A/N: Yay, my first SasuNaru fanfiction! Which is kind of strange. I've been a total fangirl for it since, like, august (before that I was more into SasuSaku. I still kind of have a weak spot for it... don't judge me...)

So in case you didn't read the summary when you clicked this, here it is now: A boy in a small town falls in love with a girl...'s boyfriend? Naruto has been in love with Sakura for as long as he can remember, but he's not sure what to think when Sasuke kisses him. At first he hates the guy, but as he gets to know Sasuke, he finds himself falling...
SasuNaru, obviously. Others too, but those are only vague references. You could consider certain parts NaruSaku-y, but trust me, the NaruSaku-ness won't last for long. Also, it's a college AU.

Disclaimer: As much as I'd like to own Sasuke, neither he nor any of Masashi Kishimoto's character's will ever belong to me. (Damn you, Kishimoto! Damn you TV Tokyo! I'll get you back... somehow. What? Am I not allowed to make obscure internet references?)

In Which Sakura's Boyfriend is a Bastard

Naruto hated college.

At least, he hated the parts that involved sitting down and studying. Making himself stare at the words in his textbook was like pulling his hairs out one by one. He was almost glad when the shrill sound of his cell phone broke the silence, even though he had a test the next day.

"Hello?"

"Naruto!" Sakura squealed. "Thank god you picked up. For some reason, Rock Lee and Ino are both ignoring my calls."

"What's up?"

"I'm going to make cookies. For Sasuke."

"…How nauseatingly mushy of you." And totally unfair. He wanted to add. She'd never made cookies for him. Maybe he wasn't as dreamy as Sasuke, but didn't best friend status earn him some perks?

"Shut up, you're just jealous. I need you to go get some chocolate chips and flour."

"Aw, Sakura, can't you do it yourself? You're the one with a car. I'm studying –"

"I know you, Naruto, and I know you are not studying. You are are fidgeting and eating and watching TV and listening to CDs and telling yourself you will study."

"…" She had him there; it was more or less true. He was quite skilled in the art of procrastination, and had been pushing off the studying for weeks. Fortunately for him, he was also no novice to the art of cramming the night before the big test. Of course, Sakura wouldn't let him do that until she got her way.

He didn't have to say anything; she knew he'd give in. "Hurry, okay? The supermarket is only open for another half hour."

"I'm going, I'm going," Naruto muttered, pulling his coat on.

Naruto didn't need a car to get Sakura eggs and chocolate chips so she could make cookies for her precious boyfriend; he lived within walking distance of both Sakura's house and the supermarket.

"I'm heading out!" he called to Iruka.

The light on the "n" of Wegman's had broken, so the sign on the front of the store read "Wegmas". Naruto thought it sounded like the name one would give to a holiday. Maybe Wegmas was the patron saint of cookies' birthday. Which would mean that particular saint's name was 'Weg', and who in their right mind would name their child 'Weg'? More importantly, what did Saint Weg have against Naruto? Obviously she demanded her birthday be celebrated by torturing him, and that was why Sakura was making cookies for and swooning over some guy named Sasuke and not him.

He shook his head and walked inside. Shikamaru was behind the single cash register that day. The idea of him having a job was laughable, but the fact that he was currently snoring with his head on the conveyer belt made it all slightly more believable.

He didn't see anyone else in the store, which made sense; it was only a few minutes before closing time. Naruto's steps echoed against the walls as he made his way to the chocolate chips.

His shoelaces must have been untied, because before he knew what was happening, he was landing face-first onto the cold floor.

He rolled over, angry and embarrassed. "Alright, who tripped me?" he asked almost hopefully, only to be met by silence. He sighed, wishing that just once he could be able to blame someone other than his own stupidity. He shrugged it off and sat up to tie his shoelaces, whistling and ignoring the pain in his forehead.

Someone tapped him on the top of his head. He lifted his eyes, expecting to find a newly-awakened and angry Shikamaru, but instead there was a stranger standing there, arm extended.

This was very odd. Konoha was the kind of ridiculously small town where everyone knew everyone, and here was someone that Naruto didn't know. It was like meeting an alien.

This alien had spiky black hair and black eyes. Naruto thought he seemed like the kind of pretty boy Sakura would go for, and then he felt discouraged that he himself didn't fall into that category.

"You're new here, right?" He asked, accepting the other boy's help getting up.

"You're Naruto Uzumaki, right?" He replied. Naruto grinned. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

He got a smug look on his face as he pulled Naruto up abruptly and kissed him hard on the mouth before walking away. There was a tattoo on the back of his neck that read 'Uchiha'.

Naruto stood there, stunned, for a good three minutes before the anger set in, and by then the bastard had walked out of the door. He dropped the bag of chocolate chips on the ground and rushed back into the cold night air.

"What the hell?!" he shouted, even though the freak was nowhere to be seen. He spat on the ground and rubbed his lips on his mouth, muttering, before going back inside to buy Sakura her damn cookie-making supplies.

"What's your problem?" Shikamaru asked, yawning as Naruto slammed the chocolate chips and flour down in front of him.

"Nothing." He said. "Just… studying. It's tiring."

"How troublesome."

"At least I won't be living with my parents for the rest of my life." Naruto said it good naturedly; he liked Shikamaru. The lazy ponytail wearer was decent enough towards him, and unlike a lot of people in Konoha, he wasn't entirely convinced that Naruto was possessed by the devil.

…

He knocked loudly on Sakura's door. She opened it quickly. "God, what's wrong with you?" she asked. "You trying to wake the whole town? You know if my mom finds out you're here, she'll have a hissy fit." He shrugged.

"Sorry." He hadn't meant to take out his fury at the black-haired stranger on her door.

"Come on in." She pulled the door open. "You can lick the batter off the spoon if you want."

"Goody!" he exclaimed honestly. She laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Just know that I'm kicking you out at ten thirty. I don't want you sleeping in; you'll make us late." Both Sakura and Naruto lived at home, and they went to the same community college an hour away. She had the car, and he had the money to pay for gas each day, but getting up early enough to show up on time was a hassle.

"Hey, Sakura?" he asked as she preset the oven. She turned around.

"Oh, your voice is all serious. What is it?"

"At the supermarket, this guy kissed me." His fingers clenched into fists just thinking about it.

"What?" She didn't share his outrage. Instead she crossed the room and wrapped him in a big hug. "Eighteen, and you finally got your first kiss!"

"Okay, first of all, it was my second kiss. Remember? Hinata? Tenth grade?" She waved it away.

"First, second, whatever. Eep, I'm so happy for you!"

"You're not getting it. I didn't even know the guy. He was such a jerk. I mean, who just kisses a guy out of the blue? Isn't that sexual harassment?"

She wasn't listening. "I mean, I always thought you were on that side of the fence. Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have had a problem with it. I've dated a girl before, remember?"

What Naruto remembered was that Ino and Sakura had used her fifteenth birthday as an opportunity to make out, and one of the other guests – most likely her ex, Rock Lee – had called Pastor Orochimaru, who'd shown up at the Haruno residence armed with a bible and a lecture against the evils of homosexuality. Of course he had to make a big stink when he saw Naruto too, yelling at Mrs. Haruno for allowing the 'devil child' into her home. Naruto wasn't invited over too much after that.

"So, what's his name? Is he hot?"

"Stop talking about it like that!"

"So are you saying you're not gay? Or at least bi?"

Naruto didn't answer. Okay, so he liked looking at the men from time to time, but since when did that make a person un-straight? He was in love with Sakura, for Christ's sake. Didn't that tip things in his favor on the heterosexuality scale?

"Aha! You're hesitating!"

"Look, I hate that guy, okay?"

"Sure you do. Just tell me his name."

"I don't even know. And that's weird. I thought I knew everyone. That reminds me, what's this Sasuke like? How come I haven't seen him around either?"

She swooned, and Naruto repressed a gag.

"He's like, a child prodigy. He's our age, and he's already graduated college. And he's so reliable and sweet and –"

"-And I'm about to puke. Just tell me, is he some kind of hermit who stays locked up in his house all day? 'Cause that's the only reason I can think of that I wouldn't have run into him yet."

"He moved here from some big city – why he would move here of all places is beyond me." She tapped her finger against her lips. "Though it is odd you haven't seen him yet. He's been here for months, and it's not like this town is so overflowing with people that it's impossible to tell one from another." She walked into another room and returned with her wallet.

"This is my baby." She pulled a picture out of her wallet, and Naruto stared, open-mouthed. He had seen Sasuke around. He'd recognize that smirk anywhere.

Sasuke was the bastard from the super market.

"Ah! Him! He!" Naruto motioned wildly.

"Good god, Naruto, calm down, would you?"

Naruto gulped, telling his mouth to shut up.

"Sorry. I just recognized him from somewhere." Naruto didn't need to tell Sakura that her boyfriend was the one who'd kissed him. Not yet, anyways.

"Oh?" She slipped the picture back in her wallet, and walked back over to the kitchen counter. "Here's the spoon. Lick to your heart's content." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, and he shuddered.

"See, now you've just ruined it. You'll be making all sorts of penis jokes while I'm trying to enjoy perfectly innocent cookie batter."

"Fine. I don't want you sucking on my stick anyways."

"You don't have a stick, Sakura."

"If I did, you'd so want it."

"This metaphor is getting too complicated for me."

"It's ten thirty. Go home. Go to sleep. Maybe get some studying in first." He groaned.

"Ahg. First sticks now studying. Are you trying to give me a heart attack using words that start with 's'?"

"Sasuke's name starts with an 's'". Naruto's stomach lurched, and he felt an odd mix of anxiety, anger, and guilt – why should he feel guilty, though? – at the mention of the bastard's name.

"Good night, Sakura."

When he got back to his house, Iruka shouted down to him: "You'd better study now!"

"Just a second!" Naruto pulled out his phone book and flipped to the 'U' page, moving his finger along until it fell on 'Sasuke Uchiha'.

A/N:

Well, that chapter was rather uneventful. W/e, I had fun writing the all the banter. Oh, and I feel like I should let everyone know that while this chapter (and, I'm pretty sure, most chapters) are pretty light and happy, there is some mild angst up ahead. Oh, don't give me that look. One of the main characters is Sasuke, what do you expect?
Read and review, please!