Yes, I'm back everyone! Lately I've been stuck in a huge rut. Every time I go to write my hands just kinda hover over the keys and nothing happens, but this one I couldn't stop. So hopefully I've pulled myself together and can finish all the projects I have going on!

I hope you enjoy this little number. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. It's been so long that I am a little rusty.


My chest heaves with every breath that I manage to suck in. The icy air burns my throat and hot tears stream down my face. Every muscle in my body is screaming at me to stop the fast pace my legs are set on. It's only a matter of time before they give out completely. But this isn't something new either.

For weeks I've been doing this form of therapy, but it's more like a painful reminder of the large mistake I've made. They were all right. Every single one of them. But of course, I didn't listen. I mean why should I have listened, after all it seemed pretty standard falling in love with the guy that you've been friends with since you were old enough to walk. To fall for the person who has literally been by your side through every hardship and success. It happens in all of the movies….

But life isn't a movie, especially when they person you fall in love with is Sasuke Uchiha. Top of the class all the way through high school and now in college. Captain of the soccer team, president of his fraternity, 4.0 GPA and without a doubt the most attractive man to ever walk the earth. He may be popular but around here he's known as the human ice-cube. Which is true to an extent considering the only two people he really talks to is Naruto and I. To say that the three of us are close in an understatement.

Sasuke and I knew each other first, we even shared most of our classes together all the way from primary school to now. Hell, we can just look at each other and know what the other is thinking. It's a gift really but at the same times it's a curse. Whenever I'm upset it's almost impossible to hide it from him. That's why I've been trying my best to avoid him. Back when we were younger nothing could tear us apart.

Except now.

Music blares in my ears as I continue to force my body to perform another lap around the track. The tears have somewhat stop but the same scene keeps replaying over and over in my head. A sick feeling washes over me but I focus on the ground ahead of me trying to keep it down. Damn my heart for being so weak when it comes to him….It all happened out of the blue too.

"What do you mean your seeing someone?" Naruto's voice is loud and obnoxious as usual. Rounding the corner of the library, my stomach drops as my eyes land on Sasuke's back. He's wearing his signature black hoodie and dark jeans, but it's his tone that I've never heard before.

"I'm not seeing someone, not yet anyways. Just stay out of this dobe." I cover my mouth quickly to keep the gasp from reaching their ears. My body hides behind the endcap of one of the rows as sobs threaten to escape my lungs as my body shakes slightly.

"What about Sakura?" The question hangs in the air for a short minute before a response is made.

"What about Sakura?" My heart practically shatters as I make my escape from the library. The tears won't stop as I run across campus blindly. I should've listened to them….

It's not even the fact that Sasuke has interest in another person that has me torn. It's the way he said those three words. Almost as if I really didn't matter to him anymore. After everything we've been through together, after all these years growing so close. It hurts to imagine that this could be the turning point. My heart feels as if this was going to be the end of our friendship, which honestly makes sense. What girl would want her significant other hanging around another girl all the time? Even if it's someone they've known most of their life.

Curving with the track, I see a head of blonde spiky hair sitting on the benches wrapped in a bright orange hoodie. It was a matter of time before Naruto came looking for me. For weeks I've made excuses on why I can't hang around when Sasuke is involved, most of them are pretty unbelievable but Naruto hasn't questioned it once. Slowing my pace to a slight jog, I slide onto the bench beside him and try to regulate my breathing. The muscles in my legs are relieved at the sudden rest but I know tomorrow they will be screaming again.

"How long have you been out here?"

Looking up to the sky, I see that the sun has started to make its way down. Time really has flown by as I physically torture myself. Shrugging my shoulders, my hand reaches for the water bottle that's been taunting me on every lap.

"A few hours. I've only been running for thirty minutes though."

"Sakura…"

My workaholic tendencies follow me into my workouts as well. Most nights I'm up until the early morning and manage to get the minimum sleep to function. The same is true when I'm on the field. Soccer has been something that the our small group has had to call ours. After long days at school we'd all know to meet on the field. Here nothing matter except us and the game. I'm glad that lately either of the boys hasn't been out here. But it doesn't surprise me that Naruto would come looking for me and that he knew exactly where to find me.

"I know that you were in the library that day. But it's not what you think Sakura." My eyes cut over to him, letting my brows narrow I can feel something inside of me start to boil. Resting my forearms on my knees, I let my head drop between my legs and take a deep breath in. Sweat drips down my face and my breath warms the small pocket I've created. A strange feeling of anger and annoyance builds in my gut.

"How is it not what I think Naruto? It's not rocket science." I almost whisper before standing back up. My instinct carries me over to my bag and I sling it over my shoulder. If I want to be able to make a clean getaway, I'll need to change out of my running shoes first.

"I may not be as smart as you or the teme when it comes to school, but I'm not an idiot either. You're in love with Sasuke, everyone knows that."

"That's not even the reason why I'm upset. As long as Sasuke is happy, then I'm happy. You should know that better than anyone." My voice is now raised from a whisper to almost yelling but there's a strong conviction in those words. The vein in my buck pulses quickly as well as my heart. It's been so long since I've been this worked up over something. Tearing off my shoes, I throw them in the bag and replace them with my slides. The cool air is welcomed as I tear off my socks. Naruto's eyes haven't left me once since I've sat down. He's studying me, looking to see what's really going on in my head.

"You've been avoiding him. And for no reason at all. We both know that he can be an ass some days. We both also know that conveying emotions and feelings is a tricky thing for him too. Just go talk to him already." There's a desperation in his voice that I've never heard before. As I made my way to stand again, I feel my legs shake for a moment. But it's not from the physical activities I just did. It's from the sadness and the emotional tear that's been formed.

Turning to look my best friend in the eyes, I scan his features for any inside information I may be missing. But I can't tell. Wiping a hand across my forehead I move the pink locks from my face. Naruto probably thinks I'm a mess right now, which is true to an extent. But this isn't my doing completely. I'm not going to go seeking for answers this time. Tightening my grip on the strap I feel a fire burning through my whole body again.

"If he wants to talk, then he needs to come find me."

Sasuke's POV

The apartment door slams shut causing my head to jerk towards the sound. Dropping the pen that's been embedded in my hand for hours I let my legs lazily carry me out into the living room where I find the blonde idiot slumped on the couch. An orange controller is resting on his lap and an arm is outreached to me.

"What's your problem?" Scratching the back of my head, I reach for the controller that he's offering me. Typical dobe, more worried about games than studying for midterms.

"It's not really my problem, more like yours." My brows furrow for just a moment. My problem? Last time I checked everything seemed to be going fine. The only thing really out of the ordinary is that the pink controller hasn't been moved from its spot in weeks. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Sakura in a while. But knowing her she's been busy with school work and training. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath in but all I can see is pink before they reopen.

"Hn. What are you talking about?" I jump over the back of the couch and rest my feet up on the coffee table. Might as well indulge a little since this is the only way to get the answer out of him.

"I'm talking about Sakura you teme."

"What about her? I figured she's just been busy with classes." Before I can even click on my icon, a wave of pain vibrates through my arm making me snap my head to the blonde. Fire burns in his blue eyes and a scowl has formed on his lips. My blood starts to boil and my facial features change to mirror his. He's trying to piss me off.

"You're an ass. Even if she was busy, we both know she'd be here. For someone so smart you sure are fucking stupid."

I toss the controller on the table causing a loud crash to echo in the room. What the fuck is he going on about? Why is he so angry that she's not here? If it's that big of a deal to him then he should just call her.

"She's been avoiding you for weeks and you haven't even noticed. When's the last time you two had chem together?"

My eyes lock into him as my brain tries to remember the last time I really saw her. Our chem class only meets once a week but I haven't seen her there. Typically she sits right in front of me so she can just turn and compare notes every now and then. It's a system we've had since high school, but now that I think about it that desk has been empty for a few classes. I figured she was sending her work in early so she could get ahead in another class. Naruto's words start to sink in even more now. Why is she avoiding me? My dark eyes must've conveyed my confusion for me as the blonde sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"She was in the library Sasuke. She heard most of the conversation." My stomach drops. But at the same time my blood boils. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to be at the medical building studying with her group.

"What part didn't she hear?" Our eyes lock onto each other and I know immediately. Tch annoying woman would have waited until the end to storm off. She doesn't have all the pieces to the puzzle. Running my hands through my hair roughly I rise from the couch and storm off into my room to change. Might as well get this over with.

"You're going over there?" Naruto tells from the front room as I pull on whatever clothes I grabbed in my rushed state. Shoving my pockets with the necessities, I pull the hood of my jacket over my unruly hair.

"Might as fucking well. She's just as stubborn as we are." If Sakura truly wants to avoid me, then she will. The only way to actually get through to her is to track her down and lock us in a room together. For someone so small and bubbly, she tends to have a mean streak. There are times when she's more hard headed than I am. Which is saying a lot. Looking down at my phone I realized that she's typically at home this time of day. Perfect.

"What's your plan exactly?" Naruto looks concerned as I round the hall to make my exit. My body stops for just a moment as my hand hover over the door knob.

"Don't really have one."

The cold air smacks me in the face as I start my short walk down the street. During our first year we originally wanted all three of us to share an apartment together but of course the Haruno's weren't entirely thrilled with that idea. So Sakura decided to move into an apartment with her loud friend Ino and Hinata, which happens to be the dobe's girlfriend. They couldn't find a big enough place in our complex but they did find one just a few buildings down which worked out fine.

Street lights illuminate the ground below me and cars pass me drowning out most of the world around me.

So Sakura thinks that I've been planning on seeing someone and now she's trying to stay away from me. She probably thinks she has it all figured out. But she doesn't. I thought she knew me better than that. I know for a fact that I know her better.

I'm not oblivious to her feelings. It's been evident since we went through high school and honestly at first I was angered by it. It made me think that our friendship was ultimately going to be torn apart because of it. But as we entered college and over the past three years I've realized that those feelings have grown in me too. Whenever I think about being with someone, Sakura Haruno is the only one to pop into my mind. Her pink hair and vivid green eyes haunt my dreams. Her bubbly and loving personality are somewhat infectious. Just everything about her is easy to love.

Mentally I smack myself. Right now isn't the time to ponder on this, right now I need to confront Sakura and get her to realize a few things. Like how childish avoiding me is.

Running up the stairs of her building, I use the spare key she gave to me to open the door. Hopefully Ino and Hinata aren't home because if they are this is going to be more complicated, especially if Ino is here. I used to think that Naruto was the loudest person around. Nope. Ino takes the cake on that one.

Gingerly I open the front door and see a dark headed figure bent over the kitchen table. Hinata turns and offers me a sadden smile. It seems I'm missing something.

"She's in her room. Ino just left so no one will bother you. I'm going to head over to your place to give you more privacy." Her voice is soft but something about her tone makes my stomach drop further. Nodding at her, I make my way down the hallway to her bedroom. The door is shut but I can hear soft music playing. She must be studying. Sakura always plays music when she's working on something important.

As my hand hovers over the knob, my heart beats so loudly that I'm surprised Hinata can't hear it. Swallowing roughly, I take in a deep breath. It's now or never Sasuke.

Opening the door, my heart completely drops from my chest and is most likely laying on the floor in pieces. Sakura has her head propped up on her hand and tear trails litter her face. Pink locks are thrown into a messy bun but some stick to her pale face. Her eyes are sunken in more than usual and I notice her soccer gear has been thrown onto the floor. What has she been doing to herself? Turning, I close the door and lock it quietly. She's not going to run this time.

The music comes her the headphones that have been turned all the way up. Normally that wouldn't bother me but for some reason it irks me. She always fusses at me for that very same thing.

"It will ruin your hearing Sasuke!"

The words echo through my thoughts as I make my way over to her. She's yet to notice an intruder in the room. Rolling my eyes, I hit the pause button on the phone screen that's been left unattended. Her hand reaches over absentmindedly for the device but instead she grabs ahold of mine. She immediately jumps in fear and rips the ear buds out and almost screams. Those normally glowing green eyes are dull and have a red tint to them. No doubt she's been crying for hours.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice croaks out as she rises from the chair. I notice the slight waver as her legs buckle. She must've gone on a run earlier.

"You're avoiding me." My tone is flat as I try not to give anything away. Her eyes roll as she tries to walk over to her bed. She knows better than to walk away from me. We don't argue often, but when we do this is how we solve the problem.

"Not very well obviously." Sakura hides herself by holding a pillow tightly to her chest. There's no sarcasm or any emotion really in her voice. It's like she's barely here. I'm towering over her as I stand at the foot of the bed. Our eyes have yet to look at each other since she realized I'm here. She knows that she can't hide anything from me.

"Why?" Naruto has explained a fraction of the equation. I need to know why she didn't just come confront me about the conversation in the library. It's not like I wouldn't have told her. The one thing we don't do is keep secrets from each other. Which we've been doing for years though in all reality.

"I overheard you and Naruto in the library a few weeks ago."

"So? Did you hear the entire conversation?"

"I heard enough."

A hand finds itself in my hair knocking my hood back. This woman is seriously frustrating.

"What's the last thing you heard Sakura?" Annoyance is laced with every word. This causes her eyes to snap at me and she sits straight up in her bed. Hands throw the pillow and they place themselves on her hips as she waddles to the end of the bed. It's clear that her rate attitude is about to make an appearance. Our faces are about a foot apart and I can see the exhaustion in her features. We can address that later after this issue.

"What about Sakura?" She tried to mock my deep voice and I can't help but chuckle. Even when she's irritated, angry and hurt she's still adorable.

But I remember saying that. Yes my tone was a little harsh but that's because I was angry with Naruto for springing this on me.

"What about Sakura?"

"Come on teme, we all know that she's head over heels for you." He practically growls at me. Sighing I can't help but feel sorry for his complete stupidity. Honestly he's supposed to know me better than this. Even more so since we've talked about it. But in his defense we were both under the influence.

"Who do you think I'm interested in genius?"

The response is enough the shut him up completely. Turning his head, my gaze follows as he watches something closely but I don't notice what he's staring at. Putting the book away, I sling my backpack over my shoulder and try to make an escape.

"Since when?" I turn my head over my shoulder and a smirk forms on my face.

"Four years ago."

"You're annoying." I can't help but laugh at her. In hindsight it isn't a smart option as I feel my body get pushed back. A fire is burning in her eyes and for a moment it scared that I've pushed her too far.

"Annoying! Are you kidding me?! If anyone is annoying it's you Sasuke Uchiha. Do you know how many girls around campus talk about you? On top of that they all come to me asking about you since I'm your best friend. Then I hear you talking to Naruto about possibly seeing someone. It's not even the fact that you want to see someone that bothers me, it's the fact that it felt like I didn't matter anymore. Because I know once you start dating, I won't see you much anymore except for classes."

Her face is red from the sudden explosion. This has been building for weeks and it's finally being released. Thankfully no tears have made an escape but they are forming in the corner of her wide eyes. Every word sinks into my brain as I take in the scene before me.

Normally Sakura is composed, confident and carefree. Her emotions are always present but they never get the better of her. But now I can see just how much she's been struggling with the thought of losing our friendship. Just by looking at her I can that's she been fighting this battle for so long. To keep her personal feeling hidden so I would never find out her dark secret. The bags under her eyes are proof that's she's been overthinking and undersleeping. She's lost weight too. Most likely because she's been out on the field and track go clear her head. A terrible trait she has when she's stressed. It's almost as if she's reverted back into the 13 year old girl she used to be. Scared, light hearted and sensitive. I can't tell you how many times I had to punch guys in the locker room for making fun of her. Luckily to this day she doesn't know that truth or I'd have to deal with her wrath.

Guilt builds in my chest. I always thought that if I hid my real feelings from her it would be for the better. She deserves so much better anyways. I'm an ass to everyone around me, which also includes her and Naruto. My emotions are buried down deep and I never let them out. Sure they can tell when I'm happy or angry but they don't see the internal dialogue I go through everyday. To tell her or not too. It's so cliche but I have to keep up the facade to protect our friendship.

But now I realize I should've said something so much sooner. I've done the one thing I never wanted to do in my life, I've hurt Sakura.

Dropping my head down to level out my heart rate and to make the sick feeling subside, I close my eyes tightly to hide in the darkness for just a moment. Because what I'm going to do next will either destroy us completely or move into unknown waters.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." I whisper out before I raise my head slowly. Her face has dropped but I don't give her time to respond.

"You weren't supposed to hear it because now my plan has been ruined." Nervously I swallow slowly and grab her chin so that our noses are almost touching. Even with her kneeling on the bed she's so much shorter than me, my back is bent so I can have our eyes leveled.

"Sasuke…." My name sounds shaky as it leaves her throat. If there were a different situation and scenario I'd make her say it that way over and over, but this isn't the time.

"We've known each other our whole lives and I've never showed interest in anyone. Except for one person. You should be smart enough to figure out who that person is, but since you stormed off without listening to the whole conversation I guess I'll just have to show you." I emphasized whole because she's missing a big chunk of the story. Using my grip on her chin, I pull her close to me and our lips press together softly. Her eyes widen just before they close and when I feel her body relax I let mine close as well.

Heat rises to cheeks as the brief kiss ends by me pulling away slightly. Our foreheads are resting against each other and I see tears threatening to fall once again.

"I didn't want to tell you yet, just because I know how you get around exam time. But I was planning on telling you during our winter break when we went home."

Moving my hand away from her face, I wrap my arms tightly around her and she buries her face in my chest. My chin props itself on the top of her head. Pink locks tickle my nose but I ignore the feeling. No doubt her heart is hammering like mine is right now. The only time it beats this fast is when she's around and when I'm out on the field. It's going to have to learn to calm down or I'll have a heart attack at the age of 25.

A damp feeling knocks me from my thoughts as she sniffles in the confines of my chest. It was only a matter of time before she started crying again. Hopefully this will be the last time I ever make her cry. Just knowing that I caused her this much pain makes me angry at myself.

"Sakura, why don't you get cleaned up and we'll go get something to eat. I have a feeling you've been working out more than anything else for a while."

That causes her to pop out from my chest and a look of guilt washes over her.

"Did Naruto tell you?"

"No. You just smell." I tease her to lighten to mood, thankfully it works as she smacks my shoulder. Sakura always showers as soon as she gets home after any type of workout. The only time she doesn't is when we all go swimming as a cool down.

"Are we okay?" Her hands are clenched together over her chest. Something she picked up from being around Hinata for so many years.

"We're perfect. Just a few things to settle but that can wait. But next time come ask me." Smirking, I pull her hands free and almost jerk her off the bed. Those green eyes stare up at me in question. A question that can only be answered by me. Nodding my head yes I release her hand so she can grab her shoes and phone.

It seems that from here on out, Sakura and I will be in unknown territory. But honestly how different can it be.