Chapter 2: Daydream
"He's dangerous you know, you better stay away from him."
"I just think he's lonely, he's usually nice to me."
"That's just an act." I was six again, wearing a floral print dress with pink flip flops; my long hair tied back into a ponytail with a silk pink ribbon fashioned into a perfect bow. I turned around along with Sakura to see THE Sasuke Uchiha leaning against the beautiful large oak tree in my grandmothers front yard. "He's not someone you want to get involved with." He added shortly after, pushing himself off the tree; his arms still crossed as he walked over to us.
"Teme you're so mean to me!" Naruto whined loudly, pouting as he crossed his arms and looked to the ground sadly. I stifled a giggle, casting a wary glance over to Sasuke. Grandma always tells me to stay away from Sasuke and Naruto, even Sakura but they're so nice to me.
"I'm not talking about you dope." Sasuke snapped iritably causing Naruto to instantly brighten and trot over to us three happily, Sasuke's gaze wavered over to the yard across from my house "I'm talking about him, Sabaku no Gaara." He sat alone underneath an oak tree much like my grandma's; but this tree was knarled and twisted at scary angles. It shaded his house so it looked so dark, and even abandon but we all knew better, we all knew it was occupied by the Sabaku family.
He held a tattered brown teddy bear to his chest, as his eyes lifted up to meet my own. My breathing hitched as those green eyes bore into my own, blood dribbling from the side of his mouth... like that one day.
"Henko, hey Henko you okay?" Inazuma snapped his fingers in front of my face, causing me to snap out of my daze. I was staring across the yard at that same gnarled and scary oak tree. It still shaded that house, that still looked abandon. To my dismay though three cars that I vaguely remember occupied the driveway. I looked over to Inazuma, my brow furrowed.
"Yeah I'm fine." I breathed, did I just have a day dream? I thought, it was a scary thought I've never spaced out like that before. Shaking my head of the troubling thoughts I turned around to face Inazuma. "Want to go pick out our rooms?" I asked, shooting him a happy smile, which caused him to smile back just as happily.
"I'll race you!" He chirped, turning on his heel to run into the house. I cast one last glance back at the house behind me, letting my eyes travel over the red chipped bricks, and the vines winding up the walls.. that tree and it's creepy stature. And I swore as my eyes traveled up to the spot where I knew his bedroom lay, I saw those green eyes staring back at me from the dimly lit window. I ran after Inazuma, maybe to evade the feeling that someone was watching me, or maybe just to get my mind off of everything for a while but I weaved in between the movers carrying things into the house -ignoring their harsh glares, and shouts of protest- and up the large winding stairs inside right behind a laughing Inazuma.
Once we reached the top floor we walked down the long hallway, I trailed my fingers against the smooth wall that was painted an ivory color. My grandma and papa had painted this house from scratch when they first moved in after they got married all those years ago. My grandma never told me how my papa died, we all just assumed it was from a heart condition of some sort, maybe a tumor. Nobody really asked anyway, it hurt grandma too much to talk about things like that. It's the same with me, no one talks about grandma around me because I was there when she died; I watched it happen.
I pushed a door open, it squeaked on it's hinges as it swung open slowly revealing a dark and rather dusty room with a small single bed shoved in the corner, the curtains where pulled over the windows letting no light inside, and there was a distinct smell of nail polish; then my mind went reeling.
"This room will look great once we're done, Henko. I promise that much." I smiled as I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, stuffing a paint brush in the pocket of my jean overalls. My hair was tied back in another silk ribbon, this one was blue though. My grandma wore a hankerchief over her fluffy grey hair, her glasses balancing on the end of her nose like they always did. She wore overalls too, that's why I had chosen to wear mine. I loved looking and acting like my grandma, she was my role model.
"Grandma Sakura say's pink is the prettiest color, can we paint my room pink?" I saw something flash in my grandma's hazel eyes at the mention of Sakura. She walked over to the window, yanking the black curtains open letting the bright sun shine in.
"Henko you can't let other people's favorite things determine your favorite things. What color do YOU want to paint the room?" She asked me, looking over her shoulder. The sun shone in on her, her eyes turning that distinct gold color. I smiled, feeling a giddy sort of joy overwhelm me.
"I want to paint it gold!" I squealed, she nodded her head as if she approved of the choice, flashing me a sweet smile.
"Gold it is then, we'll go to the shop right now and buy some!" That's what I loved about my grandma, she never waited to long nor did she ever procrastinate. It wasn't her way, it wasn't mine either. I followed after her but before we could make it out of the room I knocked over a bottle of nail polish my grandmother had just been using to paint her freakishly long nails -She must've set it done on the ground when I had come in asking to paint the room-, it was bright red as it spilled out across the hard wood floor. My face dropped as I looked to my grandma, preparing myself to get in trouble.
Instead she began laughing hysterically, picking up the bottle and setting it on the dresser by the door. "That's going to leave a stain." She laughed, She was always so easy going.. I loved her so much.
When I opened my eyes again the curtains had already been pulled open letting the afternoon light filter into my room, did I do that? I thought nervously. Yes, this was the room my grandma and I had prepared for me to stay in every summer and I never actually got to use it. This was MY room, the gold paint still glittering on the walls and the white designs of butterflies and flowers still stenciled on the walls in artistic positions. I was kneeling beside a huge red stain, and still the smell of nail polish lingered by that area.
Mixed with my grandma's perfume.
"Is this the room you want, Henko?" Inazuma was leaning in the door frame, looking around the room with wide eyes. I nodded my head, standing up as I looked out the window. Dust had obviously gathered in this room seeming the light shining in highlighted a lot of it as it floated in the air, causing the room to have a beautiful glare. I smiled to myself a bit, Inazuma jutted a thumb to the door behind him, "That's the one i'm taking." I nodded my head, waving him off as he walked away; probably to go grab his things.
I walked over to the old fashioned window, my grandma did always like Victorian styled houses. When we moved out of Mei she helped my parents pick a house and I loved her decision. This house though, this house held more memories than the old one. It was, after all my grandma and papa's. And now it belongs to my mom, and soon it will belong to me. I unlatched the lock on the window, and opened it leaning out into the fresh spring air. I closed my eyes taking in the sun on my face, and relishing in the beauty of everything.
"Henko-Chan is that you!?" My eyes snapped open instantly as the small trace of a smile that was on my face disappeared, being replaced by a frown. I looked beneath me into the streets where a familiar looking pink haired female stood, her green eyes bright like emeralds, a smile gracing her angular features. My mind flashed back to a small six year old pink haired girl, with emerald green eyes and a stubborn personality and the tenacity to do anything.
"S-Sakura-Chan?" I breathed, she waved at me from down in the street and I returned the wave half heatedly. Behind her came two other people, one I recognized as Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, although he looked a lot older from when I last remembered him. His blond hair was more upright, his eyes brighter and more full of life; and of course he was a lot taller. He walked up to Sakura, a girl with plain blue eyes and long platinum blond hair following after, scowling.
Sakura looked over to Naruto, still smiling as she pointed to where I stood in the window. Naruto's gaze averted to me instantly as he mimicked Sakura's before actions but added some excited jumping into it. I remember them, all too well. I remember how I was friends with them although my grandmother forbid me to see Naruto and Sasuke, and hardly cared for Sakura. They where always there for me despite my grandmother's status in the town. But then I remembered those last few weeks where I had befriended Gaara and they seemed to turn on me, seemed to care less and less if I was friends with them or not.
I snapped out of the memory quickly once Naruto called up, beckoning for me to come outside and talk. I sighed nodding my head rather reluctantly as I shut the windows and prepared myself emotionally to confront my past; a past that I so badly wanted to just lock up and throw away, a past that I thought might've been buried along with my grandmother.
But no, I was just wishing for the impossible once again.
