He gave her that smile, oh that infectious smile again, when she saw him at the classroom entrance. Naruto was now treading purposefully to her direction.

Right, the idiot looking guy. But in all fairness to him, he doesn't look like he just showered in his own sweat. Sakura remembered last week he did. And his orange t-shirt seemed washed. Still what a ridiculous color to wear, she thought to herself. Of course Naruto in all his years finally minded how he looked outside just now. He didn't use perfume, he doesn't own one. What he did was wake up a little earlier than usual to thoroughly scrub his whole body in the shower. "My man, the secret to smelling nice is taking shower every day. Why, are you trying to impress someone?" Kiba's fang came out as he said this the other day. Damn he's starting to resemble the dogs in the shop.

"Uhh! Hi Sakura," Naruto greeted with a smile as he sit on the exact same spot as the previous week. Not to his liking but that's where Sakura always sits, right in front of the teacher where she could hear and properly absorb every single information they are being fed.

"We don't have enough time left. Whoever you're sat beside will be your partner," Mr. Sarutobi said as he gathers his folders and books, "Be ready with your topics and introduction next week."

To Sakura's horror, the girl to her left was already talking to the girl on the other side. That leaves her with the fanboy. When she faced him, a dejected sigh came out.

Naruto animatedly waited beside the rather irritated girl as she finishes putting her things neatly inside her bag. "So, uhm, when do we talk about our topic?" he asked.

"I have to pick some books from the library. Wait for me outside."

Naruto can't help but stare at the girl tucking back some wild strands of pink hair behind her ear as she climbs down the short flight of stairs at the front of the establishment.

"Uhh, Sakura? I'm really really sorry but I don't have time right now cause I have two jobs today," he said in a pleading tone when said girl arrived in front of him, "I hope we can discuss about this tomorrow, maybe?"

She gave him a long sigh. "Give me your number, I'll just text you the plan."

The boy bit his lower lip. "About that..." a little pause and he continued, "You see, I don't have a phone."

Another long sigh. Naruto suddenly felt like he's becoming a real annoyance to her. He doesn't know what to do either.

The boy watched as Sakura pulled her backpack to her front and took out a red Nokia phone from the front pocket. She then held the phone between them. "This is an extra phone. Just to be clear, I'm not giving this to you. I'll let you borrow it only throughout the project."

Shocked was an understatement. Naruto couldn't even imagine someone letting him borrow a phone for a long period of time, let alone from someone he likes.

"Ohh no," he refused. "I can't take that. I-"

Sakura just rolled her eyes. Without a warning, she snatched Naruto's right hand and put the phone in it. "I'll text you, you better not make me wait for a reply."

She touched my hand. From the outside, the boy looked calm but inside, he was freaking out. The skin contact gave him butterflies in the stomach. He was glued to the ground as he watches her leave.

Not even five meters away and the girl faced backward. "Hey!" she called out quite aggressively. "Don't even try to rummage through my phone," she said with her small fist positioned like she's threatening him then she continued walking, her skirt swaying with her hips.

But instead of fear, he smiled and whispered to himself, "She's so cute."

Naruto isn't the type to take advantage of someone's kindness so he promised to himself that he's going to use the phone only if it had something to do with their project.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Sounds like a phone ringing."

Oh no! I forgot. The alarm in Naruto's face can be seen from a mile. He dropped the dog leashes he was organizing unceremoniously to the floor in hurry to get the little gadget where the incessant buzzing was coming from.

To his horror, there was no name on the small colored screen. What do I do? What if it's not her. Naruto panicked. But what if it's her, she'll get more irritated than she already is. He thought to himself.

He decided, for what felt like an hour, to pick up. "Sakura, I've been trying to call you for thirty minutes. Are you okay dear?" A loud and worried voice came crashing his ear.

Swallowing, Naruto answered, "I'm sorry ma'am but this is Sakura's classmate. She-"

"Why do you have her phone? What happened? Is she ok?"

"I'm really sorry ma'am but I don't know where she is right now. Truth is, she just let me borrow this phone."

"Ohh, okay!" the woman on the other end of the line instantly calmed down. "I'll just call her other number then."

When the call ended, Kiba was already standing beside him. "But you don't have a phone Naruto."

"Hi mom!" a towel cladded Sakura greeted the person she dialed on her phone. "I'm sorry I was taking a shower and my phone was dead."

"Why did someone else answer your other phone?" Her mother, Mebuki Haruno, a tall and slim blonde-haired woman, asked quite intimidatingly.

Sakura audibly sighed for the nth time that day. "I'll explain when you get back home."

"Why is it a boy. Are you hiding something from me?"

"Mom, relax. That's Naruto. He's my classmate. I don't have any other way to contact him because he doesn't have a phone. So I let him borrow my old one."

Her mom doesn't seem convinced and still asked about it when she got home to a slumbering Sakura in the living room after waking said girl up.

"So you're telling me there's a girl in your class that let you borrow her phone, and you met just twice?

Naruto nodded comically. "It's for school so..."

Wiggling his eyebrow, the dog lover asked, "So, is she pretty?"

He didn't want Kiba pestering him about the girl that's been making him excited to be in school but his facial expression betrayed him.

"Her phone has a camera, I'm sure she has a photo of herself in there somewhere."

The phone has been with him for hours now and he hasn't even thought of that idea. Before he could contemplate wether to take a peak on the gallery or not, it rang to notify a text has been received. It's a good thing Kiba's phone is also Nokia so he knows how to use one. Naruto opened the message.

'What time is your lunch tomorrow?'

"What did she say?" Kiba imposed.

Naruto pushed himself away from his prying friend and went outside. Biting his lip, he texted back an '11:30 am' complete with a colon and a close parenthesis to form a smiley face.

'Same. I'll meet you in the cafeteria.'

The boy can't help but smile. Kiba annoyed him until the end of his shift.

That night when Naruto was already lying on his squeaky bed, he thought about what Kiba said earlier. The temptation was so strong his thumb was already hovering over the center button but he still did the right thing. Looking through someone else's stuff isn't part of his vocabulary. He's bigger than that. And he slept really good knowing that.

A/N: I'm currently writing the next chapter. Thank you for the few likes and follows, it means a lot.