It Started With Coffee

I thought I'd try my hand at a chapter fic. Ah, well, let's see how good/bad it turns out. I apologize to any instant coffee lovers. That's all. Enjoy the show.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Starbucks. They all belong to their respective owners. Unfortunately.

Chapter One
It Begins

I shuffled into the kitchen, still half-asleep and swathed in an airy nightgown. Giving the morning paper a cursory glance, I gathered that it was a Sunday and that yet another crazy Hollywood airhead had gone ahead and gotten herself arrested because of meth usage. Or was it DUI?

Pshhh. Whatever. Attention-hungry losers, the lot of them.

I dropped the newspaper back on the counter. Sleepily rubbing my eyes and yawning, I yanked open a drawer and felt around for my precious bag of coffee beans. I gave a start when I found there was nothing inside. Peering in the drawer disbelievingly, I could only see the polished wooden interior and nothing else. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

My brain suddenly shifted into overdrive. Coffee beans didn't just disappear into the depths of oblivion at random. Could it have been a coffee-obsessed bird that flew in the window and snatched the beans out of sight? Uh, right. How about a thief that broke in last night while we were all sleeping? Yeah, it's totally normal thief behavior to steal only a bag of coffee beans when there was a plethora of gleaming stainless steel kitchen appliances nearby amounting to about a small fortune.

Well, they weren't just only coffee beans, of course, they were beautiful dark roasted handpicked Guatemalan coffee beans that cost me two and a half year's painstakingly saved allowance, but I digress.

WHERE ON THE FACE OF THIS ACCURSED PLANET WAS MY COFFEE?!

"Honey, are you awake already?" my mother's sleepy voice called from above the stairs.

"Yeah, mom," I said distractedly, still wondering about the coffee bean fiasco. I heard her mutter a slightly inaudible "Okay" and go back to her room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Suddenly, something clicked in my mind.

Saturday – 10:00 AM

The door to my bedroom creaked open, letting in an unwelcome stream of light. I groaned and buried my face in my pillow, closing my eyes tightly to shut out the abomination. A hand yanked my pillow-shield away.

"AGHH! THE LIGHT! MY EYES! THEY BURNNNN!"

I heard my mother sigh. "Your aunt and uncle are coming over this afternoon."

"MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

"We're going to have to use some of your coffee beans to make them coffee. You know as well as I do how picky they can get with what they eat. That is alright with you, isn't it?"

"ANYTHING TO END THE PAIN! BEGONE, LIGHT!"

Another sigh. My mother was getting good at this stuff. "I'll take that as a yes." With that, my pillow was returned, my door was closed and once again, peace reigned in my room.

Holy freaking Starbucks, mother, you have effectively killed your own daughter. Cause of death: coffee deprivation. Oh, hurrah. NOT.

Frantically, I pawed through my 'For Emergencies' stash (a container hidden under the washcloths in the second cabinet), pushing aside stacks of candies and packs of gummy worms and rummaging around for a packet of instant coffee. Truth be told, I loathed instant coffee with a passion – nasty little dry flavorless knockoffs that would never be able to copy the real thing – but desperate times call for desperate measures, and this was unquestionably a desperate time.

Aaaand…there it was, shoved pitifully to the back of the drawer. Snatching it up immediately, I positioned my hands in the proper ripping position and considered making some kind of ripping ceremony, but decided it was a little stupid and tore right through the packet.

Dundundundun.

I shook it upside down over a glass, but nothing came out of the packet. Strange. I looked inside the packet. Laughing right into my face was a huge congealed mass of black powder that had the consistency of a rock. Definitely not human consumption material. I let out a groan of frustration.

This wasn't happening. Not to me. Life wouldn't be that cruel, would it? Where was the justice in the world?

I checked the packet again. Apparently, justice was on an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas and wasn't planning on getting back any time soon, thanks very much.

I sighed as I tossed the offensive instant coffee packet over my shoulder. I hadn't had to deal with something this bad ever since Naruto shamelessly confessed his undying and unyielding and so on love for me in the third grade. Not to mention the event took place with the whole effing school as an audience. And because I am sucha saint, I have forgiven the poor dolt for that social faux pas. Well, almost forgiven, at least. After all, hell hath no fury like a third-grader scorned.

I assessed my situation carefully and officially declared myself doomed. Because coffee equals life itself. When there is no coffee, life ceases to exist. And without life, there is death. Therefore, no coffee is death.

In respectful silence, I mourned my own demise.

(No, in case you're wondering, I am not crazy, demented, or mentally challenged in any way. No who could ever think such a thing, hmm?)

Suddenly, I perked up. A heady aroma wafted in through the window. I breathed it in, exhaling with pleasure. It smelled beautiful; strong and silky and smooth and caramelly. In other words, it smelled like complete and absolute heaven.

There was no doubt – coffee was nearby. And I needed that coffee straight away. Pronto. NOW.

Darting out the front door, I followed the addicting smell outside, paying no heed to the bewildered stares of early morning bystanders. They weren't important when there was coffee to be had.

I scanned the block for the source of the odor. I didn't have to look long, though. My eyes immediately trained on the sight of a pale hand clutching a softly steaming Starbucks cup. The owner of the cup looked vaguely familiar, but I waved that thought away. I breathed in the intoxicating scent again – it was, undeniably, coffee.

My coffee, that was. I allowed myself a feral grin. Target spotted, baby.

Wasting no time at all, I skipped to the boy daintily and seized the Starbucks cup from his hands. Giddily, I drank the contents of the cup, relishing in the rich, bittersweet liquid that passed through my lips. I didn't even stop to think about how awkward the whole thing was, and blatantly ignored the shocked look on his face.

But what a pretty face it is…

I finished the coffee, the aftertaste still lingering quietly on my tongue. Delicious. The guy had good taste, and more importantly, I had caffeine coursing through my veins once again.

I smiled up at the boy sheepishly. "Er, well. Sorry about that. I just really, really needed coffee, and you were there, so then I just…uh, yeah," I finished lamely, holding the cup up for him to take instead.

The random coffee stranger raised an eyebrow but didn't take the cup. He stared at me intently as if trying to place me, and then suddenly spoke up.

"Sakura?"

Random coffee stranger knew me? I peered closely at his face and suddenly bells all over the globe started ringing.

"Sasuke?" I gaped and flushed tomato-red in embarrassment. Somewhere in a small corner of my brain, I idly wondered why I hadn't recognized those dark, brooding eyes and his distinctive spiky chicken-butt hair.

That was when realization hit me like a thousand-ton brick encased in solid iron – realization of exactly what I just did. I'd taken – no, practically grabbed – Sasuke Uchiha's cup, and downed the whole thing. Stupid, I hissed at myself. No wonder he was so surprised. He probably thought I'd gone mental. (Which, technically, I did. Coffee deprivation is a bad, bad thing.)

Right now would seriously be a great time for the ground open up and swallow me whole.

I opened my mouth to say something, and then closed it. Opened it again, and closed it. Nothing came.

Clearly, my brain had decided to betray me in my time of great need and went along with justice on that vacation to the Bahamas. Fabulous. Just fabulous.

"I see you haven't gotten over your coffee obsession yet."

I nodded mutely and felt relieved that my motor functions didn't call in sick as well. Somebody up there, at least, still had some semblance of pity.

I stole another glance at his face. A smirk was slowly forming across his features.

"Oh yeah. Did you know your nightgown is see-through?"

I almost nodded again, but then I caught myself. Looking down at myself in horror, I realized I didn't even remember I was wearing my nightgown when I rushed out to retrieve the coffee. That probably explained the weird looks some people on the street were giving me. And it just had to be the sweet-sixteenth, barely-there, thin-as-a-whisper nightgown.

Well, crap. What about some of that pity now, eh?

I think you can guess what happened next. There was only one thing I could think of doing, anyway.

I punched him. Hard. "YOU PERVERT!"

Oh yes, she did. I hope I did a good job of capturing Sakura's coffee obsession. Now, you might be wondering what is up with me and my own obsession with Sakura first-person. I guess it's just interesting to write. I don't have a particular reason.

Anyway. Constructive criticisms will be greatly appreciated –hinthintnudgenudge-

I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can.

Until next time,

-DS.