Author's Note: Reviews never fail to motivate me to write so here is chapter 7 for my dear readers! Also, I'm so sorry if I made mistakes throughout the fanfic. I promise I will try to make as little mistakes as possible. I will continue to try my best so it will be great if readers will stay until the end!

Chapter 7: Warmth and Serenity


Sasuke's POV

"Have you settled everything?"

It was already Friday, which was the day that marked the end of midterms. Right after I finished the last exam, I went to make a call to my manager in one of the gardens.

For the past few days, I had been calling Orochimaru a lot to see how he was managing things. He was reliable but I was still worried. Scandals such as these could bring a whole lot of troubles to a celebrity's career.

I wasn't planning to have my career affected badly because of a misunderstanding.

Moreover, I couldn't risk having Sakura misunderstanding me for another time. Once was enough to trigger a heart attack.

"I had managed to stop the media from publishing more articles about it. But the problem lies on the fact that there are still people talking about it. We can't control humans now, can we?"

I grunted upon hearing Orochimaru's words. He was right about us being incapable of controlling what people wanted to say. All there was left for us to do was to wait for the news to die down. People would eventually get tired of talking about the same news, after all.

"A director offered a main male role for you in a TV drama with Ayumi Fukuda as the main female role. It is obvious that he wishes to make use of the scandal to get better ratings for his project."

"Reject the offer."

With that, I ended the call. Even if the TV drama would boost my popularity, I wasn't going to let myself get involved in anything that is connected to Ayumi Fukuda. The scandal had given me enough troubles.

For the past few days, I made sure Sakura wasn't around when I made calls to Orochimaru. I didn't want her to get upset over the matter.

"Sasuke."

I quickly put my phone back into my pocket when I heard a very familiar voice calling my name. I turned around, pretending that I had not been doing anything, and greeted Sakura.

"Have you been calling someone?" Sakura narrowed her eyes, which was filled with suspicion. I stayed calm to avoid being seen through.

"No."

"You're lying!" Sakura pointed at me accusingly and raised her voice in annoyance. "Were you calling another girlfriend of yours?"

"And that 'girlfriend' of mine is my manager." I regretted saying that because I nearly gagged at the thought of Orochimaru as my 'girlfriend'. It was beyond disgusting and I swore I wasn't going to imagined that ever again.

I could be scarred for life.

"Oh my goodness, my love rival is a creepy old man who acts like a pedophile."

I rolled my eyes at Sakura's words and swore once again to never make such a sick joke.

Sakura met Orochimaru yesterday when she was in my apartment reviewing for today's exams. Orochimaru came over to give me the script for an upcoming TV drama I would be working on soon. I introduced Sakura and Orochimaru to each other and let's just say Orochimaru didn't make a good impression.

He never made good impressions anyway.

"Anyway, are you free today?" Sakura asked and sat down on the bench behind us.

"I am. Why?"

"My parents asked me to bring you over for dinner at our home tonight."

I was reminded that I had not had dinner over at Sakura's place for a long time already. I used to go there with my parents sometimes but my showbiz career had made me too busy to do so.

"Sure. What time?"

"6 PM."

"Alright. I'm going to my agency to meet up with my manager now. I'll see you tonight."

Sakura stood up and I reached over her to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. I only did that because there was nobody around. We talked about it and decided that it was best if we kept our relationship a secret. If people around us were to find out, the news would spread out faster than we could control.

I didn't want to disturb Sakura's life so it was best if we kept a low profile. I told her it was fine if she wanted to tell her closest friends though. They were trustable, after all.

Sakura gave me a peck on the cheeks before we went separate ways.

I could get used to this.


Sakura's POV

After Sasuke left, I went to a café near our school with Ino, Tenten and Hinata.

The three of us listened as Ino talked about the little 'review' she had with Shikamaru last night.

Apparently, Ino managed to persuade Shikamaru into helping her review for the Chemistry midterm today. But their planned review turn into a much heated make out session.

Not that Ino minded, of course. She constantly reminded us how it was much better than learning about a whole bunch of complicated chemical compounds.

"This reminds me of something." Ino was grinning evilly at me and I had an idea on what she was about to say. "What do you and Sasuke usually do during your reviews, forehead?"

"We review." I answered matter-of-factly, ignoring both the way Ino emphasized the word 'review' and the curious looks I received from my three friends.

"Oh, really? The two of you are always alone in his apartment and nothing happened?" Ino continued pestering me to the point I had to sigh in frustration.

"Nothing, Ino. Nothing." I emphasized each word that came out from my mouth so Ino would get the idea that there was indeed nothing.

"You guys are so boring." Ino commented with a pout and I just rolled my eyes at her.

"So, how are things going between the two of you?" Tenten had a mischievous grin on her face which made me shift uncomfortably on my seat. When we met on Tuesday at school, I explained to them that the scandal was just a misunderstanding. I didn't get a chance to break the news about Sasuke and me dating though. Right after I finished talking about the misunderstanding, my friends had to leave to settle their respective businesses. And after that day, I spent most of my time reviewing and didn't even meet up much with the three of them.

"We're dating now."

Three pairs of wide opened eyes stared at me when I muttered those words softly. There was an unusual silence in the air which lasted longer than it should. It was times like these that I missed the talkative and loud Ino Yamanaka. Things were becoming slightly awkward.

"What?!" Ino broke the silence with a deafening scream. Hinata had to calm her down to prevent more attention coming our way. When Ino had calmed down a little, she spoke in a much lower voice.

"Since when?!"

"It started on Monday." I answered obediently under Ino's penetrating gaze. She wasn't planning to let me go that easily.

"Details, forehead. We want details right now."

Yes, she wasn't going to let me go until I told her every single thing she wanted to know.


After what felt like an eternity, I finally finished telling them everything. Ino kept on forcing me to go into details and I couldn't stop the furious blush on my face. She made me recite every single word Sasuke and I said that day!

I had never felt so embarrassed in my whole entire life.

"How could you not tell us immediately?!" Ino was still upset that I didn't tell them right after what happened. I tried to explain myself but Ino said those were all pathetic excuses.

Maybe she was right. Honestly, I wasn't quite ready to tell them about it on Tuesday. Up until the time at the café, my face would still heat up whenever I thought of what happened on Monday.

"Sorry." I smiled apologetically at Ino, who was still fuming.

"I'll forgive you this time, forehead. But the next time something major happened, you better tell us right away!"

I nodded at Ino to assure her that I would do that. Tenten was giggling at how upset Ino was and Hinata was just smiling as she watched Ino pouting like a kid.

At that moment, I wondered how I would survive without these three with me. I just knew I could depend on them when I needed someone to talk to.

They were people I wouldn't be letting go as well.


Sasuke's POV

It was 4 PM when I left my agency. I still had plenty of time before going to Sakura's house for dinner.

Earlier at the agency, I happened to bump into Ayumi Fukuda in one of the hallways when I was on my way to meet my manager. I knew I had to apologize to her for the troubles the scandal had caused her. The scandal originated from me, after all, even if I didn't mean it to happen.

Fortunately, she wasn't that bad of a person and didn't blame me whatsoever. She said it happened all the time in showbiz and we should learn to be able to handle it when things like these occurred. I was told to me more careful though.

I also found out she rejected the offer to act on a TV drama alongside me. Guessed we had the same idea in mind.

Afterwards, I went to meet my manager to talk about the TV drama I would be playing in soon. It was my first TV drama but I was given one of the main roles. The director of that TV drama saw my latest commercial and immediately contacted Orochimaru regarding the offer.

Shooting will start in a week and I met up with my manager to discuss some details. The meeting lasted longer than I expected but at least I would be on time for the dinner.

I was at Sakura's house at 6 PM sharp. I wore something casual but presentable at the same time. I had to admit I was feeling slightly nervous. Sakura's family wasn't a stranger to me but it was the first time I was having dinner with them as Sakura's boyfriend.

It should be normal to feel slightly nervous, right?

A butler led me to the dining room where Sakura and her parents were. I knew how to get around the house but it was just formalities to have someone lead me there.

When I arrived at the dining room, Sakura was smiling gleefully at me. She stood up and pulled me to sit beside her.

I greeted politely at her parents before taking my seat next to Sakura. Her father was sitting on the edge of the long dining table while her mother sat opposite of Sakura. I suddenly realized that it was the first time I was having dinner over at Sakura's place without my parents with me.

"Great job, Sasuke. You just made yourself more nervous."

During dinner, Kizashi-san asked me about my showbiz career. I was flattered when I found out that he heard a lot about me and even saw my latest commercial. I was even more flattered when Sakura's parents complimented about my latest work.

"If you two compliment him too much, he will become more arrogant than he already is."

I glared at Sakura a little, not wanting her parents to see. Sakura stuck her tongue out, ignoring the slight irritation on my face.

"Ignore her, Sasuke. Your commercial came up in TV last night and Sakura was jumping around saying how cool you were."

"Mother!" Sakura suddenly raised her voice upon hearing her mother's words. There was an obvious blush on her face as she spoke. "You're not supposed to tell him that!"

Sakura's parents spent the next few moments laughing at Sakura's flushed face. I smirked at her and received a glare in return.

"So, have you been busy with work lately, Sasuke?" Kizashi-san asked as he was finishing his meal.

"I'm pretty much free these days. I will only start working next Friday."

"What will you be working on this time?" It was Mebuki-san's turn to ask.

"I'll be acting in a TV drama."

"Wow, that's great!" Mebuki-san's enthusiastic tone reminded me greatly of Sakura.

"You're bound to get even more famous from now on. You should work hard too, Sakura." There was a teasing aura coming from Sakura's father. I was sure he knew how competitive his daughter was.

"Just wait and see, one day I will be a doctor who is more famous than Sasuke Uchiha."

I found myself smiling at Sakura's words. Her tone was confident and there was determination behind what she had just said.

I had always admired her for being passionate about her dreams. It was one of her traits that attracted me to her.

It was very admirable, after all.

"I'm looking forward to that day, Sakura Haruno."

I would want to see where her dreams would bring her in the future.


Sakura's POV

My parents left to watch a musical after dinner, leaving me at home with Sasuke. There wasn't anything interesting on TV so I suggested we could talk in my room. It felt uncomfortable having eyes on us once in a while from other people in the house. Being inside the room would allow me to breath at ease.

When I we were inside my room and I closed the door behind us, Sasuke suddenly said the most ridiculous thing I had ever hear him said.

"You know, Sakura. I didn't know you're so eager to step up on the base game."

It took me an awfully long time before I understood what Sasuke was talking about. I grabbed a nearby pillow and started hitting him on the face.

"You're a pervert, Sasuke!"

Sasuke wasn't affected by my hits at all and was slowly advancing towards me. I felt a chill down my spine when he wrapped his arm around my waist. His face was getting close to mine and I felt blood rushing to my face. My head was starting to spin and my mind was messed up.

When I found fragments of self control in me, I pushed Sasuke away by placing a hand on his face.

"I will kill you, Uchiha."

Sasuke smirked and I knew in an instant that he was enjoying seeing me all flushed like that. It annoyed me that I gave him an opportunity to tease me. All I could manage to do at that time was glaring intensely at Sasuke.

Sasuke let go of me and took the pillow away from my hand. I guessed he didn't want to be hit another time.

"There's a place I want to show you."

I blinked a few times at Sasuke before I spoke.

"Where?"

It wasn't really a good idea for Sasuke to be out in public. After his commercial was released, his popularity soared even higher. And after that rumor about him and Ayumi Fukuda, I was sure he had gotten even more attention towards him.

Sasuke had not spoken anything about the scandal. I knew he didn't want to talk to me about it because he was worried I might be upset. To be honest, I had overhead his conversation with that creepy manager of his earlier at school. I just pretended that I didn't. After all, I didn't want to cause more problems to Sasuke. Knowing that Sasuke didn't want me to be involved, it was best to pretend to be ignorant.

"You'll see. Do you have a guitar in your house?"

I was beyond confused as to why Sasuke asked for a guitar. But I just went with the flow and go fetch the guitar for him. There was a guitar in the storeroom. It seemed as good as new and was of high quality too. I heard from my mother that my father once wanted to learn how to play the guitar. He got the idea when he was watching a TV show and someone was playing a guitar. He found it cool and decided to give it a try.

He stopped trying when he realized he had zero talent.

After I got the guitar, I quickly changed from my house clothes into a casual sleeveless light blue dress and left the house with Sasuke.

The roads Sasuke took were foreign to me. Everything around me wasn't familiar and I was absolutely clueless as to where we were heading to.

"Uchiha, are you kidnapping me?"

"Yes, Haruno. I'm planning to sell you away."

Sasuke's voice was flat and somehow it annoyed me. I glared at him and continued trying to identify where I was.

When Sasuke suddenly stopped the car, I began to notice where I was.

"A beach?"

I got out from the car and the night breeze instantly touched my skin. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shores was soothing and almost sounded like music. There were tiny wooden shelters along the beach. There we at least ten of them there. Something similar to electric Christmas lights surrounds the pillars of the shelters, making it bright and beautiful.

"How do I not know this place?"

"You should get out more often."

I cursed at Sasuke for what he had said but followed him along towards the beach. I noticed he was holding onto the guitar I lend him.

There weren't many people at the beach since it was quite late already. All I saw was some people at the last shelter on the right. They were too far and I couldn't hear what they were saying.

Sasuke stepped onto the middle shelter and I did the same too. He was sitting on the edge of the shelter with the guitar on his lap as he watched the ocean.

As for me, it was ironic how I felt warm when in fact the ocean breeze was slightly chilly. Perhaps it was because of the beautiful view in front of me. The stars on the night sky were apparent and they looked like tiny diamonds shining brilliantly. It was the kind of view you didn't get to see often in the cities.

And being there with Sasuke made everything so much better.


Sasuke's POV

I found this place when I was on my way back to my house from the agency. The wooden shelters caught my attention since it was very unique.

Ever since that day, I came here quite often. It was a great place to relax at night since there weren't many people most of the time. And sometimes, I have inspiration for new songs as I gaze at the view in front of me.

"Do you come here often, Sasuke?"

"Sometimes. I usually come here when I am trying to come up with new songs."

"I see. Is that why you brought a guitar along?"

"I am not going to come up with new songs right now. I just liked having a guitar with me whenever I come here."

"Will you write a song about me someday, Sasuke?"

I turned to look at Sakura questioningly. What did she mean by writing a song about her?

"What do you mean?"

"You know how some singers write lyrics about their girlfriend or boyfriend right? Like Taylor Swift! A lot of her songs are based on her own love stories!"

"You mean based on her break up? That sounds like a good idea. I'll write a song about you after we break up."

"What?!" Sakura violently placed a hand on my shoulder and stared at me in the eyes. "Don't you dare break up with me!"

"I'm joking." I didn't expect Sakura to be so agitated but it was rather an entertaining sight to behold. "Who knows, maybe I will write a song about you one day."

"You will?" Sakura was looking at me excitedly and I had a strong urge to annoy her.

"I will write about how loud and annoying you are."

And I earned myself a bunch on the arm.

"Do that and I will kill you, Uchiha."

Sakura was glaring at me and I let a soft chuckle escape from me. I positioned the guitar properly on my lap and started playing one of the songs from my latest album.

Judging from Sakura's face, she must have recognized the song. After I finished recording the album, I brought a copy back to apartment and Sakura made me play it. She insisted on playing the songs while we reviewed, much to my displeasure. It was sort of awkward hearing your own singing while studying. But I allowed her to do so anyway.

I felt Sakura putting her head on my shoulder as I continued playing. Throughout the whole song, she stayed quiet and just stared into the dark horizon. I would have never thought that there would come a day when I'm with Sakura in one of my favourite spots. Months ago, I wouldn't have imagined Sakura to be by my side as I played a song. It wouldn't even cross my mind that I would be singing as we both took in the beauty of the skies above us.

Life was indeed capable of bringing us the most unexpected things.

When I finished playing the song, Sakura suddenly got off from the shelter and took a few steps towards the beach. She turned around and gave me a playful grin. The moonlight shone on her face and it made her even more beautiful than she already was.

"Let's get closer to the water!"

Due to the lights from the shelter, the shore wasn't very dark and we could clearly see our surroundings. I placed the guitar carefully on the wooden floor and removed my shoes. Sakura had already taken her slippers off and was running towards the shore. I was glad that the beach was clean and the sands were soft, making it comfortable to walk around barefooted.

Sakura was standing close to the ocean, close enough to let the water soak her feet. She was blankly staring into the far end, almost as if she was stuck in a daydream. I splashed some water on her face to snap her out of her thoughts.

And making her pissed off at the same time, of course.

"What was that for, Uchiha?!"

"You were so engrossed by your own thoughts so I figured I should snap you out of it."

More irritation was surfacing on Sakura's face after I explained myself. She reached downwards and splashed water at me. It caused my face and part of my hair to be wet. The water was cold against my skin and the night breeze made me shiver a little.

Sakura was laughing at me as I frowned at the coldness I felt. I splashed more water on her when she had her guard down, causing her to squeal in surprise.

When she was wiping away the water from her face, I took the chance to hug her from behind.

I felt her jump in my embrace and I tightened my grip around her. I placed my head on top of hers and stared at the waves in front of us. We stayed quiet for the longest of time, just enjoying each other's warmth as we stared at the ocean and its gentle waves.

I would breathe in Sakura's scent from time to time or planting soft kisses on her head to tell myself that she was really there. I felt some sort of warmth inside me when Sakura relaxed onto my chest. An unspoken trust could be sensed and it made me beyond happy.

Words were no longer capable of describing the bliss I felt.

I released Sakura from my embrace and turned her around. There was love in her eyes as she stared deeply into mine. The smile on her face was soft but it held strong emotions with it. At that moment, all I wanted was to hold her close to me. I wanted to feel her in ways I never did.

I slowly brought my hand onto her cheek and caressed it gently. The feelings behind her eyes intensified and I acted according to what my heart wanted.

My face closed the gap between us and I placed a soft kiss on Sakura's lips. There were feelings that were impossible to be explained through words. Some of the emotions in our heart were meant to be shown through actions.

Love had brought out the most unusual feelings buried deep inside me. And I was more than willing to discover more these foreign sensations with Sakura.

I wouldn't be naïve and said this would be a flawless relationship. But for this unexplainable happiness, I was willing to go through any obstacles brought upon us.

For this love was too precious for me to let go.


Author's Note: I hope my dear readers are enjoying reading this fanfic so far! Reviews would be very much appreciated and suggestions are welcomed as well! So go ahead and share your opinions regarding this fanfic with me. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter!