Purple Cocaine Prison

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything…cept the fic.

Warning(s): Weirdness probably…
Pairing(s): Various

~!@!~

‘Purple Cocaine Prison’
Naruto: Somnambulist

‘Somnambulist’: a sleepwalker; to somnambulate: to walk or perform other motor acts while asleep, one who is subject to somnambulism: one who walks while sleeping

~!@!~

{Naruto/Physics}

Gaara and I sit, shockingly, at the front of the class a bit on the left side where all the windows are. Luckily, the class isn’t massive so we can sit only with each other.

Gaara is hiding in a massive black sweater and his white scarf.

During attendance, I prod him, “Can you breath in there?”

Gaara turns his green eyes on me and I tell that he thinks I’m not funny.

Grinning, I prod him some more; “You’ve probably got space for me in there”

Gaara smirks and still doesn’t answer.

I smile and got back to doodling. Gaara’s not exactly much of a talker but he’s good company…in a kind of silent way.

I hate physics, though. The teacher is the most boring person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and he can’t seem to teach jack. Not because he’s not teaching but more because he’s dull and can’t catch my attention.

Gaara seems to be more interested in the subject then me, but that’s understandable.

Sighing, I frown at my textbook. We’re discussing something about gravity, but the man just keeps babbling!

Smiling slightly to myself, I pillow my head on Gaara’s shoulder and decide to get some shuteye. S’not like the teacher’ll notice anyway, right?

~!@!~

{Naruto/Gym}

-Love-: Okay, here’s my personal opinion on love. Brace yourselves…
Love isn’t realistic. You see it in movies, read about it in books, and see it whatsit-ever else but it’s always really sappy and always involves stupidity of some sort. Your heart can’t actually tell you you’re in love, right? Even so, ‘love’ could probably be more properly characterized as being an attraction to another person’s looks or personality. I mean, plenty of people have relationships based on as little as good looks but I don’t think I could stand for a guy who’d rather brush his hair all day instead of going out with me. He’s gotta have wit and sense, but anyway, moving on.

Love isn’t concrete or simple; it’s a pain- even without all the mystery and running around they have in movies. It’s just really hard to identify sometimes. Therefore, I think that the definition of love should be more like: the attraction to another person’s qualities or attributes, thinking you attracted/interested. Keyword being: thinking, which is mostly because your brain makes all the decisions that govern your life. Your heart is an organ that pumps blood thru your body. So basically, if I’m going somewhere with this, I should end up thinking that love is more like a mode of thinking then an actual emotion.

But after saying all that, I still wouldn’t be able to explain all those weird tingles you get when someone you like touches you or why you get a little nervous when talking to that person or why you think of them instead of doing your physics homework. Isn’t that the part of love that can’t be explained? I couldn’t tell you why one look from Neji makes my heart beat a bit faster or why I feel sad when Sasuke seems to be mad at me…

So, anyway, it’s important to look at the big picture all the time since love can be one of those double-edged sword kinds of things. If you get caught…well there’s nothing you can do really. Knowing this, I’m still letting Neji get closer t me then I’ve let anyone in a long time. Haku and Shika don’t count cause their more like big brothers anyway…The point of this mental conversation with myself though is to decide whether or not I think I more then like Neji.

To tell the truth…I’d rather not think too much about it. I have a habit of jinxing stuff…we’ll see what happens.

~!@!~

I hate volleyball with a passion. Being short hasn’t been so much of a problem for me until I discovered volleyball. It was when I first played volleyball that I realized that it was harder then it looked. I was pretty good, I guess, but I couldn’t serve Overhand as well as other guys and Spiking the ball was more of a hazard to me then a way of keeping the ball off my side of the court.
That having been said, other people, like Neji and Sasuke, are tall enough to serve overhand. Sitting over here with Gaara while half the class practices serves makes me wish more and more that there was more space in Gaara’s sweatshirt sweater thing so that I could crawl in and hide till the period was over. I’m not a coward, but there’s only so much teasing I can be subjugated to while playing a sport. Besides, it’s really easy to insult a guy at sports because they can poke fun at your sore spots…mine being the fact that I’m vertically challenged.

Kakashi-Sensei decided that we were probably rusty and should practice a bit before attempting a game. Unluckily, Neji and Sasuke seemed to be peeved at each other and were exercising their right to show off in an attempt to make one look worse then the other. Unfortunately, they both, simultaneously, managed to get everyone else hyped and trying their best. Plus, it didn’t even look, even to me, that one was better then the other.

Mostly, I was worried about what the heck was wrong with them in the first place. I remember seeing them talking to each other in the change room but I was pretty sure that it wasn’t a cause for alarm. Ironically, I’m always wrong about stuff like that. Apparently, they’d started a war and I’m the only one who’d noticed a bit late.

Next to me Gaara shifts and sighs. He sounds the way I feel.

I turn and grin at him, “What? You hate volleyball too?”

Shika plops down next to him out of nowhere and yawns, “No, he’s just thinking that it looks about as troublesome as it sounds…”

I shake my head, amused, “Everything is troublesome to you…and I’m pretty sure your not Gaara”

Shika smirks, shuts his eyes and leans over to use the wall behind us as a support, “Just because he’s not the one who said it doesn’t mean he’s not thinking it”

Gaara smirks and I laugh, “Cute, you’re a mind reader now?”

Shika grins but doesn’t answer.

Turning back to watch Sasuke and Neji murder a few more balls, I start to get nervous. In less then five minutes, it’ll be the rest of the class’ turn to go up and practice. Technically, that means both Neji and Sasuke will be watching me. And I can’t do overhand serves…at all. Swallowing down my nervousness, I consider the fact that I can’t do any worse then some of the other guys. Being short never stopped me from being good at basketball and height is actually important in that game, so why should I stress out over volleyball?

Predictably, Kakashi-Sensei forgets the five-minute switch and only calls the rest of us up ten minutes later then planned. I haven’t loosened up anymore then since I last promised myself not to worry. When he does blow the whistle, I start a bit and stand.

Neji and Sasuke walk off court slowly; mostly still giving each other irritated looks. I gulp inaudibly and try to tell myself that it’s been a while since I attempted anything related to volleyball and maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as I think it’s gonna be.

Haku and Shika stand on either side of me. Gaara next to Shika and Kiba on Haku’s other side. Beyond them, I don’t allow my focus any farther. I palm my volleyball nonchalantly, seeming to play with it but actually thinking that it’s probably the greatest tool of utter evil known to the short teenager. Grinning a bit at my stupidity, I drop my ball and absorb the shock with my foot. I’m not bad at soccer either now that I think about it.

Funnily enough, I feel myself relax a bit. Kakashi-Sensei distractedly blows the whistle; head still half buried in his book and most of the guys around me, toss up their balls and serve. Pausing, and still holding my ball, I watch the others. Haku just seems to reach up lightly and whap the ball, but it goes sailing over the net. Shika tosses it up lazily and reaches up to brush it with his knuckles almost and it also goes over the net smoothly.

Too busy watching my friends’ techniques, I don’t notice when Sensei walks up behind me.

I freeze when a shadow falls over me and I glance up slowly into Sensei’s only visible, smiling eye.

“Naruto, since I’m sure you have such a great serve you don’t seem to be taking the time to practice…bored?”

I grin and shake my head, “Uh, sorry, I was a bit distracted”

Sensei nods, “So show me your serve”

I swear that I must have frozen on the spot. Worse, everyone has stopped to watch. Sensei nods towards me, encouraging like, and I turn around slowly. Panic grips me because I know that I’ll never serve properly with all these people watching me. All that’s left now is to make an ass out of myself.

Reluctant to delay the inevitable, I toss the ball and reach to hit it. I know that I didn’t put that much effort into it but it was kind of cruel of whoever up there was watching to make sail straight into the net.

The gym is silent except for a few snickers. I sigh and hang my head.

I knew this was going to happen. I shut out Kakashi-Sensei’s voice telling the others not to tease and try very hard to stay calm.

Presently, a white volleyball is placed in my hands. Glancing up, I come face to face with Neji. His silver eyes are sorry that I feel bad about being a crap player and somehow that makes it all better. I grin at him and he grins back.

Turning to face the court he absently rolls his own ball in his hands, “You should jump for it. Don’t wait for it to come down to you”
I take me a minute to see what he means. Nodding to him, I look down at the ball in my hands and shrug. It’s worth a try right? Besides, Neji doesn’t give bad advice.

I hold the ball in my right hand, carefully toss it up, step forwards and jump lightly to meet it on its way down. My upper wrist connects balls surface and I watch, amazed as it practically cannonballs into the court across from us.

No way…

Neji smirks and turns back to me, “You could’ve done better”

~!@!~

{Naruto/Lunch}

Now, as much as I’d love to eat right now, I’m still getting over the gym incident. Even though Neji had taught me how to serve overhand, I’d still gotten demolished when we played an actual practice game. I could hardly help my team at all. To say I was massively depressed would have been the understatement of the century.

So, what’s my solution?

Privacy.

I need privacy…or at least a bit of time to myself.

With that in mind, I head up to the library. It’s on the third floor of the red building and easily accessible from the other floors. I like the red building because it’s quieter. The place is big and tranquil and most people would never think of looking for me there since I was a notorious noisemaker who ‘couldn’t be quiet’ to save his life anyway. Shows what people know…humph.

Walking in, I take note of the librarian and the few students using the computers to go on MSN or do research for projects. Thankfully, none of them are people I know. Settling in the back where I’m sure no one sits anyway, I pull out this massive book, Blackwood Farm by Anne Rice, and sit down to get some reading done.

I swear I must have been alone no more then five minutes when someone wanders in one me. I would’ve been peeved if it had been anyone other then the person smiling slightly at me now.

“Hi Neji” I can’t help but sound a bit disconsolate but I’m hoping the smile I use to cover it up deters his attention from my crap mood because in all honesty, I really am glad to see him.

Neji cocks his head thoughtfully, “Hi”

I’m not worried about anyone finding us back here because the library is big enough for there to be some secluded places. Sitting up and setting my book aside on a nearby table, I motion for him to come over, “How’d you find me?”

Neji smirks, “Followed you”

“Very nice, Sherlock Holmes”, I say, grinning.

Neji shrugs and sits the chair across from mine, “You alright?”
The concern in his voice makes me smile, “Yeah, m’alright”

He eyes me curiously and glances at the book I put aside. Seeing his eyes move, I glance at the book too.

I reach out and trace the picture of the cameo on the front, “S’bout vampires”

Neji nods, “Your friends are looking for you”

I shrug, “They can live without my lively presence for a while…besides, I need some peace”

Neji carefully picks up my book and leafs thru it, “Hn…”

Leaning back in my chair and putting my feet up on the table, I watch Neji, “D’you read?”

Neji shrugs slightly, eyes scanning the lines on the first page, “If the book is interesting”

It surprises me how fast he reads before flipping to the second page, “What makes a book interesting?”

Neji never even looks up, “Words”

“Words?”

Neji flips another page smoothly, “If the writer uses the right words, you understand better and then you keep reading because you like the way the story is being told”

I frown and scratch the back of my head thoughtfully, “What about talent?”

Neji shrugs, “If you understand words and the ways to use them, that in itself is a talent”

I grin, “What if you’re a crap writer?”

Neji glances up, amused, before his eyes drop back onto the page, “Everyone has a talent…ways of communicating are not limited to words”

Rolling the idea over several times in my head, I ask him another question, “What’s your talent?”

Neji shrugs, “It is usually the ability of all others to see the talent you posses since, more often then not, you can’t see it for yourself…what do you suppose my talent it?”

I pauses, asking myself the question, “You have good eyes”

Neji glances up sharply, “Yours are better”

I muse over that, “You said that before”

Neji shrugs and flips another page, “It’s true”

I grin, “Yes, but what does it mean?”

Neji smirks “I’m not going to tell you if you can’t see it for yourself”

Fuming, I sit back and keep my comments to myself. We sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes and I am calmed by the quiet that is only broken when Neji flips another page. Neji oblivious to me at this point starts lightly when I reach over and poke his knee. To do that, though, I have to lean halfway out of my seat while taking into account the fact that my legs are up on the table instead of down on the floor where they can stop me from falling out of said chair. Of course, I don’t take that fact into consideration and start to tip over as soon as I have Neji’s attention.

Standing, Neji grabs me and pushes me upright again. Grinning up at him, my hands half twisted in is shirt and on the verge of laughing, I realize something: I really like this guy.

Neji sighs, not so much out of annoyance as from relief, “You have a bad habit of doing that”

I shrug and loosen my grip on his shirt only slightly, “Why worry if you’re always around?”

Neji makes a disapproving sound, “But I’m not”

I shake my head and give in to the urge I have to laugh.

Putting one hand on either side of me, one on each armrest and effectively trapping me in the chair, Neji leans down a bit, “I fail to see what’s funny”

Grinning, I calm down long enough to answer him, “Nothing…nothing’s funny”

He tilts his head, and eyes me curiously. Presently, he leans over, almost nose-to-nose with me.

Surprised and wide eyed, I gulp, “What are you doing?”

This is the kind of scene you get in the movies. You know the ones? Something big is about to happen and everyone of holding their breath and waiting. Except that this is real life, and there’s no other people here, cept for Neji. And as for knowing what’s going to happen…it wasn’t a total mystery to begin with. I’ve read enough books and seen enough movies, haven’t I?

The problem is though that there’s a difference between anticipating the outcome and discovering the outcome. Things never quite go the way you want them to.

Unpredictably, Neji answers, “I’m going to kiss you”

I think that the confirmation of the truth actually shocks me. Before I think much more about it, he leans over me, his hair sliding softly against my cheeks as he presses lips to mine.

Its nice, this kiss, but it’s chaste; mouths closed and just resting against each other. The amazing thing is how it all seems so easy, natural even. There’s zero discomfort on my part.

Neji pulls away a bit and stares at me.

Up close, I can see the thick ring of silver that makes up most of his irises. I can remember clearly why I love these eyes. Right now, they happen to be crinkled up at the corners, smiling at me the way I know I must be smiling back.

Neji blinks once and leans into me again. The second time is way better then the first. With a confidence that doesn’t surprise me, Neji parts my lips with his tongue. His hand comes up behind my head to steady me as much as keep me in place. I’ve never frenched before and I can tell you its weird the first time. Not really the tongue part, because I’ve got my own tongue and it’s in my mouth all day, but more the foreign-object-in-your-mouth feel of it.

Foreign for only a little while though. Somehow, the strangeness of it dissipates and I feel myself reacting. Almost like some one who knows what they’re doing, I kiss back. Neji traces the inside of my mouth, and I do the same. Our tongues touch hesitantly and slide along each after only a moment’s hesitation.

It’s nice, this.

When we part a second time, Neji is kneeling in front of me. How he got down there? Who knows and who cares. I’m a bit breathless and Neji seems to think that it’s funny if the way he’s smirking, perfectly not short of breath himself, is any indication.

Grinning breathlessly, I loop my arms around his neck, and tell him fuzzily “Thawasnice”

Neji smiles, “Good”

And suddenly, I swear my heart’s full to bursting. Isn’t it weird? The guy I really like, likes me back. I feel like I should say something, anything, but it’s not necessary because Neji is kissing along my jaw, butterfly kisses tickling along my skin. There aren’t any words. I want there to be, but maybe they would be better for later. Neji seems set on doing what he’s doing and it’s not like I’m not enjoying myself.

Hands rub my back gently in such a way as to make me arch into them. Vaguely, I have the creeping suspicion that Neji’s done this before. How else would he know what to do? As he continues to rub though, I can’t be bothered to care anymore.

My hearts beating away in my chest, bouncing away against my rib cage, and I’m closest to being the happiest I’ve ever been.

There’s something amazing about those hands, and those feather light kisses that tell me simply by touch that this isn’t a dream and that Neji actually cares for me. Something in the way he whispers my name to get my attention and rubs the back of my neck to get me to relax that makes me think this is right. It’s something about Neji himself that makes me at ease. Might not sound like much, but I swear it’s more important then anything else.

On some level, I’m aware of the all the embarrassing little sounds I’m making, but for my own sake, I ignore them. Neji nips at my throat and wraps his arms around my relatively small waist and pulls me closer. Seeking to brace myself, I place my hands on his shoulders. In an instant, the momentum takes us both backwards.

Neji lands on his back with a light thump and has me sitting on his stomach. He doesn’t seem bothered even. I admire the way his hair fans out, a few dark brown strands still curled around my fingers. One of my hands is on Neji’s chest, pressed over his heart. The other helps me keep my balance and is pressed firmly against the floor.

I feel the beating if his heart as distinctly as if it were my own. The steady pulse and rise and fall made me realize just how real this all was.

Neji’s looking up at me, smiling because I bet he already knows what I’m thinking and twines our free hands together. He places his other hands over mine and leaves them there.

I’m happy; I know that, but I’m not good at not asking stupid questions and since I figure that Neji won’t mind (knowing me), I ask what’s been bothering me since this whole library adventure started, “How did you even know?”

Neji blinks, looking adorably confused, “Well, for one, I’ve always seen you watching me. Your there when I go to class, when I hang around my looker. Back in Junior high, you used to sit in the back of the art room and sketch a lot, but you’d watch me then too.

And even though you have the most distinct face and hair and beautiful eyes, you never had a girlfriend, or anything close to one. In fact, you had a crush on Sakura when we were younger and I can remember thinking how unusual that really was considering that she’s a certified Sasuke-o-sexual. People like her only have eyes and hearts for him. They worship what he is and don’t stop to even consider what he’s really all about. They love the idea of being Uchiha Sasuke’s girlfriend but don’t even consider his feelings. Basically, you had a doomed, never-to-be-returned crush.

Besides all that, I started to notice you more because you were around so often. I started to realize little things. Like how I’d never really spoken to you, or you to me. How we seemed to like a lot of the same things and would see each other at a lot of places outside of school, but it didn’t occur to me to talk to you until recently. Eventually, I realized that I liked you and that your attentions had made me aware of that. I don’t suppose that it would have made a difference whether you had been a boy or a girl…I was attracted to your personality before anything else. The fact that you’re a blond and have amazing blue eyes is secondary, mostly”

I blink and smile shakily, a bit flushed at his attempt at humor.

Neji sighs and sits, me falling back into his lap, “Class is going to start soon. We should go”

I nod and squeeze his hands thoughtfully, “We still on for Wednesday?”

Neji smirks, “After that I would expect the answer to be obvious”

Laughing, I grin and tuck his slightly larger hand into mine before dragging him off to the exit. See, this feeling is what love is made of…

~!@!~

{Naruto/Chemistry}

-Savoir-Faire-: tact, readiness, knowing how to act.

~!@!~

This is the only class where I have both Neji and Sasuke. That by itself is a horrifying reality. They don’t really get along but it’s more of a rival kind of thing. Both of them are smart and good looking but it pretty much ends there. Also, I can guarantee that having to deal with them being in the same room right after chilling out makes every hair on your body stand up. Half the time your expecting thunder to strike!

For one, Sasuke and Neji have massively different senses of humor. Sasuke has a tendency to be kind of mocking whereas Neji acts like a know it all. Sasuke will act like a jerk when he’s pissed and Neji just kind of looks annoyed and ignores you. They’re both from weird families and require a bit of ‘savoir-faire’ to deal with. Sasuke because he’s cheeky and Neji because he’s kind of hard to second guess.

Basically, you have to come into class while keeping mind that both of those two, their explosively different moods and ways of thinking, will be present. Technically, they make for an un-safe learning environment.

Chemistry isn’t a bad subject but it requires a certain amount of your attention when it’s being taught. The problem with that is that I’m too busy watching Neji and Sasuke try to out-scowl each other. It’s entertaining but just this side of scary too.

Sitting across from Sasuke and next to Neji affords me a great view of the scowling but also makes me realize that as amusing as it is, there is no way I’m going to survive sitting here if they don’t cut it out. Basically, I need to find a way to make it stop. I can’t help but laugh a bit when I also realize that saying that is equivalent to saying that I’m going to diffuse an atomic bomb. It’s an easy thing to say…not do.

Sitting back…I sigh and nudge Neji into helping me do some Chem. This works for about five minutes. Sighing, I know that I’m too tired to do anymore. Sitting back slightly, I glance around the classroom and remember the words I heard in a song before: ‘There’s no such thing as the real world...just a lie you’ve got to rise above’.

Struck by the fact that these two aren’t going to give it a break, I quietly pull out my sketchbook and start to draw them.

Sasuke, all dark hair and dark eyes, set mouth and slight frown.

Neji is long dark brown hair, clear, almost flashing eyes, pursed mouth and slightly knit brow.

They both manage to look equally irritated while having different expressions. I shade both their hair and am so absorbed in what I’m doing that when they finally do stop trying to out do each other, I don’t even notice. Signing my name absently in the corner, I glance up and come face to face with two equally curious looks.

Grinning, I tuck my sketchbook away and try not to laugh at their expressions too much, especially since I don’t fancy the idea of scowling at me.

~!@!~

{Naruto/English}

~!@!~

-Weltschmerz-: sorrow or sadness resulting from a cynical view of the world.

I’m pretty sure I must have mentioned before how my English teacher thinks I make about as much sense as a Martian when I write anything. Writing, like anything else, is a form of expression that people can read and chose whether to enjoy or dislike. That’s the point of free-expression right? Why is it then, that no matter what I write, she can’t be happy with it?

~!@!~



I however, belonged nowhere and was an outcast to all.

Tonight, I am no more expectant than necessary. I’ve been searching for another to make like myself; a companion that I would have, literally, forever. This place was the same as any other. It had people, the things I now feed on regularly and it had their things: alcohol, dance, and provided their own mortal dose of dark.

Standing just inside the doorway, I peer in and allow them to see me the way I see them. To the eyes of those who notice me, I am tall, blond and blue eyed, with a face and body that seem ageless, more so because they truly are. To them, I look like a model. I fit into their idea of beauty and it pleases me to know this. It makes what I am here to do that much easier.
I descend the steps slowly, pausing to take in the atmosphere and trying to decide if I’d rather make a scene on the dance floor or quietly scan the crowd for myself by taking a seat at the bar. Simply put, I’m trying to decide if I’d rather hunt or be the hunted.

The latter seems more appealing since I am new to both this city and to this scene. Even I need time to make myself familiar to things I have yet to understand.

I stride confidently to the bar and seat myself with my back to the floor and smile languidly, knowingly, when I feel the many pairs of eyes from all over the room watching me. Attracting attention is the easy part, filtering out those that have potential from those that do not is the hard part.

Before I start to scan he crowd a second time, a young man sitting nearby catches my attention.

He’s dark haired and pale skinned. It’s been a long time since I noticed a beauty that could rival my unnatural kind.

Approaching him, I offer a smile, “You look troubled”

The young man, older then I am, I can tell, glances up and smiles wryly, “I have questions…and I’m still looking for answers”

I smile wider, seating myself at his side casually when I can feel as much as tell from his body language his immediate interest in me, “I haven’t got answers to your questions”

For a time, I watch him watch me.

Calmly, he looks away, “What kind of questions do you have answers to then?”

I stir his drink with a finger, a bailey on the rocks, and smile though he can’t see me, “Anything else you can think to ask”

He pauses and his mouth quirks at the side slightly, “Let me get this straight: I can ask you anything besides what I really want to ask, and you can answer?”

Smiling indulgently, I tap the end of his nose, “Exactly”

He suddenly looks indecisive. All the classic signs I have come to recognize as human nervousness are present. I can see it in the way he frowns, his mouth half parted in question and his mentally indrawn thoughts. Knowing this and seeing the doubt, I still pause and wait. If this is the person I’ve been waiting for since my rebirth then he would not disappoint me. I wasn’t about to influence his thoughts either; telepathy is a gift not a tool for manipulation.

Besides, to attempt to reassure him would only confuse him further. I needed him to come to me.

I stand abruptly, my half-mate and master calling faintly to me thru our telepathic bond. I smile at him apologetically, “I have got to get going, Sasuke, but I’m sure you’ll find me when you decide”

Sasuke doesn’t look surprised; more amused then anything. I think he understands the game well enough…I wink at him and make my way of the club.

All others are ignored now; I found what I wanted.

Outside, the shocking cold does nothing to my tan skin. Even in a light pair of loose pants and wearing a blue button down shirt to match my eyes, the wind only slides over me. More like a chilly caress then a biting gust. The source of my need to leave Sasuke is leaning on the wall of another of these nightclubs. Dressed in silver to match his eyes, Neji makes his presence known.

The few mortals in the street are drawn in by the smile in his eyes and his fluidity. Grinning, I wait for him. Walking across to me, he loops his arm loosely and mine and glances at me, “Why must you play these games with them?”

I laugh, the entirety of my being at ease with this man, “For fun…it does them no harm”

Neji smirks, “You like that one”

I snuggle closer to him and his jacket, content to not answer seriously and play at being cold, “Maybe I do…maybe I don’t”

Neji doesn’t answer. He knows me well enough to know all the answers to my questions anyway>

Haku starts laughing at the look on my face and snatches back the papers before I can rip them to shreds. Honestly, I am trying to write a Haiku for English and this one is busily writing crap. Another thing, it wouldn’t even bother me so much if he didn’t write using real people. I mean, anyone could be reading that stuff on the net!

I probably neglected to mention this, but Haku likes to write stuff on the Internet. On the net, he goes by the alias ‘White-Rose’ and writes all kinds of smutty stuff. He’s been at it since back when we were in grade nine. And believe me, the stuff he writes even gives me nosebleeds. I even once accused him that they were pornographic in nature.

Shika, ever the ‘avocatus diaboli’ (a.k.a. a critic that picks flaws to provoke argument) argued that if Haku had done such things in real life then I was not only accusing his writing, but I was also accusing his relations with his boyfriend as being ‘pornographic in nature’. Therefore, I’m the one who should grow up and discover the real difference between smut and real life, or so Shika says.

Does anyone else have friends who actively practice being pains in the ass?

That being 100% beside the point, I still had to write a Haiku. Everyone else seems to be finished except for me. How come a guy who draws like I do can’t write three lines of poetry worth cotton? Haku writes like it’s actually an easy thing to do!

Absently, I scratch my head and decide that there has to be a less painful way of getting this done. Shikamaru seems equally annoyed but talking to him when he’s got that look on his face royally spells trouble.

Neji also seems finished but I think he handed his in anyway, so no help there.
In the end, I don’t write a Haiku. If I had, it just would’ve been another thing for my English teacher to complain about. As it was, I was doing her a favor.
~!@!~

{Naruto/After School}

-Aequo animo-: with even mind/calmly, being levelheaded, basically. A funny thing about being even-minded is that it’s actually very hard. Take Sasuke for example. The guy is a rock. A cute rock, but still a rock, personality wise. There’s emotion buried in there somewhere but I haven’t got the energy, time or access to a nuclear energy power plant. About the plant? Well, those things are supposed to generate enough heat, ergo, it could melt the ice around Sasuke’s heart and possibly bring some life into that stoic guy…if the thing hasn’t already stopped beating. Someone like me doesn’t stand a chance in hell of staying cool when faced with Sasuke. He just pisses the crap out me and sits back to watch me systematically drive myself up the wall with frustration and general pissy-ness. I can’t stay level headed because that would mean not getting emotional and I don’t think that’s entirely possible for someone like me.

Therefore, sitting in a car with Sasuke is really a nerve racking experience. He doesn’t talk and he does everything with a quiet precision that makes me tense up and not want to disturb the silence. He seems to be in a better mood then this morning but I don’t hazard any conversation. Trying to quietly shift, I try to cross my legs but freeze when the leather creaks.

Sasuke glances over at me sideways, “Can’t you still for more then a minute?”

I was going to retort cheekily but when I look at him, he’s already turned his eyes back to the road and has a slight smile on his face.

I turn to stare out the window… Sasuke was teasing?

Somehow, I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the concept. Sasuke can be funny, but it’s always the sarcastic kind and he can be nice, but it’s usually with strings attached. In a mouthful, Sasuke is a lot of things but a tease isn’t normally one of them. I don’t get it and I don’t think that frowning at my reflection in the window is going to help.

Shifting again and ignoring the irritating way the leather creaks again, I decide that I can’t take another minute of quiet, “Where’s your place anyway?”

Next to me, Sasuke answers absently, “It’s not far, just sit tight”

I sigh exaggeratedly and wait for something else to cross my mind. I finger my book bag strap absently, “Do your parents know your having me over?”

Sasuke’s mood goes from safely contained and chilled out to tense and ready to snap. Observing this not-so-subtle change, I can tell that I said something that I shouldn’t have. Sasuke suddenly relaxes and only starts to drive a little faster. Now, you’d think that him not exploding would be safer, right? Not! The guy rounds corners like an Indy500 racer. I can remember having been lectured about the importance of safe driving, probably by Haku, and I swear that sudden 90 degree turns aren’t safe or allowed.
Thankfully, the race is over as fast as it started and Sasuke pulls into the underground garage of this massive, expensive looking high-rise apartment building. I also note the fact that we’re in downtown Boston and nowhere near my place. I don’t know what bus to take back and there is no way that I’m letting Speed-Demon Sasuke drive me back.

Sighing, I climb out of the car and Sasuke leads me to the elevator, which by the way, is nicer then any elevator I’ve been in. Overdone for sure, but nice. We stay in the elevator almost three or four minutes, which I counted in my head, before the elevator stops on the 50th floor a.k.a. the top. Sasuke walks out into the hall and pauses to wait for me. I hesitate to follow but I can’t explain why.

Sasuke seems a bit nervous. Not obviously but he keeps waiting for me to catch up to him and looks me right in the eyes before resuming our trek down the forty foot hallway. By the time he’s done it for the third time, I can’t help but try and smile reassuringly for him. I can’t imagine what’s making him act all unsure but I’m not going to add to it by openly showing him how nervous I happen to be.

The large oak door that we stop in front of looks more like the door into a castle then to an apartment. The heavy wood shines the color of dark honey in the special lighting of the hallway. Sasuke pauses to punch the numbers to the security pad next to the door and it pops open. We both kind of stand there before Sasuke seems to make his mind up about something and pushes the door open confidently, “Aniki, I’m home”

Aniki?

The dying rays of sun light up the inside of the apartment and the walls glow bright orange. The tiles at the front door are alternately jade green and black. It also looks like they are marble. Stepping over them cautiously, I pull off my sneakers and place them next to Sasuke’s.

The prince of darkness takes my jacket and hangs it up with his before walking down the hall, “C’mon”

I watch his retreating back for a minute before quickly catching up. We walk thru a spacious living room where two of its four walls are entirely glass windows. The furniture is really old fashioned and almost antique. A red carpet and black and white photos top off the look.

We keep walking and Sasuke turns into another corridor. This one is painted light yellow and reflects the rays of the sun nicely. I glance off to my right and am a bit shocked when I finally get a look at the view. You can see clear down to the street bellow!

I gulp and take a hold of Sasuke’s shirttail. If he noticed, he didn’t let me know. We walk into a spacious kitchen the color of gingerbread cookies. The first thing I notice is that everything is in black. The fridge, toaster, everything! The only thing that is out of the ordinary is a wall clock that looks like an oversized English pocket watch hanging above the fridge.
It takes a minute to notice that Sasuke isn’t moving anymore. Gingerly, I let go of his shirt and peer around him at the person I hadn’t previously noticed sitting at the island-like table in the center of the kitchen.

Uchiha Itachi isn’t a very photogenic guy and there are few pictures of him anywhere. I don’t think that there is a photographer that would have been able to take his picture and really capture what he looked like, I realized, looking at him now.

He looks vaguely like Sasuke, in an older way, and has a set of dazzling deep-red eyes. His hair is also way longer. Presently, he’s leaning on the counter top and watching us. His nails are painted a dark mauve and he’s slowly swirling the contents of a black mug with the right hand. He’s wearing a red top that is so long, it almost reaches his knees with a studded belt overtop but I tell he’s wearing black capris underneath too. He slowly slides off the stool with a fluidity more like that of a panther’s then a man’s and walks towards us slowly, his bare feet not even making the barest hint of sound on the ceramic tiles.

Sasuke pulls me more to the front and Itachi comes to stop in front of me. His eyes slide over my face with an inquisitiveness that makes my skin prickle a bit.

Not enjoying the silence, I smile as much as I can without looking uneasy, “Uh…nice to meet you. I’m Uzumaki Naruto”

Itachi cocks his head to one side and continues to study my face, “Uchiha Itachi. Are you a friend or an acquaintance of my little brother’s?”

Sasuke interrupts, “A friend”

Itachi looks a bit unconvinced but he only laughs lightly, the sound rippling over everything in the room, “Since when do you bother with friends, little brother?”

Sasuke shrugs off the comment and takes the mug out of Itachi’s hands. He wanders a bit away from us and sips at the contents of the mug before making a grimace, “It’s cold, Aniki. It’s called hot chocolate for a reason”

Itachi’s eyes are still on me, but he replies Sasuke half-mockingly, “It got cold…and it wasn’t yours to drink in the first place”

Sasuke snorts softly and dumps the chocolate milk in the sink before turning back to me, “Naruto, go down the hall and go into the room at the end on the left. I have to talk to my brother”

Nodding, a bit numb under Itachi’s curiously mesmerizing gaze, I nod again before heading down the indicated hallway.

Now that I’m on my own, I relax a bit. And here I was thinking that Sasuke was the only human Ice creature alive! I’ve read newspaper articles, magazine critiques and seen Itachi’s art, but talking about the guy isn’t the same as meeting him! I never would’ve though that he was that good looking either. I know Sasuke’s real easy on the eyes, but still!

Shaking my head to try and shake out the fog induced by starring into Itachi’s eyes too long, I wander slowly down the hall to the last room. The doors around here are all the same as the front door and look imposing in a totally see-don’t-touch way that makes me hesitate to go in. I’m pretty sure that this is Sasuke’s room but I just can’t find an excuse to go in. Anyway, I can’t wait for Sasuke even if I wanted to; he’s the one who said to wait in there. Sighing a bit, I put my hand on the smooth gold colored doorknob and push the heavy door open. It’s dark inside and I fumble a bit for the light switch.

If I though that Sasuke’s place was extravagant before then I didn’t know what to think of it now. His bed is about four times bigger then mine and is pilled on with what looks to be at least seven or eight dark blue pillows. The sheets are also dark blue but the massive comforter rolled up at the base of the bed is snow white and probably the lightest thing in the room. There are five ceiling high windows, all shutting out the evening sunlight with dark blue velvet curtains. The carpet is black and the walk in closet is painted a shocking bright red. There’s a mirror hanging across the wall from the bed and it’s also ceiling high.

Curious, I step into the room itself and the heavy door shuts silently behind me. Shrugging off my backpack, I look around for a decent place to put it down. I feel like I shouldn’t be able to touch anything. It was making me more and more nervous because I’ve never been in a place like this. What the hell was I doing here anyway? It’s not like Sasuke would’ve really needed my help for real. He’s perfectly smart enough to have done it on his own and said I’d helped and besides, I can remember times we’ve had to work together in the past and that’s exactly what we did then.

When I decide to turn around and go look for Sasuke again, he walks right in on me. He looks relieved and not the least bit suspicious of the deer-in-headlights look I’m sure I must be giving him, “C’mon, we’re going to use my brother’s computer”

Are you freaking serious? I just un-fogged my brain and you want me to go back there and get all nervous and tongue-tied again? Are you freakin’ insane? But of course, I didn’t say that since my seemingly acquiescent “Sure” doesn’t quite communicate my true feelings.

Sasuke heads out into the hall and waits for me to follow before turning the light off and leading me to the room right across the hall from his. The only difference is that I know this is Itachi’s room.

Sasuke opens it cautiously and peeks in before motioning for me to follow. This room is almost the same as Sasuke’s except for the fact that everything is bloody red. Gives me the chills to tell the truth. There is a heavy wooden desk in a corner with probably the nicest computer I’ve ever seen in my life and Sasuke switches it on before grabbing a second chair and settling himself in the first.

Glancing up at me, Sasuke motions me over.
Just when I think I’m finally going to settle back into my skin, Itachi comes prowling in. (Literally, I’m not joking, the guy is like a cat.) He stands in the doorway for a minute before coming in and shutting the door silently. Did I mention before how everything around here makes zero sound? And for someone like me, who routinely, makes noise like crazy, forcibly restraining myself to polite conversation was kinda making me a bit crazy.

Thankfully, Sasuke starts talking to me: “So, what’re we doing this article on?”

Blinking, I scratch the back on my head, “A fire?”

Sasuke thinks on it before shaking his head.

“Someone drowning?”

Again, Sasuke shakes his head.

Now I really dunno what to say: “A murder?”

Itachi quietly chuckles and we both look up. He’s standing off to our right a bit and painting languidly with a generous amount of dark green paint, “Why such morbid topics, Naruto?”

I blink and don’t answer.

Sasuke smiles a bit, “A murder sounds fine”

Itachi hums his approval; “Uncongenial is always a good way to go”

What is with these two? “Tell me were not actually going to do it on a murder…”

Sasuke shrugs and logs onto his Internet, “Why not?”

I make a face in response and Sasuke smirks.

Itachi pauses, green brush tipped in fresh blue paint, above his canvas thoughtfully, “Naruto, come here a moment”

Sasuke glances up sharply and looks at Itachi warningly.
Itachi, for his part, only smiles brazenly.

Watching their exchanged looks and not really understanding, I get up anyway and head over to Itachi. He adds the bit of blue paint and motions me around to where I can take a look.

At first glace, it look like a zillion dark colors blended together. At second and third glace, I can say that it still makes about as much sense as when I first looked. Questioningly, I look up at Itachi.

He’s also looking at the painting. Out of habit (I’m guessing) he toys with the piercing in his tongue (the one I didn’t notice before now) and inclines his head slightly towards me, “What does this look like to you?”
I hesitate to answer since I don’t really know. Sasuke’s also is waiting to see where this is going so I reluctantly admit that I haven’t got a clue.

Itachi laughs that same rippling laugh, the one that makes every hair on my body stand up, and slowly puts his paints down on the high table next to the canvas. Turning back to me, he holds up two fingers. One has a ring, but I don’t look too much at it. Instead, I focus on his face.

He smiles very slightly, “There are two kinds of art, Naruto: the kind that you do to please others and the kind you do to please yourself”

I nod; makes sense.

Itachi watches me acknowledge that and continues, “The same applies to everything else you might do. No matter what you decide to invest time in, there will be ways of doing it to please others and there will be ways of doing it that will please you personally. Whatever topic you may chose to do your assignment on…as long as you write it carefully, you can even make others see the appeal of your subject. Manipulating your words, much like you can do with your actions can influence others into seeing what it is you see. Understand?”

I nod again; amazed at the truth in the statement.

Itachi toys absently with the ring on his hand and continues, “Because of that, you should feel at ease with choosing whatever topic may come to mind and write about it simply because you should know that they are only words chosen for the purpose of communicating to others your ideals…when you are sure of yourself, others won’t question you”

Sasuke appears next to me and I jump. Glaring mildly at Itachi, he yanks on my sweater, “I’m done…let’s go”

Itachi seems amused by the uncomfortable tension in the air. Presently, I realize that it’s between them. Seeing this, I offer up no protest when Sasuke half drags me back across the hall and into his room. Itachi smiles amusedly and turns back to his canvas.

Sasuke slams his door shut and, scowling, he drops his jacket on the floor and goes to sit on his bed. I pick up said discarded jacket and fold it over the back of a nearby chair.

Putting my bag down, I wander over to a window and pull the curtains aside a bit.

What’s wrong with Sasuke? How come him and his brother don’t get along? Where are the grown ups? I have a zillion questions and no answers…

Chancing some conversation, I slowly come to a stop near Sasuke’s bed and seat myself at the foot of it, “You okay?”

Sasuke, previously shuffling thru the papers he’d printed, glanced up long enough to give me a look.

Herm…guess not.

Trying again, I shift and lean on the bed, “What just happened? I mean, you’re all pissed off already and I haven’t done anything stupid yet”

Sasuke smirks very slightly and shrugs, “Nothing’s wrong”

I grin, “You’re a crap liar”

Sasuke shrugs again.

“Well, you and Itachi seem kinda…not cool with each other, you know?”

Sasuke stiffens, “What does it matter?”

I shrug, trying to play it cool, “Well, you know, I was an orphan for a long time. I think it’d be cool to have a big brother…”

Sasuke laughs, a slightly bitter sound, “A brother isn’t that much fun. Itachi’s reckless…he’s not much of a brother anyway”

“Reckless? How?”

Sasuke looks up sharply, dark blue hair falling into his eyes, “You asked about my parents, right? They died in a car accident…”

I stay silent.

Sasuke looks away and continues, oddly calm, “Itachi was driving, and he’s so perfect, so he’s not supposed to crash, isn’t he? He’s not supposed to be the only one to come out of the accident alive, right? And he’s not supposed to come home after getting checked at the hospital and say nothing to me, right? Or wait till the funeral place called to confirm the arrangements he’d made, wouldn’t you think?”

Chills run up my spine. Sasuke can’t be serious, can he? Would Itachi really do these things?

Sasuke taps his pen thoughtfully against his notepad, “Can you imagine learning of your parents being dead almost a week after it had actually happened? And your big brother, who you used to love and look up to, was responsible for not only not telling you but letting it happen in the first place?”

I twist my hands in my lap and shake my head.

Sasuke’s eyes narrow dangerously as he continues, “And he thinks he’s such a know it all; everyone thinks he’s so smart. How come he had an accident then? He’s incapable of making mistakes like that…Then, you get the impression he did it on purpose and since he’s so unaffected by it and the chain of events it led to, you figure there’s something wrong with him. Then you realize, that it’s just the way he is…somehow, he changed before you could notice and what’s left in his place is this person you hardly recognize. Still, you call him your brother and go out in public with him and act like he’s not different when he’s actually a whole other person”

I pale visibly when Sasuke looks at me sharply, “But we’re not doing our Spanish project on that, are we?

That totally slammed shut the open-for-discussion part of this one sided conversation, but I’ve never known when to let something drop…besides, I might even be a bit of a masochist.

“You really think it’s his fault?” I say timidly.

Sasuke sighs, “You wouldn’t understand”

Now I’m annoyed. How can he say that? If I don’t understand the whole point was to talk to me and make me understand.

Scowling myself, I retort, “Then explain it, Dracula!”

Sasuke pauses long enough to give me a measured look.

I shrug and grin to ease off a bit of the tension.

Sasuke hands me a notepad, “Maybe when we’re done”

I stick my tongue out at him, “Might as well tell me that topic is closed”

Sasuke smirks, “When did you suddenly get so disrespectful?”

I grin again, “I was always disrespectful. You never hung around me long enough to find out for yourself”

Content with that, I look down at the papers he’d given me and started to work. He’s not the only one who could play this game. Sasuke snorts and goes back to work too. Anyway, it was worth a try. At least I didn’t totally loose my temper.

~!@!~

I finally got sick of working and nagged Sasuke into making me something to eat, which he grudgingly agreed to do if I promised to stop prodding into his personal life. Of course, I smiled and said I’d stop, but he should know better then to trust a guy who is as curious as I can be.

We go to the kitchen and I sit on the counter, watching with mild fascination as Sasuke moves around a kitchen almost three times the size of my bedroom. Suddenly, a buzzer in the kitchen goes off and Sasuke pauses to look at it. Pressing the red button, he goes back to preparing a light diner.

I’m guessing that someone is coming up and my suspicion in confirmed when the doorbell rings a few minutes later.

Sasuke sighs, “You want to go open the door?”

Nodding, I totter off down the hall and carefully open the door.

How shocked would you be if one of your best friends were standing there?

Haku smiles lightly at me, not at all surprised to see me here and walks in, “Ohiyo”

I stare at him for a minute before I finally understand that Haku is actually, physically, here.

Sasuke wanders into the hall and Haku greets him, “Hi, Sasuke-San”

Sasuke, for his part, nods politely and goes back to the kitchen.

Finally, I react, “WHAT are you doing here?!”

Haku grins, “I teach Sasuke how to cook twice a week, I’m sure I mentioned something about this before”

I grin and punch his arm lightly, “I would’ve remembered if you had!”

Haku smiles slightly, “I’m actually here to pick you up”

I blink at him stupidly.

Haku laughs, “Sasuke called me earlier and cancelled his lesson today because you’d be coming over. He also said that it would be helpful if I could come pick you up”

Still blinking stupidly, Haku ushers me back into the kitchen where Sasuke managed to make small pita bread sandwiches. He sets plate in front of me and gives me a Pepsi.

He then sits back and watches me, half daring and half waiting to see if I’ll eat them.

Haku, seeing this, laughs and takes one off my plate.

I settle down and eat them. Surprisingly, they are actually pretty good. However, I’m not about to tell Sasuke that. While I finish eating, something occurs to me, “Why’re you taking cooking at school then?”

Sasuke shrugs, “Easy credit”

I pull a face and laugh a bit. I should’ve known…

Haku sits up suddenly, like he remembered something and turns to me, “Neji asked me to tell you to call him”

I stare at Haku for a minute and grin, “Really? When did you see him?”

Haku shrugs, “He was still at school when I was leaving”

Sasuke stands abruptly and walks off in the direction of his room. Haku and I share a look before Haku motions for me to go after him. Rolling my eyes, I put my plate in the sink and head down the now quite dark hallway.

Sasuke is packing up my stuff when I finally dare to creep into his room. He doesn’t look up when I sit on the edge of his bed and doesn’t speak to me as I continue to sit there.

“Ano…we never do get along, do we?” I’m only half asking him. I know the answer for myself.

Sasuke pauses, shakes his head and goes on, ignoring me.

Suddenly annoyed, I flop back on his bed and scowl at the ceiling, “You know, I really hate when you do that”

I can’t see Sasuke, but I feel it when he moves closer to where I am. Somewhere off to my left, I hear him, still ruffling papers as he moves a bit closer, “Do what?”

I can tell he’s mocking me. Growling, I cross my arms over my chest, “You don’t even like me, why’re you getting so pissed off all of a sudden? What the hell is wrong with you anyway?”

Sasuke stops and I hear him drop my bag onto the floor. Something about the way everything goes deathly silent makes my skin crawl. Right when I’m about to sit up, Sasuke leans over me like a shadow.

When I say the guy is gorgeous, I’m not lying. His hair is falling into his face and his eyes look set and more then determined. His mouth is curved up in a decidedly wicked smirk and he’s looking at me like I’m dessert. This would be very flattering if it didn’t make me feel like Dracula’s latest victim.

Sasuke leans over me and places his hands on either side of my head. I feel the bed dip near my hip as Sasuke sits next to me. I get that feeling of dj vu except that this time, I feel like a caged animal being offered for sacrifice. Neji isn’t threatening to me, because he’s gentle. Sasuke is very unpredictable and I don’t even know if gentle is in his vocabulary.

Sasuke’s eyes trace the curve of my face and mouth. I know that look because I know it’s the look I have on my face when I draw, studying the features of something and imprinting them to memory. He leans further over me and I finally get some sense and press a hand to his chest, more or less stopping him.

Firmly in my opinion, despite the fact that I’m shaking a bit, I look Sasuke in the eyes, “What are you doing?”

Sasuke smirks and leans down on one elbow, letting his hand cup the back of my head and tilt my face up a bit. This also brings our faces a lot closer.

He’s not answering me and I feel myself wanting to panic.

Swallowing nervously, I open my mouth to say something else when Sasuke practically crushes his mouth to mine. I’ve never been kissed like this. It’s not horrible but it’s nowhere near gentle. His mouth moves over mine with a possessiveness that surprises me and it takes me a moment to realize that this is getting out of hand. Another hint to encourage the fact that this was indeed getting out of hand was Sasuke’s tongue in my mouth.

I know I should be protesting but Sasuke’s kissing me like he’s not about to let me go. I tell you my body is turning to jelly even…

The only reason the kiss stops at all is because Sasuke stops it. There is no way I was going to be able to stop him. It’s not like I hadn’t wanted to but I felt honestly powerless. I didn’t think it was helping that I was also a bit scared of him because of the rather rough childhood we had together.

Gathering my wits, and my breath, I glare mildly at him, “You know…this is getting to be borderline rape”

Sasuke almost looks like he wants to laugh. Instead, he leans over and bites my neck. This sends sufficient shudders thru my body to render me incapable of complaining anymore.

He smiles at the way I relax suddenly because I very well can’t help myself and finally answers me, “It’s not rape, Usuratontachi, if you let me”

I’d be mad but my body still feels like jell-o. However, I am determined not to let him have the last laugh, “I practically have a boyfriend, you know”

Sasuke looks unfazed, “Hyuga? Does that count?”

I star to feel my basic motor functions coming back and I am also aware of the fact that I’m starting to get mad, “You know what? You can fight with Neji all you want but I’m not some kind of war trophy. If you wanna piss Neji off by trying to get into my pants, I’d sooner kiss Sakura then let that happen!”

Sasuke still looks smugly amused and somehow I find that disconcerting.

Was I wrong?

Sasuke finally has the grace to set me straight an prove that I’m not entirely wrong, “For one, Hyuga isn’t exactly a real challenge…I could get into your pants without trying much. Second, you aren’t a war trophy and third, you’d never kiss Sakura”

I tell you this guy is infuriating…

The sudden knock on the door makes me jump out of my skin. Sasuke lazily lets me sit up not seeming the least bit alarmed that someone was right behind the door. In a hurry to not only get out of here but also grab my stuff, I don’t notice Itachi handing me my orange notebook until it’s right under my nose.

Alarmed, I yelp and fall back into Sasuke who somehow managed to sneak up behind me. Sasuke calmly takes the notebook from Itachi, “Something you needed, Aniki?”

Itachi smirks the same Sasuke does and he looks way too amused, “Haku is wondering what’s taking so long”

Sasuke shrugs, “We’ll be there soon”

Itachi turns away and throws another knowing look over his shoulder as he leaves, “Be quick would you?”

Thankfully, he leaves the door open.

Still kind of panicky, I gingerly take my notebook from Sasuke and shove it into my bag. Sasuke sighs, sounding annoyed but doesn’t hassle me anymore. He escorts me back to where Haku is waiting at the front door and acts like nothing ever happened when Haku fusses over the fact that I look like I’ve been taking drugs. Basically meaning that I was really jittery.

Itachi pops up to say a creepily cheerful goodbye and says I should visit again since Sasuke hasn’t got my friends. Sasuke himself says a quiet goodbye, his cool-as-ice personae back in full effect. Haku confirms that he’ll be back on Friday and whisks me out of the apartment and into the elevator.

~!@!~

“Are you alright?”

Haku sounds more then worried but I can’t bring myself to say anything other then, “Yeah, fine”

Haku glances at me in the rear view mirror and smiles slightly at the way I’m curled up in the backseat.

Half asleep and finally calm again; I try to sort out a few things. For one, wasn’t Sasuke a certified heterosexual? Don’t get me wrong, the guy has had girlfriends…probably more then a guy should be allowed to have, but there were some things about him that I might have overlooked before. Like the fact that he’s a perfect dresser, immaculate even, and is good at too many things to take into account. Plus, he wears cologne not deodorant. I wonder why I it never occurred to that he might be…bisexual at least. Another concept that I can’t seem to wrap my mind around.

On the other hand, I never would’ve thought Neji could return my affections. However, he said so himself that it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d been a girl or a boy.

Now though, I think there are going to be real problems. I would never peg Neji as the jealous type but there was no way I was going to let Sasuke ruin anything. Technically, I didn’t have any control in the situation especially since Sasuke is like one of those unknown variables in an equation. You can figure them out but it takes time. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time. Sasuke doesn’t seem the least bit threatened by the idea that I’m already attached and I haven’t got a clue how Neji will react if the finds out.

If being the key word.

Crap.

Snuggling into the pillow Haku left in the car, I come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is ignore Sasuke and not let Neji find out about what happened tonight. If I could do that, then I’d be fine.

Again, if is the million dollar question…

Why me?

~!@!~

TBC...