Purple Cocaine Prison

Author: Ebra
Warning(s): See Previous Chapters
Disclaimer(s): Not mine.

Please Read, Review and Enjoy!

~!@!~

Purple Cocaine Prison
Understanding For A day

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{Naruto/Waking up}

I’m propped up on my right elbow and looking down into Neji’s face. For some reason, I woke up early. Something that is both unheard of and actually kind of nice.

Neji is still sleeping. His left arm is wrapped around my waist and his right is curled around my hipbone. His face is pale and completely smoothed out in sleep. He looks peaceful to the point of me not wanting to wake him up. So instead, I distract myself from his face by looking at the way his hair fanned out during the night.

The long, dark strands are splayed over the pillow and lying out on the floor behind him. Some hair curled up on his bare shoulder and neck. Some had also fallen into his face. Reaching out, I brush the hair off his shoulder. I hold my breath; grinning like a crazy person, as he shifts and his arms tighten around me. As he moves closer to me, his hair follows, the ends curling on the edge of the futon.

I study the way the muscles in his arms twitch under my light touch when I slide my fingertips down to his wrist and then, carefully, intertwine our hands. I really don’t wanna wake him up but it’s not like I have a choice in the first place. Leaning down, I place a kiss in the little place between his eyes.

He stirs but doesn’t wake up.

Grinning still, I kiss the middle of his forehead. Half sure it would wake him up, I watch as he buries is face into the pillow instead. Laughing quietly, I kiss the only place not hiding in the pillow: the bottom of his jaw. This time, he mumbles vaguely and turns his face back towards me.

I’m guessing that it’s gonna take more then little butterfly kisses to wake him up.

Using the leverage I kinda sorta have on him, I push our intertwined hands until he rolls onto his back. Now that I’m half lying on his chest, his arm still around my waist, I can tell that he’s not so asleep anymore. Slowly, Neji cracks both eyes open and two slivers of bluish-silver peek out at me.

Neji closes his eyes again and ignores me when I grin at him. Still smiling, I lean down and kiss him properly. He doesn’t kiss back. I think he’s trying to protest being woken up so early. Undaunted, I lean in again and press my tongue into his mouth, my own personal way of saying ‘Good Morning’.

This time, he doesn’t play dead.

We kiss for maybe a full two or three minutes before he breaks away and I tuck my head under his chin.

Nuzzling his bare collarbone, I take a minute to ask my first rhetorical question of the day, “Awake yet?”

Neji’s chest rises and falls steadily with every measured breath he takes. Absently, as if still half asleep, Neji gently rubs my back. It takes him a full minute to answer, “Are you trying to be annoying?”

I laugh and Neji just sighs and keeps rubbing my back. We lie there for a few more minutes before Neji nudges me and we both sit up. Neji’s hair is actually pretty long. Looking at it now, I can clearly see that it must be a massive pain the ass to blow-dry.

Neji slowly finger combs it and I marvel at the fact that it’s not even tangled.

I sit back and survey the sky through the bay window. The sun is barely peeking out and the sky is practically still dark. Turning back to Neji, I watch him plait his hair into a single, loose braid and toss it over his shoulder.

Seeing me starring, Neji smirks. I blush and turn away.

Scratching the back of my head out of embarrassment, I explain vaguely: “I love your hair”

Reaching out, he curls his fingers around the back of my neck. His other hand, still intertwined with mine, pulls me closer to him. Touching his forehead softly to mine, he smiles: “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”

I grin a fraction of my usual grin and hide my face in his shoulder. I’m pretty thankful for the fact that I’m already sitting ‘cause that would’ve made my knees turn to jelly.

How does he do that to me?

Neji moves and the sheets slide off his side and onto my lap. He stands and stretches before reaching down to haul me onto my feet. I blink stupidly when I come face to face with his bright silver eyes. He laughs quietly at my deer-in-headlights- look, “We should shower”

I blink at him, “Lets”

Neji stops and looks me over thoughtfully, “Maybe not”

Pouting, I try my best to look innocent, “Why not?”

Neji uses his right hand to smooth my left eyebrow down, “If we go together, we wouldn’t be showering”

I grin, “So what?”

Neji ignores me and continues matter-a-fact, “We would be screwing around”

My grin widens, “What’s wrong with screwing around?”

Neji smirks, “Everything”

I give him my best puppy-dog look and hope for the best. Neji looks like he wants to give in but toughens his resolve at the last minute, “You’ll tidy up and I’ll shower”

I roll my eyes at him.

Neji shrugs, “I’ll make you breakfast”

That gets my attention. I may not be too happy about being banned from showering with him but that doesn’t mean that I can’t see that he’s trying to make up for it.

Nodding, I push him towards the hall, “Ok, fine, but I get to choose next time”

Neji pauses and pulls me close enough to rest his chin on my head, “Next time what?”

I pretend to be annoyed and grumble under his chin, “Next time you sleep over”

Neji lets me pull out of his embrace and eyes me, amused, “There will be a next time?”

I stomp towards my futon and start tidying up, “Stop teasing me, go take your damn shower”

Neji smirks and disappears into the dark hallway. Once I’m sure he’s gone and I can hear the shower running, I laugh little. I’m rubbing off on him big time.

~!@!~

{Naruto/Friday Morning/Physics}

Neji and I split after we got to school since we have different classes in the morning today. The bus ride was pretty fun since I spent a lot of time trying to embarrass Neji by sitting in his lap and fussing over him. A couple of people had been starring, and I wasn’t sure if it was being with Neji that gave me the confidence, but I’d been fooling around more in public then I ever had in my life. Laughing till I almost peed my pants was worth Neji being even a little mad at me. Besides, I got to see skin-like-flawless-marble Neji blush.

Very worth it…

Anyway, after I came down from my morning high, I’d been forced back down to ground zero because of an irritating thing called reality. I had physics first thing and had to make an effort at trying to listen and actually do some of the assignments cause my mark at midterm had been less then exciting.

The point is, though, that I hate this class and will continue to as long as I live. The only reason I survive it typically is because of Gaara.

Today, my red haired enigma is wearing black capris and a checkered white and orange t-shirt. The usually white scarf is black toady. He’s got his sneakers on and several wristbands only on his left arm. There’s this little Happy Bunny pin on his butt pocket that says: ‘It’s okay if you wanna drop dead’. What really gets my attention though is the panda eyes. Gaara always has panda eyes but today he opted for notice-me-blue instead of mellow-fellow-black. They’re extra noticeable because they’re this color that is like black-that-fades-into-blue tinted mascara. He also painted a teardrop under his right eye.

He’s adorable

Since it’d been kinda chilly this morning I’d decided to bundle up like an Artic inhabitant to be better-safe-then-sorry in plain jeans and hiding inside of one of a thousand sweaters I owned. I just wasn’t paying enough attention when I picked it out cause the damn thing is this ‘new-leaves’ kinda green and since my hair’s bright blonde, you can see me from miles away in every direction when I’m wearing it, which naturally, irritates the crap out of me.

I hadn’t forgotten to bring back the shirt Gaara had lent me but he totally refused it saying that it looked better on me anyway, which wasn’t exactly a bad thing because I’d kind of grown attached to the thing.

So we’re sitting there and the teacher is going on and on about acceleration and velocity when Gaara suddenly turns to me and takes my hands. They’re fine now since they got tended to so quickly yesterday, but they’re still a bit sore. As if announcing a doctor’s prognostic, jade green eyes settle on me and Gaara lets me know quietly: “I think it will be alright”

Grinning, I intertwine our fingers, “You sure?”

Gaara smirks, “I bandaged them, didn’t I?”

For a second, we both stare at our joined hands. It occurs to me that Gaara might not think of holding hands with others guys as normal, so I move to take my hands away. Gaara lets me take my hands without resistance and looks back towards the blackboard.

Laughing under my breath so that the teacher wouldn’t hear, I tease him, “Nurse Gaara”

Turning slowly to me, Gaara narrows his eyes into slits I can barely see because of his panda eyes and tries to give me a dirty look. I’m not sure if it’s because he considers me a friends or if it’s the fact that I finally made him understand that scowling a people did not, in fact, cause them to blow up, but the look seemed a lot softer then I remembered it being. After attempting to give me ‘le regard’ pissed off, he smirks lightly and turns back to the lesson.

Gaara has a very surprising personality. I can vouch for it because it caught me off guard first hand. He can be pissy but generally only with people who give him a bad impression. He seems to let things run their course, just to see where they lead because he likes to give his opinion. Not to mention the fact that he’s very confident in what he says. Overall, he’s a very self-assured person, my polar opposite.

I find that being with Gaara is probably the safest place to be when I’m not with Shika or Haku or Neji. Glancing towards the board where the teacher has written two more lines worth of notes, I yawn quietly behind a hand and pillow my head on Gaara’s shoulder. Feeling me there, Gaara slouches a bit to accommodate me. Grinning into his shoulder, I snuggle down and let my eyes drift shut.

Looking at Gaara from the side, you wouldn’t figure that he’s playing pillow for me. Since we sit on the far left side of the classroom, I sit between the window and Gaara; therefore, you have to look around Gaara to see me. Since the teacher never bothers to, I always catch a quick catnap in the mornings in Physics. Other people look at this habit of mine as being rude and the worst way to learning anything, technically because you’re not listening when you sleeping right? The way I see it, I’m doing the teacher and my fellow students a favor. When I’m not sleeping, I’m complaining and trust me, that’s much worse.

~!@!~

{Gym}

Gaara wakes me in time for Gym. I’m sort of dreading it this morning because we’re playing Soccer. I’ve played it before, and I’m not bad, but it’s too early to be running around. Kakashi-Sensei instructs us to pull on some light outerwear cause we’re playing on the full field. Groaning, the bunch of us go to change.

Neji and Sasuke seem to want to leave each other alone this morning, which I’m grateful for. Gaara sticks close to me and I also appreciate it. Since Shika and Neji are out before everyone else, they help Sensei carry out the equipment. Gaara and I, along with the rest, tag along.

We sit in our typical squads and watched as Kakashi-Sensei wandered back indoors. Today was a pretty good day for playing outdoors cause it wasn’t too warm and not too chilly now that it was later in the day. I was also thankful for the fact that it had warmed up ‘cause I didn’t know if I could stand anymore of wearing my sweater.

Kakashi-Sensei isn’t a fan of the cooler air and when he wanders back he’s bundled up in an oversized navy blue sweater and a massive gray scarf. To top off his crazy look, he’s also wearing big black shades and earmuffs. The only other unusual thing is the guy, similarly bundled up, walking next to him.

The guy is hiding inside a massive gray sweater. Like Sensei, he’s also wearing shades, although his are a lot smaller and a bit more stylish. He’s got jet-black hair that sticks up a bit because of the bandana he’s wearing. His hands are stuffed into his pockets casually and he’s wearing track pants and sneakers like the rest of us. He looks kind of distant in this whole I-don’t-normally-associate-with-other-teen-agers-but-I’ll-tolerate-you-all-anyway kind of way. Sensei announces that his name is Aburame Shino and that he’s part of our Gym class and that we should treat him with respect and blah.

The newly dubbed Shino looks over us with a mildly bored look but stops and nods at someone. Next to me, Gaara nods back. Sensei let’s Shino sit with us because he also noticed that Gaara and Shino looked like they knew each other.

Next, Kakashi-Sensei takes quick attendance and checks the equipment and borrows some of the guys to set up pylons. While this is going on, Kiba decides to razz me.

“Yo Blondie, I’m surprised ya didn’t die a rosebush poisoning”

Some of the guys laugh

Pulling on the cheekiest grin I can manage, I smirk at him, “Whose the one who swelled up like a bloated hippo last summer when he got stung by a wasp?”

More of the guys laugh

Kiba’s either in a good mood or totally undaunted, “Yeah, who’s the one that got his ass kicked around everyday after that for laughing so much at me?”

Some of the guys are really laughing now

Scowling, I stick my tongue out at him, “Just because you’re a prick doesn’t mean you have to act like one”

Kiba laughs loudly along with his friends; “Maybe you wouldn’t be so offended if you weren’t such a baby”

This is bordering on annoying but I’m staying cool. I know for a fact that losing my temper would make Kiba the winner. Before I can open my mouth again, Neji speaks up, “Kiba, stop being childish”

Kiba pauses surprised for a second, before laughing harder, “Yo, Blondie can defend himself right?”
Gaara, who hadn’t really spoken up all day, sits up slowly. Fixing Kiba with a piercing look, he says slowly to be clear: “Shut up, Scruffy”

Kiba raises both eyebrows in an attempt to look surprised, “Or you’ll do what, Princess Panda?”

At this point, even I can tell you things are getting out of hand. Gaara doesn’t seem the least bit annoyed at being directly teased about his panda eyes. Instead, he stands slowly, the entire gym class watching, and heads straight for Kiba. I open my mouth to protest but Neji lightly touches my arm. When I turn to look at him, he’s smirking. Shutting my mouth, I turn back to see what exactly is going to happen.

Gaara looms over Kiba, his shadow completely casting over a slightly surprised Kiba. Gaara’s decked out in black track pants and a loose red tank top. He took off all his wristbands along with his scarf but pinned the Happy Bunny to his tank. Leaning over Kiba, he tilts his head to one side, “Say that again?”

Kiba pauses a moment before actually moving to open his mouth to repeat the disastrous thing he said earlier. Half the gym class leans forward expectantly and holds their breath, waiting to see if Kiba really will say it again.

Next to me, Shino signs, sounding more annoyed then anything else.

“I wouldn’t”

It kind of surprises me to hear Sasuke speak. He’s sitting a little ways away from the rest of us. He pulled all of his black-blue hair away from his face with a white bandana and was curled up inside a fully black tracksuit. His light skin contrasted sharply against the black and made him look almost whiter than white. His hands were tucked diplomatically in his lap and he was eyeing Kakashi-Sensei and looking somewhat amused.

Kiba, glad for the distraction, turned to Sasuke, “You wouldn’t what?”

Sasuke smirks and gives Kiba a look over his shoulder, “Gaara’s got a pretty bad temper. You shouldn’t start fights with people you’ve already made the mistake of underestimating”

Kiba opened his mouth to retort but Shika lazily yawned and cut in, “I hate to say this but he’s totally right”

I turn to look at Shika. He and Sasuke never agreed on anything, as far as I knew, so Sasuke must be more then right if Shika concurred with him.

Shika surveyed the sky with a bored expression, “Don’t look at me like that, he’s right. There’s nothing else to it”

Kiba snorts and seems to regain some measure of confidence, “So what? I was wrestling champion three years in a row and-“

He was cut off when Shika waved his hand dismissively in his direction, “Who cares it’s not like I reserve space in my head to remember useless information like that”
Our gym class erupted in laughter and Kiba, embarrassed, finally calms down. It was around that time that Kakashi-Sensei wandered back to us. Absently scratching the back of his head, he pulled a little orange pervert book from his pocket and grinned at us, “Ready?”

~!@!~

{Lunch}

I was kinda stunned, I guess. I couldn’t believe what had just happened in gym class. Next to me at our usual round lunch table, Shika frowned at his plate and across from me, Gaara munched obliviously on a mouthful of poutine.

I’d asked Shino to come and sit with us but he politely refused and disappeared on us.

Shika was fuming because he’d been a team captain, like usual, and his team had lost. I didn’t think that Shika was big on actually winning, but he’d actually been mad because Kiba had been on his team and had fouled so many times that it’d given the other team, which Shino had been captain of, the advantage of leading the entire game.

Now he was massively pickled off…

Gaara, for his part, remained eerily quiet, as usual. The only thing that even showed that he’d been annoyed about losing was when we’d been in the locker room and he’d ‘accidentally’ (or so he says) pushed Kiba into Zabuza on his way out. After that, he’d gone back to pretending that he wasn’t constantly thinking up evil ways to make people suffer.

I’d been on the winning team but I guess I was the number one enemy because of it too. Shika had glared bloody murder at me when we’d been coming in from the field and had grudgingly apologized later, saying that he’d been too pissed off to notice whoever might have been on the receiving end of the it.

Anyway, so we’re all sitting there, pretending Shika isn’t burning a hole thru the table, when Sasuke’s cell rings. I’d almost forgotten that I even had it.

I cautiously pull it out from my pocket. Gaara and Shika are both giving me the curious eye, so I shove it away and grin.

Of course, the damn thing keeps ringing and the longer it does, the guiltier I look. Eventually, it stops and Shika slowly pushes his plate aside, “I didn’t know you had a cell”

I smile innocently, or try to, “I don’t”

Gaara blinks slowly at Shika and me before resuming his lunch with a mildly progressive expression.

Shika raises and eyebrow at me, “Is it even yours?”

I laugh nervously and Gaara gives me a vaguely sympathetic look. I can tell that he sees that being questioned by Shika, especially when he’s in this wonderful mood, is like being a baby sea turtle on your back in the hot afternoon sun.

Somehow, Gaara also has the good grace to save my skin, “Shouldn’t you be finishing your math quiz?”

The way he narrows his eyes when he tells me lets me know that I owe him, but it’s okay. He just game me the way out that I needed.

Grinning, I stand from out table, “Thanks for reminding me…I’ll catch up to you later”

I’m gone so fast; several heads in the cafeteria are still spinning two minutes after I’m gone.

~!@!~

Now, I’m wandering around, trying to find the guy this phone belongs to.

I wasn’t especially looking hard for Sasuke. I just felt bad about still having his phone. Itachi had called once already and I hadn’t answered. I couldn’t back out of returning it myself since I bothered Hinata into getting it back for me. It would be a waste of effort not to give it back like I’d said I would.

I head straight for the stairwells, seeing as how Sasuke was hiding in one last time. I’m not nearly as lucky this time since he’s nowhere around. On my way up, one of the art teachers I know stops me, “Would you mind taking these to my room? I have someone waiting to use them”

I pause before accepting the broad, flat bag and heading up again. Since I’m so curious, I wait till I’ve left her behind two floors and peek into the brown, non-descript bag. It doesn’t surprise me to see that they are art supplies but it does surprise me that they are pastels and probably have the largest range of color I’ve seen in a while. I don’t even think that where I work carries this set.

Her room is on the top floor in the Art’s building, so you just head across from the red building through the special hallway. It’s a really cool hallway because it serves to connect individual buildings together. They have windows and you can see all the people hanging out in the field and watch the cars passing by on the street below you.

Once inside the Art building, I head where I’m supposed to and find Shino using pastels to draw on a really big canvas. I knock politely and wait form him to notice me.

Shino’s wearing shades, even though it’s not that bright indoors, and a headband that makes his black hair stick up and out. He’s also hiding away in a massive gray sweater but makes up for it by wearing white capris. Right now he’s barefoot, but I figure he just left his shoes somewhere.

Glancing up at me, he motions for me to come closer, before moving back to his canvas. His fingers are smudged with the pastel colors
Taking his permission to come in, I walk over and stand just next to him. Peeking at the canvas, I can see that he’s doing landscape. It’s more interesting then usual because it literally looks like the moon rising out of some kind of cavern and as it does stars start breaking out in the still orange and pink sky. It looks pretty good considered the materials that he’s using. Pastels irritate me because I haven’t figured out how to use them without it getting all over the place

Cocking his head to the side inquisitively, he turns slightly to me, his eyes on the canvas, “Balance?”

Raising an eyebrow, I answer, “Huh?”

He frowns behind his shades and uncrosses his legs, “Does it lack balance?”

Before I answer that it does, I give the landscape a real, critic’s once-over. At first glace, it might seem to be, although, looking at it seriously, you can kind of see how the stars are slightly off kilter. As you keep looking, you realize that everything is slightly off to the side to being where it should.

Smiling, I set the bag down next to him, “Mostly”

He smiles too, “Good”

Turning to really look at me, the guy with the shades gives me the eye. After a minute, he reaches out to tweak a bit of my hair, “Uzumaki?”

Surprised, I nod.

He smiles very slightly, the way the Queen of England does if you say something impolite and hurry to apologize and manage to look like a doofus while your at it, and points to himself, “Shino”

This makes me take a closer second look. Now that I think about it, I knew Shino from before. He transferred here before but went back before the start of grades nine. I have to say though, that the Shino I remember used to be more of a shadow-you-didn’t-usually-notice then a guy-who-seemed-ready-to-tackle-life. If you look closer though you notice specific things. Like that fact that he did always used to wear massive jackets in almost any weather and that he usually hid his face behind a pair of shades.

Come to think of it, I even think that he might be in my English class. The only reason I didn’t see him is because he hides in the back.

I also realize that I’ve been gone nearly twenty minutes and still hadn’t found Sasuke. At this rate, there was no point. Maybe I’d track him down after school. It wasn’t like I had any plans anyway.

Shino puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs, “You still draw?”

Nodding absently, I glance at the clock hanging about the doors.

Undeterred, he keeps a steady eye on me, “Are you going to join an art club?”
I pause and actually think the question over. I never joined any art clubs before, not even when I first figured out that I could draw back in junior high. The idea of a teacher telling you what to and what not to draw had dissolved any desire I might have ever had to join anything. I kind of liked the idea of being able to teach myself, even if my techniques lacked a real experts touch.

I could live with never being perfect

Shino interrupted my thoughts, “Think about it. I’m sure you need to leave now”

He was right, since the bell was going to ring in less then five minutes and my next class, Chem., was all the way across in the yellow building. Saying a lightening fast goodbye, I practically run out the door and take off down the hall. Before I get too far, I head back and peek around the corner. Shino is looking out the window with a disinterred air and looks up when he hears me come back.

Grinning, I wave again, “I’ll think about it”

Shino raises an eyebrow and gives me a mildly amused look.

I kind of regretted going back just to tell him that because I was almost, painfully late for Chemistry, but I figure that it was worth it

~!@!~

{Chemistry…}

Haku isn’t here today because he went on some kind of leadership training program. On top of being an excellent student and a peer supervisor, he’s also the Student President. I always thought that that was a bit much, even for someone as full of energy and capable as Haku, but I know he’s still as normal as everyone else.

He has off days too.

So, anyway, I’m stuck with Shika. Usually, that isn’t such a bad thing, but today, he’s massively pissed off and I value my life so I’d rather leave him alone about it. We may be friends but Shika isn’t a need-a-shoulder-to-cry-on-kind-of-guy. He’d be liable to shoot me instead of accepting my sympathy for the safe, non-threatening thing it really is.

One very important thing to know about Shika is that he likes to take acre of others but he doesn’t like to be taken care of. It’s just his thing. As class goes on though, I’m starting to worry that he’s a bit grouchier then usual.

I rip a piece of lined paper out of my lab book, which could actually get me in majordomo trouble, and write a short note: ‘What’s wrong?’

Shika reads the note when I pass it to him, and scribbles something down before tossing it back. He writes: ‘Did you know that some people see things that are and ask, why? Other people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people (like me, if you didn’t know that already) have better things to do and don’t have time for all that’

The king of sarcasm has spoken…

Rolling my eyes, I try again: ‘Yeah, and dogs have owners while cats have staff, so what? What’s you’re problem?’

Shika actually smirks when he reads what I wrote. He glances up at me long enough to grin before writing something else down. When I get it back, it reads: ‘You’re a big pain in the ass. Your positive attitude may solve all your problems but it won’t solve mine. It does annoy enough me enough to make it worth the effort though. And Ps, nothings wrong’

What the hell does that even mean? I grin anyway, cause it seems like he’s semi back to normal. We’re halfway thru a mini-unit on Taxonomy. It’s all this crap about classifying animals in things like Kingdoms and Phylums and stuff. It’s mostly boring stuff compared to what we’d been doing last week on the heart and the circulatory system…

Shika shoves my textbook off my desk and nearly gets me eaten alive by my chem. teacher but he’s smiling in an oddly not-mad-at-the-world-anymore kind of way.

~!@!~

{English…or not}

I’ve never been any good at English and really I never saw the point of taking the class. The problem is that no one ever mentioned that to the adults. So, I’m torn between actually going, which I don’t really wanna do, or skipping, which is only possible because Haku isn’t here today to nag and get me to go. But then again, skipping is only possible when there’s no one around to give you a blast of shit for doing it…

And anyway, I was never big on following rules others people set. I hate that whole my-way-or-the-high-way attitude my English teacher has too. Glancing back down the emptying hall, I decide that I’d rather take my chances with whatever might be lurking in the outdoors, and I’m sure that it can’t be nearly as bad as what I know is lurking in my English class right this second.

Heading out, I go straight for the parking lot. There are police around sometimes, just to supervise, but if they catch you then you end up having to go back to class. It happened to me once before and I was treated like a deserter that had escaped from my correctional facility. I learned my lesson about not getting caught.

The sun’s been warming up all day and I feel the heat hit my back and cling to my skin the second I get out past the big blue doors. It kind of feels like when your giving someone a piggy-back ride and they’re strangling you…I pull off my sweater to try and lessen the time it will take to cook me alive in the sudden afternoon heat.

It’s pretty easy to sneak past anyone who might be hanging around if you go out through the parking lot simply ‘cause they might spot you, but they’ll never catch you. There are too many places to hide. So it kinda surprises me to see some guy sitting, out in plain view, on the trunk part of a car. Getting closer, I realize that the car is a black BMW and that the guy sitting on it is someone I know fairly well…regretfully.

Sasuke is facing away from me and sitting plainly in the sun. I don’t know how he stands it, but he’s sitting stock still…and silently too. From what I can see, he looks bummed. Cautiously, I walk around to face him.

He’s hair’s windswept like and all in his eyes. He’s wearing this cute red shirt that has this little Nintendo mushroom on it. His legs, in white capris, are spread out and his feet, in black beach sandals, and resting on the bumper of his car. The only things I find unusual are the heavy studded wristbands he’s wearing. Sasuke isn’t much for punk stuff…that’s more Gaara’s thing.

Somehow, he doesn’t seem to have noticed me and is staring vaguely at a pack of cigarettes he’s holding onto in his right hand. I never pegged him as a smoker, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if he were. Not because popular people have this annoying way of picking up on crappy fads but more because he happens to be such a tyrant anyway…he just does things ‘cause he can.

I grin at the prospect of bothering him, “I didn’t know coffin nails were a daily part of your movie star diet”

Sasuke looks up at me a bit listlessly but seems to wake up a bit when he recognizes whom he’s not currently talking to. For an electrifying minute, he looks hard at me, as if trying to decide whether or not he wants to answer me at all or go back to looking like the living dead.

I feel my smile slowly fade from my face and let a more neutral expression settle over me. I’d rather he didn’t know that he was scaring the baby Jesus outta. I stand passively as Dracula continues to give me the critical eye. After a moment, Sasuke looks away from me suddenly and his hair falls into his face. Quietly, he answers, “I bought them for Aniki”

I raise an eyebrow, surprised, “Itachi smokes?”

Sasuke smirks a bit, “When he’s mad he does whatever he wants”

I fidget with my sweater, “He gets mad?”

Sasuke looks at me curiously and smiles enigmatically, but a touch sardonically, “Doesn’t everyone?”

I shrug and quietly to move to sit next to him. I expected him to say something cheeky but he just moves over so I can climb on too. I stare at the sea of cars ahead of us, “You pissed him off?”

Sasuke clucks his tongue, “I’m the only one who knows how…”

I bite my lip, “You do it on purpose?”

Sasuke laughs bitterly, “Of course I did”

We both fall silent.

Trying to change the subject, I start counting the number of red cars in my head, “How did you get the cancer sticks anyway?”

Sasuke shifts next to me, “Anyone can look older if they want to…you just kind of have to be confident”

I scoff, “Or have fake ID and a set of balls made of steel”

Sasuke laughs lightly and it irritates me to find that I like the sound. Sasuke reaches to push the hair of his face, “Hey…”

I turn towards him, momentarily forgetting the number of red cars, “…yeah?”

He kind of frowns at me, hesitates, and decides to tell me anyway: “I’m done…you want to leave?”

I let myself smile a bit, “Classes cancelled?”

Sasuke smirks, a bit of his typical-self shinning thru, “No…I just decided I was done”

Laughing, I let myself grin fully, “I was going’ anyway”

Sasuke makes an approving sound, “Then we’re gone already”

He slides off the car and I follow.

It’s not till we’re both sitting in the car and actually leaving that I remember that being alone with Sasuke is potentially dangerous. As if he were thinking the same thing, Sasuke asks me, “Where’s Neji?”

He sounds offhand and casual but he knows the score as well as I do. I chance a grin, “I don’t know”

Sasuke flips on the air conditioning, “Shouldn’t you?”

The way he says it makes me stick my tongue out at him, “I trust him…WHEREEVER he is”

Sasuke smirks, “Lucky him”

Sasuke seems to be getting back to his old self and he’s being a royal pain. I kind of like that he’s more or less playing it cool but that doesn’t mean that it’s not getting on my nerves. Absently trying to find myself an occupation that will get me off this subject, I poke Sasuke in the ribs, “Any CD’s in here?”

Sasuke motions vaguely to the CD compartment thing that’s built right into the car. Pulling it open, I scan the multitude of CDs until I find something weird to listen to. I’ve never heard of the Gorillaz but the cover is cartoon characters, so why not?

Sasuke doesn’t seem to mind my choice of music and we sit in companionable silence. Sasuke heads downtown and I don’t protest. I dunno where we’re going but I’m sure I’ll be okay.

We pass by classy restaurants with Maitre D’s and museum like shop windows showcasing art. I see a caf? all done up Paris-le-petit-matin style and a bakery that looks right out off a street in Italy. The further we go, the more I realize how little I know of this part of Boston.

When Sasuke does stop, it’s in a more quiet area. It’s kind off from the main street we were on and the most significant building I can see in the little strip-mall is an old-school theater.

Sasuke parks and systematically starts to turn off the air conditioning. When he’s done, he sighs and glances over at me, “Coming?”

I shrug, “Where?”

Sasuke smiles a little and points towards the theater, “There”

Raising both eyebrows in a surprised kind of way, I nod, “Sure…as long as it’s not actually been abandoned for eighty years and your just going to drag me inside and…”

I was gonna say ‘rape me’ but somehow it bothers me to apply that idea to Sasuke. He may be a little on the bold side…and he does take liberties with me sometimes…but he’s not actually that bad.

Sasuke looks at me intently. Cracking a smile, I finish, “…murder me or something”

His eyes narrow but he’s smiling, kind of. Instead of saying anything to me, he gets out of the car. I pause to toss my backpack into the back seat before getting out to chase after him since he’s half away there when I get out. Before we go in, Sasuke absently turns to lock the car’s doors with this special key thing he has.

I can’t help but grin…he’s such a show off…

The inside lobby is dark but in an appealing sort of way. The lighting in here has this 70’s-at-the-movies feel to it. The lamps are all Tiffany-types with funny embroidered shades. The carpet is a deep red and there are real wooden banisters leading up to other venues. The ticket booth is this massive mahogany colored desk at the far end of the entrance.

Sasuke heads straight up one of the stairways without going to the booth. I stare after him until he notices that I’m not coming. Raising an eyebrow at me, he motions for me to follow. Hesitating, I go after him.

Don’t you have to pay for tickets before you go into a movie?

It finally occurs to me that the place is actually deserted. It’s like a ghost theater. Shuddering, I catch up to Sasuke and distractedly take a hold of his shirttail. Seems to be a bad habit of mine…

The stairs take us up to this venue where there are two doors on either side of the long, red-carpeted, hallway. Sasuke glances in both directions before heading towards the left. There are these posters lining the walls but they’re all up in frames. They’re all older movies, some I’ve never heard of.

Reaching the end of the hall, Sasuke pushes thru the huge wooden double doors. We stand in the near dark for a moment, before Sasuke heads up towards the only place light can be seen…this tiny office like space at the back of the place.

Inside the office, it surprises me to see someone working steadily on filling paperwork. The man is taller then even Zabuza…who is probably the tallest guy I know. His face is all sharp angles with high cheeks and sharp eyes that are a bit slanted. One of his ears is pierced and his black hair sticks straight up in pointed spikes. He’s wearing dress pants and a sleeveless turtleneck that show off arms that look like corded muscle.

He looks up when we come in, and smiles the way a shark might when it’s amused, “Sasuke”

Sasuke doesn’t stop to greet the man until he plops down in the leather sofa in the corner of the office, me following closely like a little lost puppy, “Itachi asked if you’d come for dinner”

The man raises a slim eyebrow, “He doesn’t have work?”

Sasuke shrugs, “I pissed him off…he’s taking an impromptu day off”

The man laughs, the sound not unlike Itachi’s, rippling and dangerous, “You should be more careful”

Sasuke tosses the pack of cigarettes at the man, who deftly catches them and scowls, “Give those to him, alright Kisame?”

Kisame’s scowl deepens, “You shouldn’t buy him these”

Sasuke shrugs.

Kisame looks contemplatively at the cigarettes, “You know, cigarette sales would drop to zero over night if the warning said these things contained fat…”

Sasuke shrugs and I half laugh but stop myself by just grinning when Kisame smirks at me.

Sasuke shifts, “Itachi would still smoke them”

Kisame’s grin is feral, “You Uchiha seem to look for trouble…it doesn’t even need to get up and find you”

Sasuke half-smiles, “Coming from the guy who’s best friends with MY brother”

Kisame shrugs offhandedly, “We’re not friends”

Sasuke absently tugs on my shirt, “What do you call hanging out together for the past six years?”

Kisame grins, “Bad luck”

Sasuke doesn’t laugh, but kind of grins. It’s the closest I’ve ever seen him to making so honest an expression. Whoever this Kisame guy is, he gets points for being funny…or at least he is to Sasuke.

Kisame pauses, “A friend is someone who knows all about you, and still likes you”

Sasuke nods, “Being Itachi’s friend is more of a near death experience then anything else”

Kisame smirks, “And being his brother?”

Sasuke smirks back, “Makes me a masochist”

Apparently Kisame finds that funny because he laughs.

After a moment, Kisame gives me the eye, “You are?”

I open my mouth to answer and Sasuke cuts in, as per usual, “A friend”

Kisame laughs darkly, “So YOUR this elusive friend of Sasuke’s that I’ve heard so much about”

I know I must have looked surprised because Kisame laughs again and elaborates, “Itachi-San told me about you”

Sasuke pulls a face at Kisame, who only shrugs in return. Finally thinking of something constructive to say, I sit up, “You should probably go, Kisame-San, and Sasuke and I were gonna leave anyway…”

~!@!~

Back in the car, Sasuke watches me disinterestedly as I debate with myself on whether or not I should invite him back to my place.

I’ve concluded that Sasuke has no intention of going home tonight, especially since he refused to go back with Kisame when the tall, tanned man had asked. I also realized that he was depressed to the point of being mellow. I knew that he and Itachi had this really screwed up type of relationship but what I hadn’t taken into account was the fact that he might actually still kind of care about his brother and it seemed to be the same for Itachi.

Maybe they both just needed a day off from each other?

Starring out the window at the setting sun, I flatten a hand against the window, “Ne, Sasuke…”

I hear him move behind me, the creak of the leather as he shifts, “What, usurakontachi?”

I manage not to blow up only because I detect a note of fondness in his voice. I may not like the nickname but I guess I should recognize it for what it is. Sasuke isn’t as gentle a person as Neji but that doesn’t make him a monster.

Pretending to be annoyed, I glare at him over my shoulder, “Call me that again, Dracula, and you’ll wish you hadn’t ever met me”

Sasuke raises an eyebrow, amused, “What makes you think that there’s anything you could do that would make me regret having met you?”

Caught off guard, I pull a face at him instead of trying to find something witty to say back.

Gimme a break…I’m tired.

Sighing, I look him in that face, “Kay, Mister ‘I-stir-shit-up-for-a-living’, you wanna drive me home?”

Sasuke pauses, maybe at what I said about him, before shrugging and starting that car, “Fine, but I don’t know where you live”

~!@!~

I’ve never been ashamed of where I live. Especially because Shika was the one who got me the place. Imagine how hard that actually is, considering that I don’t even have parents or a legal guardian. Having my own place meant being an independent in a world where having a little help is a necessity.

You can tell right off the bat that Sasuke’s never been outside of the main part of Boston.

He usually drives at break neck speed and flips corners as easily as anyone can flip the finger, but now he’s driving slow as molasses. Not criticizing or anything like that, he’s just kind of looking.

Amused, I grin and start pointing out places I can remember hanging out with my friends.

Sasuke listens attentively and actually asks questions. It’s weird, this side of Sasuke. He’s letting ME take charge when he’s usually the one who has all the control. For a minute, I stop to think of what a relationship with Sasuke might be like.

Before that train of thought even gets started, I think of Neji.

Sasuke might be pretty cute…by why worry about it if I’m already attached? It kind of worries me that I keep thinking about it. Shouldn’t I be secure with just knowing that I have Neji?

However, I also realize that that’s exactly the problem. It still surprises me that everything is working out that way it is. These kinds of things, like relationships with the guy of your dreams, they never work out. Or maybe they do, and I’m just being negative?

I smile ruefully, pausing halfway thru an explanation to Sasuke about the time Shika half buried Haku and me alive under a snowdrift near my place last winter. Maybe that’s just the thing: things this good never happen to people like me…and when they do, they just end badly.

Sasuke looks at me, curious of my lapse into silence but ignoring it, “We almost there?”

I realize that we are and point out to him where the underground parking is. Reaching for my stuff in the back, I pull on my sweater and loop my backpack loosely around my shoulders. When he parks, I pull the keys out of the ignition and practically jump out of the car.

Sasuke follows me, looking annoyed.

I pause and wait for him near the elevator, “Wanna come up for a bit?”

Sasuke stops dead, maybe about two feet from me and shakes his head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea”

I know what he means and in a way I think it’s not such a hot idea either, but you know, he’s looks so bummed, “Just for a bit”

He looks at me with an expression that I can’t identify. After a moment, he smiles ever so slightly and moves to push the button for the elevator, “Just for a bit”

~!@!~

“Usurakontachi, you’re a freakin’ clutter-bug”

I laugh and sit Sasuke down on the suede couch. I can see what he means. Even though Neji helped me clean up this morning, all my arts stuff was still hanging around. My paint cans are all grouped in a corner along with my spare canvases and my notebooks and my finished work is still drying all over the place near the open bay window.

Turning to Sasuke, I shrug, smiling, “Can’t help it”

He raises a disbelieving eyebrow at me.

Laughing still, I leave him while I go make hot chocolate, which is what I feel like drinking.

When I wander back, Sasuke’s sitting on the floor near the bay window examining some of the finished paintings drying there. Setting his mug down next to him, I plop down on the couch. I may want to comfort Sasuke, but I’ve come to the understanding that there’s something between us already, and sitting close isn’t the best thing I could do in this situation.

He looks young, bent over and examining the stuff I have laid out. One hand is holding his bangs back, out of his eyes, and the other is holding the sheets up towards the light. His black eyes trace the contours of the art itself and his mouth twists into an almost appreciative smile. Absently, he picks up the mug and sips at it, his eyes never leaving the paintings, “You did these?”

I pick one of the marshmallows out of my chocolate and eat it, “Most of them, some are collabs”

Sasuke pauses, and pulls one in particular out from the done-drying pile. Would you believe it as the one I’d did with Neji?

Turning to face me, the smoothes down the paper and traces one of the thin black birds with a finger, “This one’s nice”

There’s no mistaking the strange note in his voice, but I pretend I didn’t hear it. I’m sure he can plainly see where I wrote Neji’s name and my name on our respective sides of the canvas.

I grin faintly, not able to pull off quite the smile I wanted to, “It’s kind of my favorite too”

We lapse into another one of our weird silences.

Getting annoyed with myself, I motion to Sasuke, “Come here”

Sasuke looks up sharply at the note of anger in my voice. His being surprised doesn’t surprise me; I feel like I could murder.

He obliges without so much as a protest and plops down next to me. Impatiently, I take his half finished mug from him and set it down on the floor next to mine. Turning to him, I wrap my arms around his waist and melt into him, “Would you please go back to being sarcastic and irritating? You suck when you’re bummed”

I felt Sasuke tense when I first touched him, but now he slowly put his arms around me, but didn’t reply. Instead, he kind of laughed.

God, this is so weird…

Pulling away slightly, I look him in the eyes, “What happened with Itachi?”

Sasuke plasters on a neutral expression, “We had a fight” He’s trying to sound nonchalant but he comes off as a little tentative

I reach down and hand him back his mug. It doesn’t go unnoticed, the way his hands reflexively tighten around it. I take another second to grab my own cup and stare into it, “What kind of fight?”

In answer, Sasuke holds out one of his hands, offering me his wristband covered wrist. The other hand is tightly wrapped, still, around his mug.

Biting the inside of my lip, I reach out and pop the wristband off. Deep, dark bluish-purple bruises, like fingerprints, are wrapped cleanly around his wrist. They are huge, as if the grip had been purposefully forceful.

I try to line up all the finger marks using my own hand, but I’m a bit smaller. Sasuke’s skin is cool and already the bruising is turning a sickly yellowish, green around the blue-purple.

Not saying anything, I put the wristband back on.

I don’t bother asking who won, because it doesn’t matter.

I don’t ask whether or not Sasuke feels all right, because I know he doesn’t.

And there’s really no point in asking him exactly what happened because I practically had to cuddle him to get this little bit out of him.

So now what?

Before I can open my mouth and say something unnecessary, my phone rings. Sasuke looks at me and I smile apologetically before going to pick up the cordless in the kitchen.

I answer while wandering back to collapse on the couch next to Sasuke, “Hello?”

~ “Did you skip fourth?”~

I grin, “No, Neji, I didn’t actually skip fourth”

~ “Did you leave early?”~

I laugh, “Maybe…why you so worried anyway?”

Neji huffs: ~ “I wasn’t”~

I sip my chocolate, “Your crap at pretending you weren’t”

~ “…”~

I laugh and witch hands and ears, “I didn’t see you after lunch so…”

~ “Hinata had an appointment”~

I raise an eyebrow at no one in particular, “You’re the cousin AND the chauffeur?”

Neji laughs: ~ “Possibly even the babysitter”~

“I hope they pay you”

Neji laughs again, which is shocking enough, before asking me: ~ “Busy Sunday?”

I frown at my empty mug, “No…but I’m not a doing-stuff-when-I-could-be-sleeping kind of guy…unless whatever your planning is mucho fun and I won’t hate you for depriving me of my sleep?”

Neji pauses, pretends to think about it: ~ “I suppose you might like it…or you might not”

I grin, “Aren’t you gonna tell me what it is?”

Neji scoffs: ~ “Why should I?”~

I pout at him, “Fine, be that way, but it is possible for a person to keel over and die of boredom”

Neji hmms: “You won’t get bored…promise”

I smile, “Fine, see you Sunday”

After I hang up, I look up to see Sasuke giving me an odd look.

Sticking my tongue out at him, I check to see if his mug’s as empty as mine, “Yes, Dolce & Gabbana, that was my boyfriend”

Sasuke smirks at the nickname, “Do I look like I care?”

I smirk back, “I dunno, that look just now bordered on jealous”

Sasuke abruptly stands and wanders off into my kitchen.

I sigh.

I should know better then to tease Sasuke when he’s so cranky. Rolling my eyes, I set off after Dracula.

When I peek into my kitchen, he’s standing at the sink. Walking to stand next to him, I raise an eyebrow at his curiously baffled expression.

Turning his head in my direction but keeping his eyes on the sink, Sasuke decides to let me on his discovery, “You have no dishwasher”

I grin, “Not everyone has one, Sasuke”

He gives me the eye.

I raise my hands defensively, “What?”

Sasuke absently picks up my orange sponge, “I’ll get you one for Christmas”

I don’t know if it was the serious tone of his voice or the fact that he was so appalled at my not having a dishwasher, but I started to laugh and almost couldn’t stop. I mean, who SAYS that?

Sasuke is looking kind of nasty when I stop laughing. Maybe I should’ve invested in some medieval armor. Sasuke’s glaring makes my skin feel like it’s burning…

Turning to sit on the countertop next to the sink, I give Sasuke an apologetic look, “Chill…it was just kind of funny”

Sasuke slowly washes his mug, “How?”

I raise both eyebrows at him, “Maybe humor was the one thing you weren’t born with…good sense either”

Sasuke glares at me till I turn my face away.

Laughing, I stare at the low ceiling instead of at him, “God did bless you with laser beam eyes, though”

Sasuke growls at me, “Shut up now or I’ll dye your hair pink in your sleep”

I turn to give him a wide-eyed look, “Who said you were sleeping over?”

Sasuke smirks, “No one, I’m just not leaving”

I puff my cheeks out at him, “Loser”

Sasuke shrugs, “Moron”

“Diva”

“Cactus head”

“…Prick”

Sasuke laughs, “If you have to resort to language like that, then I’m obviously the winner”

I narrow my eyes, “Says who?”

Sasuke rinses the mug and puts it on the drying rack, “Anyone with an education that speaks English”

I turn my nose up at him, “Whatever…I’m taking a shower”

Bouncing off the counter top, I half run down the hall and into the bathroom. I slam the door shut just for show and lock it just for my own peace of mind.

I knew I told him that he was no fun when he was bummed, but did that mean he had to completely come back to normal?

I strip carelessly, tossing clothes haphazardly for the bin in the corner and stare hard at myself in the mirror for a minute.

What stares back is a short guy, with shocking blond hair and big blue eyes. I scowl at myself to make my face agree with my mood.

If I was a bit thinner and had hair that was a little longer, you night mistake me for a girl.

I was a short guy for seventeen.

Hopefully, I was gonna fill out. If not, then I’d get a boob job done and live the rest of my life as a drag queen.

The idea makes me burst into laughter and turn on the shower.

If I have time for crazy, useless thoughts like that then it means that I still haven’t figured how to get my brain to function properly.

~!@!~

When I dare to venture out of the bathroom, the kitchen is empty and Sasuke is nowhere to be seen.

Nervously, I head for my room. Slowly pushing open the door reveals Sasuke propped up on my bed and reading one of the zillions of manga I have lying around.

He changed, without my permission, out of his Abercrombie and Finch getup into a pair of my oversized sweats and not much else, save the black bandana he’s using to keep hair out of his face.

He pretends not to hear me come in.

Trying not to stare too much at a too naked Sasuke, I slam the door shut. Sasuke looks up long enough to give me a slightly patronizing look.

I grin, “What?”

He shakes his head at me and goes back to reading.

Shrugging to myself, I head over to my drawer and pull on an oversized t-shirt. I’m wearing shorts but I can’t bring myself to pull on anything longer. It’s kinda warm in my place.

Just cause Sasuke is a weirdo whose blood is always the right temperature doesn’t mean I have to do the same and wear sweats too. What kind of crazy person wears 100% cotton in this heat?

Speaking of weirdoes, what IS he doing in my bed?

Since the phenomenon is so puzzling, I decide to ask the anomaly for the answer: “What ARE you doing in my bed?”

Sasuke shrugs, “Where else would I sleep?”

I roll my eyes at him, “I dunno, on the couch maybe? Or better yet, in your OWN bed back at your place?”

Sasuke actually laughs, “Sorry, you’re stuck with me and I’m staying right here”

I purse my lips and try to look a little more irritated then I currently feel. He’s such a queen that I kind of expected him to say something like that. The real problem comes from the fact that I’m not actually worried about it.

Grinning suddenly, I run and jump into my bed, next to Sasuke, and kick up the sheets and the pillows. When everything settles, Sasuke is giving me the mother of all glares.

Shrugging at him, I snuggle down and bury my face in my orange pillow, “Night, Dracula”

There’s a moment of silence before Sasuke answers, “Night, usurakontachi”

After another moment, I pester him into turning off the light and going to sleep instead of reading that crazy manga.

For a while, we both just lie there listening to each other breath.

I’m facing away from him, so that I don’t have to visually remind myself that a shirtless Sasuke is lying in my bed next to me, and he’s doing the same, although I’m hoping it’s to stop him from touching me.

I have to say that I’m proud of him though; he hasn’t molested me once today.

I start when a warm hand flattens itself against my back, only long enough to get my attention, before it slips off, “You asleep?”

I laugh quietly, “And I thought I was the King of rhetorical questions…”

Sasuke ignores my less then genius pillow talk, “…thanks for today”

I stare at the ceiling, “Thanks for what? Not being a quarter of my usual annoying self? Or thanks for putting up with you all afternoon?”

Sasuke rolls over and looks at me. His dark eyes are way spooky, what with the faint light coming from the hall light shinning off them, but there’s a touch of warmth in them that makes me smile a bit.

Rolling back over and facing away from me, he answers, “Both”

I stare at his back for a second, disbelieving, before turning back to stare at the ceiling. I muse out loud, “And the explorer concluded that not all planets he reached were dead”

Sasuke snorts into his pillow, “No, just barren”

Laughing, I shove him in the back and grin at the way my fingertips tingle when I touch his surprisingly warm skin.

I roll over myself and shut my eyes, “I take it back. Dracula is a crappy nickname”

“Why?” Sasuke sounds sleepy.

I yawn, “Your not old, wrinkly, cold, OR undead…”

Sasuke fails to sound nearly as sarcastic as normal, “Says who?”

I grin and yawn again, “Wouldn’t you like to know…”

Sasuke doesn’t answer because he’s already asleep.

~!@!~

TBC...


PS- No one ask about that stuff with Kisame…I don’t know what the point of it was myself…

Ja~ne! ^_^