Tuesday

The sound of his phone rang out throughout the room. Sasuke blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he reached for the device to answer it.

"Hello?"

"You finally picked up."

"Nami?" He sat up and checked the time. Five-thirty. Seriously? "What do you want?"

"Get yourself over here to Kusa, right now."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Yesterday I was single so it was fine, but I'm not any more today," he said with a yawn. "I'm not going to meet with you alone."

"Again?" She sighed. "You'll just break up with them after a week anyhow."

"I'm hanging up."

"What kind of person is it this time?"

He considered not answering but eventually said, "They're from the same school and year as me."

"Are they cute?"

"Cute?" An image of Naruto came to mind as he considered it. "Instead of cute... I'd say they're more beautiful."

"More beautiful than I am?"

"I honestly can't compare the two of you to each other."

"That's what I like about you, Sasuke!" she said with a laugh. "Come out and play during the weekend, okay?"

"Why don't you just get back together with my brother already?"

"I hate it when you say stuff like that! Bye!"

The call ended before he had a chance to say anything else. He looked down at his phone and sighed. One moment it's "like" and the next "hate" with her. Can't she ever decide? He shook his head and forced those thoughts out. It wouldn't do to think about her, especially considering recent events.

"Why don't you go out with me?"

That had surprised him. A handsome guy like Naruto wasn't taken already? Lucky him. Speaking of which, maybe he should text him? Without further ado, he flipped open his phone and typed in a simple good morning. He rolled over but didn't get a chance to close his eyes and fall back asleep as a reply came not a minute later.

I would say "good morning" back if it wasn't so damn early. Who even wakes up at this hour?! What's wrong with you?! Needless to say, I really hate you right now...

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. That's a surprise. He'd never thought the ever calm and composed Naruto in archery had this side to him. Guess he wasn't only a handsome face. He was about to write a reply when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Are you an idiot?" said Naruto with a yawn. "Hey, you're an idiot, right?"

"I don't know," he said with a smile. "Last time I checked I wasn't one."

"Well in my opinion you're the biggest idiot for wakin' me up at this time!"

"Sorry."

"That didn't sound sincere at all! Are you makin' fun of me?"

"I'm not. Honest."

"Cross your heart?"

"Consider it crossed."

"All right, I guess I'll believe you. Still, it doesn't excuse you for this. I can't even get back to sleep because of you," he said with a sigh. "Make it up to me."

"What should I do?"

"I don't know." Another sigh. "I'm so pissed right now that I could punch you in the face..."

"Oh? Then how about I come over there so you can do that?"

"Maybe I should take you up on that offer." He paused. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure you come to practice today."

"You mean club practice?"

"Yeah, I'm goin' and you should too. You're good at archery, to let a talent like that go to waste would be stupid."

"All right," he said with a smile. "I'll go."

"Great! See you then!"

He looked at his phone in thought. Everything about that conversation was strangely nice. The smile that lingered widened as he got out of bed and readied himself for school.

…

A voice resounded in the subway station, it told the people to "please stay away from the doors as they close." Sasuke watched them shut as the scenery passed by him.

"That's right," said Naruto. "You were late, but I guess it's fine since your shots were pretty good."

"At least I showed up," he said with a smirk. "I could've chosen not to."

"If that was the case, I would've dragged you to practice."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You'd be surprised," he said with a glint in his eyes. "I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"Really?"

"Really." He paused. "Hey, isn't this your stop?"

"That's right."

"Then how come you're still sittin' here?"

"I've decided to tag along with you."

"Why?"

"So I can be with you a bit longer."

Silence followed his statement.

"Say, are we supposed to be datin' right now?"

"Of course."

"I see."

That's weird. From Naruto's expression alone, it seemed that he had no idea about it. Wait, did that mean–?

"I guess I'll do my best to enjoy it then," he said with a smile and stood up. "Let's go."

"But this isn't the correct stop..."

Despite it, he followed after him until they were back outside.

"Let's go on a date, Sasuke!"

"Huh?"

"Don't "huh" me! Isn't that the standard part of datin' for you?"

"There really is no standard."

"Really? That's all right then!" He smiled. "Hey, let's go eat. I'm cravin' some ramen and know a good place around here!"

Though he felt uneasy about everything, he decided to push it back for later. Maybe he was worrying for nothing?

They eventually ended up in a place called Ichiraku Ramen. The place looked nice enough and the owner greeted them with a smile as he chatted with Naruto. Try as he might, their conversation flew passed him even when he tried to listen. Before he knew it, they both had a bowl of ramen.

"Don't you like ramen?"

"Huh?"

"You've been really quiet," he said with a pointed look. "I hate that, okay? That you're actually unhappy about somethin' but you just keep quiet and go along with what I want."

"I wasn't thinking that," he said in a hurry. He sighed and took a breath. "I guess I'm just a bit troubled. Got a lot on my mind, you know?"

"That's fair. I get like that too sometimes."

"What could you possibly have on your mind?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

They shared a laugh. Though he still felt somewhat concerned, Naruto eased those feelings by a margin. Maybe he'd just been paranoid after all? He decided to trust that smile and had a taste of the food.

"Oh," he said with raised eyebrows. "It's good."

"See? Ichiraku Ramen is the best there is!"

"I don't know about that, but it's certainly tasty."

"Anyway," he said and finished the bowl. "If you don't feel like it, then how about we forget it for today?"

"You don't like it when people just go along with you?"

"Exactly. I hate it." He paused. "Because, if we're not both enjoying ourselves, then what's the point?"

Sasuke couldn't fault the logic in that statement. Though this date was vastly different from many others, it was the first time where he truly felt at ease. And as Naruto smiled at him, his heart skipped a beat.

"So," he said after a while. "I was thinking about checking if there are any new types of shoes."

"Runners?"

"Yes."

"Sure!"

They headed toward different stores to look for something to catch his interest. Even though he knew little to nothing about Naruto, he found it difficult to pay attention to anything other than him. There were many layers to his personality, each one better than the next. The person who drew the bow almost felt like a stranger now.

In the end, they went to the cinema. Halfway through the movie, he felt something touch his shoulder. It appeared that Naruto had fallen asleep. He smiled and reached for his drink that was close to spilling all over the floor. After he'd placed both aside, he slung an arm over Naruto's shoulder and watched as the colours flashed by in front of him.