A/N: I am so sorry for not updating or writing anything for such a long time. Real life has made me really busy, and I just haven't had the motivation nor the energy to write anything. But, I'm back, and I'll try to keep myself on a more consistent writing schedule (I'm not quite sure how that'll end up, but believe me when I say I'm going to try). Anyway, this was a tough chapter to write. I swear I rewrote it like three times over the course of a couple months, but I digress. I edited the last chapter just to change the whole thing with the Hokage being the principal because the longer I thought about it, the worse it seemed to have Naruto in the future being in charge of a high school. Like seriously, that school would be so screwed. I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait; I really tried my best. Please leave a review! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
The universe hated her.
It was the only plausible explanation Sakura could think of as she sprinted out of the cafeteria because how could her luck be so bad that Naruto was Sasuke's roommate? Naruto, her best friend who was also impeccably good at reading people and couldn't keep his nose out of other people's business to save his life, was somehow supposed to be convinced to leave his room at midnight by a guy he barely knew. He would have millions of questions, and there was no way Sasuke could answer all of them without giving anything away. And when he did inevitably spill something, she couldn't even imagine the chaos that would ensue.
Sinking down onto a bench on the side of the hallway, Sakura placed her head in her hands, trying to think of something that could fix the situation. She could hear somebody's footsteps approach and prayed that the gods would take mercy on her so that it wasn't Naruto.
"Sakura."
The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine and caused her cheeks to turn a flaming red. Why was it that he always managed to sound so seductive?
"Naruto's your roommate," she whispered. When she heard no response, Sakura glanced up, only to find Sasuke watching her with a look of confusion.
"So?" he asked, a single eyebrow raised. Sakura, on the other hand, was close to bursting.
"Naruto's your roommate. You know, my best friend who's completely incapable of keeping his nose in his own business," she whispered quickly.
"It's not going to be a problem"
"Yes, it will!" she whisper-yelled. "He's gonna find out and then tell everybody and your parents will flip and—" She tugged at her hair in her frustration, only to be stopped by Sasuke.
"It. Will. Be. Fine," he said calmly, gripping her wrists in his hands. She took a deep shuddering breath, trying to slow her racing thoughts.
"Okay." She sat up straight, pursing her lips in consternation. Sasuke took a seat next to her and gently intertwined their fingers. She sighed.
If she was ever going to know what Sasuke wanted to tell her, she'd have to just ask him now, but she felt unease creeping up her spine as she turned to face him. Whatever his news was, it seemed important.
"Just tell me now." She scrutinized his face as his brows twisted in confusion.
"Tell you what?"
"You know, the thing you said you were going to tell me?" she pressed. Sasuke seemed to hesitate, eyes darkening.
"Sakura…" he started, but stopped. Something flared in his eyes, a determination she'd never seen before. Boldly, he grabbed both her hands and turned so he was facing her. Sakura could barely keep her composure as her heart picked up to speeds that hearts should not be beating at.
"Um, Sasuke-kun? You do know we're still in the hallway. People could see us," she said, looking away from him in an attempt to calm her nerves. It wasn't fair what he did to her.
"It doesn't matter," he said, a fire burning in his dark eyes that sent blood rushing into her face. But that didn't distract her from the issue at hand.
"It doesn't matter? Sasuke-kun, we're in public—"
"I'm going to tell my parents about us."
It was like all the air had just disappeared in Sakura's lungs. Sasuke was going to tell his family. Sasuke was going to tell his family. For a brief moment, all she could feel was giddy hope. The longing to hold his hand in public, to say that he was her boyfriend, to go to a school dance together, all of that…was it going to become reality? She blinked.
"Wha-I…" she spluttered, trying to figure out exactly what to say. Was this really happening?
"I'm going to tell them. I don't care about what they're going to say," he said, hands tightening their grip on her own.
Suddenly, it all came crashing down.
What was she thinking? Sasuke's parents would never accept her—that was the reason they kept their relationship a secret for all these years. If he told them, he'd break apart his family. And she knew just how much Sasuke's family meant to him.
"Sasuke-kun, you can't. They'll—"
"I'll convince them," he said, already knowing the direction her thoughts had taken.
"What if you can't?"
"I will," he stated. Sakura wanted to pull her hair out. Couldn't he see?
"Sasuke-kun, why are you doing this now?" she asked, eyes watering. She knew they were long overdue for this talk…but now? Call her a little selfish, but she wanted to enjoy at least some time in highschool with her boyfriend.
She sighed, opening her mouth to speak, but was stopped by Sasuke's mouth pressing onto hers. The kiss was achingly gentle, and when they broke apart, the only thing Sakura could do was stare at him.
After what seemed like ages, Sasuke finally spoke.
"My parents…want me to get married. To Hyuga Hinata."
Naruto was on a mission. A mission that he would not stray from. After Hinata had left, he stood there for a couple of minutes, staring at the cafeteria floor (which he definitely regretted doing—he was pretty sure he saw some gum that was from the seventies or something). Then—after briefly shaking himself out of his Hinata induced daze—he remembered what exactly he needed to do: find Sakura.
So, now he was roaming the halls with his cup of ramen that he had managed to grab on his way out. He only had ten minutes left to find his best friend, and he was going to use them to the best of his ability.
Rounding the corner of the hallway, he spotted her sitting on a bench, the spiky haired guy—Sasuke, wasn't it?—right next to her. Suspicions raised and ramen finished, he made his way towards them as silently as a cat…which lasted for about the first five seconds.
Apparently, he had failed to notice the puddle of water just up ahead of him. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as his foot slipped, and he was sent careening forward, the bright tiled floor coming closer and closer to his face.
The impact was the worst part. Face slammed into the tile, Naruto groaned in pain. He carefully sat up, rubbing his head.
"Ow!" he exclaimed. He looked up, only to find Sasuke and Sakura staring right back at him. There went his plan to be sneaky. Sheepishly, he stood.
"Oh, uh, hey Sakura-chan! What's up? I was just looking for you!" he said. The girl in question just stared at him, a sure sign that something was up with her. His gaze slipped past her to Sasuke, who was looking at him with narrowed eyes. What was his problem?
Suddenly, Sakura got up.
"Hey, Naruto. I was just, uh, trying to find the restroom and Sasuke-kun told me where it was. So, I'll just go really quickly and come back," she said, turning and sprinting in the other direction, leaving both of the boys there.
They both stared after her. Finally, Naruto turned his attention to his roommate. He might as well try talking to him.
"So, uh, hey roomie!" he greeted cheerfully. Sasuke just glanced at him before leaving. He sure was antisocial.
But the blond was no idiot (at least this time). Something was going on, and detective Naruto was going to crack the case no matter what.
The rest of his classes passed by pretty quickly, and unfortunately, Sakura wasn't in any of them. Neither was Hinata, which only dampened the blond's mood even further. There was also this pretty tall kid in the hallways who kept glaring daggers at him like he had personally insulted him (which Naruto was pretty sure he hadn't done). He had long brown hair and eyes that looked kinda like Hinata's. Maybe they were related?
Pulling off his shoes, Naruto stepped into his dorm. It was pretty small, with two beds on opposite sides of the room, a bathroom off to the side, and a little desk near the window in between the beds. His roommate had yet to arrive.
He plopped his bags onto the floor, looking around him. All in all, it was pretty swanky, if he did say so himself. Grinning, he jumped onto one of the beds. He could finally relax.
And he was going to do just that when he heard the sound of the door opening.
His roommate.
He shot up into a sitting position. There was no way Sasuke was getting out of this one easily. He was going to get to the bottom of the mystery once and for all!
First, he had to get Sasuke to warm up to him. Luckily, he was an expert in that matter. It was time to put his awesome social skills to the test!
"I'm Naruto!" he said, extending his hand for him to shake. The dark haired boy just eyed him warily.
"I heard."
He really wasn't a talker, was he? That approach failed, but he wasn't done yet. It just seemed like he had to get straight to the point.
"What's up between you and Sakura-chan?" he asked, watching Sasuke's expression carefully. He tensed for a moment—almost imperceptibly—before relaxing.
"I don't even know who you're talking about," he replied coolly. But Naruto saw that moment of hesitation. And he prided himself on being able to read people very well; he could see that his roommate was lying.
"You're lying!"
…But he wasn't that great at finding a subtle way to tell him that.
"I'm not."
"You are!"
It was going to be a long night.
