How She Trusts || Naruto Uzumaki X OC

{Chapter Six}

            "What do you need to ask me?" Naomi said, suddenly feeling jittery. She'd left her room in favour of the solitude of the hallway, not wanting Ino or Sakura listening in to her conversation and causing trouble.

"Okay," Naruto said from the other line. Naomi could hear the bustling of a busy restaurant behind his voice. "I'm guessing you already know about Sakura and Ino's Halloween party, right?" he asked.

Naomi nodded her head, forgetting that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, we're actually planning it right now."

"Oh, you are? Am I interrupting?"

"No, you're fine. We're taking a break now," she said.

"Okay, cool. Well I was just wondering since, you know, you're still pretty new and everything, if maybe you'd want to be my date?" Naruto asked, sounding a little unsure of himself.

"Y-Your date?" Naomi gasped.

"Like a friend date!" he rushed, then laughed at himself. "I just thought that maybe... I don't know. What do you say? You wanna go to a party with me?"

Naomi bit her lip and thought about what he was asking her. Is it smart to get involved with another guy? Naomi shook her head. I'm not getting involved, we're just going as friends. "Okay, Naruto. I'll go with you."

"Great! I gotta get back to work, but I'll text you later!"

"Bye, Naruto." Naomi smiled and hung up the phone. She sighed, and rubbed her temples. I hope that wasn't a stupid idea.

"Naomi! Come back, we need you!" Ino shouted from the other side of her bedroom door. Naomi entered the room, tossing her phone onto her desk, then inserting herself next to Sakura on the bed.

"What's going on?" she asked Naomi. She put on a very poorly confused face, while Ino didn't even try to hide her sly smile. Naomi had a feeling that they'd listened to everything that she had said in the hall.

"Nothing," she answered smoothly.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. What did Naruto want?"

"How'd you know it was him?"

"Your walls are paper thin, we could hear everything," Sakura admitted.

"He asked you to be his date?" Ino questioned. Naomi hesitated to answer her simple question, and Ino sighed in annoyance. "Come on, you can talk to us."

Can I? Naomi wondered. She decided to stop being difficult and answer them. It's not that big of a deal, is it? "Okay, Naruto asked me to be his date. But as friends."

"How cute~" Sakura cooed.

"How lame."

"Ino!"

"What?"

"It's no big deal," Naomi assured them.

"I swear, that boy is dense. It's obvious he likes you, yet he's practically begging to be friend-zoned. What a waste," Ino said and shook her head sadly.

Naomi's face heated up. "He doesn't like me," she promised.

"Not yet~" Sakura sang and ruffled Naomi's hair.

"Can we just move on? What's going on with decorations?" Naomi asked.

"Well, between all of your unpermitted breaks, Sakura and I have already decided on those by ourselves," Ino said, an icy undertone current in her voice.

"Sorry." Naomi shrunk back.

"It's fine," Sakura guaranteed her. "It doesn't matter anyways, since Ino and I will be the ones setting it up at my place."

"You don't want me helping out anymore?"

"Not that I don't want you to!" Sakura said quickly. "I just figured that since now you have a date you'd want to, you know, take your time getting ready and have him pick you up at home. A classic date."

Naomi blushed, then asked, "So neither of you have dates?"

"Ino's not a 'bring-a-date' kind of girl. She's more like, 'steal-someone-else's-date-at-the-party'," Sakura mocked, which caused Ino to punch her shoulder.

"Shut up, Haruno," Ino grumbled. "At least I get some action. You just admire Sasuke from afar and don't do shit about it."

"That is not true!"

"Yes it is! Don't you remember last week?" Naomi listened to the two friends bicker, although she didn't process anything of what they were saying. Naruto likes me? Her mind was stuck on what Ino had said. Of course she enjoyed his company, and he was entertaining to talk to, but only after a month she couldn't see herself being anything more than friendly. At least not until she trusted him enough to put her feelings into him.

¤¤¤

"Are you sure you guys don't want to stay over?" Naomi whispered as she escorted her two friends down the stairs.

"Yeah, we should get going," Sakura whispered back and slipped on her shoes. Ino did the same, stumbling around until she found the front door. It was near pitch-black in the front hall without any lights on, and the clouds shielding the moon from illuminating the world below.

"Yeah, call us later though," Ino said, and opened the front door.

"Okay. Drive safe," Naomi said, and waited by the open front door, watching Sakura and Ino get into Ino's car and drive down the street. She shut the door, triple checked that she locked it, then rushed back up the stairs and dove into her room.

Naomi stripped out of the clothes that she had been wearing for the entire day, and slipped into some comfy pajamas. By the time she was done with her nighttime bathroom routine, her clock read 11:41. She crawled onto her bed, tossing aside her decorative pillows and peeling back the white comforter. She shimmied her body under her blankets, and searched around bed for her phone. As soon as she plugged her charger into her phone, she got a text message.

Naruto:
Are you still awake?

Naomi smiled, and her thumbs did a dance over the keyboard as she thought about what she wanted to say.

Naomi:
Barely, but yes.

Naruto:
Sorry, am I keeping you awake?

Naomi:
No, what's up?

Naruto:
What do you say to getting breakfast w/me tomorrow? I know a good place.

Naomi:
That sounds nice.

Naruto:
Alright! I'll pick you up at 9.

Naomi:
Perfect. Goodnight, Naruto.

Naruto:
Night, Nemo.

Naomi:
Nemo?

Naruto:
It's my nickname for you. Cute, right?

Naomi:
Yeah, I like it.

Naruto:
Well, goodnight Nemo. Sweet dreams.

Naomi smiled as she turned off her phone and set it down on her nightstand, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness after staring at the bright phone screen. She snuggled into her comforter, closed her eyes, and drifted off into a sleep of sweet dreams.