author's note.

Dear readers,

I know, I know, another update! I hope you guys like this. This chapter was inspired by the music video for the song "Who Knew" by Pink. I love that song, and so does my whole family, really. So, it's a pretty amazing song, and I think that this is a pretty good chapter. It's over 1, 500 words. For some reason, these chapters that I type always come up bigger. -shrugs- Anyway, my mom just got back from my parent-teacher confrences. I have all A's. YAY! Anyway, I have to go beg for my Kodocha now. xD Have a good day everyone!

Lots of love,

Emily

P.s. Happy-FMA-starting-Naruto-day!

disclaimer.

I don't own "Naruto."

currently listening to...

Hallelujah - Paramore

dedication.

Peter.

Signs of rain were showing outside of my window, dark clouds were forming in the already dark midnight sky, but that wasn't putting a damper on my good time. After I had set the play list back in it's spot, who would've thought that a guy like Sasuke would be so organized?, we had unrolled the windows and were now chorusing together to a Kylie Minogue song.

"It's no surprise."

"I don't want you to make me…"

"I want to make it with you!"

The sing a long was quite embarassing, and with the other hoodlums staring at us and then cracking up laughing at red lights were definitely not getting us to stop. We were drunk. Drunk on being together, drunk on everything that had already happened that night and drunk on what was going to happen. It was a silly idea, somewhat even cliché. But we were in the moment, and damn, nothing was going to get us out of it.

"Where should we go to next?" He turned and asked me. I looked out the window, satisfied. The last few stops had not been cleared with me, and despite the surprising and definitely not even close to being slightly wanted kiss from Ino, that place sure was fun. I had been wondering if I ever was going to go back. Maybe next time, oh god please let there be a next time I see this boy, Sasuke and I will get to be one of those couples making out against the wall.

I didn't want to sound like a complete fool. I had lived in New Jersey all my life, despite the one year exchange student program in England for college applications, and I still couldn't ever manuver my way around the city by myself. I didn't know how we were going to get along, because just by looking at Sasuke, you could tell he was also a New Jersey goer.

Well, thousands of tourists came to this place every day, and they managed to find their way through it. Hell, what's the worst that could happen? We get lost? Great, whatever. My parents rejoice that they can finally legally adopt Tenten, even though she has alive and well parents thank you very much, because she's way more perfect than me. School? Fuck that. Sasuke and I can be those musicians that sit around drinking Starbucks at Mickey D's fries that are given to us by sympathetic and stupid tourists…

My thoughts were interrupted by the reminder that I had yet to answer Sasuke's question. Great, Sakura. Leave him hanging gets brought to a new level—by Sakura Haruno. My eyes searched out the window, and my face spread into a grin. In the distance, in a clearing a carnival had been set up. In any other city, things like this would be closed by this hour, but hey, we were in Manhattan, baby. It's never too late for a carnival.

"There." I let my arm hang out the window, pointing over at the carnival.
"Really?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. What? I didn't look like a carnival type of girl? Psh. "Well, okay."

We found a parking spot in the alley between Hoo's Laundromat and a tiny second hand book store, that looked especially appealing to me. Too bad it was closed. I was walking along the pavement next to him, the energy, the friction between us was almost suicidial. He must have been feeling it too, because soon his hand was slipping into mine.

He paid for the admission, and suddenly we weren't sixteen, but we were six years old. I watched as the few families remaining stumbled out of the carnival, the parents had blood shot eyes, probably exhausted from keeping tabs on their children and making sure that they weren't over paying for a stuffed dog or to give their son a chance to throw darts at pain balloons. Now, the carnival belonged to the teenagers, the kids, everyone who was daring enough to come out into the carnival now.

Sasuke had a strip of orange tickets in his hand. "What do you want to do first?" He said, eying the tickets then me. I winced, I hadn't been to a carnival in forever. The last time I went to anything like a carnival was when my family took a trip to Disney World and my nanny and me paraded around the Magic Kingdom, me proudly boasting my Princess Minnie ears and a shopping bag full of souvenirs.

"That spinny thing looks like fun," I said, cocking my head towards an attraction that consisted in sitting in a larger-than-life apple and spinning around and around while going through a metal track. It looked like fun, and an easy way to lose that omelette from centuries ago. "Wanna go on that?"

By the way that I could swear Sasuke's face was turning a tint of green, I knew that spinning wasn't necessarily this drummer boy's thing. But, being the manly man who he was, or maybe he was just repulsed by the carnie taking our tickets, he decided to come along with me. We managed to find an empty apple and I slid in, him next. We had touched many times through out the night so far, but it still tingled when his leg bumped into mine.

They didn't give us any warning that it was starting, but we decided that it had when the apple started moving along the track. Sasuke and I both let our hands fall into position on the silver dial, twisting, pulling, pushing will all of our might until we had created a monstrous, amazingly powerful force with our hands. Soon our apple was spinning and I was giggling like a four year old.

Our eyes managed to catch each other right before the ride ended. My head was pulsating from all of this spinning, but I could still make out that smirk on his face. When we got off, he gracefully stepped off the apple. But me on the other hand, I stumbled out, drunkenly, still giggling insanely. Who needed an apple martini when you had a giant apple to spin in?

His hand slipped into mine, and I tried to tell myself it was just so that I didn't trip over a rock and fall onto my face, but he was squeezing lightly, but just hard enough for me to get the picture. Was he…dun dun dun…protecting me? Well, he was protecting me from carnies and the stoners who had probably ran out of dope and well they were waiting for a new batch decided to come to a children's fair. What a nice thought.

"Let's go on that next," Sasuke suggested. I was not going to go on more spinning things in the next hour, but when I looked up and saw the ferris wheel, I swallowed. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that I hated heights. "Oh come on, Sakura," Sasuke said, a smile on his face. Apparently the boy could read fear. Damn. He was good. "It's not bad. You've never been on one before."

"No?" I offered, an uneasy smile on my face. I hated heights. Ever since that demonic diving class that my mom had signed me up for, with out even asking me. Just standing up on the edge of the diving board had made me sick. And when I turned on my heels to go, my cousin (the demon from hell) pushed me in. And that's why I'm afraid of heights. In a nut shell.

"Come on, let's do it. It's not a night with Sasuke until you've conquered at least one fear."

Right. Like me sneaking around with you while your friends carted my drunk best friend home, kissing your exgirlfriend, almost getting raped by my exboyfriend and during the insanity that was going on wasn't enough? Psh. High standards, much?

"Alright, alright!" I said, a smile, uneasy but still a smile, settled onto my face. "Let's go then."

But he was already leading me in the direction of the death wheel. I mean, the ferris wheel. Excuse my French. We were boarded into a small, red box looking thing. There was two benches, facing each other. Each were coated in a red, plastic interior. I stood in shock, Sasuke pulled me towards him to sit down, but ended up pulling me onto his lap. I didn't protest, I didn't move, and he didn't move me.

I turned my head, burying it into the alcove in his neck and shoulder. He quietly sang to me as we rose up. Then, a few minutes later, his hand was running up and down my back. "It's okay to look now, Sakura." I took my head and looked out into the distance. My heart did cart wheels. It was amazing. Beautiful.

The city was going on below us, racing cars, flashing bilboards. Each person with a life, a story, down there. Thousands and thousands of people, and Sasuke and I. The thought was enough to bring a chill down my spine and goosebumps to push their way to the surface of my flesh.

"It's…" I started.
He turned to me, gazing into my eyes. "Beautiful, I know."

Then he pressed his lips against mine.