I guess you can say that sophomore year threw me off the track.

I wasn't too into school sports that much, and I didn't participate in them, but when Sakura asked me to go to a Friday night basketball game with her, I just couldn't say no.

Yes, I knew she was going just to watch Sasuke play, but it didn't bother me that much. A date was a date (and I got one hell of a punch when I'd told her that—she just wouldn't accept that she'd asked me out on a date). She told me that she didn't want to be a third wheel when she went with Shika and Ino, and then Kiba and Hinata joined in and she just couldn't say no (and when I told her that would be a fifth wheel, she punched me again in the same spot—needless to say, it bruised like a mother fucker).

So when we pulled up to the school in Sakura's car, I was actually kind of warming up to the decision. Everyone was decked out in the school colors, the bright reds and whites standing out—some people had actually painted their faces. It was the big game to determine the champions, so I suppose it should have been big. Our school was way more supportive of our basketball team than of our football, baseball, and any other sport combined, too, so I knew it was going to be packed. I was instantly glad that Sakura had forced me to buy my ticket ahead of time as we slithered in the pre-sale door, making faces at the people who had to wait in line.

We picked a seat on the very front row of the bleachers, right in the center, so that we could see everything go down. Luckily, it was a spot where there were no player chairs or annoying coach tables, either. We gaped at the away side, shocked by how quickly the bleachers were filling up. I didn't expect that many people from the opposing team to show up, but hell, the championship game was huge.

Before the game started, Kiba went and picked up some snacks, then yelled at the security when they wouldn't let him take them inside the gym. Eventually, he bribed him with a few dead presidents (which I tell you, he was not happy about) and was able to take some food inside. We sat waiting for the game to begin, munching on nachos drowning in cheese and drinking tall sodas.

When the opposing team ran out and they called the starting players, our side boo'd them as loud as we could. It was immature, but it was a damn given. They tried to get their side of the gym as riled up as they could, but our booing overpowered their cheers. I thought it was hilarious.

Then our team came out in a burst of loud music from the speakers, running and breaking through a huge sign that read Konoha Firebirds! They raised their arms up and everyone on our side roared in cheers and whoops and hollers. People whistled, and some people started up with the chant along with the cheerleaders. I looked over to Hinata and she gave me a small smile. I nudged her lightly and cheered obnoxiously, and eventually got her to whoop loudly. She blushed a little, and Kiba gave her a high-five. They called out the starting players and everyone cheered correspondingly after each name. It died down a little once the game started, but everyone was still rooting for their team. We were easily ten times louder than the other side, making it easier for our team to hear us.

Our team kicked ass. The Mizu High Sharks had nothing on us. The score had been close and tied for a long time, but in the last five seconds of play, one of our players scored the winning shot.

"And Uchiha Sasuke does it! Our best player does it again!" came the booming voice from the speakers along with some victory music.

The entire team surrounded him, along with everyone running from the bleachers to join in. I hung back on the bleachers with Hinata and Shikamaru, not entirely sure of what I should be doing. My school spirit wasn't as high as everyone else's (I'd even almost wore a blue shirt on accident—and I would have, if Sakura didn't give me a good scolding for it and made me change out of it), so I wasn't about to run down and bro-hug every player.

I looked down to make sure Sakura and Ino hadn't been crushed by the crowd, and spotted a pink-haired girl and a super long ponytail swishing around and knew they were fine.

Everyone was surrounding Sasuke for the most part, but he was completely still. He looked up in the bleachers and stared right at me. I looked around for a moment, but there was no one behind me. Yep, he was staring directly at me.

He licked his lips and blew a chaste kiss at me, and gave a small smirk.

I could feel my face flush and I was sure I would blend in with the red bleachers with the color I was swiftly turning. I covered my face and darted away from the gym.

I skipped the victory party out of fear that I was going to give in.