Hello, everybody! This is the second oneshot I've ever written, but my first story published on this site. I finally made the decision to come to fanfiction instead of publishing on the other site I was using. I hope you enjoy this story and constructive criticism is much appreciated. Some characters might be OOC and this story is AU.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and OC.

~Akane Sora~

Ugh. Not again! The boys from my high school were having another fight with our rival high school, Akatsuki High. This was happening way too often. It was almost every day after school now. Akatsuki High's "it" gang would somehow be at the exact same location at the exact same time as the popular boys from Konoha High. Then, there would be yelling back and forth and sometimes an exchange of punches. Well, I'm sick of it! I think it's time that someone stood up and ended this fighting! I mean I understand that we're probably the biggest known rivalry among high schools, but I mean COME ON! That by no means meant that we had to get into fights outside of school.

"Why are you stalking us?" Kiba yelled loudly.

"Ooh, Mr. Leather Jackets has the nerve to yell at us now?" Kisame said teasingly.

Deidara tsked in annoyance at Kiba. "You guys are the ones on our territory, un!" the blonde said.

"Oi! Since when was this your territory?" Naruto said as loud as ever. "Last time I checked anyone could go anywhere they wanted in the city!"

"You people from Konoha always think you're better than us! Well, newsflash, un! You're not! It's a well-known fact that Sasuke over there is related to Itachi!" Deidara ranted. Naruto was about to yell back when his raven-haired friend put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from talking. Awesome! Looks like I wasn't going to have to intervene after all. Sasuke would just stop the fight here.

"Just because I'm related to Itachi doesn't mean that we're the same in any way! And it DOES NOT mean that he's better than me just because he's older!" Well, forget that thought.

"You're so foolish sometimes, little brother."

"Oh yeah, Itachi? How about we settle this right here and now? Just you and me. I'll send you running back to Akatsuki High!"

"Bring it on," Itachi smirked. Both he and Sasuke ran at each other with fists clenched, ready to punch each other at the second they came into range of one another. Now would probably be a good time to intervene. I quickly ran to the space in between them and held out a hand in both directions, stopping their fists before they reached each other.

"Akane!" Sasuke asked incredulously. "Just whose side are you on anyway?" I sighed inwardly. I normally was a pretty passive person. I never said much about my opinion on anything. I was a fun person to be around if you knew me well, but on the surface I seemed distant. Sasuke hadn't talked to me ever since his brother left Konoha High. I had tried to comfort him, but he'd refused to let anybody near him. Luckily, Naruto knocked some sense into him and Sasuke had started trying to get his grades up again and rejoined the football team. We were juniors this year and he was the star quarterback of the football team. Naruto, however, got the position of team captain. The friendship between me and Sasuke had started growing back slowly since then, but we still had a ways to go. I don't know if stopping him in a fight with his brother was going to help at all though.

"At this moment I'm not on anyone's side, Sasuke! I'm sick and tired of all this fighting. Grow up! If you're really better than your brother then be the bigger person and walk away from the fight instead of starting it!" I told Sasuke sternly. "And you!" I continued looking at the older Uchiha. "Some role model you are! Picking a fight with your younger brother. That's low." I was glaring at him with one of the iciest glares I'd ever used. I looked at the both groups of boys. "You all should be at practice getting ready for the big game on Friday! Why not just save your energy to hurt each other till then?"

"Ha! A goody-two-shoe from Konoha is telling us to leave? You've got some nerve to stand up to us like that, girl. We could beat you up right here and now," Kakuzu told me. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Punch. Him.

"No, Kakuzu. She's right. Let's go," Itachi said standing up and looking straight into my eyes. Everyone, including me, looked at the young man like he'd grown another head. "We'll see who's talking after Friday's game. Be prepared for an embarrassing defeat."

Sasuke was about to yell something out, but I slapped a hand over his mouth. He glared at me and I looked at him apologetically. "I went through the trouble of stopping the fight. I don't want you starting another one," I said gently. His glare faltered, as if he were trying to decide whether to be mad at me or let it go. He softly gripped my wrist and pulled it away from his mouth.

"Akane Sora," Sasuke said looking at me, "You are one interesting person."

I smiled and looked after the Akatsuki High team walking away. "We'll see them Friday anyway. Now go get to practice before you're late," I said shooing him away.

He sighed exasperatedly and said to the rest of the team, "Alright, let's go." I looked after the boys as they walked away.

"Akane!" I heard the voice of my best friend call. I turned around to greet Temari with a smile. She was followed by Tenten and Hinata. They'd all been standing next to me until I'd run into the middle of the fight.

"You've got some nerve, girl," the sandy-haired senior said mocking Kakuzu. We all laughed.

"Seriously, though! What got into you?" Tenten asked with her eyes shining bright with admiration.

I shrugged. "I really don't know. I guess I'm tired of having to watch the same thing every day."

"G-good job, Akane," Hinata said shyly.

"Hinata!" I said giving her a big hug. "You don't have to be shy around us anymore! We're your friends!" We all laughed again.

"Okay, girls! I need to drop you all off at home before it gets too dark," Temari said looking at her phone for the time.

After we'd dropped Tenten and Hinata off, Temari pulled up on my driveway. The whole car ride, I'd been quietly thinking back on the scene of the fight today. "Is something bothering you, Akane?" the girl asked concerned.

I debated on whether or not I should tell her what was actually bugging me. "This conversation stays in the car, okay?"

"You have my word, Akane. Now what's up?"

"What do you think about, Itachi Uchiha?" Temari looked at me weirdly. I babbled on. "I mean I know he's from the school who practically our enemy when it comes to sports and everything, but I mean he didn't try to prolong the fight today and I know he's Sasuke's brother who Sasuke really doesn't like, but I don't know something about him stood out to me, and, and,"

"Akane! Take a breath!" Temari exclaimed. I realized I'd just been talking in one long run-on sentence. I took a deep breath as my friend contemplated what I'd just expressed to her. "You like him." I looked down, not denying it, but not agreeing with it either. "I know you like him when you were a freshman, Akane. I could see the way you looked at him when we passed him in the halls or when you spotted him at lunch."

"I thought I was over him though," I said frustrated as I remembered how he'd left in the middle of that year. He'd been a sophomore and I a freshman. I never thought I'd had a chance, and I don't think that has changed at all.

"I guess not, Akane. If you keep denying that you like him though, you're going to regret not even trying to go after him. I know you."

"He's from Akatsuki High."

"Well, sure no one's going to be too happy about it, but if they're your actual friends then they'll want you to be happy."

"He's a senior."

"Are you trying to convince yourself out of this or into this? Because right now it's sounding like you're trying to convince yourself not to like him. As your friend, I'm telling you to go for it. Sure I'm not happy that he's from Akatsuki High, and it's kind of weird that he's our friend's older brother, but if he makes you happy then I'm happy," Temari said smiling at me. "Plus, there's no denying that he is smoking hot."

I blushed at the last comment. "Thanks, Temari. If I get a chance to talk to him soon, then I'll see what I can do."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck!" I smiled and walked out of the car with only one thought on my mind.

Those eyes were the most gorgeous red that I'd ever seen.

~Itachi Uchiha~

As I walked home, I thought about all the things I'd heard at practice today. Itachi's getting soft! Itachi has a thing for a girl at Konoha! Ugh. I'd had enough. Sure, the girl sparked my interest, but that didn't mean I was attracted to her did it? She was just so different from most of the Konoha girls I knew. So many of them were superficial and would be too scared to step into the middle of a fight for fear of breaking a nail. I remembered her auburn hair, and deep, dark green eyes. What had Sasuke said her name was again? Akime? No, that's not it. Oh yeah! Akane!

Wait, no way. Akane? Akane Sora? The freshman girl from those years ago that had a thing for me? Good Lord, she'd changed! She was so shy towards me back then and always flustered when I'd come home and she was hanging out with Sasuke and his friends. And there she was today, yelling at me for picking a fight with Sasuke. The old Akane would have never stood up to ANYONE like that. She's seemed almost cold towards me today. I have to admit I'm pretty impressed that a girl would stand up to me like that. Like my brother, I'm the heartthrob in school, so girls never gave me problems.

Then I remembered the soft way she'd looked at Sasuke after she covered his mouth with her hand. A feeling rushed through me as I recalled her gentle voice when she spoke to him and her sweet smile. No. I'm not getting jealous am I? Jealous for a younger girl? No way. But an annoying voice in my head kept talking

She's not that much younger than you. And come on. There's no denying that she's definitely gotten a lot prettier.

That was true. She was prettier than she had been as a freshman. But I guess that's to be expected. I walked into my house and I don't know what led me to do it, but I walked into Sasuke's room and started looking at his pictures. They were all of his friends and him laughing and having a good time, but one in particular made me stop and stare.

It was from Konoha High's homecoming of this year. They're homecoming had just been last week. I wonder how Sasuke had gotten the picture so fast. In the frame was a photo of him and Akane, her arm in his. But what really caught my eye was the girl. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was partially in a bun with the other pieces loose and framing her face perfectly. Her bangs lay across her forehead neatly. Although her eyes looked almost gray in the picture, they were still big and bright and I could detect a little of their normal green color. Again, I felt that pang of jealousy as I saw my brother next to her, looking sharp in his suit. Suddenly, I heard the front door open and I quickly exited the room, forcing myself to look away from the picture because I didn't want Sasuke to catch me.

"Itachi!" I heard my mom call.

"Yes, Mother?" I said as I walked into the kitchen.

"Can you deliver these sweets to an old friend of mine? I heard her son isn't doing too well, so I thought I'd give her and her family a present, but I'm very busy right now so could you do me the favor?

"What's the address?" I asked. My mom gave me a paper with the address and thanked me as I walked out to my car. I still couldn't get that picture out of my mind though and the whole trip I was distracted. Maybe I am attracted to her, but after the cold way she treated me today I couldn't help but think that this might be the first girl out of my reach.

I wonder if it hurt when she fell from heaven.

~Akane Sora~

I was just surfing the internet when I heard the doorbell ring. I took my time walking to the door seeing as I was in a lazy mood. I didn't check to see who it was, but when I opened the door and saw who was standing there, I wish I had. "What are you doing here?"

There stood none other than the boy I'd been thinking about all day. Itachi Uchiha stood on my doorstep still dressed in his school uniform which consisted of a white dress shirt and black pants. His red tie matched his eyes and hung loosely around his neck. Finally, he looked up and seemed shocked for a second before he regained his composure. "Um, hello. I have something for Takara Sora?"

"Oh that's my mom. She's not here right now, but I can put it on the counter for her if you want."

"Sure, that would be great." We both stood there in an awkward silence for a couple seconds until I gathered up my courage to say what I said next.

"D-do you want to come inside for a bit?" Dang it! I stammered. I frowned inwardly hoping that I hadn't sounded too desperate or anything.

"Sure," Itachi said as he followed me inside.

"Make yourself comfortable," I said gesturing to the couch. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Just water."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Itachi nodded telling me that he'd heard me. I went to go get the water. Itachi Uchiha was in my HOUSE. I had no idea what to say! I quickly pulled out my phone and started texting Temari.

Temari! Itachi is AT MY HOUSE! What do I do? It only took her a couple seconds to reply.

What why is he there? Just use small talk and try to let him lead the convo if ur not sure what to say

Well that helped. Ugh I'll tell you how it went later.

Ight cya

I quickly walked back to where Itachi was, gave him the water, and took a seat next to him. He thanked me and took a sip before asking, "Are you Akane Sora?" I just nodded in reply. "Were you a freshman at the time I left Konoha?" Oh gosh, I hope he doesn't remember how I had a big crush on him. A faint blush started to travel up my cheeks as again I nodded. I saw him smirk. "Interesting. You've changed," he said looking at me.

Before I knew what I was saying, I blurted out, "Is that a good thing?"

Again he smirked as my blush became more prominent. He scooted closer to me on the couch. "What happened to the confident, cold Akane I saw earlier today?" Okay, now he's just toying with me. He wants to see be blush like that freshman two years ago. Unfortunately, it was working. I didn't answer his question. He moved even closer and leaned towards my ear. Then he whispered, "But yes. I think it's a very good thing." I quickly stood up with my back facing him to hide the blush that had intensified ten times on my cheeks. I heard him chuckle. "Sorry," he said.

"It's fine," I said as the blush started to calm down. I took my seat next to him again. This time he put his arm on the part of the couch behind me. Luckily, I didn't blush.

"So who do you think is going to win the game on Friday?"

I scoffed. "Konoha of course. I go there remember?"

He chuckled again. "True that. But are you willing to bet on it?"

I smirked. "Bring it on. Anything you want, Itachi."

He smirked. Uh-oh. I was getting a bad feeling about this. Maybe I shouldn't have said ANYTHING. "How about if Akatsuki High wins then you have to kiss me in front of the Konoha football team? If we lose, then I have to say that Konoha High has the best football team in the region in front of both teams."

"What?"

"You said anything," Itachi said smirking still. "Besides it's a win-win either way for you."

"How is kissing you in front of your brother and all my friends a win-win?"

"You get to kiss me."

"You are so full of yourself," I said pouting with my arms crossed.

"Oh, is Akane chickening out now? Do you doubt your team will win?" Itachi asked raising an eyebrow.

"No! I mean...it's just...fine. Deal," I said defeated, holding my hand out to shake. I hate to admit it, but I wasn't so sure if I wanted Konoha to win anymore. The Uchiha smirked and shook my hand. Well this was going to be an interesting couple of days.

~The Big Game~

After I'd told Temari what had happened, she promptly drove over to my house. When I let her in, she was laughing hysterically, saying that I was in for it if Akatsuki High won. Well, thanks for stating the obvious, Temari.

And now here I was in a loud football stadium not sure of whose side I was on. On one hand of course I wanted my high school to win! They deserved it after all the hard work they'd done to get to get here. On the other hand, I couldn't help but want to kiss Itachi despite the fact that I had to do it in front of Sasuke and the others.

The score was 20-14, with Akatsuki High in the lead. I scanned the players and found Itachi looking at me. Once he saw my attention on him, he winked and pointed at the scoreboard. I just looked away with my arms crossed. He's probably smirking right now.

"Come on, Akane!" I heard my senior friend say. "Keep cheering for the boys! They need some spirit! There's only a minute left on the clock!"

I laughed. "Alright, Tenten. But you're cheering for specifically Neji aren't you?" I teased.

She blushed and looked down. "Well, the other team members are important, too...but that's beside the point. Let's make some noise!" Did I mention that I was being forced to fill in for one of Konoha High's cheerleaders today? That's right. Two cheerleaders had conveniently injured themselves the day before the game. Tenten, who was already on colorguard, dragged Temari and I into this. Hinata was sick, so she couldn't come to the game, but her sister Hanabi was at home taking care of her until we got back. Well, it's not that I hate being a cheerleader. I just didn't want to get categorized as a preppy schoolgirl. Oh well, since I'm out here anyway, I might as well make the most of it. I looked at Temari, and she nodded. We started cheering like there was no tomorrow as the final play of the game started.

The boys looked more determined than ever to score one last touchdown. Sasuke passed the ball to Lee who had somehow already made it halfway towards the goalpost. Dang he's fast. Lee threw the ball to Neji just as Hidan tackled Lee. Neji ran towards the touchdown zone and was five yards away when he passed the ball to Naruto. Naruto ran into the touchdown zone and somehow avoided being tackled by Deidara. Time ran out and the game ended with Konoha winning 21-20. I sighed in relief as the tension left the stadium. Temari came up to me. "You look almost disappointed."

"Nah," I said smiling although there was a slight damper in my spirit. "Let's go congratulate the boys." We, along with the rest of the cheer squad and a couple audience members that got through security, ran towards the team and hugged them. I jumped and put my arms around Sasuke's neck from behind. He nearly fell backwards, but laughed when he saw it was just me. "Congrats, Hot Shot!"

"Why do you insist on calling me that whenever I play football?" I just giggled and saw Tenten with Neji, Temari kissing Shikamaru, Naruto pulling out his phone to call Hinata, Ino hugging Sai, Kankuro with Sakura, and Kiba, Shino, and Lee talking excitedly with some girls they knew. I smiled at my friends although I disheartened me to know that I didn't have someone to share the joy of winning the game with. Well, there was Sasuke, but...I heard someone clearing his throat. All of us turned and saw Itachi along with the Akatsuki High team there. Itachi made eye contact with me and grimaced. I smirked and asked, "Is there something you wanted to say?"

Itachi looked away and didn't look at anyone directly. "You guys have...the...best team in the region," he said finishing the last part as quickly as possible. Both his teammates and mine stared at him like he was crazy. Then, me and Temari started laughing hysterically. We just laughed and laughed as the teams looked at us like we were lunatics. Itachi growled and turned to leave along with his teammates.

"W-wait," I said still weak from laughing. He stopped and turned around slowly. As soon as he was fully facing me, I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him. I guess he was shocked because he didn't respond immediately. But then, he wrapped his arms around me waist and pulled me closer. I could feel him smiling into the kiss, but before it got any deeper, I pulled away. He took a deep breath and looked at me curiously.

"I lost the bet, remember?"

"Well, yeah but...I wanted to kiss you anyway," I said smiling. I turned around to see everyone's facial expression. If they're jaws could hit the ground right now, they would. "Eh-he-he..."

"WHAT THE CRAP, AKANE?" Sasuke yelled looking at me. Itachi let go of me and I walked over to Sasuke, wrapping my arms around his torso and giving him puppy dog eyes. "No. No. Don't you dare even start that! That look isn't going to work this time!"

"Pleeeeaaaaasseeee, Sasukeeee?"

Sasuke made a series of incoherent noises before he finally answered. "Fine, if he makes you happy. But if he so much as lays a finger on you, you tell me right away, so I can beat the ever loving crap out of him!" I squealed like a little girl as I gave Sasuke a big hug. He tsked in annoyance, but I could see the smile playing on his lips. I looked at the rest of the team and they remained silent until Shikamaru spoke for them all.

He sighed, "I guess it can't be helped." I grinned and ran to Itachi's arms.

He chuckled. "You should become a cheerleader," he whispered in my ear, "'Cause you look really good in this uniform." He smiled as I blushed. "You know, I've been wondering something."

"What is it?" I asked, looking at him.

"Did it hurt?"

"What?"

"When you fell from heaven?"

I smirked at him, but the smirk turned into a smile.

"No. Because you were right there to catch me." ;)

The End

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