A/N: This is for a story request from chinaji. It is a SasuSaku and NejiTen. Although chinaji requested for mainly SasuSaku and NejiTen as a side couple, I couldn't resist it, NejiTen is too dear to me, I had to make it half and half. This story is an AU...one of my first true AUs. I hope...you guys think it's at least ok since this is one of my first AUs...:D
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and am not making any profit from this fanfic.
Morning
by nejiandtentenfan
Chapter 1: Happiness
The pink haired student sighed, am I supposed to reject or accept this invitation?
Haruno Sakura, a pink-haired excellent student, had received an invitation from her so-called best friend (Yamanaka Ino) for her 16th birthday party. As much as Sakura wanted to go, there was one small problem that held her back…it was at the local bar.
Sakura bit her lower lip, I have to stop being such a goody goody like I'm known for at school and act cool, I HAVE to go to her party.
Yes, it was true, she was known for getting top grades in her school and being a virgin, like so many of her friends weren't – including Ino, who had claimed to have done it with Shikamaru AND Kiba. Sakura would never dream of doing something like that, not at this age, she just was too pure, she had never inhaled a breath of smoke directly from a cigarette and never tasted the pleasurable bitterness of alcohol. The pink-haired girl had to admit…she was actually jealous of Ino – the blonde was attractive and wanted by many guys, Ino was a "bad girl" and didn't care, Ino was born into a rich family so she could literally shop 'till she dropped.
Sakura sighed thinking of her own average stats compared to Ino's superior stats, even though she knew she shouldn't be jealous of her best friend.
Sakura was very different than Ino. Sakura was born into a family with not a lot of money, she wasn't dirt poor, but the income her family made was below average, explaining why she had to study so hard to get into a good university and get a good job. Also due to the lack of money her family provided, she didn't go shopping much – since they wore uniforms to school, she only bought a few plain shirts and pants for special occasions outside of school.
Sakura briefly glanced in the medium sized mirror in her bedroom attached to the wall facing her and she thought of how ugly she must've looked always walking next to a supermodel like Ino.
The feature that the Haruno girl most hated about herself was her huge forehead, thanks to her mom's side of the family. Why couldn't she have a normal forehead like Ino? Furthermore, why couldn't she just be like Ino altogether – attractive, popular, and rich?
She flopped back onto her bouncy white bed with deep red sheets before she heard the phone ring. At first she didn't react, thinking she would let her parents get it. After 4 more annoying rings, the girl bolted upright and felt like slapping her oversized forehead, duh, Mom and Dad both have to work today! This had slipped her mind because it wasn't too often that both her parents had to work for a full day (even though it didn't make a difference in how much they got paid.) Her parents had odd job schedules that always fluctuated so she didn't know for sure when her parents would be home or when they wouldn't be home.
She sprinted down the steps and made it into the kitchen just in time to pick the phone up before the caller hung up.
"Hello?" Sakura caught her breath.
"Did you just come back from a job?" came Ino's familiar voice.
A flush of pink crossed Sakura's cheeks, "Um…something like that…"
"Oh, are you trying to lost weight or something to look good for my party tonight?" Ino questioned, joking a bit.
Sakura laughed nervously, "Oh your party…lose weight…good one…"
Ino ignored her awkwardness and continued, "Which brings me to my point of calling…you haven't told me whether you're coming or not…"
Sakura bit her lower lip again, "I uh…"
Ino cut her off, "I don't even know why I'm asking. Of course my best friend will be there! It's my sweet sixteen after all! You only turn 16 once a lifetime you know!"
Another nervous laugh came from Sakura, "Of course…since we're best friends…I'll be there…"
Ino squealed loudly through the phone, "Oooh goody! It'll be so much fun! There'll be music, talking, contests and there's even gonna be some…"
Sakura cut the birthday girl off, "I-Ino…I have a question…"
There was a pause, "Yes? You know you can ask me anything."
Sakura hesitantly asked, "Are there going to be any non-alcoholic beverages?"
Another pause. Ino laughed, "Oh I forgot! My best friend has never had alcohol! Umm uh…of course! I heard they have some strawberry lemonade at the bar!"
Sakura smiled, relieved of a lot of worries, "That's good…"
"Mmhm. Well, see you there!" Ino's high-pitched voice came again.
Before Sakura got a chance to respond, Ino hung up.
Sakura put the phone back in the receiver and looked at the clock hanging on her kitchen wall. Her party would start in just 3 hours. That was the amount of time she had to prepare.
Sakura knew very well that it was a "semi-formal" party, which meant EVERYONE was going to be dressed in classy clothing and looking sharp. Ino's parties were always a big hit and everybody who was anybody went. If you didn't, you'd be mocked at in school for the rest of the year. Ino's parties were almost like a school prom, most guys and girls went in couples. But Sakura never went to Ino's party with a guy, she'd never had a single boyfriend, while Ino would have a different boyfriend to celebrate with every year. Last year it had been Shikamaru. This year she had said it was someone named Sasuke.
She had never heard of him. There were 7 class periods in a day of school and she didn't recall a guy named Sasuke in any of her classes. Ino described him like every other guy she had dated. 'He's absolutely amazing!' and 'His personality is such a turn-on!' Sakura suspected that by next year, Ino would grow tired of her new toy and find a better one. And eventually tire of that one and the cycle would just continue for several years until she finally found the one she wanted to marry for life. Or would Ino ever get married? Or would she just keep playing her little dating game all her life? Sakura didn't want to imagine.
Sakura walked up to the bathroom to grimace at her short ugly hair. She wished she had long luscious hair like Ino's. She couldn't do anything with her own. After much experimenting and fumbling with her hair, she decided to just leave it down.
Much to Sakura's horror, she had forgotten to ask her parents to buy her a dress for the party. Or had she forgotten? Had she purposely not asked her parents to buy that expensive dress? She always felt guilty asking her parents to buy something she didn't need for her because she knew the answer would always be 'yes.' Her parents were some of the most generous people on the face of the earth. They loved their precious daughter more than their lives and couldn't refuse her in fear of hurting her.
Sakura dug in her closet for something decent to wear to the party. She found a knee length jean skirt, a faded plain yellow tank top and a plain white blouse with elbow length sleeves that folded back to give her a crisp look. She fixed to collar of the blouse and unbuttoned a few of the top buttons of the blouse, revealing the top half of her yellow top underneath, but concealing the bottom half of her yellow top behind the white of her blouse that hugged her figure. She found those plain peach-colored flat shoes that she had worn to Ino's party last year. In fact, she had worn this same outfit last year too, it was the only thing "semi-formal" she had and she would wear it, as dorky as it made her look compared to the other girls in elegant gowns and dresses and even some beautiful expensive kimonos.
Sakura looked in her medium sized mirror again, looking at her outfit from all sides of her body. She sighed, she looked like she was going to a job interview. But nonetheless, she looked clean. She had to look at the positives, at least she wasn't going in sweats. If only she had enough money to buy a bit of jewelry. But that's when she remembered that necklace she only wore on special occasions.
She walked over to the small wooden box on her desk that contained one of her most prized possessions. She removed the lid of the box and took out the beautiful necklace her mother had given to her a few years ago. She apologized to Sakura for not having enough money to ever buy her some proper accessories and had bought a silver chain. She had attached her own plain silver engagement ring in the middle of the necklace. Sakura had kept it near and dear to her heart for all of her mother's thoughtfulness. Sakura carefully hooked it properly behind her neck and let it dangle in front of her. She examined herself once more in the mirror, even smiling a bit. Not bad…thought Sakura happily.
---
Of course, Sakura's brief moment of happiness of feeling just the slightest bit pretty was crushed once she reached the bar that was a 20-minute-walk away from her house. Ino greeted Sakura at the entrance of the bar with a squeal and a hug, "Sakura, you made it!"
Sakura could not help but gape at Ino's beautiful outfit this year. The Yamanaka had a different outfit every year, but this year's was absolutely gorgeous. Ino's hair was expertly tied beautifully into an elegant bun, a few strands purposefully coming out of the bun to give it a natural look (no doubt her hair was done by one of her private hair stylists). Ino's golden side bangs fell to one side of her forehead, giving her face a certain edge to it. Ino's make up looked expertly applied. She was wearing a mid-thigh length baby blue tube dress. Sakura recalled passing the dress shop on the way home from school one day, she remembered looking in the window where that particular dress was displayed. Her eyes widened at it's beauty and wished she possessed something like it, but it was 118,000 yen. She laughed at herself that day, heh, keep dreaming Sakura. Ino also wore expensive silver heels, and to top it all off, she was covered with elegant sliver jewelry, definitely beating her puny silver necklace.
At this point in time, Sakura didn't even remember how she could've ever been even the slightest bit happy with how she looked.
Ino noticed the pink haired girl staring at her and smiled in a gloating way, "You like my outfit? Daddy bought it for me. I told him not to spend too much money on me but he never listens! That man!"
Sakura laughed uncomfortably again. Ino's dad always drained his money on her and she always bragged about it. But she could never dream of blaming her parents for not having enough money. They worked extremely hard just to raise her and blaming them for anything would be betrayal.
Sakura impassively gave Ino her small, neatly wrapped present she had bought a few weeks ago, finally obtaining enough money. She had bought an elegant silver bracelet that cost her 30,000 yen.
Ino took it and squinted at the plain pink wrapping paper, "Your presents seem to be getting smaller and smaller each year…"
Sakura didn't know how to respond to this comment…was it true? She couldn't remember.
Seeing Sakura's uneasiness, Ino quickly said, "Relax! I was just kidding! I can't wait to open your present!"
Sakura smiled a bit before Ino spoke up again.
"Oh! There's someone I'd like you to meet!" Ino dragged her friend into the bar.
Just a few feet inside the bar entrance was a slender man in a tuxedo with onyx hair. His back was facing the girls.
Ino cleared her throat loudly, "Sasuke-kun! There's someone I must introduce you to!"
Sasuke turned around and Sakura's jaw almost dropped at how handsome Ino's boyfriend was. His face came together in a way that made you swoon when you looked at it. She couldn't describe how much she'd kill to have a boyfriend like him. She shook the thought out of her mind, no I shouldn't think like this. This is Ino's boyfriend!
Sasuke didn't really care much for Ino though. She had been on his case for quite some time now so he had said yes when she asked him to be her boyfriend in attempt to get her to shut up.
The handsome Uchiha raised an eyebrow when he got a glimpse of Sakura. There was something about her that made her different than other fan girls. Her face was sweet and loving, she was plainly dressed but she still looked nice in plain apparel. She had a very natural feel to her and it made Sasuke yearn to discover more about this girl.
"This is my best friend, Sakura!" Ino smiled widely.
Sasuke bowed politely and came up with a smirk, "It's an honor to meet you."
Sakura stumbled to find words to face this fine man, "Um…s-s-same to y-you."
Her voice was also sweet to his ears. Fragile and humble.
"SAKURA!" they heard a female voice call from the noisiness of the bar.
They all turned and Sakura smiled when she saw Tenten waving at her.
Sakura stuttered, "G-gomen. I should go now."
"See you later?" Sasuke asked with almost a hint of hopefulness.
A slight blush went through Sakura's cheeks, "Yeah."
Sakura ran off to the familiar chocolate colored buns on top of her friend's head. She smiled when she caught up to Tenten, the girl she considered her true best friend, no matter what Ino claimed. Tenten was dressed in a long sleek black dress with plain black flats. She wasn't wearing much jewelry, just a pair of small jade earrings. Tenten could always look beautiful without wearing anything fancy. Sakura found her sitting on a chair next to Neji, her long time boyfriend. They were holding hands. Sakura admired their relationship, they had been going out for many years now and they really did like each other. In this way, Tenten was very different than Ino with her short fake relationships.
Tenten motioned for Sakura to take the seat next to her.
The girl sat comfortably and briefly nodded to Neji, who nodded back to her instead of greeting. He was a quiet one, but nonethless handsome.
Sakura smiled at Tenten who was so similar to herself. Tenten was smart, pure, and kind. She had also never done anything naughty she might regret later in her lifespan. No, she couldn't risk anything of that sort. Everyone in school knew she had grown up with a rare type of cancer. It would not affect the health of others, but she had come ghostly pale out of the doctor's office when she was scheduled for her predicted death. She was predicted to die in exactly two months from today, but she had to stay in the hospital a month before that date for treatment that might not even affect the outcomes. Neji knew this very well and he promised to stay with her if it was possible once it was time to go to the hospital. He really was a kind man – quiet yes, but nonetheless kind.
Many said Tenten was not very attractive like Sakura, but the Haruno thought otherwise. She had seen Tenten with her hair down many times when sleeping over at her house. She never took out her buns other than to sleep, and in the morning, she would immediately tie them back up. Tenten had beautiful long thick auburn hair that came down in waves from being raveled into buns the whole day. Tenten's facial features were also not bad, and neither was her body due to the fact that she did many sports. At least she doesn't have an oversized forehead, thought Sakura.
The only smallest difference was that Tenten's family made average income, unlike Sakura with her below average income. Tenten's wardrobe was simple, but a bit classier than Sakura's.
There was loud music blasting all around them. Sakura looked around at the familiar couples from school she had recalled – flirting happily with one another. Sakura also noticed Shikamaru, Ino's unmistakable former boyfriend, with another blond she did not recognize from any of her classes.
The waitress, young and brash, came up to Sakura and asked her what she wanted to drink. Sakura looked at what Neji and Tenten were having. Both had small white cups of sake in front of them, both untouched. Is Tenten really planning to drink that? She's never had any alcohol before…thought Sakura. She must not have known they serve strawberry lemonade here, noted Sakura.
"One strawberry lemonade please," Sakura smiled sweetly.
The waitress gave her a funny look before scribbling something messy down on her notepad and left to give the bartender the order.
When she turned back to Neji and Tenten they were both staring at her funny.
But they both seemed to brush the thought away. Tenten asked trying to strike up conversation, "So Sakura, what did you get Ino for her birthday?"
Sakura smiled, "I got her a silver bracelet. And like every year, I was just barely able to afford it. It cost me all of the money that I saved up for half a year from work and allowance and birthday money." The girl sighed in annoyance, "And when I gave it to her…" Sakura paused for dramatic effect before raising her voice another half octave and imitating Ino's harsh joking tone, "Your presents seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year…"
Tenten smiled in a sympathetic way, "Don't let Ino get to you that easily. I know you're strong."
Sakura sighed and tried to say enthusiastically, "So what did you get her, Tenten?"
Tenten immediately frowned deeply, "Well, I DID get her a lavender kimono." She sighed and bent over to reach for a box under her chair. She showed Sakura the box, "but she told me to keep it!"
Sakura furrowed her brow, "Why?"
It was Tenten's turn to imitate Ino. She scrunched up her face, "Why did you buy me a present? You should've spent your money on something you wanted since you're going to die in a few months anyway."
It was now Sakura's turn to smile sympathetically, "I'm sure she meant it in a caring way."
Tenten fumed, "I don't need the Yamanaka's pity."
But almost instantly her sour mood vanished when she felt Neji's arm find its way around her waist while she was sitting.
Sakura noticed the pink that filled her cheeks.
She grinned, "I can turn around if you guys…need a few moments…"
This just made Tenten blush more. "No we uh…no," she stammered.
Tenten's attention seemed to be caught by something.
She leaned over to Sakura and whispered, "Someone's checking you out."
Sakura was shocked. Who, of all people, could be checking her out? She was ugly and badly dressed…in her opinion anyway.
She turned her head slowly to the direction Tenten was looking in. Her mouth dropped open a bit when she saw who it was.
---
"And so she mistook my order for…" Shikamaru suddenly stopped his rambling to actually look at the guy he was speaking to. Sasuke didn't seem to be completely there.
"Sasuke…" Shikamaru called his name.
Sasuke didn't hear or react to his name
"Sasuke?" Shikamaru looked in the direction Sasuke was smirking.
Shikamaru grinned, "Thinking of cheating on Ino, huh?"
Sasuke heard this and turned to look back at Shikamaru, "It wouldn't be cheating...me and her are hardly even going out. I never liked her anyway."
Shikamaru grinned, "So you're hitting on the Haruno girl instead?"
"There's something about her that I haven't found in any other girl…a sort of…modesty…" Sasuke smirked in her direction as he notice her blush when she looked at him.
---
"He WAS checking you out!" Tenten squealed excitedly.
Sakura blushed, "I…guess so…"
The fast beat of the music in the large bar suddenly slowed down to the tune of rather romantic music.
Tenten, finding this to be the perfect opportunity for Sasuke to dance with Sakura, knew she and Neji had to leave before Sasuke would approach Sakura.
Tenten grabbed Neji's hand and stood up quickly, dragging him to the cleared section of the bar, "Come on Neji, let's go dance."
In an instant, Sakura was sitting alone. She felt her face heat up when she felt the eyes of a certain male linger on her. Before long she heard…
"Sakura," a deep voice that made her melt inside spoke.
Sakura looked up from her seat and found Sasuke standing right in front of her seat. She blushed again and stammered, "Oh…Sasuke-kun…where's Ino-chan?"
Sasuke pretended he had never heard of that name, "Who?"
Before Sakura could repeat that name, Sasuke took her by her arm and she was standing up next to him. She blushed uncontrollably and looked into his eyes, whispering his name softly, "Sasuke-kun…"
---
Tenten grinned as she watched Sasuke and Sakura smiling at each other – Sasuke flirting, Sakura looking down with a smile and replying timidly. They were now in the slow dance position – Sasuke's hands on her waist, her hands around his neck. Neji and Tenten were also in the same dance position as Sasuke and Sakura.
"Sakura looks so happy with Sasuke," Tenten said happily as she looked back into her own dance partner's eyes.
Neji looked at his partner. She was so fragile and pure, and when she was happy, she was as sweet as a small child grinning widely as if something wonderful had just happened to her. But this beautiful girl's life was going to end soon. Neji's face fell as he thought of this, she didn't deserve to die.
He suddenly snapped back to reality as he felt Tenten resting her forehead on his chest. She smiled and said softly, "Just the way I'm always happy when I'm with you."
He furrowed his brow, there was a hint of sadness in her voice even though her words were words of happiness. He suddenly realized she was…crying.
"Tenten…" Neji said softly as he pulled her closer to him.
Her grip around his neck tightened as she spoke, trying to keep her voice steady as she looked at the floor.
She spoke slowly, biting back her tears, "Before I met you…I was always depressed, knowing I was just living a life waiting for death…" her voice shook a bit and she forced the corners of her mouth to turn up into a small smile, "But the day that I met you, I've been happy…there wasn't a single moment I was sad when I was with you…"
There was a pause before she looked up at him with sad eyes, "So…I don't think…" the girl bit her lip. She paused, trying to find the right words. Tenten restarted, this time her sentence was quick. She wanted to get through with it, "I don't think our relationship should continue."
She looked back down at the floor as soon as she said those words regretfully.
Neji stared at her, he didn't know what to think. It didn't make any sense at all. Did she just say something like 'You make me happy so we should break up now'?
"Tenten…" Neji said softly again. He paused before asking the big question on his mind, "Why?"
Tenten looked back at Neji's hurt eyes, "It's not that I don't like you…because I do…I really do…" her voice trailed off.
She wasn't answering his question. He couldn't find the words to explain what he was feeling or what he wanted to say to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but he lost all his thoughts when Tenten pressed her lips gently against his. And for a brief moments, they forgot all of their surroundings, it was just Neji and Tenten, Tenten and Neji. Their kiss became more passionate, their embrace tighter than before.
Tenten suddenly opened her eyes and pulled away from him. "I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't of…"
Before she finished her sentence, she completely pulled away from Neji's arms and ran through the crowd of people. She bumped into a few people, due to her carelessness, but within the next moment, she was out of his sight.
He didn't even try to chase after her. What was the point? She didn't want to be with him right now. Or so he thought anyway…
---
Sasuke and Sakura were still swaying slightly back and forth with each other in their arms.
"I've heard a a lot about you from Ino," Sasuke said putting on his irresistable smirk, looking straight into her eyes. Sakura wanted desperately to look down at the floor. His eyes had a mesmerizing effect on her, she felt like if she stared at them too long, she would melt away like a snowman under the sun. But she couldn't rip her eyes from his, they were so enticing, even if she could look away she didn't want to.
She blushed a bit. "Oh really…what did she say…" she whispered, leaning in closer to his face.
Sasuke got the catch and instantly reacted smoothly by drawing closer to her. He ran his fingers through her soft short hair a few times before leaning in and brushing the side of her cheek gently with his lips.
He breathed the words into her ear, "You're beautiful…"
The girl softly kissed the smooth dip under his chin. She knew he was now talking to her – there was no way Ino would tell her 'boyfriend' that her best friend was beautiful.
Sakura got a tingling sensation inside her stomach. She had never felt this way around anyone else in her life. No one had ever given her even the tiniest bit of pressure that was similar to this.
She shifted the position of her head and gazed into his dark eyes while he gazed into her emerald ones. They both leaned in closer, ready for the moment they were both expecting. They're lips nearly met before, out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a girl running out the door.
Sakura immediately pulled away from Sasuke.
A bit baffled, the man gave Sakura a funny expression.
"I think that was Tenten," Sakura said urgently.
Sasuke laid his hands on her shoulders and looked sharply, but not sternly, at her. "So you're just going to leave me at a moment like this?" he said with a smirk.
Sakura took his hands in her own, "Sorry…we can do this next time…I promise!" She quickly dropped his hands and got one last look at him before heading for the exit at a brisk pace.
The Uchiha looked at the girl, who was now running out desperately trying to find her friend, her hair swinging side to side. A few moments ago, he was close enough to smell the scent of it – green apple – but now, she was gone in the night. When she had promised to do this 'next time,' he wasn't sure when that would be. He expected he would have to keep a keen eye out for her in the hallways at school the next day.
Well, her leaving wasn't the end of the world. He was in a bar surrounded by friends he could hang out with. He would make sure he found her at school the next day, so he would see her soon anyways. But that wasn't what bothered him.
What bothered him was that they were so close. The moment was perfect. He wanted so badly to taste those lips of hers. To feel how soft that skin was. But he missed that opportunity by a fraction of a second. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him. The worst part of her leaving was…
"Sasuke-kun!" Ino's shrill voice rang in his ears before glomping him.
He was now alone with Ino.
---
Sakura knocked on the door of Tenten's house for the seventh time. Tenten's parents were out working at this hour so she was probably in her house alone. She didn't have any siblings.
"Tenten!" Sakura called loudly, "It's Sakura! Let me in!"
After a few seconds short of a minute, Tenten opened the door, eyes red and in her pajamas instead of her beautiful dress.
Her breathing was uneven, "Sorry…I thought it might've been Neji…"
She instantly regretted the words that came out of her mouth.
Sakura furrowed her brow, "So this is about Neji…did he hurt you?"
Tenten looked at the ground and motioned for Sakura to come in. The pink haired girl did so and took in the fresh scent of Tenten's comfortable home. She took in the familiar scenery around her – she was always over at Tenten's because she thought that her own house had nothing to offer for entertainment (unless you liked reading old newspapers).
They walked quickly upstairs into Tenten's bedroom. Once they reached it and went inside, Tenten closed the door quickly and sat on her bed, hugging a pillow. Sakura sat on the edge, waiting for Tenten to start explaining.
Tenten sighed, knowing explaining what had happened to her friend would be inevitable sooner or later. "I…I just broke up with Neji…"
Sakura nearly gasped, "Why?" She gave her friend a concerned look.
Tenten chewed on her bottom lip, desperately trying not to let her tears fall. But that did not succeed very well. A few tears leaked out of her eyes and she inhaled before she spoke, "I didn't want to…but…I had to…"
Still not fully understanding what Tenten meant by her words, she could only watch the girl cry softly to herself at what she had just forced out of her life. True happiness. Hyuuga Neji.
To Be Continued…