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Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any other of the characters!! (Except for the few that I make up.) If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be so damn poor and anyone who dared to call Naruto a loser in the series would randomly get slapped across the face!! LOL. So you can try to sue me, but the only thing I have that's worth anything is a package of spearmint gum. Sad, isn't it?

Chapter 2: Damn Emotions

(Sasuke's POV)

Sasuke walked outside of the school, the bell shrieking loudly behind him. He spotted the driver, named Kaemon, that his parents had probably sent to retrieve him, but he chose to ignore the cheerful man. Sasuke quickly ducked around a corner of the school, hoping the man hadn't seen him. He sighed in relief when Kaemon looked around confused, obviously wondering why Sasuke hadn't exited from the building when all the other teenagers had already left.

Sasuke felt a pang of guilt, for Kaemon was the only person he really enjoyed being around at home. His mother constantly bugged him about school, and his father was barely ever home. Fugaku was always at the business office working with his elder brother, Itachi.

Not that Sasuke minded. When Fugaku was home, which was rare, the older man spent most of his time comparing Sasuke to Itachi in every possible way that he could think of. It was almost as if he didn't exist to his father. As if he was just some Itachi clone that was made just incase something happened to his father's darling prodigy.

Therefore, Sasuke had turned towards his parents' hired-help workers for attention. Sasuke had quickly formed a bond with the 48 year-old war vetren, Kaemon. Kaemon was a tall, rugged man with a gentle nature. The man could probably crush any opponent with his bare hands, yet around Sasuke he had the personality of a cuddly teddy-bear.

Kaemon had lost his wife and kids in a car accident in his late twenties. After this tragedy, the broken man had signed up for the military. He had just wanted to forget everything, hoping that the heat of battle would silence his painful thoughts. However, the man had lived through every war he fought in.

Then, during a brief time of peace, Kaemon had been found by Fugaku. He was hired by the stoic businessman as a bodyguard for his sons, thus leading to his meeting with the young six year-old Sasuke.

Kaemon had immediately become a father figure for Sasuke, since the boy's real father was scarcely around. Whereas Sasuke had become the son that Kaemon had lost. Sasuke had learned everything about manhood from Kaemon, such as fighting and survival skills. Kaemon had also been the ear that Sasuke whispered all his worries into, since his parents could not tolerate weakness.

Therefore, Sasuke felt shame for ditching the man he considered to be his mentor. He knew it was Kaemon's job to watch and protect him, but Sasuke wanted to be alone today. He knew that if he went around the man while in such a foul mood, Kaemon would drill him until he revealed what was bothering him. And Sasuke had no intention of informing the man of what was currently plauging his troubled mind.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Recently, the dark-haired youth hadn't been able to shake his best friend from his thoughts. When Sasuke's mind wasn't whirling with school work, it was twirling with thoughts of the blonde-haired beauty. He just couldn't get his dobe out of his mind.

'Blonde-haired beauty? HIS dobe?'

Oh, Kami. He did not just have those thoughts. What the hell was going on with him? How could he possibly be thinking about his friend this way? Damn his overly active male hormones!!! He was an Uchiha, and Uchihas do NOT have such thoughts. He should be fully concentrating on his academic career, not his blonde MALE friend!!!!

If his parents ever found out that he was crushing on a guy, they would more than likely disown him. Sasuke was also afraid to confide these recent feelings to Kaemon, fearing that his only real parent-figure would also turn on him. Would the usually bright, cheerful man still hold him in high esteem after hearing such disturbing thoughts?

What thoughts exactly was he having? Sasuke was terrified to even think what his thoughts might just mean. But the young Uchiha deep down knew the reason for these thoughts, and he hated himself for it.

He was hopelessly in love with Naruto Uzumaki.

For years he had denied the fact, fooling himself into believing that it was just some freakish adolescent stage. Some weird thing that all teenage boys went through. Right? Wrong. Because these feelings hadn't gone away. They had stayed with him throughout his entire high school career. Everytime he saw some random, pathetic person flirting with his Naruto it would make his blood boil.

HIS Naruto? Oh, Kami!!! Again?!!!

Sasuke could absolutely not afford to have such feelings. He was expected to become a world-renown doctor, get married to an equally successful woman, and have kids who would also become something great. Sasuke refused to be the one to tarnish the golden Uchiha name. There was no way he would be able to live with the shame of scandel and disgrace.

Yet, every time the Uchiha thought about his already planned future he became extremely moody and irritable. It was not the future he wanted, yet he had no choice in the matter. It was the only way he could get his parents to fully respect and accept him. Once, just once, he wanted to have his parents' praise. To have proof that he was important to them. That he wasn't just some stand-by replacement for Itachi. If he had that, then he could die feeling like he had accomplished something.

His determination renewed, Sasuke had thought that he could push his unacceptable feelings away. But every time he saw that damn beautiful dobe, his heart would flutter. Every sunshine smile made him melt, and the blonde's childish giggle brought a smile to his lips.

A REAL smile. Not a smirk, an actual smile. The youngest Uchiha had been suprised to find that his mouth could form a smile. It had been a long time fact that Uchihas were incapable of such a thing as smiling. Yet he had done it multiple times while around the loud-mouthed idiot.

No. Not idiot. Naruto was far from an idiot. He was brilliant. The blond-haired student liked to act the part of a simpleton, but Sasuke knew that was all it was. An act. Naruto had ranked second in his class under Sasuke himself. That was quite an accomplishment. Hell, Sasuke had even been worried once that the blonde dork might surpass him!

Naruto had driven him to study even harder than usual, striving to achieve his dream. No one had ever gotten under his skin like Naruto had managed to do. Sometimes the Uchiha even had dreams of marrying his blonde dobe. But these dreams were never to become reality.

Shaking his head of these thoughts, Sasuke came up with a resolution. The only way he could possibly forget Naruto is if he distance himself from the beautiful boy. The idea caused a stab of pain to go through him, but what else could he do?

Yet when Sasuke had caught Naruto staring at him, and he had looked into those crystal blue eyes, his resolve had almost completely shattered. He longed to hold his adorable, kind-hearted dobe in his arms. But fate would never allow it. He knew this, and despised the fact.

It also didn't help matters when his blonde friend was also having similar feelings. Sasuke was no fool. He knew that Naruto had a crush on him, and that made the whole prediciment worse. The fact that his friend just might accept him as a lover greatly increased the temptation that he so eagerly fought against.

"SASUKE!!!"

Said raven's thoughts were rudely interrupted when a loud shout jarred him from his contemplation. There, heading towards him, was the exact blonde that tormented his mind daily.
Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke prayed to god, any god, to give him restraint and to keep him from doing something that he would most definately regret.

(Naruto's POV)

Finally! The school day was over and Naruto could relax for a moment! It was a beautiful day with the sun shining brightly. It almost looked like one of those days in a childrens' fairytale. You know, sun shining, birds singing, cute bunnies jumping throughout the fields. One of those kinda days.

Naruto laughed at himself for his ridiculous thoughts. If he kept thinking like that, he wouldn't just be gay. He would be super gay!!! However, Naruto just couldn't help but be happy on such a miraculous day. He felt as if nothing could possibly ruin this moment.

Deciding that this would be a wondeful time to draw, Naruto quickly sat down under the nearest tree and pulled out his sketchbook. He flipped through the pages, looking for a clean sheet. He stopped when he came to his most recent drawing.
Sasuke.

Damn. He had told himself that he wouldn't think about the dark-haired youth any more today, yet he couldn't disregard the boy in his mind. He examined the drawing closely, taking in every detail. Sasuke was absolutely perfect, so every time he drew the young man Naruto had felt he was leaving something important out. Yet today, when Sasuke had looked at him, Naruto had finally realized what he was missing.

It was that sad, desperate look in Sasuke's eyes that he had left out.

Naruto's breath had been taken away with that look. He had wanted nothing more than to jump out of his seat and give the Uchiha a hug. Sasuke had always been good at masking his emotions, so when Naruto witnessed the feelings swimming in Sasuke's ebony irises, he had been astonished. Not to mention that this little event piqued Naruto's curiosity even further. He was most definately going to find out what the hell had caused his handsome teme such distress.

Naruto let his thoughts come to rest, and began to sketch the beautiful outdoor scene before him. Naruto was an exceptional artist. He could draw, paint, and even sculpt! All his art teachers had adored him since middle school, loving the way his art seemed to capture the emotions of the moment depicted. In fact, Naruto wanted more than anything to become an art teacher. A job doing the thing he loved most, that's what he wanted from life.

An hour passed before Naruto finally decided it was time to pack up. He hadn't told his father that he wasn't coming home right after school. There was no doubt in his mind that he would get majorly cussed out for this one. Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, was very protective of both his sons. He always wanted to know what they were doing and who they were with.

Needless to say, Kyuubi had given their father a countless number of heart attacks. He would always run off without telling his father, and would come home at all hours of the night. Despite this, Minato had never truly gotten angry with either of his sons. He just worried for their safety.

This paranoia had started after the death of their mother, Kushina Uzumaki. She had died shortly after giving birth to Naruto. He still didn't quite understand what had happened. All Naruto knew was that his mother had an allergic reaction to one of the medications the hospital had injected into her, and her heart had given out. In Kushina's honor, Naruto had been blessed with his mother's last name.

Minato had taken his wife's death badly, and had refused to ever marry another. Naruto had never seen his father go on a single date, and his father had never so much as glanced at another woman or man. Pictures of Kushina were hung all over the house, along with many of her paintings. Apparently, Naruto had inherited his artistic skill from his mother.

Naruto felt immense sadness for his father. Once, when he was little, he remembered creeping into his father's room after having a nightmare. He had been shocked to discover his father crying while holding a picture of Kushina. Naruto felt stupid that night for being scared of a silly nightmare while his father was constantly fighting the pain of losing his soul mate.

It was also a known fact to both Naruto and Kyuubi that Minato would always stuff pillows under the covers on Kushina's side of the bed at night, trying desperately to delude himself into believing that she was right there beside him. It hurt Naruto to see his father in such pain, and it hurt him even more when his father tried to hide his sadness.

Minato had never (to his knowledge) cried in front of either of his boys. He was always smiling and cracking jokes. He always got up early and made breakfast before going to work. On the outside, Minato looked like an average happy dad. But on the inside, Naruto knew his father was a complete mess. And the knowledge of his father's pain tore at Naruto.

Shaking away his unhappy thoughts, Naruto picked up his book bag and turned to walk home. Yet as he prepared to trudge the long way home, Naruto saw someone that looked familar. Squinting his eyes in the bright sunlight, Naruto tried to make out the distant figure in front of him. What he saw made his heart flutter.

It was Sasuke, sitting against the high school. He looked as if he was contemplating something important, his hair blowing gracefully in the delicate breeze. But what Naruto noticed the most was that his friend had the same sad look in his eyes that he had earlier that day.
Naruto quickly turned towards the direction of his friend. Enough was enough. He was going to find out what was wrong with Sasuke even if it killed him!!! And it probably would, since the Uchiha prodigy probably wouldn't appreciate Naruto sticking his nose into his business. But it had to be done!!! Naruto couldn't stand Sasuke ignoring him any longer.

Determined, he took off running toward Sasuke's location. He only hoped that whatever the problem was that it would be solved now. If he wasn't careful, he just might end up making the situation worse. And Naruto didn't exactly want to piss the Uchiha off. He steeled himself for the upcoming conversation, building up his courage.

"SASUKE!!!"

He just had to know what was wrong with his friend, or it would eat away at him!

(End Chapter)

Turtle: Another chapter finished. YAY!!! I'm doing okay! For now... I'm going to be honest. The only reason I've gotten this second chapter out so fast is because I've had this week off from school. Once school starts up next week, I'll be back to the usual one-chapter-every-week thing. School's a major pain in the ass!!! I just have to finish this year and then it's off to college with me! I'm actually excited to be going to college. I can't wait. Anyways, back on topic. PLEASE! Don't get use to having a new chapter of this story everyday. I feel bad for making people wait...

Sasuke: Well, then stop being so damn lazy and write.

Turtle: Hey! I'm very busy during school! Leave me alone!!!

Sasuke: Hn...Crybaby.

Naruto: Sasuke!!! Don't be so rude!!!! Why are you so damn mean?!!!

Turtle: Oh, don't worry about it, Naruto. He's just going through his time of the month. He always gets bitchy when he's raggin' it.

Sasuke: What did you say, whore?!

Turtle: WHORE?!!! At least I didn't run away to become Orochimaru's bitch!!!

Sasuke: Why you...!

Naruto: Guys, please! Stop fighting!!! I don't want mommy and daddy to get a divorce!!!

Turtle & Sasuke: (O.O)?

Naruto: ...What?

Turtle: Where the fuck did that come from? Are you feeling okay?

Naruto: I'm fine! I just wanted you two to stop fighting, and it worked! You guys are speechless!

Sasuke: ...Dobe.

Turtle: Um, anyways. Thanks for reading and feel free to review. OH!!! And thanks to the people who did review! I really appreciate the positive feedback! I really didn't think that anyone would like this story. I know it's starting off kinda slow, but I'm trying to get all the history junk out of the way so that no one is confused. By the way, if anyone is confused, feel free to ask me questions!

Sasuke: Tch... They're probably just being nice to you because you're a newbie. This story sucks.

Turtle: GRR...! I'll kill you!!! (Drop-kicks Sasuke through the floor)

Naruto: Sigh. There they go again. Can't we all just get along?

Turtle & Sasuke: NO!!!

Naruto: O.O ...I guess we can't. My bad...