Author's Note: Hello, dear readers! I know it's been a long time since the last update from me and I am really sorry about that! College has been crazy and I am actually currently in the middle of my finals. I know I still have lots of uncompleted stories but don't worry, I will try my best to complete them. I really appreciate the continuous support and love from everyone, thank you so much!

This story is really special because it is actually inspired from my personal life story. A lot has happened for the past few months and I have learned a lot from my experiences. But most importantly, I have met a wonderful man whom I truly love and from whom I have learned a lot from. I wouldn't say everything is perfect but he is definitely one of the best people I have ever met in my life. Hence, I have decided to start this story as a way of expressing myself and will truly be delighted if everyone enjoys reading it. So, here goes!

Chapter 1: The Boy Next Door

Sakura's POV

"How does it feel like to be in love?"

Truth be told, I don't have an answer to that question. Even though I had several boyfriends in the past, this remains a question I didn't know how to respond to. I definitely liked my ex-boyfriends but the word 'love' seemed far off for some reason. I wasn't sure myself why it felt that way but it did.

"Why do you want to know, Hinata?" I was sitting on a bench in one of the parks of our college with Hinata when the dreadful question was brought up. I had some time before a lecture and happened to see Hinata alone with a weird expression on her face. I figured something was wrong and decided to approach her. I only met Hinata last year when I first entered college and we were in different departments so I wouldn't say I know her very well.

But then again, Hinata was very easy to read and judging from the look on her face and the question she asked, I sort of knew what was going on.

"N-Nothing. Just curious and I figured you would know." Hinata's face was burning red as she tried to avoid eye contact with me. I simply stared into a distance as I thought of what to say.

It had always been this way. People around me assumed I was 'experienced' in life and knew a thing or two more than them. The thing was, I did always have an answer to their questions, whether it was about love, friendship or simply life in general. But honestly, I wasn't sure if the one talking was really me or simply my skill in coming up with things and sounding smart at the same time.

And being the proud person I was, I wouldn't admit I didn't know and would always try to reach other people's expectation of me.

"I guess being in love is something you'll truly understand when you experience it, Hinata. Even the smallest things can be a sign that you're in love, like the crazy heartbeat you get when you're with the man you love or the constant want of being with him. It's the little things that make love feel real."

Sometimes, I wasn't sure if I should be proud of how eloquent I was or disappointed of how fake I actually was.

I sneaked a peek at Hinata and saw her eyes shining as if she had just solved a huge mystery. And it just made me feel worse. Hinata suddenly took hold of my hands and gave me the most sincere smile I had ever seen from her.

"Thank you so much, Sakura! I know I can always count on you." Hinata's heartfelt words made my heart ache. Her true feelings simply reminded me of how empty my words were. I felt like a liar who pretended to feel things she never had.

I couldn't say another word and forced a smile as I watched Hinata leave for her class. Once she was out of sight, I sighed in my seat and stared at the blue skies above me as I absorbed myself in my own thoughts.

I was Sakura Haruno, a second year medical student at the University of Konoha. Everyone I met always saw me as this perfect lady who shouldn't have anything to worry about in life. My grades were top of the class, I have gorgeous looks with unique long pink hair and I have many great friends as well. Like people often said, what could go wrong?

But it was the perfection itself that made everything feel wrong. Even with my grades, my looks and my friends, I could still evidently feel the missing part of my life. And the reason why I bothered me so much these days was because I couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Maybe I should fall in love?"

"What did you say, forehead?"

I jumped a little in my seat when I heard an all too familiar voice from behind me. I internally cursed at myself for speaking out what was on my mind and secretly hoped Ino didn't hear what I said.

"Nothing." I managed to calm myself down as I turned to Ino who was standing behind me. I had known Ino for almost 10 years because she was my neighbor when my family moved to Tokyo. I never hesitated to say that she was my best friend despite the fact that she always annoyed me. But I had yet to talk to her about my issues and all that because I just wasn't sure how to bring it up. Ino was a great best friend but it could be difficult to make her understand things sometimes.

"Whatever. Anyways, I came by to remind you about the party at the boy's place tonight!" Ino would always end up in her own world when it was about parties. I like parties as well in a way but lately, socializing could be exhausting. But then again, I couldn't think of a good excuse to escape from it.

"Naruto and Kiba just threw a party last week and they're doing another one tonight?" I rolled my eyes at the thought of the chaos caused last week. Naruto and Kiba lived together and were both crazy about parties. Naruto was considered as a close friend of mine whom I met back in middle school and we were still in contact even after he transferred to another high school. And being a good friend I was, I always reminded him to cut down the amount of alcohol he took in every week.

Ino completely ignored the fact that I wasn't enthusiastic about the party and ran off when she spotted Shikamaru Nara. My best friend just couldn't get her hands off the genius who was also her childhood friend. Ino could be crazy most of the time and looked like she could never be serious, but her feelings for Shikamaru were definitely real.

And sometimes I wished I knew how that would feel.

Sasuke's POV

"I don't want to go."

"Come on, teme! It will be fun! You need to loosen up a little."

I was on my way to class when Naruto came running to me like an overexcited child. I had known Naruto since high school and he was one of my closest friends so I knew what he wanted to say even before he opened that loud mouth of his.

"The party will be fun and there will be a lot of really cute girls!" Naruto was literally clinging onto me and I hated to admit it but he was strong enough to make it difficult to shove him away.

"I am not interested." I emphasized each word clearly to make a point but it definitely didn't help me get rid of Naruto.

"Come on, Sasuke! Please. Be a normal college student for once!" Naruto's voice and constant yelling were giving me a headache and I had no choice but to agree to it if I wanted him to get off me.

"Fine. Just let go of me, will you?" I sighed as I watched Naruto did some sort of weird victory dance. I was tempted to just not go tonight but I knew Naruto would do anything to make sure I would be there. I managed to escape last week but he wouldn't let his guard down this time.

After Naruto calmed down, we could finally be on our way to the lecture. Naruto and I were both second year students in the department of business. Naruto obviously didn't give a damn about his academics but surprisingly, he still went to class once in a while. Although he was asleep most of the time so it didn't make much difference whether he attended class or not.

"Have you found a new place to stay in?" Naruto asked as we walked pass the never ending hallways.

"I found one. I will move in tomorrow morning." I have decided to move out from my house and was glad to find a nice place near campus. Nothing really bad happened back at home but I have always wanted to live somewhere closer to campus. But most importantly, I would want to give myself some time alone and figure out what I wanted out of my life. Long story short, I just wanted to make my own decisions without too much interference from my family.

"Sweet! Can we hold a home warming party?"

"Stay away from it, dobe."

Sakura's POV

"This is giving me a headache."

I was at the party which turned out to be louder than I liked it to be. Ino was nowhere to be seen and Naruto was too drunk for me to approach. I wanted to hang out with Tenten but she was too busy with a certain Hyuuga prodigy. As for Hinata, she probably already passed out.

Naruto and Kiba, being the rich kids they were, lived in a house bigger than necessary. And that was also why I didn't bother going around to look for my friends.

Having enough of the noise and craziness, I decided to go out for some fresh air. I walk into the balcony but was about to leave when I saw that it was occupied. But I stopped on my tracks when I saw who it was.

It was Sasuke Uchiha.

He was standing by the balcony with a bottle of beer in his hand and looking aimlessly at the skies. I heard a lot about him, mainly from Naruto, but never exactly had the chance to talk to him. He had the looks, the brains and the charisma as well. There was just something about him that was so alluring.

I felt myself blushing as I stared at his broad shoulders and mentally slapped myself as I walked away. But my flustered self had stupidly knocked my leg onto a chair, making my presence clear to Sasuke.

He turned around just in time to see me wincing in pain and cursing under my breath.

"Great job, Sakura. You made a fool out of yourself in front of one of the hottest men in campus."

"Are you alright?" Sasuke's deep voice was sexier than I thought and I found myself feeling flustered all over again. But I was determined not to embarrass myself any further and managed to calm down.

"I'm alright." I was glad that at least my voice didn't sound weird or anything. "So, what are you doing out here?"

There was a short moment of silence and I panicked a little thinking that he found me weird for starting a conversation. Technically, we didn't know each other but we have mutual friends so one way or another it shouldn't be weird for me to initiate a conversation with him, right?

"It's too noisy inside." I was sort of relieved when Sasuke responded but I felt stupid being nervous around him. Maybe it had something to do with his really attractive dark eyes or perhaps it was just that intimidating aura of his.

"Act cool, Sakura! Don't leave a horrible first impression!"

"Why are you out here yourself?" I didn't expect Sasuke to continue the conversation and there was a part of me that was excited for some reason. But I constantly reminded myself to not act or sound stupid.

"I needed some fresh air." I found myself walking towards the balcony and stood beside Sasuke. I also had a bottle of beer in my hand and drank some in hopes it would calm my nerves down. I wasn't sure what I was doing but there was just something about Sasuke that made me want to get to know him more.

And since he had yet to ask me to go away, I assumed he didn't mind my company.

"I guess you're not into partying?" I stared into the dark skies as well and tried to spot the stars. It was definitely a good idea to step outside, away from the crowds.

"Hn. Naruto forced me into coming."

I laughed at the mention of the blonde's name. I could just imagine him latching onto Sasuke and begging him to come.

"That sounds just like something Naruto would do." My casual comment on Naruto earned a small laugh from Sasuke.

The conversation picked up from there and we spent some time talking about Naruto, mainly on how annoying he could be. I told Sasuke how Naruto acted back in middle school and told him some of the most stupid things he had done which got him into trouble. I did most of the talking between the two of us but I knew Sasuke wasn't the type to speak much in the first place.

"Naruto could get to my nerves at times, but I must admit he is a great person." I was sincere when I said that because I knew Naruto was a truly wonderful friend. He might be annoying but he was the kind of friend who would be there for you when you needed him. I remembered the time when I broke up back in middle school and Naruto came running to me with ice-cream and chocolates. He was as loud as always and was messed up from all the running, but I could never forget how grateful I felt at that very moment.

"Hn. I heard from Naruto you're a great person as well. He talks a lot about you."

I wasn't sure if it was an effect from the alcohol but my recent thoughts regarding myself came rushing once I heard what Sasuke said. I just didn't feel like I was as great as I thought I was. I knew my life seemed 'perfect' in the eyes of many, but at the end of the day, I just couldn't feel proud of my achievements anymore.

"I'm not that great." I was surprised at my own words but a part of me didn't want to stop. The negativity was killing me and I had to get it out. "I don't know what's wrong with me these days. Most parts of my life is as great as usual but it doesn't feel right anymore. It's the haunting feeling that even perfection couldn't make me feel happy. It's like, I just can't feel good about myself."

The alcohol definitely played a role in making me speak my mind out to a person I didn't even know well. I told Sasuke the things that had been going on in my mind, about how I felt like something was missing and how I wasn't proud of who I was. I just went on and on, pouring out whatever came across my mind.

"Sorry, I know I'm not making much sense." I finally calmed down and managed to shut my mouth. I felt my ears burning from embarrassment because I said more things than I had intended to.

"I understand."

It just took two words to stop me from wanting to dig a hole and hide. I wasn't sure if Sasuke was just being nice or he truly understood my nonsense. I stared at him as he looked into the darkness with an unreadable expression on his beautiful and defined face.

"It's alright to feel lost. It simply means you have yet to find what you truly want out of your life."

Having someone telling me that it was alright was something I didn't know I needed at that time. Sasuke wasn't a man of many words but there was a feeling behind his words which made me trust him. I could see there were many stories behind his mysterious eyes and I was tempted to find out more about him.

However, there was something about the silence between us that calms me down from my recent confusing thoughts. At that moment, I knew I was attracted to Sasuke for reasons I had yet to know.

"You'll eventually find out what's missing."

It was those reassuring words that made me believe that things would be alright after all.

It was also those words that made me further believe that I was drawn into Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke's POV

She was interesting.

I was never into the idea of getting into conversations with people. I didn't even talk that often to my closest friends. But there was something about her that made me stay and listen.

There was so many stories and emotions behind her green eyes which lured me into being curious about her. Something weirder than that was the fact that I felt comfortable being around her.

There was just a nice feeling which I couldn't seem to explain.

As I drove back to my house to do some final packing for the move the next day, I found myself smiling back at the time I spent with Sakura at the balcony.

"This is ridiculous."

The unexplained feelings definitely felt weird but I was intrigued at the same time.

Sakura's POV

Living alone in my apartment felt the best during the weekends. I would often make breakfast as I danced to some music on a Saturday morning before deciding what to do for the rest of the day. Most of the time I would just do some studying or go find Ino to do some shopping. A part of me was still regretting for not asking for Sasuke's number last night. But then again, I was very sure I wouldn't have the guts to actually ask him out.

I still had yet to make up my mind on what to do for the day when the doorbell suddenly rang.

I quickly finished the rest of the dishes and dried my hand with a nearby towel as I made my way to the door, wondering who could it be on a Saturday morning.

My breath was completely taken away from me when I saw who was on the other side of the door. Standing in front of me was the very man whom was on my mind few seconds ago.

The man whom I wanted to see again.

"Sasuke?"

Author's Note: That's chapter 1, everyone! I really hope you guys liked it. I am looking forward to know your thoughts so please drop a review on your way out! And don't forget to click follow and favorite as well. I promise I will try my best to update as soon as possible. Thank you for reading and see you again!