Two words: Date night! ;) Once again thank you guys for reviewing last chapter! I honestly can't say it enough. This chapter I dedicate to all my wonderful reviewers! (To anonymous: don't worry this is NaruSasu.)


Part Eleven


What was this? The thirtieth time by now? Yeah, something like that. One would think at some point I'd actually be used to it by now but sadly, the embarrassment was just as painful every single time. I just wish people would stop butting in on my business. Really, my life should not be this interesting.

On more than one occasion people had actually walked up to me, congratulated and wished me good luck in pursuing Naruto. As Sakura happily informed me - which meant as soon as I set foot on school ground - rumor had it that I was love sick with Naruto and had freaked out when I saw him with someone else at the party. Like that would ever happen! It was thanks to their prying eyes and gossip that Naruto was so reluctant about our relationship going public.

My talk with Anko also ended up a mess, like always. The woman pressured me into annoying situations and twisted all my words into something completely different than I originally meant. There were times I considered stabbing her with a pencil but held back only because I knew she would misinterpret it like everything else I said or did.

Kiba was away from school for some strange reason. A part of me wondered if it was because of me but the guilt was overshadowed by relief. I still had no clue of how I should act in front of him knowing what we did. A few days apart were the best really. Never mind it also made it easier to look Naruto in the eye whenever we met up. At least then I could pretend everything was okay.

Apropos of the blond, Naruto's reaction to the rumor was also pretty annoying. After his confession the other night I thought he had changed if only a little but that proved to be naïve of me. He would whisper to me whenever he walked passed but there was no real confrontation like that of a true friend. If this was the farthest our relationship would go I began doubting our chances of lasting more than only a few months.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Hinata said from her place next to me. We were currently waiting for class to begin as the teacher was late. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"It's nothing really." I knew she only meant well but admitting my troubles in such a public place where someone could easily be eavesdropping made me reluctant to answer.

"I see." Hinata replied just as gently as before but then surprised me by continuing, "Just know I'm here if you want to talk about it."

I nodded and pretended to consider her offer even if I already knew I would never take her up on it and sighed gratefully when the teacher entered the classroom. Hinata sent me a friendly shrug as if she knew my thoughts and then turned all her focus at the front leaving me to fall back in my own thoughts.

I dared an absentminded glance at Naruto and watched him whisper something to his friend of which said guy began chuckling. I grit my teeth in jealousy of their friendship. The friend was someone from the football team judging by the jacket he wore and that annoyed me. Naruto could be chummy with anyone popular but when it came to me: he was reduced to secrecy. Does reputation really matter that much? If so, Naruto was much more superficial than he made himself out to be.

As if he could sense my ogling stare, Naruto surprised me by turning his head, a small grin on his lips. My phone buzzed and Naruto turned back to face our teacher as I checked my phone's status. 1 New Message.

I opened the text and read the short note.

2nite I wanna do smth special 4 U. Pick U up 7pmish?

Was it desperate to answer right away? Probably. Did I care? Not so much, but letting him have the upper hand all the time was also bad. I waited a minute or two before I typed my response and then sent it. As soon as Naruto read it he sent me one of his sexy grins and mouthed something about tonight. I felt my cheeks heat up and frowned down on my books, embarrassed by my own embarrassment.

Damning the world to hell the thought hit me and I realized my new situation: Naruto had just asked me out on a date! With my recent rumor in mind, did the date mean something more than just a normal date? My heart skipped a beat at the thought of tonight being special and suddenly I felt bad about my previous thoughts. Naruto wasn't shallow, not at all. He was simply…unsure of himself. In a way it was kind of cute, wasn't it?

Xx

"Sasuke is this all you own? There's nothing in here but t-shirts and plain jeans? You can't wear this unless you want him to break up with you! " Sakura commented annoyed as she stood with her head inside my wardrobe throwing whatever piece of clothes I own over her shoulder.

"I'm a guy what am I supposed to own?" I replied equally frustrated. It's not that I didn't appreciate her help – no wait I didn't – but she was so pushy! I somewhat regretted ever telling her about Naruto's and my date as her complaints were only making me more nervous about tonight. What if it was true?

"Guys-" Hinata spoke up and I gave her an –almost – desperate look to continue. "What about this?" She said and held a stripy t-shirt in one hand and a cardigan which I knew belonged to my brother – how did it get inside my room – up for show. My gaze fell on Sakura to see if she would approve and as she slowly began to nod I looked back on the garments and realized they looked pretty good together. Itachi would not mind me borrowing a simple cardigan, right? Oh well, what was the worst he could do.

I removed the shirt I was wearing and accepted the attires from Hinata. Dressing quickly I watched myself in the full view mirror and contemplated the clothes looked quite well on me. The cardigan hung loosely over the t-shirt and made me look… cute? My eye twitched at the new realization. No way would I wear this! I started unbuttoning the buttons of the shirt to remove the horrid outfit but Sakura's screaming voice stopped me.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Sakura threatened as she must have noticed my sudden dislike of the clothes. I snorted in response. As if I cared enough to listen to her. On my left I noticed Hinata making her way over to me a look of persuasion on her face. I turned away in annoyance and crossed my arms childishly over my chest. Usually she would be the one agreeing with me.

"I can't wear this." I mumbled. "I look…weird."

"But it really suits you Sasuke." Hinata said, Sakura agreeing by nodding her head enthusiastically. "What she said."

Once again my eye twitched. "But I still don't like-" But before I had the time to finish my sentence Itachi from down stairs cut me off by calling my name to inform me of Naruto's arrival. I gulped as my heart started beating faster and I sent my two best friends a friendly glare. "You stay here." I pressed and nervously made my way to the front door.

I climbed down the stair and was met by a grinning Itachi. "Your date is here little brother…" he said mockingly but I ignored him and continued to where Naruto was.

"Sasuke." I heard Naruto say and watched his lips twisted into a smile as soon as we locked eyes. Feeling my lips mimic his I greeted him shyly. "Hi." Naruto proceeded by pulling me into a hug and I happily responded by placing my arms around his neck. I basked in the scent of Naruto's cologne and almost shivered from arousal. "You look great." He said surprising me.

I felt the rising heat on my cheeks and snorted embarrassed. However, I had to admit hearing him compliment my clothes made them less horrible. "So do you." I mumbled back.

He laughed softly causing me to frown. Why did he find my embarrassment amusing?

"You're very cute Sasuke."

I wanted to be mad at him but his confidence and gentle eyes made it difficult. "Shut up." I commented noncommittally. Had it been anyone else but Naruto I would have punched him by now.

"You don't like it when I compliment you?" He seemed confused.

"Hn." I hedged. Not even I knew the right answer to that question. Sure I liked getting them because they confirmed Naruto's feelings for me but at the same time it was embarrassing. I wasn't some girl. "Should we get going?" I asked, deciding the best way was to avoid the subject.

He seemed indecisive but eventually let me go of me completely and opened the door. "Of course." The smile returned to his lips and he urged me through the door.

I relaxed as I followed him to his car and jumped inside. "Where are we going?" A part of me hoped for somewhere private where we could mostly be by ourselves but at the same time I also wanted to go somewhere public. I needed to know if this date meant what I wanted it to do. I had to know if Naruto accepted me.

"Patience." Naruto secretly smiled and shifted into first gear. "I don't want to spoil the surprise." The engine roared and we were off the driveway in a second.

We had been driving for almost half an hour when I started getting impatient. We had left Konoha long since and I grudgingly realized my earlier hopes of a public date was nothing but a stupid dream. This was not a date to confirm and out our relationship, it was merely a date to induce me with false hope. Naruto must have noticed my distress because only a second later he gave me a strange look.

"Something wrong Sasuke?"

"No." I answered reluctantly and rolled my eyes. Of course there was something wrong! He was taking me on a date but before that he had to take us somewhere far away so that there was no chance of us being seen together by anyone we knew.

"You don't have to lie, I can tell something is wrong." He pressed, apparently much more attentive than I gave him credit for. He looked at me through piercing blue eyes for a long moment before returning his focus on the road ahead.

This time I didn't embellish my answer. "I'm only saying you must have gone through a lot of trouble planning this date." I tried to hide the bite in my voice but it was quite apparent as I spoke.

"What makes you say that?" His eyebrows creased together and there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"We're going a bit far for a date aren't we?" I paused. "You know I didn't force you to ask me out or anything."

"Are you angry?" Naruto turned more serious and his lips dropped into a thin line. "Because if you think I've done something wrong I want you to tell me."

"I thought I just did." I mumbled and looked out the window at the passing trees. My heart pounded inside my chest as I was afraid Naruto would get angry. I didn't want him to call off our date but at the same time I couldn't stand the two faced attitude.

A long silence followed. It could have been only a few minutes but to me it felt like hours. Finally my nerves started to calm down but Naruto remained silent, unmoving in the driver's seat. Never had the songs of the radio been as deafening as of that moment. I tried to think of ways to lighten up the mood but came up empty handed, my tries failing before I even had the time to open the mouth.

I noticed we were slowing down and turned off the highway, the next minute a softly lit cabin came into view and we pulled to a stop in front of it. "We're here." Naruto commented and turned off the engine, revealing the awkward silence that lingered between us.

"W-where are we?" I accidentally stuttered, my nerves getting the better of me yet again.

"We are just on the outskirts of Konoha." His smile returned if only a little as his eyes turned gentle. He put a hand on my leg and surprised me by kissing me passionately, but before anything turned serious he pulled back. My head spun and I had to clutch my leg not to fall over.

"Come on." He urged and stepped out of the car. I tumbled out on the other side and followed him as he led me up to the front door of the large cabin. I watched him unlock the door, slightly surprised that he had the keys to a place so magnificent like this.

"Is this your place?" I somewhat gawped and entered the house to find it even more impressing on the inside. Everything about the place: the way it was furnished to the rich wallpaper - even lightening - melted together and created a cozy atmosphere.

"It's not as much mine as it is my parents." Naruto cracked a smile. "But I asked nicely and promised I wouldn't host any crazy parties so dad lent me the key."

"That must've taken a lot of convincing." I chuckled. Knowing Naruto's -colorful- reputation I could only guess his father's face as he passed on the keys of the cabin.

"Hey." Naruto said in mock offense and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, come here." He took my hand in his and led me to the dining area. "I wanted to do something special." He started playing nervously with my fingers and I watched a soft blush cover his cheeks.

The dining room was lit by multiple candles and the table set for two. Everything was decorated in warm colors and looked as if hours had been spent to plan every single detail. I found it strange that someone like Naruto had came up with it and wondered if someone might have helped him. It all seemed way too romantic to be planned by a mere teenager like Naruto.

"Do you like it?" His voice shook as he asked.

I nodded, feeling speechless. Sure it was a bit of overkill, especially with all the candles, but I appreciated the effort he had put into it. However, as if he had read my mind Naruto quickly continued, "I know the candles are a bit much but mom helped me set it up and she was all like; "Now now Naruto stop being so silly if you want to keep this one you shouldn't withhold on the romance." She's pretty persuasive my mom. " Naruto sighed.

I smiled amused. "Still, I bet it must be fun having a mom. I hardly see my parents."

"What's the deal with that by the way? So far I've only met your brother."

"And I've met none of yours. Hell, I don't even know if you have any siblings."

"Fair enough." Naruto replied. "But no, I'm an only child."

I shrugged. "Father travels a lot and mom goes with him. My brother and I usually see them around holiday and birthdays but that's about it."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" I quirked my brow confused. "You're not my parents."

"I guess." He snorted.

We fell into silence until Naruto clumsily told me to sit. I did as instructed and watched him leave for what I assumed was the kitchen. When he came back a moment later he held two steaming plates of food in each hand. "This is one of my favorite foods: scalloped potatoes, fillet of beef garnished with asparagus on the top." He said but quickly added, "Well, next to ramen of course."

I stared at the plate and admitted it looked delicious. The scalloped potatoes looked just as creamy as I liked it and next to tomatoes asparagus was one of my favorite vegetables. "Did you make this?" It was hard to picture Naruto cooking. He didn't seem very sophisticated.

"Not really." He blushed. "I had help in the kitchen so if you hear anything it's just the maid."

"Maid?" I repeated incredulously. I knew Naruto was somewhat wealthy but enough to have a maid? Exactly what did his parents do for a living?

"Uh yeah." He scratched the back of his head. It was one of his nervous habits. "We have a few places and maintaining them all at the same time takes too much time."

"A few? Exactly how many 'places' do you have?"

"Only a few." He shrugged.

"And by that you mean?" I pressed genuinely interested.

"Two or three… Not counting the two villas abroad."

My eye twitched. Damn.

The rest of our meal passed in similar topics as we only got to know each other better. I realized until that point in our relationship there was little we knew about each other. Naruto came from a large advertisement company which had assets all over the world and even if he was playing football in school his real goal in life was to take over the family business someday. He had a secret like to comics and even used some of his spare time drawing mock comics. It was actually quite nice, just talking.

Our dinner eventually came to an end and we left the dining room to go watch a movie. I sat down on the couch end not quite sure what Naruto was expecting of me. Usually whenever we spent time together it meant we had sex and then we would separate. However, this time –so far – we had only talked… It almost felt like a real relationship.

Once Naruto started the dvd he joined me on the sofa and draped one of his arms over my shoulders. The trailers started playing and I felt my nerves taking the better of me. I nervously shifted in my seat, unsure if I was supposed to start anything or if he actually meant for us to watch the movie.

Naruto must have noticed my anxiety because he turned to me, a frown on his otherwise perfect brow. "What now?" He inquired.

I shrugged, hesitant to answer. "What is it about me… what do you expect?"

"What do you mean 'expect'?"

"This probably seems odd if not random but we don't do this," I said and pointed between the two of us. "We've been in this relationship for almost four months now and this is the first time we've ever had a real conversation, much less watched a movie together." The conversation felt too grown up to have at that point in life but my feelings for Naruto was so strong I knew I had to say something.

Naruto appeared thoughtful and shifted away from me. Hadn't his arm remained around my shoulders I would've worried I had said too much. "I know." He finally said and adopted a dejected look. It reminded me of a kid whom had lost its favorite toy.

"So?"

"Up until this point I haven't really…" He began to say but seemed ashamed and fell quiet. I frowned and in a try to urge him on, turned to face him better. The arm around my shoulder fell down and pressed against my leg. "This is the first time…I've ever felt like this." He admitted. My heart started racing. The way he nervously shifted his gaze, as if he couldn't settle anywhere, was kind of cute.

"Felt like what?"

"; Like I become a better person when I'm with you. It's as if suddenly you have become this important thing in my life and I don't know how to be close to you. At first I was just having fun but the more time we spent together I realized I actually like you. I've had girlfriends and occasional one night stands before you but they have never made me feel like this. To be honest it kinda freaks me out."

"That's why?" I stated more than asked, slightly bewildered. To think I had spent hours, days asking myself why Naruto wouldn't acknowledge me as his boyfriend and he had just been scared.

"Why, what?" He looked confused as his eyebrows kept coming together.

I held back the huge grin I felt breaking out and put my hands over Naruto's knees. I bit my lip and leaned forward, only hesitating by his lips. "That's enough…for now." And then I pressed my lips against his.

Naruto quickly responded to my advances and whatever objections he had died down as we fell back against the couch. "You know we were supposed to watch the movie." Naruto slightly panted once we separated.

"I know…" I replied. "But all this talking have made me horny."

Naruto chuckled and brought our lips back together.

tbc


*If you wonder why Naruto uses chat speak in his texts it's because I see him as a lazy typer. Unfortunately my 'skillz' in chat speak has lessened these last few years and so my sincerest apologies if I'm not using it correctly.

On another side note, you may also wonder why and how Naruto can legally drive a car when he's only in the first grade of HS. The reason is simple: I forgot Americans start HS when they're 14-15yrs old. Where I'm from we don't start until most of us are 15-16. With this in mind I have decided - since this also is fiction - Naruto, Sasuke and the others started grade one as 15 to 16yr olds. Sounds good? yeah.

Thanks for taking the time reading all this, I look forward to reading your opinion and thoughts! xoxo :)