Good grief. It took me forever to update this story, and I am SO sorry. I've been really busy- it's almost finals week. Good old finals week... So if this chapter seems at all rushed, I'm sorry about that. But I hope it's not too boring, or too weird ;) Anyways, enjoy!

Sakura had gone back to her bedroom to change into her clothes and to get ready for the day. So, Sasuke had left her house and started home so that he could get ready as well.

A date with Sakura? He thought as he walked down the street to his house. How could this be happening? It seemed so surreal to him.

Nervously, he gulped. I've never been on a date before, he realized. I've never even been out with a girl that I like. How am I supposed to act? What do I wear?

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped off of his jaw. Had he ever felt this nervous before? Maybe he was getting somewhere finally. I mean, a date was a good thing, right? So perhaps Sakura would finally come around.

He knew one thing for certain:

He could not mess this up.

Sasuke jabbed his hand nervously through his messy hair. "I need help," he shakily said to himself. In that moment, he wished that Itachi were there- what kind of valuable advice would his older brother be able to give him? Itachi had seemed to know everything- he would have known what to tell Sasuke at a time like this.

Just as he was beginning to mourn the permanent absence of his brother (he did this a lot), Sasuke looked up, only to see Choji walking across the street, munching on his usual bag of potato chips. He looked as happy as ever as he popped chip after chip into his mouth.

A friend! Thank God! Sasuke quickened his pace to catch the larger man before he disappeared. "Choji!" he called.

Hearing the familiar voice, Choji snapped his head around and met eyes with none other than Sasuke Uchiha. "Sasuke?" he said. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, finally by Choji's side. He had to take long strides to keep up with Choji.

Choji blinked at Sasuke. "You're... you're talking to me?"

"Yes, pay attention," Sasuke said with a hint of desperation and annoyance. "Why is that so amazing?"

"I'm pretty sure you've never spoken a word to me in my life," Choji said suspiciously.

Sasuke frowned. "I thought we were friends..." he said, sounding sad.

"Oh, nonono!" Choji quickly said, seeing the Uchiha's puppy dog eyes. "You're right! We're buddies!"

"But, you said we weren't..." Sasuke's entire frame seemed to droop with gloominess.

"I never said that!" Choji said defensively.

Sasuke looked up at his... uhm... friend? "You're really confusing me," he said innocently.

"Ugh, forget it!" Choji suddenly cracked under the pressure Sasuke was putting him under. "What do you want from me, anyways?" he asked snappishly.

"I need help," Sasuke said. He didn't seem to realize that Choji was miffed with him.

"With what?"

"I have a date."

Choji perked up, the annoyance disappearing from his eyes. "A date, you say?" he asked curiously.

"With Sakura," Sasuke confirmed.

"Well, what can I help you out with, buddy?" Choji was suddenly acting very friendly.

"Well," Sasuke started. "I don't know what to wear. Or how to act. Or really anything. Do you have any advice?"

Choji smiled. "Come with me."

xXx

"Geez, what's taking Sasuke so long?" Naruto stretched his arms out tiredly.

"Can we just leave without him?" Sakura flatly said. The two of them had been sitting on Sakura's porch for almost a full half hour.

"No!" Naruto insisted. "We can't go unless Sasuke is here!"

"But Hinata's been here, and she's had enough time to go home and get her purse!" Sakura said. "He's taking forever!"

"So? We can't leave without him. Besides, we have to wait for Hinata to get back."

Sakura looked at Naruto. Even when he said her name, his face lit up. He really does love her, doesn't he?

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes flicked over to Sakura. "What?" he asked.

Quickly, Sakura looked away. "Nothing," she said, feeling her face grow warm.

Naruto grinned widely and chuckled. "C'mon, Sakura! Do I have something on my face?"

Sakura glanced tentatively up at Naruto again. "No, no, it's not that!" she said.

"It's 'cuz I'm so good looking, isn't it?"

"Naruto, please! Stop being so cocky!" Her expression hardened as she snapped her eyes back to Naruto's face.

Naruto let out a burst of laughter. "I'm joking, Sakura!" He laughed heartily at his joke.

Sakura's expression softened. Then, she began to giggle along with him. Seeing him this happy made her happy. This was something that had become rather rare; the two of them, together, laughing. Without anyone else.

Until suddenly, there was a timid voice "N-Naruto!"

Naruto's attention was instantly redirected to the familiar voice. "Hinata," he said gently. "You're back!"

Hinata smiled and sat beside Naruto. Sakura sat stiffly, watching uncomfortably as their fingers intertwined. She felt a pang in her heart.

However, she didn't have long to feel that pain at that moment. Because suddenly, there was a voice.

"Sakura."

All three of them turned to look at the source of the voice.

And they all sweatdropped at what they saw.

Sasuke stood before them. He was dressed, head to toe, in an overly-fancy tuxedo with a red bowtie. Not only that, but he also had a monocle, which he held to his eye with a silk, white gloved hand. He stood up straight, his eyes fixed on Sakura.

She stared at him in shock.

Before she could say anything, Sasuke made his way towards Sakura and held out his hand for her to take.

Sakura looked at his gloved hand. "What game are you playing, Sasuke?" she asked nervously.

But suddenly, Sasuke had her hand and forcefully pulled her to her feet. He then grabbed her around the waist, swung her around, and dramatically dipped her until her hair nearly brushed against the ground. She felt dizzy "I think you gave me whiplash," she said, her eyes glazed and dizzy.

Sasuke ignored her. His face was inches from hers. "Your eyes are as green as..."

Ooh! This is actually kind of attractive, thought Sakura, her heart beating as she looked into Sasuke's handsome face. Green as what, I wonder?

And then, Sasuke finished.

"Pickles."

It was utterly silent. A cricket chirped somewhere in the distance.

"PICKLES?!" Sakura shrieked.

In shock, Sasuke dropped her on the stone ground. She landed with an oomph!

"Really, Sasuke? Pickles? Even I know better!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke stood up straight. "But..." Choji told me that was sure to get her. What did I say that was so wrong? He looked down at Sakura, who was still on the ground, looking pissed. He held out his hand to help her up again, but she shoved it away and stood up on her own.

"Ookay, now that that's over," Naruto said, "let's go!"

xXx

It was every bit as terrible as Sakura had imagined it would be.

The first thing they did was go shopping. Naruto had declared that he wanted to find the most beautiful jewelry for Hinata to wear, and so they roamed the stores, searching for the jewelry that screamed "Hinata."

Naruto and Sasuke walked behind the happy couple. The two of them were chattering happily, in their own little world. It was as though they had completely forgotten they had company. At one point, Naruto reached out and put his arm around Hinata's petite shoulders. Sakura watched longingly as he pulled her body close to his and rested his head on top of hers as they walked.

Sasuke was also watching them closely. Perhaps if he copied some of the things that Naruto did, he would be able to impress Sakura. So, slowly, he reached out and wrapped his arm around Sakura, abruptly pulling her into him.

"Get off me!" Sakura snapped, shoving Sasuke away from her. "What's your problem?" Then she sped up her pace, leaving Sasuke to trail behind her like a loyal puppy dog, following a person who doesn't want it.

Sasuke looked ahead at Naruto and Hinata. Hinata seemed to rather like it when Naruto pulled her close to him. Why didn't Sakura like it?

They stopped in front of a small shop. "Hinata, should we go in there?" Naruto asked.

"If you would like to, Naruto," she shyly replied. The two of them smiled at each other, then Naruto stepped ahead of her and held open the door while she walked through.

Wow, Naruto really can be a gentleman, Sakura thought as she walked through the open door. "Thank you, Naruto," she said as she walked through, Sasuke trailing close behind.

As they walked in, an old woman sitting behind a counter looked up from her book. "Hello, younguns!" she said. Sakura smiled and nodded at the woman, who went back to reading her book.

Naruto followed his friends, swinging the door shut behind them. "Is there anything here that you want, Hinata? I'll get you anything!" Naruto was now racing up to his girlfriend, who had made her way to the other end of the shop.

Sakura blushed as she watched Hinata look up at Naruto, her eyes wide. "N-no, Naruto!" she frantically said. "I don't want to you spend everything on me!"

"Too bad," Naruto said, smiling widely at her.

This is the worst, Sakura thought. I have to watch them be all lovey-dovey together, and I'm stuck with... him. Sakura turned around to look at Sasuke. He looked so awkward- just standing in the middle of the shop in his tux. He clearly didn't know what to do.

Sakura sighed. "Hey, Sasuke," she called. Sasuke's head snapped up. His expression was stony, as usual, but she noticed that his eyes lit up a little when she called his name. "Get over here."

Obediently, Sasuke strode over to her.

Sakura looked away from him and began fishing through a nearby rack of men's ninja clothing. "What size are you, Sasuke?" she asked, not looking up at him.

"What do you mean, 'size'?" Sasuke asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Ugh, nevermind," Sakura groaned. She quickly examined his body, not looking at his face. "You look like you're probably a medium," she said. With that, she pulled out a black shirt, the sleeves cut off, and some matching black pants. "Go into the dressing room and put these on," she said. "If they look good on you, then I'll get them for you." She shoved the clothes at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked down at the clothes in his hands. "But Sakura," he said. "You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do. I can't look at you in that God-forsaken tuxedo. You look like a giant penguin."

Before Sasuke could say anything, Sakura grabbed his hand and began dragging him over to the back of the store. There were several curtains to several dressing areas. As Sakura pulled him behind her, Sasuke's face began to glow pink.

She's holding my hand she's holding my hand she's holding my hand she's holding-

And then she let go, stopping in front of one of the already open curtains. She gently pressed her hand to his back, leading him inside. "Show me when you're done," she said, drawing the curtain on him. Honestly, sometimes I feel like his mother.

"S-Sakura."

Said girl turned to the sound of Hinata's voice, who had just drawn a curtain and stepped out from behind it. She was wearing a dark purple tank-topped dress that gracefully fell to her ankles. "Naruto picked this out for me," she said. "Does it look okay?"

Sakura eyed the dress with an overpowering feeling of jealousy. It looked good, especially on Hinata's hourglass form. "You look like you could be a model," she said. Even though she resented her in a way, Hinata was the kind of person you just couldn't hate or be mad at. "I'm surprised that Naruto has a sense of style."

Hinata giggled. "Thank you," she said. "He sure can surprise you, can't he?"

Sakura smiled. "You really love him, don't you?"

At this, Hinata blushed deeply. "I do," she said, twiddling her fingers.

"I can tell," Sakura said softly. "Just the way you look when you talk about him says it all." She looked away. "He has the same look when he talks about you."

"H-he does?"

Sakura nodded her head and looked at Hinata again. "You sure are lucky," she said. "Naruto's a great guy."

"He is. He's the most amazing person I've ever known." The Hyuuga sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Sakura felt a deep sense of sadness. At least Hinata knew how lucky she was to have Naruto. At least she treated him well.

But still...

"Ah, I'm sorry," Hinata said apologetically. "You probably don't want to listen to me gush like this."

Sakura smirked. "Don't worry about it," she said.

Just then, the curtain covering Sasuke was pushed aside, and the young man stepped before Sakura. "How do I look?" he asked.

And Sakura lost her breath.

The top that he was wearing showed off all of his toned muscles. It made her... well... hot.

"Oh, Sasuke," Sakura breathed, pressing a hand to her chest. She was swooning so much, she was almost having a hard time standing. "You look so..."

"Y-you look better," Hinata said with a polite bow of her head.

Sasuke inspected himself in a full-length mirror on the wall. He clearly didn't know the effect that he was having on Sakura, because he looked very unsure. "I don't think this is 'date attire,'" he said slowly.

This snapped Sakura out of her trance. "Remember, we're not on a date!" she insisted. "You look great. Now leave that dreaded suit behind and let's buy you this outfit." Before dragging the Uchiha off, Sakura looked around the store. "Hey, where did Naruto go?"

As if on cue, Naruto jumped out from behind another curtain. "What d'ya think, Hinata? Don't I look great?!"

Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata all sweatdropped.

Naruto was wearing an immaculate tuxedo. Just like the one Sasuke had just abandoned.

"D-dear," Hinata said nervously. "Can we talk?"

xXx

"I thought I looked great in that tux," Naruto said bitterly. "Then Sasuke and I could match. It would've been cool!"

"I'm sorry," Hinata said, looking rather ashamed.

"Don't be sorry, Hinata," Sakura said. "He looked ridiculous. Maybe if we were going to some royal ball it would have been acceptable, but not here!"

Sasuke took note of this. Perhaps Choji thought that's what we were doing, he pondered. He was silent as he thought about what was going on. He had listened to what Sakura was saying to Hinata while he was behind the curtain.

You sure are lucky. Naruto's a great guy, he remembered her saying. Why had her saying that made him feel so... jealous?

Sasuke slowed his pace. His three friends didn't seem to notice that he was falling behind- he watched as Naruto and Hinata took the lead again, Sakura walking behind. Her eyes were on Naruto's back. And they stayed there. What had that look on her face been as she stared at him?

Suddenly, Sakura stopped. She turned around, looking at Sasuke. Seeing her look at him again, his cheeks went pink. "Sasuke," she called out. Slowly, she began to make her way over to Sasuke's side. He had now stopped in the middle of the road. "What are you doing? Why did you stop?"

Sasuke looked at her beautiful face. "Sakura," he said gently. "Do you hate me?"

Sakura stepped back. "Wh-what?" she asked in shock.

Sasuke tore his eyes from Sakura's, looking up at the sky. "I don't blame you," he said. "I had a rough few years. I was always so rude to you."

Sakura looked at Sasuke's profile, unsure of what to say. But, just as she finally opened her mouth...

"Guys! Hurry up! We can't wait for you all day!" Naruto yelled in the distance. Both of them looked ahead, seeing Naruto dramatically waving at them.

"Let's go," Sasuke said. He sped up and began walking quickly towards the couple ahead, leaving Sakura standing alone. Finally, she snapped out of the trance she was in and followed her teammate.

Sasuke in a tux? Sasuke in a tux. Haha, thanks for reading! Again, sorry for taking so long!

And Hanmac- thank you very much for your PM! I actually hadn't thought about that specifically, but I really like that idea. I too like NaruSaku, and I'll check out your story when I get the chance! It sounds really awesome! :D

Thanks everyone! Have an awesome day! :)