Sakura was 15 and a sophomore in high school when she fell in love for the first time. His name was Sasuke Uchiha and he was the new transfer student whom all the other girls also fell head over heels for. He was a tall, good-looking boy with midnight black eyes and hair, a dark aura and so very mysterious. He was the very definition of the bad guy in Sakura's romance novels – a bad guy who would turn good for the woman he loved. Sakura would sometimes imagine that woman being her and she would stare dreamily at his back from her seat behind him.

Sakura went straight to Ino at lunch break, "Ino, I think I'm in love," she whispered to her best friend with a dreamy smile on her face. Ino's eyes had widened during that sentence but as it slowly sank in she was squealing in delight while jumping up and down, holding Sakura's hands in her own. "That's great Sakura! Tell me all about him!" she had gushed while trying to keep in her excitement about her best friend falling in love for the first time. And Sakura did, everything from his looks to his seemingly cold personality and surprisingly enough, his close friendship with the class-clown, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Oh, Sakura I'm so happy for you," Ino sighed but as Sakura's head dropped she frowned, "What's wrong?" she asked. Sakura didn't look into her eyes, "I'm not as pretty as you, he probably won't even notice me," she said as her hand flew to her hair, brushing it over her forehead as an old habit whenever she felt less worth than others. Ino put her hands on her hips, "Sakura Haruno, you listen to me now and don't you dare look away until I'm done!" and then the rest of the lunch break went by with Ino speech about how wonderful of a person Sakura was and if Sasuke couldn't see that, he wasn't worth it. Oh, how Sakura loved her best friend.

Sakura tried to keep her confidence, but it often wavered. A lot of girls had fallen for the mysterious Sasuke and confessed to him through the day. Some he would reject with a "hn," followed by a glare, others he would totally ignore and just turn around and walk the other way. Rumors began floating that "Sasuke only likes smart girls," or "Sasuke only likes girls with long hair," Sakura tried not to listen but as time went on, she began changing herself to fit into the profile of the girl Sasuke apparently liked. Just like that she became a follower, a mere fangirl.

"Seriously Sakura, this is ridiculous. Why can't you just be yourself and, I don't know… talk to him?" Ino had said one afternoon when they were sitting at a café drinking their chai lattes. Sakura had taken out a mirror and fixed her hairband, "because he would never spare me a glance unless I'm perfect," she sighed as if it was the hundredth time she had explained it to her best friend. "It's stupid if you ask me," Ino mumbled into her cup. Sakura just rolled her eyes. Ino would never understand, she was born pretty, and everybody liked her. Sakura was just normal looking, boring and had to fight for any attention she'd ever wanted.

Taking Ino's advice into consideration, because Ino was her best friend and Sakura always listened to her, Sakura tried to speak to Sasuke on a few occasions. "Did you solve all the problems for todays lesson, Sasuke?" he didn't even turn to look at her, "hn" Sakura slumped in her chair. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke," she had cheerily called after him when one of the schooldays ended, he hadn't even reacted and just went out the door, Ino had comforted her afterwards. "Can I borrow a pen? I kind of forgot mine at home," she would sheepishly ask while running a hand through her hair. He had looked at her this time but with a frown he had turned around and ignored her, Naruto ended up borrowing her a pen that day, "don't worry about, Teme here. He's just being his usual emo-self," he had said while tossing a paper ball to the back of Sasuke's head. She giggled a bit as she heard him curse at Naruto under his breath.

Sakura and Naruto hit it off quite quickly. He was still loud-mouthed and a troublemaker as he was back in kindergarten, but he was also very kind and a loyal friend. Sakura could see why Sasuke would appreciate a friendship with the blonde boy. As time passed and she became better friends with Naruto, Sasuke slowly began acknowledging her. It wasn't a lot but a "hn," as an answer to her questions for him, but they would later turn into a "yes," or "no," and sometimes even a nod, and Sakura was happy. She learned a lot of things about him through their evolving friendship and Naruto's constant meddling. Sasuke preferred the color blue, and his favorite food was tomatoes. He had an older brother called Itachi, whom he looked very much up to. Sasuke's father, uncle and older cousin was in the police force so he made an extra effort of excelling in PE. He and Naruto used to have a rivalry to see who could beat who. Sakura enjoyed getting to know Sasuke and she fell deeper and deeper in love with every aspect of him as days passed. Dinner at each other's houses soon became a weekly thing for the trio.

Someone who wasn't happy about Sakura's evolving friendship with Sasuke was his fangirls. Especially a redhead named Karin and a purple haired girl called Ami. The teasing about Sakura's looks got worse and she would seek comfort in Ino or Naruto's arms when it got too bad. They both told her to ignore it and that it wasn't true, but the seed of doubt and her growing insecurities grew. "Stay away from Sasuke!" Ami had once yelled at her as she tripped her in the hallway, sending Sakura's books flying everywhere. "You're not worth his time, who do you even think you are?" Karin had sneered at her at lunch. Sakura was intimidated but she knew that she was too in love with Sasuke to just leave his side. This was worth it, she just knew. She never told Sasuke, she couldn't. She didn't want to seem weak to him, so she continued her friendship with him as if nothing had ever happened.

"I don't know Ino, do you really think that's a good idea?" Sakura eyed her best friend in the mirror. Ino in the middle of putting on her lip-gloss looked back at her, "of course! You like him, simple as that. Why don't you tell him then?" she smacked her lips, smiled satisfied at the mirror and straightened herself to full height. "What if he doesn't feel the same?" Sakura mumbled as she twirled her hair between her thumb and index finger. Ino smiled kindly at her best friend, "then I and Naruto are here for you and will be there every step of the way until you're over him," she said, Sakura swallowed and went to hug her best friend. Ino patted her on the head, "you're my best friend and I wish the best for you, but I don't want you to be stuck in an unrequited love and not enjoy your life as you should". Sakura smiled, "I really love you, Ino. I'll speak to him tomorrow. And thank you, really," she said as the two left the girls' lavatory. What they didn't discover, was the two girls emerging from each of their stalls smirking.

As Sasuke was on his way home two girls suddenly blocked his path. He scowled as he recognized them as fangirls and walked past them. "I would stay away from Sakura, if I were you," Ami said but he just ignored it. "She's just using you to get to your brother!" Ami had yelled after him. Sasuke turned to look at them, his right eyebrow rose while he stared at them darkly. Karin seized the opportunity of his attention, "yeah, she told the other girls that you brother was a lot better than you and that she would use you to get to him," she lied. Sasuke stare turned into a glare and the two girls both gulped, "just wait, she'll soon make a move and you'll know we told you the truth," Karin stuttered before he walked away from them. They looked at each other, smirks already forming on their faces again.

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes and then exhaling, "this is it, I'm really going to do it," she whispered to herself. Naruto and Ino gave her encouraging smiles and went to give her and Sasuke some privacy. As Sasuke neared the lockers she took one calming breath and then smiled at him, "good morning, Sasuke," she greeted him with a smile while he nodded in return. "I really need to tell you something," she told him as she saw him freeze mid step. He looked at her, and then she professed her love for him not really remembering the start and beginning but just telling him of her feelings for him. His eyes narrowed, and she wasn't prepared for his answer, "as if I would like an annoying, attention seeking girl like you," he hissed. Sakura froze, "I… I don't understand," she stammered, trying to keep in her tears. A crowd had begun to form as by passers in the hall had heard their conversation. She could see Naruto and Ino nearing with confused faces. "You're annoying and useless," he had said with such distaste that Sakura couldn't stop the tear that suddenly streamed down her left cheek. "Oi Teme! That was rude and totally unnecessary! Apologize to Sakura!" Naruto shouted and grabbed him by the collar, fist already clenched in the air. Sakura didn't register any of that or what followed. She could only feel the pain in her chest, see the distaste in Sasuke's face and her the sound of Karin's taunting laughter.

Sakura and Sasuke didn't talk to each other after that. Naruto was miserable being torn between his two best friends, and slowly but surely, she drifted away from them to spare him from the pain of choosing. Naruto she would still see and talk to but Sasuke was a lost case and a dark hole in her heart.

Sakura knew then that any romance she had imagined between her and Sasuke had been a farfetched dream, and as she cried in Ino's arms that night she thought of the words spoken to her by her best friend a few years ago, "sometimes first loves just doesn't work out". Ino had been right, first loves didn't really work out and Sakura had learned that the hard way.

That was the chapter where Sakura would learn to grow stronger.

A/N:

Second chapter is up! I don't know if it feels rushed or like something is missing. I have a bit of a hard time figuring out what to write and what not to write...
Do please leave a comment with things I either forgot or could've done better.

Ling Ling out!