Summary: Because some people think that love's just a fun game.

Standard disclaimer applies here

Before She Cheats

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Do you even care at all?

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Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

12:30 a.m.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

1:00 a.m.

She's always late these days.

-x-

The crumpled outfits, the flushed cheeks, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol and lust- Sasuke was not oblivious to these things. In fact, he was fully aware of what probably went on behind his back; but he doesn't want to admit it.

Admitting it would be like burning his manly pride, confessing that he wasn't good enough, and embarrassing himself in the eyes of the public even more than he already has.

As the son of the famous corporate leader Fugaku Uchiha, many had expected him- the CEO, of course, while his brother took care of security and the police force- to date a pretty, polite, wealthy girl and eventually marry her, and carry on the legacy of the Uchiha. They had expected him to carry the company on his shoulders and to be the mature, responsible adult at the young age of 21, fresh out of university.

But he didn't. And it wasn't because he was a bad kid, either; Sasuke wasn't much of a rebel. He obeyed his parents like any good son would, but he met her on his way to the coffee shop one day and he'd fallen for her, and they've been dating ever since.

It should have been like any cliché love story- boy meets girl in the big, scary world. And being a university senior with no past experiences in love, Sasuke had assumed that he would have privacy with his girlfriend.

…Apparently not.

Within days- no, wait- hours of the "life-changing" event, Sasuke's face was placed on the front page of every newspaper, on every tabloid, on every gossip website. His father had been steaming mad when he heard of the news (it was pretty much impossible not to have heard about it, anyway) and had stormed into Sasuke's office, onyx eyes blazing with pure fury and face flushed a deep red with anger.

"What were you thinking, son?" Fugaku had yelled, slamming his palms down hard on the polished chestnut desk. "Dating someone like her? Are you trying to ruin this family?"

Sasuke had been angry that day, too- after all, it was his life. He didn't want people to choose what he had to do, especially not with his love life. He'd snapped back at his father, threatened to destroy the company if Fugaku refused to leave him alone, and said, with anger laced through his words,

"I love her, father."

-x-

It's almost 2:00 a.m. when she stumbles in the door, reeking of booze and cigarettes, hair ruffled in an unruly manner and lips on fire.

"Hey, baby," she warbles when she her eyes fall on Sasuke, waiting in the kitchen for her. She watches him with wide, curious eyes and smiles flirtatiously, sauntering over and sitting down across the table from him.

Sasuke doesn't reply.

He has an important business meeting the following morning, a presentation in the afternoon, and a business dinner with a potential client that he should be worrying about. He should be worrying about getting enough sleep and getting all his prep work together.

But he's not.

It's 2:15 a.m. when Sasuke finally caves in to the events that splintered their relationship. It's 2:16 a.m. when Sasuke finally speaks.

"Why have you been so late these past few months, Karin?" he asks, careful to keep his voice steady and calm, because he'd be damned to let her know how close he is to losing his composure.

As expected, she replies with the same thing as every time: "It gets so busy at Kisame's bar, baby. I've been working non-stop since-"

"I called Kisame today."

Her eyes snap up immediately as her tanned skin instantly blanches underneath the layers of makeup. Sasuke know she's struggling to keep her voice steady when she asks, trying to be casual, "What did he tell you, babe? About business? Let me tell you," she says, giggling nervously, "It has just been so crazy these several months and I don't know why."

"He told me you got off at nine tonight. He told me that you've been getting off at nine for the past few months. What were you doing, Karin?" Sasuke silently thanks god that his hands are hidden under the table; they're tightened into angry fists, and he's so close to just hitting something. Anything.

"Sasuke, baby, do we have to talk about this now? I'm exhausted," she says, avoiding his question again, and fakes a yawn. She gets up to leaves, but Sasuke stops her with his icy tone.

He's barely containing his anger when he says, "Is Suigetsu good to you?"

Karin's whole body tenses up and her eyes turn wild when she whirls around to him, and he knows that he's hit home.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Karin says stubbornly, trying so hard to get him to change the subject; but Sasuke's finally fed up with her stupid, selfish games.

"Don't you fucking lie to me," he snarls, standing up. She stares at him with shocked eyes. "Don't you fucking pull that shit on me like I'm stupid. I've sacrificed so much for you. You know how much I had to deal with my family when we got together? Do you have any idea? I deserve the truth. I want the truth, and I want it now."

Karin, he knows, is never one to contain her anger; and suddenly she's standing up as well, screaming back at him. "You're an asshole," she spats, "and I don't love you. I never did and I never will. You've done nothing for me. You're an over possessive son of a bitch and you're turning into your asshole father, Sasuke. You were fine at first, but then eventually you just had to listen to everyone else who said that I wasn't good enough for you, like I'd dreaded. It's like you're keeping me around just for the sake of it, and I hate it. I hate you!"

And then she's running into the bedroom and Sasuke stands frozen as he hears the sounds of zippers and wheels and the opening and closing of drawers.

Karin storms out like a hurricane, red eyes swollen with tears, her things packed into multiple suitcases and a photo of their happier times in her hand.

"Suigetsu treats me like a queen, Sasuke, no matter what happens. He accepts me for who I am and knows that I'll never be royalty material. He knows me inside and out and he knows shit about I've never told anyone, and he loves me and he makes me happy. He cares for me. I'm not just some shiny toy he plays with," she sobs angrily.

"What are you trying to say?" Sasuke replies calmly, even though he knows what's coming.

Karin's ruby eyes flare with bitter anger as she throws the picture of them down hard on the hard tiled floor. The glass shatters and the frame breaks, pieces flying everywhere.

"I'm saying that I'm leaving, Sasuke," she sneers, opening the front door. "I'm saying I'm dumping your sorry ass for Suigetsu. I'm saying fuck you and your whole family for treating me like I'm nothing, and good-fucking-luck in finding another girl who can deal with your asshat shit."

The door is slammed hard behind her, and Sasuke doesn't bother going to check to see if she's okay or not. He stumbles past the glass, shocked but not really surprised at what happened.

His chest is numb as her last taunting words spear through his heart.

Grabbing the liquor from the cabinet, Sasuke slides down to the floor, uncaring for the glass, and pops the bottle open.

It's going to be a long night.

-x-

Where…where am I?

Blinding white light burns his eyes as he squints, pulling himself up. Red digits screaming 11:30 a.m. fall into view somewhere in the blurry fog. There's a sterile smell that fills his nostrils as he groans loudly, finally blinking and taking in the setting.

He's no longer in his kitchen like he'd expected to be; instead, he's in a clean hospital room. It's white- white walls, white sheets, white windows- so white that's he's suddenly angry. Angry as the flashbacks of the night before wake in his memory, flooding back and knocking the breath out of him.

Karin broke up with him. Him, the CEO of the most successful company in all of the country. Him, the one with all the money and luxury and success.

She broke up with him for Suigetsu. Suigetsu, who didn't have a steady job and drank all the time, who took girls home from the bar (sometimes multiple girls at a time) and "showed them a fun time". He played and used and dumped girls like toys.

Sasuke still can't believe it.

Pushing himself off the clean bed, his head pounding as he teeters unsteadily towards the door, before it opens up quickly in his face.

"Good morning," a polite voice says and a sweet-looking girl donning a lab coat walks in, clipboard in hand. Sasuke watches as it takes her a split second to realize that he was out of bed, and before he knows what's going on, there's a soft hand leading him back to the bed.

"What do you think you're doing, Uchiha sir?"

His voice is hoarse when he answers, "How did I get here?"

Her eyes-which are a brilliant shade of emerald green, he notes- soften as a pink smile curves across her pale face. "Your friend Naruto sent you here this morning, around five a.m. He was worried about you, and he didn't leave until six this morning because he had to go to work.

"You were completely passed out and you kept throwing up repeatedly during the night, so I had to change the sheets a few times. I gave you a dose a medicine around five-thirty this morning, so you should be good for now." Looking at him sympathetically, she adds, "You must have a terrible headache right now, don't you?" Smacking herself in the forehead, she hastily puts down the clipboard.

"I'll get you a drink of water. Stay where you are."

She's flying back in within seconds with a fresh cup of what in her hand, and when she leans in close to Sasuke to hand him the cup, he gets a whiff of her scent- like fresh vanilla. It's not the smell of perfume, really. It's more like a natural scent, sweet and heavenly.

He takes his time drinking the water, and watches her closely from the corner of his eye. She's very pretty, he decides, and she looks around his age. But there's a touch of innocence and naivety in her face, which doesn't surprise him much. She's got long, bubblegum pink hair and the brightest eyes he'd ever seen; pale smooth skin, and a very slim and petit body. He can't quite see the lustrous gold nametag pinned neatly to her spotless white lab coat, and suddenly he's interested in this pink fairy girl who saved his life.

When he's done drinking the cold water, he takes the time to ask casually, "So are you volunteering here, or…?"

The girl looks at him and smiles. "No," she says, sighing. "I get that a lot. I'm actually a doctor here." A light yawn escapes her lips, and she looks sheepish.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I've been working since six last night, so I'm pretty exhausted."

He doesn't contain his surprise when he comments incredulously, "You're a doctor?"

"Yeah," the pretty girl replies, "I'm actually 23."

"I'm 23 as well," Sasuke says, still astonished. "But I'm sure you know that already. And you are…?"

"Sakura Haruno," the girl says, and Sasuke decides that her name does suit her perfectly, from her fresh green eyes to her baby pink hair- just like a beautiful spring day.

"Sasuke," he introduces himself, and sticks out his hand. She takes it in hers, and Sasuke marvels at how smooth her skin is.

"It's nice to meet you, Sasuke."

There's a mega watt smile on her face and Sasuke decides he likes that look on her.

-x-

He's checked out the next day, but his mind is still wondering of the pretty young doctor with the smooth hands and jeweled eyes.

She's the first girl (besides Karin, but he refuses to think of her now) to capture his interest in barely an hour, and she seems sweet and conserved enough to be with.

He wonders if Sakura Haruno- doctor Sakura Haruno- was free. If she had a boyfriend. Maybe a fiancé? But of course, that wouldn't stop Sasuke from liking her.

But then, Karin's taunting voice comes back, sneering and snarling and whispering nasty things in his mind, and the only to get rid of it is to drink. Drinking helps him dull out his senses; it helps him forget the world he lives in now, lonely and bitter and useless.

He hates that feeling.

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to be continued...

Note: so this is what i've been working on this past few weeks. it's actually finished on my laptop, but it's over 18 pages on Microsoft Word and over 7k words, so i didn't want to bore anybody with some long story. i broke it up into pieces here, and i'll put up another fragment tomorrow. it's 1:46 a.m. and i'm kinda tired, so whatever. gotta savor the limited amount of sleep that i actually get, yafeelme?

but yeah, tell me what you guys think. i love hearing from y'all! :)

Hugs and kisses and starbucks,

-A