The Online Sort Of Love

Chapter 29

Sasuke shuddered, softly exhaling a breath as he sent the message. Pale, long fingers twitched across the screen as he repeatedly read the message. 

The deed was done. 

All Sasuke had to do was... wait. 

Looking at his watch, he grimaced. It was an hour before he would meet Naruto. Anxiety bubbled within him, the anticipation was clouding his thoughts, inhibiting him from focusing on anything but Naruto. 

His complete opposite. Someone he couldn't even fathom being friends with, let alone fall in love. The boy who could pull him out of any whirlwind spiral that anchored him down and bring him back to the ground. The one that made him feel like he was home every time that sunny grin beamed him way. 

He was in deep and there was nothing he could do but drown in the adoration he felt for Naruto.

"Uchiha." 

Sasuke jumped up slightly from his seat as he was pulled away from his thoughts. He turned to his right to see Neji looking back at him with that infamous, infuriating smirk. Lavender eyes stared back in amusement. Neji nudged his head forward like a signal for Sasuke to follow his line of sight. Onxy eyes narrowed before looking forward to see Kurenai-sensei looking back with her blood red eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest and eyebrows slanted in annoyance. 

"Is there something more interesting on your mind Sasuke?" She asked rhetorically. "Start reading from where Neji stopped." Kurenai didn't wait for an answer. 

"Uhh..." Sasuke looked down at his textbook before glancing at Neji who was snickering under his breath beside him. He growled in annoyance and flashed a death glare at the brunette. Kurenai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"Paragraph 7. Meet me after school." She stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.

The class continued with Sasuke's voice reading the words out loud, all the while his mind cursing at the change in plans. 

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

"Aghh! Where is he?" Naruto exclaimed, hands flying up in the air in exaggeration. The blond wasn't really known for his patience but it had been 20 minutes already. The hallways were empty, no soul in sight. Huffing and pouting, Naruto leaned against the cold red surface of Sasuke's locker, playing with the strap of his bag pack, his nimble fingers pulling at the fraying strands. 

It occupied his time for a while but eventually the blond got bored. 

"What the hell... did he ditch me?" Naruto wondered. He kept looking back at his phone, re-reading the message over and over. The blond slumped his shoulders in defeat before sighing. He couldn't stop the tears forming in the corners of his eyes and the soft choked sob sounding from his lips.

"If he did... I guess h-he d-doesn't-t want a-anything to d-do with m-me." Naruto shuddered out, the tears that he tried so hard to keep at bay now freely flowed down his whiskered cheeks, moving along the jawline until it trickled off from his chin. 

*Drip*

*Drip*

*Drip*

The sound resonated through the eerie, silent hallway along with the faint sounds of sobbing. 

"I guess I'm too late to tell him..."

Flashback

"Honey?" A soft, concerned voice drifted across the room. Naruto turned to see his mother at his door, her hand clutching the wooden surface, pretty amethyst eyes looking at him lovingly. 

The blond boy grinned, pocketing his phone in his jacket secretively. 

"Yeah mom? What's up?"  Naruto asked, turning to face her fully. 

The red-head moved, her feet gently padding across the plush, citrus carpet. She sat next to her son and placed her hand on his head, feeling the silky strands tickle the surface of her palm. Glistening azure eyes widened as he titled his head to the side. 

"Mom? What's wrong?" He asked, pouting as Kushina retracted her hand. She chuckled softly before it died down and her violet eyes looked at sapphire. 

"I should be asking you that. You've been... sad for some time now. Even Minato has been worrying about you. You didn't even celebrate when he bought you Ichiraku yesterday." She teased, trying to lighten the sombre mood. 

Naruto smiled... but it didn't reach his eyes like it used to. He shrugged his shoulders. 

"I'm okay mom. I'm just tir- AH!"

Kushina lightly slapped the back of his head before rubbing the scalp.

"If you were tired you'd be sleeping now." She glared half-heartedly. The alarm in front of her was glowing red. Naruto pouted again before sighing softly, turning his head to watch the window, a strong beam on moonlight entering the dark room. Kushina looked at her son with a worried expression on her face. Before she could say anything, Naruto's voice cut through. 

"Mom? How do you get someone's trust back?" He whispered sadly, looking down at his lap. Kushina remained silent, her mind processing Naruto's words as her eyes widened slightly in shock. She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, wondering what words she could say before finally saying something

"Trust is a really fragile but beautiful thing. It's something that sometimes takes years to build and strengthen but when it does, it bonds people together. It creates a relationship where... you can depend on one another and when anything goes wrong, you'll have some behind you to help you through it. As amazing as it is, trust can be easily broken and regardless of how long it took to build it, it can shatter in mere seconds and nothing would be the same again." 

A soft sniffle broke through her speech and her eyes widened in horror as she saw her son silently crying. Her resolve broke and she immediately huddled closer to him, bringing him to her side and soothingly rubbing his back. 

"What's wrong love? What happened?" She inquired, hating the miserable look on her boy's usual happy face. Naruto gasped out an answer.

"I love him mom... For a long time now and he loves me too but I did something b-bad and now he h-hates me!" He explained in a distressed voice, leaning his head on Kushina's shoulder. It didn't even register that he just confessed. He felt a warm palm on his damp cheek and he looked up to see his mother smiling comfortingly at him, her eyes warm. 

"Trust can may easily be broken. It can drastically affect a relationship, I'm not going to deny that but... if your love is strong enough to correct your mistakes and do whatever you can to rectify it, trust can always be rebuilt. It's not over just because you broke someone's trust but what matters in the end is the effort you put to try to mend it." She whispered, holding her boy and gently rocking him until fatigue washed over him and he fell asleep. 

-------------------------------------------------

When you have a chapter in mind and you write it but your brain does a 180 and it goes in a completely different direction... 

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!