Disclaimer: Don't own , etc.

Pairing Info: There will be Boyxboy, girlxgirl, and girlxboy pairings in this fanfic. Now, I am open to requests and suggestions, so just review and let me know what you want to see.

Current parings: Neji/Shikamaru, Tayuya/Hinata, Kisame/Itachi, Sasuke/Naruto, Sasori/Deidara. With a side of possible unrequited Sai/Naruto and Tobi/Deidara.

Warnings: Language, teacher/student, possible rape/drug use/violence/etc etc. Also it'll probably get rather deserving of the M rating later on, just as a heads up (in other words, sexual content. I'm sorry).

Author Note: Yes, another high school centric Naruto fic. Sorry. I've always enjoyed reading them (is that strange? I know a lot of people tend to hate them) even if they are overdone and whatnot. I love, love, reading drama, so I've finally decided to try to write it myself. If you have any suggestions/requests/tips/etcetc or just want to let me know what you think, please take a moment to review. The chapters might be annoyingly short at first, but they'll get longer, bear with me please.


Hinata POV

The divine mixture of cream and artificial flavorings melting against my tongue was soothing, to say the least. I kept shoveling in spoonful after spoonful, trying my hardest not to hyperventilate (something that, much to my displeasure, seems to happen to me much too frequently. I apologize in advance if what I'm about to say sounds rude, but I am not your vacationing spot, Mr. Decreased Carbon Dioxide Levels, so it would be best if you just went away and never came back, pretty please).

"You're lucky Hyuuga are blessed with a fairly high metabolism, Hinata, or else you'd have to work even harder in training to lose that extra pudge." Neji spoke calmly from where he was perched on top of the kitchen counter across from where I sat. That's hardly fair, I thought. He knows I'm nervous, and it's not as if I have anywhere else to turn to for comfort; I need this Vanilla Caramel Fudge ice cream.

He didn't seem surprised when I didn't say anything in reply, continuing my ice cream purge silently. Still, this didn't seem to stop him from 'tch'ing at my apparent insubordination. I felt slightly bad for my lack of reply, so I carefully swallowed before deliberately setting down my spoon. My eyes flickered up to him briefly; he was staring at me expectantly and without interest. I quickly dropped my gaze to the marble counter top.

"You, you k-know, Neji… Father dislikes it when you d-do that, s-sit there, I mean." I would have liked to think I wouldn't be stuttering as much if I wasn't so nervous, but even I knew that was a long shot.

"I wasn't aware you were so interested in a career in law enforcement, cousin." Whoops, I should have known he would have taken that the wrong way.

"That's n-not what I meant, I just would prefer for you not to get in t-trouble. Father also doesn't l-like it when you don't keep that… your hair, tied back… It's s-silly but..." He should know by now that I didn't like the rules any more than he did. He should know, and perhaps he did, and just chose to ignore it. As if my father's discrimination towards him was somehow my fault. Neji was stubborn like that. He could be very immature and childish sometimes, and I think the only thing keeping him from using my hair (which I am very fond of, I finally grew out after having it very short all my life) as a chewing gum target, was his determination to keep up his calm charade of nonchalance. Personally, I think he's going to crack one of these days, I can only hope I'm there when it happens. I'm not very good at catching blunt objects with my head, but better me than someone else, right?

Neji looked slightly annoyed, though that probably had a lot to do with the fact that he wasn't by any means a morning person. "Shouldn't you be off patrolling the streets this early, officer? Making sure children don't get hit by cars on their way to their first bright, joyous day at school?"

Ugh, did he have to remind me what would be taking place in a few hours? "I wish I would get hit by a car." I murmured. It was safe to say I was not at all looking forward to today.

He sighed, "Oh, come on, Hinata. You've been worrying over this all summer. I think it's time you suck it up and just go. You'll be fine, as I've told you over and over again; freshmen year is not hard at all. Besides, someone like you will only be noticed for that speech impediment and excessive shyness. Such awful habits, if I were you, I would be concentrating on breaking them, rather than numbing my brain with frozen cow secretions."

"Now I really want to get hit by that car."

"We both know that's not true."

"I know."

"Well, that fulfills my life-saving quota for the day. I'd be the best damn suicide hotline operator in the history of forever."

I couldn't help but smile. "Oh, y-yes, Neji, I agree. Your charming voice would lure even the most suicidal out of their depressed ways; a-actually, I think they may even start hitting on you by the end of the session."

Neji's lip twitched, probably fighting a smirk "You know, Hinata, you can be real cute sometimes. Maybe people around school will actually notice you're related to me." At his last words he hopped down from the counter and sauntered out of the room, presumably to get ready to go to said school.

I stared after him, smiling silently to myself. Maybe the day I had been dreading wouldn't be such a bad day after all.


Neji POV

Hinata was looking extremely nervous, poking her fingers together and fidgeting every few seconds in the bus seat in front of mine. We were the first stop, along with a few other kids, Sasuke Uchiha I noticed in particular. As of now everyone had their own seat, and I had quickly abandoned Hinata as soon as we stepped into the school bus; it was my personal goal to ignore her as much as possible.

If there was anything I agreed with my guardian, Hinata's father, on, it was definitely that Hinata needed to learn to fend for herself. She needed to toughen up. A lot. Hence why we were both being sent to a public school – Hiashi thought the majority of the kids that attended would be just perfect for doing the job. Harsh, yes, but she really needed to get over her social awkwardness, it embarrassed me just by watching. This, of course, is also why we are riding the damned bus to school, rather than just taking my car. Hiashi forbid it. A part of it also might have to do with the fact that he greatly disapproved of my driving.

At this point we'd reached several stops and the bus was getting pretty full, people would actually have to start sharing seats soon. Joy. I put on my best intimidating face, glaring as best I could at such an hour. Another stop. More kids were skipping into the bus, overjoyed and eager to start the new day, and by this I mean they were filing in like zombies.

A girl with long oddly colored reddish-pink hair trudged down the aisle with a scowl etched onto her features. I recognized her as one of the flute players in the school band. She was probably a sophomore by now, like me. I say probably because I'm not sure if, technically she passed. Apparently she didn't do much schoolwork; one of those kids who just went to school because they had to. I heard she caused a lot of trouble for the teachers last year, she had a fairly notorious reputation around school. The word is she beat a guy pretty badly with her flute within the first few months of her freshmen year. She would have probably been expelled if the fight had happened in school. Lucky for her it didn't, and the guy was too ashamed of getting hurt so badly by someone so much smaller than him to press charges. The only thing teachers heard were rumors, but you can never be sure if those vile things are true or not. That wasn't the end of her 'trouble making' either.

So, needless to say, I instantly grew weary when she plopped down beside my cousin, whose condition was not, by any means, improving.

I watched as Hinata quickly scooted as far over in the seat as she could until she was pressed firmly against the window, an action I knew was her way of being polite. The flute player seemed to take note of this, and growled, "What the fuck is your problem, little girl? If there's something you want to say about me, just go on right ahead and say it-- on second thought, don't. It's too fucking early to deal with little shi-"

My attention to the ranting girl was cut short when there was suddenly weight on the empty spot next to me. A gir—no, boy, definitely a boy, with his brown hair tied back into a high pony tail had just sat beside me. He groaned, muttering to himself and scratching the back of his head. He looked very, very, tired as well as seemingly more than displeased by the fact that he was here, on a school bus, and not still asleep under the covers at home. I would have emphasized with him if not for the fact that he was occupying the space next to me. I always had my own seat, always.

"Eehh, sorry man, you don't have to look like you're going to bite me. I needed somewhere to sit, and you looked like you would rather drink a bottle of antifreeze than talk, and I would rather swim in a bathtub filled with bleach than have to listen to someone talk.. so… it jus.. just kind of.. wor. .works out.. you know?" After his little speech, the boy yawned widely and then promptly closed his eyes and started snoring. At first I almost thought it was some kind of joke, but no, he was actually out like a light. What the hell. If he starts drooling I swear I'll swipe a bottle of bleach from the janitors, mix it with some antifreeze, and then shove it down his throa—the bus turned a corner causing the boy to lean against me, the side of his face falling to rest gently on my shoulder.

Great way to start the day. Great. Just, great.