Naruto's POV

Sasuke's missing from Introduction to Business on Friday, which is weird because he was there Wednesday and seemed to feel fine. It's also not like him to miss classes at all and he's already been gone twice this week.

I wonder if he's just having trouble beating that flu. It does seem like a few people on campus have it.

I frankly still can't believe he got a hold of me to talk about last weekend. That was fucking strange. He never talks to me and all of a sudden this is what I get? A random text message from a number I don't even recognize saying it's Sasuke and that he got so blackout drunk he needs help retracing his steps? Seemed oddly forward of him if you ask me.

He seems secretive. Even Karin says she doesn't know that much about him and they're best friends. Her, Jugo, Suigetsu and Sasuke are like peas in a pod. I wonder if he keeps everything on the inside. It must be hard to be that kind of person. Kiba could probably relate.

I don't know why Sasuke cares about what happened while he was blacked out. I've blacked out a few times and never did anything too stupid. That part always comes in the morning when you start hurling everywhere.

He was pretty far gone, though. I never expected him to get that trashed. First Kiba, now Sasuke. At least Kiba remembers what happened the night he got fucked up, though.

I wonder if I should check on him or if that would piss him off. We're not really friends, so maybe I would be overstepping… especially because he's such an asshole to me for no reason. Karin says he's just like that, though.

I wish Kiba had stuck around that night. Then Sasuke would have run into both of us and I would have someone to back me up. I guess it was good he didn't stay out though because he seemed slightly better rested this week.

Class finally comes to an end and I decide to text Sasuke.

"Didn't see you in class! Did you ever find out more about last weekend!" I type out and hit send before even packing up my books.

"Whatcha' doing?" Kiba asks, briefly glancing over my shoulder as he stands up from his desk.

"And you're always calling me nosey," I joke.

Kiba rolls his eyes but doesn't try to look again, so I just tell him.

"Just asking Sasuke where he was today."

"Since when are you and Sasuke friends?" Kiba gives me a disgruntled look. He gets along with Sasuke maybe even more poorly than I do.

"He had a rough night on the weekend and doesn't remember anything," I explain. "He came to me the other day asking if I saw him around. I couldn't tell him much."

"What a fucking idiot," Kiba mutters. "He shouldn't have drunk so much."

I want to roll my eyes at that, but I don't. Instead, I simply remind him, "You got pretty trashed recently, too. It happens to the best of us."

"I didn't black out, though," he mutters, defending himself.

"Fair enough," I relent with a shrug, "but shit happens. He clearly didn't intend to get that fucked."

Kiba doesn't respond. I can tell he doesn't really give a rat's ass. He never got along with Sasuke and he probably never will.

We leave the classroom and head to the dining hall. Kiba waits outside while I swipe in and grab a couple of slices of pizza. He doesn't have a meal plan and they always check at the door, so we tend to eat in my room on days we have the same break in classes.

When we get back to the dorms my room is empty. It's no surprise. Sai never leaves the art building basically. All his classes are there and when he does manage to make time for lunch he just takes it right back to the studio.

Kiba and I sit on the floor since I don't have a table and the desk is only big enough for one person.

He pulls out a sandwich and several pieces of spotless fruit. Ugh, I should have grabbed some fruit. The pizza's good but what he's eating looks better. Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous of his homemade lunches.

"So, you worried about Sasuke or something?" Kiba pries.

"Well, I don't know," I admit. "It's just weird for him to miss class, right?"

Kiba shrugs. "Who cares, though? You're not his friend. He's not your friend."

"I just want to make sure he's okay," I admit.

"You're too fucking nice," Kiba mumbles.

"Well, you're not nice enough," I retort.

He gives me an annoyed look but doesn't say anything else. He's pretty quiet today. Kind of moody, too. I'd ask him what's wrong, but he probably wouldn't give me much of an answer. He never does.

"So, what's been new?" I pry.

He shrugs again. "Nothing of interest. You?"

I shrug as well and then say, "Same."

Then for some reason Gaara springs to mind and I decide to tell Kiba what I did with him. Maybe that will get a rise out of him.

"I let a guy suck my dick a little while ago."

Kiba raises an eyebrow at that. "What the fuck?"

"It wasn't my most shining moment," I chuckle, "But it actually wasn't bad."

It wasn't great either, but eh.

"Who was it?" Kiba asks cautiously. I wonder if he thinks it was Sasuke.

"Some guy I had never met before," I admit, "His name was Gaara."

"Gaara with the red hair?" He looks surprised. "That guy is fucking intense. When did it happen?"

"Two weeks ago while you were throwing up in the dorm bathroom," I admit sheepishly.

Kiba puts his hand to his forehead. "Ugh dude, are you kidding me? Did you taking care of me interrupt it?"

"Not really." I shrug. "I was pretty fucked up too and we had already finished before Sai came in and told me to go find you."

"I'm really sorry about that by the way," Kiba mumbles, fiddling with the sticker on his apple.

"Don't sweat it." I laugh.

"So, are you gay?"

"I don't know what I am," I admit.

"It'd be funny if you ended up being gay... 'cause Sakura is a lesbian," he says with a snort.

I wrinkle my nose and then shrug. "He told me where his room is and said I could come by if I wanted to screw around some more."

Kiba tilts an eyebrow. "Are you gonna?"

"Probably," I admit. "I've been thinking about it more and more."

Kiba gives a long and slow nod, kind of like he is processing it all. At least he isn't being a dick. Honestly, sometimes he acts mildly homophobic, so I wasn't really sure.

"Well..." he finally responds, "I guess it is nice that you have some sort of outlet."

"That is one way to put it, I guess," I say.

"You're not gonna get all attached to Gaara though are you?" Kiba asks sounding mildly concerned.

"Um," I pause, "I'm not really planning on that."

"Good, I've heard he's not the friendliest." He nods, but then quietly adds, "Plus, I don't know, guys do fucked up stuff sometimes."

"Aw, are you a little jealous?" I joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. I'm not intimidated by Gaara nor am I particularly invested.

Kiba looks annoyed but doesn't add anything else. I know he's trying to look out for me but seriously it's no big deal. Who knows if Gaara and I will ever even do anything together again—it's not like I see him around campus every day. I seriously have to seek him out.

I'd really need to be in the mood for it since it is such a hassle.

"Glad that's out in the open!" I say. I hate keeping secrets and this one was getting annoying.

Kiba snorts again. "Feel better, then?"

"Oh, yeah."

I check my phone to see if Sasuke responded, though I doubt it. I click on his name and see that he read my message but he didn't respond. How rude, but not exactly shocking coming from him.

"Sasuke ignored me," I murmur.

"What a shock," Kiba says sarcastically. "Did you actually think he'd respond?"

"No," I admit.

Kiba waves a hand dismissively. "Just forget about it. Who cares? He's not your problem."

It still bums me out. I'd like to know what was happening. I guess it's not my business but it kind of is if you take into account the fact that I'm the last person he knew he talked to. Karin might have more information so I'll have to ask her, but she'll probably just tell me to fuck off.

Either way, Kiba's right. There's no point in worrying about it right now if Sasuke is going to just blatantly ignore me. It's pretty brutal that he leaves his read receipts on.

"I have class," Kiba tells me suddenly and I glance over at the clock.

His lunch period is short so that he doesn't have to stay on campus for long, but my schedule is all spread out because it doesn't really make a difference. I still have about hours until my next course.

"Okay," I say. "I'll walk you there."

"Fucking fruitloop," he teases me, but I walk him nonetheless.

I really hope he decides to live with me next year. I think it would be good for him. I'm not trying to act like I know what is best for him or anything, but I think he just needs some experience living away from his parents. They need to let him breathe. They seem so strict. I'd never survive in a household like that.

If Kiba doesn't catch a break he will never learn how to be independent since his parents literally do everything for him - cooking, cleaning... whatever else there is.

"Catch yah later," I say once we reach the door to his classroom.

"What? No kiss goodbye?" he jokes.

I roll my eyes and nudge him before walking back to my dorm.

When I get back, I lay down on my bed. I feel kind of shitty and I know it's because I want an upper. I try not to take it during the week, but I guess the week's almost over so it wouldn't be that bad of me.

I get up and head to my dresser. I always keep things tucked away in the same place—my sock drawer—so it only takes me a second to find what I'm looking for.

I pull out the baggie of white powder but there isn't really much left. Ugh. I forgot that I was running low last time. It just means I have to buy more soon which is a pain because it's fucking expensive as hell.

My dealer is a frat brother and a total jackass. I don't care, though. There's only one thing I want from him and it's definitely not a social call.

I'll need to text him later.

I dip my dorm key into the baggy and gather as much as I can onto the tip before bringing it to my nose and snorting it. I squeeze my nose with my thumb and index finger, trying to get rid of the residual feeling. Yuck. That is one thing I hate... Plus the damn drips.

I lie down on my bed, soaking up the feeling for a while before deciding to text Jirobo. I tell him I am out and he gives me a time and place to meet him in a bit. I decide to head to the common room until then. I spot Gaara sitting in his usual spot by himself. I debate on pretending not to notice him, but I don't. Instead I hold up a hand, waving to him as I walk over.

Kiba is right about one thing - this guy is intense.

"How's it going?" I ask as I get closer, "I haven't seen you around in a while."

"Why would you have?" he says plainly. "You didn't come by."

Jeez, harsh. I wonder if that was a jab or just a statement of fact. Either way, it came off strong.

"Uh, yeah, sorry." I laugh awkwardly. "I've been busy."

"It's fine if you didn't want to," Gaara continues. "You were under no obligation to."

"I've just been thinking it all over," I decided to tell him after a moment of awkward silence. "I have a lot on my mind."

He keeps staring at me, saying nothing.

"I told my friend Kiba about what happened." I fiddle with a loose thread on my sleeve, awkwardly trying to fill the lag in conversation. "You know, the one I had to go get who was throwing up downstairs while we were hooking up? I wanted to tell someone so I told him."

Gaara gives a nonchalant shrug of the shoulder and says, "That's fine. I don't care who you tell."

Does this guy care about ANYTHING? Jeez.

"Are you sure?" I urge.

He stares at me and it feels like he's staring right through me. "Yes. I'm sure. I don't care what people think about me, so you can say whatever."

"All right," I relent.

"But it's good that you talk to people," he adds, almost like an afterthought.

It makes me wonder if he has people to talk to. Hopefully he does. Everyone needs an ear every so often.

I see him around with people sometimes, but I don't know if they are his friends or if they are just people he studies with.

"Yeah, it is," I agree.

It's a little weird. I guess I don't really care what people think about me all that much either. I wouldn't want someone spreading lies about me but as for peoples' responses to things I actually do—it isn't really a big deal.

I was happy that Kiba took what happened with Gaara well though; it'd have been a bummer if he was a huge ass about it. I'm not sure who else I would have told. Maybe Karin…or maybe Sakura. Sakura probably would be been ecstatic. It was hard for her to tell me that she wanted to date women and she would be excited to know that I understood what she was going through.

"I'll see you around." I give Gaara a little wave. "I've got things to do."

I head down the hall and into the gymnasium in, heading for the locker rooms. I meet with Jirobo and we do our exchange. Business. Whatever yah wanna call it. It is unceremonious and stress-free. With that, I head back to my room to put it in my drawer. I do a bit of work, feeling better about having something on me. It almost feels like a safety blanket, as fucked up as that sounds. Cocaine is comfort to me. I guess that probably isn't healthy, but I'm just being honest.

I am okay, though. Mostly. I don't have issues like Kiba and Sasuke appear to. I'm not stifled.

Speaking of Sasuke- I wish that asshole would answer me. I'd be satisfied with knowing he's all right and not freaking out about it still. It's no use dwelling on nights like that. Sometimes the pieces never come back. Honestly, sometimes I think that is a good thing. Sometimes it sucks remembering what an idiot you acted like. I know if I remembered all my black outs I would probably want to shoot myself.

Sasuke, on the other hand, is paranoid. He's always had a stick up his ass about the way people see him. Even his best friends seem at a loss for how to treat him sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if he tracks down every last person he talked to that night.

It's a little uncomfortable thinking I may be the last person he's able to trace it to. I wish I had been able to give him more details about who he went to afterwards but I was also totally trashed. I just hope he either figures out who it was or lets the whole thing go.

I start packing up my bag because it's about time for my next class. It's a writing intensive—all the students are required to take it their first year— "prepares them to succeed in college" or some bullshit.

I hate writing. A lot. I'm bad at it and I always have been. I don't think my skill will get any better than where it is now. I don't really have any interest in it, either. I am more into hands-on work and writing is just boring to me.

That's why I wasn't really psyched about college. I knew there would be more writing. More reading. More dull shit.

I TRY to try in my classes, but sometimes I just feel content with skating by as an average student. Or below average, I guess.

I don't know what the fuck I even want to study. I don't know what I want to do after I graduate. I don't know. But I guess a lot of other students are in a similar position. It's hard to make a decision.

I try not to think too hard about my future. It just seems bleak.

I head out of my dorm and I sit in class, listening as the professor begins the lecture.

The course is painfully dull as always. They're trying to teach us about avoiding use of the passive voice but I don't even understand what that is. They assign us a short paper that we're supposed to run through some special online grammar checking program. Ugh. By the end I just feel even more stupid.

Class doesn't finish until five and by the time it does I'm pretty fucking hungry. I head to the dining hall and scarf a few plates of poorly made curry then start back towards my room. I'm lucky that everything on this campus is so close together—it's easy to get around.

I'm in the stairwell between the second and third floor when I run into Sasuke. He looks exhausted and disgruntled as fuck to see me.

"Hey," I say awkwardly as he attempts to shuffle past me.

He ignores me, so I follow him and grab his shoulder. He shakes me off, turning around and shoving me away. "What?" he asks, sounding sharp.

Snappy bitch.

"I was just saying hi," I point out, mirroring his snarky tone.

He's wearing pyjama pants and a t-shirt. He crosses his arms and eyes me. "Well, don't."

"What the fuck is your deal?" I ask, getting irritated. "I haven't seen you all week. No one has."

"I'm sick," he points out tersely. "Not that it's any of your fucking business."

He looks livid and completely on edge and I have no idea why.

"Hey, did you ever find out what happened that night?" I decide to pry.

His jaw tightens. "No. I have no idea."

That's probably why he's so fucking pissy. I bet he's embarrassed.

"I think you were worried for nothing," I tell him in an attempt to be reassuring, "I'll let you know if I can remember anything else about what you said or were doing last night."

I don't know why I'm offering to help. Maybe I feel a little bad that I was the last one to see him.

"That's fine," Sasuke says tersely. "I'm not thinking about that anymore. It was a whole week ago and it's not a big deal."

Jeez, well he could have fooled me.

"That seems out of character for you," I joke.

Sasuke doesn't respond. Instead he just rolls his eyes. "Well, you don't know me very well, then, do you?"

I shrug. "Well, I'd know you if you let me know you."

He looks totally disinterested. He probably thinks I'm hitting on him or something, but I'm not. I just want him to stop acting like such an ass. I don't even know why this is bugging me. I'm just used to being liked by everyone I meet and he clearly doesn't like me. I don't feel like I gave him any reason for him to be acting like such a dick, so I can't let it go.

"No thanks," he says to me.

I shrug. "Your loss, then. I'm good company."

"Doubt it. You're just full of shit. I hate people like that."

Jeez, OUCH. This guy can't say one nice thing.

"Why the fuck does Karin hang around you?" I hiss.

Sasuke shrugs. "Why the hell would I know? She just kind of does."

"You don't have to be such an asshole all of the time."

"How long is it going to take for you to realize that I don't care what you have to say to me?" he replies firmly and turns to leave.

It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to punch him in the back of his stupid fucking stuck-up head and send him falling down the flight of stairs.

This guy really pushes my buttons. He's such a little bitch for literally no reason. I can hardly stand it.

I think he needs a serious reality check if he thinks he can just go around treating people like shit at the bottom of his sneaker. Getting huffy, I turn away and head to my room. Fuck this shit. Fuck him. He can suck my dick, for all I care.

In my room, I decide to throw on some comfier clothes and do a little bit of reading for my coursework. I don't get too much done since I'm beginning to feel pretty tired already. After reading a few chapters, I decide that that's enough for one night.

Sai isn't around, of course. He's probably going to be in the studio all night or he's probably sleeping at someone elses' place. Whatever, though. I could use some alone time, so I don't really mind.

I open my laptop and watch some shit on Netflix for the rest of the night before turning in early.