Pairings: Lee/Sakura (main), mentions of Lee/OC and Sakura/OC, a little bit of Neji/Gaara, mentioned Naruto/Sasuke, and some very hidden Tenten/Kankuro and Sasori/Deidara
The song is Dance Floor Anthem (hence the title) by Good Charlotte
----
She's going out to forget they were together
All that time he was taking her for granted
She wants to see if there's more
than he gave she's looking for
Sakura slowly pushes her way through the crowd of people dancing to the song that is playing. It's a good song, Sakura notes. Good for dancing and just listening to.
She sits down on a stool by the bar, next to one empty seat and a girl with brown buns talking to a guy with spiky brown hair. They're talking, laughing, having fun, and judging by the hand he has on her knee, Sakura assumes they're either dating, or going to at least have a one-night-stand. The guy puts his other arm around her shoulders, and she leans her head on his, while pointing at someone in the crowd and laughing even more. The guy follows her finger and laughs loudly as well. Sakura tears her eyes away from the couple – she's fairly certain of it now, given how they're acting and not being all flirty while still affectionate – and instead eyes the alcohol lined up behind the bar.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asks. He has brown hair, which sort of stands straight up into the air. She knows she's seen him somewhere before, but she can't place him until he laughs. "Sakura! It's been a while since anyone heard from you! Naruto and Sasuke are getting a bit worried, and Ino's been worried for over a month"
"Well, Konohamaru, life sometimes sucks" Sakura says with a grim smile. Konohamaru's face gains a worried look.
"Is everything alright?" he asks.
"It will be" Sakura assures him. "Can I get a martini, shaken not stirred?"
"Alright, coming up" Konohamaru says and walks away again. Sakura turns around in her seat to look at the crowd. She quickly spots two gay couples dancing. One of them is a fairly young couple, around Sakura's age, consisting of a red-head and a brunette with long hair. The red-head looks slightly uncomfortable on the dance floor, while the other seems to be enjoying his boyfriend's facial expression and attempts to dance on the crowded floor. The other couple is older, probably the late twenties to early thirties. One is a blond guy with a ponytail and the other is, again, a red-head. And again it's the red-head that looks uncomfortable on the dance floor. Still, the blond and the brunette are holding their partners affectionately, and both red-heads look happy to be in their embraces.
Sakura sighs. She wishes she had a relationship like that. A boyfriend who would dance with her and hold her like that, even when they were dancing and she was uncomfortable.
"Here you go, Sakura" Konohamaru says behind her, and Sakura turns to him. He has placed a martini glass with clear liquid in front of her, a paper napkin underneath.
"Thank you" Sakura says and digs around in her purse for her wallet. She quickly finds it and pays for the drink. She can see in her wallet that she has plenty of cash to pay for more drinks, which is a good thing, because she is on a mission tonight. She's on a mission to forget. Forget all about him and the fact that she was dating him for two years, where he spent 1½ pulling her away from her friends.
He took her for granted, and she is going to forget all about him tonight.
He calls her up
He's trippin' on the phone now
He doesn't want
her out there all alone now
Sakura's phone rings, and she manages to hear it over the loud music and chatter. She pulls it out of her purse to see the caller ID. The name of her recently-turned ex-boyfriend is flashing on the screen, and she presses the red button without even thinking about it twice. She sips her martini and puts her phone back in her purse. She's not talking to him. Not ever again if she can get away with it, but definitely not tonight. Tonight she's forgetting about him. She's going to forget they were together, because he was an ass – probably still is. People don't stop being asses in just one day, because that's how long it's been since Sakura saw the jerk. Yesterday when she finally broke up with him, and didn't care that he protested.
The girl next to Sakura is drinking a Shirley Timple Black, and her boyfriend is drinking beer. Sakura looks out at the dancing crowd again. Most of them seem happy. A few here and there look upset, and Sakura can even spot a few looking angry, and like they're dancing their frustration and anger away. If that's even possible.
He knows she's movin' it
Knows she's using it
Now he's losing it
She don't care
Sakura is getting tipsy when a man accidentally bumps into her. He apologizes and offers to buy her a drink, but Sakura declines the offer. That doesn't stop him from flirting with her, and she flirts back, because she wants to forget, she wants to move on, and she wants to have fun.
They don't do anything except flirting and talking a little, because then he has to leave. He has to work the next day. Sakura doesn't even get his name, but she doesn't care. She got to have a little fun, a little bit of innocent flirting, and she liked it.
She wants to forget about her ex-boyfriend, but that doesn't stop the image of him practically going insane from appearing in her mind. She smirks, because it serves him right. He's going insane because he doesn't know what she's doing, he can't keep an eye on her anymore, and that makes him angry, because she was the perfect add to his perfect life. And now she's gone, and she's even flirting with others.
She knows that the image in her head isn't real, but she's tipsy, and she wants it to be real, so she just imagines that it is, and her smirk widens. Now it's his turn to be miserable, after all he did to make her miserable. When her phone rings again, she ignores it.
"Here, eat something as well" Konohamaru says and places a small basket of salted peanuts in front of Sakura.
"Oh, thanks" she says. "Can I have a Shirley Timple, please? I'm laying off the alcohol for a little while now"
"Okay" Konohamaru says. "You've had three martinis anyway"
Sakura smiles. She doesn't usually get drunk, so she is a bit more sensitive to the alcohol than anyone else she knows. She picks up a peanut and chews on it.
Everybody
Put up your hands
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Feel the beat now
If you've got nothing left
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Sakura doesn't want to be in love right now. She wants to be loved, but she wants it to be platonic love and unrequited family love. She doesn't want to be alone.
Right now, she doesn't mind being alone, because now it means that she's no longer dating a son of a bitch who took her for granted, and she's happy for that. But she doesn't want to be alone for too long. And seeing all the happy coupes around her – straight as well as gay – makes her want a relationship like that. A happy one, where he appreciates her, and where they can be affectionate with each other.
She sips her Shirley Timple. Not only does she want that kind of romantic relationship, despite not wanting to be in love, but she also wants her old life back. The one where she works as a surgeon and has friends she can call with her problems. She wants to be able to call Ino in the middle of the night again, because that was fun and nice and she misses it. Ino could be grumpy when she woke up, but it always passed quickly and she was always up for a girls' night, even if they were just talking on the phone, and Sakura misses those middle-of-the-night conversations. She wants to cook food for Choji whenever he's down and Shikamaru can't take care of him, and he then turns to Sakura for comfort. She misses comforting him and helping him sort out his problems with Ino, and cooking food for him because that just is the best way to comfort Choji.
Back it up now
You've got a reason to live
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be on love
Feeling good now
Don't be afraid to get down
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Sakura wants her friends back, and she wants them back now. She wants to be away from her ex-boyfriend and be alone for at least a short while in that way – even if she wants a cute, romantic relationship – but she doesn't want to be all alone and have no friends. She's gotten rid of the jerk, and now she wants her life back on track.
The first thing she needs to do is get a job. She's currently staying at a hotel, until she can stay at a friend's place, and she needs money to pay the bill. The second thing she needs is to get in touch with all her old friends again, get them to forgive her for not contacting them in over a year. Hopefully that will go smoothly so she can stay with one of them. If she's very lucky, they'll give her temporary job if she can't get one as a surgeon right away.
She seems to be on her way to be friends with Konohamaru again. That shouldn't make it too difficult to befriend Moegi again. Naruto would easily forgive her, and then Sasuke would as well – assuming that he still does most of the things Naruto tells him to, because Sasuke just loves the naïve man so, so much.
The couple next to Sakura gives somebody the thumbs up. Sakura looks at the dance floor, and sees the gay couple consisting of a brunette and a red-head looking back at them. The brunette is giving them the thumbs up as well, though just with one hand, as the other is on the red-head's hip, and the red-head is poking his tongue out at the couple by the bar. He looks sort of cute when he does that, and Sakura suspects that his boyfriend thinks the same thing, because he kisses the red-head and hugs him.
Sakura is reminded that for some people love is a beautiful thing. She sighs. It just doesn't seem to be a beautiful thing for her.
He's always giving her attention
Looking hard to find the things she mentioned
He was dedicated, but most suckers hate it
That girl was fine, but she didn't appreciate him
Lee goes around the dancing crowd instead of through it. He quickly figured that it would take about the same time, if not more, as walking along the walls. He doesn't usually drink much alcohol, if any at all, because he has some trouble holding his liquor, but tonight, he wants to drink, so he heads for the bar. The only empty seat is one between a guy who's staring at his drink, and a girl with pink hair, who's staring at the dancing crowd. Lee sits down and gives the girl a brief smile when she looks at him.
"Hey Lee!" Konohamaru says behind the bar. "What brings you in here?"
"Celebration" Lee replies shortly, but despite the word, there's no smile on his lips, so Konohamaru frowns.
"Is everything alright?" the bartender asks.
"Yes, or at least it will be" Lee replies. "I would like a beer, please"
"Whoa, Lee, are you sure you're alright?" Konohamaru asks, now thoroughly concerned.
"Yes. Or, I will be alright soon" Lee smiles encouragingly, and Konohamaru fetches a beer from under the counter with a worried look, but he puts the beer down in front of Lee.
"Just be careful, alright?" Konohamaru says before he turns to the girl next to Lee. "Do you want anything else?"
"A martini, stirred not shaken this time" the girl says. Then she turns to Lee with a small smile. "Are you alright? Konohamaru seems worried"
"Oh, you know Konohamaru?" Lee says instead of answering.
"We're old friends. What about you? How do you know him?" she asks, and Lee is sort of happy she doesn't press on with her first question.
"He is a friend of mine. I met him through another friend" Lee explains. "You may know him as well, seeing as you know Konohamaru. Naruto Uzumaki"
"Oh" she says. "Yeah, I know him. Another old friend"
"I am Lee" Lee says, holding out the hand that isn't holding his beer.
"I'm Sakura" she takes his hand and shakes it, and then Konohamaru puts her drink down in front of her, and she thanks him for it.
"Ino has mentioned you before" Lee says. "Though, most of the friends do not really like talking about you these days"
Sakura looks hurt.
"Well, I guess I can't blame them" she says. "I haven't talked to any of them, or been in any sort of contact with any of them for over a year, and without any explanation"
"That explains it" Lee says and takes a gulp of his beer.
"So how did you meet them?" Sakura asks.
"I met Naruto at the gym" Lee replies. And he can't help but think that that was where he met his recently turned ex-girlfriend as well, and a grim look crosses his face.
Bitch. That's what she is. A bitch, and a stuck-up one at that. Lee did everything he could to make her happy for the nine months they were dating, he gave her more attention than he gave his friends, because she was a pretty girl, and Lee couldn't understand why she started dating him. He was not all that handsome, so why would a girl like her start dating a guy like him? Lee still doesn't know.
He was dedicated in their relationship, and didn't care that his friends warned him that she didn't appreciate him. He should have listened to them, because they were right.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asks, and Lee snaps back to the present.
"Yes. Just thinking about something" he replies with a smile.
"Apparently not something good" Sakura says.
"I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday" Lee says.
"Really?" Sakura's eyebrows are raised. "I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday"
"Any specific reason?" Lee asks.
"He was an idiot, and I didn't want to be with him anymore" Sakura replies. "I freed myself, and I'm glad I did it"
"Same here" Lee says as Sakura takes a sip of her martini. "My ex-girlfriend is a bit of a bitch, and I did not want a girlfriend who did not appreciate me more"
"Sad" Sakura says, and then raises her glass. "A toast. To freedom from terrible relationships and idiotic partners"
Lee smiles and raises his beer bottle.
"To freedom from terrible relationships and idiotic partners" he echoes and clings his bottle against her glass.
She calls him up
She's trippin' on the phone now
He had to get up
He ain't comin' home now
Lee's phone rings and he pulls it out of his pocket. As soon as he sees his ex-girlfriend's name on the screen, he huffs and presses the red button.
"Ex?" Sakura asks, and Lee nods as he stuffs the phone back in his pocket. "Mine's been trying to contact me all evening as well. Hung up every time he called"
"Well, it serves them right, right?" Lee says with a smile. Sakura smiles back and nods.
Lee wants to forget about his ex tonight, but he can't help but imagine the look on her face if she saw him now. Drinking beer and talking to a pretty girl. She may not have appreciated him, but he was good for showing off her perfect little life. And for months, Lee actually went along with it. Not anymore.
And he smiles when he thinks of how she would pull at her precious hair if she knew what he's doing tonight.
"What are you thinking about now?" Sakura asks.
"Nothing, just… nothing" Lee replies and takes another sip of his now half-finished beer.
"You know, I earlier imagined what my ex would look like if he saw me now" Sakura says.
"That is what I just thought about" Lee says.
"It's a funny image, isn't it? Them just breaking down because they don't know what we're doing, or because they do know what we're doing and don't like it" Sakura says.
"It is" Lee agrees, and both break into bright smiles. Lee's phone rings again, and he ignores it in favor of drinking his beer. He's not talking to her tonight, or ever again if he can have things his way. He'd much rather talk with Sakura again, and if he has things his way, he will. Sakura smiles at him when he ignores his phone.
He's trying to forget her
That's how we come with him
When he first met her
When they first got together
Lee takes a sip of his second beer. He's well aware of the fact that he's tipsy, but he doesn't care. He and Sakura are enjoying some comfortable silence, and his mind wanders back to the day he met his ex-girlfriend. She had looked so pretty, despite the jogging outfit and sweat. Lee hadn't been the one to start talking, it had been her. That time, she had seemed nice, and she had seemed nice for the first two months of their dating.
Lee shakes his head slightly and takes a much larger gulp of his beer. He knows Sakura is looking at him with raised eyebrows, but he doesn't elaborate. For once, he wants to be drunk, he realizes. He wants to be drunk, because if he's drunk, then he can forget about her, and that's what he's trying to do now.
"Oh Lee! Hey!" someone shouts, and Lee turns around to see Neji walking over to him, dragging a slightly blushing Gaara behind him.
"Hi guys" Lee says. "I did not see you when I came"
"Well, we were dancing, and I'm sure it can be hard to see people if they're on that dance floor" Neji says and gestures at the mass of people behind him. Then Neji sees the beer in Lee's hand and he frowns. "Is everything alright? You don't usually drink"
"Everything will be fine" Lee says. "I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday"
"You did?" Neji asks. "Why? And why didn't you tell me?"
"I just wanted to be free of her" Lee says. "You told me she was bad, and you ended up being right. And I did not tell you because I wanted a little time to get over it. I would have told you soon though"
"So what's with the drink?" Neji asks.
"I am on a mission to forget her" Lee says enthusiastically. "Oh, and this is Sakura" he points at Sakura. "She is on a mission much like my own"
"Hi, I'm Neji" Neji says with a small wave and a bright smile at the girl, and she smiles and waves back. "This is my boyfriend Gaara"
Gaara nods with a small smile at Sakura.
"Hi" Sakura says.
"She is actually the one all the others have been mentioning sometimes" Lee says.
"The one Ino misses like hell?" Neji asks, just to be sure. Lee nods.
"She misses me a lot?" Sakura asks.
"Terribly" Gaara says.
"She'll be happy to have you back" Neji says. "Assuming that you're going to see her again"
"I'm planning on it" Sakura says.
Everybody
Put up your hands
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Feel the beat now
If you've got nothing left
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Lee doesn't want to be in love again for a while. He's had some bad experience with love, and he wants to take a break from girls.
Or, that's what he was thinking when he went to this club tonight. But Sakura somehow changed his mind. He still doesn't want to feel the pain that love can bring, but now he's not so sure that he doesn't want to be in love again for a while.
He knows that love can be a beautiful and happy thing. He sees it when Neji moves Gaara to stand in front of him, so he can wrap his arms around the red-head lovingly, and Gaara leans back in the embrace.
And Lee sort of wants that kind of affectionate love. Not with a guy, and not right now, but sometime. And he wouldn't mind it if his partner was Sakura.
She seems like a sweet girl, and she has been through the same kind of thing as Lee, with a bad boyfriend who took her for granted.
Lee's not sure anymore if he wants to be in love or not.
Back it up now
You've got a reason to live
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be on love
Feeling good now
Don't be afraid to get down
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
No. Right now, Lee doesn't want to be in love at all. He wants his friends, he wants lovely new freedom, but he doesn't want to be in love. Not right now. He wants time to be single and be happy that he's free from under bitchy clutches. He wants to enjoy life.
He's more than a little tipsy now, and Sakura's laughing at things he does or says. Neji and Gaara are laughing as well, but their laughter is somehow different, and even Lee's alcohol clouded mind can tell that. Or maybe he just wants Sakura's laughter to be different, and his mind makes it seem different. He's not sure. But he's sure that he doesn't care whether it's juts in his head, or if it's real.
Neji and Gaara say goodbye and tells him to contact them sometime soon, and then they go back to the dance floor. When Sakura clumsily changes her position, Lee realizes that she's getting a little drunk as well, but he doesn't care. She's good company, even if they are both a little drunk. And he wants some good company right now, even if he didn't plan on getting any real company on his little night out.
"I haven't been this drunk in over a year" Sakura says.
"I can beat that" Lee says. "I have not been this drunk more than four times in the past five years"
"Wow" Sakura says. "You win"
"Whoo!" Lee raises his fist in the air in victory. "I am so glad that you surrender! I win!"
And the two laugh, because they are having fun and they are free.
To the beat, to the beat, to the beat
You got nothing to lose
Don't be afraid to get down
We break up, it's something that we do
Everyone has got to do it sometime
It's okay, let it go
Get out there and find someone
"Do you want to dance?" Lee asks. Sakura looks surprised, but nods, puts her drink down, and holds out her hand. Lee grabs it and pulls her with him to the dance floor. They don't bury themselves in the mass of people. They stand just inside the crowd.
"I warn you, I'm not that skilled a dancer when in sober" Sakura says. "So I'm even worse when I'm drunk"
"That is okay. I am a horrible dancer myself" Lee says with a bright smile and starts moving to the rhythm of the song playing.
Even though neither one dances very well, it's okay, because it's the same case with at least half the crowd.
Sakura thinks that maybe Lee can someday replace her ex-boyfriend. She wasn't looking for a new boyfriend, but she finds herself kind of liking the man. And Ino once, long ago, said that when you break up with someone who had a hold on you, you should go out and find someone new, someone better. And Sakura thinks that if she has to find someone knew, she has already found the one she wants.
She smiles and laughs when someone bumps into Lee. The unknown man quickly apologizes and turns back to his partner as soon as Lee says that it's okay.
Lee seems like he's okay.
It's too late to be trippin' on the phone here
Get off the wire, know everything is good here
Stop what you're doing
You don't wanna ruin
The chance that you got to find a new one
Lee's phone rings again, and he ignores it again. It's too late for his ex-girlfriend to do anything. She lost him, it's her own fault, and he's not going to crawl back to her or anything. She should stop calling him, because it won't work. Lee's having fun, without her, and he's enjoying it. He's enjoying Sakura's company.
When his phone rings again merely seconds after it stops, he fetches it out from his pocket, presses the red button, and then turns it off. She's not going to ruin his night.
"She's persistent" Sakura says, and she has to day it loudly so that he can hear her over the music and the people.
"She should stop" Lee says and twirls Sakura. Sakura laughs. She has a beautiful laugh, Lee notes.
His ex-girlfriend is not going to ruin his night out and his fun. And neither is she going to ruin his chance to find a new someone to love, even if he doesn't want to be in love right now.
Everybody
Put up your hands
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Feel the beat now
If you've got nothing left
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Back it up now
You've got a reason to live
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be on love
Feeling good now
Don't be afraid to get down
Say I don't wanna be in love
I don't wanna be in love
Sakura and Lee both went out tonight to forget their exes. They both went out to forget and have fun, not to fall in love again. In fact, they both decided that they didn't want to be in love again for a while. They were both going to take a break.
But now, neither is sure that's what they want anymore.
Lee's drunk and that has an effect on him. But he's not too drunk to not be able to tell that he wants to kiss Sakura, despite wanting a girl break. Sakura also said that she wanted a boy break, but Lee can't help himself. He leans in, and he notices that Sakura doesn't pull back, so he just continues.
When they kiss, they both realize that if they can be in love with each other, they won't mind being in love again.
No, no
Now you know what to do
So come on, get up, girl
Theh glorious end!