I am SO sorry it took so long to update. I was on vacation and I barely even touched my computer. What I did manage to write sucked. I felt completely out of touch from my story after having not been writing anything for a few days. I restarted this so many times.

I hope it was worth the wait. If not then please don't kill me. I really tried!

Enjoy!

Sakura laid flat on the couch inside the basement of the Uchiha manor. Her head was resting comfortably on Itachi's lap as they talked to Naruto and Sasuke, who sat in a pair of arm chairs across from them. She'd received the news of her impending move yesterday and at the moment they were all avoiding the topic like the plague. It was obvious that if they could then Naruto and Itachi would broach the subject, but didn't out of respect to Sakura, who was doing her absolute best to pretend the whole conversation had never happened and she was still going to be living in the manor at the end of the month. Sasuke had kept silent the entire time. If she had to judge by his behavior alone, then she would say it was just another day. He didn't look the slightest bit distressed. The most reaction she'd gotten from him was right after the phone call when he'd asked where she was moving.

While Sakura wasn't thrilled about her situation, she realized that moving was just inevitable, and she could do much worse than the place her aunt had found for them. It wasn't even that far from the manor, and after looking at the pictures online last night she knew there was no real reason she could come up with to not move into the modern, two story co-op. It just wasn't ideal in her mind. Sure she'd gotten use to the luxuries of the manor, but that wasn't why she didn't want to leave. It was the people that lived inside it. They made the large house feel like a home. She'd been searching for that since her parents died, but never could find it. She'd almost given up and then it had fallen in her lap without even noticing.

"What about Homecoming?" She heard Itachi ask, in hopes of distracting her from her thoughts.

"What about it?" Sakura asked, playing with a strand of hair to keep from peeking at Sasuke.

"Are you going?" He questioned. "I'd ask Naruto and Sasuke, but I already know the answer."

'Shit.' She thought in frustration.

The problems just kept coming. First it was the move and now this. She and Sasuke had never talked about how to deal with Itachi in terms of Homecoming. She knew that the elder Uchiha rarely made requests of others, and when he did it was pretty important. She also knew that Sasuke hated to betray the trust put in him, but she wasn't sure how he had planned to deal with the fact that he was taking her to the dance when it obviously went agaisnt his brothers wishes. She wasn't even sure if Sasuke had mentioned anything about it at all. Probably not, considering he'd asked her not long ago, and Itachi had just gotten home yesterday. Itachi most likely just assumed that Sasuke wasn't going because he never had before, and organized school functions weren't exactly his thing. She couldn't really ask Sasuke if she was doing the right thing in this situation so she just had to wing it and hope that everything worked out.

"I hadn't planned to after the whole Gaara situation. Plus, it's a little short notice to ask someone else to go now. The dance is next week." She answered, trying her best to sound offhanded about it.

"You shouldn't let a guy like him stop you from going." Itachi said, slight anger in his voice at the mention of the boy who'd treated her so poorly.

"It's not really about him. I wasn't planning to go at all and then he asked me, so I said yes. Now that's not happening, so I'm just back to where I started. That's all." She explained.

"Maybe you'll change your mind before Homecoming gets here."

"I doubt it."

Itachi let a small frown mar his beautiful face before addressing his brother. "I'm just surprised you're going Sasuke."

'Shit.' Her thought repeated.

She had stressed so much about the answer and she'd gotten it wrong. Apparently, Sasuke had told his older brother that he was going, but it was clear he didn't mention that he had planned to take her. She looked over at the raven haired boy to see if she could try and read how he felt about the situation, but when she saw him he had his usual calm expression on. Nothing seemed to faze him, but she was sure he wasn't thrilled with her screw up. Of course she could never have predicted that he'd told Itachi he was going.

"Hn."

"Who are you taking? You never told me any of this!" Naruto whined.

"Shut up dobe. It doesn't matter."

"Oh! Maybe we can go out on a double date before the dance!" Naruto pleaded enthusiastically. "Me and Hinata, and you and whoever you're taking."

"That's not a bad idea." Itachi mused from above her.

"Come on Sasuke! It'll be fun." The blond said with puppydog eyes.

"Fine." He relented, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Would you just shut up about it."

Sakura sat up at the turn of events, and the sudden realization at just how badly she'd messed up. Since she had said no while Sasuke said yes, and now agreed to a double date with Naruto...he was going to have to ask someone else to Homecoming. She wanted to smack herself in the face at the thought. She'd finally gotten him to open up and admit he felt something for her, although she wasn't sure what just yet, and now she'd ruined it all with just a few words.

'Why couldn't I have just said maybe like a normal person?' She wondered internally.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked, pacing back and forth in her bedroom.

Sasuke leaned casually against the doorjam and watched her with assessing eyes. Once Naruto left, Itachi had gone to do some work in his office, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone to finally talk about her little mishap. Of course Sasuke being who he was wanted as much privacy as possible and so they had taken the conversation up to Sakura's room on the third floor. Which happened to be as far away from Itachi as they could get at the moment.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" She questioned frantically.

"Quit freaking out. It's annoying." He stated flatly.

"If you think that's annoying then you should be in my position right now, because nothing is more annoying than watching you act completely indifferent about this."

"I'm not acting."

She stopped her pacing at that to turn and glare at the young Uchiha.

"So you don't care that you can't take me to Homecoming now?"

"You messed up. There's nothing I can do about it." He answered nonchalantly.

"Yes there is!" She returned. "We can go down stairs and talk to Itachi about this."

It was his turn to glare at her.

"You want me to go and tell my brother that I did the one thing he specifically asked me not to do? He'd never trust me again."

"I know that, but don't you hate lying to him?" She asked, feeling extremely guilty. "Don't you think he'd more concerned about you being happy than anything else?"

"I'm not unhappy." He replied, growing tired of their conversation.

In that moment Sakura came to understand the difference between the two of them. The largest one being that it was evident she cared more than he did. Yes, he had admitted that he wanted her, but that could be taken in strictly the physical sense. That seemed to be the only time he initiated anything with her, but it wasn't enough. She cared about him a lot. It wasn't love, but it was more than a crush, and she needed more than just desire from him. If he couldn't tell his brother anything then there was no possible chance of a relationship at all. Maybe he did want her, but that didn't mean that he cared, and Sakura got the feeling that even if he did she'd never hear him actually say it. He just wasn't that kind of person.

"Well I am." She said matter of factly. "I don't want to lie to him, so I'm not going to anymore."

"Sakura.." He warned.

"Don't worry." She said walking past him. "I'm not going to tell him anything. You're just going to take someone else to Homecoming and we are going to put all of this behind us."

"Meaning?" Sasuke asked.

"Meaning that I'm not sure what exactly it is that you feel for me, but it definitely isn't how I feel about you. I think the best thing to do is just forget anything ever happened with us. You don't want to break Itachi's trust and I don't want to lie and sneak around. That doesn't leave us many options. So lets just end this now. Nothing would have came from it anyways if we can't tell anyone."

"Wait." He spoke softly, grabbing her hand before she could walk off completely. "I told you I wasn't going to fight this anymore. I can't just go back to how it was."

"It'll never be the way it was Sasuke. I'll be gone by the end of the week, and you'll barely see me. I bet you'll barely remember any of this by the end of the school year." She answered despondently.

"That's really what you think?" He asked, suddenly angry. "That some time will go by and I'll just forget all about you?"

"That's what I'm hoping for." Sakura stated. "I'm not sure how you saw this playing out, but it would never have gotten very far if it kept on the way it was going. I want to be with someone that I can actually be seen in public with and not have to worry about the consequences. I can't do that with you."

"It was the Homecoming Sakura." He said with malice. "It's not like we were actually dating."

She felt the urge to flinch at his words. His voice was so uncaring. It wasn't at all like the Sasuke she'd come to know. The Sasuke that he only showed to her. She knew that they weren't in a relationship, and he was just taking her to a school dance, but she thought it meant something. Apparently not, but if he wanted to be angry at her instead of the situation then two could play that game.

"Of course not." She hissed back. "You had no intention of that. You were just going to use me like Gaara. Something to play with and occupy your time until you got bored and threw me away."

He scoffed at that and released her wrist, making his way to the stairs and starting down. She watched as his raven colored hair slowly descended from her view. Sakura could hardly believe that she'd just said that, but he was making her so angry. It wasn't as if she'd gotten them in this position on purpose, and he was the one who asked her to the dance and then he suddenly didn't care that he would have to go with someone else? If it had been her she would have been greatly upset by it all, and that's how she knew that she cared more than he did. If he could just shrug it off then nothing could have happened between them in the long run anyways. Right now anger boiled in her system, but she knew once it was gone reality would set in and she would regret her actions, even though a part of her knew it was for the best.

Sakura was sprawled out in the grass of the courtyard of Konoha Academy. It was sunny outside, but bitterly cold. Therefore she was the only one outside, giving her the privacy she so desperately craved. She looked up at the clouds in the sky as if they held the answers to all of her problems. Just as she had predicted, once she calmed down she regretted her words to Sasuke the day before, but couldn't think of a way to make it right. They had reverted back to avoiding each other. On her part it was to avoid another argument, not because she didn't want to be around him. If anything it was the exact opposite. She desperately wanted to run to him and apologize and say she didn't mean any of it, but she did, and that's why she couldn't do it.

Letting out a long sigh, she watched the breath turn white in the frosty air. Most people would be bothered by the cold, but it cooled down her firey personaility. It offset her nicely, especially in this moment. She loved the stillness that Winter brought. It was as if everything stopped for a small moment in time. She wished her life could do the same. Then she'd have plenty of time to decide what to do about Sasuke.

"Are you okay?" She heard a light voice ask. "It's pretty cold out here. You don't want to get sick."

Turning her head to the side, which allowed the grass to tickle her face, she peered up the blond girl that stood over her. She wore the same uniform as Sakura, her long, smooth tresses falling over her shoulder in a sleek ponytail, covering the school emblem on the front of her jacket, and ending past her hips. Her clear blue eyes reminded Sakura of Naruto's but they were a few shades lighter, and they didn't have the same shimmer that the boys held. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. While Sakura was small and petite, this girl was long in every sense of the word. On top of her long hair she had long legs too. Sakura could tell she was several inches taller than her just by looking from her position on the ground.

"I'm fine." Sakura told the girl blandly. "I'm just thinking."

"Maybe I can help." The girls suggested, crouching down to sit next to Sakura. "I'm a good listener."

Under normal circumstances Sakura would have been grateful for the invitation. She always wanted to make more friends, but today was an exception. She was in no mood to talk, or to have company. She gave the girl a slight once over before returning her gaze to the sky. Maybe if she just ignored her she'd go away.

"Is it a boy?" The girl pestered. "I'm really good with advice on boys."

Sakura let out a sigh of impatience, apparently channeling her inner Sasuke today.

"Who are you?" She asked, not bothering to sound polite.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. You?"

She vaugely remembered Naruto mentioning that name to her. Apparently the two blonds were friends. She wished she were in a better mood. Then maybe she'd actually give this girl a chance. She seemed pretty nice so far. Seeing the expectant look on Ino's face she decided to return the introduction, but leave it at that.

"Sakura."

"You're that girl who lives with Sasuke!" Ino exclaimed. "Everyone talks about you. I always wondered what you look like."

The girl continued to chatter, obviously not too put off by Sakura's silence or aggrivated glances. It got to the point that she'd been talking for fifteen minutes straight, and Sakura wasn't even sure she'd heard the girl take a breath yet. It was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Not to be rude," Sakura interrupted, sitting up. "but in case it wasn't obvious I want to be alone. That's why I'm spending my lunch out here staring at the sky while everyone else is inside where it's warm."

"I like the cold." Ino said cheerfully. "I find it invigorating."

"That's great, but do you have to enjoy it next to me?"

Ino blinked at her words, finally feeling the annoyed vibes radiating off the pinkette next to her. Sakura was glad her message had finally made its way through. She flopped back to the ground with a huff, fully expecting Ino to stand and walk away, but instead the girl just sat next to her. This time she didn't make a peep, so Sakura decided to just leave her be. As long as she remained quiet she could deal with her presence. When lunch finally ended, Ino stood and held a hand out to Sakura to help her up. She accepted the offer and rose to her feet, lightly patting any dirt off the back of her skirt, and shaking out her hair.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, but the next time someone tries to help you it may be better if you dropped the attitude." Ino stated bluntly.

"Woah." Sakura said. "You're the one who came into my personal space, and wouldn't stop talking. If I was being rude then you should have just left."

"I get it." Ino replied in understanding. "You're having a bad day, and I happened to be there so it got taken out on me, but that doesn't mean I'm the problem."

Sakura just looked at her with narrowed eyes. She didn't like how calm this girl was. If someone had treated Sakura that way she certainly wouldn't have remained so friendly, but her words rang true. Normally she wasn't such a bitch, but she just happened to be in a bad mood and Ino was in her line of fire just because she tried to help. That wasn't her fault. She was only trying to be a good person.

"Sorry. I'm just not in the mood to talk about it, and I don't really know you, but I should have handled that better."

"You can get to know me." Ino suggested. "I really am a good listener."

"...Okay." Sakura agreed hesitantly.

"Great! Meet me here tomorrow. Same time. Bye!" She waved and ran back inside the building.

"Bye?" Sakura said, completely dumbfounded and not entirely sure what had just transpired between the two girls.

She shook her head in confusion, but followed the girl back inside the school. The day seemed to drag by and in every class she had with Sasuke you could cut the tension with a butter knife. Everyone seemed to sense that they were in the middle of one of thier disagreements, and gave them a wide berth as to not get caught in the middle. When the final bell of the day rang she made her way outside with Naruto, Sasuke not far behind. They all got in the car and went back to the manor. The blond invited her to spend some time with them but she declined.

"I still have a lot of packing to do." She minded him, and watched as both boys stiffened at her words.

"Yeah." Naruto said sadly. "I guess I forgot."

It wasn't until she'd made it up the stairs, changed into something more comfortable, and started filling the numerous boxes that the tears started to fall. She only had a few days left before the move and she and Sasuke were fighting once again. It weighed heavily on her heart, and in that moment she knew it would be her instead of Ino that would do all the talking at their meeting tomorrow.

"So I was right?" Ino questioned. "It is about a guy."

"Yeah. It's just really frustrating because it finally seemed like we were in a good place, and now we're fighting again. It's all my fault but I don't know how to fix it." Sakura opened up.

They were sitting at a picnic table outside, wrapped up in warm Winter coats to ward off the chill. The light breeze sent both of the girls long tendrils flying through the air, but neither paid much attention to it. Instead focusing entirely on the conversation at hand.

"Well," Ino began. "What was the fight about?"

"He asked me to lie to a friend about something, and I just couldn't do it."

"So you told your friend the truth?"

"No. I didn't want them to fight, so I just told him that I wouldn't say anything, but I couldn't continue keeping anymore secrets."

Sakura was trying to be as vague as possible, while giving Ino enough information to help sort out the situation. It wasn't an easy task, but as long as Ino never figured out that she was refeering to Sasuke she thought everything would be fine.

"That makes sense. It's never easy to lie to a friend, even if it is to help out another. I think you made the right decision, and he's probably just upset because he realizes the same thing. I'm sure he didn't want to put you in a tough position, but wasn't sure how to handle the situation. It was either be honest so you didn't feel guilty, and potentially lose the trust of this person, or continue to lie and lose you. Either way it wouldn't have ended well for him. Whoever he is."

"I guess, but I don't really think that's the only reason why he's upset." Sakura admitted.

"Why's that?" Ino asked, confused.

"I said something I shouldn't have. He was being offhanded about the whole situation and it made me mad so I lashed out."

"That's never good," Ino conceeded. "but you all are friends. I'm sure you'll make up at some point."

"Maybe." She said glumly, not holding out much hope. "Lets talk about something else though. I'm suppose to be getting to know you, and all I'm doing is mopping and whining."

"You're not whining, but it's understandable. No one wants to lose a friend. I get it if you want to change the subject though."

"Good." Sakura nodded in agreement. "So tell me about you."

"What do you want to know?" Ino asked, excitement lighting her eyes.

"Everything."

For the remainder of lunch Ino told her about how she worked in a flower shop ran by her mother after school, and ultimatley she wanted to become either a party planner or a wedding planner. Maybe both if everything worked out the way she wanted. Her father worked in telecommunications with the fathers of two boys who also went to school here, so they saw a lot of each other. Their names were Choji and Shikamaru. She'd never met them, but felt as if she'd heard of them before. She continued to listen as Ino went on to describe what she did for fun, which was usually shop or go out with friends, and her plans once she graduated from the academy. Apparently, she wanted to take a year off and travel. Seeing the world and experiencing new cultures was just another goal the blond had set for herself. The more Sakura listened the more she came to like Ino. She had a gypsy soul, light and free, wanting to see the world and try new things. It was the exact opposite of Sakura, who'd always been looking for a place to call home, but that's why she liked her so much. She enjoyed their differences. Ino seemed to understand this without any words, and smiled at Sakura encouragingly. She knew they were going to be good friends from that day on.

They continued to meet for lunch the next few days. It was Thursday went Ino came running outside with a beeming smile on her face. Sakura immediately smiled in response to her enthusiasm, and watched as she ran up to her and threw her arms around her in a sudden hug. Ino stood back and started jumping in excitement. All Sakura could do was watch with humor at the blond girls display.

"You are never going to believe what just happened!" Ino exclaimed. "I swear I almost fainted on the spot! My heart is still pounding."

"What?" Sakura asked through her laughter. "Just tell me."

"Sasuke just asked me to Homecoming!" Ino shouted, and proceeded to jump around and twirl in circles.

Sakura tried not to let the shock show on her face, but did a poor job because Ino took one look at her and continued.

"That was exactly how I looked when he first asked me. I couldn't believe it, but when I asked if he was serious he said yes! I'm going to Homecoming with Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Wow." She said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "That's...um, great. I'm sure you two will have a good time."

"How could we not?" Ino questioned. "He's the hottest guy in school, and it's Homecoming. It's going to be absolutely amazing!"

"Yeah." Sakura replied numbly. "You're right."

She knew it was her fault that Sasuke had to ask someone else to the dance, but at the time she never thought it would be anyone she actually knew, let alone a friend. She didn't have that many at the school, so she figured the probablity was rather low. Unless Sasuke asked someone just to spite her, but she knew that wasn't the case. He didn't even know that she and Ino had met. She would have told him if it hadn't been for the silent treatment he'd been giving her. Ino hugged her one more time and then ran back inside, presumably to spread her good news. Sakura opened the glass door behind her and walked to her locker, not paying any attention to what was going on around her. She put the combination in by muscle memory alone, and then slowly opened the door, letting her head slump forward in disappointment.

"Hey."

She turned to see Sasuke standing next to her, looking the slightest bit uncomforable. It was an unsual sight, but she gave him her attention. She already had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say.

"I just wanted you to hear it from me before it got around school, but I asked someone else to Homecoming." He explained. "You probably don't know her. Her name is Ino Yaman-"

"I know." Sakura interrupted. "She just told me."

"She did?"

"Yes. We're friends." She told him in a monotone.

She saw him frown at her words, but showed no other reaction.

"I didn't know."

"I figured." She assured him. "Have fun."

She shut her locker door and replaced the lock, twirling it a few times, and then turned away from him. She headed to the bathroom around the corner, hoping that splashing some cool water on her face would help. At Ino's news she'd felt herself shut off emotionally. She didn't want to break down and cry anymore. She'd had enough of that for one lifetime, but she couldn't be angry because the entire thing was her fault, so instead of feeling anything at all she just turned it off as best she could. It wasn't easy, but she didn't want to deal with this at school. She could be upset once she got home. Setting her books on the counter she turned the faucet as cold as it would go, and splashed a handful of water on her face a few times, before drying off with a paper towel. She looked at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. She looked pale, paler than normal, and her eyes looked dull. She shrugged it off for now and made her way back outside. When she turned the corner to head to class she saw that Sasuke was still in the hallway, except now he had his back to her. In front of him stood Ino, talking and giggling flirtatiously. She saw Sakura over his shoulder and gave her a slight wink. What Sakura saw next made her world spin on its axis.

She watched as Ino's blond head leaned forward and pressed her lips to Sasuke's. She spun them so her back was against the lockers, and wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Sakura heard a faint thud, catching Sasuke's attention and causing him to turn at the sound. Their eyes met and what she saw there scared her. It was nothing. She saw nothing, no remore or regret. He didn't look apologetic or guilty that she'd just caught him kissing someone else. Tearing her gaze from his she looked down to see she'd dropped her books without realizing. The noise they'd made as they clattered to the floor was what had caught his attention. She bent to pick them up, and suddenly another pair of hands was there helping her.

She lifted her head once more to see Ino handing her some papers and a stack of books. She took them and organized everything into a semi-neat pile before standing.

"Thanks."

"No hard feelings right?" Ino asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You like him too don't you?" The blond explained. "That's why you were so surprised when I told you he asked me to the dance, and why you dropped your books a second ago."

"I-" Sakura started, but was interrupted.

"It's all over your face." Ino stated. "It's nothing personal, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity."

With those words and a smug smile the blond turned and walked away, leaving Sakura to stand there and watch as she slipped her arm around Sasuke's and led them out of the hallway. Neither looked back. Sakura began to wonder if she and Ino were ever really friends to begin with. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that the bell had rang, signaling that she was late for her next class, but didn't move from her position.

'Fuck. I hate my life.'

Once Sakura made it home the first thing she did was change and head out to the gym. She felt like hitting something, and wasn't in the mood to deal with someone that could hit back. She needed to get all this pent up aggression out. As the school day had gone on Sakura's emotions had resurfaced, and the dominant one was anger. She'd never been so angry in all her life, not even when Karin had made rude comments about her parents. It had been stewing inside her all day, just dying to get out. As soon as she stepped into the gym she made her way over to the punching bag in the back corner that hung from the ceiling. She didn't bother to put gloves on or wrap her hands like normal, at the moment she liked the sting on her knuckles from forcefully hitting the rough fabric. She continued like that for what felt like hours, tossing the occasional kick in every now and then. She didn't stop even as sweat began to roll down her body in large droplets. Her hair was plastered to her face and the back of her neck. Small strands curled around her face from the abundace of moisture, but still she went on. Even when she felt her knuckles split open from the constant force of her punches and trickles of blood make its way down her fists and seep inside the confines of her fingers she kept going. It was only when her hands went numb that she stopped.

Deciding that she liked the pain she felt in her hands before, but not longer being able to have it, she went for a run around the large property. Eventually, the pain moved to her lungs and calves. Both burned with every step she took. She breathed in the crisp air, only making the pain in her lungs that much more present to her. She felt satisfied at the fire building in her chest, and only wanting it to grow, she picked up her pace. It wasn't until she saw dark spots at the edge of her vision that she understood she'd pushed herself too far. She slowed down, trying to catch her breath, but it wasn't enough. She fell to her knees and eventually landed face first into to the cold grass beneath her. She glanced around to see that the manor was still several yards away from her. Right before she lost conciousness she knew it was unlikely that anyone would fine her anytime soon. A small, sarcastic smile formed on her lips.

'As if this day couldn't get any worse.'

Then all she saw was black.

"Look! I think she's waking up."

Sakura faintly registerd voices whispering around her. It felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest, and she was hot. So unbelievably hot. She tried to kick off the fabric around her, but it wouldn't budge. Blinking her eyes open she glanced around the room. Her sight was hazy for a minute, making it hard to tell who exactly the fuzzy blobs around her were. Once she rubbed her eyes and blinked a few more times, she looked around to find her aunt, Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi standing over her. Her aunt sat next to her in a small chair, holding her blankets in place, while Itachi did the same on the other side of her. Taking note of her surroundings she realized she wasn't at the manor. The speckled ceiling tiles, florescent lights, and hospital gown she'd been dressed in told her she was at Konhoa General.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, her voice coming out slightly hoarse. Her aunt filled a cup with water and passed it to her. She sipped on it lightly, looking at the worried expressions of those around her.

"You fainted and almost caught pneumonia. That's what happened." Her aunt said angrily. "If Itachi hadn't gone searching for you it could have been much worse."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Tsundade went on. "What the hell were you-"

She suddenly stopped talking at some commotion going on outside of her door.

"Where is she?" She heard Sasuke's voice ask, hostility in his tone.

"Only family members are allowed in there sir." She heard someone answer calmly.

Mikoto made her way over to the automatic door and stuck her head out. A curtain had been pulled so she couldn't see what was going on past the foot of her bed, and was unable to see either Sasuke or his mother at the moment.

"We're in here honey." She heard Mikoto say calmly.

Two sets of footsteps could be heard entering the room, one set light, barely audible, the other heavy in its rush. She saw Sasuke step around the curtain and the second his eyes landed on her he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God." He muttered.

He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, right next to Itachi, and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead. She saw everyone's eyes widen in surprise, including hers, but Sasuke didn't pay any attention to that. Instead he seemed to be searching her for injuries. His eyes found their way to her hands, which were now bandaged to stop the bleeding from her knuckles. She saw him clench his teeth upon seeing them, and returned his gaze to hers.

"What happened?"

"It's nothing." She assured him. "I was just working out and pushed myself too hard. I'm fine."

"You are most definitely not fine." Her aunt said from her seat. "You had better not ever pull a stunt like that again. Understand?"

"Yes." She agreed, keeping her eyes on Sasuke, who took one of her hands gingerly in his own.

"Sasuke," She heard Itachi say. "can I speak to you in the hallway?"

"In a minute." He responded, never looking away from the pink haired girl in the bed. "I need to talk to Sakura first."

"I don't-"

"Please Itachi?" She begged.

He looked between the two teenagers with a frown on his face. It was clear he was upset with Sasuke. Not liking the way he touched Sakura in such a posessive manner, but she was looking at him with such hopeful, pleading eyes that he caved within moments.

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly.

"Alone." Sasuke specified. Everyone's eyes widened once more, but followed his directons, slowly making their way out of the room. The second they heard the door shut she was wrapped in his arms, surrounded by his scent.

"My mother called and told me you were in the hospital." He whispered in her ear. "I was worried."

"Sorry." She apologized.

He just shook his head and pressed his lips to hers. It was different than all of their other kisses. It wasn't frantic, or sexually charged. It was sweet, and gentle. It was everything she'd ever wanted from him. She kissed him back, but he pulled away after a few seconds.

"We're in a hospital. Don't get too carried away."

"You're the one who kissed me." She reminded him.

"I know." He responded with a smirk. "I plan to do a lot more of that once you're better."

"What about Itachi?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"I'll handle it." He assured her.

"Sasuke, I-"

"No more lies. I'll be honest with him."

"Really?" She questioned, surprise and hope evident in her tone.

"Hn."

She smiled at his typical response. It had been awhile since she'd heard it.

"I never thought I'd miss that." Sakura confessed.

"Hn."

"I didn't miss it that much." She joked, and watched him smile.

He gave her one last kiss and then went to stand, she stopped him with the hand he still held in his own.

"I've got to talk to Itachi." He explained, giving her hand a light, reassuring squeeze. "Then I need to make a phone call."

She looked at him in confusion, hoping he would elaborate.

"I should tell Ino I can't take her to Homecoming after all." He told her.

Sakura felt a smile form on her lips at his words. Her day just got a whole lot better.

So how was it? I know I said that Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't have anymore problems in their relationship from this point, but I feel like I kind of wrote myself into a corner. I rewrote this chapter so many times, which is why it took so long to post. Every time I went back and read it all I hated it, and this was the only thing I came up with that I actually liked. Don't be too mad. I hope you all enjoyed it. Now that my vacation is over I promise to update more regularly. Also, you will be seeing more of Ino after this, and please, please, please review!