After the awkward altercation at the spa, I decided to stay inside for the rest of the day. I called Sakura back, and talked to her until I felt the need to hang up. Her voice was beginning to tug at my heart strings, and I was choking up on the phone. I hung up for the best.
So the entire day was spent in solitude watching whatever caught my attention on TV, and even that got boring. I couldn't sit and watch another hour of the news channel, or some cliche sitcom, so around midnight I sat in the chair facing the window to watch all the commotion going on seven floors below me outside. It was much better than television, and I'd wished I'd realized that sooner. I eventually fell asleep around five in the morning, in that same chair I had spent hours upon hours watching the city night life in. I can't say it was a total waste of time.
I woke up extremely late- four thirty five to be exact. I regretted falling asleep in that chair, because now my back felt like it had been stepped on my an angry mob and my legs were sore.
I stand up to stretch my body, and notice the chaos going on outside. What's going on? Today seems crazier than usual. I look closer and see that everyone is headed to central park, and I'm becoming curious as to why. Maybe there's a concert going on or some weird festival I don't know about.
I put on something decent; a plain white t-shirt, grey basketball shorts, and sneakers that were slightly worn. By the time I got out the fancy wooden doors of the suite, I was ready to bolt back inside. The amount of people moving from one place to another was insane, and reminded me of a swarm of fish swimming upstream. Every person going to the same place at the same time. Shit like this never happened in L.A.
Unexpectedly, I was knocked out of the way by someone much broader than me. As I assumed, he didn't even glance down at me afterward, and kept walking as if a simple "excuse me" would take up too much of his precious time.
"Fucking asshole!"
No matter how loudly I said it, it didn't matter. He wasn't looking back, and all I'd earned from my outburst was a few curious stares from the few bystanders who seemed to care. Dammit! This is exactly why I hate New York City!
Before I could predict it, I was bumped into again. This time, by someone around my age, and only a few inches taller than I was. Unlike the guy before, he acknowledged my existence and apologized.
"Sorry, didn't mean to run into ya"
He sounded like the guys I knew back in California. He spoke with a certain laid back tone that I hadn't heard since I'd left the golden state.
"It's fine", I say with a nervous grin.
He walks off and I suddenly have the urge to ask him a question. I run a bit to catch up to him, trying my best not to bump into anyone, which is nearly impossible. I found myself saying "sorry" to almost everyone.
Once I finally get close enough, I tap him softly on the shoulder. He turns his head to the side and looks down on me. Now that I actually have a good look at him, he's kind of attractive, and looked a little...high. Maybe he's not a reliable source.
"Sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to know what's going on. Everyone seems to be going to the same place, and I was wondering if you knew why"
He stares blankly at me a bit before answering. "You seriously don't know what's going on?"
"No", I state dryly. "That's why I asked you", I say impatiently.
He lets out a long, exaggerated sigh, and I was beginning to feel stupid for expecting someone from this shitty city to be polite enough to help me.
"Jazz festival", he says flatly.
"Jazz festival?", I repeat in surprise. I thought the only people that listened to jazz were over the age of fifty.
"Yeah. It sounds boring, but it's actually pretty fun. There's nice food, a decent amount of space to picnic, and a bunch of venders"
"Ooooh", I say slowly.
"You must not be from here", he says as he looks me up and down.
"Nope. Not at all", I say with a little too much pride.
"Yeah, cause if you really knew better, you wouldnt've tapped me on the shoulder. If you'd done that to the wrong person, you could've gotten punched"
The harshness of his remark makes me uncomfortable, but all I can do is thank him for the notice. "That's nice to know. I'll have to keep that in mind"
He chuckles at my naiveness, and by now we're walking side by side. "So where are you from?"
"California", I say proudly.
"What area?"
"Malibu"
He nods his head, being somewhat familiar with the city.
"I've never been, but from what I hear, it's very nice"
"It's so much better than 'very nice'. It's amazing!", I say with a bit too much enthusiasm. "I mean, not to brag", I say feeling slightly embarrassed by the exaggeration.
We stop at the crosswalk, and I suddenly take the time to notice how unique everyone is. Everyone has their own style, and their own way of walking and talking. Unlike Malibu where everyone looked, walked, and talked the same.
"Nothing wrong with being proud of where you're from. I've lived in Manhattan all my life, and can't help but feel proud when I say I'm from here"
"Wow. I can't imagine living here for any longer than a few months. It's just so…"
I struggle to find the right words to say. The last thing I wanted to do was insult the place he clearly takes pride in living in.
"Lively?"
I laugh nervously. "Well yeah, but also pretty chaotic"
"You get used to it", he says before letting out an overly dramatic yawn.
The walk sign glows a murky light blue color, and we attempt to stay on the white lines of the walkway.
"Hey, you know, I never really did get your name", I say as if I'd made a groundbreaking discovery.
"Shikamaru", he says nonchalantly.
I smile at the uniqueness of his name. Generic names, whether they were Japanese or American, always sort of ticked me off.
"Naruto"
He gives me a confused look, which I've gotten numerous times before. I tell people I'm half Japanese, and then all of a sudden they can kind of see it in me.
"I'm half Japanese"
He smiles, and I feel slightly less pissed off than I did a few minutes ago.
"Now that you mention it, I kind of see it"
We finally reach central park, and the stench of weed and alcohol shoots its way up my nostrils. Since we weren't very close to the stage, hearing each other talk wasn't too difficult.
"Wow", I say with infatuation.
A group of girls that were most likely a year or two older than us walked by. Three of them wore tightly fitted printed dresses, and the other three wore shorts that could easily be mistaken for denim underwear.
"God, I don't care if it's hot outside, they really don't need to be exposing themselves so much", he complains.
Back in Malibu, girls wore clothes like that even in the winter time. Nobody really said anything because nobody really cared. Guys never complained about it, and seeing clothing like that in and outside of school was common to the point where we never saw anything wrong with it. If they felt confident with what they were wearing, why get all uptight about it?
"I don't see anything wrong with it. It is really hot outside for it to be five in the afternoon"
He sighs, agreeing with my statement by fanning his face with his hand. "I know. What a drag", he groans. "And finding my friends in this heat will be a total pain in the ass"
I suddenly remembered that I had come here completely alone until I'd met him. I barely knew this guy, and asking to hang out with him after being with him for only twenty minutes felt awkward. Not only that, but I can't really trust a stranger, even if he was being friendly.
"Are you looking for anyone? Or did you decide to be adventurous and came here alone? Hopefully not the second one"
I laugh nervously, and he looks at me as if I didn't have a single brain cell.
"What the hell is someone as small and innocent looking as you doing in central park alone? You live all the way across the Country. Do you not know how terrifying this place can be? Especially around night time?"
I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks from anger and embarrassment. He's got a good point. I never really thought about what could happen to me. I'm not familiar with this place at all, and if something were to happen to me, my grandfather would flip.
"I don't have anyone to meet up here. I came to this city with only my grandfather, but he's at work right now", I grumble.
He sighs and rubs the back of his head. "I can't leave you here alone. I just can't. It doesn't feel right"
I grow nervous at the sound of urgency in his voice. Is he really that concerned for me? Or does he want to get me alone so he can kidnap me?...No...he's about my age. How can he be a kidnapper? He may be a molester...but not a child abductor!
"Just follow me. We're going to get some lemonade. Do you have any money?"
Before I can respond, he cuts me off. "No, that's a stupid question. Why would you come here without money?"
I'm such an airhead! Why didn't I bring any cash!?
"Well uh...actually"
He can tell by the shy look on my face that I don't have a single penny on me.
"Man, what a drag", he says sounding irritated with my stupidity. "I'll pay for you"
"Hey, you don't have to buy me anything", I say growing irritated with his pissy attitude.
"You're right, I don't. But I'm going to since it's too hot to not have anything to drink. Besides, I don't mind spending an extra four dollars on lemonade"
I smile at his kind offer, and at this point, I can't say "no".
"You don't know how grateful I feel right now"
"Yeah, whatever. You have a lot to learn"
We finally get to the lemonade stand and end up waiting about ten minutes in line. It was definitely worth the wait. The lemonade was ice cold, sweet, but not too sweet, and refreshing!
"This is the best lemonade I've ever had in my life!"
"Eh, it was better last year. Still worth its money though"
We throw our cups in the trash and I continue to follow him throughout the park. After a few minutes of walking, we finally stop.
"There they are"
I look slightly confused, until I see a very odd group of people waving in out direction. As we begin to approach them, I start to feel slightly nervous. Oh god, they're so weird.
"I know they're not the coolest people, but once you get past their dorkiness, they're pretty fun to be around"
A chunky boy eating a bag of BBQ chips looks at me with wide eyes.
"I see you brought a friend Shikamaru! What's your name?"
He looks at me curiously, as if he's trying to figure something out about me that's difficult to understand.
"Naruto", I reply kindly.
He smiles, and doesn't even question me.
"My name's Bones"
I give him a confused stare. He then begins to explain the odd name.
"Well, that's not my real name. I just prefer to be called that"
I nod my head, accepting the strange nikname that certainly did not match his body type.
"But anyways, this is Ino", he says pointing to the right. "And that's Lee", he says pointing to the left.
Lee was by far the weirdest looking one of all. He had an awful looking bowl cut, the kind of bowl cut that your mother would give you in elementary school, along with the bushiest eyebrows I'd ever seen on anyone. The girl to the right was no ordinary person either. She was clearly asian, but had blond hair and blue eyes. Obviously colored contacts.
"Where's Temari?", Shikamaru asks.
"Your girlfriend couldn't make it", the blond asian says teasingly.
"She's not my girl friend", he hisses.
"If you say so", she says with a wink.
"So, Naruto, how did you and Shikamaru meet?", Lee asks curiously.
"We met while walking here"
"That's odd", Ino says. "It's not like Shikamaru to hold a conversation with a stranger"
The lazy teen and I look at each other, and he puts his hands in his pocket with a smirk.
"He caught my attention and still has it"
For some reason, what he said sounded flirtatious to me, but everyone else either didn't notice the change in tone of his voice, or didn't care.
"It's hard not to notice him", the chunky teen says before nudging me. "You must be a total heart throb right?"
Ha! I wish! Girls didn't seem to like me that much, and I could understand why. I've been told by many people that I'm a total dork, despite the fact that I hung out with the "cool crowd" in Malibu. Yeah, a good amount of people back at home think I'm "funny" and "adorable", but for some reason, it's not enough to get me laid. It's getting to the point where I'm not sure if I should care anymore.
"Eh, a little bit", I say with a nervous smile.
"You have the prettiest blue eyes! And your tan is flawless!", Ino says with unexpected excitement.
I'm sure my face is red from the compliments, and Shikamaru looks like he's enjoying the entertainment.
"Oh uh, thanks", I say nervously.
"So, what do you guys want to do?", Shikamaru asks.
"Venders!", Bones shouts enthusiastically.
"The venders are the best part of the whole festival!", Lee says with a giant grin.
"Can't say no to shopping", the blond says as she pulls a few twenty dollar bills out of her purse.
"Venders it is then. We meet back at the giant tree at seven", the brunette says. "Sorry Naruto, guess you'll only be allowed to look"
I sigh, accepting the irritating situation. "Fine by me"
Chouji and Lee head towards some freaky fortune teller, and Ino ran off to some vender that had a bunch of glittery shirts and dresses.
"Is there a vender that catches your eye?"
I look around thoroughly, unsure of which vender I liked the most. Everything is so beautiful. The one that grabs my attention the most appears to have japanese inspired clothing and colorful jewelry.
"The one in the back with the kimonos and glowing lanterns"
"Alright. I like that one too", he says with a smile.
We walk to the vender, and a little old lady is sitting in a chair smiling at everyone who walks in.
"Hey, look at this", Shikamaru says as he lifts up a small ring.
The ring has a shiny silver band with wacky patterns carves inside with a dark purple gem that complimented it perfectly.
"That's cool! Can I hold it?"
He hands me the ring, and I slip it on my index finger. It fits perfectly.
"It fits your finger nicely. I know if I'd tried it on, it would've gotten stuck"
I smile, and hand it back to Shikamaru.
"You should buy it", I encourage him.
"For who?", he snorts.
"That girl Ino was talking about"
He scoffs before placing the ring back on the table. "Maybe"
I look across the entire glass table, and notice that every piece of jewelry is crafted beautifully. No wonder this stuff is so expensive.
I pick up a necklace with a shiny blue crystal. The chain appears to be made of real gold, and compared to all the other necklaces, it stood out the most. To me, it looked like a man's necklace, so I didn't feel weird trying it on.
"How does it look?"
Shikamaru turns around and stares at the necklace intensely. "Looks great on you", he says with a smirk.
"Really?"
"I wouldn't lie to you", he says. "Go over to the mirror and see for yourself"
I do as he tells me, and find myself feeling the happiest I've felt since I got here.
"It looks wonderful. A handsome fellow like you should by it", the old lady persuades.
I laugh at the compliment, and softly stroke the gem, feeling its smooth, flawless texture.
"I really like it a lot...too bad I can't afford it"
The lady clicks her tongue and folds her arms. She looks like she's ready to negotiate with me.
"What if I dropped the price to one hundred dollars"
I look at the tag, realizing that the price of the necklace is about one hundred thirty.
"Sorry, but I spent a lot of my money already", I lie.
"The festival isn't over until Tuesday. If you find any way to get the extra cash, you can always come back", she says with a toothy grin.
"Awesome!"
I take the necklace off, and as soon as I place it back where I found it, a familiar, dark voice speaks up.
"I'll buy it"
I turn around, and the handsome devil himself is standing only a few feet away from me. He's wearing attire that's a little too formal to wear at a park. Stupid rich people.
"Nice to see you again, Naruto"
My heart is beating rapidly, and I look over at Shikamaru, who can tell that I'm horribly nervous.
"How much does it cost"
The old lady looks at me with sorry eyes. I know that she pities me, and she narrows her beady little eyes at Itachi.
"Two hundred and ninety dollars"
What the hell is she doing?!
Itachi chuckles as he walks over to the necklace. He reads the price tag before looking back at the lady with a surprisingly sincere smile. "The price tag says one hundred thirty"
The little old lady picks up a pen, and shuffles her way over to the necklace. She scribbles on the original price and replaces it with new numbers. "Not anymore"
I couldn't believe there could be so much sass in someone so old and small, but Itachi seemed completely unfazed by it. In fact, it only made his smile bigger.
"No matter", he says calmly. "It may not be worth that price, but I'm going to purchase it anyways"
The old lady sighs, and takes the money Itachi hands to her. "Sorry kid", she whispers softly.
"It's fine", I say to cover up my disappointment. "He has the money. Not me"
I felt betrayed, even though he did have the right to buy the necklace. I didn't think we were friends, and I didn't think we were enemies either, but something told me that he bought the necklace I wanted on purpose. Why would a rich guy like him need it? He could probably buy twelve versace watches or a ten thousand dollar suit if he wanted, so why would he waste his money on some "low grade" piece of jewelry at a vender?
"How badly do you want this necklace"
He dangles it in front of me, and a lump begins to form in my throat. A few nosey people look our way, and Shikamaru is narrowing his eyes at us.
"I don't know", I say before biting my lip nervously.
He stands in front of me, unclips the chain, and leans in a bit to get the necklace on. His chest is in my face, and I feel like I'm going to faint. From the corner of my eye, I see Shikamaru walking up to us with an angry expression on his face.
"You can have it for today under one condition"
I finally have the guts to look him in the eyes, and I can tell he's having too much fun.
"You meet me in room 918 tomorrow at one o'clock"
It's hard for me to even open my mouth and reject the offer. I stand still, not saying anything, until Shikamaru jumps in.
"And what if he takes the necklace and doesn't meet you. Did you think of that?"
Itachi gives me a wry smile, and at this moment, I know I have to either hand him his necklace back or keep it and show up tomorrow. "Then I'll find him and I'll take it back"
A/N: Quick update since it's April break and I finally have some time to write. The story will progress slowly, and Sasuke won't come in until chapter four or five. For now, I'm mainly focusing on Itachi and Naruto's relationship.