Happy Valentines Day! While, this year, I don't care much for it, I'm getting into the festive mood. Watching SasuSaku videos on YouTube, and listening to a lot of romantic songs just coz I like the band have made me wanna write this.

Summary: Because everything about him was wrong, except for her. SasuSaku AU Song-shot

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. 'Take A Chance' is owned by the brilliant Scouting For Girls. I don't even wanna change that part.

Enjoy :)

Take A Chance

It was cold.

Too cold, she decided, for a February morning.

Still, after much complaining from Naruto (who told her she would die of pneumonia), Sakura Haruno changed from her flowery tank top to a jumper with a cat on it, jeans, and a thick, wooly scarf that Naruto had insisted on buying her.

"Alright, I'm here. All covered up. I bet it's not even that cold out, you're just a wuss."

Naruto narrowed his eyes playfully and smirked, as he grasped the door handle and yanked the pinkette's front door wide open. A string of profanities left the girl's mouth as Naruto closed the door, laughing while doing so. "Geez, Sak, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

A glare and a punch later, Sakura and Naruto left the Haruno residence, one sporting a black eye that wasn't there before he entered the house. Once Sakura had locked up, she turned to face her best friend.

"It's not that cold."


"Kiba, this is stupid."

Said boy looked at the owner of the voice, and simply grinned from ear to ear. He stood up, placing a foot onto the amp box he was previously tending to and resting his arm on his knee.

"Puh-lease. This is gonna be awesome! There is no stupidity in the plan whatsoever! You can trust us!"

"That's where the stupidity comes in…"

Kiba rolled his eyes and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sasuke, you're not getting it. This is foolproof. Naruto's bringing her here soon, everything's gonna be awesome, you get the girl. Everything works out awesome!"

"Stop saying awesome."

Kiba sighed and shook his head. Bending down, he focused his attention back to the amp, ending the (one-sided) conversation. Sasuke turned around and glanced at the place he was in. It was an old club that had closed down a while ago. Sasuke had very rarely been to it – and the only times he did go he was forced by his 'good' friend Naruto – but he remembered it being her favourite place. He remembered her being so upset when she found out it had gone out of business.

So this was one of the times his best friend came in handy.

Naruto practically lived in this place before it became derelict. He knew the owners as if they were his family, and had convinced them to lend him the keys for this one day, in the name of love.

As Naruto so richly put it.

He looked at his watch – 11:42am. Naruto said he would be here by noon. However, since this was Naruto, they figured it would still be a pretty long time before his face was seen. Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before picking up a guitar and strumming softly, watching Kiba fiddle with the dials on the amp before he received a thumbs up and a grin. Sasuke placed the guitar carefully back onto its stand and sat on the edge of the stage, watching the door patiently.

He inwardly hoped that Sakura would like all of this. Mainly because if she didn't, both Naruto and Kiba would be beheaded, and he knew they meant a lot to her. He had already pissed her off enough in the last year or so, he didn't want to make it worse.

First, they were friends. Then, a couple. Then, he was an asshole. Then, there were arguments. Then, there was complete avoidance. Then he (begrudgingly) apologised, courtesy of Naruto. Then, they became kind-of friends again.

Now he was here.

Sasuke slid a hand through his hair. He almost couldn't believe he was going to all this trouble for a girl. He was seventeen years old and the most popular guy in high school! Any and every girl were practically falling at his feet, he could have anyone he wanted.

But no, Sakura Haruno just had to exist.

He knew without even a second thought that he wanted her. She was the only girl he noticed, and was the only one he cared about. As cliché as it sounded, she was different. She had emerald eyes that sparkled brightly, and, come on, her hair is pink. Can't get much different, really. She didn't see him like the rest of the female species, she saw him as Sasuke Uchiha. That's what he loved most about her.

Yes, the oh-so-great Uchiha said it. Love.

He was well aware of his age, and he was definitely aware of high school romances, but Sakura was just so damn right. When he was with her, nothing else mattered. When she was around, everything was better. Hell, he would even go to the trouble of reading Karin's stupid love letters before ripping them up if she was around; just because she liked to have a laugh. And boy, he found her laugh amazing. Like birds chirping.

Sasuke grunted. He was getting too soppy. This girl would be the death of him. He glanced at his watch again. 11: 54am. It was supposedly six minutes before she would walk through the doors. It would be six minutes before he would find out whether he had truly screwed things up between them, or if there was any chance left.

He felt Kiba sit down beside him, but made no effort to acknowledge the new presence. Kiba slapped Sasuke's back a couple of times in an attempt to comfort him. Kiba knew how much Sakura meant to the onyx eyed bastard, and he just wanted everything to work out. For his sake.


"Naruto, what are we doing? You have taken me round the mall twice, eaten at Ichiraku's four times, and ran around in circles for an hour. I know that you're a freak, but do you have to be a freak when I'm around? Then people will know I'm with you."

Naruto stopped spinning, regaining his balance and looking at the seven Sakura's before him. He pulled a toothy grin and held onto her shoulder for support.

"You know you love me really. Besides, spinning is FUN! You should do it too!"

Before Naruto started spinning again, Sakura grabbed his shoulders and held him in front of her. The blonde blinked several times in order to gain control of his body and smiled when the process was complete. Sakura watched him as he glanced up briefly behind her, before his eyes settled back on hers.

Emerald narrowed and she spun her head around, finding that Naruto was looking at the big clock in the centre of the mall. Her head turned back to him, his eyes widening. 'Damn her for being so smart…'

"You're stalling. Why are you stalling? What are we waiting for? Dammit, Naruto, you better tell me or else–"

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? I'm not stalling for anything! I'm sorry for wanting to spend this special day with my best friend because my girlfriend's out of town!"

"Great. First, no girl likes being told that they're the second option. Bare that in mind for when Hinata's back. Second, this is not a special day. This is a day just like any other day."

Naruto gasped and took Sakura's hand dramatically, "How dare you say that Valentines Day isn't special! It's the day of love and trust and … all things soppy and romantic!"

"It's a day of clichés. Valentines Day has never been special to me, at least you have someone to spend it with. To me, it's just a day that makes people do 'goo goo' eyes at each other while declaring their love. People propose, people get married, people fall in love … I figure, why don't you do that any day of the year? I don't see why couples should spend one bloody day expressing their 'love' to each other, when they should spend time every day of the year doing just that. It's stupid, and–"

Naruto blinked, his face blank. He sneaked another look at the clock while Sakura wasn't looking. 11:54am. He needed to get her to the club soon, or Sasuke would kill him. He slowly began moving, with her hand still in his, while she was too deep into her rant to even notice.

"– love songs, too! They are all so disgustingly cheesy. Then, guys think that, just because it's February 14th, they should attempt to sing these songs? It's a disgrace, I mean, most of them are probably terrible singers, and they will not flatter their loved ones, and their loved ones will leave them, and –"

"Sakura … could you shut up?"

Sakura's eyes widened, before they glared dangerously at Naruto for interrupting her. Naruto grinned and turned around.

"I'm just saying … if that happened to me, I'd probably punch the guy."

Naruto faltered slightly, his heart beating rapidly 'Oh my gosh … she's gonna hate Sasuke forever … and more importantly … I'm gonna die!'

"Naruto? You okay? You've been oddly silent and – wait, where are we?"

Naruto chuckled and took Sakura's hand out of his own. The blonde gave Sakura a moment to take in her surroundings.

"We're at … why are we here, Naruto? Don't you remember it closed down ages ago?"

Naruto nodded, "You know, I didn't even realise we were here. Hey, I know, let's see if we can get in … chill out in here for a bit."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? Surely, even Naruto Uzumaki isn't stupid enough to get arrested for breaking and entering."

Naruto seemed to ignore her as he walked towards the door. He started to open it, the creak loud enough to hear five streets down. He glanced back at Sakura, who seemed startled that it was actually open, before she walked closer behind him, afraid of being caught by passers by.


Sasuke glanced at his watch again. 12:01pm. The dobe was officially late. Kiba had been standing at his keyboard for the past five minutes, checking that the keys still worked properly. Sasuke had never realised how much of a perfectionist he was. Nor did he particularly care. Naruto was late, dammit!

What if he decided that Sasuke wasn't good enough for her? What if he took her somewhere else, where they could get married and have lots of little half-beauty-half-beast children? Sure, he was with Hinata, but while she was away … maybe he killed her, dumped the body, pretended that she went on holiday with her family and planned to take Sakura for himself?

What if they're sitting somewhere, holding hands, laughing about how much of an idiot he was?

Okay, that was a bit of a stretch. He knew they wouldn't think he was an idiot.

Would they?

12:02pm. Suddenly, the door creaked. Sasuke darted his eyes towards the door and saw two shadows on the other side. He looked at Kiba, who nodded and flicked the lights on.

Showtime.


"It's open? But why is it open? Do you think someone broke in? Oh my gosh, I'm gonna call the police."

Naruto snatched the phone from Sakura's hands, panic evident in his eyes, "NO! You don't wanna do that! Maybe it's just a really old door? Or who's to say it was ever actually locked at all? Maybe, when it was shut down, people forgot to lock it? It's not like anyone's gonna go in …"

"Naruto, WE'RE GOING IN!"

"Well … yeah … but I bet no one has before! Come on, it's fine! You love this place, remember?"

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Giving up, and accepting her life as a criminal, the pinkette followed the blonde into the club. It was desolate now, cold, and … well, she was sure it would've been dark, too, if the lights didn't randomly turn on.

'Great. Not only am I gonna get a criminal record, I'm gonna be attacked by ghosts too. What a day.'

When the lights brightened to their fullest, Sakura was able to look around. But when she reached the stage, her eyes froze in place.

There, in all his gorgeous glory, Sasuke Uchiha stood, a guitar around his neck, and nervousness clear on his face. Sakura's eyes widened, refusing to blink. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kiba at a keyboard, waving to her. But Sakura's body was too stuck to return the gesture. Kiba quickly gave up, and decided to shout at Naruto instead.

"Hey, baka, We agreed for noon. It's now five minutes past. Sasuke nearly had my head!"

"Shut up! I know what time we said, but you know Sakura-chan. She's difficult!"

Life suddenly coming back to her, Sakura turned around and hit the loudmouth over the head. He yelled in pain and pouted at his best friend/sister.

"You planned all this? Seriously? After everything I just said?"

"Well … we planned it before you said all that stuff …"

Sakura glared at Naruto, before turning her attention back to the Uchiha on the stage. "And you? What, did you expect me to just walk in here and forgive and forget everything you've done because you made Naruto bring me to my favourite place in the world and you got all the lights looking pretty and … you're standing there with a bunch of instruments around you and … your face is actually showing emotion?" Sakura coughed, shifting from foot to foot.

It wasn't like she hated him … she could never hate him … but she knew that if she got sucked in, he would only hurt her again. He had an annoying habit of doing so. But when she looked into those eyes … the pain they held in them was almost too much to bear. Maybe he had changed? Maybe he really was sorry?

"Sakura … I know that I was an asshole. I did a lot of stupid things, but nothing was as stupid as letting you go. Just … please. Listen.

Naruto led Sakura to a lone chair in the centre of the floor, and pushed her gently onto it. She was still too stunned to move by herself. Did the Sasuke Uchiha just beg to her? Now that was different.

She blinked as music started to play. She noticed Naruto on the drums, and wondered when he had left her side. Kiba was on the keyboard, and Sasuke was playing the guitar. It almost sounded professional.

"Take a chance, before it's gone
Throw me a rope or string me along
I'm nothing without you, this man is nothing without you
I know it's been a difficult year
It's been all I can do just to keep you near
I want you to know you're the star of my show…"

Sasuke was impressed at how he managed to hide his nerves as he sung. His eyes stayed focused on his guitar, too … scared? (What had this girl done to him?) to look at her face. He remembered hearing the song on Naruto's iPod about a month beforehand ("Sasuke, are you listening to my iPod? I thought you'd hate everything on there …" "I do, baka. This iPod is made of shit. I'm bored.") and suddenly seemed so appropriate to his situation.

"I sing these songs about you
It wouldn't be the same without you
I know you try to hide, I know you try to act tough

But take a chance on us (take a chance on us)
Throw your arm round love (don't give me up)
Let it pull you up tonight, take a chance on us tonight
But take a chance on us, (take a chance on us)
But I won't give us up (don't give me up)
Take a chance on us tonight, take a chance on us tonight"

Sakura watched as Sasuke sang his heart out. Naruto and Kiba joined in on the chorus, and they were actually pretty good together. She saw Naruto wink at her from the drums, and Kiba grinned from ear to ear. Sasuke, however, refused to look at her. So much for romance.

"I always thought that we could make it through
If you gave me the chance, I always knew
I don't care what they say, you were mine all the way
And though it seems like it's pouring again
You don't get flowers without no rain
Look what we've done, look how far we have come"

It hadn't taken the onyx-eyed teen long to learn the lyrics and music – he was an Uchiha, after all – and this whole thing would've been done a lot sooner had it not been for the tiny brains that the Uzumaki and Inuzuka supposedly had. When they weren't forgetting the words, they were forgetting the notes to play. When they weren't forgetting that, they were forgetting to turn up to rehearsals completely. There were many times that Sasuke had to resist the urge to rip their heads off, reminding himself that, eventually, it would all work out for the best.

He was doing it for her.

"Well I sing these songs about you
It wouldn't be the same without you
I know you try to hide, I know you try to act tough

But take a chance on us (take a chance on us)
Throw your arm round love (don't give me up)
Let it pull you up tonight, take a chance on us tonight
Take a chance on us, (take a chance on us)
I won't give us up (don't give me up)
Take a chance on us tonight, take a chance on us tonight"

Sakura's breathing started to become ragged as tears filled her eyes. Like she had told Naruto; she was not one for Valentines Day. It held no meaning to her. Songs and chocolates and proposals and flowers were all stupid in her book, and a waste of time, and that was never going to change.

Until this happened.

She knew Sasuke was capable of having a heart, she had seen it from time to time. But she also knew that his ego was taller than his chicken-ass hair and wider than his range of vocabulary. She had never imagined him doing this to anyone, let alone her. He wasn't the kind of guy that expressed his love at all. None of this was making any sense.

"Take a chance on us
Throw your arm round love
Let it pull you up tonight
I know that times are tough (I know that times are tough)
I know we ain't got much (I know we ain't got much)
But I can't give us up tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight"

Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba sang the chorus a couple more times, before fading the music out perfectly in sync with each other. At last, Sasuke plucked up the courage to look the love of his life directly in the eye. Onyx met emerald, and they stared.

Just stared.

A tear finally escaped and rolled down Sakura's cheek, and she made no effort to wipe it away. More fell, and Sasuke, being Sasuke, took it badly. He looked down at the floor, before slamming the guitar not-so-gently onto its stand. He heard Kiba and Naruto's slight complaints, but chose to ignore it.

How could he be so stupid? She was crying, it was that bad. Why did he think that singing that stupid song would make her be with him again? It was all Naruto and Kiba's idea, he was going to kill them. Not only did they make him make her cry, but they made him look like an idiot while doing so. Not. Cool.

The sound of the chair creaking made the teen look up, and saw her standing, crying harder than before. She attempted a smile, before running into the bathroom, the door hinges screaming loudly after months of not moving.

Silence ensued as Sasuke sat with his head in his hands. He heard Kiba sigh and move to the edge of the stage, sitting down, dangling his legs over the edge. He chose to stay quiet, knowing all too well that Sasuke needed the silent time.

CLASH!

Sasuke's head whipped around and he immediately sent a death glare to Naruto, who had accidently dropped his drumstick onto the symbol. Kiba shook his head and hit his forehead with his palm, trying to keep the laughs in. Naruto giggled nervously and scratched the back of his neck, "Sorry, buddy!"

Sasuke grunted and turned around again. What should he do now? Should he stay here, and wait for Sakura to come out of the bathroom? She could be a while, and if she hated it that much, she probably wouldn't want to be around him. So should he just leave? But then, she would be left in the incapable hands of Kiba and Naruto, and they would probably make her feel worse, or they could pin the entire blame on him. He couldn't let that happen. She needed to know that it was their faults. Not his. Maybe then she'll hate him a little less.

During his train of thought, the door squeaked open once more, revealing a bob of pink hair, and sparkling green eyes. Sakura had managed to erase all the traces of crying, but one look into her eyes and he knew there were more.

The door creaked to a close behind the girl, and she tentatively walked towards the stage. Kiba nodded in acknowledgement, and she followed suite. Naruto seemed to be too busy hiding behind his drum kit to even notice her return.

What was going through her mind? She wasn't even sure she knew. She liked him. Hell, she may even love him … but she didn't know if she was ready to give him her heart again. She knew what her friends would say. Hinata would be shy about it, yet, being in a tight relationship with Naruto, give out the romantic-y side of it ("S-Sakura-chan … Sasuke wouldn't b-be like this for a-anyone else. He l-loves you Sakura, and it's obvious you love him. Go for i-it."). Tenten would shrug and not even bother answering properly ("Dude, just do it. This 'will you, won't you' thing is getting boring."). Then there was Ino … ("Sakura. Sasuke is an asshole. He is annoying, he doesn't speak properly and he treats everyone like shit. Except you. Just think really carefully before you do anything rash.")

Sakura took a deep breath and looked directly into the eyes of Sasuke Uchiha. He had been staring at her intently for a while. Nobody said anything as the two watched each other. Sasuke was pretty sure Naruto had even stopped breathing.

Minutes passed, and, surprisingly, Sasuke was the one to break the silence. He stood up and extended his hand out towards Sakura. She looked at the hand, then back at his face.

"Well? Do you like me or not?"

Shocked at the bluntness, Sakura's eyes widened a fraction. Her mouth was agape as she registered what Sasuke had said. Both Kiba and Naruto stared at Sasuke. Uchihas don't blurt things out.

Sasuke had almost glared at Sakura's frozen expression for long enough. She was silent. That answered his question perfectly. He fisted the hand he held out to her and jumped off the stage, causing her to jump at their close proximity. He looked at her briefly before walking briskly (Uchihas also never storm out.) towards the door.

Sakura watched him walk away, and managed to regain focus. She turned her head towards the two remaining guys on the stage almost pleadingly. Naruto was still looking at the place where Sasuke had previously stood, and Kiba turned to look at her. He mouthed the word 'go' and nodded towards the door Sasuke was nearing. That was all she needed to get her legs working again.

Sasuke pushed the door harshly, its hinges crying loudly from overuse. He had to get away from her. Sakura Haruno just rejected him.

Him.

He didn't even know that was possible.

Sasuke suddenly stopped in his tracks. Of course. That was why she refused. He knew he was a prick to her, but he never really realised to what extent. He just had to be so arrogant and cocky; he had been convinced that he would end the song and she would run into his arms, crying and saying how much she loved him, and he would hold her tightly and tell her he wasn't going to let go … it was going to be one of those cliché romantic movies he tries so hard to avoid.

He was so lost in his thoughts, he completely missed the sound of the door opening once more, and even missed the feminine cry of his name.

Sakura stood still for a moment, ignoring the tears cascading down her cheeks, and watched the chicken-ass in front of her stand motionless. Realising he must not have heard her, she ran towards him before reaching out and embracing him from behind, her arms wrapping around his torso. She instantly felt the warmth of his body as she rested her head on his back. He stiffened at the contact, before relaxing and absent-mindedly leaning into her touch.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, until Sasuke pulled away. Sakura felt a chill as the he disappeared from her grasp, and she looked up at his face to see a pair blank eyes staring back at her.

"What do you want?"

His words sounded cold, and he regretted it as he watched her face fall, but he couldn't let her take him over again.

"Sasuke … that song … it was amazing."

It was evident that Sasuke was shocked at her words. She liked it?

"Then why didn't you say so? You made me look like an idiot."

"No, you made yourself look like an idiot for not giving me long enough to respond."

Sasuke's eyebrows raised.

"… That didn't come out right. Look, Sasuke, I was shocked. I had never expected you to do something like that. You know things need to register in my mind before I can do anything. I've never been one for romance and lovey-dovey stuff but … what you did … and how you did it … it's certainly changed my perspective."

Sakura smiled at him, and he looked back at her. Silence filled the air. After a while, Sasuke's eyes narrowed playfully, a smirk plastered on his face.

"You still haven't answered my question."

Sakura tilted her head, confused. Question? What question? There was a question?

Sasuke chuckled slightly before extending his hand towards the girl.

"Do you like me or not?"

Sakura stood upright, a playful glint in her eye, "No."

Sasuke's jaw hit the ground. After all that, she's now saying she doesn't like him? What kind of person does that?

She took his hand before he pulled it away and entwined her fingers with his. He looked down at them, her blue-gloved fingers looking tiny compared to his cold, red ones.

"I don't like you because …"

Sakura took a deep breath and looked at Sasuke. His eyes lifted from the hands to her own ones, and saw something he never noticed before.

"I don't like you because I lo–"

The pinkette was interrupted by the doors of the old club opening once more, before hearing a loud bang as someone fell flat on their face. Sakura turned around swiftly and saw Naruto buried in the pavement and Kiba stifling his laughter. He turned to face the two sets of glares coming towards him and instantly found nothing funny. He picked up Naruto's foot and dragged him back into the club, closing the door like nothing happened.

Sakura shook her head and turned to face the boy of her dreams. Taking another deep breath, she spoke.

"ILOVEYOU."

If it was anyone other than the Uchiha, they wouldn't have caught what she said. But she knew that Sasuke had grown used to her high-pitched squealing, and from the relief in his eyes, she knew he had heard correctly.

He used their already entwined hands to pull her closer, before her lips met with his. From that moment, nothing mattered anymore. Naruto breaking the doors of the club, cheers from both him and Kiba, the crowd gathering due to the loud noise, all went unnoticed by the couple.

It was just him and her. He knew he had made mistakes, and he knew he was probably going to make more, but he made a promise to himself that nothing would tear them apart again. He knew everything about him was wrong. Everything except for her.

When the lack of oxygen forced them to break the kiss, they looked into each others eyes, his forehead resting on hers.

-Smirk-

"Happy Valentines Day."

Dude. 11 pages. I didn't even think I was capable of something like that.

So, I know that from the minute the song ended to the last words, it was crap. My apologies. Basically, when I thought of this fic, I always thought about it from the beginning to the song, and suddenly realised when it was over that … I didn't have a clue what I was writing next. So, there we have it. REVIEW PLEASE!

By the way, did you like all the ninja references? "chirping birds" like the Chidori, and whole running up to him and hugging him thing, and you know when you're gloveless and your hands get cold and your fingers go red? She wore blue gloves? Red ... blue ... Uchiha fan. I'm a genius! :p

I actually started writing this a week ago, but then I had work and a party and all this and I knew it had to be finished today. So how are/did (if you read this any other time) you spending Valentines Day? I know mine: A SUPER MEGA AWESOME HARRY POTTER MARATHON! :D I wonder how many I'll be able to get through … hmm.

Anyway … Inconspicuous will hopefully be up by the end of this week, since I've given up waiting for more reviews (but thank you, Wingedmercury. You're the best :D)

That's all, folks!

-x-Emma-x-