"Your ex?" Naruto said. He slid a had into his pocket.
"Yeah. I guess you could say it was love at first sight. Zaku was amazing, everything I ever wanted in a guy. He was nice, funny, easy to talk to. It heled that he was pretty cute, too. I thought things were going great. We'd been going out for eight months straight with absolutely no fights at all," Sakura said disdainfully as she thought of the photograph still upstairs in her room. "But it was just too good to be true.
"After those eight months were up, things turned bad. School had just let out and we were in our first weeks of summer. Being the perfect couple that we were, we saw each other almost every day. We had dates scheduled week after week - until he started missing them, cancelling. Out of nowhere, he woud call and say he was busy. Zaku had a job, so I let it go, thinking it was for work. How stupid was I."
"So it wasn't work?" He looked at her.
"No. It was Kin, a.k.a. his ex - at least, that's what he told me. I caught him walking with her one day. He said they were just talking, catching up, and that they had broken up years ago. So I let him slide and accepted the lie," she said, hating herself with every word. "I still believed we were an indestructible pair. Then reality finally hit me in the face."
Hands curling in her lap, a tear welling up in her eye, Sakura trudged on through finally reliving the ordeal.
"I saw them together again. I remembered what he said before, about them just talking. Then he kissed her. Being the coward that I was, I didn't interrupt. I just turned around and walked away. I confronted Zaku about it later, and I wasn't going to accept his lies anymore, but I gues he didn't feel like lying to me. He told me the truth: that both he and Kin had been going out since he was still back in his old school. They apparently didn't want to break things off, but he had a reputation to uphold."
The tears trickled steadily now as the end of the story came.
"That's why he asked me out in the first place. He didn't want the new school to believe he was incapable of having a girlfriend."
"And no one else figured out he was cheating?" Naruto asked, his eyes full of unmistakable pity.
"It seems that he kept Kin known only to his friends from his old town, and me to his new friends. I think he said there was only one other person who knew about both of us - Dosu, or something like that. But Kin didn't even know he was cheating. He never told her, yet he was so willing to break the news to me." Sakura gave a hysterical laugh. "That was it. After I finally realized he didn't actually care about me, I ended it and it was all over. More than eight months, and just like that, with one secret, my life was... I should've told Kin. Someone should've told her, but the only other person who knew was my friend, Ino, and I made her promise not to tell. I don't even know why I was being so stupid. I should've told everyone what Zaku did, but I..."
Unable to continue, she sat in silence, shedding tears which had been held back for so long. The boy sitting next to her seemed to be fighting back the urge to ask another question - a force he couldn't resist.
"What, so now he's still calling you? All that happened, and he's calling you."
The girl smiled at the look of disbelief on his face. It reminded her of how she felt after Ino had told her the news that one day.
"I think he wants to get back together," she replied matter-of-factly. It wasn't a tempting offer, but it was the truth.
"What?!"
Sakura couldn't help but laugh. Naruto's expression was too comical.
"Yeah... It is kind of ridiculous." Reaching up to her face, she was surprised to find that her eyes were dry. So talking to Naruto was easier than I thought...
"Sakura," the blonde started. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "Thanks for listening."
"No problem." Standing up, he stretched. "But I think that's all the time I have left."
Sakura stared in confusion.
"I mean... uh... I think I better get going before my parents start worrying," he amended.
"Alright. I guess I'll see you Monday. She stood up also, and watched him wave goodbye.
Going back into the house, she was surprised to find that she suddenly felt alone, although she wasn't. Her mother was up, drinking coffee in the kitchen.
"Oh, there you are, Sakura. What has you up so early?" she asked.
"Nothing, really. I was just sitting outside on the porch," Sakura answered honestly enough.
"Okay then. I'm going to go head off to work now. Your father's going to leave soon, too. Are you going to be fine here?"
"I always am, Mom," she replied. "See ya later."
"Alright. Bye, Sakura."
Sakura walked over and hugged her mother before she found herself walking back to her room. She fingered the cell phone which was still in her pocket. Sliding it out, her fingers dialed the first number that came to her mind. Patiently, she waited for someone to answer.
---
"So, Naruto, what have you got for me?" Sasukre had stood from his position on a park bench when the blonde had called his name. His eyes looked expectant.
"Well," Naruto began, "I talked to her like you told me to, and I managed to record the important part without Sakura knowing." Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a mini tape recorder that had been hidden there earlier.
Sasuke looked at the tape. "Do I have to listen to all of that, or can you summarize?"
"I don't know, Sasuke. So much happened to her before. She was really hurt. I can't really explain it..."
"All I needed was that last part, but thanks for the extra info," he said. Trying to sound casual, he asked, "What do you mean, 'she was really hurt'?" Inside, he was fighting a strange surge of anger.
Naruto shook his head. "Like I said, I can't explain it too well. It's all on the tape, but basically, it was ex-boyfriend trouble."
"Hn," Sasuke muttered, lost in his thoughts.
"Um, Sasuke?" Naruto started. "I know you want to figure out why she turned you down, but don't you think this is wrong? You know, getting me to get the information from her? I don't think she wants you to know."
The pale face turned down to look at him. "If that's what you're concerned about, then why did you give me the tape? You agreed to this, Naruto. Remember that."
Naruto sighed. "Okay, okay. I get it. I'll see you Monday, then." He walked away and muttered something that sounde like "but that was before I knew what was going to be on it".
As soon as Naruto was out of sight, a different voice spoke. "I don't believe you, Sasuke."
Sasuke jumped. "Neji? What the hell are you doing here?"
Neji walked around a tree trunk, smirking. "And you said you weren't obsessed." Clearly, the Hyuga had no hard feelings after their little argument - well, none that he would show. The Uchiha, on the other hand, was a different story.
"That's right. I'm not obsessed," Sasuke snapped.
"Of course not." Neji shook his head. "You just got Naruto to talk to Sakura, ask her why she rejected you, had him record the conversation, and now you're going to go listen to the tape for yourself. Clearly non-obsessive behavior."
Sasuke sighed. Neji was too observant for his own good. "I'll make a deal with you then, Neji. I'll admit I'm obsessed - which I'm not - when you do something for me in return."
"That depends on what you want me to do," Neji said.
"Well, you've been such a pain every time Tenten comes up in a conversation. Like now, for instance. Look at your face; you're mad at me already and I just said her name. That's why I asked Naruto to do this in the first place. You would have been my first choice as a spy, but since you were pissed at me for that one comment, I let it go."
Cautious now, Neji took his time replying. "So what is it you want me to do, Sasuke?"
"Nothing too big. I just want you to get back together with her." Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "What? That's not too hard, is it?"
"Not at all. But I'm not going to do that."
"Why not?"
"You know why," Neji said, turning his back on his friend. "It's the same reason why we didn't stay together in the first place."
"There's always a way around the rules... but if you really refuse to, I guess I'm not obsessed and you can get off my back about it." Sasuke's face was triumphant as he stalked away. "See you around, Neji."
Neji glared at his retreating back. "Damn Uchiha."
---
A/N: Since I know no one reads the beginning notes - *rolls eyes* - just here to apologize AGAIN for the delay. And the fact that it's only one chapter... It's not my fault my computer hates me. *sniffs* Oh, and BTW, if anyone is curious, I'm going to start a NejiTen ficcy. It's like a companion piece to this, which will explain their past. I'm thinking it's going to be a oneshot - a very long oneshot, but still. That'll be coming... soon-ish. ^^;; So keep that in mind...
And that's the end of the chapter! -.- Review and rate, please.
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Chapter notes: Okay. So. I'm soooo sorry about my delayed absence. It wasn't my fault!! T_T Stupid computer crashing and failing internet connection... so there's only one new chapter, but I'm working on it! ^^;; Enjoy, and please welcome me back.
Disclaimer: Now that I'm back, I should remind you all that I don't own the Naruto characters whatsoever! -___-