Hm…….I just realized Sakura and Naruto have been in his apartment for a while now. o.o How many chapters has it been? Three? Four?
I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.
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Both teens stiffened as the doorbell rang.
"Shit! That must be Ino," Sakura pointed out.
Naruto flung himself out of Sakura's embrace; the fear evident in his blue eyes. He felt the stinging tears begin to well up in his eyes again and he shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no!" he screamed. "She can't find out Sakura! Ino can't know! She can't…."
The doorbell rang again; Naruto flinched.
Sakura threw a glance at the door, "Coming," she called. She looked back over at Naruto and instructed him to sit on the couch and for him to try and calm down.
"She won't find out?" he asked fearful.
"I promise," Sakura told him truthfully.
The doorbell rang a third time, but Sakura was ready. Despite the atmosphere in the room, Sakura gave a cheery smile, "Hey Ino."
"Don't give me that smile like nothing happened Sakura!"
Sakura's body stiffened slightly as Ino said this. Naruto's body froze as well.
'Did she find out? Does she know?'
"I had to wait out here forever for you to answer the door and then you open it, all happy and cheerful like you answered it on the first ring!" Ino complained.
Sakura laughed in relief, "My bad Ino. So you got Naruto's car right?"
"Yep! It's parked out in the back," the blonde girl said, handing over the keys. "But um….speaking of Naruto where is he?"
At the mention of his whereabouts, Naruto cringed, trying to make himself smaller as his hands covered his face resting them on his knees. Despite his efforts of remaining silent, a whimper still managed to get through. Although the noise was small, Ino still managed to pick up on it.
"Is Naruto….crying?" She asked, poking her head into the doorway.
"Uh….yeah. You see we were just watching this movie at and the end, these little kids got shot. It was real tragic!" Sakura lied.
"Uh huh….." Ino replied, not believing a word Sakura said, "Well, I'll see you later Sakura."
Before she officially left however, she smiled towards Naruto and said, "Cheer up Naruto. It was only a movie."
"Sure thing Ino….." Naruto answered quietly, but loud enough for her to hear.
With a wave of her hand, Ino turned and sauntered out the door. With a deep sigh, Sakura shut the door and realized how dark it was in room. Not a single light was on and the setting sun offered no help to help brighten up the place. Her green eyes rested on Naruto who still sat on the couch. His position had relaxed some; his face was no longer hiding in his hands, although his arms stayed locked around his knees. He didn't bother to look at her either.
"Naruto?" Sakura called softly, beginning to walk over to him.
"What?" Naruto replied almost bitterly.
He kept his gaze straight ahead, his blue eyes fixated on the off TV in front of him. In the reflection of the screen, he was able to spot Sakura flinch at his reply and then sit down beside him.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Sakura asked. Her voice was soft, as if she was speaking to a little child.
"There's nothing to talk about," he replied; the sullen expression on his face eminent.
"Naruto, don't tell me that. You were just breaking down crying about an hour ago, and now you say there's nothing to talk about? You know, this is exactly why it hurts so badly! You keep it all locked inside and you're in denial! You need to tell someone!"
Naruto jumped up, spinning around to face the pink haired girl.
"Forget it!" he snarled, "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you in the first place! What'd you want me to do?! Go see a therapist; the school counselor?!"
"Yes!" Sakura answered, sounding exasperated. "They'll help you through this Naruto….believe me….."
"I'm not going to tell anyone else about this! I told you! Isn't that enough?"
'Why does she care so much? What does it matter anyway? Why won't Sakura just drop it already?'
"No, it's not Naruto. You told me because you trust me. I'm your friend
and friends help each other get through things."
"Then why can't you--?" Naruto interjected.
"Because I'm not a professional Naruto!" Sakura snapped.
Naruto felt his eyes narrow, his body stiffen, and his blood run suddenly cold.
'What difference does it make anyway?!'
"Look, either you get help or you suffer. It's as simple as that," Sakura told him as she stood up from the couch. Naruto waited for her to say more, but she never spoke. She just gathered her things and opened the door, all the while never looking back at him. Sakura paused as she reached the door however, and turned to face him.
"The pain's not going to get better Naruto. It's only going to get worse. You need resolve and the only way to get it is by seeing a counselor of some sort. You said you didn't want to live with the pain anymore; that you didn't know what to do. I'm giving you a way out and whether you take it or not," she paused, "Well, that's your choice."
Then, without another word and a slam of the door, she was gone.
Even long after Sakura had left the building and Naruto heard her car drive off, he still looked towards the door. He felt numb, colder than he had in a while. Telling a counselor? No way. That had been one of his fears from the start. He just wanted the whole thing to blow over; to put Sasuke, the rape, the pain, all behind him. He wanted to lock it in a drawer and for it to stay there, never to be opened or touched again. Seeing a counselor required him to tell the story all over again. He would have to relive every excruciating detail and Naruto wasn't ready for that. And the sad thing is, he felt like he never will.
'So what do I do now?'