A/N: I have reposted the last chapter. Unless your name is Blubelba and you are my beta, please reread it, both because I have made significant changes and to refresh your memory. Also,thanks everyone for helping me reach my first goal of 100 reviews before 20,000 words! Yay! Cookies for all *hands out cookies*! My next goal is 500 reviews and 250 subs by the end of the story =).
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Session Four
"Why are you being so nice?" – Sakura.
Time passed slowly for Sakura (as time in high school is wont to do if you're not one of the popular kids), but passed nonetheless. The trees behind the school stopped producing food via photosynthesis, and Sakura watched as the last of the chlorophyll faded away. The leaves' reddened corpses crunched underfoot, but the fresh, cool breeze smelled of promise and new beginnings. It gave Sakura hope that when she finally confessed to Sasuke, he just might say "yes."
She studied him carefully in class, at lunch, and at the guidance office, but, unfortunately, he was much harder to read than a textbook. The few times she'd asked him out he'd been "busy," but she couldn't tell if he rejected her because he was actually busy, or because he wasn't interested. Sasuke was involved in dozens of clubs and organizations and never seemed interested in anyone, so Sakura concluded that romance wasn't a priority for him at this point in time. But, that didn't stop her from hoping that if he did take an interest in someone, it would be her.
She thought maybe she hadn't made her true intentions clear to him. After all, she'd invited him to "come to my house and study together," a proposal that didn't necessarily have romantic connotations. She had assumed that they would bond over flashcards and practice questions since high grades and a passion for learning were things they had in common, but maybe Sasuke preferred to study alone. Sakura had attempted to study with friends before and she knew how easy it was to get off topic, although it hurt that Sasuke assumed she wouldn't be able to stay on topic when she herself was sure they'd get more done together than apart.
There was nothing for it but to confess to him properly. Today. Right after peer counseling. She stared at the blank office wall that separated herself and Hidan from Sasuke and Naruto, as if it would magically disappear if she wished hard enough.
"Yo. Sakura."
Sakura looked back at Hidan just in time for the pencil eraser to strike her across the nose.
She glared at him. "Stop that."
Hidan quirked an eyebrow. "Me? You're the one lusting after Sasuke like a bitch in heat. I know you want to bang him, but we're supposed to be talking about grades and shit right now."
Sakura didn't like the insinuation that she was being irresponsible, and she liked his choice of wording even less.
"And you wonder why I like Sasuke more than you!" She leaned across the desk and fixed Hidan with a heated glare. "Sasuke respects women. He would never call me a … what you just called me."
"Yeah, right," said Hidan. "He's probably gay."
"Sasuke is not gay."
"Then why don't you confess to him?"
Sakura was silent for several minutes. Finally, she said, "It's none of your business."
"Then why the fuck…let you… to him…" Hidan began, but the rest was drowned out by the sound of the bell. Sakura knew she should ask him to repeat whatever he he'd said, but somehow, she didn't really care.
"It's time to go," Sakura said stiffly. Neither of them moved.
Hidan glared at her, and she glared right back.
"Fuck this," Hidan said at last, as he gathered up his books and walked away.
Sakura put away her folders and binders slowly and deliberately, but not too deliberately, trying not to be obvious about the fact that she was waiting for Hidan to leave so she could go talk to Sasuke.
When Hidan reached the door of the office, he stopped and looked back at Sakura. "You're gonna talk to him now, aren't you?"
"No," Sakura lied, poorly.
"I'm not a fucking retard," Hidan reminded her.
Sakura placed the progress report Hidan had given her in the folder at the back of her counseling binder and tucked the binder under her arm to return to Kurenai-sensei. She then looked Hidan straight in the eye and said, "Fine. I was planning to confess to Sasuke after our session today, and that's why I was a little distracted. Not that you have any right to lecture me about getting distracted. Are you happy now?"
"Not yet, but I will be once I see him reject your ass."
Sakura was furious, but she made herself walk calmly across the guidance office and hand the binder to Kurenai with a smile on her face. Hidan followed her the whole way, grinning maliciously. As soon as Sakura stepped out of Kurenai's office, she turned to him and hissed, "Sasuke is not going to reject me, and, even if he does, you sure as hell are not going to watch."
"And she swears again! Looks like I'm rubbing off on you."
Sakura was not laughing. "Leave me alone."
Hidan crossed his arms over his chest. "Make me."
Great. Just when she'd finally made up her mind to ask Sasuke out, Hidan had to come along and spoil everything. Though Sakura would never admit it, Hidan's smug assurances that she wasn't good enough for Sasuke were destroying what little self-confidence she'd been able to build up during their session. And now he wouldn't even leave to let her suffer the potential humiliation in private.
She'd have to come back later.
Or did she?
Sakura bit her lip, considering her options. She sure didn't want Hidan around if Sasuke rejected her. Her pride aside, it would only give him more foolish ideas about getting into her pants (or skirt, as it were). On the other hand, if Sasuke accepted her offer, he might be able to convince Hidan to back off with that black belt of his…
Smiling to herself, Sakura succumbed to the fantasy of (protective!) Sasuke and decided to proceed. She hadn't seen them leave, so he was probably still in Hanako-sensei's office with Naruto.
"You want to watch? Fine. You can be the first one to congratulate me when Sasuke agrees to be my boyfriend."
Sakura strode confidently into Hanako-sensei's office with Hidan on her heels, ready to shut him up once and for all.
Hey Sasuke, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me.
The words died on her tongue at the sight of
Sasuke.
And Naruto.
Kissing.
Oh.
The door slammed shut with a loud 'thud,' and Sasuke and Naruto sprang apart as if they'd been burned. Naruto's face flushed fire engine red, while Sasuke's turned to ash. The way they were gaping at her would have been funny if Sakura wasn't so horrified by what she had seen.
Sasuke was the first to speak. His voice was calm, too calm, considering the situation.
"Sakura-"
Sakura interrupted him with an odd, half-hysterical giggle.
"Uh, I guess I'll be going now," she said, flashing Sasuke a smile much too large to be genuine.
Tears pricked her eyes as she backed away.
Damnit.
"Sakura…"
Someone standing behind her was calling her name. He grabbed her wrist, but she pulled free and stormed from the office like the tornado that wrenched Dorothy from her homeland and dropped her in a cold, cruel, unfeeling place. She didn't know where she was going, and she didn't care. Anything to get away from Sasuke and the pity she didn't even think he cared enough to feel.
Dammit. Dammit! Goddammit!
Hinata gave a small squeak of surprise as Sakura pushed past her on the way out of the guidance office.
"S-Sakura-san, what's wrong?"
"I'll explain later," Hidan muttered to Hinata as he bounded into the hall after Sakura.
Sakura ran down the hall and up the stairs, not really paying attention to where she was going. She cast about for any sort of explanation that would make sense, barring the obvious. Maybe Naruto was gay, and he and Sasuke had a quid pro quo agreement similar to hers with Hidan. Sasuke certainly despised failure just as much as she did… But, he'd have much more to lose. She was sure Sasuke wouldn't risk being mistaken for gay just to improve Naruto's grades. He was even more involved in church activities than she was, and theirs was a conservative congregation that quietly asked homosexuals to worship elsewhere. Worse, it didn't explain why Sasuke had been "busy" every time Sakura tried to ask him out on a date. She hated to admit it, but the facts suggested that Sasuke had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. God, no wonder Ino annoyed him so!
Before long, Sakura found herself in front of the second floor women's restroom. She took in the bare grey door and the icon of a stick figure in a dress with relief. Even better, the restroom was empty, probably because everyone was supposed to be in class by now. Sakura barricaded herself inside the handicapped stall at the end. She put the porcelain seat cover down and rolled out lots and lots of toilet paper.
A minute later, she heard the door open and the sound of footsteps.
"Sakura?"
It was Hidan.
Great.
She tried not to make any noise.
"I know you're in here."
"Come to say 'I told you so?'" said Sakura spitefully.
For a second, Hidan had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. Then, he remembered the conversation they'd had just fifteen minutes ago.
"No," he said. "Fuck, Sakura, I didn't know."
Sakura hmmpfed. "Go away."
"No."
"I don't want you here!"
"Well, too damn bad! I'm going to stay here until you feel better, dammit."
"You're going to be waiting a long time, then," she snapped.
"I'll wait for as long as I need to," Hidan said calmly, leaning against the wall opposite Sakura's stall.
For a long moment, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of Sakura's barely suppressed sobs. Hidan broke the silence, hoping to distract Sakura from thoughts of Sasuke.
"Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I tried to hook up with a lesbian?"
"No," Sakura replied, feeling a bit curious in spite of herself.
"Okay, so I went to this bar that I'd never been to before. Something seemed off right from the start. There were way too many women. Anyway, I met this really hot chick sitting at a table all by herself, wearing nothing but a bikini. I asked her why she was wearing something so weird, especially since it was the middle of winter at the time. She said she had come right from work. Believe it or not, she was a model for Playboy! I thought that was really hot, so I asked her if she wanted to come by my apartment and do some, er-, private modeling. But then, right behind me, came this big, butch-"
"Did this really happen?" Sakura asked suspiciously.
"No, I made it up," Hidan admitted.
Sakura groaned and threw a roll of toilet paper at the door of the stall.
"Come on now, Sakura," Hidan said, scratching the back of his head. "I know this all seems pretty shitty, but you'll be laughing about it in a few years. Trust me."
"Why are you being so nice?" she sniffled.
"Hey, I'm always nice."
"Liar."
Hidan was on the verge of making a witty comeback when he was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek. Ino was standing in the doorway, staring at Hidan with a mixture of shock, rage, and revulsion.
"Fuck, I forgot. This isn't what it looks like," Hidan said to Ino, backing away and raising his hands in a doomed conciliatory gesture.
"You- you pervert!"
Ino stalked across the bathroom, gripped her notebook with both hands, and brought it down hard on top of Hidan's head.
"Ow! Gitoff! Let me explain!"
"Get out!" she shrieked, buffeting him with her purse. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Hidan raised his arms in front of his face in an attempt to protect himself from her vicious onslaught.
"Could I have a little fucking help here, Sakura?" he said, annoyed.
Sakura emerged from the stall, only to collapse into helpless laughter at the sight of Ino whacking Hidan over the head with a Prada handbag.
"Ino please…." snort, "let him go…" giggle. "He came in to comfort me."
Ino stopped mid-buffet. "I knew it! I knew you were a slut!"
"Ino, wait! That's not what happened."
Ino's eyes narrowed.
"I'm going to make sure the whole school knows exactly what you are," she growled, turning on her heel and storming out of the bathroom.
"Shit, she's gonna get a teacher."
"What are we going to do?"
"Come on," said Hidan, sprinting down the hall and pulling Sakura after him.
A janitor's closet was two doors down from the women's bathroom, and Hidan knew from experience that whoever cleaned the school over the weekend usually forgot to lock it. He pushed Sakura inside and shut the door behind them just as Ino emerged into the hallway with Anko-sensei. He took advantage of their cramped quarters to press his body flush against hers, covering her mouth with his hand to muffle her soft gasp of protest. From their hiding place, they could hear the conversation that unfolded between Ino and Anko.
"They were here a minute ago!" Ino protested. "I don't know where they could have gone."
"I don't know what you've got against Sakura, but if you waste my time like this again, I'll make you run three laps around the football field. In the rain."
"I'm not making this up!" Ino hissed, furious. "I swear I saw Hidan and Sakura kiss-"
"If you don't shut up, I'll give you detention."
Ino shut up.
Hidan and Sakura heard the sound of Anko's footsteps as she walked back to room 131, muttering about tattletales and time-wasters. A minute later, Ino left too, fuming.
Hidan grinned at Sakura, enjoying the feel of her warm, soft body molded against his.
She gave him a glare that said you can let go now, the danger's passed.
Hidan reluctantly released her and stepped away.
Sakura shuffled to the side, putting as much space between them as she could in the small closet. She groped for the doorknob and opened the door a crack, cautiously peeking out into the hallway. No one was there.
"See anyone?"
Sakura looked back at Hidan in the dim light and noticed that he sported a nasty gash above his eyebrow, most likely made by the clasp of Ino's purse.
"Looks like the coast is clear. Here, let me get you some paper towels. That cut looks painful."
Hidan nodded and let her go, slumping against the rack of cleaning supplies.
Sakura returned a few minutes later with a handful of wet paper towels. She knelt beside Hidan and gently dabbed at the wound.
The cut wasn't as bad as it looked, but Hidan gave an exaggerated wince and cringed away from the "excruciating" pain. He was rewarded by a grimace of sympathy and a light caress.
Honest people are so easy to fool.
Sakura finished mopping up the blood and was about to go throw away the paper towels when Hidan caught her wrist.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"No, thank you. You acted very… gentlemanly."
He gave her a lopsided smirk.
"Just call me Prince Charming."
She snorted. "As if."
He smiled and brought her hand to his lips.
"Hey!" she yelped, yanking her hand away as he began flicking his tongue along the inside of her wrist.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
Sakura scowled at him. "That's what you always say. Take some responsibility for your actions!"
"You're just so damn irresistible," he muttered, taking her into his arms.
She considered pulling away, but eventually decided to let him hold her. At least, until he started stroking her butt… then he was going down.
It wasn't till Hidan left for the nurse's office that Sakura realized that she hadn't thought about Sasuke in nearly half an hour.
OOOOOOO
Disclaimer: All the homophobic, misogynistic, etc. language in this story does not reflect my views as author, only the views of the character expressing those opinions. I probably didn't need to say that, but I don't want to get flames for this and the next few chapters. Review, please =). By the way, today happens to be my father's birthday ^^. He will never read this, but happy 58th, dad!
