A/N: We agree with all of you completely!!! Kenji deserves to die, but until then, he needs to stay alive. (We can't believe that we created such a monster!) Here's another long chapter for you guys.
Chapter 9- Going Through Changes
"Honestly Sakura, this school of yours is very nosy. You better watch out what you say and do here, got it?" Kenji said as we were sitting in the principal's office. Tsunade-sama left us alone to "talk things out." Since Kenji didn't give a damn about me, he just told me it was all my fault.
Good news: my secret is still safe from my mom. Luckilly she still hadn't arrived when the school called. Bad news: I'm with Kenji. Alone. Right now. And don't think I forgot about Sasuke, Kin, and other people I gotta deal with. It sucks because I was really starting to like Sasuke, as a friend of course. Then he had to tell Kakashi everything, even when I told him not to tell anyone.
"Yeah, I got it," I answered, looking at the floor. There was a knock on the door.
"May I come in?" Tsunade-sama asked, already opening the door.
"Yes. In fact, we finished our little discussion," Kenji said. "I'll inform her mom." Lie.
"Good, good. Uh, since Sakura does have a problem and she's your daughter- umm...stepdaughter actually- I'm sure you and your wife would like to decide how to deal with it. Sakura's a really great at student, don't make her get out of classes too much for therapy or whatever," she said.
"No, I don't think we'd ever do that," Kenji said. Of course he wouldn't. Everyone knows therapy costs a lot of money. "I think we'll just have a family talk once we get home. All three of us together."
Tsunade nodded her head and we were free to go. The ride home was short and quiet, but still uncomfortable. At least I was. Kenji was silent, which was unusual. I just wanted to get away from him.
If I did file a report for sexual assault, what would the police do? Would they even believe me? Random questions like these always popped into my head when I was alone with Kenji. Next time. I'll tell someone next time if Kenji touches me.
"Sweetie, are you okay? You seem a little jumpy," Kenji said as he turned off the ignition. I really wish he would stop calling me that. He was looking at me with a frown.
"I-I'm fine," I answered. His gaze held something disturbing in them, like x-ray vision. I felt so exposed all of a sudden and I quickly zipped my jacket all the way up. Kenji smirked, then got out of the car, heading inside the house. I exhaled deeply before following him.
It seemed like Kenji did a little bit of house cleaning. I never realized how unkept the house was without my mom.
"Sakura, start making dinner. Now!" Kenji ordered, dusting off picture frames. I was quick to obey this time, mostly because out of fear. I made teriyaki pork accompanied with white rice. Kenji, by the sound of it, was vacuuming.
About half an hour later, I heard a car pull up the driveway. I smiled, knowing who it was.
"Mom!" I yelled, practically running towards her when she came in. We hugged each other and stayed like that for a while, when Kenji came.
"Maora darling," Kenji said, pushing me to the side a bit before embracing my mother.
"Sakura, Kenji! It's so good to see. I missed both of you so much. I'm just glad my mom's okay," she said smiling.
"I made dinner, your favorite," I said, taking her jacket off for her.
"Is that what smelled so good? To be honest, all I ate today was a snack bar so I'm extremely hungry. Oh, and you cleaned up too," mom said, noticing how tidy the house looked.
"Let's eat," Kenji said, leading my mom to the dining table. We sat down and had a normal family dinner. It freaked me out how nice Kenji could pretend to be. It was all fake of course, like his smile.
Inside, though, I was hurting. I was way beyond pist at Sasuke. He told my secret to Kakashi, and now I was in for it. Who knows how long it would be until Kenji spilled the beans to my mom. I was doomed to go to one of those facilities.
"Mom, I know you just got back and all, but may I go to Ino's house? I promised her I'd help with her homework," I lied. Actually, I was surprised none of my friends called me to know what happened to me. Then I remembered, I turned off my cellphone.
"Sure. You can use my car to get there if you want to," she said. I took her keys and went outside to the car. I got in and started the ignition. I began to drive to Sasuke's house.
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"Ms. Haruno, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?" one of the maids asked as she opened the door.
"Oh, just thought I'd drop by. Is Sasuke here?" I asked in an oh-so-fake cheery voice. When I get my hands on him, he's in for it.
"Master Sasuke just finished dinner. I could go get him from his room while you wait for him in the study if you like," she said.
"Okay," I said while plastering a smile on.
Minutes later I saw HIM walking towards me. All my anger ignited again. I was so pissed off, I was shaking. And I hadn't even done anything yet.
"Sakura...what are you doing here?" Sasuke said, not even looking at me. He was trying to avoid my gaze.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you...Uchiha," I snapped.
"Uchiha? What's wrong Sakura? Why are you so mad at me?"
"Oh please, don't act dumb. You think I'm an idiot? I know it was you who ratted me out to Kakashi," I retorted.
"It was an accident. When I went in there it just slipped. I was mad Sakura; it was too late when I realized what I said."
"Slipped?! It slipped! Is that your excuse? Kakashi had to call home and now my mom's gonna find out."
"Your mom? So Kenji already knew? Tell me, what's up with that creep?" Sasuke asked.
"Don't try to flip the script around. I'm the one who's asking questions around here," I said. "Sasuke, how could you?! You complicated my life so much!"
"Sakura, you need help. Look at you. You've snapped, you've had enough. I want you to be okay, but you're not," Sasuke said, striking a nerve on me. I looked at him as if I've never seen him before.
"You...You don't know...everything about me," I said slowly. "What I need is sympathy, not help. It's too late for help anyways." It was me talking, but my voice sounded so different right then.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked. "Sakura? Sakura?"
I remained silent, lost in my own sentiments. I wanted so bad for someone to feel what I went through, to feel the pain. I want to feel like I'm not alone in this. And maybe Sasuke...no. Not him. Not ever. Not after what he just did. I can never trust him.
SMACK!
I slapped him, hard. Right across the face. I was surprised myself at what I just did. But not as surprised as him.
"I don't ever want to speak to you again," I said as I turned around and left. From now on, any thoughts of Sasuke and I being friends (or anything else for that matter) were gone. The moment I stepped out of the Uchiha Mansion, I knew I changed.
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My friends noticed it first. They asked me why I was so quiet and they began to worry.
"Sakura, you look awfully pale. Do you feel okay?" Hinata asked me. "You've hardly touched your food at all. Are you sick or something?"
I shook my head although I've been feeling horrible for a few days now. I don't know why, but I kept throwing up a lot as well. Maybe it was PMS, I thought. It was coming up any day now/
"I know you don't want to hear this Sakura, but you should see a doctor. You haven't been looking good lately," Tenten said.
"Where's Ino?" I asked, changing the subject. "With Shikamaru again?" It was a pointless question since I already knew where she was. Eating lunch with her BF Shikamaru meant she was sitting with his friends, including Sasuke.
So far I hadn't spoken to him since that day. Since we sat next to each other in Science, I couldn't avoid him then. I only said one word answers, but mostly I ignored him.
Ino, Hinata, and Tenten all asked me why I wasn't talking to Sasuke and I answered that we had a fight, end of discussion. They stopped bugging me about that subject afterwards. They still talked to Sasuke since none of them had anything against him.
"...try-outs this week. I really hope I make it," Tenten said. "I've been practicing like crazy all week so I think I deserve to be on the team."
"I feel like eating chocolate," I said aloud. I just felt like having chocolate all of a sudden. Like right now, at this exact moment. Tenten and Hinata just looked at me.
"So you won't eat the school lunch, but you'll eat chocolate?" Hinata said, trying to clarify things. I nodded my head. "As long as you're eating something, I don't care what it is. I think I have a chocolate bar." Hinata went through her bag and gave me a Hershey's bar, the kind almonds. I took it with hunger in my eyes.
"Whoa girl, slow down!" Tenten said chuckling as I shoved the chocolate down my throat.
"Sorry, I was really hungry," I said, taking small bites now. Once I finished the chocolate, I felt satisfied. I sighed in content.
"I'm surprised Itachi hasn't called you yet. He usually calls at about this time," Hinata said.
"Oh, he called before school. He said he'd be too busy to call during my lunch," I said. It hurt my throat a bit to be talking this much after barely talking for a while.
"So you're still going out with him? Why don't you just end it? I mean, you don't seriously love him, do you?" Tenten asked. I took my time to answer.
Love. That's a really strong, powerful word. Did I feel that way towards Itachi? Was I only with him for the sake of having someone as a boyfriend? "Maybe," I answered. "All I know is that I'm glad I have him in my life."
Hinata and Tenten nodded, but I don't think they really understood. I may not love Itachi as much as he loves me, but he's the only good thing I have. When I'm with him, I forget all my problems and have a good time. Am I using him just for that?
The bell rang and Hinata and I walked over to Kurenai's class. I took the test a few days ago and got my score the next day. I failed it. Even though Kurenai didn't say anything, the look in her eyes said it all. Disappointment.
"Sakura, did you really mean what you said about Itachi?" Hinata asked me.
"Yes," I replied. We entered the classroom and since there was no assigned seating, Hinata and I sat next to each other. I noticed that Sasuke still hadn't arrived yet.
"You haven't ...umm...you know, done 'it' with him, have you?" Hinata asked, blushing. "I mean, that's a stupid question. If you had, you would of told me by now. And Ino and Tenten too."
I didn't say anything. To Hinata, I was still a virgin. How I wish that were true. I wanted my first time to be special. I wanted to make love to someone, not get raped by an asshole.
The late bell rang and I saw that Sasuke was sitting in a seat far away from me. At first he kinda did, but then I think the message had sunk in. He and I were no longer friends.
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"So then Shikamaru made a goal for his team and I cheered SUPER loud," Ino said in art class as we were drawing the classic fruit in bowl picture.
"But Ino, you're a cheerleader. You're supposed to cheer. And you weren't the only one," Tenten said.
"I know, but I cheered the loudest," Ino said. Knowing Ino, I'm not surprised. "So after the game Shikamaru and I went to a diner with some of his teammates and their girlfriends. Did I tell you guys the Shikamaru looks damn hot when he's hot? Being out in the sun for a long time can do that to you."
Argh, I am so sick and tired about hearing "Shikamaru this" and 'Shikamaru that." It got so annoying. I lost it. I had to speak what was on my mind.
"Ino, shut up!" I said. Ino abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence. The three of them looked at me in shock.
"What did you just say?" Ino asked.
"Shut up. I've had enough of you talking about Shikamaru all the time. Give it a rest. Enough already," I said.
"Well, excuse me Sakura, but if I remember clearly, you wouldn't stop talking about Itachi when you first went out with him," Ino retorted. "And I didn't say anything about it."
"It's so pretty outside," Hinata said, trying to change the subject.
"Maybe because I don't talk as much as you," I said.
"Eh!!" Ino said.
"Oh my god, Ino. I'm so sorry for saying that. I didn't mean it," I said, changing my mood quickly. I couldn't remember why I was so mad in the first place.
"Nani?" Ino asked. "You're apologizing that quickly to me?"
I don't get it. One second I'm annoyed, mad even. Then the next second I'm nice again. What is wrong with me? Why am I so moody?
"Hey Sakura, you don't look so good," Tenten said. I felt like vomiting at that moment.
"Iruka-sensei, may I go to the bathroom?" I asked.
"Yes, just take a pass with you," he said, inspecting people's drawings around the class. I grabbed the pass and fast-walked to the bathroom. No one was in any of the stalls, thank god. I got inside one of the empty stalls and started to puke. It was horrible. I've never thrown up so much in my life.
"Sakura, you okay?" I heard Ino's voice say. When did she get here? "Listen, Tenten and Hinata talked to me. They were also a bit annoyed with me too, but that's besided the point. They said that you've been feeling awful for days now and they don't know why. Pause. Silence. Retching noises.
"Sakura, are you throwing up?" Ino asked.
"Yes," I replied weakly, flushing the toilet. I got out of the stall and faced Ino.
"You're not bulimic are you?" Ino asked, her eyes wide.
"No, I'd never do anything stupid like that," I said. Ino looked relieved.
"Thank god, but then what's wrong with you?" Ino asked.
"I d-don't know myself," I honestly answered. I seriously had no clue as to what could possibly be wrong with me. "Maybe it was something I ate," I said, just to reassure myself mostly. I know there was nothing wrong with the chocolate Hinata gave me.
"Sakura, I'm worried about you. You're my best friend, you know that. If you ever need to talk, about anything, just let me know and we'll chat," Ino said, showing me the concerned, sweet side of her. I regretted ever yelling at her.
"I know," I said, tearing up. So was she. We embraced each other and started sobbing together.
"I'm sorry," we both said at the same time. We laughed a little then saw our faces in the mirror.
"Damn, we look like shit," Ino said, wiping her face.
"I don't know who looks worse, you or me," I said.
"I think we should get back to class now. Iruka-sensei is probably wondering where we are," Ino said. I nodded and we left. When we got back, Iruka-sensei was eyeing us.
"Where have you two been? I was about to send a search party," he said. I knew he was joking about the last part.
"Sorry sensei but we had some technical difficulties," Ino said.
"With what? Wait, do I even want to know?" Iruka said.
"Trust me, you don't," I said. Me and Ino glanced at each other and smiled.
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"Let's talk about it," Gaara said as we were walking home together.
"Talk about what?" I asked, putting on a clueless look on my face.
"You know what. Sasuke," Gaara said. "Why are you treating him like shit all of a sudden? You don't talk to him unless you can avoid it and you ignore him all the time."
"So, what's your point?" I said, sounding like a total bitch. Gaara just looked at me with his mouth slightly open.
"You don't care how he's feeling, do you? Sasuke's really good at hiding his emotions, but lately I've noticed a sadness to him. And not just me, but the other guys as well. Before, he used to be ...happy, or at least the closest thing to being happy," Gaara said. I pretended like I was half-listening , but I was actually paying full attention.
Is Sasuke really feeling like that because of me? Is he really that unhappy?
"So what if he told Kakashi your 'secret?' He did it with good intentions," Gaara continued on.
"No he didn't. He told Kakashi out of anger. It was an 'accident' he said. It slipped out. I think he was trying to get back at me for something. We were arguing before in P.E.," I said.
"You've got it all wrong Sakura," Gaara said. "He was mad when he said it, he was really reluctant to tell more to Kakashi. He tried to deny he even said it at all but he's really honest with Kakashi. He looks up to him a lot, like a father. Maybe that's why."
"Are you done now?" I asked, hating myself even more for saying that.
"God Sakura, I don't even know who you are these days," he said. That makes two of us, I thought.
"All I'm saying is that you should give Sasuke a second chance," Gaara said.
"Did he tell you to say that to me?" I asked, questioning him.
"No. I just hate seeing two of my friends fighting with each other," Gaara responded back.
"Wow Gaara, that was really deep. Even for you," I said.
"Are you trying to make me hate you? Because right now it seems like you are," Gaara said.
I sighed. "No, I'm not trying to make you hate me. I'm just... I don't know why I'm acting this way. I'm so confused." Damn, here I go again with the waterworks.
Gaara pulled me closer to him and hugged me. A real brotherly hug. In a way, he kinda was like a brother to me. Afte a while he let go of me and tried to cheer me up. It didn't work.
"I feel like a horrible person. Really, I do. I've said some real nasty stuff to Ino," I mentioned to Gaara. He nodded his head in understandment. We got to my house and I invited him over.
"Sure. I haven't been to your house in a while," Gaara said as we walked in. The house was empty since my mom and Kenji were both at work. We went to my room and just hung out.
"Come on emo-boy, let me paint your nails black," I said, reaching for his hand.
"No way," Gaara answered, hiding both his hands beihnd his back. I half-smiled then started to paint my nails black while we listened to music. I wasn't even done with one hand when I had to vomit. Gaara looked at me weird when I stood up from my bed and ran to my bathroom. Ugh, why was I constantly throwing up?
"Hey, you alright?" Gaara asked, standing by the sink. In my hurry I forgot to close the door.
"I will be," I replied. I flushed the contents down the toilet.
"Was it something you ate at school? Don't tell me you ate the mystery meatloaf. That stuff is nasty," Gaara said. I laughed, shaking my head no.
"I've been feeling like this for a while now," I confessed. "Under the weather."
"Have you gone to see a doctor?" Gaara asked.
"No, why would I?" I said. He shrugged, then walked back to my room. I followed after him.
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"The answer is 28," I said.
"Correct," Kakashi-sensei said as he wrote the answer on the board. "Now, what's the answer to problem five? Anyone?"
"It's 51.7," Shikamaru said when no one would raise their hand. Out of all the guys that Ino dated, I like Shikamaru the best. They're good for each other.
"Naruto, answer number six," Kakashi said. Naruto gulped and looked at the ceiling for help.
"Umm...the answer is 4. Yeah, it's 4. Believe it!" Naruto said, guessing.
"That's correct," Kakashi said slowly, looking a bit surprised that Naruto got it right.
"You serious? Oh yeah, I'm a genius!" Naruto said in triumph. I couldn't help smiling at Naruto's childich act. I noticed that Sasuke was staring at me with a pleased look. When he noticed I was staring back (out of curiousity) he looked amused at getting caught and mouthed the words Dumdum.
I was almost going to say Mr. Dimple Wimples (like I usually do when we play this "game") then stopped myself. Gah! I almost forgot I wasn't speaking to him. I turned away from him and looked at Kakashi, who was talking about the distance formula and blah blah blah.
Fast-forward to P.E. Everytime I did a sit-up I would get a horrible pain in my stomach. Usually that means I'm on my time of month, but I'm not. I should have gotten it like two days ago. Hm, I'm not really complaining about it either.
"Yeah, I made the basketball team," Tenten said as we were jogging around the track. I was getting tired easily and slowly began to fall behind my friends. I was breathing heavily, but I had to quicken my pace to barely keep up.
"That's great! You're in the basketball team, I'm a cheerleader, Hinata's in the debate team and Sakura you're...uh, you're not really in a team," Ino said.
"You should audition for the new school play Sakura. I don't know why you stopped acting. You were a brilliant actress," Hinata said. I still am. Thanks to my acting skills, nobody's found out about Kenji abusing me.
"I guess it'd be nice to play someone else instead of me for a change," I said, panting.
"Totally," Ino said, not even breaking a sweat.
"Yeah, it'd be like old times. The Fabulous Four all ove again," Tenten said. "Although I still think the name is a bit tacky."
My head was spinning out of control. The ground was moving underneath me. I tried to shake the feeling of dizziness away.
"Sakura, are you okay? You don't look so good," Hinata said, noticing I had all of a sudden stopped. I was holding my head in my hands. Stop spinning! Stop! That's when I blacked out.
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Sasuke's P.O.V.
I think I was the first one who took notice of Sakura's strange behavior. She had abruptly stopped jogging all of a sudded. I was too far away from her and I couldn't catch her when she fell to the ground. I could hear her friend Hinata screaming and both Tenten and Ino were tending to her.
I quickly ran to where Sakura was now lying, Narutoand the others close behind. "What happened?" I demanded.
"I -I don't know. She just fainted," Tenten said.
"Wake up Sakura. Come on, wake up," Ino was saying to her.
"Where's Anko when you need her?" Shikamaru asked.
"I'll get her. I'm the fastest runner," Neji said, sprinting off.
"Even in a time like this he has to be all egotistic," Tenten said.
"Tenten, not now!" Hinata said, clasping and unclasping her hands.
I was right beside Sakura and picked her up bridal style. She was heavier than I thought she would be.
"What are you doing?" Ino asked.
"Taking her to the nurse's office," I answered, putting a hand to her forehead. "She's a bit hot."
"W-What?" Chouji and Gaara said at the same time, no doubt thinking I meant something else.
"She has a fever you idiots," I said, starting to walk off the track. It'd be much easier if there weren't so many people stopping to stare.
"What about Anko?" Naruto said. "Shouldn't you wait until she comes?"
"Well, Neji's taking a long time. Fastest runner my ass," I replied.
"I'll go with you. She is after all my best friend. I'd take her there myself, but I can't carry her," Ino said, walking alongside me.
"Hn," I grunted and we made our way to the nurse's office. Secretly, I was enjoying holding Sakura in my arms, but I pushed those thoughts aside for later.
"She told me," Ino began to say," that she's been feeling sick for a while. She keeps throwing up a lot."
"She's going to be okay Ino," I told her for reassurance.
I hope so. Sakura's so different now, have you noticed? Oh wait, I can't believe I forgot. She doesn't talk to you anymore."
I didn't say anything.
"You really do care a lot about her, don't you?" Ino asked. I was completely caught off guard by that question.
"She means a lot to me," I carefully answered, no emotion in my voice. Ino smiled a bit.
"Good, that's what I thought," she said as we entered th nurse's office.
"What happened to her?" Shizune asked, directing me to lay Sakura on a cot.
"She fainted during P.E.," Ino answered.
"I can see that," Shizune said, holding a small flashlight to Sakura's eye. "But why? Was it heat stroke? Exhaustion?"
"We don't know," I said.
"I think she was dizzy," Ino said.
"She's awfully hot," Shizune said, touching her forehead.
"Heat stroke," Ino suggested.
"She has a fever," I said. "Ino said she's been feeling sick all week."
"Hmm," Shizune said, thinking. "Fever, dizziness, and fainting."
"And throwing up too. She's been doing that a lot lately," Ino said. Shizune raised an eyebrow.
"You do know the symptons you just described to me leave me to believe that your friend here may have an eating disorder," Shizune said.
Sakura, having an eating disorder? She'd never do that, not in a million years. It must be something else.
"Are you sure? She told me that she's not bulemic or anorexic. And besides, when she throws up it's unintentional," Ino said.
"What do you mean by that?" Shizune asked. Yeah, what do you mean by that Ino?
"Well, it's her stomach that's forcing her to vomit. She'll be fine one minute, then the next she feels sick. Sakura can't help it," Ino replied.
None of this was making sense to me. Sakura looks healthy to me, but how is she on the inside? "Maybe we should wait and ask her when she wakes up," I said. Hopefully she won't lie to us.
Shizune nodded her head and grabbed a bottle of alcohol. She got a cotton ball as well and poured some alcohol on it. Next she placed it underneath Sakura's nose. In a few seconds she was slowly opening her eyes.
"Wh-Where am I?" she asked, sitting up. She placed a hand to the side of her head, frowning.
"You're at the nurse's office. You painted during P.E. Do you feel okay?" Ino said.
"Y-Yeah," she said weakly. Then she noticed that I was there in the room. "What is he doing here?"
I was slightly annoyed that she was still not talking to me. She wouldn't even ask me that question directly. What's worse is that she didn't give me time to explain myself.
"He carried you over here," Ino said.
"And you let that happen?!" Sakura said, her eyes wide.
"Ehm..ehm," Shizune fake coughed, reminding us she was still there. "Sakura is it? Would you mind telling me why you fainted?"
Sakura sighed before answering," I had a terrible headache. All that running finally caught up to me and that's when I fainted." Is she telling the truth? As much as I like her, I can never tell. She's so complex and simple at the same time. She's...well, she's Sakura.
"Why didn't you tell Anko? I'm sure she would have excused you from P.E." Shizune said.
"I wasn't thinking clearly. Can I get a glass of water?" she said. Shizune grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with tap water. She handed it to Sakura who drank it all in one gulp.
"Can you two leave us to talk alone?" Shizune asked. "You should get back to class. Third period is almost over anyways.
"Okay. Come on Sasuke," Ino said, pulling me by the arm as I looked at Sakura. She looked horrified at the chance of being alone with Shizune. I was pretty sure she was going to protest once we left.
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Sakura's P.O.V.
That bitch! How dare she ask me if I'm suffering from bulimia?! In fact, I think the exact opposite is happening. Lately, I've noticed my jeans don't fit the same. They're a bit tight all of a sudden.
"Oh Sakura," she said in a fake concerned voice (it had to be fake, right? Why else would she care about me?). "The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."
How come adults believe me when I'm lying, but when I tell the truth, they don't?
I kept insisting I didn't have any sort of eating disorder. I think she finally gave in after she weighed me. 122 pounds. I've gained five pounds. Yikes!
"So am I free to go?" I asked. Honestly, I felt like I was being interrogated. (When was the last time you ate?) All that was missing were those big, bright lights that you never know where they come from.
"Yes. Just be more careful," Shizune said.
"Alright. I promise," I said leaving. I walked to the locker rooms and changed into my normal clothes. By the time I was finished, the other girls came in to change.
"Sakura, you're back!" Tenten said as she, Hinata, and Ino engulfed me in hugs.
"Squeezing...too tight...can't breathe...," I said jokingly.
"Sorry about that. How are you feeling?" Hinata asked, always the concerned one in our group.
"Great! Awesome! Fantastic!" I said, forcing a smile on my face. "Really, I do."
"Well, you do look better. Your face isn't as pale, that's for sure," Ino commented. I do have naturally pale skin, but whatever. They continued changing.
"So what did Anko say?" I asked.
"Anko's not the worried type, but she wasn't happy about finding out you fainted. She just yelled at us to continue jogging around the track," Tenten informed me.
"And if we felt 'quesy' we should take a rest," Hinata added. The bell rang for fourth period, which meant Science...with Sasuke.
When I got there, he was already there, waiting for me. Just ignore him, I thought. I sat down next to him, not even awknolodging his presense.
"Class, today is Experiment day! We're going to work with our partners to identify physical and chemical changes by recording your observations and analyzing them. You already have the supplies in front of you, so just follow the directions and copy the...," Gai went on and on. Blah, blah, blah. Oh wait, I should actually pay attention if I don't want to ask Sasuke what to do since I usually do that.
"...fool around with the matches. And don't forget to wear your safety goggles. Don't I look stylish with them on?" he said, posing. Yuck!
So I put the goggles on and looked over at Sasuke. He usually is the one who takes charge in the experiments before we play around and stuff. Although not today.
"The least you could have said was thank you," he said, placing an ice cube in a clear, plastic cup.
"I...," I said, then closed my mouth. Sasuke smirked at me.
"Go on. Say it. I know you're dying to talk to me," he said.
"No I'm not." Damn! That was a trap all along.
"You just did," Sasuke said, writing something down on his paper. "I don't know why I didn't try to talk to you earlier. I thought, maybe if I gave you time...Are you still mad at me?"
I looked at him, then looked away.
"I'm sorry Dumdum." No, don't call me that. It sounds so nice when he says it. Argh! What am I thinking?
"Please answer me. Say that you don't ever want to see me again, but just say something," he pleaded with his eyes.
"D-Do I make you unhappy?" I whispered, remembering what Gaara said to me a few days ago.
Sasuke had such a look on his face...I can't describe it. It made me want to apologize to him at that moment.
"No, you could never make me unhappy. Why would you think that?" he said, placing his hand next to mine on the desk so we were almost touching. I felt my face heat up and that dizzy feeling came back. Although I'm sure it had nothing to do with my headache this time.
I shouldn't be like this around Sasuke. I shouldn't have this tingly sensation in my stomach when he's this near me. I don't even feel like that when Itachi and I hug or kiss.
Instead of answering his question, I just shrugged.
"And I actually thought we had made some progress," he said sarcastically. He lit a match and put it near the ice cube.
"Here, let me help with that," I said, forming a bowl with my hands to collect any water dripping. We were supposed to observe how the ice cube changed while it was melting, but I was having a hard time focusing. I just had to choose that time to notice how good Sasuke smelled.
"I think that's enough," he said, once the match was almost out. I wiped my hands on my jeans as Sasuke placed what was left of the cube in the cup. He began to write some stuff down on his data sheet. I, on the other hand, was clueless. So I (sorta, kinda) looked over at Sasuke's paper and (sorta, kinda) copied what he wrote.
"Sakura, are you copying off of me?" Sasuke asked, smirking.
"What? No," I said, although it was completely obvious.
"It's okay. I used to copy off you loads of times when you didn't notice. Don't take it personal, but I used to think you were the smart, geeky girl in my class."
Well, I was shocked! And not the surprised shocked, but the horrified shocked. He thought I was a geek?!
"I meant it as a compliment. I always admired that you weren't superficial like other girls and you actually cared about your grades," Sasuke said. "You were different."
"You mean because I wasn't in any of your stupid fanclubs," I said. Really though, they are stupid.
"Yeah." Again I realized how little we knew of each other. We didn't socialize with one another until we became friends. Ex-friends now, I guess. Or...what are we? We're talking to each other now, so...does that make us friends again? A part of me is like 'let it go and forgive him already.' But that was a big secret of mine that he revealed to Kakashi.
And speaking of Kakashi, I still have meetings with him, twice a week now. I mostly stay silent though, until he sighs and says," See you next time."
Kenji hasn't said anything to my mom yet about me cutting myself. He probably will soon, he's not that cool. And when that day comes, I don't know what will become of me. Maybe I'll go to a facility or have therapy sessions, perhaps even both.
The lunch bell is what snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly packed my stuff into my bag and saw Sasuke standing by the doorway.
"You're blocking my way," I said, not trying to sound mean, but he really was blocking my way.
"Have you ever gone out of school grounds to eat lunch before?" he simply asked. At our school, juniors and seniors could leave school to eat lunch somewhere else, but we had to be back by the next class.
"Sometimes. But since I don't own car, I can't say that I do that often. You know that,", I said. What was he trying to get at anyways?
"Well, I was thinking that if you had nothing better to do, then you wouldn't mind coming with me to eat lunch at Tony's Pizza Place," Sasuke said.
"I have a boyfriend, one with whom you know very much," I said, crossing my arms.
"I'm not asking you out on a date. Just think of it as two friends ( I raised my eyebrows at that part ) catching up on stuff while enjoting a slice of pizza," he said, walking down the hallway with me beside him.
"I-I don' t know," I answered. "And when did we become friends again?"
"Just now," he said. "You have to admit, you missed me."
"Hmmmm," I said.
"Deep down," he said dramatically, placing a hand to his chest," it was killing you inside. You couldn't live another day without talking to me." I couldn't help laughing, he looked so adorable.
"Come on Dumdum, please?" Sasuke asked, smiling. There, he said it. That magic word that was my weakness and also the most embarrassing petname I ever heard. But not as embarrassing as Mr. Dimple Wimples.
"Okay, fine. I'll go," I said, smiling as well.