a/n: again, writing this whenever I have time. Just a small thought that came up after surfing the web.
edit: I'm thinking of rework the first chapter before publishing anymore for now. As well as having school and exams, it looks like this will have to be put off for now!
"And coming next is the newest hit. Remember you're listening to 97.7 Konoha-"
Sasuke lowered the dial of his car, the coming tune playing softly as he continued to drive through the streets. Recently, he had been listening to this one radio station. Not because he was particularly interested in the music, but more because of the commentator who worked there.
Well, one particular one. There were three that he knew of. Sai, a male he assumed, who liked drawing. Sakura, the only female there, and the one who usually took over the relationship talk. Then there was Naruto. At first, Sasuke had decided he hated his voice. Loud and fast. But as he continued to listen to the station, he couldn't help but continue to listen, drawn in by the energy.
He had tried to deny it, trying to convince himself of that it was for the music, or the critiques of various places around the city. Still, he knew that it was neither of these, and eventually, he (somewhat) accepted it.
"-like we were saying, Sai, Sakura-chan and I went around the city last week trying different food places and obviously, Ichiraku was ranked first again!"
"And obviously not, because this time, Sai and I went around, making sure you weren't giving your biased opinion again."
Sasuke's fingers had turned the dial up again, listening once more to Naruto's outrageous love for that place. It was a ramen stand tucked into a corner of the city and had been growing more popular recently. Probably thanks to Naruto's constant rambling about his favorite food. Sasuke could feel the corner of his mouth turn up with a slight twitch, listening to the slight bickering that ensued on the radio.
It was something like a pattern, listening to the radio whenever he drove and specifically, this channel.
"And at seven o'clock we're doing shout outs again! Give us a call at-"
Even later that night, Sasuke wouldn't be able to explain to himself why he had dialed the number. He certainly didn't expect anyone to pick up, so he just let his phone ring on speaker, echoing in the car, competing with the music playing. His finger hovered the end button, planning to press down before he heard a small 'click' on the other end. A signifier of a call being picked up. By now he was feeling nervous. Scratch that, Sasuke never felt nervous for anything.
He took a deep breath in, and exhaled, calming himself one more time. Obviously, it was probably an automatic message stating that he was, unfortunately, the twenty-somethingth caller.
"We're sorry, you are the... eighth... caller."
A roll of his eyes. Of course he wouldn't have won, after all it would be nearly impossible to be the seventh caller out of everyone there. To think that he was so close was still so frustrating.
"Wait, wait, is someone still on here?"
Sasuke froze in his seat, before jerking himself back to concentrate on the road. His heart was starting to beat a little faster. Had he been imagining things? Or was there really someone talking on the other end, and not just a machine.
"Hello, anyone here...?"
He paused, wondering if he should speak up or not, wondering why the phone had been picked up even though he wasn't the seventh caller.
"Well, anyone who found out they were the eighth caller would have probably hung up in frustration." There was the distinctively female voice, probably belonging to Sakura.
"Or they were moping around." Sai. Or so he assumed. Voices on the phone sounded a bit different. "But, aren't you supposed to be leaving by now?"
"Aw c'mon, after the seventh hung up on us, I hoped there would be someone here." The whining from Naruto, the loudest, probably because he was the closest to the phone on their end. "And today's my late day, remember? I'm taking late days to make up for when I'm not going to be here later."
Oh. That was a bit disappointing to hear.
"Hello?" Sasuke spoke up, immediately wondering if it was just better to have hung up, or just let it be.
"Great!" An excited yelp from the phone, and Sasuke could hear the sound of shuffling, as if he were moving papers around. "See, I knew there would be someone there." This time, the s's were prominent, causing Sasuke to guess that he was hissing to the others in the room.
"Anyways, the seventh caller we had hung up on us, so it looks like today's your lucky day!"
Lucky day indeed.
"I'm gonna put you on hold for a little bit, and as soon as it hits seven I'm going to introduce you in, and your name is?"
Sasuke paused. There was no denying that he didn't want to give his name on air, especially because if anyone he knew listened in, there would go his reputation.
"Raven." He responded promptly, answering with what was the first thing that popped into his mind. A nickname was alright, or he told himself that it was.
"Alright, Raven, just keep your shout out in mind and I'm putting you on hold."
Sasuke nodded his head even though he knew that no one would be able to see him. He didn't know what he was supposed to say, doubting that he would have even been chosen in the first place. But now he was stuck here and having to make a shout out where he didn't know who to make it towards.
Sasuke Uchiha was not one to make shout outs. The only person that came up into his mind was his brother, but there was nothing in particular he wanted to say. The only other people that came into mind were a couple of friends. Or at least... he kind of considered them friends. More like acquaintances.
Then there was Naruto. There was absolutely no way he was going to make a shout out to him. Never ever ever.
He'd settle for his brother. Even though it would never be heard by him.
"Now we're back, and this time with Raven who had a shout out for..?"
"A sibling."
Sasuke paused, wincing at the sound of his voice through the phone, then the radio. Curse the bad reception for ruining his voice. At least, in this way, no one would recognize that it was him.
"Shout out to them for being the greatest ass out there."
He could hear a low whistle from the radio and another grimace, not meaning to say that on air.
"Looks like you've got some sibling issues Raven, but best of luck with them, and maybe hear from you again about it!"
He mentally cursed himself, bringing a palm to his forehead. He quickly hung up, not wanting to deal with it anymore. That was definitely not a good first impression. At least no one knew who he was, as if that was any consolation.
Although in reality, it didn't really matter much.
He pulled up into the parking lot of his apartment, pulling his keys out and leaning back in the seat. What an evening it was already.
He dragged himself back to the top floor, the fourth and glanced down at the box in front of his door. It wasn't as if he had ordered anything recently.
He reached down to pick it up, fingering at the small note attached.
||| Sasuke. I had some thing left over from packing that I'm not taking with me. It's yours now.
Ah. It was from the old man who had lived next door. Sasuke had heard he was moving, but it was a bit surprising that it was now. He only hoped that whoever moved in wasn't noisy. These walls were thick, but not enough for loud music or screaming.
He left the box near the doorway, planning to clean up and go to bed. It was late and he was exhausted. It was time for bed.