So this one's totally for my Nancy because I love her and she told me she was dying for chapter 4. And God knows I love that girl to pieces. Seriously I was meant to be born a year earlier because Class of '13 is the shit.

Enjoy!

~*SASUKE*~

"Hey." A girl I'd never noticed before suddenly latched onto my arm as I was about to enter homeroom. There was a bandage over her nose and she batted two of the dullest brown eyes I'd ever seen at me. The rest of her was all right, I suppose, but she smelled like too much perfume and you could tell she thought she was the shit. There was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way, as with the majority of the female population.

I tried to mask my irritation, but the arm she was clinging to stiffened and I'm pretty sure my eyebrow twitched. "May I help you?"

"I have a secret," she sing-songed. "The only price is a kiss."

I didn't hesitate before turning away. Unfortunately, she wasn't that easy to get rid of.

"Wait," she said, pulling me back. She sounded almost frantic for a second. It hadn't crossed her mind that unlike a normal teenager, I didn't care about secrets. "Don't you want to know?"

"No." I turned away again, but again she pulled me back.

"But it's about Sakura." There was no mistaking it. She wanted me to know. I rolled my eyes and deeply exhaled. Partly because I was legitimately exasperated, but also because I didn't want her to know she'd captured my interest.

"If I let you tell me, will you leave me alone?" I wondered, letting annoyance taint my tone. She grinned like she'd just won the lottery in three different states and lifted herself onto her toes.

"Sakura threw out your confession to Karin yesterday," she whispered too close to my ear. I was afraid she was going to kiss it.

"So?"

"So, she's in love with you." As soon as she said it, I entered panic mode. Thoughts zipped through my mind, speed continuously increasing. There were a million hopes and denials bashing the sides of my head out. The girl tapped me on the shoulder, which snapped me out of it, then she pointed down the hall.

Sakura was standing there, wiping at tears. I should have run after her then, but I couldn't find it in me to move a muscle. It was just one of those moments you just don't mess with. It must have been true. Visions of everything I'd been missing out on by keeping quiet flashed in the back of the mind. I was in awe, but kicking myself at the same time. Mixed feelings churned in my gut, enough that they spurned me into action again.

I turned toward the brown-eyed girl, who looked pleased with herself. She reminded me of a bird preening its feathers. I narrowed my eyes. "You're lucky you're a girl or you'd be nursing a black eye."

Shock took over her expression. That was clearly not the reaction she was expecting. I didn't care. I hated gossip. She humiliated Sakura. She made her cry. She huffed and stalked away. Good riddance.

I looked back down the hallway, wondering if I should go after Sakura now. I didn't want to deal with her crying, face her with tears in her eyes. I wanted to fix it, but it hurt seeing her like that; a hollow, salty feeling. Anxiety tensed my muscles, keeping me from chasing her, though I wanted to be the man to see it through. The bell rang, making my decision for me. I stepped into homeroom. I could catch up with her later.

You'd think I'd be feeling stupidly in love, anxious to locate Sakura, profess my undying love, take her in my arms and frolic into the sunset. Chances were sprouting up all over that place. But I never expected even one. This would change everything, and it was freaking me out. I was only just getting used to the idea of Sakura and me—together. At this point, my mind had already dubbed it as an inevitability. But the idea terrified me. There was a difference between a combination of wet dreams and girlish fantasies and actually dating a girl. One of us were bound to screw up.

I dropped my lunch tray at our usual table, greeted by my friends' curious looks. I glared at them before I started eating.

"So?" Kiba broke the unnatural silence. He had an apathetic looking Ino tuck under his arm. That concerned me too. Ino was never apathetic.

I took a bite of my pizza. "So what?"

"You know about Sakura." Naruto clarified. I ignored that he spoke.

"Hey, we knew it had to come out eventually." Kiba said. "I mean, Sakura isn't exactly discreet."

I resisted the urge to smirk. If Sakura was discreet, a herd of elephants made for master spies. Then his words sunk in. "You knew?"

"Everyone knew, Sasuke. She's loved you since forever." Naruto said. Well, damn, if that idiot figured it out, it must have been pretty damn obvious.

"And you didn't say," I said, starting to get pissed.

Naruto shrugged. "None of our business. No point in saying. She had no chance."

Was I really that good at hiding it? And all this could have been avoided if I had normal friends that blabbed everything.

"Why are you pissed?" Ino chimed in with major attitude. "She's the one who's heartbroken cause some bitches have loose lips. Sakura's my best friend and she's miserable because you're an asshole."

I snapped, under enough confusion already without her making me feel guilty. I jumped up from my seat and leaned over the table and got up in her face. Using my most menacing voice I said, "Sakura's my best friend, too. I haven't done shit, so get out of my face 'cause this isn't your problem."

Her eyes spit fire my way. She leaned in. "You made it my problem when my best friend was hurt."

"And what the hell do you think I did to her?" I wondered. "I would never hurt her."

"Well, you already did."

I leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. "What was I supposed to do? She ran away before I could catch her."

"You didn't love her back." She almost whispered in rage. I flipped my lunch tray over, cardboard pizza and additional prison food splattering across the table.

"You don't know jack shit." I said, and stormed out of the cafeteria, leaving behind astonished faces. I don't show emotion. But rage?—rage I could do.

I went to Sakura's house after school. I could have walked there with my eyes closed. Standing outside her door, I practiced my I-don't-give-a-shit face which generally came naturally, but I'd never confessed my love to anyone before, particularly no one as frustrating and dramatic as Sakura before. I didn't want to slip and lose it. I wondered how the hell I was going to pull off a love confession with no emotion.

Finally, I gave up and knocked trice on the door. Sakura's mom answered the door with her always happy expression. I was positive she was where Sakura got it all. This woman was just as crazy, but she was pretty cool.

"Hey Sasuke, what's up?" She greeted warmly. Like her daughter, she radiated happy thoughts. And like with her daughter, it scared me. I was afraid I'd lose myself and want to smile.

"Is Sakura home?" Good. I mastered the indifference in my tone. Her gaze flickered suddenly to the left. It was only for a moment, soon all pleasantries once more.

"Sorry, she's not home. Do you want me to pass on a message?" The corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled. My chest seemed to deflate, though I didn't let on. I had the feeling confessing through Sakura's mother wouldn't go over well.

"No, thanks." I said stoically, turning on my heels and retreating to my car. As soon as I closed the car door behind me, I knew I had to find her.

So I spent hours visiting her favorite places over and over again. I kept going home, trying to distract myself from how I screwed up, how I needed to find her. I even did homework—I never do homework—until I realized Sakura usually did my homework and I'd start thinking about her all over again. The need to see her again hit deep in my bones and carried me out to my car where I'd resume my search. By the end of the day, there was no sign of her. She wasn't at the music shop, or buying Coke from the convenience store, or reading a book by the park fountain. I only knew I'd lost my chance, and if she really loved me, hell if I wasn't going to make myself second one.

He better, the idiot. Ah, young love. Not that I would know anything about it. It's still fun to imagine, though.