Life Starts Now (Revised) NaruSasuNaru

Drown (BMTH)

"What doesn't destroy you leaves you broken instead"

Sasuke was damaged. Physically he appeared fine, but on the inside he felt broken and there was part of him that hated himself for being so weak. People had tried to convince him that his feelings didn't make him weak; they made him human. His pride told him that it was a sign of weakness, but that might just be his father's words replaying in his mind. Most people didn't understand that, despite so many years passing, his father's words would probably never go away. His therapist told him that in moments of darkness he needed to let himself talk to someone and let the vulnerability show, no matter how hard it may be. The hardest part would be to love himself but the sad reality was that it was much easier said than done.

He put on a hard exterior to keep people away and very few people saw the other side of him. The real him that hid beneath the surface. The real him hated who he saw when he looked in the mirror. Even years of therapy hadn't helped even though he tried to pretend it did for the sake of the people around him. He was no longer suicidal, but the hate never went away. He built walls around himself and hoped that they were impenetrable, but he knew they weren't. Most people didn't try to knock down his walls, but he was learning that Naruto wasn't most people. Sasuke had been pushing him away but he wasn't going to give up on the possibility of a friendship. They were roommates and so Naruto felt that they had to find a way to get along.

Naruto found Sasuke fascinating. Somehow he knew that Sasuke wasn't just the good-looking asshole like he pretended to be. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that there was another side to the man. He felt that if he could break down his walls then he'd be able to understand him.

It was probably a little creepy that he was watching the dark haired man as he sat alone at a table. Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke didn't think anyone was around. The courtyard was empty aside from the two, which was normal for that part of campus. There weren't many classroom buildings around so it meant that most students didn't bother coming to that part of campus. It didn't surprise him that Sasuke would find the one place on campus that wasn't crowded. 'Maybe I should go talk to him,' he thought, figuring it'd be better than creepily watching him from afar like some stalker.

He took a deep breath and walked over to the dark haired man, "Hey." He smirked when he saw that he'd startled Sasuke. It was difficult to sneak up on him, but it seemed that he was so consumed with studying that he didn't even notice Naruto. "What are you doing?" he asked as he stood next to the table awkwardly. He wasn't sure if he should sit down and try to talk to him or just say hi and leave.

"Studying," was Sasuke short response. He quickly looked back at his book, ignoring him in hopes that he would go away. However he didn't leave, he just continued to stare at him. It was unnerving to have someone so blatantly stare at him. He'd had quite a few girls, and some guys, that fawned over him in the past, but there was something different about Naruto's stair. It also didn't help that Naruto was silent as he stared at him. "Is there something that you wanted?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

"Just to talk," Naruto shrugged as he sat across from him at the table, not breaking eye contact. When Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, the blonde told him, "I want to be friends." He saw Sasuke tense as he looked at him. The dark haired man didn't say anything in response, but instead just stared back at him. It was as if he were trying to determine if he were serious or just being annoying. "I'm serious," he sighed, knowing it wasn't going to be an easy task.

"That's the problem," Sasuke replied. He saw Naruto frown as he continued, "I don't need any more friends, the ones that I have are annoying enough." He looked back down at his book, wondering why the hurt look on Naruto's face actually made him feel a little bad. "Just go away," he mumbled, pretending to read. He found that he couldn't concentrate enough to read when Naruto was staring at him so intensely.