This is sort of based on a (day) dream of mine hehe. Anywayz, this story just… Writing it went much easier with this story at the moment for some reason…
I just HAD to write this lolz. Let me know if you feel the same way haha ;)
Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
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Sighing Christine looked at her new clothes. She had to buy something that would fit in more. Her new outfit consisted of a loose fitting navy blue sweater, a pair of jeans and some cheap tennis shoes and a black coat. She had put her hair up in a high ponytail. She had taken some personal items and her money with her in an ordinary black backpack.
Getting on the bus she had been a bit uncomfortable. It was the first time she had ever traveled by bus. However things seemed to be going well. When she got off the bus she still had to walk a mile.
The streets were making her a bit uneasy. Actually it was more because of the people on the streets. She may not be exactly streetwise but she knew it would be safer to avoid groups of people.
She stood outside, looking around her. This was one of those neighbourhoods which had definitely earned its bad reputation. As a group of guys were staring at her she felt extremely out of place. She was starting to regret ever making that stupid bet.
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She sighed looking outside. "Sometimes I wish I was just one of the lower class people. That I was just like everyone else. It sure does get lonely on the top. Yet I can understand how hard it must be for them to even survive."
Robert Platt, her publisher sneered at her. "No you don't. How could you? You need money. You couldn't possibly survive on your own." He laughed. "Just another rich kid talking nonsense."
Normally she would not have taken this from the man, but she realized he was right. She had never had to fend for herself. She had never even done anything to prove she could work for her money. It had all been handed to her and she was sick of it.
She glared at the people outside. "Fine." She smirked at his obvious confusion.
"Then allow me to prove to you that I can live without help from anyone."
He grinned. "Let's make it a bet then, shall we?" He sat down. "Now as for the terms… I am not completely inhuman, therefore you will be allowed a bit of money to get started. Five hundred dollars should be enough. You will also be living in one of the worst parts of town. Help will not be an option; you will not accept it from anyone. You will have to find a job to support yourself and live on your own. This is all for a duration of six months. And considering I already stated you will not be allowed to accept help, you will have to keep your boyfriend out of this."
Smirking once more she nodded. "I'll just tell him I have to go away on business for my latest book. That you have scheduled me for a rather private tour."
"Good. It starts one week from now. Your assistant can hold down the fort here for you. That is why I insisted on you hiring one."
"To help you lose the bet?" She laughed at his expression.
"I am not going to lose. You will make sure of that." He smirked confidently winking at her.
She shuddered. "Time will tell." She replied with a determined look in her eyes.
"One more thing. What will I get out of this bet?"
"Proof." She answered dryly.
"I'm afraid that isn't nearly worth the effort. After all…" He leaned back in his chair. "I am not the one with something to prove."
"You greedy bastard."
"Such language." He shook his head. "If I win the bet you pay me one million dollars. That is just pocket change to you anyway."
"And if I win?" She chose to ignore that last comment. As if she could help being born into an extremely wealthy family. The fate of her family however proves that money doesn't make people happy. After all, her grandfather is her only living relative left. Pushing her emotions away she regained her composure. Robert hadn't seen; he was too dense to notice the slight change in her mood. She had learned to hide her true feelings well after having to deal with fortune hunters and fake friends for so long.
"You will have your proof." He snorted, quite pleased with his retort.
She smiled icily. "I'm afraid that is not nearly good enough."
He looked very displeased with the fact that his own words had just been thrown back at him.
"If I win, then you will give up your share of the profit you make out of my latest book and it will be donated to the orphanage."
He frowned. "Well, since I'm not going to lose I guess that can be considered reasonable."
"Then it's a bet." She shook his hand only to quickly wipe it off. This guy disgusted her; however he did his job well enough and kept her a famous writer, under a false name of course. She left his office as fast as she could. She had to start planning. This was one bet she would not lose.
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She squared her shoulders and walked right into the building. Once inside she wrinkled her nose. It was just as shabby inside as it was outside. She saw a man sitting on a chair watching television.
"Excuse me."
He didn't react. He started to laugh at whatever he was watching on television.
"Excuse me." She said again, a bit louder this time.
The man still didn't react. He either couldn't hear her because he had sound of the television turned up so high or he was ignoring her. Either way, she was fed up with his behaviour.
"HEY!" She yelled as loud as she could.
Finally the guy answered in a rude tone. "Whaddya want?"
"I'm looking for the landlord."
"You found him." He scratched his nose. "Now whaddya want?"
"I rented an apartment here. We spoke over the phone?"
"Oh yeah… Now I remember. You're that broad that wanted apartment 213."
He pulled out a key. "This is how it's going down. I give you the key after you give me the first month's pay. That will be two hundred dollars. Cash, I don't take no cheques." He scratched his nose again and pulled a pencil from behind his ear.
She pulled out her wallet and gave him the two hundred dollars. Quickly she put the wallet away again when she caught him eyeing it.
"What was your name again?"
"Christine. Christine Thayer." She was about to show him her identification but he waved it off.
"Whatever. A name is enough. You could even give me a fake one for all I care." He threw the keys at her which she clumsily caught. "Second floor." And with that he returned to his precious television.
Her heart was racing as she made her way to the stairs. It wasn't exactly a fake name, though it wasn't her official name either. She had used her mother's maiden name. Though she tried to stay out of the media's sight as much as possible (with success) making it almost impossible for people to recognize her face, she knew that almost everyone was familiar with her name. So to avoid unwanted questions she took on another name as a precaution.
She wondered how Eric, her boyfriend, was doing. He had taken the news extremely well, almost as if he was glad she was going away. She shook her head, she shouldn't think such things. She was just being paranoid.
Lost in her thoughts she wasn't really watching where she was going causing her to bump into someone. Landing rather ungracefully on the floor she looked up. "I'm sorry…"
A tall redhead glared down at her. He had black rings around his eyes and a tattoo on his forehead. It was the kanji for love.
Not being able to help herself she giggled causing the redhead's glare to worsen.
"What is your problem?" He snapped still glaring as if he was trying to burn a hole into her.
She stood up and dusted herself off. "I couldn't help but find the irony amusing."
He frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Your tattoo doesn't match your attitude." And with that she walked past him.
Behind her the redhead smirked. No one had ever talked to him like that. "You must be new."
"As a matter of fact, yes I am." She turned around. "Why?"
"People around here know better than to talk to me like that. If you value your life I suggest you learn that as well." He stalked off.
'Great. Meeting a psychopath on the first day, someone must really like me up there.'
"Don't mind Gaara, he's always like that."
As she searched for the person who had spoken she came face to face with a blonde girl with four ponytails.
"I see. And you are?"
"I'm Temari. Gaara's sister unfortunately." She laughed.
"Nice meeting you then. I'm Christine. So he's always this social?" Christine smiled.
"No. Usually he's even more social." She shrugged.
The girls laughed.
"So you're the new girl, 213 right?"
"Yeah."
"Well I live just across the hall. So if you need anything…"
Christine smiled again gratefully. "Thanks. Likewise." She winked.
"See ya."
"Yeah, see ya." And with that she opened the door of her new apartment peering inside only to find it was practically empty. Her shoulders slumped as she slammed the door shut. "Great. Just great." She muttered to herself taking in what little furniture she had.
Opening the cupboards she nearly screeched as a cockroach fell out. They were completely empty. Breathing in and out to calm herself down she clutched her backpack. Luckily she had brought some food with her. She could do this. She would show him.
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Cya ;)
