A/N: I am so sorry that this has been so late! I have no excuse for why I haven't updated. I promise I'll try to update sooner next time! But thank you so much to all those who reviewed and favourited and followed this story! It means everything to me!

This chapter has more of Sasuke's point of view in it because I felt like we were seeing more of Sakura's side of the story. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, and again, I'm sorry it took this long. I was really unsure of how to write this chapter and what to do in future chapters, but I think I have it all sorted now! ;)

And onto chapter five!

I don't own Naruto.

Sasuke could tell that today was going to be an unusual Monday. Despite the fact that he had woken up later than usual, having slept in for the first time in years, something felt… wrong, almost. Or as if something bad was going to happen. He wasn't sure what it was, but the feeling wouldn't leave him.

His theory was only confirmed when he entered his first class for the day- Calculus- which he shared with Sakura. Upon arriving, he immediately noticed that the pinkette wasn't in the room. Either she was running late or she was actually absent, which was something that hardly ever happened. Not that he had been taking notice.

Regardless, he took his seat in his usual spot- behind Sakura's desk- and pulled out his notebook and some writing equipment. Sasuke recalled the last time he had spoken to Sakura; the night of the basketball match. She hadn't even congratulated him on his excellent play at the event. Not that he could blame her- they hadn't had the chance to speak until much later that evening. Besides, he might have been avoiding her for a reason he couldn't care enough to dwell upon at that moment.

The Uchiha leaned back in his seat, his brow furrowing slightly as he realised, for the second time that morning that the pinkette had somehow managed to occupy most of his thoughts. He'd noticed that, for some odd reason that he couldn't explain, he was constantly thinking about her. He didn't know what fascinated him so much about Haruno Sakura or why she had somehow managed to invade his thoughts every few minutes. It was such a sudden ritual that he would suddenly begin to think of her all the time.

Sasuke was secretly grateful when his best friend entered the room and began to make his way over to the Uchiha. He was grateful for the distraction, even though the day had barely started and Naruto's insistent chatter was already beginning to grow annoying. He cared for Naruto more than he wanted to admit, and it was times like these that he appreciated the blonde more than anyone else would. It reminded Sasuke that he had to look after his friendship with Naruto. The Uzumaki was there for him after all, and even though Sasuke always rolled his eyes at his friend's constant reminder of this, Sasuke thought he could ask Naruto for advice about this whole issue. Maybe the blonde knew something that the Uchiha didn't. Maybe he could help him out- if only a little. Glancing at Sakura's desk, the Uchiha figured it was worth a try.

But as the lecturer walked in, everyone fell silent, and Sasuke was momentarily distracted from his thoughts and the empty desk that sat before him.

This was unbearable! Sasuke sighed, annoyed. He couldn't concentrate! His mind just wouldn't focus on the Calculus sitting before him. All he could think about were those emerald green eyes, bubble-gum pink hair, milky skin and full pink lips.

Sasuke scowled. This was very annoying. All of sudden, he couldn't stop thinking about her. And it didn't help that his mind kept reminding him of her every detail. It was as if he could remember her in a most explicit way. Her lips, her hands, her - everything! She had become a lucid image. Haruno Sakura. Sakura.

Sasuke clenched his fist tighter around his mechanical pencil.

Before, he wouldn't even have had a second thought about her. Sure, he always acknowledged how well she did, her scores always being one of the highest. But he had never actually thought about her. And definitely not this much.

The Uchiha sat back in his chair, defeated. Why was he suddenly experiencing these feelings? What had happened? Did he suddenly think about her all the time because she was not present in the class and he suddenly missed her? Or was it something a little more complicated than that? Was there a certain chemistry between the two of them that he hadn't even noticed before?

However possible that might be, it also wouldn't make any sense. Sasuke couldn't recall when he even began to experience a sudden attraction towards the pinkette. Although, he wasn't even sure if attraction was the correct word, so to speak. Yes, he thought she definitely had a pleasing figure, and she was beautiful. But did just that constitute to him being attracted to her? He didn't desire to kiss her. Although, he did sometimes feel the urge to run his fingers through her soft hair. But he didn't want to dwell on that.

How could he suddenly have feelings for her? It just didn't make any logical sense. They hadn't even really dated. All they did was meet at a park, order smoothies and argue. That didn't really seem like a romantic time out. Not to him, at least.

The Uchiha knew he was clever. He was at the top of his classes, and achieved exceptionally in everything he did. So why was this something that he simply couldn't understand? It frustrated him immensely, and annoyed him to the point of… he wasn't even sure. All he wanted was to see Sakura so that he would stop thinking about her. Maybe once he saw her again, a part of him would be satiated and he would stop thinking of her.

Hopefully his interest would fade away.

Maybe that was the correct word. Interest… he was interested in her. Yes, that fit perfectly. It wasn't attraction- it couldn't be. He was simply interested.

Sasuke remembered back to when the pinkette had glared at him and the way she had simply just walked off. That had actually affected him more than it should have, and he wasn't sure why she had been so upset.

Although, he could be correct in assuming that he'd upset her when he'd scoffed at her the night before. That seemed to be the only possible reason. However, maybe he hadn't been acting very… friendly. But he couldn't even remember what he had been so annoyed about the previous night.

It was probably because she'd begun to blush and the Uchiha had felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch her. Or maybe it was because it was Naruto who had caused that reaction of hers. Or maybe it was just because seeing Sakura frustrated him and he didn't know what else to do.

He always felt like that when it came to feelings and emotions. He never knew what to do. And then he'd somehow upset her.

Sasuke shifted in his seat. She was so difficult.

By the time all the day's lectures had come to an end, Sasuke noticed that Ino was also missing from the class he shared with her. Initially, he'd found it strange that the two of them were both absent on the same day. But as he began to consider it more, he realised that it was a typical thing for best friends to do. They often bunked classes together to celebrate something or to go out.

Upon thinking that thought, however, Sasuke instantly removed the suggestion from his mind. Even though he didn't know Sakura very well, he knew she would never bunk a class. She was one of the top students, after all.

But this only left him repeating the question he had asked himself countless times throughout the day- where was the pinkette?

It was an understatement to say that he was a little bit worried. Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened. Was she in trouble? Sick?

Shaking his head, he sighed. He was probably overthinking her absence. He could not help but mentally scold himself for his unnecessary worrying. She would show up the next day, and he would only feel ashamed that he had worried so much.

The Uchiha grunted in frustration as he headed back towards his dorm, grateful that he didn't have basketball practice that day. All Sasuke wanted to do was get to his dorm and complete his work. He had hardly made any progress on his Calculus booklet, after all. His mind had been too preoccupied with other thoughts throughout the day.

He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, hating these new thoughts that plagued him. All thoughts about her.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he saw Sakura's friend, Ino, turn the corner into the corridor he was walking down. She looked dazed- as if she had other things on her mind- and the Uchiha could see that her eyes were a little red. She'd been crying…

He didn't know what it was that made him do what he did next, but he did it nonetheless. He couldn't just let Ino walk past him without telling him what had happened. He needed to make sure that nothing was wrong. What if it had something to do with the pinkette? And although his pride screamed at him to not do anything, he just needed to make sure Sakura was okay. He stopped before the blonde, looking her in the eyes. "You weren't in class today."

Regretting it as soon as he had said it, it took every ounce of Sasuke's willpower to stay put and not walk off, pretending that he hadn't just done what he did. Did I seriously just say that?! Sasuke mentally scolded himself. He only wanted to know about Sakura. He didn't care that Ino hadn't been in class today. He just wanted to know what had happened. Ino had obviously been with Sakura the whole day- and the fact that the blonde had been crying put him on edge. He didn't know why, but he hated thinking that something had gone wrong. He hated to think that something had happened to Sakura.

However, he couldn't even bring himself to ask about the pinkette directly. Usually, Sasuke had no problem asking for what he wanted, but for some reason he just couldn't ask about Sakura.

He just hoped Ino wouldn't realise what he truly meant by his statement. That would be embarrassing on too many levels. Firstly, it proved that he'd been looking out for Sakura during the day. Secondly, it proved that he cared about her; as much as Sasuke hated to admit that to himself. And thirdly, it showed how big a loser he was because he couldn't even bring himself to ask about Sakura directly!

Sasuke's best option was to just leave and pretend that he hadn't even spoken to the blonde.

But what was done was done. And he couldn't change that.

He knew what he'd said was a mistake when he saw Ino's reaction. Her initial look of confusion. Then of surprise. Then her eyes lit up and her lips featured a shameless flirty smirk. She'd seen the hidden meaning behind his words. She knew he wasn't asking about why she wasn't at school. No. The blonde knew that he was only interested in hearing about Sakura. Of course she would see right through it.

And Sasuke was a fool to think otherwise.

"You're right. I wasn't." she began, a sickening sweetness dripping from her words. "How kind of you to notice. I hope you collected work for me." She wore a playful smile that made Sasuke want to punch her. She was doing this on purpose. She just wanted to draw out his response. She wanted him to ask her about Sakura. He should have seen this coming.

But he wasn't sure why he didn't just leave. He could have just walked off, but instead, Sasuke decided to tolerate the blonde's form of harassment. It was probably because he wanted to hear about Sakura so badly. He needed to know that she was okay.

At his lack of response, Ino's eyes softened a bit as she shifted her gaze to the floor beneath her feet. She spoke softly. "Sakura had a rough night last night. I went to see her as soon as she had told me about…" she paused, "her grandmother passed away. She's not taking it too well. The two of them were really close. I spent the day with Sakura."

He didn't know what he'd been expecting. But he had not been expecting this. He felt the strange urge to rush to Sakura's dorm and comfort her. Even though he had no idea where her dorm was.

He clenched his fists and held back a surprisingly angry growl. Sakura… he didn't like that she was suffering. He didn't know why, but he felt like he needed to be there for her. He wanted to comfort her and make her feel alright.

Even though he knew he wasn't the most comforting person, he still wanted to try. He knew what it was like to lose family- he'd experienced it all too well when he was still a child. The thought that she was going through the same thing made his chest feel tight and for some strange reason, he felt as if he shared her sadness. That when she was sad, he couldn't help but feel a sense of heartbrokenness too.

'This is stupid,' he thought. His emotions were completely independent of Sakura's, right? So why did he feel so hurt just at the thought of how hurt she must be at that moment?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the blonde standing before him. "She's gone to Tokyo for the funeral tonight. She will be back on Wednesday. Collect work for her, okay? She'll love the distraction." After a long moment, Ino continued on her way, walking past the speechless Uchiha.

"Oh!" Ino quickly shouted over her shoulder, "She's in Room 104. Drop her work off there! She'd hate it if she missed any important assignments!"

Sasuke could not help but stare at the spot she had previously occupied for a few moments, before he was finally able to move. He walked back to his dorm, almost in a daze. Sakura- she- He could not believe that something this tragic had to happen to her. What had she done to deserve this? Sasuke had no idea what her home life was like or anything about her life before he had actually started taking notice of her, but he almost felt angry. Angry at the fact that she was suffering and frustrated because he hadn't had a clue and now he had no way of comforting her!

Collapsing onto his bed, he finally let Ino's information sink in.

She was in Tokyo.

She would be back on Wednesday.

He would wait.

The next day went by slowly. Sasuke noticed Sakura's empty seat in Calculus- and he had to clench his fists so hard, that he almost drew blood, to make sure that he wouldn't punch anything. He didn't know why he was so angry and frustrated. The last time he had seen her, Sakura was angry at him. He couldn't help but regret ever being such a jerk to her.

The Uchiha spent the rest of the day after classes practicing basketball. It was the only way he could effectively deal with his anger and frustration. Even after practice, Sasuke had stayed behind. And not surprisingly, Naruto stayed with him. They'd been practicing for a whole two hours, and quite frankly, Sasuke wasn't even sure why Naruto was still there. The Uchiha had expected his friend to have left by now.

But he hadn't. Naruto was still practicing with Sasuke, at times being too tired to play and he would just sit down on the courts and watch the raven head. But all without saying a word about why Sasuke was doing what he was doing. It was strange. Naruto remained silent and didn't ask any questions. It was unusual for the blonde to be so quiet. But Sasuke was grateful- even if he didn't want to admit it. He knew the Uzumaki could tell that Sasuke was angry and he was respecting his space. Sasuke appreciated that Naruto wasn't pressing him for questions.

"Hey, Sasuke! What's wrong?"

Well, at least the Uchiha thought he was respecting his privacy. He sighed. Of course Naruto would become too curious to stay quiet for much longer. Sasuke chose to ignore his friend's question and continued to focus on his practice. The Uchiha knew Naruto would just continue to question him, but he didn't feel like answering right away.

Naruto sighed in frustration at his friend's lack of response, linking his fingers behind his head. He passed said friend a glare who unfortunately, didn't notice. Or he did but didn't show it. "Hey, aren't you going to tell me!?"

Sasuke stopped playing for a second just to pass Naruto an annoyed look. Naruto sighed again, standing up and joining his friend on the courts. They played for a bit longer before Naruto spoke softly, "So Sakura wasn't in class today." He lowered his eyes to Sasuke's hands which were clenched tighter around the ball, Naruto noticed.

Sasuke chose not to say anything and passed the ball to Naruto who smoothly dropped it into the basket. Sasuke was always hard to read. He never showed when he was sad or heartbroken. He only showed anger or annoyance. He liked to keep his emotions to himself, but he knew that that was not possible with Naruto.

Naruto had known him for almost his whole life. They'd met even before college and Sasuke knew that Naruto was different. The blonde always knew what was going on with the Uchiha, never failing at making it his job to help his friend out whenever he needed it. He could always tell what Sasuke was feeling and thinking. Sasuke would hand it to Naruto- he always knew how to cheer him up. He was used to Sasuke's behaviour and understood the hidden meanings behind most of his words and moods.

Sasuke knew that Naruto had noticed the way his hands had gripped the ball more tightly at the mention of Sakura. It was rare that Sasuke would show this much emotion, so something like that would never slip past the blonde. Thankfully, however, the younger of the two decided not to comment.

"Why is that?"

Naruto's next words snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts and for a moment, Sasuke didn't know what the blonde was asking him. When he remembered, he simply grunted. The reason for which Sakura was not at school was none of his business. And as much as Sasuke wanted to believe that he agreed with that thought, a part of him couldn't help but feel disappointed. He actually wanted to tell Naruto why she hadn't been in class today. That she was actually not fine and that he couldn't do a thing about it! That he couldn't even help her and that he had been so rude to her in all of their encounters and how much he regretted it now.

Naruto was watching Sasuke, who suddenly appeared to be in his own world. Naruto took a step closer to Sasuke who hadn't moved at all and ducked his head to look into Sasuke's eyes. His dark pools were swimming with strong emotions of pain and confusion, and Naruto raised his arms to hold onto Sasuke's shoulders. The small movement seemed to snap Sasuke out of his thoughts and Naruto passed him a wide grin when he noticed the focus return to his friend's eyes.

Sasuke was sure he felt his eye twitch at his friend's smile and couldn't contain the sigh that slipped past his lips. "Sakura's…" He hesitated and mentally kicked himself. He wanted to talk to Naruto but he didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth but then closed it again.

"Sakura's…?" Naruto prodded, but didn't pry. He waited for Sasuke to gather his words. He knew the Uchiha wasn't good at sharing what was on his mind, and Naruto would respect that.

"She's not in a good place right now and… I don't know what I can do to help her." He couldn't bring himself to tell Naruto what had actually happened. He knew his friend would understand what he was trying to say, and he hated himself that he couldn't confide in the blonde.

"Oh," Naruto chuckled lightly, bringing his hands to take the ball from Sasuke's tightened grip around it. "That's easy, just take her out. Help her to forget whatever happened, you know?"

Sasuke watched as the blonde bounced the ball for a moment before scoring another hoop. He hadn't actually thought of that. Perhaps he should take her somewhere to help her to forget. However, as soon as he thought that, Sasuke already saw a flaw in that idea.

"I don't know if you remember, or not, but the last time we spoke, she was clearly angry with me." Sasuke commented, accepting the ball from Naruto, who had passed it back.

"So what? I'm sure she wasn't really upset. Probably just annoyed. I'm sure if I were in her shoes, I'd be just as annoyed." Naruto grinned, "Because you have such an attitude."

Sasuke glared at his blonde friend, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. What was that supposed to mean anyway?

"You just proved my point," Naruto laughed.

"Whatever," Sasuke grumbled. Why had he ever thought that speaking to Naruto would be a good idea? The blonde was always trying to make a joke and often had a tendency to tease the Uchiha. For what reason, Sasuke would never know.

"Hey!" Naruto called out, even though his friend was right beside him, "you're welcome!"

Sasuke could only grunt a sound of acknowledgement. He really did appreciate his friend's help more than he cared to admit. He was grateful to have a friend like Naruto could read him so well. He was never really good at expressing endearment, but seeing Naruto's big smile and impossibly hyperactive mood, the Uchiha couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips. He would think about what Naruto had said.

And he would definitely set aside a day where the two of them could spend an evening together, eating greasy noodles which just so happened to be the blonde's favourite food.

Wednesday finally came around and Sasuke felt a strange nervousness at the thought of taking Sakura somewhere. Just the two of them- but not as a date.

He still had yet to decide if he was going to do it or not, however. He was worried that it was too soon to do something like this- that Sakura needed more time to mourn and that she wasn't ready to be in the company of others. If that was the case, he completely understood and he didn't want to seem like he was trying to force her to do something she didn't want to do.

Calculus was the last period of the day, and although Sasuke was glad to see Sakura, he couldn't help but notice how broken she looked, although she tried to mask it. She still continued working, taking notes- faster than usual, he noticed- and on the outside she seemed to be paying close attention to everything that the lecturer said. But even from behind, Sasuke didn't miss the rigidness of her actions. Her shoulders were tight and some of her movements seemed jerky, almost automatic and Sasuke knew just how must effort it must have taken her to keep up this appearance the whole day.

His hand resting on his knee tightened involuntarily. Sasuke hated to see Sakura looking like this. She looked like her whole world was busy crumbling around her and it took most of Sasuke's self-control not to growl out in frustration.

Seeing her like this made him realize that for once, he had to do something. That he had to be there for her and not just act like the jerk he usually was. It was then decided. He would take Sakura out just to give her a few hours away from everything. He would ask her as soon as the class had ended.

Soon enough, the lesson was finally over and as much as Sasuke needed to talk to Sakura, he still felt a wave of desperation wash over him when he realized that he had no clue as to what he was going to say or what he was going to ask. He didn't know how she would take it. Did she even know that Ino had told him what had happened? What if she rejected him?

He would completely understand that, however. After something as traumatic as what had just happened to her, the last thing she was probably looking for was a good time out. She was clearly intent on drowning herself in work, judging by the way the only thing she had done the entire class was keep her eyes glued to the problems before her.

He sighed. And even if she wanted to get out a bit, there was no guarantee that she would go with him. She probably always thought he was such a jerk and now how would she react to his sudden kindness? Sasuke lightly shook his head in order to remove all negative thoughts from his mind. No, if he was going to do this, he'd have to do it confidently. He couldn't leave any room for doubt in his mind or hers.

Sasuke felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Naruto, who smiled and waved at him before exiting the room.

What was that about? Was it for good luck?

Dismissing his thoughts, Sasuke's grip around the stack of papers that he held tightened. He was holding the booklet which Sakura hadn't been present to collect, and he held the work from the day before which she had also missed. Calculus was the only class he shared with her, so that was the only work he had collected.

Deciding that it would be a good idea to use the work as an excuse to talk to her and to ask her if she wanted to do something after class, Sasuke reached forward across his desk in order to tap the pinkette in front of him to get her attention. But just as he reached forward and the last person exited the class, Sakura abruptly stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked briskly out of the room.

Sasuke blinked once before retracting his hand and resting his head in his palms, letting out low growl. He kicked the front foot of his desk in mere annoyance and quickly got up to leave the room as well to make his way to practice.

He felt like such an idiot!

He met Naruto at the courts and just one look from him made his blonde friend almost shudder. Talk about angry. Naruto smiled at his friend, knowing full well that the reason for Sasuke's sudden glower was Sakura. He snickered as they stared the game.

Six o' clock he found himself standing by her door. Sakura's dorm. Bringing his closed fist to the dark wood of the door before him, Sasuke knocked and awaited her response. Clearly he couldn't wait until tomorrow. This had to be done now.

A/N: So that was chapter five! And as you can imagine, the next chapter is going o be heavy with fluff! I'm looking forward to writing it and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

This chapter focused more on Sasuke and what he thinks. Sakura was hardly in here, but they'll both be in the next chapter!

This wasn't too eventful, but I thought it was an important chapter for crucial development.

Sorry for any errors or spelling mistakes and please let me know what you thought! Any comment is appreciated.

See you next update! ❤