An Autumn's Confession: Ridiculed and Misunderstood

(AthenaSmile)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, it would've been NaruIno. [Oh, this is...was(?) NaruSaku btw...well, you could take it like that..haha. It's complicated.]

"I'm in love with you."

The last line of the letter the lone girl, sitting on the school's concrete plant box on the ground floor, read. She had glanced at that last line for the umpteenth time since opening the letter five minutes ago. She hadn't expected it – her receiving a love letter; her receiving an actual love letter from him. Well, she did know of his feelings for her, but she didn't expect him to actually act on it. Plus, they weren't really that close – they had only become friends this year.

They were classmates for six years in a row but didn't really get closer than classmates or somewhat-friends until last year, because it had been an unspoken rule in their class that if a boy were to befriend her, it meant that he likes her. So not one boy did –because they were all smart – calculating and logical– and yet they were also only kids –immature– teasing each other whenever a "secret" that some boy likes some girl gets exposed.

Not to sound vain, but she was beautiful –fair cream-white complexion, pretty smooth soft skin, rosette silky hair, clear brown eyes that seemed to brim with innocence, and a slim stature that was also not too tall nor too short for a man's taste– gentle, good-natured, and smart –which made her getting into class-A every year, natural; which also made that unspoken rule apply every year for six years, really just four because they had matured mid-year on the fourth.

And thus, if, hypothetically, at a certain night last year, a certain classmate sent her a message, asking if she were taken (already in a relationship/in love with someone else) or if he had a chance of stealing her heart, and she innocently replied a vague and hope-inviting, "Let's be friends first", as a response, it wouldn't be weird at all for her to expect that he'd be actively befriending her the following school year. And he did.

But it wasn't only towards her - he had become very friendly with the whole class – boys and girls alike. It was as if a spell had been broken – a spell that limited the class' interactions as boy-boy and girl-girl. Or maybe a spell was cast instead – a spell called "Maturity". Everyone became friendlier towards the opposite sex, as if following the lead that that certain boy had started. And so before long, that unspoken rule had also vanished, and a certain level of "friendship" had developed between the two.

It was the third quarter of the school year when their English teacher had announced their class to be doing a play on "Romeo and Juliet", and he had been appointed as their class's director. He had assigned his classmates to roles he think fit, and to her dismay, she was to play Juliet. She strongly refused, reasoning that she just wasn't cut out for a lead role, enumerating more excuses such as another girl being better than she was, and…well, that's all she had always reasoned out. Their argument ended with him in belief that she'd do it, and her strongly stating that she won't do the role. Had it been the him before, he might've just told their teacher that she wasn't participating, but he wasn't, so instead, he tried wooing her, treating her like a princess – helping her with anything and almost everything. She didn't dislike it; in fact, she enjoyed the attention he was giving her. After three days of royal treatment, sweet words of convincing, and a little bit of convincing from her best friend, she finally relented.

The play ended well and without a hitch, but something had bemused her.

On the day that they were supposed to do their recording – because really, memorizing a character's whole script was a drag – the one supposed to play as Romeo had called sick, and they couldn't postpone that day's entire recording because they were already short on time to begin with, so everyone (the cast; because the remainder of the class had to work on the background, props, etc.) voted on him, the director, for Romeo's voice instead. He tried to argue that his voice wasn't all that good, and that he wouldn't be able to bring out a voice of someone that was in love – because it was common knowledge for everyone in class that he didn't have anyone he liked at the moment – but he was the director, and he knew of the gravity of the situation, so he gave in after a few seconds of silence after his argument. The part for Romeo's voice to enter had come, and true to his argument, Romeo's recorded voice wasn't giving off a person-in-love feel.

He was supposedly in love with her –he texted her so last year! – so why couldn't he bring out a romantic feeling? Sure, he might not like her anymore, but surely his feelings for her didn't disappear completely, right?

Still sitting with the letter at hand, she thought about her feelings for him. Truth be told, she had also liked him. Not the like-like he had asked her of, but like nonetheless.

The first time that they had become classmates, the impression she had of him was someone difficult to talk to. A few days later, she had been proven wrong – he always had it in him to make her smile or laugh. So, wanting to know more about him, she asked her friends from a lower year level to ask him what he thought of her, and she was surprised and saddened –because she was eavesdropping on their conversation– when he told them that he doesn't know who they were asking him of. Did he really not know? Why would he deny of knowing her? They were young, and he would probably regret it in the future, but what happened, did. She unconsciously started distancing herself from him afterwards, probably to prevent her from getting too involved with him.

She folded the letter and inserted it in her bag. She started heading home, heaving a sigh before stepping out of the campus. She'd not answer to his confession now. They had only become really close just this year, and they were sure to be classmates the next. She still had time. Besides, he'd confess to her next year like he did for two years anyway. How wrong she was.

"I've had it! If you guys don't want to cooperate then, for the love of God, someone replace me!"

The class, all staring front, fell silent after his outburst. Their Filipino teacher had made a deal with the class to make a movie adaptation of "El Filibusterismo" in lieu of their exam, but it was to be submitted in two weeks. No one wanted to accept it, but their week had already been filled with exams from all their other subjects. Being graduating students made their schedule very tight near the end of the school year. They reached a consensus, and accepted the offer. The week had passed, and so did their exams. Everyone had relaxed, as if having forgotten that they were to submit a movie adaptation by the end of the week. Like last year, he was chosen once more to be the class's director, so being the "responsible" student that he was –because he'd also be the one to blame if they had come up with nothing to submit– he had posted the cast that he had thought of beforehand. And like usual, opinions clashed, reasons were thrown, excuses were given, and the class was in an uproar. Really, he didn't really care. They were already short on time as it was. He tried to explain that, yet no one wanted to back down, so he exploded.

"Just send me a message later of what you'd come up now.", he told his best friend and exited the room.

Eyes fell down, and for a minute, the room was filled with silence. His best friend had come to the front to conclude their supposedly class meeting.

"I'll talk to him later, but..", he shifted to lean on the teacher's table.
"Is there anyone that wants his/her role replaced? Any complaints on the casting?", he continued, looking at his classmates.
"I'll take that as this being final." And he saw his classmates nod with approval.
"Let's continue this tomorrow. You guys can go home."

With that, everyone stood and started leaving the room. He was going back to his seat to take his bag when he noticed someone beside him.

"Should I tell him to change your role?"
He would've understood if she didn't want to decline it in front of the whole class.

"Ah, no…I just want to apologize to him. I know how hard it is, yet I didn't even consider him, and acted selfishly."

She was chosen for the lead female role (again), and, just maybe, she thought, deep down in her sub-consciousness, that if she were to refuse like she did last year, he would act as if she were the most important person in his life again. So she refused her role the moment she saw her name as the lead female. It didn't turn out like that this time, most probably because they were shorter in time this time, and she felt bad.

He smiled to this, took his bag and headed for the seat of his best friend that walked out of the room saying he'd go home when he didn't even get his bag. She told him that he could just bring him to the ground floor and she'd just approach him herself. So they parted ways on the second floor, where her best friend was waiting for her as well, and where he knew his best friend would have stayed to hide from his classmates after walking out on them (the library was located on the second floor).

They were walking down the stairs when her best friend asked her a sudden question.

"Are you going to be confessing to him today?", she asked with a smile.
"H-huh? What made you think of that?!"
"You had this maiden-in-love face that wanted to just charge at him and hug him tightly."
"Well, would you help me then?"

He had decided to finally go home for real now when his best friend had convinced –and slightly forced– them to. They were exiting the building when his best friend ran ahead, telling him that he was to meet someone. His friend's action puzzled him but decided not to mind it. A couple of steps after and he saw a classmate of his approach him, telling him to take a seat on the concrete flower box. He did so and watched her go back to where she came from. Moments after, she had come out, approached him, and sat beside him. A few seconds had passed and she just sat there fidgeting, glancing every now and then at him and the floor in front of them.

"I want to tell you something..", she said.
"Hmm?"

And for a while they just stayed there. A few seconds more and she finally said what she had meant to say.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions awhile ago. I was being selfish. Sorry."
"Nah, I was overreacting as well. Hahaha. It's fine really."

And there was a short silence until she spoke again.

"Did you not think that that was going to be a confession? Did that not make your heart skip a beat?", she asked playfully.
"What? No! Well, it did cross my mind, but then I thought, 'Why the heck would she confess to me? There has to be something else.' See, before I believed it, my mind deemed it not logical for you to do that. Hahaha."
"I-I see."
"I mean, you already rejected me thrice so I figured I had to move on, right?"
"N-n-…"
"So I did. I have moved on from you, so you don't have to worry about me anymore. I won't tell, I know how you hate it when you get teased and paired with boys. Haha."
"B-but-…"
"Maybe you were right; we should only remain as friends."

And he smiled at her – a sincere and content smile. He had actually moved on from her.

"Was there something else?"
"Oh, none. Sorry again about awhile ago."
"It's fine, really. Well, gotta go. See you tomorrow."

He waved goodbye and left. She just stayed there smiling at him until she was out of his sight. Her friend had come and sat beside her, asking her of what happened. She told her the whole story, from the first time he texted her, to her response, how she had gotten hurt when he actually denied her the first time, the love letter last year, and what he told her now. Her best friend told her that she should've still told him – arguing, to quote, "He was in love with you for four years!...well, maybe three, minus one for this year; but still! He couldn't have lost all of his feelings for you in a year, that's just…there should still be some lingering feelings in him!" She dismissed her argument with just wanting to get home as it was getting late.

She had thought about it upon reaching home. She actually considered what her friend told her but then, she was also just human. She wouldn't be able to take it if he actually said "No" if she actually confessed to him. Just as much that he was in love with her for four (minus one) years that he couldn't have completely moved on from her, it was also those same years that she continued to reject him. She continued to pile reasons, and drowned herself in excuses. She had him partly to blame for denying her that one time, and for not having the confidence to pursue her more; but mostly herself for not actually doing anything about it. She thought of when he had even treated her like she was the most important person to him –and back then she knew that she was– when he didn't need to –he could've just reported her to the teacher for non-participation; and she only dismissed it and convinced herself that there would always be a next year – that he would always be hers.

With those thoughts in mind, a tear in her eye, and regret in her heart, she fell asleep.

A/N: Well, there it goes! Thanks for reading this. It's something I thought of as an original story, but then, after re-reading it one time (yesterday actually), I was like, "Hey. This sounds just like NaruSaku doesn't it?" (in an AU setting of course.) Sorry if there were any inconsistencies with character details. The original characters I thought of were a smart, responsible class "leader" (not exactly the representative, but someone charismatic) and a pretty, smart, popular class Madonna.

A/N2: The first AN is TL;DR, and I sometimes skip A/Ns so I figured I should separate this instead. You could take the ending however you want. It could've been Naruto moving on with Ino(this would happen had I continued this story) or Sakura following her friend's advice and confessing to Naruto regardless.