That's Life

by emeraldonix

Sakura and Sasuke have always been friends. It just fits. It doesn't hurt that they're interests are the same and both find each other to be outrageously attractive...

3. Race time

That's Life

I yawn and sit up after being woken up by a speed bump. I look out the window and see we're at the school. Perfect timing. Sasuke puts fluffer-nutter on my lap and stands up to stretch. "Next time you sit on the inside and put your head on the window. You are not lying in my lap for two hours again. Now I'm all stiff and it's your fault if my time sucks today." He complains.

"Pansy." I mutter.

We climb off the busses and all of the guys set up the tent. Our cross country has almost a hundred kids. That's not even a tenth of the school though. We're division one along with Suna, Oto, Ame, Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa, who are all in our conference. For the past years, Suna and Ame have been our number one competitors, but Kiri actually has the number one ranked girl. Her name is Gin. Suigetsu used to live there, but after his parents divorced he came here with his dad. Ame has the number one ranked boy's team, while we have the number one girl's ranked team, but the Suna girl's and boy's teams are right up there. One bad race and they could easily take first today.

I crack my back and slip off my lime green crocks and sit down to put on my running shoes. When I have them laced up, I stand up and turn my iPod on to my competition play list. I have this weird thing where I always feel better about running if I listen to certain songs. I have to go to the bathroom before a race too. Me, Hinata, and Tenten are strangely the only Senior girls on the team. Most of the girls in our grade get winded just from looking at a track. Wimps.

"Ok! Let's go walk the course!" I shout. I start walking with Hinata and Tenten next to me and fifty girls trailing behind us. We're like a massive sea of green and black. We wind around the golf course and half way through start a slow jog to warm up. The guys pass us towards the end hollering and being wild like usual. Typical men.

We get back to the tent and we all circle up to stretch. Seniors always stretch in the middle leading everyone. There are only five of us total. Isn't that sad? All the other guys in our grade are on football, practicing for another sport that they are extremely serious about (like Suigetsu with swimming), strict academics, or drugies. There isn't a single soccer player out of over 250 kids.

I crack my back one last time, wish the JV girls good luck, then run over to the porta potties. There isn't a line considering this is only a duel and almost no one is here to watch us run.

After I'm done, I run over to the bridge they cross. They've already gone across it once, but they need to come back to it eventually. The girl's course is 2.5 miles and the boy's course is 3.1 miles. I see Ami, a freshman from Konoha come around the corner headed towards the bridge and I cheer her on. The next person to round the corner is Kin, another freshman from Konoha. There's a Suna girl after her, and two more Konoha girls, both Sophomores. Most of our better runners are Freshman and a couple Sophomores. There is only one Junior that's really good and that's Raya and she's on Varsity with me. There's only seven on Varsity and it's in this order starting with the best; Me (Boo ya! I feel like I'm bragging… Oh well! I'm HAPPY), Umi, Tenten, Hinata, Raya, Hanabi, and Kyoma. Umi is a Freshman and she's ranked number four in the state right behind me. She was always right on my heels at the beginning of the season, but I drew ahead a bit now that I've had more training. Tenten and Hinata are both Seniors like me obviously. Raya is the junior I was talking about earlier, and Hanabi is a freshman too. Kyoma is a Sophomore and she was runner up at state last year, but now she has gotten much more curvy and she gained over two minutes which is a lot in runner speak.

I have already run back to the finish line and I look at the clock. It's at 16:30 and Ami's average time is 17:13 but it will be a bit quicker here considering there are no hills. Sure enough, I can see her at the one hundred fifty marker and she starts sprinting. I cheer her in seeing as no one is really around because they're still running around cheering for everyone else. She crosses the finish right at 16:49. Pretty good. Kin and the Suna girl are even when they come in, but when Kin sets her sight on something, she can usually pull it off and she crosses a heartbeat before the other girl. The sophomores come in next at an easy gait seeing as no one is remotely close to them. The coaches would have their heads if they had seen them come in so leisurely seeing as we are supposed to go for time instead of place. Three Suna come in, followed by four Konoha and another Suna. I stop keeping track of the order because we already won the JV race because you count the top five runners for the score.

I hear our coach whistle and I quick run over to him. When Kakashi whistles, you come; no buts, unless you feel like running Golon's (It's a fish farm out in the middle of nowhere that we run out to. It has a ton of hills and it's probably six or seven miles total, not counting the hills we would have to run once we were done). He's already at the starting line and has Vicks in his hand. I take some from the container and rub it all around my nose and put the leftovers on my chest. Tenten and Hinata come over from the tent and do the same, shortly followed by Hanabi and Umi. Kyoma is last and has her spikes in her hand because she was in the middle of putting them on when Kakashi whistles. She sits down and quickly slips them on and triple knots them.

"Ok girls, we trained for this. Remember we want a PR (personal record) today. Just remember, this is shorter than horse barn (our easiest run; we run past a horse barn so therefore it's called horse barn). Don't try to help ANYONE! Once that whistle blows, you're rivals. Don't speak, don't look back, don't complain aloud or in your head, because it will put you in a bad mood." He says, never lifting his eyes from his book.

Someone taps me on the shoulder and I spin around to find my face smashed against someone's chest. I stumble back and look up at the guy. "Oh, it's just you." I say to Sasuke.

He smirks and holds my spikes out. "Forgetting something?"

I glare at him and swipe them away from him, slamming my Ipod into his hand. "Shut up." I mutter.

Once I have my shoes on, I stretch one more time. "FIVE MINUTES! FIVE MINUTES!" The starter yells.

"Strides!" I yell, and the girls follow me out at a fast pace. On the way back to our starting spot, we do butt kicks. We run out one more time, and do high knees on the way back. "TWO MINUTES! TWO MINUTES!"

I take a deep breath, and lean down to massage my calves. I jump a couple times, and roll my shoulders. "ONE MINUTE!"

I close my eyes and think of my race song.

When I walk on by, girls be looking like damn he flyI pay to the beat, walking on the street in my new lafreak, yeahThis is how I roll, animal print, pants out control,It's real fool with the big afroThey like Bruce Lee rock at the club

Girl look at that body, Girl at that body, Girl look at that body,

I-I work out!

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."

The gunshot goes off and I take off at an almost sprint to get at the head of the pack.

I'm sexy and I know it!

I sing that phrase over and over again in my head as I run. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Temari, and… Midori?

Wow! I heard that she had improved, but I didn't know this much…

She cuts off Temari, and swerves to run right next to me. We run over the bridge right next to each other, both fighting for dominance, when she says all nonchalantly, "So you're friends with Uchiha right? Is he a good lay? I've been looking for a knew one, and he's caught my eye."

My eye twitches. Seriously? ANOTHER fan girl? Dude! NOT cool man, not cool. Wait, why does she think I would know if he's a good lay? HOW WOULD I KNOW WE'RE FRIENDS YOU TWIT! Urgh. Grr.

I decide just to ignore her and pay attention to my running again. We run past the mile marker and the timer tells me my pace is, 5:31. I pick up my pace, because I'm SO CLOSE to Gin's average pace of 5:27. Yes, I stalk her. Well, her races anyways. I'm that determined.

Midori picks up her pace and tries to cut me off at the next corner. What a bitch move! Instead of slowing down like someone typically being cut off, I keep my pace and "accidentally" step on her heel with my sharp half inch spikes and hide my satisfied grin when she yelps. I notice Sasuke standing right around the corner, and he shakes his head at me. I subtly flip him off as I run by and here a chuckle from behind me. I look down at Midori's foot again, and notice a little dot of red on her white sock. Serves her right! I cut her off on the next corner (eat that bitch) and look ahead trying to make out the next mile marker. It should be right around this corner… Yes! There it is!

I proceed to start singing Fast Lane by Bad Meets Evil in my head.

Catch me in my MercedesBumpin' "Ice, Ice Baby," screamin' Shady 'til I dieLike I have a pair of dice, life's crazySo I live it to the fullest 'til I'm SwayzeAnd you only live it once, so I'm thinkin' 'bout this nice, nice ladyWait, no, stop me now before I get on a roll (Danish)Let me tell you what this pretty little dame's name is, 'cause she's kinda famousAnd I hope that I don't sound too heinous when I say thisNicki Minaj, but I wanna stick my penis in your anus!You morons think that I'm a geniusReally I belong inside a dang insane asylum, cleanin', try them trailer parksCrazy, I am back, and I am razor-sharp, babyAnd that's back wit' a capital B wit' an exclamation mark, maybeYou should listen when I flip the linguistics'Cause I'm gonna rip this mystical slick shitYou don't wanna become another victim or statistic of this shit'Cause after I spit the bullets, I'ma treat these shell casings like a soccer ballI'ma kick the ballistics! So get this dick, I'ma live this

I only have an eight hundred (half a mile for those not in track or cross country) left and I pick up my pace. Man, this is kind of painful!

I can hear Midori's breathing close by and out of the corner of my eyes, I can see her shoe every once in a while. At the four hundred mark, she breaks out into a sprint and passes me. Oh HELL NO bitch! I don't think so! Ugh! Die! Why do I have to sprint the entire four hundred? What did I do! God, I swear if this is because I missed church the last month, I'll never skip again if you just don't torture me anymore! I promise!

I give out an exasperated sigh and start sprinting too. Soon we are neck and neck on the last one hundred. I can see all of my team by the finish line jumping around like madmen and screaming my name. Midori picks this opportunity to speak. "So, you never answered me, about Sasuke…"

Die, die, die. Shut it! Grrrrrr. She gives one last burst of energy, and even though I feel like I'm about to puke, I pull out the big guns. I lengthen my stride to it's to its max, which really hurts my thighs let me tell you. I hold my breath so I don't have to put up with the aching in my lungs, and lock my eyes on the finish line, completely tuning out all of my various ailments. I slam my foot down past the white marker a second ahead of Midori.

I allow myself to breathe and almost groan at the aching. I shakily put my hands on top of my head, and stagger over to Sasuke to collapse into him. "I did it." I breathe out.

"Hey Sasuke!" Midori says while latching onto his arm. If I was a cat, I would be hissing and spitting. This is MY territory BITCH! I stand up straighter and wipe the sweat off my forehead. I grab Sasuke's hand and try to lead him away, but Midori keeps a firm grip on him. We share a glaring contest, which Sasuke seems oblivious to. "So how's your heel Midori? I'm so sorry!" I sneer sarcastically.

She narrows her eyes. "Oh don't worry dear!"

She runs a hand down Sasuke's chest. Oh. No. She. Didn't.

"Saaaassssukeeeee." I whine. "I'm thirstyyyyyyyyyy"

He stares down at me with a raised eyebrow. I once again "accidentally" step on Midori's foot and tug Sasuke from her slutty grasp. I drag him with me towards the tent before Midori can try any other "seductive" moves.

"What, was that?" Sasuke asks me.

I smile sadistically. "You have another fan girl my dear."

He rolls his eyes. "No, I mean what were you doing? You were acting like a pissed off squirrel the way you were climbing on me."

I stick my tongue out at him and look down to hide my blush. Wait, BLUSH! Oh crap no! Not this again! I thought when I got over my crush on him in sixth grade, this was done! Grr. Curse you!

"Sakura? Are you, blushing?" He asks.

I ignore him and quickly run off into the woods. He starts to follow, but he knows once I'm in the woods, I'll only be found if I want to. I climb a huge pine tree that overlooks the course, and sit there to wait for the JV boy's race to start. Not long after, I hear a gunshot and some cheering from the few spectators there are. I climb down so I'm only fifteen feet off the ground.

I see guys running by after five minutes and I cheer for the ones I can recognize from up here. I see Sasuke walk by below me, and I sit completely still and barely breathe. He doesn't even look up. He just keeps walking and crosses the bridge, probably watching Konohamaru for Naruto. I yawn and lean back against the tree trunk. Maybe a five minute nap wouldn't be so bad…

I sit up with a start and scream when I lose my balance and fall from the tree. I land with a groan on the pine needles covering the hard ground. I roll over and stare at the tree I was just in. What woke me up again? A gun shot… A gun shot!

I jump up and run off the course. Just in time too, because Sasuke and Neji run passed almost right after I move. I cheer them on as they give me a questioning look as to why I was lying in the middle of the course.

I know that if I go somewhere else to cheer them on, I might not make it back to the finish line in time, so I just go directly there to wait for them. I look over a timer's shoulder and see they're at 10:34. I'll give Sasuke five minutes and he should be around the corner. Hey, what was my time anyways? I'll ask Sasuke when he's done.

Sure enough, Sasuke's sprinting in with no one in sight. I cheer like a maniac anyways. Just as he crosses the finish line, I read over the timer's shoulder again, and see he got a time of 15:11. Holy crap. His average mile time was like… Under 5 minutes!

He's breathing heavy, of course. I shove my water bottle into his hands and he nods his head at me in thanks before guzzling down half the bottle.

I drag him to the tent and he puts sweats on over his shorts because they're short and I've been teasing him since freshman year about them and he's grown self conscious of them. I'm so mean.

He pulls on his warm up jacket and I realize how cold I am. I didn't think it would be cold today so I didn't pack a sweatshirt. I dig through Sasuke's bag until I find his sweatshirt. I slip it over my head and prance in front of him making sure he sees Uchiha printed across my back so he knows I took it. I don't have to turn around to know he's shaking his head. Where's the sign-out sheet? I am NOT riding home on the bus. "Can I ride with you and Itachi?" I ask as I scribble my name down on the sheet.

"Seeing as you already signed yourself out, sure." Sasuke says writing his own name down.

We congratulate Tenten, Hinata, and Neji when we walk past them. We find Itachi flirting with the slut of the hour. "Hey Midori, are you going to just hit on all of the Uchiha until you find one that doesn't gag when they look at you?" I yell causing quite a few people to stare at us.

She turns bright red with embarrassment and anger. She doesn't even give me a retort when she stomps off to her harem of crazy harpies. Itachi raises his eyebrow at me. "What did she ever do to you? I was having some fun there! We were planning… something…"

"It's called statutory rape Itachi and I just saved you from 3-5 years in prison. Then you'd be stuck having butt sex with some guy named Larry." I say while shoving my bag into his arms seeing as Sasuke's are already full.

"Where do you come up with this stuff?" Itachi asks me as we're walking.

"I've known you for how long? Long enough to know I need to know a lot of useless facts to make witty comebacks with. If I don't than you do and we just can't have that now, can we?" I say while looking at the sidewalk making sure I don't step on the cracks. We should probably stay for the awards ceremony, but Kakashi can just grab our medals. It's only a duel after all. I want to get home to see my mom anyways.

Itachi unlocks the car and I sprint forward and climb in the passengers seat. Itachi runs to the driver's side, and Sasuke stands next to me looking down into the car at me with his arms crossed trying to look stern. When I show no signs of moving, he picks me up and opens the back door and throws me in. "Hey!" I shout.

He ignores me and crawls in the seat he not so very kindly just removed me from. I sit in the middle so I'm at least in between the two so I can talk to them easier and buckle up, dropping my stuff next to me. I dig fluffer-nutter out of my bag and hug him to my stomach. "Hey Sasuke, where's my Ipod?"

He reaches into his pocket and hands it back to me. "No! Plug it in!"

He looks from my Ipod, then up to me. "Oh come on! You know we have the same taste in music!"

"Sakura, you like all music but country. I only like rap. I'm positive there's Avril Lavigne and Maroon Five on here and I'm really not in the mood for listening to them." He says, still holding my Ipod out for me to take.

I snatch it out of his hand and slouch down in the seat. "Fine. Can you at least turn the radio on then?"

Itachi turns on the radio and Just Lose it by Eminem comes on. It's the end of the song, and I join in for the last words. " UmMmMmm touch my body. UmMmMmm touch my body. Ooh boy just touch my body. I mean girl just touch my body!"