Disclaimer: Yeah right, I don't need to own Naruto to write fanfiction.
Penname: LiveLoveLaugh
Fanfiction Story: Teenage Rhapsody
Summary: AU She was new at Konoha High. But she didn't have a dark secret. She wasn't social. She wasn't very attractive. She wasn't very popular or very geeky. Hell, she was always alone. Now that Sakura became a senior, things start to mix up a bit.
AN: Thank you for the pairings suggestions! Keep them rolling!
Uh, well. I know I really need a life, here's another chapter: Enjoy!
Chapter Four
Big Girls Don't Cry
When homeroom ended, fifteen minutes of complete silence that even scared Hayate, Sakura walked out of the classroom as quickly as possible to avoid anyone especially that white-eyed guy. She didn't want to think about it. She really didn't to talk about it with anyone, mostly Tsunade because in no time the blond caretaker would be on Neji's ass if she EVER found out that her favorite girl was harassed on her first day. Despite the fact Sakura wasn't at all angry at him.
She only wanted to forget but she was quite surprised when the next three days of school had gone by so quickly.
First Period was World Literature, with Umino Iruka-sensei who was a kind fatherly man who tries to strict and hard on students but loved everyone of them, especially the troublemaker Naruto, who reminded him of his childhood self. The classroom was huge, with black and white construction that was taped all around the room, with past 'A' projects he'd given out. She found it interesting to see him prop himself on a stool in front of the class where they pushed the desks to the end of the room, as if it were a ritual, and read to the entire classroom of quiet and listening students about old legendary poetry. Sakura grinned when she sat in the inner circle with Naruto, listening attentively to the brunette man talk about poets, in a way where he gestured around with his hands and made everyone laugh. And what she loved most in her first impression was how Iruka-sensei had everyone to open up their minds and give out their own opinions, making the class entertained.
"So," Iruka looked around the classroom, pointing to someone in the back, "Shikamaru, what do you think about Byron?"
She turned away, seeing a boy, who looked he rather be sleeping, shrug, "Well…he slept with everyone, didn't he? He must have been a player." People around him snickered.
"Player!" a girl, who sat a few people away from him, snorted. It was the same girl who was in her homeroom with blue eyes and platinum blond hair, "Don't you mean a male slut! I mean he was literally throwing himself to the women!"
Half the class laughed, while some grinned. Iruka was highly amused, "Yes, yes he was. Actually, he was a very famous poet who was also had noble blood in him. He had drove women everyone crazy with his charms and poems," he scratched his head a little, thinking, "Hmm…now that I think of it, he was a strange man. Lord Byron was a strong believer in love, and he thrived in it. Kept a diary of all his affairs—though his wife burned it…"
"A wife?" Naruto mocked, "How the hell did she get him to settle down!" Sakura spotted a navy-haired girl not far away from the blonde, just blushing in her pale cheeks whenever he talked. Then the entire class began to start all over with entertainment. Sakura only felt more disappointed when the bell rung and she left to go to her next class.
Second Period was Calculus, taught by Yuuhi Kurenai-sensei. Sakura was a little upset that she had two classes without the Uzumaki, but she tried not to be so angry. The teacher was a beautiful woman with sexy wavy dark hair, red lips, and wore a tight suit and short skirt, showing off her long legs. She had wondered whether or not, the students were busy writing down their notes or looking at her figure. She found the woman to be kind and gentle, strict but yielding. She handed them a giant load of class work, math problems that even had her, a straight 'A' student, mind boggling and pencil tapping on the tabletop. The only people she had recognized in the class were that Shino guy who sat in front of her, quiet and impassive while his seating mates were passing notes to each other whenever Kurenai wrote on the board. Kiba, the tattoo-guy, had sat next to Sakura with a giant smile on his face and his white dog Akamaru snuggled comfortably in his lap as he bombarded his 'best friend' Shino for answers over and over again.
"Pshh! Shino! What's the answer to number twenty-five?" he whispered urgently, poking the solid boy with a pencil.
Shino turned only a fraction to him, murmuring back in his deep voice, "Prime Minister of China."
Kiba looked confused at him, poking him again, "But it's a math question!"
"It's a hard question," Shino whispered.
Kiba stared at Shino's paper, with a stern frown, "But you wrote something different!"
"I wrote down the wrong answer, so our papers won't match," Shino replied quietly.
"Oh," Kiba glanced at Shino then he grinned hugely, "Thanks! You're the best!" He quickly jotted down the 'right' answer.
Sakura could have sworn the tiniest of smirks had appeared on Shino's thin mouth. She snorted to herself, inwardly applauding the young man's quick wit.
Third Period was Visual Arts, where Shiranui Genma was teaching. He was a suave laidback man who also wore a black beanie on his head, letting down his short cropped brown hair. He chewed irritatingly on a long toothpick, showing a few of his nice teeth at the corner of his mouth. He had personally painted the entire room a light shade of green, almost lime, covered with paintings and drawings done by his star pupils who were inspired by his talents and teaching. Sakura never thought of herself as an artist but she found out how fun it was to draw with charcoal, smudging the pads of her fingers while she tried to sketch out the object in front of her. The strange kid, Momochi Haku, had found him/herself in a mode where all he/she did was look directly at the large piece of white paper, while ignoring all distractions, and carved out a divine drawing of a vase with three white carnations with just his/her piece of black charcoal. He/she grinned most bashfully when Genma began to appraise his/her drawing, pointing to the shades and coloring at the end of class.
"You're so good at it, Haku," Sakura complimented, when they walked out of the classroom.
"Why, thank you Sakura-kun!" Haku exclaimed, "I'd always love art—"
"Really?"
"Yes, but I want to become a mechanic engineer one day!" his/her brown eyes began to sparkle, leaving the green-eyed girl to sweat-drop.
Fourth Period was Physical Education, taught by Maito Gai. She was very happy when Naruto, Haku, Shino, and Kiba (and Akamaru) all were in the co-ed class, a little upset when Neji was there too, but what completed her excitement was…that…the teacher…was…a…little…too…
"…AND UP AND DOWN! AND UP AND DOWN! COME ON MY PUPILS, YOU MUST LOOSEN UP THOSE MUSCLES!" He was dressed in a very thin bright green spandex suit that showed every one of his, um, curves, with orange leg warmers and a thick vest with a hood right over his horrible fashion disaster. When he stretched in that disturbing suit, his pelvis moving this way and that which pulled on the fabric around the forbidden crouch zone…well, let's say people throw sand on their eyes…
Sakura, dressed in a white tee shirt, red (short) shorts, and white sneakers, jogged around the giant oval of the track field with a group of other classmates. She was minding her own business just listening to Haku complaining about his/her long hair flying in his/her face to Naruto and Kiba, Sakura was sidestepped with another girl.
"Hey! Your name is Haruno Sakura, right?" her long blond ponytail was whipping in the air as she ran sweating, huffing and puffing.
"Yes," Sakura replied, her body going up and down with every one of her steps on the hard ground.
Her light blue eyes sparkled, her smile adorned on her face, "Oh! I'm Yamanaka Ino! We haven't been properly introduced! Welcome to Konoha High!"
"Thank you," Sakura smiled lightly, beginning to pace herself with Ino.
"Right after this class, you should come and sit with me and my friends at lunch!" Ino grinned happily, "Sound okay?"
"I-I guess," Sakura blushed embarrassingly, not really expecting such a blunt conversation.
"Alright then!" Before Ino could intercept back where her friends, the other blonde and brunette, were running, she looked at Sakura from head to toe, smiling curiously, "You should talk more! No need to be so shy around me!"
"I'll think about it," Sakura replied back, causing the blonde to smile wider.
"You're funny! Okay, I'll see you outside the girl's locker room! Ta-ta!" Ino waved and ran to her friends.
Sakura was oddly happy, while she tried to pay attention to Naruto and Kiba bitch at each other about ramen and steak, stating which was better, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about what would happen at lunch. But soon it quickly snapped away when a boy running past her, nudged against her shoulder quite roughly. She would have almost tripped, but she looked up holding her hand on top of her ski cap, looking at the back of someone's raven hair that been styled haphazardly in a cut so soft yet sharp. Like a chicken's back, she noted thoughtfully.
She walked out of the locker room, seeing that Ino was already there fixing her make-up in a cosmetic case with a small mirror. She waved brightly, leading the new girl her way.
They stood in line in the cafeteria, Ino starting off in a conversation.
"You know what? I have been quite curious of you lately, Sakura-san!" Ino smiled, picking up a plate of salad and a carton of milk from the pantries, "For the last three days, I thought I had seen no one with a prettier shade of green than yours."
Sakura's eyes widened, her cheeks reddening, "Thank you…" Even the Macaroni Special looked more appetizing at that very moment.
"Yup!" Ino chirped, fluttering her eyes, "You know…I wish I had talked to you on the first day, but when Neji-san had—"
"Don't worry about it," Sakura interrupted immediately, "It was nothing."
"Hmm, I wished he would have apologized to you," Ino said thoughtfully, "I been seeing him trying to avoid you—but I know for a fact that that guy is always too damn stubborn to say 'sorry'. Well," she looked over, rolling her eyes slightly, "Actually now that I think about it, I think all guys are like that…it's their egos…" she whispered jokily, causing Sakura to giggle.
"I suppose, but really, I'm okay," the new girl smiled warmly. Ino frowned quite upsettingly.
"When I saw you at homeroom that day, I thought you were about to cry…" Ino whispered, then wishing she could have swallowed back her words, "Uh, I-I mean—you know, heh…well—"
"Yes, I was about to," Sakura said solemnly, her eyes looking far away. She shook her head as if remembering something, grinning, "But you should know, that 'big girls don't cry'…"
Ino nodded, but reconsidered, "I don't know, new girl…I think everyone is allowed to cry."
Sakura decided not to say anything else when she paid for her lunch, taking her tray with her, and followed Ino while she took her over to the open cafeteria, to the grass fields and fountain where many of the kids sat to enjoy the sunny day. Sakura saw that many of the round blue plastic tables and benches were taken, and that Ino was leading her to the two most crowded tables in the field, right by the marble fountain that sprayed clear crystal water into the pool from the open mouths of ceramic toads.
The two tables were bombarded with mostly good-looking people who wore accessories over their uniforms, like rhinestone belts around their maroon pleated skirts, bracelets, silver rings, chandelier earrings, and bandanas. All their hair was styled nicely, like it had taken hours to be done, and the girls had worn makeup and polished their nails into nice colors. A few of the occupants there had scared her, since they were staring directly at her, judging her from the way she dressed herself in her uniform to her ski cap. They began to gossip continuously about her, a few of the girls, the blonde and brunette, had walked excitedly up to Ino.
Sakura then had spotted Neji sitting quietly with his best friend, the weird guy with the cartoon eyes and very thick eyebrows who was looking and blushing at the sight of her when she walked behind Ino. She ignored every one of them, just taking a look around the area and breathing into the fresh air. When she glanced at the far side, able right across the field to a table next to a beech tree, she saw that it was nearly empty except for one person—a girl, actually the girl who was in her World Literature class.
She smiled. She would rather be sitting elsewhere than a table stuffed with gossiping people she really didn't care about.
"So did you hear about what Hikari had done to her boyfriend after their first date? Huh?" Tenten asked excitedly for Ino's squeal and approval to hear more, but she didn't apparently.
"No, I'm not really interested," Ino turned around, expecting to see Sakura, but only to see no one.
"What are you looking for?" Temari asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I swore the new girl was right behind me! Where is she?" Ino searched frantically with her moving eyes that scanned the entire field. Tenten and Temari looked weirdly at her.
"Why are you so worried for? She just went over to sit with Hinata-san," Tenten urged, moving back to the lunch table, "Come on! I have tons of stories to tell you!" She made to grab Ino's arm but the blonde moved away with her lunch tray.
"But you're sitting away from Sasuke, Ino!" Tenten cried, reminding her of her crush who sat with the other popular people.
Ino froze then looked at them, "Uh…I just have to, guys…" There was a rough struggle for her not to flirt with the emotionless hot guy.
"Whoa, is something wrong with you, Ino-chan?" Temari asked, placing her hand on her curvy hip, "You're acting strange again."
Ino looked apologetic to her two female friends, "Sorry ladies, but I promised to sit with Sakura-san at lunch today. Well, just for today."
"Well! If you're sitting elsewhere! I want to come too!" Tenten piped, quite eager to get away from the other girls at the table.
"Really?" Ino asked, blinking.
"Bah, I'll follow too," Temari went over to pick up her own tray, whispering hastily, "If I last one more minute listening to Rika talk about her nose job, I swear I am going to flip…or you know, watch her nose do some cartwheels…" They giggled.
"Oh God, her nose looks so fake!" Tenten burst into laughter, the three women walking to where Sakura was currently sitting.
"Hey! Why is Tenten-san sitting elsewhere?" Rock Lee asked hastily when he watched her walk with Ino and Temari to a different table. Actually many other of the 'popular' crowd had watched the three girls leave after the new girl who they had scorned with their glares. Gossiping and whispering went around, causing even Neji to turn his head around. When he saw where Sakura was sitting. His eyes expanded.
"She'd rather sit over with a nerd than with the cool people?" he asked stupidly, blurting out almost but he recovered with an abrupt cough almost like Hayate-sensei's.
"She's a strange one, alright," Lee grinned.
To Be Continued
In this story, I do wish to tell everyone, I do not like telling anyone about the pairings. I feel it is unfair for me and for you guys. Uh, maybe just me…But, anyway, since its summer and I have absolutely nothing planned for my break, I decided to write and read fanfiction through the days. Quote from my Author's Note, I need a life. So just be grateful for the effort I put into those stories, and wait patiently (not greedily) for my updates, okay? Okay
REVIEWER RESPONSES (uh…only able to answer a small few)
To fallendreamer – Thank you for reading my story, I'm glad you like it! I actually enjoyed reading your review. Don't worry I did have time to read your story, I did think it was pretty good though I thought the plot was a little overused, but nonetheless I could have bet it caught a lot of people's attention. However, I do strongly agree with a few of your reviewers, that you should double check your grammar (I know, I know, nobody's perfect) that way it would be better for your readers, and yourself, to understand it. Because it seemed to me you were rushing to get out your ideas, which is good! But you should put some effort into your progress. I was a bit worried that your story was going downhill because of the overused plot you had adapted, but maybe you should definitely take a look into your own experiences. Many writers use that style of writing, taking what had happened to them and transforming it to blend with fiction. Uh, maybe you are, I'm not sure. It did however worked for this story, and I bet Sakura could use a little more reality instead being just perfect and beautiful all the time (and taking chances in slapping a couple of people, not that I didn't like it). Just some of my suggestions, I hope this hadn't offended you because I do wish my current readers to still enjoy the stories instead of hating my guts. Anyway, good luck with your story!
To animEvivvErz – Hmm…you might not know, it IS only the third chapter. And I am going for a multi-chaptered story, I have a lot of hope in this one. But yes, there will be pairings. This story came to me one night, a few months ago, and I can tell it drove me crazy. So one day, I got really tired of it so I obliged and wrote down the first chapter…then the second, then some more…I was completely surprised when the readers began to review so quickly. But anyway, thank you for being one of them!
And even more thanks for putting this baby on your favorites! It was very nice of you!
To tempus-hime – Yeah I agree with you, I do hate the POV that most authors had continuously used, NOT that I'm offending anyone but it just doesn't flow as well if you keep blocking out the reader's trance whenever they read an exciting story.
To LitoKyomi – Well, I wasn't able to write to you in email, so I decided to create the story's reviewer responses. Wow, you asked me a lot of complicated things. So no to get my tongue twisted (or my fingers tired from typing in circles) I AM however going to tell you in question 4, that YES, it was Hyuuga Hinata, and sorry I can't tell anyone of the pairings. But anyway, I'm glad you liked the story and thank you for taking your time to review!
To Isiri – Uh, well if Kiba is allowed to bring his dog to school, then yes, I'm pretty sure Sakura is able to wear a hat to school. She got connections…I know her name was spelled S-H-I-Z-U-N-E but I thought S-H-I-Z-U-M-E sounded a lot prettier and I got used to typing her name that way. Thank you for liking and reviewing the story, you kinds of people ROCK!
AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO READ AND REVIEWED!