The Over-Under

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
Friedrich Nietzsche

thoughts
-:- time pass or scene change


Chapter 2 - Upstairs


Naruto blinked groggily as he awoke. Someone said something, loudly, but it sounded as if he were hearing it from underwater. He couldn't make out any words. He pushed himself up, looked around, and almost immediately found Neji's face. He blinked a few more times, to make sure he wasn't dreaming. What was Neji doing in his house? He tried to voice this question, but it just came out as a bunch of slurs and half-spoken syllables. Neji put a finger to the blond's lips and shushed him, at which point Naruto realized how much his head hurt and took his friend's advice. He closed his eyes and leaned back against his pillow until his head cleared and he could properly hear the things going on around him. He heard people talking and assumed Neji turned on the television. There was also a quiet, steady beeping noise that caused Naruto to furrow his eyebrows. He couldn't imagine what that was. He opened his eyes and found his friend's face again. "What are you doing here?" he asked, quietly and somewhat groggily.

Neji raised an eyebrow at him in response. The blond blinked, all of a sudden wondering how he could be leaning back against a pillow when the last thing he remembered was sitting on his living room floor. He sat back up and took another, better, look around, and realized for the first time that he wasn't in his living room anymore. The walls and floors were pure white, he was laying on a mattress that was far too firm (and far too well-made) to be his own bed, he was surrounded by beeping and blinking screens and machines, and the only pieces of furniture in the room were the bed he lay in, the chair Neji sat in, and a small night stand next to the bed.

"As a matter of fact..." he started, more coherently this time, "what am I doing here?"

Neji gave him a concerned look. "You tell me," he said seriously. "The doctors said you had an anxiety attack and passed out. I thought you got some preventative medication?"

"Doctors..?" Naruto wondered aloud. Now the change of scenery made sense; he was in the hospital. "How'd I get to the hospital?" he asked, ignoring the Hyuuga's question.

"After we got off the phone I decided to surprise you by coming over with some movies we could watch at your place 'cause I didn't want you to just be sitting home alone all day staring at the phone. When I got there you didn't answer the door and I knew you wouldn't have gone out, so I used the key you gave me to get in and I found you passed out on the floor of the living room. The first thing I did was call 911." Naruto smiled. He may not have all the money in the world, but he had the best friend a person could ask for.

"Thanks, bud," he said, pulling the brunette to him in a hug. Neji hugged him back tightly, but still looked worried when he pulled away.

"Well, what happened?" he asked softly, so as not to upset the blond any further. The smile fell from Naruto's face. He had been trying to avoid thinking about it, but he couldn't push the memories away any longer. Neji had called an ambulance for him, he deserved to know why the ambulance was needed.

"I've been given two ultimatums in two days," Naruto replied glumly. "Jiraiya called me last night and told me that if I couldn't catch up on the rent in thirty days then he has to evict me." Neji looked just as shocked at the news as Naruto had been. He nodded as he continued, "I know, right? Then I call my boss this morning to see if there's any way I can get some more hours, and before I even get to ask he tells me..." His throat closed up as he thought back to the conversation he'd had with his manager that morning. He couldn't bring himself to say the words yet. Neji reached out and took his hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. The blond smiled at the gesture, but still found he couldn't continue.

Neji shook his head when his friend tried to speak again. "I pretty much understand. When the doctors clear you to leave, do you wanna go out somewhere and we can talk about it when you've had a little bit more time to process it?"

Naruto nodded. He considered asking if they could just go back to his place so he could continue to monitor the phone, but decided against it. Who knew how long he had been out of it while he was in the hospital, or how much longer it would take for the doctors to let him leave? He might as well enjoy some time out with his best friend.

A nurse came in not long after that and asked Naruto a few questions, then jotted down some notes on his chart after glancing at the monitors around him. She told him everything looked fine and that they usually didn't hold patients very long after they woke up from panic attacks as long as they had someone with a clear mind to drive them home, then left the room. A doctor checked up on him about ten minutes later and said the same thing the nurse had, in more eloquent wording, before he signed Naruto out into Neji's care. After the paperwork had been finalized and Naruto had changed out of the hospital gown and back into his own clothes, the two friends headed to a coffee shop near Naruto's condo.

The boys ordered their drinks and headed to a secluded table toward the back of the establishment. This time, Naruto was able to tell his story without incident. The blond stared down into his cup, watching the steam rise off of his white chocolate mocha as he wondered at the numbness spreading over his mind. It was as if he didn't know what to think or how to feel, so his brain completely stopped thinking and feeling. Neji cleared his throat across the table, bringing blue eyes up to his pale ones.

"If you want my opinion on your work situation," the Hyuuga started quietly, "I think you should put in your two weeks."

"What difference does it make?" Naruto asked, returning his attention to the light brown liquid in front of him. "Either way I'm out of a job."

"True," Neji replied, "but if you just let them fire you, you're out of a job right now. If you give them your two weeks' notice, you're out of a job in two weeks. That'll give you at least one more normal pay check, and a little more time to find a replacement job."

The other boy sighed. "Face it Neji, I'm not going to find a replacement job. I'm going to lose my home and then I'm going to be out on the street, out of a job, and too poor to live." He brought his elbows up onto the table on either side of his untouched cup of coffee, and buried his face in his palms.

"Don't talk like that." Neji scooted his chair around closer to Naruto's and put an arm around his friend, rubbing the boy's back soothingly. When he didn't get a response the brunette continued, "I'll help you out in any way I can, Naruto. I may not be able to do anything about your current job but I can help you find a new one, and I'm going to make damn sure you don't lose your home." The tan young man brought up his head to protest, but was cut off. "I'm sick of you telling me I can't help you out. You're my best friend and I'm not just going to sit around and watch your life spiral any further out of control than it already has!" A woman gave the pair an odd look as she walked past on her way to the bathroom, and Neji lowered his voice. "Look Naruto, just hear me out. I know you don't want to work at the Over-Under. I've respected your opinion, and even though I always ask you I never push the matter after you say no. But things are different now, bud. If you're not hearing back from anywhere else then you need to at least give this a try."

Naruto shrugged away from his friend's touch and pulled his hands away from his face. He knew this was where the conversation was going to go. He wanted to argue the matter, but he had to face the possibility that Neji was right. If Neji really could get him a job as a host, it might be the only option he had.

Neji waited for the blond's protests, and when they didn't come he took it as a sign to continue. "It's really not as bad as I know you imagine it is. The base of the job is looks, personality, and charisma, which I know you have. You meet customers, tell them stories, flirt with them, listen to their problems, entertain them any way you can. You'll meet a lot of new people in the beginning, but once you get established as a host you'll start spending the vast majority of your time with regular customers who come specifically to see you. That's when you'll start earning commission, and once you get to that point you'll never have to worry about money again."

The blond was quiet for a while, before he muttered, "Fine. If you really think you can get me a job then I'll give it a shot."

-:-

The building was only two stories, but length and width-wise it was vast. Naruto couldn't help but gape; he had never actually been this close to the enormous host and hostess club. Neji waved a hand in front of his face and giggled when the blond turned his blank stare toward the Hyuuga. They had gone back to Neji's house so that he could change into something more feminine before they went to his place of business and now the pair stood outside the Over-Under, Neji in a fluttery strapless dress that was the same pale lilac as his eyes and wedge sandals and Naruto in khaki pants, a navy blue polo, and navy canvas slip-on shoes. After a moment Naruto swallowed thickly, still trying to wrap his head around the sheer size of the building in front of him.

"This is where you work?" he asked quietly, throat dry. Neji giggled again.

"Yes," he replied. "Now come on inside." He grabbed his friend's hand and started to pull him forward, then stopped and turned around. "Oh! And remember," he leaned forward and whispered into Naruto's ear, "call me Jina, not Neji." Naruto nodded as he was pulled into the massive building. He quickly found that the inside of the establishment was even more impressive than the outside.

Straight in front of them, all the way to the back of the building, was what looked to be a normal night club. There were tables and lounge chairs sprinkled throughout the huge open area, with a large dancefloor and a bar toward the back. At this time of day the lights were all on, the music was off, and the only people scurrying around the club were the hostesses. Along both walls were numerous doorways and hallway openings, and Neji described to Naruto the maze of private rooms that laid beyond those doors and halls. Naruto just followed, nodding and gaping. Neji smiled and waved at his coworkers as he led Naruto up the stairs to the Host Club upstairs, which looked almost exactly like the Hostess Club downstairs. Just as downstairs, there were hosts milling around upstairs preparing for the night to come. No longer fascinated by the decor,Naruto found himself ogling the hosts instead. One host in particular caught the blond's eye, a pale young man who looked to be about Naruto's age; slight in stature, pitch black hair and beautiful onyx eyes. The gorgeous man didn't even look at Naruto, probably didn't even register that the blond was in the club, but Naruto couldn't take his eyes off of him.

Until, that is, Neji led them up to a man who looked to be in his mid- to late-thirties and greeted him.

"Good afternoon, Jina," the man replied, seemingly surprised. "What are you doing upstairs, and on your day off no less?" His eyes turned skeptically towards Naruto. "And who's your friend?"

"This is Naruto, Kakashi-san. He wants to apply for a job here at the Over-Under." Naruto mustered up a smile, bowing slightly to the gray-haired man.

"Nice to meet you," the blond said in his most pleasant tone, and the older man smirked slightly.

"Ah, so you want to work Upstairs," he said quietly, tapping his chin in thought as Naruto nodded his agreement. "Well then, Naruto, let's take you in the back and see if you have what it takes."

-:-

Naruto hadn't expected an interview right then. He expected to be handed an application and given some time to fill it out and to come back with Neji at a later date to turn in the application. He expected to wait a few days, or even a few weeks before hearing back from them. So, not having expected or prepared for an interview, Naruto expected and prepared to fail the interview.

He did surprisingly well.

It was like no other interview he had ever been on, that was for sure. It was more like a casual conversation between friends. Kakashi Hatake, the manager of The Upstairs, as he referred to it, started off the interview by introducing himself to Naruto and telling him that he wanted the blond to be one hundred percent himself. "I don't want to hear rehearsed answers or what you think I want to hear. I want to hear your opinions, and see your true personality shining through." Naruto embraced the request, and it made him feel much more comfortable replying to the questions.

They discussed Naruto's current job, what he did and didn't like about it, the situation that was forcing him to leave. They talked about family, albeit breifly, as Kakashi flitted right on to the next subject when he heard that Naruto was an only child and his parents were no longer with him. They touched on friends, and Kakashi asked about howNaruto and 'Jina' met. Naruto described his interests, hobbies, the books he liked to read, the games he liked to play, the shows and movies he liked to watch, and what kind of music he listened to.

After a good half-hour of Kakashi getting to know Naruto, the gray-haired man stood. "Well, Naruto, based on your charisma and personality, there really is no reason I see to not hire you." Naruto started to brighten, smiled widely; the smile fell off of his face, however, when the older man continued. "The only thing holding me back is your appearance. It's not that you're not an attractive man, Naruto, you're just simply... Well, to be frank, a little too feminine for this line of work." Naruto's mouth fell open. "A little too feminine?" he asked himself. No one had ever called him feminine before. Well, he relented, maybe in personality, but never in appearance!

Kakashi ushered Naruto out of the back office, to a very excited-looking Neji. The Hyuuga stood from the chair he had been waiting in, looking at his friend with expectant and questioning eyes, but Naruto merely shook his head somberly. The two left the building together, and once they were safely back in Neji's car the brunette asked what had happened.

"He said he couldn't see any reason not to hire me, except for my appearance," Naruto informed him bitterly. "I'm 'too feminine for this line of work'."

Neji gaped for a bit. "Too feminine?" he asked incredulously, and Naruto nodded. Pale eyes stared at the blond, then turned and stared out at the building in front of them through the windshield. Slowly, ever so slowly, a look of realization came over the cross-dresser's face, and he turned back to his friend with a devious smile.

"You know..." he started mischieviously. "Being too feminine has never been a problem for me."

Naruto gulped. He didn't think he would like where this was going.

-:-

A/N: Wahoo, chapter two! So honestly, I cannot BELIEVE the amount of amazing feedback you guys have given me for this! I totally wasn't expecting it, but I love to hear it! I'm so glad you guys like the story, and I love reading your reviews. I hope you guys like this chapter as much as the first. (:

Important news for people who read my old stories before I took them down! In case you don't read my profile for information on these stories, I'm going to give you guys an update here. I've pretty much decided to discontinue 'Regardless'. I said when I first took the stories down that I would discontinue it unless I got a lot of people saying they didn't want me to, and while I've gotten quite a few emails no one has mentioned caring about Regardless. 'Yes, Young Master?' I'm kind of on the fence about. I've lost a lot of will to write it, but I know you guys liked reading it and I know that if I actually get into writing it again I'll start loving it again. I think it's just the idea of completely rewriting the story and drawing things out so much that's holding me back,but with how the story is now I think it feels rushed and poorly written, and I don't want to continue with the story unless I slow things down first. I really want those of you who read the story to give me your opinions on this. Please either mention it in a review or email me at rsharp_0530@yahoo.com with your opinions on the story. For now it's just going to be on hold until I finish 'The Over-Under' and 'Conversion', and whether or not it gets discontinued is up to you guys.

An important note about 'Conversion' is that I'm considering re-posting it now that my life has slowed down quite a bit, and I have less stories to work on. I've always known where I wanted to go with the story but now I have a much clearer view of how I'm going to get to that point. I feel like if 'The Over-Under' and 'Conversion' are the only stories I'll be working on, it'll be easier for me to write and get updates out to you guys. The main thing that had me updating only once or twice a year before was all the pressure and stress of having to write four stories as well as participate in real life (ick). I was originally planning on waiting until the story is finished before I re-release it, but I feel like now is a good time to do it. I've added a prolouge, rewritten the first ten chapters (nothing major, just getting language and punctuation and stuff up to my current standards), I'm finished with the all new chapter eleven and I should be done with chapter twelve fairly quickly. If I do repost it, it will be one chapter at a time. I'll put up theprolouge and the rewritten chapter one together so that people who don't read this will know that it IS the same story, then I'm thinking that once I finish chapter twelve I'll post chapter two, when I finish chapter thirteen I'll post chapter three, etc. etc. until I finish the story, then update once every other week or something like that. And if I'm taking too long to write a chapter then I can still post the next one, and give you guys something to gnaw on as I work. (: Again, either review or email me your thoughts on this. If a lot of you want it reposted then I'll get it up for you as soon as I can. (:

Thanks for reading, now please review! They make me super happy, and encourage me to write! I can't wait to hear from you guys!