You, Always {Uchiha Sasuke}

Friendship

Sasuke hesitated to be the one to make the first call. Sitting at home by himself in his room while his aunt and uncle are out getting dinner, he contemplated for an hour now and he can't manage to find the right way to start the conversation if he decided to call.

        Hey, Satoshi. I'm dating your ex girlfriend, who you were with for almost a year,while you're dating a girl who has cancer.

        The raven rubbed his head shamefully, ruffling all of his black hair into a bundle of knots. There was no telling how to describe how fucked up this was.

        He was their cheerleader, and now he is what keeps them apart.

        Sighing in exasperation, Sasuke finally gathered the guts to snatch his phone off from his nightstand and scrolled to Satoshi's contact information.

        He observed it carefully and then press the send call, placing the phone by his ear. The ringings lasted a couple of seconds, but to his dismay someone picked it up.

        "Sasuke?" Satoshi's voice spoke curiously, even he was surprised to know that his best friend was calling.

        "Yo," he replied lowly, unmotivated.

        "What's up?" he sounded oblivious, more like himself. But deep down, Sasuke knew that he wasn't the same.

        "Satoshi," he started. "Are you alright?"

        The bronze headed boy paused abruptly by the question as his breath hitches quietly to the phone. Instead of waiting for his respond, Sasuke went straight to the point.

        "Listen. I know what's going on," he said bluntly. "I mean just the gist of it. I don't think I can fully understand what you're dealing with, but I think I have the idea of it."

        The brunette boy didn't say anything back, letting his words sink in to his thoughts and gather the courage to speak up again. It plagued his mind.

        "I'm sorry about what's happening with you...," Sasuke continued with his honest opinion. "I hope you know that... I hope everything will be fine."

        Satoshi smiled behind his phone and sighed blissfully. Hearing his friend's hope made him a whole lot better.

        "Thanks, that means a lot to me," he replied softly. "It's hard to describe how I'm feeling, so thank you for calling to tell me that."

        Sasuke's anxiety lessened, seeing how the connection between them was still there like old times. It didn't seem like he was resentful towards him despite the things that occurred with their life.

        So Satoshi was comfortable enough to submit.

        "You're dating Ayu now, right?" he asked which brought the Uchiha's attention.

        The same guilt ran past him, but he didn't allow it to stop being proud in his relationship.

        He nodded slowly with the phone against his ear, "Yeah..."

        "That's great," Satoshi praised highly.

        Sasuke rose his brow in bewilderment, lost and confused.

        "I always knew you two should be with each other after my break up with her," he explained. "Somehow, you're always with her, even at times while I was away. It makes me jealous how it worked perfectly for you than it did for me. I even wanted to switch places with you."

        But his words made Sasuke bit his lip, closing his eyes and clutched the phone in his hand.

        "I didn't mean to get involved, Satoshi."

        "I know," he told him gently. If he were to see him right now, he can imagine a smile on him. "You were just being a good friend, Sasuke; watching my girlfriend for me like I wanted you to. And now you're with her. I got to at least expect it."

        "You're not mad at me, are you?"

        He heard a light chuckle from Satoshi as he made a relieving sigh and then replied, "I was a little furious at first when I found you two at the fair, but I was happy at the same time."

        This time, Sasuke was even more curious.

        "I didn't think Ayu would be able to date anyone soon. But knowing that it was you she's with, I was relieved because there's someone out there who can truly make her happy, unlike me," he explained.

        Then the Uchiha smirked conceitedly but he didn't allow his cocky side to unleash, "At least, you did make her happy."

        He agreed. "I did."

        "You're not coming back here again, are you?"

        "I'm afraid not. Other than seeing you guys, there's nothing left for me there. I want to keep living my life here, with Amaya."

        It was unfortunate to hear him say that yet he understood. There was nothing for him other than his friends since his new life already began at a different country.

        "How is she?"

        The question scared the green eyed boy and hesitated to respond, instead he just grumbled lowly.

        "Amaya...," he started. "I don't know at this point."

        Then the liveliness dropped.

        "When she talks to me, I'm not sure if she is," Satoshi groaned grievingly. "It's hard to tell what the victim with cancer about how they feel. Here I thought, she couldn't get any less mysterious."

        "You don't seem too happy about it," Sasuke recognized.

        But he shook his head. After past operations, Satoshi has no clue how he's supposed to deal with it.

        He is completely unhappy.

        "Tell me, Sasuke; after everything that happened to you, with your family and your brother, are you happy?"

        The question was sudden but it caught the Uchiha's attention. Never did he thought about it, but the answer was already clear to him. Despite from his personal problems, there was an upside to it, and that was his feelings for Ayu.

        "I am," was all he said, now that his true colors are flying out to the heavens. Satoshi's encouragement brought his confidence.

        Sasuke laid his palm over his forehead, letting his fingers take through his hair as he stared down to his lap.

        "It's very unfortunate for me to lose the ones I love, but they brought me people who I possibly can. I never thought Ayu would be one of those people who's important to me now. I don't regret a single thing that happened," he muttered out with a shaky breath. "I love her."

        He understands now. There wasn't a reason for Sasuke to feel guilty. Truth is; he needed Ayu more than Satoshi needed her. He is truly content with his life now.

        This caused the boy to smile to himself, listening to his best friend's thoughts. It brought closure to both of them and they never felt any better than they did before.

        "Now you know what it's like," Satoshi informed with a calming voice that made the Uchiha's nerves come to an end. "I'm counting on you, Sasu-nii. Look after her."