AN: Ah, I'm sorry, my lovelies. This chapter was a beast to try and write, and it just would not flow. Stupid thing. Still, I'm posting it up anyway for the good old weekly update. Hell, I can always come back and revise it later, eh? Feel free to comment/criticize. And as usual thank you for the awesome reviews! I'll be replying to each one. I can't reply to OreoCookie for your Cloud Cover review personally, so if you're reading this - thank you so much. Made me super happy! That was an amazingly kind and inspiring review, and you should definitely go for writing your own story, regardless of similarities. It's just fanfiction after all. Who cares? xD

Red Storm

Chapter 7: In Control

"I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out."
~Ally Carter

Naruto grabbed the mugs on the table roughly and slammed them onto his tray. He threw out his hand to pick up the next, but managed to hit another nearby cup with his arm. The half-full coffee teetered for a moment and then fell with a clatter, spilling the brown liquid all over the black table before rolling off and falling with a clunk to the floor.

Naruto took a deep breath to stop himself cursing and glared at the evil object.

"Stupid mug." He muttered. Stupid thing couldn't even stay upright.

"Having a bad day?" said a smooth voice nearby. It was tainted with a slight drawl.

Naruto looked up. It was the white-haired guy from the last week sitting back in a dark green armchair with the air of one who owned the world. It seemed he was becoming a regular at the café.

Remember, don't be paranoid, Uzumaki, he reminded himself.

Naruto shot him a quick, professional smile. "I've had better."

The man took a sip of his coffee. "Looks like something is bothering you, and I bet I can guess what."

Naruto put down his tray and picked up the white cloth.

"Oh yeah?" he said before starting to mop up the spilled coffee, trying not to wrinkle his nose as he felt the cloth become sodden and heavy with the cold brown liquid.

"Girl trouble?"

Naruto straightened up and gave the man his full attention, amazed. "How did you know?"

The man smiled showing his straight white teeth. A small silver stud glinted under his lip, the piercing at odds with his crisp, black, business suit.

"It's almost always about a girl." he said in his casual drawl, then paused and added. "…or a guy."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, well my problem is both."

"Ah," replied the man. "I thought so."

Naruto raised a brow. "Huh?"

The man took another sip of his coffee. "Well, you strike me as the type who could go both ways."

Heat crept into Naruto's face. Suddenly he didn't feel much like continuing this conversation, and he turned back to mop up the coffee. "Yeah, well, I'm not."

He saw the man shrug out of the corner of his eye. "Fair enough. No need to be embarrassed if you are bi or anything. I'm gay myself."

Naruto instinctively looked the man over.

"Really?" said Naruto. "You don't really seem like the…" he trailed off and reddened further.

"Type?" finished the man for him. He grinned. "Alas, we come in many packages."

"Yeah, sorry, that's not what I meant." said Naruto, shooting him an apologetic smile. "I just wouldn't have figured."

"No problem." replied the man. He relaxed back in his chair. "So, you wanna talk about it?"

"About what?" said Naruto.

"Your girl trouble." came the smooth reply.

Naruto looked over at the man, trying to decide whether or not he should talk about this kind of personal stuff. Then again what harm could it do? He plopped the now sodden cloth on his tray with a sigh.

"Me and my friend like the same girl."

The man nodded. "Ah, that old nugget. What makes you think he likes her?"

Naruto shrugged. "Ever since I started dating her, he's been really weird about it."

The man smirked as he took another sip of coffee. "So, what are you going to do?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know. I'm not going to let him steal her, that's for sure."

"That's the spirit." replied the man. "I wouldn't let anyone take my partner without fighting me tooth and nail first."

He shot Naruto a devilish grin and the teenager couldn't suppress a small shiver. He could quite well imagine this man being a scary opponent in a fight despite his crisp, clean look.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "That would be fine and all, but he's also my friend."

The man picked up the jacket draped over the side of the armchair and put it on. "Well then, you gotta decide what's more important. Your friend or your girl."

Naruto frowned. He hadn't really thought of it that clear-cut. "Why can't I just have both?"

He was met with a smirk, the silver stud glinting in the light. "I get the feeling you're going to have to choose one or the other." He shrugged and stood up. "Either way, desires are temporary, feelings are temporary. You should enjoy what you have while you have it, don't you think?"

"I guess." replied Naruto uncertainly, watching as the man finished gulped down his last dregs of coffee and placed the mug on the table.

He straightened up and put a few dollars in the saucer. "Anyway, thanks for the chat…" he glanced at the teen's nametage. "Naruto, right?"

Naruto swallowed and nodded. "No problem, uh…sir."

The man winked. "The name's Hisao." He gave Naruto a casual wave as he headed out of the café. "See you around, Naruto. Good luck with your boy trouble."

Naruto frowned.

"Girl trouble." He muttered quietly to himself as he began clearing up the man's dishes. "It's girl trouble."

Two days later

Sasuke thought he had had it figured out. Since the argument in the mall bathroom, he'd been avoiding Naruto. That's all he needed to do, right? Keep avoiding until the feelings faded.

And yet…the exact opposite seemed to be happening. Sasuke leaned forward on his desk, his head in his hands. Kakashi was droning on about integers, and Sasuke tried to listen, yet his attention kept wandering off to a certain blond seated a couple of rows away.

Naruto certainly didn't seem to be minding the distance. In fact, he seemed to welcome it. He was scribbling notes, sticking out his tongue in concentration.

Probably still mad, thought Sasuke. Not that he could blame him. He'd have been way more pissed at anyone who dared to interrupt his date. An image of him and Naruto sitting together at the mall laughing and joking popped into his head, and he quickly pushed it away. No, they weren't dating, not even close. Him and Naruto on a date? The very idea was laughable...

He sighed and shot another glance at the blond only to have his view blocked by a tall figure.

"This is going to be on the test." said Kakashi. "I suggest you concentrate on the lesson rather than ogling your friend there."

Sasuke scowled. Apart from a few nearby snickers, no one else batted an eye, too used to the pervy teacher reading innuendos into almost everything, but Sasuke saw the glint in Kakashi's eyes and felt a cold rush of fear.

He knew.

Sasuke didn't know how he knew, but Kakashi knew. That irritating man had always been able to read him infuriatingly well. It drove Sasuke mad to no end. He pointedly avoided the man's eyes and faced the board in front of him, attempting to concentrate. If only Naruto wasn't a few rows away.

He jumped as Kakashi slammed his book.

"That's all for today, class. You can get on with your important lives and prepare for next period. As for me, I have an appointment with God which I can't be late for." He left the classroom in a flash.

Sasuke sighed. That man never stopped talking bull.

He stood up and began packing away his things, deciding to take his time with things - let Naruto get ahead of him. That way he could avoid him for longer.

"Hey." said a familiar voice.

Sasuke's head snapped up only to be met with a pair of grumpy-looking blue eyes framed by that sinfully golden blond hair. He swallowed and continued packing up his things.

Naruto is not attractive, he reminded himself.

"What do you want, Uzumaki?" he said in the most disinterested voice he could muster.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto's body tense at the cold greeting, and Sasuke felt a hand grab his arm, forcing him to look up.

"I'm the one who should be mad here, not you." said Naruto, glaring at him.

Shoots of electricity tingled in Sasuke's arm where Naruto held it and his tongue felt thick and heavy, unable to form any words as he stared back. The noises of people leaving the classroom faded into an ocean of background noise turning to silence as the last student left.

"Are you even listening to me?" said Naruto, shaking him.

Sasuke blinked, pulled out of his trance. He yanked his arm away and looked down, feigning extreme interest in his papers as he gathered them up, all the while trying to steady his breathing.

"You want to talk to me now?" he said, not looking at Naruto. "I was enjoying the whole 'ignoring me' thing so much, I was hoping it would last a bit longer."

He could imagine Naruto's expression right now, could imagine the anger and indignation being sent his way. Hell, he could practically feel it crackling in the air.

"Screw you, Uchiha." said Naruto, kicking at his desk, "I came over here to do the right thing, to try and patch things up, but you just can't help being a dick, can you?"

He began to walk away, and before he realized what he was doing, Sasuke grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. Naruto was pulled to a halt and the two boys stood half-frozen for a moment - Naruto looking back at him with a perplexed expression.

"I-" began Sasuke, and trailed off. He had absolutely no idea what it was he was planning to say. His mind, for once, completely blank.

Naruto stood still for a moment, meeting Sasuke's gaze - the two boys silent, neither one speaking for what seemed like an age. The stillness was broken by the loud ringing of a bell for next period, and Naruto blinked, pulling away. He shook his head, taking a few steps back.

"You are so bi-polar." He muttered before heading out of the classroom.

Sasuke sank back into his seat and put his head in his hands.

This was getting out of control.

The day crawled past and lunch break took an eternity to arrive. Sasuke sat at the very end of the table as far away from Naruto and his pink-haired crush as possible. This was what he wanted…to be left in peace. This was freaking perfect. He bit moodily into his sandwich.

"I've got an announcement." said Ino, sitting down at the lunch table with a smug smile on her face and holding a wad of papers.

"You finally decided to get plastic surgery?" said Kiba, earning himself an abrupt dig in the side from Ino's elbow.

"No." said Ino, shooting him a glare. "The parents just announced they are going away this weekend which means a massive party at mine on Friday night."

Sakura gave a squeal of delight and Naruto's eyes shone.

"Great!" he said.

Kiba leaned toward Neji with a wink. "You going to invite Tenten, Mr. Casanova?"

If the Hyuuga could have murdered people with his eyes, Kiba would be dead, but his voice was level. "Jealous because you can't get a date, Inuzuka?"

Kiba reddened slightly. "Yeah, well, maybe I will."

His eyes flicked towards Hinata who quickly looked away.

Neji smirked, "Good luck with that."

Soon everyone was chatting excitedly about the party. Only Sasuke remained nonplussed, well-aware of Naruto pointedly ignoring him as he asked everyone when they were going to arrive.

Good, he thought grimly to himself. Being ignored was a lot easier than whatever the hell had happened this morning.

"Are you coming, Sasuke?" asked Ino, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, only to be met with a look of hostile challenge. He calmly took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed before replying. "No. Parties are a waste of time."

Across the other side of the table, he could see Naruto notably relax.

"Oh, well, ok then, I guess." said Ino. "If you change your mind, you're always welcome."

Then she turned to the others. "As for the rest of you, I'm counting on you to spread the word."

Kiba saluted. "Yes, your majesty."

"Come on, Sakura. Let's go hand out flyers." said Ino. "Plus, we've got to plan."

"Ok!" said Sakura, flashing Naruto a smile as she stood up and followed her friend with her tray, their lunches only half-eaten.

Neji rolled his eyes. "Probably going to talk about girl stuff."

Sasuke saw Naruto's eyes widen at the thought of the mystical world of girls. He gave a quiet snort of derision. There was nothing interesting about that vapid world of boys and clothes.

"What's this about a party?" said a voice nearby. A tall, muscular guy with pale, wavy blond hair walked up to the table. His square jaw was set in a permanent mocking smile, which turned to a sneer when his eyes landed on Naruto. "Oh, forget I asked. I didn't realize it was a loser's party."

Naruto reddened with anger and stood up, followed by Kiba who eyed the intruder with disgust.

"Sorry, mate." said Kiba. "I'm afraid our parties only include people who can actually graduate from their classes. How many times have you been held back now?"

The teen glared and took a threatening step towards Kiba.

"Watch your mouth, bitch, or I might just have to add you to my list of people I don't like, and trust me, you don't want to be on that list."

Sasuke tensed, ready for a fight. This guy was the definition of school bully and he had made it his mission to bother Naruto from day one. Being too stupid to graduate hadn't exactly raised the guy's insecurity levels.

Naruto stepped towards the teen. "Back off, Kenta, or you'll have to deal with me."

The teen let out a bark of laughter. "You serious, Uzumaki? You think you're a threat?"

From his angle, Sasuke could see this Kenta guy put his hand behind his back and his little 'friend' slip him a large cup of soda.

"How about you deal with this?" said Kenta as he pulled his hand from behind his back and tried to fling the liquid at Naruto, but he was stopped by a hand on his arm. Sasuke had stood up quickly and held tightly onto Kenta's wrist, causing the liquid to instead go splashing down his front.

Naruto flashed Sasuke a look of surprise and Kiba let out a snort of laughter.

"The hell?" said Kenta, glaring at Sasuke.

"Go get a life instead of wasting ours." Sasuke said in a calm voice.

Kenta yanked his arm away. "This hasn't got shit to do with you."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "When you threaten my friends, it's got everything to do with me."

Kenta gave a derisive laugh and turned to Naruto. "Friends? The freak actually has friends?"

Kiba glared, "A lot more than you have, mate."

Kenta smirked, ignoring Kiba. "You're really brave when you've got a whole gang around you, Uzumaki."

Naruto grit his teeth. "Anytime you want to go one-on-one I'm there."

Neji stood up from the table and Kenta took a notable step back from the Hyuuga, the calm aura creating an intimidating air.

"We could say the same thing for you, Kenta." said Neji. "I can't remember the last time I saw you without your little sidekicks." He nodded towards one of the boys standing next to Kenta, a beefy, dark-haired boy with black spidery eyes. "Figured you'd stick around another year, Goro? Graduating didn't sound like fun to you?"

The boy narrowed his eyes, but Neji turned his gaze to the other boy, giving him an appraising look. He was a lanky kid with awkward limbs and mouse-brown hair. "Nice to see you got a replacement for Junichiro though. I guess he had the most brains out of all of you although that's not really saying much, is it."

Kenta sneered, "You guys can play the 'superior' card all you want, but you're the ones hanging out with a murderer, so what does that make you?" He glared at Naruto. "You might have the rest of the school fooled, but some of us still remember what you are, and this town still knows what you are, so you better watch your step when you've not got your little friends to be your guard dogs, Uzumaki."

Naruto tried to hide it, but Sasuke could see the flinch at the words 'murderer'. The anger boiled in Sasuke's blood, and he barely registered what he was doing as he picked up his own cup of soda and dumped it over Kenta's head. The guy jumped and yelled, shocked for a moment as the cold liquid and ice flowed over his face and down his collar. He stared at Sasuke in surprise for a moment only to be met with two coal-black eyes filled with a calm fury.

Sasuke gave him a cold smile. "Tell me more about how he'd better watch his step."

Kenta swallowed and turned to the other two boys. "Come on, we've wasted enough time with this trash."

"Whoa, nice one, man." said Kiba, wide-eyed, after they'd left. "I didn't know you had that kind of cat-fight style in you."

Sasuke picked up his sandwich wrapper. "I don't tolerate idiots."

He glanced at Naruto who was still just staring at him in shock. "Why did you-?" he began, but Sasuke interrupted,

"You shouldn't let them get to you so easily. That's why they keep coming back."

His sage advice didn't have the desired effect. He could practically see Naruto's defenses go up.

"I don't let them get to me."

Sasuke raised a brow. "Come on, you might as well have a banner up advertising your feelings. They're always written all over your face."

Naruto glared at him. "So, you're saying it's my fault I get bullied?"

Sasuke could see Neji in the corner of his eye, watching the exchange with a raised brow. Ok, so he was aware he was being a dick, but for some reason, he couldn't stop the words flowing out of his mouth.

He shrugged. "I'm just saying your reactions are so obvious. You make pushing your buttons too easy."

Like I'm doing now, he thought.

Naruto gave a disbelieving laugh. "Says the guy who just threw a drink over someone's head." He shook his head. "You're a freaking hypocrite, Sasuke. You honestly think that a poker face and bottling everything up means you're in control? Well, I've got news for you. It doesn't. It just means you get to pretend you are."

With that, Naruto shouldered his bag and walked away. Kiba sent Sasuke a confused look and shrugged before following him. Neji picked up his things and headed in the same direction with an odd smile on his face, leaving Sasuke alone at the table. He picked up a party invitation Ino had left behind and frowned.

He was in control. He was. He crushed the invitation in his hand, hearing the crackle of the paper. Uzumaki wouldn't stop him from going to that party. He wouldn't stop him from doing anything. Sasuke Uchiha would show him just how in control he was.

"So, Sakura." said Ino as she pinned the party invite onto the notice board. "How's it going with Naruto?"

Sakura bit her lip. "He's really nice."

Ino raised a brow. "But?"

Sakura sighed. "Well, I told him from the start that I saw him more as the friend type, but that I'd give it a try." She shuffled the papers in her hands and stared down at them through her long lashes. "I do quite like him, and I think I like dating him, it's just…I don't know. I don't want to lead him on if this all amounts to nothing, you know?"

Ino stood back and admired her handiwork. The flyer was laid boldly over various other school announcements. She turned to Sakura.

"Well, you're not going to know if you don't try, right? Besides, Naruto knows what he's getting into."

"Doesn't mean he can't still get hurt though, does it." said Sakura.

Ino sent her a flat look. "Is this really only about Naruto?"

Sakura avoided Ino's eyes. "What? Yes. What? What are you talking about?"

Ino folded her arms. "Come on. It's obvious you still have a thing for Sasuke. Everyone knows it, even poor Uzumaki."

Sakura frowned, drawing her pink brows together. "I'm trying, I really am. I want to get over him. I thought dating someone might help with that, but now I just feel like it's going to end up hurting Naruto."

"You want my advice?" said Ino.

Sakura nodded.

"Instead of worrying about all the 'could be's' why don't you just enjoy the fact that you're dating a nice guy for now? If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, but you should at least wait until you can decide one way or the other, don't you think?"

Sakura nodded. "You're right. We should both just try and enjoy it for what it is. I mean, I've definitely seen some sides of him that I never thought I would."

She blushed as she remembered their kiss.

Ino's eyes widened as she noticed the blush. "You've been holding out on me, Billboardhead! Tell me all the dirty details. Like now."

Sakura couldn't help smiling as they walked down the hallways, passing out the flyers to random students and gossiping. She tried to push down her doubts. This party was going to be fun, even if Sasuke wasn't coming, but then maybe that was better. She could try and finally enjoy a night without him on her mind.