The List

Chapter One

By Boejangles

Summary: SasuNaru. Sasuke's the bad kid on the block; he and his gang are always the cause of trouble. Naruto's the quiet straight A student that is almost invisible. When circumstances push the two together, watch what happens. Inspired by "A Walk to Remember"

Sasuke laughed over the top of his beer as he leaned against the hood of his slick black car. Him and the gang, as they were so often called, were hanging at the top of the school parking structure. It was three levels, built to fit the large number of students in the high school.

"So, do you really think he'll show?" Sakura asked from where she was dancing with Ino. "Because if he doesn't, I want to go back to the dance." Sakura was a slender girl with bright green eyes; she had died her hair pink in an act or rebellion when she became a freshman, she ended up loving the color so kept re-dying it. She was even able to convince incoming freshmen that it was natural. She was usually more quiet and attempted to be a teacher's pet. If anyone asked, she felt she was seductive in that playful secretary kind or way.

"Yeah, it's our senior year, we are supposed to have fun," Ino added. On the other hand, Ino, the platinum haired blonde, was outspoken to the point of being loud- she had an opinion and she wanted everyone to know it. She adored getting her way and people thinking she was right in all aspects. She was that kind of girl that was beautiful and knew it.

"This is fun," Kiba said laughing before taking another drink from his beer. The shaggy haired brunette of the group was probably the biggest thrill seeker on campus. There was a party going down, he was there. Drinks involved, there even faster. Hot girls willing to share some fun, he was probably there before they opened the doors. Then there were always his extracurricular activities that he loved so much, stealing and tagging to name a couple.

"I think you've had enough, give me that," the long-haired blonde said reaching for his beer.

"No, I'm fine," the brown haired boy spoke pulling the bottle out of the girl's reach.

"Guys, I don't think we should do this," Hinata said biting the back of her finger. The smallest girl of the group was shuffling her feet nervously. She was always overly kind hearted and thought what they were planning was cruel. Not drinking, partying, or breaking laws, the girl actually looked quite out of place.

"Why are you even here?" Kiba asked harshly.

"Because she's my little sister," Neji spoke, and the other boy backed down. The long haired brunette was overprotective in almost every sense of the word. The fact he would rather have his cute innocent little sister with him causing trouble than on her own proved this point. Having been friends with most of the people in the group since elementary school, he just went with the flow when sleepovers and water balloon fights turned into ditching classes and drinking.

"You all are so damn troublesome," Shikamaru muttered from where he was laying on the hood of his car. Probably the most laid back one in the group, Shikamaru was the genius responsible for most of his distracted friends passing school- he had become known as the crib master.

"Shut up, here he comes," Sasuke said as the green pick up truck made its way around the turn and parked next to the group. Having the respect of everyone there, all prior conversations ceased.

"You finally made it," Kiba shouted banging on the door of the truck.

A slightly cubby boy stepped out of the truck. "Sorry, I got caught up."

"So are you still up to it?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah I am," Choji answered, referring to wanting to enter their gang.

"Alright, you'll be racing me," Sasuke said moving to the door of his Corvette Stingray. "It's all the way down and then back up."

"Okay," Choji responded getting into his Chevy pick up truck.

Sakura stood in the middle of the two cars when they pulled up to the ramp to go down to the next level. "Ready," She threw up one arm, "Set," She threw up the other, "Go!" She pulled both arms down, as both cars sped off.

Choji stepped down on the gas, going as fast as his car would go. He turned and went down the next ramp. He looked back when he noticed the other car had slammed on its breaks. That's when he heard the pop as his tires tore on the spikes. He tried to straighten out but lost control and ended up rolling the truck until it slammed into the pole.

"Oh my God!" Ino screamed running to get a better looked.

"Is he dead?" Sakura asked.

Kiba ran and grabbed Sakura's wrist. "Stop standing around we have to get out of here."

"Get in the car," Neji yelled at Hinata, who hurried to hop in the passenger seat. She was too scared to actually do anything else.

Ino hopped in Shikamaru's car before he sped off.

Sasuke stared as the truck caught flame. "Damnit!" he pushed his car into park and ran over to the truck. "Fuck!" He screamed when the metal of the door burnt him, but continued to open it. He pulled out the unconscious boy and set him on the ground, ignoring the fire sprinklers that had gone off. "Wake up!" Sasuke screamed at the kid.

He jerked his head up when he heard sirens, "Damnit!" He ran back to his car heading for the second exit, but was blocked by a police car that had taken that entrance. "Fuck!" he screamed as he hit the brakes and turned hard, running into the wall.

"Don't move!" The officer yelled. Sasuke just coughed trying to get in some air after smashing his head on the steering wheel. "Keep your hands where I can see them."

The dark haired teen looked at the cop and raised his hands up and set them on the steering wheel lowering his head.

Sasuke leaned back in the chair looking at the principal.

"What are you doing with your life Sasuke? Drinking and driving? Let alone on school property. You should be glad the other boy lived and isn't pressing charges. This behavior is inexcusable. You could have killed yourself, or someone else." She paused to take in a deep breath and shake her head. "You will be helping the janitor staff clean the school for a month after classes are over. You will help with every school fundraiser till the end of the year. And you will be part of the spring drama production."

"What?" Sasuke sat up. "I have to be part of the musical."

"Yes, auditions are in a week- I suggest you be there."

Sasuke groaned leaning back in the chair. "Isn't that a little much? I mean it wasn't that big of a deal."

Tsunade slammed her fist down on the desk. "That's the whole point! This is a very big deal and maybe you will learn that! Now get out of my office," she said pointing to the door.

Sasuke stood up shaking his head and walked out the door.

"What's the damage?" Kiba asked.

"Janitor duty, some fundraisers, and the musical. It's all a lode of crap," Sasuke responded.

"No, I meant your car. I heard you wrecked it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I ran it into a wall. I can fix it. It's just finding the parts that's hard."

"Well thanks for covering for us," Ino added.

"I didn't see why we all should go down, though I think the old hag already knew. However, it seems that the other kid isn't saying anything," Sasuke said, "So, you all have nothing to worry about."

"You know, you shouldn't complain, you could have gone to jail," Neji said over his book.

"You could have too," Kiba butted in. "Where's your sister"?

Neji glared at the brown haired boy. "She went with Shikamaru to check on Choji."

"Choji?" Sakura asked.

"That was the boy in the car," Neji supplied.

"Oh. Good thing he's going to be okay. How long is he going to be in the hospital? I feel bad," the pink haired girl spoke, looking down at the ground.

Sasuke hopped up to sit on the table. "What do you mean you feel bad? No one forced him to race, it was his choice."

"Exactly!" Kiba added.

"Whatever, lets just forget about it," Ino suggested, "Though it sucks you got in trouble."

"Oh look here comes 'Jesus is my Savior'" Sakura said in distaste as she pointed at a blonde carrying a bunch of books.

"I think he wore that same sweater in junior high." Ino added with a laugh.

The blonde boy way wearing a worn out black sweater over a white button up shirt and a red tie, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. He was carrying a large pile of textbooks, which almost came up to his deep blue eyes. His name was Naruto.

He approached the table and moved to grab the top book from the pile he had. "Excuse me, Neji, you left this in the library," Naruto said handing him the book with a smile.

"Uhuh," Neji responded taking the book.

"Nice sweater," Ino said in a sweet voice.

"Thank you," was the blonde's response and he gave a small nod before walking off to return the rest of the lost books.

Sakura high-fived Ino and started laughing, "That was great. Did you catch his face? It was like he actually believed you were complimenting him."

"I know," she said laughing.

"I have to stay after school," Sasuke spoke into the cell phone.

"So what's your punishment?" The voice on the other line asked.

"Janitor duty, some stupid fundraisers, and some shit with drama."

"You know I really should call dad."

"Itachi, don't you dare"!

"I'm going back to college in a week; he's going to find out sooner or later."

"He's not coming back unless something happens, which he will think nothing has. He already asked our uncle to come down in three days so that he's here when you leave." Sasuke said sounding a little upset about his dad being away so long.

"Fine, I won't call him. But, if I here you're skipping out on your punishments there at school, I will not hesitate in telling dad."

"I hate you."

"I love you too. Call me when you're done cleaning."

"Fine," Sasuke muttered before hanging up the phone.

The raven-haired boy pushed open the door sweeping as he moved back. He wasn't expecting anyone in the classroom, but found what appeared to be a small study group. The blond, him and his friends had made fun of earlier, was among them.

"You see?" Naruto asked. "You just have to carry the x over and then you can get a solution," He explained to the underclassmen.

"Oh! I get it and then it equals five," Konohamaru said before writing in the answer.

"Good job," The blond said patting the younger boy on the back.

Sasuke walked around the group that he now realized was a tutoring session and continued sweeping.

Naruto looked up at the other boy. "Hello."

"Uhuh," The dark haired boy grunted.

"Alright, lets move onto the next problem," The blond said to the younger boy.

"Okay. When James looked through the bushes he spotted 27 creatures. If the ratio of fairies to warlocks was 5 to 9, how many fairies were there?"

Itachi pulled up to the front of the school. He had gotten a phone call half an hour ago from his younger brother saying that he had finished his cleaning duty.

Sasuke pulled open the car door and got in after throwing his bag in the back.

"Want to go by the hospital?" The older male asked.

"Why would I want to do that"?

"The kid that was in the truck that rolled- thought maybe you'd want to see him."

"No, I don't," Sasuke said flipping on the radio and leaning his head back.

"Maybe tomorrow then"?

"Just drop it."

"Fine," Itachi said pulling out of the parking lot, but slowed down when he saw a sign. "It looks like you'll be busy tomorrow anyways."

"Tomorrow is Saturday, I have nothing planned."

"Yes, but the schools having a dog wash and your going."

Sasuke sat up a little to look at the sign for the school fundraiser. "Great, just great."

Itachi knocked on the door again, waited a few seconds then opened the door. "Come on get up."

Sasuke pushed his head under the pillow, "Saturday, leave me alone."

"No, get up, dog wash."

The dark haired boy groaned and sat up. "I don't believe this; you're actually making me go?"

Itachi smirked, "Well, I could always just call dad."

"I hate you. I'm getting up already, get out of my room."

"Fine. Be ready in five minutes, I have places to be."

Sasuke stared out the car window at where people were setting things up for the fundraiser. "You got to be kidding me." He looked over at Itachi, "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Now, get out of my car," The older male said motioning for the other to move.

Sasuke grumbled, "You're a bastard you know that?"

"Fine by me. Now, out of my car."

The dark haired boy sighed before opening the door and getting out, "You better be on time to pick me up."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye." Itachi said before pulling out of the parking lot.

"Good to see you show up. I would have hated to extend your punishment for bailing on me," Tsunade said walking over. Her eyes held a smirk that she didn't allow to reach her mouth.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"I hope you like dogs; you are going to be washer number three."

"Can't I just collect the money or something?" He complained.

"Oh yes, I would just love for you to rob me while you're at it. Now roll up your sleeves and fill up your bin," Tsunade said motioning to an empty metal bin where the dogs would be washed.

"Okay," Sasuke mumbled before making his way over to the metal bin and grabbing the hose to fill it up. He looked up to listen to the people talking next to him.

"I'll be fine, really."

"I just don't want you getting sick."

"It's a nice sunny day, I won't get sick."

"But still if you get wet you could get sick."

"Stop being over protective, I'll be fine. If it makes you happy I won't work with the water." Sasuke could now see the owners of the voices. One was the blonde, Naruto, and the other was an older man who had his hair up in a neat ponytail.

"Yes, that would make me happy."

Naruto smiled, "Okay Iruka." He gave the man a hug. "I'll drive myself home."

"Be careful," Iruka warned before walking away.

"I will," The blonde called before walking over to Tsunade.

Sasuke just shook his head and went back to what he was doing.

It was twenty minutes before people started showing up with dogs. Sasuke stared at what he assumed must have been a Labrador mix. He got the dog into the tub with only slight force.

"Stay still," He ordered, however, the dog continued to try to get back out of the tub. 'Why couldn't it have been a car wash, why disgusting dogs!' He gritted his teeth, "Stop moving!"

Naruto looked over to where the dark haired boy was struggling with a large dog. He walked over after setting his clipboard down.

"You know if you act a little nicer, and not like you want to hurt him, he should calm down," The blonde offered.

Sasuke just grunted, ignoring what he was told.

"When you raise your voice and are forceful they will fear you and try to get away," He tried again.

Sasuke turned his head to face Naruto. "Well then you do it," He snapped before letting go of the dog.

Naruto reached out quickly to keep him from jumping out of the bin, "Hey there buddy. Yeah, who's a good boy?" He said to the dog while scrubbing its back.

The dark haired boy just rolled his eyes before standing up.

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled from where she was standing at the cash box, "What are you doing at Sasuke's bin?"

"I was just helping," The blonde answered.

"Well get back over here."

"Alright," Naruto said before turning to Sasuke, "Talk to you later."

"Doubt it," Sasuke said under his breath before turning back to the dog.

Glaring out at the parking lot, Sasuke pulled out his phone again. He was done with the fundraiser and was waiting for his brother to come get him. The few people on the cleanup crew were almost done, showing just how late his brother was.

When the phone started ringing the dark haired boy let out a growl. "Where the fuck are you, I've been waiting." Hearing his brother's excuse of being called away for work did not make him any happier.

"How the hell am I supposed to get home? God, you know I hate you right"? Growling into the phone he hung it up. His brother had left him to try and find a ride on his own.

Flipping the cell phone back on, he found that all of his friends were at a party and in no condition to drive. He stomped his foot in frustration at the whole situation.

"Hey there, do you need a ride?" a soft voice asked from behind him.

Turning around Sasuke noticed the blonde that had tried helping him with the large dog. "No."

"Oh, is someone coming to get you?" the blonde questioned.

"No," the charcoal eyed boy spoke turning away from the other.

"I see. Are you waiting for a bus, because you have to walk to the other side of the school for the bus stop," the boy with bright blue eyes explained.

"No, I am not waiting for a bus." Sasuke was getting slightly aggravated at the boy's persistence.

"I can give you a ride if you want," Naruto offered again.

"I said, no." The raven had no idea why this boy was so persistent. He really didn't want to be seen with such a freak.

"Well, if you are sure." The blonde sighed shaking his head. Walking away from the grumpy teenager, he entered his cookie cutter four door car.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose upset at having so few choices. Growling in frustration he approached the earthy green car.

Surprised, Naruto looked up at the other teen. "Yes? Oh, do you want a ride"?

The dark haired boy opened the passenger car door and got in. "369 Lakewood."

Laughing, the blonde shook his head, "Put on your seatbelt." Receiving a look that said 'are you serious' from the other teen, he nodded his head. "Seatbelt."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke clicked the contraption into place. He reached up and flicked the radio before switching it to a rock station.

Naruto moved his hand and switched it back to his Christian station. "Number ten."

Hitting the button to send it back to the rock station, the dark haired boy sent a questioning look to the boy driving. "Number ten"?

The radio was switched back to produce Christian songs before the blonde answered; "Help someone in need that won't admit needing help; it is part of my list."

Sasuke scoffed before switching the station to fill the car with "Animal I Have Become."

"I give up," Naruto spoke not making a move to switch the station again.

"Thank you," was spoken sarcastically from the charcoal eyed boy glad that he had won. "What's with this list?" he spoke again sounding completely uninterested.

Surprised by the passenger's interest, the blonde gave out a soft laugh. "It's a list of things I want to do before I die. See a shooting star, sing on stage, get a tattoo, publish a book."

Sasuke smirked at the tattoo part; he really couldn't see the meek boy with any markings on him. "So, what's the first thing on your list?" he prodded trying to sound uninterested.

Naruto smiled and shook his head, "If I told you, well, then I'd have to kill you."

With a snort the raven turned his attention out the window and noticed they were pulling into his house. He moved to get out of the car and then paused before doing something he usually never did, "Thanks." Then, as if he hadn't said anything, he went into his house.

Sasuke felt like banging his friend's head into a wall. It was Sunday afternoon, and his still-hung-over friend was trying to tell him about the party last night.

Kiba was talking animatedly with wild hand gestures and confused speech, "And then were they like duuuuuude high you sooooo are. And I was like you drunk I'm think, but not I!" The other two males in the room wouldn't have been surprised if the brunette was purposely acting silly.

Dark eyes scanned his friend, wondering why they were friends again. "You are still drunk."

For some reason, this answer made the teen burst into a fit of giggles.

Sasuke shook his head and walked away from the brown haired mutt and over to his more reasonable friend. "Neji, why are we still in my living room"?

Moving his head so that his light brown hair fell over his shoulders Neji lifted an eyebrow, "Because there is nothing else to do with almost everyone still on recovery from last night."

The raven rolled his eyes and fell back against the couch, which groaned. He turned his head to find that Kiba had moved from sitting to laying, and he had just sat on him. With this discovery, he decided to smirk and not move.

"Breathe can't I!" the brown haired boy gasped out, trying to push the Uchiha off.

Tsk-ing, Sasuke shook his head. "You deserve it for ruining my Sunday with your hangover."

A whined please escaped the suffocating boy. The charcoal eyed boy decided to have mercy and stood.

Kiba scrambled off the couch and ducked behind Neji in a failed attempt to hide from the bored and cranky Uchiha. This earned a raised eyebrow from the older brunette. "I'm not going to protect you."

"Jerk," was the grumbled reply. The shaggy haired teen sprawled out on the carpet deciding the dark haired boy was not that dangerous. "I'm starving"!

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and pointed to the kitchen.

This was answered with, "I want pizza"!

Neji had a small smirk forming from watching the antics between his friends. "Pizza actually sounds quite appetizing."

Sighing and shaking his head, the raven raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, I will go get pizza."

It was a fairly small town with one pizza joint that did not deliver. He snatched his keys off the table before pointing at the long haired boy, "Make sure he breaks nothing."

Sasuke smacked his forehead when he entered the garage. He had forgotten that the front of his car was in serious need for repair from the crash. Looking around the garage, he also recalled that his bike was in the shop for a tune up. It looked like he would be walking. The only thought on his mind- the pizza better be worth it.

The pizza joint wasn't that far from his house, it was just his refusal to ride the bus that made it longer. Odd planning always made Sasuke laugh on the inside; the current cause for his inner smile was where he was standing- in front of a movie rental place across from a library.

His ponderings of human decisions were distracted by a bright headed blonde sitting on the library steps. It seemed the boy kept popping up. He was dressed nicely, making it seem that he had traveled to the library from church.

On closer inspection, the raven noticed a book on the blonde's lap, which was undoubtedly a bible. The book was open and the blue eyed boy was pointing to something in it urging the boy, Sasuke had failed to notice 'til now, to look.

The male with the blonde seemed to be his complete opposite. He was dressed in a black shirt with red splotches that imitated blood, black baggy pants with chains hanging off them, and what appeared to be combat boots. The boy had a thick ring of black eyeliner around his jade eyes that glared at the book. His hair looked like bed head that had some fresh blood spill in it. A sudden image of Carrie filled Sasuke's mind.

His interest had been peeked to find out what they were doing. Crossing the street, he caught part of the conversation that didn't make sense to him. "So have faith, I know you can do it," left the blonde's mouth.

Said blonde turned to look when he felt a presence approaching. A smile graced the boy's features as he spoke, "Hello Sasuke."

"Hn," was the standing boy's response. He looked at the red head to find a glare directed at him.

Naruto waited a second to see if the dark haired boy was going to say anything else. "Can I help you with something?" he offered.

Sasuke turned his attention back to the blonde. "Whose this?" he motioned with his head to the other boy.

The boy in question stood and glared directly into the taller boys eyes. "Your worst nightmare."

Three things happened at once after that statement: the red head pulled back a fist, Sasuke's eyes widened and he took a step back, and Naruto screamed.

"Gaara, no!" the blonde shouted grabbing the green eyed boy's arm.

The now named Gaara, jerked forward attempting to release himself from the blonde. "He deserves if for what he did! Just let me hit him once"!

Sasuke continued to back up, as the other boy approached him, not really wanting a fist to the face.

Jerking harder on his friend the blonde shouted, "This is not what God wants, don't do this." His head then turned to look at the dark haired boy. Shock entered his eyes before a panicked scream left his mouth, "Sasuke, look out"!

Sasuke's next warning was the screeching of brakes. He was able to partially turn his head and see blue before impact occurred. It was a low car, so the bumper hit his shin. The next thing he knew, he was flying. Harsh metal grabbed at his back as he slid over the top of the car. His head was the first thing that noticed the end of the roof and the drop to the trunk. The force caused him to flip as he slid. Then the car was no longer there and his body met asphalt.

The world kept turning on and off for the raven. On: he was being rolled over causing pain to shoot everywhere.

Off.

On: the blonde was cradling his head and shouting, "…911! Call now"!

Off.

On: "Sasuke, stay with me! Hey, hang in there"! The blonde was fuzzy and his face was getting wet- when did it start raining?

Off.

On: Sirens were getting loud. "Come on Sasuke, just hold on they are almost here." It wasn't raining, the blonde was crying.

Off.

On: Lights were flashing, sirens were blazing, and people were surrounding him.

Off.

This didn't feel right. Something felt wrong. His body felt tingly and everything was silent. Heavy, his eyelids were heavy and didn't want to open. He fought against the clouds in his head and forced eyelids to recede from charcoal depths.

The first thing Sasuke's eyes registered, was bright white that he identified as ceiling. Attempting to turn his head, he found that he was in a neck brace with blocks holding his head stable.

His entire body felt wrong, yet he couldn't place why. In particular, his arm felt itchy. When he went to move it, he learned that it was bound down.

"Hello hun, do you know your name?" a voice startled him. The raven had not seen anyone enter. Moving his eyes to look at the female, he figured she was a nurse.

"Sasuke," he spoke softly. His tongue felt fuzzy, like cotton was in his mouth.

"Well Sasuke, do you know what day it is"?

A little surprised by the question, he paused before answering, "Sunday."

"That's right. What is the last thing you remember"?

Sasuke furrowed his brows having to think about it. "Blue car. Flying. Sun was crying."

The nurse made some notes on a clipboard before smiling softy. "You were hit by a car, and you are in a hospital. How do you feel? Do you have any pain"?

He moved to shake his head 'no', but was stopped by the blocks. "No pain. Tingly…fuzzy."

"That is a side effect of the sedative we gave you. We were in the process of a CT scan when you started screaming and thrashing, so we sedated you. The side effects should wear off soon. However, if they persist, let someone know." She paused to look at the paper in her hands. "The scan showed us that your neck and spine are in perfect working order. So I am going to remove the back board and neck brace."

"Okay," Sasuke mumbled feeling tired again.

Removing the blocks from either side of his head, she pressed a button on the side of the bed. A moment later, two nurses entered the room. They started taking off the straps connecting him to the backboard, which explained why he couldn't move earlier. There was a count to three, then he was turned on his side and the board removed. While on his side, a nurse ran her hand down his back asking if there was pain- there wasn't. So, they laid him flat on his back.

Two of the nurses left, leaving the one that had started smiling at him while removing the neck brace. "We contacted your brother, and he is on his way. The doctor will be in to speak with you shortly." She set a remote by his hand. "This is a call button. If you need anything, press it and someone will come."

He gave a small nod in response and watched her leave. Near the entrance of his room he noticed a cop, two males, and a female. It took a minute to register that one of the males was Naruto and the other was the red head, what was his name- oh yeah, Gaara.

He watched the cop turn to where the nurse had walked before ushering the three people into his room.

The cop made his way directly to the bed. "Hello son, can you tell me what happened? Everything you remember."

Sasuke looked among the faces in the room, slightly wondering what was going on and who the female was. "Going for pizza. Stopped at blonde." He moved his hand to gesture to Naruto. "Red." He now pointed at Gaara. "Started attacking. Backed up to get away. Car brakes. Blue car. Flying. Sirens. Here."

Jotting down notes, the cop nodded and looked at Sasuke. "Did he hit you"?

The raven had to think about it. He couldn't recall if the red head ever made contact. "No, I don't think."

The cop nodded again before looking very serious, "Would you like to press assault charges"?

Sasuke watched the reactions of the statement, the blonde's eyes widened while the red head simply growled at the floor. Did he want to press charges? Would that accomplish anything? "No."

The blonde let out a sigh of relief as the cop raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure"?

"Yes, though I would like to talk to him." Sasuke was glad the smoke in his head was clearing and he could speak full sentences.

Shaking his head, the cop spoke again, "Very well. Next time, step to the side not into the street." With that the cop turned and left.

The raven turned to the female. "Who are you"?

The girl jumped slightly then bit her lip. "I'm Moegi, and I hit you with my car."

The charcoal eyed boy had a brief 'aha!' moment before looking at the girl. She looked as though she was barely able to legally drive. He idly wondered if he had scared the girl from ever driving again.

"I am so, so sorry. I slammed on the brakes but couldn't stop in time."

Sasuke held up his head. "It's fine. It wasn't your fault."

The girl smiled, even though her eyes were still panicky. "I should be going. I truly am sorry."

The raven turned his attention to the two boys as the girl left. "So, feel satisfied?" he directed the question to the red head.

Gaara lifted his head up and shot a glare at the lying boy. "Yeah, a little."

The blonde gave him a disapproving look and was about to say something, when Sasuke interrupted.

"What exactly did I do to make you want to hurt me"?

Gaara's glare intensified, "You almost killed Choji."

"Who"? That statement set the redhead off and he looked ready to kill. The blonde grabbed onto him, and pushed him out of the room.

Sasuke couldn't hear what was being said, but he saw the blonde pull out some money and send the red head away.

Naruto walked back in with a sad smile on his face. He sighed and made his way over to the dark eyed boy. "Choji is the boy that was in the accident after the prank that was pulled by your group."

Sasuke scoffed, "We didn't force him."

"It's called peer pressure."

"So, why does that Gaara kid care anyway"?

The blue eyed boy paused to think of a way to explain it. "Gaara sees himself as the protector of the underdog. Choji was under his protection. Yet he couldn't stop the event and he blames you for Choji's injuries. With the way Gaara's mind works, he needs to punish you for what you did. He is trying so hard to redeem himself."

"From what?" the dark haired boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto blinked a few times, realizing he said the last part out loud. "It is not my place to say."

Sasuke clicked his tongue in irritation but let it go.

The blonde shook his head, "I'll pray for your recovery and I hope this whole encounter will have a positive effect on you. Goodbye Sasuke."

The raven rolled his eyes and watched the blonde leave. "Freak."

It was only a few minutes after the blonde had left, that he noticed his brother approaching with another man.

Itachi looked towards his brother, and when he caught his gaze he offered a small smile.

"Itachi, you came," the charcoal eyed boy spoke as if he didn't really believe the other male was going to show.

"Of course I came. I got a phone call that my little brother was hit by a car. I have been panicking the whole time. You scared me, don't do that."

Sasuke was shocked to see his brother so worked up. He wondered if they had told his brother that something was seriously wrong with him, but hadn't told Sasuke himself.

The doctor gave a small cough to attract both of our attentions. "Well Sasuke, you seemed to do a number to yourself, but luckily it is all perfectly healable. You have scrapes and bruises on just about every part of your body from bouncing along the car. Those should heal relatively quickly and not give much of a problem."

Sasuke moved a bit and took note of what was more sore then others, but everything was in at least a dull amount of pain.

"You broke open the skin on the back of your head, but no damage was done to the skull. We cleaned it out and wrapped a bandage around it. It should heal in a couple of weeks. You also have quite a bump on the front of your head which we assume is from your impact with the road. It didn't break the skin, but it will probably be sore and might cause headaches."

The raven reached a hand up to touch the front of his forehead and winced slightly when he felt the bump.

"From banging your head around it appears you suffered from a mild concussion. This could cause you to slur your words, become dizzy upon standing, forgetting events around the accident, and make you sleepy. You can sleep; however, you will need someone to come in a wake you every three hours. If the symptoms continue, come back in and we will do another scan of your brain."

"I will make sure of it," Itachi voiced from where he was standing, knowing that his brother would lie or try and push through.

"You bruised a couple organs and cracked a few ribs. There is really nothing we can do about it and they will heal on their own. I recommend that you spend a few days on bed rest to speed along the healing process."

Sasuke was fine with being on bed rest for awhile, it meant no school, no janitor duty, and maybe he would even miss the tryouts.

"Finally, your worst injury was your left leg where the bumper made contact. You dislocated your knee, strained ligaments throughout the leg, and have hairline fractures where the initial contact took place. We popped your knee back into place, but if you push yourself too hard it can pop back out. It is currently wrapped, but before you leave we are going to send you down to have it cast. We are not sure how long it will take for an injury like this to heal. The bed rest will help. Then you will be on crutches. Once you can apply pressure we will move to a walking cast. When everything is healed up we can take the cast off completely. You have to be very careful not to push yourself as it can have to opposite effect and damage the leg further. As soon as you are off bed rest you are going to start physical therapy which will speed your recovery. Do you understand everything that I have said"?

Sasuke nodded understanding but not liking. So he did a real number to his leg. At least he didn't play any sports, or he would be out for the season. Maybe his leg would get him out of all of his punishments at the school- nah, Tsunade didn't have a heart.

"Alright then, I am going to steal your brother to finish some paper work and a nurse is going to come in and get you ready to go." The doctor nodded to Sasuke, then turned for the door to be followed by Itachi.

Sasuke pushed his head back against the pillow only to wince as he found the injury on the back of his head. Perhaps this was karma. Maybe, when he could walk again, he would go see Choji.

Sasuke ran his fingers along the navy blue cast. It hadn't taken too long to get everything together and leave the hospital- especially for it being a Sunday afternoon. He was now in his room complying with the doctor's orders of bed rest. He had argued with his brother over calling and notifying his dad. In the end, he lost and his dad was called. However, not much came of it as it appeared his father trusted Itachi to take care of everything.

Apparently Neji and Kiba became worried after two hours of no word, so they called Itachi, who told them what had happened and to go home.

They must have felt bad, because when he got home there was a note on his bed from Kiba reading: I'll never ask for pizza again. I'm sorry dude, get better.

It made him laugh a little to know his friends blamed themselves for the accident, when they had basically nothing to do with it. He would have to call them later and let them know that.

As of now though, he was going to lay there and look into space. They gave him a prescription of vicodin for the pain and some other stuff for muscle spasms. The after effects of the sedative mixed with the vicodin sent him to the fringes of reality so that he could barely register what was going on. His world was a mix of blurry warmness and dancing panda's. Then, sleep embraced him.

"Sasuke, wake up. Come on, up now," a far away voice called to him in his sleep.

He didn't want to wake up, in fact he felt like he should just sleep forever in the warm embrace of his blankets. However, the voice did not like that idea and decided to poke at his nose- which in turn caused him to scrunch up his nose and aggravate the large bump on his forehead. "Owww"!

"You are being a baby. You have to wake up and eat. You have been sleeping for three hours, so now you need to be up. Come on fully up, open your eyes. There we go."

Sasuke glared at his older brother wondering if having to wake up every three hours was a medical truth, or if it was torture that doctors all laughed about. His glare softened when he noticed the tray of food. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. He never got to the pizza place and they never offered anything at the hospital.

Moving to sit up he noted that the pain in his body was significantly dulled from earlier- must have been the pain meds. He took the tray from his brother and set it on his lap. It was small enough that it didn't reach the top of his knee, so it didn't cause any pain.

Itachi watched his brother and shook his head. Taking a seat next to the teen's bed, he set the younger Uchiha with a look that said 'speak now, tell everything.'

The raven sighed after catching his brother's eyes. "There really isn't that much to tell. Kiba wanted pizza, and my car is still jacked up, so I walked. On my way, I ran into two boys from school. One had a beef with me and decided to pick a fight. Being responsible, I attempted to avoid the fight and stepped in front of a car- which landed me where I am now." He knew he was talking more then he usually did, but he didn't really feel like himself. He blamed it on being drugged up.

The older male sighed and leaned back into the chair, "I don't know what I am going to do with you. Maybe I should stay home for this term."

"Don't you dare!" Sasuke shouted pointing a finger at the taller male. "Uncle will be here to take care of me and I am going to be fine. The doctor said it would all heal fine." He really didn't want to be the reason that Itachi was held back from grasping his dreams.

"That's not what I am talking about," Itachi interrupted, "I mean your behavior: drinking and driving, getting into fights. Who knows where you will end up if this behavior continues?"

The charcoal eyed boy looked down at the food in his lap. "It was two times. I'll be more careful. You don't have to worry about me."

"Of course I have to worry about you, you don't worry about yourself." Itachi shook his head while rubbing his face. He attempted to hide the tiredness that had crept into his eyes. "Forget it. I will go back to college, but if I get even one phone call telling me you have been acting out again, I will be on a plane here that night. Do you understand"?

Sasuke hated when his brother went into dad mode. He frowned but nodded. "I understand. When are you going to be leaving"?

"The end of the month. So, I will be around to set you up in physical therapy and get your schedule set. On that same note, I called the school to let them know about the accident and your injuries. I have also arranged to have a tutor come every day after school and catch you up on what you missed and then turn in your work for you. You will only miss a week, so it is best that you stay on top of your work and not fall behind."

The younger male rolled his eyes, but then a small smile met his face. Missing a whole week meant missing the tryouts and a week without cleaning.

"Oh, and Tsunade said you could make up the missed hours cleaning once you are on your feet," Itachi added with a smirk.

Sasuke glared at his brother and bit out a sarcastic, "Thanks."

"I think that covers everything. Eat the food, when you are done set the tray by your bed. Then if you want you can go back to bed. I will be back in three and a half hours to wake you up again."

The raven nodded his head and watched his brother leave. Man, he was really hungry.

Sasuke had made it through the night with only a few growls at being woken up. He finally remembered to call Neji and Kiba the third time he was woken up. They were relieved to find that nothing too serious had happened. They planned on bringing the rest of the gang to visit him after school on Tuesday. With the explanation that an injured Uchiha is an angry Uchiha and they wanted him to heal a bit before walking into the lion's den.

Itachi was supposed to be on break, but the family company was taking advantage of him being in town and kept asking him to come into the office. He had set Sasuke up with food on a table by his bed, crutches on the floor in case he had to use the restroom, his pain meds near a water bottle on the same table as the food, and a phone nearby. He forgot, however, to remind the frustrated and hurt Uchiha that a tutor was going to come after school.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house!" Sasuke screamed at the male in the doorway.

"Itachi left a key with the office this morning when he dropped off your homework. The office assigned me to tutor you until you are back in school," the boy answered.

"You are my tutor?" the dark eyed boy asked unbelieving.

The boy nodded with a smile, "Yes, I am. I have your books and everything you missed."

The Uchiha glared, "You were in my locker?"

"No, the principal was, and she gave me the books."

"Don't they have another tutor at the school?" Sasuke asked looking the boy up and down.

"I'm sorry, no. The only other tutor is already on a case. Unless you want to hire your own," the blonde answered not seeming to be affected by the other boy's blatant disapproval.

"Fine, Naruto. Let's just get this over with."

The blonde smiled and took the chair Itachi had sat in last night. "Which class would you like to start with"?

"I don't care," Sasuke ground out staring blankly at the blonde. He was glad the lingering effects of vicodin were in his system to help him through this. He never really cared about school. He could get straight A's if he wanted, but he just didn't try. There were more exciting things to do in life.

However, it looked as if the boy in front of him never partook of the more enjoyable experiences of teen hood in preference of studying and being an all around nerd. Seriously the kid was addicted to school and all that revolved around it. He was at any extracurricular program the school hosted.

"Do you understand that Sasuke?" the blonde asked tilting his head to the side.

The dark haired boy moved his eyes to look at the other person in the room. "I wasn't actually paying attention."

Naruto shook his head with a smile gracing his lips. How could the boy always freaking smile, it was irritating. "You do know you aren't hurting anyone but yourself if you chose to fall behind."

"Oh thank you, I didn't know that," the laying teen bite out sarcastically.

The blonde dealt with reluctant charges all the time, he just needed to find a different way to back into it. "Alright, here is what we can do, you can read the notes for the classes you missed on your own and then do the homework. If you have questions you can just call for me. Then when you are done I will look them over and we will go over anything you missed. To make you feel more comfortable I will wait in the living room unless you call me. Does that work for you"?

Sasuke thought about it and eyed the blonde. He figured this was the best offer he was going to get, so he grunted with a nod of the head. Watching the blonde leave, he pulled the first packet of notes to his side.

Setting down his pencil, he looked over the last homework sheet. His school was on the block system so he only missed four classes a day. Sasuke hadn't failed to notice the blonde's checkups on him disguised as bathroom trips.

He looked at the clock before deciding he could not avoid the inevitable any longer. "Naruto."

"Yes," the blond answered way too quickly for his liking.

"I'm done," he said holding out the worksheets for the blonde.

Naruto smiled and took the papers while sitting down. He ran his finger along the page as he checked the answers. Pulling a pencil from behind his ear, he made a mark on the page. This continued for all of the pages.

"You only missed a few here and there. I circled them, so take a look and see if you can see the mistake," the blue eyed boy spoke handing the papers back.

Sasuke re-read the questions he missed and was able to correct all of them but one. "This answer has to be right, nothing else works."

The blonde looked to see which question the dark haired boy was stuck on. "Oh, well it would be right, but right here," he spoke pointing to the paper, "you dropped the decimal, which changes the answer."

The raven looked at the question going over it slowly. He couldn't believe it, the other boy was right. Erasing his work he fixed the problem.

Naruto stood with a smile. "I will leave your books here and take your homework with me to turn in. Then tomorrow I will see if we can change who is tutoring you."

Sasuke looked at the blonde then at his books, "Well, it's not that bad with this setup."

The standing boy's smile seemed to brighten slightly as he gave a nod. "Well, then I will be back tomorrow. I hope you start feeling better soon."

The raven nodded and watched as the boy made his leave. He waited until the blonde was at the door of his room. "Thanks."

Naruto turned around at the word and gave a breath taking smile. "You are welcome."

Sasuke blinked a few times wondering what had gotten in him to act so funny, as he heard his front door close. The accident must have really messed with his brain.

A/N: Alright! Here is the rewrite and the muses are going and giving me ideas, so I shall be working on this when I am not busy with college or working on my other stories. I hope you like the rewrite! It's not drastically different, just more detail and explanation in the beginning and Sasuke's injury was changed to better fit the story.

So drop and review and tell me what you think! Love? Hate? Have an opinion? Have a request? Anything let me know!