The clad orange uniform rivaled his green track suit he used to where in middle school. After a night in the county jail and a cruel hearing by an aloof judge, Lee was thrown onto a bus with many odd characters. Very orange looking characters. Lee's regards for the color were very high, but seeing how it was stationed next to him, around him, and on him…his eyes were growing tired of it. He shifted nervously under pinpoint gazes from gruff looking men. The unwanted attention was growing steadily as he took his seat next to an ebony haired boy. The boy was rather young, like himself, but…something about the male alarmed Lee. His suit was dull and dingy with wrinkles from daylong wear. Lee peered down at his own uniform. Loud and loose. Without moving his head, Lee's eyes stole glances from other prisoners. Their outfits were seemingly like the young man's next to him. Old and tired. This couldn't be their first trip to the pin. Most likely, they are returning. Lee forced himself to drop the subject. It wasn't healthy to worry about something unnecessary. He'd be worrying soon enough.
The bus jerked back and forth before becoming mobile. The whistling of air escaping the passenger window wiped through Lee's and his partner's hair. Lee could just see Tenten shouting at the man next to him for having the window down so low. He weakly smiled at the thought. The other prisoners either glared at each other or at the images shooting past them as the bus sped on toward the maximum security prison. Furrowing his brow, Lee motioned to the edge of his seat to get a better look outside the dirty window. His vision was distorted and blurred due to the smeared bird poop and bug blood, but he could make out dry landscape and scarce plants. Lee winced at the sight of sand mercilessly being wiped by the high gust and the gravel rocks being thrown under the wheels of the yellow bus. Lee frowned. Where were they going? Was this prison really located in the middle of a desert? Lee hesitated in asking the male next to him but nonetheless proceeded to do so.
"Um…where is the prison?"
The boy slowly faced him with a sour look gracing his features as if to say, "Who wants to know?" Lee blinked. The boy's hair was graciously flowing over his dull shoulders. Loose strands tickled his soft eyes and puffy pink lips. If Lee didn't know any better, he'd have thought the young man was a woman.
"…You've never been have you." The boy slowly ran his gloomy eyes over Lee's loud outfit and sighed. The puff of attitude fluffed up the lingering strands raining over his lips. The boy let his gloomy eyes stick to Lee's face, still devoid of any emotion. His brow furrowed just enough to put a crease in his delicate features. A flicker of shyness marred his detached body language, as if he'd just been flashed by a troublesome schoolgirl. The moment passed quickly, leaving as soon as it had come. Pursing his lips for a minute, he licked them with a dry tongue and opted to say something before shutting his mouth again. Lee was entranced by the boy's odd behavior, but he dismissed the weirdness. He's an ex-inmate, of course he wasn't normal. Maybe he was on drugs.
"People like you don't last long without…" The boy bit down into his bottom lip, drawing blood. He covered his mouth with a shaky hand, with ruby red liquid oozing from under it with frightening speed. He acted as if he was at war with himself, nibbling at his pale fingers with a bloodied lip. He dismissed Lee completely and continued to taste his own flesh. Lee swallowed hard, completely unsure of what to do or say. Uncomfortable with the sudden crazed state of his partner, he slid even further onto the edge of their seat. If he was going to be sharing a seat with a psycho, he wanted to at least be out of arms reach.
Lee jumped at the sudden pressure messaging his scalp. Jumping up from the contact, Lee yelped at the metal ceiling connecting with his forehead. He mentally kicked himself for throwing his head back at the touch of fingers. Prisoners grunted and smirked at Lee's performance. Lee glanced around nervously, realizing that he had jumped up and screamed like a girl. Momentarily embarrassed, he took his seat. Hot breath tickled Lee's collar
"Hey there…" came a sly voice. Lee shuddered briefly before snapping his head around to look at his molester. Pale eyes stared into his onyx ones. Lee blinked, completely taken by the offender's beauty. It was strange…he always thought of prisoners to be… ugly. Like in the movies he'd watch with Tenten, she loves a good prison flick. Looking at the male to his right and the male in front of him, Lee concluded that movies were all show and no fact.
"H-hi." Lee stuttered. He shifted uncomfortably under the males intensive staring. It was almost as if he were looking right through him. Lee nervously twitched, as if he'd been shocked by the front door back home.
Why is he staring at me like that…
The male scanned Lee's eyes, reading them like a book. He smirked and brought his hand up only to have it rest on the bright uniform.
"New?" Lee nodded uncomfortably. What was up with the whole touchy feely thing? Lee shyly shrugged the man's hand off of his shoulder and offered a small smile.
"I am Lee." The male's grin only grew wider. Lee didn't know what set the man off, but his smile was starting to bug him.
"I'm Neji, glad to get acquainted with you Lee." He brought his hand from behind the bus seat again, but Lee was fast to twirl around. That wasn't very bright on his part. Long slender fingers raced through lush black locks as if curiously seeking the answer to its shininess. Lee tried his best not to shudder from the pleasurable sensation but was failing miserably. Twitch. Twitch, twitch. Small moans were becoming increasingly more difficult to keep down. Lee would literally slap a hand over his mouth to keep a throaty moan from escaping. He was too afraid to tell Neji to stop. Despite Neji's looks, he was taller than himself and his muscles were visible through his white tee. They weren't painfully obvious like some other inmates aboard the bus, but they were still there. His posture alone told bystanders to cast their views elsewhere. And by the look of his clothes, he was probably a returnee like the male beside him.
...
….
"Gai…" Tenten slurred. Gai hesitantly tilted his head to peer into his foster child's face. Her eyes were red and puffy. The first time he had ever seen her shed a tear, was the week Lee was arrested. She was so rough around the edges, but seeing her this way made his heart drop. She was rough with language, attitude, and she took it upon herself to fix problems physically. Seeing her torn up like a dogs chew toy almost brought him to tears. An emotional Tenten was non-existent until now.
"Did you get any sleep?" Gai studied her puffy eyes and messy bed hair. Was she getting any sleep at all? Her eyes watered.
With a tired tongue she slurred, "When will we be able to visit him?"
Apparently, the lack of sleep and runny nose were preventing her from talking correctly. Her words were all blended together like a smoothie. Gai furrowed his brow in annoyance. Tenten has been ignoring his worries ever since Lee was sent away after the judges hearing. Her back talk has doubled too. Gai ran a tired hand over his face, letting it drag his skin down in the process.
"You know the answer to that…"
Tenten's jaw tensed as she barred her teeth trying to keep an agitated cry from escaping the bowels of her throat. She breathed loudly and blinked a few times to regain what little composure she possessed. After a minute or two of staring holes into the tile floor she returned her gaze to a tired Gai.
"W-we have to wait…until he reaches the p-prison."She rolled her head on her shoulders until her attention was back on the gritty floor. When Gai didn't respond, she patted her leg nervously as she kicked out her other foot. The habit had started shortly after Lee was thrown into the cop's car. She had kicked the sofa until her foot grew vibrant and warm. Surprisingly, Gai hadn't tried to stop her from dong it.
"How many hours of sleep did you get?" Gai didn't look into Tenten's dull eyes…he couldn't. His head hung low from his shoulders. A hand lazily dragged itself through the loose ebony locks until Tenten spoke again.
"…..enough."She lied. Gai's hand stilled at her words. His hand began to pulsate, scaring Tenten a bit.
Gai sighed, "Your eyes say otherwise."
Tenten was like a ticking time bomb. Never knowing when she would explode into a million angered pieces was like waiting for the end of the world to come.
Stomping her foot, she glared at him with piercing amber.
"I can't sleep. You know why? Huh?!" her voice crescendoed into an ear shattering scream. Gai didn't have to look her in the face to know that she was losing it. Her cheeks were plush with anger and her brow was collecting sweat. The day she came home sporting a busted lip, she was red faced and spitting out cuss words like a miniature rapper. That was back in middle school when she was being bullied. But now, here she was, an eighteen year old woman, chewing out her old man all due to emotional stress.
."Every time I close my eyes …I see him", she sniffed, "On a dirty concrete floor...dying." Her words came slow, as if she were recalling a faint dream she couldn't quite remember. She scrunched her eyes setting free a fresh batch of tears. She chewed her lip to calm herself.
"…"Gai concentrated on stopping the image from forming.
"But you can sleep..."She whispered through tight lips. Tenten raised a shaking finger to her bloodied lip. "You can because you don't care!"
"…"
"You can't handle it can you…."
"…"
"And the only way to escape this reality…is to sleep it away."
Plip plip
His shoulders shook so awful. Tenten blinked when droplets began spotting the floor. One...two…five… they were blending together in a salty puddle near his foot. Tenten watched as her feet automatically took turns hitting the cool tile. Gai's hair was greasy, absent of its usual sheen. His shirt was crusted with dry curry and he reeked of sweat. Tenten slowly got to her knees, placing herself between Gai's spaced legs. She towered him by two inches only because he had his head down low to his chest.
"I'm sorry…so sorry."He sobbed. She sucked in her bottom lip and nodded, unable to stop. She wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a suffocating hug. The feeling of his body trembling under her touch made her squeeze him even tighter. The scent of heavy spices stung her eyes, but she didn't care. She combed her shaky fingers through greasy hair and made a mental note to wash it later.
"We are struggling…but we don't have to do it alone." Gai hugged his child back with vice, as if she were his last life line. Tenten was never alone in frustration…she was just venting for the both of them.
…
…
"Hey ass wipe, get in line!" The police man nudged Lee in the hip with his night stick. A smug smile shadowed his professional features as he watched Lee hop back into place. Lee wasn't sure why they were even forming a line but he complied. At least that four hour ride was over and his seat sharing partner had disappeared in the crowd of inmates. The only negative about the drive was Neji's fingers. Not once did they take a rest from his lush ebony locks. He shuddered at the thought. He had actually moaned…once. He wasn't able to contain himself, but he made sure to swallow down all of his other urges. He didn't want to be driven into a corner by Neji. Especially in the showers… He shot down the thought immediately. No way would he think about that, he was stressed as it was.
The prison already housed inmates, but before he and the others could be placed in a cell, they had to do paper work…or at least the warden and the other officers did. The returnee's and Lee had to wait in a huge cell that usually housed the 'overnight' stays for other criminals until the paper work was done. The overnight stay was for people who drove without their seatbelts on, license and etc.
Lee looked about his surrounding with worry. He didn't let his eye's linger too long. He would take a quick peek and then shift his attention to someone else. Everyone was knuckling up with buddies they haven't seen since they last stay. There were ever a few nut cases, griping each other's shoulders and running their forehead's together at full speed, as if trying to knock the other one unconscious. After the recoil effect of the blow, they smiled and said their hellos.
"You lookin' at me punk?" Everyone stilled. From across the cell, a man twice his size was boring holes in him. Fire hot holes. Cruel laughter erupted from all around him. Spit and crude language was thrown into his face. Lee pressed himself further into the cramped corner he was uncomfortably leaning on. He just wanted to disappear and fade into the wall. The man inched closer, revealing his scarred cheek and hairy arms. He was bald and his muscles rippled through his dingy tee. Lee swallowed. Never had he been so scared in his life. This man was going to rip him limb from limb and all these bystanders were going to relish in his dismemberment.
"I'm talking to you!" The smell of molded cheese wafted from the hot breath of the man. Lee scrunched his nose up and said, "I a-am sorry! I did not mean to offend…" An iron fist crushed his chest and bashed him into the corner. Drool seeped from his open mouth in an attempt to let out a hoarse scream, but he was frozen in pain. The inmates roared with vice. They shouted for more, as if they were witnessing a live wrestling match with the victor about to finish his opponent off with a killer move. Pain erupted from his gut as the man delivered another powerful blow. Blood speckled the man's chest as Lee sputtered and squirmed in agony. Everything was nauseating to look at. The grey walls mixed with the man's complexion as the hectic enjoinment swirled around his bald head. Everything was growing grey and blurry in Lee's vision.
Loud banging bellowed over all the havoc. The cop from earlier ran his nightstick along the rusty bars of the jail cell. The prisoners only got louder as lee continued to take punishment from the gruff man smashing him into the corner.
"Break it up!" The cop hastily plucked a key from his belt and proceeded with unlocking the steel door. A squad of blue uniformed men hopped onto Lee's offender and took him down. One cop sat on his back, lacing the prisoner's rough wrists with silver cuffs. Two secured his legs, another on stabbed him with a needle. The man huffed and puffed, "I'mma kill him! I'mma kill…'em…I…gonna…" Lee frantically scrambled behind the police as the man's yap drew close. His eyes had rolled within the confines of his skull as drool slowly began building under his tongue. Did they inject him with a tranquilizer? A rough shove sent him flying back into another prisoner, who pushed him off his chest. Lee sniffed, realizing that he had been crying.
A cop sporting ruffled brown hair nudged Lee in the ribs with his nightstick. The man hollered at a frightened Lee, "You provoke him or somethin'?"
Unable to speak, Lee shook his head frantically at the officer. The man flicked his wrist at the other officers, signaling them to drag the inmate away to god knows where. The man didn't seem surprised at Lee's reaction. He gave an upward nod and jabbed his finger into Lee's soar chest.
"Watch your back…." The man slowly retracted his hand from the pained Lee and trudged his way out of the cell, locking it with a violent crank of his key. When the cops were out of sight, the inmates sounded out again. More hellos and head bashing greetings formulated. Lee sulked in his corner, not bothering to wipe the blood running down his chin. Only a moment ago he was someone's punching bag…it's only been one day. One lousy stinkin' day. He knew he only needed to endure ninety days of this living hell, but at this rate was he even going to survive? He began to wonder when someone would visit…or even write a letter. Lee reached to the back of his head for memories long forgotten. In prison you always see the main character getting to make a phone call. Lee blinked. Every prisoner was allowed one phone call…but only one. Lee held onto the thought like his life depended on it. He would use it wisely…he didn't want to waste a call just to cry over the phone like a girl, blabbering about how bad his day went.
Finally, after half an hour of chaos the cells were ready. Lee walked single file behind a rough looking man. He towered over Lee, making it hard to peak around him because of the cops. They'd shout and holler at him when his head was poking out. Lee gave up and instead nervously peeked into passing cells. He immediately took back everything he had once said about pretty people… Prisoners were either harassing their jail mate or sleeping. Lee grimaced when he noticed toilets in the cells. They were hidden well in the dull space. Some prisoners were even exercising. Lee marveled at how crowded the run down prison really was. He concluded that everyone was going to bunking with a cellmate.
Every now and then the line would stop to allow an inmate to causally exit the line. The line was dwindling fast. One inmate there, another here. He began to feel nauseous. The taste of copper and spit rushed down his dry throat as he swallowed. He was next.
The same cop with the shaggy brown locks nudged him in the ribs in an attempt to get Lee to move over to a cell.
"Get in there fuzzy brows." Lee hesitantly walked into the cell. The over whelming smell of urine washed over Lee. He gagged but quickly swallowed down the sickness twirling around in his stomach. A grey wall marred with old scars from knifes chiseling into them painted Lee's expression with worry. Lee read the carvings. Love…the character for love was sketched everywhere. Every corner, every space, everything…was scarred with the damn word.
BANG
Lee twisted his head on his shoulders in a panicked motion. The rusty door slammed shut in one quick swing of the officer's hand. The jingling of silver keys cranking the miniature wires and trinkets in the lock, activating its stubborn seal made everything seem so final…so real. The cop looked at him from the opposite side of the bars. Lee was expecting the man to smirk and be on his way, but he stayed a moment longer than he should have and gave an upward nod to Lee. Lee could have sworn he heard the man whisper "Good luck" but he dismissed it altogether when a bundle of blue uniform men shoved an inmate in the direction of his cell. The redheaded boy they were hauling around was rather young…a teenager like himself.
The boy shrugged them off effortlessly as he sluggishly made his way over to the cell. The officers quickly proceeded after him, watching him like a hawk. There were three of them. A man sporting scars on every visible part of his body followed close behind a man dressed from head to toe in a business suit. A woman stood at his right with a clipboard in hand. She rolled her eyes and argued about how pointless it was to follow the young boy. The man with scars rushed behind the redhead and gripped at his grey tee, pressing him up against the bars. Lee screamed and tripped, falling in a cowardly fashion. He scrambled to the small bunk next to him. He didn't want to get involved in anything.
"Gaara, don't walk away when your father is speaking to you." The man with the business suit said. The boy who was pinned to the cell glared into the other man's face, uncaring of what was being said to him. After a moment of taunting silence, the man waved his hand.
"Let him go, Baki." The scarred man loosened his grip but did not release Gaara.
"If you want to get out of here I suggest you stop fucking up." Baki roughly snagged his hand back to his side and slowly made his way behind the young women and Gaara's father. Lee didn't know how or when the cell was opened, but the red head trudged inside while taking note of his new jail mate. He looked at the bunk Lee was cowering under.
"That's mine." He said. His jade eye's followed Lee's hesitant movements. Lee quickly made his way to the opposite bunk, unconsciously awaiting further instructions. The boy shoved his hands into his dingy uniform and snorted. "If you need to jack off, face the wall." He nodded at the steel bars and continued, "If you need to break wind, face your ass to the cell." He gave a wary look at the black toilet and grimaced, "One square every release. You do all that, and we won't have any problems." Lee nervously nodded, afraid to voice a small "yes".
Gaara made his way over to his bunk and lazily propped himself on it. His back was hunched over one knee as the other one was thrown over the edge of the mattress. His elbow rested on his propped knee. Jade captured Onyx. Lee was captivated…the man before him was toned like himself. There was no sign of punishment on his body. No scars…no dirt…no blood. His arms were absent of hair…Lee doubted that the rest of him was like that. His muscles were lean like Neji's.
Lee concluded his staring and determined that his jail mate was handsome…very much so. The boy didn't notice, or at least pretended not to. He was busy running his eyes over Lee's figure. Lee squirmed uncomfortably under the obsessive attention he was receiving. Gaara peered up into Lee's face with an amused look gracing his intimidating features. He smirked and laid on his side, ready to rest.
"…night."
Lee did the same. That was the longest night of his life.
