Presenting...Concrete Boy, Chapter 10! Please enjoy. ;)
Weeks passed, much the same. Wounds healed, new ones were made, and Naruto lived day in and day out, in pain. His mother was not beaten again, as Naruto was extremely vigilant. He came home on time, and even early if he could. He made sure to keep his father's attention on him and not the woman of the house. He was careful not to be late for school and had kept away from his rival as much as possible, though he did not see much of the Uchiha.
The bruises that his father left on him were standard, keeping below his neck. Bruising on the face happened rarely and Naruto was glad for that. Now, as he walked towards school on a Wednesday six weeks later, Naruto did not have to hide his face with a hood, and instead wore a hat to keep his ears warm from the frigid air. He hid his limp with little trouble and no longer felt a stabbing pain in his chest. Naruto allowed himself a faint smile as he walked down the sidewalk. As he passed Victor, he found his eyes searching for a familiar black vehicle. When he did not see it, he let out a sigh of relief. Even though Sasuke had not shown up to pick him up since that day six weeks ago, Naruto kept his guard up and kept an eye out for the sleek car.
Glancing at the dreary sky with a shiver, Naruto shoved cold hands into his sweatshirt pocket. The Uchiha had not even spared him a glance since that day at the store. The other boy had been avoiding him like the plague and it was beginning to bother him. Naruto sighed. Who was he kidding? He missed the attention he got from the ice prick. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he knew it was the truth. Sasuke was a rival, but a valued one. Naruto shook his head with a slightly amused smirk on his lips. The idea of Naruto Uzumaki missing Sasuke Uchiha and valuing him was laughable, and yet, it rang true in his mind. Thankfully, the school came into view and distracted him from his thoughts of the raven. He hurried to the gates and waved at Iruka-sensei, a brilliant grin stretching his features.
He settled into a chair and opened his book to page 340, disappearing momentarily into the world inside the words. Once other students started to file in, Naruto returned to the present world and immersed himself into conversation with Kiba, who was complaining about his older sister. Naruto felt eyes on him, but when he turned to glare at the source of the gaze, the owner of the onyx eyes had burrowed his nose in a notebook. Naruto narrowed his eyes and then turned back to his friend. The Uchiha may have avoided him for six weeks, but he had been staring at him more frequently and with increasing intensity. It was unnerving and Naruto's friends were starting to take notice of the raven's creepy staring.
Kiba insisted to make it the topic of the lunch table, much to Naruto's chagrin. Unfortunately for his sanity, Lee, Sakura, TenTen, and Ino jumped on the 'Sasuke's stalking Naruto' bandwagon. Naruto tried desperately to get Shikamaru or Choji to help him, but the lazy pineapple was busy trying to take a nap and Choji was too absorbed in his chips to care. Things continued in much the same manner till the end of school. Sasuke stared at him through each class they shared, which was, depressingly enough, most of them. He was attacked in the hallway by his circle of friends and pestered once again about Sasuke and his stalking. Only when last period ended did they stop trying to get information about any changes between the two of them.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he exited the school building. He had declined an invitation to go to an arcade with his friends, not wanting to be late getting home. He knew that Shikamaru could sense something was up, as he had avoided hanging out with them after school lately. Sometimes that guy is so smart, it scares me. Running a hand through his golden hair, Naruto slipped through the gates and went on his way down the sidewalk. He had not been late in six weeks and the beatings were easier to deal with now that his mind was at peace about his mother. Pain was nothing, in the long run, if it protected her. She was the most important thing in his life and if he had to suffer to keep her safe, he would.
Putting his hat on his head, covering his chilled ears, Naruto concentrated on making his way home. He smiled at the old woman who walked past him and greeted her kindly, though there was a sad tinge behind her returned smile. It was always that way and it confused him. It was almost as if she knew what he was hiding. He shook his head slightly once he was past her; there was no way she could know. As he approached hell, Naruto took a deep breath and paused for a moment. Today was Friday, and though it had started out well, he had a gut feeling that today...today something terrible would happen. He swallowed hard and advanced up the sidewalk, quickly ascending the front steps. He glanced at his neighbors' houses and noticed that no one was home. Apparently today is the day to go out. He thought, thinking back to school where he had overheard many students talking about going out after school, including his own friends.
Naruto wondered why things were different today while he limped up the staircase and entered his room. His gaze fell on his calendar as he shut the door of his bedroom. Realization hit him and he groaned softly. It was Thanksgiving this weekend; that explained everyone wanting to go out after school. The parents were doing last-minute shopping and the children were preparing for the long weekend with their family by messing around with their friends.
He slumped against his door with a sigh. Why hadn't someone mentioned it? Normally, Sakura and Ino couldn't shut up about all the baking that needed to be done and Kiba would be complaining about his extended family coming over. Naruto shut his eyes sadly, remembering the few precious Thanksgivings he had with friendly families. It had been a very long time since he had an actual Thanksgiving dinner with laughter and a happy family gathering. Takeshi drank more on holidays and would not let his wife splurge on special meals, so any holidays or special days were ignored in the Nakamura household. Naruto settled on the ground and pulled his knees against his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He shut his eyes and tried to calm his racing heart. More drinking meant an angrier Takeshi. Holidays were a stressful time at work for the man and that meant he was going to be an enraged demon. He bit his lip and took deep breaths, knowing that tonight was going to be horrible. He shuddered as he remembered what happened on the last major holiday.
A knock at the front door snapped him out of his thoughts and he bolted upright, thinking for a moment that his father was home. When the knock came again, Naruto relaxed and hurried out of his room, heading downstairs. His father, if he needed to knock, only knocked once and if the door was not answered quickly, all hell broke loose. As he approached the door, Naruto hide his limp. Opening the door, Naruto grinned before he took in who was standing on the step, "Hel..." He stopped before he got the entire greeting out and an eyebrow rose as he took in raven hair and onyx eyes. "Wha...? Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Naruto said, trying not to appear nervous at the sight of the Uchiha. It was almost time for his father to come home and if the man saw someone talking with Naruto, it would put him in a worse mood than he already was going to be in.
"Looking for you." Naruto stared at the raven incredulously. "Let me in, dobe." Naruto shook his head, "I'm sorry, I can't. You should go home, Sasuke. It's almost Thanksgiving." There was a long, uncomfortable pause and Naruto tried to shut the door, but Sasuke put his foot in the way. "That's why I'm here, usurantonkachi." The sentence caused him to pause for a moment, but he decided to focus on the insult. Naruto to bristle inwardly, but he only rolled his eyes and kicked at Sasuke's foot, but the raven did not remove the appendage. "I don't care, just get out of here!" He replied, wanting the Uchiha to leave before his father came home or his mother realized there was someone at the front door.
"Naruto, dear, who is at the door?" Naruto groaned, too late. His mother came out of the kitchen and then smiled sweetly at the raven. Naruto knew his mother was not going to let Sasuke go unless the boy at least introduced himself, so he opened the door and stood aside, motioning for Sasuke to enter. The raven stepped swiftly inside the enclosure and stared at Naruto with a blank expression. "Mother, this is Sasuke."
The woman's eyebrows raised and she smiled knowingly. "Well, hello, Sasuke. You can call me Mika." Sasuke inclined his head politely, flicking his eyes towards the brown-haired woman, who was studying him. He returned his gaze to Naruto, who swallowed hard. Mika noticed Naruto's tense behavior and spoke as if offering a simple piece of information, "Your father called, he will be late for dinner. Go ahead and take Sasuke up to your room."
Naruto felt a weight lift from his shoulders at his mother's words and he smiled brightly. "You heard my mother, come on, I'll show you the grand and glorious realm of Naruto Uzumaki himself." He grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and dragged the raven up the steps. He opened his door with a flourish and then sat on his bed after shutting the door behind them. Sasuke looked around the room and onyx eyes settled for a moment on a black trash bag in the corner. Naruto saw this, but ignored it, hoping to keep the Uchiha's attention away from it.
"So...Why exactly were you looking for me?" He questioned, swinging his legs slightly. Sasuke stared at him for a long moment before replying. "My mother insisted that I invite you and your parents over for dinner tomorrow." Naruto paled considerably and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, can't. My father likes to keep family close around the holiday times. Tell your mom thank you for me." He smiled faintly.
Wanting to change the subject quickly, Naruto got to his feet, "I'll be right back. Nature is calling!" He laughed at the eye roll he received and he exited the room, hurrying into the bathroom. He shut the door and sighed. The idea of taking his father to the Uchiha's home was terrifying. The man acted welcoming and kind around strangers, but Naruto did not want any one meeting the man unless they had to. The less they knew about his family, the better. The call of nature reminded him that he actually had to use the bathroom. After he finished his business, Naruto opened the door slowly, not wanting to return to his room. He knew the raven would have questions for him.
After taking a moment to mentally prepare himself, he returned to his bedroom. Naruto opened the door to find Sasuke sitting on his bed with a serious expression on his face. Naruto wondered why the Uchiha was staring at him with raging emotions swirling in his eyes. Then he lowered his cerulean gaze to the pale hands and his heart dropped. There clutched in Sasuke's hands was a torn and bloody shirt. At the boy's feet sat the black trash bag that should have been in the corner of his room. His gut churned and his eyes widened as he searched the other boy's face. What was he going to do? Had he realized what was going on? He desperately pleaded in his mind and stared back at the raven. Do not connect the dots.
Voila! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are waiting for the next. :) Please review. I thank you all again for your continued support.