A/N: I know I haven't finished 'I wonder' yet, but I have needed inspiration for this story and I MUST write it. =]

Dedicated to Angel

Chapter 1: I Could Have Hit You with My Truck

--

SPOV

I had to wake up at seven fuckin thirty in the morning today. Have you ever stayed up till four AM and tried that? I'd hope to think not. Needless to say, I'm walking around like a Zombie. I don't look any better than one either. If I could just wrap my tiny little hands around Orochi's scrawny little neck and choke him to death, I think that would make my morning.

Who's Orochi? Short for Orochimaru. He is my disgusting Anatomy and Bio 3 professor; A.K.A. the one who makes my life a living hell. I mean I could pass the classes with my eyes closed…but do you have to give us 10 page essays, single spaced, due next class, every Wednesday about what we've learned? Fuck you guy.

I stopped bashing my teacher and brooding over my current life situation to go and take a shower. I wonder what today will withhold. Will I trip down the last couple of stairs in the health wing at school like I did last Friday? What if Orochi decides to stand a little too close to me for the billionth time this semester? No, I bet he's going to give us some bullshit assignment…douchebag. Wait…what if I don't get a parking spot! Damn it.

The water in the shower had already run cold by the time I even had my last thought; that was not good. It usually takes about 30 minutes for the water temperature to drop below warm, effectively meaning that right now it's about 8:15…class starts at 8:40. And did I mention that I live on the opposite side of town? That's at least a thirty minute drive with good traffic. Why does it seem that the world is always conspiring against me now a days?

I briskly walked out of my bathroom over to my closet.

Hm, no time to look great today.

There should be a law against being sarcastic with yourself. Ugh, I'm hopeless.

I tried shoving on some baggy cargo shorts, tried being the keyword. Ever tried to put on loose pants but both feet simultaneously end up in the same leg? It freakin happened, out of all the times in the world it was now. Ugh, after finally putting on my shorts the right way, I attempted to put on a fitted tank top, simple right? No, this conspired against me too! If I didn't need them so much, I would cut up, burn, and stomp all over my clothes. Over kill, I know.

Ceasing all evil thoughts towards objects in my household, I put on my shoes, grabbed all necessities, and ran out to my truck. My beautiful truck that could never do me wrong. My mom insisted that I get a car before I graduated high school on the grounds that women don't drive big manly trucks…really mom?

I rolled my eyes and cursed while starting the truck and backed out of the driveway; I have to call my mother. It's a daily ritual she made me keep up just so that her quote 'old heart wouldn't explode from not knowing if her beloved daughter was okay everyday' quote unquote. But I could see why she would worry. I was as flamboyant as a ballerina in pink when I first started high school. Nothing could keep my happy unicorn personality down. But that's when I met Sasuke. The all glorious and gorgeous Sasuke. I remember writing in my diary about him and I. How he would see that I was the perfect girl for him and we'd get together and get married after high school to live in a two story house with a white picket fence. I even deathly remember sketching my wedding dress, ugh. Then there was that one day; it changed me for what I think was the better but others disagree..

Flashback

Sakura stood in front of her mirror in her locker combing bubblegum locks of hair. This was the day that she would finally march up to Sasuke and pour her heart out to him, but he wouldn't reject her like he did the other dozens of girls in the school.

She'd been dreaming of a relationship with Sasuke since she spotted him in English class on the first day of freshman year. She was a senior now and had done everything in her power to wriggle into the position of ''girlfriend''. Including dropping her best friend, now rival, Ino Yamanaka. It hurt at first to know she didn't have a close friend in the school that was of the same gender because they were all vying for Sasuke's affection, but she'd grown accustomed to it. There was no way she was going to back down now after putting up with 4 years of grueling torture. She had to put up with that obnoxiously loud Uzamaki kid, though her heart had grown a soft spot for him in the past couple years, just to get closer to her love interest. Naruto and Sasuke were the best of rivals in a sense as others saw. Constantly fighting to be the best when it came to sports, considering Sasuke always won in the academic realm.

Her thoughts of the past were interrupted though as she saw Him pass behind her in the mirror of her locker door. In a flurry of pink she slammed her locker shut and skipped to catch up with the dubbed 'prince' of the school.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun! How was your weekend? Mine was great! I spent most of it watching Sweet 16 reruns, but I thought about you way more than that!" she gave him what she thought was her best innocent, heart melting smile.

It was a disturbing sight to him.

"…What do you want Haruno." His tone was clipped and cold as it always was.

She stopped in the hall and grabbed onto his elbow, pulling him into an empty class room.

"Sasuke-kun…I need to tell you something. Something important."

He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, "What"

"I-i…I need to get some things off my chest" her hands nervously wrung one another, "I've liked you since I first saw you. And I've dreamed of being close to you. All I want is to be able to hold you…be with you…to kiss you" she blushed from her hairline to her neck, "I…I love you Sasuke-kun." She looked up into his eyes with sincerity.

He looked down at her from where he stood with the cold hard gaze he usually gave people. Nothing was off except for the slight tick in his jaw.

He slammed his hand onto the wall that was beside her head where she leaned.

"Listen here Sakura and listen carefully," He leaned in close to her face but without the intentions she wished "I've let you follow me and Uzamaki around for 4 years without the slightest care. I've put up with your fan girl ways and you trying to throw yourself at me right and left because he wanted you around. But what you failed to realize is how many times I have rejected you. I never wanted to go out to places with you. I've never invited you anywhere. I've never even had a full length conversation with you; and this is probably the most you will ever hear from me. .. I've never liked you, nor will I ever like you. Stop being so easy." He pushed himself off the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets before promptly leaving. Why should he stick around to see another fan girl cry her eyes out from rejection. He couldn't wait until he graduated and got the hell away from this town.

Sakura stood in stunned silence and slowly slid to the floor, knees pulled up to her chest.

He rejected her. He made a very adamant point that there was never anything between them and there never would be. All the dreams of them together were gathered and crushed under the weight of his venomous words. It was over. She'd wasted 4 years of her life on something that never even had a chance once she'd laid eyes on it.

She began to hyperventilate, breaths coming out in short quick gasps as tears made rigid paths down her cheeks. This couldn't be it. There had to be something more that she could do. She was good enough, she had to be, she'd devoted everything to him, this couldn't be happening.

She repeatedly banged her head against the wall she was slumped against. This pain that was gaping from her chest would not subside. It tore through her torso from the pit of her stomach to her throat. It felt near impossible to breath. How was she supposed to live her life now? Everything was about him up until this point. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Why would he do that? What did she do to deserve this? She'd been nothing but good to the world since she was able…she'd been nothing but good and loyal to him.

Damn you Uchiha. She hit her head a bit harder. Damn you to hell. Her fist slammed into the tiled floor of the classroom as she kicked the nearest desk within her reach. She'd reverted to weak Sakura from elementary who hid away from others' hateful stares and cried, alone.

"You know Sakura…I don't have to start my class for another hour…Want to talk about it?"

Startled from her self pity, she looked up at the gloved hand that was raised out in front of her.

She shouldn't have to be alone, especially not when she was obviously hurting so much. He'd seen the Uchiha heir walking out of his empty classroom, more or less brooding as usual. He'd heard her labored breathing, tears, and incessant banging from the other end of the classroom door. He'd known the pain a soul could feel. He knew what it was like to lose something…someone..so dear even though you never actually had them. It could rip you apart from head to toe and leave you not wanting to take another step further in life. But she was so young. She need not face the things he faced at an age much younger than her. He had needed someone there to fill the void in his chest; he would be that someone for her.

She looked into his eyes, understanding exchanged between the two.

"Kakashi…"

End Flashback

It was a couple years ago, but the pain still ebbed away at the edges of her being. She was never the "flamboyant ballerina" after that. Kakashi promised he'd always be there for her from then on though. She quote 'didn't need to end up as an old woman reading smut' quote unquote. She snorted out a laugh at the thought. That Kakashi.

--

Hm, 8:30, I better call mom.

I took out my cell phone from my pocket but dropped it as I hit a small pothole while trying to merge onto the highway.

"Damn it." I reached down and began patting my hand around trying to find that stupid device. This city should really fix their roads.

Just as my hand touched the phone, some maniac cut me off causing me to slam on my breaks, effectively bring my head into the steering wheel from my position in trying to reach my phone. Today was just not my day at all.

I sat back up in my seat and dialed my mothers speed dial with a scowl. There was absolutely no way I could make it to school on time without breaking all speed limits. I hope there aren't any cops around.

--

I put on my right blinker and turned into the school parking lot. It was jam packed to the fucking max as usual; Damnit.

"Sakura honey…How are you? Better?" My mom has been asking me things like this since that day in my senior year of high school. She and my father had been terribly worried when their 'baby girl' had come home without that extra pep in her step; green sparkle gone from her eyes replaced with a distant void. I never went on spontaneous shopping trips with my mother anymore. Never baked another batch of 'love filled' cookies for that Uchiha again. She didn't figure out exactly what was wrong with me until they noticed I would cringe and make up a bullshit excuse to leave somewhere private every time she said his name. I still can't hear it…

"Yes mom, I've been fine. You act like I've been going on suicidal rampages. You and I both know I don't have the time or patience to do all of that, so stop worrying please for the both of us." Like I'd actually just jump off a freakin bridge when I've just barely got 2 years of medical school in. Is she crazy?

"I know dear, but an old heart can't help but worry. You know I don't believe that young man deserved you anyways. What was his name again? Sasuki? Sasukai? Sasu-" It started coming back again. The numb feeling around everything except that gaping hole in my chest. It's like something you've never felt before that's constantly eating at my soul. I can't take much more of this; let alone now in the school parking lot while driving a truck.

"-Mom I have to go." I took the phone away from my ear and heard her scream out a final 'But!' before I clicked the end button. She does this almost every time I talk to her and I always pay the consequences with this ceaseless pain.

I wrapped my right arm around my torso and tried to pull myself together and look for a parking spot. Right about now, after the pain has become too difficult is when I begin to reflect and get mad. What gave him the right to say such spiteful things to me and to leave me a shivering mess in Kakashi's room? He's no God and he's definitely not deserving of my feelings anyways. I hope that bastard feels alone in this world like I do now. At least I have a family and not some psychotic nut job parents who commit suicide, and a fugitive brother. Jerk.

I'd finally found a good parking space that wasn't to far from the school entrance and was about to pull into it, when a bright red car cut me off and took it for himself. That fucking bastard.

"Bitch! What the fuck gives you the right!"

I calmed myself and drove down to the parking space about 30 feet down and gathered my things getting out of the car and pulling on my zip up hoodie. As I was walking around the back of my truck to the school I saw the door open to that stupid little red car and couldn't subside the anger that was already bubbling out of me.

"Hey! Hey you jerk!" He stepped out of the car and looked at me with uninterested, cold, jade eyes. Nothing about him made sense. His hair was to rich of a red, and his skin was too pale of an ivory like mine. There was an idiotic tattoo on his forehead of love; who gets tattoos on their face? His jaw line was angled and masculine, lips small and in a semi-pout underneath a strong, small, rounded nose that was turning red with the cold. Cheek bones so high up underneath his dark lashes that the sides of his face almost looked hollow. I stopped walking about 3 feet in front of him and glared at his face; I got a small smirk in return. He had a dimple, but only on his right cheek. He's so odd that it all comes together too perfectly.

That stupid smirk of his infuriated me so I stepped closer and looked up his lanky body to his face. I really didn't think he looked that tall from afar.

"Keep smirking like that and I'll slap it off your face. I've had one hell of a morning and you cutting me off didn't help at all." He actually let out a small breathy chuckle and cocked and eyebrow at my threat….Seriously, who does he think he is?

I reached my hand back and skyrocketed it towards his face, it was going to leave a very pretty mark on his pale skin. The only thing that I didn't anticipate was him side stepping me, my body falling forward with the force of my swing, my forehead hitting the side mirror of his car and breaking it, and finally me blacking out…It wasn't supposed to end like that.

--

I opened my eyes and a bright light blinded me before I could decipher my surroundings.

"Fuck."

"Watch your mouth young lady."

I opened my eyes again and looked to the side before I clenched them shut again and grabbed my head in both hands. I had a pounding headache and felt medical tape on my forehead. "What's wrong with my head? Where am I?"

"You're in Washington State University's Healthcare and Treatment office. Seems you had a little spill in the parking lot. This young man says he saw you slip in a puddle and hit your head so he brought you here" Apparently that was the Nurse who said I slipped in a puddle? What puddle?

I rolled back on my back, closed my eyes, and began mumbling to myself, "I thought my accident prone ass flew into that jerk's side mirror. What a dick, how could he just move out of the way like that…"

A shadow loomed over me and I popped an eye open again, cringing at the sight I saw. Green eyes just like mine were boring into me.

His voice was low, soft, and yet gravely. It shook me with the tenor flowing strongly from it and fluttered and soothed the edges of my bruised soul, "You did. And you owe me." Those were the only words he spoke as he hovered over me for a few more seconds before straightening back up and looked straight ahead.

"Why did you even bring me here?"

"Hn." A typical answer I would expect from that bastard from high school.

I slowly rolled out of the other side of the bed and grasped the cup of water and pain pills on the side table. I'm gonna need these if I still have to go to Orochi's class.

I went to get off the bed but the nurse stopped me with her hand on my shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going young lady?"

"Ma'am I need to get to class. I'm already late and I can't afford to miss anymore classes."

She scrutinized my condition with a squinty look on her face before she nodded and looked to that strange guy standing behind me. "Do you mind taking her? I don't want anything bad happening considering how clumsy she appears to be."

"What! I'm fine! I believe I can make it to my class alone; it's like 3 halls away." But I was being pulled off the uncomfortable nursing bed and dragged out the door by that jerk before I could finish my rant. He shoved my jacket to me when we got out of the office and I pulled it on with a huff. I really don't think this is a good day for me.

--

I walked into class and that evil snake Orochi looked at me with a disgusting smile in place. He licked his lips and smiled wider as he saw who was behind me. "Ahh, Sakura my delicate flower, it seems as if you've finally made it to class and brought our new student Mr. Subaku with you. You two can be partners for the rest of the semester and begin on the lab project we've just begun."

I stood stock still and gazed at nothing in particular, not believing my life. I have a horrible morning at home, bash my big forehead twice, lose a parking space, embarrass the shit out of my self, have the one guy I was beginning to hate bring me to the nurses office to fix me up, being left utterly confused at the feelings he's beginning to provoke whether I want to own up to them or not, and now I have to be partners with the assface for the rest of the semester(that's 8 fuckin weeks) without a chance of figuring out just what's going on. No way. This is just my luck.

I was knocked out of my reverie when 'Mr. Subaku' brushed by me to go and sit in the back of the class to begin the lab. This is no big deal, he's just a dude who took a parking space, big whoop. He's not the nicest, but he does the right things, he hasn't said anything rude, and I'm finding myself being maybe…attracted to him? Fuck.

I stomped up the stares to the back of the class, glaring at Orochi on the way there while he smiled back. Placing my bag on the side of the desk and flopping in my seat, I turned my chair to face parking lot guy…I really can't keep calling him parking lot guy.

"Name."

He looked down on me with a disinterested gaze and the next word he said rolled off his tongue effortlessly. "Gaara."