"Remember students, the Valentine's Day Dance will be held tonight, in the gym! Come and see who this year's Cupid picks to be our two Lovebirds then." The intercom announcement had been repeating the same thing for the past two weeks, and even without it the students of Konoha High School would have been excited for it anyway. Their lives were filled with rigorous studies, constant training for sports and for clubs, and hardly ever throughout the school year was there a chance to just relax and come to school after hours for something other than academics. All the students pounced on those few festivities and dances the school hosted every year, and the Valentine's Day Dance was no different.

And no doubt it was the talk throughout the halls that day. The constant gossip and chatter was a testament to that; who was this year's Cupid, who would he or she chose to be the 'Lovebirds', how good of a match would they be, what kind of food what there be this year, who would be chaperoning the event? So many different possibilities, and just about all of them were discussed. Of course, there were favorites.

Most of the Cupids previously had been quiet, and smart. Most people looked at Shikamaru, who just sighed and walked on. Hinata was a possibility for sure, and then there was always the possibility of Sasuke. Then the top couple? Well, that was just a question that went round and about so many times you would think all of them were together. Sasuke and Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru, Ino with every other guy too, same with Sakura and Sasuke with every other girl, Naruto with just about everybody, everybody with everybody else, and hell. Some people even thought it would be such an awesome idea for Cupid to pick Kakashi to accompany whichever girl. But that was called harassment, and therefore it was a no.

Not like it mattered. Whatever happened, it would be fun, and everybody would laugh and have a great time. Though sometimes… The dance was just the beginning of new things. After all, when Cupid's around, love's in the air as well. Just a matter of finding it.

"Dog breath, which shirt?" Yeah, yeah, he should have probably done the whole what to wear thing the day before, or maybe even the week before. But what kind of lazy male would he be if he had done that? And anything short of lazy male was not enough for Uzumaki Naruto. Or… Was too much, so be the case. Holding up the two button up shirts, one a dark gray-blue and the other a deep red, the blonde watched as his best guy friend pointed at the blue one. Not a lot of thought put into that, based off of the half a second long glance the shirts had received.

"I don't see why you're making such a big deal about this anyway. There's no reason to be so hyped and perfectionist about it," the Inuzuka commented lazily, tying up the laces of a pair of shiny black dress shoes. Oh, like he was one to talk. The Valentine's Day Dance was going to be the occasion upon which Kiba finally asked this one girl out; Naruto forgot her name, but she was interested in dogs almost to the obsessive degree that Kiba was. Which was really saying something…

"I'm not. I just want to look my best, since it's our final year and all," he finally replied with.

"You sure it's not to grab Pinky's attention?"

Naruto couldn't help but go quiet, working on buttoning up his shirt, refusing to look at Kiba. Way to go, self. Give the intentions away right there. And of course the dog man would try to knock it into him that it all had to stop. That, after six years, the crush he had retained since age eleven obviously had not gone anywhere. Which was all true. The blonde had tried his best through those years to get Haruno Sakura to like him, and had failed countless times as the time passed. At the beginning of this year… As his New Year's Resolution—something he had picked up from his American friends—he had vowed he would get over the roseate, and try to go for someone new.

"I thought you made that stupid resolu-"

"I know I did, Keebs. But it's hard, you know? After all these years it's almost like second nature, to want her to like me back. I'm trying… I am. I'll ask Hinata to dance with me this year. How's that?" Surely the shy Hyuuga wouldn't deny him… And hell, maybe he would find a better interest there than he would in Sakura. As much as he doubted that, he would have to force himself to believe it. Kiba walked over and clapped him on the shoulder, a look of sympathy on his fang tattoo'd face. Life sucked pretty hard sometimes.

The doorbell went off, a obnoxious buzzing sound that did its best to deafen all those within Naruto's apartment. Which meant Shikamaru and Sasuke were here, and that it was time to go. Smoothing down the front of his shirt, Naruto followed Kiba out of the building and to the car, already thinking about how he would ask the shy Hinata to dance with him.

When the four got to the dance, it would figure the place was already crowded. They all separated off to their own destinations; Kiba to the nearest pack of girls, Sasuke to go sit in his own little corner and emo around, Shikamaru to Chouji, who was by the snacks, and then there was just Naruto left. He felt a bit awkward alone, and his eyes immediately scoured the dance floor for any familiar faces. Oh look… There was Sakura... dancing with some guy who he didn't even recognize at the moment. Was it Lee? Gaara? Hell if he knew. And determined as he was not to care, he continued his search.

There! Off to the side, talking with Ino. Target sighted. Clearing his throat, he made his way through the crowd, using his height to his advantage to maintain sight with the pair. Ino spotted him first, and was quick to giggle and point him out to Hinata. The raven-haired girl spun around to look at him, her hands clasping together nervously. Grinning, Naruto continued forth, mentally preparing himself. His smile was returned by a small one of hers, and he doubted that this pretty lavender-clad girl would deny him just one little dance.

Which he was right to suppose. Despite her claims at feeling faint, he managed to slip in one dance with the Hyuuga girl before moving on, dancing with whoever else drifted by, really. It was almost surprising how many people approached him with such an offer, and most by people he hardly even knew. But hey. Hard to be not well-known when you were him, right? Oh, that was just his ego being stroked… The time passed quickly, and it was getting towards the end of the event after two hours had passed; almost time for…

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like all your attention towards the front at this time!"

The blonde stopped his dancing, smiling broadly. He had to admit, despite the confusion he had been enduring before, letting loose and hanging was really quite the remedy. But even he stopped for the voice of Tsunade, listening as intently as possible through the whispers still going on, and looking over the heads of his peers to see. Surely it was just going be who was the Lovebirds of the year, though despite himself he was a tad bit curious as to who was Cupid…

"Mr. Cupid, would you please come to the stage?" All eyes whisked around, standing on tip toes to find the one person who should be moving towards the front of the room. A round of applause began as soon as he was spotted, but from his position, Naruto couldn't even tell who it was until he reached the stage. Didn't stop him from clappin', though. And even harder when he saw Sai, the socially awkward boy he and Sakura had befriended years before, stomp up the small set of stairs. His ever calm eyes and blank demeanor was lit by the ghost of a smile, and he waited until the applause died down to take the microphone from Tsunade.

"This year, as the female half of the pair, I have chosen…" stopping for a second, Sai knew he had his audience twirled around his finger. All the girls in the room, save a few, were hoping that their name would be called, though they knew the chances were automatically lowered to those select few everybody called "The Nine". Which meant only three girls were up for the title…

"Haruno Sakura to be this year's Lovebird." A loud of applause ensued once more, with many wolf-whistles and cat-calls accompanying. The roseate, her face almost a darker color than her hair from blushing, walked to the stage, taking the bouquet of roses handed to her before standing next to Sai. Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked in the light pink dress she wore, so simple but so complimenting at the same time.

'No, Naruto. You're asking Hinata to dance. That's how it's gonna be. Anyway, she has to dance with whatever guy Sai chooses, right? Yeah…' His brain dejectedly told him, though he kept his smile plastered on his face. Lucky guy…

"And though he doesn't have the equipment needed…" Wait, what? Wasn't that an insult that Sai used on him? "Uzumaki Naruto is the male I picked to be the Lovebird."

At first it didn't really click, the true meaning of that. At the moment, all he could think was that he had just been publicly insulted by Sai in front of their whole school. "SAI, I'M GONNA KILL YOU AFTER THIS. I DO TOO HAVE THE EQUIPMENT." Oh wait. Did he just shout that in front of everybody? By the facepalm Sakura performed… yeah, he had. Grimacing, he walked to the stage before leaping up onto it, gaining the same round of applause that Sakura had, minus the whistles and calls. No, instead he got shrill squeals by the lowerclassmen, or women, rather.

Oh wait. He was on stage with Sai and Sakura. He was one of the Lovebirds. And Sakura was the other. They were the Lovebirds. And therefore, he would have to dance with her for the rest of the evening. Which also meant that sometime in the next two hours, he would have to kiss her. Because that's what being Lovebirds meant. Because Sai had picked them to be Lovebirds. Braking sound here, crash, smoke, boom.

Stop. Rewind. Pause. Play…. Still not working. Disc scratched, tape ruined, player destroyed, nuke to the brain. So what happened to the 'I'm gonna get over her' thing now? How were you supposed to stop thinking about someone when you were dancing with them, and knowing there was a kiss waiting for you at the end? Was it even possible? Especially since he didn't want to give up in the first place… Hell. If she still didn't think of him any different, maybe it really wasn't meant to be at all, and he could go back to trying to entice other girls after. But until then… Had to act cool.

Bowing over at the waist in an over exaggerated fashion, Naruto tried to hide the combination of exc

itement and uneasiness, not allowing his features to betray his confused state when it came to what he should do. Their audience once more clapped and hollered, and the blonde couldn't help but grin. It felt nice to have the school's support, even if they didn't know the full extent of his attraction. They would act as the excuse for him to make a move, at least…

The pair moved down the steps, with Ino moving forward to take Sakura's flowers while she danced with the guy that had always been considered a brotherly figure. If only she knew… The music started, and as tradition stated, it called for slow dance to be the very last of the night. And of course, after, the event would not be complete until the two Lovebirds shared the expected kiss. That's the way it had been before, and the way it would continue being. If everything went well, that was.

Still blushing, Sakura awkwardly put her hands at the top of his broad shoulders, forcing a smile in reply to the bright one the whisker-marked blonde was giving her. His larger hands settled on the defined curve of her waist, and he could see the people around him picking out partners for the last dance, swaying back and forth after paired, not nearly as uneasy as he and the roseate were. Moving his eyes to meet hers, he could practically feel the discomfort she felt through the stiff hands at his shoulders, and the mirrored stiffness of her body.

"Oh, that Sai…" he murmured lightly, trying to relieve the tension to a degree. She looked up at him finally, slightly surprised. She mumbled in agreement, and Naruto swore he could hear the distant rumbles as his confidence began to crack and crumble into the abyss known as self-consciousness. This was so not the way he had intended on this being, the moment he walked onto that stage… She could at least have tried to look like she was having fun. Even those around them were noticing the look of displeasure etched into her dainty features, showing in every aspect.

"Sakura, is something wrong?" What a question. Obviously there was. Because even if she had been normal, she wouldn't be acting like this. She would be making jokes with him, and teasing him, and doing everything else she always did. Now she was just quiet and reserved to the point it worried him as to what he had done to deserve such treatment. Hell. He hadn't even talked to her throughout the previous two hours of the dance; he hadn't started any sort of argument that he could remember… Hadn't done anything that she usually considered offensive… So what was wrong?

"Nothing, Naruto," she replied, smiling sweetly and patting his cheek softly; should have reassured him. But it did the quite opposite. Since when did Sakura-chan just say 'nothing'? Since when did she pat his cheek? Obviously she was just flat out lying to him. Which was probably worse than being rejected, if he had to think about it. The awkwardness extended through the rest of the dance, and for what had to be the fortieth, or maybe even fourth time that evening, all those around them started clapping, creating a ring around the duo.

"Well… I guess it's time," he mumbled, his cheeks flushing slightly. Way to go, Naruto. Just give away you really want to do this. Sakura did not answer him, even when the chants yelling 'Kiss her!' started. One would think she'd have some sort of reaction… But no. Oh well. If she wasn't going to respond, might as well try and catch her attention with what the crowd wanted; two birds with one stone. Leaning forward and down, the blonde closed his eyes the moment before expected impact…

And opened them when he realized that either he had completely missed her mouth, or he had just been denied and instead given the oh-so-classic 'head-turn-to-get-a-kiss-on-the-cheek-instead-of-mouth' trick. Embarrassment flooded his thoughts, and he could feel his face to his ear tips burn brightly. There were a few snickers from those around them, and about the equal amount of aw's of sympathy mingled in. Sakura's gaze seemed to pierce the floor, still not even looking at him.

Taking a step back from him, she still refused him eye contact, curtsied, and fled the gym, the crowd opening a passage for her to fit through as she bailed out, leaving him standing alone in astonishment. Just when he thought he had a chance, too.

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REPOST. 8D