Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I wanted to get back into the Naruto writing mode so I wrote this one shot. Hope you enjoy!


-Can It Get Any Worse?-


Sakura shoved her textbook up into the top of her locker and slammed the door shut with a sigh. The school day was finally over, and, surprisingly, it had gone without incident. No big arguments, no fist fights, nothing other than boring classes and heaps of homework. But now it was finally time for the weekend.

Running a hand through her silky pink hair, the junior scanned the hallways curiously with bright emerald green eyes. Other students flitted past her, eager to start on their Friday night plans. Sakura watched them with a tint of envy. For once, Ino hadn't invited her to any huge party and none of her other friends could come hang out. Everyone else was already busy. It was the first time this year that the pinkette hadn't had big plans for the weekend. Heck, she didn't even have any plans.

With a hollow sigh, she swung her backpack over her shoulder and started walking towards the door. Guess it would be a weekend of study and just hanging out…

As she weaved her way through her excited peers, she spotted a familiar raven leaning up against the corner, his onyx gaze firmly searching through the sea of faces. She couldn't help but wonder what the raven was doing. He was Sasuke Uchiha, one of the most popular guys in school and certainly the hottest. Almost any girl would swoon at the chance to paw and fawn over him even for just a moment, and he was the crush of most of the females in high school. Something about his spiky raven hair tinted with blue, those dark, forbidding black eyes of his, his body rippling with muscles, and his cool, aloof personality turned most girls on. But Sakura wasn't like most girls. She was one of the people that Uchiha had let in. In fact, she considered him a rather close friend.

Those cool onyx eyes met her gaze for second, then flickered away. Sakura took no heed from it. She continued to shoulder her way through the rest of the students, heading for the large front doors that opened to the auditorium.

Before she had a chance to escape to the large schoolyard, a hand rubbed her shoulder softly. Turning, the pinkette's emerald eyes met the cool gaze of Sasuke Uchiha. At the sight of him, a warm smile spread across her face. "Oh, Sasuke-kun!"

He put his hands in the pockets of his nice slacks that were part of the school uniform, his shaggy black bangs hanging down over his eyes. Even though all of the young men in their high school were required to wear the same rich-looking button up white shirt and dark slacks, Sasuke looked extra rich, not to mention hot in it. Of course, he was. Those dark eyes snuck up and met Sakura's green gaze. "Got anything planned tonight?" he asked softly.

Anything planned? Sakura gave him a curious look. "Actually, I don't."

For a moment something flickered in his eyes but was then gone. "I was wondering if you wanted to, you know, go grab a bite to eat later then?" he gruffly muttered, his onyx orbs fixed on the ground.

With a shrug and a soft smile, Sakura purred, "I'd love to."

His only response was to nod nonchalantly and mutter, "I'll pick you up later at your house tonight then…"

One more sweet smile touched her face before she turned and started walking away. "I'll see you later then!" she called over her shoulder, sending strands of pink hair tumbling across her face. With that, the pinkette padded smoothly out the door.


Tiiiiiiing…Tooooong.

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pocket and waited nervously on the front porch for someone to answer the door as the sound of the doorbell vibrated through the building. He fought the urge to fidget. At last, he had gotten the nerve to ask Sakura out on a date. For a long time he had been hiding his feelings for her and had at last gotten the guts to make the first move. With every fiber in his being he wished that this would be the perfect date.

In a matter of minutes, the door was opened by a fair-skinned woman, her shoulder length blonde hair flowing over her shoulders with a single bang falling down over her face. Warm green eyes met Sasuke's. "Oh, Sasuke Uchiha!" she asked with a warm smile.

Dipping his head respectfully, Sasuke responded, "Good evening, Haruno-sama. Is Sakura ready?"

"Don't call me that, call me Mebuki. Sasuke, I've known you since you were eight. Stop with that official nonsense…" She shook her head slightly and smiled.

"My apologies, Mebuki-sama."

With an amused smile, Sakura's mother purred, "Oh, Sasuke… Yes, Sakura's ready. I'll tell her you're here." With that, she disappeared inside the house for a second. "SAKURA! HE'S HERE!" came a loud shout. Then Mebuki opened the door out and said, "Please, come in."

Nodding softly, Sasuke obeyed and entered the small but cozy hallway. He met Mebuki's emerald gaze coolly.

"Oh, Sasuke, you look so handsome," she told him in a chatty fashion. "You should wear a suit more often! You look rather sharp…" A large smile crossed her face. "So, how's the Uchiha family business coming along?" she asked.

"Oh, fine. Father is as busy as ever," Sasuke responded coolly.

Mebuki laughed softly. "Oh, aren't we all! How have things been going with your older brother?"

Sasuke tensed slightly. "Fine," he growled.

Shooting him an unconvinced look, Mebuki stated, "Sure… Tell your mother I said hello." Sakura's mom turned without another word and disappeared into their kitchen.

Only a moment later, a familiar pinkette started racing down the stair. With a dazzling smile, Sakura beamed, "Sasuke-kun! You're here!"

Silently, Sasuke noticed her outfit. Instead of a fancy dress or something exceptionally nice, she was just wearing a simple, black skirt reaching mid-thigh and a nice white blouse. A beautiful silver necklace with a Sakura flower charm hung around her neck. She also wore a pair of black slip-on shoes.

Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the nice outfit that he was wearing. A nice button-up white shirt, the top two buttons undone, and a pair of black dress pants. This simple suit looked super expensive; it would have taken a year of a middle-class family's wages to even consider glancing at the price tag of this vehicle. His cool onyx eyes fixed on her, Sasuke smirked slightly at Sakura's surprise at his nice clothes.

Of course, they weren't the only ones who noticed the strong contrast between the outfits.

"Sakura Haruno! You go right back up there and change into something more fitting!" her mother exploded.

"What are you talking about?! Mom, this is just two friends going out to grab something to eat! Honestly!" Sakura snapped back, launching both hot-headed women into a huge argument.

Sasuke cringed and sweat-dropped. "It's fine… She doesn't have time to change. We need to catch our reservation," he interrupted, slightly irked by the two and their arguing.

"Yeah, Mom!" Sakura latched onto Sasuke's arm and grumbled in his ear, "Let's get out of here…"

Sasuke smirked and opened the front door for Sakura. She slipped past him, ignoring her mother's annoyed calls. The moment she caught sight of his car, however, Haruno completely froze. His smirk widened as he trotted towards his vehicle. Slowly, the pinkette followed him, staring at the sleek, shiny black convertible. It was a glorious vehicle, worth who knew how much money. It was evident that the Uchihas were a rich family, far richer than Sasuke always displayed, if they would allow him to use something of this value for what Sakura believed to be a simple friend outing. Sasuke pulled open the door and waited coolly for Sakura to climb in.

As she pulled herself into the car, Sakura breathed, "Nice car…"

Sasuke didn't respond. He just smirked a bit more as he closed the car door.


Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets, leaning up against the wall of the elevator. Sakura was shifting uneasily, eager to see what sort of restaurant they were on the way to see. Keeping his eyes cool and confident, Sasuke silently watched Sakura's face. He couldn't wait to see what she would think of Kaji, the restaurant of his choice. Despite how much she pestered him, Sasuke had refused to give even the slightest clue as to what restaurant he was taking her. Now, Sakura was in for a grand surprise.

At last, the elevator door opened. Sasuke led the way inside, the pinkette following closely.

"Oh, my gosh…" Sakura whispered at the sight of the grand view in front of her.

A large room was in front of her, full of finely set tables clothed in white table cloths. A small walkway stood a bit above the wide expanse of tables, separated by a fine railing. Beautiful bouquets of flowers were placed along the railing. Wide windows displayed a beautiful view of the city below, a cluster of glowing lights in the fading twilight. The soft hum of chatter filled the room as the numerous couples chatted over dinner.

Sakura turned to find Sasuke gazing at her with great amusement. "Sasuke-kun…" she breathed. "Surely this is the wrong place… Surely you aren't really…"

He leaned in and purred in her ear, "No mistake, Sakura. Come. We must get our table."

They headed over to one of the finely dressed waiters standing behind the counter. He surveyed them with deep brown eyes, his black suit crisp and fine. "Your reservation, please."

"Uchiha, Sasuke," came the response from the aloof Uchiha.

The waiter quickly checked the pad full of names. "Ah, yes. Uchiha-san. Right here." He lifted his head and gestured for the two to follow. Together, the two were led to a small two-person table in the corner, surrounded by the beautiful view of the city.

Sasuke pulled out Sakura's chair for her, allowing her to sit down, before going to sit across from her. The waiter turned and disappeared back to his post, leaving Sakura and Sasuke together in silence.

Placing his clasped hands smoothly on the table, Sasuke turned to his companion. "So… How have you been doing lately?" he purred smoothly, meeting Sakura's flickering wide eyes.

"Sasuke-kun… This place is amazing!" she gasped, leaning over to gaze down at the city below them. Up on this skyscraper, they had the best view in the city, and Sasuke was pleased to see that his date was enjoying every second of it.

Another finely dressed waitress, this time in a black skirt and extremely nice matching shirt, approached the two. "Hello, welcome to Kaji. What can I start out for you today? Soda, water, sake…" she smiled sweetly.

Smiling back just as sweetly, Sakura responded, "I'll take a water, thank you."

"The same," was all Sasuke said.

"Alright." The waitress smiled and dashed off.

Sasuke could see the wonder in Sakura's eyes as she continued to take in every part of this extremely nice restaurant. She fidgeted uneasily as she noticed how everyone else was wearing extremely nice clothing, from fancy to extravagant dresses and suits. The more she looked around, the more self-conscious she felt about her rather simple outfit.

Lowering her head and sending strands of pink hair hanging in her face, Sakura murmured, "I'm sorry… I didn't dress up very much… I had no idea we were going to such a nice place."

"Sakura, you don't have to worry about your outfit while you're with me. You look beautiful," Sasuke demanded softly.

This of course brought a large blush to Sakura's cheeks. "Oh, well, thanks…" she murmured. But when she looked up against, his strong gaze hadn't left her face. She could feel the burning in her cheeks growing stronger but didn't say anything.

"Your waters…" the waitress placed two fancy glasses of water on the table, then pulled out her pad. "Here are two menus…" she handed them out to both guests. "I'll be back in a minute to get your order," she added before turning and running off to another table.

Smiling softly, Sakura started to skim the menu. Her eyes widened in pleasure at the sight of all of the delicious foods that filled the pages. As she skimmed the pages, delight continued to fill her eyes. Until at last, she happened to glance at the prices.

"Sasuke-kun! Look at the prices!" she exclaimed.

"Price doesn't matter. Pick anything you want."

She stared at the menu for a moment longer, then turned and stared at him. "But look at this! I couldn't even afford a small dish of one of these!"

He rolled his eyes in amusement and purred, "As I said, price doesn't matter. I can afford it."

"But…"

"Here. Look at this." Sasuke opened the menu to a certain page and showed Sakura one of the dishes. "This one dish is called Omakase and it's a really good one for two people to share… If you'd like to, we can… You know… Share."

A faint blush touched Sakura's cheeks. "Sure… It doesn't look too expensive."

Shaking his head slightly, Uchiha told her, "Don't worry about price. I can take care of it."

Biting her lip, Haruno sighed. "Alright… We can share Omakase."

"Good."


It didn't take long for the fine dish of sushi and sashimi, colorful and tasty, to arrive at the table. Soon the two of them were savoring the divine flavors of the dish.

Sasuke set down a piece of sushi and reached for his glass of water. As he sipped, he glanced around and examined the other people in the restaurant. He jerked slightly in surprise when he recognized a familiar blonde with bright blue eyes wearing a nice suit, sitting rather close to a young lady with kind white eyes and long, dark blue hair. His onyx eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw the young man place an arm around the young lady.

It didn't make sense… What the heck was Naruto Uzumaki doing here? And with Hinata Hyuga? He knew that Naruto, who was in fact his best friend, had been planning something special for his crush, Hinata. He had been working hard at his part-time job for months. This must have been the special surprise…

He took another sip and allowed his gaze to slip back to Sakura. She was smiling and enjoying every moment of this, especially food. Sasuke felt a pang in his heart as he gazed at her. She didn't seem to get that this was a date. She was acting more like it was a friend outing than a date. Oh, she could be such a baka sometimes… But his heart still ached to be with her.

His eyes wondered back to his best friend as he took another sip of water. What he saw took him by complete surprise. Naruto was leaning in and kissing Hinata passionately. Instantly, Uchiha started coughing and just so happened to spit the water in his mouth all over his date.

The pinkette squealed softly and looked in shock at her soaked clothing. Sasuke regained his composition and instantly stood up, grabbing a napkin and handing it to her. "Oh, I'm so sorry…" he murmured, trying desperately not to meet her eyes.

"No, no, it's fine…" she murmured back, mopping at the water with the napkins. "What even happened?" she asked him.

"Well, I saw Naruto-dope and Hinata and they were… Well…" he trailed off.

"What? Naruto and Hinata are here?" Sakura turned and scanned the area. "I don't see them… Are you sure?"

Sasuke glanced up realized that the table which they had been sitting at was completely empty. Looking around, he recognized the familiar head of spiky blonde hair disappeared out the door. "He just…" Sasuke started to say, then just shook his head. "They just walked out the door."

Giving him a skeptical look, Sakura sighed, "Alright… Whatever you say…" She stood up and told him, "I'll be right back. I'm going to the restroom to clean up…" Sasuke inwardly cringed but just nodded. With one last sweet smile, Sakura turned and walked briskly towards the bathroom.

"That stupid baka, Naruto… Why the heck did he have to be here?" Sasuke growled to himself once Sakura was gone. All he had wanted was a nice little date with the girl he loved… And now it was a complete mess. He had ended up spitting all over Sakura. What a failure of a date… Desperately, the raven hoped that nothing else would go wrong during the rest of the date.


The two had finished the rest of their entrée without any more problems. Sasuke was finally feeling like this date was going well again. Sakura had insisted that it was fine about the whole "spitting water all over her" incident, but the raven couldn't help but feel like he had ruined all chances of this date being a "perfect date". He already knew that it wasn't as perfect as he had hoped, but now it had declined even further. Hopefully it wouldn't go any further downhill.

Of course, we know that it couldn't be that way!

Just as the waitress delivered the final part of the meal, a fancy dessert of Japanese cheesecake, a loud voice gleaming with energy cried out, "Sakura-san!"

Sasuke felt a wave of frustration and anger wash over him as he recognized the voice. A look of slight alarm crossed Sakura's face, then one of amused frustration. Turning, she spotted the familiar bug-eyes and shiny black bowl hair-cut belonging to Rock Lee.

He skidded to a halt at their table and flashed a smile so shiny it was almost creepy, sticking out his hand in a thumbs-up sign. "Oh, Sakura-san! Imagine seeing you, the blossom of my love, in a place such as this! You look beautifully youthful!"

"Lee-san… It's nice to see you." Sakura smiled sheepishly.

Of course, Lee grinned and shouted, "I would love to join you!" These words sent icy rage coursing through Uchiha. Lee grabbed a chair and sat down between Sasuke and Sakura, then turned his full attention on the pinkette, smiling expectantly at her.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes hostilely and growled, "Ok, you've said hello… Now go ahead and return to your dinner party. I'm sure Sakura would rather you go."

"Oh, no, he's fine. I don't mind you if you stay, Lee-san. It's alright. You join us for a chat." She was just trying to be polite, but Sasuke didn't like the thought of Lee joining them even a tiny bit.

Of course, Lee paid no attention to the deadly glares that Sasuke was giving him. "What have you been up to since I last saw one as youthful as you, Sakura-san?" he cried eagerly.

Shifting uneasily, Sakura murmured, "Oh, not much." She glanced at Sasuke and noticed the pure fury that burned in his eyes as he glared daggers at Lee. But she said nothing on the matter.

Sasuke's relentless glaring didn't lighten up even for a second as Lee and Sakura chatted for a while. Why did he have to come and ruin this date for them? Why did she have to invite him to join them? Why did things like this continue to happen on this date?! Why?!

"So, Lee-san… What are you doing here at this fine restaurant?" Sakura asked, smiling a gentle smile.

"I came here with Neji and Tenten for a youthful time as friends. Oh, the glorious power of youth! We were all having a glorious time together when I saw the love of my life, you, Sakura-san! I had to come over at once to pronounce my love for you!"

Sasuke glanced over and saw Neji sitting with his arm around Tenten. It was pretty clear that they were trying to have a romantic date but Lee refused to let them go alone and had decided to stick along. Of course, now that Lee was gone, Neji and Tenten were enjoying some time to themselves.

Why the heck were so many of the high-schoolers at such a fancy restaurant?!

Sakura continued to make friendly conversation with Lee, while Sasuke kept on trying to find reasons and excuses for him to leave. Not once did the icy glare lighten up even a tiny bit. At last, Lee left and found his way back over to Tenten and Neji, who were just leaving. At last, Sasuke and Sakura were alone again, with an empty plate of cheesecake.

"So that's what Tenten had planned… She told me that she had special plans tonight but never said what. Now I know…" Sakura smiled and put her hands on the table. "It's so nice that so many of our friends were here this evening!" She glanced out and stared at the beautiful expansion of stars outside of the windows, the twinkling lights of the city gleaming below.

Nodding absently, Sasuke just grunted, "Hn." Sighing softly, the raven put his head in his hands and just closed his eyes. This date had been a disaster. But he might still be able to make it worth something.

A gentle hand brushed his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked in concern.

"Fine," he growled shortly. Lifting his head again, he took Sakura's hand in his and murmured, "But I have something important I need to talk to you about."

The pinkette tipped her head to the side, blushing slightly as Sasuke rubbed her hands in his own. "Something important?" she asked nervously, her emerald gaze strongly meeting his onyx eyes.

"Yes." Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment to gain the courage to say what he was going to next. "Sakura, I've known you for a very long time. We've been friends for years. But I've never gotten to nerve—or the chance—to tell you this."

"Tell me what?" she asked anxiously.

"That I—"

Before he had a chance to say another word, the waitress dropped the leather folder on the table. "Your bill, sir," she stated, standing next to the table and waiting for him to finish.

Scowling slightly on the outside and cursing heavily on the inside, Sasuke pulled out a wallet and pulled out a heap of cash. He opened the bill and started to count the money. Sakura gazed over, trying to read the bill. When she saw the price at the bottom, she wished that she hadn't.

"Wait… Sasuke-kun! You can't really pay all that by yourself!" she stammered shakily.

He lifted his eyes from what he was doing as he shoved the money inside the folder and handed it back to the waitress. "I just did."

"But… But…" Sakura stammered as Sasuke helped her to her feet and the two started for the elevator. "You can't pay that much for just a friend outing! Come on… Let me at least pay a little…"

Shaking his head, the raven growled, "No." Silently, he pondered the fact that she wasn't pestering him about what he was trying to say before they were interrupted. But he had no intentions of trying again to confess his true feelings here. This date had been a complete failure; the worst date he had ever been on, not that he had really been on a date before. The perfect date that he had imagined had been doomed to fail.


Sasuke pulled open the door of his super expensive car and gave Sakura a hand to help her out. On the car ride back, a feeling of dread had been growing in his heart. His first date with the pinkette had been a miserable failure and was about to be over. He couldn't leave it like this…

As he walked with her down the small garden path to her front door, he desperately tried to think of something, anything, he could say. But nothing came to his mind.

At the front step, Sakura turned and smiled sweetly at her friend. "Sasuke-kun… Thank you. I had a wonderful time and I'm so happy that we're such good friends…" she leaned in and gave him a quick, short hug. "I guess I'll see you on Monday…" she said, turning and reaching for the door knob.

It can't end like this…

A moment before she would have pulled open the door, he made his move. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her around. Lifting her head, she opened her mouth to ask what that was about. But before she had the chance to say a word, he leaned in and met her lips in a passionate kiss.

After a long moment, they broke away. Sakura gasped for breath, her emerald eyes wide with confusion. He turned his head away, his shaggy black bangs hiding his eyes from her sight. "Sakura… That wasn't supposed to be just a friendly dinner. I… I was trying for a romantic date. I'm… I'm sorry it was such a misunderstanding… Such a failure." His hand released her wrist and he turned to walk back to his car.

Before he had the chance to make it more than a few steps, he feels arms reach out and wrap around his neck. Turning his head and sending his raven spikes swinging, Sasuke's lips were met with Sakura's. Her eyes tightly closed, she kissed him fiercely, regardless of the shock in his eyes. By instinct alone, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist and pulls her closer until he held her close to his chest.

They separated, both out of breath. "Sasuke-kun…" she murmured. "I… I've always loved you. But I was always afraid that you would… Would… Would reject me…" Her emerald eyes met his onyx gaze.

Brushing his nose up against hers, Sasuke breathed back, "I've loved you, Sakura, since long ago. Just a few years after we met, I finally understood my feelings. But I could never find a way to show it." His onyx eyes gleamed in the faint light, burning with love. He kissed her again, then murmured, "I never thought you returned the feelings I had."

Smiling, Sakura whispered, "I do! I do!"

And they kissed again.


At last, Sakura closed the front door behind her and sighed in contentment. At last, she had that load off of her chest, and, even better, he felt the same way! Smiling to herself, she prepared to go up to her room and get ready for bed.

But before she could, her mom stepped out of the kitchen, smirking at her in a knowing way. Sakura froze. "Mom… You weren't spying on me… Were you?"

Her mother just smiled, and instead of answering her question, purred, "So, when's the engagement?"


A/N: Hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it! And a huge thanks to Sunnyburst30 who gave me the idea and helped me along the way. I gotta say that I'm proud of how this story turned out. Please review!