Author's Note: Hey all! :D Sorry for being MIA for such a long time. As usual, school took away any semblance of social life and free time that I could possibly have so I was pretty low on inspiration for any new stories. Plus I had a minor bout of depression… yadda, yadda, yadda. But I'm all good now… sort of. :)) I still have two exams to go but as usual, the plot bunnies arrived when I'm supposed to be focused on something else. -_-

To all those who are still waiting for a 'How to Date a Med Student' update, I'm sorry but it seems like you won't be getting one anytime soon. :( I just don't know what else I could add to it. If ever I get any ideas to add to the collection I'll write it up faster than you can say "dattebayo!" but for now, it would appear as though it's come to an end. Thanks to everyone that reviewed and favorite my most successful story so far. Here are some virtual cookies to all you awesome people! :)

Lastly, I've been telling myself time and time again to quit writing AU and make a story that's within the mangaverse, but any and all inspiration I get come from real-life situations (that I wish would happen to me! HAHA!) so it's tough to adhere to that. Hopefully, though, I'll come up with a kick-ass mangaverse story soon! Fingers crossed for that one! xD

Sorry for the long rant but I won't keep you from reading the story any longer. Happy reading! :)

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters rightfully belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Warning(s): AU.

Arts and Crafts

By Zagoorian Athena

It was awkward, to say the least.

Sakura Haruno, 17, had been spending the last 3 hours refraining from just getting up and leaving the room she and the rest of her group mates were currently in. Had it not been for their oh-so-wonderful teacher in this stupid subject making them do some stupid art project, she wouldn't be silently grumbling to herself wishing for the day to end already.

As luck would have it, the pink-haired girl got randomly allocated into a group of people in her class that she wasn't really close with. Granted, some of them were her classmates in practically every other subject, but being in different social cliques made her and the aforementioned somewhat awkward around each other. They were friendly and accommodating, yes, but she still wished that she had at least one of her closest friends with her in said group. Not to mention that there were also a few other people she's only met for the first time that semester in the group, so she really felt out of place at that moment.

Sakura heaved a heavy sigh as she listened to Temari, their sort-of group leader, discuss the things they had to do for the project. Well, not really—she hardly knew what the project was even about since the blonde, too, hated the subject with a burning passion—'but at least someone's taking charge,' Sakura thought to herself.

After deciding that it was better off they each do their own thing to come up with an "abstract look" for their project, Temari and Tenten, another group mate of hers, began working on their part of the output. It took Sakura 15 minutes of simply staring at what they were doing to finally get an idea for her own contribution after which she gathered a few materials and seated herself a few rows away from the twosome.

She was happily doing her own work by herself for a good 5 minutes when, out of the blue, someone took a seat on the chair beside her. Sakura then turned to her left and was very surprised when she saw that it was none other than Sasuke Uchiha, one of those students she didn't know personally prior to taking the subject.

"I don't have anything else to do," he confessed before she could ask him what he was doing there. Taking it as a good-enough explanation, she got back to her work, not really knowing what she could do to help Sasuke with his dilemma. She had her own business to attend to.

Sakura found it odd, needless to say, that Sasuke, the school's biggest heartthrob, was hanging around her when they hardly even knew each other. Heck, she wasn't even sure if he knew her name at all despite being placed in the same group! She also wondered why he wasn't helping out Naruto, another group mate of theirs that happened to be her classmate and also Sasuke's roommate.

'Awkward is an understatement,' her inner self thought with twitching eyes, also flabbergasted with the Uchiha's weird actions. Every now and then he'd help her cut a piece of colored paper or two and ask her about what she was planning to do with regard to the layout, design, etc. He'd also make a few suggestions here and there, surprising her with how friendly he was being despite his reputation for being the 'Ice Prince'.

A few minutes later, Naruto came bounding up to the two of them asking for glue and then proceeded to sit on the chair in front of them. "This is so unfair, I'm the only one here without a pair to work with!" he complained, referring to how there were five people in the group and he was the one that had to go solo.

'Tell Sasuke that! Why the fuck is he even working with me when he can be helping Naruto out?! I'm fine working by myself, I swear! Just spare the both of the awkwardness, please, and go work with your best friend already!' Sakura ranted/wailed inwardly. Despite Sasuke's drop-dead gorgeous looks and his status as being one of Konoha's most eligible bachelors, Sakura didn't have a crush on him. Not even a tiny bit. She would admit that he's handsome to anyone that would ask, but that's already a given fact—it didn't mean that she liked him just because she found him attractive in an objective manner.

'Besides, there's a rumor going around that he and Naruto have a thing going on,' which, she concludes, makes him off-limits more than his huge army of obsessive fan girls does.

Sakura merely gave the blonde a small smile in reply to his complaint, not having anything else to say since she didn't want to seem like she's pushing Sasuke away; that would be just rude and mean.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto spoke up again. "Y'know, this reminds me of when I was still in kindergarten. Back then, the boys in class would take this opportunity to impress the girl they liked by helping them out with whatever activity for art class," he recounted to no one in particular.

However, Sakura, deciding to pay no heed to the random ramblings of the blonde and focusing instead on the work at hand, failed to notice the knowing look on Naruto's face and the microscopic blush that dusted Sasuke's cheeks.

It's been 2 weeks since that day Sakura found out she wasn't an invisible entity in the eyes of Sasuke Uchiha. Weird as it sounds, the thought actually flattered her and despite all protests from her rational self, she found herself developing a crush on the said boy.

'Nothing serious, though; it's just an innocent little crush. It's not like I'm wishing we'd get married someday or anything. I'm just... happy at the thought of someone as famous as him knowing my name; there's nothing more to it,' she assured herself. However, it didn't really help that her giddy inner self kept adding color to Naruto's words even though she knew that he meant nothing by it—he was merely recounting a story from his childhood.

It was already dark outside and Sakura was just stepping out of the building where she had a group study with some of her friends when she suddenly heard her name being called out.

Looking up, she wasn't surprised to see that it was Naruto and Sasuke—the two lived in that same building, after all. Nevertheless, it didn't stop her heart from going a few beats faster than it normally does at the sight of the object of her "innocent" affection.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke," she greeted, sending a meek smile to the latter.

"Hiya, Sakura-chan! What're you doing here?" the blonde asked her with his usual friendly demeanor.

"Oh, I just came from a group study with Sai and the rest. I was just about to head home."

"By yourself?! At this hour?!" he asked with a tone that made it seem like she'd just said that the world was ending.

"Um, yeah. My apartment complex is only a few blocks away. I'm used to going home this late," she explained with a polite smile.

"Well, that won't do. Can't allow a girl to walk all by herself when it's this dark outside… right, Sasuke-teme?" he added with a conspicuous jab to the raven-haired boy's rib.

"Hn," the latter replied while trying to maintain his aloof façade.

As if on cue, a light bulb went off in the blonde's head as he enthusiastically suggested, "I think Sasuke should take you home!"

Upon his words, the boy in question just looked at his roommate with wide eyes for a quick second, shocked at the outrageous proposal, before going back to looking nonchalant. Sakura, on the other hand, turned pink at the idea.

"I-it's not really necessary, Naruto. Like I said, I'm used to walking home by myself. I can't really bother Sasuke with such a request!" she reasoned out as her face began to mimic the color of her hair.

"But it's just not gentlemanly to allow you to do that," he countered.

"Then why don't you walk me home, Naruto? Sasuke and I aren't even close," she retorted in an attempt to escape from the awkwardness that would no doubt ensue. Unbeknownst to her, however, the last part of her statement caused the onyx-eyed male to flinch discreetly.

"But I… uh… my stomach isn't really feeling well, you see," he lied even though it was so obvious he was making it up. "I-I've got some business to do in the bathroom so bye!" Naruto said in one quick breath with a shove to Sasuke and quickly entered the elevator which dinged open just in the nick of time.

Sasuke was busy directing his death glare towards the elevator that was now floors above them while Sakura stared at the spot where Naruto was a few seconds earlier before turning to him. "You don't really have to walk me home. I—" she began, but was interrupted when he started walking towards the direction of her home with his hand clamped around her wrist, dragging her along.

The emerald-eyed girl instantly blushed at the contact. She came to her senses immediately after, though, so she moved to have him release his hold on her so that she could walk quietly beside him instead.

They eased into a comfortable pace but the entire walk back to her place was filled with an awkward tension marked with both parties looking away from each other, afraid for their companion to spot the redness coloring their own cheeks. Three blocks later, after what seemed like eternity to the both of them, they arrived at the entrance to her building.

"Um, thanks for walking me home," Sakura began awkwardly. "You really didn't have to, but thanks." She then gave him a warm smile before he could even reply and promptly turned around to begin her ascent on the stairs to her second-floor pad.

"Sakura, wait!" he exclaimed all of a sudden.

The said girl turned around and gave him a questioning glance as he walked towards her, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as a gesture that implied he was nervous.

She waited patiently for his response as he stopped a few inches in front of her and looked her boldly in the eye. Before she knew it, she was drowning in those deep pools of onyx, causing her to miss what it was that Sasuke said.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she apologized when she realized her inattentiveness. "Could you repeat that?"

Sasuke gave an awkward cough before repeating his question. "I said, are you free this weekend?"

The moment his words reached her brain, her entire world seemed to stop and her heart probably skipped a beat or two as well. Startled beyond compare by what she just heard, Sakura replied before she even had the chance to think about her words. "Are you asking me out?" Her face was beginning to turn red again upon realizing the bluntness of her words.

"Yes," he answered straightforwardly, gaining sufficient courage when he noticed how her face was beginning to redden.

"Um… okay then. Saturday?" she responded shyly.

Deep inside, her inner self was doing a happy dance and was bouncing off the walls of her brain. 'Shannaro!' it cheered over and over again.

"Hn, Saturday it is. I'll pick you up at 7," he informed her, now with a confident smirk adorning his handsome features as he turned to walk away.

Sakura stood there for a couple of minutes, not yet processing what just happened but when she did, she couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face.

"Just like kindergarten," Sasuke thought to himself as he continued on his way home.

THE END

A/N: I hope you guys liked it. Teehee. :3 Send me your reviews, okay? :) Peace out! ;)