A/N: I have a cold, and am not in the mood for updating one of my other fanfictions. So what should little old Sayjay-chan do? Write another one, of course! The main paring will be SasuSaku, with implied NejiSaku. Eventually it will include HinaNaru and NejiTen, too. Enjoy, and remember to review! Maybe I'll get so many reviews that this nasty cold will go away! Speaking will be in "…" and thinking in '…'

I Love You…I Think

Chapter 1

Sasuke leaned against the rough bark of an oak tree and silently prayed he would get struck by lightning before it was too late. He tried not to show it, but he was nervous. There was an important piece of information on his hands, and he was meeting with someone who might prove to be useful.

Hard to believe an Uchiha could feel nervous though, right? His coal black eyes swept over the tiny clearing, his ears straining to listen for the sound of approaching feet. Just as he was running a hand through his silky ebony hair, another male appeared in front of him.

"Alright, Sasuke," the newcomer stated somewhat dryly. His eyes, light lavender in color, studied the taut lines that appeared on Sasuke's pale face.

"I came to meet you here, and made sure no one followed. Now would you mind telling me what the heck is going on?" Neji Huyga demanded with a frown. It was well known that the Huyga and Uchiha families were considered the best in the village, causing the two boys to have slight resentment towards one another.

"I…need your help." Sasuke said slowly, the words sounding odd, as if from another language. He wasn't a person who often asked for assistance, preferring to do things alone. Neji raised an eyebrow, his chocolate brown ponytail swaying in a slight breeze.

"What kind of help, exactly?" the two spoke like strangers, even though they were only a year apart in age. They had completed missions together too, but even that hadn't caused them to form a friendship bond. Sasuke sucked in a deep breath.

"Spit it out, Uchiha." Neji's eyes narrowed as he suspected he was going to hear something bad. This was the most un-Uchiha like behavior he had ever witnessed, and only something major could cause such a change.

'Does he know something important? Could the village be under attack? Or might somebody be working on a plot to overthrow the Hokage?' Neji thought as he waited for Sasuke to speak.

"I-need-to-tell-Sakura-I-love-her." Sasuke's sentence came out meshed together, but Neji's quick ears caught it.

"What? You brought me all the way out here just to ask me to play cupid!" Neji snarled angrily. Here he had been worrying that Sasuke knew some deep, dangerous piece of information, and it was only a crush! Sasuke's face remained blank, but there was a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

"I didn't know who else to ask…" Sasuke muttered, explaining why the others wouldn't work.

"Kakashi would have given Sakura one of his dirty books and said it was from me. Naruto would have set us up for a date at Ichiraku's and made the reservations for yesterday. Kiba would have died laughing. Shino would just creep her out. Hinata's too shy.

Gaara lives too far away, and even if he were closer he wouldn't have a clue how to say it. I don't know Temari or Kankuro enough to ask them. Ino…you see the problem there. Shikamaru would have complained, and Choji would have forgotten to say anything because he'd be off eating lunch." Sasuke sighed and looked away from the boy in front of him. Neji had to admit, he saw Sasuke's point.

"And I'm…not able to do it." He added.

"You mean you're afraid to do it." Neji corrected, earning a growl from the other.

"Look, will you help me or not?" Sasuke pushed off the tree and stood up straight.

"Why should I help you?" Neji grumbled. He didn't like the idea of being used for such stupid reasons.

"Hinata would like nothing more then to go on a date with Naruto, correct? If you help me, then I'll make sure it happens." Sasuke promised.

"I don't want my cousin dating that idiot!" Neji protested.

"It'll make Hinata happy." Sasuke said simply. Neji gritted his teeth. The Uchiha had a point, though he didn't like it. He did like the idea of Hinata having someone to protect her though, and after remembering how Naruto had defeated him at the Chunin exams Neji sighed.

"How do you want me to tell her?" Neji asked finally, knowing it was his fate to help the hopeless Uchiha.

"How should I know? Do something sappy like they do in romance movies; girl's like those, don't they?" He shrugged his shoulders.

'How helpful.' Neji thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Sasuke hesitated before placing a hand on Neji's shoulder.

"Thanks." He said awkwardly before turning and running away.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

"Where is Neji? It is not like him to be late." Lee wondered out loud to TenTen and Gai.

"Neji is off enjoying his youth, of course!" Gai shouted, raising a fist and smiling.

"He's off surfing the tidal wave of life and catching the breeze of success!" Gai and Lee exchanged smiles and they both struck poses. TenTen sighed and buried her face in her hands.

'Ugh, spending the morning with these two is bad enough. But without another sane person around, I'm going to go crazy!' she thought, wishing she had a nice, steamy cup of black coffee.

"Are they at it again?" Neji asked as he walked onto the training grounds and stood next to TenTen.

"Neji! How was your trip of youth!" Gai shouted, slapping the male on the back in a friendly way. Neji felt a vein pop on his forehead, like it always did this early in the morning.

"Gai-Sensei, I was wondering if I could have permission to skip training today." Neji requested, his two teammates gasping in surprise.

"But you never skip training unless you're out on a mission!" TenTen pointed out.

"Then Neji must be going on a mission! Am I correct?" Lee asked excitedly.

"Yes, I have a special mission that needs completed right away." Neji answered, not completely lying.

"I can't deny such a youthful appeal! Go, young Neji, and may you enjoy the spring of your youth!" Gai flashed a bright smile, and Lee could be heard cheering in the background. TenTen wanted to scream

"Don't leave me!" but knew it wouldn't do any good. If Neji had a secret mission, there was no way she was getting in on it.

"I'll come back as soon as I can." He said, more to TenTen then the other two. He walked away, back into the main streets of Konoha.

'I checked with Lady Tsunade, and she said Sakura wasn't on a mission. I suppose I'll see if she's at her house first.' Neji decided as he walked towards the Haruno home. He arrived, but after knocking and standing around for five minutes he knew she wasn't home.

'To the hospital, then.' While he walked, Neji thought of the best way for him to relay Sasuke's feelings. In the time it took him to walk to the hospital, he had a plan ready.

"I need to see Sakura Haruno." Neji told the lady at the front desk as he entered the building. The nurse flipped through a clipboard.

"Hmm, it says Miss Haruno is on the third floor, taking care of patient 467." She gave quick directions and told Neji to have a nice day. He nodded in her direction before taking the stairs two floors up. He passed by the starch white rooms, passing nurses and doctors along the way.

He glanced inside quickly before moving on to the next, finally finding Sakura inside one of the last rooms in the hallway. Neji stood patiently in the doorway while Sakura talked gently to a child patient. The kid laughed at something she said before glancing at Neji. Sakura looked up, startled, before ruffling the child's hair.

"I'll stop by later, okay sweetie?" Sakura promised with a smile. She stood up and Neji backed out of the doorway, allowing Sakura to pass.

"Neji, what a surprise. Did Lee and Gai hurt themselves while walking around the village on their hands again?" Sakura questioned. While she was trying to be friendly and casual, Neji spoke in a formal voice similar to what he'd used with Sasuke.

"I have a message for you, Sakura," Neji cleared his voice and spoke the words he had been carefully forming in his brain.

"You're eyes are like emeralds, beautiful gems that shine with brighter then the heavens. Your hair floats in the wind when you walk, its bubblegum color the exact shade of my face when I think of you. I know I may seem cold, cruel, and uncaring, my eyes like pieces of stone. My heart appears to be frosted over, but the warmth of your smile as the power to thaw it.

I need to touch your soft skin every day to make sure you're real, not just a princess from my dreams. Dearest Sakura, my most darling flower, won't you do me the honors of returning my feelings? All of these words ring true when they escape from my mouth, the mouth of S-." Neji was going to end his speech with Sasuke's name, so that Sakura would know for sure who really loved her. But he didn't get the chance because he was interrupted.

"Neji?!" one voice gasped while the other hissed

"Top secret mission huh?" Neji felt the blood drain from his face when he turned and saw TenTen and Gai staring at him, open mouthed.

"Where's Lee?" he wanted to know, fearing his bushy teammate's reaction.

"He left on an important mission, and Gai-Sensei decided we should follow you. But don't change the subject!" TenTen snapped, her face looking very angry. Gai, on the other hand, looked delighted.

"Ah Neji, you dog! Here we thought you were on a mission, but really you were just sneaking off to be with Sakura! You're truly blooming into a young, hormone crazed man! I always knew this day would come!" tears streamed down the eccentric man's face. All the while Sakura was standing there, her eyes wide and her face tomato red.

"I-It's not what you think!" Neji stuttered, TenTen's angry and slightly hurt face his focus of attention.

"No need to feel embarrassed Neji! It's normal for a teenager to have strong feelings for a woman, especially the beautiful Sakura! You must stand tall and proud, as we await for Sakura's answer!" Gai clasped his hands and turned the spotlight on our favorite pinkette.

"I-I…" Sakura's voice trailed off, for she was too astonished for words. Her eyes met TenTen's death glare, and knew she was in trouble with her friend. Instead of answering and facing the situation like a ninja, Sakura turned and ran. She pushed past the other doctors and fled the hospital.

Outside she nearly bumped into Sasuke, who silently moved aside to let her run by. He watched her go and started to worry that this was a bad idea. Neji came out the doors a minute later, his face still frozen in stupefaction.

"Please tell me you didn't screw this up." Sasuke muttered, his voice oozing with acid.

"I just told Sakura 'I love you'…I think." He replied without a facial change. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, looking up in time to see TenTen storm past. She was practically emitting waves of hostility.

"Neji, don't let the sting of rejection hold you the past! I will help you with ways to woo Sakura's heart!" Gai gave the thumbs up sign at Sasuke before grabbing Neji's arm and dragging him away. Naruto chose that moment to pop out of nowhere, a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey Sasuke, what I miss?"

A/N: Woot, now that was fun to write! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I just want to say that from here on out I probably won't have Lee in the fanfic, just because I'm also a fan of SakuLee. So if you were expecting something to happen there, I'm sorry. I just can't do that to poor Lee-kun!