AN: Thank you guys so much for the reviews and the rating. It really boosts my confidence! Here's the next chapter!
Chapter Four
Naruto smiled brilliantly when he turned on the switch in his apartment. Lights illuminated the small space, the refrigerator began to hum softly, the microwave beeped twice as it turned on. The phone even had a dial tone. It was fantastic to hear all of the appliances buzzing and humming. The blond closed the door and grinned. He felt like singing.
Deciding he was hungry, he strolled into the kitchen and grabbed the handle of the refrigerator. He glanced up at the boxes of cereal and chuckled, as if to say “Fuck you, I'm having some
real food.”
It took much too long for his liking, but Naruto made spaghetti and meatballs. It was well worth the wait, though. The man sighed through his nose when he lifted the fork to his mouth and wrapped his mouth around it. He savored the taste for a brief moment, then removed the fork so he could chew and stuff his face with more food. He sat cross legged on the couch and reached for the remote. He turned on the TV and leaned back.
Though he was definitely happy about finally having everything working again, he still felt a bit guilty. He hated the idea of using someone else's money for his own gain, especially since he didn't even really know that bastard. His selfishness hadn't cared at all, though. In fact, it wondered if he could get away with it again. Would Sasuke hold out more money for the blond? Would he keep paying the bills?
Naruto dropped the fork on his plate and ran his fingers through his hair. How the hell was he supposed to enjoy these things if he felt guilt about taking money from a pervert? The thoughts of doing it again only made him feel worse, but when he had handed over all of that money over to pay for the bills, it felt great. He felt assured for the first time since before Sakura left. All of that worry and stress had rolled off of his shoulders. But was it even right to feel that way? Sasuke had given him the money as a gift, after all. All Naruto had to do was take it.
He groaned and shoved more spaghetti into his mouth, trying not to think about it. Naruto tried to press himself deeper into the back of the couch, disturbing the quilt that was draped over the back of it. He almost wanted the thing to swallow him up. Blue eyes stared blankly at the television screen. A commercial for a car had displayed itself. It was a damn nice car, too. It looked even better with all of the camera shots and effects and the scenic settings it was driving through.
Damn, Naruto wanted that car. He hated it, too. He hated wanting it. He felt like a spoiled brat that just couldn't be satisfied.
He quickly finished off his food and set the plate and fork in the sink. With nothing else to do, he began to wash them. The TV had been left on, but he could barely hear it with the water turned on full blast. Steam rose above the sink and Naruto sighed. When he was done, he set them in the dish rack and turned the water off. Naruto stared at the remaining drops of water and soap bubbles on the bottom of the sink. He wasn't sure what he was going to do once the bills had to be paid again. Would Sasuke even be in town much longer? It was pretty obvious he was from somewhere else, somewhere bigger. Probably some big city from up north.
Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when he heard knocking. He cleared his throat and walked over to the door. He reached out and grabbed the knob, turning it and opening it rather quickly. He blinked when he saw a bubbly blond female.
“Hey, look who dropped by,” Ino said happily, gesturing towards herself.
Naruto smiled tiredly and stepped aside. The girl scurried inside and turned to face the other again. Naruto smiled as he closed the door, then turned toward the girl. Ino crossed her arms over her chest and lidded her eyes, smiling in a cocky manner.
“Guess what?” she asked, tilting her head up a bit.
“What?”
“I got you a job.”
Naruto's eyes widened a bit and he moved to turn off the TV. Ino chuckled and plopped herself onto the couch. She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket as Naruto sat beside her. The girl's thin fingers fumbled for a second, but managed to unfold the paper and hold it out for the man. Naruto grabbed it and leaned forward. His excitement faded quickly. He tried to hide it, but Ino was excellent at reading emotions. She could practically feel Naruto's disappointment. She sighed and leaned back, frowning.
“What's wrong with it?”
“It's in another state, Ino. How did you even get this?”
“Online,” the girl muttered. “What's wrong with it being out of state? I figured you would
want to get out of here.”
Naruto sighed and laid the paper on the coffee table. Ino watched with a saddened face. “I mean,” she continued. “The only reason I'm still here is because my parents are sick. If they were healthy and spry, I'd probably be in New York, right now.”
“That's
you, though,” Naruto grumbled. He leaned back with the girl, tanned hands resting on his stomach. “I love it here. I grew up here.”
“You're used to it.”
Naruto shot the girl a quick glare, but she easily dismissed it.
“You can't stay here forever,” she stated.
Naruto shook his head, disagreeing. Ino decided not to say anything more. Instead, she stood and began to walk around the living area. She strolled up to a picture hanging on the wall of Sakura and Naruto. Both were smiling and holding up sparklers. Ino smiled, remembering how she herself had taken the photo. Someone who didn't know about it would probably think it was for the Fourth of July, but the photo had actually been taken on a chilly autumn night in October a few years back.
Naruto loved fireworks.
“You should have married her,” Ino said.
Naruto rolled his eyes. Someone was always bringing that up to him, especially when Sakura had still been there living with him. They had been together since their junior year of high school, for a whopping total of four years. Most relationships were lucky to last a month these days, he had told himself. While he and Sakura fought, it was mostly Sakura who did the talking, yelling, arguing... Everything. Naruto had merely kept himself quiet and let the girl vent. Most of the things that caused her to get angry were his fault, anyway.
But Sakura always felt bad. She would always apologize to Naruto, whether it be a few minutes after yelling at him or even a few days.
“I couldn't have married her,” Naruto said. Ino turned to look at him, her hands behind her back. “I knew that, eventually, she would wanna leave this place. That's why I decided to end it when I learned about the University.”
Ino frowned and looked to the floor. She wished she knew what to say to the blond man. It was clear that Sakura was his first and only love. He had had a crush on her since elementary school and everyone saw it. He would persist and continue to confess to Sakura, and for a while Ino hated the pink haired girl, who would always reject Naruto in a blunt, almost cruel fashion. But Ino later learned that Sakura liked Naruto just as much.
Ino was jealous. Not because she liked Naruto, not at all. The man was more of a little brother to the girl, but because Sakura had someone who cared enough to stick with her all those years. Even if it took until high school for his attempts to be fruitful, Naruto still cared enough for Sakura to never give up on her. Ino never had that.
The girl scratched the top of her eyebrow, then turned to walk over to the other. Before he could even look up at the girl, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close. It was a bit awkward and hard to breathe, but Naruto chuckled and reached one hand up to pat Ino's back. When she lingered, Naruto cleared his throat loudly and she made a small sound of recognition. Quickly, she removed herself and laughed.
“Sorry, I forgot,” she said, rubbing tears away from her eyes.
Naruto smiled sadly, looking up to her with concern. She shook her head and waved it off, then spoke again.
“So,” she said through sniffles. “How did you get everything paid off?”
Ino motioned to the lights and Naruto almost choked on his own saliva. Standing, he coughed a bit and turned away from Ino, who stared at him questioningly.
“That's a funny story,” he said weakly.
- - -
Sasuke was laying on the bed when Suigetsu practically busted through the door of the hotel room. The Uchiha knew the man was glaring at him, but he ignored it flawlessly and stared at the screen of his phone. Suigetsu huffed and carried two large paper bags in his arms. He waddled inside and closed the door with his foot. “Dick,” he shot at the Uchiha, who once again ignored him. Suigetsu had knocked and called for the other to at least open the door for him, but Sasuke simply refused to get up. It was clear that the Uchiha was still mad at him. Suigetsu almost stumbled and fell, but managed to keep his footing. He practically collapsed into the small refrigerator in the room and dropped the bags on top of it.
“Fuckin' shit, man,” he complained. “They don't even got a fuckin' Wal-Mart here. All they got is this little gas station that don't even have plastic bags.”
“Quit complaining. At least they have food.”
“
Urgh,” Suigetsu groaned, but began to stock the refrigerator. Sasuke had made it clear earlier that day that they would be staying, so Suigetsu figured he might as well make the place a temporary home. It was going to be unpleasant, seeing as how Sasuke could be simply unbearable at times, but it was work. As long as he was getting paid, he couldn't complain.
“By the way. What are you gonna do for your, uh--”
“Wait,” Sasuke said, already knowing what Suigetsu was going to ask.
The light haired man blinked and set a case of beer on the bottom rack of the refrigerator. Once everything that needed to stay cold was put away, Suigetsu closed the fridge door and set everything else in the tiny cabinet next to it.
“I was just asking. Are you sure you're gonna be able to wait that long for Naruto to agree?”
“It's like I tried to explain to you earlier,” Sasuke started, flicking his thumb across his phone to turn the page of the book he was reading. “This is a small town that's mostly full of elderly people. Morality is the cornerstone of this place.” Dark eyes glanced up to look at Suigetsu for a second, then moved back to look at the screen. “I'd have very little luck trying to find anything here.”
Suigetsu supposed the man had a point. Still, if Sasuke waited for Naruto, the Uchiha would get even more tense than he usually was. He sighed, deciding not to press any further, and started on making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There was no work to do, not unless Naruto magically called and said he wanted to be in the movie, so he sat down at the desk with his food and watched TV. The noise bothered Sasuke, but the Uchiha merely furrowed his brows and continued reading.
- - -
Naruto's shift was longer and started later than usual, but at least he had a lunch break to look forward to.
The blond sat in the back of the restaurant in the storage room/employee lounge. He leaned his back against a stack of boxes and crossed one ankle over the other, trying to get somewhat comfortable as he sat on a rusty folding chair. He sipped on a soda and took a bite from a chicken sandwich. The storage room was freezing cold, but despite the goose bumps on his arms, Naruto had managed to get used to it.
Just as the blond managed to get comfortable, Tenten appeared from behind the boxes and smiled down at him.
“Hey,” she said. “That guy is here.”
“I'm on my lunch break,” Naruto said quickly, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“He says it's important—”
“Lunch break.”
Naruto put emphasis on the “luh” in “lunch,” trying to get the girl to see that he didn't want speak to the bastard. Tenten sighed and left, only to come back seconds later. “He won't leave,” she said. “He's sitting at the table he sat at the other day.”
Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes, teeth sinking into his food. Sure, he was grateful for what the Uchiha had done, but he was feeling conflicted after accepting the man's help. To hate or not to hate, that was the question. When she saw that Naruto wasn't going to say anything else, Tenten raised her brows and turned to leave. Just as she did, Naruto spoke again.
“Tell when I get off and to come then.”
The girl nodded and went back to the front of the restaurant. The blond uncrossed his ankles and lowered his food to his lap. He glared at the wall, wishing Sasuke would just leave him alone. Once again, he felt like he was having to look after a moody little kid. Once he finished his food, he tossed his trash into the large garbage can beside the restrooms and washed his hands. He made his way back to the counter up front and sighed. He looked out of the windows and and his eyes widened upon seeing the bastard outside, leaning against his car and looking at his phone.
“Does he like you or something?”
Naruto whipped his head around to look at Tenten, who was grinning. Naruto frowned deeply and shook his head.
“I don't know,” he said. It wasn't entirely a lie. “He's just stupid.”
“Where do you know him from?”
“We met a few days ago, and now he's stalking me.”
“Then he likes you,” the woman said. She laughed when Naruto groaned loudly and began to mess with his visor, adjusting it and trying to make it comfortable. Blond tufts of hair began to tangle more so than usual, sticking out from under the strap of the visor in a messy fashion. It was endearing to the girl, and she reached up to fix it for him. Naruto flinched visibly, making her pause. She quickly fixed it for him, though. Uttering a soft apology, she sighed and lowered her hands to her side.
“I guess he's just lonely,” she said.
With that, Tenten turned and moved back into the kitchen. Naruto sighed and slumped forward slightly, watching the man outside. Sasuke looked up at the sky for a moment, squinting at the sun, then slid his phone into his pocket. The Uchiha got into his car and after a moment, he left. Naruto assumed he would come back later that evening, though. From what he could tell, Sasuke was hard-headed when it came to what he was doing. Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to think.
He decided he would play along for a while. If Sasuke asked him to be in the “movie” again, Naruto wouldn't even spit in the man's direction anymore. The only reason he was even allowing the Uchiha to still come around was because he had helped him and asked for nothing in return. The blond felt bad for that, even though what Sasuke wanted was simply out of the question. Once again, Naruto hated his own selflessness. With Sakura, it was different. The girl had only good intentions when she wanted to help Naruto. Sasuke, however...
Naruto cringed, still staring at the spot where Sasuke had been parked.
It was going to be increasingly harder to ignore the other man.
