Gosh, I should be working on my other stories. Anyways, I've caught some sort of flu virus so I've been in bed for the past three days. With nothing to do and no place to go, I started fooling around with a story idea. The following chapter was born. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Prologue

Everyone knew Beach Week was the best part of senior year. It was that special week in the beginning of the month of June, when high school seniors collectively rented beach condos and lived it up, parent free, on the shoreline. Typical Beach Week activities included but were not limited to, binge drinking, sun bathing, pot smoking, wild partying, and of course making out with people you normally wouldn't even talk to in school. It was the last 'hurrah' before friends were shipped off to their prospective jobs or colleges.

They should have never let Naruto Uzumaki be in charge of procuring the house.

"But Sakura," he had said, "everyone goes to the beach. We can't be unoriginal like that! Besides Iruka's friend, the travel agent, got us mind-blowing deals… how can we go to the beach when we've got someplace way cooler to go?"

Round trip airfare and a week at a four star for only three hundred dollars a person. She had to admit, it was a pretty good deal…

"This is one of those things we won't have time to do when we enter the real world, and it's something you're going to regret missing if you never go. People come from all over the world just to put their feet on the ground, to smell the air, and to snap photos. We're lucky! We get to spend an entire week absorbing the awesomeness."

Even after that charming little speech, Sakura was not swayed. She had really been looking forward to finally unwinding after such a stressful year with a mojito in one hand, and a beach ball in the other. She and Ino had already bought matching bikinis. Cute boys from all over the state were going to be gathered (and shirtless) in one convenient location. There was going to be a bonfire! They were going to barbeque!

But none of that mattered. It was too late in the season to find a beach house that would fit all of her friends and then there was the issue of Naruto already having already spent all their money on the tickets and rooms. It was going to be his way, or there would be no vacation at all.

So that was how Sakura found herself stepping into The Suna Luxury Resort and Spa, somewhere along the border between California and Nevada, in the Mojave desert.

They had had to switch planes twice and Sakura was convinced that that last airplane had been someone's idea of a bad joke. She was pretty sure it had been a flying bus with wings held together by chewing gum and duct tape. She hadn't eaten in at least twenty-four hours out of the fear of being airsick. There was nothing more embarrassing than throwing up in front of your friends.

She was thankful that she hadn't sweat through her clothes either. It had to be at least one hundred degrees outside. Sakura had read somewhere that Death Valley was among the hottest places on the planet. She and her group were positively sweltering and welcomed the cool air in the resort lobby. Sakura had to say she was a little impressed.

The floor of the lobby was made out of cold grey stones and the walls were a magnificent red ochre clay design. She had been expecting dumpy tweed furniture so she was pleasantly surprised by the dark steel colored suede couches and clear glass tables. Both modern and native artwork hung on the red walls of the resort lobby giving her the impression that she had just walked into an exclusive museum or gallery. Giant floppy green leaves hung midway down the tall ceilings, effectively shading the room from the sun's harsh rays shining down from the skylight.

"At night the leaves pull back so you can see the stars." Said a distinctly male voice next to her.

Sakura turned and was met with a tall brown haired man who looked to be somewhere in his late teens to early twenties. The man smiled at her and since he seemed like a nice enough guy (he was reasonably attractive too) she smiled back. Normally she would have just walked away if a stranger had talked to her, but this was her vacation in a whole other state, on another coast, on practically a whole other planet, if ever she had a chance to break out and be someone new, now was it. "I'm actually awed by this room." She said. "I wasn't expecting this place to be this beautiful."

She wasn't just talking about the resort either; the landscape just about took her breath away. It was the sublime. Everything was so flat. The roads, the ground, the sky, it was flat, Sakura could see for miles in every direction. But if she looked to the north off in the distance she could see the outline of the great violet Sierra Nevada Mountains. The cloudless blue sky contrasted greatly with the rocky yellow and orange terrain. There was very little foliage, at least of the traditional variety, aside from the occasional pathetic green shrub.

"When we renovated six years we were faced with the challenge of matching the splendor of the landscape without being too over the top or fake looking. It took years of work and planning to make this place what it is today."

"So you work here?" she was beginning to appreciate her surroundings more and more with each passing second. How did they manage to keep the sand and dust out? The hotel looked so clean. They must have one serious cleaning crew.

"Sort of. My father's the owner of the resort. I designed and built a lot of the hotel fixtures, including the ceiling leafs. I wasn't really paid or anything," he smiled, "but this job does have some perks."

"So you actually live her? In the desert?" Sakura couldn't believe that people could actually live their lives in the giant sandy oven.

"We've got another house in Santa Cruz, that's where we spend most of our year, and that was where I went to high school. My father likes to send us out here to keep an eye on things and help out."

"Us?"

"My older sister and younger brother are here too. They're probably around your age, give or take. My sister, Temari, will be glad that there is a big group of teenagers here to mess around with." He gestured to her friends who were all busy at the check in desk. "I'll admit though, we don't usually see your type. We get mostly families or foreigners. You guys are our first party of un chaperoned kids in a while."

Sakura coughed. "Well actually, we're all high school graduates, not kids." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Sakura Haruno." She said.

The man took her hand. "I'm Kankuro Sabaku, nice to meet you."

"We're here on a graduates' vacation of sorts. There are nine of us. We all grew up together in Konoha."

"Oh really." He said casually. "So the blond and the black haired girl with the uh…" Kankuro cleared his throat and nodded in the direction of Sakura's two friends, Ino and Hinata. "They're both eighteen?"

"Yeah," Sakura gave him a doubting look, "and you're like, what, thirty five?" She teased.

"I'm only twenty!"

Sakura laughed. "I'm just kidding. But may I warn you? I would probably stay away from the dark haired girl if I were you, she's got a boyfriend." Hinata and Naruto had something really special going on. If this Kankuro Sabaku character tried anything to break their relationship Sakura would have to cut him. A girl had to know when to stop being nice.

Kankuro made a face. "The blond though, do you think I have a chance with her?" he asked. "She's the kind of hot that's out of my league."

Actually Ino would probably approve of Kankuro, because he was older and had an actual job. He was a lot better than most of her conquests. Not to mention, Ino was a big advocate for free love. But Sakura felt a little bad about setting her friend up without her permission. She had to do something to make it up to her. "You should give her a room upgrade. It'll, you know, show her that you're a good guy and that you've got power. Ino really goes for that kind of thing."

"Ino you say? The hotel is pretty empty this week, I'm sure I can come up with a reason to get her a suite." For a moment he looked unsure. "Just make sure she doesn't trash it."

Sakura had to wonder why he wasn't putting the moves on Sakura herself. Wasn't she in his league? Its not like Sakura had never had a boyfriend before. She was fairly confident that she wasn't unattractive, but for some reason she never seemed to get the attention Ino and Hinata got. They couldn't have been that much prettier than she was. Sakura didn't understand it.

She watched Kankuro stride over to the reception desk and whisper something to the uniformed man working it.

If Sakura and Ino really got a suite, then that meant their room would be the center of the party. Sakura had never really had the time in high school to go to dances and parties. When she wasn't at home doing schoolwork, she was at the hospital volunteering as a candy striper or helping out at Ino's mom's nursery. After all of that she was just too tired to do anything else but sleep.

Sakura was known for being somewhat bookish and a little bit of a goody-goody. She was never bothered by this reputation, and up until now she had even embraced her position as the moral authority over her friends. Now Sakura wasn't the smartest girl in the school, nor was she the prettiest or the most popular, but that didn't matter. She was scrupulously kind to everyone she met and stayed prim and proper in even the most chaotic of situations. And she liked being good being good made her happy. She was looking forward to starting college and continuing her squeaky-clean life style, but that didn't mean she didn't want to have a little fun before she left. Sakura wanted to see how the other side lived. Sakura wanted to party.

She had all sorts of visions about what this week was going to entail. Part of her was curious as to what sort of attractions and sight seeing opportunities there were in the area. Going to any of those places however would mean leaving the controlled temperatures of the hotel. Sakura knew that Ino and Hinata would probably want to spend their days taking advantage of the hotel's spa while the boys would be more interested in the hotel swimming pool. As far as the nights were concerned, Sakura knew there was a liquor store in the town nearby and that Sasuke Uchiha had his brother's old drivers license.

Sakura looked down at her feet where her luggage rested. Her suitcase was jam packed with warm weather clothing. Summer was actually her least favorite season; her skin was so fair she almost always burned. It was only a matter of time before her skin was the same shade a pretty pink as her hair. So because she didn't want to be a wrinkled mess at age thirty, Sakura was vowing to spend as little time in the sun as possible.

"Need any help carrying your stuff?" Ino asked, noticing Sakura straying behind the rest of the group. "My new friend over there took mine upstairs already." She pointed to Kankuro. "He said there was a problem with our reservation so we're getting a better room than what we had booked."

"Is that so?" Sakura faked her surprise. "How lucky for us."

"Yeah… I think he might be into me." Ino looked thoughtful. "Yeah… I think he'd make a good summer fling."

"And to think you've only been here ten minutes! You're going to master this vacation Ino, I can really feel it. We're going to have ridiculous fun this summer."

"I know." The blond girl said, smiling slyly. "On the plane ride here I couldn't stop thinking about all the crazy things we're going to do. This is my chance to introduce you to fun."

"I know what fun is!" Sakura said, a little miffed that her friend was implying other wise.

"No you don't." her smile widened. "But you will…"

Sunday.

"I really don't think life can get much better than this." Ino's voice was a bit muffled because she was lying on her stomach and speaking into her towel.

"I'm actually a bit bored." Sakura sat hugging her knees to her chest under the shade of the umbrella. She was careful not to let even the tip of her toes outside of the dark shadow of the umbrella. Her clothes, her hair, her skin, everything was covered in sweat. She was positively roasting under the desert sun. "Are you sure we can't go swimming with everyone else? Even Hinata is in the pool."

"Hinata has a boyfriend, she has nothing to gain by getting a nice tan or attracting other men. So no, stay out of the pool. I didn't spend twenty whole minutes doing your make up for you to let it all smear off in the water. So just sit still, look pretty, and let the boys flock to us like bees to honey."

"All the boys here are with their families. You can't honestly think they're just going to come over here and start hitting on us." She shrank even further into the shadows. She didn't like the idea of ruining someone's family vacation.

"The minute mommy and daddy are looking in the other direction they will, I'm sure of it. And you're forgetting those guys over there," she pointed off on the other side of the pool, "the ones here on their company trip. They're certainly interested. That guy in the glasses has been staring at my ass for the past fifteen minutes."

"Ino! Those are grown men! They probably have wives at home waiting for them. That's disgusting." Sakura chastised. "I don't want to be a home wrecker."

"Hey, what happens in the desert stays in the desert."

"Is that a fact?"

"Look," Ino sat up to adjust the straps of her string bikini, "you said it yourself that you wanted to loosen your hair for a week. If you really want to have a good time, you need to let go of this 'nice girl' persona. It's going to get in the way of your game. Bad girls have more fun."

"So bad girls can't be nice?" Either way, Sakura didn't like the idea of ruining a family or a family vacation. She wanted to have fun, but not at the expense of others.

"I'm not going to even answer that question. It's not about good or bad, or mean or nice, it's about doing what you want and letting go of your inhibitions."

Sakura kind of liked her inhibitions where they were. "I don't know, Ino. I guess we'll just have to see what works." She stood up. "I'm going over to the gang to make sure they've got enough sun screen on and ask if they want me to order them something to eat."

"Whatever." Ino said, burrowing back down into her towel. "Just stay out of my sunlight.

The pink haired girl rolled her eyes and set off to the poolside where her friends were busy talking and splashing each other with the water. They all looked so happy together, Sakura couldn't figure out how anyone would prefer to lay lifeless under the harsh sun when they could be swimming and having fun. It sounded so perfect it even rhymed!

"Hey Sakura, finally decided to join us?" Naruto said. He was sitting at the edge of the pool with his arm around his girlfriend Hinata. "It's one hundred and five degrees outside. I don't understand how you can just sit over there and roast."

"It's not that bad." She said with a reassuring smile. "I just came by to see if you guys needed anything and to remind you to re-apply sunscreen. The water magnifies the suns rays and I don't want you to get burned."

"Oh we're good right now." Said Naruto. "We'll probably be coming in soon though, everyone wants to get a shower in before dinner."

"We thought we might eat in the restaurant tonight." Hinata explained.

"That sounds good to me." Sakura said. She was glad that they would soon be moving inside. There was only so much of this desert sun and heat she could take, even by the poolside. "And by the way Hinata, I love your swim suit!" The dark haired girl was wearing a cute lavender one piece that really brought out her eyes. Sakura really respected Hinata's understated sense of fashion.

"Thanks, it's new." She said. Naruto kissed her cheek and she giggled. "Naruto and I did our swim suit shopping together this year."

"That's so sweet." Sakura said with a smile. It was really nice that Naruto and Hinata were so happy together. She wished that all of her friends could find such perfect partners. "Well I guess I'll go tell Ino what the plan is so she can have her shower before me. It is her room after all."

"We'll come pick you up before we hit the restaurant."

"Ok." Sakura waved goodbye. "See you around later then."

Dinner in the restaurant sounded like a good idea. Sakura recalled reading in health class that it was a good idea to eat before consuming alcohol to keep oneself from becoming drunk. She wanted to make sure all of her friends had their stomach lined before they started the party of their lives. She was going to have to find a way to balance taking care of all of her friends and having her own fun.

Sakura was busying trying to remember everything else she had learned about alcohol and drugs from that class and she wasn't paying attention to where she was walking. All she really saw before she went crashing into the pool was a tall stack of white towels and the red hair of the boy who she was taking down with her.

She hit the water hard, the smack on her skin resonated throughout her body. Sakura was in shock for a moment before she got a hold of herself and swam to the surface. All of her friends, even Ino, had gathered at the edge of where she had fallen in. "Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto called out to his pink haired friend who was too busying paddling over to the ladder to notice the boy who had fallen in with her.

"No worries, I'm fine." Sakura coughed up a bit of the water she had swallowed. "Just a little embarrassed." Naruto offered her his hand and he pulled her out of the water.

It was a good thing she had had her bathing suit on. She had a feeling her eye make up had run down her cheeks but it was kind of worth it. Finally she had some relief from the hot sun. She was feeling delightfully refreshed. She really should have jumped into the pool sooner.

"You've got to be more careful." Naruto said, once he had her up on dry land. Ino stepped in and wrapped a towel around her. "You could have really hurt yourself or…" he turned and looked in the direction of the pool at where the pool boy Sakura has practically drowned was climbing out of the water himself.

Holy shit did he look angry.

"I am so sorry!' Sakura gushed. She wiggled out of Ino's grasp and went to help the poor pool boy. She knelt down at the pool's edge. "Really, I'm really, really, sorry."

Drops of water dripped from his red hair onto the cement floor. He wiped his wet brow and snarled at her. "Fuck off, you dumb bitch." He spat at her, the words hitting her like a sharp slap in the face

Sakura felt a cloud pass over the sun. Funny, just a minute ago she could have sworn that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was just an accident, she reasoned. He had to known it was just an accident; she didn't do it on purpose.

She looked up at him and began to apologize again. "I'm a complete klutz, I should have watched where I was going. I'm so sorry. It was an accident and I'm sorry. Please let me know if there is something I can do to make it up to you."

It was as if he hadn't heard her at all. He completely ignored her kneeling form and the help she was offering him. Instead, he brushed past her and her friends, picked up the fallen towels and stalked off in the direction of the pool house, leaving a confused and embarrassed Sakura in his wake.

There was really no reason for him to have been so rude to her. She had said she was sorry, and she was trying to help him. She hoped that by pushing him into the pool she hadn't gotten him into any trouble.

But judging by the look on his face when he had left, she had gotten off easy with a simple 'fuck you'. It was as if Sakura had committed a much graver crime than merely ruining his day. His aura had been murderous. She was shaken by the experience.

"What the hell is that kid's problem?" Said Ino as she rushed to Sakura's side.

"I don't know…I said I was sorry." Sakura looked like she was about to break out in tears. "Do you think I should find him and apologize again?"

"That's definitely a no." The blond girl grabbed Sakura's slippery wet arm and pulled to her feet. "Lets just go back to our room and get ready for dinner. Don't give any more thought to the angry guy. He's a pool boy for god's sake, it's no wonder he is pissed at the world."

"I still feel pretty bad about it…" She herself wouldn't have been such a basket of sunshine if someone had crashed into her and knocked her into the pool. It was understandable that he was angry. She just didn't see why he would have been that angry.

"Either way, there is nothing you can do about it now. Now come on," Ino dragged Sakura back toward the hotel. "Lets get out of here, our vacation has only just begun."

Dinner had been delicious, Sakura had to use all her will power not to gorge herself. They boys on the other hand, ate as much as a heard or elephants. She had never seen food disappear so fast. She thought her eyes had been playing tricks on her.

Now everyone was off doing their own thing for a couple of hours until it was time to meet in Ino's room for a little graduation celebration.

"So I invited those four brothers from down the hall, the ones that kind of Zac Effron's look-alikes. And I also talked all of the teenagers from that family reunion group, there is like ten of them, into coming up." Ino said. "Kiba invited those twin girls from the first floor and the other girls they had with them. Oh, and Kankuro, that guy who works here, said he and his sister would stop by. So that should be like twenty-ish people all together."

"Do you really think there is enough room in here for thirty people?" Sakura looked doubtful. "I mean it's a fair sized room…it's just going to be packed in here."

Ino rolled her eyes. "That's the point, Sakura. Parties are supposed to be crowded, that's how you know it's a good party. That's how you meet people."

"So people are going to just stand around like sardines in a can?" The pink haired girl asked.

"Sasuke is out getting booze, Shino is brining music, Choji is brining snacks, I got us guests, and you got us a room. You mix those five things together and turn out the lights, and you've got a party. Believe me, this is going to be good."

"I guess…I mean, you know more about these things than I do." Sakura put her hand on her chin. I just hope Sasuke doesn't get arrested, trying to get alcohol."

"Do you now…?" ask an amused Ino. "Do you have any other hopes for Sasuke?"

Sakura blushed. "Its not like that… really it isn't. We both agreed that it was better for us to just stay friends."

The fact of the matter was, Sasuke kissed her. It was graduation; their very last day of high school, and stupid Sasuke kisses her and confesses his feelings for her. On the last day. Was the universe against her or what?

For her entire four years of high school Sakura and Sasuke had been 'just friends.' Sakura however, didn't think she could be any more obvious about her feelings for him. Everyone knew she was in love with him. Sakura never did anything about it because her friendship with him had been more important, and she wasn't willing to risk it. She had watched him date girl after girl and was forced to hear every little detail about his relationships and openly supporting him all the while hoping and praying that he would wake up and realize that she, Sakura Haruno, was really the girl for him. He never gave any indication that his feelings for her were any deeper than that of good friends.

On graduation day, after they had received their diplomas, Sasuke pulled her aside and kissed her. He confessed that he had had feeling for her for a long time and that he wanted to spend his summer with her.

Sakura could have killed him.

It turned out that she wasn't as in love with him as she thought she was. His kiss really didn't do much for her at all. She was angry because he was so stupid. She couldn't date him casually, but she also didn't want to have a serious relationship and then have to part ways at the end of the summer. They were going to schools on two totally separate sides of the country. She wouldn't be able to handle breaking up, and a long distance relationship would be much too stressful for her to handle during her first year of college.

If they even went down the romantic road that would be like literally kissing their perfect friendship goodbye. How could he put her in that position? She had wanted to be with him so badly for years, for years. And with one kiss, he completely ruined the dream. He was a dream ruiner. What did he really expect to accomplish with that confession? Slash, did he even realize he was four years late?

So for now, they were doing a pretty thorough job of avoiding each other. It was a little awkward now, but Sakura knew that this way better for their friendship in the long run. Things would go back to normal soon.

"Face it." Said Ino. "You broke Sasuke Uchiha's heart."

"I did not break his heart." Sakura put her hands on her hips. "I may have bruised his ego a bit, but I guess that revenge for making me pine over him for so long. Not that I rejected him out of vengeance, because I didn't of course. It hurt me too."

"Well now is the perfect time to rethink your choice. It's like what I said earlier. What happens in the desert stays in the desert."

"I don't think so." She had thought about her decision for a long time, and it really was the right thing to do. "Besides, this is going to sound weird… I don't really feel the same way I used to about him. I mean I still like him of course; it's just that our kiss really didn't have any magic to it. It wasn't like I thought it would be."

"Welcome to the real world." Ino said ironically.

"Tell me about it."

"And just so you know, Sasuke is a guy. He's not going to hold himself back just because he says he has feelings for you. I saw him eying those twins earlier." Ino shook her head. "That means you have to meet some guys too."

"Like who? All the guys are going to be going after you… I can't compete when it comes to this kind of thing." Sakura tried not to sound as if it were something that bothered her. She didn't really mind that Ino was the more popular girl.

"Trust me." Ino said confidently. "When I'm done with you, the boys will be flocking. And if all else fails, just hook up with Kiba. Everyone's done it at least once. Even Hinata."

"Ok." Sakura laughed. "Lets not get carried away now."

"I'll have you know, Kiba works wonders with his tongue."

The pink haired girl shuddered. "I did not need to know that."

"Whatever, Forehead," Ino said. "Just don't come crying to me when you die a virgin." She began stuffing her and Sakura's luggage into the closet. "Let's make sure no one walks out with our stuff. Is there some way we can lock this?"

"Push the bed against it." She suggested. "Or I can just stand by it and guard it."

"Out of the question. We'll move the bed."

Together the two girls arranged and rearranged their suite for optimal partying space. Ino filled up the ice box with mountains of cold cubes from the machine down in the lounge while Sakura took all the decorations off the wall and locked them in the closet with anything else that looked as if it might break if an out of control partygoer crashed into it. Sakura was thankful that there were hardwood floors and not carpets, because she had no idea how she might party proof that.

"Wanna practice kissing? I know it's been a while for you." Ino offered.

Sakura almost choked on the water she was sipping. "Uh, no thanks." She wiped her mouth. Kissing is like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it."

"If you say so… just don't come crying to me when-"

"I get it, I get it." Sakura shouted, cutting her friend off. "I'm never having sex. I get it already, all right? You don't have to rub it in."

Ino looked scandalized. "That kind of attitude will get you no where. Now come sit over here and let me do your make up again. I can't have all of the Zac Effron brothers, now can I? And I would hate for any of them to be lonely."

"Fine." Sakura grumbled. "Just don't make me look like a clown."

Sakura had no idea alcohol would be so disgusting. It tasted awful. Vodka, rum, beer, whiskey, all of it, the minute a drop of it hit her tongue she wanted to gag. It was disgusting! How on earth did people drink the stuff? How did people drink enough of it to get drunk when just a mouthful made Sakura's eyes water and she felt like she was going to die.

"This is the expensive stuff." Sasuke explained to her. He shook the long narrow bottle in her face. "Stolichnaya Elit Vodka." He read the label.

Sakura wondered if Sasuke really came all the way over here to inform her on the prices of vodka in the global market. They had had a pretty good run avoiding each other so she was actually relieved when she saw he was making his way over to talk to her.

Kankuro informed Ino upon his arrival that the walls were heavily insulated due to the temperature changes and they were virtually sound proof. With the assurance that there would be noise complaints from downstairs or up the hall, Shino blasted the music and the party got thumping. Sakura could feel the beat of the bass matching that of her heart and the techno trance sounds made her head spin and her limbs tingle.

All of the lamps were turned off but light still illuminated from the fixtures outside and the night sky. Sakura could clearly see the outline of the handsome boy standing before her but she could barely hear him over the sounds of the party.

"That's Russian sounding. Why'd you get such an expensive bottle?" She asked. "This is a room party not a cocktail party."

He smirked at her. "Because I'm filthy rich." He opened the bottle and poured some of the clear liquid inside into a cup of cranberry juice. Sasuke swished the contents around in the glass before throwing his head back and downing the entire drink in one gulp. When his head came back down Sakura could see that his cheeks were delightfully pink and his eyes were glassy. "Are you sure I can't interest you in a shot? It'll loosen you up a little."

Sakura didn't think she needed to loosen up and she knew if she tried using that fancy alcohol loosen up, she would end up spilling the contents of her stomach onto the floor. She didn't think that would be very fun or attractive. She shook her head. "I'm ok for now."

Sasuke wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist and gave it a small tug. "Lets dance then." He looked at her with dark seductive eyes and said in a low voice,
"I want to hold you for a while."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Excuse me? Did he really just say that to her? Well hello, Casanova! When did she stop being a friend to him and start being a random girl at a party? She had heard him use that line on like six other girls. He was going to have to do better because Sakura was certainly not going to buy into any of that crap. Besides, didn't they have agreement? 'Just friends' is not the same thing as friends with benefits. Sakura Haruno was nice but she wasn't that nice.

"Smooth moves, Uchiha." Sakura wriggled away from his grasp . "But I don't think that's such a good idea."

His face returned to normal and he shrugged. "You're loss. Later then."

And before Sakura even found time to react she was already watching Sasuke's back retreating into the crowd.

She was kind of hoping he would put up a little more of a fight. But maybe she was no different then any of his previous girls. She knew exactly how he operated. Sasuke used his pretty face and kind words to dupe girls into believing he loved them. How was Sakura supposed to know whether or not she was different to him?

It didn't matter. Her mind was already made up. She and Sasuke were just not happening. There was nothing more to say.

Moments later after Sasuke had left, Ino stumbled over with a crowd full of men trailing after her. The entire party looked pretty drunk. Sakura hoped Ino wasn't letting these boys take advantage of her.

"Sakura!" Ino crashed into the girl and gave her a tight squeeze. "Sakura, I can feel your padded bra!" Ino giggled.

Thanks Ino. Sakura hoped that the music was loud enough to hide her friend's mortifying outburst. Sakura cheeks felt hot. Why did Ino have to be such a chatty drunk?

"Men, this is Sakura." Ino motioned to her friend. "And Sakura, these are my men."

Men? That sounded like she was introducing her army. "Uh, hi men." Sakura gave them a weak wave. How on earth did Ino already have a posse, and how on earth was she already drunk? They hadn't been partying for that long.

"Hey I know you!" One of the guys said. He looked like Zac Effron on steroids. He opened his mouth and sprayed booze words all over Sakura. "You're that girl who fell into the pool today!"

"Yeah, that was me." Sakura wondered when the humiliation was going to end.

You know, close up you're not as hot as I thought you'd be."

"Oh, um, I'm sorry." The pink haired girl said, feeling very awkward. Was this guy trying to insult her or something?

"Nah, It's cool, I'd still do you." The boy laughed.

"Thanks." Sakura said lamely. Somehow she didn't feel much better. At least Sasuke had a little bit of tact when it came to playing the game.

"So, you interested?" He asked.

Sakura was confused. "In what?"

"A good fuck."

For the second time in one night Sakura's jaw dropped. Seriously? "No, no I think I'm alright.

She pried Ino off of her and pushed past 'her men' and immersed herself within the crowd of people. It was much too embarrassing to stay with that group any longer.

Did that boy actually think Sakura would be interested in having sex with him? She didn't even know his name! Not to mention that fact that his proposition came shortly after he had insulted her. Was this really how willing participants found each other in the sex game? Sakura was repulsed.

Strangers around her were laughing and dancing. She couldn't help but wonder what made them so different from her. Why didn't this come as easily to her as it did to them? She was convinced that the others could smell how uncomfortable she was and knew to stay away from her.

Was she jealous of them? Yes. School was easy for Sakura. She was smart, hardworking, and well disciplined. Sakura thrived in intimate social gatherings. She could handle when it was just five friends, some sodas, and a box of pizza. But parties? Why were parties so difficult for the pink haired girl?

Sakura found a nice spot against the wall where she could lean and pass the time. She had the vague hope that maybe a nice sober boy would come along and start some conversation, but she wasn't holding her breath. She was starting to get the distinct impression that she was the only sober person left in the room.

Somewhere in the sea of noise Sakura thought she heard a cry of distress. The pink haired girl was immediately broken out of her moment of self-pity. It sounded an awful lot like Hinata. Sakura's began running through worse case in scenarios and she hurried over to where she thought the sound must have originated. She shoved through couples and dancers and finally found herself at the source of the noise.

"Sakura!" cried Naruto. "Boy you could not have come at a better time than this." He raised his arm and Sakura could see he had his hand full of blood. A crowd was beginning to form around him and someone had the sense to turn the music down.

"Holy-" she covered her mouth with her hand. "What on earth happened to your hand, Naruto?" The blood was beginning to drop down his arm. "Keep your hand up, keep it up above your heart."

"Broken bottle. I put my hand down on top of a broken bottle." Naruto explained.

"Is he going to be alright?" A very pale Hinata asked.

"I don't know." Sakura answered truthfully. With all the blood in the way, she couldn't fully see the extent of the damage. "I think he might need stitches." Hinata looked as if she were about to pass out. "But I really don't know."

"Should we call an ambulance?" somebody asked.

Did they have ambulances in the middle of the desert? Sakura wasn't ready to find out. "No, no it's alright. Lets just get him to the bathroom and wash that hand. Let's see how bad it is."

Luckily, it wasn't very bad at all. He had several cuts but none of them were very deep. "This is really not a big deal. With a few well placed Band-Aids you'll be as good as new."

"Thank goodness!" Hinata said, closing in her arms around him. "You had me so afraid."

"I'm sorry, baby." He kissed her. "It was the bottle's fault, really."

But they weren't out of the woods yet, Naruto was still bleeding and Sakura doubted that he wanted to spend the rest of the night hold a towel to his hand. "I don't suppose anyone has any Band-Aids handy?" Sakura asked looking toward the people crowded into the bathroom. "No Band-Aids?"

"There is a mini mart downstairs in the lobby that's open all night." Said a girl Sakura didn't recognize. "If you've got some money you can go buy some Band-Aids."

Was that an excuse to leave the party she heard? Sakura jumped at the chance before anyone else had the time to volunteer. "I'll do it! I've got my money right here." She patted her jeans pocket. "I can go now."

The people of the bathroom parted for her and Sakura escaped the hotel room. The bright hallway and the clean air was a relief to the pink haired girl. It was going to take a good amount of will power to get her back into that dark dismal dungeon of drunken doom. She would just have to remind herself that Naruto really needed those Band-Aids.

She rode the elevator down to the lobby and counted her blessings that she found an excuse to get some fresh air.

Sakura wondered if that boy from earlier really thought she wasn't hot. Was Sakura hot? It wasn't her fault that she had the body of a thirteen-year-old boy. She thought Ino had done a pretty good job with her makeup and her outfit was very flattering. Sakura usually didn't wear skirts that were this short but she figured it was okay since she had a conservative top on. In Sakura's humble opinion she thought she looked like at the very least a seven. If she was good enough for Sasuke, (Sasuke only went out with gorgeous girls) then she should be good enough for any other guy too. She had never been this self-conscious about her appearance before. This didn't feel much like a vacation at all.

When the elevator reached the lobby floor and the doors opened, Sakura was a girl with a destination. She spotted the market over next to the girt shop. Maybe while she was in there she would pick up some hang over medicine for her friends who would certainly need it in the morning.

She strode over to the store with a sense of purpose. Should she get big Band-Aids or small ones? Should she get fun colorful ones, or would Naruto find that kind of the childish? Probably not, but then- Sakura stopped walking. "Oh shoot!"

He looked up at the sound of her voice and his faced darkened. It was the pool boy; he was the one running the register. "It's the dumb bitch." He glowered at her.

Sakura laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's me."

"Why the hell are you laughing? Did I say something funny?" He spoke in a voice as cold as death.

She blushed. Boy this really wasn't her night. "N-no." She stuttered. Sakura cleared her throat. She was worse than Hinata! "No." she said more clearly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you."

He stared at her and she looked at her shoes. Just when she thought her night could get any worse. Why did it have to be the red head pool boy?

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

Sakura head shot back up. "Yeah?"

"What the hell do you want?"

"Oh." She said, startled. "I need Band-Aids."

"Go get them then" he said her, like she was stupid or something.

She was anxious to get out of the market so she picked the first box of bandages she saw on the shelf and brought them back over to the register.

She should have anticipated that she would have to see him again. When he opened his mouth to speak again, she was nervous that he would yell at her again.

"Let me guess. Some drunk idiot had an accident?" he rang up the box, typing numbers into the keyboard. Thankfully his anger seemed to have somewhat dissipated.

This gave Sakura the chance to study him. He wasn't wearing a hotel uniform anymore. He had on worn jeans. Sakura could tell by the way he wore them, that they were his favorite pair. His blue shirt was the same way, faded and threadbare but comfortable looking. He wasn't particularly broad shouldered or muscular, but he still had a certain strength about him. It was his hands in particular that seemed strong.

"Pretty much." She answered, continuing to watch him. "He put his hand down on a broken bottle."

"You tourists are all morons." He shook his head.

"Naruto might now be the smartest person I know, but he's still a really good guy. It was his idea to come out to the desert. The rest of us wanted rent a house by the beach."

"I bet you're wishing you're at the beach now." The boy said humorlessly.

"Not really. I thought I would hate it here, but I can't."

"You're and idiot then." He put the Band-Aid box back onto the counter. "And that's four dollars."

Sakura took her wallet out of her pocket and retrieved four one dollar bills. "Here." She handed them to him.

He carefully put the money into the register and printed her out a receipt. "You can just charge it to your room next time."

"Okay." She would have to remember that for next time.

He stared at her wallet. "You should give me a twenty too."

"What?" She asked. Why would she give him twenty more dollars? That was a ridiculous price to pay for a tiny box of bandages.

"You owe me for pushing me in the pool."

"You want me to pay you for that?"

He stuck his hand out further. "You said you'd make it up to me."

Well, he had her there. She did remember saying she would make it up to him. Paying him for his troubles seemed reasonable. Kind of.

"Um, okay." She pulled out the money from her wallet and placed it into his hand. It felt really awkward paying this strange boy for something that was just an accident.

He closed his fingers around the bill and shoved it into his pocket. "Now get the hell out of here." He pointed to the elevator on the other side of the lobby.

"Right." She didn't need to be told twice. Sakura took the box of Band-Aids off the counter and turned away. She had taken three steps out the door when he called her back.

"Wait." He said. Maybe he decided he couldn't take her money after all.

She faced him. "Yeah?"

"Better make it forty."

Excuse me? "Forty dollars?"

"No, forty elephants. Of course forty dollars. You're even stupider than I thought."

"Fine." At this point she just wanted to get away from him. She went into her wallet again and put the money on the counter. "That's it. I don't have any more money with me."

"Okay." He put the second twenty in his pocket with the first.

She hoped he was satisfied. But again he stopped her when she tried to leave.

"Wait." He called.

"I was serious when I said I didn't have any more money." She said over her shoulder. She tried to ignore him and keep walking.

"Wait, come back here!" He said more loudly this time.

She wondered what would happen if she continued to ignore him. Would he just let her walk away from him? Some how she figured that he wasn't the type of guy you wanted to defy or mess with. She remembered his anger when she accidentally pushed him into the pool. She turned back around and grudgingly walked over to him. If only she wasn't so intimidated by him…

"What's your name?" He asked. The boy leaned over the counter so they were standing face to face.

"Sakura."

"Well, Sakura, I've thought of another way you can make it up to me." His tone was much too innocent.

Sakura was suspicious. "Oh really? And what's that?"

"A kiss." He said. "You could kiss me."

Her heart skipped a beat. Why in the world would she kiss this mean boy? Why would he even ask that of her? "You want me to kiss you?" she asked incredulously.

He nodded. "On the lips."

Sakura sputtered. "I'm not going to kiss you!"

"Why not?"

"You were mean to me!" A thought occurred to Sakura. "And you're still being mean to me! You're making fun of me."

She couldn't believe he was this much of a jerk. This was worse than guilt tripping her into giving him everything in her wallet. What did he hope to accomplish by tricking her into thinking he wanted her to kiss him? She already knew that he hated her, but this was going too far. This was cruel.

But his face remained blank. "I'm not making fun of you. I just want to see how far you're willing to go to earn my forgiveness."

She was starting to get really annoyed with him. "How is that any better? You're just another mean boy trying to amuse himself by playing games with me. You're just like those 'drunken idiots' upstairs." It probably wasn't the best of ideas to provoke this boy, but she couldn't resist telling him what she thought of him.

"Sakura," he said quietly. "I promise you that I'm unlike any boy you've ever met."

"Oh yeah?" She didn't believe him. He was just another jerk in a vast sea of jerks.

"Yeah." He smirked. "But you're right. I am just playing games with you.

"I don't play games." She told him seriously. "What would you have done if I had agreed kissed you?"

"I knew you wouldn't, so it doesn't matter."

He was avoiding the question. "Would you have kissed me back?

"No." He frowned deeply. "I get paid to do odd jobs, not to kiss guests. I'm not Kankuro."

"Kankuro actually gets paid to kiss guests?" Sakura was shocked.

The boy snorted. "No, but that doesn't stop him. He and my sister think this place is their personal dating pool."

"You're Kankuro's brother." Sakura observed.

"Yeah, only I follow the 'no fraternizing with the guests' rule."

Sakura laughed. "He's upstairs 'fraternizing' with guests in my room. I was having a party." She explained.

"Well I can see you're anxious to get back to that." He said sarcastically. He was right of course, she had no desire to go back upstairs, even to get away from the strange boy.

"I'm not very good at partying." She said.

"How can a person be bad at partying?"

"I don't know…" Sakura shrugged uncomfortably. How could she explain it? "But that's why I'm the one down here getting the Band-Aids."

"Isn't it possible that you just don't like partying?"

It was very possible that she didn't like partying. But what kind of teenager didn't like to party? She didn't want everyone to think she was an old woman! "Anything is possible, I suppose."

"If I were you, I'd tell everyone to get the hell out of my room. If you don't want them up there then make them get out, don't come down here and bother me about it." The boy said. Despite the nature of his words, she could tell he wasn't angry like before. She also didn't get the impression that he was asking her to leave either.

"I don't want to ruin their fun." She backed away from the counter. "Anyways, I should probably go, Naruto needs these Band-Aids." She shook the box.

"Next time make him get his own shit."

She smiled. "But then how would I get to see you?"

The boy looked at her as if she was insane. "I think that's something you can live without."

For the third (and hopefully the last) time Sakura walked to the door. When she got there, she turned around and looked at him. She had felt him watching her leave. "You know, I probably would have done it." She said.

"Done what?"

"Kissed you."

"What?"

"If you hadn't stopped pressuring me, I probably would have broken down and just kissed you."

He stared at her.

Sakura clapped her hands. "Right then, I guess I'll see you around." She knew she wouldn't get very far until-

"Wait."

Sakura swallowed. She had done this to herself. She turned around and saw that he had come out from behind the counter.

"I want my kiss." He said, catching up to her.

"I thought you said-"

"I'm not kissing you, you're kissing me. There's a difference."

"Oh there's a difference?" She met him halfway. For the first time she noticed how handsome he was. He had the most striking eyes.

"A big one." He said, stepping closer to her.

Sakura felt her pulse begin to speed up. What exactly was it that she planned on doing with him? Wasn't it just twenty minutes ago that he was calling her names and she was hiding from him behind the first aid aisle?

She took a deep breath. It was just a little kiss. In other countries, it's just another way of saying 'hello'. She could do this. She could kiss a stranger.

Even when she was standing on her toes he was still a little too tall for her, so she raised her hand to his face and pulled his head down to her level. His face was too serious for a man so young.

"Its one kiss and I'll forget everything that's happened."

Sakura give him a wry smile. "Don't you mean one kiss and two twenties?"

He rolled his eyes. "Are you going to kiss me or not?" he asked with irritation.

"I'm working up the nerve to do it. I don't usually kiss strange men I meet in hotels. This seemed a lot easier when I pictured it in my head." Sakura tried to let go of his face but the boy caught her hand.

"One kiss." He said. She could feel his breath on her face.

"One kiss" she repeated. One kiss…

She leaned forward and closed the distance between their mouths, gently placing her lips on top of his. Sakura slowly and carefully kissed him.

But when she pulled her lips away she could feel his begin to follow. This was too much for one night. As soon as she realized what he was about to do she clamped her hand shut over his mouth.

She blushed for the umpteenth time that night. "You can't do that." She told the wide-eyed boy. "That would be against the rules." When she saw that he understood what she meant she took her hand off his mouth. "I don't want you to get in trouble for fraternizing with guests."

"And you should probably be getting back upstairs to your party." He backed away from her.

Sakura nodded "Right." Her brain didn't seem to be working quite right, and her lips… they felt like they were buzzing. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, uh…?

"Gaara." He offered. "My name is Gaara."

She tried to fight it, but in the end her face broke out into a smile. "I'll see you around, Gaara."

Sakura spent the entire elevator ride up with her hands on hips lips, wondering what would have happened if she hadn't pushed him back.

If you've read any of my other creations then you might think the characters in this story are a little different then the ones in my others. Thats why I wanted to write another story, I wanted to play around with the personalities! This was fun to write because this I'm kind of a sun loving - devout partyer - frequent flyer so I had to imagine what it would be like for someone who wasn't into that kind of thing. I hope I got it right!

I don't know how often I'll update this one. I think this is going to be more of a side side project. But then again, who really knows? I'm a little unpredictable when it comes to updating.

Like it? Like it more or less than my other writing? Let me know! And thanks for reading.

(P.S) Does anyone think it would be totally Nancy Drew (in a bad way) to have a hotel guest get murdered?