Unconventional

Callista Miralni

The last of three one-shots I wrote for SasuSakuMonth 2012. After the overload of interaction in Rubik, I wanted to write something a little more... subtle.

Prompt: Hallucinate

She only imagined it, right?

"You want me to do what?"

Uchiha Sasuke repeated his request with a bit of agitation. Why did women, especially this one, have to question every thing he did? Why couldn't they take anything at face value?

Haruno Sakura looked at him funny. "I don't know about this, Sasuke."

"It's one class," the Uchiha emphasized. "One time. I'll owe you one."

She perked up at that. Uchiha Sasuke rarely owed anyone favors and to be one of the select few he was in debt to was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

"Fine." She smiled at him. "You have a deal."

.

.

.

He was a chemical engineer. She was a chemistry student. Allowing Sasuke to copy her prized organic chemistry notes was something Sakura never did. She took notes in class. She took notes out of the book. She took notes on old exams, on homework problems, and on reviews. She took notes on her notes.

In a class with a high probability of failure, any struggling student who saw a glimpse of Haruno Sakura's notes found themselves making the class average on exams. If someone found out she was going to be a part of a study group, people piled at their table just to catch a glimpse of those precious scribbles.

For Sakura to hand over a copy was unthinkable. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't failing the class and proved himself to be as capable of a student as Miss Haruno I-scored-a-95-on-our-test-suck-on-that-Uchiha-Sasuke Sakura. They were always competing over who made better grades on... well... everything.

Sasuke took his own notes but they weren't as good as Sakura's. So if he was going to miss class, who better to ask than her?

.

.

.

Sasuke sat down at their usual table in the library and loosened his tie. Uzumaki Naruto, his roommate and a fellow classmate, listened attentively to Sakura's explanation on the reactions of acyl chlorides with carbonyls when she noticed him sitting next to her.

"Here." She slid a stapled sheaf of papers towards him before continuing with her explanation.

Sasuke flipped through her notes. She gave him everything—class notes, book notes, exam notes, homework notes, review notes, notes on notes. The last page was a pointed reminder that Sasuke owed her—big time.

"Hey," he pulled her attention from checking Naruto's homework. "If I take you out to dinner, does that count as a favor?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "Depends on where you take me."

"Thai Cafe," he named her favorite restaurant.

Her green eyes lit up. "Really? When? I'll totally count that."

Naruto looked at him in disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something but Sasuke kicked him under the table and gave him a warning glance to shut his trap.

"Tonight." Sasuke packed the notes into his backpack and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "It's a date." He smirked.

Sakura fought the blush blooming on her face. "No, it's not. It's a favor!"

.

.

.

"Hey."

Naruto knocked on his roommate's door before he left to meet Sakura. The other man finished tying his shoes when he opened the door.

"Naruto."

The blonde gave him a confused look. "Why did Sakura-chan give you her notes?"

"I told her I was missing class."

"But you didn't miss class," Naruto said with a frown. "You sat next to the back door and left right when it ended."

"You've been taking too many drugs. I wasn't in class," Sasuke answered as he dug through his jacket pockets for his keys.

"Man, shut up," Naruto defended "I haven't been high for two weeks because Sakura-chan's been tutoring me for this test on Thursday every day. I know I saw you in class today."

He mentally cursed Naruto for having a short attention span. Of course he'd spend time looking around the classroom instead of paying attention to the lecture. "Your point?"

"Sakura-chan doesn't need to give you her notes and you don't need to take her out to dinner."

"Mind your own business, dobe. You heard me earlier—it's a date."

The suite door shut behind him. It took Naruto a second for Sasuke's parting words to sink in.

"Oi teme! Why can't you ask her out like a normal person?"