The Ghost of You. [Modern Itachi Love Story].

Prologue.

A/N: Heres link to my original posting on Quotev that contains the pictures if you're interested.

I watched him from afar, sitting with his friends. He looked tired and stressed, while his friends looked happy and carefree. He looked up and his gaze fell upon me, that's when I noticed the bags under his eyes. His job- he was being overworked. It hurt, he didn't have time for me anymore, we barely spoke like we use to. I hated it, I hate not being able to see him smile, I hated not being held by him when I cried.

What happened to you Itachi?

_*_

"Sasuke, Kuro, dinner time!" Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, shouted. I found myself grinning as I looked over at Sasuke who smiled brightly at me before grasping my hand and pulling me inside. I smiled at Sasuke, grinning at him as we entered. Itachi was sat at the dining table already, he always looked lonely, I hated seeing him like that. I ran over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

"Ita-kun!" I giggled as I pulled away and looked into his dull brown eyes. A smile tugged at his lips as he kissed my forehead, "Kuro, I didn't know you were coming over," Itachi smile, causing me to pout slightly. He was always so tired from overworking to support his younger brother and his parents. He rarely ever had time to play any more. Sasuke pouted and tugged at my arm, I gave him a smile as I climbed into the seat next to Itachi. Sasuke got into the one next to me, his mother gave us a warm smile.

"Fugaku won't be joining us for dinner tonight unfortunately but lets dig in," She smiled, setting a plate down in front of us before putting several different types of food onto the plates. I watched with a grin on my face, not noticing Itachi's tired eyes watching as I smiled. I took a bite and couldn't help the squeal that escape from my lips. Mikoto looked shocked at my reaction until she noticed how wide my smile was.

"It tastes delicious Miko-san!" I giggled, smiling up at her. Her eyes softened and a smile fell upon her face as she gently patted my head before she vanished out the door, I looked over at Itachi who was playing with his food. I leaned over and took the fork from his hands which had shocked him at first. He looked over at me as I smiled at him, I put some of the food onto his fork and lifted it in the air.

"Open," I giggled, which caused his cheeks to redden as he opened his mouth in which I placed the fork in and he enclosed his mouth around it. Sasuke smirked as he noticed Itachi's blushing cheeks. I grinned as I scooped some more up with the fork and placed it in his mouth again and tried to once more but he placed his fingers gently around my wrist.

"Stop, please eat your own food," Itachi spoke, his voice sounding tired. I tilted my head to the side as I stared up at him- I hated the fact that he was stuck working, he was way too tired now. I know he needed the money and everything but I miss hanging out with him. I slowly took my hand away from his and handed him his fork before taking mine and having a bite of my own.

"How was work Itachi?" I asked, looking over at Sasuke who was almost finished. Itachi had barely eaten anything but he had taken a few bites. I looked over at him to see how he looked tired but he forced a smile as he looked over at me, "It was fine but one of the workers left early so I had to take over his shift, we could use the extra money so you know," Itachi shrugged before setting the fork down. He brushed his lap off before he stood up and carried the plate over to the bin where he emptied it out into the bin before placing the plate in the sink. I watched as he walked out before I turned my attention to Sasuke before finishing off my food. I placed my plate in the sink.

I made my way up to Itachi's room and knocked on the door, "Come in," His voice rang. I smiled to myself and opened the door, walking in to see him lying on the bed with a towel around his waist, his full chest left revealed and his hair tied, hanging over his shoulder, dripping. I felt my cheeks heating up as I quickly looked away. Itachi chuckled and vanished into his bathroom before walking out in baggy pants and singlet.

"What did you want Kuro?" Itachi asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently patting the spot next to him. I moved over and sat down next to him, giving him a warm smile. "Why didn't you eat everything? It was delicious!" I pouted before adding, "I'm worried about you Itachi, you're always so tired and you barely eat," I whispered, placing my hand on his thigh. He stared at me for a second before shaking his head with a smile. 'She sounds almost worried about me,' Itachi thought to himself.

"I'm sorry Kuro, it's just work has been busy and I'm saving up for a car, I already have college paid for and everything, I just need a car. I want to be able to drive my future lover everywhere she wants, in fact I wanted to get the car at first to make you happy," Itachi chuckled to himself. I smiled at Itachi and hugged him tightly.

"I guess you overheard mine and Sasuke's chat?" I giggled, I remember telling Sasuke that one day I want him to drive me around the city. Itachi nodded his head and grinned, revealing his gorgeous white teeth, "Yeah, I did. I want to drive you around the city with Sasuke, kind of like a road trip," Itachi chuckled, making me grin in return. I love road trips, in fact I love nature itself. He placed his hand on mine which still remained on his thigh and gently squeezed my hand. I found my cheeks reddening at that as I finally noticed how close my hand was to his- "Don't worry about me Kuro, I'm fine. I promise, I really do," Itachi said with a warm smile.

"I believe you but it's just, you don't hang with me and Sasuke any more!" I frowned, causing him to chuckle as he ruffled my hair. "I'm sorry Kuro, I don't have time to play with you and Sasuke but don't worry, I will as soon as I get enough for a car!" Itachi smiled warmly before leaning forward and gently planting a kiss on my cheek, "Now you should get Sasuke to walk you home before it get's dark," Itachi said, with a warm smile before sending me off. I frowned before saying goodbye to Itachi and making my way down, saying bye to Sasuke and leaving.

_*_

I shook my head from the memory and stood up, stretching before making my way to lunch where I just sat under a tree with a bottle of water and a apple, reading a new book I bought. It wasn't long until Sasuke and Itachi joined me- Itachi looking exhausted as he took a bite out of his chicken and lettuce sandwich. Sasuke had the same look on his face but he didn't look as tired and was also eating a chicken and lettuce sandwich.

"You guys have been really busy lately," I said out loud, looking over at the two who were staring at me. Itachi swallowed and frowned as Sasuke beat him to it, "Sorry, it's just work has been a real pain," Sasuke smiled, causing me to frown but I quickly hid it with a small smile. Straight after, we returned to our quiet silence as I read my book and ate my apple, everyday was like this. It was quiet until the bell would ring and we would say our goodbyes and be on our way to class and head home without another word, today ended just like that.