Lucky Charm
by EikoDoll
Chapter Thirteen
Prom: The Drama Queen
"Excuse me? You're living with the hottest girl in the world and that's excruciatingly painful how?" Kiba asked with half sarcasm and half genuine curiosity.
Naruto and Kiba finished setting the last table in the gym and wiped the sweat off their foreheads.
"I already told you." the blue eyed boy grumbled under his breath and casted a regretful look at Sakura, who he watched somberly on the other side of the gym. "We broke up. And it wasn't a friendly break up either. We're back to being...the way we were."
Shino came in carrying two chairs on each arm. "Enemies." he said stoically.
"Yup." Naruto muttered.
Lee came in with the last two chairs and settled it down next to the table. "That's the last of it. Now all we have to do is organize. Come on, guys! No rest until we get this done!" he shouted with his usual youthful energy.
Naruto and Kiba groaned loudly while Shino looked like he was on the verge of sighing.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gym:
Sakura constantly stole stealth glances at a certain blond haired boy.
That jerk. How dare he stand to be in the same room as her and act like he didn't care...
"Sakura, you're ruining everything!"
She snapped her head to the voice, expecting to find a screeching, blonde female in an oversexed school uniform. To her surprise, she found a silver headed man with an unusual black mask towering over her like a skyscraper.
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei...I didn't-"
"Do I see little snowflakes on those balloons?" he abruptly interrupted. "No, no, no! This is a Vegas themed prom, not winter in wonderland! We did that last year!" he threw his arms in the air.
Sakura blinked in confusion. "But these are the only ones Ino bought."
Kakashi tapped his foot psychotically against the ground. "I swear that girl can't do anything right. Where is she? Ino! INO!" he frantically looked around. "Prom is tomorrow, people, and we're not even close to ready!" he stomped away with steam rising over his head.
"Gosh. I heard rumors about Kakashi being a drama queen the day before prom, but I didn't know it was true."
Sakura turned her head and found a tall, thin girl with dark hair wrapped neatly in two buns standing next to her. "What are you doing here?" Sakura's eyes narrowed as she pretended to work diligently on the balloons. "I thought you quit the committee."
The two stood a good distance away, not even bothering to look at each other.
Tenten smirked. "I came to lend Naruto a helping hand. And I'll do it even if it means risking my sanity being near him." her eyes fell on a spirited, bushy browed boy.
She shivered.
Sakura never understood Tenten's strong dislike for Lee, but that was hardly any of her concern. She snapped her head toward the so-called bisexual and threw her a deeply, severe glare. "Naruto doesn't need your help."
"Maybe not. But he sure didn't mind when I offered. And what do you care anyway? You guys are 'broken up'." she turned around and put on a big smile. "Hey, Naruto!" she called out and waved with enthusiasm.
Sakura saw Naruto stop his conversation with the guys and grin widely, waving back with the same amount of enthusiasm.
She inwardly gagged.
"One down, two more to go." Tenten's gaze fell on a blonde girl arguing loudly with Kakashi about balloons near the bleachers. "I have to go. My boyfriend's waiting for me." Tenten arrogantly shoved Sakura's shoulder as she quickly jogged toward the lovable class clown.
Sakura steamed vehemently, controlling every fiber of her being to not belt out, 'HE'S NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!'.
Instead, she popped a snowflake balloon with her pink, bedazzled hairpin to release her not-so-secretive outrage.
She never thought prom would be such a pain in the ass.
"Those aren't the chairs I told you to order, Shino!"
Shino stared blankly at the silver haired promzilla. "They're chairs. What's the difference?"
"It's supposed to be cushioned, burgundy velvet. This is red!"
Shino still couldn't quite see the difference.
"You've just ruined prom, Shino. I hope you're happy." Kakashi stormed away, yelling all kinds of frustrations at anyone his eyes laid on. "I hope you're ALL happy!"
When his eyes happen to catch Naruto and Kiba horsing around, throwing poker chips at each other, he fumed.
"What are you two ass-clowns doing!" he put his hands on his waist while angrily stomping towards them, looking extremely comical rather than authoritative. "THOSE ARE NOT TO BE USED FOR FUN! AND YOU'RE SPILLING FOOD EVERYWHERE!"
Naruto and Kiba hastily picked up their sandwiches and stood up. "I thought the whole point of this stupid prom thing was to have fun." said Naruto.
"Well, you're wrong. This is serious business and you two are complete and utter failures; I'm so ashamed, I can't even look at you guys." Kakashi gathered the boxes of chips, threw the two of them vicious glares and stomped away haughtily. "Everybody wants to ruin all my hard work." he grumbled for everyone to hear on his way out.
After about a second of silence, Kiba and Naruto fell into a gut-busting laugh.
"I always thought he was a weirdo." said a voice behind them.
The two boys turned to the source of the voice and saw an old man in his late seventies radiating an elderly smile.
"Sarutobi-sensei!" They exclaimed in unison and shook the man's hand with every ounce of excitement.
"Geez, gramps. I haven't seen you since freshmen year!" Naruto flashed a smile. "I assumed you were dead or something!" he laughed.
Sarutobi passed him an odd look.
"Because you're so old." the boy explained.
The old man rolled his eyes. "Why thank you, Naruto. You sure know how to talk to people." Sarutobi was oddly, and pleasantly surprised to find the loner and outcast of Konoha high hanging around the Inuzuka kid. That was certainly unexpected to see. "And Kiba! It's nice to see you too. I remember I couldn't understand a word you used to say under all that growling." they all laughed.
"Same here, old man." Kiba grinned. "It's been a long time."
"Eh?" Sarutobi's ears leaned closer. "Guess I still can't understand a word you say."
Kiba shrugged.
"Anyway." said Naruto. "What are you doing back in Konoha? And how's retirement?"
He was especially fond of this particular old man and always had the utmost respect for him. Naruto genuinely thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi as the caring, supportive grandfather type. This was a man he knew all his life; when Jiraiya left months at a time to do his 'research', Sarutobi was there to fill in the empty gap.
"Retirement is retirement." the old man shrugged. "But I'm here to see how Tsunade's holding this place up."
Naruto snorted. "Tsunade baa-chan's not as 'orthodoxed' as you were, but I think she's doing an awesome job." he grinned.
Sarutobi nodded very pleased. "I also came because I heard prom was coming up."
"It's actually tomorrow."
"Oh, good! Then I'm not too late."
The two boys gave him a questionable look.
"I have a surprise for you, Naruto." the old man grinned when the 'mischievous fox' perked up with interest. "How about wearing a tuxedo worn by the famous Haruma Takeshi?
Kiba nearly choked on his sandwich. "Haruma Takeshi? The famous actor in, like, the awesomest movie in history, 'Shippuden'?
Sarutobi nodded. "That's the guy. And it's the same tuxedo he wore in the movie."
Naruto was blown away. "How in the world did you get a tuxedo from him?"
"Let's just say I personally know that young man."
"Wow." Naruto and Kiba gaped. "I didn't know you were so cool."
Kiba, in his devious thoughts, had other plans than to let Naruto get his hands on his idol's tuxedo. "But Naruto, you're not going to prom remember?"
Naruto was seriously conflicted. "That's right. I did decide not to go..."
"That's too bad." said Sarutobi with a sigh. "I was hoping to give it to you, but I guess I'll have to give this suit to someone else-"
"ME!" Kiba jumped at the opportunity.
"Well, alright." said Sarutobi with a shrug.
Kiba's eyes sparkled in the light.
Naruto quickly intervened. "Wait, wait, wait. I change my mind. I'm gong to prom!" Besides, for the longest time, his gut feeling warned him that it was of the utmost importance to keep a look out for a certain someone...
"You can't change your mind!" Kiba argued eminently as his nose flared violently. "You don't even like prom!"
"You don't either!" Naruto loudly retorted.
"I like it more than you!"
"That doesn't even make sense!"
"Boys! Boys!" Sarutobi placed both hands on each of their shoulders in attempt to calm them. "If you two can't come to an agreement, then I can't lend it to either of you."
Their faces fell dramatically.
"But you offered the tux to me first."
"But you said I could have it."
They complained equally like babies.
Sarutobi didn't quite know what to do.
Kiba figured it was time to pull out the 'sucking up' act, a skill he was naturally gifted at. "Sarutobi-sensei, I just wanna say you're an inspiration to me. I know I'm a nuisance, but if you ever need me in the future, I'll go out of my way for you, even though I'm just a total screw-up."
Sarutobi's face scrunched up. "What was that? All I heard were growls."
Naruto snuck up from behind and tapped the man's shoulder. "He said you're a nuisance to him and in the future, get out of his way. Oh, and he called you a total screw-up."
"Why, Kiba..." Sarutobi looked at the dog-like boy in shock.
Kiba panicked. "No, I didn't - SHUT UP!" he shouted at the blond fiend.
Naruto gasped. "He just told you to shut up!"
Sarutobi was perplexed.
"Why the hate Kiba?" Naruto pretended to look concerned.
"Yes, why the hate?" asked Sarutobi.
"No..I...grrr."
"And there he goes growing again." said Naruto, shaking in head in disappointment.
"Well, since Kiba is such a troubled young boy, I suppose the tuxedo belongs to you." Sarutobi gripped Naruto's shoulder.
"YES." Naruto threw a pumped up fist in the air.
"Inuzuka, I would work on that attitude if I were you." said Sarutobi, gravely concerned for the brown haired delinquent.
Kiba was speechless.
"Now if you two will excuse me, I'm going to say hello to my son and daughter-in-law. So long, fellas." He nodded to both of them and walked away.
Kiba looked at the boy who took in all of his success and crossed his arms. "I never thought you could be the devious type."
Naruto stopped in his glory and once again caught the sight of a beautiful, pink-headed girl stringing up a new set of balloons. "I never thought she would rub off on me."
Kiba realized who he was staring at and gave him a firm pat of support. "Ahh, you need to tux more than I do. Good luck with her."
Naruto gave him a nod of appreciation and continued to stare at the girl who got away.
After slaving away their lives yesterday, and part of today, the gym was officially prom-ready. The committee completed their jobs, and those in detention were finally set free.
Naruto should have been relieved, but was far from it. He laid lazily on his bed and had his hands placed beneath his head. He stared, for what seemed like hours, at the tuxedo Sarutobi dropped off, and inwardly sighed. It would be a shame to let a tux, worn by the famous Haruma Takeshi, go to waste...
But seeing Sakura with Sasuke would be just as bad.
He let out a loud groan and rolled over with his entire face sinking into his pillow.
Even though he and Sakura's living situation brought them closer than he could ever imagine, he felt as though they couldn't be farther apart. She went out of her way to make sure they never crossed paths, going through great lengths to do so...like climbing out of a three story window, shimmying down a tree, and falling into a mud pile. Naruto watched her do this every morning since he moved in. He would've laughed at the comedic sight in an entirely different situation...
But as of now, he felt rueful and hopeless. He knew he needed to talk to her soon.
She likes him.
She really does!
But he couldn't bring himself to confront her about it. Why did he have to be such a coward of all desperate and dire times!
Naruto groaned louder.
He heard his ring tone go off just seconds later, but was in no mood to answer his phone. He looked at the screen and sighed.
"Hey, Hinata-chan. What's up?"
"Hi, Naruto-kun. Umm...I heard you changed your mind about prom."
"Heh, yeah." he chuckled softly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I got an awesome tuxedo, might as well show it off."
"I see." he heard her giggle. "In that case, you'll need a date tonight."
"I don't think-"
"Naruto-kun, you have no excuses now."
"I know." Naruto said sheepishly. "But I think Kiba wanted to go with you. Or was is Chouji..." he scratched his head, trying to recall his memory.
"Kiba did ask me."
"Great! Then I'll see you two there."
She ignored his comment. "But I told him I preferred to go with my boyfriend."
Neither spoke for a while. Naruto crossed his legs and played with the hem of his pants. "The thing about that..." he fidgeted nervously, hearing Hinata's faint, shallow breaths. "Sakura is...uhh...I'm sorta..."
"In love with her."
"..." Naruto didn't quite know how to respond to that. Instead, he waited patiently for a response from her.
"Either way, you still need a date for prom...and Sakura's not available."
That much was true. Naruto felt his heart drop a little.
"Okay. I'll go to prom with you, Hinata-chan."
Tuxed up and looking slick, Naruto nodded approvingly at his appearance in the hallway mirror and made his way for the door.
"Wait a minute, brat."
He stopped in his tracks when he heard that distinctive, familiar female voice reach his ears. He back tracked with a grin on his face and turned to face an old lady who looked far younger than she actually is.
"Baa-chan, how do I look?" he grinned and posed comically.
The blonde woman looked him over with a bright smile on her face. His tuxedo fit perfectly against his slender (not to mention muscular) body, and although there was still a slight messiness to his hair, it was somehow a bit more tamed than usual. He looked nothing less than perfect.
"Ahh, you look okay." she waved a hand.
They both laughed, sharing a tender moment that rarely happened. Tsunade was the closest thing to a motherly figure he ever had in his life. Like Jiraiya and Sarutobi, she also held a special place in his heart.
"Now say cheese." she magically pulled out a camera.
"Aww, come on, baa-chan. It's not like you're NOT gonna see me after I leave. You're coming to prom too."
"Just say it!"
Naruto grumbled under his breath and mustered his signature, carefree grin. "Cheese." He blinked after the flash was made and quickly grabbed his date's corsage and Jiraiya's car keys.
"Have fun!" Tsunade called.
Still grinning widely, he nodded.
RRRIINNGG
"Oh, but get the door first."
"Okay, okay." He laughed and jogged to the front door. When he opened the door, his smile immediately faltered.
Naruto supposed it was inevitable to run into him of all people at some point.
"Dobe."
"Teme."
Tsunade groaned. "Oh great. There's something wrong with this camera." she pressed random buttons on the device and sighed when it was no use. "Naruto, will you go to Sakura's room and tell her Sasuke's here. I'm going to try and find Jiraiya's camera. I know that pervert has one somewhere." she muttered, knowing the white haired man's tendency to visually save his 'work'.
"Wait! No! I can't-"
"Thanks!" she walked out of the living room.
Naruto stared back at Sasuke and likewise; the silence was undoubtedly ice cold. One would think being in this sitution would be awkward, but Naruto and Sasuke knew it was their usual routine to share and exchange hateful glares at each other.
An everyday procedure.
"Are you just going to make me wait out here?" Sasuke further narrowed his eyes at his rival. He never did like the whisker tattoos. What kind of idiot tattoos his face with whiskers? If you're going to get a tattoo, at least let it be the generic koi fish along the arm-
His train of thought was immediately interrupted when the door slammed in his face.
Naruto turned around and sighed. He hastened his pace up the stairs even though he dreaded the inevitable destination. Once he got to Sakura's door, he found a big sign with pink sparkly letters saying 'KEEP OUT' and rolled his eyes. He lifted his fist hesitantly and knocked on the door.
"Come in! I need your opinion, quick!"
Of course, Naruto knew she couldn't possibly know it was him who was currently waiting at her door. He shrugged and opened it anyway, figuring the unpleasant surprise would be pretty funny.
"Tsunade, what do you think about this dress-" Sakura was just about done putting on her earrings and froze when she realized she wasn't standing face to face with her godmother. "Oh." she stared at him awkwardly. "I thought you were...Tsunade."
Naruto was speechless.
She wore a floor length, white, halter dress that hugged her slender body. Naruto couldn't help but notice the slit on the side that revealed her perfectly shaped legs that would make any guy drool an ocean, and that included him. Her hair was done in a wavy, low, messy bun with a diamond jewel resembling a flower placed on the side. She completed the look with hoop earrings embellished with diamonds and a thin, silver bracelet.
"What are you doing in a tux?" she looked him up and down, suspicious.
She would never admit it, but right then and there, her heart stopped when she saw him.
'Damn, he's good lookin'.' she cursed.
"Nothin'." he quickly said.
"Well, since you're here." she said softly. She turned around and Naruto nearly dropped.
The dress was made completely backless; 'Sexyback' was an understatement. He felt a sever nosebleed coming soon.
"What do you think?" she asked nervously.
"You...you uh..." Naruto stumbled on his words, thanking god that he at least didn't stumble on his feet. "I have to go." he quickly left the room without seeing her disappointed reaction and quickly shut the door. He leaned against her door and let out an incredibly shaky breath.
He knew it would take a while for him to fully compose himself. He needed to be alert, focused, and have the image of Sakura out of his head before picking up Hinata...his real date.
Tenten couldn't believe her luck.
No date. Last minute hand-me-down dress. And now she was standing in an endless line with Rock Lee right behind her.
"Hi, Tenten-san!"
He was ignored. The beautiful brunette wore a long, blue and green sequined, strapless, mermaid-like dress. Her hair flowed freely against her back instead of her usual twin buns. She looked breathtaking.
"You look really beautiful."
Tenten muttered a thanks.
Lee wasn't known for ending an awkward conversation. He sighed sadly and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Tenten-san, I know you're still mad at me about...what happened."
"I really don't care." she whispered in secrecy. She couldn't believe he was bringing this up now!
"I only did it because I really liked you."
"And now you like Sakura, so all is right again."
Lee looked down at his shoes and his head fell shamefully. "I pretended to be a girl so you would notice me."
Thankfully, the fact that Lee just admit he cross-dressed wasn't entirely comprehended by the public. The fact that this average Joe was speaking to one of the hottest girls in school...that brought everyone to stare at the two oddly.
"You were a really ugly girl, Lee. I really don't care about this right now, so stop talking about it." she hissed quietly.
"But we have to! I don't want you to be mad at me so close to graduation day." he desperately pleaded. "We'll probably never have a chance like this again."
"Fine, you want to talk about this, we'll talk!" she pulled onto his collar and dragged him out of line to find somewhere private, leaving a lot of people to question what was just witnessed.
They stopped into the parking lot and she let him go angrily.
"You were the new kid at summer camp and nobody liked you. I was the only one who was nice to you, so why did you trick me!" she yelled, blowing straight to the point.
Lee frowned. "I didn't trick you...you just assumed I was a girl because of my long hair...and my love for glitter..."
Tenten exhaled a breath she had been holding in. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"
"I..." Lee daintily placed in hands in his pants pocket and kicked a rock under his foot. "I heard you were a lesbian...who only talks to girls and ignores guys. I thought you wouldn't like me anymore if you knew I was actually a boy...so I didn't say anything when you started talking to me."
The brunette beauty opened her mouth to speak, but there were no words.
Lee continued. "I couldn't believe you wanted to talk to me of all people...you were the most beautiful girl I ever saw. I was in love with you."
Tenten's face fell and her eyes soften.
"I loved you too."
Lee smiled sadly. "But only as a girl."
Tenten sniffled and somehow managed not to ruin her make up. "I'm sorry."
He gave her his signature good-guy smile. "It's weird though. Naruto is a guy..."
"Definitely." Tenten laughed tenderly. "A really stupid guy."
"And yet you're in love with him."
Konoha's goddess wasn't even aware of her own smile.
"That's really funny!" Lee smiled brightly. "There must be something really special about him."
Tenten nodded. He had no idea just how special. "Thanks for not telling anyone about us." she smiled sadly at the bushy browed boy.
He did a thumbs up. "Don't worry! It's really embarrassing for me, too. If people knew I pretended to be a girl, they'll have more reason to question my sexuality."
For the first time in years, they laughed together in genuine friendliness.
"I know it's a little late, but...do you want to be my date tonight?" Tenten asked, still in a state of laughter.
Lee held out an arm for her to take. "Of course! I won't let my youth go to waste tonight!"
"Whatever that means." Tenten smiled and rolled her eyes, taking his arm.
Hinata couldn't believe how amazing the gym looked tonight. It looked like an actual casino! The tables looked like real, green poker tables and the chairs were velvety red. The gym was beautifully decorated Vegas style; Hinata's pearly white eyes caught flashing lights, giant paper mache dice and playing cards, glitter balloons, and more! She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw an actual bar where Asuma stood behind, dressed as a real bartender. However, to most of the students' disappointment, he only served non-alcoholic beverages.
"This place looks amazing."
Kakashi passed by with a ladle in his hand. "It better look amazing, I worked my ass off." and he disappeared into the crowd.
Hinata and Naruto both laughed.
"By the way, did I tell you how pretty you look tonight?" asked Naruto in what Hinata could have sworn to be nerves.
Hinata blinked out of her trance and looked at her sheepish date. "Yes, back at the mansion." she giggled, blushing furiously.
"Oh. Well, I just have to say it again." he turned on the boyish grin Hinata loved so much. "You look really pretty."
Hinata looked down and stared at her long, golden dress that hugged her chest tightly and flowed waist down in a puffy-like Cinderella dress. Her hair was done in an updo, pinned with authentic golden colored jewels.
In her bashful nature, she gulped and looked away. Her heart fluttered rapidly and she was sure her blood pressure rose to it's maximum level. For some reason, it affected her a lot more when he said it the second time.
"Look! There's Shizune nee-chan!" He tugged her hand as they walked into the 'casino' and found the dark haired woman smiling radiantly in a blackjack dealer suit. "Wow, nee-chan. You look great!" Naruto flashed her a grin.
"Thanks, Naruto!" she laughed with a slight flush in her face. "Here you go, take some poker chips."
"What's this for?" asked Hinata excitingly.
"Gambling!" said the Principal's secretary. "If you win enough chips, you can get yourself a little prize over there." she pointed at a stand where Jiraiya stood behind. He noticed his godson and his date standing near the entrance and winked at them.
"Cool! Hinata-chan, let's hit the crap tables. I'll win the biggest stuffed animal for you!" he laughed as he pulled her along.
Hinata couldn't love this boy any more than she did now.
Meanwhile, amongst the crowd:
Sakura couldn't believe what she was currently seeing.
Naruto at prom...
with Hinata!
"Want something to drink?" Sasuke asked, noticing how Sakura's grip on his arm grew tighter with every passing second.
"Sure." she hissed, hating what she was witnessing. It was like watching a horror movie: you know you'll get nightmares watching it, but you just can't look away. "This is just so fuckin' unbelievable!" she let go of Sasuke's bruised arm and hit the nearest person next to her.
"OW!" Ino gasped, gaping widely at the fuming girl in white. "What the hell was that for?"
"Oh, sorry. I just..." Sakura scoffed. "Well, actually I'm not that sorry since it's you." she eyed Ino's one shoulder, fuchsia pink mini dress that showed her off her jaw dropping, sexy curves. Her hair was done gorgeously in curls and Sakura rolled her eyes when she saw a tiara at the top of her head.
"Why you little-!"
"Ino." Sasuke caught the nearly fatal bitch slap before it would impact his date's beautiful face. "You might want to look over there." he pointed at Naruto and Hinata.
Ino was taken back by surprise and turned to where Sasuke pointed. She blinked in shock and gaped widely with undeniable disappointment and lividness. "What the fuck...I thought he wasn't going to prom!" in her magnifying rage, she hit the closest person next to her.
"OW!" Kakashi rubbed his arm and threw Ino an insulted look. "What did I ever do to you?"
"Sorry, sensei, I..." Ino paused. "Actually, I'm not that sorry since you yelled at me yesterday for supposedly buying the wrong balloons."
"Well ya did!" Kakashi continued to rub his arm and went on his way.
"Come on, Sasuke, let's go." Sakura took the boy's hand and led him away from the ghastly sight.
"Ugh!" Ino's eyes burned furiously as she forced herself to look at anything other than Naruto and the little tramp. "Where the hell is my date! Shibakare! SHIBAKARE!"
Asuma couldn't help but find Sakura's problem very amusing. As the 'bartender' of tonight's prom, he felt it was his duty to help out his costumers in need.
"How are you doing, Sakura?" he cleaned a new glass and poured her a new drink.
She gulped it down in a second. "Ah." she sloppily wiped her mouth and slammed the glass on the table, indicating her math teacher to pour in more.
Asuma obliged.
"Nothing...I'm just fine." her eyes seem to narrow more and more as she watched two specific people on the dance floor.
"Where's your date?"
Sakura shook out of a dangerous trance and blinked. "Huh? Oh. Him. Yeah. He's somewhere." she waved off.
Incredible. Asuma was deeply impressed by Sakura's ability to NOT CARE about the infamously beautiful Sasuke Uchiha, a boy the school's female population slaved over. His eyes traveled to the source of her heated glares and found her boyfriend dancing with one of his many beautiful girlfriends.
Ahhh.
"So why aren't you dancing with your boyfriend over there?" asked Asuma.
Sakura reflected her anger at Asuma. He nearly fainted by the harshness of her glare. "He's not my boyfriend anymore." Fortunately for the math teacher, she once again continued to stare at the couple on the dance floor. "Look at him...he dances like a retarded monkey." she muttered as she watched him take up most of the floor, dancing elaborately silly as Hinata tried to keep up with his stamina.
So, the class clown and class beauty isn't together anymore? That was news to Asuma, but he knew it was a matter of time before one of the goddesses cracked. There isn't a normal girl in the world that could stand sharing a boyfriend with three other girls, all of whom happen to be insanely beautiful. "Maybe it's for the best...now you can focus all your attention on Uchiha." suggested Asuma, eyeing her reaction.
"What? Oh. Nah." she gestured him to pour in another drink. "Sasuke's just a friend. He's only my date because that punk-ass didn't want to go with me in the first place. Far be it for me to go to prom without a date."
Asume's eyes widened slightly. Sasuke and friend are two words that don't mesh well at all.
Sakura gulped down another drink and her aura seemed to darken the more she drank. "But that little fucker is here with fuckin' Hinata, and fuck! This is just fuckin' fuck, fuck fuck!" she violently slammed her glass on the table, scaring Asuma half to death. "Gimme another drink!"
"Yes, ma'am." he quickly opened a new carton of orange juice and poured it in.
"He looks like a retarded monkey!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and lazily rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. "You said that about five times already."
Being the prom date of one of the four goddesses should have made him the happiest guy alive. However, that currently wasn't the case at all. This possibly had to be the worst night of his life. All this girl could ever talk about was Naruto and that 'dirty, rotten, slut'.
"That dirty, rotten, slut." the beauty with pale blonde hair and pale blue eyes taunted as she watched from afar the couple on the dance floor. "And that lying, retarded monkey..."
Shikamaru sighed.
"After all that shit about being against prom and never going if his life depended on it. What a bunch of bull!" she thrashed in her seat.
The two sat alone on a table seated for ten and there was an awkward silence despite all the loud, booming music. Shikamaru's eyes fell randomly at the bar where he saw another fuming, female beauty. He sighed once more.
How troublesome...
"Do you want to get a drink?" he offered.
"Not with that slut polluting the area." she snorted, throwing a hateful glare at the pink-headed girl. "Can you believe Naruto? How can he just show up with Hinata and not even bother to-"
"Listen, Ino-"
"Wait, shut up, I'm talking, Shizukame." she rudely replied. "How could Naruto not even-"
"INO!" Shikamaru shouted, surprising even himself.
...
The gorgeous blonde gaped, speechless. There wasn't a guy in the world who ever yelled at her like that...
"Stop talking about Naruto and all the sluts for one second and let me tell you something you're probably never gonna hear from a guy again." his black beady eyes focused deeply into hers.
Ino blinked.
"At the end of the day, you're nice to look at," he started, not once breaking his concentration staring at what he thought was the most beautiful girl tonight. "but when it all come down to it, that's all you're good for...just something nice to look at." he lifted himself up pushed his chair in. "Let's pretend this whole prom-date thing never happened, okay? And by the way, I know you know my name is Shikamaru. We've known each other since PRESCHOOL. Stop pretending to be this popular girl who's reputation involves being a bitch to everyone." with one last look (regret, perhaps?), he pushed through the crowd, leading to a table full of all the 'losers' without a date.
Ino knew she should have been angry, but her fury deteriorated and was turned only into shock and humiliation. She slouched slowly in her chair and sulked silently.
She couldn't believe that guy!
That Shikamaru...
"Another!" Sakura lifted her glass and shook it in Asuma's face.
The math teacher watched terrifyingly as the girl in front of him seemed far too...buzzed on orange juice. He sniffed the carton and his face scrunched into confusion. No traces of alcohol anywhere.
"Whazz takin' so looong!" she slurred.
Not only was her speech a tad hard to comprehend, but her eyes constantly fluttered open and close and she was on the verge of falling off the bar stool. Asuma took a whiff of her breath and could only smell orange juice.
How odd.
"I think you've had enough for tonight, Sakura." said Asuma, taking away her glass.
The girl stared at him with those blazing, green eyes. "The drinks are non-alcoholic, sensei."
"Well, yeah, but why are you acting drunk?"
"JUST GIMME ANOTHER DAMN GLASS!"
Asuma stumbled on his feet in horror and quickly poured another glass of orange juice.
"Attention. Can I have everyone's attention? We have everyone's votes and it's time to announce prom king and queen."
The music came to a sudden pause, and everyone in the gym focused their excitement on Kakashi standing on stage with a mysterious envelope in his hand.
Kakashi's eyes twinkled in the spotlight. He opened the envelope and read the results word for word. "This year's prom drama queen of Konoha High School is Kakashi Hata - okay, veeerry funny! Who did this!" he waved the letter in a humorously, angry fit. "It was you wasn't it, Jiraiya!"
The large, white haired man stood on the side of the stage and slapped his knee, laughing like a hyena.
"Okay, looks like we'll need a little more time to count up the real votes, but thanks for ruining prom JIRAIYA!" Kakashi violently trashed his arms about.
Sakura gulped down her latest drink and blew a raspberry with her lips fluttering about. Being the senior prom queen was a longtime dream ever since she was a little girl and saw 'Carrie' for the first time on the Syfy channel. Now she couldn't care less about anything and only wanted another glass of orange juice.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned her head lazily to find Sasuke setting himself on the next bar stool.
"Where the hell have you been?" she burped incredibly loud.
Sasuke blinked. His date might be a little gross tonight, but at least she looks beautiful. "I was on facebook."
"Oh." Sakura sighed. "Chatting with your brother in private?"
Sasuke nodded, putting away his iPhone. "Yeah. Haven't heard from him in a while, and he only decides to IM me on prom night. I knew he was always a jerk." he scoffed.
"Well, you didn't miss everything. They're about to announce prom king and queen."
Sasuke inwardly groaned. "Let's get out of here."
"Fine with me." Sakura struggled to stand up.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, Naruto briefly searched for a pink head, finally building the courage to have a long-awaited talk with her after his wild monkey dance. He was ready to tell her his true feelings and hoped to somehow fix their relationship. When he saw Sasuke leading Sakura away to the exit by hand, he immediately broke free from Hinata's hold and pushed himself through the crowd.
"Naruto-kun, where are you-"
"I have to tell her now. I can't wait anymore!" he quickly said without looking back.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata tried to call out to him.
But it was far too late for her; she knew she had been fighting a losing battle.
There was no point in asking him to stay with her any longer...
"Sakura! Wait!" Naruto desperately shouted out to her.
He moved faster through the crowd and was finally able to close the gap between them.
"Sakura, wait." he grabbed her bare shoulder, forcing her to turn around.
The beauty dressed in white swapped Naruto's hand away furiously and glared insanely sharp daggers at him. "I don't wanna fuckin' talk to you. Just leave me alone."
At this point, the nearest crowd of students exchanged secretive whispers and stole constant glances at the arguing ex couple.
"But you have to know how I-"
Sakura interrupted, either on the verge of tears or barfing orange juice. "Why did you come here?" she shook her head and released a soft, ironic chuckle. "Oh, never mind. I already know: you're willing to go to prom...as long as it isn't with me." she quietly retorted with downcast eyes.
Naruto frowned. "That's not true." he once again laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I just-"
"Don't touch her, dobe." Sasuke shoved his chest away. "She told you to leave her alone."
Naruto stumbled a couple of steps away and scowled angrily at the raven haired 'god'. "This has nothing to do with you, Teme." he shoved back with a greater amount of force.
"Stop it, you guys-" Sakura quickly moved aside when she saw that they were about go after each other.
"Alright! We finally have the prom king and queen tallied. And this year's prom king and queen are...SASUKE UCHIHA AND SAKURA HARUNO!" Kakashi quickly announced before Naruto and Sasuke would tackle each other to the ground.
A loud 'HELL NO!' was heard through the silence of the gymnasium, which we could only assume belonged to the competing nominee, Ino Yamanaka.
Naruto and Sasuke both came to an immediate stop when they were caught in the spotlight. The spotlight also fell on Sakura, and there was an awkward scatter of applause once everyone came to realize a fight was about to transpire.
"Sakura and Sasuke, please come up to the stage and claim your crown." Kakashi leaned closer to the microphone.
The prom king and queen slowly composed themselves and walked to the stage together as the crowd cleared a path. Sakura briefly turned to see the downhearted Naruto watching as he was being left behind. She then turned straight ahead, holding her breath.
As Naruto watched her step on stage with Sasuke, something deep inside him stirred passionately...
He couldn't help it; he had to do something.
As soon as the crowns were placed on Sakura and Sasuke's head, Naruto ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't care what people thought, he never did. All he wanted to do was tell her...
And he had to tell her now!
He didn't care how he told her! Alone...to the entire world...in front of hundreds of students at prom...he had to say...
"Wait!" he jumped on stage before the traditional prom king and queen dance would occur.
Sakura slowly tore herself away from Sasuke when she saw Naruto catching his breath, standing face to face with her. Her emerald eyes widened.
"Naruto!" she whispered loudly. "What are you-"
"I love you."
...
The crowd below closely watched the love triangle on stage, quietly and intensely, as if it were a TV drama on the SOAP network. Their jaws dropped open and nobody dare said a single word. Jiraiya dropped the curtain on the three and everyone on the floor groaned and complained loudly as if their show was abruptly being canceled.
"Come on, Kakashi. Let's have these kids work it out themselves." Jiraiya put an arm around the history teacher's shoulder and led him backstage.
Kakashi glared. "This was the worst prom ever!" he made an odd noise of frustration.
"Sasuke...is it okay if..." Sakura started.
The onyx eyed boy, just like Hinata, felt like he was fighting a lost cause. He nodded and walked backstage toward the exit without a word. There was really nothing to say after Naruto made that startling confession in front of the entire school. For the first time in Sasuke's life, he knew he couldn't compete with that...
As soon as his steps were faint to the point of non-existent, Sakura crossed her arms and let out an uneasy breath. "Is it true? What you just said..."
"I would never lie to you, Sakura."
"You lied to me about prom."
"I didn't! I was just...this tux...you and Sasuke..." he sighed heavily and felt his heart slowly dropping. "More than anything, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with teme lurking around."
Sakura shook her head. It was funny how this boy, the former loser of Konoha High, could make her the happiest girl alive...and also the most miserable. "You know, when I first realized your kiss had the power to bring my F's up to A's...I only thought of you as my lucky charm, something I could use to help boost my grade point average...nothing else."
Naruto stood silently, not even bothering to move a finger.
"My grades improved, but so did our relationship." she smiled sadly. "You weren't just my lucky charm anymore. In fact, you weren't my lucky charm at all. You were my friend." The intensity of her emerald eyes pierced his heart. "And then I realized we were more than friends. Even though we were pretending to go out, I wanted to believe it was all real...and for a while, I did."
Naruto was completely stuck. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her as tight as he could. Why couldn't he?
"So," she let out a soft, shaky laugh. "with all that said..."
She walked towards him, slowly closing the gap between them.
"I love you, too."
Sakura cupped Naruto's face and pulled him in, pressing her lips against his.
The crowd of students stood silently without a word, not even a whisper, not even a falling hairpin...
Complete silence as they stared blankly at the closed curtained stage.
"Wow." Sarutobi stood next to Tsunade and Jiraiya, his oldest and favorite students. They watched the fallen curtain just as intently as everyone else in the gym.
"I can't believe Kakashi forgot to turn off the mike..." Jiraiya's eyes widened considerably. "...he definitely made this the greatest prom ever."
Tsunade shook her head in disbelief. "It all makes sense now. This explains Sakura's skyrocketing straight A's...Naruto and all his girlfriends...I thought that was a little odd..."
Sarutobi threw her an unconvincing look. "You actually believe all this luck nonsense?"
"How do you think Jiraiya got all those beautiful women to sleep with him over the years?"
"True."
"A little bit of luck and a little bit of booze." the large man winked without any shame.
The school principal suddenly looked like she was deep in thought. "I wonder if Naruto's lucky kiss works on gambling debts..."
"Gross, Tsunade." muttered her husband.
"I'm kidding!" she slapped his back. "But seriously, I'm beginning to rethink having the Sunagakure students visit this year."
Sarutobi immediately intervened. "Absolutely not. It's tradition for our sister school to visit once a year."
The current principal snorted. "I don't know if you've noticed, old man, but it's getting a little crazy here. Especially now with Naruto's secret power revealed. He'll have to beat girls off with a stick from here on."
"Not to mention the guys."
Sarutobi and Tsuande looked oddly at Jiraiya.
The white haired man shrugged in defense. "Hey, I'm just saying with the grades I had in high school, I would kiss a guy for an A."
Tsunade tsked and crossed her arms, ignoring Jiraiya's comments all together. "I wonder if this year's Suna kids are as fucked up as our Konoha kids."
"I guess you'll just have to find out." Sarutobi sighed in relief. "Thank god I won't be here..."
Tsunade also sighed. "Well, things couldn't possibly get any worse, can they?"
"Tsunade-sama! We have a problem!" a dark haired woman rushed through the still-silent crowd. "It's about the girl's bathroom on all the floors!"
The big-breasted woman inwardly groaned. "Of course. What did he do now?"
"He somehow managed to replace all the toilets with urinals." Shizune said nervously.
"What?"
"Urinals, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Now how the hell was that punk able to do that?"
Shizune gave her a light hearted smile. "Well...because he's Naruto."
"He's Naruto." All three elders repeated with affection (and a little irritation on Tsunade's part).
That boy sure made a mess this year.
A/N: WOW that was a really long chapter, wasn't it? I just couldn't wait to update this baby!
Thank you guys so much for the reviews! It feels good to read some feedback (in case that wasn't clear enough, PLEASE REVIEW!)
:)
I know many of you were disappointed with my "tardiness", so hopefully updating the 13th chapter this early made it all up
And i know some of you have been anticipating a Gaara appearance...
Well, that's all I'm gonna say ;)