A/N: I know, I know. It's been about six months since I last updated, but I just want to say that I still have not given up on this story! Every review from you guys inspires me to continue writing, and for your constant support, I just want to say thank you.

Sakura sighed. She was thinking about Sasuke again. Well, to put it more accurately, she was thinking about that night where he'd suddenly shown a different side to him; a more caring, compassionate side that she was sure only Naruto ever saw. And then there was the issue of that possible kiss. She still couldn't get that thought out of her mind- that Sasuke might have been going to… to kiss her.

'But that's almost impossible,' she thought. Why would Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke, ever want to kiss her? It just didn't add up.

She placed her pencil down neatly next to her stack of notes and took to staring blankly at the screen of her laptop. She really needed to stop thinking about him. It probably wasn't a good idea for her mind to be occupied with anything other than the upcoming exams taking place in one week. Last week would simply just have to wait until after finals. She couldn't afford to lose her focus. Not now.

But the pinkette continued to just stare off into space. She needed a break. Running a hand through her hair, she got up from where she sat at her desk and made her way to her mini fridge, pulling out a soda and popping it open. But the events of that night wouldn't leave her. Smiling fondly at the memory of his hand clasping her wrist in a warm grip, she remembered she had acutely noticed that it was the first time he'd touched her. She acknowledged with slight embarrassment how she had so badly wanted to touch him then, to run her hand along his toned arms, maybe get the chance to feel the softness of his hair. Gosh, she was stupid. She had told herself before that she wouldn't get in too deep. The two of them weren't dating anymore, so why was she still thinking about him? There was nothing going on between them; so why did she feel like something was?

Sakura shook her head and placed her drink on her desk. Last week had brought so many new realisations about Sasuke. About how she felt about him. And now it was like they were stuck in a rut. She hadn't spoken to him for the entirety of the past week, and it seemed that any progress they had seemed to make was lost. With her realisation of having deeper feelings for the Uchiha, came the nervousness about what she was to him. Sakura sighed at how confusing everything had become.

Standing beside her chair, she scanned the room until her eyes landed on the coat that hung over the bathroom door. She still hadn't given it back. There'd been no time to. Or rather, she'd been too afraid to.

Besides, she and Sasuke had not even had time to talk during or after their classes and she certainly didn't want to lug his coat around all day. She didn't even want to be seen with it! What if people got the wrong idea? And his fangirls- she didn't even want to think about them.

A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. She automatically responded, "Come in," before sitting herself back down on her desk chair.

Ino stepped into her room in all her glory, clutching a bag of what seemed to be snacks and cool drinks. "He-ey," she smiled brightly, dragging out the word and making her way towards where Sakura sat.

"Hey Ino," Sakura smiled and stood to give her best friend a hug. "What are you doing here?"

The blonde woman shrugged, seating herself on the pinkette's bed, the action soon mimicked by her friend. "Just thought I'd hang with you for a bit. I think you should get a break from all that studying you've probably been doing."

Sakura smiled weakly, trying to ignore the slight guilt she felt at Ino's words. Yeah, right, busy studying her feelings for Sasuke!

"I brought some snacks," she paused to pull out a variety of health drinks and some low-calorie foods. Sakura laughed, her friend's typical antics not surprising her. "But," she continued as she rummaged through the bag some more, "I got this for you." She pulled out a slab of Sakura's favourite chocolate and the pinkette, laughing, thanked her friend.

They sat in silence for a moment, Sakura nibbling at her treat and Ino deciding what to eat first.

"You know," her blonde friend began excitedly. "The more I see Temari and Shikamaru together, the more tangible the chemistry between them is."

Sakura nodded. "Agreed. I swear, they argue all the time and it feels like any minute they're going to kiss."

"I know right! You'd think that all that fighting would drive a wedge between them, but it only seems to spur on their connection!"

"Yeah," Sakura laughed. "I don't know how Shikamaru can tolerate her temper. I mean, he's the one who's usually trying to restore balance between them."

Ino chuckled. "That's true."

A comfortable quiet enveloped the room in which the two best friends simply sat, enjoying one another's company.

"So," Ino broke the silence. "Anything happen between you and Sasuke lately?"

Sakura froze with the chocolate just before her lips, before bringing it back down. Her eyes widened. She should have known that Ino wanted to know what was going on between them, and now was her perfect opportunity to ask. "No," she shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

The blonde didn't buy it. She raised a perfect brow, fixing Sakura with an 'I don't believe you' look.

Sakura sighed. She really didn't want to get into talking about him now. She didn't even want to think about him. Anytime Sasuke was involved, the pinkette felt as though her sanity would leave her. It probably already had considering the fact that she had fallen for the Uchiha!

Sakura stared into Ino's eyes, and did the only logical thing at that moment. "I- uh- need to get back to studying, so…" her words trailed off and before she knew it, Ino was already crossing her arms and shaking her head.

"Oh no, you don't. It's the weekend! Plus, you owe me some friend time since you ditched me last week to go somewhere with Sasuke."

Sakura frowned, "how do you know about that?"

She rolled her eyes, explaining matter-of-factly, "I came here for that visit we spoke about, but then you were gone."

"No," Sakura shook her head. "The other thing. How did you know I was with Sasuke?"

Ino paused for a moment, being caught like a deer in headlights. "I…" she opened and closed her mouth but no words were being formed.

Sakura stared at her in question.

"I guess I just assumed he would-"

But she was cut off by Sakura. "And what would make you even consider the possibility that he would show up at my dorm only to take me out somewhere-"

"Was it a date?!" the blonde squealed excitedly, ignoring the serious look on her friend's face.

"No, it wasn't," Sakura was curt to respond. "Answer the question, Ino."

"Fine," the Yamanaka huffed and flopped back, her head landing on one of Sakura's pillows. "I might have been the person who told him to see you. Because you were sad and… and I guess I just thought that he would help to cheer you up. I didn't know what he could do to make you feel better, but I thought it was worth a shot. At least he wouldn't bombard you like I knew the rest of us would." She rambled on, going off on a tangent. "I wasn't sure if he was going to do anything at all," she paused to laugh, "but he was so worried that he was practically asking me if you were okay."

She missed the look of surprise that tried to make itself known on Sakura's features. 'Sasuke? Worried?'

"Anyway," the blonde continued. "I came here and saw that you weren't home. So I went back to my room, but on the way I saw Naruto and asked him if he'd seen Sasuke. He told me that he hadn't seen Sasuke since class and that he didn't know where he was." Ino couldn't keep the grin off her face. "So I knew you two went off somewhere."

Sakura took in all the information, the pieces finally coming together about how Sasuke had known where her room was, how he had known that she was experiencing heartache…

It was surprising that Ino had decided to interfere, but Sakura was secretly grateful. It should have annoyed her, but the revelations that evening had bought and the way that being with Sasuke had helped to keep her mind off of her loss, was because of her friend. Ino knew her so well. That having all her other friends come over and try to comfort her was just going to make her even more sad. What she'd actually needed was a way to break away from everyone completely, to leave her room and escape her thoughts, and Ino had realised that by getting Sasuke to pull her away was the best option in the moment. Sakura smiled slightly. Yes, Ino could be a true friend and it always surprised Sakura how well the blonde could see right through her, placing her own needs aside in order to help her pinkette friend.

"So," Ino began, interrupting her wandering mind, "what did happen, then?"

Sakura looked away, gathering her thoughts. She wasn't sure how accurate her interpretation of that day's events were. She had been turning them over in her mind, but still no solid explanation for anything had been found. She had let her emotions get the best of her, being an emotional wreck, and getting angry at him when Sasuke was possibly just trying to help. She also could have been wrong about the assumption she had made- that he'd wanted to kiss her. She'd realised her feelings for him and that he could never return them, turning her mind into a frustrated mess that she couldn't rely on.

So what to tell Ino? Did she tell her all of this? Only some of it? Should she tell her about the 'almost-kiss' as she'd begun to call it? Taking a deep breath, she realised that a burden shared between friends was better than one being carried alone.

"I think…" she trailed off, collecting some confidence. "That he wanted to kiss me…?" it sounded like a question, even to her own ears.

Ino wore a look of shock. Sakura didn't blame her- it was a hard-to-believe accusation on her part.

The pinkette just nodded, confirming the question that creased the blonde's brow. "Yeah…" anything was better than her friend's silence, even the squealing from earlier.

Ino tracked her gaze around the room, feeling dumbfounded but trying not to show it. Her blue orbs landed back on Sakura. "Really?" she breathed, barely even a whisper. "W-Why would you think that?"

"I don't know!" she felt confused, having asked herself that same question since that night. "He gave me his coat, thinking I was cold, and I wasn't really paying attention to what was happening, so I was surprised when I suddenly realised how close we were and how he was staring into my eyes." She spoke quickly to halt any interruptions from Ino, who just listened intently. "I closed them out of instinct, but when I opened them a second later, I saw his eyes move from my lips back up to my eyes. And in the next instant, he was back to his normal position alongside me with his hands in his pockets and-"

"Seriously?" Ino interjected, saying the word slowly as if it was one she had never heard of before.

Sakura could only nod, taking to brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Okay, so you're telling me that he might have wanted to kiss you?" Ino still couldn't get over the news she had just been told.

Sakura sat with baited breath, waiting to hear what her friend would say next.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura!" Her friend practically screamed. "You are the luckiest girl ever!" she grabbed one of Sakura's pillows, squeezing it so tightly that Sakura found herself feeling grateful that she wasn't in its place.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner!? I would have been bursting with information like that by now!" Ino continued while Sakura just chuckled lightly at her friend's excitable nature.

"I mean, if you'd known he was going to kiss you, it must have been so awkward giving the coat back to him," Ino laughed. "You must have felt so anxious talking to him! What did he say when you gave it back, anyway?"

At this, Sakura abruptly folded her hands into her lap, bringing her eyes down to follow the movement, her head hanging in a manner indicative of guilt. "About that," she started before glancing at the blonde briefly. "I haven't actually given it back to him yet."

"You what?!" Ino was beyond surprised. "Sakura, why not?! He might think you stole it, or worse; he could think that you're keeping it to obsess and perv over it!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "He knows I'm not like that, Ino. Only you would keep someone's clothing to sleep with and memorise their scen-" Sakura was cut off by the plush pillow that had previously been crushed by Ino as it connected with her face.

"Okay, okay," she laughed, placing the pillow beside her.

Ino curtly folded her arms before her, huffing out a sigh, moving back to their earlier conversation "Well, I think you should give it back to him. Why the delay, anyway?"

Sakura stammered a bit. "I-I… I don't know. I never found the right time to give it back…"

"Well, Sakura my friend," the Yamanaka stuck a finger into the air excitedly, "there's no time like the present!"

Sakura pouted at Ino's words. Did she have to use a well-known saying? It always made things seem truer, and right now there really was no better time than the present. Sighing, Sakura shifted into a kneeling position on her bed. Fixing her friend with a desperate look, Sakura asked the one question that she didn't want to hear the answer to, "Do I have to?"

Ino laughed at this. "Of course you do! I mean, what will you do with the coat if you don't? Trust me, it's better to get it over with before he starts to think you're weird for not giving it back sooner."

'Too late for that. He probably already thinks I'm a psycho.'

Sakura shrugged. She wouldn't actually keep it. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to speak to him. She would probably have just dropped it off outside his dorm, knocked and run away. Or give it to Naruto to give to Sasuke. But a face-to-face confrontation with the deluding Uchiha had not been on her list of options concerning the jacket.

After no answer from her friend, Ino jumped up and grabbed Sakura's wrist, trying desperately to tug her off the bed. "Come on, Sakura," Ino said cheerfully. "I've been waiting for something interesting to happen all week! Let's go give it to him now."

Why had she decided to tell Ino about this again?

Sakura groaned as she was easily pulled off the mattress. She was not in the mood for this. "But he's so confusing, Ino," Sakura said as a way to try and talk her friend out of this. "One minute he tells me to leave him alone and then the next, he's all nice."

"So what?" Ino asked, her smile getting bigger. "That could just mean that he's confused."

Sakura fixed her friend with a frown, but Ino didn't see it, being too busy walking around the small room to get to the coat hanging on a hook by the entrance to her dorm room.

Sakura voiced her question, "What do you mean 'confused'?"

"You know," her blonde friend waved dismissively. "He's confused about how he feels so he acts all confusing just to confuse you because he doesn't really know what he wants."

Sakura tilted her head to the side. Now she was confused.

"Whatever," Ino laughed, the sound pulling Sakura's own lips into a smile. "Let's go give this back!"

Sakura made to protest even though she was already being pulled from her dorm and down the passageway. "But I don't even know where his room is-! What if he's busy studying? We have exams in a week-"

"Don't worry about any of that, Sakura," Ino laughed, but it came out sounding more exasperated rather than cheerful. Stopping before her friend, she held up a finger before the pinkette could get out another protest. "Trust me, you need to take risks sometimes and actually do something that you want to do. You can't keep thinking of the implications of everything or predicting the worst that could happen." Her friend gave her an endearing smile, "you're smart Sakura. Don't let something like this cost you your confidence."

A moment passed, Ino's words sinking in, before Sakura nodded in agreement. "Okay, Ino." Let's do this.

A few minutes later had them standing before a door that was coloured the same dark shade of varnished wood as all the other doors. The handle was the same as the other ten doors down and the height and width of the entryway was identical to every other in the building. And yet, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to knock! Why was this one in particular so daunting?!

Sakura sighed. She didn't know why this was so hard! Glancing back at the blonde who peered at her from around the corner and giving her two thumbs up, Sakura only growled at her poor decision to follow through with this. What had she been thinking?!

The pinkette brought her fist up to the wood of door, fully intending to knock, when she couldn't help but pause. Gripping the coat tightly in her other hand, she closed her eyes, steeling her nerves, taking a breath.

It's just Sasuke…

Somehow, that thought hadn't helped her any. She knew she needed to be strong for this, but for some reason, she was more nervous to simply knock on the door than what was probably normal. 'I'd rather write an exam. Then at least I wouldn't be this nervous.'

Was her heart supposed to be beating this fast?

Apparently, she'd been standing doing nothing too long for the blonde's liking. Because in the next instant, Ino had swiftly moved around her, knocked on the door in a loud and demanding way that was too confident for Sakura's liking, and slinked back behind the wall.

Being suddenly pulled from her reverie, Sakura couldn't help but to scowl at the blonde who hid around the corner, smiling smugly in return.

Why, Ino-Pig! Just wait until I get my hands on y-

The click of a door unlocking halted her in her tracks.

Sakura?

Sasuke raised a brow in question. What was she doing here? She stood before him with a light blush dusting her cheeks, a scowl giving way to a look of surprise as she whipped her head around to the additional presence standing before her. She had her hands fisted around a jacket he was sure would tear in her powerful grip.

His mind registered with delay, that it was his coat that she was close to shredding.

He considered opening his mouth to say something but was saved the effort when Sakura gave one last scowl directed down the passage, before turning to face him and projected a supposed forced smile, probably in an attempt to conceal her previously displayed annoyance.

"Hi," Sakura pronounced through a tight-lipped smile. She held the coat out in front of her, extending it towards him.

Sasuke did not allow any emotion to show on his face as he took his coat from her outstretched hand. Truth be told, he was a little more than surprised with her sudden appearance outside his dorm. Sasuke was no stranger to Sakura's work ethic and tenacious personality and it was these traits that kept her on the same level as him, neither seeming to be able to fully surpass the other. The two were the best in all their classes and it was this that made Sasuke understand how important Sakura's studies were to her. So for her to be here now when their exams were looming around the corner was somewhat strange for Sasuke. Granted, she could be taking a break, but why decide to give him his coat back now when she could have done so last week?

It could stem from the fact that she had still been upset from their last encounter… the thought made Sasuke want to frown (not that he did because he's Sasuke) as he still had not been able to detect the exact reason for Sakura's unplanned, abrupt departure. She had been very adamant about leaving him behind her to avoid further conversation and this thought had left the Uchiha baffled. The only logical reason he could think of was that she had been about to open the floodgates and didn't want him to be around her when she did. It was a plausible option and fit her actions perfectly.

If she had been about to mourn and wanted to be left alone, Sasuke understood that. He had spent some time entertaining the thought that maybe she had been upset, but he simply couldn't figure out any reason why that would be the case. For the Haruno to act brashly purely because of her sudden anger seemed unlikely. However, he did not completely discard this reasoning, purely because she had already been in an emotional state and could have felt varying levels of emotions during that time.

That being said, he had wondered when the two of them would speak again, but had made no move on his part to initiate any conversation. He figured that with time their paths would cross again once she had sorted out whatever she'd needed to, but that didn't mean that he had stopped thinking about her. The opposite was true, to the point where Sasuke had begun to grow frustrated with having her constantly in his thoughts.

He had only hoped that he had made the right choice in doing what he did the previous week. But seeing her now confirmed that he had helped her in some way- she seemed happier and perhaps more relaxed. The image of her tear-stained face came to mind, and even though he surprised himself by finding her to be no less beautiful, that sadness was one thing he didn't want to see clouding her feature again.

He glanced down the passage, intent on finding out why Sakura had been scowling in that direction earlier. If it was up to him to guess, he would say that someone had forced her to approach him now; that person arguably being Ino. The blonde was known for her interferences in other people's lives. Or at least, that was his own opinion.

Sasuke sometimes pondered how the two had become friends. Sakura was intelligent and conservative, but Ino was loud and flashy. She was not the most annoying girl he had met, but she still had an excitable nature about her that he did not understand. Either way, that didn't really matter so long as the pinkette and blonde had each other.

"Hey, Sasuke! Who is it?" Speaking of friends…

A surprised look crossed Sakura's face and she lifted her gaze over his shoulder to pear into Sasuke's room. The Uchiha frowned slightly at hearing the voice belonging to his annoying friend interrupt his thoughts.

Said blonde hurried to the door where Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed. She probably hadn't seen him in his room before now.

Naruto seemed surprised to see her standing there, but greeted her friendlily regardless, "Heya, Sakura!"

A smile graced Sakura's lips and she returned the greeting warmly.

"Have you finished your Economics chapter?" Sasuke interrupted their little exchange in favour of interrogating his friend on how well he obeyed Sasuke's previous instruction.

Naruto pouted, "Geeze, Sasuke. Don't have to be such a buzz-kill."

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes. "You asked to study with me and I ask that you don't hold me back or get in my way. Go finish the chapter so that we can move on."

Sasuke heard Sakura release a short breath in what could have been an amused sound. She confirmed Sasuke's suspicions when she said, "I hope that you guys don't banter while you study too, or that could be more distracting than it is productive."

Naruto chuckled, adopting a somewhat sheepish expression, "We don't always argue. Just when Sasuke's being an a-"

"Or when you're being an idiot," Sasuke interjected, folding his arms across his chest in a dismissive fashion.

Sakura brought her hand to her lips to stifle the laughter that threatened to bubble out. "Well, I guess you two had better get back to it then."

Sasuke inclined his head in a slight nod, letting a scowl settle across his features when Naruto grumbled about how he was friends with a slave driver.

Sakura laughed this time, drawing Sasuke's attention to the attractive sound. He wanted to hear it again, and was disappointed when she shook her head bemusedly in order to dispel the last of her giggles. He felt a smile almost touch his lips but stifled it with the tightening of his jaw. Either he was going crazy, or there was actually a girl whose laughter he found beautiful. It was a mind-blowing discovery- the Uchiha hated giggling and crooning- and yet, here he was, certain that that sound would never leave his memory. Closing his eyes, he inhaled a steady breath to clear his thoughts.

When he opened them, the pull was instant. Her bright orbs searched for his dark ones and found them almost instinctively. It was electrifying- the warmth and adoration reflecting in them almost caught him off guard. But he steeled his muscles against the sudden draw towards her, remaining decidedly still.

There was a shift in the atmosphere and she might have felt it too, because she ducked her gaze as she fought a blush that threatened to make itself known. "A-anyway… I'll see you guys around. Good luck with the studying."

Naruto pouted jokingly at being left alone with the Uchiha, before a wide grin took over his features. "Yeah, Sakura. See you round," and with that he waved her off, his loud and enthusiastic mannerisms making up for Sasuke's lack of response.

Closing the door behind them, Sasuke hefted his coat over his shoulder as he made his way over to his bed. Setting it down he noticed with some twisted disappointment that it didn't smell like her, but rather as though it had been sent to the dry cleaners.

What was he thinking? When had he become such an idiot?

Shaking his head with a sigh, Sasuke turned back to the blonde currently occupying his desk. He was surprised, however, when he was met with those bright, imploring eyes he wanted to avoid. He hated when Naruto gave him that look.

"What?" he questioned, quirking a brow at the blonde's pensive silence.

Naruto shrugged, "Nothing. Just thinking."

"No kidding."

There was another moment of silence in which Sasuke made his was over to his desk. He hated these silences with Naruto. They were never comfortable, being instead stifling and suffocating as those cerulean irises tracked his every movement.

Say something!

As if reading his thoughts, Naruto opened his mouth to speak, spinning in the seat upon which he sat. "So, Sakura, huh?"

Sasuke ignored what his was implying and went on the defensive. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He was ignored.

"Why'd she have your coat?" he nodded in the direction of the item of clothing that lay neatly on the bed.

The Uchiha shrugged, knowing that his dismissive attitude was probably irking the blonde. "I was being kind."

Naruto grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah right, kind of romantic."

Sasuke's only answer was the pulling of his mouth into a tight-lipped scowl.

The blonde cocked his head to one side. "I never did ask about what happened between you two last week. Did you help her out?"

Sasuke relaxed his tense muscles. At least the conversation was heading into more acceptable territory. He nodded, busying himself with trying to find a pencil on the crowded desk. "I took her to that field close by. She seemed to relax after a bit." 'Yeah, until she totally lashed out at you and ignored you for a week.'

Naruto nodded, eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you two dating?"

Sasuke braced his features, giving nothing away.

"What? Are you having sex?"

The Uchiha visibly blanched.

"Okay, okay," Naruto laughed, waving his hands before him in a sign of surrender.

Sasuke grunted, knowing full well that he had yet to hear the end of Naruto's prying.

However, the blonde did that thing that surprised him again. He didn't press him further for any information and he didn't mention any more on the topic. Instead, he flipped his module open, resuming the task that had previously occupied him.

A/N: thank you for reading and sticking through this with me. I value your feedback and support.