"So...I think I kind of like Hidan."
I watch Sarah bustle around behind the counter, lips pressed into a worried line and big blue eyes glancing swiftly back and forth between me and the customer before her. I sit beside her on the little stool reserved for the cashier-which Sarah so willingly gave up-and thumb through a possible manga I could buy. The older woman sets her small little purse on the counter top and begins to fish through it, searching for $9.95 to purchase her book. Sarah takes this opportunity to look back at me, brows furrowed with unease.
"Alex? What do you think?" She presses and then begins to ramble. "I mean, I know he's really immature and really loud. But he has his sweet moments too. I just, I don't know how I feel about him. But I thought you'd want to know, because you're my sister and all."
My lips twitch into a small smile. "And...how long have we known them?"
She lets out a loud, dramatic sigh-which startles the old woman. With an offended huff, the woman slams a ten on the counter with her Hulk-like old lady strength and proceeds to grab her book and stomp towards the door. Sarah grimaces and shouts a soft apology after her. I giggle and shake my head.
"A week or two." Sarah grumbles, answering my question from earlier. "That's why I'm so confused."
Sarah is as slow as a snail when it comes to relationships. She doesn't like to dive right into things, especially when she has uncertainties like the understandable ones that come with being around Hidan. He isn't exactly...boyfriend material. He's loud, abrasive, utterly insane, and has a unique love for killing things.
And so I sigh softly, mulling it over in my head. "Do you flirt with him?"
"I guess." She shrugs lightly.
"And he flirts back?" Really, this tells me nothing. Hidan would willingly flirt with a rock, so him flirting means nothing. But it's always good to ask, right?
Sarah chuckles. "Yeah. He's kind of taken over my bed now. It's sweet. I'll wake up and he'll be snuggled up to my side, almost like a little kid." Her big blue eyes soften, staring far off into space. Another customer steps up, several books in hand, and Sarah rings them up. I watch her carefully.
She's falling.
Hard.
I smile slightly. She turns to me, frowning, when she's no longer faced with customers. "What do you think I should do?"
"Kiss him. I dare you."
My best friend, and sister, smirks. "I'll fucking do it."
"I think you and Hidan would be cute together. I think you can handle his immaturity and he can handle your temper." I nod slightly to myself, serious now. "And if you ever get really pissed at him, you can always kill him. He's immortal, so he can't really die. So it's a win win!"
Sarah laughs lightly, nodding in agreement, and turns to help a customer.
After a little while, I hop off my stool and motion towards the manga section. Sarah, who's dealing with yet another customer, nods slightly to let me know she got my message. Slowly, I pad my way over, hands shoved into the front pocket of my hoodie, and squat down in front of the shelf. I'd left the manga book at the front desk, since I do intend on purchasing it.
I'm kind of glad I don't read Naruto, otherwise I'd have to move my manga volumes before the Akatsuki could get their sneaky little hands on them. There's so many things that they don't know, that they don't really want to know, that I know about them. I'm not sure whether I should tell Pein about their deaths and try to prevent them. I'm not sure how to even broach the subject. That, and there's so many other delicate topics I would need to explain to them.
It's giving me a headache just thinking about it.
I stand slowly and look around. An overworked mother ushers her kid out the door, ignoring the crying baby in her arms. Two teenagers sit in the lounge area, flipping through magazines, sharing sly looks and soft spoken words. Gossiping, no doubt. Another girl around my age sits off to the side, sipping a small mug of hot chocolate. It's only October, and the lowest temperature is in the sixties, but apparently it's cold enough for Rodger, Sarah's boss, to open up the hot chocolate stand.
My gaze flickers back to Sarah.
My blood runs cold.
"Leave." I am behind the counter in an instant, sliding gracefully in between Sarah and Carlos, eyes narrowing angrily at him. My voice is cold, iron hard, and to any normal sane person, enough to send shivers down their spine. "Now."
Carlos blinks. His almond eyes squint slightly, glancing me over once in slight surprise. The corners of his lips twitch up into a ghost of a smile and he leans forward, resting an elbow against the counter top and his chin in his palm. Carlos is a cute boy, with soft mocha colored skin and inky black hair that's neatly spiked up. Any normal girl would fall for him easily...and then run for their lives when they catch a glimpse of his true, insane colors.
"Well, well." He drawls slowly, toying with the words on the edge of his tongue. "If it isn't my favorite person."
"Don't make me repeat myself." I snarl at him.
He scoffs softly. Carlos, despite his better judgement, has never truly taken my threats as seriously as he should. What he doesn't understand is that just because there are other human witnesses in the room, it doesn't mean I'm not going to wrench the cash register off the desk and repeatedly bludgeon him with it until his face is a bloody pulp. Carlos doesn't move, facial expression impassive. His eyes, the golden brown color of almonds, are hard. Something dangerous flickers within.
Suspicion swells up inside of me like a trapped balloon.
"Excuse me, but if you're not going to buy anything, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store." Sarah looks ready to hug Rodger, as said ginger steps up behind Carlos and taps him on the shoulder. Face already twisting into a grimace, I wait for Carlos to lash out at him and try to start something. It wouldn't be the first time the store has had to call the cops to get rid of him.
Carlos merely sighs, casts Sarah and I one long, last hungry look, and then casually shoves his hands into his pockets. I tense immediately, waiting for him to pull a gun, but he does nothing else except cleanly walk out the front door. The small little bell above the door chimes, marking his exit.
"This isn't good." I murmur.
Sarah couldn't agree more.
I loop my arm through my little baggy, four new manga books lightly hitting my upper thigh with each swaying step. Sarah giggles, grabs her purse and unpins her name tag. She trades her little locker for her purse with the pin, then slams the door shut and twists the knob. I sigh dramatically. "You take forever!"
She rolls her eyes. "You're really impatient."
I stick my tongue out at her.
Sarah giggles slightly, which sets off my contagious laughter. We both burst into laughter, clutching our stomachs and squeezing our eyes shut tightly. We walk out of the storage room and into the main store. Still giggling, we wave to Jake, who came to take over Sarah's shift, and link our arms together once we reach the door. We skip out into the parking lot like the idiots we are.
We slide to a neat stop beside my car. I unlock it and open the door.
Pain erupts around the base of my skull, fanning out to curl around my head like a clawed hand. My vision blackens completely and I fall forward, body hitting the pavement with a heavy thud and a sickening crack. All the air whooshes out of my lungs, the suspicion balloon that blew up earlier now popping entirely.
I'm cold. I can't move. My head throbs.
Everything around me fades into the cool, shadowy black.
