nice to meet you, i'm your other half
067. adrenaline

(since someone asked, i thought it'd be interesting to write out how itachi and sakura actually met from the last chapter.)

Ino was not-so-discreetly throwing glances over her shoulder every two seconds at the guy behind her. "That kind of beauty is not possible," she emphasized for the nth time in the last five minutes. "Not. Possible."

"I know," Sakura agreed whole-heartedly, taking another drink of her vodka. The more she drank, the more amazing he looked. "He's gay, right? He has to be gay."

"He's not gay," Sasuke gritted, while Naruto burst into guffaws at the counter.

"How do you know, Sasuke? Is it like you know him, or something? If you did, why wouldn't you introduce us? That's a cruel, cruel thing to do, you know, to deprive a woman of such gorgeousness!"

"He's my bro—"

"Oh my God, Ino, he's coming towards us! Oh my God, oh my God—"

"Sakura. Breathe." Ino's hands came down onto her shoulders, holding her steady. "Breathe." Pause. "Is he right behind me?"

She felt lightheaded. "Basically, yeah."

"Oh. My. God."

She heard Sasuke sigh in frustration as he ordered another beer. Mr. Beautiful, behind Ino, ordered a Long Island. Hell yes. Long Islands were officially the sexiest drink in the world.

"Is he still here?" Ino breathed. "I can't turn around. I can't. It's too overwhelming."

"How do you think I feel?" Sakura hissed, shamelessly ogling him over her best friend's shoulder. "Okay. He got his drink. He's walking away, back to his friends. Okay. He sat down. We're good." Immediately, Ino turned around to stare again. Unattainable, even for her. That was a first.

"Hello," Naruto called, waving wildly. "Sasuke and I are here! We kind of exist, you know!"

"WE DON'T CARE, NARUTO."

Two hours and several drinks later, and Mr. Beautiful was absolutely mind-blowing.

"Go talk to him," Ino slurred, pushing at Sakura. "Go on."

"Why can't you?" she retaliated, stumbling. Sasuke caught her and held her steady. "Sasuke, why don't you go talk to him? He's probably gay anyway, and you're looking pretty sexy tonight…" For reasons unbeknownst to her, he looked a little nauseous. "Or maybe we can get Naruto…opposites do attract, after all…"

"Oh, stop being a wuss and just talk to him!" Ino shouted, giving her a push. "If he's gay, he'll like you even more!"

"What's that even supposed to mean, Pig?" Stumbling a few more steps, she bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry—" Except it was Mr. Beautiful. "Oh. Um."

Pause.

She smiled goofily. "Hi."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hello."

Oh, no. What was she supposed to say now? "It's okay," she told him, patting his arm sympathetically. "If I were a guy, I'd totally do you. You'll find The One soon."

Mr. Beautiful looked at her, and then past her. "Sasuke, I think your friend has either mistaken me for a girl, or thinks I'm gay."

Accepting another vodka, Sakura poked his chest, hard. "Wait. So you're not gay? Oh, this is great! We'll get along fabulously." She gave him her most dazzling smile.

He pat her shoulder. "Of course, Miss. Maybe when you're sober."

"Sakura. My name's Sakura."

"Of course." It was then that Sasuke came to steer her away—although she didn't know why, because they were hitting it off so well.

—

The next day, Ino told her what happened.

"…Oh my God, I did what?"

A/N: So, my exam is tomorrow afternoon. Ahaha. The panic hasn't hit yet, surprisingly. I ran through a practice exam and predicted my essay marks, and got 58% overall. Two more percent and I'll pass! More practice exams, muahaha! (You can tell I've lost a bit of my sanity. Not that I had much to begin with.)