I'm laying in bed, the sounds of my parents fighting filling the house. If my damn iPod wasn't dead, I'd be listening to it to drown them out. As usual it's mom who does most of the yelling. Dad doesn't like confrontations. Mom doesn't like that dad won't yell back. I'ts just not who he is.

Crash!

Something has been thrown.

I can't take it anymore. I grab my jacket and climb out of my window. I could just walk right out of front. They wouldn't notice. They never have before. The sounds of the fighting are already so loud though, I don't feel like getting the full effect of it. I start heading down the familiar path to Sasuke's house. I've sneaked over there so many times, he's started leaving his window open.
I climb in and lay my jacket on his desk chair.

"I was wondering when you'd finally get tired of it" Sasuke says, referring to my parents.
I sigh and lay on his bed. It smells like him, like calm darkness.
"If my iPod wasn't dead, I could've lasted longer" I said. He smiles and I feel a bit better.
He gets up and asks "Want something?"
Usually I'd say ramen but I don't feel hungry. I never feel hungry anymore. I just eat so I look normal. Sasuke is the only person to know what my home life is really like.
"Just something to drink." I say.

He nods and disappears into the hallway. He returns moments later with two cups of green tea. I sit up and take one of the cups, sipping it slowly. I love green tea. Sasuke made me start drinking it when he was helping me sober up. At first I hated it. Now I drink it everyday.

Sasuke sits next to me and holds out one of his hands. A gesture I know all to well. Before I started coming to Sasuke for help, I use to cut myself to deal with my parents fighting. Another thing my parents didn't notice. I became really good at hiding the scars. Hiding the alcohol and drugs from them was even easier.

I give him one arm at a time and he inspects them like always. Old scars are healing and no new ones are there. Sasuke found out what I was doing when I came to school hungover. He took me to his house to sober up and wouldn't let me leave til I told him what was going on. I was embarrassed to let him in even though he was my best friend. I broke down in tears and told him everything. Ever since that day, and with his help, I've quit the drinking and the drugs. I also stopped hurting myself.
He smiles again and I return the expression.
The obvious question hangs in the air as we sit on his bed silently. 'Why were my parents fighting again?'

"I don't even know anymore. It's mostly mom, which you already know. She wakes up in bad moods. Me and dad try asking what's wrong. She never tells us til she's pushed over the edge. I just stay out of the way now. I mean, she just keeps yelling the same thing over and over again. 'I'm angry. I'm sad. I don't know why I feel like this.' I feel bad for her, I really do. I just can't take it anymore." I say, looking at the ceiling.

Sasuke takes my drink from me, which I've only had one sip of, and sets it on his nightstand. He puts an arm around my shoulder to comfort me. I lean against him and instantly the tears flow from my eyes onto his shirt.

He instinctively holds me tighter, rubbing soothing circles into my back.
"Shh Naruro. It's ok. Everything will be ok." Sasuke whispers.

I turn and bury my face in his chest. I hate crying but I can't stop. Sasuke puts both arms around me and we stay like for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. My crying fits never last long but I always feel better afterwards.

Sasuke stood up and went to the bathroom. He came back with a few tissues and handed them to me. I cleaned my face and threw the dirty tissues into the wastebasket.

"I hate it when they fight. I mean I know it's normal for a couple who has been together for as long as they have to fight, but I can't stand it. I can't take worrying if they will divorce or not." I say, trying to calm myself.

Even though I'm eighteen, I still don't want my parents to split.

Sasuke looks at me and says "I understand. And you're right. It is normal for couples to fight. Just try sitting them down one day and telling them how the fighting makes you feel. I'm sure if they knew how the fighting was making you feel, they'd find a way to fix it."

He was right. Believe it or not, my parents are reasonable people.

"I guess you're right, Sasuke." I say and give him a hug.
I feel him smile as he kisses my forehead. I use to feel uncomfortable when he did that. Even though we'd been best friends since I could remember, it freaked me out the first time. He does it because he cares. So now I don't mind it. Now it makes me feel better.

I yawn looking at the clock.

3:00 am.

Sasuke chuckles and hands me a pair of pajamas. I change into them and crawl into bed next to him.
"Thank you Sasuke." I say.
I snuggle into him as I get comfortable. He holds me tightly against him as we both wait for blissful sleep to take us over.

"Goodnight Naruto." Sasuke said sleepily.
I manage to mumble "Goodnight." before I fall asleep to his heartbeat.