Chapter Text
“Today is the day!”
Sakura stood in front of her mirror, cheering herself on for the last 15 minutes. She admired her reflection, appreciating the view the mirror reflected back to her. She wasn’t too shallow, but she liked to feel beautiful and today she thought she was really pretty. Stressed maybe, nervous even, but very pretty.
She couldn’t believe today was the day she would confess her feelings. It’s not fair that he’s so handsome! She’d always thought he was cute, but back then it was different, he had been her friend. She wasn’t sure if two years was the beginning of her love for him, but she was sure it was time to confess. She couldn’t live like this anymore, pining for a guy, dreaming of a future that might never exist. This day would determine the rest of her love life; either the man she loved would return her feelings, or she would be heartbroken and have to move on.
The very idea of him not sharing her feelings was painful, but she would respect his decision no matter what. Her mother had always told her that in life when you want something, you have to go get it. And God how she was going to try to get him! Her mom had taught her early on that it was more beneficial for her to never depend on others, let alone for her happiness. People should always be a bonus in our lives, never a burden or something that drags us down. She had taken this lesson to heart, even though sometimes she would really like to be the one to bring that bonus of happiness into the life of the man she loved.
She sighed, tucking a pink lock of hair behind her ear. She checked her dress for creases, made sure nothing was askew, and that her makeup didn’t smudge. It wasn’t the case. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
“Okay, Sakura. You can do it! You don’t have to be a genius! The worst he can say is no, after all.”
Huh. Yes, but, his 'no’ might create some damage to my heart. Ugh, what am I going to do if he doesn’t like me? I’ll never be able to look him in the eyes again. Well, not for a while! Besides, we go to the same college, it’s not like I can avoid him all year after that! ”
For heaven’s sake, she has pink hair! PINK. She’s a beacon in the night for lost souls! She owes her father for that pink hair Although her dad had a much deeper shade of pink. “We found you under a cherry tree,” her father had told her when she was four. She snorted snidely. Yeah, right. He made it look like she’d popped out of a flower. Her younger self had bought into his bullshit long enough to be considered embarrassing.
She shook her head. She was getting off-topic. She always did. Her green eyes looked up at the clock on the wall before widening her eyes at the time. She quickly grabbed her shoulder bag, shoving her textbooks into it, and stormed out of her small apartment.
It wasn’t far from the campus. She lived in a shared flat with her best friend. They had decided early on that living together would cut down on expenses and on top of that, it was kind of nice to live with Ino-pig when she wasn’t playing fashion designer and turning their apartment into a studio. Ino was exceptional in the field of fashion, she could turn any toad into a queen. She was good like that.
Sakura hurriedly got on her bike and pedaled to the campus. Ino often told her that she reminded her of Wes in HTGAWM or Mike in Suits, Sakura couldn’t find it in herself to be offended by this comment because they were both smart, so she preferred to take it as a compliment rather than an insult plus, there was nothing wrong with riding a bike. She liked the bike, feeling the light breeze in her hair. Anything was better than walking. She could take the bus, but she had forgotten to renew her bus pass. Sakura thought that paying the electricity bill was much more important. She could live without buses or subways, she had legs that could take her anywhere, but without electricity? No. And Ino would probably kill her if she chose her pass over their comfort.
It took her less than ten minutes to reach her destination and hook the lock on her bike. The courtyard outside the campus was teeming with students. Some were in a bad mood, some were in a good mood, and some were wondering what the hell they were still doing here and why they were doing this to themselves. Sakura often found herself in between the three. Making sure one last time that the lock was in place, the young woman straightened up while arranging the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
Today was going to be quite a day.
It was lunchtime and Sakura still hadn’t taken matters into her own hands. It wasn’t for lack of trying. The first time she tried to confess her feelings, she ended up asking for a pen instead, claiming she didn’t like blue. She’d played it cool, but she was sure the guy had glanced at her pencil case and the countless pens in it. She pretended not to notice and he did the same by lending her one of his.
The second time she tried, she lied and said she had forgotten her organic chemistry textbook and that it would be nice if he let her read the instructions for the assignment. She doubted he really believed her because Sakura wasn’t known for her absent-mindedness when it came to her studies, but being the kind man that he is, he graciously said yes as if he genuinely believed that she had forgotten her textbook when it was clearly sticking out of her bag.
The third time… well, there was no third time! Not yet. She was starving, so she decided to postpone her plans and go buy some food. She will need all the energy she can get when she goes to proclaim her love…
“Move out of the way, Sak’, there are thirsty people here.”
Sakura gasped and turned to find herself facing a blonde with four pigtails.
“Oh, Tem’. Sorry, I was distracted!”
Temari was a student from Suna. A city located in the southwest where the heat was compared to the desert. She was an exchange student. Sakura liked Temari with her you always knew where you stood. She was straightforward. She was currently dating one of her good friends from middle school and Sakura had dated her cousin a few years ago, so the two women knew each other well since they had spent quite a bit of time together.
“When aren’t you? So what’s up? Did you recover from last Saturday’s party?”
Sakura moved slightly to the side to let Temari indulge in her junk food and soda. She winced slightly at the memory of the said party.
“I had to carry Ino drunk on my back. Do you know how affectionate she is when she’s drunk? And loud? Even worse than Naruto. And it’s hard to do worse than Naruto.”
Temari snickered at her friend’s expense, she had actually heard Ino yell “I love you assholes. I love you guys, you’re my friends for life. You’re the Boots of my Dora” at some point in the evening. She had amused many. Only Ino would make cartoon references meant for four-year-olds.
“She’s charming. Who knew?”
Sakura snorted.
“Don’t let her hear you say that.”
They walked to the outside tables, heading for the seats their friends had saved for them. Sakura was about to sit next to Naruto who as usual was eating like a pig, but a pleading look at her dark-haired friend was enough for the latter to smack the back of the blonde’s head.
“Oi! What was that for, Teme!?”
“You’re eating like a three-year-old, Dobe. You’re splattering everyone with your ramen.”
“I’m gonna splatter your face!”
“Oh, I didn’t know you swung that way.” Sai interjected, a thoughtful look on his face before adding,“It makes sense, I guess… You’ve always been very close to Sasuke. You even took baths together.”
There was silence. The sound of falling cutlery was heard and all attention was focused on the two men whose faces were turning red. Naruto began to fidget wildly stammering incomprehensible words while Sasuke choked on his onigiri. Only Sakura patting his back had probably saved him from choking to death.
“WHAT THE FUCK, SAI!? WE WERE LIKE 3 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT ANYWAY!?”
Naruto would have probably jumped at Sai’s throat if Shikamaru hadn’t held him back by the collar of his shirt with a bored look on his face. Sai, on the other hand, was completely calm and eating his Momen Tofu.
“Your lovely mother showed me your photo album last Christmas. I didn’t know you had a thing for bodysuits with toad prints on them either. That explains so much about you…”
“Sai, I swear…!”
All the attention on the boys was forgotten when everyone realized it wasn’t a coming out. Conversations gradually resumed and Sakura shook her head, wondering what she had done to be friends with such idiots.
“Sai, for the last time, I’m not dating that dobe, and even if I were paid to do so, I’d still rather be drowned in a puddle.”
Sakura opened her mouth about to retort that technically he couldn’t die drowning in a puddle but Sasuke seemed to guess her intentions and glared at her.
“You, miss know-it-all, shut up.”
Sakura faked an outraged look and had to restrain herself from laughing under the murderous gaze of her childhood friend. She raised her hands, playing the innocence card.
“Oi, bastard! You think I want you? Even the sun wouldn’t be enough to warm your cold ass. If I wanted to live near a freezer, I would have come to you already.”
The whole table burst into laughter as Sasuke frowned and Sakura gently patted his shoulder in a mock comfort. Sakura loved her friends. Some of them had known each other since kindergarten, others since elementary school, middle school, or even high school. They were her second family. She knew she could count on them and they on her.
The sun’s rays caressed Sakura’s skin as she basked under the cloudless sky. She had two hours to spare and sunbathing wasn’t a bad idea. At least that was what she had planned to do but her sharp eye had spotted her target. She quickly stood up and walked towards him. He was sitting on a bench, under a tree, slightly in the shade, his nose plunged in his novel. He couldn’t see her since Sakura was coming from behind, but she would have recognized that black hair everywhere.
“Okay, Sak. Take a breath. This is it. You can do it!”
She approached slowly, her heart pounding and her hands slightly clammy, she winced but didn’t care any more than that. She leaned forward, reading over his shoulder. A philosophical novel. Typical. So Itachi. A soft smile formed on her lips.
“Nice butt… Book! Oh my God, BOOK. I meant book, I swear!”
Itachi was taken aback but he regained his composure so quickly that it was barely noticeable. Sakura was blushing like crazy. Now she had to open her big mouth and make a fool of herself.
Nice butt?! What’s wrong with her? A slip of the tongue at the worst possible moment! She had no timing!
“I’m sure.” He replied, a hint of amusement in his voice and if Sakura wasn’t so freaked out by her slip, she probably would have noticed. “I got it from my mom.”
“What!?” she squeaked, her cheeks pink.
Itachi arched an eyebrow and God damn him for looking so good. He didn’t even seem to react!
“The book, Sakura. Mother gave it to me.”
“Oh… OH. Yeah! The book!” She scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously, a very familiar gesture that reminded Itachi of a very loud blond. “Of course, you got it from your mother! I mean, who else? It certainly wasn’t your father who…”
Seeing his curious and mischievous gaze Sakura caught herself:
“ I mean… not that your father doesn’t have a nice bu… book! I just don’t look at his… library. hahaha omggg shut up!”
She hid her face in her hands, probably redder than the tomatoes Sasuke was fond of.
“I didn’t say anything.” replied Itachi’s soft and deep voice. The same one that was doing strange things to a part of her body she’d rather not think about right now.
“I KNOW! I…ugh!” Before she could humiliate herself any further, her savior came in the person of another head of black hair. Except that his hair was short and had nice curls. Curls that Sakura often wanted to undo for her own pleasure. She felt a muscular arm wrap around her shoulder and the newcomer’s breath tickles her ear.
“Hey there, princess. What’s new under that pretty dress?”
Shisui joked. Shisui, an inveterate flirt and Itachi’s older cousin by two years. He loved to tease Sakura, just for the fun of seeing her get all flustered and angry. The young woman elbowed him in the ribs muttering “my undergarments”, which made the older man grunt and laugh as he released his arm to massage his ribs with one hand. He was still amazed at her strength even after all these years. He looked at Itachi who was watching the exchange with a look of exasperation but there was a certain fondness behind his obsidian eyes. You only noticed it if you knew where to look.
“Looks like you’re still harassing other students, Shisui.”
Shisui gave him a look.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I make friends everywhere I go.”
“STDs too.”
Sakura stifled her laughter, and masked it with a cough but she didn’t miss the indignant look on the older Uchihas’ face.
“I’ll have you know that I’m very careful, my body is a temple!”
“The temple of stupidity, perhaps.”
This time Sakura couldn’t contain her laughter and for good measure, Shisui pinched her ribs making her yelp in surprise. She narrowed her eyes and leaped at the man who had no trouble restraining her with just the palm of his hand placed on her forehead. He was so tall compared to her. She was cursing him for it.
“Easy, kitten. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Shisui, you…” she ranted.
“What was that?” His eyes shone with amusement as he watched the girl try to attack him. The little brat still managed to kick him in the shin. He automatically let go of her, grunting in pain while Sakura looked both smug and proud of herself as she crossed her arms against her chest.
“You better remember that cats scratch when provoked.”
His gaze suddenly darkened, a Cheshire smile stretching across his lips. He opened his mouth, a retort already on the tip of his lips but Itachi seemed to have noticed because he roughly grabbed the back of his cousin’s shirt and made him sit on the bench.
“Shisui.” warned Itachi, his eyes narrowed. The older Uchiha rolled his own, he knew when not to mess with his cousin. Sakura’s eyes flicked from one to the other, confused. the question written in her eyes. Shisui smiled at her, but didn’t answer, he just shook his head, which made the girl frown at first, then she shrugged, dropping the subject.
“Anyway. I’m going to go get some water from the vending machine. Would either of you like me to bring a bottle or something?”
Itachi turned to her, his features smooth again, but he smiled kindly, politely as always.
“A bottle of water is fine with me. Thank you, Sakura.”
She nodded, then turned to the other Uchiha.
“How about you, Shi’?”
The man stood up from the bench and stretched his arms over his head, cracking a bone or two.
“Nah, I’m good, princess. I’ll come with you. I forgot to pack a few things on the way here. Since I was looking for Itachi, I forgot them.”
Itachi snorted but made no further comment. In fact, he had returned his attention to his book. Sakura was pulled along by Shisui’s arm as it wrapped around her slim waist. She let herself be led away after asking Itachi to keep her things until she comes back. He nodded, staring at them intently for a few seconds before resuming his reading.
With two bottles of fresh water in her hands, Sakura made her way back. She was alone when she returned. Shisui told her not to wait for him because he still had to get his stuff. She thought about her problem and decided to take advantage of Shisui’s absence to confess her feelings to his cousin.
It didn’t start well, to say the least. She made an absolute fool of herself. Just thinking about it made her cheeks flush. She hadn’t lied, after all, he really did have a nice ass, but she hadn’t wanted to say it out loud, let alone like that. It was probably nervousness that was making her act like a crazy person.
As she approached the spot where she had left Itachi and her things, she froze. The scene that greeted her stunned her. She quickly hid behind the closest tree and spied on what she hoped would not be a private moment.
She could see a beautiful girl, she looked vaguely familiar. Sakura was far enough away not to be seen, but close enough to catch a few snippets of their conversation.
“…time. I love you, Itachi. Maybe we could…”
Sakura couldn’t see Itachi’s face. All she could see was his back, his slender form, standing in front of the girl who was confessing her love for him. Sakura’s heart sank. It wasn’t surprising. Itachi was a remarkable guy, people would be crazy not to like him. Making sure to be silent, she leaned in to hear more of the conversation and recognized Izumi. Izumi was a very close friend of Shisui and Itachi. Sakura had heard a few years ago that she and Itachi had been involved but she didn’t know if it was the truth or just unsubstantiated rumors. She didn’t dwell on it at the time. Rumors could be harmful and she didn’t want to be a part of that. Even less if it concerned one of her friends who is, moreover, the brother of one of her best friends.
She focused on them again, her heart beating faster due to the nervousness that knotted her stomach. She felt like a voyeur and it made her cringe, but she needed to know. Itachi must have said something, but it was far too low for her to hear. She frowned and decided to trust the expressions on the girl’s face. The brunette took a step closer, one hand on his forearm. Itachi didn’t seem to push her hand away or be bothered. There was… a certain familiarity in their gestures. Just the thought of it, Sakura’s heart clenched even more. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought it was… Unfortunately, all her fears came true before her eyes. She had only blinked, but apparently that was enough for her to miss something, because the next minute, Izumi was kissing the man Sakura loved.
She thought she heard a cracking sound before realizing that it must be the feeling of her heart being torn apart. Tears welled up in her eyes. Shit, shit, shit. Does he have a girlfriend? HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND? As in a girl he holds hands with and hugs and kisses and sleeps with ???? No. No. No. Don’t think about it. If she didn’t calm down, she might hyperventilate.
She had to get out of here. NOW. She couldn’t watch this. It hurt too much. She was going to run, but then she remembered that her bag was still on the bench.
“Damn it.”
She couldn’t leave without her bag. She needed it for her next class and on top of that, she still had Itachi’s water bottle! She was screwed! She leaned her back against the tree trunk and took a deep breath. She was in pain, she felt like her stomach had just dropped and all her hopes and dreams had just been shattered.
“All right, breathe, Sak. It’s going to be okay. Get a grip.” She slowly counted to ten and fought back her tears, straightened her shoulders, and suppressed her pain as best she could. She moved on autopilot. Her body felt stiff, but it was the best she could do. She purposefully made her footsteps loud enough to attract the attention of the couple.
It was the sound of their lips parting that finally broke her. She wasn’t quite looking at Itachi’s eyes but rather at his chin. She couldn’t look at him, not anymore.
Izumi was the first to react.
“Oh, Sakura! Hi! What are you doing here?”
Izumi looked flustered, her cheeks were pink. Sakura didn’t know if it was because of the kiss or because she had interrupted them. It didn’t matter. She cleared her throat and focused her attention on the older girl, a small smile on her lips. She congratulated herself for having managed to put one on. It was fake, sure, but it would do. She called it “Sai’s smile” because she’d seen him use it enough times to know that it could fool a lot of people.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Huff, she’s kissing the man I love and I still find a way to apologize for interrupting them!? Well done, Sakura. You’d make a great career in sadomasochism.
“I forgot my bag and I…” She pointed to the bottle of fresh water in her hand and wordlessly handed it to Itachi who was staring at her with an intensity that her heart couldn’t bear. Itachi took the bottle and his long thin fingers brushed hers. Sakura hastily withdrew her hand, she fidgeted nervously, clutching her bottle to soothe the burn of his touch.
“Thank you.”
Sakura nodded and picked up her bag. She offered an apologetic smile to the pair. Izumi seemed completely unaware of the tension. She gave her a bright smile.
“Your dress is really pretty, Saku. A date, perhaps?”
The brunette gave her a knowing wink and Sakura held back from telling her that she could have, but that she had just stolen the love of her life. Ugh, no. I’m being a drama queen again.
“Oh, no! No, I just… Sometimes girls like to feel pretty.”
Izumi’s expression softened and she nodded.
“You look beautiful.”
It was at that very moment that Sakura knew she could never hate Izumi. She was jealous, yes, but she couldn’t find it in herself to hate her for taking the man she liked. Izumi was beautiful, smart, sweet, and kind, she had helped Sakura a few times in high school with her homework. She was a good-hearted person, and even though it hurt her to admit it, she could make Itachi happy. She could be good for him. How could Sakura compete? She wasn’t going to try. Sakura wasn’t a homewrecker.
It was the brunette’s voice that brought her back to reality.
“Isn’t she, Itachi?”
Sakura felt her breath catch. God must really hate her right now. She had always been a decent girl, at least she liked to think so. She didn’t dare meet his gaze at first, but finally, she did and her cheeks heated up. His obsidian orbs seemed to roam over her figure, but surely she must have imagined it. Like he was going to ogle her while his girlfriend was right there. He made a small noise of assent, nodding.
“You look lovely, Sakura.”
The pink-haired girl felt her heart racing and she blushed harder. He had no right to sound so hot when he complimented her or when he said her name like that. However, the joy disappeared as quickly as it came. He had a girlfriend and probably just wanted to humor me.
The pain seemed numb for now, but she knew it would come back later. When she was alone.
“T-thank you…”
There was a slight pause, then she said :
“I have to go. I’m gonna be late for class.”
She lied, but what else could she do? Stay here and watch them smooch? Take the pompoms from her old Halloween cheerleader costume while congratulating them on the skill of their tongue down each other’s throats? She scoff. Yeah right. Rather die drowning in a puddle as Sasuke would say.
She put the strap of her bag over her shoulder and squeaked a quick “see you later” and left hurriedly. “Running away” was the right word really, but she wasn’t feeling brave right now. She was running like she had the devil on her tail. She could almost swear she felt the burn of an onyx gaze fixed on her back but she was too much of a coward to check.
Today was not the day.
There would never be a day.
There was nothing left but her and her broken heart.