I. Am. So. Sorry for the late update. Seriously.
School has been kicking my butt HARD lately, and I my summer vacation doesn't start until tomorrow, so I'll have the next two months to write and, yes, FINISH Make Believe. Because we're almost reaching the end!
Also, I want to thank you for all of your sweet, encouraging messages (There's almost 400! Can you believe it?) this chapter wouldn't have been on right now without you guys.
Well, sorry for holding you guys up. Enjoy! :)
Sakura studied herself in the mirror. She tilted her head, bent forward and smudged out some eye shadow above the corner of her right eye. Then she straightened her back once more, smoothed her hair down, clicked her tongue and pulled some strands of hair out of the up-do Karin had managed to construct on the back of Sakura's head.
Much better.
She sighed, annoyed, and stepped back to study her image better.
It was Wednesday night, half past nine. Sakura and Karin had been running around town until after the shops had closed, trying to find a not too expensive dress for Sakura to wear to the debutante ball Naruto would take her to. In the end, they had managed to find her a dress that, quite surprisingly, fit her like a glove (The shop had actually already closed, but it opened up again when Karin caught the shop owner's attention by threatening to break the glass of the windows if she didn't open up the door. Then she had finally given in when Sakura explained the situation). The girls had then raced back to Sakura's house where Karin spent about an hour doing her makeup and hair.
Now, five minutes after Sakura had shooed Karin out of the door, and half an hour before Naruto would arrive to pick her up, Sakura found herself shaking and sweating, trying not to go mad with nerves. She grabbed the edge of her wardrobe trying to steady herself and, attempting to distract herself, turned on the radio. A rap song about someone wanting someone else back - or something like that. Honestly, she couldn't care less about somebody else's love life at that moment - pumped out of her speaker now.
Sakura fiddled with the soft fabric of her dress. It was silver, strapless and flowed elegantly down her petite figure. A thin, light blue band was tied around her middle, accenting her slim waist. Karin had curled her hair with Sakura's mom's old curler and then tightened it at the back of her head into a messy bun. The redhead had also given Sakura smokey eyes (she went nowhere without her black and dark grey eyeshadow) and painted her lips a soft, peach pink.
Altogether, Sakura was quite pleased with the way she looked. She could barely recognize the face staring back at her from the mirror. If only it hadn't been so hard to make her look like this...
Sometimes, Sakura wished she looked like one of the models from the magazines. But then again, they hired people who make them pretty for a living. So actually, they didn't count.
Sakura twirled around slowly, enjoying the way the fabric billowed around her.
Then her doorbell echoed through the house.
Sakura almost swallowed her tongue in shock. Was Naruto here already? She was sure she still had about twenty minutes left before it was ten o'clock!
She frantically heaved up her dress - because it was so like her to get caught in it and fall down the stairs - descended down the stairway and pulled open the door.
''Aren't popular people supposed to be fashionably late?'' she huffed at the tanned face staring back at her, an apologetic smile plastered on his lips. She couldn't help but notice how his eyes trailed from her face down to her feet and up again a few times before finally resting on her eyes. Her cheeks grew hotter. Was he... checking her out?
Probably not, because he continued talking in a relaxed, unimpressed tone of voice, ''Yeah, things went a bit different than I expected... Are you ready?''
''Almost, let me just get my purse.''
Sakura turned her back to the blond boy and hurried back inside her house, disappearing into one of the rooms. When she was out of sight, Naruto finally allowed himself to direct his gaze towards the skies and let out a long sigh.
He'd always found Sakura, well, attractive to say the least. Even back when he- er, picked on her, there'd been something about her that made him want to look at her for a bit longer, just so he could figure out what it was that drew him to her. But all that aside, tonight she looked, to put it respectfully... Pretty damn beautiful.
''Let's go,'' she said when she appeared in the doorway with her purse and a leather jacket on - evenings tended to be quite chilly in Konoha, even during summer - and pulled the door shut behind her. ''Wait, we aren't going to ride your scooter to the ball, are we?'' Sakura asked him suddenly, images of her in her evening dress, riding through the muddy streets and a helmet pulled on over the hairdo Karin had spent hours on popping into her head.
Naruto smirked, though, ''And making all the money I spent on the limo I rented go to waste? As if!''
''Wait, limo? As in limousine?''
''No, as in lemonade,'' he replied sarcastically. ''Yeah as in limousine!'' He pointed at something behind Sakura's surprised face, and she turned her head to look at it. In front of her house, next to the sidewalk, stood the most gorgeous, silver limousine she had ever seen. In her life.
''Oh my god!'' she said, completely forgetting to react to Naruto's sarcastic remark. ''It's lovely!'' In her enthusiasm, she stretched out an arm to tap Naruto on the shoulder, but once again forgot how much strength she had stored in her short body and knocked him over.
He squeaked, ''Ow!'' and barely managed to retrieve his balance.
''Sorry!'' Sakura apologized, still too enthusiastic to be able to experience any emotion other than joy. "Can we... go in?''
Naruto rubbed his shoulder inconspicuously, feeling a bruise form on his skin. It hurt, but he still refused to show how much damage a simple tap from a girl could actually do to him.
"Sure, ladies first." But by the time Naruto had finished his sentence and looked to where Sakura had stood, he realized she had disappeared.
He flinched and looked around until he finally spotted Sakura, already sitting in the vehicle with a huge smile plastered on her face. He rolled his eyes at her childishness - finding it oddly charming at the same time, although he would never ever admit it to anyone - and plopped down on the seat next to hers.
''So what is it like, anyway? The debutante ball?'' Sakura asked him after the car had left Sakura's street and the skyline of town came into view.
''Nah, nothing special. You'll see when we get there.'' The confused look the pink-haired girl gave him was enough to get him to continue speaking, ''I don't know. It's like, well, really big. There's rich people everywhere, and the location is always some kind of huge fancy building. It's just... Not for me, I guess.''
''It sounds amazing. I can't believe we're actually going there!'' Sakura clapped her hands together and kicked up her feet, accidentally hitting the chair of the driver in the process. ''Sorry.'' The man looked around and snarled something under his breath, but didn't make a bigger fuss. Sakura lowered her legs and folded her hands in her lap, planning on being less impulsive in the future -not that that was going to happen even if she tried.
About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the edge of town and turned into a huge driveway, leading to a big, classy hotel. It was a Hilton hotel, Sakura saw when she craned her neck enough to see the huge, bright letters blare from all the way on top of the roof. It was decorated with lights - the tiny, twinkly ones you use in Christmas trees - and outside, beside a tiny pond, was a candle-lit outdoor terrace. Whenever somebody got out of their car - if she could call the vehicles cars, most of them could fit three tinier cars inside - a server rushed to their side and offered them something from a plate.
''Are you getting out?''
Sakura had spent so much time taking it all in, she hadn't noticed they had slowed down already and that now Naruto was waiting for her, arm outstretched. She grabbed the hand he was offering and pulled herself out of the limousine, but not before quickly thanking the driver.
''Gosh, Naruto, it's... I don't know what to say.'' But Sakura was interrupted by a short man running over to them, holding out a silver - was it silver? No, it couldn't be - plate to them with tiny, fancy looking dishes on them.
Naruto took a small, brown, unnecessarily complicated-looking appetizer from it and stuck it into his mouth, and Sakura decided to follow his example.
''Have a good evening,'' the server said. Sakura waited until he had left to make gagging noises and cough.
''God, this is disgusting! What is it?''
''It's caviar,'' Naruto replied, giving her an amused look.
''Why is this crap so expensive?''
'''Crap'? Don't let the other guests hear you,'' Naruto joked as the pink-haired girl put the remains of the dish on one of the plates the servers were carrying.
She rolled her eyes and replied in a singsong voice, ''I refuse to let you spoil this evening. Let's go inside.'' Then she wrapped her arms around his left arm and pulled him with her, unaware of the redness that stained his cheeks at the close contact.
Naruto and she appeared to be the youngest guests at the ball, Sakura noticed when they entered the building and she finally had the chance to study the other people present. They all appeared to be at least forty years of age, and looked as if they were used to parties like the debutante ball weekly; uncurious and unimpressed. All they did was talk with other people, eat and - in rare cases - dance.
''See what I mean?'' she could hear Naruto murmur, probably noticing the exact same things she did. But she shrugged it off and pulled him with her, over to the round stage in the middle of the huge, chandelier-lit room. There were small candles placed all around it - which was not a very good idea, Sakura thought to herself, although they sure looked beautiful - and a woman calmly sang into a microphone, with a small orchestra positioned to sit in a circle around the singer, playing along. ''What are you doing?''
Sakura looked over her shoulder, meeting up with Naruto's sapphire eyes. They were slightly narrowed in confusion as to why she had dragged him all the way over to the center of the room. His fingers went to his bow tie, - it had become slightly crooked, although Sakura had no idea how he had noticed this without looking in the mirror - and tugged at it until it was straight once more. ''We're going to dance,'' she announced. And at his shocked expression she tittered, ''Oh come on, don't be such a baby. I didn't teach you for funzies.'' And she wouldn't be Sakura if the last word wasn't dripping with sarcasm, of course.
The music fell silent and the crowd applauded, but Naruto barely noticed. Sakura had turned around all the way, and he found himself staring at her hands, urging himself to dare take them.
He was slightly ashamed at his boyish nervousness, not having felt this insecure in years. Sakura must have felt his unease because she was the one to reach out and curl his fingers around hers. She looked up at his face from underneath her long eyelashes and arched her eyebrows expectantly.
Finally he reached out and planted his hand on her waist, swaying to the rhythm of the new song - a lot more upbeat than the previous ones - that had started playing. Sakura moved along with him as he guided them around the dance floor, getting more and more into the dance as the song played on.
He twirled the small girl around and they both laughed in delight. They paid no attention to the people standing around them that backed away to give them more space. Eventually, other couples started dancing as well, seeing how much fun the teens were having.
But the song was over, and it melted into a new, slower song that forced the teens to slow the pace of their dancing. They positioned their limbs in a waltzing pose and started twirling around once more. And Sakura just felt so happy at that moment, so amazingly happy, that she had almost dismissed the piercing stare a boy directed at her and Naruto from about twenty feet across the room. But the face the stern eyes belonged to was one Sakura knew all too well.
''It's Sasuke!'' she hissed into Naruto's ear, not realizing until now how their cheeks were touching and how her chin had come to rest on his shoulder. She felt the boy stiffen.
She should have known Sasuke would be at the party, his family owning more than half of the bars in town. She just simply hadn't given, you know, anything imperfect that much thought. I've been naive to think nothing would spoil this night, she thought bitterly.
Against all expectations, Naruto whispered, ''Who cares?'' reminding her once again how close they were.
Sakura swallowed audibly, feeling oddly exposed with the raven-haired boy's eyes boring into her own. She didn't feel the thrill that she used to feel whenever he did as much as cough in her direction, though. That was gone entirely.
''Ino? Is Ino here too?''
The side of Naruto's nose brushed her cheek when he shook his head. ''She had a headache or something. I don't know.''
They twirled around once more, causing Sakura to now turn her back to Sasuke. This, of course, meant she didn't see Sasuke arching an eyebrow at Naruto and motion towards the overly fancy bar in the back of the gigantic hall. She also didn't see the way Naruto's blue eyes bounced back and forth between her and his best friend, as if he was reluctant to talk to his friend. Or to let go of her.
''Excuse me for a second.'' And before she knew it he had let go of her and stalked off in the direction of his best friend. Sakura stood there, jaw slack and arms still lingering where his shoulders had been just a moment before.
She crossed her arms and huffed. ''Oh, don't worry. Just leave me standing here and run off, no problem.''
Sakura ignored the people looking her way, probably wondering why she stood there talking to herself, sent the blond a pointed stare and started moving towards the snack table. She poured herself a glass of punch and inconspicuously searched the crowd for Naruto. She soon spotted him standing near the fountain. Even from the distance Sakura watched them from she could easily make out the displeased expressions on both their faces.
''Sakura? Fancy seeing you here!''
She spun around and came face-to-face with a very happy-looking Itachi. ''Oh, hi!'' She felt slightly lame at how it seemed like every single time they met he just greeted her, and she got startled enough to pee her pants. She silently wondered why he even talked to her.
''How do you like the party?''
''I love it! How about you?''
''It's fun, like always. I'm sure I didn't see you here last year, though.''
''That's because I wasn't here last year. I'm only here because I forced Naruto to bring me.''
''Yeah, I'm sure he hates you being here.'' Itachi snorted, rolling his eyes. Sakura gave him a puzzled look, to which the taller one of the two blew a breath out between his teeth, ''Wait, you seriously don't know? Still?''
Sakura shrugged in reply.
''I really don't think it's up to me to tell you, since he looks like he isn't sure about it in the first place.''
'''It?''' Sakura questioned. But when she wanted to ask on, Itachi was suddenly pulled away by a man with a beard who heartily greeted him. Alone once again, Sakura thought, irritated.
She focused her gaze on the snack table, finally realizing how hungry she was. She had been so busy getting ready for the party that she hadn't eaten a thing.
She brought a finger to her mouth, trying to figure out which one of the dishes she should try first. She picked up a small sandwich-like appetizer and sniffed it carefully. 'Garlic.' she thought, putting it back on the tray innocently. She was familiar with the way the scent of garlic lingered in a person's breath days after the person had consumed it. When she looked up her gaze was met by a very, very, very displeased employee who disgustedly looked back and forth between her and the dish she had just put back on the table.
What did he think Sakura had done with her hands? Sakura narrowed her gaze at him and he simply went on with whatever he had been doing before.
She picked up a fork from the cabinet next to the snack table and used it to carefully poke a shiny pink appetizer with a strawberry on top. This one looked edible. She quickly put it in her mouth.
''Oh my god, this is amazing,'' she muttered, not realizing she had spoken aloud until somebody piped up from the other side of the table.
''Do you really think so?''
It was Hinata Hyuuga, who smiled at Sakura shyly, eyes beaming.
''Yes, I do!'' Sakura called out, too hungry to think of properly greeting her classmate. ''It's amazing, honestly!'' And she stuffed another one of the strawberry things into her mouth before even having swallowed the previous one.
''I thought of the recipe myself. It's cake dough, but rolled into a ball. And there's a thin fondant layer around it.'' The dark haired girl reached up to her head - probably to run a hand through her hair - but then brought her hand down again, probably remembering she was wearing it up. Instead she settled with fiddling with the fabric of her khaki evening dress.
''It's amazing,'' Sakura repeated. ''Do you work here or something?''
''No,'' Hinata giggled. ''My dad is the head of Hyuuga Electronics, remember? I was invited to come.''
Sakura stammered a quick apology. Hinata always acted so shy and inferior she sometimes forgot the girl was in fact a millionaire's daughter.
''So,'' Hinata continued, looking a lot less happy all of a sudden. ''Are you here with Naruto?''
''Yeah,'' Sakura replied, putting the last one of the cake balls in her mouth. ''Just as friends, though,'' she finished quickly, seeing Hinata's hurt expression. Everyone knew she'd had a crush on Naruto since elementary school, although Sakura wasn't quite pleased with this. Hinata was such a sweetheart... Sakura didn't want to hurt her.
And her attempt at cheering the girl up had worked. The smile had reappeared on her pale face. Suddenly, though, her - almost unnaturally - light eyes flicked over to something behind Sakura's back, and her cheeks flushed red instantly.
''Hey,'' Naruto greeted when he appeared beside Sakura, ''Sorry it took so long.'' He looked over his shoulder once, in the direction of where he and Sasuke had talked just minutes before. But when Sakura followed his gaze, she noticed Sasuke had disappeared.
''It's okay, it was probably important, right?'' Sakura replied, and held out a new plate of cake balls the waiter had just placed on the table to him. ''Here, taste.''
Naruto blinked and wearily put one in his mouth. His eyes widened instantly. ''These're great!''
''Right? Hinata made them!''
Naruto looked up at Hinata, who looked about ready to faint. ''Well done!'' He complimented her, although all she managed to splutter in reply were high-pitched squeaks. Naruto gave her a weird look and grabbed Sakura by the arm, ''Yeah, well, we're going. Bye.''
''Well, that was rude.'' Sakura commented when they were out of hearing range.
Naruto shrugged, a panicky expression still visible on his face. ''I can't help it. Why does that girl always act so weird around me? I can't believe how Kiba can like her like that.''
''Kiba likes her?''
''I thought everyone knew.'' Naruto turned around and placed his hands on her hips once more, but his eyes were everywhere but on hers. She wondered whether something had happened during the time she had spent chattering by the snack table. He seemed to be... different from the last time she danced with him. Less cheerful.
''Apparently not.''
''Well he does,'' Naruto continued, his eyes scanning the crowd for - well, she wasn't sure for what exactly. ''He's head over heels for her.''
''Are you looking for someone?'' Sakura asked him, growing irritated at the lack of attention he was giving her.
''Wh- Oh, no, nobody. Never mind,'' Naruto replied, but as soon as he had uttered this response he resumed to searching the people present again. Sakura tried to ignore it from that moment on, but she so did not feel like wasting her evening by dancing with someone who didn't feel like dancing with her. So about five minutes later she finally snapped.
''Okay, if you don't want to dance with me or something, then don't.''
Naruto tore his gaze away from the crowd and directed it on Sakura. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. ''I do want to dance with you.''
''Then why do you keep looking at the people around us?''
''I'm not.'' But the guilty expression on his tanned face stated the opposite.
''There's something you're not telling me.'' Sakura pulled away from him, crossing her arms.
''I don't know what you're talking about.''
Sakura narrowed her eyes at the way he tried his very best to look as if he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, ''Whatever. I'm going to the bathroom.''
''Wait, Sakura!'' Naruto spluttered, but she was gone.
Naruto pressed his lips together and ran a hand through his hair, the image of Sakura's hurt expression still on his retina.
He hated lying to her so much more than he should - especially noticing how their entire relationship was a lie. But he couldn't risk Sakura finding out about the bet that had started everything. He couldn't risk her finding out how, at the beginning, everything had just been a huge set-up. He also couldn't risk his friends finding out about how he felt about all of the lying. How he felt about…about...
And then he saw Sasuke tearing himself loose from the throng of people and walking outside through the open doors, interfering with his train of thoughts.
He immediately started pushing people out of the way, trying to get to his friend as soon as possible. Because looking back at their talk earlier, the last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to be somewhere where Naruto couldn't keep his eyes on him and make sure he didn't talk to Sakura.
''Sasuke,'' he said with a deadpanned expression as soon as he stepped onto the terrace. Sasuke didn't reply, but simply looked over his shoulder and met his friend's gaze.
The people that had been lounging on the terrace earlier that evening had all disappeared, and the only sound, besides the noise from inside the hotel, was the clamor from the water fountain. The biggest part of the candles had been blown out by the wind already, resulting in Naruto now having to try his very best to tell Sasuke apart from the pitch black background.
''Where's Sakura?'' Sasuke asked.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. ''You don't need to know.''
''You're just postponing everything, Naruto. And I'm sure you know it,'' Sasuke stated, his expression not changing.
Naruto just stared at him.
''You're going to have to tell her eventually, about why you were so determined to become friends with her. And the longer you wait, the smaller the chance that she'll forgive you.''
And the tension in the air thickened.
''Shut up!'' Naruto bellowed suddenly, ''If you tell her, I'll-''
''What will you do?'' Sasuke interrupted. ''You know I'm right. You know.''
''If I tell her that the reason I became friends with her was because of a bet with Ino, that I actually hated her and looked down on her as much as the others, that Ino pushed me into pretending to fall in love with her-''
And then a loud, heartwrenching shriek filled the air. The last thing Naruto saw before time stopped was the silhouette of a small, pretty girl with pink hair standing in the doorway with her hands clasped over her mouth and a broken heart.
Well? How was it?
Love,
Springflake