I had left Kankuro's house and walked the few blocks to my own when I got the call. Being my idiot self, I never even bothered to look at the caller ID as I stepped into my house. "Yeah?" I asked the device in my hand.
A husky, all-too-familiar voice filled my ears. "Aya, I think we need to talk…"
Shock almost rendering me utterly mute, I had to wait a few seconds before my voice came out calm and clear. "I'll talk to you when Hell freezes over. And from what I remember, my parents' house is no where near freezing. So fuck off." I clicked my phone shut and slid down my shut front door. My favorite song at the moment played through the speaker of my cell, but I clicked a button on the side and the tiny thing's cries fell silent.
Bast rubbed against my leg, noticing that I hadn't immediately began petting and cooing at her like I normally did. "You cats are so lucky. You get to shack up and never have to see each other again," I muttered to her. "But for some reason, we humans choose to date and try to find the 'right' one…"
When my eyes watered I fought to keep any tears from coming and - as usual – I won without trying too hard. My nose burned and my stomach churned, my body replying to the sorrow and pain I felt.
Ten minutes later, when my cell rang and it was Mori, I was calmly breathing, but my hands hadn't stopped shaking and my heart hadn't stopped hurting. "Yeah Mori?"
"…Are you okay?" came her soft voice.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just got a call from you ex-boyfriend who slept with your sister."
My heart twanged, emotion-pain causing me to grip my chest. "Thanks," I spat with apparent venom in my voice.
"Sorry, I was just saying…"
I sighed, knowing Mori hadn't technically meant to hurt me. "I know. And, again, I'm sorry… I just... Ya know." I took a shaky breath and began talking again. "I just need a shower, to clear my thoughts. I have to get over this…"
"I know just what you need!"
I quirked an eyebrow to my mostly empty apartment, wondering what she would think I need. "What?"
"Something to take your mind off it. I'll be over in ten minutes, so get in the shower. It's gonna be a long night. Be glad you have insomnia, girl."
A click sounded and I looked at the phone. She'd hung up on me. With a sigh, I did as she said and went to take a shower.
Just as I stepped out of the shower, I heard the radio in my living room turn on. Of course, the local pop/rock station was playing. Why couldn't Mori just put in one of my CDs once in a while…? With a sigh at her choice but not caring too much, I dried off and dressed. Not knowing what Mori had in mind, I decided to put on an old pair of jeans that were comfortable to hang out in but good enough to go somewhere in. With that I threw on an undershirt and my favorite shirt – a gorgeous white over shirt that said "Fallen Within" in black script. My feet were cold so I found some fuzzy, pink-and-orange striped socks to go with it.
Mori was sitting on my couch, singing quietly along with the radio, with her feet curled underneath her. "Your shoes better be off," I said.
She held out a purple-socked foot. I smiled and crossed the room, heading to the kitchen. I grabbed two Mountain Dews, some cheese dip, and a bag of chips. "So how are you distracting me?" I asked her, sitting down on my black futon – much like the one in my room.
"By having a few people come over. By the way, I love the joke you pulled on Kankuro. That's something I would've paid to see. Seriously, he thought you were in his bushes???" She let out a musical laugh. "It's so priceless."
I smirked. "Who'd you invite?"
"Ooh, just a few friends. Like Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Kankuro, and Temari. Gaara wouldn't come. I guess he hasn't warmed up to you enough yet. We'll fix that," she concluded with another devilish grin.
Bast walked in, saw Mori, and hissed loudly. I sighed. None of my pets has ever liked Mori. Not even my gold fish from last year had liked her… She did not have a way with animals.
"Why did you invite guys?" I questioned
"So I could invite Kankuro without being mean."
"Wow. Thoughtful today, aren't we?" I muttered sarcastically.
She beamed. "Yup."
I rolled my eyes at her. "I'll be right back Mori-san."
I entered my bathroom again and plugged in my blow dryer. I dried my hair as quick as possible and reapplied my black eyeliner. I was just about to put on my lip gloss that smelled like vanilla icing when Mori called that there was a change of plans. I smacked my lips together for effect and put the tiny tube in my pocket.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"Naru and Hinata can't some, and Sakura has homework. So we're going over to Kankuro's. Today. Now."
"All of this was decided while I was blow drying my hair?"
"Yeah. Now put on your shoes."
I shrugged and slipped on my low-top, grey Converse. On impulse I picked up Bast, having a sudden urge to take her with me. Some weird feeling was in the back of my mind as Mori led me out the door. I shoved it away, slipping my phone in my pocket and falling into step beside Mori.
"It's kinda cool they only live about two blocks away from you, Aya-chan." Mori had a thoughtful look on her face as we turned the corner to their street.
"Whatever."
We walked to the door of their two-story blue house and Mori rang the bell. Temari answered it, her facial expression slightly wild. She blinked when she saw us, then recognition took over and she let us in. Kankuro was screaming in the kitchen, telling Temari (loudly) that she was never to cook again.
"We'll get fucking take-out every day if we have to!" he was yelling. I handed Temari my kitten, which was purring as she cooed at it. Walking to the kitchen, I realized Temari acted as though this happened every day. Knowing her and Kankuro – even for this short amount of time – I could tell it most likely was.
Entering the kitchen, I saw Kankuro batting at a small stove fire with a rag. He put it out, a dramatically exhausted expression as he turned to me. I laughed out loud, seeing him with a dark smudge on his face and a crazed expression.
"Shut it," he muttered darkly.
"What happened?"
"Temari was cooking. She's not too great at that."
"She does this often?"
He nodded. "There goes dinner…"
"I can cook."
The older boy turned back to me, a strange look on his face.
"I'm just saying, if you guys need me to… I like cooking. It's sort of one of my hobbies. It always has been." I grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck.
"You'd do that?" he asked skeptically.
"Do you really get the impression that I'm such a bitch??"
"No, it's just weird."
"Kankuro, I'm cooking. I could poison you."
He glared at me, and began showing me where they kept everything. I memorized it quickly, figuring I'd be cooking a lot if I continued to come over this often. Mori and Temari entered the room to see me picking up the – thankfully – unharmed pork chops and gathering the things I would need for a salad. Kankuro looked at my cat in Temari's arms. Everyone but me had a surprised look on their face.
"Mori cut up the tomatoes." She blinked, looked around, and shrugged. I handed her a f sharpened knife, two tomatoes, and cutting board. "Temari, can you manage to get me a box of macaroni and cheese? Kankuro, how many people am I cooking for?"
Temari went to dig around in the cupboards and Kankuro told me I'd be cooking for six people. I blinked and asked who.
"Yourself, Mori, me, Temari, Gaara, and Baki."
"Whose Baki?" I asked while pouring veggie oil in a pan.
"He's sort of like an uncle to us. Our dad's a big shot in Suna, and we like to stay out of the limelight. So we live here with Baki, who turned the attic of this house into a flat for himself so we had the bottom two floors."
"Ah. Go get him. No, have Temari; you need to make sure the water boils."
"Where are you going?"
"To get Gaara."
I walked up the stairs, having been told his room was the last door on the left. When I reached it I knocked, not letting myself hesitate. A couple moments later it was opened by a very unemotional-looking Gaara.
A smile played on my lips. "Heya. Temari is – apparently – a monstrous chef so I'm cooking tonight. I thought you might like to join us in a bit."
I detected the slightest hint of shock in his eyes, which quickly disappeared. He merely glared at me and closed the door, not so much as a word spoken. I rolled my eyes and called, "Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes, Gaara-kun."
I fled with a devious smile on my lips before he could reopen the door to shoot me dirty looks.
Mori quirked an eyebrow at me when I came back, and I said, "He'll be down in about fifteen minutes." I knew he would.
The next ten minutes passed quickly, with a quick meeting with Baki – who admittedly was creepy – and the crazed rush of cooking a meal. When it was all said and done, I was putting the perfectly spiced and seasoned pork chops on a plate for the individual to choose their own. I sat and wiped the sweat from my face with a rag, having forgotten to turn on the stove's fan. Mori was talking to Kankuro about something and Temari was still petting Bast. Who would've thought she had a soft spot for kittens?
Baki entered the room again, just as I was washing my hands. He looked around for a moment before asking Temari a question. I gathered forks, plates, and napkins to set the table. After that was done, I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a well-earned bottle of cold water.
I called everyone to the table and put the huge bowl of salad, the smaller bowl of macaroni, and the platter of pork chops in the center. Everyone sat, Baki at the head of the table.
The teenagers looked expectantly towards me and I grinned. "Eat, Gaara will be joining us shortly."
"Gaara's eating with us tonight?" Baki asked with a crease in his brow.
I frowned. "Does he usually not?"
"No, not really," Kankuro answered.
I shrugged. "He'll be down tonight." Baki looked doubtful and started eating.
Temari, Mori, and Kankuro followed suit. "Wow, you can cook," Kankuro said.
"Was that an actual compliment?" I mocked, fake surprise on my face. I loved to tease him, it amused me.
"No, it was a statement you baka."
"There you go, ruining it for me again." An exaggerated sigh escaped my lips, and Mori tried not to giggle.
"You're an odd one," Baki said, pointing his fork at me. "So happy and teasing. You don't find people like yourself often. And I like your taste in seasoning, too." Temari and her younger brother turned to me with bewildered expressions. I just looked confused and thanked Baki. He left, putting an empty plate in the sink.
"He just…complimented you…" Temari wondered.
"Uh hum," I said before a swig of water.
"He doesn't do that! Ever!"
"Gaara doesn't talk does he?"
She got quiet and shared a look of disbelief with her brother. It seemed as if they thought I was a magical creature. That gave me the urge to start singing 'Do You Believe in Magic' and that made me start laughing. I was laughing hysterically, and no one even knew why. I laughed harder, but tried to stop because I knew I looked like an idiot. Sadly, that didn't work out quite as well as I'd hoped.
When I finally stopped laughing, I looked up, wiping tears from my eyes. Gaara was in the doorway, looking on with a dry expression. I grinned, a silly, lopsided grin, at him. "I told you he'd come," I replied smugly.
Everyone turned to the doorway, and Gaara just walked to get a plate.
"Soo… Why were you laughing?" Mori asked to break the silence.
"Temari and Kankuro were looking at me like I was magical or something, so it made me want to sing 'Do You Believe in Magic,' but I obviously couldn't because we were in the middle of dinner. So that made me laugh, and I still ended up looking like an idiot."
They all gave me weird looks. "Hey, I can't help my thought process," I shot at them.
Temari just shook her head and continues eating, muttering something 'crazy but friendly' with an amused expression. Kankuro called me a baka again, and Mori just looked like she was enjoying all of it.
Gaara sat down, surprisingly next to me. I smiled brighter and chatted with the older siblings and Mori for a lot of dinner. Gaara didn't say anything, but he wasn't shooting his siblings 'I-will-kill-you' looks when they laughed. I counted that as progress.
"I'm glad Temari didn't have to give us food poisoning tonight," Kankuro said with a smirk.
"Geez, you're a jerk," I shot at him. "I'm sure she does the laundry and dishes around here."
He shut up, and Temari shot him a smug glance.
My phone played its ringtone in my pocket and everyone – including Gaara – looked at me. I pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was him again. I knew my face went pale when Mori touched my arm and tried to catch my eye. Instead of looking at her I closed my eyes tightly and pushed the silent button again. With a slightly shaky hand I put my phone in my jacket pocket this time, where I could reach it easier.
No one asked who'd called me and the pointless chatter filled the air – minus my inputs.
I finished and went to put my plate in the sink. Someone's eyes were on me, but I didn't bother with who it was. I resumed my seat between Gaara and Mori.
"So," Kankuro asked me, "why are you single if everyone seems to love talking to you? Not that I'm interested, I just wondered…" When he said the last part his eyes traveled to Mori and I knew he was hooked.
I feigned calmness, when really my heart was shredding. Compliments make you feel worse after a break up. "Meh. The last guy I dated was a jerk, so whatever. I've never been into dating constantly. I've had few relationships. And the shortest one was three months. Hooking up just really isn't my thing. It's a waste of time and emotions."
Mori and Kankuro gave me surprised looks, but Temari was nodding like she got what I had just said perfectly. Gaara just sat.
My phone rang again, and I looked at the ID with weary eyes. I was very relieved to find it was only my aunt that lived in town. I held up a finger to the others and stepped away from the table. "Hey Aunt Aiko."
"Aya! Where are you? I stopped by to bring some stuff from your parents house and I can't get inside."
"Oh! I'll be there in a minute." We said our goodbyes and I turned back to the four teenagers. "I have to head home, my aunt stopped by with some stuff and can't get in."
"No problem. Thanks for dinner." Temari handed me Bast.
"Yeah, we weren't killed," Kankuro chimed in. His sister hit him over the head.
Mori hugged me and said she'd text me, with a wink to say it'd be for updates on her dating status. Gaara was retreating up the stairs when I walked by them. "Bye, Gaara-kun!" I called to him again. He turned to look at me, but merely saw me closing the door. I was glad he hadn't threatened anyone or death-glared towards a laughing person while I was there. It really made me feel as if I was getting somewhere with the whole friendship thing.
I would've skipped home, but I think Bast would have clawed my eyes out for shaking her so much she had brain-damage…
Even though a cat doesn't *technically* know what brain-damage is. She would have figured out a reason to claw at me, even if I couldn't understand her angry mews and hissing-noises…
Whatever. I was just glad to smile.