A/N: In case you guys haven't noticed, I'm slowly going through what all of the characters are wearing. Yea. I have this thing about what they wear and I didn't want to write it all at once, cause that tends to clog the flow of the chapter. So yea... so pretty much once I explain a character's clothes that's pretty much what they wear for the rest of the story. Yep.
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to all my reviewers so far, because all their reviews really helped me and made me happy. Thanks guys!
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Enjoy
My Countdown Starts Here
xxxx
"Hey, Lee! Naruto, Shikamaru," Tenten said running up to them as they entered the school courtyard. "Eh... hey, Tenten," Lee said uncertainly. The other two nodded their greeting. "So did you do those notes for me?"
Lee blinked blankly. "You know for Science..." "Oh, oh! Yea, right, I did." Tenten smiled and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Lee, you're a pal!" Lee smiled weakly and looked at his watch. "Oh, look at the time, we should go in before we're late!"
Tenten watched as he marched past, going into the building stiffly. "Ne, is there something wrong with Lee?" Tenten asked his two best friends. Shikamaru shrugged and Naruto scratched his head. "No, he was just acting normal until you came over..." Tenten looked back to where he'd gone and frowned thoughtfully.
"Ok... um, yea, he's right, let's go in," she said finally, feeling a bit uneasy.
xxxx
All during Literature Tenten tried talking to Lee, which ended up with nothing more than a few awkward answers.
During Science she'd tried to get him to help her with one of the questions. He merely explained it to her and went back to his own work.
In History class it wasn't that much better. He kept shooting uncertain glances at her and then at Kakashi and couldn't help fidgeting slightly. Everytime Tenten turned to him to ask him what was wrong he just turned and went scribbling stuff into his notebook.
In Math class Tenten finally asked Neji if he knew. He merely told her that it was a matter between her and Lee, and went back to work with a warning glance from Asuma.
By the end of Math class, Tenten decided that she might just know what was up and had to talk to her round eyed friend privately after classes.
She would have attempted it at lunch if weren't for them all eating inside, on account of it still being soggy outside from yesterday's storm. They combined two tables so that they could all sit together, except Tenten's problem was Lee was sitting all the way on the other side of the enlonged table.
"Ok, now I'm kinda getting annoyed," Tenten muttered, putting down her sandwich and glaring at it hatefully. "Whatcha say, Ten-chan?" Ino asked from next to her. "Nothing," Tenten said boredly, slumping against the table.
xxxx
"Wait up, Lee!" Tenten called. Tenten caught her breath for a second and tugged at Lee's sleeve. "I need to talk to you," she said in a hush-hush voice. Lee looked at his friends and told them to wait up for him as she dragged them way a few feet.
"Listen. I'm guessing from the awkwardness of all day between us that you were the one who... er... saw yesterday." Lee nodded, looking at his feet as he shifted from one to the other. "Well, listen, I just want to tell you that everything will be explained at my house tonight. I'm going to tell everyone, so, I hope this weird cloud will lift up. You're my friend, Lee, I like hanging out with you and all," Tenten said slowly, looking Lee in the eye.
Lee smiled and was glad she was going to be honest. "Alright, Tenten, I was just kind of... confused. And I didn't tell anyone, in case you were wondering." Tenten smiled back and gave him a quick hug. "You're a good friend, Lee. And thanks for getting my wallet for me. Now I have a detention to go to..." Lee gave her a look and they both burst out laughing. "See ya tonight!" Tenten shouted, running back to the school grounds.
Lee walked back to his friends with a smile and felt a bit better. Now that that was out of the way, Lee could finally start to accept what he saw. Come to think of it, it wasn't really a big deal anyway...
xxxxx
It didn't take them that long to get to the Sabaku house and Gaara answered the door. He looked at them and raised an... um, eyebrow? "You're...early..." Naruto nodded happily walking past Gaara into the house. "Awesome new pants, Gaara," Naruto commented, looking him up and down.
The red head was wearing a pair of baggy pants with many pockets and chains hanging off it. His leather belt was studded and he had on a plain crimson T shirt over long sleeved fishnets. On his wrists he wore a shitload of red and black jelly bracelets. Doc Martins with red laces were his current and favorite footwear. Temari peaked over at them from over the lazy boy.
"Yea, I took him shopping today after lessons. I thought since this is the first time in years he's been around other people he should look nice," Temari said sarcastically, looking her brother over. Lee grinned at the silent boy and patted him on the back.
"You look nice, Gaara-kun. I'm sure you'll have fun tonight," Lee said in his enthusiastic voice. Gaara grinned slightly at him, and walked into the living room, jumping onto the couch. "Hn, you're not early anymore..."
Shikamaru looked at the digital clock on the coffee table and swore under his breath. "Ne, Kankuro should really give up on his time fixation. With you guys he'll always be disappointed." Temari said, not taking her eyes off the TV.
Naruto growled. "No, that's not fair! We were early!" Temari grinned at him sadistically. "And you stopped to talk to us, which made you late. Life's unfair kid." Naruto pouted and made his way to the basement. Shikamaru followed.
"Ne, Temari-chan, tell us when it's 6:00, ok? We have to be at Tenten's around 6:15." Temari nodded and waved him off, her eyes on the television. "Ouch," she hissed under her breath. "That's gotta hurt..." Ninja shows were so fun to watch. 'Ha, ha. Violence.. 3.'
xxxx
Kankuro glared with his drum sticks in his hand. "You drive yourself crazy over time, Kankuro, you might as well just give up on it," Shikamaru reasoned, picking up his lime green bass and plucking a few chords.
Lee switched on the microphones and amps, fliddling with them before picking up his own red and white electric guitar. "Ah, Black Bane, time for some quality time with your family," Naruto said affectionately, picking up his black and white guitar from its stand. Kankuro rolled his eyes at Naruto's weirdness.
"Before you start, I gotta know. Your friends aren't snobs or anything, right?" Kankuro asked leaning on his drum set. Lee frowned, playing a few strings experimentally. "No, they're all really nice people." "Except, Sasuke-teme," Naruto said as he tuned Bane.
"And Ino is a bit... troublesome. She's such a big mouthed woman. Reminds me of my mom..." Shikamaru said as he warmed up. "Ne, Sasuke's mostly quiet, and Ino is nice, just... outspoken..." Lee said, readjusting the mic again.
Kankuro nodded, lightly tapping one stick against the bass drum. "Alright, as long as none of them starts something... Now want to start off with Underfire? Or maybe that new song?" "Do we have a name for that yet?" Naruto asked strumming all six strings at once.
Lee grunted. "Nah, you know how I am with names... Let's start with something a little slower then Underfire..." Lee answered, shifting in front of the mic.
"How 'bout Set Phasers To Stun, or maybe A Decade Under The Influence?" Shikamaru put in. Lee nodded and Naruto just adjusted his guitar strap.
"Ok, Phasers it is," Kankuro said, already starting to take position. Naruto immediately started up, Lee following with him. "Say yes, say yes, say yes, say yes...I'm sorry it took me so long, I'm sorry it took me so long"
xxxx
Naruto rang the doorbell, resisting the urge to do it again. "Oh, hi! You're right on time!" Tenten said, opening the door to let them in. Temari entered first, smiling as she saw the younger teens in the living room.
She quickly took off her tight dark hoodie and threw it on a chair. Lee came in next and stared at her lime green tank top. It had a white time bomb with the fuse lit with CDD in yellow on the bomb. "Temari, what are you wearing?" Shikamaru said, eying her with a cocked eyebrow.
Besides her eye catching tank, she was wearing boy cut jean shorts, fish net knee highs, checkered black and white Vans and many long chain-link necklaces. Her hair was short, short enough for little kids with their mothers in the mall would call her a boy, much to her annoyance. Though in reality it really didn't even make her look boyish, pretty sexy actually. It was layered and had two green streaks in her sweeping bangs. The hair was a little longer around her ears and she was wearing a tan headband today.
Lee stared at Temari in disbelief and blushed when he realized that everyone was already there and watching. "Hey, what does CCD stand for?" Kiba asked from his spot on the floor next to Shino. Temari grinned mischieviously and gave Lee a wink. Kankuro rolled his eyes, tapping his brown Vans clad foot. Gaara just stood stiffly next to Lee staring around the room.
"It stands for CountDown to Disaster. They're a relatively new local band. They're pretty good," Temari answered sweetly. Kiba looked unimpressed and grabbed at the bag of chips on the piano bench near by. "Oh."
Sakura looked thoughtful and Ino frowned. "Funny, I haven't heard of them before..." she commented tapping her chin. Kankuro looked at her impatiently. "Like she said, they're relatively new. They've only ever played in public a few times with their own music. Lee, are you gonna introduce us or not?" Lee flushed and waved his hands.
"Oh, sorry. Guys these are our close friends. They're all siblings. The oldest is Temari," when he pointed at her she smirked and waved. "Gaara is the youngest," The red head just stared. "And Kankuro is the middle child. We actually went to school with Kankuro at NAMA. We once all had a project together and went over his house and ever since we've been great friends!" Kankuro grinned slightly and crossed his arms.
He was wearing a grey wifebeater that showed his many tatoos that decorated his arms. The tatoos all ran into each other to make it look rather solid, instead of the many different things it was. His jeans were dark and baggy,ripped in a few places, and held up with a black leather belt. His wrists had heavy leather cuffs on it, and the only other accessory was a shark tooth necklace, like something a surfer would wear. His hair was thick and messy, bangs often getting in his eyes.
"Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, meet my friends. That's Sakura," He started pointing them out one by one. "Ino, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Chouji, Neji, and Tenten." Tenten smiled friendily at them and motioned for them to sit.
Gaara ended up sitting next to Sakura and she gave him a pretty smile that he just blinked at. Temari looked happily around and started analyzing them all. Kankuro started unconsciously tapping a beat into the carpet and Naruto watched him in amusement.
Tenten took a deep breath and stood up in front of them. She looked nervous and she immediately had their full attention.
"Alright, the moment of truth. I've been wondering if I should tell you guys, but I decided after an, um," she glanced at Lee, who smiled at her encouragingly, "incident on Thursday that I should. I just hope you guys don't... you know, make a big deal out of it..."
She took an other deep breath and looked determinely around the room at the clueless group. "I've been... sorta, seeing Kakashi..." she said, uncertain at how she broke it to them. They all stared at her increduously. Except for Lee and the Sabaku sibs.
Kiba was the first to break through his shock. "Kakashi-sensei!" he said in a high pitched voice. Tenten nodded solemnly, and Kiba looked confused. Hinata reached over and grabbed his arm. They shared a look, and Kiba seemed to relax. "How old is he anyway?" Naruto asked curiously. Tenten blushed. "He's only six years older. 22..."
Temari looked at the bun girl and grinned. "Alright! I'm pretty impressed! Seducing a teacher. Nice!" she said, looking very serious. Tenten grinned and laughed slightly. "Thanks." Naruto 's face lit up and he grinned."So you've seen him without his mask on?"
The Konoha crew leaned in. "What's he hiding?" Naruto whispered loudly. Tenten laughed and waved them off. "Nothing but a seriously gorgeous face. Those rumors of buck teeth and fat lips were totally off!" Her laughing increased and she was on her back laughing hysterically. Kankuro looked at her like she was crazy.
"So...so," Tenten tried talking as she calmed down. "What do you guys think?" she looked serious again and everyone looked thoughtful. "Well... if he ever tries to do anything you don't want, I'll help beat him up!" Ino said evilly, feeling protective of her friend. Sakura nodded too, looking equally as evil.
'The wrath of a group of women... Kakashi wouldn't have a chance...' Shikamaru thought watching the two girl mentally picturing the potential torture of their History teacher. Tenten chuckled. "Alright, I'll remember that!" Kiba grunted and she turned to him. "I'm fine with it. Love is... love..." Shino and Hinata nodded with him.
Neji and Sasuke just 'hned' in responce to her questioning gaze. Naruto shrugged and looked bored, and Shikamaru stared back lazily. "As long as you're happy, Ten-chan," Lee said with a smile. Tenten smiled, feeling a great weight coming off her chest.
"Oh, wow, that's a relief. I guess I was just thinking of the worst class scenrio after all." She let out a big breath. Naruto looked at her curiously. "Like what?" Tenten sweat dropped and flushed. "Well, at first the image of pitchforks and torches came to mind..." A second to imagined the scene came before the room bursted out laughing.
Lee looked around, feeling really happy and comfortable being surrounded by his friends. "Ne, do you think that since Ten-chan gave us one of her secrets, maybe we should give one of our own to make it even?" Lee asked, always being the fair one. Naruto nodded happily and the others followed suit in agreement.
"Hmm, since you suggested it, why don't you start," Temari said playfully, grinning as him in mischief. Everyone began to stare at Lee and he started to flush at the attention. "Ummm, o-ok..." he looked thoughtful for a few moments, seeing the glance Naruto sent him, winking quickly to reassure him. "Um, ok... well..." Lee froze and tuned cherry red.
"Go on..." Tenten said quietly in a coaxing voice. Lee swallowed and nodded slightly. "Ok, I'm... bi..." Lee held his breath and bit his lip, waiting for their reaction. Kiba looked at him questioningly. "Ne, how can you tell if you're bi or gay?" he asked, earning a jab in the side by Hinata.
She gave him a disapproving look and turned to Lee with an accepting smile. Lee turned pink and scratched the back of his neck trying to come up with an answer. "Because," Temari spoke out in a bored tone. "He used to go out with me." Everyone blinked and Kiba looked beyond shocked.
"You," he pointed at Lee, "Used to go out with her?" he pointed at Temari, blushing slightly as she looked at him with a slight frown. Lee looked uncertain. "Yea... we actually only broke up a few weeks ago..." Sasuke smirked from where he was sitting on the ground. "Broke up or got dumped?" he said arrogantly. Temari glared at him. 'And to think I thought he was hot... Crappy personality... He's not getting anyone anytime soon...'
"Broke up, as in the idea was mutual." Temari answered before Lee could, giving the Uchiha a dirty look. Temari leaned over and hugged Lee's head to her chest. "He was quite the catch actually," she said with a smirk, rubbing her cheek against his soft hair. Lee blushed.
Naruto waved his arms and looked at them in irritatiom. "Okay, my turn!" Naruto grinned slightly at the attention before continuing. "Okay, one, I am also bi, yes, I'm sure. And two," he grabbed Shika's arm and hugged it happily, loving the stunned silence. "I'm with Shika." Their was a silence.
"I knew you couldn't be completely straight, but I'm actually a little surprised about Shikamaru..." Ino muttered. Naruto pouted and mock glared at herl "Well, actually, what with his 'troublesome women...' crap since childhood, it does make a bit of sense..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and made Naruto let go of his arm.
One look from the blond and Shikamaru sighed, dragging the smaller one into his lap. "Aw, how cute!" the girls, excluding the shyly blushing Hinata, cooed all together. The boys rolled their eyes at the girls' reaction.
"You next, Shikamaru," Kiba said, elbow to knee, cheek to palm. Shikamaru shifted slightly and glared from where his head sat ontop of Naru's. "I think Naruto already gave away two of my secrets to you guys."
Sasuke glared and crossed his arms. "We're all doing this. Now cough up a damn secret, Nara." Shikamaru matched his glare and didn't back down. Sakura looked nervously between them, waving her hands. "Ne, ne, I think Shikamaru has a point. That would be three secrets out. I mean that doesn't seem so fair..." Sasuke grunted and looked away with a scowl.
The secrets after that were much less interesting, most being actually pretty obvious and/or boring. After that they decided to play truth or dare. The game was pretty quick, ending abruptly when Ino refused Naruto's dare of eating cold ramen while making fake farting sounds.
"You're still just as immature after all these year, Naruto!" Ino yelled angrily, her arms crossed over her chest in annoyance. Naruto simply sat in Shika's lap, trying hard to cover up his laughter behind his hands. Ino huffed and yelled for spin the bottle. "That's a game I don't mind doing," Ino muttered under her breath, looking at Sasuke's stoic figure.
Tenten came back from the kitchen with an empty ketchup bottle and set it in the middle of the circle they'd formed. "Who wants to go first?" Tenten asked, looking around at everyone. Sakura looked around the circle at the unresponsive faces and sighed, slowly raising her hand. Tenten grinned and gestured at the bottle.
Sakura spinned the bottle, holding her breath as it slowed down. Slowly it past Sasuke, much to her disappointment, and landed on the yawning Kankuro. When she stared up at him he looked down and raised an eyebrow. "Ten seconds at the very least," Tenten said happily, giggling as Sakura leaned over shyly with her eyes closed.
Kankuro rolled his eyes and leaned in giving just a little pressure. Ino started the counting and soon everyone was counting along loudly, laughter in their voices. "Ten!" Sakura quickly jerked back and scratched her nose like nothing had happened.
Kankuro grunted and spinned the bottle rather harshly. It spinned rapidly and finally stopped, pointing at his older sister. Kankuro winced and Temari's eye twitch. Kankuro sighed and they both met half way, both jerking back before the word ten escaped everyone's mouth. Kankuro quickly glared at the bottle, wiping his lips roughly.
Temari's spin was more controlled and it stopped shortly. Landing on her cheerful ex-boyfriend. Lee stared at it and blinked slowly. He looked up to see a smirking Temari leaning in very close. He blushed slightly and met her lips softly. Temari smiled into the kiss and pulled back slowly when the time was up. "Brings back memories," she said cheerfully, sitting back in her spot, crossing her legs to get more comfortable.
Lee smiled at her warmly and spinned the bottle. He watched it spin round and round, almost hypnotic in a way. When it finally stopped it took a second for him to comprehend and was surprised when a sudden pair of lips were on his. He blushed in embarassment and blinked his eyes closed. When ten seconds were up Lee blinked dazedly.
He looked across from him and saw Neji spin the bottle blankly. It landed on Naruto, who was forced off Shika's lap, for the sake of not getting confused during the game. Both boys leaned in emotionlessly, feeling no embarassment or shyness, not taking it seriously at all.
What happened next was an upset. Naruto glared at the bottle and squinted. "Um, it's more shifted toward Shino! Come on Shino..." He started leaning toward Shino, but Temari's hand pushed him back.
"It's clearly pointing at Sasuke-san. Don't be a big baby, Naru-chan" Temari said mockingly. Naruto growled and glared at her hatefully. "I'm NOT kissing that bastard!" Sasuke sneered and laughed coldly at him. "What's wrong, baka, are you scared at 'Big Bad' Sasuke?"
"Urusai, Teme! I'm not afraid, I just hate you too much to lower myself to kissing you for the sake of some stupid game!" Sasuke just rolled his eyes and grabbed a fistful of the blond's shirt, making him fall onto his lips. It happened only a second before Naruto pushed him harshly and sent him a glare full of some serious killer intent.
Tenten looked between them and became very nervous. "Your turn, Sasuke," Lee quickly said, handing him the bottle, trying to break the tense cloud. Naruto huffed, turning away, and put his forehead on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Hn," Sasuke, um, said? as he spinned the bottle.
It settled on Hinata, who blushed and sighed. That kiss was quick and simple. Hinata nervously touched the bottle a moment hesitantly before spinning it weakly. It spun just once before slowing and stopping on Shikamaru. Hinata looked disappointed, giving a quick glance to Kiba, and leaned over to the lazy Shikamaru.
Shikamaru's spin didn't even go around once before stopping on Chouji. Shikamaru blinked lazily, and leaned in. With much surprise, Chouji's spin landed on Ino, who looked a cross between upset and fake happy, just so she didnt hurt Chouji's feelings.
It wasn't even that he was really... chubby anymore, he was pretty much average now. He was actually kind of cute with his messy, thick light brown hair. He didn't actually dress bad either. Just a lime green T shirt over a black long sleeved shirt and Khaki pants. Pretty simple and clean. It was just, Ino always had him down as a brother since childhood.
For the sake of the game she leaned in, recieving a kiss that was kinda awkward, like getting a kiss from your real brother. Probably alot like the kiss Temari and Kankuro had. Ino sighed and spun the bottle, crossing her fingers for Sasuke.
Unforunately for her today was just not her day. It landed on Hinata and Ino sighed, seeing her chance for her kiss from Sasuke slim down even more. Hinata spun the bottle, landing on Kiba this time. Kiba smiled slightly at her, turning a rare light pink and scratching his nose.
Hinata smiled at him and leaned into him for the kiss. Kiba smiled dumbly when the kiss ended and spinned the bottle absently. Much to Kiba's horror and the two older Sabakus' amusement you could guess who it pointed at.
The red head looked annoyed, while Kiba had a half defeated, half disdainful expression on his face. The kiss lasted less than ten seconds, but Gaara glared at Tenten when she started to protest, sufficiently shutting her up.
Gaara flicked the bottle with his finger and it shifted only slightly to point at Sakura. Sakura sighed and looked him over. Kind of cute, in a...dark kind of way. Darker and more dramatic than Sasuke in her opinion.
Sakura blushed into the kiss and pulled away timidly, grabbing the bottle without looking at the other. She spinned it and it landed on Shino, she leaned in tiredly, already over this game. Shino's spin resulted with a kiss from Temari.
A nice little kiss, Temari told herself mentally as she spinned the bottle, smiling at the silent, mysterious boy. It landed on Naruto, which earned a gagging sound from the blond boy, which she muffled with her lips. Naruto's spin landed on Tenten, and that was decidedly the last of Spin the Bottle.
"So what would you guys rather have, Chinese or pizza?" Tenten asked picking up the phone from the kitchen. Five calls of Chinese and seven of pizza came back to her. "Okay, how about three medium pizzas and you can tell me what Chinese you want," Tenten called back, already dialing the number for pizza.
"I want mushroom pizza," Ino called out loudly. "How about meatlovers!" Chouji's voice followed. Tenten looked back into room, the phone pressed against her chest. "Any other requests?" she asked. The others shook their heads and Tenten went back to talking to the pizza person on the phone.
"Yes, three mediums, one mushroom, one meatlovers and one plain. Thanks. Bye." Tenten hung up, turning to her friends. "So how about you write down your orders for Chinese and I'll call once you're done.Now, how about a movie?"
Naruto looked up and tilted his head in confusion. "I thought we couldn't agree on one." Tenten nodded and took out two dvd cases. "Yea, so I decided for you guys. So which one first, Bench Warmers or The Ringer?" Kiba perked up, hearing the choices and looked contemplative. The others just said whichever, not really caring at the moment.
By the time all the food got there they were well into the first movie, The Ringer. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the movie and eating contently. Lee was curled up on the couch, squished next to Gaara, Naruto and Shikamaru. On the two arm chairs were Kiba and Shino. Temari relaxed happily on the lazy boy. Hinata and Tenten sat together on the piano bench. Neji, Kankuro and Sakura sat leaning against the couch. Ino, Sasuke and Chouji sat on the floor next to the coffee table of food.
By the middle of The Bench Warmers everyone was done eating and were sipping drinks.
As the credits rolled for The Bench Warmers, Sakura suddenly giggled. She was turned around looking at the boys on the couch. Temari looked over and smiled. "What's up?" Kiba asked looking at the four on the couch.
"Lee-kun is asleep," Sakura said in a hushed voice, looking warmly at the raven haired boy. Temari smiled in the same matter at Lee before looking down at Sakura. From her red Chinese-style top and fake pink pearl necklace, white fingerless elbow length gloves and pink power beads, and faded jean skirt to her pink low chucks.
Temari scowled as she noted the short, shiny pink hair. "Don't even think about it, pinkie," Temari said seriously, frowning as the pink head looked offended. "Excuse me?" she said with a bit of anger in her voice. Temari leaned back into the lazy boy and relaxed a bit.
"You don't have a chance with Lee. You're not his type." Sakura narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue. "Not his type? Yea, so what is his type?" The others were getting interested now. Kankuro groaned and gave the girl an exasperated look. "Oh, god, here it goes. The self-acclaimed, Rock Lee expert."
Sakura snickered at the title and Temari simply grinned. "As a matter of fact. His type is not you. I mean you seem like a really nice girl. Sweet, innocent, and playful. Really nice qualities for someone else's girlfriend." Temari paused to look at Lee. "Isn't he cute. He looks just like a kitten when he's asleep..." Gaara looked down at his shoulder where Lee's head had fallen when he'd drifted to sleep. "Lee... feline..."
"So, what are the qualities for Lee's dream girl or boy?" Sakura asked curiously, her anger barely there anymore, replaced with curiousity. Temari's sharp eyes snapped back to her.
"He needs someone... well first of all, he likes to be the one dragging the other around, not the other way around. See you seem the type who would do that. It would conflict. And besides that he doesn't want to be worn on the shoulder like some accessory. He doesn't want to be a trophy.
He doesn't really know all of this, but I know him well enough to see the truth... Sometimes others can see something about you that you don't..." Temari sipped at her soda, enjoying the interested attention she was getting from all of them, besides her brothers, Naruto and Shikamaru, that is...
"Anyway, his type is pretty independent, and despite everything, that person tends to sometimes hurt him," Temari looked a bit sad but smiled, "Lee's forgiving to a point. He unconsciously picks the ones that need him the most. The one who needs him to bring a bit of color and cheer to their lives. He's destined to fall in love with a cynical, cold person, who needs him to soften them and make them smile."
Temari sighed dramatically and looked at Lee affectionately. "Hopefully he'll be able to do that in time before that cold bastard breaks in his heart." She stopped there, letting them all take in her explanation, inwardly patting her back at her skill of attention grabbing and keeping. What can she say, it's an art!
"Mmm," Lee suddenly mumbled in his sleep, shifting into the sofa cushions. He was dreamily smiling. "You have... such a beautiful smile..." he muttered softly. Temari cracked a smile and repressed the urge to squeal at his cuteness.
"Besides," Temari finally spoke up again, launching herself at Lee, effectively waking him. "I'm rooting for him getting a boyfriend soon. Ever see two sexy guys make out? Hot." Temari said with a giggle reserved for use of only yaoi fangirls.
Sakura sweat dropped and turned to the others. Ino was blushing as she stared out into space and Hinata was blushing darkly looking down at her fidgetting hands. Lee blinked and groaned groggily, confused by the weight on him "Huh?"
Tenten leaned over and grinned. "Aw! Isn't he so cute when he wakes up?" she said teasingly and Lee flushed, trying to stand up, but failing. "Morning, sunshine," Temari chirped uncharacteristically, weirding Lee out just a bit.
"W-what did I miss?" he asked nervously. Kiba smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing really. Just a quick lesson on the mysterious Rock Lee..." Lee blinked and stared at him blankly. "Huh?" Kankuro snorted and rolled his eyes. "Temari decided to educate all your friends in what type of person you like and that shit." "Oh." Lee coughed and looked around at everyone. "So..."
"Let's play that drinking game Sakura mentioned," Tenten said, rescuing him from more embarassment Lee was sure. Temari's eyes lit up and she let go of Lee to turn to the brunette. "Sorry, no alcohol. Just soda." Temari pouted and retreated to her recliner. "Where's the fun in that then..."
Everyone ignored her and started forming a circle, which she joined shortly, abet reluctantly. Tenten came back with three huge bottles of different sodas. When I say huge, I really mean it. "Orange, grape and root beer," Tenten said happily before plopping down on her spot.
"Alright," Tenten began. "We're playing 'I've Never...', what you do is say "I've never -blank-", and whoever has done it takes a sip of the soda. We'll go around the circle. I'll start. I've never been on a diet." Ino, Sakura, Temari and Chouji took a sip.
"I've never giggled like a girl," Shino said deadpan. All the grils, Kiba, Sasuke and Naruto all took sip. The boys just glared at the stares. "At least we're man enough to admit it!" Kiba said loudly, before going next. "I've never worn a bra."
All the girls and Gaara took a sip. Gaara glared and Temari looked triumphant. "Sisters are evil..." he muttered as explanation. Kiba nodded knowingly and looked sympathetic. "An evil straight from hell!" the dog lover said passionately.
"I've never gone skinny dipping," Hinata said, instantly blushing. Sakura, Ino, Temari, Naruto and Lee took a sip.
Kankuro looked thoughtful, as it was his turn. "I've never... been stood up on a date." Sakura, Temari, Lee, and Chouji took a sip bitterly. Sakura smiled happily and hummed thoughtfully. "I've never...Um...I've never gotten the talk from my parents."
Neji, Hinata, Chouji, Ino Shino, Kiba, and Shikamaru all took a long sip. "I've never liked sweets," Sasuke in a monotone voice. Everyone look a sip.
"I've never kissed a teacher," Ino said. Tenten, Kankuro, Temari and Lee took a sip. Everyone stared at Lee who blushed under the scrutiny. "You've kiss a teacher and never told us!" Naruto asked in shock.
Lee looked down and tried to explain himself. "Er...yea, I never really thought-" "Who was it?" Naruto cut him off. Lee scratched the back of his head and sweat dropped. "Kimimaro-sensei..."
Naruto's eyes widened, while Kankuro and Shikamaru smirked. "Wait, wait wait!" Naruto waved his arms franticly almost hitting Shikamaru. "When and where was this!" Lee sighed and looked tired. "After class one day when I was thirteen. He asked me to stay after class and it sorta just... happened. I mean I didn't even realize it right away. Afterwards he apologized and it was sorta just forgotten..." Lee said looking like he wanted to move on.
"Hmm, your first kiss?" Temari guessed correctly with a light blush as her answer.Lee nodded slightly and looked sheepish. "After that I kinda thought about... like, my preferences... so maybe it was kind of a good thing..." "Besides the fact that Kimimaro-sensei was pretty hot?" Naruto asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Lee punched Naruto lightly in the shoulder and turned to Temari. "Your turn Tema-chan!" Temari grunted and became serious. "Surprisingly enough, I've never shoplifted." Kankuro, Naruto, Neji, Chouji and a sheepish Sakura took a sip. "It was only once!" Sakura said defensively.
"I've never gotten anything pierced," Lee said with a smile. All the girls, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Gaara sipped. The orange and grape soda were already almost gone. Kiba flinched. "My sister once decided to try piercing my ear when I was eight..." He shivered at the memory.
"I've never eaten less than three bowls of ramen at a meal," Naruto said happily. Everyone but Chouji took a sip. "I've never kept completely awake through any of my History classes..." Shikamaru said in his lazy drawl. Everyone else took a sip.
"I've never.. fallen asleep in the last six months," guess who said quietly. Everyone excluding the ones who knew him stared in shock before slowly sipping the soda. Shikamaru patted his back slightly and everyone seemed to wait for an explanation.
Temari leaned over and patted her brother's head affectionately. Gaara only seems to get irritated from the patting of any part of his body. "Six monthes ago he had a serious surgery. The medication he takes gives him insomnia and he has an additional medication to keep him functioning right despite the sleep deprivation, since sleeping pills would mess with the medication he has for after the surgery," Temari explained in a kind voice, one she rarely used.
Everyone looked a bit pitying and that just ticked Gaara off. Lee gave him a small smile and he calmed a bit. Sakura looked at him in concern and felt sad for him rather than pity. "What kind of surgery was it?" she asked quietly, knowing a bit because her parents were doctors.
"They had to remove a small tumor from my brain that could of gotten dangerous over time. It gave me a second personality with...disturbing thoughts..." "Shukaku..." Lee mumbled softly and sadly. Neji blinked and decided it was time for his turn. "I've never... gotten drunk before," he said stoicly.
Tenten, Kiba, Ino, Temari, Lee and Shikamaru took a sip. "You're worse than me when you're drunk, Tema-chan," Lee said teasingly, though truthfully. Temari grinned and downed a bit more soda than neccessary. She hiccuped and they both laughed.
"I've never been to a concert." Chouji said. Kankuro and Naruto looked bewildered. "What, how could you not! Concerts are the one thing better than ramen!" Naruto said very surprised and serious. Chouji shrugged and Naruto put on a firm expression.
"Next time we go to one, I'm dragging you along, even if I have to kidnap you." Chouji smiled in amusement at his hyper friend. "Sure." Everyone but Sakura and Sasuke took a sip. "You too Sakura-chan." Naruto said happily to the pink one, then glared over at Sasuke. "But not you, teme!" Sasuke 'hn'ed.
Tenten looked at the last bottle with soda left, then around the circle. Some of them were holding their stomachs from too much soda-consumption, while some, like Naruto and Lee, only seemed more hyper, and then there were the unaffected, Temari, Sasuke, Shino and Neji.
"Okay, looks like we only have a few rounds left." Tenten said, unaffected herself. "I've never gone without showering for more then two days." Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Kankuro and Chouji took a sip. Ino wrinkled her nose and laughed.
Kiba glared and the soda ran down his chin. "Oh, Kiba-kun!" Hinata said softly, taking out her pure white handkerchief from her tan purse. He turned a bit red and smiled in embarassment as she cleaned him up. She smiled shyly and Temari 'aw'ed at the cuteness.
"I've never cross dressed." Shino said. Naruto, Gaara and a blushing Lee took a sip. "Sister..." Gaara muttered. "Temari..." Lee muttered. Naruto grinned foxily. "Prank!" he said proudly. Kiba snickered at the three and was finally feeling the sugar kick in.
"Alright! I've never...gone out with a boy!" Ino, Temari, Sakura, Naruto and Shikamaru took the last of all the soda. "Lee, you've never...?" Ino asked looking at him curiously through her bangs. Lee blushed and sighed. "I've only ever gone out with girls..." "Oh," Ino said shrugging a bit and rubbed her stomach.
Hinata looked at the the bottle that was almost empty and sighed. "I've never dyed my hair." Temari, Kankuro, and a hesitant Sakura took a sip. Ino snicker at her pink friend, who scowled at her heatedly.
"Ok, game's done," Tenten said standing up shakily to her feet. "My legs are asleep," Naruto said trying to stand up too. Shikamaru helped him up and they sat back on the couch. "I don't feel so good," Sakura muttered rubbing her stomach lightly. "Come on, I'll get you some medicine from the kitchen," Tenten said, gesturing for her to follow.
Kiba rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Man, I'm spent. Thank God for the weekend, huh?" Kiba said, helping Hinata up. Hinata nodded happily and they sat down together on the piano bench. Lee checked his watch. "Quarter after twelve." Lee said aloud for everyone to hear.
"Great, one step into my house and I'll have to deal with the screaming banshee," Shikamaru said full of dread, referring to his mother. Naruto looked at Shika and patted him on the back. "Just call up now and say you're staying the night at my house." Shikamaru nodded, getting up to ask to use the phone.
Everyone else were pulling out cell phones to call home. Everyone but Lee, Naruto and the Sabaku sibs. Temari yawned and leaned back into the lazy boy. "I bet dad's at the bar again, no use calling home..." Kankuro nodded and grabbed some chips off the table. Lee yawned and looked ready to fall asleep on his feet. "Naruto, your house is closer, I'm staying over for the night, k?" Lee said sleepily.
Naruto nodded and leaned his head sleepily on Lee's shoulder. The three Sabakus stood up and went towards the door. "Ok, so we're off. Nice meeting you guys," Temari said as she opened the door. Gaara waved and Kankuro gave them all smirk. The door closed and Lee spoke up.
"Hmm, I think they like you guys," he said tiredly. "Really, could have fooled me," Ino said from where she'd taken Temari's seat. Lee looked at her and smiled sleepily. "They're not very open people. But I can see it. " Ino nodded and looked thoughtfully at the door. "That Kankuro was actually kinda cute..." Lee laughed and she blushed slightly. "I can actually see that happening..." Lee said softly, slowly closing his eyes.
"Kay, ready to go?" Shikamaru said, reentering the door with Tenten and Sakura. "Oh, your friends left already? I wished they'd of said good bye at least. That Temari chick was pretty cool," Tenten said with a laugh and picked up Temari's hoodie from where is was forgotten. "Temari forgot this, can you give it back to her next time you see her?" Tenten asked, handing it to Lee.
Lee nodded and slung it over his shoulder. "Sure, I'll be seeing her tomorrow anyway..." Tenten saw them to the door, like the perfect hostess, and waved at them as they escaped her view.
xxxxx
"So, that was fun!" Naruto said happily, more awake from the cold, night air. Lee nodded silently and sighed. Naruto slung his arm over his shoulder and did the same to Shikamaru.
"Secrets are out in the open. Now we have less to hide. Isn't that a bit of a relief?" he asked. Lee looked torn and shrugged. "I guess. We still have some stuff under control, not that Temari was helping any..."
Shikamaru shrugged and looked up at the stars. "She's the only one who thinks we should tell them about the band. She's bound to try to clue them in subtly, just to avoid keeping her secrecy promise..."
Naruto nodded. "Too many questions would be asked. Like tonight, only worse. Maybe some day... but we should keep it down until it seems right." Lee smiled at the rare bit of seriousness from his friend and sighed again. He started humming one of his favorite songs as Naruto's apartment complex came into view.
"You were my compass leading me to nowhere fast... Promises were lonely roads... I followed you down like a map..."
xxxxxxx
A/N: I didn't realize until my last chapter about the TenxKaka thing. I mean I didn't really think about how it would effect the reader. Yea... I hope no one is gonna be upset over it or something... Haha, I tried thinking of the smallest possible age gap... -looks sheepish- Oh well, that's how it goes. Too bad...
For a bit I couldn't write cause I was feeling emo, which is bad, cause I don't want this to be angsty. Not anymore angsty then necessary.
Black Bane is the name I gave my own electric guitar. Haha, Bane's my baby. lol.
About Temari's hair, I was actually thinking of my own hair, but it was hard to explain... hope it wasn't confusing or anything...
Woot, longest chapter. So much happened. Blargh, now I'm tired...
Please review!
P.S: Anyone know about the songs that I mention? Lol.