There's a Reason He Doesn't Sleep

Backstage Pass

Being paranoid was something Naruto hated; the feeling that something could occur at any given moment was a heavy burden to carry, especially if you're skeptical about what had happened to you.. Everywhere he looked, he had the feeling eyes were on him. Everywhere around him were people he didn't know. Intimidating or not, he couldn't help but feel frightened at every look he got.

"Sasuke?" He asked, raising his voice loud enough and almost cracking as his pulse began speeding up.

"Hey, you look lost. Need help?" A girl walked up to him, wearing the familiar Masquerade staff T-shirt. She obviously worked here and was only doing her job. Upon placing her hand on Naruto's shoulder, she had unknowingly freaked the boy out.

"Don't touch me!" Naruto shouted, not really comprehending why he did so, but knowing he had to as the touch was unknown. Now he was seriously gathering attention.

"Geez, dude. Sorry." The girl backed away, throwing him a look as she turned around and backed away. "Can you believe this guy?" She asked another staff member as she passed him by.

"Dude, are you okay?" Naruto turned around quickly, prepared to punch whoever it was out of instinct but calming down as it was only Kisame who stood a few feet away. Looking at the anxious face of the blond boy, Kisame knew it was best to get him outside. "Let's get you outside, you need a little breather." He looked at Naruto curiously. "What's wrong? You're looking pale, should I get Sasuke?"

"No!" Naruto immediately responded. "Not him, please." At the moment, Naruto felt like he should be alone. "Nobody." The two of them stood in the center of the crowd, Kisame figuring out what else to do while Naruto faced the floor, unable to look anywhere else. "I just can't be here." And truly, he couldn't. Not in the middle of a crowd ready to throw punches the minute the band came out. That wouldn't work out at all.

Kisame nodded. "Fine, but I can't let you outside without anyone. Come here, follow me. I can let you in backstage, nobody's there but Konan and the guys. They have a spare room in the back no one uses if that's fine with you." Kisame prepared to place his hand behind Naruto's back, but seeing the boy flinch, he backed off. "Look, just follow me, yeah?"

Nodding, Naruto did just that. At first, he had followed the tall muscular man through the crowd, but as the crowd became thicker, he had no choice but to grab Kisame's hand, to which Kisame didn't seem to mind at all.

"In here." He said, opening the backstage door. "Guys, let Naruto use the spare room for a bit, yeah? I'll be right back." Itachi and Konan both looked over towards the door and nodded, inviting the blond in while Pein and the rest prepared to go on stage. Looking at Naruto, Kisame patted him softly on the head. "I'll at least tell Sasuke where you are in case he gets worried." Naruto nodded and was left at the door as Kisame turned around and left.

"You okay?" Itachi questioned, leaving Konan to tune her guitar. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I just need to be alone for a bit." Naruto answered, to which Itachi nodded and stepped back as Naruto walked himself towards the spare room. Opening the door, he turned the lights on and sure enough, it was empty save for a couch, a TV, and a mirror. He lay down on the couch and threw his arm over his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before getting interrupted as Sasuke walked in through the door.

"So not only can you get free drinks, but now you can be backstage." He chuckled lightly as he walked in, closing the door behind him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, sitting beside Naruto's relaxed body and leaning down to kiss the hand over the blond's forehead.

"Better, I guess. I freaked out earlier, that's all." Naruto spoke truthfully.

"About what?"

About what exactly? Naruto thought to himself, knowing that for some reason, all he had done was be paranoid about people watching. It was all just too surreal and that stupid nightmare he kept having about his birthday kept reappearing in his thoughts telling him it was all too real. If it was, then why? Why had it happened to him?