High Expectations (sasunaru)

3.

"I'm Sai and that's Lee," an individual spoke from afar, leaning against the boat's post. I'm guessing those two were good friends, they seemed to be getting along well with one another. I cracked a quick smile and looked down at my drink, hesitating.

I lifted my eyes to analyze Naruto for a mere second. He sat with his right knee bent towards his chest while his left leg was extended along the fine oak. He rested his elbow against his knee and spoke with Sakura. His jaw moved as he smoothly pronounced his words, licking his lips before he smiled at the girl. The orange light we used to illuminate the area mingled perfectly with his skin tone. The shadows rose along his neck while the light flickered against his tanned skin. He was beautiful....and he was now looking at me.

I threw my head back and shut my eyes, swallowing the liquor within an instant. I slammed the glass against the wooden floor and dropped my mouth open with a gasp. It burned as it flowed down my throat, stinging every nerve. I pinched my lips into a firm line and tightly held my eyelids shut. It was the perfect amount of pain, the perfect distraction, the perfect...reality.

"More," I ordered, lifting my eyes towards Kiba who smiled instantly, filling my shot glass with another ounce of liquor. I held the glass firmly before I swallowed another whole of perfect pain. It was surely easy, the only thing I needed to do was distract myself from the blond.

"You alright?" Neji questioned, tapping my shoulder, "we barely even started, there's no rush."

I locked eyes with the sibling and nodded, turning away to focus on the conversation. I didn't know what they were talking about, I assumed it was related to horror due to the horrific look Naruto had plastered against his face.

"It happens a lot at night, especially near the deep ends. It's been said that we've only discovered five percent of the ocean's parameters," Sai explained, approaching the blond. "Who knows what we could find down there, beings that lack normal functionality? A gigantic mammal with rows of razor-sharp teeth, so large it can swallow this boat as a whole?" He voiced in a taunting tone.

"Shut up, you're creeping me out," Naruto whined, chugging a glass of vodka down his throat while the others burst into laughter. Is Naruto seriously that gullible?

"I've heard a story once," I spoke, causing an immediate silence as everyone looked towards me. I never thought it would've been that easy getting their attention. "A woman was assigned an aquatic mission, to discover the deep ends of the Atlantic ocean with a submarine. It was said that whales were found dead with rows of bite marks throughout their flesh. Whales are one of the biggest mammals, which is why scientists were concerned," I spoke, taking a breath. "The woman and her crew, who were sent on the mission, never returned. The candidates heard broken sounds of communication through the radio system, the last words she spoke were," I paused, meeting the eyes of the blond. "It's real and we're never going to survive."

"Nope, absolutely not. Kiba, pour me some more," Naruto ordered, pushing the cup towards Kiba. I couldn't help but chuckle at the blond.

"Alright enough with the scary stories, Naruto won't be able to sleep tonight," Sakura laughed, reaching for a deck of cards. "We're going to play suck and blow," she grinned, holding up a card, eyeing each of us.

"What if someone accidentally kisses your boyfriend?" Ino teased, nudging her. If anyone's allowed to fuck up, I hope it's me.

"Unless you do it on purpose, there's no need for a bitch fight."

We advanced toward one another and formed a circle, watching as Sakura demonstrated the rules of the game. "The rules are simple, put the card to your lips, suck on it and pass it to the other person. No hands allowed, nothing but your mouths," she stated, meeting my eyes. "If you drop the card or kiss someone accidentally, you've got to chug the entire vodka bottle," she smiled devilishly.