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Sasuke wakes to the hollow pitter patter of rain.
His limbs are tangled in the softness of his sheets and sleep is still heavy on his eyelids. He tilts his head towards his window, notices that the sky is caught between black and deep blue, that it won't be long before the orange glow of the sun rises above the horizon.
It's the first time in a long time that he's woken up before the shrill ringing of his alarm, but he can't help it, not when his dreams and thoughts are filled with nothing but Haruno Sakura.
They had sat in silence the rest of the train ride home, catching each other's eyes every couple of minutes and then looking away awkwardly. The moment the train had come to his stop, he practically sprinted off, pushing past people to get out, to get away from Sakura and her warm smiles.
He stares up at his white ceiling now, dreading and anticipating the moment his alarm goes off, the moment he gets on the train and sees her.
Sasuke is waiting on the platform for his train, dark eyes wandering the entire subway station when he sees Haruno Sakura.
She's across the platform, watching him and smiling slightly, running her fingers through her long pink hair.
Looking at her sends shivers down his spine, makes his knees feel weak and the corners of his lips are twitching like he wants to smile back at her.
But it's Sasuke, and he never really smiles.
So he just stands there, tries to tear his gaze away from hers but it's like her eyes are magnets and there's a force drawing him to her.
Sasuke finds a seat towards the back of the train, far away from the bustle of incoming passengers and far, far away from Haruno Sakura.
As the train starts up again, he shuffles through his school bag, finds his earbuds and listens to his music on the highest volume.
The music is so loud that the bass pulses through his body, he can feel it in his fingers and toes. Sasuke figures that the music will fill his mind, fill his thoughts and push Sakura out of his head. And it does.
But only for a second.
He feels a soft tapping on his shoulder, a gentle pressure that seemed to dig into his skin and he can only imagine that it's her.
He expects to turn his head and see the soft features of her pretty face. In fact, he almost hopes for it, even if he won't admit it to himself.
But to his surprise, he turns his head and meets the kind brown eyes of a middle aged woman.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" The woman asks in a quiet voice, gesturing to the seat next to him.
And all he can do is shake his head in response.
He feels the disappointment sink into his chest, he feels it in his fingers and toes.
When Sasuke steps off the train, the stale smell of the rain hangs in the air, surrounding him.
He watches as the sky sheds it's droplets, lightly drizzling onto the pavement and the sight makes him remember that he forgot an umbrella.
He curses at himself internally, shoving his fists into his pockets as he begins to walk in the direction of school.
He can feel the soft pressure of the rain drops drizzling onto him, he can hear the slow, steady sound of the rain falling through the air,
Drip, drip, drip…
"You forgot your umbrella too, huh?"
And the sound of Sakura's voice slices through the wind, through the sound of the rain. It courses through him like a shock wave and he suddenly can't move. She steps beside him now, her green eyes wandering his dampened school uniform.
Sasuke doesn't say anything, just shakes his head in response and this makes the corners of her lips twitch into a slight smile, "You mind if I walk with you?"
And he did mind.
She was already a constant in his head, in his thoughts and as much as he tried, he couldn't get her out. He wanted more than anything to walk to school alone, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders at her question. He pretended that he didn't care, that her presence didn't make him a little insane.
So they walked and all Sasuke could do was stare down at his feet.
Left foot.
Right foot.
Over and over.
"Have you lived in Tokyo your whole life?" Sakura asks him and he can feel the pressure of her gaze on his skin.
"Yes."
"Do you like living here?"
"Yes."
"Are you planning on going to college here?"
Sasuke tilts his head in her direction, meeting her eyes for the first time, "Do you always talk this much?"
"Yes." And she laughs.
The corners of her eyes crinkle as she laughs, and he doesn't want to admit it but the sound of it makes him dizzy.
"You could try talking too, you know?" She says with a teasing smile, "You could ask me a question or something."
Sasuke smirks softly, amused by her taunting expression, "Alright," He says, "Where did you move here from?"
"Yakumo." She answers softly and the tone of her voice changes, "It's a nice town, near the ocean." There is a longingness in her voice.
"You miss it?" Sasuke asks curiously.
She nods slowly, almost sadly, "Yeah, I do."
And then she talks of her home town.
The sound of Sakura's voice becomes muffled and distant as he dives into his own thoughts. He doesn't want to hear her voice, doesn't want to memorize the way her lips wrapped around each word or the watch the way she moves her hands as she talks.
Sakura talks for a long time, she talks the entire walk to school and it isn't until they reach the entrance that she stops.
She inhales deeply and sighs loudly, "Truth is, I moved here with my mom because my dad had an affair."
Sasuke raises his thick brows at her sudden confession and Sakura's eyes widen, her pale hand clasps over her mouth in seconds.
"I don't know why I said that," She turns her head away from Sasuke's sight but it doesn't matter, he can already see the hot blush that's spreading across her pale skin.
He shrugs his shoulders, "Don't worry about it."
Sakura whips her head around at his response, her green eyes bore into the darkness of his eyes and he can see the pink blush of her embarrassment on her cheeks.
"You're the only person I've actually told about the affair," She shakes her head in disbelief, "I was too embarrassed to tell my friends back home."
The rain is still drizzling and he watches as the droplets fall on her pink hair, on her skin.
And there it is again, that warm feeling plummets into his stomach. It explodes through his body and he wants to touch her, to reach out and hold her.
He feels his body inch forward and before he can even raise his hand, the morning school bell rings.
"Oh," Sakura gasps, "We're gonna be late." She pushes her hair behind her ear and shifts her weight on each of her feet, like she's nervous, "Can we...Well would it be alright if I walk with you from now on? Like before...and after school?"
He should say no.
He should cut her off before he actually does go insane.
But he can't.
"Yeah. That's alright."
tbc.
a/n: it's been awhile since i've updated this story because life has been crazy. i'm going to try to update sooner now that it's summer break. thanks for all the support and as always reviews are appreciated!
