Crowded places are not where you'd normally find me.
Standing in the middle of a crowd makes me suffocate.
It has happened several times; I'm standing in the middle of a crowd, suddenly I can't breathe properly and feel dizzy and the next thing I know is that someone in the crowd is holding me, anxious faces of unknown people staring at me, everyone asking me if I'm okay, offering me cold water and a place to sit. Everyone's undivided attention focused towards me.
And here is the main issue.
I hate attention.
And I already get enough of it thanks to my pink hair. Well, I love my unique and pretty hair colour. But, I try my hardest to not give people any additional reason to gawk at me. Therefore, I avoid going to crowded places if I can help it.
Today, I couldn't.
I mean I could if I really wanted to but I don't expect such an opportunity to come ever again in my whole life.
Today, Hatake Kakashi is coming to our college. Yes, the legendary tennis prodigy, that Hatake Kakashi; the person I've been admiring the most since I was seven, that Hatake Kakashi; the person I consider my hero, my god, my I-don't-know-what-else, that Hatake Kakashi. He's coming to my college and I will not let go of my once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch him in flesh even if I have to pay with my life for it.
It definitely is a reason worth dying for.
Hence, here I am. In the middle of a huge crowd. Well, not exactly in the middle. Since I was so excited, I actually skipped my classes and arrived here at 10 am. So, I'm among the lucky people who got to sit in the front row. What I don't know is why on earth Ino skipped her classes to do exactly the same thing when she has zero interest in Kakashi. Or in tennis in general.
Whatever, I'm getting impatient. It's 3:15 now, Kakashi is supposed to arrive at 4:00. Then he's expected to play a friendly match against the college's prevailing tennis champion, Uchiha Sasuke. And suddenly it occurs to me; he might be the reason Ino is here.
Ino is a huge admirer of Uchiha Sasuke. And that has more to do with his appearance than his talent for tennis.
"You all right, forehead girl?"
I was so deep in my thoughts, I don't understand what she's talking about.
"What do you mean?"
"You aren't suffocating, are you?"
Ah, she's talking about my problem.
I don't go around telling people about it, but she happened to find out because I once passed out while we were taking a train together. But I don't mind. Moreover, her knowing actually comes handy at times when she's prowling for a companion for her expedition of those crazy sales she is a huge fan of. I can simply blame it on the crowd and be excused.
"No, I'm fine. I'm not passing out before seeing Kakashi," I grin.
"Yes, yes, I know. You and your obsession with that old man. I'm here for Uchiha Sasuke," she gives a proud smile although I don't have any idea what she can possibly be so proud of.
"I guessed it."
"Makes sense. Even you know that not all nineteen year old girls are into men who are in their thirties," she teases me with a twisted smile.
"I'm not into him in that sense, Ino. You know that. I admire him, I respect him a lot, I'm crazy for him, but I don't get hot and heavy thinking about him like you might do when it comes to Uchiha Sasuke."
Ino was about to say something when suddenly the crowd comes to life. Everyone starts shouting and cheering and it takes me a few moments to figure out the exact scenario.
Uchiha Sasuke has made his appearance on the court. Ino joins the crowd in their shouting. I sigh. I'm getting bored. I want to see Kakashi and no one else. But clearly most people don't feel the same.
I take a look around me. All these people, so excited to see him, the Uchiha Sasuke. Is he really that talented?
I've only seen him a few times in my seventeen months of college life. And it has always been accidental, always from a distance, and always lasting less than a second. Today I can observe him properly from my front row seat. And I decide to make good use of this opportunity since I have nothing better to do anyway.
I have to admit; he is good looking. But there's this thing about his countenance. I've only been watching him for like five minutes; so it's going to sound stupid, I know I can't provide a solid ammunition to my declaration, but trust me when I say this guy is a mess.
Here's the thing about damaged people; they know their kin.
They might have been forever successful in guarding their secrets from the whole world, but present them in front of someone of their own species; and their little game of hide and seek will be over in an instant. It's not possible to know the details of course. But the cause hardly matters, since it's the effect that shows in the eyes.
And I can see it in the eyes of the famous Uchiha Sasuke. The very look I got so familiar with over my years of staring at the mirror. I can see the exact same thing in those dark black eyes of his.
Suddenly my chain of thoughts gets disrupted because the crowd goes crazy once again and as I look at the court I can see why.
Not Kakashi, but I know the person who has appeared on the court.
Uzumaki Naruto. The other tennis legend of this college. His rivalry with Uchiha Sasuke already being regarded as one of the greatests in the history of Konoha College.
And although I've never watched either of them play, I know that Konoha College is bustling with talented youngsters, no matter which field. So, to think that it was two first year students who reached the final, they definitely are talented.
Last year I heard a lot about their epic five set battle in the final. And I've also heard rumors about how people are anticipating a repeat of that this year as well. And as I watch these two on court right in front of my eyes, I make a decision.
This year, if it's the two of them again, I'd try to make time to watch the final.
But right now, all I want to see is Kakashi. I'm getting frustrated. It's 4:10 already. Given how much he's revered around the globe, I had expected him to be on time, but why on earth is he late? My frustration is multiplying with every extra minute of waiting I'm having to go through. Ugggh!
Sasuke and Naruto go for a warm up. Except, a warm up is supposed to be more relaxed, more casual, and I can tell that these two are far from being casual. They're going at it like it's another final where only the winner takes the cup.
From the reaction of the crowd, I can tell that when it comes to fan girls, Sasuke definitely wins. Why I wonder. Naruto is no less talented than Sasuke is and he, too, is good looking in my opinion. Of course with different type of charms.
Whatever, I don't care. I decide to focus on the game.
Naruto hits a strong forehand sending the ball towards the side of the court where we are sitting, obviously hoping for a winner. But Sasuke, who was standing near the other sideline, refuses to give in and makes a run for it like his life depends on it. And he still misses by a whisker but fails to stop his motion. What was it called again? Something like moment of inertia I assume, screw physics classes!
And before I have enough time to register everything in my brain, he has reached the end of the court and has crossed the boundary of the gallery and has almost collided with me but thankfully he's able to stop himself before it comes to that.
The crowd goes insane, all the girls around us start shouting like crazy at the sight of their beloved Uchiha Sasuke in the middle of the spectators.
And I'm looking at him. Completely startled, still trying to process it all in my brain, my heart hitting against my ribs so fast and so hard that it's almost hurting. But the most intense thing at the moment is two jet black eyes; staring right back at me. I can roughly figure that there's a guy of around six feet looming over my sitting form, but all I can focus on is those eyes. And for some reason, they refuse to leave mine.
A couple of seconds pass like this, then he straightens up in front of me, his gaze turns let's say less -intruding for lack of better words, and he smirks.
"Excuse me," he says curtly and the next thing I know is he's back on the court again. And that's when I figure out that I had been holding my breath throughout the course of this entire drama that lasted less than a minute.
People around me start talking about it, unable to hide the excitement in their voices and Ino says something but all I can think about is those intense, dark eyes.
For the first time in three weeks since Kakashi's visit was announced, I'm too occupied to think about Kakashi.
Note: Here I am. Publishing the first chapter of my first ever fan fiction. My first ever fiction to be precise. I've never written anything before, never even tried. I was contented with just reading them and being super impressed by some of them. I swear some people can write such great stories!
Yesterday, after I woke up, as I was sitting in my room, still sleepy, with a mug of coffee in my hand and thinking about all the things that need to be done, I suddenly started to see everything in a different way. I don't know how to say it. Before I realised it, I was describing everything around me in my head. The way a writer does in a story. That's when it occurred to me that I can come up with a story where a character lives in a room similar to this. Talk about crazy things. Starting a story because you want to describe your room. Well, in the story, Sakura will be the one living in that room.
When I decided to try for a story, the only thing I knew was that it was going to be about Sasuke and Sakura (who else!). But after I decided to go for it, ideas started to form in my head and as a result, I have the first chapter right here. It all happened so fast. And I really should be taking care of a lot of other things (my upcoming JLPT N3 in December for example) but the story won't let me. So, I decided to publish the first chapter. I badly need reviews, honest ones. I'm a total rookie, I never imagined myself writing stories. I don't know whether I will write any in the future. I don't even know what I'll do with this one. But I tend to finish what I start. So, until and unless I realise my story is a total disaster, I hope to continue it. So, please leave an honest review if you happen to read my story.
Well, hopefully I'll be here writing to you like this again. But I will leave that decision to you guys, Tell me if you want me to continue or not.
Love, June (^_^)