Crossroads

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: plot, mine. Characters, not mine. Simple really. You can find all the fun things I used as a reference to build this story on pinterest: /callistamiralni/crossroads/

Hmm. I wonder if all these pieces I'm adding makes this story more coherent or not. Oh well.

Miserably rolling his glass between his palms, Naruto couldn't look his best friend in the eye after he blurted out his closest guarded secret.

Sasuke didn't flinch at his outburst, choosing instead to mix another Jack and Coke. "Drink," he said coolly, pushing the red Solo cup into Naruto's hands before mixing another for himself.

"Sasuke, do you understand anything I've been telling you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I understand you need a drink. So drink your damn Jack and Coke, Naruto."

The blonde wanted to shout and accuse Sasuke of being callous but after taking a sip of the mixture, his protests died in his throat.

Naruto wanted more.

"Now," Sasuke said, as businesslike as an obviously buzzed person could be. "What are you going to do about it?"

"You're shitting me."

Sasuke heard Sakura swear before but never in front of older adults. In front of sempais and senseis, Haruno Sakura was all charm and sweet smiles.

"Sakura-san, you're making a scene." Her mother snapped.

"I'm making a scene?" The woman's jade eyes flashed with anger. "You think announcing this at a public restaurant will not cause a scene? I can't believe you!"

Sasuke pulled her back into her seat.

"I gave up everything because you asked me to!" Sakura yelled at her father. "The one choice that could have been mine alone... you decided to take that from me as well."

"Sakura-san," Kizashi warned her. "Eat your cake."

"Eat my cake?" Sakura scoffed. "You've decided my entire future, despite the fact that I am legally an adult, and all you can say to me is eat your cake? Incredible."

She made another movement to leave, but Sasuke stopped her again.

"Sakura," he murmured. "Play the game, remember?"

In her apartment, Sasuke calmly listened to her rant as she threw her belongings into cardboard boxes.

"Can you believe this?" She shrieked, tossing another set of measuring spoons into the box. "Of all the things in the world... what century do we live in where such an arrangement is necessary?

He wondered why on earth she had so many sets of measuring utensils.

"How are you not upset about this?" Sakura turned on him, hands on her hips. "You're just as affected as I am."

Sasuke leaned against the counter. "Unlike you, I had a feeling this day would come soon."

She scoffed. "You thought you'd be stuck in this predicament with me one day?"

Shrugging, he rectified his answer. "Well... not you per say, but someone. With Itachi-nii following after Otou-san in the film industry, I'm the only one left to take over Okaa-san's lab. It's important to keep these kinds of things within families, you know?"

Sasuke knew she was about the launch into another long-winded rant about modern times and basic civil liberties so he hurriedly added, "But I'm glad it's you."

Stunned, Sakura dropped the measuring cups in her hands.

"Why?"

-sakura-
-three weeks later-

Sakura wiped the sweat off her neck with a damp towel and took a long drink of water. The makeshift dance studio in her parents' house used to be the children's study but when her eldest brother got into hip hop dance almost ten years ago, he put up a wall of mirrors and a surround sound system.

She never admitted it, but Sakura loved to dance. She spent hours watching choreographers and practicing in this very room. It was a talent she shared with no one else but her three other siblings and she wanted to keep it that way.

"You dance?"

Sasuke leaned against the door frame, watching her in the mirror. She took another sip of water before addressing him.

"What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow and Sakura wanted to strangle her brother. The worst part of this whole arrangement was the instant camaraderie her three siblings developed with her best friend. Sakura made a mental note to talk to Takashi about gossiping to her friends about her well-being. What other reason would Sasuke have for being in her house?

"How did you get in?"

"Misa."

She made another mental note to talk to her older sister about letting people inside on whim.

"Give me thirty minutes to shower and get dressed."

-sasuke-

Looking around Sakura's childhood bedroom, he couldn't help but compare how different it was from her room in her student apartment. In here, everything was light and Victorian, full of swirling lines and solid colors. At the apartment, she had everything utilitarian and patterned with blue and white squares.

The few photos displayed on the walls showed people Sasuke didn't know. Looking at the photographs unsettled him; how much about Sakura did he actually know? She had an entire life in this bedroom completely foreign to him.

"They are my cousins."

Sakura stood behind him, toweling her damp hair dry. Tossing the towel into the laundry hamper, she sat before the vanity and applied her make-up. Sasuke turned away and went back to studying the photo on the dresser.

"We were sixteen in that photo," she mentioned once she noticed which photo he was studying. "Gaara just got his license and we took off for the beach. Our parents weren't too happy when we came back sunburned."

"They weren't mad you randomly went to the beach?"

She laughed lightly before putting on lip gloss. "Nah. That was to be expected. We're in love with the beach. Our entire family runs this medical enterprise so being sunburned was a big no-no. They told us it made us more vulnerable to skin cancer but that's bullshit. Toss me the Vera Bradley wristlet please."

Handing her the requested item, Sasuke waited for her to slip her phone from its charging dock into the front pocket.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Where are you taking me?"

Sasuke brought her to La Madeline. Watching her for any kind of expression, he couldn't help but resent the disappointment setting in when she only murmured a quiet "thank you" as he opened the door for her. He heard from Ino that La Madeline was her favorite restaurant; shouldn't she have some kind of reaction to being brought here?

Then again, Sakura did take the news harder than he did. Sasuke already resigned himself to the inevitable but he could not say the same for Sakura. If her dance performance earlier was anything to go by, she was trying to run away from the truth.

Despite her protests, he paid for their meals and led her to a window table. "My idea, my treat."

"Fine," Sakura retorted. "But I get our next meal."

"Fair enough."

The tension between them disappeared as they got up to get drinks and complimentary bread and jam. Sakura behaved like her normal self—laughing at his snide comments as he told tales of his final days with their friends.

In a way, Sasuke was glad it was Sakura and not a complete stranger. At least, they had a good history together. If anything, he could count on Sakura to support him as a friend during what promised to be a turbulent summer ahead.

When their food arrived, Sasuke asked her, "So have you started with the preparations?"

For a moment, she was silent before answering, "My mom booked the venue for the announcement. I'm supposed to go dress shopping this afternoon with Ino-chan."

"Does she know?"

Sakura shook her head. "I only told her it was for something about the hospital and I didn't know the details."

"I can take you"

"You don't have to do that," Sakura protested. "It'll be really boring, I promise. Ino-chan's crazy and loves to dress me up. The last time we went shopping, it took us all day because she kept shoving me into a million different clothes."

"Sakura," he smiled slightly. "It's not a problem."

"If you wanted to go so badly, why didn't you just say so in the first place?" She huffed before taking another bite.

Sasuke shook his head in amusement before finishing the last of his lunch.

-ino-

The silver sports car pulled up to her door was familiar but Ino was still surprised when she opened the front door and found Sakura sheepishly sitting next to Sasuke.

"Hi?" Her best friend said with an awkward laugh. "We were grabbing lunch and he wanted to come with us."

"I didn't know you were in town, Sasuke-kun," Ino said as she slid into the back seat. "You should have called me."

"I had to do something for my mom."

"You can stay at my house if you don't have a place," Ino offered.

Sasuke waved her invitation away. "It's alright. A buddy of mine wants to go out tonight. But thanks for the offer."

"So!" Ino prodded Sakura in the shoulder. "Tell me everything you know about this hospital gala. I'm going to make you look drop dead gorgeous so you can snag a man at last!"

Sakura laughed weakly. "Oh please don't."

"She doesn't need to snag a man," Sasuke piped up with an impish smile. "Naruto's all but popped the question."

Ino laughed. "Naruto-kun doesn't count. He hasn't even asked her out, even though we all know he's head over heels for her."

"He's like a puppy with the way he follows her around. No matter how many times you kick it, the puppy still loves you."

The other woman agreed.

Sakura shoved him in the shoulder and turned to glare at Ino. "That's so mean, you two. Besides, Naruto-kun is not like a puppy."

"How so?" Ino challenged.

"Puppies are cute."

The entire car erupted in laughter.

Sakura was in the dressing room trying on a sleek black and silver number with a pink bow. Ino drummed her fingers on the armrest in impatience before tilting her head upwards to Sasuke. He was on facebook per usual.

"You really didn't come here because you're bored, did you?"

Sasuke shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Nothing escapes you, does it?" He said with a crooked smile. "I'm supposed to match my tux with her dress."

Shocked, she gaped at him. "Then that means... you're her date to the gala!"

"Exactly." Sasuke gave her another smirk. "But don't mention it because she doesn't know my mom is making me take her."

Ino stared at him for awhile before collecting herself. There was no denying Sasuke was handsome, if the number of girls who slipped him their numbers every time they went out in public was anything to go by. Sasuke had that whole cliche tall, dark, and handsome thing. The worst part was that Sasuke knew he was sought after but was extremely picky. If only he realized his lack of a girlfriend had more to do with his exacting tastes than a lack of available women.

Sakura, the sister of three dazzling and model-worthy individuals, was the plain one in the lot. Not to say she wasn't pretty, but Sakura did nothing to draw attention to herself. She wore enough make up to cover up acne and plucked the stray hairs from her eyebrows, yet anything beyond that was dismissed as a waste of time and energy. If Ino could accuse her best friend of anything, it would be that Sakura had no idea how beautiful she was.

"Are you taking her as a publicity stunt?"

The smile on Sasuke's face wasn't quite as sincere.

"Like I said, nothing escapes you."

-sasuke-

The bar played soft jazz and the dim lights were more for ambiance than practicality. It was the kind of place the elder Uchiha sibling would visit, filled with sophistication and class. Sasuke easily found the alcove in the back corner where his brother sat nursing a martini.

"Why did you want to see me?"

His brother slid the drink menu across the table. "Order first. Then we'll talk."

Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke called a passing waiter and ordered rum and coke. When his drink arrived, Itachi waited until he took a generous sip.

"You must know why I called you here."

"I had to wonder," Sasuke remarked with a touch of sarcasm. "It's not like I'm in the middle of a huge transition right now."

Itachi ignored his comment. "First, I'm sorry Okaa-san insisted on doing this."

"And of course, you target the elephant in the room first."

The elder smiled slightly at the remark and took a drink. "But I wanted to talk to you about it because I know you won't say anything to anyone else."

Sasuke looked at him sharply before glancing around the establishment. "Not here Nii-san."

Calmly, Itachi replied, "I chose this place for its discretion Sasuke. No one will report us here. Be honest; why are you going through with this without complaint?"

Swirling ice around in the glass only bought time for him to think. The last thing Sasuke needed was to be alone with his thoughts.

"She could have picked worse."

Itachi frowned. "It's her, isn't it? You know the options her parents had and if you refused, they would pick another."

Sasuke stiffened in his chair before draining his glass. "I'm not that generous," he snapped. "There's already talks between the companies—doing this one thing will strengthen it even more. Focus on making your films, Nii-san, and I'll focus on the research going on in the lab."

Itachi studied him for a moment longer before smiling slightly and calling for the bill.

"Good luck then."

Author's Notes:

I think I lied last chapter.

Oh well.

Ja ne!

Callista Miralni