Sadly: I don't own Naruto v-v enjoy!-HC:

chapter 7


bloop

bloop..

bloop...

What the Hell is that...?

bloop..

"Here's your soup" Sasuke said before placing the bowl in front of her.

Sakura shot him an eyebrow before looking down at the grey bowl of "soup" that was given to her by the Uchiha boy.

She gulped and took a whiff to see it smells rather...erm sour...

"That's not what it looks like on the box," she stated him.

"Those things are photo shopped" Sasuke quickly added.

Sakura rolled her eyes and looked down at it again

"Sasuke..."

"What?" He said flatly.

"why is it bubbling like that?" she asked afraid to take a sip from the bowl.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Sasuke declared.

"What do you mean how are you supposed to know?! You cooked it!" She reminded him.

"Just eat it" he growled out as he sat next to her. He had soy sauce on his face and he looked like he really put out a fight inside the kitchen.

Hesitantly, Sakura grabbed her spoon and scooped a bit of it onto the edge of her spoon and took in a deep breath

Well, here goes nothing...if I die...then it means I died a woman!

She put the edge of the spoon in her mouth and immediately felt the sour smell fuzzed inside of her taste buds

THIS IS DISGUSTING!.Spit it out! Spit ittt outttttttttt...!

Sakura was just about to just spray everything out when she looked over at Sasuke glancing at her trying to witness her reaction to his wonderful cooking.

"well?" he asked, as if he was expecting her to praise him.

If you say his cooking's bad he's going to murder you...

"Ahh well...its erm... Surprising" she said cautiously.

"Really?"

"Mhm mhm..." Sakura nodded her head and swallowed before putting the bowl down

"Well...aren't you going to finish it?"

eh?!

"Ahh...hmm well..." she began.

"Eat it, I worked hard to cook that, it's probably better than anything you've ever made"

HA! Is this cocky bastard for real?!

"Uh..." Sakura hesitated.

"Finish it..." her ' dear husband' ordered.

Sakura quickly grabbed the bowl and took in another sip and felt something in her mouth this time...

She began to chew slowly as she watched him confidently smirk at her

Sakura continued to chew slowly before responding to his oh so arrogant smile.

"Mmmmm you added noodles to it..." she said.

"That's chicken."

Sakura immediately choked and started to cough as he handed her a glass of water

"ahh...chicken yeah...great" she said blandly.

Sakura took in a few more sips and suddenly she felt tears coming down.

""Why are you crying?" Sasuke questioned.

"This is the nastiest thing I've ever eaten my entire life" she mumbled while gulping the rest of his death soup down her throat.

"Hn! Then why are you eating it?!" there was both hurt and anger in that tone of his.

"Because you made it; you looked like you were having trouble the whole time..."

"I did... I never had to cook anything before, so you better appreciate it" Sasuke told her.

"I do" Sakura smiled at him and his eyes slightly widened before he quickly turned away and covered his mouth.

"I just don't see why you had trouble following simple directions from the side of the box" she stated.

"THERE WAS DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX?!" Sasuke shouted in disbelief.

He shot up and looked at her as if she had just told him some cheat-cheat to this whole cooking thing.

"...Yes, that's how you make it..."

He walked up to her gripped her shoulders and started to shake her vigorously

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"

"I-I-I th-though y-y-y-ou knewwwwww ahhh let go I'm g-g-getting dizzzyyyy!" Sakura pleaded.

He stopped shaking the girl and she plopped back on the sofa to calm her aching, dizzy head.

ugh I'm gonna puke...

"Hn...I didn't even look at the box." he mumbled as he sat there angry.

Sakura laid there with her forearm over her forehead and suddenly it all seemed funny to her.

This guy...

"Hehehe...hehehe..hahahahahahaha...HAHAAHAHHAAHAHA A YOU CAN'T COOK! HAHAHAHAHAHA" She suddenly laughed.

"Teh...what?! You dare laugh at me huh?! After all the shit I went through to make something for you?!" Sasuke growled dangerously.

Sakura couldn't breathe as she held down her stomach and started to laugh again.

She heard him threaten and growl at her, but it didn't scare her one bit, maybe it was her fever but at this point Sasuke didn't seem scary, today he seemed rather...clueless.

"Hn whatever laugh all you want I'm leaving" Sasuke informed the laughing girl as he stood up.

Sakura stopped laughing and shot up from the sofa.

"Don't! I'm sorry I laughed hehe...I guess it's the fever getting the best of me."

He sat back down and placed his hand back over his mouth and looked away.

The two sat there quietly as she finished the soup and took the medicine that he kindly bought for her.

She felt so thankful seeing it as though this was the first time anyone has ever taken care of her while she was sick. It felt so nice, She felt like crap but honestly she was happy she caught a cold because if she never did then Sasuke wouldn't be here taking care of her.

Sakura was going to ask him if there's anything she can do in return when suddenly he got a call.

"Hello? Ah yeah I'm home..."

The girl sipped her water and looked away when she felt his eyes draw over to her suddenly his voice got louder, and there was more concern in his tone- like he was scared

"She's where?! WHY?! Oh Crap...alright I'll be right over."

He hung up the phone and looked over at Sakura.

"Karin's in the hospital."

Yay!

"oh...what for?" Sakura said pretending to be concerned.

"Not sure, but she's asking for me."

pang...

I knew this night was just too good to last.

"I see..." Sakura spoke.

He's leaving me for her...again...

Sakura looked at him as she watched him run around as if he was scared to death for Karin.

He must really love her huh...

It actually irritated her a little that he was ditching her just like that, he walked over to the door and just before he did Sakura called him out, hoping he'd look at her and remember her.

"Sasuke..." she began.

"What?" he turned back expectantly.

...stay...please stay here with me...

He stared her, waiting for her to register something to say.

...Forget it...

"Your keys..." she reminded him.

"Oh right."

He walked over and grabbed his keys, and wallet within the next two minutes he was ready to go.

Sakura watched him grab his hoodie and just run out the door without bothering to ask her if it was alright for her to stay alone... he didn't turn to her, to look at her or to even ask her if she'll be okay.

He did nothing...

Sakura felt her stomach twist and churn as she sat alone on the sofa and started to cough

Her green eyes were burning more than usual as she blinked a few times to control her hot tears

"don't cry Sakura don't cry...who cares it's no big deal..."

She knew it was no big deal for her...she's used to this.

"But still..."she sniffed to herself.

It felt so nice to have someone care for me like that- even if it was for a few measly minutes.

Sakura laid back on the sofa her fever began to rise again, her tears were so refreshing against her steamy hot skin she actually felt like crying more, only because it felt that good.

Sakura laid there in silence for a few minutes when something else came to mind. She jolted up from the couch and looked towards the stairs

"Itachi's letter!"

Sakura got to her feet quickly and fell right back on the sofa, her mind just spun off for a few minutes again

She felt her sight blacken out as she tried to get back up again.

After another drink of water Sakura went right back to her feet and slowly walked upstairs to grab the letter he's given her.

Sakura walked downstairs and sat down with the open envelope in her hands.

"Well...it didn't explode...I'm not dead yet," she peeked inside to see it was just a letter. "There aren't any poisons...no drugs..." it just looked like a plain old letter.

Sakura slipped it out and tapped it with her pale finger a few times

"No sign of danger...no blood, nothing hmm..." Sakura examined.

Sakura opened the letter and peeked into it to see there wasn't anything scary drawn on it.

She opened the letter all the way, to see it truly was a letter and a piece of tissue...? Um.

She shrugged her shoulder and put the tissue down and picked up the letter again.

Sakura felt a smile creep onto her face the second she began to read the letter to herself.

Dear Sakura-san, how are you?

"I'm great Itachi how are you?" Sakura answered to the letter.

I'm quite well myself if you ask me

Sakura giggled as she thought of how he predicted her asking him how he felt; her smile grow even bigger as she started to read on.

Before you read further on, after you're done laughing of course, I'd actually like to apologize for not meeting you at all when we came over.

"Aww its okay Itachi...thank you for your concern."

You're welcome Sakura, but it's still no excuse...I'm sorry we had to resort talking to each other for the first time through this letter.

"Hahaha that's quite clever to predict my every response. You are indeed very smart Mr. Uchiha!"

Thank you for your compliment, Ms Sakura, and honestly it's just me guessing on where you'd pause to reply back to me...I assume Sasuke's not with you...

"Nope, that sucker flew!"

He's always after Karin, stupid kid will never learn. Anyway this letter was actually an apology to you on behalf of my harassed you and made you cry, I'm sorry I couldn't do much. I was hoping Sasuke would've helped a bit

"Don't push any hope on him; your brother's a selfish jerk."

I know, he's spoiled, and I'm sorry about that as well...I guess this is my way of letting you know I know what you're dealing with...and I'm honestly sorry

She felt tears burn her eyes again

"Damn it Sakura why do you keep crying huh?!" Sakura scolded herself.

You have a lot of emotion built up that's why, you should use the tissue I packed in for you

"Wow...hahaha this guy..." Sakura grabbed the tissue and wiped her tears before she began to read again.

I know, I think I'm amazing too.

"Damn it!" Sakura found herself smiling again; her cheeks were warming up as she tried to control her big, goofy smile.

It's okay to smile, it's good to smile Sakura-san, I'm glad I was able to make you laugh even for a little while...

"Thank you Itachi."

You're welcome...anyway, I'm sorry again, I'm sure we'll talk face to face at one point. Oh and the only reason I wrote this was because I know you don't have a phone.

"Its fine, I like hand written letters...well being it this was my first one. Bet you didn't know that did you?!"

Quickly, Sakura looked down and growled, but kept her smile when she read the last bit of his letter

I'm glad I was the first person to write to you, bet you thought you got me this time didn't you?

Anyway, I'm not sure how to end it so I'll just leave you to reread this letter again

Take care, Itachi

"Wow..."

She sighed as she sat there and looked down at the letter...she stared at it wondering how this guy even...

Sakura was speechless, amazed, confused, and a bit freaked out as to how he knew what she would say...

"I wonder..."

Sakura looked at the back of the letter and looked down and began to laugh when she saw what he wrote in tiny letters.

p.s...I'm not creepy -_-"

"Hahahahahaha wooowwwwwwwwwwww!"

Happily, Sakura hugged the letter tightly as she fell into a coughing/laughing fit.

This was the best thing ever!

Sakura looked down and read again as she found herself responding back the same way over and over again.

It amazed her so much!

She kissed the letter and put it neatly back in the envelope and held it closely against her. The clock struck midnight and she looked over at the door to realize that Sasuke was probably going to stay there with Karin.

She laid there and wondered what happened to her, and soon found herself hoping it was something really bad...

She wanted Karin hurt, but for some reason only good things happen to her. She always gets her way, and there's nothing wrong in her life, but she doesn't appreciate any of it! And then there's Sakura...a girl who's had nothing but problems in her life..

"Sigh I guess I'm just not that lucky..."

Sakura didn't even sleep that night, she was tired, my body ached, and she felt like throwing up but she didn't sleep she just waited...and waited...hoping Sasuke would just run back in and look at her just once and apologize for leaving like that.

...but he didn't...she fell asleep without realizing it still hoping that, that moment would come.


Next Morning...

Sakura woke up and to find the house looking the same as last night...

Messy, smelly, and empty.

She looked around to wonder if Sasuke was home.

The girl got up and checked to see his shoes were still gone.

"He never came back..."

It's Friday today and she felt worse than yesterday...she slowly got up and walked upstairs to take a shower in hopes her sinuses would clear up...

It's almost time for school...she got ready and debated on whether or not she should go, until she went downstairs to see the house a complete mess...

"Ugh...I can't go to school knowing this place looked disgusting..." Sakura said to herself.

She wasn't feeling too well...and it was cold already she didn't want to go outside.

It's December now, and she honestly didn't want to walk outside into the cold with a cold!

So she decided she'd stay home and clean the house up before going back to bed..

Her little nose was stuffy so it was so difficult to breathe at all.

She tied up her hair and grabbed her trusty cleaning supplies, as she prepared herself to fix this place up.

She hasn't checked the kitchen since Sasuke invaded it so she's really scared to see what he has done to it...

"Okay! Let's do this!" she chanted enthusiastically.

Sakura ended up spending the entire day cleaning the house...

Sakura grabbed the giant bag of trash and dragged it into the living room and plopped on the sofa completely hating her life.

"Ugh I need a shower..." she groaned.

ding-dong

"Ugh go awayyyyyyyyyyyyy!" she hoped.

Sakura waited a little bit until the door bell rang again and suddenly she heard loud banging coming from the door.

Sakura shot up and gasped before running over to the door.

Sasuke?

She opened the door to see it was none other than...

"Sakuraaa-chaaaaaaaaaan!" Naruto shouted.

Ba-thump

He pulled her into his arms for a nice tight hug and she slowly hugged him back before gently squeezing him in her arms.

"Haha Naruto" she giggled.

"Mmmm I missed you!" he squeezed her harder and spun her around for a bit.

If she wasn't so dizzy already she would've enjoyed that.

"Ahh Naruto-"

"Why weren't you at school huh?! I waited, and waited, and waited but you didn't show up! I went to Kakashi's class but you weren't there either!"

Sakura felt her coughing fit come up again as she moved away from him and blew into her tissue.

"Ahh Sakura-chan you look horrible..."

"Sorry Naruto. I'm not feeling well..."

"Mmmmmmmmm" he placed his hand on her forehead and checked her fever.

"Mhm mhm... hmmmmmm" he placed his other hand on his forehead and sadly looked over at the tiny girl. "...you really are sick. Come here." He walked her over to the sofa and sat her down

"If you're this sick why aren't you resting, huh?! Who told you to clean?!" He asked.

"The house was a mess Naruto" Sakura informed the blonde haired boy.

"So?! That's no excuse for you!"

"But it looked so bad...It was killing me" she tried to explain.

"I don't care! You have to rest when you're feeling this bad Sakura!" He told her.

"Sorry..." Sakura apologized

"Sigh don't be- come here"

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Hahaha it's a good thing Teme stayed back to take care of you right?"

eh?

"Sasuke's not home Naruto..." Sakura told him.

"Huh?"

Sakura moved away and noticed the confused look on his face. Hmm I guess Sasuke's still at the hospital...

"Sasuke hasn't been home since last night...he's probably at the hospital still with Karin."

Sakura watched Naruto's face grim; it looked dark and angry...something she's never seen from him he put his head down making his hair simply cover his eyes as he hunched over.

"does Sasuke know you're sick?"

"Mm..mhm he gave me medicine and all but he got a call from someone and left. ...guess Karin's in a bad state..."

Sakura felt like she was making things more difficult for both Naruto and Sasuke.

He got up and growled before he clenched his fists tightly.

"That's no excuse to leave you in the state you're in for another girl!"

"It's fine" she told him.

"It's not! Sakura you're sweating, and burning up! You think that's okay?! You're pale as a freakin' ghost! You think it's alright for him to just leave you here alone all night?! What would've happened if you fainted huh?! Then what Sakura!?"

Sakura felt tears burn her eyes but she shook her head and forced herself to control them

"I-..I don't know.." was her shaky reply.

He stayed quiet as he slowly looked away from her and walked towards the door

"Naruto? where are you going?"

"I have stuff to do..." his voice was monotone as he continued to keep his head down

Pang.

Did I upset him?

"Naruto...are you mad at me?" she asked, hoping he wasn't.

Sakura quickly walked over and tried to look up at him but he kept his head down.

"Sigh I'm not mad...come here."

Sakura's cheeks burst into a deep shade of red when she felt his warm hand gently grab hers and slowly pull her into his arms. His hands naturally fell onto her sides as she held in my breath.

He gently squeezed her against him as one hand slowly caressed her cheek. He smiled at Sakura as his thumb slowly rubbed her cheek over and over.

Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump Ba-thump

Kami I hope he doesn't hear how loud it's beating. Geeze...This boy's going to give me a freakin' heart attack one day...

"I'm just worried about you okay..." He aid honestly.

Sakura nodded her head as she tried to calm her racing heart down...

"Shower up and rest alright? Don't push yourself. The housework can wait- I'll check up on you later."

"ah...you're not staying?"

His cheeks flushed pink as he suddenly rest his head on her shoulder.

"I'd love stay and take care of you...I'd feel better about myself if I did..."

Ba-thump...

"But I have something to do...so I'll just check up on you later, in hopes you'll listen to me."

"I will..."

His breath was so warm against her neck it was sending a billion different kind's chills down her spine. Sakura didn't want him to move away, she couldn't help but feel a bit ticklish from the ends of his spiky blonde hair.

His hair...

Sakura slowly moved her hand near his hair and began to protest on whether or not she should touch his hair when suddenly his hand flew up, grabbed her hand and firmly moved it onto his hair

"You can touch it Sakura, my hair won't bite you" he whispered. Once again sending chills inside her already shaking body. His hot breath was making her want to flip a table from the sudden emotions it was sending her...She loved it...

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt his forehead get hotter and hotter against her skin

"Are...Are you getting sick too Naruto?" she asked, concerned.

Sakura looked down to see the peak of his ears were on fire, it was as dark as her own blushing face. He shook his head no as he kept his head placed on her shoulder.

Sakura smiled as she slowly, and gently touched his hair.

It's soft...it's really really soft...

Sakura felt her heart race again as she continued to touch his surprisingly silky soft hair. For some reason she thought it would be jagged seeing it as though it sticks up like that but it's not. It's silky smooth...

"You're making me fall asleep...touching my hair like that...it's comforting..." Naruto chuckled.

"Sorry..." she gasped.

"Don't be. I like it..."

Ba-thump..

He sighed deeply as he moved off and looked away before covering his face with his whole hand.

Sakura's jaded eyes widened at how red his whole face has gotten, as her cheeks reacted to his blush he moved his hand away and smiled at her.

Sakura quickly looked away as he laughed and cleared his throat.

"Well I'm going to go now okay?" he informed me.

Sakura nodded her head and slowly waved at him.

I really don't want him to go...

"Bye Sakura... rest okay?"

"I will...try not to get sick Naruto" she said.

"I won't..." he promised.

He smiled and waved goodbye before opening the door and walked out.

Sakura felt her legs completely give out the second she heard the door click shut; she was panting and fanning herself as she tried to calm myself down.

He's really...gosh

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she held myself tightly.

"His hair...it smells so good..." she whispered to herself.

Naruto's scent was a different kind of warmth from Sasuke's...his scent just said 'embrace me'...it described him so much...

ba-thump...ba-thump...

Sakura started to fan herself again as she got to her feet and headed for the shower thinking of the cute blonde boy who's done nothing but kill her with kindness.


Later that day...

She was laying on her bed with a pillow over her face when suddenly she heard someone coming up the stairs. She shot up from her bed and ran out the door to see Sasuke walking into his room.

Sakura ran behind him and stood near his door.

"H-Hello Sasuke..." She greeted, "did you just get home?"

SLAM!

Sakura stood frozen still and stared at the door that was just slammed in her face...

What's his problem?

She walked back into her room and sat there fiddling with her fingers as she thought over and over about what she might've done wrong...

She ended up spending the entire night worrying about a guy who will never be pleased with her...


Next Day...

Saturday: 11am.

Sakura woke up and took a shower feeling a lot better than yesterday.

Sakura walked out and dried her hair while she took in a big whiff.

"Ahhhh I can breathe again!" she cried happily.

The pinkette walked down the stairs to see Sasuke angrily hang up the phone.

She slowly walked down the stairs and looked over to see Sasuke looking really fumed.

"...who called?" she asked.

He didn't even turn to her as he walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

She stood there watching him drink his juice when the phone rang again.

She looked at him once more as she watched him keep his head directly away from her before she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sakura-chaaannn!" a voice sung.

"Kaa-sama..."

"How are you dear?!" Mikoto asked brightly.

"I'm alright, how are you?" she replied politely.

"I'm great! Ne, Sakura-chan, I called because I wanted to invite you and Sasuke over for a nice dinner party we're having today!" her mother-in-law exclaimed.

"Dinner party?"

"Yes, we'll be having our closest friends over for some food, and music so please come."

"oh...mm alright, thank you for inviting us." she thanked.

"My pleasure dear! Ohhhhh I miss you! I hope to see you soon, oh and please make sure you're with Sasuke when coming alright?"

"Ah...yes...mm okay, thank you, see you later then"

"Hehe bye bye Sakura-chan!"

Mikoto hung up the phone and Sakura put the phone down as she walked over to him.

"ahh Sasuke...your mother just called she wanted us to go over for dinner tonight..."

He glared at her in silence as she waited for him to say something –anything- but he didn't. He simply walked off towards the staircase.

"Why are you so mad? What did I do wrong that would make you so mad at me?"

He turned around and scoffed at her as if she already knew what was wrong.

"What you did wrong? Let me tell you something Sakura: just because I left the house to go see someone who needed me, doesn't give you the right to bitch about me ditching you to my friends Sakura!"

"Huh?"

"Trying to act all innocent now are we?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Like you don't know Sakura. Wanna tell me why Naruto walked into the hospital, pushed me nearly knocking Karin over and started barking at me as to why I left you to go see her?!"

"I didn't know..."

"Of course you didn't know Sakura how else would Naruto find out about it without talking to you first!"

"Sasuke, honestly I didn't..."

"Cut the crap Sakura I know how you are around him alright? Do you have any idea how much SHIT I had to deal with after he left, just because he said that in front of my parents?! Do you? Do you have any idea what I've been hearing from them for the last 24 hours! Do you?! And it's all because you couldn't sit here alone for a few hours while I went to go see someone who needed me."

...Was this guy for real? Was he really making ME seem like the bad one here...

Sakura stood in front of him in silence as he walked back over to the staircase.

She was trying to calm herself down but she couldn't...no...she could...but she didn't want to...

"Well what about me?! How could you leave me just like that Sasuke!? You didn't ask me or look at me and wonder if it was okay!"

He stared at her in surprise as if she was someone who was speaking for the wrong cause.

"You heard she was in the hospital!"

"But I'm your WIFE, whether you hate me or not I should come first! NOT her!"

Sakura's voice was louder than ever and her felt herself start to choke as her hot tears began to stream down her face...she hated herself for being hurt by his words...she didn't want to care that he neglects her but she does...

"Well you don't! You don't so stop thinking that you do!"

Pang.

"I wouldn't think like that if you just stick to your words! Why do you do things that lead me to believe you actually care about me?! Why?! If you honestly, truly hate me then don't do things like that anymore! I don't need you Sasuke, if you honestly hate me and want nothing to do with me then I don't need you! I'm not beat for your concern so stop making me believe I should start! I don't need your pity! So quit trying to lead me on"

"I'm not the only one leading you on, Naru-"

Sakura's eyes widened and without even thinking about it, her hand slap Sasuke hard across the face. It was loud enough to actually echo into the silence in our broken, empty home...

"DON'T EVER SPEAK ILL OF NARUTO IN FRONT OF ME! EVER!" Her hand was throbbing, and she felt it burn and sting from the slap. Nonetheless she ignored the pain and watched his face remain still as he kept his face directly away from her.

She was so furious with him she didn't care about her hand, or the echo...or the tears that were dropping on the floor right now.

"Naruto...he's someone you can't EVER be Sasuke, EVER! You can be the most amazing man in the WORLD but you will never amount to ANYTHING Naruto is! YOU DON'T DESERVE HIS FRIENDSHIP OR HIS KINDNESS! YOU WHO CARE ABOUT NO ONE BUT YOURSELF AND A GIRL WHO OBVIOUSLY HAS NO FEELINGS FOR YOU! SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT ME BUT DON'T SPEAK ILL ABOUT THE MAN I HAVE SINCERE FEELINGS FOR!"

"Hn...it's too bad Naruto doesn't feel the same way..Guess he doesn't have to lead you on, you're pushing yourself onto him...heh..Pathetic.."

Sakura held in her breath and turned around and stomped upstairs, slammed her door behind her and ran onto her bed and cried all her anger out.

I hate him, I hate him, I HATE SASUKE! I hate Karin, I hate my parents, I hate this life...I hate all of it! I want to get away from these people...and this life.

Sakura slowly sat up and wiped away her tears.

She never screamed like that. Ever. Sakura looked down at her redden hand and she felt it still throbbing.

"I never hit anyone like that...Hell I never did any of that before..."

She didn't even realize she slapped him till she saw his face turn away from her..

She took in a deep breath and walked over to the vanity and looked at herself.

Sakura looked to see it was a girl who's living a miserable lonely life...and she knows now that she doesn't want to be that way anymore... Sakura found Naruto's words creep into her mind

"I want to help..."

"you're beautiful..."

She closed her eyes and took off her glasses and looked at herself right into the mirror...He wants to help me...and I want to make it easier for him..

She sighed and slowly let go of her hair..Sakura pushed her bangs forwards and played a little with her hair..

"Stay Sakura...stayyyy...look at yourself..." she mumbled as she stared into the mirror. She had waist length pink, layered hair, side swept bangs...

"I need to cut my hair," she thought to herself.

She ooked to see how all her layers grew out.

"ahh...I can do this..."she motivated herself.

Sakura kept her hair out and left her glasses on the table as she got up and looked at the rest of herself...

"Just walk out door Sakura... Just-"

BANG BANG BANG!

Panicking, Sakura fell to the floor in desperate need to grab her glasses and shoved them on as she crawled to the door.

"What?"

...

ugh...

she opened the door halfway to see him drop the phone onto her side of the floor and walk away.

Sakura glared at him as she shut the door and picked the phone off the floor and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sakura..?" asked Naruto.

Ba-Thump..

Naruto...

She bit down on her lip trying to control her smile as he laughed into the phone.

"Naruto... Hi..."

"Hey... ah you okay Sakura-chan? Hahaha you seem a little nervous."

Nervous?! NERVOUS?! I never talked to a guy over the phone before of course I'm nervous; I'm having a heart attack over here!

"No, I'm fine..."

"Ahh...so...did he say anything to you? Sasuke seemed pretty mad over the phone..."

Sakura went over and lay down on her bed.

"No...He didn't say anything"she lied. She didn't want Naruto to know what Sasuke said.

It'll just make things worse for all of us...

"Good, I'm glad. Haha...ahh he's really pissed."

"Mmm...he told me you went...ah- sorry Naruto."

"For what?"

"You guys are fighting because of me..."She felt horrible knowing Naruto's getting crap from Sasuke because of her.

Naruto chuckled. "Don't worry...HAHAHAHAHA I can get that guy to talk to me! Sasuke loves me, he can't stay mad forever! so don't worry okay?! HAHAHAAH!"

Sakura laughed into the phone and held onto the phone tightly.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Of course!"

"Mm then I hope you patch things up soon!" she said truthfully.

"Haha yeah...ahh...so... um you feeling better...?" Naruto asked shyly.

Sakura felt her cheeks flush at the sound of how gentle his voice suddenly got.

"Yeah... fevers gone, I can breathe again. I'm feeling a lot better, thank you Naruto..."

"That's good, I was worried"

Ba-thump

"Really...?" she asked, shocked.

"Mhm...I'm glad you're okay"

"Me too!"

"Ahh Sakura-chan, are you going to the Uchiha's today?"

"Yes, I have to" she told him.

"Ahh really?! Awesome! I'll be there too!"

"Yay!"

"Hahahaha you're so cute Sakura-chan"

"Eh..ehh?!" she said with a bright blush.

Sakura heard him laugh into the phone as her cheeks just flushed a deeper red; she felt dizzy from the sudden rush of blood that rose to her head. He continued to laugh as she sat there trying her best to not flip over her vanity table.

God I can't handle the butterflies I get too well.

"Hahaha are you okay Sakura?"

"Ahh yes I-"

click

Eh? What was that?

"Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"You okay?"

"Mhm!"

"Well I should hang up, you're probably getting ready"

No no no no no nooooooooo! Don'ttttt

Sakura felt my heart slightly drop at his words and sat there, silently not wanting to hang up on him... when:

BANG BANG BANG

"Get off the phone and get ready" Sasuke ordered.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the poisonous tone in Sasuke's voice.

"I have to hang up anyway, we'll talk later Naruto" she sighed.

"Okay, bye Sakura-chan"

"Bye Naruto!" she smiled.

Sakura clicked the phone off and kept it on her bed as she got up, locked her door and opened her closet to get dressed.

Naruto will be there...

She wanted to wear something nice for him...but she looked through her clothes to see she had nothing nice to wear.

She grabbed the only dress she owns an slipped it on.

I need new clothes...

Sakura walked over to the mirror and played with her hair again. She took off her glasses and looked in the mirror before taking in deep slow breaths.

"Okay Sakura...just one day...just one day...you can do this! YOSH!"

Sakura clenched her fists and stood up straight and took in another deep breath.

"Now to walk out..."

Sakura slowly opened the door and walked out her room and stood there.

She was just about to turn towards the staircase when.

click

Sasuke!

ISakura practically flew into her room and slammed the door behind her, as she found herself trembling.

"Baby steps, Sakura...baby steps." she told myself.

Sakura crawled over to her vanity table and put her glasses back on but looked at her hair.

Instead of pushing her bangs back, she clipped it to the side and tied her hair into a bun and sighed.

Sakura looked into the mirror to see it looked a lot better than before but...still not enough..

If I wasn't such a coward I'd just walk out without caring but I can't...

It's so scary for me...hah...I can't... but I'll keep trying.

"I'll get there eventually..."

Little by little, I'll get there...

Sakura looked around for anything else to see the box of ferrero rocher chocolates sitting on her table. She grabbed a quick little bag and grabbed a bunch of chocolates before walking towards her door.


The girl walked out the door and looked up to see Sasuke standing there with his hands in his pockets.

She looked up to see him in a grey button up shirt, loose tie, and black suit pants.

She felt her cheeks flush when she realized how annoyingly hot Sasuke was...

Grrrr...Don't look at him Sakura, he's the enemy!

Sakura quickly looked away as they stood there awkwardly for a bit. She felt his eyes on her for a while until he shot an eyebrow before looking away and walked down the stairs.

She followed behind him, making sure to keep distance between them. The duo walked over to his car, he unlocked the doors, and opened the front door but Sakura went to the back door and walked inside.

There's no way in Hell I'm going to sit next to him...

They sat there in silence as he turned on the car and started to drive..she kept her eyes averted towards the window and glued them there when she felt his glances towards her..

Don't look at him Sakura, he's the devil!

Sakura stared out the window and sat there frozen still...it wasn't until he parked the car that she looked at him once real quick to see his cheek still bloodshot red from her killer slap...

Her eyes widened and she felt a slight pang in her chest when she thought of how hard she slapped him.

It was so bad her own hand was hurting from the impact; she can't imagine what Sasuke felt...

Pang.

Sakura tried not to think about it as she felt the knot in her throat grow.

They walked out the car and walked over to the house and the door flew open revealing Sasuke's happy, beautiful mother.

Sakura looked around to see just how big their house was. It was twice as big as theirs but it had the same simple, modern feel to it- it was beautiful.

"Sasukeee, Sakuraaaa!" Mikoto called to them. She pulled them into her arms and hugged the two tight closing the door behind them. Sasuke and Sakura stood awkwardly next to each other as she looked back and forth at them. "Sooo How are you?" She asked the awkward couple happily.

"Fine..." was both Sakura's and Sasuke's answer.

She nervously laughed as she walked them over to the living room and Sakura looked to see Karin and her parents sitting there having tea.

"Look the lovely couple has arrived!" Mikoto announced.

Karin shot up and walked over to Sasuke with his hoodie in her hand.

"Sasuke...you forgot this at the hospital" she whispered as she looked at Sakura. Said girl watched him smirk at Karin as his eyes quickly went to Sakura again.

She quickly turned away and looked up towards the stairs to see Itachi staring down at them.

Wah...I want to give him some chocolates...

She was about to turn around and walk towards the staircase when she heard Sasuke's mother call her.

Sakura turned to her and saw her sadly smile at her as she beckoned her hand.

"Ahh...Sakura-chan...I..." she looked away and touched Sakura's pale cheek "...did you not like it?"

Eh? What's she talking about?

"Like what Kaa-sama?" Sakura asked curiously.

Mikoto looked over at Karin who was chit-chatting away with Sasuke and looked over at Sakura again.

She looked like she was slightly hurt but Sakura wasn't not sure why.

"Kaa-sama...?"

Mikoto: "never mind dear I'll ask Sasuke..,..Ah would you like something to eat?"

Sakura shook her head no as she got up and gave her a nice big hug before giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

She felt a knot in her throat grow feeling overwhelmed. Mikoto's gesture made her feel even worse when she saw how she sadly smiled at her again.

Did I miss something here?

Sakura was just about to ask when she looked over to see Itachi coming near them

Mikoto walked towards the kitchen as Itachi came closer to Sakura and stood in front of her, staring ather with his pitch black eyes.

"Sakura..." he said.

"Ita- Itachi-kun..." she stuttered.

They stared at each other for a bit before he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her super tight.

What the Hell?!

She was too shocked, surprised, and confused to even begin to register a question for him...but it didn't matter anyway because he let go of her and walked off into the kitchen without giving her a second look, or a word...

Sakura stood there completely frozen and confused.

"uh..."

...What the Hell just happened?

Sakura stood there frozen and confused for a while, and quickly turned towards Itachi's direction to see he was gone.

Eh?! Where'd he go?!

She ran to the kitchen to see he wasn't there and noticed the back door open.

Hmm...

She walked closer to the door and peeked out to see a figure standing alone out in the middle of the yard.

Itachi-kun?!

Sakura slowly stepped out and took in a few deep breaths as she got closer to the figure she couldn't see much since it was pretty dark outside..

as she got closer she looked to see it wasn't Itachi but someone else... he was standing there frozen still..spiky hair barely moving from the cool, pre-winter breeze..

That's when she realized...

Spiky hair?! Ahh! Must be Naruto!...what's he doing out here in the cold...?...

Sakura tiptoed closer to the figure as it stood there in place not moving one bit

Call out to him Sakura..

"ahh...Naruto...?" she called.

Just before she took another step closer, the figure turned around halfway revealing not a warm, smiling Naruto, but a pissed off Sasuke.

..Crap...


Her eyes shot open as she stood there frozen in place...

Looks like you disappointed her once again Sasuke...

"Ahh sorry I'll go-" she began.

Sasuke grabbed her hand and yanked her towards him causing her to slightly yelp at his sudden rough gesture.

"Hey let go, you're hurting me!" she pleaded.

Sasuke kept his tight grip around her wrist as she twisted it around trying to loosen her hand from hers...He stared at her, her whole entire mood changed, from happy to someone who was clearly scared and angry..

He didn't know what to say to her, he didn't know what he should say, what he shouldn't...he wanted to apologize but at the same time he felt like telling her off again.

"Stop staring at me like that and let go Sasuke! I'm not speaking to you anymore!" She shouted.

"You..." he growled out.

Sasuke pulled her even closer to him and pressed her body against his own. He saw her cheeks flush red as she kept her head down, he let go of her wrist and held her tightly next to him...

Ba-thump...Ba-thump...

She's freezing cold...

Ba-thump..Ba-thump..

...the tone in her voice was so anxious...it's amazing at how fast it changed just by realizing it wasn't Naruto but...me...

Throb

...she'd probably die before ever feeling that excited to see me...

Pang.

"Let...go! Sasuke!" she begged once more.

She was trying to push herself off of him but he just kept her firmly against him...

She kept her face away from his but he slowly turned her face towards him and tilted her chin up. She gasped as he held her chin in place. He doesn't know why but something inside of him just felt keeping her close to him...

"Sasuke wha-what are you...?"

I don't know myself Sakura...I honestly don't know myself...

Sasuke moved his thumb over her bottom lip...it was soft and plump...

He felt himself smirk as she continued to try and push him away as he moved his face closer to her.

The Uchiha heard her hold in her breath as he tilted his head getting ready to...

"Sasukeeeee?!" Karin screeched.

Sasuke quickly looked at her and looked over to see Karin running towards them and quickly let go of Sakura, almost automatically.

He covered his face as she took in a deep breath and stood there panting for a bit.

Karin walked over and looked right over at Sakura, making her smile slowly fade away.

"Sakura...what are you doing here?" Karin demanded.

"No-Nothing..." Sakura stuttered.

Karin looked at with a confused look as he just looked away from her and stood there not knowing what else to do...

Sasuke watched Sakura stand there shivering from the corner of his eye as Karin stepped closer to him.

"Sasuke the guys came, come on let's go." Karin told me.

She took his hand and began to walk him towards the door as she looked back at a frozen Sakura.

"Hmph...ugh" He felt her hand grip tighter against his own as she walked closer towards the door.

She turned around as they got inside and crossed her arms.

"What were you guys doing Sasuke?" Karin asked.

Sasuke glared at her for a while, completely hating her guts right now for interrupting him...

"Don't worry about it friend I was just talking to her," he dryly replied.

"Sasuke..." Karin gasped.

Sasuke looked away from her and walked towards the living room to see Naruto and the gang standing there eating. He felt Naruto's eyes on him when Sasuke looked up to see Naruto nervously smile at him.

This guy...

"Dobe," Sasuke said to him.

"Teme," he acknowledged.

"Let's talk," The Uchiha told him.

Sasuke yanked him by his collar and walked towards an isolated area in the house.

"Ahh Teme stop! Let go of me!" He shouted.

He turned Naruto around and let go of him causing him to stop and take a few deep breaths.

He loosened his tie and cleared his throat before nervously laughing at Sasuke again.

"Hey buddy hehehehe" he laughed nervously.

"..."

"You're still mad at me Teme? Hehehehe" Naruto continued.

Sasuke sighed as he put his hands in his pocket and looked away. He didn't know what to say to him, or how to say it, but he knew what he wanted to find out.

"Teme...?"

"...how was she?"

"Eh?" the dobe asked, confused.

Sasuke felt his face start to get warmer as the words inside him began to boil.

He slowly moved his hand over his mouth as he tried to control the weird feelings that were building up inside of him.

"Sakura, how was she? ...when you went to go see her?"

Naruto's smile faded away and suddenly he looked at his best friend with a very serious look on his face.

"...she looked horrible. She was pale as a ghost and sweating."

pang.

"I walked in to see her actually cleaning the house!"

pang.

That stupid STUPID girl! Who told her to clean?!

"I'm pretty sure she would've passed out if I didn't-"

"Stop! Just stop, I don't wanna hear anymore!" I yelled.

Sasuke growled out as he clenched his shirt tightly. The annoying throbbing feeling wouldn't stop as he thought about how he suddenly left her that night.

The boy sat down on the staircase as Naruto sat next to him.

"...why didn't you check on her? ...I get the fact that Karin was in the hospital but-"

"I don't know! ...I wanted to but... every time I did, Karin kept crying for me."

It's not like I wasn't thinking of Sakura...it's just I couldn't, I didn't know whether I should stay with Karin or go to her...

He felt so stupid now...he even screamed at her and blamed her for something she had no control over...

Naruto patted Sasuke's back and hunched over.

Sakura...where is she now?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto: his best friend, the guy he'd take any brutal- no matter how many stupid things he does in his life time Sasuke never hated him for it; but lately for some reason he...he just got angry when he saw the look he'd get whenever Sakura's name was mentioned

"I don't know..." Sasuke mumbled.

Sasuke saw a slight hint of worry come across his face as he looked away from him. And it got Sasuke to wonder...

"Hey dobe can I ask you something?" Sasuke called.

I asked him before but it never did convince me...

"sure"

"Do you li-"

"Sasuke...Sasuke!?" they heard Karin call.

The two looked over to see Karin running towards them again.

"Sasuke!"

"Naruto..." Sakura suddenly called.

Sasuke, and Naruto looked over to see Sakura walked towards them as well..

Sakura...

"Sakura..." Naruto said.

They looked at each other slowly as Sasuke heard more footsteps come their way.

He looked over to see Hinata walking over with Kiba right behind her

"Ahh Naruto," the white eyed girl said.

"Wait Hinata" Kiba said after her.

Everyone stood frozen in place as they all looked at each other...

Naruto looked from Sakura to Hinata...Sasuke felt Karin's eyes right on him as he looked right back at her. Sasuke found himself glancing at Sakura whose head was towards Naruto the entire time... Sasuke watched Kiba stare at Hinata while she kept her eyes glued to Naruto.

No one spoke a word...not a sound not a peep...it was completely silent. It's as if everyone knew just how awkward this situation was...


Beta'd by: Bananamilkshake101 :D thanksssssssssssssss!

HappyCrayon: XD AWWWWWWWWKKKWAAAAARDDDDDDDDD so i just re-edited this chapter when someone reviewed chapter 17 asking me if i was alive XD yes i am I'm just trying to fix the knooks and crannies so for you guys! thank you for supporting me! love you guys! hope you enjoyed this chapter!- c: HClessthanthree xx