A/N: For YamiHinata and pluhsauce, thanks for sticking with me :)
Apartment 7
Stalkers
Sasuke wakes up to the sound of his phone vibrating on the bedside table. Slowly opening his eyes, he glances at the digital clock, the red display showing that it's 6 in the morning. With a sigh, Sasuke reaches over to grab his phone.
The message is from a number that is not in his contacts, but he still recognizes it instantly.
We need to talk. Call me.
Ignoring the message, the raven-haired student rises from the bed. After getting dressed, he exits the room only to be met with a confusing sight in the living room.
There, sleeping back-to-back on the brown couch are his roommates. Naruto, clad in orange boxers and a white tank top holds a knife in his lap, while his disheveled blonde head of hair is drooped forward.
Idiot, what the hell is he doing with a knife?
Sakura's pink hair is up in a messy bun, while her head leans back onto one of Naruto shoulders. Her clothes are in disarray and she's snoring softly.
Not quite sure what would have caused his roommates to end up in such a position, Sasuke decides to play it safe and clear his throat to wake them up. At the sound, Sakura's green eyes slowly flutter open. A look of confusion evident on her face, she sits up and takes in her surroundings.
"You two seem to have gotten cozy."
Sakura turns wide eyes to the Uchiha. "Didn't you hear it?"
"Hear what?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow up.
"The ghost!" She exclaims.
Sasuke shakes his head in disbelief. "Not this again." The med student jumps to her feet, about to retort back, when the shiny object in her sleeping companion's hand catches her eye. The boy had fallen backwards once he couldn't lean on her anymore, causing the knife to be within plain sight.
After quickly popping her neck and back, Sakura retrieves the weapon from the snoozing blonde, and hands it to her other roommate. "I can see why you guys don't want to sleep on the couch, that thing is uncomfortable." She says while massaging her shoulder.
Sasuke takes the cooking instrument to the kitchen and tosses it into the sink, on the way back to the living room however, his sock-clad foot slips on something wet causing him to slide on the tile and fall, face first, to the ground. When a head of pink hair peers around the counter to see what the commotion was, Sasuke fights the embarrassed blush from creeping onto his face.
"Oh," Sakura says while unsuccessfully trying to bite back her laughter. "Naruto – giggle – spilled some water last night while we were running – snicker – from the ghost."
"Naruto!" Sasuke yells while rising to his feet and storming back to the living room.
The oblivious boy barely has time to open his eyes before he's knocked from the couch to the floor.
"What the hell, bastard!" He exclaims before a thrown dishtowel lands on his face.
"You spilled water in the kitchen, go wipe it up." Sasuke orders sternly before disappearing into the boys' room.
Disgruntled, Naruto slowly rises from the ground, but does what he's told.
After exchanging his damp socks for some clean ones, Sasuke reenters the living room only to find his roommates speaking rapidly about last night's events.
"All that banging is not normal, and I checked the news station, it wasn't an earthquake." The female was stating while dramatically flailing her arms around.
"I still can't believe that Sasuke didn't hear anything." Naruto says while shooting a glare at said Uchiha, still bitter about his rude awakening.
"Probably because it was just your imagination running wild. Not everybody can handle a night in a new place." Sasuke butts in, not believing any of paranormal nonsense.
"I can handle myself just fine!" Naruto snaps back. "It was a ghost, I swear! This place is haunted!"
Sasuke sends the oblivious blonde a withering look. "I'm going for a run." With that, he slips on his trainers and exits the apartment.
Sasuke's feet hit the pavement, the cool air of the morning nipping at his cheeks. The complex was spaced out enough that the surrounding sidewalk proved to be a useful running track. Other students seemed to think so as well since quite a few of the other residences were jogging along the same path.
Sasuke loved running, it gave him an escape from reality, he would lose himself in the repetitive motion, giving him a clear mind. He was fast too; he had broken basically all of his high school's records for track and cross-country, not to mention swimming, soccer, and basketball.
Breathing in the crisp air, he completes his second lap and starts on the third, his mind spacing out into the blissful quiet. His peace, however, is interrupted when a blonde girl in a bright purple exercise shirt jogs up next to him.
The fangirls are out early today. He thinks to himself irritably.
Hoping that she'll get the hint, Sasuke picks up his pace. Unfortunately for him, she's fairly athletic and persists in her pursuit of him.
"You're Uchiha Sasuke, right?" She asks while trying to keep up with his grueling speed.
"Hn." He replies while running even faster.
"You just moved here?" She asks, her breathing getting heavy with the intense exercise.
"Hn." Why don't they understand that I don't like talking to random strangers?
"Wow! You – pant – run really fast!" She says breathlessly. "I'm Ino. Want to – pant pant – get coffee sometime?"
"Hn." Sasuke's full out sprinting back to his apartment and successfully leaves Ino in the dust.
"I'll take that as a maybe!" She yells after him.
Sasuke enters his apartment and slams the door behind him.
"How was your run?" Sakura calls cheerfully from the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand.
"Fine." Sasuke grunts out before making his way to the bathroom.
What's up with him? Sakura thinks to herself before turning away.
"Please Kakashi! Do me this favor!" The blonde girl begs her landlord. "It's like super important!"
The silver-haired man glares at her with his one visible eye. "Ino, I highly doubt that knowing the number of Sasuke's apartment is that important." He adverts his attention back the orange book in his hand.
"Oh, come one! I'll buy you a new eye-patch, a gold one!" she whines. The bored landlord sends her a condescending look before he turns away from her again.
Eying the cover of the book, an idea pops into Ino's conniving mind. "I see you like Icha Icha," Kakashi's gaze is back on the blonde woman, his interest obviously peaked. "Well, I happen to have a friend who acquired a copy of the bonus addition of the latest book that, might I add, has yet to be released in stores. Oh, and it's autographed too."
If the man hadn't been wearing a bandana around his face, Ino would have witnessed his jaw drop. "So if I tell you the number of his apartment, you'll get a hold of this special copy of Icha Icha?"
Ino responds with an enthusiastic nod, knowing that she has just gotten her way.
"Seven, Uchiha is currently renting apartment number seven."
"Thank you Kakashi, expect your… book," Ino hesitates in recognizing the vulgar collection of pages as literature, "by next week."
With a wave, Ino scampers away to search for her current obsession's home.
Upon reaching the door with lopsided seven on it, Ino doesn't quite know what to do. She shouldn't knock, then she'd have to explain how she knew this was his current place of residence. Maybe she should wait nearby until he gets home, then she can casually "bump into him".
An evil smile makes its way unto the plotting blondes face, her blue eyes practically dancing with excitement.
Footsteps echo throughout the breezeway, signaling the approach of somebody else.
Crap, if Sasuke sees me now, my whole plan will be ruined. Thinking quickly, the blonde dives into a piece of nearby shrubbery. Peering out, she witnesses a person open the door the apartment eight and disappear inside.
A sigh of relief escapes her.
What if Sasuke saw me dive into this bush? Oh my gosh, I would probably die from embarrassment.
Ino is about to exit the prickly bushes, but stops when she gets the strange feeling of somebody watching her.
Ino turns her head around only to find crimson eyes staring at her.
"What are you doing? This is my bush!" The other occupant yells as she adjusts her glasses.
"What do you mean your bush? This is situated in front of my future husband's door!" Ino snaps back.
"Your future husband? No way, Sasuke's mine! We have history!" The redhead flips back her lopsided hair and glares at Ino.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Ino replies sarcastically. "Following him around and taking pictures of him while he's not looking does not count as 'history'."
"I'll have you know, that Sasuke saved my life once!"
"Bitch! He's mine, back off!"
"The name's Karin! Remember it, because some day it will be written next to 'Uchiha' on a wedding certificate!"
"Keep dreaming!"
"You keep dreaming Blondie, Sasuke's mine!"
"Sh! Somebody's coming." Ino says before peaking her head over the bush.
Blue and crimson eyes watch as the new arrival stops in front of apartment seven.
"Is that a girl?" Karin practically shrieks.
"Of course not, why would my Sasuke-kun have a girl over?" Ino retorts.
The door of the apartment opens allowing light to spill out into the dimly lit corridor.
"Bitch! I already told you he's mine!" At Karin's shout, the mystery girl turns around revealing bright viridian eyes and soft pink hair.
Both bush girls duck down in order to avoid being seen, but each recognized the pinkette. "Forehead!" Ino gasps out at the same time that Karin yells out "Ugly!"
Both stalkers widen their eyes at each other and in unison ask the other. "You know Sakura?" before in horror adding, "Sakura knows Sasuke?" They peek over the top of the bush once more and witness said girl unlock the door and walk into the apartment.
Gasping in horror, both fangirls begin to devise plans in order to get to the bottom of this confusing situation.