Bring Me to Life (Shikamaru x Reader)

Three

Morning came way too soon. (Y/N) groaned as she groggily hit the off button on her alarm clock. She didn't sleep well at all, and she wasn't looking forward to class. Her anxiety spiked at the mere thought of having to face Shikamaru after yesterday. A part of her just wanted to stay home but she couldn't miss since Kakashi would be going over more test material. She forced herself out of bed, finished her morning routine, and headed out.

By the time she got to school it was still decently early. There were only a handful of students besides herself. As she headed to her usual seat she looked up to make awkward eye contact with none other than Shikamaru. Great. Any other day he would have been here later.

Wait... Was this really a coincidence? She couldn't recall him ever being early for, well, anything. The guy was pretty lazy, and he owned it. (Y/N) tried to ignore him and sat down. She opened her bag and pulled her notebook and a pencil out to take notes.

"What are you going to write about today?"

She stiffened up and without facing him replied, "Uh, nothing. I'm not writing here anymore."

"Why's that?"

"Are you kidding me? It was embarrassing enough the first time I was caught! I am not risking anyone else catching me."

"Why don't you sit back here then?"

Finally, she slowly faced him. (Y/N) sat in the second to last row in the room. The shadow manipulator sat directly behind her in the last row. Not many people sat in her row, but nobody sat behind her except for Shikamaru and that one weird kid who almost never showed up for classes. He had made an appearance very few times; so few, in fact, that when Kakashi-sensei called his name during roll call people would either ask who he was talking about or why he even bothered.

She studied his face for a moment. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was simply staring at the entrance where a few more students were arriving, his expression as passive as ever.

"I'm just saying that you can write up here without anyone seeing. I already know what you would be doing, so..."

She began to weigh her options. Sit in her usual spot or take his suggestion? Sitting in the very back wouldn't be half bad. She could write anything she wanted, and she had been thinking of a few new ideas. It was still super embarrassing that Shikamaru knew about her stories, but he did make a good point. He already knew, and, more than likely, no one would catch her there. Plus, she was no good at getting an idea and not at least jotting a few details down.

She made up her mind and gathered up her things. She picked a new seat four away from the male.

"You can sit closer. I don't bite."

(Y/N) didn't know why, but she did just that without even giving the matter a second thought. She plopped down in the seat next to him before she could stop herself.

'Did I seriously just do that? I can't write when I'm sitting right next to the guy! Fuck me... I am such an idiot!'

"How long have you been writing?"

"Hm?"

"Months? Years?"

"Um, years. Since I was 12."

"Did you start out writing dirty stories then?"

Her cheeks instantly felt warm.

"Did you ask me back here just to tease me, Shikamaru?"

"I didn't ask. I just said you could change seats. And I'm not teasing you. I genuinely wanted to know." he replied, subtly shifting his gaze from the doorway to rest in her direction.

"Well, it's hard to tell with you. You always just sound bored or annoyed."

"Not always."

"If you say so." she began, "I started out with innocent stuff. You know- kissing, hugging, holding hands, passing notes in class. Those kinds of things. Then around 15 or 16, well, my stories began to take on a more serious and intimate tone."

"How many stories have you written?"

"Hundreds."

"Hm. Interesting."

She raised an eyebrow, but Kakashi-sensei entered the room before she could question him. Shikamaru had sounded...different. She had never heard him use that particular tone of voice. Then again, perhaps she was reading into things too much. The two of them were only acquaintances. They didn't speak often. The past 2 days had been the most they'd interacted. Maybe he only sounded bored or annoyed to her.

Kakashi was ten minutes into his lecture when (Y/N) felt that all too familiar classroom boredom setting in. She glanced over at Shikamaru, who was half heartedly taking notes. Should she write? She had to do something to get through these next few hours. She inwardly groaned and decided against it.

The lesson dragged by, and by the time Kakashi dismissed the class (Y/N) was beyond ready to go home. She hurriedly tossed her things into her bag and stood up.

"You didn't write anything today."

"Were you hoping I would?"

Shikamaru shrugged, stood as well, and stretched.

"Are you a closet pervert?"

He looked slightly amused at her wording.

"A closet pervert?"

"Yes! A closet pervert!"

Shikamaru chuckled and began to walk away.

"I guess you could say that. But, aren't you technically the same way?" he said over his shoulder before he was out the door. (Y/N) huffed and scrambled after him. Did he enjoy messing with her or something? She caught up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Why do you keep following me, (Y/N)?"

"Maybe I wouldn't feel the need to follow you if you would stop being so...so..."

"For a writer, you sure can be bad with words."

"Ugh! Shut up! What did you mean back there?"

His eyes searched hers for a moment.

"Let me read your stories. I'm curious."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened. She hadn't expected Shikamaru to be so direct. He had been so aloof since yesterday that she was completely thrown off.

"You wanna read my stories?!"

"Yes."

"Th-They aren't that great..."

"So? I don't care about the quality. I just want to know what goes through that head of yours."

"Why?"

"Like I said. I'm curious."

"About what exactly?"

"I was just wondering what you've been fantasizing about."

(A/N: My apologies for the late update. I've been super busy this week. Btw, I didn't mean for Shikamaru to come across as a creeper if he did lol.)