Still don't own Naruto, but thanks for the feedback. Really. :)
Confessions On A Bathrooom Stall
TheDominoEffect
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Ino didn't know whose idea it was, but from the way Jirobo was making his rounds around the courtyard meant one thing and one thing only; somebody had planned this confrontation and sooner or later they were going to get to her end.
In a moment, all eyes would be on them and only one would be left standing.
And Ino wasn't stupid enough to think, automatically, that it'd be her.
"Ino," said Megumi, in a low whisper from beside her, "—what are you going to do?"
Ino turned her eyes away from her ex-boyfriend and feigned nonchalance.
It wouldn't do to allow these people the satisfaction of seeing a—no—the Yamanaka jealous. She had an image to uphold, after all. He was just some guy, Jirobo. Just another guy. Why should she be affected at all that he'd decided to throw away almost three months of what they had?
Three months, only three. It wasn't very long in the grand scheme of things, but in high school, it seemed like a respectable time. She thought they could've lasted longer, but here they were, resorted to this.
She meant what she'd written on that pathetic excuse for a bathroom stall.
Whoever that girl was who'd written previously, Ino had a feeling, though the girl had some idea about what went down at Konoha, she was still living a bit innocently.
Ino lived in the heart of the high school scene and she'd never quite liked ignorance.
"If they want a show," Ino said lowly as she scanned the more than usually crowded courtyard, "—then we'll give them one."
If Jirobo or that bitch thought they could embarrass her like this in her territory, they had better pull out now because they had something else coming to them.
There was chatter all around them and her table, but Ino paid no mind until Megumi whispered again, "He's coming."
Slowly, her ice blue eyes lifted and she immediately caught sight of Jirobo and some sophomore hanging off his arm.
A pretty, if not cruel, smile appeared on her lips.
Let the games begin.
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"Hey Jirobo, who's the little girl?"
Megumi subtly nudged her in the side, but Ino wasn't one to follow rules.
Screw it if they all thought she was going to wait like some coward for him to talk first. She was Ino Yamanaka, for God's sake. She was practically the one who enforced these rules when she'd come to Konoha Academy and she could just as easily break them.
Jirobo said nothing.
Instead, Ino watched as a sharp gleam settled in the sophomore's eyes and she seemed to clutch exaggeratedly onto Jirobo's arm. "I'm Moegi," her eyes were bright with challenge, "—Jirobo's girlfriend. Didn't he tell you?"
She was cute, Ino thought, if not in a completely annoying way.
"Huh, he didn't," Ino slid her gaze back to Jirobo, who stared back, unmoving, "—funny that. I guess that speaks to how completely frivolous he thinks you are." She smiled at Moegi, who didn't seem the least intimidated.
"You know," she said nonchalantly, "—the role of the jealous ex works well for you." Her bottomless black eyes mocked her. "It makes your pretty blue eyes stand out amongst all that green."
There was a titter of laughter.
Ino wasn't surprised these people had stayed to watch.
"Jealous that Jirobo cheated on you for little, ol' me?"
Ino felt her muscles relax as she played with the golden plait of hair settled on the curve of her shoulder. "Not jealous, really, seeing as I honestly have no idea who you are. In fact, I should be thanking you." She pretended to scrutinize Jirobo with a bit of distaste. "I've been trying to think of ways to get rid of him without hurting his sensitive feelings. But hey, you're a sophomore, aren't you? It's impressive that you could have managed to snag a junior but I suppose that's either saying Jirobo's standards are too low or he's only after one thing."
From her right, she could hear her friends giggling and mock feeling each other up. Feeling a boost of confidence she continued, "Then again, there's probably not much to get from a little girl like you. How many tissues do you have inside your shirt right now, anyway?"
Ino winked cheekily at the girl and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Moegi merely drew her shoulders back and worked her jaw. "Oh, sweets, I'm all natural. And, I'm sure you'd know all about Jirobo's desires. Seeing as you could never meet them." Her next smile was cruel. "This is where you and I differ, Ino. I won't disappoint him like you did. He would never cheat on me."
"So you know my name after all," Ino drawled. She turned to look at Jirobo with an acerbic smirk to her lips. "Did you tell her that, Bobo?" He opened his lips to answer but she cut him off with a wave of her hand, "If not, I'm guessing you didn't deem it important to tell her I never had sex with you." Ino's eyes gleamed mockingly, "But I guess it's easier to go out with an easy girl than try to work it out with a Yamanaka, isn't it?"
He looked at her unrepentantly with his pretty green eyes. "Ino—"
Damn if his voice didn't make a tremor run down her spine.
"—I'm sorry. We have to break up."
She felt her lips thinning. "Did you honestly think we were still together after I caught you macking on her yesterday, Jirobo? Seriously? I didn't think you were that stupid." When Jirobo opened his mouth to speak, she stopped him by holding up her hand. "Don't even try to justify yourself, hon. I wouldn't waste my time with desperate boys trying to get into a baby's pants."
Megumi laughed quietly from beside her.
Jirobo merely looked at Moegi, who shifted at his side. "Well," she forced a smile on her face, "—he just wanted to clear it up and make sure there wouldn't be any misunderstandings." She tugged his arm subtly before turning to look back at Ino. Her black eyes didn't seem as challenging as it had five minutes ago, they shone with a bit of remorse. It seemed as if she snapped out of her reverie and realized just whom she was speaking to. "I hope we can still be friends."
Ino raised an eyebrow, "You're sorely mistaken if you thought we ever were." She turned on her heel and walked away, her head held high.
"You are such a bitch," Megumi shook her head. "Too bad I like it too much."
Ino's full pink lips smirked while the lion within her curled into a ball and cried its heart out.
Sasuke severely contemplated smashing Naruto's prized Xbox over his head.
Despite the satisfaction of seeing his enemies drop like flies on the big screen, Sasuke inwardly sighed and realized it was pretty damn sad that he was still here on a perfectly good Friday afternoon. He really needed to find some new people to hang out with, especially since Naruto was so insistent on being with the Thing.
The moron had invited him and the others over to play Call of Duty and Halo at his place after school but—
There was a giggle, then a moan.
—he really should have known better than to think the dobe wouldn't invite his girlfriend—could the Thing really be considered a girlfriend?—over, too.
Why hadn't he left already?
He really should have taken a page from Hyuuga and Nara when they'd bailed as soon as the words had left the idiot's mouth.
Thank God at least Gaara had stayed.
"Na-ru-to!"
Another giggle.
Sasuke could feel a vein in his neck throbbing.
"Uchiha." Sasuke turned to look at the redhead whose eyes looked like they were turning from green to crimson. "Give me the spare controller."
By the time his fingers had hooked around one end of the controller, Sasuke could have sworn Gaara's eyes had gleamed with blood lust before he whirled around to the couple making out on the couch and snapped the controller at Naruto's head.
There was a yelp and a groan before Naruto's eyes snapped open and alighted with fire. "WHO THE HELL THREW THAT?!"
Sasuke merely quirked an eyebrow when Gaara supplied dismissively, "I did."
Naruto sputtered for two seconds and threw off his girlfriend who was dabbing at the blood on her lip. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"
Gaara merely turned back to the screen to start up a new game.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do you even have to ask?" he muttered in a low voice, eyes looking pointedly at the girl watching half-annoyed, half-amused.
"If it's any consolation," Gaara piped in from his post on the ground, "—I was aiming for Watanabe."
Naruto's cobalt eyes narrowed with irritation and Ami gasped in offense. "I repeat myself, why? Why are you guys so jealous?!"
"I wanted to test if her nose was real." Gaara deadpanned, shooting the blond a sarcastic look. Sasuke snorted, picking up his controller once more. "They say plastic noses flatten easily."
Ami flushed a furious shade of red while Naruto continued to let out a string of curses, rubbing the newly formed bump on his head. "You're insane."
Sasuke restrained himself from the witty rejoinder, 'You're insane.'
Everybody had bolted the moment Watanabe had walked into the room asking what plans they had for the evening. Everybody but Gaara and himself. And now Sasuke could only wonder… why? If Shikamaru detested Watanabe enough to overcome his laziness and get up, it was truly a wonder why Sasuke himself had not left yet. And why Gaara hadn't killed her already.
"—Gaara, I'm going to kick your ass! What is your problem?! I bet you're just jealous because I can hold onto a girl longer than you could eve—"
Gaara wasn't even looking at the flailing blond in front of him. Instead, his eyes were looking out the large picture window of Naruto's living room. Only one word made Naruto's words still in his throat.
"Sakura."
"Sakura?" Naruto sounded confused. He whirled around to look out the window and Sasuke watched as his face visibly lit up. "Sakura!"
And then, he was out the door.
Sasuke, knowing there was no way he'd be able to make it to the next level with all of these interruptions, tossed his controller to the floor and walked to the window, already watching as the blonde made his way over to pink and navy.
Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata.
He didn't know much about them, other than the fact that Hinata was Neji's cousin and Sakura was Naruto's other best friend. How the hell she managed to put up with him and his witch of a girlfriend, Sasuke only wondered.
"It's her again."
Sasuke turned slightly to look at the violet-haired girl, with her arms crossed, beside him. A scowl was etched onto her lips and Sasuke briefly imagined her sprouting claws and fangs from the way she was looking at the two girls.
He may not know Haruno Sakura or Hyuuga Hinata very well, but Sasuke found he appreciated anybody who could annoy the Watanabe girl.
"Sakura!"
She couldn't hear him.
She wouldn't stop.
He was just a back-stabbing jerk that could be strung up on the flagpole by his manly parts for all she cared.
Naruto, that stupid, whiny, little—
"Sakura, it's Naruto," Hinata singsonged from her right.
Sakura sent her a dark look before shaking her head. "I am not talking to him. He's been such a jerk ever since he started dating Ami and I swear to God, I never thought Naruto would be one of those pricks who dropped their friends once they got to high school but look at him now, Hinata, and tell me he hasn't changed!"
Hinata merely raised an eyebrow. "Sakura," she said in her soft, chastising voice, "—you seem to be forgetting, I have no idea what Naruto was like in middle and elementary school. As far as I'm concerned, he's always been the jerk who's been making you miserable." Her solemn expression cracked with her small grin, "—but you have to admit, he's kind of cute."
Sakura glared at her. "Not helping."
"I know," she giggled, eyes looking over Sakura's shoulder. "You can't ignore him all the way home, Sakura."
"Of course I can," Sakura sniffed. "We've been neighbors since we were four. He knows when I'm too annoyed to talk to him and he'll probably throw rocks at my window and climb into my room tonight to talk anyway."
"You sound like you're bitter."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "I am. He's been my best friend since forever and now he wants to start acting like the coolest chip in the bag? Hell no."
"Sakura! WAIT UP."
"You know you're going to stop sooner or later," Hinata threw in.
Sakura growled. "Yeah. Well let's make it later rather than sooner."
"Haruno Sakura, please!"
Sakura whirled around, almost swinging her book bag into Naruto's face. He skidded to a stop and threw his hands up. "Whoa! You almost hit me!"
"Yeah," she deadpanned. "That's what I was going for." With a sigh, Sakura settled her green eyes onto his earnest blues. "What do you want from me, Naruto? Seriously. I am this close to drop kicking you to Greenland."
A wide grin split his face. "Greenland? Isn't that the one with the—"
"With the ice, yes."
His expression of confusion only lasted for two seconds before he waved it off. "Sakura, come over to my place! That bastard Gaara is jealous because Ami's over and the Teme is back to looking like he's one second from slitting his wrists and they like you, so—"
"They like me?" Sakura snorted, giving Hinata a look. "Naruto, Sasuke has barely said two words to me before and Gaara," she paused and let a slow grin light up on her lips. "—well, Gaara is a sarcastic son of a boob."
"Speaking of boobs," Hinata spoke up, looking off in the direction of Naruto's house, "—there he is now."
A blank expression was present on Naruto's face—whether he was fascinated or confused by the comments about boobs was unsure. He watched as Sakura craned her neck upwards and a smile lit itself upon her face at the sight of the redhead.
She lifted a hand to wave at the boy, and the redhead responded by motioning at the phone in his hands. She shook her head and headed towards him.
Completely ignoring Naruto.
"Hey—" The blond began, a shadow of worry casting over his face.
"Just leave her be." A quiet voice next to him whispered.
The whisper was near a hiss.
Naruto hadn't even noticed the girl who had been with Sakura until she'd spoken up. He blinked, as if he was certain she'd appeared out of nowhere, before he scratched the back of his head. "Heh. Hey. Um. I'm Naruto. You are…"
The girl had light purple eyes and long dark hair that contrasted very well with her eyes. She looked a lot like Neji, Naruto thought. She even had the same refined air about her as he did, but Naruto didn't hate her for it, as much as he did Neji.
She looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes at him but thought better of it and took a step towards his house.
Naruto followed after.
"Hyuuga Hinata."
Naruto blinked again, taking a step back from her.
Hinata stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Whoa! The Twilight Zone! I was just thinking you looked like my friend who has the exact same last name. Are you related to Neji?"
Hinata looked at him strangely. "Yes. I've also been Sakura's closest friend for the past three months." She tucked a strand of silky hair behind her ear and watched as his face lit up.
"Three months? That's how long I've been dating Ami! Cool." Naruto had to admit, he felt slightly awkward. He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and cast his eyes to the opposite direction.
"I wonder if there could possibly be any correlation between those two," she drawled in a tone that faintly reminded him of Sasuke.
Hinata stopped next to Sakura, who was smiling sheepishly at Gaara.
"Why am I not surprised?" Gaara sighed, placing a foot up against the wall he was leaning on.
"Not surprised about what?" Naruto flashed them his snow-white teeth as he climbed up the porch. "And you guys can go inside, you know."
Ignoring him, Gaara smirked at Sakura. "Not surprised Sakura broke her phone."
A blond brow quirked in confusion. He turned to Sakura. "But I was just texting you earlier!"
"Which is why I'm not surprised," Gaara muttered while Naruto's pink haired best friend turned to face him. Her emerald green eyes darkened and the anger she was displaying felt like a slap across the face.
Gaara looked on with exasperation at his two best friends and sighed. Kicking himself off the wall, he turned to head inside and Sakura followed suit, her friend going with her. Naruto lingered for a moment before heading inside as well.
The moment Gaara stepped into the living room Sasuke glowered at him. "Thanks a lot for leaving me with It, Gaara."
"My pleasure."
Sasuke watched with slight wonder when Watanabe's expression turned the cruelest it had ever gone while Naruto was around. She was looking at Haruno Sakura, who looked almost just as hostile.
"Oh, well," Ami's voice was anything but nonchalant. "Hi there, Sakura." The name curled in the girl's mouth with a tinge of hostility.
Great, Sasuke thought. He could feel a catfight ready to break out and he really wasn't interested. The Xbox was forgotten, though. Gaara didn't look like he was very interested, either.
"Want to get out of here?"
Gaara merely shook his head and nodded towards Haruno. "Can't leave her to the wolves, even if Hinata is with her."
Sasuke sighed and watched, if not a little resentfully, as the pinkette shoved a strand of medium length hair back. "Ami." Her lip snarled upward before cascading back down to an indifferent line. "Your lip's bleeding."
"Yeah," Naruto snorted as he plummeted down onto the love seat next to Ami. "And I have a bump on my head thanks to Gaara whipping a controller at me."
"I would have too, if I saw some thing glued onto you trying to eat you alive." She shot a sarcastic smile at the other girl. "No offense."
Gaara exhaled sharply with amusement. Naruto, however, did not look so amused.
Ami puckered her lips, despite the fact they were stilll bleeding. Rather than retort back, she turned to Naruto and thrust her arms around him. Running her index finger up and down his well-muscled chest, she purred in a husky voice, "Vampirism is very attractive."
Sasuke would have barfed had he not mastered the art of appearing indifferent, and even Gaara recoiled slightly. Hinata's entire expression cringed with distaste while a choking sound was emitted from Sakura. "Vampires are supposed to be attractive." The pinkette muttered to her pale-eyed friend.
Ami missed the comment, but with his keen hearing, Naruto didn't. Sighing, he lightly pushed Ami apart from him and ran a hand through his sun kissed hair. "Sakura, can I speak to you for a second?"
"You're doing so right now, bright one."
He frowned. "Privately?"
She bit her lip and her nails dug into the palm of her hand. Naruto stepped into the hallway and towards the door. Clutching her bag closer to her body, she trudged after him.
She followed him out the ivory doors and onto the porch. The sun shone a bright color that was lightly reminiscent of Naruto's hair. He scrutinized his childhood friend before speaking.
"Sakura…" His arms were raised for dramatic effect. He stared at her with tired blue eyes, a sound of exasperation escaping him. He let his arms fall to his sides, "What gives? Why do you hate Ami so much?"
It took all Sakura's effort to not slap him in the face and demand he be checked for selective amnesia. "You mean other than the fact that she's been trying to ruin my life for the past, how many, eight years?"
"You're over-exaggerating."
Sakura's slender arms formed an X across her chest as she grabbed hold of her shoulders and anger flashed in her eyes. "I'm exaggerating? Oh, well then my sincerest apologies for being melodramatic the time she cut off my pigtail in seventh grade. Oh, and when she put a dead cockroach into my lunch!" She hissed in frustration. "I don't get what you see in her, Naruto. You could do some much better than this and frankly—"
"Sakura. Please." Naruto whimpered and Sakura snapped out of her reverie. She looked into his eyes and something inside her died. His cobalt eyes had once been so light and carefree—so different from her own. Now they looked tired and worn.
It scared her.
Taking a step back, she cast her gaze onto her shoes. What where they being torn down to?
"I—uh," She pulled the pink Blackberry out of her pocket and fidgeted with a few buttons before shooting him an awkward half smile. "Um. My dad just texted me. I have to go home. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Um, right. Yeah. Bye." Without even glancing at him again, she sprinted past him. Naruto's hand hung awkwardly in the air as a half wave. Not quite sure what just happened, Naruto headed inside in a daze.
Gaara looked up from the television, phone in hand and his jade eyes scanned around, waiting for Sakura to enter. "Where's Sakura?"
"Her dad texted her and said she had to go home."
Something about the way Gaara froze made Naruto nervous. Gaara rested his phone down slowly and ominously. Shifting his intense, jaded eyes straight into Naruto's stare, he spoke in a tone laced with disappointment. "Naruto…he texted her?"
Within the seconds that Hinata was out the door, Ami sat in silence, and Sasuke shook his head, Naruto realized his mistake.
Sakura's phone was broken.
First period, Naruto was missing from Sakura's chemistry class. Slightly relieved that she didn't have to speak to her childhood friend just yet, she spent the lab block discussing practice schedules with Karin. It was only during lunch period that she discovered Naruto had switched into biology—Hinata's biology class, specifically.
"He's that mad at me, huh?" Sakura wondered aloud before taking a sip of her Snapple.
"I, for one, believe he's just avoiding confrontation with you." Hinata took a bite out of her sandwich. "Want me to accidentally cut his arm open when we're dissecting cats next week?"
Not many people could have imagined what Hinata was truly like. Sure, she was sweet, shy, and kind on a normal basis. But Hell hath no fury like a Hinata scorned. "I don't know how well that'd go down with the school board—cutting the mayor's son's arm open."
"But it was an accident." Sakura shuddered at the pure innocence in her friend's tone. Being a Hyuuga, she'd probably get away with it too.
She was definitely scarier than she let on.
Sakura pushed back her long pink bangs and rested her feet on the chair legs. Part of her was furious that Naruto would go to the lengths of switching classes to avoid her. It was one silly little fight and she'd be damned if any teacher bought his "Chemistry just isn't for me" bull crap. The other part of her felt guilty for not being more supportive of her friend. Maybe he really did love Ami, and despite Sakura's own opinion of her, maybe she really was his happiness.
Sakura pushed her chair back. "I'm going to go to the bathroom before class." Hinata merely nodded and Sakura exited the dining hall. She checked to make sure her pink Sharpie was in her back pocket before pushing open the bathroom door and making her way into her stall. What caught her by surprise, was the foreign handwriting, scrawled onto the wall in purple Sharpie.
It seems you're aware of The Game. The Game where everyone pretends to be somebody they aren't or where they exaggerate who they are or pretend to like something they really don't only because everybody else does. The Game has everybody playing. It proves we are all conformists. We are all fakes. It is the High School Game where everyone's a player, whether they want to be or not.
We're all liars.
It's part of the Game.
Sakura nodded her head lightly, understanding. She wasn't a fool. She knew perfectly well that everyone played this way, even occasionally herself—the only thing was, she hated it. Why did everyone have to pretend? Why couldn't they just be who they really were?
Her nose pulled upwards in distaste before she uncapped her pen.
Well then, Purple, we're all a bunch of morons, playing social Monopoly when we should be playing the game of Life.
Let the pieces fall where they may, TDE