Welcome back, old and new. This is the sequel to Not As Planned, an unexpected hit, I must say. If you have just randomly clicked this fic, I advise you either a) go read Not As Planned or b) be a total loser and simply hit the back button and find another fic that will be a total waste of your time since it isn't mine. Yes, I went there. And back.
Be sure to read the a/n at the end for info on future updates and such. I'll keep my babbling to a minimum. You're welcome.
Oh, and a big thank you to theblackroseofkonoha for beta-ing this chapter for me. I know, I know. Skipping words in sentences is sloppy. I'm typing slower now..
Can we keep him?
-- . -- . -- . -- . -- . -- & -- . -- . -- . -- . -- . --
The sun reflected off of the crinkled aluminum, a splatter of mustard tainting it. The young man holding it coaxed the hot dog further out from the shiny paper and took a hearty bite. Beside him, his best friend and virtual opposite did the same. Well, minus the mustard. He was more of a ketchup guy, the blond.
"Seriously, man. I can't thank you enough for this." Bits of meaty debris flew from his mouth as they crossed the street.
"How many times are you gonna say that? I got that so you'd stuff your mouth and shut up already." Sasuke sighed and took another chunk out of the sausage.
"Sasuke, you really did save my ass, though." Naruto reminded him as they weaved through the bustling crowds of New Yorkers.
"What'd you expect me to do? Just leave my best friend with that stuck up asshole of a boss?"
"Aw! I'm your best friend?" His eyes suddenly became gigantic and glittery.
"Naruto..." He shook his head and tossed the remaining wrapper in a trash can, his 'best friend' doing the same.
"Anyways, I'm still not sure if I wanna go back to California." They crossed another street, the blaring of horns emitting from the motionless cars around them.
"Why not?" He already knew why, though.
"It was great growing up there, but there's more in this world than just a familiar place." That Hinata girl, of course.
"Sure." He shrugged, a smirk in place.
"You're such a prick, you know that?"
"You're not exactly my favorite ray of sunshine, either." Naruto laughed loudly and shoved him.
"So what's Sakura up to?"
"School." He said offhandedly.
"Hmm, so you're into the whole kinky schoolgirl thing now. Niiice…." He commented and was given a whack to the head.
"You know, Hinata goes to school with her, too."
"Exactly."
"And I'm the pervert?" They stopped in front of a huge building and waited by the steps.
"Finally, you're understanding how things work. Good job!"
"Idiot..."
A bell rang and soon a wave of teenagers in white shirts, navy blue ties, jackets, skirts and expensive shoes cluttered the street. When the tsunami of bodies had passed, a stream of the remaining came out. Four of which were extremely familiar.
"What the-" Tenten muttered.
"Uchiha, what brings you here?" The older Hyuuga greeted, his fingers laced together with the muttering girl's.
"Nothing much, just decided to say hello to Ms. Haruno." He replied just as smoothly.
"Naruto..!" Hinata gasped from next to Ino.
"Hinataaa!!" Naruto ran up the steps and enveloped the shy girl in a monster bear hug.
"How do you know each other?" Neji asked; his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"We met in Italy! Right, Hinata?" Naruto chirped, letting go to hold her by the hand.
"Mhm." She nodded, her face red.
"I see.." Neji muttered, still not too happy about it.
Sakura walked down the steps with Ino and hugged Sasuke. He smirked down at her after kissing the top of her head. Ino, who was smiling at the pair, suddenly got a phone call and stood off to the side to answer it.
"Sasuke, how'd Naruto get here?" She asked, blushing when he wrapped his finger in her hair.
"When a man and woman love each other very much-"
"Sasuke!"
"-or are very drunk-"
"Ugh! Stop!" She covered her ears.
"Fine, fine. He's moving in with me in my loft. Damn Lawrence was being an ass, so I told him to stay with me. He's gonna apply for some jobs around here tomorrow."
He looked up and watched as the four on the stairs came down towards them. He turned and saw that Ino was finishing up her phone call.
"Ohmigod! Guess what!?" Ino yelled.
"What?" They all responded in the most cliché way possible.
"Temari and Shikamaru broke up!" She squealed, jumping excitedly in her painfully high heels.
"And?" Tenten questioned, not really understanding what the big deal was.
"Ugh, Shikamaru is single again. Duh." Ino rolled her eyes, but was still smiling.
"Of course…." Neji sighed.
"I need to get going, guys. Just fill me in later, Ino." Sakura waved them off and turned to go home.
"Naruto, you have the extra key, right?" Sasuke asked his friend.
"Yep, right around my neck in my shirt!" He confirmed.
Sasuke nodded and walked after Sakura.
"What are you doing?" She asked him as he fell into step next to her.
"Going home with you." He shrugged.
"Sasuke, my dad will get suspicious if he sees his new investment of an artist hanging with his daughter." She pointed out.
"You worry too much, babe." He grinned.
"Seriously. You can't come home with me." She glared at him, but they both knew it didn't really mean much.
"Actually, I have to." They turned the corner and were walking past a construction site.
"What do you mean?" She slowed down with her hands propped on her hips.
"Your dad wants to redo a few of your guest rooms, so he's using my art to do it." He smirked, drinking in her confusion.
"Oh..kay.." She continued walking then, him close behind.
"Remember when I kinda kidnapped you when we first met?" He asked her.
"Yeah, you pulled me down a bunch of alleys." She smiled to herself.
"And I held you like this, right?" He pulled her into his side and wrapped his arm around her.
She blushed and giggled. "Exactly."
They reached the end of an old apartment building and Sasuke swiftly pulled her around the corner of it and gently but firmly pressed her against the brick wall. His body was holding her in place, almost holding her up. One hand gripped her upper arm while the back of the other caressed her cheek. His face lowered itself toward hers, almost as if magnetized. She closed her eyes as the sound of her heart banging in her ribs echoed in her head. His nose tickled hers and his lips were so close and she could feel it and- her phone rang. Loudly. He pulled back, exhaling through his nose. He ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his rings as she muttered a quiet apology. Green eyes and porcelain skin glowed against the screen of her purple Sidekick. It was her dad calling.
"Hi, Daddy." She greeted. A pause. "I'm coming, sorry. Bye."
"I guess we should get going." He was already walking out to the sidewalk again.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke. He's just very protective, I guess. Trust me, I'm not all that excited about it either." He shrugged.
She held his hand and kissed the yellow rolled up sleeve on his arm. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and didn't let go. Another block down and he pulled a cigarette from the carton in his pocket. Holding it between his lips, he lit it with a small red lighter.
"Sasuke! That's so gross!" She yelled, reaching for the stick of lung cancer.
"But so good." He smirked, knowing it was pissing her off. He held the cigarette out of her reach as they continued to walk. Eventually, she gave up.
"You know I hate it when you smoke..." She muttered.
"And your dad would hate me if I was distracted by a nicotine craving." He blew out a long wisp of smoke.
"Whatever."
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Well, hello there! Come on in!" The most recent Mrs. Haruno greeted the two.
"Thank you." Sasuke smiled politely. "Nice place," He whispered to Sakura. "Definitely the biggest penthouse I've seen."
"Four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, kitchen, living room, balcony, giant walk-in closets," She dropped her bag against the wall in one of the short hallways. "It's home."
"Sakura, you're home! Ah, I see Sasuke caught up with you along the way. Good. I never really was too comfortable with you walking home alone." Her dad chuckled, straightening his tie.
"How was your day, Daddy?" Sakura asked sweetly.
"Very busy, actually. That reminds me, I'm just about to go into an important conference meeting, so..." He looked over at Sasuke. "We can discuss the redecorating over dinner. I hope you don't mind, Sasuke."
"Not a problem." He nodded.
"Great," The phone rang from his small office. "There's the call. Sakura, please give Sasuke a tour. Dinner's in an hour!" He shouted, jogging to answer the phone.
"Wow. I'm surprised he didn't say anything about you staying as far away from me as possible." Sakura picked up her previously abandoned bag.
"He doesn't view me as a suitor of yours, just a worker." She led him down the hall to her room. "No tour?"
"Later. I need to work on my homework. Big project." She closed the door behind them and quickly sat down at her desk to start up her Mac.
He stood there for a minute soaking it all in. The bright green walls, brown and pink pillows, sheets and rug... He grinned at the giant stuffed lion on the bed with the pink cheeks. He kicked his brown suede boots off at the door and looked out her window. The view was breath-taking, he had to admit.
"Sasuke, I can't believe this never came up in conversation before, but... how old are you?" She asked, momentarily not typing.
"Seventeen and a half." He sat down on her bed and opened up his old leather messenger bag.
"And a half?"
"I take pride in my age." He pulled out a black sketch book and pen.
"Wait... So why aren't you in school?" She spun around in her chair to face him.
"I dropped out as soon as I could legally." His hand moved in quick, fluent strokes across the page.
"Sixteen?" She gasped.
"Yep. How old are you?" He looked up.
"Sixteen..." She mumbled, still in shock that he dropped out.
But it truly wasn't that shocking. Seriously, he didn't look too much older. Maybe he could pass for twenty, but not much more. She just really didn't want to admit to herself that he was a drop out.
"I assumed you were about that." He continued drawing.
She quietly turned back around, having nothing else to say. She turned back to her project on the computer and finished up the essay part. Next was her calculus homework... Joy. She flipped open the heavy textbook and read the lesson over to herself.
Sakura was far from stupid, she always took advanced courses. In seventh grade, she skipped to Algebra 1. In eighth, she took Geometry. Ninth grade was Algebra 2, tenth she had pre-calculus and now in eleventh, she had calculus. How she hated it so.
"Urgh!" She groaned pressing her forehead to the confusing text.
Sasuke looked up from his sketch to watch the frustrated girl slump over her desk. He got up and slipped the book from under her, careful not to make her smack her head on the wood.
"Which problem?" He asked.
"Number seven…." Her muffled voice leaked from her arm.
"Easy." He grabbed her paper and started writing out formulas, explaining every step to her until she got the answer on her own. When she finished the problem, her mouth fell open.
"I thought you dropped out." She turned to him.
"That doesn't mean I'm an idiot, Sakura." He smirked.
"So...wait, how do you know all this? Why did you drop out?" He sighed and sat down on her bed.
"I left because I wanted to focus on my art. My parents were completely against it. They wanted me to be a stock broker or a lawyer. I can't stand offices," He picked at the frizzy threads on his knee. "They're so boring and cramped up. Itachi was moving to Italy to be with his boyfriend and told me he could take me if I wanted. He's twenty-three now, I think. So as soon as my birthday, I left with him. Since then, I've been keeping up with my studies and doing as I please. See where it's gotten me? No complaints."
"Wow…." She propped her cheek in her palm and just stared at him.
"Sakura, Bono is preparing filet mignon and strawberry poppy seed salad. Is that alright with you, Sasuke?" Mr. Haruno's current trophy wife asked, popping up by the door.
"Bono?" Sasuke asked.
"Our chef. Not the famous singer guy." Sakura explained.
"Oh, sounds great." Sasuke smiled. Sakura nodded in agreement.
"Good." And with that, she disappeared.
"Pft, at least she's aware of the fact that we're two teens in a bedroom." She laughed.
"Uh, explanation, please." Sasuke deadpanned.
"She's always trying to get me in trouble to seem even more...I don't know...she just wants my dad to adore her. Somehow, me being a slut or doing drugs will help her out."
"I could be her best friend, then." He was only joking, but the sick glare he was receiving shut him up.
"You know I didn't mean it." He told her, looking her straight in the eye.
"I don't care. It wasn't funny and you know it."
"Let's not fight, okay?" He pleaded, giving her a lopsided grin that would definitely melt her down.
As expected, her rigid posture relaxed, the redness of her cheeks paled and her eyes softened. A faint sigh left her lips. He got up and padded his way across the dark hard wood flooring and stopped in front of her. He got down on his knees and pulled her into a tight embrace. With a few deep breathes, she was able to stop herself from crying. When he pulled back, she smiled and he brushed back a few stray hairs from her face. He leaned forward, her doing the same. Slowly, they both shut their eyes and then it happened.
"Dinner!" Her father called from the table.
They both sighed in defeat. Sasuke kissed her cheek and went to put on his boots. She groaned in annoyance. So close, too!
.-.-.-.-.-.
"This is one amazing dinner, Mr. Haruno. Thank you." Sasuke complimented, finishing up his meat.
"You're welcome. We appreciate you helping us redecorate the guest rooms." Mr. Haruno chuckled. "Alright, let's see what you have to show us."
The maid came around and picked up all their plates as Sasuke pulled out his large and filled sketch book. He flipped it open to the section of a bunch of small sketches with color palettes around them. He had prepared them perfectly. Sakura looked on, as well. But it was mainly the wife of the millionaire that was making the calls. Mr. Haruno was doing this just she'd feel involved.
"Oh, wow! That's so pretty!" The fake blonde cooed when she laid eyes on a colorful sketch of woman's silhouette.
"We'll use this one. Pick three more, dear."
.-.-.-.-.-.
An Hour Later...
"Same time tomorrow, then?" Sasuke wanted to confirm.
"Precisely." Mr. Haruno agreed.
"Daddy?" Sakura called.
"Yes?"
"Is Sasuke just gonna be doing art?" She asked.
"Of course. That's what we hired him to do."
"Well, I mean, he's about my age, you know. But he isn't a student."
"You didn't receive your GED even?" Mr. Haruno asked in surprise.
Sasuke sighed. "No, sir."
"Well, as a parent, I must advise that you do something about that. Not too many people will approve of such a thing. High class citizens don't think much of drop outs, Sasuke."
His stern tone basically translated his words to 'Go to school or you're screwed.'
L O U D and c l e a r.
Thanks, Sakura.
So you actually decided to read this..? Awesome. Okay, so here's the deal. Whether or not you want to write a review is up to you. Anonymous or not, whatever. But I need you to just send ONE WORD, a number actually. I prefer a review with it, but I really need this number.
Pick a number 10 thru 15 and send it in your review. Yes, you can choose either 10 or 15, they're included in the choices-.-; THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!
Thanks again for sticking with me! I think this'll be a fun fic;
happy unbirthday
--frumpyrox