Title: Summer's Tangled In Your Hair
Summary: AU. "Ino, I think I'll take you up on the summer road trip offer."
In which Sakura and Ino take a road trip and complete their list of things to do without a care in the world.
Rating: T/PG-13
Pairing(s): sasusaku, very minor naruino
Disclaimer: Naruto and associated characters are not a property of mine. I just merely own the plot of this story.
{Chapter 4: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun}
"That's all they really want - some fun. When the working day is done, girls
just wanna have fun."
-Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
x
"They really weren't kidding when they said it rained even in the summer." The curtain Ino was holding in her hand dropped as she twirled around and padded to one of the Queen sized beds in the hotel room the two girls were currently occupying.
"Tell me about it," Sakura mumbled as she flipped through the television channels.
When the two girls were one hour away from reaching the borderline to Amegakure, it had begun to rain. And it wasn't just raining normally, but it was raining cats and dogs. By the time the two girls pulled into their hotel parking structure and ran inside the lobby, they were pretty much drenched from only the 1 minute run to the lobby.
"This bites," Ino groaned and flopped face-first into the bed. "I want to go clubbing!"
"Chill out, Pig. We're here for three days. We have plenty of time to go clubbing. That is, if the rain ever lets up," Sakura said and slid off her bed. She raked her hair into a ponytail and rummaged through her duffel bag.
"I'm going to shower first."
"Don't use up all the hot water!"
"You got it, Piggy!" Sakura giggled and slammed the bathroom door shut.
"I mean it, Sakura!" Ino whined, but apparently her companion wasn't able to hear her through the sound of hot water running.
xx
A lukewarm shower later ("I'm showering first tomorrow!") and the two girls were refreshed and ready to dress for dinner.
"I'm thinking fast food," Sakura grinned as her stomach grumbled quite loudly. She poked her stomach and sighed. She could go for golden crisp fries and a rich milkshake right about now.
"Who's the piggy now?" Ino grouched, still a little bitter about the lack of hot water when it was her turn to clean up. Sakura ignored her and combed her pink tangled locks. "What do you think about lobster tonight?"
"Sounds pretty darn good," Sakura admitted. "Actually, anything sounds good right about now."
"Great! Get dressed in something nice. We'll be out in ten!" Ino grinned and picked out her clothes. As she passed Sakura, she smacked her butt. "Hurry! I'm starving, Forehead." Sakura rolled her eyes and shuffled through her luggage for something semi-formal.
Two minutes later, Sakura had tossed aside her warm pajamas and was now wearing a black stretch fit cotton dress with a crisscross back feature. Sakura grinned and twirled in front of the full-length mirror that hung in the closer. She was glad that she had picked up this cute dress back in Suna. Since Sakura's hair was naturally wavy, she decided to leave it down. Winged eyeliner and a smear of nude lipstick later, Sakura was ready.
Ino emerged from the bathroom right on time as well. And of course, Sakura once again found herself quite envious of Ino. The blonde was wearing an electric blue floral piped crop top that ended right above her belly button. Not only was the crop eye-catching, but it also enhanced Ino's curves. On the bottom, Ino wore a sheer black high-low skirt so that her top would catch most of the attention. For hair, Ino just blew it straight. Sakura liked how the blue in her hair matched her top. As for makeup, Ino decided to only focus on heavy coats of mascara, line her eyes with kohl, and borrow Sakura's red lipstick.
"Good. The rain let up a little for us to leave." Sakura smiled as she lazily fingered on black sandals and stared out the window.
"Nope. We're just dining in the hotel, Sakura dear." Ino winked at Sakura's confused face.
"There was no restaurant when we came in."
"Just follow me." Ino tightened her strappy brown sandals and the two girls were ready to leave the room.
"Oh shit, my dad's calling me. What do I do?" Sakura bit her lip as she showed Ino her vibrating phone.
"Um, answer it! I don't know!" Ino's eyes widened, as she stared helplessly back at her friend. They can't be caught yet! They had only traveled to two cities so far, and Ino hadn't even gotten much shopping done yet!
Sakura groaned and answered the call. "Hi daddy!" she chirped, hoping to sound innocent.
"Hello, my cherry blossom. Just calling to check in with you. How's the trip so far?"
"Oh, it's going great so far, daddy." Sakura swatted Ino's hand away from her ear. The blonde puffed up her cheeks at her friend's uninviting gesture.
"That's great, honey. Where have you visited so far?"
"Speakerphone!" Ino hissed as the two girls entered the elevator.
"What was that? Can you repeat yourself, dear?"
"Oh, no. That was just Ino being... er, Ino." Sakura glared at Ino, who returned her glare with a smug smile.
"Oh! Say hello to Ino for me will you?"
"Hello Mr. Haruno! You're on speakerphone, if you don't mind."
"Hello there, Ino. How's Deidara? You know, I was a bit surprised that your brother hadn't invited Sasori along the trip. Did the two boys get into a fight?" Sakura's mouth snapped open, and she stared at Ino, who was giving the phone a sour look as if it had betrayed her.
"I, uh," Ino stammered and shot Sakura a desperate look. Sakura in return shrugged and beckoned for her to answer her father's question.
'What do I say?!' Ino mouthed.
'Anything! Just stay something!' Sakura mouthed back in a panicked state.
"You girls still there?"
"Yeah, daddy, we are. We're in the elevator right now so the signal isn't too great," Sakura responded, trying to buy the two of them some time.
"Right, did my call interrupt something?"
"Oh, we were just on our way to dinner, Mr. Haruno."
"Of course. It is getting pretty late. Where are you two girls again?"
"We're in Amegakure." Sakura sighed inwardly, relieved that they were able to change the subject.
"Right. Well I just wanted to call in and check up on you three kids. I'm sorry for interrupting your fun."
"No worries, daddy."
"Well, you three kids have a nice dinner. I'll talk to you soon. Love you, Sak."
"Love you too, daddy!" Sakura quickly ended the call and scoffed as she turned to face Ino.
"That was close."
"I'll say!" Sakura spat out angrily. Ino just shrugged as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal the lobby. "Come on, let's just go eat. I think I lost my appetite after that phone call," Sakura muttered as she led the way out. Ino took the lead and strutted to the concierge table.
"Hi, we heard that there's actually an exclusive five star restaurant here. I was wondering if you could be gracious enough to direct us to where it's located in."
"Of course, Miss. If you two ladies would follow me." The well-dressed man smiled and walked around the table. He looked around the slightly empty lobby and smiled once again as he held open the door that let workers sit behind the check-in tables.
Sakura didn't know if it had to do with the mystery books she loved reading, but she was slightly suspicious and cautious. Ino, the on the other hand, was excited. She covered her mouth and let out a muffled squeal as she followed the man without hesitance. Sakura shook her head and sighed. If this was a mystery novel, Ino would've been the first one to get killed. However, the coral-haired beauty nervously grabbed her friend's hand and followed closely behind.
Now behind the check-in counters, there was a wall that was made of a huge fish tank. Inside it were a variety of colorful fishes, jellyfish and seahorses included as well as corals and seashells that adorned the tank. Sakura didn't know how Amegakure had managed to find these tropical fish, but she did have to give them props to being able to maintain such a wonderful sight for tourists that visited the hotel.
"Just enter that door and you should be all set to have a wonderful dinner." Ino thanked the man and dragged Sakura to a door that stood at the end of the fish tank.
"What if we get shot once we go in?" Sakura asked as she pulled Ino to a halt. Ino rolled her baby blue eyes and swiped her hair out of her face.
"Oh Sakura. You have got to stop reading those books of yours. If you're really that scared, I'll give you basic information about how I found out about this restaurant hiding in the hotel of Amegakure."
"Yeah, that'd actually be nice, you know?" Sakura retorted.
"Remember when we were at Wal-Mart a few days ago?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Shh. Let me finish. Anyways, before I proposed to you the idea of our magnificent road trip, I picked up a travel magazine that talked about the best places to be in every city."
"That's why you took so long getting the coffee?"
"Wow if you're just going to interrupt me I might as well just not tell you at all," Ino huffed. Sakura snorted and motioned for the blonde to continue with her story.
"So I read through a few articles and I found out about this place and I just knew that we had to visit this place before we go off to college. And then I thought 'well why not just add that to our road trip?' and bam! Here we are now." Ino grinned proudly.
"You really are something, Ino Yamanaka." Sakura shook her head and laughed. "Whatever, let's just go then. There better be lobster, and if there isn't you're paying."
"Oh, there is. Feast your eyes on one of the most exclusive five star restaurants there is in the world!" Ino turned the doorknob and pushed open the door to reveal another room with dim lighting. Sakura's eyes narrowed, but she took a step through the door. She paused, but Ino pushed her the rest of the way through so she could close the door behind them.
"Wow, you really weren't kidding." Sakura whistled as she drank in the scene before her. There actually was a restaurant that rivaled the size of the actual hotel lobby itself.
"Told you." Ino stuck out her tongue playfully and went to reserve a table for the both of them. In the meantime, Sakura was having an awfully wonderful time observing the detailing and design of the restaurant.
The restaurant itself had one main dining room with four other doorways that lead to more private rooms that could be rented for private dining. Instead of boring light bulbs that lit up the room, the ceiling actually held wire string with mason jars filled with freshly lit candles which gave off a romantic vibe. There was also a grand crystal chandelier in the center of the ceiling to help with the lighting. If you listened carefully through the subtle chatter of the diners, there was the sweet, calming adagio that came from the grand piano and the pianist prodigy located in the middle of the main dining room.
"Is this not the best place you've seen?" Ino asked as she joined Sakura.
"Would be better if we had dates," Sakura commented jokingly. Ino giggled and looped her arm around Sakura's.
"We don't need boys to make our night fun. As long as we got money and a girl's night out." Ino grinned as the server led the two girls to a vacant table near the piano.
"You're making me pay, aren't you, Pig?" Sakura deadpanned as she flipped open the menu.
"How'd you know?" Ino asked happily as she cracked open her menu as well.
"You're my best friend. How could I not know? Besides, you're getting predictable. Especially when it comes to money."
xxx
After Sakura's tummy was happily filled (the steamed lobster with melted butter was heavenly and the tiramisu cake to die for), she reluctantly forked over her credit card and paid the bill. At least Ino didn't buy the most expensive item on the menu, Sakura noted bitterly as she signed her signature with a flourish.
"I guess we won't be able to hit the club tonight," Ino sighed unhappily as they entered the elevator. It was still raining ridiculously hard outside, and to be honest, Ino didn't think the rain would ever let up at all during their entire stay. "Oh shoot, someone's calling me," Ino mumbled as she rummaged through her purse for her phone. As she looked at the caller ID, she let out a surprised squeak.
"What's wrong, Pig?" Sakura asked. She looked over the blonde's shoulder and sucked in a breath. It was Ino's father calling.
"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Ino cursed, but answered the call anyways.
"Hey dad," Ino sang shakily as she put the call on speakerphone.
"Don't you 'hey dad' me, Ino Yamanaka! What the hell were you thinking, just leaving on a road trip without telling your mom or me?!"
"Okay that's not fair. I left you guys a note stating where Sakura and I were going."
"Are you trying to be a smartass with me? Wait, you took Sakura with you? The Haruno kid?"
Ino rolled her eyes as Sakura stifled a giggle. "Daaaaad! Of all things to ask, did you seriously just ask me if I took Sakura with me? Dad, come on! Sakura's my best friend. Of course I would take her with me!" Ino scoffed and turned to look at Sakura. "My dad's getting old," she groaned.
"Ino! I demand for you to be home right this instant! And Sakura! I hope your father knows what you're doing!"
"Oh, he does, Mr. Yamanaka. He knows that I went on a road trip with your daughter."
"Dad, listen to me. Dad! I'm almost eighteen. I think I deserve a little freedom, don't you think?"
"Ino –"
"No, dad, listen to me first. Hear me out, please. Dad, I know you still think of me as your little girl, but I'm almost eighteen, and I'm going to college this upcoming fall. Don't you think you should give me a little more trust? I'm still your little girl, but this little girl wants to live a little before she gets thrown back into school when the fall semester begins. I promise Sak and I will be safe."
"No boys?"
"Wha – Dad!" Ino groaned, and this time, Sakura actually did laugh out loud. "Do you see what I have to deal with at home? Not only is he my dad, but he's also a freaking detective in the police department!" Ino ranted to Sakura.
"No boys?" Ino's dad repeated again, and Ino answered him.
"Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one, but girls just wanna have fun!" Ino smiled as she heard her father sigh on the other end of the line.
"Condoms if you do decide to have sex and your mother and I want an update for every city you two girls go to."
"Dad!" Ino shrieked, quite embarrassed. Her face turned scarlet at her father's witty remark.
"Have a safe trip, dear." With that said, he hung up.
"I am going to kill him when I get back home!" Ino snarled as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open to their floor.
"Dude, your dad's hilarious," Sakura laughed and walked ahead to find their room.
Ino just snorted and ran to catch up with the roseate. "Not if you have to live with him."
As soon as Sakura unlocked their door, Ino sighed tiredly and flung her sandals to the side. "I'm beat. I want to knock out."
"It's only eleven. Don't tell me you're getting old, Piggy!" Sakura teased her friend and stripped out of her dress. She pulled on her pajamas and went to brush her teeth in the bathroom.
"Well what else can we do while we're stuck in a hotel room?" Ino called out as she, too, undressed and dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top.
xxxx
6. Stay up all night watching chick flicks with Piggy! (Don't we do this like every week?) (Hah! No big deal.)
"No no no no!" Sakura shrieked and covered her face with her hands. Ino, who was sitting next to her, rolled her eyes.
"Are you seriously afraid of this stuff, Forehead?"
"I hate you. You know I get scared easily!" The two girls were currently sitting in front of the television watching a horror movie on Netflix. Sakura shivered as she peaked through her fingers and watched as one of the main characters in the film get slaughtered into a bloody and gory mess. Ino tapped Sakura's shoulder, who turned to look at her.
"Boo!" Ino grinned and wiggled her fingers in front of Sakura, who narrowed her eyes in return.
"Ah, scary," Sakura spat out sarcastically. Ino just laughed and shook her head. She averted her attention from Sakura and the movie and reached for her vibrating phone. Her baby blue eyes lit up as she read the text message she received.
"Who is it?" Sakura asked, viridian eyes curious as ever.
"No one; don't worry about it." Ino responded half-heartedly as she texted back. Sakura pouted, but averted her attention back to the film.
At two-thirty in the morning, Sakura was finally asleep, head on Ino's lap and her legs tucked close to her body. Ino sighed and smiled at her friend. She reached down and pushed the hair away from Sakura's mouth. It was quiet times like these where Ino truly thought her best friend was still the same naïve Sakura she had met back in first grade. It was also times like these where Ino was able to actually think and reminisce about their friendship and be grateful to have Sakura by her side.
Ino's phone vibrated once again, so the blonde pulled her hand away from Sakura and picked up her phone.
"We're outside." Ino mouthed the words, and her lips curled into a delicate smile. She gently removed Sakura's head from her lap and slowly got up. She stretched a little, hearing her spine pop, and padded to the door. She peaked through the eyehole and unlocked the door.
"You're here," she whispered warmly.
Here's to summer 2013 and hoping to actually finish this summer series this time. Woop woop.