Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Only the plot.

Warnings: This is an AU High School Vampire Fic.

For Kayla, you are the best friend in the world.

"I miss her." Ino sighed quietly to Hinata and Tenten, who stood on either side of Ino, as they watched their old friend walk alone. They were leaning against a set of lockers, one of which that did belong to Ino, and had spotted her down the hall.

"It's been nearly three years, huh." Tenten murmured. "She won't even utter a single word to us." They continued to watch the object of their conversation stop by her locker, open it, pull out a few books, slam it shut, and keep walking. No one spoke to the girl and most people tried to avoid eye contact with her dead eyes. She was almost like a ghost, too pale to be healthy.

"S-She seems s-so lonely." Hinata whispered. The girl the three had been watching opened a door at the end of the hall way and walked in. The door closed with a thud and their view of the girl was gone. "S-She hardly talks to a-anyone anymore."

The bell rang signaling the five minutes before class was to start. "Come on." Ino said in a false cheery voice to pick up the dampened mood. "We don't want to be late for Iruka Sensei's lecture." And with that the three girls walked off toward their class but their minds couldn't focus on their lesson as they thought about the one from their group they had lost three years prior.

The day ended quickly and the three girls were walking out of the building, together as always. They were practically inseparable, especially what had happened three years ago. The girls had all gone through a lot and needed each other. They provided each other the security of confidence, reassurance, and company that they couldn't get without each other. They were all broken.

They looked across the shiny green grassy lawn to see their old friend walking toward the student parking lot alone as ever. Everyone she walked by turned their gaze away. Most people were frightened by her general presence and the atmosphere she carried around her. It was her eyes that turned people away from her; those cold dull eyes.

"She doesn't talk to anyone." Tenten observed. Their friend looked paler and skinner. She looked unhealthy, like she was shriveling up and dying. Through her tight shirt, they could count the ribs, even from a distance. She was turning into a skeleton. Just an empty body of skin and bones.

"Who would want to? She hardly talks at all, barely listens. It's almost like she isn't there anymore. You know? Like she's empty." Ino frowned. She and the girl used to be best friends and now…well it's been three years and not a word was spoken between them.

It's not that Ino hadn't tried, but the girl simple wasn't there. It was like talking to a wall or a door. No one was home inside and the three friends didn't know why. Eventually Ino just stopped. It wasn't going anywhere and just kept breaking Ino, Hinata and Tenten's hearts. The more they tried the hard the realization hit them that their friend was long gone.

"She doesn't smile." Hinata whispered softly. Tenten looked down. Ino swallowed the bile in her throat. Hinata held back the tears. That was what they remembered best about their friend; her smile. With her smile, she could brighten anyone's day. It could make someone who just lost everything feel hope. It could turn anyone's way of thinking toward a positive bright tomorrow. She was always happy, up until…how she was now. That smile died with her spirit and all that was left was a soulless body, roaming around lost.

They continued to watch as their friend walked to her beat up, clunky, dark green-blue Hyundai Elantra and climbed in. She turned the car on and sat there for a moment, staring into space; her eyes focusing on nothing ahead. She seemed to snap out of it a few seconds later and buckled herself in. A second later the car was driving out of the school's parking lot. You would have thought she was dead with how stiff her body was and how cold and lifeless her gaze was if it weren't for the slight movement of her fingers drumming against the steering wheel in some sort of rhythm. They watched through the windows of the car, their friend's emotionless blank face staring at the empty road ahead. Her eyes could only be described as two things; dead and empty.

They watched the car disappear from view and before they could utter a word to each other, two tanned arms was swung around Hinata and Ino's shoulders. A boy with spikey brown hair and brown almond-shaped eyes had appeared between the two girls. He had sharper than normal teeth, especially prominent on his canines, and blood red triangles on his cheeks.

"Hello, ladies." The boy smirked.

"H-Hi, K-Kiba-kun." Hinata stuttered nervous by proximity. The boy, Kiba, grinned. He always liked to mess with Hinata and thought of her like a sister. He thought her mannerisms and shyness were cute.

"So, I'm having a party at my house tomorrow night, what do you say? You game?" Kiba looked at Ino during this. Ino was a notorious partier and if he got her hooked into it, Hinata and Tenten would follow. It was the natural course of these meetings. "The parents will be out of town, the booze will be flowing, and the music pounding; it's going to be out of this world."

Ino's blue eyes darkened. "Hell fucking yeah!" Ino shouted; thoughts of her old friend forgotten. "Of course, we will! Right Tenten?" Ino asked the girl next to her with chestnut brown hair that was tied in two little buns.

"Sounds fun." Tenten shrugged as her light glowing brown eyes landed on Hinata.

Hinata's white eyes widened. "O-Oh, I-I don't know if I s-should." Hinata murmured, more to herself as she shook her long bluish-black hair into her face almost like a shield. "F-Father would never allow me."

Kiba brushed the hair from her face causing Hinata to go bright red. "I'd be very upset if you didn't."

"Besides you can sleep off the alcohol at my house." Ino laughed. Hinata went red at the thought of drinking. "Not that you'll actually drink any." Ino muttered moody. "You won't have to tell your dad a thing. He'd never know."

"O-Oh, then I guess I'll g-go." Hinata whispered terrified, not wanting to upset her friends. "I'll let f-father know I'll be at y-your house Ino."

"Great!" Kiba exclaimed, letting Hinata and Ino go after giving each a kiss on the cheek. Ino waved it off but Hinata looked like she couldn't breathe and her face couldn't get any redder. She was starting to get lightheaded and she thought she was going to faint. She always got nervous with intimate actions.

Kiba didn't seem to notice as he walked forward before turning around the three girls and flashed them a wide grin. "Party starts at eight, don't be late." With a wink, the boy was off joining his hooded friend Shino who was waiting patiently by the gates of the school.

"This is great!" Ino shouted to the heavens. "It's been ages since Kiba has thrown a bash. I haven't partied in forever and have been going crazy from no drinking, flirting or dancing!"

"I can't wait." Tenten agreed. "But Ino, let's be honest, you don't need a party to do all those things and you know it."

Ino just gave a coy grin and winked. Tenten rolled her eyes at Ino.

Hinata just smiled at her friends. She wasn't much for parties but she couldn't say no, especially to them. She couldn't say no to anyone but she knew Ino and Tenten would make sure Hinata had a little fun. Who knows though, maybe she'll actually have fun.

"Let's go to my house and pick out the prefect outfits now!" Ino exclaimed, grabbed each girls' wrist and dragging them off. "You guys can borrow some of my stuff."

The one thing Ino liked more than the actual parties was getting ready for them. She simply enjoyed indulging in such a silly activity while talking with her friends. She enjoyed it so much that she would start as early as possible. Ino liked fashion and liked looking good. She had always gone with the school of thought to look your best even if you are feeling your worst. Parties simply just gave Ino an excuse to dress up.

"And look like sluts?" Tenten asked, gesturing to Ino's short skirt and tight tank top. "No thanks."

"But I-Ino, the party isn't till t-tomorrow night!" Hinata yelped frazzled.

Ino rolled her eyes. "I know that's why we have to get started now!" Ino thought for a second before rounding on Tenten, "And I do not look like a slut, thank you very much!"

A large grin appeared on the blonde boy's face after over hearing the conversation between the three girls from his place behind the bushes. He looked kind of sketchy hiding in the bushes but he hardly cared. There was finally going to be a party, the boy grinned. With a quick scan of the parking lot he spotted his three other friends. All he needed to do was convince them to go and he can be back in his zone. He quickly started running toward the three by their cars.

Leaning on a black Lincoln town car, was a boy with long brown hair tied in a very loose ponytail. He had white eyes, very similar to Hinata, although they barely knew each other. They were something of distant cousins but that's about it. They have hardly ever spoken more than three words to each other. The boy hardly cared about any family he had left. Apparently there is bad blood in the family.

Next to the white eyed boy was another boy with his dark brown hair tied in a ponytail, which made his head resemble something like a pineapple. He had sharp hawk-like eyes and was smoking a cigarette. He looked ready to pass out as he looked up at the sky, presumably watching the clouds. He was lazy but a super genius, though you would never know by looking at him.

The third boy had black hair that stuck up in the back and hung in his face, falling just before his eyes. He had onyx black eyes that portrayed nothing. He was extraordinarily beautiful and girls fawned over him but he always had the same look like he had now: bored. His posture was stiff, as if he had a stick up his ass which Naruto lightheartedly joked at often.

The blonde ran to his friends, wearing a maniac's grin. "Oi! Guys, guess what I heard!" He exclaimed loudly.

"What now, Naruto?" The pineapple headed guy asked as he took another drag of his cigarette. Humoring Naruto always turned out better for everyone instead of ignoring the blonde.

The blonde who had bright blue eyes and whisker scarred cheeks, named Naruto didn't looked put out by his friend's disinterest; on the contrary he looked like he was shaking from excitement. "Tomorrow night there is going to be a party at Kiba's."

"So?" The boy with white eyes asked, clearly anything but interested in the topic. Even though he looked completely disinterested as well, something stirred within him with a dark interest in the blonde's words.

"So, Neji, that means we have to go!" Naruto exclaimed to his bored friends.

Neji frowned, clearing not understand why they had to go. They didn't have to do anything. "Why?"

"You guys suck! I've been dying for something like this!" Naruto wailed pathetically. "I want have a beer and dance my ass off. Maybe even find a hottie to have some fun with." He grinned mischievously.

"It sounds troublesome." The pineapple boy frowned, tossing his cigarette to the ground. He crushed the butt of the cigarette in a long and lazy movement before continuing. "And dangerous."

"Everything sounds troublesome to you, Shikamaru." Naruto hissed in frustration, dismissing the bored boy.

The boy, Shikamaru, responded. "That's because it usually is."

"Whatever! What about you Sasuke? You want to?" Naruto pleaded to the third boy, Sasuke.

Sasuke gave the boy a dull look that would tell anyone else to 'get the fuck away' but unfortunately for Sasuke, Naruto was an idiot. "No."

"Teme! We are going! I want to party, get drunk, and meet girls and you three are coming with me!" Naruto demanded as he raised his fist in the air. "Plus it has been forever since you've been laid." Naruto muttered the last part quietly.

Something flashed over Sasuke's eyes but he didn't speak. He didn't want to have that conversation. Sasuke threw Naruto a dark look, causing the blonde to back away. Naruto knew that was a sore subject for his best friend.

Shikamaru sighed but he knew it was easier to just agree with the blonde then fight it. Plus he hadn't been out in a long time except for school. The idea of being able to leave their makeshift prison was beginning to sound appealing. "Fine, we will go." Shikamaru spoke for them all.

Neji silently agreed. He wanted to get out of the house for a while as well. He hated being cooped up in there every night, constantly being watched like he was going to snap at any moment. He could control himself and he didn't need to be monitored all the time. It had been a long time since he lost it and he was feeling rather confident in his skills.

Sasuke shrugged and opened the door to the black Audi. Naruto ran over to the passenger seat and climbed in excited. "Come on, Teme! You know it's going to be fun, but do you think your brother will let us?" Sasuke shrugged. He didn't know and really didn't care either way. He hadn't been to a party in a long time and really wasn't eager to go to one. To use Shikamaru's word, they were troublesome.

Sasuke pulled out of the parking lot and headed to his house while Neji with Shikamaru followed behind in the Lincoln.

After pulling up in the long driveway, the four boys walked up the steps to the house. Sasuke pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door.

The house was a rather nice two store house with a basement. It had five bedrooms and most of them were occupied. His parents were no longer alive so Sasuke lived his older brother and his older brother's friends. Most of the time Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto were with him there as well. They all didn't really have a choice to begin with.

After closing the door, the four boys headed down stairs to the basement where they knew Sasuke's brother would be. They entered the basement to find eight bodies lounging on the furniture of the basement. These were Sasuke's brother's friends. All of them ignored the entrance of the four boys except for one.

"Brother," The one spoke from the armchair. He had long black hair that was held in a low ponytail. He had the same eyes as Sasuke, black. Below his eyes were deep tear-toughs. He was five years older the Sasuke. "You're joining us? You usually hate these things."

"Hn." Sasuke responded to his brother as he leaned against the wall by the stairs, as far away from his brother as possible. They didn't have what could be called a happy relationship; on the contrary, Sasuke actually despised his brother. It wasn't always like that but things were complicated between the two boys.

"We actual have a question." Shikamaru spoke, trying to get this over with for him and his friend's sake. Sasuke, even though he looked bored, he was emanating a dark aura. It would be best to get him out of the basement as soon as possible.

"And what would that be?" Sasuke's brother asked directing his attention to the other three boys. Naruto was fidgeting nervously, Shikamaru looked bored, Neji was watching calm and silently, and Sasuke was watching very vigilantly although avoiding direct eye contact with his brother.

"Well, Itachi, there is a party tomorrow night and we wanted to go." Naruto explained with a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. He refused to make direct eye contact with Itachi. It unnerved him about how much those eyes could see.

Itachi raised his eyebrow. They, including Sasuke, wanted to go to a party? As in drinking, dancing, and women? Sasuke never wanted to do anything, let alone go out and party. That meant he would have to be social. God forbid! He hadn't been to one in, Lord knows how long. "Really now?" Naruto nodded his head quickly with hopeful eyes. "If you guys follow the rules I don't care. Just watch your backs." Itachi waved his hand off before murmuring something to the man on the couch in front of him.

Itachi had kept them practically on lock down for almost two years, it was about time he started giving them a little slack. Not without proper precautions though. He was going to consider this a test for the four boys. If they passed, he would begin loosening the leash, but if they didn't, Itachi would lock them right back up.

Without a response Sasuke was already up the stairs. The other three boys followed in a mutual silence, although Naruto looked like he was ready to yelp with victory any second.

Once they closed the door to the basement, Neji spoke first. "So I guess we really are going to this party. You okay with that Uchiha?" Neji smirked as Sasuke didn't respond. Of course the Uchiha wasn't happy and that made Neji happy. Neji practically lived off other people's discomfort.

"We should probably eat before." Shikamaru suggested. "We wouldn't want to cause any trouble after being locked inside for so long with limited outdoors time."

"I don't care when we eat! I can't wait!" Naruto yelped happily as he did a little dance of glory in the living room. Neji and Shikamaru shared a pained look before sinking onto the furniture nearest to them.

Sasuke remained quiet as he sat on the sofa and closed his eyed. He hadn't expected Itachi to agree so quickly or at all for that matter. Sasuke could tell Itachi was scheming something. No matter, he would go but it wouldn't matter. It's not like it would change anything. He wouldn't be any more or less happy, if that's what Itachi was going for.

It was about a quarter past one in the morning. The moon shined eerily over the park and reflected a mirror image on the lake in the center of the park. The lamps' lights were dull and barely stretched a few feet, leaving the park extremely dark. He waited in silence, in the midst of the trees, as he heard nearly silent footsteps approach him. His ears perked up and he turned to face the new comer.

When his eyes met hers he let out a cool and collected grin. He always did in her presence in hopes of getting one back. But he never got one in return, ever. It didn't stop him from trying though.

"You're late." She remained silent as she walked up beside him and gazed at the lake. She didn't even appear to have heard him and didn't utter a single word. He expected her to do as much. She hardly ever talked or even showed acknowledgement to anyone. "You know, some kid is having a party tomorrow. Itachi wants you to keep an eye on the boys because they are going." She still didn't speak, still gazing at the lake. Although she didn't, couldn't show it, it made her stomach clench unpleasantly. She hated the lake. It was a bad omen and memory.

The man sighed. The girl beside him used to be so full of life and now she was empty. Her soul seemed to have disappeared. He hadn't known her very well during that time but he saw enough of her to know she was nothing like what was before him now. Most of all, that smile she used to have, was now gone. He thought to himself and couldn't remember a time when she did smile anymore. She was a completely different person now.

"I'll go, Kisame." She finally said in a dull voice. Kisame looked at her. She used to be the epitome of happiness with her long pink hair and sparkling green eyes but now that pink hair was short and dull and those eyes were empty and showed nothing. She looked dead-…no, she was dead and no one could do anything no matter what and how hard they tried. They all had tried.

"Thanks Sakura. Itachi will appreciate it." The man, Kisame, said. "Just remember, they fuck it up, the deal is off. It's your job." The girl remained silent. Without another word to the man, she turned and walked off toward her battered Elantra.

"Sakura! Hey Sakura! Wait up!" Ino yelled as she jogged after her pink haired best friend.

It had been nearly a whole two months since she had last seen Sakura. She seemed to have disappeared during that time and no one knew where she was. Ino had tried to call her, text her, hell Ino went to the police, but Sakura had disappeared without a trace and now she was back as if nothing happened.

Sakura however didn't seem to have heard Ino and kept walking, head bowed to the floor. Ino, having caught up, fixed her blonde ponytail. "Jeez Sakura, you were acting like you didn't see me at all."

The pinkette remained silent and kept walking at her steady pass. She didn't even look at Ino when she had spoken. Ino could only blink. Hadn't Sakura heard her?

"Oi Sakura, what is up with you?" Still no response from the pinkette. "Sakura?" Ino poked the girl's bare shoulder. It was icy cold. "Oh my god, Sakura! Put on a jacket, you're freezing!" Ino exclaimed.

Sakura kept walking, ignoring Ino. Ino's temper flared as she stopped in front of the girl, blocking her path. The pinkette stopped as well but still didn't look at her.

"What is wrong with you, Sakura?" Ino asked putting her hands on her hips.

This time the pinkette lifted her head up and met Ino's piercing blue gaze. Ino gasped in shock as two dull green eyes met her. Her eyes were empty, dead, and glazed over. Dark circles surrounded the empty green eyes, making it look like Sakura hadn't slept in those two months she was gone. Sakura's face was deathly pale, as if she were sick. She skin looked papery and dry. Even Sakura's bright pink hair was messy and uncared for and on top of that it was short. Her hair used to be at least to her waist but now it barely passed her chin. Ino cringed. Then she noticed it. Sakura's clothes hung looser on the girl, almost like they were too big when before they fit her perfectly. Ino should know, she had bought them for her. Sakura looked terrible.

"Jeez Sakura, you don't look so good. Why don't we-"Before Ino could finish her sentence, Sakura walked around Ino and walked on, acting like she hadn't heard the blonde speak in the first place and Ino was just an inconvenient road block.

Ino could only stare dumbstruck as Sakura walked into her classroom. Ino walked to her own class but the lecture was hardly listened too. Ino could only sit in wonder what the hell was up with Sakura. She had been acting strange before but after disappearing for two months, she was just empty. Ino even began to wonder if Sakura was there at all.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. In case there is any confusion, the last scene that is in Italics is a flashback :)

Review, I would love to hear your thoughts.