disclaimer: I do not own anything... /le sob
setting: AU, High School, Senior Year
author's note: The next chapter is up! This chapter is dedicated to: xrawrapandax for such a nice, long review. She had also given me ideas to work with for this chapter! Thank you so much for your very nice compliments!
This chapter is also dedicated to MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA (your pen name is awesome), for sending me really nice PMs. And of course to all of my very lovely readers& reviewers.You guys are very awesome. :)

C'est La Vie
That's Life!

Chapter Three: Getting to Know You

"I'm giving you maggots a minute to get ready! I want to see all your bony, little asses in the track and field outside! Don't be late!" Anko yelled from the entrance of the gymnasium. "Your youthfulness will be tested out on the field, yes? Do your best, my lovely students!" Gai had added as the two disappeared behind the double entrance doors.

Sakura could vaguely make out the, "Honestly? Youthful?" comment that had clearly sprouted from Anko's mouth.Their banter (that Sakura had quickly become irate of) she preferred in comparison to Ino's loud banshee-like screeches.

"I told you not to turn left! I was holding your hand— steering you to the right place! But what did you do? Tell me, Shikamaru, what did you do?" Nara Shikamaru opened his mouth, but apparently Ino didn't even bother to wait for his answer. "—You stepped to the left! You. Stepped. To. The. Left, dammit!" She hissed.

If Sakura was in her right state of mind, she would have settled in enjoying the show unfolding before her very eyes. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't.

All because of—

"Thanks to you, we have to run 9 laps outside."

—Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura blanched. "Thanks to me? Thanks to me? Are you joking?" A raised eyebrow met her question as Sasuke shoved his hands inside the pockets of his gym shorts. "Yes, thanks to you. You stepped on my foot, but you were not satisfied with doing just that, you practically shoved me to the left moments later under the notion of avoiding another obstacle! For a girl who claims to be smart, that was quite a stupid thing to do since that was the reason why I toppled into another damn one of Anko's torture devices. Oh, excuse me, I mean obstacle course." He scoffed. "So yes, thank you, Haruno, for earning us those laps under the scorching sun. I really, really appreciate it." His sarcasm only seemed to ignite the fire within her. "Hold on a darn minute! You were the one who abruptly pushed and pulled me towards certain areas in the gym without any kind of forewarning at all! I think I heard my elbow pop on your second tug!"

"You earned us 6 laps. I, however, only earned us 2."

Tenten and Kiba came walking towards the group (the two had a mishap when Kiba had told her they were going left, but instead, had pulled her right, resulting to Tenten bumping into a pair of students that were walking from the other direction). They only had 5 laps to do, but that didn't seem to put Tenten's mind at ease. "I don't understand Anko-sensei at all! Shouldn't it be 1 lap then 5 for the proceeding, so that we will be more motivated not to bump into each other?" She complained, completely oblivious of the tension thick in the air.

Kiba had nudged the ranting girl and pointed towards the pair engaged in a glaring contest. She blinked a few times before speaking. "Come on, you two. It's not like you're the only pair that has to do more than 5 laps. Shikamaru and Ino over there," she pointed at the blond scolding the napping brunette male, "—have to do 17 laps."

Apparently all but one couple out of the entire class had managed to come out unscathed.

Despite Tenten's convincing, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura were too stubborn to even think about listening to the brunette. Only when the entire room of students started moving did they stand up as well, but even then the lingering glares they shot one another on the way out were filled with hatred.

"Looks like Hinata's the only one happy with the outcome." Ino sighed as they walked out. "I'm sure," Sakura scoffed playfully. "She managed to get a study date despite the fact that she has to do 8 laps."

The dark haired female only seemed to blush at her words. "C-come on, guys. I'm only going to help Naruto-kun with the a few subjects he's struggling with. It's nothing more than that." She explained.

"It's only the second day!" Sakura laughed.

. . .

They were all scattered around different designated starting points of the field. Stretching and retying or tightening their shoe laces as they waited for Gai's signal to begin running. Once Gai had blown the whistle at their side, Sakura had taken off. No point in wasting time since Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were on different starting points of the field.

Starting off with a jog, she heard Anko blow on her whistle from the other side of the field. It was the signal from that point to start running.

Midway through her 3rd lap, she felt a presence behind her. Shaking it off as another student passing by, she ignored it. The unmistakable slowing down of footsteps caused her to turn her head to the sight of Ami jogging a few paces behind her. Once confirming that Sakura had finally noticed Ami's presence, the dark violet haired girl increased her speed a bit, only slowing down once she was right beside the pinkette.

"So," Sakura heard her began. "You're seatmates with Sasuke-kun, huh?"

Of course. A question about the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. She should have expected this.

"And?" Sakura caught herself asking.

"And nothing, really. He's quite the eye-catcher."

Sakura laughed humorlessly. "Anyone with eyes can see that. What's the real reason behind all of this?" She paused, "Although, if you expected me to gush about him, I suggest that you turn to the other direction and find your friends. I'm not a big fan of his." She stated finally.

Sakura was prepared to launch off into a sprint, but Ami's next words caught her by surprise.

"It's not that." She heard the girl say. "I know a friend that is very much interested in him. I wouldn't want you caught up in the web about to form, you know? Less obstacles and the like," her eyes then took on a dazed look for a split second before reverting back to the dark, calculating orbs from before. "Besides, you say you're not a big fan of his now, but you're his seatmate. Spending time with him, and talking to him despite the fact that you don't want to is inevitable. You'll fall if you're not careful, trust me."

Ami's voice was so sharp that Sakura thought for a moment that she had said this out of experience. "You talk as if you know him, when in fact you were drooling all over him on the first day of class."

The girl merely shook her head in response, a fond smile on her lips. "I first saw him about a year ago," she began. "It was at a formal party hosted by his family. I guess it was by chance that my mother had met Uchiha Mikoto at a hotel in Paris. There was confusion with the room bookings. My mother had been booked for the penthouse, which was originally supposed to be for Mikoto-san's, and the room my mother had booked had been placed under Mikoto-san's name. There was a slight mishap at the concierge. Thankfully the two had been scheduled to arrive at the same day, my mother, had appeared before the concierge a whole hour before Uchiha Mikoto's flight had arrived. Only when Mikoto-san had gotten to the hotel were things cleared out. It might have been the scheduled shopping trips or the fact that they just had too many similar interests. In some way or another, they became close friends.

Thoughts started to plague her mind. Why was she telling her all this? It made no sense at all.

"When I first saw him looking all broody by the vast staircases, I immediately thought,'What a work of art'." Ami's face then turned a bit unfocused. Thankfully the two were only jogging, so it wasn't likely that the dark haired girl would trip or fall. "But then I heard all the other girls— rich, beautiful, gorgeous girls— gossip about him. They were daughters of high-bred families. We're talking about off-springs of widely known artists, actors, actresses, million-dollar tycoons and the like. Uchiha Sasuke isn't," she shook her head as if to remind this to herself as well. "He isn't attainable. He's not at all focused on relationships right now. At the moment, he's being groomed to take over the family business alongside Uchiha Itachi, his older brother. If you do manage to see his name stringed with a girl's on the front page of a tabloid magazine, headlines on a newspaper, or even hear his name on the television, they're mostly girls high-up in the food chain. And even they are just people he's forced to date."

Buffering, buffering...nothing. Sakura could not comprehend why Ami had just told her this. "Not to be rude or anything, but I don't really see your point here. Like I said, I'm neither interested in him, nor do I think—"

"—my point is," Ami interjected. "Whether you like him right now or you don't, it won't matter. He wouldn't date you, he wouldn't date me. He wouldn't date any girl that has no title."

Sakura fumed. Who was he to be choosy? Sure, he was very good looking, but he had the manners of a cow! Downright rude and egocentric he was! And even if she didn't like Ami, no guy—no person was allowed to belittle others into thinking such hierarchy existed at the present time.

Deciding that this conversation was well over, Sakura had sighed and said, "Alright, I get your point. Though I'd like to reassure you that it's not likely for me to fall for such a crude ass like him, sorry to say. Although," she paused. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you're not the type of person that would warn me out of... good nature. I'd like to know the real reason behind this if you don't mind."

A feral grin broke out and spread on Ami's face. "I know I can't be with him, but that doesn't mean I can't look and appreciatethe very sight of him. And you were right calling me out on that one. I'm not doing this at all for you. Like I said, I'm doing this for a really close childhood friend of mine who has a better chance of ending up with him than either one of us. She has known him even longer than I have. Better her if not me." Ami stated, shrugging.

Sakura nodded. "Well, if that's all..."

Ami nodded back as well, gathering up strength, she pushed her legs and ran a bit faster. Once she was a few steps ahead of Sakura, she turned to the pinkette once again. Sakura guessed that the girl had a sudden afterthought she wanted to voice out. "Oh, and I'd like to tell you that you shouldn't be so sure of yourself." Ami stated. The confusion on Sakura's face must have urged Ami to shortly continue, "He doesn't need to be a Casanova for you to like him. Trust me on that." And with that, the dark haired female turned her back once again and sprinted away, leaving Sakura to her thoughts.

Sure she had found the Uchiha extremely good looking (you'd have to be blind not to!), but that didn't mean she had wanted a relationship from the boy either. She was beyond judging by looks only (thanks to him). And in fact, she had made a promise to Ino and the rest of the girls the summer before the year had begun!

"I have no time for romance this year!" She had recalled her strong voice from that summer night. It was a week before the dreaded back-to-school date, and the girls were at Sakura's house for their annual sleepover.

The newsletters had been sent out via email and posted on the school website, briefing the old students about the new school policies as well as the added "special news", informing them that the school had now been turned co-ed.

It was their upcoming final year in High School, and Sakura was determined to finish it without school drama (one that she was sure to expect when it came to boys). Her inner musings were abruptly halted by a hurdle (when did that get there?). She had been so into her thoughts that she had failed to notice it standing along her path. The hurdle had probably been one of the few that had been placed there for purposes such as this (lack of concentration!). She pulled herself into a sitting position as she examined her right knee that had been slightly scraped due to the impact.

Sakura cursed to herself as she had noticed that the small wound would probably scab.

'Darn it.'

The hand that had shot right in front of her had caused Sakura to blink a few times, as if to assess if it were real. Her eyes then trailed the hand that led straight up the length of a toned arm, towards a guy's face. "S-Sasuke?" She looked at him with widened eyes.

"Hn." He made a move with his hand indicating for her to take it.

She quickly looked away while muttering, "No thanks. I can handle it." Sakura then rearranged her legs and stood up. Unfortunately for her, halfway trying to right herself into a standing position, her injured leg immediately gave away, causing her to fall back down on her bum. The slight sting caught her by surprise for a moment.

"Tch, so annoying." She heard him mutter.

'This guy, really!' Sakura angrily thought. But before she could even voice out the insults she was ready to throw at him, she felt a pair of lean arms gently grab her from behind and pull her into standing position. One arm encircled around her waist to support her body as she stood.

"W-What are you—? It's just a simple injury! You don't have to do—to do this!" Sakura exclaimed. She felt her face heat and she thanked her lucky stars that he was too busy steering her towards the benches to witness her (probably) tomato red face.

He hadn't said anything on the short journey towards the benches under the shade. Once she was securely seated on them, she turned to look him in the eye.

Apparently that wasn't a very good idea because once she had turned her gaze upwards, jade met onyx. His eyes were so intense that she had to look away.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She questioned as green eyes settled on the grass beneath their feet.

Seconds passed and her question was only met with silence. She felt a spark of irritation within her as the silence stretched.

Sakura was so sure that she wasn't going to receive an answer from him that she opted to stand and walk away.

Her movement was hindered, however, when a pale hand shot out and pushed her gently back on her bum.

"I've never seen such a clumsy girl in my entire life." Surprisingly as he said this, there wasn't a trace of malice in his voice. She would have even thought that he was amused at her - if anything. Sasuke then turned around and walked away.

The distance was short enough, that when Sakura had uttered her "Thank you," he was able to hear it. He acknowledged her gratitude without having to turn back. She saw his hand come up, signaling her that he had, indeed, heard it. He did all this without stopping and as the distance finally grew longer, Ami's words earlier had reiterated in her mind.

"He doesn't need to be a Casanova for you to like him. Trust me on that."

. . .

"My legs hurt. They hurt, they hurt, they huuuuurt," Naruto had moaned once he had slumped on his seat next to Hinata's.

"I don't understand why you're complaining at all! I had to do more laps than you because of this idiot!" Ino, from behind Naruto, hit Shikamaru at the back of his head. Huffing afterwards, she then bent over to massage her aching calves.

Sakura had scanned the rest of the class and found that most of them were slumped on their seats. The same could be said for her as well. Thank goodness that their last period for the day was with Kakashi. Once the older man had stepped in and noticed the state they were in, he had immediately given them a free period and settled into burying his head behind his suspicious little orange book. Sakura had guessed that he was going to give them a free period either way—had all of them been tired or not.

"Hey! You know what I think we should all do after class today?" Sakura heard Naruto exclaim from a few tables away. Her jade orbs settled on the blond as he had apparently spoken to Hinata.

The shy girl had shaken her head and replied with a timid, "What, Naruto-kun?"

The unbelievable bright smile on his face had somehow stretched even more. "I think that you and I should go out to the mall and grab a bite to eat or something. That would be fun, right?"

Sakura noted how Hinata's pearly white eyes had widened at the blonde's suggestion. "Oi, Uzumaki!" The voice had belonged to Ino. "Are you asking Hinata out on a date?" A few heads had turned at her inquisition.

"I think I am." Naruto replied, unsure.

Sakura had scoffed at this. "Your friend is an idiot." She had muttered to her seatmate. Apparently the normally silent Uchiha had become even more... silent― if that was even possible. Well, not really. He was just... stoic.

After their encounter at the track and field, Sakura had found Sasuke very... interesting. No, not in the romantic sense. It was in a way that made her want to analyze his persona. He was her new puzzle. What kind of guy that loved to insult her, loved to bicker with her, and loved to get her riled up would help her in a small predicament?

She almost missed the silent, "Hn," of his reply, as it had almost been covered by Ino's loud, "Well you can't date her! Alone, that is. Who knows what you might do to her!" The female blond had accused.

"Well if that's how you feel then why don't I bring the guys as well?" He had happily suggested. "It can be like a group date!"

Simultaneous hisses met his suggestion. "Naruto, personally I think it's quite cute that you have developed a crush on Hinata,— don't deny it. But I am sorry to say that I am not going to sacrifice the rest of my day playing babysitter." Sakura had voiced out from her seat.

Oh, she had felt the smirk and the cocky aura surrounding the infuriating Uchiha. "What's wrong, Haruno? Is that too much for you to handle?" Sasuke had jibed.

Apparently the douche had enough energy to insult her (not that the laps they had done had tired him out at all).

"It's not that, you bastard! What is it with you anyway? One moment you're this half-decent person, the next, you're this devil reincarnate. Honestly, you men confuse me." Sakura muttered the last bit to herself.

The final bell had rung before Sasuke could respond. Sakura cared not if he were planning to anyway. She quickly collected her things, and bid goodbye to her friends as she had walked towards her locker.

Once she had arrived, she quickly spun her combination on the dial, and shoved her books inside. She heard the locker beside hers open as her eyes had widened in recognition.

How could she have forgotten! The guy was her locker mate!

He probably knew that she had noticed his presence. But before he could say anything though, she had already closed her locker and bid him goodbye. Her haste exit was one that had gone unnoticed by him. The minute he was left alone, a hoard of girls had then encircled around him.

"Sasuke-kun, don't you look so handsome today?"

"My, you didn't even break a sweat during gym!"

"Sasu-kun— I can call you that, right? Sasu-kun, would you like to go on a date with me this weekend?"

"Sasuke-kun! Here's my letter! Please, take it! It's my... confession."

"Sasu-kun!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasu—"

"—ke-"

"—kun!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

And only one word left his lips.

"Shit."

. . .

A few weeks had passed since then. During those weeks, Haruno Sakura had found that not only did Uchiha Sasuke excel in sports (she had seen him around the fields at school during dismissal), he also had a brain! And not just an average brain...

He was really...smart.

He was the whole package, for goodness sake!

The bickering between them had not died down in the least! They were still up each other's throats, but when they needed to be professional (like assigned pair homeworks, seatworks etc), they had managed to put that behind them for the said hour they had to cooperate.

In those moments, Sakura had found the human deep inside him. He was nice when he wanted to be, he followed orders she had instructed when it was fair, and they had both talked to each other in a civilized manner. If he wasn't such an ass to her, she would have probably developed feelings for the fellow. Thank goodness he was, and she hadn't!

It was on a particular breezy Saturday afternoon that Sakura had decided to visit her favorite coffee shop that she had not been able to since school had started (which was over a month ago).

Sakura had said goodbye to her mother in the kitchen, grabbed a book she had bought at the mall the afternoon after class yesterday, and walked the short four blocks to her destination.

The quaint little coffee shop was located in a small but modern looking building. The walls were lined up with glass, and the interior was designed in such a way that was homely— welcoming. Coffee tables in pairs and different chair numbers lined up the side of the glass walls. A few more tables around the center, and a carpet with a few bean bags and pillows placed on the farther left of the shop.

She had remembered all the details quite clearly. The barista (no matter who it may have been), was always friendly, and would know her very well. She always came here during summer.

The month that she had not visited this place was quite hectic. With school just starting and the fact that she had to deal with Uchiha Sasuke made everything akin to hell. She'd come home tired, using the last bit of her strength to trudge herself towards her bedroom, only to fall dead asleep on her bed. These kinds of things kept her from visiting her place of solace.

Sakura had walked up to the counter and had settled for a slice of blueberry cheesecake (as she wasn't in the mood for caffeine). Once Sakura had her plate and glass of water, she had thanked the people behind the counter, and had turned, looking for a seat.

She was delighted to see that her favorite spot had not been occupied by anyone.

The corner left of the shop where a pair of black, leather de-sede armchairs separated by a small circular glass table was her favorite spot in the entire area!

Sakura had briskly walked over to said spot and had plopped herself down on one of the comfortable chairs.

Minutes passed and she had already devoured the scrumptious treat. Her now empty plate laid before her on the glass table as Sakura had busied herself with the book she had brought along with her. She was too absorbed with the storyline, that she had not noticed the tinkling sound of a bell. It was a sign that someone had entered the decently packed coffee shop.

The toned down gasps and gushes were oblivious to her as well. Sakura was so immersed in her reading that she hadn't noticed the person taking a seat on the empty chair across hers.

Finally deciding that a little recognition would have been nice, the guy had plucked the book right out of her hands. He then watched as confusion had etched her features before the jade eyes had settled on the offender.

She did not look happy.

"Uchiha Sasuke, must you be such an ass?" Sakura had hissed before leaning over and retrieving her beloved book.

"What? I thought that bad boys always got the girls?" He raised an eyebrow cockily before blowing into the steaming cup in his hands.

Coffee.

Uchiha Sasuke was drinking coffee—

—and he was sitting.

He was sitting on the chair across hers.

As if they were old friends and she had invited him over.

He hadn't probably meant what he had said. Sarcasm, dear girl. She had thought as a raised eyebrow met his rhetorical question. Despite this, Sakura decided to humor him. "And since when did you have trouble with the ladies? They literally get weak knees whenever you're around!" She exclaimed.

"Those girls are not ladies." A dark look had fallen over him. "Shallow, mindless slobs that fall for looks alone cannot be deemed as such."

And in that quaint, little coffee shop, on a late, breezy Saturday afternoon; Sakura had an epiphany. Maybe what she had thought wasn't entirely untrue.

It was probably hard for him to get ladies. Judging by his family, the girls probably only went for the money. That, or they were also blinded by the looks alone. It was probably the reason why his family (probably his mom, who was most likely the one that had set him up for the dates he had been on in the past), had limited the dating choices to girls of status. It was also probably hard for him to find a genuine girl. One that wouldn't just emit a fake laugh whenever he made jokes, go wherever he wanted to go, do whatever he told her to do— a girl without a mind of her own.

A wave of pity washed over her. One, that she had caught and had immediately dismissed.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She had decided to change the subject. It wouldn't do the two of them any good if they were to get into a spat in public. "Don't you live across town or something?"

A smirk had replaced the once dark look on his face. "Why, I'd never thought that you were the stalker type."

Yes, one of the upsides to acting civilized with him during those past works they had no choice but to cooperate was that they had developed a different kind of relationship. Sure, they still bickered, but playful banter was part of the agenda now, too.

"Get over yourself, Uchiha. I thought we had already gotten over the fact that I do not like you in that way― in anyway, actually." She snorted. "A lot of people know where the Uchiha Mansion is. Whenever I go to the mall, which is on your side of town, it's kind of hard to miss the huge gates and big walls surrounding your beloved home. Besides, your mother hosts a big, fancy gala once a year, doesn't she? All the elite are always invited. It's always on the papers the next day."

The left side of his lips upturned. "Do I sense jealousy? Would you like to visit sometime?" He had sarcastically asked.

Her eyes seemed to have widened at the question. "Why, yes! Yes, I would, actually!"

Sarcasm noted, Sakura wasn't above teasing the boy in front of her.

"What? An Uchiha taking back his invitation? My, what shame." Sakura leaned back on her chair as she glanced up at him smugly. "Surely you're disgracing the Uchiha name by not sticking to your word, right?"

This seemed to have woken Sasuke out of his stupor. The emotion in his eyes had shifted to one that was akin to— determination?

Sakura watched as he stood up and made a move to grab her hand.

"W-What are you doing?" She had inched back in her seat, evading the hand that had shot out towards her.

Sasuke ignored her inquiry as he had made a move once again to grab for her hand. On his second try, he had successfully pulled her up into a standing position. Afterwards, he pulled Sakura towards the entrance (or rather exit) of the small coffee shop.

"You wanted to visit my house? Well, what better time than the present, right?" Sasuke had tugged her hand a bit more. "After all, Uchiha's never go back on their word."

Sakura rooted her feet on the floor as she had refused to go along with his plan.

He had taken the bait.

"I-I was joking!"

"Too late for that."

Yes, Haruno Sakura should have known better than to challenge an Uchiha.

Oh, the things that could happen.

"Know your enemy more than he does himself."

to be continued.

author's second note: So I hope you all enjoyed it! I wasn't quite satisfied with this chapter for some reason. I think it was because I was sick when I edited this (meaning today). I've gone over this, but I still need to recheck once again if I have run-on sentences somewhere in there. I intended for this to be much, much longer, but decided against it, since I wanted to give you guys something to look forward to. I'll check again once I've gotten better. I didn't want to keep you all waiting, after all. :)

author's last note: Don't be a phantom reader! A little shout out would be nice. :) Reviews and suggestions are loved! They will also be taken into account. So yes, I hope you guys enjoyed! Expect an update soon! x

edited (1|22|12): tried editing this the second time around (cringes). I'll check back again when I'm re-editing the whole fic (which will probably be during it's 10th chapter update). I think I've learned my lesson. Never, ever, ever, eveeerrr write/update while I'm sick. The chapter turns out pretty ghastly.