Here is chapter ten.

Hope you enjoy.

I do not own Naruto.

Sakura sat in her desk, her chin resting in her palms. Ever since Sasuke opened the closet door for her, she was too nervous to even thank him—let alone look at him. She knew she had to thank him sometime, it would be ill-mannered not to.

She let out a small sigh. Today would have to be the day. She couldn't ignore him for the rest of her life. He had class with her for the rest of the year—there was no way in getting out of it.

"Sakura," Kurenai said. Sakura looked up at her. "Can you please read the next sentence?" she asked in English.

Sakura stared down at the book in front of her, scanning the foreign words in front of her. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." If there was one thing that Sakura was glad to be, that would be smart. English in Konoha was something everyone had to learn in order to graduate. To Sakura, English was a simple language that came fluently to her when she first started high school; it was not as hard as everyone said it would be. And as always, Kurenai would thank her and continue giving lectures to the rest of the class; never bothering Sakura again.

The bell rang, stopping Kurenai in the middle of her sentence completely. Sakura stood up with the rest of the class, bowed, and walked out of the room. As she made her way towards orchestra class, Sakura tried extra hard not to run into Karin again. With the gods on her side, Sakura never ran into Karin as she walked into class, grabbing a violin from the display box and sat in a chair that circled Takahashi's stand.

As class started, Sakura noticed that Sasuke sat in the corner, away from the group. After Takahashi said hello to his class, he stood in front of his stand, looking around him. "Jiro, Ken, and Kenta will be in one group. Suzu and Yuu will be in another; and Sakura, you will be with Sasuke." Sakura's heart stopped completely. Partners with Sasuke Uchiha? Why were the gods being mean to her? "You will be practicing new music for the rest of this week. Sakura you will be helping Sasuke with the piano," Takahashi ordered, taking his seat behind his desk at the corner of the room.

Sakura watched as everyone stood up and went to their partners, going in different directions. Slowly, Sakura stood from her seat and made her way towards Sasuke. He said nothing as he stood up and walked over to the piano, taking a seat on the bench. Sakura watched him with confusion as he stared at the keys. When he looked up at her, she slightly flinched at his expressionless stare. "Are you going to sit down, or not?" he asked, his tone bare.

Sakura stared at the space next to him, afraid to sit next to him and have him yell at her. So instead of sitting, she asked, "W-where?" Sasuke made an impatient grunt, pointing at the space next to him.

Slowly, Sakura made her way towards Sasuke and sat next to him, trying desperately hard not to touch him. Sakura had to be his partner for the rest of the week, she had to at least be brave and talk to him. "Do you know how to read music?" she asked, taking the sheet of music from the stand on the piano.

"Enough to play bits and pieces," he said, pressing his finger on a key, giving the piano a chime.

Sakura nodded. "Start playing what you know and I'll help you with whatever you don't know—please." Sakura looked away from him, her face slightly flushed. She felt Sasuke take the paper from her hands and place it back on its stand. Within seconds, Sasuke was playing. He didn't sound bad, but he needed practice.

As time went by, Sakura helped him with the notes he messed up on, keys he missed, and which finger was supposed to go where. "Yeah, you're getting it." Sakura watched his fingers slowly make its way over the keys, his fingers slightly pressing on it.

Once Sasuke ended the song, they sat in silence before Sakura finally broke it. "Uh, tomorrow we'll go over some more music. Is there anything else you play besides the piano?" Sasuke nodded. "Okay, we'll go over that tomorrow, also, and…" she trailed off. She couldn't do it again, she had to say it. "And thank you for opening the door. I didn't know how long I would be in there." The bell rang, giving Sakura a sign of relief. She stood up, walking away from Sasuke, and walked out the door.

After dusting off the chalk on the erasers since it was her turn to do them, Sakura stood next to the bus stop, waiting for the bus to come. From the corner of her eye she could see the bus coming and also a pair of students. As she slightly turned her head more, she could see Sasuke and Naruto coming her way. Her heart began to beat rapidly as they got closer and closer to her.

Once the bus pulled up, Sakura instantly went inside, took a ticket and sat in the front again. She quietly watched as Sasuke and Naruto take a ticket and make their way towards the back. Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

The bus ride was shorter than last time—maybe because Sasuke wasn't sitting next to her.

As the announcer said its next destination, Sakura pressed the red button, looked up at the display board, got off the bus putting the specific amount and her ticket into the hole. She walked down the sidewalk, watching as the bus drive away. For some reason, she felt uneasy as the bus drove away. As she picked up her pace, she felt a strong hand wrap around her wrist, turning her around. She was facing Sasuke Uchiha, his friend, Naruto, standing farther away from them.

"You shouldn't leave without getting a response back," he said. Sakura quietly apologized, begging in her mind for him to let her go. "You're welcome," he said, loosening his grip on her wrist. She stared at him in confusion. "You're welcome for opening the door." He let her go and walked away. Sakura watched him disappear, her face flushed.

Maybe Sasuke has a soft side…or not.