Where is God?

So, I just finished the anime Death Note over break. And I’m still slightly obsessed with it. So obsessed that I will one day write a fanfic for it, but at the present moment, I don’t have the time or skills to do that. So, expect some random quotes from the series up here. And go watch the anime, movies, and read the manga when you get a chance if you haven’t already. LxLight are one of the cutest couples in existence… at least, they are to me, and if you ignore the series.

Also, I need to make a correction to an earlier chapter. I’ll have to go back and fix it later. Anyway, when Sasuke and Naruto’s father are arguing Sasuke mentions the “gay gene.” At the time, I was told that it existed, but recent research has told me otherwise. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a gay gene. While I still believe that most people are born gay, there is no genetic research that proves this at this time in history.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters… unfortunately.

“Let us value our lives.”
-L, the greatest detective in the world, Death Note


Chapter Ten
Come What May

Thursdays were supposed to be one of the tolerable days of the week. However, this Thursday in particular was dragging on like there was no tomorrow. Naruto glanced at the notes on the board that the teacher was pointing to and discussing. He knew he should have been writing them down, but he just didn’t care. His eyes strayed over to the young man sitting beside him for the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes.

Sasuke knew he was being watched, but didn’t show his awareness. Instead, he continued to copy down the notes off the board. He wasn’t paying attention to the teacher though, thinking more along the lines of what Naruto had told him briefly this morning. He still didn’t have all the details about what his parents said when he got home last night after hiding out at his Uncle’s for most of the day.

A brush against his still hand interrupted his thoughts, making him look down at the object of his disturbance. Naruto was idly sweeping his fingers over his hand that had previously been writing notes with. He didn’t even realize that he had stopped copying them. Sasuke looked into Naruto’s eye, silently questioning him on what he was doing. His friend smiled at him before sitting up and retracting his hand back to his own desk. The bell cut his questioning gaze short as he started to pack up his bag, while his teacher hurried through the end of his lecture.

“What were you thinking about?” Naruto asked him as they walked out of the classroom.

“You and what happened with your parents. When are you going to have time to tell me what happened?”

Naruto adjusted the book bag on his shoulder as he looked away from his friend, and down at his feet. He studied the white and gray chalky tile of the hallway floor, thinking about what all he was going to tell his friend. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t want to tell him what happened, just he didn’t want him to feel guilty about what was going on with his family. Anyway, he didn’t even know how to explain some of it. About how his mom came to his rescue, and how oddly calm his father was when they talked. Well, calmer than he thought he would have been. He was honestly surprised that he wasn’t in more trouble. Though, he didn’t think that was going to last much longer.

As they turned a corner, he looked up at Sasuke and gave him a small smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Honestly, not much. It wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I’m just grounded for a few weeks, since I didn’t call and tell them where I was.” He half explained.

The fact that Naruto didn’t look him in the eyes told him that something was wrong. He didn’t think that he was lying, just omitting part of the story. What was he hiding?

“Really? That’s all?”

Naruto just nodded his head before walking into his next class, waving dismissively at Sasuke as he called out, “See you in gym.”

XXXXX

Hinata blushed lightly as she walked through the classroom door, a half-hour late for class. The sister teaching the class paused in her reading to look up at her. The whole class was staring at her, she knew, as she walked over and handed the teacher a late slip and excuse for her tardiness. After reading the excuse, the teacher smiled warmly at her and told her to take her seat. Some of Hinata’s nervousness dissolved as she finally sat down, and most of the students’ eyes were no longer focused on her. She noticed Sakura glancing over at her, and gave her a small smile before the sister continued with the lesson.

She realized a few minutes later that she couldn’t concentrate on the lesson, instead thinking about what had happened earlier that morning. It had been her first meeting with her new therapist. She hadn’t liked the idea at first, but after her family insisted that she see someone about the “incident”, she finally conceded. It had been uncomfortable to begin with, not knowing where to look when the therapist asked her personal questions, and not knowing what to say to some of her questions. But overall, it wasn’t as bad as she expected it to be. She actually felt… a little relieved and hopeful after the meeting was over. It was actually easier to talk to a complete stranger about some of her problems, knowing that she wasn’t being judged by her, than it was to talk to her friends or family.

“…This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not...” the sister read out loud, her voice not wavering as she continued to read the teachings of God to the class. (1)

For the rest of class, Hinata tried to listen to the lesson, but was distracted by the note going back and forth between Sakura and herself. Sakura asked her what she was doing over the weekend, and she replied with writing that she didn’t have any plans. When the note was passed back to her, she read where Sakura had invited her to go gallery hopping with her on Friday night. At first, she didn’t know what say, instead going over all the things that she might have to do in her head. She knew that she needed to study for a test, do the laundry; make up some missed class work, and what felt like a million other things.

A frown marred her face as she looked over at her friend, knowing that she wasn’t going to like what she was about to write. But she paused in writing down a response when she saw the hopeful gleam in Sakura’s eyes. Her hand moved of its own accord, and she passed the note over to her before she could rethink her answer. The brilliant smile she was rewarded with told her that it was worth it. Who cared about the things she had to do? Hinata realized that she wanted to spend time with her best friend, and didn’t stop herself this time with making up excuses like she had in the past. She smiled back at her friend as the class ended.

XXXXX

When Naruto got home later that day, he was surprised to see a wrapped present and card on his bed. As he opened the card, something fell out and floated to the floor. Thinking it was just money, he read the birthday wishes and sentiments with his mother’s signature at the bottom, and what looked like his dad’s name, obviously written by his mother’s hand. He bent over to grab the money off the floor, but was confused by the folded up piece of paper that he picked up instead.

The letter was written on a small blue piece of paper that he recognized from the stationary that he gave his mother for Christmas last year. On the angel bordered paper, he read the spidery curl of letters that he knew was his mother’s handwriting. After reading through it once, he started back up at the top again, not believing what he was reading. His legs started to shake slightly, and he found himself dropping down on his bed in disbelief. He shook his head to clear his head as he read through it a third time, pausing to reread a few sentences.

‘Dear Naruto,

I just wanted to say how much I love you, and how proud I am to have you as my son. I feel truly blessed to have you in my life. I want you to know that you could never do anything wrong in my eyes. From the first moment I held you in my arms, I knew that I could never love anyone as much as I love you. So, when I say that I want you to be happy with your life, I mean every word of it. I want you to live your life the way that you want to, even if you think that your father or I won’t agree with it. I will always be by your side, no matter what kind of choices you make. So, I hope that you will be honest with me, and always tell me if something is bothering you. You’re a good person, Naruto, and I know that will never change. You could never disappoint me. My only worry about you is that you are not as happy as you could be. And I know that I have played a part in your unhappiness. I have known for awhile now that you care about Sasuke as more than just a friend. At first, I didn’t know how to handle it; I was in shock. But I’ve seen how happy and lively you’ve been since he has entered into your life. He makes you happy, and that is all I care about. Not to mention he is quite handsome.’

Naruto chuckled lightly as he agreed with his mother’s statement.

‘I’m sorry that you felt the need to hide this from your father and me. I wish I could tell you that we would both support you and your decisions, but I cannot speak for him. If you do decide to tell him someday, just remember that he loves you, even if he does not show it at the time. And know that I will be there with you, if you want me too.’

His vision became less clear as he flipped over the paper and continued to read.

‘Naruto, know that you will have part of your family beside you for the future. Your Uncle Jiriaya and I love your very much, and we will always be here for you when you need us. I know this must be sudden and not what you were expecting to hear from me, but know that I couldn’t imagine not having you in my life. I hope that you can live more freely now, knowing that you don’t have to keep secrets from me anymore. So, please be happy, and live your life the way you want to.

Love always,
Your mother’

Naruto ignored the water drop on the page, along with his unopened present, as he stood up and walked into the kitchen. His mother was standing at the sink with her back to him, holding a pot under the running faucet. It was then that he recognized the smell of flour, and noticed the dough that she was currently stretching to make his favorite food. (2)

“Mom,” he said, his voice cracking slightly on the last syllable.

She turned towards him, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, with a few curls tickling the side of her face. He noticed the small smudge of flour on her forehead before his eyes travelled down her face to see the small tremble her lips gave as she smiled at him. Naruto had her in his arms, and was hugging her before she could open her mouth to speak. He didn’t care about the wet apron that she was wearing, that was splotched with egg and flour, as he felt her hands on his back.

He didn’t know what to say, how to thank her, or tell her how much he loved her, so he just held her like that while she cried. Naruto could feel his eyes watering up, but he tried to ignore it as he heard his mother sniffle and felt her step back a little. She smiled up at him before wiping her tears away with her floured hand. After realizing that she was just dirtying up her face, they both laughed lightly and put some distance between themselves.

Naruto grabbed a hand towel and handed it to her. She wiped her face and cleared her throat a little as she turned back towards the dough.

“I hope you’re in the mood for ramen,” she said as she went about sprinkling more flour on the partially flattened dough.

“Always,” he replied, his mouth stretching up into a smile as he watched her cook.

Nadine made a small noise in response as she busied herself with rolling the pin over the dough. Before he lost his nerve, or remembered how embarrassing and gushy this whole scene was, he said in a quiet voice, “Thanks, mom. I love you too.”

His mother glanced over her shoulder, her eyes still shining faintly, and smiled at him before returning her eyes to the task at hand.

“So, how is Sasuke doing?” She started conversationally.

“He’s good.” (3)

“Good, good. Maybe we should take him out to dinner sometime, just the three of us.”

“Huh?”

“Take him out to dinner so I can get to know him, ask him what his intentions with you are.”

“Mom!” He shrieked, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

“I’m kidding, relax. I just want to get to know him. I won’t ask anything too embarrassing,” she told him, her grin hidden by her turned back.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he laughed weakly. He was glad that his mother accepted him and the way he wanted to live his life, but he thought that she was under the impression that he and Sasuke were dating and in love. How to tell her that it was slightly different arrangement? He didn’t think she would approve of the whole “friends with benefits” deal, no matter what she said in her letter. She wouldn’t approve of that kind of agreement, even if it had been with a girl.

“Ask him for me, please?” She asked, her voice interrupting his thoughts.

“Sure,” he said, wondering if Sasuke would even want to do something like that.

Before she could ask him anything else, the front door opened, announcing the arrival of his father. Naruto’s instincts suddenly kicked in, and he was wondering if he should stay or run away. His body suddenly tensed up and shifted into a fighting position, expecting some kind of fight with his father, whether it was verbal or physical. Releasing a small breath, he berated himself as he forced his body to relax into a more natural pose. He felt slightly stupid at panicking just because his dad walked in the door. Even though he knew things were different between them, and he felt on edge every time he was around him now, he didn’t think he could ever physically fight with his father. At least, he hoped it never came down to that.

“Naruto, why is there flour on your back?”

Naruto’s shoulders tensed unnoticeably at his father’s question.

‘What’s wrong with me’, the blond thought to himself. Why was he so fidgety around his dad all of a sudden?

“I was trying to get him out of the kitchen, so I could finish making dinner. Sorry sweetie, I didn’t know that I had gotten your shirt dirty. Why don’t you go wash up before dinner,” his mother lied easily. Naruto’s eyes widened slightly, having never heard her lie to his dad before, but nodded his head at the easy going look on her face.

‘She really is a great mom.’

“Sure.” He said, passing by his dad who had an unreadable expression on his face, as he went into his room. He threw his shirt into the hamper and opened his gift. Smiling wryly, he pulled the brand new shirt over his head and ripped off the tags, placing them in the trash.

XXXXX

A small feather was expelled into the air as the pillow was squeezed tightly by the teen’s arms, once again. Sasuke turned his head to the side, his dark hair pressing against his forehead, and being weighed down by the perspiration found there. He mumbled something unintelligible as he tossed onto the other side of his body, his arms no longer holding onto the anchor of the pillow.

‘It was dark; always pitch black in the old family room of his nightmare. No matter how many times he wandered through the room to the hallway, he never got used to the total darkness. He never got used to the sounds behind the door. Instead, the noises grew louder, almost as if his ear had been against the barrel of the gun as it was shot.

Every time that door opened, he told himself that he already knew what was behind it. He knew what to expect in terms of how his mother’s face looked, how much blood was on the floor, and how his father’s eyes were closed in death. Yet, every time he pushed the door open it changed. His mother’s face became more twisted in agony, the blood was no longer just on the carpet, but on the bed, splashed on the walls, and running in rivulets down his mother’s gown. Even though he tried not to stare at his father’s body, he couldn’t help but let his eyes roam over him until they reached his face. It was never the look of shock that had been permanently etched onto his face that disturbed him, but the wide, lifeless black eyes. Sasuke knew that he should look away now, before it was too late and he became trapped.

He tried to will his legs to move, to walk back down the hall and up the stairs, so he could hide under his blanket and wait for the police. But his legs remained motionless, his gaze still on his father’s eyes, waiting, until those black eyes rolled back into their sockets. He fell on the floor in the hallway, his eyes transfixed on the roaming eyeballs that rolled back and forth uncontrollably. Each time he tried to get away, his body always moved backwards, even though he knew his only escape was to the left. During all this, he never saw his mother move. It was like her body was being pulled by invisible wires, flying into animation the second he focused his attention back on her.

With his back pressed up against the wall, he stood slowly as she crawled towards him, her mouth open as she howled in pain. The tears were always the same though. They came without him realizing it, and were a constant stream down both sides of his face. By the time his mother was in front of him, grasping onto his shoulders, he knew it was too late. He closed his eyes, knowing that it would only make matters worse. His mother’s sobs were only louder in his ears, her nails were only sharper as they dug into his shoulder, and the knife that pressed against his ribcage was no longer a small kitchen knife. It had become longer, duller, and jagged. Though it still pierced the skin in between two ribs, where the burning started, and only spread over his entire body in a single wave of burning fire. He knew that if he opened his eyes now, he would see golden flames burning his skin, and the fabric of his clothes melting and molding to the frame of his body. It felt so real that he could smell the burning flesh, and coughed as gray smoke filled his lungs.’

Sasuke woke with a start, holding onto his chest as he coughed uncontrollably. When the coughs subsided, he threw the covers off his body, and stumbled out of bed. He headed towards the kitchen and poured himself a glass of cold water. After drinking the entire glass, he poured himself some more and carried it to his room. He looked at his bed, noticing the damp areas on his pillow. Sighing to himself, he checked the alarm clock by his bed.

It read 2:50 AM. Sasuke grabbed his bag off the floor and pulled some of his homework that wasn’t due for another day out to work on, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep for at least an hour or so. He rolled his neck from side to side, trying to crack it as he sat at his desk to work. After reading the same sentence for a fifth time, he finally gave up on doing English. He just couldn’t concentrate on the poem, and it wouldn’t do him any good to read it if he couldn’t focus and analyze it correctly.

The last thing he needed was for his grades to slip because of his stupid nightmares. He could already see a difference in his performance, due to the lack of sleep he was getting. It didn’t used to be as bad, though. Sometimes he had a nightmare once every week, maybe two. But now they were almost every night, and they morphed into something new and more terrifying each time. Even the things he was used to seeing still disturbed him, though it was probably because they actually happened.

Although he knew that most of his dreams weren’t real, he couldn’t tell which was starting to bother him more: the actual deaths of his family, or the parts that his mind created. They were starting to blend so well together, that he would have to stay up and revisit the crime scene all over again and tell himself what parts were real, and what were just his imagination. Sometimes though, he couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. He longed to forget that night, but he didn’t want it replaced with more horrifying images.

The young man sighed again as he pulled out his pre-calculus homework, and attempted to focus on it. Even though his sleep-addled mind kept supplying him with images from his dream, blurring the line between real and make believe.

XXXXX

Sakura glanced down at her watch, realizing that she was a few minutes early. So, she decided to sit at one of the outside tables of the café and wait for Hinata. Placing her hands into the pockets of her jacket, she tried to stay warm. However, she shivered at every gust of wind that blew right through the thin piece of material. Wishing she had brought a heavier jacket, she tried to get her mind off the weather by watching the people pass by.

Couples of all kind walked along the sidewalk in front of her. Most of them were huddled together, as they braced the windy weather. She smiled when she saw two women cross the street holding hands. Resting her elbow on the table she leaned on her hand as she watched them peek into the galleries and shops. Sakura sighed unknowingly to herself, wishing she had that kind of relationship with Hinata. Even though she knew Hinata had never had a boyfriend before, the chances of her being a lesbian and in love with her too were just too slim. Too small of a percentage for her to take a wild leap of faith and announce her love.

“Yeah, that would turn out well.” She scoffed at herself.

“What would?” A quiet, light voice asked her from behind.

Sakura jumped slightly out of her seat before turning around to see her dark haired friend.

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Jesus, Hinata, you scared me.”

The younger of the two girls just blushed and smiled at her apologetically, before sitting down in the other seat beside her.

“So, where did you want to go first?”

“Hmm… we could get some tea or coffee from Elizabeth’s, and then walk around if you like?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Sakura nodded at her as they got up to leave. Just walking down the streets of downtown Winston Salem was like walking through a gallery. There was artwork and graffiti everywhere, most of the graffiti being recognized as art. They passed shops and people, looking through some windows of galleries that they might want to visit. After listening to a man play the harmonica on the side of the road, they stopped at a gallery window that was close to the coffee shop.

“Uh… is this supposed to be art?” Sakura asked in a doubtful manner.

Hinata laughed lightly at the ridiculous apparel in the window.

“Um, I think it is. Though, I wouldn’t want that if someone gave it to me for free. And I definitely wouldn’t spend that much money on that.”

Sakura laughed with her this time, wondering why someone would spend almost a hundred dollars on a purse made out of jeans. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they actually looked like purses, but the designer put some kind of padding in the ass pockets of the jeans so that the purse was curvy on one side and flat on the other.

“Do you think he bedazzled that one?” Sakura said as she pointed out a hideous purse made out of light blue jeans that were inside out, and had plastic jewels and glitter around the pockets and on the handles. (4)

“Looks like it,” Hinata said disbelievingly. The two girls fell into a fit of giggles, but moved to the coffee shop when they got some dirty looks from the customers inside.

“So, we’re definitely not going in there.”

Sakura agreed as they got in line to order their coffee. They sat down at a table as they waited for their orders to be ready. The shop was so warm and inviting with the couches and chairs that the two of them decided to stay and drink their coffee for a little while.

After grabbing her order, Sakura sat down and stared at her friend as she stirred her drink. Her eyes followed every movement of those long, slim fingers, especially when Hinata dripped some creamer onto her finger and licked it off.

“So, do you know where you want to go to school?”

Hinata glanced up from her drink, a light blush forming on her cheeks as she noticed how Sakura was staring at her hands. She shifted in her seat, trying to get into a comfortable position. Her knee brushed up against the other girl’s jean clad leg, and she found herself ducking her head in embarrassment.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. So, do you know what schools you want to apply to or do you have a particular one in mind?” Sakura asked again.

“Um… well, I-I think I want to g-go t-t-to Salem c-college.” She stammered.

‘Damn it, Sakura knows that only happens when I’m nervous or embarrassed.’

“Why are you nervous? You worried about not getting in? Don’t sweat it, I’m sure you won’t have any problems there,” her friend told her in a reassuring tone, adding a sweet smile to raise her confidence.

“I-I hope so,” she murmured quietly, take a sip of her scalding hot tea. She winced at the sting of the hot liquid on her tongue, but swallowed it anyway, knowing it would distract her. She honestly didn’t think it would be this hard to ignore the other girl’s alluring nature. She saw her almost every day in class, though both of them were serious students and usually did their work, so there wasn’t much time for the two of them to sit and socialize. Not even during lunch, since they were at a table with fifteen other screaming and gossiping girls.

Even when they were alone together these last few days, it wasn’t this hard. Then again, she was a bit more stressed out about other things to really notice that the fluttering in her stomach was obviously caused by Sakura and not worry or stress. Now that she thought about it, she always felt a little lighter of heart when she was with the other girl. Or felt like her heart skipped a beat when she received a smile from the pink-haired woman.

“What about you?” She asked, hoping that her voice could be heard over the loud teenagers that had just walked into the shop. At least she wasn’t stammering now, but her voice was so low that she could barely hear it herself.

Sakura heard her anyway, since Hinata had captured her complete attention.

“Um… I’m looking at a few different schools: Greensboro College, Guilford College, Meredith, Peace, and even Salem.”

“No big university for you?” Hinata asked, giving her friend a questioning look.

“Nah, I don’t want a really big class where you can’t even talk to the teacher. I’m even rethinking Greensboro and Guilford for that reason. I like smaller schools.”

“Yeah, me too. I really hope I get into Salem. I love the campus, it’s so beautiful. It has the major I want, internships that I’m interested in, and I know I can get scholarships to go there.”

“That’s good. So, is there any reason why you want to go to an all women’s college,” the slightly older of the two girls asked as she crossed her legs, once again brushing up against Hinata’s legs. She murmured an apology as she took a sip from her coffee.

“Uh… n-no, not really. I guess… I’m just used t-t-to it. Plus, the school is amazing, so I wouldn’t care if it was coed or all women.” Hinata raised her cup and smiled behind the rim of it, glad that she could control her stuttering somewhat.

“That makes sense. I guess that’s why I wouldn’t mind Salem or Meredith and Peace. Though, I think I could get more scholarships at Salem than the other schools. But it definitely ain’t cheap. That’s the one of the things I don’t like about it; it’s private and therefore, extremely expensive.”

Hinata smiled at her before taking a sip of her drink again, pleased that it didn’t burn her tongue this time. As she set the cup down, she noticed one of the boys that had come in earlier making his way over to their table. He glanced back at his friends, giving them the thumbs up, and then stopped at their table.

“Hey ladies, how are you doing tonight,” he asked, giving them a charming smile. Hinata looked him up and down, thinking that he was attractive for being a year or two younger than her. Glancing over at Sakura, she compared her face to the young man’s. They were both attractive, but Sakura’s eyes were a beautiful shade of green that spoke more volumes than her words did sometimes. Not remembering what color eyes the guy had, she looked up at him again, noting that he had brown eyes. There was nothing really special about them, except for that they were slightly too big for his face. After studying his face, she realized that there wasn’t really anything earth shattering or compelling about his looks. He was just nice looking. She didn’t even care to compare the rest of his body to Sakura’s, already knowing who’s she would like better.

When neither of them answered, he started ranting about how beautiful they were, and asking them if they had boyfriends. Sakura said that she didn’t have one and wasn’t interested in picking one up either. The young man pouted at her in response, but brightened up when he glanced over at Hinata. When she didn’t say anything, he took her hand and placed a small kiss on the back of it. Hinata blushed a deep shade of pink, and pulled her hand out of his grasp. The guy’s friends started to laugh, a couple of them giving wolf calls.

Feeling flustered and embarrassed, she looked down at her hands, ignoring his stare. She peeked up from under her bangs and glanced in Sakura’s directions. Her friend glared at the guy standing beside them, and Hinata could see the slightly murderous look in her eyes. She tapped the other girl’s leg with her foot, demanding her attention. When Sakura looked at her, Hinata gave her a pleading look, asking her for help without words.

Sakura smirked, and nodded to her friend. Hinata let out a sigh of relief, but lifted her head up in confusion when she felt someone holding her hand. Thinking that it was the guy again, she was going to snatch it back. But it was Sakura that was stroking her fingers over the skin on the back of her hand.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re on a date. With each other,” she emphasized, glaring at the boy with a look that said she expected him to retreat now if he wanted to live another day.

“Oh… really? Damn, that’s hot. Hey guys, they’re lesbians!” He called over loudly to his buddies. They started to cheer and asked them for their numbers, being as annoying as humanly possible.

“Hey, interested in a threesome?” Another guy asked as he jumped off the couch and came up to their table. He stole a chair from another table and sat with them.

“What is that men don’t understand about the term lesbian? What part of lesbian says that I want to have sex with a guy?” Sakura asked harshly, her eyes gleaming with anger.

“Oh come on, you might like it. If you’re worried about me not being able to get the job done, then don’t worry. I could do you both and not get tired. ‘Cause I’m all about pleasing the ladies.”

Instead of Sakura yelling at him, like they expected, it was Hinata that spoke up. Surprising them all, and especially herself, she said, “I’ll try and make this real simple for you. We’re lesbians, meaning, we like women, and only women. We don’t like dick, so keep it in your pants until you get home to jerk it off. ‘Cause I’m sure you don’t know the first thing about pleasing a woman,” she stated, standing up after she was done, and grabbing her drink.

“You ready to leave?”

Sakura just nodded dumbly at her as she picked up her own drink and walked around the guys, who were laughing and slapping their rejected friend on the back. He was too dumbfounded to say anything until the girls were already half way out the door.

“Fucking dykes,” he muttered, slapping his friends’ hands away.

Sakura and Hinata moved down the sidewalk, an uncomfortable silence hanging over them. The dark haired girl was silently fuming, her hands balled up into fists as she thought about what that guy had said. Hinata wasn’t one to get angry easily, or say something about it either, but she had never experienced anything like that before. Sure, she had been hit on by guys that she didn’t know before, but they usually just left her alone when she ignored them. But she didn’t remember any of them ever being so vulgar like the guy back in the coffee shop.

While Hinata stormed off ahead of her, Sakura watched her quietly. She was surprised at her friend’s outburst, having never heard her say anything like that. Sure, she was irritated with those guys back there as well, but her getting angry was nothing new. Everyone knew she had a short temper. Hinata, on the other hand, was always passive when it came to arguments or disagreements of any kind.

A thought struck Sakura as she glanced down at the clenched fist of her friend.

‘Maybe… just maybe that guy’s comment was a bit too close to home. Could Hinata really be…?’

Sakura picked up her speed until she was next to the slightly shorter girl, and then interlocked their arms together. The sudden contact made Hinata unclench her hand and blush up at her friend. Smiling in return at her pink-haired friend, she forgot about what was bothering her. Her thoughts turned to Sakura, and how she liked her smiling face, her bright eyes, and the warmth from her touch.

“So, how about we get out of here?”

She nodded her head, letting Sakura lead them back to the parking lot. Neither of them paid attention to the shops, people, or other couples that brushed past them. They just walked together quietly; arm in arm, as parked cars came into view. Not wanting their short “date” to end so soon, Hinata asked the other girl to come over and eat dinner.

“I’d like that,” Sakura told her, fishing her keys out of her pocket. They separated; Hinata walking towards her car as Sakura unlocked the door and sat in the driver’s seat of her own car. She let out a small sigh, and then smiled to herself.

Maybe, just maybe things would go the way she wanted them to with Hinata. She could only hope.


1. Lamentations 3:21-22
2. I found a recipe online that described how you made homemade ramen, and this was part of it.
3. I know that when you are talking about a person you’re supposed to say that they are well, not good. But most people don’t speak grammatically correct English, and it annoys the hell out of my ex-girlfriend when people say this. She always has to correct them.
4. So… I live in Winston Salem, go to Salem College, and downtown is literally a few minutes away. I actually saw these handbags, and I couldn’t stop laughing at them. I was with my dad, who is just as bad as I am. Anyway, no offense to the person, cause art is art, but… they were pretty damn ugly in my opinion. I don’t know how much they actually cost, or if they were in fact bedazzled, so I just guessed. And if you don’t know what bedazzled means, just look it up on google or youtube.

Anyway, I have to work out a few kinks before the next chapter. There is something that I really want to happen in this story, I mean, it was going to be a major part too. But so far, after everything I’ve written, it would be a little out of place. So, I need to make it fit, otherwise this story will just not go the way I want it too. I really am sorry for the long ass waits in between my updates, but just know that I will never discontinue this story unless I’m gonna die. I love it that much and I’ve pretty much planned out the entire thing. It has at least another ten or eleven chapters to go before I’m finished with it. Even though I outlined this chapter… I put maybe one thing in there that I wanted. The other stuff has to wait for the next chapter, so, this could take a long time to finish. Blame school, my laziness, and my outrageous imagination.

Love you guys,
Innerchild