Wiggle Those Hips – You're a School Girl Now
Bevino – summer 2007
Beta'd by Allys777

.:Chapter 12:.
R u n L i k e a G i r l a n d S c r e a m L i k e O n e T o o

Sasuke could feel it in the pit of his stomach when he woke up that morning. A faint feeling of butterflies flying around, the excitement crawling up his arms. He didn't know why he was still this fond of this particular day. He had been alone every Christmas since he was thirteen, but his feeling for it still remained. Sasuke found him smiling and quickly changed his expression, only to snuggle closer to his bed mate. Shizuka, who was currently sleeping with her back against him.

Shizuka moved closer to him, and Sasuke burrowed his face between her shoulder blades, breathing in the morning smell of her. Her body was firm against his, and he loved her scent mixed with his – she was still borrowing his clothes while she slept... and his boxers. And funnily enough, Shizuka always wore boxers. Hideous colourful boxers with swirls and leaves on them. Sasuke had asked her why, and the response had been: 'because they're airy'. Sasuke should've seen that coming.

Sasuke let himself smile, knowing that no one could see him, before he climbed over Shizuka, hitting the floor on his feet. He sat down on his knees in front of her sleeping (snoring and drooling rather) face and poked her cheek. A wrinkle appeared between her light eyebrows, but she kept sleeping like nothing happened. Sasuke frowned (he didn't like being ignored) and pinched her cheeks. This time she groaned, but the heavy breathing continued. Knowing that she would be pissed if he touched her too much (he had learnt a lot the past week they slept in the same bed) he went with the most drastic thing he could come up with.

He placed his mouth close to her face and bit her nose.

A mumble was heard and Sasuke let go of her nose, curiously watching to see if he'd woken her up or not. Shizuka had her nose wrinkled and opened her right eye, saw Sasuke and closed it again quickly.

An unmistakable snoring filled the room.

Sasuke chuckled and smacked her in her head, and the 'ouch' that was escaped had been impossible to stop. Defeated, Shizuka raised herself in the bed and rubbed her eyes. Sasuke had wondered before, and still did, why she didn't wash her make-up away, but he hadn't dared to ask her. He assumed that she simply cleaned her face every morning instead, only to replace the makeup anew.

If Sasuke was to tell the truth, he didn't really like Shizuka's make-up. Partly because she wore so much of it (not that it didn't suit her, but still) and partly because he had never seen her without it. For the whole year (even during the whole week they had been… together? – he guessed) she had been wearing make-up twenty-four-seven. Did many girls do that? Okay she looked charming (funny), and she was cute (in an odd sort of way), but she couldn't be that bad underneath it all, could she? Hell, she should know that he would like her anyway.

Not that he had told her that he liked her…

Surely she had figured that out.

Hadn't she?

The Uchiha was brought back from his thoughts when he realised he was being watched. Shizuka was finished waking up, probably wondering why Sasuke was the one to wake up first. Not that Sasuke would ever admit that he really liked Christmas.

Never.

'Get dressed,' was the only thing he said.

Naruto watched Sasuke walk around the room, putting on a pair of tight fitting black jeans (neatly folded from the wardrobe) and a fitted, long sleeved, green and black turtle-neck with sleeves that went all the way over the backs of his hands, but not entirely covering his fingers. Naruto should have guessed that this was how Sasuke dressed when he wasn't formal or in uniform, but he would still have pegged him as someone who wore suits and such. Seeing Sasuke dressed this normal was almost frightening.

Naruto found himself missing his own clothes: the comfortable baggy jeans, the hoodies, the T-shirts, everything. Now all he was able to wear was the everlasting school uniform, and that was all. Today, and the rest of the week, when all kids at the school had a week off from classes and all school activities, he would still be walking around in his uniform. It wasn't like he could wear the dress he had worn to the Christmas Ball, and that was the only other thing he had.

"…first we have to go by Neji, and then I have to go see Sai," Sasuke said, then realised that Naruto hadn't really been listening. He raised an eyebrow in Naruto's direction (as if he didn't feel like saying another word) and Naruto answered him.

"Yes, I want to see if I can find the others."

A little less than half of the student body had gone home for the holidays, as most of them spent their free time at the school. That was because most of the students' parents had a lot of things going on in their jobs. And the parents, who didn't have time to have their children at home for a week, visited the school for the day. Sasuke and Naruto were two of the students (which unfortunately were many) who didn't get any visits at all, since neither of them had parents at all.

Well, Naruto had Asuma and his family, but they wouldn't be able to come to him when he was like this. But Naruto still couldn't help but to miss the only thing close to a family he'd ever had.

But now… he had Sasuke. For how long he didn't know, but for the moment he had Sasuke. He watched Sasuke disappear into the bathroom, only to return with his hair combed in that duck-butt style, and fastening a silver chain around his neck.

"Get dressed," he said again, and Naruto (muttering about the fucking hurry) started to do as he was told. He reached for his school uniform but was stopped by a pale hand. Sasuke's hand gripped around his wrist, and Naruto cherished the tingling feeling of skin on skin. Sasuke's pale hand looked so beautiful and delicate against his big and dark one.

"You are not wearing your school uniform again, Shizuka."

Naruto snatched his hand back insulted and looked angrily at the Uchiha.

"I don't have anything else," he muttered, looking away from Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened for a second, but remembered someone was watching him and went back to his normal stony expression.

Naruto bit his bottom lip, hating to sound so pathetic. 'What kind of girl only owned a school uniform?' Sighing he let his head hang.

"I don't have a problem with letting let you borrow some of mine. You're already sleeping in them, so what harm could it be?" Sasuke didn't feel like questioning her. How do you ask a girl why she doesn't have any clothes? She had told him her father and mother were dead, but surely she had someone to take care of her? Someone incredible rich too, since she went to this school in the first place. He smirked when he saw her face light up (almost as if she had only just realised that it actually was Christmas Day.

The raven turned around and poked about in his wardrobe. He found something he assumed would fit Shizuka (she was bigger than him after all) and threw it to her.

"I'll wait outside," he said, and Shizuka nodded.

Naruto watched Sasuke put on his shoes and pick up a huge roll and a book on his way out of the door, before he looked at the clothes Sasuke had thrown at him. It was a pair of light grey jeans, which would probably fit tighter on him than on Sasuke. The legs of the jeans were really long on Sasuke to get that wrinkle effect around your ankles, so it would fit Naruto okay. Together with those, Sasuke had given him a T-shirt (which probably sat loose on Sasuke, but would fit Naruto snugly) with sleeves to his elbows. The T-shirt was decorated with an ancient Japanese fan in grey and blue that went from the left shoulder blade down the chest. Naruto smiled and put on the clothes after he had checked his stuffed bra and secured it, then he went to the bathroom to wash his face and quickly reapply his make-up. The most important thing was the foundation, hiding his whiskers, but he put on some faint mascara and lip gloss too. When he was finished he went out to Sasuke, who was pacing back and forth outside the door.

The raven smiled when he saw Shizuka and stopped. She looked really good in his clothes, and he was surprised to see that she was actually wearing less make-up than usual. Maybe it was the fact that this was the first time he'd seen her with this little on, or maybe it was true, but Shizuka looked really beautiful when she wasn't all covered up. She looked more awake and younger, not as though she was trying to hide something under the thick surface. Sasuke stood his ground as Shizuka approached him, and then smiled down at him when she stopped in front of him.

"Good morning," she whispered and rubbed her nose (which was free from all bite-marks by now) against his in an Eskimo-kiss.

Sasuke closed his eyes and answered equally, before he placed his lips against hers. Almost immediately she opened her mouth and nibbled on his lower-lip, pulling at it until he opened his mouth for her. When he did, Shizuka let her tongue wander inside, stroking Sasuke's own with it, luring the muscle to dance with hers. She moaned as he sucked on its tip, only to be dominated by her seconds later. Not that he really cared no. Sasuke often liked to dominate things, being the one who took everything under control. But with Shizuka, he felt that maybe control wasn't so important, after all. In fact, when he kissed her, he was glad that she was the one leading, since he was usually too weak in the knee's to be able to do much of anything.

And that he was forced to bend his head backwards all the time didn't help either.

Naruto let go of Sasuke's lips with a 'smack' before he gave the shorter one's nose a big kiss too. He watched, amused, how Sasuke almost (almost) pouted when he withdrew, only for the expression to be replaced with a smirk.

"Can't keep your hands off, can you?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto realised he had both his hands placed on Sasuke's waist. Sasuke's own hands however, hung limply at his sides.

Naruto smirked back.

"Say's the one who's clingy in bed," he said and just like the last time, Sasuke 's cheeks turned red. Naruto chuckled and turned away, heading for Neji's room further down in the corridor.

"Are you coming or what?" he asked, and Sasuke broke free from his thoughts and followed.

When they reached the door, Sasuke was the one who took the lead as he knocked loudly. When no one answered, he knocked again but the duo was only met with silence. Sasuke seemed really irritated, but was ready to walk away. Naruto didn't feel like it, so he pressed down the handle and opened the unlocked door.

The door swung open, and what they saw made Sasuke's eyes go wide in shock and Naruto's mouth go wide in a big grin. They watched – Naruto amused and Sasuke terrified – how Neji flung himself backwards away from a Chinese girl, with her legs spread wide, taking the blanket with him to cover himself and leaving the girl naked on the bed. She yelled (at Neji) and grabbed a pillow which she held in front of her body as she sat up. Neji wrapped the blanket around himself, glaring angrily at the pair in the doorway and the few people who passed by in the corridor.

"Don't you fucking get it when someone doesn't answer the door?!" he spat, before realising his position. "And close that fucking door!"

Naruto snickered and walked inside, dragging the Uchiha with him and closed the door. Sasuke still looked terrified and watched Neji and the girl he knew as Tenten. He had never in his life heard Neji swear, and he could still see Neji's erection through the blanket. However, he felt more sorry for Tenten who was still trying to cover up behind the pillow, which wasn't working that great for her.

Sasuke blushed when one of her breasts peeked out, and he heard Shizuka snort beside him. The blonde girl walked over to Neji's couch and gave Tenten a felt that lay over it, and she gave her a thankful smile.

"What a great morning this is turning out to be!" Shizuka happily exclaimed, which only made Neji look angrier, while Tenten just seemed entertained, now that she had something to cover herself with. Shizuka bent down and introduced herself to Tenten who did the same, while Sasuke glanced back at Neji.

"Merry Christmas," he said.

Ten minutes later, when both Neji and Tenten had been able to dress quickly, Naruto and Sasuke sat down next to each other on the couch, Tenten sat comfortably on the bed with her legs crossed (a posture which Naruto soon copied) while Neji leaned back on his desk, his arms folded over his chest. His lusts had been cooled down to Sasuke's relief.

"Well?" Neji asked.

Sasuke muttered something and Naruto sat beaming like a sun. If the day started as funny as this, he really wondered what more fun it would bring.

"What?"

"I said I only wanted to give you your Christmas Gift," Sasuke said, this time a little louder.

He picked up the book and gave it to Neji. Neji took it and smirked, opened the drawer and gave Sasuke a book too, wrapped up. Sasuke opened it and smirked.

It was the same book.

Tenten rolled her eyes and Naruto hid a laugh behind his hand, until something caught his eyes. While Sasuke and Neji continued to chat about the book and its writer, Naruto walked towards his goal, his eyes unable to leave it for a second. As though in a trance he fell down before it, hand reaching out to worship it.

"Wooooooo!"

The others in the room went silent and looked at the source of the impressed and jealous sound – Shizuka. She sat on her knees in front of Neji's refrigerator with her mouth wide open.

"Neji," she said, not being able to tear her eyes from it. "Your refrigerator is so much bigger than mine!"

A hand traced over its surface.

Three pair of eyes quickly left her, and Neji spoke up.

"By the way," he said and scratched his head, and somewhere in the room you could hear a refrigerator-door being opened. "I had better tell you now, so you can just skip the meeting about it. In March the whole school will be taking a two day trip to the city. We will meet at seven in the morning and be there all day and one night. Food ('Oh, he won't miss it', was heard from Naruto, but no one was listening) and everything is paid for already, but that's nothing unusual for us."

"A two day trip?" Sasuke asked and glanced over at Shizuka, who had opened up a package of expensive shrimps and a bottle of apple cider. "You're the one who takes care of the room arrangements?"

Neji nodded and Sasuke smirked. He didn't want to be away from Shizuka one single night.

"Why are you telling us this early?"

Neji shot a look at Shizuka but didn't seem to see what Shizuka was doing.

"We need the parents or guardians' signature for students under eighteen," he said which made Sasuke flinched. His birthday wasn't until summer, and it wasn't like he would go up to his mad and crazy brother to ask for a signature for a field trip for school.

"But don't worry – I've taken care of yours…"

Neji trailed of, still watching Shizuka (who was busying herself with a big baguette in her mouth, and a sausage in one hand, while the other was poking around the food still inside the fridge – why Neji even kept this kind of food in his refrigerator in the first place was unbeknownst to everyone except Neji.)

"And for Shizuka… Principal Tsunade signed hers."

He gave Sasuke a questioning look which Sasuke looked away from. The Principal? Did that mean that Shizuka didn't have any sort of guardian what so ever? Why else would the principal sign hers? It wasn't like Tsunade could walk around and sign everybody's forms, so why Shizuka's? He knew Neji was asking him the same, but he didn't know the answer. Suddenly wanting to get away from the room quickly he walked over to Shizuka and grabbed her upper arm.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she said and broke loose from him.

Sasuke looked back at Neji and Tenten, giving them a small nod.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Tenten and Neji said in unison.

"Merry Christmas!" Shizuka yelled happily, before leaving the room rather quickly, soon followed by Sasuke.

They closed the door with a loud thud, and Neji let out a breath. Finally. He walked up to Tenten who turned to him smacking him on his tie for the blanket-thing. Neji smiled and bent down to kiss her, which she gladly accepted.

"You're friends are interesting," she said fingering his hair that hung freely over his shoulders. She grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, kissing his hairless torso before kissing him on his mouth again. Smirking he pushed her down on the bed she sat on, laying himself over her while his lust built up in his chest once more. Tenten took a handful of his black hair and pulled down so her mouth was able to reach his neck. She nibbled on Neji's Adam's apple, his head rising to give her better access.

Then something made his eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Tenten?" he said, and she 'hm-d' at him.

"Did someone steal my refrigerator?"

Sasuke waited patiently for Shizuka as she placed her new belonging inside his room. When she came out she had a wide fox grin on her lips.

"Imagine how much food we can keep in our room now!" she said ecstatic over the Christmas gift Neji had unknowingly given her.

Sasuke followed her as she paced towards the stairs. Sai's room was one floor up, the same corridor Sakura and Ino had their rooms in. When they reached his door and knocked, a voice yelled at them to step inside. Naruto had never been in Sai's room either, and was surprised at how big it was even so very little room was left.

The floor was covered in all different colours of paint, and halfway done paintings rested against the walls. Others were finished, and one or two were drying on easels that were placed here and there. Sai sat in the corner of the room, painting a picture of a coniferous forest, the ground brown and dead. It was, as all his other pieces were - beautiful. He was wearing a worn-out shirt with green stains on it, sleeves pulled up over his elbows to be out of his way. Sai's hair was pulled back by a red scarf which he had knotted around his forehead, but Naruto could still see some paint colouring the pitch black.

Sai turned to them, greeting them with his black eyes (with which he looked over Shizuka's body and registered her clothes) and smiled a smile Naruto saw was a sincere one. Naruto wished him a Merry Christmas and Sai dried himself off on a nearby towel.

"Been at Neji's?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, and if you looked closely you could see the faint blush flash over his cheeks. The curse of being pale. Sai grinned, as if he knew what they had walked into (which he probably did – Sai was sometimes a little creepy), but then turned dead serious again.

"He spoke to you about the school trip?" he asked and shot Naruto a glance.

Naruto, who at the time Neji had talked about the trip had been emptying his refrigerator, looked confusedly back at him, tilting his head to the left. What were they talking about? But he saw Sasuke nod from his side, and Sai's eyes didn't leave the raven.

Sasuke almost gritted his teeth. Neji had spoken about the principal's signature with Sai as well. Did he have to have such a big mouth? Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, and Sai dropped it immediately. Sighing, Sasuke handed him the roll, which Sai gladly took.

"Thanks Sasu!" he smiled and traced his fingers over the cloth. "My own storage was finished weeks ago! I've been painting behind old paintings!" he laughed.

Naruto looked closer at a picture and behind it, but this one had a blank backside.

"Why don't you buy your own?" he asked Sai. Sai smiled and turned back to his painting, picking up the brush again.

"Because it is so much more fun to get them from Sasu," he answered, making Sasuke 'tsk' and turn away, poking at some pictures.

Sai smiled and winked at Naruto, and Naruto turned to Sasuke and smiled. Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Did you put up my gift to you yet?"

Sasuke looked away and shook his head, and Naruto could see a smirk gracing Sai's lips as he turned back to his painting. Sasuke walked through the room.

"See you later," Sasuke said and opened the door.

Sai waved at the pair with his brush, but didn't say anything more.

Naruto followed Sasuke silently. They walked down the stairs and out the building. It was a warm day even though it was the middle of the winter, so neither of them needed any coats. They walked close to each other, being this near making their bodies warm and fuzzy from the inside out.

"What did he give you?" Shizuka suddenly asked.

Sasuke didn't answer right away. What would he say? 'A picture of you'? How embarrassing. He had the painting of Shizuka at the piano underneath his bed, afraid that Shizuka would see it. He had no idea how she would react.

"A painting," he muttered, and Naruto didn't care to ask more.

Sasuke would probably skip the answer anyway. They walked over to the only building Naruto knew that one of his friends lived in (Shikamaru) and when they knocked on the door, Naruto didn't bother to wait for an answer. He knew Shikamaru was too lazy to walk and opened the door or even yell at them to step inside. However, the door was locked.

"Now what?" Naruto asked, Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders.

It was confusing having Shikamaru out of his room at this time of the day, since the lazy boy usually didn't wake up until ten minutes before his classes started. How long he slept in the mornings when no classes were held Naruto didn't even want to think about. They walked out into the winter morning again, their hands bumping into each other before Sasuke grabbed Naruto's warm hand and held it. Naruto could feel a blush cover his cheeks, and smiled at Sasuke's action.

"Oi! Lovebirds! Over here!" The voice came from Kiba, who had a good bit of his body hanging out of a window, Temari could be seen behind him trying to haul him back inside. Naruto smiled and dragged Sasuke by his hand to the building, and when they got to the right corridor (the one on the fourth floor) Hinata was waiting in the doorway, waving at them. Sasuke tried to break loose from Naruto's hold, but Naruto was feeling far to good to let go now. They walked into the room, followed by Hinata who carefully shut the door. On the bed lay Kiba and Shikamaru, Temari stood by the now closed window, and Gaara was lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Chouji sat in front of the television, and in the middle of the room a small Christmas tree stood, decorated with dog candy shaped like bones.

Naruto assumed this was Kiba's room.

On the bed also sat a new addition to their ever-growing group. It was a big white and brown dog about the same size as Kiba himself, and Naruto recognised him as Kiba's most beloved dog Akamaru. Akamaru waved his tail when the two new persons entered the room and jumped down from the bed to greet them.

"Hello little buddy!" Naruto spoke to him and scratched him behind his ears with his both hands. "Visiting your master during the vacation huh? Oh! Not there! Stop it! Away! Shoo!" Naruto tried to push the dog away when it suddenly stuck it's nose between his legs, making things feel really uncomfortable. Kiba laughed and told Akamaru to stop, which he did right away. Naruto brushed his (Sasuke's) pants off and gave the big dog an offended look. When Akamaru went to say hello to Sasuke however, he only met Sasuke's dark eyes before his tail went between his legs and he crawled back to Kiba.

Sasuke smirked in victory.

to Sasuke.

Kiba consoled Akamaru by patting his head and giving him a candy that lay on the bed, then he spoke up.

"Good thing we spotted you," he said. "We have some gifts to you!"

Shizuka immediately turned pale, but Sasuke was the only one to notice (since he watched her all the time). From Kiba she got a small dog made of glass (probably expensive), from Shikamaru a chess set (expensive, since it was made of porcelain), from Chouji a present check on a restaurant (Naruto's eyes widened at the sum), Hinata gave her a cute necklace (Naruto didn't have words for it) and Temari gave her a nice brown fashion dress (He almost didn't dare to touch it). Gaara woke up from the couch and handed her a small box, which contained a gold bracelet decorated with flowers (Naruto carefully traced it with his fingers, not even daring to pick it up). He had never in his life gotten such beautiful presents, not to mention expensive. He paled even more and placed the box from Gaara on the floor with the others. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

"I can't take these," he said quietly, picking up the glass dog.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked. He looked up and saw everybody watching him.

"I have nothing to give you."

"Shizuka," Kiba said when he was finished. "If you really have to give us something you can give it to us later."

"But…" Naruto said, looking into their eyes, "I don't have any money."

The room was quiet for three, four, five seconds, before everyone broke out into fits of laughter, except Sasuke and Gaara (Shikamaru's chuckle was counted as laugh). They laughed until Hinata suddenly realised that Shizuka in fact was serious and nudged Kiba in his side. He also stopped, together with the others, looking confusedly at her.

"What do you mean you don't have any money?"

"Did your parents cut you off?"

Sasuke watched Shizuka bite her lip. Even though he could see she had a hard time, he too was wondering what she was talking about. Everyone at this school had money, and even the poorest ones (if you could call any of them poor) were millionaires.

"No," she said at last. "I'm not rich at all."

It was about here Naruto realised his mistake. 'Damn!' he thought. Everyone had money here! He looked down at his knees, suddenly embarrassed that he was poor. How would he get himself out of this mess?

"But," Temari said. "You surely have to have some sort of money. How else would you be able to attend to this school?" Naruto shook his head – he couldn't lie to them about this.

"My… friend got me into this school. I guess he has contacts."

'Must be a hell of a contact', Sasuke thought. She was after all living in the billionaires' dorm. But why hadn't she mentioned this earlier? But now when Sasuke thought about it, she acted like a scared rabbit sometimes, afraid that maybe she would destroy something. He had seen her dress being hung up in her room, how everything, under all the books seemed strangely untouched. How she tried to make the bed when they woke up – something she obviously wasn't good at, but she still tried.

How she sometimes burrowed her nose into his silk bed clothing, touching the fabric with her cheeks carefully.

And who was that friend of hers? All he knew about her was that her parents were dead, and then nothing. Of course she must have been taken care of when she only was five years old? Maybe her friend was that strange man she had met outside the school, late that evening all those months ago? The one who brought her that horrifying gun he had found under her bed?

Why did she act like it was a big secret?

But Sasuke couldn't blame her after all. It wasn't like he opened up and told her about his childhood. He hadn't told her what Itachi had done to him – to them. He hadn't told her about the time before that. So how could he be the one to judge her? And what were her friends thinking of, questioning her like this? Sasuke gritted his teeth behind his closed lips, ready to spit out all kinds of mean and disgusted words to those so-called friends, when Shizuka spoke up.

"I know what I can give you!" she said, that beaming smile of hers lightening up the room like it had suddenly become summer, in the middle of the winter.

Shikamaru watched Shizuka curiously from the corner of his eye. She sat, together with all of them, behind a giant heap of snow, sticking her head up over it. Her strong jaw was clenched in concentration, and her blue eyes shifted, trained to keep a big area under watch at the same time. She changed the weight of her legs, and Shikamaru watched how not a single snowflake moved underneath her brown school shoes, slightly covered with the expensive jeans she had borrowed from Sasuke. When smoke escaped the other's noses and mouths, she didn't leave a trace of something living.

Like a trained soldier.

Shikamaru wasn't stupid. He was lazy, but one could never say he was stupid. That was how he had captured Temari's heart, and that was why Shikamaru was better as a friend than an enemy. But Shizuka made him feel stupid: Shizuka who seemed to hide so much.

Shikamaru's first friend had been Chouji. He had been able to read him immediately. Seeing Chouji walk alone made him realise that the chubby boy was alone - an outcast. Shikamaru had always a hard time because of his likes. Kiba had also been easy to read. Behind that growling and high voice, he only wanted people to like him, even if he wasn't that good with them. Kiba was one of those types that would go mad and only talk to his animals (in Kiba's place; dogs) if he was left alone too long. It was important to give Kiba all the attention he needed.

Just like a dog.

Temari had been easy to read too – she was much like his mother. Hinata lived in her cousin's shadow, and it was a good thing she and Kiba had met. Hinata needed someone to take care of, someone who looked up to her like a dog looks up to its master. Kiba needed someone to take care of him, feed him, and pat him on the head.

Temari's little brother Gaara (her other brother went to another school which taught how to create art in different forms) had almost been too easy, and so had the Uchiha. Both of them acted uninterested, even though Shikamaru could see that their eyes always kept careful watch and control over everything, testing, and ruling. Those two wouldn't match. The one who was a little more tricky was Sai, because while on the one hand he seemed like one of the most open people in the world, he also had so much darkness hidden behind his eyes that Shikamaru was actually bothered. But the only time he had met Sai he had seen him look at Shizuka, and some of his secrets had been relieved. Sai was the type who attached himself to others, tying a small bind. Shikamaru had seen some of his works when all the art students had been able to show them in a famous museum, all the school students had been invited to the vernissage. He had seen a picture of Hinata's cousin, Neji, and the bond he and Sai shared had been shown in the picture. Neji was someone Shikamaru didn't know all that well, but he could still see that Neji believed in something, accepting things after testing them, as it was meant to be.

But the blonde girl, Nanohara Shizuka, confused Shikamaru to the fullest. When he looked at her, how she moved, how she acted, he could not see anything. She was blank, at the same time she seemed to hide more things in her baby toe than Sai hid in his whole body.

As if everything she was, was a mirage to cover up something underneath.

Even the way she walked. She didn't move like a girl, even though she tried. She wore make-up everyday, even though she didn't seem to care about her looks. She had more horrible language than Temari and his mother together, and she had the weirdest voice – as if she was a girl going through a young boy's voice change.

And all this made him wonder…

Shikamaru nudged Gaara (who was the one closest to him) in his side, receiving a killer's glare. Shikamaru was still watching Shizuka however and didn't see it.

"Gaara," he asked. "Do you think Shizuka might be a…"

He was just going to ask Gaara about it (who was against his will interested) when Shizuka suddenly hissed quietly.

"They're here! Get ready everyone!"

Shikamaru and the others turned their heads to where Shizuka's eyes were set, and saw the two girls coming walking over the yard. Haruno Sakura was wearing a pink coat with a white fur collar (fake) and Yamanaka Ino was wearing a similar one, but hers was purple. Their thin legs were only clothed in equally thin tights before they disappeared into cute brown boots. They were chatting and smiling, and even Gaara felt a little sorry for them.

"Everyone got their balls ready?" Naruto whispered, making Kiba laugh childishly until Gaara gave him a glare which made him stop. Instead he nodded, and Shizuka seemed satisfied.

"Get ready… set…" Shizuka gave them a fox grin, "GO!"

The only thing Sakura and Ino saw before they where literally bombed with snowballs were eight blurry people and something that resembled a wolf, which resulted in them screaming and trying to block the barrage.

Even Sasuke threw snowballs (getting back at them for every time they had tried to seduce him) and Gaara was more than happy to get to try his killing moves again (even though nobody would die). Hinata had convinced everyone to make soft balls, and the only one who had been against it had been Temari, but after one pleading look from Hinata she agreed. Chouji had a busy time eating and throwing balls every other chip, but managed somehow.

"Stop it!" Sakura yelled as she tried to take cover behind Ino. She failed miserably because Ino was currently trying to take cover behind Sakura, which made them run around in circles.

"Never! You're going to have to take us down if you want us to stop!" Naruto yelled back, challenging them. Sakura suddenly stopped, at the same time as Ino, and they looked each other in their eyes, smirking.

"Oh yeah?!" they yelled.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto answered. Well, this was what he was going to scream, if a snowball hadn't suddenly been thrown in his mouth, making him fall down to his knee's coughing up melting snow. Sasuke stopped for a minute to make sure his girlfriend (boyfriend) was alright, but a snowball suddenly hit him in his head, which made him fall down into the snow. Sakura yelled in victory.

"Take that suckers!"

The snowball fight kept going, and soon Kiba began to throw them at Hinata, and Temari dumped one down Gaara's back through the neck of his clothes, which made him scream a rather entertaining girly scream. Soon it was a massive free for all, Naruto and Sakura teaming up against Sasuke who threw himself behind Akamaru, who gladly took off after a laughing Ino. Her laugh infected all of them, and soon they were all laughing and throwing (and biting, for Akamaru's part). Some other students joined them, and before Sasuke put a snowball against Naruto's stomach, he could see Tenten dragging a reluctant Neji into the fight.

"What a beautiful sight of youth!" a voice suddenly filled the air, and Sasuke recognised him as the one with his room next to Shizuka's. Gaara immediately threw a snowball into his bowl-cut hair.

Poor professor Umino spotted them and hurried over, trying desperately to stop them.

"It's forbidden to fight in this school! Stop this immediately! Stop it!"

He spotted the rude girl, Nanohara he remembered, and sighed.

That girl only brought trouble.

Later when every one took off, Naruto sat with Sasuke on an indoor bench placed outside the large dining room. When they had gotten too tired, they had walked over to the kitchen and asked for hot chocolate, which the kitchen staff gladly gave them. They had been out all the day, they were wet and cold, but they had had fun. So much fun that even Gaara made a new friend – Naruto's next door neighbour Rock Lee. Lee had followed them, along with Sakura and Ino.

And it actually had been really nice.

Now everyone took off. Hinata had followed Kiba when they met up with Kiba's mother and sister when they had come to get Akamaru. Shikamaru had taken Temari (who had brought Gaara) to have a Christmas dinner together with his father (Take-out). Chouji had been followed by Sakura and Ino who had demanded that he would make them food (they hadn't eaten anything made by a student-chef before) and Lee had followed them for lack of anything better to do. He had told them however, that he would dance around the biggest Christmas tree in the school with Gai, one of the gym-teachers.

Now however Naruto and Sasuke sat alone, taking a rest and breathing out the day.

"Was it a good Christmas?" Naruto asked, his eyes closed but a smile set on his lips. Sasuke watched him from where he was turned towards Naruto, straddling the bench while Naruto leaned his back against the wall. The corridor was mostly dark, but some lights were lit. The big Christmas tree next to them also gave light, and Naruto could feel the scent of it stick in his nose.

Sasuke nodded before he answered. "It was definitely different. Not that I'm complaining – it was fun."

Naruto's smile grew even wider. It felt nice to have Sasuke's warmth next to him like this. Sasuke wasn't only someone he could kiss and felt attracted to – he was also Naruto's best friend.

But then again, friends didn't lie to each other like Naruto was lying to Sasuke. Lying to Sasuke brought a bitter taste to Naruto's mouth.

Was Naruto really good for Sasuke?

Then it hit him.

Naruto couldn't walk away from Sasuke because he didn't want to. He couldn't. His feelings for Sasuke were too strong. The feeling of finally having someone in your heart; someone to protect and be protected by; someone who understood you so fully; someone who didn't question you when you weren't ready; Someone who respected you. It was wonderful, and Naruto knew he could never not want that.

But Sasuke liked Nanohara Shizuka. To Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto was someone who didn't even exist.

He wasn't good for Sasuke. Sasuke could never have a good life with him. Naruto would never let Sasuke be with someone who had lied as much as Naruto did to Sasuke. He would never expose Sasuke to that. So why did he do it?

The answer was easy really.

Naruto loved Sasuke.

Loved Sasuke with all his being and his heart, so hard that he couldn't let go. Wasn't able to. Even if he had to.

Would he be able to walk away from Sasuke, if it was for Sasuke's own sake?

"I wanted to give you something," Sasuke said.

Shizuka turned her head, and Sasuke was startled to see that her eyes were watery. It disappeared almost instantly however and Sasuke believed he had just imagined it. From his jeans pocket he pulled out a small box and gave it to Shizuka. Shizuka opened it up, and was met with a small pair of diamond earrings, set in gold.

"I know you don't have your ears pierced, but I wanted to give them to you. I… didn't have enough time to buy you anything. This is one of my mother's old pairs."

He looked away, blushing and not wanting Shizuka to see it and scratched himself in his back head awkwardly, embarrassed.

Shizuka sat perfectly still next to him, the box still in her hand. It seemed like she didn't even dare to touch them, and when she turned her head upwards, Sasuke couldn't read anything in her expression.

"I can't take your mother's earrings," she said and offered them back. Sasuke didn't take them.

"You take them," he said leaving no room for argument.

She looked around and then reached her hands behind her neck, fiddling with something. Out from under her borrowed fan print T-shirt she pulled a necklace.

It was a simple thing really. It was a thin silver chain, which probably wasn't silver at all. A pendant was hanging on it, a crystal blue stone that almost looked like glass, surrounded by two round pearls. She laid it in her hand and caressed it with her thumb, before giving it to Sasuke.

"I can't give it to you, but I want you to have it for a while, Sasuke. It was my dad's."

Sasuke took the necklace in his pale fingers with a cautious hand, holding it as if it were the most valuable piece of jewellery in the world. And for Naruto it was. He watched how Sasuke fastened it around his neck, the stone falling to land over his heart.

The raven placed a hand over it and smiled in the light from the Christmas tree.

The fox's heart skipped a beat.

To Be Continued