Title: when i gave you my umbrella on that rainy day
Prompt Used: 5. Umbrella (AU)
Medium: Fanfic
Rating: T
Warning: Swearing.
Comment: Two-shot. High School AU.
Er, not really sure about the quality of this story. Features loner!Sakura. Hopefully it came out alright...

-Part One-

Sakura had given up being pretty a long time ago.

She wasn't sure when, or where, or how. Perhaps it was after the group of kids (Ami, she thought the leading girl was called) teased her about her forehead. Or perhaps it was all those romance and non-romance novels she read in middle school, having decided to avoid as much society as possible. Every single time when the main character "got together" with the heroine, the girl would never be one to swoon and gush over the guy. So, perhaps subconsciously, Sakura tried to become a girl like that. Independent and witty and powerful and brave. But of course nothing like that happened. A loner was a loner, a dull, easily forgotten backdrop in the ever-changing dramas of high school life.

Most of the time she never dwelled on it. Her mind never stayed long on anything, whether it be schoolwork or classmates or her parents' concerned, thought-to-be-quiet discussions about her non-existent social life. Every day after the final bell rang, she would walk calmly away from the blurry nightmare known as Konoha High to the small piece of pasture behind the school fences. There, she would read another book or finish homework, but most of the time just stare up at the sky, feeling gentle winds and the sun's soothing warmth, listening to blissful silence.

Her life was but a dream.

~.*.~

There came a distant scream.

Multiple screams, actually. Accompanied still by the stampeding footsteps of many, not unlike those of elephants.

Sakura silently expressed his distaste by a grimace behind her book. It was those girls again.

She felt her own temper flare up as she remembered the last time those girls came near her. Sakura had been shoved aside roughly by the horde of mad fan-girls, ultimately landing on an ice cream cone that kid tried to sneak into the class. The stain hadn't come out for weeks, and the culprit didn't even apologize.

"Stop blocking the way, loser!" the girl had snarled.

However, for safety measures, she stood up and scooped back a little more, almost leaning against the classroom's backdoor. High School Survival 101: avoid the mad fan-girls.

She didn't flip open the book and chose instead to stare outside the window.

It was raining again; the unusually heavy summer thunderstorm had lasted all week. Sakura was glad that her umbrella was so resilient, standing up to a lifetime of torture in horrid rainstorms and tree-tearing winds.

But still . . . she wouldn't be able to visit The Meadow for the fourth day in a row. She had grown quite fond of the ugly little place from her last two years in high school, and it felt strange, somehow, to be away from it for so long . . . Hopefully it wasn't completely washed away during this weather. She wouldn't be very—

Slam! The door beside her opened, and Sakura, caught completely off-guard (no one ever used that entrance!), lost her balance. She felt herself falling like a ragdoll, and braced for impact on the cold, hard ground—

And that was when, out of nowhere, a pair of hands grasped her shoulders, steadying her on instinct.

Sakura's only thought was, I've read this somewhere, before she saw that her savior was none other than . . .

Sasuke. Fucking. Uchiha.

~.*.~

Of course.

Out of everyone, it just had to be that guy.

Sasuke. Fucking. Uchiha.

Neji Hyuuga had fan-girls. Naruto Uzumaki had fan-girls. Kiba Inuzuka had fan-girls. Shikamaru Nara had fan-girls. Shino Aburame had fan-girls. Chouji Akimichi had fan-girls.

Hell, last she heard, there was even a fan club for Rock Lee.

So why did it have to be Sasuke. Fucking. Uchiha?

No. Just no.

~.*.~

Sakura wasn't like those glorified heroines in the books she read.

She didn't have a tragic past. She wasn't the rough-diamond kind of beauty—after all, what was pink hair good for? She would like to think that she had a strong, independent personality, but how strong could it be if she couldn't even speak out against those bullies (read: Sasuke fan-girls) at her school?

She talked a lot when she wasn't in Konoha High, especially with her neighbor next door (Temari Sabaku, but she went to Suna High). Her mother, who was probably her best friend, joked at times that Sakura vented all her words when she came home from school.

But all the same, if there was one thing Sakura learned from all those books, it was that romance novels do not apply to real life.

And that was why instead of her looking up to beautiful dark eyes and blushing while all those moronic fan-girls burned with jealousy . . . she got to be the one that elbowed Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke. Fucking. Uchiha.

In her defense, it was more of a knee-jerk reaction than an actual want to hurt him. (Really.) But she had to admit, his reflexes weren't that bad. He actually caught her elbow before she got his ribs.

But she bet he didn't see the knee coming.

(Though that was more of a stubborn anger for him to have blocked her attack.)

There was a mass collection of gasps when Sasuke (Fucking. Uchiha.) got knocked down on the floor. Aunt Tsunade, who'd also taught her self-defense in middle school, told her once that there were a lot of nerves around the crotch area.

And this—this beautiful display of pained groans and pathetic writhing from the Almighty Uchiha—was science at work.

She was almost tempted to take out her phone and take a picture. But this was the time for more dramatic speeches.

So, with her head lifted high, shoulders squared, and making sure everyone's attention was on her, Sakura spoke the line she'd wanted to speak for some many goddamn times:

"That was for your fucking fan-girls, Uchiha."

~.*.~

She didn't feel triumph.

In fact, there was some sort of hollowness and the why-the-hell-didn't-I-just-keep-my-mouth-shut feeling that came to her heart.

And that was when she wondered what was wrong with herself. She had just taken revenge on one of the people that gave her the most trouble in the world! Shouldn't she be happy?

Shouldn't she?

And that thought was the only thing which distracted her from seeing the Uchiha's fist coming down for her face—

~.*.~

The door slid open.

The silence no one noticed was broken as Kakashi Hatake stepped into the classroom.

Unfortunately, their teacher did not miss the fist an inch away from Sakura's nose.

"Fighting before class?" he drawled behind his orange book. "Detention, Uchiha, Haruno."

Sakura barely noticed Kakashi's arrival—her eyes were a little busy with Uchiha's fist, thank you very much. And . . . unless it was just her imagining it . . . but was that red she saw in that boy's eyes?

(And she really wasn't afraid of Sasuke's glare at all. Of course not. It was only . . . a glare . . .)

It wasn't until her teacher said the word "detention" that she finally reacted.

"WHAT?"

Her record was Lysol-disinfected spotless. Kakashi couldn't just do that! She needed that perfect record to go to her dream college! Didn't that pervert of a teacher know just how high they set the standards of med school acceptance?

"Sasuke-kun didn't do anything!" several fan-girls screamed simultaneously. "It's that bitch over there—"

"Watch your language, please, Arigaki-san," Kakashi said calmly behind his podium—and behind his orange book of pornography. "Are you Uchiha or Haruno? No? Then I suggest you take your seat immediately if you don't want detention too. We're having a pop quiz."

While the girls screamed that yes, they would love detention with Sasuke-kun (and boys groaned in despair at the aspect of the quiz), Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

"Stop fucking messing around. That girl attacked me—" he pointed at Sakura, who turned red in embarrassment and anger "—and what I did was fucking protection from that pink-haired freak! Why should I get punished?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you who was about to punch Haruno in the face, hm? So no more comments, please." The teacher settled himself onto a chair. "Now class, take out your notebooks and write down everything you know about the Era of Shinobi. Five hundred words minimum. Examples of past Kages and important shinobi wars will earn you points, while any nonsense about modern video games will make you drop a full letter grade. Begin."

But the class did not begin; everyone's attention was on the ongoing argument between delinquent Uchiha and sensei Hatake.

Sasuke looked as like he was about to lunge forward. "She attacked me first!"

"I told you: it doesn't matter. You were about to fight in my classroom, Sasuke. You're lucky I'm not suspending you two."

Sakura felt faint. Suspension?

He couldn't—he wouldn't—

"You cannot treat me this way, Kakashi!"

"Yes I can. My decision is final. My word is law." He flipped over another page of his book. "Ten more minutes. You two better sit down and start writing unless you want to fail this class. The same goes for the rest of you people who are still gawking at the two, instead of finishing a test that will be worth half your term grade."

With one last terrifying glare, Sasuke walked past Sakura, shoulder bumping against hers roughly before sitting down on his seat. The rest of their classmates immediately looked down at their notebooks, save for a few girls who sent pitying looks to Sakura's direction.

And Sakura herself groaned silently in despair.

—

Additional Comments: I think the statement "My decision is final, my word is law" came from Sky High. So that didn't come from me either.
Sooo, erm. Any mistakes found?