A/N: YAY for chapter 2! Drug-use is mentioned in this chapter. This was the reason why I decided on an M-rating for the story. I actually don't know if I should downgrade to a T-rating. I really don't know the difference. 0_0 I just thought it would be better to overestimate a rating rather than underestimate, y'know? Chapter 2 is not beta-read. :)
*DISCLAIMER APPLIES*
Chapter 2
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Cool it, ducky! I ain't got money so forget about it!" The boy raised both hands above his set of blond hair in surrender. This stranger was shorter than Sasuke by an inch or two; slightly on the skinny side but still considerably lean. He sported regular black sneakers, blue jeans, and a black shirt underneath an orange jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Sasuke raised an elegant brow as he examined the boy's face. Wide fearful blue eyes were staring back at him. Whisker-like lines marked his bronze cheek. Droplets of sweat slid down the other teenager's temple. He followed the path one particular sweat drop took which made him notice the cigarette hanging limply from the blonds' mouth.
"Look. You came to the wrong place to rob someone, ducky. As you can see, this area isn't really particularly rolling in dough, y'know. So why don't we just chill out and you can drop that fancy-looking knife of yours. Honestly, with that kind of knife, why even try thieving?" The blue-eyed teenager slowly put his hands in front of himself and tried to gesture for Sasuke to calm down. "I mean it's not like..." the boy continued to run his mouth
"Shut up, dumbass." Sasuke interrupted and at the same time dropped his army knife into his right pocket. This barbarian posed no threat to him. Boy. For someone who thought they were being robbed, he talked unnecessary crap a lot. One would think he wasn't even being threatened. A small smirk formed on Sasuke's handsome face. Idiot.
"Excuse me! What did you just call me, you asshole?!" The form of the 'idiot' stiffened as he looked daggers at his offender.
"I called you dumbass, dumbass. Stop being so loud. You're giving me a migraine." Black eyes closed as the exasperation from the entire situation was taking its toll.
"Oh yeah? Well good! Hopefully the migraine I give kills you! Then I wouldn't have such a bastard robbing me of my hard-earned cash!" The burning end of the cigarette suddenly appeared just in front of charcoal eyes as the blond points the offending object accusingly. "And for the record, my name is not dumbass! It's Naruto, you jerk!" The boy - Naruto was it? - finished with a triumphant look on his tan cherub face.
"Will you keep that foul-smelling thing away from me?" Sasuke pushed the smoking boy's cigarette-donned hand away from his person. "Hn. Do you usually give out your name to random people? Especially since just a few seconds ago, you thought I was going to steal from you." The raven-haired teenager bit out. This Naruto was certainly living up to the 'dumbass' jibes.
Whiskered-cheeks immediately reddened in embarrassment. "Well, I don't particularly like being called dumbass, ducky! What was I supposed to do?" Naruto, trying to hide his humiliation, glowered back.
"If you don't want to be called dumbass then don't act like one. Oh, and 'for the record', please. Like I, or any self-respecting thief for that matter, would steal from you." The paler of the two snorted and proceeded to turn his back to the blond stranger. He should be heading back by now but no. This idiot had to be here to prolong the hassling weekly routine. Silence greeted Sasuke as he made his way back to his car. To his amazement, he was actually able to shut the annoying one up. He expected a few more rounds of grumblings from the blond but who was he to complain. He popped the car's trunk and, with an audible grunt, grabbed the two large garbage bags. As he gripped the bags, one on each hand, he failed to notice the slight melancholy in Naruto's eyes. He tossed the bags in to the large bin found a few metres away when suddenly Naruto found his voice once more.
"What do you mean no self-respecting thief would steal from me?" Dismal eyes locked onto surprised ones. "Why? Do I look worthless to you?"Said dismal eyes closed slightly as if showing hurt. Sasuke gazed back questioningly. Did the youngest Uchiha just hurt the blond idiot's feelings? With a great sigh, Sasuke explained. "I didn't say that, you idiot, nor did I imply it. What I meant was who would ever want to rob a clueless brat like you. That would just be so pathetic. A disgrace, really."
Previously sad eyes widened in shock. The unexpected sound of what seemed like pealing bells met Sasuke's ears; Naruto was laughing. Hands on stomach, cigarette forgotten on the ground, eyes closed laughing. This boy was crazy. Sasuke was sure of it. The tremors from Naruto's giggling stopped and, once again, blue eyes met black. "You really are an asshole, huh?" a small smile appeared on the Naruto's youthful face; yet as Sasuke refocused his gaze on the blonds' eyes, he noticed a slight hint of deadness within the dull blue depths. Sasuke stomped on the lit cigarette on the ground, decided to simply ignore what he thought he saw and chalked it up to being just his imagination. "And you're irritating. Can't you even kill a cigarette properly? Maybe you really are a dumba-" Before Sasuke could even end his statement, Naruto interrupted. "Don't even say it, ducky. I swear I'll hurt you if you finish that sentence." jabbed the seemingly recovered blond.
"Hn. Whatever. Don't call me ducky. It sounds ridiculous." Sasuke headed for the alley's entrance. It was high time he went back to his family.
"Really now? Because I believe it suits you perfectly, ducky." Naruto giggled as he trailed after Sasuke. Once Naruto had caught up to his touchy companion, he proceeded to lightly move his hand over the back of Sasuke's head. "You know, since you have this weird duck-slash-chicken ass hairstyle going on. But ducky seemed more appealing to me rather than, oh I don't know, chicky? Just saying, dude." Well, that was messed up, Sasuke thought.
"If you don't want me to call you ducky then tell me your name." The blond inquired with an ear-splitting grin.
"As if I'd tell you." Opening his car door, Sasuke made motions of entering the safety of his vehicle.
Naruto gazed admiringly at the sleek black car and whistled. "No wonder. Dude, you're loaded." The shorter form of Naruto suddenly leaned on the car and prevented Sasuke from driving away. "Wouldn't want my poor ass to come looking for you and take you for ransom." The blue-eyed annoyance mocked as he slowly made himself comfortable against Sasuke's 'baby'.
"Get off the car, moron, before I run you over." Yup. Sasuke really was starting to have a migraine.
Naruto removed himself from the vehicle and chuckled. "Fine, ducky. It's not as if I'll be seeing you again anyway. Though I do wonder what in God's name were you doing here throwing garbage when you have this fine piece of metal with you; but I digress. I'll let you leave." And like Naruto hadn't nearly forced him to tell his name, the tan boy just simply left. "Bye, ducky!" Naruto shouted as he gave Sasuke a friendly wave of goodbye.
"Hn." Well. At least he acknowledged Naruto's goodbye. That was actually a big deal. On another note, what was up with him? It was like he wasn't acting like himself back there. He actually felt, dare he say, relaxed while talking with Naruto. And their whole exchange just felt effortless.
The seventeen-year old shook his head. He was imagining things; probably just really tired from the day's activities. With swift movements, he turned on his engine, manoeuvred his way back to the main road, and sped away.
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The following morning, Sasuke made himself appear presentable for an early engagement. Hozuki Suigetsu, an acquaintance from school, had arranged for a secluded restaurant at the edge of the town centre to discuss 'business' so to speak. Sasuke opened the car trunk to make sure the necessities were still there. Double-checking that everything was in order, he left the Uchiha property.
As he drove on their street, a few early-rising neighbours waved to the youngest Uchiha. To keep up appearances, he forced a somewhat presentable friendly smile towards their way. It was exasperating how he needed to smile for these people when he barely even knew them yet had to because he was an Uchiha. He was supposed to be a perfect son. The ordeal of it all was exhausting but he had acted the same way for years. The idea of acting any differently was completely absurd to him; and truthfully, it wasn't as if he could act differently but rather he didn't know how. For this exact reason, his brief run-in with Naruto astounded him. What had gotten in to him last night?
The drive to the restaurant was all a blur as he recalled the event's that had transpired yesterevening. It was simply mind-boggling how he had slipped in to such a manner. In a matter of minutes, Sasuke found the restaurant Suigetsu was supposed to meet him in. He parked his car in the empty lot reserved for the restaurant's patrons, took a moment to hide the items in his trunk in a large paper bag, and made sure to lock his car. "Here goes nothing." He whispered to no one in particular.
It was a family restaurant. A goddamn family restaurant. The place wasn't really that busy but it was packed enough to make Sasuke feel awkward with the affairs he had to take care of in a matter of seconds. Sasuke mentally winced at the fact that there were children here not two metres away. "Hello, sir. Welcome to Ayame's. Table for one?" His gaze snapped to the direction he had heard the greeting from and met the short stature of a brunette waitress. The waitress was staring adoringly at his face. She was clearly smitten. Hn. No surprise there. "No. I'm actually here to meet someone" Sasuke stated matter-of-factly. At his response, the brown eyes of the girl immediately looked downtrodden. "Oh. Your girlfriend?" She inappropriately inquired. Really. Did people have to pry all the time? "It's really none of your business" He harshly replied. The waitress flinched in surprise. Before she could apologize, a low chuckle resounded in the restaurant's foyer.
"I knew it. Only you could be so mean and the girls would still be all over you, Sasuke." The intruder smirked and approached the mortified waitress. "Please forgive my friend here, miss. He's just naturally crabby. Here's five bucks just because this guy's an asshole, okay?" With a grateful nod, the waitress left but not before eyeing the Uchiha one last time.
"See. What did I tell you?" Sasuke's newest nuisance sniggered.
"Be quiet, Suigetsu. Let's just get this over and done with", sighed the youngest Uchiha.
Suigetsu winked. "Sure thing, buddy." As Sasuke followed Suigetsu to their seat, the raven-haired teenager took a moment to scrutinize his companion's attire. Flip-flops, worn-out jeans and a loose violet camiseta adorned Suigetsu's lanky figure. Tch. To think Sasuke had taken his time to actually make himself look respectable. Sasuke twitched his mouth, clearly displeased with Suigetsu's lack of self-consciousness. If he knew he was meeting with an Uchiha he should have at least made himself decent to go out in public. The damn slob's sharp teeth didn't do any good either. At least he combed his unusual white hair. The dark-haired teenager gave him that much.
The two sat at the most secluded corner of the restaurant and tried to make themselves comfortable. "So how've you been, Sasuke?" Dark eyes couldn't help but glare at the awful attempt at small talk.
"Cut the crap, Suigetsu. When I said let's get this over and done with, I meant it. I didn't say it just to sound cool." The Uchiha heir obviously meant business.
"Aw come on, Sasuke! What's the rush? My food isn't even here yet. Oh yeah. I got hungry and ordered for myself. I didn't bother waiting up for you." The lanky form proceeded to relax on to his chair, arms folded across his chest.
"Honestly, why do I even bother with you?" Sasuke was now massaging the bridge of his noise. He wondered why he had been dealing with a lot of idiots lately. First, Naruto; then the waitress; and now, Suigetsu. Surely, this wasn't some sort of punishment?
"Easy. That's because I'm your friend. I'm slightly exaggerating when I say friend but you get the idea. And also..." Suigetsu paused and fished for something in his pocket. "Need I remind you that I have this, Uchiha." Now, Sasuke looked like he was about to commit murder. It was a picture of him at a recent party hosted by one of the girls in his school. If he remembered correctly, Haruno was her last name. The picture showed him smoking crack cocaine. He heard rumors of its euphoric effects and wanted to have a go at it. He specifically recalled being scolded at by his father before leaving for the get-together thus would explain the drug use. When Sasuke tried the drug, he made sure that all the party-goers were either too drunk or too high to remember that he had tried crack in the first place. He was thoroughly proven mistaken once Suigetsu had shown him the disgraceful photo.
"If you don't keep that where people don't see it, I swear to God, I will cut off your hand and keep it for you" Barely restrained anger was audible in Sasuke's voice.
"Chill out, Uchiha! It's not like you're in the position to be threatening me anyway; what with me having this picture and all." At this exact moment, a waiter arrived and gave Suigetsu his food and beverage just as the white-haired teenager kept the photo. The abrupt silence was deafening. Sensing the tension, the waiter hurriedly left, not even asking if the two gentlemen needed anything else.
"I beg to differ, Hozuki. I know you actually take this crap regularly whereas I just tried it that single time. All it takes is a few phone calls and I can have evidences against you in a snap of a finger." Sasuke clenched his fist wishing that the photograph was in his possession instead.
Suigetsu darkly chuckled at the frigid response. "And that single time was all I needed, Sasuke. That one moment when perfect little Sasuke isn't so perfect." With a smug smirk, Suigetsu knew that he had Sasuke at the palm of his hand. "I guess we're just gonna have to 'trust' each other not to go on blabbing the other's dirt, huh?" And with that statement, they both had come to terms with the fact that whatever silent agreement they had going on was never going to change.
Resigning to his fate, Sasuke handed the paper bag to Suigetsu. "Thanks, buddy! Appreciate it!", exclaimed Suigetsu who was obviously thrilled. Suigetsu's attempt at pleasantries was a mockery of friendship and it sickened Sasuke. It was all so fake. All these people were fake; the waitress, Suigetsu, his father, his mother, his brother- everyone.
"You'd better appreciate it, 'buddy'. I had my father at my throat once I got home, no thanks to you. It took me all day just to get that shit for you." Sasuke decided to play along. After all, the youngest Uchiha liked to play pretend as well.
"Seriously? Actually, I'm not that surprised. You were a new customer. They always do that with the new ones. It's to see if you're not with the cops or anything. So what'd you tell your dad?" The sharp-toothed boy feigned interest. The food on the table was totally forgotten as Suigetsu's concentration was directed at the paper bag he was cradling like a newborn child.
"Hn. I told him I was running errands with an acquaintance." It was more or less true, Sasuke thought.
"That's all you got, Uchiha? Man, I could have shit a better excuse than that!" A white-eyebrow raised in ridicule. An Uchiha didn't need to explain himself to this kind of person. Besides, he didn't lie to his father that often when he so desperately wanted to please the man.
"Not gonna talk, huh? Whatever. Here. This is a little 'thank you'. Think of it as a tip." Reaching in to the paper bag, Suigetsu brought out a resealable plastic bag the size of a palm. It was filled with what seemed to be lumps of dried dirt. Sasuke widended his eyes immediately hid the plastic bag with his unoccupied place mat.
"Are you fucking crazy?! Don't just put that thing on the table for everyone to see!" The Uchiha whispered harshly. Trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, Sasuke buried his face in between the palms of his hands. "Besides, I don't do Marijuana or any kind of drugs for that matter. As I've said, I only tried it that one time. Keep it. I don't need nor want it." He was lying. All he needed was that one time to know he liked the stuff. It made him forget; but Suigetsu didn't need to know that.
"Psh. Don't be such a prude. But I know how stubborn you are. I'll still give this to you anyway. It's no big deal. You did go through all the trouble to get the goods for me; and it's so hard to find people to do this kind of shit for you. A lot of unreliable hicks, these days." Suigetsu reached for something in the paper bag once more and brought out another resealable plastic bag of the same size as the first one. This time, the bag contained off-white, rock-like substances. Sasuke mouth nearly watered at the sight. "Here's another extra to your extra, Sasuke.", smirked the white-haired teen. Sasuke needed to remind himself that he had told Suigetsu that he was uninterested. And he was! Wasn't he?
"I told you. I don't want it. Take it and just go, Suigetsu." Black eyes almost pleading to take the stuff away. No more. He didn't want to mar the perfection he built for years.
"Nope. I'm going to leave that here, Sasuke, because I have a feeling you'll take it, and you'll thank me for it. So I'm going to go and pretend like we just had a fairly pleasant meeting and I'd simply left you a little gift; considering how we're such good friends, Uchiha." The sarcasm was laced in Suigetsu's voice as he abruptly stoop up, left a wad of cash to pay for his meal, and took the large paper bag. "I'll call you if I need a new supply, Uchiha. You can just drop by my place so I can give you the money." And with that, Sasuke met the departing form of Hozuki Suigetsu. Hn. What a waste of food that boy was.
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After his meeting with Suigetsu, Sasuke decided that he ought to head back to Uchiha grounds; but not before circling the town a couple of times. Much to his great shame, Sasuke had given in and smoked marijuana. He parked his car near his alley because it was almost always deserted. It was for that exact reason he chose that alley to throw his family's garbage in. There, in the confines of his car, he smoked a gram and a half of weed and it was enough to get him fairly high. He knew it would be incredibly stupid to go back to his place in his previous state, also his smoking had stunk up the car; therefore, he decided to drive around town a couple of times with the windows opened to get rid of the stench that his joint had caused. It also helped him sober up a little, so drive around he did.
When he deemed himself stink-free and somewhat Fugaku-presentable, he took the long way back and drove to the Uchiha residence. The boy had smoked and driven around town for an hour and a half after his dealings with Suigetsu. Despite being Fugaku-presentable, he hoped his father wasn't home or hadn't noticed he was gone all morning.
As Sasuke entered one of the smaller streets in the town centre, he noticed a familiar set of blond hair. The person was walking with purpose as he held a brown package to his right-side waist. From behind, Sasuke saw black footwear, blue jeans, and the orange jacket. The young Uchiha would bet a large sum of money that the walking boy had a black shirt underneath the jacket.
Before Sasuke was even aware of what he was doing, his car was slowing down, matching Naruto's strides and the car's passenger side window was swiftly rolling down. What had he just done?
"So after you left that alley last night, did you suddenly decide to go back and sleep there or is that really the only set of clothing you wear?" Sasuke was talking to Naruto. He actually initiated the conversation with the dumb blond. He considered going around town a few more times. He was still clearly high.
Naruto snapped his head to Sasuke's direction. Raven eyes crinkled in amusement at the deer-in-headlights look Naruto sported. "Ducky? Oh my God! I actually did get to see you again!" Naruto stopped his pace and stood casually near Sasuke's passenger side door. Realizing what the car's owner had said, Naruto tensed his shoulders and sneered. "You asshole! My clothes are still clean from last night. They don't even stink or anything! And for your information, I actually just came from that alley. So there!" Naruto stuck out his tongue childishly at Sasuke's relaxed face.
"I can't believe it actually took you a couple of seconds to process what I said, dumbass." Sasuke chortled. "Wait, you just came from the alley? I was just there more than hour ago. I guess you frequent there a lot, huh? Great. Now I have to look for a new spot." The young driver continued to tease with evident enjoyment.
"Will you stop calling me dumbass, ducky?" With an audible groan, Naruto proceeded to answer Sasuke's question. "Yeah. I was just there. Huh. I probably missed you by like a minute or something. I just walked all the way here. Actually, I've been going there a lot recently; and I live about twenty to thirty minutes away from there. What were you doing at the alley, ducky?"
Sasuke snorted at the nickname the blond had given him. "None of your business, blockhead. And I thought I told you to stop with the ducky nonsense?" With a slight purse of his lips, Sasuke looked challengingly at the person standing near his car.
"Aww! Ducky is such a bastard!" And just like last night, Sasuke looked upon the blond idiot's smiling face. "Hn." The young Uchiha grunted simultaneously fixing his gaze at the driver side window, and glared at the air.
"Are you pouting, ducky?" Absolute mirth was visible in Naruto's blue eyes. "You should just tell me your name then! At least, now you know how it feels when you call me dumbass, ducky. Truthfully speaking though, if you want to insult me, I actually kind of liked blockhead." Naruto shyly admitted as he scratched his whiskered-cheek. "Not that you shouldn't call me Naruto! I was just saying that if you wanted to insult me, I guess blockhead seemed like the better option."
"Yeah. Whatever, dumba- blockhead."At the mention of the nickname, both teenagers couldn't help but smile at each other. "So what are you doing here, blockhead? This place is a long way from the alley if you go on foot." Sasuke couldn't help but inquire. He didn't bother saying how this neighborhood was out of Naruto's boundaries, literally and figuratively.
With a casual look at his cheap-looking watch, Naruto's eyes widened to great proportion. "Shit, I gotta go or I'll be late! I was paid to deliver this to some rich asshole. Told me to go alone and not ask questions. So see you around, ducky!" Just before Naruto made a wild dash to jump over a fence to God knows where, Sasuke instantly corrected, "It's Sasuke." Turning ever so slowly, Naruto looked towards the car in confusion.
"What?" Naruto enunciated with furrowed brows.
"You blockhead." Sasuke facepalmed and continued with his statement. "It's Sasuke. That's my name."
The puzzlement on Naruto's face gradually dissipated as the newly acquired information dawned on him. With the most honest smile Sasuke had ever seen, Naruto raised his right forearm and gave a two-fingered salute.
"See you around, Sasuke" and with that, the blond jumped over the fence and disappeared.
Sasuke remained slack-jawed and motionless on his seat. That smile was something else. It was a real honest to goodness smile and it was entrancing. He hadn't seen one of those in a very, very long time. Finally coming to his senses, the seventeen-year-old Uchiha gripped his steering wheel and sped off.
In his eyes, everyone was fake. All except ...
