Sasuke sent me a text today. I guess I should probably feel lucky, after all he hardly ever bothers to contact me, but I don't; instead I feel incredibly pissed off. You see, apparently Sasuke's trip is going to take a few days longer than he first anticipated and he couldn't even be bothered to talk to me directly about it! Of course I shouldn't be surprised, I mean it happens all the time and every time he decides to go on one of these 'work' trips.
Something more important always comes up, something that's more important than me.
I stared into the broken glass mirror of the public restroom as I desperately tried to fix my makeup; which had been turned into a goopy river thanks to all my angry tears. Sighing, I wiped it all off with a tissue, hoping that my red eyes wouldn't be too much of a give away when I met up later with Naruto.
He called me, earlier today, something that seems to have become a habit of his; asking me if I wanted to come over to his place. It had seemed like a bad idea at first considering how he's a guy and I'm not; so I'd refused but after receiving Sasuke's pathetic little message; I'd been more than eager to give Naruto a visit. He's a nice guy and right now I definitely need some cheering up.
Once I'd arrived at Naruto's building I'd found it very difficult to actually get inside. The buzzer wasn't working- causing me to erupt into a volley of curses- meaning that I had to wait for about half an hour for someone from inside to exit the building. A broken lift and, what felt like, a million steps later, I finally found myself outside of his front door.
After a few violent knocks on the door from me, Naruto appeared, looking tired but pleased to see me.
"Sakura-chan" he yawned as he glanced at his watch which only read half past seven "You took so long, I was afraid you weren't going to come" he murmured sleepily, stepping aside to let me in.
"Well the buzzer wasn't working, so it took me a while to get in" I muttered, deciding not to mention my long detour in the bathroom.
"Oops, sorry about that" he said as he grabbed a can of cola from his fridge-which was located in his living room funnily enough, "I meant to come down there and get you but I-"
"But you forgot" I said, stating the obvious as I finished his sentence.
For a while I didn't say anything as I looked around Naruto's small, dingy apartment; soaking in the nostalgia.
His apartment was a mess. Empty ramen cups were scattered across the floor, items of clothing leaving a trail towards, the closed, door of his bedroom. Empty cups and bowls seemed to dominate the floor space, making it difficult to know where to step.
He looked up from his seat on his sofa; I could already see the stuffing poking out in several places.
"Naruto, you're place is a tip" I exclaimed, unable to understand how he could let the place get into such a state.
"Well if it bothers you so much I wouldn't mind if you cleaned it up for me Sakura-chan" he grinned cheekily from his position on the sofa.
I frowned grumpily, kicking off my shoes before joining him on the sofa.
"So I guess the way I decorate isn't exactly what you're used to, huh, Sakura-chan?" he asked, amused. It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling to be treated as though I was from some higher class.
"Please, you could at least make sure to keep the place tidy" I resorted, only to have Naruto reply with a tired smile.
"I guess I should try to put in a little more effort" he said, leaning his arms against the back of his head as he fell back into the sofa.
Turning his head in my direction, he asked "So are you okay Sakura"
I blinked as I struggled to find the right answer, so instead I replied slyly "What about you Naruto? Are you ok?"
He stared at me stiffly for a few moments, not seeming to quite get the question "Sakura-chan" he said smiling "I didn't know you cared"
I threw a flea-bitten cushion at him. Sometimes this guy joked around a little too much.
An enthusiastic knock on the door interrupted the angry silence.
Naruto got up quickly, grumbling something about 'perfect timing'
"Hello Naruto" came the sound of a noisy stranger "A girl in the hallway gave me her number! It wasn't her real number but it's still progress! So I thought I'd come over here with a few drinks to celebrate!" his unlawfully cheerful voice shouted, as he sounded unjustifiably happy.
"What, really? That's great Lee!" Naruto surprised me as he replied with rivalling enthusiasm "You really are making progress" he said, somehow managing to sound sincere without being patronising.
"So what about you Naruto? How are you and-" but I didn't hear anymore, making me guess that Naruto had put his hand over his friends mouth.
"Sorry Lee" he said, after a moment of quiet "but you can't come over right now, I have someone else with me"
"Well if it's Shikamaru or Negi then they can just join in, I bought plenty of booze with me"
Hearing the word 'booze' coming out of this Lee person's mouth forced be to stifle a giggle, the word didn't quite seem to fit with the person's overall voice and attitude.
"I just don't think that she'd want a drink with you" he whispered, unfortunately still loud enough for me to hear "she seems more like a fancy wine drinker than a person who'd like beer"
"Um actually" I said, as I clambered over the sofa so that I could speak to them face to face "today I really wouldn't mind jus drinkin some booze" I smiled, surprising Naruto, as I dropped my phoney accent at the end of the sentence.
His friend, however, seemed delighted too see me. His bulbous eyes shining brightly as he took a hold of my hand "It is a pleasure to meet you Sakura Haruno" he said; the mention of the surname Haruno, causing me flinch, "My name is Rock Lee" he grinned, with a creepy wink.
"Um, hi…" my eyes glancing briefly at the two six packs of beers in his hand.
Naruto, seeming to have realised that I didn't care whether this Lee guy was here or not, reluctantly stepped aside so that his friend could come through "but you cant stay for long"
Lee promptly hopped over the couch, turned on the TV to an old re-run of Buffy, and cracked open a can of beer.
Naruto whispered next to me, almost seeming to be pleading with me "You know he doesn't have to stay, I can kick him out if you want me too"
"No way" I replied briskly, my eyes focused on the can in Lee's hand, "This guy looks like he could be fun" I giggled, abandoning Naruto to take a seat next to Lee.
"So Lee, what do you do for a living?" I asked as I forced a smile.
Lee tossed me a can of beer before even starting, "I work for the wonderful Gai Sensei down at the dojo near the supermarket"
"Sensei?" I wondered allowed.
"Oh, he's the brilliant Shishou of the dojo" he announced proudly, not seeming to understand that I was questioning is use of Japanese.
"So are you going to start calling me Sakura-chan too?" I whispered, so that the sulking Naruto, who was silently sipping some beer on a beanie bag on the floor, couldn't hear me.
"Why would I do that Sakura-chan?" he asked, grinning to himself; seeming to think he'd made a great joke.
"No reason" I muttered, deciding to drop the subject as I focused my eyes on the small TV screen.
"So how long have you two known each other?" I asked as I watched Buffy turn another vampire into dust.
"About three weeks, right Naruto?" he asked, glancing at Naruto.
"Yeah, three weeks" he replied gruffly, before going back to stare at the TV.
"That's not very long," I frowned; as I thought about how easily the two had been talking to one another earlier.
"Yeah but I've known you for even less than that Sakura-chan" his usual jovial tone, finally present again in his voice.
"I guess we have," I contemplated as I realised it had been a lot shorter than I'd thought.
For a while we just watched the hot slayer in action; it was one of the later seasons, meaning that the gorgeous Angel was no where to be seen.
"Hey guys, when do you think the show first started going downhill? Because I think it was around the time Angel left the show"
Naruto looked at me with a funny expression on his face but didn't venture to join the conversation.
"What up with him?" I asked, with a giggle.
"He probably thinks you don't like blonds now" Lee joked, "he was probably hoping you were more the Spike type" he laughed, making me join in with him in a fit of giggles.
"Nooo waaay" I squealed. "He was probably just angry that I was mean to the show, like he was with his Raaamen" I joked, putting a friendly arm over Lee's shoulder as the ending credits began to roll.
Naruto just continued to watch the TV; though he could probably hear every word we were saying.
"No, I'm right Sakura-chan, his favourite character is-" but I didn't get to hear the name of Naruto's favourite character because Naruto had somehow managed to silence his talkative friend with a death glare.
Pulling myself off of the sofa, I crawled onto the beanie bag to sit next to Naruto.
"So who is your favourite character Naruto?" I grinned as I watched him squirm.
"No one, Sakura-chan, I like them all"
"Come on, you must have a favourite!" I demanded playfully.
"I don't" he insisted, though he looked slightly flustered.
"Come on; is it the spunky Buffy or the sexy faith?" I asked with a giggle, grabbing a hold of his hands so that he'd give me some attention- while in the very depths of my mind I vaguely wondered if I could possibly be a little drunk.
"Sakura-chan, I don't like either of them, ok?" he said, the expression on his face telling me that he really wished his hands were free for a face palm or whatever you call it.
"That can't be right" I muttered as I turned to Lee for confirmation "You wouldn't lie to me, would you Lee?"
"Of course not Sakura-chan, I could never lie to a pretty girl like you" he said, with a thumbs up and a wink.
He still refused to say anything, but I could see, from the small smile that was tugging at his face, that he was starting to give in to me.
"Come on Naruto!" I pleaded, "I'll tell you who my favourite is if you tell me yours"
"But you already told me who your favourite was!" he exclaimed. "What would be the point in that?"
"Because then you could find out what kind of guys I like" I whispered, leaning in closer to his face.
"Ok Sakura, I you can stop messing with me now" he said nervously as he tried to pull away from me; "the jokes gone far enough, hasn't it Sakura-chan?"
"Come on Na-ru-to, just because I like the cool, brooding type like Sasuke, doesn't mean I don't like to indulge in the fiery, sexy, expressive type every once in a while" I smiled widely, attempting to drape my arms over him but failing because of his lack of compliance.
"Sakura-chan, who is this Sasuke guy?" he asked, his eyes suddenly fierce.
"He's my husband" I stated simply, wondering what his problem was.
"Um, okay Sakura-chan" he murmured soothingly in a tone that said he didn't believe me. "Right, well I think it's about time that I take you home now Sakura-chan"
I looked around the room, searching for Lee "But what about Lee?"
Naruto helped me get back up on the my feet "He left a while back, he has work tomorrow so he had to go and I think you should goo too"
"Do I have too Naruto? I don't like it at home when Sasuke's not around" I complained childishly.
"You know your Sasuke, probably wouldn't like this Sakura" Naruto said seriously as we sat down on the floor together, leaning against the wall.
"Screw Sasuke" I muttered angrily, again attempting to lean on Naruto, who pushed me off of himself.
He yawned before glancing at me again "You'd probably feel differently if you weren't so drunk"
"I don't agree" I said; anger resurfacing from earlier that day. "Besides, I'm not drunk"
"You so are" he grinned, punching my arm playfully.
"Maybe just a little bit" I admitted, wondering if maybe that was the reason my head felt so misty. I guess Tsunade was right... I really can't handle alcohol.
"Sakura… I really can't let you stay here" he muttered softly; the voice of reason.
I pulled my knees into myself and didn't say anything; thoughts of Tsunade had sent my head reeling again.
Naruto then got up, without warning, heading into his own room-maybe that means I can stay?
But he came back only a few moments later, a blanket in hand, "here you go" he said, handing it to me, before sitting down next to me again.
"About the bastard-" but he interrupted me before I could explain.
"Maybe we should wait till the morning, hey Sakura-chan?" he said, his smile reassuring me, "You wouldn't want to say anything you don't want to, right?"
I wondered about that, nothing that I'd said tonight has been too bad, right? As I thought about this I realised that my brain was fogging over as I began to tire.
It can't be that late? Can it? I asked myself as I watched the clock on the wall tick to 1am. Leaning on Naruto's shoulder, I fell asleep for a short time; only to wake up later to vomit up my stupidity.
It was barely light when I woke up again, finding, to my surprise, that I was strangling myself with Naruto's bed covers. He must have carried me there while I was sleeping.
In a way I sort of felt dignified, pulling myself out of the bed with clothes on that still smelt like vomit-I don't think I've ever found myself leaving a guys bed fully clothed before- I guess that say a lot about me, doesn't it? I guess I was lucky it had been Naruto and not someone like Lee.
Tired, and with a head hurting way more than it should have been for a few cans of beer, I stumbled out of the bedroom; nearly killing myself as I manoeuvred around a pile of debris.
I could see Naruto sleeping on the sofa, drool hanging out of the corner of his mouth; an alarm, thrown haphazardly, on the floor, telling me he'd be waking up in twenty minutes.
Should I wait for him to wake up so I can thank him? Or should I leave now to save any awkward moments for later?
In the end my aching head decided for me, calling for me to chicken out.
The details of what I'd said to Naruto last night were hazy but I'm sure I mentioned something about Sasuke, among other things that are too stupid to even think about.
Grabbing my handbag, that had been discarded on the floor, I headed to the bathroom; hoping to be able to sort out my appearance-so as not to be embarrassed on the streets.
After doing he best I could, I took a look at my mobile. There were are few annoying messages from Ino (as always) as well as two missed calls and a text from Sasuke…
They're letting me off early, I hope you didn't worry.
I'll be back by 10am.
The message was just like Sasuke, straight to the point, and, as always, he'd somehow managed to make me feel like the worst person on earth.
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A/N: Well that was probably the longest chapter I've ever written and one of the worst as well… So, yay for broken records? Anyway sorry for taking so long with this chapter, and yeah, everyone was madly OC in this chapter ^^
If you haven't gotten bored with this yet then please comment if you have the time-I'd really appreciate it.
P.S I blame the weirdness of the chapter on the movie Crash, which motivated me to get working on this again (as well as bloody Monday for distraction)