Disclaimer: I'm sorry to say that I don't own Naruto. Or else, I'd have known what'd have happened, and I'd have demanded IMMEDIATE SasuSaku. I also don't own the lyrics displayed in this song, which is Goo Goo Dolls' song "Iris".


There're things you can't say right out loud.

(And too many things that you unfortunately do despite this.)

Like, the real answer to whether or not somebody's cooking tastes good when they ask you to try it,

(and you still smile and say yes even if it tastes like, excuse me, but CRAP)

or to whether or not someone looks fat in a dress,

(and you still smile and say 'no' even if it really, REALLY emphasizes their tummy even if they technically AREN'T fat)

or to whether or not someone looks pretty.

(Like that dumbass asked him once. Well, not if he looked pretty - but if I did.)

But then again, there're always people who breaks the rules.

("Sakura-chan is the prettiest girl in the world! She looks like an angel, even if she has pink hair and green eyes! But I still like it, because your hair is COOL, and your eyes are pretty. Don't you think Sakura-chan is the prettiest girl in the world, Sasuke-teme?")

People who say things they shouldn't say,

("... No.")

People who feel things they shouldn't feel. Or don't feel things they should feel.

("Teme, you made her cry! I'm going to KICK YOUR ASS!")

But how come when you're really supposed to say things that don't hurt people,

("I'm sorry.")

you can't? Is it because you know those simple words can't cut it, can't ease the pain they're feeling...

("Look at me. Sakura. Look at me.")

... or is it simply because you're too afraid of saying it out loud?

("I'm sorry.")


o3.

"You wanna fuck with me, huh, old geezer? You don't? Well, if you don't wanna, then get your sorry ass away from me before I kick it real hard so you can't fuck even if you wanted to!"

The hazel-eyed girl flicked her long, flowing chocolate-colored hair that reached all the way to just above her waist; looking briskly at the quivering servant, she inquired; "Oi, are you coming or not? I know my bag is heavy, but damn, I need all my equipment now that I'm back in Japan. Hyuuga-sama expects me to have developed."

"… Miss… that…," the servant choked as he eyed the ashen-faced, middle-aged man apologize in an unbelievable rushed manner before quickly disappearing out of sight, having earlier maintained a cocky façade, approaching the teenage girl with an arrogance that few possessed. "You…"

"Ah, don't worry about it," she hurriedly waved off his complaints, "He's not gonna die just because some girl told him off before he could feel her up her skirt. Hyuuga-senpai, you really haven't changed at all."

"Don't call me that, miss," the Hyuuga argued with a frown, "Hyuuga-sama would not be pleased. Even if I do bear the surname of the prideful clan, I'm not of the Main family, so I cannot use it however I please. Please call me Daisuke –"

"Hai, hai," the girl interjected tiredly, resuming her speedy walking. "After all these years, Hyuuga-senpai, I thought you'd learn. It's plain manners to call people by their surnames, even if you're my kind-of slave."

"Slave?" the man named Daisuke repeated incredulously.

"Oh, of course. Considering the way I've bossed you around since I was - what, five? – you've been like a slave. You just obey commands, you don't ever tell me off for being a bitch. That's bad, Hyuuga-senpai. Soon enough you'll have to start singing 'I'm a Slave 4 U' – that Britney song, y'know – unless you start acting more respectable so that you can raise me."

"Since when did I receive the responsibility to raise you?!" he demanded, infuriated, apparently forgetting all about the polite suffixes and the not-so-plain language and choice of words.

"Since my family died and I was taken in by the Hyuugas," she responded as cheerfully as ever, a broad smile forming herself on her face as apparent nostalgia struck her. "Man, I haven't seen them for ages. I wonder how Hinata-chan looks like now… she has probably become the beauty queen of the school, what with her porcelain skin and pretty eyes and absolutely gorgeous hair. And she's a great makeup artist, too… but I wonder…"

She exhaled in obvious satisfaction as a glimmer of curiosity and mischief entered her deep brown eyes.

"… what Neji will say when he sees me…?"


"You're unexpectedly quiet."

The remark had caught her by surprise. Her hand frozen in mid-air, the French fry dangling somewhat loosely between her thumb and index finger, she looked at him with incredulity. She parted her lips to 

respond, but the answer disappeared from her mind before she could voice it, and she withdrew, putting her hand to her mouth, not knowing that she had dropped the French fry long ago.

Shikamaru only watched her, absorbing the last mouthfuls of his soda, face devoid of emotion. "Say it," he merely remarked as he promptly put the empty can onto the oily, dirtied surface of the table.

"I – how – you…," she choked, her voice cracking; he pushed her own, unopened can of Diet Coke towards her. Ino just shook her head so that her blonde hair, now pulled into a horsetail, whipped her face gently. "Why?"

"Orders," he answered. "I' m a double-spy. I naturally work for Konoha – or else I wouldn't have revealed it to you. Tsunade-sama personally asked me to make reports frequently regarding the Oto case; it's really troublesome, so I normally don't do this stuff, but I actually have a debt to pay. So…" He shrugged carelessly, heaving a sigh as he leaned back in his bright red chair, scanning the almost emptied fast food restaurant. "… I'm doing it as a favor, not because I want to."

"But… why? Otokagure and Konoha are in peace now, aren't they? Why would…?"

"On paper, yes. While it's kind of safe to assume that we most likely won't have any real, violent wars, there're other things – among them the rivalry between The Sound and The Academy, the two top schools of the cities. Orochimaru may be a successful businessman, but it isn't merely because of his skill. Dirty tricks and having gangs do undercover jobs as well as provoked scandals to give Konoha a bad reputation and regain Otokagure's has put him in the position he is now. And his goal, or at least what we assume is his goal, is to close down The Academy and having one of his close lackeys taking Tsunade's place, pulling the strings so that somehow, he is the leader of both cities."

"Orochimaru…," Ino repeated in a mere murmur, thoughtfully. "That's one of the three legendary Sannin… but then he used to be Tsunade-sama's colleague?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru responded, tapping his fingers on the soda can's smooth, cold surface. "It's rumored that some conflicts appeared when they were still a pop group, or something like that. Since then, they've distanced themselves from each other, and then he founded The Sound, kind of like a response to when Tsunade-sama became The Academy's principal. About the same time she became Hokage, the previous Otokage was part of several scandals and was finally replaced by Orochimaru – I think it's safe to say that he pulled a couple of strings there to make it happen."

"Then why would they trust you? The – the guys we just met, I mean," she questioned in confusion. "I mean, you're from Konoha."

"Yeah, but they did their research well. According to the profile they managed to put together judging from my behavior and from their other spy in Konoha, they found out I was a lazy person who dislikes trouble. I pretended I was aware of the fact that Orochimaru would try to take over and I acted like I thought he really would, and that I'd help them so that he'd become the leader faster. They trusted me, as they didn't know Tsunade had sent me to tell them that lie. She had suspected ever since Sandaime's retirement that Orochimaru had already placed spies in Konoha, and she wanted to do the same."

"… So, basically…" Ino seemed to try to gather her thoughts, adapting a face expression of utter confusion. "But wait, don't they recognize me? I mean, I'm Sasuke's girlfriend. And – and – Sasuke used to attend The Sound, so doesn't that mean he used to be Orochimaru's lackey, or something?"

"Well, obviously they don't," Shikamaru exhaled as he tore his gaze away from her – undoubtedly pretty, he inwardly admitted – face and stared at the not-too-excellent view of the almost-deserted neighborhood outside. "Zaku has never been of the brightest kind, but I'm surprised Dosu doesn't know. Either way, I couldn't have kept them waiting and obviously I couldn't shake you off. But then again, Dosu is never informed of vital information as he isn't that important, and he isn't interested in gossip magazines, so it doesn't surprise me that he doesn't know. We're lucky Kin wasn't there."

"Kin?" she repeated. "Is that a… third one?" Shikamaru felt the tension that had filled him upon being interrogated concerning Sasuke's case lift when she obviously had forgotten her previous question.

"Yes, Orochimaru's lackeys mostly move in groups of three when they're sent somewhere. The amount of spies from Otokagure here is considered to be three, I think. The group that sends information back to him regarding the 'Konoha Spy Case' as it's called is Zaku and Dosu, the two you met before, and Kin, a girl who's their companion."

"But won't I get in trouble now when I know?"

"Hopefully not. Considering how you're so stubborn about tutoring me, it's only efficient that you know since I can take you along on missions."

"You haven't even asked me yet," she protested defiantly, crossing her arms in an almost childish manner. A somewhat self-conscious sneer spread itself on his face, causing her to sourly demand, "What?"

"You were the one nagging about tutoring me, telling me to do whatever me and Sakura do during tutoring sessions."

"This is what she does two to three times a week?"

"Yes."

"Dear God," Ino mumbled as she twirled a curl of blonde hair around her finger. "And she complains about what I do during my spare time."


"Aaaand score! As expected from the extraordinary, talented, amazing, absolutely fabulous child prodigy – yes, the name we've all been waiting for, Hyuuga Neji! There're only three minutes left, folks! The tension is thickening!"

" – Let's go stomp them, kick them, taunt them! Let's go all out like never before! Let's kick their asses, let's score! Go, go, go – GO KONOHA!"

The identical cheerleaders all did a backflip right on cue backwards before jumping high up in the air, their minimal skirts almost riding up at the artificial wind created by their smooth, speedy movements. Naruto tried to cut out the high-pitched, almost-too-enthusiastic chanting of the cheerleaders and their eager screams, knowing all too well that the chants weren't meant for his ears. Maybe some of them were, but very few in comparison to the rest.

"Oi! Uzumaki!"

A monochrome-colored ball soared into the air and he quickly ran towards the spot on which it would land. Nodding his head upwards so that it'd hit it and then catching it in an almost professional manner on his foot, balancing it perfectly before finally putting it down on the ground with the foot resting on top of it, he eyed his opponent.

Raven hair. Pitch-black eyes. Ebony skin that seemed to belong to a person who hadn't been outdoors in a very long time. It was the face of his ultimate rival and best friend, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Dobe," the previous snarled, narrowing his eyes. "Focus. I know you admire my pretty face, but I don't want to date you, so there's no need to stare at me anyway."

He snorted incredulously in disgust. "Yeah, like I'd date you! I really have no idea why Ino would choose you over me, but I bet it's just because I didn't chase her like some lovesick dog like you did."

Sasuke's frown deepened and his lips parted from each other to speak, but another voice cut him off before he could even begin. "Hey! Uzumaki! Uchiha! Focus on the game!"

An almost deafening silence descended upon the people in the gym. Sasuke's eyebrow was travelling further upward towards the lower edge of his forehead, and Naruto was only grinning in an utmost infuriating manner. Every member of both teams stood still, barely daring to breathe; it was almost like somebody had hit the pause button on a video, magically turning everyone into stone statues.

Sasuke's voice was low, the kind of dangerous low voice that Naruto knew girls died for, the voice he couldn't manage to summon himself, when his eyebrow started traveling downwards again and he mirrored Naruto's smirk, "And just so you know –"

Then the sharp, ear-splitting sound of a whistle could be heard, and the cheerleaders started screaming and chanting again. Someone had pressed the play button again.

" – I never chased her."

They started running. Naruto, who was gently kicking the ball forth while he dodged fellow members from Sasuke's team while Sasuke was the only one who perfectly kept up with his speed.

"Unlike you, Naruto –"

Sasuke suddenly disappeared out of sight; Naruto looked on the other side of himself and noticed that the ball was suddenly gone from in front of his foot and that Sasuke was in possession of it.

" – I don't shamelessly chase girls like lovesick dogs until they give up and start a meaningless relationship with you."

The grin from Naruto's face had vanished swiftly, as Sasuke increased his speed and the volume of his voice just loud enough for his best friend to hear as he kicked the ball with a force stronger than needed -

"I'm just not that kind of loser."

- and although Rock Lee, who was the team captain of Konoha Soccer Team and one of the best at P.E in their grade, threw himself towards the direction of the ball, it was too late. It had already flown right into the net behind him.

"And SCOOOORE! Uchiha Sasuke makes an excellent and final goal, resulting in 3-2 for his team, with just twenty seconds left to spare! Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Then again, what can we expect from – as dubbed by his fans – Prince Sasuke?!"


I don't want the world to see me


Hyuuga Hinata was currently hiding out inside a toilet stall in the girls' bathroom.

For a lot of people, it was difficult to comprehend. It was understandable that they didn't – after all, she was famous for her life in luxury and for having one of the richest dads in the country, and was a well-known 'heiress'. Much to her agony, she was often compared to Paris Hilton and was often believed to live the glamorous life of a party-girl.

Contrary to popular belief, anyone who had been in a 2-meter-radius of Hinata knew all too well that she was a shy, soft-spoken girl who already had trouble talking with people (especially a certain person) without stuttering, let alone party.

As a matter of fact, although Hinata had been enrolled into a so-called 'snob' school, the other preps wouldn't accept her even though she was rich because she was too wealthy, too weird and too much with Konoha's Golden Leaf to be acceptable. Even the Neji fangirls knew better than to not suck up to her, because if they did, they'd become just as outcast as she was.

That's why Hinata decided not to bother her friends during lunchtime and hide out in a toilet during lunch break and eat the lunch box the head chef of the Hyuuga compound made for her every day. She told the others that she went home to eat so that they'd suspect nothing. Only Neji knew the truth.

And that's why Hinata was currently sitting on the toilet seat's lid, munching on her lunch slowly while trying to digest what had happened lately.

Or to be more precise, digest the fact that Naruto had a girlfriend.

The piece of sushi she had swallowed almost seemed to lodge itself in her throat. Although she knew it was only a feeling because she could feel it pass, she still grasped the bottle of mineral water and drained a couple of mouthfuls to get rid of it. Needless to say, there was still something stuck in there after the water was gone.

Maybe it's my heart, she thought somewhat bitterly. My chest feels hollow anyway.

Oh, for crying out loud, Hinata! Stop being all emo and win over your precious Naruto-kun already, she could feel the part of her that wasn't angelic cry out in protest.

But she knew it couldn't happen. Year after year the same procedure had repeated itself, and not once, not before he got a girlfriend, not during their dating, not after they broke up, not when he was over her –

"Hinata?"

She cursed herself when she looked up swiftly, eyeing a pair of too familiar baby-blue eyes that were filled with astonishment. She had forgotten to lock her toilet stall.

"What're you doing in here? You don't –" At this, she adapted an expression to show that she was minor disturbed, as though she had just found out that Hinata had an extra pair of eyes, "- you don't eat lunch in here everyday, do you?"

Hinata felt the block in her throat extinguish. As a matter of fact, all liquid in it had obviously disappeared as well, as it became as dry as it would've been had she not drunk anything all day. "N-no," she choked out at last, "of course I don't. M-my chauffeur isn't feeling too well, a-and, um… the cafeteria was full, so…"

"Geez, you didn't have to hide out in here. You could've just given me a call, you know," Ino flicked her hair nonchalantly as she glanced at the hoard of goggling cheerleaders behind her. The entire scene was disturbingly reminiscent of the opposing side's army finding a sole prisoner post-wartime in Hinata's mind.

"Hey, girls! Let's go to the lunch cafeteria! And we've a new guest at the table today –" At this, she grasped Hinata's arm and pulled her upwards so that she dropped her lunch box unceremoniously on the ground. " – Hyuuga Hinata, you all know who she is, so let's spare the introductions. Now, shall we?"

Hinata, whose face had turned the deep shade of crimson when coming face to face with the scornfully sneering or angrily glaring cheerleaders, suddenly had her arm linked with Ino's as she was being pulled in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Sorry about that lunch box," Ino apologized absent-mindedly and waved hello to a couple of by-passing seniors, "but hey, I'll just buy you a new one, right?


'cause I don't think that they'd understand


There were quite a few times when Naruto was dubbed 'childish', 'stubborn' and 'idiotic' for different reasons. Sometimes because of his extremely short attention span, sometimes because he constantly was one of the last people to understand. But most of the time, it was because of his constant rivalry with Sasuke.

Although Naruto knew that Sasuke viewed him as his equivalent rival, sometimes even superior, his arrogant attitude often suggested otherwise. People who didn't know them too well often thought that it was a one-sided rivalry from Naruto's side that he'd never be able to win – simply because Sasuke excelled in every single field, be it soccer, academics, girls or looks.

Or popularity.

As every other high school, The Academy had its little cliques. They weren't too obvious during classes or even breaks, because sometimes clique members were shipped into different classes and were unable to hang out due to their different schedules; but during lunch break, they became all too visible.

Naruto eyed the light-colored wooden tables of The Academy's lunch cafeteria, stretching all the way from where he stood in the jet line to the end of the large room, where a beautiful painting of Konoha's forest was visible.

Punks, he noted mentally as he passed their table, looking for his companions, hiphoppers, exchange students, geeks, brainiacs, outcasts, druggies, rich kids, jocks, and –

He had reached it. It was the table.

"Oh, it's him," he could hear her voice saying with utter disgust, as though she was talking to the filthiest pauper with the most nauseating face on earth. "What're you doing here, Naruto?"

"Hi, Ami," he greeted with his most contained voice as he scanned the table. It was the usual invasion of natural blondes, dark blondes, caramel blondes, dyed blondes, and just a few brunettes that had dared to sit there. His face brightened up a bit at the sight of the roseate-haired Sakura, although she was staring intently at her plate with what seemed to be no appetite at all, and – to his surprise – the Hyuuga heiress, whose face was a deep shade of crimson, and whose dark hair stuck out immensely among the cheerleaders.

Indeed. It was the feared lunch table of the cheerleaders, the divas, the madonnas, the wannabe-or-going-to-be-or-already-were celebrities. Whatever you prefer.

"You didn't answer my question," Ami Watanabe spat rudely, flicking her dark blonde hair – with deep purple roots quite visible at the roots – with annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just looking for a table to sit by. Is that a crime?"

"Well, duh. If you're thinking you can sit here, you can get lost. If you wanna sit here, you better bring Sasuke-kun. Right, girls?"

"Yeah," one of the freshman blondes piped up enthusiastically.

"Uh-huh," another agreed with somewhat more hesitance, but obviously still doing her best to suck up to the second mightiest (dyed) blonde in The Academy.

"Yeah, whatever, Ami. Go do another blowjob, or whatever you do in your spare time that shuts you up," he rolled his eyes. The others gasped dramatically; how could he just insult the Ami Watanabe just like that?

"What," she pronounced with extreme emphasis, as her hazel eyes narrowed to mere slits, "did you just say?"

"I said: do another blowjob, or whatever you do in your spare time," he calmly repeated. He could literally see the smoke surfacing from Ami's large nostrils as she huffed in almost comically exaggerated anger at the remark. Ino gave him a 'don't-you-know-what-you-just-did-to-your-rep' glance, shaking her head in incredulity at his behavior.

But Naruto didn't care. He had never cared, after all.

Because no matter what he did, no matter what he said, he was the nephew of the much hated Namikaze Kyuubi, the infamous mob boss of Jinchuuriki.

When he was younger, he hadn't understood. Why were they all avoiding him like he was the bearer of the deadly pest? No matter how outgoing he was, no matter how funny he was, no matter how much he tried to steal people's attention – people would always loathe him. His mother would tell him they were jealous of him, jealous of the only son of the famed fourth Hokage of the current era.

It was only later that he got to know the truth; that his uncle was the feared Kyuubi, the infamous murderer who had been imprisoned by his own half-brother, Namikaze Minato himself. Although Minato had received admiration for his deeds, it seemed like Naruto had received the hatred passed on by Kyuubi's victims and haters.

"You – you -," Ami sputtered, pointing at him with a shaking index finger, her eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets.

"What's the matter? At a loss of words?" he mocked, smirking coolly. At this point, Sakura had looked up, a glimmer of amusement in her emerald eyes, and he winked playfully at her, almost instantly receiving stifled moans from his fangirls at the table – who were immediately shushed by their friends or received strange glares; even if Naruto was Sasuke's best friend, what he had just done was unforgivable.

Yeah, Prince Sasuke's best friend. Quite a flattering label. Prince Sasuke was so generous, befriending the ultimate outcast, saving him from unpopularity.

Oh, Prince Sasuke! How cool he was! How intelligent! How sporty! How gorgeous!

And Naruto? Oh, he was just the guitarist of Konoha's Golden Leaf. Forget that he was one of the founders in the first place – of course Prince Sasuke would get all the fame. But he was at least known for his and Sasuke's rivalry as well – and no matter what the competition was, Sasuke would always win, no matter if it was rock, paper, scissors or soccer.

No matter if it was chess or trying to be the top student of the year.

No matter if it was popularity or love.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ami shrieked in a manner similar to that of a banshee, suddenly regaining her speech, the cheerleaders watching the exchange of words eagerly like a tennis match. "YOU FUCKING LOSER, WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU DON'T EVEN GET BLOWJOBS! YOU JUST FOLLOW SASUKE AROUND LIKE SOME KIND OF PUPPY! AND –"

"You should probably think of your tone, Ami," Sakura cut her off quietly, gaining all the stares in the lunch cafeteria, which had silenced to watch the oncoming fight, "you're just going to embarrass yourself otherwise."

"What?" she hissed menacingly. Ino's eyes were as wide as saucers, and her somewhat carefree glance had now turned into an 'oh-no-you-didn't' stare at her best friend, her mouth slightly open. "What did you just say, Forehead Girl?"

"C'mon, Naruto." Sakura arose, grabbing hold of her tray with the untouched food; her voice suggesting utter boredom and minor disgust, "I'm outta here."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan," he grinned widely, the two of them proceeding to sit at the only emptied table in the far corner in the other side of the lunch cafeteria, whose buzz had started up again.

Only Hinata noticed that Naruto's half-open backpack slung lazily unto one of his shoulders had dropped a somewhat torn (despite the fact that it was undoubtedly new) notebook. As discreetly as possible, she excused herself from the now wildly discussing cheerleaders, and bent down to pick up the item on her way out of the lunch cafeteria.


And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming


"Oi, dobe."

Sakura tensed at once at the source of the voice; without having to look up from the mini-carrots she was poking at with the tip of her fork, she already knew what was happening – the rest of Konoha's Golden Leaf were seating themselves around the table.

"Hey, bastard," Naruto greeted smoothly, "done putting on your makeup?"

"I don't wear makeup, shithead," Sasuke growled in response. Kiba rolled his eyes at the familiar exchange of words before devouring his gigantic hamburger in an animalistic manner, while Neji simply sipped his black coffee, face emotionless as usual.

"Oh, right. That's because you look like a girl anyway. Hey, Sakura-chan, when did Ino become a lesbian?" he joked.

"Ino is not a lesbian and I'm not a girl. If you don't want me to kill you right now, you shut the fuck up."

Silence fell around the table; Kiba looked up slightly to watch the scene unfold, while Neji calmly advanced on his beef, cutting it into small pieces with his knife and fork. Sakura kept staring at her plate intensely.

"Cranky today, are we?" Naruto simply said, the cheery grin not wiped off his face as he slurped some ramen soup. "What's up, Emo Drama Queen?"

"I told you to stop call me that. I'm not coming to the afternoon practice today."

"Is it Ino?" Kiba suddenly voiced his thoughts, which was something new as his mouth was still filled with pieces of his hamburger, making the words muffled. "Man, you can't ditch us for your chick."

"I'm not ditching you for my chick," Sasuke spat, his eyes narrowed; "I'm ditching you for a meeting with frickin' Kakashi."

"Man, you got into detention? Wow, congrats, you're finally being normal! Welcome to the real world, Sasuke!" Kiba laughed, slapping him on the back. Upon earning a murderous glare, he retreated, but still grinning widely.

"I did not get into detention. We're discussing the possibilities of the Uchiha clan filing a lawsuit against me, trying to force me to get rid of my surname or get a new one due to the fact that I'm no longer part of the clan."

Sakura could feel his onyx eyes pierce into her, even if she didn't look at them; she knew that Naruto was looking away from both at the moment and slurped his ramen as audibly as he could to cover up the awkward silence, and she also knew that she needed to come up with an excuse as well.

But even when Sasuke abruptly left the table without even touching his meal, she could still not summon her voice, because the block in her throat was as thick as ever.


Or the moment of truth in your lies


Okay. Calm down, Sakura. You know you can do this…

A certain pink-head strolled down the corridors casually, kicking an abandoned can of Coke into a corner with her – for once – converse-clad foot.

Okay. You're one of the top students of the year, even of the entire school. Tsunade-sama even let you volunteer work in her hospital as her apprentice. Now surely you can do something as silly as make up an excuse for your, uh, boyfriend.

"Uh…," was the intelligent remark that escaped her lips. She cursed herself. Why had she spoken up when she didn't even have something to say?

"Yeah?" Naruto responded with his usual cheery tone, looking at her with his bright azure eyes. "What's up, Sakura-chan?"

"Um…" You can do it, Haruno Sakura! You have to do laundry! You have to buy groceries! You have to go shopping with Ino! "Nothing."

"Oh. Okay."

Another heavy silence fell, before Naruto spoke up this time, surprising her, "You're really quiet these days, Sakura-chan."

He folded his arms behind his head in a kind of relaxed way, but Sakura knew it was only a façade; Naruto only did it when he felt nervous. She didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"You weren't like that before… well, you know, before the bastard and Ino started going out. But, when I think about it, you were kind of tense before that too, when the bastard had just come back."

Sakura made no attempt to reply. Just the thought of his return caused dozens of memories to return

(Sakura, I know you used to be friends before – sadness at the use of past tense.

- but is it okay for you if I, you know, date him now? – astonishment. Then,

You don't have to ask me, Ino. He and I are history.)

and it hurt as though she had stuck a needle, or a thorn, or just any sharp object, in her heart

(History.

History.

The word echoed painfully in her mind, even hours after she had voiced it. It was never going to be like before. Never again.)

as though someone stabbed her, over and over.

(And that someone was her. Bubblegum pink hair, shining emerald eyes.)

Hello, sweet self-torture. When did I last see you? When I summoned my memories again last time, I suppose.

"Sakura-chan… do you still… like him?" Naruto's voice spoke slowly, as though if he talked faster, it'd hurt his throat.

And it probably would. Not his throat, maybe. But someplace else.

Sakura looked up into his azure eyes, and she knew. She knew he was hurting

(I'm sorry, her conscience was screaming, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry)

hurting just the way she was,

(get away from me before it's too late, before I tear your wings apart)

hurting just like someone stabbed him,

('cause I'm not the angel that will catch you when you fall)

and that someone was her as well.

(I'm sorry I can't be your angel. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.)

"Sakura-chan?"

His voice was thick. With tears, maybe. Or with anxiety. She couldn't tell.

"No," she responded cheerily, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about! Hey, listen, I'm sorry (that I can't be your angel) be with you this afternoon, Ino-pig forced me to go shopping with her after cheerleading practice. Forgive me (and get away, run from me, abandon me, before I hurt you more than I already have)?"

And with those words, she stalked away, knowing that his baby-blue eyes were watching her back retreat, baby-blue eyes filled with hurt she had caused, baby-blue eyes that didn't believe the lie(s) she had just voiced. Neither one of them.

None of them knew that a certain dark-haired, milky-skinned heiress had been watching all of this unfold, tightly clutching a notebook with 'Uzumaki Naruto' sloppily written on it in her hands.


You're the closest to heaven I'll ever be
And I don't wanna go home right now


"You're late."

It was a cold, accusing statement that needed no answers. He wasn't waiting for an apology. It'd just delay them further. Still, she spoke what she knew he hated to hear.

"I'm sorry."

Uchiha Sasuke elegantly swooped off the table he had been perched on in the deserted classroom and towered over her with a steadfast, chilly gaze that could've turned even the hottest springs to pure ice. She tried to swallow the lump that had resurfaced in her throat, but to no avail. Instead, she turned away from the depths of black in front of her, so that she wouldn't drown.

(Drown like a bird without wings to the depths of the sea -)

"Fancy that you'd pick this classroom for our first rendezvous," she remarked with a tiny, high-pitched laugh – she cursed her nervousness; it would only make him more annoyed, and so she knew.

"What about it?" he replied; and she noticed how, even after all those years, his voice would still offer her such a strange thrill, like her heart was spinning around and jumped right up to her throat, and how her stomach would feel light and heavy at the same time, as though there were butterflies flying about inside.

(- and fly to the heights of the heavens, but there was no air left to breathe -)

She hid the tiny, melancholy smile that was about to make her way to the lips. "Nothing. So, um… shall we?" Her jade eyes darted to the open doorway.

(- 'cause he had taken it all. And again, she'd bleed so easily)

No response. He promptly marched out of the door, and only glared irritably over his shoulder. "Are you coming or not?"

(and all just by standing next to him. And she'd die, a little at a time, because he wasn't going to catch her either when she fell)

And finally, it appeared. The smile that she had been hiding all along, the smile summoned due to the irony of it all.

After all these years, he's talking to me again, despite swearing he never would.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

But it isn't because of me.

(Not anymore, at the very least.)

It's because of her.


When everything feels like the movies
Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive


"So, um… so far, you guys have been out on dates before, right?"

"Once," he growled, his eyes narrowing further as he drove down the road towards the center of Konoha. It seemed like the more he was with her, the angrier he became.

This is going to be difficult, Sakura concluded tiredly.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. It was that one time Ino dragged you out to watch that romantic movie, and you didn't like it. Right?"

"Aa."

"Um. Right. So, uh… first thing's first – you've got to start taking her out on dates from now on. Because you can't be a couple and, you know, not go out. Um. So. Any, uh, suggestions of where you'd like to go?"

Well done, Sakura. He's already hating your guts and you're trying to make it better by stuttering like some brain-dead cheerleader/Ami-clone/rabid fangirl.

"…"

Yeah. Definitely well-done. He won't even talk to you now.

She averted her gaze away from his aristocratic features and tried to concentrate on the view of Konoha's well-known trees flashing past as they drove past the park. At least it made her heart beat a little bit slower, if only just a little bit.

"Well, I take that as a no. Well, you can go to the movies like you have before – but I don't think you two like the same movies, Ino is more into chick flicks and stuff, and you… well, I don't know, I don't think you watch chick flicks at the very least. Except maybe The Notebook, because everyone has seen it and even Naruto cried and –"

Great. You're ranting. Way to go, Sakura! Concentrate on the trees. Concentrate on the frickin' trees goddammit!

"Uh, anyway. There's the park, you can have, like, romantic picnics or stuff. And carve your names into trees, if you'd like to. Or you can just go shopping, even though that might not be what you like to do, but you can go take a coffee at a nearby café or something afterwards. Or – um… or… or…"

Trees, not pretty eyes. Trees, not pretty eyes. Trees, not pretty ass – no, I mean eyes. But the ass is pretty nice, too. But the eyes are prettier. I mean, TREES! TREES!

"Yeah." Trees not eyes trees not eyes trees not eyes trees not – "You can, like… watch the sunset at the harbor later, and then you can stargaze on the hills, you know, but if you don't want to go to and fro that much, you can just stay put at the harbor and –" Trees not eyes trees not eyes trees not ass I mean eyes not ass eyes trees not – "watch your ass…"

Good job, Sakura. You're not only a cheerleading Ami-wannabe slash rabid fangirl, you're now a PERVERTED cheerleading Ami-wannabe slash rabid fangirl.

"… I mean, not literally, but uh, there're, like, rabid seagulls there. At the harbor, I mean. They kind of disturb the romantic mood. They're always noisy and sometimes they bite you – in the ass, that's what I meant – and that's not really… good."

Sakura trailed off, cheeks reddening. Luckily for her, Sasuke was staring straight forward and waiting for further instructions. When no such came, he finally looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"You still haven't said what I'm supposed to do tonight."

The way he said tonight sent shivers down her spine, but her gaze remained steady as she stared determinedly on the trees. "Oh, yeah. I forced you to ask Ino out tonight… um… most of the stores will probably be closed by then, but maybe you can, like, take a look at the night market. I know that most stands are illegal and kind of low-class, but it's kind of cozy with all the lights and the little stands selling pretty stuff and everything, and maybe you can share stick with candied lychees or something. And then you can go stargazing at the hills, because… there're seagulls at the harbor."

"Yeah, you mentioned," he commented dryly, although there was a hint of amusement in his voice, which made her relax.

"And then when you're at the stands, maybe you can buy her something. Try not to look so bored – girls hate that," she started informing, her voice as steady as her gaze when she finally dared to look at him (but by now, his eyes were back on the road). "And if she finds something cute, you should probably buy it. If it's a necklace, you should probably be the one to put on it, and just when you're about to leave the kind-of hug you get yourself into when you do that, you can whisper in her ear that it suits her. If it's just a bracelet, you don't need to do the whole whisper-in-ear thing… just put it on and tell her that it suits her… and…"


When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am


"And then when you're leaving her off at her doorstep – kind of like what you're doing right now – you should kind of smile and thank her for the night, and like – hug her or kiss on the cheek or on the lips, whatever you feel like doing…"

"Like this?"

Emerald lost sight of onyx when he leaned closer and she could feel his warm breath caressing her earlobe as he half-whispered, "Thanks for the date." Her own breath was hitched in her throat as he withdrew, a smirk on his lips before it faded away as quickly as it had appeared, instead replaced with his usual blank one.

At least it's an improvement; he doesn't look annoyed anymore, she mentally noted.

"Y-yeah… you don't have to w-whisper like that, but… it's good too. Um. Yeah. G-good. Thumbs up!"

"Hn," he simply responded, lazily scanning the neighborhood. "I'm off. Tomorrow, same place, same time. Don't be late."

He stepped into his car, not even glancing at her once. Closing the door behind him, he started the engine as he started to pull away, leaving her with his last words;

"I hate waiting."

As he disappeared out of sight, only then did Sakura allow herself to slowly sink into a sitting position on her doorstep, contemplating what had just happened. Her still shaking hand traveled to her earlobe absent-mindedly, and only one sentence flashed past in her mind, guilt blended into the unidentifiable mixture of feelings she kept inside.

I'm sorry, Naruto. I really am. I can't catch you when I fall.

I'm falling myself.


I just want you to know who I am…


Right, so here you go, guys! The chapter you've all been waiting for!

... Okay, I've to apologize for the lameness of the first lesson, but I PROMISE that it's going to get better. And hey, don't forget, as usual, DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT later on. There're some major hints here.

Also, the lessons won't be 'everyday'. Although almost every chapter will feature a lesson, the 'boyfriend lessons' won't be everyday time-wise. It's like, twice a week. The reason why the next lesson is 'tomorrow' will be revealed in next chapter.

Okay, technically I'm on vacation, so I should sunbathe and get tanned before I officially start senior high, and buy plenty of new clothes, and get to know new people. But, excuse me, it's like 50 degrees (Celsius) out there!! You can't go out without DYING! And my Chinese really, really sucks. I should improve it until next time, but right now, GOOD LUCK with getting friends when I even have problems asking for a perfume in a cosmetics store. And all my friends are still asleep since the time gap between Taiwan and Sweden is like, 6 hours, so it's only half past nine a.m. over there. So what's a girl to do but write fanfics on her vacation?

Waah! I was so excited about finally finishing this chapter, because it gave me a major headache, that I even forgot to thank you guys for the reviews!! I love reading them. So keep reviewing!