Nerdy

Forty-Three.

One of the reasons why Sasuke loved (Name) was because she was different. She didn't bother about what others thought of her. She did what she wanted without caring about her reputation. She did not make herself seem like someone she was not. She was always her true self, even if it meant being disliked by many. But she wasn't a bad person, that Sasuke knew. Nobody just tried to understand her. Behind all those walls she built was a normal, caring heart which only a few had the privellege of seeing.

Sasuke leaned his back against the elevator, letting out a deep sigh. Of all the times to be stuck in an elevator, it just had to be when he was about to go home after spending almost his entire day in the hospital. He couldn't wait to get home and crawl into the comfort of his bed. Just being in the same room as Shion had worn him out completely. He sighed again and slid down and sat on the carpeted floor of the elevator.

"How much longer will this take ?" he murmured as he ran a hand down his face.

"Saying that won't make it any faster, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke groaned. Of all the people he could be stuck in an elevator with, it had to be (Name). Usually, they did not leave at the same time. Most of the time, (Name) stayed overnight. But on the day they happened to leave together, this had to happen. Sure, he loved her. But he was in no mood to deal with her.

But it could have been worse. He could have been stuck in the elevator with Naruto, or Shion at worst. Just the thoughts of being stuck in the elevator with those two made him feel thankful that it was only (Name).

Sasuke banged his fist on the door of the elevator. "How long will it take ?" he called out. His voice echoed through the elevator shaft.

"About an hour, sir." another voice replied.

Sasuke simply took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He then felt a presence beside him. As the elevator had stopped working, the lights inside had gone out. But his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He could make out (Name)'s sillhoute in the darkness, sitting beside him.

"Are you alright ?" he asked her. He knew nothing about (Name)'s fears. Although she didn't seem the type to be afraid of the dark or being stuck in elevators, Sasuke couldn't be sure. She might just be claustrophobic, if not anything else.

"I am, but you shouldn't be asking me that. Look at yourself." she said.

"I would if I could. But it's really dark in here, in case you hadn't noticed." Sasuke said and immediately mentally punched himself. That attitude was unnecessary. Was this how he was going to make her like him ?

In the dark, he couldn't see her reaction to his words. If it had bothered her, Sasuke had no way of knowing. Probably, she didn't even care about it.

"You sound stressed. Are you alright ? I never thought you as one to be afraid of the dark or closed spaces." said (Name).

Sasuke smiled to himself, knowing she couldn't see him in the dark either. She hadn't said it directly, but he knew she was worried, if only slightly. That lifted his mood.

"I'm just tired." he replied.

(Name) said nothing. He looked at her for a reply, but he got none. He let it slide and just leaned his head back, enjoying the silence. He knew that she sometimes just chose not to say anything when the conversation reached a stump than to try to start a new topic.

After a few more minutes, (Name) sighed. Sasuke looked at her again, waiting for her to continue. He knew she was going to say something.

"What do you think about their fight ?" she asked. It was something that had been on her mind for the past few days. She was around Shion all the time, and she couldn't ignore this problem.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who she was talking about.

"I don't know. It's not our place to interfere." said Sasuke. But he saw how it was affecting Shion. He had no idea how Itachi felt, though. He hadn't seen much of him lately.

"That's true. But I'm just asking you what you think about it." said (Name).

Sasuke's eyebrows pretty much shot out of his forehead with surprise. Not only was (Name) agreeing with him, but she was also asking him for his opinion for once. Surely the dark must be affecting her. Nevertheless, he grasped the opportunity.

"I can see where Itachi is coming from. He is only worried about her. Even I the shock of my life when I heard about her accident." Sasuke said. "That doesn't mean I care about Shion or I worry about her or anything." he added immediately.

(Name) smirked. Sasuke was only in denial. Even she hadn't missed his flustered state when he dropped everything and rushed to the hospital after he got a phone call.

"Are you laughing at me ?" asked Sasuke.

"Not at all." replied (Name), but he could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

"But I understand what you're saying." (Name) continued, and this time, she sounded serious. "Shion is always fooling around, but this was really major. I know how she is. She's extremely careless and takes a lot of risk, acts on her impulses, does whatever she wants withiut caring about the consequences. But I never thought she could be this careless. I mean, she could have..." (Name) trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to say it. But she didn't have to because Sasuke understood.

"I'm really angry with her too. But I think it's enough. The fact that she is alright and getting better is good enough." he said.

"I can't stay angry with her for long either. She has a way of getting out of the mess she always finds herself in." said (Name).

"I think Itachi is dragging it out. Shion learnt her lesson. It has been almost a week. He should forgive her, or at least listen to what she wants to say." Sasuke said.

(Name) looked at him. He was right. Even she believed that it was about time they made up.

"I don't think they can fight for too long. They will make up soon." she said.

Sasuke sighed in reply. He was about to say something, but suddenly the elevator jerked. The lights flickered until they were back on and the elevator started moving. A few seconds later, they heard a ding and the doors slid open. They were on the ground floor.

Sasuke stood up and (Name) followed. He looked at her expectantly. (Name) only frowned in reply. He cleared his throat and motioned towards her iron grip on his hand. When the elevator jerked, she had subconsciously gripped his arm. He never expected her to have such a strong grip. It might even leave marks.

(Name) immediately dropped his arm like it was on fire and took a step away from him. She shuffled awkwardly and looked at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and hurried away. Sasuke only smirked at her back as he too walked towards the door, but at a slower pace.

He hadn't missed the slight blush on her face when she left.

He hated the experience of being stuck in an elevator. Sasuke swore to himself to always take the stairs after this. It was the healthier option anyway. But, even though he hated this, at least something good came out of it. He had a proper conversation with (Name), without them mocking each other or being sarcastic, which was next to impossible usually.

He heard her talking about her true thoughts and feelings, and that did not bore him. Sasuke had heard guys complaining about how girls talked too much about their feelings and how it bored them. But he could not relate to them. He wished (Name) would open up to him more and see him as someone she could share her thoughts and feelings with without the fear of being judged, even though she didn't care about being judged.

He sighed. Being stuck in an elevator for an hour was what it took for them to speak to each other normally. While he was happy about it, it also made him sad. He could only wish to have such conversations with her normally. She would never know how much that conversation meant to him.