On with the story.
“Are you telling me we have to stay the whole weekend in this place?” Uchiha Sasuke groaned. He rolled his eyes and pushed his black hair from his face.
“Not the whole weekend, just until tomorrow afternoon.” Yakushi Kabuto said lightly, not looking at the teen. “How about you do us all a favor and stop whining about everything, ok?”
“I second that.” Uchiha Itachi said, coming toward the front of the bus. “I know that I am sick to death of hearing it.”
“Shut up.” Sasuke shot back, giving his older brother the famous Uchiha death glare. Itachi just looked back, apparently already bored.
“I am an Uchiha as well you know.” He said, “I taught you that glare, it has no effect on me.”
“Shut up!” Sabaku Gaara yelled, looking up from his book. “All of you.”
Kabuto got up, and walked toward the door. He looked back at the group of them in disgust. “Damn teenagers.” He mumbled, walking down the steps.
“You are only two years older than me asshole.” Itachi said to his back. There was no reply.
“Leadville, Colorado huh?” Sasuke said, looking at the road map on the table in front of him. “You had better go get some liquor and get ready for the long night.”
“Like you are old enough to drink.” Itachi said.
“Like that ever stopped me before.”
“Very true.” Itachi said, shaking his head. “Find something for us to do, and I will get us something to drink. Gaara, you wait here.”
“Whatever.” The redhead sighed.
The brothers left the bus together, looking around.
“Wow.” Sasuke said. “Quaint living at it’s best. I’m gonna look for a bookstore, find a drinking game book or something.”
“Sure.” Itachi said, bored again, as he began walking the other way.
Sasuke swore under his breath. This town belonged in a damn Rockwell painting. He began to wonder if Itachi would be able to find any booze here, besides wine coolers or something. He looked for a street sign. Poplar St. ‘Oh Jesus Christ.’ He thought, ‘this really is a Rockwell painting.’
He walked down Poplar St. until he came to Harrison Ave. This looked a bit busier. There were actually shops on this street. Pushing his hair back, he squinted down the road, hoping to see something even remotely interesting. No dice. Sasuke began walking, looking on both sides of the street for something resembling a bookstore. He walked two more blocks before he came upon something called The Book Rack. He opened the door and walked inside.
******
Uzumaki Naruto unlocked the store, walked in, and locked the door behind him. He yawned noisily. Damn hung over Jiraiya, if he couldn’t hold his booze, he shouldn’t be drinking.
Naruto realized that he owed his uncle a lot, the man had taken him in after both of his parents had died, and he and Tsunade had raised him, but that didn’t mean Naruto should have to take on triple the work when he really needed to study.
He brought the till up from the office, and put it into the register. He slammed the drawer shut, releasing a little bit of the anger that was pent inside of him. He sighed, and went to switch the closed sign to open. He walked back to the shelves, and began to browse. He looked at all the titles, some old, some new. Thousands of books, and never enough time.
Even though Naruto had read tons of books in his life, he really hated to read. He would rather learn what he needed to know through practice, not theory. He ran his fingers through his short blonde hair, and selected Lord of the Flies. It was his favorite of the books he had read. He took it over to the chair behind the counter, opened the book halfway through, and began to read.
Naruto read the last page, and closed the book. He looked at his watch and groaned. It was only two. He still had six more hours. He let his head fall forward, and he felt his neck pop.
“Ahhh.” He said, rubbing the spot with the tips of his fingers. Not a customer all day. It was annoying. ‘Neji said he was gonna come up around three when he gets out of work, but that is still an hour.’ He thought. He smiled a little at the thought of his boyfriend. Hyuuga Neji stood out like a sore thumb in this town. He had long black hair, and eyes so pale they looked white. Naruto had been seeing Neji for a little over three months, and they were happy. Well as happy as teenagers growing up in a small town could be.
The bell over the door jingled, and Naruto was brought out of his reverie. He looked up and saw a dark haired teenager come in.
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?” Naruto asked, trying to sound chipper. The guy was beautiful. Naruto had never seen him around here before, but he looked around the same age as him.
“Do you have any books with drinking games?” The guy asked. His voice sounded really familiar, but Naruto couldn’t place it.
“Umm, I don’t think so, but let me show you where to look.”
The teen nodded, but didn’t say anything, so Naruto walked out from behind the counter and showed him to a shelf with novelty books on it. Not usually the sort of books Jiraiya would order, but sometimes they came by mistake.
“This would be where you would find one, but I really don’t think there are any here.” Naruto said. He stood there for a second, while the guy looked over the books. He studied the profile of the stranger. He had dark eyes, dark brown or black, hair so black it looked almost blue, long eyelashes, a slightly unturned nose and full lips. Naruto was attracted to him almost instantly. Suddenly he was looking directly into the black eyes, as the guy turned to look at him.
“Is that all you needed?” Naruto asked, covering for his lingering.
“Yeah.”
“Ok, I will be at the register if you need me.”
The guy nodded again, and bent to look at lower shelves. Naruto walked away, his head swirling with images of falling into those inky irises. He sat back down behind the counter and tried to think of other things. He grabbed Lord of the Flies and opened it in the middle, and tried to focus on the words on the page.
“Are you really reading that tripe?”
Naruto looked up and back into the black pools, then he realized what the guy had said.
“This is not tripe.” He said, calmly. “Have you ever read it?”
“Actually, I have and I can say that it was the worst book I have ever read.” A smirk crossed his lips.
Naruto could have punched his pretty face right there. “If you say that, I don’t think you have even read it.”
“Written by William Golding, and published in 1954, it is about a group of boys who are stranded on a desert island and who must negotiate the social problems of cooperation and self-government, and fail disastrously.”
Naruto felt his eyebrow raise. “That sounds like you read it straight from an encyclopedia.”
The guy shrugged, making Naruto even more angry. “Who are you anyway?”
“Uchiha Sasuke.” He said, acting like Naruto should know him already.
“Well Uchiha Sasuke, did you come in here to cause trouble?”
Sasuke leaned against the counter, and put his chin on his hand, he looked down at where Naruto sat on the edge of the chair. “So what if I did?”
At this Naruto stood up, and the sudden movement made Sasuke stand up straight again.
“You can leave then.”
“I think you should make me leave.” Sasuke said, winking.
Naruto blushed, but it faded quickly when he realized that Sasuke was too big for him to take on. He was thin, but he was taller by a head, and he was much more muscular than Naruto. The blonde stayed where he was.
“Why are you acting like this anyway?” Naruto asked.
“Because I am bored.” Sasuke said, looking at his nails. “What else is there to do in a town like this?”
“Well, you could try reading a book.” Naruto said through gritted teeth. "One without pictures, or instructions on a drinking game.”
“Asshole.” Sasuke said, standing to full height. “What are you trying to say?”
“I think it is pretty clear what I am saying. You. Are. An. Idiot.”
A fist came out of nowhere, hitting Naruto in the jaw. The blonde bent over, his hand coming up to his face. He could hear the jerk walking out, and was relieved to hear the bell above the door signaling that he was alone again.
******
Sasuke stormed from the bookstore. He had just been called stupid. Nobody had called him that before. Well besides Itachi and Gaara, but they were an exception. That little blonde pretty boy was in trouble. Sasuke wasn’t sure what he was going to do, but something would be done.
He made it back to the bus, and stomped in. Gaara looked at him quizzically, but as usual, didn’t say anything. Itachi was there as well, and he did speak up.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Sasuke spied one of the three bottles of whiskey on the table in front of his brother and he grabbed one. He unscrewed the lid and took three swallows. His eyes watered, and he felt like he was going to be sick.
“This bastard at the bookstore just called me an idiot!” He said, getting control of his stomach.
His band mates looked at him for a second, and then they started laughing.
“You are and idiot Sasuke!” Gaara said, rolling his eyes.
“Fuck you!” Sasuke said, “And fuck that little prick.”
“Shut up, and have another drink.” Itachi said, using his hand to push the bottle back up to Sasuke’s mouth. He didn’t let it down until almost half was gone, and Sasuke was choking and sputtering. He opened his bloodshot, blurry eyes, and looked at the other two.
“That asshole is going to get it.”
TBC-
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so let me know what you think... this is going to be a long story I think, I have plans for it, and I want to know if I should keep it goin or not. Thanks for reading.. Reviews would be nice now ^___^ -sk