Thanks to: SaSuNaRu-FANATIC, AnonymousAuthor13, mello, KinkyK and JazzyJ, Brandon Deal, loveless, and FirieGurl

This disclaimer is to say I am really tired of writing these things…you would think that you readers would know this by now.

"Talking"

Normal Text

At the entrance of the school awaited a crimson-haired individual. Naruto smiled one of his fake grins that seem to appease most people, "Hey Gaara. You didn't have to wait for me." Gaara fell into step with the blond as they made their way to Naruto's nearby apartment.

They walked in silence which slightly bothered Gaara. After all this time of mailing Naruto, he could sense this blonde had to be naturally energetic and happy. This person walking with him was not the same. This was only a shadow. Where had his bright friend he desperately wanted to meet go? He knew Naruto's situation was bad…but not to this extreme.

"Naruto, speak to me."

"Bark."

Gaara's mouth twitched at Naruto's sarcastic comeback. Something must be wrong with him, "What happened?" Naruto turned to look at Gaara, "I saw that brooding guy drag you away."

Naruto nodded and focused his gaze at the interesting texture on the sidewalk, "That was Sasuke." Gaara 'hmm' I response as Naruto continued, "For some reason, he's been going off more often and he got all prissy when I came into the classroom with you."

Gaara waited patiently and with listening ears as Naruto took a deep breath, "That prick confuses me so much. One second he's the uncaring bastard that left me and the next he's my best friend all over again, and I can't help but fall back into place with him. What's going on Gaara?" The blonde looked back at Gaara to find the red head's gaze looking at the grains in the sidewalk like he had before.

Naruto sighed and rubbed a shaky hand through his sun-kissed hair in frustration, "It almost sounds as if he was your boyfriend rather than a friend of yours." Cerulean blue eyes widen in surprise. The blonde even managed to trip on another imaginary rock before catching up with the still walking Gaara. Before Naruto could speak another word, Gaara held up one hand to silence him, "Don't get me wrong Naruto. Through the emails we sent each other, I understand what you are going through. Now as I speak to you, I can hear the emotions in your voice. You cannot fool me."

He stood there as he watched the foreign exchange student walk off towards his host's home. Naruto just could not understand what was going on as too many thoughts racketed back and forth through his brain while he tried to decipher what the red head was saying.

Naruto was started to get a headache.

Instead of going home, Naruto headed to Nine-Tails and took an early shift to go along with his required hours. "Ne, Naruto-kun. What brings the pleasure of you working so diligently lately? Not trying to seduce me are you or are you running away from your problems again?"

The blonde sighed. He absolutely did not want to deal with Kyuubi right now. "Kyuubi, is there ever a day when you could just leave me alone?"

"Never my little kit. I love you too much to not tease you. You are my favorite play toy to mess around with after all," a lecherous grin spread across Kyuubi's lips like wild fire.

Naruto just stood there in complete shock, "What the hell? What if someone were to walk in at the very moment? Someone would have taken that the wrong way you know!" A blush seared his cheeks in a bright crimson, "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the crazy head of yours."

"That was cruel, Naruto. Struck me right here," Kyuubi's hand lifted over his chest where his heart was, "At least you could open up to your older brother."

"You are not my brother idiot. If that was the case then I would have killed myself already," Naruto pouted as he crossed his arms with the customer's order in his hand.

"Ah, but you already tried that method before. Anymore attempts and that would just be too melodramatic for someone like you."

Naruto kept his gaze even with his boss. Though the crimson man's lips were smiling, his eyes told a different story. They looked murderous, as if daring Naruto to commit suicide once again. He could no longer look into those intimidating orbs anymore. The blond ducked his head and handed Kyuubi his last order for the night. He had a party to go to anyways.

The walk home was boring and depressing. His couldn't help but think of all the people he hurt after trying to kill himself. He was occupied with his thoughts, but they did not distract him like he wanted them to. If anything, no one should let Naruto Uzumaki get bored.

The apartment's door slightly creaked as Naruto made a mental note to get some oil for it even though he knew he would never get to it. He slung his backpack upon the kitchen table surface as he made his way to the lofty couch in the near vacant living room. No pictures to entertain the eye, a small television occupied a tiny spot in the corner, and novels littered the bookshelves around the room. The couch was below average but was in good condition. The clock tick monotonously in the quiet room.

The blonde's head fell backwards to stare at the plain white ceiling. Another sigh escaped his nose as even breaths nearly put him to sleep. As his eyelids fell close, a slight vibration broke his reverie when he picked up his phone from a pocket in his jeans, "Yes?"

"Are you almost ready Naruto?" Sakura's innocent voice filtered through the cell phone, "I want to get there early, or should we arrive fashionably late?"

"With what you are wearing it is best to arrive late," Not that the lack of a proper wash or clothing affected Naruto's decision.

"Oh then how about I pick you up in an hour or so?"

"Sounds good to me," Naruto stood up from the soft couch and made his way to the bedroom, "Are you all ready to go yet?"

"Actually no, but I will be as soon as I get my purse and shoes," Naruto could practically hear the excitement dripping from her voice. He wondered how Lee was going to react to how Sakura was probably going to act tonight.

The blond leafed through the new wardrobe as he felt the smooth cloth of the store's merchandise, "I'll talk to you later then."

"All right, see you in about an hour!" Naruto shut the phone loudly as the slight click of Sakura's line went off.

Picking out the first color to catch his eye, Naruto smiled slightly at the maroon collar shirt in his hands. This color seemed to fit his mood any day of the week. He flung the shirt behind him of the bed as he tried to locate a nice looking pair of jeans on the hangers. Naruto then grabbed a clean white towel from the closet and headed into the shower.

He stripped himself of the fried food contaminated school uniform and dropped them to the floor. The water felt nice while the scorching heat numbed him as it tried to defrost winter's grasps from his skin. The apple scent of his shampoo calmed his nerves at the prospect of meeting the Uchiha one more time today. Soap gathered around the drain of the tub and he watched as it swirled down the pipe.

He thumped his head against the cool tiles and attempted to slow down his furiously beating heart. Oxygen sucked into his lungs as pain exploded through his chest. Tears pooled in his eyes and blurred his vision in the already foggy room. He hated Sasuke. Pain always followed no matter if they were friends or not. The boy was just torturing him now, slowly enjoying his suffering for just being around him.

His side slid down the wall and onto the floor of the tub. Naruto swore he would forget about Sasuke. Naruto tried to forget all the wrong Sasuke had done to him over the years. His constant teasing might have been just playful banter, but now Naruto wondered if Sasuke really meant all those hateful things. Sasuke was one of his few precious people. He would have done anything to make sure the Uchiha was happy and safe. Even now Naruto realized just how far he would go for someone he was supposed to hate with a passion.

"Oh Kami what have I become?"

Silence met his enquiry, "Best get out before Sakura comes," Naruto stayed where he was until his sobs became hiccups. The water was cold now as he rinsed off the extra soap from his body. He grabbed the white towel with shaky hands as he wonder how the mere thought of Sasuke now brought him down to the ground.

The bed was cool underneath him as the material shifted from his weight. Naruto stretched across the surface and curled up into a semi-ball in the soft sheets while he played with the cloth of his collared attire. He groaned as he sat up again and pulled on a pair of navy blue boxers before slipping on his dark washed jeans. The cotton of his shirt felt nice against his warm skin and left the top two buttons undone.

Naruto shook his hair from side to side as his short blonde hair threw off droplets of water. Going into is humid bathroom, he found a hair dryer Sakura left when her and Ino came over for a girl's night though he still wondered why it had to be at his apartment when the two were the only ones participating. The only thing he would do is watch their click-flicks with them.

He laughed as his hair felt really soft from drying his hair. His hair reminded him of those bird things from Final Fantasy called chocobo or something of that sort, but only the texture of them rather than how it looked. The doorbell rung as Naruto made a rush around the apartment for the final touches. A black leather belt looped his waist, dark shoes were tied neatly, and his eyes were no longer red.

As Naruto opened his door he was delighted to see his friend looking happy despite the cold. Her sea foam bubble dress accented her small frame while a few pink, curled tendrils fell from her bun. Eyeliner and aqua eye shadow brought out the color of her green eyes, "It's show time."