𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐁𝐎𝐘 | sasuke uchiha

Chapter Eighteen - Ganbarimasu

"Come on, [Name]! Ganbarimasu!!!"

I was dead. Like, literally. On the last leg of the race up the small incline to the gate that would lead us out of the reserve, Suigetsu was already sitting atop the fence and laughing at me as I struggled to stay on my already trembling legs.

"Take that... ganbarimasu... and shove it... UGH!" 

With one final huff and push, I grunted angrily and forced myself to run the remaining thirty meters, blood pumping as my feet crunched against the loose gravel footpath, not once taking my gaze off of the ground. I was too embarrassed- and quite frankly, too lazy- to raise my head and look at Suigetsu. But when I did, it was when I was less than five meters away from him, grinning in defeat. I gasped as soon as I looked up.

"Sasuke?" There, standing beside a grinning Suigetsu with his arms crossed, was Sasuke, who was rolling his eyes. Panting with my final dying breaths, I made it to the fence Suigetsu was sitting on and grabbed a hold of it, holding on for my dear life while looking at the duckbutt with a look of confusion.

"Have a nice run?" he asked boredly, raising an eyebrow at me. I groaned and dropped to my knees, still clinging onto the fence for support. I held up a hand to silence him- I was feeling a little light headed, and in that moment, Sasuke's bullshit was the last thing I needed. I heard someone's shoes land on the gravel beside me, and looked up to see Suigetsu holding out something to me. A water bottle.

"Where did you... get that from...?" I wheezed, thirstily snatching it from him and beginning to glug down its contents without shame. Suigetsu shrugged, covering his smile with a hand.

"I had time to go back to the car while I waited for you," he said, trying to hold back his laughter. I finished drinking and threw the bottle back in his face, muttering, "Asshole." He laughed and grabbed the bottle, before holding out a hand to help me up. I complied, and soon enough, the three of us were on our way back to our cars. For someone who'd nearly killed themselves running on that track, I was surprisingly optimistic and chatty, which came in handy since I had to interrogate Sasuke on why he was here.

"Sakura wants me to take you to lunch," was all he said. "You don't mind, do you?" I bit my lip, feeling bad about abandoning Suigetsu.

"Um..."

***

[Sasuke's P.O.V]

"... you don't mind, do you, Sasuke?" 

My eyebrow twitched as [Name] and Suigetsu sat across from me at the local diner, having just finished ordering their brunch meals. It was an undeniably awkward atmosphere, and it took every last strand of my sanity to say, "No, of course not. The more the merrier, right?" Suigetsu chuckled, and [Name] laughed, clasping her hands together.

"Well, duh! I couldn't just leave Suigetsu behind at the track, right? I'm here to fatten him up so that it's less of a challenge for me when we run again next time!" 

The Hozuki smiled and leaned his elbow on the countertop, looking sideways at [Name]. The two were still sweaty and rugged from their competition, but they also had great appetites, considering the amount of food they ordered. 

Any passerby would have mistaken them as a cheesy lovey-dovey couple on a date, with me in the picture only as a third wheel. The thought made my stomach churn, and I had to force the feeling down, even though it got stronger the more I watched them.

"You really still want to race against me?" teased Suigetsu, reaching out and poking the tip of [Name]'s nose. I grimaced, but kept to myself. This was not what I'd intended. I'd wanted a peaceful lunch where I could talk face to face with my friend [Name], not to chaperone her date. 

[Name] laughed, and fluttered her eyelashes. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion- was [Name]... flirting with Suigetsu?

"Oh, you know it," she said, ending with a wink. Maybe I was just seeing things, or maybe I was going insane- but Suigetsu was hitting on [Name].

And she wasn't doing a single thing to stop him.

"... you know, I actually think I like running behind you better than in front."

"That means you like losing?" Suigetsu chuckled at [Name]'s remark, moving closer to her. I held my breath as I watched the space between them close until their arms were touching, and they were literally rubbing shoulders with each other. There was a glimmer in his eye as he leaned closer to [Name], smirking.

"No. I just like having a better view." And you know what she did? She laughed. That was not the [Name] I knew. If it had been any other guy that had said that, she would have slapped him across the world and begun yelling her head off. But no. Apparently, Suigetsu was an exception.

"Ahh, you're such a perv-"

"Pfft, what? Did I say anything about your ass?"

"You did now-"

I quickly rose to my feet, slamming my palms on the table. [Name] and Suigetsu both looked up at me in surprise, eyebrows raised. I cleared my throat and looked away, unable to handle it anymore. 

Okay, it had been hell, and I couldn't take any of it anymore. Ugh, it made me sick to see [Name] offering herself to him like that, like... that's not the [Name] I knew. 

I coughed into my sleeve, sliding out of my seat.

"Sorry. Bathroom." Nodding at the pair, I walked away as fast as I could without looking suspicious, fuming on the inside. I hated it. Hated every single moment of it. But the worst part was, I couldn't say anything about it. [Name] was my friend, and she could do or see whoever she wanted to. I was her friend, and I already had a girlfriend.

What if I break up with Sakura? What if I leave her for [Name]? As soon as I thought that to myself, I instantly hated my own guts. Sakura didn't deserve that, and [Name] sure as hell didn't. Look at all the trouble she went through trying to find the "perfect girl" for me- dumping her candidate wouldn't exactly be doing her a favour.

I felt like the most horrible man on the planet- and in that moment, I quite possibly was.

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the late update, but like I said, I'm away from home and I've been staying at a relative's house, using up all their wifi watching my Korean dramas lol. This is probably the only update for the rest of the week/until I get back home, so until then, ja ne!