title: love month
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ!
rating: T-M

summary: o13; His heart shattered once she told him she didn't love him anymore. But because he knew her, he found out there was something more that was hidden from him.

.o13.
Shatter

"I don't love you anymore," Sakura said quietly to Sasuke as she refused to meet his gaze.

His heart broke and shattered into a million different pieces.

"What do you mean you don't love me anymore? You promise that you would!" Sasuke said, frozen in disbelief that his girlfriend—he fingered the ring he wanted to propose to her in his pocket—would say this.

"I just…I just don't feel anything anymore. No spark, no nothing…" Sakura tried to explain.

She yelped as he grabbed her shoulders tightly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Tell me what's wrong with you! Why are you acting like this?"

"I don't—it's just that…Sasuke-kun, I don't feel anything for you anymore."

"But you're still calling me Sasuke-kun. What are you trying to hide from me? The Sakura I know won't tell me anything like this without a reason."

"There doesn't have to be a reason! I just don't care for you any longer!" He saw that there were tears in her eyes, and she tried so hard to hold them back. He, too, felt hot trickles of liquid in the corner of his own, but wiped them away impatiently.

"That's not a reason, that's an excuse! What about me are you not interested in anymore? Do you know how I'm feeling right now? Do you know exactly how much I'm hurting?"

She tried to squirm free from him, but held onto her tighter. "Listen to me! What about all the things we told each other and shared? What about the nights together? Your secrets? Your fears? Do they all mean nothing now?"

He saw Sakura's tears running down her cheeks, but he wouldn't stop yet.

"Remember how we first saw each other in elementary school, and your hand touched mine when we both reached for the same milk? Or in middle school, how I'd always help you pick your books up whenever you dropped them, and then carried them for you to your class? Or in high school, I would always pick you up and send you home when you were running late or staying late, and even then I would stay with you."

Sakura continued to cry silently as Sasuke felt his own tears drip down.

"What about when you told me that your secret dream was to become a doctor, and I told you that I wanted to be a musician? My family didn't support it, but you did. You were the only one who actually stuck by me and told me that we'd get through it together, and I believed it."

"Sasuke—"

"Shut up! What about when we first made love for the first time in my bed, where we collapsed awkwardly onto the mattress and you were scared, and so was I, but we managed to make it through anyhow, and you and I both know that we both loved it. You kept holding on to me and I kissed you and every time you cried or were in pain I tried to control myself for you. Do you remember how shaky the mattress was and how much it squeaked? And then, afterwards, you told me that you loved me and I couldn't have been happier. I kissed you all night until dawn and watched as you woke up."

"I don't want to remember, I want you to stop it—"

Sasuke then put a hand over her mouth and wiped his falling tears again. "I know what your favorite color is, what your first memory is, how you like your eggs cooked, how you're afraid of men who look at you oddly, and especially how much you're scared when I'm not with you."

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Sakura shrieked as she pulled away and put her hands over her ears. "I hate this! I hate you! I don't want to hear any more. No more, please, no more…" her face was covered in tears and her nose became congested. It was getting harder to breathe, as her mouth was busy choking out sobs, but she ran away from Sasuke and crouched down, her hands still over her ears.

"Sakura…"

"Go away!"

"I'm not leaving you."

"Then I'll leave you!" she shouted. Looking back at Sasuke, the last thing she could do as a thank you, she said, "Please don't follow me."

She began one step, then another, in her sandals, realizing how hard it was to run, and looked back, hoping that she would see him chasing after her.

He didn't. He just stood there as his heart broke into a million more pieces.

"I don't need to give him a reason," she muttered. "Because I don't want him to know the reason."

She still loved him.

But he could have done so much better than her.

.

.

.

"Congratulations, Sakura-chan!" her friends said that Sunday while they watched her dress in the church chapel. It had been four months ever since the little back-and-forth with Sasuke, and since then, she hadn't seen him.

Was he out with another girl? Sakura's chest tightened at the thought of it, but knew that she brought herself to it. She caused him pain, but hopefully, she thought, it would be the best way for him to forget her.

"Thank you," she muttered softly. She felt her mascara drip and quickly wiped it away with her middle finger. "I just…I don't know."

In the three-view mirror, she saw how well her wedding dress fit on her, and how the veil covered her face. It was impossible to see through the veil, and she hoped that one of her friends could realize her pain and take her place in marrying the man that her parents forced her to.

"Please, Sakura-chan. We're in debt and they offered to help us in exchange for your marriage to their son…"

"No! I won't allow it!" Sakura shrieked as she realized the situation. They had many luxuries at the cost of over-spending, loan sharks, and multiple debts.

"Sakura-chan, listen to your mother—we need this or else we'll die. They're the only help we can ever get and all they're asking is for you to be their bride."

"I don't love this man, though," Sakura sobbed. "I love Sasuke."

A sharp slap stopped her tears.

"How do you think that man will support you? He wants to become a musician! Even though we want you to become a doctor, who's going to pay for the tuition?"

"No, no…"

"Sakura-chan," her mother said. "We love you and only want the best for you."

"You only want to best for yourselves."

Another slap. "Don't talk to your mother that way!"

Blank eyes. Empty stare.

"Then what about Sasuke-kun?"

"Their family will give him money as long as you break up with him. His family will be safe and sound."

"You promise?" Sakura asked, realizing Sasuke's family was below the poverty line. "Really?"

"I promise."

Sakura closed her eyes, letting the tears fall. "Okay."

She was doing this for Sasuke, not for her family or for herself. By marrying this strange man, she could protect Sasuke without him knowing the whole situation.

"Sakura-chan, it's time."

She put the veil over her head and took a deep breath. Then, she picked up her dress and walked straight to the polished, oak doors.

They opened and everyone stood.

.

.

.

It wasn't too late, Sasuke thought as he managed to run towards the chapel. He was only in a T-shirt and jeans, but it didn't matter at the moment. He held the newspaper article in his hand and clenched it tightly as tears blurred his vision.

Now he knew why Sakura was acting like this. If only she had told him, they could have solved the problem together…that was a stupid trait of Sakura's. She was always hiding things from him in hopes that she could solve it herself, without realizing that he would always be by her side all the time. Forever.

"Hurry up, hurry up," he said to himself. His legs were dying from exhaustion, but he kept sprinting. Looking at his watch, he cursed and muttered promises to Sakura.

"I'm going to get you," he said. "I'll get you and we'll run away, far from here."

.

.

.

Sasuke wasn't here. Sakura saw every one of their heads, but none that had a beautiful face and dark black hair. She held back a sob as she realized how hard she was on him, and wished that she could redo things and make it all better.

Her husband-to-be grabbed her hand and smirked. It wasn't the smirk that she was so used to, but the smirk of a horny man who wanted nothing more than a virgin ("If only he knew," Sakura murmured) girl.

"I do," the strange man's voice said, knocking her out from her emotional moment. The priest turned to her.

"And do you, Haruno Sakura, vow to be the husband of this man?"

He looked at her with strong eyes, and Sakura looked back at the door, hoping Sasuke would come. Her parents urged her quietly to say it, and she looked back at the priest.

"I…I…" she began to cry silently, her breath hitching. "I…" her voice got even quieter.

"Say it," the man next to her said forcefully. "Say it already."

The doors opened in time, and it was none other than Sasuke. He saw the strange man holding onto Sakura's hand and she immediately let go, jumping into his arms.

"Sasuke-kun," she sobbed, her makeup running. "Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, I love you so much…"

"I know, sweetheart. I know everything. We could've solved this problem together, you know that? I love you, Sakura, and nothing, not even a fake breakup, not even an arranged marriage," he said, kissing her softly, "Can ruin this." He dropped the newspaper clipping.

"Y-You knew?"

"Yeah. I knew there was something wrong with you that wasn't normal. I know you, Sakura."

By now, the church was chattering all over, wondering who this strange, handsome man was.

"Get your hands off my wife!" the man said, going after Sasuke. The priest stopped them all.

"She hasn't said her vows yet. Therefore, she is not legally your wife."

Sasuke hugged Sakura tight and promised to protect her from the man coming towards him. "We'll run away and start a new life together, okay? Is that alright with you?"

She nodded in his shoulder. "Yes, yes, anything with you. I want to be with you."

"That settles it," he said, raising his voice. He took Sakura by the hand and they started to run out the doors.

In high heels, a wedding dress, holding hands with a boy in a T-shirt and jeans, running away and laughing together, tears in their eyes, she knew that she wouldn't get married today.

But she was going to get married, and she would make sure it was with this man as they ran off to nowhere.

Slight changes 7.8.14!