Chapter 5 - Circle of Friends

"Want to go to Naruto's? It's game weekend, so Lee and Kiba will be there as well." Neji asked as they cruised down the road in no particular direction.

"Do you think I should get Snowflake a girlfriend? I think he's lonely in that cage of his."

"I'm going to take that as a yes..." Neji muttered to himself, "No, I don't think Snowflake needs a girlfriend. He isn't lonely 'cause you spend all your time with him, and I don't think your dad wants a bunch of little bunny babies."

"Of course he does..."

"He loves Snowflake as much as I love skinny jeans."

"It is a love-hate relationship, but it's more love than hate, and that means something!"

"Sure, sure." He pulled into the driveway and Haku stared at him oddly.

"Why are we at my place? I thought we were going to Naruto's."

"So you were listening to me...We'll bring your things inside, give your dad his card, and then you'll get changed."

"Okay, but I don't see what's wrong with what I'm wearing now." Haku said, both of them stepping out of the vehicle. They opened the backseat doors and grabbed the bags.

"What's the point of buying new clothes if you aren't going to wear it?"

"You mean you want me to wear this to go see the boys?"

"Of course."

"Oh, I don't know..." Haku trailed behind his friend as he entered the house, staring blankly down at the bags in his hands. "Hey, daddy!" He called out to his father.

"I'll bring these to your room." Neji said, and Haku nodded.

Haku left his friend and went to his father's workroom, where he would surely still be, hunched over his second baby. Zabuza greeted him, but didn't take his eyes off the weapon. He was doing some kind of design work on the hilt, and Haku knew not to disturb him too much. He avoided disturbing anybody who loved sharp objects, but mostly his father. Zabuza got a little grumpy when he was pulled away from his work for too long.

"Neji's here. Were going to put the things away. I wanted to know if I could go to Naruto's afterwards?"

"Alright. Don't be home too late."

"I won't. I'll put your credit card back in your wallet. Thank you so much daddy."

"Did you have fun?"

"Like always!"

"I'm glad."

"Daddy, do you think Snowflake needs a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Oh, well. I tried. Bye, daddy!"

"Bye, Haku."

He put the credit card where he'd said he'd put it, then went to join his friend in his bedroom. As soon as the door was opened, he let out a large sigh. Neji had placed all of his clothing on his bed in a scattered-organized disarray and was staring at the articles with an unreadable expression on his face. The expression that Haku had learnt meant that he was thinking hard about something.

"I can't decide between the pink and black skirt with the blouse, or the aqua belted dress."

"I like the-"

"The dress. Definitely."

"Dress..." Haku finished lamely, smiling sheepishly at his friend. Though their tastes differed on many different things, clothes was not one of them. It was a dress kind of day, and his nail polish was the perfect shade to go with it anyways. His new pumps went perfectly with the dress and he wasn't really in the mood to practice wearing the heels.

"Here, put it on." Neji threw the article at him. While Haku got changed, Neji worked on folding up the remaining clothes and left them in tidy piles on the bed. Although he made messes at times, he was always sure to clean up after himself.

Haku slipped on the dress and folded the clothes he'd been wearing before. He layed it on his bed then went to his full-length mirror. Twirling a couple times, he smiled brightly like a little girl who was wearing her favourite dress. Neji rolled his eyes, but was happy for him. There were few things he liked better than seeing such pure joy on his best friend's face.

"Put the pumps and then we can head out." Neji interrupted his musing, he didn't want to but it had to be done, and held out the shoes. "Still not going to let your hair out of that bun?"

"Never."

"That's what they all say..."

"I love my hair, but when I'm out and about I don't want it getting in the way." Haku said, slipping on the shoes.

"How can you love your hair if you never let it out of its bun?"

"Maybe you can do something with it at Naruto's, but not now. The wind outside would just knot it all up and I don't want to have to deal with that."

"There's hardly any wind, but whatever. Let's get out of here."

Neji and Haku left the house, calling out a farewell to Zabuza who's answer they didn't hear over the sound of the closing door. They went into the car and Neji put it in reverse, pulling out of the driveway. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cellphone and handed it to Haku.

"Text Naruto to let him know we're coming."

"Will do."

The soft clicking of the keypad was drowned out by the radio as Neji upped the volume. He sang along to the catchy tune, grinning at his friend who rolled his eyes at him. Everybody had a guilty pleasure, and for Neji, it was singing. Haku's would be shoes. God, he loved shoes!

"He says, 'Kk. C u soon dudes'." Haku read aloud the reply. He didn't text back, but kept the phone on his lap instead of giving it back to Neji. He prefered it when his friend had both hands on the wheel. He trusted Neji more than he trusted anybody else (except his father), but that didn't mean he was a perfect driver.

"What have I told you about using text talk on my phone?" Neji glared at him momentarily. Naruto would never, ever, call him 'dude', and thus knew it was Haku on the other end of the phone. The only way he would know that was if Haku had texted him in chat speak, which he was not fond of at all. He hated it, and didn't permit others to use chat speak when using his phone. Haku wasn't excempt from that rule, and he knew it.

"Not to? I know, it annoys you, but it was one tiny message! Sheesh..."

"Don't 'sheesh' me. You know the rules."

"Yes, Neji, dear. I solemnly swear that I won't use text talk on your phone any longer."

"That's what you said last week..." Neji muttered, his anger dissipating. He pulled up into the empty driveway and stopped the car. "I guess his parents went out somewhere. I hope they don't park behind me...I'll have to ask Naruto when they're coming back."

"Gosh, having a car is so much trouble, isn't it Neji, dear?"

"Get your ass out of this car." Neji said, not unkindly. Haku was used to him, so he wasn't offended.

They stepped out of the vehicle and went up to the front door. Neji knocked twice loudly before opening the door and walking inside. It was game weekend. None of them were going to get their butts off the sofa to answer the door. Neji was surprised that Naruto had replied to his text message that quickly. What the boys loved about video games he didn't know, although he did join in every once in a while and had a good time.

Instead of announcing their presence, they wouldn't be heard anyways, the two went immediately to the basement where the boys would be sitting down playing some shooting game they'd beat a hundred times already. ("You don't beat Halo, you master it." Kiba had told him last time he'd made that comment.)

"Hey, guys." Neji said, taking the last step.

In the living room were the three boys, seated on the old brown sofa with remotes in their hands. Their eyes didn't leave the flat screen television, and the surround sound made the guns louder than necessary. Suddenly he noticed a fourth presence, one he wasn't very happy with.

"What's he doing here?" He was none too subtle about his unhappiness.

It's not that he didn't like Sasuke, he just...Didn't really like him. There was something arrogant and high-and-mighty about him that irked Neji. There was a reason he didn't make new friends easily...He was choosy.

"It is nice to see you as well, Hyuuga." Sasuke rolled his eyes, not turning to look at him.

"I thought it might be nice to have a fourth player, so I invited him." Naruto explained, "This is my place and he's my friend."

"Whatever, blondie."

"I would think you would be nice to me, Hyuuga, seeing as you are the one with the kik on my brother."

"What the hell is a 'kik'?"

"When you like someone a lot...You call it a crush, I believe."

"I don't have a crush on anybody, Uchiha. And I don't pretend to like people when I don't." Neji snapped back. He turned around to see that Haku hadn't followed him. He sighed, and climbed up the stairs. "Are you coming?" He said to Haku, who was at the first step, wringing his hands nervously.

Neji held out his hand for his friend to take, and he slowly went down the steps to take hold of his hand. "You'll be fine." Neji whispered to him, and Haku nodded hesitantly.

They stepped into the living room, and Neji let go of his hand. He took a couple steps away and cleared his throat. None of them looked at him. He smiled lightly at Haku, standing there with his eyes on the ground, and he tried again with no success. Growing annoyed, he went to stand in front of the television, earning himself some protests.

"What are you doing?" Kiba exclaimed, pausing the game.

"I wanted to show you something." His tone told them there was more to it, and they didn't protest any more.

"What is it?" Lee asked patiently.

Neji raised a hand and gestured towards Haku. The four boys turned to look at him, and in that moment where they took in the new look, Neji remembered. He remembered the stress and nerves he had when he'd first come out to his friends, and knew that that's what Haku was feeling at that moment. He felt bad for him, but he also knew that he would wind up feeling great once he got their responses.

Their group was made up of the misfits of the school. They all knew what it was like to be different and utterly alone, and that made them strong and accepting. They would never shun another because they were different because that would make them hypocrites, and it would make them feel guilt in unimaginable quantities. That's another reason he didn't like Sasuke. He showed up at the school a month ago and he was already popular and loved by everyone. He didn't belong with them.

Lee smiled brightly and clapped his hands together, "You look beautiful, Haku!"

Kiba and Naruto stared for another second before grinning at the blushing brunette, "I like the new look." Naruto said, and Kiba nodded.

"Totally."

Sasuke looked confused, and Neji was worried about his reaction. He wasn't a part of them, and thus his beliefs were not the same as theirs. One negative comment outweighed all the good ones. He knew that from experience, and he knew that Haku would take it even worse.

"I t'ought you were a boy..." He stated bluntly.

"He is. He just wants to wear dresses, too. Got a problem, Uchiha?"

"I t'ought that only boy...Ehm... Écossaises wore dresses. Well, skirts...Is it a custom 'ere, too?"

"'Écossaise'? I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Uchiha, but he's not that. It's not a custom per say, more like a personnal choice."

"Oh." It seemed to be the end of the conversation for him, and Neji was glad by the non-caring attitude. His being foreign and unused to their traditions and customs might not be such a bad thing.

"Can I still call you dude? Or is it dudette now?" Naruto asked.

"Whatever you prefer." Haku smiled brightly, the happiness shining in his eyes. He stopped fiddling with the belt on his dress and he appeared much more comfortable now that the initial introduction had been made. He'd known deep inside that they'd accept him, it was merely the monster called fear that had kept him from realizing it.

"With legs like that, I'd prefer using dudette." Kiba's comment made Haku laugh, which immediately lightened the mood.

"Did you want to play with us?" Lee asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

Lee and Kiba moved to sit on the ground, giving their seats to Haku and Neji. They sat and were handed the remotes of the two losers, and they spent the afternoon there, playing video games. Neji could feel his friend's happiness radiating off him, and he couldn't help but smile. In two days they'd go to school and he knew it would be rough for Haku. At least for the moment he could surround himself with people who accepted and loved him while he was still realizing that his dreams were coming true.

AN: Hello! Sorry it's taken so long! I've been quite busy lately. We have met the boys! Definitions...A kik is a crush, as said. I don't know how to spell it, because it's not an actual word. It's just an expression. And écossaise is scottish. Sasuke was talking about how some scottish men wear kilts.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! By the way, about the french accent, do you like it written like that? Or should I just not attempt it? Another by the way, I got a question regarding Haku's sexuality. I shall explain...Haku's still in the stage of figuring out himself, so he doesn't really have a sexuality right now. If I had to say anything, it would be bisexual.

I'd love to thank EatEmUp, animelover, AUehara, Akatsuki Crush, Reeserella, and Hanai-kun for reviewing! It means so much to moi!

Thanks for reading!
-MewMew