Look at me. Look past these walls and pretenses. Ignore the ballroom masks and the reflective mirrors. Wipe away the fog and smoke, until all you see is me.
When you do that, will you like what you see?
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A Silver Thread
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(Come back to me. Come back and never go away again)
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-x-
"Oh, come on. It'll be fun," Sakura giggled lightly as she walked down the corridor. Next to her, Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed "Fine," she amended, "It might not be fun for you, but Naruto can't come with me today, so can you pretend that you're interested, even the slightest bit? Next time, I promise I'll grab Hinata-chan instead."
She clapped her hands together and walked on ahead of him, skipping slightly in her excitement. "Besides, I've really wanted to visit for a while." As she smiled gaily, pleasantly imagining what she would see, her long rose-coloured hair swished behind her, clouding Sasuke's vision with cotton candy. He blinked for a second and a sweet smell wafted to his nose.
"Ginger this time," he idly thought, his eyes closing for a second as he allowed the smell to fill his senses.
Opening them once more, he hesitantly reached out to touch her (silky) hair but caught himself and stopped. Just in time too, as she turned to face him with her grinning face.
"Let's hurry," she urged him, her spring-green eyes eager and bright staring at him intently. She stretched out a softdelicatewarm hand and wrapped her fingers around his wrist. "Come on, it's nearby!" He looked at her hand for a moment, before nodding slightly. She beamed at him, before she pulled him after him, quickening their pace once more.
Seems that he couldn't refuse her again. Never could, for that matter.
Which was a pity, for it meant that he was further trapped, unable to detach himself like he wished.
-x-
"Wow," she gasped softly as she opened the door. Sasuke rolled his eyes, wondering what he would see. Knowing Sakura, it was probably something frilly and pink and utterly disgustingly girly.
The first thing he saw was a group of boys standing (well, one was sitting) together, facing Sakura. They looked at her, before the one sitting welcomed her in. The way their eyes seemed to glow, in the similar way that a lion looked when he saw his prey, set of warning bells in Sasuke's head.
He could just tell he was not going to like this place.
The students looked at each other before the blonde one—the leader?—got up and approached Sakura.
"A new customer?" he purred out, holding Sakura's face too close to his. Starting to twitch, Sasuke coughed slightly in an attempt to distract the blonde.
It didn't work, as the blonde then dragged Sakura, a blushing Sakura, over to the rest of the boys. "What do you like better? A lolita? A pedophile? Or would you rather have me?"
Sasuke coughed again, a little louder. This was going in a direction that he didn't like and he wished he had asked Sakura where they were going instead of just agreeing to go.
That was the Uchiha way, though. Don't ask questions, for one has to know everything. Don't follow others, be the leader.
Don't ever show your—
"I-I just w-wanted t-to look a-around," Sakura stuttered slightly, her face still bright to the tips of her hair.
"Oh, but, princess, wouldn't it be better if you actually tried some of the merchandise?" the blonde asked, tilting his head so he looked up imploringly at her. "What's your name, princess?"
"I-It's Haruno Sakura," she turned even redder as the boy smiled at her mischievously.
"Saku-chan, want to play with me and Usagi-chan? I'm Honey," a smaller blonde boy, one that looked like he was still in elementary school, pulled at Sakura's skirt. She looked down and her eyes immediately softened. "Aww…" she cooed, looking at the little boy with big eyes and his pink rabbit plushie.
"Well," she hesitated for a moment, "I would have to pay, right?"
"Yes," a tall dark-haired boy with glasses spoke this time. "However, we might make a small allowance for you, as it is your first time. And…" his voice trailed off ominously.
"Yay! Saku-chan, let's play!" Honey looked at her again, his face deceivingly innocent, and Sakura broke down.
"Ok," she replied, smiling softly, and that was all he needed before Honey dragged her off somewhere.
Sasuke coughed once more before sighing and leaning against the wall.
Once again, she had run on ahead without looking back.
-x-
"Let's see, it would be very good for business."
"Oh, but what could we use to get it to happen?"
"Oh, our sources will give us enough information for that."
"Mommy, you are making Daddy so proud."
"You should stop calling yourself Daddy. It's annoying."
"Mommy! Our child is talking to me so cruelly."
"Anyways, we should try our best to force—no, to persuade—this to happen."
"He's sulking again. Really….anyways, you know, I don't agree with this plan."
"Of course you don't. You're a commoner."
"That has nothing to do with it."
"It has everything to do with it."
"You're back already? …and is that ramen you're eating?"
"I finally learned how to make your commoner ramen myself! Without any help, I managed to take the noodles out properly, cook it long enough, and—"
"…"
"It's scary how obsessed you all are with my food. Anyways, we really shouldn't do this. It's tricking."
"Oh, but it'll be helping him too. After all, my information…look at the sheet."
"Ohh…."
"I see…"
"This could work to our advantage."
"Yes, it can. If we use the right words, we could increase our earnings."
"And indirectly help him."
"Of course."
"You all are going to forget. I know it."
-x-
Sasuke looked up from where he was sitting. Sakura was still fawning over Honey, playing with him and his rabbit.
She had a happy smile as she played with Hunny, the look a mother would give to her (his) children.
"Hello, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke looked up, surprised. He never noticed the other hosts come up to him, surrounding his chair as they all stared down at him.
For some reason, there was this look in their eyes that Sasuke didn't trust. A look that told them they were going to do something to him.
And that he wouldn't be able to stop them.
"Uchiha-san," the glasses-wearing student continued, "We have a proposition for you."
"What is it?" Sasuke eyed him suspiciously.
"We would like it if you were our host. For a little while, that is."
The brown-haired boy—oh, wait. Sasuke noticed that 'he' was really a she—sighed and then spoke.
"Don't worry, we'll give you something in return."
Sasuke snorted. "What could you possibly give me?"
The blonde grinned at that, "Oh, Daddy knows what you want. And what you want is her." He pointed at Sakura.
"…" Sasuke was silent. All sorts of denials sprang up in his mind, but none of them seemed right. "I—"
"Oh, don't deny it. Anyways, you know, Hunny is hosting for her right now. We said we'd only consider not making her pay."
"What? How much does she have to pay?"
"Oh, well, she'd have to pay this much," the black-haired boy spoke again, pointing at a sheet. Sasuke was shocked, who knew that this was so expensive. "However, if you agree to host, she has to pay nothing. After all, she did lead us to you, and you do have a lot of hosting characteristics. You have the looks, being an heir gives you the status/fame, and of course, as you are already learning about your father's corporation, you have the charm, grace, and the skills needed."
"I—" he tried again to speak.
"Oh, and as you don't need the money, we can keep it. In exchange for that, we will help you get the girl. Will that work?"
"How said I need help?" Sasuke felt annoyed. How dare they doubt that he can get (his) Sakura by himself!
"Oh, really?" Glasses spoke again, and snapped his fingers. The twins, who were just listening to this conversation, quickly moved toward Sakura.
"Hello, Sakura-chan," one of them said. "I'm Hikaru and this is my darling, sweet, cute brother, Kaoru…"
Kaoru blushed lightly, "Oh, Hikaru…"
Hikaru leaned towards him. "You're so adorable when you blush."
Already, Sasuke could see Sakura blushing at this charade. She was a yaoi fangirl and this appealed to her.
At so many levels. More so than Sasuke did—when was the last time she blushed around him?
He was fighting a losing battle and finally gave in. "Fine," he nodded. "I'm in."
However, he was also an Uchiha. Uchiha never let themselves completely lose. "I get half my profits too, though."
-x-
"Eh? Sasuke-kun? You're hosting now?" Sakura looked at him in surprise. She never expected that he'd actually join them, considering how reluctant he was to visit.
Also, the fact that he was hosting to girls, who for the most part are his fangirls, people he tried to avoid for years, should've already made him refuse to work there.
It didn't, though.
"Hn," was all Sasuke said about the subject. As they were walking to the front door of the school, he tried his best to remain silent.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun, you're going to be working there everyday now, ne? So, we can't go home together any more…"
Sasuke cursed silently. He forgot about that. Those rides home were something he looked forward to everyday. It was annoying listening to her chatter on and on about her day but those moments were one of the few times it was just him and her.
"However, if you want, I can wait for you." Sakura smiled at him, putting his worries to rest. He could still have those precious moments, this way…
"I can talk to play with Hunny-sempai more now and talk with all of the other hosts!"
Darn. That host club still had a way of taking her away from him.
-x-
"Sasuke-kun, how was your day?"
"Sasuke-kun, would you please pour me some tea?"
"Sasuke-kun, I would love to hear about your childhood!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke felt like snapping. For two hours, all he could hear were those voices. Girls seemed to be pouring into the room, trying to get him to be their host.
Their grating voices echoed in his head as he tried to be calm, pouring tea and looking apathetically at them.
At first, Sakura watched him host, laughing a little at his reactions. She visited him a few times when he had a break, teasing him about how he was popular and all the girls just loved him and why wasn't he ever this nice to her?
(Oh, but he was. Not that she noticed.)
She occasionally played with Hunny and the twins, blushing lightly or smiling softly at their actions. She giggled during her conversations with Haruhi and Tamaki. Kyouya spoke to her twice as well, and she acted shy in front of him.
She seemed to enjoy herself and laughed a lot while she talked with the other members.
He gave this to her. Gave her another reason to smile and laugh and just be there with him.
(Though, this also made him jealous. She wasn't smiling because he was making her smile, wasn't laughing because of him. No, it was the actions of others that caused this to happen.)
His eyes softened as he looked at her, and he went back to his duties in a politer manner.
Maybe this club could help him.
-x-
After a few days of this, though, Sakura seemed a little tense and angry when they were leaving for home.
"Those fangirls of yours…" she growled, "they just…ARGH!" she let out a frustrated sound.
"…" Sasuke looked at her, wondering why she was acting like this.
"They just keep draping themselves on your arm and are acting so…there are no words to describe them. How are you able to put up with this, Sasuke-kun?"
"Aa…" Sasuke replied. He didn't want to answer that. How could he explain that he imagined her the entire time? He couldn't.
"And you are able to react so…graciously. As though you enjoy it. WHICH MAKES THEM COME BACK."
"Sakura, the car is here." Sasuke took this opportunity to change the conversation. It was heading onto dangerous territory. "How was Anko-sensei's test?"
"THAT? It was…" Sakura started to rant about her test and Sasuke closed his eyes.
Here was his little piece of heaven.
-x-
Sakura quickly splashed water on her face. She was in one of the school's many bathrooms, taking a little break from watching the host club.
In a few weeks, it would be time for the Christmas dance, and Sasuke would be dancing with several girls.
Sasuke, dressed up in his finest, would be dancing with several pretty girls that had beautiful hair and elegant dresses and….
Well, Sasuke might end up falling for one of them. It wasn't likely, but he might. Then, Sasuke would be with some girl-who-was-not-Sakura, leaving Sakura alone, and that will not happen. EVER.
She wasn't jealous. Really. It was just that she was being protective of her friend. She couldn't let him fall for some bimbo who wanted him for his looks and money. She only wanted the best for him. She wanted a girl that knew him and loved him for his personality. A girl who was smart and kind and everything he ever wanted, everything that matched the description of what he wanted in a girl.
Besides, she gave up her fangirling stage years ago. She gave up her love to become his friend. As his friend, she had to protect him from girls who were not good for him.
She wasn't jealous.
She no longer loved him.
She wasn't jealous.
(Keep telling yourself that. Maybe if you tell it enough, you'll believe it. Maybe if you chant it enough, it will be true.
And maybe when your heart has enough of these lies, the truth will pour out.)
-x-