Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
The Walk of Life : The Beginning
Naruto was lonely. He had been for a long time and he had hoped that moving to this new school would help him make friends, but that didn't look to likely. He was in his fourth month of attending Konoha Middle School, and he had yet to make a single friend. Not that he didn't try, he did. The children there just weren't kind to outsiders. He sighed as he made his way toward his Computer Compatancy class.
When he entered and took a seat the teacher began to speak. " Today class, we are beginning a new lesson. We are going to create each of you a school email address and your going to choose another address on the list to become penpals with. " Everyone except Naruto groaned at the new assainment. He was rather excited, maybe he could make friends this way. He couldn't wait to get started.
He eagarly stepped forward when his name was called. He smiled when the teacher asked him to come up with a username for his email. He laughed as he said his choice as the teacher sighed good naturedly and wrote down ' Ramen_Lover '.
Once everyone was finished the teacher spoke again. " Alright, the rest of the grades have to make theirs, at the end if this week you will all choose a penpal from the list. The only stipulation is that they cannot be from your grade. That is all, you may go to your next class now. "
The week passed slowly for Naruto, he wanted to see if this would help him make friends. He was still smiling, excited as ever, when he walked into the classroom at the end of the week.
" Alright class, its time for you to choose your penpal. One at a time come up to the list and choose someone from seventh or eighth grade. " This made sense to Naruto, they were in the sixth grade, and so knew everyone. If they chose someone outside thier class they would have a better chance of meeting someone they didn't know.
He was so excited he nearly fell out of his chair in anticipation. When he got to the list he scanned the screennames quickly trying to find one that intrested him. He found it halfwaydown the eighth grade list. It read ' Night_Wish '. It intrigued him, that was the name of his favorite band, he wondered it thats where they got it. He made his choice then.
The weekend flew by for Naruto, all his thoughts were occupied by what he wanted to ask his new penpal.
When he finally made it school he practically ran to the computer lab. He sat down in his seat and waited for his teacher to begin. It seemed like forever, but the clock told him that it had only been five minutes.
As the teacher finally made their way into the room, Naruto held his breath waiting for her to give them the directions of what to do. " Alright class, its time for you to start writing your new penpal. " Narutos breath came out in a large whoosh as he eagarly begain to try to compose his first message.
After a few tries he came up with one that was satisfactory to him. It read, ' Hey, I'm supposed to be your new penpal. Did you get your name from the band NightWish? I love that band! '.
Though he knew he probably wouldn't get a relpy immeadiatly he checked it every few minutes just be sure. When the bell rang for class to end Naruto shut down his computer, sad he didn't get a reply, but it was possiable that they just hadn't got it yet. So, with a little hope still in him he made his way to his math class.
When his classes finally ended for lunch and a break he made his way back to the computer lab, hopeing that his penpal had replied back by now. He wasn't disappointed. In his inbox was a single message, the senders name reading what he had hoped it would read ' Night_Wish '.
He quickly opened the message to find that it read " Yeah thats what its from. I didn't know anybody else liked them. Glad to see somebody else does. ' He was very happy now. He and his new penpal had something in common! That would make things easier, he could have gotten a total jerk who didn't reply at all.
He began to type a message back when the bell rang. He paused for a moment before deciding that this was worth the risk of a detention for being late. He resumed typing and soon he had his message composed. This one read ' Yeah, their awesome! I love the songs The Islander and While Your Lips Are Still Red. What about you? What are your favorite songs? '
He shut down the computer after he sent his message and made his way to class, thankful that his English teacher liked him and that he didn't normally cause her a lot of trouble. She would most likely go easy on him.
That whole night he wished he had a computer to check for another message. When morning rolled around he practially jumped out of bed to get ready and get to school.
Never before these past few weeks had he ever been so happy that his computer class was his second of the day. He couldn't help but watch the clock as he waited for the bell to ring so that he could see if his new friend had written him back.
Finally the bell did ring and Naruto made it to the classroom in record time. He didn't even wait for the teacher to give them their assainments before he opened up his email, estatic to find that he had another message.
He opened it and smiled as he saw the message. ' Those are good songs. My favorite is Planet Hell, especially the live version. ' He smiled, glad that he had finally found someone that he could relate too.
-Time Skip-
It was now Narutos second semester at his new school and three months since he got his penpal. Christmas break was over now and Naruto was dieing to check his email. He had a computer at the house now, but he wasn't allowed to use it yet. When he got to the computer lab he opened his email with two and a half weeks worth of pent up excitement.
He was excited to see a message from his friend. He hadn't been expecting more than that. He had told them that he wouldn't be able to use the email over the break. This new one read ' Thats cool. Hey do these look like fish? ' The rest of the message was filled with lines of symbols that he guessed were supposed to look like fish.
He laughed a little to himself as he began to type a reply. He had decided that he wanted to ask them if they would like to meet. He wrote ' Yeah, they do kinda look like fish. Hey, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to meet? We've been at this for three months and I would like to meet who I'm talking to. What do you think? '.
He knew his penpals name, it was Sasuke. He had tried in vain to spot him in the hallways or at lunch but he could never be positive if the the guy he looked at was him. He hoped Sasuke thought this was good idea, he really wanted to meet him.
The next day he immeadiatly went to the computer lab to check his email. As he opened it he hoped with all he had that Sasuke agreed. There was a message and it took all his courage to open it. It simply read, ' Name the time and place. '
Naruto was so excited he almost screamed in happiness. He quickly thought of a time when all the grades were in the same place and the only time he could think of was the midday break. He typed out, ' Meet me on break near the double doors that lead outside. ' He despreatly hoped Sasuke would meet him.
Break rolled around and Naruto was terrified. He was shaking in his shoes, quite literally. But he waited, and even though he never moved, Sasuke never showed up. He wondered if Sasuke had decided that he wasn't worth his time, but quickly shoved the thought from his head. Maybe he just hadn't gotten the message.
The rest of the day dragged by. He was disappointed, that was for sure, but he kept a little hope that maybe something had happened to make Sasuke miss it. By the time he was home, he was almost sure that Sasuke hadn't meant to miss their meeting. He would just try again tomorrow.
He fell asleep thinking of all the things he and Sasuke could talk about when they finally met. Yes, the day they met would be one to remember, he was sure of it.
The next day came and went as Naruto waited for break time to come. When it finally did he ran to the double doors just as the entire eighth grade came out of their classes. He stood there scanning the crowd, looking for someone he had never even seen before. When the crowd had passed and no one stopped he decided he would just wonder around for awhile.
As he was walking past a group of eighth graders he heard a voice say, " Sasuke! Where are you going? " He felt the whiplash in his neck as he snapped his head in the direction of the voice. He saw that it had come from a girl that he vaguely knew. Her name was Hinata, she rode the same bus he did.
He gathered his courage and ran up to her asking, " You know Sasuke? ". Hinata nodded, before saying " Why? Do you need him? ". He nodded vigourously before he felt Hinatas hand on his arm pulling him forward until he stood infront of a boy.
Naruto gulped as he realized he was looking at the boy had been messaging for the past three months. He was tall, taller than him atleast, he had dark hair and eyes, and had a small smile on his face as he looked at him. It was then that Naruto realized that he liked Sasuke more than a friend. He himself didn't really know how that happened, considering they had never met, but it had.
" So, your the one whos been talking to me for the past few months. " He had a smile on his face, but all Naruto could concentrate on was his voice. He snapped out of it only when he heard one of Sasukes friends call for him, and he began to walk away.
He felt Hinatas hand on his arm as she giggled and whispered in his ear, " I see a crush coming! ". Naruto blushed before stuttering and running off. Leaving a smiling Hinata behind him.
Over the next few days Naruto followed Sasuke at a distance. But by the third day he had decided he was gonna do more. When break was called he found Hinata and followed along side her to Sasuke and his group of friends.
As they approached he heard some of Sasukes friends begin to laugh as they pointed in his direction. He saw Hinata scowl and Sasuke turn and give him a small smile before turning back to his friends.
Hinata led him to the edge of the group and began to talk to another girl there who he didn't know. He felt Sasuke come closer and greet him, and all he could do was stare and stutter a hasty 'hello'. He saw Sasuke smirk at him before he began talking to his friends, leaving it open for him to join when he felt he could.
The months passed quickly. Naruto becoming much more open with Sasukes friends, despite the fact that half of them didn't like him. By now everyone of them knew of his crush on Sasuke. A few didn't seem to mind his presence but the others, like a girl named Sakura, hated him and only wished for him to leave them alone.
Sasuke never told him to leave, so he didn't. But eventually he got to the point of following him around like a love sick puppy, which is what he may as well of been. They became closer friends over the last few months. Naruto was even allowed to use the computer now and had immeadiatly made an email outside of school and he and Sasuke had traded them, talking over the weekends with them.
Naruto was less lonely now, and even though he wished it could be even more he was content to have Sasuke as a friend. Sasuke never did anything mean to him, he was always nice. He could be a little distanced sometimes but he never really ignored him.
About a month after everyone found out about his crush, he dicided that he would see if his feelings for Sasuke would have a chance of being returned. As they left lunch, he stopped Sasuke in the hall.
" Sasuke! I was wondering if umm..., well. " He swallowed and took a deep breath before starting over. " I was wondering if maybe we could do something together later. " He held his breath as he felt Sasukes eyes on him. Then he heard Sasuke start to speak, " Uhh, well, I don't know. I don't really do that. Uhh, did you get a yearbook this year? "
Naruto let his breath out and gave out a slightly shaky, " Uhh, yeah I did. Did you, Sasuke? " And with that they went back to their normal routine friendship. He harbored no hard feelings at Sasukes rejection, he had kind of expected it anyway.
Soon, the end of the year was only a week away. Everyone had gotten yearbooks an hour before and the student body was now busy having everyone sign them. Naruto had not been asked to sign anyones yearbooks yet, not that he had expected to be asked. Though he hoped Sasuke would want him to sign his, just as he wanted Sasuke to sign his. Soon, he got his chance.
He saw Sasuke with Hinata and Sakura near the doorway. As he made his way over he hear Sakura murmur, " Great her HE comes. ". He was a little disheartened but he was perked up again when he saw Hinata try to shush her and Sasuke send her a small glare.
" Hey, Sasuke! Will you sign my yearbook? " He heard Sakura scoff again and say, " As if! Sasuke hasn't signed anyones yearbook. So why would he sign yours? " He dropped his head and began to ask Hinata when he felt the pen and yearbook he was holding being taken from him. He looked up to see Sasuke signing the back of his book and Sakura fuming beside him.
Silently Sasuke gave the book back to him and it read ' Sasuke Uchiha was here ' with an arrow pointing to a circle in the corner. He couldn't help but smile at the signature. Hinata and a few of Sasukes other friends signed the yearbook before school ended for the day.
Finally the week ended and thats when a realization hit Naruto. He was in sixth grade and Sasuke was in eighth. That meant that Sasuke would be going to the high school next year, and Naruto wouldn't see him anymore. It was then that Naruto made his decision.
He found Sasuke outside the computer lab and quickly caught hold of him and said. " Sasuke, I really did like being your friend, even if we can't be more I still loved every bit of it. " With that he stood on his toes and pecked Sasuke on the cheek. Then he turned and ran back to his classroom. Thinking that that was going to be the last he'd ever see of Sasuke.
The summer after school was one that Naruto didn't care to enjoy. He was still a little bummed that he'd never see Sasuke again. He still checked his email though, hoping that maybe Sasuke would contact him, but so far he hadn't.
Then halfway through the summer he got an email from him. He opened it and what it said made his heart stop. It said, ' Call me. ' and had his number underneath it. All he could do for a while was stare at it, trying to get up the courage to pick up the phone and dial the numbers that were on the screen.
Finally, he did. It took him two days to get up the nerve to do it, but he did. He called, and the voice he remembered from before answered. He felt like he couldn't breathe but he said, " Hi, Sasuke. Its Naruto. " The rest of the summer they talked everyday. They even went to each others house a few times. Naruto was starting to be happy again.
Eventually, after seeing them on the phone together so much, Deidara, Narutos cousin, decided to tease them. While Naruto was on the phone with Sasuke, Deidara picked up the other phone and said, " Hey Naruto! Do you have a crush on him or something? " Naruto started to angrily rant into the phone as Deidara began to speak again, " Hey, Sasuke. are you and Naruto dating? ". Naruto could hear Deidara laughing on the other end of the line, but his focus was taken off that when he heard sasuke speak. " Yeah, we are. "
Naruto felt his heart stop as Deidara stopped laughing and hung up the phone. He was afraid to ask but he had too. " Sasuke, why did you say that? " He heard Sasuke scoff, and he tensed, waiting for Sasuke to claim it was a joke. Instead Sasuke said, " Because we are, dobe. ". This time Narutos heart began to race as he dropped the phone and smiled before realizing he dropped it.
Naruto had gotten what he wanted. A friend and the one he loved all in one package. He would never forget all of what led up to that moment. And to think it had all started with only a simple computer assignment.
I hope you liked the first installment in my Walk of Life Series! This whole series is dedicated to my husband! Reviews are appreciated! Thanks for reading!