#ssm20d18

“Stupid date.” She murmured to herself. The night air seemed colder than usual, or was it perhaps because of her sullen mood? She couldn’t tell. She walked pass a bar, and convinced herself she deserved a drink or two. Oh what the heck. Tomorrow’s Sunday anyway.

She walked in and sat herself on one of the stools by the bar, a glass of martini accompanied her. She kept staring at the glass, tracing her finger around the rim.

“Rough night?” The bartender commented. Sakura could guess that her face gave it all away.

“Sort of. Got stood up on a date.”

“Ouch, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s only the fifth time it’s ever happened to me. No big deal. I’m probably cursed at this point and I’ll never find anyone.” The blonde bartender could tell she would need more than a glass to feel better tonight.

“You know what, this one’s on me.” He placed a glass in front of her. The color looked peachy red, but she couldn’t exactly tell what’s inside.

“What is this? Are you trying to take advantage of my wallows?”

“Oh no no, don’t worry this is my special concoction. I call it the break up make up. I put in some cherries, mango, lemon, and vodka. And don’t worry I’m not trying to drug you.” Sakura chuckled at his comment. She figured if this was supposed to make her feel better, then there’s no harm in trying.

She took the glass and tried a sip.

“Hm, not bad. I like the lemon you added in there.” The bartender smiled when he saw that her mood had lightened up a bit.

“The name’s Naruto, by the way.”

“Sakura. Nice to meet you.” Sakura couldn’t keep track of how long she was there, conversing with Naruto. But she didn't stop at her second glass. She kept ordering more, hoping that the bitter drink would get rid of the bitterness in her heart. Naruto was starting to get worried by the time she had her fifth glass.

“Hey, you should probably take it easy with the alcohol.”

“What do you mean?” Her words were starting to come out a bit more slurred. She’s definitely drunk. Naruto thought.

“Okay that’s enough, I’m not giving you anymore drinks.” Naruto took away the glass in her hand and threw away whatever’s left in there.

“Aww but I was just getting started!” Sakura was beginning to throw a tiny fit. Working at a bar, Naruto had seen countless number of people getting drunk, and doing stupid things they would regret.

“Do you have friends you can call to pick you up?”

“Hm? Friends? Sure.” She took out her phone and dialed her best friend Ino. The tone kept ringing for a while, but no one was picking up. To be fair, it was three in the morning.

“Tch. No answer.” Shit. Defeated, Sakura plopped on the table. Just when Naruto was starting to run out of ideas, his best friend decided walked into the bar. Naruto spotted him right away and started waving at him.

“Ah Sasuke! Right on time! I need your help!” Sasuke approached the bar and gave him a confused look.

“Help me get her home safely.” Naruto pointed at Sakura, who’s moments away from blacking out.

“What? Why should I?” To be fair, this was a complete stranger, who was drunk, and Naruto wanted him to ensure she gets back home safely? He probably didn’t even know where she lived.

“She just had a rough night and drank too much. I’m worried for her. Please.” Naruto pleaded. Of course, Naruto being the saint that he was, he wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.

Sasuke didn’t exactly have the best night, either. He kept staring at Naruto, trying to win this staring contest that he knew eventually he would lose to.

“Please? I’ll buy you dinner next time.”

“Tch fine.” Sasuke tried waking Sakura up, to see how much she could actually function.

“Who is it? Are you my date?” Sasuke got flustered hearing her question. He eyed Naruto with a look equal to, what the fuck is she saying?

“Oh she just got stood up on her date tonight.” Sasuke didn’t even want the details. He tried shaking her again.

“Here let me take you home. Where do you live?”

“Go away! I don’t want to see anybody!” She buried her face deeper in her arms. Sasuke sighed. They’re not going anywhere at this point, and it’s almost closing time. It seemed that she was too drunk to even comprehend his question. At this point, he was starting to lose his patience.

“Fuck this.” He swung her arm around his shoulder, and guided her outside. She staggered a bit before he was able to properly prop her.

He couldn’t leave her on the streets like this, but he didn’t even know where she lived. Without a destination, there was only one option for him.

He swung his arms, calling for a taxi to come pick them up. When a vehicle arrived, he opened the door, gently helped Sakura sit on one side, and closed the door before getting in the taxi from the other end. He instructed the driver and they were on their way.

The drive home wasn’t terrible. Sakura had calmed down a lot, and was no longer flailing or saying incoherent words. Thank God.

The taxi pulled up in front of a tall apartment building not far from the bar. Sasuke helped Sakura get out of the car and up a flight of stairs and up the elevator to the tenth floor. He struggled to get his keys out from his pocket as his other hand was preoccupied trying to keep Sakura upright. He finally managed to open the door and plopped Sakura on the bed.

Sasuke was at a lost as to the kind of trouble Naruto had put him into. The night hadn’t been perfect for him either, he just found out that his brother had been admitted to the hospital, and now to add into his troubles, there’s a girl who’s completely out of it, sprawled on his bed.

He did what any decent person would do, he took of her shoes, positioned her head comfortably on the pillow, and covered her with a blanket. He set a glass of water on the bedside table before closing the bedroom door behind him. He’s had a long night, and frankly, he’s ready to fall asleep anywhere.

He plopped himself on the couch and decided to get some shut eyes. Tomorrow would surely be interesting.

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Sakura slowly peered her eyes open. Sunlight was trickling in from the blinds. Sakura stretched a bit, mind still blurry as to what happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was seeing a handsome dark-haired man standing over her. She tried to take in her surroundings before she realized, this is not her own place.

She jumped from the bed and took the covers off. All clothed. She looked around the room but failed to find any identity as to who this room belonged to. She could see a desk with some books spread on it, no photo frames, no posters. The room could easily be one of those rooms displayed in furniture stores. She saw a glass of water with a note next to it,

Drink. No poison.

She chuckled a bit. I guess she should trust whoever this person was, after all they brought her here safely. She took a few sips before downing the whole glass, her throat seemed awfully dry and hoarse. She felt like her head was about to be split in half as the hangover started to kick in. She tried to stand up and stuck her ear to the door, trying to hear any evidence of life outside the room. She heard some metal clanging and assumed that whoever this person was must be awake.

She slowly opened the door and peeked through the tiny slit. The man was standing in front of the stove, cooking something. Sakura could feel her stomach growl when the smell reached her nostrils. She debated whether she wanted to greet this stranger and thank him, or she should just bail out of there as quick as possible. She found her purse on the bedside table and grabbed it before gently opening the door just wide enough for her body to squeeze through. She thought the sizzling sound should be enough to conceal her noises. Tiptoeing ever so slightly, she headed towards the entrance.

After just a few steps, the man spoke, “You’re awake.” Sakura froze in place and when she didn’t say anything else, he turned to look at her.

She was a bit surprised to see that the man standing in front of her was indeed the man she last saw that evening.

“Wait, you were at the bar last night!” Waking up in a stranger’s apartment and that’s the first words she said.

“Hn. Have a seat.” He motioned her to sit on the dining table. She thought her plan to escape had been compromised. At least, she could take his offer and put some food into her system. She just realized the last time she had eaten anything was before she went out to go on the blind date, which was a bad idea after all.

She set aside her purse on a chair before taking a seat at the dining table. She could see he’d two sets of utensils and two glasses of water. He placed a bottle of Tylenol next to her glass. He knew all that drinking would result in a dreadful hangover.

“Thanks.” She opened the bottle and popped a pill or two into her mouth. I should really stop drinking. She thought to herself. The man brought a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her, then proceeded to put some eggs and sausages on to his plate.

“Umm about last night.” Sakura didn’t even know where to start. She didn’t know if she should apologize first or thank him. She settled for the apology first.

“I’m so sorry I got you into this. I had too much to drink and I didn’t really have no one with me at that time. I’m so sorry I’ll make it up to you!”

“Hn. Just eat.” He started digging into his food. He barely spared a glance at her. She figured, he must be annoyed at her.

“Thank you. For keeping me safe.” She tried the soup and it was honestly the best thing she’d had since last night. They focused on their own meals, eating in silence, mostly out of courtesy for Sakura. She had a million questions. Who is he? Why did he bring me here? What does he want?

After they finished eating, he grabbed her bowl and his plate and placed them in the sink.

“Naruto told me to take you home, but I didn’t know where you lived, and you were too drunk to tell me.” He finally managed to explain to her.

“Oh..” She slapped herself mentally. Stupid Sakura, you should know better than to drink that much by yourself!

She glanced at the clock. 11AM. Oh shit! She was late to a breakfast appointment with Ino she had completely forgotten about.

“How do I make it up to you?”

“It’s fine.”

“No please, let me.” She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen laying around and started writing down her phone number.

“I’m sorry I can’t stick around, but here’s my number. I promise I’ll make it up to you! I hope I’ll see you again.” I don’t,Sasuke thought. One encounter was enough for him.

She grabbed her purse and hurriedly put on her shoes.

“I’m Sakura, by the way.”

“Sasuke.” He thought she deserved to know the name of the person who saved her.

“Thank you, Sasuke.” She opened the apartment door and left, leaving a click sound when the door shut behind her.

Fate had a funny way of thinking, and little did they know, their little encounter was only the beginning.

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to be continued?