She could always smile and brush it off.
She could always do that, knowing that he would say the same tomorrow, and the next day. She could do it, for once having a secret he didn't know. He didn't know that deep inside, she was the same as him, as Naruto. Deep inside, she didn't have parents; her foster parents? They were never around anyway. Deep down, she was as lonely as they were, even lonelier. They had each other.
She had herself.
But she could pretend, just like she pretended to smile until he walked away, until the tears came and she couldn't pretend anymore, she could only run away from that place.
She was really good at running by now. That hurt, knowing that she always had to run away from that bridge, the place that brought them together in the morning, that ripped her apart in the afternoon. Maybe if she just stopped trying, things would get better.
But she could never stop pretending.
She could pretend that she was beautiful, a shell shocker. She could pretend that she was as strong as they were. She could pretend that she cared, that she didn't hurt. But it didn't work. She was just too good at pretending to be herself.
So now here was the choice; smile and brush it away, bouncing back, or letting the masquerade drop.
But, as always, she chose the first, watching his back grow smaller and smaller until she could not longer see the fan, until she could no longer hold back the tears. Then she ran, as she did every other day, back towards nothing, where no one could comfort her.
She was a player in this great game of fate. She was gifted; a deceiver. She was lucky; she didn't have to show the true self.
She seemed to have lost that girl anyway.