tampered | Log; Fast Times at City High Dance

She moved her gaze away from the crowd and caught him looking at her; and suddenly felt the need to look away. What an intense guy, this Naruto. "You wanna go in and find something to drink?"

Drink? That would be nice. "Oh. Hey, yeah! I'm pretty thirsty," he chirped happily, offering her his elbow.

She took his elbow, and in true Sakura fashion, she guided him around the crowd until they ended up at the drinks' table. She liked the warmth of his body.

He was practically taken.

With a little sigh, Sakura resigned herself to just passing time in good company she'd just met, and not get upset over something out of her control, and completely unlike her to even consider it. And with the great wisdom of someone who'd just reached the legal age of drinking, Sakura picked a glass of juice.

The blond let himself be led around by his pink-haired companion. She probably didn't realize it, but he was practically putty in her hands -a little lost puppy following its master-.

On second thought, maybe it would be nice if she remembered tomorrow, especially if she actually had a good time.

His blue eyes roamed the drink table looking for something suitable. Milk would've been nice, but who the hell served milk at a formal dance? Instead, he settled on the water and made a note of the punchbowl on the other end of the table. If he wanted something else, he could always just grab a cup of that.

"So, Ino and her date coming later?" he asked, not even noticing the emphasis he had placed in the middle of the sentence.

"Yes, I guess. I didn't agree on any time with her, so I suppose we'll find them here," she answered, a bit too distracted to notice the emphasis. Distracted, or better said, concentrated. Her mind spinning, she took a sip of her juice, and turned to look up at him with a serious look in her eyes.

"You should show her that you're better than the rest of the guys."

He shot her a confused look. "Huh?" he sputtered, putting down his water and scratching his cheek with one hand. What was she talking about? Oh, yeah. A nervous laugh escaped his throat as he shook his head slowly.

'I am,' he mused to himself, wishing he could tell her.

"What, and leave my new favorite person all alone? No way!" He leaned over and nudged her gently before picking his water back up.

"I'm flattered, really," she said, giggling softly at his nudge before nudging him with her hip. "No, I mean it, though... It's a ball, anything could happen. Maybe she's not accompanied by anyone, and you can ask her for a dance, and compliment her eyes, and...I don't know." She waved a dissmissive hand. "I'm not good at seduction."

It was hard to keep up the ruse. Why did curses make everything so stupid and hard? He was still new and had only experienced a few, but they were all pretty dumb.

After a large gulp of water, he plopped the glass back on the table and turned to her, giving her a grin. Maybe if he could take her mind off the 'non-existent girl', he wouldn't have to worry about making things awkward.

"Oh, hey! Speaking of that, you wanna dance?" The words are out of his mouth before he can retract him. Dancing was definitely not his forte, but he was trying to change the subject.

"Me?" she asked, stunned by his sudden question, right in the middle of her pep-talk. What? What? Ino was just fine at this, why couldn't she give people advice like how to win over a girl's heart, too? Except she'd only spoken about what she would've wanted someone to do to her.

She doubted for a while before answering, then realised that a dance would pass time, and maybe be fun. The music was light-hearted, and sweet. "Sure, why not," she answered.

A dance was probably not the best idea he could've come up with, especially since he had never danced in his life. Had things been normal, he could've sent out some bunshins to take some quick notes on everybody else and their dances, but that would probably just freak out his 'new-old' friend.

But, Naruto wasn't the type to back down from a challenge, and he decided to plunge headfirst into whatever trouble he was getting himself into. He smiled widely at her before reaching for her hand and tugging her playfully to the dance floor.

Laughing at his antics, she follows, already moving to the rythm of the song. Maybe she could let go for a while before returning to reality. Maybe she could be smart enough not to fall headfirst.

He smiled once more at her. It always warmed him to hear her laugh. Back home, she wasn't doing enough of it lately. The best part of her laugh was that it seemed to occur because of something he did, and that was all he ever wanted to do: make her happy.

She'll probably be laughing a lot harder as soon as she sees his pathetic attempt at dancing. He spied a few people nearby and tried to mimic their movements, failing miserably and looking more like a bowl of gelatin.

Well, least it hadn't switched to a slow dance.

And it did, right on target. She tried to stiffle her laughter behind her hand so as to not insult him, but she just couldn't find the resistance to do it. As soon as he was moving like a goose, she laughed so loud she had to throw her head back, eyes full of mirth.

He stopped moving at her laughter and pouted playfully once more, resting his hands on his hips. "Sakuraaaaa-chyaaaaan," he whined playfully, slipping into his old speech patterns as he forgot the nature of the day's curse.

And then the music switched to the slower tempo and more intimate tunes. His face reddened as he stepped in closer to her, looking over her shoulder and watching a male rest his hands on his female date's hips.

"Umm, wanna keep dancing?"

"I'm sorry--hahaha--it's just--ahahaha--please don't get mad!" she gasped through laughter, slowly calming down. She pressed her palms to his shoulders, ready to tell him that she wasn't really laughing at him, not in an insulting way-- and then the music changed.

Blushing slightly, she gave him a wry smile. "Might as well, if we're here."

"Yeah," he replied, more nervous than he had been in a long time. Being nervous was something he just never experienced unless he was around Sakura for periods of time. He was always worried he'd do something stupid and ruin whatever small chance he had with her.

His calloused hands slipped to her waist and he swallowed hard. Blue eyes scanned the room once more as he decided that the general 'side to side' movement would be the best and he begins. The blond head remains transfixed on the ground below them so he can make sure he wasn't about to step on her feet.

She allowed him to lead, swaying to the music with him. Her eyes focused on his face for a little while, lips pulled up in a smile at his concentration, before she lowered her gaze to their feet. He was tense.

She brought her foot in a false step, stepping on his foot in consecuence. "Sorry," she mumbled innocently. "I'm a bit clumsy at this sort of dance." So don't worry, and stop looking down at your feet.

"It's okay," he laughed quietly. He barely felt it anyways. She was so light and he was used to the chakra enhanced punches she was usually giving him, so the stepping on his foot was nothing to him. "I'm pretty clumsy too."

But he relaxed a bit now that the tension was melting away. After a few more moments of memorizing the steps and getting used to it, he looked up at her and gave her one of his trademarked infectious smiles, the biggest of the evening so far.

It was then that he allowed his mind to drift to the fact that he was actually dancing with Sakura-chan. Physical contact that didn't involve sparring, healing, or being punched for saying something wrong.

His smile caused her to laugh softly in retaliation, and she found herself enjoying this dance, and the evening. Maybe it wasn't that wrong to join him so soon after meeting him. But it was different--it almost seemed as if she knew him already, for a lifetime.

Noting the still remaining tension, and awkwardness, she took a step closer into the circle of his arms, pressing her chin on his shoulder. This was how a slow dance was danced.

Never in the past years could he have pictured him dancing with Sakura like this, but the surprise is a welcome one. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as she moved closer, resting against his shoulder. He needed one of his uncursed friends nearby so he'd have a witness to tell Sakura that she really did have a good time with him.

And her movement gave him newfound courage as his arms slipped around her even more, hands locking on the small of her back as he pressed their bodies closer.

It was nice. Dancing with him. Comfortable as she was, she turned her head to the side, her nose brushing against his neck, then resettled to her initial spot--and all without realising what she was doing.

It was hard to do anything except concentrate on the dance and their newfound closeness -which would probably be gone tomorrow- but he did his best. He kept the tempo right and didn't even brush his foot against hers once. The blond was beginning to feel quite proud of himself until he felt the front of her face brush against his neck.

He almost melted right there.

But he composed himself and tilted his head in, resting his cheek against her temple, his sensitive nose breathing in the smell of her shampoo.

Naruto is certain he's heard the chorus of the song play at least three times so far, which probably meant the song was nearing its end, something he dreaded.

The end of the song leaves her feeling almost melancholy, and her cheeks a bit too warm for comfort. This familiarity isn't normal with someone she's just barely-- Those are things that only pop up in books and all that. Not real life.

"Naruto, do you...um..."

"Sakura-chan?" he asked as he pulled his face away. Blue eyes locked with green as he gave her a quizzical look. She seemed to be blushing a little and he's certain he's the same way. Although the dance was over, he kept his hands on her hips.

"Do I...?"

"Walk? Do you want to go for a walk?" she hastened to blurt out, not quite comfortable under that gaze of his.

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance

Naruto/Sakura dance