Chronic Love(On Hold)

9

Naruto's Pov

When Shikamaru decided to come home he looked drained. "Where have you been? You look like a wreck." He mumbled something but not loud enough for me to hear it. He didn't take his shoes off first like he usually did or leave the keys on the table. Instead he went to his room and shut the door. When I went to press my ear against it, I heard sniffling coming from him. I wonder what happened to him. I went back to watching TV when a stupid realization dawned on me. Her name was Sakura, it was Hiyori. The girl I mistook Sakura for was named Hiyori. Which meant that I had been an asshole to Sakura for no reason. I mentally slapped myself. Their personalities and looks matched so well it was no wonder why I had gotten confused. I made a mental note to myself that I would start changing the way I treated her. "Starting with her actual name would be a good start," I mumbled to myself. I finally got tired of TV and went to bed.

"Hey wake up or we're gonna be late." Shikamaru pulled the blanket from me. He ignored my protests which forced me to get up and get dressed. He looked fine today but I couldn't get how he sounded last night out of my head. "You know, since you're my bro and all, you can always come to me if there's something bothering me." I made direct eye contact with him while saying it. For the shortest second ever I could see him crack and then bring back up his game face. "Yeah, you too,' was all I got out of him. I'll take what I can get. "Want a donut on the way?" He asked. I nodded realizing how hungry I was.

When we arrived at school Shikamaru didn't get out of the car. "Shikamaru?" I kept poking his shoulder lightly. It was like he was in some kind of trance. "This place will be filled with nothing but bad memories," he mumbled. I didn't do anything to hide the state of confusion I was in. "What?" He looked like he realized what he said and instantly regretted it. He chuckled, it was a forced one. "N-nothing, let's go." He hurried out of the car and avoided my eyesight. I saw a flash of pink hair when I looked up in the rearview mirror. Sakura! I hurried to gather my things and locked the door. "Sakura wait up!" She looked back at me but she didn't look like her usual self. She looked tired, stressed, and worn out, not to mention almost as pale as a ghost. "If you're here to call me trash or bitch about whatever, do it tomorrow. I'm tired and don't feel like putting up with your bullshit."

Why was it so hard to apologize? I let her walk away. I have always been very direct with how I was feeling. Then again I really only ever had Shikamaru around. Poor guy. From the haze that I put myself in I could see Sakura and her gang catch up to Shikamaru. He held her face in his hands, gently. It was gentle. I could feel the warmth and care from the distance that I was at. I saw her swat her hands away as if she wasn't trying to get her friends to notice what was happening, not that they were paying enough attention anyways. I seemed to be the only one to notice what was going on.

When class started I sat a distance away from her and Shikamaru. He raised me a brow and I just shrugged my shoulders. Halfway through the lecture I could tell Sakura was doing her most to just keep her eyes halfway open. The way the light was glistening down in the lecture hall I could see sweat forming at the base of Sakura's neck. I grabbed my bag and moved down in the empty seat beside her. "Here," I offered her a towel and water. She looked at me like I was performing at a circus act. "Huh," she asked. For some reason there was fear climbing up my spine. "You look like you could use it." I said while pointing to the base of her neck. She mumbled a thank you and chugged the water down. I felt Shikamaru eyeing our interaction.

She slipped out of the classroom as soon as the lecture ended. I looked at Shikamaru who had a weird expression over his face. He quickly covered it when he realized I was staring at him. "What's going on with you?" He shook his head and gave me one of his famous carefree smiles he would use when he'd accidentally run into a girl in the hallway. "Is there anything going on with you, Naruto?" The question made me falter. I hadn't thought there was anything going on with me but now that he brought up the question it felt like there was something unsettling starting to form in the back of my head. "Let me drop you off because I have some errands to run."

The whole car ride he wouldn't let me know what kind of errand he was running. He would tell me ahead of time not the day of. Something's definitely wrong with him. "Do you want me to pick up some pizza on the way back?" I nodded while trying not to hit my head on the roof of the car. "I want lots of cheese," I told him. He laughed and nodded. I didn't have any idea what to do. I wasn't used to Shikamaru being out and me not being with him. I wanted to play a new game I bought with him but apparently he had other plans. Okay and what if I'm a little petty? I was bored out of my mind.Key word: was. There was a knock and then right after followed the ringing of the doorbell. I didn't even know we had a doorbell until now. "Why are you back so soon?" I yelled while crossing over to the door. There wasn't a response. I flung open the door surprised to see Sakura. It wasn't Sakura, it was a half dead out of breath Sakura. "W-Where's S-Shikamaru?" My eyes roamed all over her body, assessing her physical state. "Sakura?" I heard her mumble Shikamaru's name before she started to fall forward. "Sakura!" I quickly felt her neck and I could barely feel a pulse.

Word Count: 1,093

Things are going to go downhill from now. :)