Chapter One: Between the Lines
She lived in his residence hall, four doors down with a blonde harpy who flirted with him in the elevator during move-in day and he thought they had something in common for his own blonde, loud-mouthed roommate was talking her up by the time Sasuke stepped out into the hallway. Somehow, Naruto had managed to drag him into their affairs and by the time he finished carrying up one of her boxes, they had exchanged names and schedules.
Sakura Haruno had chemistry with him.
She saved him a seat every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday when he'd have to race across campus from his Intro to Comp Sci class in the engineering department all the way to their lecture hall for chemistry in the Art and Sciences building.
"Seven minutes," Sakura said, twirling her pen in between her fingers as he dropped his bookbag in the seat next to hers. "What? Did you steal some kid's Lime scooter?"
Sasuke shrugged. "He was asking for it."
His jest gave it's desired effect as she giggled then punched him lightly in the arm when he settled into his seat and opened his laptop.
"My comp sci class let out early," he explained. "Did you make an outline for this week's notes?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
"Normally you would have emailed it to me on Sunday," Sasuke pointed out. Sakura was very meticulous about her note taking process and she wasn't above sharing her resources with him. Besides, he needed more help than she did. She scored perfectly on their first and second exam.
"Well maybe I was garnering for a favor this time," Sakura said. "I save you a seat every lecture and I share all my notes. Don't you think I should get something in return?"
He turned his head only to see that she was already looking at him, her head tilted slightly as if inviting him to ask what she had in mind. She was effortlessly alluring, a charm she probably had no idea she possessed and it only added more to her appeal. Sasuke could smell the perfume she wore, subtle and sweet and devastatingly effective on making him lose his wits.
He turned his head back to focus on their professor who was setting up the powerpoint in front of the large lecture hall. "If it's reasonable," he said mildly, feigning disinterest when his mind thought otherwise. "I didn't think you were the type to bribe, Haruno."
Even without looking at her, he knew she was smiling. That cat-ate-the-canary smile she saved for when she was plotting. He knew it from the nights spent at the library where she strategized how to effectively study for her exams and dissected practice problems like a puzzle done for fun.
It confused him.
She confused him.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Uchiha."
But I'm willing to find out, Sasuke thought. Everything, everything, everything.
"I'll tell you after class," she said once Orochimaru-sensei was finally able to get the powerpoint working with some help from one of the TAs named Kabuto. Sasuke shifted in his seat to get comfortable.
For once, the lecture seemed longer than fifty minutes.
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Sasuke could have easily opted to take another chemistry class that didn't run so closely with his comp sci class if it wasn't for the warm body sitting across from him. Sakura had pretty much sold the time slot for him and it was too late to switch classes now that the registration period was over.
In retrospect, it wasn't so bad. If they walked to the dining hall directly after lecture and somehow made it a routine to have lunch together, didn't that make up for having to get up three times a week to haul ass across campus? And if after they ate, they decided to head to the library to share a table until it was too dark for her to walk back to the dorms by herself, didn't that make up for all the teasing Naruto gave when he caught him walking her to her door late at night?
Sasuke had never felt this way about anyone. Even having gone to an all-boys high school, girls were constantly visiting from neighboring schools in hopes of catching a glimpse of him by the gate. Naruto would berate him for not giving any of them a chance, even the ones who went out of their way to bake goodies or give presents, but Sasuke didn't care. They all wanted something from him and he wasn't the type to give himself away so easily.
He had always been like that and they had always been like that which was why Sakura confused him.
Sakura gave and gave and expected nothing in return. She stayed up to tutor him on concepts he struggled with, she took notes for him when he missed class, she packed him food if he decided to skip meals to nap in his dorm, she kept him informed about extra credit opportunities and upcoming events that aligned with his major, she even dragged him out when he was in particularly brooding mood, and she was just there. There in a way that Itachi and Naruto had always been. There in a way that Itachi and Naruto have never been.
Sakura never pushed for anything more than platonic affection. It was easy with her. There was no pressure. She never crossed any lines.
Except sometimes - after he walked her back to her dorm and retired to his own room, he would think about a particular joke she said, the way she laughed and smiled, her vivid green eyes pensive as she typed something, the way they crinkled when they bantered about topics that ranged from who caused the bathroom to flood in their hall to who would win college basketball this year, how heated she'd get while defending her answers on a particular assignment, the soft tips of her fingers as they brushed against his when they walked too closely together, her lips as they bid him goodnight, tinted red from her lip balm - he wished she did.
Or that he had the courage to do so.
"I'm going on a date," she said casually, reaching over to grab some salt for her fries.
Sasuke nearly choked on his drink. He lowered his glass carefully before shooting her a look. "Since when do you date?"
"Since Ino decided to sign me up for Tinder behind my back," Sakura grumbled. "She won't let me off unless I go on at least one date so I said yes."
For fuck's sake, Sasuke thought. He was going to kill that harpy. "When?"
"Tomorrow night."
This time, Sasuke did choke on his drink and Sakura passed him some napkins with a look of concern. "Don't drink so fast."
"Don't go on that date," he countered.
Shit.
"Why?"
Sasuke cursed himself for saying that. Why? Why else? Because he'd be stupid to send her off to some guy knowing he had feelings for her. Because he was eating himself up for not confessing, even now, that he thought about her constantly and it was driving him insane. Because he was still wrestling with the idea that maybe, just maybe—
I'm in love with you.
"Don't go just because somebody is forcing you to," he said stiffly. "Go because you want to."
Sakura pursed her lips, staring at him as if she could read his mind and reveal all his secrets. And maybe she could. He wouldn't put it past her. She always seemed to know if something was up. Although perhaps she also knew that that alone scared him so she fell back. Never crossed a line.
"I've never been on a date before," she said lightly. "I was against it at first, but now I think it'd be kind of fun."
Sasuke kept his tongue to his cheek. The grip on his drink was starting to hurt, but he didn't know what he would do if he let go.
"Anyway, if it turns out to be terrible, I was thinking you could come and bail me out." She looked at him expectantly and it clicked in his head that this was the favor she was asking him. "But only if you're not busy… if that's okay with you."
He wasn't busy, but he wasn't okay with it either. No sane person would be. But when she looked at him like that, hopeful and endearing, how could he refuse? The words slipped from his mouth before he could take them back.
"If that's what you want."
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"Hey teme, you've been staring at your phone for the past hour now."
Naruto threw another dart at the door from his desk chair. It missed the center by a good inch and he threw his hands up before swiveling to face Sasuke again.
"It's not going to ring just because you're glaring at it from your bed."
"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke snapped, refusing to remove his gaze from the phone charging on the nightstand beside him.
It was eight o'clock and Sakura was set to meet her date an hour ago. She said she would call as soon as things started to get crummy or awkward, but judging from the amount of time that lapsed, neither of those things were happening. Which meant she was enjoying her date. Which meant she would probably agree to more dates. Which meant she would eventually get a boyfriend. Which meant he would miss the chance to shoot his shot.
"Dude, you are so whipped."
Sasuke threw a pillow at his head.
"Hey! It's your fault for not saying anything, you bast—"
"Shh," Sasuke shot up from his bed. In a haste, he went for his phone just as their dorm room started to fill with sounds of his blatant ringtone. He narrowed his eyes upon checking the caller ID. "What the hell does she want?"
He put the phone to his ear and was greeted by a muffled voice. "Hello?" There was some noise in the background and Sasuke had trouble hearing her until she managed to step away from the commotion. "Hello? Sasuke-kun? Can you hear me now?"
"Yamanaka," he scrunched his nose. "Are you drunk?"
"Huh?" Ino said. Then she laughed. "No! Well, tipsy, but don't worry I pre-gamed at Kiba's. I'm at the club."
Sasuke flicked his eyes toward the calendar beside his desk. It was Thursday which could only mean it was college night. Typical.
"Is that Ino?" Naruto perked up from his seat. "Let me talk to her! I can't believe she went out tonight without inviting me!"
"You have an exam tomorrow," Sasuke reminded him with a glare. "What do you want, Yamanaka? I'm busy."
"No, you're not. You're just waiting for a call from Sakura," Ino returned bluntly.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks for that by the way."
"Oh, don't be such a spoiled sport. Maybe if you didn't move at a snail's pace, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"She's got a point," Naruto piped in. Sasuke shot him another glare that made him sigh and return to his textbook.
Feeling exasperated, he ran a hand through his hair. "Just leave it alone."
"Whatever. I just wanted to give you a heads up about the whole date situation."
That piqued his interest enough. Stepping out of his dorm so Naruto wouldn't hear, he asked, "What do you know?"
Ino sighed from the other end of the line. "Well, for one, she's not going to call. Listen, she didn't want you to find out but…"
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tbc
(unedited: 03.27.20 / 12:23 am)
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A/N: Earlier this month, I wrote an amusement park AU where Sakura was the one pining for Sasuke so I decided to return the favor. Enjoy!