Empty
It was a bright morning. The sun was glaring off of anything that gave off even the dullest reflection, the birds were chirping in that annoying-yet-cheerful manner they always did on such days, and only thing upsetting the morning was the fact that Naruto Uzamaki's alarm clock hadn't gone off.
"I'm late! I'm late! Why the HELL haven't you gone off??" Naruto screamed pointlessly at his alarm clock. Upon banging at the back off it, it became suddenly apparent his last two batteries had gone dead. Naruto swore, and leapt out of bed, scrambling around the floor for something decent to wear. Maybe if I had the money to wash clothes more than twice a month, he thought bitterly, I could have something I wouldn't have to SNIFF every morning to see if it was too embarrassing to wear in public!
Finally finding something that wasn't too far gone to the dark side of scents, he skidded out his bedroom door, yanking the day-glow orange shirt over his head, into the remaining space of the quiet and empty apartment. He yanked his fridges door open, forgetting he had to be careful, less it come off again. Naruto sniffed his last milk carton, then scrunched up his face in disgust and promptly turned it over his sink (even though it was full of dishes) only to have a lump of sour milk land on a cracked plate with a sickening splat.
"…No breakfast today then."
Sasuke Uchiha, however, had started his morning on a very different note. His alarm clock had gone off promptly on time, allowing the dark haired boy to wander with no hurry down his own quiet, though considerably longer, hallways. He took a leisurely shower, the water turned up so that if was so hot it almost burnt his skin. But the oh-so-pale Sasuke liked it that way. His towel was embroidered, in addition to being pure cotton.
He flipped idly through his extensive closet of clothes that were both designer and expensive, before settling on one that was dark blue and matched his hair well. He took his pick of fresh food from his kitchen, all locally grown or made. Finally, the sixteen year picked up his wallet and ambled over to his garage to pick out a car to drive to school.
These two, no matter how independent they may seem, are children in essence.
And these children are alone.
Sasuke was bombarded by lusting females the instant he parked. They had been waiting for him this time. He had to not-very-nicely refuse them to get through the crowd, and was still fairing far better than Naruto, who at this point had had to run all the way to school and was barely breathing by the time he skidded into his first period classroom, barely seconds after the late bell sounded.
"Uzamaki. You're late again." His teacher, Mr. Kakashi, marked something an the attendance roll.
"Just be glad I'm here…" Naruto grumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!"
It was only a few minutes into the day's lesson, when Naruto's eyes began to betray him, straying towards the most popular boy in school. Sasuke wasn't even doing anything, just sitting. He didn't even have to take notes. He was a real prodigy, all his teachers said. He made straight A's in every class he'd ever taken, never had to worry about what he ate, excelled at any sport he tried, was one of the richest people in the entire town, and to top it all off, had every girl of every age group after his virginity.
Naruto could physically feel his thoughts comparing himself.
He had to work harder than anyone else in the entire school to maintain his D+ average, couldn't worry about what he ate if he needed to because of lack of funds, was a failure in basic Phys. Ed, was one of the poorest people in town (who wasn't homeless), and had been rejected by every girl he'd ever asked on a date.
Worst of all, his attractions had now taken a disturbing turn toward Sasuke Uchiha against his will.
He was jolted violently out of his thoughts by the shrill sound of the bell. Silently, Naruto shouldered his bag, and ambled off towards English, before changing his mind and turning towards the closest Mcdonalds instead.
It was during lunch period, after the third period he had actually returned for, that Naruto was confronted by two very, very annoyed girls from his class. The first was the pink haired beauty of the school, Sakura Haruno, whom Naruto had asked out three times to be finally rejected in the most humiliating way, and the second he vaguely recalled to be named Ino. She was only in one of his classes, so he barely knew her.
"Okay, Naruto, give it up," Sakura accused harshly, cornering the agitated Naruto, "We've seen the way you've been looking at MY-" Ino gave her a sharp glare, "-OUR Sasuke, and you'd better back off!" She said, as if her words would have much of an effect. She didn't exactly look very threatening.
Naruto was silent.
"If you ever make a move, I swear I'll-"
"You'll what?" He asked dangerously.
"I'll- I'll-" She stuttered, searching for lost words.
"It doesn't matter
anyway. He's all yours, honestly."
Both girls paused at this.
Naruto's face softened involuntarily, "I'd rather have someone I care about happy with you… than miserable with me." His eyes looked lost, as if watching some painful memory. Then his face hardened, and he brushed past his frozen accusers, and disappeared into the lunch crowd.