"Darling, that dress looks wonderful on you!"
Currently, Iris sat at her kitchen table; chatting idly with Margo as if she didn't have a care in the world.
...Truthfully, yes, Iris did have many cares and concerns at that very moment, but when she was with her - a woman so pleased with information that she would spread even the smallest inkling of gossip - she had to keep her face void of any worrisome emotions; lest Margo would attack her with a barrage of unavoidable questions.
Right now, Iris had to be extremely careful.
"And how did work go for you, Sweetie? You look exhausted."
Truly, after yesterday's events, she could hardly manage to keep her true feelings hidden.
"It was fine," Iris answered politely; forcing her scowl to shrink back away from her face.
See, quickly after her little 'saddened almost to the point of tears' episode, Iris had returned with new supplies for the blonde man that sat in the secluded corner.
Still a little flustered, she then began stuttering as she spoke with him, and little by little, he seemed to be getting annoyed with her suddenly timid attitude. To say the least, he became more distant with her, after that. Gradually, his smile disappeared, and Iris was met with the judgmental look of a man that she had failed to please; a look that she knew all too well.
It was strange, however, that this man was just like the people of her past. Iris never would have guessed that he would act so distasteful, after she had already confirmed that he was a nice and inviting man. His eyes had been so...hopeful at first, and Iris had been led to believe that he was different.
Perhaps it was just the constant thoughts of Kakashi that had clouded her vision and judgment.
...Anyway, it might have also been a good thing that she didn't get so emotionally connected to the man's bright features, for after a few minutes of her fumbling around, and dropping things out of anxiety for her dear friend and neighbor, the man had stood and walked to the bar with a scoff.
Iris could only sigh, at that point. She had such hopes for him.
If she was being completely honest, Iris would have to say that she didn't really care about the blue eyed man. Kakashi, she cared about, but not him. If he was going to give up on her after a single night, then that was fine with her. He didn't know her, and she had no intention of ever knowing him. He was simply a man that had failed her expectations, just as she had failed his.
In that way, perhaps they were alike. Both had mutual disappointed feelings in the other.
But, in any case, Iris had then finished her shift without any more problems or complications. Her employer, a young man that was distantly related to the Uchihas of Konoha, had even let her leave an hour early, after he had confessed his growing concerns for her well-being. Apparently, he had been watching her serve the man, and the many unusual difficulties she had had were duly noted.
"Get some rest," he told her firmly. "This isn't like you."
The Uchiha wasn't a very outspoken person, and at times he was a little too frank, but he undoubtedly cared for her. She appreciated him, just as she appreciated some of the less pushy neighbors of hers. Not as much as Kakashi or her parents, but closer than that of people like Margo, who had barged into her life without invasion.
Someday, she would have to express her true feelings to that woman; as well as to Kakashi. He seemed to be getting the wrong idea.
...After she had returned home, Iris changed into her sleepwear, and crept into bed with a strong feeling of unexplainable guilt, and instantly she felt as if, perhaps...she had forgotten something. It wasn't long after that, when she had shot up from under the covers; resulting in a momentary loss of vision, and a shuddering bed frame.
Her plants.
With all the Kakashi hullabaloo, she had completely forgotten!
Without even bothering to slip on her usual garden-outfit, she bounded outside with heavy footfalls; soon realizing that she had also discarded the idea of shoes, as her toes sunk into the moist dirt. The moon was high overhead, and it illuminated her nightgown in an eerily beautiful fashion. Iris was both pleased and disturbed with the angelic and ghostly effect.
She greeted the many different flowers and assorted plants as quickly as she could without angering them further, and then leapt backwards into a small patch of plain grass that had been wedged into the design of her garden for this very reason. She had to sing to them, and they all had to hear it, or they'd get even angrier.
Instantly, Iris decided on a sweet melody she remembered from her childhood, and let her voice ring out into the night, with the calm assurance that her neighbors would already be asleep by this time of night. Yesterday, as she looked back on it, her song was louder than usual.
Iris had to conclude the song sooner than her plants liked, as she felt as if she was being watched, but they seemed to be much more content than when she had first come upon them. Obviously, she accepted this without complaint in her exhausted state, and padded her way back into her house, pausing only once to rinse off the bottoms of her feet with the hose connected to her house.
Again, she wiggled her way under the covers.
And it seemed that just seconds after she closed her eyes, morning was upon her.
...She awoke groggily, but with the full intention to head straight to Kakashi's house after breakfast. Who knows what he had done without her watchful eye on him for all the time she had been gone.
Iris headed to the bathroom with slightly misplaced intensity, for at this point, she was only taking a shower, but somehow she felt that taking all the events leading up to the moment they spoke again seriously was a good idea. She rinsed off her dirt-covered body quickly, and swept her hair into a damp bun as she slipped into a yellow sun-dress.
Perhaps, she had thought, if she dressed in a lighter tone, the awkwardness that was sure to come would lessen, and be lightened as well.
Then, she made her way into the kitchen, considering her breakfast options with contempt; as her stomach was feeling too uneasy to consume anything. With a sigh, she thought better of it and moved on.
...As her face knit itself in a look of fear for the coming future, Iris slipped on a pair of open-toed sandals, her mind racing at the prospect of what she would find beyond the doors of her home. How would she ever be able to apologize? Kakashi would...Kakashi…
Kakashi would…
No she isn't.
Iris had glanced out the window on purely a whim; trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Kakashi through his own window. But what she found was not Kakashi. Not even close.
With a sharp knock on her wooden door, Iris's terror was confirmed. Margo had arrived.
"Honey, are you listening to me?"
...Iris sighed, now back in the present. The sun was already sneaking up on her, and by the time she finally got Margo to leave, she'd have to water her plants before she could go see Kakashi. For unknown reasons, she was being thwarted at every turn.
"I'm listening," she said calmly.
Margo then beamed at her, and soon continued whatever story she had been telling while Iris had obviously not been paying attention. (Truth be told, she was still, not paying attention). She was just...off her game. Usually, she could deal with a few hours of Margo's rambling without complaint, but today was a special case. Today, Kakashi was angry with her.
...No...She didn't have time to be talking with this foolish woman. Not while Kakashi could be in pain, for all she knew about his alone time.
Iris needed to get out of here.
"Margo," she interrupted.
Said woman paused immediately, and looked at her with a face that screamed the fact that she not happy with being cut-across, but would be happy again if she apologized. Iris, obviously, did not plan on apologizing.
"Could you leave?"
Margo then proceeded to look hurt, and her mouth hung open in a surprisingly perfect-looking circle as she desperately attempted to grasp the feel of the words she longed to say. Out of the goodness in her heart, Iris continued; trying to lessen the burden of her own words.
"I'm sorry, but I'm actually not feeling very well," she smiled grimly. "As you guessed before, of course."
"Oh!" Margo's mouth came to a close.
"Darling, why didn't you say so earlier? I'll go, I'll go," she said, excusing herself from the table with a screech from the legs of the chair as they were pushed across the wooden floor. "Remember to take medicine before you nap, and drink lots of fluids!" She pushed a piece of paper into Iris's hands; looking as if it had been folded and refolded many times.
"This is a list of helpful remedies for a problem like this, and…" Margo reached into her purse, and retracted a bottle of little white pills. "These are wonder-workers. Take two every six hours, and the pain should lessen.
"And also…"
...To be honest, Iris was beginning to feel grateful towards the normally overbearing woman. The sickness she felt was fake, let Margo treated it as if it was real; and just that fact touched her more than anything. Perhaps she had been misjudging this woman?
Margo then made her way over to the front door, and was silent, for the first time in the past hour. "I hope you feel better, Honey," she said solemnly, reminding Iris of her mother, as the door opened, and then closed.
She was gone.
...Iris waited ten minutes in a nervous sweat before she even dared to head outside. But then, as she did so, she looked back and forth in a worried manner; scared that Margo would reappear as she so often did.
After finding her to be nowhere in sight, however, she stepped forward and raced towards her beloved neighbor's house in a flurried rush, trying to shield her appearance with her arms as she did so. One could never take too many chances.
The thought of Kakashi still saddened by their previous encounter drove her on, even though she was scared enough to want to turn around. She needed to see him, and confirm for herself that he was okay. She had to.
It didn't take long for her to find herself on his porch; dizzy, and having trouble accepting what was surely to come. Kakashi would still be angry, and she had no tricks up her sleeve to deal with it. Iris would to wing this, and it would most likely turn out awfully.
With a sigh, she stretched out her hand.
A glint of light in Kakashi's window instantly caught her attention, and Iris's mind then accelerated, quickly accepting the outlandish belief that it was a knife; and that Kakashi had killed himself because of her insensitivity. She then shook with terror - and rightfully so - as her fingers grasped his cool; seemingly not touched in ages doorknob. Convinced that she would find a dead body, she flung the door open.
...But instead, rather than a lifeless corpse, what awaited her was a hand over her mouth, and another around her waist; as she was yanked into the depths of Kakashi's home.
