Chapter 11: Epilogue

-&-

"Sasuke- where are you going?" Neji demanded, sharply.

"Getting to the prom."

The whole team's jaws dropped straight down. No way. Sasuke going to the PROM! And at a critical time like this!

"Oh, yeah, sure- just leave Sakura here with us!" Naruto retorted sarcastically.

"Look," Sasuke said angrily, whipping around in the rain and facing his team. "I'm going to that stupid dance for only one reason, okay? I'll be back soon. Take her to the hospital and get her out of the rain."

"But your ribs—"

"I don't give a damn. I'll stabilize them later. Take her to a hospital."

Before anyone could say anything, Sasuke limped out of the stadium exit.

"Oh man…do you think that he's going to the prom for Sakura?"

"Like he'd tell us."

-&-

"Oh, my, God!"

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke outwardly swore all the people crowding around him- trying to dry off their famous football captain with napkins and pity. Sasuke could care less of what rumors were about to lie ahead. He needed to bolt, action, and run out of there as fast as heaven would let him.

"You're bleeding, Uchiha! Stop limping- you'll open up all your wounds!"

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled. Elbowing a few people to the side, he made it up to the stage, grabbed the microphone and demanded,

"Who's the prom queen!"

Everyone stared at him, eyes wide, mouths open, and perhaps a few people dropped their soda cups onto the floor in shock.

"Who's the prom queen!" Sasuke demanded once more. No one moved. Sasuke sighed in annoyance.

"C'mon! Do the polls and give me the frickin' answer!"

He didn't have time for their silence! He needed to get out of this horrid place A.S.A.P. before his ribs dislocated even further than they were now. He could feel a new wave of blood soak through the bandages and running into the material of his shirt. Some people screamed at this.

Finally, after several tense seconds, a boy went to the refreshment table, and shoveled through a box, trying to count and tally the votes as fast as he could before Sasuke's glare could fry him alive. You just…didn't mess with a football captain.

"C'mon," Sasuke whispered.

"Uh…ah…" the nerdy boy said nervously, as he scribbled down a name, grabbed the two crowns, and quickly handed them to Sasuke.

There. Painless. Now, to bolt.

As girls screamed as he leapt from the stage, cries of disappointment echoed the night air as Uchiha Sasuke left the Prom grounds, clutching two crowns and one name.

Haruno Sakura.

-&-

Six days Later, Konoha Hospital

"Shh…you'll wake him up."

"Oh, like he sleeps anyways. He's practically nocturnal- you KNOW how he practices until like, 2 in the morning."

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Make me."

BONK.

"Ouch…okay."

"Ugh, look! NOW he's awake!"

Sasuke groggily looked up and blinked. Oh, MAN.

White walls.

White bedsheets.

Dim lighting.

"CRAP!" he yelled and flew up in bed. At once, excruciating pain seemed to shock him in the side and he winced horribly.

"Uchiha-san!" the nurse cried, rushing to his aid. "Doctor's orders- you can't move until the bones have completely stabilized!"

"Ugh…"

"HEY, MAN!" Naruto cried, happily. "You're awake!"

"How long have I been here?" Sasuke muttered.

"Six days."

"SIX FRICKIN' DAYS!" Sasuke bellowed, sitting up quickly again. Another wince.

"I SAID TO KEEPT STILL, UCHIHA-SAN!"

"Oh, man…"

Sasuke seemed to snap back to his senses.

"Where's Sakura?" he demanded.

Neji smirked a little.

"All the way to your left."

Indeed, there she was, in a deep slumber, a respirator over her mouth.

"I-Is she okay?"

"Um…"

Everyone grew quiet, but this just made Sasuke madder.

"I SAID, is she okay?"

"She's in a coma," the nurse explained weakly. "It's critical we don't disturb her while she's getting a much-needed rest. It was a deep blow to the head. If it hadn't been for the helmet, she most likely would have never recovered."

"But, her helmet flew off."

"After the impact. She got lucky."

"LUCKY?" Sasuke stated coldly as he got on his feet. "You call THIS lucky!"

He stood by Sakura's bed, and glared down at her, in an almost guilty way.

Heck, he WAS guilty.

"She hasn't woken up for six days?" he asked, angrily. Naruto shrugged.

"Neither have you."

This got to almost the end of Sasuke's rope. He didn't have TIME for stupid jokes now. He needed her awake. He needed to know that she wasn't going to—

"She'll live," the nurse informed in the tense air.

Sasuke whipped around.

"Sh-She will?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Sasuke glanced once more at Sakura in a whimsical kind of way. He sincerely hoped that nothing would go wrong. Everything already HAD gone wrong…

…well, except that they had won the championship game.

But that really had no significance to Sasuke right now. At all.

"You had better wake up soon," he whispered.

-&-

Yet More days Later, Konoha Hospital

"Uchiha-san, you MUST stay in your bed before you open any stitches!"

"Can you PLEASE be quiet for just ONE second?" Sasuke growled, as nicely as he could. It would have been a little unethical to snap at a nurse who had taken care of you since your stay.

The nurse sighed, but then shook her head.

"Uchiha-san, I must insist that you stay in your bed!" the nurse said, shrilly. Sasuke looked at her.

"Please!" he stated.

Struggling to stand up properly, Sasuke got to his feet, the hard, plastic crown clutched in his fist.

"Uchiha-san!"

Ignoring her completely now, Sasuke walked over to Sakura's bed, where she lay as still as ever, looking exactly the same. No change in position. No abrupt pattern in breathing. No sign of movement.

She looked like a doll.

Sasuke's lower lip trembled slightly, but he bit it.

The nurse left them in quiet.

Sasuke let out his breath in one soft whisper.

Wake up…

He felt his eyelids droop the slightest bit. Crap, he was getting sleepy…

C'mon, Sakura…

Automatically, he gingerly pulled up a chair next to her bedside and sat, leaning with his head in his arms on the bed.

You had better wake up soon…

As if a heavy weight bore down on him, he felt himself go to sleep. Whatever. They found him in this exact position every morning since he saw her in this state.

Soon…whatever. We won the game…

Sasuke was fast asleep.

We won the game…

Twilight caught the sun just as it was on the cusp of setting and the moon was rising.

We won…the championship. We won…we won…

Slowly, as if waiting for an eternity, the monitor of Sakura's pulse beeped a little louder and a little faster.

"We won," came the whisper.

Sakura's body fidgeted a little.

Am…I dead? Am I? Whoa…

"We won…the game…we won…"

Sasuke crossly opened one eye, and then froze. Wait a minute…beeping…breathing…

He looked up to see Sakura sitting up and smiling at him.

"We won," she said, once more.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!" Sasuke yelled, getting up. He tripped backwards over his chair and flipped around, slamming into the floor.

At first, Sasuke thought his eyes were playing a cruel joke on him.

No way…

"We won," Sakura said again. "Right? We won, didn't we? The final touchdown!"

"…"

Great. She wakes up and the first thing she talks about is whether we won the stupid football game.

Sasuke got to his feet, coming to his senses. He felt the Homecoming crown in his pocket. So it was still there?

He foolishly remembered how he had raced through the dance floor just to get it.

"You've been worried, Uchiha," Sakura said in a hard breath.

"N-no," Sasuke stated nervously.

Sakura smiled, her brilliant eyes laughing at him.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"…oh, by the way, you won Homecoming Queen," Sasuke stated. He fitted the plastic crown around her small head.

"You went to the dance?" Sakura said, her jaw dropping slightly. "Why?"

Sasuke felt the heat rise up in his face, and Sakura seemed to take notice of this.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmph," Sasuke said, smirking and regaining his Mr. Cool composure. "You wouldn't have ended up like this if you hadn't jumped in the game." Sakura flushed with anger.

"I'm awake for 30 seconds and you already jump into that, Mr. Insensitive. Unless I hadn't jumped in, we would've lost our championship trophy!"

"And why did you jump in?" Sasuke prodded on. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Because I was angry, you dumb noodleloaf!"

"And why were you angry?"

"B-because…we were losing," Sakura stammered. If she ever told him she had exploded in anger because Spike had knocked out Sasuke, (hint, hint…), then she would never hear the end of it.

"Sure," Sasuke said, gently taking her wrist that had been hidden by the blankets. He held it up, smirking at her still, to reveal that she had been crossing her fingers.

Sakura bit her lip.

"You like me," Sasuke said, trying to hold in a laugh with great difficulty.

"No, I don't!" Sakura protested.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do…I know it…you can't lie to me…"

"Lie this," Sakura snarled, and she sank a fist into his stomach. He tumbled off the bed and hit the floor once more.

"Ouch…"

"And I DON'T like you," Sakura said, huffing.

"Yes…you do…" Sasuke got up and looked at her, his warm face near hers. Sakura flushed deeply.

"No I don't!" She said, crossing her arms. "And even IF I did…it's just a stupid school girl crush that'll pass."

"A crush that'll pass?"

Sasuke's face was so close to hers that their foreheads were touching. She flushed even more.

"Yes."

"Are you sure it'll pass?"

"Most definitely so. In fact, I don't even—"

But before she could let out another syllable, she felt lips press against her own for the briefest minute. Her eyes widened in surprise as Uchiha Sasuke kissed her. It was the sweetest moment she had ever felt in her entire life, and to share it with the coolest (and only) football captain made it even better.

Her embarrassment evaporated on the spot, but her face grew as red as a tomato.

"—like…you…anymore," Sakura finished in a whisper as they parted. Sasuke gave her a small smile.

"Oh really?"

Okay, maybe this "school girl crush" wouldn't pass over as fast as she thought.

Fin.

-&-

AAAH! Well, that's it! The last chapter. I'm finished!

I would love to hear your comments and last thoughts on this fic; I had a ton of fun writing it! (The beginning of the discontinued sequel, The Football Boy, can be checked out on my profile page.)

-aNdreaa