Author's Note: So I enjoyed myself yesterday. It was my eighteenth birthday and I got a surprising gift from my mother when school ended for the day. Before she left for work, she went to the school parking lot and wrote happy birthday on almost all my windows in decorative car paint. I was certainly surprised. Anyway, yay new chapter! Enjoy and please review. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 4:
Coffee Song
"Way down among Brazilians
Coffee beans group by the billions
So they've got to find those extra cups to fill
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil."
~Coffee Song- Frank Sinatra~
The next day, there was no need for Sakura to drive Sasuke to school. After driving him home, Sasuke had finally went out and bought a car battery. And since she had no need to drive Sasuke to and from school, Sakura went directly home right after dropping Ino home. She ran upstairs to her room and threw her bag onto her bed which produced a loud thump. Peeling her coat from her shoulders, the rosette opened her closet. There was no way that she was going to meet Sasuke at Casydi's cafe in her school uniform. Plus she didn't like wearing it outside of school in the first place and wanted to be wearing comfortable clothes.
As she tossed hanger upon hanger of clothes onto her bed, Sakura did not notice her mother enter the room. The older woman leaned against the closet door and watched her daughter look through her clothes. She cleared her throat, making Sakura jump at least a foot.
"Mom!" Sakura exclaimed. "Why are you home so early?"
"I had the day off today. Didn't you see my car in the garage?" her mother asked as she scanned the open closet behind her daughter.
Of course Sakura didn't see the car. She had gone through the front door since the battery in her garage door opener had died. She shook her head and went back to looking through her clothes. Her mother sighed.
"Collared white button up top with the gray cami and a pair of jeans, " her mother said out of the blue.
Sakura turned back around and gave her mother a curious look. Mrs. Haruno shrugged with a weak smile.
"You'll look sophisticated and comfortable plus the cami is not too low enough to show that much cleavage which will make him curious and you gorgeous," her mother explained.
Hand on her hip, Sakura replied, "Who told you?"
"You did last night on the phone with Ino. You're quite loud when you talk on the phone."
"It's not a date mom," Sakura plainly stated.
Mrs. Haruno took a step back, hands raised defensively. "I never said it was one. I was only helping in an outfit choice."
The rosette pulled her clothes aside in her closet and looked at her watch. She had only twenty minutes to come up with something to wear before she had to meet Sasuke at the cafe. Her mother was quite talented when it came to throwing an outfit together for certain occassions. Maybe she should let her mother pick out her outfit since she was coming up with blanks. Sighing, Sakura nodded her mother towards the closet and explained some ground rules for the outfit. It had to be comfortable and couldn't some how make someone think that she was romatically interested in them like her mother had originally had thought. She was so not interested in Sasuke like that.
Mrs. Haruno gently pushed her daughter to the side and went through the clothes with a serious aura suddenly overcoming her. It only took her a few seconds to pull out something that made her daughter content with her choice. In her hands was a green hoodie, a white cami, and a white t-shirt with a scoop neckline. Over her shoulder was a pair of Sakura's low cut jeans that had a little flare at the bottom. It was definitely something Sakura would wear.
"Now," her mother began, handing the outfit to Sakura. "You can wear the hoodie with the cami or the t-shirt. I personally would choose the t-shirt, but it's up to you."
"Thanks mom," Sakura said rushing past her mother towards the bathroom to change. She took a step back and gave her mother a peck on the cheek before closing the bathroom door behind her. Mrs. Haruno simply smiled and began to put her daughter's discarded clothes back into the closet they had been thrown from.
Sasuke walked into Casydi's ten minutes late. If it wasn't for Naruto, he would have been there earlier. His stupid friend lost his car keys and begged for Sasuke to help him. He would have refused if Naruto hadn't threatened to expose his place of residence to much hated fans. The idiot was going to owe him big time for this and was more than likely going to be reprimanded for his threat. Then again, how both boys were acting was just how they were with each other despite their friendship.
Since he was late, Sasuke did not have much time to change out of his uniform as much as he liked. He still wore his white oxford style button up shirt and navy blue sweater vest (the thing he detested the most). Luckily, he had a pair of jeans that he kept in his car just in case he was running late to some event with friends. All he had to do was untuck his shirt and remove the sweater vest and volia! He was ready to go.
Casydi's was just what he expected it to be. A run of the mill cafe that believed it was some how unique, but wasn't quite there yet. The walls were painted in a clay tone that made him want to fall asleep. It didn't help that the smell of coffee filled his nose. Coffee, usually used to wake someone up, brought Sasuke into a slumbersome state. Plus the noise of the hustle and bustle of the places that sell the drink and the added bonus of the jazz-like music in the background annoyed him to no end. He stayed away from coffee shops knowing that he didn't like what they did to him. However, here he was inside one. Why he had agreed to meet Sakura here was beyond him. There was no way he was going to get any work done if he felt sleepy.
He searched the cafe tables for Sakura and caught a glimpse of her pink hair towards the back of the room. As he approached, he found himself holding his breath. She sat at a table, slouching in her chair with books and notebook scattered around the table. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there was something else about her he couldn't quite pin-point about her. The noise of the cafe began to null around him as he walked towards her. His heart beat fast in his chest and he briefly clutched it in confusion. Was he nervous? He shouldn't be; Sakura was not someone new or a person he felt like he needed to be jittery around. Sasuke put on a calm and collect face and placed his stuff on her table.
Sakura didn't notice, too enthralled in the book in her hand. She took a sip of the to-go coffee cup by her notebook and turned the page. Sasuke cleared his throat in hopes that she would take notice of his presence only to fall short in his own expectations. Sighing, Sasuke stood right in front of her and squatted down at the same level of her book. It was then that he realized why she hadn't acknowledged him. In her ears was a pair of earphones and from the looks of it, her music must be turned up very loud in order to block out the extra noise of the cafe. Sasuke took hold of her book and removed it from her grasp. She just sat there for a second as if she was trying to figure out what just happened and then looked up. When she recognized Sasuke, she smirked and removed her earphones.
"Sorry, I tend to get lost in my book from time to time," she apologized, gesturing for him to sit.
"I'm just wondering why you read and listen to music at the same time," he said, rummaging through his pack for his supplies.
"I listen to classical music so that I can recall what I read better," the rosette explained. "It's a tip I received after learning about multiple intelligences in my pyschology class last year."
"Ah, well I hope you can put those multiple intelligences to use and help me with this essay," Sasuke said.
Sakura laughed and scooted her chair closer to Sasuke. "Alrighty then, what thematical element have you decided to focus on?"
"Reputation."
"An easy one I see," Sakura retorted with a small smile. Before Sasuke could counter her claim, she added, "Yet a very good motiff for an essay. Now let's figure out how it effects the play shall we?"
By the time it was five o'clock, Sasuke had written all that he need for his essay and had begun to write his paper. Sakura would glance up from time to time, watching him work as she scribbled down her own essay. She had begun to think about what Ino had said earlier on how this whole meeting with Sasuke was a date. She wasn't liking herself thinking like that, like Ino, but she was. She was not on a date with Sasuke. However, one of the many definitions of the word date is a social engagement with a person of the opposite sex. A social engagement could mean anything including a help session on a assignment.
But what if this was a date, like a really full blown date? There was no way for her to be completely sure unless she asked him and she didn't want to do that. If it wasn't a date, she would only embarass herself in front of Sasuke and possibly ruin their friendship. Then again, if this was a date and she didn't know it, she would embarass Sasuke for letting him think that they were on one. She felt like she had to say something, but she wasn't quite sure what it was yet.
Sasuke put down his pencil and stretched in the cafe chair. When he arched his back, his shirt lifted and unknowingly exposed his toned stomach to Sakura. Her eyes drifted to the exposed spot and she blushed lightly. Then she shook her head to clear her mind of the thoughts that followed after.
"Hello, earth to Sakura," Sasuke pronounced somewhat loudly. "I asked you a question."
"Oh sorry, my mind seems to be wandering off," she quickly replied. "What was it that you wanted?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to grab a quick bite to eat since it is getting close to dinner time and we are already out," he explained. "I know my parents wouldn't care if I missed a family meal, but what about yours?"
Well that was unexpected. Sakura had only planned on doing a little bit of her easy with Sasuke, not eat out with him. Once again the thought of this engagement as a date rose up in her mind. Then again, it was just a quick bit to eat. Girls and boys did that as friends all the time. This did not mean a thing. She lifted a finger and pulled out her phone to text her mother. Within minutes, her mother sent a reply and Sakura was grateful that her mother knew how to text fast on her cellphone. A smile tugged at Sakura's lips.
"It won't be a problem with them," she said. "Where would you like to go?"
Now it was Sasuke's turn to smirk. "I have an idea."
The two of them rose from their table and went to their separate cars. Sakura followed Sasuke's beat-up car down the road to a some what busy fast food chain. While they waited in line to place their orders, Sakura felt very surprised.
"Huh."
Sasuke gave her a curious look.
"I did not think that you, Sasuke Uchiha, ate anything like fast food," Sakura explained. "I mean, at school all I see you eat is all this organic stuff that you bring from home."
"I rarely eat fast food," was his reply. "And to be honest, as a dancer, I thought for sure that you were going to object once we got into the parking lot."
"Hey," she exclaimed, poking his chest. "Just because a dancer has to watch what she eats does not mean that they don't like fast food. I personally love a good cheeseburger when I can get one."
He just smirked and turned to the cashier to place his order. Once both of them had received their food, they looked around for a spot to sit at. However, the resturant was extremely busy and every seat was taken. Suddenly coming up with a solution, Sasuke lead Sakura outside and they sat on the trunk of Sakura's car since it looked like it could hold both of their weight much better. As they ate, Sakura began to laugh.
"I can't believe that we are eating cheeseburgers outside in forty degree weather on top of my car," she said to him.
"If you do things that you're not used to doing and you enjoy it, you'll end up having a happier life," Sasuke said. "At least, that's what I think."
Sakura grinned. "It's a good theory and I never thought about it like that."
"Hn."
They returned to silence as they finished up their meals. Sakura began to think as she chewed her food. She had enjoyed her afternoon with Sasuke. In fact, it had been the most time she has spent with him in awhile and she liked it. Maybe she could get him to do this with her again sometime, once again just as friends. They could help each other out. Although it seemed like a good idea, she wasn't sure that he would want to hang out again. She felt a little bit gutsy on the idea.
"Sasuke, I have a proposition for you," she started and he stopped eating to listen. "Maybe we could do this again. I could help you with more of the english assignment or another subject and you could do the same with another subject with me. I know for a fact that you are better at math than I am. We could even meet in different places or alternate between houses."
He didn't say anything and looked up at the darkening sky. Sakura began to sink into herself with regret. He was going to say no and she felt like an idiot for asking.
"It's just a suggestion, we don't have to do it," she expanded on her thought.
"Actually, it seems like a reasonable idea," he told her, making her face brighten. "We could raise our grades and attempt to make it possible to exempt finals for this semester."
"So you'll do it?"
"Yeah."
Sasuke hopped off the trunk of her car and dusted his pants off.
"Well, I gotta go," he said. "I'll meet you tomorrow at my house for that math problem you seem to be having. See you later Sakura."
He waved at her and drove off leaving a very happy Sakura to think about what she had just done.
Author's Note: No real fluffy stuff yet, but its coming. Okay the multiple intelligence test that Sakura was talking about is really cool. I learned about them the same way Sakura did. I'm going to put a website below that you can go to so that if you want to know more, you can read about it and find out what your multiple intelligences are. And that thing with Sakura's mom picking out her clothes, I wished my mom could do that. Surprisingly, its my dad that does. Its not really weird or anything, he just knows what I like more than my mother. Anyway, I think I'm going to update on Tuesdays from now on. I hope you liked the chapter and please review. :)
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