Chapter 14
Dilemma
"I think we lost them," Naruto gasped for breath as he shut the door to his house and locked it. Beside him, Naruto could hear Sasuke's uneven breathing. For the last half hour or so, they had been trying to out run a bunch men and women with cameras. The men and women, also known as the paparazzi had been trying to follow them home. "They're like sharks!" Naruto remarked, pressing his back against the door, his own breathing harsh and quick.
In an attempt to calm himself down, he let his eyelids slide shut and visualized a nice warm bowl of ramen. He never wanted to experience twenty or more adults chasing after him with cameras and yelling questions at him ever again. "Does this happen to you all the time?" Naruto opened his eyes when the question came to him. No wonder Sasuke was so strange if he had grown up with people chasing after him.
Shrugging, Sasuke gave a weak grunt. "Only when something considered scandalous occurs with someone in my family."
"How often is that?" Sasuke gave Naruto an irritated look as an answer, and weirdly enough, Naruto understood it. The look said something along the lines of, Are you an idiot? Do you not know who my family is?
"Right…" Naruto trailed off and let his gaze drift off to the side to hide his embarrassment. "You're such a stuck up perfectionist that your family is probably the same. You know what they say, 'the apple doesn't fall from the tree'."
As expected, Sasuke really needed a new set of expressions, the older boy narrowed his eyes at Naruto, giving him a dirty look. Seconds later any nastiness in the older boy's gaze changed. The frown on his face transformed into an annoying smirk. The change was so fast and sudden, Naruto's natural curiosity was piqued, causing him to hover around Sasuke like a helicopter as the older boy waltzed carelessly deeper into Naruto's house until they were in the kitchen.
Hmm, the last time Sasuke was in his kitchen…
"You better not be thinking about anything perverted, Teme," Naruto warned with a scowl. He did not want a repeat of last time.
"Just thinking about what you said and how it applies to a certain someone," Sasuke answered, walking into Naruto's living room and tossing his backpack on the couch.
"Hey! Are you insulting my parents by calling them stupid?" Naruto asked with his scowl still in place, following suit and tossing his backpack onto the couch as well. He couldn't believe Sasuke would take such a low blow by insulting his parents. He knew Sasuke was a jerk but he never knew how much until—
"Idiot," Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto as he unzipped his backpack and dug through the bag for his books and papers. Any amusement that had been Sasuke's face was erased and a cold mask of annoyance had taken residence. "I never said anything like that. Don't go around assuming things. It was an assumption like that that made you think I was gay."
"Yeah and look how that turned out," Naruto grumbled as he fished through his own sack for his school supplies. He acted upset but he could feel his lips curving upwards. It was hard to say whether he was happy because Sasuke hadn't insulted his parents or because of the memory of the day Naruto had thought Sasuke had been gay. He had been so freaked out to learn Sasuke might like other men that he had acted like a complete idiot, and it was a little humorous looking back on it.
However, while Naruto found his past behavior entertaining, he was also a little disappointed in himself when he compared it to recent events. He was no better than the kids who had spent the day trying to get under his skin. At least he hadn't been as terrible as Sakon. Naruto frowned at the thought. That really was a small consolation.
"By the way," Naruto began and took a seat on the couch, placed his history textbook on his lap, and opened it to a marked page. "Can you drive us to school tomorrow? I'd rather not try to out run a mob of paparazzi again."
"I had that planned," Sasuke answered, taking his own seat beside Naruto on the couch. Unlike Naruto though, he had a notebook out and looked like he was working on math problems. With speed that made Naruto envious, the Uchiha went to work on a problem and in less than a minute moved on to the next one. As Naruto watched Sasuke use a math formula to answer the question, he felt his brow crinkle with uncertainty and maybe… worry?
"You've been a little weird today," Naruto commented, not sure where he was going with his comment. Maybe he was just overreacting, or perhaps it was just his imagination? Maybe it was both? "I know you don't have people chasing after you everyday but…" Naruto trailed off. What did he want to say? Sasuke didn't seem out of character. Something just felt off. It was like the warning signs of a bad cold, and as much as he wanted to say something, he couldn't find any words that wouldn't embarrass him.
"You're imagining things," Sasuke stated, not even looking at Naruto as he did so. It irked Naruto and reminded him of what had happened when Sasuke and him had been sitting outside of Iruka's office. Why was no one willing to look at him when they spoke to him? It was driving him up the walls! Had someone taken a pen to his face and drawn something offensive on it?
"Will you just—"
"Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds!" Jiraiya's voice boomed through the room. He was standing at the entrance of the living room with a pleased grin on his face as he eyed the two teens on the couch. "I was hesitant about you before, Sasuke, but maybe I should be thanking you. It looks like you got Naruto to start doing his homework almost the second he walked in the house. To think I once thought I would be dead before it would happen."
"Knock it off, old man!" Naruto could feel heat rushing to his cheeks. He hadn't meant to start working on his homework; he had just been following Sasuke's lead. That didn't mean it was because of Sasuke. …Well, maybe it did, but that didn't mean it was intentional! It wasn't like Sasuke had planned to manipulate Naruto into starting his homework.
…Or had he?
Naruto looked at Sasuke to see if the boy was smirking or doing anything that might be a clue as to Uchiha's manipulative intentions. Sasuke was focused only on his math problems. Something tugged at at Naruto's chest as he was painfully reminded of what he had been talking about with Sasuke before Jiraiya interrupted them. Something was off; he just needed to find out what.
"You shouldn't disrespect your elders, kid. Especially when they are the ones paying for your food and the roof over your head," Jiraiya reprimanded, and if Sasuke wasn't acting so weird Naruto would have responded to his guardian's taunt, but instead he let his guardian's words dissipate in the air.
He knew he was making a show of staring at Sasuke, and while a part of him was embarrassed and was pleading with him to stop it, another part of him, the side that had grown rather fond of Sasuke over their short period of getting to know each other, didn't care. He was also aware that Jiraiya was probably staring at him with wide eyes and bewilderment when he didn't respond to himpromptly, choosing to stare at his "boyfriend" instead.
Maybe sensing someone staring at him, Sasuke finally paused in his writing and glared up at Naruto. "What?" he asked bitterly and accusingly, and Naruto felt the muscles in his back become less tense. He hadn't been aware just how stiff he had been until Sasuke was giving him that wonderfully familiar look of anger and annoyance.
Ah, that wonderful familiar look that could create icebergs. What would Naruto do without it?
"You're acting weirder than normal," Naruto accused, his voice leaking with a bit of happiness. He would have preferred it to be a little more stern. "Is this because the school is forcing us to change our schedules?"
Sasuke blinked his eyes rapidly twice. The irritated look he had been giving Naruto was gone. In its place was a raised eyebrow, which in the language of Sasuke meant that the Uchiha either thought Naruto was crazy, or he was confused. It was probably the first option. "What are you talking about, Dobe? My schedule wasn't changed."
"But—"
"I would have been informed by now if they had," Sasuke cut Naruto off, ending a conversation that had barely started, returning his attention back to his math problems. Thus Naruto was left with his mouth agape like a fish. He didn't know whether to be in shock or furious, and if he was supposed to be furious, who should he be furious at? He wanted to rip Sasuke's head off for being so…so…so…! Argh! Naruto couldn't even think of the right word to describe Sasuke, but he knew exactly why he was angry with his high school. How dare they force him to change his schedule while Sasuke kept his!
"The school changed your schedule?" Jiraiya asked from his position near the entrance of the living room.
"Yes," Naruto answered, holding back a growl he deeply wanted to release.
"Is this because you got in a fight today?"
It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured on his head—just less wet. Suddenly, his anger was put out like a flame. For how long Naruto did not know. For the moment though, any resentment he held towards his high school was pushed to the back of his mind as his curiosity move to the front. "How do you know about that?"
"Don't be silly," Jiraiya scoffed. "Any student involved in a fight gets a phone call home to their parents or guardians. You should know that, Naruto."
"Yeah, well, I have been a little distracted today," Naruto answered defensively.
"As I can see." Jiraiya stared pointedly at Sasuke before sighing in what sounded like defeat. "I had a feeling the media would get involved in your relationship. I was really hoping to talk to you about it before anything happened though."
"Wait! Is that why you were acting so weird when you almost caught Sasuke and I…" Naruto covered his mouth with his hand and tried to push back the memory of making out on the very couch he was sitting on now. If only the blood would stop rushing to his face, and was it his imagination or was a he sweating a little too? Oh ramen! Jiraiya probably could tell by just looking at him what had happened before he had entered the room that day. Heck, Jiraiya might think it was more than a make out session! He might think…
Oh precious ramen! Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut?
By the sly smile and glint in his eyes, Naruto could tell Jiraiya had already caught on to what had probably occurred between the two teens. He was probably already thinking of a few jokes to say at another time. For the moment he kept to the topic at hand, pretending to let Naruto's love life go unnoticed. "As your guardian I was naturally worried that you were getting involved in something you were not ready to handle, but now it's too late to reverse the damage and I'll just have to be proactive."
Proactive? Was Jiraiya going to get a restraining order against all of the paparazzi that had followed Naruto and Sasuke? If so, Naruto was utterly and completely for it! There was just something wrong with the idea of twenty or more adults chasing two kids down the street. Admittedly, it would make a good To Catch a Predator episode.
Whatever Jiraiya's definition of "proactive" was, Naruto didn't get to hear it. Instead he gave the blond a thumbs-up sign before gesturing with his thumb to something behind him. Naruto was clueless as to what Jiraiya was trying to say, until… "Get out of here and go to your room."
"What?! You're grounding me?!"
Jiraiya had to be joking! He was too old to be grounded! What had he done to deserve a grounding anyway? Was it the fight? Surely, Jiraiya wouldn't be as cruel as to ground him without asking him why he had gotten in the fight in the first place? Wait! What if it wasn't the fight but…Sasuke!
A surge of power and defiance rushed through Naruto's veins like flames following a trail of kerosene. Sasuke may have been his fake boyfriend but it was the principle of the matter! Jiraiya couldn't ground him for dating someone, or even liking someone for that matter. It wasn't fair (was it just Naruto or was he repeating that phrase a lot?)! If Jiraiya tried to separate him from Sasuke then he would sneak out and visit the Uchiha. The two of them could be like Romeo and Juliet… but without the dying, the sex, and the falling in love parts!
However, all worry, rage, and defiance was washed away from him like rock on the edge of the beach when Jiraiya shook his head and gave Naruto a reassuring smile. "You're not grounded. I just want to talk to Sasuke alone."
"Really?" Naruto had to make sure, and was satisfied when Jiraiya nodded his head in affirmation. "Okay, fine," Naruto grumbled and gathered his school supplies back into his bag. He stood up and walked towards Jiraiya to exit the room. As he walked by his guardian he quickly paused to add, "Sasuke doesn't talk much so expect it to be a one-sided conversation."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Jiraiya smiled.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Mindlessly, Sasuke wrote down a simplified form of the original question on his math homework. He paused to stare at the simplified form and in two seconds he wrote beneath it the answer to the equation. That was the fourth question he had answered and he had about fifteen more. It was at times like these when he wanted to take one of his textbooks and hit his teachers over the head with it. After demonstrating his knowledge once why did he have to repeatedly show it by answering more questions? It was inefficient.
"Hard to believe Naruto is dating a nerd."
Like a car coming to a screeching halt, Sasuke's body froze and tensed. He felt the muscles in his finger tips cry out in pain as his grip on his pencil tightened. A second later and Sasuke would have broken the lead of his pencil on his notebook upon hearing the comment. Instead the sharp point of lead was left to hover less than a centimeter over the sheet of lined paper.
The shadow of Naruto's guardian marked the sheet of paper in Sasuke's lap, and with as much patience as he could muster he turned his head slowly against his body's protest. He almost needed oil to loosen the muscles in his neck so he could give the old man the venomous and threatening look that the old man deserved as a warning. "Excuse me?" Sasuke spoke coldly, reminding himself of the few times when Itachi had ever gotten upset with him; no one could be more terrifying than his older brother when furious.
Jiraiya did not seem to understand the "subtle" message. He was still smiling like a damn fool; kind of like how Naruto used to. Admittedly, there were some differences between the old man's smile and Naruto's. The point was, the man did not care about the violent aura radiating off of Sasuke, or that he was invading the boy's personal space. "You heard me," the man spoke cheerfully. "I never thought Naruto would like someone smart, and lacking in social skills. Smart, yes. Lack of social skills, no."
"Do you have no concept of tact?" Sasuke gritted out, followed by a snapping sound. Eyes going wide in surprise, Sasuke looked down at the hand holding his pencil and was startled to find that lead tip had snapped off from being pressed too hard against his notebook. He didn't even remember pressing it against the notebook! He'd just have to brush it off for the moment.
"Also, I have to run a business, which requires social interaction so do not assume that I have no social skills," Sasuke sneered.
Jiraiya shrugged, "You could have fooled me, kid." The next thing Sasuke knew the old man went from towering in front of him to taking residence on the side of the couch where Naruto had been sitting. He was the picture of relaxation as he let his arms stretch out against the back of the sofa and spread his legs out in front of him. "I'm not here to judge though," he said, "I'm here as Naruto's guardian, and I'm going to do what any decent guardian would do: protect him."
"Are you going to force me to break up with him?" Sasuke asked, letting his voice sound suspicious while concealing another emotion that played beneath his exterior. It was a hard sensation to describe; it was like a rash underneath his skin. The emotion irritated him, and like the rash it felt like, he feared that it was only a symptom of some unfathomable disease that he was infected with. This "beneath the skin" rash itched and became easily irritated by the thought of Jiraiya trying to interfere with his deal with Naruto, and also the phrases replaying in his head from earlier.
"You know like me."
"So how are things going between you and Naruto?"
"Just admit it Sasuke.; you like me."
"I see he is having a good effect on you. Before him, you couldn't even manage to play a romantic character."
"I'm your boyfriend, you have to like me."
"He is your boyfriend, correct?"
It was unbelievably frustrating! It was bad enough that Naruto had managed to get under his skin, affecting him to the point of insanity, but now his drama teacher and this old man with their comments and questions? It was more than Sasuke wanted or could tolerate. He should just end the deal with Naruto and take the ninety percent in Drama; he could be satisfied knowing he had outdone Itachi. Ending it all was the most logical thing to do.
However, he couldn't do it. He didn't want to end his deal with Naruto. He wanted to be the best and Naruto seemed to be the key to his success. Also, it was only Jiraiya's disapproval that allowed the old man to get under his skin. Ending his deal with Naruto would be like letting the older man win; Sasuke couldn't have that.
"It's too late to try and make you two split up," Jiraiya answered nonchalantly, derailing Sasuke in his thoughts and surprising the young boy, though he did his best to hide it.
The old man sighed as if the world had been resting upon his shoulders and he had finally let it fall. "The damage has been done, the media will be sniffing around you two like starving dogs searching for a feast. Splitting you two up would only make matters worse. All I can do now is be here to help Naruto, and ask you for a favor." The atmosphere changed with those uttered words. Shortly succeeding those words Jiraiya went silent and stared at Sasuke, and the Uchiha had to control the urge to sit on the edge of his seat like an expectant child. The old man's eyes searched Sasuke up and down until his gaze finally settled on something behind Sasuke, or so it appeared.
The old man's eyes were distant and Sasuke was sorely tempted to wave his hand in front of the man's face. What favor? Why would Jiraiya ask him for a favor? Did it have to do with money? What? Did he want Sasuke to buy something that Naruto could use to protect himself from the media? Sasuke doubted he could buy a fully functioning brain for the idiot.
"Take care of him and treat him nice," Jiraiya finally murmured, his gaze no longer glazed over in a distant stare.
"Naruto?" Sasuke grunted. "He can take care of himself. He doesn't need my help."
A burst of laughter escaped from Jiraiya. "You're right, he can take care of himself." Then, and Sasuke wasn't sure how he recognized it, an emotion took over Jiraiya's face that could only be describe as the love and pride only a parent could have for their child. "He's strong and can take care of himself, but even adults who can take care of themselves need someone to look out for them. If he had to, I am sure Naruto could handle this mess by himself, but he would come out more battered and bruised than necessary, which is why I would appreciate you being there for him, even if he fights you along the way."
What was Sasuke supposed to say to that? He wanted to rebuke him and tell Jiraiya that if Naruto could handle everything on his own then he should, but his brain couldn't send the message to his lips. Another message reached his lips just fine, though
"He's such an idiot."
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Colors bled and swirled together. Naruto's temples were pounding with a threatening headache as a gust of air played with Naruto's hair. His hands slammed themselves onto the top of his desk right before he used his arms to propel himself counter-clockwise. He had spent the last five, maybe ten, minutes spinning around in his computer chair. He knew in theory that he was making himself sick but he also knew that he used to spin in his chair all the time and never got sick. At best, he would get light headed, and as a child he had found the experience fun.
Though the headache he was getting was not as fun as he remembered it. He had enough of the pain in his temples and chose that moment to let his feet scrape against his carpeted floor, creating traction and slowing him down. It wasn't until the chair had spun three more times that Naruto could finally make out some the objects in his room. He grabbed the edge of his desk, completely stopping his movements. He was unmoving, but it felt like his body was swaying while his head weighed nothing at all, though he kept wanting to let it drop to the side as if it were a heavy weight.
"Whoa…" Naruto drawled, still trying to get his bearings. Was this what being high on drugs was like?
The world was tilting back and forth but he could finally see every object in his room without them blurring together. About ten more seconds and everything should go back to normal. Ten seconds was a little too long for Naruto, so he squeezed his eyes shut and quickly opened them. Like magic, everything was stationary again.
Now what?
Naruto frowned. He had started spinning around in his chair because he couldn't think of anything to do. He knew he could do homework, but Jiraiya's comment from earlier still had him sore. Though, since Sasuke wasn't present then maybe it wouldn't count as Sasuke's influence if he did his homework. However, if he did his homework because he thought it wasn't because of Sasuke's influence wouldn't it then be because of Sasuke's influence? Thinking about that made Naruto's head hurt worse.
Forget it, I'll just check my E-mail, Naruto told himself, and within seconds had his computer on and was typing rapidly on his keyboard. In less than a minute he had his E-mail account open and was quickly scanning through all of the junk mail in his mailbox. He must have deleted at least ten E-mails before one caught his eye; it was an E-mail from Ibiki, his journalism instructor.
Why did he…? Naruto began asking himself as he moved the mouse of his computer, clicking on the message from his instructor. He didn't have to complete his silent question before his memories flashed before him like a montage in a movie. Ibiki was probably commenting on the article Naruto had recently turned in, though he had never done it through E-mail before. Perhaps…?
Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling. He felt like he was beaming enough that his white teeth were glowing and sparkling. He was just so happy that maybe Ibiki was E-mailing him because his article had been amazing, and Ibiki couldn't wait to publish it in the school newspaper. He had worked so hard on that article that it couldn't be anything else. Ibiki had to have loved it.
When he looked at the message Ibiki sent him, he was greatly disappointed.
"I would like to see you tomorrow morning before school." The E-mail read.
So maybe it wasn't a bad E-mail, but it still wasn't what Naruto had been hoping for and for a brief second he felt his heart sink.
Just as quickly as his heart had sunk, it was floating again like a hot-air balloon. Perhaps Ibiki hadn't praised him in his message to Naruto, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't praise Naruto the next day.
Maneuvering his seat so he was facing the door to his bedroom, which he had left open, he shouted, "Hey Sasuke! I need to be at school early tomorrow! Do you think you can get up a little earlier?"
There was no response. Naruto felt his forehead wrinkle as he frowned and took a deep breath of air, preparing to bellow at his fake boyfriend from the second-story of the house. Just as Naruto felt that his lungs would burst from too much pressure, the sudden padding sound of footsteps reached his ears and he released his breath with a sigh. Soon, none other than a sour-faced Sasuke stood in front of Naruto with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What were you yelling about?" Sasuke asked, his annoyance as easy to detect as a large rock in a field of grass.
At least Sasuke was finally acting normal for the moment, and Naruto did his best not to sigh in relief at the familiar gesture and attitude.
"I need to be at school early tomorrow," Naruto explained. "Can you wake up earlier and give me a ride, or do I have to suffer through the paparazzi and walk to school alone?"
Sasuke didn't answer. Admittedly, Naruto didn't expect an answer right away, but he didn't get the rage-filled glare, the raised eyebrow of doom, or even the infamous smirk. Sasuke's face was completely blank, and before Naruto was ware of what he was doing, his gaze began to wander over Sasuke's body, looking for any physical sign of what the other boy was thinking. His scan of Sasuke was brief and he found nothing out of place as he waited for a response. There was still a voice inside Naruto kept telling him that Sasuke was being weirder than usual again.
"Sasuke?" Naruto prompted, leaning forward in his seat to get a better look but still finding nothing wrong with Sasuke.
"I should make you walk," Sasuke abruptly scoffed, turned on his heel and left.
"Is that a 'Yes'"? Naruto shouted at Sasuke's back, and giving chase when his "boyfriend" once again became unresponsive.
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
Sasuke never answered Naruto's question, which, while not surprising to Naruto, still got under the blonde's skin. He had spent the whole night trying to get Sasuke to answer his question, even embarrassing himself in front of Jiraiya to do so. Couldn't Sasuke for one moment make things a little easier for him, and answer a simple question? Of course not, because then he wouldn't be Sasuke if he did! He wouldn't be the stupid, arrogant jerk who was wiggling his way into Naruto's life, which at the moment Naruto wished he was… or wasn't… ack! It was too early in the morning to be thinking about sentence structure; the sun wasn't even up!
"Where is it?" Naruto grumbled as he threw his clothes around his room. He couldn't find the clean pair of underwear he had set aside for himself the previous night, and he was still upset. In a way, he was taking care of two problems at once; he was searching for his underwear, and every time he threw a piece of clothing across his room, he would pretend he was throwing a rock at Sasuke's stupid, stubborn head.
"Forget it!" Naruto hissed, and threw his hands up in the air. "I like not wearing underwear anyway," he grumbled and adjusted the jeans on his hips (he had put them on earlier in case Jiraiya walked into his room, taking him by surprise).
Grabbing his backpack, Naruto tried to ignore the mental image of Sasuke smirking victoriously at him as he headed for the front door. As much as Naruto knew Sasuke had nothing to do with his suddenly missing pair of underwear, he felt as if by giving up his search he had somehow lost to Sasuke. Maybe it was because he had been thinking about that annoying jerk as he had desperately searched for it? Naruto didn't have to understand why, he just knew he wasn't happy with the feeling.
What if Sasuke has taken my underwear? Naruto's brain suddenly screeched like a thirteen year-old girl who had just spotted a gross, hairy spider in her bedroom. He knew in his heart and his mind that Sasuke would never really steal his underwear, it was not Sasuke's character. That didn't stop the heart-pounding embarrassment that made his cheeks heat up. He tried to shake the disturbing thought out of his head, but it stayed there like it was glued tight, and he hated it. The longer the thought stayed in his head, the more his cheeks heated up.
Just go to school. Just go to school. Naruto chanted to himself, trying desperately to think of something else, but failing as an image of Sasuke sneaking in his room through an opened window and taking his underwear popped to the forefront of his mind.
"Stupid—" Naruto began as he placed his hand on the doorknob of the front door and opened it to reveal none other than Sasuke's car. Seeing the vehicle in his driveway, Naruto cut himself off and did a double blink. If Sasuke's car was in his driveway then…
Sitting in the front of his car was Sasuke. By all logic he should have been shivering from the morning cold, but the older teen was perfectly composed in the driver's seat. Cupped gently (and Naruto used that word hesitantly) in his hands was what looked like a thermos cup with steam billowing from it. Naruto guessed that it was coffee, which caused his nose to crinkle. He never had been much of a coffee person to the relief of many (something having to with him already being hyper).
Eerily, Sasuke's perfect composer while sitting in a car in the freezing cold wasn't the only illogical thing that morning. Upon seeing Sasuke sitting in his car, Naruto was too stunned to think (okay, maybe not so illogical), but in matter of seconds a tidal wave of emotions washed over him, awakening him from his stunned state. His emotions left him feeling more shocked and confused than before.
He was angry at Sasuke which, while not uncommon, was inappropriate. Even he was aware that the emotion wasn't warranted. He should be feeling relieved and thankful. He was, to a degree but a piece of his brain was thrumming with unspoken rage towards Sasuke, and that rage was vibrating down through his nerves and making his body tense. He had one hand clenched in a fist and he wasn't quite sure why.
Maybe he was wrong? Maybe he was supposed to be upset with Sasuke? He had been angry at the other boy just moments ago when he had been searching for his underwear. Also, Sasuke had been such a jerk for not answering his question the previous night, and his lack of an answer had forced Naruto to wake up far earlier than he had wanted.
There were so many good reasons for Naruto to be upset with Sasuke, even the immature reason that Sasuke had caused Naruto to feel thankful when the other boy didn't deserve it after his actions from the other night. Naruto could think of twenty reasons in ten seconds, and would never be able to count all the reason on his toes and fingers even if he had two extra hands. He had so many reasons and yet none of them suited the tense, nerve-wracking anger that he felt.
I better go yell at the jerk before he thinks I'm staring at him, Naruto grouched in his mind, but smiled at the thought of releasing some his anger on the Uchiha. He may not have known why he was angry but he knew if he just let himself yell at the Uchiha eventually the truth would come out and he'd know.
Walking up to the expensive car, Naruto subtly watched Sasuke, looking for any sign that Sasuke was aware of his presence. There was a quick glance from Sasuke out of the corner of his eye before he went back to looking intently at the hands wrapped tightly around his cup. The action had been so fast Naruto was sure he imagined it, but when he opened the car door and climbed into the vehicle without any word from his fake boyfriend, he knew it hadn't been his imagination.
"Why didn't you come inside?" Naruto asked, his voice becoming accusing as he reached to his side for his seatbelt. His nose twitched when he smelled the air and was assaulted by the pungent scent of coffee. "And why didn't you tell me you were going to drive me to school? I could have slept in longer! You could have too!"
"You are really annoying in the morning," Sasuke responded as Naruto clicked his seatbelt into place and Sasuke put his coffee in a cup holder.
"And you are a stupid dick," Naruto insulted back, annoyed that instead of getting a reaction out of Sasuke, the Uchiha ignored him, started the car, and began backing the car out of the driveway. He wouldn't be ignored though. "You should have come into my house, it's cold outside, and you call me stupid."
"I don't have a key," Sasuke spoke in clipped words, his eyes watching the road. A brief glance in the rearview mirror caused Sasuke's brow to furrow, and Naruto, being the curious soul that he was, turned his head so he could look through the car's back window. Like Sasuke, his brow furrowed when he saw a couple news stations' vans following them.
Knowing that he couldn't do anything about the media at the moment, Naruto let his worry slide to back of his mind and focused on the anger and frustration he held towards Sasuke. "You could have rung the doorbell. It's not like I was asleep."
"Hn."
"And I still don't understand why you didn't tell me you were going to take me to school," Naruto went on, silently cheering on the inside. It seemed that for once he was winning an argument with Sasuke. "If you had told me, we could have arranged a time when you could have picked me up, and we both wouldn't have to wake up early."
Sasuke didn't even make a sound at the statement.
Total victory, or so Naruto thought, but as the minutes ticked by and the school became visible from the car's front window Naruto felt as if he had been tricked. Something in his gut was unsettled by the easy victory Sasuke had given him.
Given him…
Had Sasuke let him win? Admittedly, it wasn't as if their arguments were real contests between them, but that didn't mean they weren't treated as such. Sasuke was too prideful to throw a fight, unless, perhaps, and Naruto wasn't hundred percent if this was true, but maybe Sasuke would lose a fight if it meant protecting his pride? The only problem with that theory was that, as far as Naruto knew, Sasuke's pride was perfectly safe. What could possibly be endangering his pride?
As Naruto mulled the question over in his head, Sasuke drove into the school's parking lot and put the car in park. It was as Sasuke was taking off his seatbelt that words Naruto hadn't been aware of slipped through his lips. "Were you trying not to wake me up?"
Sasuke visibly froze and tensed at the question. His eyes had also widened slightly, but not enough that anyone besides Naruto would notice. It was only a second, but in that second Naruto saw Sasuke with all of his shields down, and he was sure that in those wide eyes he saw something akin to insecurity in those dark pools.
"Why would I care if I woke you up?" Sasuke asked, a mask of arrogance taking over and concealing any insecurity Naruto had seen. However, like the previous time, Naruto saw something in Sasuke's eyes that gave him away. Sasuke could pose and act as smug and relaxed as he liked, but Naruto could see the truth, and it made him see red.
"Don't lie to me," Naruto demanded, snapping off his seatbelt so he could lean across the space between them. He stared into Sasuke's eyes, knowing that it was the only way he could be sure of what Sasuke was really thinking. "Why lie to me?"
"Hn." Sasuke grunted and forcibly removed his gaze from Naruto's, cutting off the blonde's one way of reading the Uchiha.
"Are you really going to answer me with a grunt?"
"…"
"Argh! You drive me crazy! I swear Sasuke, if I didn't have to meet with Ibiki I would sit in this car and yell at you until I am blue in the face or until you finally tell the truth." As Naruto said this he maneuvered himself so he was facing his door and had his hand place on the handle, just waiting to push it and free himself. "After school, we are going to talk," he warned with a bit of a growl in his throat.
"Naruto."
"What?" Naruto snapped.
His head was pulled forward by two pale hands and two lips pressed roughly against his. He automatically closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, and then hurriedly tried to move his head back to its upright position, but the two hands stopped him. His mind was screaming at him to open his eyes and resist, but he was so tired and stressed that he kept them closed so he could continue to feel the firm sensation on his lips without visible distraction. The nerves that had been bothering him earlier now hummed with bliss and anticipation.
The kiss wasn't sloppy or wet, but neither was it sweet and gentle. There was strength and demand behind the kiss, but Naruto couldn't interpret what the demand was. It didn't matter though. He let himself enjoy the rough edge of the kiss. If only voice in the back his head wasn't trying to remind him that he wasn't supposed to enjoy it. The sweet intoxicating edge was like a wonderful massage to his sore and tense muscles and he welcomed the blissful sensation.
All bliss was lost though when bright flashes of light danced across Naruto's eyes. He shouldn't have been able to see the flashes, but he did and he opened his eyes, tearing his lips away from Sasuke's but keeping his head in the other boy's grasp. Looking out the car's front window Naruto scowled when he saw three photographers taking pictures of them.
"You planned this," Naruto accused, glaring heatedly at Sasuke.
"Possibly."
X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.
"Your article is good."
Naruto could almost purr like a cat at Ibiki-sensei's words. He had been shaking in his tennis shoes with anticipation and excitement to hear what Ibiki-sensei thought about his article. The praise he had just received, even though it was a little bland, was just what Naruto needed after his fight with Sasuke. It had his nerves quivering with happiness instead of the need to strike out against something or someone
"Does this mean I will pass the class?" Naruto asked, pushing Sasuke to the deep dark depths of his mind and letting his body feel the wonderful sense of accomplishment wash over him.
That wondrous feeling came crashing down like a plane in flames when Ibiki-sensei frowned and looked away. He didn't have to say anything for Naruto to know what that reaction meant: nothing good.
"But why?" He couldn't help but ask. He had tried so hard. Every word he had written had been thought out and precise. He left out no details about the event at the mall. He even let some of his own feelings mix into the article to give it some flavor. He knew it read passionately while informing others, so what could possibly be wrong with it?
"It is not a news article." Ibiki sensei answered bluntly; a little too bluntly for Naruto.
"What?" Naruto's thoughts that had been going fifty miles a minute skidded to a sudden screeching halt. What did Ibiki mean by that? How? What? Why? He had written a news article! He knew he had written one! He hadn't written an editorial so he had to have written a news article!
"Naruto," Ibiki sensei began, making sure to keep his voice calm and steady as he explained things to the distressed teen, or so Naruto assumed. He was almost positive that he had to look slightly distressed by the way Ibki tried to use his voice to soothe him; it wasn't working. "This could have been a news article." Naruto felt his forehead scrunch up while his jaw dropped a bit in disbelief. Ibiki was not making any sense. However, the older man continued with his sentence as if everything coming out his mouth should make sense. "The problem is you were too close to the subject. Because of this, you didn't write a news article but a feature."
A feature? What was that? The only times Naruto had heard the word "feature" being used were when talking about body parts, or when someone said "And now time for our 'feature' presentation." Didn't that mean that a "feature" was the headlining story?
Ibiki sensei folded his arms across his chest and stared down at Naruto in a scrutinizing way. Naruto gulped as he tried to meet the grown man's stare, but he found that he couldn't. Ibiki sensei was one of the few teachers that could make Naruto feel like he was literally being pierced by their gaze, and that was exactly what Ibiki-sensei was doing at the moment.
"You don't know what a feature is," Ibiki-sensei accused, his gaze hardening and Naruto flinched at the intensity. When Naruto nodded his head in confirmation, Ibiki let out a sigh of exasperation. "A feature, in journalistic terms, is a human interest piece. It is usually, if not always, a story about a person. There are no hard-hitting facts or discoveries. It is just a story about a person. It's basically fluff."
Fluff? Naruto whined despondently in his head. His story was considered fluff? How could that be? If he were truthful with himself he would have to admit that he had focused a bit more on the people in the story and less on the facts, but isn't that what people care about? Other people? If writing about people was considered a feature piece, then what was his article about his experience as being thought of as a gay man supposed to be? To Naruto it seemed like it would be considered a feature too.
Sinking realization smacked Naruto across the face and for once he had no idea what to do. How was he going to pass Journalism if the story he had been planning to write on wasn't going to get him the grade he needed?
"Listen," Ibiki-sensei began, looking a little angry, "don't act like a sad, spoiled, little brat because your article can't possibly go on the front page. I don't want to see your sad eyes, so I will make you a deal, kid."
Naruto double blinked. Sad eyes? Had he been making sad eyes at Ibiki-sensei? He hadn't even realized. He had just been so lost he hadn't noticed what he was doing. He barely heard Ibiki sensei when he began talking again. Was he really that upset over the article?
Hell yeah I am! I need the credit for this class! Now my plan is going down the toilet because I didn't know the difference between a news article and a feature! Heck! I didn't even know about feature articles!
"Here's the deal kid," Ibiki sensei said. "I will not fail you, but I will not pass you either."
Huh? Was Ibiki sensei on some kind of drug? Students could only fail or pass a class, there was no in between.
"I will give you a high enough grade that you get credit for my class: that means I am giving you a 60 percent," Ibiki explained obviously thinking that Naruto wouldn't understand otherwise. "Now, I am not sure if you have been listening to your guidance counselor, but if you have, then you know that most colleges will look at the score as a failure. If you want to please colleges then I suggest you work on raising your score by ten percent."
"But I will get class credit, right?" Naruto asked, anxiously. He couldn't believe his ears. If what Ibiki sensei was saying was true then he wouldn't have to worry about writing the article Sasuke had been helping him with.
Where would that leave him and Sasuke? They hadn't known each other for very long, and as aggravating as Sasuke could be at times, there were pieces of Sasuke's personality that were beginning to reveal themselves to Naruto, whether Sasuke wished it or not. Seeing the cracks in Sasuke's almost perfect façade had piqued Naruto's curiosity, and so as frustrating as it would be, Naruto wanted to remain in contact with Sasuke. He didn't want to date Sasuke. As much as he would like to have continued to get to know Sasuke (as insane as that must sound) he also wanted to stop lying to everyone. He wanted everyone to stop treating him differently and go on with his happy life again.
But would it be right? Should he continue lying to everyone? And would Sasuke want to be his friend without their deal?
What has life done now? : For those of you that read my profile, you probably already know that I am writing a novel. For those of you who didn't know that... well, now you do. The novel is something I am doing for a class, so it does take priority. I didn't expect it to take up so much time, but my classmates keep giving my lots of inspiration and great advice on scenes and such that the story has consumed my life. I'll try to work out a balance soon.
Fun Fact: So Naruto and Sasuke fight a lot. Did you know that if someone is stimulated sexually and then put in a bad situation they are more likely to become violent? I believe the same is true in the reverse, but I'm too lazy to grab my psychology text book and double-check.
Is this chapter weird? : So I was rereading the chapter and noticed some things were no longer in italics and other little things like that. If you spot anything out of place please let me know.
Super Special Awesome "Preview": There are many ways to go, but only one outcome. Which will be chosen? The mad hatter or the mad hare? ...I think the smoke from the room above mine is getting to me. Oh well.