Woe… I'm Life's Whore
Naruto discovers some funky feelings. A LOT of drama ensues. AU SasuNaru, plus other pairings (surprise ). Some possible OOCness.. plot-line a little more serious than the title.
R&R
Chapter Two: Encounter
"TSUNADE'S TSUNAMI?!" Naruto repeated, excited!
"Jeez, Naruto, what, you want us to say it again?" Temari rolled her eyes.
Tsunade's Tsunami was not only the most awesome water-based theme park within the city walls, it was also, conveniently enough, run by one of Sakura's old tutors, the great Lady Tsunade herself. Sakura must have done some grade-A sucking up because she scored all of them VIP passes.
Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Lead by Temari and Ino, the girls were all chatting at vicious, gossip-inducing rates which only the females of the human species were capable of doing. Kankuro and Kiba were trying to verbally out-do each other and making bets on who could eat more junk and not throw up. Shikamaru was timing the countdown until arrival at the park, so that he could calculate when Chouji would have to stop eating to avoid cramps. Tossed between a decision of sitting next to Gaara, Sasuke or Shino, Naruto took the latter and tried to remain fascinated in Shino's superior knowledge of entomology. Sasuke was hence forced to sit with Gaara, who, apparently, did not particularly feel like enjoying the day. Both of the pale boys looked somewhat slightly ridiculous after being doused in sunscreen, making them paler. Naruto was suddenly really enjoying his tanned skin.
The bus pulled up at the water park shortly after eight. The teens were all bubbling and ready to get set. It was a working Tuesday, and their school was the only one in the city that had been dismissed that day due to road blockages around the city center. The theme park was near deserted, and Naruto couldn't wait.
"What should we do first?!" Naruto exclaimed, running ahead to a huge billboard-map of the water world. "Tumbling terror? Chaos Canyons? Oh!! How about the Screamslides??"
"Calm down or you might wet your pants," Neji said, morphing from somewhere behind him, Sakura and Lee in tow. After Sakura had finished hugging everyone (and to his annoyance, she hugged Sasuke for a bit longer than everyone else) Naruto piped up again.
"But we have to decide, right??" Naruto said, waving them for attention at the same time.
"Methinks," Sakura said smartly, "it would be wise to go change first, no?"
They all nodded agreement and split into two groups for the separate bathrooms. In the men's room, all the boys were throwing down loosely packed sports and gym bags. Kiba ripped off his shirt and pants and threw some white and black trunks over his bronzed legs. The rest of them took a little more care with their belongings, and it was only while waiting did Naruto realize his small dilemma.
"CRAP!!"
The change room stopped moving for a minute and confused faces looked at him.
"What the hell, Naruto," came a muffled, uncaring voice from the girls change room. Everyone proceeded to stare at him until Shikamaru started shaking his head and Kiba broke once more into unstoppable laughter.
"Oh God!" Kiba said between fits of raucous noise, "Oh GOD!…. Can't believe…. He forgot….!!"
Naruto sank to the floor. He could feel Sasuke thinking up something witty to say to piss him off. He was waiting for it, it was coming. Any second now he'd…
"Hey," Sasuke said.
'Oh great… here it comes,' he thought dismally.
"…I've got a spare."
The change room fell silent. Kiba's laughter died and they all stopped talking. Even the girls next door seemed to have stopped their giggling.
Everyone who was changed filed out, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone. Sasuke started rummaging through his own macho-sports bag until he drew out a pair of dashing, orange-red and white trunks with a black fox-head label embroidered on the left leg. Naruto took them cautiously, Sasuke seemingly uncaring. He looked into the legs to see if there was some sort of itching powder, or something wrong with the crotch or something like that.
"Look either take them or don't," Sasuke exclaimed, folded his arms and stood there, bare-chested and pale in his own black and blue boardies, in a similar style to his own except with an odd red-and-white lollipop-looking label on the right leg. His hair was perfectly styled into place, his eyes adapting a serene, almost calming darkness.
Naruto dismissed that last disturbing thought as a lapse of brain waves, and proceeded to return Sasuke's stare. Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked around the room as if to say, 'dude, what the hell.'
"Dude, what the hell," Naruto said.
"What?"
"Wanna let me get changed without you perving on me?"
For a brief moment, so briefly he wasn't totally sure it happened, Sasuke squinted, ever so slightly. He uncrossed his arms and walked silently out of the change rooms into the growing din outside, where he was greeted by what sounded like a gaggle of adoring fan-girls. Most likely, Naruto noted, Ino and Sakura.
Determined not to be outdone by Sasuke, Naruto threw off his clothes and pulled on Sasuke's trunks. They fit really well, which Naruto found a little disturbing, since Sasuke was a deal taller than himself. Shaking the thought, he jogged outside with a yell.
-
The day started off great. Naruto was enjoying the company of friends and excitement of the rides. The girls didn't look too bad in their bikinis and short shorts. Heaps of the rides were just tube rides and bouncing sledge rides, floating-rings and waterslides. The air was heavy with the smell of baking concrete and chlorine, and the constant sun had yet to wear out the happy teens.
Naruto had even managed to completely avoid Sasuke as well. They tended to split off into groups of two or three depending on what they felt like, and Naruto often went off with Kiba, or Neji, or Kankuro, while Sasuke was surrounded by Ino and Sakura wanting to hold their hands on the rides.
Although the brief moments Sasuke and Naruto were forced to encounter were few, Sasuke's usual cold attitude was totally null, and a silent, almost concerned attitude dominated its absence. And occasionally, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere behind him a pair of merciless dark eyes were searching for him…
He shuddered and searched the plastic shrubbery with a gaze.
"Jeez, dude, nobody's stalking you!" Kiba said with a stupid smirk and hand on hip.
"Yeah, just shut up, moron," Naruto returned.
"Whatever, guys, you're both idiots," Kankuro rolled his eyes and disappeared head first down the flashing tube.
"I'll make you eat those words!" Kiba yelled in pursuit.
Naruto grinned and jumped towards the opening. Plastic rustled behind him and he swivelled.
Sasuke stood behind him. His stare was blank, and cold, but he was different from the usual Sasuke, giving Naruto odd waves of chill.
"Are you following me?"
Sasuke didn't respond. Sasuke was silent. Naruto felt like he wasn't the idiot, for once, and he wanted to revel in the fact. But there was something more serious about the whole situation. Even though it wasn't his forte, Naruto shut his eyes and tried to think.
"Sasuke-" he said, opening his eyes.
But Sasuke was right in front of him, close. Really close. Sasuke was so close Naruto could feel his breath on his lips. Naruto wasn't sure what was happening, and something in his head was screaming, but his brain had been shut down long before.
He felt cautious fingers brush up his elbow and rest on his upper arm. His skin prickled, it felt irritating, like it wasn't quite enough and was pulling him in. Something was still yelling at the back of his mind.
All physical sensation had been lost. There were eyes. They were dark, searching. They weren't asking any questions, but looking for the answers. Naruto was drawn and lost in them. He had to get closer…
"NARUTOoo!"
Naruto's moment shattered to pieces and his mind whizzed around in circles until he crashed back to reality. His knees almost gave way as he spun around in the direction the voice had come from. Kiba was yelling at him from the bottom of the slide. Chills returned to the back of his neck as he spun around to Sasuke.
Sasuke had gone.
Shock setting in. He must have been imagining it.
'Sunstroke' he told himself.
Yet, his skin still tingled.
Naruto felt cold and hot, and a little dizzy. He couldn't think straight.
Being typical Naruto, his short attention-span temporarily shook the thought and found something else to be distracted with as another ear-piercing howl of, "NARUTOoo!!" came from the bottom of the slide. He'd deal with it later.
Until then, he'd just avoid Sasuke at all costs.