New Year

Sakura

Sakura bit her lip nervously as her eyes followed the cartoon timer floating at the bottom of the screen. Two minutes till midnight. She barely pays attention to the announcer and her eyes shift to Sasuke. Amid the crowd, he looks the most striking with his charcoal eyes and ivory skin. Tonight, he looks amazing and Sakura couldn't ignore the contrast of his navy sweater against his pale skin nor the way his pants clung to him. Tonight would be the night. Tonight, Sakura Haruno would be the one getting her prince. She wets her upper lip and worries the hem of her dress between her thumb and index finder, anxiously counting down the seconds until the new year. As the timer neared one minute, she started moving towards Sasuke. She had their conversation planned out to a tee. First, she'd approach him and smile invitingly. Then, she'd casually mention her lack of New Years kiss partner and make herself look as disappointed and forlorn as possible. Hopefully by then Sasuke would get the hint, lean in at the right time, and plant the perfect kiss on her just as midnight strikes. She frowned when Sasuke started moving away from her and towards the opposite end of the room. Where is he going? she wondered. She watched him go up to Naruto, after all, his shock of blond hair was hard to miss, and place a hand on his shoulder. What the...
She watched him lean in closer to Naruto's ear and whisper something in it. She watched as his hand dipped lower over Naruto's arm and felt her heart drop along with the ball, descending down into the pit of her stomach. The seconds ticked by as she watched Sasuke lean closer to Naruto. The countdown began. "10...9...8...7..."
    Sakura wanted to look away but she couldn't. Her jade green eyes refused to tear themselves away from Naruto and Sasuke, who were both caught up in each other. Suddenly, someone called out her name.
    "Sakura!" She whipped around, grateful for the distraction and just as the crowd roared out the last second til midnight, warm lips descended onto her own. Shocked, she could only hold still until the stranger pulled back. Her eyes landed on brilliant sky blue eyes and blonde hair tucked into a low bun.
"Ino?"
"Sorry," Ino winked. "You just looked so sad, and what good friend would leave her best friend looking like that?"
"I s-see...." Sakura trailed off, unsure of what else to say. Her eyes darted around the room to check if anyone saw what just happened. No one else seemed to have noticed their surprise kiss as they were all caught up in their own affairs. Her cheeks flushed pink and she shook her head. "You can't just do things like that! A glass of alcohol and maybe some condolences would've worked just as well!"
"Hm, thought you would've preferred that New Years kiss. Sorry I'm not the Prince Charming you wanted," Ino grumbled and she jerked her chin pointedly towards Sasuke. Who, by the way, was molding his lips against Naruto's and tangling his fingers through the blond's hair. Sakura sighed wearily and started towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"Home."
"Need a ride?" Ino's brows furrowed when Sakura shook her head. The pink haired girl walked out and Ino didn't follow. Sakura sighed again, this time more out of frustration than disappointment as she trekked down the corridor to the elevators. It didn't help that her heels were making her feet throb like crazy. Why did Ino do that? Did she feel sorry for me or something? Once she reached the elevators, she groaned at the sign on the doors, reading Out of Order. "You've got to be kidding!" She turned to the stairwell and could already feel the massive ache in her feet once she finished walking down those stairs. A thought occurred to her and she kicked off her heels and stuffed them in her purse. Sighing contentedly, she limped down the stairs but not even the pain in her feet could compare to the dull ache burning her chest.