disclaimer - do not own naruto. do, however, own the excerpt in the beginning.

a/n - this is just gunna be a short one. ten chapters of less. just something fun i thought of (:

rumors. gossip. newsflash!

.::chapter one::.

Understanding Girls

Every girl needs a mirror. Whether she is tall, small, skinny, fat, pretty or ugly, every girl needs a mirror. The mere thought of possible hairs out of place or smeared makeup is literally horrifying. What if he saw me with my makeup smudged? I can't ever talk to him again now!

Most girls don't realize that men of all kinds are simple-minded and don't pay attention. Most likely, he didn't notice the microscopic zit that you tried to hide with cover up. It's okay girls, you can speak to him again.

This assumption can work both ways. While a guy may not notice every single flaw or imperfection you have, he also might not realize when you've spent an extra two hours in the bathroom today fixing up your hair. Alas! Do not fret! This does not mean that your man-candy doesn't care. As females, we are expected to be the more intelligent of the two species…er genders. So girls, we need to stand tall and not let the little things get to us so much, okay?

Oh and guys? Ever heard of chivalry? Yeah well it is most certainly not dead. Did anyone ever kill it? Has its delicate heart stopped beating? No, I don't think so. So FYI, it wouldn't kill you to be chivalrous once in a while, thank-you-very-much. What's that? You say you don't know what chivalry is? Look it up. Don't really look it up, I – or we – don't expect you to. (lazylazylazy)

Chivalry is or was rather, a code of conduct used by respected knights and nobles over two thousand years ago. It included things such as honesty, respect, and all those core values. But don't worry guys; we don't expect you to do all that. The code also included being respectful to noblewomen in particular. Today chivalry focuses more on the 'respectful to women' part. That part we insist on. Doing things such as being courteous to a female, giving her compliments, paying for her meal, holding doors open, etc. Once again, it wouldn't kill ya.

By the way, you're very welcome girls. Even after this little pep-talk, I strongly advise you not to actually expect any change in men. We must remember, that they are only a primitive species… er gender.

-This has been Haruno Sakura!

Sakura sat in the principal's office, with a joyous smile plastered on her face. Her and the principal were real buddy buddy. Tsunade stared at Sakura for an impeccable amount of time before clearing her throat and speaking.

"Sakura, darling. Your column in this month's issue…it's quite – "

"Amazing, I know."

"– Sexist."

Insert mouth gaping open.

"Tsunade, you can't be serious! You love my articles!"

"Ahem, I am not at liberty to discuss that with you."

"This isn't the police office! It's school. You are so at liberty to discuss why you don't like my article this month!"

"I never said I didn't like it, I just said it was sexiest."

Blank Stare.

"Cause it is you know."

"Is what?"

"…Sexist..."

"See there you go again, insulting my brilliant work!"

"There is no way to win with you…"

Blank Stare.

"Huh?"

"Hey, Sakura-chan. I read your article and it has shown me the way!" Naruto declared happily. Sakura shook her head.

"Naruto I didn't know you could read!" Sakura said clapping her hands together.

"Very funny, Saku-chan." Naruto pouted.

"Just kidding you know I love you." Sakura pat his head.

"I know someone you love more." Naruto's eyes drifted to a raven haired male waiting in the lunch line with an annoyed expression plastered to his face.

Sakura instantly became red.

"Shut up, Naruto."

"It's true isn't it? You love teme. You used to just like him but now you love him."

"No I do not!" Sakura insisted.

"Wait, so you don't love him? Wait till he hears his own girlfriend doesn't love him, but loves me."

"Naruto butt out!" Sakura chastised. Naruto sniggered as Sasuke finally neared the table and sat down next to a fuming Sakura.

"Dobe, what'd you do now?" He stated calmly.

"Why do you assume I did something?" Naruto whined

"Simply because Sakura only gets like this when you're around."

"What'd you say teme?" Naruto raised his voice.

"Shut up, baka!" Sakura punched Naruto in the face, effectively shutting the blonde up.

"Ah, peace." Sasuke relished.

Sakura smiled and pecked Sasuke on the cheek, to which he instantly scanned the room for possible witnesses. None.

"No PDA." He hissed. Sakura just giggled and brushed her bangs back. Her hands traveled under the table and met with Sasuke's left pocket. She took out his iPod and plugged in her own earplugs.

"Why don't you just use yours?" Sasuke half complained.

"Because you have better songs." Sakura reasoned. His pride satisfied, Sasuke went back to eating his lunch, to which Sakura took nibbles on here and there.

A nearby lunch table erupted in screams.

"Stay the hell away from my boyfriend you slut!" someone shouted. Sakura looked up, taking the earplugs out immediately and listened intently. Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura's eagerness.

"Hm…sounds like that was Temari… her and Ino fighting over Shikamaru again?" Sakura murmured to herself.

"He was mine first, you damn skank!"

Yep, that was Ino.

"Oh man this is getting good." Sakura said, sipping Sasuke's soda.

"This is pathetic." Sasuke scoffed.

"He left you for me because he realized you were ugly as fuck." Temari crossed her arms and smirked. She stuck her tongue out at Ino. Childish behavior.

Ino, being as stubborn as she is, fed into the drama and let it anger her. Out of frustration and lack of anything better to do at the moment, she spat in Temari's face.

Sakura was on the edge of her seat, Sasuke's ipod long turned off.

"WHY YOU LITTLE – "

Slap.

At that moment, the entire lunch room (save for Sasuke) erupted in gasps.

It went downhill from there.

Punch. Kick. Bitch slap. Hair pull. Scratch. Bitch slap. Curse. Spit. Bitch slap.

Where was a video camera when you needed one?

"ENOUGH!"

Through the formed crowd came Tsunade, looking pissed as ever. She probably has a hangover, Sakura noted.

It's funny how none of the teachers were stopping the fight, in fact if Sakura looked close enough, she could swear she saw Kakashi smile underneath that mask of his.

Not before long, the two girls were being dragged into the principal's office and the lunchroom went back to normal.

And not before long, Sakura whipped out her blackberry to record and share all the juicy deets.

"That is a sick obsession you have. Not very becoming of a girl your age. If you ask me, it will only cause you to get into trouble."

"Oh Sasuke, naïve Sasuke. When will you learn? Drama makes the school go round."

"Yeah and what goes around comes around…"

"I wonder where Shikamaru was during all this…" Sakura thought aloud, discounting Sasuke's previous statement.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head.

"You'll see one day."

Sakura waved him off. Just then the bell rang and everyone headed to their next class.

Due to his silence, Sakura almost forgot to say goodbye to Naruto. Sasuke did.

"I didn't forget. I simply chose not to." He has said.

With that they were trailing off to seventh period, Chem.

"A C+? How could I have gotten a C+? I studied for this." Sakura whined.

"What all of two seconds until Ino texted you with information about the latest gossip." Sasuke stated. Sakura peeked at his A, which Sasuke caught her doing. He smirked arrogantly.

"I've offered to tutor you."

"Yeah, but every time you do that, we just end up making out on my bed."

Sasuke snorted. Totally not cute.

"Will you tutor me today? Please?" Sakura gave him the bottom lip and puppy dog eyes. She leaned in real close to his face. Sasuke scrunched his nose and backed away.

"Only if you promise to brush your teeth later." He commented.

"You bastard!" Sakura playfully slapped him.

"Kidding."

Sasuke snached Sakura's paper from her hand.

"It's rude to grab." She said, but he ignored her.

"You got the easiest questions wrong. Do you realize that?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Everything is easy to you Mr. I'm-too-good-for-this-school. And I'll have you know, that where it really counts, like in English I totally kick your butt. Come to think about it…I'm better at Geometry than you are too." Sakura put a finger to her chin thoughtfully.

"Being able to use big words, write an essay and know what triangles are won't get you a successful job, Sakura."

"On the contrary, Sasuke dear. Lawyers and public speakers need to be able to use big words and speak properly and be influential. And I do believe that being able to prove triangles congruent and all that jazz would be part of the job of a construction worker or engineer."

Sasuke merely grunted as his eyes scanned the paper. He circled the correct answers in red pen and handed the paper back to her.

"Try to figure out what you did wrong, and meet me at my locker after school." Sakura smiled contently. He was going to tutor her today.

They had a lab today. Sakura immediately paired up with Sasuke before any fan-girls could get to him. She played with his hands, twirling them this way and that.

"Another reason why you got an C, is because you never pay attention in this class. You're too busy staring at me the whole time." Sasuke smirked triumphantly.

"I do not stare! I simply admire." She corrected. Sasuke rolled his eyes and started working on their lab.

Sasuke quietly focused on their project. Sakura dropped Sasuke's hands and starting biting her nails. Awful habit – she knew – but that didn't mean she could stop it.

"Stop eating yourself." Her boyfriend commented dryly. Sakura retracted her hands and smiled sheepishly. He scanned the room. Everyone was busy working in their projects. Coast is clear. He took Sakura's hand gently and brushed her fingers against his lips. Turning her hand over to examine the nonexistent nails he sighed.

"You have nubs for nails. What used to be nails is just an empty little nub." He dropped her hand carefully and Sakura rolled her eyes at his strict no PDA rule.

"Guess what Sasuke?" Sakura said happily.

"What?" he was still focusing on the project.

"My mom went out and bought a whole bunch of tomatoes for you!" she beamed him a bright smile, showing her teeth.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk and chuckle softly.

"She really likes you… my mom." Her voice was soft, fond.

"I know." His was equally soft.

Before things had the opportunity to get too mushy for school, or for public in general for that matter, Sasuke pulled away.

"Well, I'll have to thank your mom." He replied. Sakura continually smiled, after she rolled her eyes at Sasuke's PDA phobia antics. She leaned against the lab table surveying his handiwork silently. Sasuke paused in his writing to look up at her.

"What?" he asked as she kept staring at him. She giggled.

"I can't watch you?" she pouted. She was about to open her mouth when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the text with lightening speed.

Sasuke merely watched her, just waiting for her to –

"Ohmygod. Oh my god! Sasuke, guess what!"

"What?" Sasuke played along.

"Neji finally asked Tenten out!" she squealed in delight, and texted back her reply.

"Why can't you have this much enthusiasm for Chemistry? I'm sure it would help your grade improve." He mumbled sarcastically.

Sakura didn't reply. Her eyes were focused on the screen in front of her.

"Sakura," Sasuke warned, his voice dangerously low. He didn't glance up from his work, however. He just continued to fill in answers. "stop gossiping." It was as if he was reprimanding a child.

"But Sasuke! This isn't gossip. This was just an absolute must! Have you seen the way Neji flirts with her?"

He scoffed. "Hardly. My apologies for not paying more attention to Neji."

Sakura giggled and took the now completed lab sheet up to the teacher's desk. She returned, skipping back to her seat cheerfully. Her legs swung back and forth. Once again, she didn't hesitate in snatching Sasuke's black iPod.

"You coming over after school?" she asked casually while scrolling through his songs.

"Can't." Sasuke drawled, stretching out in his seat. "Band practice. But I'll be over at four to tutor you."

Sakura sighed dramatically. "But my dad gets home at four-thirty! No alone time whatsoever." She sighed, feigning hurt.

"Regardless," Sasuke murmured while doodling with his pencil, "I'm coming over to help you learn. Not for alone time." His voice was low, she had to pause the song to hear him correctly. Sasuke never liked discussing their personal matters in public.

"I know, I know. But it's just, you've had practice like all week."

Sasuke shrugged. "I can't help it. You know, the principal might let us play a few songs at prom." Sasuke whispered, a half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Cool. I'm super excited for prom. I didn't go last year cause I didn't have a date but now…"

"Tch, who said you have a date this year?" Sasuke teased, earning him a soft punch on the shoulder.

"Very funny."

"Class!" the teacher instructed, interrupting our conversation. "Don't forget, your debates are due on Friday."

Sakura's mouth hung open. Friday was only two days away.

"Oh crap." Sakura gasped. "The debate topics!" I had been so focused on prom that I completely forgot… She though miserably.

"We might as well work on that when I come over too."

Sakura nodded, unpausing the song she was currently listening to.

After school, Sakura decided that if she started the project early, by the time Sasuke got there, they might be able to have some time to themselves.

It was hard being physical with Sasuke, she admitted. I mean, he was a great and respectful boyfriend and all, but he just never did anything unless they were completely alone. And even then, he was reserved. Sakura always initiated things when they got carried away. And he didn't let them get carried away often. It was like he had his own set of morals to obey, and no one could persuade him otherwise.

Not even her.

But everyone had their faults. He probably thought she talked too much. She probably did.

Sakura opened up her laptop, and Googled their topic. Cloning.

She had never thought about it much. She looked at her rubric and realized that she had to argue against cloning. Well, that was easier, she reasoned. She could bullshit it all. Talk about morals and ethics and all that shit.

Sakura smiled and began typing.

She was great at bullshitting essays. One could say it was her forte, even.

So she typed until her hands were cramped. She didn't finish, but four pages of bullshit would suffice. Sasuke could fill in the blanks with a few facts here and there.

Sakura looked at the clock.

3:02 PM.

Damnit, still an hour?

What the hell was she supposed to do for an hour?

Sakura sighed and stood, walking over to the fridge. She took out salsa. Then she got out tortilla chips and plopped back on the couch, turning on the TV.

Yeah, this was living the dream alright.

She decided on watching old reruns of That 70's Show while she waited.

Sasuke is kinda like Hide, she mused. But cuter.

Then she thought.

Ino is definitely like Jackie, and Naruto is Kelso. Rock Lee is Fez. Would I be Donna since I'm kinda aredhead?

Sakura laughed to herself as she matched her friends to the characters.

She got interrupted by a knock on the door.

Sakura jumped up out of her seat and ran to open the door.

"Sasuke-kun!" she tackled him in a hug, wrapping her arms around his torso. He shuffled the two of them inside and closed the door quickly behind him.

"Sakura." He greeted. She pulled his hand, leading him to the couch.

"How was practice?" she mused curiously. He shrugged.

"Same as always."

Sakura pushed him onto the couch, climbing onto his lap.

"Having to practically ignore you all day is very tiring." She purred, licking his neck.

"I told you, we don't need other people watching us together. It's private stuff." He scolded sternly, his hands resting on her hips. She giggled, unaffected by his harsh attitude.

"Mou, I know Sasu-kun."

"I do believe I'm here for the project." He reminded, sliding her off of his lap. She plopped on the couch and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You never wanna have fun." She complained, but grabbed her laptop nevertheless. "I bullshitted most of it already, 'cause I wanted to spend more time with you. Just fill it in with a few facts while I go make tea." She pecked his cheek as she danced her way to the kitchen, Sasuke rolling his eyes at her childish attitude.

He began typing, filling in things here and there. Sakura returned a few minutes later with two cups of tea in her hand. She set them down on the coffee table as she watched him finish up their essay; perfecting it.

"Thanks so much." She grinned as she clicked the PRINT button. She set her laptop aside and took a sip of tea. Then, Sakura looked at the clock anxiously. "Okay, it's 4:10. Which means we have roughly twenty minutes until my dad gets home."

Sasuke turned to look at her, a soft smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "And what do you propose we do with this time, Sa-ku-ra?" he inquired teasingly. In response, Sakura grabbed his face and kissed him roughly. He pulled her back onto his lap as she grinned into the kiss.

Sakura loved this part of Sasuke. And she was just about positive that he didn't show this side of himself to others. Which made her feel special.

Sasuke's hands trailed underneath her shirt, feeling the warmth that her skin emitted. She arched into his touch and playfully nipped his lower lip, tugging on it with her teeth.

Sakura grinned as he traced her stomach with his nimble fingers, lithely dancing across her flesh. Her fingers entwined in his silky locks, pulling his head closer to deepen the kiss.

Even though they'd been going out for almost a year, they hadn't really gone much farther than this. At first, it calmed Sakura. Knowing that he wasn't pressuring her to have sex. But recently, it started to worry her.

Does he even want to do it?

Sasuke was a strange creature, and she didn't question him often. Well, not aloud at least. He had his own set of rules that he carefully made sure were kept in place all the time. And no one would be able to change that, not even her.

The need for air broke the passionate couple apart, and Sakura buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Chemistry?" Sasuke suggested.

Sakura reluctantly nodded against him. "Chemistry." She confirmed, pulling away.

Her cell phone vibrated, causing Sakura to whip it out at lightning speed, her eyes darting back and forth.

Sasuke, slightly annoyed, plucked the phone from her hand and put it in his own pocket.

"You can have this back, when we're done." He reprimanded.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I hope you don't think that I'm above reaching into your pocket and grabbing it."

Sasuke slid further away from her and opened a text book that he got out of his bag.

"Fine." She complied, taking out her binder. As Sasuke explained the concept of Stoicheometry, Sakura forced herself to pay attention, although the thought of that text wouldn't leave her alone.

It wasn't just any text.

Not just any ordinary gossip.

While Sakura usually was all over gossip like white on rice, nothing had affected her as much as the text she just received now.

Part of her was in disbelief. Shock, even.

Of course she knew not to believe everything she heard. The rumor windmill was a violent torpedo. But still, she couldn't help that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that said, this is true. It's true, it really happened.

Sakura forced herself to swallow – something she found difficult due to the lump forming in her throat.

Sasuke noticed the change. He knew she wasn't really paying attention, and it slightly concerned him. At first he had attributed it to confusion on the topic, but now he had a feeling it had to do with the text.

Unable to compose herself in front of Sasuke any longer, Sakura excused herself to go to the bathroom.

And only after she left did Sasuke pull out her phone and read the text in disbelief.

Sakura, I think Sasuke's cheating on you.

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