Only Fools Fall For You (SasuNaru)

• Part 21 •

"Those clothes must have been pretty damn lost," Shikamaru remarked. He was still lying on his bed with a small book in hand.

Naruto wanted to scream or even attempt to retort like he normally would. His body ached and stung with a crushing pressure. Shikamaru glanced up from the text and immediately sat up. "What are those?" he asked, pointing to the dark red bite marks that lined the blond's neck.

Without further hindrance the blond darted across the room and tackled his friend with a tight embrace. "I..." he choked on his words pitifully as heavy tears began to stream down his face. "I am the worst kind of person!"

Shikamaru's arms wrapped around him comfortingly as he shushed him softly. "Calm down, Naruto. Start from the beginning."

The weekend passed him by in a state of despondent silence. He couldn't even remember if he had spoken a word that entire time. He was up long before the alarm had gone off and Shikamaru tried to get him to move, but he felt too heavy. It felt as if someone had ripped his heart out from his chest and replaced it with a block of lead. The weight was so overwhelming it was almost intolerable.

He managed to get ready at a slow pace with the occasional "hn" and "mhm" to reply to his friend's constant questioning.

"Naruto."

"Hnn?" he hummed through his lips with a dazed stare.

"Are you going to the meeting today?" Shikamaru reiterated.

A small wave of panic shocked his senses as he momentarily reengaged himself. "Shit!"

"Still no monologue?"

"Fuck fuck fuck!" he hissed as he repeatedly pounded his head with his fist.

"Well, it's prep week which means short classes and more time for you."

"Prep week?"

"This entire week is used to prepare for the ball on Saturday."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah. We need to practice waltzing, the main hall needs to be set up, and performers need to be ready."

"Okay, I get it," he grumbled as they began their walk to the main building. "If you haven't noticed, I've been a bit distracted."

"I agree. Getting off to the most popular guy in school would just about do it."

"D-don't say it like that!"

"Calm down," his friend said with a lazy smile. "Things are about to get interesting."

He stopped at the staircase with a puzzled look to Shikamaru, but before he could ask what that meant he had already disappeared down a hallway.

When he got to his classroom he noticed that all the desks were stacked at the back of the room. Everyone stood at the center, looking around for Kakashi before he strolled in 10 minutes after the bell.

"You're late!" the class announced as he set a radio atop his desk.

"Well, our scheduled musical accompaniment suddenly cancelled, so we'll have to make do with this."

Everyone's eyes converged on Sasuke who stood on the other side of the room. He seemed tired but nonetheless indifferent to the staring, his dark eyes on their teacher. Naruto turned his head with a glare at the board. It shouldn't matter to him what he did. It couldn't matter... It never did.

He was reminded of the fire that spread across his skin when the older boy touched him. They embraced each other, kissed one another so passionately... Another image of Hinata flashed in his mind as the heat turned to a cold sinking feeling. They had done all of that, but he never brought himself to think of the consequences. Sasuke and Hinata were engaged, and, no matter how many times he kissed him, that would not change.