Cheerleaders
Chapter Six
I sighed as I sat outside on the bleachers, watching over the smoggy soccer field. The squad was performing the routine we were to present at the next game, barely a week from now. I wasn't forced to learn or do the routine, but after what Itachi had said about the teen desire for cheerleaders, I would have to, anyway. I wasn't a cheerleader unless I was actually cheerleading. I shuddered at the thought. It was just so superficial. Cheerleading. I shuddered again.
After I'd left the office, I hadn't seen Naruto anywhere. Itachi escorted me to class, though he didn't touch me again at all. It had still been extremely awkward. While on our way there, the bell rang, and I had to separate with Itachi so we could both get to our next classes. I had met Sai at the door, who had greeted me with a strange smile.
We had spent our class without interruption, and now, it was lunch time, and instead of being indoors with everyone else, I was outside watching the squad practice. I wondered what Sai was doing.
"Sakura-chan, are you watching?" Ino screamed from the field, snapping me out of my reverie. She didn't have to. I would have heard her fine, otherwise.
I looked up at her; she had one hand on her hip while the other waved at me. I sighed. "Yeah!" I called back, abandoning my things and standing. I walked down the two levels and headed over to them, noticing Ino's odd frown. I stopped in my tracks. "What?" I asked.
Ino smirked and glanced at Karin, who held a similar expression, and nodded. Karin turned her head and looked me in the eye, shaking her head slowly. "Sakura-chan," She said, "Before we start teaching you how to cheerlead…" She paused, Temari was snickering behind her. Her smile widened. "We need to teach you the basics."
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It was bad news.
Of course it was bad news.
The 'basics' consisted of things like; how to bend over in a mini skirt, how to walk in heels, and how to walk in general.
"One foot in front of the other," Temari kept telling me.
I groaned. "Why do I have to do this? Hinata doesn't even walk like this." I protested.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Hell, none of us do." Ino snorted. Tenten paused. "At least, not all the time. This is for future reference." She finshed.
I nearly tripped over my own feet. "Future reference?" I muttered.
"Yeah. Let's say, there's this guy…" Ino said slowly, wiggling her eyebrows.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Okay, fine. Future reference." I said.
Hinata smiled. "And to comment on what you said earlier… No. I don't ever walk like that. We each have our own way, I guess." She said shyly, her hand held behind her back.
I wondered which one of them had coaxed her into joining the squad. I was in the middle of my first successful run-way walk when I hear a few girls squeal. I stopped in my tracks and mimicked their gaze. Sai was slowly walking towards us, the faint smog enveloping him as he walked. He looked like some guy pulled straight out of a vampire movie. I tightened my jaw. Do not drool. Do not drool. I stood still and waited for him to get to me first.
"Sakura-chan…" I heard his faint voice call me as he got closer. I couldn't help but be pulled forward by him, and met him half-way.
"Hey Sai-kun. I'm sorry for running off so fast, I-"
"It's okay." He said. I blinked. "You forgot your lunch bag in class. Chouji said he'd hold onto it for you, but I have a feeling he might have picked out something…" He murmured.
The warmth emanating from his body made me wanted to get closer, to get away from the cold and the sticky humidity. I realized just then what he'd said about lunch.
"I bought you a sandwich at the cafeteria. I hope you like tuna." He said hesitantly.
I beamed; unable to contain my joy. "Thanks so much, Sai-kun!" I gushed. I skipped up and hugged him tightly. I heard screeching behind me, and my head whipped around. I rolled my eyes. It was only the squad squealing and crying out things involving the words 'cute' and 'adorable'. I turned back around to Sai, whose cheeks were not a faint pink, but instead, crimson red. I awkwardly let go of him; I must have been red in the face as well.
I smiled shyly before I began to hear more voices. Deeper voices. Male voices. I held Sai's arm as the girls behind us suddenly shut up. I craned my neck to look behind him. I nearly gasped and hid back behind him, but realized that there was nothing to be afraid of.
It was simply Naruto.
… and Sasuke… and Neji… and Shikamaru, and Chouji, and Kiba… and Gaara.
I tried not to flinch and Naruto spotted me, a soccer ball in hand. "Hello, ladies…" He greeted us once he was in hearing range. The girls had moved up beside me, giggling. Naruto's mood immediately turned sour when he spotted Sai next to me. "And… Sai." He muttered.
Sai only smiled.
Naruto glanced at me, catching my stare for a moment, and then noticed my hand grasping Sai's arm. He didn't say anything, and only looked back at the boys standing behind and beside him. None of them had noticed.
I turned to look at my own group. Ino was shamelessly flirting with Kiba, while Hana sent her threatening glares, Karin approached Sasuke, Tenten was speaking to Lee and Neji, Temari eyed Shikamaru, who was completely oblivious, while speaking with Gaara, and Hinata was left to talk to Chouji, though she kept glancing to Naruto, blushing and quickly looking away when he caught her in the act. I was too busy watching the many scenes unfolding to realize that Lee had walked right up to me.
"H-Hello." He mumbled shyly. He immediately noticed my hand on Sai's arm.
I couldn't help but smile at how adorable he looked - despite the wide eyes, thick eyebrows, Green shirt, green sweater, green shoes and dark wash jeans. I suddenly shook my head. Woah. What did I just think?
"Hey, Lee-kun." I answered.
He blushed. He suddenly straightened his posture. "Oh, dear Sakura-san, I thought you would not like me." He said.
I let my mouth hang open, acting as if I was surprised. "Of course not, Lee-kun. You're a really great guy." I said, patting his shoulder.
He grinned, eyes widening even more, if possible. "Oh, you are just so kind, Sakura-san!" He nearly cried out.
I smiled. "It's not so much about kindness but about honesty, Lee-kun." I said, laughing a bit as I turned to Naruto, holding onto Sai, still. I felt as if I'd collapse if I didn't. Never had I spoken with such a large group before, and it was almost terrifying.
Naruto was staring at me with a blank expression. Behind me, Sasuke was completely ignoring what Karin was trying to tell him, and was staring at Naruto with a confused look. He stepped up beside him, Lee retreating and walking somewhere else. Naruto didn't notice him until he heard his name called.
He snapped back to reality. "Huh?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto realized that he was staring at me and quickly looked away, finding Sasuke beside him. "You keep doing that." Said boy muttered.
"Doing what?" Naruto asked, already narrowing his eyes.
"You keep dazing off." Sasuke told him.
Naruto paused, and turned to look at me again, as though remembering my presence. His eyes then wandered to Sai, and I didn't miss the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Naruto-kun…" I started.
He turned back to me, a forced smile on his face. "Eh?" He asked.
I tried to smile back as I searched my head for something reasonable to say. And then something clicked. "Did you guys come to play soccer?" I asked casually, sliding my free hand into the back pocket of my jeans.
He seemed to brighten suddenly. "Yeah," He said, with some enthusiasm, "We were going to practice!"
My smile widened. "Are you lying to me, Naruto-kun?" I asked in a mischievous tone.
He blinked. "What? I wouldn't lie to you, Sakura-chan!" He quickly said.
My smile turned into a grin. "I dunno Naruto-kun," I said, shrugging my shoulders and looking down to the grass without moving my head, "If you knew we were here then you might've just come to watch us." I suggested, winking.
His face turned pink as he took a small step back. "What?? No! No, o-of course not!" He told me, waving his hands in front of him.
I slipped my hand of out the back pocket of my jeans to move a lock of pink hair in front of my eyes. "I'm just joking with you, geez." I said, laughing a bit as I turned to look at the field. It was only half visible, with the bad weather. It was then that I suddenly felt something squeeze my ass. My head whipped around, spotting Kiba in his (expensive) black leather jacket, grinning at me.
"Sorry, but those jeans do wonders." He said, shaking his head as he stared me straight in the eyes. Before I knew it, he was lying on the ground with his hand on cheek and my palm stung. As I realized what I'd just done, I looked down at my hand, a little red as it burned. When I dared look back at Kiba, his canine-like teeth were visible at the sides of his mouth. I gasped and stumbled backwards, Sai's arm slipping out of my grasp, stopping as I hit something firm and warm. I turned to see Sasuke looking down at me impassively and my eyes widened accordingly.
"S-Sorry!" I quickly said before running back to Sai's side. I looked up to him, making sure this didn't bother him. And oh, I can tell you, he was bothered. My heart seemed to skip a beat when I realized that he was glaring a Kiba. It scared me.
Suddenly I heard a shriek, followed by a cry of laughter. I slowly turned my head to the sound, and saw Ino bent over, her hand on her stomach, laughing as hard as her lungs would permit her. I blushed and glanced at Kiba again. He wasn't bearing fangs at me, he was grinning. I felt even more embarrassed now. I slid behind Sai and put my hand to the side of my face, trying to find my breath. Soon, all the girls were laughing and Kiba joined them momentarily. I heard Hana smack Kiba upside the head, followed by a whiny protest from the boy.
I put my hands to my face, smiling, but red-faced and completely still. When I uncovered my face a minute later, Kiba was standing in front of me, slightly bent over so he met my eye level. "Hey, honestly, sorry about that." He said, a genuine (or so I thought) smile on.
Sai didn't seem as convinced. I had felt him turning to face Kiba as well, as still was a stone wall. I grabbed his hand, somehow knowing exactly were it was. "It's fine," I whispered, my head slightly turned. He seemed to relax. I let go of his hand and turned back to Kiba. "You'll get more than a slap if I catch you at it again." I said, smiling.
His teeth gleamed as his grin widened. "Of course." He said, as though looking forward to this. He went around us and looked at everyone there, one by one. "So, who's up for a little swim tonight?"
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I'd said I couldn't come. Of course I'd said I couldn't come. I was supposed to have already bought my dress for my dad's party, which was only a few days away. And now, I was being hauled into Temari's car to a visit to the lake. Of course I was being hauled into Temari's car to a visit to the lake. I sighed as we neared the harbor.
"Just a little longer," Tenten insisted as Temari turned off of the road and into the grass.
"Jesus, slow down Temari!" Karin said, hopping up and down as the Temari's Range Rover drove down the bumpy path. Said girl only snickered.
Hinata turn to me then, her voice jumping up and down like she was, "Did you bring your bathing suit?" She asked me.
Lie. Lie! "No." I told her.
"Then you'll just sit and watch us?" Hana asked, "That's no fun!"
I gulped. Ino had a look in her eye. "I brought two, in case you'd say that." She muttered with a vicious smirk on her face.
I let out a high-pitched sigh, "Okay, I've got mine." I admitted.
Karin head turned from her seat up front, "But doesn't pass the test?" She asked.
I shuddered. "Test?" I asked. I'd really like to get home now, girls.
"Duh. Pass it." Karin told me, smiling.
I let out another breath as I reached into the pocket inside my raincoat, pulling out the green one-piece and tossing it to her.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, Sak," She said, "You think Sai-kun'll dig this?" She asked.
I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest. I made an effort to look away – through the window. "Would you drop it?" I asked. We had just stopped the car at the edge of the forest. Well, it wasn't really a forest, but just an area with a lot of trees. And hopefully no bears.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend." She told me, lowering the bathing suit. "I'm sure it'll be fine." She held it out to me, a bit of a pain expression on her face.
I took it back and frowned. "So, um, where do we change, exactly?" I asked.
Temari laughed a bit. "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but there's an outhouse somewhere in the forest that we'll have to settle with." She admitted.
Oh, god.
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"Come on, Hinata, hurry up!" Hana said, tapping on the door. It took me a while to notice that no one had used any honorifics (-chan, -kun, -san, etc) the whole evening, except for those who were not present.
Hinata finally stepped out in her lavender one piece and held a towel protectively in front of her. "I really hate it when they make me do this." She mumbled to me.
I sent her sympathetic smile. I understand completely. I had already changed into my own bathing suit. It was green and had an open back; apparently it made my eyes pop out, too. Hana was back out in her bikini in a flash, and we all continued walking through the forest, following the sound of water. When we reached the clearing, it was hard for me to keep in my gasp. I gawked at the view of the lake in awe, frozen in place as the other girls walked ahead of me.
Temari turned, walking backwards as she spoke. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She asked.
It was almost worth swimming in at six thirty in the evening.
We didn't even wait for the boys to arrive. We all slowly jumped into the water, able to walk in it for about 7 meters out. The water was a warm when we got in; having had a lot of sun once the fog had risen. I shuddered a bit as I adjusted to it, feeling a miniscule fish brush my leg as I walked deeper; the water to my shoulders, now.
I turned back at the sound of footsteps, watching the boys emerge from the trees in their trunks. I swam back up near the edge, sighing when I realized that Sai hadn't come. I would've been surprised if he had. The boys jumped in, one by one. Naruto still stood at the edge, a beach ball in hand.
"Alright, boys against girls?" He asked.
"No way," Karin said, "You guys always win."
Naruto grinned, "That's because we're better." He said.
She frowned. "No, because you cheat." She muttered.
He flinched, as if caught. "Okay, fine. You want do what we did last time?" He asked. Did they do this regularly? Was there some sort of pact between the jocks?
Hana smiled. "Hell yeah." She said.
I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "I call Shika-chan!" Ino yelled, fist in the air. I didn't miss Temari's scoff. I idly wondered what she meant. Before I knew it, Ino had climbed onto the groaning boys shoulders, with the beach ball in hand. "Come on guys, get your partners!" She said.
There was an awkwardness to the whole process. The boys that were present were Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, Gaara, Neji. There six boys and seven girls. I shuddered. Temari had realized this. "You know what? I'll be the ref." She said a little quickly, climbing out of the water. I felt sorry for her as she glanced at Shikamaru and Ino.
In the end, I was stuck with Kiba. Hinata was with Naruto, Ino with Shikamaru, Tenten with Neji, Karin with (an annoyed) Sasuke, and Hana with Gaara. I sighed, remembering the sly smirk Kiba had when he realized that I was the only girl left. I shook my head.
"Ready? Set?" Temari asked, pausing. I gulped. "Go!"
I immediately felt someone push me, and I wobbled a bit as Kiba turned around to face the enemy. Ino grinned maliciously at me. Before I could knock her off, Tenten came from behind her and pulled her down, Ino dragging profanities down with her.
I laughed out loud and Tenten struggled to get her balance back on Neji shoulders. A few feet away, Hinata and Hana's hands were locked, trying to push the other off with sheer force. Hinata's back arched as Hana leaned forward, pushing her to the edge of falling.
"Let's get em'," Kiba said.
I gasped as he briskly walked toward Hana. We stopped behind the girl and Gaara. "Wait, what??" I asked. Was I supposed to push her off? I gulped and grabbed Hana's arm.
Her head whipped around and her eyes immediately wandered down to meet Kiba's. He grinned and jumped backwards. She slipped right off of Gaara's shoulders and into the water. Just as Hinata was looking past Gaara and in our direction, Kiba tipped over a bit and before I knew it, I was under water. I slipped away from Kiba and quickly set my feet on the ground, standing up to free my head and shoulders. I laughed as Kiba rose up and shook his head like a dog, spraying everyone around him.
Naruto raised one fisted hand in triumph. "Yeah! We win!" He cheered. Hinata blushing and let herself fall backwards into the water. She soon resurfaced and laughed a bit as well.
"You know, you guys always win. Hinata is freaking powerful-" Temari was cut off by a sudden hiss.
"Someone's coming!" Hana said, her damp hair sticking to her face.
Temari slipped into the water. Everyone ducked their heads low, the water just under their nostrils. We all crept to the deck and hid ourselves from the oncoming stranger. I was just at the edge. They must've seen the round lump that was my head because they stopped in their tracks, staring in my direction. He was still so far, how could he see me in such darkness?
I lifted my head just a bit over water to speak. "He saw me." I hissed.
"Troublesome."
"Who is it?" Ino asked.
I had to wait for the man to start walking again, still staring right at me from a far. Suddenly, the moonlight seemed to capture his face, and I has rendered speechless. Almost.
"Itachi?"