Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Do You Really Know Me? ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Revised

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto and company… but one day I will. ::snickers:: ^^


/blah/ - thoughts
/blah/- Sasuke’s conscience
“blah” – talking
************************************************************************
Chapter 2:

For the first time since the beginning of the school year, Naruto was not late for school. He walked into his homeroom class, book bag in hand. His eyes skimmed over the students’ faces as they stared at him in surprise. Naruto’s eyes lit up, and a slight smile formed on his lips. He must have found what he was looking for. He started to head towards the back window where two brown-haired boys sat. No. Correction, one sat there staring off into space while the other was deep in a dreamless sleep.

“Hey!” Naruto exclaimed stirring the boys out of their ‘activities’. Naruto sat in the desk next to Shikamaru, who just woke up from his morning nap.

“Naruto, what are you doing here?” Kiba asked in surprise as he stared at Naruto, perplexed. “And what the hell happened to your eye? You get in a fight or something?”

Naruto sounded offended, “What, do you not want me here? I’ll go if you like.” Then a teasing grin formed on his face. “Oh, this?” he pointed to his eye, and his grin wavered a bit, “It’s nothing. I just was not watching where I was going again and got hurt.” He did not want to press the subject, but he knew they did not believe him. He was a horrible liar, he admitted to himself, but he was stubborn as a ram, so he knew they would not try to get it out of him. Naruto was right because Shikamaru was staring at him with a look that said ‘you’re a horrible liar’

“Oh, ok.” Kiba stated knowing that Naruto was lying. /I wonder what he’s hiding,/ both Kiba and Shikamaru thought. “So Naruto, why are you here so early?” It was the best way Kiba thought to avoid the previous discussion.

“I woke up early and had nothing better to do.” /Am I not allowed to be early for once in my fucking life?/ Naruto was trying hard not to let all the anger explode. He did not have a good night or a good night’s sleep at that. His parents were arguing again, over stupid things too, and his eye hurt like a bitch, which kept him up until four. This morning was not really any better for him. He woke up early and grumpy, only having about two and a half hours of sleep. There was no milk for his cereal, and he almost missed the bus. “Guys, let’s just not talk about it. So, um, what’s up?” For a couple of minutes, they continued talking until Sasuke entered the homeroom walking over to his desk, which happened to be near Naruto.
Sasuke turned to look at the blond a couple minutes later when he heard him laugh. He had not noticed Naruto when he entered the classroom, but he was not really looking for him either because he was never in time for homeroom. “What are you doing here, Uzumaki?” Naruto’s head looked up towards the boy, eyes shining brightly. Right behind that brightness of blue, sadness crept and true feelings leaked out for all to see. Sasuke was stunned, not because he had for the first time seen a flicker of sadness run through the hyperactive blond, but because his eye was swollen and bruised. “What the hell happened to you?” The rest of the class had turned around at Sasuke’s outburst expecting another fight. “What, did you get into a fight with a six year old and lose?” Naruto was not in the mood to fight. His right eye twitched, but Naruto ignored it as best as he could. When Naruto did not answer, Sasuke said, “Hn, I must be right then. I always knew you were weak.” The smirk on his face grew.

Naruto stood and slowly walked over to Sasuke until he was face to face with the boy. “Shut up,” he growled through gritted teeth, eyes slanted dangerously. Most would listen to the threat, but this was Sasuke. It only provoked him.

“What’s the matter, Naruto? Scared that the little boy might come back for you?” With that statement said, the anger pent up in Naruto from the previous day burst forth. Naruto would usually just fight back verbally, so it surprised everyone when there was a loud ‘thunk’ and Naruto’s fist connected with Sasuke’s jaw.

“I said shut the fuck up, Uchiha. Get off your high horse and leave me alone.” The angered Naruto left the room heading to his first period class. Kiba and Shikamaru ran to catch up with him. That was a surprise because Shika never ran.

A hand slapped Naruto on the shoulder trying to slow the blond. For a moment, Naruto thought it was Sasuke. His fist clenched, and his shoulders stiffened. Naruto was about to turn around and give Sasuke another hit, but then he saw Shikamaru on the other side of him. “What was that all about?” Kiba questioned, but actually seemed pleased with Naruto’s decision.

“It’s nothing, Kiba. He was just really pissing me off.” Naruto was now stomping off to his next class pretending the tiles were his father’s face. He could not be mad at Sasuke. Naruto even felt a little sorry that he hit the boy. It was just not a good week, not at all.

Kiba and Shikamaru refrained from asking questions, noticing the blond was in one of those moods. They were not going to force the blond to talk, especially if they wanted to keep their jaws and noses in place. They kept walking quietly, watching Naruto stomp on the tile floor. They winced with each stomp the blond-haired boy made imagining all the thoughts that could possibly be running through his mind. Both Shikamaru and Kiba looked at each other with pained expressions when the blond stomped on a tile extra forcefully. Their quizzical eyes asked each other if they knew what was wrong.
When they finally reached their English class, Naruto flung the door open. Mr. Umino was startled, and his papers went all over the floor. Naruto ignored this, his mind still concentrating on destroying the tiles. He made his way to his desk making as much noise as possible. The few students that arrived before them stared at the fuming blond. Students that were standing in his way moved as quickly as possible not wanting to be pushed aside or stomped on. When Naruto made it to his desk, he flopped down and grabbed his notebook. After a couple minutes, the blond started to cool down, but all too soon a very pissed off Sasuke walked into the room. His eyes skimmed over the crowd of students looking for a specific person.

He wanted an explanation! It was not like the blond to randomly hit him. Naruto always had some type of reason, and it usually was not because of some dumb remark. The blond boy must have something gnawing at his thoughts. Sasuke’s thoughts were disrupted when his eyes saw a tuft of bright hair. Naruto was staring out the window. He noticed that the usual spark in the boy’s eyes was gone. Actually, everything today seemed lost about the blond, but in reality the truth was that the blond was indeed just that: lost deep inside his thoughts.

Sasuke walked over to Naruto and tapped him on the shoulder. His expression softened to his normal stoic composure. “Naruto,” Sasuke whispered. In Sasuke’s mind, he questioned himself. /What am I doing? Why should I care if the blond is okay?/ Sasuke was about to turn around and leave when a thought crossed his mind. /Oh yeah, I remember now. I have that stupid project with him./ Sasuke returned to reality and found a pair of bright cerulean eyes staring at him quizzically. “What’s with that look?” Sasuke asked.

“Well, Sasuke, I tend to give people confused looks when they are staring at me for about a minute. Then when I ask them a question and they don’t answer, I start to get freaked out. So, I’ll ask you again, what do you want?”

/Damn it, how long was I spaced out for?/ Sasuke mentally hit himself. /He probably thinks I’m a weirdo. Wait, why do I care if he thinks I am weird? I hate him!/ < “Are you all right Naruto?” Even though he would regret it later, he sucked up his pride for the moment. He had to make at least a little bit of peace with the boy if he was going to survive this project without bloodshed.

“Why do you care?” Naruto looked at Sasuke. His one eye was squinted a bit because it was a little swollen.

Sasuke was surprised by the answer. He was expecting something along the lines of ‘yeah, I’m fine’ so it took him a minute to find an answer for the blond. “Well, because if I’m going to work with you on this stupid project, I can’t have you moping the whole time, or I’ll be forced to hit you.” Feeling that his reason was suitable, he crossed his arms and leaned on the desk behind him.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Sasuke. I’m just having a bad week.” Naruto was a little upset by Sasuke’s answer. He thought for a moment that someone actually cared what was bothering him. Even if the boy were his rival, it would be nice. Naruto actually did not notice that he had a few people worried about him, two of those people being Shikamaru and Kiba. Naruto was blind to his actions now. He turned away from Sasuke and began to write in his notebook the notes Mr. Umino was writing on the blackboard.

“Sasuke, sit down in your seat and copy the notes,” Mr. Umino stated. A few of Sasuke’s fan girls gave him a dirty look for making Sasuke look bad. Yes, Sasuke had fan girls; he even had a few fan boys. Sasuke was one of the most popular kids in Kohona High. Sasuke was stunningly gorgeous, and he was rich. He even had the brains to go with the looks, if that were possible. Once Sasuke sat down in his designated seat, English class began.

The rest of the school day went by rather fast and uneventful. School was not as bad as expected, and Naruto could not wait to go home and snuggle up in his bed. He did not care if he ate dinner. He just wanted to be in the paradise he called his room. All was going well, and Naruto was walking towards the bus stop thinking about the things he could do once he got home. Then a strong hand stopped him on his way towards the bus stop.
“What do you need, Sasuke?” He did not need to turn around and confirm to whom the hand belonged. He knew this because Kiba and Shikamaru left about an hour ago. They both had study hall last period, and they had the choice to leave early since it was their last period. That was not the only reason he knew it was Sasuke. No one else conversed with him, and Sasuke had to work on the project whether Naruto liked it or not.
“You said you were available on Wednesdays. It’s Wednesday so you’re coming over my house.” Sasuke did not give Naruto a chance to respond and began dragging Naruto to a vehicle. “My ride’s here; come on.” Naruto stood with wide eyes and took in the sight of a very elegant yet sporty black car. Naruto did not know much about cars, but it sure looked expensive. Sasuke impatiently pushed Naruto into the car and stepped in after him.

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The Uchiha house… um, mansion
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They reached a rod iron gate that surrounded a MASSIVE house. No, this was too big to be called a house, maybe a mansion… The rod iron gate opened after the driver typed the PIN. The drive up to the mansion gave Naruto a chance to take in his surroundings. He noticed that in front of the mansion there was an attractive little garden. Wait, it was not little; it was enormous. It seemed that nothing was little at the Uchiha residence. What caught Naruto’s attention, though, was an enormous oak tree on one side of the mansion. The oak had a swing attached to it, and near the tree was a little swing bench. On the other side of the mansion was a very beautiful willow. It would be even more beautiful if it were spring. Naruto could just imagine how gorgeous it would look when the flowers were in bloom. He was brought back from his thoughts when he realized he was following Sasuke to the front door.

Naruto entered the ‘house’. The yard alone was enough to awe him, but his jaw almost fell off when he walked inside. The interior was even more remarkable. The house looked huge from the outside, but in reality, the inside was ENORMOUS. There was a marble stairway with ornate redwood railings. Naruto looked at Sasuke, and a thought crossed his mind, /God, he must have the life./ “Sasuke...,” Naruto trailed off not noticing his thoughts were being spoken.

“Yes, Naruto?” Sasuke asked politely. Since he was home, he had to have some sort of manners. He was not going to make his family look disrespectful to their guest. It would ruin the family name, even if it were only Dobe. Anyway, his parents would be displeased with Sasuke if they knew how rudely he was to their guest, even though they were not home.

“Um… uh… your house…,” he trailed off as he realized he had spoken aloud. He was still looking around trying to absorb his grandiose surroundings. He knew the Uchihas were wealthy, but he did not know it was to this extent.

“What about it?” Sasuke asked. He became slightly impatient with Naruto’s trailing dialogue.

“It’s um… very nice… um, beautiful actually.” His voice again trailed off into a whisper that Sasuke almost did not catch and that Naruto almost pleaded he did not hear. He hoped that he did not sound like a little sissy, but it was true! Sasuke’s house was amazingly beautiful.

“Thanks, um, would you like something to drink? You can have anything you want.” Sasuke’s expression was again blank, but he forced his lips from showing a small smile when he saw Naruto grin.

“I would like a martini, shaken not stirred.” Naruto’s face was going to split in half if he tried to grin any more. Sasuke gave him an amused look. Naruto then finished, “Nah, seriously I’m fine with a water bottle.” With that, Sasuke got the drinks, and they headed up the elegant marble staircase.

They entered a comfortably sized room. It was very normal to Naruto’s surprise for he expected some grand room filled with overstuffed pillows, elegant statues and paintings, but it looked like any other teenager’s room. The simplicity of it was shocking to Naruto. The walls were a shade of navy blue, and Sasuke’s bed had a comforter whose color matched the walls. The actual bed was made of red oak, and Naruto could see some of the sheets from under the comforter. He noted that they were black and silky. Across the left wall was a desk of the same wood as the bed. It had a computer chair, and on top of the desk was an expensive computer. Next to the computer desk was a bookcase overstuffed with a large variety of books ranging from anime to many kinds of novels.
“This wasn’t something I expected,” Naruto commented. “I expected something far grander.” Before Sasuke could comment, Naruto added, “I mean that’s not a bad thing… I mean, umm… uh… it’s very comforting to be in a room that isn’t… so, um… yeah, never mind.” Naruto stopped his ramblings and stared at his feet feeling like a complete and total idiot. He was starting to believe that Sasuke was right. Maybe he was a dobe.
“Thanks… um… we should get started on this project though. So how about you tell me about yourself, and I’ll ask my unanswered questions, all right? All right.” There was no arguing about it.

“All right, well, my name’s Naruto Uzumaki, but that one is obvious. I’m fifteen, but I’ll be sixteen on October tenth. I live with my mom and dad. All right, you know something about me, so now it’s your turn.” Naruto grinned and looked at Sasuke. It was evident that Naruto really did not want to be talking about himself.

“Dobe, that’s not nearly enough for the project. I can’t write five pages with that information. Now answer it seriously. I don’t want to fail because of you.”

Being the loud and obnoxious boy that Naruto could be, he stated, “Yes, you could. You could make it up. Make my life exactly the way you want, and then we can be done.” Naruto’s grin got wider, if that were possible, and his eyes slanted comically into upside down crescent moons. “So it’s your turn now.”

“Dobe,” Sasuke growled, “tell me something about yourself, NOW!” Sasuke did not feel like dealing with Naruto for a couple hours if he was going to act like this.

“Fine,” Naruto grumbled. He continued thinking of anything that was useless information that would not give away his family life or any problems he had been facing lately. “Well, I’m ¾ Japanese, and I’m ¼ Polish. That’s where the blonde hair and blue eyes come from. What else? I would love to visit Japan if I could pick any place in the world. I love ramen noodles; it’s the best fucking thing in the world, especially miso, but the rest are good too. Nothing can beat the almighty ramen noodles… oh, and I hate sweets. Is that enough?” Naruto sounded as if he were pleading.

“I have a few questions first, then you can be done. What’s your favorite: color, animal, holiday, season and favorite subject in school. After you answer me, I’ll answer your questions.”
“My favorite color is orange, favorite animal would be the fox, holiday would have to be Halloween, winter and spring are my favorite seasons because I love the snow, but I also love the spring because I like nature… and don’t you dare comment on that. My favorite subjects are art and music. Okay, I answered your questions, your turn.” Naruto answered the questions with as much simplicity as possible. He did not like this project. End of story.
“Very well, I’ll start with my name, Sasuke Uchiha. You knew that already though. I will be seventeen on July 23. I live with my mom, my dad and my brother Itachi. I am full Japanese, and I come from an old Japanese family. I would also like to go to Japan if I could pick one place because I would like to learn about my heritage and learn a little more about the family background. I also hate sweets, and I do not like ramen noodles very much.” At that Naruto’s face dropped, and he was about to say something when Sasuke gave him a dirty look almost threatening him to say something. “My favorite food is onigiri. I love the snow and winter, but I don’t have a favorite holiday. Holidays are mere excuses for my family to throw their stupid parties, which I hate. My favorite color is navy blue, if you haven’t noticed, and if you haven’t, you really are the idiot I claim you to be. I would like a snake, but my mom won’t let me get one. My favorite subjects would have to be English and art. (A/N Sasuke seems a little OCness. Sorry, I’m trying.) See? This isn’t that hard.” Sasuke was rambling, and he knew it. It was not normal for Sasuke to ramble; it was not even normal for Sasuke to say more than two sentences. He let it slide though. He made Naruto tell him about himself, so Sasuke had to do the same. A small smirk settled on his lips when Naruto stuck his tongue childishly out at him. This gave Sasuke the perfect opportunity to say one of his favorite sentences, “Dobe.”

Naruto was itching to ask Sasuke some questions that were bothering him for sometime, and he thought it was the perfect time to ask. “So Sasuke, I have a few questions for you. 1) Why are you such a bastard and so cold to everyone? 2) Why do you call me a dobe? 3) Why do you take everything for granted? You’re selfish!” Naruto was getting angry, and he really had no reason to be. The anger from earlier was resurfacing and at the perfect time. The project was going fairly too. They had not tried to kill each other within the first five minutes, and now there was a rather pissed off Naruto and a rather pissed off Sasuke.

“Well, Dobe,” The word slithered and dripped with venom, “I have some questions for you too. Why are you so loud and obnoxious? Why do you try to be people’s friend when they obviously don’t want to? Why are you such a Dobe?”

“ I am not a dobe.” Naruto gritted his teeth. The two boys were acting childish.

“Of course you are, Dobe.” Sasuke’s anger had slightly disappeared and amusement appeared in its place. That was obvious when Sasuke smirked at Naruto showing how much of a joke this was to him. Yet this was no joke to Naruto.

He was serious about his questions, and he wanted some answers. Naruto did not like being taken lightly. He was dead serious and, oh, that smirk! How many times did he have to mention how much he HATED that smirk? It gave Naruto the feeling that Sasuke thought he was better than him. “You think you’re better than me, don’t you? Well, you must really want a matching bruise on the other side of your jaw because you’re not better than me! You’re just the same as me.” Naruto was nearly in hysterics as he screamed at Sasuke.
Sasuke was taken aback by the raw emotions leaking out of Naruto’s eyes. “You’re such a dobe,” Sasuke said sighing and feeling that this fight was not going in a good direction, but he was an Uchiha, he was not going to let some dobe badmouth him. “Naruto, answer my questions! Why are you so obnoxious? Why are you desperately trying to make friends with people who don’t like you? Isn’t that something that sticks out and says DOBE! I mean, they don’t fucking like you! Leave them alone!” Sasuke went a little too far on his rant. Naruto was not even looking him in the eyes any more. Each syllable of every word that slithered out of Sasuke’s mouth pierced through the air and sank deep within the depths of Naruto’s heart tearing it to pieces leaving bloody shards of nothingness. The worst part was that Naruto started to believe every insult that he received. He even started to believe that what his father had said about him earlier were true. Maybe they were true. Maybe he was in denial. Just maybe he was worthless. Naruto’s feet had become an interesting sight as he blinked rapidly forcing the tears to go back where they came from. He was not going to let Sasuke see him cry. He could not let Sasuke see that he was weak, that he was vulnerable, that he could cry and he could feel.

Sasuke jut stared at Naruto thinking, /Fuck, I went too far! What’ll I do? I didn’t mean what I said!/ Sasuke’s conscience came out. /Well maybe you should tell him that and think before you go into rants like that. I think you made him cry!/ He almost snorted upon hearing his conscience mention that he may have made Naruto cry. /Naruto cry, that’s a funny one./ Sasuke really did know nothing about this boy in front of him. Was Sasuke really the dobe? How could anyone ever stay that happy? Maybe he was just oblivious.

“I think I should go,” Naruto said in a whispered tone. At that moment, he did not care that he had no clue how to get home. Naruto stood to move, and Sasuke saw a glitter of an unshed tear.

/Oh shit, I think I did make him cry!/ Sasuke was almost panicking. He really did not mean to hurt the boy! Sasuke looked stoic and uncaring, but just like Naruto he did care and feel. He was unsure if he could take the guilt that was building up inside of him even if he did not like the boy. Even if Naruto was the one who started it. /Wait! Naruto was the one who started it! Why should I feel bad?/ Another thought crossed his mind, a thought that surprised Sasuke. His thought compared Naruto to himself. /But haven’t I done that with aniki? Haven’t I randomly started fights with him or pestered him just to get his attention?/ When Sasuke came to realization, little neon lights started flashing brightly and signs lit up his mind. It looked like a fucking Christmas parade. /Was Naruto doing that same thing that I do when I feel lonely? Was he just longing for some sort of attention?/ Sasuke was too engrossed in his thoughts to register what Naruto had said, but Naruto did not follow out his actions either. He really did not feel like getting lost and ending up in God knows where. Anyway, Sasuke’s house was so big Naruto did not even know his way back to the front door.

The silence was nerve racking, and every single thought Naruto kept locked inside an iron cage with several chains wrapped around it tightly came exploding through. Thoughts of the past couple days, and the scene from a couple moments ago kept replaying like an old movie. Everything was overwhelming. Naruto felt his knees starting to shake; actually, his whole body began to shake as he tried to keep the tears at bay. At first, the tears slowly rolled down his slightly tanned cheeks and over whisker like scars until the few tears turned into sobs. Sasuke was oblivious to Naruto’s weeping because the silent, stubborn tears that forced their way out were almost undetectable. Yet, the other reason was that Sasuke was locked deep within his thoughts. The epiphany was nearly too great.

Naruto tried to hide the fact that he was crying, more like sobbing, by turning away from Sasuke with his back to him. The slight movement was a reminder that Sasuke was not alone in the room, and the boy that was plaguing his mind right then was standing away from him. Finally, it clicked in Sasuke’s mind that Naruto was crying. A small hiccup escaped Naruto’s lips and gave the boy away. Sasuke was sitting on the computer chair, and Naruto was standing about ten feet away from him, back turned, hands in front of his face, knees wobbling as if they might give out suddenly.

“Naruto?” Sasuke questioned. He did not realize that he had started walking until he was next to Naruto. “Naruto? What’s the matter?” he asked trying to get the boy’s attention. Naruto looked up at Sasuke. His usually bright blue eyes were glossy with wetness but oh so darkened. For some unknown reason it made Sasuke’s heart wrench. <

“It... it’s... n... othing,” Naruto stuttered from a sob that was caught in his throat.

“Well it has to be something if you’re crying,” Sasuke stated softly and soothingly.

“Why do you care? I’m just a dobe anyway.”

Sasuke winced at the venom shot out at him. That was what was bothering him. Well that was what Sasuke thought at least. “You may be a dobe, but you’re still my friend.” /What the FUCK am I saying? I hate him! I always have!/ Once again Naruto looked up at Sasuke with puffy red eyes and a tear rolling down his cheek. /Okay, maybe I don’t hate him, but I do really hate to see him like this. He’s NEVER like this. I’ve actually never seen him cry before. Where’s that boy that I always see at school?/ The thoughts from before came rushing back into his mind. /Could this really be the real Naruto? Was the boy he saw everyday at school just some act for attention? Was Naruto just like him, just like everyone else? Fuck this is just too much!/ Sasuke just wanted to cradle his head in his arms as he felt a migraine coming. This was too much information…too much thinking for one day.

“Since when in the world have you considered me a friend? Do you consider me your friend when you’re punching or kicking me? When you start fights with me? Do you consider me you’re friend every time you insult me? Did you consider me you’re friend when you just stated how you really felt about me? That I’m just an obnoxious dobe? Tell me, Sasuke, did it ever cross your mind that I have feelings? That I’m not always happy?” Naruto did not let Sasuke comment when he stated in a softer voice than the venom he just spat, “No, I didn’t think so.” With that said, Naruto sat on the bed next to him. He felt weak, he felt disgusting and he felt unworthy.

Sasuke stared at Naruto with wide eyes; the scary thing was that Naruto was right. He never really considered him a friend before. He never thought he felt anything besides happiness. “Naruto?” Sasuke asked in a whisper.

“What?” Naruto spat. He was not in the mood for a pity party. “If you’re just going to pity me, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Naruto… I… um…” Then Sasuke did something that he thought he would never do, something he had not done in a long some, something that surprised them. Sasuke took Naruto into his arms and hugged him tightly. Sasuke could smell the boy’s shampoo on the soft golden locks that seemed to fly out everywhere. Sasuke’s heart seemed to flutter at the action, but he just ignored that for now.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with widened blue eyes. He did not understand why Sasuke was doing this. Why was he hugging him? /What the hell is going on? Why is Sasuke acting so nice to me? Wasn’t he just yelling at me ten minutes ago? Oh, fuck it! I don’t care right now!/ Naruto started crying into Sasuke’s chest. His bruised eye stung with every tear. Sasuke subconsciously rubbed Naruto’s back until the boy calmed down. “Now Naruto, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Sasuke asked in a very caring, calm tone.

Naruto ignored the question and instead asked his own, “Sasuke, why are you being so nice to me? I thought you hated me.” Naruto had finally calmed down and was a bit drowsy now.

Sasuke wanted to answer the question, but he had to figure it out for himself. He had always thought he hated the blond, but here he was holding him in his arms and comforting him. Sasuke took a moment to answer the question. “I think maybe it’s because the obnoxious boy I know at school isn’t sitting in front of me. I think I am understanding you much better than I did before. I think you’re hurting just as much as I am.”
When Sasuke said that, Naruto did not understand what he meant. Sasuke had everything: he was rich, smart, cute and everyone liked him. What was there to be sad about? “Sasuke, I don’t understand. How can you be sad? You have everything. You’re rich, smart, the girls – even some guys – think you’re attractive and everyone likes you. What’s there to be sad about?” Naruto was still held in Sasuke’s arms. He didn’t know why he felt so safe in them. Naruto felt weak, but he ignored it, just as long as he felt safe.

“Naruto, do you know if any one of those people know the real me? Most of them are after my money, or they just think I’m kawaii and want to get in my pants. They are all greedy bastards who care about reputation, looks and money. I can’t stand them. To answer your question from before, I don’t take things for granted, I don’t even know where you got that impression. I only act cold to the people around me because I know what those people are really like. Not one of them really wants to be my friend. Not one.” Sasuke looked down at the blond in his arms and hugged the boy tighter to himself. He felt complete with that boy in his arms. He felt as if a part of his soul that was missing was replaced. With his right hand, he ruffled the sunny spikes. /Is this what love is? Am I falling in love? Am I falling in love with the boy that I hated?/ Sasuke pushed his thoughts aside when a little voice spoke. The voice had brought Sasuke back to the present, and the words floated and fluttered in his ears. The words shocked Sasuke, but then a soft smile flittered across his face, the first real smile he had had since he was eight.

The soft voice caused Sasuke to smile. It said, “Oh, but Sasuke, you’re wrong. I’ve always wanted to be your friend.”

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TBC
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(A/N) I thought this was a relatively cute chapter. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it seems rushed to me. I’ve always had the problem of rushing my works.