Staring up at the darkened ceiling, 16-year-old Sasuke Uchiha shifts his hands behind his head and releases a long, slow breath. The dry night air is especially warm for September, gusting through the open window to stir his dark bangs across his pale cheeks. He's never been able to sleep with the window closed. Even in the dead of winter, when snow Q pounds against the screen and his foster mom begs him not to let the heat out of the house, he still opens it.

But tonight it's distracting him. He can't get to sleep. No matter how hard he tries, his mind still races with thoughts of homework and football and the annoying girl down the street with a crush on him. Anything to keep his mind off of the true reason for his insomnia.

With an annoyed growl, he turns on his side, freezing as the shaft of light beneath the door catches his eye. He glares at it for a long moment, sweat gathering on his bare chest, before flipping the other way and cramming his eyes shut.

But in his mind, it's still there – the light, the door, and the cries behind it.

-O-

"Sasuke!"

The knob turns and hinges creak.

"Sasuke wake up!"

The wall shudders as the door crashes against it.

Sasuke groans as the noise cuts through his precious state of slumber. "Go away," he orders, not even bothering to look at the intruder.

"But Mom wants to know why you're not down for breakfast!"

"Tell her I'm sick."

"Aw, come on!" Sasuke feels the bed lurch as the intruder launches himself onto the end of it. "You know she never falls for that one."

Cracking one lid, Sasuke glares at the sparkling cerulean eyes set under an unruly shock of blonde hair. "Go away, Naruto," he repeats.

Naruto's grin turns pleading. "Dude, you know I can't go downstairs and tell her that I couldn't get you up. She'll kill us both!"

Rolling onto his stomach, Sasuke pulls the pillow over his head. "I don't care."

"Come on, man!" Naruto's voice sounds muffled.

After a few moments, the blonde lets out an exasperated sigh and leaps off the bed. "Well, you asked for it!"

There's a sudden, sharp tug on his ankle and Sasuke is forced to grasp the edge of the bed to keep from being pulled off. "Hey!" he yells, trying unsuccessfully to kick his way free of Naruto's grip.

"You have to get up!" Naruto says, struggling to tame both of Sasuke's fighting legs. "She's gonna come up here!"

With his free hand, Sasuke grabs his pillow and starts to beat Naruto over the head with it. "Let go of me!"

"Boys!" the deceptively-sweet voice carries up the stairs, making both of them freeze. "What's going on up there?"

"Nothing!" Naruto yells, before turning back to Sasuke with a glare. "See I told you you'd get us in trouble," he whispers.

Sasuke frees his legs with one final kick and ends up in a pile on the floor. "Idiot." He glares back as he disentangles himself from the sheets.

-O-

"You look tired, Sasuke," Kushina Uzumaki, a pale, slender woman with a long frizz of red hair, says as she reaches over the bar to set a plate of pancakes in front of him. "Did you sleep okay?"

He shrugs, not meeting her gaze, instead turning his attention to the peanut butter jar next to his plate. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees her place her hands on her hips, navy eyes watching him as he smears the thick, creamy spread across his breakfast. He braces himself for more questions, but after a long minute she turns to her son.

"Naruto, would you like some pancakes with your syrup?" she asks dryly.

Sasuke turns a disgusted eye towards Naruto's plate where two pancakes lie under a lake of syrup and butter. Grinning widely, Naruto picks up his fork. "Hey, this is how I like them!"

"Don't I know it," Kushina says, turning away from them to mind her skillet.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke takes a bite of his own breakfast before he loses his appetite from watching Naruto eat.

"Hey, Mom," Naruto says, his voice muted by the wad of food in his mouth. "Me and Sasuke—"

"Sasuke and I," Kushina corrects, "and don't talk with your mouth full."

It takes a long time for Naruto to finish his bite and swallow. "Sasuke and I were gonna go over to Sakura's house this afternoon after football practice."

Sasuke shoots him a startled look. "We were?"

"Yeah," the other boy says, cutting another piece of his pancake. "Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"Well she asked us and I said we would!"

"What for?" Sasuke growls, glaring down at his plate. The very thought of having to spend the afternoon in the company of that awkward, starry-eye girl makes him twitch uncomfortably.

"'Cause she asked!"

"She didn't ask me."

"Well I said we would!"

"Sakura's a very nice girl and she's new here," Kushina interjects, pointing her spatula at Sasuke for emphasis. "I think it's nice for you guys to hang out with her."

Sasuke opens his mouth to protest but seeing Kushina's stern look, quickly clamps it shut again. There's no use arguing with her. Ever.

"Fine," he mutters, nudging his plate away as he feels the hunger drain out of him.

Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Kushina's sternness melts instantly as she smiles fondly at them. "Good, now you boys better get going or you'll be late."

-O-

"Sasuke! Naruto!"

Sasuke jerks irritably at the sound of his name as both boys turn to watch a skinny girl jog clumsily towards them down the sophomore hallway. Keeping his face carefully blank, the Uchiha surveys the choppy, shoulder-length hair dyed a hideous shade of bubble-gum pink that clashes with her over-sized red sweatshirt and purple running shorts. She stops in front of them and smiling green eyes flit towards Sasuke's dark ones, before quickly glancing towards Naruto.

"Hey, Sakura!" Naruto loops his thumbs through the straps of his backpack as he shoots her a bright smile. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you guys, um," her eyes flick towards Sasuke again, and then back, "if you still wanted to come over tonight?"

"Sure! We'll be over right after practice!"

The smile in her eyes deepens, her posture straightening as an unseen weight drops from her shoulders. "Great!" Clutching her books to her chest, she bounces on her toes excitedly. "I thought we could order pizza and watch a movie and—"

"Don't go to any trouble," Sasuke interrupts harshly, her enthusiasm needling his tired brain. He shoves his hands in his pockets, feeling only a slight twinge of remorse when her expression sags.

"Oh, I, um, I just thought that'd be fun," she says, her eyes darting towards the floor.

"Yeah, Sasuke," Naruto's usually cheerful voice is tinged with a hard note. "We're gonna have fun."

"I mean, of course, if you don't want to come…" Sakura says quietly, her voice fading off. Sasuke is tempted to roll his eyes at her guilting tactics.

"Nah!" Naruto slaps his friend hard across the back, making Sasuke grunt as his head jolts painfully. "He's just being a sour-puss. We'll come!"

A dampened smile returns to her face. "Well I'll see you guys tonight then!" Eyes carefully avoiding Sasuke, the girl turns and quickly disappears down the crowded school hallway.

"Why you gotta be like that?" Naruto asks, turning towards his locker with mild glare at his friend.

Sasuke glares back. Naruto usually protects him from unwanted crushes. Now he's shoving him into this one, full force. Grunting in frustration, Sasuke turns on his heel and heads towards his next class.

"Hey, wait for me!" Naruto calls.

Sasuke ignores him, but the blonde quickly catches up, his chuckled apologies as he pushes through the crowded hallway grating on Sasuke's nerves.

"Come on, man," Naruto says. "Don't be mad."

"Why are you dragging me into this?" Sasuke demands, clenching his fists angrily inside his pockets. The thought of Sakura's bright eyes grazing over him makes him shudder. He hates the attention he gets from the girls. Hates it!

"I can't let you just sit around and waste your life hating the world!" Naruto insists, winking at a pair of girls who quickly cover their mouths to hide giggles.

Sasuke grits his teeth in annoyance. "I don't hate the world. I just want to be left alone."

"Haven't you had enough of that?" Naruto asks quietly, his voice suddenly turning serious.

The taste of blood fills Sasuke's mouth as the sound of an illusory cry drowns out the heavy chatter of the high-schoolers. His shoulders flex rigidly as he feels the fists in his pockets start to shake.

"I need to go to the bathroom," he says mechanically, abruptly turning down a different hallway.

Naruto doesn't say anything, but Sasuke gets the feeling that his friend is no longer following him. He strides into the bathroom, his glare scaring a wide-eyed freshman, who quickly scurries out without washing his hands. Not bothering to watch him go, Sasuke stalks into one of the stalls and slams the door. Bracing one hand against the back wall, he leans over the toilet, pressing a fist against his mouth as he fights against the bile rising in his throat.

He can't escape. No matter what he does, he can't escape.