Chapter 5
Sasuke's POV
Sasuke felt like slamming his head into the steering wheel. He restrained himself though, because firstly – it would hurt, secondly – the horn would blare (giving him even more of a headache), and thirdly – he would most likely get himself and his sister, currently occupying the car seat in the back, in a car accident. But as he kept on driving, that feeling turned into more of an urge – Sarah was currently singing 'wheels on the bus' for the seventeenth time, and Sasuke was trying to keep his cool.
Earlier that Saturday morning, Marie, Sarah's mother, asked Sasuke to take Sarah out for the day. Sasuke was planning to do absolutely nothing that day, honestly, but since he didn't really have anything to use as back-up if he said no, the answer was obvious. Sarah was his responsibility for the next 6 hours. Besides, to Sasuke, it wasn't like he had a choice – if he ever did say no, he would get this horrible feeling eating away at the pit of his stomach – guilt – and it only ever occurred when it involved the Carter family.
Mr. and Mrs. Carter had always wanted a child, but when Marie was told she couldn't have children, they turned to adoption. They adopted Sasuke when he was eight years old, not long after he was orphaned. Sasuke was a peculiar circumstance, not in that he was a cold, moody and reticent child (although that did add to it), but Sasuke had millions and millions of dollars to his name with the inheritance from his birth parents. So as he was rejected by almost everyone who came in looking to adopt, his money was not- it was the head of orphanage who had to say 'no' to all those looking for other purposes than to have a child. However, when the Carters came looking to adopt, it wasn't at the orphanage Sasuke was in, rather, the orphanage they went to directed them to where Sasuke was. Because who better to adopt this cold, unkind, extremely wealthy child than a couple who could manage a cold and unkind child where being wealthy made no difference- Marie and Phillip were already loaded, a couple more mills were irrelevant. But then, four years after Sasuke's adoption, a "miracle", as the doctors called it, happened. - Marie became pregnant with Sarah.
Ever since Sarah was born, Sasuke had been protective of her- maybe a little over-protective, but that was the way Sasuke worked. He would make sure she was never hurt or spoken badly of, and whenever she cried, he would try and make it better – in his own sort of Sasuke-way. Maybe he needed to someone to protect, to compensate for what he lost when he was eight, or maybe he felt like he had to. Either way, he loved the Carter family, though admitting 'love' was one of the last things he'd do on earth.
"…All through the town! The wheels on the bus…"
Okay, maybe he didn't love Sarah right now – but still…
"… Go Round and Round! Round and Round! Round and Round! The wheels on the bus go Round and Round! All through the town! The wheels on the bus go-"
"Sarah." Sasuke interrupted.
"Yes Sasuke?!" she sang.
"Stop singing."
"But I'm on a bus so I'm singing about it!"
"This is not a bus."
"Oh. Then what is it?" She asked. Sarah was able to get side tracked easily, but she also tended to ask questions until she was satisfied with the answers. And sometimes it took her a long time to get satisfied – but at least she wasn't singing.
"A Maserati Diablo." Sasuke replied.
"What's that?"
"The car from James Bond."
"Who's James Bond?"
"A spy."
"He's a spy?"
"Yes."
"Does he do cool sneaky things?"
"Yes."
"Can I do cool sneaky things?"
Sasuke sighed, frustrated. This was as bad as non-stop Wheels on the Bus. But if it meant that Sarah was happy, "Yes."
"Can I be a spy?"
"Yes."
"Can I have a codename?"
"Sure."
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
"But Sasuke!"
"Agent Sarah."
"What?"
"Your code name. Agent Sarah."
"That's stupid. You're a stupid-head."
"Then pick one yourself."
"You should be Agent Stupid-head."
"Hn."
"Sasuke!"
"Agent Super Fantabulous."
"…Is that your name or my name?"
"Your name."
"I like that name."
"Good."
"What's your codename?"
"I don't have one."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Do you want to go to Starbucks?" Sasuke asked, changing topic.
"You mean the fancy coffee place?"
"Yes."
"Only if I can be Agent Superfantabulous."
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"Sarah, what do you want?" Sasuke asked when they got to Starbucks. Sarah ignored him. "Sarah," Sasuke said, getting impatient.
"My name's not Sarah, its Agent Super Fantabulous, remember?" she whispered.
"Your name is Sarah."
"But you said it was Agent Super Fantabulous."
"That is a codename."
"Oh."
"What do you want?"
"Can I have," Sarah thought for a moment before saying, "Lemonade."
"That is not enough for lunch."
"Okay… That sandwich, and… that cookie!" she said, pointing to the two objects on the shelves. Sasuke nodded and then ordered, adding on a sandwich for himself. The cashier girl tried to, unsuccessfully, flirt with him, and all her attempts were ignored.
When Sasuke paid for and received their order, he turned around to locate Sarah.
"Fuck." He muttered to himself- she was over talking to none other than paper towel girl- who was sitting at a table with one of her annoying friends.
"Fuck." He muttered again, before reluctantly walking over to their table.
"Sarah. Time to go." He said, interrupting their conversation. Paper towel girl looked up, surprised, and the blonde girl looked up and let out a squeak.
"Sasuke, can we sit with them!?" She asked, tugging on his shirt.
"Sure?" answered paper towel girl, seemingly surprised that she blurt out an agreement, moving over so there was room for the both of them. The blonde friend just sat there, stunned.
"No." Sasuke replied, turning to leave.
"Pleeeeaaasse!?" Sarah pleaded, giving Sasuke her infamous puppy-dog eyes.
"No."
"Oh." Sarah answered morosely, sighed heavily, and looked down at the ground.
Sasuke's jaw tightened. …Why the fuck did she have to do that? He hesitated, knowing full well that Sarah was doing this on purpose, then answered through clenched teeth, only because it would make Sarah happy, "Fine."
"Really? Thanks Sasuke! See Sakura? He's not a stupid-head all of the time!" Sarah said and climbed onto the seat, then gestured for Sasuke to do the same, "Come Sasuke! Sit next to me!" Sasuke, keeping his face indifferent, sat down next to her. He was fucking screwed.
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Sakura's POV
If it weren't for Sarah's non-stop talking, this would have been a gazillion times worse than it already was. I really didn't mean to say "Sure" – it just slipped, and Sarah complied before I could do anything about it. And now Sasuke is across the table from me and I can't stop blushing.
I don't know why I'm blushing either- it's not like he's saying anything. Well, he says "Eat" in an indifferent voice every time Sarah forgets about her food when telling a really long story. I think that the only reason on why Sasuke tells her to "eat" is to get her to stop talking.
Personally, I thought it was quite cute, because Sarah would talk about anything and everything. Even things about Sasuke – like how he is building his own car in their garage, or how she sometimes sleeps in his bed during thunderstorms.
Maybe I was blushing because she was giving away personal information, and the look on Sasuke's face as his pride and dignity was slowly being torn apart was rather – well, adorable. And a little sexy. …But I'll keep that to myself. Because I'm not supposed to think that about my maybe-hopefully-I-really-wish-he-was-boyfriend's best friend. And I usually don't think that way about guys either. Usually it is a simple 'attractive' or 'unattractive' judgment. Maybe there is an exception to really, really hot guys who are sitting only a foot away from you. That's probably why my thinking is haywire. And it's possibly why I was blushing so much.
Or maybe I was blushing because Sasuke had an expression that wasn't fully passive (or intoxicated). Though his face stayed almost completely stoic and indifferent, there were hints of what I think was humiliation. I would be too if my little sibling was blabbering private information about me to someone I barely know and gradually ruining my reputation. I would be, if I had a little sibling. …Or a reputation to keep up with, really. But Sasuke seemed to keep his face well hidden and continue with his usual nature (like when I raised an eyebrow at how he ate his sandwich –taking off the tomatoes and leaving them for last – and he just stared at me, unmoving), even with Sarah present – though I noticed he seemed quite a bit more gentle, if that makes any sense. Like, he didn't glare or use profanities at all because Sarah was here.
I also could be blushing because every time I would say something to Sarah, Sasuke would look at me; annoyed. I had to edit my words very carefully the whole time, I was afraid I would say something to Sarah that Sasuke would disapprove of. I mean, he did seem highly protective of her and he did act like he had some form of feelings for her. He wouldn't have agreed to sit down with us if he was unfeeling for Sarah.
But perhaps I was blushing because every time I spoke, I would get flustered, and then wouldn't be able to form coherent sentences, and then I would stutter. Kind of like Hinata. Who, FYI, is acting really weird lately. I called her to tell her about how my date went and she was all distant and stuff. It's probably because it was about Naruto, and she does have a crush on him too. But unless she was like, super madly crushing on him, there is no reason for her to act so weird. Maybe she is super madly crushing on him…
Anyway, back to blushing.
It could be because of Ino, who was acting like a complete idiot (more so than I was). She was constantly trying to flirt with him and batting her eyelashes and stuff. It was a little embarrassing. And what made it even more embarrassing was that she persisted even though she was completely ignored. She only toned it down a little when Sarah stared at her for a long time before saying, "You're stupid." I tried to suppress laughter, and I'm pretty sure I saw Sasuke's lips twitch, but I'm not quite sure.
To sum it all up, I bet Sasuke had a I super time.
Not.
At all.
I think he was extremely pissed.
I mean, if I were an amazingly attractive guy, who was forced to sit with my annoying adoptive sibling who I don't want anyone finding out about, and said sibling was spilling personal information to two annoying idiots who were either trying to flirt with me, or babbling like a they were retarded, then having to withstand all of it for a full half hour because I had to keep my reputation and keep my sibling happy for a freakin' half hour then, yeah, I guess I would be pissed too.
So I was kind of relieved when Sarah was finished eating her lunch, because Sasuke wasted no time in leaving, though something in me wanted him to stay. Well, at least I could continue to drink my latte- which I hadn't touched since Sarah came in dragging her beautiful older brother. But as soon as the foam touched my lips, I saw Sasuke again. He and Sarah were outside the big window of the café, and Sasuke looked like he wasn't obliging to what Sarah, who was tugging on his shirt and had the most innocent of faces on, was begging for. Then Sasuke finally nodded his head and crouched. Sarah did a little victory dance before climbing onto his back with a huge smile on her face. Sasuke stood up and started walking with Sarah on his back. I waved to Sarah when she caught eye of me. She waved back, giggled, and then waved again. Sasuke turned to see what Sarah was looking at, and when he spotted me, his lips quirked into a smile. No wait – it wasn't a smile – it was a smirk. A very smug, almost triumphant one too. Why? Beats me.
I turned back to Ino, but the moment I faced her, she started laughing hysterically. In between her spurts of laughter, she made a gesture for me to touch my cheek. When I did, I realized why Sasuke was smirking. I had a huge glob of latte foam on the side of my face when I waved to Sarah. Shit. My eyes widened, and I rubbed at my cheek furiously with a napkin as my face turned beat red. Then I buried my face into my hands in pure embarrassment.
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.
That was the only word in my vocabulary during the next 3 hours. Why does everything that could possibly go wrong, go wrong for me?
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Something very surprising happened this morning. Actually 10 surprising things happened this morning.
1. Naruto was waiting for me when I got to the doors of the school.
2. Naruto said, "Hey Babe." A little weird, I know.
3. Naruto gave me a light peck and started walking.
4. Naruto took my hand in his.
5. Naruto and I walked like that through the school to my locker.
6. Naruto waited for me to get out my things before staying to talk with me.
7. Naruto kissed me again.
8. Naruto asked me on another date after Sasuke's on Tuesday.
9. Naruto kissed me again and then went to his class when the 5 minute bell rang
10. I didn't like numbers 1-9.
Well, I liked them, but isn't it a little bold or something? I mean, we had one date, we kissed once, and now he's acting like we're super tight. And I'm confused, because he does it in such a sweet way, but it is a little fast. Wasn't there some rule where you wait for the third date to actually kiss?
And another thing – the whole school saw it. It wasn't like they were kind of secret little things. Naruto kissed me right out in the open for the whole world to see. That meant Ino and Hinata too.
Ino looked like she was about to burst, but ran to class after winking at me. Hinata walked with me down to art, and didn't say one word the whole time. Which I was partially glad for because then it would be less embarrassing for me. But I didn't like that the silence on the walk to our class was uncomfortable.
And the silence stayed like that even after we got to the art room. But then I started a conversation that had absolutely no point to it, just to get rid of the tension – or whatever it was that was causing all of this not talking. Hinata joined in too, which I was happy about, though she still seemed a little discontented. I also told her about meeting Sasuke in Starbucks. I know I shouldn't have, because when I told the story I told her every detail of it (including the personal information on Sasuke), but it was the only way to keep Hinata from being all distant like.
Either I spoke too loud, or everyone was very quiet, because I found Sasuke glaring at me from across the room, again. And his glare looked angry. Yeah, it kind of was a stupid thing to do, talking about Sasuke when he is in the same room as me. I think if I were a guy he would have walked over to where I was sitting and punched me. It was a good thing I was going out with Naruto now too, because that kind of gave me a safety shield against his friends. But still, if looks could kill, I would be dead now. Actually, I would have been dead a long time ago (the whole sketchbook ordeal). …Basically, I made Sasuke angry again. Woops.
It was my turn to be silent now. Very, very silent.
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We had a test today in English. It was a content test on Macbeth and I forgot to study for it so I kind of winged it. I did read the book though, so I think I did pretty well.
Ino begged for me to tell her about Naruto at lunch. And when I did, Hinata went back to being distant. I also told Ino though, that Naruto was going a little fast with this whole thing. She said 'what do you expect; he's one of the popular guys – hey, now you'll be popular too!' …Geez, thanks for the sympathy, Ino.
I was actually nervous when I went to Instrumental class; I didn't know what Naruto would do. So when I got there, I put together my flute really quickly and practiced my scales until class officially started (though I may have looked a little loserish while doing so). That way I wouldn't have to talk… or kiss.
I know I'm making a huge deal out of this Naruto thing, but I've never officially dated before so I'm not an exact expert on it. It's not that I don't like Naruto, because I really do, it's just that I'm a little bit shy and new at this whole dating thing.
Naruto held my hand all the way to Biology, and he only let go once we were seated. Unfortunately, Naruto made us sit next to Sasuke. And what made it even more unfortunate was that the first thing Naruto said to him was, "Hey idiot! I heard you met Sakura at Starbucks!"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto and then shifted his gaze to me, turning it into a glare. I, of course, blushed and looked away. Naruto laughed, not quite getting the tension between us. He then made it worse when he continued to speak.
"Aw, don't get mad, Sasuke! You're not the only one who is ruled over by a six year old!" and he burst out laughing again. I think he was supposed to follow up the statement with a 'wait, yes you are!' but he never did, making the joke not much of a joke – not that it was a very funny one in the first place.
I shifted uncomfortably and Sasuke turned his glare to the front of the classroom.
Then I felt someone whisper in my ear.
"You even smell like cherry blossoms."
I shrieked and jumped into Naruto, who fell off his seat and into Sasuke. I ended up half on my chair, half on Naruto's chair, Naruto ended up on the ground with all our books and binders around him, and Sasuke managed to stay upright in his chair, only letting out a "Shit-head" to Naruto.
Before any of us could right ourselves though, I was pulled into the embrace of the catalyst. Of course, it was Lee.
"Oh Sakura! What tom foolery have you gotten yourself into, hm?" he said and gestured with one hand to the mess I made, while the other stayed around my waist.
"Um, Lee? Can you let go of me?" I said, and blushed at our proximity – he was holding me way too close for my liking. Actually, even touching me is way to close.
"Oh Sakura, your blush is the same colour of the flower you are named after!" He replied, ignoring me, and stroked my cheek. Uuuummmmmmmmmmmmmm, ew. I shivered in disgust and tried to wiggle out.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" yelled Naruto when he finally stood up and saw the position Lee had me in. He then tore me from Lee's embrace and into his own. Oh thank god! I thought caterpillar man would try something new if I didn't escape when I did.
"Why Naruto! Sakura and I were just exchanging dinner plans!" Lee falsely explained.
"Hey! She's my girlfriend! So back off!" Naruto said, getting angry. Oh my god! I'm officially his girlfriend! And two guys were having a fight over me! Except I'm not sure if Lee counts… I swear he's got issues. But Lee didn't seem to notice Naruto's anger and our relationship status, so he stayed his usual poetic and jubilant self.
"No one can tame the cherry blossom, no matter how fragile she may seem!" He then took my hand into his, but Naruto snatched me away, and pushed me behind him. I landed in Sasuke's lap. Hey – I was in three different guys' embrace in less than one minute! But once again I'm not sure Lee counts. And Sasuke's embrace was an accident – not really an embrace.
It was at that moment that Mr. Kakashi decided to come into the classroom. Without even taking his eyes off of his pervert book, he said calmly though authoritative, "Naruto, leave Lee alone. Lee, Sakura's not interested. Sakura, get out of Sasuke's lap. Sasuke, stop glaring at everyone." How did he do that? Was this like a Kakashi-knows-all thing or was he spying on us before he came in? Because that was way too creepy.
Anyways. Naruto let go of Lee's shirt, while Lee stepped back and blew a kiss to me. I turned my head away to ignore it and (reluctantly) got off of Sasuke's lap and back into my own seat with my face beat red. Sasuke didn't do anything – he just sat there – glaring at the front of the classroom.
Mr. Kakashi continued to talk, basically reminding us of our project and double checking our topics. He ended the class with telling us about a youth science club. He didn't sound very excited about it (nor did the rest of the class), but Lee jumped out of his seat when the bell rang, grabbed a sign up sheet, and ran out of the door yelling something about 'stoking the fires of youth'. Sasuke left without a word, and Naruto held my hand as he walked out with me.
I noticed Hinata glaring at me when Naruto and I got to my locker. Well, she wasn't really glaring, because I don't think Hinata can glare – she's too nice. It was more like an icy, slightly pleading stare – but it was enough to make me feel guilty and betraying. So when Naruto bent down to kiss me, I looked away a little and tilted my head down.
"Um, Naruto?" I asked quietly, looking up through my bangs. He looked confused. "Could we maybe, um, tone down the, um, kissing?" My voice started off strong but ended in a whisper.
"Uh, sure Sakura. Sorry." He stilled looked confused, so after grabbing my belongings from my locker, I grabbed his hand and walked towards his locker. Then I explained.
"It's not your fault or anything. It's just, well…" I didn't really know how to tell him. How do you say, 'I'm not comfortable with this kissing stuff and one of my best friends is superbly crushing on you, but you are taken by me'? Well, I kind of told the half truth. "I don't think my friends are quite ready for it. I mean, I'm fine, but they think that I'm going to spend all my time with you and none with them. So you'd be kind of like, stealing me or something." So I didn't tell the truth at all… Oh well.
It took Naruto a while to actually get what I was saying. "Oh…okay." He finally said when we got to his locker, but I'm not sure if he knew what I was asking. So I cleared it up for him.
"Maybe we should take it slow? You know, to make my friends feel better?" Wow, that sounded lame.
"Yeah, sure. Sorry though, I didn't want to make it seem that way." He said, taking his things from his own locker. When he finished, I put my hand back into his to reassure him.
"I told you, it's not your fault – we should just make it less, um, noticeable." I was really bad at lying. Good thing Naruto had tunnel vision.
He closed his locker, and then said, "Okay, I think I get it. Your friends are afraid I'm going to steal you, so we should make it not seem that way by not kissing around them?"
Close enough.
"Um, yeah…" I replied as he walked me to the parking lot. Naruto looked around before turning to smile at me.
"But we can now, right?" He looked so excited when he said it that I'm pretty sure he still didn't get it. But his face was so happy then, I couldn't say no. So I lied again.
"Um, sure?" I hesitantly answered.
His smile became mischievous and he backed me up against the lockers in the hallway. I had this funny feeling that this shouldn't be happening, but it was only a minority. The majority was becoming exceedingly nervous. My heart beat raced and the butterflies decided to have a party in my stomach as Naruto bent his head towards me. His eyes were closed when his lips touched mine, but my eyes stayed wide open- painfully aware of the fact that we were in public and there were people probably watching us. When his lips started moving against mine, I scrunched my eyes close in an attempt to block out the public factor. But I could still hear everything. Maybe if I tried kissing him back, everything would go away except for Naruto, and I wouldn't be so…. Paranoid? Is that what I was feeling? Or was it the little minority feeling that was saying this isn't right?
My pondering ended when Naruto pulled away and continued walking, pulling me with him by grabbing onto my hand. He had a huge grin on his face when he looked back – unaware of the fact that I was uncomfortable and slightly indecisive.
When we got to my car, he kissed me again, and this time I kissed him back – hoping to drive away the nagging in my stomach. It worked – the kissing back thing – the nagging turned into a soft buzzing. Especially when his hands took a hold of my waist and my arms went around his neck. It took a couple of seconds, but I finally found myself enjoying the kiss. I have to admit, I didn't really know what I was doing – but it seemed that Naruto liked it. Though throughout the whole kiss, I wondered if this is what our relationship would be based on.
And I was relieved when my cell phone rang. It was my dad telling me that he was going to work late that night and I could heat up some pizzas in the freezer for dinner. When I hung up, it seemed Naruto wanted to continue what we started – so I pretended that my dad wanted me home early and that's why he called. Naruto believed me and gave me a peck for a goodbye. I got into my car and drove home, turning on the radio to distract me from my thoughts.
So dating Naruto isn't all that I thought it would be. But it was only the beginning, right? And at least I have him, and I'm not just flirting with him, right?
