This is a one-shot based on the song 'Enchanted' by Taylor Swift, which is just amazing, and so sweet (the song, not the story! although I hope you find the story so as well!)! I would definitely recommend listening to it before/while you read the story. Warning: characters bear no resemblance to canon. Incidentally, they are quite similar to their Road to Ninja selves, although that was unintentional. But anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review!
There I was again that night, surrounded by the usual crowd. I hadn't intended to come, but Ino had dragged me. I didn't even know whose house I was in, but Ino insisted that it was the party of the year. Although I admitted that the house itself was beautiful, the party itself seemed exactly the same as those we attended far too often. Ino stood in the middle of a circle of people loudly telling one of her endless anecdotes. I sat at the edge of the crowd on the sofa staring at nothing particular.
Suddenly, I was called out of my reverie by a voice.
"Sakura! Sakura, are you deaf?"
"What? Oh sorry,"
Ino laughed. "Didn't you find it the most hilarious moment of your life?"
"Oh definitely," I forced a laugh, pretending I knew what she was talking about.
"See I told you! You should have been there," Ino turned back to her audience.
I returned to my trance-like state. My gaze moved gradually down to the drink in my hand. I watched the small bubbles of gas form on the surface of the glass before floating to the top of the liquid and escaping into the atmosphere.
'At least they have some release,' I thought, 'not like me, trapped by these walls of… insincerity.' I looked at the superficial blonde talking in raised tones a few feet away from me in distaste. She was my best friend… but did she even know me?
As my gaze dropped back to my drink I began to feel tired and even within the masses of others around me, I was lonely.
I sat back into the sofa and stared into empty space.
A strange feeling of self-consciousness crept over me as I realized I was being watched. I looked up to see a boy with black hair and dark obsidian eyes staring at me amusedly from the other side of the room. I snapped my mouth, which had been hanging slightly open, shut, and stirred myself in a flustered fashion.
"I mean, what kind of thing is that to say?!"
"Yeah, I can't believe he said that," I interjected into Ino's conversation, turning away from the boy. From the corner of my eyes I saw him smirk and turn away.
I stood, bored, in the circle and pretended to participate in the conversation, but I could not prevent myself from losing track of it. Suddenly, I saw another loud blond in the corner of my eyes. I turned my head slightly to see Naruto talking to the boy with the dark eyes. He gestured in my direction and Naruto grinned widely and nodded. They began to walk towards me. I gulped. How was I going to explain the complete disinterest in this party that the boy had seen me unwittingly display?
"SAKURA!" Naruto shouted. I winced.
"Hi Naruto."
"I have someone you should meet!" Naruto shoved the boy towards me. I faked a smile that I'm fairly sure turned out more like a grimace.
The boy smirked. "Sasuke," he said, "It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Sakura. You too." I nodded insincerely.
"OH look it's Hinata! I'm gonna go say hi!" Naruto waved at the two and walked away. Sakura looked after him in panic. Now she was alone with the boy!
"Um… what a nice party," the words tumbled out of my mouth.
The boy did nothing except smirk once again and raise a quizzical eyebrow. A pale crimson highlighted my cheeks as I realized that at a close range, the boy was not only mildly attractive, but absolutely gorgeous. My blush deepened as I realized the reason for his look of incredulity.
"I mean… um…" I began to get flustered.
He laughed. "Don't worry. I agree with you completely. These parties are completely meaningless."
I sighed in relief and shook my head. "Tell me about it. I don't even know whose house this is."
The boy's eyebrow rose again, and I realized that that was a signature look which would never fail to bring butterflies to my stomach.
"Well, I doubt you'd like him any more than any of the other party hosts you've met."
"Oh," I said, "Who is he?"
"Oh I'll point him out to you if I see him."
"I should probably at least introduce myself to him… I shouldn't leave someone's house without having any idea who they are." I mused.
The boy laughed. "Trust me, no one in this room knows him any better than you do."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
He looked around at the crowd with narrowed eyes. "They may know who he is, but no one in this room knows him. They're all here simply to make an appearance. Nobody has a whit of sincerity."
I gazed at him. "Well, I'd like to meet him," I ventured timidly.
"You would, would you?" he smirked. "Well, let me see if I can introduce you to him." He turned and walked out of the room into a large corridor. I drew in a breath to see the gilded walls with the large classical paintings hanging on them and intricately designed chandeliers placed at regular intervals. I then turned to see Sasuke standing a little way ahead of me, looking back at me with an amused smirk that made my knees weak. I quickened my pace until I reached his side.
"So… how do you know him?" I asked awkwardly.
"Oh, I've known him for a very long time. Too long, in fact." He said as he strolled down the corridor.
"How did you meet?"
"Hm? Oh, I can't remember actually."
"What's his name?" I asked curiously.
"You do ask a lot of questions!" Sasuke grinned. I looked back at him scrutinisingly.
"You didn't answer my question…"
He sighed. "Ok then, his name's Uchiha."
"Uchiha?" I frowned. "That's an odd name!"
"It's his surname actually." By this point, we had reached the end of the corridor. It culminated in an open door which revealed some type of conservatory. "His first name's Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand to me. My eyes widened in surprise.
"It's you? You're hosting this party?"
"Unfortunately, I must confess to that crime." He nodded solemnly. I burst into laughter.
"Well, in that case, Mr Sasuke Uchiha, I'm very glad to meet you." I shook his hand. "I must say, you have a beautiful house." I said peering into the conservatory. I saw an ornamental pond located in the centre with an exquisitely carved fountain shaped like two dancing people in the centre.
Sasuke walked into the room and flicked a switch in the wall. Suddenly, the landscape around he conservatory lit up with bright floodlights located in the floor, which revealed a beautiful garden, riddled with shaped bushes and ornamental trees and even the occasional statue.
My mouth opened along with my eyes. "Wow," I breathed.
"You like it?" I nodded vigorously. "My mother designed it. She always had better taste than the rest of us."
I continued to look in wonder at the picturesque garden until I sensed Sasuke looking at me. I turned to him and blushed intensely to see his gaze fixed on me.
"Come with me," he said, suddenly.
"Where?" I asked in confusion, but I received no answer and contented myself to follow him out of the room and up a stairwell that was located on the left of the corridor outside the room. We climbed for four flights of stairs before I ventured my question again. "Sasuke where are we going?" He simply turned back and grinned at me.
Finally, it seemed that we had reached the top floor of the house. Here, Sasuke opened the door to a room which must have been directly above the conservatory. As I entered, I noticed that the room was much dustier and messier than any of the other rooms I had seen. I watched as Sasuke walked into the edge of the room and picked up a stick, before walking into the middle and using it to prod the ceiling.
I was beginning to wonder if he was sane, when the ceiling moved with a creak, revealing the night sky. I realized there must have been a hatch in it. Sasuke removed it and then hoisted himself up into the hole. Before I knew it, he was gone from sight. I walked until I was directly under the hole.
"Sasuke?" I asked unsurely.
His face came into view and he grinned widely. I laughed, bemusedly. He then stretched his hand down the hole towards me.
"Are you sure?" I asked, somewhat nervously.
"'Course!"
I took his hand and tried to hoist myself up. There was no need however, as Sasuke's other hand stretched out and pulled me up by the waist. I blushed so deeply that I thought he would think I was ill, but he did not seem to even notice anything out of the ordinary.
When he set me down and my embarrassment subsided, I found myself sitting on the roof of the immense edifice and looking down onto the scenery below.
I gasped. Surrounding the house were several gardens similar to the one I had seen from the conservatory, but from above they were even more breathtaking. The floodlights in the garden seemed to form the shape of a fan-like crest, whilst the trees, statues, shrubs and paths formed intricate swirling patterns around it. We had driven through some wood like areas on the way here, but I could not see them well in the darkness, and I had not realized that they belonged to the house.
I was completely speechless. I turned to Sasuke in awe. He grinned.
"That's not the best bit." Slowly, he stood up and stretched his arms out. I saw the wind ripple his shirt and toss his hair about. I was enraptured.
"Try it!" he shouted. He held his hand out to me and helped me to keep my balance as I stood up and felt the wind whip around me, playing havoc with my hair. I laughed delightedly.
It was exhilarating. I felt like I had finally reached the top of the liquid in the glass and I was now being released into the atmosphere. And as I turned to my companion, who stood with his eyes looking out into the cosmos, and his hands outstretched, and the wind distorting his hair and clothes, I realized that it was inadequate to describe him as gorgeous, as I had done before. He was beautiful, and fascinatingly so.
He laughed in exhilaration. "Whooo!" he shouted into the distance. I joined him in his cheering, and shut my eyes. I had never felt so free. All sense of time disappeared on that roof. Sasuke began to talk. I can't remember anything he said, but I remember feeling inexpicably happy as we talked meaninglessly. I had no idea how long I was there, yet I wished the moment would never end. The night was sparkling. And I… I was enchanted.
The horrible screech of my phone suddenly ripped through the night. Sasuke turned towards me. Frowning in distaste, I took it out and answered.
"Hello?" I said irritably.
"Sakura! Where the hell are you? We're leaving now!"
"…leaving?" The realization suddenly hit me that I could not stay there with Sasuke forever, and my lip quivered.
"Yes! It's 1am!"
My eyes widened. We had been on the roof since 11!
"Ok, I'm coming," I said in a subdued voice, before putting it down. I raised my eyes apologetically to Sasuke.
He smirked. "Time runs away with us, doesn't it,"
I drew in a breath and savoured my last breath of the night air. The word 'us' echoed in my head.
"Well, best get going." He jumped down nimbly through the hole. I looked down after him. The floor seemed a long way away. I gulped. "It's okay," Sasuke held his arms out. "I'll catch you, I promise." And the fear disappeared. I slipped down through the hole and before I knew it Sasuke had caught me and set me on my feet.
The walk down to the bottom floor was quiet. My lips were pursed. I didn't want to leave. It was too soon. But as we entered the room where the party had been taking place, I saw that most people had already left. Ino stood chatting to Hinata near the doorway. I walked over to her.
"Finally! What have you been doing?!"
I ignored her and turned to Sasuke who stood with his arms crossed and a one sided smile on his face. My mouth was suddenly dry.
"Thanks." I finally managed to get out."I… had fun." I'm wonderstruck. "Tonight was… nice." Flawless.
"No problem." Sasuke smirked.
I was enchanted to meet you.
Ino pulled me away after thanking Sasuke and I left unwillingly, the words still stuck in my throat.
In the car, Ino chattered non-stop about the party. I didn't even pretend to listen. I looked out of the window.
Sasuke.
Sasuke staring at me from across the room.
Sasuke coming towards me with Naruto.
Sasuke smirking at me incredulously.
Sasuke walking down the corridor.
Sasuke introducing himself to me.
Sasuke staring at me.
Sasuke holding his hand out to me from a hole in the ceiling.
Sasuke hoisting me up through the ceiling by my waist.
Sasuke catching me as I fell from the ceiling.
Sasuke with his arms crossed as we said goodbye.
Sasuke on the roof… his arms outstretched… the wind frenziedly tossing his hair and shirt about…
It was on constant replay in my head, and every time the last scene lasted a little longer than the rest.
"Sakura are you ok?" A prod from Ino woke me up. "You're really red."
With a start, I realized that I was blushing deeply. I tried to subdue the heat in my cheeks but I couldn't. I blushed all the way home.
When I got home, I thought about the farewell. What I had said. But had he understood what I had really wanted to say? I fretted until my head hurt. I threw myself into bed in annoyance and shut my eyes in irritation and tried to sleep.
'…Who does he love?' I wondered. I wondered some more. I wondered until I was wide awake.
"Argh," I threw off the covers and began to pace back and forth in my room. Gradually my steps turned into skips and soon I was twirling around, my arms outstretched, grasping an imaginary partner. I shut my eyes and swayed from side to side, imagining that he was there with me, that impossibly gorgeous smirk on his face.
Then he was at my door, waiting for me to open up, so he could say, "…I was enchanted to meet you."
Then he was throwing pebbles at my window and waiting for me to come down so he could take my hand and pull me into a waltz right there in the middle of the street.
Then he was there on the roof again and this time as he pulled me up, he brushed the air away from my face and then leaned in to place a gentle kiss on my lips.
Suddenly, I was torn from my trance by the buzzing of my phone. I inhaled sharply. Could it be…?
I picked it up, my hands shaking. "Hello?"
"Sakura, I think I left my lipgloss at yours when we were getting ready and you know how much I need it, so-"
"Ino, its 4am." I said through gritted teeth. "I'll look tomorrow." And with that, I slammed the phone down. I exhaled. I suddenly felt horribly deflated. I sank to the floor and let my head rest against the wall.
'Please let this be the beginning… the first page… not where the story line ends,' I shut my eyes and prayed. 'Sasuke…'
Sasuke on the roof… his arms outstretched… the wind frenziedly tossing his hair and shirt about…
"Please don't be in love with someone else," I whispered, "please don't have somebody waiting on you."
The buzzing of my phone rang through my room once again. I snapped it up in irritation.
"Look Ino I said I'll look tomorrow, right now I'm trying to sleep!"
"It's not Ino," my eyes widened as I heard a deep voice chuckle, "It's Sasuke."