A month had past and the entire school was bouncing off the walls for the Cultural Festival. The school day was used to set up stalls and tables for the next two days and prepare for one of the most exciting events at the high school.

Sakura walked to the Student Council room and laughed at the two boys covered in paint. "What are you guys doing?" she asked through giggles.

"Hey, this is more difficult than we expected," Sasori exclaimed, holding up his dripping paintbrush.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Painting a banner shouldn't be such a bother. Anyway, what are the others doing?"

Deidara dropped his brush in the paint can and wiped the excess on his old clothes. "Itachi and Kakuzu are preparing the stall while Hidan and Kisame elaborate over the menu's choices. Why don't you go help Kisame? I'm sure he'll need it when dealing with Hidan."

"Yeah, I'll come back as soon as I can to help, okay?"

Sakura made her way to their stall and past Ino at her own table. "Sakura," Ino muttered coldly.

Sakura smirked, "Oh, you could only afford a tiny table? It sucks when you're too selfish to put in any money for your club. Too bad you didn't receive any funds from the Student Council." She laughed once and continued down the hall to Kisame and Hidan.

"I say we should put more meat on the menu!" Hidan announced.

Kisame breathed heavily. "It's a café, Hidan. A few choices of meat is enough. I think we should have more dessert-like dishes."

"Having only sweets is stupid! That's what the Cooking Club is for and we don't want to make our customers high on sugar!" Hidan argued.

Sakura stepped in and sat at one of the chairs they had rented. "So what's up?"

"Hidan wants to try and make the café into a barbecue house," Kisame explained, clearly annoyed by the silver-haired boy.

"It's not that, you ass! I want there to be more meat on the menu, but he thinks adding more sweets to it will make it more like a café."

Sakura laughed. "We are making a café, Hidan. Besides, having more meat means more spending of our money and Kakuzu won't like that."

Hidan scratched the bridge of his nose. "I guess so, but atleast let me make half of the decisions for the food, Kisame!"

Kisame growled and threw the menu to Sakura. "You two figure it out. His voice is annoying the hell out of me."

"Okay, see you later, Fish Face!" Hidan called out. Kisame turned around, but only muttered something under his breath.

Hidan grabbed another chair and scooted close to Sakura. " 'Kay, Cherry-chan! What would you like on the menu?"

Sakura read over the menu and blushed slightly out of embarrassment. "The only things I can think of are the things I only like!"

Hidan laughed and pointed to a few on the meat selection. "I picked these two out and one of the small meals, the shrimp cakes, myself. Seriously, just pick things that you usually see at tiny diners and stuff."

"Okay!" Sakura began writing a few choices down.

He watched as she swiftly wrote down each appetizer or dessert she instantly thought of. He always wondered how well her hand-writing was and became surprised to find it so sloppy. He would occasionally yell out his opinion of a bad choice she made and add a few curse words along with it.

Hidan looked around for a moment and rested his head on her shoulder. He was expecting her to yell, but heard her laugh instead.

"Comfy?" she joked.

He nodded his head and continued to watch her write. For some reason, he thought that her sloppy writing was cute. Usually girls had neat, readable hand-writing, but at times, her's was hard to read. He inhaled and could smell the scent of her laundry soap on her clothes. Was it lavender? No, it smelled sort of fruity. Whatever smell it was, he really enjoyed it.

He would take occasional sniffs and smiled as she continued to chatter on about some of her favorite foods. He loved hearing her talk, especially about random, stupid shit because it made it entertaining.

She made everything entertaining.

She made him happy.

Hidan closed his eyes for a moment. He wished silently to himself for that moment to last forever.

No damn Itachi Uchiha. No annoying, bothersome people. No anything.

"I love you," he whispered.

"What'd you say?" she asked, turning her head.

Hidan's violet eyes shot open and he stood straight in his chair. "I said 'all of June'! I just can't believe that we had almost half of June for summer vacation. Too bad it isn't all of it, huh?" He added a fake laugh.

Sakura cocked her head. "I would rather have all of July. It's so hot and I hate walking to school in this heat."

Hidan nodded nervously. "Y-yeah..."

He metaphorically slapped himself. Hard. How could he say something like that out loud? Thank the heavens she doesn't have ultra-hearing abilities or he would have been done in.

Sakura returned to the Student Council room and pulled her hair up in a high ponytail. "Alright, you guys call yourselves artists? You can't even finish a banner quickly!"

"I'm a sculptor, not a painter. Sasori-kun should be doing a better job than I am! Holding a paintbrush is like holding a pencil!"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Deidara, just because I hold them the same doesn't mean that painting is exactly like drawing."

"Move over, let me help you guys." Sakura plucked Deidara's paintbrush from his hand and quickly wrote 'Student Council Cafe'.

"That's weird. Itachi-kun made it sound like we were supposed to make it look nice," Deidara teased, looking down at the banner.

"Com'on Deidara-kun... It looks very nice, you know, if a three-year-old wrote it," Sasori smirked.

Sakura pouted. "How rude of you two! This is my best handwriting and I tried my hardest to make it neat!"

Sasori furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? You totally scribbled that down in less than five seconds."

"Okay, okay. Anyway, let's continue decorating the banner. I'll make squiggly lines for a border while you two do whatever you want." She dipped the paintbrush in bright, green paint and began a wavy-line pattern and continued as the boys did their own tasks.

Sasori picked up his sketchpad and grabbed his pencil. He needed a break anyway - why not draw?

"What can I draw?" He looked around the room and his eyes stopped at the freshman girl sitting on the floor surrounded by paint. Deidara decided to help her decorate and the two would occasionally throw jokes around about their terrible painting skills.

Sasori smiled and began sketching out many lines and shapes. His hand moved swiftly as if it had a mind of its own. As he finished the rough draft, he began shaping out a face and body. He loved drawing people and it had been some time since he last practiced.

He would glance over every few minutes at the young girl, trying to remember each and every detail that made her... her.

Sasori finished sketching her hair and her round eyes. She seemed different as he drew her. It seemed as if he was just meeting her all over again. Paying attention to such small details must be why he's thinking the way he is. He glanced up for a moment and noticed how small her hands were.

Such feminine hands and thin arms. How is she able to punch so hard with such a tiny frame? He drew down the small curve of her hip and to her long legs. He smiled again as he drew her small feet and chubby toes.

"Huh... I finished her body." He soon caught himself blushing when he realized this could be an actual depiction of how the young lady looked naked. His heart fluttered and he quickly began sketching out clothes. If Sakura had seen the picture, she most likely would have had the wrong idea.

Sakura and Deidara finished the border and turned to see Sasori bunched up in the corner.

"Sasori-kun, what are you doing?" Deidara asked, pulling Sakura over to the redhead.

Sakura bent down and watched as Sasori finished his art. "Oh my gosh! Is that me?"

"Yeah... I hope it isn't too bad - it's a little rushed," he said, embarrassed about the attention.

He handed his sketchpad to Sakura. Deidara leaned over the girl's shoulder. "Wow, that looks so much like you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blushed. "Yes, but I think it's much prettier."

Deidara laughed. "Sakura-chan, you are pretty! You're a lot prettier than most girls at this school!"

She playfully hit Deidara with the sketchpad. "Stop joking around, Deidara-kun. Hey Sasori-kun, can I keep this picture?"

"Of course you can."

Sakura smiled and tore the page carefully away from the binding. She folded it neatly and placed it in her pocket.

"I'm going to go check on Kakuzu-kun and Itachi-kun, okay? And Deidara stop trying to flatter me!" She ran through the door and back out to their stall.

Deidara sighed loudly and sat with his back against the wall. "It sucks."

"What does?" Sasori asked, cleaning up the paintbrushes and cans.

"It sucks because I wasn't joking, hm."

"Sakura-chan, your outfit was mailed in yesterday." Itachi picked up a small, cardboard box and placed it in her hands.

"Oh, great," she said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you're so excited. Let's see how it looks." He didn't catch the sarcasm and waited patiently for her to open it.

Sakura pulled the top flaps away and sifted through the foam peanuts. She pulled out an elegant box wrapped in a red ribbon.

"Wow, this must be a fancy brand," she remarked, pulling at the ribbon carefully.

Itachi took a seat and hid his smile as she pulled the frilly dress from the box. Like she had ordered a month ago, the color of the dress was salmon and decorated with small,black bows in a small row over the chest. The sleeves puffed out with small ruffles at the end and the waist was held together with a white, lacey apron.

She almost puked.

"It's really cute and you will most likely get many compliments," Itachi noted.

"Will it fit me?" she asked, examining the size.

"Of course it will, Sakura-chan. We took your measurements from your school record."

Sakura folded the dress back up. "When you say stuff like that, it makes you sound really creepy!"

Itachi shrugged. "Anyway, I need to go see how Kisame is doing. I'll see you soon, Sakura-chan."

Sakura placed the box under her arm and walked over to Kakuzu. He sat motionless in one of the chairs with his head buried in his hands.

"Kakuzu-kun?" She poked his shoulder, but was given no response. She continued to poke him repeatedly until he finally stirred from his spot.

"What, Sakura-chan?" he asked, his tone sounding sad and miserable.

"Why do you look so upset? Is it because we're spending money?"

Kakuzu rested his head on the table. "This is the most money the Student Council has ever spent on the Cultural Festival. We're going to be so broke after this..."

"Ah, com'on, Kakuzu-kun! Not everything is about money." She smiled down at the depressed senior.

He turned to face her with a frown on his face. "Money makes the world go 'round, Sakura-chan. This entire world is made just for money."

Sakura fished through her pocket and pulled out a few dollars. "If you want some money then take it, but will it be enough to make you happy?"

Kakuzu sat up. "Actually, yes, yes it would." He reached for the money, but Sakura pulled her hand away.

"Kakuzu-kun! You're not supposed to say something like that! You're supposed to say 'No, Sakura-chan, you're right. Money isn't the only thing that makes me happy! My friends make me the happiest in the world!' " Her voice cracked as she tried to mimic his low tone.

"That's so lame, Sakura-chan. Just because they're my friends doesn't mean I have to kiss their asses." He snatched the money from her hand and pointed. "This, however, is something that makes me very happy. Money doesn't talk back when I need it. Also, it's always nice to have money with you unlike some people."

Sakura crossed her arms. "There's stuff that money can't buy, you know! Look at me, I don't have a lot of money like most people do at this school, but I'm as happy as I can be. Being with you guys makes me so happy and I hope that I do the same to you all." She grabbed her money from his fingers and walked away.

Kakuzu noticed a bill on the floor and picked it up. He quickly caught up to her and sighed, "Here." He closed his eyes and held out the bill in front of her.

Sakura plucked it away and smiled. "Thank you, Kakuzu-kun."

Kakuzu's face began to flush as he opened his eyes and faced her. "You... do make me happy, Sakura-chan."

She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly pulled away by Kisame. "Hey, can you two help nail up the banner? Sasori and Deidara are busy."

Kakuzu and Sakura agreed and followed Kisame to the entrance of their tiny café.

"I'll need someone light on my shoulders, so Sakura climb up here," Kisame stated, kneeling down.

Sakura carefully put her legs over his shoulders and wrapped them tightly around his neck. As he stood up, her hands were grabbing onto his hair.

"Sakura-chan, calm down, please. I'm going to hand you the hammer and bag of nails. I promise I won't drop you," Kisame said in a reassuring tone.

Kakuzu picked up Itachi on the other side while they held up the banner. "This is so humiliating," Kakuzu grunted.

"I don't know, Kakuzu, it's quite enjoyable," Itachi replied.

Sakura opened the bag of nails and held the hammer carefully in the crook of her arm. As she placed the nail in the wood, she dragged the hammer up and began pounding it in. They finished quickly and Sakura was brought down from Kisame's shoulders.

"You're really strong, Kisame-kun!" she admired.

"Yeah, being a boy, I have more muscle mass than you do - that's why I'm stronger," he replied without thinking.

Sakura's lips curved downward. "I am just as strong as you are!"

Kisame laughed. "I doubt it."

"I'll pick you up! I'll show you!" Sakura bent her knees and lifted Kisame off of the ground. She used all of her power, but began realizing he was too heavy. His weight began pressing against her upper body and causing her to move backwards. She lost her balance and fell on her back with Kisame on top of her.

He quickly scrambled off of her. "Are you okay?!"

She sat up and laughed it off. "I guess I'm not as strong as you are."

Kisame sat next to her and smiled, showing off his white, pointed teeth. "That is true, but there are some things that you do that I can't even compare to."

"Like?"

"Well, you are pretty tolerant when it comes to rude people. You keep your cool most of the time while I just unleash my anger on the poor soul. You, also, are fairly easy to be friends with, Sakura-chan. People don't come up to me and say 'Wow, you're such a nice guy, Kisame! Can I be your friend?' You're quite the girl to get to know," Kisame explained.

Sakura smiled and grabbed his hand. "That's really sweet, Kisame-kun."

He could feel his ears burn as he gained the courage he needed. "Sakura-chan, there's something I need to tell you. I feel like I really-"

The intercom buzzed on and Tsunade's voice rang over the parking lot of the school. "Attention students, the school day is over. Tomorrow, before the Cultural Festival, you'll have enough time to finish your stalls. Let's hope that this year's festival will be another success!" The intercom buzzed off again and the students began packing up.

Sakura picked up her box with her dress inside. "I'm sorry, but can we talk about this later? I need to go home and finish up a few things for tomorrow. I'll see you later, Kisame-kun!"

Kisame waved half-heartedly and kicked a rock near his feet. "Stupid intercom... Stupid bad timing!"

xxx

Aha, Vomment. <3

xTsu