7 Flowers Later
-by: SimplyPocky-
It was on a perfectly average Monday morning when Sakura found the flower. A pink sweetpea sat in her locker and she was every bit as surprised as you would expect from a girl who had never received a flower in her life. Unless you count the rose her father gave her for her last birthday, which she didn't.
"How strange. Don't people usually give roses?" Ino asked as Sakura retrieved the flower.
"That's what I see in movies anyway."
She sniffed the flower and relished in the scent. It was a little unorthodox, but it was still every bit as sweet.
.
It was the following morning that Sakura found another flower in her locker. This one was a blue pansy, still beautiful, still intoxicating, still anonymous.
"I wonder who it could be." Sakura questioned to herself as she held the flower to her chest.
For someone to go through so much trouble for her, surely she was being deeply loved.
.
Wednesday morning she found another flower, as expected. A white flower she could not identify. It was pretty, though Sakura was sure this was a strange flower to give somone.
"Do you know what this is called?" Sakura asked Ino, whose family owned a flower shop.
"No, you could probably look it up though."
Sakura did just that. She found a book on flowers and, after greuling hours spent looking for a matching picture, she finally identified the flower. Hyacinth. She also found a meaning for it.
.
"Sincerity?" Ino echoed as she shut her locker.
It was Thursday morning and Sakura had just removed another flower from her locker. A red tulip. She smelled it and set it back in her locker so she could retrieve her plant book.
"Yeah, the sweetpea meant 'shyness'. The pansy meant 'loving thoughts'."
"And this flower? What does this flower mean?"
Sakura found the page and smiled to herself.
"The red tulip means 'a declaration of love'."
"I guess this person is trying to send you a message, huh?"
"I guess so." Sakura agreed.
.
Sakura sat in class that day, thinking about her red tulip. If this person was declaring their love, did that mean they planned on confessing? What would she say? This person obviously cared about her, perhaps she would say yes.
"He's sleeping again? That's so strange, he's usually not like this."
Sakura turned her attention to one of her classmates. She was whispering to her friend and Sakura glanced over her shoulder to see Sasuke Uchiha sleeping. It was pretty strange. He was always so attentive, but even when he wasn't conscious, he was still the talk of the school. How delightfully annoying.
Sakura had to admit, she might have carried a torch for Sasuke before, but that was in the past. She had long ago given up chasing after the apathetic boy. Besides, she had found a new love. Now, only if she could find out who this person was.
.
Friday morning, Sakura received forget-me-nots. The message was loud and clear. She couldn't receive flowers over the weekend, but her admirer didn't have to worry. There was no way she could forget him so easily.
.
Monday morning came around again and Sakura was eager to see if her secret admirer was still leaving her flowers. She opened her locker and found a red rose. She knew what it meant without having to look up the meaning. Passion. She blushed as she sniffed the flower.
She wished this person would just confess already. She was ready to return the feelings.
.
Sakura did not go to school on Tuesday. She was sad that she would not be able to receive her daily flower, but it was unavoidable. Her mother had been hospitalized and Sakura decided she would stay with her. It was nothing serious, but she knew her mother didn't want to be alone.
It was around five o'clock when Sakura's father had shown up, allowing the girl to return home. Along the way home she passed by a flower shop, one she hadn't noticed before. She thought Ino's family ran the only flower shop in town, but that probably made sense since Ino wasn't able to find out who was buying all the flowers.
Sakura, on a whim, went inside the shop, deciding she should buy her mother some flowers. Well, maybe that was an excuse.
"Welcome, how can I help-"
Sakura stopped as she came face-to-face with Sasuke Uchiha. How strange to run into him here of all places. How even stranger to realize he worked here.
"H-Hey. I didn't know you worked here."
"Hn." Was his only response as he swept the floor.
"I guess that explains why you're always sleeping in class."
"Hn."
"Isn't your family rich though? Why do you need to work?"
There was no response and Sakura let out a sigh. Why had she ever liked this guy? She, instead, turned her attention to a vase of sunflowers. They were bright and cheerful, her mother would definitely like them. But another flower caught her attention, set in a crystal vase on the counter.
"What are these called?" Sakura asked as she smelled the flower.
"Lilacs."
"Do you know what it means?" She asked. Knowing the meaning of the flower was becoming a sort of habbit now.
There was a pause before he answered, "first love."
Sakura blushed at this and requested for a bouquet of sunflowers. Sasuke wordlessly got it for her and she payed before she turned to leave.
"Wait, lilacs are our flower of the day. You get one free with any purchase."
"Oh, thank you." She said as she came back to the counter to accept the flower. She glanced at Sasuke who was arranging a vase of flowers and she just had to ask,
"U-Um do you know any students from our school that's been coming here a lot recently?"
He looked up from his work, his features wary, "No, I don't."
"Oh. Never mind then." Sakura turned away, clutching the flowers in her grasp when a thought occured to her. She stopped at the door and stared at the flowers in her arms. It couldn't be. Was it just wishful thinking on her part?
"Sorry, but how long have you been working here, Sasuke?" She asked.
"About a week. Why?" He asked, giving her a look that questioned why she hadn't left yet.
"What was the flower of the day yesterday?" She continued, taking a step forward.
"Roses."
"What about Sunday's?"
"I don't work on the weekends." He muttered.
"Friday's?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.
"I don't know. Forget-me-nots, I think. What's with all the questions?"
Sakura could only stare. She could be wrong. She could be horribly, horribly wrong and about to embarrass herself in front of her ex-crush. But if she was right...
"I-It's you, isn't it?"
"What?"
"You're the one that's been leaving me flowers every morning, right?"
There was a moment of silence and Sakura could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Finally, Sasuke let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, you were going to find out today anyway if you had just came to school."
"Sorry. I had something to take care of." Sakura said, now smiling as she took another step forward.
"Yeah, well I left you lilacs and they're probably dead now."
"That's okay, you made up for it." She said , waving the lilac in her hand. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Hn. Waiting for the right moment. Anyway, it was funny watching you get all excited over some flowers."
He was trying to act cool, he always had to act cool. But that's what she liked about him.
"Why did you get a job here? You could have just bought them."
"With my parents' money. It loses it's value if you buy it with someone else's hard earned money."
Sakura was surprised. She didn't think Sasuke could be so gentlemanly. It was really endearing. She had to admit, she liked this side of Sasuke and she was the only one that got to see it. That was an added bonus.
"Well, is there something you want to say now?"
He looked at her as she leaned against the counter. She was smiling, her cheeks slightly flushed and Sasuke finally gave in.
"Wanna go out?"
"Sure."
And they shared a first kiss among the flowers, whose meanings defined their love.
End.
Well, what do you think? It's my first fanfic, so please be gentle.