Extra Warning: Language and slight violence in this chapter. If you are 10 years old, I suggest you not read…XD
Opening ThingyOk, Chapter Three is here! Dang, this whole part took me forever to type…ya know, school and procrastination…all that crap. Anyway, here more characters appear! Yays! And this chapter will have two parts, because this chapter at the mall was too long and needed to be separated…and in this chapter shall be a SURPRISING TWIST!
Oh, and if you are reading this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!
Here we go…
Chapter Three: Peaceful Valley Mills
What she didn't know was that aside from the dream, things were only going to get even more bizarre and complicated…THREE DAYS LATER…IN THE MORNING…
"Good morning, Sakura, Tenten. Your school starts next week."
That was the first thing they heard from their father that day.
Tenten just stared at him, eyes drooping and tired. She was never a morning person, anyway. She shuffled to her spot on the table and slumped into her chair.
"I need the sugariest cereal that we own," Sakura made a grand entrance into the kitchen in a bad mood, "And black coffee."
"Sakura. You're too young to drink coffee." Her father said lazily while reading the paper.
"…Fine. Chocolate milk, then. EXTRA chocolate." She said resentfully and sat down at the breakfast table next to Tenten, who hadn't even touched her plate. She was just staring at it, not fully awake.
"At least you can pull off being half asleep," Sakura groaned, "I only got three hours in before 'kaa-san woke me up."
"Why are we up this early again?" Tenten mumbled, looking at the clock. 6:55 am.
"Because," their mother explained, working on breakfast, "You need to start getting used to it. Your new school's classes begin at 8:00."
The two stared at her blankly. They had been displeased with their mother since their parents had informed them that they were to attend High School at the local "Twin Mountains Academy" downtown, and that their mother would no longer school them. At first they had been shocked, thinking that their parents were playing a cruel joke. Then when their parents had not started laughing at them, the two girls suddenly went into a very uncharacteristic silent tantrum. They hadn't spent time anywhere but their rooms, only speaking at meals and throwing fierce glances at their parents behind their backs. Nobutaro and Hua Lien didn't notice this at all. Sakura and Tenten decided that it was best to playact around their parents, being cheerful and optimistic on the outside. They didn't want to disappoint them, after all…plus, the girls' parents would never expect such behavior from their daughters.
"Okaa-san," Sakura said, "I had sudden inspiration in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep til three a.m."
"Well," her mother said briskly, "That means when school starts, you have to lay off the writing. More responsibility, you know!"
Sakura felt the urge to stab something with her fork. But both shock and confusion prevented her from fulfilling the temptation.
Tenten finally woke up.
"Woooah, wait. Does that mean I have to stop drawing?"
"Well…it would be good if you stopped for a while, to make room for your studies. Same with Sakura!" their mother explained.
It was Tenten's turn to feel complete and utter bloodlust. She wanted to throw her sausages out the window.
The girls both ate their breakfast, as fast as they could, and headed to their rooms afterward. They both fell onto their beds and stared at their ceilings.
…
Today, at about one o'clock pm, Hua Lien knocked on Sakura's door hurriedly.
"Ye-es?" Sakura asked in her sweetest voice possible.
"Otou-san and I think that you two need to go out. I heard from our neighbors that all of the teens in Peaceful Valley go to the mall to hang out. I can drive you there!"
Sakura frowned. "The mall? We haven't gone to the mall for fun before…only for clothes."
"You two need to socialize and make some friends before High School starts. Go to the mall, Sakura!" her mother commanded as nicely as she could.
Sakura fumed inwardly. She really didn't want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay in her room, brooding…
She put on a fake smile and opened the door to face her mother.
"Okay, kaa-san! It sounds like fun!"
Down the hall, Tenten's door opened.
"Ooh, are we going to the mall? Count me in!" she said, too cheerfully.
"I'm glad you girls are so up to this! Get changed, get in the car, and I'll drive you there!" Hua Lien said happily.
"It's ok, okaa-san. We can walk." Sakura chirped. She gave her mother a caramel-sweet smile and slammed the door. She then proceeded to get dressed.
"I haven't been to the mall in a while," Sakura thought, "Not since I had that growth spurt when I was 12. Otherwise, okaa-san always went alone to get us new clothes."
Quickly putting on a pair of printed red pants, a solid pink camisole, she tied a pink feather boa around her waist for a little flavor. She found a pair of glittery pink sandals and tied up her hair in a ponytail with a red rose hair tie. She liked the color pink, obviously. Her red rhinestone-studded bag was on the bedpost, with her trusty notebook inside. She grabbed that as well, opened her door, and headed down the stairs to the entrance hall.
Tenten was at the front door waiting. The brown-haired girl was in an emerald-green top with a printed white outline of lotuses. Apparently, Tenten had a thing for wearing gloves with holes, so today she was wearing white fishnet ones. Her sandals were also green and adorning one of her buns was a small white flower clip.
Just as a side note, these two girls had NO IDEA that their clothes were so "cool". They had no sense of fashion, but only worked with what they liked. But some of their outfits…well, you wouldn't want to wear them in public…I know I wouldn't…
Anyway, Tenten's trusty tote bag was slung over her shoulder like always. She had on a tired expression, and Sakura returned it.
"Are you two sure that you can go alone?" their mother asked, stepping into the hallway.
"Of course!" they both chimed instantly, plastering a grin onto their faces.
"Well, see you later, 'kaa-san!" Sakura kissed her mother on the cheek and stepped out. Tenten did the same.
LaterAfter about 20 minutes, they found the "Peaceful Valley Mills"(like Opry Mills or Grapevine Mills…if you know what those are, you'll get it…). This was an enormous mall that took up the biggest lot in town. It was like it was picked up by an airplane from the middle of a big city and accidentally dropped in the middle of the mountains.
Sakura and Tenten stared for a while, then entered.
They passed the sliding doors that when you entered said "You are in entrance insert number here in neighborhood insert other number here . Please enjoy your stay at Peaceful Valley Mills!" in a mechanical woman's voice, and were astonished at the sight in front of them. Throngs and throngs of adolescents were chatting, hanging out, window shopping, and whatnot. They were laughing and joking and having a great time. Some were running around, chasing each other on the shiny, polished wood floor. Next to the faux waterfall at the Rainforest Café, a big group of teens were bunched together for a photo. The second before the camera flashed, a girl shoved the boy beside her into the coin-filled water with a huge SPLASH. Everyone around started laughing hysterically as the embarrassed young man hastily jumped out of the water, sopping wet and red in the face.
"Mom, please. If you come with me, I'll never be able to show my face here again! Just give me the money before anyone sees you!"
They overheard a desperate-sounding girl speaking to her plump-faced mother. The woman nodded sadly and handed over a wad of $20 bills. The girl squealed with glee and ran off without a second glance behind.
In the arcade next to them, Sakura and Tenten could see a huge DDR station. There was a crowd of people watching two girls dance, their feet rapidly moving and pressing the arrow buttons with perfect accuracy. The screen above read PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT! over and over again.
"Sakura," Tenten brought them both out of their daze, "I need to get some art supplies, and I know how much you hate coming with me to get them. So can you wait here for me? I'll be real quick."
Hesitantly, Sakura nodded. Tenten ran off to ask someone where the art supply store was, leaving her pink-haired sister standing there. Sakura shrugged and found an empty bench to sit on. Idle, she took a deep breath and blew out through her mouth, inflating her cheeks. She put her hands on her knees and surveyed her surroundings.
The mall was lit with a dim, cool orangey glow because of the large lamps in the rafters, and there were no windows. The mall was covered in bright colors, but softened by the dim light.
"Noisy" was an understatement. There were so many teens in one place, talking at the top of their voices. Sakura people-watched for a while, observing the teens hanging out and doing whatever.
After about 5 long minutes, Sakura began watching some boys in the indoor skate park across from the bench. There was one in particular, a blonde boy her age who could not stop glancing back at Sakura. He fell on his skateboard many times, but always laughed it off. Each time, the little group of boys with him laughed even more. The boy caught Sakura's eye and winked at her. She went bright red; she had never had a boy do that to her!
"Hmph."
Sakura looked to her left. There was a boy sitting about two feet next to her.
When did he get here? She thought to herself, shifting closer to the edge of the bench.
"You're the one who moved into that new place." He said, eyes looking straight forward. Sakura froze in place. Was he talking to her?
"Uhm…yes…yes, my family did. How did you— "
"I live next door." He answered her question before she even finished asking it.
"…oh." Sakura said. She began to observe the boy more closely. His dark eyes were cold and daunting. They sent a shiver up Sakura's spine, even if they weren't looking at her. He had slightly messy black hair that was sticking out in the back. His skin was a bit pale, also. His clothes consisted of a black trench coat (in the summer,might Iadd) over a black shirt with a small symbol on the top right corner. Around fan. Odd.He also had black baggy jeans over black boots. Sakura couldn't help staring in confusion. Why so much black?
There was a moment of somewhat uncomfortable silence. Sakura's eyes wandered back to the blonde skater-boy. He was actually pretty cute, in a clumsy way…
"Don't let him fool you."
Sakura's head jerked back to face the black-wearing boy. She was slightly annoyed.Hadn't their conversation ended?
"Wh-what did you say?" she asked.
The boy's eyes shifted. He looked to his left, frowning deeply.
"I said, 'Don't let him fool you.' He's not what he seems." He said, grudgingly.
"Um…who are you talking about?"
"You know who. You've been staring at him for the past 10 minutes. That blonde idiot. Trust me, he doesn't need anymore fangirls."
The raven-haired teen gestured towards a huge group of girls that, surprisingly, Sakura hadn't noticed yet. They were all cheering and giggling and swooning.
"Go, Naruto-kun!"
"We LOVE you, Naruto-kun!"
"Naruto-kun is the BEST!"
The blonde boy returned the praises by grinning and puffing out his chest, which made him lose control and fall down again. All the teens laughed hard. He quickly got up and smiled like nothing happened. He walked over to the girls and blew one of them a cheesy kiss. The girl practically fell over. The boy casually strutted past the rest of them, and to Sakura's utter shock, walked straight over to her.
The blonde took Sakura's hand and kissed it lightly. An enormous dramatic gasp erupted from the crowd behind him, and Sakura felt a zillion pairs of eyes watching her. She felt the heat rise to her ears.
"Surely you must be the most beautiful creature to walk this planet," the boy said suavely. Sakura went even more scarlet, speechless.
Honestly, to Sakura this boy wasn't much of a looker. His short gold hair was messy and spiky, and his ears stuck out a bit. But his humor-filled indigo eyes made up for it. On the sides of his face were three lines that made him look like he had whiskers. His smile made you feel like you were looking at a mischievous fox.
"May I know your name?" he asked.
"S-Sakura…Haruno Sakura." She replied, stuttering. She really didn't have any attraction toward this boy, but she had never had someone just come up to her and say she's beautiful!
"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service, Sakura…chan." The boy winked again, and Sakura's eyes widened.
"Tch. Typical…" the dark-haired boy next to Sakura finally muttered, just loud enough for the three of them to hear. Naruto then turned his attention toward the other boy, glaring.
"Uchiha Sasuke," he said, addressing him. He had on a malicious smile.
"Uzumaki Dobe." The other responded.
Naruto's eye twitched. "I thought you'd never show your face in public again after…last year."
"Well, here I am," the other boy shrugged calmly, "So I guess that means that I don't give a shit, huh?"
The blonde's eyebrows furrowed lower. "What the hell do you think you're getting yourself into, Sasuke-teme? I'm always gonna win."
"I think I'm just trying to enjoy my self at the local mall. And you aren't making my day any better, DOBE."
"Shut up, you bastard! Stop calling me that! I may not get the best grades in the class, but at least everyone likes me!"
"You get the worst grades in the class. And they only like you because you make a complete fool of yourself just to make them look at you, DO-BE." The Uchiha emphasized the last two syllables so that everyone could hear.
Naruto finally snapped. "Shut the fuck up, you bastard!" he roared, and grabbed Sasuke by the collar. Sasuke's expression did not change. He only kept glaring at the boy in front of him. Naruto slammed him into the nearest wall.
Sakura, the poor, helpless witness to these events, stared at the two boys and their…colorful conversation. Never had her innocent ears heard such language in such a short period of time. How unfortunate for her…
"I'm gonna KILL YOU." Naruto growled. He spat on the Uchiha's shirt. Sasuke calmly wiped off the saliva and spread it over Naruto's face.
"Keep your freakin spit to yourself." He said. Naruto dug his knuckles further into Sasuke's shoulders, to the joyous shouts of the boys and girls behind him.
"Yeeeah! Go Naruto!"
"Kill that guy dead!"
"Do us all a favor!"
"Gladly," Naruto smiled, fury pulsating through his veins.
Sasuke just raised one eyebrow, looking bored. Uzumaki Naruto drew back a closed fist, ready to strike.
Then, a warm, trembling hand held it back He looked behind him and realized that it was Sakura's hand.
"What the--?" he exclaimed, turning around.
"Sorry," Sakura said, with a weak apologetic smile.
It happened in a split second, and before Naruto realized it, the pink haired girl gathered all the strength she could muster and drove her fist into the boy's gut. Another huge gasp erupted from the crowd. Groaning in pain, Naruto clutched his stomach.
"Y-you…how did…" he gasped. Sakura wanted to make sure he couldn't stand for a while, so…
She kneed him. HARD. In that spot.
Naruto's eyes widened, in both shock and utter pain. He keeled over and whispered "Ow," in a very high-pitched voice. He then fell into a heap on the ground. His "posse" ran up to him and helped him up. Naruto was barely able to focus on anything but the pain. He wobbled away on the shoulders of two of his friends.
"You okay, boss?" one of them asked.
"Hm. So pathetic. Uchiha's so weak, he has to have a girl save him." Another commented.
"I'll—finish—you—later—Sasuke-teme…" Naruto groaned. "Ooh, the pain…"
Sakura shivered and turned to face the dark-haired boy. He was brushing himself off.
"Um…are you all right?" she asked, hesitantly. His attention came back to her. He stared.
"You didn't need to do that," he said coldly.
"Well…you weren't doing anything…and he was about to…"
"I could have handled that myself."
"I'm pretty much a black-belt, I know what to do— "
"You don't get it. I DIDN'T NEED YOUR HELP." He said venomously, glaring at her. "If I needed someone's help, don't you think I would have asked for it?"
"I was just…" Sakura trailed off, lost for words.
The boy stared fiercely and coldly straight into her eyes. Sakura felt another shiver tickle her spine and the back of her neck.
…
"You're annoying."
He trudged off, shoulders hunched while ignoring the stares that followed him.
Sakura stared after him, interested. Those eyes…so deep and full of past sorrow…Sakura could tell just from his eyes that he had many inner scars. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him, even though he had just insulted her. This boy intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him.
Author Note-ness
FINALLY! Chapter 3, complete!
I love the mall. I especially love Grapevine Mills in Texas. I miss it sorely. So I wanted to put a mall just like it in my fanfic, but only for a while. The actual High School is coming up! Chapter 5! I'm writing it in my notebook as I speak! Well, as I type…um…I multitask…
So…what do you all think of the surprising twist? Are you shocked? Angry? Interested? I wanted to write something different where Naruto is Mr. Popular, and Sasuke is the hated one. Oh, and my OC's appear in part 2…I'm nervous…I hope that you like them. I also hope that they aren't Mary Sue-like…
Who will appear in the next chapter? Let's see…Hinata, OC's, and…a jounin sensei! Who will it be? STAY TUNED! …ha
AND REVIEW!
"Uzumaki Naruto. The so-called 'heartthrob' of every school we've been to.
"He's cute, funny, athletic, and not afraid to laugh at himself. In other words, the 'perfect guy.'" She droned, counting off her fingers and rolling her eyes. "As for Uchiha Sasuke…he's calloused, unemotional, a genius, and a complete ice cube. In other words, the 'undesirable nerd.'"
"So…do you all have a label, too?" Sakura asked hesitantly.
"Yes…" Hinata said quietly, "We are…"
"…the rejected."
Tsune
