Well, here's the first chapter of my second story. For those of you who read my first piece, I warn you again that this is yaoi, and will be different. Yes, it is a high school AU fic, but I hope to add something new to this, so enjoy!

1. For Naruto, Whenever I May Find Him

Sasuke Uchiha sat lazily at his lunch table, resting his head on his hand as he stared off into space. He was not bored, per se, but simply disinterested in what was going on around him. Glancing around the crowded cafeteria, the Uchiha could see his peers talking in their little cliques, from the jocks talking loudly in the center to the nerdier students doing their homework in the corner. What Sasuke feared the most, however, were the fangirls, who were currently prowling the cafeteria searching for their prey.

It was for this reason that Sasuke had chosen to sit in the back of the cafeteria, hoping that he might remain hidden long enough to enjoy his lunch in peace. As he poked at his cold pasta with a fork, though, it became clear to the Uchiha that he would not be able to eat regardless of the fangirls' presence.

"Having fun, Sasuke?"

Without even glancing up from his food, Sasuke gave a half-hearted chuckle before responding dryly. "It's not like you to start up a conversation so willingly, Shikamaru."

Taking a seat across from the raven-haired boy, Shikamaru, slouched forward and rested his head on the table. "Hey, it's troublesome, but it's my duty as your friend to make sure everything's all right."

"I guess there's no sense in trying to hide something from you, is there?" Sasuke sighed, finally looking his lazy friend in the eye. "It's Sakura and the rest of those banshees again…"

"Don't give me that," Shikamaru said curtly, eyeing the Uchiha suspiciously. "They've been looking all over for you today. One of them was afraid you had moved away over the summer. Now what's really going on?"

Damn… I thought I had him with that, too…

"Okay, you got me," Sasuke started, leaning in closer so that he and the Nara could speak in private. "It's just… well, it's our junior year. I guess I'm wondering if this is really worth it, that's all."

"Welcome to my world," Shikamaru stated with a sarcastic smirk.

"I don't mean it like that," the Uchiha replied defensively. "Look, I know my education is important and all that. If I'm going to help Itachi with the company, I'll have to have those skills… but I'm just not sure if it's what I want."

"Oh?" the lazy genius asked, though his face showed no surprise. "The Great Uchiha is going through an existential crisis, huh?"

"See, I knew you wouldn't understand," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head in frustration as he turned away from his friend. "I don't know why you picked today to get so nosy, but –"

"Take it easy, Sasuke… I was just joking," Shikamaru said consolingly, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know what you mean. Sometimes it feels like we have no real control over our lives. Don't forget, my parents are sending me here from halfway across the country. You think I want to have that kind of pressure on me?"

"Of course not," Sasuke replied, his moodiness shining through in his tone. "You'd rather just live a nice, simple life and go wherever the wind takes you…"

"Exactly," the Nara continued, choosing to ignore the raven-haired teens sarcasm. "You're feeling this way because you don't want to be forced down a path that you'll regret later in life."

How does he know all of this?

"I had a similar problem a few years ago, but I decided it was just too troublesome to think about," Shikamaru stated with a matter-of-fact tone, as if he had somehow read the Uchiha's thoughts. "Trust me, all you need to do is find something that's worth living for, and the rest will sort itself out."

"If you say so," Sasuke said flippantly, his gaze shifting back to his cold meal.

"Hey, I'm your friend, Sasuke. You'll get through this just fine," Shikamaru said reassuringly as he rose from his seat. "Unlike me, you're actually motivated. If you just keep your eyes open, I'm sure you'll find that reason to keep going."

I guess that's true. Maybe if I stop shutting out the world all the time, I'll find something that I really care about… wait a second, that doesn't sound like Shikamaru…

"Kakashi asked you to talk to me, didn't he?"

Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks and turned to his friend with a sheepish smirk. "Was it that obvious?"

"I thought something was fishy when you actually started a conversation for once. Now what did he tell you to say?"

"Nothing, nothing," the Nara replied, waving his hands dismissively. "He just noticed you were acting strange in English and wanted to know if something was wrong."

"And now I take it you're going to deliver your report?" Sasuke asked with a suspicious glare.

"He's just concerned about you, Sasuke. Like I said, we're your friends. It's what we do," Shikamaru explained before turning his back on the raven-haired boy once more. "And here I thought I might get to watch some clouds during lunch…"

As the lazy genius known as Shikamaru disappeared into the crowded cafeteria, Sasuke finally threw away his lunch and slouched down in his chair once more, a familiar scowl upon his face.

Friends… I never asked for any friends. They know how I feel about that… why can't they just leave me alone? Why can't they understand that I don't want to lose someone like that again…

"Sasuke?"

"Oh my God, it is Sasuke!"

"Back off, Ino! I saw him first!"

"Get the hell out of my way! All of you! He's mine!"

Sasuke recognized the distinct screeching of his fanclub almost immediately. For a moment he considered running away, but he knew that such acts of desperation would only incite a stampede. Thus, he tried simply to ignore the girls, hoping that they might finally take a hint and go die in a fire.

"Sasuke, you had us worried," a pink-haired girl cooed in an almost disgustingly sweet way. "We hadn't seen you all day… we thought you might be sick or something."

I wish…

"What Sakura means to say, Sasuke, is that we're so glad that we found you," a blond girl replied, giving the first speaker a dangerous glare. "We have so much to catch up on, like how your summer went, when you plan to go out with me, what your feelings are on girls with unnatural hair color."

"Shut up, Ino! Sasuke doesn't want to go out with you, he wants to go out with me, right Sasuke?" Sakura interrupted, pushing the blond's face into the wall.

God, just kill me now…

"Don't tell Sasuke what he wants, Sakura. He's perfectly capable of handling his romantic life. Now, Sasuke, when did you say you'd go out with me, again?"

If only there were some way I could get them out of my hair…

"Ladies, ladies, there's no need to fight. There's plenty of me to go around," Sasuke said, laying on the patented Uchiha charm as he had seen his brother do on countless occasions. "Look, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'm going to write down a place and time on two pieces of paper. Whatever place and time you get, that's when I'll meet you for our date, all right?"

"Oh, Sasuke. That sounds like a fantastic idea!" Sakura replied, clearly ecstatic at the thought of a date with the famous Uchiha.

"You have to promise me, though, that you won't open these until tomorrow, okay? Otherwise it'll ruin the surprise."

"Sure, Sasuke. Whatever you say," Ino said, trying her best to match her rival's enthusiasm.

Perfect… "Meet me in hell, once it freezes over – Sasuke"

Scribbling his message down quickly, Sasuke soon had given each of his "dates" their scrap of paper, at which point they took off, lest the raven-haired boy change his mind. Having rid himself of the two most persistent of the fangirls, Sasuke was now able to send the other girls off with similar false promises of future dates, until he was left in peaceful solitude.

I'll have to remember to thank Itachi for this later… at least that bastard's good for something…

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Sasuke heard the distinct ringing of the school bell, signaling the end of lunch. He let out an irritated sigh and slowly rose from his seat, following his peers as they filed out of the cafeteria. No sooner had the Uchiha left the lunchroom, however, than he saw a set of feet heading his way at an astounding rate. Before Sasuke could so much as look up, though, he felt the oncoming person ram headfirst into his nose, sending the raven-haired boy to the ground in a shower of blood.

After landing hard on the cold floor, Sasuke sat up with a groan and wiped at his stinging nose in irritation. It was only when he found his hand stained a distinct shade of red that the Uchiha realized that he was bleeding, at which point his attention switched to his assailant with dangerous intensity. He had not recognized the boy before, but now that Sasuke saw the attacker up close, he finally noticed the distinct, blond hair, which was now spattered with Uchiha blood.

Naruto…

"Naruto, you idiot! What do you think you're doing ramming into Sasuke like that?"

Looking slightly to his left, Sasuke found that a familiar pink-haired girl was standing over his shoulder, stomping towards Naruto with clenched fists. Before long, the blond had taken a number of blows and was cowering against the lockers while the other fangirls struggled to restrain Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Sakura! I wasn't paying attention…"

"Yeah, I can tell! What the hell's the matter with you? What if you broke his nose, Naruto?!"

"I didn't mean to, I swear…"

Sasuke looked back and forth between Sakura and Naruto as many passing students stopped in their tracks to watch the argument unfold. It was drawing far too much attention for the Uchiha, especially when he was trying to keep a low profile. Realizing this, Sasuke rose to his feet and stepped between Sakura and the blond, gritting his teeth in anger as he struggled to regain control of the situation.

"That's enough, Sakura," Sasuke muttered, his gaze fixed on the vulpine boy before him. "I'll deal with Naruto here myself."

Naruto gulped visibly at the Uchiha's dark tone and forced himself to grin sheepishly. "Hey, Sasuke… how's it goin'?

"Is that all you have to say?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's not like I meant to hit you or anything," Naruto said defensively.

Sasuke continued to stare down at the blond for a few tense moments before turning his back on him with huff.

"Whatever. I don't need to waste my breath on you."

With that last little affirmation of his superiority, Sasuke started for the bathroom to wash up, his fanclub following after him in renewed awe. As he sat washing the drying blood from his face, however, the Uchiha remained completely oblivious that he had just ran into the love of his life.

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Well, there you have it. First chapter. Reviews and comments are very helpful, and I hope you will continue reading. Until next time! Also, kudos to who can guess the inspiration for the title.