Lady Rine Says: sry for the slooooooooooooow update...but now here you go! (nerdddy smilez)


Chapter 3: Miss popular

"Sakura… this is a little creepy…" Ten Ten said. The three of them were walking down the hallway on their way to the cafeteria. Sakura was holding her bento lunch which was wrapped in a patterned cloth. It had cherries on it. She gripped the cloth tighter with every step.

"I know…" She hung her head. And sighed.

The hallway walls were coated with boys. All of them staring at Sakura with wide eyes and dangling jaws. She could have sworn some of them had hearts flying out of them.

"I hate this…" Sakura sighed, trying to hide her face.

"I don't think hiding your face will get you away…you DO realize you're the ONLY girl in school with PINK hair right?" Ten Ten said trying to sound reassuring and failing miserably. Actually she found all of this quite amusing.

"A-ano… S-Sakura-chan?"

"Yes Hinata-chan?"

"A-ano… T-Ten Ten-chan i-is coming o-over after school… w-would you l-like to c-come too?" The shy girl asked.

"I'd love too!" Sakura smiled brightly at her new friend. Which earned several ooh's and ahh's from the male crowed. "None of these guys will be there right?" Sakura asked in a lowly whispering voice.

Hinata giggled and shook her head. "N-no."

"Great!" Sakura chimed happily.

"Alright! We'll all meet in front of the school gates after school okay?" Ten Ten said. Smoothing out her white pleated-all-over kilt (A/N: it's white because she's a senior; everything else is basically the same. Except female seniors only have to wear a polo and a tie instead of the blazers and barrettes that Sakura and Hinata have to wear, I've already explained the guys' attire in the previous chapters).

"Okay!" The two girls agreed.

"Good, now let's get some food, I'm hungry!" Ten Ten raised her hand in the air as the three of them pushed open the doors to the cafeteria.

The sight before them was totally unexpected. Heads turned, eyes widened and jaws dropped. Sakura cringed.

"Oh no…" She bit her lower lip, horrified. "RUN!" She screamed to the other two girls.

"WHAT?" Ten Ten was so confused.

Sakura turned and ran back in the direction where she had come.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Hinata called after her.

"RUN YOU GUYS!" Sakura screamed back at them.

The two girls looked at each other in confusion. A noise like thunder erupted from behind.

"Do you hear something?" Ten Ten asked Hinata, who nodded her head. They looked behind them.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" They screamed and followed Sakura's lead. They dashed down the hallway.

--

"HARUNO-SAN!" A rather large crowd of overly happy hormone-full teenage boys ran after them.

Hinata and Ten Ten had caught up to Sakura and were running behind her.

"SAKURA! WHAT THE HELL! WHY ARE THEY CHASING YOU!" Ten Ten yelled at her pink haired friend. All she could see was Sakura's pink hair swaying behind her.

"WHHHHHHAA! I DON'T KNOW!" Sakura cried trying to run faster.

"AHH!" Hinata cried. "C-CLOSER!"

Ten Ten looked back at the boys.

"HARUNO-SAN!" They all screamed out.

She screamed. "WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA! SAKURA! RUN FASTER!"

"I'M TRYING!"

The three girls ran through the hallways, through corridors, passed the library, down the east wing, down 3 flights of stairs, through the gym, down the main hall, out the main doors, through the courtyard and stopped in the school's back yard. Sakura fell to her knees out of breath. Hinata practically collapsed on a bench. Ten Ten was leaning against a tree for support.

"W-We… huff...lost them…" Hinata said.

The other two girls nodded.

"I…huff…so… huff…blame… huff…you… huff…TEN TEN!" Sakura cried lying down on her back.

"ME! Huff… WHY ME!"

"Because… huff…you're the one who told me… huff… NOT TO HIDE MY FACE!"

"Since when do you listen to me?" Ten Ten laughed. "But I have to say…I told you so!" She stuck her tongue at Sakura.

Hinata's stomach growled. Pause. The three of them burst into laughter.

"That's right… we didn't get any lunch." Ten Ten frowned.

"That's okay." Sakura untied the cherry patterned cloth and laid it on the grass. She unpacked her bento and handed the two girls a pair of chopsticks. "I made extra." She smiled.

"S-Sakura-chan is t-the best." Hinata cried smiling and giving Sakura a hug. The three of them giggled a bit then said their thanks and dug into Sakura's homemade food.

"Neh, they're not going to find us right?" Sakura asked. Before stuffing some teriyaki in her mouth.

Hinata shook her head. "N-no."

"No one really comes back here. Many people don't know there's even a back courtyard in this school." Ten Ten said grabbing a rice ball.

"Good!" Sakura smiled.

The three of them talked more about what Sakura was like. Then about what Hinata was like. And then finally about Ten Ten. After pretty much discovering each other's personality, and stuffing themselves full on Sakura's cooking, they all lay down on their backs gazing up at the sky. They lay sort of in a triangle, their heads meeting at the centre. Since they've pretty much gone through each other… they started talking about other people in the school.

"What about that Ino girl?" Sakura asked. "I don't think she likes me very much." Sakura frowned. Back home she was friends with everyone.

"Oh don't mind her… she's got only one thing on her mind." Ten Ten replied.

"What's that?"

"Y-you don't know?" Hinata asked.

Sakura shook her head.

"Uchiha Sasuke." They both replied at the same time.

"WHAT! THAT JERK!" Sakura was shocked.

"You know him?" Ten Ten asked.

"I sit next to him in class."

"WHAT!" The two girls were shocked.

"That's why she hates you then." The brunette replied with a mischievous smile.

"That's not fair! She doesn't even know me! That's like hating me fore living." Sakura frowned once more.

"She probably does hate you for living. Because you sit next to the leader of the famous 4."

"The famous 4?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"H-hai… t-the famous 4 r-run things a-around h-here…" Hinata replied.

"Yup! Hinata's cousin is the second in command. Hyuuga Neji." Ten Ten blushed slightly. Hinata didn't notice, but Sakura sure did.

"I see…"

"No body messes with them. And they're the most popular boys in school. Not to mention the best looking." Ten Ten seemed confident in what she knew, so of course Sakura took her word for it.

"That reminds me…Neji-kun, he asked about you today." Ten Ten said. A hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Me? Why I haven't even met him."

"He asked me who I was with that night at the club. And when I said your name he looked at me like I was crazy or something…" She sighed.

"T-that's strange. N-Neji-nii-san doesn't t-talk to anyone b-but N-Naruto-kun," She blushed. "Sasuke-san a-and Shikamaru-san." Hinata said.

"That's what I was thinking." Ten Ten replied.

"This place is so weird!" Sakura sighed.

--

"So I was right." Neji said. As usual they were on the roof top of the 4 story building and assuming their normal stances. Naruto chomping on his food, Shikamaru cloud watching, Sasuke leaning over the railing and Neji against the wall.

Naruto nodded. "You should have seen her! It was like a huge transformation. I wonder why she tired to hide herself the first day." He was thinking about her. "Sakura-chan is really cute."

Neji turned to Sasuke. "And you sit beside her too…" He smirked at the raven haired boy.

"What are you implying?" Sasuke replied slightly annoyed.

"Nothing…" Neji said still smirking.

"So bastard, what are you going to do now?" Naruto looked over the edge of the roof at the front courtyard. "Looks like every guy in school wants to go out with her." He grinned.

"…" Sasuke didn't answer he was looking at the three girls below him in the school's backyard.

Yawn. Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at him. "That Yamanaka woman is probably raging with jealousy." He laughed. "She might do something." He watched Sasuke as he turned and faced them. His eyes were cold and face unmoved.

"Haruno-san could get hurt?" Neji sounded uncertain. After all, she was friends with his cousin, and although he hated his uncle with a strong burning passion, Hinata was still blood, and Sakura was one of Hinata's friends. He didn't want Hinata to be upset, she was a fragile girl.

"Do you really think Ino would go that far?" Naruto asked in-between slurps.

"That woman is crazy, you never know." Shikamaru scoffed lying back down.

Sasuke smirked, and the 3 of them eyed him uneasily.

"What are you thinking bastard?" Naruto asked.

"Heh… She owes me a dance." Sasuke replied and went back to watching the three girls who were getting up and making their way inside for afternoon classes.

The three guys looked at him with questioning looks.

"He's snapped." Naruto joked. Sasuke twitched and threw a rock at his head. Shikamaru laughed at the sight.

--

Back in the class room as usual the three younger members of the famous 4 walked into class and, as usual, were greeted by their screaming fan girls. And as usual… they brushed them off and took their seats in the centre of the class. But today was different. As soon as the three of them sat down, the boys in the class rushed to the door.

"Is she coming?"

"Can you see her?"

"You're head is in the way!"

"Move I can't see!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the strange behavior of his peers.

"Are they talking about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Probably." Shikamaru closed is eyes and crossed his arms, falling asleep. "Wake me up when our troublesome teacher shows up."

Sasuke diverted his gaze out the window. He wasn't sure why it bothered him that Sakura received so much attention from the male student body. It bothered him when girls paid attention to him, he hated it. But to care when someone else got just as much attention as he did, he didn't know what this feeling was. Jealousy? NO WAY. Uchiha Sasuke doesn't get jealous.

Right?

"She's coming!"

Cue squealing fan boys.

"Kawaii!"

They backed away from the door as it slid open.

"HARUNO-SAN!" They exploded on her.

"AHHHH!" Sakura shrieked and jumped in fear, her brand new smaller thin frames for glasses falling off her face."No, my glasses!" She frowned as they hit the floor and cracked. She sighed and picked it up.

"Haruno-san!" They cried again.

"GAH! STUPID FUCKING ANNOYING GUYS!" She faced them, her joyful emerald eyes stiffening, icing over in an angry glare. The crowd of boys silenced. Sakura clenched her fist tightly. They were shaking in rage.

"G-gomen…" A boy stammered out. Bowing to her. The other boys followed his lead and they all bowed to her.

"Gomen Haruno-san." They chimed all together.

Sighing Sakura decided to let it go. Holding grudges would just make things worse after all.

"It's okay…" She said in a small gentle voice. Her eyes growing soft once more. She tucked a loose strand of pale pink hair behind her right ear. "Forget about it." She said forcing a shy smile. They knew she was upset. None of them wanted to push it.

The boys opened up enough to let her through; she passed them gripping her new, now broken glasses. "I can't afford to get these fixed again." She sighed again and sat down in her chair. Her jade eyes now officially open for viewing. Sakura wrapped her glasses in a small cleaning cloth and put in its case and then into her book bag.

Sasuke eyed her and whispered in a low voice so only she could hear. His hands were once again clasped in front of his face, elbows propped on his desk, hiding his lips.

"Were those new?"

Sakura merely nodded her head.

"They're really broken?"

Again she nodded her head.

He noted her silence and drooping posture. To be honest he didn't feel comfortable with her pouting like that. He found her angry cute face much more appealing. He shook the thought out of his head.

"Hey dobe." Sasuke got up and walked over to Naruto and Shikamaru. They talked for a little bit, in low voices.

"They're so secretive… those two must be one of the famous 4 too…" Sakura thought remembering Hinata and Ten Ten's words. She shrugged it off when Kakashi popped in.

--

"Okay, so Tsunande says we should teach something about media. Since you 'young people' are so into TV and stuff." Kakashi said half focused… he seemed to be reading a small book. Sakura couldn't tell what it was because his palm covered the title.

"So, you guys get to do a project. Isn't it wonderful?" He said sarcastically. The class groaned.

"Anyway, you'll be in groups of 4, and you have to create a music video."

The class erupted into excited whispers.

"That isn't so lame after all…" Sakura thought shrugging.

"When you guys decide your groups, come see me for your topic."

Again more whispers.

"You may select your groups now." Kakashi said. Almost immediately people started moving around and the noise of overly excited teenagers filled every corner of the room.

Sakura was slightly alarmed, her old school had always been quiet and the teacher would scold anyone for the slightest noise. Kakashi-sensei was just sitting there reading his book. She sighed. "A group? Of four? I don't know anyone in this class!" Sakura suddenly felt small, weak, and very vulnerable.

"Sasuke-bastard, same old thing?" Naruto called.

"Aa…" Sasuke nodded.

"We need 4 members though." Shikamaru said rubbing his ears. "Naruto you idiot you're so fucking loud! Shit."

"Sou des…" Naruto pondered for a moment and looked around the room. He didn't want to ask any of the males because…well, he didn't like any of them. Neither did Sasuke or Shikamaru. He looked over at the group of girls around Ino's desk. Sasuke and Shikamaru would kill him if he asked one of them. Naruto sighed and looked around some more. A flash of pink in the corner of his eye caught his attention. "NEH SAKURA-CHAN?"

He was so loud that the entire class stopped and looked over at the four of them. Lucky them they sit right in the middle of the class.

"H-hai?" Sakura stumbled she was in her own world when she heard her name. Her head perked up and she looked at the boy who called her name.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" He said grinning. He pointed to Shikamaru who was nearly dozing off beside him. "This lazy ass is Nara Shikamaru." Shikamaru opened one eye and looked at her. Naruto then pointed to Sasuke. "You already know Sasuke-bastard."

"Uhh…hai?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "Great….another captain obvious."

"Neh, we need a fourth member… wanna be in our group?" Naruto asked flashing his famous foxy grin with a thumbs up.

"Umm…" Sakura looked at Shikamaru.

He peered back at her with his one open eye. He gave her a once over look then shut his eye again. "I'm cool with it." He said.

Sakura turned and looked at her seatmate who was already looking at her with those deep dark enticing onyx eyes. He nodded. "I don't mind her."

"GREAT! THEN IT'S SETTLED!" Naruto beamed with excitement.

Sakura looked at him and couldn't help but giggle slightly. He was a bumbling idiot. And a loud mouth, but he was friendly. She liked that. She smiled at her group mates.

"For the record, I am NOT doing the entire write up AGAIN." Shikamaru said eyeing Naruto. He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, like the dobe can write." Sasuke scoffed.

"WHAT WAS THAT BASTARD!" Naruto yelled pointing at him.

Sasuke merely glared at him.

Sakura looked at Shikamaru. "Are they always like this?" She asked. The lazy genius sighed and nodded his head. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Great…" She said sarcastically.

"Naruto don't yell. We can ALL hear you perfectly clear." Kakashi said surprisingly closing his book. "It looks like you have your group. Come here and I'll give you your topic." He waved the four of them over. They got up and walked over. The class went back to their own affairs. The girls giving Sakura dirty looks. Sakura frowned feeling their looks on her. Sasuke noticed her discomfort.

"Here." Kakashi reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a box with a hole cut in the top. "One of you, reach in and pull out a piece of paper."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru who shrugged and reached in. His hand shuffled around a bit and he pulled out a small piece of paper. He unfolded it. His eyes widened slightly reading its contents. Two words were on it.

"Shit, this is too troublesome." He handed it to Sakura who read it out loud.

"Girl Talk." She blinked.

"NANI!" Sakura and Naruto cried at the same time. Sasuke tensed.

"But Sakura's the only girl in our group. I'm not dressing up as a girl." Sasuke said in a stern voice glaring at his teacher.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, you may get help from other girls." The girls in the class cheered. "Who are not in this class." He finished with a triumphant smile.

The girls sighed in sheer disappointment.

The four of them thought for a moment.

Then Sakura smiled confidently. "I have an idea who we can ask."

The three boys nodded, thinking it was best for Sakura to do the asking.


Thnkas for the reviwes ppl. I lovers that you like this fic... it gets MUCH more interesting.

(evil laugh)

until next time.

(heart) always

Lady Rine.