Summary: Should anyone ever look up the word paragon in the dictionary, they'd find a definition similar to: a model of perfection. Right next to that particular definition, they would also undoubtedly find a picture of Sasuke Uchiha. [NaruSasu
Warnings: NaruSasu, which means yaoi. You have been warned. Other than that, the same warnings apply.
A/N: Okay, it seems I got a lot of negative responses to the whole "demanding reviews" thing, so I won't do it again. But here's how I feel on the topic: If so many people can favorite it, why can't they review? And you know what? People reviewed when I demanded it for an update. I don't want to have to do that every chapter, and I won't. But I like to feel like my hard work and time is appreciated. And I'm glad people favorite my story. That's great, but I want feed back. Let me know why you like it enough to consider it a favorite so that I can keep putting that element in. Can everyone understand where I'm coming from here?
Anyway, I got a lot more than ten reviews, which means I owe all of you an update. (Can you see how this works? Reviews updates : )
Paragon
Chapter Five
Author: Alley-Oop
Monday is a new start, and I don't even mind that I have to go to school. In fact, when I open my locker, there's a note waiting for me in Sasuke's neat print.
Last weekend was fun. Let's do it again sometime.
Sasuke
I smile and look around before putting the note in my book bag. No one can kill my good mood. Not Sakura, not Shikamaru (who has taken it upon himself to tease me about my secret sexuality every opportunity he gets), and definitely not Kiba.
Some people tell me that I looked hot at the party, and others said that it was hot when I kissed Sasuke, some people didn't say anything, but I didn't hear anything negative at all until art class rolled around.
I may have been wrong when I said that Kiba couldn't bring me down from my good mood.
"Naruto's a fag!" he sing-songed. "Naruto's a fag!"
I sat down, and the few people who weren't at the party looked at me strangely.
"You're just jealous because you weren't even invited to the party," I retort. That promptly shuts him up. I feel triumphant and bold as I sit there. I'm waiting for Kiba to come at me with something, anything, but he isn't going to, which is odd. I thought he'd be seizing this chance with everything in him.
Everyone goes absolutely silent when Sasuke walks in wearing a light blue sweatshirt and baggy khakis pants. Even people who weren't at the party are talking about the grand finale, and poor Sasuke is getting all the shit about it while I've been getting the praise. People say I am hot. People say Sasuke is disgusting. And why? What is the difference? The difference is that Sasuke is- or was, as of today- popular, and his friends all used him as an example. Now here they are hearing accusations of Sasuke being gay, and that isn't cool, so he's getting treated like shit by all the people that he hangs- or hung- out with. It doesn't seem fair, but that's life for ya.
I'm mostly interested in how Kiba is going to respond to Sasuke, now that all of this has happened. However, he acts indifferent, much to my disappointment, as Sasuke takes his seat.
"Hey," I say to him.
"Hey," he responds with about as much enthusiasm as a dead sloth. He rubs his eyes and lays his head on the desk.
"Long day?"
"Hn…"
"I got your note."
"What note?" he asks, not lifting his head to look at me because he's still so enthused.
"The one you put in my locker," I say.
"Oh, that one. I wrote that right before I fell head-first into hell," he says.
What is that supposed to mean? That he doesn't mean what he had written anymore because today has been hell? Or is he just saying that he wrote it so long ago that he didn't remember putting it there?
"Hey, fag boys!" someone shouts from the hall. I turn my head in the direction, but see nothing. Sasuke didn't even bother to twitch.
"I hate today," I hear Sasuke mumble to himself, and I smile.
"It was worth it, don't you think?" I ask. My smile falters as I anticipate his answer.
Finally, he lifts his head, smiles at me, and says, "Definitely." I feel my insides bubble up with happiness. We're quiet for a moment, reflecting back on everything that had happened in the two-day span of last weekend. It was definitely, without competition, the best weekend of my life. I could handle the crap from the school kids, I could deal with Kiba, and I could certainly make Sasuke not regret what had happened between us, although it didn't seem like the last one would be that much of a problem.
Art class crawls by so slowly that I would love to just rip my hair out. Kiba has been taking every single chance that he possibly can to glare at me. His eyes read, "You're in for it," while his face says, "I hate you with every molecule of my body." Neither is very comforting. When I stop to think about it though, I'm not surprised that he would hate me. He wants Sasuke just as badly as I do- maybe ever worse. If I'm addicted, Kiba must be something worse. He must thrive off of it. After all, the further along I get with Sasuke, the more I want him. Kiba has made it farther than me, so he must be burning with desire.
Suddenly, I feel sorry for Kiba. He and Sasuke had been an item once, and he lost that love, which would be devastating.
Sasuke is not someone to toy with. One wrong move and you'll end up as bitter and malicious as Kiba.
"You wanna go see a movie later tonight?" I ask Sasuke, who has cheered up significantly since school let out. Seeing as I've figured out that I beat Kiba at something for once in my life, I'm feeling confident and bold. He owes me, anyway, I think. Sasuke now owed me three, if I recall correctly, and a movie would be the least he could do.
I'm standing at Sasuke's locker as he puts all his books away.
"Sure. We'll go Dutch (1)," he says.
"Sounds good."
"See ya there." He shuts his locker and walks away, twirling his keys around his finger. I wish I had keys to twirl. Which reminds me that I need to talk to Shikamaru if I expect to get to the movies at all. I walk quickly through the hallways, scouring them for any sign of my lazy friend. I finally find him leaning against a locker with a very amazing-looking Temari. It kind of makes me glad I'm gay- I wouldn't want to have a crush on Shika's girl.
"Hey, Shikamaru, can I talk to you for a moment?" I ask, tugging his arm until he pulls away from his new girlfriend with promises of, "Just one minute," and, "I'll be right back."
"What do you need, Naruto? Something to do with Sasuke, I'm guessing?" he inquires, not missing an opportunity to tease me about my newly uncovered sexuality.
"Gee, how'd you know?" I roll my eyes at him. "Yes, it's about Sasuke. We have a movie date tonight, and I was wondering if you'd give me a ride."
"And…?" Of course, Shikamaru knows the drill by now.
"And I was wondering if I could borrow twenty bucks until my next check." I work uptown at Shorty's Steakhouse Mondays through Fridays. Today they are closed because it's the owner's birthday and he went out of the country to visit family. The managers decided it would be a good idea not to work in honor of his 50th birthday, which is just fine with me.
Shikamaru glanced around me to find Temari, and then looked back at me. "Fine, but I can't pick you up. Temari and I have a dinner date."
"Perfect," I tell him. "Thank you so much."
He slaps a twenty into my hand and says in a hushed whisper, "Don't make me regret it, Naruto." Then he's returning to Temari, leaving me stunned and gripping a twenty in my fist. I shove the money into my pocket and start my short trek home.
"You look delicious," Sasuke states as I meet him in the theater lobby. My hair is teased and wild in a tamed way, my clothes are tight and colorful, and my face is wind burnt.
"I could say the same thing to you, Sasuke." His name rolls off my tongue in a sultry-sweet voice, and he looks up at me in surprise, his bangs falling gracefully across his face.
"So it's going to be a night like that, Naruto?" My own name coming from his mouth is enough to give me goose bumps, but the way he says it makes my body feel scorched. It should be illegal to have a voice like that.
"Only if you want it to be," I recover in time to respond.
"And if I say I want it to be that way?" he presses, taking a step towards me.
My mouth is right next to his ear, my voice less than a whisper. "Then it will be the best night of your life." Of course, I don't really know that, but I figure that it was the perfect line when Sasuke shudders next to me.
"It's on," he says, then walks away to the counter.
I just stand there, waiting for him. It's not time to buy tickets to the movie that we agreed on seeing- some cheesy comedy- so I wonder what he's up to. When he gets there, he looks back at me and winks, and then turns back to the counter.
What have I gotten myself into?
When he returns, he waves two tickets in front of my face.
"I thought we were going Dutch…" I say, wondering what movie we were possibly going to see.
"Well, I figured that, for the best night of my life, I could afford an extra ticket." Suddenly, his breath is on my neck. "And that means I only owe you two now." Suddenly, his tongue is on the nape of my neck, just for a moment, causing me to shudder so hard that I feel like I could easily slip into a seizure. Sasuke chuckles and steps around me to give the guy our tickets.
"What are we watching?" I demand, a pout evident on my face. He just looks over his shoulder and bats his beautiful lashes at me, making me angry. I'm not angry that he doesn't tell me, I'm angry that he can deflect my questions with such a simple move. But it's impossible to stay mad when I'm with Sasuke, so I loyally follow him into the theater, even when I see the title, which is some movie rated R for "explicit content." I shake my head, knowing where this night would most likely go. Not that I wasn't excited. I was jazzed to see what would happen, but at the same time, I was anxious. It was a kind of scary thought.
"Are you coming?" Sasuke was annoyed at my slowness, I could tell.
"I'm moving, aren't I?" I grumble, slipping into the dimly lit theater. We're the last ones in, and the only seats that are together are clear in the top corner, so we scuffle our way up to claim them. The previews come on, and I settle in to watch the movie, content to just feel Sasuke's body heat in the seat next to me.
"Don't look now, but here comes Kiba," Sasuke whispers to me. His breath is warm on my ear, but I feel chilled upon hearing Kiba's name. I look about frantically and finally spot him. Another person is with him, but I can't tell who it is between the darkness and the distance. They're coming closer, though.
I feel the overwhelming urge to duck, but it's far too late; Kiba has seen us. He tells the other guy something, and then comes up to us, alone.
" I didn't expect to see you two here, especially not together," he starts in as soon as he reaches us.
"Surprise," Sasuke responds, once again showing that dead-sloth emotion on his.
"What are you guys doing after the movie?" he inquires, his voice casual, his face shielded by darkness.
Sasuke contemplates this question for a moment before giving me a glance and smirking up at Kiba. "I'm going to enjoy the best night of my life," he answers coolly. I feel my cheeks flush as Kiba looks between Sasuke and I, outrage etched onto the visible parts of his face. I once again feel a pang of sympathy, but it's washed away without a trace as soon as Kiba opens his fat mouth.
"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean- especially with him, Sasuke. He's just so…" he pauses here, and I feel the tension building. Anger filters through me like wild lightening, and I try my best to sit still and be quiet.
"So what, Kiba?" Sasuke's voice promises death if Kiba doesn't end that sentence in something kind and complimentary.
"Nothing. The movie's starting. Talk to you tomorrow." He shoots me one last withering glare before he trots back to his seat.
"You didn't have to do that," I say to Sasuke as the lights dim further.
"Do what?" He sounds honestly ignorant.
"Defend me," I answer. "I may not seem like much of a fighter, but I can handle myself." I start staring at my hands, which are resting in my lap.
"I know." It seems as if Sasuke isn't paying any attention to me, so I look up to find his opaque eyes boring into me. The look on his face takes my breath away: pure, undeterred passion is what I see through the ever-dimming lights before everything is eclipsed with darkness.
Instead of responding audibly, I lean in and give him a swift kiss. He chuckles softly, making me feel slightly offended, seeing as I didn't know what he's laughing on. One could only assume that it's my "innocent behavior" or "cuteness."
"What's so funny?" I ask, indignant.
"Could you imagine sleeping with that?" he asks, and I don't know if the appropriate action is to throw up or laugh back.
"Awful," I tell him.
"You have no idea," is what I get in return. And Sasuke's right: I don't. It really must have been terrible, though. I think back to that day in the bathroom last Thursday, how Kiba treated Sasuke. A relationship must have been hell and a half. No wonder Sasuke hated him so much.
"It must have hurt like hell," I say, not necessarily meaning the sex.
Sasuke is silent, and I start to sweat, thinking that I'd said the wrong thing. However, after a few tense, awkward moments, he says, "Yeah," then is quiet.
"It'll be better though, now that's he's gone." Now that I'm here, I want to say, but I don't. Sasuke picks up on the meaning, anyway.
"I know. Naruto, let's not watch this movie. Let's go somewhere else."
"Like where?" I ask, more than a little surprised. He pulls me close to him, so close that I'm nearly resting on his lap. Actually, I think I am sitting in his lap.
"Like, to your place," he says, and a warm tongue is outlining the shell of my ear.
"If you want to," I finally manage to tell him.
"I do…"
1) Going Dutch: It simply means that each person pays his or her own fees. No one buys for anyone else.
A/N: If you can't figure out what's going to happen in the next chapter, then you're firkin retarded.
Anyway, this chapter was kind of long. Do you guys like the longer chapters, or the normal ones?
Oh, and I'm sick, so don't be mad at me for crapiness (and I already know that this was a weaker chapter. The next one will make up for it, I'm sure).
Last little thing: I'm running out of ideas really fast, so some reader input would be fantastic, although I won't demand it. Just remember: reviews updates.
