Chapter 3 : To Get Him Out of Boredom
Hello again, this is the third chapter of the story. I really enjoy writing this one, hope you guys will like it!
Title: To Get Him Out of Boredom
Genre: Romance, humor
Warnings: Languages, sexual references and OOC-ness.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.
Summary: To the genius and basketball star, Nara Shikamaru, life was too easy. He was, simply put, bored. However, his faithful friends got an interesting idea to get him out of boredom.
Music had always been his passion. Call him old-fashioned, but he had found out in early age that classical music was indeed his cup of tea. A lot of people had heard of great masterpieces done by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Chopin. His favorite composer, however, was somewhat lesser known: Rachmaninoff. As to when he had begun to like the composer, Neji didn’t remember, but the first time he had heard Sergey Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, he had been awestruck. And since then, he had always been a fan of Rachmaninoff, although indeed he liked other composers as well. For example, he had just discovered a better fondness to Dvorak, and had decided to search more music Dvorak had composed. Unfortunately, searching for a certain piece of classical music proved to be more difficult than what he had originally imagined.
This was the fourth CD stores he came to, and yet still he couldn’t find the composer he was looking for. There weren’t much CD stores to begin with these days, as many people chose to download rather than buying CDs. It wasn’t that Neji opposed the technology, but there was certain satisfaction when he put a CD in and click the play button, somewhat anticipating the wonderful music he would hear soon. Plus, CD had a better quality than any downloaded music.
A brief look through a list of CDs this store had, Neji satisfyingly had found the name of two other CDs of Dvorak’s, and was currently on his way to search them. Regrettably, this store had a huge selection of CDs, and apparently didn’t bother to arrange them in alphabetical order. And so Neji found himself muttering yet another curse as he moved between one rack to another. Slightly leaning forward, he began yet another tedious job, flipping through CD stacks.
“Looking for something, are we?” a voice chimed in and Neji looked up, hoping to find a store attendance to help him. Instead, he stared back to a pair of black eyes, belonging to none other than Nara Shikamaru, the famous basketball captain.
Not bothering to hide his displeasure, the Hyuuga scowled and walked away.
“Hey, hey! Hold on! I’m talking to you!” Shikamaru quickly ran over and grabbed the other’s shoulder.
Unaccustomed to have other people touching him, Neji jerked the hand off and asked in irritation, “What?”
“I asked you a question, and now I’m waiting for an answer,” said the Nara with a charming smile.
“Yes,” answered Neji after a moment.
Shikamaru looked confused. “Is that a ‘yes, I am looking for something’ or a ‘yes, what was the question’?”
“That is a ‘yes, I am looking for something and I don’t want you to follow me around.’” Neji turned and walked away to the nearest classical music stack.
“I am not following you around,” came the relentless voice again and Neji couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“Gee, what a relief,” he said in dry tone.
The basketball star chuckled then, pleased to find that the Hyuuga was so amusingly sarcastic.
“What are you looking for, anyway? Maybe I can help.”
Having finished with the current CD stack, Neji walked to another side of store. He still pretended not to hear anything, hoping perhaps this time the Nara would leave him alone. Tough luck, he thought as he heard the other’s footsteps following him. As his scowl deepened, Neji finally decided that he had enough.
Facing the basketball star, he confronted, “Alright then, Nara, I am not comfortable with you following my every step, I don’t like it at all. Now, state your business and let’s get that over with.”
Shikamaru, on the other hand, was tempted to say: You are gorgeous and I want to fuck you so that I can win the bet. Yeah, like that would bode well, his inner self piped in. However, part of his mind managed to come around and nudge his mind playfully. The Nara smiled in amusement, “You know my name, I see.”
“Is that your business? Alright, I know your name, now go away.”
“Go on a date with me,” Shikamaru said suddenly.
“I do not go on a date. I don’t do dates. I never date. Now go.”
Shikamaru frowned, his handsome face marred with disapproval, “Must you always be so unfriendly?”
A flicker of disappointment prodded his heart and the Hyuuga’s smooth fingers unconsciously halted in their task to flip through CD stacks, an action which didn’t go unnoticed by Shikamaru. His piercing eyes instantly gazed up, studying Neji’s pale complexion, and fortunately he was quick enough to notice a pained expression went across it. The Nara couldn’t help but suspect that perhaps Neji actually did know the general opinion about himself. He was, however, blatantly refused to acknowledge that the fact actually troubled him. Only in few rare moments like this, Shikamaru could catch Neji off-guard and was rewarded by a small preview of what the ice prince honestly felt underneath.
Still, Neji Hyuuga lived up to his title thoroughly: he quickly buried whatever hurtful feelings he felt; even a little annoyed by the fact he still bothered by it. Neji glared to meet Shikamaru’s eyes, crossing his arms in defense.
“It’s my nature.”
“Don’t you feel, you know…friendless?” Shikamaru cautiously pointed out.
Neji narrowed his eyes. “What? Do you want to gloat how successful you are in seeking friends? And even if I do feel the need of friend, I don’t see why this concerns you.”
“Because I want to know you. Simple, isn’t it?” the answer automatically came.
“Give me a reason then, why I must give you a special treatment to be…friendlier?” The Hyuuga said challengingly.
Shikamaru merely smirked and confidently turned on his Nara charm. He took a step closer to Neji, pleased on the way the Hyuuga tensed as he invaded the other’s privacy. Leaning down, subconsciously noticing that he was indeed a head taller than Neji and couldn’t help feeling smug about it, Shikamaru whispered, “Because I’m Nara Shikamaru.”
Neji raised both eyebrows, as for a moment he was stunned to realize for the first time how egomaniac the other was. A part of him, though, was somewhat amused by the basketball star’s antics. As the Nara called him, Neji looked up to find Shikamaru standing at least three feet away from him, smirk still in place. “One other thing, Hyuuga, I don’t seek friends; they seek me.”
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Nara Shikamaru hit the brake and parked his car a block from the Bratwurst café. It was Sunday, since he didn’t have any practice to do (his team practically begged him not to schedule any practice on Sundays) and his parents were out of the country, Shikamaru was left alone this weekend. Humming to himself, the basketball star got out of his car, locked it automatically, and started walking. He deliberately didn’t park his car right in front of the café, knowing there would be no empty parking spot there. Besides, he didn’t mind the walk. He needed it badly, especially after his encounter with Neji at the music store yesterday. Sure, he did his best to give him a good impression; he acted exactly like what he wanted to: superior. But still, he wondered if it was the best strategy to get to know the Hyuuga, and therefore, win the bet. Up until now, it seemed to be perfectly fruitless. As he opened the door of Bratwurst café, a bell rang to signal his arrival, and immediately he was greeted by a familiar sight.
Now this was the reason why during leisure times like this, he loved to come to Bratwurst café. From the first time he came here, Shikamaru was awestruck by it. Not only that the food and drink were great there, the atmosphere was as well. To put it simply, it was cozy. It was nothing too extravagant, just plain and simple, but still classy enough to make a sort of modern feeling into it. The wooden colour that dominated this room only seemed to give it a warmer aura. Plush-looking chairs were spread around the room. For those who favored stronger drinks, there was a bar, providing great selection of wine, champagne, beer, and mixed alcoholic drinks. Plus, the light happened to be just right, dimmed and perfect for anybody who wanted some privacy, yet bright enough to admire your company. All in all, the café was awesome; it would be a great place to hang out, except for one reason: the owner.
The owner of Bratwurst café had taken a liking to Nara Shikamaru since the first time he came there. Although she was older, she found him to be extremely attractive. Tall, handsome, cool, and definitely more mature than average high-school students. And so, she began to make a move. At first, she came to be a challenge for him. She was beautiful, no-scratch that, she was drop-dread gorgeous. Elegant, smart, charming, overall the quality of an ideal woman. And Shikamaru, as always, was up for a challenge. Therefore, he responded. Every time she flirted with him, he flirted back. It was all good until Shikamaru came to his previous habit: he was bored.
All the teasing and flirting were so monotonous-well, at least for him they were, the same thing over and over. By the third time he visited Bratwurst, he had successfully predicted all her reactions, words, even when and how long she would giggle. And so, deciding to stop all the flirtations, he cut it off. It’d be great if only things worked out just like he had planned. Unfortunately, it backfired. No matter what he said, or did, Shikamaru couldn’t get rid of her. Finally, after a long explanation and a punch from Naruto (the medical expense for this was billed conveniently to Shikamaru), she understood that she’d have no chance to be with him.
But the owner didn’t stop there. Apparently, she had somehow gained information that this young man was not only the captain of the basketball team, but also actually he was the heir of one of the most innovative company in medical industry. The news of his coming to her café would boost a promotion, not to mention the extra customers she would have when he brought there. Therefore, she increased her attention to him, by of course giving him the best possible service at her café, including complementary snack now and then. This plan of hers seemed to be a successful one, for obviously he was still coming back to Bratwurst café at leisure time like this.
Provided with extra food, Shikamaru, like any other man, couldn’t say no. Although this young woman was extremely annoying, he had to admit that she cooked well. The food was delicious and he loved the cozy atmosphere of this place. Compared to those, the owner’s behavior was somewhat bearable, and in the end, the plusses outweighed the minuses. As a perfect gentleman in the making, he tried his best to act politely toward her. But still, Shikamaru found her to be annoying.
As if to prove the point, the owner, Makiko-san immediately came to fuss over Shikamaru.
“Shikamaru-kun! How are you?” She pecked and pinched his cheek. “You bad boy, leaving me all alone for two whole weeks,” she added with a giggle.
Already accustomed to her antics, he merely smiled, “I’ve been busy, Makiko-san, I hope you can forgive me.”
“Oh of course! You are the captain, aren’t you? Of course you’ve been occupied with practices, right?”
Occupied with strategizing how to seduce a Hyuuga, more like, Shikamaru thought.
“If I knew you want to come here, I’d save your favorite place. But as you can see, it’s occupied,” she gestured to a table at the back.
Ah yes, Shikamaru could see his usual table was taken by … none other than Hyuuga Neji. Well, this should be interesting.
“It’s alright, Makiko-san, he’s my friend. I’ll just join him.”
“Oh, well then, I’ll come over to bring the food. In the meantime, please enjoy this,” Makiko-san handed him a glass of beer, which of course Shikamaru accepted.
“Thanks, Makiko-san,” he replied while raising his glass in salute.
Hyuuga Neji, on the other hand, was calmly sipping his own drink. Sasuke had promise to meet him there, but apparently the Hyuuga was early. Lucky he brought his book with him and so Neji decided to wait there. This was his first visit to Bratwurst café, and he had to admit that this café was not bad. It was comfortable, cozy, and most importantly, it was peaceful and quiet. Neji could enjoy reading his book quietly, enjoying his weekend peacefully,
“Hey there.”
…until that irritating voice appeared.
Automatically, Neji scowled. Damn it! Not him again!
“Are you following me?”
Just as Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer, Neji cut him off, “Or worse, are you stalking me? Eeww.”
Shikamaru looked offended, “No, I was not following you. In fact, I didn’t know you’d be here. Besides, you’re taking my place.”
“Your place?”
“Yeah, this is my favorite place. I always sit here and now you’ve taken it. Therefore, I think it’s only right that I’ll join you.” Without bothering to ask for the other’s permission, Shikamaru conveniently took a seat in front of Neji. Deliberately ignoring the glare Neji gave, the basketball star took a sip of his beer.
“Do you always do whatever you want, regardless of what others might think of?” the Hyuuga asked.
“I do whatever I want to do, if that’s what you’re asking about.”
Realizing that the other wouldn’t just go away, Neji wisely stayed silent, and took a deep breath. It was no use if he got mad here, that tactic was useless against the Nara (he had personally vouched for that, thank you very much).
“I always thought you’re sort of, wine, champagne type of guy. I didn’t know you like beer,” Shikamaru gestured to what Neji was drinking.
“Well, obviously you don’t know very much about me.”
“Will you give me the chance to know you better? Maybe we can go on a date, in order to get to know each other better, what say you?” suggested the captain.
Neji gave him a look of disbelief.
“Okay, first of all, what part of ‘I don’t do dates’ that you don’t understand? Second, what on earth makes you think that I want to know you better? And the third one, obviously we have nothing in common, so why should I bother with you?”
“Hey, haven’t you heard that opposites attract? And besides, that’s not true, we both enjoy beer,” Shikamaru tactfully pointed out.
“You drink lagers, I drink ale,” Neji retorted.
“They are still beer in general.”
Before the Hyuuga could reply, Makiko-san interrupted, “Here you are, Shikamaru-kun, our specialty for today.” She placed the food in front of Shikamaru. “And this, is for you,” she said, putting another bottle of ale in front of Neji.
“I think you’re mistaken, I didn’t order this,” Neji looked confused.
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s on the house. If you’re a friend of Shikamaru-kun, then of course you must be treated special,” Makiko-san replied with a giggle.
“Thank you, Makiko-san,” said Shikamaru, effectively cutting off Neji before he said something along ‘I’m not his friend and I refuse to be considered as such’ line.
“Anything for you,” she added a playful kiss on his cheek.
Seeing as Neji was still dumbfounded either at the affectionate display between Makiko-san and him or at the fact that being Shikamaru’s friend got him an extra beer for free, Shikamaru took the initiative to refill Neji’s almost empty glass.
“Allow me,” he lifted the bottle, tilted Neji’s glass and began pouring the beer down the side. Then he expertly straightened the glass and pour into the center. Guessing that Neji probably like a high head, he raised the bottle a little higher. “Please,” Shikamaru placed the glass in front of Neji.
“Nice, Nara. You can pass as a good waiter.”
The captain grinned, “Makiko-san taught me that.”
“Makiko-san?”
“The lady.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. Now, Hyuuga, perhaps once again you refuse to go on a date with me. But surely a toast wouldn’t be too much to ask?” suggested Shikamaru.
Neji shrugged. Well, it was just a toast. No harm could be done, right? Reaching for his glass, the Hyuuga asked, “What are we toasting for?”
“For a prayer.”
“A prayer?”
“Yeah, so that maybe someday you’d go on a date with me.”
Neji rolled his eyes and replied, “Let it stays as a prayer, alright?”
Shikamaru chuckled. Both glasses clinked, and each of them took a gulp. As Neji put down his glass, Shikamaru couldn’t help but realize that Neji had a bit of foam on his upper lips. Unable to contain himself, he reached forward, effectively locking his lips with the other. His tongue gently brushed out, tasting the foam and cleaning it. Became conscious with the fact that Neji was not responding to the kiss, he pulled away. Neji still remained frozen. Okay, time for some damage control.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, but there was some beer foam. And all my ex told me that I’m a good kisser, so…” he trailed off, seeing Neji finally moved.
The Hyuuga nodded once and reached for his glass, but he stayed silent.
At least he didn’t freak out, thought Shikamaru. In fact, he looked rather calm.
“It’s good that this beer is free,” said Neji in low tone.
And he poured the whole glass on top of Shikamaru.
He then calmly collected his belongings, and put some money to make up for his previous ale. Neji stood up, and as he walked pass Shikamaru (who apparently was still in deep shock and thus remained seated), he leaned down and whispered, “Oh, and your ex? They all lied.”
Neji quickened his pace, walked out the café, and grumbled, “Asshole.”
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Shikamaru was still half-asleep as his alarm went off. Not bothering to open his eyes, he blindly groped around for his phone and pressed the turn off button for the alarm. Yawning, he sat on his bed, trying to get focused. It was a school day, and as much as he hated waking up this early, he still had to go to school. Reluctantly, he got off from the comfortable bed and made his way to the bathroom. Still feeling a bit sleepy, he took a shower, brushed his teeth and got ready for school. Then his phone rang again, indicating that there was a text message. Flipping it open, he saw an IM from Kiba that said:
Day 12. I see little progress there, buddy! Get your money ready!
Shikamaru scowled. Yes, yes, he knew that. There was no need for Kiba to remind him; the basketball star actually counted the deadline for this bet. It had been twelve days already, but still the Hyuuga remained uninterested, or so it seemed. So far, the only thing he got from Neji other than short and sarcastic answers was a glass of beer poured on his head. Definitely not a good sign. As if it wasn’t hard enough to get close with the Hyuuga who had remained stoic, the said guy was now pissed at him.
The captain ran a hand through his hair, a habit he took up whenever he feel agitated. He then tied his hair in its usual style, grabbed his bag, and pocketed his phone. Without bothering for any breakfast, he quickly got into his car and drove to school. On his way there, Shikamaru couldn’t help but feel anxious. How was he going to face the Hyuuga now? Damn his teammates for making him agreeing with this! But then again, Shikamaru inwardly chuckled, I brought this to myself, didn’t I?
The Hyuuga had proved to be much more interesting than what Shikamaru had thought earlier. Never before anyone whom he had asked on a date had refused, and three times refusal at that. Plus, there had been that incident with the beer. Makiko-san had been furious when she had found out that her customer (even provided him with free beer!) had dared to do such an outrageous thing. Thankfully he had brought extra clothes in his car, and so Shikamaru had driven to Naruto’s apartment for a quick shower. The blonde then had laughed non-stop for a good ten minutes when Shikamaru had told him what just had happened. In just an hour, the whole team had been assembled there, cackling out loud at Shikamaru’s expense. Silently cursing his teammates, Shikamaru turned left, made it to the school’s courtyard, parked the car in his usual parking spot, and got out.
“Oy, Shikamaru!” the captain had barely stepped into the hall when Naruto shouted his name.
Huffing, the basketball star turned around to see his teammates gathered around at the center table. Again, Shikamaru absentmindedly noted, they were once again the focus of attention. Kiba was apparently too preoccupied in yet another snogging session with Ino and didn’t even turn around to see his captain. Shikamaru, feeling rather resentful at Kiba for getting him into this whole business with Neji, smacked the other’s head.
“Ow! What was that for?” Kiba protested as he rubbed his head.
Just one look at the Nara’s face was all he needed for Kiba to understand why the captain was in such a bad mood. “It’s alright if you want to back out, ya know,” Kiba said smirking.
Shikamaru scowled. “Who said I want to back out?”
“Just guessing,” the Inuzuka shrugged, “Besides, you’re not making much progress. Thought maybe I could loosen that up for ya.”
The captain glared. “Fifteen laps for the warm up today. And fifty three-point shoots for each of you.”
A groan complemented with choruses of ‘no’ answered him and Shikamaru definitely felt much better after hearing that. As the team grumbled and accused Kiba for making their captain in a bad mood, Shikamaru ignored all this and sat on an empty chair next to Ino. Immediately, he was showered with interrogation.
“So, beer-boy (hearing this, Shikamaru fixed a stern glare at Kiba and made a mental note to give his team twenty laps instead of fifteen), what do you plan to do about Neji?” asked Ino with a mischievous smile.
“How much do you know about this whole thing?” Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. This was bad. If Ino knew about the bet, then it’d be most likely that the whole school knew, and the worst case scenario was, Neji knew.
“Not much,” answered Ino with a shrug, “only that you want to seduce him, that’s all.”
Shikamaru breathed out in relief. Ino might be the center of the gossip mill, but she wasn’t a liar. If she said she only knew that much, then that was the truth. Apparently, Kiba still knew how to shut his mouth. “That’s my plan, yeah,” confirmed Shikamaru, and now I’m stuck at it.
Not bothering to provide another explanation, the Nara swept his gaze around and immediately focused on Hyuuga Neji as he saw the other walking down the hall, struggling to carry a high pile of books. Without having a second thought, Shikamaru stood and chased after him. The rest of the guys snickered and one thing crossed their mind: the plan worked.
“See, I’m a genius,” Naruto spread out both hands in emphasis and Kiba gave him a playful pat in the shoulder. “Nice going, Naruto.”
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Hyuuga Neji was struggling to take another step. The books were heavy, and they were piled so high the Hyuuga couldn’t even see what was ahead of him. Damn Kurenai-sensei for this!
“Can I help you with that?”
Fully recognizing just whom that voice belonged to, Neji rolled his eyes and said, “If you’re planning to ask me out again, you might just as well do it.”
“I will if you want me to.”
Neji sighed in annoyance. “Not even a beer would stop you now, hm?”
Taking half of the books Neji brought, Shikamaru could now see the Hyuuga’s pale eyes. Flashing him his most charming smile, he said, “A simple date with you would stop me.”
Neji’s eyes narrowed at that. Finally, he huffed, “Okay.”
The captain raised both eyebrows. “Say what?”
“One date. Then you stop asking me out.”
Now Shikamaru was grinning. “Well, pick you up on Friday then.”
Neji nodded and placed all his books on top of those Shikamaru were carrying. Walking away, he gave the instructions, “Carry those to AV Room, Kurenai-sensei is waiting.”
The Nara rolled his eyes, the date had not commenced yet and Neji was already ordering him around. Now that he was struggling beneath all the heavy books, Shikamaru began to walk, until something clicked and stopped him in his track.
“I do not go on date. I don’t do dates. I never date. Now go.”
Damn, Shikamaru thought, I’d get to deflower a virgin.
Author Notes: Well then, there it was, I hope it's entertaining enough for all of you. ^^ I hope I'm not making Neji sounded more pompous and arrogant than what he should have, although part of me couldn't help but thinking that being arrogant actually a part of Neji's charm.
Anyway, please leave a comment, and thank you for reading!
Title: To Get Him Out of Boredom
Genre: Romance, humor
Warnings: Languages, sexual references and OOC-ness.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-sensei.
Summary: To the genius and basketball star, Nara Shikamaru, life was too easy. He was, simply put, bored. However, his faithful friends got an interesting idea to get him out of boredom.
Music had always been his passion. Call him old-fashioned, but he had found out in early age that classical music was indeed his cup of tea. A lot of people had heard of great masterpieces done by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Chopin. His favorite composer, however, was somewhat lesser known: Rachmaninoff. As to when he had begun to like the composer, Neji didn’t remember, but the first time he had heard Sergey Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #2 in C minor, he had been awestruck. And since then, he had always been a fan of Rachmaninoff, although indeed he liked other composers as well. For example, he had just discovered a better fondness to Dvorak, and had decided to search more music Dvorak had composed. Unfortunately, searching for a certain piece of classical music proved to be more difficult than what he had originally imagined.
This was the fourth CD stores he came to, and yet still he couldn’t find the composer he was looking for. There weren’t much CD stores to begin with these days, as many people chose to download rather than buying CDs. It wasn’t that Neji opposed the technology, but there was certain satisfaction when he put a CD in and click the play button, somewhat anticipating the wonderful music he would hear soon. Plus, CD had a better quality than any downloaded music.
A brief look through a list of CDs this store had, Neji satisfyingly had found the name of two other CDs of Dvorak’s, and was currently on his way to search them. Regrettably, this store had a huge selection of CDs, and apparently didn’t bother to arrange them in alphabetical order. And so Neji found himself muttering yet another curse as he moved between one rack to another. Slightly leaning forward, he began yet another tedious job, flipping through CD stacks.
“Looking for something, are we?” a voice chimed in and Neji looked up, hoping to find a store attendance to help him. Instead, he stared back to a pair of black eyes, belonging to none other than Nara Shikamaru, the famous basketball captain.
Not bothering to hide his displeasure, the Hyuuga scowled and walked away.
“Hey, hey! Hold on! I’m talking to you!” Shikamaru quickly ran over and grabbed the other’s shoulder.
Unaccustomed to have other people touching him, Neji jerked the hand off and asked in irritation, “What?”
“I asked you a question, and now I’m waiting for an answer,” said the Nara with a charming smile.
“Yes,” answered Neji after a moment.
Shikamaru looked confused. “Is that a ‘yes, I am looking for something’ or a ‘yes, what was the question’?”
“That is a ‘yes, I am looking for something and I don’t want you to follow me around.’” Neji turned and walked away to the nearest classical music stack.
“I am not following you around,” came the relentless voice again and Neji couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“Gee, what a relief,” he said in dry tone.
The basketball star chuckled then, pleased to find that the Hyuuga was so amusingly sarcastic.
“What are you looking for, anyway? Maybe I can help.”
Having finished with the current CD stack, Neji walked to another side of store. He still pretended not to hear anything, hoping perhaps this time the Nara would leave him alone. Tough luck, he thought as he heard the other’s footsteps following him. As his scowl deepened, Neji finally decided that he had enough.
Facing the basketball star, he confronted, “Alright then, Nara, I am not comfortable with you following my every step, I don’t like it at all. Now, state your business and let’s get that over with.”
Shikamaru, on the other hand, was tempted to say: You are gorgeous and I want to fuck you so that I can win the bet. Yeah, like that would bode well, his inner self piped in. However, part of his mind managed to come around and nudge his mind playfully. The Nara smiled in amusement, “You know my name, I see.”
“Is that your business? Alright, I know your name, now go away.”
“Go on a date with me,” Shikamaru said suddenly.
“I do not go on a date. I don’t do dates. I never date. Now go.”
Shikamaru frowned, his handsome face marred with disapproval, “Must you always be so unfriendly?”
A flicker of disappointment prodded his heart and the Hyuuga’s smooth fingers unconsciously halted in their task to flip through CD stacks, an action which didn’t go unnoticed by Shikamaru. His piercing eyes instantly gazed up, studying Neji’s pale complexion, and fortunately he was quick enough to notice a pained expression went across it. The Nara couldn’t help but suspect that perhaps Neji actually did know the general opinion about himself. He was, however, blatantly refused to acknowledge that the fact actually troubled him. Only in few rare moments like this, Shikamaru could catch Neji off-guard and was rewarded by a small preview of what the ice prince honestly felt underneath.
Still, Neji Hyuuga lived up to his title thoroughly: he quickly buried whatever hurtful feelings he felt; even a little annoyed by the fact he still bothered by it. Neji glared to meet Shikamaru’s eyes, crossing his arms in defense.
“It’s my nature.”
“Don’t you feel, you know…friendless?” Shikamaru cautiously pointed out.
Neji narrowed his eyes. “What? Do you want to gloat how successful you are in seeking friends? And even if I do feel the need of friend, I don’t see why this concerns you.”
“Because I want to know you. Simple, isn’t it?” the answer automatically came.
“Give me a reason then, why I must give you a special treatment to be…friendlier?” The Hyuuga said challengingly.
Shikamaru merely smirked and confidently turned on his Nara charm. He took a step closer to Neji, pleased on the way the Hyuuga tensed as he invaded the other’s privacy. Leaning down, subconsciously noticing that he was indeed a head taller than Neji and couldn’t help feeling smug about it, Shikamaru whispered, “Because I’m Nara Shikamaru.”
Neji raised both eyebrows, as for a moment he was stunned to realize for the first time how egomaniac the other was. A part of him, though, was somewhat amused by the basketball star’s antics. As the Nara called him, Neji looked up to find Shikamaru standing at least three feet away from him, smirk still in place. “One other thing, Hyuuga, I don’t seek friends; they seek me.”
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Nara Shikamaru hit the brake and parked his car a block from the Bratwurst café. It was Sunday, since he didn’t have any practice to do (his team practically begged him not to schedule any practice on Sundays) and his parents were out of the country, Shikamaru was left alone this weekend. Humming to himself, the basketball star got out of his car, locked it automatically, and started walking. He deliberately didn’t park his car right in front of the café, knowing there would be no empty parking spot there. Besides, he didn’t mind the walk. He needed it badly, especially after his encounter with Neji at the music store yesterday. Sure, he did his best to give him a good impression; he acted exactly like what he wanted to: superior. But still, he wondered if it was the best strategy to get to know the Hyuuga, and therefore, win the bet. Up until now, it seemed to be perfectly fruitless. As he opened the door of Bratwurst café, a bell rang to signal his arrival, and immediately he was greeted by a familiar sight.
Now this was the reason why during leisure times like this, he loved to come to Bratwurst café. From the first time he came here, Shikamaru was awestruck by it. Not only that the food and drink were great there, the atmosphere was as well. To put it simply, it was cozy. It was nothing too extravagant, just plain and simple, but still classy enough to make a sort of modern feeling into it. The wooden colour that dominated this room only seemed to give it a warmer aura. Plush-looking chairs were spread around the room. For those who favored stronger drinks, there was a bar, providing great selection of wine, champagne, beer, and mixed alcoholic drinks. Plus, the light happened to be just right, dimmed and perfect for anybody who wanted some privacy, yet bright enough to admire your company. All in all, the café was awesome; it would be a great place to hang out, except for one reason: the owner.
The owner of Bratwurst café had taken a liking to Nara Shikamaru since the first time he came there. Although she was older, she found him to be extremely attractive. Tall, handsome, cool, and definitely more mature than average high-school students. And so, she began to make a move. At first, she came to be a challenge for him. She was beautiful, no-scratch that, she was drop-dread gorgeous. Elegant, smart, charming, overall the quality of an ideal woman. And Shikamaru, as always, was up for a challenge. Therefore, he responded. Every time she flirted with him, he flirted back. It was all good until Shikamaru came to his previous habit: he was bored.
All the teasing and flirting were so monotonous-well, at least for him they were, the same thing over and over. By the third time he visited Bratwurst, he had successfully predicted all her reactions, words, even when and how long she would giggle. And so, deciding to stop all the flirtations, he cut it off. It’d be great if only things worked out just like he had planned. Unfortunately, it backfired. No matter what he said, or did, Shikamaru couldn’t get rid of her. Finally, after a long explanation and a punch from Naruto (the medical expense for this was billed conveniently to Shikamaru), she understood that she’d have no chance to be with him.
But the owner didn’t stop there. Apparently, she had somehow gained information that this young man was not only the captain of the basketball team, but also actually he was the heir of one of the most innovative company in medical industry. The news of his coming to her café would boost a promotion, not to mention the extra customers she would have when he brought there. Therefore, she increased her attention to him, by of course giving him the best possible service at her café, including complementary snack now and then. This plan of hers seemed to be a successful one, for obviously he was still coming back to Bratwurst café at leisure time like this.
Provided with extra food, Shikamaru, like any other man, couldn’t say no. Although this young woman was extremely annoying, he had to admit that she cooked well. The food was delicious and he loved the cozy atmosphere of this place. Compared to those, the owner’s behavior was somewhat bearable, and in the end, the plusses outweighed the minuses. As a perfect gentleman in the making, he tried his best to act politely toward her. But still, Shikamaru found her to be annoying.
As if to prove the point, the owner, Makiko-san immediately came to fuss over Shikamaru.
“Shikamaru-kun! How are you?” She pecked and pinched his cheek. “You bad boy, leaving me all alone for two whole weeks,” she added with a giggle.
Already accustomed to her antics, he merely smiled, “I’ve been busy, Makiko-san, I hope you can forgive me.”
“Oh of course! You are the captain, aren’t you? Of course you’ve been occupied with practices, right?”
Occupied with strategizing how to seduce a Hyuuga, more like, Shikamaru thought.
“If I knew you want to come here, I’d save your favorite place. But as you can see, it’s occupied,” she gestured to a table at the back.
Ah yes, Shikamaru could see his usual table was taken by … none other than Hyuuga Neji. Well, this should be interesting.
“It’s alright, Makiko-san, he’s my friend. I’ll just join him.”
“Oh, well then, I’ll come over to bring the food. In the meantime, please enjoy this,” Makiko-san handed him a glass of beer, which of course Shikamaru accepted.
“Thanks, Makiko-san,” he replied while raising his glass in salute.
Hyuuga Neji, on the other hand, was calmly sipping his own drink. Sasuke had promise to meet him there, but apparently the Hyuuga was early. Lucky he brought his book with him and so Neji decided to wait there. This was his first visit to Bratwurst café, and he had to admit that this café was not bad. It was comfortable, cozy, and most importantly, it was peaceful and quiet. Neji could enjoy reading his book quietly, enjoying his weekend peacefully,
“Hey there.”
…until that irritating voice appeared.
Automatically, Neji scowled. Damn it! Not him again!
“Are you following me?”
Just as Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer, Neji cut him off, “Or worse, are you stalking me? Eeww.”
Shikamaru looked offended, “No, I was not following you. In fact, I didn’t know you’d be here. Besides, you’re taking my place.”
“Your place?”
“Yeah, this is my favorite place. I always sit here and now you’ve taken it. Therefore, I think it’s only right that I’ll join you.” Without bothering to ask for the other’s permission, Shikamaru conveniently took a seat in front of Neji. Deliberately ignoring the glare Neji gave, the basketball star took a sip of his beer.
“Do you always do whatever you want, regardless of what others might think of?” the Hyuuga asked.
“I do whatever I want to do, if that’s what you’re asking about.”
Realizing that the other wouldn’t just go away, Neji wisely stayed silent, and took a deep breath. It was no use if he got mad here, that tactic was useless against the Nara (he had personally vouched for that, thank you very much).
“I always thought you’re sort of, wine, champagne type of guy. I didn’t know you like beer,” Shikamaru gestured to what Neji was drinking.
“Well, obviously you don’t know very much about me.”
“Will you give me the chance to know you better? Maybe we can go on a date, in order to get to know each other better, what say you?” suggested the captain.
Neji gave him a look of disbelief.
“Okay, first of all, what part of ‘I don’t do dates’ that you don’t understand? Second, what on earth makes you think that I want to know you better? And the third one, obviously we have nothing in common, so why should I bother with you?”
“Hey, haven’t you heard that opposites attract? And besides, that’s not true, we both enjoy beer,” Shikamaru tactfully pointed out.
“You drink lagers, I drink ale,” Neji retorted.
“They are still beer in general.”
Before the Hyuuga could reply, Makiko-san interrupted, “Here you are, Shikamaru-kun, our specialty for today.” She placed the food in front of Shikamaru. “And this, is for you,” she said, putting another bottle of ale in front of Neji.
“I think you’re mistaken, I didn’t order this,” Neji looked confused.
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s on the house. If you’re a friend of Shikamaru-kun, then of course you must be treated special,” Makiko-san replied with a giggle.
“Thank you, Makiko-san,” said Shikamaru, effectively cutting off Neji before he said something along ‘I’m not his friend and I refuse to be considered as such’ line.
“Anything for you,” she added a playful kiss on his cheek.
Seeing as Neji was still dumbfounded either at the affectionate display between Makiko-san and him or at the fact that being Shikamaru’s friend got him an extra beer for free, Shikamaru took the initiative to refill Neji’s almost empty glass.
“Allow me,” he lifted the bottle, tilted Neji’s glass and began pouring the beer down the side. Then he expertly straightened the glass and pour into the center. Guessing that Neji probably like a high head, he raised the bottle a little higher. “Please,” Shikamaru placed the glass in front of Neji.
“Nice, Nara. You can pass as a good waiter.”
The captain grinned, “Makiko-san taught me that.”
“Makiko-san?”
“The lady.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. Now, Hyuuga, perhaps once again you refuse to go on a date with me. But surely a toast wouldn’t be too much to ask?” suggested Shikamaru.
Neji shrugged. Well, it was just a toast. No harm could be done, right? Reaching for his glass, the Hyuuga asked, “What are we toasting for?”
“For a prayer.”
“A prayer?”
“Yeah, so that maybe someday you’d go on a date with me.”
Neji rolled his eyes and replied, “Let it stays as a prayer, alright?”
Shikamaru chuckled. Both glasses clinked, and each of them took a gulp. As Neji put down his glass, Shikamaru couldn’t help but realize that Neji had a bit of foam on his upper lips. Unable to contain himself, he reached forward, effectively locking his lips with the other. His tongue gently brushed out, tasting the foam and cleaning it. Became conscious with the fact that Neji was not responding to the kiss, he pulled away. Neji still remained frozen. Okay, time for some damage control.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, but there was some beer foam. And all my ex told me that I’m a good kisser, so…” he trailed off, seeing Neji finally moved.
The Hyuuga nodded once and reached for his glass, but he stayed silent.
At least he didn’t freak out, thought Shikamaru. In fact, he looked rather calm.
“It’s good that this beer is free,” said Neji in low tone.
And he poured the whole glass on top of Shikamaru.
He then calmly collected his belongings, and put some money to make up for his previous ale. Neji stood up, and as he walked pass Shikamaru (who apparently was still in deep shock and thus remained seated), he leaned down and whispered, “Oh, and your ex? They all lied.”
Neji quickened his pace, walked out the café, and grumbled, “Asshole.”
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Shikamaru was still half-asleep as his alarm went off. Not bothering to open his eyes, he blindly groped around for his phone and pressed the turn off button for the alarm. Yawning, he sat on his bed, trying to get focused. It was a school day, and as much as he hated waking up this early, he still had to go to school. Reluctantly, he got off from the comfortable bed and made his way to the bathroom. Still feeling a bit sleepy, he took a shower, brushed his teeth and got ready for school. Then his phone rang again, indicating that there was a text message. Flipping it open, he saw an IM from Kiba that said:
Day 12. I see little progress there, buddy! Get your money ready!
Shikamaru scowled. Yes, yes, he knew that. There was no need for Kiba to remind him; the basketball star actually counted the deadline for this bet. It had been twelve days already, but still the Hyuuga remained uninterested, or so it seemed. So far, the only thing he got from Neji other than short and sarcastic answers was a glass of beer poured on his head. Definitely not a good sign. As if it wasn’t hard enough to get close with the Hyuuga who had remained stoic, the said guy was now pissed at him.
The captain ran a hand through his hair, a habit he took up whenever he feel agitated. He then tied his hair in its usual style, grabbed his bag, and pocketed his phone. Without bothering for any breakfast, he quickly got into his car and drove to school. On his way there, Shikamaru couldn’t help but feel anxious. How was he going to face the Hyuuga now? Damn his teammates for making him agreeing with this! But then again, Shikamaru inwardly chuckled, I brought this to myself, didn’t I?
The Hyuuga had proved to be much more interesting than what Shikamaru had thought earlier. Never before anyone whom he had asked on a date had refused, and three times refusal at that. Plus, there had been that incident with the beer. Makiko-san had been furious when she had found out that her customer (even provided him with free beer!) had dared to do such an outrageous thing. Thankfully he had brought extra clothes in his car, and so Shikamaru had driven to Naruto’s apartment for a quick shower. The blonde then had laughed non-stop for a good ten minutes when Shikamaru had told him what just had happened. In just an hour, the whole team had been assembled there, cackling out loud at Shikamaru’s expense. Silently cursing his teammates, Shikamaru turned left, made it to the school’s courtyard, parked the car in his usual parking spot, and got out.
“Oy, Shikamaru!” the captain had barely stepped into the hall when Naruto shouted his name.
Huffing, the basketball star turned around to see his teammates gathered around at the center table. Again, Shikamaru absentmindedly noted, they were once again the focus of attention. Kiba was apparently too preoccupied in yet another snogging session with Ino and didn’t even turn around to see his captain. Shikamaru, feeling rather resentful at Kiba for getting him into this whole business with Neji, smacked the other’s head.
“Ow! What was that for?” Kiba protested as he rubbed his head.
Just one look at the Nara’s face was all he needed for Kiba to understand why the captain was in such a bad mood. “It’s alright if you want to back out, ya know,” Kiba said smirking.
Shikamaru scowled. “Who said I want to back out?”
“Just guessing,” the Inuzuka shrugged, “Besides, you’re not making much progress. Thought maybe I could loosen that up for ya.”
The captain glared. “Fifteen laps for the warm up today. And fifty three-point shoots for each of you.”
A groan complemented with choruses of ‘no’ answered him and Shikamaru definitely felt much better after hearing that. As the team grumbled and accused Kiba for making their captain in a bad mood, Shikamaru ignored all this and sat on an empty chair next to Ino. Immediately, he was showered with interrogation.
“So, beer-boy (hearing this, Shikamaru fixed a stern glare at Kiba and made a mental note to give his team twenty laps instead of fifteen), what do you plan to do about Neji?” asked Ino with a mischievous smile.
“How much do you know about this whole thing?” Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. This was bad. If Ino knew about the bet, then it’d be most likely that the whole school knew, and the worst case scenario was, Neji knew.
“Not much,” answered Ino with a shrug, “only that you want to seduce him, that’s all.”
Shikamaru breathed out in relief. Ino might be the center of the gossip mill, but she wasn’t a liar. If she said she only knew that much, then that was the truth. Apparently, Kiba still knew how to shut his mouth. “That’s my plan, yeah,” confirmed Shikamaru, and now I’m stuck at it.
Not bothering to provide another explanation, the Nara swept his gaze around and immediately focused on Hyuuga Neji as he saw the other walking down the hall, struggling to carry a high pile of books. Without having a second thought, Shikamaru stood and chased after him. The rest of the guys snickered and one thing crossed their mind: the plan worked.
“See, I’m a genius,” Naruto spread out both hands in emphasis and Kiba gave him a playful pat in the shoulder. “Nice going, Naruto.”
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Hyuuga Neji was struggling to take another step. The books were heavy, and they were piled so high the Hyuuga couldn’t even see what was ahead of him. Damn Kurenai-sensei for this!
“Can I help you with that?”
Fully recognizing just whom that voice belonged to, Neji rolled his eyes and said, “If you’re planning to ask me out again, you might just as well do it.”
“I will if you want me to.”
Neji sighed in annoyance. “Not even a beer would stop you now, hm?”
Taking half of the books Neji brought, Shikamaru could now see the Hyuuga’s pale eyes. Flashing him his most charming smile, he said, “A simple date with you would stop me.”
Neji’s eyes narrowed at that. Finally, he huffed, “Okay.”
The captain raised both eyebrows. “Say what?”
“One date. Then you stop asking me out.”
Now Shikamaru was grinning. “Well, pick you up on Friday then.”
Neji nodded and placed all his books on top of those Shikamaru were carrying. Walking away, he gave the instructions, “Carry those to AV Room, Kurenai-sensei is waiting.”
The Nara rolled his eyes, the date had not commenced yet and Neji was already ordering him around. Now that he was struggling beneath all the heavy books, Shikamaru began to walk, until something clicked and stopped him in his track.
“I do not go on date. I don’t do dates. I never date. Now go.”
Damn, Shikamaru thought, I’d get to deflower a virgin.
Author Notes: Well then, there it was, I hope it's entertaining enough for all of you. ^^ I hope I'm not making Neji sounded more pompous and arrogant than what he should have, although part of me couldn't help but thinking that being arrogant actually a part of Neji's charm.
Anyway, please leave a comment, and thank you for reading!