Sasuke waved to Sakura as she got into the car with her boyfriend. She was smiling so big that it seemed as though her face would split in two. When they pulled off, Sasuke went back inside and crawled into bed. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight, but it was nothing new. In fact, it became routine to him.
He turned over to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. He began to contemplate the idea of Sakura going from being a hopeless romantic to having the guy of her dreams... that wasn't him. He turned over on his side and sighed. Sasuke's crush on Sakura began surfacing around three years ago. He could laugh at the irony. In their younger years, she'd been head over heels for him. Giving him chocolates and confessing her one-sided love to him, only for him to end up rejecting her. Yet, years later, when he'd finally come around to seeing her in a new light, she seemed to have her eyes on other men.
...so, Sasuke decided to keep his feelings to himself.
Sakura began going on tasteless dates with men of all different varieties, including blind dates her blonde friend, Ino, would set her up on in high hopes of finding that one guy who would treat her like a princess. They would all usually end up the same. With her going out with them only to go home to call Sasuke and complain about how much she hated it. Sasuke, of course, didn't quite care to hear the details, but rather liked hearing the sound of her voice on the other end of the line.
As the days went by, he began getting closer and closer to having the courage to tell Sakura how he felt, but his dreams had all been crushed when Ino's cousin came in to town and swept her off of her feet. He regretted not saying anything and swore that the next time she was single, he'd take her for himself... but, that chance never came. Their relationship had lasted well over a year and their love for each other seemed to never faulter. In fact, Sakura seemed to fall more and more in love with him everyday.
...and that hurt Sasuke more than anything.
It hurt him so bad that he'd often find himself drowning in alcohol with Naruto having to carry him home. Naruto was the only one who knew of his feelings for Sakura other than himself. He'd found out in a very unpleasant way, what with Sasuke being a very sloppy, talkative drunk and all. Sasuke let out yet another sigh and threw an arm over his eyes. Why hadn't he said something sooner? He didn't think his heart could take much more. That smile being caused by someone other than him., It was truly torturous..
Bing!
Sasuke sat up in bed and retrieved his phone from his bedside table. He put in his lock code and clicked on the new message from Kiba.
Sup, Ice Prince! lol. Me n the guys r goin' 2 the bar 2nite. Including ur psychotic bro. Celebrating Naru's engagement to Hinata. Wanna come? (;
Received: 9:35 pm
He stared at the text and already knew he'd more than likely be going. His best friend would be furious if he didn't. That and the choice of alcohol highly outweighed that of misery. He wrote a quick reply before getting out of bed to take a shower and get dressed. He grabbed his jacket and his keys while making his way to the front door. Just as he opened it, he was stopped by the sight of a broken Sakura in tears. Her hand was raised to knock. The look on her face deeply sent his mind spiraling. Had she been hurt? Did he do something to her? Why in the world was she crying?
"Can I come in?", she asked, her voice cracking as she spoke.
Without hesitation, Sasuke brought her inside and led her over to the couch to sit down. The tears escaping her eyes drove Sasuke mad. He knew it had something to do with her boyfriend and that alone made him want to go up to him and beat him senseless. If Sakura was his, he'd never make her cry and if for some rare reason he did, he'd never forgive himself.
Holding back his anger, Sasuke managed to ask Sakura what happened. She shut her eyes for a few seconds before giving him an answer.
"I thought we were celebrating our anniversary today, but no.. that wasn't it."
More tears fell down her cheeks as she continued. "He took me to his new girlfriends house and told me that's why he's leaving me. That he'd fallen in love with someone else and she just..", Sakura wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "She just smiled at me. She was so beautiful, no wonder he.."
Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed. Now, Sasuke really wanted to beat that guy into the ground. Sasuke gently rubbed her back. He wanted to hold her, but he wasn't sure if she'd be okay with that or not. Sakura spoke, her voice muffled by her hands. "Why are guys like that? It's like they get joy from hurting girls." Sakura lifted her head and let her tears fall. "Where are all the good guys? Like the ones in books and fairy tales. Maybe they don't exist... they're just a myth like the stories themselves.."
Sasuke stared at Sakura. Is that really what she believed? He took a breath and spoke up. "There are good guys out there, Sakura.." She looked him in the eyes while giving him an unconvinced stare, her eyes still filled to the brim with tears. Sasuke continued. "There's actually a guy out there who thinks you're the most beautiful girl in the world, yet he's scared because you mean more to him than anything. Every time you're near him he can never act himself. You're everything he thinks about, everything he needs... and unlike your ex, he wants to be the reason behind your smile.. not your tears. Nothing else in the world really matters to him because you are his world.. you're his everything and he'd show you that every day if you'd let him.."
Sakura stared at Sasuke and thought of this guy he spoke of. She looked down at her hands and smiled. A guy like that would be a dream come true, but it all sounded too good to be true. She lightly laughed. "...and where is he?" Sasuke never took his eyes off of her.
"..I'm right here..."
Sakura turned to look at Sasuke. Did she hear right? Her question was answered when Sasuke began slowly leaning in, causing her heart to beat uncontrollably. She thought Sasuke despised the thought of being with her. She thought she was only a friend to him. Just someone he put up with. All of her thoughts dissipated when his lips covered hers. She closed her eyes and began to lose herself in the intimate moment. His kiss was intoxicating.
After a while, Sasuke gently pulled away and stared her in the eyes. His heart beat matched hers. He was pleased that she didn't push him away. It meant that either she wanted him just as much as he wanted her or that she was shocked he'd steal a kiss from her without warning. He'd hoped for the better answer and waited for her to speak.
"Sasuke..."
Bing!
Sasuke reluctantly grabbed his phone from his pocket as Sakura caught her breath. The message was from Kiba.
Hey, man. U still coming or did u ditch us 4 sum hot chick? lol. Yeah. I did. Tell Naruto I'm sorry and that I've got my miracle, now. (:
Received: 10:05 pm
Sent: 10:05 pm
Sasuke placed his phone back in his pocket and smiled at Sakura. She was his, now. He gently kissed her on the forehead and she closed her eyes. If she ever needed him, he wouldn't care if he was sleeping, far away, having problems of his own. No matter how big or small the problem was, he'd be there for her. Always.