He was six when he first met her.
He hated her on first sight.
Pink hair, green eyes.
It was too bright of a combination.
What was worst was the smile.
All in all, she blinded him.
Why I Hate You
I.
The 23 Things She Did When She Was Five:
23. She baked muffins: vanilla cakes with a mountain of sweet frosting and sprinkles.
22. She baked them at least once a week and comes to school lugging a wagon full of baking pans.
21. They tasted like shit. (He didn't want to try them. The Dobe forced him to.)
20. On her birthday, she came to school with a sunflower tucked behind her ear.
19. She didn't seem to realize the whole classroom started to smell like that… foul thing.
18. When the class gerbil died, she cried.
(She was weak, too weak to ever pass as ninja.)
17. She volunteers. For everything.
16. It came to a point that whoever wanted something done, they asked her.
15. And every time, she nodded and flashed her bright, ugly smile.
14. It also came to a point that whenever someone needed a hug, she was there.
(You're now contaminated, stupid)
13. She wore dresses. Like, every freaking day. Her hair would have a matching hair band or ribbon- despicable.
12. She had long, pink hair that reached the middle of her back.
11. She was pale.
10. Slim.
(She probably ends up with the flu twice a month)
9. Her favorite color was yellow.
8. She sings. (On the bus to the aquarium, he had to plug his ears the whole ride.)
7. She dances.
6. She holds hands.
5. She acts like everyone's mother.
4. She laughs-she smiles-she grins-she blushes-she beams- she giggles.
(All of them were acts of sin.)
3. She took his swing.
2. She gave it back.
1. She saw him
-Why I Hate You-
He squirmed, rubbing his forehead. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, and scowling, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and trudged up the hill.
A limp moon hung above him in the dark sky.
He picked up pebbles along the way, and he tossed them at the curb angrily. He wanted to stomp, he wanted to yell. But instead, he just clenched his fingers tighter into the balls of fists.
The hill was steep and long, and by the time he reached the top, he was panting, and his scowl was worse.
His eyes cut through the dark and landed onto the red swing, the one on the right hanging under the green bars.
The one with a girl on it.
His teeth clenched, and with a burst of anger, he thrust his index finger out. "That's MY swing."
The knees pumping up and down continued to pump, but the figure's head turned to look at him.
Sasuke growled, and his feet started to break out into a run.
"That's MY swing! MINE!"
A giggle started.
Sasuke stumbled. That giggle belonged to…
His scowl deepened to a permanent crevice on his face. He'll show her.
"Sasuke-kun! Do you want your swing back?" her voice rang out, like a bell. "You have to sing to me first. It's my birthday, you know?"
He sneered, "Why would I want it? That swing is L-A-M-E."
He plopped onto the swing next to her, beginning to viciously swing hard. "That swing's for crybabies."
His lips curled at the instant hurt in her eyes.
"And I don't want it."
She didn't reply. He started to concentrate on swinging, his eyes intently focused on his shoes as he pumped harder, harder, harder, until he was as high as she was. Then, higher than she was. He smirked silently to himself.
"Little girls shouldn't be on in the playground at night," he commented pompously. "You know what happens in the dark?"
He heard the almost-silent shudder.
"And it's really too bad you're celebrating your birthday alone," he continued. "In the dark. If it was my birthday, Okaasan would bake me a cake, a triple chocolate layer with a tomato on top…"
"Tomato?" she echoed.
"What about it?" he demanded defiantly. "Tomatoes are the best food in the world."
She paused and then her face brightened. "Of course!"
He glared. "You can't like them, because I like them."
She offered him a smile. "Okay, Sasuke-kun."
"Don't CALL me that! Only Itac- "Sasuke cut off abruptly, turning his head around to continue swinging.
He could feel her look at him, but after awhile, her head turned back. They continued to swing in silence as Sasuke glowered into the dark. This swing was not comfortable. The metal where his hands were clenched did not fit his hands like the other one did.
"…well, I'm glad you're here, to celebrate my birthday with me!"
Sasuke flinched, turning around to face the little girl with a venomous look. "Well, I'm not. You took MY swing."
He met her large, doe-like eyes for a minute, pouring all his hatred into her. He really hated her.
He really hated Sakura Haruno.
The next thing he knew, she had jumped off her swing and landed onto the sand in front of him.
"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry I took your swing," she said earnestly, her wide eyes meeting his with guilt coursing through them.
Sasuke's mouth dropped, and the anger in him faltered, only to rise back twice as strong as before. "You're not supposed to do that, you ugly stupid girl!" he yelled then. "No one likes you because you're too soft and too sweet and too bright and too happy, and the rest of us are secretly laughing behind your back because we're all emotionless, stoic ninjas who will one day conquer all of enemies of Konoha and who don't care a bit about his itsy, bitsy, meanie, big brother!" In all his fury, his hands had let go of the rungs into angry, fast gestures, and with a topple, he landed face-down onto the sand.
The swing came a second later and hit his head.
Tears came then.
Burning hatred coursed through his body, and he felt hot. The tears that started seemed to not stop, and try as he might, the six-year-old he was just couldn't help, but…
Bawl.
Sakura blinked. She blinked again. She blinked for the third time.
Sakura had hugged everyone in her class at least once, made a card for the little girls and boys who had the flu, brought flowers to her teacher every day, and cried whenever someone squished a bee.
She was a human, Hallmark card.
But… this was Sasuke Uchiha. The boy who gave her the meanest glare the first day of school, the boy who threw away her cupcake in front of her after one bite, the boy who ignored her no matter how much she smiled, the boy who always seemed to hate her, despite everything she did.
She approached him timidly at first, but as she watched him sob into the sand, as if on prompt, she burst into tears.
A strangled noise came from the boy then, and Sakura suddenly had her arms wrapped around him so tight and yet, she still felt he was slipping through her fingers. She had buried her head deep into his shoulder (he was so warm), and she tried to provide him everything she could.
And the strange thing was, he let her.
A/N: i'm not so sure yet, but I'm either having a second part to this or I might make this into a multi-chap story. i'll see where my muse takes me :)
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