Okay guys. Well, I apparently have no life so I've already got Chapter 2 ready to go within like 2 or 3 weeks time! Lol. I hope you enjoy this one as well. And thank you for all of the reviews. I really appreciate it. (:

"Yes, I know. Casual? Alright. Got it. Yes, I already told you that. Idiot…Whatever. See you there."

Sasuke hung up the phone, obviously irritated. Naruto got dumber everyday. If that was even possible. He chuckled lightly to himself. Even though Naruto lost so many brain cells everyday and got more annoying than ever, he was still his best friend. Not much had changed between them. They were still as competitive as they ever when they were kids, but they were just like brothers when it came down to it.

Sasuke pushed himself off of his bed and made his way into his closet. He stood there in his boxers wondering what he should wear. If the party wasn't going to be formal, then what casual clothes should he wear? Everything he had looked almost exactly the same. Weird black turtleneck shirt, white shorts, and those knee high white and blue leg warmers. Boring.

He pushed around in his shirts before finding a relatively nice dark green V-Neck in the very back. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

'Figures a shirt like this would be way back here.' He thought as he looked over the shirt then finally put it on.

It was almost seven in the evening and if he wanted to make the party in time to catch Sakura mostly by herself, he'd have to hurry. Rushing out of his closet, Sasuke grabbed a pair of black jeans hanging on one of the racks. He stopped and looked them over, not quite sure where he'd even gotten the things. He shrugged, stumbling clumsily as he attempted to put them on, instead landing head first on the floor.

"Damnit!" He groaned, rolling on to his side. He pushed himself back on to his feet and slowly (and unfortunately) put on his jeans. With a loud sigh, Sasuke slipped on a pair of green Vans to match his shirt. After grabbing his keys and a jacket, he left.

The streets were rather dark and quiet as Sasuke walked to Ino's apartment. He stuffed his hands in his pockets listening to the sound of the dirt crunching beneath his feet. He was getting nervous. This was a very foreign feeling to the reserved, calm young man. Things like becoming nervous did not happen to people like him. The more he thought about having some kind of alone time with Sakura, the more nervous he became. He shook his head. Sakura was so different now. She clearly was not weak and helpless like she used to be. She didn't need someone like Sasuke to come and rescue her when she was in trouble. She looked as if she would be the one having to come and save him. This made him smile slightly. He found it oddly attractive. The thought of Sakura coming and rescuing him when he was in trouble. Sasuke closed his eyes, his feet dragging along the dirt road. He bit his lip before realizing that he was outside and anyone could see him fantasizing about his ex-teammate.

'I have got to stop thinking about her. What's wrong with me? Six or seven years ago, I didn't even care that she existed. Why do I give a crap about her now?'

Sasuke ran his hand over his face before climbing the steps in front of Ino's new apartment. He knocked on a large navy blue door. It was just as tall as he was and was designed quite extravagantly. Almost in a Victorian design.

"I'll get it!" Came a deep muffled voice from inside. Sasuke could hear music inside but not clearly enough to make out words. The door swung open, a boy with a long spiky ponytail appeared behind the door, an emotionless expression glued to his face. He stared at Sasuke, then disappeared only to reappear as the opened the door more widely.

"Come on in, Sasuke." He said holding out his hand. Sasuke shook it politely, bowing his head slightly as he went inside and took a look around the main corridor.

"Thanks, Shikamaru. This is a nice place you've got here from what I can see." He said. Shikamaru smirked.

"Thanks, man. I'm just surprised Ino hasn't destroyed it tonight yet. She's been itching to have an excuse to throw a party here and I've been telling her no. But…" He paused and let out a long, over exaggerated sigh. "Sakura comes back from her mission and now I have no choice but to let her throw a party or she'll be throwing something else." Shikamaru scratched his chest, a look of aggravation apparent on his features.

"Throwing…something else?" Sasuke asked. He knew what Shikamaru probably meant, but he just wanted to hear it for his own amusement.

"Throwing a fit, her ten inch heels, a blow dryer, maybe even the couch." Sasuke snorted, stifling the loud laugh that was trying to arise. Shikamaru scowled, dropping the hand he was counting Ino's fits with to his side.

"Wow. Sorry man. That really sucks. To be married to someone like Ino, I mean." Sasuke chuckled, rubbing the side of his face with his palm. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Can't say that I don't love her." Shikamaru turned, walking down the hall into the living room. "Sometimes."

Sasuke followed after him. The noise in the living room hit him full force when he entered. A blast of music filled his ears so quickly, he thought his head would explode. The room was packed with people. Even people he had never even seen before. Tall people, short people, people from other villages. It was hard to spot anyone he knew. Until he saw a wild blonde head bobbing up and down in the crowd. It had to be Naruto. Sasuke squeezed and nudged his way through the crowd until he bumped into Naruto whose dancing resembled that of a seizure. He was dancing with Hinata. Her face was red, as usual, but it wasn't because she was embarrassed. It seemed to be more because she had spent a good amount of time dancing and rubbing herself all over Naruto. Naruto threw his arms in the air as the music picked up. Hinata jumped back quickly holding on to the side of her face. Naruto obviously hadn't noticed that he had got her pretty good in the jaw. Sasuke shook his head, embarrassed for his friend who didn't seem to think he looked like a complete…idiot.

"Naruto!" He yelled over the music as he grabbed the wild boys arm. "Have you seen Sakura?"

Naruto stopped dancing. He looked Sasuke over before giving him a thumb's up on his outfit and resuming his spastic dance. Sasuke's grip tightened on Naruto's arm. Naruto's face wrinkled in pain and his dancing came to a temporary halt. He turned his head, signaling for Sasuke to say what he needed to again.

"HAVE YOU…SEEN…SAKURA?!"

Naruto stared at him for a second, clearly in a state of shock. He shrugged, yelling back.

"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SAKURA?!" He said as he resumed dancing- a lot more calmly this time. Hinata joined him once more.

"IS IT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS?!" Sasuke called back. Naruto shrugged and shook his head.

"I GUESS NOT! BUT AS YOUR BEST FRIEND I THINK I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO KNOW!"

Sasuke scowled at this.

"LOOK…DO YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS OR NOT?!"

Once again, Naruto shrugged and shook his head. This didn't help and within the last two minutes, Sasuke had become increasingly annoyed thanks to Naruto. No surprise. He let go of Naruto's arm and squeezed his way past everyone and out of the crowd. On the sidelines of the dance floor, there were chairs lined against the wall. Occupying one of those chairs was his once enemy, the Sand Village's redheaded Kazekage, Gaara. Sasuke took the seat next to him. Gaara made no attempt to acknowledge Sasuke's presence. He just continued to sit and watch everyone else jump around and dance.

Sasuke found it kind of strange to see that Gaara came to a place like this. He didn't seem like the kind of person to go to a house party. But then again, neither did he. Gaara sat there with his arms crossed over his chest. His hair was a bit shorter than it was the last time he had seen him. Which made sense seeing as the last time they had even communicated was at the Chuunin Exams. And back then, they didn't exactly end their relationship on good terms. Sasuke slouched forward in his chair as he kept his eye on the jumping crowd.

"Uchiha, Sasuke."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. His ears had barely caught that voice. It was as if the voice could only carry itself so far until it just faded away. Sasuke turned his head, making eye contact with Gaara.

"Who is it you're looking for?" He asked. Again his voice was so quiet, Sasuke barely heard him. He sat up straight, his eyes still glued to Gaara's.

"How do you know I'm looking for someone?" He asked curiously. He didn't say anything to Gaara about him looking for anyone and it had to have been nearly impossible for him to have heard him screaming to Naruto about Sakura. Gaara almost unnoticeably shrugged his shoulders. If it hadn't been for him holding the gesture, Sasuke wouldn't have known that he shrugged at all.

"Well?" Sasuke asked, still waiting for a response. Gaara broke his gaze away from Sasuke, returning it back to the party in front of them both.

"It doesn't exactly look like you're here for yourself." He answered simply. Sasuke cocked his head to the side.

"What?"

"Most people come to a party to enjoy themselves. Not to look around and make it unbelievably obvious that they're searching for someone."

Sasuke bit his lip as he kept his eyes locked on Gaara. How did this guy know so much in so little time just by watching him? It was creepy to say the least, but Sasuke would expect something like that from the Kazekage himself. Gaara shifted in his seat.

"So, who exactly are you looking for?" The redheaded shinobi asked. Sasuke sighed.

"Haruno Sakura."

Gaara turned his head at this, his emotionless eyes looking Sasuke over. Even he too knew that this was the least likely person for Sasuke to be looking for. Sasuke shook his head.

"Just forget it, man. I was just wondering where she-"

"The kitchen." Gaara cut in. He stood from his seat and pointed carelessly to his left. Sasuke nodded. Who would've thought Gaara would have been the one to help him out. Sasuke glanced to his left, and then back at Gaara who was now gone.

Sasuke grinned. He knew Gaara more than likely wouldn't have stuck around for Sasuke's gratitude, and he wasn't going to stick around and wait for him to return so that he could finally give it. With an almost quick and excited pace, Sasuke strolled to the kitchen to finally find Sakura.

And here is where I must stop unfortunately. I don't want to spill out the rest of the story in this one chapter. I love to leave you all wondering what's next. Also, I really need to pay attention in class. _

- Lexi!