"Hey squirt"
My eyes may have been closed, but I was not asleep. I knew the voice that was calling me, but I didn't want to respond.
"It's one in the afternoon and you're still asleep?", he says as he tugs the blanket off of me.
"Leave me alone. I was awake a few hours ago. I'm taking a nap", I growl as I try to keep a hold on the luxurious cloth.
It was a battle I couldn't win, and eventually the blanket ended up in the hands of the bastard who'd been M.I.A for more than eight days.
"Is this really how you're going to treat someone you haven't seen in a while?"
I roll my eyes and slowly sit up. "You're mistaken", I hiss. "This is how I treat a legal guardian who stays out all night and fails to do his job"
Usually, I was a morning person. There's just something about waking up that makes me feel like I'm starting over- a new day, a clean slate. But with all that's been going on in my life, it's really been putting me in a crappy mood. What doesn't help is when the bastard who refuses to take care of you finally comes home and impolitely wakes you up.
"You're sixteen, not ten", he says nonchalantly. "You're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. You're almost an adult"
I snort at his statement, and being in too poor of a mood to even argue with him, I ignore the pervert and get out of bed. "I see you went grocery shopping"
Lines of plastic bags were lined up on the other side of the wall- an unfriendly reminder that the pervert was probably going to make me put the groceries away.
"Yup. And guess who's going to put them away?"
I groan, rubbing my still tired eyes. "Lazy piece of shit", I say under my breath.
"What was that?", he asks.
"Nothing", I quickly reply.
I put the groceries away like he asked me to without saying a word to him. It's not until I finish the task when words are actually being exchanged between each other.
"I'm going to stick around for a few days", he says barely above a whisper.
The confidence in his voice was almost laughable and I snort before giving a snarky retort. "And I'm going to an Ivy league school"
"I mean it", he says sternly. "I think I need to slow down ya know? Get my life together and what not. All the partying has gone to my head"
"Yeah", I agree with him. "If you keep partying the way you do now, you might end up being a father"
He snorts before replying. "And that would be a disaster after all the pain I had to go through to raise you"
"I don't think I'm that bad", I grumble. "But since I know all I'm going to do is annoy you, I'm going to leave"
"And go where?"
"Anywhere but here", I murmur as I head out the door.
"Come on, the one time I'm actually around, you want to leave...and in your pajamas too...are you that lazy?", he asks as if I'm crazy.
"Yes. And I brushed my teeth this morning, so don't get on me about it", I spit venomously.
"Well I'm not letting you go", he says strictly. "I want you to stay"
"For what?"
"I want to talk to you"
I snort before turning back to the door. "You want me to entertain you so you don't feel the loneliness I've been feeling for the past two weeks"
As harsh as it sounded, I was right. And I knew he agreed with me by how he avoided the question.
"Do as I say. If you do so much as turn the door knob I'll cancel your phone plan"
I turn back towards him with narrowed eyes. "Does an old man like you even know how to do that?"
"Shut up and sit down on the sofa. I want to talk to you"
I sigh, and sit on the cozy black piece of furniture. He smiles at me, which he rarely ever does, only making me even more suspicious.
"Are you going to die or something?", I ask him.
His smile drops. "No. Does it look like I'm going to?"
I shake my head at the silly thought. "You're right, you're right. I'm just really confused as to why you want to talk to me and why you're being so casual"
"Come on, it's not like we've never sat down and talked to each other", he replies with a chuckle.
"It's been a while", I remind him. "Is there anything on your mind?"
I honestly didn't care too much for whatever he wanted to talk to me about. Ever since I got to this city, he's been running around wild like he does every summer, and only cares about my well being when the partying gets out of control. Unlike most summers, I got to spend this one with him. So instead of receiving a voicemail after a long night of partying, or a random phone call at two in the morning, I get to discuss things with him face to face like we usually did during the school year.
"Just a few things, but...nothing worth talking about"
"Really? You don't think the fact that Sasuke Uchiha is turning one of your books into a movie is discussion worthy?"
He sighs and carelessly puts his feet on the coffee table. "Not to be cocky or anything, but I saw this coming. I've been writing books for years, and I knew that someday I would have a hit...and the Icha Icha paradise series just so happened to be that hit", he says before clearing his throat. "I just hope they don't fuck up the casting or make any major changes"
"That would suck", I agree.
"But if bad things happen, bad things happen. I'm a little too old to care...and besides, I'm at the peak of my life right now", he begins. "I'm an accomplished author, and this is the year I've made the most money"
"Have you ever thought of what you're going to do with all of your money?"
He shrugs and pulls a black cigarette out of his pocket. "Half of it is going towards your college fund"
"I thought you were trying to stay away from cigarettes", I remind him with a frown.
He shakes his head. "Does this look like a cigarette to you?"
I watch him as he puts his mouth on the sleek, black rod shaped object. The end of the stick turned blue when he inhaled, and when he took his lips off and exhaled, I barely saw anything leave his chapped lips.
"No...what the hell is it?", I ask curiously.
"It's a healthier alternative for nicotine users. It's called an e-cigarette"
"E-cigarette?"
"Yeah, short for electronic cigarette"
I narrow my eyes at the object, looking at it like it held all the mysteries of the world.
"It's a lot safer than smoking. But it will still burn your throat a bit", he informs me. "Doesn't taste like anything though"
He hands me the e-cig and I roll it between my fingers. My curiosity rises the longer I look at it. It doesn't even smell the way cigarettes do.
"Can I...try it?", I ask nervously.
"Sure. Knock yourself out"
So being the curious man I've always been, I bravely put the device in between my lips and inhale. Okay, so this isn't that bad.
And it wasn't, not until I started to feel the burn and started coughing as if I'd inhaled poison. The perv had the nerve to laugh at me too.
"Hey, I warned you", he gloats. "Be more careful next time"
I hand the evil thing back to him. "I don't think there's gonna be a next time"
He laughs and uses his other arm to pat me on the back. "Everything is not for everyone"
"You got that right", I grumble.
After the uncomfortable situation I'd put myself in, the perv started asking me random questions- like what colleges interested me the most and what I wanted to be when I was older. It wasn't long until the topic of girls came along.
"So still don't have a special lady in your life?"
I snort at the question. "Do I ever?"
It takes him a while to reply to the question. "Are you lying to me?", he suddenly asked.
"About what?", I ask cautiously. "Not having a girl friend?"
"No", he says as she shakes his head. "You say you like girls, but I'm beginning to think you don't"
"What?!"
The statement was down right insulting. How could he sit there all straight faced and say that?!
"So because women show no interest in me, you think I've given up on them and taken a liking to the same sex? That's bull shit!"
Well...I like a guy...two actually...fuck. But...they shouldn't count, I mean, I've never really been attracted to any other men. Not even the good looking one's you see in movies and on television.
"No", he says bluntly. "I'm saying that I don't think you've ever liked any girls at all"
"Well I have!", I correct him. "I've liked plenty of girls"
"I won't hold it against you if you are g-"
"I'm not!"
"I just won't have any grandchildren", he grumbles.
"I'm not gay!", I practically scream to the entire hotel.
"Goodness kid, calm down", he says in defense. "It's nothing to be ashamed of if you are. I'm not saying it to be insulting-"
"Well it is insulting!", I say before crossing my arms. "And I can't believe you'd accuse me of being gay"
I was beyond upset, and the perv was beginning to look a bit worried.
"You know, it wasn't that bad of a question"
Growing tired of arguing with the perv, I decided it was best for me to leave.
"Oh, come on Naruto, there's no need for you to go!", he says in defense. "Sit back down, I enjoy talking to you"
"This is my only day off", I begin. "And right now, I do not want to spend it with you"
As I storm down to the lobby, mumbling about how much I can't stand the perv, I see Itachi and Sasuke sitting on the sofa talking to each other. I can feel the heat rising to my face when they notice me. Fuck. This is too awkward.
The judgement in Sasuke's charcoal colored eyes is almost as intimidating as the stoic look on his face. "Slut" is probably what he's going to think every time he sees me. It's been four days since the awkward encounter...and ever since then, Itachi hasn't been calling me up for room service.
So maybe this was it. Maybe I completely blew it. Fucked up a potential friendship with Sasuke and embarrassed Itachi to the point where he won't even let me in his hotel room. All I'm ever good for is fucking things up. No wonder I can't get a girlfriend. Girls want guys who have their shit together.
Realizing that I was staring at them for longer than necessary, I decide it's time to leave the hotel. I'm not going to relax in the lobby if they're going to be here. As soon as I put my hand on the door, I see a group of teenagers dressed in flashy clothing, and something about the look they were giving me told me I needed to step out of the way and let them through. And so I did.
When the group walked in, the lobby immediately became louder. Not just noise wise, but appearance wise. It's like their wealth and their egos filled the room and gave it life. Not to mention, all of them are breathtakingly beautiful. Sure, there were rich kids in Malibu, there were tons of them, but they didn't dress like your typical preppy rich kids. They had their own style- their own flair to whatever they were wearing, and sadly, all these kids filling up the lobby managed to look the same. So this is what it's like to me rich on this side of the Country.
I couldn't believe how different these kids were from the rich people in Cali. Personally, I think they are far worse, given how they walked into the hotel as if they were royalty and everyone else was a measly little peasant. Fucking rich people.
I watched them walk over to the front desk, and sighed. If all goes as planned, Jiraiya and I will be loaded...and maybe we'll be as rich as them. The group had to be at least younger than eighteen, but there were no parents in sight. They probably just let them do whatever the fuck they want.
Taking my eyes off of them was almost impossible- there were just too many of them! They were the elephants in the room- the upper echelon of the North East- the richest of the rich...or at least that's what they appeared to be. They're so polished...so elegant and...god, why are they just so infatuating!
The stereotype is true. No matter where you are in the Country, it's almost impossible to be rich and ugly. Even some of the guys were making me feel how Itachi and Sasuke made me feel. So rich...so intimidating.
But there was one person who stood out to me in particular. She had dark black hair down to her back and the pale skin like Sasuke's. She seemed to be the calmest one in the entire group and the way she stood also told me she was the shyest. Unexpectedly she turned around, possibly looking to see if any group members were left behind. We ended up making eye contact, but it wasn't the regular awkward eye contact you'd have with someone in public. This was eye contact with meaning. It had to have lasted around ten seconds or so. If it wasn't for her friend snapping her fingers in her face, it might've lasted longer.
I watched as her skin turned from white to red, and I quickly looked away when her almost as attractive friend turned around. I definitely need to get out of here. As always, I'm not watching where I'm going (I know, it's a terrible bad habbit), and I end up bumping into someone. I take a few steps back and apologize, but half way through the apology I end up making eye contact with the person. My heart nearly froze when I saw the unimpressed stare he was giving me.
"It's fine. Just watch where you're going next time", he says darkly.
"You're right, I'm so so-"
I didn't even get to finish because I knew he was going to walk away, which he did. He has to be related to Sasuke or Itachi. I continue to watch him, and when he walks over to the Uchiha brother's, I dash out of the building. I think that might be their father!
A/N: I'm extremely happy with how popular this story has become. Thank you all for reviewing- it means a lot to me and pushes me to keep on going! I really don't have much to say, so have a nice day!