Chapter two! I'm so excited about this! I hope everyone likes this so far! And just think, this is only the beginning! I've got so much more! I'm already thinking about chapter three! Muse don't fail me now! XD
BTW I am posing a challenge for everyone who reads this. What's the meanings behind the title and chapters of this fic? If you get at least three right, then I'll write you a oneshot of your choosing.
Now on to the show!
***Skittle Junkies***
Ashen green eyes glare at the large girth man behind the desk as he pushes the paperwork under the glass barrier that bisects the front counter. Even though the man is only a glorified paper pusher, the eyes can't help but pierce him with hate for the uniform he dons.
"You've been given your terms and guidelines for release?" the man asks as he writes on a clipboard. One slow nod is all the man receives in reply, though it is enough for him to nod back and slip the papers off the clipboard after making a final check mark.
"Good. Then I just need your signature where I've marked in highlighter Mr. Sabaku. You can then retrieve your belongings around the corner there at the check out counter and be on your way," the desk clerk announces in a base monotone. He had the look of a man who had seen too much in his life to be easily intimidated, something that Sabaku no Gaara could respect.
So despite his urges to continue glaring death at the man, he lowers his shadow rimmed gaze and signs his name on the page. Sliding the papers back under the glass, he walks passed the metal detectors to the counter indicated and grabs the box already awaiting him. Not bothering to check if his things were inside, he proceeds to stroll down the hallway with the glass doors and the bright sunshine that were synonymous with both freedom and heaven.
He stops just short of the doors, his body half engulfed in the late afternoon sun. Lifting his free hand, Gaara ruffles his rust colored hair to settle his sudden unease. It had been a long one, this time around. The courts had warned him to tread lightly, or they wouldn't let him be a walk in case anymore. Any more outbursts and he might never get to see the sun like this again.
It wasn't like he resisted arrest, or anything. He came here of his own volition. Gaara knew that he needed help, knew that he had problems. Seeing the judgmental looks from the guards though, it always pissed him off. Like they knew he was defective and just waiting for the chance that he slipped up so they would be validated in using excessive force. Not that he would give them the chance, of course.
The thought of mutilating the armed guards that roamed the Institutes halls filled him with grim amusement. Closing his eyes, he takes one last breath before plunging out into the world again. Somehow he always felt calmer when imagining the demise of those he hated.
As he reaches the two guards that were in attention at the outer gate, he manages a closed mouth smile as he waves farewell. Both guards felt a shiver of fear as they let him through. A smile like that had no place being on the face of someone like Gaara.
He was someone who could stab you in the eye with a pencil, something he had in fact done in the past to a clerk at an AM-PM, while holding that smile. They were glad when he left them without some sort of devious parting remark, but knew that he hardly spoke to those he found uninteresting and that it wasn't necessarily a good thing.
"How long do you think he'll stay out this time?" One of the guards at the door jokes nervously to his partner as they watch the redhead stalk down the driveway with his boxed possessions under his arm.
"My bet's on before the week is out," his partner replies with a snicker. "Punks like that never break the cycle. They can't survive out in the real world."
"That's not funny man. If he comes back, it's because he messed someone up real bad this time. And I don't want to be the one who has to bring him in," the first man retorts more than half worried.
"Me either. Let's hope we'll be off the clock when it happens," the partner agreed with a nervous laugh.
"Yeah. When. Not if," the first man sighs knowingly.
***Skittle Junkies***
Clothes flew across the air and landed halfheartedly on the bed. A pink fabric bag lay half squished by the growing pile of clothes and other accessories. Sasuke, dressed in only a baggy pair of black sweatpants, wanders into the room from the kitchen. A suspicious scowl grows on his face as he catches glimpses of flying clothes.
"What on earth are you doing?" he asks before taking a sip of his coffee. It was an early Saturday afternoon and Sakura had to go to work in only a few minutes, but instead he found her digging through her dresser. At the sound of his voice, she squealed and jumped away from the drawer she had been pawing.
"Oh! I'm just trying to find my favorite night shirt. I'm going over to Ino's tonight after work. Remember?" she huffs while scanning the floor with her eyes. The scowl softens slightly as Sasuke watches her antics while leaning against the door. He wished those idiots at the diner would change their dress code, but he had to admit that he liked seeing her in those black short skirt and white blouse outfits.
Turning back to the drawer, she continues to shuffle clothes around until she cheers a victory. Holding up a long, overstretched blue tee shirt with the saying, "I'm the pink flamingo on the great lawn of life," she hugs it close before folding it and placing it in the bag.
"That's the one I got you for your birthday a few year's ago, isn't it?" he observes while she continues to pack more clothes into the bag.
"Yup," is all she says while grabbing her makeup purse and tossing it in along with a towel. As the pinkette grabs her things and cleans off the bed again, she can't help but notice the eagle eye that is watching her every move. She knows that he is looking for anything that may hint at reckless behavior.
Grabbing her fuzzy slippers, she places them on top and presses down on the already overfilled bag. Before she can stand straight, she feels strong hands rest lightly on the small of her back. Heart in her throat, she turns to see Sasuke leaning over her to see the bag.
"That sure is full for just one night," he notices blandly while one hand pushes aside the slippers to better see into the bags contents. With his face so close to hers, Sakura blows against the black strands that tickle her face. Knowing that he couldn't help but be nosy, she hadn't packed for her little excursion. Instead she had pleaded with Ino to lend her an outfit when she came over, which only made the blonde burst with excitement.
"I wasn't sure what to wear. Ino might want to go out tomorrow," she tries to explain with an air of nonchalance. The hand on her back went rigid as her boyfriend looks at her sidelong.
"You didn't say anything about you guys going out," he states while his hand lets go of the bag and wraps around her arm. Fighting the urge to pull away, Sakura remains calm and smiles innocently at him.
"Because I don't know. Ino sometimes likes to go window shopping on her days off. She might want me to go with her, since I'll be there already," she explains while lifting her right hand to tuck the strands away from his face. "I just wanted to be prepared is all. I should be safe with her in the daytime, right?"
If there was one thing she had gotten the knack of, it was posing her arguments in the form of innocent requests. This way, he felt like he was giving his approval and she could avoid arguments pertaining to her inability to make good decisions. He didn't think she was stupid, just naïve. She knew she had gotten her point across when his grip relaxed and he bent to kiss her on the nose.
"That's right. Things are always safer in the daytime," he murmurs as if to convince himself. "If you do go out, remember to call me. I don't like worrying," he adds before stepping back and returning to the nightstand by the door where his coffee had been set.
"You should hurry or you'll be late," he reminds her as he wanders out into the living room.
Sakura stood still for a moment to give her speeding heart a chance to calm down before she looks at the clock. Seeing how late it already is, she jumps with sudden energy and grabs her forest green jacket and the bag before running out into the hallway to grab her shoes. Sliding them on quickly, she shrugs her jacket on before heading for the door.
"I'll call you later on when I get to her place, okay? Love you!" she calls as she rushes out the door in a pink and green flurry. Sasuke scratches his head thoughtfully and takes another sip of coffee as he looks out of their back porch window to the streets below. Before he reaches the count of ten, he sees her walking brusquely down the sidewalk, hands fighting to get her hair up while trying to keep hold of her bag. With a shake of his head, he watches her all the way until the buildings block his view.
**Skittle Junkies**
"I swear if one more guy grabs my ass, I'm so quitting!" Ino growls as she tosses a tray full of dishes into the vat of bubbles. Sakura giggles as she pulls out a plate and begins to scrub. The evening rush had dwindled, allowing the girls' time to catch up on their cleaning duties. Normally, they had a part timer do the dishes, but if they wanted to get out early then everyone needed to work extra hard now.
"Don't say that Ino. If you leave then I would have no one to help me fight off the loiterers. One girl waving a broom isn't as threatening as two," Sakura teases lightheartedly as she places the clean plate on the growing stack at her side. Ino laughs at that and goes back out to get the dishes from the rest of the tables.
It wasn't much later that both girls set down their damp wash rags and ordering notepads and gather their things to leave. Punching out, they giggle excitedly while chatting about what they were going to wear to the club. Sakura had been nervous at first to talk about it, but Inos' enthusiasm had won out and she found herself growing more eager by the minute.
"I heard they hold all kinds of concerts and high society parties. Maybe we'll even see a celebrity!" Ino chatters as they walk out to her car.
"Yeah? Or maybe one of those male model types," Sakura muses aloud as she climbs into the red four door. Both girls giggle at their own mental images of some underwear model, or one of those guys who have billboards for their line of cologne.
Ino drove them a few miles away, to the heart of downtown Konoha. Her penthouse apartment was on the fifth floor of the Kage complex, a skyscraper that had three smaller buildings interconnected by sky-walk bridges surrounding it.
Sakura couldn't help the feeling of awe whenever she saw this structure, though her friend never paid it a second glance. She remembered when they first started hanging out. She felt so out of her element, having nothing but a shabby old apartment to call her own. When she told Ino this, the blond had simply laughed and told her to think of it like a second home then. Her parents were well off and so paid for the apartment. That meant that all of Ino's earnings went for whatever caught her eye, with the exception of a few minor bills. Dismissing the age old feeling of jealousy, Sakura follows her friend inside, grateful to be inside away from the towering view.
Once inside the girls dump their shoes and jackets and migrate to the master bedroom. Ino immediately throws two different outfits to the pinkette and tells her to try them on. It wasn't about fit really, both girls were close in size, but Ino had an eye for fashion. She knew that the same clothes didn't look the same on two different people. So with a smile and many urgings to hurry, she encourages her friend to change while she grabs her already chosen garments from their hangings on the door.
If they were to go out, then they had to look like they were out to kill.