Woop chapter four! Dazy I think that I am making this too easy. You are the first to win, so I will honor you with a oneshot of your choosing. Message me with your parameters so that I can begin. lol And just to up the stakes and make it interesting, if you can guess what the title means I'll make it a two shot. ^'^ I'm glad to say that the first meeting of this stories main duo was a bit difficult to orchestrate. I'm glad that it worked in the end, because I got stuck between where I wanted to be and where I'm at. The in between scene was kicking my butt. But victory is mine! So on to the next big bit! Read on!
***Skittle Junkies***
Bursting through the double doors, the girls wander into the lounge. As soon as the doors settle back in place, the music became a dull roar and regular conversation became once again possible. Trails of people cluster in the booths and tables that scattered the room while dim bar lights gave the room a calming ambiance.
"Two shots of Patrone please," Ino requests as she saddles up to the bar. Sakura, after dropping her shoes between them, sits in the next stool. Eying her friend in alarm, she shakes her head and holds up a hand.
"I'm not drinking, remember? I'm trying to keep a low profile," she huffs as the shots are slid towards them. The blonde slides her card to the bartender, who disappears down the lane to process their charge without a word of acknowledgement. He was far too busy with the growing orders to stop on pleasantries.
"One drink won't kill you, or make you drunk," the blonde argues as she picks up her glass. With a single finger, she nudges the second towards her friend with a smirk on her face.
"Fine," Sakura growls as she swipes the glass away before Ino could push it into her lap. With a sigh of defeat, she holds up the shot of clear liquid.
"To us. Let this night be one of many," Ino toasts quickly before downing the glass.
"To us," Sakura echoes before knocking hers back in one go. The liquid burns a fiery path down to her gut where it begins to warm her like a furnace. They set their glasses down in unison then turn to go back out to dance only to stop when Sakura looks at her shoes in troubled dismay.
As suspected, she hadn't lasted two songs before she felt the onset of a blister. She wouldn't mind being barefoot, but she didn't want to leave the shoes to be stolen when they walked away. Sakura was no judge, but the shoes looked pricy.
"Hey bartend," Ino called in a sudden strike of brilliance. "Do you have a place to hold things, like purses and coats?" The man looks at them dumbly for a heartbeat then smiles.
"Course darlin'. I can keep it safe over here," he motions towards a closet space beside the counter. "Folks leave their stuff here 'til they leave all the time," he adds reassuringly. The mounds of clothing were paramount to its current use.
"That's the perfect place," Ino decides as she snatches the shoes and tosses them in before grabbing Sakura's hand and dragging her back towards the double doors.
"Are you sure though? I mean, those shoes looked spendy. Don't you think someone might take them?" her pink haired friend asked worriedly.
The blonde only laughed and pulled her through the doors. To her, everything material could be replaced. Memories like tonight, however, could not be. And she wanted tonight to be filled with good memories for her friend to look fondly on, because she knew what her friend had to come home to. Or at least she had an inkling.
Sakura wasn't one of those girls who liked to talk about her problems, but Ino could sense it in the way she closed off and went blank if they talked about certain things. Things that girlfriends often gossiped about, like men for instance. Pushing the negative train of thought away, Ino put on a smile as she lead the way to the dance floor.
As the bodies became more compact, Sakura let the music guide her as she moves instead of trying to fight her way through. Finding a small spot, both girls began to move together to the fast beat remix.
All around the crowd jumps and twists to the tune, making features indistinguishable. Grasping some of her hair in one fist, Sakura laughs and hops as well. It wasn't until she realized the hand on her waist wasn't Ino's that she starts to notice those around her. Ino had turned and was dancing with a random guy with dark hair and a tattoo on his face. The hand on her waist tightens and twirls her to face its owner.
The man before her is taller than her by a great deal and broad shouldered. His eyes change colors with the lights while his hair is so black that it repels any other color. A look of lust warps his already striking features, but the darkness in his eyes is all too familiar.
Too surprised to respond, Sakura simply stops dancing and tries to back up. The crowd is too intent on its rhythmic bounding to notice the one reluctant dancer as she is bumped back into the stranger. Again she tries to step back, this time feeling the slender hand of Ino. Grasping her arm for reassurance, the pinkette watches as the blonde shoo's off the man and pulls them further into the crowd. Only when she can no longer see his towering figure does she relax and give the arm she is still grasping a squeeze in thanks.
***Skittle Junkies***
It was well passed two when the girls managed to leave the club. They had been having too much fun, creepy men aside. Sakura felt a little uneasy about the man and hoped he had left sooner than them so she didn't have to worry about running into him. The vibes he gave off had hit a little too close to home, something she had wanted so direly to forget about for just tonight.
Skipping out to the sidewalk, they waved the bouncer's farewell before looking at the dispersing crowd. Pulling out her cell, Ino dialed the cab service to get them a ride while Sakura gazed at all the different people. They looked much different under streetlights than under the strobes. Many had smeared makeup and sweat dampened hair, but she thought she recognized a couple or so if she looked hard enough.
"They'll be here in five," Ino confirmed as she leaned against the wall in exhaustion.
"Thanks for taking me out tonight. I had a great time," the pinkette sighed as she joined her friend along the brick laden wall.
"Anytime. We should definitely come ba-, oh shit! My shoes, your shoes. The shoes! We forgot them inside!" Ino cried as she pushes off the wall and begins to stomp back to the entrance. "Wait for the cab, I'll be right back."
Sakura nods and stays against the wall, a blush of embarrassment burning her cheeks. She hadn't even noticed she wasn't wearing anything, probably lucky too that she hadn't stepped in any glass. Ino didn't sound mad at her though, so she figured she was probably in the clear. She knew those shoes were expensive, or her thrifty friend wouldn't have bothered to go back for them.
Just as she breathes out of puff of cool air, a warm hand jerks her to the side. She didn't have time to do anything more than yell in surprise as she was pulled into the alley around the corner and pushed into the rough brick wall. A hard body presses against her and a ragged voice sighs into her hair.
"I only wanted to dance you know," a scratchy voice chides as one of the man's hands knots into her pink hair. "But bitch's like you are always so stuck up." The girl gasps in fear, her face going pale. All she hears in her mind is Sasuke's voice, telling her that he told her so. Those men don't care who they hurt and they will do whatever it takes to get what they want. In this case, she knew by the hard body crushing her against the stone wall, that he wanted to do more than just dance with her.
"I'll scream," she warned in a high voice.
"I'm counting on it," he laughs cruelly as he tugs on her hair while grasping one of her breasts painfully. Flight response finally started to kick in as the girl began to push against him and opens her mouth to scream, only to have her head reconnect with the brick when he pushed back. Her scream turns into a gasping cry as tears automatically sprung forth.
"Hey," a deep voice growls from further down the alley. The ink haired man pauses at the sound before looking sidelong at the intruder.
"Piss off man. Can't you see we're busy?" he hisses as he licks a tear trail along her cheek. Sakura shutters at the touch, trying again to get away. With a laugh, he grabs her by the shoulder before she could get away and slams her into the brick with an audible thud.
"Doesn't look like she wants any of your business," the voice counters coldly.
"Doesn't matter. It's her business I'm after anyhow," her captor sneers as he reaches into his pocket. With a snap she sees light reflect in the corner of her eye, the pocket knife sliding delicately across her cheek. "So beat it before I decide to not go easy on you," he adds condescendingly.
"Is that so?" the voice replies softly. A creaking sound above them makes both captor and captive look up. Before the man had time to react, a shadowed figure with rusty red hair dives down onto him from the fire escape above.
After a brief tussle, the ink haired man ran off with blood streaming down his face while promising his revenge. The shadowed figure straightens his figure and glares after the hooligan while Sakura stands rooted to the spot. Was this man a savior? Or just another to replace the one that left?
Relaxing marginally against the stone, she unintentionally causes the glare to shift to her. The man remains half shadowed, his pale green eyes piercing into her emerald ones. Not able to stand the fear that threatens to engulf her, she darts back around the corner and straight into Ino who shrieks upon impact.
"Come on girl, what were you doing? The cab's here and I got my shoes back safe and sound," she laughs at the flushed look on the pinkette's face. Sakura looks back at the alleyway, but can't see anyone there. With the threat now gone and her safe once more, she didn't know what to do. Not wanting to worry her friend, she shrugs her shoulders and climbs into the car.
I think that this fits them a little better than just coincidental bump and grind, don't you? At least as far as for first encounters. ^'^ R&R if you like. I always love your insights.