A/N: Weird idea. I was attacked by a plot bunny, so blame him.
Just read.
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Chasing Cars
by Queen of Pascalities
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Sakura was sitting on a bar stool, a pile of empty bottles of sake in front of her. Her vision was somewhat blurry and her head was spinning. She was fiddling with one of them, unconsciously staring at it. She felt light. Happy. And at the same time, she felt like the most miserable person in the world.
A boring song was playing in the bar. She didn't really pay attention to it, though. She was much too buried in her thoughts to mind anything else. Her body felt heavy. Her head felt heavy. Her heart felt heavy. As much as she wanted to throw up, she wanted to drink more alcohol. If what she had drunk in the past hour hadn't been enough to make her forget about what happened that day, she just had to take more.
It wasn't that she had lost her job. It wasn't that someone had died either. It wasn't even that she had done something incredibly stupid. No, it was much simpler than that (and much more frustrating). She had broken up with her boyfriend. Now, I can already hear you say "She broke up with her boyfriend? That's what she's getting drunk for?" and I have to say that in another situation, you would be right. The only thing is, it's been the fifth time this year.
Ever since the third guy, Sakura had been wondering what was wrong with herself. It was absolutely impossible that something had been wrong with all of them. It was probably something she had done exactly the same way for all of them that got on their nerves. She had tried to find out what it was, thinking about all she had done, but there wasn't anything coming to her mind.
So there she was, sitting on her stool, in a crappy bar, staring at emptiness, trying to forget the fact that she was probably a pretty deranged kunoichi who would never get married. She couldn't get herself to cry in self-pity because she had run out of water in the past year. She was actually starting to wonder if it would make new tears come out if she banged her head on a wall. While she was caught up in choosing the best wall of the place, someone came to sit next to her.
"Sake, now," the man (because it was obviously a man, with the deep voice he had) said to the bartender.
Sakura turned to him, somehow recognizing the voice. She sent him a look of surprise.
"Sasuke? What are you doing here?" was what she meant to say, although it sounded more like "Nanzke? Walarye doin' ere?". However, he seemed to understand.
"Same thing as you are," was his reply. This time, Sakura was able to articulate properly.
"You're here to pity yourself for all the crappy relationships you've had this past year?"
"No. I'm here to drink."
"Oooooooh… Yeah, that too."
"What do you mean, crappy relationships?"
"Would you actually be starting a conversation with me?" The perspective somehow made some of the alcohol in her blood disappear.
"I can stop, if you want."
"No, no! It's just that you've never… And I mean never initiated any kind of contact with me before."
"Well, I figured that if we were to spend the whole night being drunk together in the same bar, it would make things nicer if we were talking," he said before taking a few long swig out of his bottle.
"Do you have any idea how sympathetic you can be when you talk a lot? And sexy, too?"
"Me? Sexy? When I talk?"
"Mm hmm. Sexy as hell."
He took another long swig of his drink.
"Well, excuse me, young lady, but I don't like to be referred as sexy, nor do I like being compared to hell."
"Sasuke, would you be slightly unable to hold your alcohol?"
"Does it show that much?"
"You mean you are? Man, and here I was, thinking you were some kind of unbelievably strong drinker, just like you're unbelievably strong at everything else. I thought you were perfect."
"And what exactly made you think that?"
"Oh, well, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you had perfect grades in the Academy, you defeated your brother and Orochimaru, you never lose your temper in battle, you're handsome, in a tall-dark-and-mysterious way and almost everyone in the bloody village wants to get in your pants, your eyes can make any woman or man swoon, your voice sends rather pleasant shivers down everyone's spine and your hair sticks out in a weird, unnatural way and it makes you look so much better than when it's flat on your head."
"Oh, wow, and the fact that I can't hold alcohol is going to erase all of that?"
"It might."
"Oh, good Lord, help us, we're all doomed. Uchiha Sasuke's not perfect."
"Could you stop being sarcastic and egotistical and just focus on me for one second?"
"We weren't even talking about you!"
"Yes, we were! You asked me about my crappy relationships five minutes ago."
"Oh, right. Well, what about them?"
"I've been dumped for the fifth time this year."
"Ouch, that's hard."
"You have no idea. I guess there must be something wrong with me."
"No, I'm pretty sure there's nothing wrong with you. They're all just idiots."
"Aw, thanks, Sasuke-kun."
"Anytime."
"I love you when you're drunk."
"I love you when I'm drunk, too."
Sakura laughed. Because she was drunk. Had she been sober (and twelve), she would have been rather disappointed. She swallowed some more sake before facing Sasuke again.
"For the past few years, I've been searching for the guy. And I actually thought Kiba was the one. I've been with him for two years before we broke up. And then, after him, there were the four others and I still haven't found the one guy I'm supposed to be with."
Sasuke sent her a sympathizing look (which really didn't happen often), drank a bit and sighed.
"Well, I guess I'm in the same situation, except for the fact that I haven't been in a relationship in my entire existence. How am I ever supposed to rebuild my clan?"
"Yeah, that's right! You want to rebuild your clan and I don't want to die a virgin!"
"You mean you haven't done it yet?"
"Well, no."
"But… You've been with Kiba for two years! You two never…?"
"Nope. Did you know that he was a man of tradition? He doesn't want to do it before marriage."
"You're kidding me."
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
"Yes."
"Oh… Well then, no, I'm not kidding."
"Wow. You know what this means, don't you?"
"Er… No."
"BLACKMAIL!"
Sakura stared at him for a few seconds then her eyes went as wide as saucers.
"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE RIGHT! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT BEFORE?"
"Well, you're not a genius like me."
"Hey, you're no genius, Mister I-Can't-Hold-My-Alcohol."
"Er, yes I am, Miss I-Don't-Know-How-To-Get-A-Man-In-My-Bed."
"Well, neither can you get a woman in yours, honey."
"I certainly can, I just… Don't feel like it."
"Uh huh… That means you can't."
"Hey, not my fault all the girls of my age are married."
"I'm not married."
"Oh, right."
Silence.
"Wait, would you be suggesting we go have sex?"
"No, I was just reminding you that I'm pitiful too."
"Yeah. The world sucks."
"Yes it does."
"Let's drink to that."
"Yes, sir!"
They made their bottles collide and took long gulps of their drinks, then slammed them back on the bar and sighed. Sakura scratched the front of throat, then her stomach, and burped rather loudly, not even bothering to look feminine at that point. Sasuke burst in drunken laughter at her antics.
"Stop laughing. It's not as if I had scratched where you men like to scratch."
Sasuke laughed even harder, almost falling off his stool. Sakura looked at him, and after realizing how handsome he was when he laughed, she started laughing too. They were both holding their sides and crying. Sakura was relieved to see she could cry again. Sasuke excused himself to the bathroom, still laughing. Sakura followed him with her eyes, then turned back to her bottle and noticed the bartender was looking at her. When he saw that her eyes were on him, he smiled and spoke.
"You know, I kinda overheard your conversation and I happen to have some good piece of advice for you."
"Oh really, what is it?"
"Well, if you want to find the one, try to find the best song in the jukebox there and then find the guy, or the girl in your friend's case, that can relate to that song. It worked wonders for me."
He raised his left hand and showed her the ring had on his fourth finger. Sakura stared at it, wondering if she should feel happy he gave her an advice or if she should throw a tantrum because everyone else had luck in their relationships. She then wished Sasuke was there. He would be able to help her decide. But he was still in the bathroom. That was one hell of a piss he was taking.
Sakura decided to follow the bartender's advice. She got up, trying to gain some balance, the stumbled to the jukebox. She put some money in, then browsed through the songs. They were all crappy, except three of them. There was Lola by the Kinks, Poprocks and Coke by Green Day and Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.
Sakura tried to remember the lyrics of the three songs.
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink Champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
C-O-L-A, cola.
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
L-O-L-A, Lola.
La la la la Lola.
Er... No. That song was about a guy meeting a transvestite in a gay bar. Not really appropriate for the situation. She put the second one on.
Where you go, you know I'll be there
To catch your fall, you know I'll be there.
I'll go anywhere,
So I'll see you there.
That song made her think of Naruto. The thing is, Naruto was in a relationship. A very serious relationship. He's married with Hinata and she's pregnant of their first baby. That song obviously couldn't be it. She put on the last song. Just when the first guitar notes came out of the machine, Sasuke stumbled out of the bathroom.
We'll
do it all
Everything
On
our own
Sakura jumped, a bit startled.
"Yeah, that's right! You want to rebuild your clan and I don't want to die a virgin!"
We
don't need
Anything
Or
anyone
Sakura stared at Sasuke, who was turning his head in all directions to find her.
If
I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
and just forget the world?
"Yeah. The world sucks."
"Yes it does."
I
don't quite know
How to
say
How I feel
Those
three words
Are said too
much
They're not enough
"I love you when you're drunk."
"I love you when I'm drunk, too."
If
I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
and just forget the world?
Forget
what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden
that's bursting into life
Let's
waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads
I
need your grace
To remind
me
To find my own
Sakura watched Sasuke as he finally found her and waddled towards her ungracefully, like a lost child finding his mum, sometimes holding onto chairs and tables on the way to keep himself balanced.
If
I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
and just forget the world?
The bartender was right. She did find a guy the song related to and to add to it, it was the guy she had been in love with since she was five years old. It was Sasuke. Sasuke was the one.
Forget
what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's
bursting into life
All
that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect
eyes, they're all I can see
He was in front of her, now, his eyes locked to hers. His eyes that were a part of what gave him the title of perfect, the eyes she had sarcastically praised earlier. Just like in the song, they were all she could see at the moment. He had a slight look of incomprehension on his face, but that didn't bother her.
I
don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that
these things will never
change for us at all
Her vision was blurry, her head was spinning and her whole body felt heavy, but her mind was clear. Although he was Sasuke and she was Sakura and things would always be the same, she had realized it had just always been the way it was now. They just hadn't known it.
If I
lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just
forget the world?
She grabbed the back of his neck with her two hands and brought his lips down to hers. She felt all the right things. The butterflies, the bees, the grasshoppers, the fireworks and the jolts of energy. She felt his arms around her, her own arms around his neck and her feet leaving the ground. She felt his mouth respond to hers, his lips move against hers. There was no tongue, no teeth, just lips.
There are some things you miss when you kiss someone. One of them is the reaction of the people around you. For example, neither Sasuke nor Sakura noticed that the whole bar was cheering. They had just forgotten the world.
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A/N: Yeah, I know, cheesy ending. Sue me. Well, now that that's done, I can focus on my multi-chapter stories. But later this morning. 2:00 am is not the best hour in the world to write a hit (not) chapter.
Well, then. See ya!
Queen of Pascalities