"Wow...this is beautiful!", my mother shouts with joy.
I smirk at her reaction. I couldn't help but feel satisfied. "It took a lot of decision making and decoration changing to have this venue perfected"
"I love it!"
Her footsteps become frantic as she walks from one table to the other. The clicking of her heels echos throughout the empty room, along with the sound of her excited squeals.
"Unbelievable! I have such a lovely family!", she says with a smile. "Thank you so much for putting this all together for me! My birthday is going to be unforgettable!"
She was right on that part. It would be pretty hard to forget the golden chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the red roses that laid on almost every object in the room. The entire place was built like a church: beautiful stained glass windows brightened the room and depictions of angels covered the entire ceiling.
"This place is breathtaking...if I could do my wedding day all over again, the banquet would have been here"
"We're glad you're impressed", Itachi finally says. "And we wish that you have the time of your life"
Tears began to travel down her rosy pink cheeks, and her arms are immediately thrown around both of us.
"I love you both so much...thank you so much!"
For the most part, I was a man who rarely ever worried about much of anything. But tonight, I had my first real feeling of anxiety. One that was so strong it was distracting me from every conversation someone tried to hold with me. One that was so intense that it made my heart race every time I scanned the room to see the new bundle of guests that walked through the door.
"You seem distressed little brother...what's going through that thick head of yours?"
My eyes went from the front door to the sly man in front of me. "Nothing. I'm fine"
He knew I was lying, and unlike most people who would have just left me alone, he refused to leave until he heard what he wanted to hear.
"You're clearly worried about something", he claims. "And I suggest you spit it out already before mother sees you. Because if there is anyone who can read you better than I can, it's her"
He was right. If my mother saw me right now, she would be unhappy for the entire night- that's how much my happiness meant to her. She's not happy if I'm not happy. I am her precious youngest son after all…
"Jiraiya", I hiss.
"What about him?"
"What do you mean 'what about him'? Who do you think he might bring?", I snap.
Surely, the outburst wasn't necessary, but the thought of the pervert bringing that blond nuisance to my mother's party made me want to rip my hair out.
"He's not that stupid", my brother assures me. "He wouldn't do that"
"As much as I admire that man's work I do not trust him", I say sharply.
"And that's understandable", my brother aggrees. "But there is no reason for him to bring his grandson. That should be the least of your concern"
"But what if he does bring him. I don't think you're considering the possibility", I snap.
"Then we escort them out", he says impatiently. "We escort them out and that's the end of it"
Before I can say anything else, he cuts me off.
"Tonight is going to be drama free. You are going to put a smile on your face and socialize and act like nothing is bothering you. You are going to make your mother happy...Is that clear?"
I sigh, having no choice but to nod my head in agreement. "I have no problem doing that"
But that pervert should be here by now...I told him to come on time! Nothing makes me angrier than someone who can't follow orders!
"Good. Then go on and mingle and be polite"
With that being said, he walks away, leaving me alone at the snack table. It's only a matter of time before my mother spots me and drags her friends over to greet me.
It's going to be a long night.
"And now, a toast"
The servers walk around carrying expensive bottles of champagne, pouring the golden, bubbly liquid into tall crystal glasses.
"He's still not here", I quietly hiss to Itachi.
He shrugs nonchalantly. "Maybe he isn't coming"
"Isn't coming? You really think he would pass up an opportunity like this?"
"Stop worrying", my brother orders. "Your behavior is making our father suspicious"
I look over and see my dad staring at me as if I'd grown a third eye on my chin.
"You're an Uchiha. Stop being so over emotional and act like one", my brother ridicules.
He was right. Now was not the time to act out of line. Everyone is supposed to believe I'm having the time of my life. No one is supposed to think otherwise.
"Understood", I say quietly.
The server pours my drink, and I watch the champagne fall into my glass. For some strange reason, the bubbles that creep their way up to the top of the cup remind me of Naruto...but then again...almost everything reminds me of him at this point.
He's just a slutty little kid. He means nothing to me. I will never see him again once he goes back to his stupid home in Hawaii or wherever the fuck he lives.
The bubbles reach the rim of the glass, but then, unexpectedly, the cup overflows.
"I'm so sorry!", the server panics.
Everyone's attention was now turned towards the accident, so I knew I had to keep my cool. Even though I was ready to yell at the woman for her stupid mistake. If she worked for me she would be fired for being so careless.
"It's fine...it'll dry", I reply calmly.
Luckily, none of it spilled on me...but it did ruin the moment...and it also ruined the three thousand dollar tablecloth. Hopefully the spill won't show up in any pictures.
"Just be more careful", I advice.
She nods, the stares stop, and everyone goes back to chatting. I can hear my dad two seats away, talking about how he was going to sue the waitress for her humiliating blunder.
"She had one job", I hear him complain. "She had one job and she completely fucked it up"
I sigh, and stare down at the people below me. Since my mother and everyone else in my family are the stars of this event, we have a special table almost half a floor above everyone else. We had to walk up a few stairs to get here, but the view is pretty nice. It's a view that reminds me I am above just about everyone. And being above everyone is what makes an Uchiha an Uchiha.
"I spot them", my brother says dryly.
Every part of my body becomes alert.
"They're here? Where?"
My brother chuckles as I look around the room impatiently.
"No, foolish little brother...that was a test"
I sigh out of relief at the fact.
"But it is best you do not react like that if he does show up"
I bite the inside of my cheek. "Right", I say dryly.
The guests quieted down when the sound of silverware hitting glass filled the room.
"A toast", my mother says loudly into the microphone. "To my lovely sons who made this party happen"
Glasses clinked, and the guests murmured joyfully.
"Only six more hours to go", my brother says with a smile.
"Yeah", I snort. "Six more fucking hours"
After the dinner, and the 'happy birthday I love you' speeches, and the photographers who desperately wanted to take my picture, and the unwanted relatives starting small talk with me, I'd finally had enough. When the opportunity came, I casually walked exited the noisy party.
"S-Sasuke?"
I turn around and glare at the "little angel" known as Hinata Hyuga.
"W-where a-are you going?", she asks.
"Out"
I could have sworn no one saw me heading for the door. I figured that by now, everyone was too drunk or distracted to notice if I was missing. The dance floor was packed and the line to the bar was like a line at an amusement park. What does she want from me anyways?
"B-but the party's just started", she argues. "D-don't you want t-to dance a-and talk to your family and friends?"
I scoff. "No"
"W-why not?"
"Because I don't want to", I snap.
I'd never really liked the shy little girl...okay, so she isn't actually a little girl. She turned eighteen a few months ago, but in my eyes, that's still young. Her rather childish appearance doesn't help her cause either.
"I don't understand you", she says softly.
It wasn't like her to speak up. If anything, her behavior was only making me suspicious.
"Whenever there a-are parties o-or red carpet events you always seem s-so unimpressed", she begins. "Y-you're so successful a-and you're family loves you, b-but you're never happy, and you always look like you-you"
I raise my eyebrow at her display of emotion.
"Like you just w-want to go home!", she spits out. "And I don't understand why...w-why are you so quiet and so disengaged? What's making you s-so unhappy?...and then sometimes I wonder"
I close my eyes, not because I was trying to process what she was saying, but because I was tired and didn't want to listen to her. If I wasn't a decent human being, I would've walked away after the first question she asked.
"Is there anything in this world that can make you happy?"
I open my eyes at her question. I'd never had anyone ask me anything like that before. The question almost made me believe she thought I wasn't human...like I was some empty soul that couldn't feel anything.
"There are things that make me happy", I say with obvious irritation in my voice. "I love my family, especially my mother, but I do not wish to stay at her party any longer, and the reason why is not your business"
She stares blankly at me with her big, grey, bambi eyes.
"So I suggest you go back to your friends and family", I say coldly. "And if anyone asks about my whereabouts, you tell them I felt sick and went home"
"I will not lie for you"
I narrow my eyes at her, but to my surprise, she narrows hers right back at me. Her light grey orbs held an intensity I'd never seen before. I didn't even know she had it in her. The Hinata two years ago couldn't form a sentence without stuttering and would turn red even if I just simply looked at her.
"Unless you have a good reason for leaving, I will not!-", she raises her voice. "I will not cover for you!"
The silence after her outburst must have frightened her, because she looked like she desperately wanted to turn around and run away. But before she could even make a move, I hear a dark, angry voice call my name.
"Sasuke"
Shit.
I look up from the bottom of the staircase and see my brother with crossed arms. "Where are you going?"
"Home", I say coldly.
My brother's eyes shift from me to Hinata a few times before he speaks again.
"Go inside Hinata, I would like to talk to my brother privately"
Like a baby squirrel running away from a car, she quickly races up the stairs and back to the party, almost tripping on her long, lavender dress on the way up.
"Get back inside", my brother demands.
"No", I bite back. "I'm going home"
"Do not leave", he says with more venom in his voice than before.
"You can't do shit to me", I snap at him. "You can't force me to stay, and you can't punish me if I lea-"
"The deal Sasuke, have you forgotten it? Or do you just not care anymore?"
I clench my jaw, suddenly remembering what made me come here in the first place.
"You wouldn't…"
"I would", he says with a wry smile. "In fact, I wouldn't mind if you left now that I think about how it would benefit me"
"Fuck you", I hiss at him. "And fuck that slut too! I'm done! I don't even care anymore! I'm going to the hotel room, taking my shit, and going back to my apartm-"
My rants is interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Whoa, drama already, huh?"
My body becomes stiff at the comment.
"Well whatever's going on, I hope we didn't come at a bad time"
A/N: Fun chapter to write. Bet you thought Sasuke was actually going to leave huh? And guess who showed up just in time!