THIS IS THE CONCLUSION TO THE MATTER. THERE WILL BE NOTHING AFTER THIS. STOP ADDING THIS TO YOUR STORY ALERTS.
The parts that were written from Sakura's perspective were written by Josiah/Versatz. I claim not ownership over them and seek only to place them here as a testament as to what happened after my idiocy.
Sakura blanked out for about half a second before her heart began beating quite rapidly. She opened her mouth to try and say something but ended up looking at the ground. She wanted to answer, but she couldn't; she kept her mouth shut. Half of her wanted to believe that this was some sort of joke, but she knew that this was the real thing.
She realized by now that she had spent over 5 minutes staring at her shoes and not saying anything. "I'm...really sorry Naruto. I have to go home for now." The pink head broke into a run even when she meant not to. It wasn't like her. On the way home, she tried really hard to drown out the ringing presence of Naruto's confession, opening her music book to try and write down a couple of notes for her homework, but she couldn't.
Getting off the bus, Sakura entered her house and ignored her parents saying hello to her, and plopped in front of her computer. At once she opened up a word processor and tried to do her homework again, pausing very frequently to get drinks and use the washroom. Eventually, she decided to sit and decide. She knew she was treating this very logically and very technically, but there was no helping it. She was just like that. She at once began to pray, because God always had an answer, even if it wasn't her answer.
She thought about it long and hard, listening to Bump of Chicken at the same time, and twirling her pencil. Her heart was still beating really rapidly as she searched hard within herself. She brain dumped on her computer, trying to write a response, although her writing style was nothing like her own.
Eventually, praying one last time before she picked up the phone, she called Naruto. Before he opened his mouth (which Sakura knew he would do) she spoke.
"Naruto, I really treasure our friendship, and I don't want it to change. To be frank, These few years I've spent with you have made me very happy. But I don't feel that...that I'm ready for this kind of relationship. I'm...really sorry Naruto."
She waited for his response as silence pervaded the room and seemed to add some weight to her still beating heart.
–
Naruto smirked. He had been right, but it was a sad kind. He took a breath and answered. "Yeah. I know," he said. "I'm not ready either. It had just been...weighing on my mind a lot recently and well, heh, Kakashi was very persistent." He paused and considered what to say next. "I was originally going to tell you when we graduated, but... again, Kakashi convinced me otherwise." Naruto looked around his room as he waited for the reply. He was sad, but he had been ready for it. It wasn't like it could have been any other way. He was glad that Sakura agreed with him that it would not change anything. Their friendship meant the world to him, and he didn't want anything petty like 'love' break it. The rejection hurt, like all rejections should, but he didn't regret it. No matter what Kakashi had said to him to convince him, Naruto had been the one that had decided this course of action and should therefore take the consequences. – Sakura had heard Naruto's breath and response and smirked (knowing Naruto probably did the same thing.)
"Thanks for hearing me out, and thanks for understanding. I've got to go now"
"Okay. See you on monday!"
"See ya!"
Sakura hung up and the beating ceased almost instantly. She grinned and stared around her room. On her shelf sat the little bottle of pink sand that Naruto had bought her from Okinawa, along with the seashell strap. Next to it was the kunai and shuriken she had gotten for christmas earlier that year. She smiled as nostalgia filled her up. Her eyes eventually wandered to the surface of her desk, where the CALM book and binder sat opened. Next to it was the AP English textbook she had to read.
What a way to ruin nostalgia, Sakura thought. =3=
Yeah. That's the end. That is what happened.