Author's Note:

Well, I fear that people may not like this chappie but it needs to happen

I feel it may be a disappointing chappie

But just as a little unimportant fact: this story has gotten so long that I had to create a new document so it wouldn't take so long for me to take off all the other chapters when I go to edit before posting XD with review responses and author's note this is now 173 pages WOW and has gotten 293 reviews I never even thought it'd get 100 let alone almost 300 so thank you so much you guys are amazing!

As always I own nothing

Enjoy!

Chapter20: If I Should Stay

Sasuke walked home from school. The sky was cloudy, though rain hadn't started. The raven thought about what happened with Neji, he didn't know why he felt that he needed to tell Naruto what happened, especially since nothing did really happen between them. Said raven was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't see the blonde that appeared in front of him.

"Sasuke," the blonde said, snapping said boy out of his thoughts.

"Hey Ino," he said, though continued to walk.

"Sasuke, I need to talk to you," she said, knowing the news wouldn't be one he'd want to hear.

The raven stopped walking and turned toward Ino, "What is it?"

The blonde sighed as they both felt rain drops fall onto their faces. Her eyes looked unsure, which worried him; Ino was usually the first to tell anyone and everyone.

"I saw something when I was at the park earlier…I was wondering…did you and Naruto break up?"

She saw his eyes change from the unreadable look, to one of pain at what she could have to say, "No, Why would you think that?" He paused, "Or more, what did you see?" His voice seemed to get lower and angrier at the second question.

The rain started a little harder, thought it was still light, "I saw…well…maybe it wasn't what it looked like."

She bit her bottom lip and his eyes turned cold, "Just fucking tell me!"

"I saw…Naruto…kissing that new kid…Gaara. I'm sure it probably wasn't what it looked like." She wished that she could take the conversation back as she saw Sasuke's usually unreadable eyes look like they wanted to cry. She knew his pride wouldn't let him do so, but she knew that he was hurt. She watched as Sasuke just silently walked away, he didn't need, nor want, to hear anything else.

Naruto was sitting on his couch, the TV was off, and he was debating in his head if he should tell Sasuke.

As he was in thought, he heard the door open. The blonde turned to see Sasuke by the door. His hair was wet from the rain and no longer sticking up in the duck butt-like shape it usually had.

The raven was silent as he hung his coat on the hanger by the front door and took off his shoes.

"Hey Sasuke," the blonde said with a smile.

The raven looked at him; he saw no falter in Naruto's normal attitude, "Hey."

"How was helping Kakashi?" Naruto asked casually, though he was trying to keep away from the topic of himself.

"Actually Kakashi wasn't there," Sasuke said in a distant tone.

"Then where were you?" the blonde asked, confused to where his boy friend could have been.

"Neji was there grading papers for Kakashi, so I helped him," the raven said, still not making eye contact.

"Oh, how did that go?" Naruto asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He had a feeling that Neji might have liked Sasuke and he didn't want to hear that the raven had cheated on him – though if that were the case, it would have made things a lot simpler, he couldn't be mad at him then.

"It was okay at the end, when he stopped hitting on me," Sasuke said as he walked toward their room.

"He hit on you?" Naruto asked, a little jealous.

"Yeah, he asked for a kiss, but I told him no, that I have a boy friend that I love," Sasuke said as he finally made eye contact with Naruto.

The blonde felt guilty when he looked in Sasuke's eyes, "Well that's good."

"How was your day?" Sasuke asked, though he already knew what happened. He wanted Naruto to tell him the truth; he wanted to know that he wouldn't lie to him. He knew that they could work it out if he told him the truth.

"It was okay, I just caught up with Gaara," Naruto said, which wasn't completely lying.

"How was that?" Sasuke asked, again knowing the answer.

"It was alright, we just talked," Naruto said.

"I see," Sasuke said, his voice filled with disappointment as he walked into was would soon be only Naruto's room.

The raven luckily hadn't unpacked much, and was just looking for the few things he'd worn or used since he'd arrived.

Naruto walked in to see Sasuke gathering his things, "What's going on?"

Sasuke closed his eyes at the sound of the blonde's voice, it was hard but he knew what he had to do. His head debated if what he was doing what right, but he knew it was in the end what he had to do.

"I know about what happened with Gaara," Sasuke said as he heard a roll of thunder outside.

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke continued, "Ino told me, and since she's no longer a fan girl I'm pretty sure I can trust her, unlike you apparently."

"Sasuke, I'm sorry…don't go please, we can work this out."

"I thought…forget it, I don't know that we can work this out," Sasuke said as his eyes filled with sadness.

"Why not?" Naruto asked, almost desperately.

"All I needed you to do was tell me what happened, tell me the truth…but you didn't, I don't think I can forgive that." Sasuke felt broken, he felt like the one person he could actually trust had betrayed him, and he didn't feel that he could forgive Naruto for that.

"Sasuke," Naruto said almost pleadingly as he moved closer to the raven.

Said boy took a step back, his hair was still wet from the rain and sticking to his face, his eyes were red from the tears he was crying, and he looked almost like a wounded, wet puppy.

"Please, don't, this is hard enough as is," Sasuke said, not daring to look Naruto in the eyes as his head once again debated if he was doing the right thing.

Naruto reached out to touch Sasuke, but Sasuke wouldn't let him, he couldn't let him.

"Please, you know we can work this out," Naruto said once again as he hoped to change the raven's mind.

"You know, you were the one person I didn't think would hurt me," Sasuke said, taking Naruto by surprise. "You were the one person I'd finally let my guard down around." Naruto almost wished that the raven would stop; it hurt too much to hear him talk like he was. "You were the one that got me out of Orochimaru's house. You were the one that I trusted." Sasuke seemed to be getting angrier by the second, but Naruto wasn't sure who it was towards, him or himself – it was almost as if Sasuke was telling himself never to do it again, never to trust again, and Naruto hated that he caused that. "You were the one I gave myself to willingly. You were the one that had taken me and showed me something inside myself that I'd never felt with someone." The raven paused and looked at the ground. "You're the one that betrayed me. And because of that, I can't stay." (1)

"Sasuke, I'm sorry, it's not like it meant something! I felt like shit when I kissed him, you just don't understand! (2) And I didn't tell you because I knew you would be mad. I didn't want to risk our relationship because I opened my mouth and told you about a kiss that meant nothing to me!"

Sasuke's tone was low and angry as he said, "If it meant nothing, then it wouldn't have mattered. I would have been fine with it. Accidents happen, but in relationships you tell the other person."

"What would you have done if you were in my shoes?"

"I don't have to worry about that, I would never kiss another guy when I'm already in a different relationship."

"Don't act all high and mighty! What about me and you when you were with Karin?" Naruto asked, accusingly.

"I was never in love with Karin," Sasuke said as he looked up at Naruto.

"Why are you going to leave if you love me?" Naruto asked as a tear trickled down his cheek.

Sasuke paused, Naruto knew he had almost changed his mind, but the sadness in his eyes came back. "Because," Sasuke started, pausing to take a deep breath. "I was broken and you started to put me back together, only to shatter me again, I don't need another person in my life that's going to shatter me."

Naruto fell silent, he had just been classed with Itachi and Orochimaru, and he had definitely hurt the raven.

The raven packed the rest of his things and took one last look at the blonde. The guy he loved so much, but couldn't let in because of past experiences. He walked out the door, he couldn't say goodbye, and he couldn't talk, leaving hurt enough to begin with, let alone talking while doing so.

Naruto watched the raven leave, there was nothing more that he could say. There were tears on both of their faces, there was nothing spoken, and they were both hurt. The rain out side just continued to pour down and the thunder and lightening just kept rolling.

Sasuke walked to the park, things in hand. He found shelter under a rather large tree. He didn't know who to call. He thought about going back to Orochimaru, but who knew what would happen then.

He pulled out his phone, he scrolled through the names. There was Suigetsu, but he and Juugo hung out more with Karin than him. He couldn't call Karin, it'd just be awkward. He couldn't call Sakura, she would get the wrong idea and she was a not someone he'd want to stay with. That's when he came across the newest number in his phone, Neji.

He reluctantly pressed call and put the phone to his ear. It rang three times before he heard the other's voice.

"Hello?"

He recognized Neji's voice and said, "Hey Neji, its Sasuke."

The brunette could hear the other's sad voice, and he was worried, "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"Well, this might seem a bit much to ask," Sasuke said as his voice was sounding weak, mostly from all the crying.

"What happened, what's going on?"

"Me and Naruto broke up…I don't really have a place to stay," Sasuke said, Neji knew this would be his time to be Sasuke's "hero."

"Where are you?"

"At the park, by the big tree," Sasuke said. Everyone knew which tree was "the big tree." It was the largest tree in the park, and gave plenty of shade on a hot summer day or shelter on a rainy one.

"I'll be right there."

"Are you sure…I mean you don't have to," Sasuke said, for once sounding unsure, Neji was liking this Sasuke, it was the uke side of him that he wanted to see.

"I know, I want to," Neji said.

Within a half an hour, Neji picked Sasuke up and had him back to his place. It was large, though simple. The house was quiet and though Neji had plenty of family, no one seemed to be around, or if they were they didn't make any noise.

The walls where white, the furniture was beige, and everything looked nice. It was quite the opposite of Naruto's place, then again so was Neji quite the opposite of Naruto.

"Nice house," Sasuke said, almost in an inaudible whisper.

"Thanks," Neji smirked.

Sasuke followed Neji down a hallway as the older boy talked, "You can sleep in one of the guest bedrooms, the shower is just across the hall and I'm just next door. The kitchen is around the corner to the left, feel free to help yourself."

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm sure you probably want to take a shower since you've been out in the rain?"

Sasuke again just nodded.

"The towels are under the sink, I'll be in my room so if you have any questions or just want to hang out, then you can come right in."

Neji walked to his room and Sasuke put his things in the guest bedroom. He grabbed some dry clothes and headed to the shower.

Everything felt different to the raven. There was no longer going to be a warm body against his at night. There was none of Naruto's scent. There was just a large feeling of emptiness, and he'd do anything to fill that void.

After Sasuke took a shower, he walked over to Neji's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard from inside the room.

"Neji?" Sasuke said as he stood in the doorway, his hair still wet from the shower and still looking and feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"Yes?" he asked as he tried his hardest not to pounce the raven.

"Well…I just…I don't really want to be alone right now," Sasuke said, not making eye contact with Neji.

In Neji's head there was a little dance going and a jump for joy, "You can stay with me."

"Thanks," Sasuke said as he walked over to the brunette, whom was watching TV.

They were watch a rather sucky movie, but Neji didn't care, he had the raven's head resting on his shoulder as they laid there. He knew that he probably shouldn't make a move already, but the raven was just too tempting, and too damn vulnerable.

The brunette played with the raven's hair, just to test out how he'd react. He didn't seem to mind; in fact it seemed to relax him. 'Screw it!'

Neji turned his head toward Sasuke and lightly kissed the raven on the lips. The raven wanted someone, he wanted to feel like someone wanted him, like he wouldn't be betrayed, this mad for a bad combination.

The kiss deepened and Sasuke wrapped his arms around the brunette. He wasn't thinking about the one he was kissing though, he only thought about a certain blonde.

A hand snaked up his shirt and Sasuke jumped a little at the contact, creating a slight friction. He still thought of Naruto.

Long brown hair fell onto the side of his face and he knew it wasn't Naruto. He pushed the brunette that was by the on top of him, off.

"I can't do this," Sasuke said as he sat back up. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried anything."

Sasuke nodded, "I'm just going to go back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow."

Neji mentally cursed himself. He knew he'd been foolish to try so fast. He also knew that there was a certain blonde that he had to have a conversation with.

Neji stood at Naruto's apartment door; he knocked and waited for the blonde to answer. The rain disappeared; all that was left was distant thunder and lightening signaling how far away the storm was.

The blonde opened the door and a glaring contest seemed to be started immediately.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked, laced with venom.

"Actually, we need to talk," Neji said with his glare still present.

Naruto moved aside to let him in but Neji said, "Don't bother, I just came to say one thing."

"Then say it," Naruto growled out.

"Stay away from Sasuke," he ordered.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

"He was a wreck when he called me; I think you've done enough damage."

"He called YOU?"

Naruto felt his heart break, "Yes, but now I need him to get over you, so stay away."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

Neji just smirked, "He's staying with me, who do you think he likes more right now?"

"He loves me," Naruto said.

"You broke his heart!"

"He refused to kiss you!" Naruto said with a shove.

Neji shoved back, "Really because he kissed me tonight."

Naruto's face fell, "He kissed you only a few hours after our fight?"

"You kissed someone else before, but since that caused it, I'm sure you already know that."

"He told you what happened?" Naruto asked, sounding defeated.

Neji just smirked, "Looks like you've been replaced, and quickly too."

"I'll win him back," Naruto said with unsure confidence.

"You wish," Neji said as he walked away, into the night.

Naruto watched him leave, he knew he had to win Sasuke back; he wouldn't lose him over some kiss. Naruto was sure that Sasuke was sad, but he didn't realize it'd make him kiss Neji. Naruto knew Sasuke wasn't the kind of guy to kiss someone on the first day of talking, unless there was another factor. 'What if he does replace me? We kissed because of alcohol first. They kissed because loneliness?'

'Why are you doubting yourself?'

'Not now! It's your fault this all happened!'

'And I'm a part of you, so it's your fault.'

'Shut up!'

'Look kit, he probably kissed him because he was vulnerable, and you never know who started it. Just go talk to him tomorrow.'

'Right! That's what I'll do!'

Naruto was determined, he wouldn't let Sasuke get away from him, and he wouldn't lose his most precious person. He warmed the coldest heart once, now he just had to reignite the flame.

TBC…

Please REVIEW!

Song of inspiration: If I Should Stay by Alexz Johnson.

Another chappie down, eight more to go…and let me tell you there will be a lot of time skipping coming up so sorry if you don't like that…and there will be a lot happening soon to wrap it all up.

(1) well Sasuke may seem kinda out of character but really he is a lot in my story…but the whole saying everything part doesn't really seem in character don't comment about it cause I don't care. Emotional times are a point of weakness for everyone and when you have something you've been holding in, in times of weakness it will come out.

(2) Remember Naruto has not told Sasuke about Kyuubi yet

Review response: oh btw I was wondering let me know if you guys want me to continue my review response like this or just do review reply that sends to email, either way I'll be cool with it so just in your review tell me which

notperfectXbutXhonestcrtic: sorry you feel that way….In a way I want to write other things and I can't start another story so I am trying to get this one done and I am trying to get all unanswered questions answered which is why I'm sorry that you probably won't like what's coming up with a lot of time skips and what not but that's because if I went slow it might be really boring and I like drama and so sorry if it's not your cup of tea how I progress with this story

lilly love: yep poor Sasuke – sigh – thanks for reading!

mochiusagi: hehe you probably won't be happy with this chappie

Yuuseki: Sorry to disappoint you by breaking them up -.-

kitty-cat-666: thanks!

frixiewulf13: lol thanks

Obsession No Es Amor: to tell the truth all these songs are actually songs I listen to with maybe one that was recommended so they all come from my likings in music :D thanks for reading

yaoirulz especially SasUKE: thanks…

brightgreenskribbles: he obviously didn't lol but I agree Sasuke does belong to Naruto lol

The Yaoi Pimpette: lmao not much is worse than someone picking Sakura over them XD well maybe he will hehe

SadisticYaoiFanSpaz: thanks!

SakuraMinamino: lol xD yeah Naruto wasn't too bright there huh? Eh I don't think I'd ever get cocky about my writing lol there's no inner Yuki in me XD thanks for reading!

gingersnapkitty: as long as you don't want to hurt me you can want to hurt the characters as much as you please xD aw don't hurt your brothers lol

shirilyle: it wasn't good when he found out, huh?

cadywise: eh this chappie may be a disappointment and for that I'm sorry…thanks for reading! Glad you like the story so much xD

Wilfred Humbug: lol thanks for reading!