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Sasuke didn't feel very hungry that particular lunch period, or at least that's what he tells his group of friends as they start to sit at their usual table.

"But you just paid for a whole bowl of miso soup." Ino states blankly, staring at his full lunch tray.

Sasuke simply shrugs his shoulders and before he can say anything else, a voice he's grown to hate so much fills his ears.

"Are you not feeling well?"

It's Sakura of course and he knows that but he doesn't even so much as glance in her direction. He begins to wonder why she even cares so much, why she's so nosy and why she's even there at his lunch table in the first place.

"Well I'll eat it if you're just going to waste it." Choji says with a mouth full of rice, bits of it are stuck to the corners of his mouth. He reaches across the table and grabs Sasuke's lunch tray as he speaks, bringing it to his side and clanking it against the other trays.

Sasuke shrugs once more and then shoves his hands into his pockets, "Whatever."

And with that he turns on his heels and begins to walk away from the table.

"Sasuke…" Her voice, soft and eager, calls out to him, "Where are you going?"

He pretends he doesn't hear her and quickens his stride. Their voices melt together into a dull vibration that he can feel all through his body.

"Don't mind him," He can hear Ino's voice faintly among the noise, "He's always like this."


The rest of the day is quiet and calm.

Sasuke sits through his classes in silence, does his work and waits for the bell to ring once more to dismiss him.

Mr. Hasegawa stands up from his desk, there is a stack of crisp white papers in his hands, "Class, before we leave today I want to pass out the permission slips for our Spring field trip," He hands the stack to Hinata and she gets up from her desk to pass the papers down each aisle.

"As you all know, we're going to Yokosuka for our class trip. It's quite far from here so you'll need to have your parents sign this permission slip so that you can all come and stay with the class for a weekend." He claps his hands together excitedly, "This is the last class trip where all of you will be together, I really hope everyone can go. We're going next month, so bring these slips back as soon as possible."

Naruto passes the stack of slips to Sasuke and turns in his seat to face him with a grin on his face, "Oh man, this is gonna be great!" He leans into Sasuke, "You can count on me to bring the booze and…"

Before he can finish his sentence, Mr. Hasegawa clears his throat loudly and glares at Naruto with his grey eyes, "This will be a fun trip, but do not forget that this is also an educational experience for everyone."

Naruto chuckles nervously and scratches the back of his neck.

Sasuke stares down at the permission slip, reading over the guidelines and sighs to himself. The last thing he wants to do is go on a weekend-long trip with his classmates. Naruto would be reckless, Ino would be begging the teacher to go shopping, Choji would be chewing in his ear and talking with his mouth full and Sakura…

He stops himself at the thought of her, that peculiar feeling drops to the pit of his stomach. He feels sick, feels weird and so not himself whenever the thought of her creeps into his mind.

Sasuke rests his head on his desk, the cold surface feels comforting on his hot face but then without meaning to, his eyes wander to her.

He stares at the back of her head, at her long pink hair. The light from the window seeps through the sheer curtains and shines against her hair. It looks like silk and falls down her back like a waterfall.

He wants to reach his arm over, run his fingers through her hair, graze his fingertips across the small lines of her shoulders.

Sakura must have felt his gaze, must have known that he can't look away, even if he wants to, so badly. She turns, her pointed chin rests on her shoulder and she stares back at him. Her long hair moves with her and it looks like ripples in a pond.

They meet eyes for the thousandth time, black and green melt together and they don't look away.

Sasuke notices that the right corner of her mouth pulls up and shows off a small smile. Almost like a mirror, he smiles back, just slightly. He doesn't want to smile, it's weird and he usually doesn't do it.

So why does he do it now?

Sakura's eyes drift from his, to his lips, she focuses on the smile and it's like she's trying to memorize it, like she wants to keep it in her mind forever as a memory.

Suddenly, the shrill ring of the bell echoes through the classroom.

Sasuke tears his eyes off of her and clears his throat, a hot blush flows into his pale cheeks. There is the screeching of chairs and shuffle of feet as his classmates eagerly head out of the classroom. Sasuke begins putting his books into his backpack and feels a shove on his shoulder. He looks up to see Naruto with another stupid smile on his face, this one seems more nervous though, like it's forced, "Well, wish me luck." He says quietly and gestures over to Sakura, who is shuffling through her own backpack.

And before Sasuke can even realize what he means, Naruto struts over to Sakura, "Oi! Sakura!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, knowing now what Naruto intends to do.

"Oh, hello Naruto," He hears Sakura respond.

He starts shuffling through his backpack, searching for his earbuds. He knows exactly where they are, but he still pretends to search, hoping to hear more of their conversation.

"So since you're new here and everything, I was wondering if you'd wanna hang out with me this weekend and I can show you around?" He starts to scratch the back of his neck once again, his nervousness is apparent through his whole body , "I-I mean if you're not doing anything that is…" His blue eyes look at with a hopeful gleam.

Sakura darts her eyes over to Sasuke, so quickly that Naruto hasn't even noticed. Her eyes are longing, she stares at him like she's waiting for him to tell her no.

And that's what he wants to say, what he wants to yell to her.

No, please don't go with him.

But he doesn't.

He grabs his earbuds quickly and turns away from her, away from her longing eyes.

Just before he puts the earbuds in his ears, he hears her voice, smooth and sweet like honey, "That sounds fun," She laughs nervously, "I'd love to."

I'd love to.

I'd love to.

I'd love to.

Sasuke's walking past them now, his earbuds blasting music so loud that his ears begin to hurt. He turns the volume up louder and louder, until the sound of her voice goes away. He wonders why she said yes to Naruto, wonders what happens now.

Sasuke is halfway to the subway station when he feels a gentle tap on his shoulder. He knows who he wants it to be, hopes it's Sakura but then hopes it isn't.

He turns slightly, taking out one of his earbuds and sees her, big green eyes and flushed face as if she was running after him.

"Sasuke…" She says out of breath, "I've been calling your name."

"Oh." He says, gesturing to the earbud in his hand.

She shakes her head and lets out a soft laugh, "You keep listening to your music that loud and you'll be deaf before you hit thirty."

"Maybe." He agrees as he takes the other earbud out, shoving them into his pocket. She's still staring at him, like she's waiting for him to say something else.

Sasuke wonders where Naruto went, why Sakura isn't with him and if she truly plans on seeing him this weekend. A pang of jealousy hits him in the gut, but he ignores it. If he ignores it, then it didn't happen and the feeling will just go away eventually, or so he thinks.

"Did you need something?" He suddenly asks her.

"No...It's just that…" Sakura trails off, pulling at the end of her skirt. His dark eyes wander to the bottom of her skirt. He notices just how short her skirt is, her pale thighs practically exposed and glowing against the sunlight, "You said we could walk together from now on."

Sakura stares at his face, follows the direction of his gaze and sees that he's looking at her thighs. She pulls the skirt down even harder this time, a bright blush explodes across her face and Sasuke looks away immediately, clearing his throat.

"Uhm, yes, yeah. I did say that." He stutters through his words.

How uncool.

He's embarrassed but he tries not show it. It's so unlike him to stutter, to say more than he wants to say.

All he wants now is to go home, away from Sakura and away from this version of himself that only seems to make an appearance when she's around.

Sakura gives a wide grin, that blush still hot on her cheeks, "Well c'mon, I don't want to miss the subway."

Sasuke nods in agreeance and they walk together in silence up until they reach the subway station. The silence was nice, but rather unexpected since Sakura had proven herself to be a talkative girl.

They both swipe their cards and push past the crowds of people, finally reaching the subway. Sasuke sits down first, putting his backpack on his lap. Sakura sits next to him, close enough for him to smell her shampoo.

"Are you excited for the class trip?" She suddenly asks, facing forward.

Sasuke shrugs indifferently, "I don't really care."

Sakura scrunches her nose at his response, "I'm excited to see the ocean again. I haven't been since we before my parent's divorce." She sighs, "Plus it'll be nice to stay overnight with everyone."

"I guess."

"You're so indifferent about everything." She states with a soft voice, "I don't get how you and Naruto are such close friends."

Sasuke almost flinches at the way she says his best friends name, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Naruto is so loud and friendly," She turns and faces him, "And you're so quiet and well...not that friendly I guess. You're opposites."

Her words pierce through him like the blade of sword. He hates the way she compares the two of them and how much better Naruto seems to stand out in her mind, "I guess that's why you were so eager to hang out with Naruto this weekend."

He sounds bitter, even jealous, which he isn't of course and he wishes he could take back what he just said.

Sakura scoffs, "No one else offered to show me around. I would have been happy if it was anyone."

Sasuke doesn't say anything, just sits with his hands folded over his backpack. He doesn't look to the side, knowing that he'll meet her eyes.

"I would have been happy if it was you." She sighs, slumping into her seat, turning her gaze away from him and out the window. He does the same and looks out the window. He outlines the skyscrapers with his eyes, trying to focus on anything else but her.

They spend the rest of the ride in silence, both trying to avoid eye contact and blushing when they bump shoulders as the subway jerks to a stop. She gets off first, and gives him a weak wave before walking away.

He watches her as she walks away, wishing that he could figure out why she makes him feel this way.


a/n: its been awhile! i doubt any of my OG readers still care about this story but i felt compelled to finish. lemme know what you think