Sorry for the little wait, but here's the latest chapter! As promised this is the start of longer chapters. Enjoy XD
Chapter 12. Sasu POV
It's about noon when we reach Naruko's apartment and we pull in next to another car outside. Glancing at it, I recognise it as the one that dropped her off at the school the other day. Itachi had finally picked his car up from garage this morning.
"Who's car is that?" We get out and walk up the steps, Itachi knocking on the door.
"Kiba's." We wait for a few minutes but don't hear any movement behind the door.
"Who's Kiba?" I watch as a frown forms on his face. He knocks again.
"He's on her course. They were out drinking last night." Still no answer, so he gets his mobile out to ring her. We listen as it goes off somewhere in her apartment but it just rings as it goes unanswered.
"And he's her boyfriend?"
"No." He bangs on the door again, but this time louder.
"Are you sure? I saw him drop her off at the school last week." He looks at me, a scowl on his face.
"Yes I'm sure, Sasuke. I would know if she was dating him." We stand for a couple more minutes before he lets out a sigh. "Wait here." I watch as he goes down the steps and goes to knock on a door further down. I lean against the wall. Mr. Hatake decided during the week that somebody else should be the one to pick my three essay questions and suggested Naruko to do it. I hadn't even read through them properly, no point if I'm not getting a choice.
I told Itachi little bits of what is going on at school, but missed out that I hadn't actually handed them in in the first place, because I couldn't think of a good enough excuse to get him to bring me here as I couldn't remember how to get here. I really need to get her number off her... I watch as he comes back, a key in his hand. Sneaky. "Move." I move to the side as he unlocks the door and lets us in. I'm surprised at how tidy it is apart from a couple of things, seeing as Itachi apparently hasn't been round in a while. A pair of trainers, obviously not hers, sit near the couch and a red tank top lies not far from it.
Itachi picks it up, looking at it before frowning, as if he could look anymore displeased, and drops it. "Stay here." Like hell am I. I follow as he heads to her bedroom, opening the door. I look past him and see two bodies in the bed, both obviously very naked underneath the covers.
"Woah, looks like somebody got laid." I look up at my brother's face and flinch, I don't think I've ever seem him as angry as he looks right now. The guy, must be Kiba, sits up rubbing his eyes. He yawns before glancing towards the door and freezes. I stop myself from sniggering at the scared look in his eyes.
"Holy shit." He nudges Naru, but she just pushes his arm away. "Naruko, get up."
"What, man!?" She opens her eyes and shoots up in the bed, pulling the cover over her chest to hide herself. Her cheeks turn red as she stutters, "What... are..." I watch as her eyes look past Itachi and look straight at me. The redness in her face deepens and I can't help but feel a bit funny. In a split second her expression changes from confused to angry as she throws her pillow at Itachi. "Get out!" He doesn't budge so she starts throwing random items from her bedside table at him. I flinch as one of them hits me in the knee. I pick it up, a small wooden box. "I said. Get. Out." He just walks away to go sit at the table and I follow, in fear of being hit with anything else. I hear her door slam. I grab an apple from her fruit bowl, she won't miss it, and take a bite as I fiddle with the box in my other hand. A few minutes later, the guy comes out the room, put his trainers on and quickly leaves as Itachi glares at him the whole time.
Naruko comes out not long after, wearing black trousers and a white long sleeved t-shirt, looking as if she's about to kill something. Or in our case, probably someone.
"Sasuke wanted to talk to you. I'll be in the car." My eyes follow him out the door, oh don't leave me with the devil...
"What did you want?" The blush is still covering her face as she speaks. She doesn't sound pleased but at least she's not snapping at me.
"Mr Hatake, my English teacher, told me I should get you to pick my essay titles." She drops down into one of the chairs so I sit opposite her, still eating the apple as she doesn't seem to care about it.
"You got the sheet with you?" I rest the small box on my lap as I pull the sheet out my back pocket and hand it over to her. I pick the box up and start playing with it again, resting the apple core on the table.
"Can I look at it later? I've got work soon." I nod. "What you got?" I hand it back over.
"You threw it at me before." She takes it, a small smile on her face.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't aiming for you." I smirk as she opens the box and shows me the inside. A tiny red fox made of crystal or something. "Do you like it?" I nod and her smile widens slightly; I'm surprised it didn't break from the force of throwing it at me, but the box looks pretty cushioned inside. "It was my mom's. It's the only thing I've got of hers. Took me ages to get it back after I'd sold it..." I look at her, confused.
"Why'd you sell it?" The red's finally faded from her face, but she looks sad.
"To pay for a fix." Oh.
"How did you get it back?" I can't imagine it being easy if she's sold it at a pawn shop or something...
"I tracked down the guy who bought it from the pawn shop. I'd gotten a lot of money for it, enough to last me a while... but once I was thinking straight again I'd realised what I'd done and wanted it back." Her voice gets quieter as she goes on. "The man who bought it paid more for it than I had gotten and he wasn't just going to give it back. And I couldn't give him any money or I'd have none for my next fix..."
"Then how..." She looks me in the eyes, and I wish I hadn't asked. There are no words for the pain I see in her eyes...
"I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, Sasuke..." Itachi beeps his horn outside. I don't see the key he got to let us in, so I'm guessing he's taken it back. "You better go now."
"You should go talk to him." But she just shakes her head.
"I can't. Not right now. We'd both just end up saying things we don't mean." She tries to smile at me, but it's forced and doesn't look right on her. I stand up as he beeps the horn again. I grab a pen from the table and write my number on a scrap bit of paper.
"Text me when you pick the essay titles. Or if, you know, you want to rant about him or something..." She gets up and walks me to the door.
"You're a sweet kid, Sasuke." She puts her hand on my left shoulder and kisses my right cheek. "Thank you." She opens the door and closes it behind me. I try to fight the heat rushing to my cheeks as I walk down the steps on to the car. Yeah, I'm just a kid to her...
Naru POV
"Right, listen up you brats." They all looked up to Ibiki. "Miss Uzumaki is going to be helping us out for a while. I expect that you treat her with the same respect as you would with any other member of staff." I scan the faces and cringe slightly noticing that it's Sasuke's class and that creepy kid is here too. Great for my first day. Because of my lectures being quite spread out during the week now, there's plenty time for me to do about four to five hours a day here, depending on which day it is, and still go to work on a night time. Need to keep myself busy. "Right, let's all have a quick warm. Two laps around the field." The kids groan and I smile. "You too, Naruko." Ah damn. The kids start jogging as I turn to Ibiki.
"Aren't you going to as well?" He grins at me, before pointing towards the jogging students.
"I'm always warmed up. Now get to it." I huff, but do as he says. I pass a few of the students who are purposely being slow. This just feels like being back at school again...
"Have you spoken to him yet?" I hadn't realised I'd caught up to Sasuke until he'd spoke.
"No."
"Naru..."
"It's Miss Uzumaki here, Sasuke. As much as I hate it... It makes me sound old." He sniggers so I glare at him. We pass by Ibiki as he scolds a student for being late.
"You should really talk to him, miss."
"You don't understand." Before he can say anything we finish the second lap. A few stragglers follow in behind us and Ibiki splits the class into two groups. I supervise my group as they practice the long jump and I record each of their results. Thankfully Sasuke, and the creepy kid, aren't in my group...
"Thank you. Have a good night." I clear the table, taking the dishes into the kitchen. "There you go, Lee." I go back to the table to wipe it and reset it before heading over to the bar to see if the old lady needed me to do anything. Apparently Aiko forgot that she had a holiday booked so I'm working some of her shifts as well as my own. Which is good, I need all that I can get at the moment. A week and a half has gone by since Itachi walked in on me and Kiba, and I haven't spoke to him, even though every time I see Sasuke he gets at me for not speaking to Itachi. But I'm still so angry at him that I don't think I'd be able to.
"Take these drinks over to table five please, Naru. Three earl grey, a coke and a tomato juice. Their food shouldn't be long." I take the tray from her and head over to the far side; we've been quite busy tonight but we're just starting to quieten down now. Getting closer, I wish I hadn't asked the old lady for something to do as I recognise the family sitting there. I notice the extra blonde head and feel a bit sad as I remember that used to be me years ago...
"Here's your drinks." I try not to make eye contact with any of them, hoping they'll not recognise me that I've had my hair highlighted and changed the style of it. Courtesy of Kiba, even though I told him I didn't want him to pay. I thought things between me and Kiba would be weird, but we're exactly the same as we were before. We've spoke a little about what happened but we both know there was nothing in it. I place their drinks down, "You're meal won't be long." I almost manage to get away but Mrs U places her hand on my arm.
"Naruko? I almost didn't recognise you there. You've changed your hair..." Damn, I thought I'd gotten away with it.
"Urm, yes. I figured it was time for a change." I keep my eyes down, still trying not to look at the others.
"It looks lovely, dear." Kiba chose to get a graduated bob and told the hairdresser how to lighten my hair. He should be doing beauty or something instead of sport. "You must have been saving up for it for a while, with all the bills you have to pay."
"Ahh, well..." I can't agree with her because Itachi knows I don't, more like can't, save; might as well just come out with it... "Erm, my friend paid for it. As a treat for me..." I can't help it as my eyes flicker towards Itachi and I have to stop myself from flinching at the cold stare he's giving me. I feel a hand lightly brush over mine and look down to my right and see Sasuke smile slightly at me.
"Oh that was really nice of her."
"Urm, yes. He's a really good friend..." Before she can say anything else, Itachi butts in, surprising me.
"I thought you didn't work here Wednesdays." Wednesdays are usually the only days when I don't work at any of my jobs.
"I don't." I look him in the eyes, as we both stare at each other. I hear Mr Uchiha cough, as I feel the tension building up and I'm sure the others are too. Sasuke's hand ghosts over mine again but I ignore it as my eyes flick to Deidara and I can't help but remember our conversation in Kyuubi. "I think he's gay"...
"Naru." Sasuke hisses at me quietly and squeezes my hand. He lets go as I look down, snapping out of it and smile at him before ruffling his hair.
"Normally I wouldn't be here, but Aiko is on holiday so I'm covering her shifts. I best be going now. Enjoy the rest of your night." I walk away quickly and back over to my boss as Lee helps another girl bring the Uchia's food out.
"You're finished in about fifteen minutes, Naru."
"Sure thing. Is it okay if I unpack the new stock in the back?" She smiles at me and I put the tray down on the bar.
"Of course, it's quiet in here now. You're much better at it anyway with that monstrous strength of yours." I grin at her before going through the door next to the bar into the back.
The old lady recently bought some new plates, cutlery and that because she's decorating soon. Which unfortunately means that she's closing for a while. However she's still going to be paying us for our normal hours, just on a reduced rate because she feels bad about putting us out while she gets the place sorted.
Grabbing a box, I check its contents and place it to the right side of the room. I sort through them, separating them, to make it easier for when the old lady comes to get them. Standing, I stretch my arms above my head and jump slightly as my mobile vibrates in my pocket. Getting it out I quickly check it to see a message from Sasuke.
"Itachi's coming." Just as I look up, the door opens and Itachi sneaks inside. I put my phone away and continue sorting through the boxes.
"Can't you read? Door says staff only in here." I try to ignore him, focusing on the boxes but he moves around me so that he's facing me.
"Naruko, we need to talk."
"No, we don't. Can you please leave now. I'm working." I lift up one of the heavier boxes and cringe slightly at the weight of it. Before I can stop him, he takes it off me.
"Where do you want it?" I sigh, but point over to his left. He puts it down and lifts another one. I point to his right this time. As he puts it down he looks at me, "About last week..."
"I said no." He frowns at me, but I notice his expression isn't as cold as it was earlier.
"So you'd rather ignore me forever, is that it?" I sigh again as I drop down onto a small stool.
"I didn't say that 'tachi..." He grabs another stool from the side of the room and sits down in front of me.
"I guess I was just pretty pissed that when I walked in he was nowhere in sight, which meant he was sleeping in your bed with you. You've never let anybody else sleep in your bed..."
"Sasuke slept in the bed that time..." I look up as he narrows his eyes slightly. "But I didn't. I stayed on the couch." His face softens slightly. "I was just trying to help him..."
"I know. Look if you like Kiba, that's fine. I'm not angry about that, I just wish you'd told me. We're best friends, Naru. We tell each other everything..." I frown as I think of mine and Deidara's conversation, about him trying to convince me he's gay. I shake my head, and let it drop for a while. No point getting more worked up at him.
"I don't like Kiba." He opens his mouth but before he can say anything I butt in, "I was drunk, Itachi, very drunk. And you know more than anyone that I do stupid things when I've been drinking."
"So it didn't mean anything?" I shake my head. "Oh, good. He's not good enough for you anyway."
"Why do you care?" He looks at me, and I feel a pang in my heart as his face looks slightly upset. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean... why does it bother you who I... you know." My cheeks blush slightly.
"You're my friend, Naru. I care about you; I don't want you getting hurt by some dogboy." I smile at the nickname. Itachi was the one who originally called Kiba dogbreath, and it kind of stuck with him.
"I'm sorry I ignored you. It was childish, I know. But you pissed me off walking in on us. With Sasuke behind you as well." I can feel my cheeks go redder. Before he could say anything, the door opened and Lee popped his head round.
"Ol' lady says if you don't leave now, you're not allowed back. You finished about fifteen minutes ago." He gives me a thumbs up and I copy the action, smiling at him.
"Thanks, Lee." He closes the door behind him, and I take my apron off, sticking it in the dirty basket. There's also a washing machine and tumble dryer in here for tea towels, aprons etc as well as it being a changing room too, if anybody needs it. I put my stool to the side and head out the room, picking my jacket up on the way, Itachi following close behind. "Catch you later guys." I wave to the staff still working. Before I can head out, Itachi grabs my hand to stop me.
"Can I come round tomorrow? We need to... you know, talk some more." I force a smile and nod.
"When have you ever needed an invitation? My house is your house blah, blah. I got to go to Kyuubi to meet with Asuma about starting back." He looks at me confused. Ahh shit...
"What do you mean starting back?"
"Ahh, nevermind." I try to pull away but his grip on my hand tightens.
"Naruko."
"I've just not been working there for a while. That's all." He drags me outside.
"It's because of him isn't it?" I sigh.
"Look, just drop it, 'tachi. Squirt has already apologised about it. He feels bad enough without you lecturing him about that too. Please, just let it slide." He looks at me for a while before sighing.
"Fine."
"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He nods and I head off pulling my jacket tighter, feeling the cold.
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