.

.

.

The moment she looks up at him, the softness of her face sharpens and confusion dilates in the darkness of her pupils.

She's still there, at the front of the class, tugging nervously at the end of her skirt, staring at him with those wide green eyes.

Sasuke's staring back at her, holding his breath until his chest hurts.

"Take a seat next to Hinata." Mr. Hasegawa suddenly says, gesturing to the empty desk next to a smiling dark haired girl.

Sakura tears her eyes away from Sasuke, giving a quick nod to their teacher and taking the seat next to Hinata.

He sees her politely greet the dark haired girl, a small smile on her lips and again, he can't look away from her.

Naruto nudges Sasuke with his elbow and leans in to whisper, "New girl's pretty cute, huh?" There is a wide smile on his face, his blue eyes light up like the morning sky and he's watching her like she's the sun, "I think I'm in love."

But Sasuke isn't listening.

His heart's thumping erratically against his ribs, it's so loud and so fast, he can hear it pumping in his ears.

It's something that's never happened to him before, a feeling of uneasiness courses through him and he wonders if it will always be like this when the pink haired girl is near him.

She's three desks away from him and he can see her from the corner of his eye.

Her long pink hair catches the sunlight as she moves, each strand softly shines and suddenly, faster than the beating of his heart, she's peering at him over her shoulder.

The corner of her rosy mouth twitches a bit and he's sees something like a smile on her lips.

One, two, three, four...he counts the seconds they stare at each other.

Sasuke feels like he's in a trance, feels like the world has stopped turning and it's all because of her.

"Dude," Naruto whispers, nudging his friend's shoulder once more, "She's looking at me." He's smiling at her, lifting his hand to wave when she turns back toward Hinata.

Naruto laughs, low and embarrassed, scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "Guess she's the shy type."

Sasuke doesn't offer a response, can't find the right words to say because he knows she had been staring at him. With a deep sigh, he rests his head on his desk, buries his face in the crook of his elbow and all he can see is shiny pink hair and narrowing green eyes.

That warm feeling pools into his stomach again and it's so annoying.


Sasuke tries avoiding her for the rest of the day.

He can't though, because she's everywhere now. In his class, in the halls, stuck in the back of his conscious.

When the last bell chimes, he bolts up from his desk, backpack in hand and rushes out of the classroom. He doesn't look back, not even when the low timbre of Naruto's voice carries his name through the halls.

He's at the front gates before he can even realize it, the air is warm and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms linger in the breeze. A chorus of laughter erupts from behind him and once he turns around, he wishes he hadn't.

She's there, walking in between Yamanaka Ino and Hyuga Hinata, a smile curves on her lips as they touch the softness of her hair, utter fascination on their faces.

She tilts her head in his direction then, meeting his eyes for the millionth time and instead of holding her gaze like he's done before, he shoves his hands in his pockets and walks away.

Sasuke needs to get himself together, needs to snap out of whatever daze he's in because this is not really him at all.


The sun starts to sink into the horizon as he swipes his metro pass and enters into the subway station. It's busy as always, bustling with all sorts of people, the sounds of their muffled voices and heavy footsteps ring through the air.

Someone knocks into him, bumping his shoulder roughly as he waits on the platform. He stumbles a bit, grabs his shoulder with a scowl on his face. Sasuke hates crowded places, hates feeling so suffocated and cornered into a small place. He prefers solitude and the silence it brings.

The platform suddenly shakes under his feet and the train arrives, a swift breeze comes with it, blowing through his dark hair.

The heavy doors slide open and within seconds, people are pushing their way through, eager to get a seat. Sasuke's about to step on the train when someone else knocks against his shoulder, a sharp pain spreads throughout, more intense than the accidental bumping before.

"Ow," A light, feminine voice says suddenly, "I'm sorry."

He turns around at the sound of the voice and all he sees is pink.

It's her.

Of course it is.

The palm of her hand rests on her forehead and her face is contorted uncomfortably in pain, "The lady behind me shoved me forward and I hit my head on your…"

She looks up at him and her eyes widen in surprise, "Oh...it's you."

Sasuke doesn't say anything. He's too stunned to muster up a single syllable.

Her hand falls from her forehead, a red splotch marks her pale skin, "I keep seeing you everywhere."

He should say something, he knows that but it's like the words are caught on his tongue and before he can string a sentence together, she's parting her lips to speak again, "If we're going to keep running into each other like this, we might as well be friends, don't you think?"

A nervous blush spreads hotly across her cheeks and that horrible warm feeling floods into his stomach.

The subway doors are closing, so without thinking, he quickly nods and the moment he does it, she smiles.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"Not really." He replies quietly, almost like a whisper.

She laughs then, eyes crinkling at the corners and even if he won't admit it, he sort of likes the way it sounds.

"Uchiha Sasuke," His name falls from her lips like leaves in autumn, "That's your name, right?"

He nods slowly, watching her rosy lips curl into a smile.

"I'm Sakura." she says, gazing at him with those green, green eyes.

But he already knows that.

Sa-ku-ra.

The name is stained in his mind, each syllable is caught in his throat and he'll never forget it.

tbc.


a/n: this came out to be a little bit over 1000 words but oh well. thanks again for all the positive feedback, you're all very kind! as always, reviews are appreciated!