It had been a good summer. I finally found myself feeling like everything was going back to normal. I had Sasuke and Ino back, plus new friends like Hinata and Tenten. Plus, it was the first time in a year that I wasn't reliving something, so I actually felt normal for once, not knowing what was going to happen just as much as anyone else.

I spent the summer "relaxing" and hanging out with my friends.

At first, I had thought that it would be harder for Sasuke and I to go back to how things were before - and more. He had been the only one that remembered everything, like I did, so I had thought that it might have been confusing for him.

Thankfully, it only made things better.

"So," I had said one day when we were hanging out at my house. My parents were gone, so it was just the two of us. "Is it weird, remembering two senior years?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Not as weird as you might think. It's not like I was aware of it while it was happening the second time." We were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. My legs, cast and all, were propped up on his lap. Every once in awhile, he would pull me up towards him and kiss me. I could get used to that.

"It's still kind of weird for me," I admitted. "Especially because everything's so normal now. There's no deadlines... nothing." I had gotten so used to the stress of how I lived before that it was strange not having anything to worry about.

"That's a good thing," Sasuke replied. "Now we have enough time." I knew he still felt guilty about everything that had happened. It took a few months before I could finally convince him that none of what happened was his fault.

"You're right," I sighed. "We have enough time for anything." It would take me the same amount of time to figure out that I didn't have anything else to worry about. Well, besides normal things.

"What do you want to do now?" Sasuke asked, indicating the credits that were now scrolling down the screen.

I shrugged. "We're not meeting everyone until three o' clock... What do you want to do?" It had been a given that we spent all the time we could together. It was sort of the result of what had happened.

"I have a few ideas." Easily, Sasuke pulled me up into his lap.

"Like what?" Even though we had been together practically every day since graduation, I still felt short of breath when I was close to Sasuke.

He answered by kissing me.

We stayed like that for awhile. I would never get used to being so close to him, now that everything was back to normal. It was nice to know that he felt the same way.

Later that same day, we met up with our friends at the park nearby, just to hang out. Ino, in an attempt to make the most of the time we had left before we all went to college, had insisted that we get together as much as possible. That wasn't hard for me - the doctor had basically told me to get as much rest as possible before college, so all summer job opportunities were out. Plus, I still had to wear a cast on my leg for most of the summer. That being said, I was available practically all the time.

We had all been pretty good about getting together like that over the summer - I think none of us really wanted to say goodbye, even though we wouldn't admit it.

It was just a normal day at the local park - the same one, coincidentally, that Sasuke and I had met at occasionally. I sat with Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata at a spare table while we watched the rest of our friends run around with a football. They had put together some sort of impromptu football game that I didn't understand - Sasuke and Naruto against Neji and Tenten. I had to hand it to Tenten, she was pretty good against the others.

"Yeah!" I shouted. "Go Tenten!"

Tenten smiled and waved at me from the field. A few feet away, Sasuke, who was running with the ball, gave me a false wounded look. Easily, he threw the ball out of the reach of Neji and Tenten.

"Shouldn't you be supporting your boyfriend?" Ino teased.

"Hey!" I objected. "We need to stick together." Anyway, I had been cheering just as hard for Sasuke a few minutes before.

Shikamaru, who had been relieved to get out of playing football, smirked. "This is just like Friday nights, except less douchey."

"Come on, Shikamaru." Ino laughed. "Football can be fun!"

We watched our friends, who seemed to be making some sort of team plans. I could see Tenten talking animatedly with Neji, who had a smile on his face the entire time she spoke to him. Who would have known they would have made such a good match?

Oh yeah, me.

On the other side, Sasuke and Naruto were discussing something. Despite this being a casual game, Sasuke still looked serious.

"Do you think they're going to miss football when they goes to college?" Hinata asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Sasuke hasn't said anything to me about it." To tell the truth, I was sort of happy that my boyfriend hadn't expressed any interest in being on college teams. I just figured that he wanted to focus more on academics. "What about Naruto?"

"I think he's interested in playing for fun." She shrugged.

"Do you remember that time when we were sitting in the stands and you spilled your popcorn all over Shikamaru?" Ino interrupted. "Remember, when we used to hang out at the football games?"

Shikamaru gave her a puzzled look. "That's weird, I remember that... but didn't you stay on the field to take pictures?" That last part of the question was directed towards me.

"Er..." I trailed off. What was happening? "I might have sat up in the stands with you for a little bit. Once."

Hinata gave me the same confused expression that they all had. I just shrugged. Were they remembering stuff from senior year the first time around? Konan had said this might happen, but it wasn't like I could explain it to them.

"Maybe I'm just remembering wrong." Ino laughed.

We didn't have much time to say anything then, because Naruto charged right at us from where he was standing on the field. When he reached us, he grabbed Hinata and ran away.

"Try and catch me now!" Naruto yelled, somehow managing to hold Hinata and run at the same time.

I watched as Ino ran after our blond friend, somehow managing to catch up to him pretty quick. From my place beside Shikamaru, I could hear her yelling and laughing. I looked down at my cast in regret - I would have chased after him too if I was able.

"Sad you can't run after them?" Shikamaru eyed me.

I shrugged. "It's not like I'm upset or anything, but it would be nice to finally get out of this cast." Still, I reasoned, it was better than the alternative. I didn't say that last part out loud, of course.

The shouting continued - it appeared as though Tenten had joined Ino and they were both tackling Naruto to the ground.

"Having fun?" Sasuke was suddenly standing beside me, making me jump.

"How did you get there so fast?" I said, startled.

"You were too busy watching the fun to notice." Shikamaru smirked. "Actually, I should probably go over there. It looks like Naruto needs some help..." Muttering something under his breath that sounded like "troublesome", Shikamaru began walking towards the chaos.

Sasuke sat down next to me. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I smiled. "You know, having a broken leg doesn't mean I'm exhausted all the time." Okay, so that wasn't always true. It was way harder trying to maneuver around on crutches, I felt winded all the time.

Casually, he placed his arm around me, pulling me closer. I didn't object.

"This is nice," I said, finally. It was getting late - the sun was setting, causing everything around us to have a golden tint. "I'm going to miss everyone."

"You'll still be able to see them," Sasuke replied. "Just not as often."

"You're right," I answered. I was still watching our friends. Shikamaru had managed to free Naruto from Ino and Tenten, who were now chasing them around the park. A few yards away, it looked like Neji and Hinata were watching and having their own conversation.

"I'm glad you're here." Sasuke pulled me closer to him for a second, then let go. It wasn't hard to get the meaning behind his words.

"I'm glad you're here, too." I beamed up at him.

"Hey, lovers!" Ino teased from where she stood at the field. "Get a room!"

I rolled my eyes and looked back at Sasuke. He had practically been the center of my life for an entire year, and yet I still couldn't get enough of him. Even after everything happened, I would always be grateful for it, because it changed me too.

Gradually, everyone moved back to the table. We sat there for another hour, just talking about what we were going to do over the summer and plans for college. I found myself extremely content in the friends that I had made over the years - another reason why I was grateful, I guess. It was a perfect day.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke was at my house early that morning. It was the day that we were supposed to head off for college.

"Almost," I promised. "I have like two more things-"

"She's been saying that all morning." My mom interrupted with a smile. Even though she was proud of me for getting accepted into Harvard, she was still anxious to see me leave.

I hadn't told anyone, but I had applied for Harvard, the same school that Sasuke chose, when I had nothing else to lose. At the time, I wasn't sure why I did it - I had never thought about applying for Harvard, or that I would even get in for that matter. The first time around, I hadn't even bothered. Why would a school like that even accept me? I chose not to apply because I didn't want to get rejected. The second time around, it hadn't mattered as much.

I was even more surprised when I had been accepted.

When I got my acceptance letter, the only people that I had told were my parents - who had been sworn to secrecy.

"I don't know if I even want to go," I had told them. "It was... sort of an impulse that I even applied."

"Well..." My dad thought for a moment. "They're offering you some pretty great scholarships, Sakura. I would seriously consider it."

"I will," I agreed. Despite getting into a prestigious college, it hadn't been the first thing on my mind at the time.

After I realized that I would actually have the chance to start over, and be with Sasuke, I gave it more consideration. Taking the same advice I had given Hinata, I thought about whether or not I wanted to go to Harvard because it was a good fit for me or just because it was where Sasuke was heading. If I was honest with myself, it was a little bit of both.

Still, they had great programs for the degree I wanted - a biology major and art minor - so I made my decision. I was going to Harvard.

"Okay." I grabbed my suitcase and the rest of my bags. "I'm ready."

"Finally." Sasuke smiled. I would never get used to that.

"Oh please," I rolled my eyes. "You've only been here for about two minutes."

"Drive careful!" My mom said for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. "And let me know when you get there!" My parents had helped me load my suitcases into Sasuke's car (which we would be driving up to school). Thankfully, I had gotten out of my cast so I could actually be helpful.

"We'll see you soon," my dad promised. He gave me a hug. "Good luck, kiddo." Like my mom, he seemed a little more emotional than usual.

"I love you," I told them. "And yes, Mom, I'll text you every few hours." The drive to Harvard was about seven hours - long, but not too bad.

Once we were on the road, Sasuke took my hand. "Nervous?" He guessed.

"A little," I admitted. "This seems a little too good to be true."

"This wasn't Konan's doing." Sasuke reassured me. "This is about your hard work."

"Thanks." I smiled. I hadn't even told him about my doubts that getting into Harvard had been the result of Konan's magic, but somehow he already knew.

The drive up to campus was fun. We played music that we liked and talked about anything that we could think of. It was almost like we weren't about to start a new chapter of our lives - it really could have been any other day.

Once we got to campus, I gasped. Despite visiting once over the summer, I was still in awe of how incredible everything was. The buildings were old and beautiful. I could see others like us, who had come to move into their dorms.

"This is it." The words came out as a whisper, but Sasuke still heard me.

"You're right," he agreed. "Things will never be the same again."

We pulled into a parking lot beside the dorm I would be staying in (we would help each other move in), but I didn't get out of the car. "I'm glad I get to be here with you," I said, finally. "For this." I had told Sasuke about how great he would be in the future - at least, the fact that he would be great. I didn't know what he was going to become later on in life, but I looked forward to seeing it happen.

Sasuke smiled. "There's no one that I would rather be with. Besides, I know you're going to be amazing."

Touched, I leaned forward and kissed him before we got out of the car. Before opening the door, I looked around at everyone around us. Despite being in the car, I could still see nearby girls gawking at him from afar. A few feet away, a girl carrying a large instrument on her back passed by. A little further down, I caught a familiar sight of dark black, almost blue hair. For a split second, I could see Konan, surprisingly dressed in jeans and a black blouse, smiling at me.

"Did you see that!?" I exclaimed.

My outburst startled Sasuke, who had already opened his door. "What is it?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"I..." I looked back to where I had been gazing. A boy our age was moving several suitcases into a dorm with his family. "I thought I saw Konan."

"Maybe you did." He shrugged. "Is that bad?" Sasuke had surprisingly accepted the whole supernatural incident without any problems.

"No," I replied. "I just think it means that something important is happening."

"Isn't it?" Sasuke leaned back into the car and kissed me again. "Come on, let's go inside."

I nodded, getting out of the car. He had a point, Konan was probably just coming in to check on me like she had promised. It was almost comforting, in a way. Like I had someone looking after me.

"Are you ready?" I asked Sasuke, who was waiting outside.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he confirmed.

I took his hand, suddenly not as nervous as I had been all day. With Sasuke, I had nothing to worry about. Besides, like he said, I had a feeling that I was going to do something great too.

Holding hands, we began the new chapter of our lives.

Author's Note: Okay, so this was probably corny but I sort of love sappy endings. :P I might end up re-writing the end, but I mostly just wanted a happy ending to my story. Sakura's been through so much, I think she deserved a chapter of just being happy. :)

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has stuck with me over all these years with my story. I'm so grateful for every one of you for sticking with me through the slow-building storyline. Thank you to everyone who has recently started reading too! I've really appreciated everyone's kind reviews!

Like always, please let me know what you think! If you like what you've read here, please feel free to check out my other stories: The Promise (be warned, this was written when I was in high school) and my new story - Salut d'Amour. My newest story is a bit different from what I've been writing, but I hope that you'll like it. :)