3 Chapter Two

Aiko Pov

I was another Monday morning and I was beyond frustrated to remember that I'm supposed to be driving an idiot and an egoistic emo with me to school and back home as well. Grunting, I grabbed my keys and clipped the cold, metal key ring between my teeth, holding my stack of books in one hand and holding out the doorknob with the other before I twisted it.

The cold breeze greeted my warm skin, making goosebumps rise. I shivered but shrugged the feeling off afterwards. Other than the wind greeting me, a grinning Naruto and a frowning Sasuke greeted me as well with just a simple 'good morning's which I returned in grumble as I took the key ring off my mouth and unlocked the door. The two jumped almost instantaneously, with the ball of sunshine at the back this time. 

The whole ride was quiet between Naruto, Sasuke and I, which rarely happens. Even so, one will break that silence. Eventually, Naruto decided to do so, "Ne.....Aiko is there something wrong?"

I kept my eyes on the road and simply answered. "No Naruto."

He didn't seemed to be satisfied with my answer but didn't push the subject further. Instead, started up another topic, "Hey! I just remembered! Halloween's coming soon." Huh I didn't even notice.

My face lightened up anything thought. "Oh yeah! I can't wait. What are your plans?"

From the rear mirror, I saw him placed his finger on his chin, thinking. "Hmm... I wanna go trick or treating." He beamed, placing a hand over my shoulder and the other at Sasuke's. The raven haired looked up at Naruto. "Aren't you a bit old for that?"

I snickered, but said, "Oh come on Sasuke, age doesn't really matter. At least we get to have some fun!"

He rolled his eyes at us and shut his mouth. "What should I dress up to be?" Naruto asked.

"You look scary enough without a costume." Sasuke blurted out, crossing his arms as he smirked wider. I felt Naruto getting ticked off. "That's an old joke Sasuke. It's not even funny anymore." The blond shot back at him, sticking his tongue out. The raven didn't budge, he closed his eyes and said smugly "Who said its a joke?"

The last strip of patience and respect of Naruto and Sasuke was gone,"TEME!-"

Before he could continue his rant, I hushed him down and used a hand to Naruto's face off Sasuke's. "Now now Naruto don't get to close. You don't want it to happen again do you?" His face changed from Fury to horror as I assumed he remembered the event I was referring to. So, he huffed and pouted. And by it I mean the time when they kissed.

Hmm, maybe the next time Naruto get his face closer to Sasuke's, I'll make sure to pull the brake on purpose who knows, their lips might connect again. I laughed at the thought and slammed my hand on the steering wheel, making the two look at me like I've gone mad, which I may have to agree. I mean,  nothing funny happened externally and here I am laughing my ass off.

"Okay, get off Aiko." Sasuke said with his eyes narrowed at me. I wiped my tears and bit my lips to keep myself from laughing, "Huh?, why?" I asked him in between my giggles.

"Because, I think you're up to something. Are you sure you're not high?" He interrogated, making me pull the brakes in result. Naruto was thrown forward. "OW!" He cried.

"Look Sasuke, I'm perfectly fine! Why will you think that I'm high?"

"Because, you laughed for no reason and I think that's enough to know that you're into something." Naruto mumbled and squeeze himself back to his seat, rubbing his head.

I gave them a blank, bored look and said, "Seriously, do I look like I do drugs? Or even look like I smoke cannabis?"

Naruto chuckled lightly, and scratch the back of his head. None of them responded so I continued with a grumble after rolling my eyes. "Whatever," Then i drove again. Silence enveloped the car the whole time, no one dared to talk. When we arrived school, I got out so did Naruto and Sasuke before I locked it and walked away without them. But they didn't seem to mind.

The moment I stepped into class, a certain Hyuga greeted me with a huge smile which I returned. "Ohayo Aiko-Chan" Hinata greeted, waving her hand at me. I waved back and sat beside her. We started conversing about random stuff. I adore Hinata inside and out. She's so pretty, kind, and intelligent all at the same time. And it makes me feel inferior.

After a while, I decided to keep my mouth shut and ended the conversation in a polite way. I sighed and rested my cheek over my balled fist, my elbow resting on the desk. Huh, Naruto and Sasuke are should've been here minutes ago, but to my surprise they are no where to be seen. The bell's about to ring soon. I grabbed my phone and called Naruto's number but there was no answer, same with Sasuke.

The bell rang, the teacher came, lessons were discussed and even after those events, they were no sign of Uzumaki and Uchiha anywhere. They just had to skip class without me and leave me boring myself to death. I huffed and grabbed my wallet before walking out of the classroom.

Lunch time, finally. I took a deep breath and headed upstairs, making my way to the rooftop. I didn't exactly feel like eating anything. When I got there, I encountered two of my other best friends, Hyuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru. I grinned at them and they gave me a smile. "Hey, you two."

"Aren't you supposed to be in the cafeteria with those two idiots?" Neji asked, raising his eyebrow at me. I gave him a small nudge and sat beside him. Shikamaru was on his back again, watching Puffy, white clouds pass by under the blue sky. I shook my head in response to Neji, "I couldn't find them, they didn't show up in class." Then Neji look at me with a puzzled look. "Huh, I heard they came to school with you."

I nodded my head, my lips forming into a firm, thin line. "They did. But I may or may not have left them behind." I said a bit guilty, with my fingers playing with the hem of my blouse. Shikamaru mumbled something under his breath that I couldn't hear, but I could tell he was commenting about how troublesome the situation is. "But even so, they would've attended class." I added.

"I find it rare to hear Uchiha bailing out of class." Neji said, taking a bite of his apple. He's right, Sasuke was never the kind of person who skips classes. The only assumption I can make is that, Naruto dragged him against his will. But then again, who knows. I bit the inside of my cheek and stared at the ground in silence for who knows how long.

"Here" Neji said all of a sudden handing me an apple. "Hinata slipped an apple in my bag twice." He continued with a sigh as I accepted his offer, muttering a 'thank you'. Shikamaru chuckled, "She forgot again huh?" and Neji nodded.

"Well,last night, she put an apple in my bag and earlier today, she was rushing again...so out of habit, she gave me one again."

"That's amusing." I said, taking another bite of the sweet apple. The two nodded their heads in agreement, letting out bits of chuckles.

I looked up to the sky to see that the cirrus clouds had gone cumulus. Not that I have much of a problem about it. There's a high chance it'll rain, it's coldness, and I'm absolutely not bothered about that, in anyway I feel relaxed. I love the rain, it's coldness and how did it makes our surroundings. Letting my eyelids fall, I smiled. "It's about to rain, it seems." The Hyuga said.

Shikamaru snickered, "Yeah, and Aiko is pleased about it."

I shrugged and opened my eyes slyly. "I can't help it, the rain's nice. I said laying on my back as well. Neji rolled his eyes at us and continued to sit down. I began to relax as the cool wind blew against us. But I could sense his body tensing, so I poked him, earning a questioned look. "What's up?, you look tensed."

He leaned closer to me, reaching for my ear to whisper, "Someone's watching."

"Huh??"

Shikamaru sat up and scratch the back of his head, "Geez", he muttered out while Neji just sat still, closing his eyes, frowning.

"Oi! Naruto, Sasuke! What do you think you two are doing?"

I turned my head back, only to see Sasuke with his hood on, his eyes narrowing at my direction with Naruto by his side who laughed nervously. "Eh, you got us."

I rolled my eyes and went closer to Neji, he looked at me closely, as if trying to read me. He nodded and let me be, putting his arm around me. I smirked and I know Neji was too. "Ever heard of privacy?" Shikamaru shot at Naruto.

"E-eto...Sasuke and I-"

"Aiko" Sasuke called out all of a sudden, cutting off Naruto. I didn't respond to him though as Neji began to rub his hand against my arm soothingly. Shutting my eyes, I rested on the Hyuga. What I was doing was irking Sasuke, but I didn't care. In fact, it was amusing me. Oh how I love to exasperate the living lights out of the Uchiha.

"Aiko!" He called out louder this time, walking towards me and squeeze my wrist.

I gave him a glare, demanding him,  "Ow! Let go!" He didn't listen but dragged me closer to him. Putting an arm over my shoulder, he leaned him close to my ear, "So you and Neji huh?. When and why didn't you tell us?" I could tell he was smirking. His raspy voice made me shudder, his question made me blush furiously. I looked at him in surprise, my eyes were narrowed as I pushed him away as hard as I could, but he didn't budge much.

"W-what are you talking about?! You-"

He was still smiling in a smug way, irritatingly while looking at my flushed face. He let me go but said softly, "I guess you're growing up."

I wanted to yell at him, punch him and say it was all a misunderstanding. Yes, I like Neji, but not the way he's thinking. Neji is just a friend! Then an idea came up to me, a big one to make me irk him. This time, my lips mocked him and nudged him, "So what, are you jealous?"

The Uchiha looked at me in disbelief, glowering at me. "What made you think I am?"

"Maybe, because I know that you love me." I answered him. He grimaced, "As if"

I gave him a sincere smile, "Neji and I aren't a thing duckbutt." I say poking his side. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Can we talk?" He asked and I gave him a puzzled look but nodded anyway. He lead me farther from Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji, who looked like they were having a good time. Aww, I want to join them. I thought, before finding myself pouting in front of Sasuke who raised his eyebrow at me.

"What's wrong Aiko?"

I shook my head, and dropped the topic. I cleared my throat "So uh.. What is it?"

He gave me a stern look which I've gotten used to. "Look Aiko, you should really stop saying that I love you. It's not true."

I burst out laughing.

"I knew that!"

My laughter didn't simmer down for awhile but when it did, "Then why? " Sasuke asked, giving me an exasperated look. He earned a shrug from me and a grin before I said, "Because, I like annoying you duckbutt."

My answer made him frown. "You are really annoying."

"But_you love me." My grin got wider if possible. Clasping my hand below, walking back where Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji while intentionally bumping my shoulder on Sasuke who was walking beside me with annoyed look. When we were like two to three steps away from the group, I knowingly hit Sasuke harder as if he was caught off guard, making him loose his balance. But Luckily, he was able to grab onto the railings before his body could collapse.

"Ugh! When will you ever stop being childish Aiko?"

I gave him a pursed lips smile when I face him, putting my hands behind me. He looked indignant. Oh Sasuke, I wonder if one day, you'll decide to stop being my friend if I continue being like this. I countered, "When will you grow up Sasuke?"

"When I grow up, does that mean you'll finally be able to shut your mouth?"

"Maybe, maybe not." He snarled at me but looked away, closing his eyes. "Come on, it's pouring out here." His voice was calm, but there was still a hint of anger in it. Then, more droplets of water came down. I sighed in relief and smiled to myself.

Something was bothering me and I knew what it was. The way he acted was usual for me. But something inside me, for once, told me to go and apologize to him for acting the way he doesn't want me to act. Another said I should really think  about what my acts will make others feel. Sasuke doesn't hate me, does he?

For once I was beginning to feel conscious, anxious.

During classes, I would find myself staring blankly at my desk, listening to the rain pattern against the window until the whole period's done. That was so not like me. Generally, I'd always talk to Naruto who sat in front of me. Due to how I was acting, the ball of sunshine would constantly ask if I was okay.... I am, aren't I?

After the second period, Naruto faced me again, turning his chair as well. My eyes bored into his bright ones as he heaved a sigh, resting his chin on his hand. "If this is about what happened earlier today, then Sasuke and I are sorry." He muttered but it was loud enough for me to hear.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, we both know you don't do drugs or any of the rest, but why were you laughing? It was bugging me and Sasuke the whole morning, we didn't even notice the bell had already rang." So he was bringing up the topic of me doing drugs? Seriously??

For the time being, I ignore the fact that they accused me of doing drugs. "We're you both seriously deaf to not hear? I was laughing because of a scheme I thought. And it's better to be late than never Naruto, you know that."

He rolled his eyes when I mentioned 'scheme', forming a firm, straight line on his lips. "Writing a paper of apologies about being late is such a hassel."

"So?-"

"Sasuke wrote the teachers something about us attending both our company's urgent meeting." He said quoting 'meeting' with his fingers in the air. I chuckled slightly and nodded in understanding. "But really, we thought you were into something, so Sasuke told me he'd need someone to check on you."

"That's all you did the whole morning?"

"Yeah..kind of. We were uhmmm, uh we" Naruto began to stammer, making me tilt my head in confusion. Before I could question him about what he was trying to say, he rebounded. "Hey! What were you doing with Shikamaru and Neji?"

"Huh? Is there something wrong about that? We're best friends, is hanging out bad for us?" I raised my eyebrow at him. I could practically see him sweat dripping at himself. He's hiding something.  I know it. But then, I decided not to bring it up. Who knows, they must have done something that I shouldn't or wouldn't want to know of.

The blond gave me a crooked smile, while I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

"Oh! I just remembered, I needed to finish an assignment for the next period! See ya!" He blurted out all of a sudden, turning his chair and facing his back on me again. I grumbled out a bunch of unpleasant words about how tiring this is and how i wish school was over. There was absolutely no doubt that Naruto's hiding something from me.

And whether it's not my place to know about it or either way, I was eager to hear what they were hiding about.

How am I completely sure that Naruto's hiding something from me.

Easy.... So far, we weren't given homework yet. We are having a somewhat leisure schedule.

"I like it when it rains." A deep raspy voice said behind me all of a sudden, making me jump. I knew who that voice belonged to. Of course, no other than Sasuke himself. Oh, so he finally talked again.

Puzzled, I looked at him. "I thought you hate it when it rains."

"I did, but I just realized it'll make you shut up." Sasuke smirked. I gave him a weak smile and turned my back on him, not saying anything else. He's a big jerk to me, and sometimes I mind, and sometimes I don't.

Call me bipolar, but I guess I'm one.