything to do with this; having her thrown into my face was a low blow and he knew it. I went from cloud nine to ground zero in a matter of seconds.
"I'm not an addict," I frowned feeling a swirl of emotion bubbling in my chest. The emotions I wanted to suppress with whatever Sasuke was willing to give.
"Not an addict?!" he scoffed "Have you looked at yourself lately? You're skin and bones, you've lost too much weight. You look like you haven't shaved in weeks. You're a junkie! Do you realize you begged – actually begged me last week? As a friend Naruto, I'm saying it's gone too far," he waved his hand in a 'that's final' gesture.
His face held concern, more concern than I've seen in the years of our more or less friendship. Sasuke saw me more as a brother than anything else and I him. But today was just not the day for empathies and life changing advice. I stared at him long enough for his words to go through one ear and out the other.
"So, are you going to give it to me or am I going to have to go to another supplier?"
I smiled widely feeling the slight weight of the little bag in my palm. Sasuke snatched the money out of my hand before stomping back into his apartment obviously disappointed. But it didn't matter; none of it would matter in a couple of minutes.
The cerulean blue tile I had my cheek pressed up against was cool to the touch. I groaned switching from one cheek to the other. It felt like I was burning up inside.
"Hey pal, you finished in there?" I jerked my head from the tile towards the intrusion. I turned to focus on the flimsy lock then to the steel toed boots ebbing underneath the door. I eyed them as I slowly replaced my flushed cheek back to the cooling wall. I had to sit on the edge of the toilet seat just to reach the wall while my arms dangled helplessly in-between my parted legs. My eyes started to roll to the back of my head succumbing to the mind numbing feeling.
The knocking became more persistent. "Are you finished?" the stranger's gruff voice echoed on the bathroom walls. I pulled from the tile and laid back casually on the toilet seat like it was a lay-z-boy. I stretched out my legs until the soles of my shoes touched the top of the persistent stranger's boots. I shook my head from side to side quickly answering him and laughed off the feeling of disorientation. A few seconds later I realized he couldn't see me and burst into a new fit of laughter.
The bottom of my feet hit the floor with a small thud as the stranger backed away from the stall. I pouted slightly at my lost of amusement and proceeded to sit up right again when the flimsy lock on the bathroom stall started to violently shake. I narrowed my eyes in confusion to how the inanimate object was moving when he spoke.
"Look buddy, you need to get out of there" he spoke in a more serious tone. I patted my pockets looking for the small bag Sasuke had given me no more than fifteen minutes ago to no avail; but soon remembered it was already coursing through my blood stream.
"Why?" I answered - slightly irritated, this guy was ruining my high.
"My son has to use the restroom; you've been in there for over twenty minutes."
"This bathroom is full of urinals," I pinched the bridge of my nose, sniffing lightly.
"He doesn't need a urinal" he said without hesitation "And you don't need the stall either"
"Daddy, I have to go really, really, really bad!" the little boy now chose to voice his impatience. I sighed, knowing I should leave before the little boy shit on himself. I stood and pressed my hand against the makeshift walls for support as I steadied myself.
"Don't worry you're going to use the bathroom in a few seconds!" the gruff stranger snapped at his son. I clumsily grabbed the lock and slide it to the right unlocking it. I gripped the top of the door and pulled it inwards into the stall. When the door opened all the way I was greeted with my familiar stranger.
"K-kiba?" my voice cracked in disbelief.
"Naruto?" he said turning his head to the side in confusion. Our state of shock was soon interrupted…
"DADDY!" two sets of eyes looked down at the mop of brown hair pleading with his father to use the bathroom. I shifted out of the way – while Kiba scolded his son for eating so much - and leaned against the sink.
"Hold on for a sec, Naruto," he eyed me before closing the stall behind him and started to situate his son.
I needed to leave and now!
I thought running my hands through my messy hair, Kiba couldn't see me like this! What if he went back and told Hinata? I need to leave. My strides were long as I huffed it to the door and just when I was about to pull on the cold metal handle…
"So, how the hell ya been Naruto? This is the last place I'd think I'd see you," his voice came through the stall.
I paused momentarily.
Should I answer him or just high tail it out the door? Or maybe I could do the Jedi hand wave in front of his face and hope he forgets. How's my midi-chlorian count?
The toilet flushed a few seconds later, signaling me that some higher power had answered my question for me. I released my grip on the handle and racked my hand through my hair, gripping it tightly in frustration. The jingle of the lock caught my attention and I frantically thought up a reply.
"Uh, yeah" I said in a tone that could be considered as a question. "I'm fine, you know doing this and that," I dipped my head to the right connecting with my shoulder to scratch my ear; my palms suddenly sweaty as I wiped them against my jeans.
"Mmmhmm," he seemed to pause. "Wait, don't. Zip up your pants first," he scolded his son and the jingle of the lock came to a pause before the short click was heard and the door swung inwards. A newly refreshed three year old emerged from the stall and ran to the sink with a sighing father following.
"Man, haven't seen you in ages. Where ya been?" The water from the sink splashed wildly as the young boy attempted to wash his hands.
I was slightly hypnotized by the sprays of water landing on the marble counter in wild streaks, and only answered after I noticed Kiba had been staring at me for the past minute. "I-I've been around"
He nodded slowly before turning off the water and grabbing a few paper towels to dry his son's hands. In the split second it took him to attend his son, I was out the door and hightailing it out of there.
The first thing to hit me was the noise. There was a high frequency vibrating off of dinner plates, forks scraping and knives cutting. The chattering of teeth and the droning voices of patrons. Everything seemed intensified.
Where am I?
Colors blurred as I stumbled across the restaurant's dining room. How did I get here? Or more importantly, where the fuck was the exit?
My breathing became a bit labored as I came to halt. I turned my head in the hopes of finding the way out. Where the hell was I, in a labyrinth?
"Mister, why are you all sweaty?" I looked for the voice and found a kid staring up at me. I grinned as his face swirled and morphed.
"Naruto!" I stiffened at the sound of my name.
Kiba! Where was the fucking exit?
I gripped my chest in a panic and stumbled forward. It was the last step I took before I fell forward and the backside of my eyelids became my new view.
