A/N: Hello, and welcome to the next chapter! Since I have some free time today, I thought I'd update. Well, enjoy!
"Girls, I simply cannot believe you got your dresses!" Ino squealed as they left the food courts.
Sakura tried to smile at her, but the smile disappeared when she spotted Sasuke and his friends, along with a couple of fangirls, on the other side next to the elevators. "Quick, Ino, grab my bag. It's Sasuke."
Ino gasped and took it, and just then Sasuke and Sakura made eye contact.
Sasuke glared at her while Sakura smirked, giving him a mock wave as they walked in the same direction as the girls.
"Why, hello, Chicken Boy. We meet again." Sakura purred, her smile growing wider at his growl.
"Heya, Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, waving at her.
Hinata blushed a dark red and tried to smile back. "H-Hello, Naruto-kun..."
"Aw, what'sa matter, Haruno?" One of the fangirls cooed mockingly. "Didn't find a pretty dress to wear to prom?"
"Actually, I'm not going." Sakura rolled her eyes with a playful grin. "I'd rather spend my time at the hospital actually helping people, thank you very much."
"Ugh, whatever." One of them rolled their eyes. "Suit yourself. You're missing a huge oppurtunity."
"Oh-ho, believe me, I know." Sakura flashed the Uchiha a grin. "He's all yours, girls."
Sasuke growled louder and forcefully grabbed her arm. "What's your problem, Haruno?"
"What's my problem?" Sakura slapped his hand away with a glare. "Honey, don't you mean what's YOUR problem? You've got some serious issues if all it takes to make you lose your shit is take 'your' parking spot and verbally beat your ass."
"Why are you such a bitch?" He angrily snapped. "What, are you just jealous that I actually have a family?!"
Ino clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, Hinata's eyes went wide, and Tenten mouthed "Oh shit."
"Ah, troublesome..." Shikamaru grumbled, turning away.
Sakura was silent for a few moments before she whirled around and smacked him hard.
"Don't you ever speak about my family that way." She whispered harshly in his ear. "You don't know what I've been through."
With that, she stomped away, leaving a stunned Sasuke and their friends.
Almost immediately the fangirls began to shriek, crowding Sasuke, trying to make sure he was okay. He just stood there, the slap mark beginning to get a red outline.
"Sasuke, I really think you should think before you speak." Tenten spoke, staring at him seriously. "Leave her alone. That's a really sensitive topic."
Tenten thrust her bag into Ino's hand and began to race after Sakura, calling her name.
Neji snapped out of it. "Ah- Tenten, wait!"
He ran after her, leaving the others alone.
Hinata sighed quietly and shook her head. "N-Naruto-kun, do...do you want to go get something to eat at the food court?"
Immediately the blonde's demeanor brightened. "Boy, would I! Let's go, Hinata-chan!"
With that, Naruto dragged the blushing girl away towards the food court.
Ino sighed. "Sasuke...I'm seriously disappointed in you. That was a pretty low blow, even for your standards. C'mon, Shikamaru."
With that, she grabbed Shikamaru's hand and walked off.
"Sakura, come on. It's okay." Tenten held the quietly sobbing girl in her arms, giving Neji a look.
Neji nodded and started his car, and Tenten pulled out her phone, dialling Ino.
She waited for a few moments before a voice came from the other end. "Tenten?"
"Hey, Ino. I just called to tell you that I'm taking Sakura home." Tenten said, buckling herself and letting Sakura lay across the seats, head in her lap.
"Oh, okay. Make sure she gets into bed all right and that Karin knows where she is." Ino replied, and Tenten nodded.
"Okay, I'll make sure. Bye." She hung up and put her phone back in her pocket, sighing heavily.
Neji glanced at her in the mirror. "So, Sakura's house?"
"Yeah." Tenten smiled softly down at the pinkette, who had dozed off, eyebrows furrowed into a grimace. "Poor Sakura..."
The two drove in silence, Neji looking back at them every once in a while in the rear-view mirror, Tenten carefully running her fingers through Sakura's hair.
"I'm sorry this ruined your outing with your friends, Neji." Tenten spoke quietly.
"No, no, it's fine." Neji assured. "It was boring anyway."
Tenten looked up to gaze at him, and opened her mouth to say something. She hesitated, then looked back down.
"What is it?" Neji asked.
"I-" Tenten sighed. "Never mind, it's a stupid topic."
"Tell me." He insisted, locking eyes with her in the mirror.
The brunette sighed and gave him a serious look. "What are we gonna do?"
"What do you mean?"
"About us. We can't keep it hidden forever, you know."
"I...have realized." He seemed to grow uncomfortable and looked away.
"See, I told you it was stupid." Tenten spoke softly, pushing a few strands of hair away from Sakura's forehead gently.
"It's not stupid." The car came to a gentle stop at a stoplight, and he turned to take one of her hands in his. "I'm trying everything I can. The clan elders-"
"Who cares what they think?" Tenten suddenly looked up, tears in her eyes as she squeezed his hand hard. "As long as we love each other like we do, we'll make it!"
"I have to care about them, Tenten. I have to care because if Hinata's not able to lead the clan, I have to take over."
"What about Hanabi?" Tenten asked desperately. "She's strong, she's smart! She can do it."
"Hanabi's-!" Neji clenched his eyes shut. After a moment, he opened them up again and gave her a grievous look. "Hanabi's...I really shouldn't tell you."
"Is it something only Hinata can tell us?" She asked softly. "Is that why she's been so depressed?"
Neji hesitated, then turned back to the front, still holding her hand. The car began moving again. "...Yes."
"Thanks for the ride, Neji." Tenten looked up at him with a small smile, as if the day's events hadn't happened. "As eventful as today's been, I actually had a little fun."
"I'm glad you have." He replied, his hands entertwined so perfectly with hers. "I assume you're going to prom?"
"Of course." Tenten laughed. "And you are? Or do I even have to question it?"
"Of course. Being Uchiha-san's friend, I'm obligated to go." He shrugged a bit. "That, and Naruto won't let me live it down if I don't."
"Yeah...friends are like that." She sighed lightly.
The two shared a silence for a few moments.
"Listen, I'll do what I can." Neji broke the quiet and gazed into her eyes. "I love you. I want them to accept you. Do you believe me?"
She let go of one hand and caressed her thumb on his cheek. "Of course I do," she whispered.
He leaned in and their lips touched in a sweet kiss, her arms going to his neck as they embraced.
They remained for a minute before Neji's phone began to ring, and they broke the kiss, startled.
"W-well, I guess that's my cue to leave." He said, reaching into his pocket to fish out his phone. He frowned at the caller ID.
"I guess so." Tenten felt her cheeks heat up from the kiss, sighing as she gave him a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Definitely." He brought her to his chest and kissed the top of her head, holding her for a few seconds before letting go.
He turned to go back to his car and his eyes lingered on her for a few moments before he got in.
Tenten waved to him as he drove away. She frowned, heading inside as her phone started ringing.
"Hey...is Sakura okay?"
"Yeah, she's sleeping right now." Karin peeked in on her sister. She frowned, seeing the anatomy textbooks on the desk. "I...can't say I'm proud she slapped Sasuke in the face, but it was justified. I just hope she doesn't get too much hate for this."
"I know what you mean." Ino's voice lowered as she sighed. "She's my best friend, but sometimes I feel so torn between friendship and reputation. I feel like a terrible person."
"Yeah..." Karin ran her fingers through her hair, wincing when they snagged. She pulled them free and went back to her room. "I can't believe she used to have a crush on him."
"Believe it. We used to always fight each other about it, but one day in seventh grade it just...stopped." She explained. "Nobody really knows what happened, but we've just kinda drawn our conclusions."
"Hm." Karin hummed in thought. "Do you think she'd tell me if I asked?"
"Doubt it. She won't even tell me. It's a really touchy subject, and especially since she snapped at him, she won't want to talk about it for a while."
"I really wish she could tell me..." The redhead frowned. "But I guess it's better that it stays ambiguous. If word got out about what really happened, then..."
"Yeah, it would be chaos. I doubt Sasuke would really want to talk about it that much either."
"In the meantime, do you think you can give me some help on the math homework? I don't quite get how to do some parts of it."
"Sure. Do you wanna meet at eight-ish?"
"Mmm, we'd better make it nine." Karin checked her clock. "I wanna make sure at least one of our parents is home in case she wakes up."
"Sounds good. Well, I'll see you then."
"Yep. Bye." Karin hung up and flopped backwards on her bed with a long sigh.
In the other room, she could hear Sakura's blankets shifting, said girl yawning loudly.
She got up and walked to her room, halting in the doorway as the pinkette looked up at her drowsily.
"...Kar? How did I get here...?" She asked sleepily, blinking as she looked around her room. "Where'd Tenten go?"
"She brought you back after you fell asleep." Karin explained, being purposefully vague so she wouldn't break down again.
"Asleep...? But we were shopping..." Sakura took a few moments and then she sighed. "...Oh. That happened."
"Are you feeling alright now?" Karin smiled softly. "That was quite a slap."
"I think so...dammit, I lost my temper." Sakura mumbled. "That hasn't happened since seventh grade."
Karin stayed silent for a few moments. Hesitatingly, she asked, "Would you feel comfortable telling me what happened?"
Sakura eyed her warily. "Ino told you, didn't she? About the fight...?"
"She only told me that you used to crush on Sasuke, and then it stopped." She responded.
Sakura paused for a few moments to think. Finally, she sighed. "I'll tell you after prom on Friday, okay?"
"Okay. Just...I really wanna know."
The pinkette chuckled and ruffled her hair, the redhead giving her an annoyed groan. "Sure, sure, I'll tell you later. What time is it?"
"Almost seven-thirty." Karin looked at the clock on the wall. "Ino's gonna help me with math homework at around nine."
"Mkay." Sakura lay back down, closing her eyes. "I'll just try to get more sleep in before school tomorrow..."