Chapter 4 – What's The Worst That Could Happen?

When Sakura had decided on apologising to her old friends, she never realised that it would be much easier said than done.

It had been almost two weeks now since her return and while it wasn't that long, it felt like it had been months. She had waited a couple of days before attempting to fix the damage she had caused, but they all avoided her like she had the plague. There were many times when Naruto looked as though he wanted to talk to her, but right at the last minute, he would turn away. Every time that happened, it felt like it was killing Sakura inside. If Naruto, the kindest and most open minded person there was, refused to speak to her or hear her out, what chance did she have with Sasuke or Ino?

So in other words, school was tough. If it hadn't been for Kakashi who stayed by her side and didn't even seem to mind her company, Sakura was certain she would have given up by now. People still gave her funny looks when they saw her with him – no doubt it was because of him being an assistant for those with problems – but she had learned to somewhat ignore them. She still held her head high as she walked through the hallways. She still – in Ino's words – walked around as though she owned the place.

Why give them any more reasons to talk? That was what Sakura asked herself every day as she got up and acted as though everything was okay. There was a small part of her that was repeating that maybe, if she said it so many times, then it really will be okay.


Oh how she was really starting to hate English.

Sasuke still tensed whenever he heard her voice, he still ignored her and refused to even look at her. Seeing her reaction to his reaction, Kakashi had frowned and asked if she would be okay. It was like Sakura's body would deflate every time Sasuke ignored her and Kakashi could see the pain and hurt flash across her features as they scrunched up ever so slightly, like she was trying her hardest not to cry. At first, he hadn't been so sure, but now, Kakashi knew that something had gone on between the two of them, something serious and something that needed to be sorted. The only problem was, Sasuke refused to acknowledge Sakura. And every day that passed, he could see the already very little amount of hope slowly diminish in her eyes.

The only good thing about her English class, to Sakura, was that she was starting to make a new friend. Sure, the girl was still quite shy around her, but she didn't mind. She had realised that Hyuuga Hinata was actually a really nice person. Also, the girl helped Sakura stay calm. It wasn't with her words or her actions, it was just her aura. She was always so calm and at peace, even when she was nervous and stuttering. It certainly helped around Sasuke.

"I heard that you're Gaara's partner," Kakashi said to Sakura.

Her head snapped up to look at Kakashi and due to her surprise she had missed how Sasuke's entire body twitched as though he wanted to turn around. However, it was not something that Kakashi had failed to notice. Her brows furrowed as she looked up at him. "You've only just been told? I thought you were supposed to know everything about me."

He let out a low chuckle. "I only know what I'm told or what I read in your files." There was a short pause as he watched her carefully. "So, how's it going?"

Sakura sighed as she leaned back in her seat, her eyes seeming much more tired. "He barely even speaks to me." A smile graced her lips however as she turned back to Kakashi. "But on the first day, I think I proved something to him."

"And what would that be?"

"When I went to touch him – Kakashi don't give me that look," Sakura huffed with annoyance at the shocked and angered look Kakashi was giving her, before he could scold her however, she continued, saying, "It looked like he was going to hit me – hell I thought he was going to hit me. But he didn't. He could have done anything to me because of the position he had me in, but instead, once he had yelled at me, he backed off. He didn't even lay a hand on me or ruffle a single hair. He didn't touch me at all."

He narrowed his eyes. "What you did was reckless, Sakura. I told you that he doesn't like being touched." Then, something made his eyes narrow even further. "What do you mean by the position he had you in?"

"I don't mean anything sexual, Kakashi," she hissed with a roll of her eyes and almost giggled at the shocked intake of breath from Hinata as she heard Sakura. "I was stupid enough to back up against a wall and was completely vulnerable. I should have known better than to back down like I did, but I was scared. But still, even though it was obvious he was pissed, he didn't raise a hand to hit me."

"It was still reckless, Sakura."

"Whatever," she mumbled as she once again rolled her eyes, all traces of humour and happiness gone. "It's the last detention tonight anyway and after tonight, I doubt I'll ever speak to him again."

The older man frowned. "You don't seem too thrilled."

"I'm not." She shrugged, answering honestly as she rested her head in her raised hands. "He's the only one who doesn't speak to me like I'm glass, like I'm going to break. You have to look deep, but Gaara's an all right person, you know? I just think that, like me, he's seen some pretty messed up stuff." Sakura bit her lip as she looked up at Kakashi. "He's completely alone, isn't he?"

Kakashi raised a brow. "What makes you think that?"

Once again, she shrugged. "It's in his eyes."

"I can't talk about other students, especially in a classroom where there are many people listening," as he said this, Kakashi's eyes slid over to Sasuke's tensed back and then over to Hinata's form, making Sakura remember where they were. "But I will tell you that even though you're–" He paused at her sharp look and sighed, skipping over what he was about to say. "Just know that you're lucky to have your parents by your side. Even though you don't speak to any of your old friends, at least you have parents who care for you and will stand by you."

She nodded sadly. "They really do stick with you through anything, don't they? No matter how bad it gets, they're always there. I just wish… I just wish that others could be as understanding as them."


It had been two weeks since her fight with her ex-best friend, Yamanaka Ino. Despite being humiliated in front of the school, it was still pretty painful to think of Ino that way, as her ex-best friend. Since then, the bruising on the blonde's face had gone down and it was pale enough now that it could easily be covered by makeup. Sakura wasn't really punched all that hard, so there wasn't a bruise.

Since it had been two weeks since their fight, Kakashi had suggested that they once again try to eat in the cafeteria. Sakura just suspected that he wanted to get rid of her sooner. He was too much of a gentleman to say it out loud, but she could see that he was a private man who appreciated having time alone to himself. Not only that, but she took up almost his entire day and there were other students in the school who had problems. Sure, there were other support teachers, but none as good as Hatake Kakashi.

Just like the first time entering the cafeteria, there was a lot of staring from the other students and as she and Kakashi made their way over to the queue, they passed Ino's table. If looks could kill, Sakura was certain she would be dead a hundred times over, if not more. She'd thought that after two weeks everything would have calmed down. But no, because it was the 'legendary' Haruno Sakura, nothing had changed.

Trying to keep up her act of being uncaring and confident was difficult, but she did it. Even when Kakashi used his "I'm a teacher" excuse and jumped to the front of the queue – which, coincidentally, put them right in front of Naruto and Sasuke – Sakura kept her back straight and eyes forward. She could feel their eyes on her, but she refused to move her eyes even the smallest amount to the side to acknowledge them.

After a couple of minutes and no movement, however, she looked up at Kakashi and narrowed her eyes. "Kakashi."

He turned his head to the side. "Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front."

He smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see, there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

Going back to ignoring everyone, Sakura drummed her fingers against her upper arm, trying to keep herself from looking at the two boys beside her. They were still looking at her, she could feel their eyes on her, and it took everything in her to not look back. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn't say any of it in a lunch line. It wasn't the right time or setting. Naruto would be hungry and Sasuke would prefer to talk in privacy. Hell, given the situation, even Naruto would prefer to talk in private.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" At his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

Once they had collected their lunch, the two made their way over to a table. Sakura didn't know how he did it. He didn't even seem bothered by the fact a lot of people were staring at them. If anything, he looked bored. Was it an act? If it was, Kakashi was a good actor. Perhaps she should ask him for lessons?

"You know," Sakura said thoughtfully as she picked at her sandwich. "I think I've spent more time with you in the past two weeks than I have with anyone else."

He gave her a cheery smile. "Is that your way of saying you enjoy my company?"

She smirked. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Hatake."

"I know you like me really." Kakashi then turned serious as he pointed to her food. "Eat."

With a groan of annoyance, Sakura did as she was told. "You're as bad as my mother."


His expressionless eyes didn't leave her face for a second. It was like everywhere he went, she was there. Couldn't he catch a break? What had he done in his past life to deserve something like this? Out of all the people to annoy him, it just had to be Haruno Sakura. She just had to return to Konoha High and make his life just that much harder, didn't she?

It was obvious she could feel his and Naruto's eyes on her, because she was holding herself a little too well. While Sakura had always been the kind of girl who stood tall and had good posture, she preferred to slouch since it was more comfortable. Sasuke was certain she had picked that up from the idiot beside him, but he didn't ever bring that accusation up. To do so would start an argument between him and his best friend and even though it had been over eight months now, things were still a little tense and uncomfortable between them at times.

Naruto had never fully forgiven Sasuke for what he did and honestly, he couldn't even blame the blond. What he had done was a really shitty thing for a best friend to do, but what could he say? That he was sorry? That he regretted it? Because he wasn't and didn't. It was strange. While being with Sakura had caused him pain and confusion and anger, he didn't regret it for a single second because it also brought him relief, pleasure and maybe even happiness. If he regretted anything, it would be how he handled the situation with Naruto. Why couldn't he have remained calm? He bet his older brother, Itachi, would have been able to. Bastard.

Suddenly, Sakura's head snapped up as she glared at the silver haired support teacher beside her. "Kakashi."

Why did her voice make him tense whenever he heard it? Why did it feel like he was being punched in the stomach? Like something was squeezing his chest?

"Is something wrong, Sakura?"

"What's taking so long? We're at the front."

Ah, so he and Naruto were making her uncomfortable? It hadn't been that obvious until she mentioned it.

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see, there are another two teachers before me and since I'm only a support–"

"Forget I asked." Sakura rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.

He hated it when she stood like that, mostly because of the way her breasts would push together. The only reason he could tell was because he was much taller than her and she always had the top two or three buttons of her blouse undone, revealing her cleavage. Before, Sasuke had disliked her doing that because they had been somewhat together and she was his. He didn't like it when other guys ogled what was his. But now, he disliked it because she wasn't his anymore and he didn't like being reminded of that fact. Sasuke didn't like being reminded of the fact that she had just left him, without warning and without an explanation.

"Anything you want?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Sakura.

"I'm not that–" At his raised eyebrow, Sakura sighed. "I'll have a sandwich, but I can pay for it myself."

He shrugged. "That's fine by me."

On the outside, Sasuke remained expressionless as he watched Sakura pick up her lunch before paying and walking away, but on the inside, he was frowning. By the look on Kakashi's face, Sasuke was guessing that Sakura didn't eat, but it didn't seem right to him. She looked the same size she had been before she left. Was that why she had left? Did she have an eating disorder? Sasuke shook his head as he grabbed his lunch, paid for it and walked away. He couldn't imagine Sakura not eating. Back before she left, she had eaten anything that was put in front of her.

"Oi, Sasuke?"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke looked across the table at Naruto, who was currently frowning at him. "What?"

"Do you think something's wrong with Sakura?"

That was also something that changed. Naruto no longer called Sakura 'Sakura-chan'. It didn't seem like much, but for those who were closest to them, it meant a lot. "It's not our concern."

"Look at her," Naruto hissed, suddenly seeming angry. "How can you say she isn't our concern?"

With a sigh, Sasuke looked over at Sakura's table where she sat with Kakashi. She was picking at her sandwich, looking utterly miserable. It was strange seeing her that way. He was used to seeing her with a bright smile on her face, but then Sakura smirked as she said something to Kakashi, who was smiling cheerfully at her. "Look," Sasuke grunted as he looked back at his food. "Not our concern."

What he had missed when he turned away was Kakashi forcing Sakura to eat, which wasn't something Naruto missed as he then looked back at Sasuke and frowned. "I thought you would have cared more about her, considering everything that happened between you both."

Why was this idiot his best friend? Sasuke didn't even know anymore. Hell, he couldn't even remember how they became friends again. "I could say the same to you."

That silenced him.


The rest of the day was kind of a blur to Sakura. One moment she was sat in maths and then the next, school was over and she was walking with Gaara to detention. Since they were in the same class last period, they went to detention together. He hadn't really wanted to, but she talked him round. Well, she walked faster so that they were walking together and he had to accept the fact she just wasn't going away.

When they arrived, Ino and Sai were already headed off to the stairs leading to level one. After the second or third day, the janitor had told them not to bother waiting for him and that they should just get changed and get started.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura looked up from putting her feet through the legs of her overalls and raised an eyebrow at Gaara, who was looking at her like she had grown a second head. "I'm putting the overalls on to protect my clothing," Sakura replied slowly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes, not liking that she was talking to him like he was an idiot. "In front of me."

Realising why he was so bothered, she rolled her eyes and pulled the overalls up her legs before tucking her skirt in and lifting it over her hips. "Relax," she told him. "I'm wearing shorts under my skirt."

"Do you change in front of just anyone?"

At his condescending tone, Sakura's head snapped up from fastening the buttons to glare at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"I was led to believe that girls appreciated privacy, at least those with dignity." He smirked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You're an ass," Sakura muttered as she went to walk past him to grab the cleaning supplies. However, at his next four words, Sakura paused in front of him.

"And you're a slut."

Before Gaara could even react, Sakura's fist connected with his face, causing a sickening crack to sound and him to stumble backwards until he was against the wall. "Who do you think you are?" she screamed at him, trying to ignore the throbbing coming from her fist. Tears came to her eyes, but like the pain in her hand, she tried to ignore them. "You don't even know me," she continued. "All you know about me is my name and rumours that have been spread."

Gaara raised a hand to his cheek but dropped it back to his side when the pain flared. His fists clenched tightly as he stood straighter, a murderous glare focusing on Sakura's trembling form. The girl looked like she was about to break down in tears, but at the same time, she looked like she wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp.

"I'm different now," her voice dropped to a whisper, one that sounded strained. "I'm better."

As soon as the last two words left her lips, tears started to fall silently down her cheeks, completely surprising Gaara. What the hell was happening? One moment she was angry and then she was crying? "Why are you crying?" the question sounded more like a demand.

"I'm trying." She hiccuped. "I'm trying so hard to be different. I want to be better!"

He really had no idea what was happening and what made it worse was that she suddenly grabbed a hold of him and wouldn't let go. His immediate reaction was to hit her until she let go, but he couldn't. To hit a woman, especially a woman who couldn't defend herself and was vulnerable, was just wrong and dishonourable. It was also pathetic and made you look like nothing more than a weakling. His second reaction was for his entire body to tense. He didn't like being touched and because of that, among other reasons, nobody touched him. So having a girl gripping him tightly as she cried was definitely not something Gaara wanted. It was practically an assault.

"Let me go," he growled.

His words and tone seemed to have no effect however, as Sakura did the exact opposite and tightened her grip. "I…" She paused as a sob shook her body. "I'm sorry… for hitting you. I didn't… you just… I was angry."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. He didn't care for her apology. "Let me go."

Still, Sakura refused to release him. "Please don't be mad at me," she whispered. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry!"

Where the hell was this coming from? Why was she acting so afraid? Why was she holding him so tightly? Why was she looking for comfort from him? Why wouldn't she just let him go? Trying to seem as calm as possible, Gaara took a deep breath before speaking, lying through his teeth, "I'm not mad."

She lifted her head to look at him and he had to hold back the sneer at how pathetic and hopeful she looked. He preferred it when she was angry with him. "You're not?"

Slowly his fists unclenched as he moved them to her arms, unlocking them from around his waist and holding her at arms-length. Finally, some distance. "No."

His words seemed to help Sakura calm down as she also took a deep breath. "I'm still sorry." Her voice was stronger now, even though she was avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Whatever."

With that, the two got to work.


For what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, Sakura hissed with pain before dropping the mop and clutching her hand to her chest. "It's broken," she whined. "Look at it. It's already swelling." When she received no reply, she looked up at her partner. "Gaara, this is your fault. Help me!"

"How is it my fault?" he asked in a bored tone. Stepping out of the cubicle, Gaara gave her a look to match his tone. "You were the one who punched me."

"That was because you were being an ass," she snapped before taking a deep breath. "Will you just look at it for me?"

Shaking his head, he moved back to the cubicle. "No."

"Why are you such a jerk?" Sakura once again hissed with pain as her hand unconsciously tried to form into a fist. "Damn it!"

There was a sigh of annoyance before suddenly, somebody was beside her. You could tell just by how tense his body was that Gaara didn't want to help her. Not only that, but it was obvious that he didn't want to touch her either. If she hadn't known that he felt that way about everyone, she would have taken offence. Thankfully, not only Kakashi, but also Gaara himself had filled her in.

His hands were cool against her skin as he took her wrist and pulled her arm away from her chest. Each movement was slow and surprisingly careful, as though he was trying not to cause her any more pain. Knowing Gaara – sort of – Sakura knew that it was only so she didn't start whining again.

"It looks like you've broken two fingers and three knuckles," he muttered as he inspected each finger and knuckle. "And you have probably sprained your wrist." He looked down at her with annoyance, his hands still holding hers. "Don't you know how to throw a punch?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do! It's just when I get angry…"

"You act without thinking," Gaara finished for her when she trailed off.

There was a sheepish, almost hesitant smile. "Yeah."

Neither of them had pulled away yet, Sakura because she didn't want to move her hand and bring back the pain that his cool fingers was numbing slightly and Gaara because… actually, he wasn't sure why he hadn't moved yet. What he did know was that she had finally shut up complaining and he would do anything, anything, to keep her quiet.

"Do you have a car?" she asked, looking up at him.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. "I don't have one anymore, so I need a lift to the hospital." At the face he was pulling, she sighed. "I know, I know, petrol costs a fortune. How about you drive me there, take me home and when we get there, I'll give you the money to refill your car?"

"Why would you give me money?" Gaara asked suspiciously. "You said that I'm the one who broke your hand."

Sakura shrugged and a small smile graced her lips. "Just accept my offer, Gaara. It's not like I have anything else to spend my money on." A humourless chuckle escaped her lips as she looked down at their hands, but when she spoke, her voice was quiet, "I have no friends now, remember?"

"Whatever," Gaara told her before letting go of her hand.

Even though they hadn't finished their level of the school, the two put away their cleaning supplies, removed their overalls – Gaara had reluctantly given Sakura a hand with removing hers, much to his chagrin. He was grateful that she wore her uniform underneath her overalls and shorts underneath her skirt. If she didn't, it would have been a hell of a lot more awkward.

Ino and Sai had passed the pair as Gaara was helping Sakura out of her overalls and when she had seen them, the blonde had laughed. She then went on to ask Sakura if she had gotten so desperate that she would have sex in a janitor's closet with a nobody, to which Sakura replied that at least it wasn't a public bathroom with Kiba, making Ino scream with annoyance, humiliation and anger, before stomping away.

"Did she really have sex in a bathroom?" Sai asked, watching Ino quickly disappear around the corner before he turned to look at Sakura and Gaara.

Sakura shrugged. "Yeah, she did and the only reason I said it is because I'm sick of her treating me like crap. Not only that, but she keeps bringing Gaara into our fights. It's not fair to him."

"I don't need you to defend me," Gaara growled.

"Well, that's too bad."

Sai looked between the pair before finally asking, "So why is Gaara-kun undressing you in a janitor's closet, Sakura-san?"

"She broke her hand," the redhead told him quickly.

"Punching his face," Sakura added cheerfully.

The pale boy looked between them with an empty expression, but they could tell that he was more or less shocked. "You punched him?" Sai asked in bewilderment as he took a step closer and examined Gaara's left cheek. Sure enough, there was a little swelling. "Why?"

For what felt like the millionth time that day, she shrugged. "He said something I didn't like."

"And you punched him for it?"

"And yelled at him." Her cheery tone was back before she hissed. "Careful," she snapped at Gaara, who had just jostled her hand when pulling the sleeve over it. Sakura was certain that he did it on purpose.

He let go of the overalls and if the closet hadn't been so small, he would have taken a step back. "Fine, you can do it yourself." As Sakura looked at him with wide eyes and was just about to complain, he stepped forward with a growl of annoyance. "Shut up, then."

It didn't take all that long for them to change, return their cleaning equipment and grab their things from their lockers before finally leaving the school. Sakura would say that it had taken them no more than ten, maybe fifteen minutes. She had decided to call her mother when she was in the car, since she only had one hand to use and at that moment in time, she was carrying her jacket since it was too big to fit in her bag. Thankfully, her bag was a leather backpack, so she simply slipped that onto her shoulders. If she hadn't been so grateful for the lift, Sakura would have snapped at Gaara for not being a gentleman and offering to carry her things. However, given the fact that it was Gaara she was with, she kept her mouth shut.

The phone only rang twice before her mother answered. "I didn't expect for you to call so soon. Is your detention over already, Sakura?"

Did her mother have to make her sound like she was some sort of out of control delinquent? "No," Sakura said slowly before clearing her throat. "I'm… going out with a friend."

Gaara shot her a dark look, but she ignored him as she listened to Mebuki. "What friend? I know it isn't Sasuke, he passed me while I was on my way home. Is it Naruto?"

"No, it's not Naruto," she told her mother, trying to speak over the lump in her throat. "He's still avoiding me, can't blame him really." Just as Mebuki was about to speak up, Sakura interrupted her, "I'm with a new friend and his name is Gaara. We're going out for a bite to eat, so I just called to tell you that I won't need a lift."

She could almost hear her mother's glare. "You are not going out, not without my permission. Come home, Sakura."

Because of how loud she was being, Gaara overheard and raised a brow at her, but Sakura simply shook her head. "See you later."

With that, she hung up, switched her phone off and groaned as her head fell back against the headrest.

"I know she means well," Sakura said suddenly, almost speaking to herself. "But sometimes… I just wish she wouldn't try to control everything I do. And I know I'm lucky to still have her, especially after all the crap I've put her through, but I just want her to trust me more, you know?"

Gaara didn't reply, because honestly, he didn't know.


A/N - Okay, let me just say this: I hate, hate, hate, Karin and Matsuri. I really cannot stand them and not only because Matsuri likes Gaara or Karin likes Sasuke, they just really piss me off. Sorry if I've offended anyone by that (I know how scary some parts of this fandom can be), but in my honest opinion, Karin is pathetic and acts like she's having an orgasm when Sasuke bites her and Matsuri is more useless than Sakura used to be.

Oh! That's another thing I hate! When people say that Sakura is useless and she only defeated Sasori because Chiyo was there. Well, if Sakura wasn't there, Chiyo would have been defeated quickly. They worked as a team and defeated him together.

Anyways, I'm going to go and read the latest Naruto chapter!

Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! :-)

God, editing this story is a pain.