Cheat

A Naruto FanFiction by Interrogated Pyjamas.

Warning: Language, Yaoi, Shounen-Ai, Boy/Boy, M/M, abuse of stereotypes.

Disclaimers: The following is a work of fiction created by and for viewers of the Naruto. No copyright or trademark infringement was intended, and all of the characters, situations et c. belong to, though aren't limited to Madman Entertainment, YTV, Jetix, Cartoon Network, and Viz Media. Inc, as well as being the original work of Masashi Kishimoto.Any character names, series references, song lyrics etc., used or cited in this story are the property of their respective owners and not myself.

Chapter 14
(Naruto POV)

I sat further up in bed, frowning as the mattress cover made sharp sounds as it crinkled. I hated hospitals, always had, always would; I doubt anyone can truly say they adore them to be honest. Kiba and Hinata had just left, and although I felt happy at the idea my friends missed me, a cautionary sense of dread bubbled in my stomach, I knew who was coming next.

I sat further up, my body aching in despise at the action, as I tried to move to rearrange the hard pillows. It was no use though, my arms felt like lead, and looked like it too, bruises as dark as the nights sky lay scattered across my unusually pale skin and crusted blood lay partnered with scratches and stitched cuts. It was like a work of art, I thought absent-mindedly as I let my eyes roam my form.

A twisted and sick piece of art.

The sound of the door handle turning brought my mind from its hazy daze, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The gradual turning of the handle, my eyes staring, focusing on it only, pupils straining so hard my vision started swimming dazedly. Then the dead thump as the door swung open, knocking against the wall with the sheer brute force.

Then them. They stood there, looking confused and lost, as if they knew nothing to say.

Gaara moved first, slowly approaching me from the other side of the room. If there was one good thing about hospitals, it was the fact the beds faced the door, you could see your attacker, as such. Sasuke followed after, guiding the redhead with his hand on the small of the shorter boys back.

They obviously thought I couldn't see the contact, but I knew, I knew it was there. But it didn't upset me, not to the point where I'd scream and shout and shatter into a billion little Naruto pieces. Not to that point, but close though.

I glanced up at them as they sat on the cheap plastic chairs the hospital had supplied, revelling sadistically at the fact they had no idea what to say. But, to be fair, I doubt I would have known if I were in that situation. I smiled at Gaara, after all, it was because of him that I was still alive, and the shock carried in both his and Sasuke's eyes was almost enough for me to smirk.

"Hey Naruto..." Gaara muttered, glancing from me to Sasuke, to his own lap then back to me again. And they said I was meant to be nervous, what a load of bull crap that was.

"Hey," I replied, neither pleasant nor cold. I wasn't going to lower myself to being spiteful and hateful, if they wanted to be together then who was I to stop them? Having me hating on them both would just put strains on their relationship and as much as I wanted that, I just couldn't. I couldn't jeopardise someone else's affairs just because I was jealous and spiteful. I just couldn't.

"Er …" Gaara muttered, looking to Sasuke for encouragement and receiving very little, "how are you feeling?" How am I feeling? How about crap; heartbroken, jealous, hateful, spiteful, aching all over and feeling like my heart has just been ripped out, thrown on the floor them stampeded on by a herd of obese ADHD sheep?

"Fine," I figured fine was the safer option. They could take unnecessary offence from the obese ADHD sheep remark.

"Er..." here comes the awkwardness again, "I... I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize Gaara," I muttered, hiding my eyes beneath my limp fringe, "it's not your fault."

"I-" Sasuke butted in, taking my statement the wrong way, I felt his eyes rake over my injuries before he shivered slightly. Why? I have no idea.

"Neither do you," I muttered out, "it's neither of your faults. It's mine."

"How is it your fault?" a confused Gaara asked, and I just looked at them before speaking my response.

"I got in the way."

"Wha-" Sasuke asked confused, and I had to look away from his oh-so-sincere eyes, I'd fall in love all over again if he was nice to me. I'd fall in love all over again if he just looked at me.

"Of you two, I should have noticed, right?" I started to ramble, ignoring their confused faces, "I mean, at the cinemas, when we went out, it was always you two, you were like best friends, and I don't want to know if you were together then, it'd only make me feel worse, but you were close and you deserve to be together, I was just in the way, and I'm sorry if you had to hide it, I know you were just trying to protect me, but-"

"No..." Gaara croaked out and I glanced to my left to see him sobbing, sat beside an equally upset Sasuke, the both of them with tears gathering in grassy green and midnight sky orbs. Green and black always went well together, just think of the chocolate, Green and Blacks, 'created without compromise,' they wouldn't have to compromise now, they could be together forever if need be.

"No, no no no no no," the redhead continued to sob out, now fisting the sheets by my hand, tears unleashed and falling down pale cheeks. Gaara was beautiful, his bright shiny hair left mine looking dull and limp, his bright sea foam eyes left mine looking like odd blue buttons and his lithe yet muscular figure left me looking like a scrawny beanstalk. It was obvious I was nothing compared to him, even with he was driveling and sobbing, I was still nothing compared to him.

When you looked at it that way, Sasuke was probably right in choosing Gaara over myself. The boy was beautiful, fiery and enigmatic. He spoke his mind, said what he thought and was the most independent person I knew. Unlike myself, the opposite of independent. I strongly depended on my friends to encourage me, give me strength, I felt lost, confused and hopeless without feeling the backing of someone, without feeling like someone loved me.

Hence the reason I was in now; lost, alone, afraid and without love. Without the fairytale illusion I seemed to have perfectly woven over the past years in which myself and Sasuke were together, ever since we got together.

"Naruto," Sasuke abruptly entered my thoughts, his tone light but depressed at once, almost as if he were trying to comfort me. I didn't need his comfort, I was fine without him.

"Honestly," I replied, my eyes boring into his own, "It's okay, if you two want to be together, you have my blessing." Sasuke merely shook his head, glancing towards Gaara desperately in what I presumed to be an attempt to dig themselves out of the whole they had recently dug.

After all, it was plainly obvious I most certainly was not okay, not by any stretch of the imagination. It was obvious I couldn't live without them both, but it was obvious I would have to, because I couldn't trust them. I couldn't trust either of them. Not one tiny weeny bit. There was no safety rope I could cling onto, they'd had their final chance, drawn the short straw, however you want to put it, it was over. I couldn't trust either of them.

"No, Naru," Sasuke exclaimed, conjuring past memories with the use of his nickname for me.

It was always Naru or Dobe or Roo, either way the names conjured memories, sweet and innocent memories, memories from when I bathed in the idea that Sasuke and I were perfect, a dream couple whom would last forever, grow old and die together, no problems, nothing. How naïve I was, how stupid, how idiotic, blind and innocent I was.

I sighed as I focused my hearing on the pair's bafflingly incomprehensible rainbow of phrases, words I couldn't seem to fathom. They spoke so fast, so smoothly, almost as if it were another language, a musical orchestra, and I couldn't help but think how well the two voices fit together, how well they would sound as they bed each other, the orchestra of their love life.

I couldn't be in that orchestra, I was an outsider, like the recorder, you want it for a while, play with it for a while then realise it isn't the best, there are bright, shiny instruments out there, bigger and better than the poor lonesome recorder that now lays at the back of your cupboard, shuddering slightly behind the slick satin silhouette of the clarinet beside it.

"It's okay," I whispered, breaking their nonsensical rants, "I know you want to be together, I know you wouldn't betray me like that unless you really loved each other. Honestly, it's okay. I'll be fine." Their faces said it all, all expression lost, their mouths hung open and agape, like baffled fish beneath the ocean waves, they looked torn between arguing with me and accepting the truth, stubbornness being a quality both of them possessed.

"Naru, you've got it all wrong," Sasuke muttered, his eyes hidden beneath a thick ebony fringe, but still trained on my own. The absence of eyes and the use of my beloved nickname spooked me as shivers traveled involuntarily down my spine.

"Please don't call me that," I muttered back, gazing into the parts of his eyes I could see. He was beautiful, he always would be to me, three would never be a time when I could rightfully say I didn't love him. No time at all, I was sure of it, because it was impossible to fall out of love with him, one glance and he had you hooked all over again. It was sick, it was twisted, but it was beautiful.

He only looked up at my last statement, his eyes swimming with caged tears, from relief I guessed. He reached out, his hand moving to grasp my hand. I grimaced as he did, my eyes focusing on the movement of him thumb over the back of my hand. He was treating me like a doll, something easily broken, fragile goods, per se. He looked up to speak again and I met his eyes, only to be torn away by the Velcro like sound of the door opening once again.

And to Hannah (it wasn't a signed review xD) Thank you, I needed that kick in the arse to realise I did in fact need to grow a backbone and learn to take criticism.

Nom nom nom nom nom nom

Apparently, I have a childish attitude to relationships and have obviously not been in one before.

Leave me comments and shit. xD
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