There wasn't much that interested Sasuke. He was an intelligent boy. A sophomore in high school with the mind capacity of a sophomore in college.
With that said, Sasuke had very few friends who were on his brain level. One was Neji Hyuuga, who wasn't really his friend but he was as close as it came.
For Sasuke, it was better to have one stoic, unfriendly acquaintance like Neji than to have several loud, annoying, unbearable friends like Kiba or Choji or worse. Lee.
Sasuke got chills at the thought of Lee.
Though Sasuke had a short friend list, it didn't exactly mean he wanted it that way. It's just that no one was good enough or—tolerable enough.
Ha, try to imagine Sasuke's relationship list.
Nevertheless, Sasuke went on in life. Friendless, disinterested.
Until one day.
It was odd.
Sasuke and Neji had been at a local café along with some other classmates of theirs. Ichiraku's Cafe. It was kinda the hang out spot for the students at Konoha High.
Sasuke recognized the faces of all the baristas who worked at Ichiraku's, for they were also students at his school. Lee could be spotted way in the back working diligently on pastry orders that hadn't been baked yet. TenTen prepared the coffee and treats at the counter, and Sakura was the waitress.
Sakura always beamed when she spotted Sasuke in public. It was a key reason he liked to come to the café. Sure, he couldn't stand the pink haired girl but she sure was… amusing.
She started to make her way over to him and Neji who were at their own table beside other people at other tables.
At the table to the left of Sasuke, he could hear annoying hollering. "Hinata, Shino! Look here! I bet both of ya, I could drink this coffee and make it come out of my nose!" Kiba always wanted to put on a show.
"Th-That would be pretty impressive, K-Kiba." Hinata's soft voice said.
"Or idiotic." Shino mumbled, pushing his glasses up more towards his face.
Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. 'How annoying.' He thought, resting his chin in his palm.
Sasuke was bored with his life. He wanted change. Something new.
Sakura skipped up to his table, a bright smile plastered on her face. "Hey, Neji. Hi, Sasukeeeee."
"Sakura." Neji nodded. "Just 2 black teas. Like usual." He said bluntly, not attempting to make conversation.
Sakura nodded, scribbling it down on her notepad. "Anything el-"
"Actually, Sakura. Make mine a… caramel cappuccino." Sasuke said to her. Neji shot Sasuke a strange look. So did Sakura but she shrugged it off.
"Okay! Back in a jiff!" She giggled and walked off.
Neji still had an eyebrow lifted to Sasuke. "You've never ordered that before."
"So what?" Sasuke asked.
"We don't like sugary drinks." Neji stated.
"That's why I ordered it for me."Sasuke shrugged. "Today, I'm gonna try out something new."
"Hn." Neji grunted disapprovingly.
Sakura stayed true to her word; 'Back in a jiff.' She was and brought each boy their respective cups. The raven haired boy's lip twitched as he smelled the sugar emanating from the cup. He had no idea why he ordered that sugar-filled monstrosity but he wouldn't dare put the cup down in front of Neji.
Sasuke went to sip from the hot cup but before it reached his lips, someone caught his eye. That was a first. It was a boy. A boy he'd never seen at school or at Ichiraku's.
He was definitely interesting.
He had to be the same age as Sasuke. If not, only a year younger. His hair was a bright blond color and his eyes-Oh, his eyes were a beautiful blue. Like the ocean.
He had these scars on his face. Three identical on each cheek. They looked weird, intriguing, beautiful; to Sasuke.
The boy walked out from the back where Lee was. Sasuke was surprised he didn't see him before. He held a broom and wore a nametag. On the nametag, Sasuke could only make out an N from where he was sitting.
Sasuke's gaze lifted back to the boy's face. Something about the boy's face seemed… genuine. All he did was sweep, after he left the back. Literally. His only job was to sweep the floor polluted with napkins, cup lids, and torn up sugar packets. Yet, when he swept that garbage, he did it as if it saved the world when he did it. There was so much focus in what he was doing. And every time he looked up at a passing customer, there was a bright smile shone at them.
Even if they stepped in his dirt pile.
And it wasn't an artificial 'can I have a tip' smile. Even though, based on how he dressed, God knows he needed a tip.
It was more a smile that said, 'I'm happy that you're alive.'
It was a smile that-
"-ke.. Sasuke…!" Neji snapped his fingers bringing Sasuke out of his slightly obsessive trance.
"What, Neji?" he asked, somewhat curtly.
Neji held back an aggressive glare. "You obviously aren't interested in anything I'm saying or have been for the past 10 minutes so I'm going to leave."
"Fine, Neji. I'll see you-" Sasuke paused. 'What? I've been watching this guy for 10 minutes?' He shook his head. "I'll see you later."
Neji rolled his eyes and got up, leaving his money for the bill and empty cup on the table. "Enjoy your poison." Then he left.
Sasuke looked down at his now cool untouched beverage and sneered, putting it down. He turned back to subtly stare again at the blond but just to Sasuke's luck, he was gone again. Probably to the back again.
Sasuke groaned to himself, waiting for him to come back out.
Sasuke waited all evening for him to come back out. 3 hours. When he finally did, it was 7:23. 37 minutes from closing time. Everyone but Sasuke was gone. Sakura had noticed and tried to approach him on several occasions but he continued to brush her off.
Again, blondie had his handy dandy broom once he exited the back. He swept ever so elegantly.
A thought crossed Sasuke's mind. Sasuke's brain tried to find the percentage of what he was about to do going wrong. He sighed, deciding everything can't be calculated when you're 'trying something new.'
He took a deep breath and walked a few steps over to the boy who was staring at the ground. Sasuke stood there kind of awkwardly for a few seconds until he cleared his throat.
The boy looked up, blinked then smiled. "Hi. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I was, um, just wondering if you'd like to have some coffee with me?" Sasuke asked.
The boy blinked again. "Me…? Now?" He asked, his smile back, but more amused.
"Yes." He answered simply, nodding.
The blonde bit his lip. "Yeah, okay. Just let me finish this up real quick." He gestured to his broom.
Sasuke nodded and sat back in his seat, waiting for the boy to finish, a sudden warm feeling inside him. He played with his fingers idly.
After 3 minutes, the boy came back, carrying two cups. He sat where Neji previously was sitting. Sasuke much preferred the blond.
"I'm Naruto." The boy grinned, offering out his hand.
"Sasuke." He couldn't help but to softly smile back, shaking his hand. "What is this, Naruto?" he asked, picking up the drink.
"Caramel cappuccino. It's my favorite." He nodded, taking a sip.
Sasuke blinked. 'How ironic.'
"Taste it." Naruto chuckled, gesturing to the drink.
It dawned on Sasuke that he had never tasted that wretched sugary drink. He just set it down and let it get cold, never actually trying it.
Well, here was a new, hot one. Right in front of him. So he gave it a try.
"Well? You like it?" Naruto asked, hopefully.
Sasuke looked over at him and licked his lips, grinning.
"Love it."
And Naruto smiled that 'I'm happy that you're alive' smile.
The benefits of trying something new.