Sakura woke up because of the sound of a closing door. Her eyes widened when she saw the visitor that came into her room. Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" Sakura rubbed her emerald eyes.

"Hn. Why didn't you…" Sasuke stopped saying what he wanted to say. Shit, if I said something like 'Why didn't you come and greet me?' then it would feel like I wanted her to come. The shit I'm going to ask that.

"Hmm?" Sakura commented curiously.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but Sakura knows this is his personality.

"Let's go find Naruto." Sakura said as she walked out the door.


When these six friends were young, they had a place they called the secret hide out. It's not a real secret hide out, just a place they usually stay and gather around. There's a round desk with six seats, and two sofas.

"Hey look it's Sakura!" Naruto said.

"Walking with Sasuke." Neji smirked.

"Did you guys know? There's a dance coming up!" TenTen said after Sakura and Sasuke got seated around the table.

"Gah? What dance?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Konoha has dances every 6 months. Don't you know!" said TenTen.

"Oh… I forgot. Hehe. I didn't went to Konoha's dances for a long time."

"T-this is t-the S-summer H-hotness D-dance r-r-right?" Hinata says while blushing.

"Yea… I really want to go, but I don't know whom can I go with… And you have to have a date…" TenTen commented.

"…"

"…"

No one said anything after that, so they left their hide out, and went back to their rooms.


Neji and Naruto's Room

"Ahahahaha, Sasuke you remember this room? That's your bed, and it didn't change!" Naruto was excited Sasuke is back.

"Hn. Moron, so excited for me to be back?" Sasuke said.

"WHO DID YOU CALL A MORON?"

"Hn, who else? Of course you."

"Hey, hey, guys. Anyone planning to go to the dance?" Neji suddenly said.

With that, Sasuke and Naruto became silent.

"I want to ask Sakura to go." Naruto said with a mischievous grin.

Hn, Sakura? Sasuke thought. So Naruto likes Sakura?

"What? Me too, I wanna ask her out too!" Neji said, smirking.

Hn. What? How can they all want to ask Sakura out? I must do something before they ask Sakura, because I want Sakura to come to the dance with ME! Sasuke thought quietly.

Sasuke stared at Naruto and Neji as they walk out the room.

"Do you think this plan will work on that emo?" Naruto whispered quietly.

"It better work. I bet Sasuke likes Sakura." Neji said, "You're actually going to ask Hinata, huh."

"Yeah… And who are you going to ask?"

"I don't know."

"Well, TenTen, duh!"

"Hmph. Maybe, I don't know yet." Neji smiled.


Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata's Room

"So, the dance, should we go?" TenTen asked, sitting on the bed.

Sakura flopped on the bed without saying a word.

"I-I want t-to g-go." Hinata said, while blushing.

"With who?" Sakura smiled. She noticed Hinata blushing madly again.

"I-I…"

"Sakura, you should go! We should all go!" TenTen said.

"With who?" She asked again, "Who should I go with? Neji?" She said teasingly.

"Hey! Neji's mine!" TenTen shouted.

"Okay, okay, I know!" The girls laughed really hard.

When they calmed down, Hinata said, "M-maybe we sh-should w-wait for s-someone t-to a-ask us."

"Maybe." Sakura said, closing her eyes. Who can I go with? Who SHOULD I go with? Sasuke? He won't even ask me. Why am I caring about this so much? Shit, did I start to like him? Ugh, stop thinking Sakura, let it go. If I do like him, then I do. If I don't… Maybe that's better.

"Let's go to the cafeteria, dinner should be served now." TenTen said.

So the three best girl friends went to the cafeteria together.


Sakura, Hinata, and TenTen got their dinner and sat at a table. It wasn't long before the guys joined them.

"Sakura, can you come out with me for a minute?" Sasuke asked coolly.

"Hmm? Sure…" Sakura answered hesitantly.

When they went outside, Naruto said, "Let the romance BLOOM." Everyone else smiled mischievously.


Outside the School Cafeteria

"Sakura."

"Sasuke."

They both called out each other's name in unison.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

I guess I just have to tell her how I feel. Sasuke took a deep breath, and start speaking.

"Sakura, you… You changed a lot. Before I left the village, we use to be so close. You, me, Neji, Naruto, Hinata, TenTen. We did everything together…"

"Isn't it still the same?" Sasuke was cut off by Sakura.

"Sakura, listen to me. It's not the same anymore. I use to see you smile everyday, but now, you avoid eye contact with me. You just… Hate me."

Hate? How can I possibly hate you when I don't even know what I am feeling. Like? Love? Or just friends? Whatever it is, it's not hate. Sakura thought.

Sasuke waited for Sakura to say something, but instead it was silence. When he decided to start talking again, Sakura looked at him, and smiled.

"I thought I was the one who did all the talking before. I guess Sasuke-kun is not that cold hearted as I thought?"

"Hn, cold hearted?"

"When we were kids, I knew you cared about people. And I never hated you! But that day when you leave… You were a frickin cold hearted bastard!"


Flashback

"Please, stay…"

"Hn. I have my own path to go."

"Please! For me."

Sasuke's heart twitched for a moment, but he said, "We don't belong in the same path."

With that, he walked away.
_

Without noticing, Sakura had tears rolling down her face. Before she could react, Sasuke's hand caressed her face, and wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm a bastard that only cares about myself at times. But it was only that time when I had to kill Itachi. I promise I wouldn't be like that again." Sasuke said softly.

Sakura's emerald eyes met the dark eyes of Sasuke, she saw the promise in his eyes.

"Let's go back to before." Sasuke said, "If we can't be best friends, we'll start as friends… All over again. Okay?"

Sakura nodded, then smiled.

It is still so beautiful to see her smile. I love her. Sasuke was surprised with that thought. No… I shouldn't hide it anymore, I do love her.

Sakura pushed Sasuke back into the cafeteria.

"Sasuke, you're still my friend, just like before." Sakura said. But I want us to be more than friends.

"Hn."

With that, Sakura understood it was his way of saying "Thank you".


There we go. The second chapter (: Chapter 3 is on it's way!