The two boys reached Neji's driveway and Neji turned, Sasuke following him his brow rising as he took in the sight of the large house.
"This is where you live?" he asked, impressed. Neji nodded.
"This is where I live, yes," he confirmed. He led Sasuke up the driveway and up the front porch. He opened the door and started to go in but saw that the Uchiha wasn't following him.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked. Sasuke smirked.
"Are you sure that would be alright with your uncle?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to impose." Neji looked at Sasuke a little skeptically.
"You know, I've never seen this polite side of you before," he observed. Sasuke nodded, folding his arms.
"There are a lot of sides of me you haven't seen, Hyuuga," he said mischievously. Neji smirked at him.
"Duly noted," he said. "I'll keep that in mind. Now are you coming in, or aren't you?" Sasuke hesitated for a moment. He really did want to go into Neji's house, if only for the fact that it was where Neji lived, but he didn't want to appear rude, or make Neji appear rude.
"Can't," he said. "Gomen. Itachi needs me back at our place. He can't do all the chores alone, you know." He started to turn but Neji stopped him on impulse.
"Wait!" he said. Sasuke stopped and faced the Hyuuga.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Where do you live?" Neji asked. Sasuke looked at him, a strange expression crossing his face. He seemed to hesitate.
"In an apartment with my brother," he replied, his voice strangely flat. Neji cocked his head quizzically.
"Can't your parents afford a house?" he asked, and then turned immediately red, realizing what he had just asked and how incredibly rude it was. Sasuke looked stiffly away and Neji attempted to mend the situation.
"G-gomen nasai, Sasuke, I-I didn't think of—" he started desperately, stammering like Hinata. Sasuke raised a hand, silencing him. Neji shut up. Sasuke looked up at him, his eyes strangely hollow and hard.
"My parents are dead," he said, his voice harsher than he had intended. Neji flinched. His expression became empty again, but his face was still red from embarrassment. He bowed.
"Gomen nasai," Neji said, shutting his eyes as his hair fell forward, creating a thick silky curtain around them. He straightened and quickly turned to head into his house, but felt something on his shoulder. He didn't need to turn to know that it was Sasuke's hand.
"Hold on," the Uchiha spoke, exercising great control over his voice. Neji tensed.
"Yes?" he asked quietly. Sasuke's other hand found his other shoulder and turned him to face the raven haired boy. Neji's white eyes looked into Sasuke's black ones and both looked at the other, unblinking.
"Why did you come here?" Sasuke asked seriously. Neji knew he owed it to Sasuke to tell him, especially since he had basically just forced the same information out of the Uchiha just now. The Hyuuga sighed, unable to tear his eyes away from the mesmerizing black orbs on Sasuke's pale face.
"My father died," Neji said, his voice without emotion. Sasuke raised his brow.
"What about your mother?" he inquired. Neji blinked.
"She died giving birth to me," he informed. Sasuke nodded. He stepped away from Neji, who was still tense. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but Neji stopped him.
"Don't you dare apologize," Neji said. Sasuke smiled, though it was a little shaky.
"So, you've gotten tired of those words too?" he said. Neji nodded, a bittersweet look crossing his face.
"Completely," he said. "Apologies and condolences only succeed in sounding patronizing and pitiful. They're always better left unsaid." Sasuke chuckled softly.
"Now you just sound bitter," he said. "It's definitely a good thing that you're going to the amusement park. Maybe it'll get you to open up more." The Uchiha's normal expression of friendly sarcasm was back in place and he waved lazily to Neji.
"I've gotta go," he said. "See you tomorrow." Neji nodded and watched as Sasuke walked away. The Hyuuga sighed and turned away. He knew full well that only one thing could ever get him to open up and it wasn't a trip to the amusement park.
Oddly enough, Neji's mistake during that walk had made both boys feel as though their friendship became official; sealed. Now they were almost inseparable. At least in school anyway. They would always walk with each other through the halls and Sasuke would always walk Neji home, making the latter feel like a pathetic needy schoolgirl sometimes. It was amazing how close they had grown over the course of a few days.
Saturday rolled around and Neji was looking forward to the amusement park outing just as much as he had been looking forward to Naruto's party. Hinata came to him timidly, dressed in a light blue t-shirt and capris and waited patiently for him. When he had finished collecting the money Sasuke had said he would need, Neji went over to Hinata and they both went to the door, preparing to leave. Hinata opened it to reveal Sasuke, who looked bored and as though he had been standing there for a long time. Neji looked slightly skeptical.
"You know, you could've just knocked and we would've let you in," he said. Sasuke shrugged.
"I didn't want to disturb you," he said simply. Neji sighed.
"Fine, let's go." The three of them started off to meet Sakura, Ino and Naruto at the beginning of Konoha Forest. Hinata had attempted to make friendly conversation with Sasuke who, to Neji's immense relief, did not resist her efforts. He answered all of her questions and responded with some of his own. Neji walked silently between them, hiding a smile.
They arrived at the entrance to the forest and spotted the other three immediately, Sakura in a nice pink shirt with a matching skirt. Ino wore the outfit she had worn when Neji was drawing her. Neji grinned when he saw it and she returned the look, expecting nothing less from him. Naruto wore an orange t-shirt with blue jeans and his enormous trademark grin. Upon seeing Sasuke and Neji, the hyperactive blonde ran over to them, clapping the former on the back.
"Hey, so that's where you were, Sasuke!" he shouted. "Sakura and Ino were throwing a fit!" He jerked his thumb over to Ino and Sakura, who were both very red. Sasuke shook his head, grinning.
"Well, we're all here," he said. "Let's go." Ino immediately regained her pep.
"Yeah! Come on guys!" she shouted, grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling the excited pinkette along the sidewalk, followed by a just-as-hyper Naruto, a ten-times-as-shy Hinata, a passive-but-slightly-looking-forward-to-it Sasuke and a totally-regretting-letting-Sasuke-talk-him-into-this Neji. Oh yeah, they were ready.
They arrived at the amusement park and Ino gave their tickets to some angry looking man behind a booth who was mumbling about bosses who don't know how to tie their damn shoelaces, and hurried the rest of them into the park. Once inside, Neji looked apprehensively around. Children were running all over the place, screaming as loud as they could, parents were following them around, making sure they didn't kill someone, but not trying to mitigate the noise they were making. Teenagers walked through the park, making fun of rides they deemed childish, but going on them anyway, and throwing barf bags at each other. Of course, this was an exaggeration, as only one teen did that specifically, but Neji still looked on all of the adolescents with eyes of distaste. He didn't like it here. He turned to Sasuke.
"Can I go now, please?" he asked, his voice a little higher than usual. Sasuke smirked and shook his head.
"No," he said. "But, if you want we'll start with the little rides. How about the Ferris wheel?" Neji raised his eyebrow indignantly. He may not have liked it there, but he sure as hell did not take well to being treated like a child; especially by one of his peers.
"I'm not afraid of amusement parks," he clarified slightly frustrated. "I just don't like them." Sasuke shrugged.
"Well, too bad," he said. "Cause Ino and Sakura won't let me leave, so there sure as hell is no way, I'm letting you leave." Neji sighed and said nothing else. Sasuke turned back to Ino and Sakura, who were both explaining what their day would consist of. At the same time. Their words were so muddled it's not even worth my time as the author to write them in. In the end Sasuke had to step in, telling them both to shut the hell up. They complied and Sasuke asked Ino to calmly tell everyone what their plans were. The Yamanaka flashed a quick triumphant grin at a downcast and irritated Haruno and then proceeded to explain the day's events.
"Well, I figured we'd split up into groups," she said. "If anyone wants to go straight to the roller coasters, then they can go with one group. Anyone who wants to start a little slower can go with the other group. Then we'd meet for lunch." Naruto raised his hand.
"How do we know where to meet for lunch?" he asked, voicing what everyone else was thinking. Ino smiled.
"I've already thought of that," she said. "I'll have my cell on and I can give my number to everyone who's going on different rides." She looked pleased with herself.
"Who wants to go on the roller coasters first?" Ino asked. Naruto, Sakura and, surprisingly, Hinata, all went over to Ino. Neji stayed where he was and Sasuke stayed next to Neji. The former shrugged.
"I don't feel like going on roller coasters right now," he said. Sasuke nodded.
"I think we'll start slower," he said. Ino nodded smirking, her eyes flashing from Neji to Sasuke.
"Ferris wheel?" she asked, a sly tone to her voice. Neji ignored it. Naruto grinned and winked.
"Have fun guys!" he said. Neji ignored him too. Ino walked over to Sasuke and quickly extracted a small piece of paper and pen from her small bag and scribbled down a number, handing it to the Uchiha.
"Call me around noon," she said. Sasuke checked the time on his phone. 10:15.
"An hour and forty-five minutes?" Ino nodded.
"Yup. Then we'll talk about where everyone's going to meet. Okay?" Sasuke nodded. Ino grinned and turned to the others.
"Alright, let's go!" she said, an excited edge to her voice. They all nodded and turned and headed to the nearest roller coaster, inserting themselves into the rather short line. Sasuke turned to Neji.
"Ferris wheel?" he asked, grinning. Neji scowled.
"What is it with that ride!?" he asked in frustration. Sasuke laughed.
"Just teasing you," he said. "But seriously, it doesn't get much slower than the Ferris wheel." Neji shrugged.
"Alright then," he agreed half-heartedly. In less than fifteen minutes, the Hyuuga was standing in the line for the Ferris wheel, staring up at the colorful ride with a scowl on his face. Damn amusement park. Neji thought to himself. He wished people like Naruto could at least leave him alone during the weekends.
Although, Neji had to admit, he was feeling a little better since it was just him and Sasuke. The two watched as the people before them got onto the Ferris wheel and then finally climbed into one of the gondolas and sat across from each other. The wheel began to move and Neji quickly turned to look out at the landscape that became smaller yet clearer as they went higher. He had to admit it was a little interesting. He turned and saw that Sasuke was watching the view as well.
"This is why Ferris wheels are sometimes better than roller coasters," the Uchiha said. "The view is completely worth it." Neji turned back to the beautiful picturesque sight and nodded.
"I suppose it is alright," he said. He heard Sasuke laugh at this.
"Can you just enjoy it without being stiff and stubborn?" he asked. "Quit it with this pathetic grudge against amusement parks."
"Hmph," Neji grumbled. He turned back to Sasuke and leaned back.
Neji felt the ride stop and looked around. They were at the very top of the Ferris wheel. The Hyuuga raised a fine brow.
"Why are we stopping?" he asked. Sasuke shrugged.
"To give people time to get on the empty gondolas," he replied. He pointed down and Neji looked over the side of their gondola and saw that people were indeed climbing onto the Ferris wheel. He pulled his head back and sighed.
"This," he started. "Is a very unusual—" He cut off and immediately went a little tense. Sasuke looked at him, confused.
"What?" he asked. Neji pointed behind Sasuke. The raven haired Uchiha turned in his seat to see what had irritated Neji so much. A couple, a boy and a girl about Neji's age were making out in the gondola behind them and the boy was doing incredibly suggestive things with the girl's shirt and skirt. They were making noises that both Neji and Sasuke didn't think they needed to hear until they were old enough to drink, and besides that, the whole display was just disturbing. Sasuke knew immediately why Neji froze up. Rolling his eyes, the Uchiha called out, "Hey, you want to save that for the bedroom?" The boy pulled away and turned to scowl at Sasuke.
"A little PDA never hurt anyone, chief," he shot. "Just because you guys aren't into it doesn't mean we can't be." With that he turned and began to passionately make out with the girl beside him, who managed to glare at Sasuke before her mouth was ravaged again. Neji raised his brow. That last statement of the boy's was a little unnerving. Was he suggesting that Sasuke and Neji were together? Neji hoped not, but he knew better. The quip didn't really make much sense if he hadn't implied that they were a couple. Neji reached out and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder when it looked as though the Uchiha was about to say something. The latter looked at the former and nodded, turning away from the irritatingly disturbing sight.
"Great start to our fun filled day at the amusement park, huh?" Sasuke smirked and Neji couldn't help but chuckle and nod. For the remainder of the ride Neji and Sasuke sat trying not to listen to the moans and gasps coming from the gondola behind theirs. Finally, when the ride finished, Neji quickly stepped down onto the pavement and started to walk away, knowing Sasuke was behind him. The Hyuuga felt a bump against his shoulder and turned to see the boy who had snapped at them walking with his arm around the shoulder of his girlfriend. The brunette boy stopped and shook his head, Sasuke moving protectively to his side. He smirked.
"If we were a couple," the Uchiha said. "I'd beat him up for you." Neji grinned to keep from turning red.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," he said. "You're not as tough as you look." Sasuke looked at Neji with a grin and shoved him playfully.
"Now that just hurts," he said. Neji chuckled.
"So what next?" he asked. Sasuke shrugged.
"Well, I think anymore rides are out of the question," he said accurately. "You want to get some cotton candy or ice cream?" Neji nodded.
"Alright," he said. He and Sasuke turned and walked casually down the paved path, dodging passersby and their children. Neji spent a lot of his time looking around at the different stands and games and found himself somewhat interested in it all. He had never expected these things to look so appealing. Especially the ice cream and cotton candy stands. Neji would never admit it, but ice cream was one of his weaknesses. When he and Sasuke arrived at the closest ice cream stand with the shortest line, Neji felt a strange feeling of eagerness begin to well up within him. He became even more anxious when it was his turn to order. The brunette ordered a simple waffle cone with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. Sasuke ordered chocolate. Neji reached into his pocket to retrieve his money but Sasuke stopped him.
"My treat," the raven haired boy said. Neji tried to protest but the Uchiha didn't listen. Soon they were on their way, both licking their ice cream. Neji turned to Sasuke.
"Thank you," he said. Sasuke nodded.
"Your welcome," he said. He returned to absentmindedly licking at his chocolate ice cream.
"Let me try yours," Neji said before he could stop himself. Sasuke blinked but held out his cone and Neji leaned in, licking some of the sweet creamy substance, savoring the taste of it, and then moving away, unable to prevent a slight pink color from finding his cheeks.
"Good?" Sasuke asked, grinning. Neji nodded.
"Yes," he agreed. Sasuke turned forward and continued eating his ice cream. Neji faced slightly away from Sasuke, trying to hide his blush. They walked around the amusement park for a while, Neji vehemently refusing to play any of the games there, and soon it was 11:56.
"I think we should call Ino now," Neji said. Sasuke nodded and took out the piece of paper the blonde Yamanaka had given him. He quickly punched the number into his phone and then brought it up to his ear, waiting patiently. Neji watched him silently. Finally Sasuke started talking into the phone. It was quick and when the Uchiha put his phone away he looked slightly irritated. Neji assumed that Ino had tried to flirt with him over the phone.
"Well, we're going to meet them at the ramen stand we passed when we were coming in," Sasuke informed him. "The one you didn't like because the guy behind the counter called you a girl." Neji slumped slightly, scowling.
"Bastard," he hissed as though the offending boy could hear him. Sasuke laughed.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "If he does that again all you have to do is throw your ice cream at him; which is going to melt all over you if you don't finish it soon." Neji looked down to the cone clutched in his hand and saw that it was dripping a little. He quickly brought it up to his lips and attempted to save it from completely melting in his hands. Sasuke chuckled, having finished his cone a while ago.
"Here, let me help you with that," Sasuke offered. He took a step towards Neji, leaned in and licked away some of the escaping ice cream droplets. Neji was surprised at how close their faces were, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice. He pulled away, wiping a finger over his mouth and then looked at Neji.
"There," he said. "Now finish it quickly before it gets beyond the point salvation." Neji blinked and began to finish his ice cream, taking no notice of what he was doing and thinking only of how close he had been to the Uchiha only moments earlier. Sasuke began to walk back in the direction of the entrance and Neji followed, ice cream in hand. The two boys arrived at the ramen stand and, as Sasuke was told, were met by Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Naruto. Neji tried not to look at the boy behind the stand, but it was hard as he chose that moment to whistle loudly at the Hyuuga. The brunette boy twitched slightly but turned away, ignoring the irritating acne-ridden teen, as was his talent. Naruto grinned.
"Hey Neji, why don't you give him your number?" he teased. Neji responded quite passively.
"Naruto, if you seem so intent on this, then why don't you give him your number?" he replied with a sigh. Naruto rolled his eyes and turned to Ino.
"Alright, let's eat!!" he shouted. "I'm starving!!" He quickly turned and ran to the stand shouting his order to the surprised boy sitting behind it. Sakura shook her head and turned to Sasuke and Neji.
"So what did you guys do?" she asked.
"Not much," Neji said stoically. "We just went on the Ferris wheel." Sakura and Ino exchanged a sly glance. Neji raised his eyebrow but chose not to say anything. He knew what they were thinking and he knew that nothing of what they were thinking actually happened. Unfortunately Sakura and Ino weren't done yet.
"How did it go?" Ino asked, a slightly mischievous tone in her voice.
"We saw a couple making out behind us, and we asked them to stop," Sasuke replied with a shrug. Sakura and Ino blinked, taken aback.
"What?" Ino asked a little stupidly. Sasuke shook his head.
"A couple was making out behind us and we asked them to stop." Sakura leaned forward slightly.
"Was it just like a PG kiss or was it R?" she asked. Sasuke chuckled.
"It was definitely closer to R rated," he said. Neji nodded and shuddered. Sakura's eyes widened.
"We saw a couple making out on the roller coaster we were on," she said, trying not to laugh. "They didn't know how fast it was though, and the girl ended up losing a tooth." Ino giggled.
"It was pretty damn funny," she said. "They almost yelled at us for laughing." She broke off, laughing at the memory. Neji raised his brow.
"How ironic," he said. Sasuke nodded, now chuckling at the idea of a girl losing her tooth because her boyfriend bumped into her a little too hard on a roller coaster.
"Hey guys, are you going to get anything or not?" Naruto asked, his mouth full of ramen. Hinata had a small bowl of ramen and looked flushed.
"It's really good, nii-san," she said to Neji. "You should try it." Neji nodded.
"Then I will," he said. "But if he hits on me, then I can't vouch for what I might do." Sasuke laughed.
"I'll get it for you," he said. "What kind do you want?" Neji shrugged, reaching into his pocket.
"Any kind," he said, pulling his hand back out and handing Sasuke some of his money. The Uchiha took it and walked over to the stand. Ino and Sakura followed, leaving Neji with Naruto and Hinata. Naruto grinned slyly at Neji.
"So, have you asked Sasuke out yet?" he asked. Neji looked at Naruto, tilting his head down so he could better view the blonde.
"No," he said, a slight edge to his voice. "What about you? Have you asked my cousin out yet?" Naruto's face went red, but it was nothing compared to Hinata's blush. The red that filled her face could make a tomato look washed out. She had to sit down to keep herself from fainting. Neji shook his head and turned away, waiting for the others to come back. When they did, Sasuke handed Neji a small bowl of ramen, his change and a small folded up piece of paper that made Neji cringe.
"His number?" he asked, thoroughly disgusted. Sasuke laughed and nodded.
"I told him I'd give it to you," he said. "You know what's really pathetic is that he still thinks you're a girl." Neji's jaw dropped.
"You didn't tell him I was a boy?" he asked incredulously. Sasuke shook his head.
"It was way too funny that he thought you were a girl," he said. "I didn't want to ruin his fantasy." Neji gagged and put his ramen down on the table Naruto was now sitting at.
"I'm not hungry anymore," he said, his voice cracking. Naruto grinned and grabbed the ramen, devouring it like he was his own. Sasuke shook his head, still stifling laughs.
"Don't let it ruin your entire day," he said. "It's not like we're going to be hanging out at the entrance all day." Neji sighed, closing his eyes in irritation. Ino smirked.
"Buck up, Neji-kun!" she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Just ignore him. He's probably failing school." Neji grimaced and crumpled the piece of paper and threw it in the nearest trash can, ignoring the disappointed look on the face of the boy whose number he had disregarded. He waited rather impatiently for everyone, Naruto in particular to finish their food. When they did, Ino said that they would be playing the games around the amusement park. That was a full two hours of boredom for Neji, who, besides knowing nothing of how to play any of them, had no interest in the pathetic bowling games and ring toss games. He stood on the side watching as Sakura won a pink fluffy bear and as Naruto tackled the kid who ran the squirt gun game out of anger at the fact that he made fun of his ability to effectively shoot the squirt gun. That had been funny.
"Are we almost done here?" Neji asked Sasuke after Sakura had won her fifth stuffed animal. Sasuke shrugged.
"It's impossible to tell," he replied. "I never know just how long these girls can go in situations like these. You'll have to wait a bit longer. Sorry." Neji sighed but waved the apology away.
"Don't apologize," he said. "I'm the one not trying to have fun here." Sasuke raised a brow.
"So why don't you try to have fun?" he asked. "Do you want me to win you anything?" Neji turned away from Sasuke to hide his red face.
"No," he said quickly. "Thank you," he added as an afterthought. Sasuke nodded.
"You're welcome," he said. Neji nodded and waited for Sakura to finish winning yet another stuffed animal. The rest of their day at the park was fairly uneventful and they were leaving the amusement park at about seven o'clock, Sakura with a grand total of eight stuffed animals, Ino with a grand total of zero and Naruto with several balloon animals. He had also won Hinata a small stuffed bear, which had drawn a very profuse blush from her. Neji and Sasuke had nothing, the former feeling immense relief at being allowed to finally go home, and not willing to divulge the fact that he did have fun, if only a little when he was alone with Sasuke and watching Naruto lose it and go crazy on a little kid.
"So, I guess we'll see you guys on Monday," Ino said as she turned to go to her house with Sakura. The pink haired girl would've waved goodbye had her arms not been full of little stuffed bears and dogs. Naruto waved a cheerful wave to Neji and Sasuke before grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her with him towards his house. Apparently he had asked her out after Neji made the rather snide comment about it. Sasuke watched the two of them go and then turned to the Hyuuga.
"Come on," he said. Neji stopped him.
"Shouldn't you head back to your place?" he said, slightly embarrassed. "I don't need you to walk me home everyday and Itachi probably needs your help with something." Sasuke shrugged.
"Alright," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." Neji nodded and blinked. Sasuke would be coming over to see him on Sunday? Oh god, this is just too much. The stressed Hyuuga thought wearily.
Ooooohhh, Neji and Sasuke bonded over ice cream, how cuuute!! At least I think so! Please tell me what u all think!!
HA!! Naruto asked Hinata out!! Neji was mistaken for a girl!! There was a rude couple making out!! Review please and tell me if I should change anything!! xD
