Dislaimer: Naruto and 무단횡단 (Jaywalking) are not mine.
+ GAARA +
THERE'S ALWAYS THAT FIRST TIME
Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap
The worse thing about waking up on a sidewalk is realizing that I actually did sleep on a sidewalk.
Blinking my sleepy eyes, I look around. There's not a lot of people yet. It must be early dawn. I pat my pocket for my cellphone that's still thankfully there. I check the time, 6:40 AM. Good thing I woke up before rush hour. I lean my head back against the wall. I'm not fully awake yet and I have a hangover.
Damn you, Kankuro.
Have fun! You deserve it, he said. Don't worry, he said. I'll take you home after, he said. Is the sidewalk my home now? I should've known better than to let him convince me to drink. But I didn't want to be the only one not drinking in a party that was thrown to celebrate the release of my album. And Yahiko sure knew how to throw a party. Almost all the artists from their label were there. Some celebrities were there too. Tayuya pointed them all out excitedly. I didn't really care. Nothing really interested me last night. Oh, wait. I think I saw Yahiko and Nagato dancing together. Actually, they were glued mouth-to-mouth and hips-to-hips. I thought it was interesting as I watched them grind against each other because I had no idea. I eventually lost track of everything and everyone after my fifth drink. I remember looking for Kankuro, though. I wanted to go home but he was busy with Tayuya and so I left the club alone. And ended up on a sidewalk beside the Shibuya station like some drunken moron. Well, I was drunk.
Wiping the last vestiges of sleep from my face, I stand up slowly and dust myself off. I have a class at 7:30 but I don't think I can make it with this annoying hangover. And my body's sore. I hate this. No more drinking for me. I don't care if my album sells 1 million copies. Or... I'll drink again if my album sells a million copies. And with how things are, that's next to impossible. My album is not doing badly, but it's not doing great either. Nagato said it was okay. Yahiko wasn't surprised. After all, I refused to participate in any promotional activity so the lukewarm response was to be expected. It didn't stop Yahiko from throwing a party, of course. He said that me being all mysterious and whatnot was making people more intrigued. Whatever that means. It's not like I'm being mysterious on purpose. I'm okay with performing on TV shows and radio programs. I just don't get the point of standing in front of the camera with the photographer barking at me to pose this way or that way. It's really stupid. Even doing magazine interviews for the public... why should the public know what I do in my free time? Or what my favorite subject in school is...
I stop at the intersection near my apartment to wait for the signal to go green. I look up at the sky and breathe in the early morning air. Another day... I've always been awake to witness the start of a new day. But I don't know how long it's been since I stopped looking forward to it. Everyday's a monotonous existence for me, after all. Even now, with all the craziness... I stare straight ahead at the people on the opposite street. They're all wearing the same dull, early morning expression on their faces. I guess they're not looking forward to another day, as well. I blink as I spot a familiar blue head. She's running for the intersection, looking panicked. Her blue hair swaying behind her like silken thread. The light must've turned green because people are now walking across the pedestrian lane. I can't move. For some weird reason. I remain standing where I am. All I see is Hyuuga Hinata, crossing the street as though in slow motion. She sees me, smiles, and gives a wave and I seem to be having trouble breathing all of a sudden. It happens a lot whenever Hyuuga Hinata is around. At first I thought it was because of my head injury, but when it still happened after my wound healed, I was at a loss as to why I can't breathe properly around her.
She stops in front of me, still smiling. "Hi. Good morning."
"Good morning." I reply tersely. Why do I feel so nervous?
"Are you going to school today?"
"No... I'm... I just got back." I was going to say I'm hangover. What is wrong with me?
She nods in understanding. "Oh, well... that's too bad," she glances at her watch. "Ooops, I gotta go. See you around! Come back to school as soon as you can, ok? Bye!"
She runs in the direction of the Metro and I stand here staring after her, wishing that she stayed a little longer. Before turning around a corner, she glances back and waves at me. I should be angry at being caught still standing here like an idiot, but... I feel lightheaded. It must be the hangover.
xXx
Before I made my music debut, and I was still singing in an underground club, it used to be just one or two people approaching me for autographs. And now, as I do some catching up on school works in the library, I have been approached by five people asking for an autograph. Guess that's an improvement. So I was quite surprised when a sixth person sits right next to me. The previous five maintained at least some distance. I look up from my Japanese literature book. The person sitting next to me is Hyuuga Hinata. Right on cue, my heart skips a beat and then starts beating fast. I'm used to this by now. However, I started having the urge to run away whenever I see her. It doesn't make sense.
"Please act like you're not surprised to see me." Hyuuga Hinata says through a strained smile.
"Why?" I ask.
She starts taking out books from her bag. "Someone's stalking me."
I look around. Everyone seems to be minding their own business. But I catch sight of a suspicious-looking fellow by the name of Uchiha Sasuke, sitting a few rows from us. Glaring at me. I ignore him and return to my harmless Japanese literature book.
"You can report that person, you know." I mutter after a while.
"Eh?"
"That person stalking you. If he's bothering you so much, you can report him. There's a Harassment Councelling Center here in the campus."
"I can't," she sighs. "It's complicated." I don't say anything. After a few seconds, she elaborates further. "I'm a Hyuuga and he's... he's also from another important clan."
I just look at her blankly. She rightfully interprets that as I-have-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about look.
"We're both from well-known families. If I report him for stalking me... a-among other things... and it goes out, the media's going to have a field day. Everything will be blown out of proportion. It will be pure chaos. So I... I'm okay. It's... It's not like he's hurting me..." She trails off, blushing. "He... h-he said he l-likes me."
My heart skips a beat for another unknown reason. I glance up to where Uchiha Sasuke is sitting. He's still there but he's no longer glaring in our direction. He seems to be preoccupied with his phone. Beside me, Hyuuga Hinata picks up her phone.
"You don't believe him?" I ask.
She looks up with another sigh, staring after Uchiha Sasuke's retreating figure. "I've learned a long time ago that people don't always mean what they say."
I ponder that for a bit before asking, "Do you like him?" I don't know what even possessed me to ask that but a part of me wants to know.
"I... I don't know." She answers quietly.
When people say they don't know, it usually means yes. At least that's what Temari told me years ago. I somehow feel deflated thinking that. I go back to paying attention on my worksheet. After a while, though, something's been niggling at the back of my mind. I glance at the quiet girl beside me. "How would you know if you like someone?"
The Hyuuga is still staring at the direction the Uchiha disappeared to. "It's... It's a weird feeling. W-when you see the person you l-like, you either can't move or you want to run as far away from them as possible. And no matter how much the brain protests, the heart will betray you. It goes thump, thump."
I frown. "What does?"
"Your heart. It goes thump, thump when you see that special person." Her expression turns thoughtful... and then her face goes as red as my hair.
We continue working on our homework in silence. I try to concentrate but it was difficult. The symptoms to liking someone that Hyuuga just described match with how I react to her presence. What does it mean? Do I like Hyuuga Hinata? Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, I shift my chair away from hers. I don't know what's going on, but this can't be good. Eighteen years on earth and life decides it's time for me to like someone out of nowhere. But, do I really like her? I chance a peek at the Hyuuga and I find myself transfixed. I've never been this close to her since the night she put a bandage on my head. Was it the way her hair fell back over her shoulders? Was it the way her eyes shine with so much warmth? Was it the blush on her cheeks? I want to see her face turn as red as my hair again. I wonder if her skin's as smooth as it looks. My eyes move to her lips without permission. Definitely without my permission. I quickly look away. I did not just stare at Hyuuga Hinata's mouth. It's hot in the library all of a sudden.
xXx
"Is this the song?"
I look up as Nagato enters the recording studio. "Yes." I answer.
I wanted to hear the song – that's been bothering me for days now – from outside my head and asked the band to record it with me and now that it's here, I want to cringe. I don't usually write songs like this. I never thought I would write something like this. Not in a million years. Not even at gunpoint.
Nagato drops the newspaper he was carrying on the coffee table and sits beside me on the couch to listen.
The moment I first see you,
You turn my head, time stops
Right now, I can't even see if the light's green or red
I don't need anything
My heart just heads toward you
Oh, my beloved
I run blindly ahead and hold you
Just as I am, like this
I run without fear and hold you
When I see you, so beautiful
My, my, my heart goes thud
I don't care about rules, what anyone says,
Or whoever blocks me
Even if I collapse or shed tears;
I've only got one path
I don't need anything
My heart just heads toward you
Something catches my eyes. It was a headline from the newspaper. I pick it up.
UCHIHA SASUKE
And
HYUUGA HINATA
DATING?
There's also a couple of pictures of them. At least the caption said it's them. It was hard to tell because even though the first picture filled up almost the entire page of the newspaper, both of them are wearing some sort of costume. And they're sort of kissing.
Oh, my beloved
I run blindly ahead and hold you
Just as I am, like this
I run without fear and hold you
When I see you, so beautiful
My, my, my heart goes thud
My heart goes thud
My heart goes thud
My heart goes thud
My heart goes thud
"What a simple song," Nagato murmurs when the song ended.
"It's for a simple girl." I mutter, setting the newspaper down.
So they really are from well-known families. Someone saw them kissing at a party and leaving together and it's the headline the next day. I don't know what I should be feeling. Coming into terms that I like Hyuuga Hinata is one thing. Finding out that she likes someone else is another. And now that she's apparently dating that someone...
"So, do you want to release this as a single? To be honest, though, this song does not match our company's – "
"It's fine," I interrupt. "Just forget this song ever existed."
Nagato nods slowly. He looks at me in... understanding? "What's the title of this song, anyway?"
I remember the way her silken hair was blowing behind her as she ran. I remember the way her eyes lit up and smiled when she saw me. That one early morning.
"Jaywalking."
September 16, 2016 – First off, I apologize to everyone. This chapter's been done for over a year and everything was shitty for me last year. I had a major depressive episode and I thought I lost my interest in writing. That was the scariest part. I write every day. Even if it's only one sentence. But then I just stopped. I didn't feel like writing and even my daydreaming was gone. Last year was seriously the worst. I was depressed and uninspired… But, thankfully, my love for writing came back! Yay! I'm doing better. Not much, but I can always cope.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! Jaywalking is the soundtrack of the Korean drama 'Shut Up Flower Boy Band'. Y'all can listen to it on YouTube or something.
That thing about Sasuke and Hinata will happen next chapter. I actually posted on Tumblr a drawing of Hinata that I did.
PS. Uploading from a smart phone is a pain in the ass.