Stay With Me

* Ok, so I'm suuuuuper duuuuper sorry for making you guys wait so long :( The final chapter is finally up, please read and enjoy!

Morning came quickly for Hinata. She stared up at the ceiling, too lazy to get up. She let out a sigh and snuggled into her fluffy pillow, tightening her comfy blanket around herself.

"I guess it's time already…I'll really have to end it today." Hinata's expression saddened as she clutched her bed sheet. "I'll think of the past as a dream; a wonderful dream. Naruto is just a dream…as much as I stride towards him, I could never really get what I want. He was nearly a dream that I couldn't reach. My love life till now was just a fantasy…" Hinata whispered sadly. She tore herself away from the comfortable, silky blanket and got up.

"I just wonder how he'll react to it."

Naruto was up early and energetic, slurping his ramen loudly. "I wonder why Hinata wanted to hangout at the bridge, today. Ah, who cares! It's always fun whenever I'm with her anyways," He grinned happily.

For a slight moment, Neji's words crossed his mind again.

Naruto's smile slowly died down. "Why do I keep thinking of that, though? She already explained to me why she was so distant lately…but…I can't help but think there's more to it…" He gently set his chopsticks down and sighed. "Damn, this is stressing me out too much. I just need to calm down and have a good day with Hinata…"

Hinata looked up at the sky and frowned at how sunny it was. Even though it was a beautiful, warm day, she didn't feel happy at all. 'Well, maybe it'll all turn out good. Naruto will tell me he loves me, doesn't want to break up, and then we'll just keep dating.' Hinata laughed at her sarcastic thoughts.

"Yea right….like that'll ever happen." She shook her head.

Deep in her thoughts, Hinata nearly fell over when she felt someone jump and hugged her from behind.

"Yo, Hinata!" Kiba's voice greeted.

"You scared me, Kiba," Hinata glared at him and pouted.

"Hehe, sorry. You looked like you were thinking, so I just wanted to surprise you," Kiba grinned as he petted Akamaru. "So where are you headed this afternoon?" He asked.

"Oh…just to meet Naruto…" Hinata muttered.

"Man, you two have going along really well, nowadays. I would have never imagined that he would ever realize your feelings towards him, nonetheless, stay with you for this long. He must really love you, too, Hinata," Kiba looked at her proudly. He was taken by surprise when he noticed her distant expression.

"Kiba…" Hinata started and averted her eyes to the ground. "…that's impossible. Even now, he still has feelings for Sakura. There really is no room for me in his heart. I'm going to meet him right now because I'm gonna break up with him," Hinata admitted.

Kiba stared at her like she was crazy. "You, break up with Naruto? Oh my god, the world is ending." He chuckled and shook his head. "Hinata, you love him so much, so why not hang onto him? You finally have him, and just because he still has feelings for his first love, you're going to dump him? Isn't it already enough that he's with you, now?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.

"No. It's not enough. If I can't have his all of his love, I might as well not have him at all. There's no point in staying with someone who doesn't love me," Hinata shrugged.

"Well then, you're really just going to end it? Did you even talk it out with him? What if he does love you-,"

"I already talked it out with him. He says he doesn't know his feelings towards me, yet, and he told me directly that he still does have strong feelings for Sakura," Hinata interrupted.

"Oh…" Kiba didn't know what else to say. Staring at her serious expression, he knew he couldn't change her mind anymore. 'Damn, Naruto…if you let her go, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You will never find a girl who will love you as much as she does, so you better not let her leave you.'

Naruto was walking through town to go to the bridge. He stared up at the sky and grinned at how sunny it was. "Wow, it's such a nice day out. Probably something good will happen to me today," He grinned at the thought of Hinata.

He didn't know why he was extremely happy to see her today.

Naruto walked by Ichiraku, but strangely, he didn't want to eat. "Eh...I already ate breakfast anyways..." He shrugged.

"Well...if I arrive at the bridge too early, then Hinata probably won't be there yet." Naruto thought for a while. "...aw well. I guess I could wait-,"

"Naruto!" A familiar voice called.

Naruto turned around to see Sakura walking towards him. "Aren't you supposed to be teaching at the academy?"

"Well, I got today day off since Sasuke called in to ask them if I could spend some time with him. He mentioned the proposal to me, so they were nice enough to let me take a break today." Sakura smiled happily.

"Ah, that's good. I'm actually going to hangout with Hinata right now." Naruto grinned.

"Oh? Going to confess, huh?" Sakura teased and nudged him.

"Confess?" Naruto blinked.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his confused expression. "Ugh...nevermind, Naruto. You're too dense. Well anyway, I'm already late, so I gotta go meet Sasuke at Ichiraku. See you later." She ran off before he had a chance to reply.

"Confess...?" Naruto muttered to himself. "Confess what?"

Hinata finally arrived at the bridge and noticed Naruto wasn't there yet. "Ah...I'm probably too early..."

She looked down at the small stream below the bridge and stared at her reflection.

"After all this time...he still hasn't fallen in love with me. There's no use in staying in this relationship." Hinata sighed.

"Hinata!" A familiar voice called.

Hinata turned around to see Naruto waving at her and running towards the bridge.

She smiled at his idiotic grin and happy gesture.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto gave her a hug when he reached her.

"Hey..." Hinata hugged him back gently.

"So? Why'd you want to meet up here today?" Naruto asked and pulled away.

"I just wanted to talk about some things." Hinata replied.

"Oh, sure! What's it about?" Naruto grinned.

"Our relationship..."

Naruto's smile slowly disappeared when he saw Hinata's guilty expression.

"...Hinata...? What about our relationship? Are you ok?" He asked worriedly.

"Um...actually...I'm really not ok at all..." Hinata shook her head slightly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. She's been acting so strange ever since yesterday.

Hinata looked up at him and stood captivated by his blue eyes...the very same beautiful, blue eyes she fell in love with at first sight.

"Hinata?" Naruto was panicking. She has never looked at him like that before.

"I'm sorry, Naruto..." Hinata muttered.

"What for?" Naruto was getting scared. Why was she like this? Did she do something behind his back? Was it something he did?

"Um...I..." Hinata's voice started to quiver. She didn't know if she could do this. She didn't want to start crying in front of him. She gulped and took a deep breath, trying to control her tears from coming.

"What's going on? You're scaring me, Hinata," Naruto cupped her face and gently caressed her cheeks.

Hinata slowly pulled away from him and held his hands.

"I don't think I can do this anymore."

Naruto froze and held his breath. What did she mean?

"You know...you've never once told me that you love me." Hinata smiled sadly at him. "...and if after a whole year with me, you still haven't fallen in love with me, then you probably never will." She let go of his hands and averted her eyes down to the floor.

"You said yesterday that you might still have feelings for Sakura. I told you that I was alright, but...I really wasn't. I honestly felt like crying. Naruto, I don't think I can be with you if you still love her. If you can't really love me, then there's no reason for me to stay in relationship. I just can't stand being your girlfriend, and knowing that you still have feelings for Sakura...it hurts, Naruto." Hinata knew she couldn't hold it in any longer. Her tears were already blurring her vision.

"I wanted to meet you here today to tell you this. I can't do this anymore. I can't be with you anymore. I just can't be strong anymore. Naruto...let's breakup..."

Naruto couldn't believe she just said that. He would've never thought that she would breakup with him. His eyes widened he saw tears drip down her cheeks.

Hinata quickly wiped them away. "I really love you...but you're just not worth waiting for anymore." Her voice was trembling. She turned around, not bothering to hear a reply or a comment from him.

Naruto stood speechless as Hinata walked away from him. He felt so much regret and guilt in him. He never thought that it would hurt this much to have her leave him. And in that moment...he was afraid. She always loved him. She always cared for him. She always worried for him. She always listened and encouraged him. She made him happy. She was always there.

And now, he was letting her walk away from his life.

Naruto let out a shaky sigh and took a step forward. He didn't want her to leave. He just couldn't imagine a life without Hinata beside him.

Without another thought, he ran after her.

Hinata gasped in surprise when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. "Naruto...?"

"Don't go..." Naruto whispered.

Hinata could feel tears forming at the corner of her eyes again.

"...I'm sorry. I never knew that I hurt you that much. But please, you can't leave me, Hinata..." He hugged her tighter, embracing her body against his own.

"It doesn't matter, anymore. No matter how much you apologize, I'm not coming back to you..." Hinata's tears slowly slid down her cheeks as she jerked away from him and started to walk away again.

Naruto quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her into another embrace. "What do I need to do to make you stay with me?"

"...nothing. I don't want anymore chances with you..." Hinata muttered quietly.

Naruto's chest felt uncomfortable. It felt like his heart was aching and his hands were trembling.

Hinata gasped when she felt him shaking.

"Then what am I supposed to do...?" Naruto closed his eyes tightly. "...what am I supposed to do if you're not with me anymore?"

Hinata couldn't stand this. She couldn't stand seeing him like this. But she had too. She had to let go. "Just find someone else, Naruto-,"

"I can't! There's no other girl...that could compare to you..."

Hinata was confused. Just yesterday, he said that he possibly still had feelings for Sakura, and now...he's telling her that she's more important?

"What about Sakura?" She asked quietly.

"I already told you...she was my first love...I used to love her, Hinata." Naruto pulled away slowly from her.

"...sorry...even if you tell me that now...I've already made my decision." Hinata looked at him sadly and backed away from him.

Naruto's lips trembled. He didn't want her to go. He didn't want to be with anyone else, but her. He couldn't imagine himself with any other girl. "Hinata..."

Hinata's eyes widened in surprise when he suddenly knelt on the ground. He hung his head down so that he was looking at his knees.

"...I'll do whatever it takes for you to stay with me. If you want me to say I care for you, I'll say it ten times. If you want me to say sorry, I'll say it a hundred times. If you want me to say I love you...I'll say it everyday..."

Hinata couldn't believe her ears. After a whole year, this was the first time he's ever said that he'll tell her he loves her. "...you love me...?" She asked hesitantly.

Naruto didn't look up at her. "This whole time...I kept telling myself that I didn't like you enough to love you. I just kept denying the fact that I was really falling for you. Because I've been in love with Sakura for so long, it was just weird to fall in love with someone else. But...during the times I've spent with you...I was happy. You became my most important person, and I was too stupid to realize it."

He slowly stood up, but he still didn't look at her. "I'm sorry that it took this long. I'm sorry that it took you years just for me to notice you. I'm sorry that I've hurt you so much. I'm sorry that it took a whole year, up until this moment that you're leaving me, to realize that I love you. I'm sorry for everthing, Hinata. I'm sorry..." He apologized over and over again.

Hinata stood in shock. She'd never thought that she would ever hear him say anything like that. But she doubted him...she took a step back, and was about to walk away again, but when she saw his shoulders shaking, she immediately stopped. Was he...crying? Was he actually crying for her?

"...Naruto...?" Hinata walked closer to him. She raised her hands and cupped his cheeks, bringing his head up so that she could see his face. She was taken by surprise when she saw his eyes. He wasn't crying, but she saw that he was trying to hold it in. She stood frozen, captivated by his sorrowful eyes.

Naruto leaned in until their foreheads touched and placed his hands around her waist, pulling her closer.

Hinata's heart was beating uncontrollably. He never got this close to her and never even touched her this affectionately. She noticed that he was leaning in a bit more, so she fluttered her eyes closed. She held her breath when their noses touched.

In their one year relationship, Naruto would give her kisses on the forehead, cheeks, and on the nose...but he never gave her a real kiss on the lips.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she finally felt his lips on hers.

Naruto broke away, but quickly leaned in again to give her a more passionate kiss. Hinata resisted, but she shyly kissed him back.

Naruto slowly pulled away and stared at her beautiful pearl eyes. "...don't leave me..." He whispered.

"If I do stay with you...can you fully accept me? Can you forget about Sakura?" Hinata asked quietly.

"I already have." Naruto made a small smile at her. "So, stay with me?"

Hinata once again looked into his blue eyes. He ran after her. He wanted her to stay. He loves her. And she couldn't ask for anything more.

She smiled back at him and nodded.

"...then I'll stay with you."

It's not that special. I just wanted to finish this story quickly becuase I'm like totally running out of ideas for it.

This is the last chapter, so please REVIEW and tell me your thoughts on this story. Thanks for reading :)

I hope you enjoyed it, and check out my other stories! :)