Hello readers! Here's the next long chappie! Now I have to tell you all, this one took a while, with edits, add-ons and what not.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, because they get to know each other so much more! No lies! I won't tell you anymore; you'll have to read on to find out!

;3


Disclaimers: I do not own the plot of Perfect Chemistry. Like I say all the time, I only own the add-ons, edits and other stuff, including the thought of doing this story. Kishimoto-sempai owns the characters except for a few people and Simone Elkeles owns the plot!


Written By: Kumi-Chan/Tobi-Is-Fluffy-Chan

Chapter 6: Pay back's A Bitch


Sasuke

I look down at the chunks on my shoe. "I've had worse done to me."

She straightens, so I let go of her hair, which I couldn't help but save from falling during her puking episode. I'm trying not to think of how that hair felt as it slid through my fingers like silky threads. Thoughts of being a pirate and stealing her away to my ship race through my mind. Although I'm not a pirate, and she's not my captured princess. We're just two teenagers who hate each other... Okay, so I don't really hate her.

I take off my hetai-ate and I slide the bandanna off my head and hand it to her. "Here, wipe your face."

She takes it from me and dabs the corners of her mouth as if it's a napkin from a high-class restaurant while I clean my shoe in the cold lake water.

I don't know what to say or do. I'm alone... With a very drunk Sakura Haruno. I'm not used to being alone with sloppy-drunk rich chicks, especially chicks with cotton-candy pink hair who turns me on. I can either take advantage of her and win the bet, which would be a slam dunk in her condition or...

...

"Let me get someone to drive you home," I say before my fucked up mind thinks of many ways I could violate her sexy body tonight. I'm buzzed from alcohol and high, too. When I have sex with this girl, I want my faculties.

She purses her lips and pouts like a kid. I swear she looks hot like that... even in her current condition. "No. I don't want to go home. Anywhere but home." She sighs.

Oh, man.

I'm in trouble. This is a huge problem.

She looks up at me, her eyes in the moonlight sparkling like rare, expensive jewels. "Hidan thinks I want you, you know. He says our bickering is foreplay."

"Is it?" I ask, holding my breath to hear her response. Please, please let me remember the answer in the morning.

She puts her finger up and says, "Hold that thought."

Then she kneels on the ground and pukes her guts out again. When she's finished, she's too weak to walk. She resembles a garage-sale left over rag doll. I carry her to where my friends have built a huge bonfire not knowing what else to do. When she wraps her arms around my neck, I sense she needs someone to be her champion in life. Surely Hidan isn't the one. I'm not the one either. I heard her freshman year, before Hidan, she dated a junior. This girl has got to be experienced.

So how come right now she looks so innocent? Sexy as hell, but innocent.

All eyes are on me when I get close to my friends. They see a limp rich white girl in my arms and they immediately think the worst. I didn't mention that during the walk my chem partner decided to fall asleep in my arms.

"What did you do to her?" Naruto asks.

Deidara stands, totally pissed. "Shit, Sasuke. Did I lose my RX-7?"

"No, dumbass. I don't do passed-out chicks."

Out of the corner of my eye I see a seething Ino. Shit. I royally screwed her over tonight and deserve her wrath.

I motion for Hinata to talk to me. "Hina, I need you."

Hina takes one look at Sakura. She is silent before whispering in her soft voice, "W-What do you want me to do with her?"

"Help me get her out of here. I'm wasted and can't drive." Hina shakes her head. "You... Do realize she has a b-boyfriend. And... She's rich. And not an Uchiha, Yamanaka, Hyuuga... Not one of us. And wears designer clothes you'll never be able to afford."

Yeah, I know that. And I'm sick and tired of being reminded of it. "I need your help, Hina. Not a lecture. I've got Naruto giving me his crap already." I tell her, annoyance laced in my tone.

Hina hold up her hands. "I am just pointing out facts. You're a smart guy, Sasuke... Add it up. No matter how much you might want her in y-your life, she doesn't belong... A triangle can't fit into a square... Now I'll shut up."

"Thanks." I don't point out that if it's a big enough square, a small triangle can fit perfectly. And isn't a square made up of two triangles, right? All you have to do is make a few adjustments in the equation. I'm too drunk and high to explain it now.

"I'm parked across the street," Hinata says. She let's out a big, frustrated sigh; something I don't see her do pretty often. "Follow me." She says lowly. I follow Hinata to her car, hoping we can walk in silence. No such luck.

"I was in class with her last year, too..." Hina says.

"Uh-huh." Is my response.

She shrugs. "N-Nice girl. Wears too much makeup... Something I... Wouldn't do."

"Most chicks hate her." I say.

"Most chicks wish they looked... Like her. And they w-wish they had her money and boyfriend..." She retorts.

I stop and regard her in disgust. "Burro Face?"

Hinata gives me a look. "Oh, please, Sasuke. H-Hidan is cute, he's captain of the football team and Konoha's hero... You're like Danny Zuko in Grease. You s-smoke, you're in a gang, and you've dated the hottest bad girls around. Sakura is like Sandy... A Sandy who'll never show up to school in a black leather jacket with a ciggie hanging from her mouth... Give up the f-fantasy."

I lay my fantasy in the backseat of Hina's car and slide next to her. She snuggles up, using me as her personal pillow, her pink curls sprawled over my crotch. I close my eyes for a second, trying to get the image out of my head. And I don't know what to do with my hands. My right one is on the door armrest. My left one hovers over Sakura.

I hesitate.

Who am I kidding? I'm not a virgin. I'm an eighteen-year-old guy who can deal with having a hot, passed-out girl next to me. Why am I afraid of putting my arm where it's comfortable, right over her midsection? I hold my breath as I settle my arm on her. She cuddles closer and I feel weird and light-headed. Either it's the after-effects from the joint or... I don't want to think about the "or." Her long hair is wrapped around my thigh. Without thinking, I weave my hands in her hair and watch as the silky strands slowly fall through the V's between my fingers. I stop abruptly. There's a big, irritated bald spot on her scalp in the back of her head. As if she had to have a drug test for a job or something and they ripped out a big chunk for a sample.

As Hina backs up the car, Naruto stops her and jumps into the front seat. I quickly cover Sakura's bald spot, not wanting to show anyone her imperfection. I'm not about to analyze my motives fot that move, since it'll cause me to think too hard. Thinking hard in my condition will hurt badly.

"Hey, guys. I thought I'd come along for the ride," Naruto says. He turns around and sees my arm on Sakura. He tsk's and shakes his head.

"Shut up," I tell him.

"I didn't say anything."

A cell phone rings. I can feel the vibration through Sakura's daisy-duke shorts. "It's hers," I say.

"Answer it," Hina instructs.

I already feel like I've kidnapped the girl. Now I'm gonna answer her cell? Shit. Rolling her a bit, I feel for the bulge in her back pocket.

"Answer it," Hina whispers loudly.

"I am," I hiss, my fingers clumsy as I fumble for the phone.

"I'll do it," Naruto says, leaning over the seats and reaches toward Sakura's ass.

I whack his hand away. "Get your hands off her." She's mine... No she's not...

"Geez, man, I was trying to help."

My response is a glare.

I slide my fingers into her back pocket, trying not to think about what it would feel like without her shorts in the way. I slide the phone out inch by inch while it vibrates. When I have the phone free, I look at the caller ID.

"It's her friend Ten-Ten."

"Answer it," Naruto says.

"Are you fucking crazy, guy? I'm not talking to one of them." I say, rolling my eyes.

"Then why'd you get it out of her pocket?"

That's a good question. One I don't know how to answer. Two... I'm not going to say two.

Hinata shakes her head. "That's what y-you get for mixing in with a... square."

"We should take her home," Naruto says. "You can't keep her."

I know that. But I'm not ready to give her up just yet. "Hina, take her to your house."


Sakura

I'm having a nightmare that a thousand little Oompa Loompas are in my head, hammering my skull. Opening my eyes to bright light, I wince. The Oompa Loompas are still there, and I'm awake.

"You've got a hangover," a girl says to me.

When I squint, I find Hinata standing over me. We're in what looks like a small bedroom with walls painted a light purple. Matching purple curtains are billowing in the wind from the open windows. It can't be my house because we never open the windows. We always have the air condition or heat on.

I squint up at her. "Where am I?"

I scratch my untamed pink hair. "My house. I wouldn't move if I were you. You might puke again and my parents will freak if you mess up their carpeting," she says. "Lucky for us they're out of town, so I get the house to myself until tonight."

"How did I get here?" The last thing I remember was starting to walk home...

"You passed out at the beach. Sasuke and I brought you here."

At the mention of Sasuke, my eyes fully open. I vaguely remember drinking, then walking on the sand and finding Sasuke and Ino together. And then Sasuke and I...

Did I kiss him? I know I leaned in, but then...

I puked. I distinctly remember puking. Not the perfect image I'm trying to protect. I sit up slowly, hoping sometime soon my head will stop spinning. "Did I do anything stupid?" I ask.

Hina shrugs. "I'm not sure. Sasuke wouldn't really let anyone get close enough to you. If you want to call passing out in his arms stupid... then I think you've managed it."

I drop my head in my hands. "Oh, no. Hinata, please don't tell anyone on the squad."

She's smiling. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone that Sakura Haruno is in fact human."

"Why are you nice to me? I mean, when Ino wanted to bash my face in, you'd defended me. And you let me sleep here last night, even though you made it clear we're not friends." I whisper.

"We're not friends. I-Ino and I have a rivalry that goes way back. I'd do just about anything to piss her off. She can't stand that Sasuke isn't her boyfriend anymore. She used to take everything out on me... And... I just couldn't deal with it. So now... I do anything I can to get under her skin."

"Why did they break up?" I question. Not because I'm being noisy or that I like him... I just want to know...

"Ask him yourself. He's sleeping on the couch in the living room. He passed out as soon as he carried you to my bed." Oh, no. Sasuke here? In Hinata's house? "He... Likes you, you know," Hinata says, looking at her fingernails instead of at me. Butterflies start fluttering around in my stomach. "He does not," I insist, even though I'm tempted to ask for details.

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, please. You know it, even if you don't want to admit it."

"For someone who says they'll never be frineds with me, you sure are sharing a lot this morning." I blurt out, smirking a bit.

"I have to admit I kind of wish you were the bitch some people say you are," she admits.

"Why?"

"Because it's easy to hate someone... w-who has it all."

A short, cynical laugh escapes from my mouth. I'm not about to tell her the truth- - That my life is crumbling beneath my toes just like that sand was last night. "I've got to get home. Where's my cell?" I ask, patting my back pocket.

"Sasuke has it, I think."

So sneaking out without talking to him isn't an option. I struggle to keep the Oompa Loompas at bay as I stagger out of the bedroom searching for Sasuke.

It's not hard to find him, the house is smaller than Ten-Ten's pook house. Sasuke is lying on an old sofa, wearing jeans. Nothing else. His eyes are open, but they're bloodshot and glazed with sleep.

"Hey," he says warmly while stretching.

Oh, God. I'm in big trouble. Because I'm staring. I can't keep my eyes from ogling his chiseled triceps and biceps and every other "eps" he has. The butterflies in my stomach have just multiplied tenfold as my wandering gaze meets his.

"Hey." I swallow hard. "I, um, guess I should thank you for taking me hear instead of leaving me passed out on the beach."

His gaze doesn't falter. "Last night I realize something. You and I, we're not so different. You play the game just like I do. You use your looks, your bod, and your brains to make sure you always in control."

"I'm hungover, Sasuke. I can't even think straight and you're getting all philosophical on me."

"See, you're playing a game right now. Be real with me, pinkie. I dare you."

Is he kidding? Be real? I can't. Because then I'll start crying, and maybe freak out enough to blurt the truth- that I can create a perfect image so I can hide behind it. "I better get home."

"Before you do that, you should proabably go to the bathroom," he says.

Before I ask why, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. "Oh, shit!" I shriek. Black mascarais caked under my eyes and streaky lines of it are running down my cheeks. I resemble a corpse. Hurrying past him, I find the hall bathroom and stare at myself in the mirror. My hair is a pink, stringy bird's nest. If the mascara marring my cheeks wasn't enough, the rest of me is as pale as my aunt without her makeup. I have puffy bags under my eyes as if I'm storing water for the winter months. Not to mention, my cheeks are puffy as well and a red patch of ugliness is settled on my face, spread across my cheeks and nose. It looks like I'm an ugly girl, blushing.

All in all, not a pretty sight. By anyone's standards.

I wet toilet paper and rub under my eyes and on my cheeks until the streaks are gone. Okay, so I need my eye-makeup remover in order to get it completely off. And my mom warned me that rubbing under my eyes will stretch out my skin and I'll be subject to premature wrinkles. But desperate circumstances call for desperate measures. After the mascara streaks are unnoticeable, I dab cold water on my eye bags. I'm fully aware that this is damage control. I can only bandage the imperfection and hope nobody else sees me in this condition. I use my fingers as a comb with little results.

Then I poof my hair up, hoping the poof will look better than the ratty-nest look. I rinse my mouth with water and rub my teeth with some toothpaste, hoping to get the worst of the night puking and sleeping and drunkeness from my mouth until I get home.

If only I had lip gloss on me...

But, alas, I don't. Squaring my shoulders and keeping my head held high, I open the door and walk back to the living room to find Hinata walking to her room and Sasuke standing when he sees me.

"Where's my cell phone?" I ask. "And please put a shirt on."

He reaches down and grabs my phone off the

floor. "Why?"

"The reason I want my cell," I say as I take it from him, "is to call a cab and the reason I want you to put a shirt one is, well, because, um..."

I can't finish my sentence. His body is too enticing.

"You never seen a guy with a shirt off?" He asks, smirking a bit.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. Believe me, you don't have anything I haven't seen before."

"Wanna bet?" He chimes, then moves his hands to the button on his jeans and pops it open.

Hinata walks in at the exact moment. "Who, Sasuke. Please keep your pants on."

When she looks over at me I put my hands up. "Don't look at me. I was just about to call a cab when he-" Shaking her head while Sasuke buttons back up, she walks to her purse and picks up a set of keys. "Forget the cab. I'll drive you home."

"I'll drive her," Sasuke cuts in.

Hinata seems exhausted dealing with us, similar to how Mrs. Tsunade looks during chemistry class. "Would you rather me drive you, or Sasuke?" She asks.

I have a boyfriend. Okay, so I admit every time I catch Sasuke looking at me a warmth spreads through my body. But it's normal. We're two teenagers with obvious sexual tension passing between us. Aslong as I never act on it, everything will be fine.

Because if I ever did act on I, the consequences would be disasterous. I'd lose Hidan. I'd lose my friends. I'd lose the control I have over my life.

...

...

...

But it all feels so right...

But most of all... I'd lose what's left of my mother's love.

If I'm not seen as perfect, what happened yesterday with my mom would seenm tame. Being perfect to the outside world equates to how my mom treats me. If any of her country club friends see me out with Sasuke, my mom might as well be an outcast too. If she's shunned by her friends, I'll be shunned by her. I can't take that chance. This is as real as I can afford to get.

"Hinata, take me home," I say, then look at Sasuke.

He gives a small shake of his head, grabs his shirt and keys, and storms out of the front door without another word. I silently follow Hinata to her car.

"You like Sasuke more than as a friend, don't you?" I ask.

"More like a brother. We've known each other since we were kids."

I give her directions to my house. Is she telling me the truth. "You don't think he's hot?"

"I've known him since he cried like a baby when his ice-cream fell on the street when we were four years old. I was there when, well... Just leave it at the fact that... W-We've been through a lot of stuff together."

"Stuff? Want to elaborate?"

"Not with you."

I could almost see the invisible wall going up between us. "So... Our friendship ends here?"

She looks at me sideways. "Our friendship just began, Sakura. D-Don't push it..."

We're coming up to my house. "It's the third one on the right." I say.

"I know." She stops her car in front of my house, not bothering to pull into the driveway. I look at her. She looks at ne. Does she expect me to ask her in? I don't even let good friends come into my house. "Well, thanks for the ride," I say. "And for letting me crash at your place."

Hinata flashes me a weak smile. "No problem."

I cling to the door handle. "I won't let anything happen between me and Sasuke. Okay?" Even if there's something going on below the surface. I may have just lied to her and myself.

"Good. Because if something does, it's going to blow up in your face."

The Oompa Loompas start knocking again, so I can't think too hard about her warning.

In the house, my mother and father are sitting at the kitchen table. It's quiet. Too quiet. There are papers in front of them. Brochures or something. They quickly straighten, like little kids caught doing something wrong.

"I.. I thought you were st-still... At Ten-Ten's," my mom mumbles. My senses pick up. My mom never stutters. And she's not giving me shit about the way I look. This is not good.

"I was, but I got a killer headache," I say, walking forward and focusing on the suspicious brochures my parents are so interested in.

Sunny Acres Home for Special People.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Discussing our options," my dad answers.

"Options? Didn't we all agree that sending Yoshiko away was a bad idea?"

My mom turns to me. "No. You decided sending her away was a bad idea. We were still discussing it."

"I'm going to North Konoha next year so I can live at home and help."

"Next year you'll have to concentrate on your studies, not your sister. Sakura, listen," my dad says, standing. "We have to look into this option. After what she did to you yesterday-"

"I don't want to hear it," I tell him, cutting him off. "There is absolutely no way I'm letting you send my sister away." I snatch the brochures off the table. Yoshiko needs to be with her family, not in a facility with some strangers. I tear the brochures in two, toss them into the garbage can, then run to my bedroom.

"Open the door, Sakurako," my mom says, jiggling my bedroom door knob a minute later. I sit on the edge of my bed, my mind whirling with images of Yoshiko being sent away. No, it can't happen. The thought makes me sick. "You didn't even train Aki. It's like you wanted to send Yoshiko away all along."

"Don't be ridiculous," my mom's muffled voice comes through the door. "There's a new facility being built. If you open this door we can have a civilized discussion about it." I'l never let it happen. I'll do everything in my power to keep my sister at home. "I don't want to have a civilized discussion. My parents want to send my sister to a facility behind my back and my head feels like it's about to split open.

"Leave me alone, okay?"

Something is sticking out of my pocket. It's Sasuke's hetai-ate. Hinata isn't a friend, yet she helped me. And Sasuke, a boy who cared about me last night more than my boyfriend did, acted as my hero and is urging me to be real. Do I even know how to be real?

I clutch the bandanna to my chest.

And I allow myself to cry.


Sasuke

She called me. If it weren't for the ripped piece of paper with her name and number scribbled on it by my brother Ichigo, I'd never believe Sakura actually dialed my number. Grilling Ichigo hadn't helped because the kid has the memory of a flea and hardly remembered taking the call. The only info I got was that she wanted me to call her back.

That was yesterday afternoon, before she puked her guts out on my shoe and passed out in my arms.

When I told her to be real, I could see the fear in her eyes. I wonder what she's afraif of. Breaking down her "perfection" wall is going to be my goal. I know there's more to her than cotton-candy pink hair and a killer bod. Secrets she'll take to the grave and secrets she's dying to share. Oh, man. She's like a mystery, and all I can think about is unraveling the clues. When I told her we're similar, I wasn't bullshitting.

This connection we have isn't going away, it's only getting stronger. Because the more I spend time with her, the closer I want to be.

I have the urge to call Sakura just to hear her voice, even if it's filled with venom. Flipping open my cell as I sit on the sofa in my living room, I enter her number into memory.

"Who ya' calling?" Naruto asks, barging into my house without ringing or knocking. Hinata files behind him. I click my phone shut. "No one."

"Then get your ass off that couch and come play kemari."

(Kemari is a japanese game similar to soccer.)

Playing kemari is a helluva lot better than sitting here thinking about Sakura and her secrets, even if I'm still feeling the effects of last night's partying. We head to the park where a bunch of guys are already warming up.

Suigetsu, a guy in my class whose brother died last year slaps me on the back. "Wanna play goalie, Sasuke?"

"No." I have what you call an offensive personality. In kemari, any sport, and in life.

"Naruto, what about you?"

Naruto agrees and takes his position, which is sitting on his ass in front of the goal line. As usual, my lazy and jokeful friend sits until the ball rolls to his side of the field. Most of the guys playing are from my neighborhood. We've grown up together... Played on this playground since we were kids and even got initiated into the Uchiha clan's gang at the same time. Before I was jumped in I remember Deidara telling us how being in a gang was like having a second family... A family who would be there for you when your own family wasn't. They would offer protection and security. It sounded perfect to a kid who'd lost his father.

Over the years, I've learned to block out the bad stuff. The beatings, the dirty drug deals, the shootings and killings. And I'm not just talking about guys on the other side. I know of guys who triend to get out, guys who were found dead or beaten so badly by their own gang they probably wished they were dead.

To be honest, I block it out because it scares the shit out of me. I'm supposed to be tough enough not t care, but I do.

We take out positions on the field. I imagine the ball holds a jackpot. If I keep it away from everyone else and kick it into the goal, I'll magically transform into a rich and powerful guy who can take my family (and Naruto) away from this hellhole and neighborhood.

There's a lot of good players on each team. The other side has an advantage because we have Naruto as our goalie, scratching his balls on the other end of the field.

"Yo, Naruto. Stop playing with yourself!" Suigetsu yells.

Naruto's answer is making a huge point of grabbing his balls and juggling them in his hands. Jugo shoots the ball right past him and scores.

Suigetsu picks up the ball from inside the goal and chucks it at Naruto. "If you were interested in the game as you are in your balls, they wouldn't have scored."

"I can't help if they itch, man. Your girlfriend must have given me crabs last night."

Suigetsu laughs, not believing for a second his girlfriend would cheat on him. Naruto passes the ball to Suigetsu, who passes to Deidara. Deidara brings the ball downfield. He passes it to me and I have my chance. I dribble down the makeshift field, pausing ontl to gauge how far I have to go before I kick it into the goal.

Faking to the left, I pass to Suigetsu and he passes it back. With one swift kick, the ball soars right and we've scored.

"Goal!" Our team sings as Suigetsu gives me a high five.

Our celebration is short-lived, though. A blue Escalade is creeping suspiciously down the street.

"Recognize it?" Naruto asks, tensing.

The game stops as guys realize there's something not cool. "Maybe it's retaliation," I say.

My eyes never leave the car window. When the car stops, we're all waiting for a glimpse of either someone or something to emerge from the car. When it does, we'll be ready.

But I'm not. My brother Itachi steps out of the car with a guy named Kisame. Kisame's ma is in the Uchiha clan and recruits new members. My brother better not be one of those recruits. Itachi knows better. I've worked too damn hard making sure he knows I'm in the gang so he doesn't have to be. Itachi's smart. He's the prodigy. He doesn't need this. If one family member is in, the rest are protected. I'm in.

Itachi and Ichigo aren't. And I'll do anything to make sure they stay that way. I put on a game face and walk over to Kisame, soccer and kemari completely forgotten. "New car?" I ask him, eyeing his wheels.

"It's my mom's."

"Nice." I turn to my brother. "Where have you guys been hanging?"

Itachi places his hand behind his back and nudges to Kisame. He's not in the mood, I can see. Kisame got initiated recently and now he thinks he's the shit. "At the mall. They've got this new cool guitar store. Tobi met us there and-"

Did I hear right? "Tobi?" The last thing I want is my brother hanging around Tobi. It's like I'm the older brother.

"Uchiha, you in or out?" Someone yells from the field. Keeping my anger hidden, I turn to my brother and his friend, who's capable of leading him to the dark side. "Wanna play?"

"Nah. We're gonna hang at my house," Kisame says.

I shrug nonchalantly, not feeling the least bit nonchalant. This is very important. I walk to the field, even if I have the urge to grab Itachi by the ear and drag him home. I can't afford to cause a scene that might get back to Tobi, who might start questioning my loyality.

Sometimes I feel my life is one big lie.

Itachi leaves with Kisame. That, combined with the fact that I can't get Sakura out of my mind, is driving me nuts. On the field, when the game starts back up, I'm restless. Suddenly, it's like theplayers on the other team aren't guys I know, but enemies in the way of everything I want. I charge the ball.

"Foul!" A cousin of one of my friends yells at me when I slam into him.

I put my hands up. "That was not a foul."

"You pushed me."

"Don't be a priss," I say, knowing I'm blowing it out of proportion.

I want to get in a fight. I'm asking for it. He knows it. The guy is about my height, my weight. My adrenaline is running high.

"You want a piece of me, dick?" He say, holding his arms out wide like a bird in flight. Intimidation doesn't work with me. "Come and get it."

Naruto runs in between us. "Sasuke, cool down, man."

"Either fight or play!" Someone shouts.

"He said I made a foul," I tell Naruto, my veins pumping.

Naruto shrugs casually. "You did."

Okay, now when my own best friend doesn't back me up, I know I've lost it. I look around. Everyone is waiting to see what I'm going to do. My adrenaline is in overdrive, matching their heightened anticipation. Do I want to fight? Yeah, if only to get this raw energy out of my body. And to forget, even for a minute, that my chem partner's number is cued up in my cell. And my brother is on the Uchiha clan radar to be recruited.

My best friend shoves ne away from the guy wanting to rip my head off and pushes me to the side of the field. He calls me out for subs to take our place in the gane.

"What'd you do that for?" I ask.

"To save your hide, man. Sasuke, you lost it. Completely."

"I can take that guy."

Naruto looks straight at me and says, "You're the one acting like a priss."

I shrug his hands off my shirt and stalk off not knowing how, in the matter of a few weeks, I've gotten my life screwed up so badly. I need to fix it. I'll deal with Itachi when he comes home tonight. He's gonna get an earful from me. And Sakura...

She didn't want me to drive her home frm Hina's house because she does,kt want to me seen with me. Fuck that shit. Itachi isn't the only one who deserves an earful from me.

I flip open my cell and cue Sakura's number.

"Hello?"

"It's Sasuke," I tell her, although she has caller ID and knows damn well it's me. "Meet me at the library. Now."

"I can't."

This is not the Sakura Haruno Show. It's the Sasuke Uchiha Show now. "Here's the deal, pinkie," I say as I reach my house and straddle my motorcycle. "You either show up at the library in fifteen minutes or I'm bringing five friends to your house and we're camping out on your front lawn tonight."

"How dare you-" she starts to say, but I close the phone before she can finish her sentence.

Revving the engine to block out the thoughts of last night when she snuggled into my lap, I realize I don't have a game plan.

I wonder if the Sasuke Uchiha Show will end up being a comedy or, more likely, a tragedy. Either way, it'll be a reality show worth not missing.


Sakura

I'm steaming mad as I pull into the library parking lot and park next to the wood at the far end of the lot. The last thing on my mind is my chemistry project. Sasuke is waiting for me, leaning against his motorcycle. I take the keys out of the iginition and storm over to him. "How dare you order me around!" I yell.

My entire life is full of people trying to control me. My mom... Hidan. And now Sasuke. I'm done with it. "If you think you can threaten me into-"

Without saying anything, Sasuke snatches my keys out of my hand and sits in the driver's seat of my Beemer.

"Sasuke, what do you think you're doing?"

"Get in."

The engine roars. He's going to drive off and leave me stranded in the library parking lot. Clenching my fists, I stop to the passenger side. When I'm in, Sasuke revs the engine.

"Where's my picture of Hidan?" I ask, eyeing the dashboard. It was taped up there a minute ago.

"Don't worry. You'll get it back. I don't have the stomach to look at it while I'm driving."

"Do you even know how to drive a stick?" I bark out. Without blinking or looking down, he puts the car into first gear and the car screeches out of the lot. My Beemer follows his lead as if the car and Sasuke are completely in sync.

"This is carjacking, you know." Silence. "And kidnapping," I add.

We're stopped at a light. I look at the cars around us, glad the top is up so no one can see us.

"Pinkie, you got in on your own free will," he says.

"It's my car. What if someone sees us?"

My words really piss him off, because the tires screech angrily when the light turns green. He's purposely ruining my car.

"Stop it!" I order. "Take me back to the library."

But he doesn't. He's silent as he winds my car through unknow towns and deserted roads, just like people do in the movies when they drive to meet dangerous drug dealers.

Great. I'm going on my first drug deal. If I get arrested, will my parents come bail me out? I wonder how my mom's going to explain that one to her friends. Maybe they'll send me away to some military boot camp fro delinquents. I bet they'd like that... Making Yoshiko go to a facility and me to boot camp.

My life would suck even more.

I will not be a part of anything illegal. I am the ruler of my destiny, not Sasuke. I grab the handle to the door. "Let me out of here or I swear I'm jumping out."

You're wearin' a seatbelt." He rolls his eyes. "Relax. We'll be there in two minutes." He shifts into lower gear and slows the car as we enter an old, deserted airport. "Okay, we're here, he says as he pulls up the parking brake.

"Yeah, okay? But what is here? I hate to tell you but the last inhabited place was three miles back. I'm not getting out of the car, Sasuke. You can do your drug deals on your own."

"If I had any doubts of you being a true dumb blonde with dyed pink hair, you've squelched them," he says. "As if I'd take you on a drug deal. Get out of the car."

"Give me one good reason why I should?"

He puts my keys in his back pocket and steps out of my car. "Because if you don't, I'm gonna drag you out. Trust me, woman." Seeing no other option, I follow him. "Listen, if you want to discuss our hand warmers we could have done it over the phone."

He meets me around the back of my car. We're standing, toe to toe, in the middle of nowhere.

There's been something nagging me all day. As long as I'm here with him, I might as well as. "Duid we kiss last night?"

"Yes."

"Well, it wasn't memorable because I have no recollection of it."

He laughs. "I was kidding. We didn't kiss." He leans in. "When we kiss you'll remember it. Forever."

Oh, God. I wish his words didn't leave my knees weak. I know I should be scared, alone with a gang member in a deserted place talking about kissing. But I'm not. Deep in my soul I know he wouldn't intentionally hurt me or force me to do anything.

"Why did you kidnap me?" I ask.

He grabs my hand and leads me to the driver's side. "Get in."

"Why?"

"I'm teaching you how to drive this car properly before the engine falls out from abuse."

"I thought you were mad at me. Why are you helping me?"

"Because I want to."

Oh. I wasn't expecting that at all. My heart is starting to thaw, because it's been a long time since someone cared enough to do something just to help me. Although... "This isn't because you want me to pay you back with favors, is it?"

He shakes he head.

"For real?"

"For real."

"And you're not mad at. Me because of anything I said or did?"

"I'm frustrated, Sakura. About you. About my brother. About a lot of shit." He sighs.

"Then why take me here?"

"Don't ask questions you're not ready to hear the answers to. Cool?"

"Cool." I slide into the driver's seat and wait for him to sit beside me.

"You ready?" He asks when he's settled and buckled in the passenger's seat.

"Yep."

He leans over and puts the keys in the ignition. When I release the parking brake and start the car, it dies.

"You didn't put it in neutral. If you don't have your foot on the clutch, it's gonna dies if you're in gear."

"I knew that..." I whisper, feeling totally stupid. "You're just making me nervous." He puts the stick in neutral for me. "Put your left foot on the clutch, your right foot on the brake, and go into first," he instructs. Sasuke is like a Sensei to me right now... A hot one at that.

Putting my foot on the gas and letting up on the clutch, the car jerks forward.

He braces himself with his hand on the dash. "Stop.

I stop the car and put it in neutral.

"You've got to find the sweet spot."

I look at him. "The sweet spot?"

"Yeah. You know, when the clutch catches." He's using his hands as he talks, pretending his hands are pedals. "You release it too fast. Get that balance and stay there... Feel it out. Try again."

I put the car in first again and let up on the clutch as I press on the gas.

"Hold it...," he says. "Feel the sweet spot. Linger there."

I let out the clutch and hold down the gas pedal but don't push down on it all the way. "I don't think I got it."

"Let go of the clutch no, but don't gun the gas."

I try, but the car jerks, then stalls.

I don't think I'm such an expert as much as Sasuke is. "You popped the clutch. Don't release the clutch too fast. Try again," he says, totally unfazed. He's not upset, frustrated, or itching to give up. I like that...

"You needed to give it more gas. Don't gun it, but give it enough juice to start moving."

I do the same steps, but this time the car movies forward without jerking. We're on the runway, moving up to ten miles per hour. "Press in the clutch," he instructs, then puts his hand over mine on the stick and helps me shift into second. I try to ignore his gentle touch and the warmth of his hand, so contradictory to his personality, and attempt to fous on the task.

He's very paitent as he instructs in detail who to downshift until we've come to a stop at the end of the runway. His fingers are still wrapped around mine.

"Lesson over?" I ask.

Sasuke clears his throat. "Um, yeah." He takes his hand off mine then weaves his fingers through his black mane, strand falling loosely into two bangs on either side of his face.

"Thanks," I murmur.

"Yeah, well, my ears were bleedin' everytime I heard your engine rev in the lot at school. I didn't do it to be a good guy."

I cock my head to the side and try and get him to look at me. He doesn't. "Why is it so important that you're percieved as a bad boy and emo boy, huh? Tell me."


Sasuke

For the first time, we're having a civilized conversation. Now I've got to come up with something to break that defensive wall of hers.

Oh, man. I need to reveal something that make me vulnerable. If she seems me as vulnerable instead of an asshole, maybe I can make some headway with her. And somehow I know she'll be able to tell if I'm bullshitting.

I'm not sure if I'm doing this for the bet, for the chemistry project or for me. In fact, I'm totally cool with not analyzing that part of what's happening here.

"My dad was murdered in front of me when I was six," I tell her, the bleakness in my voice, becoming more clear.

Her eyes go wide. "Really?"

I nod. I don't like talking about it, not sure I can even if I want to. Her manicured hands cover her mouth. "I didn't know that. Oh, God, I'm so sorry. That must have been horrible."

"Yep." It feels good to let it out, to make myself talk about it out loud. My father's nervous smile turning into shock right after he was killed.

Wow, I can't believe I remembered the expression on his face. Why would his smile be replaced by shock? That detail was totally forgotten until now. I'm still confused as I turn to Sakura. "If I care too much about shit and it's taken away, I'll feel like I did the day my dad died. I never want to feel that way, so instead I make myself care about nothing."

Her face is full of regret, sorrow, and sympathy. I can tell it's not an act.

Her brow is still furrowed when she says, "Thanks for, you know, telling me. But I can't imagine you can actually make yourself care about nothing. You can't program yourself like that."

"Wanna bet?" Suddenly I'm desperate to change the subject. "Your turn to share."

She looks away. I don't push her to say anything for fear she'll come to her senses and want to leave. Could it be harder for her to share even a glimpse into her world? My life has been so fucked up, it's damn hard to believe her life could possibly be any worse. I watch as a lone tear escapes her eye and she quickly wipes it away.

"My sister-," she starts. "My sister has cerebral palsy. And is mentally delayed. 'Retarded' is the term most people use. She can't walk, she uses what's called verbal approximations and nonverbal cues instead of words because she can't talk..." With that, another tear escapes. This time she let's it fall without wiping it away. I have the urge to wipe them for her but senses she needs to be untouched. She takes a deep breath. "And she's been angry about something, but I don't know what. She started pulling hair, and yesterday she pulled mine so hard a clump came out. My head was bleeding and my mom was freaking out on me."

So that's where the mysterious patch of baldness came from. Not a drug test.

For the first time though, I feel sorry for her. I imagined her life as a fairy tale; the worst thing that could possible happen would be a pea under her mattress keeping her up at night.

I guess that's not that case.

Something is happening. I sense a change in the wind... A mutual understanding of each other. I haven't felt this way in forever. I clear my throat, then say, "Your mom probably blows up at you the most because she knows you can take it."

"Yeah. You're probably right. Better me than my sister."

"It's no excuse, though." I'm being real now, and hope she is, too. "Listen, I don't want to be an asshole to you," I say. So much for the Sasuke Uchiha Show.

"I know. It's your image, what Sasuke Uchiha is all about. It's your brand, your logo... Dangerous, deadly, hot and sexy Uchiha. I wrote the book on creating an image. I wasn't exactly aiming for the blonde went pinkette bimbo look, though. More like the perfect, untouchable look."

Whoa. Rewind. Sakura called me hot and sexy. I was not expecting that at all. Maybe I have a chance of winning that stupid bet. "You do realize you call med hot."

"As if you didn't know."

I didn't know Sakura Haruno considered me hot. "For the record, I thought you were untouchable. But now that I know you think I'm a hot, sexy Uchiha god..."

"I never said the word 'god'." She rolls her sexy eyes and puts on the most perfect, beautiful, and stunning crooked smile ever.

I put my finger to my lips. "Shh, let me enjoy the fantasy for one minute." I close my eyes. Sakura laughs, this sweet sound that echoes in my ears.

"In some deranged way, Sasuke, I think I understand you. Although I'm really pissed off at you for being such a Neanderthal." When I open my eyes, I find her watching me. "Don't tell anyone about my sister," she says. "I don't like people knowing anything about me."

"We're actors in our lives, pretending to be who we want people to think we are."

"So you understand why I'd freak out if my parents find out we're... friends."

"You'd get in trouble? Shit, you're eighteen. Don't you think you can be friends with who you want to by now? The embilical cord's been cut, you know."

"You don't understand." She whispers.

"Try me."

"Why do you want to know so much?" She asks.

"Aren't chem partners supposed to know a lot about each other?" I chime.

She gives me a short laugh. "I hope not."

Truth is, this girl isn't what I thought she'd be. From the moment I told her about my dad, it was as if her entire body sighed in relief. As if someone else's misery comforted her, made her feel as if she wasn't alone. I still can't understand why she cares so much, why she choose the I-am-flawless facade to show the word.

Looming over my head is The Bet. I have to get this girl to fall for me. And while my body says go for it, the rest of me is thinking You're a complete bastard because she's vulnerable.

"I want the same things out of life you do," I admit. "I just go about them in a different way. You adapt to your environment, I adapt to mine." I put my hand back on hers. "Let me show you I'm different. "Would you ever date a guy who couldn't afford to take you to expensive restaurants and buy you gold and diamonds?"

"Absolutely." She slips her hand out from under mine. "But I have a boyfriend."

"If you didn't, would you give this Uchiha a chance?"

Her face turns a deep shake of pink. I wonder if Hidan ever makes her blush like that. "I'm not answering that," she says.

"Why not? It's a simple question."

"Oh, please. Nothing about you is simple, Sasuke. Let's not even go there." She puts the car in first gear. "Can we go now?"

"Yes, if you want. Are we cool?"

"I think so."

I hold my hand out for her to shake. She eyes the tattoos on my fingers, and extends her hand toward mine and shakes it, her enthusiasm apparent. "To hand warmers," she says with a smile on her lips.

"Do you want to drive back? I don't know the way."

I drive her back in comfortable silence while the sun sets. Our truce brings me closer to my goals: graduating, the bet... And something else I'm not ready to admit. My heart feels strange when I'm around this girl.

As I pull her kick-ass car into the dark library parking lot, I say, "Thanks for, you know, lettin' me kidnap you. I guess I'll see you around." Taking my keys out of my front pocket, I wonder if I'll ever be able to afford a car that isn't rusted, used, or old. After I step out of her car, I pull out Hidan's picture from my back pocket and toss it on the seat I just vacated.

"Wait!" Sakura calls out as I'm walking away.

I turn around and she's right in front of me. "What?"

She smiles seductively as if she's wanting something more than a truce. Shit, is she gonna kiss me? I'm taken off guard here which usually doesn't happen. She bites her bottom lip, as if she's contemplating her next move. I'm totally game to making out with her.

As my brain goes through every scenario, she steps closer to me.

And snatches my keys out of my hand.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask her.

"Getting you back for kidnapping me." She steps back and with all her might whips my keys into the woods.

"You did not just do that."

She backs up, facing the entire time, as she moves toward her car. "No hard feeling. Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Sasuke?" She says, trying to keep a straight face.

I watch in shock as my chem partner gets into her Beemer. The car drives out of the lot without a jolt, jerk, or hitch. Flawless start.

I'm pissed off because I'm going to have either crawl around in the dark woods trying to find my keys or call Rin to pick me up. I'm also amused. Sakura Haruno bested me at my own game.

"Yeah," I say to her even though she's probably a mile away and can't hear me. "Payback is a bitch."

Damn.


Done!

Heheh! Now doesn't this make up for the last chappie?

Like it? Loved it? Hated it? Too much like the original?

Haha, I loved doing this chappie!

Thanks for Reading!

Kumi-Chan/Tobi-Is-Fluffy-Chan