Haunted by the Past
Main: Sakura & Sasuke
A/N: Cake and punch! I know that last chapter was kind of a filler but I broke these two up again. I know they seem short but I'm trying to make the story last longer. Anyways enjoy.
It was 9:00 PM, the time the party was supposed to start. Sakura had ridden with Ino to the house. As they crossed the lawn, they could hear the music playing.
Sakura marveled at how spectacular Sasuke's house looked, even in the dark. Weren't his parents split up? If this was half of the fortune, what did it all look like? His house was two-story, similar to hers but three times the size. She heard splashing as she got closer. There was a hot tub in the back room. She could see it through the glass walls. In the front of the house, lights were placed along the path so you could see. All the lights were on in the house apparently and Sakura wondered how his mom would allow such a party to take place.
They were greeted at the door by Naruto, who'd already arrived with Hinata. He held a glass of liquid in his hand and he hugged both girls with one arm. As he hugged Sakura, she wondered if that was alcohol. She hoped not.
As they entered the house, Sakura realized that the inside was even more spectacular than the outside. They had set up black lights and most of the people were either dancing or drinking whatever was in those red plastic cups and talking to their friends. Sakura recognized a lot of people from her school, but there were a bunch that she didn't know.
She saw a guy with dark hair wearing dark clothing and her first guess was: Sasuke. Then suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around to see who it was.
"Hey. I see you decided to show up," he said in that smooth voice. Sakura couldn't help but smile. She covered it up quickly and then looked around.
"I could have sworn that I saw you a half-second ago over there," Sakura said, pointing in the direction she'd seen "Sasuke."
"Oh, you probably saw my older brother. He's here somewhere," Sasuke said, although he didn't sound too happy about it.
"Hey...Sasuke, who's your friend, bro?" a very drunk man said as he walked up behind Sakura on her other side. Sakura almost jumped out of her skin. Either way, she found herself holding on to the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt and hiding partly behind him. She released him quickly and moved away.
"Um...Sakura, meet my brother, Itachi. Itachi, meet my friend Sakura," Sasuke said awkwardly.
"Um...hi," Sakura said in a low voice as she held out her hand courteously. Itachi grabbed her hand, or more like he picked up his hand and it fell on hers.
"Hey sweetie..." he said, slurring and stumbling all the while. Sakura tried to jerk her hand away but he didn't let go.
Suddenly, Sasuke was in front of her. He was tensed up as he grabbed his brother's wrist, causing him to let go of Sakura's hand. "You aren't supposed to have alcohol here brother or did you forget? Mom's going to kill you," Sasuke said, trying to mock him to hide his anger.
Sakura watched and listened to the exchange, wondering why Sasuke was so uncomfortable around his brother. Of course, with the way Itachi was acting, that wasn't someone you would exactly introduce your friends of the opposite sex to.
Itachi stumbled off, still drinking from his cup as he checked out some of the other girls. Sasuke turned to Sakura with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry about him. He's scary...when he's drunk," Sasuke said, adding the last part as almost an afterthought.
"Yea," Sakura agreed quietly. "So, is everyone drinking?" she asked tentatively.
"No, they aren't supposed to. My mom's over there serving the punch. She asked that we keep it all clean, but Itachi just got here an hour ago from Dad's house and he brought his drink with him. Of course, he mixed it with punch so Mom wouldn't notice."
"There's no hiding it now," Sakura said impulsively. She covered her mouth quickly. Sasuke laughed. Sakura looked at him, amazed. She'd made him laugh, without even trying to. She couldn't remember ever hearing the serious Uchiha laugh. She smiled.
Her smile was quickly washed away, however, when a red-headed girl wearing a tube top and a miniskirt pushed her out of the way and grabbed Sasuke around the neck. She saw him tense up. That's her, she thought to herself. She looked at Sasuke and he was looking back at her, his expression strange.
"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun? Aren't you happy to see me? Your brother told me about the party so I decided to surprise you!" the girl said after she'd released him. She was so enthusiastic. It was like nothing had happened. Sakura shook her head and then turned away. Sasuke might be mad at her but she wasn't going to get in a fight if that girl thought that Sasuke was cheating on her, too.
"Really? It wouldn't be the first time," Sasuke said, trying to act happy. It didn't work too well. His words came out harsh and bitter.
"What are you talking about?" the red-head, Karin, asked with a frown. She still didn't get it. Sasuke wondered how she could be so clueless.
"Let's go outside where it's quiet and talk," Sasuke said before grabbing her hand and dragging her along with him. He wouldn't give her a choice in the matter.
Sakura had walked off into the crowd. Ino was nowhere in sight. It was like she'd left Sakura to talk with Sasuke. Now, Sakura yearned for the comfort of her friend. Sakura walked by the kitchen in her search where she heard another exchange taking place. She peeked around the corner of the entrance.
A slender woman with long straight black hair stood with her hands on her hips. Itachi stood with his drink in hand, leaning against the cabinet. "What did I tell you, Itachi?" she exclaimed.
"Hm?"
"Don't act like you're too drunk to know! I said, 'No alcohol!' and what do you do? You bring some. Did you also spike the punch?"
"No...of course...not...why...would I do that...mommy?" Itachi asked, taking another sip of his drink.
She snatched the drink out of his hand. "Give me this! Now where's the rest of it?" she said as she took the drink away. Itachi shrugged. "Get out!" she exclaimed, kicking him promptly out of the kitchen.
Sakura hurried back away from the door. She didn't want either the drunk Itachi or their mother to know she'd been eavesdropping. She heard a crash and later footsteps behind her. Itachi walked around her, heading towards the door. Sakura sighed with relief, hoping nobody would notice.
Another person exited the kitchen. Sakura turned around. Sasuke's mother was filling up more glasses of punch from the punchbowl on the bar. She'd wiped away her angry expression and now seemed happy.
Sakura walked over to her. She looked up and then smiled. "Do you want some punch?" she asked nicely.
"Um...no, ma'am. I'm...not thirsty." She eyeballed the punch suspiciously. What if Itachi didn't know where the rest of his drink was because he'd dumped it in the punchbowl?
"You seem like a nice girl. Do you go to school with Sasuke?"
"Yes ma'am, I do. We're...kinda friends."
"Oh, okay. You with that Naruto guy and the rest of them?" she asked. Apparently, Sasuke must have mentioned us.
"Yes. I'm Sakura."
"Oh yes, Sasuke has talked about you a lot. I'm Mikoto. I always pick at him about not making enough friends." She put her hand to her mouth and whispered playfully, "His taste in girls isn't that great either. That's when he talks about you."
"Good or bad?" Sakura asked warily. She hoped Sasuke didn't talk down about her behind her back. She'd have to have Ino beat him up if so. She wouldn't do it for fear of what he would do.
"Good, of course. He says that you are a smart girl and you're a great writer. He also says that you are a good friend and you don't flirt with lots of guys like most girls," Mikoto said truthfully.
Sakura smiled. "No, I don't. He talked about my writing?"
"Yes, something about a poem you wrote for a class. He said it made his feel inadequate."
"Oh." Sakura decided she better not say that he didn't read it, in case he hadn't told her.
"Shoot, I wish Sasuke would date someone like you instead of that other girl. She's here isn't she?" Mikoto said, a look of disgust on her face.
"Yes, I saw her." Sakura wondered why Sasuke's mother didn't like Karin. Did she know about her being unfaithful to Sasuke?
Mikoto shook her head, then she smiled at Sakura. "Well, don't spend your whole night talking to this old woman. Go have fun, hang out with your friends!" she exclaimed, motioning for Sakura to go. Sakura smiled a genuine smile. Sasuke's mother was nice. She didn't understand why he didn't talk about her much.
"Okay, bye," she responded. She decided to grab a punch just to make Mikoto feel better, then she walked away.
She walked around in circles it seemed until she ended up standing back in front of the door. She still hadn't seen Ino since entering. I wonder where she could be hiding...
"Oh no," she said it out loud before she even realized it. Someone was walking through the door, no two someones. One drunk and laughing giddily, the other stoic and grim. He peered over his glasses at the people in the living room. Then, his eyes fell on her.
Where was Sasuke, Naruto, Ino when she needed them? A knot formed in her throat as he smirked and walked over to her. She almost dropped her half empty glass of punch on the floor, she was shaking so bad.
"Why so nervous, Sakura-chan? I only came to talk," he said, his voice smooth and snaky.
"T-talk about what?" Sakura stuttered before taking a swig of punch to hide her nervousness.
"How beautiful you look tonight," Kabuto said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura said, looking away as she drank down the rest of her punch.
While she wasn't looking, Itachi gave Kabuto a look and then shook his now-full glass of punch suggestively. Kabuto grinned before turning back to Sakura.
"Here, let me refill that for you," he said, holding out his hand.
"Um...um..." Sakura was nervous, but she handed him the glass just so he would leave.
Itachi walked away as Kabuto headed to the bar for her punch. She was worrying about Kabuto's intentions when she sat down on the couch by the window. She saw something out of the corner of her eye and then turned around to look out the window. When she did, she wished she hadn't.
Right outside the window, just barely far enough away so that not everyone could see, Sasuke and Karin were...making out. Sakura felt her stomach turn and knot up. She didn't understand why but she knew that at that moment, she was hurting. Perhaps a part of her believed Ino and hoped that Sasuke would break up with Karin and she could have him, but now...it was hopeless. This just proved they weren't supposed to be together. He was going to be with Karin forever.
Suddenly, Sakura was hoping for Kabuto to hurry back with the punch. When he got back, she grabbed the punch eagerly. He looked surprised, but then he leveled his expression and sat down beside her. Sakura was too busy drinking the punch to notice him slide his arm behind her on the couch.
-End-
A/N: What's this? Sasuke and Karin kiss, Sakura sees it. Now she's distressed and she accepts the drink that Kabuto, snaky guy that makes her nervous, offers her...What's going to happen next? Tune in next time for the conclusion of the party, "Party Poopers!"
