Notes: Wow! I didn't expect so many people to like this! Thanks so much for all of the reviews and support, I'm updating just for you! In answer to any questions, I figure that Sakura's kind of preppy, since she's friends with Ino. But I guess she's also into a couple of things that Sasuke is. She'll probably grow more to his preferences as they get closer. And yup! This will have KibaIno! I know that a lot of people aren't used to the pairing, but I love it, and since SBNY by Alive in Wonderland, I've just fallen in love with them. :D
Disclaimer: I disclaim! (That was supposed to be epic. Like when Donkey tells Shrek that he has to run into the church and yell, "I OBJECT!" but it doesn't work well through the computer. *cries*)
CHAPTER TWO
- Death To Your Heart -
Sakura;
When Sasuke returned with Ino on his arm and a vanilla latte in her hand, I began to examine the Uchiha. I was usually pretty good at working people out. Lies couldn't escape me, even when eyes evaded me. Body language taught me who was crushing on who. I was unstoppable – usually.
The pair dropped into one of those enormous, squashy arm chairs that seemed to have magically appeared beside Kiba. Ino pulled her too-long blonde hair over her shoulder and squashed in beside her boyfriend taking a long sip from her latte.
"God, I love these things. You wanna try some?" She asked Sasuke. He stared down at her for a long moment before nodding.
Oh, Ino. When will you learn?
Just as she raised the white cup towards his face, Sasuke snaked down and set his lips on hers, causing for Ino to giggle. I shook my head and turned away.
"This is a public area where people are trying to enjoy their food and drink, you two…" I mumbled. They glanced over briefly and then returned to grinning/smirking at each other with their noses pressed together. "Good grief." I muttered.
Beside me, Kiba stood up. "Sakura, you want another drink, or anything? He asked. I got him.
Get away from the couples. His eyes screamed. I nodded, standing up and following him to the bar.
"Sorry for dragging you over here, those two are just kind of sickening." He told me. I nodded.
"You can say that again."
"Sasuke knows that a lot of people like Ino, and it's just like he tries to show off, sometimes."
"No, believe me, I know. I was in middle school with him." I told the brunette, shaking my head. "Bad times, bad times…"
Kiba chuckled – a soft, velvety sound that felt warm to me and made me smile. I ordered a crushed ice raspberry drink, because I had managed to burn my tongue earlier. It was embarrassing. Kiba bought himself a cappuccino. We waited, surveying the rest of the coffee house. I turned my attention back to Kiba to realize that he was still shooting covert glances at the two – thankfully not PDAing anymore – sitting together in the green armchair.
What was so interesting about them anyways? It was just Sasuke and Ino. I mean, sure, they were both the hottest things to walk the earth, but they weren't that amazing. Well. Sasuke wasn't anyways. And the rest of the teenage population within the café had already gone back to their lives and stopped gawking. Unless… no freakin' way.
"Hey, Kiba, do you have a crush on Ino?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Kiba blanched.
"She's my best friend's girlfriend!"
"Yeah, but she's still pretty. So, do you?" I asked, holding onto the arms of his grey hoodie and pinning him from making any kind of escape.
The brunette looked around – a cornered rat.
"So, that'll be a yes." I smirked to myself.
"I-I-I-I did not say that…" The brunette trailed off lamely. I glanced from him to Ino and smirked some more.
Aw, that was so sweet! I'd always wanted for Ino to get with someone decent; someone who actually had something in common with her aside from riches and beauty.
Sasuke;
Sasuke wasn't feeling too bad, actually. Usually, Ino's voice and the strong scent of the coffee combined would give him a migraine, but he seemed to be managing alright.
"…And so Ami was like, 'you better frickin' watch your place on the cheer squad if you're gonna act like a slut,' and I was like, 'bitch, please, I'm the captain of the cheer squad.' And, I mean, since when is kissing in public a crime? I bet you she's just jealous."
Correction. He was almost alright.
"Hn." He sighed in boredom, his fingers running over a strand of her blonde hair between his fingers.
"Hinata, tell Sasuke-kun that Ami's jealous," Ino said, leaning over to her little pixie friend.
"Ino…" Sasuke murmured, "I got you the first time."
"No, no, you have to hear what this girl did. So she sees me talking with you in school, and she's all sweet and crap, and the minute I'm alone in the change rooms, she throws a fit at me. And I'm just like," She laughed a little, "'What the hell?', because, y'know you're my boyfriend and stuff—"
"Yes, Ino, I get it. You don't like her. Why not just kick her off the squad? That's what I'd do."
"Teme," Naruto piped up, looking philosophical, "you know nothing about how girls work." Sasuke snorted. Says Mr. Oblivious. The Uchiha gave the pixie girl a soft smirk. He might have been cold, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the lilac eyed teen. First of all, she had Hyuuga as family. Neji was the definition of a cock-blocked, future psychopath. He was the quiet kid that studied hard in class that everyone feared. Just because they all suspected that one day, he'd get sick of allowing Tenten – obliviousobliviousoblivious – to copy his home and schoolwork. They'd tried to warn her, but…
Well, she'd threatened them with a spork.
…Anyway. The second reason that he felt a tiny amount of sorrow for the girl was down to the fact that she was so blatantly crushing on this blonde idiot, and he was completely ignorant to it.
She even called him Naruto-kun. That suffix was associated with him. Sasuke. Sasuke-kun. Ew…
"Do you know how quick Ami's friends would be to find some sort of way to sabotage Ino? Because they'd do it the moment you left her alone."
"Then," Sasuke drawled smoothly, "I won't leave her alone."
"Ooooh!" Ino squealed, totally ruining the complete epicness of his tiny speech, "Sasuke-kun you're so cute when you say stuff like that." The Uchiha blanked her and continued to stare at Naruto.
"And if I know nothing about girls… why are you still single?" He questioned, an ebony eyebrow arched, challenging him.
"I-I-I—" Naruto flailed helplessly, mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"The truth is, Dobe, you can't get a girl."
"I can!" The blonde announced, pointing a finger at Sasuke and raising the challenge. "Give me three weeks! And if I can't find a proper girlfriend… I won't eat ramen for a year – no!"
"Done," Sasuke said simply. Naruto was about to argue when Kiba returned with the Haruno girl. They slid back beside each other. Inuzuka shot an almost strained smile at Sasuke who furrowed his brow and tilted his head. Seemingly asking, 'what happened to you?'
Kiba just shook his head. Nothing.
"Saks, please tell Sasuke-kun what Ami was saying in the changing rooms!"
Not this again.
"Ino, I heard you the first time." Sasuke told his girlfriend firmly. She tensed against his chest. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. Ah, here was the headache he'd been expecting.
"Sasuke," Sakura. "You're such an ass."
"Forehead!"
"Sakura-chan?"
"Sak…?"
"S-Sakura?"
"Hn."
Who could have expected it, the little study nerd was getting defensive for her friend. Sasuke rested his head against the armchair, eyes shut and a small smirk on his face.
"Don't you 'hn' me."
"…Hn…"
"Urgh. Ino, I'm sorry, I've had enough, and I'm leaving."
"Why?"
"I don't like watching you take his shit."
"Sakura," Sasuke spoke, "calm down, this is a public place. Secondly…" He opened his eyes and met her angry green gaze, "you're not attractive when you're angry."
"You bastard." The pinkette hissed, whipping past him. Ino watched her go with a worried expression on her face.
"I… I'm going to go see if-if Sakura-chan is alright…" Hinata stuttered. Sasuke made a noise in the back of his throat. He didn't even know why the girl was getting so worked up over something so trivial. How annoying.
"Wait! Hinata-chan, I was wondering…" The Dobe began, "Tomorrow, you should meet me."
"Huh?" Sasuke heard excitement in his girlfriend's voice.
"S-su-su…" The Hyuuga girl had gone beat red. Sasuke was up in an instant. Everybody knew that the Hyuugas – distant cousins of the superior Uchiha family clan – had terrible blood circulation. He caught her by the waist, and then dropped her gently onto the sofa next to a flaily Uzumaki.
"Ohmyfuck, what have I done? I made her dieeee. Teme! Ino! Dogface! Help herrrrr."
"She'll be around soon." Sasuke said. He glanced at Ino.
"Be right back."
"Where are you—?" But he didn't let her finish. He was already halfway out the door.
His Nikes hit the concrete with force as he followed the path that the pink-haired girl would be taking home. He could see her now, with her hands stuffed into her skinny jeans and her hoodie shielding her usually instantly recognisable form.
His long strides brought him in step with her easily.
"I don't want to talk to you." Haruno snapped. Sasuke rolled his eyes and caught her wrist, spinning her around to face him. "What the hell?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. What was that all about?" He asked her, trying to soften his voice. The smaller girl looked up at him – shit, she was short – with defiance.
"It's none of your business."
"It is, since you basically left because of one thing that I said."
The girl growled in frustration, "Are you cheating on Ino?" She blurted.
Sasuke was taken aback. "What?"
"You heard me, you man-sket. Are you cheating on Ino?"
"No!" He spat. He was being honest, too. He hadn't so much as looked at another girl since he'd started going out with her.
"Then what's up with you? Why are you being such a bitch to her?"
"What… are you talking about?" Sasuke enquired, dazzled that he'd firstly been accused of cheating (so what about what happened six months ago? That was the past) and then that the girl was still questioning him with such vehemence. Like, what the crap had he actually done to her? "I haven't done anything to you, or Ino. All couples argue." He reasoned. And, god, where had that headache come from?
"I have every right not to trust a word you say, Uchiha Sasuke. Ever heard of the saying, 'once a player, always a player'? It's what guides me to doubt everything you've said. And as for all couples fighting – get outta here! You and Ino have been going out for months without a problem, and then all of a sudden you're falling out all the time. Uh-uh. I don't believe you. That's why you were avoiding the conversation about Ami, Sasuke, because you totally are going behind Ino's back. You prick. Explain yourself."
Ouch. "…The fuck…? I swear on my life, I haven't touched any other girls. Ino's my girlfriend. Sakura, don't turn around." He caught her wrist and tugged her back around to face him. "I haven't done anything. And you can't blame me for…" Migrainemigrainemigraine, "…for…"
"Sasuke?"
"For telling her to shut up." He sighed out, all at once. Woah, where the fuck did that come from? Sasuke placed a hand on the side of his head. The world was suddenly spinning.
"You've gone as white as a sheet, sit down before you faint."
"I'm…" Fine. I'm fine.
However, Sasuke was able to drop his pride for long enough to lean against the brick wall behind him. His eyes fluttered shut and he calmly took a couple of deep breaths, before opening them again. Hard onyx, sparkled with tiny, glittering red, matched with worried, bright emerald.
"…I'm fine." Sasuke breathed, reaching a hand up to his shoulder to remove her hand.
Sakura pulled it away by herself. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing."
"…Fine." She turned away and continued to walk. "You should go home, you look like you could use some sleep."
Stupid nurse-in-training-fairy-ballerina-bipolar little Sakura. Sasuke glared at her retreating back, his hand still clutching the side of his head.
Woah. Where the fuck had that come from? That was some crazy freakin' headache. Sasuke removed his hand from his mused spikes, and let it slip into his pocket. He turned on the balls of his feet and made his way slowly back to the coffee house, head still ringing. Maybe he ought to just grab the mongrel and the Dobe and just leave. Then he wouldn't have to put up with Ino's voice.
Don't get him wrong, he liked Ino. A lot. But he didn't like the fact that every time he thought about her, his head would just get so twisted up and painful that he'd actually get a migraine.
Or maybe that had been the coffee. Whatever. It hurt. Jus' sayin'.
Sakura;
…What a wuss. Did he seriously just get a headache from me yelling at him? Heh. That badboy ain't so tough.
No, it hadn't been me. It was exhaustion – I was training to be a doctor at the hospital; I could try to guess, and hope I was right. The less you sleep, the easier it is for you to get migraines and headaches after stressful situations.
Oh gawd. I was so not a bitch! I suddenly felt very bad for screaming at him as I had, and spared the Uchiha a glance over my shoulder. He was flipping the black hood on his hoodie up and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark grey skinnies. I looked back down at my boot covered feet and continued my short walk home.
I guess I had kind of overreacted. I'd just seen Sasuke looking bored and annoyed at Ino – like he'd rather be some place else – and I'd spazzed. But the thing was, Sasuke always looked as if he were bored and would rather be someplace else. I bit my lip.
I'd make it up to him whenever I next talked to him.
I suddenly hoped that'd be sooner rather than later. I honestly felt… bad. I'd acted like such a bitch. But then again, I had been acting like a bitch to the prick. So… huh. Strange world.
Sasuke;
Home. Shower. Bed.
That was his plan. He'd said a brief goodbye to Ino, kissing her on the cheek, rather than the mouth, because he had a horrible feeling that he was getting sick. And it was still frigging autumn. God, he hated his life. She'd pouted at him, and he'd told her that he'd call her later. He wouldn't though, because that wasn't part of his plan. She'd call him, probably just as he was off to sleep.
Kiba eyed Sasuke with a strange sort of 'I'm-trying-to-work-you-out' kind of look. Sasuke shrugged at him as he slid into the front seat of the car (of course he was in the front. Naruto didn't know the rules of shotgun. Tch.
"Dude, stop with the look," Sasuke muttered eventually, placing the palm of his hand on his forehead. "It's annoying."
"I'm sorry," Kiba replied, tapping the play button on Sasuke's iPod.
'I've got this gun to your head;
I've got blood on these hands.
I'll be your eternal, never ending;
I'll be the end of your beginning.
I'm the battle to your every war;
I'm the first rip of everything torn.
I've got no room in this heart -
Gonna tear you apart!'
Sasuke was thankful that this wasn't one of the irritating songs by Blood on the Dance Floor. He couldn't stand some of the music he had on his playlists, and he guessed that it was just luck that this was playing. It was only about an eight minute drive to his house from the Starbucks, and Sasuke was thankful that he'd chosen to let Kiba drive him. He somehow, suddenly, felt all of his energy drain out of him.
"Teme, guess what?" Naruto croaked from behind him. Sasuke let his head roll to the side to let the blonde know that he was paying attention to him, "I got a date."
"…Oh…?"
"Yup! Hina-chan agreed to go out with me tomorrow night. Y'know, after she woke up."
Oh yeah! He'd forgotten that. Sasuke almost smirked to himself.
"Hn." The Uchiha murmured, "Cool."
"I know. But… I need some advice."
"You wanna know where to take her, right?"
"…Yeah." Naruto nodded in the rear-view mirror, "Where'd you take Ino?"
"Movies," Sasuke grunted. It had been awful. The girl had attempted to grab his hand all through the film – she just didn't seem to understand that he was sort of trying to get to the popcorn?
"I'll take Hina-chan there too!"
"Fantastic. You can drop me off here," Sasuke added to Kiba, he could see his house on the corner of the street. Kiba instantly hit the breaks, 'causing the wheels to scream a little on the road. The brunette laughed at the looks passers by shot towards the car. "Smooth." Sasuke rolled his eyes, slipping out of the Audi.
He waved his hand once and felt the car skirt from his side and disappear around the corner of the street. He tugged his skinnies up by the belt holders and placed his hands back into the warmth of his pockets.
It wasn't long before he was standing on the doorstep of his three story tall, modern home. He unlocked the door and slid in without so much as a word to his father as he passed his study. He went into the kitchen, digging in one of the many, wooden cupboards.
Painkillers… painkillers.
"What are you looking for, Sasuke?" His mother asked softly, realizing his presence, and turning from the dining table where she was reading a book with a mug of tea at her side. Sasuke turned and gave her a small smile in greeting.
"Have we got any Paracetamol?" He asked her.
Uchiha Mikoto nodded, her long, darkdarkdark hair that was almost completely twinned with his own bobbing along with her head. "That drawer, sweetie. Why do you need it?"
"No reason." Sasuke murmured, distractedly. He didn't like being asked personal questions. Even, 'how are you?' was a bug to him.
"Okay…" His mother nodded again, "Do you want me to bring you dinner?"
"No," Sasuke replied, shaking his head, bangs swishing. "I'm just going to bed. If anybody calls for me—"
"I'll tell them to leave you a message on your cell." She smiled. Sasuke nodded his head. He poured himself a glass of water, and then disappeared. Mikoto sat in the kitchen, listening to his footsteps as he made his way upstairs. What was going on with him?
Notes: LAME chapter, but whatever. You got to know Sasuke better. I also write him pretty differently to a lot of FF writers, who make him pretty close to the little emo's self in the manga/anime. I figure, if Itachi and his family are still alive, he's supposed to be happier, I hope that clears up any OOCness. That's just my style. I hope you enjoyed it! The song was "Death To Your Heart" by Blood on the Dancefloor. I'm sick, make me happy with your reviews!