Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns the characters, not me. I also don't own the lyrics used at the end; those are Taylor Swift's.
Could Have Been
Passing your last English exam puts a welcome gap in your schedule, particularly if you're in your last year of school and are suddenly feeling the need to hold onto the final few weeks of school life.
No tests, no revising, no learning…Just freedom, albeit for a little while.
Our group chooses to spend it under the huge oak tree we claimed as our land, way back in first year. Of course, sitting here with the friends you've known since nursery gets you pretty nostalgic, so we've been spending a lot of time reminiscing about old times.
Times that are placed into a mental pile named 'the past'.
Sitting here currently, grasping onto these times as strong as I can is weird. No one can believe so much time has passed. Next year most of us will be moving to college, and then University and then we're out in the big wide world. I certain we'll keep in touch; we haven't been spilt in the thirteen years we've know each other, so it'd be very difficult to sever that bond.
The times we spend together now and later on are placed into a vaguer mental pile, a mysterious thing called 'the future'.
My jade orbs play over the features of my friends.
Ino and Kiba. Hinata and Naruto. Gaara and Matsuri. Neji and Tenten. Shikamaru and Temari. Shino. Lee. Kankuro. Chouji. Sai.
They finally come to rest on him.
He must feel it, as he looks up. We meet eyes, and in that second I remember everything that happened between us.
When he made me laugh-
(Four Years Ago)
"Where is that guy? Geez, I thought I was late but now he's taking the piss!"
I gave a wan smile to my blonde friend. "Naruto, calm down. He should be here soon-"
"Hn."
Naruto stomped over, me trailing behind.
"What time do you call this Uchiha?"
He mimed looked at a watch; Naruto spluttered.
"Th-that's not what I meant!" He pondered for a minute before churning out the first insult he could think of. "Teme!"
"…Dobe."
"Teme!"
"Dobe."
"Teme!"
Silence.
"…Dobe."
I couldn't take it anymore and ended up clutching my stomach as I fell about with laughter.
"Ha! You two are such goofs!"
When he made me cry-
(Three Years, Two Months Ago)
"H-hey! Where are you going at this time of night?" I yelled out, tripping over my own feet.
He turned and gave me the coldest glare I've ever seen. "Why does it matter to you?"
"We're friends, duh! And you've been acting distant; I'm worried about you!"
"Hn."
"Uchiha! Answer me dammit!" I was closer to him now, frowning.
"…I'm leaving."
"What?" My eyes widened. "Where? How can you decide something like that so quickly?"
"America. It's been planned for several months."
I poked his back weakly, trying to convince myself this entire thing was a prank. "Then why didn't you tell Naruto or me?"
"I don't remember having the nuisance of telling you everything I do, Haruno."
Hurt, I automatically stepped back. "B-but you can't just leave! I'll miss you so, so much, and I also had something to tell you-"
"Annoying." He was no longer facing me. "You're annoying."
"You can't leave-!" Suddenly he was dangerously close, a smirk on his face.
"Sakura…Goodbye." Darkness engulfed me.
I woke in Ino's living room, the pale faces of my friends blinking at me.
"Sakura-chan, we found you knocked out on the ground-"
"H-he left," I sobbed, throwing myself at Hinata and Ino. "He's left Konoha!"
When I fell in love-
(Five Months Ago)
"Aw c'mon Saki, you're gorgeous! You'll get a boyfriend for sure! Maybe not now, but you'll get one eventually!"
"Ino…" I replied, dragging my feet down the corridor. "It's easy for you to say that, but I feel like crap at the moment so-"
"Oi! Teme!" The way Ino had adopted Naruto's nickname for the chicken ass haired one was kind of funny, though that was the last thing on my mind.
"Pig!" I hissed. "Why are you calling him over here?"
She winked, waving to the boy when he came over. "Well hi there!"
"Hn."
"Hum hum, someone's in a bad mood today. Anyway, just wanted to tell you in your capacity as one of Forehead's closest friends that she is complaining about not being appealing to people of the opposite gender."
His onyx eyes scanned me up and down. I blushed under his gaze, reddening even more when he smirked and declared, "No point in worrying about something stupid."
My mouth dropped open as he walked away, Ino's golden giggle ringing in my ears.
And when he broke my heart-
(Three Months Ago)
"Have any of you seen him?" I asked, walking up to my male friends.
"Who? Uchiha?" Kiba answered. I nodded. "He went round the back of the school-"
"-Probably to break some poor girl's heart," Kankuro input, doing his best 'over emotional twelve year old girl' expression. While the guys cracked up, I jogged in the direction of the back.
"What's it for anyways Sakura?"
I held up a envelope. "He left this behind! It looked important so…I'll see you later!"
They disappeared out of my view and I rounded a corner. Just as I was about to round the second one, I heard a female's voice.
"Babe, lately something's been bothering me…"
"Hn." His trademark grunt sounded curious. I inched closer, not meaning to eavesdrop, but doing it anyway.
"That girl…Sakura? You're always together. It drives me crazy! Like you love her more than me-"
"Haruno? Ha." He stopped, along with my breathing. "She's still as irritating as ever, and I'm not attracted to her. All forehead and abnormally coloured hair."
Salt water blurred my sight. I was still shaky after his return to Konoha a few months ago - this was the last thing I needed to hear.
"So you're not friends?"
One word changed my vision of him.
"No."
The thing I was meant to give him slipped out of my hands, landing on the dusty floor. My heart, beating furiously, was breaking into a thousand pieces.
At least I knew now. At least I knew his honest opinion of me now. It had only taken him all our lives to admit it.
Despite the fact that tears were snaking down my cheeks, I gave a bittersweet smile.
All that time, wasted, crying over him. I was just an annoyance, a pest, hanging on to every lie that ever slipped out of him mouth.
Before I left, I had to have one last word.
"Huh…Teme."
I heard a small intake of oxygen behind me as I ran away.
Never again would I waste my time on him.
He raises a cocky eyebrow, and I'm sure he remembers too. I wonder how he views those memories, if he feels guilty about the way I found out or if he feels our relationship could have taken a different turn to the one we have taken, the one he forced onto us.
Even if he does, it's way too late now.
Never again will I waste my time on him.
We meet eyes. In that second, I recall every single interaction I had with him, every single thing he said and did. Isn't it funny how life turns out?
His name is added to the last mental pile in my mind, the wistful 'could have been'.
Uchiha Sasuke.
I have wasted enough energy on you, Sasuke-kun.
Whatever we had is over.
We're done.
I don't know what to say since a twist of fate when it all broke down,
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.
~The Story of Us, Taylor Swift
Whew! I really needed to write that; it's been crazy lately! My laptop broke, there are issues in my friendship group…Geez, so much teenage drama! I wish it didn't come all at once XD
I liked writing this one. It's different from the romantic humour I normally come up with, that's for sure!
Please review! It's my first SasuSaku so I'd like to know how I did!
Right, I'll go now :3 Bye!