Coward
a/n: this is a true story. This isn't funny and doesn't it makes me feel proud. I am a coward and I know I am. It happened yesterday. I write this to exorcise my demons.
Shikamaru was waiting for the bus to come. Like everyday it was the same thing. Metropolitan bus from his college to the nearest metro station. Then the metro to the terminal. Then he took the bus, direction the suburban. It has been the same thing every day since he was accepted last September. It was then he saw her for the first time. Actually not for the first time, he had saw her years ago, when they were both still kids. She was the sister of a friend of a friend, Gaara to be precise. Naruto for some reason always liked Gaara's presence and being good friend. Shikamaru, being a loner never been one to fraternize easily. When he saw her his heart jumped. At first he tough it must be the coffee he took this morning was starting to make his stomach work, but it did it again the day latter, and the day latter, and the week later, and the month later. He didn't believe in lovestruck. It was a sassy thing girl like Ino believed in. But after weeks to analyse it, he ran out of other theory. He couldn't stop looking at her when he was in the bus, kept thinking about her when he was not. He worried for no reason when she wasn't there in the bus, and relieved when she finally arrived at the last minutes before the bus went off.
Back to the present. April 30rd, 8 months of torture. Like any other day he enter the bus, said "good evening" to the bus driver, the usual friday 3:45 pm old man with white hair and moustache. He replied back as Shika swipe his card on the electronic pass check. The light turn green and Shika walked inside the bus. He sat in the second row, left side. Usually elder people were always in front, Moronic kids in the back. Today wasn't different. People enter and sat. But something for once was different. He saw her, even more beautiful than last time. Probably because of the sun illuminating her hairs and eyes, he thought. Get a hold of yourself, you know you don't have a chance with her, She's beautiful , smart, friendly, perfect... simply perfect. Now look at you, You're average looking, really smart but no motivation to use it, funny but everybody know the funny guy don't get the girl. Just forget it, you're hurting yourself.
He looked at her as she swiped her own card, She turned her head in his direction and he smiled, a slight smile, not even enough to be called a smirk, just a small movement of the commissure. And for a second he though she send it back. Suddenly felling a little hotter than before, he looked outside, a beautiful day, blue sky with small fluffy cloud. He felt movement on the seat next to him. It was her! For the first time since the September, she was sitting next to him. There was this once time he almost sat next to her but at the last second an elderly man enter the bus, so he gave his seat to the old man. But now there was no old man, no stupid idiot or no sneezing guy with a weird looking eye to stop him. The driver closed the door and pressed on the accelerator.
'Ok, think about what you're going to say. What about "Hey, how are you?" No, to foward. "I know your brother." So what? Who give a shit?'
So Shikamaru did what every man in his situation would do, he open his bag and took out a book. What? Did you really think he would talk to her? Don't forget the name of the story! So back at the story. He took out "Boule de Suif and Other short story" from Guy de Maupassant. He had to read it for his French Literature class. So he read, all along the way. About ten minutes after the bus left the metro station she took out a book too, He couldn't see the title but was about 500 pages long. As they approach the terminal, he put his book back in his bag and waited for the bus to stop. He wait for her to get up, then do it to, mentally kicking himself in the nuts for missing a chance like that to talk to her, to know her, and maybe ask her out. He was a coward and he knew it. He was simply unable to talk to this amazing girl, so out of his league. She was straight for NHL, he was a pee-wee local. As she walked to her stationed car in the parking lot, he mutters to himself. "Goodbye Temari. See you next week." 'Maybe then I'll get the courage.'
The End