Anonymity
Chapter Nine
-Close Encounter-
Natsumi stared at herself in the mirror, picking up her mascara and putting on the final touch. When she was satisfied with her face she moved back and took in her full appearance. She was wearing a black, long sleeved shirt. The sleeves stopped at her fingertips and were loose around her hands but cut across her chest. The sleeves draped down from her shoulders, though it didn't reveal any of her cleavage. Despite her trust in Akito, Taka's words still rang through her head.
She brushed out her white pleated skirt and made sure it wasn't too short, though it stopped just past her rear, showing off her perfect legs. She went back into her room and slipped on her flip flops. The pink haired girl took in a deep breath and raked her fingers through her hair, jumping when she heard the faint gong of the doorbell. "Oh my God he's here." She squealed and grabbed her phone, hurrying down the hall.
The weight of her phone in her hand made her think of darkfalcon and how little she'd gotten to talk to him this week. She had just been so busy with practice and with Akito, something twisted in her heart when she thought of the two together. She hadn't told darkfalcon about her date with Akito, because she didn't want him to know. When they did talk, it was still sweet and endearing, and she still found herself pining for him. But Akito was just so tangible she couldn't help it.
Not wanting to feel disgusted with herself this early in the afternoon, she pushed the thoughts aside and continued to the stairs, stopping at the top and seeing her father talking to Akito in his 'you do anything, you die voice'.
Akito nodded as the redhead finished talking. Then his gaze moved over to Natsumi, and smiled. That same, charming smile that Taka had said he would. "Hey Natsumi." He said by way of greeting.
Her stomach churned, for more than just one reason. She was excited, but scared. She didn't want Taka to be right. She wanted her to be wrong and to have a wonderful evening with Akito. She knew he wouldn't do anything too suggestive, right? "Hey." She replied loud enough for him to hear. She walked down the steps, both men watching her.
"You look beautiful sweetie." Gaara told her, giving her a small sideways hug and kissing the top of her head. "Don't do anything too stupid." He sighed, releasing her and disappearing down the hall.
"You ready to go?" the Uchiha asked.
"Yup." She nodded.
They headed out of the house then and to his Camaro. Unlocking it with the clicker on his keys, he opened the passenger door and made a sweeping motion with his hand. "My lady." He smiled.
She smiled, and shoved the invasive thoughts from her mind before they could make her wary. "Thank you." She said, before getting in.
He got in on his side and started the car before pulling away and heading towards his house. Akito looked at her, the corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. "So I bet you were super excited to hang out with me today, huh?" he teased.
"Oh, I bet you super want me to be all giggly and say yes." She smirked, looking over at him.
He chuckled. "Maybe I do. But it's okay, I know you were. I saw all those looks you gave me during soccer practice."
Natsumi's jaw dropped. "Yeah…well. I saw when you got nailed in the stomach with the ball my brother kicked at you, since you were too busy staring at me." She quipped, crossing her arms over her chest, victory washing over her.
This just caused a smirk to come to his face. "Of course I was staring at you. You were wearing that skimpy little cheerleading uniform and jumping up and down. I couldn't resist." He glanced at her before returning his attention to the road.
"Pervert."
"All guys are perverts." He stated.
She laughed. "But you're a super pervert."
"So." He said. They drove in mostly silence then, before entering a wealthy looking neighborhood. They pulled up to a large, modern looking house on a hill, and Akito turned off the car before running around to Natsumi's side and opening her door for her. "Well, here's where I live." He said as she got out of the car.
"I know where you live Akito." Natsumi smiled at him, looking back up at the house. "I used to come over for your birthdays until middle school, remember?"
He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well…it's been a while, so I wasn't sure." He said simply, before taking her hand in his and leading her towards the entrance. She let her fingers lace with his and shrugged.
"Well, you're just repressing your douche bag years." She pointed out. He unlocked the door and they walked in, Natsumi taking in the chic look. She had always liked the Uchiha household when she was younger.
Just then an elder dark haired man came out from one of the open doorways. He was looking over a few papers in his hands and seemed not to notice the two. The pink haired girl smiled at the familiar face. "Hi Mr. Uchiha." She waved. "Long time no see."
He just grunted, not paying much attention to them. He looked up then, and his eyes widened at the sight of the pink haired girl. He hadn't seen her over to his house in years, and was surprised that his son had even brought her over. He never brought anyone over. Not even his guy friends came over to the house. "Natsumi, what a pleasant surprise." He said, smiling slightly. "You've grown."
Said girl beamed. "Yeah, I'm not a short little pixie anymore."
Sasuke's gaze moved to Akito then. Knowing that look, Akito sighed. "We're just gonna hang out and stuff for a while." He said, answering his elder's unspoken question.
"Very well. Stay out of trouble." He said, walking off and returning his attention to the papers in his hands.
Akito tugged on Natsumi's hand then, leading her towards the stairs. "Come on, I'll show you my room."
"I bet you still have it with your cute little dinosaur theme." She snickered, allowing him to pull her up with him to his room.
He snorted. "Please, I outgrew that phase a long time ago." He told her, leading her down the hall and stopping before a door. He opened it then, revealing his room to her, which was mostly decorated in black and navy furniture. Typical masculine colors.
She walked in, taking in the new look and laughed. "Well I guess so." She smiled, looking around at all the changes she saw. There were a couple of picture frames around the room, mostly consisting of him and Toshiro. "You know I used to think you and my brother had some weird bromance thing going on."
"Well we already decided that if we did I'd be on top." He told her, following her into the room.
Natsumi blinked, looking back at him with a horrified stare. "What?"
He shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Yeah, your dad called me Toshiro's boyfriend, and that was when we decided that if it were true, I'd be on top, and he'd be my bitch."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You guys are such homos. I knew that sex drive of yours was a cover up." She sighed and stopped at one of the bookshelves looking over it. She laughed and reached up, grabbing a hold of an old, stuffed stegosaurus that was on the shelf. "I thought you said you were over the dino phase?" Natsumi snickered, turning and showing him the stuffed animal.
Her amused look turned to one of confusion as she studied the thing, "Wait a second…"
"I am over that phase." He said, walking over to her and looking at the stuffed animal. "But you gave me that one, so I kept it." he murmured, looking to her eyes.
"I know." She whispered, turning a slight shade of pink. "But why?"
Akito brought up a hand and gently stroked her cheek. "Because…you've always been important to me. I just forgot how much until recently." He said softly.
Natsumi sighed, reaching up and grabbing his hand and pulling it down from her face. "Yeah, sex and bimbos does that to you I guess." She frowned, she hated how everything in her head right now was clicking and linking to everything Taka said. How could she be so fickle and believe her and not take this affection for what it was? But it was so sudden, and she didn't know what to think. "I got it for you cause' you said they were your favorite…" she smiled slightly, running her hand over the still soft fabric.
He returned her smile. "They still are." He said.
"I'm sure they are." She went back and placed the stuffed animal back where she grabbed it from and walked back over to him. "So what do you want to do now?"
He shrugged. "Whatever you want to do I suppose." He said. "We could just hang out, or watch a movie in my home theatre. Or if you want to go somewhere we can."
"A movie would be nice. I loved your home theatre." She smiled, slipping her shoes off and kicking them beside his bed.
He slipped his shoes off as well, before taking her hand once more and leading her to the mini theatre in his home. They entered the large room and walked over to one of the walls that housed hundreds of movies. "Pick whatever you want." he said, gesturing to them. "Or we can order something."
"Oh what about this one?" she asked, pulling out 'The Proposal' and handing it to him.
"Sounds good." he said, putting it in the machine and setting everything up. They took their seats then, and just as the movie started, Akito leaned back and placed his arm on the back of Natsumi's chair. She glanced back, skillfully, at his arm and tried not to blush. Without allowing herself to chicken out, she pushed up the arm rest between them and moved closer to him, hesitantly leaning against his side.
Taking it as a good sign, Akito lowered his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, holding her against him as they watched the movie. She smiled, her stomach flipping on the contact. She rested her head on his shoulder and had to focus on the movie to stop from freaking out and hyperventilating. Her entire body was on fire just from the mere contact he was giving her. It was just nerve racking to be in such an intimate hold with him.
They sat like this the entire time, until the movie was over. As the credits rolled, Akito looked at the pink haired girl leaning against him. He repositioned himself so that they were closer. "What do you want to do now?" he asked, his face close to hers.
Natsumi shrugged, sticking her tongue out at him. "I dunno. But I need to stretch my legs." She stood up, lifting her arms up and stretching to relieve her sitting stiffness. "Ah! Much better." She leaned over, her shirt having risen slightly and revealing a sliver of skin.
Akito stood as well. "Come on, let's go back to my room." He said, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her from the theatre. He let his thumb rub the skin that was exposed to him. "You know," he sighed as they entered his room. "You're the only girl that's ever been to my house." He admitted, sitting on the edge of his bed and looking up at her. "I don't usually invite people over."
Her brow furrowed, confusion evident on her façade. "Really?" She asked, her heart dropping to her stomach. Was he lying to her? She shook her head and shoved Taka's annoying voice aside. It didn't matter that everything Taka had said would happen did. He still hadn't tried anything. And she felt comfortable with him and she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. At least not intentionally.
She moved closer to him, standing between his legs as she looked down at him, resting her arms on his shoulders as her fingers played with the back of his hair, letting her digits run through his soft dark locks. "I feel so special." She smirked, all previous nervousness gone.
He smiled up at her, placing his hands on her hips and rubbing small circles on them with his thumbs. "You are special." He said softly. "You always have been."
She shook her head, looking off for a moment. "You are such a liar." She met his gaze once more, but she didn't look upset. "You ignored me for a pretty long while. You seemed pretty content with your life."
"But I wasn't." he countered. "You said I'm unhappy with my life, remember? Maybe now I'm starting to figure out why."
"I'd love for you to explain it to me though." She smirked.
He stood then, their bodies just barely touching from their proximity as he looked down at her. "I think…it's because I was missing something." He whispered, bringing up a hand and cupping her cheek. "It's because I didn't hold on to you like I should have." And it was true. He had really just taken her for granted and gone off to do his own thing, eventually forgetting about her almost altogether. But now that he had been brought back to her again, all because of that English project, he was happy, and was going to take it as a sign.
The blush returned to her face and she swallowed, her nerves creeping up once more. "I've been in love with you since I was in kindergarten Akito." She whispered, trying not to freak out along with her admission.
"I don't deserve to have you love me." He sighed, resting his forehead against hers, causing their breath to mix.
"No you don't." she smiled, letting her hands slide down his chest and rest against his torso. "But that doesn't mean I'll stop."
At her admission, Akito could no longer control himself. So, he tilted his head, and gently pressed his lips against hers. Everything in her kick started and without even thinking about it, she kissed him back, with everything in her that had been pent up for the past ten years. And it was amazing. She gripped onto his shirt, pressing her body against his in a need she didn't know she was housing. He wrapped his arms around her then, pressing her body against his completely as he deepened their kiss.
He pulled away for a moment in order for the both of them to catch their breath, before attacking her mouth once more, slipping his tongue into her moist cavern. Natsumi couldn't help but moan into his mouth, his body just felt so amazing pressed against her own. "Akito," she rubbed against him, wrapping her arms around him and keeping him against her. He just kissed her even more passionately, as one of his hands began to slide lower, his fingertips brushing the top of her rear as his hand continued it's path.
At the feel of his hand on her rear, Natsumi's eyes snapped open and she jerked away from him, shoving him back and away from her, which caused him to fall back on his bed. "What are you doing!" she yelled. The second his hand had gone for other ground everything slammed back into focus for her. Taka was right! She couldn't believe it. "I can't believe what an idiot I am!" she shook her head, doing everything in her power not to cry.
Akito's eyes widened as he sat up and looked at her. He didn't understand, was he wrong in thinking that his advance would be okay? Because he didn't think she was going to freak out this badly. "I don't understand." He said, appearing lost.
"I'm not one of your bimbo's Akito!" she snapped grabbing her shoes and shaking her head. "You can't just manipulate me like that and sleep with me! You're just an asshole. Taka was right! She told me that you would do this, and everything she said was true." She hurried from the room then and ran down the steps. She looked around and spotted the study she saw Sasuke disappear into.
Despite the door being closed, she couldn't risk waiting and having Akito come after her, and so entered the room. "Mr. Uchiha." She said, almost letting out a soft sob. "I need you to take me home, please, I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Sasuke looked up from his work and frowned, taking in the girl's appearance. "What's wrong?" he asked, standing. "What did Akito do?" his voice hardened somewhat.
"I just want to go home." She choked out a cry, hating herself for looking so pathetic in front of her father's best friend. "I'm so stupid."
The elder nodded and picked up his keys. "I will take you home." He said, walking around his desk and leading her out of his study, just as Akito reached the end of the stairs and intercepted them.
"Natsumi, wait!" he called, stopping before her. "I don't understand. Why would you think I was trying to manipulate you and have sex with you? And what did Taka say?" he frowned. "I was just…going with the moment. I thought that would be okay." He told her, not even caring that his father was hearing this entire conversation.
"Well it's not ok! And if I was the only one you ever had over, how did she know all that you jerk." She glared at him, her anger renewed at the sight of him. "Now leave me alone. I was stupid to believe the crap spouting out of your mouth."
At this he glared at her. "It wasn't crap! Everything I said was the truth! But if you want to go ahead and believe Taka, someone who's hated you since the day she saw you, go right ahead. I'm sure she had the best intentions when she told what she did." He semi-mocked. "And of course she would be able to guess what I would do, we dated for a long time, and she's not stupid you know. She's very manipulative and strategic when she wants to be."
"Then no wonder she was your longest relationship! She's a female version of you!" she screamed in his face, walking past him.
He made a move to follow her, but was halted by Sasuke. "Just leave it alone." He instructed. "She needs time to calm down. And when I get back, you and I are talking." He said, before following Natsumi out the door.
They got into his car then, and he began to drive her home. "I apologize for my son's behavior." He said, glancing at her. "I don't know what he did, but obviously it was something bad, if it has made you this upset."
"It's fine." She shook her head, looking out the window. "Someone just told me he was after one thing and I didn't want to believe it. But I guess the little Akito I know isn't in there anymore." She sighed and looked back over at him. "Thank you for driving me home. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience."
"It's no problem at all Natsumi." The elder Uchiha said.
She nodded and looked back over, seeing they were already at her house. "Thanks again." She said before getting out of the car and walking into her house.
Sasuke sighed as he pulled away from her house and drove back to his own. When he walked through the doors, he went straight upstairs to his son's room and went inside, not even bothering to knock. It was his house after all. His gaze slid over to Akito, who was lying on his back in the center of his bed, holding an old stuffed dinosaur and examining it.
"Talk." He ordered, crossing his arms expectantly.
Akito let out a loud sigh. "Not much to say. We were kissing, and then I went to cop a feel of her butt. She pushed me away, flipped out and started accusing me of all these things, and then ran off." He summed. "She said something about my ex telling her I would try to sleep with her, but that wasn't even my intention." He sat up and looked at his father. "I just don't understand."
The elder Uchiha let out a sigh of his own, actually seeing the child that his son used to be mirrored in his eyes. "Son, girls are a complicated species. That's why I never really stuck with one."
"But I want to stick with her." the ebony haired boy semi-whined. "At least, I'm pretty sure I do."
"Well pretty sure isn't good enough. You need to be positive." Sasuke said. "Because I don't want Natsumi to leave our house crying ever again. Understand?"
"Yes father." Akito said, looking down.
Sasuke nodded. "Good." he said, before turning and leaving the room.
Akito groaned and flopped back on his bed, still holding the dinosaur that Natsumi had given him. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" he asked no one in particular. Just then his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see that it was a text from Natsumi. His brow furrowed, before he realized that she probably wanted to talk to darkfalcon. Sighing for like the thousandth time, he opened up the text and read it.
Are you still up?
He turned his phone to the side and texted out that he was, before letting his arm fall down to his side. He couldn't help but reply to her. She was upset and she needed him, whether she knew it was really him or not. His phone vibrated once more, and he looked at the text she had sent him.
I went over to you know who's house today…I guess it was some sort of date or something. Everything was going great. We watched a movie and then we made out a bit, but I flipped out when he groped my rear. I don't know what to do. His ex-girlfriend told me he just wanted to have sex with me. And I don't know if I was just over stimulated with fear of that being the truth, or I really saved myself there.
Akito glared at his phone. Stupid Taka. He didn't understand why she had to be such a bitch all the time. He quickly replied.
Well, if it was the ex-girlfriend who said it, shouldn't you doubt her words? I mean, unless you guys are friends or something. But if not she was probably only doing that to freak you out so that you wouldn't get with you know who.
He pressed send and waited for her response. He didn't have to wait long though.
I thought about it. But she seemed serious when she told me. And I don't know why I pretend like I still know him. He's nothing like the little boy I remember. And I'm okay with that, I mean he grew up. I shouldn't be so upset about it. I want to believe him, but how can I? I have no idea where this attention came from. So I don't know what to do.
His brow furrowed. Where did his sudden attention to her come from? He knew it had started around the slumber party a few weeks back…was it because she had actually spoken to him? Instead of blushing and looking awkward?
Shaking his head, he typed out an answer.
You should talk to him. Did he seem upset or disappointed when you freaked out? If he was upset, then he wasn't trying anything. If he was disappointed, then he was. Trust me. That's how all guys are.
After he sent it, he placed his phone on his forehead and closed his eyes, patiently waiting. And when is buzzed it fell on his face, making him grimace.
I don't know. He seemed kind of freaked out himself…like he didn't understand. You really think I should talk to him?
He smirked. Time to use this to his advantage.
You definitely should. That way you can clear things up. Besides, if it turns out the ex was lying to you, wouldn't you want to have the satisfaction of shoving your victory down her throat? Seems like she needs a dose of what she gives out. Just saying.
He sent the message and rose, deciding to change into his pajamas. When he came back he already had a reply.
I suppose. Anyways…I have a question for you. Do you like not like me anymore? Lately you haven't really talked much and every time we do, it feels like you're pushing me away like you want me to just be focused on you know who.
He had already thought out a response to that question, so it wasn't too difficult.
No, I do like you. But I want you to be happy. So I figure if you try things out with this guy and they work, then good. And if you try things out and they don't, even better for me. =)
I just want to be sure that being with me is what you really want. Besides, I told you I would help you out in whatever way you needed, and I meant it.
He pressed send, hoping that this worked. Finally his phone buzzed once more with his answer.
I know and I am so grateful. You've helped me so much. And you're right. I need to figure some things out before I trouble you with all this crap. Haha. I'll definitely talk to him, thanks again. You're always so wonderful. I'll talk to you later. I'm so tired from crying right now I feel like I'm going to pass out any second. Anyways, love you lots. Sleep tight!
Akito smiled and wished her a goodnight before placing his phone next to his bed and turning off his lights. He got beneath the covers and stared at the dinosaur that was across from him. Smiling, he grabbed it and set it on his bedside table before closing his eyes. He felt kind of guilty about manipulating Natsumi into talking to him, but it needed to be done. Because if not, then he wouldn't be able to date her at all. And he really wanted people to know that she was his.