Disclaimer: I think by 27 chapters this wouldn't be necessary, but…I don't own Naruto nor do I own Romeo and Juliet.

Author's Note: ff dot net was being a bitch and I wasn't able to put this up until now. I've had it done for a few days and urgh, I hate technology sometimes. Anyway, please enjoy the final chapter of The New Guy.

Chapter Twenty-seven

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen!" Iruka greeted the audience. "Thank you all for joining us tonight. We have great performance for you, so sit back and enjoy as we present William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."

The audience clapped as Iruka walked off stage and joined Kakashi and Jiraiya. On stage, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata walked into the center and began reciting the opening prologue.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean…"

"Well, they're off to a good start," Iruka said with a sigh of relief.

"You don't have to worry about them, Iruka. They're all prepared," Kakashi said.

"I'm not worried. I'm anxious…Especially for Naruto and Sasuke," Iruka said.

Kakashi and Jiraiya grinned. "Oh, that you really shouldn't worry about. They'll be fine. Believe me."

"I sure hope so," Iruka replied.

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(Back Stage)

"Calm down, dobe, you're making me anxious and I've never had stage fright before!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily.

"I'm pacing because I'm excited, not because I'm nervous," Naruto said.

"But please, just stop pacing, it's bothering me," Sasuke said.

The blonde stopped and plopped down in the chair beside the Uchiha. He then began tapping his fingers on the table top. Sasuke tried ignoring the consistent sound but found himself falling over the edge.

He grabbed the blonde's hand and said, "Stop that!"

Naruto blinked and said, "Geez, you sure are nasty when you're nervous."

Sasuke glared at him. "I'm not nervous. I'm irritated."

He dropped the blonde's hand and looking away. "Aren't you the least bit embarrassed about our scenes?" Sasuke asked suddenly. "I mean, performing in front of all those people?"

Naruto looked back at him and replied, "Why should I be embarrassed? It's just a couple of kisses and, besides, it's not like it's the first time we're doing it."

Sasuke blushed and looked away again, a bit surprised by the blonde's immediate answer, yet glad he'd said what he did. If he wasn't fazed by kissing him in front of an audience of over a hundred, then maybe he really did have feelings for him after all.

"Why do you ask, Sasuke? Are you embarrassed?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke turned quickly and exclaimed, "No! No, I'm not. I'm perfectly fine with everything."

Naruto grinned. "Good," he replied and then looked down, heaving a big sigh before looking back up. "H-Hey, Sasuke, there's something that I, uh, really have to tell you."

The Uchiha blinked slightly from the nervous and serious look in the blonde's eyes. Yet, behind all that he noticed something familiar, a look of desire and passion.

"Ye-Yeah, what is it?" Sasuke asked.

"Look, I'm not sure how to say this, but--" Naruto began but never finished as Neji suddenly walked into the room.

"There you are, Naruto. Iruka-sensei was looking for you," Neji said.

Naruto, however, sent Neji a rather sour look before getting to his feet with a grin and stretching his arms over his head. The Hyuuga blinked with surprise from the expression Naruto had given him and glanced between the blonde and Sasuke. He gritted his teeth and shot the Uchiha a poisonous look. Sasuke glared back at him and then turned to Naruto.

"What were you saying, Naruto?" he asked.

"Uh, it's nothing important," Naruto replied dismissively. "Where's sensei?" he asked Neji.

"Out on the right side of the stage," Neji replied and Naruto nodded his thanks before walking out the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke on his way out, who was staring lividly at Neji, and heaved yet another big sigh.

Out in the hall, Naruto had the urge to kick something repeatedly. "Aw, dammit," he mumbled. "What was I doing? Like that was the best time to tell him what I feel. I must be out of my flipping mind! Kiba's 'talk' is getting to me. Where is he anyway, I can go beat him up…That'll make me feel better."

And, without further ado, the blonde made his way backstage looking for a certain Inuzuka.

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(Still Back Stage)

What was Naruto saying back then? He sounded unusually serious…Something must be up with him. And damn that bastard for walking in at that exact moment!

Sasuke seethed silently in his seat, facing the doorway and hoping for the blonde to come back. But as the minutes ticked by, he realized that Naruto was probably already on stage and performing.

He sighed and returned his thoughts to what Naruto had been trying to say before he'd left. The way Naruto had sounded and acted had seemed almost identical to the way he had sounded and acted when he'd first tried telling the blonde how he felt. In that case, it seemed as if Naruto had been planning on confessing as well. And if Naruto was planning on confessing something then he really must have feelings for him…right?

"What were you and Naruto talking about, Uchiha?" Neji asked suddenly, causing Sasuke to look away from the door and glare at the Hyuuga.

"None of your business, Hyuuga," he replied easily. "What are you doing back here anything? You're in the second scene."

"They're still on scene one," Neji replied. "And someone will call me right before I go on."

Sasuke chose not to respond and turned his attention back to the doorway, slowing going over his lines in his first scene. He knew Hyuuga was watching him angrily, but he pain the other no heed, not in the mood to fight with him. He was pissed at Neji for interrupting but he was now anxious for performing because of Naruto. The blonde's pacing had gotten to him and now after his 'almost confession', Sasuke was losing his memory.

Damn it. Just calm down. Forget about it, just forget about it. Sasuke sighed. Yeah, right. How can I forget about it if Naruto was confessing? I want to talk to him so badly now, but there's not going to be a chance until after the play.

Sasuke sighed again and got to his feet. This was too complicated for right now. He had more important things on his mind. Later, he was going to make Naruto tell him everything.

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(Still Back Stage)

Neji pulled out a script and flipped thought the first few pages, but stopped at scene five of the first act. Glancing over the lines he paused at a few phrases and felt his grip on the script tighten. There were two phrases written off to the side in italics and placed in brackets that were jumping up from the page: taking Juliet's hand and He kisses her. The latter stage direction even appeared twice and that only caused Neji's anger to soar higher.

The Hyuuga gritted his teeth and stood. "So, that's where it starts, huh?" he said to himself. "Well, I'm not letting any of it happen. Who knows what will come of them if they actually kiss on stage? Things like that only bring them closer and I am not going to let that happen."

Neji sighed. "Naruto may hate me for this, but I'm not giving up without a fight. Let's see if these two are really meant for one another."

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(On Stage: Act I, Scene 5--the masquerade ball)

Naruto walked over to Sasuke and reached down to grab his hand. Naruto ignored the piercing gaze Sasuke was giving him and said his lines, "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentler sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

Sasuke turned his gaze soft and replied, "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this: for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm in holy palmers' kiss."

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O then, dear saint, lets lips do what hands do: they pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake," Sasuke said.

Naruto stepped closer and said, "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take." And he leaned down to kiss him when a sudden drumming noise caused him to look up in confusion. Walking onto the stage from the left side was someone in costume and a mask, and drumming away on a small drum that hung around his neck. From the unexpected appearance, the audience began whispering about who it could be and Itachi began grinning as he saw the look of anger on Sasuke's face, and Iruka fainted into Kakashi's arms who put him in a chair and watched with interest as the three boys stood on stage staring at one another, waiting for someone to make a move.

While all of this went on, Naruto began seething under his breath, because even though the mask covered the intruder's face, there was no mistaking that long black hair. "Neji," he gritted though his teeth and Sasuke noted his anger with surprise.

"What're you doing?" Naruto whispered, but Neji only looked between him and Sasuke and didn't reply. Naruto stopped closer threateningly and hissed, "Get off the stage. Now."

Still the Hyuuga did not reply, nor did he move.

Frustrated, Naruto ignored him and continued to his next lines as if nothing had happened. "Thus from my lips by thine my sin is purged."

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," Sasuke replied, trying to keep his anger out of his voice and glaring at Neji from the corner of his eyes because the Hyuuga was watching them both very closely.

"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." Naruto then leaned down again, but this time not only did Neji start beating the drum, but Gaara walked onto the stage exclaiming loudly, "Juliet, my cousin, your father calls for you."

Naruto and Sasuke turned to glare at the redhead who held an expression of complete seriousness and didn't faze from their anger.

"Come, Juliet," Gaara said, glaring at Sasuke.

But the Uchiha wasn't going anywhere and replied stonily, "I'm sorry, but I wish to stay here. You can go and tell my father I'll be by later and also inform him of this unwelcome drummer as well."

Neji and Gaara both shot Sasuke and evil look which he ignored and turned back to Naruto.

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," he repeated his lines and Naruto nodded.

"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again!" And yet again he leaned forward when Neji resumed his drum playing and Gaara began calling for 'Juliet' again.

However, Naruto and Sasuke didn't have to get rid of them because Kiba came storming out with a rather annoyed looking Shikamaru and each grabbed onto one of the intruding suitors, dragging them offstage as Kiba shouted, "Sir Capulet wishes to speak with you both! Leave the young ones alone and come now!"

The Inuzuka winked at Naruto as he walked away after Shikamaru and Gaara, dragging Neji along with him. The blonde blushed and silently thanked his two friends, especially Kiba; he was going to have to apologize about that kick later.

Turning back to Sasuke as the whispering in the crowd subsided since there were no longer any more distractions, Naruto repeated his lines for the third time. "Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again!"

And finally, he leaned down and kissed Sasuke on the lips eagerly, but pulled away after a moment reluctantly.

Sasuke blushed and said, "You kiss by th' book."

Hinata then walked on stage as Juliet's nurse and said to Sasuke, "Madam, your mother craves a word with you."

Sasuke walked off stage and Naruto said to Hinata, "What is her mother?"

"Marry, bachelor, her mother is the lady of the house, and a good lady, and a wise and virtuous. I nursed her daughter that you talk withal: I tell you, he that can lay hold of her shall have the chicks."

Naruto turned and took a few steps away, and softly recited an aside, "Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe's debt."

"Away, begone; the sport is at the best," Kiba said reappearing to play Benvolio.

"Ay, so I fear; the more is my unrest," Naruto replied before they walked off stage.

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(Back Stage while Naruto and Sasuke are performing Act II, Scene 2)

"Inuzuka," Neji said when he saw Kiba walk off stage.

Kiba stopped and turned. "Yeah, what?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why'd you pull us off stage like that?" Neji asked.

Kiba gave him an obvious look. "Why do you think?" he replied. "You were ruining the play and making a complete fool of yourself."

Neji narrowed his eyes at Kiba, but the other boy wasn't intimidated. "You have another reason, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Kiba said. "If you think interrupting all of Uchiha's and Naruto's scenes is actually going to help, then you really are stupid. Naruto's only going to get angry at you and then where will you be?"

The Hyuuga didn't reply, but watched Kiba closely as he continued.

"And, if you love Naruto, don't you want him to be happy?" Kiba asked.

"Of course I do," Neji replied instantly.

"Getting in the way between him and Sasuke is not accomplishing that, Hyuuga," Kiba replied. "You might want to reconsider your priorities before running back out on stage again. Tell that to Gaara too, if you see him." And with that done, Kiba walked over to join Shikamaru and Choji in the hall.

Neji stared after the Inuzuka, thinking over what he had said. He did want Naruto to be happy; of course he did. He just didn't want him to be happy with Sasuke. Neji sighed and muttered angrily to himself, "Dammit, why can't I just let him go?"

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(Back Stage while Sasuke is on stage performing Act II, Scene 5)

"Thanks you guys for bailing us out before," Naruto said to Kiba and Shikamaru. "I don't know what I'd have done if you haven't shown up."

Kiba waved a hand. "No problem. But, now you owe us big time."

Naruto groaned. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Don't know yet. I'll let you know when I do, so don't forget," Kiba replied.

"Yeah, all right, whatever," the blonde said. "How's Iruka-sensei holding up? I heard he fainted after Neji and Gaara's stunt."

"Kakashi-sensei's watching over him," Shikamaru replied. "He's making him wait until after the play to yell at Neji and Gaara. But Iruka-sensei's mad at him for not stopping the two right away."

Naruto clenched his fists. "That bastard, he purposely didn't get involved because he likes seeing us mess-up!" he exclaimed angrily.

"So, what are you going to do about Neji and Gaara?" Kiba asked seriously.

Naruto sighed and sat down. He ran a hand through his hair and replied, "I have no idea. I mean, I'm completely pissed off, but I've told them already I don't have feelings for them like that."

"If they run onto stage again just punch them. Maybe then they'll realize you meant business," Kiba suggested.

"Like that'll work," Naruto said sarcastically. "Though a punch might do them good."

The blonde sighed again. "This is too complicated. Let's just hope that they stay away from now on."

"Yeah, because if you don't sock 'em one, Sasuke sure as hell will," Kiba said.

"And it'd be rather disconcerting if Juliet starts a fist fight on stage," Shikamaru added.

"Oh, then I'd better go look for them and tell them right now that--" Naruto began but was cut off as Sakura came in and said, "You're up, Naruto."

"Aw, dammit," Naruto grumbled before following the pink-haired girl out of the room.

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(On Stage: Act III, Scene 1--Tybalt's death)

"O Romeo, Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead: that gallant spirit hath aspired thee louds, which too untimely here did scorn the earth," Kiba said.

Naruto replied, "This day's black fate on more days doth depend: this but begins the woe others must end."

Gaara then walked out on stage and Naruto and Kiba turned to glare at him before Kiba said, "Here comes the furious Tybalt back again."

Naruto paced along the stage and said, "He live in triumph, and Mercutio slain? Away to heaven, respective levity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!"

"Now, Tybalt," he said, turning to face Gaara. "Take the 'villain' back again that late thou gavest me, for Mercutio's soul is but a little way above our heads, staying for thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him."

The redhead narrowed his eyes and replied, "Thou wretched boy, that didst consort him here, shalt with him hence."

Naruto drew his sword and said, "This shall determine that."

He swung the sword in Gaara's direction but the redhead stuck back. Naruto stepped backward as Gaara advanced and aimed another strike, but the blonde ducked and moved away, and then cut around Gaara, getting to his feet behind him. The redhead turned with another swing, but Naruto blocked the attack and hissed, "What're you doing? The fight's only supposed to last thirty seconds!"

Gaara didn't reply, but only pushed Naruto backward and held his sword pointing the blade tip out at the blonde. "I shall not give up," he said in a clear voice and the blonde blinked in surprise.

As Naruto got to his feet, he heard the audience start murmuring in excitement, obviously finding the scene enjoyable. If only they knew what he was really talking about…then they wouldn't be as excited about it, he thought.

He faced Gaara and gave a small chuckle. "Heh, such brave words," he said. "But I believe you already know you have lost."

Gaara flinched angrily and blocked Naruto's strike. "I will not give up," he repeated again, but Naruto pretended to drive the sword through Gaara's chest and the redhead had no choice but to fall to the ground and play dead.

Kiba ran over to Naruto's side and said, "Romeo, away, be gone! The citizens are up, and Tybalt's slain. Stand not amazed. The Prince will doom thee death, if thou art taken. Hence, be gone, away!"

Naruto sighed dramatically and said, "Oh, I am Fortune's fool."

"Why dost thou stay?" Kiba asked, but Naruto turned and walked off the stage as the citizens appeared from the other side to continue the scene.

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(On Stage: Act III, Scene 5)

"Wilt thou be gone?" Sasuke asked Naruto on the set of Juliet's balcony. "It is not yet near day: it was the nightingale, and not the lark, that pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear."

Naruto shook his head as he grasped Sasuke's hand, causing Sasuke to blush slightly. "It was the lark, the herald of the morn; no nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east. …I must be gone and live, or stay and die."

"Yond light is not daylight; I know it," Sasuke insisted. "Therefore stay yet; thou nest not to be gone."

"Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death; I am content, so thou wilt have it so. I have more care to stay than will to go: come, death, and welcome: Juliet wills it so. How is't, my soul? Let's talk; it is not day."

"It is, it is!" Sasuke said frantically. "Hie hence, be gone, away! It is the lark that sings so out of tune, straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. O now be gone! More light and light it grows."

"More light and light, more dark and dark our woes," Naruto said somberly.

Just then Hinata ran onto the stage. "Madam!" she exclaimed.

"Nurse?" Sasuke said.

"Your lady mother is coming to your chamber; the day is broke; be wary, look about," she said and then left as quickly as she came.

Sasuke pulled Naruto to the edge of the balcony and said, "Then, window, let day in, and let life out."

"Farewell, farewell; one kiss, and I'll descend," Naruto said and leaned over to kiss Sasuke when Gaara ran onto the stage exclaiming, "Romeo!"

The two boys turned to look at Gaara before narrowing their eyes in anger.

The audience began murmuring again and someone exclaimed, "Isn't that Tybalt? I thought he died!"

Taking the chance to improvise off of that statement, Naruto said, "What is this? Tybalt, back from the dead?"

Gaara, surprised neither Naruto nor Sasuke had thrown him off stage, replied, "Heh, your blunt blade could never murder me, Romeo."

"What have you come here for?" Naruto asked, sending Gaara a very menacing glare.

"I have come to take away the one I love," Gaara replied easily.

Sasuke growled under his breath and Naruto stared in shock at the redhead. What the fucking hell is he doing? both boys thought at once.

Gaara stepped over to Naruto and proclaimed, "Come, Romeo, and away we shall go."

And with that the crowd broke into an uproar.

"What? Romeo is gay?"

"I thought he loved Juliet?"

"This story isn't the real Romeo and Juliet. What the heck's going on?"

"He's gay?"

Naruto winced at the screaming and murmuring as he glanced around the auditorium. Itachi was watching from the front row with a big grin on his face and camcorder in hand, and off to the side of the stage, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were watching with keen enthusiasm and none of them seemed interested in helping them out. Iruka had fainted yet again and was sprawled on the floor.

"Silence!" another voice said and Naruto turned to see Neji walking on the set. The other three boys glared at him as well, but Neji ignored it and walked straight over to Naruto.

"Romeo, I must confess that my feelings for love are only for you," Neji said.

"What? Paris is gay too?" screamed someone from the audience.

"Shh! I wanna see what Romeo says!" another person shouted. "Paris and Romeo look good together."

Sasuke and Gaara snapped at that statement, but it was Sasuke who got the first word in. "Gentlemen, it would be appreciated if you'd leave me and my love alone. Romeo does not care for you."

"Oooh, Juliet looks pissed!" someone said.

"Begone, both of you. Or, I shall call about trespassing," Sasuke said. "I could have you banished from here forever."

"Try what you will, dear Juliet," Neji said. "But your petty, girly, words have no effect on me."

"Nor on me," Gaara said.

"Then heed mine," Naruto said with a trace of menace in his voice, taking over because Sasuke looked ready to kill. "Leave here right now and I will deal with you sirs later."

"Romeo, I will not give you up," Gaara said.

"Nurse!" Sasuke exclaimed angrily, deciding that maybe having someone else on stage will get rid of the two bastards.

Hinata walked on stage and paused at seeing Neji and Gaara. "You have more guests, Madam?" she said.

"They were unwanted. Please take them away," Sasuke said, glad she was playing along.

Hinata nodded and said, "Right away." She then walked over to Neji and Gaara and grabbed their arms. "Come now boys, let's be off."

Neji and Gaara stayed put, staring directly at Naruto and ignoring Hinata completely. But the blonde glared irately at them and said, "Goodbye."

"Until later, my love," Neji said deciding it'd be best to leave.

"I will be back for you," Gaara added, feeling the same thing.

And then Hinata dragged them away.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "The appearance of those unwelcome visitors have put me in danger. Someone will be up here soon. I must be off."

Sasuke, angry from Neji and Gaara's stunt, only nodded curtly.

"Are you upset from the sight of my suitors?" Naruto asked and Sasuke turned to him, surprised.

"Yes, I am," Sasuke said. "You belong to me, Romeo."

"And no one else," Naruto replied and Sasuke stared with surprise as Naruto leaned over and kissed the Uchiha on the lips. He pulled away much too soon, in Sasuke's opinion, and said, "Now, I take my leave. Farewell, my Juliet."

And Naruto walked off stage, leaving Sasuke staring after him with curiosity and surprise.

'And no one else.'…Did he mean that truthfully or just for the play?

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(On Stage: Act IV, Scene 1)

"Look, sir," Choji said to Neji. "Here comes the lady toward my cell."

They turned to see Sasuke walk onto the stage, sending Neji a small glare before turning away.

"Happily met, my lady and my wife!" Neji recited, trying to act happy despite the anger he felt.

"That may be, sir, when I may be a wife," Sasuke replied.

"That 'may be' must be, love, on Thursday next."

"What must be shall be," Sasuke replied.

"…….Thou wrong's if more than tears with that report," Neji said.

"That is no slander, sire, which is a truth; and what I spake, I spake it to my face," Sasuke replied.

"Thy face is mine, and thou hast slandered it."

"It may be so, for it is not mine own." Sasuke then turned to Choji and asked, "Are you at leisure, holy father, now, or shall I come to you at evening mass?"

Choji replied, "My leisure serves me, pensive daughter, now. My lord, we must entreat the time alone." He nodded at Neji.

The Hyuuga glanced between them and made his way toward the door. "God shield I should disturb devotion!" he exclaimed. Then he turned to Sasuke and, ignoring the urge to vomit, walked back over the said, "Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye; till then adieu, and keep this holy kiss."

The two boys braced themselves as Neji kissed Sasuke on the lips before leaving.

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(Back Stage during Act IV, Scenes 4 and 5)

"Hey, Romeo, how are you holding up?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm fabulous! The audience loves me!" Naruto replied with a grin. "And you, my dear Juliet?"

Sasuke blushed at being called 'my dear', but replied, "I'm doing perfectly. Better than you, of course."

Naruto glared at him. "Hey, I had to do impromptu a lot because of Neji and Gaara, remember? And, Gaara was all retarded during out fight scene too."

Sasuke immediately tensed. "What did he do?" he demanded.

"Nothing important," Naruto replied with a shrug. "So, you have any problems yet?'

"I had to kiss Hyuuga," Sasuke spat as he wiped his mouth for the hundredth time.

Naruto tensed this time. I forgot about that scene! he thought angrily. Damn it, I don't want him to kiss anyone else!

He turned to Sasuke sitting next to him and slightly blushed because the Uchiha was staring back at him.

"What's up?" Sasuke asked. "You look angry about something."

Naruto shook his head. "It's nothing," he lied.

"It must be something. You've been happy all day and now you're suddenly pissed. What's up?" the Uchiha asked again.

Naruto glanced at him but then looked away. He mumbled something, but Sasuke couldn't hear.

"Speak up, Naruto," he said. "You're usually so loud and now--"

"I'm pissed because Neji kissed you, okay?" Naruto replied and Sasuke stared at him as his brain slowly processed that piece of information.

"What?" he said with surprise.

"You heard me," the blonde said, looking away.

He was angry with Neji kissing me? But why? Hyuuga and I hate each other with a passion… What would make him so angry? "Why are you angry, though? You know Neji and I can't stand either other," Sasuke said.

"I know, I know," Naruto replied, still not meeting the Uchiha's eyes. "But, I just don't like it, okay? I-I…don't want anyone else to kiss you…"

Sasuke's surprise peaked again and he stared with shock at the blonde. Did he just say what I think he said? If he doesn't want others to kiss me, then he's got to have feelings for me. But, just what kind of feelings are they?

The Uchiha reached out a hand to grab the blonde's chin and turned Naruto to face him. The blonde was blushing and looking anywhere but him, but Sasuke caught his gaze and held it.

"If you didn't want me to kiss Hyuuga, was there someone different you had in mind?" Sasuke asked him.

Naruto shut his eyes tightly, cursing himself for letting this conversation get so far. He hated doing this: acting flirty between the two of them, getting really prepared to confess, but then not having the courage to or being interrupted. He was sick of it and didn't want to do it again. But, he wanted so much to kiss Sasuke. Really kiss him. Not like those lame kisses they had to do on stage.

The blonde opened his eyes with a sudden determination and he saw Sasuke look surprised at the change in his attitude. Naruto leaned over to the Uchiha who was watching him closely with wide-eyes and disbelief, and then promptly kissed Sasuke on the mouth eagerly. The blonde pressed his lips harder against Sasuke's but the Uchiha wouldn't let him in; instead he kissed harder back, in a bout for dominance, finally causing Naruto to open his mouth and let Sasuke slip his tongue in.

Even though he was surprised by the unexpectedness of the kiss, Sasuke let himself go as he tasted the blonde hungrily, smirking slightly when Naruto drew away for a bit of air. It had seemed forever since they'd kissed like this and Sasuke had been aching for another one for a long time. Ever since he'd been slowly realizing the blonde's feelings, whether or not he was right was a different question, he'd been dying to kiss him. It sounded perverted, even to his own ears, but he couldn't help it. And, right now, this moment when Naruto had initiated the kiss, it had helped him realize that maybe he was right after all. Maybe Naruto really did have feelings for him. The same kind of feelings he had for the blonde.

Suddenly, however, a shrill voice exclaimed, "Sa-Sasuke-kun, N-Naruto, what-what are you doing?"

The two boys pulled apart as if lightning had hit them and turned to the doorway where Sakura stood looking positively horrified. Sasuke and Naruto both blushed and didn't reply, not knowing what they could even say to explain since the truth was obviously out of the question.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, looking at Sasuke who cringed from her voice. Still when neither answered she demanded, "If one of you doesn't tell me what's going on, I'm going to--"

"Sakura-chan, didn't you know?" Naruto suddenly exclaimed grinning as he slung an arm over Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him close.

"Know what, Naruto?" she asked.

"Sasuke and I are dating!" he replied excitedly and the Uchiha turned with complete shock to stare at the grinning blonde.

Sakura looked as though she had died and had been brought back to life. "W-What-What did you say?" she stammered.

"We're dating! We have been for quite a while, but just couldn't tell anyone, you know? Sorry you had to find out like this. We were meaning to tell everyone soon, but timing just never seemed right," Naruto said.

Just then the pink-haired girl began to laugh nervously. "Y-You're kidding, right, Naruto?" she asked.

The blonde's grin grew and he replied, "Of course I am! There's no way Sasuke and I would ever date!"

The Uchiha's entire world seemed to fall apart around him at that statement. Does he really believe that, or is he just pretending on Sakura's behalf? Dammit, I can never tell what he's really thinking!

Sakura laughed and said, "T-That's a good one, Naruto. But don't ever do it again!"

"All right, I won't," he replied. "So, what did you need?"

"Oh, your scene is coming up, get ready," she replied and began to walk away but turned and said, "So what were you doing then?"

"Practicing our kissing scene," Naruto replied instantly. "I'm still a bit nervous about it, you know."

She looked him over, trying to decide if he was telling the truth, but then nodded and walked out.

Naruto got to his feet and stretched. "Better get going," he said to Sasuke who looked up at him fathomlessly and nodded.

The blonde walked to the door, but then stopped and turned to look back at the brunette. "So, Sasuke," he said and the Uchiha looked up. "Did that kiss answer your question?"

And then with a wink and a grin, he walked out of the room.

Sasuke stared after him with confusion and awe. Question? Oh, yeah, if he had someone else in mind for me to kiss…Yes, Naruto that definitely answered my question. …But with your performance for Sakura and saying we'd never date and with that kiss all at once…and with what you said at the end of the balcony scene…I just can't figure you out. I have no idea if you're serious about me or not.

Dammit, give me some clues, Naruto, because I'm not letting you go.

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(Back stage while Naruto is on stage)

Gaara sat down on a chair and sighed. Being in the play ended up being more work than he would have thought. The only good thing about playing Tybalt was that he was done acting on stage by act three. However, Iruka, who'd woken up, was making him run around to get others and help put up props during scene changes. He knew Iruka was getting back at him for before, but he didn't care. He'd take the punishment; anything to stop Naruto and Sasuke from kissing on stage. He hadn't, however, counted on Naruto's friends to come and take him away though. And, after the first time he'd run on stage, the blonde's friend Kiba had given him a lecture about being stupid and getting in the way.

He knew he was, but he just couldn't help it. He needed Naruto to know he wasn't going to give up, at least not until Naruto actually confessed to Sasuke or killed them all because he was so fed up. He hoped neither of those would ever happen, but if one had to, he'd rather Naruto got together with Uchiha, because even though he hated it, he could live with it eventually, and watch over the blonde from the sidelines.

The redhead shook his head. "What am I saying?" he said to himself. "I just can't give him up. I don't know why it's so hard."

"You want him to be happy, don't you?" Inuzuka's words rang in his head.

"Yes, I do," Gaara said. He wanted Naruto to be happy, more than anything, but he wasn't sure if he could give him up to do that. And this was the big problem.

"I know I'll try giving him up if he just tells Uchiha, but he's not going to. If there was a way to get him to confess, then…"

The redhead sat up straighter as an idea struck him. He nodded slightly and thought, hm, that might actually work…

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(Back Stage while Naruto is on stage)

He couldn't get Kiba's words out of his head. "You might want to reconsider your priorities…" kept replaying itself over in his mind. It was hard to reconsider anything concerning Naruto, but deep inside he knew the Inuzuka was right.

Neji sighed. He should reconsider his priorities and finally accept the fact that he had lost and that there wasn't anything more he could do about it. He'd tried so hard to make Naruto change his mind, to make the blonde understand how much he loved him, but no matter what, Naruto hadn't turned his way. Instead, he finally realized his feelings for Uchiha, and while it hurt, Neji had had a gut feeling that it was going to happen all along.

And now Naruto's friend had given him even more to think about and more to decide. He wanted Naruto to be happy but he didn't want to give him up.

If only one of them confesses, then the other would too, Neji thought. Huh, that's an idea…Get Naruto to confess, and then Uchiha will too…

Even though he didn't want them to be together, he did want Naruto to be happy. And if Uchiha did that, then, maybe it really was time to let go.

The Hyuuga stood up as he formulated a plan. All right, this will work. It has to.

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(On Stage: Act V, Scene 3--The death scene)

Neji walked onto the stage acting cautious as he moved around fake tombstones of the cemetery. "Give me my torch, boy. Hence, and stand aloof. Yet put it out, for I would not be seen. …So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread, being loose, unfirm with digging up of graves, but thou shalt hear it. Whistle to me as signal that thou hear'st something approach," he said to Shino who played the page since his part as Mercutio was over. "Do as I bid thee; go."

"I am almost afraid to stand alone here in the churchyard, yet I will adventure," Shino replied before leaving.

Neji began walking to the right side of the stage where Juliet's tomb was set up when a whistle screeched through the air. "The boy gives warning something doth approach," Neji said before moving aside to hide when Naruto walked onto the stage.

"Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death, gorged with the dearest morsel of the earth, thus I enforce thy rotten jaws to open. And in despite I'll cram thee with more food," he said.

Off to the side Neji recited quietly, "This is that banished haughty Montague that murdered my love's cousin--with which grief it is supposed the fair creature died. …I will apprehend him."

Neji got to his feet and walked towards Naruto. The blonde turned at the noise to face him. "Stop thy unhallowed toil, vile Montague! Can vengeance be pursued further than death? Condemned villain, I do apprehend thee. Obey, and go with me, for thou must die."

"I must indeed and therefore I came hither," Naruto replied. "…Fly hence and leave me. …I beseech thee, youth, put not another sin upon my head by urging me to fury; O begone!"

"I do defy they conjuration, and apprehend thee for a felon here," Neji said as he pulled out his sword.

Naruto drew his sword and replied fiercely, "Wilt thou provoke me? Then have at thee, boy!"

Naruto swung the sword at the Hyuuga, but Neji blocked the attack and swung back ferociously, making Naruto jump out of the way.

"Watch it!" he mouthed to Neji, but either the Hyuuga didn't understand, or just chose to ignore him because he didn't do anything in response.

Instead, he raised his sword and aimed a strike, but Naruto blocked it and in a swift movement had faked a stab to Neji's stomach with the hilt of his sword. The Hyuuga drew back and clutched his stomach as he said, "You fight well."

"And you fight quite poorly," Naruto replied, surprised at Neji's adlibbing. They hadn't planned on this. But then again, he hadn't planned on a lot during the play. Neji and Gaara had been messing a lot up and he was getting really annoyed. He pointed his sword at Neji and said, "Get up, sir Paris, and fight like a man should."

Neji chuckled and got to his feet. "As you wish, dear Romeo," he replied and swung his sword.

"What's going on?" someone from the audience said loudly. "Why is Paris fighting for Juliet like in the book when in this play he said he loves Romeo?"

"Maybe he's bi!" exclaimed someone else and Neji almost dropped his sword in shock and disgust. A murmur went through the crowd at these words and the two boys on stage looked at one another in an attempt to figure out what to do.

Deciding it best to just continue the fight, Naruto raised his sword and exclaimed, "This is your death! Accept fate and begone!"

"I do not perish that easily, dear one," Neji replied and blocked the attack, but wasn't prepared for the blonde to kick his feet out from under him, causing Neji to fall onto the stage and Naruto straddling his waist from above.

"Whoo! Look at that compromising position!" someone shrieked from the crowd.

"Is this going to get explicit?" another voice said.

"What? So, Romeo likes Paris now?"

"This must be Paris's dream come true!"

"What a pair! They really do work together, don't you think?"

Neji blushed slightly from his position beneath the blonde and at all of the comments being said throughout the crowd, and also couldn't help but smirk a little. Naruto, however, looked somewhere between angry and embarrassed, and Sasuke twitched viciously from his 'dead' position off to the side.

What the hell's going on? If Neji so much as touches him, I swear I'll kill him, the Uchiha thought angrily wishing he could see what was going on.

The blonde decided to put an end to this and pressed the fake sword against Neji's neck. "Goodbye, Paris," he said.

"Know, my dear Romeo, that I will always love you," Neji replied softly before Naruto pretended to kill him and Neji let his head drop to the side.

Naruto slowly got to his feet amidst the murmuring of the crowd at Neji's love confession, and couldn't help but think the Hyuuga's 'final' words were meant for more than just the play. Off to the side, a certain Uchiha was thinking the same thing and was now fighting off the urge to go and really kill the Hyuuga. However, the way Neji had said what he'd did, to Sasuke, at least, had seemed almost peaceful…as if he had come to accept something and was trying to tell the blonde that he had. But, what could it be? What had he come to accept? The only possibility was that he'd accepted Naruto's feelings for someone else…But who?

As Sasuke continued lying there, the only answer he could come up with, the only person he could think of was him.

Dammit. Why? Why is this happening right now? Now when we're in the middle of the fucking play and can't do anything? I'm dying to talk to him, to figure out what he's thinking in that thick head of his…but I can't and it's killing me! And after the play we have the damn after-party and there's no way Naruto will spill during that!

Sasuke gritted his teeth quietly, making sure not to attract attention to him too soon. He clenched his already shut eyes tighter before relaxing them and thinking. He still didn't even know if Naruto really did have feelings for him. No, strike that. He was damn certain the blonde did have feelings for him…but did he love him was the ultimate question? Just how deep were Naruto's feelings about him?

The Uchiha had no chance to answer his question because his mind returned to reality upon hearing the lines before Romeo's death. He had to pay attention now or he'd miss his own lines.

"Come bitter conduct; come unsavory guide; thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark," Naruto said. He then took the goblet and poured the drug into it before continuing, "Here's to my love."

He then drank the contents of the goblet, which was just dyed water and faked a cough. He looked down at Sasuke, who was pretending to sleep, but was listening aptly with a pounding heart, and said his last lines, "Thy drugs are quick. Thus…with a kiss…I die."

Naruto leaned over and just almost pressed his lips to Sasuke's when at that moment, Gaara chose to appear from behind some of the props and the blonde turned to him. Naruto stood up and glared; never had he felt angrier than he did right then.

But before he could open his mouth, Gaara said, "Romeo, do not be foolish. Dying for Juliet is not worth it."

"Why are you here, Tybalt?" Naruto ground out.

"Did I not say that I would be back for you?" Gaara replied stepping closer to him.

"Yes, you did," Naruto replied. "But you are too late. I have already taken the potion."

Gaara laughed. "That potion is quite fake. Did you not realize that I was I who was the apothecary? I gave you mere water."

Naruto clenched his fists at his side as the audience gasped at the twist in the story and began muttering excitedly. "You play dirty, Tybalt," Naruto said.

"Whatever it takes to be with you, my love," Gaara replied.

Just then Neji quickly got to his feet beside the redhead and turned to look at Naruto, whose anger was slowly reaching its peak.

"My dear Romeo," Neji said.

"What's up with this play?" some guy from the audience yelled. "Doesn't anybody die?"

"Shut up! They're professing their love for Romeo! It's so romantic!" a girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, it proves that death is not an obstacle!" another girl added.

"But they didn't die!" the guy said.

"Who cares? It's a good thing they didn't die! They're too hot to die!" the girls exclaimed. "Now, shut up and watch! It's getting good! Juliet's bound to wake up soon, right?"

At these words, Sasuke's anger fell away and a revelation smacked him in the face. That's right; he was supposed to wake up soon. He would listen and chose the perfect moment to get up and beat the crap out of Neji and Gaara. The two of them had been ruining things all night and it was time for some revenge.

"Tybalt, Paris, neither of you have room in my heart. Leave now," Naruto said.

"Romeo, I will not let you go," Gaara said. "My feelings for you are true and will never diminish. Let me show you how much I care for you."

"As with me, Romeo. I love you too much to give you away to anyone else," Neji said. "I will make you understand how much I feel about you."

"I do not want to understand!" Naruto exclaimed, his patience and anger on thin ice. "You two have been in my way even though you know of my true feelings! Can neither of you understand that I have no love for you?"

Neji and Gaara stared at Naruto, feeling the blonde's words cutting into their hearts because even though they were acting, the meaning was the same as when Naruto had rejected them before.

"Leave now. I wish to be alone with my Juliet as I take my life to be with her," Naruto said as he walked back over to Sasuke. "My dear, Juliet, I ache to be with you." He then pulled out his sword and held the point towards his heart. "With one last kiss, I will end my life."

Naruto once again leaned down to kiss Sasuke, but two pairs of hands grabbed his arms and pulled him back. Naruto stared up into the faces of Neji and Gaara, both of whom were staring back at him intensely. And then his patience for his two 'friends' promptly feel away and his anger escalated, soaring up through his body and flaring in his dark azure eyes.

"How dare you pull me away from the one I love?" Naruto demanded angrily.

"Do you not realize that I love you more than Juliet ever could?" Neji and Gaara both said at the same time.

"My love is not for you to decide!" Naruto shouted.

"But you are not giving me a chance!" the two suitors replied.

"I have explained my feelings for you and your chances have vanished because of your actions!" Naruto said. "I cannot give you any more chances!"

"Then you will have to endure my presence forever!" they said.

"Back off!" Naruto yelled furiously and Neji and Gaara stared at him with a bit of shock. "Back off both of you! I hold no feelings for you and I never shall! I love only one person in the entire world and that is Sa--Juliet! Now, leave my presence before I kill you both once and for all!"

Neji and Gaara watched Naruto closely, feeling their hearts tightening in their chests. Though it had been their plan to make Naruto confess, they still hadn't been prepared for the feeling it would cause. It still hurt painfully to lose the one they loved.

Meanwhile, over on the tomb, Sasuke felt his heart beating erratically in his chest. He had been so sure that Naruto had almost said his name when he'd confess about loving Juliet…but that could be because he was playing Juliet and not because Naruto loved him. But the way the blonde had yelled at Neji and Gaara had seemed as though he'd meant it more for real life than for the play. It was as if he was trying to get rid of them completely. Then…that had to mean Naruto felt something for him, right?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Sasuke moaned softly as he sat up. He looked around and mumbled, "Romeo? Is that you?"

Naruto whipped around quickly and stared with surprise at Sasuke. The Uchiha noticed a look of anger but passion mixed in his eyes and wondered what he was thinking. The blonde hastily walked to his side and crushed the Uchiha to his chest and exclaimed, "Juliet! You are alive! Gods, my heart is complete. You have not left me!"

Sasuke, surprised by the hugging and perfect improvisation (when had Naruto gotten so good at acting?), awkwardly hugged Naruto back before pulling away. "My love, I could never leave you."

"But you died," Naruto said.

"It was a trick so that I would not have to marry Paris," Sasuke replied and then pretended to look confused. "Did you not receive word from Friar John? He had been sent to give you a letter to explain the plan."

"No, I did not receive it, but it matters not now. You live and that is what matters," Naruto said.

Sasuke then turned his gaze upon Neji and Gaara, giving the two evil glares. "What are they doing here, Romeo?"

"These two will not leave my presence, even though I have explained of my nonexistent feelings for them," Naruto replied, glaring at Neji and Gaara as well. Naruto stood up with Sasuke standing beside him and faced Neji and Gaara again.

"I told you to leave," he said angrily.

"My Romeo, I will not leave, not until you allow me another chance," Gaara said, stepping a bit closer to the blonde.

"And I, dear one, will not leave before I can prove to you my feelings of love," Neji replied.

Naruto walked towards them, his anger still at its height. "Leave now," he growled.

"Never, dear Romeo!" they exclaimed. "I love you far too much ever leave your sight!"

"SHUT UP, dammit! Just shut up!" Naruto shouted. This was beginning to be too much. He wasn't going to take it from them anymore. He was sick and tired of trying to tell them he did not love them. He was sick and tired of them constantly nagging him to change his mind. His mind was already made up and it was not going to change. He was never going to love them and they had to leave him alone.

"Just shut up and get away from me!" Naruto exclaimed, his heart pumping rapidly. "I have no feelings for you. I do not love you. Can you not see that I only love him!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke behind him, whose eyes widened at the slip Naruto had made. But the blonde didn't seem to realize he'd said that Sasuke was a boy, but the audience sure did.

"What? Juliet's a guy?" someone shouted.

"No wonder he didn't sound like a girl!"

"But, damn, he makes one hot chick!"

"Oh this is getting so interesting and intense!"

"Romeo and Juliet make a much better couple, right?"

Naruto, however, ignored all of these comments and said to Neji and Gaara, "I love him, and I will not let you stand in my way!"

He then turned to Sasuke, who was watching with shock and a feeling of euphoria as Naruto said, "I love you," right before the blonde walked over and pressed his lips urgently and eagerly against Sasuke's.

The Uchiha was taken away completely by the kiss, feeling his head swimming with emotions and unanswered questions. He didn't know what to think or feel or do, but just let the blonde kiss him as the audience sighed dramatically and Neji and Gaara quietly nodded approval before slipping away.

But just a second later Naruto pulled away as realization struck him in the face. Had he just confessed his feelings for Sasuke in front of an audience? Had he just kissed Sasuke passionately in front of that same group of a hundred people? Had he lost his mind? What had he been thinking?

He looked into Sasuke's face with an expression of pure mortification; his brain having completely shut down. Sasuke stared back at him, confused by the blonde's change in demeanor and wondering what was wrong.

But just then, Kiba ran onto the stage and said, "There you are, Romeo! The Prince is on his way! Someone heard noises coming from the tombs and reported trespassing. You should escape immediately!"

Remembering there was a play that needed to have some kind of ending, Naruto nodded. "Thank you, Benvolio. From which way does he come?"

"The east. Take the west route into the city and to the forest. It will get you out of Verona quickly," Kiba said. "I see your love has not died after all."

"No, she lives. I am very lucky," he replied. "But I'll explain later. Now is not the time."

"Right, we must be one our way!" Kiba said before running off the stage.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "Come, Juliet, let us be off."

Sasuke nodded and leaned over to kiss Naruto, but the blonde turned his face at the last moment and Sasuke caught his cheek instead. Surprised by the lack of affection after the passionate kiss before, Sasuke pulled away and said, "I'll follow you anywhere."

Naruto gave a small smile for the sake of the play and then grabbed Sasuke's hand and led him off the stage as the curtains closed after them.

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After-party in the drama classroom

"I still can't believe you fucking did that!" Kiba exclaimed for the hundredth time since the play had ended. He was currently sitting with Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji in the corner of their classroom, promptly shaking the blonde senseless, and repeating the same sentence over and over again.

Naruto didn't even reply this time, having already agreed with Kiba's statement the previous ninety-nine times. He let the Inuzuka shake him; hoping that maybe his logic for confessing on stage would come crashing down and he wouldn't have to check into a mental institution.

Try as he might to forget about what he'd done, he couldn't, and his friends weren't letting him either, if Kiba's constant exclamations were any indication. Naruto wasn't sure what exactly had possessed him to confess on stage. He knew he'd been mad at Neji and Gaara, no, he'd been furious at Neji and Gaara, but that didn't mean he should have lost it and freaking confessed! He had been doing really well with keeping his secret locked deep inside; making sure no one had any inkling about it whatsoever. How Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji had found out was beyond him, but he had been trying really hard to not let it slip. Was it really just because he'd been mad at Neji and Gaara, or was there another reason? Did he just want Sasuke to know that badly, that he didn't care where he was when he said it? Even he wasn't sure. For the moment, he was claiming temporary insanity and trying to think of anything but what had happened.

"Kiba, stop shaking him," Shikamaru said, pulling the Inuzuka away before turning to Naruto and giving the blonde a lazy indifferent expression. "What are you going to do now?"

"He's got to tell Sasuke, that's what he's going to do!" Kiba replied instantly. "Right?" he added, looking at the blonde.

Naruto heaved a big sigh and said, "I have no idea."

"What do you mean? You confessed on stage, man, and any moron could tell that you meant it," Kiba replied.

"And Sasuke's no moron," Choji added.

"But what am I supposed to say? I just walk right up to him and say, 'guess what? that stuff I said on stage was true. I love you.'?" Naruto shook his head. "It doesn't work that way."

"How do you know which way it works without even trying?" Shikamaru asked.

"What's with you guys?" Naruto questioned, giving the three of them curious looks while smiling slightly. "Since when do you give off romantic advice?"

"Hey, we're just helping out our pathetic friend," Kiba replied, slapping the blonde on the back with a grin.

Naruto shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't know if anything is going to help now," he said. "If Sasuke understood what I meant, he would have made it point to come talk to me, but he hasn't yet. Doesn't that say something?"

"Well, the fact that he hasn't left his desk since the party started and is staring at you says something as well, don't you think so?" Choji said nodding behind Naruto's head, where in fact, the Uchiha was seated at his desk, watching the blonde closely with a curious and confused look on his face.

"Maybe he's looking at one of you," Naruto suggested lamely, not willing to believe that Sasuke had understood what he'd said because then there was going to be a big confrontation soon and he just wasn't sure if he would be able to handle it.

"Oh, yeah, because he's suddenly got a huge crush on me," Kiba replied sarcastically, smacking the blonde on the head. "Of course he's looking at you!"

"And that means, you should go down and talk to him," Shikamaru said.

"No way in hell!" Naruto exclaimed. "I have nothing to say to him!"

"Yes you do!" his three friends yelled.

"Tell him what you did on stage. I'm betting he'll feel the same way."

"If he did he'd have been up here by now."

"Are you going to sulk over one little mess-up? Uchiha's probably confused by what you said. You had no reason to start a proclamation of love and then there was the fact that you almost said his name and then let slip that it was a guy playing Juliet."

"He's bound to put two and two together, Naruto. He's going to realize sooner or later that you really did mean him and that you weren't acting."

"What are you going to do when he comes to talk to you about it?"

"Lie and hide, what do you think?" Naruto replied but the sighed from the looks his friends were giving him. "I want to tell him, guys, I do, but…"

"But what? Why aren't you going to tell him?" Kiba asked.

"Because I don't think he loves me back," Naruto grumbled sullenly and his friends stared at him with shock before breaking out in laughter.

"What the hell's so funny?" Naruto demanded.

"You don't think he loves you back? Are you insane?" Kiba exclaimed.

"Yes, I am. My confession on stage already proved that."

"Uchiha definitely loves you, Naruto, there's no question about it," Shikamaru said. "If you've been doubting his feelings for you then you have gotten even stupider over the year."

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly. "If he loves me, like you say he does, then why the fucking hell hasn't he said so? Why do I have to confess first? I only realized I loved him like three months ago and you're making it sound like he's loved me forever! Why didn't he confess first?"

"How do we know what goes on in Uchiha's head?" Choji said. "You're the closest one to him, Naruto. You should be able to figure it out."

"But I have no idea!" Naruto exclaimed. "If he loves me, he should come and say it himself."

"You moron! You're only letting your relationship burn up in flames if you keep doing this," Kiba said.

"Let it burn," Naruto replied trying to sound indifferent, but not quite pulling it off. "If he wants this to work, he should come talk to me. I have nothing left to tell him. I did that all on stage already."

Before his friends could say anything else, Neji and Gaara appeared beside them and asked for Naruto. However, the blonde only glared at them and turned away. Knowing that was bound to happen, the two suitors asked the blonde's friends to leave for a moment. Only after glaring spitefully at the three did Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji decide to leave, now with Naruto's glares burning holes into their backs for abandoning him.

"Go away you guys, I do not want to talk to you," Naruto said angrily.

"Naruto, before you hate us forever, we want to talk to you," Neji said.

"What are you saying? 'Us' and 'we'? Have you two teamed up?"

Neji and Gaara exchanged looks and chuckled slightly, surprising the blonde into actually looking up at them. The expressions on their faces made him sit up straight; they looked dead-on serious and full of pain at the same time.

"You could say that," Neji replied. "We've teamed as those who have accepted your rejection, no matter how painful it was."

"Y-Y-You mean…you understand that I don't have feelings for you?" Naruto asked carefully, making sure he'd heard the Hyuuga correctly.

"Exactly," Gaara replied. "It was hard, Naruto, but we've accepted it. That's why we did what we did during the play."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "You two ruined the play! What did you do that was good?"

"We got you to confess," Neji replied and Naruto stared at them with widening eyes.

"So everything you did…all of it was to…" The blonde shook his head; this was beginning to be too much.

"Actually, no, not all of it. We hadn't planned any of this together, but apparently had the same idea. At first it was to keep you and Uchiha away from one another during intimate scenes," Gaara replied and Naruto growled angrily from the reminder of the mess ups.

"We're sorry for that, Naruto," Neji said quickly. "But we just couldn't handle it."

"Later, however, we realized that there just wasn't any way to get you to give up Uchiha and we figured the best thing was for you to be happy. That's all we really wanted."

"If you knew that, then you shouldn't have meddled in the first place," Naruto spat, glaring at them.

His two suitors nodded guiltily and Neji continued. "During the last scene, we decided to harass you just so you'd confess. And it worked."

"We just came to let you know that Naruto. That we have accepted what you'd decided and that we only wish for your happiness," Gaara said. "If you'd forgive us for our actions tonight and on previous occasions, then maybe everything can go back to how it once was."

Naruto sighed. "I'm not sure if that'll ever be possible, you guys. I mean, whenever I look at you, I remember you guys confessing to me about loving me and that just….you know, is weird. But, I'll definitely try, okay? I guess I'm giving you a second chance after all. Just, in a different way."

Neji and Gaara both nodded again, only this time with relief and a small smile gracing their lips. "Thank you, Naruto," they both said.

The blonde grinned. "Hey, no problem!" he replied cheerfully, glad that they had finally recognized his love for Sasuke and were willing to let him go. "I guess, if it weren't for you, I probably never would have told Sasuke what I felt."

"Which reminds me," Neji said. "Why are you up here? Haven't you gone to talk to Uchiha yet?"

Naruto's expression faded instantly from lively to somber and he looked away. "Actually, I haven't yet," he replied.

"Why not?" Gaara demanded. "We didn't ruin the play for nothing, you know."

"Yeah, I know…um, I don't want to talk about it now, okay?" Naruto said looking up at them pleadingly to drop the subject.

Neji and Gaara nodded reluctantly, deciding it best for now to just leave it alone. They were on good terms with the blonde and wanted to keep it that way.

"So! Let's go have some fun now, okay?" Naruto exclaimed, perking up again. "Come on, we can do some karaoke!" He then dragged the Hyuuga and Gaara down to the bottom level of the classroom, passing by the Uchiha on the way but sparing him not one glance.

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"You have five new messages," the answering machine stated before Kiba's voice rang through the speaker. "Tell him, now, dammit! It's not helping putting it off!"

Naruto pressed a button on the machine.

"Your message has been deleted," droned the machine. "New message: Naruto, you're seriously going to regret this if you--"

"Your message has been deleted," cut off Kiba's voice. "New message: Naruto, you jackass--"

"Your message has been deleted," once again interrupted Kiba's rant.

The blonde sighed and listened to the first word of the next two messages before deleting them as well; he already knew Kiba's take on his love-life and didn't need five messages to remind him of it. What he really needed was glue to permanently shut Kiba's mouth together so that he'd leave him alone for once.

It had been a week since the play and everything had been rather hectic. There were only two more weeks left before the end of the year (and then one more week until graduation) and the past week had been last minute teaching and cramming before finals began. Naruto immersed himself in studying for finals and hardly gave himself time to hang out with anybody. It was work, study, eat and sleep. Keeping himself shut away from friends made it easier for him to concentrate on work than other things. Of course, he friends were trying their best to keep reminding him on what really mattered: Sasuke.

Naruto had been putting all of his energy into not thinking of Sasuke, avoiding Sasuke, and just having nothing to do with Sasuke. To his surprise, the Uchiha hadn't made any attempt to change it like he normally did; instead he ignored Naruto back. Naruto wasn't sure if he was just focusing on studying for tests, or was thinking about what had happened during the play. Naruto had seen a tape of the play with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji, and the last scene had made him blush from embarrassment. He couldn't believe he'd said what he had and rewatching it confirmed that it was insanely obvious he had meant every word. If it was that obvious, then it had to mean Sasuke had figured it out, right? But the Uchiha's attitude toward him made him think otherwise; if Sasuke knew he loved him, he would have confronted him the first available second, but he hadn't, and Naruto was worried he'd been wrong about everything. He didn't want to believe he was wrong about Sasuke's feelings, but what other possibility was there? He was sure Sasuke could have figured everything out, so he'd been waiting to see if Sasuke would come talk to him about it, but nothing doing; the Uchiha had been ignoring him too. It left Naruto freaking out about his life and feeling very, very upset. If Sasuke wasn't talking to him, if he wasn't making any attempts to talk to him about his confession, then the only possible answer was that Sasuke never had any real interest in him, and he definitely didn't love him.

It was tearing the blonde apart, trying to come to accept this, and nothing his friends told him was changing it. They all called him stupid, saying he should go and talk to Sasuke himself instead of moping around all day. Naruto knew he was being a bit dumb and definitely stubborn, but he couldn't help it. Why did he have to go talk to Sasuke? The Uchiha had legs, and he knew perfectly well how to use them, so Naruto found it pointless and unfair to have to be the one to take the initiative. Naruto felt he'd done his part, confessing on stage, and he figured it was Sasuke's turned to take it to the next step. And, if Sasuke never did, then Naruto would know for sure that Sasuke never felt anything for him at all.

"Oh, god, I just hope that isn't the case here," Naruto said to himself as he pulled off his shirt and grabbed his pajama top. "I'd just freak it he doesn't love me back."

"Now you know how it feels, huh?" came a voice from behind him, causing Naruto to jump a foot into the air.

"God, Neji, don't do that! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Sorry," the Hyuuga replied.

"Anyway, what're you doing here?" Naruto asked as he began to pull his shirt on.

"You left your backpack at work. I came to drop it off," Neji replied, watching sadly as the blonde's exposed flesh disappeared under his shirt.

"Oh, thanks! It would have been bad if it'd left it there. I've got homework to work on over the weekend," Naruto said, taking his backpack from the Hyuuga.

"Have you decided to go talk to him yet?" Neji asked suddenly and Naruto turned to him quickly before looking away.

"No," he replied. "I don't feel like I should."

"You should anyway," Neji said. "I didn't settle on letting you go just so you and Uchiha can ignore each other, you know."

"I know, I know, you tell me that every damn day, give me a break!" Naruto exclaimed. "I just don't know what to do."

"No, you know very well what to do. You're just not doing it. There's a difference," Neji said.

"Why should I waste my breath talking to Sasuke if he doesn't want to talk to me?" Naruto shouted angrily.

"You don't know he doesn't want to talk to you," Neji replied calmly, not fazed by the blonde's outburst. "I'm positive he does want to talk to you."

"Then he should get off his lazy ass and come talk to me, because I have nothing I want to say to him."

To Naruto's surprise, the Hyuuga laughed. "I'm sorry, Naruto," he said when the blonde glared at him. "But that has to be the worst lie I have ever heard, and you know it's true."

Naruto glared at him for a moment longer before he sighed heavily, letting his shoulders slump and head fall. "You're right, Neji. I've been stupid, haven't I?"

"Incredibly."

"But I'm so angry. I-I want him to come talk to me about it. I'm sure he knows how I feel, but because of everything, I'm starting to doubt it."

"That's why you should go and explain it," Neji said. "It would be the best for you and Uchiha, and it would make me stop feeling stupid about letting you go so easily."

Naruto laughed at that and grinned at his friend. "Thanks Neji, for helping me," he said sincerely.

"Not a problem, Naruto," the Hyuuga replied. "But, if I don't see you and Uchiha together soon, I might just try to--"

"Don't you dare say that," Naruto warned. "I swear I'll never speak to you again if you do."

Neji sighed overdramatically and the blonde's grin grew. "Well, it was worth a try," he said. "But if you don't tell Uchiha soon, I will go and talk to him myself, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Naruto replied sarcastically. "I promise I'll tell him, okay? I'm just trying to decide when."

"Graduation's coming up in a few weeks. What a better time than then, Naruto?" Neji suggested.

The blonde shrugged. "We'll see. It's just hard."

"Well, of course it is. You don't expect confessing your feelings for someone will be easy, do you?" Neji asked. "Quit being so afraid. Everything will be fine."

"Yeah, easy for you to say," Naruto replied. "Now stop harassing me, okay? I'm going to tell him."

"Good," Neji said. "I should go then."

"Kay! Bye Neji! I'll see you at school on Monday!" Naruto said cheerfully as he let the Hyuuga out and watched him walk down the hall to the elevators before reentering his room and shutting the door.

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Sasuke had been having a particularly bad day. His manager had called him at five in the morning to ask him to cover a seven hour shift and after he'd swore at him for a few minutes, decided that since he was up, he might as well just go to work. However, that wasn't the best decision because all day he'd had to deal with overly annoying people; including some old women who didn't know how to order a pizza if their lives depended on it, a middle-aged man who swore he'd given Sasuke a fifty-dollar bill instead of the twenty he'd handed him and had demanded the thirty dollars in change, and then, as if god were testing him, Sakura and Ino decided to pay a visit as well, swooning over how they loved Sasuke in his uniform.

It was needless to say that by one-thirty, Sasuke was dead tired and insanely annoyed. All he wanted was to go home and sleep. But, it seemed as though god wanted to give him another test, for the two people he did not want to deal with most were standing by his car when he left Chidori's.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" he demanded, glaring at them, only to be a bit surprised that neither boy glared back as was usual.

Instead, they both turned to him with serious looks on their faces and said nothing for a moment.

Anger rising, Sasuke asked again, "What do you want? If there's nothing, then I'm going."

"Are you stupid, Uchiha, or just very stubborn?" Neji asked.

Sasuke stared at him. "What?" he said.

"It was a simple question, Uchiha. Answer it," Neji said.

The Uchiha glared at him, and this time Neji glared back. "I can't answer you without knowing what the hell you're talking about, now can I?"

"It should be pretty obvious what we're talking about," Gaara said. "The three of us don't have much in common except for one thing."

Sasuke shifted his eyes to Gaara then back to Neji before stating, "Naruto."

"Well, maybe that rules out stupidity," Neji said and smirked when Sasuke glared at him again.

"What do you want to say?" Sasuke asked, anger replaced by curiosity. What would these two have to talk to him about concerning Naruto? He hadn't talked to the blonde since the play.

"What kind of game are you playing, Uchiha? Ignoring Naruto like you are?" Gaara questioned.

"Why the hell are you asking me this? Isn't that what you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Just answer the damn question, Uchiha," Gaara said.

Sasuke crossed his arms and replied, "None of your business."

Gaara glared daggers at him and Neji took over.

"You do realize you're hurting him, don't you?" the Hyuuga said.

Not expecting this, Sasuke turned to him and stared. "What do you mean?"

"He thinks you're mad at him," Neji lied. I can't tell him the truth or else Naruto will kill me. He doesn't even know I'm doing this, and I plan to keep it that way, so I can't let anything slip.

"I'm not mad at him," Sasuke replied.

"Then talk to him," Gaara said. "He thinks something's wrong, when obviously nothing is."

"You're acting like you want me to be with him," Sasuke said. "This isn't how you normally act."

"Forget how we normally act," Neji said. "You need to talk to Naruto, now."

"Why should I?" Sasuke questioned.

"Because he--" Neji began but cut himself off again, knowing he couldn't finish that sentence without giving Naruto's secret away.

"Because what, Hyuuga?" Sasuke prompted.

"Because you're the only one out of the three of us that hasn't yet confessed," Gaara quickly replied. "You're the only one that hasn't taken the initiative. Either you're just afraid, or you have no feelings for him at all."

Sasuke clenched his fists angrily and exclaimed menacingly, "Don't you ever question my feelings for Naruto, understand?"

"Prove it, then," Gaara said. "Tell Naruto how you feel."

"He's waiting for something, Uchiha, and we can assure you, it's not either one of us," Neji said and then with a glance at Gaara the two nodded at Sasuke before walking away, leaving a confused and even more pissed off Uchiha staring after them.

When Gaara and Neji had both driven out of sight, Sasuke got into his car and started the engine, but didn't leave the parking lot. He needed to clear his head a bit first before he could even think about driving, or he'd end up crashing into something.

He couldn't believe the conversation he'd just had with Neji and Gaara. Those two bastards are telling him to tell Naruto? It was something that would normally never happen and therefore Sasuke was having trouble believing it. Neji and Gaara spent most of their energy telling him not to go near Naruto, and instead they were telling him that Naruto was upset because Sasuke was ignoring him? But didn't they realize that the blonde was the one ignoring him?

Ever since the first night of the play, Naruto only talked to him when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he'd be found hanging around Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji, and occasionally Neji and Gaara. This was what was bothering Sasuke. The fact that this time it really was just him Naruto was avoiding. The thing was, he had no idea in hell what he'd even done to make the blond ignore him in the first place. The first few days after the play, Sasuke had talked to him like normal, but had realized immediately that there was a change in the way Naruto was acting with him. After having thought about it for awhile, Sasuke figured it had to do with what had happened the first night of the play. And so, Sasuke had went through everything he'd done that day to see what had gone wrong, but nothing came to mind. It had been a very good day for them…the kisses and the blonde's passionate 'confession'…

Sasuke suddenly sat up and almost smacked himself. Maybe Naruto wasn't avoiding him because of something he'd done, but for something the blonde himself had done. Then that would have to be the 'confession'…

Sasuke recalled the blonde's face after the heated onstage kiss and remembered how he'd looked absolutely mortified…

Thinking about it now, there had been a few times during his conversation with Neji and Gaara when Neji had almost let something slip. Something that seemed to have to do with Naruto's feelings. But that meant Neji and Gaara knew something about Naruto that he didn't and that thought alone made Sasuke cringe.

Why would Neji and Gaara want him to confess to the blonde? They wouldn't gain anything from it, would they? What had Gaara said? You're the only one out of the three of us that hasn't yet confessed. That would mean that the two bastards must have told Naruto their feelings without his knowledge. But why would they want him to go tell Naruto then? If Naruto was instead in one of them, he would have already said so, but that hadn't happened. Naruto was still single and there was only one thing Sasuke could think of for why Neji and Gaara would want him to confess, and, thinking about it, Neji had already told him so, not ten minutes ago.

He's waiting for something, Uchiha, and we can assure you, it's not either one of us.

Naruto was waiting for him to confess. And if this was true, then Naruto must have feelings for him…right?

"Yo, Sasuke, what're you doing?"

The Uchiha jumped and hit his head on the roof of the car. Clutching his injury, Sasuke looked up and through the partly open sunroof to find the face of the very guy he'd just been thinking about.

"What the hell are you doing on the roof of my car, dobe?" Sasuke demanded.

"Well, your windows were closed and I wanted to see what you were doing. I knocked, but you didn't hear me. …So, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, looking at him inquisitively.

"Get off my car and maybe I'll tell you," Sasuke said.

Naruto grinned and with a wink obliged the Uchiha's request. Sasuke watched him; not believing what was happening. Naruto'd been avoiding him for long time, why was he suddenly being so friendly?

Sasuke unlocked the passenger door and Naruto got inside his car. The Uchiha turned to look at him questioningly and was about to ask why he was acting the way he was but Naruto spoke before him.

"So, what were you doing sitting in your car?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing. I just got out from work and I needed to, uh, calm myself before leaving. That's all," the Uchiha lied. "What were you doing out here?" he asked the blonde.

"Grocery shopping," Naruto replied. "I'm out of food."

"You mean, out of ramen. You don't eat any other food," Sasuke corrected.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and the Uchiha smirked.

"Do you need a ride home?" Sasuke asked.

"You don't mind?"

"I offered, didn't I? And, besides, I have to go that way to get home, so it's not a big deal," Sasuke replied.

"Okay, then, thanks," the blonde replied with a thankful smile.

Sasuke just nodded and started the engine before merging into traffic and heading towards the blonde's apartment. While Naruto began to jabber on about something, Sasuke stared out at the road wondering about what was going on in the blonde's thick head. For the past two weeks Naruto'd been acting as though Sasuke was worth less than his foot and suddenly they're best friends again? Something wasn't right and Sasuke had to know what was going on. Naruto had either gotten over whatever was bugging him, but maybe this was some random thing and tomorrow he'd start avoiding him again. Sasuke didn't want to take that chance; he had to ask Naruto now about what was going on.

Deciding he'd rather talk to Naruto in his apartment than in the car, Sasuke asked, hoping he sounded convincing, "Uh, Naruto? Do you have our notes for the final test for history? I can't find mine. Think I could borrow yours?"

"Oh, sure! That is if you can read my handwriting…" the blonde replied.

"I'm sure I can manage. I had to decipher your writing when we worked on our project, remember? I think I can figure it out," Sasuke replied.

"Decipher? My handwriting isn't that bad," Naruto said defensively.

"Hate to break it to you, but, yes, it is."

"You're so mean, Sasuke!"

Haven't heard that in awhile. Feels nice…Maybe I was looking too much into this; maybe everything'll be fine tomorrow…But, still I have to know for sure…

They parked in front of Naruto's apartment complex a few minutes later and headed up to the blonde's room. While Naruto began searching beneath piles of clothes and books and ramen cups, Sasuke tried to figure out the best way to broach the subject. He wasn't sure how Naruto would take it; both of them were rather defensive when it came to being confronted about avoiding one another.

"Oh, here we go," Naruto said bouncing over to Sasuke and handing him a blue notebook. "The notes you want are at the end."

"Thanks, Naruto," Sasuke replied.

"No problem, I'm here to help!" Naruto replied. "I'll see ya at school tomorrow, kay?"

"Uh, wait, I have to ask you something," Sasuke said quickly before he lost his nerve.

When Naruto turned to him questioningly, Sasuke continued, "Uh, a-are you mad at me?"

Naruto blinked and stared. "No…Why would you think that?"

"You've been avoiding me a lot. I mean, before today, at least, you've been acting like I didn't exist," Sasuke said, watching the blonde closely to see if he'd give anything away. "Are you mad at me about something or are you just avoiding me because you feel like it?"

Of course I'm mad at you, bastard! You're not confessing, dammit! Naruto thought but then pushed that out of his head before replying, "I'm not avoiding you. I-I've just had a lot on my mind, Sasuke. I'm studying for tests and finals. I haven't spent much time with anyone, so don't take it personally."

"Not avoiding? Then are you mad at me? Because Hyuuga and Gaara mentioned something--" Sasuke began but Naruto cut him off.

"Neji and Gaara? What did they say?" Naruto demanded. If they said anything I'm going to kill them!

"Nothing important," Sasuke dismissed. "Are you mad at me or not, Naruto? Because I want you to tell me, okay?"

"Can we stop this, please? I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said. If you don't know what's wrong when it should be obvious, I'm not going to waste time spelling it out for you.

"Naruto, wait--"

"Sasuke, just drop it, okay?" Naruto snapped. "I've gotta go. Later."

And without further ado, Naruto pushed Sasuke out the door and shut it in his face. The Uchiha stared at the door for a moment before knocking, but when Naruto didn't respond, he swore and headed back to his car.

Once again, Sasuke was found sitting in his car thinking over the previous conversation he'd just had. Part of what Naruto had said had made sense: avoiding him because he was concentrating on studying; even Sasuke had been a little distant because he'd been worrying about finals too. But, Naruto had said he hadn't spent much time with anyone. If that was true then how was it that Neji and Gaara seemed to know so much about what the blonde was feeling? Something there didn't fit. Why was Naruto avoiding only him and not Neji and Gaara?

I'll just wait and see how things go tomorrow…Maybe he'll be back to his usual self.

Deciding this was the best way to go, Sasuke started his car and drove home.

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"Eek, these gowns are so lame," Naruto complained the morning of June 4th as he, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji waited outside the courtyard of their school for the graduation ceremony.

"Yeah. Whoever made them up must have been blind," Kiba agreed. "Think we'll get in trouble for ripping off the sleeves?"

"Yes," Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji all replied at once.

"Damn," Kiba swore. "Well, it's only for a couple of hours and then it's time to party! We're done with high school!"

Naruto hooted excitedly.

"Hey, Naruto," Kiba said, dropping his voice a bit incase anyone unwanted was eavesdropping. "Have you talked to Uchiha yet?"

Naruto looked away uncomfortably. "Does it look like I have?" he asked.

Kiba stared at him with annoyance and shock. "You still haven't told him? This is getting to be really dumb, Naruto. I mean, you guys obviously like each other, so why are you both being so stubborn about admitting it?"

"Because we're stubborn people," Naruto said.

"That's for sure," Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji all agreed.

"Have you planned on when you're going to tell him?" Choji asked.

Naruto nodded, surprising them.

"Really? When?"

"Uh, t-today, actually. After the ceremony," he replied. "I mean, I-I've been thinking about it over and over and I'm just going to do it. I've been waiting for the bastard to come forward and say it, but he hasn't yet and I don't know if he ever will. You guys told me that, and I should've listened before letting it go on so long. I'm going to get it out and-and whatever happens after that happens."

"Finally!" Kiba exclaimed. "You have nothing to worry about, you know. Uchiha's definitely got some feelings for you somewhere. You are the only person he tolerates, so that's gotta mean something."

"Thanks…I think," Naruto said, giving his friend and odd look as Kiba continued to grin.

Naruto sighed and looked around at the group of students clad in deep green gowns and caps, trying to spot a certain Uchiha in the mob. He found Sasuke leaning against the lockers, looking bored, but the instant Naruto rested his eyes on his, Sasuke looked up to meet his gaze, as if he knew Naruto was watching him. The two boys stared at one another for a moment; the fear and determination to admit his feelings became all the more to the blonde, while Sasuke just watched him curiously, as if pondering something that was weighing heavily on his mind.

The connection was broken when Kiba shook the blonde to get his attention and Naruto blushed slightly for having been caught staring at Sasuke before looking away. The Uchiha frowned at being cut off from locking gazes with the blonde, and because of his friends, he couldn't see Naruto's face anymore either.

He sighed and shut his eyes. Sasuke had been pondering something. And it had been weighing heavily on his mind. Ever since that day when Neji and Gaara had confronted him, and Naruto had acted all friendly even though he'd been ignoring him before, Sasuke had had a lot on his mind. Especially since the day after at school, Naruto hadn't been all friendly with him. Quite the opposite, really; it was back to ignoring Sasuke as though he was nothing more important than scum. Of course, Naruto wasn't treating him badly; he just wasn't treating him anything at all. It was a puddle of confusion to the Uchiha. Why had the blonde been so nice the previous day and then suddenly done one-eighty on him? No hellos, no how are yous, no nothing, just complete and total ignorance. And it annoyed the hell out of Sasuke.

Naruto usually had a reason to avoid him, and Sasuke usually knew why. This time he had been left in the dark for almost three weeks with no idea what was going on in the blonde's head. Yes, he'd tried to talk to him, and yes, Naruto had ignored him. So, how could he get Naruto to listen when he wanted to talk to him if the dobe kept ignoring him?

He'd made a resolution that he was going to find out what was wrong today. It was graduation, and he did not want to be on bad terms with the blonde he loved. He didn't care if he had to pin the blonde down and threaten him with poison to make him talk; he just wanted the blonde to talk. He was going to get some much needed answers, whether Naruto liked it or not.

But, it seemed he'd have to wait until after the ceremony because Iruka was calling for everyone to get into alphabetical order so they could start.

Sasuke obediently got into his position after TenTen and before Naruto.

The blonde actually grinned at him and said, "Excited? Nervous? I am! I'm freaking out about my speech."

"Dobe, you'll do fine," Sasuke said.

"You don't know that! Don't give me false hope!" Naruto exclaimed. "I still can't believe I got chosen to give a speech. I mean, I nominated myself because I thought it'd be cool, but I didn't think anyone would actually vote for me!"

Sasuke snorted. "You know everyone in the class like a best friend," he said. "Therefore, everyone would vote for you. I know I did."

"You did? Really?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Don't look so shocked," Sasuke said. "You're my best friend, aren't you? Of course I'd vote for you. Besides, what you told Tsunade-sama was true; you're speech probably won't put everyone to sleep."

"Are you saying yours will? You got picked too, remember?"

"Of course I remember. And I hope my speech doesn't put people to sleep."

"Don't worry! I'll listen to your speech," Naruto said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh, thank you. But I have a feeling you'll be too nervous by then to even pay attention. Not that you ever pay attention anyway…"

"Shut up, bastard!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke just smirked at him but couldn't reply because Iruka began to usher the students inside. The ceremony had begun.

The ceremony lasted about an hour and half. Tsunade began with thanking everyone for being there, and introducing some of the important people up front, namely the teachers like Iruka and Kakashi. Then she introduced the valedictorian, Hyuuga Neji, who came up to the stage with a round of applause.

Neji's speech was…different, to say the least. He went on for five minutes about life and fate and destiny, saying how everything that had happened for everyone was meant to be and he knew firsthand how it couldn't be changed. Naruto could have sworn Neji had looked at him when he'd said that part. But the next second the Hyuuga looked away and Naruto was left feeling hot in the face and slightly uncomfortable, now having to deal with Sasuke stealing glances at him as if he too had understood the Hyuuga's hidden meaning.

When Neji finished, the audience had a rather delayed reaction since no one had expected to be lectured in the ways of fate. Neji didn't seem too concerned; he said 'thank you' to the audience and walked back to his seat to a low rumble of applause.

As was usual, other than the valedictorian, two senior class students were voted on by the rest to speak if they wanted to do so. Naruto, Sasuke, and a few others had signed up for the position and in the end it had been Naruto and Sasuke who had been chosen to give a speech during graduation. So, after Neji finished his speech, Tsunade introduced Sasuke as salutatorian and senior speaker and the Uchiha walked up to the stage to another rumble of applause.

Sasuke's speech was focused on ambition and how it was helpful and advised to have a certain goal to reach in order to do well in life. It was best to say that at least his speech wasn't as farfetched as Neji's had been about fate and destiny. He returned to his seat with a much louder applause and a grinning Naruto who was definitely clapping the hardest, despite the nervousness that now swelled in his stomach.

After Tsunade introduced the blonde, Naruto sighed and got to his feet. Sasuke gave him what the Uchiha believed was an encouraging smirk. Naruto, however, didn't feel any better as he walked up to the stage and stared around at the audience and his class members before beginning.

"Good afternoon fellow students, teachers, and family members. Just a week ago I found out that I was going to be speaking during graduation and after I had jumped around in glee did I realize that I honestly didn't know what I wanted to say," Naruto began as he looked around at his classmates. Sasuke's smirk and expression of 'Naruto, you dobe' was present on his face and as his eyes shifted to other friends, Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji…he found everyone held almost that same look of 'what the hell is he doing up there?'

He smiled and continued. "When Iruka-sensei asked us who wanted to speak during graduation, I just that I knew I wanted to and I hadn't planned on what message I wanted to give. I don't want to give a speech about how I've learned so much stuff this year when I know I haven't. I'm not going to talk about what the future holds for us, or about how I've changed because of high school and stupid stuff like that. I'm not going to talk about fate or ambition, because I know you've heard enough of that already."

From the corner of his eyes he saw Neji and Sasuke glare at him half-heartedly as the audience laughed.

Naruto just grinned even more. "I just want to talk about this year, this part of all of our lives that have brought us here today. Senior year has been a gigantic rollercoaster ride. A lot of good and bad things happened. I remember being the only person in the school late on the first day, as some of my fellow classmates and teachers can recall. I had to play the lead role in the school play, which, despite most people's testaments, turned out to be a rather entertaining event. I went on a school trip with my friends, which was a blast. I also learned how to cook from a friend."

Here Naruto paused and look around the audience, noting that his classmates were watching with a bit more attention than before. Sasuke was watching him with the most rapt attention than anyone; his eyes glued on the blonde as if he knew something big was going to happen.

The blonde sighed and then looked up at the crowd, ready to say the most important part of his speech because it was meant as a certain message to a very specific person. If after this nothing happened, then maybe nothing really was meant to happen.

"I went through a lot of 'firsts' this year. I met my first new best friend. I had my first kiss, went on my first date, found out about my first time being loved by someone other than my parents, and-" Naruto sought out Sasuke's eyes and locked gazes with the Uchiha as he finished the sentence, "--experienced my first time ever loving someone else."

All at once the audience looked at him with awe, but Naruto was only concerned about one certain person. Sasuke was watching Naruto with this increasing thumping in his chest. He had seen how the blonde had looked at him as he'd said those last words, but he couldn't possibly…could he? W-Why would he admit to that out loud unless he truly and completely meant it?

Naruto then grinned, the contact broken between the two boys, and looked around at the entire audience before speaking his final words. "For me, this year was full of insane memories that I know I'll keep with me forever. It was a fun and exciting year filled with fun and exciting people. I want to thank this class for always sticking together, and I want to congratulate you all on making it to this day. We survived guys! Now it's time to celebrate!"

Naruto's speech got the most applause, which wasn't all that surprising, and the blonde returned to his seat feeling a bit more confident than he had before about the certain things he'd mentioned. He caught Kiba's, Neji's, and Gaara's eyes as he walked back, all three friends having understood his hidden meaning and silently congratulating him for finally opening his goddamn mouth. Naruto felt better about it too, but as he got to his row and saw the Uchiha watching him with those fathomless eyes, his uncertainty crept up his spine once again. It seemed as though the Uchiha had finally caught what he'd been trying to say, but now what was Sasuke going to say to him?

Naruto shut his eyes and decided to think about it later because Tsunade was now beginning to call up the names of the students so she and the vice principal, Shizune, could hand out the diplomas. They began with Shino and ended with Ino, and once everyone was back at their seats, the school song started playing and she let the students throw their caps into the air in finale.

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"Great speech, Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed as the students gathered out in front of the school.

"Uh, thanks," Naruto replied as he unzipped his gown. "Thank god we can get out of these. I was burning in there."

"Really," Kiba agreed as he too removed his gown. "But now it's over. We're officially 'graduates.'"

"Still hard to grasp, isn't it?" Naruto said.

Kiba gave the blonde a hard look. "Okay, man. Quit stalling by talking to me and go talk to Uchiha. You know you want to, and you said you would, so go all ready!"

"I know, I know, I'm just, uh…"

"Stalling?"

"Shut up, Kiba," Naruto said. "I'll go look for him right now!"

And just as he turned around, he found himself face to face with the very person he was going to go looking for.

"Ah! Sa-Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, wondering how Sasuke had just popped out from no where.

"I want to talk to you," the Uchiha stated clearly and pointedly.

"Uh, but I have something to--" Naruto began to lie, but Kiba clamped a hand over his mouth.

"He's all yours, Uchiha. He's rearing to talk, aren't you, Naruto?" Kiba moved the blonde's head up and down, knowing he was going to get a serious kick from the blonde for doing this, but not caring. Naruto was too stupid to do anything on his own right now; he needed a friend to help him.

"I'll let the two of you chat. Catch ya later, Naruto!" Kiba then let the blonde breathe by letting his mouth go and with a wave he was off to join Shikamaru and Choji.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave a weak smile. "So-So, what's up, Sasuke?"

"You've been hiding something from me, and you've been ignoring me for a long time," Sasuke said. "I want to know what's wrong."

"N-Nothing's wrong, Sasuke. I-I-I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"And why can't you tell me about it? We're friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are! This stuff isn't just something I can openly tell you, okay?" Naruto exclaimed. "I've been dying to tell you, it's been burning at me ever since I found out, but I just can't walk up to you and bear my entire freaking soul, Sasuke! It's not that simple."

Sasuke looked the blonde over and said, "Then tell me now. I've decided that I'm not letting you leave without telling me what's been going on. So, the sooner you spill, the sooner you can go." Sasuke crossed his arms and stared expectantly at the blonde.

Naruto, however, got angry. "Okay, if we're playing that way, then I'm taking the same position. If you tell me what you've been hiding then you can leave, got it?"

Not expecting this, Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment before speaking. "You know, ever since that first night of the play, I've wanted to ask you something--"

"Then why didn't you?" Naruto asked.

"That's not important right now," Sasuke dismissed. "Everything you said that night has been eating at me, confusing me senseless. And now, today…the speech you gave up there, that one line you said, a-and how you looked at me…" Sasuke paused and then continued. "I-I have to know if what you said during the play was true. I need to know, Naruto."

Sasuke then pinned the blonde with a penetrating gaze and Naruto found himself backed into a corner.

"I-I've been trying to figure it out on my own, but I still don't know for sure. I have to hear it from you," Sasuke said. "Did you mean what you said?"

The blonde tried to look away from Sasuke's intense eyes, but couldn't. His only escape was to shut his eyes tightly and clench his fists at his sides. He could do this, he knew he could. He'd been resolute about confessing to Sasuke on this day for almost an entire week and he knew he could go through with it. He had to go through with it.

Yes, he was afraid, and yes, he didn't know if this was still the right idea, but as the saying went 'que sera sera', and that was the truth. What will be, will be; the future was out of his hands.

He opened his eyes and stared directly back at Sasuke, heaving a big sigh before he replied to the Uchiha's million dollar question.

"Yes, Sasuke, I-I definitely meant all of it. It was all true," he said softly, watching the Uchiha with affectionate blue eyes.

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief. Had he just said what he thought he'd said? "You mean that--"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I-I love you, Sasuke." God, it felt so good to say that out loud.

The Uchiha couldn't believe his ears. His heart was beating erratically in his chest and all he could manage to do was stare aimlessly at the blushing blonde in front of him. Even though somewhere in the back of his mind he'd begun to realize Naruto's feelings for him, he was still unprepared to actually hear the blonde admit it. Everything within him seemed to be on fire; an odd feeling of being so ecstatic he didn't know what to do.

But suddenly the blonde's face changed from loving to fear. Sasuke still hadn't said anything; why hadn't he said anything? Didn't he love him back?

Naruto turned on his heal and began to quickly walk away when Sasuke's brain rebooted.

"Wait, Naruto!" he called, catching up to the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Naruto stopped and turned, surprising the Uchiha with an ugly angry look on his face. "Why haven't you Sasuke? I know you're hiding almost the same thing that I had been, but you never made any attempt to tell it!"

The two boys stared at each other, neither making a move to answer their respective question. Sasuke could only gape at the blonde; Naruto loved him, but now as angry as all hell with him because he hadn't opened his mouth to confess before. Naruto, on the other hand, was teetering on the edge of just running away again, but then realized that if he left it at this he'd have to deal with it later. He did not want to deal with this later.

He looked back up at Sasuke and said, "You want to know why I didn't tell you, Sasuke? Because I was freaking afraid! It wasn't easy for me to realize this; I've only known for a few months, but you, you were the one who made it so hard!"

"Me? What the hell did I do?" Sasuke demanded.

"Nothing! You didn't do anything and that's what made it so hard! You never confessed, Sasuke. Why did I have to confess first? And, not only that, but after the play I would have thought it would have been obvious of my feelings for you, but you never came forward!"

"Because you were fucking ignoring me, remember?" Sasuke yelled getting pissed off. There wasn't anyone around anymore, so he didn't care how loud he was being, and he was grateful. Because judging by how everything was going, there seemed to be a lot of yelling coming soon. "You haven't been acting like a saint during all of this either, Naruto!"

"Of course I was ignoring you, idiot! I always ignore you when I do something stupid that might jeopardize our relationship. I was ignoring you because I felt that I had done my part. I was waiting for you to come forward! But you never did! So, what was I supposed to think, Sasuke? Either you were too stupid to realize how I felt for you, or you had no feelings for me at all!"

Again, the Uchiha found he couldn't believe his ears. "Naruto, you know I--"

But the blonde cut him off. "Whatever, Sasuke. I'm tired of this. You know how I feel about you, which is what you wanted. And I know how you feel, which is what I wanted. So, let's just forget about everything else, okay?" The blonde sighed dejectedly before walking away.

Sasuke stared after him in surprise and growing anger. How did Naruto not realize he felt the same way? Had he been that frightened about confessing and being rejected that he forgot about everything Sasuke had done to express his own feelings?

"Naruto, don't you dare leave. This isn't over yet," Sasuke snarled.

Naruto stopped but didn't turn around. "There's nothing else you can say, Sasuke. I already know how you feel."

"No, you don't!" Sasuke yells and quickly walked up to face the blonde. Naruto tried to look away from his gaze, but Sasuke wouldn't let him.

"Listen, Naruto, I-I'm sorry for making you afraid. That is not at all what I wanted to do."

Surprised by the apology, Naruto gave Sasuke a searching look before glancing away. "What are you trying to get at, Sasuke? I have to meet Kiba at his house for a party."

Sasuke bristled and let nothing short of an angry growl escape from his lips. "Quit running away while I'm trying to tell you something important!"

"Well, I'm not in the mood to talk to you when I'm still mad at you!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What do you want me to do, Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"Tell me the fucking truth!" the blonde yells back. "You know I love you, but I don't know what to think of your feelings for me! Tell me Sasuke, do you love me or not? Because I don't want to waste effort on a lost case."

Sasuke sighed deeply before stepping up to the blonde and closing the space between them as he holds the blonde's arms with his hands and rubs them soothingly until the blonde faced him. When Naruto finally did, he leaned over and planted a soft kiss to the blonde's lips before pulling away a moment later. Naruto's cobalt eyes widened in surprise and a cute blush painted his cheeks.

Sasuke felt his heart beating loudly in his ears as he finally uttered the words he'd been keeping locked inside him for months.

"I love you, Naruto, and that's the truth."

The blonde stared back at Sasuke just as the Uchiha had stared at him before; feeling an enormous weight being lifted from his heart. He stared at Sasuke for awhile, euphoria and surprise swirling around in his veins as he tried to take it all in.

When he finally found his voice he stammered, "Y-You d-do?"

"Of course I do, dobe," Sasuke replied. "What did you think?"

Naruto's cute relieved expression was replaced with a glare as he punched Sasuke on the arm. "You bastard!" he yelled. "Why didn't you tell me sooner! I thought I was going insane not knowing how you really felt!"

"Hey, that's how I had to live for most of the school year," Sasuke shot back, but then turned to look at the blonde who was slowly smiling.

"I should be angrier with you for not telling me. Just because you're a coward didn't mean I had to confess first," Naruto said.

"I am not a coward," Sasuke said.

"Whatever. I'm still mad at you," Naruto said, crossing his arms and looking away. "If you had confessed earlier we could've spent the last few weeks together."

The Uchiha smirked as he leaned over to the blonde's ear and whispered, "I know it's my fault and you have every right to be angry. …I'll just find a way to make you forgive me."

Naruto shivered from the close proximity, but then turned to face the Uchiha. "Sasuke," he said quietly, a blush on his cheeks again. "I-I love you."

"Yeah, I know," Sasuke replied, and Naruto punched him again.

"Say it, bastard. You owe me."

Sasuke just smirked at him and said, "I love you too, Naruto."

"Good," the blonde replied. "Because I would've been very pissed off if you umph--"

The blonde's sentence never got finished as Sasuke had pressed his lips urgently and affectionately against the blonde's. Naruto moaned slightly from the unexpectedness of the kiss, and turned his head for a better position. Sasuke slid his arms around the blonde's waist and pressed him close as if in a dire need to confirm himself that, yes, this was not a dream. He smirked into the kiss as Naruto opened his mouth with another moan and let the Uchiha slip his tongue inside, battling with the other muscle.

After a few minutes, Naruto pulled away for air and mumbled, "I've gotta go and m-meet K-Kiba…" though the persistent kisses Sasuke was issuing.

The Uchiha kissed him and said, "Like hell you're going now. You've been hanging around him enough anyway."

"S-Sasuke…" the blonde panted.

"Shut up, dobe," he said and pulled away to lock gazes with the flushing blonde. "I finally told you how I felt and you feel the same way. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'm letting you out of my sight, understand?"

Naruto nodded mutely before Sasuke recaptured his lips in another heated kiss.

And, just a few feet away, hiding behind a thick bush with a big grin on his face was a certain Uchiha Itachi, crouched on his knees with a video camera in front of his face. "This is gold," he said. "You guys getting this?"

And back in the drama classroom, displayed on the T.V. screen was the scene of Naruto and Sasuke, with the rest of their class and teachers watching in awe.

"About damn time," Kiba said loudly so he could be heard over the cries of Sakura and Ino. Neji and Gaara nodded beside him, though neither was actually watching the scene; that was just a bit too much a bit too soon for both of them.

"They sure seem to be enjoying themselves," Shikamaru said.

"Maybe Itachi should stop filming now…Oh, wait, never mind," Choji nodded at the screen where Sasuke had heard his brother's voice and now was yelling, "Itachi, you fucking bastard, get back here!" as he ran after his brother who gave a girly scream before the screen went black.

xXxXx-THE END-xXxXx

Author's Note: Phew. We made it! Twenty-seven chapters and no injuries, blood loss, concussions, or deaths; I call that a success.

Just so you know, I have no background in theatre, nor do I know anyone who does, so therefore forgive me if the play scenes wouldn't make sense in real life. I went with what I thought would work, because I couldn't have them onstage the entire time because they aren't all the time. Hopefully the parenthesis and stuff helped you understand where they were and stuff.

I'm also terribly sorry for the enormously large delay for this chapter. I tried so hard to make sure it was the best I could make it because I didn't want to give you guys a bad ending. I've had the ending planned in my head since I started the story and I stuck with it pretty well, so I was glad. I hope you all enjoyed it as well. The chapter was rather long, so I hope I didn't bore anyone of you either. I went through almost four different versions for this chapter and settled on this one as the best. I really, really, really hope it wasn't disappointing.

Anyway, I want to thank every one of you for sticking through this story; especially those of you from the very, very first chapter! This was my longest fanfic and longest running—one entire year, I can't believe it—so thank you all for your ever constant support. However, it was rather disappointing to have gotten about thirty-three reviews for the last chapter when I know there are more people reading this fic.

Well, there you go. The New Guy is officially over. Some of you already know, but for those of you who don't, I have started another SasuNaru fic which I intend on continuing called Remember When. So check that out. And, I'm working on another SasuNaru fic which'll be up later.

Sorry, this a/n is so long! I'll wrap it up now.

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for being such wonderful supporters! Hope you all enjoyed the final installment and weren't disappointed by it. Thank you again, and please leave a review!

Until we meet again,

SilverRose88.