Haruno Sakura was pissed.
This day was supposed to work out perfectly, supposed to play right into her hands. Or so her friends Ino and Hinata had told her.
Hinata and Ino; the prettygirls in the school. Ino had her gorgeous blonde hair and slender body, and Hinata was adorable and shy, along with her enormous... well...
She'd conditioned and styled her hair perfectly that morning, put on the perfect amount of makeup, picked the perfect outfit--the one that subtly accentuated what curves she had. She'd even put on her favorite pair of earrings and pulled out her expensive Coach purse. Uchiha Sasuke should have at least given her a second glance.
But he didn't.
And that hurt her feelings. And whenever her feelings got hurt, she became cranky.
But her feelings weren't just hurt, her heart was crushed, smashed, shattered. Her confident offer for a date was not only turned down by the bastard, it was turned around and spat back at her with vicious force.
So much for going for the good-looking, mysterious type. He was just too cool for her, or so her friends had said.
She replayed the events in her head, making her even more miserable than she already was.
Sakura tapped her pencil impatiently, watching the clock above the teacher's head and waiting for the bell that seemed to taunt her with its slow approach.
Her attention was drawn away when she felt a pair of eyes boring into her. She turned her head to look at the next row of desks and caught a rather nerdy-looking boy staring at her. He was a little on the skinny side, with crazy blonde tresses that looked as if they'd never be tame. He was wearing a pair of dark-rimmed glasses that framed bright, cerulean eyes--eyes that could have been pretty if he wasn't wearing the glasses. An old, faded black Iron Maiden shirt, a pair of patched and darned jeans, and what used to be white sneakers but were now a sad shade of gray were the defining presence of "nerdiness".
When he saw her look back at him, he blinked and smiled weakly before dropping his gaze and pretending to take notes from the teacher's droning voice.
But before Sakura could give him a second thought, the bell finally rang. She snatched up her backpack and made her way towards the cafeteria, moving so quickly that the rest of the class tailed behind her.
When she entered the lunchroom, her eyes roved to find the one person she was trying to impress: the all-famous, popular and major hottie Uchiha Sasuke. He was easily recognizable as the boy on the other side of the room, surrounded by fangirls and other popular guys. He leaned with easy grace on the white brick wall, one leg up and the flat of his foot against the wall.
Sakura dropped her bag into her usual seat, where she and her friends--Ino, Hinata, and Neji--sat. It was an unsaid thing that thier seats were reserved, as they were seniors.
She casually "happened" to walk past Sasuke, making sure that she added a little confident stride in her step and attempting to swing her hips a little as well. She made her way through the throng of adoring fans--none of which seemed to make any impression on Sasuke--and boldly stood in front of him, hoping she looked "natural".
The many fangirls watched her progress with disdain in their eyes--she could feel them sizing her up as an opponent or an enemy.
"So, Sasuke-kun," she said, hoping her makeup had lasted throughout the day, "I hear you're still single."
A nearly imperceptible nod was her answer, which was his trademark--he never talked much, adding to his "mysterious and dark" demeanor.
"I..." her confidence faltered a little. Couldn't he at least look at her when she was speaking to him? She cleared her throat. "I wanted to know if you were interested in a date," she finished, lifting her chin a little in what she hoped was a show of confidence, even though her heart was thundering.
She got her wish, if only for a second; he glanced at her before dropping his gaze and pulling a piece of gum out of his pocket. He didn't answer her at first, and made a show of unwrapping his Wrigley's and slowly pushing it into his mouth, chewing and softening it for a moment. She couldn't help but watch the movement of his hands as it led to his yummy lips, but she mentally shook herself and continued to wait for an answer.
"You were pretty brave to just walk up here and ask me for a date," he said, still not looking at her and keeping his arms crossed. Sakura's confidence lifted... was he...? Then he looked at her, straight in the face. Sakura noted the gorgeous onyx color before she saw lazy indifference in his eyes. "But I'm not interested. Nor will I ever be. I don't associate with losers," he said sniffily, before turning away and blatantly ignored her.
Several things happened at once: a million emotions threatened to make Sakura explode, but instead turned her face a blotchy pink color, the girls around Sasuke smirked and turned their backs on her, and a voice shouted unintelligible words from behind her as a warm hand pulled her away from the crowd. She was vaguely aware that she'd been brought back to her table with all of her friends.
But even through the clamor of Sasuke's groupies sneering and the yelling voice, one thing registered in her brain: try harder.
She later learned that it was Tenten that had shouted at Uchiha and called him a "stupid, cold prick" and it was Neji who'd dragged her back to the table.
A voice suddenly brought her back to the present. She stopped chewing on her pencil to see her teacher looking at her, half-bemused, half-concerned, along with the rest of the entire class.
"Miss Haruno, the answer to number thirty-two...?" The teacher asked, waiting for her answer.
"Oh! Um... sorry, Kakashi-sensei... " She stammered, blushing as the rest of the class sniggered.
Except one.
The nerdy, blonde boy was looking at her with genuine concern, and a little bit of something else... sadness? Jealousy?
She turned to her book and gave the answer.