The New Girl
Chapter nine- an unlikely new friend
Sakura sat in the passenger's seat of Sasuke's car while he drove them back to what just two weeks ago had been her home. She stared out the window looking at everything around her, it was as if she had never been here before. She'd never really taken her surroundings in before, she'd been going through the motions and figured that no-one would notice her if she didn't pay attention to anyone. Sitting in the car right now she knew it was safe to look around but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to actually walk around now. Everything had changed for her. Everything had gotten better, but Sakura had a hard time figuring out how she would be able to act like let alone be like everyone else around.
The closer they got to her home the more anxious she got, not just about re-entering the home where she had so many bad memories. But also about the walk from the car towards that house, she could only hope that there would be a parking space close by.
"What's making you so anxious?" She heard Sasuke's voice next to her mutter. She turned her face towards him he was still watching the road now also looking for a parking spot. "Will you laugh at me if I say it's the walk from the car to the front door? I don't know how to handle being noticed…" Sasuke parked the car when he'd found a spot, her old house was already in sight, the police had taped of the front door, apparently they were taking the investigation very seriously. "It's only 200 meters to the front door." But his hand gently squeezed hers before stepping out letting her know he'd be there along the way. Sakura took a deep breath before stepping out as well and grabbing her key from her new bag, she followed Sasuke to the house and pulled the ribbons to the side when the got there before opening the door.
The house had an eerie feel to it, it was obvious it hadn't been lived in for a few weeks. The hallway was dark since all the doors had been closed by the police, they had cleaned the place up after they had finished their investigation that much was clear to Sakura. She carefully stepped inside, opening the doors in the hallway to let some light in, she stood in the doorway to the living room, letting her eyes trace around the room. Flashes from the last time she had been in there popped up in her mind. It made her feel slightly sick to her stomach. She noticed Sasuke was still standing outside unsure whether to allow her some space or support her in this. "Stay close, please…" She whispered starring at a spot on the floor where she remembered having been beaten to the ground. She felt a warm hand lying on her shoulder now and it relieved her to she wasn't alone in this house. She made her way across the room grabbing some picture frames and photo books from the different shelves. They slowly made their way from room to room, gathering the things she wanted to bring back in the hallway. Most things she picked up used to belong to her mother or her parents in general since she didn't really have a lot of possessions of her own. When they got to her old bedroom Sasuke sat down on what used to be her bed, while Sakura rummaged through some drawers and lifted a plank underneath the carpet to lift out a small tin. "I tried saving up some money in case I would some day be able to move out. It wasn't much use though. I'm out now that's what matters, right?" she bit her bottom lip; it was still difficult for her to fully depend on other people like this. As long as she didn't think too much about it it was all right, but just considering how hard she had tried on her own just made her realize how hopeless her situation had been and it actually made her feel weak to know that there was no way she would have gotten out of here if it wasn't for Sasuke and Itachi.
When she stepped out of her room she turned to the one door she had yet to open, behind it lay what used to be her parent's bedroom before her mother died, after that it had just been her father's bedroom. Sakura swallowed, she was scared to find out what lay behind that door now. She hadn't been in there ever since her mother died, her dad had not allowed it. Very cautiously she opened the door, and let her eyes scan the room, it looked exactly as she had last seen it. Exactly as her mother would have left it, of course her dad changed the sheets on the bed once a week but he apparently made the bed exactly the way her mom used to. Sakura took her first step inside, making sure that Sasuke was right behind her. It felt wrong entering here as if she was trespassing, but she tried to shake the feeling and continue her exploration through the room.
She was scared of touching anything, as if it would crumble at the slightest touch, finally she opened her mother's jewellery box, grabbing only a necklace. The necklace her mother had always promised to give her on her 18th birthday. Her mother used to always wear it ever since she had gotten it from her mother at her own 18th birthday. She closed the jewellery box again securely, after placing the necklace in the empty coin compartment of her new wallet. Sasuke's voice broke the silence: "You should take that for safe keeping, you have no idea what will happen to the place after your father's conviction." Sakura turned towards him, shocked that he would suggest her taking that expensive jewellery box when it still belonged to her father at that moment. But she could see from the earnest expression on his face that he really was just worried about the box getting lost in the process. She nodded: "I'd just have to find a place to store it." Sasuke gave her a look that told her not to worry about it. She handed the things she had gathered her to Sasuke before she finally turned towards what used to be her mothers closet. She just wanted to see what had happened to the content of it. She opened the door. A waft of the light perfume her mother used to wear entered her nostrils; it was combined with the amazing smell that her mother didn't get from a bottle the smell that was just her. The smell along with the way the closet looked as if nothing had been moved from it's place made Sakura suddenly feel sick to her stomach, she ran out towards her own bathroom, bending over the toilet before completely emptying her stomach. Sasuke had followed her giving her a worried look as he pulled her braid back. Sakura took a deep breath when she was certain she wouldn't vomit anymore, she took the bottle of water Sasuke handed her from her bag, rinsing her mouth completely. "He didn't move a single thing, it even smelled like her… He was really just drowning in his sorrow." Sasuke growled lowly: "He still handled it the wrong way. Don't pity him."
Sakura sighed, getting up again. "I'm done here." Sasuke was right, she knew that but still she couldn't help but pity the man that had made her life a living hell. He had loved his wife, the woman he had loved more than anything in the world. Of course that didn't excuse how he had treated Sakura, his only child. But Sakura wondered whether things had gone differently if he had received help to deal with his loss. She followed Sasuke downstairs, and gathered the things she had collected around the house in her arms. It wasn't that much; Sakura would have been able to carry it on her own if she'd piled things up a little more strategically. She closed and locked the door behind them before following Sasuke back to the car. She was glad the streets was empty right now, she really didn't feel like dealing with her 'social-anxiety' as she called it in her head, right now. She knew her fear of being noticed strictly couldn't be called social-anxiety it just made it easier to think about somehow. When she reached the car Sasuke had already opened the trunk for her. "Why don't we go for a cup of coffee first?" Sakura looked up a little shocked, getting a cup of coffee would mean entering a coffee house; with people. She then noticed the look in Sasuke's eye. He wanted her to go to as much public places as possible to get used to being noticed. "Right…" She took a deep breath "Sure, I'd like a cup of coffee" She tried her best to sound light hearted. As she sat down in the passenger's seat Sasuke chuckled, before starting the car and driving towards the mall, where they would be doing some shopping and find a coffee place.
As he parked the car and turned of the engine he murmured to her: "Put on a brave face, keep your chin up and breath." She nodded curtly before collecting herself and stepping out of the car, Sasuke locked it and led her towards the entrance, soon turning a corner towards his favourite coffee place. As they got close to it he spoke again: "You want to order or get us a seat?" God, Sasuke was conniving, this was actually a really hard choice, reserving seats would entail actually reserving them and telling people she was keeping them for someone, or she might have to ask someone whether a seat was available or not. "I think I'll go with order…" As they entered the coffee shop Sakura just got to see how conniving her really was, the place was close to empty, he had made her think that getting a seat would actually mean saving it for the other, but there were enough empty chairs around to not even have to sit close to anyone else. As she looked at him with begging eyes he just shook his head. "You made your choice, I like my coffee black" he handed her some cash before walking to a seat near the window where he could still see her without having to turn his head too much.
Sakura hesitantly stood before the register, looking up at the menu to see what she wanted. The barista smiled at her: "Can I get you anything?" Sakura nodded slightly: "Ehm... I'd like a regular black coffee a-and ehm… a vanilla latte, please." The barista smiled warmly at her: "And what size would you like?" At which she turned to look at Sasuke for an answer, who mouthed that he wanted medium: "Both medium, please"
"Okay, a medium vanilla latte and a medium regular coffee coming right up, would you like anything to eat with that?" Sakura turned towards the showcases of wonderful cakes and pies and couldn't help but ordering a piece of cheesecake for herself." Sakura handed her the money Sasuke had given her and received her change, dropping some in the tips jar before walking back to Sasuke with her cake and their drinks. She looked at him a little guiltily while she handed him the change: "It looked so tasty…" she sat down opposite him and took a sip of coffee moaning softly as the warm combination of both bitter and sweet entered her mouth. "This is so good." She didn't get much of a reaction from Sasuke, so she just took a bite of her cheesecake followed by a second bite. She would have to get the recipe for this kind of cheesecake somewhere it was delicious, they drank their coffee mostly in silence as she ate her cake as well. At one point she tried offering Sasuke a bite: "Come on just one bite… I can't finish this on my own and you can't hate all sweets." But just as he reluctantly opened his mouth and she fed him a bit of the cheesecake she noticed Tenten looking straight at her through the window, she dropped the fork, letting it fall to the table and started looking around for other ways out of the coffee shop. Sasuke just grabbed her wrist: "What the hell is going on?" Sakura was still looking around frantic as she noticed Tenten was walking towards the entrance of the coffee shop. "I-I need to get out of here…" she stood up twisting her wrist free from Sasuke's grasp she tried making it towards the exit before Tenten would get there but she was far too late. Tenten was already standing right before her inside the coffee shop, she almost bumped right into her. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to freak you out."
Tenten's voice had completely changed since she'd last heard it, Sakura slowly looked up at her face without looking her in the eye. She seemed paler than usual as if she hadn't been sleeping so well: "I-I've been spending days trying to figure out what I'd say to you if I ever got to see you again, I thought I had figured it out but now I'm standing right before you and I just think that there's nothing I could say that could make it any better. I just never considered what you could have been going through… and I know that doesn't excuse how I-… we all acted towards you. I just wanted you to know that I am really sorry and I know most of the school is with me on that." Tenten's eyes seemed to have glazed over as if she was close to crying. "I-I already apologised to Hinata and Naruto and the other people I used to be mean to. I just never considered their feelings and I really hate myself for it.. I've been a horrible horrible person. I-…" Sakura stopped her from continuing her rant. "Stop it, Tenten… We all have to learn from our mistakes, right?" Sakura's vision was getting a little blurry as she was close to letting tears fall as well, Sakura had always had a hard time bearing a grudge on anyone who seemed to genuinely regret what they had done. Sakura looked around to see Sasuke stand right behind her just in case she needed him. Sakura took a deep breath: "Look Sasuke and I were supposed to do some shopping to decorate my new bedroom… I know Sasuke would much rather do something other than shopping… How about you help me, if you've got no other plans and we just start making amends. Get to know each other before we decide whether or not we like each other?" Tenten looked surprised at her proposition apparently she hadn't expected Sakura to be so forgiving. "Ehm yeah sure, let me just text Neji-…" Sasuke however interrupted: "I'll tell them, where were you meeting them?" As Tenten told him the place she would be meeting her friends Sasuke drank the last of his coffee, Sakura walked back to their table to finish her cake and drink. A while later Sasuke walked back to her.
"Call me if you need me, my number's in the phone, use the credit card I gave you and text me when you're done, okay?"
"I thought that credit card was for emergencies only?" Sakura mumbled trying to hide the fact that she had her mouth full of cake. Sasuke smirked: "Just said that so you would take it." Right, she could have known. "Is there a maximum I can spend?" She wasn't expecting to spend so much but she just wanted to know so she would feel more comfortable spending money. "How about we just say the limit of the credit card? 10" He clarified. He tapped against her forehead with two of his fingers: "I doubt you'll be able to reach it though, or even get close to it." Then he walked out in search of his friends. Tenten came to sit across her: "So you've been living with Sasuke since then?" Sakura shook her head: "I just left the hospital yesterday evening, I've been feeling well for a while now I've just been stalling leaving the hospital since I knew it would mean I would burden someone with taking me in." Sakura was silent for a moment grateful that Tenten didn't immediately object to the term burden: "Everybody keeps saying it's no problem and they're happy to have me and everything, but still… It breaks up their usual routine right?" Tenten nodded slowly before muttering: "I know what you mean… I'm a foster child myself, I've been moving from one family to another my whole life, it's hard to believe you'll ever be wanted somewhere I actually live on my own now, under close surveillance of the child care institutions." Sakura looked at the girl sitting across from her with a look of disbelief: "how can you afford living on your own?" wondering whether it would turn out to be a possibility for her but the brown haired girl shook her head: "I can't Neji's parents pay my rent and give me an allowance to take care of myself"
"Doesn't that make you feel uncomfortable? Receiving money from his family while you're dating?"
Tenten seemed to choke on her own spit blushing furiously: "W-We aren't dating! What made you think that?!" Sakura immediately looked down at her plate in fright from the rise in volume of Tenten's voice: "I-I'm sorry I-I made a wrong assumption…" She mumbled: "It was just the way you act around each other and he looks at you that I thought you were together…" Tenten was still beet red but seemed to realise how she had scared Sakura with her volume: "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to scream at you like that, you just took me by surprise that's all… The way he looks at me?" Sakura slowly looked up again but still didn't look the girl completely in the eye. "Yeah there's something in his eyes that changes when he looks at you, some extra warmth or a sparkle or something…" Tenten bit her bottom lip softly she actually didn't know whether it was entirely appropriate to talk about her love life with this girl she had just apologised to for bullying her, but she did really want to know: "Y-You think he likes me?" the pink headed girl nodded slowly.
Tenten wanted to squeal in excitement she had never actually considered that Neji might like her the same way she liked him. "Maybe I should ask him to the Christmas dance next month, it will be girls choice..." The brunette said as she stood up and walked out of the coffee shop with Sakura. She then reconsidered the subject of their conversation: "I'm sorry, I'm sure you have different things to worry about than some stupid high school dance" To her surprise the girl next to her shook her head: "For now I want to worry about stupid high school stuff, forget about the serious things." That statement made Tenten feel secure enough to finally say something about the outfit Sakura was sporting: "You really look great by the way, I love what you did with your hair." Sakura blushed brightly: "Thanks, I really love your shoes" gesturing to the studded boots Tenten was wearing "I think I received a pair just like them, though…" she looked a little uncomfortable. Tenten however laughed gently: "Don't worry about it everybody's walking around in them, I don't think I know a girl who doesn't own a pair, So they got you a lot of things at Sasuke's?" Sakura nodded: "More then I could ever hope to get to wear" She laughed gently: "The weird thing is that they don't even seem to expect me to wear everything, they just wanted me to be able to choose whatever I feel comfortable in, or something?"
Tenten laughed at the face Sakura was making when she said that: "Yeah you'd better get used to that, that's how these people usually handle things; 'I didn't know what you'd like so I just got all of it!'"
Sakura and Tenten actually spend the rest of the day together until the shops were closing picking out things for Sakura's bedroom and getting to know each other. As they said their goodbyes since Tenten had to leave Sakura suddenly gave the brunette a hug while mumbling: "Thanks… I feel like I've gained another friend…" The girl was actually taken aback by that: "Me too… You don't know how much that means to me." With that the girl turned to leave before thinking of something, turning back to Sakura she asked for her phone, adding her own number before handing it back to her: "Text me if you need help actually decorating your room. Or if you don't know what to do with all those clothes you were given" She joked before really saying goodbye and stepping in a cab.
As Sakura sat there, waiting for Sasuke, with all the bags full of new things surrounding her she couldn't help but smile. She had had a lot of fun with Tenten today, even though things had started a little uncomfortable, they had gotten to a point where they we're truly joking and laughing with each other. Things we're really looking up after all.
