I am finally done with my freshman year! Now that it's the holidays, I may have some more time to update. I am so happy with my GPA for the last quarter! I surpassed two guys in my class that I can never (kind of) catch up to. =D I'm also watching One Tree Hill, so it may also take up a lot of my time. I may be watching One Tree Hill instead of updating, so don't be too surprised if I don't update a lot. That TV show is really good! Oh well, here's my next chapter for all of you! Thank you to those people who reviewed. =)

Hunt for Dates

"So, how was your date, Sakura?" asked TenTen, idly twirling a shuriken on her index finger.

"It was fun. I never knew Sasuke and Ino were dating. When he fell from a tree I was shocked," answered Sakura.

"Um, fell from a tree? Doesn't that seem more like a failure in spying on your date?" said TenTen.

"Well, I'm not sure. He did say he was on a date with Ino," answered Sakura.

"Yeah, but going on a 'date' doesn't mean climbing a tree," argued TenTen. She put her shuriken in her locker and sighed. "I knew that idiot was up to something. Is Sakura dense or what? The guy was obviously spying on her," the tomboy thought.

As the girls got ready to go to their second class, the intercom screeched and an announcement was made, "Good morning teens! As most of you know, the annual Snowflake Ball is coming up, and it will be on Christmas Eve, which is on Thursday. So, haul your butts to the shopping malls and get some stunning dresses! Thank you."

Sakura and TenTen went to their own classes, and the rest of the morning passed normally. At lunch, Sakura immediately asked about the upcoming dance.

"The Snowflake Ball is just this dance where all the girls coming have to wear white, and it's the guys who always ask the girls to the dance," explained Temari. "By the way, why is she," Temari pointed to Ino, who was sipping her Diet Coke, "sitting here?"

"Oh, I invited her to sit here. She looked lonely, sitting by herself," answered Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun was there too, alright? I did not look lonely," defended Ino.

"Okay, okay. No need to get all defensive," muttered Temari.

"O-Oh, I almost f-forgot. Um, guys, um, Sakura and I p-planned a party, a-and it's going to be at the Hyuuga e-estate. So, um, I would be r-really glad i-if you guys could c-come," stuttered Hinata, fanning out the invites.

"Cool, I can come!" answered TenTen. She opened the envelope and read the card inside. "December 25th, just a day after the Snowflake Ball. Looks like our schedules are packed."

"I should tell you guys that I gave Itachi the invite when he walked me home," confessed Sakura. All the girls at the table, except for Hinata, looked at Sakura like she had gone nuts.

The rosette shrugged and said, "What? I'm thinking of getting back together with him." At this point, Temari banged her head against the table. Sakura got confused and asked, "Is that not a good idea? The date he took me on was really fun, and…" Sakura was interrupted by Temari.

"I still don't trust the guy. Once a player, always a player. It's very unlikely that people can change for the better," explained Temari.

"Why do you sound so sure?" questioned Sakura.

"Please, Sakura, Temari's a senior. I think she's gone through a lot more than we have," said TenTen.

"Okay, fine. I'll take your advice and let our 'friendship' relationship draw out," said Sakura.

"Just don't let him hurt you again. In other words, don't fall for him again," warned Temari.

"If I say it's too late for that?" asked Sakura.

"Then, I'm sorry. I know it's not too late yet, Sakura. Just be careful, okay? I don't want players to hurt one of my friends," said Temari.

Sakura nodded and said, "Sure Temari. I'll be extra careful. Thanks for your concern."

"Okay, so what do you say we all go shopping tomorrow? You all can come to my house after school on Thursday, and we can all help each other look pretty for the dance," suggested Ino.

"Thanks for changing the subject," whispered Sakura. "I felt chocked talking about my relationship with Itachi."

"You're welcome, girl. I do agree with Temari on being careful though," whispered Ino. Sakura rolled her eyes, but nodded slightly, nonetheless. Suddenly the girls could hear rumbling; like the sound of a stampede. Before they knew it, boys had crowded around their table.

"Ino-chan, please go to the dance with me," pleaded one guy.

"No, go with me," argued another guy.

The pattern went on, Temari and TenTen were getting irritated, Hinata was getting anxious, and Sakura was stunned. "Ino hasn't even done anything and something like a thousand guys are crowding around her, asking her out! Incredible, Ino! I admit, she has become really pretty. I'll never catch up to her. Even now, after I've grown my hair, it's still shorter and less silky than Ino's," thought Sakura.

Before Temari and TenTen started to stand up to chase the guys away, Ino held up one of her hands, glared at all the boys, and said, "Okay, I am not going to the Snowflake Ball with any of you. You're all disrupting my lunchtime and I don't know any of you. So I suggest you all find another girl to take."

After the boys left, disappointed, Temari and TenTen each gave Ino a high-five while Sakura and Hinata gave her a thumbs-up. The girls kept chatting and eating until the bell rang. Temari walked, casually, to her Calculus class. The other four girls couldn't help but watch Shikamaru try to make small talk with Temari while walking with her.

"Shikamaru wants Temari to go to the dance with him," declared Ino.

"How can you be so sure?" asked TenTen.

"Shikamaru and I have known each other since we were born. I know him better than a lot of girls," answered Ino.

"It's possible that he's just trying to be friendly," said Sakura.

"Maybe, but Shikamaru doesn't usually do that with girls. He's usually out on the courtyard watching clouds, and doesn't even care if he's late or not. He usually doesn't attempt to talk to girls. Not to mention he sneaks some talk about Temari while we're having a conversation," rambled Ino.

"So normally Shikamaru wouldn't try to talk with any girl? He talks to us," said TenTen.

"That's because we all know him well. It looks like Shikamaru and Temari know each other really well, but in fact, they haven't talked much," explained Ino.

"Those two have Calculus together, don't they?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah they do, which means Shikamaru has a perfect chance to talk to Temari there. I don't know if he'll do it. If he doesn't do it soon, some other boy's going to take Temari," said Ino.

"I-I'm going to class now, s-so, bye guys!" Then Hinata ran away, full speed. The remaining girls had confused looks on their faces, until Naruto and Sasuke showed up.

"Why was Hinata so eager to get to class?" asked a clueless Naruto. The three girls sighed simultaneously. The blond boy cocked his head and asked, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"You brainless idiot! Can't you see that Hinata has an enormous crush on you?" was what Ino wanted to say out loud.

"I hate to ruin the mood, but we do have to get to class," interrupted Sasuke.

"Uh, yeah, of course. I'm off guys!" Ino waved to her friends and ran to her next class. Sasuke walked slowly, but in the process, looked at Sakura. She, in turn, returned his gaze. Their eyes met and time froze for a while, for both of them. It wasn't until TenTen and Naruto dragged the Sakura and Sasuke to their next classes that they seemed to snap back to reality.

Sakura mentally slapped herself. "What is wrong with me? I'm the worst girl ever!"

After School

Shikamaru looked like he was at peace, watching the clouds in the courtyard, but his mind was a total mess.

"Should I or should I not ask her to the dance?" Shikamaru pondered. The question lingered in his head for the whole day. Temari was even surprised that Shikamaru was acting to chatty after lunch. A shadow looming over him interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey Shikamaru, did you do it?" asked a young blond boy. He sat down beside Shikamaru.

"No. I don't know why," Shikamaru replied.

"Why what?" asked Naruto, being the dense boy he is.

"Why he couldn't ask her, you dumb blond," Sasuke answered for Shikamaru.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" asked Naruto, acting surprised.

"Idiot, you were the one who asked me to come along," huffed Sasuke. The Uchiha was definitely irritated by his best friend.

"Whatever, Sasuke. So, Shikamaru, if you don't ask her soon, she'll be taken, y'know. Are you willing to let that happen?" asked Naruto, going into his "serious" mood now.

"I don't know, Naruto. At first, it seemed troublesome to go to the dance, but your constant persuasions got very annoying, so I agreed to go through with it! Now, I need to finish what I started. Geez, you're irritating," mumbled Shikamaru. Naruto twitched, but stayed calm, unlike his other disputes with Sasuke.

"Anyway, Shikamaru, I know you can do it! You just need a little motivation. I know! Why don't we ask two of the girls out first, then you can do it?" suggested Naruto. Sasuke glared at Naruto for suggesting an idea like that, but Shikamaru ginned.

"This can not be good," thought Sasuke.

"Sure, why don't you do it first? If it's successful, then I'll ask Temari. You have to make sure you do it tomorrow, though," said Shikamaru.

"Okay, right after we do it, you go up to Temari and ask her. Deal?" asked Naruto, extending his hand for a handshake.

Shikamaru took Naruto's hand and shook it. "Deal" Sasuke slapped his forehead.

"That idiotic blond… What have we gotten ourselves into? I never wanted to go to that stupid thing in the first place!" thought Sasuke, angrily.

"Alright! I think I already know who I'm going to ask. Sakura-chan's new, but we became friends pretty quickly, so, yeah, Sakura-chan it is," Naruto thought out loud. Sasuke's face changed when Naruto said he was going to ask Sakura. Then, he mentally slapped himself for being slightly mad at Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I'll be asking Sakura. The tomboy Chinese girl will not only turn me down, but also beat me up, and the Hyuuga's got a huge crush on Naruto. Yamana—Ino's nice, but no. That leaves Sakura," Sasuke thought of how he could get to Sakura first. His lips twitched into a grin and thought, "I can get her number from Itachi." Then, he saw the flaw in his plan. "How am I supposed to bring up her number without telling my brother about the dance? He's probably heard about it anyway, so, what's the deal?" Sasuke decided to go through with it.

"See ya, Shikamaru, I'm going home!" Naruto waved good-bye, then ran home. Sasuke just nodded to Shikamaru and walked away. That left Shikamaru alone. He thought of a way to properly ask Temari, a senior, to go with him, a sophomore. He got up and thought about it all the way home.

The Uchiha Mansion

"I'm back," Sasuke shouted. Once he entered his mansion, he was hugged by his mother.

"Sasuke-kun, how was your day?" Mikoto asked.

"Mother, please don't do this to me every time I get back from school," mumbled Sasuke. He really doesn't want to be seen by his friends like this.

"First Itachi, now you. You all grow up so fast," said Mikoto. She ran back to the kitchen after greeting her son. Sasuke sighed and walked upstairs to his room. He stopped by Itachi's room first, though.

"Itachi, you there?" asked Sasuke, peeking in his brother's room. Itachi was sitting on his bed, reading a novel. He glanced up at his younger brother, closed the book, and paid full attention to Sasuke. The younger Uchiha took a breath and requested, "I would like to know Sakura's phone number."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, and taunted, "Oh? So you do like her after all."

Sasuke could feel the heat rush up to his face already. He tried to shake it off. "No. I just need to ask her something."

Itachi kept on taunting Sasuke, "About your relationship, or ours?" Sasuke was becoming impatient now.

"No, Itachi. I just want to ask her to the Snowflake Ball!" the younger Uchiha snapped. Itachi was intrigued by his brother's actions now.

"From what I've heard, the Snowflake Ball is on Thursday. Why are you in such a rush, little brother?" asked Itachi, knowing it would irritate Sasuke.

"Just because, alright?" replied Sasuke.

"Or is it because you don't want anyone else to take her?" Itachi taunted again. Sasuke was twitching with anger, but also slightly blushing.

"Itachi…" Sasuke muttered impatiently.

"Hn, I'll let you take her for this event, little brother. You'll need the time to get close to her," said Itachi, slightly grinning. He tossed Sasuke his cell phone. The younger boy searched for Sakura's name, marked her number in his own cell, and then tossed Itachi's cell back to him.

"Thanks Itachi," mumbled Sasuke. He walked out of his brother's room, closing the door behind him. Itachi was enjoying himself, taunting his little brother like that.

"You'll need the time, Sasuke. Use it while you can," thought Itachi.

"Geez, Itachi enjoys messing with people," mumbled Sasuke, as he walked back to his room.

Sasuke immediately showered and changed his clothes to something more comfortable. He searched for Sakura's number in his cell phone and hit the call button. He could hear the dialing, and waited for her to pick up.

Ringing once… no one picked up

Ringing twice… still, no one's picked up.

Ringing thrice… no one is picking up.

On the fourth ring, a feminine voice answered, "Hello?"

Sasuke caught his breath. Her voice stopped him from asking her the question. Sakura kept saying "hello", so Sasuke had to regain his voice. "It's me," was all Sasuke could muster.

"Wait, Sasuke? How did you get my number?" asked Sakura.

"My brother gave it to me," replied Sasuke.

"Oh, okay. So, what's up?" asked Sakura.

"I'll get straight to the point, okay? Do you have a date for the Snowflake Ball?" Sasuke could already feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. "God, what's wrong with me? I always feel like I need to get her back from Itachi, whenever. Maybe it's because he always gets what he wants, and I don't." Sasuke thought.

"Sasuke? Sasuke? Hello?" Sakura's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hn?" replied Sasuke.
"I said I don't. Although Lee did ask me, but… I said no. He's sweet and all, but I don't really know him that much yet," explained Sakura. Like he's talked to her much before anyway.

"Okay, so, if you don't, do you want to…" Sasuke tried to finish his sentence, but found it hard to. "Now I see why Shikamaru wanted out," thought the Uchiha.

"To go with you?" asked Sakura.

Sasuke nodded slightly and replied slowly, "Yes."

"Okay, sure, no p-problem. I can go with y-you," answered Sakura Something that caught Sasuke's interest was that she was stuttering. Stuttering. Maybe Itachi should watch out, himself.

"Thanks, Sakura. I'll come and pick you up on Thursday," said Sasuke. Sasuke grinned smugly. He got to Sakura first. "Sorry Naruto, but you're going to have to ask the Hyuuga girl. That girl's dying to go with you anyway," Sasuke said mentally.

"Sure. Then, bye Sasuke!" Sakura quickly said her last words and hung up before Sasuke could say good-bye. The young Uchiha snapped his cell phone shut and kept grinning. He got Sakura to go with him without even trying.

"This should get interesting," thought Sasuke. He ran downstairs for dinner afterwards.

I'm done with a chapter! Whoo! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter, I'll be writing about how the guys asked their girls to the dance. Please review! They keep me motivated, and maybe I'll update faster. =) Please, please, please review! Look out for the next chapter!