[A/N] This is dedicated to a very special girl named Tara. Why? The answer is six-fold: For being an absolutely fantastic buddy I can discuss all my romantic troubles with; for being an awesome supporter in the fanfic world with her cheerful feedback; for her inspiring art that I can't help but guffaw at and sometimes drool over like the pervert I am (DarkestWish at DA guys); for every creative idea she gives me, which amounts to quite a lot; for loving sexy vampires maybe even more than I do; and just for being an all-around amazing person. Love you, dearie!

Shelter from the Rain
a vampire fic

1} secret

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it's like ecstasy when his lips brush against my skin

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His lips were warm against her hand. She felt like she was burning up—was it with love? Lust? She couldn't think clearly, only experience the strange sensations his lips were causing her to feel. Her heart was thudding hard in her chest; breathing was almost too difficult to handle and it was impossible to look away from his captivating dark gaze.

Nothing was making sense anymore.

"Sakura… calm down," he murmured. He kissed her forehead, the tip of her ears, the end of her jaw.

Calm down? That was impossible. How could she calm down when he was the one exciting her with his teasing kisses? If he really wanted her to relax, he would stop purposefully stimulating her body.

He knew it, too; she could tell by his vaguely smug expression when he pulled his lips from her cheek and looked at her. He loved this. For him, it was a game to play—and he always, always won.

"Don't fall in love with me, now," he said teasingly, taking her face into his cool hands.

"Shut up," she muttered, as he leaned in and tipped his head towards hers.

Their lips met softly at first, then increasingly more passionately. His kiss was, as usual, overly demanding, but like every other time, she could never refuse him. She would never admit it, but she liked it as much as he did. Maybe even more.

She responded to the feel of his tongue against her lips and her mouth opened a little wider, her lips parting to welcome his growing greed. Her arms reached up and wrapped around him, urging him to come closer. Her back pressed into the soft bed as he gently pushed her down. Their bodies pressed together in inconceivably close proximity, and with this closeness, she could faintly detect the scent of his cologne—she decided she liked the smell.

But she liked his hot kiss even more.

The two broke apart, out of breath. She realized her hand had crept into his hair unconsciously, and she quickly pulled her arms away from around him back to her sides. He smirked at her knowingly. He could tell exactly what she was thinking.

Then he spoke. "May I?" he asked, his fingers on her blouse.

She sighed a little, still panting as she lied on the bed. "Yeah."

He unbuttoned her shirt slowly. One, two, three buttons—he hesitated at the fourth. Then he pulled her collar away and pressed his lips against her throat. She could feel his hot breath against her bare skin. Could he possibly be nervous, like she was? For a second, she could feel nothing but his heat against her neck.

Then, suddenly, pain: his sharp teeth sunk into her throat.

She couldn't stop a small moan from escaping her mouth: "Aah…" It hurt, but… was it strange how she enjoyed it? Because it hurt, she knew it was reality, and because it was him, she was all too willing to allow his fangs to pierce her. His bloody kiss was reserved only for her.

Maybe she was being too confident, though—after all, they had only gotten into this kind of situation by pure chance...

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or is the right word "fate"?

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It was really not easy being the high school outcast.

It was also really not easy getting bullied for it, although to be truthful, this was something she had brought upon herself.

Haruno Sakura couldn't stop herself from sighing as she pulled out an impaled tack from the bottom of her heel. It stung a little. She rolled off her black knee-high sock and grabbed a bandaid from the inside of her skirt pocket. Balancing herself on her unhurt foot, she ripped off the white wrapping and carefully stuck the bandaid on top of the dot of blood before it could trickle down her heel.

Sakura pulled her sock back on and hopped over to the nearest trashcan. Tacks, huh? That was unnecessarily cruel. What kind of sane person would want to stab the bottom of someone's foot with tacks? She turned her shoe over and shook it hard over the trashcan to ensure complete emptiness. Getting poked with sharp objects wasn't fun at all.

"Tacks, huh?" asked an inquisitive deep voice.

Sakura looked behind her to see the all too well known face of the school's number one idol, Uchiha Sasuke, who most girls fondly called 'Sasuke-kun.' His dark hair was sticking up messily in the back, as it always did, and his inky eyes looked vaguely sleepy. He was standing there with his hands in his pockets, one foot in front of the other, pausing for just a second to watch her.

Oh, what a wonderful day today was. The hottest boy in school—her crush, of a sort, because every girl that attended this damn school had a crush on him—had just caught the school's biggest freak dumping tacks out of her shoe. Just great.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san," Sakura greeted him stiffly before slipping her harmless safe indoor shoe onto her foot.

"Morning," he replied carelessly, turning away. He was obviously not really concerned about her. Well, she was a no-name here, anyway. Even his reputation as a unprejudiced playboy didn't earn her any notice. The school idol continued on to where a group of his friends were waiting for him a few feet away. Sakura watched him go with envy. Must be nice having so many friends. She walked back over to the shoe lockers, and closed the little door to hers after pulling out the little piece of pink notepaper scrawled over with audaciously girly writing.

Why don't you just die, Haruno?the black ink read.

If she could, maybe she would. Sakura crumpled the paper in her fist before walking over to the trash can and flicking it in. This trashcan was visited at least twice a day. Sakura wondered if the day would ever come when she wouldn't have to empty her shoes or throw away threatening notes. But she knew that wish was utterly hopeless, because even though it was her fault, she did nothing to change it. With a sigh, she turned and headed to her homeroom.

The day passed by in its usual routine; homeroom, class, lunch, class. School was pretty boring; honestly, if it weren't for her mother's begging, she wouldn't have bothered attending high school, and would instead be working now.

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for better or worse

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"Please at least finish high school, Sakura," her mother had said, grabbing Sakura's hands as she sat on the hospital cot. "I want you to achieve your dreams no matter what, because I couldn't. Don't worry about the money, okay? Kaa-san will do her best for you when I get discharged, so…"

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liar

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Idiot Okaa-san, Sakura mentally snarled. She'd agreed to finishing high school, though, but she'd also taken up a part-time job after school. As a waitress, the pay was relatively good, and the manager was very kind to her. He often kindly gave her leftovers to eat, for which Sakura was eternally grateful. It was a bit sad that the manager pitied her so much, but she couldn't deny that it was a support to her otherwise unstable life.

Maybe her problem was that she was too pitiful. Sakura sighed and gazed out the window. Maybe that was why so many people disliked her at school, even when she never spoke to them. She was perpetually quiet and she probably had a depressing aura… Sakura's green eyes involuntarily flickered towards the dark-haired boy sitting in the desk beside her, his head resting over his arms on the desk, soundly asleep. Uchiha Sasuke probably thought so, too, huh? Especially after seeing her this morning—he must think she was a total loser.

Sakura turned back to the notebook sitting in front of her. Well, it didn't matter if he thought so. It wouldn't change anything, anyway.

If she wanted to make her school life better, she should just do it on her own—unfortunately, she had no will or energy to do that. She couldn't be hyperactive like forever cheerful Uzumaki Naruto, or flirtacious and bright like Yamanaka Ino. She couldn't even be cute and awkward like Hyuuga Hinata.

Sakura just didn't really know how to be happy.

She sighed again and just continued scratching neat, precise notes with her blue ballpoint pen as she listened to the sensei's lecture.

Today was just another ordinary day.

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but it became something extraordinary

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It was a little after lunch period started that she nearly toppled over. She caught herself on the wall, and for a moment tried to regain her balance. A few people snickered as they saw her grasping the corner of the wall with trembling fingers.

"What a freak."

Sakura grit her teeth and slowly made her way to the infirmary.

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and the pieces fell in place

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"You have a bit of a fever, Haruno-san."

"Is it bad…?" Sakura asked. She felt hot and sweaty and wanted to tear off her uniform right then.

"It's just from lack of sleep. You'll probably feel back to normal by tomorrow with some rest," the nurse said with a sympathetic smile. "You can go home today. Shall I call your parents?"

"Eh? No, I… Can I just sleep here?" Sakura asked. "I'll go home later…so…"

The nurse looked skeptical but didn't question her. "Alright. You can use the cot over there," she answered and gestured to the white bed closest to the far window. Sakura gratefully pulled herself onto it and rested her tired mind onto the soft pillow. It smelled pleasantly clean.

And she was asleep in an instant.

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"expect the unexpected"

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"Hmm? What's happened this time?"

Sakura's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the nurse's happy voice. She heard the infirmary door slide shut as a boy replied, "I got a paper cut."

"Sasuke-kun, you really need to be more careful," the nurse scolded him, tearing open a bandaid. Sakura closed her eyes and turned over on the cot, trying to go back to sleep. "You mean somebody taped a metal paper cutter in your textbook, right? This cut is too deep to be just a paper cut. Don't try and fool an experienced nurse."

Sasuke didn't answer.

"There are problems with being too popular, I suppose," the nurse said with a sigh. "People get jealous."

There was a small pause. "I don't really know," Sasuke said.

"Hmmm." She obviously didn't believe his lie.

The school bell rang then, signaling the end of the school day. The three in the infirmary were quiet for a little while. Ding, ding, dong.

"Haruno-san, are you awake now?" the nurse called suddenly.

Sakura froze. Why? Why, why, why call out now when she was lying sweaty in a cot and the hottest boy at school was standing right there? "Yes…" she answered reluctantly.

"I heard you moving, so I knew you were awake. You should head home now." The nurse walked over and pulled open the curtains to the bed. Sakura sat up and looked at her dazedly, then glanced at the boy who stood a little away.

He was looking at her with a blank expression and for a brief moment their eyes met before Sakura quickly looked away. She slumped her shoulders and rubbed her eyes. "Okay. Thank you for letting me sleep here…" she murmured.

"How are you going to get home?" the nurse asked. "You shouldn't walk with your fever."

"It'll be okay… I walked here this morning just fine."

"No, no, that's no good. Let's call a parent to pick you up."

Sakura blushed a little. "No, see, I live by myself, so…"

"Well, do you have money for a taxi, then?"

"Um… I think... No, I actually forgot to bring my wallet today... ah, I didn't eat lunch today." Mostly she was mumbling to herself. Her mind felt fuzzy and lost—she felt so incredibly tired now.

The nurse looked exasperated with her. "You need to care better care of yourself, Haruno-san," she said as she helped Sakura get off the cot. Sakura's feet touched the tiled floor uncertainly.

"I'll bring her home."

Both the nurse and Sakura turned and stared at the speaker with surprise blatant in their eyes.

Sasuke meanwhile looked unmoved. "Since we live next door to each other anyway," he added.

The nurse's eyebrows seemed to touch her hairline. "Oh?" she asked, grinning widely and looking at the two mischievously. She was a woman who loved to play matchmaker.

But Sakura was not so willing. "No, it's fine, it's okay. I'll be fine on my… own… ugh…" The nurse caught her before she almost fell as a rush of fatigue swept over her.

"Well, please take her home safely then, Sasuke-kun," the nurse said with a coy smile.

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from there, our stories began to synthesize

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The route to the school gates was a highly embarrassing and nerve-wracking one. Sasuke had initially offered to piggyback her (under the nurse's recommendation) but Sakura had brusquely refused; in the end, they settled on her slinging one arm around his shoulders and he supported her with his arm around her waist, and in this fashion they carefully made their way through the school and on the road home.

The envious eyes of the girls they passed by made Sakura wish she could run away and hide in a dark corner and never return, but it was useless now; it really was too difficult to move by herself and it would have been an even worse situation to see her walking normally beside Sasuke, as if they were a couple walking home together—yes, at least she was obviously a person in need of help.

But it didn't help the fact she was touching him, and surely the girls would attack her for it.

"Why did you offer to... bring me home?" Sakura asked in a whisper.

"Isn't it normal to help someone who needs help?" he replied, not lowering his voice at all.

Sakrua wanted to bash her head against the wall. "Your rabid fangirls will murder me…"

"I'll protect you."

"…Eh." Did he think he was a knightly white prince or something? Still, Sakura couldn't deny she felt a little happy at his words. But what was with this? She was actually holding a conversation with the school idol of all people. Even though he lived next door to her own apartment, she had never really spoken to him before, even when they attended the same school. Only now, though, had that situation caused the two to hold a proper conversation with each other.

"You can put more weight on me," Sasuke said, and gripped Sakura's waist tighter. "You don't need to be so self conscious about it."

She flinched at his touch. "No, it's fine… I don't want to trouble you anymore."

He didn't reply, just pulled her arm around his neck tighter.

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his fingers were warm

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Once they'd gotten out of the taxi and gotten up the stairs, she let go of Sasuke as soon as she could. "Thank you for helping me, Uchiha-san. I'll be fine from here on, so…" she said as she fished out her key from her school bag and slid it into the doorknob to her apartment.

Sasuke cocked his head just a tiny bit, conveying his disbelief. But he didn't argue, thankfully. "Whatever you say."

She opened the door. "And… thank you for helping me," she said quickly. Then she slipped inside, successfully escaping.

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thank you

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Sakura woke up sweaty and disoriented. It was nighttime now; the light streaming in between her open blinds was the harsh glow of streetlights. She sat up slowly as she remembered what had happened today.

Right, she'd fallen asleep right after she'd gotten home…

"Ah." She suddenly remembered she needed to pay Uchiha Sasuke back for the taxi. She rose out of bed and walked over to her desk. She opened the top drawer and pulled out an envelope. She looked at it with tired eyes, and reread the short message scrawled over it.

This should be enough for the month.

Remember, do not contact me under any circumstances.

The writing was messy and obviously rushed. Sakura sighed and opened the envelope. "Thank you, Otou-san," she murmured sarcastically as she took out 1000 yen's worth. She put the envelope back in the drawer before turning and heading to the front door.

She slipped on her shoes and walked the short distance to her neighbor's front door. She lifted her hand to the door and knocked hesitantly knocked once. She waited a second, but she didn't hear anything; she knocked again. Nothing. Maybe he'd gone out for dinner? Her eyes drifted down to the doorknob. She reached for it slowly, expecting it to be locked.

It turned in her hand and the door creaked open. Sakura bit her lip and, unable to help herself, peeked inside with wary green eyes.

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after all, curiosity is a powerful thing

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The apartments had the same general set up; the front door opened to a small living space, which connected to a kitchen and bathroom on the left.

In the corner of Uchiha Sasuke's apartment, where Sakura kept an armchair in hers, was a navy sofa. There sat Sasuke, his navy shirt thrown on the floor beside the sofa, and a red-headed girl lay sprawled across his lap. Sakura recognized her—she was Karin, a classmate. She was still in the Konoha high school uniform, her shirt completely unbuttoned, revealing her lacy black bra and voluminous chest. Sasuke's lips were on her throat, his fingers slipping slightly into the bottom edge of the girl's bra. Her eyes were closed, her expression delighted.

Time seemed to stop for an inmeasureable moment. Sakura stared at the indecent scene with pure shock, suddenly reminded of Sasuke's status as the Ultimate Playboy of Konoha. Then Sasuke's dark eyes lifted and met hers.

Sakura immediately flushed red. "I'm so sorry!" she said with a small shriek, and whirled around and hurried to the door.

When her hand closed on the doorknob, she paused. It was impossible, but…

She turned back around. Sasuke's eyes were still on her, inky and emotionless. "Are you… a vampire?" she whispered, the 1000 yen crushed in her fist as she gazed at the pair with wide green eyes. Karin wasn't moving at all. Sasuke lifted his mouth from the girl's neck. He licked the lips that were covered in the tell-tale crimson slowly, almost teasingly.

"I guess you found out my secret," he said, his voice very soft and husky—a gentle tone every other girl that attended Konoha would have loved to hear.

Sakura found it absolutely terrifying.