Well! Here's chapter 4! It's a bit longer than the previous ones because I didn't want to divide the events in two chapters. Please review and I hope you like it!


CHAPTER 4

When Our Paths First Crossed

When Sakura lightly pushed her up a narrow flight of stairs and stopped in front of a white, old looking wooden door, Ten-Ten didn't know what to expect. Sakura gave her a knowing smile and opened the door. Ten-Ten walked into a medium sized living room with yellow walls and white furniture. Sakura quickly walked across the room towards a pink door and Ten-Ten quickly followed. When they walked into Sakura' room, Ten-Ten thought that either Sakura was either a very simple person or just didn't spend that much time in her room. Maybe even both.

Sakura's room was medium sized, with a single glass window to the right side of the room, giving them a view of the street and buildings across the street. Her twin sized bed was covered with a simple white quilt; her walls were bare of posters, pictures and even paint. Her mahogany desk only had a tray with paper and writing utensils, and a laptop sitting at the center of the desk. Ten-Ten looked to where Sakura was standing, in front of an equally bare door to her left. She followed as Sakura opened the door to what turned out to be her walk-in closet. Ten-Ten whistled, quite impressed.

"Wow Sakura, no wonder your room's like that, you're more into wardrobe" she commented. Sakura looked at her, confused.

"What's wrong with my room?" she asked, turning to look at her. Ten-Ten's eyes widened, thinking she offended her.

"Nothing! You know, just that it isn't' painted or anything, and you barely have any things"

"Oh! Haha it's just that I don't like to that many things. And as for the walls, I kind of like the color of wood. Though you're right, I should paint it soon, though I'm not sure what color to choose from." She gave Ten-Ten a smile and told her to pick anything she liked.

Ten-Ten stepped into the closet and looked around. Both walls had racks for clothes and shoes, all neatly organized by shirts, jackets, pants, skirts and dresses and then all by color. At the end of the closet was a vertical rack that held bags, purses and jewelry boxes and even costumes. She also noticed that her wardrobe had a wide variety of shoes, especially sneakers.

"Seems like you and I have something in common other than coffee" she told her

"Oh? And what's that?"

"The love for jackets and sneakers" Ten-Ten said, turning to give her a little knowing smile. Sakura laughed and agreed, admitting that she prefers comfort above anything. After browsing the closet for a few minutes, Ten-Ten decided to borrow a black and white hoodie-shirt, plain jeans and black Converse sneakers. She walked to the door beside the closet, which Sakura informed was the bathroom, and quickly changed her clothes. On their way out of her room, Sakura took her clothes and left them washing.

"Don't worry, I'll send up one of the workers to put them in the drier. Now, since it's a lovely day and you're already here, let's walk to school together!" Sakura took her hand and dragged her down the flight of stairs in such a hurry that Ten-Ten almost tripped a couple of times. When they got to the end of the stairs Ten-Ten almost crashed into Sakura's back at her abrupt stop.

"Geez Sakura! Careful where you're stopping I could've tripped"

"Hehe sorry Tennie! I just noticed it's raining! I'll get an umbrella!" Before Ten-Ten could say anything about the sudden nickname, she was gone. "Tennie?! She didn't even ask me if she could call me that" with a chuckle, she took a seat on a near booth to wait for hear.

She really didn't mind the nickname, she was still hung up on the fact she gave her a job just to repay her for spilling her coffee on her. Sakura was nice, a little too energetic for her taste, but nice. Ten-Ten took a moment to look around the coffee shop she'd be working in from today on. The ceiling was a nice forest green and the walls had the same wooden texture as Sakura's bedroom walls; though these walls were decorated with old photographs, 80's band posters and other trinkets. To Ten-Ten, it was a homey, café version of that malt shop in the Back to the Future films; retro but cozy. She thought it was a shame that most customers where in such a hurry that they'd just pick their coffee and go; she found it kind of nice to sit, enjoy a coffee and look at all the things hanging on the walls. Every time she came, she saw something different.

"Alright! I got us a big one! And I brought a spare!" She heard Sakura call out as she descended down the stairs. Ten-Ten got up as soon as she was in sight and they both walked out of the shop together.

They walked a couple of blocks in the rain, thankful that there weren't any cars that could get them wet passing by.

"Sakura, don't you think it's strange? This is usually a busy street, where is everyone?" Just then, Sakura released a gasp "Ten-Ten! Look!"and as if on cue, Ten-Ten turned her head just as two cars crashed against each other. The pick-up truck ignored the red light and hit a car on the driver's side. Both vehicles skidded slightly to the side of the road, hitting the light pole and bending it. It all happened in the blink of an eye, and Ten-Ten couldn't help but think they probably died.

"Hurry! They might be hurt!" Before Ten-Ten had any time to react, Sakura handed her the umbrella and sprinted to the cars, ignoring Ten-Ten's calls for her to wait. Sakura quickly pulled out her cell phone and called an ambulance, while heading towards the damaged car and looking for the driver. She found a young man with his head leaning against the steering wheel, and in the passenger seat was a girl about the same age as her, also unconscious, with her head hanging to the side. Both had blood on their foreheads and a few cuts, the windows on the sides were cracked and the air-bags hanging from the dash and steering wheel.

"Quick! Check the pick-up, Tennie!" she ordered. Ten-Ten jogged to said vehicle, and looked inside. A middle-aged man was holding his head and groaning softly. While she asked him if he was okay and helped him off the car, they could hear sirens in the distance. Sakura hurriedly walked back to Ten-Ten when the ambulance arrived and explained what they saw. When they were dismissed and resumed walking, Ten-Ten could see how shaken Sakura was.

"Are you okay Sakura?" she asked, concern showing in her eyes. Sakura was slightly wide-eyed and shaking, and she was pretty sure it wasn't from the cold.

"Yeah, sorry. It's the adrenaline kicking in is all" she nervously smiled back at Ten-Ten and Sakura seemed to convince her. But her heart was beating like crazy; her arms and legs wouldn't stop shaking. Sakura was always afraid of cars; she could ride in them, but she always feared for her life. When she saw that truck speeding up from afar, she had the feeling something bad would happen. The moment the two cars collided, she felt her heart stop. Her breath got caught on her throat, and her instincts to check on those people kicked in. She didn't think, she didn't doubt. She just ran to help them, regardless of anything. While Sakura was lost in thought, they were already nearing the school. Ten-Ten stopped at the crosswalk to get to the block where the school was, and she noticed Sakura kept walking.

"SAKURA! WATCH OUT!" she screamed as she quickly dashed to her and pulled Sakura by the hood of her jacket. Just as she was out of harm's way, an old looking truck that read Movers in faded green letters sped by them. "Bastard! Slow the hell down!" she shouted after the white truck, and when it was out of sight, she turned her raging brown eyes at Sakura.

"WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU DOING?! YOU ALMOST GOT KILLED AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!" Before she could stop herself, she smacked Sakura in the back of the head. She was angry, and she wanted her to know that.

"Ow! Geez I get it Tennie, you don't have to hit so hard! You DO know I'm gonna be your boss right?!" Sakura said while looking up at her with a small pout.

"Sorry, I just got nervous"

"It's okay, I deserved it this time haha. I'm sorry too." When they got to the school, Ten-Ten saw the moving truck parked in front of the gates.

"Well see ya' later Sakura, I'm gonna give that jerk a piece of my mind!" she said angrily and all but stomped her way towards the truck. Sakura giggled and kept walking. She looked to her left to see another boy walking towards the school, and from what she could see, he was soaking wet. His raven hair clung to his face and his jacket dripped as he walked. "Poor guy, I bet he's freezing! Hmm I think I've got a towel in here somewhere!" as she thought that, she started looking inside her duffel bag. Once she found it and looked up, the boy wasn't there. Frantically looking for him, she saw him close to the school entrance. She ran and quickly caught up to him and started calling out when he entered through the school doors.

"Hey! Wait!" Getting no response, she tried again. The boy only kept walking. "Maybe he can't hear me" she thought due to the soft echo of rock music she was able to make out as he walked. Sakura jogged and stopped in front of him, making him stop too. The moment she looked at him, she was breathless for the second time in one morning. The boy in front of her was beautiful. His alabaster skin contrasted with his dark hair and equally dark eyes, and his face like that of a statue, flawless, sharp and aristocratic. She only noticed she was rudely staring when his beautiful eyes, once showing no emotion, turned to irritated glare.

"What do you want?" he asked in a smooth, deep and cold voice.

"Erm… it's just that…you're wet" he raised his eyebrow, clearly annoyed with her stating the obvious.

"How very perceptive of you"

" I mean! You'll catch a cold! Here!" she said as she handed him the towel, looking down to hide her blushing cheeks. Embarrassed and red faced, Sakura ran down the hallway without turning back.

"Tch. Weirdo" he muttered. He took the towel and dried his hair, vaguely wondering how he would return it. He couldn't help but think her face reminded him of tomatoes. Shaking his head and getting rid of the thought, he walked towards the closest bathroom. When noticing it was empty, he took off his jacket and shirt and put them under the hand driers.

Sasuke sighed and muttered "this is going to be a long day" as he put his earphones back on.

"Hey you! Heeeeeeey! Wait up!" Ten-Ten shouted as she chased the moving truck. She was determined to scream at him how many insults she could come up with. Unfortunately for her, the truck left before she was close enough to stop it, and she could tell the driver had not heard her because she could hear loud music coming from the only vehicle in the street; the old creaky truck. She stopped running when she admitted it was a lost cause. Still fuming, she headed inside, knowing that she'd see the truck again. "He's bound to show up to leave whoever here." She glanced at the front door, so she knew who the truck left, but only saw a flash of orange and 'yellow disappearing behind the closing doors. Sighing, Ten-Ten entered the building and headed for her classroom.

"Wow I sure got here early" said Naruto, looking around the empty halls. He whistled a happy tune while looking at the bulletin boards, lockers and classrooms as he passed them by. He'd barely seen anyone since he arrived, though it was no surprise considering that school didn't start until two hours from now. He stood in front of a blue bulletin board near his old locker, a little surprised to find TRY OUT flyers already posted for the basketball, soccer and cheerleading teems, along with a few announcements from the drama, art and dance clubs. Just as the blond turned away from the board, he felt all the air in his lungs leave his body, as a force sent him to the ground.

"AAH!" he heard a short, shrill scream as he fell.

"Oof! What the-?" he said as he sat up. All he could see was a pink blob on top of him. Said pink blob moved and also sat up, and when it did, his heart skipped a beat. The most exotic girl he'd ever seen was right in front of him; Rose colored locks and eyes the color of emerald adorned the alabaster skin of her cute face. Her eyes were big, her nose small and her lips full. He could only stare as she apologized over and over again. When he regained his senses, he finally spoke.

"No no no! It's no problem, I frankly wasn't looking where I was going either. My name's Naruto by the way! Naruto Balfe!" He stood and extended his hand to her, both to help her up and to shake, with a sheepish grin and what he hoped was a cheerful and friendly look on his face. Sakura looked up at his hands and quickly took it, smiling gratefully at him.

"Nice to meet you Naruto, I'm Sakura!" After apologizing for what Naruto felt was the hundredth time, they began a small chat as they walked towards their classroom. All Konoha High students receive their schedule via school e-mail. While learning they were on the same year, they looked for their schedules and compared, realizing they have three classes together; Homeroom, Chemistry and P.E. Ten-Ten was a year younger than them, so she had promised to see her at lunch.

Naruto and Sakura, still in conversation, entered their classroom only to find one other student already there. And to Sakura's complete embarrassment and horror, it was the pretty boy from earlier. And he was staring right at her. "Oh please let me drop dead right now".


And so they met! Woohoo! :D Hope you liked the chapter, I'll try to update soon.

-Aiiro Hart