A/N: Do not own, (I think that's a bit obvious but just putting it out there.)

Chapter 1: Standing on the Rooftops

P.O.V: Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto was standing on one of the rooftops for his campus. He leaned over the banister and looked down at the students running around. Jump, his brain told him. He was feeling – needless to say – depressed as of lately. His father – who was a renowned surgeon – had died in a car crash about a month or so ago. He couldn't tell, the days just seemed to blend together. It was always his dream to work at a hospital like his father. But with him gone, he felt as if he had lost his ambition to do anything! It frustrated him that he couldn't pull himself out of this funk. So every day after class he finds himself on this exact rooftop debating if today would be the day.

His mother had taken it hard, but somehow she managed to bounce back. She worked extra at the hospital. Maybe to distract herself from reality. Naruto couldn't bring himself to go into the hospital just yet. It still hurt too much.

"I thought I might find you up here," a voice said. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was. It was a certain pink haired girl. Sakura Haruno.

"Hey," he said while still leaning over the banister.

"I know it's been rough but you have to pick yourself up and move forward."

"Easy for you to say. You moved on from me very easily," Naruto said.

"Come on, you can't keep using that. That was when we were in high school, like seven years ago. How old were we? Like fourteen?"

"Something like that."

"Anyway, Kiba wanted me to tell you – since you have been ignoring your phone – we are all going out to a club tonight. Why don't you come out with us?"

Naruto had seen the message and chose to ignore it. He had been debating whether it was worth going or not. Sakura was right – he had to move forward. He just didn't know how right now. He had closed himself off from his friends. Maybe this would be the first step back to sanity.

"Yeah I'll go," he said. Sakura was shocked. She was anticipating the usual 'no' from him.

"Alright then, the place we're going to tonight is called Waterfall. It seems kinda new. We're meeting at nine so don't be late," she said before leaving.

Naruto made a mental note of the time and place. Not today, he thought as he left the roof.

He got there at nine and to his not surprise Sakura and the other girls she usually hangs out with were all late. Again, this is no surprise. Which is why the meeting place was a ramen shop so the people who did get there on time would eat beforehand. In the ramen shop already was Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and Choji.

"Hey, look who decided to show up?" Kiba said with a wide grin.

"The dobe actually showed up," Sasuke said as he drank some of his drink.

"Yeah, yeah. Sakura told me you guys were hanging out, so I figured I should join you," Naruto said with a fake smile.

"I suppose all those other times weren't good for you?" Shikamaru asked.

"LET US REJOICE THAT HE IS WITH US NOW!" said an over-enthusiastic Lee.

"I'm guessing that the girls are late," Naruto said as he took a seat.

"Are they ever on time?" Sasuke asked.

"So troublesome, they go through all the trouble to set this up and they're always late."

It was about forty five minutes later when the girls actually showed up. Sakura came walking in – the obvious leader of the females – with Ino, Temari and Tenten.

"It's about damn time you girls showed up!" Kiba shouted.

"How many times do we have to tell you? Beauty takes time," Ino said.

"Ugh! Whatever, can we just hit the club already?"

Once in the club everyone kind of went off and did their own thing. Sakura had grabbed Sasuke's hand and ran off onto the dance floor. Lee had attracted the attention of a few women and was lost in the crowd. Kiba was flirting with some girls at the bar. Trying to get a number. Choji and – surprisingly – Ino were off to the side chatting and having a drink.

"They've been seeing each other for about three weeks or so," Shikamaru informs Naruto.

"Seems like things are going well," Naruto said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Listen, I don't usually say this but, if you need someone to talk to, I'm all ears. I know it's been rough for you and we hate seeing you like this."

"I think that's the most emotion I have ever heard in a sentence from you," Naruto said with a chuckle.

"Whatever," Shikamaru said with a smile. "Girls are troublesome things."

"Did Temari get to you?"

Shikamaru didn't say anything. Instead, he just looked away. Naruto busted out laughing. Just then, Temari came over.

"Hey! Why don't you two come onto the dance floor for a bit? It won't kill you, I promise."

And with that, they were forced onto the dance floor. Naruto was lost in the music. He let it take over his body. He quickly lost his sense of where he was. Just as quickly as it came it was lost. He had bumped into someone that caused them to fall. He quickly reacted and reached down to pull the person up.

What he did not anticipate was to be so close to the person after pulling them up. He did not anticipate the person to be a beautiful female. She had long dark hair, and her eyes reminded him of the moon. He felt a blush creeping on his face as he stared at her. He watched as a small blush came onto her face.

"You okay?!" he shouted over the music. She nods her head and gives him a smile. He wanted to talk to her. He was determined to at least talk to her for five minutes. "Can I get you a drink?!" he shouted again. He watches as she thinks. She nods her head. He grabs her hand and pulls her towards the bar. He couldn't explain his actions, all he knew was that he wanted to talk to her. He needed a normal conversation, with someone who didn't know that his father had passed. Someone who wouldn't have a look of pity on their face every time they looked at him.

"What do you want?" Naruto asks as he leaned closer to her ear.

"A beer is fine," she said. So he bought two beers. They took their drinks to a sitting area where they could actually hear each other.

"Sorry I bumped into you," he says with a sheepish smile.

"It's fine, I should have been watching where I was going."

"I'm Naruto."

"Hinata."