Chapter 21

Chapter 9

Sakura's POV

Oh my God. The rain still hasn't stopped. Well, that's not entirely true because the rain would be on and off – though very frequently on. The weather reporter said that Jacksonville and the area around it was experiencing the tail of a hurricane that was building up and going on somewhere else in Florida. This made me very unhappy, because that meant wearing my hair up most of the time, or constantly straightening it. Psh- I hate my curly hair.

Naruto met me at my locker just before lunch started that Tuesday. He gave me one kiss (though it was only a peck) and asked me to sit with his group that lunch. I said yes, not wanting to be rude – even though my crush on him is fading, I'm still going out with him and I can't be mean or anything.

I was a little nervous at the beginning, because it was a whole different group of people – and Sasuke was there too. Considering I had completely embarrassed myself in front of him three days ago, I had the right to be nervous. Especially because the position Naruto sat down in, left only enough room for one seat left – and it was beside Sasuke as well.

Despite my nervousness, I ended up enjoying the group that Naruto hung out with, and I also noticed quite a few things during that lunch too.

One: My bad shit list completely demonizes the people on it. Just because they do some things I am against, doesn't mean that they are all bitchy and mean. A lot of the people there seemed to be really nice.

Two: I take back part of my previous statement – some people just really scare me. This one kid, Gaara, just sat there, not eating anything and not talking. And it freaked the hell out of me when his eyes – which are a very intense blue green – stared at me for like, a whole minute. Maybe if I got to know him better would he not be so creepy to me…

Three: No matter how much I tried to avoid it, I noticed Sasuke was wearing Contradiction – the cologne I had spilt the last time I was at his place.

Four: Sasuke actually talks. Like in conversations. With people. Being social.

Surprising much?

Five: Naruto likes to show off in front of everybody – for example, he would put his arm around me and sometimes draw me in for a quick kiss. I think this annoyed the people sitting with us, because now and then – especially after Naruto showed PDA towards me – I found Sasuke (and sometimes others – though mostly Sasuke) watching me.

Six: Sasuke's fanclub follows him everywhere. When he went to go get lunch, they followed, when he got back to the table, they followed, even when he left for the washroom, they followed. I also think I might have seen Ino somewhere in the fanclub crowd. And ugh, Karin. I can't believe Ino would even think about being in a group with Karin, let alone a fan club.

So excluding the last two points, I had a very good time sitting with them, so when Naruto asked me to sit with him at lunch again the next day, I agreed. But I did receive a somber glance from Hinata before I left. I promised myself I would fix that problem soon.

On Thursday, after I got home from school, I got a call from my dad concerning my car. Apparently it was officially broken and it would be pointless to get it repaired. And when I asked my dad, "How will I get around now? Will I get a new car?" All he said was, "We'll see." My mom told me that I could continue with the way things were, and I might have given her the finger when she wasn't looking.

I was kept up all night due to my parents fighting over my vehicle mobility; I don't think Samuel got any sleep either because he was very restless. This meant that I was very tired in the morning – which wasn't good because I had to go to Sasuke's later that day, and me being tired usually leads to me being embarrassed.

Friday was our Remembrance Day assembly, since the eleventh was on a Saturday. I was about to sit with Ino and my usual group, when Naruto called me over to sit with him. I was torn between the two, but Ino said she wouldn't mind if I sat with him, so I didn't feel so bad about leaving her and Hinata.

During lunch that day, I sat with Naruto's group again. I was informed by the blonde himself that Sasuke and he had soccer practice after school (I didn't even know they were on the team) and since I didn't have a car, I would have to wait for them to drive me.

So at the end of school, I made my way to the back field where the soccer nets were to watch them have practice. Thankfully it was overcast and not raining, but the ground was still wet, so I had to sit on my rain jacket – and just in case it started raining again – under a tree. Unthankfully, Sasuke's fanclub decided to watch them too, and (though I made sure there was quite a bit of distance between me and the club) I could hear their annoying giggles and swooning. I had to restrain myself from shouting 'Shut the fuck up!' to them.

When their practice started, I decided I would very much like to watch them play more often, because when they had a scrimmage between the team, they organized themselves into shirts and skins.

Sasuke and Naruto were on the skins team.

And though I would have much rather focused on there bare chests, I decided to try and pay attention, and maybe see how good our school's team was.

I discovered that Sasuke played centre forward most of the time (though he sometimes played the forward wings), and he was very good at soccer…and very hot too. But we already knew that.

Naruto was mainly the goal tender, though he did switch to fullback (defender) a couple of times, and he was just as good as Sasuke.

Even though I enjoyed watching the team play soccer, not just because Sasuke and Naruto were shirtless (…okay maybe that's a lie…), and even though the fanclub was very annoying, I found myself really tired due to the lack of sleep from the previous night. So I rearranged my jacket, and lay down, telling myself that I would only rest my eyes for a bit.

But I ended up falling asleep anyways. Because that's what happens every time you just 'rest your eyes'.

When I woke up, I noticed exactly eight things.

One: I was slightly wet.

Two: It was raining.

Three: Something was nudging me in the side – probably the thing that woke me up.

Four: Sasuke was nudging me in the side with his foot.

Five: Sasuke was still topless.

Six: Sasuke was still topless and very wet.

Seven: Sasuke was still topless, very wet, and covered with mud and grass.

Eight: It was the hottest thing I've ever seen.

I blushed very hard and slowly sat up, mentally applauding my choice to sit under a tree – I wasn't that wet.

"Practice is over." He stated, his eyes on me. I nodded, looked around, and then asked,

"Where is Naruto?"

He answered after a couple of seconds of blankly staring at me, "Went to put the equipment away."

"Oh," I replied stupidly, and he started walking away towards the school. "Where are you going?" I asked jogging to catch up with him while shielding my hair from the rain with my jacket.

"Change rooms." He stated in an obvious tone.

"Oh," I said again, and then kept silent.

I waited patiently outside the change room for Naruto and Sasuke to shower and get dressed. As I waited, I couldn't get the image of Sasuke when he was all shirtless and rugged and wet out of my mind. And as these images kept appearing, they slowly morphed from Sasuke outside after practice to Sasuke in the change room, then to Sasuke getting changed, then to Sasuke in the shower…

I hit my head with my hands, hoping to clear the images that I shouldn't be thinking up, but they wouldn't go away, so I kept hitting my head.

But then Naruto and Sasuke came out of the change room, and I quickly put my hands down to my side, on tenterhooks that they didn't see me acting all insane and hitting my head. I believe Naruto didn't see, but Sasuke had stared at me for a long time – so it was quite possible that he had noticed.

I rode in Naruto's car on the way to Sasuke's. I had to admit, it isn't as exciting or fun in his Lexis than it is Sasuke's Maserati Diablo partially because I don't feel like very much of a Bond girl. And Naruto is a lot more of a scarier driver than Sasuke, who drives perfectly.

The time at Sasuke's turned out a lot better than last time, mostly because I forced myself to touch only the things that needed to be touched ( like my pencils and paper), and also the fact that Naruto was there made everything socially easier (work-wise, he seemed to make things more difficult).

I got a ride home from Naruto after we finished, and he gave me only a slight peck, and then said goodbye. I think he might start feeling the way I'm feeling very soon – not much of a crush, but more of a friend, maybe even sibling.

That night, loud noises woke me up. Frantic whispers, zippers, and footsteps ensued before a slammed front door, a slammed car door, and a car engine.

The next morning I figured out that the noises came from my mom, who had left in the middle of the night. Some mom she is. I also figured out that she used a taxi – which is unfair, because if I'm not aloud to use one, she shouldn't be aloud to use one either.

My dad seemed upset after she left, so I spent the whole Saturday with him (Samuel was a little attention deprived and angry because of it). Even if watching golf was a little boring, I did it anyways to make my dad happy.

Saturday night, Ino invited me over for a sleepover, and I cheated – I used a taxi to get there. My mom seemed to have disappeared again, so it's not like I would get in trouble. And instead of having Ino drive me home on Sunday, I took a taxi again, just to make a statement.

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Monday was weird, because when I got to school, Naruto didn't meet me at my locker. And I didn't see him in the hallways either.

I then figured out he stayed home sick, because he called me on my cell phone at lunch. His voice was very stuffed up, and he told me that he probably got sick because of the soccer practice in the rain. I told him he to get better soon, and then I said my goodbyes really quickly because I was receiving a very disheartening stare from Hinata.

I had sat with my original group of friends that day, because Naruto wasn't there, and it felt like I hadn't talked to them in ages (though I could have done without Lee being Lee, and Choji eating my lunch, and the really sad vibes coming from Hinata…).

And getting back to Hinata, every time I tried to talk to her, she'd answer very shortly, and she basically avoided me. She would only answer if it was necessary, and wouldn't start any conversations. I knew she liked Naruto, but I never knew it would affect our relationship that way. If I knew she and I wouldn't be friendly to one another, than I never would have agreed on the date in the first place. I decided I would talk to her about it tomorrow – there is no point in losing a friend over a silly boy.

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You know what's strange? I felt like I could actually breathe. I mean, it had only been one day, but when Naruto isn't there, I don't feel like I'm pressured to behave like a normal person. Well, I do act like myself, but it seems I always have to act happy and stuff, because Naruto is a happy guy.

But you know who isn't very happy? Hinata.

She's always sad when I am around, and I even caught her acting normally when she didn't know I was there. I don't think she was faking the sadness, I think the idea of me being there is a constant reminder of her having no chance with Naruto. But I think otherwise. You know the saying, "opposites attract"? I think that it describes how Naruto and Hinata would be. I think that Naruto would be absolutely engrossed by Hinata.

But it didn't go well when I tried to talk to her on Tuesday. She had excused herself to go to the washroom, and I decided to go with her, so we could talk more privately.

I started off saying "Hinata we need to talk." She replied by, "Really? I think otherwise," except she stuttered when she said it.

When I continued the conversation, she was really cold – and Hinata is the nicest person I know, she was never one to be mean. Well she wasn't mean; she was just really dry and uncooperative. I ended up getting frustrated and said the worst thing I could have said, and that was, "It's not my fault he likes me more than you – I mean he doesn't even know you exist."

I really didn't mean it, and I felt really bad afterwards. And now, we aren't even on speaking terms. Well, I try to speak, but she just ignores me.

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Oh my god. My mom came back on Wednesday, and for some insanely strange reason, she found out that I used a taxi. I don't know how, but she did, and I was in so much trouble. Like, I bet the neighbors could hear us yelling. It was chaos.

And oh man, my dad, he tried to stand up for me, but things kind of lost control, and I was completely shut out. The argument was turned from me against my mom, to my dad against my mom. Then my mom got so angry, she pushed my dad – well it was kind of a half-punch half-push, and it looked like it hurt to, because he stumbled back a bit.

The push made my dad's anger completely fade. He just stopped and stared. Then they both glanced at me, because I had seen the whole thing – I was close to tears, because there arguments never got that bad. My dad then silently went up the stairs and I heard the door to his office slam. I soon followed, except I went to my room (where Samuel was hiding under the covers) – but I also slammed my door. I don't know what my mom did then, because she was very quiet. I did hear a door close upstairs somewhere, so I think she went to her room – even though it should be both of my parents' room.

That night, I really couldn't sleep. My mom stayed in the house though, I made sure because I checked to see if she was in her room when was taking Samuel down to the kitchen, because I forgot to feed him earlier that evening (he didn't eat anything though). And even though knowing that she hadn't disappeared is comforting, it still didn't help me get to sleep.

So I gathered my blanket and pillow, and went downstairs with Samuel sleepily following me to where my dad was sleeping on the couch. I set up a make-shift bed out of the love-seat cushions, and slept on the floor beside him. Though the floor isn't the most comfortable thing, I was still able to get to sleep.

In the morning when I was trying to feed Samuel and when he refused to eat anything, I looked at him – like really looked at him. I knew he was skinny, but I never really realized until now that he was thin to the extreme – like all skin and bones. And it made me frustrated because he wouldn't eat even though he was super unhealthy. Like, he almost looked ugly that's how skinny he was. I mean, I thought only humans had these types of problems.

"Stupid cat," I said and tossed the uneaten can of cat food to the other side of the room and stormed off, angry (I had to come back and clean it up though because I knew my parents would get mad at me if I didn't).

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Sasuke POV

It had been six days since Sakura and Naruto had worked on their project at his house. That meant that it was Thursday and they had to come over again. Even though Naruto wasn't there, Sakura still had to come because their presentation was the next day.

For some reason, Sasuke didn't feel annoyed that she was coming – even though she did the weirdest things, she snooped (don't think he didn't know how the cologne spilled), and she rambled on forever. He was almost looking forward to her coming – but he told himself that the only reason he would be looking forward to paper towel girl, would be to fluster her – because he hadn't done that in a while.

And it also didn't annoy him that she had to get a ride with him to his house, because when she was in the car, it gave him a reason to kind of show off his driving.

As they got to his house and set up their work space in the library, he started to think of ways to fluster Sakura – and it had to be a big one, to make up for the past 12 days of non-flustering (……he wasn't counting the days…he just had a good memory…).

Just as an idea formed in his head, Sarah ran into the library in a pink ruffled bathing suit and an innocent look on her face.

"Mommy said I could have friends over today, but mommy and daddy aren't here right now and we want to go swimming. Can you be a life guard person please? I will love you for ever and ever!" she said, and turned on her 'cute' charm.

"It's going to rain." He stated and resumed working. But Sarah insisted.

"But it's not raining now. It's only really cloudy! And if it rains I promise, promise, promise, that we'll go straight inside! I promise!" she pleaded.

Sasuke stayed silent, but flickered his eyes to Sakura. She had a smile on her face, though she continued writing out the presentation they were preparing. He then turned back to Sarah, and was about to speak, but the six-year old cut him off.

"Sakura can come too! You can work outside! Please? Mommy said I could," she begged, and even clasped her hands together in prayer form.

Sasuke stayed silent, thinking if he should go or not. He finally nodded because Sarah was already in her bathing suit and it was likely that her friends were too. Sarah 'hoorayed' and ran out of the library, where a couple seconds later, a bunch of 'hooraying' girls were heard.

Sasuke gathered the materials he needed and kind of waited for Sakura – 'kind of' meaning he took longer than usual to get ready so she wouldn't have to rush. He led Sakura outside to the backyard, and noticed that she was wide-eyed and agape as she looked around. He also noticed that Sarah and her friends were already standing at the water's edge with floaty toys and goggles on.

Sarah was in the midst of explaining the pool rules, and when she was finished, she looked over to Sasuke, who sat down in one of the patio chairs. Sasuke nodded, and Sarah prepared herself, then jumped into the pool – her band of friends quickly following.

Sakura seated herself across from Sasuke in another patio chair, so that there was a table between them where they could work. They were making a part for Naruto in the presentation when the temperature started to become cooler, and the wind stronger. Sasuke found himself staring at Sakura every time she shivered, all the while forming a fluster-plan in his head.

But their outside time was cut short when it started to rain. The two teenagers quickly gathered up their work once more while the smaller girls shrieked and quickly climbed out. When the whole group got inside, Sarah had asked Sasuke to make them all hot chocolate. Sasuke refused at first but after seeing the smaller girls' chattering teeth and after hearing Sakura's, "Oh look at them, they're freezing," he accepted, all the while rolling his eyes and sighing heavily. Besides, Sarah would only whine if he didn't make them anything.

Sarah and her friends ran up to her room while Sasuke and Sakura entered the kitchen. Sasuke was a little annoyed that Sakura had followed him (he was always annoyed whenever someone saw him doing something for Sarah), but it was his house and she probably didn't want to be left alone – also, she offered to help make the drinks.

The kitchen was large, though empty at the moment – the house staff were only on kitchen duty for breakfast lunch and dinner. There were a variety of appliances – all in stainless steel – and these included a large oven unit and a huge vertical door fridge and freezer. Sasuke noticed that Sakura's eyes went wide once again as she took in her surroundings.

As Sasuke put on and waited for the water to boil, he noticed that Sakura had become more confident. It was probably because he hadn't flustered her in a long time and she was starting to feel more comfortable. But Sasuke didn't like that – he wanted to see her blush and to hear her ramble because it was just that amusing. And taking in her position – which was leaning against the freezer door, he finally got an idea on how to fluster her – big time.

"Drink?" he gauchely asked, breaking the silence that was probably awkward for Sakura.

"Um, no I'm fine," she answered blushing, and a little confused that Sasuke was asking to do something for her.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted as he walked over to the fridge, which was right beside the freezer.

Sakura seemed to freeze the moment he got within a foot of her, and her blush became heavier. Sasuke suppressed a smirk as he opened the fridge door, brought out the tomato juice, and set it on the counter beside the large appliance, and then closed the door – but he didn't remove his hands from the juice or the door handle. This caused him to be in a position where he was standing right in front of Sakura – only inches away – and with a hand on either side of her.

Sakura's reaction was immediate. Her face went the reddest he had seen so far, and her rambling turned on instantly.

"Okay, maybe I'll have something to drink, I mean maybe not tomato juice because I don't like tomato juice, not that tomato juice is bad or anything, I meant no offense in that, I'm sorry if I did, but water is fine for me, I don't need anything fancy, I could get the cup myself – actually I don't know where the cups are, do you? Well of course you do, it's your house and…" though her speech kept speeding up and her rambling kept on going, Sasuke ignored it.

Instead, his eyes flickered from her eyes to her mouth, and then back again. And as he leaned in closer, her rambling got even faster. Sasuke let this smirk show, which only made her blush harder, and in the couple of seconds between his smirk and when his lips finally touched hers, her rambling went into hyper speed – though when they made contact, he effectively silenced her.

Sakura's eyes fluttered shut, though Sasuke kept his open. His mouth started to move against hers, and after some hesitation she responded almost eagerly though her hands stayed pressed against her own chest. He could feel her trembling as the kiss continued, and he wondered if adding tongue would make her hyperventilate. For the third time in a minute – a new record – Sasuke smirked, except this time against her mouth.

The whistle of the kettle brought them both back to reality – Sasuke's fluster plan did more than he expected.

He ended the kiss at the corner of her mouth, and then pushed away from the fridge to take care of the hot chocolate – leaving the flustered, blushing, embarrassed, still trembling Sakura to stay frozen in position by the fridge.

Carrying five mugs on a tray, he left the kitchen without a second look at Sakura, and found a staff member to bring the drinks to Sarah and her friends. After this, he went back to the kitchen to get his tomato juice, taking only a quick glance at the Sakura statue in front of his fridge, and made his way back to the library to continue with their presentation. Something nagged at him in the back of his mind though, when Sakura didn't return within in five minutes of the incident. The 'something' was telling him that he ruined a very easy-going, comfortable time for Sakura, and should feel guilty – but Sasuke ignored it like most times when the 'something' nagged at him.

Finally, after another minute, Sakura came back into the library and sat down beside him, still blushing. They worked silently after that, though Sasuke was still experiencing the tingle that spread throughout his whole body after he had kissed her.

And that was weird, because Sasuke had never felt that sort of tingle in such a miniscule act of kissing.

Kissing.

Just the thought of the word brought back images of what had just happened against his fridge – and those thoughts brought new ones; what would have happened, how far would they have gone if no one was in the house?

But it was paper towel girl so those thoughts were banished immediately when Sasuke realized the stupidity of them – and they were quickly followed by a swig of tomato juice to wash away any lingering ideas.

"I'm um, finished my part… uh, how… how about you?" Sakura asked nervously, resting her elbows on the table and turning her head to look at him.

Sasuke just stared at her, not saying anything. He actually wasn't finished with his part of the presentation, but he wasn't going to tell her that – not when she was only a couple of inches away from him. So instead of answering, just on this sudden impulse, he leaned down, and kissed her again.

Sakura was probably very confused at that point, and very unsure on whether to respond, or do nothing at all. But Sasuke slowly took one of his hands and held the back of her head, making it impossible for her to pull away. Tentatively, she started to respond, and this only urged the Uchiha further, as he took his other hand and placed it on her knee. Trembling hands gradually wrapped around Sasuke's neck, almost clinging to him, as the hand on her knee started to move upwards.

Sasuke knew he was losing control, but was too wrapped up in the kiss to care. But he did have enough self-restraint to stop his wandering hands – after all; this was only a plan to make Sakura flustered. Well, that's what he kept telling himself.

"Hey! You guys in the library?!" came the one and only voice of Naruto from the main hallway. Sakura immediately sprung away, though Sasuke was a little reluctant to do so.

The blonde entered the library with gusto, to see a very red Sakura and an annoyed looking Sasuke – except this didn't exactly register in his mind and he continued to speak, "I'm all better now- I came by to see if you needed any help, 'cause our presentation is soon and all." The other two teenagers in the room still didn't speak, but Naruto didn't notice. Instead, he walked over to Sakura and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. At first, Sakura turned her head away, unsure as she glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke only stared back at her – his face stoic, showing no hints of his thoughts whatsoever.

"Hey, I'm all better," Naruto said, confused that his girlfriend pulled away from him, "I'm not contagious anymore, I swear."

Sakura faked assurance and replied, "Okay," as Naruto leaned down again, and this time they really kissed, so Sakura seemed unsure of herself.

"Hey Sakura," the blonde started after he pulled away, "since when did you start eating tomatoes?"