Cuts & Bruises

Chapter 12

Sasuke woke up to the sound of his alarm. He glared at the clock before turning it off. With a sigh, he got up and walked out of his bedroom. He walked to the top of the stairs and listened for any sounds from the kitchen. "Itachi?"

There was no answer and he rolled his eyes. Now he was going to have to either skip breakfast and take his time getting ready, or be quick with getting ready so he could eat before he had to walk to school.

He walked back into his room where he decided to take his time getting ready. When he was finished he checked up on his mom to see the day nurse there. He gave her a nod before heading down the stairs and out the door. Normally Itachi is the one who checks on their mom's nurse. But every once in a while, he stepped up, mostly when Itachi couldn't do it himself.

He began the walk to school, annoyed with the warming weather. He rolled up one of his sleeves only to remember what he did the night before. He looked around to make sure no one was near as he quickly pulled it back down.

He put his hands in his pocket and thought about what he was going to say to Naruto. Sorry he was trying to save him from an evil wench? Sorry that that same wench was so obsessed with him that she'd fake date one of his friends to get closer to him? He shook his head and let out a sigh. He'd figured it out when he got there.

He soon reached the school and walked up the path to the front of the school. He saw Kiba, Neji and Naruto. He quickened his pace, only to freeze in his tracks a few feet away from them.

In the group was Sakura. She had her arm looped through Naruto's and her head resting on his shoulder. She let out a laugh at something Kiba said. He raised an eyebrow as he began to walk closer to them once again. "Uh, hey guys."

"Hey." Kiba and Neji greeted him with a nod and a smile. Naruto nodded, keeping as neutral of a face as he could. Sakura perked up, lifting her head off Naruto's shoulder. "Hey, Sasuke!"

She let go of Naruto's arm, skipping her way over to Sasuke's side. She lightly placed her hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke tried shrugging it off but her hand was stuck to him like glue. "Get off, Sakura."

"Did Naruto tell you, we went to that little place you were talking about last week." Sakura began to ramble. Sasuke glanced at Naruto who looked at them in disappointment. He gave the blonde an apologetic look when their eyes met. The blonde looked away before waving and leaving, walking towards the building.

He frowned as he watched the blonde walk away. He gently pushed Sakura off of him. "I'm gonna get to class." He didn't wait for a response as he walked into the building.

"Hey." He easily caught up with the blonde, catching his arm.

Naruto stopped, turning to look at him. He gave him a frown and didn't say anything.

"You wanna skip and head to the park?" Sasuke gave him a smirk.

Naruto studied his face carefully before breaking out into a toothy grin. "Yeah. Let's get outta here."

The two headed into the bathroom until the first warning bell rang. Through the hurried students, the two walked out of the building and headed to the city park.

The walk wasn't very far from the school, especially if they cut through the small wooded area behind the school grounds. They walked in silence and Sasuke gave Naruto a glance. "I'm sorry."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke from kicking a rock along his path. "Huh? Oh." He looked back at the ground and shrugged. "You don't have to be sorry. You were right after all."