disclaimer: not my characters, plot references, etc.
notes: Late nights, no regrets. Starting over, feeling fresh. Looking fly and feeling fine. Come on baby, one more time. Let's live it up.
dedication: To all the girls and the boys who got it goin' on. All the sistas and the mistas and the long-time brothas. We goin' far on our wings of light. We gettin' so fucking high offa life. We goin' places and doin' things. Gonna make it so far your ears'll ring. But we'll be back and when we are, baby girl, I'ma be a motherfucking star.
Here's to Us
She was sitting on the steps outside the auditorium, enjoying the warm summer evening air. Her black ceremonial gown was hanging open over her bright, emerald green dress. Her graduation cap with its gold tassel sat next to her on the concrete steps. She wasn't the only one sitting out here, avoiding the inevitable change about to be thrust upon them. All her friends, the people she had been with since kindergarten, they were out here too, looking just as nervous as she felt. She blinked the almost setting sun out of her green eyes and turned to look at the tall, slender blonde girl lying on the step just below her.
"You're going to get dirt in your hair," she pointed out, breaking the silence. Ino snorted and stuck her grad cap under her head.
"Problem solved," Suigetsu commented sarcastically.
"Shut up, asshole," Ino snapped, flipping him off with a perfectly manicured and moisturized middle finger.
Sakura played with the gold cord hanging around her neck, a symbol of her academic excellence. Out of all her friends only a few of them received it. She had no idea how Shikamaru had wrangled his; he slept through all his classes. Hinata worked hard at everything she did and Neji had no choice but to achieve excellence. Sakura got hers because she slaved away, long hours, to pass every test and project with flying colours. And Sasuke, he got his by giving in to his burning desire to be better than his brother.
The group, she thought, all in all, was pretty messed up. But that's why they got along so well. They all had their issues to deal with, so no one was afraid of being judged in this group. Karin didn't care that she almost didn't graduate and it didn't matter that Suigetsu and Kiba got arrested that one time. It didn't make any difference that Lee and Gaara were in the closet any more than Shikamaru proposing to Temari mattered. Ino's family fell apart, but no one asked uncomfortable questions, they were just there for the comforting group hug and mass ice cream/chick flick – a thon. It didn't matter that Tenten had been on trial for manslaughter when she killed a man in self defense because he tried to rape her. Naruto had impossible ambitions and Hinata had too much pressure and Neji had high expectations of himself. Chouji had been having on and off eating disorder problems and Sasuke's father expected him to achieve nothing. And Sakura expected herself to achieve whatever was within her reach, no matter the cost.
They all had their issues and their insecurities, but none of that mattered. All that mattered is that they were here, together, at the end of the longest, most painful, most exciting, most entertaining, most wonderful journey of their lives. They were there; they had made it to the end together.
"Guys," she said into the silence.
"Hm?" Tenten looked around.
"We're graduating tonight," she said. "This is it. We're finally getting out of high school."
"About damn time," Naruto said, leaning back against the trunk of a tree.
"Yeah," Sasuke sat up and brushed grass off his sleeves. "I fucking hated high school."
A few of them chuckled. Most of them hated high school.
"Some parts of high school were good," Ino said.
"Yeah?" Sasuke asked. "Like what?"
"I dunno," Ino shrugged. "You guys."
"Awwe!" Karin shot up the steps and flung her arms around Ino's neck. "Don't make me cry before we even get in there girl!"
"Do you guys remember that one time when Karin didn't have her project for Kakashi's class?" Naruto asked suddenly. Suigetsu laughed loudly, breaking the serenity.
"Yeah man! And she got all cutesy and shit to try and get an extension!"
"Shut up, ass face," Karin threw her hat at him. "I got an extension, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but only after you agreed to wash his car for a week," Suigetsu chortled and threw Karin's hat back at her.
"What about that time Sasuke and Naruto accidentally kissed? Remember in freshman year?" Temari giggled. Sasuke and Naruto scooted away from each other amid gales of laughter.
"Well how about that time when you and Shu=ikamaru broke up because he thought you liked me?"Sasuke shot at her.
"You're kind of dumb for a smart guy, Shika,"Ino said. He merely grumbled at her and lay back on the grass to stare at the small, fluffy white clouds.
"How about that time, in junior year, when Sakura practically forced Sasuke-teme to go out with her. That was funny,"Naruto high fived Kiba, laughin at his best friend's expense.
"Fuck off, dobe," Sasuke growled.
"Well I'm lucky I did," Sakura said. "Or he'd still be single."
They all laughed (even Sasuke managed something like a smile) and settled back again, reminiscing on their own.
"You nervous for your speech, Sak?" Tenten asked.
"Please don't remind me," Sakura said. She pushed the crushing dread at her Valedictorian speech out of her mind.
"What time is it?" Neji asked. Hinata checked her watch.
"We should go in now," she said. She got up and linked arms with Tenten and Temari.
"Good luck, everyone."
Sakura followed them all inside, listening to their laughter and nervous phrases. She stopped and looked back out at the orange and blue sky and the setting sun.
"Hey," Sasuke held his hand out to her. "You coming?"
"Yeah," Sakura took his hand. "I was just looking at the view."
When they announced her name for her speech Sakura got up, shaking slightly. Kiba and Suigetsu, who were sitting closest to her, cheered loudly as she climbed the stairs to the stage. She stepped up to the podium microphone and took a breath.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, families and friends, esteemed guests and, most importantly welcome to the graduating class," she said. She straightened her shoulders as she squinted through the bright lights at the audience. "As I stand here, I think about all the things in high school that I did and didn't do. I remember everything I enjoyed and everything I regret. I see so much history here, and although I am glad that the time for graduation as finally come, some part of me will always miss this. There is a comforting familiarity to high school that no one really wants to leave. I think that I can safely say that most of us are scared of what lies ahead of us. It's natural to feel fear before approaching the unknown. But as we cling to old memories we have to remember that what we did in high school doesn't have to define us. It is only one part of the story of our lives that helps to shape us. And there is so much more to the story than we think there is."
"I am honoured and a little nervous to be speaking to you all tonight, because this adds certain finality to our graduation ceremony. And while I am excited at my plans for next year and for the future, I have to admit, I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll go out into the world and I won't measure up. And I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one with that fear. It's a natural fear, but it's something, I think, that bonds us together. It is the bonds we form that are important. We have precious little to cherish and those bonds and friendships are something we have to treasure forever. I know for a fact that my time at high school would have been terrible if I didn't have the excellent friends I do."
"It is of these bonds that I want to speak, because I know some of you are afraid that the bonds will eventually wear away and break with time. While this may be true, it only means that the ones that persevere and get stronger with age and time are the ones all the more worth having. So even if you're afraid, if you have good people who love and support you in your life, then things will work out. Not everything will go right, but things will be better if you have the best kinds of people at your side."
"So take a moment to look back and remember all those people and make sure that when you look back later on in life that those people will still be there. Because those are the people who are worth knowing and sharing your life with. And what a wonderful life it will be. Since I have to wrap my speech up soon, I have only one more piece of advice to share with you. It's something that I learned from experience, growing up. The only thing that you can do with certainty in life is be comfortable with yourself. So the next time you feel like you aren't good enough, remember that maybe, instead of being worse than someone else, you haven't reached your full potential yet. So go forth, after this evening, with the people who love you and feel comfortable in your own skin. If you have confidence in yourself and you have a support network that would stay up all night giving you advice, then I think that you will have a happy, fulfilling life. With that in mind, I would like to say, one last thing. I probably will not see many of you ever again, so I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone here. We graduated, with time to spare. So, graduating class of 2012; here's to us."
extras: I was feeling like a rap star earlier. And now I'm feeling a little sad. Just graduated, which is what brought this on. No, I wasn't valedictorian, but that's okay. I tried for nostalgic, but seeing as it's almost 2 am where I am, I'm not sure how well that turned out. Oh well. R&R please! Love you guys! 3