Black and White
Chapter 1
I keep my face completely void of emotion as I walk calmly through the halls at school. Not many of my peers seem to notice me, and the ones that do just point and laugh with their friends.
I am like a cat, my ears pulled back against my head.
I close my eyes as I walk, trying but failing miserably to block out the sounds as well as the sights. Everyone laughing with their friends now that school is out for winter vacation...
I step out into the field to walk home, though home is the last place I want to be. The cold bites viciously at my face and fingers. I suddenly wish I had brought some gloves and maybe even a scarf.
The school uniforms do nothing for the girls, as it is just a flimsy, almost non-existent skirt and short sleeve shirt. The popular girls finally convinced the school board to "let" us wear shorter skirts.
But, of course, being "Emo", I like the long skirts that they had us wear before better. They had at least covered up my hideous legs, and made me feel at least a bit more comfortable in the hell hole called "high school".
"Hey, Emo!!" someone behind me yells. I know they are talking to me but refuse to turn and respond in any way.
A snowball hits me square in the back of the head. I shiver and shake my head to get the snow off.
"You have to learn to respect your superiors, Emo," the voice calls again, "Turn around and answer me!!"
I keep walking ignoring him once again. The snow on the field for the past few days had prevented us from having to do PE. The tree that I sit under during the summer when I don't want to be at home has no leaves. It's just dead.
Maybe I should hibernate during the winter... Bears can pull it off, why wouldn't I be able to?
My life is like a black and white movie- boring and colorless and bland. All I really want is some color, even if just a little bit. Just a little bit of flavor to this tasteless mix...
"Emo!!!" the voice calls again.
"Shut up, you baka!!" another voice yells at the first one.
To this, I turn, wondering who in their right mind would stand up for me.
"Who do you think you are?" yells the first boy that had pegged my head with a snowball.
"Uchiha Sasuke," the raven haired boy replies, "And who're you?"
"Umino Tenshi," he smirks cockily, "What're you doing here?"
"Getting ready to kick your ass into next year if you don't stop harassing that girl."
"I doubt you have the guts."
"Wanna bet?"
They both smirk at each other, eager for a fight.
"Go home, I'll finish this guy up," says the Uchiha.
I just stay and look at them.
"This should be far more amusing than anything happening at home," I reply, "Please do carry on."
He smiles at me, then turns back to Umino...
After the fight, Umino runs away faster than I thought possible, all to get away from the spiky haired Uchiha.
"You alright?" he asks, walking over to me. By this point, I'm shaking so bad that I'm practically jumping.
Goosebumps:Me::Grass:Ground
And the Uchiha notices. "Why don't you come over to my place so we can get you warmed up?" he asks.
My teeth only chatter in reply, and he smiles, taking it as a yes.
"Take my jacket for a while," he says taking off his heavy coat and draping it over my trembling shoulders as we walk.
"Are you sure?" I stutter, eyeing his short sleeve shirt.
"I'll be fine," he assures me, smiling as we cross the street.
"I'm home," Uchiha calls as we step into his house, then lowers his voice as he turns to me, "Do you need to call your parents so they know where you are?"
My fists clench at the word "parents", and I find enough energy to shake my head.
"They don't need to know where I am at every moment of every day," I say, shedding the heavy coat and giving it back to the Uchiha.
I walk over and sit on the couch, damning the school uniforms to hell under my breath. Even Uchiha's coat was longer than the skirt...
Then, I remember that I have a change of clothes in my bookbag.
"Where's the restroom?" I ask, "I need to get out of this prison- I mean... uniform..."
I look down, embarrassed that I had called this thing a prison to another person. Surely he would start calling me a freak soon...
Uchiha smiles at me, then points down a hall.
"First door on your right," he says.
I nod then walk down the hall and into the bathroom to change. I walk out, feeling more comfortable in my skinny jeans and black shirt.
"Kai," Uchiha calls, "Come here..."
I comply obediently. Uchiha gives me a cup of tea, sipping half-heartedly at a mug in his hands.
The steam swirls above the tea gracefully, as I watch, amused. The tea at my house never has warmth radiating off of it like this...
I start to let my mind wander to the two monsters that people call my parents, then shake my head and take a sip of tea.
The fact that the steaming liquid burned my tongue on contact tore me away from my thoughts.
"Are you alright?" Uchiha asks, concern creasing his brow.
I nod, staring down into my tea.
"Why did you stand up for me?" I ask, looking up at him as he puts a silver stud into his ear.
"Because I hate the way people treat you at school," he replies. This shocks me, as I have never seen him at school before. I take another cautious sip of tea.
"Maybe you shouldn't butt into other people's business," I say.
"Maybe," he replies, "But I hate how the populars think they're better than people like us."
It angers me to no end when he whimsically gets the notion that he and I are on the same page.
"You make it sound like we're going through something together," I comment.
"In a way, we are," he replies stonily.
I shrug my shoulder, then finish my tea up.
"Thank you for letting me stay here," I gratify, "I'll see you later."
"Let me walk you home," Uchiha insists, opening the front door for me, then following me out.
"Thank you again."
"It's my pleasure," he assures me, looking deep into my eyes.
As if on queue, my father's voice booms loudly from an open window as we step onto the front porch.
"Where is that damn girl Kai?!!" he bellows, causing me to shudder and Uchiha to jump, "What the hell could she be doing?!"
I look down at my torn up Converse, not wanting to knock on the door as Uchiha looks at me worriedly.
"She's probably off fucking some guy from her school," my mother's voice laughs as cruel as ever.
I'm surprised my nails haven't penetrated the skin on my palms yet, though my knuckles are as white and colorless as they usually get when I hear my parents' voices.
Uchiha wraps an arm around my shoulders and starts walking back to his house.
And I'm suddenly grateful that I have him as a friend.
When we get back to his house, I start to wonder where his parents are.
"Don't worry," he says, "I don't get along with my parents either."
"Why not?" I ask.
"Sasuke!!!!" a voice yells from upstairs. Uchiha jumps, then growls lowly.
"What?!" he snaps venomously in response.
"Don't use that tone with me!! Who're you talking to down here?"
A man walks down the stairs with a woman close behind him- Uchiha's parents.
"I'm Kai," I say quietly.
"I'm sure you are," he sneers.
"Don't look at her like that," Uchiha orders, glaring daggers into his father. I know what he's talking about. His father looks down at me, like I'm inferior.
"Don't use that tone with me!!"
Uchiha grabs my hand and pulls me out the door, slamming it behind us.
"You don't mind staying with my brother, do you?" he asks as he pulls me at a brisk pace into the woods.
"No," I reply, "Are you two close?"
"We fight a lot," he says, "Don't be surprised if we start throwing punches."
He laughs, seeing the scared look in my eyes.
"But we're really close," he smiles reassuringly. I try to smile back, but my mouth only twitches.
When we get to his brother's house, all I see is a large house in the middle of the woods- no roads or walkways, just a house.
It looks so out of place.
"Itachi!!" Uchiha calls after knocking noisily on the door.
What looks like an older version of Uchiha opens the door. Only this guy has long hair and lines under his eyes.
"What is it, Sasuke?" he asks.
"Me and Kai wanna stay over here for a while," he replies sternly.
"Kai, huh?" Itachi says, "Are you his girlfriend?"
I shake my head violently, blushing like mad.
"Alright, kiddies," Itachi smirks, "Sasuke, you can sleep on the couch while Kai gets the guest room... Because I enjoy sleep."
"Oh shut it, Itachi," Uchiha snaps, guiding me inside.
The house is large, and one might say it's slightly cluttered, but compared to my filthy house, it's immaculate.
"The guest room is upstairs," Itachi says, indicating for me to follow him up a series of steps.
The guest room consists of a bed, a desk, and a dresser. "The Bathroom's right down the hall on your left," he says, motioning down the hall, then walking back down the stairs.
"Hey, Itachi," Uchiha calls from the kitchen, sticking his head over the open fridge door, "Do you have anything at all to eat over here?"
"No," Itachi replies, "You'll have to go out to eat somewhere if you want food."
"Alright, fine," Uchiha sighs, closing the fridge, "Hey, Kai, come on. Let's get you some food then."
"I'm not hungry," I say, though my stomach growls loudly just at the thought of having something to eat.
"I highly doubt that."
I follow Uchiha out the door, and Itachi puts on some Vans and follows us as well.
"What're you doing?" Uchiha asks his brother.
"I'm hungry too," he shrugs, continuing to follow us.
"Where do you wanna eat, Kai?" Uchiha asks.
"I'm not sure," I reply quietly, "Anywhere really. I don't want you to spend too much money on me, though..."
"No problem," Itachi replies, "I don't have enough money to buy much of anything, even if I wanted to."
"I can pay for myself."
"No, it's fine. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Keep your head up. Stop looking down as if you're ashamed of something. If you keep your head so low, we won't be able to see your face."
"That's the idea," I mutter.
"It's not right," Uchiha says, lifting my chin up and looking deep into my eyes, "keep your head up."
"Alright, Uchiha," I sigh, "Whatever you say."
"Call me Sasuke," he states.
"Alright, fine. Sasuke."
"That's better," he smiles.
After going to Subway, the Uchiha brothers and I walk back to Itachi's house. Itachi and I start talking.
"So, Kai," he asks, "Are you in any classes with my little brother?"
"I'm not sure," I admit, "I don't pay attention to any of the other kids in my classes..."
"We have English together," Sasuke states, "We sit next to each other."
Itachi chortles and I just say a simple, "Oh."
"So, you're a junior..." Itachi says, "I remember those days... It really wasn't long ago. I'm only 18, you know."
"Really?" I reply, "Already owning your own house and everything... Wow... I wish I could be like you."
"It's really not that great," he smiles warmly at me, "I have to pay the bills and all... I built my house, though, which is why it's out in the middle of the woods..."
"Do you have a car?" I ask.
"No," he replies, "I walk every where I go."
"Well, that makes sense. One wouldn't expect someone who makes a home for themselves out in the woods to pollute the air any more by driving a car..."
He nods knowingly.
"It's quite a walk..." I sigh, "Where do you work?"
"Movie theater," he replies, "It doesn't pay much, but..."
He shrugs.
"I get by alright."
I nod.
Back at the house, light floods the room when Itachi flicks the light switch to "On".
"Hey, I'm going to bed," he announces to me and Sasuke as we plop ourselves down on the couch.
"Alright," we reply, "Good night."
Itachi's heavy footsteps sound noisily as he walks up the stairs and into his room which is right across the room from mine.
"Sooo..." Sasuke says, "What do you want to do now? I mean, it's not that late..."
"I don't know," I reply, sighing.
"How could you not have known that we sit right next to each other in English?" he asks, "I mean, there's barely three feet of space between us during class."
"I don't pay attention to the world during school," I shrug unenthusiastically.
"Because of the populars?"
"Because of the populars."
"Alright, I understand then."
"Good."
We sit in silence for a while as I half wish I could snuggle against him. For warmth!! For warmth, and only warmth!! Nothing more. It's cold. That's all. End of story...
And yet, I still find myself stealing glances at him, examining his facial features. Not once do I dare let my eyes wander over the rest of his body... Until, that is, I memorize every characteristic of his face...
He looks a bit scrawny, as if he couldn't fight someone to save his life, but his knuckles tell a different story. They're huge and have scars and scabs on them. No doubt about it that one hit and I'd be out cold...
Through his skinny jeans, I can see his thin yet muscular legs...
"Kai," he says, his voice a little too close to my ear to be natural.
I jump a little, then turn to face him. He's too close for comfort. I start breathing a little too heavily. He doesn't seem to notice. My heart beats frantically as though the harder it beats the further away from him I'd get.
But he only gets closer. My eyes only get wider. "S-Sasuke...?" I try to say, but end up whispering.
"Why haven't you noticed me?" he asks again, pushing to hard for my liking.
"Sasuke..." I mutter, "It's getting late... I'm tired..."
I try to lie to him to make him get out of my face. And I realize that I still have his brother to worry about...
I let out an exasperated groan, letting my eyelids drop.
"What?" Sasuke asks.
"You're really pushing it, Uchiha," I say, opening only one of my eyes to look at him.
"I'm just trying to make conversation," he shrugs.
A few minutes later, we're still sitting on the couch, being weighed down by a heavy silence. I look up at the ceiling, wondering which was heavier, a moose or that silence pressing down mercilessly on my shoulders...
"Are you tired?" Sasuke asks. I nod in response, my eyes never leaving the ceiling. I search for shapes and pictures in the texture of the ceiling, grateful for a ceiling other than my own to stare at, having already memorized where all the pictures and shapes in it were.
"Here, I can walk you up to the guest room or whatever..." Sasuke continues.
I shake my head again, not really paying any attention to what he's saying.
"...You alive in there?" his voice says beside me hazily as I see his pale, scarred hand wave back and forth in my fading field of vision.
I shake my head again.
"Need I carry you up there?"
My eyelids grow heavy, and everything fades to black.
[Sasuke smiles to himself as Kai's head droops, and she slumps over, leaning unconsciously against his shoulder.
"Oh Kai..." he sighs.
"Is she asleep?" asks his older brother from the stairs. He looks up and nods.
"Out like a light," he replies.
"You like her, don't you?"
"What makes you say that?" he asks icily, glaring frozen daggers into the older Uchiha boy.
"You never even let Mom lean on your shoulder when she fell asleep... Back before the... incident..."
He looks down at Kai, shadows obscuring his eyes as they fight fiercely to keep the tears away. He's not ready yet...
Not ready to admit that it really happened.