A/N: Thank you Ji Hyun1 and KassfromVenus for leaving a review. It takes time before I could finish a chapter because I am not much of a writer - so please bear with me.

Naruto is from Masashi Kishimoto

Being friends with someone, Sakura in particular, raised quite a few eyebrows from the get go. People knew that Sasuke Uchiha spent time alone and will never be seen with anyone aside from other Uchiha kids who also go to the same school as them. Nobody dared to ask him though, how come the pink-haired girl gets to share table 12 with him at the cafeteria when all the other girls have tried to do so but end up dejected after being glared at by him.

He knew it was unusual for two people to regularly sit at the same table without even talking to each other. But with Sakura, the silence was always a welcome one. There were times when she'd talk animatedly about something and he lets her. He would listen while perusing a book or playing some game on his phone. She'd stop when she thinks that he's not listening and then he meets her eyes silently urging her to continue. During school trips, they would sit together and share earphones to listen to the same music that they liked. Summers were no different. If Sakura's parents were too busy running their bakery in downtown Konoha, his parents would take her with them wherever they decided to spend their vacation. As for group activities, they both picked each other first. It was a good thing that the teachers never assigned members themselves so they were free to choose whoever they wanted to work with. What Sasuke did not expect though, was the amount of hate Sakura got from the other girls.

"You are such a slut Sakura!"

They were already in 10th grade and apparently, kids were different from how they were before. Sasuke just got out from the changing rooms after PE and was supposed to meet Sakura by her locker. A small crowd surrounded them so he didn't know who the one yelling was.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura answered adamantly.

"Oh really? You are keeping Sasuke all to yourself and he does not look my way because you're always trying hard to get his attention!"

One thing that Sakura made him promise before was if ever she was in trouble with some of his fangirls, he'd stay out of the way. So he stood a bit far from where they were, but watched closely in case things get ugly. Her face was getting redder by the second which meant she was pretty damn mad. "So what, it's my fault that he spends time with me because we're friends?! Come on, Ami. Don't be ridiculous." There was a thud and suddenly, her back was on the lockers. She winced upon impact and it took a lot of sighs to stop himself from hitting the other girl. No one touches her. But knowing that Sakura can handle this herself, he drags a long breath and stays put.

She now holds the other girl's wrist and starts yanking the hands that pinned her back on the locker with a bit of a struggle. Not succeeding with her attempt to pry those hands away from her, she stomps her foot with all her might on the other girl's foot. The hands loosened while the girl screamed in pain. Sasuke let out a tiny smirk. As Sakura turned her back on the girls who cornered her, he noticed one of them was raring to pounce on her. A loud "HOW DARE YOU!" pushed him forward without hesitation. The crowd parted before him upon sensing the dangerous aura he was emanating. He places himself between the girls with Sakura behind him, his arm serving as a barrier.

"Lay another finger on her and I'll forget that you're a girl!" The hallway felt colder than usual, students held their breath, waiting for what's about to happen next.

"S-sa-sasuke, I'm sorry. That Sakura hurt my friend and I'm o-only defending her." For someone trying to play the role of a victim, this one acted pretty lame in his opinion. As if he was ever going to take somebody else's side that is not Sakura's. They just don't get it at all. He's not friends with Sakura because she forced him to. He chose to be her friend because she wasn't like everybody who only wanted him as a friend because of his stupid surname. "You all stay away from her if you know what's good for you. If I see one more hate mail, another stupid and meaningless confrontation like this, you'll have me to answer to." he then pulls Sakura away from it all, far from all the people who didn't even matter in this world.

"You promised me Sasuke-kun. No interfering with fights between me and your fangirls."

Sakura was pissed. He knew it when she wouldn't talk to him while he was handing out his towel to her, felt it in his bones when she glared at him while she drank from his water bottle. "What should I do, Sakura, let you get hurt and go home all bruised up?" He put away her books in his locker because he does not know what he'll do if he sees another paper saying, Die, you btch!

"But you promised! Now, everyone's gonna think I put you under a spell and they'd all get more creative in torturing me." Two lockers away from him, Sakura was leaning on her own locker, not bothering to meet his eyes. "I'll probably find my gym shorts missing when I go to PE tomorrow. OR… maybe someone's gonna dump their lunch at me when you're out in the gym for basketball practice."

They head to the parking lot where Itachi was already waiting for them in the car. He opens the door for her and places a hand above her head while she gets in. He gets in the shotgun seat and all Itachi could do was look back and forth at them. "Why do you think it'll get worse Sakura?"

"Because it will. Just like when you tore all the hate mail I received in front of the entire school. Hana senpai posted my picture in that Bingo book of hers where all the names of the girls she branded as slut was included. And I am not a slut, Sasuke-kun, in case you haven't noticed." He was doing his best not to take a look at her through the rearview mirror while she grumbles. She definitely has her arms crossed, silently cursing because Itachi nii-san was around and he does not like it when she curses like a sailor (He has to blame their cousin Shisui for that cursing part though). It does not sit well with him whenever she's got a frown on her face. So he shuts his mouth and waits until they are left alone in his house's kitchen.

She takes a seat on one of the bar stools while he rummages the fridge for a snack. He passes her a pint of ice cream (his mom knew very well to keep some handy for when Sakura comes over) and a spoon, and she starts digging into it immediately. "Sometimes I feel like it is very hard to be your friend because you're the most popular guy in school but you're my only friend so I try to endure everything."

Sasuke slams the fridge and he looks at her incredulously. He's not much of a talker but Sakura has her way of making him spout more than 5 words in a single sentence. "Are you saying that us being friends is causing you to have a hard time?" His heart felt a strange tug. This was something new to him and the A+ student that he is couldn't explain why it fckin hurt.

"Tell me, Sakura. Do you hate being my friend so much?"

Silence.

A deafening silence. Not the kind of silence that comforts him when they're together. In all the years that they have been friends, they have never fought like this. Usually, it was the smallest of things that they'd argue about - when she forgets to return his copy of Rinnegan, when he becomes too territorial even around Itachi, or when they can't figure out who's going to make the report a teacher has assigned them. It took a while which he felt was like an eternity before Sakura spoke, ice cream all forgotten.

"What I'm trying to say is," she was tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a clear sign that she was nervous, "you're way too popular for your own good." In this, he frowned. She had to meet his eyes so she could continue. "If there's one thing that keeps me going though, it's you - and our friendship, of course." She stepped off the stool and approached him reluctantly. "I would have never gotten through school if it weren't for you. I might have asked mom to transfer me to a different school if you haven't scared all those people trying to bully me. You made me look forward to going to school everyday, Sasuke-kun." There was a hint of red on her cheeks and he felt his ears heating up. Looking her in the eye, he thought of those two words that he uses every time he didn't know what to say. It has become something of a habit because as much as Sakura makes him talk more than usual, she does make him out of words as well.

"You're annoying."

Not wanting to look stupid in front of her, he walks out of the room leaving a baffled Sakura, blushing all by herself.

Hope you all are safe out there. Next chap will take us to Senior Year of these two dorks we all love.