Yay! I love getting these reviews. Sorry about this chapter in advance, though. It's not exactly a masterpiece, it is more like a transition into better ones…kind of hastily written. Anyways, try not to break your computer into bits if you are disappointed by the chapter, as some of you probably will be, because then you'll be stuck with sharp metal pieces from a computer and a desire to take out your anger on the person who forced this upon you…aka me!

Sakura closed the door to her house and ran up to her room. She jumped up and landed on her springy bed, facedown. She then flipped over and stared at the ceiling, feeling utterly happy about everything that had happened.

Grinning, Sakura replayed the day's events in her mind. The horrible morning, the chase down the hall, and the wonderful kiss. The ride back to her house had been spent telling Sasuke exactly what had happened, and had ended with another kiss.

Sakura, realizing she couldn't just lie on the bed daydreaming forever, began to go about the monotonous tasks of those who are still in school. She did her homework, studied- though not very hard- and by the time she had eaten and changed, it was well into the night. Sakura usually stayed up later, but the days events were just now taking their toll on her. Closing her eyes, she fell into a deep and restful sleep.

…………

Sakura yawned as she stepped outside into the warm sun. It had been a while since she could sleep in, but Sasuke had offered to drive her to school. She had agreed-not only would it mean more rest, but she could spend time with Sasuke.

"Morning, Sakura." Sasuke said as she slipped in next to him in his car.

"Morning Sasuke." she replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Sasuke looked at her, slightly smirking, then pulled her into a full-on kiss. Sakura allowed this, then broke apart.

"We really should get going."

Sasuke sighed but started the car. He was surprised at how much he actually cared about Saskura….it scared him almost. He had never really though about feelings, but Sakura was…..different.

Sakura was enjoying the ride in the car- she had barely ever ridden in one before, as the orphanage walked every where and took planes to the new locations. She loved the feeling of wind whipping her face, and the smooth seat below her. But most of all, she liked the close proximity with Sasuke.

"What's up?" said Sasuke. Sakura sat up straighter, startled.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You looked like you were about to fall asleep." Sasuke said. Sakura blushed. She didn't want him to think she was bored by him!

"Well, I—I just have to get used to this extra sleep is all." she said hastily. Sasuke laughed softly. He reached over and put his arm around Sakura's waist. He pulled her over by his side and kissed the top of her head. Sakura sighed and leaned up against him. This was exactly where she wanted to be.

Sakura was so content that she didn't even notice when they stopped in front of the school. She allowed Sasuke to open her door for her, and laughed at the comically low bow he made while doing so. She took his hand, smiling, and they proceeded to walk up the stone steps towards the large front doors. Sakura, so heavily immersed in her bliss, only noticed the silent stares of the onlookers when her friends met the pair at the top of the steps.

"SAKURA!" cried Ino.

Sakura started. "Huh? What it is?" she said, confused at her friend's unusually loud greeting.

"You—Sasuke—when—how?" Ino spluttered, unable to form a complete sentence in her shock.

"Ino, if you aren't going to speak properly, how will Sakura ever understand you?" Despite looking equally shocked, Hinata managed to control herself better than Ino. TenTen nodded furiously.

"Well," Ino seemed at a loss for words. Regaining her composure, however, she placed her hands on her hips and rounded more confidently on Sakura.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Sakura!" she said. Sasuke laughed. "What's so funny?" asked Ino.

"You sounded so much like my moth—." but he stopped. There was a few moments of uncomfortable silence: Sakura had no mother.

"Er, Sakura?" Sasuke asked tentatively. Sakura looked at him. "Um, Naruto and the others are going to want to talk to me…but…um….I'll see you in homeroom, alright?" he said, kissing her on the cheek and striding away quickly. Sakura was too disarmed by Sasuke's odd behavior to be too hurt, and was immediately subjected to questioning by her eager friends.

"What happened?"

"When did it happen?"

"What was it like?"

"Are you going steady, now?"

"Have you met his parents?"

"Have you seen his room?"

"When is your next date?"

"Are you in love?"

"Is he?"

Sakura walked on, saying nothing. Her friends seemed to have forgotten that she had been with Sasuke for a total of about 15 hours (A/N. Random guess, I hate doing math….) and half of those questions were not only stupid, but impossible to answer. Nevertheless, they seemed to take her silence as a cue to keep talking, and kept a constant stream of chatter all the way to Sakura's locker.

……………….

"Hey, Sasuke." Shikamaru said, lazily sitting on a stone bench.

Sasuke nodded in his direction, a typical greeting from him. He looked around, dreading the assault of questions he was sure would come from Naruto, but nothing happened. He just stood there, waiting.

"Um, are you expecting something?" asked Neji.

"No…of course not…." replied Sasuke, who didn't want to appear overly-delighted about his new girlfriend.

"Seems like your fan-club is giving you the cold-shoulder today, though." Shikamaru said, jerking his head in their direction. "Be careful, they may be plotting against you."

"Yeah, it's probably their new strategy." added Naruto. "they probably think that if they kill Sasuke, he'll be theirs' for sure!"

The others laughed, but Sasuke merely muttered to himself.

"I'm more worried about what they'll do to Sakura once they've found out. Of course, they probably already know…."

"Know what?" demanded Naruto. Stared at Sasuke, then the group of girls muttering mutinously, then mouthed Sasuke's words. The truth seemed to hit him like a speeding train. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"No way!" he said. Sasuke could feel himself starting to blush.

"What's going on, Sasuke?" asked Neji.

Before Sasuke could answer, Shikamaru blurted it out for him.

"Sasuke kissed Sakura!"

Their reactions were not at all what Sasuke would have pictured. Naruto burst out into laughter and fell to the ground. Shikamaru sat gaping at him from the bench, Neji's face was impassive.

"Shut it, Naruto!" said Sasuke, hitting him on the top of his head.

"What I want to know," said Naruto, wiping tears from his eyes, "is why Sakura hasn't been hunted down by those girls over there yet." He shivered. "They scare me…for once I'm glad I'm not you, Sasuke!"

The others nodded, but Sasuke wasn't listening. What if they did want to hurt Sakura? What if they tried? And he wasn't there to help her?

Mind racing, Sasuke walked away from his friends. He had to find Sakura, he had to make sure she was okay.

He cursed relationship problems. Why did people have to get jealous. Why did they even have to have emotions? He shook his head- it was all pretty pointless and stupid that he had to worry about his own girlfriend being mauled by a pack of other girls.

Sasuke was practically running down the halls now. He finally spotted Sakura, surrounded by her friends, at her locker. By the expression on her face, Sasuke could tell she was bored and annoyed by their behavior. This he found strange. He didn't like to admit it, but he craved attention. Sakura, however, seemed to hate it.

He slowed to a walk, not wanting to appear as anxious as he was. His heart, however, was pounding. He had just noticed a flock of enraged girls, all who appeared to have sharp fingernails, hovering a short way from Sakura. Sasuke walked past them, and tried to pry his way through the tight group that surrounded his pink-haired girlfriend.

"Sakura, can I talk to you?" He immediately regretted ever saying those words. The girls had apparently forgotten they were already together, and began giggling and whispering. Sasuke scowled; he had always loathed this behavior especially since it was so effective in intimidating a person.

Not waiting for an answer, he reached forward and took Sakura's arm. He managed to extract her just as one of the girls with sharp nails took a swipe at where her head had just been.

Sasuke led Sakura down an empty hall, grateful for his time alone with her. She also seemed relieved. Draping an arm around her shoulder, Sasuke walked with Sakura in silence for a few minutes. Neither seemed inclined to speak. Finally, though, ssasuke broke the barrier.

"How's it going?" he said weakly. Sakura raised an eyebrow in half-amusement, half-exasperation.

"I—I mean," Sasuke stammered, not wanting to sound stupid. "How does it feel being with the most attractive guy in school?" Sasuke said, regaining some of his smoothness.

"You seem to think of yourself pretty highly, Sasuke." Sakura said with an unusual coolness to her voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sasuke, utterly confused.

"It means what I said it does." Sakura responded. Noticing the look on Sasuke's face, she sighed and continued.

"I know you think you would have gotten me to kiss you just by acting cool, Sasuke. You probably think I'm….easy." She sighed again. "I mean, who wouldn't? We've only known each other for a few days and yet," she threw her hands up into the air for emphasis, "here we are! You got what you wanted, didn't you? And I," she looked down at her feet, "I'm the most hated girl in school."

Sasuke stared. What else was he supposed to do? He had absolutely no experience with this, but he didn't want to say anything else to make him look worse. He was spared that, however, when Sakura flung her head back up and looked him right in the eyes.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she demanded of him. He gaped at her.

"What am I supposed to say? I don't want to look even worse…" But this, apparently, was not the right ting either.

"There you go again!" Sakura said in an unnaturally shrill voice. "Do you only care about yourself, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was utterly confused. In the course of 5 minutes, he had succeeded in bringing about a fight with Sakura, yet had no idea how he had done it. He racked his brains for something to say, but only succeeded in making himself angry.

"What is with you?" he said angrily. Sakura looked as though she had been slapped in the face. "First you're all happy, then you're sad, and now you're angry? What am I supposed to say? I've never had a girlfriend before; I don't know how this works!"

He had said it. He had never admitted to anyone before that he had been single for all of his life. Now, in danger of losing his first relationship, he had told the one person he wanted to hide it from forever.

Sakura.

Sakura, instead of looking taken aback, could not conceal a grin creeping across her face.

"You've never been kissed before me, Sasuke?" she said quietly.

"I never said that!" said Sasuke hotly, but he began to blush again. Sakura smirked.

"You didn't have too," she said. "I can tell." She seemed to have gotten over her anger pretty quickly.

"Don't you tell anyone!" said Sasuke, trying to appear in control. But he was fighting a losing battle.

"Don't worry," said Sakura, placing her lips on his in a lingering kiss. "My lips are sealed." she said before heading away to her friends.

"Girls." muttered Sasuke. He was still blushing, but it had nothing to do with embarrassment.