2 weeks later Friday (December)...

Teenagers cluttered the hallways, gossiping about this or that, complaining about one class or another; you know the usual. Sasuke however felt unusually tense. He ran his fingers through his short black hair, sighed, and made his way down a long hallway that led to his last class of the day. When he entered, he took his usual seat next to Shikamaru, throwing the Nara a lazy "hey" and receiving an even lazier "hey" in return. He scanned the classroom finding neither Kakashi (what a surprise) nor his... I mean the blonde haired dobe. Call it coincidence, but at that moment the latter mentioned strolled into the room, his trade mark grin plastered across his face. Sasuke couldn't help but feel like whatever invisible weight he had been carrying had been removed by that smile, but he'd never admit it aloud. Spotting the Uchiha, Naruto wandered over to him and plopped down comfortably in his lap.

"Get off." Sasuke said immediately shoving the sun kissed teen off his lap and onto the hard awaiting floor.

"Ouch! Bastard." Naruto whined as he rubbed his now tender rump. "Who tied your G-string in a knot?"

"Shut up." Sasuke sighed, flicking the blonde's forehead just for good measure.

"Jerk", the other pouted, as he got up and made his way to the empty seat in front of him. He straddled the chair in such a way that he was now facing Sasuke.

"Hey teme, "The Hobbit" is out in theaters and everyone's been telling me it's pretty good, wanna catch it tonight?"

"Who else is coming?"

"Well, I was hoping the whole gang could get together, you know all team seven."

Sasuke pondered the pros and cons for a moment. This could be a good idea. For the past week everyone seemed stressed, especially Gaara and Neji. There was an strange amount of irritability and touchiness floating around. Maybe it had to do with final exams coming up in a two weeks, but he doubted it. Something was going, he just didn't know what. He made a mental note to interrogate Gaara later on.

"Ok."

"Cool. How 'bout you Shikamaru? You in?"

"Troublesome..." the Nara groaned, but agreed nonetheless.

"You think Suri and Gaara will come?"

"Maybe, I'll text them and ask"

"Perfect! Then it's a date. Movie starts at 9, but I told everyone to meet up at the theaters at about 8:30. I'll text you the specifics later on."

"Fine."

"Hey! Guys you won't believe what happened!" yelled a silver haired man walking into the room, meekly scratching the back of his head. "You see, there was this..."

"LIAR", everyone shouted in unison. Even Sasuke. He had always been a quick learner.

"Well never mind that", Kakashi said chuckling nervously. "Well as you all know, we'll be performing at the Winter Festival next Saturday downtown, so we'll spend all next week practicing our asses off, understand? To be honest, it's been a while since I've been so fortunate to have a group of kids as talented as the ones before me now. And I really mean it when I say, I couldn't be prouder of all the hard work you've shown me so far. So what do you say? Let's show 'em what Konoha High is all about."

Kakashi's speech had been short and nothing too life enlightening, but it left a new feeling in every kid sitting in that room. Determination.

Later on that day...

The sun had set and it was now the moons turn to watch over the billions of people who inhabited earth. Team 7 stood in the cinema lobby, waiting for Sai to get his ticket so they could enter into the actual theater. Sasuke glanced in Neji's direction and could tell something was upsetting the boy. Speaking of Neji, Itachi had also seemed a little off lately. Ever since Thanksgiving, the older Uchiha seemed a bit... reclusive. Sasuke didn't know what had happened, but he was going to find out right now. He made his way over to the Hyuga and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Neji, is something wrong? You seem upset."

"No, I'm fine. Just a little tired." he smiled back weakly, but he was sure he wasn't fooling anyone.

"Come on now. I know something's wrong. Did you and Itachi have a fight or something?"

Neji went silent, deciding to look at the ground.

"Let's walk and talk", Sasuke said pulling Neji's arm. "Hey guys, we'll be right back. We're going to the restroom." he shouted informing the rest of the group.

"Kay, meet us at the snack counter." Suri shouted back.

The raven gave a simple nod of acknowledgment then pulled a reluctant Neji in the opposite direction. The pair walked around aimlessly for a few minutes in silence, Sasuke not wanting to force Neji, and Neji not knowing where to start.

"Itachi...hates me.", Neji began suddenly.

"Why would he hate you?" Sasuke questioned confused.

"On Thanksgiving..." Neji went quiet again. The surrounding atmosphere got near suffocating in a matter of seconds.

"Please don't say you..." Sasuke thought to himself. He didn't want to believe Neji was capable of such a thing, but..

"I hurt him, it's all my fault." Neji said quietly looking down at his feet once again. The two teens had come to halt and Sasuke eyed Neji, guard up and defensive.

"What do you mean you hurt him?" Sasuke said in a low threatening voice. Neji lifted his head only to met by the Uchiha's angry, glaring, brown orbs.

"GOD NO! I would never do anything like that to Itachi!" Neji explained realizing exactly what he had been thinking. Sasuke's face softened, but the mood wasn't completely gone.

"Tell me what's going on Neji? What happened?"

"I mean everything was going fine." Neji started his voice shaky. "Itachi had come to meet my parents, and everything was going fine. My mom absolutely loved him...but then... then my dad saw him, and totally freaked out. He just started yelling and shouting at Itachi and kicked him out." The brunette was crying now.

Sasuke watched him weep quietly. His face was softened completely now.

"I tried to apologize I don't know how many times, but things just aren't the same. It feels like since that day Itachi has been avoiding more and more. And when we are together he barely looks at me. I don't know what to do Sasuke. I'm trying to keep hold of him, but it's like he's slipping through my fingers. Call me stupid for falling so hard after only a month, but I can't help it."

Sasuke gently placed a warm hand on the crying boy's shoulder. "Look I don't know what your father's problem is with my brother, but that's not your fault. It's his opinion, a stupid one, but his opinion nonetheless. And just because he's your father, doesn't mean his words or actions define you as a person. Understand? This isn't your fault Neji, and I am sure Itachi feels the same way. Itachi doesn't have the best self-esteem, so when things go wrong, he tends to blame himself thinking he the cause of it. He probably thinks it best to distance himself from you because he's afraid of ruining your life by causing tension between you and your father. You get it? I know it's hard but Itachi's been through a lot. I haven't seen Itachi as happy as he is with you in a long time. So just know he needs you just as much as you need him. Just be persistent and he'll come around, I promise." He wrapped his arms around Neji, letting the other lay his head comfortably on his shoulder.

The brunette wiped his eyes, his breathing beginning to steady again. He nodded his head slightly, remembering what Itachi had told him that night he'd asked to go on a walk together. (*reference to prev. chapter)

"If you don't feel up to this anymore, I can tell the guys you felt sick and you went home." Sasuke said softly.

"No", Neji replied shaking his head, "I don't feel like being alone right now."

A/N: Hey everyone, heres the next chapter. Not to sad, in my opinion. A little Sasuke/Neji bondind which is always cute. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know how I am doing :)

Warning: Same

Disclaimer: Same