Faceless Desire

How The Turntables...

'I need your advice, Haruki.'

Sakura is flabbergasted. Not only is Sasuke's timing impeccable, but she fully expected to never hear from him again. She's so stunned that she just stares at the message with wide eyes and an open mouth for a long period of time. Only when a second text arrives does she snap out of her stupor.

'How do I prove to someone that I'm genuinely sorry?'

Tears well in the woman's eyes as she frowns. What does he think he's doing? Just when she finally accepted his rejections, he tries to communicate. The overwhelming emotions fuel her fingers as they move quickly across the screen, 'Do you get some kind of kick out of stringing me along like this?' She hits send and immediately regrets it but can't take it back.

Sasuke types for a while before a response comes. 'Open your door.'

Sakura's spine straightens, her head turning swiftly toward the apartment's entrance. He wouldn't.... Would he?

With trembling hands, the pinkette tries to soothe her messy hair and wipes at her damp cheeks before daring to crack open the door. There, in all his brooding glory, stands Sasuke Uchiha. His lips are in a firm line. His tired, dark eyes are guarded as he takes in the Haruno woman's bewildered face. He slides his phone into his pocket and gestures with a nod. Sakura is too confused and doesn't move to stop him from entering the premises.

The Uchiha clears his throat after a moment and she shuts the door, turning slowly to face him with a glare, "What do you want?"

Clearly, speaking face to face isn't nearly as comfortable for both as it was to text one another as strangers. Sasuke's teeth grit as he clenches and unclenches his hands, fumbling over his words, "I just wanted to.... I know I have to explain, I just.... I...."

Sakura crosses her arms while attempting to hide the fact that she's about to burst into tears again, "You what, Sasuke?" Normally, she's considerate of his social ineptitude, but he's hurt her feelings in a terrible way, so she has little empathy at the moment.

Dark eyes narrow into an irritated leer, but the man doesn't completely lose his composure. Instead, he seems to use his annoyance as fuel to say what needs to be said, "I was wrong for assuming you had ill intentions."

"And what about accusing me of cat-fishing you?" Sakura's chin quivers, but she holds his gaze firmly.

"That, too," Sasuke quietly says. They stare at one another for a silent moment before he lowers his eyes to the ground, the anger fading in his tone, "I should've thanked you for being a good friend, but I pushed you away because I was scared."

She can't believe her ears. Sasuke Uchiha just admitted, to her face, at that, that he was in the wrong and afraid. Her lips part as she tries to comprehend the unexpected situation, but he interrupts before she can.

"Once I realized what I'd done, I thought it'd be best to leave things as they are. Becoming involved with me will only lead to you getting hurt."

Sakura wipes angrily at the tears she can no longer hold back, "That's not your decision to make!"

"I know!" Sasuke barks with fire in his eyes. "I couldn't do it, obviously, or I wouldn't be here right now."

Where is he trying to go with this? Sakura's so confused. She wants to punch his pretty face as much as she wants to kiss it right now, but she still isn't sure what he hopes to achieve by coming over and apologizing like this. She doesn't allow her hopes to rise as they had before. That's what got her into this situation in the first place.

So, she takes a deep breath and shakes her head, steeling her features to not betray her emotions, "What do you want from me, Sasuke? Forgiveness? I can't-" "Don't quit."