Author's Note: Okay guys, this is my second fic in six years. My previous fic, From Light To Darkness, was written just to see how rusty I am. Almost everybody hated my ending, but I sacrificed it to write a better story. I hope you guys like this one better. It's AU. Freebird22259

Disclaimer: The voices in my head don't like you, so they told me to do it! (I own nothing!)

Details: Main Characters: Sakura: 16 years old, Gaara: 17 years old, Sasuke: 17 years old. Takes place at Konoha High.

Ch. 1: Unseen Scars

BEEP!

BEEP!

BE…

Sakura turned over and hit her alarm cloak, effectively breaking it.

'Damn alarm clock!'

Sakura grudgingly sat up and stretched, cracking several joints in the process. She hopped out of bed and began to brush her teeth, comb her hair, and get dressed. She grabbed the first thing out of her closet, which happened to be a pair of black baggy pants, a blood red tank top, a long sleeve fishnet shirt, and a black pair of Converse. She quickly dressed and looked herself over in the mirror. Long red hair with black streaks touched the middle of her back (yes, she doesn't have pink hair in my fic, she dyed it. And she's punk-goth.), blood red lipstick and black eye shadow and eyeliner complimented her creamy white skin, and the small bat tattoo on her arm was visible. Sakura sat back down on the bed. She looked at the scars on her wrist and sighed.

I will tell you if you are willing to listen,
though the words are hard to find,
I will let you see the honest truth,
spoken from a cutter's mind.

The razor blade became my very best friend
in my young teenage years,
I released the pain that hid inside
through a different type of tears.

The shining, sharp edges of my only friend,
so soon to hit a vein,
crimson rivers forming patterns,
- the bittersweet sort of pain.

Sakura looked at the clock and realized that it was 7:15. She grabbed her bag and ran down the steps and out the door.

'Great, I'm starting a new school, I'm a freak, I have no idea what their dress code is, and my parents just died. Could it get any worse?'

Sakura wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and bumped into someone. She fell backwards and hit her ass pretty hard.

"Fuck! Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Sakura looked up and examined the person she hit. The girl had long, dark purple hair, pearl colored eyes, was wearing red, baggy skater shorts, a fitted, black shirt that had Happy Bunny on it and said "Eat Me", and black Vans.

"It's okay. Are you new? I haven't seen you around before." (Yes, Hinata talks normal. I hate when a girl acts all shy around a guy. GAH! It's pathetic!)

"Yeah. I'm Sakura by the way."

"Nice to meet ya. Name's Hinata."

They shook each other's hand and Hinata helped Sakura up off the pavement. While Hinata was helping her up, she noticed the scars that lined Sakura's arm, much like her own.

"Cutter? Don't worry I am too."

"Yeah, I try not to though. I always seem to fail at stopping myself."

"Where you headed to school?"

"Yeah, Konoha High. You go there?"

"Yeah so does my cousin, Neji. You'll know who he is by the eyes."

The girl walked along in silence and Sakura thought about her scars again.

My soul so slowly disappeared,
I could feel that it was gone,
but I never really had the time to care,
for I had my blade to rely on.

I always made sure to fake my smile,
I never gave them a reason to worry,
but each and every crimson scar
hid a secret story.

Every day, the same routine,
I put on my fake disguise,
and the razor blade helped me remove the pain
they could not read from my eyes.

"You okay Sakura?"

"Yeah fine. So, what's the school like?"

"Well, we have major clique issues. There are the jocks, whose leader is Sasuke, he's a total jerk, the preps, whose leader is Ino, she's also Sasuke's biggest fangirl, the lazy bums, Shikamaru's the leader, and the freaks/punks/goths, Gaara's our leader. I'd say that you would fit in with our group. All the other groups hate us, but we don't much give a damn."

"Sound like me. Cool, I'm in. So when will I get to meet everybody?"

"We always skip homeroom and hangout on the roof, so you'll get to meet everyone then. That is, if you skip homeroom."

"I would have skipped that shit even if you hadn't asked me too."

"I think you'll fit in nicely. Where here."

Sakura looked around at the courtyard. People were running around in bright clothes. She hated bright clothes, they made her eyes hurt. Many people were looking at her, and already saw the scars.

"Look at that freak with the scars…"

"She's trying to hide them…"

"They're so visible."

Sakura's thoughts once again turned to the scars as she started to follow Hinata.

Everything was dead in this uncaring world,
yet they didn't see how it hurt,
I couldn't express the pain I felt,
just choked on every word.

Therefore I relied on my dearest friend,
the one who pain releases,
my life was like a blackened puzzle
full of missing pieces.

But there was one piece that was missing
from the very painful start,
and I believe that missing piece
was the one that belonged to my heart.

"I guess the saw you're scars then."

"Guess so. I really don't care though. If they want to stare, be my guest."

Sakura could feel holes being burned into her flesh by the eyes that scrutinized her.

'Fuck them, I'm not in the mood.' 'Neither am I' 'FUCK! I thought I got rid of you years ago!' 'No, but if you're going to be that way, then I'm leaving!' 'GOOD!'

"Sakura?"

"Hm? What? Sorry, wasn't paying attention."

"I said, we'll go get our schedules, and then head up to the roof."

"K."

Hinata pulled her towards the building and into the hall. As soon as they were in sight, Sasuke practically jumped on them.

"Whose the new freak?"

"Sakura. You must be that prick, Sasuke. You can go crawl back into your hole now."

Sakura shoved past him. He was too stunned to say anything.

"Sakura, you are the first person to stand up to Sasuke."

"Why?"

"Everybody around here tries to avoid the conflict as much as possible."

"Okay. Conflict?"

"Yeah, you just made a lot of enemies."

"Oh well, I would have anyway."

They walked into the office and got their schedules:

Hinata Hyuuga

Homeroom: Kakashi

1st Period: Kakashi: 11th grade Honors English

2nd Period: Orochimaru: Chemistry

Lunch

3rd Period: Iruka: Gym (Pick Up Uniform In Office)

4th Period: Kurenai: Honors Trigonometry

Sakura Haruno

Homeroom: Kakashi

1st Period: Kakashi: 11th grade Honors English

2nd Period: Orochimaru: Chemistry

Lunch

3rd Period: Iruka: Gym (Pick Up Uniform In Office)

4th Period: Kurenai: Honors Trigonometry

"We have the same classes. Let's get our uniforms. Each clique has a special uniform color. Ours is black. The only thing we couldn't change was the fact that the girls uniform consists of short-shorts and a tank top."

"It's all good. Just as long as no hentai stare at my ass, then I'm good."

After they picked up the uniforms, the headed to the roof.

"How long can we stay up there?"

"Till halfway through 1st Period. Kakashi-sensei is always late."

As Sakura thought about her gym uniform, she question how she would hide the scars.

They say they understand how I feel,
but the truth is, they never do,
you will never understand self harm
unless you have gone through it too.

I have been judged because I cut,
and each time it just gets tougher,
but before your prejudices start to unfold,
remember - I didn't choose to suffer.

It was not my choice to live like this,
have it run through every vein,
I did not choose to die inside,
to live my life in pain.

­­­­­­­­­­­­

When they finally reached the roof, everybody was already up there. Sakura looked around at everyone, who was silently staring at her, scrutinizing her every detail, until all eyes rested on her arms.

"You're a cutter too?"

"Yes, Neji, she's a cutter too. I wouldn't have brought her up here if I didn't think she was cool enough."

"Fair enough."

Throughout the exchange, Sakura could feel everyone looks at her arms.

You may see someone shining, smiling,
but remember that depression deceives,
for that person may be hiding the darkest secrets
underneath those sleeves.

"So, what's your name?"

Author's Note: Okay, I put my own poem in this story. If you have read it before, it was probably posted on my account on I thought that I would leave it at a cliffy to keep you interested. Please R&R. Thanx. Freebird22259 a.k.a. Audrey Rose