At school on Monday, it's clear that Sasuke is avoiding me. He won't look at me in the hallway or in class, but we're having a practise after school because we have a game on Friday. He won't be able to avoid me when we're out on the field.

Sakura smiles at me in the hallway. I smile back at her. I'm not going to be bitter. We've been civil to each other since the breakup and I plan on keeping it that way. "So," she starts, sidling up beside me as I near my locker, "What's this I hear about you and Sasuke becoming friends?"

"Yeah," I snort. "I guess we kind of are. Who told you? Karin?"

"Yeah," she chuckles.

"Thought so," I laugh, grabbing a textbook.

"What changed things?" she wonders. "I mean, just a little while ago, you hated him."

"I never hated him," I correct her. "Hate is too strong a word... I guess I did dislike him, though. We never got along. I mean, shit... We still don't get along that great. The friendship is tense."

"He's got a bruise," she points out. "Is that from you?"

"Yeah," I cringe. "I actually didn't even mean to hit him, but it happened like a reflex. I'm so used to hitting him, I couldn't even stop myself."

"He didn't hit you back?" she asks in disbelief.

I shake my head. "Nah, but he was pissed. His parents came home after that, so we kind of simmered down."

"You were at his house..." she murmurs.

"Uh, yeah..." I say slowly. "Why...?"

She shrugs. "No reason. It's just odd. I'm so used to you detesting him and not wanting to spend any time with him at all and now suddenly you are spending time with him without your parents even having to force it."

"Are you jealous?" I ask jokingly.

"I might be," she chuckles before sobering. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"What for?"

She lets out a sigh and I shut my locker door. We head down the hallway towards class before she finally starts speaking again. "I was selfish. I knew the person I wanted would never want me and that is why I settled for you."

I let out a groan. "Look, we don't have to do this now, Sakura. I don't want to end up feeling even shittier than I do right now."

"What's wrong?" she asks.

"Just stressed out," I tell her vaguely. I don't bother telling her that the cause of most of my stress is indeed Sasuke. She doesn't need to know that because that means she would begin prying and I can't really afford her asking questions I don't want to answer. Besides, I'm really bad with this kind of thing. I always end up spilling people's secrets. I'm bad at keeping my mouth shut.

We enter class and Sakura is still trying to apologize to me. "Dude, look, it's fine," I insist. "I'm over it." It's true. I am pretty over it. I've got new things to worry about, even if they're things I don't really deserve to worry about since I'm part of the problem.

"Are you?" she asks, sounding like she doesn't believe me.

"Yeah," I laugh. "So, I forgive you and whatever, okay?"

"Okay," she says softly. "If you're sure."

I offer her a smile before turning my head to the teacher. I'll pretend to pay attention.

||XxXx||

After school, I shove my books into my locker and grab my sports gear before making my way to the gym. In the locker rooms, Kiba is already dressed.

"Where's Sasuke?" I ask, but Kiba only shrugs in response, not looking like he really gives a damn. I don't blame him. Sasuke isn't exactly nice to him and vice versa. I put my bag down and change into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, walking back into the gymnasium with Kiba.

"There's Sasuke," Kiba says, pointing. I follow his finger and spot Sasuke on the sidelines, already dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. He's talking to Juugo, Suigetsu and Karin. I force myself to look away. Instead, I stare up at the bleachers. As always, they're pretty packed. I spot Sai and Ino up there. When we make eye contact, they wave. I wave back, grinning at them. There are a lot of girls here. Naturally, it's because of Sasuke. They like to watch him run and jump around in his shorts and get all sweaty.

A few minutes later, the coach calls us into the center of the room. "Shirts versus skins," he says. "We've got a big game this Friday and I want us all to be ready."

After an encouraging speech, he puts us into teams. Much to the chagrin of most of the female audience, Sasuke is yet again a shirt. He's always a shirt. I think he might've spoken to the coach at the start of the year about not wanting to take off his shirt in front of the school. He probably made up some random reason, but I know the truth now. He's got the scars – the ones Itachi gave him. Scary stuff.

Me and Kiba are skins, so we shed out shirts before tossing them to the sidelines and the game commences. Sai and Ino whistle at us and I can't help but chuckle. They probably don't realize it, but they always have a way of keeping me in good spirits.

||XxXx||

Our team ends up winning, but it's a close game.

Back in the locker room, I peel off my sweaty clothes before heading to the showers. A minute later, Sasuke is standing under the nozzle next to mine. "Hey," I greet him offhandedly as I rinse off.

"Hey," he returns, shampooing his hair.

"Are we fighting?" I ask.

"You did hit me," he mentions.

"I know," I murmur, internally cursing at myself. "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to."

He sighs. "Yeah, you did. It fuckin' hurt. I don't know why, but it hurt more than the punches you used to throw my way."

"It's because we're friends now," I say.

He scoffs lightly, closing his eyes and ducking his head under the running water to rinse out the suds. "Hardly," he insists.

"So, we're back to that?"

"Yes."

"Then what are we?" I ask.

"I don't know," he admits.

"I think we're friends," I say.

"You think you're everyone's friend," he bites.

"I pretty much am," I snort. "Most people love me."

"Aren't you special?" he mutters cynically, turning the tap off. I do the same and follow him out of the shower and back to the locker. We towel off and, as always, Sasuke makes sure his back is to the wall and every dude in the room has a clear view of his dangling junk.

"Why do you care if people see the marks?" I ask, putting on a pair of boxer shorts.

"It's my business," he says, understanding what I'm referring to. "If people see, they'll ask questions they have no right to be asking."

"Hm... I guess so," I murmur. "Did you tell the coach about it? You're always a shirt, never a skin."

"I fed him a boring lie about being shy and he ate it up," Sasuke says.

Thought so.

We finish getting dressed, grabbing our bags and preparing to leave the locker rooms. When we approach the door, Kiba is standing there with arms crossed. He's smirking at us, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Move, dog," Sasuke commands haughtily.

Kiba's smirk widens. "As you wish, princess," he bows, sliding out of the way.

Sasuke sneers at him, opening the door and leaving. I let out a snicker, glancing at Kiba. "Okay, what's that look for, dude?"

"He must like you a lot," Kiba notes. "I saw you guys chatting. He seemed to speak pretty freely to you. I think that's funny as fuck."

"Oh, really?" I ask flatly.

"I mean," he continues, "Sasuke is kind of fucked in the head. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Are you offering him moral support or something?"

"Or something," I mumble vaguely. "And I know what you're going to ask... No, I'm not going to give you any dirt."

Kiba looks intrigued. "So, you really do know some bad shit about him, eh?"

I shrug. "I always have, dude. I've seen him have a few temper tantrums when we were kids, but that stopped when we entered our mid-teen years and he turned apathetic. They were nothing compared to the fits I'd have, but still."

"I can't imagine him having a temper tantrum," Kiba snickers at the thought. "He's depressed or something, right? Chouji said something like that."

"He's bipolar," I correct in a murmur. Chouji was there the night I was questioning Suigetsu and Juugo. I guess we should have told him to keep quiet. Sasuke probably doesn't want the entire school knowing he's dealing with stuff. "Who else knows?"

Kiba shrugs. "Chouji told a few of the girls," he says. "Ino knows... so she probably told a bunch of people."

I groan in response. "Well, keep it to yourself, okay? I doubt he wants people knowing."

"You know I will, dude," he promises. I trust him. Sure, he has a mean streak when it comes to Sasuke, but Kiba isn't the kind of guy who would try to shame him either. At least, I hope he's not.

We finally exit the locker rooms and instead of Sai and Ino waiting for me like usual, Sakura is there. "Hey, great game," she says with a smile.

Politely, I thank her. I wave Kiba off before exiting the gymnasium with Sakura. "So, what's up?"

"Can I get a ride home?" she asks. "Sorry..."

"Yeah, sure," I say. "It's fine." I swing my bag over my shoulders as we leave the school, making our way to my jeep. I get in the driver's seat while she settles in the passenger. I put the music on so we won't be forced to make awkward conversation.

"So, Karin told me Sasuke is taken," she murmurs after a few minutes.

"Yeah, he's seeing someone," I vaguely confirm. She's probably been wanting to ask me about it since this morning.

"Oh," she says sadly.

"Sorry, Sakura," I tell her. "You never had a chance with him... Trust me. His type isn't you. I'm not saying it to be mean, I just... you deserve to know."

"I know," she admits quietly. "I wish I didn't feel this way, but I can't help it."

"Why do you love him?" I ask bluntly. "What do you like about him? I mean, he's kind of a dick to you, isn't he? What do you find that is so enthralling about him?"

She pauses for a moment. "He's unattainable."

"That's fuckin' stupid," I mutter.

"Look, Naruto," she says tersely. "Sometimes feelings can't be explained. They're just there." She's probably right, but for some reason, I'm in the mood to argue.

"You don't even know him... you never did," I say.

She scoffs lightly. "And what about you? Don't make me laugh, Naruto. You don't know him, either. You just beat on him."

"I'm on good terms with him now," I say, "and I know him better than you do. I know a lot about him. He actually fucking talks to me these days."

"It's not a contest," she murmurs.

Damn it. I sound so petty and jealous right now, even to my own ears. "I know," I sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm just in a bad mood lately."

She nods her head lightly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I say.

She pauses. "Hey... is Sasuke okay?"

"Is this why you wanted to talk?" I ask dryly. "Just to ask about Sasuke? Come on and say what you want to say, Sakura. If you have a question on the tip of your tongue, just ask it."

"Will you promise to answer?"

"No," I say. "I can't promise that."

She lets out a sigh. "Ino told me that Chouji told her that he heard Suigetsu and Juugo telling you that Sasuke is mentally ill."

"What a mouthful," I chuckle. "Sounds like that rumor went through the grapevine a few times."

"Yeah," she laughs lightly. "I didn't think it was true. I thought that Ino was just pulling stuff out of her ass again... you know how she is. She likes to talk."

"Yeah," I snort. "It's what she's best at... but she's a solid girl."

"True," Sakura smiles faintly.

I pull into her driveway, but for a moment, she stays seated. "You good...?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

She lets out a sigh. "I really love him, Naruto..."

"I know you do," I murmur, not wanting to keep fighting. "I won't pretend to understand it." Truth is, I don't understand it. Truth is, Sakura doesn't know Sasuke. She sees the pieces of him that he allows to be seen. She doesn't see the things I see. I wonder, if she did, would she run away? Or would she stay? He doesn't like her at all and I think the saddest thing of all is when a person pines after someone who will never love them. I wish Sakura could find happiness elsewhere and stop mistaking lust for love. "Would you still feel the same way if he was ugly?" I ask her.

"I'm not shallow, Naruto," she insists in response. She bends over, putting her head in her hands. She doesn't cry. Instead, she just takes a few deep breaths. "I shouldn't love him, though... He hates me."

"He hates a lot of people, I think," I admit. Himself most of all, but I don't say that.

She raises her head and looks at me. "But he doesn't hate you."

"True," I say. "I'm not sure why."

"Is his girlfriend nice?" Sakura asks offhandedly, changing the subject slightly.

I shrug, playing dumb. "Not sure," I lie.

"Haven't you met her?" she pries.

I shake my head. "There are some things he refuses to let me in on."

"I know," she says. "I just thought... maybe he'd tell you. I know you two are closer these days."

"Yeah," I nod, "but that is one thing he probably doesn't talk about with anyone."

Sakura smiles wearily. "Well, whoever she is... she's lucky. I hope she treats him well. I feel like he's a lot more fragile than he lets on."

I just chuckle, not bothering to tell her how fucking right she is.

"Anyway, I'm glad he has a friend like you, Naruto," she adds, finally opening the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I murmur.