Yes…I know it's been a long time since I've last updated.

I guess it was cause I got a little stuck with where I wanted to take this story next (plus school and for some odd reason, I kept starting stories I know I'll never update like Twisted). But, after listening to lots and lots of music, my inspiration has returned. More or less.

Don't worry, this story will never be abandoned, I love it too much! As for the long waits between updates, I'm sorry but I guess that's just how it's going to be now…hope you guys don't give up on me!

Chapter 9: Jealousy's a Bitch

---

It was another bad day.

Naruto slumped against his locker, having half an urge to simply smash his head into the metal a few dozen times. He had just received a 64 on his last history test. He hadn't done that bad on the multiple choice, but the short answers and five-paragraph essay killed him. The thing was, even if his essay was pretty decent, it wasn't how his sensei liked it, meaning he had gone from around a B…straight to a D.

Who gives a fuck about history anyways? It's in the past for god's sake!

And then he had proceeded to walk into math…

…and had proceeded to walk out at the end of the period with a big fat F adorning his quiz.

Naruto was downright pissed.

Maybe if that hadn't been the day damn Sasuke kept groping me…

More than mad though, the blonde couldn't help but feel disappointed in himself.

He sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy locks. He had never really been a bad student. Well actually, maybe he had screwed around a bit too much during his last three years. So this year, he wanted to stop fooling around and get serious. After all, he had to make some sort of future for himself.

Which led to another thing: college. Despite all of Iruka's hard work, deep down, he knew it was going to be tough to scrape together all that money for his tuition. Before, he had never really thought too much about it. But now, he was maturing (…a tad) and he knew he had to think of others as well as himself.

Iruka had already done so much for him. The least the blonde could do in return was to try and get his act together…even if it was just for his last year.

So, in the end, he had made a promise to himself.

He would get himself a scholarship.

…Ok so maybe that was shooting a bit high.

But he definitely wanted to get something, anything to help Iruka out. No matter how big or small the consolation prize was going to be, it would be worth it.

Which was why now, he could've kicked himself. Practically failing (well…actually failing one) two big assessments was not going to help him achieve his goal. No, he needed to believe in himself.

Victoriously, he punched the air…

And nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

So perhaps he had been a bit too into his thoughts.

Turning around to face whoever it was that had disturbed him, he felt himself gaping.

DamnfuckinglittlepieceofshitUchiha!!!

"You!"

Sasuke cocked his head to the side.

"Me?"

"You!!"

"Me…"

YOU!!!!"

"Me." Sasuke had no idea where this little game was going.

"AH!" Angrily, Naruto shoved his hand into his bag and pulled out his crumpled math test, thrusting it under the Uchiha's nose.

"Ouch, dobe…"

Oooh…why you…

"That is one sucky ass grade."

Naruto really lost it then.

"Yeah?! Well you! You! Me! Grope! Failing now! Fuck! Stupid…Uchiha! Keep your hands off! Damn pervert! FUCK! Now…now FAILING NOW!" Naruto sputtered. He was so angry his thoughts were coming out in jumbled, jagged phrases. He couldn't even form a sentence.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, clearly amused.

"Sorry…the only thing I got out of that was 'grope' and 'fuck.' Oh, and fail?"

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to control himself. All of a sudden, the energy he had once had seemed evaporate. He slumped, depleted. His gaze lingered on the Uchiha who looked completely cool and collected with that smug air of cockiness and I'm-so-much-better-than-you all around him.

And here he was. A mess.

"What I meant to say was that I just nearly failed my history test, and then right after that, I find out I failed my math quiz. And it's all thanks to you!" There. He got it out.

Sasuke's eyebrow seemed to arch higher.

"And how would this be my fault?"

"Well if you had just kept your damn hands to yourself that day, you wouldn't have screwed up my concentration and…and…" Damn when Naruto actually said it out loud, it sounded much lamer than it had in his head.

Sasuke smirked. "Glad to know you were thinking about me."

Pompous bastard. "That's not the point!" Naruto cried out, heatedly.

A hand slammed on either side of his head so that now, the blonde was cornered, sandwiched between his locker and Sasuke. The raven leaned close him, until his lips lingered merely a few centimeters away from the other's ear.

"Am I your excuse for everything now? I heard that's what you used after you smashed your car."

Naruto felt himself grow hot upon the feeling of Sasuke's breath on his ear. "H-how'd you know about that?"

"A little birdie told me. Well, actually. It was a lazy one."

I'm going to kill Shikamaru…Naruto glowered. He felt like a complete idiot. Though, with the more time he was spending with Sasuke, he was beginning to grow quite accustomed to that feeling.

"Why're you here, Sasuke? What do you want?" The blonde asked tiredly, trying to spare at least a little bit of his dignity.

The Uchiha dropped his hands and backed away. Naruto bit his lip, missing the warmth.

Dark, obsidian eyes pierced his, almost as though they were scanning through his mind.

Finally, Sasuke broke off eye contact and sighed heavily.

"You know, dobe. Any other person would've figured out that staring at them for that long meant they should know the answer to their own question."

"Why are you here, Sasuke?" The blonde ground out, a bit more forcefully this time. He really wasn't in the mood to play games.

The raven looked at him.

"It's Tuesday."

Oh. Right.

Ever since their little incident at the park, the Uchiha had made time to see the blonde, every Tuesday. Sometimes it was for five minutes, other times only two. They would usually have a short chat, but it would always end with Sasuke uttering three words.

I. Like. You.

At first, Naruto hadn't known what to do or say. In fact, he had found it quite annoying because the raven always managed to find a way to get those words across to him, one way or another (Naruto had tried hiding from him just to see his reaction. Alas, Sasuke had found him in the janitor's closet, the teacher's lounge…even in the girl's bathroom).

And then…he had stopped finding it annoying. Eventually, he had gotten used to it. Now, he had even begun to think it was…cute. Of course, Naruto never said anything of the sort back to Sasuke, and the raven never made any comment about it. But hearing the little endearment from the normally stoic Uchiha was…heartwarming in way.

And…being that he was so stressed out from his tests, Naruto had simply forgotten today was Tuesday.

The corners of his lips began to tilt up slowly.

"I—"

"Sasuke!"

Both males turned to see none other than the pink-haired girl running toward them. Sakura was waving frantically. Her clothing, like always, was about four sizes too small and her face as smothered in make-up.

So, it was a complete shock to Naruto when Sasuke lifted his hand in response to the overly perky girl.

What. The. Hell.

Naruto didn't think he could even remember the last time Sasuke had waved to anyone. Uchiha Sasuke didn't do waving. He was far too high above it.

The blonde was on the verge of having a stutter attack again when he was shoved aside, none-too-gently by the moving pink ball.

"Come on Sasuke! We're going to be late for class!"

With that, she latched onto his arm and began tugging him toward the direction of the other hallway.

Naruto was gaping again.

What?! First he waves to her…and then…and then he lets her grab onto him! What is going ON?!

"Later, dobe." Sasuke called out over his shoulder as he was led away by Sakura.

It took about a full twenty seconds for Naruto's brain to resgister that he was now, standing alone in the middle of the hallway.

The urge to slam his head into the locker was coming back again…

Except this time, he was thinking of just stuffing himself into his locker and never coming back out.

Because, as he just watched Sasuke getting pulled away by Sakura, Naruto couldn't help but feel something boiling in the pit of his stomach.

What that feeling was, he didn't exactly know.

But what he did know was this:

He had seen Sakura latch onto his arm.

And he didn't like that at all.

---

In that back of his mind, Sasuke was doing a victory dance.

After the night they had returned from the park, he still had no clue what to "define" their relationship was. They were obviously close, but Naruto still simply refused to them being together.

So, he had started telling the blonde how he felt.

Every Tuesday.

Sasuke could tell his charm was slowly but surely working its magic. When Naruto had tried hiding, he hadn't let himself get beat. He practically stalked the blonde, making sure he got every Tuesday (the time in the girl's bathroom had been somewhat of a stretch though).

But Sasuke had never been a very patient person. And at the rate that had been going, he would've most likely graduated before he got a response from Naruto. So, he had tried Plan B.

Jealousy.

It was a low blow, this he knew. And it was tough for someone like him to even consider it…but it seemed to be the only way his genius of a mind had thought of.

So much to his displeasure…

He had stopped ignoring Sakura's advances.

The grip on his arm tightened even further and he swore it was cutting off his circulation, but he said nothing. He couldn't blow his cover.

Sakura leaned in closer, and them sickly smell of sugary sweet perfume overwhelmed Sasuke's sense of smell, making him want to vomit.

God, he couldn't believe he was putting up with this.

But, he told himself, this is all for the greater good of getting Naruto to me.

Sasuke looked down at the girl clinging to his arm. With her face covered in artificial crap and her clothing way too small, she looked like a cross between a clown and a hooker.

And as they walked into English together, the Uchiha only had one thought on his mind:

That damn dobe better figure out and admit his damn feelings soon!

---

"Do you SEE them?!"

It was lunch time, and all seemed to be normal. Well, with the exception of a raven-haired boy looking incredibly bored with a pink-haired girl by his side, blabbing on about nothing important. Oh, and a blonde boy watching from afar with flames practically shooting out of his eyes.

"Well?! Do you?!" Kiba groaned, while Shikamaru sighed.

"Yes Naruto. We see them."

"No, I don't think you see them! I mean, look at th—"

"Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted, "Sasuke and Sakura are the only things you've allowed us to look at for the past three weeks."

The blonde blinked. Ok, so maybe he had been a little…obsessed. It was just weird that all of a sudden, Sasuke had started spending all his time with…with Sakura!

Fucking Sakura of all people!

In fact, the raven had been basically ignoring him. The only real time they had talked was on Tuesdays…and the most that had been was usually only for ten minutes! When Naruto had tried asking Sasuke what the hell he was thinking, the Uchiha wouldn't respond, making up some stupid excuse and then walking off without a word.

So for the past three weeks, the blonde had been irritable.

Stupid Sasuke. Stupid Sakura. Stupid everything!!!

"Naruto?"

"What," the blonde snapped out.

"Me and Shikamaru have come to a conclusion."

"And what might that be?" Naruto glared at them.

"You're…jealous."

The blonde turned to stare Kiba…then to Shikamaru…then back to Kiba…

"What?!" He let out a laugh. "You guys…that's a good one."

"We're serious, Naruto. Ever since Sasuke started hanging out with Sakura, you've been getting all grouchy and shit. And we think its cause you're jealous of her. You want Sasuke's attention.

"I—I—"

Jealous.

He was jealous.

…

Damn straight he was jealous!

Slamming his hands on the table in a way that startled both Kiba and Shikamaru, the blonde stood up.

"I'll see you guys later. I have to go end this. Now."

---

Sasuke felt like he was slowly dying.

He just had to like probably one of the most oblivious people in the world.

How long was it going to take Naruto to realize that he was jealous?

He had given the blonde two weeks at most. But it was now near the end of the third and Sasuke had clearly underestimated Naruto's ability to be downright stupid.

The raven snapped out of his thoughts when he found a pair of chopsticks underneath his nose, an obvious attempt by Sakura to feed him.

Sasuke looked at her with disgust.

He had thought it would've been easier than this.

He had thought it was worth it.

He thought he could've handled it.

But no.

Having to deal with THIS for the past three weeks was totally NOT worth it.

Fuck this.

With a growl, he got up.

He was going to hunt the blonde down and beat some sense into him.

---

"TEME!"

Naruto had followed Sasuke out of the cafeteria and felt about ready to kick the raven's ass for what he had been putting him through.

The Uchiha regarded him with a cold look.

"What do you want, dobe?"

"We need to talk."

Sasuke nodded, but before either of them could say another word…

"Sasuke!"

A vein threatened to pop in Naruto's forehead.

"Sasuke!

He was going to…

"Sasuke, wait for me!"

Fucking kill that girl…

"Sasuke, where're you going?!"

If she didn't cease her talking…

"Sasuke, one second!"

In the next five seconds…

"Sasuke, I love you!"

"ARGH SHUT THE HELL UP AND STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU STUPID BITCH!" Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously and Sakura let out a squeak before turning around and running as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

Sasuke was a bit shocked himself.

He had never seen Naruto act like that before.

Then…it clicked.

Naruto was jealous.

He felt his arm being yanked harshly and he followed the fuming blonde into a small corner of the school. His arm, from all that it had taken from Sakura, and now from Naruto, was aching in pain, but he was too happy to give a shit.

Naruto was jealous!

Finally, they stopped and Naruto had a killing aura all around him.

Sasuke looked at the blonde once.

Then twice.

And then…

He laughed.

God, he couldn't stop laughing. Not that the situation was that funny, but something just seemed to break in the raven's head and now, he couldn't control his laughter at all.

Naruto's look of anger changed to that of confusion, then back to anger, then back to confusion, and lastly, back to anger, though he didn't look at all as dangerous as before.

When Sasuke managed to get his laughter into check, he reached a hand up and poked the blonde in the forehead.

"You're cute when you get all flustered."

Naruto swatted his hand away impatiently. "Look Sasuke, let's get one thing straight. Sakura's not coming within ten feet of you ever again."

"Hmm, and why not, dobe?" Sasuke countered.

The Uchiha was slightly taken aback before he found himself being pulled into Naruto's arms. A fierce growl echoed in his ear.

"Because you're mine."

Sasuke was speechless.

The moment he had been waiting for had finally come.

Naruto had just fucking admitted Sasuke belonged to him.

"So…does this mean you're willing to be my boyfriend?"

Sasuke waited for the response, breath caught in his throat…

He felt a nod against his neck.

"Yeah. I'll be your boyfriend…asshole."

Sasuke felt a grin split his face wide.

He pulled the blonde against him closer. God, he couldn't even remember the last time he had felt this good.

He wanted to do nothing more than bask in his glory.

Then, a voice cut him off from his triumphant thoughts.

"Sasuke—I smell perfu—"

"Just shut up, Naruto." The blonde was not about to ruin the moment. Again.

But speaking of which, he couldn't wait to go home and wash Sakura's scent off his body that it seemed to cling to.

After all the hell that he had put up with, he was right.

It had been worth it.

Because now…Naruto Uzumaki was his boyfriend.

Mission accomplished.

---

Yay they're finally together! Took them awhile but eh…

Sorry if you guys think this chapter's crappy. I guess it really has been a long time since I've practice my writing skills.

Oh, and for anyone that watches House, that's where I stole the "I like you" thing from. I don't remember if it was actually Tuesday, but I thought that whole concept was cute.

So what'll happen now that the two of them are together? Well there's Kiba and Shikamaru and their French skit that they have to work on…oh and there's still Itachi! (hope you guys didn't forget about him!)

Review, review, review!

I don't know if I'll be able to update again before the end of the year, but if you guys are nice and maybe drop a REVIEW who knows what'll happen…