VitaminWater Fact Number 10: VitaminWater isn't as fun when that dumb girl who sits next to you in French drinks it too.
Like VitaminWater
x. by ANGELforSHOW
Chapter Nine: b-relaxed.
Purpose: Relaxation.
x.
It was a common known fact that Ino and Naruto were some of the biggest partiers of the freshman class. This was quite impressive in a twisted sort of way; the freshman class was pretty freaking large.
Ino favored mixed drinks – usually fruity, with a delicate balance of flavor. Maybe with a touch of ice, but definitely with as much Grey Goose as the blend could allow.
Naruto, on the other hand, was a smack down whiskey and rum kind of guy. Captain Morgan was his idol, and the Coca Cola Company was his wife. Rum and Sprite – that was the way to go.
Despite the two blonds' controversy over their preferred alcoholic beverage, they still had one thing in common when it came to partying – both of them enjoyed what they called the DAMN process: Dance, Alcohol, Make Out, and Nicotine.
They were sinners, but they loved it. It wasn't about being blond – Ino and Naruto just knew how to have fun. Take Kiba for example – he was a brunette and he did even more than the two. Kiba followed the DAMPEN process: Dance, Alcohol, Make Out, Pot, Ecstasy, and Nicotine.
It wasn't exactly healthy, but he made it work. Besides, it was only on the weekend that DAMN turned into DAMPEN. Sometimes.
The most important characteristics of all three of the students, however, were that they all knew how to let loose, have fun, and be a little daring.
Qualities, Ino thought, that a certain Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura needed to acquire.
Memorandum.
Dear Student:
Due to the impending hurricane, classes will be canceled today, November 3rd
Students are reminded that in the case of severe inclement weather, the storm shelter shall be used as a refuge. Students should remain stationary in one area to avoid contact with the storm. In case of dire need to travel into town, students should try to return quickly.
Students are also reminded to stay warm and dry.
Regards,
Tsunade
Dean of Safety
"YEEESSSSSssSsssssssssss," Naruto hissed out when he read Tsunade's e-mail on his iPhone. "This is awesome!" he waved his phone in front of Sasuke's face, "Did ya see thi – oh, shit," his face sobered dramatically as he dropped his cell phone, leaving him to pick his wounded phone out of a greasy bed of sausages. Sausages courtesy of the breakfast tray located at scenic Naruto's table space.
Sakura snorted. That was totally disgusting.
Sasuke slapped Naruto's wriggling hand away from his head. "Yes, shut up," he told him shortly, holding up his Blackberry with a completely blank expression.
"Honestly, Naruto, you should be more careful with your stuff," Sakura mumbled as she checked her own e-mail on her MacBook. "I guess this means no English lecture," she said with a toothy grin. "Shaaaaaaaame."
Ino laughed and took a sip of her grapefruit juice. "So what should we do today?" she asked her tablemates as she leaned back in her chair. "We have the entire day to ourselves," she squealed out as she stretched her arms.
"Well, Tsunade said to stay put and stay indoors," Sakura replied dubiously, "So we can just chill in the common room, I guess."
Sasuke shrugged. He really didn't care either way. As long as the two crazy blondes (the pink-haired one wasn't as bad) didn't make him stand out in the rain, he wouldn't mind.
"Let's go into town!" Ino chirped brightly, biting into an orange slice she had on her tray. "That should be fun."
"But Tsunade said not to go into town unless it was for a "dire need"," Sakura reminded Ino with a slight frown. She reached into her bag for her VitaminWater. The b-relaxed was rolling around somewhere inside…her…
"I'm out of VitaminWater?!" Sakura shrieked in horror, heaving her tote up into her lap, pawing through her belongings. One by one, she tossed items that were in the way onto the table. Tubes of mascara rolled towards Sasuke, while a wayward EnV phone slid to Ino's side of the table. Keys were tossed literally at Naruto's face.
Almost as quickly as they appeared, Sakura's pale arm shot out and gathered up her belongings. "Guess what, we're going into town today!" Sakura informed her friends with a slightly maniacal smile.
"What happened to "dire need"," Sasuke asked her dryly.
"It is a dire need!" Sakura snapped at him with a glare, as she shoved a makeup bag (Lesportsac) into her purse.
Ino cheered slightly. "We can go look at shoes too!"
The minute Sasuke stepped outside to meet his friends (they had agreed to meet at the front entrance in an hour) he regretted it.
To sum it up, the weather was cold, damp, and unpleasant. The trees, which had all shed their leaves weeks before, were jagged and bare. Their leaves were lying in the browning grass, soggy from the sporadic rain that kept passing through. The sky was completely grey, covered with a layer of thick clouds.
It was miserable, to say the least.
At least he had had the foresight to dress in preparation for the weather – he had worn jeans for once and he had worn several layers: a polo (navy blue, Abercrombie), a sweatshirt (Vans, from the Warped Tour), and a Northface jacket (sharp, black, slim fit, and with a turtleneck).
Naruto, on the other hand, was not as lucky. Sasuke could spot Naruto's blazingly light hair clearly even when he was a good 200 yards away. It seemed as if Naruto had thought jeans and a sweatshirt were enough.
"Hey Sasuke," Ino greeted him with a quick smile. She stood still for a moment to dig around inside of her purse, looking for gloves.
"Hn," Sasuke acknowledged her with a friendly grunt.
"Pig, you're so dumb. Why did you wear that today of all days?" Sakura asked as she approached them, her hands shoved inside the pockets of her knee-length brown pea coat. It was fitted from the waist up, the bottom part flowing just enough to offer maximum movement and top-notch warmth.
Ino glared at her with ice blue eyes. "I thought it was cute," she sniffed, before pulling a white glove onto her left hand.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "It is cute, but you're going to freeze," she told Ino flatly. Sakura had came prepared for the inclement weather – a nice, long coat over her usual skinny jeans (extra dark wash this time – perhaps they would absorb extra heat) with a blouse and cardigan on beneath her coat.
Ino on the other hand, was not as prepared. Her outfit was adorable, but shimmery black leggings with white eyelet miniskirts simply weren't rainproof, and neither were black blouses with teal corduroy blazers. Her sand colored Ugg boots had been a good choice though, Sakura observed dryly.
"Let's go!" Naruto said to his friends cheerfully when he reached their small gathering.
The college campus was located right on the outskirts of the city – after a five-minute walk, the four were already strolling inside the large metropolis.
The large city seemed to be deserted. The anticipated hurricane must have been scaring everyone inside. Even the hobo count seemed lower, Sakura noted sarcastically as she walked alongside Ino down the grimy sidewalk.
Ino alternated between shivering and glaring at every seated hobo who "accidentally" looked up her skirt. "We should stop at a coat store," she suggested to her friends miserably.
Sakura resisted the urge to tell her "I told you so!" with a childish smirk.
The first hour in the city was spent meandering. Once the four had traveled a bit further into the city, they began to see more and more people littering the streets. The amount of life outside was still scarce though – barely a taxi was in sight.
Window-shopping was a must for Sakura and Ino. The two had gone through block after block of stores, but they both had managed to not buy a single thing at all.
"What's the point of shopping if you aren't going to buy anything?" Naruto grumbled as he and Sasuke followed the pair from store to store. He took a frustrated swig of his coffee, waiting impatiently for Ino and Sakura to stop admiring a pair of particularly hideous boots.
Sasuke shrugged. He leaned casually against the glass window display, hands in his pockets. A strong gust of wind swept its way through the streets. Sasuke decided to zip up his jacket all the way, while Ino nearly cried from the cold.
Sakura shook her head. "Ino, buy a jacket or something," she advised her friend, pulling a scarf out of her purse and handing it to the blonde. Ino thanked her gratefully, tightly wrapping the cashmere scarf around her neck twice.
Ino sighed and nodded in resignation, "Let's go to Bloomingdale's," she croaked out, rubbing her arms quickly to generate a miniscule amount of heat. "There's one the next street over."
The four set off at a brisk walk. Sakura and Sasuke led the way, while Naruto shoved his hot coffee into Ino's hands, telling her to drink it.
After jaywalking through the street (psh, waiting at crosswalks was so overrated anyway), the group ducked into Bloomingdales for a brief stopover. Ino speed-walked gratefully to the women's section.
"Ino, go get your stuff, we'll wait here," Naruto said, sinking into one of the cushy chairs in the Bloomingdale's front entrance. Sasuke followed suit, taking the free moment to check his phone. Sakura excused herself to the ladies room, intent on fixing up her windswept hair.
Skillfully, Ino marched straight to the denim department, finding her size in True Religion skinny jeans. Then, nearly just as quickly, she flew through to the Burberry retailer, grabbing the classic Burberry coat. Approaching the register triumphantly, Ino threw down her newest clothing articles.
"Your total is 1,184 dollars and 32 cents," a bored cashier informed Ino. Ino handed her a credit card. "Visa? Alright…" the cashier mumbled monotonously, swiping the card and tapping a few buttons on her computer's touch-screen.
After scribbling her name on the receipt and asking for a pair of scissors to chop the price tags off her clothes, Ino strode into the restroom purposefully. Locking herself into a stall, she pulled on her new jeans straight over her leggings, discarding her skirt in her tote bag for later. Stuffing her jean-covered calves back into her boots, Ino squirmed into her new beige coat happily before folding up her Big Brown Bag and dropping it in her tote as well.
"Hey Sakura," Ino laughed as she approached the mirror, noticing her best friend attempting to work a brush through her tangled pink hair.
"Mmm," Sakura answered, intent on getting that gigantic knot out of her Tickle Me Pink colored locks. "Nice coat," she muttered to Ino, as she flung down the hairbrush, attempting to rip the knot apart by hand.
Ino flashed a brief Crest Whitestrip smile before she dug out her makeup bag, touching up parts of her eyeliner that had smudged away. "Thanks!"
The two rejoined Naruto and Sasuke after another 10 minutes. Sakura had finally ripped the knot out and had scraped her hair into a professional looking French braid, sidebangs left out of course.
Ino led the way out of the large department store. Jauntily pushing through the revolving door. Once again, they settled in the usual formation. Sakura and Sasuke led the way, while Naruto and Ino argued in the back.
"You guys totally owe us a meal, by the way," Naruto slipped into the conversation casually once they had started moving.
Sasuke gave him a skeptical look. "Since when?" he asked, rolling his eyes. Sakura also turned to stare at Naruto. Spending 200 dollars on one meal just because Naruto was a royal pig was not her ideal way of spending her free day.
Naruto grinned impishly. "That study session from way back. You lost to us in trashcan basketball, so you promised to buy us a meal," he explained.
"He's right," Ino chimed in, while pulling her hair out of her ponytail. Perhaps a curtain of hair would help keep her warmer.
"I think we'd like to use that free meal pass now, if you don't mind," Naruto told Sasuke cordially. "Y'know, on account that it's cold as fuck out here."
Sakura sighed, "It is getting close to 1:00," she admitted miserably. "I guess lunch would be a good idea." Her apple colored eyes scanned the street for a restaurant of some sort. There was a Starbucks and a McDonalds, but no actual sit-in-and-have-something-that's-not-deep-fried bistros were on the block.
"I want to go to a sushi bar. That has ramen and soba and udon and PASTA," Naruto informed Sakura and Sasuke. "What about you Ino?" he asked pleasantly, craning his neck to see if he could spot other restaurants.
"That sounds good. And then we can go to Starbucks, because I'm dying for a latte," Ino agreed, eyeing the Starbucks they were passing.
Sasuke remained as stoic as ever, while Sakura flat-out blanched. Sushi was expensive as it was, and all-you-can-eat sushi buffets were even pricier. Especially since it wasn't exactly prime fish season – the salmon and tuna were bound to be a bit more costly. And especially since they were in a city. Food was always more expensive in urban areas.
Sakura sighed, about to protest. "Naruto, we'd love to bu – !"
"Fine," Sasuke told his friend, effectively cutting Sakura off. "Pick somewhere." He shrugged at Sakura incredulous look. "It'll probably save us money in the end. Paying once for all-you-can-eat buffet is better than buying Naruto twenty dishes of food somewhere else," he explained to her quietly.
Sakura huffed, subdued. "You're right. Naruto, choose a restaurant already – I'm starving." Please let it be cheap, Sakura pleaded silently. Haruno Sakura did not have enough money to support Naruto's stomach – particularly if Naruto's stomach was craving expensive cuisine. After all, Sakura had to pay for college. And VitaminWater.
Speaking of the most delicious drink in the world…Sakura had been feeling oddly empty without her normal drink, always present at the bottom of her purse. "Remember guys, before we go back to school I need to buy a crate of VitaminWater," Sakura reminded her friends.
Naruto nodded, prancing forward. "I see a Zenshi's up there, let's go!" he beckoned to his friends with an ecstatic smile on his face.
Sasuke felt as if a small part of him had just died. Zenshi's was infamously expensive.
Crap.
Sakura wanted to beat her menu into the ground. The chipper greeting on the cover flap of the laminated poster was awfully irritating, she thought. It said in cheerful, ornate letters:
"Zenshi's Restaurant:
Where Zen meets Sushi!"
Sakura grimaced. Too bad Zen wouldn't be meeting her wallet.
x.
"This looks great!" Naruto exclaimed loudly when they lined up at the buffet. He grabbed a heated plate, loading on two of each type of sushi as he traveled down the line.
Sakura followed his example, except with more dignity. Calmly, she used the tongs in front of each tray to select only a few types of sushi. The eel and avocado looked particularly delicious, as well as the plain rice wrapped in fried tofu skin.
Following Naruto back to their table, Sakura couldn't help but think about how well a Defense would be right now, or maybe an Endurance. VitaminWater and sushi…it wasn't exactly orthodox, but neither was Sakura.
She stared miserably at the b-relaxed Sasuke had whipped out from nowhere. He didn't have a man bag to put his stuff in…so where the hell did the VitaminWater come from?
Sasuke followed Sakura's gaze, locked onto his VitaminWater. "It's on the menu," he informed her flatly.
Sakura flushed, her pale cheeks turning a delicate blossom color. "Thanks," she told him, only slightly humiliated. Why hadn't she thought of that? Opening her previously detested menu, Sakura looked to the last section, where the beverages were printed. One VitaminWater was a hefty 3.00 dollars. So not worth it for the money, but so worth it for the taste.
They were paying 25 dollars a person for the buffet, Sakura reasoned, so why not add a few more dollars for a drink?
"Mmm, Sakura, you have to try these noodles," Ino nudged Sakura with her elbow, right after Sakura ordered a Focus from the waiter. "They're positively delicious," Ino's eyes sparkled as she sucked a particularly long noodle into her mouth.
"Don't mind if I do," Sakura answered, smiling as she reached over to take an udon noodle from Ino's soup. The blonde was right. These noodles were particularly yummy. They were the perfect texture, and the correct amount of chewiness. Not to mention that the seasoning was to die for.
"Here's your beverage, Miss," the waiter said as he swiftly swung by the table with Sakura's VitaminWater. He breezed by their table, dropping the bottle onto the table.
Sakura stared at her VitaminWater. It was a Focus, like she asked, and it cost 3.00 dollars like the menu said, but…it was tiny. She picked it up, shaking up the light pink liquid inside. It was a mini-bottle.
"Augh!" she ground out, slamming the bottle to the table. "This place is SO not making me feel Zen-ful!"
By the time Naruto had finally finished eating, it was approaching 3 o'clock and a moderate drizzle had begun. Sakura's wallet also felt considerably lighter – it was true: Sasuke had paid with his credit card, so Sakura shoved a wad of cash into his hands to pay him back half the check. It was unbearably humid outside, even with the rain.
"Let's go home," Ino sighed, contemplating the best way to shield herself from the rain. Her new coat didn't have a hood, and she didn't have an umbrella with her either.
Sakura nodded in agreement. "We probably weren't supposed to be off campus so long anyway," she commented, looking up at the heavens. The muted grey clouds seemed even further away as water fell from the sky.
Naruto frowned. "I wanted to see a movie, dammit!" he complained. The rain had thoroughly spoiled his mood. "I guess we should just go home though," he admitted as the rain began to fall harder, gradually evolving into a merciless downpour.
"Hn," Sasuke contributed. He watched as Sakura threw out her tiny VitaminWater bottle, now drained of its small amount of liquid. Didn't she have to –
"C'mon guys, let's go," Sakura said to her friends dejectedly, "Time to go back to the smelly college campus," she announced with false cheer. She scraped her hair back into a messy bun before stepping out from underneath Zenshi's overhang.
Ino snapped a black hair elastic around the braid she had set in her hair. She didn't care if braids made her flaxen locks look like Heidi – it was the best way to keep hair frizz down to the lowest degree. "Yeah." She took Sasuke's place, walking with Sakura back towards campus in the torrential downpour.
Sasuke and Naruto followed them slowly, the group hurrying back to school unhappily in the rain.
Sakura shivered as soon as she walked into her dorm – it was freezing. She quickly stripped off her wet clothes, haphazardly hanging the pieces of clothing over her bed frame and on the backs of chairs. Crumpling up her moist clothes and tossing them in the hamper would be the worst idea after all. Molding laundry was not exactly her idea of fun.
Pulling on a terrycloth bathrobe, Sakura basked for a moment in the softness before gathering up her pajamas, a towel, and a small bag of toiletries. She slid into a pair of flip-flops (lime green) before opening her door to the hallway, and darted hastily towards the showers, anxious to get be pelted by bullets of relaxing hot water.
x.
"Well I'm heading back to my dorm. See ya," Sakura waved to one of her dorm mates after she gathered up her bathroom belongings. Wrapping a towel around her head as a turban, Sakura scooped up the rest of her things before throwing a quick smile over her shoulder to her friends.
After bouncing happily back into her dorm, Sakura paused a moment to grimace at her wet towels. Where would she put them now, with her clothes spread all over her room already? Ah.
The roseate haired girl clambered onto her desk chair and tossed her wet towel over the neck of the huge, bending lamp in the corner of her room. Glancing around her tiny dorm for another improvisational coat hook, she smiled as she jumped down from her chair, pushing it towards her microscopic closet. Swinging open the narrow door, Sakura hung her bathrobe over the corner of her open door (coat hangers were so passé anyway). Perfect.
Tugging the towel out of her hair, Sakura finger-combed through short, damp waves as she shrugged into a sweatshirt. The weather really was getting cold – instead of sleeping in a tank top and shorts, she would have to switch to at least a tee shirt and pajama pants.
Dropping herself appreciatively onto her mattress, Sakura picked a book up off of her desk, cracking it open to where she had placed a bookmark the night before. Pride and Prejudice, a classic book and an old favorite.
Ino had always scoffed at Sakura for reading in her spare time. What was the fun in reading? There weren't cute boys or endless amounts of shoes. There were only lots and lots of letters, crammed together into words, then sentences, then paragraphs…until it finally turned into a full novel.
Sakura had shrugged when Ino asked her why she found reading so fun. "It's just something to do," Sakura answered, waving Ino's skeptical look off. But Ino didn't understand. She didn't realize how free reading was, and how someone could get lost within all of those letters, caught up in a world far away from their own.
Sure, partying was fun, and drinking wasn't all that bad. Dancing was great, and making out was pretty freakin' awesome too. But Sakura didn't unwind and relax like Ino and Naruto did, partying and DAMNing themselves. She read instead. She would read until her eyes couldn't stay open anymore, losing herself in the world of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, or getting sucked into the story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from Twilight. Reading was her way of loosening up and relaxing.
That, and reading was great because you could drink bottles and bottles of VitaminWater while doing so and not even notice.
Speaking of which…Sakura heaved herself out of bed so she could jump over to her minifridge. She could go for a Defense right…about –
"Fuckkkk," Sakrua hissed when she opened the tiny door. There was nothing in her refrigerator, NOTHING.
In their rush to get home, the quartet of students had forgotten to stop at a supermarket for her to restock on VitaminWater, Sakura realized soberly. She sighed before she slumped back over to her bed. Jamming her bookmark back into her book, Sakura tossed the novel back onto her desk before crawling underneath the covers to go to sleep.
Reading was just reading without the VitaminWater.
"I'm so mad, I could kick myself," Sakura wailed to Ino as they walked down to the cafeteria together the next day. It was raining particularly hard today, the precipitation coming down in thick vertical sheets of wetness.
Ino patted Sakura's arm consolingly as they got into the breakfast line, securing trays for both of them. "Cheer up Forehead, it's only a couple of days," she told Sakura with a smile.
Sakura picked up a yogurt cup half heartedly, setting it on her tray moodily. "That's a long time Ino…" she answered with a hearty groan.
Ino smiled as apologetically as she could while she led the way back to their table. "Hey Naruto, Sasuke," she said to the two boys as they approached the table, yawning.
Sakura gave Sasuke a small, emo-ful smile in hello while Naruto started to complain to Ino how loud the storm had been on his side of campus, and especially in his corner dorm. "Hi," Sakura greeted him quietly, before looking down to dig through her bag in false hope.
Sasuke looked at her desolate form, petite, guarded, and VitaminWater-less. "Hn," he acknowledged her, setting something on her tray before turning to put his stuff down. "Morning," he mumbled to her quietly, dropping his bookbag to the floor and taking off to join the meal line before it got any longer.
Sakura looked up from her tote. Sasuke had put something on the table, she was sure. Her eyes trailed slowly from his end of the table to her tray.
A VitaminWater.
b-relaxed, to be exact.
Sakura smiled. "Good morning to you too, Sasuke," she whispered to no one before taking her newly acquired VitaminWater and unscrewing the cap, enjoying how the seal cracked.
b-relaxed had a sugary flavor to it, guava and jackfruit.
It was definitely sweet, Sakura thought, but not nearly as sweet as the person who had given it to her.
Aasjdlak, that took forever to write. I promise Like VitaminWater will get more interesting. It just has to be boring to get to the climax, hahaha.
And HEY. For all you wonderful Kakashi fans, my bff fo lyfe, defray, has compiled a list of Kakashi x (insert name) fics for everyone to enjoy. The big highlights of this list include KakaSaku (our personal OTP, haha), ItaSaku, KakaRin, and lots of other little pairings, including yaoi. Read and comment it – linkage is in my profile.
Review. (: