I'm sorry I have to say it but, you look like you're sad
Your smile is gone; I've noticed it's bad
The cure is if you let in just a little more love
And I promise you this; A little's enough
-"A Little's Enough", Angels and Airwaves
Thursday. Same Week.
XXX
Something. Had. To. Be. Done.
Sure, Sasuke had survived a week of that pink haired disaster but, barely. In order to show some sort of the faux attraction to...her...Sasuke had forced himself into walking Sakura from class to class with a goal of two weeks. No dates. No phone calls. No eating lunch together. No car rides. No, none of that. He had limits, you know and listening to her prattle on about pointless, vain things for five mintues between each class was torture enough.
'Hmm. Maybe two weeks is too long a goal. If I drag this out too long it'll only make it hard to get rid of her,' Sasuke thought bitterly walking to his next to the last class of the day; AP History, 'Hell, it'll be hard enough as is.'
A bell rang. Sasuke looked around. The halls were empty.
Well, he had been thinking of skipping anyways.
The dark haired boy took a left and in a few seconds was at his gray, metal locker. Combination: 16, to the right 2, left to 16, click.
In ten seconds flat a square of gum, a copy of 'Salems Lot was in hand and his locker door was shut; lock in place.
Heading off for his own little "Secret Entrance" to the roof he placed the gum in his mouth. He saw the boys shower/locker room up ahead; it was fairly close to his locker. As he passed by the open door he heard it: muffled screams and the sound of a body being shoved up against a wall.
"Stupid-ass teenage hormones," Sasuke mumbled but, he stopped walking…Because these weren't sounds of shower room sex. No, someone was getting the shit kicked out of them.
Sasuke hesitated. Then he sighed.
In one swift motion, he chucked the book into the room and backed up flat against the wall next to the door. The kicking stopped immediatly and two sets of feet ran out the door inside the room, which Sasuke knew would put them in the gym with the P.E. class. The door slammed shut behind them.
He was about to head into the room to get his book, which was his own personal copy, when a shuffling noise from inside reminded him somone else was still inside.
He could hear whoever it was get to their feet and stagger over to a wall and slide down it until a 'thud' told him they were sitting down.
Then the softest of noises started.
Crying.
...But it was too quiet. As if something was covering their mouth.
Sasuke closed his eyes and pushed away what was left of his conscience, something he was finding easier and easier to do everyday. He peeled himself off the wall and shook his head gently, 'I'm not playing hero.' He reopened his eyes and turned away in pursuit of the library. He now needed to borrow 'Salems Lot from there.
XXX
Naruto pulled the sleeve of his orange jacket a few inches away from his mouth. He raised it to his eyes, swiping at each quickly. He got up slowly holding back more tears.
'Stop it," He willed silently.
He walked over to the object laying hapazardly on the ground a few feet from him and picked it up. A book. He read the cover and smiled, "'Salem's Lot." One of his favorites.
Still clutching the book that had saved him more kicks in the stomach he wobbled to his gym locker. He was working on cleaning up his face, smudged with dirt from the disgusting floor when he reaslized somehting...
He cocked his head to the side, 'Books don't fall from the sky.'
XXX
Sasuke ran past classroom after classroom increasing his speed. Behind him there were at least 20 girls chasing him.
--A Few Minutes Earlier--
The onxy-eyed boy had been sitting at the quietest, emptiest and most inconspiquous table in the library when Kiba walked in. Sasuke swore to the fact that Kiba had radar for him or something. So, Kiba clad in full PE clothing spotted Sasuke and when he got a look of pure hatred on his face.
'Maybe saying Sakura wasn't such a good idea,' Sasuke mused.
He rose slowly and started for the exit but, Kiba was quicker and in five seconds had alerted three tables of girls to the fact Sasuke was trying to make a break for it. Their faces grew alight and Sasuke dashed out the door.
The chase was on.
--20 Minutes Later--
So, here he was running for his life.
'Goddamn, do the teachers in this school notice anything?! God, acting intrested in Sakura has only made them more vicious.', Sasuke thought miserably.
What to do, what to do? It donned on him: Hide.
XXX
He looked in the mirror in the shower room once more, shaking blonde hair from his eyes gently.
'So, you get it at school too? Damn, does anyone like you?', the voice from earlier was back. Naruto shut his eyes tightly and tried to push the thoughts away when he heard voices headed for the room.
...Familiar voices.
"Shit.", he muttered frantically. He rose to his feet from his position on the floor and as he did so the gym door oped and he was greeted by two faces...faces he had seen a little while before. They were smiling.
"No.", Naruto ran for the other door.
--
After a few clever tricks and sprints later Naruto arrived at a safe place: Janitor's Closet.
'It's better than nothing' , He thought twisting the knob of the door and scrambling inside.
--
A few seconds after entering the closet I heard giggling and more than a dozen pairs of girls' voices approaching my haven. Instinctively, I took a few backwords steps with my hands out behind me searching for the wall to press against. I didn't notice someone elses' soft breathing filling the closet until mid-second steps when I felt a hand--that wasn't my own--enclose over left one and pull me roughly into their body.
I opened my mouth in panic but, before anything but a feeble squeak got out their right hand shot up and placed itself over my mouth pressing me ever closer against them. A soft voice then bent down to my ear, speaking soft and low, "Naruto...sh."
My eyes widened, '...Sasuke.'
The female voices out side quieted as they headed down the hall. A moment after Sasuke released me and pushed me away from him. With much difficultly, because the closet was so small, I rotated myself around to face him. It was almost to dark to see his face but, a cool, spearmint air blowing at me told me he was about three inches taller than me; I looked up.
All was silent as my eyes tried to adjust in the dark and focus on his.
"Sasuke?", I whispered.
He was looking down demeaningly at me, his voice was quiet, "What?"
I caught the annoyance in his voice, but my heart skipped two beats anyways, "What are you doing in a closet?"
XXX
Normal POV:
"Hiding, obviously.", Sasuke said, his voice flat.
"Oh...", Naruto swallowed hard, 'I...I'm so confused. He...he's acting as if...he doesn't remember. This can't be the same boy that-'
"-move?"
Naruto snapped back from his thoughts, "What?"
Sasuke sighed in exasperation, "I asked if you were going to move."
"Uh, Right.", Naruto said casting his eyes downword as he shuffled to switch places with the other boy. He thought he might have seen Sasuke pause before reaching out for the door knob but, maybe not.
"Who are you?", The blonde boy blurted out before he knew it.
Sasuke froze without turning back around, "What?"
"I met you...before and you were...different. You didn't act like you are now."
The onxy-eyed boy smirked, and turned around, "Neither are you."
Naruto's eyes widened, "Huh?"
"The boy I met was bright, and energetic...and he smiled alot...too much," Sasuke said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Why'd you do that?", Naruto asked.
"Do what?"
"Just now when I came in...you-"
Sasuke's interrupted his voice serious, " If those girls found you in closet with me regardless of what we were doing they would have torn you to shreads and proceeded to light those shreads on fire."
Naruto was silent for awhile, then much to Sasuke's suprise he started to laugh--or rather giggle.
Sasuke was alarmed, "What?"
"Nobody-hahaha-...says...haha...things like...haha...that.", he chocked out between fits of giggles.
Now Sasuke was silent. Then all at once he smirked, "...You see? This is how I remember you," Naruto beamed up at him, shaking fair hair out of his eyes and Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Baka."
Naruto heard the playfulness in his voice and stuck out his tongue, "And this is how I remember you."
"And how is that?", Sasuke asked his voice soft.
"Mmm...sarcastic...funny...showing some hint of emotion once in awhile.", Naruto smilied.
"All of that from one bus ride?"
"Yep."
"Well, didn't your mother ever teach you that mutilating people wasn't funny?"
Naruto's smile faltered just a bit, "I...I don't remember ever having one of those."
Sasuke looked straight at him before speaking again, his voice hard, "It...Well, it's alot worse when you do..."
Naruto's eyes grew soft and he stopped smiling, "I'm...You...?", he started to whisper, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean..wh-"
Sasuke felt strange all of a sudden seeing the smile leave Naruto's eyes. His pale hand extended and he tapped twice on Naruto's cheek lightly with the back of his hand, "Hey," he said softly, "Don't make faces like that."
"...Wh-"
"I don't like it."
Naruto smiled faintly, "Better?"
"Much.", Sasuke looked at his hand akwardly and brought it back to his side, "So what are you doing in here?"
Naruto stopped breathing, "Hiding."
"From?"
He was uneasy and started to look around at assorted buckets and cleaning products in the dim room, "Just some kids who...don't like me all that much."
Sasuke was quiet as he remembered back to their conversation on the bus.
Naruto smiled again, "But, whatever. I'm sure I must have done something...you know, just like always."
"Huh-"
"I'm sort of a trouble maker, I guess. But, hey," Naruto tried switching subjects with grace but, failed horribly," Are you and Sakura-chan dating?"
Sasuke's answer was quick, "No."
"Uhm, are you...friends, then? I mean because I've seen you pick her up from the remedial computer class and I'm in it...," Naruto saw Sasuke's confused face and explained, "Since I missed the test at the end of the year last year. And...?"
"No. No, we aren't friends."
Naruto waited, but Sasuke stayed quiet on the subject, "Oh...Well, then...who are you friends with?"
"I...I don't really have any of those actually," Sasuke said to himself looking off into space.
Naruto tilted his head to the side slightly, "Even I have Shikamaru...You don't have any?"
"I don't need any.", Sasuke said, Kiba's face flickering in his mind.
Naruto looked embarassed for asking and stopped smiling, which irritated Sasuke, "Uhm, oh..."
Sasuke's voice was cool, "Well, I should probably lea-"
Naruto eyes widened and he started to smile without warning and interrupted excitedly, "Sasuke! Sasuke! We...We can be friends, right? Then you'll at least have one!," his eyes shining, proud to have come up with this idea on his own.
Sasuke looked at the fair haired boy and he wanted to smile...almost...He really liked seeing this blonde boy happy and if saying no would mean Naruto would stop smiling again, even if for a moment he wouldn't do it, "Uhm, sure"
Naruto half-jumped, in joy and banged his head against the back wall finding a light switch. He flipped it quickly. Sasuke and him quietly surveyed the room they were standing in for the first time. It...was gross. They were both standing in a puddle of dirty water, the ceiling was cracked and dust was collected on every surface in the room. Sasuke was about to laugh at their situation but, then looked at Naruto and he took a sharp intake of breath.
"Naruto, what happened to your face?"
"Huh?," Naruto reached up and felt his cheek that had been bleeding earlier to find it was bleeding again as was his bottom lip.
Sasuke, the genius he was, started to put things together, "Naruto...when you said people didn't like you...you meant they go as far as too..." The shower room, the book, the blood, Ino on the bus, Kiba in gym clothes. All of it made perfect sense to him now.
Naruto looked up at Sasuke and was startled. No one ever cared about what the other kids did...never. Not even his own father. This happened day after day and no one helped him. What was he doing wrong? What was he doing to make people hate him so much?
'Now, Sasuke knows...he's...he's going to hate me too...Every one else can feel whatever they want but, please not you too.', he pleaded in his head, for he was scared.
Tears started to well up against his wishes then, they spilled forth, " Please, don't hate me, too. Please, please Sasuke tell me what I'm doing wrong."
Swiftly, Sasuke reached out and taking one of Naruto's arms and pulled the crying boy into him, wrapping both arms around him. He felt...he felt terrible. He didn't want to see Naruto like this...that look, those tears, he hated them. He didn't want to see Naruto cry or to look the way he did, with scratches on his face and blood running from his mouth. The light flickered...and flickered...and shut off. Leaving nothing but, their breathing and Naruto's crying to fill the silence.
Sasuke was torn. This was his...friend, and he wanted to protect him from all those bad people. And even though he wasn't sure why this blonde boy meant so much to him he new for damn sure that he never wanted anyone to touch this precious boy. Ever again.
They sat like that for awhile; Sasuke standing there holding him saying nothing, and Naruto crying into him ruining Sasuke's shirt and feeling like the safest person in the world. Naruto was the one to break the silence, "Thank you."
Sasuke let go of him like he was on fire and stepped back quickly, "..."
Naruto sniffed and then smiled, even though Sasuke couldn't see it, he could hear it in his voice, "For...for taking all of this pain away from me."
"..."
"I-I...needed this. I...needed a friend too...so, thanks.", With that Naruto took his leave, bolting from the closet leaving Sasuke alone in the dark.
XXX
After that time in the closet things changed.
The next morning Naruto appeared at Sasukes locker with bright eyes. Sasuke avoided looking at him for a few moments by trying to find to find his favorite blue inked pen. After the search left him empty handed he turned to Naruto searching his eyes for fear, or some sort of trace of what happened yesterday but, found nothing, "What are you doing here?"
Naruto trying not to be concious of all the eyes on them held up 'Salem's Lot in front of his face offering it to Sasuke.
Sasuke looked wary, "Is that mine?" Naruto nodded and Sasuke took it from him, "Well, thanks."
Naruto smiled up at him, "You're welcome."
A few seconds passed and Sasuke spoke up again, "Why are you still here?"
Naruto smiled, wider still,"We're friends, remember?"
Before Sasuke could reply the pink haired menice arrived stepping inbetween the two, loud voiced as always, "SASUKE-KUN. Ready to go?"
Naruto grumbled, "The yelling isn't-"
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you-?", she turned to him and her eyes narrowed in recognition, "Ah, Naruto. And how is your pride today?", she pratically spat the word pride.
"Hey," Sasuke said slamming his door shut causing Sakura to jump.
She turned back to him smiling, "Yeah?"
He glanced at her then at Naruto who looked suprised. Sasuke stepped aside and over to Naruto putting his hands on his back to push him forward, "Let's go."
"Sasuke, what are you doing?", Sakura gasped.
The onxy eyed beauty looked back at her for a fleeting moment and said in the clearest voice possible, "We're friends.", and they left Sakura, mouth ajar, behind.
[A/N]
That took...so long. And it sucks...so horribly. I'm sorry. I'll work on the fifth right away. Promise.
It'll be cute...and mmm...and sad all at once. I'm trying here.
Remember only 9 or 10 chapters so I'ma move fast-ish.
Thanks ! 3