"Look. Naruto. Just ask her out."
"I don't wanna ask her out, Kiba."
"She's liked you for a long time."
"Has not."
"She blushes every time you enter a room. She likes you. Either that or you two had sex and didn't tell anyone."
"Kiba… I just don't like her that way."
"Because you like Sakura."
"That's not true!"
"Get over it. She's dating your best friend. You had your chance, like 2 years ago. Just give it up. Hinata's really sweet."
"So is Sakura."
"She hits people."
"It's part of her charm."
Kiba laughs and Naruto turns around to face the teacher.
.
"Sakura?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?"
"Filing. For Tsunade."
"Oh. How long is that gonna take?"
"I don't know… Maybe another half hour?"
"But I can't wait that long!"
"Naruto. I can't go get ramen with you anyway. Sasuke and I have a date."
"But I need to talk to you!"
"Just tell me now."
"But it's not a phone kind of conversation!"
"Naruto!"
"Ok. Ok. Fine. Should I ask out Hinata?"
"Ohmigod YES! This is so great, Naruto! She's been in love with you forever and you too would just be so cute and maybe I could get Sasuke to double-date! Wouldn't that be fun?"
"Yeah…. Great. Anyway. See you late, Sakura."
"Mkay. God. This is so great."
Naruto hangs up, disappointed and a little bitter.
.
Ino Yamanaka stands up on the table, looking blonde and perky and beautiful, but Naruto still can't take his eyes of the pink-haired girl sitting and reading a book. And Sasuke has his arm around her and is actually almost smiling and it all makes Naruto a little bitter, because really they're his best friends. He tries his hardest focusing on the blonde girl.
"Attention, people! Okay. So you're all invited to my house on New Years. My parents are out of town, and there will be alcohol. Please don't break anything too expensive!"
Kiba, next to Naruto, lets out a whoop and Naruto tries to muster an enthusiastic grin. Maybe Sasuke and Sakura will have broken up and maybe he's an awful person for thinking that.
.
Sakura was his first kiss, not Sasuke's. Sasuke's first kiss was Naruto, but that's something they both tried not to think about. But anyway. They had been 6 and hanging out at the park and Sakura was yelling at him for messing up her sand castle and Sasuke was ignoring them and she looked so pretty, so Naruto kissed her and it lasted less than a second, because she shoved him and started screaming about Sasuke and personal space and other things and he just sat there for 10 minutes because he lips had tasted like sunshine and cherry lip gloss.
.
Sasuke is driving him to Ino's, with Sakura, because according to Sakura, the three of them (we're all best friends, right, she had said with that bright smile on her face) hadn't been spending enough time together. So Naruto throws on some grey jeans and an orange t-shirt and almost puts on some bright orange converses that Sakura had scribbled all over. But it's about to be the new year, and maybe he should try and let her go, so instead he slips on some black vans and tries not to feel empty inside.
.
"Hi N-Naruto." He notices she barely stutters when she says that. And she is pretty, in her white dress and her black hair falling down her back. And Neji would get pissed, and making Neji pissed is pretty entertaining. He spares a glance around the room, his eyes locking on her, her pink hair in wild disarray and her bright green skirt matching her eyes perfectly. She gives him thumbs up, and his heart hurts.
So he grins at Hinata, who's nice and pretty and a good person, she really is.
"Hey Hinata! Ya wanna dance?"
.
He dances with Ino and Tenten and Karin and Kin and even Hinata's little sister, whatever her name is. But he dances with Hinata the most (Neji keeps glaring at him, Kiba is giving him a feral grin, but Sakura barely looks up from Sasuke) and he doesn't, not once, dance with Sakura. Because she doesn't ask, and he tells himself he doesn't want to.
.
"Hey Teme."
"Hn."
"Yeah. It's good to see you too."
"You saw me on the ride over here."
"True."
"Sakura thinks you and Hinata should double date with us."
"Yeah. She told me. I dunno if it's gonna happen."
"Hn."
"I mean, she's pretty and cute and nice and all, but I just…dunno."
Sasuke gives him a weird look and Naruto nods and walks away.
.
It's the countdown and Sakura is wrapped up in Sasuke's arms and Tenten is jumping on top of Neji and, fuck, even Suigetsu has Karin.
Naruto grabs another red cup, filled with who-knows-what and goes off to find the pretty girl with the black hair.
.
Naruto kisses Hinata a millisecond before midnight. She tastes like rain in the mountains and the calm before a storm.
He looks over at the pink haired girl wrapped up in his best friend's arms. She's holding Sasuke's hand and looking at him with something, but he doesn't know if it's good or bad or even what's good or bad anymore and he's missing the taste of bright sunshine and cherry lip gloss.
.
to-be-maybe-continued?
read&review please!