I scribbled in my notebook, like I always did when I was bored and alone, passing time. I figured I'd get some research in this morning seeing as Al and I had decided to get the most info we could on our own, and then meet to discuss everything. So here I sat, in a nearly empty library, accompanied only by a few other suckers who were also persuaded into getting up unbearably early. I look around, a lazy frown on my face as my eyes land on the clock that lay on the librarian's desk.

'He said he'd meet me here though... Well, he said he'd 'probably' meet me here'

I rolled my eyes, a little annoyed at the prospect of being alone for the next half hour before people actually start to arrive, slightly resenting the diligent school for even being open this early. I'd never liked being alone. Blame it on the fact that I get bored easily, I guess. Soon enough, I was unable to fight the urge to stand up and walk around, so I decided to look for more books on the subject I'm working on.

As I walked deeper in between the bookshelves, I noticed they appear to get thicker and older the further I went. And when I finally stopped to pick out a smaller book that seemed interesting enough, I considered heading to my stash to get a light snack, but thought better of it and simply walked back to my seat.

I stopped short though, when I got close enough to the desk, I saw someone I seriously felt like avoiding, and considered straight up bolting out of here since he hadn't noticed me yet. 'No, he probably saw my backpack and that's why he stopped here so-' my mental debate was cut off when he looked at me and threw me a sideways smile. I visibly flinched but recovered quickly and grinned back, walking up to him awkwardly. "Uh, hey, Uch-" "Sasuke. That's my name" I gave him a look that said I-know-your-name, and considered voicing it but simply chose to let it be.

"Tch, ah, well…Sasuke," The name sounds so weird when I actually say it! I almost laugh at myself, but continue. "What are you doing here?" He doesn't react much and sits down next to the chair I had been using all this time. I eyed him cautiously, bitting back the unspeakable urge to ask him who the hell invited him to sit… Wow, Gaara's attitude must be rubbing off on me… haha I kind of like it. It feels cool.

After a moment, I noticed he was still smiling up at me, waiting for me to take the seat next to him. I figure I might as well since I'd been sitting there before he came.

"I was just passing by when I noticed your backpack here… Thought it was odd, that's all." I hummed in response deciding I should get back to work; I pick up the pencil and start jotting down information again, occasionally looking at him from the corner of my eye. Sasuke had propped his chin on his palm and was looking forward, seemingly to nowhere in particular. He looked bored, or pensive, or confused? I don't know if it's the fact that I'm looking at him from the corner of my eye or that he's just plain hard to read, but I can't tell what he's thinking. Thankfully, I looked back at my notebook like a second or two before turned his head to me.

"You're researching, right? Is it for professor Shizune?" I nodded with a low groan and continued working; he took it as an invite to continue. "Yeah, she can be a hard ass. My group got a huge assignment from her too, though ours is in pairs-" "mine is too." I finally spoke, somewhat smiling at that. This seemed to peak his interest. "Really? Who're you paired with? Why aren't they here?" I looked at him with a grin,

"Al-exander" I added the rest of the name realizing Sasuke wouldn't know whom I was talking about if I just said Al. "Byers? Since when do you two hang out?" He asked, honestly curious. "Just recently. Since when do we hang out" I retorted with an aggressive grin, just a bit put off, but not really that annoyed. I was curious to see how he'd react, but I actually did get annoyed when all he did was smirk. "Just recently." He said smugly… well at least to me it sounded smug. "I never answered you, so I don't know what you mean." I looked down at the notebook and continued my work.

He followed my gaze, watching me write, "Well if I'm not mistaken, this is considered hanging out so while I wait for your answer, I'd love to enjoy your company."

I blinked and looked back up at him, a confused pout on my face "What have you been smoking? " I couldn't help but ask that. His reaction admittedly surprised me. I saw his eyes widen a bit before he laughed. "What, can't I be nice to you?" At my cautious look, he smirked. "Look, Naruto, I figure I've been an ass to you for a while and you've been… rather un-agreeable to me too." I snorted at that and held in a laugh, silently commending him for his choice of words since he was obviously trying not to tick me off. He continued "But as I told you before, I want to put an end to that. So what do you say? Want to spend time with me this weekend? Maybe this time you'll approve and I can actually say we 'hung out' without you looking like you want to slap me."

To my utter shock, I actually did laugh this time. "Well I can't guarantee that but-"

"Hey Naruto… Captain?" We both turned to where the voice came from and I grinned "Hey Al! Where've you been?" I stood, and heard Sasuke do the same, though I didn't look at him. I noticed Al wasn't looking at me, and had a firm gaze set right next to me. I was about to ask what was up but Al suddenly looked at me with a smile, "Sorry, I had a bit of a slow start this morning. And now I show up to this." He chuckled "Quite surprising to see our wonderful co-captains so chummy…"

"Oh yes… Well stranger things have happened." I heard a reply come from beside me, and once again; Al's gaze was off me. "I highly doubt that. You two are like cat and mouse at all the team practices." I grinned at that, wrongfully assuming that was just a playful comment. "I'm the cat then" A picture of me chasing a mouse-Sasuke flashed through my head and I chuckled.

This made Sasuke look at me; I could've sworn I saw surprise in his expression- if only for a moment- before he smirked.

"Nah, I think I'd be the cat." He responded and I met his gaze defiantly, "Doubt it! I'd make a way better cat than you… you know, in this case." My grin fell a bit, still slightly confused at having said that, and Sasuke smiled. I heard a laugh come from my side "Now that I think about it, it's not that surprising after all." Al walked up to me and threw an arm over my shoulders before turning to Sasuke, who'd returned to that unreadable expression he'd had when I first saw him here.

"Naruto and I should be going now, we're gonna be late for class" I looked at Al curiously for a second before I saw the clock once again and realized that was very true. "Oh shit!" I quickly turned to pick up all my things and fling my backpack over my shoulder, "We'll talk later, kay?" I told Sasuke, not waiting for an answer before grabbing Al's hand and pulling him into a dash, off to the first class which we were definitely going to be late to.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but other than that, held no other expression. He calmly picked up his backpack before walking to his first class, since he was pretty sure he'd get there right when Mr. Hatake would.

"mmm" Kiba moaned softly, his lips moving fast, and rather roughly against Shikamaru's. The older boy had his right hand deep in Kiba's hair the other resting firmly on the 11th grader's thigh, occasionally tightening and moving. The couple sat outside the school, in the 12th grader's parked car. Kiba had moved to the driver's seat, with one leg bent to kneel beside Shikamaru's and the other extended a bit to touch the floor near the brake, for better leverage, his arms wrapped around the other boy's neck. It was an odd position, but neither seemed to mind.

They separated for serious lack of air, and Shikamaru whispered, still catching his breath. "Love… you" He said in between breaths, making Kiba grin softly, bringing his other leg up to a kneeling position as well, so that now he was pretty much sitting on Shikamaru's lap.

"Why do I never get tired of hearing that?" He nestled his head into Shikamaru's neck when he replied. "Because you love me too?" Kiba laughed "Oh yeah, I think that was it" He played along, tightening his arms around the 12th grader. They sat there, in pleasant silence, completely content. Soon enough though, Shikamaru sighed, obviously not wanting to say what he was about to.

"We should be heading out now, or you'll be late." This made the other boy reluctantly loosen his grip on him and trace his hands on Shikamaru's shirt, lowering them to his abdomen and resting them there. Kiba looked at him for a moment before, again reluctantly, checking his watch. "I've still got like nine or ten minutes."

Shikamaru laughed a bit "Just enough time for you to go to your locker, get your things, and walk to class… Come on, I'll accompany you."

Kiba grinned at that and Shikamaru placed a hand on his check leaning in for a quick peck on the lips before Kiba moved to exit the car, with Shikamaru following him out. They did everything the twelfth grader had mentioned before and found themselves in front of the 11th grade homeroom before they knew it.

Kiba checked his watch "See! Two minutes to spare" Shikamaru smiled "Just enough time for me to get to MY class." They laughed and Shikamaru waved a quick goodbye before going on his way. Kiba grinned and walked into the classroom, sitting next to Gaara, talking to his friend until the teacher began their class and laughing later on when Naruto entered the classroom running, with Alexander in tow, yelling "We're here!" and startling the students who sat near the door.

Classes continued as usual.

A cheerful, melodic laugh resounded in the silent library, only to be shushed by a rather aggravated librarian. Naruto simply laughed on though, this time a bit more silently, refusing to let go of his great mood. "I bet you would, why didn't they tell you?" He said with a chuckle. The boy across from him joined into his laughter,

"They didn't want to embarrass me." Alexander explained, making the blonde chuckle even more.

The pair was currently in their third class of the day, and they'd asked for permission to go to the library for research. A few other pairs joined them and were dutifully spread all over the library. After a long period of writing and reading, they'd jotted down the last fact and deemed themselves ready for a break. From then on, Alexander and Naruto had recalled many stories and spoke of several subjects. Likes, dislikes; good times, bad times; everything spilled out naturally. Right now, the slightly taller boy had informed Naruto of an embarrassing experience he'd had with his family and, when the blonde finally seemed to calm down, Alexander spoke. "Fine fine, well you've had you're fun, now it's your turn."

Naruto grinned "Like hell! I didn't ask you to tell me that"

The other just brought his two hands up and placed them together, as if reading for prayer, and threw the blonde his most charming smile. "Come on, please?" Alexander's stare was unrelenting, and after a moment or two, the blonde groaned.

"Okay fine! Well… uhm…" Surprisingly, nothing came to mind as the blonde searched his mind for a good story. "I… Can't think of anything." He looked at the other who held a mix of disappointment and amusement in his expression. "Ah well that's lame then." Alexander grinned widely at Naruto's pout. "Don't blame yourself though, not everyone can have such entertaining stories-" "Oh shut it I'll think of something!" The blonde grinned at the promise, but the library's door opening paused their conversation. At the sight of their teacher, both boys looked down to the books on their desk and continued their work.

The woman casually walked by all the pairs, occasionally correcting anything she saw wrong and answering questions the students had. After a few more minutes of silence passed between them, Alexander stood to ask the teacher something about references and citations. Naruto looked up at the movement but quickly returned to work and more silence ensued. After that, the teacher stepped out quietly and the eleventh grader walked back to his seat in front of Naruto, sitting down with a huff.

"Ugh, I can't wait till lunch." As if on cue, his stomach growled comically, earning a chuckle from the blonde. "I can tell." The other simply groaned and kept writing, so Naruto continued, "By the way, do you want to come eat lunch with us?" He'd been meaning to ask but never got around to it. Alexander's eyes widened for a moment, before another one of his signature smiles adorned his face. "I was wondering when you'd ask. It's always just the three of you so I didn't want to join you guys without being asked to."

"Well you've been asked." Naruto chuckled a bit and would've probably thought of a way to use this to tease the other, but an idea came to him. "But you're hungry now right?" He brightened, when Alexander gave a slow nod, "Uh yeah?"

Naruto stood quickly, a knowing grin on his face. "I owe you a story, but I'll give you something better: A secret" This seemed to catch the other boy's attention instantly. The blonde looked around as if checking to make sure no one would see them, and motioned for the other to follow him before taking light steps deeper into the large library. They rounded corners and walked to the end of the rows, a route Naruto knew very well. Alexander got more and more curious the further they walked.

"uhm… Naru-" "Shh!" He raised an eyebrow at being shushed by the usually loud blonde. On last turn and they'd arrived at the spot. Alexander watched as Naruto knelled down to pull out many books, wondering where this was going. His eyes widened in interest when he saw the boy pull out a pretty large box from the back of the shelf. He kneeled down next to Naruto for a better view as to the mysterious box, and grinned when it was opened.

"Woah!" Snacks, junk food, and candy of all types littered the inside of the container to the brim. Naruto laughed, "I present to you: my stash. I'll allow you to take two things so choose wisely." Alexander found himself instantly picking up a bag of his favorite chips there and a stuffing pack of gum into his pocket. He opened it silently as the blonde put the treasure box away. Alexander leaned on the bookshelf behind him and threw a hand full of chips into his mouth. "Since when have you kept this here?" Naruto grinned, "Since my parents went on a health kick long ago and totally banned everything tasty." He said with feigned sadness. They laughed a bit and Alexander soon smirked "I suppose you don't want me telling anyone about this?"

"That's generally the gist of things called secrets"

"Aaand I guess you wouldn't want me taking anything from here? Other than this I mean." He raised the bag of chips a bit. Naruto smirked "Not unless you'd like your hands cut off."

Alexander chuckled "Okay okay, I solemnly swear not to touch your lovely box again… Unless you give me permission, of course."

This time Naruto smiled "I wouldn't count on that ever happening, but good to know."

They chatted there a bit more, until Alexander finished his snack. He put the back in his pocket for later disposal and they stood, walking back to their desk. As soon as they sat down, Naruto noticed Gaara and Kiba walk into the library-likely to get a book for their assignment- and called them over so they could all work together.

It took about twenty minutes for the lunch bell to ring and the four of them all but ran out of the library, in favor of stuffing themselves and talking about whatever happened to come to mind with their friends.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be surprised at the outcome" Gaara said, pushing the lunchroom doors open. They walked to sit down at their favorite table and wait for the lunch line to shorten.

"Hey now, it's not that surprising!" Kiba yelled "I can beat Naru at arm wrestling any day!" He added with a grin. "Really now? You sound pretty confident about that." Alexander smiled and Gaara cut in, a smirk clear on his face. "With good reason"

The blonde in question didn't seem too pleased "Not any day… I'm sure I'll win if I actually try." Kiba snorted, "So you haven't been trying?" Naruto grinned, "Oh you'll know when I try!" Again, Kiba just scoffed and continued his teasing "Yeah right! Don't believe him Al, he's a sore loser."

Alexander laughed along with them and would have replied, had someone not grabbed hold of his arm "Hey Byers, You got a minute?"

Asked a person who seemed to be from the ninth grade class. The eleventh grader smiled in reply. "Help with math?"

The other boy looked sheepish for a moment as he spoke "The teacher said to ask you…" Alexander nodded and turned to the trio, bidding a quick farewell and saying he'd be back later.

"Al always seems busy doesn't he?" Gaara noted as soon as they had their gazes back on each other.

"Ah, since he's pretty approachable and smart, he gets asked for help with tutoring a lot." Naruto said as he munched on the food he'd brought from home. "Ah yeah, people like that get asked for help a lot. Like Shikamaru.." Kiba added casually, still hesitating telling his friends about the 12th grader's new relationship. He observed his friends as one raised an eyebrow and scoffed, and the other seemed unfazed while he munched on more food. "Yeah that guy's pretty damn smart." The blonde mumbled as he swallowed, making Kiba smile and Gaara frown a bit, raising an eyebrow in suspicion at Naruto. "But he's really lazy, so i doubt people ask him for things like that." At Naruto's nod and grin, Gaara turned back to Kiba, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Kiba, on the other hand, let out a slightly awkward laugh, "Ahh yeah i guess.." He was admittedly dissapointed at the bit of truth behind what Gaara had just said, and choose give his own input.

"I'd never say yes to stuff like that either, way too much hassle..." Kiba pondered, and for a moment he wondered if Shikamaru was beginning to rub off on him, though his mind couldn't linger on that for too long as he glanced at the lunch line "Oh! It's shorter!" And he quickly bolted to join it, eager to leave this subject behind.

There was a moment of silence where Naruto chewed on his lunch and Gaara pondered the benefits of standing up to go get some food of his own. Tough he decided better of it when a thought came to him. He looked at the blonde sitting across from him. "Hey, I forgot to tell you, I set up something for Hyuga"

The meer thought of it brought a grin to the redhead's face and a curious look to Naruto's. "Yeah, you said you were gonna do some simple pranks right?" This time the blonde's grin appeared, albeit it was much more playful than the other's was. "You know I have some itching powder you can borrow! And a sneezing spray thingy too! And-"

"I'll keep that in mind." Gaara cut in, feeling slightly bad for a certain Uchiha that happened to suffer through the admittedly creative blonde's pranks… Nah, not really. Gaara grinned even more if it was possible.

"Actually, sure. Give me everything you've got." They chuckled a bit and Gaara added, "So what have you done lately? Usually you'd be the first one bragging your latest duckass's torture." His eyes narrowed in confusion when Naruto blinked and hesitated. "I've been… Taking a break"

At that, the redhead smirked "Giving up already?" "No!" Came an instant reply. "It's just… I want to focus in the practices and I bug him, sure, but I'm just kinda-"

"Check it out, tacos!" Kiba's excited yell startled both of them and Naruto silently thanked his taco-loving friend for the outburst. The brunette sat down and loudly dropped his plate on the table wasting no time in beginning his feast.

"Are there any left?" Gaara asked and Kiba nodded. " You better hurry though" Kiba spoke between munches and the redhead stood to go get his own, his friend's odd behavior temporarily forgotten.

Naruto watched in silence as his friend stuffed himself with food, obviously completely lost to the world at the moment. So he took it as a good chance to think. He folded his arms over the table and rested his head in them, eyes closing as he did so.

'He is pretty much trying to befriend me, in his own weird way. But there's this bet," Naruto was not a good loser, his friends had a point at that, he thought. 'And my friends…' He imagined the outright conniption Gaara would have if he found out about his so-called friendship 'and then there's the fact that I do enjoy messing with him' Unbeknownst to the world, Naruto held a wide grin and held back a laugh.

'I think… I'll keep up the pranks. It's way too fun to just give up like that…. And since when have I, Naruto Uzumaki, been known to lose?!'

Other than at arm wrestling, his mind reminded, and he suddenly straightened, earning a curious look from his friend. He was more determined than ever now, to accomplish two things!: First, to demand a arm wrestling rematch! Second…

To Win. This. Bet!

Sasuke was currently sitting at behind a desk in the back of a rather crowded classroom. Apparently everyone and their mother decided to come hang out in this one room, Sasuke thought grimly, rather annoyed that his silence was interrupted. He'd been calmly reading one of his favorite books, leaning back and balancing the chair on its hind-legs as he rested his feet on the table when, slowly but surely, in came a frenzy of students from eighth to twelfth grade and destroyed his focus.

Sasuke glared slightly as he turned another page of the rather large book and read a few more sentences before deeming it impossible to concentrate, and slamming it shut. He was about to stuff it in his backpack when a voice interrupted his movements. "There you are." Sasuke looked his way, just as Neji sat down, with Shikamaru following closely behind.

"Odd to find you in such a loud place" Shikamaru noted, looking around uncaringly as he sat down too, though they didn't get much time to settle in.

"That's exactly what I was thinking" Sasuke agreed and stood "Come on. Let's get out of here."

They'd promptly begun walking out of the classroom and had just passed by a large row of lockers, to a much calmer place. Looking around, Sasuke noticed there were only a few students around. Some studying, others resting or chatting quietly. He smirked and sat as Neji spoke once more.

"So how've you been? You barely talked this morning." Shikamaru nodded "I'm betting it has something to do with him."

Neji eyes shifted from Shikamaru to Sasuke and he rolled his eyes with a sigh. "You didn't follow my advice did you?" "Advice? What advice?" Shikamaru asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Not exactly. Naruto is interested in guys right?" Sasuke asked with a pout, half stumped as to why the hell the blonde wasn't attracted to him if it was true, and half curious as to what his tastes would be if it wasn't.

"Well that's what I heard, but I couldn't be sure what your 'idiot' prefers" Neji said, using his friend's preferred nickname for the blonde in question in order to brighten his mood. It seemed to work just a bit as Sasuke chuckled. "I'm still going to win the bet though"

"Okay, even I have to ask. How exactly do you plan to win him over before graduation, when you're so behind." Shikamaru questioned

Neji laughed, "Ah you never know. A lot can happen in five months." This time his friends joined into the laughter and continued onto a different conversation, not noticing the student closing his locker silently, clutching his textbook in anger. Eyes narrowed, he walked away from the spot, to where he'd been helping someone study. The other looked up as he was handed the textbook. "Thanks, this ought to help!" The student's grin fell though, when he saw the anger in his face.

"What's wrong Byers?" He asked as the boy in question sat down. "Nothing. Let's get back to the problem. You need to use this formula" He spoke casually and the ninth grader made a sound of realization before scribbling down the answer, leaving Alexander's mind to wander.

Classes had ended and Neji Hyuga walked slowly through the loud rush of students passing by him, eager to go home. He adjusted his backpack and brought it to his front as he got to his locker, unzipping it and taking out a textbook. Neji placed the backpack on his shoulder once again and moved to open his locker. He instantly regretted the action because, as soon as the door was ajar, an overwhelming amount of white spattered everywhere, covering everything in sight, bubbles and soap all over the place.

For a moment, he wondered how it could all fit in there. He looked around as the substance spread everywhere and put his book into one of the few clean spaces inside. Ignoring the large crowd behind him, the laughter, and the worried glances, the 12th grader smiled. "Come now, Gaara, I thought we were past this" He spoke softly, only slightly confused as to why he was so happy, but chose not to give it much thought and just enjoy it...

Well there you have it! Our tenth chapter! Sorry it took a bit longer than expected, but something about it just didn't feel right... So I ended up re-writing this a bunch of times throughout the past few days. BUT TODAY, I saw it and considered just updating it as it was, then I just... started writing like crazy, and added a small but strangely perfect part that tied it all together!

This is unbetaed so sorry for any spelling errors by the way! :D Hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter considering it put up a fight before finally being posted.