Rumors
In which Sasuke realizes things a little too late.
Ino watches him with weary eyes. He is down the way from her, leaning over another girl, lips hovering dangerously close to her neck.
She sees his mouth move and then he kisses this girl; a kiss filled with sensuality and lust. Ino cringes, bile rising in her throat and her nose wrinkling. And though she finds disgust in this display, she knows that her best friend does not find disgust. Rather, her friend finds pain.
Ino tilts her head to look at Sakura.
Short pink hair waving slightly in the wind, porcelain skin glowing beneath the sun, emerald eyes reflecting the deepest kind of innermost pain. But Ino remains quiet, because she knows Sakura does not want to speak of it.
So Ino tosses her hair over her shoulder nonchalantly and says, "Let's go to the roof. That's where everyone is waiting. We'll tell them that Sasuke⦠is busy."
So the two girls walk away but Ino does not miss the way Sakura hesitates.
The gang is rowdy, the rooftop filled with mindless chatter and playful banter. The boys are wrestling and hooting at each other while the girls sit in a dainty circle with magazines and books, calling each other out on celebrity crushes.
They hear a click and a creak and the door opens and Sasuke struts in, white uniform shirt crumpled, hair in disarray, love bites on his neck.
The boys holler and grin, punching him playfully on the shoulder and asking for details. The girls frown and sigh, shaking their heads at the insensitive caveman display.
Ino glares. She is angry and she knows the other girls are exasperated but she also knows that she cannot stay angry at Sasuke for long. They have all been friends since their diaper days and it is hard to hate someone you know better than yourself. Ino also knows that this is especially true for Sakura.
It is hard to hate a childhood friend, but it is even more difficult to hate a childhood friend with whom you are in love.
Sakura looks up and her eyes linger on Sasuke and when he glances at her Ino sees the way Sakura's eyes light up but Sasuke just looks away. Ino hisses but Sakura says nothing and turns back to her magazine.
It has always been like this.
Tenten nudges Ino with her elbow. Hard. "There! That's him, the transfer student. Isn't he handsome?"
So Ino looks and her eyes widen. Indeed, he is very handsome. Ino nods and Tenten giggles and both of them admit that they would be fangirls, if only they didn't have their boyfriends. Ino turns to Sakura and points him out and Sakura shrugs and says, "Yes, he's handsome."
But Ino knows that Sakura is thinking that the new student is not as handsome as her 'Sasuke-kun.'
The classroom is hot and the lesson is boring but Ino is not tired because she feels like something important will happen. She sits in her seat, alert and waiting. Then Kurenai-sensei pulls out a class list and begins naming partners for projects and Ino knows. She knows that this is what she's been waiting for.
"Haruno Sakura and Subaku Gaara."
Ino silently cheers.
Rumors are flying and Ino hears them and she knows the truth but when people ask she neither confirms nor deny. It was Sakura's business to say, not her.
But Ino is not stupid and she knows it is not that easy. So she is not surprised when Sasuke asks her about these rumors.
"Rumors can be fake." She answers, and Sasuke nods and smirks in satisfaction. "But they can be real too." Ino finishes.
Sasuke frowns and glares at her but soon the expression fades and he is smirking again. "You're attempts to intimidate me aren't working. I'm going to go look for Sakura."
Ino stares at Sasuke and sighs. She calls out after him and he hears what she says but he just keeps walking.
All Ino can do is watch his back.
He is confident that Ino is lying but even so her words haunt him. He does not necessarily have to look for the pink haired girl because he knows where she is; the library is her safe haven. The area is near empty and he begins his search.
He needs to confirm the rumors aren't true. Sakura is in love with him, not the new transfer student.
He hears a noise and he strains his ear and he knows that it is Sakura's voice so he follows it through the bookshelves. He rounds the corner and stops.
Sakura is leaning against the wall, arms wound around Gaara's neck, a blush caressing her cheeks. He is leaning towards her, his gaze warm with affection and her eyes flutter in anticipation.
The kiss is explosive. Sasuke can see Sakura writhe in pleasure, he can see the way she loves this new boy. And it hurts.
He turns away, dejected and knows that he is far too late, Ino's words ringing in his ears.
"Be careful. Those who search for the truth when it is not their business often come face to face with what they do not want to see."
