Love Story

By Dancing Doll

Chapter 01: The Rain

A/N: This is a challenge fic from Phireye. Hope y'all enjoy it:D SasuNaru.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Meh.

"Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

It was raining, that day.

The water splashed viciously around, as it poured heavily, with each passing drop falling from the dark, bleak sky with vengeance. The wind howled mercilessly, and umbrellas were overturned as their now-drenched and shrieking owners scampered towards the safety of shelter, not willing to face the wrath of the weather.

Uchiha Sasuke hated the rain.

There he was again, at his isolated corner of the empty school, watching the fat raindrops hitting the glass of the nearest window. All was quiet. He leaned against the wall, quite content to listen to the faint sound of the rain outside.

It was cold.

The rain was a bringer of unpleasant memories, like all those times he stayed waiting for his aniki, like how he hated the way other children happily splashed in puddles with their bright yellow wellies, like how the one particular time he waited, waited, waited and waited for his aniki to come and fetch him from preschool-

'Where's Aniki?'

-only to find that he never came back.

He was gone, gone with the passing breeze, along with tousan and kaasan, gone like the way the sun would disappear slowly from sight, only to leave the earth dark and cold again.

Uchiha Sasuke was never the same again.

And all he remembered seeing was the grey, bleak, unforgiving sky, with its countless of small droplets raining down continuously, his clothes soaked in the cold, wetness that numbed his skin.

'Give them back...please...'

Dark eyes reflected the raindrops clearly, as Sasuke stared through the glass, watching every drop that fell from the dark sky, the way he wished, wished and wished that the sun would come out and shine brightly, and blind him with its light, embrace him in its warmth, until...until-

"Oi."

His head jerked up instinctively, and for a mere split-second, his eyes simply stared at him. Then-

"Sakura's been looking for you."

Only to lower his eyes again.

"Hn."

He could feel the other sigh heavily, the way his chest heaved out of exasperation, the way he scratched the back of his head. "You know, teme, you really should treat Sakura-chan better. You're her boyfriend, afterall."

Those words stung.

There was silence for a few moments, then, Sasuke heard his footsteps fading away slowly. He's leaving. In one rapid movement, he turned around violently in simple desperation, and the words tumbled out of his mouth before his brain managed to register anything.

"Don't leave."

He faltered at the doorway. The way his eyes shone sadly at Sasuke, made his chest tighten even more. "Why not?"

Why?

Sasuke could feel the childishness of his request, and his face burned by just remembering them. "I...I don't love her." He could see how Naruto's eyes dulled when he heard this; afterall, this was to be expected - he was the one that had been in love with the pinkette since they were seven. Not Sasuke. Never Sasuke.

"She still loves you," The blonde did not want to meet Sasuke's eyes anymore. "that's why...please don't do this to her." Sasuke's hands had unconciously balled into fists, his nails digging into the skin. "...why do you care about her so much?"

Look at me.

Naruto stared at Sasuke. For a few moments, there was a brief silence.

"Because I love her."

Why...? She never did love you anyway, always shunting you, always tossing you aside, yet why do you still allow yourself to be used by that self-centered bitch? She never did care for you anyways. Why? Why?

"Why?"

Sasuke blinked rapidly, uncertain about the question he just blurted out. Naruto looked nonetheless confused. "Why?" he echoed, looking surprised. Then, he suddenly broke into a smile, a smile that broke Sasuke's heart a little more. "She's perfect, that's why. To me." Sasuke felt his chest tighten even more.

It hurts.

"Anyways," Naruto continued, oblivious to Sasuke's emotions, "you'd better get going. Sakura-chan's waiting." and with that, he turned to leave the classroom. Sasuke watched the blonde exit with faint annoyance. Why couldn't that dumb blonde understand anything?!

It was so terribly unfair.

It was raining, that day.

Droplets fell gently from the darkened sky, hitting the glass with a steady thud. Outside, many students braved the harsh weather with their many different colored umbrellas, visible even through the misted window.

Uzumaki Naruto loved the rain.

There he was again, roaming around the many corridors with apparently nothing to do. Greeting a few of his classmates along his way, Naruto strolled casually into the cafeteria, where there were little to no people there.

It was cold.

The rain was a bringer of pleasant memories, like the time he and Sasuke splashed around in the puddles after a particular heavy storm, like the time Sakura smiled at him for the first time, like the time he first tried ramen, and ate bowl after bowl after bowl to the annoyance of Sasuke, like the time he aced his test for once.

'Let's go eat ramen!'

Everyday was filled with brightness, with laughter and happiness. And little did Naruto know that Time had already flown by these golden years and sweet childhood of his.

He walked by classroom 2A, to find a flustered looking Sakura emerging from it. "Naruto!" she smiled, despite her anxiousness. Naruto grinned cheekily back. From a small, timid girl, Sakura had now grown to be a beautiful teenager, with tons of admirers and friends. "Sakura-chan!" he greeted.

The pinkette shouldered her schoolbag. "Have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

The blonde's smile faded slightly. "No. Looking for him?" Sakura's announcement that she and Sasuke were an item caught Naruto off-guard, and as happy as he tried to be for them, Naruto sometimes wondered why did Sasuke accept Sakura's confession this time. He had always rejected her - until now.

Sakura nodded. "Tell me if you see him, okay? I'll be waiting for him in the cafeteria."

Naruto grinned again, and gave her a 'thumb's up'. "No problem, Sakura-chan! The teme is probably in some random corner sulking or something. I'll find him, 'kay?"

Sakura gave him another quick smile and walked away, thanking Naruto as she did so. Humming a tune, Naruto walked quickly through the corriador, already certain on where the teme might be. He had seen Sasuke in that particular classroom before, and he was sure that he was there.

Poking his head into the chosen classroom, Naruto grinned to himself as he hit the jackpot. Then, trying to compose himself - he had no idea why did he feel so excited and flustered by just staring at the teme - he figured he'd try to wake the dark-haired boy from his daydreams.

"Oi."

Ah, that worked, Naruto thought triumphantly as Sasuke turned his attention from the window towards him. For a split-second, Naruto all but gazed at the other. "Sakura's been looking for you." he blurted out, feeling oddly uncomfortable.

Naruto could see the way Sasuke's eyes were filled with disinterest already. "Hn." he replied, looking bored again. Naruto sighed loudly, loud enough for the brooding bastard to hear him, even though his back was facing towards him. "You know, teme, you really should treat Sakura-chan better. You're her boyfriend, afterall."

He bit his tongue, berating himself silently after realising what he had said. The words, to him, sounded bitter. Especially the way he put the emphasis on the word boyfriend. Wasn't he, Uzumaki Naruto, supposed to be happy for his friends rather than acting all - all jealous like some possesive girlfriend?!

...That sounded wrong.

Sasuke had not moved. Naruto took the silence between them as a dismissal. He turned to go, the pain in his chest suddenly a hell lot more painful than it was just now. Each step was painful, in a way.

"Don't leave."

Those words made an impact on Naruto. He stopped at the doorway of the classroom. He turned back to Sasuke, who was facing him this time. Naruto studied the features of his so-called rival and best friend carefully. And somehow staring into those dark eyes made Naruto want to suddenly dash towards Sasuke for no reason at all.

What a baka.

He tried to steady his voice. "Why not?" he asked quietly. The response from Sasuke was unexpected. "I...I don't love her."

Naruto tried to control himself, what was with him and all his emotions; they weren't right. Firstly, why the hell was he feeling immensely happy and relieved to hear Sasuke say that? And why wasn't there any sadness or anything negative on how he felt about Sasuke's confession?

Ah, today was not a good day. All of his feelings were tangled up in a dead knot. "She still loves you," he admitted, trying hard not to smile or anything. Things could go terribly wrong from there if even a corner of his mouth twitched. Sasuke might take it to offence. "that's why...please don't do this to her." Or me,Naruto added silently.

"...why do you care about her so much?" Sasuke demanded, not looking the least bit swayed by Naruto's so-called attempts to patch his relationship up with Sakura.

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a few brief moments, before saying,"Because I love her." like a sister, Naruto added silently again. But, if telling Sasuke that he loved his girlfriend, maybe then would he start being jealous and make up with Sakura.

"Why?"

Naruto paused, thinking hard. He had to lie through his teeth no matter what he felt, this was about Sakura. Naruto knew that the pinkette would be heart-broken if Sasuke ever tried to break up with her, let alone confess and say that he loved Sasuke instead.

Wait.

What the fuck was that?!

"She's perfect, that's why. To me." Naruto replied quickly before his other thoughts took over. He smiled as he said so, trying to convince the raven."Anyways," he continued, "you'd better get going. Sakura-chan's waiting." and he hurried out of the classroom as soon as he could, his inner thoughts in a turmoil already.

He needed to go some place quiet and sort out those thoughts of his.

There she was, sitting onto one of the nearby benches in the deserted cafeteria. Sasuke winced mentally at the color of her hair. It was shocking pink, as usual, and even after dating Sakura for nearly two months now, Sasuke found that he still would not accept it.

And somehow, when staring at the overly-too-bright-bubblegum pink hair of his girlfriend, he was suddenly reminded of corn-colored hair. Like the warmth and brightness of the sun.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed happily, opening her arms for a hug. Sasuke gingerly leant forward, and enveloped the girl with a quick embrace, his nose itching to sneeze from the smell of her perfume.

The pink-haired girl beamed at him, and stood up, grasping a hold of Sasuke's hand. "Let's go," she said happily, unaware of the obvious discomfort that her boyfriend had. Pulling Sasuke towards the exit, from afar to a passing student, they did look very much in love, especially since the couple's arms were linked together tightly.

"...'Love always begins with an obsession.'" Naruto read aloud, rolling his azure eyes at the cheesy line in the all-popular shoujo manga that he had picked up. "'Takamura-san, I-I've always loved you, so-'" Naruto glanced sideways, making sure that no one was listening. This Akira character was, in a way, like all the other girls in all the other Shoujo manga.

Then again, what could you expect from Doki Doki My First Love?

And then Naruto suddenly realised that he had been reading shoujo manga without even realising it. He grimaced slightly on the thought of what Sasuke would say. 'Hn. Dobe.' He would smirk annoyingly.

Just remembering of him made Naruto blush to the roots of his hair, his face the same color of Akira's lipstick. Why? Why did his heart suddenly beat so fast whenever he thought of that bastard? Why? Why?

The blonde flipped through the manga, as if the answer was inside. And, in a way, it was. "'Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Why is my heart beating so fast? And why is it that whenever I see Takamura-san I feel so confused?'" Naruto stared at the page. "'He's always so busy, surrounded by girls, that he never has time to eat lunch with me anymore. Sigh. If only he could refuse once a while, it would be nice...'"

The way Naruto sometimes wished that Sasuke would sit with him instead of Sakura. No, he obviously not in lo-lo-the L word with his best friend. No. Never would that ever, ever happen.

He flipped another page. "To the hell with this manga! All this crap about first love and stuff-"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

His eyes widened with surprise. "Hinata-chan?"

Sasuke wasn't sure if he could feel his fingers anymore. Sakura had gripped him so tightly, as if afraid that some overly-large vulture might come and carry him away. Getting kidnapped by the vulture would be a hell lot better than cutting off the circulation in his arm, Sasuke mused to himself.

Awkwardly, he tried to gently ease Sakura's hold onto his poor hand. However, it seemed as though the harder he tried to push her off, the tighter she clung on. "Sakura," he said finally, unable to take it anymore,"what are you doing?"

Sakura shot him a glare. "What is so wrong about holding my boyfriend's hand?!" she shouted, once they were out of earshot of anybody from their school. Sasuke winced. Yet she still wouldn't let go of him.

"There's nothing wrong about it - it's just that you're cutting my circulation off!"

To Sasuke's immense relief, Sakura dropped his hand like a hot coal. "There!" she yelled, tears in her emerald orbs. Sasuke blinked. He had always assumed that her eyes were grey and not green - all he ever seemed to think of were beautiful azure eyes the color of the sky.

"...You don't take our relationship seriously, Sasuke-kun," Sakura finally managed to blurt out, tears threatening to spill. "you...you don't show any interest in what I do, you don't see things the way I do, and you don't treat me anymore than a friend!" Sasuke was silent, contemplating Sakura's words.

"But-" she suddenly grasped Sasuke's pale hands with her own,"-we could change this for the better. If we are together, then nothing will be impossible. Because, I for one, know that we were made for each other," the pinkette smiled dreamily, blinking away the traitorous tears.

"And that's why, Sasuke-kun, you'll be with me. Always."

"So..." Naruto scratched the nape of his neck, feeling uncomfortable. Needless to say, he was still holding Doki Doki My First Lovein one hand. "What do you need, Hinata-chan?"

The dark-haired girl shifted guiltily in her space. "From what I've heard, Naruto-kun, you've fallen in love with somebody." Naruto stared at her silently. "And who is that somebody, may I inquire?" he asked sarcastically. He was amazed to see the shy Hyuuga heiress roll her eyes impressively.

Kiba sure did change a lot about the girl. Something Naruto wouldn't have been able to do. "You of all people should know, Naruto-kun. And the problem is that why, of all the students in this school, have you chosen Uchiha Sasuke?!"

Naruto stared at her, dumbfounded. "I haven't," when his brain finally decided to work,"and I most certainly do not; I repeat, do not...love Uchiha Sasuke." Hinata shook her head, her bangs shifting slightly. "You don't understand, Naruto-kun. Love doesn't give you any warnings or time...or choice, for that matter."

She pointed to Doki Doki My First Love. "What does it say?" she asked, looking expectant. Naruto shrugged. "It's about this girl called Akira - she saw some guy and fell in love with him. Apparently she also had been childhood friends with him."

Hyuuga Hinata smiled softly. "Then do you feel this Ba-dumpin your chest whenever you see Sasuke?" Naruto shrugged. "It's more like my chest aches and I feel unwell."

"It's called love, Naruto-kun."

A/N: I know, this fic is just:P I just re-read it myself. Love it? Hate it? Ah...anyway, please review!!!:)