A.Pace.Too.Fast.
-;three conversations
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Standard Disclaimer Applied
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"The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A death. What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You drink, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating...then you finish off as an orgasm."(1)
Unsurprising to Tenten, Sakura had easily picked up the latest Gossipy magazine, and instantly turned to something worth reading aloud. She could have sworn it was an innate ability planted into the pink-haired girl's body.
"That was … interesting, and thought-provoking," Tenten concluded. Sakura smiled absentmindedly, scanning for more treats to share.
The two had just returned from the mall, after getting picked up from Sakura's dad – Kohaku. It was ten fifteen by the time he got the girls, and now it reached around eleven. They were hanging out in Sakura's bedroom, Tenten on the computer – on MySpace, as of course, while the other girl was sprawled out on the bed.
"What did you think of tonight?" Tenten asked, after a minute or two of content silence.
"It was great," Sakura answered simply. While Tenten was one who liked to talk and think things out, Sakura was an independent-thinker who could just absorb everything and move past it. Often, it made Tenten feel a little out of place, but she noted that it always worked out fine in the end.
"Yeah, it was. I didn't recognize Sasuke, but he seemed nice enough," Tenten said.
"I think I have Chem Honors with him; he's the silent type, eh? Kind of a dick, but he is pretty funny," Sakura remarked.
Tenten smiled faintly. Sakura was right, but it wasn't quite that simple. He held a straight poker face, except the usual smirk or one-second smile. Whenever he said something, it was dully sarcastic and, no doubt, entertaining. She recalled when him and Naruto were discussing a friend or something of theirs, named Lee Rock. Apparently, his AIM screenname was LeeRock (2). Sasuke had muttered under his breath, "Oh, that's definitely pedophile-proof." While the girls sputtered with laughs, Naruto seem accustomed to such thing and had just carried on the conversation with his best friend.
"Yeah, I know. Naruto sure is a character, though."
"That's fo sho. He's crazy, I don't know he manages it."
"Fo sho? Haha, yeah. I can't picture him just sitting, or not talking – or even sleeping," Tenten said.
"Good point. He's always on the move,"
"So. What's his girlfriend history like?"
"..Tons," Sakura replied simply.
"Whatcha mean?" Tenten asked, swiveling the chair around to face her, showing that she was paying attention. Sakura talked more if she knew a person cared, all though it did not stop her from rambling aimlessly sometimes.
"Well, there's been a lot of girls, he said. None that really meant anything, apparently. Longest one was two years though,"
"Wow. And it didn't mean anything?" Tenten could hardly believe that.
"Not sure. But it ended badly, and apparently she's a real terror now."
"Terror?" Tenten laughed a little.
"Yeah, like a cokeslut."
Tenten stopped laughing, and sighed a little. A cokeslut was what it was, and only had four requirements; you had to be a girl, a scene girl, did cocaine, and had lost your virginity. It seemed like there was scene kids everywhere one looked (skinny jeans, colorful hoodies, tube-tops, flip flops, random Hollister thrown in, dyed black hair, lip piercings, etc), but that was only to a few. Some kids didn't even know what scene was.
"That sucks. Mm, howabout Sasuke?" Tenten asked, swinging back around to face the computer.
It's not that Sakura knew everything, but she and Naruto had talked a lot for the past month, and with her simple questions and him being so open, Sakura had learned a lot.
"None," Sakura answered briskly.
"Seriously?"
"Yep."
"Feel free to say more?" Tenten intoned.
"There isn't anything left to say. That's all I know; forgive me?"
"Forgiven," Tenten said amid a laugh. "It's just odd."
"I don't think so. I can't picture him caring for commitment. I'm sure he's got experience, though."
"No doubt," Tenten mumbled.
Clicking her way through, she found Sasuke's MySpace. His default was simple; looking into a mirror, the shot taken with a cell phone, somewhat fuzzy but not really. He had on a red Fallen shirt, and jeans. Without another glance, she friend requested him.
"Howabout some music?" Sakura suggested.
"Yeah, what do you want?"
"ProjectPlaylist. I should be signed in already, and it's on random."
"Sounds good," Tenten agreed, navigating through the internet to find the site.
She had been signed in already, or at least "remembered". Tenten pressed play, and minimized it. After a few second delay, it started; Remembering Sunday, by All Time Low. While Sakura's musical interest were usually punk-indie, Tenten's was more post-hardcore. However, Sakura had a knack for finding very good songs. After a few listens, this particular song had caught on immensely – Tenten had fallen in love with it. Heedlessly, she raised the volume up.
"Because you're young, you're torn between a world of hate, and a world of dreams; so much to lose, so much to gain, so much to fight for, so much to change, (3)" Sakura read to her.
"Hm. World of hate? Pfftk. Gas prices aren't that high yet," Tenten mumbled. She had a weird way of connecting random things.
"Totally irrelevant? But, yes they are. Three dollars and seventy-eight cents? Just six years ago it was less then half of that."
"Indeed. What ever happened?" Tenten wondered, jokingly.
"Nine-Eleven."
There was a moment of unattended silence. Sakura was from California, moved to NY three years ago. She had known the tragedy, but she hadn't been burned by it like Tenten had, who had lived and still lived only an hour from the once-been Towers. She lost no one, but knowing more then one person who did was enough to make it overly real.
"Maybe the world is full of hate," Tenten said. Nine-Eleven isn't what made the gas prices go up, though. But it sure seemed that everything went downhill after that – then again, maybe that was when she had actually just started looking at what was going on with the world.
"When I saw World Trade Center, I kept waiting for the aliens." It was Sakura who said it and all though a funny statement, both girls were serious. "I mean, Nicolas Cage is stuck under all this debris and rock and everything, right? And there's this scene where stuff starts falling down on him and the other guy. Like, I was just waiting for the creature to come out; something from a Sci-Fi movie. But it didn't."
"I didn't see the movie," Tenten managed to say.
"Hard to believe it was seven years ago."
"Still feels like yesterday," Tenten shrugged. And, "It was Katrina, though."
"The hurricane?"
"Yeah. Stuff in Louisiana got messed up, that's when prices went up to like, two-eighty."
"That doesn't explain why it's almost four dollars now," Sakura pointed out.
"No, it doesn't."
"Want your horoscope?" Sakura asked, changing topic.
Up until now, Tenten had been staring at the computer. But now, she refreshed the page, and said 'sure' to Sakura. The girl was addicted to the predictions, even though most of them didn't apply to any of their current circumstances.
"You are quite capable of managing your schedule so that you can do what you must, but now it may be tough to keep things simple. It's not that you're looking to make anything more complicated. It's just that you feel as if you want something more from life. In the midst of your busy day, take some time to relax your overworked nerves," was the horoscope. And, "Are you nervous?" was Sakura's commentary.
"Nope," she answered honestly.
Anxious, however, she was. Friend Request Approved.She checked her new friends, and clicked on Sasuke's page.
"Mine was gay. Gay as a hoe – I don't even have a 'best friend of the opposite sex'," Sakura announced, disappointed but unsurprised. She lived for the 'scopes that could actually come true, and she listened to them. The ones that made no sense, she disregarded like Fortune Cookies, and forgot them quickly. Today had been a bust.
"Sorry," Tenten said, just to say.
"No you're not," Sakura replied, scanning through a story on Angelina Jolie.
"Hah," was all she said back.
His Myspace page; The background, or layout, was a repeated image that blended together – a flashy image though, gray with swirling color. It was far too trippy for Tenten's preference. The Interests Section had a black comment box with cyan-colored font, and lyrics that she did not recognize but were italicized. His About Me had a comment/message button, his AIM screename, SaskOnFire (4), and his number for texting. There was no actual 'about me', and his friends and comments were hidden. She clicked Comment. And for the next hour, the conversation flowed simply enough.
via MySpace comments.
Tenten: quite a seizure-inducing layout, you've got theree.
Sasuke: It's nice, isnt it?
Tenten: lol, not the word I would've chosen?(:
Sasuke: well then, not my fault you don't see its beauty.
Tenten: you could put it that way.
Sasuke: lol. What're you up to?
Tenten: at Sakura's, juss' hanging out & stuff; probably going to get some fo0d soon. howabout youu?
Sasuke: chillin', on AIM. got a screenname?
Tenten: mhhm. Au Revoir Ten (5). but I'm not on right now, Sakura's got 6.0 AIM and it hates me more then i hate it.
Sasuke: Undownload it.
Tenten: cos I know how to do that?D:
Sasuke: its simple, google it?
Tenten: (: lazy, lol.
Sasuke: I know how it is, lol.
Tenten: haha, yeahh. Aha I've gotta goo0; Sakura wants on.
Sasuke: Okay. Ttyl.
end MySpace comments.
Sakura did go on, and on AIM as well. As far as she could tell, Naruto had IM-ed her. They had a good conversation going. Tenten, meanwhile, reflected on the last conversation she had.
Sasuke seemed more open online. Well, not open. But easier to talk to, and not as blunt. She knew that "lol"-ing meant nothing; it was a habit to type these days, not an actual expression. But it still made her feel accomplished. Plus, there was the "ttyl". That could have been a habit too, but it could have at least meant he didn't absolutely hate talking to her? She was over-analyzing it. Just like she usually did. She stopped thinking about it.
White Lines & Red Lights by Between the Trees was on, as she closed her eyes;
Late night, driving home together
and at red lights we press our lips together
and we're holding tight now
slow it down now
Let's take our time
let the moment last
until it feels right
holding back
and not getting to carried away
Let the music fade. (6)
And she did let the music fade, as she let her self drift into sleep. When she'd wake, she'd find herself shivering with no blanket and the fan on full blast, a pounding headache, and a comfy-looking Sakura to her right. But for now she was lost in the dreams she could only rarely remember.
-?-
"Pick me up."
"Its eight o'clock," the voice on the other side of the phone emphasized, grouchily.
"I know," Sasuke replied briskly.
"Go back to bed," it growled.
"Itachi. It'll only take thirty minutes of your beauty sleep."
"Right. Thirty minutes of peace I'll never get back. You better be fuckin' ready and standing outside when I get there," his older brother, Itachi, threatened.
Sasuke just hung up, rolling his eyes. There were only a few things Itachi truly cared about, and those were the only things he'd stay adamant on. Sleep, not being one of the things he treasured, was one that Sasuke could bend for his will.
The kid had a built in alarm clock. Unless he was up till four AM, he'd be up at seven in the morning. Since Shikamaru practically lived in the night, and slept during the day, there was no chance of him being around for quite awhile. And Naruto was leaving at ten for something he couldn't really remember, so he had decided to call his brother now. He had his permit, but he'd have to wait eight more months for the license. He was almost counting down the days till then.
It only took Itachi ten minutes, and Sasuke had been outside and ready when he got there. He didn't feel like pissing him off, so he did as was told. Itachi drove a little, red car – Dodge Stratus 2001. Sasuke hopped in the front, without saying a word to his brother. Neither initiated talking, yet.
Itachi was eighteen, six-foot-one, and a mature version of his kid brother. Porcelain skin, almost black hair, onyx eyes that caught light but didn't glow; he did, though, have muscle Sasuke hadn't quite tuned himself to. The Older Uchiha wore Abercrombie & Fitch boxers, with a black AFI tee. His hair was ruffled, from a hand or just sleep Sasuke did not know.
The ride was silent, up until the car arrived to the driveway. Itachi took out the car keys, and Sasuke almost opened his door. But Itachi stopped him.
"Wait,"
"Hn?" Sasuke grunted in response, fingers wrapped around the handle, but facing his brother.
"Friends are coming here tonight, you staying or going out?"
Sasuke thought for a moment. "Staying," he replied, as if he hadn't just spent time thinking on his decision.
"You know it's all your choice," Itachi said, almost brother-like. Sasuke nodded, and got out of the car.
No it's not.
notes:
1- I don't own this quote, but I don't know who does either.
2- Don't IM that screenname! I just made it up off of the top of my head :)
3- see number 1
4- see number 2
5- see number 2
6- those lyrics belong to Between the Trees!
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
Feedback is appreciated.