Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Shueisha
"I love you, Sakura-chan."
Time had officially stopped, as Sakura's grip on the door handle tensed. She stared at the door in shock, her eyes wide, and her mouth slowly opened. Her lower lip quivered as his words echoed in her mind, almost hauntingly so as her pupils slowly made their way towards him.
'W-What did he...'
It felt like an eternity had passed as she turned her body to look toward him. Her emerald eyes met with crystal blue orbs, before her pink bangs got in front of her eyes. Her mouth was left agape as she stared at the blonde in shock.
A million thoughts began racing through the young girl's mind, as she stared at the blonde. A part of her thought about getting the hell out of there, but it was though her feet were glued to the floor. She couldn't move at all as she tried to budge her frozen legs; she was trapped in her own shock. She couldn't even begin to process what the boy had said to her. Did he even realize the weight of what he said? Could he even comprehend it? Because it was sure as hell difficult for her!
Time finally sped back up as she held a fist to her chest while staring at him.
"...What?" She finally asked, her question was almost a whisper as her wide-eyed gaze was locked on him. In retrospect not a great first question, but it was all she could utter at that moment. Naruto could only blink, while staring at her in confusion.
"What what?" He answered with his own question, not sure what she was asking. His eyes widened as the Pinkette suddenly let go of the door handle, and stomped toward him, getting rather close to the boy. Her wide green eyes stared into his as a shocked and... Almost scared look showed in her emerald orbs.
"You know what! What did you just say?!" She asked desperately, staring at the blonde so intensely you could've seen a hole burning through his head. She needed to know she wasn't hearing things; she was afraid to be right.
'But why are you afraid?' Inner asked herself, the pinkette inwardly fumed at her inner self. She knew yet had the gall to ask anyways.
'You know why!' She shouted inwardly, still staring at the blonde. She waited for the answer to come out of the blonde's mouth, confusion showing on his face. She both loved and hated this side of him, but right now it was neither; it was just frustrating.
Naruto thought about what he said for a moment, a surprised and flustered look was plastered on his face as it occurred to him what he had said to her. He looked to the side; his mouth pursed a bit. He didn't want to say it, not again. He looked back at Sakura, only to see that desperation in her eyes once again. He then looked down.
"I said I love you, Sakura-chan..." He admitted, not looking her in the eye.
It felt like his world was spinning around him. He would've never imagined his confession to Sakura was going to be like this! Accidentally saying it in a vain attempt to prevent her from leaving... How pathetic. He didn't even realize what he said, but Sakura sure as hell did. She even needed to hear it a second time to make sure she wasn't hearing things. Now he has to wait to see what she says, and he knows it'll be nothing good. Because of course it'll be bad, she loves Sasuke, not him. A confession means nothing if the feelings are one sided, and nothing he could say right now will magically make her love him.
Why would it anyways? Sakura had made it perfectly clear in the past that she had no feelings for him, so why did he continue with this? Was he just that desperate for her affections? Or was it his stubbornness that prevented him from giving up on his pointless chase? It might have been both, for all he knew. All he could do now was close his eyes and wait for the punch, or for the harsh words to come.
"Ha... ha ha..."
The blonde opened his eyes as a small, pathetic laugh echoed from the Pinkette as she held her fist against the blonde's chest. Her hand trembled as she hung her head, not looking at him. Her pink locks veiled her, preventing him from being able to see her face. The blonde stared down at her in genuine surprise; this wasn't what he was expecting.
"Sakura-chan?... Are... you okay?" He asked in concern, putting his hand on her shoulder. Sakura flinched at his touch as she started to tremble.
"...You're cruel, Naruto." She quietly claimed, lightly hitting his chest with her fist.
"I lost Sasuke-kun after he rejected my feelings... I almost lost you to him... then you come so close to pushing me away, only to tell me you love me?" She asked rhetorically, her trembling and quiet voice escaping her chapped lips. Her whole body was now trembling as her other fist was now resting on his chest.
The blonde opened his mouth to speak, but he was at a loss for words. His face could only twist into a look of shock and sadness at what he saw next. She looked up at him, her eyes were big and red; her emerald orbs glistening from the light. Her cheeks were wet as tears rolled down her face at a surprising rate, as her jaw quivered. She was crying even harder than before, as Naruto felt his chest tighten at the sight. The image of such a broken woman was... petrifying.
"You're... cruel..." She choked out, pressing her head against his chest. "...Is this your way of making fun of me being rejected?... Is this to get back at me for all the times I rejected you?..." She asked, her voice muffled from his jacket.
Naruto froze as he stared down at the weeping girl. Her heartbroken state, being fueled by his words, was like a stab to the heart.
"N-No, Sakura-chan... I didn't..." He trailed off, as Sakura shook her head. She gritted her teeth, as her grip on his jacket tightened.
"I don't believe you! There's... no other reason..." She wept into his jacket. "Because you can't love me... you can't..." She tried to convince him, and herself. She didn't want to believe he loved her. She didn't want him to even consider loving her.
'Because you can't accept it? Or because he shouldn't accept you?' Inner asked the pinkette.
Sakura bawled into the bewildered blonde's chest as that final thought rung through her being like a bell, her voice raspy as her throat strained from her cries. The boy was silent as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening. Why was Sakura so shaken by his confession? Was it just the timing, or was there more to it? Did Sasuke rejecting her before leaving, deal such a heavy blow to her that any confession sent her way would send her into a downward spiral?
'That must be it. There can't be any other reason...' The boy thought while gazing down at the crying girl. His face fell from a confused gaze to a heavy frown as the information sunk in. In the end, it was all about Sasuke. Again. He stared at her for a long while before wrapping his hand around her waist, pulling her into an embrace.
'At the very least... I can be there for her...' He thought to himself bitterly, as his eyes welled up slightly.
The hunched pinkette felt the blonde's embrace, causing her to jump a bit as she stared up at the blonde. All she found was Naruto's sad, almost defeated gaze staring back at her. Her eyes could only well up further, as she pressed her face into the crook of his neck.
"You... Idiot...!" She choked out, crying harder than ever before in the boy's arm.
Naruto held the pinkette close, running his hand along her back soothingly, while resting his chin lightly on her head. He took a deep breath, swallowing his own feelings for this moment. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the door, he felt... angry. Angry at himself, angry at Sakura, and especially...
'Sasuke...' He thought in anger, his arms tensing slightly. The thought of Sasuke turning away from Sakura despite her pleading for him to stay, and professing her love to him... It made his blood boil in rage. He stared at the trembling pinkette while rubbing her back softly; she felt so... fragile.
'You're one hell of an idiot, Sasuke...' He thought to himself.
'I'm such an idiot...' The pinkette thought to herself, sniffling while sitting on the blonde's couch. She looked down at his coffee table, her eyebrows furrowing at all the tissues she had spent trying to calm herself down. Her gaze then turned to the half empty tissue box.
'Why am I just sitting here, bawling my eyes out?... What the hell is wrong with me...' She thought in self-deprecation, feeling shameful in her behavior.
The pinkette bawled her hands up into fists as she rested them on her lap; all the while keeping her gaze down toward the table. She knew her reaction to Naruto's confession was... inappropriate. Oh, who was she kidding? It was outright terrible!
'Who the hell breaks down into a total mess of tears, after being confessed to?! Maybe if it was tears of joy... but not this.' She thought to herself, as guilt washed over her being. She looked over at the blonde in the kitchen, while gnawing on her bottom lip. 'What if he took it the wrong way?... Oh wait, ANYONE would take that the wrong way! I even called him cruel for confessing to me!' An inaudible gasp escaped the pinkette's being, as she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
'Well... That's not good.' Inner pointed out, as Sakura shook her head violently.
'Dammit! I didn't mean it in a bad way! When I said cruel, I meant because it felt like my emotions were being played with...' She trailed off, hearing a sigh escape from her inner self.
'That still sounds pretty bad, even while understanding what you mean.' Inner told Sakura, as the pinkette groaned into her hands.
"Um... Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice called out to her, snapping the pinkette out of her thoughts. Sakura looked up from her hands at a very confused blonde, who was holding a coffee mug. "Are you okay? You were acting kind of weird there." He pointed out, slight concern showing on his face.
Sakura, now realizing she was both mentally and physically freaking out, immediately looked down. She felt her face heating up, turning a dark shade of pink as her pupils shrunk.
"I-It's nothi-" She stuttered, biting her tongue. The silence of the apartment was filled with the echoes of her moaning in pain.
Naruto could only watch in amusement, as he set the mug down on the coffee table, then sat down on the couch next to her. This was all rather new to the blonde, seeing Sakura in such a... Silly light.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, leaning over a bit, to look her in the eye. Sakura's blush was still very much there, as she glanced at him. Their eyes only met for a moment, before she looked away again.
"Just... trying to keep my embarrassment to a minimum for tonight..." She muttered, taking the mug in her hands. "...Thanks..." She thanked him, almost cutely so as she took a sip of the hot tea. It was especially soothing on her now sore tongue.
Silence filled the air, as the pinkette kept sipping on her tea; all the while the blonde watched her. He was almost caught in a daze by her features. The pink blush on her cheeks, her soft looking lips pressed against the mug, and her emerald orbs staring gently down at the hot drink. She was absolutely stunning to him.
Meanwhile, Sakura's eyebrows began to furrow in frustration. The silence was starting to get to her, and she hated every second of it.
"Well? Are you going to say anything?" She asked the blonde curtly, as she set the mug down. This snapped Naruto out of his gaze, as he blinked rapidly.
"H-Huh?" He stuttered out, before making an 'oh' sound. He closed his eyes and began to think. "Hmm... why did you say I was cruel?" He asked almost immediately, as Sakura stared at him. The pinkette looked down, figuring he'd start there as she grimaced.
"Because it felt like my emotions were being toyed with... After everything you said, it felt like you were just about done with my horrid behavior, and then you popped out a confession?... How did you expect me to react? And especially after..." She trailed off, looking down as she bit her lower lip.
"...After Sasuke-kun rejected me..." She finished with a whisper, silence filling the room once again. Naruto sighed heavily, looking toward the ground as he let her answer sit with him.
"I see..." He muttered, his voice heavy and filled with several emotions, none of them sounding good. Sakura immediately turned to the blonde; her eyes big as she caught the emotion in his voice.
"Naruto... I care about you; a lot more than I used to... and you're a great guy! But..." She trailed off, taking a deep breath as she quickly collected her thoughts. "...You can't expect me to accept your feelings, so soon after being rejected." She finished, hoping Naruto would understand her perspective.
"...Yeah... I understand..." He responded quietly, before getting up. He then looked over at his window, and the thermometer attached to it. He then looked back at her, his expression suddenly much brighter than before.
"Jeez, it's getting cold out! I'll lend you my jacket for the trip home." He told her, as he walked over and grabbed it off a chair.
Sakura watched the blonde the whole way. She may not have known the blonde as well as she should, but she could tell when someone was badly trying to hide their true feelings; this was a clear case of it. Of course, she couldn't tell how often he would do this, she just knew that this was a terrible attempt. She got up and walked over, taking his jacket from his hand.
"Thank you, Naruto." She thanked him, putting on his jacket and walking toward the door.
She felt terrible about turning him down and knew the feeling of being rejected all too well. The pinkette bit her lip, as she put her hand on the door handle. A thought rushed into her mind, an idea. One that would prove all too lethal if it failed... she'd have to be an idiot to even consider it!
"...One week." She suddenly said, causing the blonde's head to tilt in confusion. She turned to look back at him, her face slightly flushed as she gave him an intense stare, as she played with some of her hair.
"Confess to me again in one week..." She told him, her eyes shaking as she kept her gaze locked on him. Naruto stared at the pinkette, baffled at her words as he took a step forward.
"W-What? Sakura-chan, do you even realize what you're asking me?" He asked her, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Sakura nodded, as she gripped the door handle tightly; her hand shaking.
"I do. I want you to try it again... I want you to confess to me again in a week. 7 days." She stated further, her lip now quivering as anxiousness rushed through her being.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, the sadness he felt earlier now gone, as he looked on in confusion.
"...Why?" He asked her, hoping to get a clear answer.
The pinkette calmed down a bit, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes. She then smiled warmly at the blonde, her eyes fluttering open.
"Because a second chance can mean everything..." She told him, opening his door and stepping out; shivering as she zipped up his jacket. Naruto stepped toward the doorway, looking out at her.
"...One week?" He asked her, no longer able to see her in the darkness of the night.
"One week!" She shouted, fading into the darkness in the night. As she did, her smile fell into a grimace.
'I think you're the cruel one, Sakura...'
The pinkette stepped into her room, flipping the power switch and watching her room light up. As the light came on, a pout could be seen on the thirteen-year-old's lips. Her pout slowly turned into a frown as she groaned loudly in frustration, rubbing her hair violently.
'Smooth move, me! Why do I have to be such a dumb ass sometimes?!' She shouted inwardly, sighing loudly as she took off his coat and tossed it on her chair, before sitting down on her bed. She stared down at the ground while embracing herself, her eyes narrowing.
"I should have left it there... It would have saved us both some pain..." She muttered to herself, as bitterness filled her being. Sakura could only grimace as Naruto's image flashed in her mind; she shook her head instinctively as her embrace tightened.
"Stop it...! Stop putting him in my mind...! I don't want to see it...! I don't want to see his smile...!" She begged herself, as her vision started to blur. Her bottom lip quivered as big tears built up in her eyes and began sliding down her cheeks one by one.
"Please, stop... I don't want to... I don't wanna think about how I hurt him...!" She pleaded to herself, her words broken up by her hiccups as her tears fell at a greater rate. Her pleads fell on deaf ears, as the image of his sad, defeated smile flashed in her mind.
'Sakura-chan...' His voice echoed in her mind. That smile, and his words haunted her mind as she wept into her hands.
"I don't wanna hear it...!" She choked out, her emotions poured out of her like a rushing waterfall. Sakura gritted her teeth as she tried to stop the wave of tears rushing from her being. Why did she feel this way? Why did Naruto's confession fill her with such grief?
'You know why.' Inner answered, all the while huffing at the pinkette's crying state.
'You're still heartbroken from Sasuke-kun, and all you want is to be loved. Then comes Naruto, an idiot who gets himself into trouble all the time, and does stupid things to get your attention...' She trailed off, as an echo of a smile showed on Sakura's lips, her expression hidden in shadow.
'Thing is... It worked.' Inner said, taking a deep breath.
'And you know this. You know how much he cares for you, and that desperate side of you wants to take that love he wants to so desperately give you.' She finished, as Sakura's bottom lip trembled. Her crying slowed, but her anguish remained.
'But I can't... I don't love him...' She admitted to herself, her fingers digging into her arms. Saying that, it almost felt like a stab to the heart, as she continued to weep.
'Then why bother giving him a second chance... Why did you lie?' Inner asked her, pointing out the elephant in the room. The realization slammed into Sakura like a ton of bricks. Why she felt this way, why Naruto's image was haunting her mind.
It was guilt. Because of course it was, she lied to him. About why she rejected his feelings, about why she was giving him a second chance... She never had any intention of dating him, it was all to make herself feel better, not him.
"I've been playing with his emotions this whole time..." She choked out, staring wide eyed at the floor. Her tears slowed, as she wiped her eyes. She didn't have it in her to cry anymore, most of her sadness was replaced with shock.
"Good god, what is wrong with me...?" She asked, her voice peaking as she stared at the ground.
'Not like you can do much about it now... The damage is already done. Now you must live with it.' Inner told her, as Sakura got up off her bed. Sakura slowly walked over to the blonde's jacket, running her hand along it.
"I'm a terrible friend... I'm a terrible person..." She muttered to herself, as she picked the jacket up off her chair. She stared longingly at it, running her hand along the fabric. It was worn down, but it still looked nice. It was clear that Naruto took good care of his clothes.
'It smells like him...' She thought to herself, as she put it on. She liked that it was big on her, despite her being taller than the blonde. She felt warm... Safe… Happy.
'You really want to return that love, don't you...'Inner asked sadly, as Sakura laid down on her bed again. Sakura stared up at the ceiling, her eyes closing slightly as she thought back to his confession.
"I do... I want to so much, if nothing else, then to see the joy it would give him..." She responded, smiling softly at the thought of the boy jumping for joy, shouting at the top of his lungs in glee before hugging the pinkette as tightly as he possibly could. Whenever Naruto was happy... it was almost like the world felt that happiness and made the day just that much better.
'Well... Maybe in a week, you won't be tooting the same horn you are now.' Inner said to her, causing the pinkette to blink in confusion.
"What're you talking about? Are you seriously saying that I may fall in love with him during this week?!" She half shouted at herself, shocked that her inner self would even consider such a ridiculous notion.
'Well maybe not fall in love, but might at least have feelings for him.' She responded, as the pinkette fell back on her bed. Sakura reached her hand up, staring at it as the idea rushed through her being.
"Having feelings... For Naruto..." She muttered, her hand falling to her side. Her eyes slowly started to flutter close, as the thought and the warmth of his jacket started to soothe her.
"Liking... Naruto..." She muttered tiredly, as she closed her eyes completely.
'Maybe that wouldn't be so bad...'