/ im only me when im with you /
Haruno Sakura. Captain of the junior varsity volleyball team. Member of Konoha's nationally ranked debate team. Voted best eyes two years in a row and stealing most likely to succeed from Yamanka Ino (which was fine with Ino she still won prettiest girl in their class). Constantly busy with life, Sakura vowed her freshman year to savor every moment because once she got accepted to Suna University, she would be off and running towards her dream of becoming a doctor. Surrounded by bodies in the hall constantly and swarmed during free period, the only way the intelligent, low-key raven-haired boy could communicate with one of Konoha's most popular girls was by discreetly slipping notes in her locker during passing time.
Uchiha Sasuke isn't unpopular because he's ugly, or weird or smelly rather the opposite. His observant and logical thinking causes him to focus on bigger things in the universe, prettier things, better things. Being bland isn't too bad though, he's maneuvered his way through school this far so whatever he's doing must be working. Besides, with people like Kiba and Neji in your class, it's probably better to blend in.
As the warning bell sounds, students scramble towards their next period trying to avoid any punishment that may be handed to them if they show up after the final bell. He stands at his locker, the piece of notebook paper folded neatly in his hand. The uneven, scraggly edges removed because those annoying things shouldn't exist, honestly. He peeks to his left, glancing through strands of his dark hair to see Kiba and Sakura standing at her open locker, talking in what they probably think are whispers but are really just lowered voices. Her voice continues to get animated, fluctuating with each sound leaving her mouth. Kiba sighs, muttering something before walking off, leaving the rosette by herself. This is his moment.
Sasuke swallows harshly, forcing himself to shut his locker louder than he intended. Sakura whips her head towards him, and he can see her dark under eyes and unusual puffy cheeks as he nears her. Her expression is harsh; if her eyes could shoot laser beams, he'd be disintegrated. His right hand is gripping the paper tightly, probably leaving annoying creases in it. Her eyes soften and she flashes him a small smile as she closes her locker.
"Here." He forces the note towards her, avoiding any eye contact, afraid he may melt into a puddle of mush. As she takes the note from his hand, her fingers brush his knuckles. It's only moments, a millisecond or two really, but it's enough to cause the young Uchiha to ascend into a deep shade of scarlet; his ears matching his cheeks. The final bell rings and signals the passing period is over and class has begun; Sakura saunters past the flushed boy and giggles, "I'll see ya later Sasuke."
He lets out a breath he didn't realize was trapped in his body, "Hn." Is all that comes out, barely loud enough for her to hear, but she still hears it.
Mikoto, Sasuke's mother, had asked Sasuke earlier that morning if Sakura would be interested in coming over to help in the garden. After telling her he didn't want to bother Sakura with something as mundane as working in the garden and her persuasive scolding, he annoyingly agreed to ask her later that day. Now, the two sit on the wood bench in the vegetable section of the garden; tomato vines crawling up the cages, onions peeking through the dirt.
Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, the pink strands falling past her shoulders. A red piece of cloth is used as a head hand to keep the stray pieces of hair at bay, smudges of dirt cover her cheeks and forehead. She looks to her left, the boy next to her resting his head on the back of the bench, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I can feel you staring." He opens his right eye and looks over to her then closes it. His cheeks turn a delicate shade of pink, his ears following suit.
"I can't help it. You don't seem to mind it when girls do it in the hall all the time."
"No one looks at me Sakura."
"I do."
The pink quickly rushes to a deep shade of red. "You look like one of those tomatoes."
She giggles, as he opens his mouth to say something back but she's already scooting closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He doesn't move, letting her bring her knees up to her chest as she wraps her arms around them. He reminds himself to exhale, then inhale. He doesn't know how long they stay like that, but it isn't long enough.
They met by accident in the school library after school. She was sitting at a table in the back corner by the almanacs and test books when he stumbled upon her hunched body. All the other tables were taken by groups of rowdy afterschool clubs; her dazzling green eyes froze him in place. She offered him a spot at the table and the two quietly studied together.
They started hanging out at his house some days, Mikoto was shocked to see a girl sitting at the island in the kitchen with her youngest son but delighted no doubt. Sometimes they would feed the fish at the docks or bet who could gather more peaches off his neighbor's peach tree. With each day they hung out, he learned something new about her. Like how when she laughed, really laughed, her eyes squeezed shut and cheeks turned pink. And when he'd compliment her on how she looked she would turn a light pink but if he complimented her on something deeper, with substance, she turned a darker shade of red.
Her parents have always been supportive of her dream to become a doctor and she only plays volleyball for a scholarship. She's been best friends with Ino for years, but sometimes she wishes she could talk about something other than boys and gossip. She likes sitting in silence, reading sci-fi novels and would rather do that than go to a party. She loved a certain book series and gushed about all the details to him, talking fast. She would sing in the car with him, and always asked to borrow one of his hoodies.
He learned the Sakura at school and the Sakura he knew were two different people and only few met both.
"Push A to jump. B to crouch. Y to switch weapons. And hit these to attack, ok?" He presses the buttons on the front of the controller showing her what to do. She nods, mentally stating she'll just hit every button she can as fast as she can. After three rounds and one loss, she comes out on top beating SandyMan00. She had told Sasuke she had never played a video game in her life so he took it upon himself (with consent of course) to take her video game virginity.
"I'm sorry for not talking to you at school." She looks at him, regret on her face. For the past two years of their high school experience, they had been hanging out. Sakura wouldn't say it's a secret, mainly because she's never embarrassed to admit she likes being around Sasuke. But over the past two years she has come to understand how much he hates attention; he just wants to get through school and go off to college to study business so he can help run the family business, she respects that.
Even after two years running, he still trembles as she makes eye contact with him in the hallway. Last year she walked past him at lunch and nodded, causing him to nearly choke on his water. She knew he was introverted, but introverted around people he didn't know, and in situations he didn't know. The Sasuke she sees when they go to the park to people watch is attentive and playful, and when they read by the dock relaxed and loud.
But she's guilty of masking herself to only people she feels safe with too. With Kiba and everyone else she's loud and steamrolling, absorbing attention and perfecting her image. With Sasuke she's messy and unorganized and he allows her time and space to think, he questions her questions. They can seek refuge in each other, from the real world, knowing they'll be safe.
She found peace in Sasuke the same way Sasuke found exhilaration in her. Over the past two years the two have grown to understand and appreciate one another in a way no one else would understand. The friendship they formed was nurtured by both, and because of this, she pushed down any other feelings and he pushed away any other feelings because whatever this is, that they have, must be taken care of.
The parties on Fridays are different from the parties on Saturdays. She's standing on the sidewalk, the brick mansion behind her consumed by green ivy is probably three songs away from tumbling down due to the bass ripping through the speakers inside. The black minidress seemed like a good choice hours ago, but that was after pregramming with Ino and Tenten. The cool spring air nips at her legs and exposed chest; the square neckline exposing her chest in what Ino insisted was an 'unforgiving, sexy way'; leave it to Ino to dress her in this. At least she had the courtesy to give her something with long sleeves. The chunky, leather knee-high platform booties were comfortable given she's been rubbing against who knows who, for who knows how long, for whatever reason.
Two headlights break the horizon and Sakura's hopeful it's the last person she just texted and probably the only person from their school not at the party. He pulls up next to her in a black SUV, the windows rolled down. He's in a black hoodie, the red and white Uchiha crest on the side of the arm. His hair is messy and he's still as gorgeous as ever. He stares at her, his eyes lingering on her chest and thighs. She smirks and grabs the door handle, jumping into the passenger seat.
She plugs her phone into the charging cable and connects her phone to Bluetooth, ignoring his protests. She blasts a song he's never heard as he drives away. Her long hair whips past her head as she yells the lyrics to the song, her arms spread in the air. She laughs as she messes up the lyrics and Sasuke tilts his head towards her, a goofy grin plastered on his face. As the chorus hits a second time, she leans out the window, the middle part of her back resting on the car door. She closes her eyes as she hangs out the window, the music carrying her to another dimension. She opens her eyes to look at the stars above her.
"Let's go to the monument."
Twenty minutes later, they're sitting on a bench overlooking the twinkling city lights. Her head rests on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her to keep her warm. She refused his hoodie multiple times earlier; as smart as he may be, putting a shirt on under his hoodie didn't seem to come up before he left the house. Sasuke would never admit it, but after seeing her cryptic texts all night and the last one asking him to rescue her, he rushed out of the house afraid she was in trouble.
"Thank you." She looks up at the stars, and he does the same, resting his cheek against her head.
"For picking you up? I'll always be here Sakura." His voice is gentle and calm. Her heart swells at his words, her cheeks heating up.
"For letting me be me when I'm with you."
a/n; i love taylor swift and sssk (honestly ss in general is) are so tswift coded its unreal. enjoy!