Hey guys :)

Soooo, firstly, I decided to divide Clumsy into three parts. I made some changes to the original, because I was told Naru's feelings seemed to come out of nowhere, so I included some things about the past. I'd call it almost melodramatic - exaggerating (and am really uncertain about some parts). Therefore I decided on putting the end in the third part. This one will give more insight on Naruto's feelings.

Then I've got to apologize for not replying to everybody. Honestly, in the last two months I really only learned how fanfiction worked and I've still got problems. Please don't be angry when I don't write back, I'm still trying to get used even though I've been on this site for a while Q_Q I'm really really sorry...

Now have fun reading and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter...

Clumsy

Author: Eisfuchs

Summary: She hadn't expected this change between them, but now, seeing his guilt, there was only one thing she could do. She would lie for his sake…AU, SasuFemNaru TwoShot

Part: 2/3

Rated: M (PG-16), for smut and some swearing

Disclaimer: Naruto © belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, Clumsy © belongs to Uemori Yuu

Let's start another game of denial,…

"Sasuke was dumped by his girlfriend?" echoed the perplexed screech of Karin's voice within the classroom. A pitiful look was send to the seemingly indifferent teen.

"Eh, no way? Why?" intruded Ino on the conversation between Karin and Kiba. The blonde's eyes were widened by the news, equally disbelieving as her fellow female.

"Apparently, she was two-timing", Kiba whispered secretly and the girls nodded sympathetically.

Simultaneously, the two females said rather loudly: "How wretched!" They watched the Uchiha's back stiffen visibly, probably having heard every single spoken word, and continued. "And she was everything to him."

Before the Uchiha could kill either Kiba, for gossiping over the abrupt end of his two-year relationship, or Karin and Ino, for screaming it out for the whole school to hear, Naruto decided to enter the classroom. She wouldn't be able to bear the guilt if her three friends became victim of Sasuke's wrath.

"But it's good that you guys broke up. Isn't two-timing the worst?" Ino asked with a deliberate gaze in Sasuke's direction. Naruto jumped in between the teens with a shit-eating smile on her face, effectively keeping Sasuke from answering the hurtful question.

"Morning!" she said and gave her cousin a short hug. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Sasuke freeze upon her sudden appearance, but ignored him in favor for talking to her girl friends. "You're fired up, huh? About what other people are saying."

Kiba avoided her eyes guiltily and Karin and Ino watched her in confusion, whether regarding her interruption or her sudden disinterest in gossip. The girls knew that Naruto had learnt to appreciate certain aspects of gossip since that one time she had put her foot into her mouth, because her missing knowledge about Neji's and Sakura's harsh break-up.

"Well, she was once the girl Sasuke loved," she tried to placate the enquiring eyes of the girls. She became even more nervous when Sasuke also turned around, finally acknowledging the group's presence for the first time since the conversation had started. His gaze was dark and blank and fixed on her. She almost felt herself blush, but managed to smile at all of them nevertheless. "It's pitiful if you talk about her too often."

"It's so rare for Naruto to be kind", she could hear Kiba whisper into Ino's ear, but overlooked his statement for once and instead dug through her bright orange schoolbag. She was barely able to stand Sasuke's penetrating eyes, which just wouldn't let her off.

If he wanted to hide that something had happened between them, he did a rather poor job of it.

Naruto sighed in relief when she found the desired object.

With steady steps she walked over to Sasuke's proud figure.

She almost whimpered, realizing that nothing was left of the night they had spent together. Sasuke's hair had returned to its former glory, no longer as wild as after their intimate moments, his face was a mask of indifference, neither love nor hate found in any form, and the body she had seen, kissed and embraced was hidden by his school uniform. There was no memory of the time that had belonged only to her.

"Right?" she asked with glittering azure eyes and a bright reassuring smile on her face. She felt almost like a fake. And in all honesty, it was sad that none of her friends could see through the façade she had built around her. "Here, you want some?"

Finally, after another awkward moment, Sasuke's pervasive eyes moved from her azure ones to the small bottle in her hand. The Uchiha regarded the drink with a contemplative gaze, looked at her one more time and took it after she nodded at him enthusiastically.

He never noticed the mischievous spark in her pretty blue eyes.

His slender fingers opened the bottle and she took a step back when he led the drink to his pale lips. Beside her other friends, she watched the Uchiha with eager eyes when he took a careful gulp.

And immediately spit out the liquid with widened disgusted eyes. Kiba became the victim of Sasuke's sudden attack and squeaked, drenched from head to toe by the drink. A small trail was running down Sasuke's chin and he made a gagging sound, trying to get rid of the horrible taste.

Naruto giggled in excitement.

Hearing the traitorous laughter, the Uchiha whirled around to her, a blazing glare on his beautiful features.

Naruto hid her devilish smirk behind a delicate hand and watched the Uchiha from under dark eyelashes. "It's Naru-chan's special cheer-up tea. Do you feel better?" She winked at the obviously enraged Uchiha. "The tea had yoghurt, miso and soy sauce."

Naruto saw Sasuke shaking, probably in anger after having been fooled so easily, and in an instant took off upon the alerting sight. She might like the fact that she had been able to prank the ice-prince rather fast for once, but that didn't mean that she was suicidal. Sasuke wouldn't just let her off after humiliating him to such an extent.

Shortly after finishing the thought, she heard Sasuke's heavy footsteps following her and the girls' anxious cries.

"I'm going to kill you, Usuratonkatchi", Sasuke snarled, hot on her heels.

Naru could only snigger. Jumping over Shino's bend posture, she yelled over her shoulder: "You're such an idiot. I can't believe you fell for it that easily."

"Say that again when I shove it down your throat", he threatened, following her movements, but more smoothly than she did. Naruto could actually hear how pissed he was, but surprisingly he wasn't able to catch her this time. Perhaps the fear in her bones made her faster than usually.

Another few seconds later she finally processed the content of his words and squeaked in disgust. If possible, she ran even faster.

…, because nothing has changed.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto slumped into her seat right beside Kiba.

Thankfully Kakashi had hindered Sasuke from possibly murdering her, after arriving fifteen minutes late to class and another five minutes of watching their play of tag with great interest. She might have yelled at the teacher, too, if he hadn't been the only one able to save her in this dangerous situation. There had been some more jumping over classmates and tables and way too much swearing, before eventually he had done just that.

The blonde made a mental memo to punish the teacher another time for his sadistic streak.

At least she had managed to treat Sasuke like before. Or more like, she thought this was the way they had acted before they had slept with each other. It was almost funny, how she couldn't seem to remember their prior behavior.

They had been friends since middle school and Naruto had picked up on her feelings only two years later. She hadn't known how to act then as well. By that time Sasuke had already become her best friend and she had feared to destroy their friendship for something that might have been just a fluke. Never mind the fact that the Uchiha never had expressed interest in dating anyone. It had been the opposite. Sasuke had loathed every female and their advances. So she had remained silent, her feelings growing day by day. In the end, she had had to accept that her feelings were real and wouldn't just vanish.

That had been the day Sasuke and Sara became a couple.

Afterwards, she had started a completely new game of denial.

First, she had continued like before, until Sasuke had told her to give him some space. Naruto had understood, her best friend had wanted some alone time with his girlfriend and, hearing her heart slowly but surely breaking, she had done as he demanded and almost completely disappeared from his sight. She wasn't sure Sasuke had even noticed.

Then, it had begun which her parents had called her rebellious phase. She had started to skip school on a daily basis, avoiding Sasuke like he had wanted, and had met the wrong crowd of people. She had started to consume a major amount of alcohol and her grades had fallen so deep she had been on the brink of having to repeat the year. Somehow, she had managed to pass with the lowest results ever, which hadn't deterred her from her new life style.

She had continued like that for almost another year, partying with strangers and drop-outs, drinking herself into oblivion and waking up in places she hadn't known. Eventually, her parents hadn't been able to ignore her behavior any longer and they had started to fight to the point Naruto wouldn't even come home for days. By that time she had reached the deepest point of her life. And Sasuke had happily dated Sara, never been the wiser.

She couldn't remember how she had managed to escape the downfall of her life. It might have been the fact that her parents had almost gotten divorced because of her or that her friends finally had realized that she still did exist and she had been short of destroying herself, it might have also been that she had realized that she was nothing but shadow of her former self. She no longer knew. But, she had managed to do the right thing, in the end. And meanwhile Sasuke and Sara had bathed in the joy of their relationship.

Naruto had returned to her old life. She had started to stay at home in the evenings, hiding some lapses into the dark night here and there from the watchful eyes of her mother and father and brother. She had started to study again, her secret stash of alcohol only losing his content from time to time when she couldn't bear this horrible façade any longer. She had met up with her old friends again, her exclusive ones only calling when she wanted to escape this boring false routine. She had become Sasuke's best friend again, which he had never noticed he had lost for the small timeframe of a year and a half.

She had continued loving Sasuke the way she had for three years, the only constant she had remained all throughout. And Sasuke had continued dating and loving Sara.

Everything had returned to normal.

Until Sara broke up with Sasuke and Naruto gave herself to him.

Because nothing ever changes.

Hopefully, she managed to deceive her supposedly best friend once again.

The blonde was still tired from their running around and she had already lost Kakashi's history lesson after some ten minutes into his lecture. Beside her Kiba had been snoring for some time and she debated on following his bad example. She could ask either Sakura or Karin for their notes after the class was over, so she wasn't really concerned.

She was sprawled over her table and had nearly nodded off, when her cell phone started to vibrate in her pencil case. In a rush and barely awake she grabbed the device before Kakashi could hear its movements. A short look in his direction told her he hadn't noticed, so she touched the screen once and looked upon the received message with confusion.

Her blue eyes landed on Sasuke's form a few rows in front of her and then slid back to his name on her screen. Sasuke had sent her a mail.

With another tip and cautious eyes she opened it.

"Thanks."

Naruto blinked at the single word, asking herself what Sasuke was thanking her for. She smiled when she realized he meant her interrupting the embarrassing as well as hurting conversation of their friends before or, perhaps, her acting normally around him. She didn't really care, because it was a rarity of Sasuke to thank anyone to begin with.

She almost jumped when her cell phone started to vibrate again. Naruto opened this one instantly and read the message with curious eyes, which narrowed a second later upon the second lonely word.

"Dobe."

She suppressed the growl in her throat and told herself to ignore the insult this time. Her fingers flew over her screen, tipping an answer in mere seconds. She pressed the 'send'-button before she could change her mind and blushed at the content.

"If you want the adult version, call me anytime. Ahhn."

The little heart icon at the end of the text might have been too much, she thought belatedly, but she couldn't change that now. She could swear she felt his dark penetrating eyes on her after he must have read her message, but she deliberately avoided any eye contact and pretended to listen to Kakashi's lesson. Of course, Sasuke knew she did anything but that.

She sighed in relief when she could no longer feel his eyes on her. Shortly later, she got an answer from him.

"I want it now."

Reading the words five times over and accepting that they wouldn't change how much she read them again and again, she blushed quite red from hair to toe. Naruto was sure she could rival her mother's and brother's fiery red hair right that moment. She had never taken the Uchiha for such a horny little bastard.

"There's more," said a voice right into her ear.

She narrowed her eyes in confusion at the message and scrolled a little further down. Indeed there was more.

"Until then, lose some weight."

"What the?" she screeched indignantly. How could the Uchiha even imply that she was fat?

"He sure is harsh, isn't he?" asked the voice with apparent amusement.

Harsh wasn't exactly the word she would use for the Uchiha's statement, but the familiar voice sure was right. That wasn't a topic any women liked to approach, much less addressed by a guy, especially by the one of her affections.

In wild fury she prepared to answer the damn Uchiha in equal. Her fingers were already flying over the screen again, when a lazy drawl interrupted her right in the middle of cursing and insulting her dark haired best friend.

"You know, it is still class."

Naruto froze.

Teary eyes looked with trepidation over her shoulder and the blonde came face to face with her weird teacher, who had a foreboding twinkle in his bicolored eyes. A pitiful whimper left her pretty pink lips.

"Detention, Mrs. Uzumaki." She could hear merriment in the tone of his voice. "And the cell phone is confiscated for the time being."

Naruto hang her head as the whole class roared with laughter.

She made another mental memo to punish the Uchiha as well at the next possible occasion.

I should be glad. He is still my friend, but…

Naruto blinked innocently at her friends.

"A goukon?" She asked, her big blue eyes gazing over the girls in confusion.

Ino and Sakura nodded enthusiastically while Hinata seemed more than nervous by the thought. Naruto could imagine the reason for the girl's hesitation. The petite Hyuuga was the only one, who already had a boyfriend, a rather fine species at that too. The blonde couldn't believe they would force the shy girl to a group date.

"Yeah. You know some guys from Oto, don't you?" Sakura's eyes sparkled at the thought of meeting hot masculine guys from the highly respected military school. The pinkette hadn't dated since the fiasco with Neji ten months prior, but now that her ex had apparently found a new girlfriend, she wanted to leave her heartbreak behind as well.

"Yeah. We've seen you with Kimimaro. Please, Naru, can't you arrange something for us?" Naruto flinched when Ino gave her the puppy eyes, her lips formed into a pitiful trembling pout. She hated it when her fellow blonde did that unfair move. As much as Naruto used it herself, she wasn't immune to the attack either.

"Pretty please, Naru-chan," the girls begged her, eyes wide and teary and sparkling with unconcealed hope.

Unsurely, Naruto rubbed her neck and fiddled with the hair falling down her back. "Well, I don't really know…"

She hadn't called Kimimaro and the guys for a while. In fact, she hadn't contacted them since her night with Sasuke two weeks ago. Kimimaro had sent her some mails about meeting up and some parties they had wanted to go to, but she had decided against it.

She couldn't even imagine that the two groups would even hit it off with each other. There were too many differences between them. And truthfully, Naruto didn't want to risk anything leaking out about the darker period of her life to her classmates. They didn't know what she had been up to and she liked that just the way it was.

The two girls were still pouting when their eyes glided past her uncertain form. A victorious glim sparked in their orbs upon the sight of a possible ally. "Karin, tell your cousin to share her pretty boys with her dear friends."

Turning around, she gulped at the sight of Sasuke talking to her red-headed cousin. At first, the two seemed confused at the sudden call, but quickly Sasuke's features darkened and his eyes narrowed at the group of girls or it might just been her. She didn't dare to look in his pitch-black pools longer to confirm her assumption.

Instead she watched her cousin with a feeling of dread.

Karin was the only one, who knew about that time, just because her mother had asked for the teenagers help after Naruto had stumbled home dead drunk one morning. It had been after they had lost every control over their daughter.

To begin Karin hadn't believed her aunt and uncle, but, eventually, had experienced Naruto as a walking corpse herself. More than once or twice, Naruto had to confess. It had been hard for the both of them, but afterwards their relationship had become deeper than ever before, but there was no question about her position regarding Naruto's exclusive friends. Karin loathed them with a passion of a thousand suns for ruining Naruto the way they had.

Guiltily she avoided Karin's enquiring eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" She whimpered, hearing the accusation in her cousin's voice.

She obviously knew whom they were talking about and didn't like it one bit. Naruto understood perfectly, because she had told the red-head she would cut of any contact to the guys, which she had, of course, not done. Kimimaro and the guys were her escape route, her sanctuary.

"We want Naruto to introduce us to her hot military boys."

It didn't help that Ino and Sakura unknowingly stabbed her right in the back.

A blazing glare immediately replaced the former confusion and Karin strut over to them with heavy steps, Sasuke right at her heels like a silent foreboding shadow.

She winced when the girl clasped her wrist in an iron hold. "You told me you wouldn't meet them anymore! You said you'd stop with the parties and the drinking! You promised!"

Naruto barely managed to hold her tongue before she could correct Karin's words. She had never promised to stay away from Kimimaro, but she knew better than to tell the red-head.

"I'm not. I haven't met them for over two weeks." She wouldn't look at Sasuke's direction. He and she knew what had transpired between them at that time, which had been the reason she stopped the contact. She had been more focused on saving their friendship than on her fucked-up connection with Kimimaro.

"What are you two talking about?" Sakura interrupted their staring contest unsurely. "What's that about drinking and partying? Naruto is a goody two-shoes. She wouldn't do such a thing. Right?"

Naruto narrowed her eyes at her cousin. The uncertainty in Sakura's voice was clear to hear and she could feel three other pairs of eyes boring holes into the side of her head. She couldn't believe Karin would betray her like that, because she did promise to not tell their friends.

Karin glared at her once more and then released her wrist.

"You better not." With those last words the red-head exited the classroom in wild fury and left an angry Uchiha in her wake.

Naruto winced and rubbed the hurting flesh around her wrist and smiled apologetically at her remaining friends. "It's nothing, okay, guys? Don't mind her."

There were obviously forced smiles on the girls' faces when they left her and Sasuke alone.

An awkward silence settled in between the one-time lovers.

Naruto still wouldn't look at her best friend and occupied herself with packing her stuff into her orange school bag. She wouldn't even know what to say to Sasuke. They had been able to talk normally since her small prank, but she was still hung up on the quarrel with Karin.

"Dobe." There was no emotion in the insult and she prepared herself for the worst. Sasuke might have had never noticed her web of lies, but the Uchiha was certainly not dumb. "What was Karin talking about?"

Breathing deeply, she shoved the last of her books into her school bag and turned to the Uchiha, a wide fake smile plastered on her visage.

"I said it's nothing, didn't I, bastard?"

He glared at her expression and then turned away with a disgusted scoff.

She panicked when she realized he didn't believe in her words. Sasuke wasn't supposed to see through her, he just wasn't. He hadn't noticed for years and it scared her shitless that he saw through her act. It was the first time he did and he shouldn't. Sasuke shouldn't notice just how fake she was.

She never wanted Sasuke to see this despicable side of her. Anyone, but Sasuke.

Her body moved on its own.

Four quick steps and she was by his side, gazing up at him with unconcealed fear and hysteria. Clutching his uniform in a near death-like grip, she hindered the taller boy from leaving her- she wouldn't be able to bear his rejection, not now that she had lost him on a completely different level already. Naruto would - could - not accept the loss of him in any other way.

Perhaps, that was the moment her insides started to rot. Or it had been before that point in time- long before the drinking and the avoidance and the denial. Nevertheless, that was the way she was feeling. Similar to a vile black mass, spreading from her heart to her lungs and arms and toes, it ate away what once was nothing more than a repudiated pure love. It was rotting her from the inside out.

And now, this terrible terrible emotion would taint Sasuke, too.

Because she just couldn't let go. Even though he didn't want her, had never wanted her.

She wasn't able to just let him go.

"Sasuke," she whispered, breathlessly, hopelessly- rotten. And he must have seen the shameless despair in the depths of her eyes for he stopped and turned once more back to her, glancing at her with indifference and anger and curiosity. And she knew he wouldn't just leave her behind. It might have been pride or pity or a last sentiment of their friendship, but he stayed silently, waiting for a secret, a hidden period of her life, she would never tell him about.

"I'm lonely," she breathed into the warmth of his chest, hiding away from his deep piercing eyes. She could feel him stiffen, caught off-guard by her statement and its implication, because he hadn't reckoned with a repetition of that night even so she had implied it.

Glancing up, she followed his strong masculine features until eventually she was caught in deep bottomless pools and Sasuke just stared back. He didn't speak, didn't move and just returned her longing stare with blankness. On his own, he would probably have never made this move again.

"Comfort me."

…Am I really no good?

They were back in the hotel, the same one it had happened the first time, not because of any nostalgic sense of value, but only for convenience. It was nearest to their school and was partially well hidden within the entertainment district of Konoha Gakure.

As much as she had thought he would dismiss her plea, Sasuke had accepted her wordlessly without any hesitations, but she couldn't feel happy. She felt only more guilt.

Sasuke was her best friend and she was forcing him into this fucked-up relationship. They had been friends, even best friends and she had destroyed everything with her jealousy and this goddamn emotion, which was said to be the most joyful of them all. But nobody had ever told her how painful it would be, when the feeling was unrequired.

And no one ever told her it would be the most painful if you were allowed to touch something that would never be yours.

Naruto might have felt Sasuke's body, but he wouldn't give her what she desired most. His love.

She had never felt this ugly.

Dull eyes stared back from the reflection in the mirror.

What she saw was nothing but a pitiful human being with no positive attributes, be it her looks or her personality. A way too curvy figure, with unnecessary fat on her hips and breasts, she had thought embarrassing since she had hit puberty. Her opinion amplified the day Sasuke had started dating the model-like Sara. The exotic blonde hair she had been proud of in her childhood had become something she loathed, because she was missing color. Fiery and hot.

With anger, she touched her reflections deep sapphire eyes, which had always been too easy to read. She couldn't stand her eyes. They revealed the ugliness she hid behind faked smiles and boisterous laughter.

And last, the nasty scars flaunting on her tanned chubby cheeks. They might have been delicate, but it was another disfigurement she loathed about her body.

She hated everything about herself- taught herself, talked herself into hating everything that she was representing.

Why wasn't she good enough?

"What are you doing?" Sasuke's silken voice ripped her out of her thoughts.

She could see his naked built in the reflection of the mirror, an annoyed expression on his handsome face.

In apparent horror, she squeaked at his sight and drew the blanket only tighter around her equally nude body. A bright red blush blossomed on her cheeks and she avoided his eyes over-consciously of their bare states.

His eyebrows drew together at her strange behavior and he snorted. "Stupid. What's the point of hiding, if I've already seen everything?" It was more a conclusion than an actual question he wanted an answer for.

Naruto was hardly able to tell him it had been his fault. First it had been an unconscious factor, comparing her body to Sara's, but after Sasuke's message it had become more complicated. It had been the first time he had actually told her, she wasn't what he wanted. Her body wasn't to Sasuke's liking, because she wasn't slim enough.

Clutching the blanket, she tried to hide her body from his watchful eyes. She didn't want him to find more flaws, blemishes on her.

"Dobe."

She jumped in surprise when pale hands surrounded her in a lose embrace. Feeling his warm body, she leaned back into his chest against her will. His chin resting against her temple, he sighed tiredly. The smooth skin of his lips brushed tenderly against her burning flesh as he spoke.

"I was kidding." There was some reluctance in his voice to hear. It must have been the embarrassment about him actually confessing such a thing. Uchiha weren't known for their attempts at jokes.

Therefore, it was no surprise she was completely bewildered by this side of him.

"You're fine the way you are," he whispered into her sensitive ear.

Clasping her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Sasuke turned her face around to spark a sensual kiss between them.

She couldn't remember how often they had kissed that night, but this one felt different than anyone they had shared before.

Don't be so kind to me. You'll make me think of things that aren't true.

She had been on the way back to the classroom, but her steps faltered upon the sight in front of her. Her heart beat erratically.

Against one of the window's in the hall leaned Sasuke, a little amused smirk on his pale lips.

But that wasn't the reason she was nervous.

By his side were two of their female peers and they weren't part of her friends, but acquaintances from Sasuke.

Tayuya was a rebellious girl with pink hair more flamboyant than Sakura's and a pretty face that contradicted her wild nature. A slim figure, Naruto had seen a glimpse of during PE, like Sara's was hidden behind the bulky uniform. The girl's hand was touching Sasuke's clothed arm, fuelling the hated jealousy in Naruto's veins.

"Uchiha, did ya really break up with your girlfriend?" Tayuya said, only leaning further in Sasuke's space. It hurt Naruto to see that he wasn't pulling away from her.

"Shall I be your new partner?" asked Kin, another beautiful girl from another class. She had very long raven hair, almost reaching down to the ground, tied by a white ribbon right near the end. Her uniform was more revealing than Tayuya's, but she had rather small breasts and a narrow hip. She seemed more boyish than even Naruto despite her long hair.

"Don't you already have a boyfriend?" Sasuke asked the girl dryly.

Flirtatiously she blinked at the Uchiha and also leaned into him. Naruto heard pure seduction in her voice when she spoke again.

"You're special, Uchiha-kun."

It made her see red.

"SASUKE!"

Her scream echoed in the hall and effortlessly caught the attention of the three. Immediately Sasuke turned to her, his smirk still in place. There was a questioning aura around him while the girls seemed confused by her interruption.

Embarrassed Naruto looked away.

She felt awful.

"What?" Sasuke asked her, when she didn't say anything, and stepped finally away from Tayuya and Kin.

Naruto felt as relieved as guilty, seeing this.

"If you don't hurry, we'll be late to class," she muttered quietly and avoided his black eyes. Knowing only to good that she didn't care about lateness, he must have noticed her suspicious behavior, but deliberately ignored it nevertheless.

He dismissed the two girls and then walked over to Naruto.

Guilt stricken and filled by self-loathing she didn't dare to look up at her best friend, her secret love. Sasuke would see her feelings in her expressive eyes and then he would realize what she hid. He would see just how fake she was.

How was it that she changed so much?

"Dobe," he patted her head gently. It was a totally foreign contact between them. "Let's go."

Sasuke turned away, ready to leave for class, but she couldn't move her feet.

She hadn't been always like that- feeling jealousy and the desire to monopolize.

Her voice was nothing but a breathless whisper as she called his name once again.

She had always held back until now.

"Are you free today?" she asked and hoped he wouldn't reject her. Even though he had consented with her plea before, it didn't mean he would accept her again.

It was like she was forcing him.

But he accepted and after school they returned to their hotel. To their tainted relationship. And to the guilt that would follow.

Surely he thinks I'm horrible.

"Who is the guy that dumped you?"

The question caught her completely off-guard and with widened eyes she rolled over to Sasuke. She clutched the blanket and stared at Sasuke with trepidation. Naruto hadn't anticipated that he would ask after her imaginary ex-boyfriend.

She braced herself onto her elbows, an eloquent "Eh?" leaving her kiss swollen lips.

His dark hair and fair complexion clashed gorgeously with the white silk of their sheets. He was lying on his side, his head leaning on his muscular arm and his beautiful body was hidden in between the depth of the blankets.

"You never talked about him," he added when she didn't answer.

"The guy, that dumped me?" She repeated, not able to think about an acceptable excuse. Her thoughts were running in a circle to make something up, but she couldn't think of anything. So, she said the first thing coming to her mind. "I won't tell you." And then she rolled around, turning her back to him.

As if she could tell him. There was no guy to begin with.

However, she hadn't counted on Sasuke becoming talkative now, at all times. Sasuke wasn't interested in the business of other people, even if it was his best friend, but he must have gotten intrigued for once.

"Naruto," he threatened.

"NO!" There was clear embarrassment in her voice, but she wouldn't budge. Sasuke couldn't know anything.

Suddenly, she could hear him move from the bed over to the window and open it. It confused her greatly and so she looked back, freezing instantly upon the sight that awaited her.

In his hands Sasuke held her black bra, which was moving in synch with the wind from outside. The dark look in his eyes and the dangerous smirk on his lips told her he would threw the garment out of the window if she wouldn't confess.

Hysterically, she stood up and went to rip the bra out of his hands, but she didn't stand a chance, being much smaller than him.

"Bastard!" she screamed and tried once more to reach her underwear.

The Uchiha watched her pitiful attempts with arrogance and superiority.

"What made you fall for him?" He asked eventually.

Naruto sighed in defeat and returned to her place on the bed, wrapping herself in the blanket. Like so often in the last few weeks, she avoided his eyes and bid nervously on her lower lip. A small glimpse at him told her he would still go through with his untold threat, so she only sighed once more.

"I-" She started and paused, still clueless of what to say. "I don't know-"

Hearing his grunt, Naruto looked up, catching the angry expression on Sasuke's face. She panicked again and indicated with a shake of her head that she would explain as longs as he didn't threw out her bra. She had never known Sasuke would lower himself to such childish threats. It wasn't the Uchiha's style.

"I'm not lying, I really don't know," she said and grasped her blonde hair with an iron grip, an undefinable emotion leading her to the action- hate, self-pity, guilt, love. She didn't know. "Even if you ask me, I don't know what happened, but now I have a hunch that everything already-"

It brought tears to her eyes, so she broke off.

She couldn't remember when she started to love Sasuke, but it might have actually happened right at the beginning, the moment they had met, even though she only realized years later. Sasuke had been different from anyone she had met before and that alone had intrigued her, going as far as to annoy him daily to become friends. And friends they had become, the best friends. As much she had thought differently, Sasuke was someone who would go through fire for his precious people, even if it were only a few. He had always been there for her.

At least, she thought he would be always there for Naruto.

Everything had changed after Sasuke had met Sara. Her best friend had changed.

"In the end, I found out that he loves someone, so it was impossible for me," she drawled off. She could barely hold the tears in.

Sasuke had told her to leave him alone, because he had put Sara above Naruto. She had promised herself before, she wouldn't act on her feelings, she wouldn't destroy their friendship and then, Sasuke had gone and exactly done that. Naruto had never felt so betrayed and Sasuke had never even noticed. Apparently he hadn't even noticed just how fucked up she had been afterwards- the drinking, the parties, the wrong friends she had made. He had noticed nothing.

A quiet hysterical laugh forced its way out of her lips. She didn't see Sasuke panic for a moment and returning to the bed, to her side.

And worst, he had gone back to being best friends as if nothing had happened. She had fought to a halfway normal life and he had never noticed she had been gone. Sasuke had acted as if nothing had been wrong, as if he didn't send her away.

How come Sasuke hadn't noticed his best friend was gone?

Finally Naruto noticed Sasuke's return and backed away from him, turning her back to him once again.

"That's it. That's the end of my story", she said, her words coming out with so much indifference, she couldn't even believe it was her own.

"You-" he started, but Naruto interrupted him and she couldn't suppress the anger she was feeling this time.

"What?"

A moment later the guilt was back.

Sasuke wasn't at fault. It was her who hadn't wanted him to know, so she couldn't possibly accuse him for his ignorance. Naruto had done everything to hide it from Sasuke and now she couldn't forgive him for falling for her trap.

She was such a hypocrite.

Suddenly a hand fell over her eyes, which were still teary, and she flinched at the contact. She could feel Sasuke leaning over her still form and she almost flinched when he whispered with a steady voice into her ear.

"Sometimes you make a face like you're about to cry," he stated. "Do you remember him?"

In the end, she couldn't hold her tears any longer and she began to cry silently. Sasuke was sure to notice, he hadn't taken his hand off her and he would feel the wet blobs of water running through his fingers. How could he be so cruel?

She didn't know what to feel anymore. She was happy and sad and angry. There were too many emotions whirling within her that she could put them into words. She only knew one thing.

She wanted to stay with Sasuke.

Sasuke, I love you so much.

They hadn't talked about the topic again and she was thankful for that. Well, honestly Sasuke hadn't been able to talk to her; she had started avoiding him. Again.

He must have noticed, because she had seen him watching and partly sending her angry glares. She thought it funny, that he would, after avoiding him for over twelve months, of all things, notice now, when she didn't want him to.

Karin must have seen their weird behavior as well, but instead of acting on it, she only watched Sasuke watching her. Naruto didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but she had the feeling Karin waited for something to happen.

Eventually, Sasuke managed to catch her when she was on the way to the bathroom with Ino and Hinata. He was approaching from the other side, so she had no possible way to run away if she didn't want their peers to think her even crazier than she was already thought of.

Sasuke grasped her around the wrist after she had passed him and drew her back into his chest. Surprised by his move, she only hissed, colliding with his chest almost painfully. She wanted to shout at his rough manhandling, but remained silent when she saw him glaring down at her with red tinted eyes. He might have been angrier about her actions than she had thought.

"Naruto," he growled and she gulped. Surprisingly, however, he deflated in an instant and stated evenly: "Meet me at the gate after school."

Flabbergasted she watched him leave, the words of Ino not even passing through her ears while her eyes were plastered on Sasuke's broad back.

This was the first time Sasuke called her out.

Some time after Sasuke has long disappeared Ino managed to get her out of her stupor and lead her to the bathroom, Hinata included. They returned to the classrooms and her classes ended way sooner than she had anticipated. All this time she had thought about Sasuke's demand and that for the first time, he had invited her. It had always been Naruto until now, but now something had changed.

It almost relieved her.

But what awaited her was something completely different.

Please, just please… don't leave me again.

TBC

Like it? Not so much?

Something different, CSF will be uploaded in the near future. Chapter five is already finished, but I found a beta, or more like a beta found me ;) She offered to read over it, but because I haven't been on for so long I asked her if she still was interested.

So, those who read CSF, the next chap is on the way and after this one I'm gonna try to speed up the story, because honstly, four chapters is way too long for one measly day. I want to bring some real action into the picture. Yup, that's it for now.

Until then, tüdelü,

Eisfuchs