Sorry if the quality is lacking—I've been preparing like crazy for my school's musical auditions (Tuesday! Holy shit! I'm nervous!).
If I get the part, I promise 3 chapters in one weekend.
If I don't, there's going to be angst bleeding out of every line.
Cast list December 17th.
Let's do this.
Disclaimer: I diss this claim.
Contact: Douchebag McDouche
Send Message?
Hey, I heard what you said to Sakura, asshole.
(30 minutes later)
Answer me!
It's none of your business.
Of course it is! You like her, so why are you treating her like shit?
….
I may not know much about girls, but I know being a dick sure wont help you win her over.
Itachi likes her.
WHAT?!
He always gets everything.
Come on, there's no way she'd choose him over you.
Hn.
Stop feeling all emo and win her over with your mysterious-guy charm shit that girls go crazy over.
Fine.
WHOO! YOU CAN DO IT1
Shut up.
I'll go to tutoring for lunch so you two can be alone. (;
They sat in silence, Sakura's eyes focused intently below her.
Her sandwich was apparently very interesting today.
"Sakura."
She glanced to the side. Ooh, how lovely that gum on the floor looks.
"Sakura."
She bit her lip.
"Sakura! Look at me!" he said sternly, causing her timid gaze to shift to his (sexy) face.
"Y-yeah?" she mumbled quietly.
"I…..I'm sorry about before," he said carefully, as if unused to the phrase.
"What?" she gasped, utterly shocked. Sasuke was definitely not the type to apologize for anything under any circumstances. Was her water drugged or something? Is this a dream?
"I hurt you. I was having a bad day and I took it out on someone I li—someone I was close to."
Her heart fluttered in the way where her throat closed up, and her head swam with a buzzy feeling. No matter how she tried, there was no way she could ever hate him.
Always blamed herself, never hi, no matter how many tears ran down her cheeks when she was alone in her room, desperately hoping for a text, facebook message, anything from him. It was pathetic, and she knew it, but she couldn't help herself.
"Sasuke…"
"You're going to the football game, right?" She nodded.
"We can hang out after."
Suddenly everything she had done to impress him the last few months had finally manifested itself into this one moment.
"That sounds great," she grinned, still light-headed. "I'll be there to cheer you on."
"Perfect," he smirked.
Even the bell ringing couldn't snap her out of her daze, so Sasuke had to pull her up to lead her to Math, otherwise she would've sat there dreamily for the rest of the day.
I am sooo wearing my lucky underwear Thursday night.
The next day, she couldn't help but spill the details of her planned "date" to every one of her girlfriends. (aka: Ino and Hinata) Though neither one looked terribly excited about it, she continued on happily.
"I'm not even sure what he meant by 'hanging out,'" Sakura admitted. "Maybe watch a movie? Snuggle? Go out to eat? Kiss me goodnight?"
"Hook up with you then brag to his friends?" Ino interrupted bitingly. "He hurt you once. Why are you being so stupid?"
"Let Sakura decide for herself what she wants to do," Hinata softly replied to her green-eyed friend's defense. "Though I do not approve 100%, I still respect her choice."
"Shut up, Hinata, you know she'd be better off with Deidara or Neji," Ino scowled. "You should be focusing on the guys in your life that treat you well. No matter how attractive Sasuke is, you can tell he's on the road to be a major playboy. Do you really want to be one of the first notches on his bed post?"
"Ino!" Sakura harshly whispered, looking to make sure Mr. Sarutobi hadn't heard from his spot grading papers at his desk. "Can't you just be happy for me?"
"No."
The air was tense and awkward, and Sakura had no other choice but to face the homework on her desk and focus on conjugating the verbs on the worksheet.
Ino isn't right. She doesn't know anything. Sasuke wouldn't do that to me.
Contact: Little brother
Send Message?
Sasuke. What time does your game start tonight?
7pm like always…why?
I've decided to go tonight.
Why?
Itachi, answer me. Why?
Sakura sat in the stands as the game was close to ending, feeling the chilly November air brush her cheeks and blow some of her long hair around. She wore an oversized crimson sweater with black leggings underneath, paired with matching leather riding boots.
Casual. Classy.
Definitely planned out.
Her eyes struggled to stay on Sasuke because the players ran around quickly, and his trademark hair was covered by the thick green helmets. At least she knew he did well, because his name kept being announced as aiding in three of the five touchdowns the team had scored.
The other team couldn't even compare.
She was watching the cheerleaders flounce around excitedly, particularly Ino, whose uniform skirt looked like it had been hemmed to be at least a few inches higher. However, a voice broke her out of her thoughts, a familiar baritone.
"Sakura, fancy seeing you here," Itachi smiled softly, walking up the stands to greet her. "Mind if I sit next to you? I was getting a little lonely and could use some pleasant company."
"Of course you can sit here!" she giggled, patting the space on her left. He slid next to her, their shoulders touching and a pleasant woodsy smell lightly passing her senses.
"Are you here to see anyone in particular?"
"Yeah, Sasuke asked me to hang out after this."
"What does that mean?" he frowned.
"Not sure."
"My little brother tends to have the social skills of a freshly spawned fish."
He didn't even realize his comment has that funny until peal of laughter erupted from Sakura, giving him an opportunity keep the image of her overjoyed expression in his memory.
"That..is…..actually pretty true," she admitted, wiping the hints of tears gathering in her eyes
"Well, I've lived with him for 14 years, unfortunately.."
"Come on, you don't have a little bit of brotherly love hidden in you?" she teased punching his shoulder lightly.
The game had ended a few minutes ago, but since it had been an obvious win, neither teenager was distracted by it.
At the same moment, Sasuke was frantically searching the crowd for Sakura, ignoring the desperate calls from a few of the cheerleaders.
"Sasuke! You were awesome!"
"Did you see my stunt?"
"We would never win without you~!"
The exit seemed far too crowded for Sakura to be at, so he went to were he thought he saw her earlier, in the middle of the left stands.
And sure enough, there she was, sitting next to his brother. Suddenly, Sasuke realized why Itachi wanted to go to the game. And he had been foolish enough to not foresee it. Cheeks dusted with pink, Sakura definitely looked welcoming, laughing excitedly at something Itachi had just said. He had never seen his brother enamored with anyone, and of all people….
..something akin to rage bubbled through his veins.
So he left without meeting her, ignoring his hopeful promise to hang out after, one-on-one. It could have been his big chance, the most important night of his life so far. But with Itachi in the picture, it was useless. His older brother always got what he wanted, whether it was being first in his class to being the MVP of the Basketball team for four years straight. It was so obvious that his parents were much more proud of him then of anything Sasuke had ever done.
He thought that this year, he could win in just one category, getting the first girl who didn't mind the company of, but it looked like Itachi had already beaten him to it. He shouldn't have even tried. His fate was sealed as soon as he overheard Itachi claim to like her.
His eyes stung. He blamed it on the sweat.
9:30pm: Where are you? I can't see you…
9:35pm: The stadium's almost empty. We're still hanging out, right?
9:38pm: Sasuke?
"Itachi, do you know where Sasuke is?" Sakura asked, trying her best to hide her hurt expression.
Too late.
Itachi Uchiha doesn't miss anything.
"He texted me that he left," Itachi answered carefully. "Were you supposed to meet here?"
"Oh. Well, um..I guess it wasn't important," she whispered, mostly to herself.
"I should go home, then. I probably should be studying anyways," she added with a saccharine-sweet smile. However, her companion wouldn't take that.
"I'm driving you home."
Itachi walked into his house stiffly, slamming the front door, eyes going straight to Sasuke, who was walking to his bedroom in his usual sleep-clothes. At that moment, he nearly lost control of the calm façade he was well known for.
"Aren't you such a gentleman," he growled. "Are you always so chivalrous to woman? Or is Sakura just an exception?"
"Stay out of my business," Sasuke grumbled defensively, avoiding Itachi's steely glare.
"Only when you stop being so childish."
"Well you're the creepy Senior trying to get in a Freshman girl's pants!" Sasuke accused, eyes fiery. "You're worse than Shisui!"
"…and you're the boy who stood up a sweet girl just to feel better about himself."
"Well what do you even know about her?"
"More than you've ever cared to find out."
"I…uh.." Sasuke managed to retort, making it clear who (won) had the last say in the argument.
He stormed off into his room.
Itachi sighed in aggravation, until he was interrupted by his phone buzzing in his pocket, signaling an incoming text.
As he pulled up to her house, he handed her a slip of paper with 10 digits scrawled in elegant print.
"When you need someone to talk to, don't hesitate," he told her, rubbing her upper arm comfortingly before she stepped out, clutching the note to her chest with a tight grip. He watched her walk to her door, but when she got to the front porch, before walking in, she mouthed the words: "Thank you."
Friday, she had no choice: she had to go to auditions. She was definitely not in the mood, but it was during lunch hour, so she gladly walked to the auditorium to meet Deidara. He gave her an excited hug as soon as she walked in, pulling her to sit next to him as the director began her little speech.
Apparently, Mrs. Sarutobi had a wide appreciation of the arts, because apparently she was the leader of everything music-related at Konoha Academy.
Unfortunately, that still didn't make her words interesting.
Go up..sing the song…blahblah
Then do the monologue….whatever…
Cast list after school.
Deidara gave her hand a tight squeeze, snapping her to attention with a dark blush spreading across her cheeks.
"You'll do great," he whispered huskily in her ear, his breath dancing across her sensitive neck. (and certainly not helping her blushing situtation)
Little did she know that Mrs. Sarutobi had definitely seen that, and a pleased (interested) smirk definitely crossed her bright red lips.
Ino apparently took the musical casting very seriously, for some godknowswhat reason, so as soon as gym ended, she dragged her friend to where the list was posted.
"You better get that lead with Deidara," Ino said determinedly. And fall in love with him instead that fuckface Sasuke.
"I don't think I even made it, Ino," Sakura sighed. "I'm not the musical-theater type. Mrs. Sarutobi would cast someone with more experience."
As they neared the area outside the art room, the amount of people present alarmed them both. Apparently the entire school really cared about this..
A head of blonde popped into their vision.
"OH MY FUCKING GOD, SAKURA!" Naruto cheered. "YOU GOT THE LEAD!"
Ino yelped in excitement. "Who's the guy?!"
"Deidara," Naruto frowned. "But Sakura can always beat him up when he gets annoying."
Ino turned to her friend, who looked like she was experiencing the symptoms of acute shock. She shook her shoulders. "You get to kiss Deidara, you lucky bitch!"
"Oh yeah, she does," Deidara smirked, walking over to the pair. "Not gonna lie, this show is going to be the best thing ever!"
He hugged her tightly, crushing her lungs and squeezing her soft body against his. Neji interjected, pulling the exuberant blonde off of the poor girl.
"Deidara, I need to take Sakura home," he frowned. "Please get off."
"Fine.." Deidara sighed, disappointed. "You're no fun, Mr. Sophomore President."
Ignoring him, Neji turned to Sakura, who was at his side, and rubbed his hand on her lower back in encouragment.
"You're going to do great, Sakura," he smiled at her, mustering every ounce of Neji-charm he had within him. "You excel at everything, I'm sure this will be no different."
Blush. Smile. Nod.
"Thanks, Neji. Let's go find Hinata so we can get home and I can tell my mom!"
A pair of eyes watched them leave, belonging to a brooding dark-haired boy standing next to Naruto.
"Come on, douchebag. Don't let it phase you."
His hands balled into fists.
"Too late."
It was late Sunday night, and though Sakura did have some social contact on the weekends, she was surprised to see an incoming call. Without looking at the caller, she picked up, smoothing out her pajamas before plopping on her lavender bed sheets.
"Hello?"
"Sakura."
"Who is this?"
"Sasuke. You didn't just read the fucking caller ID?"
Frown.
She was still very hurt over what he did Thursday, and this was the first time he had spoke to her since. He had avoided her like the plague in Math on Friday, and he was long overdue for an apology.
Or at least an excuse…Geez.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Yes."
"…..will you tell me what it is?"
"You."
Her eyes widened. "What do you mean by-"
"It's you prancing around like a slut, hanging on to every single asshole who talks to you like some attention-starved whore. At first it was just my brother, but you've attached yourself like an annoying leech to Neji, Deidara…hell, even Kiba."
"I never-"
"Shut the fuck up. It's pathetic. I don't want to be another boy that you try to seduce by flaunting your ugly ass. I really never want to see you again."
"But S-Sasuke, I-"
Now tears were streaming down, whimpers barely being suppressed behind the hand she kept tightly over her mouth. This isn't happening. This isn't real. I'm imagining this. It's just a dream. I'll wake up now and..
"Ever. Again."
-click-
Words cannot describe how quickly her word crashed around her, the pieces of her life that she had so delicately held together now falling apart and cutting her open, revealing every nasty feeling she ever had about herself.
Stupid.
Ugly.
Annoying.
Miles away in the large Uchiha mansion, Sasuke lay down on a couch, pupils dilated and skin heated. His brother walked in, took one look at him, and made an audible noise of shock.
"Sasuke…are you drunk?"
Monday morning, Sakura begged her mother to let her stay home, but to no avail. So she sat through every class perfectly silent, eyes distant and mouth set in a firm line.
Even her closest friends knew it was no situation to talk to her, even if just trying to comfort her.
Everyone else in the school was excited about tomorrow being their last day of school before Thanksgiving break, but Sakura bypassed the mood completely. And now she sat in English, Itachi, Sasori, and Neji giving her worried looks as she looked at a blank page for at least 10 minutes, completely at a loss for what to write for her paper on Hamlet's love for Ophelia.
Two weeks ago she could've written 3 pages in a heartbeat, now she just felt tears prickle her eyes.
The bell rang, and Kakashi came over, placing a large hand on her shoulder.
"Sakura..you have lunch next, right?"
Hesitant nod.
"You're staying in and telling me why my top student doesn't even have the energy to pick up her pencil."
The rest of the students had filed out, so she was left alone with her teacher to drop her act of indifference. Tears started welling up, much to her chagrin.
"It's s-stupid," she dismissed, standing up to walk away, only to have Mr. Hatake grab her again.
"No it's not."
"There's this boy."
He nodded, urging her on.
"And even though it sounds stupid, I thought that he liked me a lot, and even though he was mean sometimes, I thought he j-just didn't know how to exp-press his f-f-feelings, but now…"
He looked at her expectantly.
"Last night he called me on the phone and called me a whore and said I flirted with every boy I met and that I was ugly and annoying and never wanted to see me again…and I…I…I…I really don't know what to do with myself now. I hate myself so much and I don't know what to do because I think I might have loved him in some weird fangirl-ish way and even if it was just an obsession I still can't do this…it just h-h-hurts so much…and.."
She dissolved into a mess of tears and sobs, leaping to hug a very surprised Mr. Hatake who now had a tear-soaked shirt and a weeping teenage girl in his arms.
"Sakura.."
She muffled her cries in his chest. Under normal circumstances, she would've blanched at the idea of hugging a teacher in such an intimate manner, but right now she was just so upset she needed someone to hold and keep her calm and tell her everything was going to be alright even though it wasn't.
"Whoever this boy is, he's stupid." She looked up to meet his eyes, realizing that she never noticed the pupil of one was slightly red, and had a faint scar crossing over it. She briefly wondered what sorts of pain he had experienced in his life. Certainly nothing so trivial as a broken teenage heart.
"Don't belittle yourself. You are a very smart girl with high potential, and you shouldn't hold yourself back by this immature kid."
Her confused face prompted him to continue.
"Is he in your lunch hour?"
"Y-yes."
"Well, until you find someone else to spend your time with 6th period, you can stay in here and do homework or whatever you wish."
Her face lit up. He didn't do the stereotypical teacher thing of telling her to "approach her fears," rather, he actually helped.
Then she realized what a compromising position they were in. She stumbled back awkwardly.
"Sorry…" she apologized softly.
"It's okay," he assured. "Though I've never had a student hug me before..hah.."
She gulped. "Again…sorry."
"Do you want me to send you to the nurse so you could go home? I could vouch for you and say that you're sick. And if you don' come in tomorrow, you won't see this asshole until after Fall Break."
Her face lit up.
"Could you?" she grinned, the sad expression from before completely gone. He almost chuckled at her childish ways. He pulled out a pass and signed it, handing it to her so she could go down to the office.
"Enjoy your vacation."
After that, Kakashi definitely made it his mission to go to every one of Sakura's teachers to tell them that she had a "rough situation going on" and to be considerate when she got back. No details farther than that, of course. He was now feeling like a protective father and wanted to make sure the poor girl wasn't tortured even more emotionally.
The only trouble he had was with a certain Mr. Uchiha.
"Why are you the one telling me this, Kakashi?" the handsome man spit out, very irritated for a reason that eluded the grey-haired English teacher.
"She approached me, and we talked."
"Why you?" he glared.
"She just seemed to trust me, Madara….I don't know for sure. Why?"
"No reason," he grumbled. "Unless you're going to tell me exactly what's happening with Sakura you have no reason to be in here."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Like hell I'd tell you. She obviously doesn't want to share private details of her life with her creepy Biology teacher."
"Get the fuck out."
Kakashi slammed the door on the way out, leaving Madara to kick his trash can over in a flash of rage.
"FUCK!" he yelled, before calming himself by running his hands through his thick hair. Kakashi and him already couldn't stand to be in the same room together, but now…knowing that his favorite student liked Kakashi the most…he was pissed beyond belief.
This shouldn't be affecting him.
This is stupid, this shouldn't be affecting him.
There's no reason for this to affect him
…It's affecting him.
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
Well hey, wrote that in an hour. Hell yeah. Not going to lie, I felt really guilty writing some bits of this, and definitely laid on the angst a little thick. Oh well. The drama continues next month, in the ever-crazy month of December!
I didn't have time to re-read this, so there's bound to be a shitton of mistakes. Sorry 'bout that! I'll fix them later, I just really wanted to make my usual Sunday deadline. (;
Until next week~