Temptation (NEW)

Chapter Thirteen

I laid in my own bed for a while and heavily debated getting up for class. It was Monday, so that meant I'd see Sasuke for the first time since the fight. We'd have to present our project to the class and I feared how that would go. I'm sure every single person at our university knows about what happened. Half of them probably watched it with front row seats.

"Hey." Shikamaru was standing in my doorway. It surprised me to see him willingly awake at this hour. "I was just seeing if you were gonna go to class today."

"I have a project to present, so I probably should," I groaned.

"Do you think he will show up?" Shikamaru prodded, obviously talking about Sasuke.

I shrugged against my pillow. I genuinely wasn't sure if he would or not. Last night, I could hear Shikamaru on the phone with Choji talking about the aftermath. Supposedly, Sasuke got fucked up pretty bad, too. A win for me, I guess.

"I'm going to go with you if you go," Shikamaru declared. "I don't want you to be alone, and technically you shouldn't be driving."

Oh, right. I have a whole broken hand to deal with. That might make driving a little difficult.

We got ready, but I definitely needed help from Shikamaru for most of it. Apparently buttoning pants with a broken hand is nearly impossible. I'm sure Shikamaru is racking up all of the You-Owe-Me points right now. He made us a quick breakfast and then we headed out. The drive to the campus was mostly silent except for the light indie music he played. I preferred the silence for once. I had so much on my mind.

I could feel the weight of my peers' eyes on me as I trudged through the hallways. Some had pity, some had contempt. I was grateful to have Shikamaru at my side. He gave me comfort through all of this. Even if someone said something to me, good or bad, he'd have my back.

"Mr. Uzumaki."

I turned my head towards the voice that called my name. It was my professor, standing outside of his office. He had an emotionless face that sent a shiver down my spine. But then again, sometimes he can be hard to read.

"Could you step in my office for a second, please?"

I shot Shikamaru a worried look and he stepped towards the far wall of the hallway to wait for me. My heart was pounding hard. I wasn't sure what to expect. Was I getting kicked out of class? Kicked out of school? Was it something entirely different?

But then I saw him sitting in one of the brown leather chairs.

He didn't look up at me, but it was obvious he felt my presence. His shoulders tensed up and it seemed like he was holding his breath. I couldn't see his face past his hair, so I wasn't sure of the damage I caused. To be honest, I don't think I wanted to see it at all.

"Have a seat, Mr. Uzumaki," my professor sighed, pointing to the chair beside Sasuke.

I did what I was told and took a seat. The door to his office clicked closed and the professor shuffled around to sit across from us. The silence was defeanening. I'm sure they could both hear my heartbeat rattling in my chest.

"You boys sure know how to make yourself known," he chuckled. It was obvious what he meant by that.

Neither of us responded.

"I had to do a lot of begging with the dean to keep you both around," my professor continued. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands in his lap. "I really liked the project you guys submitted. Clearly, when you're not kicking each other's ass, you can work pretty well together."

I'm not sure what made me cringe more. Hearing him say Sasuke and I work well together, or the fact that my professor just cursed in front of his students.