Stay [SasuNaru]

Chapter 7

It had been a few hours since the drama in the cafeteria and Sasuke was no where to be found. Shikamaru heard about the event from Kiba and they agreed to let Sasuke cool down a bit.

But it was lunch time now, and no one has seen the raven. Shikamaru decided to go to the roof to see if he was there while Kiba stayed in the cafeteria in case he showed up.

When Shikamaru got to the roof, he didn't see who he was expecting to.

"Are you waiting for Sasuke, Naruto?"

The blond turned around and stared at Shikamaru with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape.

"Shika.. h-how.."

Shikamaru couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Call it a sixth sense" he replied and shrugged.

He opted to lay on the roof and stare at the clouds for a while, hoping to speak with his friend. Naruto was one of his closest friends and he was missing the obnoxious boy.

Nothing was said between either of the two boys. Shikamaru took the time to observe Naruto and try to get a feel for how he was reacting to all of this. He didn't make it a habit to speak to spirits, but he knew enough that he understood his friend was stuck.

"He's slowly self destructing, ya know." He saw the blond flinch out of the corner of his eye. His suspicions seemed to be correct.

Naruto looked down at the ground and started to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. This was something he did absentmindedly when he was in a situation he really didn't want to be in.

"You need to tell him, Naruto. It's the only way both of you are going to get through this."

Naruto hesitantly looked over at Shikamaru, who was staring at the clouds, calm as he always was. He didn't realize that Shikamaru knew about his feelings, as it wasn't something he announced to anyone.

Shikamaru glanced at the blond with a sad smile. "I see the way you look at him when he isn't paying attention."

As ironic as it was, Naruto's face paled like he had seen a ghost. Then it immediately switched to turning bright red. He never realized he looked at Sasuke in such a way that other people had noticed. He looked towards his lap, unsure of how to respond.

"I-I don't know if I can.." he responded in almost a whisper.

"It's not fair to either of you and you know it. You might be surprised at his reaction" the brunette was trying to lay down subtle hints, encouraging the blond to get the weight off of his shoulders. He understood Naruto was scared. Sasuke was his best friend and this was a huge leap of faith, to confess. But Shikamaru also saw the things that Naruto didn't.

Sasuke was slowly self destructing without the blond. That much was obvious. He blamed himself for the accident and whatever argument they had prior. It seemed like Naruto was hesitating too. Whether it was out of fear of rejection or fear of losing his best friend, Shikamaru wasn't totally sure.

Before he could find out, the door to the roof busted open. Kiba was frantically panting as though he ran as fast as he possibly could to get to the roof. Shikamaru looked over blankly at the panting boy.

"Shika.. we have.. a problem" he was trying to speak and catch his breath at the same time. After another minute, he was able to get it out. "Sasuke isn't anywhere to be found. He's missing."

Shikamaru glanced over at Naruto who's face was stricken with worry. Looking back at Kiba, he sighed. "Don't jump to conclusions. I'm sure he is around" before he could wait for an answer, he got a phone call from an unknown number.