This story was first written as an English assignment when I was fifteen so its quality is rather lacking I know, and since I've only changed the character names and some minor details of the story line the characters are rather OOC.

I Laugh

I can feel the burning stares of the twelve juror's eyes boring into the side of my head as I sit in my cold, hard wooden chair. Strange, even though none are close enough to touch me, it almost felt like their gazes were tickling me. It was an odd almost nagging sensation, like having a feather brushed softly against my face; pesky, but nothing more.

I couldn't help but wonder if I wouldn't be here if I hadn't caught my husband Sasuke cheating on me…the bastard. He made my life hell for three years and now that he's gone, he is still making me miserable. I wonder what was going through his mind when he saw me standing there at the end of our bed with his gun in my hand, aimed at him and his lover, my best friend, and as it turned out whore, Ino. I think it was her betrayal that hurt the most. I had suspected he was having an affair, hell I was sure of it. He was never the faithful type, but why with her of all people I'll never know, not now anyway.

Sure she was beautiful; the fucking blind could see that. With her angel like face, long platinum blonde hair, and stunning blue eyes, she could have any man she wanted; she was like my sister in all but blood. How could she do that to me? I would never have suspected that she was capable of doing such a thing if I had not seen it with my own eyes. I can't believe all the times I sat there with Ino, sipping coffee with the slut, asking her what I should do, all but begging her for advice. She must have thought it was funny watching me sit there, crying my eyes out onto her slim little shoulder.

I bet they talked about it together, I bet they laughed at my idiocy, at my weakness. Well who's laughing now Ino? Just who the fuck's laughing now? I could feel a traitorous smile slide its way onto my face but I quickly twist it into a frown. Damn it! Did anyone see? I looked around the courtroom scanning the faces of everyone present. No, no one had caught my little mistake. Good.

All eyes are still glued onto the ever talking raven haired, green clad lawyer. Who was repeating yet again how the murder weapon and bodies have still not been found, and if fortune smiles on me, they never will be. I allow a small sigh of relief and the nearest juror looked over at me with dark blue eyes nearly hidden behind a mop of shaggy blonde hair. I give him a pitiful look, adding a slight tremble to my full bottom lip for added effect. He gave me a reassuring, sympathetic smile before looking back to my loud mouthed diffident. The obnoxious man was pleading for the final time that the court sentence me to waste my youth in prison for a crime that I couldn't have committed. All the while he waved his arms around wildly with each phrase and striking a pose as he made his closing statement.

Just where the hell did they even find this fucking fruitcake? His near constant energy astounds me, I can't help but wonder if there's more then just coffee in his thermos at the end of our table. I glanced at the obscenely bulky thing to my right with distrust and I'll admit a mild bit of curiosity. He's got to be on something…

I rubbed at my green eyes, so as to give the impression of being red and puffy; hoping to appear as though I'm trying not to cry. It doesn't look good for such a young widow to have dry eyes about her husband's death. I can't help but often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't walked in on them that night. Would they have gone on for years behind my back? Would he have come to his senses and seen I was the women for him? Could we have had marriage counseling, a simple divorce maybe? It's too late for any of that now...far, far too late.

Killing them may have been a bit…harsh. But so was finding my husband in bed with my best friend wearing the lingerie she had given me for my birthday only two weeks beforehand. At the time all I could think of was how Ino stood next to me on my wedding day, dressed in her powder blue bridesmaid dress telling me how happy she was for me. With her wide perfect blue eyes looking so innocent, her soft little voice filling my ears with promises to one day watch our children for us in the future. As I stood there looking in the mirror at my flawless white dress with my "best friend" standing beside me, drinking in her lies as if they were a fine wine. I could still remember how right it all felt, with my best friend of nineteen years at my side and the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with waiting for me in the next room.

I was such a fool back then, but not anymore…nor will I ever be again. Not that it mattered, if this finale hearing doesn't go my way I'll be joining them both in hell soon enough. Though I couldn't bring myself to feel any remorse for what I'd done. Quite the contrary, I had loved the feel of the cold steel gun sending a chill up my arm, the shock of the gun's kick back as I fired the shots that ended their pathetic lives. Even the crack of revolver resounding in my ears was almost heavenly as it silenced their cries for mercy.

Tough all those things shadowed in comparison to watching their scarlet blood seep out and stain the white pillow cases; with their shattered faces still twisted in terror. I almost wanted to keep the tooth that had been dislodged from Ino's mouth be my single bullet. Of course keeping any of the evidence was a foolhardy desire no matter how much satisfaction it would have given me.

I allowed them to beg for their miserable hides for a few minutes before I pulled the trigger. I let them sob for forgiveness, beg for it. I wanted to see the fear in their eyes before I killed them. I've never been a violent person; I'd never taken any joy from the pain of others, but after what they did; after what they were doing when I came home…it just felt so good. I almost shot them before they knew I was in the room. Seeing them tangled in my covers like they were was almost too much, but I wanted them to know it was coming. I didn't want them to die without knowing why.

A wave of pleasure runs down my spine at the thought of the bugs and worms that must surely be feasting on their rotted flesh; even as I sit here awaiting the final verdict. It was hard not to squirm in delight as I imagined them in that cold empty field together forever. I'm sure that's what they wanted anyway. I wonder how pretty her face is now after all these months of decay, the dirt stripping all the shine and luster from her soft hair. The same hair that I used to run my fingers through jealously when we were younger, so much prettier then my own off pink strawberry-blonde locks could ever be.

"Miss. Sakura Haruno!" The judge, Tsunade called so suddenly I nearly fell from my seat.

'Y-yes Ma'am?" I asked in the best timid voice I could muster.

"Due to the lack of evidence in this case the jury has found you not guilty," she said with a sharp clack of her gravel, "Court dismissed!"

"Yahoo!" screamed the ridicules lawyer dressed in his green suite. "Yet another case solved by yours truly," he said proudly, pointing an over sized thumb at himself. Yep, drugs…and very heavy ones at that apparently…just like that, I was walking down the busy streets of New York not even ten minutes later and into a coffee shop free as a bird. I was free from a life sentence in state prison, free from my emotionally abusive husband, free from my back stabbing best friend, hell I was even free from my drug addicted lawyer.

"One low fat latte please," I said pulling out my wallet and paying the man at the counter who looked so much like my lawyer that I nearly left on the spot. He took my money with by far the biggest smile that I have ever seen, and I wondered briefly if his jaw might come unhinged under the pressure and fall to the floor. After a few moments, he returned with my drink and I thanked him before taking a seat as far from the little oddball as I could.

"Weird isn't he?" a gruff voice asked.

I turned to face the person, ready to tell them to get lost, but I found myself looking up into the most beautiful pair of cyan blue eyes I had ever seen. Far more lovely then even Ino's had ever been.

"I'm Gaara," he said in a quiet voice, "I've ever seen you around here before, are you new to the area?"

"Yeah, this is my first time, how bout you?" I asked.

"No, I come here everyday on my break at three, got to have my caffeine fix." he said holding up a mug of black coffee.

"Yeah, I can't live without the stuff either. It's like my crack, I'll go into withdrawal if I go too long without a fix," I said, holding my little waxed paper mug up for him to see as I smiled and joked for the first time in months. He smirked at my odd sense of humor, shaking his head causing a few strands of reddish brown hair to fall into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said tilting his head to the side.

"Oh, sorry! I'm Sakura," I said reaching my hand out.

He took it into his larger warm hand with a faint smile "Maybe I'll see you here again when my break isn't almost over."

"Sure, we can have our fix together some time?" I released his hand from mine and marveled at the tingling in my finger tips.

"It'll be my treat." He got up after draining the last of his coffee, shutting his laptop and grabbing his burgundy coat.

"Well I'll just have to hold you to that then. Is the day after tomorrow good for you?" I asked taking my hand back reluctantly.

"It's a date then," he said over his shoulder as he went out the door.

I left as soon as I was finished with my coffee and found myself lost in the sea of human bodies that made up the streets of New York City. Because I know that no one will know why or care for that matter, I throw my head back, and I laugh.

End

AN: Can anyone guess who the lawyer was, the coffee shop worker, or the blonde jury member? Yes, I know this was a little shorter than planned, but well I didn't want to go into too much detail with it. Sorry if it seemed rushed…and Gaara wasn't supposed to be in it I swear, but I just couldn't resist! I love this pairing! I know Gaara's a bit ooc, but it was a last minute kind of thing.