The alarm clock was motionless, counting down the seconds until its awful loud bell would sound and indicate it was half six. The sun hadn't risen yet, so the room was cast in shadow. Hidden by the curtains, several books lay on the window sill, neatly stacked next to a dusty collection of snow globes. On the bookshelf, a large picture of a woman with light pink hair and melancholic eyes in an ornate frame rested, wiped clean of dust. A large poster of a man holding a skull was displayed over the head of the bed. The bed itself was white and decorated with stickers, faded stars and hearts adorned the plastic frame.

In the bed lay Haruno Sakura, eyes wide and open, staring at the ceiling. She was waiting for that great clanging bell to sound, waiting for it to be time to get up and face the world. She hadn't slept much that night, her mind having been consumed by thoughts of the next day.

Today was the first day of the new term of college. It was the first time Sakura would see her classmates again after a few weeks' holiday, and she wasn't exactly eager to see them.

To pass the time, because she didn't want to get up just yet, Sakura played her favourite game. She stared at the splotchy ceiling coloured off-white and thought hard. If she could be like anyone, who would she be? Boudicca, she thought to herself, the Queen who had no fear. Today, Sakura would have to be fearless. She would have to go back to college and see a few people who had no trouble teaching her what her place was. At their feet. Sakura rolled her eyes and frowned, hugging the pillow and gazing at the clock.

She was full of wishes and dreams, but never expected anything to come of them. She believed that you had to work for what you wanted. She didn't want much, but she'd have to work hard even just for that.

She held a hand up to the ceiling to watch herself count down her dreams.

One, to be a successful actress.

Two, to be liked be everyone and known by everyone.

Three, to become the person she wanted to be.

She laughed quietly, withdrawing her hand. Her dreams were hardly humble, but they were honest.

She loved to act. To put on a mask and become someone else, anyone else… to stand on stage and know that the audience is watching you. To pour your heart and soul into a performance, to really feel the dialogue, to believe in the character, to become your role… There was nothing like it in the world.

At the moment she felt a little… unnoticed. She had her own crowd of friends, but she was often lost in the crowd of laughter and people talking all at once. She had her own best friend, Tenten, but she couldn't help longing for more. To be recognised by the people who were recognised by everyone else.

Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Sasuke. The dream couple. Not that they'd confirmed their relationship, they seemed to find it amusing that everyone else speculated and argued hotly over whether or not they really were a couple. Ino, Sakura admired for her beauty, confidence and poise. Ino was a dancer. You could see it in the way she moved, the delicate wrists, the excellent posture. She was everything Sakura wanted to be and more. Sasuke, Sakura just admired. He was handsome, sure, but he was also intelligent and excelled in every area.

Sakura gave a sheepish little grin at the thought of Sasuke. While Ino was who Sakura wanted to be, Sasuke was who she wanted. She'd barely spoken to him, but on the rare occasions that she had, she'd noticed the intensity in his eyes, the way he focused completely on the person he was talking to.

The alarm clock went off suddenly, bells chiming loudly, scaring Sakura out of bed. She fumbled with the clock for a while before managing to turn it off.

She listened carefully for sounds of her father waking up. Nothing. She slumped in disappointment, realising he must have closed his bedroom door. That, or he was ignoring the alarm.

The bottle of perfume stood next to the photo of her mother. Sakura, still in her soft, childish pyjamas, crossed the carpeted floor with her bare feet and picked up the bottle. It was a glass bottle twisted and shaped until it was almost difficult to hold. The liquid inside was pale pink. Sakura opened the bottle and smelt it, the mixture of rose petals and sugar. It was too sweet for her tastes, but she wore it nevertheless.

She examined the lid. The glass was covered in dainty little fingerprints. Sakura wondered which were her own and which her mother's were.

She had used the perfume on days that she needed it to comfort herself since the day she found it, hidden away at the back of her mother's wardrobe, covered in dust. It was still almost full, because she used it sparingly, reverently.

The clothes she had picked out the night before were in a neat pile on her desk. She unfolded them and held them up.

It was just a simple wine-coloured floaty blouse with a black cardigan and tight black jeans. After a split second hesitation, Sakura lifted a necklace out of a black velvet box. Another one of her mother's. It was a chunky, silver necklace beset with pearls. It was unfashionable, but her mother loved it. She tied it around her neck, feeling the cold seep through her skin. She shuddered and closed the box. She looked in the mirror. She looked like her mother. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

She picked up the perfume again and sprayed herself lightly, smelling the sweet roses instantly.

xxxxxxxx

"…And that's how they died." Obito said, still looking slightly confused himself, "Everyone get that? It's a tragedy. Very sad."

Romeo and Juliet, Sakura thought to herself. It was the third time she'd studied it in her life and, dare she say it, she'd grown a little bored of the wangsty teen instant love story. Juliet was all, "Dost thou love me?" Demanding bitch that she was, and Romeo was all, "You are the prettiest flower and, er… the moon does not compare to… your cheeks! Yes, that's it. Your cheeks are far rounder! Very nice."

Besides, she hated the ending. It made the whole story pointless.

Obito, the teacher who wore 'prescription goggles' for some unfathomable reason, was trying to hide his tears.

"Oi, sensei, are you crying again?" Kiba asked, grinning.

"No!" Obito waved his hands and turned his back, sniffing, "It's just… dust! Dust in my eyes!"

Sakura let her chin drop to rest on the desk, unimpressed with her sensei sobbing in the corner because of Romeo and Juliet's untimely deaths.

"Sensei, can we go?" Ami asked, in her creepy-crawly, look-at-me-I'm-such-a-good-student-voice.

"Huh?" Obito said blearily, turning round to look at the clock, "Oh, it's time to go already? OK. Bye then."

The class pushed back their chairs in unison and started to file out of the room. Sakura was pleased. There, her one lesson of the day over and done with already.

As she stepped out of the room, she heard a squeal.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino said gleefully, "You let your hair grow longer!"

Sakura felt her cheeks grow hot at the mere sight of him and turned to hide her blush, cursing inwardly.

Ino was right. Sasuke's hair was only slightly longer than usual but since he controlled his appearance (like every other aspect of his life) rigidly, it was highly unusual to see him change anything about himself. Sakura sighed. It only made him look cuter.

Damn him.

Damn him and his pale skin and dark eyes and perfect face and perfect everything…

Sakura turned to watch them.

Ino was fussing about his hair, but he was looking at Sakura.

She nearly jumped backwards in shock, but there he was, a slightly quizzical smirk on his face, intensely dark eyes on her face.

Eek.

Since she had met Sasuke at the start of college, she had harboured a deep and rather pathetic love for him. She hadn't quite reached the stage of doodling 'Uchiha Sakura' on her homework but she was pretty damn close.

"Oh hi, Sakura!" Ami screeched from behind her. Sakura froze. The group of girls Ami always travelled with, like a flock of evil, laughed uproariously at nothing in particular, but it sure as hell managed to humiliate Sakura.

She had no idea what she'd done to earn Ami's hatred. She suspected she may have once accidently blinked at her. At any rate, whenever she saw her, Ami was hateful and bitchy as always, but Sakura had hoped – prayed – that maybe now, after the Christmas holiday, Ami might not be such a ginormous bitch.

"I like your outfit!" One of the girls with Ami exclaimed.

"Yeah, Sakura, where ever did you find it?" Ami asked, a malicious glint in her eyes, "Been dumpster diving again, have we?"

Oh yeah, that's witty. Sakura nearly rolled her eyes, but was pretty sure Ami would strangle her with her hair extensions if she openly mocked her.

Instead, she walked off down the hall, not eager to get into another fight.

She was walking towards Sasuke and Ino when a sharp tug on her hair halted her. Sasuke looked up, his eyes narrowing. Ino frowned.

"I was talking to you." Ami said sweetly, letting go of her hair, "It's rude to just walk off from a conversation."

Sakura swallowed. The sweeter Ami got, the more poisonous she could be.

"Sorry." She muttered, her hands beginning to sweat. She hated the reaction she had to Ami. She hated that Ami could get under her skin so easily.

"That's fine," Ami smiled, "But, we were talking about your outfit, right? What's this tacky crap?" She pulled at Sakura's necklace.

Sakura automatically pulled away, her hands moving to shield her mother's necklace.

"It's so ugly!" Ami crowed, so loudly that the few students in the hall looked up. Sasuke's gaze was burning a hole in Sakura's back.

She wanted to sink through the floor and die.

"No, it's not." Sakura said quietly, not meeting Ami's eyes.

"Excuse me?" Ami said, her voice honey-sweet, "Did you just disagree with me?"

Sakura bit her lip. She was seventeen years old, she shouldn't be afraid of some skinny bitch who liked to boss her around.

"Did you think you'd get cool?" Ami asked, eyebrow raised, "I saw you looking at Sasuke-kun. I bet you like him, don't you? Ha, that's it!"

Sakura had blushed in response. She was trying so hard to hold back tears, knowing Sasuke could hear every loud word Ami was saying.

"Aw, you couldn't possibly think you'd have a chance at getting with Sasuke-kun! A girl worthy of an Uchiha has to be pretty, popular and talented… Are you any of those things?" Ami tilted her head mockingly, "No, you aren't."

That was it.

Sakura pushed past Ami and ran into the girl's bathroom, hoping to God Ami wouldn't follow her in there.

She sat in a cubicle and cried.

Why was she the ugly, untalented, unpopular one? Shouldn't Ami be ugly? She was a horrible person on the inside, so surely she should be horrible on the outside too?

Sakura just wanted to be special.

She jumped when someone knocked on the cubicle door.

"Hi, are you OK in there?" A feminine voice asked.

Sakura's heart gave a jolt. She recognised that voice. It was Ino, beautiful, talented Ino, one of the last people she wanted to see her looking like this.

"I'm fine!" Sakura called back, sounding anything but. She wiped her eyes hastily and unlocked the door.

Ino put her hands on hips and gave her a sympathetic look, "Ami's a right cow, isn't she? Don't worry, she's just upset 'cause she's riddled with genital warts. I'm only joking, don't look so disgusted!"

Sakura sniffed and gave a watery smile.

"Aw," Ino melted, "Look, that bitch said you wanted to be popular, right? Well, I could help with that. If you just want to be liked, then hang out with me and you will be! But if you want something a little more… permanent, you're gonna have to go for fame. Something that'll boost your reputation. But, it'll be risky!"

Sakura smoothed her hair back and listened.

xxxxxxxx

Deidara was talking too quickly.

Itachi was walking down the college halls with the blonde man at his side, trying to keep up with every word the science teacher said. Itachi was smartly dressed in a black suit, wearing black, thin-framed glasses.

"…Cause I said to him about my theory, you know, 'bout explosions being a form of artwork, and he called me a fucking terrorist!" Deidara ranted, his tone indignant.

"I'm sure Sasori did not mean it." Itachi said in an attempt pacify the other man. It didn't work.

"Yes he did, he thinks the only kind of art is those fucking creepy puppet things he makes, un. So I accused him of just being another Geppetto looking for a Pinocchio, and he threw a block of wood at my head!"

"Are we actually going to see the science labs at any point, Deidara?" Itachi asked pointedly.

"Why do you want to be a science teacher anyway? The most boring fucking job in the world, you get fired if you blow anything up!" Deidara complained.

Itachi caught sight of the headmaster's office and halted. Deidara carried on walking for a second and then backpedalled.

"Pain asked me to pick up some files of his if I was passing by." Itachi explained, "You go on ahead."

"Yeah yeah," Deidara grumbled, "Maybe I'll go find Obito… I can blow up his goggles again till he cries…"

Shaking his head incredulously, Itachi opened Pain's office door.

And promptly caught a pink-haired girl dithering with a waste-paper bin in her hands.

He frowned, closing the door behind him automatically, plunging the room into darkness.

He flipped the light switch and raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

The girl panicked, putting the bin down and obviously trying to think of reasons she could plausibly be in the headmaster's office, abusing his bin.

"And don't lie to me," He drawled, fixing her with an intense glare, "I will know."

"OK!" The girl babbled, "Ino told me to mess up the headmaster's office and then she'd tell everyone and they'd all like me and I'd be popular and Ami wouldn't tease me anymore and Sasuke would like me!" She took a deep breath, obviously intending to carry on babbling.

Itachi held up a hand.

"So, you intended to destroy Pain's office. To become popular." Itachi said, somehow managing to inject every word with bare scorn until the girl was cringing.

"I… I…" The girl was shaking, "It's stupid and pathetic, I know! I hate it! If I could just be popular… Everything would be better. I'm sure of it!"

Now Itachi was concerned, despite himself. He crossed the room in three purposeful strides, standing directly in front of her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice coming out surprisingly gentle without his consent.

The little bit of sympathy tipped her over the edge and tears dribbled down her cheeks. She looked down at the ground.

"I'm fine." She replied quietly.

"Didn't I tell you not to lie to me? Tell me what is wrong." Itachi's voice was slick and soft. The girl smelt of roses.

"Everything's wrong!" The girl declared, throwing her hands up in despair, sinking down to the floor, crossing her arms angrily.

Itachi sighed and slid down the wall to sit next to her.

"Oh don't," She protested, "You'll wrinkle your suit!"

Itachi looked down at his 'casual' black suit. He genuinely did not mind wrinkling this one, but it was nice of the girl to be concerned.

"What's your name?" He asked, genuinely curious.

She seemed reluctant to tell him at first, but clearly realised her cover was already blown anyway.

"Haruno Sakura." She replied, "And yours?"

"Itachi." He responded, "Now, can you give me something specific that is wrong?"

Sakura was silent for a while, one finger tracing her pearl necklace.

"The college is having a play," She said in a low voice, "Hamlet. I really, really want to be Ophelia. But I'm not brave enough. I'm no good performing in front of people."

"You should at least audition." Itachi said, "I think you would make a good Ophelia."

Perhaps it wasn't much of a compliment, knowing what happened to Ophelia later in the play, but the girl seemed fragile and sweet, which was fairly suitable to play the submissive, meek Ophelia, in his opinion.

Sakura turned to stare at him, eyes wide, "Really? Do you think so? Maybe I will… Thanks."

"Is there anything else wrong?" He asked, knowing that there was more than a college play bugging this girl.

"Have you ever wanted something so much that it takes over you?" She asked.

He thought about it.

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh," She sighed, "Well, I do. I want to be special. I want to be liked and I want people to know who I am. I'm sick of being anonymous. I know it isn't a very important dream, but it's mine. I wanted to be popular so much… A cool girl named Ino, she offered me a chance. She told me to trash this office and then she'd tell everyone, and they'd all think I was cool, too."

Itachi's lip curled.

"And this girl, Ino… how unintelligent is she, exactly?" He sneered, "Why would you believe such a ridiculous lie? She must have planned to get you in trouble."

Sakura looked downcast, "Do you think so? I just thought she was being nice to me… Giving me a chance… I was so pleased."

Itachi pushed his glasses up from where they had been slipping down the bridge of his nose. For a moment they just sat in companionable silence.

"There was something else," Sakura said, almost shyly, "I wanted to be popular because it would allow me to be closer to the guy I like."

Oh no, Itachi's head slipped back and hit the wall, she was going to treat him like an agony aunt. After this, she was sure to ask him about menstruation and puppy fat. Joy.

"There's a boy," Itachi said, amused, "Isn't there always?"

"Yes, but Sasuke is special!" Sakura argued.

Itachi nearly swallowed his tongue, "Sasuke?" His eyebrows twitched. His little brother. This girl, this Ophelia wannabe… she was in love with Sasuke. He almost felt sorry for her. There was no way Sasuke would even look at a girl who had pink hair or acted this chipper.

"He's actually very kind," Sakura informed him, "Though a lot of people think he isn't."

Itachi struggled to keep a straight face. Sakura had gotten Sasuke so wrong…

"Is he handsome?" Itachi asked knowingly.

"Yes," Sakura said in tones of complete disinterest, "But, I know what you're thinking. I don't just like him because he is attractive. 'Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,'" Sakura quoted.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream." Itachi said cynically, "A comedy, if I remember rightly."

"It might be a comedy," Sakura gave him a smile, "But I agree with its message."

"What, stumble about in unrequited love enough and a fairy will take pity on you and force your object of affection to love you back?" Itachi snorted.

Sakura's eyes slid away from him, clearly embarrassed.

"I hope you aren't planning to take any more advice from that girl, Ino." Itachi changed the subject hastily.

"Probably not," Sakura's smile turned wry, "And I really thought she was nice."

"Well, people aren't always what they appear to be." Itachi shrugged. He froze almost imperceptibly, realising he was now leaning so close to the girl that he could smell her rose perfume.

He moved back hurriedly.

Just in time too, as Pain opened the door and walked in, taking his suit jacket off halfway before noticing the two stowaways sitting on his office floor.

"Pain," Itachi said smoothly, standing up and gesturing for Sakura to do the same, "I was just talking to Sakura. Here are the files you wanted." He rifled through a drawer until he found them and handed them to the headmaster.

Pain looked at Sakura, pointing at her, "Haruno Sakura, 2nd year student, seventeen years old, correct?"

"Yes!" She squeaked.

"Leave." He said, his voice deep.

She fled the office, but not before glancing back at Itachi one last time. She could have sworn, just before the office door clicked shut behind her, that he winked at her.

Always read the author's note, people. Always. :D

OK, new story, people! Woo!

So, here are the players:

Haruno Sakura, nearly eighteen years old, drama student wannabe, resident sadsack, angstmobile. She has some issues buried deep that she's trying to cover up with the glitter of popularity.

Uchiha Itachi, nearly twenty-three, is a mystery to all but himself. The world views him as the perfect specimen of Uchiha. He thinks quite differently.

The rest are just extras currently XD

Ah, yes… Ami. We meet again. I last used the her in High School Sweethearts, where she was more… manically portrayed. Btw, DO NOT READ HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS, IT SUCKS. IT REALLY DOES. I wrote it when I was like, fourteen. God awful, honestly.

Stayed up late to finish this orz

Btw, if I mention Shakespeare in this fic, do not trust my opinion. It is flawed and biased and just plain wrong! XD

Tell me everything you DESPISED and whatever you might have liked a teeny tiny bit. If you don't like something, tell me about it! But not cruelly… I bruise easily.

Quick poll for drama: Should the secondary pairing of this fic be…?

A) ShikaIno.

B) NejiTen.

C) Sai and somebody of your choice.

D) Other! Let me know!