Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Snap ( Chapter 11 )

Kat: Yay! I can see my reviews! TheFutureFreaksMeOut, I'll e-mail you. You SHOULD update. You really SHOULD. -waggles eyebrows-

 

Naruto: That made NO SENSE.

 

Kat: Shhh! They don't KNOW THAT YET!

 

 

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Neji Hyuga was having a lousy time. There was no good booze, save for beer, and there was nothing that wasn't alcoholic. He had to suffer with some nasty-ass beer that wasn't even cold. The music was terrible, and he could swear to Jesus Christ Himself that he had inhaled enough smoke from cigarettes or marijuana joints or crack pipes or whatever the hell was in this house that he had lost at least fifty times as many brain cells as he should. Neji knew he should have come to the stupid party. Hinata had wimped out at the last moment, despite begging and pleading from that Inuzuka kid who always hung out with her, so neither of those two were here. Neji had seen Kankuro and Itachi enter about an hour before, but he wasn't really in the mood to be crushed by Itachi's fan club. Neji really wished that Haku were there: Despite his calm demeanor, the teen was definitely a party animal. But besides all that, Haku didn't use drugs, and would not be so high that he couldn't even speak. But Haku never came to parties like this. Neji didn't know why, and he didn't bother prying into the other's boy's business.

 

Naruto Uzumaki was having a very odd time. He had never been to a party before, but he read about them, and saw them on TV all the time. From what he could tell, they were fun. They usually including dancing, drinking, and then later, the sounds of sirens in the background, and everyone running out of the house really fast. Or better yet, the teenager who lived in the house and was throwing the party in the first place got a call from their parents who were at some five star hotel and said that they would be home in five minutes so the kids had to get out of the house fast and then clean it up. None of this ever made sense to him until now. Actually, it STILL didn't make sense, but at least he had a better view of what was actually happening. He had been at this party for at least two hours, and he was still very confused about whether or not it was really `fun.'

 

Was it CHANCE that these two should meet? I think not.

 

“Hey,” Naruto said, leaning up against the snack table, next to the taller boy. “You're Neji Hyuga, right?”

 

Neji eyed the younger boy for a moment, then said,

 

“Yeah. Why?”

 

“Oh, no reason. I just know you `cuz you're in Drama with Kankuro who's Gaara's older brother and I'm friends with Gaara which brings me to my next question have you seen Gaara?” Naruto said quickly, without taking a breath. It took Neji's slightly hazy mind to process the vast array of words. When he didn't say anything right away, Naruto continued. “'Bout yay tall,” he said, holding his hand up to his ear, “with a murderous look in his eyes and a funky tattoo on his forehead?” Neji blinked.

 

“Oh, yeah,” he said, remembering. “I saw that kid out on the porch an hour, hour and a half ago.”

 

“Good. Thanks,” Naruto said, nodding. “I'm Naruto Uzumaki, by the way. Say hi sometime, `kay?” With that, he disappeared into the smoke and music. Neji shook his head.

 

“Whatever,” he muttered, taking a sip of his warm beer. “GOD this stuff is horrible,” he said. With that, he tossed the bottle over his shoulder, hearing a satisfying `CRASH' on the wall behind him.

 

 

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“Gaara! Are you out here?” Naruto cried, pushing open the sliding glass door, and sticking his head out into the cold night air. He stepped out onto the wooden porch, his eyes scanning over the numerous dark shapes, lit up only by a string of tiki lights, each shape with a line of smoke rising gracefully from its cigarette. There was also a hot tub built into the porch, and it was crammed full of people. “GAAR-“

 

“Shut up you idiot, I'm right here,” said a darkly familiar voice from behind him. Naruto turned, shutting the door, to see Gaara sitting down against the house, turning something over in his hands.

 

“What the hell are you doing out here? Christ, it's freezing,” Naruto said, shivering, and remembering vaguely that he had left his orange jacket in some random room upstairs. He wished he had it now, and he made a weak substitute for it by wrapping his arms around himself, and sinking low next to Gaara. “Aren't you cold?”

 

Click.

 

Flip.

 

“You see that girl in the hot tub? The one with that disgusting prick's arm around her?” Gaara hissed, his voice low.

 

Click.

 

Flip.

 

There were at least ten people in the hot tub, so Naruto couldn't be sure whom Gaara was talking about, so he merely nodded.

 

Click.

 

Flip.

 

“That's my sister he's touching,” Gaara growled, his hands moving faster.

 

Click flip click flip click flip.

 

“Gaara… what's in your hand?” Naruto asked, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach.

 

Click.

 

“Get your filthy hands off of my sister!” Gaara said loudly, starting to rise. No one seemed to have heard him but Naruto. Then the blond saw the flash of the knife in Gaara's hands, and he grabbed both of the smaller boy's shoulders, and dragged him back inside.

 

“Goddammit, what the fuck do you think you're doing?” he screamed over the blare of the music. His hands were still on Gaara's shoulders, and he could feel the teen shaking.

 

Flip.

 

Click.

 

Flip.

 

Click…

 

“Shit,” Naruto breathed. Then, he tightened his grip on Gaara's shoulders, and jerked the redhead past all of the people, up the stairs, and into the coatroom. He slammed the door shut, and flipped on the light, thankful that there was no one in the room.

 

“What the hell's your problem?” Naruto snapped, taking a deep breath. Gaara was shaking so badly that Naruto thought he might explode. The switchblade in his hands stood out like a sore thumb.

 

Click flip click flip.

 

“You saw his hands on her. You saw his disgusting hands on her!” Gaara yelled, his face turning red. “I'm gonna kill him! I'm-“

 

“Gaara, listen to yourself! You're talking about KILLING someone! And for what,” Naruto howled. “Just because you thought you saw your sister with him?”

 

Gaara began to breathe slower.

 

“Gaara,” Naruto said steadily. “Give me the knife.”

 

Gaara held the closed switchblade close to his chest.

 

“Fuck no.”

 

“Gaara!”

 

“No!”

 

“Fine!” Naruto said, throwing his hands in the air.

 

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

 

“THIS ROOM'S TAKEN!” Naruto screamed. Then he looked back at Gaara. “Gaara…”

 

“I can't, you blond fool! I can't!” Gaara said, shaking his head. “I won't. I will NOT.”

 

Naruto closed his eyes, seeing that this wasn't going anywhere.

 

“Fine, then,” he conceded, putting up his hands. “But you're not going anywhere until you calm down.” Naruto plopped down onto the coat-covered bed, and put his arms behind his head. “And neither am I.”

 

Gaara took a deep breath, and sat down on the floor. They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, but according to the clock on the wall, it was only a half-hour. 10:30 p.m.

 

`And then some,' Naruto thought, closing his eyes.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“Huh?” Naruto spat, sitting up quickly. “What?”

 

“I'm sorry,” Gaara said, his head bowed. “It's just… when I saw Temari with that guy… it made me so mad. And when I get mad, sometimes I

 

(don't be mad at me please daddy don't be mad I'm sorry I'm so so sorry)

 

just can't control myself,” he said, pulling his knees up to his chest. “It's… weird. For a minute, I thought that killing him would fix everything.”

 

“That's… okay?” Naruto said, scratching his head. Gaara turned, and looked up at him.

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes.” Naruto nodded, and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The music downstairs had switched moods from low and bass and throbbing through the floorboard to a make-out song. “It's getting late. Let's see if Kankuro and Itachi are bored yet.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Naruto sighed, and stood up. He walked over to the door, and pulled it open. He was a met with a disgusting sight.

 

“Ew,” he said, blandly. “Can't you two do that somewhere else?” Then he stepped over the two people tangled up on the floor, and headed back down the stairs, Gaara close behind him.

 

The scent of marijuana smoke had doubled in the room. Naruto had to clasp a hand over his mouth to keep from inhaling the stuff.

 

“I have no idea where anyone is,” he said to Gaara, avoiding a couple who were slow dancing to the music. “Do you know where Kankuro is?”

 

Gaara shook his head. He had pocketed the knife.

 

Naruto cursed rather colorfully, and turned, staring into the smoke. The last place he had seen the group of girls and Itachi and Sasuke was over by the snack table. But now, the only big group was on the group of couches arranged in a corner of the room.

 

“Over there!” he said to Gaara, pointing.

 

“Lead on.”

 

 

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It was 10:32 p.m. when Temari had come to Kankuro, dripping wet, and begging to be taken home.

 

“Zak and I got into a fight,” she said tearfully. “And I came with him to the party, so-“

 

“You came with ZAK?” Kankuro fumed. “I thought you said you were coming with SUMMER!”

 

“Um… I… uh…” Temari rubbed her eyes, badly smearing her eye shadow. “I know I did, but…”

 

Deep breaths, Kankuro. Deep breaths. Count to ten. One… two… three… SEVEN… TEN!

 

“Where's the bastard? I'll kick his sorry ass!” Kankuro said, waving his fists in the air. Temari grabbed his wrists.

 

“Kankuro, what have you been smoking?” she asked sternly, shaking his head. “Zak would KILL YOU. PLEASE. I JUST want to go home!”

 

Kankuro took several more calming breaths, like they had shown him in that Zen class he took once. Then he said,

 

“All right, fine. Go get your coat, I'll see if I can find Itachi.”

“Thanks, Kankuro,” Temari said. Then she walked away into the smoke.

 

Kankuro rubbed his eyes. Then he walked over to the group of couches crammed against the wall, and picked his way through the cascade of women to where Itachi was sitting, very formally, in a chair.

 

“Hi, Kankuro,” he said dully, sending a look to the make-up-clad teen that said plainly, `I do NOT WANT TO BE HERE RIGHT NOW.'

 

“Something came up,” Kankuro said, jamming his hands in his pockets. “We need to leave. Now.”

 

“Now?” Itachi said brightly, sitting up.

 

“Now.”

 

Itachi stood up, and said, “Sorry, ladies. We'll have to continue this chat some other time.”

 

The girls, who all appeared to be stoned, drunk, or some combination of the two, didn't answer. Itachi followed Kankuro back across the sea of bodies, onto the now mostly empty floor.

 

“We'll have to find everyone else-“ Itachi started to say, but then he was cut off.

 

“Itachi! Kankuro! Thank God,” Naruto said, approaching them. “Can we leave? This party sucks.”

 

“Yeah,” Gaara agreed.

 

Kankuro sighed.

 

“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Where's Sasuke?”

“Dunno,” Naruto said shrugging. “Crap, I left my coat upstairs. I'll go grab everyone's?” he offered, raising his eyebrows.

 

“Sure. And bring my sister back with you. She's still up there,” Kankuro said, nodding. Naruto disappeared, and Kankuro said, “You seen Sasuke anywhere, Gaara?”

 

The younger teen shook his head slowly, his eyes slightly glazed.

 

“Goddammit,” Kankuro muttered. He rubbed his eyes again.

 

“Tired?”

 

“Yeah, I guess so,” Kankuro said, turning to Itachi. “You don't know where Sasuke is, either?”

 

“I lost track of him about an hour ago.”

 

“GODDAMMIT.”

 

“I found Sasuke-bastard!” Naruto announced as he walked up, with four people in tow. One was Sasuke, one was Temari, one was, to Kankuro's surprise, Neji, and one was a freshman that he didn't know. “Everyone needs a ride.”

 

“Hi, Kankuro. Nice Kabuki make-up. Can I get a ride?” Neji asked dully, his white eyes half-lidded.

 

“Yeah. Who are you?” Kankuro asked the other freshman.

 

“Shikamaru Nara,” he said. “I don't need a ride. I can just walk-“

 

“You need a ride,” Naruto said firmly. “Can he get a ride.”

 

“Well, yeah, I guess so…” Kankuro said, looking over at Itachi.

 

“Of course he can,” Itachi said. “Come on, guys. Let's get out of here before the cops show up.”

 

Quickly and quietly, they left the house, trailing the scent of drugs and alcohol with them. They piled into the car, Kankuro and Itachi in front, Shikamaru and Temari in the middle, and Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji crammed in the back. The other seat was used for the pile of coats that Naruto had brought out with them. Gaara was so tiny that he hardly took up any room, anyway.

 

The car started easily, and Itachi turned on the heather to keep anyone from freezing.

 

“I'm exhausted,” he said, blinking lazily. “No more Friday nights for me.”

 

“No kidding,” Kankuro said, reclining in his chair. “That party was awful. No good music, and almost everyone was high this time. Last party I went to, only about half of the people ended up stoned, but this one, oh, this one takes the cake. Holy shit, are those staters?” he hissed, his eyes widening immediately, as he followed the path of the three police cars that past them. The words `State Trooper' shined out plainly against the white cars.

 

“Man, we got out of there just in time,” Sasuke said softly, looking back behind them.

 

“You got a cell phone, Itachi?” Kankuro asked, looking at the driver.

 

“Yes, but-“

 

“Can I use it?”

 

“Sure,” Itachi said, pulling the cell phone out from between the seats, and handing it to the taller teen. “But WHY?”

 

“Hand on a second,” Kankuro said. He dialed a number quickly, and pressed the phone to his ear.

 

“Hello?” said the voice on the other line.

 

“Hello, Ten-ten?” he said pertly, closing his eyes. “Kankuro here, no time to chat. There are about a million police cars about five minutes from the party. You'd better save yourself.”

 

“Are you shitting me? Aw, hell!” the girl cried, her voice laced with distress. “Thanks, Kanko, I owe you one.”

 

“Bye.”

 

He was met with a dial tone. He shut the phone, and passed if back to Itachi.

 

“That's why.”

 

“Ah, of course.”

 

They drove for a while, not really sure where they were headed. It never occurred to Itachi to ask Shikamaru where he lived, so instead, he drove in the direction of the tunnel that led into the city.

 

“Any of you ever had the Drop before?” he asked, a smiling twisting its way onto his lips.

 

“Nope.”

 

“Nuh-uh?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“What's `The Drop'?” Temari asked.

 

“You'll see,” Itachi said evilly, as they pulled into the dimly lit tunnel. He rolled every window down, and opened the moon roof. He turned on the radio, and blasted the volume as loud as it could go. It was playing something hard rock. Perfect. He started to drive as fast as he could, the wind screaming past his ears.

 

“You ready, Kankuro?” he yelled over the music.

 

“Oh, hell yeah!” the teen answered. “Everyone, watch the front, and hold your breath!”

 

Suddenly, the earth dropped out beneath the car. The lights from the city, like a million Christmas lights, swarmed out in front of them. Everyone was lifted out of their seats, the wind whistling it's own tune to the music. Itachi's hair was pulled from its ponytail, Kankuro's hat flew off, and Temari's thin dress almost tore. Naruto tossed off his jacket, and Gaara and Sasuke and then everyone lifted their arms up and felt the Drop.

 

Everyone screamed. Kankuro screamed away his anger, Gaara screamed away his rage, Sasuke screamed away his jealousy, Naruto screamed away his confusion, Temari screamed away her sadness, Neji screamed away his own loss, Itachi screamed away all the pressure, and Shikamaru just held onto the seat as hard as he could. Suddenly, as they zoomed down the hill at the speed of light, nothing mattered. All that mattered was this, here, now. Eternity.

 

At that moment, Naruto yelled out, “I AM AN IMMORTAL!” and everyone joined in with him.

 

Everything was forgotten.

 

Everything.

 

They were flying.

 

 

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