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-8- Forever's Not Enough
CHAPTER 2 -8-
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"What did you call Sasuke, Sakura Haruno?" Emily demanded, rounding on Sakura forcefully, where Sakura was staring wistfully at the picture of her and Akio. Emily snatched the picture out of Sakura's hands.
"How did you know Sasuke?" she snapped, staring at the picture in disbelief and disgust.
"That's my brother Akio when he was still alive." Sakura said, reaching out to take her picture back. "Please give it to me."
Emily smirked and held the picture out of reach.
"You really like him, don't you?" she asked. Sakura looked away but didn't answer. To Sakura's horror, Emily dropped the picture. The glass frame crashed to the floor and it shattered. The picture lay in the puddle of broken glass.
"NO!" Sakura cried, bending to pick up the picture. The girl felt her heart shatter the moment the glass shattered. Tears streamed down on Sakura's face as she held the picture to her chest.
"Why did you have to do that?" Sakura cried, glaring up at Emily with tear-filled eyes.
"Oh, I'm soo sorry. It just slipped out of my hand." Emily said sarcastically. She moved her face closer to Sakura's. "But I'm warning you, Sakura Haruno, I like Sasuke, so stay away. He's mine." She stepped over the glass and stalked out, leaving Sakura and her shattered frame and heart.
Neither Sakura or Emily mentioned anything about the picture incident. Sakura performed spectacularly the next few days and their orchestra concert was a great success.
Sasuke walked over to his dormitory after the day of exhausting performing. His fingers were numb from playing. He reached his dormitory and found his dorm mate, Willis Patan sitting on the floor, three cups upside down in front of him.
"Want me to foretell your future for you, Uchiha?" Willis asked, wrinkling his forehead.
"No thanks, Patan. I've outgrown fortune-telling." Sasuke said coldly.
"Come on, Uchiha. Try it." Willis nagged, pulling on Sasuke's sleeve. The boy swung free and rolled his eyes, sitting down across from Willis.
"Pick one." Willis instructed, mixing the three cups up. Sasuke gave an impatient sigh and picked the middle one. Willis carefully opened the cup and took out a piece of paper.
"Ooo, this is a love spirit. It says the girl of your life is getting closer to you now. You will find on her a card that says the same thing as I said to you." Willis said, with a look of awe on his face.
Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's just a bunch of crap, as usual." He muttered, climbing into bed.
Sakura walked along back to her dormitories after a day of music class. Suddenly, a shoulder knocked into hers and immense pain shot through her shoulder bones. It was Sasuke. For a moment their eyes met. Sakura stared deep into Sasuke's grey eyes and saw something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it looked like a streak of sunlight through all the ice. She stared at him for a long while and he stared back. Sakura couldn't believe that anyone could look so alike in the world. The girl thought of Akio's handsome face, and his wonderful dark grey eyes, and that he would be standing here right next to her, them still joking and laughing like old times, if he hadn't died in that horrible accident. If it weren't for that other stupid driver, Akio would still be here— a single tear rolled down her cheek and she let it trickle down her chin.
"Why do you always cry whenever you see me, Haruno?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes so they looked like slits.
"You remind me of someone," Sakura said vaguely, looking as if in a trance. "Someone that meant the world to me, someone who would be here today if that car accident hadn't occurred one year ago." Sakura turned on her heels and sped down the hall toward her dormitory. She hated facing Sasuke. She didn't look back to see Sasuke staring after her for a long time. Somehow he remembered so clearly the way she looked at him. The way her tears rolled down her cheeks when she looked into her eyes. He slowly felt his heart crack.
Why he cared, Sakura thought. Why would he care about she cried. Unless he really is Akio? Before Sakura could go into solutions of how that was possible, something on the ground caught her eye. It was a card that was laying face down. Curiously Sakura picked it up.
"The boy of your life is getting closer." Sakura read the card out loud. The girl smiled wanly. She didn't believe in fortune telling, but all the same Sakura stuffed the card into her pocket, then went off to her dorm.
Emily Radley sat in music class, her beady eyes focused on Sasuke. How she loved his icy glare and his hair was black and admirable. The time ticked by slowly as Emily spent thirty minutes staring at the side of Sasuke's face. She noticed his glance turn to Sakura several times and the girl's eyes narrowed into a sneer.
He never even looked at me, Emily thought angrily, her glint filled with not envy, but jealousy. What's so great about that Sakura girl anyway? Emily had always been known as the princess of Beauty to all her schoolmates, and her wealthy background was most admirable. Most boys' desire was to have Emily as their girlfriend. And yet, Emily thought glumly, the only boy she loved never even showed the slightest interest toward her. But somehow, Emily Radley was going to get what she wanted, even if her father's money couldn't buy it.
Emily took out her most expensive quill and very carefully and slowly slid it into Sakura's schoolbag. The girl glanced around to make sure no one was watching, before she burst into a fit of fake tears. All heads turned to her.
"Miss Radley, what's wrong?" the teacher, Ms. Spinner asked, her chalk breaking in half out of her surprise.
"My quill! My most expensive and precious quill is gone! It was a gift from my grandma, before she died!" Emily sobbed, pretending to look devastated. Everyone began to look around for her pen.
"Everyone, turn your bags inside out." The teacher ordered. Everyone did so obediently. Emily saw with grim satisfaction that Sakura looked dumbstruck when the quill fell out of her backpack.
"Sakura Haruno, how dare you!" Emily cried, pointing a menacing finger at Sakura. "You are a thief!"
Everyone threw loathing looks at Sakura and the teacher scolded her. "Miss Haruno, you must understand that thievery is strictly forbidden and will not be tolerated at this school. I will have to report this. Do you have anything to say?"
Sakura looked at Emily in disbelief but did not say anything. Emily sneered at her. "No, this is unacceptable, Ms. Spinner. I will take the punishment." Sakura said after a moment.
Sasuke stared at Sakura in astonishment. He saw Emily frame Sakura. Why hadn't she denied it? He thought, bewildered.
Long after class was over, Sasuke watched Sakura wash the board and scrub the tables. He stood waiting until she was done, then stepped up to her.
"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked quietly. Sakura looked up in surprise.
Sakura and Sasuke walked along the sandy beach in silence. They both stared at their feet and the sand, each avoiding the other's eyes carefully. Finally, Sasuke broke the silence.
"Why didn't you deny it and speak the truth? Look at your hands, they are blistering and red from all that work, and yet, why did you not tell the truth to avoid such pain?" he asked, finally finding his voice. It was his first time taking a walk with a girl. He never knew it would be so awkward. For a moment, Sakura didn't reply, as if thinking of an answer.
"Emily Radley is not someone you would want to mess with. She is stubborn as a rock and wouldn't give up until she gets her way. If I don't give up, she will think of more ways to accuse me." Sakura replied earnestly. "You know, she seems very attracted to you." Sakura added as an afterthought, or perhaps to change the subject.
Sasuke's face clouded over instantly. "That's none of your business." He said shortly. "I've known Emily for long. She is not quite my type."
Sakura fell silent.
"It's getting cold, let's go back inside." Sasuke suggested after another moment of silence. Sakura nodded and they started to walk back to the school.
That night Sakura dreamed of Akio again. She dreamed that he had come back to life, and they had reunited already. Her heart was filled with happiness. They were to be wedded. On the happiest day of Sakura's life, just as the moment when Akio was to give Sakura the ring, Emily came up and stabbed her in the back. She felt intense pain and saw Akio fading away— Sakura woke up screaming and sobbing. It was then that she realized she was still in her dormitory, and that Akio was dead. It was close to midnight, and to Sakura's enormous relief Emily had not yet returned. Her thoughts drifted to Akio, and her heart sank. Why did she have to think about him? She thought desperately. All she wanted was Akio's life back.
Just then the dormitory door opened and the figure of a boy came in. Sakura sat up, her eyes slightly unfocused. As her vision slowly cleared, she gasped. It was Akio.
"Sakura, are you alright?" Akio said. "I heard you screaming."
Sakura threw her arms around Akio's neck.
"Akio, why did you have to leave me like that? You really-really scared me when the police officer said you died in that crash!" Sakura murmured, hugging him close to her. Her tears were mingled with sweat from her dream, and she held him.
TO BE CONTINUED...