Alright! So I feel really bad for leaving in such a sad spot in the last chapter, and so I started to write this the next day! Unfortunately, I have work both Saturday and Sunday, so I don't know when this will be out. I don't have classes Monday or work, so I guess that'll be when I do it. Uh, the new story is coming out in a couple days, and I have a ONE-SHOT in the process. As in, one chapter! I hope –sighs-. But lets get to the thank-yous. –looks at the 4 pages of reviews- epp….Well thanks to Bloodredangel 808 for my first review, sorry for making you cry! If it helps, you weren't the only one. Now…Cierra (Okay okay, just for you and my sanity's sake =D), Akiru chan (Well I'm sorry for making you almost cry, but I'm glad oyu liked it. And you told someone else to read my stuff? –blushes- thanks!!), Norway 22 (Well that idea would be cute, but it's the emo queen…gotta be big and flashy!), Searafina (thanks for all the compliments, and I thought it was about time Sakura got someone too, since the next couple stories she probably won't…), Nana-Riiko (Great for no thunderstorms! But sorry for making you sad…this will make you better!), Lydia-chan (well here's the ending, and thanks so much for reading my story, you are one of my fav reviewers), MasochistandSadist (-steps away from Sadist while comforting Masochist- i-its…okay..uhm I'll make it all better…uh….there there…please don't let Sadist slap me…-offers cookies-), Sakurananachan (babies…haha…-faints-, jk jk! But heres that last chapter you wanted! Hope you like it), The Closet Case (funny name! I'm talked about? –blushes- Oh my…I feel so lucky! Thank you for your sweet words, but I'm not even close to the best!), Mako 588 (okay…please don't explode…here is your chapter! Haha thanks for the sweet review), Vernon Sullivan (I think I have a lot of reviewers, and honestly, I'd rather have a little with nice reviews than a lot with mean ones), Exorcist-Miranda ( Yea, I'm really hoping this comes fast enough so those torture devices are not needed in the near future…), Deathangellebz (Two words for you: No life. =D that's why.), kat10788 (Ah not Kakashi! Hes too cute to fight…I mean…scary…-coughs- heres that chapter!), Lia (Thanks for telling me the Guy thing! I tried to figure it out, but everyone spells it different ways), Mystique Monique aka Mina (I hope this satisfies your need to have a good ending…), a rather slytherine griffindor (when you said my name, I was like 'how is that possible?!' then I realized I said it in the end…haha!), Wawuchen (sorry, I try to just make them like real life…but thanks for the review!), Gold chocolate cake (Don't worry, I had a shelter prepared just in case my evil plot bunnies tried to take over this chapter…but they didn't), zerofangirl (Thanks for the long review! I know, it was a very emotional chapter, but it gets better! And FINALLY someone appreciates that line! Happy late V-day to you too), Skele (-blushes deeply- I'm so embarrassed that you think I'm that good. Thank you so much for that compliment! –hugs-), Tarff (I know, the evil plot bunnies are in a cage right now getting punished. And don't worry, Niki is coming to the rescue to save Naru's broken heart! ), Chipfest (Lee is pretty good for comedic relief, and I think he's got such a sweet heart), chimerical (haha I seem to be making people fall in love with me a lot…-blushes- And don't worry, Sasuke will show how he feels in a Sasuke-way), Kazanri (Sorry for making you cry! But I'll make it all better, I promise!), raeru (haha you finally caved and got one! And I'd never make you break that proposal! So here, I'll make it all better!), Pebbles of the Sand (It's okay, even if you review once I'm happy! And I hope this ties up the loose ends too, because I wanna make you all happy), mysticalilly (I never really do too much angst, but I guess it worked out here because people liked it. And I hope this came out fast enough for you!), robin Maxwell (to be honest, I only thought this was going to be a couple chapters, so that's why it was on complete, but then it turned into 5…-sweatdrops-), Disgruntled Minion (I can't believe she told me about you! –blushes- well I hope I live up to your expectations!), Chiaki Megumi (haha you did fine, don't worry about it! I suck at English too, and I've known it for 18 years now!), sheens 142 (well I hope you read the last chapter, and I'm very thankful for your review!), jenniebennie (Well your predictions are right because this is the finally Chapter! Thanks for the sweet review!), Claimed by Insanity (even though you just read this today, I'm hoping that this was fast enough for you! Now enjoy!)

And that's it! At least I'm still alive. Okay, so here is the chapter you've all been waiting for! The ending to 'Life is a Highway'. Love you all lots, thanks for the great reviews.

Warning: Okay, if you've been reading this for THIS long, and don't expect a lemon….walk away….just, walk away…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make a certain blonde stop crying…-pets Naruto-

Love Grip

I feel so stupid taking this fall
I should have seen it known all along
I won't break this silence we've shared for so long
I will be strong

"Naruto, what are you listening to? Oh never mind! You can't stay in this bed forever! Now get up!" I groaned at the feminine voice before snuggling closer to my bed. I really did not want to get up today. I tried to ignore her by covering my head with my blankets, but Sakura was way too persistent to let that go. Instead she grabbed the blankets, pulling them over my head and leaving me nothing to snuggle into. I whined and groggily looked up at her.

"What now Sakura?" I mumbled, watching my best friend place her hands onto her hips and scowl.

"Don't tell me that you forgot about our plans!" Shit. I made dinner plans with her didn't I? I groaned and threw my arms over my eyes at the memory of my promise. Since Lee was supposed to be coming home in two days, we had to get the rest of his party plans done. Sure we had picked the date for Saturday, but that was only five days away. And Sakura wanted to be perfect for the 'event of the year'. Yea, right.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. Even if I wanted to stay in my bed all day, it was pointless to even try with Sakura. Especially when it came to things she felt strong about.

"It's almost 4:30, and we said we'd meet Ino and Sai at dinner by 5:30. Leave it to you to forget our plans. Why do I put up with your lazy butt." But even as she said it, she leaned over and ruffled my bed head in a way that showed how truly intertwined we were. She smiled softly, her hand staying in the mop I called hair. "You goof."

"It's not fault you wake up at the ass crack of dawn." But I forced myself to sit up and stretch. Glancing around my room, I perked up and leapt to the basket of clean clothes my mom must have left in my apartment (she was always doing my laundry since the last time I tried, I broke the washer at the laundry mat). I rolled with the plastic laundry hamper before wrestling an outfit out of it. Sakura watched me, and I wasn't sure if she was amused or mortified with my actions. I shrugged on an orange tee-shirt, looking to her and arching an eyebrow. "Are you going to watch me change? Because I don't mind, but I've gotta get naked and I'm not sure Lee wants you experiencing 'youthful pleasure' with anyone else."

"Naruto!" She threw my pillow at my head and I laughed at the dark blush on her cheeks. From the suggestion of watching me strip or what her and Lee did was a mystery I'd never figure out. But the girl stormed to the living room, slamming the door shut while I struggled out of my boxers. After tossing together some new (and hopefully clean) boxers and jeans, I was ready to go. And the warm air that greeted me moving from my house was a lot more comforting than I wanted to admit. Most of the summer I had been travelling the other parts of the country, so being at home did feel pretty good. The summers weren't too hot, and being able to shower every day was a plus. My mom practically cried as soon as she saw me. I'm 21, and yet she still treats me like I'm 12.

But that was over ten days ago. It had taken me and Sakura about four days to get home, mainly because we cut straight across the country instead of going around. Ino and the others had dragged us out when we got back, making Sakura replay the entire trip for them. I only spoke when I needed to, like the fight or the four corners. I laughed or protested when I had to, because if I didn't, then they would all see how truly affected I was by the trip. Sakura hesitated at certain parts, and skipped the last day of our trip with Sasuke completely. Maybe it was the narrowing of my eyes on the window I stared out of. Somehow, she got passed it without talking about my mental breakdown over Sasuke.

Because it wasn't completely done yet. It was the bastard's fault really. I mean he kept saying that nothing would change; we'd still be best friends. Except best friends don't kiss, and touch, and grind and…and fuck it got so messed up, didn't it? No wonder he hadn't bothered to call me in the past two weeks. What were we going to say really? 'Hey, what's up, how about that amazing blow job you gave me'? That'd be about as smooth as a porcupine.

The past two weeks without Sasuke had been hard. And no, I'm not being dramatic. Do you realize how hard it is to do things when the better half of you is 3000 miles away and ignoring you? Not to mention I have to keep explaining to people where that 'quiet young darked hair friend of mine' was. The lady down the hall who always saw us together, the woman at the grocery store that checked out my groceries while I argued with the teme about not letting me buy ramen, the girl who sold me ramen before Sasuke caught me, the group of females who used to watch me and Sasuke run (see a pattern?) And now, constantly trying to break theses habits that I only did with the black haired asshole was a lot harder when I couldn't keep my thoughts off of him. Like now. Gah I'm doing it again.

"Naruto, isn't this Sasuke's CD?" I jerked my head over to Sakura, who seemed intent on listening to the CD playing in my car (my mom was so happy I was home, she made my dad fix my radio). Wait, when did I get in here? Am I driving? Ah! "Red light!"

"Shit!" I slammed on the breaks, my car jerking to a stop in front of the bright red light. We both sighed in relief, Sakura flopping back into the seat before sending me a death glare.

"What were you doing?!" I shrunk back from the dangerous girl in guilt.

"Uh…nothing?" Like I was really going to tell Sakura I almost just killed both of us because I was thinking about the teme. I wasn't that dumb!

"Nothing? You almost just sent us straight into the intersection."

"Yea but I didn't do it, now did I?" She continue to glare, so I turned back to look at the green light before moving forward cautiously. After a few seconds without our lives being put in danger, a heavy sigh came from the right of me.

"You didn't answer me. What are you doing with Sasuke's CD? I thought you hated his music?"

"I-I do! It's just…well; the teme had some good songs on there." I squirmed a bit, still not feeling comfortable in talking about Sasuke for long periods of time. But Sakura wasn't pressing me, and my mouth opened again. "Once you get past the first couple songs, he's got some good music."

"Really? That's good." We fell into a comfortable silence for a few seconds. The music was quiet between us, some song by a band I discovered was named 'A Rocket to the Moon'. Sure they were pretty sappy. A lot of their lyrics reminded me of…of someone. But they were pretty catchy once you got used to it.

"I didn't steal them." She laughed and nodded while we pulled into the diner's parking lot.

"I didn't say you did."

"He just left them with me," I continued as if she had accused me. Why was I so defensive? I finally pulled sharply into a parking spot, feeling more defensive than I needed.

"Naruto—"

"He left everything he didn't want in the car! The CDs, the water bottles, the….the…" The idiot who fell in love with him. Yea, he left that too. I hated feeling this upset. It had been two weeks damnit. Two weeks and I still couldn't get him out of my head! When it was so obvious that he could just forget me, I had to walk around like an emo zombie. I was sick of feeling like this. So I shook my head, trying to resist the permanent feelings inside of me. Then I grinned to my passenger and waved as if to erase what I had just said. "It's his loss. The emo part of him must be bawling his eyes out not being able to listen to his MCR."

"You're…you're such a weirdo Naruto." She pushed out of the car and I followed, locking it before running after her. We easily found the blond girl waving to us from across the room while the more reserved guy continued to sip his coffee. Sai, who only went by Sai, was a guy that Ino had stumbled upon when she was trying to find me a present for my 19th birthday. He was rude, annoying, and a total jerk! All he did was pick on me and make fun of parts of me that he wished he could see. His hair was cut in a straight style that he probably ironed to keep straight. And every time he saw me, I swear a pair of horns grew from his head.

"Naruto-kun." It made my blood boil when he called me that. It was the only reason he did it after all. "So glad to see your ugly face today."

"You shut up Sai! Who invited the jerk anyways?" I muttered, crossing my arms and sitting across from Ino.

"We're using his house, idiot! Man Naruto, you really need to pay attention more." Ino hit my forehead with her knuckles before rolling her eyes. "He's the only one out of all of us that could actually fit more than five people in his loft without seeming crowded."

"My apartment is huge!"

"Yea, and full of ramen cups and trash." Well, Sakura had a point there. And by the look she was giving me, I was pretty sure she was going to make me clean it sooner or later. So trying to get off the subject of my apartment, I grabbed the menu.

"Do they have ramen here?"

"I supposed that's why his body is so flabby and unattractive. Ramen is a horrible sense of protein." My eye twitched at his insults, and I tried to keep myself from killing him. Because if I killed him, then one of the girls would kill me. Either Ino for killing her little painter friend, or Sakura for ruining Lee's party. Maybe they would kill each other first to see which one could kill me, and then I could get away with it! But then I'd have to pay the bill…hmm…

Sai could live for now.

"Party." I spat the word out, and watched two sets of feminine eyes sparkle in excitement.

"It's in five days, and we still need to figure out who's coming, what to make for food, what we're going to do at the party, and what type of party it is!" At Ino's enthused check list, I blinked.

"How many types of parties are there?"

"Pool, slumber, bowling, movie, costumed, black and white tie affair, pizza—"

"Sorry I asked," I mumbled, cutting her extremely long file off. She nodded once and glanced at the other two at the table while I continued to look for the golden word on the menu. So far, no luck.

"Well what one should we do? I mean I want it to be original and all, especially if my name is connected to it," Ino said, nodding.

"Well the pool thing doesn't work, since Sai doesn't have a pool. And slumber may be too crowed to sleep. Bowling would mean we'd have to arrange car pooling and stuff. The movie could be good I guess.."

"We could show your videos of your road trip at the party! That would be a good laugh, don't you think?" I lifted my head at Ino's suggestion.

"But Lee's not in our videos. What would be the point of showing them?" Both girls glanced to each other, as if wondering to answer my question or not. Apparently, Sai saw this as an opportunity to open his big mouth.

"For humor. Anything with your face in it will be funny." I hit the idiot in the head with my menu, ignoring the glares I got from the girls.

"You shut up!" His smile was so fake; it gave Santa and Cupid a run for their money.

"Okay, so we'll do the video just to add some laughs to the night. Not laughing at you though, Naruto." Sakura placed a calming hand on my arm and smiled before she continued. "What if we ordered pizza for the party, and we can get some games and just hang out. I mean, I'm sure Lee won't want anything too extravagant."

"This is Lee we're talking about. All he wants is you, Sakura." I watched her blush from my comment before I grinned. Lately pink was a very popular color for her cheeks. Lucky for her the waitress came, and we ordered our food quickly before diving back into our conversation.

"So how many people did you invite to this thing anyways?" I asked. Ino and Sakura glanced to each other (they seemed to do that a lot) before Ino shrugged.

"Well I invited about 20."

"Yea me too." I could already tell this party was going to get out of hand. Well, at least it was Sai's loft. I wouldn't feel bad if I 'accidentally' broke something in there.

"And how are we going to pay for all of these people to eat anyways? Last time I checked, my bank account was empty." And it was. The trip had drained every last dollar from my bank, and now I wasting the money I had in my wallet on a dinner date I didn't even want to go to. Life was so unfair.

"Don't worry about that! We've got the money situation under control," Ino said, winking. I rolled my eyes at her words. Her dad was probably paying for it, since I knew that neither Sakura nor Ino had the money to spare. After all both were about to graduate from college and with that comes very expensive bills. But Ino's dad was not poor to say the least. Granted they were no Uchiha family, but they were very well off. They could pay for a party like this no problem.

"So then when is the party starting?"

"Two." Ino said, making me nod.

"So when should I-"

"One." The girls were synchronized in their hurried answer. I blinked once as they sent each other another set of looks. Just what was going on with these two?

"Hey, you two aren't turning lesbian on me, are you?" I quickly ducked when Ino threw a piece of ice at me. "I was just checking!"

"Your stupidity is very humorous Naruto-kun. Please continue to add brainless comments into the conversation." Did I mention how much I hated him? Because I did. Right down to the very core of my existence.

"I'm going to run you over in the parking lot."

"Well the idea would have worked if not for letting me know your plans prematurely." …damnit! I always mixed the villain order up. First you set them up, then you tell the plan, then you continue. I mixed up the first two steps!

"Speaking of your car, did I mention how jealous I was that you got that? It's like, the coolest looking car ever!" I glanced out to where I had parked my car and smirked a bit at how dreamy Ino's voice had become. Even though the girl was in love with boys and shopping, she did have an odd fascination with cars. "Why on earth did you get Sasuke to give you that thing?"

"It was my valentine's gift." I tensed after I spoke, not thinking of how awkward it sounded. Ino raised an eyebrow while Sai only continued to sip his coffee, my cheeks now burning in color. "Sa-Sakura makes us swap gifts! I-It's not like w-we want to or anything!"

"Uh huh." Ino's smirk showed how much she didn't believe me. I glanced to Sakura for help, to tell our friends that she forced us to give gifts, but the girl was too busy texting on her phone to notice us. I frowned and leaned over to see what the text message was, but Sakura quickly snapped her phone shut and glared.

"Naruto! That was a private message you know. Stop being so nosy."

"What, you sending Lee sexy messages or something?" Sakura growled through her embarrassment and hit my head hard.

"You pervert."

"Says the one writing those kinds of messages." Ino laughed at our exchange and saved Sakura the trouble of answering.

"So anyways, back to the car. Why would he give you such an expensive gift for Valentine's day? I mean, no offence, but it's you." And how was I not supposed to be offended by that? I shrugged off my feelings of irritation as Ino continued. "He must have wanted it close by for when he gets back. I'd sure have a problem giving up a car like that."

I bet that was what he was thinking when he first gave me the car. Now, I wondered if he changed his mind. The conversation at the table became pointless as the dinner date went on, and I found myself staring at the car again. How many memories did I have in that thing? Just the road trip alone was enough to last forever. My hand tightened around my drink at the thought. The bastard was probably regretting his decision to give it to me. He'd never be able to drive it again as far as I was concerned. If he wanted to drive it he'd have to ask, which seemed impossible since he wasn't talking to me.

I ate the last of my food while Sakura and Ino said goodbye to each other. They hugged and departed, Sai and Ino one way while me and Sakura went the other. She waited until I shut my door before she spoke.

"Hey, you wanna just drive around or something? Go somewhere and talk?" Talking actually sound good right now. And I had a feeling it was better than being alone at the moment. So I nodded and moved from the parking lot, driving through our sleepy little town. By the time we got around to actually stopping at the Konoha playground, it was getting dark. The street lights were stuck with the indecision of staying on or off, flickering constantly while we walked under them. I don't really know why I chose the playground, since it held no real significant meaning to me. But I needed somewhere that would be empty, quiet, and away from the middle of town. And luckily, there was nobody in sight.

"I haven't been here in years," I mumbled, staring up at the sky while I dropped down into a swing. She accompanied me on the identical swing next to mine and giggled.

"We're way too old to be here."

"What?! No way! You're never too old to come here! It's like a no age limit place." She continued to laugh at my adamant denial. Then again, it was pretty rare to see two 21 year olds in a playground without kids with them.

"I guess if you have one with the maturity level of a two year old, then it's okay." I grinned at what should have been an insult from her.

"You wanted to swing as soon as you realized where we were going." She didn't respond at first, but finally huffed and started to push herself. I followed suit, and pretty soon we were swinging pretty high. Feeling the adrenaline that I hadn't felt in a long time, I waited for a few good swings before I let go, jumping off of the swing and flying through the air. I landed on my feet for a second, but the force of my body made me jerk forwards and roll a few feet on the sand. I panted when I stopped on my back, clutching my stomach and laughing even when Sakura dropped next to me in concern.

"Naruto are you okay?!"

"Oh man, I haven't gotten so much air since I tried doing that after senior prom! You looked just like you did back then too, but you were all fancy and shit. And Sasuke just stared at me like I was an idiot or something! That was the best night ever!" I continued to laugh even when she tackled me, the two of us rolling around on the ground and completely ruining our clothes. We settled down after a little while, Sakura lying across from me while we both stared up at the sky. It felt amazing playing like this, like everything was completely normal again. But, there was a part of me that continued to whisper 'Sasuke's not here'. A part I seriously was ready to shoot and hang by its toenails.

"So, Naruto…"

"So Sakura…" She sent me a glare that only made my smile widen.

"Don't copy me!"

"Aw you're no fun. I really did wanna ask you how fuzzy brows was doing." She couldn't stop the twitch of a smile at the mention of Lee. Still she tried to act casual in her talking.

"Lee's fine. He's really excited to come home soon. He hasn't seen anyone else in a couple years and he wants to make sure everyone is alright."

"Couldn't he just ask if everyone is alright?"

"This is Lee we're talking about. He's a man of action, not words." I smirked and nudged her shoulder with mine.

"Yea, I saw that from the hick—"

"Not…another…word." I licked at the hand that was covering my mouth and she shrieked before jerking it away. "Naruto!"

"You're just lucky that damn thing was gone by the time we got home. It was like a giant sign saying 'youthfulness was here'."

"Yea well you had marks too!" The playful humor stopped as soon as the words left her lips. I winced a bit at the memory of noticing them the night after he left. There was one on my neck, on against my shoulder, and one on my stomach. I never knew how much pressure he was using in his sucking until that night. It was a painful reminder of everything that had gone on between us those couple of weeks. The marks had faded now, but I still knew where they had been. That was enough to keep them alive.

"Have you……ya know, talked to the teme or anything?" I mumbled weakly, holding onto the sand underneath us. She didn't seem to want to speak, which clearly gave her answer before she nodded.

"Yes. Today actually, before I came to pick you up." Well, at least she wasn't lying to me. I nodded and stared up at the sky to hide the anger I was sure stood out.

"That's great. Glad he's keeping in touch with someone." I wasn't sure how much of my frustration showed in my voice. Probably a lot by the weakness in Sakura's tone.

"He's…he's got his first executive meeting in a couple of days. Supposed to be a big make or break thing. I think he's probably nervous, though he doesn't really show it." My fists clenched tighter into sand, but I tried to ignore it with a laugh.

"That idiot, he'll just do fucking perfect like always."

"Yea, maybe." I glanced over to her while she stared off, feeling a sense of jealously that I knew she didn't deserve. Why did he choose Sakura over me? Wasn't I important too? It was hard enough knowing that whatever we had during the trip was gone, but losing Sasuke completely was more than I could handle. Didn't he know that? Didn't he feel the same?

"Let's go home. We've…we've got to rest up so we can get ready for the party, ya know?" I made it sound as casual as I could, brushing the sand off of me while I stood. She nodded quietly and followed me back to the car, the rest of the night practically silent between us. It wasn't like I was mad at Sakura, because she didn't force Sasuke to talk to her. He did it on his own, which I was knew was true since Sasuke could almost never be forced to do something he didn't want to. Which meant that Sasuke was also avoiding me on purpose.

I left Sakura at her car while I moved into my apartment. I glanced around slowly, slightly admitting that the mountain of ramen cups would eventually have to be cleaned up. But not tonight. Instead, I grabbed my cell phone and headed toward my bed, flopping down on it and staring up at the ceiling. No missed calls. No missed text messages. Nothing.

"Damnit." I threw my phone open, scrolling down the lists of names. I wasn't a loner by any means. I had lots of friends that I could spend time with and I was sure most of them wouldn't mind. But when I got to the 'S' part of my phone, my finger stopped on his name. I stared at it in silence for a few seconds, debating what I should do. Was there anything I could do? I mean, he had been avoiding me. But…I just didn't want it to end like this! If he was going to throw me away, fine. But he was going to be a god damn man about it! So I pressed send, and listened to the persistent ringing in my ear.

"Hn. If you don't know who you're calling, hang up—"

"Sasuke! That's not how you do a message damnit! Hello, this is Sasuke's phone! If you wanna talk to the teme leave a message. If you wanna talk to this hot guy, then leave a message for Naruto."

"Dobe." I felt my heart clench at the old message I had made with Sasuke. Why hadn't he changed it? If he was so desperate to get rid of me, wouldn't that be one of the first things he'd want to get rid of? Granted I knew nobody ever called for me on Sasuke's number, but there was always a chance they would. I swallowed weakly when I heard the beep, and cursed knowing it would show up on the message.

"Uh…" Alright, maybe I should have thought out what I was going to say before I called. "Shit. Teme I…y-you left all your damn CDs in the car! A-and the water bottles and…and….you said nothing would change. You promised…now look! You didn't even sa-say bye! You just left me there! And I…"I can't be without you…"Gah! You got me sounding like a fucking woman you asshole! Next time I see you, I'm kicking your ass!" By the time I had shut the phone, I brushed both sets of tears away from my eyes in anger. I knew I sounded like I was crying in the message, and that just made me more pissed and more upset and more crying occur. I felt my stomach drop to the point that I couldn't even make myself get out of bed in fear of it falling to the floor. Instead, I curled myself into a ball on the bed and cursed every day that I had spent with the idiot. Eventually I fell asleep into a dreamless slumber. It was better than thinking of Sasuke anyways.

Sasuke didn't call me. He didn't leave me an email or text, didn't try to talk to me through Sakura. It had been four long days where I didn't shut my phone off once in hopes that somehow, the gods would let up on me and get the idiot to call. But apparently, even gods had problems convincing Sasuke to do things. I almost laughed at the image of seeing Sasuke give the gods an Uchiha glare. Leave it to him to defy logic.

"Welcome back Lee!" The crowd cheered loudly for Lee's return, the smiling boy waving to the party when he entered. Sakura moved to his side, and it was cute to see how immediately Lee's eyes drifted to his high school love. They made their way through the crowd, which was huge. As I expected, there were more people that Ino and Sakura predicted. Because when they told one of the Sasuke fangirls (yes, even now they still followed him) that his video would be showing, the news spread like wildfire. Some of them even came with Sasuke pins attached to their shirts. I decided to ignore them the best I could, not wanting to listen to their obsessive talk. If I did, I might have let it slip about Sasuke's true sexual orientation.

"Hey bushy brows." I laughed despite Sakura's glare at the nickname. Even if he wasn't as bad as he was in high school, he would always be bushy brows to me. "How's life back in Konoha? You miss it?"

"Very much so. All of our friends have grown and matured so much!" Since Lee was a very emotional person, it was no surprise to see the tears in his eyes.

"Well of course we all did, we weren't just going to stay the same while you went off and became a superstar on us," I said, shrugging. I grabbed a drink from the tray that Ino was walking with and took a chug of liquid before continuing. "Did you know Neji's planning on becoming the governor of Mass?"

"Well he's smart enough to do it. And hopefully he'll help make the state better instead of worse like the last guy." Sakura sighed and shook her head quickly, glancing to Lee and smiling. "You and Neji were pretty close in high school, right?"

"We kept in touch during the years too. I was so excited to hear of his proposal to Tenten. Ah, the youthfulness of love is in the air."

"I think you'll be talking about that even when we're all old and too handicapped to have sex," I said, earning me a hit in the head by his very violent girlfriend. "One of these days Sakura, I'm going to file for assault against you!"

"They'll take one look at you and throw the case out to stupidity." I glare to the black haired guy who entered the conversation. Sai was holding a CD case in his hand, holding it out for Sakura to take while he smiled. "I did what you asked. Both things."

"And?"

"The DVD is in the TV waiting to be started. The second thing is almost completed. It still needs some time to be completely ready." She seemed worried by his later statement, making me frown. What the heck was Sakura trusting Sai with that she couldn't tell me about?

"Hey! You're not making him paint you something right? Because I'm a way better artist than him!" I pointed to the smiling asshole next to me while I spoke, making it clear I was not happy. Sakura shook her head and sighed.

"Sai, will you go tell Ino to get everyone into your living room? Oh, and take Naruto with you so that you can move the couch to make room." I didn't like the ordering tone that Sakura was giving me, but I knew that fighting with her would only end up with more bruises and a very upset girl. And the last thing I wanted to burden Lee with on his party night was a pissed off Sakura. So unwillingly I followed Sai, weaving my way through the crowd toward the living room.

"Move the couch to the room to your right." Great, now I was taking orders from the jerk? What the hell was I, a servant to these people? But I couldn't protest in time, Sai disappearing into the crowd. I stared at the large couch, glancing between it and the doorway that was crowded with people. How the hell did they expect me to do this on my own?

"Need some help?" I glanced over and smiled at the wolfish grin of a familiar face.

"Kiba! Long time no see man!" Actually, I hadn't had time to see Kiba since before I left on the trip. Normally we'd go to the gym together twice a week, but the past five days had circled around the friggen party and a certain missing asshole. Not to mention Kiba lived a few towns away with Hinata, so our chances of bumping into each other were slim to none. It was nice to actually see the dog-loving guy again.

"Yea, fucking Sai and Sakura got me wrapped around their little finger all night. They want me to move this couch to the other room. Ya wanna see which one of us is stronger?" He nodded and moved to the other side of the couch, both of us hauling our own sides with ease. Apparently people got the idea we were coming through whether they moved or not, because the crowd quickly dispersed to let us through. It was a tight fit, and my arms practically got crushed trying to get through with the couch, but we made it out alive. I slung my arm around Kiba's shoulders when we moved back into the room, Ino starting to gather the rest of the crowd into the now spacious living room.

"So I heard you made a video for the party?" He asked. I shrugged and glanced up to the huge TV Sai had in his living room. Damn prick had everything.

"Sakura probably modified it a bit, since it was on a DVD and not a video tape. I'm just hoping the fangirls don't pass out from blood loss by the end of this." We found a nice place to rest on the ground, Kiba glancing back at the group of fangirls huddled in the corner.

"Oh man, they're still here? Will they ever give up on Sasuke?" I winced a bit but hid it with a laugh.

"Doubt it. They're in a depression over him leaving."

"Leaving?" Kiba seemed confused, but I guess it made sense. He wasn't in the same town with us anymore, so he probably didn't realize Sasuke wasn't even at the party.

"Yea, the video's from our road trip. The fangirls got wind of Sasuke being in the video. Wait till they realize I'm owning him in most of the shots." I grinned in my normal Uzumaki fashion at the idea of seeing me beat 'Sasuke-saurus' again. Kiba still seemed confused, but I didn't care. He was a knucklehead anyways. We both pulled our eyes away from the girls when Ino started to babble something about the video before starting it. It was strange to see the first day of our trip, with me and Sakura in the car at day break. I could hear the laughter behind me when I wrestled Sasuke out of bed and even more laughter when he poured water on my head. Some parts made me blush, which couldn't be seen in the darkness of the room. Sakura had taped me and Sasuke sometime between Alabama and Texas, drool dripping from the side of my mouth while me and the idiot's heads almost brushed from our positioning. I remembered that night Sakura had wanted to sleep outside so she could watch the stars. Me and Sasuke only agreed because we didn't want her to get kidnapped while we were in the car. So somehow, through luck or misfortune, me and Sasuke ended up sleeping next to each other in a grassy field while Sakura taped up. I could hear the girlish 'aws' at the sight, while Kiba nudged me with his elbow and smirked. I growled and tried to deny anything happened, but then the video part of the DVD ended to show the group of pictures we had taken.

Some were at the Alabama hotel, one picture of Sasuke without his shirt on making several catcalls go through the air. We spent a lot of the time in Texas taking pictures of me and Sakura, just goofing off or capturing scenery. Sakura got a good one of me staring out at the sunset from our hotel room, and I promised myself I needed to get a copy of that later. But when the pictures from the four corners came up, I forgot everything in order to submerge myself in that day. I could almost hear Sakura's excited voice exclaiming we had made it, and if I closed my eyes I bet I could have seen the scene play out in front of me. The group pictures were first, going in the order that they were taken. The photos slowly slipped to me and Sakura, our crazy pictures making most people laugh or roll their eyes. Then they switched to her and Sasuke, which were much fewer than ours. But still the fangirls swooned at their dark prince's smoldering stares. And yea, I said smoldering because I could almost feel the blush heating my cheeks by the way he had stared at the camera. I never noticed how intent he had been on me until I saw these pictures.

And finally, the last picture of the four corners made my heart stop. Me and Sasuke stood in the middle of the four corners, my legs being supported by his gentle hands. My arm was thrown over his shoulder carelessly, and I hadn't realize I had leaned my head against his until staring at the photo now. I grinned like I always did. But Sasuke…Sasuke didn't have his gaze on the camera like all of the other pictures. He was glancing to me from the corner of his eyes, and the look of 'what an idiot' was apparent on his face. But the pleased smirk and the protective hold he had on my legs stood out to me in a way that made my stomach churn. Sasuke was the reason that Sakura had been so hesitant to take the picture. Sasuke didn't look like the brooding best friend that had been shining throughout the videos and pictures before this. He looked like a…

"-protective boyfriend." I glanced to Kiba quickly, who seemed to be reading my thoughts while he whistled at the screen.

"W-What?!" I hissed out, mindful of my voice when the pictures continued to our trip to Las Vegas. Kiba glanced back to me and shrugged.

"I said, Sasuke looked like a protective boyfriend in that picture."

"He did not! He just looked like a teme! And I would know, I'm a teme-radar." Maybe my voice was a little too snappy, or my answer too quick, because Kiba was smirking like he had just won a million dollars.

"Dude, did you make a move on Sasuke while you were gone?" My eyes widened in shock before I quickly shook my head.

"What the hell are you yapping about?! I don't like him, he doesn't like me!" Kiba blinked once and tilted his head.

"Uh…then what was he doing at your house today?" I tensed a bit in shock, staring at Kiba before slowly shaking my head.

"Sasuke's…in California."

"No…he's at your house with a big truck." It was then that the lights clicked on, not that I noticed. I was too busy jumping up from my spot on the floor and shouting at Kiba.

"Don't fuck around like that Kiba! Sasuke left and moved away to California! He's not here, and he's not at my house, and he's not with some big ass truck because he doesn't even talk to me anymore!" I panted from shouting at the shocked guy next to me, but I didn't care. He had some nerve, making up a bull shit story like that. And he still wasn't done, because his glared turned angry and he rose on his feet to cross his arms.

"Alright Uzumaki, I've never been a liar and I've never been a coward. Shout all you want, but I know I saw the emo kid outside of your apartment, with a big truck. Even ask Hinata, she was in the car with me when we drove by to come to this damn party." I glared at him for a few seconds before scanning the crowd that was staring at us in shock. Finally I found the Kiba's quiet wife sitting with a very tense Sakura and Ino.

"Hinata?" She straightened at her name but she nodded quickly.

"Y-Yes I…I saw him too, Naruto-kun." I felt my eyes widen as all the anger slowly started to flow out of me. I knew people started to whisper in the room at how crazy I was, or how Sasuke was back, but I didn't bother to listen.

Sasuke was…in Konoha…

..at my house…

…with a truck?

"What the hell is going on?" When nobody in the crowd answered me, I quickly tore away from the group and toward the front door. But somehow, Sakura and Ino beat me to it, and were standing in front of the door.

"You can't leave!" Sakura and Ino really had this synchronized thing down. I felt myself growl at the two girls who seemed the least surprised by the information Kiba spilled. And I say spilled because I could tell by their nervous glances to each other that they had known something was going on all along.

"Get out of my way!" Ino flinched a bit at my voice, but Sakura refused to back down.

"No Naruto. I promised Sasuke I wouldn't let you leave this party yet."

"You're in on this too?! What the hell is the teme doing here?" Sakura moved to answer, but stopped herself and glanced away.

"We can't tell you." So Ino filled in for her. I glared between the two girls, not sure if I felt more angry or confused. I kept switching between the two.

"Why is he at my house?"

"Again, we can't tell you."

"Why hasn't he called me?!"

"Naruto, we can't te—"

"Tell me something!" Ino stopped talking and glanced to Sakura, who in turned glanced to me. We continued this staring process in silence for a few seconds, giving me time to assess the situation. Sasuke was not in California. Sasuke was in Konoha, at my house. He had told the girls to keep me here while he infiltrated my damn apartment, and now had a truck with him. I thought maybe he wanted his CDs and car back, but then why did the girls let me drive here? This entire thing was completely senseless and I felt my head spinning from all of the questions that weren't being fulfilled. "Tell me anything…"

"He's done." I jumped and glanced back to see Sai leaning against the doorway of the small hall, shutting Sakura's cell phone. He nodded to the two girls, who seemed to instantly relax at the news. Me, on the other hand, was fuming.

"Sai knew about this?!"

"We figured if we kept talking to him, then you'd know something was going on too early. You almost caught Sakura texting him at the dinner date." I glanced to Sakura who was moving to Sai, grabbing her phone and thanking the jerk who nodded and walked away.

"So…that wasn't Lee?" I asked slowly. Sakura looked up at me, and an obvious guilt shone in her dark green eyes.

"I'm sorry I had to lie to you like that Naruto. But Sasuke made me promise not to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"It's not our place to explain this. He's waiting at your apartment for you to come home." Sakura moved forward to me, hugging me tightly in a way that begged for forgiveness. "Go to him, Naruto."

"You…are so lame." But I hugged Sakura anyways, knowing how hard it was on her. She was put in a situation that no best friend wants to be placed in. She giggled into my shoulder and let go, Ino opening the door and rolling her eyes.

"Just don't get too excited, we need you to be able to walk tomorrow." I glared at her suggestion but moved through the doorway, quickly driving from Sai's place toward my own. Every step of the way my heart was racing with everything that had just changed. Leave it to someone like Sasuke to make me feel this nervous to go to my own damn apartment. My hands were clenched against the steering wheel, and every light in town was against me because they turned red as soon as I got to the intersection. Was this really happening? As far as I knew, Sasuke was perfectly content with his Naruto-free life out in California! But when I pulled into the driveway of my apartment, I felt disappointment well up inside of me. There was no truck here. It was empty. Did Sasuke leave before I had the chance to talk to him?

Wasting no time, I barely waved to my neighbor as I ran up the stairs to my apartment, fingers shaking from the desperate need to find my key. I jerked it into the lock and pushed the door open, forgetting the keys and running into the living room. I stopped, staring in amazement at how different my place looked.

For one thing, it was clean. The entire place looked like it was brand new, and nobody had lived in it. Especially not the slob Uzumaki Naruto. Secondly, there were things in my apartment that weren't mine. A different (but much comfier looking) couch and an end table were added. A few miscellaneous things that held no real meaning to me were lost. Paintings that I had made were now framed and hanging on the wall like they were worth more than a pack of gum. And a certain black haired teme was lounging so normally on the couch that it took every ounce of me not to jump over the new end table and beat the snot out of him.

"What…the fuck…did you do to my apartment?!" I shouted, not caring how loud I was or how late it had gotten while I was at the party. Sasuke looked up from the news channel he was watching to stare at me with those dark eyes that had been almost callous when slamming the door in my face in California.

"I made it better, dobe." I narrowed my eyes even when my body shivered from the baritone of his voice. Quickly the question and answer game began.

"How did you get in?"

"You never took your key back."

"When did you get back?"

"Last night."

"Who knows?"

"My family, Sakura, Ino, Sai, Shikamaru, and Neji."

"Where did you stay last night?"

"Sakura's."

"Why are you here?" He cocked an eyebrow as if the answer should have been obvious. I felt my hands fisting at my sides while he shut the TV off, pushing himself to stand and walking over to me. We stood only a few feet apart, and I hated the fact I had to tilt my head up to look him in the eyes.

"Because, dobe, I got an annoying message from an idiot complaining about my lack of cleaning in his car. Then he proceeded to yell at me for not saying something that he himself said he didn't want to say. Finally, the end of the memo threatened to kick my ass if I ever came back. With such a kind message left on my voicemail, how was I supposed to stay away?"

"You bastard." Now he was mocking me. He came 3000 miles to mock me. He smirked at my anger, as always, and took a step closer.

"Idiot. I'm assuming the girls said nothing."

"Of course not. They don't lie to their friends about promises." I could tell, even if he didn't wince, that the comment hurt. I didn't care. He was the one who told me that nothing would change, and that I was worried over nothing. He made that promise, and didn't keep it.

"I'm moving in with you." The sentence caught me so off guard, I almost fell back on my butt. He quickly grabbed my waist, keeping me from tumbling over while bring our bodies closer together. "My stuff has already been moved in, and I disposed of anything you had that was broken, old, moldy, or ugly."

"W-Wait a god damn minute! You've gotta be shitting me. You moved to California! What about your apartment? And your job?"

"I left the apartment." He paused at the second question, and even if I didn't want to, my lips curled. There was no way that Sasuke did what I thought he did for me. I mean, this wasn't a fairytale. But still, I had to ask.

"And you quit your job?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes before flicking my forehead.

"Get your head out of the clouds. I got asked to move to a different position in the company." I blinked once at his wording. Wait. Did he mean…

"Did you get fired?" The glare he gave me only seemed to confirm my guess.

"My father decided that I was better suited working back here. He said that I lacked the concentration in California and that…" He seemed to be having a hard time with the next sentence. "My…mother did not like the idea of me being that far away."

"Your mommy got you fired?!" I laughed even when it was a promised death by the way Sasuke was looking at me. I didn't care; Sasuke was 22 and was still controlled by what his mother wanted. Sure, he was a momma's boy, but he'd never admit it.

"Stop laughing."

"Bu-but it's…its s-so funny!! You m-mom got you a-a job switch!" I continued to laugh until I was picked up under my thighs, my arms flailing in the air to keep my balance as Sasuke walked away from the living room and toward my bedroom. Well, I guess ours. Wait!"Hey!"

"What?"

"I never said you could live here! The only reason you're back is because of your mom!" I felt myself being pushed onto the bed, and the darkness of the room was only light compared to the two half open eyes that hovered over me. I couldn't stop myself from getting excited when I felt his body slide between my legs.

"Dobe." He leaned down, and I closed my eyes at the breathy kiss that was placed underneath my ear. I parted my lips in pleasure while his sinful mouth kissed down my jaw line.

"A-ah…stop." I fisted my hands into his shirt and shoved him back, finally forcing my eyes to glare up at him. He seemed unfazed by my anger. "You…you can't just do that!

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not your fuck buddy! I...I won't be your toy." I glared at him again when he leaned closer, and my next words were mumbled against his lips. "You haven't even bothered to call me, or fucking text me….you slammed a god damn door in my face!"

"You deserved it." I what?! How the hell did he get off telling me I deserved something like that? I moved to punch him but he continued without permission. "Goodbye means you let go of something. Goodbye means something has ended. Goodbye is the equivalent of a knife in someone's heart. You said goodbye."

"I…" What could I say? Nothing really, since his eyes were making me lose any internal battle I had against making out with him. I had hurt him? He wasn't saying it directly, but…goodbye is the equivalent of a knife in someone's heart. He was saying I stabbed him in the heart. Here I was, complaining about how Sasuke lied to me, when I had done the same thing. I told him that I wasn't going to say goodbye, and I had. With a smile and a fucking handshake. I really had done something stupid. "Sasuke…"

"I wasn't done with you, Uzumaki Naruto." And just like that, he grabbed hold of my mouth with his and produced a very unexpected moan from me. My body jerked up in response, eagerly rubbing into his while the war between our mouths continued. Finally I gained control of my senses and pulled back from the kiss, trying to regain the clearness in my head. But the thought was lost when Sasuke sucked against the spot on my neck where my previous hickey was found. Once he was sure a hickey would return, and he had teased the skin enough to make my body break out in shivers, he brushed his lips against the mark. "I'm still not done. I never intend to be done with you, dobe."

"Teme." But even as I said it I grabbed his shirt, yanking him back to my mouth for another kiss. Our bodies were a mess of limbs, my legs parting wider to accommodate his hips while our members rubbed and hardened against each other. Not that mine wasn't hard three seconds into kissing the idiot. I yanked at his hair a bit to pull his mouth away so I could tug his shirt off of him, jerking my lips to one of his nipples and sucking. He huffed a bit at the sudden attack, and I smirked at my success while batting the hardening nub with my tongue. His hands were under my shirt, and I nearly bit his nipple off when I felt both of mine assaulted by his cold fingers. He sent me a warning glance, which I replied to with a slight nip against the aroused flesh in my mouth.

I started to undo his pants, but only got to his belt before I was pulled away from my goal. I growled when I was pushed onto my stomach, but it quickly turned into a muffled groan when Sasuke forced my hips to rub into the mattress. The friction of the mattress and my cock was driving me insane, the pleasure only growing from the feel of his hands on my hips. I felt myself flush in anger at being so easily controlled, and I rose up on my knees to kick him. One hand caught my calf while the other submerged itself into my pants, finding my pulsing member and squeezing it. My eyes nearly crossed at the sensation that my body had been craving since he left, but I wasn't going to admit it. I shoved my forehead against the mattress and returned my knee to the bed, both hands fisting into the sheets to keep my body from thrusting into his stroking hand. I panted from the energy it took to keep still while he slid my pants and boxers down my body.

"T-That's the best…you can do huh? Pathetic." I heard him scoff before a warm chest pressed against mine, the slim fingers quickening to a higher speed than before. I bit my lip hard to make the pain starve off my orgasm. There had to be a law against how good Sasuke was at this. I had to check his blood for sex steroids later.

"Simply distracted you, idiot." I tensed at the feeling of something wet sliding against my entrance, and I tried to jerk away from it. Alright, that was not a normal place to be touched! But jerking made my hips press closer to his fingers, and I winced from the pure will it took not to let my body hump his hand. So when the second brush of coldness went against my ass, I gritted my teeth.

"No f-fucking way." I shook my head to show my denial, but Uchiha Sasuke never took no for an answer. So trapped between his body and hand, I could only swear at him when the coated finger slid into my entrance. It didn't hurt, but it was the most uncomfortable feeling I had ever experienced. I squirmed a bit, and flushed when I realized that only made the finger wiggle inside of me. I hit my head into the mattress when he slowly slid it back a few inches before pushing back in faster. My body shivered and betrayed my words. "Ta-Take it out!"

"Hn." And he did. For a second. Then another finger accompanied the first and the pain was a lot more sudden than I expected. It starved off the orgasm I almost had been granted when his thumb rubbed my slit expertly. I glared at the wall in front of me, trying hard to not show the pain that was now invading my senses and mixing with the pleasure of his hand job. The two fingers continued to thrust and stretch, making it impossible for me to do anything but sense the sharply contrasting feelings inside of me. One part wanted to flip over and kill the bastard for now entering three fingers into my body. The other, larger part, wanted to flip over, kill the bastard, and then dance around in his god damn blood. But since Sasuke continued to play and tease the second, and more powerful, head, my body was helpless do anything but wait for the pain to leave me.

And when I finally started to give into what he was doing, I realized that it didn't hurt so freaking bad. I took shallow breaths, focusing on the fingers that danced around my shaft, sliding the pre cum along the base and making the thrusts of my body slicker. Wait, thrusts? I moaned in frustration when I realized my body was now starting to enjoy the double sensation. He chuckled next to my ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth and creating a wonderful spark in my body every time he sucked. It didn't help it was in time to his hands, which were now moving at a pace that wasn't fast enough for me. I could feel his hardness on the back of my thigh, and I took a few deep breaths to control my voice.

"A-Are you g-going to just fuck me w-with your god damn hands…?" Instantly both hands stopped, and I grabbed a mouthful of sheets to muffle my shout of unfinished need. The fingers flexed once inside of me, and I shut my eyes at how unfair it was that something that had once been so painful now was used against me. He slowly started to pull the fingers out, and I was completely mortified to find my hips rocking back into the detracting fingers. If he noticed he didn't speak, but something hard and wet now pressed against the sensitive ring of nerves. I shivered once before relaxing, learning from my mistake with the fingers. And without warning, the bastard pushed into my and gripped my unexpected arousal. I muffled a few swears into the sheets before jerking my head to the side, glaring up at him. "Teme!"

"Be quiet." He pulled me up to rest on my hands before thrusting in, catching my mouth in a heated kiss. Our bodies worked against each other at first, but eventually he allowed me to set the pace to a much quicker one that he wanted. If I was going to be the god damn bottom, I was going to be in control. I shoved hard back on him, feelings his nails dig into my sides while mouth quivered. I smirked and kissed him harder as the pace became more messed and unable to be kept. His movements were jerky and hard to follow. My breathing was becoming heavier, and I tried to keep the kiss for a few more seconds before I jerked my mouth away for air. I gasped a few times to regain the oxygen, only to realize his thrust seemed to leave me breathless so matter how fast I breathed.

I felt his mouth sloppily kissing and biting along my back, as if to make sure I was really there. I responded with a slight jerk of my hips to make him softly growl. It was strange, seeing Sasuke so frantic. Strangely erotic. And before I could even tell him, my body tensed and I screamed his name. The pleasure that ran through my body was too much for my quivering limbs, and I fell to the bed while he continued to experience his orgasm. Shit, I didn't listen for my name. I panted against the sheets when Sasuke came back from his high, wobbling a bit but keeping himself straight. Ha, straight. Sasuke had just fucked me in the ass in 'our' apartment after admitting he'd come back for me, and I said he was straight.

He slid from me slowly, making it seem like he wanted to lay down and not the fact his body was too tired to hold him up. I smirked anyways, knowing that the idiot always had less stamina than me. If I was a little bit stronger, then he would have been the one on bottom. I rolled to face him, finding his head tilted to the ceiling and his eyes closed. Sweat slid down his cheek, and I watched entranced by the strange handsomeness Sasuke possessed. His chest was rising and falling with his soft breathing, his body slightly dirtied from our sex. Watching how peaceful Sasuke could be made me feel embarrassed in a way I shouldn't have. I mean, it was just Sasuke right?

"I love you." Aw shit, I forgot to concentrate on keeping my mouth shut. If I don't keep part of my mind on what my mouth is doing, it just goes off and says random shit that always gets me into trouble. So when Sasuke didn't tense or jerk away when he heard my admission, I was surprised. He slowly turned his head to me, opening his eyes to show arrogance I didn't think he deserved.

"I know."

"What do you mean 'you know'?!" He rolled his eyes and sat up, seeming to have control over his body again.

"You said it the night before you left." I tried to think of when he was talking about, but I didn't remember a damn thing! In order to fill in the blank spot, he spoke again. "When you came."

"I did?" Well I knew that I didn't want to say his name. But I didn't even know I was in love with him back then! Well, consciously. Ah what the hell, this day was completely screwed up anyways.

"Hn." I could tell he was going to leave, and I grabbed his wrist to stop him. We stared at each other for a moment, neither gaze wavering.

"What about you? Do you…ya know…"

"Love you?"

"Uh, yea." He stared at me, and I felt an awkward embarrassment for asking. Was I supposed to ask? I didn't any of those shitty love movies. I should have probably asked Sakura before I said anything, but now it was too late. I felt him shake my grip, and I hesitantly let it go. There was no use in trying to keep him here if he didn't want to. I wasn't that clingy. So he moved from the bed and walked in the most dignified way I'd ever seen somebody butt naked do. It would have been pretty funny if the tension wasn't so visible. He moved to the dresser that now stood next to mine, pulling out a set of clothes and putting them on the top. He then returned to my dresser, apparently picking out clothes he thought I was going to wear. He tossed those on the bed next to me and walked toward the door of my bedroom. Only when he opened the door did he speak.

"I was asked to come back. My father gave me the choice. Take that how you want." He left me alone to think while he went to the bathroom, and I watched him not bother to shut the door behind him. Slowly a smile crept onto my face and I grabbed the clothes he left me, hurrying toward the obvious signal for me to join him. And while I went, I heard the last line of the song that explained my entire summer road trip float into my head. I couldn't help but sing it while grinning goofily at the pair of onyx eyes through the mirror.

"Yea I know, how I feel

About you now."

"Dobe."

That's the end! How did you like it? I was really sad writing this because I really enjoyed making this story. –sighs-. I tried to tie up everything and I think I made the ending a little surprising. I bet you all thought Sasuke was going to come to the party, huh? Well, it's Sasuke, so while every other normal lover would go find the one they loved at the party, Sasuke moves himself into their house. And then watches the news. So now that this story is over, I have a couple more I'm working on. From the way it looks…I have three one shots, and then the long story. Now when I say one-shot, I really mean…attempts-at-but-probably-won't-be-a-one-shot…-sighs. But yea, reviews would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much, and keep an eye out for my new stories! ~*Niki*~