A/N: Look! A long one! It is a 'sorry for not updating in almost a week, because I was supposed to be studying (which I ended up not doing at all…)' present. Really long A/N at the bottom, sorry! BUT READ IT!

Chapter XX

Sasuke was rudely pulled from his calming dream of black nothingness by an incessant poking of his left shoulder. Not wanting anything to interrupt the blissful sleep he'd been having, he unconsciously took a half-hearted swipe at the offending finger.

It took the finger all of ten seconds to compose itself and continue it's mission. Fully enraged now, Sasuke lifted his head from his arms and glared angrily at the person. Now, a fully awake Uchiha glare is something to be terrified of, but an Uchiha glare of one who was just rudely awaken from sleep is something to reallyfear.

The person the opposing finger belonged to turned out to be none other than the clueless blonde, who was slowly backing away into his friends behind him.

"Well?" Sasuke demanded. "What do you want?"

Naruto looked to Hinata for some help. "We were just wondering if you'd like to join us?"

Sasuke blinked before looking down at his watch, and blinked again. "It's seriously 5:30?"

"Uhmm, yeah, why? How long have you been here?" Hinata countered.

"Since school let out." Sasuke looked about, noting the empty plate and lack of Nox. He filed the thought away as not important, because Nox has the uncanny habit of disappearing for hours before returning.

Sasuke turned to his cold coffee and sighed. The group took that as an invitation because they all pulled up chairs around the table. The group included Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kiba and Shino. Sasuke noted the missing Lee, Chouji, and Ino, but chose not to say anything.

He rolled his eyes at the action of not even waiting for him to okay the motion of them joining him. Not that he really minded. He almostliked the kids at this school. Scary, no?

Though he would not even admit to this fact under anything less than death threat.

"So, Sasuke, how often do you come here?" Kiba asked.

"Meh," he shrugged his shoulders. "At least once a day, usually."

"Seriously? Why so often?" Sakura asked from his left.

Sasuke let the air out of his mouth and raked his fingers through his messy hair. How to answer that? Partial truths have been working so far… "I dunno. It staves the boredom. I also live less than a mile away."

Sasuke vaguely wondered why he was talking when obviously he didn't enjoy it. His thoughts were interrupted when the waitress walked up, taking the groups orders, and asked Sasuke if he wanted her to freshen his mug. He nodded ad she went to the back to get the others' orders.

Hinata finally spoke up after a few moments of tense silence. "I didn't know you lived so close to the school…"

"Sure. If I didn't I'd have to get up at an ungodly hour to walk to school," he responded, sipping his cold coffee.

The waitress took this moment to bring the others' orders, but looked slightly put off when she looked at the table with a frown. "Where'd Nox go? I brought him another biscuit…"

Sasuke answered her with a shrug, obviously not worried. "He'll turn up eventually, I'm sure."

As if his word conjured the cat from thin air, an obnoxiously loud meow came from behind the woman. And there was Nox sitting in all his glory. The woman's face broke into a huge smile as she put the plate on the floor and patted his head affectionately. Anyone with eyes, more specifically Sasuke, could tell the cat didn't like it much, but suffered through it for the possibility of food.

The woman left and the crowd was once again silent. Apparently the blonde couldn't take it, though, as he blurted out, "You have a cat?!"

Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. "Sure. Got a problem with it?" Everyone looked at him in wonder. Was Sasuke really almost smiling?

"No," Naruto mumbled out. " It's just weird, that's all."

The object of the conversation let out an indignant hiss and took a swipe at the astonished blonde's leg.

What happened next could only be described as a serious phenomenon. Sasuke laughed. Actually laughed! Granted it was short-lived and sounded rusty, even to his own ears, but still. Even Nox looked at him curiously.

The laughter stopped as quickly as it started. The boy in question had a slight frown on his face before mumbling to himself, "I haven't laughed since…" and got a far away look into his eyes.

He remembered the moment vividly. The last time he really laughed. It had been during the wedding and Sasuke was incredibly bored. He didn't particularly find the ceremony moving, unlike all the happy crying relatives around him. The only one who was as bored as him was his brother, but one could never tell by his calm, expressionless face.

The elder of the two, sensing his brother's obvious boredom, leaned over, and whispered into his ear. The boy's face quickly gained some serious colour and he had his head ducked and shoulders heaving by the end of it. The younger's stoic older brother, whose eyes held faint amusement, had just informed him of a very dirty joke he'd heard from one of his friends, and Sasuke was trying his best to keep his laughter in check. If the glares sent towards him were any indication, he was clearly failing. Beside him, his brother was smiling ever so slightly.

Sasuke shook his head of those thoughts, unaware of the very curious looks he was getting.

"Since…?" Gaara said, interested despite himself.

Sasuke looked up as if he had completely forgotten they were there. Which he had, but that was irrelevant. "Huh?" he asked inarticulately. Nox, sensing his "pet's" discomfort, gracefully jumped up onto his lap and stood so his whiskers tickled the Uchiha's cheek. He licked the boy's cheek then curled into his lap.

Completely unperturbed, Gaara tried again. "You said, 'I haven't laughed since…'?"

Sasuke blinked. He said that out loud? Whoops! "Oh… Ah…" How was he going to get out of this one? He found himself contemplating the truth, but he didn't think he could deal with the pity. He swallowed past the lump in his throat. Now or never… He sighed in resignation. "Since… my family died." He had thought to mention only his brother, as he was the only one who he reallymissed, but decided that would be too painful.

Everyone around the table blinked in shock. Even Shikamaru lost his dreamy-eyed expression and looked sharply at the pale teen. The silence that followed that blunt statement was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Sasuke looked around at the shocked faces and leaned back, sighing and putting his hand to his eyes and rubbing them tiredly. "Precisely."

"By your family you mean…?" Sakura ventured, still wide-eyed.

"Every previously living Uchiha," he said, exhaustion evident in his words. That caused the group around him to draw in a collective breath.

"Seriously?" the blonde asked, not noticing the glares he received from the entire group, save Sasuke.

The side of said teen's mouth quirked upwards in an almost smile. "No, I just have a really bad sense of humour," he said, very dry, and rolled his eyes. He ran his hand over his hair, wiping the bangs from his eyes. "Now, if you don't mind, I've tolerated people enough for today, I think. And I rather dislike having to walk home in complete darkness. Later."

And before anyone could move or say anything, he placed enough bills on the table to cover everyone's orders and was halfway to the door, cat on his shoulder. He didn't even turn back, just raised his hand and he was out the door, disappearing into the night.

"Holy cow, who could have guessed?" Kiba stated, after loosing the wide-eyed stare.

"Well…" Hinata stopped when everyone sent a sharp look her way. "Uhmm, well, Neji told me about it earlier, and made me promise not to tell anybody."

"Oh. OH! So that's why you have been so intent on sitting with him at lunch, and including him and stuff?" Naruto said, grinning sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Kiba laughed, finally understanding where the boy's hostility came from for the past few days. Jealousy. "What, you thought Hinata here had a crush on him, hmm?"

Naruto blushed, but waved away the comment. "NO! It's not that! Ack! Whatever!"

Everyone was looking at him, amused, as he got up to leave. "I'm just gonna go home. I still have that history assignment to start…"

"Idiot! We've had the assignment for weeks!" Sakura bopped him on the head, also readying herself to leave. Naruto left and Sakura looked at the money on the table. "It was sure nice of him to pay for us…" And she too left with a distant expression on her face.

The remaining five looked at each other, then simultaneously getting up and preparing for departure. Kiba slung an arm around Hinata's shoulders, and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure Naruto will strap on a pair soon and ask you out." He chuckled heartily when the girl blushed profusely.

The five split up once out side, all heading tiredly to their respective houses, their minds on what had just transpired and what they had learned about the mysterious Uchiha.

A/N: Sorry it is so late. I cannot seem to concentrate. I'm going to take this chapter, Chapter 20, to personally thank all my regular reviewers.

Moonlesslife: My first reviewer! Because of it, I actually decided that I would finish this story, though I never thought it would gain so much popularity, never in my wildest dreams. Without fail, you've managed to state your opinions on every chapter. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and consider you a good friend.

Uchiha Babe: A few great suggestions, ones I have taken a few considerations on. I'm so glad you like my story!!

Darkblacknightmare: Thank you. Truly, so much, I am glad you found my story.

ColorsOver: Another who never fails to comment on almost every chapter, has amazing ideas, and always make me so happy when I see that you have reviewed! I am so glad that you're happened upon my story, because you are great, and, well, I definitely consider you a good friend!

SufficientxEnough: I'm so glad you like my story! You have no idea how happy I am that people like it! You're so great, thanks!

Silvermoon888: You are a great author, and I am so happy you stumbled upon my story, I've read like all of yours, and yours are great! Thank you so much!

kuzon234ray: Yay! One of my most loyal supporters! I am so amazingly happy you found me, because I love that you like my story! It makes my happy that, even if I think the chapter was crap, you say that you liked it, and that makes it better So thanks. Really. And, heh-heh, I am still working on that one-shot… IT'S JUST NOT COMING TO ME… YET! IT WILL!

XXUchiaXx: Even though you have recently come upon my story, I feel as if I've known you, because your reviews are great. I am eternally grateful that you like my story, really. And about this dedication??

Fanficbeatsreality: Again, even if you have only recently became a fan, you've made me amazingly happy, and I am so glad that you think I am a good writer, because my aspiration is to be a writer. So thanks.

And thank you so much to the sporadic reviewers, because without you all, I'd most probably given up on this forever ago. So thank you from the bottom of my heart: dancingthefoxxchalk, maikchom, Dragonmanga, Kat Whaat, Brown-Eyed Angel1234, Bakura From School, Kai-Chan94, Reason ends Ruin, and shikalicious.

Woah, that took a while… S'okay, you know I love y'all. I might not be able to update again until Saturday 26th, because midterms are this week… Yikes!! I need to study so badly, I don't know anything for half my exams. Not excited… Oh, and for the 100th review, I will write a one-shot for!