So this is, I guess, part 2 of The Lying Game. It's something that hit me a few days ago so I decided to post it up. This chapter is from Sasuke's POV, just so you know.

I don't own Naruto, or Sasuke, or Kiba, or anyone or anything. Glad we got that covered.

I sit and stare and observe the world around me.

~We all have masks~

Sakura is chattering with Ino who bursts into giggles at something she says. They've never hated each other a day, but people will try to say otherwise.

~ But there are only two types~

Across the cafeteria Shikamaru slides his calculus homework to Gaara, who looks absolutely frustrated with his.

~Just two~

Lee hands Tenten a flower and although she smiles and says 'thank you', she turns away in disgust.

~There are the temporary ones~

Neji eyes his cousin's pre-calc work in disgust, pointing out every mistake she makes. She's not good enough.

~The masquerade masks~

He reaches over, snatches the pencil from her hand, and writes something on her paper. Fed up with him and close to tears, she grabs her stuff and gets up.

~Those we can take on and off~

But as soon as she trips he's by her side, worry etched onto his face, helping her up. There's a tenderness in his eyes as he helps her that shows very rarely when he's dealing with her.

~And then we have the permanent ones~

Naruto walks by the table, backpack slung over his shoulder. He never looks at anyone directly; the floor is his eye's best friend.

~Those we paint on~

He looks up once at Kiba, cracking a – fake - grin and tries not to make eye contact with the brunette.

~They're hard to remove completely~

He glances at Sakura, who Kiba is pointing at, and says something about her. The Inuzuka's eyes light up and he starts babbling at 100 miles an hour.

~ But easy to smudge and crack~

Naruto isn't paying attention. He doesn't care about Sakura's panties or her bra or her boobs or how hot she is.

~Sometimes you can wipe it away~

His blue eyes connect with mine for a second and I catch his sharp intake of breath. Then he looks down. He's ashamed of what's behind his mask.

~But it's a long, hard process~

I grab my book off the table and make my way over to him. He shrinks away from me, tries to cover himself by using Kiba as his shield.

~A painful process~

"Naruto." He refuses to look at me. Kiba has stopped rambling to watch the two of us interact.

~When half your mask is gone~

"Naruto." I step closer to him and reach out, brushing my fingers against his.

~And the other half remains~

For a moment his fingers twitch, longing to touch mine back, but he stops them. He's holding himself back. For what? Kiba?

~ You're torn apart~

"Dude." Kiba's voice startles him and he jumps, curling his fingers in. Why does he care what Kiba thinks of him?

~And you either wipe away your mask~

"Naruto." I reach for his hand again. He can do this. We can do this.

~Or you repaint it~

"Stop it, Sasuke!" His voice cracks as he jerks his hand away. "I'm not like you!"

~And it just gets uglier~

"Not like me?"

~And the smudges occur more frequently~

"I'm not gay."

~And the process starts over~

But he is gay.

~But it's more stressful than before~

"I apologize then," I say. "I heard him-"

~To upkeep this new mask~

Kiba raises his hands in defense. "I was just joking about that boyfriend thing. He's not gay."

~All you need is help~

"Nobody listens to Kiba anyway!" Naruto snaps, blue eyes flashing.

~Let me help~

Is that guilt? Remorse? Regret? Sadness?

~Please~

I reach out one last time. He steps back, turns away. Rejects me.

~Before you lose yourself~

The sound of his footsteps as he walks away is earth-shattering.

~But I think you already have~

Alright, so, there was no real conclusion in this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Maybe I'll post up another from someone else's POV, I dunno. Like I said earlier, this is just hit me and I decided to put it up.

Anyway, have a super awesome day or night or afternoon or whatever!