So Mel doesn't like Sakura which I GUESS is a bit understandable, but she hearts my Sasuke which is all that matters. I like my drama queen. I can release all my bitching through my characters that way.

~*SASUKE*~

"Dude, are you gay?" Naruto's question caught me so off guard the football we were tossing back and forth on the field almost drilled a hole in my face. Skillfully, I recovered, plucking it out of the air and spiraling it back to the idiot at full force.

"No. Fuck no. What the hell, man?"

"Dude, you're, like, the hottest guy here and the last to get a girl. You're a fucking senior, dude. And the quarterback. You could get any girl you want." That wasn't necessarily true, but I didn't correct him.

"Hottest?" I asked instead, somewhat disgusted. "And you're calling me gay?"

"Aw, come on, you know what I mean." He protested. "Kiba got Ino, Neji got Tenten, me and Hinata have been dating for three years now." He never missed the change to brag about his girlfriend. "You've never even shown any interest in girls."

"Shown" being the key word. Seventeen years of practice left me good at hiding my emotions. That didn't mean she didn't reign supreme over my thoughts. She was the plague that made my heart stop. Every flash of pink out of the corner of my eyes gave me whiplash from turning around, searching for her face. I got a Facebook to stalk her page. What else could I do? She had been my best friend for years, the solid type of friendship you just didn't mess with. Unfortunately, when it came to her, there was a lot of things I wanted to mess with.

"They're all bitches and whores. Who needs them?" Fuck if I was ever going to let anyone know about it. It was fucking degrading. Who the hell got that strung out over a girl? All the guys have, but this was bad for the image I've built. They were still fucking with Neji for getting with Tenten. The way she messed with me—well, it was mortifying.

Naruto laughed, grinning mischievously. "I'm tellin' Sakura you said that. She's gonna rip your head off." I twitched. She would. She was fiercely feministic and feisty as hell. Fuck, that's why I loved her.

"What the fuck is she, my mother?" I asked anyway, momentarily relieved to have steered away from the original topic. I offered him a bone I knew he couldn't resist. "So how are you and Hinata?"

That same, loose, involuntary grin that made him look like he was on cloud nine melted his features, just like it always did when he started talking about Hinata. Immediately, I regretted my question, a pinprick of jealously in my chest. This dude was the happiest loser I'd ever met. "It's great. She's so pretty and kind and nice and…"

He launched into some mundane story about taking her out for her birthday for ramen (again) and how perfect and warm-and-fuzzy it was or whatever. I really couldn't give a damn, but I took the distraction, focusing on the steady rhythm of tossing the football back and forth between us, remembering to grunt or roll my eyes every once and a while to pretend I was listening.

"Yo, Sasuke," Suigetsu abruptly tackled me to the ground, the football Naruto was passing to me slammed into my gut like a battering ram on the way down. Naruto and Kiba, who'd snuck up with Suigetsu burst out into laughter at my expense, which was greatly unappreciated.

"The fuck?" I swore, not sure which surprised me more, Suigetsu's tackle or the fact that Kiba and him were quiet enough to sneak up on me.

"Dude, please tell me you gave Karin the note." He said, a touch of desperation in his voice. Even playboy Suigetsu finally fell hard for some chick. I refused to be the same.

"I couldn't find her. I gave it to Sakura to give to her." Suigetsu froze, stunned, before looking confused.

"That's fucking stupid of you." He said condescendingly. I was slightly offended, not from his words, but because he actually spoke like he thought he was smarter than me. "Why the hell would you do that?"

"I don't know, because they're friends or whatever and girls have some sort of freaky psychic connection and always know where peopleare?"

"That's because they ask for directions." Naruto said. Nobody laughed. It was a lame joke.

"You have problems, dude." Kiba announced, disappointed.

I blinked."What do you mean?"

"They aren't friends." He said. My mind reeled.

"They hang out together." I defended myself.

"Because they have mutual friends." Kiba explained, though I still didn't quite understand. I never thought about how they didn't seem to talk that often or sit next to each other in groups. They'd partnered up for some projects, but then again that didn't mean much.

"So? She'll still get the message across." I tried to convince them, shrugging off my embarrassment and passing the ball back to Naruto. It flew into his hands with a thunk.

"Maybe you aren't gay." Naruto admitted, taking his time readjusting his fingers over the ball's laces. "Gay guys wouldn't be so stupid about girls."

"Depends on the gay guy." Kiba argued. Naruto tossed the ball in his direction, and he caught it with ease. "Some are even worse. Which is why they're gay."

"It can be worse?" Suigetsu asked sarcastically, still slightly nervous.

"I don't think so." Naruto shook his head as Kiba passed the football to Suigetsu. "Not if he still hasn't figured out what Sakura is all about."

"I know Sakura," I said. We were close friends at least. Most of the time, I could read her thoughts. It didn't help she was more than an open book. She was a cover with the pages ripped out and handed out on the streets. I caught Suigetsu's pass.

"So you know how she feels about you?" Kiba asked skeptically.

"Yeah." I threw the ball at Naruto with more force than necessary. "A friend."

Then came the chorus of exasperated groans from the guys. "It's settled," said Kiba. "He really hasn't realized it. No one can play stupid for that long."

I said nothing. I didn't want to hear what they were saying. She may not even like me. Worse, I could let myself hope. Not gonna happen. She wasn't going to fuck with me any more than this.

Naruto's eyes looked gloomy, let down. "Poor Sakura."

I love the guys. Only seriously. My only regret is that they're such background characters. Sigh. Next chapter up in a few (minutes). Keep Reading!