Author's note:
I know you guys were expecting Marley to write this chapter since originally she was writing Sasuke's chapters, but she decided not to for the time being. Not to mention that Marley also has some out of town guests in for the next two weeks, so I think that I will be doing a lot of the writing for a really long time. Let's see, I made a volunteer group with my friends called I Have A Dream, and we're making a lot of progress. But that's about it for now, my mom's at her thirty year high school reunion and I'll try to get a lot more chapters up tonight, but I don't know what I can do. I'll try, I promise!
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto nor do I own the lyrics to "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, in who's lyrics are used in this chapter.
Dedication:
To Jen. You know why.
I walked across an empty land, I came across a fallen tree, Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I knew the pathway like the back of my hand.
I felt the earth beneath my feet,
Sat by the river and it made me complete.
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.
I felt the branches; are they looking at me?
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.
SO if you have a minute why don't we go,
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know.
The morning air seeped into Sasuke's open window, the slumbering teen exhausted, sprawled out on his still made bed in last night's clothes. Crumpled pieces of paper, letters that were meant for Sakura, but never made it past the first few words. The boy hadn't gotten a good night sleep since Sakura had told him that he was a father-to-be and left. He had gone past her house a few times and her parents had strictly told him that she wasn't home.
His hands felt empty with out her hands holding them, and he would spend hours and hours, just trying to remember what it felt like to have her lips against his. The young boy awoke, jolting out of one of his many nightmares. She was haunting him, or the thought of her was haunting him. Sasuke never cried, and he never had. Not even as an infant, but he knew that if things kept on going they were going, he was going to just, go insane.
The boy walked, zombie-like, into the bathroom and splashed cool water onto his pale face, resting his weight on one arm that was leaning against the counter. Lazily, he scrubbed his teeth with a tooth brush, looking into the mirror at his pale, lifeless face. His deep brown, which appeared black, eyes were full of obvious pain and sorrow. Patting his face dry with the nearest towel, he changed out of his clothes and putting on a fresh pair of clothing.
Walking lifelessly down the stairs, stumbling every few steps, he found himself in the kitchen, sitting down and sliding into a chair. He stared ahead, his head feeling about twenty five pounds heavier than usual. His elbows rested against the table as he stared ahead, knowing that he did have other things to do than sit here and try to imagine her face…Sakura.
He could clean his room, that's always something that he needed to do, and something that he usually slacked off on frequently. He could go next door and see if the braniac nerdy neighbor wanted to help with his math, haha, yeah right. He could watch television, maybe take a walk. But everything was a risk. What if he saw Sakura? What would he say to her? He wanted to see her so bad, but at the same time he was sort of relieved that he didn't have to speak to her.
The ring of the telephone signaled that it was probably time for him to get up and move. He stayed and let it ring several more times before heaving a sigh and rising to his weak feet, pacing his sleepless, exhausted body to the phone and picking it up, leaning back against the wall with the phone tucked under his ear as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Sasuke, I'm so glad that you picked up!" Oh. It definitely wasn't the voice that he was hoping for. Ino. He had been meaning to break up with Ino for a long time now, but just couldn't find the energy too. Because a break up meant him getting hate mail from the Ino followers and his band of "fan club", Naruto told him that apparently he had one, would be stalking him over time. "Get ready. I'm outside."
"What?" Sasuke asked. Sasuke had a hard time keeping up with Ino's fast pace of talking with sleep, and with out sleep it was even harder. "Why are you outside my house?" He asked. He begged the heavens silently to give him a clever excuse so that he wouldn't have to go with Ino.
But before the god of Ino excuses could deliver one to the poor boy, the doorbell ringing several times signaled that it was too late and it was another forced Ino day. Sasuke sighed, hanging up the phone and rubbing his eyes, walking to the door and opening it. "Get in, we're going shopping." Ino took Sasuke sharply and quickly by the wrist, the boy not realizing that she was taking him and only getting the chance to shut the door behind him and not even catch his balance as she dragged him to her convertible.
Ino's car reminded Sasuke of a barbie car, or how he imagined one to look like. The purple paint job with the big deeper purple hearts on the sides was just the exterior and the furry purple interior and the what seemed like endless mixes of annoying pop music and another tube of lipgloss or girly magazine popping up wherever you looked. Sasuke sighed, slipping into the all too familiar seat.
"Shopping?" Sasuke asked as Ino began to drive off, applying lipgloss and running her fingers through her lucious blonde locks. Ino nodded excitedly, which puzzled Sasuke. She went shopping what seemed like every day, was this some kind of special excursion? Sasuke sighed, shaking his head and leaning back, trying not to fall asleep but eventually letting his body take control and send his deeply-in-need-of-sleep body into a deep slumber.
Sasuke didn't have to worry about being abandoned, and his suspicions were proved as Ino shook him awake and Sasuke waked for a second time that day with a jolt. "Let's go." Ino sighed, giving her hair a flip and rubbing her glossed lips together. Sasuke yawned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans once more and trailing behind Ino, letting her lead the way into the all-too-familiar mall.
Sasuke was definitely not looking forward to another day of holding bags and telling Ino when she looked good in something, because that really was the only appropriate response. Apparently the gods were on Sasuke's side as they entered the mall, Ino rubbing her glossed lips together again. Wow, another bad habit that she had picked up, maybe?
"Listen, Sasuke, I'm having a dire need of some coffee. I'm gonna be in Louis Vuitton, because I'm already going to be late thanks to you," Ino scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, but not before taking off her designer sunglasses and resting them ontop of her head. "So, you can go get me some, okay? You know what I like." Ino flashed her credit card, stuffing it into Sasuke's hand.
Lovely. Now Sasuke had become boyfriend slash personal shopper slash maid. How degrading, if he was being employed, he would at least like to be paid. Oh wait, if he joked with Ino about that then she might take it the wrong way and think that Sasuke wanted something that he really, did not.
"Right away, miss." He huffed under his breath, turning on his heels. So, where was the coffee place again? Taking a map from the front, he turned it a few times, scratching his head in confusion. Lovely, ask an insomniac, sleepless, on the verge of losing it guy to go find coffee in a strange place.
Alright, second level. That was a start. Sasuke lazily began walking over to the elevator, knowing that by taking his time he'd get the axe from Ino, but who gave a shit? She could wait, or she could go get it herself. Like he had made her late, wasn't it her who had called and said that she was outside? The world will never know what goes through Ino Yamanaka's head.
As he pressed the elevator button, he realized that it had already been pressed. Blushing in stupidity, he took a step back and felt someone next to him. A flash of pink, and he knew that maybe he was just imagining it. Lifting his head and looking over, just trying to tell his brain that it wasn't her. It couldn't be her.
Yes it was.
Sakura.