Let me start off by saying thank you to everyone who reviewed!!!! You have made me so happy!!!! And, as and extra bonus, no one hated my story!!!! Right now, 6 people want Itachi + the parents alive, and 2 not. One wants Itachi to be mean, and one, I think, nice. Either way, I think I will keep Itachi alive. But, as for the parents, well, that chapter is a bit farther away (they are not in it for much, anyways). So I think I will accept a few more votes before I decide. Thanks again! Enjoy….
Sakura put her hand on her head, feeling dizzy. She was so nervous about where she was going to sit. If she sat with the "wrong" group, she would be scarred for the rest of her life. If she sat with the "right" group, though, she would have no trouble being accepted. (A/N. A sad truth, isn't it?) Simple, right?
Wrong.
First of all, she had no idea who the "right" people were. And even if she did know, who's to say they would actually accept her. Sakura began to get really scared, biting down on her lowerlip so hard that she almost drew blood. She was just about to run out of the school, screaming at the top of her lungs, and hide under her bed for the rest of her life (A/N. hasn't everyone felt that way at least once?) when she heard the voice of an angel.
"Hey, new kid! Sit over here!" Relief flooded through Sakura's entire being. She really didn't care whether or not they were they In- Crowd, she just didn't want to spend all lunch standing in the middle of the floor like a total idiot. She hurriedly rushed over to the table, where the girls from her homeroom were waving her over.
"Hi." Sakura said. "I'm Sakura."
"Ino." said the girl with the high ponytail, as a way of introducing herself.
"I-I'm Hinata." The girl with the pale, pale eyes whispered shyly.
"And I'm TenTen!" the two-bunned girl said energetically. "Nice to meet you!" The girls resumed chatting after this, obviously finishing a conversation before turning their attention to the pink-haired newcomer. Sakura took this chance to look around the room.
The members of each table were grouped according to their, eh-hem, "personality", for wont of a better word. There was a table of students with multiple face-piercings and dark clothes, sullenly mumbling their hatred for the world to the other, equally depressed teens.
Another was occupied by an assortment of large males, practically shouting to each other, although it was unnecessary. In other words, the jocks.
With all her looking around, Sakura determined, with a bit of ecstasy, that she was actually sitting at the "Cool Girls" table. She would belong! She had a sudden urge to see where Sasuke was sitting, and noticed he was at a table somewhat near her own. She did not even have to scan the room again to know that that was the "Cool Boys" table. He was with the other boys from her homeroom, feet on the table, in the ultimate cool-pose. Every few seconds, a group of girls, giggling furiously, would walk by and wave at him. He ignored them all. Surprisingly, this made Sakura feel happy and even more at ease. That is, until he looked up, caught her staring, and gave her a haughty smirk. She quickly turned away, only to find the other girls had stopped talking and had seen the whole thing.
"So, why didn't you tell us you and Sasuke were together?" asked TenTen, as more of an excited statement than an actual question.
"W-what?!!!!!??? We are not together! Why would you think that????!!!?!?!?!" Sakura said, all the while blushing like crazy. The others just laughed.
"Then why are you blushing, Sakura?" laughed Ino. "Besides," she said solemnly appraising him, "he isn't bad." The others nodded in agreement. "Of course, I wouldn't give up my Shikamaru for the world!" she added hurriedly.
"Which one is he?" Sakura asked, looking over. Hinata and TenTen tried to restrain their giggles.
"The one with the pineapple head!" they said together, bursting out into more laughter. Ino looked furious.
"Yeah, well at least he doesn't wear orange whenever possible! Or takes school so seriously he forgets my birthday!" she said, instantly silencing Hinata and TenTen. An awkward silence reigned over the table, and Sakura attempted to break it.
"Uh, Hinata. Who do you go out with?" she asked, curious about who Ino was talking about.
"Naruto." She said, pointing at the boy with blond, spiky hair. "And you, TenTen?" she asked.
"Neji." She replied, looking at the boy whose eyes looked like Hinata's. Sakura spent the next couple of seconds staring at Hinata, then swooping her head to look at Neji, then back to Hinata, etc.
"Is he your brother?" she asked innocently, but with a slight hint of disgust. Hinata ignored this last part and replied, "No, my cousin. He kinda hates me though." At which point all the other girls began consoling her, giving Sakura another chance to look around.
Sakura noticed that, although it was lunchtime, very little eating was going on. It was all Gossip Gossip Gossip. She sighed: she was never very good at gossiping, and she didn't really like it. However, it was obviously the main, important, fastest, and sometimes unreliable source of information at the school. Which is why she was terrified Sasuke had started a rumor they were "together".
"Sakura." Sakura turned to see the other members of her table staring at her with very serious faces. It was TenTen who had spoken, and now she continued:
"You need to let Sasuke kiss you." Sakura later said that she felt nothing les than absolute shock at this statement. She thought TenTen was the most sensible of the group, and here she was stating that Sakura should let this arrogant jerk- albeit, a hot one- kiss her! What was everyone's problem?
"Look, TenTen." started Sakura, attempting to explain her position, "It's my first day, and I'm not really thinking about-." But she was cut short by Hinata.
"No, Sakura. You need to let him kiss you." Hinata too? Something was definitely wrong here, but the pink-haired girl decided to humor them.
"Why?" she asked, trying to look sweet and innocent. This time, Ino spoke.
"First of all, it is obvious he is interested in you, and he's not going to give up until he kisses you. Secondly, we know you like him- you're not very good at hiding that." Sakura blushed. She didn't know her feelings for Sasuke that well yet, but still…. She began to protest, however Ino was not finished.
"Lastly, and this is most important, it is dangerous for you not to let him kiss you!" Sakura blinked. Well that was unexpected!
"But why is it dangerous? Is he going to hurt me?" She couldn't help but feel afraid that Sasuke was going to harm her, he undoubtedly could, of course! But TenTen shook her head.
"No, it isn't like that! It's just that--." But the shrill sounding bell cut her off. Immediately, Sakura was swept away by the sudden onrush of students hurrying to classes. "But wait!" she called. "TenTen! Why is it--?" Sadly, TenTen could not hear her over the noise, and Sakura had no choice but to move with the crowd. Little did she know a pair of eyes followed her the entire way….
Sakura walked down the nearly empty hallway to her last class. She had had a semi-enjoyable study period, but was slightly put-out that Sasuke wasn't there. Then again, she had experienced a feeling of elation when she saw she would not have to endure any of his "antics". Nevertheless, she felt an unmistakable sense of apprehension, as she was still pondering what the other girls had said (she was not quite ready to call them friends).
"Sakura." Sakura turned. To her surprise, it was none other than Neji who had called her name. She slowed to wait for him, curious as to why he had called out to her.
"Hey." She said to him. "What's up?"
"TenTen told me about your conversation at lunch." he said plainly. Sakura didn't know how to respond.
"Oh, well, good?" She was a bit confused about what this was all about.
"She asked me to talk to you about Sasuke." It was all Sakura could do to suppress a groan. "Why is everyone so anxious to have me kiss him? What if I don't even like him, hmmmm?" Neji raised his eyes, plainly stating that there was no chance of that, and he knew it. Sakura's eyes flitted to the ground. "Why is it such a big deal?" she said more quietly. "I just don't understand."
"Sakura," said Neji, stopping to look her directly in the eye. He was being firm, but slightly understanding. "There are crazy people in this school. We just don't want you to get hurt."
"Why would I get hurt?" she asked a bit desperately. "Why?" But before Neji could answer, another voice sounded behind her.
"Because you're so attractive to guys like me." Sakura's head whipped around and saw those intense onyx eyes staring straight back at her. "Are you everywhere?" she asked, honestly thinking he was. Sasuke smirked and turned to Neji.
"You trying to steal her from me, Neji?" he said jokingly, putting his arm around Sakura's shoulders. She looked at her arms. Goosebumps. Why was she feeling this way?
Neji laughed. "See you guys! Better go find TenTen." He turned and left, leaving the two students alone.
They started walking towards Sakura's next class, Sasuke's arm still around her shoulder. Snapping out of her reverie, Sakura spun around to face him, and his arm slid off.
"One," Sakura said, hands on hips and facing Sasuke. "I am not YOURS. Two, who do you keep following me around? Three, WHERE are you going?" When Sasuke smirked, Sakura boiled with rage. But when he tilted her chin up to his face, she almost melted inside.
"You're not mine yet, Sakura." Sasuke said. He started to walk away. "And if you don't want to be late for English, you had better hurry.
"You-you're in my class?"
"Yup."
Sakura once again ended up next to Sasuke. She had no idea what she was feeling. She wanted to slap him, scream at him, push him over, and kiss him all at the same time. It was all she could do not to look at him during class. If she did, she knew something bad would happen.
!0…
9…
8…
Sakura's eyes were glued to the clock, counting the seconds to her freedom.
3…
2…
1…
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
Sakura never heard anything so wonderful as that bell. She flew out the door and to her locker, then headed outside. When she got there, she groaned: a nice 5 mile walk was ahead of her to her house. And it was HOT!!!!
"Need a lift?" Sakura saw Sasuke standing next to a glossy red Ferrari. She was torn: half of her wanted to jump into that car and get a ride home, the other…. the other wanted to stay as far away as possible. The side of her that felt as if it would burst into flames won, and she nodded to Sasuke.
"Hop in."
Sakura sat nervously in Sasuke's car. It was odd, but undoubtedly cool. The front seat was exactly like the back, with no space between the passenger and driver's seats. Sasuke was driving with one hand on the side of the car, and the radio was on. Neither one of them was really listening, though. Sakura could tell that even Sasuke felt a little awkward.
The radio suddenly started playing (A/N. And here is where my own personal taste in music comes out. DON'T LAUGH!!!! ) Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy. Sakura could not suppress a small squeal of excitement. She loved them, and this was one of her favorite songs.
"I love this song!" she said to Sasuke, temporarily forgetting where she was, and with who.
"Yeah, me too." he replied easily. They began discussing their favorite bands, and found they had a lot in common. Sakura actually felt sad when they arrived at her house, and hesitated before getting out.
"Thanks for the ride, Sasuke." she said. "I would have hated to walk in this heat."
"No problem. It was my pleasure." He grinned. A real, honest-to-goodness grin from Sasuke Uchiha. It was infectious, and Sakura couldn't help smiling brightly back. Sasuke stared. She's even prettier when she smiles. He thought. Gradually their smiles faded, and both began to lean towards each other, as if to kiss.
A honk from a car horn snapped Sakura back to her senses, and she leapt out of the car. Sasuke, unfortunately, was not as quick. He fell forward in the car, and sat back up, cursing his ill-luck. That's the second time today she got me! He thought grumpily.
"Thanks again, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled to him, waving as she shut the door. Sasuke smirked. But this girl is definitely worth it!
Wow! It took longer than I expected! How did it go? I kind of had to put a lot in this, to make it long enough for my liking. Thanks again for everyone who reviewed, and I hope you enjoy the rest of this story!