Finally, after several tortuous minutes, class ended and it was time for lunch. Again I was kept from the crowd, though this time Sasuke and Naruto were with me, which I was indescribably thankful for.
"Sasuke, Naruto, care to invite your friend to lunch?" Itachi asked, holding up his hair as he put a black coat and scarf on.
"Yeah, you should come with us Tsukimi!" Naruto exclaimed, nearly jumping from his skin again.
"Why not?" I thought I caught a glimpse of that Sakura girl waiting outside the classroom with a large group of girls and maybe even a guy or two.
Sasuke grunted with a small, invisible trace of a smile. Itachi nodded approvingly. Naruto grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the class toward the parking lot. He lead me to the nicest car there. Itachi's black Dodge Viper stood gleaming in the sun.
"It's a bit tight now, with five of us," Itachi smirked, referring to mine and Sasuke's baby.
"Thanks," I griped.
"No problem," He chuckled, officially welcoming me into the group, even though I was pretty sure that wasn't his place.
"Is it just me, or do they seem really close?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke, jokingly of course.
"Hey, Naruto, we can hear you," Itachi whispered to Naruto, obviously not joking.
"Well you two do!" Sasuke aided his friend, making me question things in addition.
"Sasuke, you should know better then to say things like that," Itachi looked at him threateningly.
Sasuke nodded grudgingly. I had the feeling there was a special meaning to those words. Naruto seemed to notice nothing as he merrily hummed a jingle that reminded me of an instant ramen commercial.
Itachi pulled out his keys and slid behind the driver's seat. Sasuke got in the front passenger seat and Naruto and I got in the back. Itachi drove us away, seeing that we were secure.
Naruto turned to me, "So, how are you liking it?"
"Liking what?" I asked suspiciously, the thought that he might have meant the obvious not occurring to me.
"School. Town. The people?" He elaborated.
"School is OK, and we have great teachers," I said without meaning to.
"Trying to flatter me to give yourself an A?" Itachi joked, looking at me from the rear view mirror.
"Please, I don't need you to do that. I can earn my grades the fair way," I flaunted my knowledge proudly.
"So, the people?" Sasuke asked a bit too eagerly.
"The town is nice, but the people here are great," I said simply to avoid further embarrassment, which in hindsight may have been the wrong choice of words.
I was confident that the Uchiha brothers saw through my attempted shield, though for some reason, they didn't expose this nor did they abuse it. Yet. Again, I had the feeling that I was wrong about him, that he wouldn't do that, and again I could not explain how I knew that.
"What do you want for lunch?" Itachi asked all of us.
"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto started to bounce excitedly.
"Whatever," Sasuke said coolly.
"Ramen," I agreed.
"Ramen it is," Itachi turned suddenly.
We all did our best not to fly into the windows or people next to us. Luckily Naruto held his elbow out, though not so luckily, his elbow dug into my ribs. He didn't notice in his attempt at survival. Can't say that I blame him.
"Yeah, don't ever do that again," I said flatly.
"Well, aren't you bossy? Out of class I'll let that slide, but in class you better remember who's in charge," Itachi flashed a devilish smile at me from the rear view mirror.
I managed a weak smirk, "I guess I could try,"
"Shall we leave you two alone?" Sasuke asked in an obviously annoyed tone.
I blushed and looked out the window. Itachi laughed and pulled into a large empty lot. Itachi and Sasuke got out of the car and Naruto and I followed, however Sasuke helped me out.
"Thanks," I smiled at him, "But you can let my arm go now," His touch made me melt like butter in a super nova laced with electrical bursts, but it was nothing next to his brother's paralyzing touch.
He quickly released me and turned his back to me, and I thought I saw him blush from the corner of my eyes. Naruto grabbed my sleeve excitedly and dragged me inside the building.
The building was small and cozy; it would be a great place for a date I couldn't help but think. The smell of ramen mixed with fresh ingredients was powerful but not too much so. A short fat man with absolutely no hair stood at the register.
"Ah, Itachi, the usual?" He asked the god-like teacher.
"Yes, but one more," He started rifling through his wallet for a twenty.
The man nodded and went in the back to start making the food. Naruto dashed to a window seat and Sasuke and I walked slowly to join him while Itachi stayed by the counter to pay.
"Does he take you lunch often?" I turned to Sasuke.
He snorted, "And dinner if you stay the night. Breakfast is the only meal we make at our house,"
"Thanks for the warning," I smiled at him.
"No problem," He looked behind me at his brother, "I need to take a leak, excuse me,"
I so didn't buy that one. Naruto looked at me sadly and I tilted my head.
"What is it, Naruto?" I put my hand by his arm.
"Well, I just haven't been a good friend to you. I didn't even fight to see you when we heard that you where at the nurse's. I left you alone during class and barely spoke to you this entire time!"
I could tell he was very upset with himself, "Naruto, You've been a great friend! You did all you could without getting in trouble, and I admire that!"
"Really?" He asked, closer to his cheerful self.
"Really," I laughed gently, in a spirit-lifting kind of way.
"Good to see that you two get along. Then again, Naruto gets along with just about everyone he meets," Itachi said, pulling up a seat between me and Naruto.
"I believe it," I chuckled, avoiding Itachi's constant, most secretly welcomed, glances.
"Naruto, could you go wait for the ramen?" Itachi asked him in an ordering tone.
Naruto jumped up smiling and walked over to the counter. Itachi scooted closer to me. I looked nervously at him.
"Tsukimi, how are you adjusting?" He asked me kindly.
"Mr. Uchiha, please quit it, you're making me nervous," I told him seriously.
"Oh? Well, that is certainly the thing that I want to do,"
"What?"
"The last thing. Forgive me, my mind is not with me today," He smiled at me.
"Brother. Tsukimi. Naruto has the food waiting in the car," Sasuke walked up to us, forcing me to see that Itachi and I had been staring at each other in silence for a good five minutes.
"Sasuke, thank you," I thanked him for saving me from Itachi, even though I didn't completely want to be saved.
"Whatever," He rolled his eyes.
I smiled, jumped up, and skipped over to the car and Naruto. Yes, I, a non-girlie teen girl, skipped. I was sure that I received several strange glances, but fuck all of them. Naruto was holding four green boxes of steaming ramen and was tapping his foot impatiently by the car. I swore that the ramen would fall or there would be a terrible mess by the time we reached the school. He waved when he caught sight of me.
"Hey Naruto," I waved back.
"Tsukimi. Hey, you wanna know something?" He got sneaky all of a sudden.
"Sure," I could use the distraction.
"I think that you," He paused for dramatic effect, "Are the first girl that Sasuke or even Itachi pays attention to,"
"What?" That caught me off guard.
"You heard me," Naruto smiled widely.
"I doubt that very much," I said, though I sort of did believe him against my better judgement.
He eyed me for a minute then opened the car door. Itachi and Sasuke stood next to us grinning. I ducked inside the car, blushing furiously. Sasuke grabbed my arm before I could properly get in the car, and unknown to him, caused that same feeling as when he touched me earlier.
"Do you wanna sit up front?" He asked, clearly against it.
"That depends," I said coyly, or at least in an attempt to be such.
"On?" He demanded shortly.
"Was it your idea or Itachi's for me to sit up front?" I asked, going to sit there regardless.
"Mine," I think that was him trying to be nice, but at the same time, he was reluctant.
I could just tell he was telling the truth. I stepped out of my half-crouch and traded places with him. I sat in the front and realized that I should have stayed in the back with Naruto. My clue was Itachi, smiling smugly at me, though his face was facing the windshield.
"So, how long has this been going on?" I asked conversationally.
"This being?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"Your friendship," I wondered what he thought I meant.
"It's complicated. We've had a on-again off-again friendship for years. Last year, we finally became best friends," Sasuke informed me.
"Well, don't worry, I won't be the girl who ruins your friendship," I promised.
"You have watched far too many movies if you think that you could do that!" Sasuke laughed.
"Oh, I didn't realize that I was so ugly," I snapped.
"Tsukimi, I didn't mean to-"
I cut him off and stuck a peace sign in the air by my face, "Got ya! Seriously, if we're going to be friends, then you both have to get used to me and my attempted humor," I playfully chided.
"Well, glad to see that you'll stick around. Those two could use a girl in their lives," Itachi teased.
"What, don't either of you have girlfriends?" I raised an eyebrow, trying to understand how such a god could be single.
"He hasn't found the right girl yet. And none of the girls here like me," Naruto added sadly, surprisingly taking this long to speak.
"That's bull! Naruto, you are such a sweet guy! Any of these strumpets would be lucky to have you!" I was outraged to hear that, because even though I myself had no interest in him like that, I had to hand it to him; he was mighty damn hot himself.
"Impressive word," Itachi commented.
I smiled slightly but avoided his gaze as best I could. The more time I spent with the two brothers, the more relaxed I was and the more I came to realize that I was lusting after Sasuke and that I was completely head-over-heels, his and hers, the rest of eternity isn't nearly enough in love with Itachi Uchiha, my school teacher.
Scandalous. Or is it? No, it is, but still. Or is it? Nah, seriously, it is.
