I'm alone

Itachi let me go out of the hug that we had found ourselves in. I was unsure of how to describe why my heart had wavered at that moment. My mind was so divided but my heart knew exactly where it wanted to be right at this moment. Itachi looked at me, still with the tears coming down his cheeks, and sighed.

"W-Why…Why did you come here?" He was able to choke out and I lightly pulled the money out of my coat pocket, "…To give me money?" He paused for a moment, "For the dresses?"

I looked down and Itachi looked away in sadness. I knew he was beating himself badly for what he had done. I knew that showing him the money would only validate what his father had said. Sasuke put a hand upon his brother's shoulder. At least Sasuke's view on Itachi changed; at least he can have a brother back again.

"Where are you going to go brother?" Sasuke asked again and Itachi looked down in sadness, "I…I won't be able to sleep at night knowing that you are stuck on the streets in the night…I have to help you out; find you some sort of place to stay while this boils over…"

"No need, I will find somewhere to go Sasuke…I'll get a job, I'll just go anywhere…Anywhere is better than showing up at our doorstep defeated…" Itachi spoke out and my heart began to burst out.

"You'll stay with me." I spoke out, "I wouldn't forgive myself if I just let you stay out on the streets. We have room at my apartment…"

"S-Suine…" Itachi lightly spoke to me, "I…I don't want to be a burden to either you or Melody…"

"You won't be…Just please, for Sasuke's sake. At least he will know you are safe and sound."

"T-Thank you…"

I smiled lightly to Itachi and looked away from both of them. What was Melody and Kisame going to say if I came home with Itachi? They were too hurt, especially Kisame. How would he ever be able to look Itachi in the eye, like he used to. Sasuke had nodded and gave some money to Itachi, offering some sort of service that his brother would accept. Just to interrupt us came Yuka, walking down the sidewalk behind both Sasuke and Itachi. My eyes widened in sadness and Itachi noticed that look. Itachi turned around, along with Sasuke, and stopped dead in his tracks when Yuka was there.

"Y-Yuka?" Itachi asked and Yuka's eyes widened when she saw me behind him.

"What is she doing here!?" Yuka screamed out at me, pointing her finger directly in my face, "Don't tell me she made you believe her filthy lies again!"

"Filthy lies!?" Sasuke spoke up in my defence, "Coming from you! You think that you could just deceive my brother forever-"

"Enough Sasuke." Itachi stopped Sasuke and both of our hearts stopped.

"But brother-"

"I will handle this…" Itachi sighed and lightly walked up to Yuka who stared into his eyes. Suddenly, to surprise us all he slapped her across the face, "That is the last time you use me ever you understand!? And if you ever think to come near me again I swear I will do everything to make sure your family loses every bit of fortune they have! And to top it off, if I see you anywhere near Suine, I will personally give you more than that slap. No one gets to fool me like this!"

Yuka looked scared as she backed down. There was not much she could do in this situation. She had been discovered, and not just by Itachi either. She looked down in defeat and held her cheek. She turned around without a word and left Itachi alone, forever.

"Itachi-kun…" My voice spoke up and I noticed that my hand had found itself onto his arm.

"I'm okay…no need to worry, Suine…" Itachi sighed but smiled lightly at me, "We should get going…I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sasuke…"

"Big Brother…be safe okay?"

Itachi nodded and we both began to walk away from his house; as Itachi held onto the duffle bag that his father basically threw at him. Itachi fell silent and my voice no longer wanted to say something to him. Was it really this hard to be able to talk to him again? I don't understand why my heart grew so heavy. He was back, shouldn't I be ecstatic?

"Suine…" Itachi began, breaking the silence between us, "I can't thank you enough for what you are doing for me…I couldn't be sorrier…I don't know how…if you can ever forgive me for what I have done to you…"

"I'm not sure either Itachi…People have hurt me all the time…" I spoke the truth and Itachi's eyes widened, "The moment you gave me that look at school…I knew what being alone felt like but until that point, I never knew how much it really hurt to be alone…I had missed you, Kisame missed you…"

"I know…I should have listened to him, I messed up huge and it's my entire fault."

"But your father-"

"He may have started it and he may have been the one to instigate this…But I believed it. I wanted; no I needed something to be wrong with you…"

"W…Why?"

"Because you were too good…You were too good to me…How was I supposed to ever compare to someone like you."

"Why would you ever need to compare to me?" I told him and he looked at me once, but then turned away.

"…I don't know." He looked down, "But either way I am at fault; just as much as my father is."

The silence began to build up again and I had a sinking feeling that this tension between us wouldn't cease here. I had never felt silence like this before; Itachi had meant the world to me but now it felt like everything was different. But did my feelings for him really change? It scared me more when I thought about my feelings disappearing.

Suddenly, to disrupt my thoughts and the silence was my phone vibrating like crazy in my pocket. Itachi and me, turned the corner that led us to be on the street where my apartment was, the moment I grabbed my phone. My eyes caught a glimpse of Melody and Kisame standing in front of the entrance to our apartment. I quickly reacted by grabbing Itachi's arm and pulling him to the side of the apartment building; listening to their conversation.

"S-Suine…What's the big idea-" Itachi began but I put my finger up to my lips.

"Kisame and Melody are right there!" I whispered to him, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to be seen by them just yet…I have to explain to them what has happened."

"Why can't I just-"

"Because they won't believe you but they will believe me…" I paused and I saw Itachi lean against the wall in sadness, "Just do what I say for now okay?"

Itachi said nothing but nodded to what I had said. I lightly smiled and quietly listened into the conversation that Kisame and Melody were a part of.

"She can take care of herself Melody…You don't always have to worry about her-" Kisame began and I could hear Melody's anger.

"Of course I have to worry about her! Who else would worry about her!? No one! She is everything to me Kisame, everything! We had done everything together, we had been together through all the dark times in our lives!" Melody started to scream at him, "Suine is my Itachi to you! I have to worry about her, protect her, and be the best friend that I can for her! So I'd say I have every right to worry about her!"

There was a long pause and I wondered if they were still there. I peeked around the corner and began to watch Kisame and Melody. Melody had sunk back into her skin; she only got that way when she knew she said something wrong. Kisame looked down with terrible saddened eyes; she really did say something. Melody put a hand onto Kisame's arm.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring him up…" Melody said to Kisame and I heard Itachi gasp, "Suine's important to me; she's my sister, my best friend…" Melody paused and Kisame looked to her, "I'm…worried that she will get hurt again…Her heart can only take so much more pain…"

"I know…" Kisame responded and Melody smiled lightly, "Try her cell one more time."

I hid behind the wall again and looked to see Itachi with a sad look on his face. I was forced to ignore it by my phone going off again. I looked at my phone and saw that Melody was calling me. I sighed and answered it.

"Hey Melody…" My voice began, "Sorry I didn't call; I just got out of Itachi's house now-"

"Where have you been!" Melody's voice screamed out, causing Itachi to turn to me, "I have been trying to call you for the past 45 minutes! Do you have any idea what you have done to me!? Kisame and I have been worried sick!" Melody paused, "Ok…What happened? Did he hurt you! If he did I will march down to his house and kick his ass, you know I will,-"

"Melody calm down." I chuckled, "I'm fine. Nothing happened. There were a couple of glares but that was it." Itachi gave me a weird look but I ignored it, "No need to worry, I'm actual close to being home."

"You are!" Melody sounded relieved, "Okay, we will meet you in our apartment. Just promise to tell me everything."

"I promise."

"See you soon."

Melody hung up and I quickly turned to Itachi. Itachi opened his mouth to say something but then quickly shut it. The silence was beginning to grow again but I ignored it for we had little time to think about it.

"We have to go through the back door. Then we can sneak you into my apartment. I'll let you have the office…Melody doesn't go in there anyways." I told him and he nodded.

"Melody…" Kisame's voice reached my ear, "Before we go…"

I turned back to the scene that played behind the corner; peeking my head from behind the wall. I felt Itachi's presence behind me, he too was watching the scene. Kisame held Melody's hand, stopping her from going into the building. She turned around to him and his look made her cheeks turn red.

"Kis-Kisame-san…"Melody stuttered, unlike her usual blunt self, "W-What…What are you meaning-"

"What do you think I mean?" Kisame pulled her into his arms, which made both Itachi and I gasp, "I want to hold you, even for a second…"

"But…But Kisame-san what if Suine sees-"

"I know her heart is upset about Itachi but don't you think that maybe her finally seeing us together will bring her some sort of happiness?"

"I don't think so…" Melody began, "She would be heartbroken…"

"Melody…Just let me kiss you…Just once." Kisame told her and she sighed but in a teasing way.

"Well; if you must…"

Kisame pulled Melody in closer and kissed her right on the lips. My eyes widened and I felt my mind just blank. When did they start to like each other? Had I been so blinded by my pain to not even see their happiness? Had I really been dragging them both down with me? I felt a hand go upon mine and pull me back against the wall. I looked to Itachi as he began to pull me towards the back of the building.

"Itachi?" My voice asked him.

"You said you needed to sneak me in right? So take me to the back of the building while Melody is distracted…" Itachi replied but I could hear the tinge of sadness within his voice.

"Okay…"

I took him to the back of the building and opened the back door with the key to the apartment complex. I made Itachi follow me up the stairs to the fifth floor, cautiously checking the hallway to make sure Melody wasn't there. The moment I opened the door; I heard the elevator door open. I almost freaked out but I pushed Itachi into the apartment and I followed suit. I locked the door behind us to give us some more time.

I grabbed Itachi's hand and brought him to the office. I opened the door and he entered it without even saying a word.

"Itachi…" I whispered and he turned to me, "Stay here okay? I'll talk to them about it and I'll get through to them. Just stay quiet."

He nodded and turned around, heading into the office. I lightly shut the door behind him and quickly ran over to the sink to act like I was doing something. I heard a key get put into the lock of the door and I felt my body freeze up in anticipation. Melody and Kisame walked through the door, laughing about something. They both froze the moment they saw me at the sink.

"Suine! W-When did you get here?" Melody asked, "We were at the front-"

"I came through the back…" I told her, "I…I just felt like coming through the back door…"

"Why? You never go back there, you hate it. You always tell me how disgusting it is-"

"I just wanted to go through the back okay?"

"Suine…did something happen?"

"W-What?" I paused and I turned to Melody and saw her intense eyes searching me to find the answer, "Nothing happened. I told you…I went there and Itachi…"

I really was going to tell them the truth. My throat tightened, my palms got sweaty. Would they be angry at me that I brought him home or that I even offered the house to him? How would Kisame take it? Would they even want to talk to me again? My heart began to race and I began to breathe heavily. I really was going to tell them but I was so afraid about how they would take it. They both hate him now; would they hate me for bringing him here? I don't want to feel like I did something wrong.

"He…took the money." My throat let out; ignoring my mind to tell them the truth.

"Suine…Why are you so nervous? Tell us what actually happened…" Melody began and my eyes widened. She could always read me. My mind just told my mouth to tell her everything I witnessed; they wouldn't be too angry right? But my heart suddenly won the battle and my mouth obeyed it instead.

"I saw you kiss Kisame…" I told them and they both gasped. That was how my heart wanted to get out of this situation, "That's why I'm nervous…" I'm so screwed.

"What!" Melody turned bright red and turned to Kisame whose eyes widened, "I told you!"

"How was I supposed to know she was right there!?" Kisame yelled back I knew right then and there that they had been hiding this for a while now. They were a couple.

"I'm so sorry Suine!"

"Why are you sorry?"

"You know exactly why!"

"Guys stop…" I told them and they turned to me, "I don't care that you guys are together…I'm actually happy for the both of you."

"See!?" Kisame told Melody who just scoffed.

"Though I understand why you hid it…I am a bit hurt you felt that you couldn't trust me with this Melody." I told her and she looked down.

"It's not that, dear…" Melody came up and put a hand onto my shoulder, "I am worried that you would be heartbroken…I know you are going through a tough time…I was just trying to protect you…But I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

Tears began to well up into her eyes as she looked down to me. I smiled lightly and I put my arms around her. I couldn't thank her enough for wanting to protect me; she was the best friend I have ever had. But my heart wavered; I had lied to her and Kisame about Itachi. I was too afraid, too worried that they might get angry at me. They would be disappointed in me. That made me freeze up and hide the truth. I had no idea how I was going to be able to tell them about Itachi, but for now it's better that it's a secret. Melody put her arms around me to hug me back.

"I forgive you…I'm happy I have a bigger sister to look out for me." I told her and I heard her sob, "Thank you…Thank you both for everything."

"Anytime Suine…" Kisame smiled and I let Melody go, "Well it is getting late and we have school tomorrow…I will go home and I'll pick you guys up for tomorrow."

Melody turned to him and he gave her a light kiss on the forehead. He waved goodbye to me and then left our apartment. Melody blinked her eyes and her face turned bright red. I chuckled a bit and she smiled at me.

"He's right it is late. We should both get our rest." Melody told me and I nodded, "See you tomorrow."

She went down the hallway and I waited in the kitchen until I heard her enter her room. I quietly walked over to the office. I opened the door and saw Itachi sitting on his duffle bag. He turned lightly to me and I sighed.

"I…" I began but he turned away from me.

"You didn't tell them about what happened, did you?" He asked and I shook my head.

"I'm sorry it's…I…froze…" I tried to explain but he refused to look at me, "I promise I will-"

"Whatever." He bluntly said making my heart hurt, "Look…I'm going to go. I think-"

"No don't go!" I went up to him and he stood up.

"I don't want to be somewhere where I am nothing but a hated person. I understand that I've hurt you all. I don't want to stay here…" He began and my eyes widened, "I just want to be alone…"

"Itachi-kun…" My hand went to touch his arm but he quickly moved away, "Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know, somewhere…"

"You don't have any money-"

"So I'll sleep on the streets-"

"Just…Just stay the night…Please…" I looked down, "Just tonight. It's too late to go out and try to find a place…"

He looked down and I knew that I should have told Kisame and Melody. Perhaps he wouldn't have felt this way. But then again it might have been worse. Kisame would have hated him more. This whole situation is all complicated.

"One night…" He told me and I looked up to him, "That's it."

"Good." I tried to smile but it failed.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" He asked and I looked around to see no bed in the office. He couldn't sleep on the couch, Melody or Kisame might find him.

"Follow me."

I opened the door to the office and he went out. I went down the hallway, quietly, and showed him to my bedroom. He went in and I quietly followed him. He looked to me and I sighed.

"Your room?" He asked and I nodded.

"I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor. You can sleep on my bed…" I felt my cheeks warm up, "But only this once…" I told him and he turned away, still with the same sadness in his eyes.

He dropped his duffle bag on the floor beside my bed. He turned to me as he took off his jacket.

"Um…Can I change?" He asked and I nodded, quickly getting out of the room so he could have some sort of time to himself. What was I doing? Having a boy in my room? If Melody saw this she would freak out!

"You're good…" Itachi whispered through the door and I went in. I refused to change; I wanted to keep my long clothes on.

I looked to Itachi and saw that he changed into a black t-shirt and black long pajama pants. I went onto my bed and I gave Itachi a pillow. I told him to sleep at the other end of the bed, at least that way he wouldn't be right up against me. He did what I said without a word and eventually laid down to go to sleep. I closed my eyes the moment I felt safe but my heart continued to race. What was I going to do?

. . .

"Suine!" A knock on my door began, "Get up!" My eyes slowly began to open and my blurred vision looked around the room, "I'm coming in!"

I jumped out of my skin as did Itachi. He looked to me and I quickly ran out of my bed, running to the door that slowly began to creak open. I grabbed it and shut it. I heard two voices from the other side of the door.

"Is Kisame with you?" I asked Melody through the door, "Jeez, give me some time okay? I don't want Kisame seeing me sleeping!"

"He wasn't going to come in. He just came to see if you were up yet…" Melody told me and I put my back up against the door.

Itachi looked to me and I sighed. He came up to me and I watched him closely.

"Suine…" Itachi whispered lightly, "I have to go out there. I need to leave now."

"I know you do! Don't you think I know that?" I whispered back to him, "But you have to wait!"

"They are going to wait forever for you to get out…I swear it's like they are your parents."

"Is there a boy there with you!?" I heard Melody's voice begin, "Open this door right now Suine!"

"Fuck…" Itachi whispered and suddenly I felt a knock on the door.

"I know that voice!" Kisame's voice rose up, "Open this fucking door, Suine!"

"I don't know what you're talking about-" I tried to console them but suddenly a large force pushed on the door which pushed me off of it.

Before I had any time to stop the door, it flew open. Itachi and I froze the moment Kisame and Melody saw him. Kisame's angry face stared at Itachi as Melody angrily looked to me.

"I thought you said nothing happened!?" Melody ran up to me, "You brought him home!? What did he do to you!?"

"Nothing-" I tried to say but Kisame quickly ran up to Itachi, grabbing him and pushing him up against the wall where his feet couldn't touch the floor, "Stop!"

"What did you do to her!?" Kisame angrily spat in his face and he looked fearfully into Kisame's eyes, "I swear if you think you can just have your way with her-"

"I didn't do anything to her!" Itachi tried to explain but Kisame would have none of it.

"Bullshit!"

"Suine!" Itachi turned to me and I froze, "Tell them!"

"But…But…" I tried to find a way out of it.

"They won't even hate you!" Itachi told me, "Just tell them!"

"Put him down!" I yelled at Kisame who froze at my angered voice, "Put him down right fucking now!"

Kisame looked at me softly and angrily turned back to Itachi. He lightly put Itachi on the ground, pushing him into the wall as he let him go. Kisame stood right in front of Itachi, making sure he couldn't go anywhere. I sighed and Melody desperately looked at me for an explanation.

"When I went to Itachi's house, I witnessed Itachi arguing with his father…It turns out that his father hated what Itachi was doing to stop his company from tearing down all the houses in this neighbourhood and he hated Itachi hanging with us…" I paused and they began to absorb the information, "So he paid Yuka's family and asked Yuka to play with him, to make him change his mind about everything. He even went as far as making false evidence to prove to Itachi that we were somehow just his friends for the money and popularity. Then after that conversation, Itachi told him he would never change his mind about the project so his father kicked him out. I couldn't just let him stay out on the street so I…I…"

"Offered our house to him!?" Melody, still angry, asked me and I nodded, "I can't believe you! How could you be so insensitive to our feelings-"

"It's…I couldn't…let him live out on the street…" I tried to tell them but I knew that they were both hurt.

"So you believed your father over us?" Kisame turned to Itachi whose eyes widened, "How pathetic can you get? We have been nothing but loyal to you."

"I know…" Itachi sadly stated.

"No you don't know! My best friend-" He began and Itachi knew where he was going with this, "Would have been there for me when I needed it! My best friend would have known that I would never think about betraying him!"

"I can't make excuses…"

"Damn straight you can't!"

"Please…" I started up and they both turned to me, "Let him stay here."

"Oh and where would you have him stay? In your bed?" Melody angrily asked as she put her hands on her waist, "I thought you were going to get closure!"

"…We can sell the office stuff and make a guest room…" I ignored her last comment, "It's not like we use it anyways…"

Melody angrily looked to Kisame who shared her distain. Kisame gritted his teeth and silently walked out of the room, not saying a word to any of us. Melody knew his answer from what he did. I looked down and she sighed.

"Fine…But don't expect us to be happy about it." Melody finished our conversation and stormed out of my room.

I felt my heart break the moment they yelled at me. They hated my decision yet they allowed him to stay. However, as I turned to Itachi I knew my pain was nothing. His eyes stayed widened in pain as his body slid down the wall, crouching down on his knees. He gripped his head and I swore I saw tears come off his face. But I couldn't comfort him; this time I couldn't. The tears streamed down my face, everything was broken.