Hey guys!

Gonna give another update! Thanks to all who reviewed and made it a part of their favourites and alerts!

Anyway, Things are getting interesting ;) So shall we start?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7: Promise me

It was another typical school day for the group. The guys were waiting, as usual, for Naruto and Sasuke. Soon the Uchiha arrived in his sports car and was wearing his shades. Sakura followed soon after.

"Sasuke! Can you come with me? I have to give this before class starts." Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm and showed him the papers she had to submit.

"Can't you go on your own?" Sasuke asked since he was talking with the others but Sakura pouted.

"Come on Sasuke! Please?" She begged. Sasuke sighed and just decided to go along. The 2 left and 5 minutes later, Naruto arrived.

"Hey Naruto! Great party last night!" Gaara told him and Naruto just nodded. They walked to school and Gaara put an arm around Naruto's shoulder.

"I didn't know you had it in ya. Planning a party that big." He smiled and Naruto had no response. Neji looked at him curiously and noticed that Naruto was glaring at the floor as he walked.

"Yo…Dobe! You ok?" Neji called out and Naruto looked up at him.

"Yeah…whatever.." He muttered and broke away from the group. The 3 guys raised a brow at his sour mood this morning. They followed him to their class and sat at their usual places. Neji continued his observation and noticed that Naruto's aura would grow darker when Sakura approached Sasuke for some help.

"It's like they've switched moods." Shikamaru smirked. "Never thought this would happen."

"Yeah….Sasuke seems to be in a good mood but Naruto…." Neji frowned. Wonder what was up with them.

Sasuke seemed to wake up at the right side of the bed since he had more patience with Sakura this time. He sighed as they waited for their teacher and glanced around the room. Then he managed to catch a glimpse at Naruto who was busy with something. He suddenly remembered his message and decided to ask him about it. Then Naruto looked up and they met each other's eyes. Sasuke was stunned when Naruto seemed to glare at him and get back to his business. Sasuke decided to just ask him about it later but had a gut feeling it wasn't good news.

It was already lunch time and everyone was busy conversing with each other. Except for the Uchiha, as usual, and Sakura who was not with hem at the moment to finish up some schoolworks. But what was unusual was Naruto being silent as well. The others weren't used to his silence and Ino nudged the dobe.

"Hey Naruto, you sick or something?" She asked and Naruto just shook his head and looked away.

"Something must be wrong Naruto." Hinata seemed concerned but Naruto refused to reply.

"Just…tired…" He mutters but the others weren't still convinced. He looked to his left and managed to catch a glimpse at the Uchiha who was silent as well and was looking at the floor. Since everyone was used to the Uchiha being a loner, they didn't see anything unusual with his behaviour. But Naruto knew otherwise. Sasuke seems bothered by the situation as well.

Sasuke looked up and caught his eye. Naruto's eyes were like daggers staring at Sasuke's cold ones. He stood up, which startled the group, and looked back at Sasuke before walking away. Sasuke seemed to get the message and got up as well.

"What's going on Sasuke?" Temari asked. Sasuke just put his hands in his pockets and walked in the same direction Naruto did. The guys looked at each other and Shikamaru sighed as they stood up as well to follow the 2, leaving the girls to stay puzzled in their seats.

Sasuke followed Naruto to a secluded part of the school garden wherein no one would know they were there. Normally their group would go there for privacy or to relax. But this time, that would be the last thing on their minds.

Sasuke walked up to that place and stopped. He looked up to see Naruto standing a few feet before him, still glaring coldly. Sasuke admits he has never seen Naruto like that but looked back the same way he did. If looks could kill, no one would be sure who would go down first between them.

"You still don't know what you've done?" Naruto spoke with venom in his tone but Sasuke didn't even flinch.

"You haven't even told me what it is." Sasuke hissed back. The tone Naruto used against him was really getting on his nerves. Naruto remained silent and Sasuke's patience was getting thin.

"If you aren't going to discuss anything, I shouldn't waste my time here." Sasuke told him with his hands in his pockets. "I know you're upset but if you're not going to tell me the reason, there's no point in this discussion…"

He was about to turn away when Naruto ran to him and suddenly punched him on the face. The sudden impact made him unbalanced and drop to the ground. He hissed as he wiped some blood from his mouth and Naruto grabbed him by the collar.

"I trusted you Sasuke!" He yelled in anger. "But what did you do? You really thought I was a fool to not realize it?"

"What are you saying?" Sasuke glared at him and managed to stop a punch heading his way. He kicked Naruto off him and immediately stood up in case Naruto was going to strike again. But he just stood there panting and glaring at Sasuke as he glared back.

"Sakura….you took Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "All this time, I thought you were helping me!" He ran to him and Sasuke dodged his punches and tackled him to the ground. Naruto was a hard one to handle because of his energy but since they were together for a long time, Sasuke managed to get a grip on him to stop his attacks.

"Before you try to kill me, why don't you try listening?" He shouted back.

"I don't need it! I saw everything!" Naruto hissed and struggled in Sasuke's grip. But Sasuke had a strong hold on him and refused to let go. "You were in her house last night weren't you?"

"So you saw that." Sasuke smirked. "Surprising how I managed to get in her room before you did."

His remark made Naruto more furious and broke away from his grasp. The 2 started throwing punches at each other and thankfully, the other guys were able to break them up. Soon they calmed down and sat on the grass, But Naruto and Sasuke were still glaring at each other.

"Naruto saw Sasuke at Sakura's house and was furious since he thinks Uchiha's making a move on Sakura for his own purpose." Shikamaru stated and thought for a while. "First of all, what were you doing there?"

"I took her home didn't I?" Sasuke replied. "I prepared a surprise for her since it's her birthday. She wasn't used to sleeping alone so she asked me to stay until she fell asleep."

"She isn't used to sleeping alone even if she has her own room?" Neji raised a brow.

"Her mother would stay but because of a busy schedule, it can't happen." Sasuke replied and Neji just tsk-ed and let it pass.

"So he only did that because it was Sakura's wish." Shikamaru faced Naruto. But Naruto wasn't convinced.

"But it's not only that. Don't you notice that they've been closer than usual?" Naruto stated and the guys looked at each other.

"Naruto has a point." Gaara nodded as they looked at Sasuke.

"I agreed to help the dobe. But that won't happen unless I get close to her." He answered.

"But because of that, she wants to get close to you." Naruto emphasized. "She's not even a bit interested in me…"

"You sure?" Sasuke looked up and they all looked at him.

Flashback:

Sasuke stares and caresses Sakura's hair as she falls asleep. He wondered what Naruto's message was about but decided to let it pass for tomorrow.

He notices that Sakura has gone to sleep so he slowly gets up to not wake her and accidentally hits her drawer. A thick, pink notebook falls to the floor and Sasuke picked it up. His curiosity got the best of him as he opened the notebook and sees that it was Sakura's diary.

"She doesn't even know how to hide a diary." Sasuke rolls his eyes and opens the notebook, ignoring the 'do no read' message on the front. The pages were filled with doodles, scribbles and colourful design which made it look like a kindergardener's project. Sasuke smirked as he landed on a particular page which caught his attention.

Dear diary,

Classes are starting again and I've never been used to being a new student. But thankfully there were nice people helping me out. Like a guy I met named Naruto. He looked adorable when he smiles and was always hyper. He always makes me laugh and I feel comfortable around him. I was actually surprised to know that he's the Student council president. He's really different from his emo-ish best friend, Sasuke. Despite his good looks, I don't really like his mean personality. I don't even know what his fangirls see in him….

"Hn….you seem to despise me Sakura." Sasuke thought and continued reading. Then Sakura squirmed in her bed and Sasuke immediately placed the notebook back. He glanced at the time and saw that it was getting late. He had to go home. And he's pretty sure her parents won't like seeing a guy they've never met before in their daughter's room.

End of flashback

"Really? She said that?" Naruto's mood suddenly shifted to being elated from what he heard. Sasuke felt a bit creeped out but nodded anyway.

"I knew it!" He threw his fists in the air and had a big grin on his face. He ran to the Uchiha and glomped him. Sasuke thought he was gonna attack him again.

"I'm so sorry teme! I should have asked you about it properly!"

"Hn…" Sasuke answered and was a bit irritated with his hugging. The other guys were puzzled by the sudden change of mood.

"I was pretty stupid of thinking Sakura would fall in love with a heartless guy like you!" He seemed relieved but Sasuke frowned at the insult.

"Well that was quickly settled." Neji stood up. "Can we go back now?"

"You 2 better go to the clinic to get your wounds healed." Gaara told them.

"Shit I hope this doesn't affect my position as the president!" Naruto cursed as they started walking.

"I'll just tell them it was my fault." Sasuke told him. "I'll say I got pissed off with your face and just punched you."

"That's so mean teme." Naruto pouted, "But thanks!" He grinned and Sasuke just sighed.

"But…can you promise me something teme?" Naruto told him and Sasuke raised a brow. "I want to make a move on Sakura on my own now. Hearing your story gave me confidence that I can do it on my own."

"You're saying you don't need my help anymore?" Sasuke asked and Naruto nodded.

"And also, can you stay away with her? It will greatly help if she…isn't focused on you…Also to calm my nerves of thinking that you guys have something between you.."

Sasuke looked at the dobe for a moment and nodded. The dobe thanked him again and ran first to the clinic. Sasuke followed soon after but couldn't remove the weird feeling he felt when he agreed to that promise.

"But…a promise is still a promise" He thought to himself as he stepped in the clinic.

Classes were dismissed and Sasuke made his way to his car. Thankfully the nurse didn't question much about their wounds and believed that Sasuke suddenly tripped down the stairs and hit Naruto on the way down. Guess she didn't really care anyway…

He was about to open the car door when he realized that Sakura's car was already gone. He wondered why she suddenly left this early but just shrugged it off and got in his car. He wasn't in the mood to go home yet so he decided to drive to the park.

It was already evening and Sasuke was on a bench reading a book. There was a cold breeze that made Sasuke wonder how the temperature keeps on dropping these days. He just sighed and continued with his reading.

Some girls seemed to notice the Uchiha and wanted to talk to him but he just waved them off. He somehow got irritated at the disturbances that he didn't notice his glaring eyes when Neji was the one who tapped his shoulder.

"What's with the glare Uchiha?" He raised a brow while Sasuke just looked away. "Can I sit?"

"Hn" Sasuke replied and Neji sat beside him. He glanced at Sasuke reading the book and sighed as he looked around.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked. Sasuke pointed out the book in his hand and Neji just smirked.

"Didn't know you were actually a bookworm." Neji remarked. Sasuke sighed as he put his book down and stared at the Hyuuga.

"I can concentrate with you here. What do you want?" He asked and Neji seemed amused.

"You act as if we're not friends. I just want to relax here." He told him.

"Can't you relax somewhere else?" Sasuke asked while Neji rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Let's just talk Uchiha." Neji told him and Sasuke waited for him to ask a question. "Let's talk about Sakura.."

Sasuke raised a brow. "What about her?" He asked. Neji leaned back on the bench as he scanned the area.

"What Naruto said seemed to bother me. You've gotten close to her, haven't you?" He asked and Sasuke leaned back as well.

"I already told you why…" He answered. He felt this discussion was pointless and it irritated him since he felt he was wasting precious time.

"I know…but I'm not convinced." Neji said and Sasuke stared at him questioningly. "I mean. You don't have the patience with girls. You even don't like it when Temari and the others make a bit of a noise. Why did you suddenly seem to get close to Sakura?"

"True..she is annoying at first." Sauske started. "But I just got used to it."

"You haven't got used to Ino and the other girls' who was with us for a long time but you managed to get used to Sakura in a matter of weeks?" Neji questioned. Sasuke stayed silent and Neji smirked as he believed to have hit a mark.

"Honestly Sasuke…do you see Sakura as something special?" He asked. Sasuke looked at him and pondered for a bit.

"I don't know why I can easily be patient with her. I even ask myself why I sometimes… become protective of her."

"Protective?" Neji seemed intrigued. Sasuke wasn't sure of what to say. It was only this time that he really thought of this. He wasn't even sure if he should really tell everything to Neji. Even if they were friends, He was mostly close with the dobe but….with the situation they are now, He can't really talk to him about it.

"She just…reminds me of-"

"Of her?" Neji raised a brow and Sasuke stayed silent. Neji sighed in surprise. "Don't tell me you're still not over her."

Sasuke refused to respond and his silence seemed to confirm what Neji said. "As much as you were a Casanova before, you're a really loyal guy."

"I just…couldn't forget her." Sasuke told him.

"So you do like Sakura?" He asked and Sasuke looked away.

"Only because she reminds me of…" Sasuke just trailed off since Neji gets the point.

"But…do you honestly like Sakura….for being herself? And not for being similar to her?" He asked. Sasuke wasn't sure on how to answer. Guess this is what it feels to be in those heart to heart talks he never liked. Neji just sighed since he knew Sasuke wouldn't respond.

"It just had to be the same girl Naruto likes huh…" He said to no one in particular. It was quickly getting late but the 2 seemed to have no plans of leaving yet. There were only a few people left in the park as well. Suddenly Sasuke's phone rings and he realizes its Naruto.

"Sasuke? Do you know where Sakura is?"

"She went home early so I don't know. Why?" He asked.

"She still isn't home. I'm getting worried teme. I have to go find her." He told him. Sasuke Hn-ed and closed his phone.

"Naruto huh…" Neji guessed correctly. "Well at least this will be a good time to-"

"I'll go look for her." Sasuke suddenly stood up but Neji grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't go." Neji told him and Sasuke raised a brow. "Naruto won't forgive you if you take his spot as her 'Night in shinning armor'"

"She's missing. This is no time for that." Sasuke told him but Neji refused to let go.

"Sasuke…you promised you would back off…" Neji reminded him. Sasuke was motionless for a while. But he pulled him arm from his grip and walked off. Neji sighed as he shook his head.

"This…is not good…"

Sasuke drove around town and to places where Sakura could have gone but failed to find her. What Neji said was in his mind but he couldn't care less.

He stopped at an abandoned lot since something caught his eye.

"Sakura's car? What the heck is she doing here?" He thought and felt alarmed. He parked his car and scanned the place. That's when he sees a pink head from the tall grass.

He felt relief as he walked over to her. Sakura seemed to not notice his presence since she was crouched down on the grass. Sasuke crouched down beside her and Sakura jumped when she noticed his presence.

"Ooh Sasuke. Why are you here?" She asked.

"I'm supposed to ask you that." He glared. "Don't you know how late it is?"

"I was just observing something." She answered innocently. Sasuke followed her gaze to a white flower which seemed to look silver against the moonlight.

"I was doing a project on this. That's why I would come here every night." Sakura told him but Sasuke felt more enraged.

"Every night? Don't you know how dangerous that is?" He scolded her. "You should go home. Now."

"Fine." Sakura pouted and got up. Sakura got in her own car and Sasuke in his. He let her drive first and followed behind.

Sasuke followed her home to make sure she was safe and not running off again. He was once again welcomed in by the maids and followed Sakura to her room like before. Sakura seemed to not mind since she still needed someone to be with her as she fell asleep.

"I never see your parents." Sasuke told her as she settled in bed.

"Yeah…neither do I." She sighed sadly. Sasuke seemed to understand how she felt since he knew what it was like. He took his usual place beside her and Sakura moved closer to him.

"By the way, you're not going back to that place alone. Got it?" He scolded her and Sakura nodded.

"We're you worried Sasuke?" She smiled but Sasuke just glared.

"I just won't be able to handle the guilt if you went missing." He replied while Sakura giggled.

"Whatever you say Sasuke-kun…" She smiled. "Thank you…."

"Hn. Just don't do that again."

"Yup…I'll make sure to have you with me then" She told him. Sasuke just agreed to make sure she would stay safe. Sakura slowly fell asleep and Sasuke managed to get his hands on her diary again to pass some time….and because he was curious again.

"Not my fault she won't hide this." He thought. It was like he was just casually reading a magazine that was supposed to be off limits. Suddenly he landed on the same page that he told Naruto about. Though there was a portion of it the group didn't hear about…

(Continuation of previous entry)

But these past few days….I'm starting to feel confused. Even if Naruto was great to be around with, I find myself spending time with Sasuke instead of him. I start to feel comfortable in his presence. Sure he's still mean at some point but….something's different about him. It seems as if we've had a connection before…I even find myself thinking about him for some time….

*sigh*…I don't know how to say this but….with his good looks and great personality deep inside…I think I'm falling for him…..

Sasuke couldn't understand the feeling he had in his chest as he read it again. He was sure Naruto would kill him if he heard this part. He put the diary back and looked at Sakura's sleeping figure and brushed the hair that was falling on her face.

"I don't really know if I'm really…liking you or…just because you're so similar to her…" He thinks to himself as he stares at her. "But one thing's for sure…I'm sorry Naruto but…."

He leans down and slowly kisses her forehead.

"Sakura's mine…."

Oooohhh cliffy! :

Gotta wait for the next chapter to know what's gonna happen next! Sorry for that BTW….

Tsk…this will be a big problem for their friendship neh?

Don't forget to review! Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it!