Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Soup's On	By : OfFansAndFlames Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1793 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters mentioned. I make no money on this fiction.

Chapter List
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The Metro smelled like mildew, and Sasuke glanced up at the bus route map several rows up. School had just gotten out for the weekend, and Sasuke and his friends had bussed over to the mall. Sasuke never understood what people saw in malls, at least as a place for socializing. People meandered and clustered like cattle, the music in the stores was horrible, and the merchandise was overpriced. He also harbored a desire to erase the question "Can I help you with anything?" from the English vocabulary. Another boring afternoon.

Karin dragged them all into Hot Topic, though Suigetsu was at least showing some interest in the merchandise. Some screamo band that Sasuke didn't recognize blared out of the speakers. Kabuto had excused himself to smoke a cigarette outside, and Juugo patiently followed Karin and Suigetsu. Sasuke had no interest in any of the stores, so he didn't mind joining them. Suigetsu nudged him.

"Deidara is throwing a party next Saturday."

Deidara and Kabuto were in the same year, though Deidara was younger by several years. Sasuke would see the two smoking cigarettes after school from time to time, along with a few of his other more distant acquaintances.

"I know. I was invited," he responded bluntly, his tone thoroughly disinterested.

"You should come! I'll be there," Karin urged.

The boy cocked a brow. Her persistence was unwelcome.

"Was that supposed to convince me?"

Karin pulled Sasuke's sleeve playfully.

"Sasukeee, stop teasing me! I know you don't mean that."

Sasuke cast Karin a glance that would've made her question that statement if she weren't waist-deep in denial.

"C'mon, man. They got booze, bud, and pills. It's gonna be fuckin' wild," Suigetsu added.

"Ignore Suigetsu. You don't have to do any of that. Just don't be such a recluse."

Juugo spoke this time. The gruff linebacker rarely talked, and it was even rarer for him to actually request something of someone. In fact, Sasuke had come to regard him as the most tolerable of their entire group. Maybe if Juugo was asking too...

It sounded like something that could potentially get him in trouble. But if he just stayed at Deidara's house before leaving and found a safe way home, he'd probably be fine.

"Alright, I'll go."

"Hell yeah!" Karin cheered, much too enthusiastically for Sasuke's tastes.

Suigetsu pointed to a new store across the way. It was fringy and a little "alternative," but almost luxurious.

"Let's head over to Black Angel."

It actually didn't look half bad, but one look at the price tag of a random jacket made it clear to Sasuke that he wouldn't be buying anything here. Honestly, who paid $150 for a hoodie?

Still, he browsed the selection, finally encountering a silver necklace. The serpent at its bottom laced between the eyes of a skull, and the metal was thick and sturdy. This was probably the only merchandise he'd seen all day that he would actually contemplate buying... That is, if it weren't $40. This really was just becoming another boring Friday.

Sasuke glanced to his right, appearing disinterested. He didn't see any salespeople. The only security device on the necklace appeared to be a round silver sticker. Sasuke had never shoplifted before. It wasn't that he even cared that much about the necklace. He just wondered if he could pull it off. Just this once.

He ripped the sticker off with his thumb and pointer finger, scrunching it up into a tiny ball between them and inconspicuously dropping it on the floor. He knew this was crazy. A stunt like this could land him in juvie. It could even ruin his chances at a decent college. What was he doing?

But it had been just like this the day he had viciously bloodied his classmate in front of his shocked professor and peers. He liked feeling this way. It was electric, exciting, raw... It freed him, if only temporarily, from that grey sludge of apathy that he normally existed in. That moment's reprieve was worth it. His breath shallow and his body energetic, he could now honestly say he was having fun.

As he pretended to hang the necklace up with the rest, he allowed it to slip down his sleeve at the last instant. The motion was obscured with his forearm. If there were any cameras, he hoped that this would fool them. He continued to look around at some of the other merchandise so as not to seem suspicious. A clerk, a woman who was probably in her 30's, approached him.

"Can I help you?"

Again. Predictable. But... Did she know?

"No thanks. I'm just browsing."

"Well, our jeans are all 25% off, and our jewelry is buy one get one 50% off. Let me know if you have any questions."

She mentioned the jewelry? No, he was just being paranoid.

"Thanks."

The exchange had given Sasuke second thoughts. It was entirely possible that this had been coincidental. He'd had essentially that same conversation a good two or three times today. He had to keep his cool. He couldn't get shifty eyed here. It was time to make a decision. Either put the jewelry away or walk out the door.

He pivoted, approaching the exit. His hands felt cold and damp. He kept his pace steady - neither too fast nor too slow. The security censors were right in front of him. The sticker was the only security device, right? He'd felt the cardboard the necklace had hung by, and it had been glued together by the manufacturer. There was no way they could slip a censor in there, he hoped. He had to stop thinking about this, killing his thoughts to convey a neutral demeanor. He held his breath for just an instant.

He cleared the door. Silence.

He'd made it.

He continued to walk, when Suigetsu spotted Sasuke leaving. He quickly walked up to Sasuke, Karin following closely. Juugo trudged behind the two, and Kabuto had finally come back from his smoke break.

"Shit man, everything there is expensive as all hell."

"Ridiculously," Sasuke huffed.

Sasuke made a quick move to slide the necklace out of his sleeve and into his back pocket, which did not go unnoticed by Suigetsu.

"Dude! Did you...steal that?"

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped.

Suigetsu's voice had been far too loud for such a statement. How someone could have so little discretion was beyond Sasuke.

"How much was it?" Karin asked.

He didn't want to answer these questions. He just wanted to stuff the merchandise in his pocket and be done with it.

"About forty."

Suigetsu laughed.

"See! This is why I like this guy."

Why were his friends drawing so much attention to this? It was as if they viewed it as an accomplishment, and each time he was praised, it unsettled him. It made him no longer feel like the one good kid in a group of miscreants. He was on his way to becoming one of them.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You like me because I steal necklaces?"

Suigetsu gestured wildly, his eyes large.

"Yeah! You're crazy, man! Like you'd break a guy's nose right in front of our history teacher. Intense as fuck."

"Suigetsu, your obsession with me borders on hero worship. Frankly, I find it disturbing."

"Aw, you're just saying that," Suigetsu attested before elbowing Karin and adding in a whisper, "That's just his way."

"I never knew you shoplifted, Sasuke. To be honest, you seemed like a pussy to me."

It was Kabuto, this time, in that same snide voice he seemed to use all the time.

"You guys weren't even supposed to know. Stop talking about it."

He didn't intend on making a habit out of this. And he certainly didn't want to create this sort of reputation for himself. He generally prided himself on being an honest guy. Even though he'd gotten away with it, he was beginning to regret his decision already.

Suigetsu narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.

"Fiiine, Mr. Mysterious."

The rest of the trip was just as Sasuke had predicted it. They went to a few stores, stared at objects Sasuke had no interest in, and were approached by several classmates. Kabuto always seemed to follow Sasuke and Juugo closely, while Suigetsu and Karin spastically zipped from distraction to distraction. Sasuke wished Kabuto would just walk ahead of them. Something about the guy tended to make him uncomfortable.

Finally, Kabuto was occupied by a small scale at a department store. The box broadcasted that it weighed down to the nearest hundredth of a gram, and Sasuke was pretty sure he knew why Kabuto was interested in it. Karin and Suigetsu were fascinated by a food sealer demonstration video. Meanwhile, Juugo shifted over to Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke..." he muttered.

Juugo was angled to Sasuke's right, just barely behind him. Sasuke tilted his head backwards as he addressed Juugo.

"Hm?"

"Be careful."

Sasuke's eyes fell to the ground, feeling a little ashamed. He knew Juugo had a point. What was he doing, anyway?

"Yeah..."

Juugo smiled at Sasuke, perhaps as an affirmation that he wasn't scolding him, or that he wasn't disappointed in him. Sasuke cast a shallow smile back.
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Soup's On