SMILE
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in Naruto. I don't own Naruto. I don't own Sasuke. FLASH!
Warnings: NaruSasu, yaoi/shounen-ai, strong language, maniac shopping sprees, Evil Little Plots, and old hags growing older. The horror.
Review and I will love you forever!
CHAPTER TEN: SHALL WE DANCE?
Ino pressed on the gas pedal slightly, making the Corvette speed up only a small amount. She anxiously gripped the steering wheel and glanced down to her right with her dazzling periwinkle eyes, briefly staring at the piece of paper that was there. She had stuck a paperweight on top of it to make sure that it would not fly away with the wind, since the top was off the convertible car. Slowly, she pushed the car somewhat faster, driving as quickly as she could without going over the speed limit by too much. Ino could not wait until she arrived at her best friend's home and could tell her about the news. She loved having connections through her father; she was probably one of the first to know. This meant that she, Ino Yamanaka, would get to spread the word to every soul in Konoha College.
She smiled and turned up 'We Fly High' on the radio. In comparison to how her mood had been the other day, it had improved by leagues. The group of friends had not seen each other since that day; they had silently agreed to give each other space so they could figure out how they would react to what was happening in their own minds. Her smile faltered when she remembered the look on Naruto's face and Sakura's angry words. Slowly, she took a deep breath, then sighed. Really, Ino would have preferred if that had never happened, if she could forget it, or at least if she could pretend that it did not happen. She could not do any of those, though, so it had forced her to come to a decision. Ino had forgiven Naruto. She could not bear to throw all of it away, all their years of friendship and all the memories they shared, just over one little thing.
Okay, she thought, her eyebrows knitting. So it really wasn't all that little. Ino admitted that to herself. He really had forgotten, though; no one could ever fake that, no matter how good of an actor he or she was. No one could ever fake that ashamed and pained look he had in his sorrow-filled cerulean eyes. Ino still had no idea how he could possibly forget the people who were the family that he never had. But it was only one time…right?
Quickly, she turned the steering wheel and exited the freeway that went through Konoha City. She had to stop thinking about it, since it was darkening her formerly bright mood. Ino raised the volume of the radio so she could not hear her own thoughts and forced herself to become her usual cheerful and enthusiastic self. Again, she glanced down at the paper beside her. Well, at least she still had that to anticipate. She drove on and the environment around her started to change, the houses growing larger and far more luxurious as she sped down the narrowing road. At the very end, there was a hill, and on top of it sat the exquisite and expensive Haruno mansion. Though it seemed to be a copy of all the large homes surrounding it by mimicking their exact look and style, it was most certainly more refined than the rest, surrounded by lush gardens and cherry blossom trees. She pulled into the driveway and parked the pink car, waiting for her friend to appear.
Ino watched the enormous doors, waiting for Sakura to emerge from them. The vast, decorated doors opened, revealing the pink-haired girl in the midst of strutting out of her large home. She tried to walk as fast as she could in her heels. She smiled blissfully at her friend and waved, clutching her tiny purse. Ino waved back and leaned over to open the passenger door for her. As soon as Sakura sat down and shut the car door, Ino's foot was on the pedal. They raced off the Haruno property at prohibited speeds with their hair blowing in the wind, breaking into a fit of giggles when Ino's ponytail accidentally whipped Sakura in the face.
Ino smiled to herself and turned the music up. She would wait a little longer before she told her pink-haired friend the big news. For now, she focused on the road ahead of her and let her mind wander. It was funny, in a way, how Sakura was almost an entirely different person when Naruto was not around. Ino ran a hand through her long, silky ponytail and frowned. How long had it been since they broke up? It was more than enough time to recover and heal, but she was not about to say that to Sakura's face. Ino found how Sakura held a grudge against Naruto for neglecting her immature, but she was not about to delve into it any further. From the corner of her eye, she peered at her friend, who seemed relatively content at the moment, despite what happened a few days ago. It was like it had never even happened.
In a way, Ino felt envious of how Sakura could forget so easily.
Ino fell back down to earth, realized that she was nearing a stoplight, and halted the car. She decided that now was the time to tell her friend about the large, approaching event. Ino turned off the radio and Sakura glared at her, questioning Ino with her gaze. Ino just flashed a toothy smile in response and snatched the paper from beneath the paperweight, bent over, her seat belt straining against her, and waved the note under Sakura's nose. Her expression immediately changed and she stared at it curiously. She tried to snatch it from her friend and failed miserably, being forced to ask to see it.
Ino stuck out her tongue at the pink-haired girl and giggled.
"What is that?" She asked, leaning over slightly, looking like she was going to try to pry it from her friend's hands again. Ino studied Sakura's face and noted her obvious interest in the folded piece of paper, and the fact that she was starting to become somewhat angry that she was not letting her have it. Sakura always did have a short temper. Ino extended her long arm and hung it in front of her face again, teasing her.
"Oh, this?" She said nonchalantly, putting it out of Sakura's reach when she yet again tried to grab it.
"Yes, that! Now give me it, Ino, you pig," Sakura demanded, becoming frustrated. She tried reaching for it again and she missed, glowering at her dangerously. Cars behind them started to honk their horns at them repeatedly. Sakura looked up to see that the light had changed from red to the color of her eyes, but she and Ino ignored it. They could not have cared less that they were holding up traffic.
"Aw, you don't have to turn to insults, forehead! You could have just said please!" Ino rolled her eyes, joking, and stretched backwards, still keeping the paper out of reach.
"Oh, look who's talking!" Sakura firmly placed her hands on her hips and gave her friend the most intimidating glare she could muster. Ino sighed and dropped the paper, letting it sway into the pink-haired girl's awaiting hands.
A car honked loudly and it reminded them of the traffic jam that they were causing. A few cars were driving around them, the drivers shouting angry curses at them. They just laughed and Ino pressed on the gas pedal, hoping to get away from the area before she got a ticket. She continued on her way to the college campus, leaving the radio off, so Sakura could read the note peacefully, without hip-hop blasting in her ears. Her emerald eyes scanned the paper quickly, seeming to be so absorbed in doing so that she did not care that the wind was tousling her hair severely. She appeared to be done when she raised her head and practically shrieked in excitement.
"Oh my god, Ino! Who knew Tsunade was the type of person to throw some big birthday bash for herself? Either way, I can't wait," she exclaimed, laying back into her seat.
"Sakura, isn't it obvious that this is the work of Jiraiya? I mean, like Tsunade would seriously throw a birthday party for herself, inviting everyone in the city. That woman hates the fact that she ages, so there would be no reason for her to celebrate it," Ino explained to the girl beside her, glancing at her briefly, then focusing her eyes back onto the road. "That old perv. He probably just wants to see Konoha City's finest girls in sexy, revealing dresses," she added, starting to laugh at her own comment. Sakura nodded her head quickly, no doubt agreeing that would be something expected from the old man, and then started to laugh herself.
"So, Ino, is he going to get that wish?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and smirking.
"Hm, probably. Only if you do it with me," Ino said, then quickly changed her mind. "Never mind, I'll probably end up doing that anyway," she said in a cheery tone and braced herself for the whack that she knew was coming. Sakura smacked her friend playfully on the arm and tried to look reproachful, but she cracked, a smile making its way onto her face.
"Whore," she stated accusingly, still smiling.
"I know," Ino said happily and received a fake look of astonishment from Sakura. Dramatically, she slapped a hand against her chest and stared at her, bewildered, with her mouth hanging open. Ino covered her mouth and tried her hardest to suppress her giggles, waiting for the rest of Sakura's act to come before she burst out laughing.
"Ino, I am so surprised in you. What sort of girl..." She trailed off, shaking her head vigorously, like she was a mother ashamed of her child. Sakura placed her hands on her hips firmly and wagged her finger at her friend. "Have you no decency?" She mock-scolded.
Ino's small smile instantly turned into a sly grin and she wiggled her eyebrows. Sakura dropped her act as a disapproving mother-figure and stared at her friend warily. She knew that look from her friend. Usually, it meant that she was about to do something completely insane, perverted, and one-hundred percent Ino. The pink-haired girl eyed her friend cautiously, but was still caught off guard when Ino let go of the steering wheel. Immediately, Sakura tensed and screeched in horror, even though the Corvette remained in the center of the lane.
"FLASH!" Ino exclaimed vivaciously as she lifted the hem of her purple belly shirt, and then quickly pulled it back down. She grabbed the steering wheel and laid back into the seat of the car negligently, her thin arm hanging out of the car and her eyes staring ahead as if nothing had happened. "Nope. I got no decency," she said with a devious little smirk on her lips. Sakura, though, looked like she was recovering from a heart attack.
"Ino, you insane bitch! You know that we both know that you have no decency, and there was no need for you to prove that, much less let go of the wheel, flash me, and expose whatever of you there is left to expose," Sakura yelled before calming down slightly. She leant back into the leather seats with a hand over her heart, waiting for it to slow down. The cheery blonde girl beside her just stuck out her tongue childishly and her eyes turned into happy half-circles.
"You know you like it," she said, winking at her friend and flashing her a toothy grin. Sakura just sighed, and then giggled lightly, a content expression setting onto her face as she became comfortable in her seat. They drove on for a few more minutes, not speaking to each other and enjoying the comfortable silence. Eventually, Ino turned the radio back on and 'Fergalicious' blasted out of the speakers.
"Hey, Ino?" Sakura asked abruptly, her voice barely heard over the loud music. It took the said girl a few seconds to register that she had actually heard Sakura's voice. She turned to face her best friend and former rival with a curious and questioning expression on her face. Ino blinked a few times before making a small noise of acknowledgement.
"Hm?" She queried, swaying to the music.
"Who are you taking to the party?" Sakura shuffled around slightly and turned to face her. "Even through Jiraiya's horrible hand writing, I think it said that having a date is preferable," Sakura recalled. Ino bit her lip and clutched the steering wheel somewhat tighter.
"Even though I can have any guy I want, I think I'll settle for going with one of our boys," Ino grinned, her statement sounding innocent even though her words were smug.
Sakura did not miss a beat. "I call Gaara!" She exclaimed, her left arm shooting straight up into the air. She saw the expression of contempt on Ino's face and started began to laugh at her friend's expense. Suddenly, Sakura was very glad that she beat her friend to him. Even after all the years that had passed since they halted their rivalry and reverted back to being friends, there was never a time without competitiveness between them.
"B-but...I wanted to take him!" Ino whined, pouting. "It's fun to bother him," she insisted, wisps of white-blond hair blowing wildly in the wind around her face.
"And I'm so sure that will make him want to go with you. Just face it, Yamanaka, I beat you, as always, so now you're stuck with Neji," Sakura said with an egotistical smirk on her face. She stuck out her butt and wagged it at her friend, mocking her. "Kiss it."
"Only if you let me," Ino said, suggestively raising her eyebrows and wiggling them as she always did. That immediately scared Sakura and she backed up into the corner of the seat, hiding her butt from Ino. They laughed, faced forward, and stared at the road ahead of them. Blue skies loomed over the horizon, which was fairly common weather for the large Californian city. The ocean shore was visible from their current position and they grew closer to it with each passing second. The campus appeared in Ino's line of vision and she noticed the vibrant Lamborghini parked in the parking lot in front of the dormitory building, along with a few other vehicles.
Naruto, she remembered, and found herself wondering who he would take to the party. She was positive that he did not know about it yet, but she still had to contemplate. He was easily one of the most attractive guys in the city and he could probably have any girl he met since he had many admirable qualities as well, but that seemed so unlike him. They had been friends for years and she knew that Naruto would not take any girl he just met to a special occasion. There was also the fact that hell would freeze over before Sakura would agree to go with him, and she had already claimed Gaara, even though it was without the redhead's permission. Not to mention that she, in a way, though reluctantly, had agreed to go with Neji. That left the question she wanted answered. With whom would Naruto go?
Ino turned to peek at Sakura from the corner of her eye and saw that she was somewhat tense now. She inferred that Sakura had seen Naruto's vivid tangerine car and had been reminded of the week's past events that she had momentarily forgotten. Ino swallowed hard. None of them had confronted their friend since that day, so she was unsure of what happened after they had left him there with Neji. They pulled into the parking lot in front of the large campus and Ino parked the magenta car that she and Sakura shared.
"Sakura," she started, her voice not sounding like her own. It lacked the usual spirited tinge it contained, and it seemed too serious to herself. The pink-haired girl turned around to face her friend and noticed that something was wrong. Immediately, she frowned. "Who do you think Naruto will take to Tsunade's party?" As soon as Ino said it, she regretted it, but she could not help herself. She had to know. Ino turned off their car and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Sakura's emerald eyes suddenly looked dull and her face fell.
"I don't know, and seriously, Ino, I don't really give a damn. He can pick up some twenty-dollar whore off the streets and bring her, or not even come at all, it wouldn't make a difference to me either way," she said as she reached to open the car door. Sakura had to admit that she was thankful that her pink hair was shielding her face at the moment. She had had a great time with her best friend, she had almost completely forgotten about the incident a few days ago, and then Ino brought it up. As soon as she read the personal invitation from Jiraiya, though, she knew within herself that the question was going to come up eventually.
Ino looked at her with concern. She knew better than to believe her words, but she dismissed it anyway. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she scanned the surrounding area, searching for something to suddenly become ecstatic about. Across the courtyard, she saw a person with red hair and beside it was a white, well-dressed figure. Gaara and Neji. Without wasting a second, she grabbed Sakura's arm and started to drag her in the direction of their friends.
"Ino? Where are you taking me?" She demanded, sounding a tad angry, but mostly confused. Sakura tried to yank her arm free from of Ino's grasp, but it was futile.
"Over there to Gaara and Neji so we can tell them about Tsunade's birthday party, and then to tell everyone in Konoha City," Ino explained as she continued to drag her friend towards them. She jumped up, waved, and the boys appeared to notice them, since they waved back.
Sakura blinked stupidly a few times. "Oh," she said with realization, and then broke free of her friend. They came to a halt and Ino turned to face her, one blonde eyebrow raised.
"God, where did you think I was taking you?" She asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Her expression then turned wary and she took a step away from her friend.
A pink tinge appeared on Sakura's cheeks when she grasped what Ino was implying. She gasped and spun on her heels to turn to face the blonde girl again, but she was running away like a maniac (the best she could run in those high heels, at least) and laughing loudly.
"I didn't mean it like that, you perverted idiot!" She shouted insistently and started to chase after her.
A ringing filled his ears. He did not know who or what it was; the only thing he thought he had to know was that it was preventing him from sleeping. His arm reached out and he started to search for a pillow. His fingers touched something soft and smooth, he immediately snatched it, and covered his head with it. A few of his sun-kissed locks were peeking out from underneath the pillow. Naruto burrowed himself further into the blankets on his bed and finally started to fall asleep again. A sleepy smile settled onto his face and he closed his cerulean eyes. A second later the ringing came back, seeming louder than before, as if it was right beside his ear. The golden-haired boy jumped when he heard the noise again and his eyes fluttered open.
Slowly, he took the pillow off of his head and lifted it, tiredly observing his surroundings, his hair sticking up in every single direction, even more than usual. There was that noise again. He glanced down and saw that his small orange phone was buried in the spot where his ear had previously been resting. His eyebrows knit angrily and he glared down at the phone. Naruto was never a man of common sense, even though it had been improving since his studies with Sasuke had begun, but he usually depended on instinct and acted on impulse. At the moment, his impulse seemed to specifically be to pick up his phone and angrily fling it across the room, and then watch it hit the wall. The alarm on the phone finally stopped. He smiled again, yawned, and collapsed back onto the bed, sprawled across the sheets.
His blue eyes snapped open abruptly and he almost jumped out of his skin. Naruto sprang up from the bed, hastily looked over his shoulder, and stared at the clock in his dormitory room. Shit. His eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. He was incredibly late, and he would entirely miss Professor Hatake's class if he did not get his ass moving soon. Naruto spazzed in a panic and started to dig frantically through a pile of clothing on his floor. He was becoming aggravated, since he could not distinguish what was clean from what was dirty. He stumbled over to his closet, ripped out the first wearable things he saw, and ran into the bathroom. Still moving quickly, he turned on his shower to scalding hot water, tossed his clothing into a corner, and started to undress himself. Naruto pulled his orange shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor, then stared at his reflection in the mirror.
This entire week had not been good to him. He looked disheveled and unkempt, with purple under his eyes. No matter how much sleep he seemed to get, it could not relieve him of the bags or this week's drama. He had not shaved in days and blond fuzz had built up on his face. For the past few days, he had been cooped up in his dorm, occasionally leaving to feed himself or to attend class. Naruto still had not recuperated from what had happened on the steps of Neji's mansion; thinking about it made him want to collapse on his bed and lay there until he was hungry enough to get up. He did not think it was possible to feel unashamed or forgive himself so easily. He had spent nights laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out how he could have possibly forgotten like that, and trying to think of how to get them to forgive him. Though, to himself, it was obvious that he did not deserve it, it did not keep him from wanting their forgiveness. These past few days no one had bothered to call him, so Naruto figured that he was not missed.
For another minute, he lingered in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection, letting the hot water in the shower run.
Naruto snapped out of his daze and walked over to the shower, dragging his feet as he went along. He let the burning hot water run into his hair, soaking it entirely. Vigorously, he began to scrub himself, and he was not satisfied until his skin was pink. Naruto shook his head to get his overgrown hair out of his eyes so he could see, and then washed his hair quickly. He stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, wrapped a towel around his waist, shaved the little golden hairs off of his face, and threw on the clothes in the corner. He did not bother to fix his hair or himself in any way or form besides that. Naruto grabbed his books and he was out the door in a few short moments. He soon found himself in the hallway outside of Professor Hatake's classroom.
He checked the time on his phone and frowned. The time indicated that his class should be ending about now. Naruto looked up and, right on cue, many students started to file out of the door like a river of every color. Naruto's shoulders sagged, he walked over to the nearest brick wall, and leant against it, looking defeated and out of it. He let his books drop into a nice pile on the floor and he sighed, lifting his head to look at the ceiling. His still-wet hair touched the collar of his shirt and dampened it.
"Naruto?" A strange voice asked, one that seemed unfamiliar. Slowly, he turned his head and looked over to the person that had called his name. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Sasuke standing there, in his usual combination of black and dark blue clothing. He was holding some books and had a weird expression on his face. Naruto forced himself to get off the wall, his arms hanging lifelessly at his sides.
"Oh, hey Sasuke. I haven't heard from you in a while. What's up?" He asked, his voice sounding a little hoarse, since he had not used it in a few days. He forced a smile onto his face.
Sasuke stared at him with suspicious eyes, feeling inexplicably weird inside when Naruto gave him that heart-breaking smile. There was obviously something wrong that he did not know about. Hastily, he walked towards his friend and did not stop until he was a few feet away from him.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in days. Did something happen?" He said, just a little too quickly.
He knew that he sounded fairly different when he was talking. He had to admit that he had been worried. It was a well-known fact that Uchiha's did not simply worry like that, so he preferred to say that he had been troubled instead. He had no idea why not seeing Naruto had driven him off the edge. He assumed it was because he was so used to seeing him often, so it was strange when he disappeared abruptly. On normal days, the blond idiot would always pay him a visit at his dorm and he would always see him on campus. Sasuke had thought about calling him, but he ended up just sitting next to the phone for about an hour, staring at it.
"Calm down, Sasuke, stop spazzing. I'm right here," Naruto teased and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke briefly directed his attention towards the tanned hand resting on his shoulder, but then quickly averted his eyes and glowered at him, still suspicious.
"Tell me what happened, Naruto," he said, almost sounding caring, and shrugged Naruto's hand off his shoulder. He still felt the warmth of his hand there, though. Naruto's face fell and he brought one hand up to his face, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He frowned when he noticed the lack of the word 'dobe' that he had come to think of as Sasuke's 'affectionate' nickname for him. Naruto sighed, submitted, and decided to give a brief description of the days past events, leaving out most of the details.
"The day I went with you to the beach...yeah, I kinda screwed up...a lot," Naruto murmured, scratching behind his head sheepishly. He directed his eyes downward and started to count the dots on the floor.
"What do you mean by 'screwed up a lot'?" Sasuke asked somewhat harshly, becoming somewhat annoyed that Naruto did not seem to want to tell him directly. Naruto could tell that Sasuke was not going to make this easy for him. Quickly, he changed his mind about his previous decision and figured that he would tell him most of the story. After all, this was Sasuke's way of being concerned. Naruto had no trouble admitting it to himself, but the fact that Sasuke was the slightest bit worried about him lightened his mood. It was nice to know that someone cared.
"Long story short, I sorta kinda might have ditched them for you without knowing it and then they kicked my ass emotionally," Naruto said blatantly. Sasuke blinked, absorbing the information that his friend had just given him. He clenched his fists tightly and kept his arms glued to his side. Why did they have to put Naruto through hell? It did not help any that he seemed to be the reason why they were mad at him. He saw Naruto staring at his fists with sad hazy eyes and he immediately shoved them into his pockets, trying to calm down.
"That doesn't seem like a very long story," Sasuke said pointedly. The whiskered-boy standing before him merely shrugged and shoved his own hands into the pockets of his shorts. He stared down at his shoes and shuffled on his feet.
"It may sound simple to you, but believe me, it's not," Naruto said, sighing heavily.
He took his hands out from his pockets, rubbed his tired eyes, and then began to massage his temples, a troubled expression on his face. Sasuke felt like doing the same, but he kept his balled fists in his pockets. Lately, life had been too dramatic ever since Naruto came into the picture, not that he regretted it in any way. That thought actually surprised him. It was somewhat amusing how a blond idiot with a short temper could get to him so easily, and in just a couple of months, after he had closed himself off from all interaction with the world for years.
Sasuke continued to stare at him with his obsidian eyes, and then finally he spoke. "I believe you," he said, and smiled at him slightly. Naruto looked up without raising his head and returned the smile, though it was far warmer than that of Sasuke.
"Yeah. Thanks, Sasuke," he said softly and smiled again, more brightly and animated this time, much more like his usual self.
Naruto took a few steps towards Sasuke and for a moment he thought that Naruto was going to hug him, but then he patted him on the head, ruffled his raven hair, and grinned. Sasuke glared at him and swatted his hand away, even though something that he had never experienced had just happened. He, Sasuke Uchiha, cold-hearted ice cube bastard, felt like he had just melted. There was this incredibly strange, warm sensation in the pit of his stomach that he had never felt in his life. And he just happened to decide that he did not like it at all.
"Naruto! There you are!" A female voice shouted from what appeared to be across the hall. Simultaneously, they turned their heads around in the direction from which the noise came. The tall, slutty, blonde girl that Sasuke recognized as one of Naruto's so-called friends was jumping up and down while waving at them. Ino ran over to them and grinned enthusiastically at both. Sasuke just stared at her as if she had come back from the dead.
"I've been looking all over for you. I have a class in a few minutes so we don't have much time left to talk," she said, strictly speaking to Naruto, facing him. Ino looked from Sasuke to Naruto and then raised her eyebrows. "Unless...of course..." She added, a devious grin settling onto her features, "...I was interrupting something." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and turned to face Sasuke, that same smile still present on her face. "Hi, Sasuke," she greeted him cheerily.
"Hi." He had no choice but to respond, but that did not mean he had to do it nicely. He gave her a deadpan look and regarded her coldly. At least she was not as bad as the pink thing that Naruto had formerly dated, but she seemed a little too enthusiastic, and not to mention perverted. Sasuke did not miss what she had implied about them. Those unusual feelings in his stomach were now gone and he reverted back to his default setting of glaring.
Ino dismissed the look that the little emo kid had given her and turned her attention back to her friend. "Anyway, I really need to talk to you. All of us do," she said, and tugged on his toned arm. He exchanged looks with Sasuke and then stared at her, confused, uncertain about what was happening. He expected her to be angry; she was on the verge of crying the last time he had seen her. His eyebrows knitted, he looked into Ino's periwinkle eyes, and nodded uncertainly.
"Um...okay? Bye, 'suke...I guess..." Naruto said and waved awkwardly at his friend. Sasuke gave him a curt nod. Naruto smiled crookedly, and then turned to face Ino.
"Good, that makes it much easier for me. I was going to drag you to the courtyard if you said no, anyway," she said, playfully whacking his arm. Sasuke strolled down the hallway and listened to Naruto's laughter echo through the halls of the campus. For some reason unbeknown to him, he decided to stick around for a little while longer. It was not eavesdropping, spying, nor stalking. It was just...watching while being unseen and unheard by the people he was watching. Yes, that was it. Sasuke turned a corner, leant against the wall, and listened. He had no doubt that he would be able to hear both blondes, since they were rather loud. He heard Naruto's laughter dissipate into what seemed to be an awkward silence.
"…So, Ino...what is it that you need to talk to me about? I mean, really, this is kind of strange...After all that the other day, you just stroll up to me like nothing ever "
"That's what we need to talk to you about." She cut him off, staring at him with hopeful eyes. Naruto's eyes widened slightly. He stared at the girl, dumbfounded, unsure if he had heard her correctly. It was impossible for them to forgive him so quickly. Ino laughed and hit his arm again to make him snap out of his daze. "You heard me correctly. Don't worry, you're not going insane." She grinned at him. He chuckled lightly and smiled, still looking somewhat unsure.
"If what you say is true, then why...?" Naruto asked, confused. Ino sighed and rolled her eyes, smiling. She did not know that being the messenger meant that she would have to explain everything in order for him to understand.
"We need you. It's not the same without you...we have too much history together, Naruto. We're family, and we can't throw all those years away over some mistake...Besides, I know that you will never do that again. Because if you do, I want to make sure you know I'm going to get Sakura to whip your ass," she said playfully and jabbed her finger into his chest, putting on a fake face of determination. Naruto's mood instantly lifted and he laughed, swatting her hand away, a huge smile planted on his face. He was so glad.
"Come here and give me a hug, you idiot," Ino said, laughing.
She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. Naruto was caught off guard, but he hugged her back nonetheless. Sasuke stared as Ino quickly give him a peck on his whiskered cheek before jumping back down. She tugged on his arm and ran off, dragging him towards the main entrance of the campus. Even after they were gone, he continued to stare. A strange feeling churned in his stomach, making him feel angry and resentful towards Ino. He disliked the fact that all these feelings were being rediscovered within him lately. Life was much easier and simpler when Sasuke Uchiha did not feel affection, worry, or jealousy...
Sakura ostentatiously swung the bags on her arms around, displaying them for all to see. They were heavy, filled with the most expensive designer clothing, and not to mention leaving marks on her arms. The pink-haired girl strutted through the mall with her friends on either side of her, carrying their own bags of purchased items as well. Gaara had gone into that store again and the girls had to send Neji inside to retrieve him. Again. Somehow, Sakura and Ino became involved in a shopping contest of some sort, and were now competing against each other to buy the most clothes and obtain the largest amount of bags on their arms. Neji bought nothing but the water that he was currently drinking. They neared the center of the Konoha City mall, where a large fountain lay, shooting sparkling crystal-like water in every direction, and more importantly, where their meeting spot was located.
Sakura dreaded the moment that they would reach that spot, because that was where she was supposed to meet Naruto. She was the one who was assigned the task of notifying him about the party and that they were shopping for dresses and tuxedos after their classes today, since it skipped their mind when they were forgiving him and accepting his apologies. Well, except Sakura, since she had kept her mouth shut tightly when it was her turn. Sakura did not want him to come to the mall with them and she could not forgive him as easily as the others, so she decided to 'forget' to tell him.
They reached the center of the mall and they all sat down on the edge of the fountain. Neji, Ino, and Gaara started to scope the area for any signs of their golden-haired friend. They found none. The four of them waited a few more minutes in case he was running late, but he still did not show. Slowly, three heads turned suspiciously toward the only pink-haired girl in the city.
"Sakura..." Gaara started, glaring at her ominously. "Where's Naruto?" The redhead asked. The said girl just looked down and stared at her heels.
"Sakura!" Ino shouted, frustrated, in an attempt to get her to snap out of her daze. Her head snapped up and she looked at her friends, smiling weakly, a slight blush on her face.
"What?" She asked, feigning innocence. Her friend stared at her as if she could not believe what she was seeing. With all eyes on her, she could not help but become nervous and started to twirl an artificially pink strand of hair around her finger. Neji stared at her with his penetrating, white eyes until she looked up.
"Sakura," he repeated once he had her attention, speaking with the patience that they all wish they had. It was as if he was talking to a child, rather than an eighteen year old. "Where's Naruto? You were responsible for telling him to meet us here."
"Oh, um, yeah, that...I sorta...forgot," she said somewhat meekly, her cheeks tinting light pink. She shrugged her shoulders as if she was dismissing the topic, and then bent down to grab her bags. She stood up and struggled to balance all of them between her two arms, then smiled. "Since we know he isn't showing up, why don't we go and continue shopping? I say that we all get Armani dresses and tuxes," she suggested, staring at her friends with hopeful green eyes.
They exchanged glances, shrugged, and stood up. Neji threw his empty water bottle into a nearby recycling can and then looked at Gaara, who picked up his overstuffed bag. Ino did the same, except she dropped her bags everywhere in the process, resulting in Gaara helping her pick them up. Her periwinkle eyes flashed at him, and then the blonde girl turned to Neji and whispered something in his ear when Sakura was not looking.
Ino pulled away from his ear and sauntered over to Gaara's side. "I could use a little help," he murmured under his breath, glaring daggers at the girl beside him. She smirked and simply shook her head.
"No can do, you're the one helping me, remember?" Ino reminded him and continued to watch him struggle with all of her bags. He mumbled something incoherently and turned his attention to Neji. Ino did the same.
"All set?" Neji asked, receiving nods from his friends. Sakura spun on her heels and turned to face him.
"Yeah, let's go," she said, relieved. She could not believe how easy it was to get them to buy her excuse, especially when it was obvious that she disliked Naruto. Sakura was a smart girl, though, and something in the back of her mind was warning her that they knew about her little plot. For now, she ignored it, and they continued on their journey to the store. In no time they reached their destination.
"Oh, look how cute that dress is!" Ino shouted as soon as she walked into the store, eyeing a pale blue dress. Briefly, her eyes met Neji's, but they quickly darted away and she started to march towards the dress. "Come on, Gaara!" She called after the said boy.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he mumbled and trailed after her, the thought of dropping all of her bags and walking out of the store crossing his mind. He had to say, it was very tempting. Nonetheless, he continued to follow her and disappeared into the depths of the store. Neji turned and looked to see that he and Sakura were the only ones left.
Quickly, he snatched the first tuxedo he saw. "I'm going to go try this on," he shouted over his shoulder.
"Okay. I'll just stay here," she said, not even turning around. Sakura was too busy feeling the material of a silky red dress that she appeared to be mesmerized by. Neji turned around, marched to the men's changing rooms, locked himself in one, and hung the tux up. He pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his pants and flipped it open. He speed-dialed Naruto, swiftly pulled it up to his ear, and waited for him to pick up his phone. It rang several times, and just when he was about to hang up and try again, his friend picked up the phone.
"Damn, I'm surprised this thing still works after how I threw it at the wall this morning..." Naruto said absentmindedly, stating his thoughts aloud.
"Hello to you too, Naruto," Neji said, smirking slightly at the way the blond had greeted him. "Anyway, where are you? Did Sakura mention anything to you about going to the mall with us today?" He asked, keeping his voice low in case a certain pink-haired girl happened to stroll by.
"Mall?" Naruto asked, sounding confused. He racked his brain for anything that Sakura might have mentioned to him, if she had talked to him at all today. "Nope. I haven't spoken to her since well...you know...Oh, and I'm in my dorm room, just working on some shit for school. Why do you ask?" He queried curiously.
"I knew it..." Neji mumbled, talking more to himself than his whiskered friend. He snapped out of his thoughts and continued whispering into the phone. "Listen, Naruto, there's a huge birthday party for Tsunade coming up, and the whole city happens to know except you, due to the fact that you were late and missed Ino telling everybody. We told Sakura to tell you, but she pretended that she forgot to do so. It's in about a week or so...very short notice. You need a date, and a tux, asap." He finished and took a breath. He gave Naruto a moment to absorb the information.
It was somewhat delayed, but eventually it did come. "What!" Naruto screamed into the phone, gripping it tightly. Neji sighed and nodded his head, even though he could not see him. On the other side of the line, Naruto started to panic and paced around his dorm restlessly. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think of any girl that he could possibly ask. "Is Ino going with anyone? Oh god...who the hell am I supposed to take...?"
"Ino's going with me, actually. I'm sorry, Naruto," he said, apologizing. He had no doubt, though, that Naruto would find a girl willing to go with him to the party, and in no less than five minutes, actually. He was the most popular guy around, so all the panic was not so necessary. He understood, though, that it was quite unlike Naruto to ask any random girl that he had most likely never interacted with before to the party.
"Ah...It's okay, I'll...find someone..." He said, exhaling heavily. Again, he ran a hand through his blond hair. One person did come to mind, though. "Thanks for telling me, Nej. I'm going to go now and, er, work on getting a date."
"Good luck," Neji said, and then heard him hang up his phone. He snapped his phone shut and sighed, leaning against the wall of the changing room. He stared at the tuxedo hanging on the wall across from him. He shrugged and decided that while he was there, he might as well try it on.
Naruto paced around his dorm, trying to decide whether or not he should ask this person. It was crazy, completely irrational, and would take so much to pull it off, but it would be well worth it. He could not think of anyone else he would rather bring. He had both hands in his hair now, and he continued to pace. Abruptly, he stopped in the middle of the room, closed his eyes, and exhaled. Naruto had come to a conclusion. He was going to ask them, and he was not even sure that they would say yes, but he could try. If they said no, then he would simply not go, even though it was suicide. Then again, Naruto Uzumaki had to be there. He sighed again, winged it, and went with his instinct. He began to stomp towards the door and he felt his foot step on something. Naruto glanced down and lifted his shoe, seeing his orange cell phone that he had tossed on the floor when he hung up. "Damn." Naruto stepped over it, walked out the door, into the hallway, and hovered there for a moment.
Gathering his courage and abandoning all common sense, he strode towards the door of Sasuke's dorm. Suddenly, he became very nervous as he stood in front of the door, unsure of whether or not to take the next step and knock on it. He shifted from one foot to the other, finally extended his arm, and knocked on the door, his arm shaking. He withdrew his hand and he waited for what felt like an eternity.
Sasuke opened the door and appeared from behind it, looking the same as usual. Straight raven hair that was longer in the front and unusually spiked in the back, alabaster skin that was so white it practically glowed, and dark obsidian eyes. Naruto smiled at him uneasily and still felt extremely nervous. Suddenly he felt hot and started to pull at his shirt collar.
"Um, hey, Sasuke..." He said awkwardly, unusually stiff.
Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at him and stared, wondering what was up with him. "Hello, Naruto. Is there something you want?" He asked, staring at him expectantly.
"Sasuke, will you be my date to Tsunade's party?"