Lucky Charm

by EikoDoll

Chapter Four: Your Boyfriend's a Loser

Naruto didn't know what disturbed him more.

The fact that Sakura Haruno, the most beautiful, yet most horrifying girl he's ever known, was standing right across of him, outside of his apartment...

Or the fact that she just asked him to be her boyfriend.

"I don't think I heard you right-"

"Oh, shut up. Yes you did." she glared, revealing the impatience in her eyes.

"Well you're not gonna get a boyfriend with that attitude-"

"I don't have time for this, all right?" Sakura continued to glare at him. "If I'm not home by the time Tsuande is, she's gonna kill me. So are you going to be my boyfriend or what?"

The pressure was on.

Although Naruto already knew his answer. "I'm gonna say noooo." he said without any form of regret. "And I'm also gonna assume you only want me to be your boyfriend because of that weird luck thing you made up in your imagination. And even if it wasn't about that, I'd still choose to date a cucumber over you."

Sakure threw him a bizarre look.

"Because I hate cucumbers." he bluntly replied.

The girl simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Listen, I'm gonna level with you..."

Naruto raised his eyebrow when he noticed the strain in her voice.

"I..." she struggled to think of the right words. "...need you."

Time suddenly froze.

Sakura Haruno needed him? Naruto's eyes widened when she made that...unbelievable statement. Nobody ever needed him.

"Why?" this time he was serious.

"Because..." she started. "I can't pass this year without you."

Naruto leaned against the frame of the door with his arms crossed. "I don't get it. Why don't you just do what normal people in your situation would do: study."

Sakura sighed defeated. "I would, but I'm so distracted these days..."

Naruto found a small hint of sadness in her eyes. "Distracted by what?"

There was no answer.

Although deep down, Naruto knew exactly what distracted her. Everyone knew about Sasuke Uchiha breaking up with the most beautiful girl in school. Sakura could try and hide it all she wants; it was pretty obvious she was heartbroken.

Still, Naruto couldn't help but mentally criticize how emotionally weak she was.

"And Tsunade threatened to sell my car and then there's summer school and ugh!" Sakura stomped her foot like a child.

The blue eyed boy cringed. He knew all too well about the horrors of summer school...

"Fine." he muttered grudgingly, not entirely sure why he was going along with this.

Halting in her rampage, Sakura stared up at him (for he was quite tall) and gaped. "So you're really going to-"

"On one condition."

Oh, she knew there had to be a catch!

"Apologize to me." his tone was dead serious.

Sakura frowned at him. "What did I ever do to you?"

Naruto threw her a nasty look. "You mean besides ignoring my existence your entire life?"

She closed her mouth when she realized she was gaping again. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry." she imagined hitting his head with a shovel, and throwing his dead body into a sea of sharks.

He didn't look convinced. "Say it like you mean it." he demanded.

"Oh, come on, Naruto-"

The boy merely stood there with arms crossed, patiently waiting.

Sakura sighed. "I'm really, really, really sorry for ignoring you. I was stupid and shallow and I was only thinking of my reputation. I'm sorry." this time, she was sincere, so Naruto let it go.

"Apology accepted."

"Great!" Sakura smiled in accomplishment. "So I'll meet you tomorrow-"

"I wasn't finished." Naruto basically rained a parade on her victory.

Sakura looked at him in disbelief. "But I apologized-"

"I know. But that wasn't the apology I was looking for."

She looked thoroughly confounded.

"I wanted you to apologize for what you did to me back in the first grade." he frowned at her.

The pink haired girl eyed him. "What did I do?"

"Figure it out!" Naruto hastily slammed the door in her face, the second time today.

Sakura pounded on his door. "But I can't remember that far back!"

"If I can remember you can!" he shouted behind his door.

"Give me a break!"

"Not until you apologize!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You don't even know what you're apologizing for!"

"Arrggghh! You're such a dick!"

"That just makes me not want to be your boyfriend even more!"

Sakura kicked his door (which resulted a bruised toe) after realizing Tsunade was probably pacing in her room, thinking of ways to scold her when she gets home.

After mentally scaring Sakura to death, Tsunade forced her to stay in her room without any dinner. That was all fine with Sakura, she couldn't eat when so many things plagued her mind. She fell on her fluffy bed and lay comfortably on her stomach, deep in thought.

First grade...

Ugh!

What made that idiot think she could remember something that far back?

What exactly did she do to make him hold a grudge over her this long?

Was this the reason why he refused to be her boyfriend when so many others would give their right arm to be in his position?

Why was she thinking about this when she could use this time to study?

So many questions, so little time.

If she can't figure this out by tomorrow morning, her life will definitely be over. Sakura wasn't sure what kind of sick, mind-twisting test they had in store for her. If only she listened in class. Yet, there was still Kakashi's pop quizzes.

Think, Sakura, think!

She was completely stumped. There's absolutely no way she could remember one event in her life that happened over ten years ago. She couldn't even remember what she had for breakfast this morning...

Ino!

That name popped into Sakura's head the instant she knew she was in "deep shit". Ino had the best memory anyone could ever wish for! Perfect.

Sakura quickly speed dialed her friend's number on her cellphone and waited impatiently.

"What's up, Sakura? I was just about to call you. I gots me some juicy gossip!" the voice squealed scandalously. "So you wanna know?"

"Actually I called because I needed to ask you something...and yes, I wanna know." Sakura muttered lastly.

"Ask away...and that Shiho-dork asked that Shikamaru-lazyass out, but he rejected her and my sources say she got drunk and completely tattooed her ass!"

"What! No way! They seem like the perfect couple. What kind of tattoo did she - NO. This isn't why I called, Ino! There are more important things to discuss." Sakura pushed away the temptation and focused on the real situation.

She heard Ino gasp. "Oh my gosh! So you already heard that Kiba-idiot tried to break into Hinata's room and steal her panties?"

Sakura gasped too. "Oh hell no! Are you serious? Did Hinata-" Sakura literally slapped herself. "INO! This is important. I don't have time for gossip!"

"That's very insulting, Sakura. It takes time and effort for me to get juicy stuff like this."

After silently grumbling to herself, Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry."

"That's all right." Ino calmly replied. "Now what's so important you had to interrupt my special time of gossip?"

"Okay, so here's the thing." said Sakura. "You have the best memory I've ever known in a human being. You're almost supernatural."

"True. What's your point?"

"Well..." Sakura was hesitant. "I did something to Naruto Uzumaki that sorta pissed him off, right? All I know is that it happened in the first grade. What exactly did I do?"

"Naruto Uzumaki? That weird-ass loser?"

"That's him."

"Ha! Nothin' much. Besides totally humiliating and ruining his life!" Ino laughed. "I mean, I've done some pretty mean stuff back in my day, but you went total crazy bitch on his ass! I remember you going out of your way to make sure EVERYBODY hated him."

Sakura lay there completely lost. "Why would I do something like that?"

"Oh goshness, Sakura. Did you really forget what happened? Memories like ruining somebody's life doesn't just disappear."

"Come on, Ino. Tell me what happened." Sakura begged.

The girl on the other line sighed. "Okay, well do you at least remember the day you lost that lucky charm of yours?"

Sakura gasped. "Of course I do! I was devastated. That lucky charm was, like, my entire life."

"And do you remember accusing Naruto of stealing that lucky charm?"

Complete silence.

"So anyway, sensei picked the three of us to stay in after class and clean the classroom. I remember the look on Naruto's face when he found out he was partnered with Sakura-chyan." Ino teased. She didn't hear a response out of her green eyed friend, so then continued. "And that's the last time you ever saw that lucky charm. Until, well, yeah."

Mentally slapping herself, Sakura groaned into her pillow. "That's right. I figured you didn't steal it because you're my best friend, so I placed all the blame on Naruto."

"Bingo!"

"And that's when I told everyone to stay away from him because he was a thief and a liar."

"Correct!"

"And I started spreading nasty rumors about him."

"Yup!"

"And told people if they hung around him, I'd make their lives a living hell."

"Wow that was harsh." Ino continued to laugh nonetheless. "But it worked. Because of you, Naruto's the most hated guy in school, not to mention he's never had a friend since then."

Sakura lifted her head and found herself looking in the mirror with grief-stricken eyes. "I'm a monster."

"A pretty monster." her friend assured.

"I can't believe I did that! God, it's true what they say: children are cruel."

"Amen to that."

"I totally blamed him for something he didn't do-"

"Totally."

"when it was actually all YOUR fault!"

Ino fell silent for a moment. "I thought we got passed this!"

"In fifth grade I realized YOU were the one who stole my lucky charm, because I found it hidden away in the secret department of your Powerpuff girl backpack!"

"Now that you brought it up, what were you doing looking into my personal stuff anyway?"

She was ignored. "And poor, little Naruto took all the blame." Sakura looked away at the mirror in disgust. "I mean, who knows. Maybe if I wasn't such a little bitch back then, he'd actually be...popular."

Ino gasped. "That's a lie!"

Deep down, Sakura knew it was true. The students now only saw him as he was in first grade: a complete outcast she created with her evil, twisted, satanic mind. If Ino had confessed, and Naruto was excused from the blame, Sakura had no doubt in her mind the boy would be really popular.

First of all, he was quite handsome. Almost Sasuke Uchiha level of handsome, almost...and that's saying something.

Secondly, he's actually a pretty funny guy. His pranks are always hilarious! People just couldn't see it that way because they were only concerned about the loser behind those gut-busting pranks.

Lastly, his personality...he wasn't stoic and completely emotionless like Sasuke. And he wasn't annoying and hyperactive like he used to be. Naruto was pretty cool at times. Mix that in with a bit of jokster, and you got the perfect guy people would kill to befriend.

Sakura hung up without even realizing it (which would earn her suffering by the wrath of Ino tomorrow).

Her face fell solemnly into her hands. "He was alone all his life. And it's all my fault." she lifted herself up and looked at her window with determination in her eyes. "I have to apologize."

Naruto yawned and stretched his arms. He grudgingly got up from his bed and made his way to the door hearing someone knocking very loudly.

"Yeah, all right. I'm coming." he yawned again.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a girl with pink hair and glistening green eyes standing in front of him.

Naruto fully opened his eyes in bewilderment. "What are you doing here at this hour?" he lifted his head to look up at a clock hanging above the door. "It's almost 2:00 a.m." he grumbled.

"I have to hurry before Tsunade finds out I'm gone, but I just wanted to say-"

"Dammit Haruno! I was dreaming about ramen-"

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know if I can forgive you for ruining my perfect dream-"

"I'm sorry for what happened in the first grade."

Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

Naruto almost didn't care that his perfect dream had been utterly ruined.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

"So, I guess you remembered, huh?" Naruto immediately caught the sad expression on her face. "Well, anyway, apology accepted."

Sakura blinked. Her frown deepened when she saw a grin appear on his face. "Really? That's it?"

The boy shrugged.

She just couldn't understand.

"Why do you forgive me so easily? I'd be furious! I don't blame you for hating me all this time."

"Hey, you genuinely apologized. How can I hate you for that?" he smiled reassuringly.

He sure was the number one most unpredictable guy Sakura has ever met. She was definitely wrong about him after all these years.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto grinned. "You already said that."

Sakura smiled at him. "Just wanted to say it again." Suddenly, a very sly smirk appeared on his lips. "So about the boyfriend thing..."

He almost forgot about that. Naruto gulped nervously. "Uh, yeah. I guess I'll have to go through with it now, huh?"

"Deal's a deal." Sakura held out a hand.

Naruto didn't know why, but he felt like he was making a deal with the devil. He stared into her eyes and saw an evil glint.

He WAS making a deal with the devil.

For a moment, he stood there watching the hand she offered. Naruto finally worked up the nerve and shook her hand in return.

Why did he have a very strange feeling that he was making a big mistake?

He couldn't believe he was doing this. If he were himself a week ago, he'd probably kill himself for doing something so reckless...

Reckless was his middle name, but this was an entirely higher level of recklessness!

Being Sakura Haruno's pretend boyfriend was no joking matter.

Naruto leaned against the brick wall where he first encountered her with his 'lucky' kiss. This is where they would officially meet from now on.

"Sorry I'm late." he heard a voice coming near him. Naruto turned his head to find a girl sloppily dressed in her uniform and out of breath. "I forgot to dress myself this morning, so I had to turn back."

A very small blush appeared on his face.

And Sakura immediately noticed this. "I wasn't naked, you know!"

"I-I know!" Naruto sputtered. Before Sakura said that, he actually did picture her naked. This time, his face burned furiously.

"Why would I go naked on the street!"' she imagined feeding him to the sharks again.

"I wouldn't be surprised, you DO kiss guys out of nowhere!"

"I only kissed you for the luck!"

For a while, they both looked away in embarrassment. Sakura interrupted the awkwardness with a cough. "So, are we going to school or what?"

"I still don't get it."

"Oh, what now?"

"Why do we have to pretend we're going out? I mean, wouldn't it be less embarrassing if I just secretly kissed you somewhere before every class?" he flushed at his words.

Sakura also flushed. "Because that would be too suspicious! Do you have any idea how many people follow me around all day?" Naruto was about to say how conceited that just sounded, but decided against it for the sake of their newly, somewhat dysfunctional friendship. "Of course it's going to be embarrassing, but pretending you're my boyfriend makes the situation a little more convenient." she continued to flush.

"What about your reputation?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I could scratch my butt in public and still be the most popular girl in school. Don't you worry about my reputation." she sternly patted his back.

Oh, how Naruto wanted to loudly point out her narcissism.

"So, are you ready?"

Naruto grumbled under his breath. "Yeah."

"Good."

Having already walked ahead of her, he almost didn't notice she wasn't following him.

He turned back and frowned. "What's the hold up?"

He heard her cough nervously and look at him, apparently very flustered. "Um. I was thinking maybe you could, er, hold my hand."

Naruto was absolutely dumbfounded. "You want to hold my hand?"

It looked like he offended her somehow. "It's completely logical! People will automatically assume we're dating when they see us holding hands and won't questions us as much. It makes life a hell of a lot easier."

"You sure like taking the easy way out of life." he threw her an odd look.

"Just take my hand." Sakura demanded.

He hesitantly offered her his hand, and she aggressively grabbed it.

As the two 'lovers' walked down the road, they felt expectantly uncomfortable.

"Gaaawd. Your hands are sweating a river." Naruto complained.

"That's all you, Sweaty McSweater." Sakura fired back.

"I see couples holding hands all the time. Still don't understand why. It's so fucking uncomfortable." his hand fidgeted.

"That's because we're not a real couple. People who are in love just..." Naruto waited for Sakura's answer, but she only looked away bitterly. "...it's just easier when you're in love."

He felt a little bad for bringing it up.

They continued walking until they were a few minutes closer to school.

"It's actually not that bad now. I think I'm getting the hang of it." Naruto assured her.

"Really?"

"I mean, your hands aren't so sweaty anymore so-"

"Oh stop trying to blame me for your inhuman hand sweating ability."

"Denial." he sang, throwing her a mischievous grin.

Sakura couldn't help but grin back.

Ino choked on her sugar-free granola bar.

"A-Are you sure?" Hinata stuttered in disbelief. "Maybe you heard wrong."

A girl in her junior year jumped with excitement. "That's what I thought too! But it's true, because I actually saw it myself-"

"That makes perfect sense." Ino interrupted her. "I knew something was off when Sakura called me to talk about him of all people."

Hinata had a feeling this conversation should be private. "Do you mind?" she shooed the unwanted girl with her pearly eyes.

"I don't mind at all!" said the overjoyed junior. It was a dream come true for practically anyone to be in the same group as the four most popular girls in school. Her dream finally came true!

"She means leave, idiot." Ino glared at her.

Her dreams were crushed.

When Tenten felt sure the girl was out of hearing range, she huddled in. "So what's the scoop, Ino?"

Her blond friend didn't waste any time. "Okay, so Sakura calls me up at 1:00 in the morning-"

"What were you doing up at 1:00 on a school night?" Hinata asked curiously.

Ino glared at her friend for the interruption. "Ugh. That's so not important, but I was studying for your information." she lied. She was actually reading Pokemon fanfiction online. "Gosh, Hinata. What's with the 411?"

Hinata looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry. Go on."

"Well anyway, so what happened was-"

"Hey guys."

The three of them froze.

Slowly turning around,

they found the rumor true.

Sakura towered over her friends raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "Hey! Are you gossiping without me?" she accused. Their jaws dropped when they saw a certain someone's hand securely attached to their best friend. "Oh, you guys already know Naruto." she said nudging the boy attached to her. "We used to bad-mouth him a lot, remember?"

Naruto silently snorted.

"What's up." he greeted in a mutter, seeming very uncomfortable with his situation.

Her friends were apparently still in shock.

RRRIIIIIING!

"That's the bell. Guess I better get going." she walked away, pulling Naruto with her. "See you guys at lunch." she waved bye.

Tenten opened her mouth, but words were nonexistent. Even Ino, the chatterbox, didn't know what to say.

What did that loser do to their best friend!

A/N: thanks for the reviews! hope you enjoyed this chapter :) and just in case I ever forget, I have an announcement to make...after I update the fifth chapter (which will probably be in a week or two or three) I will officially begin the hiatus. I don't know when I'll update again...it won't be that long...I'm planning a three month hiatus...more or less...depending on how bored I am...I just need to focus on school right now.

aaaand yeah! that's about it