A/N: Here in the USA it is Thanksgiving eve, and also my youngest brother's birthday! In honor of my having school off tomorrow and time tonight, I'll be posting this new chapter! Enjoy!

Sasuke POV

(Saturday—1:00 pm)

"I can't believe it's already been two weeks since we started that dare, dattebayo!" Naruto's cheeks turn a shade darker and I roll my eyes. I dribble the basketball a few times, then shoot it into the basket from the free throw line. It slams into the backboard and bounces down through the hoop. Naruto catches it and tosses the ball back to me.

"That means six more weeks left." I say indifferently. Naruto shoves his thumb at his own chest dramatically. "Don't be so pessimistic, teme! I'm having fun getting to know Hinata-chan." I shoot the ball again and wait for him to catch it. "I noticed. Are you getting feelings for her, dobe?"

He catches the ball and turns to do a layup. Once it passes through the net, he grabs it and launches it back towards me. "I—I don't know. She's prettier than I remember her ever being. And she's super sweet and—"

"All right, I get it. You're gonna lose this dare." He scowls at me as I back up to the three point line. I dribble the ball, take a deep breath, and throw it. The ball flies through the air and soundlessly falls through the netting. Naruto seizes it and tries a free throw, only to miss.

"And what about you? Sakura-chan seems a little more serious than normal. Did you hurt her because I swear—!" I shake my head and put my hands in my pockets. "She's busy studying for school. Unlike you, she actually prioritizes her time." His face changes from growing anger to amusment. He gives me a mischievous grin and I realize I must have said something wrong.

Naruto picks up the ball and holds it to his hip. "Sounds like you're getting closer to Sakura-chan, teme." I scoff and decide to end our practice. "It's none of your concern. I'm not going to hurt her."

"That's just it. You can't control how you hurt her because you do! Even when you don't mean to." Naruto's vibrant blue eyes are glazed over with emotion, his jaw is set and he looks extremely serious. This blond has never done anything to intimidate me, before now. I glare back at him until he finally looks away and mutters something under his breath.

I walk over the bench and grab my bag, then stride to my car. Seeing as it is Saturday, I had nothing better to do except practice with Naruto. Now that this is done, I have no idea where to go from here. I watch Naruto frown to himself, then jog over to his own vehicle. I sigh, then pull out of the small park.

I drive in the opposite direction of my own home and keep driving. After many silent minutes on the street, I take a deep breath and decide to call the pinkette. I need to do something to get my mind off of my older brother and his gang. I pull over next to a farmer's market and park.

As I dial her number I see a small figure with pink hair holding a large bag of what I can only guess to be fruits and vegetables. Sunglasses frame her face, hiding her emerald eyes, but I know it's her. I watch Sakura for a few more seconds until she reacts to the buzzing of her phone. She sets the groceries down onto her car and pulls out her phone from her back pocket.

I open my car door and decide to head her way. I make my way towards her, but she doesn't see me coming and actually answers my call. "Hello?" Her melodic voice reaches my ears twice as my shadow falls onto her.

"Hey." I say into the speaker and watch her flip around, surprised to see me. I smirk at her embarrassed face and end the phone conversation. She points a slender finger at me and gives me an exasperated look. "What, are you stalking me now?"

I grunt in reply and reach for her heavy bags. She watches me and sighs, then runs a hand through her slightly wavy hair. "What's up, Sasuke-kun?"

"I wanted to study together. Are you available?" Her eyebrow arches and she looks to the bag in my arms. "My parents sent me out to buy the groceries today. I'm almost finished, so do you want to study afterwards?" Since all I've seemed to do since the abuse started was wait, the idea makes me cringe.

Sakura's expression makes me wonder if she realizes my thoughts, and I immediately scowl. "Or you could do this with me?" Her cheeks are dusted with pink at this and her eyes look hopeful. I look back to the market and stare at it for a few minutes. Finally I shrug and decide to follow her.

"Great! I was just gonna put this in the car and then head across the street to buy a few more things." She presses a button on the car's handle and it unlocks, then she opens the door and points to the seat. "You can just leave them there."

I set them down gingerly and then follow her to the sidewalk. We walk side by side in a peaceful silence, and I take notice of her outfit. She's wearing a navy sweater with a white and pink polka dot collared shirt underneath. Her jeans are a darker wash and her flats have a slightly shimmering effect.

"You and your sparkles." I comment, receiving a grin in response. "Don't tell me you're still mad about that time when we were kids."

"Aa. How could I ever forgive you?" I smirk as she lightly punches my arm. We converse about that past incident for a few minutes until we reach the large building. Once there, she lists off the items she needs for her family and I nod in understanding. Sakura quickly leads me to the back section that is slightly chilly.

"Were you out playing basketball, Sasuke-kun?" She asks as she grabs one of the packaged meats. My eyes flicker to my clothing—basketball shorts and a black hoodie with a basketball on it. My wardrobe pales in comparison to the organized woman beside me. "I was with Naruto, practicing."

I pick up the ham that she listed off and follow her towards another aisle. "Naruto is completely oblivious to feelings." She shakes her head with a small smile. We walk by rows and rows of pasta until she finds the style she wants, then grabs it and tosses it into the cart. "I think he's starting to fall for Hinata Hyuga, which would be great considering she has liked him since elementary school."

"But he barely knows her and really is only showing signs of physical attraction. I told him to wait it out a few weeks and see how he feels about her personality. She's a quiet girl but I think they'd be cute together—" I listen to her ramble on about Naruto and Hinata until we finish finding our items and stroll to a self checkout.

"What about you, Sasuke-kun? Are you interested in anyone?" Sakura feigns indifference but her eyes say otherwise. To answer her question, my mind goes to Karin Uzumaki and how infuriating she and the rest of her group are. I frown at the thought of them, but Sakura's green eyes meet mine and I feel my heart beat quicken ever so slightly.

"No, I'm not." Her eyes watch me for a second, as if she's questioning my words. Then she laughs and I raise my eyebrow at her. She covers her mouth to stifle the giggles, but it doesn't do much good. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the time Karin told everyone you were her boyfriend. She even went so far as to try to kiss you when you scored that winning shot. Remember that?"

"Yeah, and it was not funny." I scowl in remembrance.

SWOOSH. BEEEEEEP. The two sounds follow each other so closely that I almost don't believe that I shot in time. But I whip my head around to the scoreboard, and I see that we have won the game. The crowd is roaring and even coming down onto the court. Bodies swarm me and the rest of the team, and I try to retreat from the crowd.

"Sasuke-kun, baby, you did amazing!" To my left spiky red hair bobs close to me. A few other cheerleaders are following her, but I ignore them and shove myself through the sea of people. Once I am by the locker room door, I wipe the sweat from my forehead and take a deep breath. Unfortunately I hear footsteps coming my way.

"I can't believe your boyfriend did that, Karin! You are so lucky!" Girls gush at the redhead as she smirks and tosses her hair. I glare at them and run my hand through my sticky hair. I look down for a split second, but apparently that was al they needed.

A small hand places itself onto my shoulder and Karin leans me down towards her lips. I instantly react by shoving her away, almost knocking her to the ground. "I would never date a liar like you. Get out of hear before you ruin someone else's night."

Tears start to swell in her eyes, but she keeps them in check and swiftly leaves with the cheer squad in tow. I sigh, and turn back towards the rest of the crowd. One person catches my eye, and for a brief second Sakura and I exchange a glance. And then the empty feeling grows inside me again and I escape into the locker room.

"What was it that you wanted to study exactly?" I shrug, really not knowing why studying was the first excuse I had to talk to her. She analyzes my face and I look away. "I don't care. Whatever you want to do."

"Okay. Are you gonna stay for dinner? Mom will need to know so she can cook the right amount of food." I weigh my options carefully, then decide I might as well stay. "Sure." Sakura gives me a dazzling smile, then waves goodbye to me as we take our separate cars.

I follow her Prius the few minutes it takes to reach her home, then we both pull into her long driveway and park our cars. We carry in all of the grocery bags together and drop them off in the kitchen. "My parents are out right now, but they'll both be home this afternoon." I nod and help her take care of the food.

I find a bag full of rosy red tomatoes and my stomach growls in response. We look at each other then and she laughs.

And in this moment, I feel a joy that I haven't had in a long time.

A/N: This wasn't as tense of a SasuSaku chapter, so let me know what you guys think. The next chapter will definitely be NaruHina since this was only SasuSaku. I want some reviews guys! If you review I will mention your name in the next chapter. ;)

Also I want feedback on my idea for a SasuSaku fanfic that I really am excited about! I just want to finish one more fanfic first, but should I start it anyway or wait? Here's a summary of it (I have no name yet so I'll take suggestions):

Sasuke and Sakura were in a dating relationship their freshman year of high school, until he moved away. Now ten years later, Sakura has a husband and a child. Her husband is unfortunately killed while working as a police officer, and she has been left to take care of their two year old child by herself. One day while at the grocery store, her child gets away from her and bumps into a tall man who is none other than Sasuke. Both adults are in shock at seeing each other again, and it only worsens as the child calls him Daddy. Sasuke has moved back into town as one of the leading officers in the station, making Sakura relive the painful memories of her late husband. Will this accidental run-in rekindle their high school romance or will the scars in both of their lives be too much?