Prologue

"Is there anybody out there who is lost and hurt and lonely too?"

Coldplay, Square One

The day was coming to an end. Minutes had bled into hours, until five o'clock found Naruto sitting out on the curb in front of his house. He watched with bored eyes as the transition begun in his suburban neighborhood. While life went on, Naruto sat without a care in the world. His uniformed ass was plopped on the pavement, while his scruffy pair of converse sneakers touched the asphalt of the road. It was like telling everyone who passed, hey look at me, I'm a fucking rebel. "But that's what the cigarette is for" he said to himself as he brought it to his chapped lips. Seventeen years old, and already, he was addicted to the nicotine. He took a long drag and chuckled as a woman turned up her nose at him as she walked by. Yes, teenage delinquency at its finest, he thought with a bitter smile on his face. The voice of Coldplay's lead singer redirected his thoughts. One headphone tucked into his right ear, while the other hung freely; listening to the playlist he personally dubbed 'S.S.D.D'. "Thank you Stephen King" he said as he cocked his head back, allowing the smoke to travel up his trachea until it sprang from his mouth. He watched the wispy cloud as it spread across the air, until it disappeared into nothing. Light hues of gold and pinks splashed across the darkened sky. This was the best part of the day, especially after a shitty day of school. He grunted and looked at the street once more. He stared at everything yet nothing in particular.

"Another trying day, I see" his neighbor said, as he threw his garbage in one of the trash cans. Naruto nodded but didn't turn to him. "Do you think it's a good idea to be smoking right in front of your house?" he asked, and Naruto glanced at him before letting out a grunt. Couldn't the man understand that he just fucking wanted a smoke without someone hassling him? Jeez, some people. The man seemed to get the message and with a chuckle, he walked back into his house. What he didn't want to tell the man, was that his father was dead, his mother was too busy working her fingers to the bone just to take care of the both of them, and his brother had left three years ago, never to come back. So who pray tell, would give a shit that Naruto was smoking? Naruto snorted at himself and leaded forward. With his hands on his knees, he watched as some boys skated down the street.

"Yo, Naruto!" One of the boys shouted, and he noticed that it was Konohamaru, the boy who lived some blocks down. He was a skinny kid of about twelve, had shaggy brown hair with streaks of red, wore cargo pants, and a black t-shirt with some band he probably never heard of. His helmet was covered with a lot of stickers that he always boosted that he bought himself. Konohamaru waved at him, and Naruto nodded, as he watched the boy pass by. He knew that the boy was hurrying home for dinner or his mother would wretch his ear. Naruto smirked against the cigarette in his mouth. When you were a kid, he mused, life was relatively better. Well, for him, the years that preceded puberty, was what he would called, the 'shit'. He loved those years of hanging out with his friends, worrying whether or not his crush knew he even existed, what dinner his mother was making, or when the new game he wanted was going to release. Now, he had to worry what the fuck x meant in a mathematics equation (didn't those assholes know that it was hard enough when it was just numbers?), trying to fit in, struggling to be popular, hoping to be cool, college, studying for exams that you already knew you were going to fail, GPA, life on the whole. And of course, you can't forget the opposite sex. When you're a teenage boy, the hormones were always raging; there was a constant struggle to get in some girl's pants.


He was brought out of his internal musings when his phone beeped. When he took the thing from his pocket, he saw that it was a message from his mother. It was always the same thing. Do your homework, clean yourself up, do your chores or his personal favorite, there's dinner in the microwave, help yourself. He shoved the phone back in his pocket without even looking at it. It wasn't like he was angry or bitter with his mother, no quite the opposite. He was angry at himself, angry at life for always taking something from their family. He felt something nudge him, and when he glanced at the side, he was met with the sight of bright red converse shoes. It was Sasuke.

"You didn't even change" he said in his usual blandness. The black haired teen wore black chinos, white t-shirt, sneakers and an oversized red, hooded sweat shirt with their school logo brightly stitched at the front. "Did you even go inside?" he asked, looking down on him.

"If you know the answer already, why even ask?" Naruto asked as he left the cigarette to hang from his parted lips. Sasuke just scoffed and sat down beside him. The boy smelt of some fruity shampoo and that fresh, clean cut scent of pine. "You drove" Naruto said, and sure enough, his black Jeep was parked in his driveway. Ah, the perks of being rich.

"Of course I did, dumbass. My house is miles away" Sasuke said, as he took the carton of cigarettes from his pocket without asking. Naruto didn't reply because he instead continued to bask in the workings happening around them. "Lighter" he murmured and Naruto took out a silver lighter with an intricate design of a fox engraved at the side. He placed it in Sasuke's hand, before turning back to gaze at the empty road in front of them.

"Let me guess, Itachi's home" Naruto said, watching but not really seeing the cars that passed them.

"Hn" Sasuke said, as he gave him back the lighter. Years of being one of the bastard's best friends enabled him to translate that as yes. If Naruto dug deeper, he would smell that tell tale metallic scent that he knew was there. But instead, the blonde allowed the nicotine to drown out all reality. "Wanted to know if I could crash at yours" he said and ran a hand through his hair.

"Thought you and Suigetsu were heading out tonight" Naruto said though his focus had immediately diverted to the car that had pulled up in his neighbor's driveway. His eyes slightly lit up as the very single, very gorgeous woman who lived opposite from his house, got out her car. Long, lean legs were the first to grace the world, followed by large breasts that jiggled as she pushed herself out. Naruto didn't even know when he started to smile but he did know that it started to spread across his face, as the woman in her short skirt bent to take out her purse. He took the cigarette between his bony fingers and when she turned to them, he could see the mischievous spark in her eyes. She waved with a sly grin on her face and with her things, she walked into her house. As any hormonal teenager, more specifically any boy his age, he ogled the woman and Sasuke chuckled.

"Wipe the drool from your face, dumbass" Sasuke said, leaning back while he kicked out his feet off the pavement. One point for Gryffindor! Here, ladies and gentlemen, we have a rebel among rebels... "And we decided to skip it" he added as he took a long drag from his cigarette. Naruto nodded and flicked some ash onto the ground. The sunlight had all but disappeared, only to be replaced with a somber darkness. The streetlights flickered to life, and he watched as some moths were already enticed to those yellowish bulbs.

"The house is always welcomed to you and Sakura" Naruto said, as a car zoomed past them. "Maybe, we should call her, make it a party" he added with a chuckle to himself.

"Nah, she's got some test tomorrow. Most likely, she's holed up in the library with her nose in a book" Sasuke said as the wind blew between them.

"Got to hand it to her, she's determined to get into that Ivy League college" Naruto said, watching as his cigarette was reduced to a stub.

"And yet, here we are, smoking our lives away" Sasuke said with a snort. Naruto smiled and threw the stub to the ground.

"Here's to us. Future leaders of tomorrow" Naruto said and Sasuke just chuckled. "You ready to head inside?" he asked and Sasuke shook his head.

"I need a minute" Sasuke said, and he knew to read between the lines of that four word sentence. They sat in a comforting silence, both lost, equally as depressed, hiding behind facades that society had forced them to erect so that they could cope with the pressures that came with being a teenager. However, in their presence, only then they could be honest. They could be themselves, without any pretenses. They were free, free from parents, expectations, disappointments and everything else that weighed down on them. That was why they were best friends. Convenience over complication, kindred souls, each struggling to find their place in the hectic mêlée strategically called high school. No matter that they ran in different circles, or had friends separate from each other, because no matter what, they always found a way to each other. Naruto watched as Sasuke got up and with a flick of his wrist, the cigarette crashed to the cemented floor. Without hesitation, the pale boy stomped on it and dusted his pants.

"Good?" Naruto asked as he sluggishly stood up as well. Sasuke dug his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Good, because I'm fucking starving" he said and took up his messenger bag.

"Who told you to sit outside here for so long?" Sasuke bit out without any malice. Naruto just slapped his hands on his ass.

"Sasuke" Naruto seriously said and Sasuke looked up to his friend, who was grudgingly two inches taller than he was. "Go fuck yourself" he said, and Sasuke snorted as he watched as the blonde trotted to his house.

"Whatever, dumbass" Sasuke replied before following after him. And that was usually how their Monday's ended.


S.S.D.D (Same Shit, Different Day)

-Stephen King, The Dream catcher.


Author's notes: I know I haven't updated my other story as yet but I promise I will within this week. The reason I haven't finished it is because my mind was like: "You know what; I know you're really stressed out with a shit load of things but...I kinda have an idea for another story...so um...I'm going to bother you until you get this down or else I'll fuck you up...Sorry". Even my brain is a douche. Anyway, let me just give you a run down on this story. It's a Romance/Angst/Mystery/Bullshit. ~.~ another twist? It's a mother flobbing Yaoi. You know what that means. Oh and there's one more thing I wanted to add...I'm not going to reveal what the pairing is...yet. That doesn't mean you all can't suggest or anything...I'm open to considerations.