Chapter 3:
The next period did nothing to ease Sasuke's temper. His head was still spinning from the altercation with a certain blonde, and to make matters worse he had managed to make a fool of himself by slipping on coffee his teacher had accidentally spilt at the entrance of the classroom. Luckily he didn't fall, but he was dangerously close.
Sasuke gave a defeated sigh, heading to his seat as the teacher apologized profusely. What had he done to deserve this lately? He could already begin to call this the second worst day of his life and it had barely begun.
Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted when a sweet fragrance penetrated his nostrils. He grimaced, moving his hand to shield his nose as one of his peers sat in the seat next to him.
"Hey, did you do the Winter Break packet? I thought it was a bit difficult but good thing it's due Friday instead of today or else I would've been totally screwed. So what do you say, we work on it together this weekend?" Ino rambled as she unpacked her backpack and spritzed herself with more perfume, before turning to the other.
"Hn." Sasuke turned away from her, silently cursing their seating arrangements. He was about one more spritz of perfume from jumping out the nearest window.
"Woo! We won! Suck it, bitches!" Kiba grabbed a handful of his crotch, barking obscenities at the opposite team, who in return waved him off heading for the locker rooms. They were used to Kiba's antics and zealous attitude when playing. And to make matters worse they were playing basketball, and the brunette was a point guard for the school's team. And on top of that, he'd been voted MVP consecutively for 3 years, despite trash talking.
Naruto wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead with the back of his hand. Though he hadn't make many shots, he'd worked his ass off running up and down the court blocking the opposing team's shots. And quite frankly, he was in desperate need of a shower.
"Yo, Naruto!" Satisfied with his gloating, Kiba pranced over to the blonde.
"You were killing it out there! You should definitely consider joining the basketball team. And lucky for you, we're having tryouts next week."
"I don't know. I never really pictured myself as the type to be on a sports team." Naruto gave a weak chuckle.
Besides, his game plan for the rest of the school year was to lay low and blend in. Especially considering the events of earlier that morning. The last thing he needed was a repeat of what happened at his previous school. He couldn't afford to keep running from his past, switching from school to school.
Naruto lifted his hand to graze his fingers across the scars on one of his cheek. They were a constant reminder that, not everyone was worthy of his trust and he needed to keep his guard up.
But the opportunity of meeting friends was a little too good to pass up.
"You know what. I'll consider it."
"Heeey, cool! I'm gonna hit the showers." Kiba patted Naruto's back, flashing his shiny whites before jogging off in the direction of the exit.
Naruto was about to do the same, but an eerie feeling fell over him. Glancing around himself, he saw that he was the only one left in the gym. Even Asuma-sensei had been making his way to the exit.
For now, Naruto ignored the feeling and headed towards the locker room to join the others.
The next period went by smoothly for Naruto. Well, for the most part. He had Art that period, and were doing 'conceptual paintings'. Which basically meant, sit in front of an easel and improvise the entire period.
Under normal circumstances, Naruto wouldn't mind this, but it was the fact that a disgruntled Uchiha had entered the class not too long after him that kept him on edge. Not only that but he could practically feel said teen's glare daggering the back of his head throughout the entire class.
His efforts to ignore the attention Sasuke was giving him weren't successful, but luckily he was saved by the bell. At the sound, the students scattered and filled the hallways, while the slower few staggered along after packing their bags.
Any other time, Naruto would've opted to be the bigger person, but he couldn't let the opportunity pass him up. When Sasuke passed by his row, Naruto inched his foot out slightly.
Sasuke fell flat on his face. He hadn't even had enough time to catch his fall. In a pushup position, Sasuke hoisted himself up. But by the time he got a chance to stand, he was the only one left in the classroom. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he headed for the exit as well.
'If that's how you want to play, so be it.'
Naruto pushed aside the double doors of the cafeteria, a triumphant yet smug expression plastered across his face. As soon as he stepped in, an arm slung around his shoulder.
Immediately the blonde swung his elbow back and into the stomach of the other, before turning to face his attacker.
"Shit, Naruto! What the fuck?!" Kiba doubled over, clutching his abdomen while Shikamaru and two other companions of theirs stood wide-eyed at the scene before them.
"Oh, fuck! I'm so sorry!" Naruto grabbed Kiba's arm and helped him up. "I've just been kind of on edge. That Uchiha guy has been down my back all day and I don't know what he has up his sleeve." Naruto told Kiba of his eventful morning, conveniently leaving out his faults in the matter. Though he would admit he instigated certain actions, he didn't they were significant enough to be worth mentioning.
The rest of Kiba's crew had already gone to get their lunches and already seated themselves when Naruto finished his story. Kiba shook his head.
"I swear, man. These Uchihas are getting worse than those snobby ass Hyuugas. After that incident when we were younger, Sasuke's been a complete ass.
"But usually, he's the the kind of ass that'll just ignore you completely or look at you funny. He must really have it against you." Kiba chuckled as he and Naruto headed to the lunch line.
"Can he not?" Naruto added, before sniffing around. The familiar aroma of broth perked him up. Where there was broth, there had to be…
Chicken noodle soup.
'Close enough, I guess.' Naruto shrugged to himself before reaching up to grab one of the many bowls on the counter. Kiba nodded towards the table and Naruto got the hint and followed.
" What the fuck did you do that for?!" Karin reached over the table and smacked the back of Sai's head. Said male winced, rubbing the now tender area of his scalp.
"That soup smelled like ass." Sai scrunched up his nose in disgust.
"So! That doesn't mean you just fling my bowl across the table, you fucking idiot!"
" I was only doing you a favor. If anything you should be thanking me. You're welcome."
Sai rested his head on his propped up arm and gave a small grin.
Earlier in the school year, Sasuke had grown fond of Sai. They were alike in many ways; silent, conserved, and a times snarky. After inviting himself to sit with Sasuke's table once, he made it a regular occurrence.
Karin had never taken a liking to the pale male, in fact, she hated him and his smart mouth. But Jugo, however, felt indifferent towards him.
Before Karin had the chance to swing at Sai, she was lifted into the air by Jugo, his arms looping under her armpits to hold her arms back. He legs flailed everywhere as she spat curses at him as he packed his things, said his goodbyes before walking off. Sasuke shook his head at the scene before him, dipping his spoon into his own soup.
But as soon as he lifted the spoon to his lips, Karin had kicked his bowl off the table and into the walkway in her fury.
Not a second after, a certain blonde slid across the chicken noodle soup puddle and landed flat on his back. His bowl that he had been carrying, flew into the air before ceremoniously showering him with its contents.
The cafeteria went silent as Naruto slowly lifted himself to his feet. Sasuke could barely stifle his laughter, the blonde look truly pathetic to be totally honest. He had noodles dangling from his sopping wet hair, and bits of chicken clinging to his eyelashes.
"This look suits you a lot better. Congratulations on making a fool of yourself yet again." Sasuke slowly clapped in mock applause, standing to be on eye-level with Naruto.
The blond snapped wrapping Sasuke's tie around his fist before dragging his off and away from onlookers. As they entered the nearby mens' restroom, the voices of the students in the cafeteria slowly rose back to its typical volume.
As soon as the door shut, Naruto took no time in shoving Sasuke up against it, causing his head to slam against it.
"You know what, you fucking asshole! It's my first day and you're already making this place a living hell for me. You even dumped your soup in front of me so I'd slip."
Sasuke rose a finger, opening his mouth to deny the allegations. But that only resulted in Naruto slamming him against the door again.
This time Sasuke wasn't going to let him get away with it. He swifty abdomen and when the blond doubled over, he took the opportunity to knock him over and onto his butt. Pulling Naruto's hair back so he could get a clear view of his face, Sasuke leaned in looking the blonde dead into the eyes.
"Listen, punk. I have a rep to withhold here, and I'll be damned if I let some uncultured loser come and ruin it for me. You obviously don't know your place. Overstep your boundaries again and I'll make sure you regret it.
"Oh and before I forget. If you flake out on our assignment next week, I'll make sure Jugo pays you visit."
"Who the fuck is, Jugo? I'm not afraid of you, bastard!" Naruto spat in Sasuke's face,, just beneath his eye.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed as his grip on Naruto's hair tightened and he retracted his other arm ready to pummel the blonde's face in.
That is, until the bathroom door opened. In came a heavy set teen, known as Chouji, holding his stomach and groaning in pain before quickly scurrying into a stall.
"You've been touched by an angel." Sasuke smirked. He let go of Naruto's hair, fixing his disheveled clothes as he exited the bathroom.