Beauty and the Geek

Chapter Seven

I looked at the platypus. It looked at me.

I flicked its nose/beak thing and it rolled over backwards onto its back, reminding me of when I was going down a slide on my own back holding onto a-certain-someone's feet.

It was lunchtime a week after the science museum trip, and I had taken it to school with me every day since. We'd become very good friends in the meantime, earning him his name of 'Oz'...as it sounds like 'aussie', as in Australia. I picked him up from off his back and hugged him to my chest, like I'd been doing all week.

We were still all discussing the mysterious owner of the platypus. Ino had confirmed it was not her, and that she didn't know I had a thing for platypuses either. Hinata had suggested it was a secret admirer, which had made my spray out my drink in laughter. In the end, we had sussed out that it had to be someone in our science class who had given it to me.

We had science yesterday, and throughout the lesson I sat scanning the room for people who looked at me with a mysterious glint in their eye, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary unfortunately. I had thought that it could have been someone in my group; but that idea was so ridiculous I expelled it from my mind within seconds.

'Maybe they'll talk to you and bring it up casually' said Tenten

'What? like "you noticed any platypuses lately?"'

'No! Like, what did you get at the gift shop or something...I don't know. Temari! Get your own pasta you thief' she stabbed at Temari's hand with her fork, as she attempted to take a piece of pasta without Tenten noticing. I smiled at my friends, and then at Oz, who was being suffocated by my chest. Whoa, that's a little embarrassing. I took him away and put him on the table, patting his head

'You really like Oz, don't you Sakura?' Asked Hinata

'Yeah. He's my new best friend'

'Ahem' replied all of them at once, making me laugh

'Have I been replaced by a plush platypus?'

'I'm afraid so. Sorry everyone'

After lunch we went for a walk around the school, as we sometimes do. As the weather was being quite cold, most people today were in coats, even though it was the middle of the day, I carried Oz in my hands to keep them warm. As we were walking along we passed a large group of 'them' sitting around the benches and I saw Sasuke among them.

It was a stupid move I was about to learn, to approach him and ask him whether he knew about the platypus, as you can't really just walk up to them without their being a big hoo-ha. He turned around as I went over to him, with a raised eyebrow

'Hey, Sasuke-' I was cut off from my question by Karin, who got all defensive about me talking to him (I'm guessing) though why she would feel that I'm a threat is beyond me.

'Sakura, what gives you the right to barge in here and start talking to us as if you know us?'

'I was only going to-' I tried to explain myself, but was cut off again by her shrill voice as she came flouncing over to me, hands on hips.

'Just because we got stuck in a group with you for science doesn't mean that you can just start talking to any of us!'

'Sorry, I mean- I just wanted to ask Sasuke something'

'Well don't, whatever it is, he doesn't care' She glanced over her shoulder at Sasuke before taking a step closer as if to make me back off, so I decided I better leave. I turned around quickly without looking anyone in the eye and started to walk off back towards my friends who were looking at me from up ahead in puzzlement.

'What the hell have you got in your hands?' She sneered, coming towards me and snatching Oz from my grasp. Everyone who wasn't previously watching the saga was now.

'Hey!' I turned around after her, grabbing him in my own hands as well, so that it turned into a tug of war. I didn't want her to have him, but if I didn't let go he might get ripped in half.

'Let go!' I shouted, desperate to protect Oz from her.

'You let go!' She shouted back louder. People laughed, but I was frightened that my precious platypus from the unknown mystery person was going to get broken beyond repair. Sasuke stood up, and so did Naruto at the same time. Naruto came running over, leaving Sasuke standing there, his role seemingly taken.

'Karin, stop it, you'll break it!' He grabbed Karin's hands to try and prise them off the platypus. But she gave it one big tug when I wasn't expecting it, and then she was holding Oz instead of me. Naruto took a step back, not knowing what to do. And Sasuke still stood there, mid-motion from when he stood up.

'Why do you have a stupid platypus?' she said, looking at it with disgust. I didn't say anything; I just looked anywhere besides her orange face 'Sakura? Are you deaf or something? I asked you why you randomly have a dumb platypus thing with you. Are you trying to be cute or something? Because it's not working' she glanced at all her friends with a smirk who giggled as if on cue.

'It's really none of your business' I said quietly, summoning up the courage to look at her face-on.

'It is now' her tone was menacing, and I didn't want to get into a fight. 'Well, whatever the reason. You can't get it now' she took Oz in one hand and threw him high up into one of the many trees in our school grounds. I looked up to see him nestled in-between some branches, and felt my heart sink as I knew I would not be able to get him down easily.

In fact I had no idea how I would get it down. I looked over to Karin, who obviously saw the look of despair on my face as she said with a hideous smile, 'Try go getting that' And with that she promptly turned around and waltzed off with her stupid hips swinging from side to side like a cat walk model gone wrong. I looked at everyone who had been watching the whole thing, and felt myself heat up. I looked back up at Oz and felt the need to get him down straight away. I was about to walk away to think of a plan to get him down, when Naruto stopped me. He put his hand on my arm and looked up at Oz.

'I don't think Karin likes you'

'I don't think she does either' I said very quietly, almost inaudible. I don't think Naruto heard, and I didn't really care. I just wanted to get out.

I spun around 180 degrees, forcing Naruto's hand to remove itself from my arm and trotted off towards my friends. I felt like I wanted to cry, but I knew it was something pathetic to cry about, I just felt a little shaken up. And who wouldn't after that ridiculous display by that psychopath Karin. What the hell was her problem?

'Sakura! What just happened?' Ino took me by the shoulders as soon as she saw my face, which was probably by now scrunched up like a sweet wrapper.

'Nothing' my voice wavered slightly, my eyes staring hard into the floor.

'Sakura...tell us' Looking up into Ino's worried blue eyes, and into the anxious orbs of the others, I knew that there was no point in not saying what had happened, moreover, there was no point in hiding it in the first place. What was there to hide?

'They threw Oz into a tree...' I sniffed, holding back tears which were coming up despite me trying to restrain them.

'They what?' All of them chorused, looking back over to where I had previously been. As if they would see Oz dangling out of one of the trees.

'Why would they do that?' Hinata asked, her thin brows furrowed in a manner that didn't suit her delicate face.

'It was Karin, not all of them'

Ino snorted 'That bitch again huh? I'll sort her out! Let me at her!' Ino rolled up her sleeves and started to march off in the direction of where they were all sitting. Tenten and Temari restrained her despite Ino's aggravated cries and flailing limbs.

'What did you say to her to provoke her like that?'

'I didn't say anything!' my voice cracking up as my eyes started to sting more and more 'I just went over there to ask Sasuke about-'

'Sasuke?' they all chorused again, but about three times louder than before.

'Why were you going to talk to him?' Temari asked, her face confused, and her brows also narrowed like Hinata's. After a few moments hesitation I replied with honesty:

'To talk to him about the platypus!...' I half laughed half cried

'Well...Don't worry Sakura. We'll get it down for you, and we'll talk to Karin later' Tenten said with confidence. I summoned up a lop-sided smile, and I immediately felt better. I was so grateful for my friends – they really did care about me, and were willing to stick up for me even if it was against someone like Karin.

'Thanks guys' I smiled and sniffed, wiping the few tears that had escaped my eyes clean. Once I could see clearly again, they all gave me a cheesy grin, and I gave one in return.

The afternoon progressed in its mundane fashion, and my mind was so busy with thoughts that I was having a very deep zone-out in maths. Miss Godzilla asked me about circle theorems and all I had to reply was a half asleep 'huh?' to get sent out (not for the first time I might add. That woman had it in for me).

The plan was that tomorrow morning we would all meet by the tree and join forces to get Oz down. So as I walked past the tree on the way to meet Ino after school, I waved a little farewell to Oz. He'd have to stay the night in the harsh, unforgiving school grounds instead of in my bed, mind you; I don't know which one I'd choose in his shoes. I rolled around a lot in my sleep, and he has probably been crushed for hours at a time devoid of oxygen. Well anyways.

I met up with Ino and walked to my bus with her, before hugging her goodbye and getting on the bus which was already starting to roll away.

'I'll see you tomorrow!'

'Bye!'

When I got home I started the usual ritual of changing into my pyjamas, doing homework in a rushed hap-hazard way, eating some nutella and watching k-drama. All's good. Except that missing feeling. Normally Oz would be on my lap, but he wasn't. I made a sad face as I ate some more nutella, shovelling it in with grief. I decided to text someone to lighten the mood.

I scrambled about for my phone in the mess that was my room, but I couldn't find it. I searched high and low, before that horrible sinking feeling settled on me. I hated losing things; my parents were going to kill me. I'd already lost a ton of stuff this last year. I ran through the options in my mind: I'd either left it at school, on the bus, or in my room. It wasn't in my room, and I'm sure I didn't leave it on the bus...I didn't see it on the seat when I got off, so it must be at school.

I groaned, this was all I needed. I would have to check my form room, and if it wasn't there then I would have to go by the school office at break. They hated everyone those secretaries, they were so intimidating. They just made you wait there with a massive line forming behind you until they decided they were ready to talk to you. And by this time most of your valuable break time had been spent on nothing. Why am I so careless? I decided not to tell my parents until I'd double checked everywhere. One day I will pay for my clumsiness, I was sure of that.

I flopped down onto my bed and plugged my head phones in; abandoning the drama I was half way through watching. I didn't really feel like doing anything at all. After dinner and another hour or so of killing brain cells I hit the hay. My brain fizzing with activity. One, for the rescue mission tomorrow morning, and two, for my phone, which I needed to find, however old and crappy it may be.

In the crisp clear morning I got off the bus and made my way towards the tree which held a lot of unpleasant memories from yesterdays 'incidents'. It seems I was the first one here, so I sat down on one of the many benches and looked up. My eyes flitted from branch to branch for some sign of a platypus life form. It was very cold. My breath steamed and my fingertips were starting to numb. Hinata appeared, and came over to me

'Good morning' she said cheerfully, her face half buried in her massive scarf.

'Morning. Aren't you cold?' I asked, as Hinata checked her phone absent-mindedly, scrolling down the page with her small, bare finger tips.

'No' she shook her head, and her scarf hid her face even more.

'Well, can I meet you back here in a minute? I need to go see if my phone's in my form room. I lost it yesterday'

'Sure, Oh- Do you want to ring it on mine? So you can hear it?'

'Oh yeah- thanks. I'll be right back, if you could call it in a minute' I said with a smile, and trotted off towards my form. I peered around the door, but only a few people were here yet, two were talking quietly and the other was just listening to his iPod. I hoped Hinata would call any second now.

Sure enough I heard the tinkling melody of my ringtone in the room. I entered and followed the sound, until I saw it, tucked between some books on a shelf at the back of the class room. I was sure I did not leave it there. I slid the phone out, grateful to see it again. I pressed the button to accept the call and spoke into it

'Thanks Hinata, I found it now'

'Good' a man's voice spoke out of the speaker. My eyes widened in shock.

'Who is this?' I asked, my voice rising a little. The boy with the iPod was looking at me strangely, so I went out of the room into the corridor, and leant against the wall, with both of my hands now holding the phone to my ear.

'Secret' the voice replied. I hadn't heard the voice before, maybe it was just the crappy quality of my phone, but I didn't recognise it. 'See you, Sakura' and with that the person just hang up.

What the hell just happened?

I brought the phone down from my ear and checked my contacts for anyone with the same number ("no results found"). I went in my inbox, and to my shock once again, I found it had been emptied, the same goes for all of my contacts. Breathing like a bull elephant I redialled the 'unknown' caller it had showed on the screen. I guess it would have helped if I had looked at the caller Id first. The man voice spoke up again.

'What is it?'

My anger died away quite suddenly 'urm...I'm the owner of the phone you found'

'I know. I saved your number onto mine'

Regaining my previous anger, through clenched teeth I asked him 'Why are all my messages and contacts gone?'

'I deleted them' he said down the phone in the calmest of voices

'Why did you do that?-'

'Does losing all of those numbers upset you so much?'I paused not knowing how to counter attack that. He continued. 'If those people really wanted to talk to you, they would call you'

I slammed the phone shut and shoved it in my bag. Marching straight off back to Hinata. Who does this person think he is? When I returned, Tenten and Temari had arrived, but no sign of Ino.

'We are all quite early you know. But I bet she slept in' Tenten mused, looking up into the tree at different angles. 'You know, I can't see him'

'I couldn't see him either' Hinata added, also looking up into the leafy branches.

'Neither could I' I mumbled, starting to space out. What if someone had taken him? What if an eagle had carried him off into the night? Whatever the reason, Oz was not in the tree, and Ino was off absent from school. Skiving pig!

The return of my phone brought both happiness and extreme annoyance into my day. My parents were none the wiser so I wasn't told off and so I wouldn't have to shell out money for a new phone. But, because of a certain someone, all my contacts were gone, which meant tedious hours emailing and calling of home phones to get them all back again. Whoever this person was, they were now on my hit list.

I went to bed a little later than usual, and I was sleeping pleasantly, curled up under the warm blankets, my mind lost in dreams. This peace was shattered as my phone went off loudly in my unsuspecting ear.

I sat bolt upright, and wished I hadn't as my head felt like it got hit by a train. I sank back down groaning and picked up the stupid device.

'Hello?' I asked, my sleepy voice probably sounding like an old man with all his teeth missing.

'It's me' the man voice again...

'What do you want?'

'Are you asleep?'

'Well I'm not now am I?' My crankiness more than evident. If he was wise he would back off now.

'Your sleepy voice is kinda cute' my temper rose.

'Please, just go away! Thanks for getting my phone, but back off now okay? Go take your pervert mind somewhere else' and with that I hung up. It was a rather witty comment when I was only half conscious, I felt like I'd achieved something. I fell back to sleep, and I thought I'd got rid of the creepy person.

I was very wrong.

Never in my life have I received so many calls from one person in the space of a week. My inbox was full to the brim, how much credit did he intend to waste on me? Each call I rejected, until one Saturday afternoon I'd had enough. I was out in the garden, collecting in the washing from the chilly air when my phone went off in my pocket once again.

I slammed my finger on the button and drove the phone up towards my ear, without allowing him to say anything I made my point clear:

'WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?' steam shooting out of my ears

'You're angry?' No I'm the image of bliss.

'Would you be angry if you received 500 calls a day from some person you've never met, who won't leave you alone? If you want gratitude for saving my phone, then thank you. If you have anything else to say, please speak now or forever hold your peace' there was a silence that followed, before it was broken by my mum who shouted from the kitchen.

'Sakura! Who are you yelling at?'

'Just a friend mum, sorry!' I called back

'Have you got the washing yet?'

'Almost!'

'Well hurry up then!'

'One moment!'

I was about to hang up and carry the washing inside before I heard him laughing down the phone.

'Are you going to hurry up with the washing then?' I could tell he was smiling greatly as he said this.

'I would do if you would stop talking to me'

'Am I your friend now then?'

'What?'

'Just now – you said you were yelling at a friend. That could only be me'

'No. You are not my friend. Now please, go away...Don't you have any other friends you could talk to? Am I really that interesting?'

'I like talking to you, even though you don't always talk back' I felt a sudden pang of guilt, which then changed more into curiosity.

'Why do you like talking to me?'

'I don't know, you're just nice to talk to'

'From the two, no wait, three small conversations we had?'

'Yep'

'Even though I was mostly shouting at you?'

'Yep'

'Well. Maybe I will grace you with my voice sometimes, IF you stop calling me every five minutes. I can't talk now; I've got stuff to do' I hung up, not bothering to say goodbye. This was such a weird situation.

I carried the washing inside and finished off some chores, before being sent out to the store to get some food. I grumbled all the way there. They always send me to do this, why can't they just go themselves? It was cold, and I forgot gloves. I dug my hands deep into the pockets of my jeans. My hair whipped around my face and got caught on my chattering teeth when I finally reached the god forsaken store.

I picked up a basket and moved at a leisurely pace around the shop, not in a hurry at all. I was trying to soak up as much heat in here as I could before the walk home in the blistering ice storm out there. Well, it wasn't quite that extreme, but still.

As I was mulling over what brand of biscuits to buy, my phone went off in my pocket, I decided to talk to the infuriating boy this once, since I had nothing better to do.

'Hello?' I said slowly

'You sound relaxed' the person's voice seemed somewhat relaxed too.

'Oh I am'

'What are you doing?'

'Shopping'

'For what?

'Groceries'

'Oh, exciting'

'Uh huh. Right now I'm choosing which biscuits to get'

'Get the ones with the jam in the middle'

'Jammie Dodgers? Do you like them then?'

'Yeah. I highly recommend them'

'I'll trust you on this one. They better be good'

'They are. Sakura, what's your favourite biscuit?'

'Urm, probably...bourbons'

'Isn't this nice?'

'What?'

'Finding out about each other?'

'If you say so'

'Maybe just for me then' he laughed slightly.

'Are you going to tell me your name anytime soon?'

'No. It's still a secret'

'Well, tell me what year or class you're in then, I know you're at my school'

'Oh, you've become interested in me'

'No! It's just that it's not fair'

'I'll probably tell you soon'

'Really?' my voice lit up, and he knew it too.

'...no'

'Poo you!'

'Poo me?'

'Yeah. Look, you're distracting me; I got the wrong kind of pasta. It has to be the twisty one'

'So your favourite type of pasta is the twisty one?'

'So what if it is'

'Well, I know more about you than I did a few seconds ago'

'You're not going to give up are you?'

'No'

I sighed over dramatically. I didn't know if this situation was good or bad, I guess I'd just have to go with the flow.

After getting the required food stuffs I battled through the polar winds until I got back to my house. And all the way back I had been talking to him. My hands were close to falling off. I dumped the stuff in the kitchen and then went up stairs to have a bath.

'I'm going now'

'How come?'

'I'm going to have a bath if you don't mind'

'You can still talk to me' he was right...even if it was a little creepy. Maybe I shouldn't have told him that, what if he gets...images... I pushed that out of my mind. No.

'O-okay'

This really was a strange situation. There I was, almost submerged in bubbles and rubber ducks, talking on the phone with an absolute stranger who was conversing with me about my favourite films.

It was nice to talk to him, even if it was mostly me talking. I did manage to get some information out of him however through the weeks: His favourite milkshake flavour was chocolate, and that his shoe size was at least twice bigger than mine. He was being very vague, like he really didn't want me to find out his identity. I'd find him out!

I was lying in bed talking to him again, when my dad called up for me to turn off the lights. I flipped the switch and buried myself under the covers.

'So, are you going to tell me who you are now?'

'My name is...' my ears strained '...secret' he laughed at the end, when he heard me rolling around in frustration. 'I'm hanging up now'

'I'm not until you tell me who you are'

'Do you really want to know?'

'Yes!'

'Maybe we can meet up at school one day'

'Really?' I sounded like an excited little kid when I said this, like I'd just found out I was going to Disneyland.

'Maybe' he replied. I smiled, but I was running out of air so I popped my head out of the mass of quilts. I couldn't believe my eyes. The sun was coming up. Had we been talking all night?

'Have you just realised it's the morning?'

'No way...'

'I'm afraid so'

'I need to get ready for school. I guess I'll call you later'

'Mm, bye then'

'Bye'

I dashed out of bed to get ready. How on earth had we been talking all night? It didn't seem real, but then thinking about it...My mind was just frazzled. I shovelled down some toast and literally ran out of the house. I got to the bus stop just in time, and the rest of my day was just as hectic.

Neither Karin nor Naruto nor Sasuke, not anyone actually even mentioned the platypus incident. It was weird. They just went back to the usual treatment, being dismissive and obnoxious.

When I finally got home in the evening I collapsed face down on the bed. Devoid of oxygen I just lay there, until my phone went off in my bag. Like a slug, with the same gracefulness and appearance, I crawled over to my phone and held it to my ear.

'Hello?'

'It's me'

'Hey'

'You sound really tired'

'I am'

'Sorry if I kept you awake all night'

'It's okay. It's my own fault, I get a bit overly curious'

'You know what?'

'What?'

'You know it's Friday tomorrow?'

'Yeah'

'How about we meet up after school' YES! Result!

'Finally. Where should I meet you?'

'Somewhere secret'

'Not with the secrecy again'

'It makes it more dramatic'

'Well where then?' my grumpiness starting to leak out

'How about on the field? It's virtually deserted at the end of the day.'

'Okay. So tomorrow, after school, on the field'

'I'll be waiting'

'So will I' cue an evil laugh round about here

'So...What are you doing?'

'Lying on the floor. I'm actually dead'

'Hey, do you see that hot air balloon outside?'

I looked up at the window. 'Yeah'

'Take a picture of it?'

'Why would I want to do that?'

'It proves that you're Sakura tomorrow'

'There is only one person in the school with pink hair. I think I should know'

'Just in case. I'll take on too then'

'Fine. I'm hanging up then'

'Okay'

I held my phone up to the little red balloon and snapped a picture. Then the eager excitement began to settle in. Tomorrow I was going to finally met this person...Is he good looking? I will have definitely seen him at school, I went through all the people at school in my head, matching the face with the voice, but none seemed to fit.

My lack of sleep seemed to disappear as I leapt around my room in joy. After around 3 weeks of not knowing...YES! I punched the air and did a little dance.

I was buzzing with excitement all through Friday, so much so that I didn't so much as flinch when Miss Godzilla started interrogating me about tangent ratios. My friends were very suspicious. They made conclusions such as 'You've finally got a boy friend?' 'You're moving house to the Caribbean?' and 'You're getting adopted by Jackie Chan, aren't you?' Of course they were all wrong, however the last one sounded like a good prospect.

I couldn't tell them why I was really excited; I'd kept the mysterious boy on the phone an absolute secret. As he'd said he would as well.

By the end of last lesson I was practically revolving in my seat. When we were dismissed I went straight to the toilets and checked my face and tidied up my hair a little. I gave myself a pep talk and then I was off to the field.

My heart was beating so loudly I swore people could hear it as I passed them. My hands felt hot and itchy and I was constantly fiddling with my hair making sure every strand was in place.

I was almost there. My legs led the way; I didn't feel in control anymore. I'm sure it wasn't normal to be reacting this much.

I turned the corner and stepped out into the grass.

I saw a boy at a bench far away, in the middle of the field. It must be him. I walked towards him uncertainly; I could only see his back. He was hunched over, like he was looking at something. He seemed to hear me, because he stood up. He turned around to face me.

There, in front of me stood Sasuke Uchiha with a platypus in his arms.

OHMYGOD! Okay, done xD Sorry it took ages, but you know, its that time of the year...EXAMS! I made it a little longer, and yes for those who realised:

I did nick the idea from the (amazing) film Koizora – WATCH IT! It was my favourite film for like, months. Now it's Kung Fu Panda 2, but anyway.

Please read and review! And I'm happy to announce the next chapter will be written in Sasuke's POV! So I am looking forward to doing that.

Thank you for reading! Tell me your thoughts and I hope to update as soon as I'm free, because I have to revise biology now x(