Prom: The Sequel, a naruto fanfic

A/N: As promised. By, the way, I'm dealing with a bit of personal drama right now, and I hope it doesn't show too much in there. I tried to make it as least tearful and depressing as I could.

Although I do have my own image in my head, the way Sakura looks is left completely to the reader's imagination.

For the sake of the story, the copyrights and the band (because it's my favourite), the boys in here will be McFly, the band who originally wrote and performed the songs.

Claimer: I still own the plot.

Prom: The Sequel

by Queen of Pascalities

Part One

I can't believe it.

I just can't believe it.

A whole year has passed since… Well, since last year. Since I sang with McFly on stage. Since I almost made a fool of myself in front of one hundred and fifty eleventh-grade students. Since I met my best friend's girlfriend. Since I was saved by said girlfriend. Since I met the sweetest boy on earth.

And Ino is still not here.

I haven't seen her in twelve months, seventeen days and eight hours.

On June 5th of last year, she took the bus to school with me, just like every morning. But when we got down at our school, she told me she was going back to her house. When I got home six hours later, I found that she'd left me a voicemail. A very short and frustratingly void of any crucial information voicemail. All she said was "I'll see you again soon. Good luck for prom, Sakura."

I mean, what?

No, really, what?

After a few months – meaning, after the eventful prom, the slightly less eventful summer and the beginning of eleventh grade for Shikamaru and me – I started wondering how soon her soon was. Honestly, for me, soon can go from five minutes to twenty-four hours, but nothing beyond that. However, for Ino, it apparently goes from five minutes to months and months. Maybe even longer than that.

I mean, of course, compared to twenty years, a year could be considered soon, but compared to twenty-four hours, a year is one hell of a time span.

I'm rambling, aren't I?

So, guess what today is. I'll give you a clue. Temari just brought me a corsage.

Yep, it's prom. My prom.

This time, there'll be no stress, no fashion mishaps (hopefully), no singing in front of people, no disappearance of the song list, no crowd cheering for me, no performing with a band I have no recognition of.

No Sasuke.

I know, I know, I wish he were here too. After last year's prom, the boys went on tour. They travelled around the country, gave shows, promoted their new album, started writing another one, went on another tour, did a few shows for Comic Relief and Children In Need. You know, band stuff. I didn't talk to them much, we were all so busy. They always ended up calling me. Not once did I use Sasuke's cellphone number.

My parents didn't let me do the concert with the band. They said it was because I'd be coming home late, which I think was bullshit because, well, duh, I didn't have school the next day, I was on vacation. I'm pretty sure they were convinced the boys would get me drunk, high and raped. And then they would kidnap me. My parents have a tendency of being a bit over the top.

So I cried. A lot. It wasn't pretty. And then I climbed out my window and ran to the arena where they'd told me they were playing. I snuck to where their bus was parked and I waited. I waited, sitting on the ground, my back resting on the side of the bus, where one of the doors was. Tears were still flowing down my cheeks, but I wasn't sobbing anymore. I did sniffle a few times.

A few moments later, a swarm of overly excited girls rushed out of the building and towards the bus. None of them seemed to notice me, but that might just have been my imagination. I wiped my eyes and stood up. I didn't want to be gushing with tears when I saw the boys – because I would obviously see them. It didn't really matter, though, since I would most likely have red, puffy eyes anyway.

When the side doors finally opened, I barely heard the girls' deafening cheers. I was solely concentrated on the four boys that were walking out, surrounded by their bodyguards. I didn't take my eyes off them as they signed autographs around, chatted with some of the girls and took pictured with them. Although I'd been thinking only about them for the whole day, my thoughts did wander a bit at that moment, and I caught myself wondering how it would be like to have faithful fans all over me like that. Right before I forced myself to focus on the boys again, I decided I would give having fans a try.

Which brought me to the fact that I hadn't been allowed to do the show with the band, thus I wouldn't have many other shots at being famous.

And that made me think about what I wanted to tell the boys.

I hadn't really thought about it. I just wanted to see them. To disobey my parents. A spur-of-the-moment thing. I didn't have any speech prepared, not even a good farewell line. Nothing. All I had were tears and a craving for hugs.

That's when I realized I didn't know them that well. After all, I'd met them only a little more than twenty-four hours before. I didn't know all of their names – one of them was a complete stranger and the others hadn't told me their last names – and I didn't know where they came from, where they were going, how they met and how old they were. I didn't know the titles of any of their albums, I didn't even know how many they'd done. Hell, I didn't know the name of their band!

So, because of my blatant lack of information, I froze. I stood there, eyes wide, mouth hanging slightly open, face blank. I completely forgot about the boys. I forgot why I was there. I forgot up to what was happening around me.

Now, that's a thing about me. It showed the night before, when I'd forgotten the songs I was supposed to sing. When under a great deal of stress or dread, my memory goes wacko and I'm unable to remember anything. I believe my parents explained me why once, but I don't remember it. What I do remember, though, is that when I was younger – at the beginning of seventh grade – I was so stressed out about starting high school that I actually forgot my name. I'm not kidding, I really did forget my name.

My dad had been filming.

So, there I was, frozen like a deer seeing headlights for the first – and most likely last – time in its life, while Naruto, Sasuke, Lee and No-Name-Dude-With-Freakishly-Long-Hair approached my almost lifeless form.

"Sakura?" One of them – I think it was Naruto – asked.

I crashed back down on earth. I had no idea I'd been gone so far.

I shook my head, lost my balance and fell forward. Arms stopped me, but I was still half-conscious of what was happening, so I didn't notice who it was. When my memory came back, I was on my feet, with four pairs of worried eyes staring at me.

"Uh…" Count on me to stay speechless when I know I desperately need to explain something.

"Come on," Naruto said, taking hold of my wrist and pulling me towards the bus. I don't know what happened, usually, I probably would have put up a bit of a fight, but my limbs seemed rather unwilling to obey me.

I heard the other boys following behind Naruto and me, but I didn't look. I was still trying to process why they even bothered being around me. After all, if I didn't know them, they didn't know me either. It was the natural way of things.

I still don't know how they got the door to open, but they did. And a few seconds later, I was sitting on a couch, inside the bus and surrounded by four – I have to admit – handsome boys. I can't really remember what was said, because I was still kind of not there, but I do recall telling where I lived so they could drop me off on the way to wherever they were going – they might have mentioned it, but I don't remember.

I know I marvelled at the sound of Sasuke's voice for a while, but his words – as few as they were – didn't register in my mind until we got to my house. That's when I started really remembering everything.

Sucks nothing was said.

I just kept glancing around and noticing distinguishing features in each of them. I'd earlier realised I wanted to remember everything about them, as little as that was. For example, Naruto's whiskers tattoos on his cheeks, or Neji's – I finally got to know his name – extremely strange and slightly creepy white eyes, Lee's even creepier round eyes and caterpillar eyebrows, and Sasuke's… Well, Sasuke. I certainly didn't want to forget him.

I didn't want to forget his hair, his shoulders – broad, broad – his arms, in which I would very much enjoy to cuddle, his face – oh God, his face. So my eyes kept going back to him, over and over again, so that his features were all "carved" into my brain. At one point, I believe I was actually twitching. And drooling.

I think he noticed.

The bus parked in front of my driveway and the door opened. I felt like crying again. The door opening meant I was going to have to leave the boys and to probably never see them again. For a very long time, at least. Although I couldn't remember the main points of our previous conversation, at that particular moment, a few details came back to me and I recalled that they'd told me they were going on tour. To promote their new album. Or something.

So that meant they were going away and I was staying there. Alone.

No Ino.

No Temari – she was moving into her new apartment in a few days.

No Shikamaru – he was going to help her with her boxes.

No band.

No Sasuke.

I was miserable. I could already see myself gardening with my mother, or mowing the lawn for my dad – my parents, besides being over the top, are crazy about the front of our house. They want it to look its best at all times. So I garden and I mow the lawn.

Fear my blinding enthusiasm.

It wouldn't be that bad if other front yards didn't look like the Serengeti compared to ours.

So I climbed down the bus to be greeted by my Amazon forest of a house, turning around to see what the boys' reaction – they were following me – would be. Hadn't I been on the verge of tears, I would have laughed.

Lee jerked back with wide eyes, Neji bumped into him, Sasuke stopped in the stairs and gave a small "What the-…" and I heard Naruto yell "What's going on out there?" from inside the bus.

When they were all standing in an uneven line in front of me, I told them lamely:

"My mum likes plants."

"Oh, does she, really?" Naruto said, obviously sarcastically.

"Could've fooled me," Neji added.

"Yeah…" I truly couldn't think of anything useful to say. "Well. Er, this is it, I guess."

The four of them mumbled – in their deep, nearly adult voices – something that sounded like a mix between "Yeah", "Right" and "". I chuckled mentally and turned towards my house, trying to convince myself I wasn't about to cry. Because I was. For some reason, after that night, I felt like I'd become really close to those boys.

Before I'd even started walking down the stone path that led to my front door, I heard Naruto yell – yes, he yelled, no, it wasn't necessary, yes, I would've hit him too – out to me.

"What, no hugs?"

I turned around – all the while noticing how those four dudes really had a habit of mumbling incomprehensible things at the same time, as Sasuke, Lee and Neji all muttered "Idiot", "Shut up" and "Awmanhe'syellingagain" as if on cue – and gave Naruto a weird look. I say weird because it felt weird, but I think I looked more like I was a dehydrated fish. It didn't seem to bother him, though.

"Come on, don't we get hugs?" He went on.

For some reason – shyness, I guess – I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks. I mean, sure, I'd finally gotten to know more about them, but I didn't think it was enough to be able to be really familiar with them. At least not at the point of hugging any of them. However, when Naruto opened his arms wide and sent me an ear-to-ear grin, I felt the urge to oblige. Even with only two hours of common acknowledgement, I'd grown rather attached to that boy, and the mere thought of never seeing him felt like losing a brother.

Well, at least my interpretation of losing a brother. Some of my friends would probably be having a blast out of losing their brothers.

But that's beside the point.

So I walked back to Naruto and threw my arms around his torso. He locked his arms around my neck – and my head, because I'm really short compared to him – and held me close. I breathed his sent in. He was probably the only guy I knew who could sweat like a pig for three hours and still smell good. I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment.

I found it quite difficult to enjoy it, though, because after a few seconds, I realized I hadn't breathed in before jumping in Naruto's arms, that I couldn't while in Naruto's arms and that my brain was starting to seriously lack oxygen. But Blondie, being as oblivious as he seems to perpetually be, didn't notice that I'd gone stiff and was trying to struggle my way out of the bear hug.

I thought I was going to die of suffocation, but a knight in shining armour came to my rescue. Or, well, in this case, a guitar player in not-so-shining sweater and jeans.

"Er… Naruto? I think you should let go of Sakura, now."

Ah, Lee, I am forever grateful! Naruto let go of me at last and I sucked in all the air that could fit in my lungs. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of the boys told me I was blue. I coughed a bit, for good measure, then turned to the other boys. Their facial expressions all said more or less the same thing, which was that they were sorry for Naruto's behaviour – well, it looked more like annoyance from Sasuke and Neji, along with a slight killing intent, but I payed no heed to it.

"Um… Does any of you want a hug too?" I asked the three boys shyly.

"Sure!" Lee exclaimed, right before propelling himself towards me and encircling me in an equally comfortable-but-probably-deadly hug as Naruto's. Behind him, before his chest blocked my sight, I saw Sasuke slap Naruto behind the head. Afterwards, I heard "OW!", "Hn" and "Idiot" coming from the three – let's face it – buffoons.

I waited patiently – well, as patiently as I could, being half-choked to death – for Lee to let go of me. When he finally did, I turned to the two remaining not-hugged boys, subtly catching my breath. Neji, without ever putting a smile on his face, walked to me and gave me a short, non-life-threatening hug.

"Take care," he said before leaning away and backing up to where the others were standing.

And then I saw him.

Sasuke.

Not that I hadn't seen him before, but it hadn't struck me, before I saw him, that I was going to have to hug him, too. Now, it might not seem like a big deal, but for some reason, I felt dread at the mere idea. Not a "Oh no, I don't want to hug him, he stinks" kind of dread.

A "Oh my God, I'm about to hug him, I think I'm going to faint" kind of dread.

And right at that moment, any kind of microscopic inhibition that had previously left me suddenly came back and I felt a most horrible blush colour my cheeks. He seemed perfectly calm – lucky bastard – with his hands in his pockets. He'd stopped hitting Naruto – an undamaged part of my brain registered that fact. We both took a step forward, and that's when I saw that he was actually uneasy and a bit awkward. I'd never thought it was possible for him. However much awkward he was, though, I was sure to be worst off. My hands were sweaty and my knees were shaking.

Out of shyness, I averted his eyes. I knew I wouldn't be able to control my embarrassment if I caught his gaze.

Somewhere near me, I heard a quiet "Ahem". I jumped.

"Well? Are you going to hug or not?" I think it was Naruto, but I'm still not sure today.

"Er…" I started.

"Yeah…" Sasuke added.

I shiver went down and back up my spine. Did he mean "Yeah, we're going to hug" or "Yeah, "er" is right"? I inwardly hoped for the first but rationally expected the second. I took another step forward. I think he did too, but I was too engrossed in the observation of my shoes to notice.

"Er…" This time, he was the one to say it. My head shot up as it left his lips.

He wasn't looking at me. He too seemed to find the ground rather interesting.

"… See ya," he finally said.

And then Naruto and Lee burst out laughing. I turned my head to them. The former was holding his sides while the other one had covered his eyes with his hand – with which he had previously slapped in forhead – and both appeared about to cry of laughter.

"Oh, my God!" Naruto exclaimed, still laughing. "Teme, you're such a wussy!"

Sasuke frowned and took a step back.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Ooh, and he doesn't even defend himself!" Lee said.

"Hn."

"Honestly, Sasuke," Naruto went on. "How do you expect to receive Sakura-chan's favours if you can't even bring yourself to touch her.

My heart sank. He couldn't bring himself to touch me? What, didn't he want to?

Wait.

My favours?

"I said shut up."

"Okay, okay! Don't get your panties in a knot. I was just saying. Sakura's probably expecting you to, you know, take her in your arms…"

"Hold her tight…" Lee added.

"Sweep her off her feet…" Naruto continued.

"Kiss her passionately…"

"Whoa, dude, slow down. Who said anything about kissing?"

"I did."

"Relax, man. Don't get too far in the PG stuff, okay. We wouldn't want Sasuke to feel dirty. He's never been that far with a girl before."

And they proceeded on laughing their asses off.

"Er, guys?"

"Yes, Neji?" Naruto said with a chuckle.

"I think you'd better stop before Sakura's head explodes."

He was probably referring to the fact that all my blood had left my limbs and had taken residence in my head. I could practically feel my hair blushing. Not that what Naruto and Lee had said was particularly embarrassing – for me anyway – but the mere perspective of Sasuke being a virgin – or sleeping with a girl, for that matter – felt not only inconceivable to me, but also a bit private, for it was his business and not mine. Still, thinking about his body, you know, without his clothes on, did lead me to a monstrous blush that didn't seem to want to leave but that also made my head feel like it would, as Neji put it, "explode".

The three boys – Sasuke had gone back to admiring the beauty of the concrete in my driveway – were now looking at me with a lot of concern. Well, I think they were, with the worried tone of their voices, because I was not very aware of what was happening around me. My mind had blanked yet again and I could barely register what was being said.

"Do you think we should make her lie down?"

"Or maybe hold her upside down?"

"Of course not, doofus! That's only going to make it worse."

"Oh, right."

Then, out of nowhere, my legs started moving. I felt my knees bend, my calves tighten, the (almost non-existent) muscles in my things move under my skin and the rest of my body follow like the last, unaware, powerless wagon of a fast moving train. For some reason, my feet were turning me around and walking me to my front door, while my mouth, which also seemed to have acquired a mind of its own, opened and let out words that I couldn't possibly have ever wanted to say or even thought of saying – as much because it was utterly inconceivable to me as because my brain wasn't working at all.

"I guess I'll see you when you get back, then."

…

NO!

YOU STUPID, STUPID GIRL!

Don't walk away from them! Leave with them, instead! Get back on that bus and run away from the boring, uneventful, lonely summer that's bound to happen if you so much as put a foot inside your house. This is not what you want and you know it!

Of course, I was perfectly aware that I might never see them again. Really, what told me they'd come back in my little town? And what were the odds of them remembering me, anyway? My body, however, appeared to be completely oblivious to that information my brain was desperately trying to send to it.

My arm went up on its own.

My hand waved.

STOP!

STOP THIS INSTANT!

"Yeah. See you around, Sakura."

I wasn't even sure who'd said that. I was too busy struggling against myself to turn around and run back to them. When I realised there was absolutely nothing I could do about my walking away from my chance of being the happiest I'd been in years, I simply let it go, closed my eyes and waited for that dreadful moment when I would close the door behind myself while tears were welling up in my eyes.

Clic clic clic.

Clic.

Swoosh.

Taptaptaptap.

Swoosh.

BANG.

And then I wailed. And bawled. And sniffed and sobbed. I calmed myself down for a few seconds, breathing in and out calmly.

Then I heard the bus drive away.

And I wailed, bawled, sniffed and sobbed again. My tears seemed unstoppable, infinite. I ran up to my room, possibly leaving trails of water in my path, yanked my door shut, let myself fall down onto my bed, fully dressed, and – as corny as it sounds – cried myself to sleep.

I'm positive I never felt as miserable as I did that night.

Or morning, if we want to get into the technicalities, because it was actually two in the morning when I took a final, exhausted glance at my alarm clock merely minutes before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I got scolded by my parents for sneaking out. I didn't even ask them how they'd found out. I'd banged two doors incredibly loudly, cried my way up to my room even more loudly and run through the house with my shoes, all that right in the middle of the night. Plus, I'd forgotten to lock the front door before I went up.

I wasn't really listening to what they said. I knew I was going to be grounded, but really, with no one around, I couldn't really go out and do something fun, so being grounded, in my case, was a bit like becoming anorexic for an Ethiopian.

It wasn't really going to mess up my habits.

Puffy, red-eyed and sore-throated, I silently accepted my punishment. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like I would cry. No, I actually felt sort of dried out. At least my parents weren't going to start worrying about me, become overprotective and send me to see eons of psychologists. I probably wouldn't have been able to stand it. I was already still wallowing in self-pity inside my head.

And the worst thing was that I knew I could have done something about it.

Part two

"There you go. All done."

I look up at Temari.

"Sakura? Are you crying?"

I shake my head. I'm not crying per se. My cheeks have gone red and my nose is itchy, plus I have a big lump blocking my throat, but there are no tears in my eyes and no sobs escaping my mouth. So, no, I'm not crying.

Which doesn't seem to convince Temari.

"Yeah, right. Stop it right now or you're going to smudge your mascara. Wait until after prom to cry."

Have you ever noticed how great it is to have supportive friends who, no matter what's happened or what you've done, understand you and love you and say nice, comforting things to you?

"Okay, go put your dress on and come back down, so I can finish you up."

Somehow, it sounds slightly threatening. I'm sure she didn't mean it to sound like she was about to beat me up, though.

I hope.

I half-run upstairs to my room, eager to finally put on the gorgeous bunch of fabric my mother had agreed to have made for me. I am her only daughter – and only child – after all, so she was ready – more like insisting very vehemently – to do whatever she could to make my prom the best night of my life.

Well, I can say that she succeeded in her part of the task. After a really lonely summer, my school year without Ino was real torture. At least Shikamaru was there, but, you know, he's a boy. I couldn't talk to him about my girl problems, he wouldn't have understood and would have complained how troublesome it was that Ino was gone and that he was stuck with me. I used to wander in the halls looking like a lost soul, dishevelled, dull and dead tired for not sleeping enough at night. Thus, when my mum brought me to the custom-made-dress shop for the first time, my face – or so mum told me – lit up and it was the first time in months that I actually looked alive.

I pull my dress out of its bag and a huge smile cracks my face in two. I love it so much. I've never loved a piece of clothing more than this dress, and it's a dress. I must insist on that fact because I happen not to like dresses.

"Sakura? Do you need help zipping it up?" Temari asks from downstairs.

"Yes," I answer, taking off my pants and my shirt.

I slide into the silky fabric – I'm not sure what it is, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say it's satin – put the straps on my shoulders and bring the zipper up. When it's up to my waist, it blocks.

And then, panic settles in. Because it's not supposed to block.

I try as softly as I can to bring down and up again, but it doesn't budge. I pull a little harder, all the while praying to whoever is in charge of my luck that I don't tear my dress apart. The zipper still doesn't move.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no! Please, no, please!"

"Sakura? Are you alright?"

Temari's at my door.

"Come on, please!" I'm still pleading my stupid zipper to work.

"Sakura… Sakura! … SAKURA!"

I jump and let go of my zipper.

"Let me do it," she says.

I feel her grab the offending tying device and start pulling it up. I screw my eyes shut, waiting for the tearing sound that's going to prove that I really can't have a prom without it going incredibly bad.

Any minute now.

Zzziiiiiiiiiiiiip.

I open my eyes. Did she do it? Did it actually zip all the way up? Without being damaged? I turn around and look at Temari. She's grinning.

"There you go."

I could cry.

"Come take a look at yourself," she says, grabbing my arm and dragging me to my mirror.

My eyes widen.

My heart misses a beat.

"Oh, my God."

That's not me. The girl in the mirror, who's wearing my prom dress and who looks just as flabbergasted as I believe I am, she can't be me. There is no way that girl is me.

She's too beautiful.

"So, what d'you think?" Temari asks.

"I-…" I can't speak. My vocal cords refuse to work properly.

"I knew you'd like it," Temari says with a smile. "Now, come on, we have to get you to school."

Before we leave my house, she slips the corsage she bought me on my wrist. I personally think it's useless, but I must admit it looks good with my dress. Plus, my wrist won't be nude, so I won't miss the presence of my beloved watch. I just hope I won't look at it to know the time somewhere during prom.

The drive to school is uneventful. Temari and I barely talk at all, the radio is on and some pop tune is playing. I mumble along, not even bothering to remember the right lyrics – well, the ones I know, anyway. At school, we have to wait in the car until we get in front of the main entrance, where someone announces the people coming in and where everyone has to walk down a red carpet.

At the main entrance, loads of couples and parents are taking pictures, chatting and waiting to get inside. Some teachers are walking around, socialising with students. The principal is watching everyone arriving. I hear my Economics teacher, Kurenai, name a couple who's taking their sweet time parading down the carpet, smiling at everyone bored enough to look at them. Hopefully, no one will notice me. I really don't want to be the centre of attention tonight.

It's only when I get out of Temari's car that I realise there's nobody following us. Which means I'm the last one to arrive. Which means I'm not going to be one girl amongst all others, like I wanted to be.

I'm going to be the last name they call of my promotion.

Ever.

…

WHY? Why can't I be invisible? Is some kind of curse I have, one that makes me unable to go unnoticed at proms? Okay, I admit my hair doesn't really make me incognito all the time, but you should see some of my classmates' hair. I swear, next to that, I'm as bland as a red brick in a red brick wall.

Temari goes to stand on the sides of the red carpet where my parents are also waiting, cameras in hand. She whispers a few words to them – in my head, she's telling them about my misfortune – to which they smile – yep, definitely talking about it – and then she turns to look at me.

For a second, instead of seeing her, I have the illusion of seeing Ino. She's there, with my parents, smiling at me. I stay frozen, convinced she's actually there. However, when Kurenai starts announcing me, I break out of my phase and walk to the red carpet.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the last graduate of this year's promotion, Miss Haruno Sakura. A good prom to her."

I hear whispers and polite claps, and I see some camera flashes out of the corner of my eyes as I take my first step down the carpet, all the while praying I don't trip. On that subject, thank God for flats, otherwise I'd be going barefooted. My mum, of course, wouldn't let me wear casual shoes – as I told her, nobody would see them, what with the length of my dress – and in my case, wearing high heels is actually considered a suicidal act.

Once I reach the end of the red carpet, thankfully uninjured and still on my two feet, I let out a sigh and smile for the official photographer. As soon as my picture is taken, I look around for my parents. I can't see them.

I feel a soft tap on my shoulder.

I turn around, hopeful to see someone I know.

It's a guy.

He's tall, lean, rather handsome under his mop of whiteish-blue hair – a perfect example of what I meant when I said my pink hair is nothing out of the ordinary. He's grinning.

I have no clue who he is.

"Hey, you're the girl who sang at our prom last year, right?" He asks. Oh, he must be a student from last year's promotion.

"Er… Y-yes, yes, I am," I manage to choke out. "Why?"

"Well, my girlfriend loves the band you were with. I thought she'd like to meet you personally, you know, because you were with them," he says with a small grin.

Aaaaaww. How sweet of him. I can't help it, just to think that he's doing it for his girlfriend's happiness, it brings tears to my eyes. It might also be because he mentioned… well, the unmentionable.

"You might actually already know her because she's in your year, but she told me she only talked to you once in all your years together."

I think he's trying to convince me. He doesn't need to, I've already accepted.

Oh, right. I should tell him I have.

Hehe.

"Er, yeah, I'd love to meet her. Where is she?"

"Just over there," he says, pointing to a girl with fire engine red hair – another good example of my hair's usualness - and a tattoo on one of her shoulder blades. I know I've seen her before, but my memory is very vague. "Come on," her boyfriend says.

I follow him. As we get closer, her tattoo becomes clearer. And more familiar, for some reason. Unfortunately, the boy calls out to her and she turns around. Her features are even more familiar than her tattoo. Strangely enough, I have a feeling something's missing in her face, which, by the way, lightens up as soon as she sees me.

"Oh, my God!" She exclaims, turning to her boyfriend. "I can't believe you brought her here!"

"You did say you wanted to meet her," he replies.

"Oh, God! I mean, er, hi. I'm Karin," she tells me. "It's really nice to meet you."

"Er, thanks," say nervously. "I'm Sakura."

"So, how was it?" she asks.

"How was what?"

"Well, you know… Being on stage with McFly."

"Oh," I try as hard as I can not to frown. "Er… It was cool. They're all very talented."

"I know, right? I love them so much. I actually got their logo tattooed on my back, look," She says enthusiastically. She turns around and shows me, and that's when I understand why I thought it looked familiar. It's the microphone that's drawn on one of McFly's albums – Radio:ACTIVE, I believe.

"They're so amazing! And hot!" She turns back to me.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Her boyfriend says, offended.

She doesn't pay any attention to him.

"Especially Sasuke!" She continues, as my forced smile falls from my face. "Don't you think? I mean, you got so close to him! Physically, I mean. You know, when he held your hand?"

I lowered my eyes. I knew they were going to tear up if I kept them up.

"I was a bit jealous, I have to admit," she doesn't even stop. "But, you know, I got over it. But you're so lucky to have met them! Which one's your favourite? Sasuke's my favourite, of course, he's sooo sexy! And his voice!"

Oh, looks like my eyes well up even when I'm looking down.

"Er, Karin…" Her boyfriend starts.

"Wait, Suigetsu, I'm in the middle of a conversation," she hushes him, waving her hand up and down. "So, which one? You look like you'd like Neji. Or maybe Naruto. I know, there's a big difference between their personalities, but they're both so hot!"

"Karin, I th-…" her boyfriend – Suigetsu, was it? – spoke again.

"Wait!" She tells him, then come back to me. "So which one? Or maybe you like Lee? I mean, he does work out a lot, so his body is-…"

I can't help it. A loud sob rips through my throat.

"Karin, stop!" Suigetsu exclaims. "Can't you see she's crying?"

"What?" She says in a worried tone. "Oh, my God, what's wrong?"

"I-…" Another single sob comes out.

"Sakura?"

I turn around. It's Temari. She looks alarmed – from what I can see, because she's kind of blurry right now.

"What happened to her?" She asks in a bit of an angry tone.

"I don't know, I-…" Karin starts.

"Sakura, did they say something mean?" Temari asks me, barely paying any attention to Karin.

"N-no…" I sob.

"They were talking about McFly when she-…" Suigetsu says, taking charge.

"Oh, I see," she cuts him. "It's okay, Sakura, stop crying. Okay? Come here." Her voice is soft.

She pulls me in a hug. I don't even bother to tell myself how weird it is to be hugging a wrestler – without it being particularly uncomfortable – I just let myself be held.

"What's wrong with her?" I hear Karin ask.

"You sort of hit a sensitive nerve," Temari explains. "M-C-F-L-Y is a bit of a taboo around her."

"I can spell, you know," I mutter.

"Oh, look, the sense of humour is back," Temari says, mocking. "Come on, wipe your tears."

I oblige.

"There you go. Tonight is supposed to be an amazing night. I won't let you cry all the way through it, you hear me? You're not allowed to cry tonight, Sakura!"

"Mkay," I mumble.

"Good. Now come on, your parents want to see you."

She takes hold of my wrist and pulls me towards where my parents are standing with wide smiles on their faces. After taking a few up close pictures, telling me how beautiful I look, wishing me the best of time and hugging me as much as they could without choking me, they left, seemingly three times more ecstatic and excited about my prom than I am.

Temari hugs me as well.

"Trust me, this is really going to be the best night of your life," she whispers in my ear.

She pulls back and sends me a – slightly mischevious – grin.

"Have fun, then."

And she's off. I stand here, completely alone. I look around, trying to spot someone I know. I see some acquaintances, but no one I really get along with. I've always been alone with Ino. She had a lot of friends, but they weren't my friends.

"Sakura!" Someone calls out.

I turn around to see who did. It's Karin, running towards me, her boyfriend tagging along.

"Oh, Sakura, I'm so sorry I made you cry!" She says in a somewhat panicky tone.

"Oh, no, it's o-…"

"Is there anything I can do to redeem myself?"

"Er…"

"Yes?"

"Well, you could, er… You could refrain from talking about… You know…" I really don't want to say their name.

"Oh! Oh, of course, Sakura!"

"You know, just so I don't smudge my makeup again," I say jokingly.

"Yeah," she chuckles. "No, of course, I understand."

"Are you sure you're okay, though?" Suigetsu asks me.

"Yes, I am."

"Then come on, you two!" Karin says, suddenly impatient. "We have to get inside."

Chuckling, we follow her inside the school. She invites me to eat at their table, because one of their friends didn't show up. The cafeteria looks incredible. The Prom Committee had white and red vapourous curtains hung over the wide windows that make up the whole exterior wall of the room. The long, rectangle tables are gone, replaced by the round ones from the first and second years' cafeteria. The blue plastic chairs have also been replace by much more elegant ones, though I have no clue where they're from.

While we eat – cafeteria food, oh the joy – I learn that Karin was actually in my Chemistry class once at the beginning of the year and asked me for a pencil, which happens to be the one time we ever talked, because she switched classes afterwards. That's when I figure what's missing from her face. Her black, thick-rimmed emo glasses. She looks completely different without them, which is why I didn't recognise her.

Duuuut.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you will please proceed to the auditorium, the dance is about to start," a teacher says out of the intercom.

A loud buzzing of voices ensues as everyone rises enthusiastically. Out of all the hand-holding couples, I manage to spot about seven people who aren't seemingly with anyone. Well, at least I'm not the only one. We all walk to the auditorium like a big herd of sheep. I miss Ino more than ever. I'd be just as eager to get there as everyone else if had her here. She always got the fun girl out of me. Hell, we'd already be dancing, even without music.

I look around, trying to find Karin and Suigetsu. They're nowhere in sight. People push me from each side, chatting away with their friends. When I finally enter the auditorium, I feel like I have a piece of every single student's DNA somewhere on me.

On the stage, technicians are setting things up. A drum kit, electric guitars, a bass, amplifiers. One of the men is installing something – I can't see what it is – inside the front piece of the drum kit – you know, the big round one with a pedal? Yeah, I don't know how it's called – and the front piece is on the floor. I can't see who's going to play – the name is usually on that part of the drum kit – but I'm inwardly hoping it's not… Well, you know.

As I get closer to the stage, an image appears in my mind. I'm onstage, in front of loads of people. There's music playing around me but I can't hear it. I see the two guitarists playing, feel the rhythm of the bass and the drum under my feet, but no sound reaches my ears. I can feel my mouth moving as I blurt out lyrics.

An overwhelming feeling rushes through me. I have chills. In my memory, I'm incredibly happy, almost fulfilled. In reality, I realise tears have never reached my eyes so fast.

Suppressing a sob, I turn around as fast as I can and elbow my way to the door of the auditorium. I have to get out of here. I can't stay, I'll only end up thinking about unwanted things if I do. The lights suddenly go very dim. The people around me start cheering. Behind me, someone undertakes a guitar riff.

At last, I'm out of the crowd. A second guitar joins in.

The door is only a few meters away. The bass comes in as well.

Only a few more inches. There come the drums.

I'm at the door. I'm about to open it.

"How are you doing, everybody?" Someone calls out in his microphone.

I freeze.

The crowd cheers.

His voice is…

"Are you ready to have fun?"

… so familiar.

The crowd goes wild.

It can't be.

"It's awesome to be back here!"

It just can't be.

"For those of you who don't know us, we're McFly."

It is.

"We'll be your entertainment for tonight."

They're here! They're really here!

I'm about to turn around when I hear Naruto – he's the one who's been talking – start to say something else.

"Tonight, we're also searching for someone, actually. You might know her, she's graduating this year. Unless something went wrong." I hear the other boys chuckle in their microphones.

Chills go up my spine.

And pretty much everywhere else in my body.

"So, yeah, we're searching for her. She's kind of special to us. I'll tell you a secret… She's actually that girl to one of us. Could you help us?"

A loud "YEAH!" comes out of the crowd.

My heart skips a beat.

"Okay. I want you all to call out to her with us. Come on! That… Say it!"

The crowd yelled "THAT…"

"Girl!"

"GIRL!"

"All together now! THAT. GIRL."

"THAT. GIRL. THAT. GIRL. THAT. GIRL. THAT. GIRL."

"LOUDER!"

"THAT! GIRL! THAT! GIRL! THAT! GIRL!"

The crowd chants the two words over and over until I hear – it's him, without any doubt – Sasuke yell "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" and the song picks up.

Went out with the guys

And before my eyes

There was this girl, she looked so fine.

It's Lee singing. He sounds just like he does on the albums I bought of them.

And she blew my mind

And I wished that she was mine

And I said 'Hey wait up, 'cause I'm off to speak to her'

And my friends said