A/N: This is an edited version of the original, I would've done a complete rewrite, but I'm working on chapter ten. If I get extra time, expect a complete rewrite of the first chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto or any of the lyrics in this chapter, they belong to The Dillinger Escape Plan and Black Sabbath, respectively.

A/N #2: This story is meant to be a representation of high school, and everything it entails in a modern age Konoha, so don't expect it to be like the manga/anime. Now, sure most high school students aren't hard drug addicts, but the Naruto universe has never been normal, plus I want this to be a story of overcoming and finding love and getting better. It's not gonna be all dark, just it's not gonna be all smiles. It's hard to find a Naruto fan fiction that is like this, and this is what I'm most comfortable writing because I am familiar with some of these feelings and situations. I would thoroughly enjoy any reviews, concerns and positive things you might have to say, so much as long as you're not completely bashing it just because it's an AU fic that's not normal and it has a lot of OOC characters and modernization to it. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

NARUTO - POV

September 15th, 6:15 pm.

School sucked. Bad. Why I even bothered to come here, I don't know. My mother forces me to, so I guess that's a good of a reason as any. I mean, sure I was 'popular', I play football, know karate, I like to party, but my friends, well, they suck.

Talk about the sorriest excuses for fake friends. The only friends I truly like are Sasuke, Shikamaru and Sakura, the rest are petty, two faced, conniving sonuva bitches. Especially Kiba, the damn inu lover, I swear all that boy cares about is his dog, drinking and getting laid- the latter of which comes once in a drunken moon.

Ino was the gossip queen cheerleader, a deadly combo. She loves using her influence and looks to get the dirt on any and everyone that she wants. She then proceeds to use said information to blackmail people into doing what she wants and getting what she wants. Drugs, alcohol, sex, money, you name it and she gets it.

Shino, well, he's a quiet guy, I guess that's why I don't mind him eating with us at lunch, that and it keeps the bullies away from him.

Choji, too, I mean sure he's a heavy set dude, but that's no reason to torment someone for the entirety of the day, and even when he's in public. You would think him being on the offensive line would get him some slack, but I guess not.

Then there's the seniors. Neji is the basketball captain, kind of stuck up, but he's not a bully. Numerous times I've seen him kick some major bully ass when he get's the chance.

Ten-Ten is a cheerleader and, unsurprisingly, Neji's girlfriend of 3 years. Those two are as inseparable as Ino and her phone, or Kiba and his dog. Other than that I know she's a sweet girl, shy, not really outgoing.

Rock-Lee. Rock-motherfucking-Lee. That guy is scary fast and scary strong, a fitness freak at the least. Best running back to hit Konoha High in the past, well, ever. He's got a bright future ahead of him and college's are already trying to scoop him up. We're teammates, just not real friends.

I mean, my teachers are ok at the best, Mr. Hatake in physics, Ms. Yuuhi in art, Mr. Sarutobi in math, Mr. Sarutobi's dad, who insists we just call him Hiruzen, in history, Guy-sensei in P.E., Ms. Nara, Shikamaru's mom, in geometry. And Tsunade, the busty principal every guy wants to feel up and her assistant/student counselor, Shizune. Tsunade also teaches health class, a class I don't exactly mind, for once.

Sakura is my best friend, next to Sasuke and Shikamaru. She's had her issues over the years, with her self consciousness, self image issues, wanting to fit in issues, boy issues *shudder*. She's a cheerleader and constantly fighting with Ino, and she has parent issues, but she's been a good friend of mine for years.

Shikamaru is a smart, very smart guy. Also a lazy, very lazy guy. Captain of the chess team, as much as a joke that is, he's a very loyal dude. When in the mood, he can party all night and be able to still hang.

Me and him met in 6th grade and ever since, even though I am everything he's not, we've been best friends. Lazy bastard could've picked a position other than the punter, but then again, its Shikamaru.

And then there's Sasuke. Where do I start? My mother and his mother have been best friends/sisters since they were six, so naturally me and Sasuke were brought up together, we're practically kin to each other. Sure he can be a right asshole, and we've had our spats, but we both know in the end that we both will have each others back any day. Football has only brought me and him together even more, I'm glad to have him in my receiver corp.

You would think I'd be happy, what being the quarterback for a good football team, having good friends, money, a car, a phone and all the other necessities I might need or want, but demons lie in every corner of every hall and room, waiting to strike, thank kami my friends don't know, I couldn't bear facing them if the truth came out, and it looks like that if is becoming a when.

"DINNER'S READY, NARUTO-KUN!"

Oh yea, and my mom, Kushina. Single parent, father left when I was a kid, don't even know the bastards name or where he lives, haven't even seen a picture of him, to prevent me from going out to look for the wretched swine, I'm sure. Awkwardly, my mom hasn't dated much since then, can never get them to stay.

I love my mom to death and she works her ass off for us to be able to live like we do, what, being the owner of a principle fortune 500 company in Konoha, Uzu-tech, specializing in anything from phones to state of the art military equipment. The latter part not being a dinnertime topic. Top secret, I get it.

"COMING, MA!" I holler back, getting up out of bed and heading to my bathroom, to wash my face and wake up a bit, school is draining on the mind after all. I'm glad to have my own bathroom, it helps in the morning when both me and my mom have to get ready for school and work, respectively. Splashing the water on my face I see the bags under my eyes, getting bigger and bigger by the week. 'Kami I need to sleep more.' Ha, as if.

Walking down the stairs, I was greeted by my mothers smile shining as bright as ever and the smell of a home cooked meal, ramen, my favorite. She always knows how to cheer me up when I had a bad day. I would do the same for her, but this woman is such a tank, she's never sad, never frustrated. I need to ask her how she does it.

She looks at me and smiles "Ramen, your favorite, Naruto-kun. I can tell you had a rough day at school, honey." Beckoning for me to sit, I do. I already know she's gonna ask what crawled up my skin, and I'll feed her the truth with some lie-sprinkles, as usual. I'm starting to think she knows I'm lying.

I hugged her before sitting down, saying a small prayer before digging in. "Eh you know it's just another day at school dealing with teachers and students." I lied. "You know how I feel about seeing people be bullied." And there's the truth, I knew I'd find it somewhere in between bites.

Pretty sure that she knows I'm lying, I think she's just waiting to catch me. Clever woman. "I know, son, just deal with it as much as you can and if it get's too bad, Shizune can handle it." I know Shizune can, just Shizune cant stop it for more than a day.

"Yeah, I know, its what she's paid for." Of course, my mom sensed the lingering 'but' in the air, and stared at me until I continued. Sighing, I responded. "But, she can only stop it for a day, maybe a week. I know I personally cant do anything, but its getting on my nerves year after year." I continued eating, hoping she'd drop the subject and move on to her day, which as always, it's great.

Thankfully, she did as I was hoping, moving ion to the new lines of phones they're getting ready to produce, and of course shot down my questions about the military stuff. 'Top secret, you know that Naruto-kun.' Yeah, yeah. I get it. The rest of the dinner went as swell as it could, and after picking up and cleaning the dishes, I heard that sound I figured I would hear pretty soon.

*buzz buzz* *da-dun-dun-dun* A text, from Sasuke. 'Dobe, my place, nine pm, Shikamaru, you and me are gonna hang out and play some games this weekend before football season begins. I know your mom will say yes, just be here.' I mean, he wasn't wrong, and we did need a chill weekend before football started. Especially since our first game is against Wave Academy, one of the fiercest teams we play in our division.

"If that's Sasuke, I already know, me and Mikoto-chan already talked about it earlier. I'll see you Sunday Naruto-kun." Of course she knew. I guess I'll go pack up while she takes a bath, I need one of my own. Thankfully I have time, it's 7:15 and the drive form here to Sasuke's is only 15 minutes.

'Boxers, check. Shirts, check. Pants, check. Sleepwear, check. Toiletries, check. Patience, somehow still here, along with sanity.' I finished my mental checklist, hearing my mother shut off the water. Sighing, I do that a lot, I know, I reach into my closet and grab a lock-box, opening it I grab a small bottle, emptying it's content into my hands I pop the two pills into my mouth, downing them with some water, before heading to the bathroom and disrobing. 'Note to self: pick up some more on the way to the teme's.'

Soaking myself in the bath I lean my head back and relax, letting the water wash away the memories and hardships of today. Hardships? No, I'm blessed. More like mental troubles. That's the word I'm looking for, er, words. Whatever. I let time pass, before washing myself and getting out, dressing in a pair of dark wash blue jeans, a plain black V-neck shirt, my black and green Konoha cap, backwards of course, black socks and my tattered pair of all black converse shoes. Do I like dark colors a bit too much? Probably.

"Mama, I'm leaving, love you and I'll be sure to text you when I get there and let you know I'm okay, see you Sunday." I walk up tp her, laying in bed with her usual gloomy music on, and give her a kiss on the cheek as she smiles, leaning back into bed and reiterating my goodbye.

*buzz buzz* *da-dun-dun-dun* 'I have the stuff, Kono-shop parking lot, corner of Wall and Jones, 8:15 pm. Sixty per usual. See you there.' I release a mental sigh for him having it, and also it's closer to Sasuke's than the one on Hokage boulevard and Nation road. I hate that part of town anyways.

Grabbing my keys and bag I head out of the door, getting into my truck and cranking it up, backing out of the houses drive way and driving off into the night, popping in my new cd I just got from a mutual acquaintance yesterday and letting the guitars and drums assault my ears.

And in the end, lay me to rest in the place we first had met my love. Let this never-ending nightmare seize to be in your arms, tonight, oh, tonight.

A local band, but they were good. Bullet Theory, if I'm correct, is their name. Not bad. The Konoha music scene was doing ok, some good local metal and rock bands, some death, some punk, some hardcore. A lot of wanna-be underground rappers, but that's everywhere.

Middle finger on the trigger, bitch, give it up, give it up.

That album took a turn, just as I took a turn onto Wall drive, spotting the Kono-shop and the black sedan that I was longing to see. 8:13, right on time as usual. Parking next to the black sedan with my window next to the driver's window, we both do a cop-check, before rolling our windows down, and exchanging goods for money.

After counting it, the red headed girl smiles before rolling off into the night, onto the next buyer/victim. I stash the stuff before heading out again, turning the music back up again, letting it serenade me to Sasuke's.

Never mind all the trials, the endless flames, tonight we'll shine like no other, an end to the suffering.

Not a bad acoustic track to end the ep.

SASUKE-POV

8:45 pm.

I heard a knock on my door, the dobe was early for once, surprisingly. I knew it was him, his truck rumbling, sputtering as the engine stops, his loud footsteps hitting the ground and my front door creaking open. I think somewhere along the line, we lost the need to knock on each others front doors, maybe the bedroom door, but that's a stiff maybe.

"Teme, I'm here!" he announces in the house, was it a good guess that he knew my mom was probably working right now?

I guess so, as he just barged in my house. "No shit, get in here, dumbass." I fire back, as he swings open my bedroom door and tosses his bag onto my bed, knowing he can put it where it belongs later. We shake hands and pat each other on the back as usual, before he smiles and pulls something out of his bag.

"I told you a week ago I would come through." He was holding a copy of Call To Arms, an intense first person shooter co-created by Yama Studios and Erode, backed by none other than Uzu-tech. Go figure. It was released a week ago, but stores quickly sold out of it. Nothing like pizza, soda and shooting people. Gotta love it.

He puts the game next to my console, a relatively new Xbox One, and grabs his controller from his bag, a special order one he got a year or so ago, simple green and black, nothing fancy and extravagant. He plops down into a chair in my room, and opens a soda I had sitting for him.

"Nice, dobe, I guess being the son of a highly esteemed tech corporation owner has it perks, huh?" I jab at his ribs with a finger, causing him to look at me and just simply smile.

He takes a sip of his soda, before speaking. "You know I don't like flaunting our wealth, even my mom doesn't. But if I have the opportunity, you know I'm gonna use my influence. Plus it helps you and Shikamaru out too, so don't complain."

I waved my hands in the air as to dismiss his statement. "Ma, ma, you know I'm just teasing, dobe." Punching him in the arm softly, we hear Shikamaru's car pull up, hearing his bass from his sound system quietly rumble from the old stoner metal he's always listening to.

Just a few minutes had passed before he too walked into my room, waving hello and dropping his bag onto the floor and sitting down, looking at the game we had up. "Well, well, Naruto. You came through." Shikamaru smiles at the blonde boy, who nods and smiles back.

It was a quiet night so far, high school banter, talking about football, parties, getting wasted and passing out in the bath tub with a bottle of whiskey and a box of pizza. Naruto blushed a bit at that one before we all laughed it off like the friends we are. Eventually, the topic got to girls, as I had figured it would.

"Hey, Naruto, when you gonna find yourself a girl?" Shikamaru prodded at Naruto, getting a sly grin from the boy who simply responded.

"Girls, man. I mean, eventually I'd like to find me a nice girl to love, but it's not so easy, right teme?" He's good at shifting the attention from him to someone else. Why did I have to be in his crosshairs tonight?

I grunted, killing my last slice of pizza. "Hn, it's not. For once you're right, it's easy to find a simple lay but actually caring about someone?" Simply grunting again, the attention was back to the dark haired lazy man.

Shikamaru was shifting a little too uncomfortably in his seat, something both me and Naruto picked up on but decided to leave be for the time being. "Look at us, talking about love and girls." Shika laughed awkwardly. I guess now is a better time than ever to act on the dark haired junior.

"Ne, what's up Shika? You seem a bit unnerved by this topic." Perfect flow, I would like to tell myself.

"Ma, it's just...I've been texting this girl since our sophomore year and, well, she could be the one. But she goes to Suna High." Suna high? what was he thinking indeed? It's a good hour drive, maybe more, from here to there. This girl really must be something special.

"Ah, she a cutie?"

*thump*

These two, I swear they hate each other but they don't. Please let this night go smoother than it has been already. Don't wanna fix any holes in the walls.

NARUTO-POV

11:30 pm.

"Say, Naruto, out of all the girls in Konoha high, who would you rather go out with right now?" Shika had asked me as I got up from the floor, rubbing my arm from his punch.

Adjusting myself in the seat, I thought over his words for a second. That really was a good question. "Hmm. Ne, not Sakura-chan, she'd beat me up before we ever went out. Ino, nah, I don't want any disease and I rather like my wallet full." The two boys agreed, a mutual liking for money wasn't a bad thing. "I...honestly don't know much about the others."

I looked towards Sasuke, who had a thinking look on his face. "What about that Hyuuga girl, Hinata? I think that's her name."

Hinata, how could I have forget about her? Just kidding, it's easy. She's shy, quiet, never makes any noises really in class. Somehow evades bully, probably because her cousin is Neji. Lucky girl. I haven't noticed her much, I know she likes art, but that's it. "The quiet girl? I don't know teme, none of us know much about her."

"Hinata Hyuuga, seventeen, sophomore in the top five percentile of our class. Dad is Hiashi Hyuuga, owner of Hyuuga Auto, one of the biggest automobile companies in the surrounding nations. Mother died a few years after she was born, in labor with her younger sister Hanabi, who is 13 and a incoming freshman next semester. How do I know all of this? Sitting next to Ino for one day at lunch has it's perks, and likewise, she annoys the shit out of me." Shika had finished with his mouthful of information.

It was something to think about. She was kinda cute, very mysterious. I don't know why, but I liked that a lot. Thinking about classes I know we had at least history and art together, and the same lunch. Maybe I could try to...eh, leave it for the rain. "Eh, we'll see."

I wanted it to end on that note, and thankfully it did. But still, I couldn't help but let my mind wander to the mysterious lavender haired sophomore, wondering what her night was going like, and if it was anything like mine.

And, if I'm being honest, I doubt it is. From what I do know about her, after her moms death she became a bit recluse. Rumor has it that she's gay, but I doubt that. Just like Sakura could be gay. Lesbian, I mean, that's the proper word for it.

But could she be a tweaker just like me? I doubt it. Her dad's super protective of her and wouldn't let her get away with anything. Again, these are all just rumors but rumors speak if in quantities. All it takes is one to start and eventually the truth comes out. Why was I so suddenly interested her, though? It's been a minute since I've dated, sure, but still.

I've been alone like this for a lot of my years so there's no point in being disheartened and shit. It'll come eventually.

Eh, fuck it. I can't help but think about her anyways.

HINATA-POV

September 15th, 9:45 pm.

Kami, my dad needs to go to sleep. I love him, but I need my solitude right now. Today has been one helluva day for me. I know the way those girls look at me, they all wanna say something, but they're afraid. Of my cousin, of my money, perhaps even of me. Then, I swear Naruto-kun caught me looking at him, but I'm not sure anymore. Ugh, this headache isn't any better than earlier. I just wanna shoot myself. Not such a bad idea currently...

"Hinata, I'm going to bed, I hope you feel better sweetie." Ugh, not the sloppy forehead kiss again. I get it, my mother used to do it every night when she was here, but good lord he's not my mom. No matter how hard he tries to be, he can't replace my mother and still be my father.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about Mama. I miss her, so much, it hurts everytime I think about her. But I cant not think about her. Not while I'm sober at least. Even if I think about her when I'm spun, the drugs numb the pain. If only Papa knew how much his little angel was hurting, or how imperfect she really was, maybe he'd think twice about kissing her goodnight. Maybe. Knowing him, he'd still do it just to spite me.

Yea, sure, I'm the quiet, rich girl in school, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun. Right? With a sigh I go and lock my door, stuffing a towel in the crack under it and saying a quick prayer that my dad's room is a good distance away from mine. I walk into my closet and grab a safe, walking and setting it on my bed.

Unlocking it and opening it, I smile at it's contents; a few pictures of my mom, a necklace of hers, some earrings but most importantly, at least right now, a small clear bag with a brown powder in it, a spoon, and a syringe.

Putting a bit of it's contents in the spoon with a bit of water, I grab a lighter and hold it under the spoon till the contents cook a bit, before grabbing a tiny, pebble sized ball of cotton and putting it in the substance, sticking the needle in it and sucking up as much of the liquid as I can.

I grab a field tourniquet from my first aid kit and put it on my arm, holding the end in my mouth and one in my hand with the needle, letting my vein show. Slowing my breathing I plunge the needle into my vein and empty its contents into my bloodstream, putting the needle and everything back up as the rush hit me.

Kami, it felt so good. I grabbed my favorite remote and turned it to the metal channel on the cable TV, letting the songs of the night soothe me along the ride as I change from my jeans into a pair of sweats, and tear off my bra and shirt, pulling a big tee over my head and flopping down into my bed, letting my brain swirl around me. I knew tis wouldn't last forever, but I was prepared to cook up some more.

Just barely reaching the light string on my fan, I sit in my darkness. 'Too dark' I got up and lit three or four candles. Riding the train was fun, it took me away from the city of pain and sorrow I was living in to a land where those two things ceased to exist, in their wake they left happiness, courage, and most important of all...peace.

She moves abstract just, like a shadow dancing on the edge, like a storm cloud passing overhead. Effortless and free

I wish I was a storm cloud just moving overhead, floating lazily, no effort. That's what it felt like right now. Just floating in a sea of white. Then again, if I was a cloud, Shikamaru could just stare at me, and that'd be weird. Hehe.

As the hours rush by, through her I can sense the end of time. There's no way this can forever shine. Make the sun not rise.

It wasn't wrong, the hours did rush through in my state of mind, as the tunes kept coming and coming, serenading me into a deeper high. Unfortunately, like the song said, there's no way this was gonna last forever, and I did start crashing. Time to up the dosage.

In the age of reason, how do we survive?

Good question. I'll let you know when I find out.

September 16th, 2:32 am.

Jeez, time had flown while I was flying. I feel the comedown hitting me hard, and I was out of drugs. 'Sucks, can't get any till after school.' I needed something to help. Anything. Feeling defiant, and confident, I grab my keys to my Jeep. What a strange name for a car, apparently it's western but meh. I needed something sweet, maybe ice cream, and if I went to the right store, some smokes.

The only place that either won't ID me or tell my dad is the Gas 'N Stuff on Roamer and Berry. It'll have to do, even if it's fifteen minutes away from my place in the good part of Konoha. Tip toeing down the stairs as to not wake either my dad, cousin or sister, and into the driveway. Turning the key I hear it crank up thankfully quiet, and pull out of the driveway, cruising down the road to my destination.

I've had enough music. Just the sound of tires on pavement is good enough to get me to where I'm going. Finding a parking spot next to an awkwardly familiar truck, I enter the store, grabbing a pint of vanilla ice cream and a cinnamon bun.

Putting the items on the counter pointing out the pack of cigarettes that I wanted, a familiar voice sounds off behind me, making me freeze in place.

"Hinata?"

Of course he was here, the blonde boy of my dreams, Naruto Uzumaki, standing right behind me as the cashier bags my stuff. I pay the man and turn around face him, smiling and waving before hurrying out the door, getting in my car and starting it and quickly escaping the situation.

'Too close, Hinata, too close.'

I need sleep. After ice cream. Kami bless me.

NARUTO-POV

Well, that was weird. I shrugged, popping a cigarette into my mouth and getting in my truck, Sasuke's ice cream and Shikamaru's candy in the passenger seat as I head back to Sasuke's, which was only a few minutes from here. The guys might have an opinion on this situation, hopefully. Whipping back into the driveway and walking back into the house, I walk into Sasuke's room and toss him his ice cream and spoon and Shikamaru his candy, who just nod and give me a thanks. "Ne, you'll never guess who I ran into at Gas 'N Stuff."

Shikamaru chuckled. "What, the hooker who keeps asking you if you 'want some of this'?" He laughed with Sasuke until they saw the look on my face and decided to be serious. "Ma, I was joking, who'd you run into?"

"The one and only Hinata Hyuuga." I saw, stealing a piece of candy from Shikamaru and popping it out of its wrapper. Caramel filled milk chocolate, yum. "But it was weird. She seemed...off. Like she wasn't, well, sober. She had to be on somethin'." Truth be told, her eyes looked a lot like mine when I'm high, I just didn't want it to be true.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke looks at me strangely. "What makes you say that?" He asked. This oughta be fun, explaining to them how I know why she was on something.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, I start my explanation. "There's a few things. First, for the quiet girl she was smiling way too bright, second, her eyes, they were droopy, like that one time Shika took too many of his painkillers when he pulled his hammy. Third, her breathing was a bit off and she seemed a bit 'floaty'. She wasn't exactly high, just I know she had done something recently." I see the looks on their faces, and raise a hand to stifle their questions. "I always liked drug prevention studies. One subject I'll pay attention to in health class." Not a full lie, but good enough.

They seemed to be contempt with my answer. "Well, what do you suppose we do about this, then?" Good question, Shikamaru, what do you do about the quiet girl that uses drugs that never talks to anyone, never goes out, especially not at 2-fuckin-30 in the morning, or always runs from people who approach her.

Putting a hand on my chin and resting my head on it, I start thinking of the ways to approach her, and I know the best way, I just cant say it. The best way to approach a user is if, one, you're a user, and two, you corner them. "Ma, I'll try at school Monday, let's just talk about our first game Friday against Wave."

It was an easy subject to sway our minds into talking about the thrill of the game, and especially Wave's ferocious defense. Their corners, ends and linebackers are some of the top prospects, and even if they're missing their star quarterback, the offense isn't too shabby.

"Ne, with that defense I guess I'll be seeing a lot of playing time then." Shika may not be wrong, I think this is gonna be a low scoring game. Maybe 24-21 in our favor.

"Not if the dobe throws on target this time." Fucking asshole, he'll never forget one pass. ONE PASS.

"Shut up and pick a map, teme's." And with that, the night carried on, as my mind continues to wander to the Hyuuga girl. To be honest, she looked kinda cute in those sweats and sandals...I need a smoke.

September 18th, 12:15 pm

Ah, lunchtime, show time. Grabbing a tray and waiting for Shikamaru and Sasuke to find a seat I pray a quick prayer, this time not just for the food, but for the lavender beauty in the corner of the room, eating quietly with her headphones in her ears. Amen. Time to eat.

As Sasuke and Shikamaru find a seat they notice my food was half gone already. "Did you even taste your food?" Shika laughs, even though he knows exactly what I'm trying to do. I need to hurry up and eat so I can find my way over to her, sneakily.

"Ha, yea, but you know what I'm trying to do." Well, they do, hopefully. I'm sure at least the teme remembers.

To confirm my thoughts, Sasuke nods. "Yea, I just don't know how you're gonna do it. But if anyone, it's you." Thanks for having faith, teme.

"Yea, yea. It takes a brash person to break open a quiet shell. Naruto, you can't go in like a bull in a china shop though." I know, Shikamaru, trust me, I know.

I just simply nod as I swallow my food. "I need to finish this first, and I like mama Akimichi's meatloaf too much to just wolf all of it down."

I didn't even notice the quiet Chouji next to us. The man never speaks. "The secret is in the bread crumbs and seasoning. The meat is just your average ground beef." Well, that's definitely interesting. I guess it's a good a time as any to speak, Chouji.

I smile and clap him on the shoulder gently, giving him a thumbs up. "Thanks dude, I'll be sure to remember that when I wanna try out making my own."

"Everyone has their own recipe in life, Naruto, just remember that." Wise words indeed, my fine, fine friend. It's game time though, I need to get over to Hinata before she whisks away from me. Standing up I head over to her, but she notices me coming. Shit, I need to learn to be a bit more sneaky. She stands up and ducks out of the door heading to the back of the school.

Not running, but fast walking I gently chase, if you could call it that, after her. For some reason she ignores the obvious hide out and walks past the women's bathroom and ducks out the back door. Not a few seconds after, I was out of it too, but she was long gone, somehow.

Sighing, I decide to try and catch a quick smoke, grabbing a cigarette I hid in my shoe and lighter, but before I spark it, a smell hit my nose. Tobacco. Hmm, wonder who that could be...rounding the corner quietly the smell get's stronger, before I hit the spot where it's coming from. The little Hinata, between two A/C vents running up the building. "Busted."

The look on her face was priceless, especially as she dropped her cigarette and fumbled over her words. "I-I'm s-sorry. I'll b-be g-g-going now." She moved towards me, trying to leave her little hiding spot.

I can't let this opportunity pass, though. I was, after all, blocking her way. I lit my cigarette and bent down to get hers, handing to her with a smile. "I'm only busting your ass, Miss...Hinata, was it?" At that she simply nodded, taking her cigarette back and taking a puff off it. Taking a hit of mine, I slowly exhale, before continuing my sentence. "I admit it was rather, weird, running into you in that part of town at two in the morning, what were you doing over there?"

She just shrugged, but I knew why. "Ne, I know, it's the only place that doesn't ID people." Again, she nodded, did she not know how to talk or something? It wasn't long before we both finished, and she politely moved past me. It's now or never, Naruto.

"Hinata, I know."

Those three words made her freeze, three simple, innocent words.

"Know what?" Please don't play dumb.

"It was obvious that you were on something, more than likely an opiate. Which one was your poison that night?" Right where I want her, even if she could just walk away.

"How...how do you know" Oh come on, it's obvious by now.

I smile, walking up to her frightened and shocked being, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Because," I looked her dead in the eye "you're not the only one here that uses."

I guess that was enough for her, she went to walk away but I stopped her one more time. "Hey, here, take my number, in case you need anything, or anyone." I thrust out a piece of paper with my number on it. With a trembling hand, she takes it and nods.

"T-thank you, I must go now, t-though." And with that, she was gone, leaving just one question on my mind.

What had I just got myself into?

The rest of school and my night with my mom had gone relatively quiet, me and Hinata had exchanged glances in classes, but nothing more. It was eleven at night now, my mom was fast and long asleep before I grabbed the lock box in my closet, before finding the brown powder in it and the tools I needed before I found myself flying in the sky, much like Hinata last night.

2:11 am.

*buzz buzz* *da dun-dun-dun*

It was 2 am, it must be Hinata's favorite hour, because that's when she texted me. Who am I kidding, I was up too, nodding out but I was up too.

"I'm sorry. It's just that no one knows, so to be confronted about it threw me off guard completely. We can text more tomorrow, but I'm crashing out. Goodnight, Naruto-kun"

Me too, 'Nata, me too.

"Goodnight, 'Nata."

I have a feeling this is the beginning of one helluva shit storm...

A/N: Phew, hopefully a good chapter to you guys, but I'm personally happy with the way it turned out, lemme know what y'all think!