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MY
BEST
FRIEND'S
BOYFRIEND
ii
Ino is in mere shock.
She has expected something like this to provoke her inhuman fury, perhaps hurt her as well, to make her hot—other than her usual hot, of course—with vehemence, but seeing it this way…it just leaves her with a kick in the teeth.
Sasuke Uchiha is merely a wanderer, a pretty one as a bonus, and deep down she has always been afraid of something like this to happen.
And watching her own best friend take her boyfriend for a ride…she has never anticipated that.
Ino has always expected the roles to be reversed.
From the day she had introduced Haruno Sakura to him, she had seen some sort of link in there. A one-sided link, sure.
Sakura would talk to Ino, and mumble answers to him if he conversed. They knew each other best, and Ino had been one hundred percent sure the girl wasn't interested in him like all the others.
The Uchiha, however…he looked at her, and in his eyes there had been desire. Not a sinful desire as lust, but unsullied and genuine.
He wanted her.
Wants her.
But when he and Ino were alone together, it was fine. It was like another part of the Uchiha, the seductive one every girl fawned over.
Perhaps it would have been better never to introduce Haruno to him…but she would still be bound to meet him someday. Best friends…Ino and Sakura are a twosome. They stick together at most.
Sakura is not supposed to begin this.
She is standing up on her knees on the sand, her light pink—okay, red, she always says—hair cascading down her shoulders and her head tilted up high. Her eyes are open and glassy as she pushes her mouth on his.
Sasuke's expression, nevertheless, is comical. He is staring at the rosette with wide black eyes, with bewilderment and—is it possible?—slight fear. Oh come on, no one, not even the Uchiha, would be surprised if a girl came hurtling down to him and started swapping saliva with him.
It is abnormally normal, but only if that girl isn't Haruno Sakura.
But deep down, he is pleased, Ino knows—
Her eyes flit to the palette of barbecue beef she has all but forgotten in her hands—she is supposed to give that to her mother on the second floor.
But she doesn't budge. She watches as Sakura finally drops her hands from his arms where she was clutching them tightly and—a part of Ino's mind notices that she has an almost empty glass of champagne in her hand—draws back from him.
She walks backward, as if there is some sort of predator advancing on her.
But Sasuke stays where he is, now definitely fearful. His eyes look anywhere but at Sakura, around the beach, at the house…he is searching for Ino.
Ino darts behind the huge mount of driftwood that they had piled beside the house, strewn with tiny lights and hiding the speakers, and bends on her knees to shorten herself. The sand hisses beneath her feet, but that's a quiet enough sound. He doesn't notice.
Neither does anyone else on the beach. They are all busy partying.
Sakura stands there, rapidly breathing. And then all of a sudden, she huffs and scurries away into the house.
He just remains staring at the empty spot where she had been.
Ino slides down on the sand behind the driftwood with more of the hissy noise. The speakers blare with music, loud, boisterous, and she has a sudden urge to smash her fist in to it and maybe damage its system.
Instead, she just slaps her palm to her face.
(Way to spice up my nineteenth birthday, Haruno.)
She doesn't know what she is feeling.
Gimme a break, Ino thinks.
Asuma-sensei, the Biology professor, is lecturing about something—introduction to anatomy something, that's what he has written on the blackboard.
Ino never takes any notes during the lecture. She is pretty good at memorizing the crucial stuff and then she grabs the full-fledged, neat and accurate notes from Sakura—because she is a genius, in any case, after Shikamaru, no denying—and leafs through when needed.
Nevertheless, today, she has heard all but nothing in the whole lecture.
She glances at her watch. There are still fifteen minutes. She sulks.
But wait, there's something better than sulking. What she has been doing for the past half hour—look at Sakura and Sasuke.
Sakura's head is bowed low, her hair framing both sides of her face in the form of curtains, and her notebook is open beneath her. She sits only a couple of seats away.
Ino can see easily that the page is blank. Her pencil is poised on the paper, yes, and she has been pressing it so hard that the tip has broken.
She is totally oblivious.
And the Uchiha—you can easily guess—has been staring at her for the past thirty minutes to the extent that it is starting to feel creepy.
His onyx orbs are fixated on her head, on her pink—red—tresses, as if he's trying to see through the curtain of hair.
Even a fool can see how much longing, frustrated exposure and—again, is it possible?—wistfulness in that black.
That look really wins over Ino's sympathy. Perhaps this is the second of the reasons that she isn't furious at all.
The first is Sakura being her BFF. And Ino doesn't know what to do about her BFF; certainly, punching through her mouth wouldn't do any good.
She flicks out her phone—the latest brand of Samsung 4, baby—and texts.
Sak if u don't start taking notes this very sec im gonna knock u senseless after class
She watches as Sakura picks up her vibrating phone, and reads the text message under the curtain.
Then she takes a pen from her bag, tosses back her hair, and Ino can see now that she is paying attention to the lecture.
(Wow that was easy.)
And now Uchiha has his stare locked on her exposed face.
Her phone vibrates. She looks over at Sakura, and she is busy noting points.
The sender's number is saved as Desperate Bitch, and that can be no one else than the redhead Karin who can't look at Sasuke without undressing him with—
Hawtee staring at ur bff lmao
Damn right she is a desperate bitch.
Ino makes up her mind after she reads Karin's text.
She perfectly knows she would become the center of gossip if this continued—Yamanaka Ino's boyfriend hits on her best friend, and whatnot…they would all twist the truth in such a way it would become a lie—and she doesn't want it.
She isn't so pathetic. And she never allows insult to her self-esteem.
Even if it would hurt, she would do the right thing.
What is right in her opinion.
"Oi, Haruno! Sakura, wait! I have to talk to you!"
The rosette stops where she is, and slinging her white bag across her shoulder and brushing back her hair, she retraces her steps and meets Ino.
"'Sup?" She is trying to seem casual. "You want the notes?"
"No," Ino says, and she realizes her teeth are gritted. She is afraid the snap is near, the one that wouldn't come when she had seen them at the beach. She swallows back the urge to draw back her hand and smash it into the girl's pale, delicate face and maybe break her nose, it would be so damn easy—
No. This wasn't just a girl. This was Sakura.
"No. I don't want the notes, not now, anyway. I just want to talk to you about something.'
She drops her emerald green eyes to the floor and studies it. "Oh. About what?"
(Playing the innocent! C'mon, Sakura, you aren't supposed to do that.)
"He should have kissed back, shouldn't he?"
Sakura looks up at her with wide eyes, her expression matching that of Sasuke's at the beach—the beach, the beach—wide, fearful eyes.
"It was an accident, Ino, I never wanted to…I didn't know what I was doing, I would never—"
She is pleading, and her eyes seem shiny, sparkling; at any moment she would burst into—
God. Ino hates seeing her cry, and that was exactly what she was doing.
"I know, Sakura," she says, and it is sharper than she intended.
"I'm sorry," she blubbers.
Ino manages a smile at her and cocks her head to one side. "I know. And I forgive you."
She leaves abruptly, before she can change her mind, and walks down the hallway towards the front doors. She has to go home by herself; she already knows Sasuke won't be there today, he'll be out with his friends.
She leaves Sakura bemused in the passage, even more torn than ever.
(I know you like him, Sakura. Now you do. I saw it in your eyes.)
As soon as Ino steps in her bedroom, she throws her bag onto her made bed, kicks back her black pumps—the ones he had bought her—into a corner, and flops on the mattress on her back.
She studies the ceiling for a moment, stares at the colorful Day-Glo stars stuck at it, the ones that helped her sleep at night.
Then she whips out her phone.
To: Sasuke
Cc:
Subject: I'm dead serious
Okay, let's do a little boyfriend-girlfriend talk, and take off your emo cover for a moment and be clear.
I don't know why I can't be enough to you. I mean, come on! I always thought I was perfect. We are meant to be. I'll admit, I really liked you. Not like all those sex-loving girls all around Konoha, but in a genuine way.
I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, because I'm over it. So forget about what I'd feel.
I know you like Sakura, don't even try denying it. It's written all over your face in bold letters. You stare at her in a way you'd never at any girl. I sensed it way back, but I didn't want to believe it.
She's my best friend, and I know her better than anyone. It's possible that maybe she likes you back?
So, for your own sake, and especially for my sake—let's not forget me here—we're over.
I'm probably the first girl to dump you, and maybe that's an honor. *wink wink*
It'll save me from gossip. And it'll make me feel better, like I'm doing the right thing.
I'm not dumping you for Sakura's sake. 'Kay? Cuz she'll think I left you for her and she'll be all upset and cry and blubber and I hate that. I just don't want you to become a source of breaking our lifelong friendship.
AND there's another reason, I don't wanna be your reject. Ugh! I don't want you to dump me, and then add me to your list of cast off girlfriends and set me up with your friends…Sai's left, now? Well, he is kinda cute. But still…asdfghjkl
I'm giving you what you want. You better take care of it. Or else…asdfghjkl
KKK. You are taking pinky out tonight, to a party. She better not resist.
I loved being your girlfriend, I'll add for your benefit. It'll suck to go back to buying my own meals and dresses and stuff, but it's worth it.
Bye! Love,
Ino
Her phone rings twice after five minutes. She snatches it up.
From: Sasuke
Subject: Re: I'm dead serious
WTF Ino, are you joking?
From: Sasuke
Subject: (no subject)
You're breaking up with me through a text?
To: Sasuke
Subject: I see Naruto has rubbed off on you
FFFF NO I'M OBVIOUSLY DEAD SERIOUS AND I'M OBVIOUSLY BREAKING UP WITH YOU THROUGH A TEXT MESSAGE! Is that all you care about! Hmmph! Idiot!
Yeah. I am. And I'll tell you something, God it sounds so cheesy…but you and Sakura are meant to be the way you and me are not.
Take care of her, 'kay?
She lies on the bed waiting for Sasuke's response to that. Only when about ten minutes pass and he doesn't reply, she realizes it shouldn't take long to just read a text.
Maybe he had to use the restroom—
Her phone rings again, and it is a call. She picks it up and places the phone to her ear.
His voice is smooth like velvet and deep as he whispers from the other side of the phone.
"Thank you."
Yamanaka Ino smiles and hangs up.
To: Sakura
Subject: Be happy, babe
Wear your best dress…the strapless sexy one with the cherry color. You're going out with Sasuke tonight.
From: Sakura
Subject: He asked me out just now
Are you sure about this, Ino? If I'm the reason…
To: Sakura
Subject: YES! Score
Yep, totally. You're my best friend, Haruno, you ought to know that.
I kinda feel cool, dumping the Uchiha Sasuke!
From: Sakura
Subject: So I said yes
I'm glad.
Smiling bright as the sun above, Ino sits comfortably on her plush towel spread on the warm beach sand, where it all started, and paints purple on her last nail.
A/N: Do comment, if possible.