Can I just say that I feel so accomplished because I was able to update this so quickly =)))) I have boring college summer classes to thank for that. Anyway... here's the link to the song (DISCLAIMER: IT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME)

watch?v=T6ip3X-xguQ

Enjoy!

Chapter 2
Marked

"So, your focus is music?" I strolled into the room casually, trying to mask my surprise. Her shoulders jumped, her eyes widened in shock as she saw who caught her playing.

Then, her face went blank, a passive expression that didn't seem to fit splayed across her face. "Sorry, do you need the room? I'll leave."

The guilt that I felt was new to me. I didn't know how to deal with it. "Uh, no, it's fine, uh..." Placing my hand on my neck, I suddenly wondered if this was how Hinata always felt when she was around other people.

An eyebrow rose. "I thought you didn't want me around?"

I sighed. "I honestly don't care. You can stay if, you know, you, uh, want to."

A slow grin stretched across her face. "You suck at apologizing."

"I wasn't apologizing," Even I could hear the defensiveness in my tone. She giggled, a light and delicate sound.

"It's okay," she said before scooting a bit on the piano bench. "Do you play?"

As an answer, I sat down, my arm brushing hers and sending electricity up my arm, and started playing River Flows in You. Closing my eyes, I forgot everything but the two of us and the piano. The music took hold of me, and I let it go. It felt natural to just breathe through the keys of the piano, to see with the notes, to hear with the melody alone.

As I continued the song, random baritones started mixing in. My eyes opened, but my fingers didn't stop playing; beside me, she was hitting the keys on the piano, making sure every note complimented the notes I played.

It was new.

It sounded amazing.

My eyes drifted back to a close and let go once more.

Once the song ended, I opened my eyes to see her grinning at me. "That was awesome!" She squealed in delight.

I couldn't help but nod, agreeing.

Her smile turned softer. "Let's start again," Her pale hand reached out to me once more. "I'm Sakura Haruno, you are?"

Unlike earlier, I grasped her hand firmly and tingles shot up my arm once more. I decided to effectively ignore them. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke," she tested my name. I don't know why, but it somehow sounded better when she said it, even with her slight lisp.

Abruptly, I stood, surprising her. I turned and started walking towards the door, only pausing slightly to look at her over my shoulder. "I'm headed to the cafeteria." I refused to blatantly ask her if she wanted to go with me. Seeming to understand my message, she grinned and caught up to me.

"We're going to work on that," she stated as she walked next to me, earning stares from every person we passed.

"Work on what?" I asked, as I glared at one freshman checking her out. I usually didn't care if some idiot was being a pig, but then, that freshman staring at her in particular was what riled me up.

"Your communication skills," she stated simply, as if that solved everything. "Your communication skills are horrible. You need to be clearer about your messages in order for other people to not misunderstand."

"I don't care if they understand or not," I muttered before turning a corner.

"Yes, you do," she said. "Everyone wants to be understood."

"Well I don't."

"I don't believe that."

"How are you so sure? You've known me for less than an hour."

"Well, you're human, aren't you? And humans are social beings."

"I'm not social."

"You're talking to me, right?"

"So?"

"So, you're socializing right now."

The irritation was back, it never went away, I realized. She just knew how to distract me from it. I exhaled, not wanting to seem like an even bigger asshole by losing my temper. "Okay, so I'm socializing, your point?"

"Point being that you want to be understood, even if it's a little bit; you want to be understood because you still talk to people. Ergo, you are still human and have human nature." She said it so casually that, if someone listened in on our conversation, they would have thought she was talking about the weather.

But then, she wasn't. If someone really listened, they would hear her words. They would hear how intelligent she sounded, knowing all these things that normal high school kids wouldn't know about.

"Where the fuck did you learn all that?" I was being rude, but I didn't really care.

She shrugged, seeming to not care about my attitude. "I read a lot. And my mom is a psychologist and my aunt a doctor. So, when I'm home and their stuff is lying all over the house, I'd just get the first book I see and read. That's how I learned all those words and concepts."

"Hn," I muttered, not wanting to seem impressed, even though I was. I hated showing emotions to anyone, and this girl wasn't going to make me start showing them anytime soon, no matter how she made me feel.

We reached the cafeteria, and the scent of the food within it permeated the air outside.

"Oh my God, it smells wonderful," she said in wonder before sniffing the air some more.

"The food actually tastes like food here," I said before opening the doors and walking in with her beside me.

The chatter around the cafeteria seemed to stop as we walked inside. Students stared as she and I walked leisurely to the line. Multiple glares from the girls came our way, but I knew that they weren't for me. Feeling the tension beside me, she nervously twiddled with her fingers, looking on the floor as we lined up.

For some reason, I wasn't irritated at her anymore; I was irritated with the students around us. "People must have such pathetic and boring lives if they find mine to be so interesting." I glared pointedly at the people around us, forcing them to stay out of my business. Rolling my eyes at how stupid they were, I moved forward in the line, grabbing a tray for myself.

Something pulled me back and, as I turned back around, I saw her pale hand connected to my dark blue sweatshirt. "Thank you," she said loud enough for me to hear.

I knew what she was thanking me for, but I didn't want her to think that I did it for her. "What for?"

She grinned. "For defending me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I denied.

Her smile turned coy. "I know what you're doing here. Well, whether you accept it or not, I'm grateful. Thank you for that, Sasuke."

Okay, I'll admit, it felt good that she was thanking me. She made me feel needed, as if she needed me to protect her from the idiots in our school.

I didn't let myself bask in the feeling that she gave me. Quickly choosing my lunch, I headed straight to the table that I shared with Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Gaara. Unfortunately, they were staring too.

I sighed in frustration. "Why the fuck is everyone staring?" Naruto looked like he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue, for once. "Are any of you going to tell me or not?"

"This is tiresome," Shikamaru exhaled before turning to me. "You and the new girl seem to be close. Everyone was wondering if you two had a history together."

I choked on my own spit.

What the fuck?

"Dude, what the fuck? No," I glared at them. "I literally just met her today. Why the fuck would everyone think that?"

"The fact that you spoke to the chick interests everyone already. You walking in with her awhile ago just solidified everyone's outrageous accusations." Shikamaru replied with a yawn and pointed behind me. "Face it bro, without meaning to, you just marked her as your girl."

I turned to where he was facing only to find Karin Uzumaki pouring some kind of shake over the girl's head.

Well, shit.