Our Eyes Met

Six

(Name) woke up to a harsh noise at the door. She stumbled and made her way to it, stumbling a little in the dark. It was still very early and the sun wasn't out.

She switched on the light near her door and peeped outside the peephole. (Name) saw nobody. She hooked the chain and opened the door just wide enough for her to peek through. She glanced left and right, but she saw nobody.

She frowned and went back inside, hoping to get some more sleep. But she was wide awake.

Getting ready a lot earlier than she usually did, (Name) left her house. She had also not recieved the daily newspaper.

(Name) checked her mailbox at the bottom of the stairs, but it was full of garbage and dirt, everything except a mail. (Name) frowned as she dusted it for the time being. She was going to have a hard time cleaning it, but she could do it after she came from school. She locked he mailbox and tugged at the lock to make sure that it was properly locked.

She walked to school very slowly, knowing she had a lot of time on her hands. By the time she reached school, students were already rushing their way inside. As (Name) too made her way inside, she was pushed and shoved a few times, but she couldn't see who did it in that crowd of students. She looked left and right and the walked straight ahead, keeping a distance from every person.

It would only take the dumbest of people to not notice how the class, even though half-empty, fell silent when (Name) walked in. She tried her best to ignore all the eyes on her as she went to her desk.

(Name) couldn't wait for break to begin. During all the classes, paper balls, erasors, paper planes were thrown at her. It became really difficult for her to concentrate.

She was the first one out as soon as the bell rang. She quickly made her way to the stairs, and up them, to the only place in the school where she could be by herself peacefully. But as soon as she turned to climb the last flight of stairs, a bucket full of water was emptied on her and she was soaking wet.

But when she looked up to see who did that, she saw no one. Only hushed laughter was heard by her. She sighed and slowly made her way up the stairs, feeling uncomfortable in her wet socks. Her shoes squeaked with every step she took.

(Name) had realized something by then. She was being targeted by the bullies in the school. She had no idea why. To her knowledge, she had done nothing that would gain her any unwanted attention.

Luckily for her that day, she had her gym clothes. Gym clothes weren't the most comfortable clothes in the world but (Name) definitely prefered a pair of shorts and a white plain t-shirt over her soaked uniform.

The old Chemistry Lab. faced in the other direction from the sun and therefore did not get much sunlight except during the morning. It was hard for (Name) to dry her uniform there during lunch.

So she waited till lunch was over and everyone was in class to go to the roof of the building. Obviously, she was not going to go to class in her gym clothes. That was embarrassing, awkward, and required to be explained. (Name) had no explanation for it which the teachers would accept. She would only get bad remarks for it.

(Name) found the roof empty as she had expected. She lay her uniform in the sun and sat in shade, staring out in the distance.

Had she unintentionally done something which to anger some students ? She couldn't think of anything. (Name) knew very well that the only time people approached her was during the exams for tutoring, which had not happened since she enrolled in Konoha because the exams were still weeks away.

"Hey, (Last Name) (Name) ? Are you (Name) ?"

(Name) slowly opened her eyes, not realizing when she had fallen asleep. In front of her was a blonde-haired boy who she recognized as Naruto. He was waving his hand in front of her eyes and snapped his fingers twice.

"What ? Yes, I am (Name)." she said and sat up straight.

"Woah." said Naruto and took a seat beside her, not caring about the concept known as 'personal space.' "I did not know that you skipped classes too." he said with a wide grin.

"I'm sorry, what time is it now ?" asked (Name).

"It's 4:30. Pretty much everyone left. I came up here to collect my jacket which I thought I left here during lunch but it seems like I didn't because all that I found here was a girl's uniform which I'm assuming is yours. Am I right ?" said Naruto and pointed at (Name)'s uniform.

"Yes, that is mine." she said and got up to collect it.

"Why are you in your gym clothes ?" asked Naruto as they were going down the stairs.

"Well, you see, my uniform got wet during lunch and I had nothing else to change into. I went up there to dry it and I didn't realize when I fell asleep." said (Name) with an awkward laugh.

She had no idea how Naruto was so casual around her even though it was the first time they were talking.

(Name) stopped near the girls' changing room.

"Well, I have to get changed and leave. It was nice talking to you." said (Name) with a smile.

"Yep. See you around, (Name)." said Naruto and started jogging.

"..and yeah, if you see Sasuke anywhere, just tell him I went ahead."

(Name) nodded but Naruto had already left. She quickly changed and went to collect her bag from the lab.

Instead, she found Sasuke leaning against the wall right outside it. Her bag was near his feet. He was standing with his arms folded over his chest and seemed to be in deep thought. But as (Name) neared, he looked up and smiled at her.

"Your friend Naruto said that he was going ahead without you." said (Name).

"Oh, never mind him. You didn't come here today so I was worried. Are you okay ?" he asked, handing her the bag.

That's when (Name) realized something. The reason why she was being harrassed was because she was talking to the guy in front of her. That was the only reason. There was nothing else that would upset others or his 'fan-girls' specifically.

But (Name) wasn't going to tell him and add to his worries.

She put on her best smile and said, "I'm alright. There's no need to worry."

She did not know that Sasuke already knew.