Studies and Half-Melodies

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! The songs are Be My Escape by Reliant K and Memory by Sugarcult. Some lines in here are from City of Bones, which I just finished reading recently. Now I need to find the next one….

Author's Note:

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"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." ~Lois Wyse

-!-!-!-!

Monday morning brought a chill wind to a cool, cloudy day. It was the first week of February, an interesting months by anyone's standards. Already, Naruto could head the whispers of the girls' about Valentine's Day, a day that Naruto was considering about skipping. The girls got scary on that day.

It was early still, however, and Shikamaru pretended not to notice Naruto's eyes constantly straying to the main gates as they all sat outside. Kiba and Ino were betting on the results of their midterms and Naruto had been strumming at his guitar all morning, but his eyes hadn't been on the guitar.

Shikamaru reached out and shook the blonde's arm. Naruto blinked several times before looking at him. Naruto sat on the table with his feet on the bench. "Something wrong?" the brunette asked.

Naruto smiled, and Shikamaru could tell it wasn't entirely honest. "Just thinking of the new song I wrote a few nights ago."

Kiba turned to him. "Can we hear it? Or is it not done?"

"Nah, it's done."

"Then play it man!"

Naruto laughed. "Fine, fine. Be a pushy bastard." He took a moment to collect himself, a few deep breaths and Naruto's attention was entirely on the guitar in his hands, on the feel of the nylon strings and the whispering of his fingers on the fret board.

I've given up on giving up slowly,

I'm blending in so you won't even know me

Apart from this whole world that shares my fate

This one last bullet you mention is my one last shot at redemption
Because I know to live you must give your life away

And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me
And even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, promise I'm going because
I gotta get outta here
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I gotta get outta here
And I'm begging you, I'm begging you, I'm begging you to be my escape.

I'm giving up on doing this alone now
Cause I've failed and I'm ready to be shown how
He's told me the way and I'm trying to get there
And this life sentence that I'm serving
I admit that I'm every bit deserving
But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair"

Naruto seemed to sense something in the air change, because even while he continued to play and sing, his eyes traveled up to look at the gates, where a pale person was walking. The person was huddled in a black jacket and dark blue jeans, his black sneakers seeming very dark against the lighter colors of the sidewalk and the brown grass. Obsidian and cerulean met before Naruto smiled slightly and looked back down, refocusing his attention on the song.

"Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me
And even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, promise I'm going because
I gotta get outta here
Cause I'm afraid that this complacency is something I can't shake
I gotta get outta here
And I'm begging You, I'm begging You, I'm begging You to be my escape.

I am a hostage to my own humanity
Self detained and forced to live in this mess I've made
And all I'm asking is for You to do what You can with me
But I can't ask You to give what You already gave

Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me
And even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, promise I'm going because
I've gotta get outta here
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake
I've gotta get outta here
And I'm begging You, I'm begging You, I'm begging You to be my escape.

I fought You for so long
I should have let You in
Oh how we regret those things we do
And all I was trying to do was save my own skin
But so were You

So were You…"

Kiba whistled lowly. "That was freaking amazing, Naruto. How long did it take you to come up with that?"

Naruto remembered writing it, remembered sitting down after he'd gone home that night that he'd talked to Sasuke and seeing the clock read 9:47. He remembered picking up the pen and the next few hours that he wrote were an enormous blank because when he looked at the clock when he leaned back and stretched, it read 12:32.

"Three hours." Naruto told him. It wasn't a lie. He just couldn't remember actually thinking about writing that song. The words had just spilled from his mind to the pen and flowed onto the paper. And he still had the rough draft at home and there were no rough scratch-outs or editing. It had been a clean sheet of paper.

Naruto could see the dark shadow that was Sasuke settling down under the shade of a tree. He was close enough to hear any conversations, but far away enough that he didn't seem suspicious. Sasuke pulled out a heavy looking book from his bag, opened up to a bookmarked page and began reading, although Naruto was willing to bet that his attention was only partially on the book.

"C'mon, Naruto. There's time for one more song. Anything else new?" Ino asked, arms crossed on the table.

Naruto pretended to think. "Weeeelll….there is the one…"

"Naruto!" Ino glared playfully and he laughed.

"Alright. There is this one."

"This may never start.
We could fall apart.
And I'd be your memory.
Lost your sense of fear
Feelings insincere
Can I be your memory?

So get back, back, back to where we lasted
Just like I imagine
I could never feel this way
So get back, back, back to the disaster
My heart's beating faster
Holding on to feel the same"

Sasuke could tell that Naruto really did love performing. The blonde was an expressive person normally, but when he performed, everything, every emotion and thought, came to the surface. The summer-sky eyes shone unnaturally and every song seemed to be talking to someone, somebody different every time. Sasuke wondered who he was talking to this time, which of his important people had been on his mind when he sat down and wrote this.

This may never start
I'll tear us apart
Can I be your enemy?
Losing half a year
Waiting for you here
I'd be your anything

So get back, back, back to where we lasted
Just like I imagine
I could never feel this way
So get back, back, back to the disaster
My heart's beating faster
Holding on to feel the same

This may never start
Tearing out my heart
And I'd be your memory
Lost your sense of fear
(I'd be your memory
Feelings disappeared
Can I be your memory?

So get back, back, back to where we lasted
Just like I imagine
I could never feel this way
So get back, back, back to the disaster
My heart's beating faster
Holding on to feel the same

This may never start
We could fall apart
And I'd be your memory
Lost your sense of fear
Feelings insincere
Can I be your memory?"

"Uzumaki." The voice was hoarse, but not unkind. Naruto looked up and saw their Health teacher, Gekko Hayate. He wasn't a very tall man, nor a very distinctive one. Naruto knew a lot of words for brown—mahogany, russet, chestnut, but none came to mind when he looked at Hayate's hair. It was just brown. His eyes were a very dark brown as well, nearly black. He wore a bandana with the logo for a local kendo school, a dark green T-shirt and faded blue jeans. He always had a chronic cough and always looked really tired, but no one complained of his teachings skills.

Naruto looked at him curiously. "Something wrong, sensei?"

"No, but I was wondering if you'd thought about broadcasting that talent of yours."
"What, with my guitar?"

Hayate nodded.

"Well, I'm lookin' for some gigs, but other than that, not much."

A slight smile lit up the older man's face, making him look years younger. "Try out for the talent show. You might get lucky."

Naruto blinked. "Uh…okay."

Hayate nodded, hands still shoved in his pocket, and walked away to join a substitute teacher that subbed often at their school, Genma. Genma usually had a toothpick stuck in his mouth for some off reason, but no one commented on it much.

"You've never joined the talent show." Shikamaru remarked from his position with his head cradled in his arms, looking sideways at Naruto.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe I should this year."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything more.

-?-?-?-?

"Glad you showed up." Naruto remarked as he washed the dissection tools.

Sasuke looked at him. "Since I was stuck dealing with you either way…"

"Ya know, most psychologists agree that hostility is just sublimated sexual attraction."

"That might explain why I so often meet people who seem to dislike me." Sasuke replied mildly.

Naruto chuckled. "You're already going back to your old self, teme." He smiled up at him and Sasuke felt something in him jerk at the peaceful smile. "That's a good sign."

-?-?-?-?

"You guys are on speaking terms outside of tutoring?" Shikamaru asked as they stood in the far too long lunch line.

"You don't sound surprised."

"I'm not. Just curious. I thought you guys hated each other. Always arguing and stuff and that's been going on since elementary school."

Naruto grinned. "We just decided it's suppressed sexual tension."

"I don't wanna know."

The blonde studied the chicken on his plate. Or rather, what the school called chicken. "Does this look edible to you?"
"Edible, yes. Healthy or without food poisoning, no."

"Figures. And I had so hoped that there would be a decent lunch today." Naruto stood on his toes to reach an apple in the basket. His fingers were inches away.

Shikamaru smirked. "Need some help?"

The blue eyes glared. "No. I am perfectly capable of reaching my own apple. Make sure my lunch doesn't fall, please."

The brunette obliged, holding each other their lunches in a hand. Naruto took a step back before jumping up and grabbing an apple, stumbling into the wall behind them as he landed.

"Very graceful." Shikamaru commented.

"Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt."

"I can't help it! I use my incredible wit to hide my terrible inner pain."

-?-?-?-?

Naruto leaned comfortably on the wall outside the music room. He had a hunch that Sasuke would come here. And his hunch didn't betray him. Naruto looked Sasuke over. His skin was slowly regaining its natural paleness. There were still smudges beneath his eyes and there was a tired look to his eyes, but Naruto knew that that was normal. He'd been the same way. Sasuke was still on the wrong side of thin, but the weight was coming back. Naruto made a mental note to bring him a burger, fries and a milkshake. He needed it. Maybe some ramen too, but Naruto had a feeling Sasuke wouldn't much like ramen.

Sasuke stopped in front of him, hands in his pockets. His clothes were loose on his frame, pants low on his hips; the look of someone who had dropped the weight far too fast to be healthy.

"Different tutoring, teme. You're coming home with me so my aunt can figure out what to do with you."

"She knows about this?"

"Nope. But she's more likely to help you if she finds out now."

"You're gonna get yourself killed one day."

Naruto didn't reply, pushing himself off of the wall. "We might wanna start walking. It's gonna take us a good half hour."

Sasuke suppressed a groan. "Wonderful."