Broken

chapter 11: Bittersweet Memories

That night at dinner was quiet, almost everyone didn't want to talk. All they wanted to do was glare and mentally kick Sasuke to a pulp for what he did. Naruto however, wanted to be alone and just think. His parents wouldn't understand. His mother would get overprotective over him which is normal.

Sighing to himself, he took a bite of the rice that was mixed with chicken and beef. Glancing up, he saw Sasuke sitting by himself outside, eating and glancing at his phone. He was probably talking to his new fling. Biting his lip with food still in his mouth, he felt the urge to cry again. He didn't want to do any more of that. He had to be strong.

Once his plate was clear, he walked away from everyone else, feeling their gaze on them but ignored it. Putting the plate in the sink, he heard the door that lead to the deck from the kitchen open, telling him that Sasuke was inside. Turning on his heel, he walked away from the room.

Sasuke stared at the blond that he hurt. Shaking his head, he dumped his plate into the sink and turned to go back outside. It was better this way.

Closing the door behind him, Naruto stared back at everyone that was concerned about him. "I'm fine."

Hinata and Gaara knew that their blond friend was lying through his teeth about it. He wasn't fine about it at all. Who could be when they catch someone they cherished cheating on them with someone they didn't even know? Shaking their heads, Hinata rose from her seat.

Strolling over to the Uzumaki, she hugged him even if she felt the urge to faint. She hated seeing him like that – like everyone else in the room. "Nar-Naruto we're here fo-for you."

"I know Hinata-chan and I thank you for that. You truly are a best friend that is worthy to be my sister if you could be."

Smiling, she hugged him tighter, feeling him wrap his arms around her. She wanted to protect him – like her cousin said for her to do – from everything that could harm her friends. The next time she saw Neji she was going to thank him for everything. "You'll find someone, I know you will."

Nodding, Naruto let go of the young woman that was holding him and walked out of the room to the room he was going to be sleeping in. With the dark still in the room, he grabbed and turned on his computer. He wasn't going to face his parents yet; he wasn't able to tell them what Sasuke done.

Clicking on the chat room they had set up with help from Kakashi he saw them already there. He told them that he couldn't stay long because he was tired – a partial lie – which they responded with questions of how everything was going.

As he told them what he did in the past few days, he felt the urge to tell them get stronger. Hearing the door open, he ignored it as he spilled out everything that was built up to his parents. They could understand. He knew that. Staring at the bright screen, the tears fell silently again as he bit his lip to stop them.

A sigh was heard, causing the blond to look up to see the older brother of the two standing there. "You don't have to tell your parents about it yet. Let it heal up a bit so you don't cry but I guess that's a little too late to say huh?"

Nodding, Naruto saw his mother respond, a little angry, along with his father. They were ready to go on a rampage to get answers from the younger brother of the two Uchiha. Feeling the bed fall a little, Naruto saw Itachi sitting down with his back to him.

"It happens, trust me. I haven't been able to find anyone that was worth the words I love you in that true meaning. I've said them I don't know how many times but didn't mean it. It's going to be hard for you since you caught him like that but remember that you have Hinata-chan, Gaara-kun, and myself. We barely know each other but I know how it feels. It happened to me once before." Itachi explained as he reached behind him and scratched his back. Glancing over at the blond, he saw the tears still falling.

"But I-I thought I was something to hi-him. He said he . . . he said he loved me forever Itachi! How could he do that? Does that mean he doesn't care about the times we had? He doesn't care about the times that we lip singed with foreign music or tried to do things like go to concerts. How can someone do that to someone else when they say they'll love them forever?" Naruto asked even if he felt like he was rambling on. Shaking his head, he stared at the blurred screen, seeing his parents still raging over the fact. Closing his eyes, Naruto wanted to continue, to get it out of his system.

"I don't know. I never cheated on anyone. I've been cheated on like I said and I know the pain of catching them in the act. All I can say is that you can cherish those moments and forget about what happened. You don't have to forgive him but you can move on." Itachi suggested as he looked out the window to see the waxing gibbous moon. Reaching over, he typed for Naruto, telling his parents that he was going to bed.

Closing the window, Itachi sat there, hearing music in his mind from songs that he heard at the festival. Smirking a little, he looked over at Naruto see him sobbing silently. Moving over, he reached over and hugged the teen that was hurt. "It'll be all right. Trust me. It takes time but it'll heal over."

"How can I forget him? I have to sit with him in Chemistry in seventh period. We're lab partners because no one else is willing. How?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

"I'll talk to Deidara but he probably won't listen to me. He still hates my guts because I called him a girl in our freshman year. Does he still have his long hair?"

"Yep." Naruto answered, sniffling. Reaching into his bag, he pulled a crushed box of tissues out and blew his nose with one.

"Figures." Itachi chuckled.

"Naruto, we can always check for you. I'm friends with Ino so maybe she can." Hinata butted in as she stood in the doorway with Gaara next to her. Smiling, she continued, "I know a lot of people that's in your Chem. class. There's Ino, Choji, and Kiba. Maybe a few others but I can talk to them."

"Thank you Hinata." Naruto choked, seeing his friends go to bed. Looking at Itachi, Naruto tackled him, letting the leftover tears fall into the dark shirt that he wore, hugging him for comfort.

Reaching over, Itachi ran his piano fingers through the blond locks to comfort the high school senior.

As Naruto hugged the older man, he remembered everything that he did with Sasuke. Everything that brought a smile to him that was now bringing tears. He'll have to get everything back from Sasuke that he gave him. Sasuke never gave him anything but a date for his birthday. Sighing, he knew it was going to be hard. Reaching over, he shut his laptop and stayed that way.

"Thank you Itachi-kun. This really helps." Naruto mumbled as he hugged the man tighter.

Itachi was slightly taken back by the words that left the Uzumaki. No one really said that to him because he kept everyone at arms length when it came to loving them. Looking down at him, his gaze softened as he felt the blush heat his face. "You're welcome Naruto-kun."