SasuHina: Beyond The Camera

Chapter 37-Christmas Part 3

The next time I woke up, Sasuke's scent was still lingering in my bed, but he himself wasn't. The comfort he came in here and offered, likely because he knows something's been bothering me, was ripped away like a bandaid. Slowly, I sat up to look around the room before a frown met my lips. Did he already leave? Why didn't he at least say goodbye?

Mood turning sour, I freshened up a bit before making my way downstairs with the intention of making a pot of coffee. To my surprise, there sat Sasuke himself, fully dressed as he browsed something on his phone while he drank from his mug at the kitchen island.

When he heard me approaching, he looked up briefly before refocusing on his phone. "There's some coffee left." His voice was casual and blank as though he didn't just spend the past few hours cuddling me in my bed.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from losing my cool and wordlessly poured some of the hot liquid into a mug of my own. For some reason, I can't remember how I usually act around him. Nervous, I gingerly sat a few seats away from him and tried to figure out if I even want to say something about what happened.

"What's up?" When I looked over at him, his eyes were still glued to his phone's screen.

I mulled over my options before deciding honesty's probably the best road to take when it comes to the Uchiha man, "What are you doing, Sasuke?"

He finally looked at me, confusion lingering about his attractive features, so I continued as my face steadily warmed and found it hard to meet his eye, "W-Why are you coming to my room a-and why are w-we cuddling and..." I trailed off, losing my courage, only to let out a defeated sigh as I turned to stare down into my mug of coffee, "Nevermind, forget it."

A heavy feeling was rising in my chest and I know exactly what's causing it. It's a mixture of shame for being so inexperienced in these types of situations and irritation at myself for not being able to act normal and pretend nothing's changed between us in the first place.

"I like you." Sasuke spoke softly, but in a resolute tone.

My head shot in his direction and I stared at him with wide eyes, "W-Wha-"

"I said I like you, Hinata. That's my answer to your question."

Deep, dark eyes bore into mine, but they were so guarded that I can't tell if he's being platonic about his feelings or not. Without another word, he rose to wash his coffee mug before going back upstairs. My gaze remained stunned and frozen on the seat he'd just been sitting in moments ago.

He meant he likes me like a big brother or close friend, right? Yeah, we cuddled, but it's not like we made out or touched one another inappropriately. What we did can still be categorized as friendly, but not overly-friendly.

A clouded feeling rose in my mind as I turned to face forward and swallowed nervously as I took a sip of my coffee. Why would he bother saying it out loud like that if he just meant like a friend, though? Maybe it was to reassure me. Maybe that was his last ditch effort to cheer me up before he leaves. He called me by my first name, something he rarely does, so whatever his reason, he meant what he said.

I glanced at my phone as it sat on the counter nearby and suddenly felt a strong urge to call Sakura, but refrained from it because I don't want to bother her during her trip.

Another sip of coffee came past my lips and I hesitantly glanced at the staircase Sasuke disappeared up. There's no waythat was a confession. Not from Sasuke Uchiha. That'll never happen, not in a million years.

I'm the exact opposite of all the women he's hooked up with over the past few months. Not only that, but I've come to understand that his music career is the most important thing to him, above all else. He'll never risk something he holds so dear just to get involved with someone like me. No, he likes vibrant and exciting women that ooze confidence.