Hey, guys. Bit of a shorter chapter this time. It's necessary to set up the next chapter, though, so I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. Thank you to all of you for reading, and I offer a special thanks to those of you who reviewed. Now, on with the chapter!

9. Fakin' It

Kakashi Hatake stood in front of the class the next day, a trace of a smile evident behind his mask. He had been fifteen minutes late, as usual, but was now prepared to address the students with unusual pleasure.

"Well, class, today I'm going to give you your first project." There was a simultaneous groan from the class, which Kakashi quickly waved down. "Now, now; I know what you're thinking, but I think you'll like what I have planned. I'm going to split you into groups of two, and each group will meet over the next week to learn about each other. Then, you will all write your partner's life story from his perspective. Easy, right?"

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, knowing perfectly well what the man had planned. Of course, he still hadn't forgiven the teacher for his humiliation the previous day, and now that the Uchiha knew he was in love with Naruto, this resentment had only grown worse. It wasn't that Sasuke was overly concerned about his feelings for Naruto; it was more of a crush at this point, something that he could easily do away with. As long as he kept away from the blond, Sasuke could do away with these unnecessary emotions before he became dependent upon them, as he had in the past.

Then again, as he watched his teacher explain the project, the Uchiha had a sinking suspicion that avoiding Naruto would not be as easy as he thought. It would be just like Kakashi to set up this convoluted plan to force the two of them to be together, and Sasuke did not like the prospect one bit.

Do your worst, Kakashi. I can handle your meddling… I will forget about Naruto.

"Now, if the right side of the class – my right – will line up, I've have the names of all those on the right side in this hat. Do I really have to explain this any further?"

Sasuke quickly glanced towards Naruto, determining whether they would be considered on the same side of the room. As he suspected, however, they were in the middle of the class, putting them in different groups. Naruto seemed to realize this as well, and quickly turned his head away when he met the Uchiha's eyes.

Great… I'm sure Kakashi's enjoying every minute of this…

"Now, line up already," Kakashi said, pulling out his hentai novel as he spoke. "Stalling isn't going to make this project go away."

The class quickly complied, forming a neat, single file line in front of the old, leather cowboy hat, with each student pulling out a slip of paper and reading the name aloud to the class. While most were at least content with their fates, others were less than pleased. Sakura and Ino, for example, were immediately at each other's throats, causing quite a scene before Kakashi decided to intervene. Shikamaru simply sighed when he drew Shino Aburame's name, but none of this really mattered to Sasuke. Instead, he prayed that someone else would draw a certain blond's name, hoping that by waiting in the back of the line he might increase his odds.

When it finally came to his turn, however, Sasuke knew that he had no such luck. He had not yet heard the anticipated name, and the sole slip of paper in the hat told him that Kakashi hadn't made a mistake in his math. There was only one person left in the class for the Uchiha to be paired up with, and as he unfolded the slip of paper, his fears were confirmed.

"Naruto Uzumaki…"

Sasuke immediately took his seat and fixed his glare on Kakashi, not once bothering to look at Naruto. He could picture the blond's expression perfectly in his head, one both panic-stricken and excited while he struggling to he struggled to conceal these beneath a mask of indifference. Yes, there was no doubt that Naruto was secretly pleased with this state of affairs, but Sasuke was actually fine with this. It wasn't his fault after all; Mr. Uzumaki just got lucky, and why shouldn't he be happy?

No, it was Kakashi who Sasuke scowled at for the rest of class, knowing that, somehow, the teacher had set this whole thing up. Even though it had come down to chance, the Uchiha could not shake the feeling that Kakashi had been hoping for this particular outcome. As ridiculous as it sounded, Sasuke believed that the man could've manipulated fate if he put his mind to it, and the content smile on the teacher's face did nothing to alleviate this suspicion.

That bastard… this is all just a game for him. He knows perfectly well how I feel about this, but does he care? No, that asshole…

When class finally ended, Sasuke waited at his desk for the others to leave, so that he might have some alone time with his teacher. Kakashi seemed to have anticipated this, as he tucked his book into his back pocket the moment the bell rang, eyeing the Uchiha curiously.

"Ah, Sasuke, what seems to be the problem?"

"Don't give me that, you know damn well what I'm here for," Sasuke replied, leaning over his teacher's desk with a menacing glare.

"I see… so this is about the project, correct?" Kakashi said, resting his head on his hand. "I got the feeling you weren't to pleased about having Naruto as your partner."

"Really? What gave you that idea?" the Uchiha said with a scowl. "You set this whole thing up just so I'd be stuck with him. Why can't you leave me alone, Kakashi?"

"Now, Sasuke, I've asked you before to address me as Mr. Hatake at school…"

"Don't change the subject! I want you to give me a different partner now!"

Kakashi sighed, rising from his seat to erase some notes from the blackboard. "You know I can't do that, Sasuke. I'm sorry that you aren't pleased with your partner, but if I let you switch partners, I'd have to let everyone change, and then the entire point of this project would be lost. No sense in writing about someone you already know, right?"

Damn him… he was prepared for this…

"Fine, you may have won this battle, Kakashi, but it's useless. You can't force him on me."

Kakashi gave the Uchiha a look of feigned confusion, scratching his head as he spoke. "Yeah… sure, whatever you say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to clean up around before I head home."

Sasuke decided not to press the issue any further, but instead stormed out of the room without another word. No sooner had raven-haired boy thrown open his locker just down the hall, though, than he was approached by a certain blond, wearing his typical, stupid grin.

"H-hey, Sasuke," Naruto began as the Uchiha slammed his locker shut. "So, I was just thinking about thing for Kakashi's class…"

"What's this? Naruto Uzumaki wants to get a head start on his project?" Sasuke said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No, it's not that," the vulpine boy stammered, a bit of color rising to his cheeks. "I just thought I'd see what time worked for you… so we can get this thing over with."

Hmm… he's trying so hard to sound like he doesn't care about this project at all...

"Well… let's see," Sasuke began, rubbing his chin in mock thought. "What are you doing right now?"

"Now? You mean, like, this minute? Uh, nothing I guess…"

"Great, then you wouldn't mind heading over to the park with me. We can at least cover some ground today."

With that, Sasuke slung his backpack over his shoulder and started for the exit, a bewildered Naruto following in his tracks. The Uchiha wasn't exactly sure if this was the best idea, since he had thought it up on the spot, but he had a feeling that he could make this work. After all, the sooner they got this project over with, the sooner Sasuke could forget about the blond and move on with his life.

Then again, there was always that chance that things could go horribly wrong. Sasuke hadn't exactly pinpointed Naruto's feelings for him yet, and this was quite worrisome. Friendship was one thing – he had dealt with plenty of people who wanted to bask in the light of the brilliant Uchiha – but Sasuke had a feeling this wasn't the case. He had seen the way Naruto blushed the previous day, the way he kept avoiding eye contact, even now, asking to start this project as soon as possible; it all led to one, obvious conclusion, but Sasuke quickly shook it from his head.

No! It can't be… I'm just letting that bastard Kakashi get in my head. Naruto just feels like he has a connection with me because of our parents. I can handle this…

As much as Sasuke tried to tell himself this, he knew deep down that it was far more complicated than that. It was easier to just ignore that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, though, so the Uchiha decided to focus on the task at hand. All he had to do was finish this project. It wasn't a big deal: he just had to ask a few questions about Naruto and write a paper. He'd show Kakashi yet.

They walked in silence for a while, Naruto trailing awkwardly behind his raven-haired companion as they wandered Konoha's streets. Cars whizzed by on the streets beside them, trying to beat rush hour traffic home, while up above the sun shined through some gray clouds. Soon, the park appeared just around the corner, and the duo began their search for an ideal spot. Soon, they decided on a bench just on the top of a hill, where they slumped down and pulled out their pens and papers.

"All right, let's get this over with," Sasuke said, turning to the blond with a sigh.

"Okay, I'll go first," Naruto replied, chewing on his pen in thought. "Oh, I know! What's your favorite color?"

Is he serious? That's the most profound thing he could think of?

"Blue," Sasuke replied, pausing a moment before asking a question of his own. "Where were you born?"

"Wait, aren't you going to ask about my favorite color?"

"I think I've figured that much out," Sasuke replied, indicating the blond's bright orange T-shirt. As he did so, the Uchiha noticed for the first time a plastic bag sitting on the ground, which he pointed to curiously. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Naruto asked, lifting the bag, "these are some clothes that I left at Shikamaru's last night. He brought them for me today."

Last night? Wait a second… did Shikamaru tell him something? I wouldn't put it past him, the way things have been going lately…

"I see. You never did answer my first question, you know."

"Oh, right! I was born over in Mizu. Still do, actually… at least during the summer," Naruto began, trailing off for a minute before realizing it was his turn. "Oh, what about you? Were you born in Konoha?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied, only to find the blond staring at him expectantly. "What?"

"C'mon, is that all you have to say? Do you like Konoha? Have you always lived here? Give me something to work with!"

"Fine," the Uchiha sighed, leaning back in the bench. "I've lived in Konoha my entire life. My parents owned the Uchiha Corporation before it merged with Akatsuki shortly after their deaths. They traveled frequently, sometimes they'd take Itachi and I along, like a vacation, but this is the only place I'd really call home. That good enough for you?"

"Yeah, that's much better," Naruto said with a goofy grin. "Now it's your turn."

"Okay, let's see," Sasuke mused, tilting his head to the side. "How did you meet your roommate? I think he said his name was Kiba?"

"Oh, yeah, Kiba! We met back home in Mizu," Naruto explained casually. "He was the first real friend I made after my parents died… I can't imagine what it would be like here without him. Now, as for you…"

What's with that smirk? What's he planning…

"Have you ever been in love with someone?" the blond asked, leaning in playfully.

"What? No!" Sasuke snapped, backing up to the edge of the bench.

"Oh, come on, there's no need to be embarrassed. You can tell me," Naruto continued, pressing closer to the Uchiha.

"Dammit, Naruto! I told you 'no,' now back off!"

With that, Sasuke kicked the blond back and rose off the bench, brushing off his clothes in a huff. He tossed his papers into the backpack and turned to Naruto, suddenly feeling guilty at the sight of his partner's panicked expression.

How much does he know? What did Shikamaru tell him yesterday…

"Look, let's finish this some other day…"

The moment these words left Sasuke's lips, there was a loud clap of thunder and the sky tore open, pouring upon the duo in the park. The Uchiha stared up at the rain in irritation, letting it run down his face.

"Shit."

"Sasuke! We can go back to my place. It's only a block from here," Naruto offered as he hurriedly packed up his belongings.

As much as Sasuke wanted to limit his contact with the blond, he knew that there was no other option at this point.

"All right. You lead the way."

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Well, there you have it. What will happen at Naruto's apartment? You'll just have to wait and see! And remember: review!