Most of the time:
ITALICS thoughts. I find it to be easier that way.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Sakura was now staring into the cold black eyes of a boy her age. The two teens' faces were merely inches apart, an utterly stunned look on hers and a rather bored look on his. Sakura gradually exhaled the breath she had been absentmindedly holding in. The boy's eyes were chilling and intense, and definitely making her nervous. But Sakura couldn't stop looking at them; she had never seen anything like them before. She had never seen anything like him before.
He was wearing baggy grey denim jeans and a long-sleeved, white, baggy, button-up shirt. It quietly flapped in the slight breeze that had started to blow when Sakura was lost in her thoughts. His hair appeared black like his eyes, but in the moon's light his hair was truly a very dark navy blue. His eyes... of all his visible attributes, they were Sakura's favorite. They were the first thing she had ever seen that could be plain but intricate, empty but full. He was not allowed to be real!
Sakura bit her lip and eventually forced herself to look down. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth signaled this wasn't a dream. If this isn't a dream, she wondered, then why... the conch shell was gone.
Her head bolted up only to find the boy carefully holding the shell in his hands.
Why... does he have it?
Meanwhile, Sakura wasn't the only one who had noticed how interesting the situation- or rather the boy- was. Ino gaped in astonishment at the sudden twist in events. After a moment she pursed her lips and frowned, her thin fingers clenched around a handful of sand. This guy was closer to Sakura than she was, and she didn't like it one bit. He was definitely 10 times more attractive than Shikamaru, her current boyfriend. This boy being near Sakura at all... it wouldn't do. I will have him!
Ino determinedly jumped up and straightened out, throwing the sand in her hand aside. She hurriedly dusted off the excess grains on her palms, fixed her hair, and tugged at the seams of her cherry red matching tube top and miniskirt outfit. She made sure Sasuke would like what he was about to see- she would force him to. No way was Sakura going to win Sasuke with her around; Ino swung her hips as she strolled over to execute her plan.
"Is this yours?" The boy that had awed the two girls nonchalantly cracked the tranquility between himself and Sakura. His sudden start of a conversation startled her, but his voice was cool and calming. He was also still very close, but neither he nor Sakura seemed to mind.
"Yes it is, thank you very much...?" Sakura implied with her tone of voice that she wanted to know his name. The boy carefully held out the conch shell in his hand for Sakura to take. Her delicate hand unintentionally touched his when he gave it to her, causing Sakura to blush immensely at the skin contact.
"Sasuke." Sasuke said simply but coolly. "It's Uchiha Sasuke. You are very welcome, Haruno-san."
Sakura grinned as she cradled the conch shell against her chest, treasuring it. She had wanted it before Sasuke had given it to her personally, but the fact that he had now made the shell even more important to her.
"Thank you very much, Sasuke," Sakura expressed. Was this even real? So many things overflowed in her head; she wasn't quite sure what to think about first.
"SO, Sasuke, right?" Ino flipped her hair and skipped beside him. She scooted in the small space between the two and pushed Sakura back. She reluctantly backed up, unable to do anything about Ino's annoying presence. Sasuke frowned. He could already tell that Ino was going to pose as a problem.
Ino put on a cute face and smiled. Sakura opened her mouth to say something but Ino's head whipped around, her eyes sending Sakura a glare as if she could sense she wanted to protest. Ino then turned around and went on her merry way again, trying to get a good reaction out of Sasuke.
"You're cute," Ino chimed, "especially when you frown. I like you."
An unimpressed Sasuke made an effort to step around her but Ino prevented it by stepping in front of him again. Sasuke sighed in frustration.
"...You're not cute, at all. I don't like you." By being blunt he hoped Ino was smart enough to get the obvious point. But part of her 'cute act' was pretending to be empty between her ears, which Sakura never understood why Ino considered that cute.
Ino ignored Sasuke's reply like everything else she didn't want to hear.
"By the way, my name's Yamanaka Ino, and-"
"I'm Haruno Sakura, Sasuke," Sakura interrupted, stepping next to Sasuke's left side. "Thank you again for giving me the conch." She smiled cheerfully. It was Ino's turn to be ignored when Sasuke turned to Sakura, but there was a questioning look on his face.
"Conch?"
"Oh my God." Ino gaped at him. "You haven't lived."
"It's this." Sakura held up the large shell in her hands and went with the flow. "There's an old belief that says you're supposed to be able to hear the ocean when you place it against your ear, but I don't think that's true... really, you've never heard of a conch shell before?" Sasuke shook his head.
"Where the heck are you from?" Ino put her hands on her hips.
A little offended, Sasuke casually slipped his hands into his loose jean pockets.
"The city," he muttered diffidently.
That makes sense, Sakura thought. Too bad he's not going to be around though... "Are you vacationing here?"
"Yeah-"
"How long're you staying here then?" Ino pressured him. If Sasuke's only vacationing, then I don't have much time!
Ino was starting to get on Sasuke's nerves. Never before had he met anyone so irritating. "A week," he shrugged. The three teens silenced, Sakura and Ino thinking about his answer and Sasuke waiting for either of them to speak.
Although she wasn't exactly sure why, Sakura felt saddened. Sasuke was only going to be here for a week, which meant just seven days with another person who apparently disliked Ino. Inside she denied it, but honestly she wanted to get to know him better.
A weak wave splashed against the six bare ankles and feet standing on the shore; the awkward hush after Sasuke had responded diminished as Ino squealed and retreated to dry sand. Sakura didn't move but she gasped, surprised by the freezing water. Why was it so cold- if it was the end of June?
Having heard no reaction at all from Sasuke, Sakura took a fleeting look in his direction to find him staring at her. He hastily looked away as did she; both of them feeling their reddening faces grow hot.
Ino observed the pair from afar and immediately concluded she couldn't leave them alone. Sasuke wasn't falling for her. He wasn't even swaying. Jealousy flared up inside herself as Ino watched the two side by side. She muttered a swear word.
If I can't have Sasuke, Sakura can't either, Ino ultimately decided. I will do everything to separate them...!
So, what can I do now...?
Now that you've read, please review!
P.S.
I check my work many times. If you think you've found a 'mistake' that doesn't have to do with spelling or grammar, it's most likely supposed to be there...
Since the main characters of this story are teenagers, there is a high possiblity they will use slang words. Not trying to stereotype anyone, please don't misunderstand. xX
Arigatou gozaimasu!
Thank you very much!