Brighter
Inuzuka Nin
It was in the middle of the night, around 1 or so, and yet Sakura was still awake. She sat on the ledge of her bedroom window, looking at the stars. The light fog that hung above the roads blocked her view of the winding streets before her, and the only thing she could clearly make out were the bright circles of light, coming from the street lamps. Silent silhouettes took the places of the pretty houses that were hidden by the darkness.
Whilst she was at home in her 'happy' and 'respectable' neighbourhood, nothing exciting ever really happened, and the only way to pass her time was watching the 'prim and proper' housewives and husbands living secret lives. You know, like that show… what was it? Desperate Housewives. It was so cliché in her mind, but fitting nonetheless. It was strange to her how a show viewed as 'absurd' and 'totally fictional' was rather very accurate. She supposed it took someone who actually lived and spent time in suburbia to realise it.
She sighed. There was one thing she had not doubt about; suburbia sucked. But then again, if it hadn't been for her parents moving to this neighbourhood when she was around 10, she would have never have met the most awesome people in her life. She smiled upon remembering their names and faces; not to mention there own little ways that made them all different, and yet one thing brought them all together.
Skateboarding.
Whenever people first met Sakura, they all thought the same thing: this girl does not look like a boarder. They were right; she had a somewhat strange appearance. Bubblegum pink hair, very fair skin, and bright emerald eyes. All these things contributed to one assumption: that she was a girly girl.
They could never be more wrong. Although she had the best manners around adults, especially those in authority; she was a mean skater. She also had a knack for causing trouble, something she and her little 'gang' got up to quite often. She smirked; it was to easy to fool the old man, more widely known as her principal, he just couldn't see past her innocent eyes.
She turned her head to her lit-up pink clock. 2.30?! Man, she'd been thinking way too long. She didn't even have time to think of any new songs. 'Damn. The guy's are gonna be pretty disappointed that I didn't even come up with one idea. I wonder what's been getting at me lately; I haven't written anything these past few weeks.' She dismissed the thought with a shrug; they still had plenty of other songs to practice.
She silently descended from her window sill and shuddered. It was a cold night tonight, and she was glad spring was coming. She decided it wouldn't be wise to leave her window open, anything could get in, and she didn't want another cold, so she gently shut it closed.
She tip toed across her dark room, manoeuvring around all of the creaky floorboards. As she neared her desk, she miscalculated the distance between her and the object, what with it being so dark; and managed to stub her toe.
"DAMN!" She hissed, and then slapped herself mentally; her parents would kill her if they knew she was still awake! She stood still for a moment or two, just to check her parents hadn't awoken from her yelp; as they were only in the next room.
When she was only greeted by the sound of her own breathing, she continued on her trek across her extremely large room. She let out a sigh of relief upon reaching her comfortable double bed, and silently climbed into the warm, pink covers. She closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep as soon as her head touched her soft pillow.
BEEP! BEEP!
Sakura groaned, and half opened her eyes; only to be met with the burning sunlight.
BEEP! BEEP!
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She said to herself, as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She sat there for a moment, rubbing her head.
BEEP! BEEP!
She slowly lifted her head, giving her alarm clock a menacing glare.
BEEP! BEEP!
It continued, as if to torment her.
"DAMMIT! CAN'T YOU GIVE ME A MOMENT OF FREAKIN' PEACE?" She screamed, only to stop at the sound of footsteps behind her door.
"Sakura darling, please don't curse!" She heard her mother's sing-song voice scold. She mumbled her apologies, turned off the alarm clock and went into the bathroom.
After she had taken a quick shower, and had brushed her teeth, she went back into her bedroom.
She plugged her pink iPod nano into the speakers and played some music. Satisfied with her choice of song, she began to dry her hair and choose an outfit for the day. She was only meeting up with her friends, but she was happy as she hadn't seen them much recently.
After putting on her long, baggy black shorts, a pink vest with a black skull on it, her black Sum41 hoodie, and her favourite beanie; she unplugged her iPod and stored it safely in her pocket. She ran downstairs and decided to just have something quick so she could be early for once.
Sakura finished her small breakfast, bid goodbye to her mom, and gave her dad a goodbye kiss on the cheek. She was about to go out the door when her father raised a brow at her from over his newspaper. She gave him a confused look and then an imaginary light bulb lit up above her head.
"Right! My shoes! Oh, and my board…" She scratched her head in embarrassment. Thanks dad, Im such a dunce!" She just heard a low chuckle in response.
She went to the corner of her hallway and stuffed her feet into her vans. She grabbed her board out of the cupboard; said her goodbyes once more, and left. As she skated down the street, she could help but feel she was being watched…
He observed the girl speeding down the street on her board.
He saw her stop and look around, but not in his direction.
This had to be her, yet she seemed so… different…
"Hn."
And with that, he walked away from the window.
Sakura stopped and looked around, but saw nobody there. She stood there for a few moments until she dismissed the thought, and got back on her board. She looked at her watch. 'Hmm, 11.30 – I won't be that early, but I'll probably be first there. As always. '
She sighed as she neared their meeting place, Naruto's house. It was only fitting really; since it was in the centre of all of their houses, and he was always the last one to leave his house. Looking round and seeing no one on the lawn, she came to the conclusion that she was right, she was first there.
So, she carried on the routine, and took out the spare key. Yeah, so it was rather strange that a sixteen-year-old girl had a key to a boy's house of the same age; but nothing was going on. Naruto himself gave it to her, they were close friends; the closest, nothing more.
As soon as she closed the door she could hear his loud snoring. She shook her head and went to the kitchen. After many years of knowing the boy, she knew the only way to wake him up. His first true love: ramen.
She poured the boiling water into the instant ramen cup, stirred, and began to walk upstairs. She stood outside his door and began her wake-up call.
"Mmmmm, this ramen is DELICIOUS." She smirked upon hearing the bed sheets rustle. "I'm SO PLEASED that Naruto had ONE last RAMEN cup for ME to eat." She said, loudly and clearly.
Slowly, the door opened, just a bit, and a hand came through the gap. She smiled and handed the ramen to the 'hand'.
"Mornin' Naruto." The pink-haired girl greeted. She got a grumbled 'morning' in response.
She started down the stairs. "I'm going outside to wait for everyone 'Kay?" She called. "Hurry up and come outside when you're ready!" Hearing a muffled 'okay' from behind the door, she continued her descent and left the house.
The soft grass was quite comfortable now that the frost had gone along with winter itself. She put her board down on the grass and lay down, using it to rest her head on. She shut her eyes and began to hum a random tune, lulling into a peaceful state…
…Until she felt a shadow over her. She opened one eye to see who had interrupted her little 'spacing out' session, to see dark brown eyes stare at her. She smiled, dark hair, dark eyes, lazy mannerisms…
"Hey, Shikamaru." The said boy raised a slim eyebrow and stood up straight again, turning his head to his companion, who Sakura had not yet noticed.
"She's not dead." Stated Shikamaru, lazily.
"No duh dumb-ass." Said the girl with him, Ino Yamanaka. She stopped glaring at the boy to give Sakura a smile, whilst pushing her blonde bang out of her face.
"Hey forehead, you were majorly spacing out then, ya know? We called you like 5 times!" She said, her baby blue eyes widening for effect.
"Yeah, uh sorry about that.." Sakura said, sitting up. "So, are you guys gonna sit down or not?" She asked, hugging her legs. The two teens nodded and dropped down onto the green grass. Sakura observed them, Shikamaru lounging on the grass, hands behind his head, looking up at the clouds; and Ino, sitting cross legged, waiting for Sakura to engage in conversation.
She did so, and shortly after, the two girls found themselves so deep in conversation; that they didn't notice the door behind them click shut. Shikamaru looked toward the blonde boy who had just emerged from the house.
Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura's best friend, was quite a strange person. He had bright yellow hair, and sparkling cerulean eyes that never failed in showing his emotions. On each cheek he had three unique whisker-like marks on each cheek, and a foxy grin to match. He had an obvious liking of the colours blue and orange, colours he'd often wear. Today was no exception; he wore long, baggy blue shorts (like Sakura's but hers are black), a slightly-oversized orange T-shirt, with a cartoon image of a bowl of ramen on. He had a blue hoodie tied around his waist, and was wearing blue skate shoes. He carried a board under his right arm, and gave a sheepish grin.
"Uh… I'm sorry I'm late out…" He began, earning a glare from the pink haired girl. She then smiled and stood up, grabbing her own board.
"Everyone ready?" She asked. Getting nods from her friends, she set her board down and started off down the street, the other following close behind.
A boy with raven hair and onyx eyes held a photo in his hands. It wasn't always on display, but it was still there all the same. And he never forgot it. He looked at the three faces on it, the smiling girl, the grinning hyperactive boy, and the smirking boy. It brought back so many happy memories; he wasn't sure if he'd ever see the two other faces on the photograph ever again. He was happy to be given the chance.
"Hey, little brother!" Called a voice from outside his room. "Help me unload some of the stuff out of the van for mom."
"Hn."
He set the picture down on his bedside table and went downstairs to help his brother. Although his brother was older than him, and didn't live with his family anymore, the two were still close.
"So, how're you feeling?" The elder asked, looking at his brother. "When do you think you'll see them?..."
The boy looked up from the box he was carrying. He sighed as he set it down.
"I don't know." He answered both questions truthfully. It was quite overwhelming to leave and then come back, just like that. It was true he wanted to see them, but he was nervous.
"So where are the others anyway?" Naruto asked, over the rumbling of the skateboards going along the road.
"Said they'd meet us at the park. I mean, what's up with that?" Ino answered, her blonde pony tail swaying as she moved down the road.
"Man, you know those two like each other!" Sakura interjected. "Probably wanted some aloooone time.." She said, adding emphasis onto the word alone.
They nodded and continued on their way to the skate park. Neji Hyuuga and Ten
Ten sure were mysteries. They were both a year older than the others; and pretty much the best of friends, although the Hyuuga would never admit it, hardly ever showing any emotion. The boy in question, Neji, had a slightly feminine appearance, what with his long brown hair tied in a loose pony tail and white eyes, which many people find intriguing and strange' which, of course, they were. Ten Ten was a typical tomboy; preferring to keep her hair out of the way in two panda buns than letting her brown locks down, and she also had chocolate brown eyes to match.
There was no doubt that there was an attraction between the two, and the others had seen it for a while, whilst it seems the two had only just realised it recently; and had actually done something about it; much to the others' relief.
They were all boarding down the road when Naruto noticed something. A removal van. It seemed Sakura noticed too, as Naruto noticed she executed a perfect power slide, which he also did.
The sudden stop of the two teens made the other two stop. Deciding not to ask what was wrong, they followed their gazes to see a large red removal van. Then, everyone stopped in stunned silence. An ebony haired boy emerged from the house, and towards the van. Naruto was the first one to react.
"TEME??" He practically screamed, earning a startled look from the boy.
