A/N: This is the third time I have rewritten (and uploaded) this story. Thank you for the loyal followers I've had for years and my apologies for the year gaps between updates, being an adult with responsibilities has taken up most of my time which I think is understandable! The credit for the basis of this story was from an author on here 10+ years ago who unfortunately passed away. This one's for you, friend.

My Tutor Friend

Chapter One

"Naruto…"

I wonder if I should call that girl back. I mean, she was pretty cute but her personality, jeeze… Meet Naruto Uzumaki. The blonde, bumbling and womanizing idiot of Konoha College. His heart is always in the right place, but unfortunately other parts seem to land him in uncomfortable situations, usually the following morning.

"Naruto…"

Talk about a snooze fest, plus she was waayyy too clingy. Hmm, maybe I should just delete her number and pretend it never happened. It's not like I'll ever see her again so hopefully she'll just forget I exist. Deep in thought, head resting in the palm of his hand, he begins to doodle in the corner of his text book. Ah, she was a bad kisser too, come to think of it…

Something slams onto the desk in front of him, causing Naruto to clutch his chest and nearly fall out of his chair. This was also followed by, what most would describe as, a girlish scream. The rest of the class chuckles under their breath.

"What the hell are you playing at?! Jesus, I almost had a damn heart attack, man!" Still clutching his chest, he spins around in his chair and scowls at the rest of the class. "Listen here, you'd scream too if something scared the ever living shit out of you! Bunch of arseholes." He turns his head back to the culprit who slammed the book down in front of him, ready to give him the dressing down of a lifetime when he notices the title. The Great Gatsby? What the… Ah, shit. He takes a shallow breath and looks up, greeted by the one-eyed stare of his English teacher Kakashi Hatake.

Naruto, now moving his hand from clutching his chest to the back of his head to scratch a really annoying and convenient itch, gives Kakashi an awkward smile. He breathes in quite sharpish then clears his throat, hoping to disguise the fact his face is now turning a lovely shade of magenta. "Yes, Sensei?"

Kakashi looks at Naruto with a blank expression in his eye, leaning forward on the desk, with his face inches away from Naruto's. "Do you care to tell the class what you're daydreaming about, Mr. Uzumaki, as it seems that is far more interesting than what we are learning about today." Naruto swallows, hard. Oh, fuck! He opens his mouth, but no words come out. Kakashi raises an eyebrow. "No? I didn't think so." He lifts up one hand and places his index finger on the cover of the book looming in front of Naruto. "Now, would you please like to explain to me, and the rest of the class, what happens next in the book I imagine you read cover to cover the holidays, Naruto? I've heard you take your education very seriously."

Droplets of sweat begin to bead down the blondes' face, his cheeks beginning to shift from their lovely shade of magenta to something with more of a deep purplish hue. Think of something, quick, anything! "Well they, urm, they live in two eggs, or-or something. Weird place to live, if you ask me, in an egg and all that…" He grins at Kakashi, who just rolls his eye.

"This is the second week back after the summer holidays and you've only read the first page?"

Naruto beams awkwardly in response.

"Please read at least some of the book before our next lesson, Naruto!" Kakashi calls down the corridor to him.

Naruto turns and gives Kakashi the thumbs up, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Yeah, sure Sensei I'll get right on it."

He carries on walking down the corridor to his next lesson with his bag slung over one shoulder whilst whistling casually to himself. He notices a few of the girls in his year huddled together whispering. Man, some of these girls are fine. He catches one of the girls' eye and winks at her. She blushes suddenly and quickly turns her head away, giggling, and continuing to whisper between her friends. Naruto smiles to himself. I'll have to come back for her number later. I just hope she's not as weird as the one from last night.

He reaches his next class and enters, for once being one of the first to arrive. But that's okay, because it's art. A class Naruto normally enjoys the most as it is a chance for him to be himself as much as he likes, so long as it comes under 'artistic interpretation'. He ambles over to his seat and starts to unpack his bag, getting his paints and canvas set up for the lesson which is taught by Anko Mitarashi. She tends to leave the class to do as they like so long as they're working but woe betide if you got on the wrong side of her. You'll be unsurprised to know that was a lesson Naruto learned the hard way. The topic of today's lesson, already scrawled on the white board, is about different types of emotions and how they are expressed through art. Naruto rolls his eyes. Wicked. I hope I don't get given a lame one like 'love' or something.

Too engrossed in trying to balance a pencil on the end of his finger whilst leaning back in his chair, Naruto barely notices that most of the class has arrived and the lesson has begun. Anko's obnoxiously loud voice startles him causing him to drop his pencil and nearly fall backwards out of his chair simultaneously. "Each of you will pick a slip of paper out of this box and whichever emotion you've chosen is the one you have to paint." As the box comes Naruto's way he sticks his hand in and rummages around. C'mon, be something cool, like drunk! Wait, that's not an emotion… He grabs a slip of paper, looks at it and groans. Love it. Anko raises an eyebrow."What're you groaning for, Naruto? Let's see what you've got… Ah, pain! There's so many things you could do to express that particular emotion I don't know why you're complaining!" She pats him on the shoulder. "I look forward to seeing what you come up with, kid."

Half an hour passes by and after being sat slumped in his chair staring aimlessly at his blank canvas, he finds some form of motivation. He rummages around in his pocket for his phone and ear buds, shoving them in and finding an appropriate playlist. Let's fucking do this!

Just as our blonde hero begins to get into the 'groove' of his music choices rather than his art, he barely hears the beginnings of a commotion over his music. Naruto pokes his head around the side of his still blank canvas and looks puzzled at the person stood in the doorway. Where the hell has he been this time? I thought he was already here. Anko, feet up on the desk eating a packet of sweets, gestures at the man who has now moved closer to her desk. "If you're going to be late, Gaara, can you at least close the door behind you? We can't seem to afford heating in this place and you're letting all the warm air out."

"Fine." Rather than turning around and closing the door like a normal human, Gaara sticks his foot out behind him and boots the door shut. He gives a sarcastic smile. "Better?"

"Much!" Anko exclaims, examining a lemon sherbet. "Fancy telling me why you're late?"

Gaara, sauntering over to the window next to his sensei's desk, perches himself on the ledge. "Not especially." He slings his bag on the floor and stretches. "Fancy telling me why you're up my arse all the time? Or is it because you've jacked in smoking? Too cool to hang out with the 'youths' anymore?"

Anko chuckles to herself, grabs a spare paint brush from a pot on her table and throws it at Gaara. "Ah shut up, kid. If you're not going to do the work don't be a nuisance."

Naruto, trying to get Gaara's attention by 'subtly' making weird head movements, gives up and sighs loudly. "Jeeze Gaara, are you blind?"

The red head turns his head to Naruto and nods in acknowledgement. "No, I just needed a minute without you chelping in my ear." He practically glides between all the desks to get to the blondes work space, the chains on his trousers jingling with each movement. He grabs an empty chair from the edge of the classroom and plonks it next to Naruto, sitting on it backwards, arms resting on the 'back' of the chair. "Sorry man, you know I'm only pulling your leg." He glances at Naruto's empty canvas. "Working hard, I see?"

Naruto rolls his eyes. "Harder than you! At least I showed up. Where have you been, man?" He raises a hand. "Actually, I don't know why I ask, you were probably smoking your millionth cigarette of the day, right? Because those things are so good for you…"

Gaara slaps Naruto's hand away. "No, actually. Your Aunt turned up at reception because she's been trying to get hold of you all day. She saw me and asked if I knew where you were, she thinks you're dead in a ditch somewhere." He raises an eyebrow. "I assume, because I know you so well, you either turned your phone off completely or you've put it on airplane mode to ensure you don't get any more messages from that girl you went home with last night?" Naruto's eyes widen and he fumbles around in his pocket for his phone. Ah shit, she's going to kill me when I get home. Gaara, getting his pouch of tobacco out of his jacket pocket, begins to get all his cigarette paraphernalia out to roll a new batch. "She also asked if I wanted to come round for dinner and if lasagne was alright."

Ignoring Gaara, Naruto turns off airplane mode on his phone to be greeted with what he would describe as thousands of messages from his Aunt (as well as the girl he's decided to ghost; why aren't you answering me, Naruto? I think last night was something really special…). He shudders. Lord above, what was I thinking?

"I've got to go. I'd rather get the bollocking from my Aunt over and done with." Naruto begins to put all his equipment in his bag quickly, calling over to his sensei at the same time. "Hey, Anko, I've gotta go. Family emergency." Not looking up from her laptop, engrossed in some article she's found, Anko gives Naruto the thumbs up. He stands, slinging his bag over his back. "Guess I'll see you for dinner tonight then, Gaara?"

Licking the paper from his fifth newly rolled cigarette, he nods. "You bet. Sometimes I feel like your Aunt likes me more than you, she makes extra effort for me…" Naruto boots his chair, and gives him the finger.

"I'll see you tonight, if she's not buried me under the patio."