CHAPTER 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Fairy Tail. They belong to their respective owner.

A/N: Thank you to fellow readers, old and new especially king, naruto x fairy tail, annarochev, nikkitheprincess, fictionlover1993, fizirazak for reviewing the previous chapter and also to those who favorite/follow this story. I really appreciate it.

And sorry in advance for any mistake.

.

.

Erza watched as Sasuke ate the porridge in front of him with fervor. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he was a starving man who had not eaten anything for days. She stared at her own bowl. It was just a simple rice porridge with shredded chicken. It didn't even look appetizing to her but she was not sure about the taste. She just thrown away all the ingredients in a pot and let it cooked itself before she served it to her guest.

"You need to slow down Sasuke. You might choke yourself," she advised him. The chance to choke on rice porridge was slim but she didn't want to take any chances. She didn't want his death on her conscience.

"I can't help it, it's really good," he said.

"No way," she silently protested, not believing what he said. So without further ado, she picked up a spoon and scooped some of it before she placed it in her mouth. She tasted the porridge and she had to agree with him, it was good. She felt proud with herself for her small accomplishment. She never made porridge before so for it to turn out okay was an achievement.

They both finished eating some time later, and Erza poured the freshly brewed green tea for the both of them. She took a peek at Sasuke and noticed that some color had return to his face. She was glad that he was looking a little better than he was when he first arrived.

"Here, drink this," Erza said as she placed a cup of green tea in front of him.

"Thanks," he said appreciatively at her. "So did anything interesting happen today at school?" He asked.

"Not really," she said with a shrug. She had a talk with Naruto, but she didn't think he categorized that as interesting. She had a good guess that Sasuke also knew about what had happened a year ago. She had a feeling he would surely questioned her for more details if she told him about her brief talk with Naruto, and she was not in the mood to broach that subject again. So being quiet for now was the best course of action.

"It's getting late, Sasuke. You should ask someone to come and pick you up," she suggested, looking at the clock in the living room. It was already 7 pm.

"No need to call anyone, I'll drive," he protested with an annoyed face.

"You can't drive when you are sick," she argued.

"I told you I'm a competent driver and I feel a lot better now."

She didn't know why he was being stubborn about it. It was dangerous and irresponsible of him to drive when he was sick like this. Erza thought he was being selfish and she was suddenly felt very angry at that as it brought a painful memory upon her.

She felt the tears start to gather in her eyes. She abruptly stood up from her seat making the chair clattered on the floor. "If you don't care for your life, at least think about other innocent people that might be involved in case you get into an accident. And don't tell me that it won't happen because it does. My parents were six feet under now. There's the proof of that," she said heatedly.

She heard the gasped coming from his direction and she instantly regretted for blurting out that piece of information. She didn't mean to reveal the information to him but she couldn't stop herself. It was hard for her when her parents died. So she didn't want anyone to suffer from the same situation if she could help it.

As she felt she could no longer held the tears from falling, she quickly walked away from him and went to her bedroom, slamming the door with a loud bang before she crashed onto her bed, berating herself for letting her emotion ruled her.

"Idiot," she scolded herself for acting out of control. She willed herself to stop crying but the tears kept falling and falling down her cheeks, not following her own command.

.

.

Sasuke was frozen to his seat when he heard the revelation. No wonder she was so adamant that he shouldn't drive in his condition. Her parents died in an accident involving an irresponsible driver. He should have known that something was wrong when she looked a bit upset and angry when he insisted that he'd drive himself.

He saw the tears gathering in her eyes and he berated himself for being so insensitive.

Without any warning, she turned away from him and took quick steps to her bedroom leaving him rooted on his feet. He wanted to stop her and apologize but he was too shock over the details. He winced when he heard the loud bang as she slammed the door closed with too much force the vibration could be felt through the floor.

"Damn," he cursed himself. He wasn't sure if he could set things right with the red head. The topic of her parent's death must be hard for her. But, it would be a shame if he didn't try at all.

With a defeated sigh, he went to her door and knock on it. "Erza, I'm sorry," he apologized as he leaned his head against the door. He tried to open the door but he was not shocked to find the door locked. "Erza please, can you open the door? I'm sorry okay," he pleaded, hoping that she would forgive him.

He didn't hear anything from the inside of her room so he was a bit worry about her. He was at lost on what to do. He was not good in this kind of things and he didn't know how to console her without opening an old wound. He hated to see her cry and he hated himself even more for being the cause for her tears.

.

.

Erza lay on her bed staring at nothing. It was a while since Sasuke pounded on her door and everything was quiet now. She didn't think that she could face him after her little embarrassing outburst from earlier.

Thinking that he might have gone home already, Erza got up from her bed and walked out of the room. It was dark, so she switched on the light to the living room and she was shocked to see his form lying on her couch, sleeping.

She tentatively walked towards him. He was clearly cold from the way he huddled his form close. He was already sick, being in the cold like this was surely not helping and would only worsen his condition. Albeit that it was not her fault, she couldn't help but feel terrible for being such a bad friend. With a silent step, she went back to her room to retrieve a blanket and she draped it over his form when she returned.

Worried for his well being, Erza crouched beside him and slowly, she reached a hand to check on him.

.

.

Sasuke didn't realize that he had fallen asleep while waiting for Erza to come out of her room. He didn't open his eyes but he was already awaken from his slumber when he felt something soft and warm covered his slightly cold body. He knew it was Erza since they were alone in her house so he relaxed his posture hoping to go back to sleep for a while longer since he felt so tired. The fever and the emotional event in the late evening were draining him of his energy.

He thought that she would make her way back to her room, but he could still feel her presence hovering over him as if she was hesitating. Then he felt her hand gently placed on his forehead so that she didn't wake him up. It stayed there for a while and it felt strangely good to him.

"Idiot," he heard her whispered softly. "You need a doctor. What if your condition gets worse?"

So she do care about me after all, he couldn't help but thought silently inside his head. That revelation made a warm feeling to expand inside his chest. He felt strangely happy that she was worried about him. He really hoped that she was not mad at him anymore for being such an ass earlier.

He could feel her getting up from her crouch position but before she could take even a step away from him, his hands shot out to grab hers firmly in his cold one.

He could hear the startled gasp coming from her.

He braced himself, sat up from his lying position and stood in front of her. Her lips moved as if to say something but he cut her off when he impulsively hugged her close to him. His hands sneak themselves around her tightening his hold on her frame. He didn't what made him acted so bold in the first place but the thought of her hating him or mad at him didn't sit well with him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered softly. "I'm really sorry," he uttered with regret. He really didn't mean to bring up an open wound. In the short time that he knew her, Erza was always an independent person. She always appeared strong in front of everyone else and keeping her emotion bottled up inside, trying to deal with any problem came her way alone.

He knew that she didn't mean to tell him about the accident. It was a slip of her tongue, but the pain and sadness was real, it was clearly visible in her eyes.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke felt Erza snaked her arms around him in response as she leaned her head on his chest. He was glad that she didn't push him away like he expected. He wanted her to know that he cared for her, be there for her and support her. Always. She didn't have to be alone anymore.

They stayed like that for a while in a comfortable silence.

"I thought you already left," she suddenly said.

"No," he answered. "I'm not supposed to be driving remember," he said in a lighter mood.

She didn't give any response to that except burying her face further on his chest.

"It's past midnight, you can stay here if you want," she offered in a small voice. He could hear the hesitation in her voice like she was weighing whether it was the right decision to offer a place for him to stay for the night.

And he himself wasn't sure of the answer but he found himself saying the word despite the uncertainty.

"Okay," he answered shortly.

He felt the push on his chest but he was not ready to let go of her yet. She felt so warm, comfortable and huggable. It was like she belonged here in his arm.

"Let go of me you idiot," she yelled. "I don't want to catch the cold from you when I just got better," she muttered as he released his hold on her with a sheepish smile on his face.

Okay, maybe he was pushing it too far. He was lucky nothing came flying at him this time, or her fist connected painfully with his face. "Sorry," he said.

She just huffed in annoyance at him before she walked away from him. "You're sleeping in the guest room," she said and he followed her in tow.

.

.

It was already late morning.

Sasuke stretched his limbs as soon as he woke up. He glanced around and noticed that he was not in his own room. He quickly sat up on the bed trying to remember what had happen last night. As soon as he cleared his head from the fogginess of sleep, the memory returned to him and he relaxed as he remembered that he was at Erza's house.

He lazily got up from the comfortable bed. Standing in front of the mirror at the bedside table, he noticed his messy hair and hastily fixed it. That's when he noticed the note stuck to the mirror in a familiar handwriting.

I'm off to school. Help yourself with breakfast. And don't forget to lock the house on your way out.

-Erza

Sasuke placed the note on the table and noticed a framed picture on it. It was of Erza and another girl with a wavy dark brown hair. Both of them had their arms over the others shoulder and were smiling happily at the camera. He wondered who the other girl was. They looked close and he never saw Erza smiling genuinely like that in the time that he knew her.

Maybe he could ask Erza about it later. For now, he needed to go home because it was already late in the morning. He had no doubt that he would be grilled by his mother for his disappearance act since yesterday.

He was dreading to face the inevitable.

.

.

"Erza"

"Erza!"

Erza was startled when she heard her name being called by the quiet and shy Hyuuga. "Sorry," she uttered as she gave her a sheepish smile at being caught daydreaming at the council room.

"It's fine, but are you okay?" Hinata asked with concern.

"I'm fine," she answered. She looked around and noticed that the others had already left the room leaving her alone with the Hyuuga heiress.

"If that's so, I'll be going then," the soft spoken girl said, gathering her materials and left the council room after saying good bye.

Erza chided herself once she was alone for letting her mind wandered around. But she couldn't help it. Last night was bizarre and she couldn't get her mind around on why she was acting like that with Sasuke. She hugged him.

Of course he hugged her first but why did she hugged him back. It was embarrassing now that she thought about it. If his fangirls were to know about this, she would be dead. Not only he spent the night at her house but they were hugging like chummy buddies.

No one could know about this. She needed to let Sasuke know to keep his mouth shut about last night.

He was still sleeping soundly when she left for school this morning. She left him a note on the bedside table, saying that she was going to school and told him to lock the door when he went out. She didn't have a heart to wake him up when he was resting with a peaceful look like that. Furthermore, she didn't really want to face the awkward interaction with him after what had happen last night.

But what was more important was, she thought he was getting better. The color had return to his face and his temperature had gone down. He should be okay with a little more rest.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out and saw a message from Itachi reminding her about the dinner at his house tomorrow.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath. She totally forgot about it. It never crossed her mind to inform Sasuke about her association with her brother. It must be a shock for him to see her at his house tomorrow.

.

.

It was Saturday.

And today was the day of the family dinner at the Uchiha household where Itachi would be bringing his fiancée along. Sasuke was looking forward to the dinner since he couldn't wait to see his brother. He was lounging on his bed waiting for his brother and fiancée to come. It was another hour to go before the dinner.

Sasuke was quite vocal with his objection about Itachi going to tie the knot. But there was nothing he could do about it. He always thought and viewed his brother as a cold, calculating, unapproachable young man with even more cold heart. So he wondered what kind of woman could sway his brother's stone cold heart and changed him like that. Now that he put aside his childish thought about losing his brother to someone, he thought the girl must be quite impressive to make his brother behave unlike his usual self.

Sasuke glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was already 7.30pm. Another thirty minutes to go before his brother arrives, and knowing his brother Sasuke knew that Itachi was going to be punctual. He might as well go down and wait for him downstairs. But before he could get up from his bed, the loud ringtone coming from his phone beside him caught his attention. He smiled widely when he saw the caller id and without wasting any time he pushed the green button.

"Hello," he said.

"Hey Sasuke," came the reply from the other side of the line.

"What's up Kakashi. It's been a long time since you called," he said with a smirk.

His friend and mentor laughed hearing his remark. "It's not that long. We've seen each other before you transferred to the new school," he pointed. "We need to hang out one of these days to catch up on things," he suggested.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. "I'm free on weekends and after school hours, it's you who is always on the job."

"You know how it is," Kakashi said. "I had a mind to take a long vacation, it's been too stressful these days."

Sasuke chuckled at his friend, feeling a bit sorry for him. Kakashi did have a tight schedule to follow since he was one of the most demanded models in the business.

"Anyway, I am free next week so feel free to drop by to hang out when you have the time. I live not too far from your house actually."

"Seriously," Sasuke exclaimed. He didn't know that.

"Yeah," Kakashi confirmed. "By the way, I wanted to call you last week but I forgot. You know being busy and all," he said.

"What's this about?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"You told me about Itachi getting engage before right?"

"Yeah," he drawled, wondering where this was leading to.

"I saw Itachi last week at my apartment building, together with a girl. So I thought she must be the fiancée you were talking about. Turn out she was living right across me at Crystal Condominium."

"Crystal Condominium?" Sasuke interjected with a genuine surprise on his face. A certain red head's face kept replaying in his mind when he heard that name since she lived there. All this time and his silver haired mentor actually living in the same building.

"Yeah, ever heard of it?"

"No shit. I've been there a couple of times now. My friend lives there," he said, getting excited with the prospect of meeting Kakashi there.

"What a coincidence," Kakshi said through the phone. "Come over next time you go there, I'll text you my house number."

Sasuke nodded. "You can count on that, he said. By the way, today I will finally meet my future sister in law. She will be coming for dinner with Itachi," he informed.

"Hmmm…, I thought you already knew her by now since she attends the same school as you," Kakashi said.

"What?" Sasuke blurted. "What the hell are you talking about?" He asked. It was true that she didn't know the girl and he didn't make any effort to know her either, but hearing that she was a high schooler and went to the same school as him was quite a shocker. He could pass her by on the school ground and he wouldn't even know it.

"Well I thought she went to the same school as you are since Fairy Tail High is the nearest high school in the area," Kakshi supplied. "I am shocked that you still don't know about her by now. If she indeed attends the same school I'm sure you've seen her around before. She's certainly the type that make people's head turn in her direction at least twice. You won't forget a beautiful face like that once you see her and the distinctive scarlet hair makes her distinguishable among other people."

"What?" He whispered as his eyes widened when he heard that particular piece of information. His heart was beating furiously in his chest and he felt dread all of a sudden. Scarlet hair? He only knew one person in the school to have that kind of hair.

It can't be. It can't be her, he frantically thought inside his head.

"I thought that's why Itachi didn't announce about the engagement to the public yet. Because she is a high schooler. A few more months and they could go public about their relationship," Kakashi said, unaware to the fact that Sasuke was having a mental breakdown by his revelation.

Before Kakashi could say anything else, Sasuke cut him off. "Are you sure she has scarlet hair? Is it long scarlet hair that reaches her back? Do you know her name? What's her house number?" He asked Kakashi the questions that were playing in his mind, panicking over the fact that the girl Kakashi was talking about could be Erza.

There was a long pause on the other line.

"Sasuke, is everything okay? You sound a bit strange just now." Sasuke could hear the worry in Kakashi's voice.

"I'm fine," he said although he could hear the panic in his own voice. He tried hard to calm himself before he questioned Kakashi again. He needed to know the answer to that. But before he could question him, his mother suddenly opened his door and peeked her pretty head inside the room.

"Sasuke, the guests are already here. Come and meet them downstairs," she said before she gently closed the door and no doubt went back downstairs.

"Sasuke-"

"Kakashi, I need to go. I'll call you later," he said hurriedly as he walked to his door and went downstairs. He disconnected the call before Kakashi could reply and placed his phone in his pocket. It didn't matter what Kakashi's answer would be because he would see Itachi's fiancée with his own eye when he went downstairs.

He walked down the stairs and approached the living room. As he was nearing the living room, he saw his brother sitting on the couch chatting quietly with his father and he could hear his mother chatting excitedly with another person. He walked closer to the living room and his eyes widened when he saw a girl with long scarlet hair sat listening to whatever it was that his mother was talking about.

"Erza," he uttered and every eye turned towards him at the moment minus the girl.

Slowly, he saw the girl turned her head around to face him and he felt his heart skipped a beat when he saw her face because there in his living room was indeed the fearsome student council president Erza Scarlet sat penetrating his gaze with her deep chocolate brown eyes.

.

.

To be continued

A/N: I know I've been MIA for a long time this time, but there's nothing I can do to change it and I don't want to bore you with my excuses. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until next time =)