Chapter 12 - Sakura and Glitter
"I finally got Sakura to agree to a date with me!"
"Woo?" Kiba pretended to be enthusiastic, but he couldn't really get into it. Sakura was a topic they all avoided, because if they didn't, they'd end up arguing and one of them would storm out. Usually Naruto.
"At least pretend to be happy for me?"
"Naruto, she's a wannabe bitch. She wants to be a part of the clique who made it their life mission to make us miserable." Neji never sugar coated anything.
"They also want to be celebrities." Haku chimed in, listening to what they were saying, but not paying attention. He was completing the sudoku he'd begun in the morning, but had been unable to finish due to its difficulty. It was made slightly more difficult once he had to split his attention between the newspaper and his friends' chattering.
"I am happy for you, Naruto, but... Be careful?" Lee tried to sound supportive, but they all knew he had reason to be worried.
"Look, guys, she's not as bad as she used to be. She hasn't done anything to any of us in months, and I think she deserves a second chance." Naruto said, attempting to defend the girl he'd been crushing on for a while.
"She's at her one hundredth chance."
"Neji, please! I know you have trust issues, but come on! She's changed, I swear."
"She's been spending the last few weeks kissing the ground Karin walks on."
"Why would Sakura want to be friends wit' Karin? She is, ah... As you say it, bitch." Sasuke still continued to eat at their table, much to Neji's chagrin, but he did earn brownie points for comments like that.
"That she is, that she is..." Kiba mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.
"She does not kiss the ground Karin walks on. Yes, Karin's a bitch, but Sakura just wants friends... Dudes, she's like us. She hardly has any friends, and... And she agreed to go out with me. That counts for something right? Besides, people can change. I know she has! I mean, we've all changed in the last few years."
"People don't go from bitch to nice." Neji persisted.
"You did." Naruto countered.
The table went quiet for a moment. Haku looked up from his sudoku, Kiba put down his sandwich, and Lee and Sasuke stared at the two boy's, knowing now was not the time to speak.
"I... I mean..." Naruto appeared as though he wanted to apologize, but his blue eyes turned hard, like the boys had sometimes seen his father's do, "Actually, that's exactly what I meant. You used to be one hell of a bitch, Neji. You used to look at me like I was the dirt beneath your shoes. But you don't do that anymore, because you've changed."
"It's good to know you think so highly of me, Naruto." Neji said, his eyes staring at the table.
"Don't be offended. I said you used to be like that. You aren't any more."
Neji met his gaze, his eyes empty as they often were, "I'm the same person I've always been."
"No, you aren't. You've changed wether you see it or not."
Both boys were stubborn as mules, but Neji acquiesed this time. He shook his head, annoyed, and brought the subject back to its original, "It's unimportant. We aren't talking about me, we're talking about your desire to date the girl who once put shaving cream in your locker."
"There's no proof that she's the one that did it!"
"Ino told us it was, and she'd been pretty convincing in her tale of how it happened."
"She's as much of a bitch as Karin is!"
"She's also best friends with Sakura. If that isn't enough to convince you, I don't know what is."
"I agree that she has done some pretty terrible things," Lee began, and shushed Naruto before he could be interrupted, "But perhaps she deserves the benefit of the doubt."
"She doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. She deserves a good slap, that's what she deserves." Neji finished in a grumble. How he would love to be a girl for one day, just to slap all the bitches that have pissed him off in his life.
"Haku, what do you think?" Naruto looked at the brunette who had returned to his sudoku.
He looked up, surprised to be asked for his opinion on such a stupid arguement, "I don't... Ehm..." Any answer was a bad answer. "I refuse to answer the question." He said simply and returned to his game.
Naruto's eyes wandered, but snapped back to attention quickly, "Let's take a vote! Whoever's in favour of me going out with Sakura, say 'aye'."
Naruto and Lee said, "Aye!"
"Sasuke, you're supposed to be on my side!" Naruto snapped at his friend who sat by his side.
"...Aye?" He had been listening, but hadn't considered himself a part of 'whoever'.
"Good!" Naruto beamed, then turned his attention to Kiba, "You're on Neji's side for this?"
Kiba had been staring away, but focused in on his blonde friend after being spoken to, "Yeah. I just don't think she's right for you, dude. You can do so much better than that stuck-up bitch."
"I want to be with her. Besides, it's just one date!"
"Look, I don't approve, but it is your choice. It's not like I-" Before Neji could finish his sentence, Naruto, seated in front of him, and Kiba, to the blonde's left, sprang out of their seats and reached towards him. He'd seen their eyes gaze elsewhere, but hadn't thought it important until that moment.
Suddenly, something wet and cold was dumped on his head.
Neji closed his eyes and simply sat there. Naruto and Kiba had tried to stop it, but ended up with a couple handfuls of the liquid. The two boys on either side of him, Haku and Lee, got splashed lightly, and were quick to bring their attention to their friend, and Sasuke stayed back and watched.
Something feather-light was sprinkled on him, and someone finally spoke up, "Coffee burns, fag." It was hissed very near his ear, "Remember your place."
"What's on me?" Neji asked, voice low and obviously containing his anger.
"It's... Paint. Pink paint. And uh, glitter." Kiba answered him.
"Did you know the art class will just let you take this shit?" A second voice said, this one was Kisame.
"Keep your fairy dust to yourself, alright homo? We don't want any more of your kind around here. I mean, look at what you did to Momochi. And here I thought people exaggerated how contagious the gay-" Before Hidan could go on insulting them, Lee stood up and landed a punch square on the guy's nose.
Neji wiped some of the paint from his eyes and hesitantly opened them. The paint was leaking down his hair, face, and back. His clothes were most likely ruined. Plus, sticking to the paint was some silver glitter. He was happy though, that as soon as he turned to give the prick a piece of his mind, Lee got up and punched him.
There was no doubt that it hurt, if the cursing meant anything. It wasn't broken, but a small trickle of blood came forth. It would be several colours in the morning.
"Holy shit! You motherfucker!" Hidan held his lightly bleeding nose, and Kisame took the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards and away from his attacker.
"Do not speak ill of my friends!" Lee said.
"You fucking bastard!" Hidan took a swing, but Lee dodged it effortlessly. Not only did Lee have a love for the dramatic arts, he also loved martial arts.
That's when Haku stepped in, getting up and putting himself between the two boys, "Lee, please! You could get in trouble for this, and the lunch ladies are bound to have noticed by now!" Haku scanned the area, but actually didn't find any signs of the women who usually patroled the cafeteria and made sure nothing like that happen.
"I wouldn't bet on it, tranny. Kakuzu's keeping them busy."
Kakuzu had the school wrapped around his finger. Simply put, he was the richest kid, who's father donated the most money to the school. Nobody dared upset the boy, in case the money would suddenly stop and they'd be left with no sports equipment. They didn't know, nor cared, how he got the lunch ladies away, but they knew that a simple "come here" would have them chassing him with their tails between their legs.
"Hey!" Hidan said loud enough to get everyone's attention, although he already had it. Most of the other students had been staring at them since the beginning, just watching with rapt attention. "This here, is what happens to outcasts! If you choose to be a freak, you choose to be rejected. That is the circle of life. Keep that in mind when you decide who you want to be!"
"'Ere is my brot'er?" Sasuke asked, standing up. His cold tone surprised them all, because it seemed almost as if he were defending them, in his own way of course.
"I dunno, handing in an assignment or some shit." Hidan walked over to Sasuke, and put an arm around his shoulders, ignoring his own throbbing nose that still had a trickle of blood running from it, "What are you doing still hanging around with these losers? But listen, I still have hope for you, kiddo. I think there's still enough time to get the gay out of you and make you normal again. I'm sure Itachi would be much happier to call you his brother if you hung out with... Well. Anybody but these fags."
Sasuke was lead away before he could respond, and he didn't shove him away either. As they walked away, he looked over his shoulder once, but the occupants of the table had their attention elsewhere.
Neji continued to wipe the paint away with his hands, although it didn't help much. His intention was at least to be able to see properly again. Kiba and Naruto helped, both having handfulls of paint already from when they'd tried to stop Hidan from emptying the bucket on him. Haku went to retrieve some paper towels and he, with Lee, used those to wipe his hands clean.
The other students had stopped staring at them when Hidan had left, but they could still feel some lingering gazes and some glances sent their way. Nobody else came to help, and no teachers ever showed their face.
Neji sighed, and shook his head lightly, sending some glitter to the ground, "Just leave it guys. I'll wash up at home."
"Let's go to the washroom. We need to get your shirt under water as soon as possible. Although it's probably already too late..."
"No." Neji undid his low ponytail and retied it, making it tighter and making him look more relaxed, "I'm going to stay just like this."
"But you're shirt, and probably your pants," The paint had begun dripping further down his shirt and was now at the waistband of his jeans, "Are going to be ruined. And, I mean, pink is fabulous, but I don't think paint is a good look for anybody." Haku said.
Neji slamed his hand down on the table, "I'm tired of this. Of the jokes and the name calling, and just the bullying. This has gone on for far too long and I refuse to let them win. Let them bring it on. They can't hurt us. They won't hurt me, and they will never break me."
"It's just a stupid joke, don't let it get to you. We only have a couple more years, then we'll all be away from these assholes. Just give it a little time." Kiba said reassuringly. He bit his lip at the glare he was sent. He knew the anger wasn't directed at him, but seeing Neji so mad was unsetling.
"No! God damn it, no!"
His friends let it drop. Kiba and Naruto washed their hands, and they cleaned up the paint off the table and wherever else droplets had landed, but they left Neji as is. He was seething (and probably plotting murder) and was clearly no longer in the mood for discussion or washing up.
Neji spent the rest of the day dripping paint and glitter, not answering any questions the teachers had for him, and ignoring Hidan and his friends' smirks. He would make them pay.
Somehow.
AN: Well, hello there. After what feels like forever I bring you all a new chapter. It took me a little while to write this chappie just cause I wanted to make it good after such a long wait. I hope I succeeded on that front.
I'd really love to thank AUehara, EatEmUp, Reeserella, and AkatsukiCrush for reviewing! You guys are, to use my favourite expression, awesome! And I don't say that to just anybody. It truly means a lot, seriously, it does.
Thank you for reading, and again, sorry for the wait,
-MewMew