Author's Note: Loosely inspired by the drama from Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy. Also unedited, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. That is all
Chapter 1: What Goes Around
Sakura gazed out the window of her anthropology course and sighed tiredly. The class was an absolute bore—not to mention it was an introduction course that she'd forgotten to take during the previous three years of her university time. Now she was stuck with the rest of the first years, forced to listen to the old professor's drones about Neatherthals with a hammering sensation murdering her head. Her best friend had insisted on testing her bartending skills on Sakura, practically forcing mojitios and cocktails down her throat for her to 'test.' She had protested, of course (it was a Sunday night crying out!) yet she had somehow ended up passing out at 2 am hazily wondering how she was going to make it to her lecture in a few hours.
Unsurprisingly she had found herself hurling the contents of her stomach—all liquid form, ugh— that morning. After feebly throwing on a crewneck over last night's t-shirt and using her fingers to tame her tangles, she'd snagged a blueberry bagel from the kitchen, chewing it slowly, and opted to walk to class. Just thinking about hearing the sound the car's motor would make was enough to send her into another barf fest. Besides, fresh air was always good for hangovers, right?
Wrong. Nearly two minutes away her traitorous stomach had lurched, and she had sprinted into the nearest shrubbery that would conceal her frame in time to spill out her breakfast. Yeah, she'd be putting her foot down more sternly whenever Ino brought out enough alcohol to knock out someone as vast and wide as Professor Hiruko, out cold.
Feeling her pink hair glued to the nape of her neck, Sakura grimaced and turned away from her view of freedom, towards the old bastard up front. Mentally she rolled her eyes; he was so tedious. Next to her a dark-haired male student was scribbling notes down furiously and she noticed the words 'midterm' highlighted in bright orange at the top of his notebook. Perfect.
She tuned in again just in time to hear the sweet ending words of: "-And I'll see everyone again next week for our exam."
Swiftly she grabbed her phone and bag before pausing and glancing down at the guy, using her free hand in vain attempts to make her hair presentable before letting out a soft, "Hi".
The dark-haired boy blinked in surprise looking up from his notes, a slightly panicked expression crossing his face before smiling nervously at her. Using his brief silence to her advantage the pink-haired girl mustered what she hoped was a sweet smile, ignoring the nausea poking at her throat. "I wasn't aware we had an exam next week, and I didn't take any notes, would you mind if I took a picture of yours?"
Another pause, and then came his breathed out: "S-sure, yeah, go ahead!" Hm. Boys are such idiots, and just soeasy. Sakura tossed him another small smile, making sure to flash the small dimple she had on her left cheek that Ino swore was "the fucking cutest thing I've ever fucking seen" for measure.
Snapping a quick photo and throwing a quick smirk at the boy who now had a faint blush covering his cheeks, she walked out briskly, this time on her way in search of painkillers.
Me: are you up yet?
Ino: ugh yeah, where the hell r u?
Me: some of us had class, pig. heading home, want anything?
Ino: the greasiest burrito u can find and lots of liquid iv 3 love u forehead
Me: love you too
Sakura put her phone away with a sigh and massaged her temples. If only she were back at home, lying comfortably on her satin sheets. They were so soft (not to mention she had snagged them during a great sale), and she had just washed them too. Plus, she could totally have a nice day in and-
A loud voice yelled out distantly breaking her out of her thoughts, "Hey, Sakura!"
Sakura felt her heart drop and she closed her eyes tightly, praying that it wasn't who she thought it was. Kami wasn't so cruel, was he? She turned around slowly, bracing herself with a forced small smile. And of course, Kami wasn't on her side. But it wasn't like she didn't totally deserve it. Groaning inwardly, she called out to the boy making a beeline towards her, "Naruto!"
Sakura watched with a heavy heart as Naruto walked towards her, his eyes giving her a soft look, just like when they—And nope. She wouldn't go there. She couldn't. Not without the guilt eating up her insides like some thick parasite. His spiky blond hair was covered in a white beanie this morning, and he walked clad in black jeans and a warm looking sherpa jean jacket.
As he neared Sakura felt an urge to turn around and run, hung over and all, pretending Ino had called her and needed her urgently. Why couldn't he just stop looking at her like that?
"How are you?" She smiled quickly and bowed her head slightly, so she didn't meet his blue eyes, instead focusing on the scruffs on his black sneakers. If only the ground could just swallow her whole now.
Naruto made a small noise. A laugh maybe? "I've been okay. You haven't replied to any of my messages." Sakura tried not to notice that he attempted to mask how hurt he was.
"Yeah, I've been busy applying to med school, and Ino's been needing my help with filling out her applications, and well you know..." She trailed off, suddenly unsure of what to say. What could she tell him? "I'm-so-sorry-but-sleeping-with-you-was-a huge-mistake-because-I-was-sad-the-guy-I-love-and-my-best-friend-are-hooking-up?" Yeah, what a great friend she was. It wasn't even Ino or Sasuke's fault. Sakura had never expressed any interest in being more than friends with Sasuke and Ino hadn't either. Yet when she saw them flirting, Sasuke brushing his hand against Ino's waist subtlety, the stolen glances, and Ino's blue eyes getting that fond look she reserved only for few people, Sakura just knew.
It wasn't Naruto's fault either. He was just there at the wrong time, wrong place. Kiba had thrown a small house party and there were drinks, and it just got so hot inside. Sakura had wandered into the balcony seeking fresh air and Naruto was already outside giving her that warm smile of his. She had stumbled over to him, convincing herself that she was drunk enough to not care about how in love with her the blonde was. She just needed someone, someone to make her forget just for the night. Someone to make her feel good, someone to make her feel wanted. And when she finally summed up the courage, she had crashed her lips to his.
Sakura now struck up the courage to look up at Naruto who had taken to sliding his hands inside his sweater. He was still looking at her, an unreadable expression flashing across his handsome face before he settled on giving her a comforting smile. Sakura felt a pang run through her chest and suddenly she was self-aware of how much her head throbbed. She didn't deserve a guy like him.
Naruto finally broke the small silence. "You don't have to feel bad about what happened. I know you don't feel the same way."
"Naruto..." Sakura swallowed a thick forming in her throat. Vaguely she wondered if it was vomit or if she was about to burst out sobbing. "I just..."
"No, it's okay, I knew what you felt, I guess I just hoped that maybe..." Naruto trailed off with a shaky sigh. He suddenly grinned at her, his blue eyes giving her the same soft, loving look she hated yet loved dearly. "I don't mind waiting for you Sakura. You don't have to be sure about me now."
Her green eyes widened and the adrenaline flowing through her body began to make her dizzy. Sakura forced herself to smile. She hoped she didn't throw up on his shoes.
"Hey, actually I have to run now, I'm meeting Sasuke at the dining hall for breakfast," Naruto said, holding his phone out. The name 'Teme' flashed with a photo of a scowling Sasuke flipping off the camera lighting up the screen.
"Yeah," Sakura breathed out, feeling relieved he was going and wanting nothing more than to curl up somewhere and cry. "I'll see you around?"
Naruto smiled again, and looked into her eyes, unnerving her. She wondered if he was being honest with her or if he was dying to pick her up and throw her across campus. She wouldn't have blamed him if he did. He reached out to her instead, and she felt his warm hand brush against her cheek lightly for the tiniest second before he brushed back one of the strands of her hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. Her heart squeezed painfully.
Looking down at her, Naruto bowed his head averting his eyes quickly before turning back to her, and giving her a soft, "Yeah."
Sakura took a small step back, feeling the queasiness take pit in her stomach again and began walking away, being careful not to brush against his arm and risk him stopping her. After she had put enough distance between them, she turned back ever so slightly, and her heart thumped again. Naruto still stood there as if frozen solid, his head turned up to the sky and body turned around to face her direction.
Sakura swiftly turned away and forced herself to walk a little faster, heading straight for the nearest bathroom in the library building before gagging over a toilet.
Her phone vibrated silently in her hand, and her screen lit up with a text message from one of her close friends Hinata.
Hinata: I talked to Neij and I think I'm ready to tell Naruto-kun how I feel!
Kami, Mondays fucking sucked.
