DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. - It's all Kishimoto Masashi's property.

This is just a fanfic, made from a fan for fans.

AUTHOR'S Note: AU, several pairings apart from main one, Rated M for language, explicit intimate scenes and yaoi.

It never ceased to amaze him how many people fawned all over that sorry excuse of a human being. Everyone kept tagging along and catering to his every whim. Then he'd laugh like the idiot he was, make some unintelligent remark and throw everyone off track.

Yes, that's Uzumaki Naruto all right, Neji thought to himself. A village idiot whom somehow everybody appeared to love. How that dude managed to enter college with such high grades, was beyond him. It's not like he had any special circumstances or background, that could have been of any help. And yet, there he was, annoying the living hell out of Neji, with his brash demeanor and boyish, roguish looks. Their first meeting had been awful and it was impossible for him to come to like the blond ever since.

Taking fast, long strides, he hoped he could avoid a chance meeting with the said dork. If only he could be so lucky just for once. Footsteps echoed down the corridor from the direction he was heading towards to. Before he had enough time to turn around and run for it - he was no coward, any sensible man would certainly do so - Uzumaki Naruto, the man himself showed up with his usual companions. It saddened and irritated Neji to no end, that his cousin, Hinata, was actually one of them.

He steeled himself and made sure he exhibited a cool and collected expression. He wouldn't let them see how much they affected him, especially since he himself had no idea why this was happening either. Laughter erupted probably due to some joke, lame for sure, Uzumaki made. Hinata was looking at him like some lovestruck puppy.

Neji cringed internally, but kept his thoughts to himself like always. No matter what he said, his cousin wouldn't heed his words at this point anyway. Why should he even bother then?

As he reached the small crowd, he noticed that Uchiha Sasuke was among them. Another inexplicable mystery of the universe that his quite reasonable brain failed to solve. The Uchihas had always been intelligent, powerful, filthy rich and proud to a fault. Why such a man would loiter around an idiot was beyond his comprehension. Even though he mostly kept to himself or grumbled short responses, he looked as if he actually enjoyed the company. Neji had always seen him hanging with Uzumaki after all.

Not showing the least bit concerned about the ruckus around him, the young Uchiha met his eyes steadily and greeted him with a slight nod of his head. Neji did the same. The motion caught the blond's eye though, who immediately came to a halt, a broad smile lighting his face.

"Neji!", he approached him in two long strides, as if eager to greet a close friend. Everyone was standing awkwardly, jaw-dropped at the casual greeting. They were used to be given the cold shoulder, and even though they acknowledged him, they knew better than taking any liberties with him and kept their distance. Uzumaki, the bastard, didn't.

Neji gave a curt nod and ignored the questioning looks pointed at him or the flood of questions coming from the blond menace. Instead he walked towards his cousin, who was timid, almost scared in his presence as usual, and handed her the invitation to the Hyuuga gathering, that would be held at their mansion the following week.

"Your presence is required."

"Um, yes, of course. I shall attend with my parents."

Neji took a moment to examine the young woman standing in front of him a little better. Long, raven colored, shiny hair, unblemished, pale skin and ice blue eyes. Hinata held a remarkable beauty, befitting of a member of the Hyuuga family, but she was way too shy for his liking. It seemed she somehow managed to work around that issue, where Uzumaki was concerned though. Oh well, as long as things worked out for her, it was fine by him.

"I shall take my leave then."

Not one to idle around, Neji started past them.

"Wait a second, Neji!", the blond held his arm in a firm grip, not letting go. Everything seemed frozen as he cast a cool glare over his shoulder to the owner of the offensive hand.

"Is anything amiss, mister Uzumaki?", he managed through clenched teeth, not bothering the least to hide his annoyance.

Hinata chose that moment to step in, removing the guy's hand from his arm, anxiety pouring out from her in volumes.

"Formal attire?", she asked quietly.

"That's a given."

"H-how about um... escorts?"

Now that was a question he never saw coming.

"Allowed. Expected. In some cases recommended."

He didn't think she'd have the nerve to ask anyone, but then again she was trying so hard to rescue her friend at the moment, that he definitely admired her for the effort she put to distract him.

"If that is all, I will be taking my leave. Don't hover. Classes have started five minutes ago.", he reminded them before turning to leave. Neji was utterly disgusted with himself for being affected this much by that guy's every movement.

He always had issues with people getting too cozy with him, so having someone, whom he couldn't even tolerate being around, touch him so casually, irritated him more than he'd like to admit. Hopefully there wouldn't be any more encounters with the idiot for the rest of the week. He slammed the door of his car and drove away. A man could only hope.

A small intro for my next fic, Naruto-centered apparently. 3 You can't even imagine just how excited I am!

I'm hoping for a weekly or biweekly update. Look forward to it! ~