Hello everyone! It's been so long, but here's another story that's been brewing in my head for quite some time. It's a semi-continuation of Friends (please check that one out too! Shameless plug? I know. Haha) and I hope you'll like this one. I'm thinking two or three more chapters after this. Depends if you guys end up liking it! As usual, standard disclaimers apply. Naruto isn't mine :)
-Chapter II-
It's too bright out, she mused.
Eyeing the semi-empty road and making sure she did not veer off the lane, Sakura carefully adjusted the sunglasses over her eyes. Stifling a yawn, she made for the nearest fast food place that offered breakfast.
It was currently ten in the morning.
Yet she felt so sluggish and practically had to drag herself out of bed to get her Sunday started. She figured Ino would still be sleeping for a couple of hours. To Sakura, though, sleeping past noon was almost sacrilegious—that's just half of the day down the drain. And while she's an efficient worker, sometimes it takes a couple of hours for her to get into work mode. Especially today, because she was nursing a terrible hangover.
How many martinis did I have last night? Five or six? Ino dragged her to an open bar event and somehow managed to make her drink more than she intended.
"Troublesome," she commented, mimicking one of her friends' favorite catchphrase.
The greasy burgers and fries displayed on the drive-thru menu glared at her as she sat in the car and took a few minutes trying to figure out what to order. Thankful that the place still served breakfast at that hour, she decided on a sausage-biscuit sandwich and a large iced coffee.
Not her usual coffee, but it had to do.
000
Pulling up to her usual parking spot back at her apartment, Sakura eyed the paper bag containing her breakfast. She would have whipped something up this morning, but her raging headache deemed it was too much work.
She sighed.
She wasn't complaining, but this was one of those days when she wished she woke up next to someone who would make her breakfast.
She took a sip from her hazelnut iced coffee and noted how contradictory it was to have caffeine while dehydrated. Still, the cold liquid soothed her throat, and she definitely needed a dose to shake her awake.
She thought about how Ino and Shikamaru would probably go out for brunch once they finally wake up. Naruto and Hinata are probably having some sort of ramen right now. And then there was the forever-single Sakura, sitting in her car, currently having the saddest train of thought, common to those who don't have anyone to eat breakfast with. Really, waking up to a few slices of toast and some poached eggs would be fantastic. Waking up to someone…
"It must be nice," she breathed. Too tired to scold herself for adding yet another thought to her ever-growing romantic cliché list, she allowed a second to let everything settle before forcing her brain to switch to work mode. She has a 45 page review article to write and while it's not due for another couple days, the pile of research articles on her desk will actually take more time.
Her brain then mentally sorted out the articles needed to be read for her review. She was officially in work mode.
000
With ten articles down and three more to go, Sakura had a nice outline started for her paper. She was about to start reading the eleventh one when her phone rang.
"Forehead, why the hell did you let me drink so much last night?"
Sakura scoffed.
"Ino, I remember telling you to slow down as you took your fifth shot of tequila. You were very graceful last night, calling me a pussy for not taking that shot with you."
Her best friend of too many years laughed. "HAHA. I did, didn't I? Oh whatever, Sakura. You know you had fun. You were in your own little world after how many glasses of martini? Two?"
"Try six, you whore." She laughed. At this rate, she might lose the motivation to finish reading all the research articles. She might have to end the conversation soon, before Ino starts a long story about who knows what and for who knows how long.
"Haha. Six, it is! But anyway, hurry up and finish whatever you're working on because we are leaving in two days! I managed to convince Shikamaru to drive. Actually, it wasn't that difficult, all I had to do was refuse him of-
Sakura's ears perked up. "Wait, what? We're leaving in two days for what?" Now,Ino had her attention.
A pause, then-
"Sakura, you promised! Remember? You agreed to go to a mini vacation with me for a couple of days? You got sooooo excited when I brought it up that you starting naming off things you want to do like try out the cool seaside restaurants and check out the museum and maybe try ziplining and-
"Pig, since when did I have time for a vacation?" That headache was starting to come back.
"Correction: mini vacation. Just a few days! And you promised me this last night. If you don't go, I'll go find a better best friend. With normal colored hair!"
It was the silliest threat. She absentmindedly twirled a lock of pink hair around her finger and found herself trying to recollect what happened the night before. She was on her fourth glass of martini when…
"Oh you sly pig! You snuck that in between drinks!" It slowly dawned on her. Ino did bring up going on a mini vacation, to which Sakura excitedly agreed. They met a couple of girls last night, who eagerly talked about their recent trip—full of relaxation, fun, with a side of great looking men. Of course, in her drunken state of mind, Sakura imagined herself at the beach, enjoying the soft warm sand and listening to the melodious roll of waves while sipping on cocktails and getting eyefuls of well-built handsome men, walking around shirtless and such. It only took a minute for Ino to suggest a trip, and three seconds for Sakura to say, "Hell fucking yes."
"I so did not!" Ino claimed indignantly. "Anyway, I have to go, Shikamaru's back and we're going out for brunch. You better be working on your paper! That needs to be done like, ASAP."
Sakura heard someone mumble something that sounded like 'troublesome.'
"Ino…"
"No buts, if you want to see nice butts!"
She was beginning to think her best friend was still drunk.
"Fine."
"Well duh you would agree! I already booked hotel rooms! Okay, I'll be on my best behavior and not bother you for the rest of the day, and maybe even tomorrow. Get that done, forehead!"
"I'm hanging up now, Pig. I think you just invited my headache back." Sakura started rubbing her temples.
"Yeah, yeah! Call me when you're done. We have to go shopping for outfits! Ah! Okay, Shikamaru, I got it! Bye, Sakura!"
-click-
Sakura stared at her phone screen for a good minute or two, and then directed her eyes at the neat outline of topics she was getting ready to write about.
Forty-five pages on graphene. Must be finished within two days.
She stood up and padded to the kitchen. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee.That was her mantra for the next couple of torturous hours.
000
"Oh, hi boobs."
"Ino."
Sakura was currently modeling the white swimsuit Ino picked out for her. The 45 pages graphene torture was done and over with just30 minutes ago. It took two days, and she had to beg Ino to delay their trip for a day because there was no way she was turning in a rushed paper. Her best friend relented on the condition that Sakura will have owe her 'something'.
The 'something' was yet to be decided, which scares her a little bit. Ino tends to be too creative with her ideas. But she did what she had to do to acquire more time for her paper. If anything, Ino will probably just have her help out at her parent's flower shop. She thinks. She hopes.
And so two days later, Sakura submitted a much refined review article on graphene and its applications. Just thirty minutes after getting back to her apartment, Ino was already dragging her to buy outfits for the trip.
She stared at the mirror in front of her. Not bad, she thought. It was a simple two piece string bikini. She was amazed how the top managed to make her chest look bigger and rounder. Normally, she would go for something tamer, but all those hours spent reading and re-reading research papers had made her ache for the mini-vacation with her friends. Fun nights on the beach and some city exploration will definitely serve as perfect stress relievers.
"You like it. White is good! Slutty,really. But it depends on who wears it. Right now, you're a mix of 'I want you to bang me' and 'I'm too good for you,' which is what we are really aiming for when looking for these suits. I mean hellooooo boobies! Did you go up a size? I swear they're starting to reach mine. Or oh! Maybe I shrunk? No, that can't be. Shikamaru would have pointed that out…"
Sakura shook her head at her best friend. The blonde was rambling off again. Looking back at her reflection, she decided that she'll buy this one. The white brings out her green eyes. And it's not a bad combination with her pink hair. Not to mention the fact that her cleavage looks so damn good in them. So yes, I'll buy them. Why not? She headed back for the dressing room to change back into her clothes. If they miraculously finish shopping in an hour or two, Sakura might even have a few hours to shed on sleeping. Her face definitely had 'sleep-deprived' written all over it.
"Hey, Sakura," Ino called out from outside the dressing room. Sakura noticed the slight change of tone in her voice and wondered why they're suddenly switching to a more serious conversation.
"Yeah? I'm almost done, hold on."
"I never told you where we're going. I mean, yeah, we're going to the beach. But I might have forgotten to mention that we're going to the beach in that city…" she trailed off.
There was a pregnant pause before Sakura finally opened the door. She looked tired more than ever.
"Then there's no way in hell I'm going, Ino."
"Sakura…"
She stared at her best friend for what seemed like forever and then-
"Just kidding!" she grinned. "Are you serious right now? You're worried about that? It's been well over a year; the guy is pretty much a stranger to me. Besides, Naruto mentioned sometime ago that he's mostly out attending business trips. The likelihood of running into him is very low."
Ino's baby blues started intently at Sakura's green irises.
"Sakura, that was so fake."
Sakura scowled. "Like your boobs?" she answered.
"The hell they are!" Ino quipped, clutching her breasts preciously. "Really though, Forehead. You're okay with it? I mean, it's the best city to visit; it has everything: beach, restaurants, and all those art places you like so much. The hotel rates aren't so bad either. I tried checking other places, but the price ranges for those were too damn high."
Sakura laughed. She picked up the clothes she intended to buy and walked towards the cashier with Ino. "Really, I'm okay. If you think about it, we haven't really talked about Sasuke in a while, right? I'm done. I've been done. So it's okay." Her heart sunk at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth, but she quickly dismissed it.
Ino released a sigh she had been holding for the longest time. The last thing she wanted to happen was have Sakura bothered by the fact that they're going to the very city Sasuke moved to.
"Alright then, it's settled. Can we look for club outfits now? Oh don't look at me like that! You're going on a trip, might as well go all out for it!"
000
That night, Sakura laid in bed and allowed herself to think about Sasuke. She hated memories of him. People have said before that memories are beautiful because they serve as reminders of the cherished moments spent either doing something precious, or spending time with special people.
She got up and grabbed her laptop from her desk and settled back in bed. Several clicks later, her eyes were staring at black orbs.
These are the very reasons why she hated her memories of Sasuke. These were pure memories, and thinking about them does anything but evoke happiness. A year had passed since they last saw each other and her heart is still not done healing. She had told Ino time and again that she hardly cared, but it was a blatant lie. She supposes things got easier as time passed by. In the beginning, Sasuke was all she could think about; day and night. It was annoying and heartbreaking at the same time.
Sasuke, who was one of her closest friends.
Sasuke, who was there to comfort her when things fell apart with Sai.
Sasuke, who gave her piggy back rides when her heels started to hurt.
Sasuke, who listened to her ramblings about the stresses of life.
A year and a half after meeting Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura had (secretly) fallen in love.
She had fallen in love with the Sasuke who enjoyed driving aimlessly at night, to clear his mind.
The Sasuke who always ordered pizza with tomatoes. Tomatoes with everything, really.
The Sasuke who told her about his family problems and apprehensiveness towards starting a family of his own, years down the road.
The Sasuke who taught her how to drive a manual car and kept patience when she embarrassingly stalled what seemed like a hundred times.
The Sasuke she had kissed, one drunken night.
The Sasuke she played fire with, five sober nights.
They were friends for four years.
But this was the Sasuke who was in love with someone else.
Sakura had confessed her feelings to him a few days before his big move. To which he replied, "I'm not really the best option right now, considering that I'm moving in a few days."
He said it so softly, but it felt like he squeezed her heart into a worthless pulp. Sakura knew Sasuke still harbored feelings for that girl. So it was hard to compete. Still, she wanted to let him know how she felt. In hindsight, it was a bad idea.
But she swore she felt something during those nights spent with him. He was so gentle and he was so open. So vulnerable. His eyes were more expressive than ever. He laughed and cracked witty remarks. He moaned her name. His face was full of expression. She saw a side of him that no one else has seen. And he was a damn good cuddler.
And yet he left without saying good bye. His text replies were cold and curt. Not once has he openly started a conversation to ask how life was going for her. He didn't even greet her a happy birthday.
And now here she is, a year later. Slowly clicking 'Next' on her laptop as she viewed pictures of Sasuke. Frozen moments of happiness with Sasuke. During those nights in college spent with friends, random events, and just simple moments.
Truthfully, she had a feeling that Ino would plan a trip to that city. It was the only budget-efficient choice. But in all honesty, she wasn't sure that they won't run into Sasuke. Yes, the likelihood was very low; Naruto had mentioned that Sasuke's job involved a lot of traveling. She was a bit crestfallen to find out that Sasuke still keeps in contact with his friend here, but not her.
The likelihood was low, but the possibility is still there.
She wasn't sure if she feared or welcomed this possibility. She wasn't ready. It's cowardly to admit it, but her heart isn't done healing. So she is earnestly hoping that this vacation will be filled with memories that she will sure cherish later on. All she wanted was a peaceful time at the beach, enjoy delicious food, and visit the local art galleries. Ino will most likely drag her to clubs, and for once, she wouldn't mind at all. She might even challenge the blonde to a drinking challenge.
A picture of her and Sasuke from Halloween a few years ago appeared on her screen. This was the first time she celebrated Halloween with friends. Everyone was drunk that night and Hinata managed to capture a picture of Sakura laying her head on Sasuke's shoulder.
In this pictue, Sakura appeared ridiculously drunk, yet happy. Sasuke's face was handsome as always, even after shots of alcohol. When Hinata first shared Halloween pictures with everyone, Sakura had to squint a few times before finally noticing the small smile gracing Sasuke's lips. She found it absolutely hilarious that someone had managed to capture him actually smiling. He, on the other hand, merely shrugged. She even changed her online profile picture to that particular photo, and even more people found it cute and funny. Until someone pointed out that they would make a good couple.
Sakura remembered how weird that comment was. She ended up removing the picture because the thought of her and Sasuke together was soweird. They were friends.
Little did she know that she would actually fall for him, a year later.
She let her eyes linger at his smile for a few more seconds before turning her laptop off. Tomorrow, she will be stuck in a car with Shikamaru, Ino, Hinata, and Naruto. She can't even imagine the kinds of conversation that will ensue.
Finally, she started to feel excited about this trip. She needed this break from life.
And so she settled into bed and closed her eyes. It took what felt like forever for her to finally fall asleep. Memories of Sasuke managed to swim endlessly across her eyelids tonight.
000
"Seven hours and we're finally here! Oh my freaking goodness, that felt like forever and a day!" Ino remarked.
Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru stepped into their suite. It was beautiful and spacious. And just a few minutes' walk to the beach.
"Ne, Ino. You didn't even drive! It was all Shikamaru and me!" Naruto answered, already opening his backpack to get his precious instant ramen bowls out.
Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Really, Naruto? We're finally here and all you want to do is eat instant ramen?" she commented.
"Sakura-chan! Don't be like that! It's almost dinner time! I brought one for everyone, see? Hinata, I brought miso just for you!"
Hinata, his girlfriend of about a year now, blushed and quietly took the miso ramen bowl. "N-Naruto-kun, maybe we can check out restaurants around town? Sakura is right. Maybe we'll find a nice ramen shop somewhere."
At this suggestion, Naruto's eyes bulged. "Well what the hell are we waiting for? Let's GO! Oh man, oh man, oh man. Why didn't Ithink of that?"
Shikamaru took one look at him and mumbled, "Troublesome," before heading for the door.
000
The group settled for a seafood restaurant not far from their hotel. Naruto was almost inconsolable; he was looking forward to slurping bowls of ramen, but he was outnumbered 3 to 2 (Hinata was on his side, of course). To calm his turmoil, his girlfriend merely mentioned the bowls of ramen waiting for him back at their suite.
It worked. And the group enjoyed their salmon, shrimp, mussels, and crawfish thoroughly. They all noted that dinner was especially delicious in the company of great friends.
At the end of the meal, they decided to take a stroll around the boardwalk. Sakura, who was feeling a bit 5th wheel by this time, decided to go on her own and check out the beach. After reassuring everyone that she'll be fine and that she was interested in checking out a medical expo booth they passed by earlier (to which Naruto said, "EW!"), they finally let her go.
After picking up books on physiology and biomedical technology, she realized that it was too early to head back to the hotel. It was chilly out, but she was smart enough to bring a shawl with her.
I'll stay out for one more hour. She decided.
Her feet led her to the dock.
000
Sasuke was tired. He had three business trips in a row which required him to travel constantly. The meetings weren't difficult, but he disliked having to deal with so many people in a short period of time. He definitely didn't like the way female business associates wanted more time spent going over proposals than what was needed.
He was finally back at his apartment. Peace and quiet at last. After finishing the tomato pizza he had picked up on the way back from the airport, he changed into more comfortable clothes and headed out for the beach.
000
Sakura had been sitting on the dock for more than an hour now, just staring at the water, clouds, and sky aimlessly. Thrice, she had to discourage little kids from leaning over the edge too much. The water seemed cold, and she wasn't ready to jump in to haul little kids back to safety, in the event that one actually falls in. As it got later into the night, people cleared out from the dock and she enjoyed the gradual peacefulness descending upon her surroundings.
She remembered seeing Sasuke on the exact spot where she was currently sitting. It was about a year ago, when she wanted to get out of town to take a small break from everything. She knew Sasuke usually frequented this beach, but never thought she'd actually see him.
Unfortunately, he didn't see her. And her heart was in too much pain to actually walk up to him and strike a, "Hey, how have you been?" conversation. She left without saying anything.
It was getting colder by the minute and she had already received calls from her friends back at the hotel. Apparently, the group ran into Neji and Tenten while they were out sight seeing, and had invited them back to the suite to have some drinks. Sakura promised Naruto she will head back in half an hour, and she's currently 15 minutes over.
Swinging her legs back up to the wooden planks of the dock, she slowly stood up and glanced at the moon once more. Full moon.
"So pretty," she remarked.
Just then, a cool breeze swirled all around her.
000
He was annoyed.
Someone was sitting on his spot. From what he could see, it was a woman.
Sasuke had two options: One, he could settle for another spot on the beach, or two, he could approach the woman.
The second option then stems into two possible results. Either the woman gets scared and leaves, or the woman ends up latching onto him.
He scoffed.
Annoying, indeed.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he figured that even if the woman latches onto him, he can easily find ways to send her home.
He eyed the spot once more. He liked consistency in his life, and this spot is a part of his routine. The moon looks the same from any other part of the world, but he enjoyed it best when it is reflected by the sea.
He started walking towards the dock.
000
He was around ten steps away from the woman when he noticed her stand up.
She's leaving. Good.
She was in the middle of stretching her arms when a cool breeze flew by and cast her shawl away.
He caught it without looking.
Because his sight was arrested by the pink strands of hair that spilled into the air.
000
"Ah, shit," she whispered. She was too slow to grab her shawl before it had been blown away. She quickly turned around, hoping that it didn't drift towards the water when she found it clasped in someone's hands.
Her eyes drifted to the face of her shawl-catcher.
Stunning viridians met deep obsidians.
There you go, folks! I would very much appreciate reviews! Any suggestions/constructive criticisms would be greatly appreciated! Till next time :)
