Hello, you guys!
Thank you very much for all of the kind comments... You make me want to continue writing no matter what!
I don't like this chapter very much, to be honest. XD Not very much happens.
...Hm, just see it as a bridge to the next one, where very much WILL happen! 8D Wanna know what?
Start reading then, come on!
~Lion3queen
To Sakura, the atmosphere around the house didn't feel very different without her mother's presence. She had been in a surprisingly good mood the entire weekend.
It was a Sunday, and Sakura was gardening in her back yard, enjoying the warm weather. She had planted crocuses, camellia's and asters she had bought in a flower shop after going grocery shopping on Friday.
''Gorgeous,'' she whispered to them, inhaling their scent. She reached for her watering can and sprinkled the flowers with water from the faucet.
The pinkette got up, brushed off some dirt from the apron she was wearing and inspected the garden further. The roses seemed to be proliferating, she noticed. Sakura pulled the tree pruner out of the kangaroo pocket from her flower-patterned apron and trimmed the roses that stuck out from the bush. She reached down and gathered the roses in her arms. Then she went back inside, put them in a vase, filled it with water and put it down on a table.
''Beautiful!'' she sighed, rounding the wooden table.
She walked over to the laundry-room and dropped her apron in the bright green laundry-basket next to the tumble dryer before returning to the hallway, humming a song.
The girl looked at the clock hanging above the big windows when she passed the the kitchen. It was half past five pm, so Sakura still had well over an hour to go before she'd have to cook dinner. She decided she should do some cleaning in the meantime.
It had been a long time since she had hovered the living room, she remembered. The last time she had tried, her mother had thrown a book at her head. It had hurt.
Wearily, she opened the door ajar and glanced through the split. The room looked like it always did: dusty and cozy. Faint sunlight bled through the curtains, enlighting the room with an eerie, dim light. She took one step so she stood inside and ran a finger over a low, wooden closet that stood next to the door. She sneezed when a cloud of dust erupted from it. The pinkette walked back into the hallway and returned with a pair of pink, rubber gloves, some cleaning liquid, a few textile dusters and the vacuum cleaner. She tied her hair into a ponytail and began cleaning.
When she was finally done, the room didn't seem very different, except for the fact that the stifling mugginess of the room had taken place for fresh, clean air.
'But still,' Sakura thought, tapping her chin, 'Something seems off about it...'
''I got it!" she chirped aloud after a few moments.
She should arrange the furniture differently! That'd make the room feel differently, too. She knew it. Her mother and father used to change the furnishing weekly, just so the house didn't feel boring.
Sakura rolled up the sleeves of her white vest and started pushing around the furniture. After about half an hour she was finally satisfied.
She had arranged the furniture so that the room seemed lighter and more spacious. The big windows had always been party hidden by dark green curtains, but Sakura had removed those and swapped them with thinner, light blue ones so that the room not only felt lighter, but that now also a part of the beautiful garden and Konoha were visible. Her mother's favourite chair she had carried up to the attic so she wouldn't have to look at it during her mom's absence. She had removed the stained, dull rug so that now the cool, black, stone tiles were visible again. Sakura wiped the mirror hanging above one of the cabinets clean with one, swift swing of her arm and then stepped back to admire her work. The room looked way better.
She gathered her cleaning tools and left the room.
That evening she ate some leftovers from previous nights, did her homework and went up to bed.
It was a Monday, and Sakura was sitting with Karin. It was lunch break, and they were outside. They had dropped their bags on the grass and were now eating their lunch, their backs resting against a big oak tree.
''The weather is so nice!'' The pinkette sighed. And it was true. The summer had just started, and it was well above thirty degrees already. The sun shone non stop, and it had been days since Sakura had last seen a cloud.
''Hm.'' Karin muttered. Her face was tinted red, and she looked warm.
''Did you do something fun this weekend?''
''Mostly just partying. How about you?''
''Not much. I did get ice cream with Naruto Friday afternoon, though!''
''Naruto? Hot Naruto?''
Sakura frowned? Was he that good looking? She had never taken notice of that. ''I guess,'' She said.
''Whoa, well done girl!'' Karin smiled, ''If he were a few years older, I wouldn't hold back!''
''He isn't my boyfriend or anything...'' Sakura said.
''It's not like you have to be married to have some fun with a guy.'' Karin ran a hand through her crimson locks.
Sakura was reluctant of asking the senior what she meant with 'having fun'. ''Really,'' she tried, ''we're just friends.''
''Hey, wait...'' Karin said, suddenly, ''Wasn't he one of the people that used to bother you?''
''-Er... Yes.'' Sakura took a bite from her apple.
The older girl was silent for a while, staring off into space. Then she said, ''I'd be careful with him then, Sakura.''
Sakura locked eyes with her, wondering what she was trying to say.
'''He might be a hot guy, but...-''
''-What are you saying?''
''Just be careful, ok?'' Karin loosened the collar of her vest a bit with her index finger.
''Are you ok, Karin?'' Sakura asked her, attempting to change the subject. She didn't like where this conversation was going.
''A bit hot, is all.'' The crimson haired girl explained. She took off her glasses and wiped them clean with her sleeve.
''Then why are you wearing a long-sleeved vest?'' Sakura asked, pointing at the senior's violet coloured, high collared vest. It was zipped up entirely, and the pinkette didn't understand how Karin could even breathe. She, herself, was wearing a soft pink top, a thin white skirt and white flip flops. Fine clothing for a hot day like this one.
''No.'' Karin said simply. She took her agenda out of her bag and used it to blow some cool air around her face.
''Why not?''
Karin bit her lip.
''Come on, you can tell me,'' Sakura urged, poking Karin's shoulder with her finger.
The senior took a deep breath. She cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered, ''I've got scars.''
Sakura didn't understand, ''Doesn't everybody have scars?'' Sakura did. She used to fall down a lot when she was a toddler, because she always crawled around, bumping into stuff. It used to cause her mom to freak out daily.
Karin shook her head, ''Not like mine,'' She looked at Sakura, ''I need to tell you something.''
''Sure, go ahead.''
''I was in jail for a while,'' She said in a hushed tone so that nobody else could hear, ''I had some... Problems a while back. You see, when I was twelve, I... I kind of- you know, got addicted to-'' Karin stuttered.
It must be hard for her to talk about this, Sakura figured. She had never seen Karin like this before.
''Anyway, one night I came home and my parents found out. They brought me to rehab, but I escaped. I ran away and roamed Tsuna -it's where I thought my parents would never find me- I joined a gang. I always just, you know, did what the leader told me to do. But this one night, we found a little kid wandering around in the alleys. The leader planned on killing him so they could take his money. Something snapped inside me, for some reason, and I jumped in between. I told the leader that if this is what our gang did, I didn't want to be one of them. The kid had already fled the scene when the other members of the gang stabbed me repeatedly. They beat me up completely and it wasn't until next morning that somebody found me and brought me to the hospital in critical state. As soon as I'd recovered, I was brought to jail.''
Sakura listened to her story breathlessly.
''I wasn't reasonable. I got into fights with the rest of the prisoners. I was under age, though, that's why I was free about two years after that. That was half a year ago. My parents offered to let me live with them again, but I don't want to. I can't. I don't want to hurt them anymore.''
''I'm sorry...'' Sakura whispered, not sure what else to say.
''It's okay. It has all passed.'' Karin said, smiling bitterly, ''anyway, this whole story has left tons of scars on me. And they are ugly. I hate them. I don't want to show them to the world.''
''Oh, it's okay. I understand.'' Sakura nodded, ''Thanks for telling me, by the way. I'm glad you trust me enough to do so.''
''Of course, we're friends, aren't we?'' Karin shrugged.
Sakura lit up at those words. For some reason, she would always get this reaction when somebody called her their friend.
''Still... It must have been hard.''
''Nah,'' Karin shrugged, ''That's just the way the cookie crumbles. It made me who I am now. The thing is, I can't change it anymore, so why'd I keep whining about it? I might as well have fun.''
''Everyone can find happiness, if they just know where to look,'' Sakura mused absentmindedly, ''That's what my dad says, anyway.''
''Yeah, that's pretty true.'' Karin said, leaning back against the tree, ''I mean, I know I have the stamp 'selfish whore' marked on my forehead, but it's not like I mind.''
''You don't?''
"Nah. It's like the saying: 'Haters make me famous'.''
''I don't think that's a saying...'' Sakura muttered, taking a sip from the bottle of water she had gotten from one of the school's vending machines earlier that day.
''It isn't? I guess I just heard it somewhere else then. Forget it. Anyhow, Ino might try to break me by talking crap behind my back and telling me I'm ugly and fat and whatever... But she forgets one thing.''
''What?''
''...That calling me ugly won't makeherany prettier.'' Karin grinned. Sakura chuckled softly.
The bell rang. It pierced right through the laughter and chattering of the students, announcing the start of yet another boring period.
Karin stood up with a groan, supporting herself with the oak tree. She was wearing some really high heels today, Sakura noticed when she looked at the senior's feet. They must ache like hell.
''What period d'you you have now?''
''-Eh? Oh, chemistry.''
''I've got maths.'' Karin mumbled, ''That's on the other side of the building... Well, I'll see you around!'' She said, before turning around and marching off in the direction of the school's back door.
The last periods passed in a blur, and it felt like it had only taken a few minutes for the hour-hand to crawl from the 'twelve' to the 'three'.
Not expecting the class to be over so soon, Sakura gasped audibly when the bell rang. Luckily for her, the other students were too caught up in their chattering to hear it.
The pinkette sighed and gathered her books. She put them in her bag and stood up from the chair she had been sitting on. She looked up, only to look straight into the face of Naruto. She let out a yelp and backed away, only to immediately run into the wall.
''Geez, I'm not that scary,'' Naruto muttered, crossing his arms.
''Sorry,'' Sakura said, regaining her composure and pushing herself away from the wall, ''I didn't mean to get frightened.''
Naruto arched an eyebrow at her.
''What?'' She asked him.
''You apologise too much,'' he said simply.
''Yeah, sorry,'' Sakura muttered, before realising what she just said and quickly continuing, ''-is an often used word in the English language.''
''...I stopped listening to you at the word 'an'.'' Naruto replied dryly.
''Oh shut up,'' Sakura chuckled, playfully wacking him on the head with the book she was holding.
''Ouch!'' Naruto whined teasingly, causing Sakura to giggle. He ran a hand through his sunshine blond spikes, ''What are you doing after school?''
''After school?'' Sakura asked, ''But it's a Monday! We have homework!''
''So? I never do my homework,'' Naruto muttered.
Sakura decided to ignore that comment and gulped, ''Okay, then... What do you want to do?''
''Dunno. We could go to your place, you said you wanted to show me your garden?''
''My garden?'' Sakura repeated dumbly, ''-Sure!''
''Okay then,'' Naruto jumped off of the table he had been sitting on and pulled the pink haired girl with him. They were the only students left in the classroom, and the teacher was standing in the doorway, tapping his shoe on the linoleum impatiently. He was waiting for the two teens to come out of the room so he could lock the door.
Naruto shoved his way through a swarm of freshmen, Sakura following him shortly. She did her best not to push anyone herself. Although Konoha high school was the biggest school in Konoha, it was still very crowded. A few years ago, the hallways had been rebuild in an attempt to make them broader, but it hadn't had the desired effect. The school was still too small to hold the mass of students walking the halls every time a bell rang.
Normally, Sakura stayed in her classrooms a few minutes longer, so that the biggest part of the students had already left, but it was different now that Naruto was with her. For one thing; he was much more impatient than she was. For another; he was taller than her, resulting in him being able to shove aside the other students, even though sometimes even freshmen were able to knock Sakura over.
When the blond and the pinkette arrived at the bicycle stands -surprisingly quickly, I might add- Sakura ran a hand through the hair she had not pinned up -she had secured her bangs onto the top of her head with a bobby pin today, making the rest fall loosely on her shoulders- before she asked, ''Can I ride with you today?''
Naruto cast her a glance over his shoulder, ''Why not? What happened to your bicycle, anyway?''
''Thanks,'' She said, ''One time, after school, when I walked over to my bicycle, I noticed it had been destroyed,'' Sakura shrugged, ''The cycle repairer said it was too battered. He couldn't fix it.''
Naruto kept quiet. It had been a few seniors who broke the girl's bike. He knew them, he hung out with them at times. In fact, when the seniors told the blond what they had done, he had laughed with them.
...But he wasn't telling her that.
''Oh, that sucks.''
''Yeah.''
''Are you getting on?'' Naruto asked her impatiently. He had been sitting on his scooter from the start of their conversation.
Sakura took a step in his direction, planning on climbing on the scooter behind the blond, but she stopped when he looked her way. His eyes widened, as if he suddenly remembered something.
''Wait,'' he said, ''didn't you want to drive my scooter?''
''Yes!'' Sakura said.
''Okay, then.'' Naruto got off his scooter and gestured for Sakura to sit down. The pinkette turned her head away from him and climbed up. If she had looked his way, she would have noticed Naruto had turned one of the corners of his mouth upwards in a smirk.
''Ok, so how do I do this?'' Sakura called out over her shoulder.
Naruto bridged the feet between him and his scooter and sat down behind Sakura, ''I'll teach you.''
Sakura nodded stiffly.
''Here,'' Naruto said. He took her hand and placed it on the handle-bar. ''Do you see a button on the right?''
''-Er... yes,'' Sakura stuttered. Naruto was too close, it made her feel dizzy.
''Push it.''
Sakura heaved one trembling finger up and pressed the button.
''Now grab the right handle. Can you feel it is rotatable?''
Sakura nodded, now red in the face.
Naruto smirked. He could see the girl was getting red spots in her neck; a sign she was flustered.
''Okay,'' he continued, pretending not to notice anything, ''turn it.''
And she did. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to go flying across the school yard.
Nothing like that happened, though. She hadn't turned the handle that much, so the two teens didn't move more than a few feet.
This didn't stop Sakura's yelping, though.
''Relax!'' Naruto chuckled, ''We aren't even going fast, you idiot.''
''We could have! Who the hell lets some girl ride his scooter? The only thing I ever rode before was a rocking horse!'' Sakura snapped, too startled to think about manners.
''Don't worry so much. I'm here, aren't I?'' He asked her rethorically. Sakura gulped. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine.
''O-okay,'' She stuttered, ''Just in case, where are the brakes?''
''On the right side of the handle bare there is a handle that operates the front brake. There is a pedal near your right foot that operates the rear brake. You found it?''
''-Er... I think so...'' Sakura muttered uncertainly, searching the scooter for the fore mentioned things, ''-Yes, found them!''
''Okay. Then do you think you can get us to your house safely?''
''No.''
''That's the spirit. Good luck!'' He said, smiling. He pushed down Sakura's hand slightly, so that they started moving.
''NOOO!'' The pinkette yelled, waving her other arm around frantically.
Naruto didn't let go, though, not even when she tried to wiggle her hand out of his grasp. They moved faster and faster, until they almost arrived at the u-turn that had to be taken before one could leave the school yard.
''Okay. Now you turn, alright?'' He mused, ''If you don't, we'll die.''
Sakura's jaw dropped. What was this, attempted suicide?
''I'm serious, you have to turn,'' Naruto said in a surprisingly calm tone of voice when the u-turn came closer and closer.
''How?'' Sakura screeched, ready to pull her hair out. And still, the u-turn approached.
''You know how to cycle, don't you?''
''No, me cycling to school ever since first grade was an optical illusion. Actually I was flying.''
''Was that sarcastic?''
''No shit!''
Naruto almost chuckled. It was funny how, the more Sakura panicked, the less she focused on being polite.
''Seriously, Naruto! Help me!'' She yelled.
''just steer to the left if you want to go to the left.'' the blond replied in a 'duh' tone of voice.
Sakura frantically turned the handle-bar to the left in a swift motion, causing the two teens to turn around the corner just in time.
''I did it...'' Sakura whispered, ''I did it!'' she yelled then, beaming. She started to giggle giddily.
Naruto wanted to tell her all she had done was steer them, but kept quiet when he noticed how happy she was. He shook his head, smiling. This girl was such a dork.
''Naruto!'' She turned her head to face him and Naruto noticed her cheeks were tinted pink in excitement. Also, there was a glint in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a long while, ''Did you see what I did?''
''Yeah, you saved our lives. Well done,'' He rolled his eyes, chuckling.
He didn't know if she hadn't noticed him rolling his eyes at her or just didn't care, but she chirped, ''I know!'' and laughed out loud.
''Keep your eyes on the road, woman!'' He called out when they started swinging to and from on the asphalt. He grabbed her head with his hands and whipped it back to the street.
''Right, sorry!'' She called out, without looking at him this time.
Naruto looked over her shoulder and noticed that they weren't going to the centre of town. Had she moved since elementary school? He could remember she had a house above a book shop close to the mall back then.
''Hey, Sakura!'' He yelled, ''Did you move?''
''-Er... To a new house, you mean? Yes, a few years ago!'' Sakura shouted back. She had gotten home from school one day, to find all her stuff had been packed into carton boxes. Her parents had hugged her tightly and laughed at her stunned expression. Her mom had then announced the fact that her father had gotten a promotion, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. Sakura had forced a smile and told them she had to go upstairs because she needed something from her room. In truth, she wanted to wash the spit wads out of her hair that Naruto had shot at her earlier that day. Back then, she had the misfortune of sitting on the seat in front of his during History class.
Sakura's expression darkened at the memory.
She almost lost control of the scooter when something was pushed on her head. She made a weird, gargling sound when the view she had on the asphalt of the road, the grey buildings and the azure sky faded into black. Her vision reappeared in a matter of moments, though.
The teenage girl traced the object on her head with her fingers frantically. It was a helmet.
''Couldn't you have given me that before I risked my life on this thing?'' Sakura snarled, her voice muffled by the helmet.
''Can't hear you!'' Naruto yelled, not succeeding in masking the teasing tone in his voice.
Sakura didn't reply to this. She just mumbled something unintelligible and narrowed her eyes.
Both of the teens spent the rest of the drive almost crashing into buses, cars, stores, traffic signs and fences -but miraculously dodging them just in time. Luckily, they arrived at Sakura's house safely.
They rode up the access road and said girl jumped off of the scooter as quickly as she could, just in time stopping herself from letting herself fall on her knees and kissing the ground.
''I'm not letting you ride my back again anytime soon,'' Naruto mused, innocently taking the helmet from Sakura's head and wiping it clean from any amount of dirt that had landed on it during their drive. Soon, the shiny, black metal and the painted flames were visible again.
''Like I'd want to!'' Sakura said, dramatically gasping for air.
''I hate to say it-...'' The blond smirked, referring to the fact that she really had wanted to ride his scooter.
''-Then don't!'' Sakura snapped. Then, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth, ''Oh my gosh, I sound like a bitch!''
''You have been talking like that for the past half an hour,'' Naruto said, shrugging. He supported himself on the saddle and leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers, ''I don't mind. I like when you talk like that.''
Inwardly, he chuckled when Sakura's face flushed red for the umpteenth time that day.
He was just messing with her, though. And so he leaned back, afraid she would explode if he was too close to her for too long.
Sakura turned her face away from him, twisting her hair around her finger awkwardly, ''L-let's go inside,'' she muttered then. The girl walked up the stone steps leading from the access road to her front door, but waited for her guest in the doorway. Naruto calmly locked his scooter and secured it to a lamp pole close to Sakura's house.
He hadn't really taken a look at the house until that moment. It was relatively big. Not very expensive looking, but cheerful nonetheless. The bricks were a soft yellow -something that wasn't very common in Konoha, most buildings were grey or brown- and there were many windows, all with soft orange shutters in front of them. The side of the house was covered by roses that curled up the walls. It had a flat roof. In front of the wooden door were colourful mosaic stone steps leading to either side of it. Flowers that Naruto couldn't name were showing off their colours in front of those small stairs.
''Nice house,'' He complimented when he finally reached Sakura.
''Thanks,'' She said, smiling.
A few minutes later, they were sitting around a small table in the sunny garden, surrounded by flowers, plants and the sounds of animals. They were each sipping from a glass of ice tea, looking around peacefully.
''So,'' Naruto started, ''answer this question truthfully-.''
Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.
''-Did you honestly do all this,'' he gestured to the lifely garden, ''by yourself?''
''Why would I lie about that?''
''I dunno. It just seems unlikely to me.''
''I didn't exactly have many friends to do stuff with, in case you didn't notice. I needed to spend my free time doing something.'' Sakura rested her face on her hand palm, scowling.
Naruto didn't know how to reply to this without sounding like a total asshole, so he didn't. He sipped from his ice tea and muttered, ''What I was trying to say... Your garden looks cool.''
When he saw the look on Sakura's face, he instantly knew he had said the right thing. Her scowl was replaced by a smile, ''Really?'' she chirped.
''Yeah,'' Naruto tried his best to smile as well, but he could feel he wasn't doing a good job. It looked more like some satanic grin.
''Want some more ice tea?'' Sakura asked him, not taking notice of his weird expression.
''Yeah, sure.''
''Okay then,'' The skinny girl stood up and walked towards the house, disappearing behind a big apple tree.
Naruto turned his face away from the tree and looked down at the bottom of his glass.
''...I didn't exactly have many friends to do stuff with, in case you didn't notice...''
The blond scratched the back of his head.
He knew he was supposed to break her, but why did he feel... Sorry for her? It was all her fault, right? She had always been a bitch towards him. Wasn't it only natural that he acted like a jerk towards her?
He shook his head. He had every right not to be nice to her.
''You are my sweetest downfall...'' Sakura sang quietly, reaching up and opening a cupboard. She pulled out a glass jug and put it down on the worktop. ''...I loved you first, I loved you first.''
The emerald eyed girl walked over to the refrigerator and seized a big carton of ice tea in her hands, ''...Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth...'' She poured the carton's content into the jug and then walked back to the fridge to get some ice cubes. ''...I have to go, I have to g- Eep!''
The pinkette winced when, as she turned around, she saw Naruto standing in the doorway. He was leaning against the doorpost with crossed arms, face turned so he could see her.
''Naruto!'' She gasped, ''You scared me. Why are you here?''
''I went looking for the bathroom, but you might as well just tell me where it is. It'd save me some time.'' He grinned at her.
Sakura smiled, ''Second door to the right.''
''Thanks,'' Naruto said, his smile fading. He didn't move, so Sakura guessed he had something else to say. She waited patiently.
''Say, Sakura...'' He started.
''Yes?'' The pinkette turned her back to him and dropped some ice cubes in the jug.
''Have you ever gone out?''
''Sure!'' She said, confused, ''I do every morning.''
Naruto rolled his eyes, ''I don't mean it like that. I mean going out dancing, getting laid.''
She froze. ''-N-not really.''
''Would you wanna?''
She looked over her shoulder to measure his expression. It was casual, he wasn't looking at her.
''Sure,'' She said, turning back to the jug. ''Why?''
''I was thinking of going out on Friday night, care to join me?'' He asked her.
Sakura bit her lip.
''Ino and Sasuke aren't coming, just so you know.'' Naruto said, studying his hand palm.
The two of them had agreed not to come with Naruto for once. They had talked it all out during the lunch break; the blond would bring Sakura to Konoha Headlights, Konoha's most popular pub.
''-Oh, but... I wouldn't mind if Sasuke tagged along!'' Sakura said, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Naruto looked at her questioningly and her face reddened.
''-No way,'' Naruto said slowly, ''You're crushing on him, aren't you?''
''No!'' Sakura shouted, but her pathetic objection was drowned out by Naruto's laughter.
''You're crushing on Sasuke!'' he mocked.
''No, that's not true!'' Sakura called out. But her cheeks betrayed her, growing even redder.
''I can't believe it! You have a crush on Sasuke Uchiha!'' He wiped away some happy tears and tried calming himself down.
''-Well... Maybe I do! So?'' Sakura crossed her arms and looked away angrily.
Naruto was done laughing, although he still wore a cheeky smile. ''But seriously, Sakura... Sasuke?''
''I'm not the only one that likes him, you know! A lot of girls do!'' Sakura defended herself.
''But he's way-...'' Naruto trailed off, but Sakura knew what he wanted to say.
''-Way out of my league.'' She finished in her head.
''Anyway, wanna come to Konoha Headlights with me this Friday night?''
''I can't dance,'' She lied.
Naruto arched an eyebrow at her, ''Yes you can! You took dancing lessons during elementary school.''
''-Er...''
''Are you scared?''
''No.''
''Then what's wrong?''
''It's just,'' Sakura muttered, ''I've never really, you know,'' She fiddled with the bottom of her skirt awkwardly, ''Drank alcohol.''
Naruto blinked a few times, but then said, ''You're ashamed of that? How troublesome,'' He ran a hand through his spikes, ''No one's forcing you to, you know.''
She leaned back against the stone worktop, glad he didn't think she was stupid. ''Okay!''
''I mean, I drank my first beer when I was fourteen, but that was my choice. If you want to drink one, though, it'll be on me.''
She looked at him questioningly.
''It's your first, dude! That needs to be something memorable.'' He explained, gesturing with his hands.
''Yeah, the great Naruto paying for my drink sure is a memorable thing,'' she mused.
The blond pouted, ''Hey, don't insult my greatness!''
''Oh, I think your greatness can handle that,'' Sakura joked, winking.
Naruto blinked, caught off guard by her wink. He quickly restored himself, though, and said, ''If that was a compliment, thanks.''
Sakura gave a soft laugh and lifted the jug up by it's grip. ''Let's go to the garden, the weather's too nice to be inside.''
The blond teenage boy shook his head and walked in the opposing direction, ''I'll be outside in a minute, I gotta go to the toilet, remember?''
''Good luck,'' Sakura mused.
As soon as Naruto had locked the bathroom door behind him, he fished his cell phone out of the pocket from his jeans and dialed Ino's number.
''Ino's cell!'' A voice chirped. In the background, chattering and honking could be heard. She must be in the centre of town, Naruto guessed.
''Hey, it's Naruto,'' the blond whispered, not sure if Sakura was still able to hear him.
''Hello Naruto,'' Ino replied, ''So, what's up? How're things going at Billboard Brow's?''
''She wants to come to Konoha Headlights.''
''Great! So, want me to take care of something?''
''Nah, not really. Did you know she hasn't drunk alcohol yet?''
''Really? How old is she now, seventeen?'' Ino laughed.
''Sixteen,'' Naruto said, ''Hey, Ino, I gotta go. Sakura is waiting for me.''
''Sure, buh-bye!''
On a bright terrace in the centre of town, a platinum blonde haired girl lowered her violet coloured cell phone from her ear and snapped it shut.
She turned it in her well manicured hands, deep in thought. During the phone call, she had noticed that her friend had stopped calling Sakura rude names.
Should she be concerned about her plan?
'Nah.' the blonde figured then. She looked around the table she was sitting on and studied the faces of the people she was with.
Her friends looked back at her.
''What did he say?'' Sasuke asked her.
''He convinced Sakura to go to Konoha Headlights with him!'' Ino laughed.
Nobody joined in with her laughter, though. Sasuke wasn't fond of this entire plan, neither was Hinata, whom's eyes weren't visible as they were hidden behind her raven fringe, Kiba was looking at the fore mentioned girl worriedly, Chouji was too focused on his drink, Shikamaru stared at the cars passing by, resting his chin on his hand palm and Neji was listening to his iPod. The bass of the song he was listening to was audible even from the opposite side of the table.
'So she hasn't drunk alcohol yet...' the blonde thought.
''So, what are you going to do?'' Sasuke asked her, checking his watch.
''Oh, I have something in mind,'' Ino mused, absentmindedly sipping on the straw of her drink. She looked up when an ash blonde waitress passed their table.
''Hey, Temari!''
The waitress turned around. Her eyes darted over to where Shikamaru sat for a second and then rested on Ino, ''Oh, hey.''
Ino curled her glossy lips up in a smile, ''You know people in Konoha Headlights, don't you?''
Temari tugged on one of her ponytails and placed a hand on her hip, ''Yeah, I do. Why?''
''I need you to do something for me.'' Ino stood up from her chair and walked into the café with Temari.
Kiba had put two straws in his nose, causing Hinata to giggle uncontrollably. The rest of the people around the table had just continued what they were doing before. Sasuke was the only one following Ino with his eyes, suspiciously.
IMPORTANT: I'M GOING ON VACATION STARTING THIS SUNDAY, WHICH MEANS I'LL HAVE TO WRITE IN MY NOTEBOOK. EXPECT THE NEXT UPDATE TO BE UPLOADED LATER THAN NORMALLY.
...I will go to an internet café once or twice, and just imagine the happy look on my face when I read all your SWEET COMMENTS... ;D
And YES. That was a hint.
~Lion3queen