Laura: Fair warning, this chapter will contain some sensitive content...

Sasuke: "Sensitive content"? Fuck you.

Naruto: Later. This is serious.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, but sometimes I like to pretend I do. :S

Sasuke POV

Relax, I kept telling myself.

Breathe in and breathe out...

In... Out...

Y ou're being ridiculous Sasuke! It's just a party. Stop being a wimp!

I quickly hurried over to an empty spot on a couch near the back of the crowd and protectively pulled my knees up against my chest. Great, I thought sarcastically. Now I must look like a scared little kid. Why would he do this to me? Why would he leave me? He promised he wouldn't, and what's worse is he pinkie promised. You don't break a pinkie promise... EVER.

Naruto was always, always reliable. So why...?

One thing I didn't mention to Naruto (or more like couldn't mention) was that I've never been to a party like this before. Something as loud and crowded as this couldn't even begin to compare to attending childhood birthdays in someone's backyard. And there sure as hell wasn't copious amounts of alcohol available to anyone and everyone when I was six or seven years old pinning a tail on a donkey. Everything around me made me nervous. I didn't like being surrounded by people with so few inhibitions and even less control over their actions. I haven't been exposed to this kind of environment before and it was easy to see why. I'm so easily overwhelmed by the slightest change in my life.

Why did I think I could handle this?

Dancing with Naruto calmed me down a little, sure, and I let myself enjoy our time together as best I could given the circumstances. I thought as long as I had him by my side, everything would be alright somehow. He was my comfort zone, and although I was aware that my dependence on him could be viewed as borderline unhealthy, I just wanted him close to me. That's how it's always been. When he started to talk about 'us' and 'feelings' I got nervous. I'm not stupid. I've seen the movies where boys say "let's talk about us" or "we need to talk" and in every one of them the girl ends up crying. Now he may not have said that exactly, but it was pretty damn close. He startled me a little when he grabbed my shoulders and stared deep into my eyes. He looked very determined for some reason and uncharacteristically serious for someone who is usually such a giant goofball.

"Sasuke, I think I l-" was all he got out before Lee and his friend Kiba came barging through the crowd for Naruto. I immediately felt sick when he told me he was going to leave me. I'm sure he thought it wasn't a big deal. And maybe it wasn't, not to him anyway. He tried to continue with whatever it was he wanted to say but was forcefully pulled away and lost in the crowd before anything more could be said. And that's how I ended up here. Sitting alone on this big couch all by myself, downright petrified.

"Hey Sasuke."

I jumped a little and spun my head around to find Neji Hyuga standing beside the couch, smiling down at me. "Umm, hi..." I said not fully making eye contact with him. Neji and I hadn't really spoken since I turned him down. What was there left to say? By no means did I consider him a friend. He was hardly an acquaintance. We knew nothing about each other despite attending the same high school for two years. I had realized fairly early on that Neji's attraction to me was solely physical. Naruto really helped drive that point home.

"Are you okay? You look kinda worried," he asked appearing concerned as he sat down in the empty space next to me. I felt my muscles tense and internally refused to respond to him. I heard him let out a sigh before rubbing his hand over his face. "Look Sasuke. I don't know why you hate me so much, but I'm just trying to be friendly."

I stubbornly kept my gaze to the floor.

"Fine," he huffed before shoving himself off the couch. "I'll just leave you alo-"

"No!" I suddenly yelled over the loud music. Before my mind could catch up with my body, I grabbed the sleeve of his shirt as if my life depended on it. He turned back to face me with a confused expression, but eventually sat back down. "I'm sorry..." I said letting go of him. "I'm just a little jumpy... This is the first time I've been to something like...this."

"Oooooooh," Neji drawled, slumping back into the couch cushions. "I get it. Aw Sasuke, there's nothing to be worried about. It's totally under control." I glanced up at him with a look that clearly said "do you think I'm stupid?" and he chuckled before gesturing towards the dance floor with his hand. "Trust me Sasuke. This is nothing compared to what I've seen. Nothing." He smirked as if recalling fond memories of a more chaotic setting. I could feel myself offering an uneasy quirk of the lips in response.

"So if you're so scared of parties and stuff... why are you here?" His sudden question struck a chord in me and I quickly hid my face from him as I felt a stinging sensation prick my eyes.

"My best friend wanted to come..."

"Naruto, right?" I simply nodded, afraid that if I kept talking I would start to cry. "And he left you knowing this was your first big bash?"

"...He didn't know it was my first…" I barely managed to whisper.

"But he knew you were scared?" I nodded again as I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. In the next moment, I felt two warm arms wrap around me and coddle me against a solid chest. I couldn't help but lean into the comforting touch. "That's messed up," he grumbled under his breath. I nodded again as I sniffled into his chest. "Hey." He gently pulled me back by my shoulders so he could look at my face. "I'm here now okay? You're not alone anymore." I quickly then pulled him in for a hug to thank him for being so kind to me. I never expected Neji to have a soft side. And more shocking still, I never expected him to show that side to me just when I needed it most.

"Come on," he urged before pulling us both off the couch. "Let's go somewhere quiet." Quiet. The way I was feeling right now, that sounded like heaven.

I let him guide me through the crowd of people to a nearby bathroom. For a moment, I was hesitant to go in, but he assured me that this was the only quiet place we could talk that wasn't off limits to the guests. As he shut the door behind us I made my way over to the sink, bent down and splash cold water on my face. To put it lightly, I looked dishevelled. After I was done I stood back up properly and saw Neji leaning against the door through the mirror. His hands were in his pockets and he was smiling — more like smirking at me.

"So...thanks again for..." I trailed off as he took a step towards me.

"Sasuke, you are very beautiful." The warmth spreading through my cheeks was involuntary and I automatically took a step back.

"Thanks…" I mumbled as he took another step closer to me. That once kind and concerned face had now morphed into a predatory look. I could feel my legs start to shake as I backed up into the wall with nowhere else to go. "Well-" I began with an audible tremble in my voice. "Again, thank you for comforting me. I really appreciate it. But I better go find my friends." I offered a polite nod to him then quickly walked around him towards the door. Before I could even take a third step, I was being forcefully pinned up against the wall again. His finger nails dug sharply into my arms and I winced from the unexpected pain.

"What are you DOING?!" I yelled positively furious while trying to push him off of me. He had a far taller and stronger build than I did, but I had no idea how unevenly matched we truly were until I felt the full brunt of his force.

"So sexy," he replied, his voice lower and raspier than before.

Before I could shout again he crushed his lips onto mine. Rough and dominating, he pushed his tongue into my mouth. I desperately struggled to free myself from his invasive tongue, but I was hyper aware that if I pushed too far, Neji could easily bite me in retaliation. The thought brought angry tears to the corners of my eyes as I screwed them shut tightly, not wanting to see what was happening in front of me.

While keeping me pinned against the wall he forced his leg in between my thighs and started to rub me through my jeans. I gasped into his mouth and tried again to push him away. This only caused his grip to tighten around my arms. He finally removed his mouth from mine and started to viciously suck on my neck. "STOP IT! I DON'T WANT THIS!" I screamed hysterically, still wiggling under his grasp. "I SAID STOP! LET GO OF ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" I felt Neji chuckle, actually laugh against my skin.

"No one can hear you Sasuke," he whispered hotly in my ear. I shivered in disgust as the horrible truth washed over me. He was right... No one would be able to hear me. The music was far too loud. Even if I had a blow horn they still wouldn't be able to hear me. But I still had to try.

"HELP! PLEASE HELP! NEJI STOP!"

He slid his hand from my arm to my right hip and grabbed the hem of my shirt. My eyes bugged out of my head as I realized what was about to happen. He was going to assault me... Right here. Right now. A new set of tears came rolling down my cheeks as the true severity of the situation hit me. I pushed against him with all my might but that didn't stop him from pulling my shirt up and pinching my right nipple hard between his nails. I cried out in pain and shock.

"Do you like that?" he grinned maliciously in my face, "I bet you do, you little slut."

"NO!" I screamed in protest as I turned my face away from his. His right hand slowly slid down my backside and stopped at the top of my jeans. Neji licked his lips and grinned at me. Despite everything, He was actually enjoying himself! "How about we take these off?" he said while slipping one finger into the drawstring of my pants. "NO!" I wailed as I thrashed around on the wall.

"Stop fighting me!" Neji roared, finally becoming fed up with my whining.

Faster than I could keep up with, Neji pushed his hand into my jeans and shoved two fingers inside of me. The pain ripped through me like a hot knife and I choked out a sob as he roughly moved his fingers inside of me without any preparation at all. I closed my eyes and prayed that this was all a horrible nightmare that I would somehow wake up from.

Naruto.

His name echoed in my head.

I need Naruto!

Neji slammed his lips back onto mine. I wasn't expecting the impact so my head banged into the wall with a loud thud. His grip on me faltered slightly from the aftershock and that was all the opportunity I needed. I brought my fist up and smashed it into the side of his head. He stumbled backwards, dazed from the hit, giving me just enough time to escape through the door.

Naruto POV

Ugh. I hate beer pong. Who can drink warm beer and be happy about it? Luckily I didn't have to drink more than three cups because Kiba really sucks at this game. Even still, I won the game with my mouth tasting like dirty socks.

I passed on round two and headed back inside. I needed to find Sasuke.

The party was still in full swing bopping to the beat of the music as I made my way through the crowd. Most of the people on the dance floor had been there all night. Don't they ever get tired? I stopped at the bar and stood on my tippy toes to see over the crowd. No Sasuke. Where could he have gone? I glanced over to the bathrooms but still I saw nothing. I started to feel a little uneasy.

Where is he?

I took one more sweep of the crowd and just caught the top of his head moving my way. I smiled to myself and waited for him, but he wasn't coming towards me, he was heading for the door beside me. It was then I noticed he was rushing through the crowd. I moved over a bit so I could be in his path. Sasuke broke through the crowd like a hurricane and slammed right into me. I wrapped my arms around him to steady us and pulled him to a wall near the door. "Teme?" I asked as I pulled him back to look at his face. Tears were flowing down his cheeks and his lip was quivering.

"Sasuke!" I yelled in alarm, "What's wrong?!"

Sasuke slammed his hands on my chest and pushed me. Hard. I fell back a couple of steps and almost pushed over a few people in my loss of balance. I regained my footing quickly and stared back at Sasuke utterly confused by his actions. His hands were bawled into fists at his sides and his face showed nothing more than hurt. Before I could grab him again and question him further, he took off through the door and down the front porch.

I was immediately following right behind him.

He slowed his pace to a walk but didn't stop as he marched by the cars that were parked on the side of the road. "Sasuke!" I called out to him as I chased after. He ignored me and continued to walk. "Sasuke, stop!" I tried again. Still, he refused to acknowledge me. "Sasuke, please!" I hollered in one final act of desperation. Finally, he stopped and we both froze where we stood. He slowly turned around to face me.

Boy if looks could kill...

"What?" he seethed through his teeth a few feet in front of me.

"Sasuke, what the hell happened?" I asked once again before taking a tentative step closer to him.

Sasuke looked at his feet for a moment, wiped away his tears, then finally made eye contact with me. "Why don't you ask Neji Hyuga!" he yelled before starting to shake violently from his overflowing emotions.

Neji Hyuga... What the fuck?

Bewildered, I asked, "What does Neji Hyuga have to do with this?" before taking another step toward him.

"Why'd you do it Naruto?! Why did you leave me?!"

It took me a moment to catch up, but once I did, guilt started to flood through me. "Sasuke, I didn't-"

"And while you were supposed to be with me...protecting me..." he whimpered, "Neji was shoving his tongue down my throat!" His words sent a shock through my entire body. My blood boiled and my vision blurred red. It was unlike any anger I had ever felt before.

"He put his hands on you?" I hissed, my voice sharper than a knife. I heard Sasuke scoff as he shook his head. "Oh, he did more than that." I didn't know what to make of that. The possibilities were just too appalling to even comprehend. Sasuke wasn't the only one shaking anymore.

"Sasuke, you don't know how sorry I-"

"Whatever!" He quickly dismissed my apology as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It doesn't matter. I didn't want to come to this stupid party anyway!"

"Then why did you come?!" I shouted back at him, unable to control all the emotions bubbling up inside of me.

"For YOU, you idiot!"

All feeling seemed to drain from my body as I was forced to stare into his broken hearted face. A look I had caused.

"I did it for you..." he whispered just barely loud enough for me to hear before spinning around and continuing his path down the road. On an impulse, I took a step forward and reached out my hand.

"Sasuke..."

In that instant my whole world seemed to come crashing down around me.

Sasuke was hurt...

Neji Hyuga hurt him...

I'll kill him.

I left the party as fast as I could and when I got home I ran up to my room, all the while avoiding my Mother's questioning eyes about my strange behaviour. I slammed my door shut behind me and pulled out my cell phone. My fingers couldn't seem to move fast enough and I kept clicking the wrong buttons. I finally got it right, and I held my breath as it rang a few times in my hand.

"Hi, this is Sasuke. Please leave me an awesome message and I'll get back to you."

BEEEEEEEEP

I growled in frustration as I hung up and started dialling another number.

Once... Twice...

"Hello?"

"Mikoto-" I breathed out her name, partly in relief and partly out of guilt for what I allowed to happen tonight.

"Naruto? Is something wrong sweetie?"

"Is Sasuke there?"

"Yes, he said he was going to bed a few minutes ago. Didn't you ride with him?"

I sat down on my bed, cursing under my breath. "Uh, actually there was kind of a change of plans... But, um... Did he...say anything to you? About anything?"

"No..." I could clearly tell by her voice she was confused by the question. "Should he have?" I pulled at my hair with my free hand irritably and closed my eyes. "No, sorry. I just needed to, uh, ask him something. No big deal... Goodnight."

"Yes... Goodnight dear."

I ended the call and flopped down on my back against the mattress. I need to talk to him. I've got to make this right. It's completely my fault. If I hadn't left him there this never would have happened. He could have been cuddled up in my arms right now, not at home crying his eyes out thinking I betrayed him. But... I did betray him...didn't I? I didn't do it on purpose! I just - I didn't think! That's always my problem! I don't think! Even though he told me. Even though I promised him I still...

As the hours ticked away, I got no sleep whatsoever. I tossed and turned in bed relentlessly worrying about the state Sasuke was in. My only comfort at the moment was knowing he was safe in his own home with people who love him and would protect him. But even that wasn't enough to ease my conscience. What could I possibly say to him? 'I'm sorry I left you and that Neji attacked you?' I clenched my teeth together and squeezed my eyes shut as if I could block out all the pain I was currently feeling.

He will never forgive me for this... How could he? If I was there, Neji would be in the hospital and Sasuke would be fine. Plain and simple. But I wasn't there. I was playing fucking beer pong! I probably almost cost him his V-card and I still have the audacity to ask for forgiveness? On the other hand, losing Sasuke just isn't an option. Ever. Especially not before I get a chance to tell him how I really feel.

I was brought out of my self-wallowing by my phone buzzing, alerting me I had a text message. I checked the clock on my bedside table. It read 3:06 am. I silently groaned then grabbed it off the table, figuring it was Kiba to yell at me for ditching them at the party. I opened the message and shot straight up in my bed as Sasuke's name popped up on the screen.

Why did you leave me? -Sasuke

Sasuke! Oh god, I am so sorry! I didn't know something like that would happen! -Naruto

I waited exactly 30 seconds before he replied. It was the longest 30 seconds of my life.

Answer the question. -Sasuke

I rubbed the sleep deprivation out of my eyes with my hands and slowly typed back my pathetic reply.

I never meant to leave you... It's just the guys would have never stopped bugging me and I guess I just sort of forgot... I know that's not an excuse... -Naruto

He didn't reply so I decided to type another apology.

Sasu, you have no idea how sorry I am... Are you okay? Do you need my Dad to come check you out? -Naruto

He didn't answer so I tried again.

Sasuke, please... I'm so fucking sorry. I never should have left you. I'm such an idiot. -Naruto

I let out a defeated sigh, thinking he wouldn't text back anymore, but was surprised when my phone suddenly buzzed again.

That's not good enough. -Sasuke

I pulled on the ends of my hair and fought back the tears that were threatening to spill out.

How can I make this better? -Naruto

You can't... -Sasuke

My grip on the phone tightened as my vision began to blur through angry tears. What could I say? How can I make this right?!

Sasuke said it all... I can't.

Do you hate me? -Naruto

I wanted to be clear on where we stood, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. I waited a long time, getting more and more frustrated by the second. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he replied with four simple words.

Don't talk to me. -Sasuke

I threw my phone across the room and watched it shatter on the floor, allowing myself to cry openly now.

No... Please no... Don't let this be it. I can't live without him! He's my everything! My best friend, my family, the person I'm in love with...! Just - my everything! We can't end like this!

I buried my face into my pillow and muffled my wretched sobbing.

Sasuke... Please forgive me...

Laura: I feel bad for writing this...

Sasuke: You should feel bad! Dammit, I hate you!

Naruto: You know on some level, I hate you too.

Laura: *Sigh* If you wish to leave a review please feel free.

Sasuke: Yeah, tell her what a HORRIBLE PERSON SHE IS!