:D ok, here's the next installment in Unnecessary. Be forewarned, this chapter contains lots of cussing ^-^.

I don't own the characters..blah blah blah.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to Mizuki Hikari, for being the first person to give this story some love :).

Chapter 4: Like a Ghost

September 14, 2001

Fall Semester


A few days had passed already and I was still in shock. Those days, it seemed to me that all I could do was watch. I watched as the towers collapsed, watched burning fires being put out, and watched people jump to their deaths from ninety floors up. I heard about the plane that hit the Pentagon, and heard about the plane that missed its target and crashed into a field. So far the estimate of deaths was somewhere around six thousand. What made me sick to my stomach, though, was that almost all of the people who died were innocent civilians. I could have been one of them...

I blinked a few times and rubbed my forehead tiredly. I was daydreaming again. The school day had already ended, and I was supposed to be cleaning up my classroom. Today in class Naruto had been especially disruptive; he decided that it would be fun to put wads of gum on Ino's seat. And, of course, when she sat down and got gum all over her designer miniskirt, all hell broke loose. I allowed myself a small grin-Ino's wrath had allowed for an indirect way of punishing Naruto, at least.

These past few days many students hadn't been coming to school. Their parents were probably very worried because of the attacks, and I couldn't really blame them. We were all waiting with baited breath to see if anywhere else would burst into flames or come crashing down. I was still really jumpy myself.

To me, it seemed as if the whole world had been affected. Well, the whole world minus my students. It really bothered me that they could live through such a horrid event and not even care about it. The half of my class that had been attending school these past few days all seemed completely unaffected and happily unaware. Some of my students didn't even know about it until one of their peers filled them in. They should be ashamed, I thought, it's not like they were children anymore.

I got up from my desk, gathered my materials, shut the lights off, and left my classroom. I stood in the hallway for a second. To me, the school just seemed somewhat empty. Regardless, I thought to myself, I really do need to get home.

All of a sudden, I heard a voice behind me. I turned around, but yet, I saw nothing. I suspiciously made my way to the back end of the hallway-and I stopped dead in my tracks.

It was Sasuke.

"Fuck you!" He screamed hoarsely, "Fuck you! Goddamn fucking bastard!"

Words couldn't explain how shocked I was. Did he just cuss me-oh. He was talking to someone on his cell phone. He was angry, so angry. To me, Sasuke looked like a completely different person. He was nothing like the stone-cold boy who haunted my classroom every morning. Sasuke's eyes shone with such a fury that it was almost as if they were burning. And though I shouldn't have been thinking it, I couldn't deny that Sasuke was beautiful.

He would break many hearts, I thought. When he chose to express himself he was the goddamn definition of beauty, but at the same time his personality wouldn't allow for anyone to be forever content with him. It made me sad to know that he would make his own life a mess with that persona of his. And all of a sudden I laughed a little bit in my mind-here I was, thinking about the beauty of the very boy who had scorned such an idea. The first line of his essay popped into my mind-There is no such thing as beauty.

And I inexplicably knew that I shouldn't be thinking such things. I was his teacher, his teacher. I had no right to think such things of him. Sasuke needed someone's help, and I was the only person available. I needed to take charge.

I grabbed him by the shoulders just as he shut his phone. He was shaking horribly and his breath was coming out in ragged pants.

"Sasuke?" I said cautiously, "Sasuke? Are you alright?"

A barely perceptible nod. He was still shaking.

"What happened?"

Sasuke remained silent. So he wasn't going to tell me.

It hit me all of a sudden-what was Sasuke still doing here? School had ended quite a while ago.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked him, but he didn't respond. I was beginning to get frustrated.

Suddenly Sasuke tried to slink out of my grasp on his shoulders-I held on with all of my strength. I wouldn't let him run away from me. I could tell that he'd been running for much too long. He needed to face his troubles and his fears because there was no way he would find peace with himself if he didn't.

"Sasuke," I said, "I'll ask you one more time. What are you still doing here? School has been out for an hour already."

He still refused to speak up, but at least he didn't try to fight out of my hold on him anymore. I sighed. Maybe he just needed some time to sort things out for himself. I knew that I shouldn't have said anything after that, but words slipped out of my mouth unchecked.

"Do you need a ride home?"

I found myself fervently hoping that he wouldn't respond to me. I was his teacher, for Christ's sake. Offering students a ride was one of the cardinal no-no's according to my superiors and my guidelines. I couldn't believe I'd said such a thing. I would give anything to back up time for a few minutes and take back my words, but it was impossible for me to back out now. Sasuke remained unmoving, and for a second I thought he was refusing it. I let out a sigh of relief-

Sasuke's head moved up and down in a nod.

My heart plummeted into my stomach and I felt sick. I'd backed myself into a corner; there was nothing I could do now. Unless I chose to be a coward and refuse Sasuke a ride...I couldn't do that. He seemed much to hurt already.

I took uneven, shaky steps to the parking lot, Sasuke trailing silently after me like a ghost.

Hip-hip-hooray, Sasuke makes his appearance again. I think this chappie was a bit longer than the last; sorry I can't make things much longer! Reviews are much appreciated! :).