Friday 4:12pm - Naruto

"Where are you?" Naruto wondered. He spun on his heel trying to catch a glimpse of Kiba's distinctive wild hair and Shikamaru's ponytail. He turned again and snapped into the phone.

"No, I'm standing in the centre! I can see McDonalds and Next and Waterstones from here. Seriously, where are you?" There was a moment of confusion while Kiba woke Shikamaru up and Naruto could hear swearing and a hurried conversation taking place on the other end of the line. Finally Kiba returned, sounding sheepish.

"Heh, sorry, mate. Turns out we're in the shopping centre on the other side of town."

"You're idiots," Naruto said callously, searching for a bench to sit on until his friends arrived.

"As opposed to you?" Kiba lowered his voice, aware of Shikamaru nearby. "I mean, exactly how many people want to keep you and Lover boy apart?"

"Shut up," Naruto grouched, pissed off that there weren't any free benches. He spotted one near the fountain occupied by only a red haired girl and hurried over there before it was taken. The girl looked up from her magazine and glared but Naruto paid her no attention.

"Look, it's complicated."

"You've said. Key word being. Recurring theme. It's getting boring," Kiba said. Naruto snorted, despite the fact that the girl had turned it up from 'laser' to 'death glare.'

"Tell me about it."

"Well..."

"Shut up. Just get here already." Naruto flicked the phone shut and sighed. The girl next to him uncrossed and crossed her legs, shifting her position. Naruto's eyes drifted to the page she was on and almost screamed.

"Hey!" She protested as Naruto launched himself across the bench to rip the magazine out of her hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you freak?" Naruto ignored her and jabbed at the page.

"This guy here. You know he is, right?" Naruto demanded. The girl narrowed her eyes behind her glasses and nodded.

"Yeah. That's Sasuke Uchiha. You know, the famous model's son?"

"Famous model?" Naruto asked. The girl rolled her eyes as if this should be common knowledge and Naruto was stupid for not knowing it.

"Yeah. Mikoto Uchiha?" the girl said slowly. "She retired when she got married – to this business millionaire, I might add – and Sasuke is their son, second son. He's even signed with the same agency she was, Shari Hannigan's models."

Great. His boyfriend is a nationwide famous male model from an even more famous family. Bollocks.

"He's so hot," the girl gushed. Naruto knew that already, but Sasuke frozen in a photo, half dressed with leather trousers, staring sultrily at the camera was downright porn material.

"He lives here, you know," the girl said, gleefully. Naruto didn't doubt that she spent most of her time trying to find where exactly Sasuke lived.

"Goodie," Naruto muttered sarcastically, passing the magazine back to her. The girl tossed her long hair, clearly insulted at her obsession being mocked.

"Pfft, I'd bet you'd do him," she remarked casually before collecting her bag and tucking the magazine under her arm. "I would if I had the chance." Naruto pulled a disgusted face at her departing back and then slumped in the seat as his phone began to ring.

"Yeah, I did actually," Naruto groaned. What comeback that would have been...

"Naruto!" Kiba waved from across the shopping centre, bringing attention to him and a less enthusiastic Shikamaru who was hanging behind with his arms folded.

Naruto got up, now half reluctant to spend time with his best friends when all he wanted to do was go see Sasuke and then he felt guilty for thinking it. He hooked his mobile back out of his pocket and quickly typed a text while waving to his friends.

"Hey! What film do you want to see?" Naruto greeted them but Shikamaru's eyes were typically on the phone.

"Who are you texting?" he asked, somehow sounding bored despite his suspicion. Naruto smiled a wide, innocent smile.

"No one important. Shall we go?" he lied easily and pretended not to notice Shikamaru's eyes on him as he turned away.

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Friday, 4:20 - Sasuke

Naruto had no idea that at that exact moment in time Sasuke was on the second floor in Borders, choosing a new novel to read (it seemed that when you were as rich as he was the library was not an option) and Sakura was in a cafe on the third floor with Ino. But he would stay unaware of it for now.

Sasuke looked through the new releases with no particular interest. There was a bunch of girls buzzing around a nearby bookshelf and even without looking at them Sasuke knew they recognised him and it was only a matter of time before he was ambushed.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, signalling a text and he hooked it out without even looking. He was expecting his agency or his brother so he was surprised to find a somewhat furious text from Naruto. He smiled to himself, imagining the scowl on Naruto's face and his blue eyes scrunched up as he yelled.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the girls getting more hysterical and knew they were urging each other to go talk to him so he swiftly vanished through the bookcases and out of the door before they had a chance.

Sasuke remembered that there was a cafe on the top floor and turned in the direction of the elevator. He could call Naruto from there and ask him to come over. It was after four so Naruto was out of school already. Sasuke cursed. He didn't want to have to go to Kakashi's house.

The cafe upstairs had lots of leather couches and beanbags, soft lighting and bright posters. It was extremely popular with teenagers and young adults who liked to stream in after work or school, get a coffee and read a magazine or chat in a corner. Sasuke didn't come here often due to the fact that it was very close to three separate schools and he might get mobbed but this cafe did excellent coffees and had quiet corners for reading in which suited Sasuke just fine.

Because it was after school it was fairly busy with groups of teenagers. Sasuke glared at anyone who got too into his personal space and when it was his turn, wrinkled his nose at the selection of latte-frappe-chocolate things with cream and ordered a simple coffee. Waiting for it to be ready he let his eyes drift over the crowds milling around and covering the beanbags and sofas in groups, laughing and talking. A blissful smell of strong coffee and pastries filled the air as did the giggles of teenagers. There was a wide variety of clothes, both casual and school uniforms, and ages. There were brightly coloured bangles and pins, designer bags and unusually coloured hair.

Very unusually coloured hair.

But as Sasuke turned to pick up his coffee the flash of pink-blonde hair and the face attached to it vanished out of his eye line.

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Friday 4:36 - Sakura

"Sakura?" Ino leant over the table and prodded Sakura's arm. "Hey, Sakura!" Sakura jolted out of her daze and looked at her best friend.

"Yes? Sorry," she said lamely. Ino shook her head.

"God, could you get your head out of the clouds for one minute?" Ino exclaimed. She leaned over to try and get a better view. "What were you staring at...woah." Sakura cringed as Ino stared open mouthed at the guy in skinny jeans and a black top.

"Hottie!" Ino said. "You weren't gonna tell me, were you?"

The truth? Of course not. But instead Sakura smiled innocently and said "Of course not." Ino smirked.

"Well, if it were me I wouldn't have either." Sakura didn't say anything but prayed with a sinking heart that he would not see her. She hunched even more behind the large potted plant that half hi her from view as he turned around, holding a mug. Ino gaped, tugged on Sakura's arm and pointed.

"Look! It's him! From that party! The model guy!"

"Yes, Ino," Sakura said, completely tired already. This was meant to be a totally calm, fun shopping trip, where she could try and forget all the hassles and secrets. But now he was here, a person she was determined to never see again. To make sure nobody knew.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Ino asked, suspicion clear in her voice. "Usually you'd take more of an interest in things like this." Sakura shrugged.

"Just tired, I guess," she tried but it was the wrong answer. Since her collapse her friends had been super suspicious of any sign of illness or unusual symptoms.

"Go to a doctor! You convinced Kakashi last time it wasn't necessary but I think that was a stupid move." Sakura inwardly cursed. She'd taken great care to eat more and get more rest, even going as far as cutting down on some of her activities just so she wouldn't wear herself out while she was...well, in her state anyway. Her usual routine had put too much of a strain on her body.

It had been over a month now. Sakura was starting to worry about when it was no longer possible to hide it. Even going so far to think about...

She shook herself mentally. No. That wouldn't be necessary. She'd never agreed with that method: after all, although she had drama as her special skill at school she'd always taken an interest in medicine because of an old family friend she'd admired. The thing she'd repeated to her was that doctors preserve life, not destroy it. As a young girl, Sakura had taken it to heart.

"I'm not that tired." She forced herself to smile. "Besides I've just heard some things about that guy. He's not good news." Ino leered and then shrugged.

"Ok. Whatever. Throws good parties though," she added. Sakura sipped her hot chocolate and munched on a mini marshmallow. She seemed to have dodged the bullet for now.

Oh bugger, oh bugger, never mind the bullet, what about the minefield? He was coming this way! Sakura hid as much as she could and let her hair fall in front of her face, obscuring her features. He sat down at a table next to them, with his back to her. Sakura let out a soft sigh of relief. Hopefully they could leave before he had a chance to see her.

Sasuke – up close she could see for sure it was indeed him – sat down in his chair with a soft sigh, relaxed for a moment, drinking his coffee and then pulled a phone out of his pocket. He selected a number from his phonebook and when he spoke it was different from how Sakura remembered. The last time she'd heard it, it had been ice cold, empty, furious. Now for the first time she heard some warmth, affection, and she wondered who he was talking to.

"Hey. You said you wanted to talk?" There was noise on the other end of the phone and judging by the volume the other person was yelling. Sasuke chuckled slightly, amused by their anger and then purred "So why don't I pick you up? We could go on another date and I could explain everything." There was silence while the other person contemplated this.

"Well, where are you now?" Sasuke's eyes widened briefly and then he said "Oh, no, it's no problem. I can pick you up. I'll take you to my flat. My parents' house is not exactly interruption free after all. Besides they'll be back from their trip in a few days. Better leave it as I found it." Beside her Ino made a face but Sakura didn't stop to think about why, just strained to hear his next words.

"When are you going to be done? No, you can have as much time as you like. I'm actually in the top floor cafe. Ok, great, see you then." Sasuke flicked the phone shut and picked up his mug again. Ino winced and leaned over to whisper "Ugh, I can see what you meant. I bet you someone just found out they've been cheated on and now he's trying to smooth it over." Sakura didn't argue, just nodded.

Not long after Sasuke finished his coffee and left. Ino watched him go out the door and then stretched her long arms, her feathery blonde hair tumbling over the back of the chair.

"So where do you want to go?"

"The first floor has some nice shops," Sakura said, faking an interest. Ino got up and fished her first lot of purchases from under the table.

"This is nice, you know? We never go out just the two of us anymore."

"Mmm."

The elevator had just vanished, taking Sasuke with it, but neither girl noticed, choosing instead to work off their doughnuts and mini marshmallows on the stairs.

"I want a new CD," Ino mused, playing with a platinum strand as they clattered down the steps. "What's good out right now?"

"Oh, um..." Sakura racked her brain for what was in the charts right now but came up short. Guess for the past few months she'd been a bit out of the loop with all that stuff.

"Just get that Pixie Lott CD. You liked it, right?" Sakura said finally. Ino nodded enthusiastically.

"Good plan. Look, there's HMV." Sakura let herself be dragged along and then watched Ino vanish into the rows of CDs and DVDs. She knew that Ino would spend forever, finding other CDs she wanted, not being able to decide and the discovering a film they all just had to watch. Sakura drifted to the latest releases section just so she'd look like she was doing something and it was when she was flicking through the rack that something caught her eye.

Naruto drifted in, tie missing, shirt untucked, the usual after school appearance. He walked right past her without seeing her deeper into the store. Sakura was about to call out to him when someone stepped out from behind a display and Sakura dropped the CD she'd been holding in shock.

Sasuke and Naruto were speaking like they were old friends. Worse than that. Sasuke gently brushed Naruto's cheek, not even checking if anyone was looking. Naruto's face was bright, happy, split into a wide grin and then twisted into a teasing scowl. Sasuke laughed – really laughed – and spoke again. Sakura realised with a sickening thud that it had been Naruto on the phone. But what had they been talking about? What was it Naruto wanted to talk about so badly.

Sakura began to feel sick. What if Sasuke had told him about her? Or was going to? The way Naruto was looking at Sasuke with such devotion made the rage bubble up inside her, furious and hot.

When Sasuke turned and began searching for something in the horror film section Naruto finally saw her. Throwing a startled glance towards Sasuke's back, he hurried over to her.

"Sakura! Hi. I forgot you were here with Ino." His discomfort was obvious. Her stomach squirmed.

"Yeah," she said weakly. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

"I just met a friend and we're going out. I probably won't be home for dinner, ok? Could you do me a favour and tell Kakashi?" His eyes narrowed as he focused on her pale face and clenched fingers.

"Sakura, are you ok?"

Sakura was smart. She was known for thinking on the spot and her superb acting ability. She was not proud of what she did next but she saw her chance...

...and she took it.

"No," Sakura whimpered and half dropped to the floor.

"Oh my God!" Naruto crouched down by her. "What's wrong?"

"I feel so sick. I think there was something wrong with my lunch," Sakura said, turning her wide, green eyes on him. Naruto was a sucker for a puppy dog look and this time was no exception.

But still Naruto was torn. Inside Sakura raged that Sasuke had so much power over him.

"Well, isn't Ino here? Couldn't she take you home?"

"No!" Sakura gripped his hand. "Please stay with me." Tears threatened to spill over her perfectly outlined lids and that was all it took. Naruto nodded and helped her up. Ino came running over.

"I knew you weren't feeling well!" Ino yelled.

"Ino, it's fine," Sakura said softly. "I'm sure it was my lunch this time."

"You have no luck, do you?" Ino said, taking her friend's arm. "Naruto, you coming?" Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, i just..have to tell someone I'm going. Wait outside for me and call Kakashi."

Sakura watched over her shoulder as he ran down the aisle and tapped Sasuke on the shoulder. Sasuke turned around with a smile which quickly faded as Naruto explained. It gave way to a look of rage and Sakura made sure he caught her eye when he twisted to see. She made sure to put as much anger and determination into her eyes as possible.

I win this round.

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So, guys, what do you think? ^^ She's a bitch, huh? As always if you have theories, I love hearing them!

Don't worry, your porn is coming soon! Not too many chapters to go. I wanted the anticipation and also to make sure it had a point, you know? Not just random smut, it will have a purpose! (There's a sentence I bet you thought you'd never hear.)

Anyway, review please! I sat down the other day cause I was bored and several more plot twists and ideas were spawned (why can't any of those be used for the rewrite of Falling?)

I'm thinking this is going to end up a fairly long fic. .

Oh and thank Kaz/ABCoolness for me getting this chapter out a lot quicker than I would have done otherwise. The endless poking just got annoying. XD