hopes up

Later that evening, you found yourself staring at Obito’s phone number in your agenda. You had exchanged contacts before you left his place, so that you could set up the details of your date, yet there was a whole night ahead, during which he had no obligation to reply in case you texted. In case you texted, you thought, so all you had to do was lock the screen and put the phone away.

You managed to occupy your mind with a bunch of other things around the house, however when the phone rang with Obito’s name floating on the screen, you abandoned everything mid-action.

“Hey, what’s up?” You asked, hoping he didn’t call to cancel.

“Hi. Something came up and I’m not sure we can go to the park tomorrow,” Obito stated in a neutral tone.

You gave a deep but silent sigh and shut off the tap water flowing over the dishes.

“I see… It’s ok, don’t worry,” you answered, feeling too awkward to ask about the beach party as well.

“So, I was thinking we could meet up earlier and grab a coffee instead.”

“Oh! Oh, sure, yeah. That would be ok. Around what time?” You asked, trying to hold back your enthusiasm.

“10-11 am? We could meet up at that new coffee house by the theatre. I heard it’s pretty good.”

“Sounds good to me!”

“Great, see you then.”

Needless to say, you had to speed up your entire plan. Wash your hair that night instead of in the morning, pick a whole different outfit and finish up your self-assigned chores before going to bed, now that you were going to be busy early in the morning. You hated it when people changed plans, but it seemed this time it didn’t bother you in the slightest which, by all means, scared you. What if you ended up liking Obito but he didn’t?

The location was very crowded for 10 am. Obito must’ve been informed correctly that the place had great coffee, so you decided to take a look at the variety, mostly to distract yourself from the fact that Obito was nowhere to be seen. He proposed an interval; it was your choice to arrive at 10 sharp, meanwhile he could as well come at 11 am. The intrusive thought that he might stand you up as payback for how you shamed him long ago was making you anxious.

The truth was that Obito forgot to set an alarm. He practically jumped from the bed at 10 am, brushed his teeth while getting dressed and tied his sneakers when he was already on the subway train. Somewhere close to 11, he reached the coffee shop and scanned the area for you. He could recognize you from a thousand women, with one eye closed, so when he saw you in that yellow summer-y dress, his heart fluttered. No matter how much he tried to convince himself of the opposite, Obito still had a huge crush on you.

“Good morning,” he said, bumping his shoulder against yours playfully. “Have you decided already?”

His approach startled you for a moment, but you shook it off.

“‘Morning! Yeah, they have my favourite caffeinated specialty. I’ve tried it in a few places and I’m curious whether this well-proclaimed place could impress me.”

Obito raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in a “you’ll see” manner which made you chuckle. Compared to your interaction from the previous night, where both of you were tense and awkward, today seemed to have started with a ray of hope and optimism.

Of course, he paid for the coffee before you had the chance to pay for yours. You appreciated it, however, as you made your way to a little table in the corner, you scolded him.

“You know, people’s mentality has changed. You don’t have to buy the things just because you’re a man.”

“My parents raised me like this, besides I find it a polite gesture. I didn’t do it for anything in return, don’t worry.”

 Sipping from the coffee, you looked at him curiously. That wasn’t what you expected him to retort. You thought he would make a joke, like “you could cash me back by phone”, or maybe act offended. What Obito said, though, put an honest smile on your lips.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to attack you. Thank you for the coffee, it really tastes amazing.”

“I’m glad,” he replied, reclining in his chair that backed the rest of the café.

You wondered why he chose such a remote spot, but then it hit you that the poor guy was trying to spare the other clients of his face. From what you’ve heard, Obito had suffered an accident when he was a child. You knew no more than that it was a hiking incident. Terrible things passed through your mind: a forest fire he barely escaped, a bear attack or a fall off a cliff would’ve probably left scars like those he wore. As you let your imagination terrify you, your glaring became unavoidable.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to stare?”

A deep red hue painted your cheeks and you bowed your head.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking that it’s a real pity a handsome guy like you had to go through something with these repercussions.”

“Do you even know what happened?” Obito lowered his head as well, searching for your eyes.

“No…” you mumbled.

“I’m fine with these scars. I saved someone’s life from the accident that earned me them.”

Instantly, your face shot up, all red and in awe, eyes wide open with admiration. Obito got flustered quickly by the look you gave and tried to laugh it off.

“Yeah, well, you know. I mean, I assumed you knew from Kakashi.”

“Why would Kakashi tell me that?”

“Uhm, because it was his life that I saved?” He explained, still chuckling. “Anyway, did the barista reach your expectations?” He tried to diverge.

Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, you refrained from praising his heroic and selfless act. It made even more sense now why he acted as a lifeguard as well, not only surfed like everyone else on the coast.

“It’s very good. Maybe I’ll come again,” you suggested.

Obito smiled, content to have made a choice that pleased you, not like that one time when he embarrassed himself with his self-confidence. This time, he decided to play his cards better, especially since you begged him to date you. Well, it was a staged date, but when you agreed to go out with him for real at first, Obito’s confidence rose considerably.

The next few moments led to an awkward silence. None of you knew what subject to bring to the table and it would’ve been equally pathetic to grab your phones, so you sat there, sipping coffee and stealing glances from each other from time to time. At some point you remembered that Obito proposed to change the carnival date with that morning coffee you were savouring.

“So, uhm, not that I want you to leave, but how long can we spend time today? I assume you’ll be busy later, like you said last night on the call.”

Obito’s boss had notified him that he might need to go down to the beach for some random unscheduled surfing lessons around 2pm, so knowing how complicated sudden people could be, Obito didn’t want to risk being late to the date with you. Thus, he chose to reschedule before the lessons he had to teach. However, it was almost 1pm and there was no sign from his boss.

“I was supposed to be gone by now,” he answered, checking his notification bar.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. Did I make you late?”

“Nah, don’t worry. I like being here with you,” the boy confessed, smiling at how your cheeks flared up. “Actually, I’m just going to check something real quick.” 

You watched him talk to someone over the phone, a few steps away from the table, and you caught yourself biting your lip when you saw him smiling and agreeing to whatever his interlocutor was saying. Oh, how you hoped he was not talking to a woman.

“Hope this won’t lower my image in your eyes even more, but I have a new change of plans.”

Although you had assumed he would have to go at one point and he even finished his coffee, so there was no reason for Obito to tag along more, you fell sad he had to leave.

“It’s ok, I’m gonna hang around a bit and then I don’t know,” you dismissed his worried tone.

“Actually, I wanted to ask whether you still want to go to the amusement park with me. My day just got freed.”

He accompanied his words with a sheepish rub on the back of his neck, towering by the table. You had to blink a couple of times as you looked at him because the Sun behind his frame wasn’t kind to your eyes, and also you could not believe what you were hearing. Was he asking you on a second date, on the same day, while the first one wasn’t even finished? A spur of boldness with unknown origin made you stand up and near him a bit more than he foresaw.

“I would love to,” you cooed.

And then, with a teeny tiny hint of hesitation, Obito offered you his arm to hold as he led the way through the tables, out of the area and towards a nearby public garden. At first, you maintained your self-awareness high, not to blush too much, or stutter, or lean into his side more than socially acceptable, however, the more you walked and talked, the more you became interestingly comfortable with each other. Obito turned out to be a greater person than he displayed himself as sometimes, and you regretted taking that long to allow him in your presence. Curious the ways of the Universe, huh? Now you needed him more than you proposed yourself to.

The lunch hour came and passed without notice – that was how entranced you were with one another. Alas, when Obito’s stomach growled, you checked the time and laughed. You cheeks burned as you realised you had spent most of the day together and, given his earlier invitation, you were about to spend the rest of it with him as well.

“So, uhm, do you want to grab a bite and then go to the park? Of course, if you didn’t get sick of me already.”

Obito sounded a bit disappointed, guilty if you may, but far from your mind was the thought of being mad at him.

“Of course, but I’m paying this time and I accept no arguments.”

Holding onto Obito’s upper arm, you sprinted towards the closest crowded fast food, hoping that Mr. Surfer-Lifeguard-fit-and-healthy Obito Uchiha would indulge in burgers or some fish’n’chips. Luckily, he had switched his cheat day for that day to ensure the two of you could eat whatever you wanted.

After the early dinner on a street bench, you took the subway to get to the other side of the town, where the carnival was set up. Since it was rush hour, the train was crammed. Neither of you enjoyed it, but there was one thing Obito did that changed the whole experience. He backed you against a wall of the train, putting himself between you and all the people that passed and pushed, to keep you safe. He did it out of instinct, but a sort of warm pride nestled in his chest when you clung to his shirt with your palms for support.

By the time you reached the destination, the evening had started to settle in and the fairy lights showed their presence in the park and on the machines. You bought quite a number of playable tickets, available for all rides, by splitting the sum in two. You rode everything that didn’t seem too sketchy, played a lot of games, but declined visiting the Haunted Manor. As you caught your breaths after a demanding carousel, Obito spotted the ride he hated the most: the love birds. You noticed the displeasure in his eyes and after a quick look around, you decided to spare him of the awkwardness.

“Well, I think we tried everything there was.”

“Not everything,” Obito corrected, pointing towards the despised carousel behind you, with his chin.

“Well, you agreed when I didn’t want to check the scary place, so you’re free to decline the cheesy one,”  you said in a joking tone.

Obito laughed a little. He didn’t like the place, it was true, however it was the only one where he could attempt to kiss you and not embarrass himself in front of everyone in case you rejected him; after all, the entire ride was semi-obscure or pitch black, perfect for lovers… Yet, the two of you were not lovers. And it seemed to him that you didn’t want to go in there specifically for that reason, so he just shrugged in agreement. With cotton candy in one hand and a little plushy squirrel he won for you at a game, you walked alongside Obito to the park’s exit.

“This has been really fun, Obito. Thank you. For the entire day,” you murmured.

“I liked it as well, you know? You’re nice.”

You grinned at the compliment, even though you wished he had used different words. Maybe that was his way of not crossing a line. As you walked away from the crowded part, you realised how late it had gotten. The activities you took part in kept you entertained and cheerful, but now they were finished. Obito ordered an Uber for you, after you tried to argue with him that you could take the bus without a problem. Just before the car arrived, he gripped the side of your arm and asked softly:

“Please text me when you get home.”

His voice lit a spark in your eyes and you needed a certain amount of self-control not to throw yourself in Obito’s arms. Despite his somewhat scary looks, Obito’s smile was gentle and honest, and everything about him made you feel safe.

“What are you going to do? How will you get home?” You asked, holding onto the hem of his hoodie.

“I’ll go back to the subway, I’ll be fine.” 

There was a voice in your head bombing you with questions such as “Will he meet someone else tonight?”, “Does he have sketchy things planned?” or simply “Does he not have money for two Ubers?” Yet, you asked none. When the Uber arrived, your hand lingered on the open door, unable to get in the car. Observant by nature, Obito put a hand on your upper back.

“Is everything alright? Do you want me to join you to your doorstep?” He asked, worried that some aspect of the car, the driver or the idea of travelling alone at nightfall was unsettling you.

“I just… you proposed this date to see if we could fake the one tomorrow.”

And that was when he remembered. Obito watched you with wide open eyes, but didn’t know what to reply. He enjoyed that day so much, he practically forgot that you had asked him to play the part of your fake boyfriend at the upcoming beach party the next day.

“We haven’t really behaved like a couple, though. Which is completely alright, I just–...”

Before you could finish the sentence you didn’t know how to finish anyway, Obito pulled you closer by your waist, cupped a hand on your cheek and kissed you on the mouth.