Friday

The station was the same as ever. Naruto yawned as he made his way to the usual meetup spot. He hadn't gotten much sleep with his mind filled with Sasuke and laughing at the idea of him being embarrassed about something as trivial as nudity. But hey, he now had infinite teasing material to counteract anything he decided to throw at him.

"Naruto."

He smiled and walked up to Sasuke only to stop. A group of girls surrounded him again, which made his mood sour in an instant. Usually, the sight of them brightened his day but lately, they've felt in the way rather than something to look forward to. He didn't know when his views had changed so drastically. And honestly? He didn't mind it that much.

"Is something wrong?"

He snapped back to reality and shook his head. "Not at all." He then turned to the girls. "Good mornin'!"

They greeted him in sync, which should've made his legs turn into jelly. However, it only managed to grate his ears. He decided to not stick around any longer as he grabbed Sasuke's arm and led him away from the group. Thankfully, they didn't follow them as he slowed his stride. Though the walk was short, he wanted to enjoy his time with him at every moment.

…

Naruto sat by his desk and looked out the window as usual when Kiba approached him. The expression on his face must have been awful because he took a step backwards and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Damn, what's with that face?"

"Me?"

"Who else? You're the only one here."

He shrugged. "It's nothin' important."

"Well, if you're feelin' down then I have somethin' that might brighten your mood."

"I wonder..."

"Are you free next weekend?"

"Huh?" He thought it over for a moment. "I guess I am, what of it?"

"My sister gave me this after I helped her with some luggage," he said and thrust a piece of paper at him. "I'm givin' it to you."

He accepted and read it. "A special movie preview for two?"

"Yeah. It's only valid for that time but you can ask whoever you want to go with you."

"You're seriously givin' me this? For free?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you, Kiba!"

Maybe he could go with Sasuke to this event. That would be great.

"By the way, do you have a girlfriend right now?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"I just had a feelin', how do I put this? It just seemed like you already have someone you want to invite."

He knew that he couldn't say no, so he opted for a half-truth. "Somethin' like that."

"Oh! I was right!" He paused. "Hey, who is it? Who is it? Is she cute?"

"Sorry, my friend," he said with a wide smile. "My lips are sealed this time."

"Huh?! Why?"

Naruto didn't answer as he checked the date. Wait, the 29th of January? That was next weekend, wasn't it? Oh yeah, now that he thought about it, maybe it wouldn't be possible to go with Sasuke to this preview. After all, they'll stop going out by the 24th of January. Even so, he couldn't think about anyone else who he would like to go with. Maybe it would be fine regardless? Still, he couldn't help but feel heavy about the whole situation.

In the end, he decided to bring it up with Sasuke during recess. The reaction he received was mild for the most part which made his uneasiness grow. Before he had a chance to ask anything else, the bell chimed. Maybe he'd been too hopeful? Of course, he wasn't special to Sasuke. That would be silly. Which is why after school, he presented him with the ticket.

"Here," he said. "I'm givin' it to you so that you can go with the person you're datin' next week."

"What?"

"Unless... you plan on invitin' Nami?"

There was silence. Naruto awaited a response but when none came, he turned to look at him. Sasuke had a strange expression on his face. From what he could tell, he appeared unhappy. Had he said something wrong? No, that couldn't be it. Maybe he hadn't said enough? Yeah, that's right. He should encourage him some, even if he didn't agree with the whole Nami situation.

"You still like her, don't you? No matter what you won't give up, right?"

"Why?" asked Sasuke in a whisper. "Why must you say those kinds of things?"

He didn't know what to say to that, so he remained silent.

"Yesterday, when you got mad and said you were dating me right now. I actually felt sort of... happy."

His breath caught in his throat. He didn't understand what he meant by that, but for some reason that didn't matter. All of a sudden, he had the urge to close the distance between them and feel Sasuke's heart beat in tune with his.

"Why must it be so difficult?" He sighed and came to a stop in front of him. "Liking someone... is really just too complicated."

Naruto's heart skipped at the words. However, he quickly pushed any feelings away before they reached the surface. After all, he wasn't talking about him.

"Maybe you lack common sense?"

"No offence, but I think between the two of us, it's you who is lacking here."

"Shut up," he said and lightly punched him in the arm.

"By the way, have people ever said that you're really slow?"

"Eh? How did you know?"

"Just by your face, people think that you're a very beautiful and calm person. In truth, you're reckless and thoughtless. You say whatever comes to your mind and always do rash things without thought."

Guess he'd underestimated Sasuke as he appeared to be quite perceptive. Still, these are things that countless people had told him in the past and to hear it again didn't hurt any less. For every line that deduced him to a tee, he felt himself be drawn further into darkness. So what if he wasn't perfect? After all, he couldn't help the person he was.

Princes that existed in books or TV dramas were just based on worlds of fiction. They're not real. The sooner people realised that fact, the better. Yet here he stood, facing the prize for not being good enough in some way or another. It just sucked.

"Furthermore, Naruto is very straightforward and tends to move his mouth even before he thinks. And because you're always doing things without thinking, you're very forgetful. I think Naruto's personality is–"

"Very disappointing."

"Very likeable."

Naruto's thoughts halted. Did– did he just say that he was likeable? He hesitated for a moment but eventually looked at Sasuke and found not a trace of a joke. He must be serious.

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "I'm glad."

"Why is that?"

"Because every time they realised what I was really like, I'd know it was over. The girls would always walk away with a disappointed look. And my friends can't take it either, always sayin' that I'm a waste of a pretty face. This is the first time I've been told that I'm okay just the way I am. So thank you."

He sighed. "You're as slow as ever..."

Before he had a chance to ask what he meant by that, they were interrupted by another student. A cute girl approached them and wanted to talk to him.

"Ah, now?" He turned towards Sasuke. "Why don't you go on without me first?"

"I'll wait for you," he said without hesitation. "I'll wait for you right here."

He nodded and went along with the girl to a secluded area. Though Naruto knew that he should probably pay attention, he couldn't get Sasuke's look out of his mind. Those were some rather intense eyes. What had that meant exactly? He shook his head and refocused on the presence as the girl stumbled on her words. Poor thing.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Ah!" She looked up with wide eyes. "Hinata Hyūga."

"Well then, Hinata, which part of me do you like?"

"Eh?!" It took a moment for her to answer. "W– well, I think you– you're really beautiful, and tall. You– you give off this air of per– perfection and I really like it. I think you– you're my ideal person!"

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "That's very nice of you to say. But, I think I'll just disappoint you."

"How can that be?"

"Because what you've just described is not me." He paused. "Anyway, I'm already seein' someone. And that person says that I'm okay the way I am."

"That– that's nice."

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, goo– good luck with your relation– relationship!"

"Thank you."

Shortly after that, they parted ways. Naruto slowly made his way back as he thought about what to do next. They've done pretty much everything that a normal couple does. Sasuke even walked him home since they started. That reminded him of something as his smile widened and he sped up his walk.

"So," he said as he fell in step with him. "Where is your house?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you're always the one to walk me home."

"I do that because I want to."

"Right. And now I want to."

"All right, let's go."

…

Whatever he'd expected, it was not this. The gate towered over them, too tall to see anything beyond. He swallowed and tried to occupy himself as Sasuke talked to someone on the intercom. He felt no better when the doors swung open and they stepped inside where a mansion-like house stood in the distance. What the hell?

"Is something wrong?"

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Eh, um, well..."

"Don't tell me you're scared?"

The smirk on Sasuke's face was enough to set him off. He scowled and made it through the walkway to the front door where an older man stood.

"Welcome home, Master Sasuke," he said with a bow.

"I'm home."

Naruto couldn't believe their interaction. It didn't seem real. Everything felt more like he'd stepped onto the set of a TV drama. The double doors opened as the voice of someone reached their ears until a beautiful woman appeared before them.

"Such a pretty kid!"

Naruto didn't know what to make of that as he glanced at Sasuke. He looked tense for some reason. Was this his older sister?

"Oh! I just love faces like his!" She smiled. "Hey, how old are you? What's your name?"

"Nami," said Sasuke and put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop pestering Naruto."

His heart stopped at that. Nami?

"Isn't it fine?" she asked with a wave of her hand. "So you're called Naruto?"

Though Naruto was often considered a kind person who didn't judge anyone. For some reason, he instantly hated her. It was like a fire lit inside of him, ready to burst and burn everything in his path.

"Such beautiful skin..."

She reached for his face but Sasuke got there first as he held her hand. He liked her so much that he won't let her touch him? Is that it? His hands clenched into fists until it hurt.

"Stop screwing around," he said and let go of her hand. "I'll get mad."

She looked between them until realisation dawned on her. "Don't tell me... he's the one you're seeing?"

"That's right."

"The one you said was beautiful. The one you like more than–"

"What the hell is this?!"

They startled and turned their eyes onto him. Naruto felt like a deer caught in headlights as he cursed and ran as fast as he could. He heard Sasuke call after him but didn't care. All he knew was that he needed to get away. Eventually, he passed a flight of stairs where he took refuge as he inhaled air into his lungs. Damn, it's been a while since he moved like that. Unfortunately, the distance wasn't enough as he heard footsteps from behind him.

"Naruto..."

"Don't come near me!"

He may as well have said nothing as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I told you not to come near me."

"I know, but you forget that I don't always listen to you." He paused. "Can you tell me what's wrong–?"

"Shut up!" He took a deep breath. "Just go back... I don't want to see you right now."

"What are you so angry at?"

"At what?" He barked out a laugh. "At what?"

Sakura told him that seven days with Sasuke felt like a dream. But for him, this week had felt more than like a dream. However, he couldn't fathom how bad things were until now. And the sad part? It was probably too late for him to go back.