Disclaimer: I don't own. Wish I did.

Note: AHHHH! So sorry for not updating! Now I'll have to come up with a proper excuse! Ummmm . . . uhhhh . . . I know! I got lost on the road of life! Yeah, that's it. (Oh, the things Kakashi-sensei teaches me.)

Thank you so much for all the nice reviews! I'm so grateful!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 2

Smiley Face Ramen

            Sakura shoved the door closed after she ran into the house. Without delay, her hands fumbled but managed to close around the lock and twisted it so the door wouldn't budge or open again. She did it to keep everyone out- and her in. Even though her heart was aching, she wanted to go back to the one she loved. What was it about Sasuke that made her so in love with him?

            Sakura slunk upstairs and into her bedroom ((RL: I always picture her room upstairs for some reason)). Her body was shaking and she could hear her heart throbbing in her chest. It was as if any minute she would collapse and explode.

            But that didn't happen. She actually flopped into her bed face down and sobbed into her fluffy feather down pillow that used to comfort her when she was young. It didn't bring her any comfort now. It wasn't soothing to her finger's light touch like it was merely a day ago. It felt rough and hard.

            Sakura's sobbing continued forever. Not a sound could be heard inside her room but in her mind, there was noise. Noise everywhere. Coming from Inner Sakura who had been sent into a fit of rage and ripping off the dozens of Sasuke-kun posters that littered almost every corner of her mind and tossed them into a fire that never existed. A mental fire.

            Even with her Sasuke posters destroyed by furious Inner Sakura it didn't make her feel better. Eventually Sakura cried herself to a cold sleep without dreams. She didn't want to wake up.

~*~*~*

Naruto crawled through the grass. It tickled his chin and brushed against his nose. Every nerve in him screamed to sneeze but he screamed back at them more fiercely than they ever could. His nerves are obedient listeners.

He wouldn't be crawling in Sakura's lawn if only Sakura wouldn't freak every time he came within ten feet of the house. The last time he went to see her she had thrown a seemingly innocent but lethal high heel shoe at him. It had banged against his head and caused a not-so-nice little gash between his eyes. He could remember exactly the way Sakura's mouth twisted into a shriek when she saw a small stream of blood trickling down his cheek.

"No! Naruto! I'm so sorry! I wasn't aiming at you, well, not your head anyway! I was trying to scare you off. Oh Naruto . . ."

"It's alright Sakura-chan. It doesn't hurt much anyway." Big fat liar.

"Come in right now. We have to fix your head."

"That's really okay, I mean—hey! What are you doing Sakura? Shouldn't I take my shoes off?"

"Just come into the bathroom. You're bleeding all over the floor!"

-Five minutes later

"Hold still you idiot!"

"That ointment stings!"

"I said hold still! You wriggle around too much."

"But—"TWACK! "Ouch! That hurt."

Naruto paused and rubbed the back of his head where Sakura had pounded her sweet fists into him. He still remembered the pain, though it was distant.

He was now only about six feet any from the house. He looked up and squinted. Right about him was Sakura's window. There was a dim night on.

Naruto was almost certain Sakura wouldn't see him. He slowly lifted himself from the ground and snuck up to the door. He clasped his hand around the door. It didn't budge. He tried again. And again. And again.

After many unsuccessful tries ((RL: geesh, he's not that bright, is he?)) he crossed his arms indignantly and leaned against the side of the house, pondering how he could get in. Somewhere a little light flashed on in his brain when he saw that last night's rain had formed many little dirt clods in the earth.

~*~*~*

            A rapping on her window woke her. Sakura looked up. Something clay-red smacked against the smooth glass and broke apart. Red dust flew everywhere. If not for the thin glass barrier, the pure white walls of her room would have turned orange-red. She carefully walked over to the window.

~*~*~*

            Naruto picked up another clod. He twisted his arm back and flung it at Sakura's window. It exploded on impact.

            When the dust cleared, he saw Sakura peering out of her dirtied window with a very pissed look on her face. Naruto waved at her.

            "Oi, Sakura-chan! Hiiiiii!" he called.

            Sakura pried the window open. Her eyes were now wide and completely white. Her brain was now turned on to Gripe Mode.

            "NARUTO WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO MY WINDOWS?! ARE THOSE DIRT CLODS?!"

            Naruto laughed. "Ni-shi-ni-shi, Sakura-chan! Had to wake you up somehow. Can I come in?"

~*~*~*

            She didn't know why she was doing this. She couldn't believe she was letting Naruto into her house. It was Naruto after all. Outcast-Naruto. Annoying-Naruto. Why was she so desperate to see him now? Was she that lonely?

            Naruto tugged his shoes off and places them by the door. He stepped up into the living room and looked around. The last time he had visited (a few years ago when Sakura clobbered him with a shoe) he had been too worried about getting blood on Sakura's nice and clean carpet. Now he had time to really look around.

            It wasn't a very big house, but it wasn't small either. Defiantly bigger than his. A light blue couch was in the corner facing a television set. Just past that was a dinning room and kitchen. Off to his left there was a stair case that led up to god-knows-where. Down the hall on the far left side of the wall was the door that opened into the Haruno's very clean and tidy bathroom where Sakura had put that foul burning ointment on him.

            "Why did you come here?" Sakura's soft voice broke Naruto's thoughts.

            "I wanted to check up on you. You were crying pretty hard and . . ." Naruto stopped at the saddened look of Sakura's face. "I'm sorry for today Sakura."

            She brushed away a tear. "It's ok. You didn't do anything wrong."

            "Does that guy have bad taste or what? I mean, falling for Ino," Naruto said. He puffed out his chest and slouched. "Look at me! I'm Saaaaasuuuuke! I'm a jerk but I have the women falling for me anyway!" he imitated a much exaggerated Sasuke attitude.

            Sakura giggled. Inner Sakura was turning pink with laughter. Naruto smiled.

            "Tell you what, Sakura-chan! I'm going to give you the best two weeks of your life before the prom! I'm going to do whatever it takes to make you feel better. 'Ya up to it?" he offered, his eyes closed in a cute fox smile.

            "I don't know . . ."

            "Ah come on! I'll take you out for Smiley Face Ramen!"

            "What is Smiley Face Ramen?" Sakura lifted an eyebrow. In almost four years of listening to Naruto's favorite topic of Ramen Noodles, she had never heard of "Smiley Face Ramen."

            "If you come to the Noodle Bar with me you'll find out! It's my treat. We'll have a great time, promise," he stretched out his pinky to her.

            Sakura stared at, unsure. But slowly she found her own pinky wrapping around his, agreeing to go where ever he was to take her for the night.

            As Sakura stepped out the door with Naruto, she prayed that whatever "Smiley Face Ramen" was would make her take her mind off Sasuke and Ino.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry this took so long! I've been really busy and I forgot about it for awhile. Sorry!

*Ducks flying rotten veggies* Yeah, I know. Bad chapter. Sorry! But it was a little rushed.

*bows deeply* Thanks for those who reviewed! J I didn't know anyone would actually like it!