-Believe Me, It's True-

Summary: Sasuke has always hid his innermost feelings for as long as he can remember. But at age sixteen, he can't afford to hide those feelings anymore. But what if the one he loves hates him for past misunderstandings? SasuxSaku

Chapter One: What Happened Then

--Three Years Ago--

"Sakura-chan! Oh, Sakura-chan! Over here!" A blonde-haired Uzamaki Naruto yelled, smiling like crazy, "Sakura-chan, over here!"

Panting, one Haruno Sakura rushed to her classmate's side. Naruto's smile widened as Sakura stopped in front of him. She instinctively blew away a strand of pink hair from her face and smiled back at him. "Hey, Naruto. Sorry I was late…I just sort of lost track of time," Sakura said, she turned towards the raven-haired boy next to Naruto and beamed at him. "Hello Sasuke-kun!"

Uchiha Sasuke looked briefly towards Sakura and gave her a small smile in return causing the female shinobi to blush. Behind Sakura a pouting Naruto stared in anger as Sakura looked on at Sasuke with bliss. Naruto sighed as the three teenagers walked on, Sakura between the two boys.

At this point, Naurto, being one of naïve charm, did not understand what was happening between the once emotionless shinobi he despised and the studious, cunning blossom that stole his heart. He did not yet know for the past couple of weeks, Sakura and Sasuke were able to open up to each other and see each other in a different light. To believe it started with three little words…

--Four Weeks Earlier--

"Leave me alone."

Sakura gasped as she heard the words come so coldly from Sasuke's mouth. She quietly but quickly stepped away from him. "But…Sasuke-kun…"

"Don't 'But Sasuke-kun' me! I said leave me alone."

Sakura trembled at the seriousness of his tone as tears silently streamed down her cheeks. Her eyes drifted from his eyes to his right arm, which by this time, was bleeding really bad. "Sasuke-kun…your….your arm…" she whispered. "We have to do something…or…it'll get….worse…" She started towards Sasuke but drew back as he glared at her with piercing eyes.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone. I can handle this myself." He said as he placed his left hand over the deep wound. 'Dammit,' he thought, 'I wouldn't have gotten this wound if it weren't for her. I would have been fine if she hadn't come along.'

Earlier that day, Sasuke went out to train by himself. Sakura went and followed him to the forest, hoping to either watch him…or hopefully be noticed by him. Luckily for her, she was noticed by him but unluckily for her, he lost his concentration and the kunai knife slipped from his hand and left a deep wound on his arm.

Breaking the silence, Sakura sighed and whispered to him, "Sasuke-kun…I'm so sorry…I'm so…so…sorry…just please…let me bandage that wound before it gets worse…please, Sasuke-kun, please." She looked up at him with pleading eyes, tears threatening to flow down her cheeks once more.

Sasuke, already annoyed with her presence, nodded and allowed the young girl to come closer and bandage his injury. She managed a quick smile and rushed to his side, preparing to clean his wound.

As Sakura was bandaging her wound, her mood a little better than it was before, she worked carefully and quickly, avoiding Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke, feeling less annoyed than before, stared at the dexterity of Sakura's movements, and yet amazed at how gentle she worked. He couldn't remove his gaze from the pink-haired shinobi.

"Why did you follow me?"

Sakura jumped at the sudden break in the quietness and blushed. "Well," she started, "I was just hoping…that maybe…you would…well…see me watching you. I thought maybe if you did notice me, you would…well…I don't know…take a break and spend time with me…or something like that." She finished up his arm and patted him lightly on the back. "Well, all done. I hope you could…you know…forgive me?"

"Whatever." He stood up and turned his back towards Sakura. And with much difficulty, he added, "Why do you…want to spend time with me, of all people?"

Sakura chuckled. Her inner-self yelled, of course not heard, 'OH MY GOD! What kind of boy -or man- would be that dense! He gives a whole new meaning to the word dense!'

"What's so funny, I'm just asking." Sasuke said, his face slightly flushed.

"Sorry…but you are the person I want to spend time with." Sakura smiled at the slight confusion written all over his face. "I want to be with you…Sasuke-kun…I…I love you…I really do…" Sakura looked away and tried to hide her blushing face. "I mean…um…uh….Sasuke-kun….um…I…"

Sasuke blinked a couple times, finally understanding what Sakura was trying to say. Without him knowing it, Sakura has turned into someone he wanted always by his side, someone who would watch over him and in turn he would watch over. He smiled at this thought and said, "I think we should head back to the village. Knowing Naruto, he might be a little worried about you."

Sakura, still flushed about her sudden confession, agreed, and they both slowly walked back towards the village. On their walk back, inner Sakura was sighing and freaking out at the same time. Oh man, oh man, oh man…what did you just do? I mean sure it was cool that you finally confessed but still! Did you have to sound like a dork afterwards? Sakura winced at her inner-self's last comment and looked at her comrade beside her. 'Funny,' she thought, 'I was pretty sure that he was farther away from me…'

Sasuke tried to inch closer and closer towards Sakura, but close enough so she won't find it suspicious. He held his breath every time he sneaked a quick look at her.

"Um…Sasuke-kun…I was wondering if…well…if…we could…you know, go out on a-" Sakura was cut short by the sudden warmth of rough fingers wrap around her own. She looked down at her hand and blushed as she looked up to see Sasuke looking back at her. "Sasuke-kun…"

--Four Weeks Now--

Naruto, still pouting about the lack of attention he was receiving from his dear Sakura-chan, walked faster than the two, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to walk towards their destination together. Just ahead, Hyuga Hinata, Hyuga Neji, and Yamanaka Ino stood by the village gates, awaiting the arrival of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

To Be Continued…

Author's note: Um…well…here it is! This is my first fanfic and I'm kinda happy I got to finish the first chapter…just as a side-note…I have no idea how long this story will be…if good ideas keep coming then I'll keep typing away. If you're wondering when the story will be actually occurring in the present it might happen in either the next chapter or the chapter after that. Well…please don't forget to review…comments…suggestions…flames…anything's welcome! As long as it keeps me going I'm fine! I'm kinda new to this so please…nothing too mean that might make me want to stop…

Preview of Ch.2: The Misunderstanding

Ino smiled seductively and crept closer towards Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun," she said smoothly, "you know you want me…" She placed her arms around Sasuke's neck and pulled him closer to her body. Sasuke, already uncomfortable with Ino's presence and her nagging about Sakura, tried to worm his way around her embrace. Unfortunately for him, she wouldn't let go. As Ino inched closer to try and steal a kiss as she planned, a shinobi on the brink of tears watched helplessly.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered, tears steadily flowing down her cheeks.