A/N: First actual chapter, revised. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Well, this was certainly a surprise. Not completely unexpected, but definitely not how she imagined her first day at this new school. Not that she was intimidated or anything (yeah right), but Sakura really wasn't fond of being cornered and yelled at in front of a group of avid spectators, and about utter nonsense as well. Unfortunately escape didn't seem likely, as she was surrounded on all sides by the vapid girls squawking away. Sighing in exasperation, she flipped her hair back, and continued ignoring them as she had been for the past couple minutes, but every now and then a few voices would break through.
"—you can't compare! So don't think he's even slightly interested in you!"
"Exactly, so like, stay away from him!"
"That's right! If Sasuke-kun's going to date anyone it will be one of us, not some newbie pink-haired freak!"
Ah yes, Sasuke…just where is my supposed guide anyway? Discreetly she looked around, but only saw girls sneering in her direction or guys hoping for a cat fight. He leaves for one second and this is what happens. I suppose it's my own fault though. I mean really, I should have just stayed away from the guy; a face like that can only mean trouble.
The girls continued on their diatribe, and though she was starting to get annoyed, she didn't bother to look even vaguely interested or affected and simply resumed stashing her books in her locker. She almost started tapping her foot, and couldn't suppress readjusting the strap of her bag in impatience. Are they planning on shutting up anytime soon, or . . .? Ugh, okay I'll just settle this now.
Looking straight at one of the girls who appeared to be the leader (what's her name?), and her puffed up red face, Sakura couldn't help quirking a brow at her vehemence. All for some guy who wouldn't give her the time of day if her life depended on it? Sheesh. The girl was throwing out insults like they were going out of style, and as stupid as it all was, it was really starting to get on her nerves. The whole situation was ridiculous, and though it was very tempting, the only reason she refrained from pulling back her fist and decking the silly girl for getting in her face was that she'd promised herself she'd try not to make a scene on her first day. So much for that… Their words bounced off her with ease, but that didn't make the screeching any less annoying.
If Sakura hadn't spoken with the guy in question and had simply seen him from a distance she thought she could kind of understand the girls' obsession with him. After all, she couldn't deny that he was drop-dead gorgeous. Not to mention filthy rich (as proven by the handsome Bugatti she'd seen that was apparently his). However, everything else about him was off-putting, from his don't-come-near-me body language to his utterly indifferent, albeit handsome, face. Besides, meeting him was the sole reason she was stuck listening to the blabbering group of girls in front of her, and that in itself is off-putting enough. It was really pure coincidence that she saw him so often, especially in such a big school. She was quickly learning though that everyone in this school knew who he was, many of the girls lining up in front of his classes hoping to get a glimpse of him.
She thought it was beyond stupid, and only confirmed her suspicion that most of the girls at this school were of the snotty, self-entitled bitch variety. She could see that many of them were too shallow to care about anything besides looks and material things. In any case, now would be a good time to make it clear that she was definitely not one of them.
She could tell the girl wasn't about to stop talking anytime soon, so she just cut in, the girl's name popping into her head at the last second, "Listen, Ami, right? I really couldn't care less about dating Uchiha Sasuke," she said, looking straight at the fangirl with bored green eyes and slamming her locker door closed in the process, "He's my guide around school, that's it. Now, I really need to get to class, so if that's all . . .?"
The girls looked like they wanted to protest, but Sakura's patience was just about over, and one look at the warning in her eyes sent the girls backing away in surprise. At first glance Sakura's features didn't seem intimidating, but one look at the sharpness and burgeoning annoyance in her eyes was enough to know it was time to back down or risk getting burned.
Ami tried to recover her startled face, but only managed a quick "Just stay away from him", before scurrying away with her gaggle of friends. Sometimes a little self-confidence and spine was all it took to send the bullies away, and thanks to experience in much worse situations, Sakura had both in spades.
Shaking her head in disbelief she headed off to the cafeteria, still contemplating the allure of someone like Uchiha Sasuke. To his credit, the guy didn't seem to lead any of them on, ignoring the chance that most testosterone-driven boys would die for. She doubted he was gay (call it intuition?), just completely disinterested with people in general. He was definitely one of the most aloof people she'd ever been around, and she'd been tempted quite a few times to ask him just how he did it. She felt she was way too expressive to completely master that state of being, but you never know, and it seemed like a useful skill. She didn't know him well enough to say why he appeared so emotionless, but she did note that it was a good way to hide- an effective mask. His detached aura, however, quickly let her know that any questions by her, not relating to school, were not welcome.
Now why, you might ask, was this stoic hottie even deigning to answer her questions? Well, that was the coincidental part of the whole situation; he just happened to have several classes with her and was chosen by the Dean to show her around for the first week of school. She didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of it, and though she did admit that he was hot, it didn't mean she'd try to date him or anything. It looked as if he had the emotional capacity of a rock. Besides, he didn't need any more girls trailing after him, and the resulting drama really wouldn't be worth it.
"What are you thinking so hard about, forehead-girl?" a voice from her left called, bringing with it a fruity, flowery smell.
Pausing and turning her head slightly Sakura came face to face with mischievous sky blue eyes and long blond hair pulled into a high ponytail.
"Nothing pig, just the banality of high school life and the ubiquitous cattiness of teenage girls" she replied, mockingly sticking her nose up and adopting a pretentious air. She smirked as Ino laughed and rolled her eyes, falling into step next to her.
"Can't you talk like a normal person for once? Yes, the girls here are bitches. Actually, I heard about what happened," she said, smiling slyly as they reached the doors of the cafeteria, "so, you making a bid for Sasuke-kun?"
At his name she fluttered her eyes and cooed in a remarkably (and scarily) accurate imitation of Sasuke's many fangirls, and Sakura visibly cringed in disgust. "Yeah . . . not happening. A girl named Ami came up to me and started yelling about staying away from him, blah, blah, blah. I tuned most of it out."
Ino laughed and led her to the lunch line as they both pulled out some money. "Well," she started, rising her voice over the din in the cafeteria, "I have to say, you have the worst luck. Out of everyone in the school who could be your guide, it had to be him."
"Yeah, and I have a feeling that's not the last of the grief I'll be getting because of him," she sighed, paying for a sandwich, salad, and water.
The girls gathered up their things and turned to face the rest of the room. It was quite large with circular tables spread out and cliques gathered around various areas. Ino seemed to know exactly where she was going, so Sakura just followed, stepping over backpacks and squeezing between chairs.
"At least you have something nice to look at for the rest of the week" Ino remarked, winking conspiratorially and pulling out a chair at the table they stopped at, "He's hot. Nothing next to my Shika of course, but still."
Now it was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes, "No one ever compares to Shikamaru for you, pig." she said, grabbing her own chair and smiling at the boy in question across from her.
Shikamaru just glanced up at the two of them before muttering a quiet "troublesome" and going back to whatever game he was playing on his cell.
Ino glanced over his shoulder and scoffed, "More online chess? This is the only time during the day you get to see your girlfriend Shika!" she exclaimed, pointing her salad fork at him rather threateningly.
"Yare yare, I see you every day after school Ino," he drawled, but put away his phone anyway, much to Sakura's amusement.
They were so cute together, in their own way. She could tell Ino was crazy about him, and the guy probably put more effort into being with her then he did with anything else.
Ino smiled and gave him a peck on the mouth before turning her attention back to Sakura. "Anyway, Sakura, tell me if they bother you too much though. Ami might not look like it, but she can be vicious. The last girl on her shit list was so traumatized she changed schools after Ami and her minions were done with her."
Sakura shrugged, "I told her I couldn't care less about him, so hopefully she'll get the hint and stop bothering me. She's like a mosquito, annoyingly persistent, but easily swatted. Besides, you know I can handle myself." She looked at her meaningfully and Ino nodded. If anyone could be trusted to handle herself, it'd be Sakura.
The topic soon passed as they chatted away about classes before two other people approached the table. The girl had midnight blue hair reaching her shoulders and wore a rather figure-hiding thick parka. She had beautiful pale eyes that looked almost pupilless, but Sakura couldn't detect much confidence there, and she held her arms strangely in front of her- as if to protect herself.
The boy she was next to was rather on the chubby side, with a round face and course brown hair. He had a bag of potato chips in his hand that he was consuming rapidly. He raised a hand to Shimakaru as he sat down, who nodded back.
They looked surprised at seeing Sakura at their table, but quickly smiled and introduced themselves, "Hello, I'm Hyuuga Hinata."
"Akimichi Choji," the boy nodded.
Sakura took an instant liking to the girl, despite wondering why she appeared so shy, and Choji seemed nice enough. She gave them both a friendly smile, "Hey, I'm Haruno Sakura, AKA the new girl. Nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too, Sakura-san. How do you like the school so far?" Hinata asked, settling down in her chair and opening her bento lunch.
"It's not bad so far, this campus is beautiful. The teachers seem really good too," she said, but then groaned in annoyance, "The only bad point would be the Sasuke-followers that want to crucify me."
Hinata giggled at her defeated expression, but tried to console her, "Don't pay them any attention, Sakura-san. You can't help it if he's your guide."
"Wow, has everybody heard about this already?" Sakura asked, flabbergasted. She hadn't expected Hinata to know exactly what she was talking about before she'd even explained anything.
"Word travels fast, forehead," Ino answered, "It's not too surprising."
"You're also the only pink-haired girl at this school, Sakura-san." Hinata added, feeling sympathy for the girl.
"Huh, I guess so," Sakura mused. Then, "Hey, you don't have to call me –san, just Sakura is fine!"
Hinata blushed, but smiled and acquiesced, "Alright, Sakura-chan. Please call me Hinata then."
And so lunch hour passed, and Sakura slowly got to know her new friends. Choji was really very sweet, but seemed supremely concerned with food. Shikamaru and she talked, and he was a very smart, but definitely laid-back, lazy kind of guy. Sakura couldn't help but think he was perfect for Ino though, since she was so high-maintenance. Ino at least marginally mellowed out in his presence, and he seemed to activate a bit more when with her. As for Hinata, she was pretty soft-spoken, but she had a gentility and honest way about her that was refreshing.
The new year was looking up, and for the first time in a while Sakura felt like maybe she'd found somewhere to belong. It'd been some time since she'd felt genuinely happy, and it was definitely a feeling she wanted to hold onto.
"So Sasuke-teme, what's this about you and the new girl?"
Pointedly ignoring the blond-haired annoyance twirling around a basketball and leaning against the locker next to his, Sasuke slammed his locker door shut and started walking towards the gym locker rooms.
"Come on Sasuke, the whole school knew before me, and now you're refusing to at least give me some details? That hurts, that really hurts . . ." his friend cribbed, wiping fake tears from the corners of his eyes, and looking at him beseechingly.
So that's why everyone's staring more than usual. Damn that girl. Hoping Naruto would shut up and leave him alone, Sasuke replied, trying to reign in his temper, "Shut up, dobe. She's just some girl I have to show around."
Naruto brightened up instantaneously, "Well, show her around our table sometime. She's hot."
Sasuke snorted in disgust, "No. And it's not our table, dead last, it's my table. You just won't leave. And you bring the rest with you," he added, his displeasure plain.
At the beginning of Freshman year Sasuke had resolved to keep to himself and just get through high school as quickly and uneventfully as possible. Of course, trust Naruto to screw everything up. He'd known him in middle school, and they had a kind of rivalry-based-bond (though Sasuke would never admit this out loud) that Naruto wouldn't let him break. He'd gotten into some bad crowds before their first year began, and after pulling him out of it Naruto wouldn't leave him to himself. He'd plopped himself down across from Sasuke on their first day without a care, ignoring the dark eyes glaring daggers at him, and soon enough brought other friends with him.
Since then, the lunch table that Sasuke had once designated his own became occupied by him, Naruto, and two other people.
Kiba Inuzuka was a player type of guy with a loud, brash voice and strange tattoos on his face. He and Naruto always went at it, arguing about everything under the sun, competing tirelessly in basketball, and yet somehow still remaining friends. They were both very vocal, outgoing people, and ended up organizing most of the school's parties.
Shino Aburame was really quiet, even quieter than Sasuke, and that's saying something. He spoke in strange phrases, wore dark sunglasses and a jacket that covered most of his face, and had an odd fascination with bugs. He and Kiba had been friends since forever.
Of course, Naruto knew practically everyone in their grade and was friends with most, but people generally steered clear of their table with Sasuke being there. The only reason Kiba and Shino sat there was because Kiba had thick skin and did whatever he wanted, and Shino was quiet enough that Sasuke could actually tolerate him. It'd been this way for three years running, so for better or worse it'd probably stay that way.
Naruto's loud voice brought Sasuke back to the present. "Yeah right, like you mind anyway! You're in a bad mood today, teme – is it that time of the month already?" he jabbed, laughing raucously at his own joke.
Sasuke just rolled his eyes and kept walking, "Idiot. Go bother someone else."
"Heh, whatever teme," Naruto quipped, completely unfazed by his friend's cold attitude. Just then the warning bell rang and he looked to his phone, cursing at the time. "Shit man, I need to be in Ibiki's class in five or I'll land in detention, and it's across campus!"
Taking off in the opposite direction of the gym, he called out something about a party and giving him the details later and then sped off.
Sasuke simply shook his head at the whirlwind that was Naruto and turned towards the locker room doors, ready to burn off some of his frustration on the gym floor.