Okay, I've been bad. REALLY bad. But I hope this update makes up for it! The story's almost at a close. I estimate another two chapter after this one and it will be complete! HOW EXCITING! Here you go, folks!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"AH! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEEE!" Naruto ran around the entire school screaming his heart out. "AH!"
"Naruto!" Nori grabbed the back of Naruto's collar and held him back. "Get a grip!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with you, man?" Kiba asked.
Naruto had rivers of tears running down his cheeks and he grabbed Nori's shoulders. "It's terrible, guys!"
Nori and Kiba exchanged doubtful glances.
"The…the…the…" Naruto stuttered. "End of the year dance is tomorrow…a-and I can't get Sakura-chan to go with me!"
"That's what you call terrible?" Nori said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't have a date either. Dances are pointless, anyway."
"POINTLESS?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah, pointless," Nori said. "Just a bunch of students upping their rep by taking some supposedly popular person to the dance, now that's what I call pointless."
Kiba and Naruto stared at each other and then at her. "You don't know how to dance."
Nori turned red. "So what? It's not like it's gonna help me in life."
Kiba and Naruto laughed.
"Well, if that's all," Naruto chortled. "You don't need to know how to dance to go to a dance, you know."
"I don't?" Nori said uncertainly.
"Nope," Naruto said. "And now that your problem's solved, I NEED TO SOLVE MINE!" With that, he ran off.
Nori sighed heavily.
"Well, I'm off to find Shino a date!" Kiba said cheerfully.
"What? Shino?" Nori said. "Why?"
"Because he needs one and he and I are best buddies!" Kiba said as if it were obvious. "Later, Nori!"
As soon as he left, Nori found herself alone. She crossed her arms. "Hmph. I don't need a date to go to a dance either! I'll go alone. I can be independent. Why am I talking to myself?" She walked off in a confused way to her next class.
HISTORY
The next class was with Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. She had been grouped up with these three a week ago to do a project together. The project was due tomorrow, but so far, this team hadn't gotten anything done. At least…most of the team.
"Naruto! You didn't even start on the written report!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I thought we were supposed to do that together!" Naruto said helplessly.
"No you idiot!" Sakura said irritably, smacking him upside the head. "The poster is made together, the written report is after! You were supposed to research the simplest thing about Rome! The aqueducts!"
"What's an 'Aqua Duck'? Some kind of comic superhero?" Naruto asked.
Sakura was about to pummel Naruto when Sasuke said, "I don't have the assignment done either."
"Why not?" Nori asked.
"You think I have time for that sort of stuff?" Sasuke asked her. "I have soccer practice, swimming practice, wrestling team, tuba lessons, there's barely enough time to do the regular homework."
"You take tuba?" Nori and Naruto laughed.
Sasuke glared at them. "Do not ask."
"Oh Sasuke, if you were so busy, why didn't you tell me?" Sakura asked. "I have an idea. How about I help you with yours?"
"No thanks," Sasuke said quickly.
"Oh. Okay then," Sakura said sadly.
"Look, today we're supposed to do the poster, but if we don't have all the information, we can't do it," Nori said. "So Sasuke, Naruto, you guys work on your report and Sakura and I will start the poster. Then you and Naruto can do some after school work to finish, got it?"
"Why are you so bossy?" Naruto said, crossing his arms.
"Because I don't want to just sit here and do nothing!"
"Well you don't have to take over!"
"Yes I do because you guys can't be independent!"
"Yes I—" Naruto stopped. "…So?"
"Listen here, you—"
"Hey!" Sakura shouted. "Both of you stop! I think Nori's first idea was good and Naruto, you don't argue! You're an idiot."
"Okay…" Naruto said sadly.
"We want to get a good grade on our final assignment, don't we?" Sakura said.
"Yeah…" said everyone.
"And we want to make this work to the best benefit, don't we?"
"Yeah…"
"And Sasuke-kun will go to the dance with me."
"Ye-no," Sasuke said quickly.
"Oh…"
ENGLISH
Nori sat, half-drooling at her desk as Kakashi droned on and on about who knows whatever. Suddenly, a paper airplane poked her in the eye. She winced, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Owie…" She rubbed her eye lid and unfolded the airplane and read the message inside.
Nori,
I've been thinking about you all day and I've watched you since the beginning of the year. I'm not sure what it is, but something about you makes me feel…different. Please accept my wish of taking you to the dance. Go to the fountain in the heart of the school at nine o'clock. Look for me.
Nori looked around the room confused. Nothing seemed wrong and nobody was looking at her as far as she could see.
Strange… she thought.
LATER…
The classes had gone by without a hitch. Nori kept thinking who had piloted that painful airplane of admiration. One thing was for sure, there was no way Naruto or Kiba could find out. They'd bombard her with a stupid plan to find that admirer.
"Hey Nori, what's up?" Kiba said, sitting himself down next to her and biting into his sandwich.
"Nothing," Nori said.
"Oh really?" Naruto said, coming in on the other side.
"Yes, really," Nori said nervously. She decided to change the subject before she said something stupid. "So Kiba, how'd it go with Shino?"
"Dude, that guy is like, the opposite of a chick magnet, I'm telling ya," Kiba sighed. "I don't even think he was putting his heart into it."
"Really?" Nori said.
"Well duh," Naruto said. "It's obvious. I hate that guy."
"Uh…Naruto…" Nori said nervously.
"He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Naruto sighed.
Kiba and Nori nodded.
Naruto turned around slowly and smiled sheepishly up at the towering Shino.
"Do you have something to say…Naruto?" Shino said monotonously.
"Hey, good buddy, I was just jokin' you know?" Naruto laughed timidly.
"I don't," Shino said.
"Oh…"
"Hey, it's cool, Shino," Kiba said. "Naruto's just stupid."
"HEY!"
"Hey what?" Kiba snapped.
"Guys, Shino just left," Nori said.
The two boys looked behind them, seeing that Shino had left. They shrugged and continued stuffing their faces.
"Well, I gotta go," Nori said, getting up.
"Where to?" Kiba asked.
"Uh…place…" Nori said.
Kiba and Naruto stopped chewing, their mouths still full. They exchanged doubtful glances and then—
"HEY! GET OFF ME! I SWEAR, I'LL KILL YOU TWO IF YOU DON'T GET OFF IN FIVE SECONDS!" Nori hollered.
Naruto wrestled Nori's bag away from her and started digging through it.
"Find anything, Naruto?" Kiba called. "OW!"
Nori jabbed Kiba in the face, but the dog-boy had had practice with pinning someone down.
"Looks like…a paper airplane?" Naruto said, confused. He unfolded it and read the text, smiling deviously. "Ooooooooh…"
"DON'T READ THAT!"
"Sorry, Nori, but you're too obvious," Kiba said. He let go of the girl and raced over to Naruto, his eyes darting across the paper wildly. He started laughing. "YAHOO! Nori's got a secret admirer!"
Nori snatched the paper away from them and flicked them on the foreheads, their weak spot.
"OW!"
The boys rubbed their foreheads simultaneously.
"You guys suck bad," Nori said hatefully.
"Hey, we're your friends, we should know about this stuff," Naruto said. "So…do you know who it is?"
"No," Nori said, still angry.
"When did you get it?"
"You know, you two sound like Sakura and Ino," Nori said.
Naruto and Kiba gasped.
"Well I never," Naruto said.
"That's it," Nori picked up her bag and started walking off.
The boys started to catch up.
"Hey, we were just kidding!" Kiba exclaimed. "Nori!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto called. "I bet we can help you!"
"I doubt that," Nori said, but she stopped. After all, those guys were her best friends, whether they were complete knuckleheads or not.
A few minutes later, the three of them were looking at the list of people in Hatake Kakashi's class.
"You think its Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"Shyeah right," Nori said. "That pretty boy's probably in love with himself."
"That or he's gay," Kiba said.
"True," Naruto and Nori agreed.
"Who could it be…who could it be…?" Kiba said thoughtfully.
Naruto gasped. "I just had a thought." He quickly turned his head towards Nori. "Nori, you can't go out there."
"What? Why?" Nori asked.
"Yeah, why?" Kiba said.
"What if…what if that guy's a creepy perverted stalker who just wants to get you out there to rape you?" Naruto said, his face serious.
ZONK.
WHAM!
"OW! You hit hard…" Naruto said, rubbing his arm.
"You idiot," Nori said angrily. "How did that come to your tiny mind?"
"It could…happen…"
Kiba shook his head. "Naruto…"
"WHAT? It could happen!"
"No it couldn't!"
"Idiot…"
"I'm never gonna find this secret admirer!" Nori exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.
Little did she know, a few feet away behind a tree was none other than the secret admirer.
LATER THAT NIGHT…
Nori stood in front of her mirror looking doubtfully down at herself. She had rarely ever worn a dress EVER and she was not happy about this.
Oh well, Nori thought. Better make the best of it. It'll only be for a few hours. I need to look decent.
She wasn't the kind to wear any makeup on any occasion, so she pulled the elastic out of her hair and set it on the table. Shaking her head a little and slipping on a dark green headband, she stared at her reflection, wondering who this girl with the blank stare was.
The clock chimed eight o'clock. Time to go.
AT THE DANCE…
"Sasuke-kun, will you dance with me?" Sakura asked sweetly. She was wearing a strapless red dress with a sequin belt. Flower designs were scattered around the fabric and a humble necklace hung from her neck. A ribbon was tied in her hair.
"No," Sasuke said. He was wearing a dark blue sweater with his family's insignia on the back and black pants.
"I'll dance with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chimed. He was wearing a bright orange tuxedo with a blue tie. The lights of the disco ball seemed to make his loud attire even brighter.
"No thanks, Naruto," Sakura sighed. "I think I just want to get a drink." She slumped off towards the food table.
"You know what, Sasuke?" Naruto said angrily.
"What, Naruto?" Sasuke said uninterestedly.
"I don't even know why you go to these things! Actually, I do! I think it's for the attention!"
Sasuke shook his head. "You just keep telling yourself that, Naruto."
Naruto crossed his arms sulkily while Sasuke walked away, a group of fangirls following him.
"Hey Naruto," Kiba said, putting a hand up. He was wearing a grey jacket with a white shirt underneath. For once, he was clean, other than the red face paint. "How's it going?"
"Not so hot," Naruto sighed. "You?"
"Eh…Shino's hopeless. He won't dance or anything," Kiba said. "What a weird guy. He went somewhere. And Nori's not here either. Have you seen her?"
"Nope."
"Huh…"
"Hi guys."
The two boys looked up. Naruto's eyes widened and Kiba smirked.
"Well, well…" he chuckled. "Look who we have here."
"…Nori?" Naruto said uncertainly.
Nori looked incredible, especially in the dim light. Her dark green dress was simple, the sleeves sliding slightly down her slim shoulders. A faint sparkle made her dress glow slightly as the disco ball turned. Her long, thick, golden brown hair was particularly beautiful as it fell down her back.
Nori stood for a second, then leaned over and snapped her fingers in front of her friends' faces. "Hello? Earth to morons."
The two shook their heads quickly.
"Hey Nori," the two said goofily.
Nori raised an eyebrow. "Hello."
"Come to check out your secret admirer?" Naruto said slyly.
"Why else would I be here?" Nori said simply.
"You look nice, trying to make a good impression?" Kiba chuckled.
"It's a dance, right?" Nori said, eyeing Naruto. "Although…I think the Halloween Dance passed already, Naruto."
Naruto crossed his arms bad-temperedly again. "Like that's the first time I've heard that today."
Nori smiled good-naturedly. "Sorry." She looked around at the middle-schoolers having a blast. "So what's there to do?"
"Everything!" Naruto exclaimed. "Dancing, stuffing your face with free food, playing mindless things like spin the bottle in the corner!"
"Spin the bottle?" Nori said doubtfully. "Aren't there chaperones?"
"Yeah, but it's not like they care," Naruto said. "It's just Kakashi and Jiraiya." He jabbed his finger towards the before mentioned chaperones who were discussing the latest Icha Icha Paradise novel.
"I see…"
"Nori!"
Nori turned to see a mob of girls coming towards her. She ducked, her arms a shield in front of her. The wave of females tackled her and stampeded into the girls' lavatory in one swift motion.
Kiba and Naruto stood with confused looks on their faces. "What just happened…?"
IN THE GIRLS' BATHROOM…
"Omigosh, Nori, is it true?" said one girl.
"What?" Nori said, utterly puzzled.
"You have a secret admirer! I note from the heavens, it's so cute!" said another.
"A note from the heavens…what?"
"You know!" one girl giggled. "You're meeting your dream boat tonight!"
The group of girls giggled restlessly and started chattering, filling the room and Nori's head with high-pitched noise.
Suddenly, an arm pulled Nori out of the chaos.
Nori was out of the room as fast as she had gotten in. She shook her head and opened her eyes to see Tenten, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata.
"You okay there, Nori?" Tenten asked.
"Yeah…" Nori said shakily. "What happened?"
"You mean you don't know?" Ino gasped. "Everyone knows about your secret meet with your secret admirer!"
"WHO TOLD YOU?" Nori exploded.
Tenten and Sakura cupped their hands over Nori's mouth.
"Not so loud!" Sakura exclaimed. "After all, everyone knows a lot already!"
Nori angrily pried their hands off her face and in a softer but still fierce tone said, "Who told you?"
"Who else? Naruto and Kiba," Sakura said.
Nori angrily glanced around the room in search of the two loudmouths that had spread the news.
"Do you know who it is?" Hinata asked timidly.
"No," Nori sighed. "But I'm supposed to meet him at nine."
"We know," the four chimed.
"Right…"
"That's in two minutes," Tenten said suddenly as she glanced at the clock. "You'd better get there! We'll try to stop anyone from spying, okay?"
"Thanks, guys," Nori said gratefully as she ran out of the doors of the gym.
The loud music still seeped through the closed doors as Nori walked on the dark campus. She quietly made her way over to the fountain and sat on the edge, staring up at the stars and wondering who this secret admirer would be. She went over all the boys she had met many times this year and tried to think. Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Gaara.
Naruto definitely wasn't her secret admirer. Not only was his spelling terrible and his writing even worse, but that would just be weird. Besides, he was blinded with mad love for Sakura.
Sasuke was the most popular guy in school who had no feelings for anyone in the school as far as she was concerned, and she didn't think he would suddenly have a change of heart.
Kiba wasn't the type to go for her. It was like Naruto without the infatuation with Sakura and all. End of story.
Shino was just…weird.
Lee…no. He was infatuated with Sakura too. Wasn't she a lucky girl?
Neji was as pompous as Sasuke and sexist to boot. Besides, she barely had time to talk to him even if she felt like it.
Shikamaru…he was a nice guy, but too lazy and he never really seemed to have any emotion attachment to her.
Chouji. No.
Gaara…
Before Nori could ponder over Gaara's feelings over her, she heard a rustling in the bushes. She stood up quickly, holding her breath. "Who's…there?"
"I'm glad you came." A figure stepped out from the bushes.
"You're…my secret admirer?" Nori said in disbelief. The voice and the outline of the figure were so familiar, and she knew exactly who it was when he first spoke.
Shino.
Mwahahaha! Cliffie! A reader's worst enemy. R&R please! I'm sure the next update will come WAY faster than this one. I actually know what I'm gonna write about.
-TTF