The New Guy

by SilverRose88

COMPLETE!Sasuke is the new guy at school. Naruto hates him from day one. What happens when the two are paired for a project, or even worse, staring opposite roles in Romeo and Juliet? And what happens when Neji joins the picture? SasuNaru

21. Chapter Twentyone

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Romeo and Juliet.

Author's Note: I am scum. I should not be allowed to live. I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the obnoxiously long wait! I hate myself for it. But with school starting and college apps and work, I haven't had much time to write. I write at school, but then never have time to type it up at home. But I promised myself to finish this weekend and I made it! I had to before you guys came after me with hatchets and pitchforks. This chapter's really long—30 pages! My longest! The first half is about our lucky bachelors making sure they schedule a day with Naruto on v-day weekend. The second half of the chapter is Neji and Naruto's part and then Sasuke and Naruto's part. I was going to put in the Gaara and Naruto part, but didn't want this chapter to get any longer, so that'll be the beginning of the next chapter. This will all make sense to you when you finish reading.

Anyway, I was going to reply to reviews, but then decided not to take up any more of your time. I'll reply next chp if I decide to. Anyway, THANK YOU ALL SOOO SOOO SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR REVEIWS! I got 41 reviews, the most for any chapter ever, and I love you guys so much for that! You are all awesome! Thanks again, and I'll let you read. Have a good one, SilverRose88.

Chapter Twenty-one

"Hiiii, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing up to said Uchiha's desk and latching herself to his arm.

"Get off of him, Sakura! He's mine!" Ino shouted, grabbing Sasuke's other arm.

"Both of you, off right now!" Sasuke snarled with annoyance, as he shook his arms out of their grasps.

"But, Sasuke-kun! We want to know who you're taking to the Valentine's Dance next Friday!" Ino said.

"It's obvious he's taking me," Sakura told Ino, and then turned to Sasuke and asked sweetly, "Right, Sasuke-kun?"

"Of course not! He's taking me!" Ino said. "Go on, Sasuke-kun, tell her you're taking me,"

"Yeah, right. Why would he want to take you?"

"Well, why would he want to take you either?"

"Will you two just shut up?" Sasuke shouted, feeling a headache coming on. "Go away, now,"

"But, Sasuke-kun! We have to know who you're taking!" Sakura and Ino both exclaimed.

"No one," he replied instantly. "I'm not even going to the stupid Valentine's Dance,"

The girls looked as though it was the end of the world. "You're…not-not…going? But why?"

"I hate Valentine's Day. Now, get lost," Sasuke said, and glared at them none too discreetly.

The girls quickly scrambled away just as the bell rang for their drama class to begin.

"You know, you could have let them down just a bit nicer. Just a bit. But, hey, it's only a suggestion. Your way worked wonders, too," Naruto said, taking his seat.

Sasuke glared at him. "Very funny," he said. "You know I can't stand those girls. I don't care how I treat them. I just want them to go away,"

"So," Naruto said.

"So, what?"

"Sooo, who are you taking to the Valentine's Dance? Anybody special?" Naruto asked with a mischievous smile.

Sasuke glared at him again. "Again with your stupidity. I'm not going to some dumb V-day Dance,"

"Why not? I think it's fun!"

"You've been to one before?"

"Yeah, last year. I was bored, and then because Kiba dragged me along with him," Naruto replied. "It really isn't that bad,"

"Maybe not for you, but I hate Valentine's Day the most," Sasuke said. "You saw how the girls were at New Year's. Just imagine Valentines,"

Naruto shuddered slightly. "Oh. Now I see,"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah. It's the holiday I absolutely despise,"

"Are you having a business party on V-day too? Like you did for New Year's?"

"Unfortunately yes," Sasuke replied, feeling sick just thinking about it. "Itachi just likes to make me suffer. He's purposely having a party to bug me. I swear one of these days I'm going to murder him,"

Naruto laughed. "Ha, that sucks for you. And, I don't know think killing your brother will do much anyway," he said.

"In the long run, I suppose you're right, but it would at least stop him from having so many damn parties," Sasuke said, already plotting the cruel and painful death for his older brother.

"You mean, until your parents come back and start the parties all over again," Naruto said, and Sasuke sighed with distraught. "And, besides, I don't think you want to kill your own parents, now do you?"

"No, that wouldn't be good," the Uchiha agreed.

Naruto looked him over and then grinned. "Hey, if you want to skip out on Itachi's party, you can come over to my place. Valentine's on Saturday, right? I've got nothing to do that weekend anyway. And, since the dance is on Friday night, I won't miss it either. So, it all works out. Well? What do you say? I mean, you don't have to, but if you really want to escape the fan girls, then--"

"Dobe, you talk too much," Sasuke said with a slight smirk, trying not to let the surprise from the blonde's offer show on his face.

"Hey! I'm offering to save you from crazy girls, and you insult me? How mean can you be?"

Sasuke just shook his head. "Yes, I'll come over on Saturday," he said. "Especially since they found out my secret hideaway last time. There isn't any safe place in that house anymore,"

"If you think about it, that's kind of sad, isn't it?" Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded. Then, he grinned brightly at the Uchiha and exclaimed excitedly, "Well, great! Now I have something fun to do on V-day. We'll have lots of fun, right?"

Sasuke smiled softly at him and replied, "Yeah, we'll have great fun,"
Score! I've got Naruto on Valentine's! Let's see the others try and beat that.

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"Now, I know that the two of you have some kind of personal hatred towards each other, but please, please, for the sake of the play, put your differences away and actually act the scene the way it should be? I beg you! Please don't do the same thing you did last time," Iruka pleaded to the two dark-haired boys standing before him. When they nodded stiffly, Iruka sighed and said, "All right, let's begin then," He walked away muttering something about why he'd ever put those two in those parts to begin with.

Neji turned to Sasuke and gave the traditional glare, which the Uchiha returned easily. "I suppose we can do this right, for the sake of the play," he said.

"And for the sake of Iruka-sensei; he seems about ready to die," Sasuke said. "But acting together--"

"--Means absolutely nothing," Neji finished and Sasuke nodded. "Let's get this over then,"

"Act 4, Scene 1, Line 18," Iruka called out and the students flipped to the appropriate page. Both Neji and Sasuke already had their lines memorized for that particular scene and waited for Iruka to call start. He nodded at the two boys and said, "Go ahead, and please do this right!"

"Happily met, my lady and my wife!" Neji recited, acting excited at the presence of 'Juliet'.

"That may be, sir, when I may be a wife," Sasuke said.

"That 'may be' must be, love, on Thursday next."

"What must be shall be,"

"…Come you to make confession to this father?" Neji asked.

"To answer that, I should confess to you," Sasuke replied.

"Do not deny him that you love me," Neji said with pretend confidence.

"I will confess to you that I love him."

"So will ye, I am sure, that you love me."

"If I do so, it will be of more price," Sasuke said softly. "Being spoke behind your back, than to your face."

"…Thy face is mine, and thou hast slandered it," Neji said.

"It make be so, for it is not mine own. --Are you at leisure, holy father, now, or shall I come to you at evening mass?"

"...God shield I should disturb devotion! Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye; till then adieu, and keep this holy kiss." Neji stared at Sasuke who glared back at him; eyes clearly warning 'kiss me and I'll kill you.' Of course, Neji had no reason to argue until Kakashi walked through the door and said, "Go ahead, kiss him. You're supposed to aren't you?"

Everyone froze at the teacher's statement, and turned to look at the silver-haired man who was grinning mischievously at the two murderous looking boys in the middle of the classroom floor.

"Come on, boys, you're going to have to at some point," Kakashi said, still grinning as he walked over to Iruka's desk, where the brown-haired teacher stared at him curiously, which only made Kakashi grin even more. "We're waaaiiiting…" Kakashi sang, earning him another round of threatening glares.

Sasuke and Neji turned to each other, both experiencing sickening chills running up their spine. Even though the two of them had read that certain scene many times, in order to memorize it, they had both forgotten about the kiss they had to share. Now, they actually had to kiss each other, in front of everyone. They glared at Kakashi again, thinking, Damn that perverted bastard!

"You're not sitting down until you two kiss," Kakashi said.

"What are you even doing here? You're not our teacher for this class," Sasuke said, glowering at him angrily.

"But I'm one of the co-supervisors of the play. Therefore, I'm like your second teacher. And therefore, you've got to do what I tell you," Kakashi said.

"We'll only listen to Iruka-sensei," Neji said, hoping that the brown-haired teacher would let them off the hook.

"Okay then, let's see what Iruka says," Kakashi said, turning to said man and giving him a bright smile.

Iruka gave him a look, which only made his smile grow. He sighed and turned to the boys and said, "Why don't you just do it? Like Kakashi said, you'll have to eventually. This will be practice,"

"But, Iruka-sensei!" Sasuke exclaimed, feeling sick again. How the hell could he kiss Hyuuga? Why couldn't he kiss Naruto? Now that was something he'd do willingly!

"Well, I supposed you don't--" Iruka stopped as he noticed, from the corner of his eyes, Kakashi move away from him, crossing his arms. Iruka sighed again, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to refuse the silver-haired man. "Just do it, all right? It'll take you only one minute,"

Sasuke and Neji stared at him for a moment as if they didn't understand. Then they glared at him as well, which surprised the brown-haired man since he'd never before been the recipient of such anger. They turned back to each other, not before glowering at Kakashi who was smirking at them, and then glared at one another as well.

"Well?" Neji said.

"You're not actually agreeing to this madness, are you?" Sasuke asked, staring at him.

"What are we supposed to do? Like they said, we'll have to at some point,"

"I'd prefer never,"

"And I agree with you completely,"

"Boys! Come on, just get it over with! We'll give you extra credit, so suck it up and kiss already!" Kakashi said, grinning madly.

"Shut up, you pervert!" Sasuke and Neji shot back.

"Class, do you want to see them kiss?" Kakashi asked, turning to the rest of the students. However, there wasn't much of a response. Everyone was too hooked up on the fact of Sasuke and Neji having to kiss that they weren't exactly paying attention to the silver-haired pervert. Kakashi just smiled and said to the two dark-haired boys, "See? Everyone wants to see it,"

"You mean you want to see it. You purposely enjoy messing with us, don't you?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi grinned and nodded. "Just do it. You'll get extra credit!"

"Fine! Let's just get it over with already!" Sasuke and Neji both exclaimed, getting frustrated and annoyed by their teacher.

Turning to each other, they shuddered slightly, hating the fact of kissing their biggest rival. But, sucking it up, both just pretended for a moment that they were kissing Naruto, and then leaned forward and met the other on the lips in a soft kiss. They pulled away instantly as the class finally began to respond. The girls all shrieked; clasping hands over their mouths and pointing at the two boys up front. The boys just stared in disbelief. Naruto hooted.

Sasuke and Neji began wiping at their mouths with their sleeves as they walked quickly back up to their desks as Iruka called for a break.

Reaching his desk, the Uchiha promptly hit the blonde on the head to stop his annoying hooting. "Shut it right now!" he snarled as he sunk down into his desk.

"What did I do?" Naruto said, and when Sasuke glared at him, he said, "Come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Yes, it was," Sasuke replied, resuming wiping his mouth. "I can't stand looking at the Hyuuga, let alone talk to him, or be near him. And that bastard made us kiss each other. I swear, I'm going to kill him,"

"I agree completely with the Uchiha," Neji said as he walked over. Sasuke give him a glare that clearly stated 'get the hell away.' Neji just ignored him.

"You've been issuing a lot of death threats lately, Sasuke. First with Itachi a few days ago and now with Kakashi-sensei," Naruto told Sasuke, who just shrugged.

"I suppose I'm in a killing mood," he replied. Then, giving the blonde a smirk, he said, "Better not get on my bad side, or you might be next, dobe,"

"Yeah right! You couldn't kill me if you tried," Naruto said, not knowing how true his statement really was. "Anyway, what was the big deal with the kiss? You guys both got extra credit for it, so why're you complaining so much?"

"Because I'd have much rather have kissed you," Sasuke and Neji both said unconsciously.

Naruto blinked and felt the heat begin to rise in his cheeks. "W-What?" he stammered, staring at them with his heart pounding. However, neither Sasuke nor Neji seemed to have heard him. Having realized that the other had said the same thing, they were now glaring at the other, ill-wishing. Naruto glanced between the two, still blushing and said, "Hey, guys?" He waved a hand in front of their faces and the two blinked and turned to him.

"What is it, Naruto?" they asked. Make it quick, I've got to kill this bastard.

"Uh…wh-what did you mean by what you just said? T-That you'd rather have kissed me instead?" Naruto questioned, the blush on his face growing by the second.

Damn it! He heard me? they thought, a blush now appearing on their cheeks as well. Naruto was watching them closely, eyes darting back and forth between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga.

Sasuke turned to Naruto and leaned over to him, pinning the blonde with his gaze. Softly, he replied, "I meant what I said. I'd rather have kissed you than ever kissing him."

Naruto blushed again. But before he could say anything, Neji had taken hold of his chin and turned him to face him. "Neji?" Naruto said.

The Hyuuga stared deeply at him, and said, "Yes, it would have been much better to kiss you than it was to kiss Uchiha,"

Naruto looked between them and then gave a nervous laugh and stammered, "Y-You're just-just kidding, r-right?"

The two dark-haired boys looked surprised and disappointed. They hid both expressions well and replied with a defeated sigh, "Yeah-Yeah, just kidding…"

"Good! Because it'd be weird if you were telling the truth," Naruto laughed.

A pang of disappointment and hurt overcame the two, and they looked away from the blonde. Neji was the first to recover and said, getting the blonde's attention, "Naruto, do you want to rehearse Friday night?"

The blonde shook his head. "Sorry, Neji, but I'm busy Friday,"

"You are? With what?"

"Gaara and I are gonna have dinner and maybe go see a movie,"

"You and Gaara?" Neji and Sasuke, who'd joined the conversation at the mention of the redhead, said.

"Yeah!" Naruto replied, clearly missing the angered expressions on his friends' faces. "But, we can rehearse tomorrow night instead if that's okay," Naruto suggested to the Hyuuga.

Neji nodded and agreed, "That's fine. We can rehearse after work," He then gave the blonde a slight smile, glared at Sasuke, and returned to his desk.

Sasuke glowered after the Hyuuga's back before turning to Naruto. The blonde was staring at him and blushed slightly when Sasuke caught his gaze. Given the chance, since the Hyuuga had left, Sasuke leaned close to the blonde and said what he'd wanted to say before, "By the way, Naruto…I wasn't kidding,"

Azure eyes filled with surprise as the words registered in his brain. "W-What?" Naruto said.

The Uchiha smirked slightly and repeated, "I wasn't kidding before," Then, leaving the blonde confused, Sasuke turned his attention back to the front of the class as Iruka began to speak.

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Ever since the day before, Naruto had been trying to comprehend what Sasuke and Neji had meant by that statement. I'd have much rather have kissed you. Even though they'd claimed that it was just a joke, Naruto wasn't fooled. If it'd been a joke, they'd have been a bit more relaxed about it. And, then of course there was the fact that neither Neji nor Sasuke were much comedians in the first place. So, that could only mean that what they'd said was true, right? But, why would they have even said it in the first place? The fact that they'd said it so openly was what was bothering him the most. It was as if they had nothing to hide; that they didn't care if he'd heard or not. But then why'd they go along and say it was joke and that they were kidding?

Man. It's hard enough trying to understand just one of their minds, but figuring them both out at the same time…I'm beat. But really, I need to know what they meant! They're not the type of people to just blurt out random crap. It must have meant something.

He did have an idea. However, it was an idea he was easily refuting because there wasn't any possible way it could be true. But, every time he thought about it, he kept returning to that theory, and he was really beginning to wonder if that could be the real reason, even if it was farfetched in his mind. Could Neji and Sasuke have said what they had because they liked him? Could that, in some odd twisted way, be the answer he was looking for? That Sasuke and Neji liked him. Just thinking about it made him want to laugh. How could that be the right answer? They were guys! Guys didn't like guys, right? And, from what he knew, Sasuke and Neji were both totally straight, just as he was. So, they couldn't possibly like him, could they?

But what other reason could there be? It wasn't a joke. Even if they did have a sense of humor, that wouldn't be the type of joke they'd pull. And then, there's what Sasuke said after Neji left… I wasn't kidding before… What am I supposed to take from that? So, he really did mean what he'd said?

If Sasuke had meant what he'd said, then did it mean he liked Naruto? The blonde wasn't sure what to take of that. If Sasuke liked him, what was he supposed to do? He didn't like Sasuke like that. …Or did he?

Naruto couldn't forget how he felt when something happened between him and Sasuke. It'd been going on so much recently, that it was a feeling still new to him. Things had cooled down a bit since the 'burn incident', but whenever he was with Sasuke, Naruto could only wonder if something like that would happen again. A part of him was hoping for something like it to occur, while the other half of him was ready to run straight out of town if it did. He wasn't sure why he was so at parts with what he was feeling. Usually he felt one way or the other, and there wasn't any confusion. He would know which way he leaned and not have to worry about a thing. But with Sasuke, with what was going on between them, he had no idea which side he was on. Sometimes he absolutely and totally wanted to kiss him and didn't care about the thoughts that ran through his mind; while other times, he'd want to push the Uchiha away and just kick himself for even thinking about his friend in that way.

The hardest thing was not knowing how Sasuke felt. Sure, the Uchiha gave ample hints. The 'I wasn't kidding' thing was a major one. Along with the kiss for the burn. Both of those things were so unexpected, so blunt, that it made Naruto wonder if Sasuke thought about things like that often. It seemed like natural for Sasuke to just randomly kiss him or say things like 'I'd rather have kissed you.' Like he didn't really realize what he was saying; as if he was unconsciously voicing his thoughts. That also seemed to be the same with Neji. Well, at least with that statement the day before. It was like the two of them had been thinking exactly the same thing and had said it aloud without meaning to. But if that was the case, then did it mean that they both did like him?

"NARUTO! Quit spacing out and get to work! You've been in a daze for the entire shift!" Neji yelled from the register over.

The blonde blinked and looked around, having forgotten that he was a work. Turning to Neji, he gave the Hyuuga a guilty laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Heheh, sorry, Neji," he said.

The Hyuuga shook his head. "What's up with you?"

"Just thinking about something,"

"Think too much and your brain will fry up,"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. "I'm not that stupid, Neji. I can think fine without hurting my head,"

"All right. If you say so," Neji replied with a smirk. "Anyway, since you've been in a daze, you probably don't even know we get off in fifteen minutes,"

Naruto looked surprised. "We do? Really? Whoa, work went by fast," he said. "Are you still up for rehearsing tonight?"

Neji nodded. "Yeah. My place or yours?"

"We can come over to mine. It's actually clean for once," Naruto offered.

"That's fine then," Neji agreed.

xxxxx

"Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open. And in despite I'll cram thee with more food."

"This is that banished Montague that murdered my love's cousin--with which grief it is supposed the fair creature died--and here is come to do some villainous shame to the dead bodies: I will apprehend him." Neji stepped forward and faced Naruto directly and said with vigor, "Stop thy unhallowed toil, vile Montague! Can vengeance be pursued further than death? Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee. Obey, and go with me, for thou must die."

Naruto stepped closer and recited, "I must indeed, and therefore came I hither. Good gentle youth, tempt not a desperate man. Fly hence and leave me. …Stay not, be gone, live, and hereafter say a madman's mercy bid thee run away."

"I do defy thy conjuration, and apprehend thee for a felon here."

"Wilt thou provoke me?" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Taking another step closer he said, "Then have at thee, boy!"

Naruto paused and sighed. "Do you really want to do the fight scene? Even to me, it's been getting a bit old."

Neji looked surprised. "I never thought I'd hear you say that," he said. "But I suppose you're right."

"Want something to drink? I'll see if there's anything in the fridge," Naruto said, heading to the kitchen. "If there's nothing, we'll have to stick with good old H2O."

"Water's fine, Naruto," Neji said, following him.

"Ah, wait! I've got juice!" the blonde exclaimed, taking out a container of apple juice.

Neji just shook his head and said, as he reached for the cupboard above him, "I'll get some glasses,"

"Thanks, Neji," Naruto replied. "Do you want to eat anything? I've got some ramen--"

"No ramen," Neji said quickly. "That's okay, Naruto. I'm fine."

"But ramen's so good!" Naruto said.

"I'm fine, really," Neji insisted. "You can have some if you want."

"All right then," Naruto got out a packet of instant ramen and proceeded to make his meal.

Neji began pouring juice into the glasses, suppressing an urge to smile as the blonde began to sing happily about ramen. He put the juice back into the fridge and turned to Naruto, watching the blonde for a moment before saying, "Hey, Naruto, are you going to Valentine's Day Dance?"

Naruto glanced at the dark-haired boy over his shoulder and shrugged. "Yeah, I'm going! I love the Valentine's Day Dance."

"Are you going with someone?" Neji inquired, mentally deciding that if he said either the Uchiha's or Gaara's name there would be a brutal murder that night.

"Nope," Naruto replied, giving the Hyuuga a wave of relief. "I was just planning to meet up with Kiba and Shikamaru."

"Do you want to go with me?" Neji asked candidly.

The blonde blinked and whipped around to face the Hyuuga. It took him a moment to reply, and when he did so, it came out as a small stutter. "W-W-With you?"

A bit amused by the blonde's answer, Neji smirked slightly and said, "Yeah. With me."

"B-But wouldn't you rather go with someone else?" Naruto questioned. Say, a girl? he thought to himself.

"You're the only one I want to go with, Naruto." Neji said, staring directly at the blonde with piercing eyes.

Not knowing why, the blonde felt himself blush. He wasn't sure why the words left his mouth, but he really wanted to know the answer. He felt that if Neji replied with a 'yes', then everything he'd been wondering about would be true. But, if he answered 'no', did that mean he just meant they'd go as friends? If that was true, why did he look so serious? Why did it sound like he was asking him out?

"Is-Is this like a d-date?" Naruto asked carefully, his voice barely a whisper.

Neji's smirk widened slightly as he took a step closer to the blonde, backing Naruto against the counter. Pinning Naruto with his gaze, he replied nonchalantly, "Only if you want it to be."

Naruto's blush grew and his brain completely shut down, leaving him with no idea how to reply. What could he say to that anyway? Well, the obvious thing to do was to accept or decline. What could he do? It seemed to him as if Neji wanted it to be a date, but did he? Should he say yes and actually go on a date with Neji? But, maybe Neji was just kidding, and meant to just go as friends. That would be okay, wouldn't it?

Damn it. I wish I knew what he meant! If I say yes, then…what? How do I know if it will be any different than if we just go as friends? It might not be any different. It could be exactly the same. So, should I say yes?

"Well, do you want to go with me?" Neji asked again, shaking the blonde from his thoughts.

Naruto met his gaze and nodded slightly. "Yeah, sure," he said, hoping he made the right decision. "I'll go with you, Neji."

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"That movie was good. Did you like it, Gaara?" Naruto asked as he and the redhead left the movie theatre after a viewing of The Island.

Gaara nodded. "It was entertaining."

"Those chase scenes were great! And how there were clones, man! That was way cool!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Yes, it think that was the best part of the movie," Gaara said.

"Man! Am I hungry!" Naruto whined loudly.

Gaara shook his head, staring at the blonde incredulously. "You just had an entire box of popcorn on your own. How can you still be hungry?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. I just know that if I don't eat right now, I'll just die!" he exclaimed dramatically.

"Well, we can't have you dying can we? I certainly don't want you to die," Gaara said.

"You're so nice, Gaara!" Naruto said, grinning brightly.

The redhead gave a slight smile at the blonde before grabbing his hand and dragging him down the sidewalk. "Come on, let's not waste time. Otherwise you'll die and I'll be stuck carrying your body to a coroner."

"I'm coming! You don't have to drag me like that," Naruto said, trying to pull his hand out of Gaara's grasp. But his attempts were to no avail, seeing as how the redhead wouldn't loosen his grip. "Gaara, you can let go now…"

Gaara looked at the blonde over his shoulder and replied casually, staring right at the blonde's azure eyes, "Nah, I like holding your hand."

Surprise swept over the blonde's face and a blush claimed his cheeks. Gaara smirked slightly and led the blonde to a small restaurant a block away.

xxx

"Hey, Naruto, are you doing anything Valentine's weekend?" Gaara asked once they'd gotten their food and were seated at a table in the back.

The blonde looked up from his bowl of ramen and nodded excitedly. "Yep! I'm going to the dance on Friday, and then on Saturday I'm hanging out with Sasuke."

Gaara seethed at the Uchiha's name, and tried not to let his anger show. "Really? Well, that seems like…fun."

"Uh-huh! It'll be a lot of fun," Naruto paused and gave him a curious look. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Oh, I wanted to do something that weekend," Gaara said.

"You do? Well, that's cool! We can get together on Sunday since that's the only day I'm free next weekend," Naruto replied.

"That's fine with me," Gaara agreed.

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Friday, February 13th

He knew what would happen if he opened the door. Yes, he knew very well because it happened every single goddamn year. The first year had been fine, the second year okay, but by the third, and fourth, and fifth, up until the flipping seventh year, it had become way too annoying. And, no matter how much he ignored them, how many times he just threw them away, how many times he gave away all the candy to the servants at the house, they never took a hint. Not one damn hint. And now the day was here and there was no getting out of it. But he had to open it. He couldn't go through the day without opening it. But he knew that a wave of paper would fall upon him once he opened it; the last time he'd even gotten a few paper cuts trying to get the damn things out. This year it would be exactly the same. He'd open the door and he'd be faced with the mountainous pile of those cards, and he could never stop it. Well, since he threw them all away, it shouldn't be that bad, but he still hated opening it.

"Happy Almost-V-Day, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto exclaimed, slapping the Uchiha on the back. He then paused when he gained no reaction from the other boy and turned to follow Sasuke's gaze. He stared at the piece of metal and said with confusion, "Why're you staring at your locker?"

"Because there's nothing good that'll come from opening it," Sasuke replied.

"Why?"

"It's Valentine's, dobe."

"Ooohh."

"Right."

"Well, I'll open it for you," Naruto offered.

"Nah, it's all right. I'll do it. You go get your own stuff," Sasuke said and Naruto proceeded to his locker a few doors down. Sasuke sighed and did the combination and heaved his locker open, promptly stepping back and watching as the wave of Valentine's cards and candies fell down in a heap all over the floor. Sasuke stared for awhile and said, "There's a lot more than last year. Man, this is just getting to be way too annoying."

"Daamn! Sasuke, you stud, how many girls do you know?" Naruto exclaimed, crouching down by the pile and sifting through the various types of chocolates and candies and cards.

Sasuke fought a blush at being called a 'stud' and just shook his head, as he continued to stare at the pile on the floor.

"…Hey, Sasuke…"

"What?"

"…Can I have your chocolates?"

"Take as many as you want. You know I hate sweets."

"Yahoo! Thanks Sasuke, I love you!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly as he grabbed an armful of candy.

Sasuke smiled at the adorably grinning blonde, wishing that the words he'd just said had really been true. But, even if they weren't, he was just glad hearing it for that time. And, besides, making Naruto happy by giving him candy, made him feel really good.

"Who is it you love, Naruto?" Neji asked as he passed into the hall.

"Sasuke!" Naruto replied, still grinning. "He gave me all of this candy!"

Neji and Sasuke turned to each other. The former glared menacingly while the latter smirked superiorly.

"Naruto, come on, we have to get to class soon," Neji said, turning to the blonde eating candies as he sat cross-legged on the floor with a pile of chocolates and wrappers strewn on his lap.

The blonde nodded and said, "Yep. You go on without me, Neji. I've gotta get my stuff."

Neji didn't seem very eager to leave the blonde alone with the Uchiha, but Naruto waved at him and the Hyuuga had no choice but to go on. He gave the Uchiha a glare and headed down the hall.

Sasuke pushed all of his valentines out of his locker, grabbed his supplies and shut the door. Looking down at the blonde he said, "Just put that in your locker."

"Oh, right," the blonde obliged and put the candy away as Sasuke threw away all of the cards, not bothering to read them.

"You should read them first. It's rude just throwing them away," Naruto said.

"I don't care. They all say the same thing anyway."

"True." Naruto turned back to his locker, grabbed a book from the top shelf and found a small card. "Hey! I got a valentine!"

Sasuke froze and turned to Naruto. "You did? …Who from?"

Naruto read the card and stared. "Hinata," he replied incredulously surprised.

Sasuke calmed immensely, glad not to have heard the Hyuuga's or Gaara's name. He was however a bit surprised to find that the shy quiet girl had taken a bold move such as that. "Come on, dobe. Quit staring and let's go," Sasuke said.

"But it's weird. Hinata got me a valentine." Naruto said, still gaping. "Why?" he asked Sasuke, turning to the Uchiha and tilting his head inquisitively.

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Because you're cute. Why wouldn't give you a valentine?"

Naruto blinked and stared. "W-What did you say?" he asked, not sure he'd heard correctly. Sasuke had just said he was cute?

Sasuke mentally smacked himself. Why did he keep doing that? It was the second time he'd let slip about his feelings. He really needed to learn some self-control or before he would know it he'd have confessed to the blonde completely. Sasuke sighed and glanced up at the blonde, noticing the expression of confusion and shock across his face, and felt himself smirk slightly. "I said you were cute, Naruto. That's why someone would, should, get you a valentine. Even I would have, but I despise V-day cards. I wouldn't want to spend money on them."

The blonde continued to stare at the Uchiha, only now a soft blush painted his cheeks because Sasuke had admitted to calling him cute.

Sasuke's smirk widened and he began to walk down the hall. "Come on, dobe, or we'll be late."

Naruto snapped out of his reverie, grabbed his supplies and dashed after, yelling, "I'm not a dobe, bastard!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto paced the length of his apartment, every once in awhile pausing to ponder something before shaking his head and continuing to pace. He'd been pacing consistently for the past half hour after he'd gotten ready. It was all he could do to calm himself, but he'd realized awhile later that pacing only made him more nervous than he already was. But he couldn't stop himself. He was nervous. He didn't know why, but he was. He was also on the verge of giving himself bodily harm for being so stupid. Why had he agreed to go to the dance with Neji? With Neji! Why had he agreed without clarifying the situation? Was this really a date, or had Neji been kidding?

Only if you want it to be…Why had he said that? It only made it harder! But, wait. Did he want it to be a date? A date with Neji?

No! Of course I don't want it to be a date! It's Neji! My friend. Why would I even think about dating a guy friend?

Of course, he'd been wondering things like that for a long time. Like with how he wanted to kiss Sasuke but felt disgusted with himself because Sasuke was a guy and not a girl. The basically same thing applied here. He was going out with Neji but he was wondering if it was a date. If it was a date, would he be okay with it? Would he care if he went out with Hyuuga Neji? He'd never thought about it much before; the whole dating thing. He'd only ever asked out Sakura who'd just yelled at him for being stupid. But he wasn't into Sakura anymore. Quite frankly, there weren't many girls at his school he was into. There was however--

No, no, no! I forbid myself from even going there! I do not like Sasuke. It's impossible.

He knew that there had to be some kind of reasonable explanation as to why he was so attracted to Sasuke. He was blaming it on hormones, because it couldn't be the other reason. He didn't like Sasuke. He wasn't into guys. That's how he couldn't possibly be happy about going on a date with Neji, right? But, there wasn't any denying that he had never really gone out on a date. And, if tonight was considered a date, would it matter if his first one was with Neji? And, what if 'dating' Neji was just the same as 'hanging out' with Neji? If things were the same, would he care if he went on a date with another guy?

But it didn't make sense! He didn't like guys! He wasn't gay! But, he couldn't deny that Neji was attractive, same with Sasuke, and even Gaara, but appeal wasn't everything, right? And just because he, um, appreciated his guys' friends' outer appearances didn't make him gay, did it?

Ah! I don't even know what I'm taking about anymore! It's not like being gay is a bad thing…It's just that I wasn't gay before…But now, even I'm not sure. Gah! My life is absolutely insane!

Just as Naruto began to curse the giant puddle of a mess he was in, there was a knock at the door that caused him to jump about a foot in the air. He knew it was Neji at the door and cursed the Hyuuga for being so punctual.

Sighing heavily, Naruto opened the door and stared. After a moment, he regained control of his brain and said carefully, "Uh…N-Neji?"

The Hyuuga smiled slightly and said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Naruto!"

"Are…those for…me?" Naruto asked, pointing at the bouquet of red, pink and white roses that the Hyuuga was holding out at him.

Neji smirked. "Of course. Who else could it be for?"

Naruto took the bouquet, stepped aside and let Neji into the apartment. "They're, uh, pretty," he said. "But, why'd you get me flowers?"

"Well, it's Valentine's, is it not?" Neji replied simply.

"Yeah, but you get flowers for the person you like or love," Naruto said, trying to find a glass big enough to use as a vase.

"Who said I didn't like or love you" Neji asked, sounding serious, but somehow at the same time flirty.

Naruto almost dropped a glass. He turned to Neji who was staring intently at him, eyes trained perfectly on the blonde's sapphire orbs. Naruto felt himself begin to blush deeply to his roots. He felt his heart begin to pound rapidly in his chest and he couldn't control the increasing pace. The only thing he could do was stare with complete shock at the calm, collected Hyuuga before him. What did Neji mean by that? Did he mean that the actually did like him?

The blonde just continued to look the Hyuuga over, his mind swarming with unanswered questions he was dying to ask, when he suddenly realized that the Hyuuga looked good. He'd known that Neji was good looking; he had a fan club of his own, though not as psychotic as Sasuke's was. But, at that moment, in his black dress pants, buttoned white shirt and black jacket, his long ebony hair pulled into it's usual ponytail, Neji looked really, really good. Naruto wasn't sure why he was suddenly noticing this, but he couldn't help it. For some reason he just couldn't bring himself to look away.

Neji noticed with a victorious smirk at how the blonde was eyeing him. He had dressed for the night whether the blonde thought it was a date or not. In his mind it was a date. He meant it to be a date when he'd asked Naruto the week before. They were going to a dance and that constituted as a date to the Hyuuga. From what had happened when he'd asked, Neji had figured out that Naruto was just completely confused about everything and he was glad to finally have some insight to the blonde's emotions. He wanted Naruto to be absolutely perfect with being on an actual date with him. He knew it would take some persuading and careful moves, but he was sure he could do it. And in the end, even if things didn't go as planned, he'd at least be able to say that he was the first to go on a real date with Naruto.

Deciding that they'd better get going, Neji said, "Naruto, let's go or we'll be late."

The blonde blinked and flushed deeply, quickly glancing away from the Hyuuga he'd been ogling. Stammering nervously he replied, "Ye-Yeah, let-let's go then." Naruto grabbed his jacket and followed the Hyuuga out into the hall.

As he shrugged the black jacket on over his red shirt, Neji turned to him and said, "You look very nice tonight, Naruto."

The blonde blushed again and Neji gave a small smile. "T-Thanks Neji. A-And, you don't look bad yourself. Dressed up for Valentine's huh?"

The Hyuuga's smile turned into a slight smirk. "No, not Valentine's. I dressed up for you."

The blush on Naruto's cheeks deepened and he stared with surprise at the Hyuuga.

When Naruto couldn't think of anything to reply, Neji grabbed his hand and led him down the hall saying, "Come on, Naruto, let's get to the dance."

xxxxxx

The party was in full swing when they arrived. The gymnasium was decorated in reds, pinks, and whites for the special occasion. Music was blasting loudly, causing eardrums to vibrate with unbreakable sound waves. Naruto glanced around the place looking excited, while Neji was rather disgusted with all the girly colors and horrible music that was the environment he was about to step into. But, the Hyuuga sucked it up when he noticed the blonde's thrilled expression, and made sure to let Naruto have the best Valentine's Dance night he could remember.

Taking the blonde's hand he led him to a table off on the side. Before sitting down, Neji asked gentlemanly, "Naruto, do you want something to drink?"

The blonde nodded with a grin, and said, "Sure, please."

"Great. I'll be right back," Neji said and walked across the gym to get himself and his date some punch.

The moment Neji left, Naruto was practically ambushed out of his chair by Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji.

"Hey! We were wondering when you'd get here!" Kiba said.

"Yeah…Uh, Kiba, get off of me." Naruto said, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and pulled the Inuzuka off of Naruto. The blonde got to his feet and the boys sat down around the table.

"Anyway Naruto, you up to some V-day dance crashing this year?" Kiba asked.

"No," the blonde replied instantly. "Come on, Kiba. You tried that last year too,"

"But no one wanted to join him so he basically just looked like a fool," Shikamaru said.

Kiba scowled. "That's not my fault. You guys are all just cowards."

"No, I'm just not stupid," Shikamaru replied.

"And I'm here with someone, so I can't really abandon him." Naruto explained.

Three pairs of eyes locked onto the blonde.

"Him?" they repeated.

"Yeah. I'm here with Neji."

"Neji?"

"Uh…Yeah…Why are you giving me that look?" Naruto asked nervously, staring around at the surprised looks on his friends' faces.

"Because you're here with a guy. Hyuuga Neji of all people," Kiba replied.

"Big deal. Anyway, that reminds me," Naruto said, turning to Kiba. "Why aren't you with your date? You shouldn't be leaving Hinata-chan all alone like that."

Kiba blushed and Naruto grinned, pleased he'd hit a soft spot. After he'd gotten the Valentine from Hinata, he'd explained to her that he only saw her as a friend and nothing more. He felt kind of bad rejecting her, especially since she looked upset. But she just said it was okay and he'd walked away. While he had felt bad about the whole thing, he'd also felt something else that he couldn't really explain. He knew that he didn't like Hinata in that way, and rejecting her made him feel as if he was open to anyone else. It was hard for him to explain why he felt that way, but he did. And it wasn't as if his rejecting Hinata didn't have a good side. It did. It had made Kiba finally work up enough courage to ask the girl he liked out to the dance that night. Naruto almost laughed aloud at the thought of Kiba's crush on Hinata. The guy had liked her for such a long time it was crazy. Naruto was happy though that Hinata had said yes to Kiba, otherwise the Inuzuka would have been really upset and most likely coming up with a way to crash the dance.

"So, where is Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Kiba's blush remained on his cheeks as he replied, "She's in the bathroom." Then, straightening out, he asked, "Where's your date?"

"He's not my date, and he's getting us some punch," Naruto replied, blushing slightly at the 'date' implication. He still didn't know if this was a date or not, and not knowing was killing him. He wanted to ask Neji about it, but didn't want to get the same answer as last time. So, he was just going to stick it out, and hope that nothing too bad or awkward happened.

Neji returned at that moment and looked around the table at the other three boys before focusing his attention on Naruto. Handing the blonde a cup of punch, he said, "Here you are, Naruto."

"Thanks, Neji!" the blonde replied with a grin.

"Uh, Naruto, we'll be going now then…" Kiba said as he Shikamaru and Choji got to their feet. "We'll come back later."

"Oh, okay. And, say hi to Hinata-chan for me!" Naruto said to Kiba who blushed again before the three walked away. Turning back to Neji he said, "What took you so long?"

"I was just talking to Lee and TenTen at the refreshment table for a moment," Neji replied. "Sorry I took so long."

"No problem, Neji! I was talking with Kiba and them so it's not a big deal," Naruto said with a wave of his hand.

"That's good," the Hyuuga said.

"Hey, are you working tomorrow afternoon Neji?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"No. I'm free tomorrow."

"Aw, man! I've gotta work tomorrow and I didn't want to be all alone," Naruto whined.

"I'm sure you'll survive without me, Naruto," Neji said.

"Yeah, but it's more fun working with you!" the blonde exclaimed.

The Hyuuga stared at him with a bit of surprise. He was, however, pleased to hear that Naruto enjoyed his company that much. Neji opened his mouth to reply to the blonde but never got the chance because at that moment a certain silver-haired teacher had appeared next to them. The grinning man seated himself at the table and looked around the table.

"Uh…Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Hello, Naruto! How are you this evening?" Kakashi asked pleasantly.

"I'm…good," Naruto replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm a chaperone tonight. So, I thought I'd just mingle with my students for awhile," Kakashi explained, still grinning.

"Go mingle somewhere else," Neji said, giving Kakashi a cold glare.

"Oh, Neji! I didn't know you were here," Kakashi said. Then, glancing back and forth between the blonde and the Hyuuga, a surprised look crossed his face along with a mischievous grin. "The two of you are here together?" he asked.

Naruto blushed and stammered a reply, "Uh-uh, yeah…"

"Really?" Kakashi inquired, though the silver-haired man already knew it was true.

"Yes. We are. Now go away," Neji said.

"I would have thought you'd be here with--" The teacher stopped talking and stood up. Neji was giving him a threatening glare and Naruto looked utterly confused and embarrassed. Smirking superiorly as if he knew something the others didn't, Kakashi said, "Well, this will prove to be very interesting. I knew I could count on my students to keep me entertained." Then, with a wave of his hand, he walked off, still grinning.

Neji continued to glare after him for a moment before turning his attention back to the blonde in front of him. Naruto still looked uncomfortable and Neji said, "Just ignore him, Naruto. The man's a fool."

Neji's words seemed to bring the blonde back to reality and he looked up at the Hyuuga. "Yeah, o-okay…B-But, what did he mean by 'I thought you'd be here with--'? Who did he think I'd be here with?" Naruto asked.

"I've got no idea," Neji lied. He knew very well who Kakashi had been talking about. What was bugging him more was how the bastard had even found out in the first place. "Like I said Naruto, the man's a fool. Just ignore him."

Naruto searched his face and gave a laugh, the last thing Neji expected. "You're just still mad at him for making you kiss Sasuke."

The Hyuuga cringed from the horrible memory. "Please, do not remind me. That memory is going to be burned from my mind."

"Then it's too bad you'll have to repeat it during the actual play, huh?" Naruto said.

"Not helping, Naruto," Neji said.

The blonde grinned. "Sorry."

"Sure you are. If I remember correctly, you were the one hooting like a moron. You thought it was funny."

"Only because it was!" Naruto replied, and then jumped excitedly as a song began blasting through the speakers. "Yes! I love this song!" the blonde exclaimed. "Mr. Brightside, awesome!"

"You like The Killers?" Neji asked.

"You know The Killers?" Naruto inquired.

Neji gave him a look. "Very funny. Yes, I do know The Killers. Something wrong with that?"

"Nope! It was just rather surprising that you'd listen to The Killers," Naruto said. "So, you like them?"

"They're good."

"Well, come on, Neji! Sing!" Naruto said.

"What?" the Hyuuga said, staring at the blonde as if he'd gone mentally insane.

"Sing! Come on! …Let me go…I just can't look, it's killing me…and taking con-trol!"

"Naruto, stop. You're being loud and annoying."

"Aw, come on! Sing! Be crazy for once in your life!" Naruto encouraged. "…Choking on your alibis, but it's just the price I pay-- Take it, Neji!"

"…Destiny is calling me," Neji said dully. But, as he looked up at the blonde and saw the expression of happiness on Naruto's face because of his 'singing', Neji couldn't help but give a slight smile.

He swallowed his pride right then, and together the two finished the song; Naruto singing a bit too loudly for comfort, while Neji just sang well enough to please the blonde.

"Open up my eager eyes…Cause I'm Mr. Brightside!"

They were met with absolute silence from the rest of the gym and Naruto looked around the room and laughed. "Heh, heh…Sorry!" he muttered. Turning back to face Neji, he mumbled, "Geez, tough crowd."

Neji just shook his head, still a bit surprised at himself for singing out loud in front of so many people just because Naruto had asked him. But he was glad that his 'singing' Mr. Brightside had made Naruto happy. To him that was all that really mattered.

"Thanks, Neji, for singing with me," Naruto said. "Mr. Brightside's my favorite song."

The Hyuuga smirked. "I hadn't noticed," he replied.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the Hyuuga's sarcasm. "Anyway, I didn't know you were such a good singer, Neji. Do you sing often?"

"I don't sing, Naruto," he said, giving the blonde a look.

"Then why'd you sing right now?"

"Because you asked me to."

The blonde blushed slightly, a bit surprised by the blunt answer. "O-Oh…okay then…" he stammered, glancing away because the Hyuuga was watching him closely.

Neji noticed the blonde's apprehension and said, changing the subject, "Are you doing anything tomorrow Naruto? Other than going to work?"

The blonde nodded and replied, "Yep! Sasuke and I are going to hang out tomorrow."

The Hyuuga seethed under his breath. "Oh, really?"

"Uh-huh. I'm saving him from his brother's V-day party. I'm going over after work and we're coming back to my place. It'll be fun," Naruto said excitedly.

Neji continued to fume to himself, angry that the Uchiha had gotten his way to spend time with Naruto on Valentine's Day. Damn that bastard, Neji thought to himself, getting angrier by the second. He was however glad that he'd been able to get with Naruto before the Uchiha could. Now, all he had to do was to make sure that Naruto never forgot this night. And that would put him up in the ranking.

"Hey, Neji, do you mind if we go now? I've gotta get up early tomorrow for work and I need some sleep," Naruto said, shaking the Hyuuga out of his thoughts.

Neji nodded at him and said, "Sure we can go." He was a bit disappointed that his date with Naruto was coming to an end, but he got to his feet and followed the blonde across the gym to the doors.

On their way, they passed Kiba and Hinata on the dance floor and Naruto, being the kind of person he was, just couldn't resist poking fun at his friend. He winked at Kiba and nudged him in the ribs saying, "Way to go!" The Inuzuka and Hinata both blushed deeply and as the blonde began to laugh, Neji dragged him away to prevent any physical harm Kiba seemed to want to give him. They also saw Ino pulling an annoyed looking Shikamaru to the dance floor yelling that she wasn't going to sit there all day for Sasuke. Shikamaru was mumbling something that sounding a lot like 'troublesome' under his breath as he was being hauled away. By the doors, Sakura was sobbing that Sasuke hadn't come to the dance, and Lee and TenTen were engaged in a conversation, while Choji was getting some cookies at the refreshment table. Kakashi winked at them on their way out and then proceeded to find a certain brown-haired teacher.

Neji drove Naruto back to his apartment and walked him up to his door. "Thank you for coming with me tonight, Naruto," the Hyuuga said.

"No problem, Neji! I had fun," Naruto replied grinning. His grin faded, however, as he thought of something. Looking away, he bit his lip, wondering if he should bring it up or not.

The blonde's behavior ignited Neji's interest and he looked at Naruto curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Naruto turned to face him again, and asked quietly, clearly embarrassed, "Look, Neji…Is this…Was this…really a-a d-date?"

Not expecting that question, Neji just stared at the blonde for a moment before letting a slight smirk claim his lips. He stepped closer to the blonde and said, "Why do you want to know, Naruto?"

Naruto stepped back in attempt to put space between them, but his effort failed since Neji moved forward. Naruto was immediately reminded of the beginning of that evening when he'd been thinking of Neji in that way, and he tried to clear his mind so he could ask what he wanted and get on with it. But Neji was making it hard for him. Why couldn't the Hyuuga just answer the damn question? And why was he suddenly getting so nervous? Calm down, dammit!

"Uh…well, be-because you didn't answer me last time," Naruto replied, taking yet another step backward. He swore mentally as he felt the wall press against his back. He had no where to run now.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you want to know?" Neji inquired, pinning the blonde with his ivory gaze.

Naruto swallowed, feeling the heat rise in his face from the close proximity, and from the question he'd just been asked. He did want to know if this constituted as a date or not, but if it did, what would it mean? Would he care about it or not? And if it wasn't a date, then would everything go back to the way it was? Naruto needed to know for the sake of his sanity. "J-Just tell me, Neji, okay?" the blonde said with more bravado than he felt. "W-Was this a d-date or not?"

The Hyuuga leaned close to the blonde's ear and whispered softly, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine, "Yes, it was a date, and I'm very glad you came with me." Neji pulled away and captured Naruto's azure eyes with his own. He saw the surprise within the orbs and was filled with the sudden eagerness to kiss the blonde. His gaze fell to the Naruto's lips and the desire was beginning to overwhelm him. He really wanted to kiss Naruto, needed to kiss Naruto, but he remembered how the blonde had freaked out from that one tiny kiss months ago and he didn't need a repeat of that. But he just couldn't go without it.

Neji looked back at the blonde and with that one look at Naruto's face made his morality fly out the window. He kissed him. Desire and eagerness just overtook him and his pressed his mouth against the blonde's and kissed him. And he didn't regret it one bit.

Naruto stood stunned as his lips were captured by the Hyuuga's and he felt himself blush profusely. Before he could really process what had happened, Neji had pulled away, gazing intensely at the blonde as he slowly licked his lips. Naruto could hear his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he stammered, "N-Neji…?"

The Hyuuga kissed the Naruto on the lips again before saying, "Good night, Naruto," and walking off down the hall, leaving an embarrassed and confused blonde staring after him.

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"Good evening, Naruto, sir," an Uchiha household servant greeted the blonde the next day.

Naruto grinned at him and said, "Hey there! Happy V-day!"

The man nodded and replied, "As to you."

"So, where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked walking into the foyer.

"Ah, well the young sir is currently in the captivity of rabid fan girls and his brother who won't let him leave the dining room," the servant said with a slight laugh. "It's quite a sight to see."

Naruto followed the man down the hall and said, "Why isn't Itachi letting him leave?"

"He wants to see if you're really coming."

"Okay then. Since I'm here, let's go save Sasuke from his soon-to-be death," Naruto exclaimed, charging down towards the dining hall. Even before entering he could hear the girls' frantic screams, and Sasuke's shouts, and Itachi's laughter. The blonde pushed open the door and had to suppress his own laughter at the sight before him. Beneath the hold of about ten girls, Naruto could barely make out the ebony head of Sasuke, who was struggling extremely hard to break free from the grasp of the girls. The blonde could see Itachi off to a corner with a maniac grin on his face.

The blonde just stared for awhile when he heard his name being called. Turning, he waved at the older Uchiha who was striding towards him. "Hey, Itachi!"

"Good evening Naruto. How are you tonight?" Itachi asked.

"I'm good," Naruto replied. He turned to the pile again and said, "Are you sure it's okay to just leave him under there?"

"Oh, he'll be fine, Naru-chan," Itachi said, also staring at the pile under which his younger brother resided.

Sasuke could hardly breathe. Not only that, but he could hardly see anything either. Nor could he hear anything other than the cries 'Sasuke-kun, I love you!' But somehow he'd managed to pick up on the Naru-chan that had escaped his brother's lips and he shoved some fan girls away to look wildly around the room. Then he spotted him; that unmistakable fluff of blonde hair that was slowly being closed away by desperate fan girls. No way, he thought. No damn fan girl is getting in my way to go out with Naruto.

With a tremendous amount of effort, he shoved past the girls and marathon-dashed to the blonde's side shouting, "Naruto! Thank god!" Sasuke practically latched himself onto the blonde's arm and turned to the girls yelling, "See? I told you he'd be here! My lover wouldn't abandon me on Valentine's Day!"

Naruto instantly blushed at the 'lover' comment and whispered to Sasuke, "Not that again!"

"Just deal with it until we leave," the Uchiha shot back. Turning his attention back to the now sobbing girls, Sasuke said, "Well, we should be going now. I've got quite an eventful evening planned out for my lover!"

Naruto blushed even more at the insinuation, and he had to mentally slap away the images that were forming in his mind. He was at least spared having to reply because Sasuke turned and dragged him off to the doors.

But before they made it out, Itachi popped up again and said, sounding surprised, "Well, I didn't know you two were together! This is a surprise!"

If possible, Naruto turned an even deeper shade of red, while Sasuke just glared at his brother and said, "Go away."

"But I have to give you my congratulations!" Itachi said.

"We are not together, Brother. It was just an act to get the girls to leave us alone," Sasuke explained.

"An act?" Itachi repeated. He turned to face Sasuke fully and said, raising an eyebrow, "Then you still haven't told--"

"Brother!" Sasuke snapped, now looking extremely furious. "Shut. Up."

Itachi, however, found this very amusing and grinned. "Well, well, well, this is just shaping up nicely. But you know, dear brother, I would have thought you'd have told him by now. It's not like you to delay things like that."

Sasuke issued his brother The Uchiha Death Glare, and seethed, "Mind your own business, Brother."

"Yes, well, that's all I have to say," Itachi said. He turned to Naruto who was looking extremely confused and said, "It was nice seeing you again, Naru-chan!" --Here, Sasuke snarled angrily at his brother-- "Hope you have a good Valentine's Day with your lover,"

Naruto blushed again and stammered, "Uh-yea-yeah, I will. Thank you."

Itachi grinned at him and walked away.

Sasuke sighed gratefully and pulled the blonde out into the hall, leading him down the left. "Come on, Naruto, this way."

"Uh, Sasuke, the exit's that-a-way!" Naruto pointed to the right.

"Yes, I know that. But we have to stop at the kitchen first."

"Why?"

"Because I have a gift for you."

"What?"

Sasuke just smirked and said, "Come on, dobe."

Still surprised at the prospect of getting a gift from Sasuke, Naruto didn't lash out at the 'dobe' comment, only just followed the younger Uchiha into the kitchen. "Okay, so what is this gift of yours? I wanna see!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Calm down. You'll see it in a moment. Just sit down here," Sasuke pointed to a stool, "and close your eyes."

"Close my eyes? What for?" Naruto said, shutting his eyes anyway.

"Because I want you to."

"Why, are you gonna kiss me or something?" The words had escaped his mouth before he could stop them.

Sasuke paused reaching for something and stared up at the blonde. "What did you say?"

Naruto blushed, embarrassed. "I was just kidding! I meant that, you know, most of the time someone asks someone else to close their eyes it's usually to give him or her a kiss or present the person with like an engagement ring or something. That's what I've seen at least. But that can't be what you're doing, because that'd just be weird and--"

"Do you want me to kiss you?" Sasuke interrupted.

The blonde felt his heart skip a beat. "W-W-What?"

"Do you wan me to kiss you?" Sasuke repeated, slightly smirking. "Because, if you really want me to, I won't mind."

"Uh-uh, th-that's okay," Naruto stammered, feeling his heart rate begin to accelerate. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why had I brought that 'kiss' thing up! Stupid! …A-And-And why does he sound so sexy all of a sudden? Why do I feel as if I actually do want to kiss him?

Sasuke pulled out Naruto's gift and got to his feet, stepping over to the blonde and leaning closer to his face. "Are you sure?" he whispered, his voice sounding more husky than he meant it to. Sasuke was glad to see that Naruto was hesitating before answering. It meant that the blonde was really considering the offer to being kissed and Sasuke couldn't have enjoyed that thought more.

However, Naruto replied quietly, "Y-Yeah, I-I'm sure," and Sasuke felt disappointment overwhelm him. He sighed and thought to himself, Well the night is young. We haven't even left yet. I've got plenty of time to score.

"All right then. Naruto, hold your hands out and I'll give you your gift," Sasuke said. When the blonde obliged, Sasuke placed a rectangular container on his outstretched hands.

Naruto paused for a moment, letting his hands roam over the gift he'd received before he opened his eyes and looked down. The first thing that caught his eye was the card on top of a plastic container. Curiously looking at it for a moment, he then glanced up at Sasuke and said, "I thought you said you'd never buy a Valentine card in your life."

The Uchiha shrugged. "Well, you're different," he said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're the only person I'd ever buy a Valentine for."

Naruto blushed and looked back down at the card which only read 'Happy Valentine's Day, dobe! Hope you like your gift. Took me a long time to make it! And don't you dare try making me eat it! I'll shove them down your throat if you do. I hate sweets, remember? All kinds! --Sasuke'

Now curious as to what was inside the box, Naruto removed the lid and exclaimed excitedly with a glowing grin on his face, "Yes! Cookies! And candy! Sasuke, I absolutely love you!"

Sasuke grinned at the blonde's approval of his gift and mentally gave himself a pat on the back. Obviously the easiest way to win Naruto's heart was to go through his stomach, and he knew the blonde loved sweets. Cookies and candies hit the spot on Valentine's; he was glad he'd thought of making them, but damn did it take a long time.

"Hey, Sasuke…Why'd you make me all of this?" Naruto asked. "Doesn't everything about Valentine's make you cringe? So, why'd you spend time making heart shaped V-day cookies?"

The Uchiha froze, having not thought about what to say if he was asked that. Naruto was watching him closely with curious azure eyes, and Sasuke sighed. "It's Valentine's, dobe. So, I thought I'd make some for you, since I know you love cookies and candy. I thought you'd like it, that's why. And, yes, you're right. All V-day stuff makes me cringe, but like I said before, you're different. I don't mind giving you Valentines."

Naruto blushed again, and Sasuke gave a slight smirk at causing the flush on the blonde's cheeks, which he couldn't help but notice, made Naruto look extremely cute.

Realizing that making the blonde blush was a good thing, because it credited to having the blonde start thinking of certain things, Sasuke decided to tease him a bit more. He liked seeing the blonde blush; one, it would most likely get Naruto to think about him, and two, he just looked adorable!

Leaning close to the blonde once more, Sasuke asked him again, "Now, about that kiss…Are you sure you don't want one?"

Sasuke saw the surprise in the blonde's eyes at his reminder and willingness of having the kiss. He almost missed the faint agreement that flashed quickly through the cobalt color. Sasuke himself was surprised at the blonde's quick conformity to the kiss, and was now actually debating if he wanted to give Naruto a quick one or not. If he's not moving away from me and that quick willingness I just saw in his eyes was any indication, I'm pretty sure Naruto's thinking exactly what I am. Then…should I kiss him or not?

However, at that precise moment, the kitchen door swung open and Itachi burst through. The older Uchiha took a look at the almost-kissing pair and grinned, exclaiming, "Whoa! I thought you gone already!"

"Brother! What are you doing in here?" Sasuke exclaimed angrily, recovering first. He moved away from the blushing blonde and glared at Itachi. "What do you want? If nothing, then get out before I kick you out!"

"Calm down, dear brother," Itachi said, still grinning. "I was merely coming to get some more drinks for our guests. I had no idea you and Naruto were in here."

Even after his truthful apology, Sasuke didn't draw back the Uchiha Death Glare he was giving his brother. "Then, take the damn drinks and get the hell out of here," the younger Uchiha spat.

Itachi, the grin still on his face, nodded and moved to the counter when his gaze fell on the container of heart shaped cookies and candy. If possible, the grin on his face widened even more as he turned to look at Sasuke and exclaimed with exaggerated happiness, "Oh, wow! Sasuke, did you make all of these cookies and candies? For Naruto?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied coolly.

"Aww, that is so cute!" Itachi cooed. "So that's why you didn't let me inside the kitchen this afternoon. You even threatened to burn me alive in the incinerator if I didn't leave you alone. Now I understand why you were so pissy. You were making sweet little Naru-chan--" Here, Sasuke gave a twitch. "—special Valentine treats! How adorable of you!"

Sasuke, now bristling with embarrassment and boiling anger, glared at Itachi with every ounce of malicious fiber he had in him. "Brother," he snarled, "if you do not leave this instant, you will be burned alive in the incinerator."

"See how mean he is to me?" Itachi said to Naruto, who was staring with surprise at Sasuke, not taking his eyes off of him. Returning his attention to his brother, Itachi said, "Well, I'm just so proud of you, Sasuke! I can't believe you took such a bold step as to give Naruto these treats! I'm just curious as to what else you have planned for Valentines—"

"Shut up, Brother!" Sasuke shouted.

Itachi grinned again and then waved, saying, "Have a good day, lovers!" He then walked out of the doors, laughing.

Sasuke glared after him for a moment before he realized something. "That damn bastard! He didn't need drinks! He came in here on purpose! I'm going to kill him!" he muttered under his breath, planning torturous ways to kill the older Uchiha. Burning him alive in the incinerator was now quite appealing.

Once he'd calmed down, Sasuke turned to Naruto and looked over the blonde. Instantly, he felt uncomfortable; an emotion he truly hated since Uchihas were not supposed to ever be uncomfortable about anything, they were to be collected at all costs; because Naruto was staring directly at him with unwavering sapphire eyes.

"Uh, Naruto?" Sasuke asked carefully. What is he thinking? He looks confused and curious and surprised. Damn it, Itachi did this! If he starts to figure things out then what will I do?

"Sasuke, uh, what did Itachi mean by-by everything that he said?" Naruto inquired, not taking his eyes off of him.

Quickly, Sasuke replied, "Nothing. Nothing at all. Ignore that meddling bastard."

"But Sasuke--"

"Naruto, just drop it," Sasuke snapped. Naruto blinked at the admonition, and Sasuke felt bad for the retort. He sighed and said with less bitterness, though the anger from his brother's antics never fully left his voice, "It was nothing, all right? Just forget it. Itachi's just insane."

Naruto nodded slowly, though he wasn't fooled. Sasuke was hiding something and he wanted to know what. But he knew that there was no getting it out of him at that moment so he just got to his feet and said, "Fine. Should we go now?"

The Uchiha agreed, eager to leave the house lest Itachi show up once more, and led the blonde out to his car.

xxxxxxx

"I'm sorry it's such a mess. I was going to clean this morning before I went to work, but as luck would have it, I woke up late and got yelled at by the manager," Naruto said, as he hastily kicked stray clothes and books into the closet.

"It's all right, Naruto. My room looks pretty much the same," Sasuke replied shutting and locking the door behind him.

"All right! What do you want to do then?" Naruto asked after quickly cleaning the room. "I was thinking a movie and pizza?"

The Uchiha nodded. "Sounds fine to me. Trust me, anything's better than having to be back at Itachi's party."

"I'm glad to have been of help."

"I'm just glad to spend time with you."

The honesty of his statement made Naruto turn with surprise. Sasuke was staring at him directly, and he felt the blush rise on his cheeks again. Looking away quickly as he tried to regain control, Naruto stammered, "I-I'll ca-call for the pizza. Go look for a movie."

"What are you in the mood for?" Sasuke asked as he flipped through the blonde's movie collection.

"Something funny. I'm in the mood to laugh," Naruto replied while looking up the phone number of the pizza place.

"All right. Then we're watching Zoolander," the Uchiha decided.

"That's great, put it in!" Naruto called. He then ordered the pizza and said, "Pizza'll be here in a half hour. Want something to eat now?"

"Like what?"

"Ramen!"

"No."

"Fine then, let's have the cookies you made!"

"I already told you in my card not to even try making me eat those."

"But cookies are good! Come on Sasuke, try one!" Naruto insisted, waving the box in front of the dark-haired boy's face.

Sasuke glared at him. "Don't make me hurt you, Naruto. I told you I don't want any."

"But they're yummy!" Naruto said.

"I'll shove all of those cookies and that box down your throat if you don't get them out of my face!"

Naruto pouted and set the container onto the floor. "Fine then, ya sweets-hating weirdo," he said. Getting to his feet he walked to the kitchen and called over his shoulder, "You want anything to drink?"

"What have you got?" Sasuke said following Naruto into the kitchen.

The blonde opened the fridge and replied, "Let's see…I've got some coke, juice, milk--"

"A full fridge for the first time," Sasuke interjected sounding surprised.

"Ha, ha, ha," Naruto said sarcastically. "What do you want?"

"A coke's fine."

"Well take it out. I'll get some glasses." Naruto turned and almost ran into the bouquet of flowers from the previous night, which he'd borrowed a vase for from a neighbor. "Whoa. I've got to put this somewhere else. I've been running into it all day. Aha! I'll put it next to the window!"

"When'd you start buying flowers, Naruto? Turning all girly now, are you?" Sasuke asked as he poured himself and the blonde some coke.

"You're just on a joking streak, aren't you?" Naruto called back. "No, I'm not turning girly, these were a gift. I got them yesterday from Neji…" The blonde stopped talking quickly as he realized what he'd just confessed. Oh, crap! Now I'm going to have to explain everything, and I didn't even want Sasuke to know in the first place! Dammit!

Sasuke, meanwhile, had froze putting the coke away and began to feel the anger boiling in his veins. He shut the fridge and walked out of the kitchen to stare directly at the blonde. "What did you say?" he asked a rather nervous looking blonde.

Naruto mentally reprimanded himself for his stupid slip of the tongue and sighed before answering the Uchiha. "Um, well, yesterday Neji came over and um…brought me flowers."

"What was Hyuuga doing here?"

"Um, Neji came over because…we went to the…dance…together," Naruto said very quietly.

"You and Hyuuga went to the dance together?" Sasuke was surprised how calm his voice sounded considering the fact that he was on the verge of committing the murder of something. Namely the Hyuuga, but anything would do.

"Yes," Naruto squeaked.

"Was this a date?" Sasuke asked, the anger in his veins growing along with white hot jealously. He'd never felt so pissed off before in his life.

Naruto knew that question would be asked, but he still wasn't prepared for it. He hadn't wanted Sasuke to know about the date, but he didn't want to lie to him either. And if he told him, what would happen? Feeling guilty though he wasn't sure why; he'd gone on a date, not killed someone, Naruto replied, "Yes, it was a-a date."

It was the first time he'd really admitted it to himself. He knew it was a date now. If the kiss and Neji's confirmation was any indication, Naruto couldn't deny it any more. It had been a date, and he had accepted now, even though it was weird knowing that his first date was with a guy, Neji no less. But the fact that it was a date now proved that there was definitely something going on with Neji. The only thing Naruto could think of was that the Hyuuga did really like him. Even though the theory sounded so farfetched, Naruto wasn't sure he could doubt it any more. Why else would Neji agree that it was a date and kiss him twice? And, even though he knew now, Naruto himself wasn't sure if he felt that way about Neji. And, he couldn't forget the way he'd eyed Neji the previous night either. He knew something was up with his own feelings; he just didn't know what.

"Naruto? Hey, dobe, snap out of it!" Sasuke called, shaking the blonde's shoulder.

Naruto blinked and focused on the Uchiha. "Oh, sorry. Spaced out for a second."

Sasuke watched him momentarily and then said as he sat down on the bed, "Come on, let's start the movie."

Naruto blinked again, only this time in surprise. What, no yelling, no anger…no jealously? Doesn't-Doesn't he care? …And why do I care if he doesn't care? "Y-You…aren't mad?" Naruto asked cautiously, sitting down next to him.

Sasuke didn't even turn to him, just kept his eyes trained on the screen as the movie began. "No, why should I be?"

Naruto felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the Uchiha's answer; it wasn't what he'd wanted to hear. "N-Never mind," he said, pulling the box of cookies onto his lap and taking a bite out of one. He glued his eyes to the screen, deciding to think about his messed up life later.

Sasuke turned to glance sideways at the blonde and felt the anger surge within him again. He was angry. Yes, of course he wasn't; he just didn't want Naruto to know it. But he wasn't mad at Naruto. No. He was angry at himself. At the Hyuuga too, but mostly himself. He was angry that he'd let Hyuuga get ahead of him by going out with Naruto. He was angry that it had actually been a date. He was angry he hadn't found out and done something to stop it. Had he known, he would have definitely gone to the dance the previous night instead of fantasizing about what he could do for this night. Had he known, he could have stopped everything and anything the Hyuuga may have tried. But he hadn't been there, and despite how it pained him, he'd just have to admit that Neji had scored before he had that weekend.

It was getting easier to read Naruto's expressions and actions, and Sasuke could tell easily that the blonde was hiding something. Something else had happened last night and Sasuke had to know what. Sure, he had a vague idea, but he wanted it confirmed. But he couldn't just ask Naruto that; he knew the blonde would just evade the question anyway. Sasuke was also certain that Hyuuga had somewhat 'admitted' his feelings to Naruto. That was another thing he was angry about. That he couldn't outright tell Naruto how he felt. He hated it. He wanted to tell him, but for some dumb reason couldn't. now he was falling behind Neji and that was the worst possible position to be in. But he wasn't going to take that. No matter what, he wasn't going to lose. Naruto had been on a date with Neji. Neji was now up higher on the scale. But so what? He was an Uchiha, goddamn it, and he wasn't about to let some Hyuuga take away what was rightfully his!

Sasuke felt the determination and possessiveness begin to outweigh his anger and jealousy. He was now determined to fight the fight and come out the winner. Besides, he now knew that Hyuuga had done which would make it easier for him to keep a look out. Not only that, but he had Naruto at that moment, and the fun hadn't even yet begun.

Sasuke stole another glance at the blonde before smirking slightly.

Tonight Naruto, you're all mine.

xxxxxxxxx

"Yes! The pizza's here! Finally!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Pause the movie."

"I'll get some plates," Sasuke offered and headed to the kitchen.

Thanks, have a good night," Naruto said to the deliverer and then turned to Sasuke who was setting plates down on the table.

"Remember, Naruto, it's hot," Sasuke said as the blonde opened the pizza box. "Don't want the same thing as last time to happen, do we?"

Naruto blushed at the reminder and looked away.

Sasuke smirked and said softly, "Unless you do want it, then of course I wouldn't mind."

The blonde's blush deepened at the reminder and at the fact that Sasuke had just said he didn't care if they kissed again. Did he really mean that, or was he just kidding? Shaking his head, Naruto quickly stammered, "N-No, th-that's okay. I'll be careful this time."

Sasuke was disappointed but hid the emotion well. Putting a stoic face back on, he served each of them a slice of pizza and said, "Do you want to get back to the movie?"

"Actually, no. It's boring me. Let's do something else," Naruto said.

"Like what?"

"Umm, let's play a game."

"What?"

"A game!"

"No," Sasuke said firmly.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun."

"What game do you have in mind?"

"Truth or dare?"

"No."

"Sasuke, please! It'll be loads of fun. Just for a little while, okay? I'm bored of movies. I want to do something!"

"Fine, fine. We'll play, so quit screaming in my ear!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily. "But I go first. Truth or dare, dobe?"

"Don't call me dobe, bastard! Uh, truth."

"Too scared for a dare?"

"No, I'm not scared! I just want to do truth."

Sasuke smirked.

"Quit smirking, bastard! What's my question?"

Getting serious, Sasuke asked, "What did you and Neji do last night at the dance?" Only once the words were out of his mouth did Sasuke realize that this game might have a good use. If he could find out things about what happened the previous night, he'd know what else to expect from the Hyuuga and that would put him ahead.

Naruto stared at him with surprise, wondering why he'd even asked such a question. What did he think had happened? "Uh, well, we went to the dance…and talked. That's all we could really do anyway, since it'd be weird to dance or something."

"What'd you talk about?"

"Hey, only one question! My turn. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay, Sasuke-bastard, I dare you to…" Naruto's eyes fell on the container of cookies and he slowly smirked mischievously. "I dare you to try a cookie!"

"Oh, no. I'm not trying the cookies," Sasuke said. "You know I hate sweets, so why do you even bother? Do you enjoy making me suffer like this?"

Naruto grinned broadly. "Yup. I enjoy it very much."

"You're sadistic."

"Well, can you blame me? It really bugs me! How can you not like sweets? Some candies, I understand, are just gross. But all of them?"

"I just don't like them all right? I'm not eating that cookie."

"It's a dare, Sasuke. You aren't scared, are you? I thought it was like a violation of some code for an Uchiha to be scared."

"I'm not scared, Naruto," Sasuke bristled.

"Then prove it," Naruto said.

Sasuke glared at him for a moment before he said, "Give me the damn cookie."

Naruto, grinning superiorly, handed him a heart-shaped cookie with red and white frosting along with pink sprinkles. Sasuke glared at the cookie as well, giving it a securitizing search, before he gingerly took a bite out of it.

"Well? Good, bad?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke just made a face. "Ew," he replied and tossed the cookie away.

"Hey, you've got to eat the whole thing! That was your dare."

"Actually, dobe, you said to try the cookie. Not eat the cookie. So, I tried it. I'm done. Now, truth or dare, Naruto?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"Dare."

"All right, I dare you to tell the truth about what happened with Neji last night."

"I just told you that, and you can't make a dare a truth!"

"Fine, I dare you to tell me what Neji did to you last night. There, that's different."

"But you can't make a dare a truth!"

"Just answer the damn question, dobe," Sasuke snapped, giving the blonde a sharp look.

Naruto returned the gaze, wondering why Sasuke was so intent on knowing what had happened last night. And now he wanted to know if Neji had done anything to him. What was he supposed to do? Tell him about the kiss? Wait, kisses? For some reason, Naruto didn't want to tell Sasuke about the kiss. He assumed it was because he himself had no idea what he felt about it. Part of him was angry at Neji, while the other part of him was perfectly fine with the kiss. Oddly enough, it was the latter that was outweighing the first, and that surprised and frightened him at the same time. He wasn't sure why he was okay with getting kissed by Neji, when the first time he'd flipped out. But, as he thought more about it, he was realizing that he really wasn't that angry at Neji for the kiss, just surprised and confused.

Was he actually considering Neji? Is that why he was so at halves with the whole thing? He had never thought about dating a guy, much less kissing a guy, because it was something he never thought would come up, but now, he wasn't so sure. The kiss with Neji had definitely opened a door for him and even though liking a guy seemed weird, could he really help it if it happened? Could anyone really help it? And, if Neji did like him, was it possible to start liking him back?

"Naruto? Hello?" Sasuke said, snapping his fingers before the blonde's face.

Naruto blinked and stared as if trying to remember where he was. "Oh, sorry, Sasuke. What were you saying?"

"What happened last night? What did Neji do to you?" Sasuke asked, keeping his voice in control. He didn't want to snap at the blonde for the answers he was aching for.

Naruto stared directly at him and lied, "Nothing. Like I said before, we just talked and that's it." He wasn't sure why he was lying, but he felt that it wasn't really that important for Sasuke to know. And, until he figured everything out, he didn't think he'd ever tell Sasuke.

Sasuke searched Naruto's face and had the feeling he was lying. But why would Naruto lie unless he really did have something to hide? Sasuke felt anger start to bubble within him. Why would Naruto lie to him? "Are you lying?" he asked.

Naruto hid his surprise. Can he read my expression? "No. I'm not lying."

Sasuke continued to stare at him, wondering why he wasn't telling the truth. Frustrated and hurt even, he said, "Fine. Your turn."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Why are you asking so much about me and Neji?"

Cursing himself for choosing truth, Sasuke replied carefully, making sure not to let anything slip, "Because I want to know."

"That's not a reason. What's the truth, Sasuke?"

"That is the truth. I just wanted to know."

"Fine."

"Truth or dare, Naruto?"

"I don't want to play anymore," Naruto said, turning back to face the T.V. screen.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment before he turned his attention to the movie.

For awhile, they said nothing and sat in a tense silence. Naruto was angry about Sasuke prying so much about the Neji thing. Not only that, but he was also angry at how the evening was turning out. He'd wanted to have a fun good night with Sasuke; not an interrogation about him and Neji. Naruto did feel bad about lying to Sasuke as well, but the Uchiha just didn't need to know everything.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sasuke said suddenly, voice quiet.

"Yeah?"

"Listen. I'm sorry for prying, all right? I was just curious," Sasuke said.

Naruto turned to him, surprised. "That's all fine, Sasuke, but I don't have to tell you everything, do I?"

His words felt like a slap on the face. Schooling his hurt expression, he said, "No, you don't but--"

"Sasuke, you're my best friend, okay?"

"I'm you're…what?" Sasuke exclaimed softly feeling absolutely stunned.

"You're my best friend," Naruto repeated as if stating the obvious. "Why're you so surprised?"

"I thought Gaara was your best friend," Sasuke said, starting to feel his heart rate quicken.

"Yeah, he was my best friend, but really it's you that I hang out with the most. It's you I like spending time with."

Sasuke blushed profusely, feeling embarrassed and elated, but at the same time a bit frustrated. "Well, if I'm your best friend, then why were you lying about the Neji thing?"

"I wasn't lying!" Naruto exclaimed quickly.

Sasuke gave him a look. "You were, I know you were."

"Fine, so I was."

"Why won't you tell me then?" Sasuke asked.

"Why do you want to know so bad?" Naruto shot back.

The two stared at each other for a moment, silence taking over them once more.

"Like I said, I was curious," Sasuke replied breaking the silence.

"Is that really all?" Naruto asked, then realizing what he'd asked paused, confused at himself. Why was he thinking that? Why did it seem like he wanted Sasuke to have a certain different reason for being so concerned? What reason was he thinking of? No, no, no. I am not thinking about that! Sasuke doesn't like me! Then why do I feel like that's what I want him to say? That he likes me and that's why he was asking about last night?

Leaning closer, Sasuke asked softly, "Why? Is there another reason you're hoping for?"

"N-No," Naruto said quickly, feeling stupid that he'd even said anything. "Just forget it."

"Fine." Sasuke turned his attention back to the screen.

"Oh, and Sasuke?"

"What, Naruto?"

"You really are my best friend, all right? And, I'll tell you everything…Just once I figure it out for myself, okay?" Naruto said, glancing at the Uchiha from the corners of his eyes.

Sasuke looked at him, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "Sure, dobe."

"Don't call me dobe, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling happy that everything was back to normal.

xxxxxxxxx

"Okay Sasuke, are you ready?"

"Yes, Naruto. I'm ready, just hurry up."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes!"

"Are you positive? This is gonna be a toughie, I just know it!"

"Dammit, Naruto! Hurry up and spin the flipping wheel! I don't think I can hold anymore," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto reached over Sasuke's leg and spun the spinner. "Uh, okay. Right hand blue!"

Sasuke swore. "Shit, that's on the other side. Naruto, move your leg."

"I can't, I'll fall!"

"Big deal. You're going to lose anyway."

"Shut up! You don't know that."

"Just move your leg!"

"It's Twister, Sasuke. You've go to twist; hence the name of the game," Naruto exclaimed.

"Argh, fine…There, got it," Sasuke said, finally reaching his right hand to an empty blue circle. "I'll spin, now," he said. "Okay, dobe, left foot yellow."

"Left foot, left foot…Where's my left foot?"

"Squishing my hand!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Watch it, dobe!"

"Heh, heh, sorry." Naruto quickly moved his foot around Sasuke's right leg and rested it on a yellow circle. "All right, spinning…Red, left hand."

Sasuke shifted slightly and leaned his arm over Naruto's stomach, placing it on the red circle. The Uchiha hid his sudden growing blush; from his position, he could stare right into Naruto's face, and it wasn't helping with the way Naruto was watching him closely. Sasuke swallowed and tore his gaze away reluctantly. He had to keep his cool, at least for awhile. It wasn't the right moment to just jump him. He spun the wheel and told the blonde, "Right foot, green."

"Ah, man! Okay, leg, streeeetch!" Naruto exclaimed and carefully angled his leg beneath Sasuke's. involuntarily brushing it against the Uchiha's. Both boys blushed but said nothing as Naruto placed his foot on the appropriate spot. He then spun and said, "Uh, left leg blue, Sasuke."

The Uchiha grunted and moved his foot. As he repositioned himself, his gaze fell upon the flower vase and a sudden question popped in his head. He tried to swallow his words because he knew that Naruto would get angrier if he asked, but he couldn't control himself. "Naruto, do you like the Hyuuga?"

The blonde almost fell over. "Wh-What?"

"You heard me," Sasuke said, not wanting to repeat it. He felt stupid to saying it aloud. He hadn't meant to, but couldn't help it. It was something he just needed to know. He was about 99.9999 percent certain that Neji had confessed his feelings last night. If not directly, he definitely gave some major hints and Sasuke hadn't been able to stop the uncertainty that was flowing through his veins. Not knowing what Neji had done was bothering him, but not knowing what Naruto thought about Hyuuga was even worse. As he anticipated the blonde's reply, Sasuke realized he wasn't sure what he'd do if Naruto answered yes.

"Well, of course I like Neji. He's my friend," Naruto replied. He then glanced at Sasuke and continued, ignoring the almost nervous expression on the dark-haired boy's face. "And, if you're asking as in more than a friend, then, honestly…I-I don't know."

Sasuke felt a bit relieved, like a stone had been lifted from the pits of his stomach and heart. But while he was reassured, he couldn't help but realize something else. 'I don't know' isn't a straight out 'no.' Did that mean that Naruto was actually considering Neji?

"All right," Sasuke said after a moment.

Naruto looked at him for a moment before he said, "Ah, spin Sasuke! I'm dying here!"

The Uchiha reached over and spun the wheel, quickly placing his hand back before he could lose his balance. "Left foot on yellow."

"Already there."

"Dammit, I have to spin again," Sasuke swore. "Okay, blue, right hand."

Naruto twisted carefully and then said, "There aren't any more open ones!"

"There's one behind my foot," Sasuke said.

"I can't reach it though! Hey, move your hand a bit, I'll put it next to yours."

"You can't use the same circle."

"Who cares? Come on, move your hand." Naruto reached his hand over.

"If I move it, I'll fall."

"Fine, bastard," Naruto said, and placed his hand on the only available spot--atop Sasuke's.

The Uchiha blushed instantly, surprised the blonde didn't seem as affected as him. The warmth from Naruto's hand flowed into him and Sasuke wanted to hold onto his hand forever, loving the affection and sensation it caused within him. The two of them were silent for another moment, Sasuke trying to fight the blush down, Naruto staring at the Uchiha with a searching look.

Then Sasuke cleared his throat and said, "S-Spin, dobe."

"Oh, r-right." Naruto spun the wheel and said, "Left hand, yellow."

Sasuke carefully turned to place his hand on the yellow circle.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"What?"

"Can you grab a cookie for me?"

"Are you crazy? We'll both fall!" Sasuke exclaimed incredulously. He must be kidding.

"But I'm hungry!"

Guess not. "Forget it, dobe. If you want a cookie, get it yourself."

"But they're on the other side!" Naruto whined.

"Then too bad for you."

"Aww, Sasuke!"

"Just shut up and let me spin," Sasuke snapped.

After spinning, he said, "Right foot blue."

Naruto groaned and turned, sliding his leg beneath Sasuke's. Rotating his head, he blushed quickly, noticing that Sasuke's face was just a few inches away. Swallowing, he glanced away from the Uchiha's penetrating gaze and stammered, "I-I'll spin."

Sasuke watched him for awhile longer, thinking just how cute Naruto looked when he blushed. The Uchiha couldn't help but stare at him, his thoughts taking a drastic turn to saddening wanting to kiss him. He could probably do it too, seeing as how the blonde's face was just a bit away. If he stretched, he could pull it off. But was it the right moment? He just had to get something that night. He wasn't playing truth or dare for nothing, dammit.

"Sasuke? Uh, move your left hand o yellow," Naruto said, brining the Uchiha back to present.

"All right," Sasuke said, hiding his growing frustration. When would they get into some kind of a good kissing situation? He needed some action! Sasuke paused as a sudden devious thought occurred to him while he was moving his hand. If the action didn't present itself, couldn't' he just make some? They were playing Twister, weren't they? It was game that made it possible for someone to slip at some time, right? Why not take the initiative and propose a situation?

Sasuke placed his hand on the circle and confirmed his decision. He'll wait till a better opportunity to fake a slip. Or, if the dobe messed up first, all the better; at least that way he wouldn't lose.

"Naruto, right foot red," he said.

The blonde maneuvered his body carefully reaching his foot under Sasuke's arm.

"Careful, dobe! That's my stomach you're almost stabbing with your elbow," Sasuke exclaimed, trying to move out of the way without falling.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he turned completely to look at Sasuke, and in the process caused his socked feet to slip.

It happened in a matter of seconds. The blonde's feet caused him to fall onto his back, at the same time knocking over Sasuke's feet. The Uchiha lost support in his arms and fell against the blonde's chest.

"Oof!" Naruto breathed.

Blinking, he glanced up to see Sasuke above him, pushing himself up with his hands on either side of Naruto's head. A blushed fought its way onto Naruto's cheeks as he locked gazes with the Uchiha.

Naruto was staring to love and hate Sasuke's eyes. It was impossible not to like them; they were so dark and fathomless, full of intensity and emotions. After spending so much time with him, Naruto had learned that it was Sasuke's eyes that carried and showed how he felt. Naruto couldn't help but adore the deep ebony hue, and felt that he could stare at them forever. But, at the same time, Naruto couldn't help but hate Sasuke's eyes as well. In situations such as this, they never betrayed their owner; deciding to be as expressionless as humanly possible. Not only that, but they were so penetrating, as if staring into his soul, and Naruto couldn't handle that sometimes.

This was one of those 'sometimes.' Naruto was staring up at Sasuke, the onyx orbs gazing directly at him with so much intensity he could feel his heart begin to race. And that was just from his eyes. Counting the position they were in, and how warm Sasuke felt against his body, Naruto's heartbeat was off the Richter scale. And the blush on his cheeks was radiating enough heat to parry with the sun.

Sasuke hadn't counted on it ever going so perfectly. He was glad for the blonde's clumsiness and was having a slight victory dance inside his head. As he stared down at the blonde, he made a point to not lose control of his emotions. As much as he wanted to, he knew Naruto wouldn't be exactly thrilled if he jumped him unexpectedly. But it was a hard thing to keep within him. Especially since the blonde looked so cute with that blush painting his cheeks and azure eyes wide with conflicting emotions. Sasuke wondered what he was thinking; his eyes gave away confusion and desire, but what thoughts were actually passing through his mind? He'd been noticing lately that Naruto was always caught between uncertainty and longing; two emotions he knew to be very powerful and horrendous, for he'd experienced them himself when he'd first started liking Naruto.

He paused as that thought sunk in. If Naruto was feeling confusion and desire then, based on what he'd been throw, did that mean Naruto was staring to like him too? Sasuke couldn't help but feel elated at that possibility. It would be just perfect if Naruto liked him back. But, as he thought about that, he considered what would happen because of Neji's actions from the night before. Though Naruto wouldn't admit it, for reasons Sasuke couldn't understand, Neji had definitely kissed him at some point during the evening. And, because Naruto wouldn't say anything about it proved the blonde was still thinking about what had happened and that wasn't any good for Sasuke. Naruto thinking about sharing a kiss with Neji meant he was contemplating if Neji was worth dating, and Sasuke would just about die if the blonde decided Neji was worth it.

Well, then it's about time I change things around, isn't it? Let's make Naruto start thinking about me, and forget all about that damn Hyuuga.

Naruto felt himself shiver as Sasuke shifted slightly, his knee sliding between his legs and his face leaning closer. The blonde swallowed hard, keeping himself in control, trying to ignore the sudden heat pooling in his stomach. He tried to pry his gaze away from the trenchant orbs that were digging into his very being, but no matter how much he wanted to, his eyes betrayed him and kept him glued like magnets. His heart began to race furiously, the pounding ringing loudly in his eardrums, as Sasuke continued to lean forward, his dark eyes becoming all the more captivating.

Naruto knew what Sasuke was going to do; it had happened so many times lately that he couldn't not know what was going on. But even though he knew, he was no more prepared for it than if had Sasuke bluntly spelled it out for him. This whole kissing thing was new to him. These feelings were new to him. And they scared him. He wasn't supposed to enjoy kissing a guy. He wasn't supposed to get feelings about wanting to kiss a guy more. It was something he'd never had to deal with before, but now…now, everything was going haywire, leaving his control and he had no idea what to do about it.

Sasuke searched over the blonde's face, feeling satisfied because he could tell Naruto was thinking about what was going on and because he wasn't pushing away. He leaned his face another inch towards the blondes' keeping his cool and not giving in to the voice in his head that told him to just grab the blonde and have his way with him. He knew he had to be patient with Naruto otherwise things would go horrible wrong. Taking small steps would eventually get him to his goal, but Sasuke had never been much of a patient person. But, for Naruto, he could try to be. For getting a kiss, he would be.

Naruto felt another shiver flow through him as Sasuke brought his face as close as possible without touching; they were about an inch apart. He could feel the Uchiha's breath hot against his neck as Sasuke spoke with a slight smirk, his voice sounding unusually sexy and tempting.

"See, I knew you'd lose," he said, his eyes dancing dangerously.

And as Sasuke lowered his face, closing the space between them and capturing the blonde's lips in his own, Naruto couldn't help but think that he'd lost more than just the game.