Zero Hour!

(A:N) AH!!!! I got so many reviews! OMG you guys really liked the whole chapter bit! Thank you all of you…and welcome to chapter 5 of Zero Hour! This is going to be long, so sit tight!


Chapter V
Conspire


((Flashback))

The air outside the school on the football field was cool and fresh. A few people were jogging on the track while a group of shirtless guys were getting in some exercise by playing a quick game of flag football. There weren’t many people outside today, and that’s exactly what he had been wanting. Most people were in the lunchroom feasting on whatever leftovers the lunch ladies could warm up. That’s exactly what he had been hoping for, his plan was sealed and about to be completed.

The September wind blew swiftly through Gaara hair as he sat on the bleachers that looked onto the field. He was waiting for someone. He looked down at his wrist to catch the time, only to remember he’d left the broken time ticker in his locker a few hours ago. With a sigh he stood and made his way down to the area where the track connected with the turf of green imitation grass.

He looked from his left and then to his right as he crossed the field and walked through the middle of it. Luckily the football game had moved down to the right side, just as the red team was about to make a touchdown. He went unnoticed by both teams and ended up on the less than better half of the track. There he found a slightly oversized hole in the fence that led to the shack where all the equipment was kept, or had been a while back. This area was off limits to students now but everyone knew this was where all the potheads ducked out during classes they didn’t want to attend.

Gaara was no stoner, drug dealer, or alcoholic drinker. Nor was in he in the business of becoming any of those things. He was only here to conceal himself from the whispers of the student body and meet with someone who would without a doubt, help him touch the fame of god-like glory.

He stepped passed weeds and walked into brush that should have been chopped down from the way it was poking at his exposed skin. Moving a thin tree branch and then ducking under a thicker one, he found the little abandoned shack where he would make his offer and then wait and watch the entire school cower and grovel at his feet. It was just about time for his pay back, he only needed his snake to strike.

“You’re a dangerous man, Gaara.” Orochimaru hissed as he stepped out of the shadows and stood not too close to the redhead. Gaara didn’t say anything as a grin fixed to feed on his face. He knew he was dangerous, but he also knew he was playing with fire. Bargaining with Orochimaru was going to cost him much of his dignity and he was taking a very big chance by trying to piss off a few people.

“You could kill a few hearts with that grin. Sit.” Orochimaru chucked a small crate at Gaara. He caught it and placed it on the ground, sitting on the top of it, as the other did the same thing.

“Why have you called upon my assistance, Gaara? I’m almost sure you could get just about anything you want around this campus. Your popularity shot up pretty high while you got bitched by the Hyuuga.” Orochimaru let his peculiar tongue slide across his lips. Gaara twitched at the comment but he wasn’t here to start a fight with the reptile.

“There’s something I’m after.” Gaara closed his eyes and swallowed away the need to bark out a laugh. “We’re standing on the same stage.” He finished. Orochimaru raised a curious eyebrow and now was the first time he saw the manila envelope under Gaara’s arm. (The ones about the size of a sheet of paper, for sending documents without getting them bent.)

Gaara and Orochimaru had been a close enough to being friends while they both had dated a member of the ‘Dark Trio’ so they somewhat saw eye to eye. Gaara knew the other wanted Itachi back and Orochimaru knew Gaara wanted Neji back. Needless to say, Mr. ASB wasn’t having trouble picking up on the redhead’s plan.

“What do you want from me?” Orochimaru asked. It wasn’t to insist that he was actually going to give Gaara something, it was more of a way to say ‘I’m in, as long as it get my share.’ He rephrased his question. “Or, what do you need from me?” He smiled.

“Your popularity-“ He responded. “-of course.” Gaara cracked his eyelids open and peeked at the other. Orochimaru seemed to be trying to interrupt just what that meant. Gaara pulled the packet of whatever it was from under his arm and opened it. He pulled out the two Polaroids and then handed them to the ‘owner’ of the school.

“You saw the cell phone picture I’m sure.” He shifted. “Had those two pieces of filth not been brought to my attention then I would have thought someone was after a certain Hyuuga. However, my name has been written all over this deranged situation. It’s a shot in the dark but, I believe both me and Neji are being attacked here.”

Orochimaru’s jaw dropped as he looked at the pictures. He turned them sideways and then flipped them back over. He rolled his neck and then licked his lips, all the while staring pretty damn hard. Gaara growled to himself, he couldn’t stomach looking at them but apparently everyone else was enjoying what they saw. Gaara cleared his throat and Orochimaru snapped to attention. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and then turned back to Gaara.

“These were not taken at the same time. They even look like they’re months apart.” The older pushed some of his hair back. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this one-“ He held up the one that looked the oldest. “-was taken way before your little misfire episode.” He handed them back to Gaara. The boy took them and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. He had been thinking the very same thing.

“In which case I can see your need to get revenge but, shouldn’t we be trying to corner the pervert taking these things? You’re directing needless hate towards the victim and forgetting the assailant.”

“…” Gaara ignored him and handed him the entire envelope now. Orochimaru took it and started opening it.

“What’s all this?” Orochimaru pulled out a handful of papers, followed by some pictures and something else that made Orochimaru smiled. “You’re a devil among humans, Gaara.”

“While dating Neji it wasn’t unusual for me to break into his house so I could stay the night. It seems that breaking in after all this time wasn’t any different. I spent the better part of my morning in his room finding whatever I could use against him. Unbeknownst to the boy’s fans, he’s seeking psychiatric help. He seems to have an obsessions with brining his progress home.” Gaara froze a smile and nodded to the papers in Orochimaru’s hand.

“I’m afraid to ask what the rest of this is.” The older flipped through the papers.

“For whatever reason I’ve been paying close attention to that ex of yours for the last few months. Not on purpose of course, but I wanted to know where Neji was at all times so I followed Itachi around. Almost like clockwork, he went to the mall the same time everyday. He visited Neji instead of Neji coming over to his house where I’ve been staying. Only, once a week he disappears outside city limits to where I can’t follow anymore.” Gaara had been taking notes like crazy. “You do own a snake house of some sort don’t you?” Gaara added.

The other boy looked at him and then wondered to himself if Itachi had been following him. He did feel like he was being watched often but he always over looked it. He only drove out to Ridge Canon once a week to feed and tend to the giant farm of snakes he breaded.

“There’s no doubt that you want him back, but…he’s not going to just pick up and run along with your plea. He’ll deny he wants you until you drop dead, which isn’t something he wouldn’t mind seeing after what you did.” Gaara exhaled.

“Okay you little brat. I’m listening. Now what the hell do you want from me?” He was aggravated but he kept a little of his cool.

“I want all the pictures gone. Find them, delete them, burn them, start a new rumor. I don’t care. If Neji feels threatened then he’ll never want me again. I can’t have that.” He had anger in his eyes but it didn’t transfer over to his tone of voice.

“Is that all?”

“Meanwhile, I’ll be dating one younger Uchiha for my own fun in the matter. You’re going to have to pretend to have an interest in-”

“Am I late?” A tall lean guy walked behind the shed and sat down on a cart in between Orochimaru and Gaara. The redhead growled at his tardiness but they didn’t have time to waste, lunch was much too short.

“Momochi.”

“Orochimaru.”

There was like some unspoken dislike between the two guys. Gaara didn’t care; he needed them both for this to go smoothly. He could kill all three of those ‘Dark Trio’ birds with his one huge stone.

“All grudges aside, I need the two of you to work together. I’m not paying you to bicker at each other.” He took a deep breath and began again. “Hold off on going to your out of city house this week. I’ll need you to stop by Itachi’s and pick me up so I can move in with Naruto for awhile.”

“What’s wrong with you staying with the Uchiha?” Orochimaru asked, and handed the envelope over to Zabuza who was trying to play catch up.

“I would have told you if we weren’t interrupted.” He glared at Zabuza. “You’re going to need to pretend to have an interest in me. That’s shouldn’t be too hard for you, Orochimaru.” He smirked. “That said, Itachi probably won’t want me in the house.”

Zabuza tucked all the papers back in the folder type thing and handed them back to Orochimaru. “And my part?”

Gaara cracked a chuckle. “Keep Haku’s filthy hands of Neji.”

“Easier said than done.” Zabuza pointed out. “Those two are attached at the waist, literally.” He saw the face Gaara was making. ‘He’s losing it.’ The boy thought as he watched Gaara’s eyes bulge. “How am I supposed to go about this?” He scratched his head.

“Fuck him.” Orochimaru said bluntly. “Your job is to keep Haku off Neji. Well, fuck him.” Orochimaru laughed. Zabuza didn’t find it funny, he felt a bit like he’d been given the wrong roll.

“Why the hell would I even consider screwing the femi?” He shrugged and rested his elbow on his knee, pointing at Gaara. The younger just looked off elsewhere, trying to find a good explanation. He’d thought it was for obvious reasons but apparently the jock wasn’t catching onto anything.

“Haku likes you, and has for quite some time. Despite the feelings he has for Neji already, I do believe he would gladly give you a piece of him.” He smirked crookedly. “Given the fact that he’s no more of a saint than the both of you. If that’s not reason enough then there’s also the fact that you’ve had your eyes on him as well.” Gaara glared when Zabuza went to object.

“I don’t care what you do. Kidnap him. Kill him. Brainwash him. Just make sure he has no time to be with Neji.”

Zabuza grunted and leaned back against the shed with his hands behind his head. His job wasn’t so bad. At least he was going to be getting something out if it.

“When are we supposed to be starting all of this. I know you’re not expecting this to start today. That would make everything look suspicious.” Orochimaru pointed out. He looked a little excited about the events unfolding around them.

“Friday, at the game.” Gaara looked between the two of them. Orochimaru was plotting his own way to make this more fun for him and Zabuza looked like he was still having trouble figuring out how this was going to work. The football superstar stood up and stretched his long lean arms.

“This shouldn’t be too hard then, I’ll start tomorrow. Haku has four of my classes and I’m pretty sure he’ll be all too thrilled if I personally invite him to the game.” He grinned and threw a hand up as he walked away.

“Zabuza…” Gaara closed his eyes and called. The boy turned around, waiting to hear the rest. He slid sharp teeth over his lips and cracked his neck.

“I know what you’re planning-“ Gaara paused to open his eyes and release a dangerous look of evil. ”-I want it videotaped.” The words rolled out of Gaara’s mouth like liquid fire. This wasn’t the end of what he was planning. After humiliating everyone involved he was going to finish off everything by putting on a nice show for the public. Only then would he be able to rest properly.

-----

((Still Flashback portion))

Orochimaru and Gaara decided to split up and meet in the cafeteria to stir a little pre-game commotion. The older walked into the cafeteria and spotted a couple of his friends near the door, perfect. He walked over to them and stood with a grin on his face. He could see Itachi looking at him every so often.

“Where have you been? You look, happy?” Kimimaro was leaning up against the wall near the back door. He’d been having a conversation with Kabuto and Tayuya about some plans for something Orochimaru didn’t care about. The ASB president never responded as Itachi looked up at him again. He smiled and then turned away, stepping behind Kimimaro just as Neji turned around, missing him.

“Will you be making an appearance at the game this Friday? Or are you going out to the Canon for the quality time with your young?” Sakon chuckled, then stepped behind his brother when Orochimaru hissed at him.

“I took a trip out already this week. I can’t afford to miss the first game of the season, now could I?” Orochimaru heard the back door open. He looked to see Gaara, calmly walking in with no sort of expression on his face what-so-ever. Orochimaru was feeling quite lucky so he took a breath and walked the few steps that separated him and the other.

“Is he looking?” Orochimaru leaned over and whispered in Gaara’s ear. The boy slightly nodded, no one had seen that movement, but Orochimaru was close and felt such. His smile turned into a grin and he leaned further, touching Gaara’s cold cheek with his warm lips.

Everyone around them stopped moving. Orochimaru’s friends were stunned, Gaara was in his own shock, and Orochimaru himself was satisfied. On the other side of the room Neji was fuming and trying his best to stop himself from getting up to punch out the snake.

“I’m just getting started.” Orochimaru stood back and smiled. It wasn’t a sweet smile; it was more of a ‘Game Time!’ type thing. Gaara looked up at him as he gained his composure. He didn’t smile back. He looked towards Neji, then his table and walked off.

((End Flashback))

-----

((Present Day))

“You’re WHAT?!” Naruto was paceing back and forth in front of a statue of some old guy who founded the school. Gaara was sitting on one side of the statue with his legs dangling near the ground. Sasuke leaned against the other side with is hands in his pockets and Naruto continued to pace in front of them.

“Don’t play dumb, Naruto. He told you twice already.” Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes. Naruto was cherry red and it wasn’t because he was blushing.

“I just need you to run that by me one more time. I think I didn’t hear you right the first two times. Maybe I should clean out my ears more or something. I swear I just heard you-“ He pointed to Gaara. “-say that you and Sasuke are-“ He gulped. “-…dating.” He started shivering at the sound of that.

“You heard right.” Gaara sounded a little annoyed himself. Naruto stared at him, then looked at Sasuke as he stopped pacing. He squinted at Sasuke as if he was trying to figure out just what was going on.

“And you two decided this when?” He put his hands on his hips and leaned close like it was some sort of secret that was between the three of them.

“Last night-“ Gaara said. “-in bed.” He grinned horribly big when he saw Naruto’s mouth open in a silent gasp. His jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes went dizzy. He was really going to have to get his ears checked, because he was sure Gaara had said something about a bed.

“You guys are just yankin’ me.” Naruto stood next to Sasuke and playfully slapped him on the back while he laughed. “That’s a good one. You and Gaara dating. Wow, you almost got me there.” He wiped a tear from his eye.

“He’s not kidding around, Naruto.” Sasuke raised his voice and slammed Naruto into the brick of the statue. The blond stopped laughing and stared at him. He swallowed, Sasuke wasn’t joking around anymore. He looked up at Gaara.

“But you like Neji.” He turned to Sasuke. “And you’re-without belief-not gay.” He almost looked like he wanted to cry about the whole thing. Sasuke let him go and sighed, he couldn’t say anything until Gaara was ready to tell Naruto what was going on. Gaara jumped down and stood in front of Naruto. The blond gave him a look of disgust and turned away, pouting to himself.

“I need to move in with you for awhile.” Gaara said suddenly. Naruto snapped his head around and narrowed his eyes. He balled his fists, almost ready to give Gaara his second bloody nose of the week.

“After you pull a stunt like this?!?!?! Hell no!” He folded his arms and kept his eyes away from Sasuke.

“Say yes and I’ll tell you what’s going on.” Gaara said slowly. Sasuke stared at him, he wasn’t following the plan. They weren’t supposed to tell Naruto about anything. The blond thought about this for a second and then slid to the ground with his back against the stone.

“I guess that’s fine.” Naruto put his hand on forehead and shook his head. “Iruka’s gonna kill me.” He looked at Gaara. “So, spill it.” He said as Gaara sat crossed legged in front of him. “How dare you? He’s supposed to be mine.” Naruto whispered.

Gaara pushed Naruto away, since he had leaned close. “That’s not what you told me the other day, remember? You like Sakura anyway.” Gaara added a whisper.

“Well I’m admitting it now!” Naruto shouted. Sasuke looked over at them with curious eyes. Naruto clamped a hand over his mouth. He wasn’t going to let Sasuke know, now that he was ‘sleeping’ with someone else. Naruto wanted to growl.

“Sasuke and I aren’t even going out, for real.” Gaara said. Naruto looked from him to Sasuke and then back to him. Huh? Did he just hear that? First Gaara convinced him they were dating and now they weren’t? Just what the hell was that?

“He’s using me.” Sasuke said bluntly. He sat down so that they were all in a circle. “He’s also using a couple other people.” Sasuke leaned back on his hands. Naruto turned hateful eyes towards Gaara. Then in no time at all, pounced on the redhead, choking him.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that in the first place.” He accidentally slammed Gaara’s head against the concrete. “You made me believe that you two were almost fucking each other.” He growled at Gaara. The redhead pushed Naruto off him and narrowed his eyes.

“You have a big mouth Naruto.” Sasuke said. “You would have told Sakura and she would have told the entire school. There’s no point in doing this if Neji will know.”

Naruto sat back and sighed. At least it wasn’t true; at least he didn’t have to give up on Sasuke just yet. His heart slowed down and he began to talk again.

“So why are you telling me all this?”

“To give notice.” Gaara said. He hated explaining all this but he knew Naruto liked Sasuke and so he at least owed him that much.

“On what?” Naruto asked. He couldn’t take anymore surprises today. I was too early in the morning for him to be stressed out.

“PDA” Sasuke said. He also hated talking about this but he would kill himself before he let Naruto go on believing he was sexually involved with another guy, let alone Gaara. Naruto looked like he was at a loss for words. PDA? What in the hell did that mean?

“So let get this straight.” He shifted. “You two are not going out but you’re still gonna be kissing…and what not?” Naruto raised his eyebrow. Sasuke either didn’t know how to answer that or he didn’t want to. He stood up and dusted off his pants.

“I’m going to class.” Sasuke was tired of explaining things. “See ya, Naruto.”

The blond was about to say something but he bit his tongue when Sasuke kept walking. He wanted to say something, anything, maybe even tell Sasuke how he felt, but it was too late…Sasuke was gone.

“Some kind of friend you are.” Naruto glared at Gaara but the other just looked like he hadn’t been apart of the conversation at all. He sort of just looked around for awhile. There were only two more school days until the game the next day. If only things could unfold just a little bit faster.
-----

This morning…Neji wasn’t in a good mood. Someone had broken into his family’s mansion and trashed the place the day before. By the time he’d gotten home from his session with Jiraiya the maids were still cleaning up.

Even his room had been trashed. It wasn’t the worst looking room in the house but it was still not like he’d left it. If he hadn’t known any better he would have guessed Gaara, except for the fact that if it had been Gaara he wouldn’t have bothered to trample the entire house. Plus the front door had been kicked off the hinges. Gaara usually went through the window.

Neji had checked his room and found nothing important missing. He found that all his papers, whatever they were, had been scattered all over the floor-after they had a date with his shredder. Class work, notepads, and even books. He only assumed all his documents for his days with Jiraiya had been in the piles of streaming paper lines.

Having not been able to be pissed when he first got home, or the night that since he had to sleep in the guest room while his room’s carpet was being shampooed, Neji was using this particular morning to be upset. Having chewed off Haku’s head in the car for no reason, the frail boy sat as close to his door as he could. He didn’t bother talking to Neji as they made their way to the school, late.

“Are you staying after school today?” Haku asked as he exited the car and approached the sidewalk. By now the Hyuuga had cooled down some. He was still very annoyed but he pushed passed it. He knew it wasn’t Haku’s fault, so there was no point in blaming him or treating him like he was the cause.

“Yes.” Neji answered. “I won’t be able to give you a ride home.” He adjusted his binder under his arm. He was way too good for a backpack, he’d said on more than one occasion.

“I wasn’t going to ride with you anyway.” Haku said smiling. Neji looked at him and then turned his whole body around like he’d been offended by that.

“What?” Neji said slowly. As if he could handle anymore annoyances, here was Haku trying to piss him off further. He wanted some rest, that would be nice, he thought.

“You’re an asshole.” Haku said quickly. “I’m going to my own house where I can’t get the rough side of your attitude.” He clutched his books and gave Neji a slight goodbye kiss to the lips. “Later.” He cooed and ran off. Neji watched him walk towards the west building. Was he really acting like an asshole? Was he playing along with Gaara’s game? Was he letting the stupid redhead get to him? And if all that was true, was he even missing the boy?

-----

First period Pre Cal. Neji walked in late and didn’t bother going to the front of the class to alert the teacher. He walked to his seat and sat down as the teacher had his back to the class. Neji half wanted to go back home and sulk, but his room was still under construction and he’d be damned if he had to go stay in that God forsaken guest room again.

He was lost in some heavy thought when he heard the desk in front of him move back. Neji immediately narrowed his eyes when he saw Orochimaru turn around in his seat and grin at him.

“You look a little upset. Relationship troubles?” Orochimaru whispered and turned around as the teacher began talking. He turned to his previous position as the man went back to writing on the board.

“You’re bothersome.” Neji said quietly, trying to ignore him. Orochimaru looked taken aback by the Hyuuga’s comment. He tilted his head and threw on a confused look.

“Does that mean you’re backing out?” He asked. “After all those pictures went around campus you’d think that some kind of payback was in order. Do you plan on letting the little redhead win?” He kept checking over his shoulder to see if the teacher was looking.

“Why would I bother to be as conniving as you?” Neji said. “You seem to have taken an interest in the played party anyway. Seems to me that you’re after Gaara, not against him.” Neji closed his eyes. “You’re something of a sick nature.” He concluded.

“I’m not the one you need to be worried about.” Orochimaru said and turned around. “For as many enemies as that boy has, he’s got more friends.” He chuckled lightly. “You know where I’ll be.”

Neji leaned back in his chair. He didn’t need to get back at Gaara. He loved him still. Didn’t he? Hadn’t he come to that conclusion the day before? However, a certain someone had convinced him that the pictures were Gaara’s evil work because he was pissed about their growing relationship. Neji’s hands rattled as fists formed. Love or not, he wasn’t going to get played.

-----

“Oh Naruto. Won’t you go out with me?” Sakura read from the paper in her hands. “You are so hot.” It sounded bland and forced but Naruto didn’t seem to care. He struck a pose and put his arm around Sakura as she rolled her eyes.

“What are you two doing?” Sasuke asked as he looked at the pair. Gaara turned to look at them too but didn’t pay too much attention.

“Don’t be jealous that Sakura and I are going out now, Sasuke.” Naruto shouted into the lunchroom. Sasuke shook his head and turned around, he had more important things to worry about. Like the TWO kisses he was supposed to share with Gaara by the end of the day.

“Even if you were going out with her, I don’t care.” Sasuke said with no emotion in his tone. Gaara looked back to whatever he had been writing in his notebook. Both of them were completely ignoring everything Naruto was saying about being lucky and the hottest guy in school.

“It’s now or never.” Sasuke whispered. Gaara’s pencil popped and the lead broke off from the pressure he was emitting down on it. He turned just his eyes to Sasuke and stared. Naruto shuddered behind them as he let go of Sakura and she watched confusedly at the pair and what had been said.

Across the room Neji and Itachi had switched places so that Neji could be next to Haku and so Itachi didn’t have a direct shot to where Orochimaru sat. This only bothered Neji because he was now sitting in a spot where he could see everything Gaara was doing; and he was currently holding a pencil very tight being stared at, hard, by one Uchiha.

Neji glared at them, something wasn’t right he decided. He tried to keep his staring to a minimum but he felt drawn to watch whatever Gaara was doing.

“What’s wrong with you?” Haku asked, putting his hand on Neji’s thigh. “You’re all dazed and you look a bit angry.” The boy moved closer and put his arm around Neji’s waist. “I can fix that if you want me to-“

“Haku.”

They all looked behind the boy to see Zabuza hovering there. Haku smiled and let go of Neji to turn around.

“Hey, Zabuza.” He pushed out slowly. “What’s up?” He cleared his throat and started playing with his hair. Neji didn’t pay attention, he just turned back around and watched what had his mind burning.

“Could I talk to you for a minute?” It was the most convincing thing Zabuza could come up with but it worked fairly well since there was a blush trying to show all over Haku’s face.

“Sure.” He got up with a smile. “I’ll be back.” He ran his hand through Neji’s hair. The boy grunted a ‘whatever’ so Haku walked off with Zabuza, not leaving very much space between them.

Itachi was eating quietly as Neji finally looked away from the scene where Gaara and Sasuke were now talking. Neji noted that the younger Uchiha looked a little upset, but that was typical Sasuke attitude so he overlooked it. He was looking into nothing when he saw Itachi silently point to the other side of the cafeteria where Haku and Zabuza were standing.

Neji raised his eyebrow when he saw Zabuza put his hand on Haku’s face and slightly stroked his cheek. It pissed Neji off and he was about to stand when the arguing caught his ears. The looked back at Gaara and Sasuke.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Am I supposed to believe something like that?!” Gaara stood up and slammed his hands down on the table before he started to move away.

“Would you just calm down?” Sasuke said quietly. Gaara was making a scene and people were beginning to watch.

“There’s really no need to yell, Gaara. Sasuke’s right you know.” Naruto tried to put a reassuring hand on Gaara’s back but he slapped the hand away and stepped away from the table.

“So now this is all my fault? I’m spreading rumors about myself?” He growled and backed up. Sasuke stood up and moved Naruto out of the way.

“Nobody said that. Are you even listening to yourself? First you blame yourself then we agree with you and now you’re blaming us. Grow up! You don’t have very many friends left.” Sasuke shouted, which was very un-Sasuke like.

“Grow up? Grow up! Fine. Fuck you Sasuke. You never cared about me anyway.” Gaara turned around and started heading towards the back door. Naruto decided he was going to go after him but Sasuke stopped him and went himself. He grabbed Gaara’s arm and swung him around.

“Are you sure?” Sasuke said. He yanked Gaara back to him and slyly wrapped his arm around the other’s waist. Gaara’s eyes went big and he looked almost surprised. Sasuke grinned and leaned closer.

The audience they were entertaining watched wordlessly. All on the edge of their seats, they weren’t even talking among themselves. Everyone’s eyes were just as big as Gaara’s were. Haku was gasping while Zabuza smirked. Itachi was still chewing on something. Orochimaru tried to seem a little jealous while Naruto and Neji held the most shocked expressions of all. Both at a cross between pure hate and confusion.

Sasuke cursed himself for having to look so pathetic in front of the entire school. Gaara tired to pull away but Sasuke held tight.

“Where are you trying to go?” Sasuke put his hand on the side of Gaara’s face and leaned in. No matter how practiced this was, Sasuke and Gaara were shaking in each other arms. Sasuke put his forehead on Gaara’s and forced a smile.

Everything was still. No one moved, no one even breathed as they watched Sasuke tilt his head and ever so slowly capture Gaara lips in a searing kiss.

Naruto’s mouth dropped wide open. Neji’s eyebrows furrowed. Itachi glared. Orochimaru growled. Haku squeaked. Zabuza laughed. And the rest of the school cheered and whistled. It was like a romantic scene from a movie and they were enjoying it.

If either of he boys felt sick to their stomachs then it wasn’t noticeable. They didn’t even bother pulling away from each other. Sasuke ground his lips harder and Gaara finally closed his eyes to accept the connection, putting his hands on Sasuke chest to grab a hold of his shirt. Sasuke took a small step forward, sending Gaara a step back, they couldn’t afford to over do it so Gaara gave Sasuke a little shove and the boy broke their kiss.

They stared at each other for a second. Everything but the kiss had been rehearsed but now they had no idea what to do. They couldn’t just casually walk over to the table and neither one of them could leave the room. Naruto saw the awkwardness between them so he hurried over and put an arm around both of them, trying to play off his anger.

“Who would have thought Sasuke had a crush on you?!” Naruto laughed loudly. “This calls for a celebration! Everyone gets a carton of milk and it’s on me!” He joked and pulled the two back to the table. Apparently the rest of the room hadn’t come out of shock yet. They watched the three boys go back to the table and sit down. No one was without confusion.

Neji was shaking by now, in a way the indicated he was highly annoyed. So he did the only thing he could think of…he left. He stormed over to the front door and grabbed Haku away from Zabuza, practically dragging him out of the lunchroom.

-----

“Neji…”

The Hyuuga threw Haku against the lockers and held him there. He really did look aggravated and Haku was afraid to even say anything but it worked his nerves that Neji had gotten all upset that Gaara had kissed someone else when they weren’t even dating anymore. Neji didn’t even care that Haku had been flirting with Zabuza. That mad Haku angry, he hadn’t been able to get Neji’s attention and that was all he’d wanted.

Haku touched Neji’s chest lightly. “Calm down a little.” He pushed the strands of Neji’s bangs away from his eyes. “I told you he was no good.” Haku leaned up to try and get off the lockers but Neji slammed him back. The femi sighed decided to pull Neji closer instead. He nuzzled the boy and rubbed his cheek over Neji’s neck.

”He’s moved on.” Neji said absently. He was more talking to himself then Haku, who had moved his hands under Neji’s shirt and around his waist.

“That’s right, he moved on. Now why can’t you?” Haku kissed his cheek. “You deserve better than him. All he did was try to hurt you.” He kissed the boy’s chin and then his other cheek. “He doesn’t care about you, not like I do.” Haku looked at him and Neji lowered his eyes to look back. “Forget about him-” Haku pulled him down and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “-and have me.”

Neji’s grip on him broke and Haku smiled. He pushed Neji back and turned them around, forcing the Hyuuga into the lockers. He stood with his feet apart and leaned his body onto Neji’s, running his hand up the other’s chest under his shirt. Neji took a few deep breaths and welcomed the touch. He put his arms around Haku’s waist and pulled their hips together.

“Found you.” Haku purred and kissed Neji’s neck, sending shivers down the other’s back. He stopped all his movements when he found Neji cupping his chin. Haku took in a deep breath just as his lips were crushed to another’s. Neji leaned forward and bent Haku back, sending his hand down the back of Haku’s thigh. He could hear the boy moaning into his mouth and he grinned at how Haku reacted to him. However, in the back of his mind, he could still taste someone else.

-----

“AH! My Youthful eyes!” Lee covered his eyes as he entered his art class and appeared in front of Gaara and Sasuke. “It is true! It is true! I almost did not believe my ears when I heard that the two of you were caught KISSING in the lunchroom, and now with my own eyes I have witnessed it!” Lee had happened upon Gaara and Sasuke’s second lip connection as he trotted up the stairs in the class.

Sasuke sat back in his chair and Gaara recovered the air lost through their tussle. Lee took a seat next to him and stared wide-eyed.

“So it is true. Are you two an item now, Gaara-kun?” Lee huffed like he didn’t believe a word that had come out of his mouth. Gaara just shrugged and paid him no mind at all. He was watching as Neji walked in the room, not caring to hide the fact that he was staring directly at the redhead. Gaara smirked, this was a lot more fun than he imagined.

Sasuke leaned forward and looked at Lee. “You look surprised, or a little upset.” He cracked a small smiled. Lee blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“What are you saying to me Sasuke? I am simply happy that this Youthful connection has taken place. I hate to see Gaara-kun all alone. I am glad you two have decided to be one another’s comfort. I have nothing but joy in my Youthful heart!”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. ‘He is so full of shit.’ Sasuke thought. If anyone was more upset about this than Neji, it would have been Lee. Sasuke put his arm around Gaara’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “Really now?” Sasuke said, pulling Gaara even closer. Lee was smiling so hard to hide his anger that he was shaking.

Sasuke turned Gaara’s head around and practically shoved his tongue down Gaara’s throat. The redhead responded by leaving his chair to straddle Sasuke in his. Lee was torn between looking away and watching curiously. Played right on time, Neji was walking up the stairs to his seat and witness the whole thing.

He growled as he made it to his desk, turning around to watch the entire thing. He balled his fists and tried to remain in his seat. He wasn’t going to let this get to him. If he made any effort to stop the madness then it would look like he was jealous and still liked Gaara, but if he didn’t stop it then he was going to have to watch it and it was sickening.

“Hey.” Neji called, when he hadn’t even wanted to say anything at all. The two sewn together boys broke away and looked down at Neji. Gaara wiped his bottom of his lip and stared all too hard, much like he had actually enjoyed the kiss.

“You’re making the entire class sick.” He said, and turned around before he had to witness anymore. Gaara narrowed his eyes and almost stood up but Sasuke shook his head. Gaara growled and instead said,

“Fuck you!”

The words hadn’t left his mouth fast enough before he found a book hurdling towards him. It just missed him and Sasuke and fell on the floor. Gaara looked back at Neji who was standing, and had apparently blown his last fuse. He was almost growling aloud and his teeth were baring. If Gaara didn’t know any better he would have said Neji was planning a hefty murder. Gaara grinned, it was working.

Neji realized what he’d done and how he’d shown all his desires for Gaara and now he was out in the open for everyone to see. He exhaled heavily and grabbed his books, stomping out of the room in the same manner he’d left the cafeteria in. Gaara and Sasuke stared at each. The redhead was first to crack a smile before moving back to his seat next to Lee who was passed out in a little pool of blood flowing from his nose.

-----

“Everyone is expected to attend. No one is allowed to skip this dinner. Are we clear?!” A man with a baseball cap on was talking to about fifty kids inside of the locker room. He was chewing on a piece of gum-as usual-and pacing the room with his hands behind his back. He had just announced to the current varsity and junior varsity that they were having an awards ceremony for the people who made the team, on Sunday night.

Neji groaned at his luck as he stood in the shower and let the water run down his sore body. He was listening but he already knew he had to go to the dinner. It was mandatory every year and this year was no different, except this time Naruto would be with the varsity team.

“Hey Coach!”

Neji heard Naruto say, but then he tuned out the rest. Naruto only reminded him of a certain person he would rather forget right now. After leaving his fifth period and not returning, Neji found a quiet place in the school library to hide himself and call Jiraiya. The doctor assured him that his reaction was normal and suggested that Neji remain in the library and do some calm reading or a dose of meditation exercises. Neji listened because he had no idea how to handle anything at that point. He was overly stressing himself out and he really just needed a break.

-----

Neji walked through the schools indoor gym. A bunch of the basketball players were doing laps outside on the football field so he was safe from anyone having noticed him enter. He had his hands in his pockets and his head was down. He walked swiftly across the court to the back door that led down a small sort of alley towards the building behind the cafeteria where the lunch ladies usually smoked their cigarettes on break.

Stepping in the shadows of the building Neji could see Orochimaru talking with a couple of his friends. He walked quietly and when he made it to his destination the other boy turned around.

“You’re a devil among humans.” Orochimaru laughed and pulled a cigarette from his mouth to exhale the smoke. “I knew you couldn’t resist making the little bastard pay for all those horrible pictures, and now the whole cafeteria scene.” He tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and watched it roll down the sidewalk. ‘These two…’ Orochimaru laughed again.

“I don’t need your help.” Neji said leaning against the wall. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the other four that were standing behind Orochimaru.

“Sure you don’t.” Orochimaru jerked his head towards the way Neji had come and his friends started walking off. They disappeared quickly and Orochimaru leaned on the wall next to Neji.

“I’m only agreeing because when he finds out I don’t want my name involved. It would be more believable if you were to mess him up. I can’t make it look like I still want him. He makes me sick.” Neji said, trying to convince himself more than the other.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got exactly what he needs. Come Friday he’ll be so disoriented he won’t even bother coming to school for a week.” He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at Neji when the boy moved off the wall.

“Make him disappear Orochimaru, otherwise I’ll have you taken care of.”

The other looked at Neji and glared. “I’m not afraid of your empty threats Hyuuga. You need my assistance and I’ll be damned if I let a snot nosed rich kid like you punk me around. I own this school and you’re only an extra piece to the puzzle. I’ll remove the both of you if I have to.” He growled.

“It’s not a threat Orochimaru, I’m simply stating a fact.” Neji walked away casually. He was smiling as he left, knowing that the other would probably do everything in his power to get rid of Gaara or make him pay. Neji himself was going to have no part in this. When all was said and done, his hands would be the cleanest-or so he thought.

-----

Gaara was sitting at Sasuke’s desk in his room, staring at something. He was in the computer chair, swaying from left to right listening to something on his earphones.

He didn’t hear Sasuke come in and shut the door. He tapped Gaara on the shoulder to get his attention then flopped on his bed. Gaara took the music out of his ears.

“You’ve been looking at those for the last twenty minutes.” Sasuke put his hands behind his head. “That’s not healthy.” He looked at the ceiling.

“What do you care?” Gaara hadn’t wanted to answer. Sasuke let that little comment slide. Gaara hadn’t been in a good mood since he’d picked him up and he assumed that the redhead had found out something else he didn’t want to know.

“So what you thought about the pictures is true right? There weren’t taken at the same time.” He sat up on his elbows. Gaara sighed and looked back down at he desk.

“The date on the first one says May 22nd and the second says September 5th. Neji and I didn’t break up until June 17th. So…now I know he was cheating and who he was cheating on me with.” Gaara rested his chin on his knee and stared at the pictures. Sasuke stood over him and looked down at the pictures too.

“Who would have guessed Neji would ever let Haku top. Give me chills.” Sasuke said. The first picture was blurry but indeed Neji was letting the femi top him. Haku was laying on top of him, doing unforgivable things. Gaara wondered if Haku had talked his way into Neji’s bed. He didn’t doubt Haku could do it. The second picture was a lot clearer and a lot closer up but Neji appeared to be taking some anger out on the poor feminine boy. The pictures were different in some many ways.

In the first picture Neji almost looked happy, like he was in love or like he was enjoying himself. Gaara wasn’t surprised, they’d been having problems right around that time, he knew Neji was no saint and with Haku running around all dolled up all the time how could Neji not notice him?

The second picture was almost hard to understand. While Haku was fully undressed, Neji was only missing a shirt and he looked really upset. The picture was from Tuesday and it was currently working its way to Thursday night. The photo had been snapped the day Gaara ran into Neji at the mall, with Haku all over him. Neji just looked uncomfortable in the picture and that bothered Gaara.

He took a deep breath and slid the pictures into the drawer of Sasuke’s desk. He really wanted to know who’d taken the pictures. Someone knew that Neji had been cheating on him and they had waited this long to say something. He thought about the people he knew, but no one was even brave enough to mix themselves up with Neji.

He rubbed his temples, Friday was a few hours away and he had to come up with a plan to fuck up everyone’s first football game of the year. He thought about Neji’s reaction to him and Sasuke. He’d felt a little guilty at first but now realizing that Neji had cheated on him in the first place just made him mad. What had he done to Neji to make him engage with someone else?

There was only one way to find out. Gaara spun around in his chair and looked at Sasuke who was now watching television. “Ever wanted to spy on someone you hated?” Gaara asked. Sasuke looked at him and muted the television.

“What are you planning now?”

“Someone has been taking pictures outside if Neji’s window for months. If that picture they took was from this week then they’re probably over there snapping pictures now.” Gaara folded his arms. “As much as I don’t feel like having a conversation with Neji, he needs to know that someone is watching him. That will at least get me on his good side.” Gaara stared hard at the wall. “Enough to fuck him over again.” He smirked. “Get dressed, we’re going out.”

-----

The boys were sneaking around in the Hyuuga’s yard by the time the sun had completely disappeared. They’d jumped the wall leading into the residence and were now coming up on the house.

“Dammit! Sasuke, watch it.”

Gaara growled, he couldn’t believe he let Naruto talk him in to letting him come along. “Keep it down Naruto.” He said as they made it up to the house. They rested up against the stucco and Gaara looked towards the back. Sasuke looked up at the house. It hadn’t occurred to him until now that Neji’s window was on the third floor. Besides Gaara, who the hell would climb that high to get to Neji?

“Who wants to knock on the door?” Naruto asked as he looked around trying to see in the dark. The other two ignored him and began moving around the side of the house where Neji’s window was located.

“Look.” Gaara pointed to the balcony of Neji’s room. Naruto and Sasuke raised their heads to look up and sure enough like the sky was blue, someone was standing on the balcony.

“Is Neji really blind or what? I mean he doesn’t have pupils so he must be blind not to see someone looking in his window. That’s a big ass sliding door, how the hell has this guy been getting away with this shit?” Naruto whispered but it was still loud.

“Neji never opens the curtains to that door. He can’t see out of it either. How this person got the pictures is beyond me.” Gaara said.

“We can’t get up there without, what I’m assuming is a guy, seeing us.” Sasuke pointed out.

“Only one way up, only one way down.” Naruto said. “All we need to do is scare the guy into coming down while one of us goes to get Neji, which by the way won’t be me.” He stood up and cracked his back.

“Forget Neji.” Gaara said. He looked at Naruto and Sasuke, they were both looking dumbfounded. “This guy obviously either has a thing for Neji, Hates me, or is trying to help me in his own weird way. He’s a valuable asset to me getting back at that damn Hyuuga.”

“Well it’s not like you could pay him to continue taking the pictures for you, so then later on you could use them to confront Neji and say, ‘Hey fucker, I know what you did last summer.’ Unless that’s what you were planning and my brain works too slow to notice.”

Gaara grinned and looked up at the person who still hadn’t spotted their presence. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.” This was playing out even better than he could have ever planned.

“You’re losing it Gaara. I’m not gonna be apart of this for much longer. You’re taking this way too far. Don’t you think you’ve screwed Neji enough?” Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. He felt a rush of wind blow passed him and then in a quick second he was shoved against the wall. Gaara had him by the throat and was growling.

“How could you know anything? You don’t know what it’s like for someone you love to make a fool of you.” He pushed Sasuke harder but the other pushed him back and off of him.

“You’re not the only one who suffered.” He pushed Gaara again. “You scared the shit out of everybody. We had to take turns watching you for months. We all had to suffer because you let Neji’s actions get the best of you.” He pushed him again. “And guess who suffered the most, who’s still suffering.” He pushed again. “The very person you were trying not to hurt. The person you’re losing your mind over hurting now.”

Naruto stepped between them. “Okay okay okay. Let’s everyone just chill for a second.” He put a hand on Sasuke chest and one on Gaara’s. “Sasuke you back up a little. Gaara you stop trying to make it seem like we’re not helping or we don’t know what you’re going through. Sasuke’s got a point, we were all there when it happened and we all grieved with you about it.”

Gaara was calm when he looked away. They were both right. Sasuke wasn’t under stress because he wasn’t after anyone so his head was probably more clear. Naruto had been there through everything Gaara had went through, they both had.

“Fine.” Gaara said. Naruto smiled and removed his hands from in between the two boys. He put an arm around Gaara’s neck and ruffled his hair.

“ See, we can all be friends.” He said and looked at Sasuke. He shivered, there had been some weirdness between the two of them from earlier. “Now, about the guy, who is now trying to get down from the window area.”

Gaara snapped his head around and looked. The guy was now climbing down the house. Taking small steps on any ledge he could find. He looked like he had been doing this his entire life.

“Wait until he gets on the ground and then we’ll tackle him.” Naruto said. Neither Sasuke nor Gaara opposed since they weren’t going to talk to each other for the rest of the night.

The three boys walked lightly over to the place where the ‘camera guy’ would make it to the ground. He’d spotted them during the argument and now he needed to get away. He stopped moving when they were standing right under him. He looked around for a different way to go but he was trapped.

“Hey there Mr. Camera, where ya goin’?” Naruto called loud enough for only the four of them to hear. The guy just stood still. He was wearing a sort of mask over his face and he was dressed in dark clothes. He looked around again and noticed a windowsill over to his right.

“Don’t even, you can’t make that-“ Naruto was hushed when the guy jumped and missed the sill wit his feet. He scrambled and his fingers gripped before he let go and dropped to the ground a few yards away from them. He got up as fast as he could as Naruto and the other two began to chase after him.

The guy was running pretty slow but as he rounded the corner of the house he seemed to vanish. Naruto watched as he picked up unbelievable speed and almost lost them, until he reached the wall. He stopped at the wall and thought about how he would jump over. He couldn’t jump and catch it with bother hands, lest the camera around his neck be smashed. They were catching up, he had to hurry.

Choosing a life of not being exposed he did the unthinkable. He jumped up once, then again then a third time and grabbed a tree branch that was extended from the other side of the wall. He swung his body back and forth until he gained enough momentum to propel himself around the branch and onto it. He then jumped onto of the wall and ran along it.

“Where the hell is he going?” Naruto asked as they changed directions and followed him. The guy stood in front of the portion of the wall where the security gate was. The three boys caught up to him and looked up at him from the ground.

“Hey! Who the hell are you?” Sasuke shouted. The guy didn’t answer and he waved his index finger at them. He looked down and kicked a small black wire under his foot. The sound of a piercing alarm starting going off. It was so loud that they all covered their ears.

“See you guys!” The guy saluted and back flipped off the other side of the wall. Lights from the house came on and security scrambled inside the gate. Men’s voices on walkie-talkies filled the air and the boys started to help each other over the wall. Gaara went first since he was the lightest. Naruto and Sasuke chucked him up and onto the top. Next Naruto stepped into Sasuke hands and the brunette boosted him up. The blond grabbed Gaara’s extended hand and he was pulled up.

Sasuke was left and he jumped but he was entirely too far to reach Naruto’s hand. He jumped again and almost grabbed it but he slipped in the wet grass.

“The alarm was tripped over here! All units move in!” A mans’ voice was loud and Sasuke could hear several different footsteps coming his way.

“Shit.” He got up and tried jumping again. No good.

“Sasuke come on. If you get caught they’ll take you to holding for breaking and entering. Get your ass up on this wall now.” Naruto leaned over as far as he could without falling over. Gaara held onto his waist. Sasuke started walking the way the guards were coming.

“Sasuke! Where the hell are you-

The Uchiha circled and started running for the wall. He made it in a few quick steps and ran up the wall as far as he could, grasping Naruto’s hand. His weight pulled Naruto down but Gaara held him. Naruto smiled at Sasuke and began to pull him up. The guards were only feet away when Sasuke made it to the top. They all looked at the men coming and then quickly jumped off and began running down the street. They were safe for now.

When they reached Sasuke’s car that was parked a few blocks away, Naruto fell out in the street. He was panting fast and he was sweating everywhere. Sasuke leaned up against the car and Gaara kneeled on his hands and knees next to Naruto.

“Did anyone else hear what I heard?” Sasuke said, out of breath. Naruto turned his head still panting and groaned.

“He said- ‘See you guys.’ -didn’t he?” Sasuke said. “Who do we know that talks like that?”

Gaara looked up and froze. Now he could hear everything clearly. That voice was someone he knew, someone he spoke with often.

‘It can’t be…’

-----
((End Chapter))
AH!!!! Cliffie! I wrote the whole ‘break into Neji’s yard’ scene on a splurge. I felt the chapter wasn’t long enough and so I did it!!!!! I know the who explanation of what was on the pictures wasn’t as big as it should have been but I really forgot I was supposed to put it in this chapter so it was a last minute thing. Plus I’m sure people already knew what was on them, you don’t need to be a genius.

(Huffs) Okay people…I’m working my ass of to get this out every week, every couple of days, whatever. So now I’m going to say this only once. I want some reviews! Omg that was so mean! Remember…if you want alerts for this story, leave me your email address or email me!

Side Story up in half an hour!
I revised this pretty quick...if you see mistakes please tell me!