Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Just one thing this time, I'll be leaving for China on Aug. 7th and by the time I get back, school's starting…wooo. I'm just letting you guys know beforehand so you'll know where I am and the reason for not updating!

Sorry for the wait, I was working on "Voulez Vous…" and got a little sidetracked.

Chapter 3: First Encounter

---

Bottles of champagne were uncorked as loud cheers and shouts could be heard. There was a small commotion going on as glasses were filled and streamers flew down from the ceiling. Sai cleared his throat, indicating he was about to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I just wanted to thank you all for all of your help. The concert tonight was flawless," he turned to Sasuke, "and you were perfect."

An applause went around the room.

Sai reached down the table and grabbed two glasses of champagne, one for himself and one for Sasuke. "Thank you everyone again. And more success hopefully to come in the future."

Sasuke himself gave a curt nod of thanks before downing the whole thing.

Sai clapped him on the back. "Now, as I was saying—"

He didn't get to finish however, as Sasuke swiftly made his exit from the room. He stood there, motionless, a bit puzzled, but nonetheless, used to the Uchiha's ways. He turned back around to the rest of the employees in the room.

"Ah! More champagne for all!"

---

Gaara stood in the mob of screaming fangirls being restrained by the police, waiting outside the singer's dressing room, trying to ignore the pushes and shoves coming from all directions. It was awkward enough being the only guy in the bunch…

Just then, the door opened and out stepped Sharingan, accompanied by two bodyguards. The screams and yells of the girls around him seemed to skyrocket to a new level and he was surprised his eardrums hadn't broken yet. Sharingan took one look at the crowd and immediately stepped the other way, trying to find another exit.

Gaara let out a small grin. This was what he had finally been waiting for. Racing outside, he found Naruto there in the rain, still holding that umbrella.

"Naruto! I've found him!" The blonde's eyes widened and his lips formed a quiver of a smile.

"Really?"

"Follow me," Gaara answered, dragging the other along with him. Together they found a back door and entered through it. No one cared about letting them in now. After all, the concert was over.

Gaara pulled Naruto to the place where he had just been standing, yet there was no sign of Sharingan there anywhere. Crap. Now Gaara had no idea what to do.

"Ask him." Naruto pointed to a man walking by, going on about how Leo's fans had adored him tonight.

Gaara grabbed the arm of the guy. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, almost like Sharingan himself.

"Hey, do you know where we can find Sharingan?"

"And who might you be?" The man asked, eyeing the grip Gaara had on his arm carefully.

"Look," the redhead explained slowly, "he just needs to speak with him." He tilted his head, indicating to Naruto.

"Ah, I see. Fans, hm?" Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but many people drop by every day hoping to see Sharingan. He's much too busy to spend his time seeing everyone and I don't see why it would be any different this time."

"And how would you know this?" Gaara all but growled.

"Because I'm his manager," the man stated, straightening up a bit. "You can call me Sai."

"Please, I just need a few minutes with him," Naruto broke in. "My name's Uzumaki Naruto and I was his elementary school classmate—"

Sai broke out in a laugh. "Elementary school classmate? Oh god, how many years has it been then? Really, cute story kid. But I don't believe a word."

"Hey," Gaara's grip tightened dangerously on Sai's arm. "Just let us see him. Now."

Sai's eyes narrowed. "Ibiki!"

A large man entered the room quickly. He had scars running all down his face and was built like a rock. He was obviously the head of security.

"Kindly escort these two to the exit," Sai announced coldly. Ibiki nodded, breaking Gaara's grip as he began ushering the two out.

"Wait," Naruto struggled against the bodyguard briefly. "Please, just give him this." He extended his arm to Sai and within his hand was a small bottle, with a single lavender flower inside. Tell him I'll be outside waiting for him."

"Yes, yes very well." Sai took the bottle hesitatingly. He waited until the pair along with Ibiki were a good couple of yards away before he eyed the bottle distastefully. He was pretty sure he had seen the thing before…but ah, no matter. Without even a second glance, he tossed it in the nearby trash bin.

As Sasuke came to find Sai, he spotted Ibiki escorting two people out. They were too far down the hall for him to see clearly who it was, but all he could tell was that the redheaded one was swearing quite loudly.

"Who were they?" Sasuke asked in a somewhat uncaring manner.

"Who? Oh them? Mm, no one important." Sai answered.

---

Outside, Gaara pulled Naruto close, while holding the umbrella with his free hand.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, having calmed down a bit from a few minutes ago.

"I'm fine," the blonde answered. He clung to Gaara a bit tighter, trying to find some more warmth.

"So…are you sure he'll come?" Naruto looked up at him.

"As long as he sees that bottle…he'll come."

Gaara nodded. "Then, we'll wait."

The rain pounded harder and harder.

---

On the way back from the concert, Sai was rambling on one of his speeches while Sasuke had just pulled his headphones on. He began to rustle through his bag, wanting to finish the score he had started in the morning.

Panic began to seize him however when he couldn't find it anywhere. He turned his whole bag upside down, his hands and eyes searching frantically.

"Shit."

"What's up with you?" Sai asked, noticing the Uchiha's sudden frenzy.

"My music—I can't find the score I wrote." Sasuke's voice was relatively calm, but there was a definite underlining of not-so-calm underneath.

"Don't worry about it. Scores are scores. You can always just write another one and then there won't be a pro—"

"It has to be back at the concert hall. I'm going back."

"Aw don't be like that Sasuke. It's late, no one will be around and—"

"If you won't come, I'll go by myself." He hissed out. "Stop the car."

When the drive paid no attention to him, he said it in a louder and more irritable voice. "Stop this fucking car right now."

"Alright, alright," Sai warned him to stay calm. "We'll turn around. Let's go…"

When they reached the building again, Sasuke flew inside, checking all the rooms, looking through every nook and cranny. He could still not find his music anywhere.

"See what I mean? Some janitor probably swept it up or something." Sai drawled out.

Sasuke noticed that all the trash cans were empty and immediately flew to one of the halls where all the trash was collected. Fumbling through the discarded cardboard boxes and bags, he looked through them all desperately.

"Get your hands out of the trash, Sasuke. That is disgusting." Sai noted, walking up behind him, dodging a box that Sasuke had just threw aside.

Sasuke ignored him and pulled a new box from the pile, hoping to find his score.

His eyes widened. Carefully, he reached inside the box and extracted a small bottle. It was a bottle he would recognize anywhere. It was a bottle he, himself, had given to a certain someone…

"Sai, where did this come from?" The Uchiha asked quietly, but with a hint of an edge to his voice.

Sai peered at the bottle. "Oh, just some fan of yours. Said their name was Uzumaki Naruto. Wouldn't leave until you saw him. The usual—" He didn't even get to finish before Sasuke sprinted off.

The raven opened the doors to the huge building, a new feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Could it really be?

However, nothing greeted him except rain and the sight of a discarded umbrella.

---

"Hello?"

"Ah, are you the head of the flower company."

"Yes, this is Gaara speaking, how may I help you?"

"I'd like to book an event for tomorrow."

"What kind of event would this be? And for whom?"

"Oh, a public appearance of sorts. And this would be for the famous Sharingan. I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Sai and I'm his manager."

Gaara was about to tell the guy to go to hell, remembering their last encounter. But then he thought about it. Public appearance. Naruto might finally have his chance to see him…

For Naruto's sake.

"Alright."

---

"Listen up everyone," Gaara waited until he had the focus of Naruto, Neji, and Lee. "I just got off the phone with a very important person. Tomorrow we're having a big event here."

"What kind of event?" asked Neji, peeling off his gloves.

"Tomorrow…Sharingan will be making a public appearance here."

There was a deft silence. And then…

"OH MY GOD!" Lee began to jump up and down while he punched the air repeatedly. "Sharingan is going to be within my presence tomorrow. My life is complete."

Gaara turned to see Naruto's reaction, the one he needed to see most. The blonde simply looked away.

"Hey Naruto," he whispered quietly, "the only reason I really agreed to this was to make up for that concert when you didn't get to see him."

Naruto simply sighed before walking away.

---

Sasuke sat in his room, strumming chords on his guitar, when his phone began to ring. His initial thought was to ignore it, and he did pretty well, until it wouldn't stop radiating unwanted noise.

Sighing deeply, annoyed at the fact he had had to stop, he picked up the phone, half wanting to chuck it against the wall.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke, it's Sai. I've found that guy's address for you."

The raven's eyes widened.

"Ok. I'll be there soon."

---

Naruto got off of Gaara's bike and removed his helmet. The redhead had offered him a ride home and he had taken it. Gaara removed his own helmet and rested on the motorcycle.

"Not bad eh? Got a world famous pop star as a lover." Gaara teased lightly.

"Shut up. That's not true. He's just…a schoolmate. That's all."

"Oh I'm sure he's just a schoolmate. Hmm, I'm sure you mean more than just a schoolmate, ne?"

"Don't assume things," Naruto punched him lightly, still with the solemn expression he had been wearing all morning.

"Hey," Gaara tilted his chin up, "why don't you smile a bit? You're thinking this too much Naruto. I was only joking. Don't let it affect you too much, ok?" He finished softly. "But I mean, it'd be kind of cool to be Sharingan's boyfriend, huh?"

"I guess," Naruto paused thoughtfully as a small smile then crept on his face. "Man, that would be the life of luxury. I'd have big houses and fancy cars. I'd have a limitless credit card and maids and servants to my beck and call."

"Now, now, don't get ahead of yourself there," Gaara laughed lightly. "You really expect a lot don't you? Sheesh, hard to satisfy…"

Just then, a sports car came whizzing by them. Gaara let out a low whistle when he caught the brand.

"That is one very nice car."

Neither one had noticed that that car had just pulled up in the driveway during the middle of their chat. Neither one had noticed that it had left just as quickly. Most importantly, neither one had noticed who was behind the wheel.

---

Sasuke pulled away fast in his car. He had heard all that he needed to hear. Was that all Naruto really cared about? The fame? The fortune? It had been too dark to see anything, but he had heard it all. He shook that thought out of his mind. He didn't want to deal with this. Not now.

Pulling back into his apartment, he immediately went inside, dropped his keys, and fell to the bed, feeling exhaustion wave through his body. At the moment, there was nothing more he wanted to do than sleep.

He closed his eyes…

A woman was being thrown down on the stairs.

His left hand twitched slightly.

She was trying, desperately, to crawl away.

He turned his head to the side.

A man was walking up to her, gun in hand.

He let out a small groan.

The gun flashed, more vividly.

He began to pant.

The man raised the gun to the woman's head.

He was tossing and turning again.

The man raised the gun to his own head.

Every inch of his body was having a spasm now.

Twelve-year-old Sasuke looked on in horror.

Sweat was poring over his body.

Shots rang out.

Dark eyes snapped open and the raven sprang out of bed, panting heavily and shaking. He tried to get a hold of himself. He ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair.

It was always the same dream.

Heading downstairs, he pried open the fridge and took out a beer. He took a few gulps and let the numbing effect begin to sink through him.

His phone began to ring.

Slowly, he picked it up and answered it, waiting a good few moments before asking 'hello.'

"Sasuke? Why are you answering the phone at this hour? I was planning on leaving a message for you."

The raven recognized Sai's voice immediately, but said nothing.

"Why are you still awake?"

Silence.

"Oh…you were thinking about it again, weren't you? It's been so many years Sasuke, don't you think it's about time you moved on?"

Silence.

"Well, since you're awake, I might stop by and check on you later."

Sasuke said nothing, clicking the phone off and putting it back on the table.

---

The pavilion where the event was about to take place was set up beautifully. Sasuke was already there, answering questions from various different reporters. Sai was directing all the fans to wait in line for a turn to see Sharingan, while Neji, Lee, and Gaara were putting finishing touches on everything.

"There sure are a lot of people…" Neji commented, while placing the glasses down.

"Why isn't Naruto here yet? We need his help!" Lee exclaimed while clumsily knocking over nearly half the glasses Neji had placed on the table.

"Careful, careful!" Gaara scolded lightly. He glanced at his watch. "You two take over for a while, I'll be right back." He made his way toward the entrance, hoping to see some sign of Naruto…

"Hey!"

Gaara sighed with relief as he saw the blonde making his way toward him, wide smile plastered straight on his face.

"Sorry, I know I'm a little late," he grinned sheepishly.

"It's alright, just get in there." Gaara shooed him inside rapidly. With that, he shoved a tray of drinks in his hand. "Just get those out there."

Naruto nodded and took the heavy tray, making his way through the throng of girls anxiously awaiting to see Sharingan. He walked a little further and his breath hitched.

There he was, surrounded by reporters, no less, but he was still there. Naruto felt a glow begin to rise on his cheeks and he immediately turned away from the scene, not wanting to be spotted, and not so sure he was ready to face him, but not before being stopped by Sai.

"Hey you. The reason you brought the drinks out was to serve them, am I correct?" He turned his back to count the number he would need, and Naruto took that opportunity to try to squeeze away from him, walking away quickly.

But Sai turned around and chased after him, tugging on the blonde's arm to go back. Naruto wasn't even really sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew, Sai was covered in drinks and there was not a single one left on the tray.

Naruto cringed, waiting for a long and angry tirade.

Sai was audibly swearing underneath his breath. There was a glint to his eye and he was anything but pleased.

"Do you know how much this suit costs?"

Naruto shook his head slightly.

"You have to be the crappiest server I've ever met. How dare you spill drinks all over me."

"It was an accident," Naruto let out meekly.

"Yeah, well that accident of yours just ruined a $7000 suit!" By this time, all the talking had stopped and the fans were all staring at them. Even the reporters had stopped asking questions and Sasuke was staring at them curiously. Naruto felt himself flush hotly.

"I said sorry already. I didn't do it on purpose!"

Sai let out a snort and ripped off his nametag. "What the hell is your name anyways? You should be fired." He peered at the tag. "Uzumaki Naruto?" Well—"

From where he stood, Sasuke froze.

U-Uzumaki Naruto?

He made his way to this manager and took in the other's appearance. Sunny blonde hair and bright blue eyes, with whiskers on his cheeks, the boy looked like an angel.

"Uzumaki…Naruto…"

The blonde looked up to see himself staring into the dark eyes of none other than Uchiha Sasuke.

The tension was thick in the air.

No one seemed to breathe or move.

The Uchiha was even more handsome than Naruto remembered. He desperately wanted to find his voice, be able to say anything at all.

Finally, the raven broke the silence.

"So. I heard you wanted to see me. Well…now that you have, that's that huh?"

Naruto didn't like his tone. There was…coldness to it.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" The voice was small, barely heard.

"Do you still remember…your promise?"

Sasuke turned to look at him for a good amount of time before he finally let out a chuckle. "Promise? You didn't think that was real, did you? I mean you're just another guy. But I suppose being around me has its perks huh? The houses, the cars…hey, you might even be able to get a hand on my credit card."

Naruto felt all ray of hope vanish within him as he heard those heart-wrenching words. He had never thought meeting Sasuke would be like this. What happened to the friend he once knew?

He did the only thing he could think of.

Sasuke inhaled deeply as he felt a cold spray of champagne drench him. He blinked open his eyes to see none other than Naruto glaring at him, empty glass in hand, before the blonde took off. Sasuke could hear the camera shutters going off again and he let out a quiet sigh.

One of the reporters called out to him. "Sharingan, Sharingan! Are you really in a relationship with him?"

Sasuke licked his lips, tasting the drink he had all over him. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Didn't you all see that? We're not in a relationship, he obviously hates me." With that, more questions were fired his way, but he couldn't focus on anything. Not when Naruto's hurt face was the only thing stuck in his mind.

---

Ok, so Sasuke's kinda an asshole at the moment. But that's all going to change soon. Both him and Naruto have some issues to figure out and they both kinda misunderstood each other.

Review please! (and I'll try to update again before I leave!)