TWO
"Uchiha-sama, some people are here to see you. Will I let them in?" a voice seeped through the intercom.
Sasuke closed his eyes because of extreme ire. How many times do I have to remind him that I could not speak?
"Uchiha-sama?"
Sasuke lied in a supine position on the bed—eyes still closed. He slightly raised his clenched fists above the ground and pounded on the mattress.
"Er—Uchiha-sama… guests are here—"
Sasuke's eyes opened because of the sudden halt of his servant's words. He took a deep breath and then thought of how many people had come to see him… and he didn't like it.
The news of the really slight dislocation of his lower jaw bone spread throughout the school like wild fire. For the past week, he got a minimum of three calls from girls per hour. Every five hours, he was visited by strangers who brought gifts varying from cards to cakes (that he cursed inwardly since they reminded him of his damned condition.).
"You blamed the girl for falling on her?" He recalled the annoying look of humor plastered on his doctor's face.
"…" Of course he could not start ranting about his side.
"And your bone dislocation is caused by her punch? That's something I don't hear everyday." He could still hear the laughter of the doctor ringing in his head. "You actually let her punch you?" He swore if his head wasn't that excruciating because of the way he hit her head and the wall, he would have torn the doctor into two.
And now, he was stuck at home—in his mansion filled with grandeur—either lying on the bed or watching television.
'I could go to school now.' He once wrote on a paper and shoved it to his servant's hands. Sasuke turned his heels and headed for the door when Itachi's face appeared at the door way with that leering smile.
"Too bad otouto, I'm going to take care of you so you can't go now." And he locked the door for good. Though Sasuke could easily break through a window, the cast around his head was too heavy for balance. Actually, he didn't get it why his jaw had to be placed in cast when the doctor could only shove it back in its place. (Well, the dislocation was really slight.) He thought that maybe his brother had something to do with that practical joke—only, it wasn't funny.
After some time reminiscing the adverse turn of his life, he saw the door move ajar and familiar faces peeked in.
"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto walked ahead of the other boys who came in. "How are you?"
You fuckin' idiot. Sasuke seemingly replied through his eyes.
"He could not speak, Naruto." Shikamaru placed his hand on his waist. "Can't you see that his jaw has cast?"
"Oh…hehe…" the blonde grinned. (To Sasuke, that was more of a sneer.)
"Sorry if we only came now. We thought you're too bored being confined for a week." Kiba said as he stroked Akamaru on the head. "Actually, Naruto asked all of us to come. We thought he wanted an audience as he beat the crap out of you." Laugh emerged from the group.
"Haruno Sakura is fine now so no need to trounce you." Chouji added. "Only, she has a reddish lump on her forehead but, of course, that will be gone sooner or later."
"Lee still wants to kill you, though." Naruto said after thinking.
The Uchiha's eye twitched. His mind wanted to blot out that name—Haruno Sakura—in his memories and live happily ever after. He missed a week of school just because of that pink haired nuisance.
A knock caught everyone's attention, causing them to look back. At the doorway was a man with a pony, neatly tying his raven hair. His eyes were blood red and his expression was a mixture of amusement and sarcasm. Held by both his hands was a silver tray with small plates of slices of cake.
"Oh, so you're awake, otouto." He smiled and placed the tray on the table.
"Itachi-sama…" the others gasped.
If his friends gaped in awe, Sasuke metamorphically clenched his teeth. He was sure that Itachi enjoyed seeing him weak and defeated. The slices of cakes, themselves, posed a challenge on Sasuke.
Without noticing how the guests stared at him in admiration, he eyed Sasuke and then sweetly said, "Get well soon otouto. I would want to see more stunts next time." Itachi smoothly exited, leaving them in silence.
You sadistic, dire, sordid, sarcastic… and the string of the most vivid words ever known appeared endless in Sasuke's head.
"Wow…he does look handsome… even in person." Kiba muttered.
Well, of course, he's a model. He's the highest paid model…yeah right. Don't stop praising his perfect ass… If looks could kill, he could have killed Kiba a thousand times…resurrect him, then kill him again. Yes, Itachi had been in the model industry for only about a month but he had already reached the peak of stardom. Every company wanted him and offered him thousands of promises but he declined each one of them because of one reason, which induced nausea from Sasuke's system.
"My otouto will miss me if I get too busy. I won't have time for him."
"Neh, come to think of it Sasuke-teme," Naruto's eyes turned into slits, "why were you so eager to get near Itachi-san anyway?"
Okay, he could forgive Naruto for forgetting that he could not answer because he knew that he was moronic. But he could forgive himself for not understanding why he was so desperate to reach Itachi. Oh fuck, of course I wanted to make him go away. But he knew that Itachi would never listen to him and any fool could say that simply staying away from the crimson-eyed Uchiha could solve the problem.
"…BUT IN REALITY YOU ONLY HAVE AN OVER-INFLATED EGOOOOOOO!"
The shout snapped in his mind. That was great; ideas were disarrayed in his head. Now he was forced to remember that face of the girl named Haruno Sakura. That saccharine face full of gaiety and modesty grew horns, fangs, an extra eye, and a long forked tongue. He didn't want to see her again but too bad, she was in his school and she was in his class.
"Sasuke, we'll be eating downstairs." Shikamaru caught his floating attention.
"Chouji finished the cakes off." Naruto said in dismay.
The chubby teen just smiled and gave of a chuckle. After that, the four bid him a temporary good bye and went out of the door.
- - -
Sasuke missed a week and a half of classes. His arrival in school without that fucked up cast faintly changed his irritable behavior. But he was back to being the Uchiha everyone held dear. His fans loved the way he ignored them and coolly walked while the wind brushed against his supple flesh. They screamed whenever he raised an eye brow at them because of their fervor to get an up-close glimpse of him. And Sasuke…well…just learned how to cope up with that crap. He discovered that the greatest problem any famous person could face was his or her fans. They were hard to get rid of and most of the time, they even knew of news about him that he, himself, never experienced.
Sasuke went up to the last floor and wished, before he opened the door of his classroom, that the pink head was not there yet. But so what is she's there? Keeping her out of my interest would just be an easy task. Sasuke was unsociable anyway.
His slender fingers pulled the door open and before he could close it, a foot flew towards him. Effortlessly, he dodged the kick and walked further to reach his seat. Hn…it's Lee. Sasuke bent forward to evade another attack and then placed his bag on the desk. When another foot came, he cocked his head to the side and the kick missed by inches. He sat on his seat and focused his attention to the window.
"UCHIHA SASUKE!" Lee huffed and gave another forceful kick but Sasuke only bent his head back, letting his hair fall, and the foot, of course, failed to hit.
"Quit it." Sasuke grunted after returning to a comfortable position.
"You hurt my Sakura-chan and so you'll pay." The teen with the unique green attire yelled.
Your Sakura-chan? You two make one hell of a couple. Sasuke mused before ignoring the next chivalric words of Lee. He turned to a different direction and saw one classmate of his writing down things. "Oi," his classmate looked, "what's new?"
"We have groupings in English class for the thesis paper. Unfortunately, you're only two in the group." His male classmate checked out his list of names. "You're, um, grouped with Sakura."
He was actually expecting that. "What else?"
"For our out-of-town trip, we had a count-off." He continued. "You're grouped with Hinata and um, Sakura."
Now his brows furrowed. "…"
"We also have a group work in Computer Technology class. We are to make a program. Unfortunately, Ruri dropped out because her family migrated so you're left with um, Sakura."
Sasuke crossed his legs. "And?"
"Nothing else." The student quickly added.
Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment and then sighed heavily as he opened them. Now this is bullshit. The universe has conspired to make my fuckin' life miserable. He ran his fingers through his hair and then placed his elbows on his desk.
"Uchiha," a voice he reckoned Neji's called him from behind, "heard you fell from the building and you were knocked out by a girl."
"What now Hyuuga?" Sasuke simply replied without looking over his shoulder.
"Embarrassed?" Neji ensconced himself on his seat.
"Shut up."
The Hyuuga smiled.
Not long after that 'conversation', the door slid open revealing a pretty girl with a pink mane. There was a smile formed by her pinkish lips but after seeing the Uchiha staring at her, the smile faded. Uchiha Sasuke… I prayed for your death. Sakura's steps towards the raven head were calculated. Her eyes met his as she neared him and her chin went slightly up because of their dispute.
"So you're back, Uchiha." Sakura's tone was a try-hard cold one. "Well, I see that your jaw is okay."
"Hn." And I got stuck in that house for days because of you, thanks a lot. He thought. "What do you want?"
"You have a special project because you missed a lot of school days." Sakura crossed her arms. "Our Physics teacher just told me a while ago."
"And you're with me." Sasuke assumed.
"Regrettably, yes." Sakura looked displeased because of the idea that she was going to be with Sasuke. "He's asking for a 3-D design for the prom venue. He said that you are known for your talent in art."
"When is the deadline?"
"November."
After knowing the detail, he turned away towards the window. Sakura felt offended rather than being pleased that she finally ended the conversation with the damned raven head. There were a lot of words waiting to burst from her mouth. But before she could speak, he had turned towards her.
"When are the deadlines?" Grades. Sasuke couldn't care less because like Shikamaru, he was an effortless genius. Only, there was a difference… he felt like competing with her.
"The thesis paper is due on March and the Program is due next, next week."
"Then let's start the program tomorrow night." Sasuke smirked.
"Saturday night?" Sakura suddenly looked quite alarmed.
"Problem?"
"N-no. Saturday night is fine." She was also determined to look responsible and undefeatable.
"My house."
Sakura thought for a moment before replying with still a pretentious stoic tone. "Fine." After that, she stood still looking at him as if forgetting her thoughts in her subconscious.
"What now Haruno?" Sasuke raised his eyes to her.
What? She found him staring at her in small curiosity. She blushed hard and turned her heels to her seat.
- - -
Saturday night.
Uchiha Sasuke got up from his black sheeted canopy bed and shoved the valances to move to the balcony. His bare feet touched the carpet, muffling his footsteps. He passed through the translucent curtains and sat upon the polished banister. His torso was bare and his lower limbs were enclosed by silk pants. Sasuke's eyes were unnaturally calm and sullen. He was looking at the starless sky and after some time, he took out a cigarette stick and a lighter from his pocket.
"Sasuke."
The sudden call caused the Uchiha to fumble with the things he was holding. And the lighter and the cigarette stick fell down toward the enormous garden below. Shit. He slid off the banister and saw Itachi come in.
"What do you want now?" Sasuke tried to look unsurprised.
"A car is at our front." He smiled and went out.
Sasuke went to his wardrobe, pulled out a bath robe and wore it as he moved down his grand staircase. The whole house was only lit by the moonlight passing through the large arched windows. From outside, one could only assume that the people inside were sleeping. And also, the advantage of it was that Sasuke wasn't seen when he stopped by the front glass doors and watched Sakura egress from an expensive looking car.
He caught sight of Sakura's slim figure in a strapped gown. She was talking to a man who seemed to have opened the door for her. Sasuke's eyes transferred to the man and to his astonishment, he saw Hyuuga Neji bending down to kiss her at the cheek. After the little sign of adoration, Neji came back inside the car and the driver slowly picked up speed until the car was out of sight. When Sakura turned to face the front doors, he saw her smile. But when she saw the Uchiha watching her through the glass door, the smiled faded instantly.
So the Hyuuga is dating her…now that's something new. Sasuke pulled the door open for Sakura to come in.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm sorry because I'm late." Sakura avoided the onyx eyes of the sly Uchiha.
"To be exact," Sasuke continued, "three hours late."
Haruno immediately looked at the grandfather clock, which emphasized that it was ten o'clock.
"You should have said that you were scheduled on a date this Saturday night." The Uchiha smirked. For the first time, he was not annoyed by her presence but rather, he was amused by how bashful she looked.
"I was—well—"
Sasuke began to walk away from her while muttering, "You could go home if you want."
"W-why would I? Come on, let's start." Sakura went forward, ahead of the Uchiha who was leaning against the banister of the stairs. She stopped at a door and quickly turned the knob only to find that the 'room' was only storage for brooms and other cleaning utensils.
The Uchiha laughed softly to himself and motioned the pink head up to his room.
Sasuke opened the door for Sakura to enter and afterwards, switched on the lights. Sakura was amazed by the size of the place. She found a king-sized canopy bed, a reading desk, a polished oak cabinet, a varnished wardrobe, a pair of soft slippers, a full-length mirror and many other attractive things she had never actually seen.
As Sakura looked around, unmindful of her actions, the Uchiha took his laptop from his study desk and placed it on the bed. He sprawled on the majestic jet black sheet and began operating the said electronic device. From time to time he would look up and then shake his head. This girl seems to have come from the cave.
Sakura, on the other hand, caught him eyeing her and her initial reaction was to pout. "Why do you keep looking at me like I'm some kind of an ignorant kid?"
"A kid is naturally ignorant." He replied without lifting his eyes.
"What's your point?"
"That you're redundant."
"What?" Sakura placed both her hands on her waist. "What are you talking about?"
"…" Sasuke pressed something and afterwards, he placed both his hands behind his head.
"Now you're ignoring me."
"Let's get over this."
"Uchiha, let me remind you that I have not forgiven you for hitting me and blaming me."
The amusement he felt turned into sour exasperation. "Shut up."
"Shut up?"
"Hn."
"Uchiha Sasuke!"
"What do you want me to say now?" the Uchiha rolled his eyes. This girl's going to yammer forever.
"Nothing!"
"Then come here and let's do this shit." God, if only this project could end faster…
Sakura opened her mouth but pursed her lips as she approached the side of the bed. The Uchiha was already typing codes when he halted and looked at her. "Sit here."
"On a man's bed? On your bed? No way." Sakura crossed her arms defiantly.
"Is this time for being conservative? Hop on or I'll pull you." Sasuke wanted to die. Or maybe kill her.
"Don't you dare or I'll tell—"
"Neji?"
She stopped and burned redder than ever. "No! I'll tell the police that you're harassing me!"
Harassing her? This piece of… "Look Haruno, if I am to rape someone, she's never going to be you." Sasuke replied. "Now get over your idea that sitting on my bed is demeaning." Dammit… now I'm getting loquacious! What the fuck is her problem?
"Alright!" Sakura pulled off her sandals and carefully sat upon the bed. She glared at him as she positioned herself a bit far from the Uchiha and then stared at the laptop screen. The Uchiha glanced at her and in that one glimpse he discovered how low her eyes were and how pale she was. Her strap was even off her shoulder.
"You can go home."
"Uchiha—"
"Whatever."
Creating the program they were required needed a lot more effort than expected. Specific codes still needed to be researched and software was even needed to be downloaded. The Uchiha just continued pressing buttons until he felt something hit his shoulder hard. He looked at his side and saw Sakura with her face full of pink hair. Her forehead hit his shoulder bone hard and to his irritation, he felt pangs at his shoulder while the girl remained unmoved as if she didn't feel anything.
"Wake up." He pushed her rather roughly away but her head came back and bumped against his chest. He bit his lip and shoved her face away. The cycle went on and Sakura's head had turned to different directions while Sasuke suffered hits. Finally after minutes of the cycle, Sakura woke up and looked at Sasuke as if she was giddy.
"Uchiha…" First, her face shot forward; second, vomit showered the Uchiha's body, his laptop and his beloved black bed sheet.
"SHIT!" Sasuke leaped off the bed and stared at the mess gradually moving down his pants. To his greatest fury, the pink head fell back and smudged his pillow with more fetid substance.
And what more?
She smiled.
Karma… always comes around during the worst time.
- - -
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: My ideas are jumping from one scene to another so this chapter is made purely of crap. Forgive me dear readers. Thanks for the reviews and I promise to do better!
