so i walk outta here tonight, try to go on with my life / and you can say we're still friends / but i don't wanna pretend / so if i see you again, don't you / don't you smile at me and ask me how i've been / don't you say you've missed me if you don't want me again / you don't know how much i feel i love you still / so why don't you, don't you?

- don't you, taylor swift (fearless taylor's version)

you gotta be kidding me, she thought upon seeing his face again.

five years had passed. sakura told herself that when she sees him again, she would be okay— because she moved on and nothing could break her streak of never seeing him again. but yet, here she was at one in the morning, looking dumbfounded at sasuke uchiha after five years.

it was a simple emergency grocery run two blocks away from her current apartment. she had run out of eggs and beer, and she badly needed one or the other. she turned to the snacks aisle to get her favorite potato chips when someone beat her to it. she thought at first that she didn't have time to fight with someone over a bag of chips at 1 am, but she was in a grumpy mood because of her work and her lack of food so she turned to give the person a piece of her mind.

but words got stuck on her throat for sasuke looked down at her, dark eyes intense as ever, with a surprised look on his face. or at least close to it— you'd never catch an uchiha off guard.

"sakura," his smooth voice back when he was 17 turned into this deep velvety baritone that shocked her nerves and she almost dropped her basket. "hey…"

her mouth worked faster than her brain, "what are you doing here?"

sasuke uchiha was meant to be in their hometown where there are trees and rivers and mountains, not here in this wretched jungle city full of opportunists and dreamers alike. he was meant for greatness; for his last name is so great it echoes within the recesses of her heart and mind even in her futile effort to forget.

how could she forget when his mere last name makes her feel so small even right now?

if sasuke was affronted about her words and tone, he didn't show it. "i live here in the city," he answered, eyes still at her and now roaming across her face. from her hair to her goddamn forehead, to her nose and down to her lips, and back to her startled eyes.

"is this the usual time you go here? it's the first time i've seen you here."

"no," she quickly answered, unnerved by his attention. "this is just one time. i had to."

sakura saw him nod and looked at her basket. then he turned his gaze back on her face before smiling a little bit, "i've missed you. how have you been?"

oh, no you did not. you did not just say that, sasuke uchiha.

perhaps one could call it over-reacting but she thought it was rude— to ask her how she'd been with that boyish smile on his face knowing how they ended whatever it was between them years ago. he didn't call her after she left their mansion that night. he didn't reach out to her even after she left town and went back to the city for college. he didn't write any letters, add her on social media, or anything at all to indicate that he cared. to ask her that and tell her he missed her was absolutely fucking rude.

for fuck's sake, they spent one whole summer vacation together. every single day, they hung out together— eating ice creams at the lakeside, riding bicycles to the neighboring town, and talking about music in the backseat of his car. they had done all that and more, and yet not one single notification after summer was over.

how dare he enter her life again and smile at her like this, acting like they're still friends and looking so beautiful inside this cheap supermarket made for ordinary people like her? sasuke was not supposed to be here, reminding her of who she is and who he is, and how they could never be.

in the end, she just shrugged nonchalantly, silently hoping she could hide the hurt still lingering in her bones whenever the voice of his grandfather still rings in her head.

"good," she casually answered as she walked slowly away from him. "busy about work and all so… i need to go now. i have to wake up early later." it was sunday and she didn't have any work, but sasuke didn't need to know that.

sakura moved towards the counter when his hand reached out and gently pulled her arm. "wait," sasuke said. when sakura looked back at him, he had this soft look in his eyes that she deeply knew he was going to apologize. her heart ached. even after all these years, she still knew.

what is he supposed to be sorry for?, she bitterly thought. sorry that his grandfather was horrendous? sorry that his family was different from mine? sorry that he unknowingly broke my heart because he didn't care enough to look for me and say this shit sorry years ago?

fuck that. i don't want to be hurt any more than i already am.

"sakura, can we-"

"i don't know if i have some more things to say to you," she interrupted. she tried hard not to shake so she gripped the handle of her basket tighter until her hands turned white. she put on a tight smile, "it was nice to see you, though."

his face frowned and was ready to speak again when she heard a familiar voice.

"sakura-chan?"

at the end of the aisle stood naruto, his big cerulean eyes peering up at her, with a grin on his lips. she saw his grinning face slowly turned to a concerned one when he saw her looking so tense, and sasuke still holding her arm.

he approached them, "hey, is everything okay?"

sakura saw sasuke's jaw clench, and her heart rate spiked. he still had his infamous temper whenever someone meddled into his business. she detached herself slowly from him and moved to meet naruto halfway down the aisle.

"let's go," sakura suggested, holding onto naruto's arm. "take me home, please."

the blond looked back at sasuke, "do you know this guy, sakura-chan?"

"yeah," she breathlessly answered. "he was an old friend. c'mon, i need to sleep."

"sakura," sasuke's voice stopped her in her tracks. "please, i just want to talk."

"dude, didn't you hear her? she wants to go home," naruto exclaimed. his ever-resounding tone made her jump and she could tell he was wary of sasuke.

"and what are you? her boyfriend?" sasuke spat, his tongue curling on the word boyfriend as if it's something vile.

"and so what if i am?"

sakura whipped her head to naruto, "please, let's just go."

her distressed tone made the two men look at her. she was looking up at naruto, wordlessly begging him to listen, and she knew the exact moment when the blond understood. he just nodded his head and took the basket out of her hand to replace it with his own.

they stood there silently and when sakura looked back at sasuke, he was looking at their joined hands. when his eyes moved up to look directly at her, sakura felt the incoming tears for his face was the same as his face that day in his car when he told her he's leaving town early—

it looked lonely.

sasuke took a step back, then another, then another one.

and just like that last night, someone left the other— but this time it wasn't her.

naruto told her to go inside his car and he'd take care of her purchases. she was still out of it when he finally came back and climbed inside his vehicle. he put her stuff at the back before looking at her.

"are you okay?" he gently asked her. he tucked a stray hair behind her ear and she knew he could see her barely keeping her shit together. "who was that? i could look him up and beat him for you! did he do something wrong?"

she smiled sadly, "he did nothing wrong... " she looked at him and her first tears finally fell. "i guess he was just wrong for me."

his blue eyes went wide and he tugged her closer to hug her until she cried on his chest and sobbed her heart out. she didn't get the chance after that night because her anger was stronger than the pain.

but here it was, potent as it ever was the first time he smiled at her. the pain she kept at bay for so long finally entered her system. because after all the fury, in the end, she was still the same girl who loved this boy with all her heart.

she doesn't want to anymore.

a/n: oh my god this is so late lmao but fuck it, i'm gonna finish all 31 fics for this series istg i will do it or die trying! this is the direct sequel of the last prompt for august :) thanks for being here!