Was this a good idea? Probably not. But here she was, at two am, standing out in the rain because Ino told her Sasuke would be here.

He wasn't.


Sakura Haruno had not had a brilliant time at college thus far. She was training to be a doctor, which she loved, but all the other parts of being away from home made her want to curl up under her duvet and not move (which she had done on more than one occasion). So many of her friends had come to the Hidden Leaf University with her, yet with clashing schedules and classes at different times, she rarely got to see them. Rooming with Ino meant she got to see her everyday, and although they were best friends, their differing opinions caused them to fight more than Sakura would've liked.

There were several upsides to her college experience so far. One; she rarely saw Naruto any more, due to the fact that he was a history major and their classes happened to conveniently be at different times. And two; she was in the same math class as Sasuke. He was doing Business, which Sakura would never have guessed he would've gone into while they were in high school. He sat beside her in maths, telling her she was the only person he knew in the class. Not that she was complaining- although the crush she had harboured since they were children had calmed as of late, her feelings for him were as real as ever.

Sakura generally kept to herself, trying to stay out of the way of trouble. She went out with the rest of her friend group at weekends, which were generally spent being annoyed at other girls throwing themselves at Sasuke. The nightclub that wasn't too far from campus was always thriving with other students, so there was always a familiar face there when she and Ino arrived- always together. Ino claimed it would keep it them safe, and even though Sakura didn't mind too much about going alone, she went along with it to keep Ino happy.

Sakura was very particular about what she wore to these events. Sakura was into more formal events, so tight skirts and low cut tops weren't exactly her thing. She felt more comfortable in long dressed, with her hair pinned up and sparkles on her skin. Of course, these sort of things came around once a semester at most, so she had to make do with Ino's "more fun" form of partying. And going out with Ino involved all the connotations with nightclubs- tight clothes (that Sakura felt she was going to suffocate in), high heels and alcohol. At the very least, all her friends were there, so she could camouflage herself among them and try to hide.

This tactic worked pretty well for the first few weeks they went. Sakura and Ino walked down, met up with Hinata and sometimes Shikamaru and Choji and the group would accumulate as the night went on and they would dance and drink and Sakura would forget that she was uncomfortable. However, after a few weeks, Naruto started bringing Sasuke. As much as she liked him, Sakura didn't really want to see him in the context of a nightclub.

Ino had crushed on Sasuke for almost as long as Sakura could remember, but had renounced boys entirely in her senior year, claiming she needed to so she could focus on her studies. And now they were in college, Ino hadn't really made any moves towards any boy, which made Sakura worry. For as long as she had known her, Ino had always been boy-crazy, and all the girls in the town went to her for relationship advice. Sakura stopped listening to her advice to get a boyfriend after a while, deciding to stick with waiting for Sasuke to (inevitably, she thought) fall in love with her. It didn't really bother Sakura that she didn't have a boyfriend, and hadn't had one really, unless if you counted Lee who she 'dated' when they were three.

Of course, if (when!) Sasuke professed his love to her; she would accept his invitation to dinner without hesitation.


"Sakura, will you hurry it up? We don't have all year, and it's raining, so I'd like to not have to wait! Shikamaru's waiting outside and all!" Ino yelled through the bathroom door.

"Oh shut it, will you?! I'm nearly done, don't get your panties in a knot," Sakura called back, brushing a final layer of mascara onto her eyelashes and straightening her skirt. She opened the door to an exasperated sigh from Ino. "Do I look okay?"

"You look great, as always! Now come on!" Ino grabbed her by the wrist, and hastily locking their dorm, the two girls made their way downstairs and outside. As Ino had said, Shikamaru's car was already there, and he and Choji were taking up the front seats. Ino opened the door to the back seats, and she and Sakura scrambled inside.

"Nice of you to finally put in an appearance, Ino, Sakura," Shikamaru regarded, gaining an eye roll from Ino.

"Oh shut up. You know it takes time to look this good," Ino laughed, flicking her hair, which was down for once. "And don't blame me. It was Sakura. She has someone to impress!" All other three pairs of eyes fell on Sakura, causing her to flush.

"I don't really care who it is, just be quicker next time, okay?" Shikamaru turned back to the wheel and started up the car. Sakura nodded in response to his question, turning to face the window.

The club wasn't too far away, and thanks to Shikamaru driving, they didn't have to worry about walking back to the dorms when they were all tired. This was a weekly ritual, apart from if they had too much work. The four of them usually arrived together and met up with the rest of their friends there. And today, of course, was no different. As soon as the four entered the club, the party truly got started.

Of course, the place wasn't just hiving with college students. There were people that Sakura quickly realised were underage high school students who had somehow managed to get in with their fake ID's. Sakura also knew the club was filled with people who weren't in any form of education- not that she was complaining. She knew that Ino refused to date people who were younger than her, so this place was pretty much perfect for her to find a date. However, as much as she suggested hooking up here to her friend, Ino just shrugged her off, claiming disinterest as she always did.

"Ino! Sakura!" A high-pitched voice called, pulling Sakura out of her stupor. She quickly placed it to Hinata, who was running towards them.

"Hinata!" Ino replied, pushing in front of Sakura to do her usual over the top greeting. "You look great! Very… out of the blue, no?"

"Well…" Hinata mumbled, pulling at the hem of her purple sequined skirt.

"Got someone to impress, huh?" Sakura interjected, elbowing Ino over to the side. "You look great though, so whoever it is, they'll definitely notice you!" She added with a wink.

"Ah, thanks you guys. I hope you're right. I'm not gonna try to hard though… I mean, I don't want to be annoying!"

"No way!" Ino yelled, draping an arm over the timid girl's shoulder. "You need to put yourself out there. No more quiet, shy Hinata!"

"Leave her be, Ino! She can decide for herself what she wants to… do..." Sakura's concentration wandered as she spotted a familiar figure enter the room.

"Brilliant. Looks like it's just us now, Hinata. Sakura's off to goo-goo land," Ino said with a roll of her eyes,

"Sakura, do you want to dance?" Hinata asked, pulling gently on Sakura's sleeve to get her attention again.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Give me a minute and I'll join you." She wandered away absent mindedly, earning yet another eye roll from Ino.

Sakura watched as Sasuke made his way to the opposite end of the club, leaning against the bar beside Shikamaru. As usual, Shikamaru wasn't drinking, but that didn't stop most other people from doing so. Sasuke wasn't one to hang around with this crowd most of the time, but Sakura knew he didn't have many other friends. Naruto landed on his arm, dragging him round to sit with him and Kiba. Sakura decided this was her chance and, hitching her skirt up slightly, made her way over to the bar. She positioned herself carefully between Shikamaru and Kiba; where she was within Sasuke's view, but not too close to look desperate (although she was desperate, who was she trying to kid.)

"One diet coke, please," she asked, smiling slightly and leaning forward onto the bar. Alcohol wasn't off the table in her books, but she was slightly more sophisticated than to start drinking at eight and be completely inebriated by ten. No, she would carefully plan out her alcohol intake, unlike Ino usually did.

"You look really cute tonight, Sakura!" Tenten called, from the opposite end of the bar. Sakura hadn't even noticed her before, but as usual, she was carefully positioned between on one side of Lee, stopping him from drinking along with Neji. This was a weekly occurrence after the time that Lee nearly destroyed the bar after consuming one shot of vodka. Thanks to her comment, all the eyes of the males in the vicinity fell onto her, and Sakura noticed Tenten wink out of the corner of her eye. Despite being a year older, Tenten was always there for the other girls from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Unfortunately for her, she then received a whistle from Naruto, which she rebutted with a glare. She could be showered with compliments from anyone and be happy enough, but she was always wary with anything that came from Naruto's mouth. He was a pain, and anytime alcohol entered his system, he became a million times more annoying. So instead of just taking her drink and attempting to find Ino and Hinata, she marched over to him, balling her hand into a fist and punching him in the stomach. He doubled over, still smiling, and she walked away, swishing her hair in annoyance.

Ino and Hinata had given up waiting for her and had found seats near Neji. Sakura sat herself down beside them, leaning on the bar once again. Shikamaru passed her drink to her, and she sipped on it glumly, staring into the bubbles that rose to the top and then dissipated.

"Cheer up, Sakura. Punching Naruto totally made Sasuke notice you!" Ino offered.

"I want to go home."

"We've been here like, twenty minutes. You can't leave now!"

"I can, and I will. I'm not really sure I was feeling it tonight anyway. I'll just walk back."

"Not on your own you won't."

"Ino, I'll be fine, trust me."

"If you're sure… call me when you get back, okay?" Ino gave her friend's hand a squeeze before Sakura drained her drink and hopped off her stool.

"Bye," Sakura said miserably, making her way through the crowd and out of the club.

"Hey, Ino!" Naruto yelled. "What was that all about? Where did Sakura go?"

"Home, you idiot! And you're a boy, so you would never understand!"


Sakura fell onto her bed the moment she reached her dorm, covering her face with her sleeve. Why was she crying? Nothing bad had happened- but nothing good had happened either. Her punching Naruto was no new thing, and he knew that she was still his number one friend, but today seemed different. She did it to prove a point to him, to herself more than anyone else. Anyone else who whistled at her would just have received a glare, so why did she punch Naruto?

She and Naruto had been friends (enemies? frenemies?) as long as she could remember, and the two of them, along with Sasuke, had made a fearsome team of friends back in high school. She had liked Sasuke since forever, but was more than content to just be his friend if that's what he wanted. However, Sakura could never put her finger on what Sasuke did want. He was always top of the class, and played sports, and played the piano, and of course, was good looking. Yet he always had this vacant expression on his face, and that hadn't changed when they went into college.

Sakura rolled onto her side, staring out of the window. The sun had long since set, and had been replaced with a navy sky and a blanket of stars. Her eyes fell on the mountain of work she had set at the end of her bed, and her heart sank even further. Checking her phone and seeing three missed calls from Ino and one from Hinata, she sent Ino a text telling her she was fine before tossing her phone carelessly to the floor. She leaned across to the end of the bed and lifted the top of her carefully organized pile. Unlike Ino (and to be fair, most of her friends), Sakura always was on top of her work, and had sorted this ever-growing pile into order of needing done. A lot of it wasn't even work, just notes that she had taken and needed to do the work. Sakura lifted a pen, turned her bedside lamp on, and started on her essay.


"Why the hell are you working?" Ino said, slurring her words ever so slightly. "It's a weekend, and it's really late!"

"Because I had nothing better to do, duh," Sakura said, turning the corner of her textbook page down and setting her pen down. "How was it?"

"The usual. You didn't really miss much. Oh, but Sasuke's outside. Says he's waiting for someone."

"Outside outside?"

"Yes, as in outside the building. God, Sakura for someone so smart you can be pretty stupid."

"I'm going to see him."

"What? Why?"

"No time to answer," Sakura said, hurriedly putting her shoes on (she didn't even remember taking them off). She took off for the door, grabbing her key off the table by the door.


Stairs were Sakura's worst enemy at any time of the day, and wearing heels at two am and attempting to run down them wasn't really her idea of an ideal situation. How did she even know Sasuke would still be there? Was he even there at all, or was Ino lying again? It wouldn't have been the first time- no; she had to keep a positive mind. And what would happen if Sasuke was already talking to someone and she was just interrupting? What did she do then? She made it into the lobby, only tripping twice on the way down the stairs. She ran in front of the automatic doors, waiting for them to open before running outside.

Much to her surprise, it was still raining, and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Surprise, surprise. Just her luck. Of course this would happen to her, today of all days. Deciding against what every bone in her body was telling her not to do, she waited, leaning against the concrete wall. Was this a good idea? Probably not. But here she was, at two am, standing out in the rain because Ino told her Sasuke would be here.

He wasn't.

Sakura looked around once more, staring down the path, there was someone standing at one of them, conversing with another figure that she couldn't really make out. From the way the person she could see, she assumed it was in fact Sasuke, and made her way down the path towards him.

"Sasuke!" She called, and the person turned quickly to face her.

"I have to go," he muttered, and the person in the shadows left quickly. Sasuke met her in the middle of the path, pausing a few feet from her.

"Who was that?" She asked, tying her fingers in knots behind her back.

"No one."

"It was hardly no one," Sakura prompted.

"Fine, I don't want to talk about it, then."

"Are… are you okay?"

"Fine. Unlike Naruto," he added, with the hint of a smirk across his lips.

"Wait, is he actually injured?" Sakura asked. She was calm and worried on the outside, but internally screaming. So Ino was right, and she had got Sasuke's attention! That wasn't the ideal way to do it, but at least it had worked.

"He'll be fine. He'll be complaining for days though, so if you see him you might want to apologise." Sasuke sidestepped to walk around Sakura, who moved the opposite way in order to give him space. She turned on her toes and fell into step with him as they walked towards the building.

"I kinda feel bad for hurting him, though," Sakura said in an attempt to keep their conversation going. "He's gonna hold this against me for years…"

"Like I said, he'll be fine. He's just acting like a baby," Sasuke deadpanned, looking down at her.

"I hope you're right," Sakura laughed, wringing her hands nervously. She had finally managed to learn how to not act like a total idiot in front of Sasuke, but merely being in his presence made her scared. He always emitted this aura of intimidation, and most people didn't want to be associated with him, which is why, even after declaring multiple times that he hated them, he still hung around with the rest of the people from Konoha. They reached the top of the steps together, and as the automatic doors opened, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder.

"Everything okay?" Sakura spoke up, voice high and shaky.

"Fine." They walked into the building, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. "Your dorm is that way, right?" Sasuke asked inclining his head to the left set of stairs.

"Right. Yours is the other, mhm?"

"Yes."

"I'll see you again then, Sasuke," Sakura said, taking a step towards the stairs.

"Goodnight."

Sakura had made her way halfway up the stairs before another thought struck her.

'Hey, Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Do you… uh, want to get a coffee tomorrow?" She couldn't stop her voice from shaking, and her eyes trained carefully on his face to gage his reaction. He looked confused for a moment, before his mouth contorted into a smile.

"Some other time."

"O-okay!" She scurried up the rest of the stairs, resting against the wall at the top, out of Sasuke's sight.

Well, at least it wasn't no.


AN: This is my first Naruto fanfic and im screaming a wee bit because idk if this is okay. this is probably like every other sasusaku college au ever written but since i've only read nejiten fanfics i dont really know? anyway i hope you enjoy and please leave a review! -pachi