Blarghh. So I honestly tried to write this down, seeing as it hasn't been updated in quite a long while, and it's still in it's earlier stages.

Short, but I just had to get their encounter done with. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it. :)

. . .

Shōjiki ni Aishimasu
I honestly love you

. . .

BETTER OFF

"I'm honestly going to kill that pig," grumbling to herself, Sakura violently plugged her cellphone's charger into the nearest socket outlet.

Her encounter with a certain dark haired male a few moments ago only left her with an astonished, yet completely confused feeling inside.

Uchiha Sasuke.

When she thought of him, bittersweet moments between the two in the past plagued her thoughts. And no matter how hard she tried to shake it off and forget about things, the ugly truth still remained. After they had broken things off between them, it took her quite a while - a long while to fully get over him.

"Pick up, pick up." Sakura muttered to herself as her fingers drummed on her nightstand.

A few more rings could be heard on the other line before a groggy voice replaced the constant ringing.

A yawn. "Hello?"

"Ino!" a pause, "Were you... sleeping?"

At this, Sakura glanced at the alarm clock in front of her. It was half past midnight already, and out of her haste to call the blonde, she had completely forgot about the time.

"Gee, Sakura. Whatever would give you that idea? The fact that it's probably about 12:30 in the morning?"

"Sarcasm noted. Think of this as payback for what happened to me today,"

Silence met the end of the line. Sakura could almost imagine a smirk crawling it's way up her blonde friend's lips.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Uchiha, now would it?"

"Well, I guess it wouldn't have been if someone had told me about it in the first place!" Sakura ground out.

"I was supposed to! It's your phone that died on me!" Ino defended. It was true, though. And even before that, Ino was looking forward to breaking the news to her female companions over lunch, or quite possibly even after it, during their shift in the hospital, over breaktime. But nooooo. It just so happened that this day, out of all days her assistance was needed. People sure picked the wrong time to check-in all at once.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," rubbing her temples, Sakura continued, "I met him today, Ino. We're neighbors, dammit! He and I... we live in the same building. Same floor, even!"

"Is that... fate, I hear knocking on your window?"

An aggravated sigh. "I sure as hell hope not, pig. Otherwise my fist will be the only thing doing the knocking around here. And I sure as hell can I assure you that your pretty, little face might not make it out alive in the end," Sakura stated.

"Ohhh, someone's in a sour mood,"

"Don't get me started, Ino. You know what happened. Everyone does. Besides, who's to say he's not dating anyone at the moment or anything. Plus, I am not ready to dive into a relationship with him ever again, and I think neither does he. So please, drop the whole fate act."

"Sakura," another pause. Sakura held her breath for what was to come. By the tone of her voice, Sakura could guess that her friend was serious now, and that the next thing she said would probably leave Sakura tossing and turning in her bed in thought tonight.

"Didn't you ever think that this might be the world's way of giving you guys a second chance? Cause maybe you guys weren't ready for the first?"

"Or, this might be one of those 'Don't make the same mistake twice', type of thing."

Sakura heard a sigh on the other end of the line. Probably out of resignation, or maybe it was just because her friend was tired. Ino was a persistant girl, after all.

"Whatever you say, Sakura. I'm just telling you to reach out when you're given second chances. It doesn't happen quite often, you know?"

"I know," Sakura replied quietly.

"Well, I'll see you at work in the morning then. Oyasuminasai."

"Goodnight, Ino."

Just as Sakura was about to pull her phone from her ears, and press the End button, Ino spoke once again, "And Sakura, I expect those juicy details of what happened between you and Sasuke in the morning, hm? I love you, goodnight, forehead!"

Click.

"Damn," Just when I thought I had escaped the pain of retelling my awkward experience with Sasuke.

.

.

.

"YOU MET SAKURA-CHAN LAST NIGHT?" Naruto shouted as he pointed a finger at the brooding man in front of him.

"Hn."

"What the heck should I interpret that as, teme?"

"Probably that you should stop yelling out to the world that Uchiha Sasuke met his ex-girlfriend. Not a lot of people want to know about his awkward experiences, you know? Well, except for his still-ever-annoying fangirls, that is." Shikamaru stated lazily before eating his beef ramen.

Hearing this, Naruto whipped his head behind him, and observed the other people eating around him as well. Just as Shikamaru had stated earlier, a few heads abruptly turned away as they noticed Naruto's cerulean orbs scanning the area suspiciously. Said heads all belonged to females, and if he'd squint hard enough, he might just spot the dust of blushes on the girls' faces.

"Geez, teme. You'd think that they'd get tired of you. Seriously, what person in their right mind would want to go after a jerk?" Naruto mused aloud, completely oblivious to the dark, onyx orbs that glared at him.

"Shut it, dobe. It's not like I wanted this, either." Sasuke stated, sending a few glares to some courageous fangirls that dared to walk up to them.

"Alright, alright. No need to get Sakura's panties tied in a knot,"

Glare.

"What? Knowing you, your encounter last night would have probably ended in the bed." his best friend's glare only intensified at this statement. If looks could kill... well yeah, you know how that line goes.

"Break it up, you guys. Let's not go into uncharted waters here." Sensing the abrupt change of atmosphere in the air, and being the lazy genius he was, Shikamaru immediately broke the start of a situation that would have ended really badly if not avoided.

A screech of a single chair brought their attention to the already standing Uchiha, as they stared at his retreating back.

Sighing, as his shoulders visibly dropped once the comfort room doors which Sasuke had entered earlier closed behind him, Naruto's gaze dropped to the table as he stirred the noodles in his bowl. "I'm only worried for him, you know."

Silence engulfed the table as a figure stirred in his seat. He had been quiet all this time. Had chosen to be wise enough to stay silent and not interject, nor contribute to the situation at hand. "Uzumaki," pale eyes gazed seriously at wide, cerulean orbs.

"If the Uchiha had things he needed to fix with Haruno, then it would be best of you, as his best friend, not to butt in, or make unnecessary remarks. You of all people should know that he is capable of handling things on his own." Neji stated.

And it was true. Things were indeed a mess between Sasuke and Sakura, and it would need serious fixing. But who's to say the two parties involved didn't prefer things as they were? Who's to say that maybe things were better off as they are now than to be tampered with.

But then again, who's to say that things might be better than expected if they did sort things out?

Who knows...

Only the actions done, and the words said will be able to change things from the way they are now.

To be continued...

Pretty short, I must say.

Like I said, just had to get this over with, so that I can proceed to the present because I can assure you guys that it has many, many, many, many, many, many surprises left in store.

So hopefully I didn't bore you guys outta your minds. First update in a loooong time. Forgive me if I'm rusty. :(

Do review!