He stared blankly at her.
She had just spent five minutes reciting what she had planned to say, and he stared blankly after she'd spoken perfectly, word for word.
That son of a bitch was so going to get it.
"Care to comment?" She snapped, crossing her arms and moving away from the counter.
"Um... Do I know you?"
She frowned.
"I come here every goddamn day and you write my name on your shitty little coffee cups. Yes. You know me."
"Sorry miss, but we get hundreds of customers here every day."
She was seething, and she genuinely wanted to throttle the dark haired boy so violently he'd possibly suffer from internal bleeding afterwards.
"Tell me..." She craned her neck to squint at his name badge. "Shukanaru, do you like your job?"
The barista glanced down at his badge before lazily bringing his eyes back to hers.
"Troublesome... " He muttered "No, I don't."
"I didn't think so. What would you rather be doing? What's your dream job?"
His expression didn't change as he tightened his stupid little pony tail and dusted off his apron.
"Photographer."
God, he was even being economical with the amount of syllables he was using.
"Why are you working here then?"
He sighed again, more dramatically than before.
"I'm saving up for a camera if you must know. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do."
"Yes, one that you don't enjoy. When's your break?"
Yet another sigh.
"In half an hour,"
"Great, I'll see you then."
She stalked back to her table holding her coffee cup tightly.
She sank into her chair and glared in his direction, she wasn't going to let him get away.
She knew she was crazy for what she was doing, but she didn't care.
She needed to get this done and dealt with before it was too late...
"Hey."
She glanced up and saw him standing over her with his arms crossed and his apron lazily tossed over his shoulder.
"What do you need me for?"
She smiled at him.
"Walk with me, Shukanaru." She said as she rose from her chair and pulled on her coat.
"Shikamaru. Not Shukanaru."
"Whatever."
They left the coffee shop at a brisk pace and Temari began talking.
"As I mentioned before, I need a driver. I see you have a car, I want you to take me to places for one week. That's all I ask. One week of your time, no more, no less. I'll buy you whatever camera you want, and then we'll be on our merry ways. You'll never have to see me ever again."
"Sure."
"Wait, what?"
"I said sure. I'll do it."
She smiled widely. She hadn't expected him to agree so easily.
"Brilliant. I'll see you Monday."
-IOIOIOI-
She waited outside the coffee shop.
It made the most sense to wait for him there, they hadn't exchanged details after all-he probably didn't even know her name.
She took out her map, she'd circled all the places she wanted to see and planned what routes to take.
It didn't show, but she was excited.
"Troublesome."
She spun to face him, narrowing her gaze the moment it landed on him.
"I have a name you know, and troublesome isn't it." She snapped. "Go tell your manager that you're taking the week off next week."
"Done." He yawned widely and squinted at her. "What's your name then, Troublesome?"
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"You wrote it on my cup every damn morning. You should know."
"I'm not bothered trying to remember what your name is. Does it have less syllables than 'Troublesome' ?"
She was confused by his questions and shook her head.
"The same amount."
He shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Then I don't care, it won't help me save extra breath."
She rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"Right, Shikonaru or whatever you go by, here is the list of our day-by-day plan." She handed him a burgundy notebook, one that she wrote all her"lists" in.
It was almost full, and a thin black ribbon marked the page she showed to the dark haired barista.
"That's...a lot." He commented eventually.
She nodded proudly.
"I haven't much time, I want to see all these sights before I can't anymore. I planned out the days in such a way that we don't do unnecessary detours, you'll be pleased to know."
He said nothing as he continued to look at the list.
"Okay, troublesome. When do you want to do it?"
"Next Monday. I don't care if it doesn't suit you. Meet me here at half nine. I'll cover the costs, all you need to worry about is the driving."
He shrugged.
"I never thought my first road trip would be with a total stranger..." He mumbled.
"Suck it up, it's only one week."
They parted ways, and didn't turn back.
-IOIOIOI-
"You're late."
"Hn."
She opened the passenger seat and slipped into his car.
It was nothing fancy, a small, cheap, twelve-year-old hunk of metal. The lazy-ass didn't even give it a clean before she arrived.
She pushed aside an old green hoodie and fastened her seatbelt.
"Where to first, ma'am?"
"Day one is the natural history museum, art gallery and the architectural college. Buildings and shit. On we go, chauffeur."
He snorted at the name she'd given him, but was wise enough to keep quiet.
He hit the gas pedal and they were off.
"So... What's your name again?"
"Temari."
"Cool."
"..."
"..."
"Why are we doing this, might I ask?"
"I'll pay you to not ask questions."
"Done."
The silence was a comfortable one. As they neared a busier part of town where the traffic was heavier, the chauffeur- Shikanoru or whatever- switched on the radio.
Generic brain-dead music filled the car and Temari leaned her head back and enjoyed it, not daring to close her eyes.
She took it all in- the drizzling rain, the red lights on the cars. Traffic lights, windscreen wipers.
All things were precious.
And her days were numbered.
-IOIOIOI-
"Hey, Shokaniku, check this one out!"
The little punk shook his head and muttered something along the lines of "it gets worse every time!" before standing beside her.
"What?" He asked as his narrow eyes roamed the painting.
"The metal is so shiny! It looks so realistic."
He nodded and glanced at her.
"I'm seriously curious as to why you couldn't have come here yourself."
"I needed a driver."
"Family?"
"None of my relatives drive."
"Taxis?"
"Far too expensive."
"Friends?"
"Do I seem like the type of girl who has friends?"
"... I guess not."
He sighed.
"This is so troublesome..."
"You could have just said no."
"I want out of my job. I want to be able to get into photography as soon as possible."
She shrugged and moved onto the next painting.
"Well then quit complaining." She suggested.
"I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it's troublesome. You're troublesome."
She resisted the urge to thump him.
-IOIOIOI-
"Hey, look at the weasel Shukaniru!"
"Yes, troublesome. It's a dead weasel. Well done."
"Don't phrase it like that."
She huffed and glared at him. Why did he have to ruin the first trip she'd ever made to the natural history museum by sulking at her and saying stupid things?
Well, yeah, it was a stuffed weasel, but still.
"It's cute."
"Huh?"
"The weasel." He said. "It's cute."
She nodded.
"Of course it is. Weasels are the greatest things to have ever been created ever."
He chuckled.
"I'll take it they're your favourite?"
"Bingo."
-IOIOIOI-
They were in the car again, music playing, horns sounding from cars in the distance.
"Where are we staying for the night?"
Temari glanced at her map and looked for the blue dots, she had marked all the lodgings in that colour. Precision was a virtue.
"There's a three star hotel about three miles from here if you take the next left."
"What's it called?"
Temari sighed and reached for her glasses which she'd left in her small bag pack.
" The Dropping Well Hotel." She said after putting them on and squinting at the page.
"I've heard of it," he said simply, glancing briefly in her direction. "Glasses suit you, by the way."
She hurriedly pulled them off and shoved them back into her bag.
He snorted.
"It was a compliment, sheesh."
She took a deep breath and ignored him.
She didn't have time for compliments.
-IOIOIOI-
"A room for two please. Separate beds."
"Er..."
"Zip it Sigmund."
"...Sigmu-what the hell?!"
The receptionist gave them a weary look before handing the room key to Temari.
"My name isn't Sigmund."
Temari shrugged.
"Whatever, Shikunari."
"SHIKAMARU! IT'S SHIKAMARU."
"Sheesh Simon, stop shouting."
He rolled his eyes.
"Why did you get a double room?"
"I'm not wasteful with my money. Don't worry, we won't be sharing a bed or anything, jeez!"
They got to their room and picked their respective beds before taking it in turns to go to the bathroom and change into their pyjamas.
"Night, Chupa Chups."
"Night Troublesome."
A/N: Here's the beginning of a little side-story I've been working on.
Please let me know what you think,
Follow /Fave/Review.
~Lee ;)