Chronic Love(On Hold)

4

Naruto's Pov

"When do you want to start working together?" I asked her before she could get away from me. I saw the look on her face and I knew she really didn't want anything to do with me. I heard her scoff while she snatched her wrist away from my grasp. For the few seconds that I held onto her wrist, it felt like I could easily snap her bones. "Now you want to work together," she rolled her eyes," I have things to do so we can talk about this later if you're actually serious." She turned and stormed off. Shikamaru witnessed all of it. "Finally trying to talk to her, huh?" I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands in my pockets. It's not like I hated the girl with all my being or anything. Well sort of. Shikamaru knew that too. I had a feeling that's why he's trying so hard. "What are you playing Shikamaru? We don't have time for these games." I told him. As we walked through the halls he remained silent.

"It's her isn't it? The one you used to always talk about." I knew what he meant but I didn't want his super intelligence to catch on and create a more devious plan then the one he was already plotting. "No." My answer was enough for him to give me a smirk. "Wanna drive today? I'm too tired." I threw him the keys as I saw a glint of excitement in his eyes. I flopped down in the car and leaned the seat back. "Get food on the way."

As Shikamaru drove my thoughts went back to how small and fragile her wrist seemed. I felt my own and even though my wrist is small it didn't seem as brittle as hers. I tested Shikamaru's wrist, ignoring the weird looks he was giving me. "Yo, Naruto, you're my bro but don't try me with that gay shit." I pinched his arm, causing him to swerve a little on the road.

When we reached home I immediately flopped on the couch and felt like I was going to pass out. "Are we not going to talk about why you were in such a bad mood earlier?" I didn't know what to tell him. He didn't like the fact that I was associated with a criminal. " Just an acquaintance in trouble, again." I heard the grumble he let out and decided to ignore it. I hadn't slept in thirty six hours because of the other class projects and I was starting to feel it. "I'm going to take a nap." I didn't bother getting up and going to my room so, inevitably, I fell asleep on the couch.

When I woke up, I could smell fresh food coming from the kitchen. Did he actually cook for once? I stumbled up and realized I had gotten moved to my room. Weird. When I opened the door, I could hear light laughter coming from the front of the house. Did he have someone over? I could tell that the other laugh I was hearing belonged to a girl but wasn't sure if I knew her. Her laugh, I wouldn't know how to properly describe it. It would just suffice to say that her laugh made me smile and feel warm. When I went into the kitchen, where the source was coming from, my smile instantly vanished. "What the hell is the trash doing in our home?" Honestly, I couldn't figure out why I was so angry when I saw her with Shikamaru. It angered me that I was angered at her for no actual reason, well in this moment. The other times, I knew exactly why and it was both of our faults, not that she knew anything about it.

"Play nice. You asked her to work with you, didn't you?" Shikamaru brought me out from under the gray cloud that forming above me. I became a nervous wreck when I remembered how I asked her to work with me. Quickly stealing a glance at her, I realized her eyes had been focused on Shika ever since I stepped in the room. Could it be? The voices in my head told me to relax and reassured me that she's probably still mad at me. Wait. Reassured? I subtly shook my head while they were both waiting for my answer. "That doesn't mean I like her presence. I just want to get this project over with."  I said as i directed my body towards the fridge to get some juice. "How do you know where we live anyways?" She didn't speak so Shikamaru spoke for her. "I texted her." After finishing the juice in my hands I rose a brow. "And since when have you decided to text trash?" I could tell it was bothering her, how I was literally trash talking her, but I also wonder why she didn't snap yet. For a split second I thought that the solution was my best friend. Very likely. Judging from how close they're acting now, I wouldn't be surprised if Shikamaru talked her down ahead of time.

"She has a name." Shikamaru said staring me down with a pointed glare, something he hasn't done since I broke one of his prized action figures. In his defense it was a very rare collectible. "Fine, Sakura." I was surprised by how easily her name rolled off my tongue. I still didn't like her, for something apparently unbeknownst to her. I remember. I remember like it was yesterday. I made the mistake of looking for her reaction and was disappointed when I didn't see one. Wait, disappointed?

"Is the trash deaf? Oi, Sakura." Needless to say that it looks could kill, I'd very much be a dead man. When she looked at me her gaze was fierce and powerful, stunning me to the spot I was standing in. I didn't dare move, scared of what would happen. She left my gaze and went back to smiling at Shikamaru. I grunted and walked off while barely being able to hear Shikamaru apologize for my behavior.

"You can come out now, she's gone." Shikamaru said around three hours later. I paused the game that I was playing and looked up at him standing in the doorway. I stared him down a second before going back to my game. " I hadn't realized that you two had gotten so close." He flopped down on the other beanbag I had in my room. "Well yeah, she's a pretty nice girl. I don't see why you're always angry around her." I ignored as I continued playing the game. "There is a reason right? You're not just a dick to her without having a reason, right?" I sighed as the questions he asked had caused me to lose the race I had started. "You're bothering me," I told him as I turned off the game. He didn't seem fazed by my bluntness. A short while after studying me he went back to his room and I went to sleep.

The next morning when I woke up, I felt really sick. Must've been because I hadn't slept well recently. "Naruto are you up? We're about to be late!" Shikamaru's yelling made my head wince. I stumbled out of bed, grabbing my bag without bothering to change. "Are you okay?" I nodded while grabbing my head. "Can you grab those sunglasses off the table?" He handed them to me while also grabbing the keys off the table. I opened the door and walked out to the car before he could protest about me going to school. "You can stay you know," he offered. I mumbled a 'yeah' and passed out in the car. 

"Hey." I awoke with a shake as Shikamaru grabbed my shoulder. He helped me out the car and into the building. It was a good thing I only had one class today. "Oh, hey Haruno." I heard Shikamaru said. He leaned me up against a wall and walked towards Sakura. I looked back as she gave him a smile. "Is he okay," I heard Sakura ask from the distance. I had made my way into class when they both appeared. She made the same surprised face she did the first time when I sat next to her seat. Finally they both sat down. Today, while I could blame it on my sickness, I was planning to be nice. And try to make her remember who I am.

Word count: 1,421