When she returned to her room, Sasuke was gone. After dinner, she offered to take out the trash and checked to see if his bike was still in the same place – it wasn't. Her dad still wasn't home, and her mom was doing some late work on the computer, as if she hadn't done enough at the hospital. Sakura finally retreated to the confines of the walls she had gotten used to in the last week. Frowning at her room, she crossed her arms.
Maybe now was the time to think all this through and figure everything out?
Apparently not, because her phone rang decisively on her bed, signaling that somebody had better plans for her somewhere else. Smiling, she flipped it open and put it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"What's up, pinky?"
"Kiba?" Sakura asked, squinting her eyes at her phone. "Let me guess. Naruto gave you my number."
"Nope," he said, and then laughed. Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she wondered how the hell everyone was getting her number. "But speaking of spiky, we were wondering if you wanted to hang out, hm? Chill a bit?"
"Sure, I guess," she said, not being able to help the chuckle that escaped her throat. An idea hit her then, and she thought it through for a total of two seconds before asking, "Who's going to be there?"
"Uh, not sure yet," he said. "We're over at the Plantation. Eh, Naruto's here. Neji, Hinata, Ino, and Shikamaru are here, too. We might invite somebody else. Why? Still avoiding somebody?"
"No, I was just wondering if I could invite a couple of people from my old school?" she told him, and he laughed.
"Go ahead," he said, adding, "As long as none of them are keen on blowing our heads off, I'm cool with that. Naruto doesn't care either."
"Awesome," Sakura said, giggling inwardly. "I'll be there in a few minutes then."
"You don't need a ride or anything?"
"Nope," she said, nodding despite the fact he couldn't see her. "I can get one."
"Um, hey guys, this is Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro."
Sakura waited anxiously, watching the expressions on her friends' faces carefully before sighing and glancing at the three siblings.
"Don't worry about them," she said, giggling. "They're not used to newcomers." She added with a backward glance at her newest blonde friend, "Right, Ino?"
"Nah, it's cool," Ino laughed and stepped forward. "I'm Ino, and any friend of Sakura's is welcome."
"Nice to know," Temari scoffed, the smirk on her face enough to let Sakura know she was amused, not insulted.
"Yeah, I'm Kiba," the brunette said, waving and grinning.
"Hinata."
"Yo, Naruto here!"
"My name's Neji."
"I'm Shikamaru," the lazy boy said, but when Temari looked up in surprise, he blinked and said, "But we've already met."
"You have?" Sakura said, surprised. Looking back and forth between Temari and Shikamaru, she raised an eyebrow and finally settled her gaze on Gaara. "Have you?"
"I haven't, but I recognize him," the redhead acknowledged, shrugging.
"You know her?" Ino questioned, eyebrow arching suspiciously. Of course, Shikamaru just shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah," he said, obviously not thinking much of it. Temari sighed, and put her hands on her hips.
"We work together is all," she said, and then shook her head at Ino's critical gaze.
"But Shikamaru works at a car repair shop," Ino said, eyes squinting as she gave Temari a look-over. Sakura groaned and placed her forehead in her hands. "You work at Monro's?"
"In the office," Temari explained briefly. "And trust me, I'm not into younger kids."
"Kids?" Kiba repeated, looking offended.
"Temari and Kankuro are graduates," Sakura told them, and then said, gesturing to Gaara, "Gaara's in eleventh grade with us. He's probably one of my best friends. Finally glad I mentioned them?"
"Yeah," Naruto laughed, nodding. "But are these your only friends? If so, that's pretty pathetic – no offense."
"No," Sakura said, glaring and smacking him on the arm. "Of course not. But these guys are like family."
"Yep," Temari said proudly, sticking her chin in the air and slinging an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "We are family."
"Awesome," Ino said, already over it her deal with Shikamaru. "So what do you guys wanna do, hm?"
"I don't care what we do," Hinata offered, clinging faithfully to Neji's arm. The elder Hyuga shrugged and Kiba seemed to think it through before grinning.
"Nothing about dogs, dude," Naruto said, and Kiba's face fell. "How about we prank call Ms. Tsunade?"
"Who?" Kankuro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Principal," Sakura briefed, and then shook her head at Naruto. "No way. That's so dumb."
"Well, we know not to go swimming," Shikamaru said, a bitter laugh escaping his lips.
"I don't know," Ino said, tilting her head, "Sasuke's not here or anything."
"I still need to meet that boy," Temari reminded Sakura, nudging her. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Sasuke's not a problem anymore, Ino," Sakura said, but the bleach blonde didn't seem to buy it. "How about we go get something to eat and figure out what we wanna do there?"
"Great idea," Kiba said, and then frowned, a confused look coming over his face. "But where do we eat?"
Sakura groaned, and glanced around the many shops before them, picking one and pointing at it randomly.
"How about Michaelangelo's?" she suggested, taking a quick glance at everyone's expressions. "And if it helps, my treat."
"I'm down wit dat," Kiba laughed, and Hinata blinked raising an eyebrow at the boy.
"Okay, well I am too as long as you promise never to do that again," Ino scolded, giving Kiba's forehead a sharp jab. "You're not black."
"I don't gots to be," he said, sneering in her face. This time, Naruto flicked him in the ear, though he laughed.
"Yo, shut up."
"Why?"
"Because Ino was right for once," Shikamaru said, snickering at Ino's irritated expression. She got over it five seconds later when she turned to ask the three siblings if they were okay with Michaelangelo's.
"If you guys keep up the show, I'm pretty much okay with anything," Temari laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "You people are hilarious."
"Sure," Kankuro muttered, shrugging. Sakura watched as he sighed and nudged Gaara.
"That's fine," was his short answer.
"Cool," Sakura said, grinning. She was just pleased that both parties were getting along. "Then let's eat!"
Sakura swore that somebody was seriously out to get her.
They had just ordered three medium pizzas – cheese, pepperoni, and sausage – having to sit at two booths and a small table nearby in order to fit everyone in the group together. Kiba had just brought their food to the table when she saw him.
Oh dear God, help me. Nearly groaning, Sakura watched in dismay as an unaware Itachi Uchiha stepped into the restaurant. Frankly, he looked pissed off and Sakura didn't want to be the one to brighten his day, which she knew she'd do if he saw her. Thankfully, he hadn't seen her yet, speaking to whomever he had just come in with. Maybe she could still get away…but to where? She couldn't just leave again.
"Uh, I have to go to the bathroom," she said quickly, taking a convincing sip of her coke and hurriedly climbing over Gaara's lap. The stunned redhead watched wide-eyed as she made her way over him and onto the ground. "I'll, um, be right back."
Without a second glance to the others, she scurried toward the bathroom, ducking past the door as quickly as possible. Letting out a low breath of relief, she then groaned and placed her head in her hands, leaning against the door.
"What the hell?" she hissed to herself before pushing away to stand in front of the sink.
She stared at herself for a couple seconds before whimpering. It wasn't that she was scared of Itachi – what with the many people with her, he couldn't touch her. But still, there was the flirting and the hypnotizing stare… Plus, she had promised Sasuke that she'd keep her distance, and after she had upset him earlier in her room, she felt that she should do something to atone. Anyway, the younger Uchiha seemed dead serious when it came to her and his brother not interacting. Whether that was out of jealousy or concern, Sakura still wasn't entirely sure, but she wasn't taking any chances. Sasuke knew things she didn't about Itachi, and for good reasons.
But she couldn't just hide in the bathroom until he was gone! What if he was here to stay? She was pretty sure that he had been with a guy and while Itachi didn't really come off as gay or bisexual, the man could have friends right? Could she really try and stay in the bathroom until he left? Of course not! There was no way she could ditch her friends, especially since they had just accepted her again.
Sakura sighed and turned her gaze to the sink she was leaning on. This sucked. It was then she watched a tiny, salty drop of water fall and land on the white surface. Blinking, she realized her face was wet. She was crying.
Sucking in a deep breath, she pulled away from the sink in disgust, looking back into the mirror in surprise and horror. Reaching up, she touched just under her eye, wetting the tip of her finger with her tears. Wincing, she watched her reflection cry silently in despair as confusing thoughts of Itachi ran through her mind. The door opened and Temari, Ino, and Hinata came in quickly.
"Sakura, are you – oh my god, Sakura!" Temari rushed to her side, eyes narrowing as she put her arms around her protectively, staring at her. "What's wrong?"
"Sakura?" Hinata said carefully, tilting her head in front of her.
"Why'd you leave?" Ino asked, and then blinked. "What is it?"
"Itachi," she gasped, and watched each of there expressions change in different ways, though she doubted any of them knew the real horror of it. Still, there was no harm in telling them.
"Who?" Temari asked, blinking. "You mean that Uchiha guy?"
"Yeah," Hinata confirmed, nodding and then looked at Sakura. "What's wrong with Itachi?"
"Sakura has an issue with Uchiha's," Ino giggled, and when Sakura frowned at her, she looked down apologetically. "Sorry."
"It's just that Itachi comes on way too strong," Sakura explained quickly, trying to think. "And Sasuke wants me to stay away from him, but Itachi wants to do the exact opposite."
"That sucks," Ino said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "He's hot too… Again, sorry, but Itachi's sexy."
"Why does Sasuke want you to stay away?" Hinata asked, giving Ino as much a scowl one like Hinata could manage.
"I'm not sure," Sakura said, "I think Sasuke thinks he's dangerous, so I want to stay away from him for now. Every time I see him, though, he hits on me."
"Oh, and he's in there?" Ino guessed.
"Obviously," Temari said, glaring at the dumb blonde. "It's okay, honey. You know we won't let anything happen to you. Itachi won't touch you. Especially not with Gaara here, remember?"
"Yeah," Sakura giggled, hiccupping midway through her laugh. In freshman year, somebody had tried to grope Sakura in the lunch line and had received a black eye, bloody lip and broken finger. Gaara had been suspended for two weeks, but the message was clear – Sakura was off limits to perverts, or any others Gaara deemed unworthy. "I know."
"So you think you can come back out?" Ino asked.
"He might be gone," Hinata said hopefully, and Sakura smiled at her friends.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You're right. He's probably gone."
He wasn't.
But he didn't pay her any mind. The entire while, Sakura was fidgeting in her seat, trying to act natural and calm after a barrage of worried questions from Kiba and Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji also showing they were concerned in their quieter manner. Gaara didn't say a word, but as soon as she sat down, he placed a calloused hand on her knee reassuringly and she had to smile – it made her feel a lot better.
Still, Itachi ignoring her had her unnerved. She wasn't complaining, but she was more than confused. She knew he was aware of her presence; their gazes had met possibly fifteen times the entire night, as if he were watching her whenever he could. Sakura shuddered at the thought. As much as she tried, she couldn't catch a good glimpse of his friend's face, either.
Slowly, she was able to relax and enjoy herself as they talked and laughed and ate greasy pizza. Kiba even amused them all by flicking pieces of sausage at a couple of Konoha's football players when they came in. The jocks threatened to whoop Kiba's ass, but the dog-lover just scoffed and threw a sloppy piece of meat and cheese at one of them. The manager threatened to throw them out after that, so Kiba finally relented after sticking his tongue out at the one who now had a grease-stained shirt.
Sakura had to admit that she had a good time, though Itachi's continuous gaze was more annoying by the last slice of pizza than scary. They left with Kiba and Naruto shoving each other playfully, rolling about on the ground when they got outside. She watched in reserved interest, glancing back through the window at Itachi's table – he was still staring at her. She doubted he heard a word of what his friend was saying.
"You two grow up," Ino was scolding, pushing Naruto onto his back with her foot. Shikamaru chuckled and wrapped his arms around Ino's waist from behind, the first affectionate gesture Sakura had witnessed. Ino smiled and glanced back at him, "Hello."
He grunted in response, kissing her shoulder lightly, and Sakura felt the sharp sting of jealousy hit her in the chest. Why couldn't she be normal like them? They looked so perfect together, cute and enough of a couple for anyone to feel lonely. Sakura sighed and looked away, wishing that the drama would just leave, that she could find a guy that didn't feel the need to compete with others or control her life.
"You okay?" Gaara asked at her side and she nodded.
"Headache," she lied, though she was getting close to it. He smirked at her, and she knew he saw through the fib. "I'll be fine."
"If you're sure," he said, tone teasing. Sakura smiled and nodded.
"So I figured out what we should do," Kiba said absentmindedly as he punched Naruto on the arm repeatedly.
"Oh really?" Shikamaru questioned, eyebrow rising as he rested his chin on Ino's shoulder. "What?"
"We should rent a couple movies or something and chill at someone's house," he said, scowling at Naruto when the blonde smacked his hands away. "Just a thought."
"Not my house," Ino said, shaking her head. "I almost got in trouble for that party Saturday."
"My dad is in town for the week," Hinata said quietly, glancing at Neji. The formal Hyuga shook his head and sighed.
"No way," he agreed with Hinata's timid hint. "Uncle would throw a fit if we came home with everyone. I say we go over to Sakura's."
"Why my house?" Sakura asked, glaring at Neji.
"'Cause we've never been over there," Naruto answered, grinning. "It'd be cool."
"Not really," Sakura said, shaking her head. "My parents would die if they came home to a house of crazy teenagers. Just like Hinata's dad."
"Um, hello," Temari said, raising her hand and quirking an eyebrow. "I, like, own a house. So, how about we go to our place?"
"That's fine with me," Sakura said, shrugging and leaning against Gaara. She felt his position shift automatically to support her added weight and smiled at the familiarity. "I could spend a whole month over there and not get tired of it."
Everyone else seemed to agree and, with that, they piled into their cars – yelling and giggling. Sakura almost forgot Itachi, but when she glanced back, he and his friend were gone. Pushing thoughts of him away, Sakura allowed herself to enjoy the ride to Gaara and Temari's.
Thirty minutes later, they were all eating and drinking in excitement, blasting music and the volume on the television at the same time. It was amazing, the feel of having so many friends around her, supporting her and loving her. Sakura couldn't help but loose herself in their mini-party, almost missing the time. When Gaara gave her a ride home, she couldn't help but lean over and give him a huge hug – which he seemed shocked to receive, but nonetheless returned.
Sakura's days had been going on and off all week. It was really starting to bug her. She climbed into bed after finishing her homework and taking a shower, a sudden wave of exhaustion coming over her. For the first time, as she slept that night, she dreamed of him.
Sakura opened her tired eyelids, blinking up at the beautiful crimson sky. She couldn't remember when the sky had turned red, when all the blue had bled away, leaving nothing but darkness behind. The grass, too, was a similar shade of red, as the hands in front of her were black. Blackness mixed in with the blood, tainting the rich color with evil thoughts and negative emotions that set her skin crawling, her stomach churning anxiously.
Fear and confusion flooded through her, only to wash away over and over again, leaving her dazed and dizzy as emotions came and went. She found that she couldn't move and looked down at her legs, unmarred and perfect except for the color of darkness that they radiated. Blinking, she looked around her again and saw that she wasn't alone anymore.
He stood in front of her, only a few feet away. She stared, not sure which feeling to allow her mind to seize, not sure if she'd be able to feel anything at all for more than a few seconds. His long hair flew with the wind, looking silky and soft. A sudden urge to reach out and twist a lock of that hair in her fingers overcame her. She realized she could walk again and she took a step forward, wanting nothing more than to touch him. If nothing else, maybe she'd be able to feel him.
As she moved towards the beautiful figure dressed in what seemed to be billowing, ominous red clouds and a shroud of pure darkness, something tickled her wrist, sending shivers down her spine. Surprised, she turned to look into eyes opposite of the red ones that had gazed at her previously – black ones, desperate and pleading. They were filled with love and compassion, something totally different from the deadly crimson ones.
She stared at this younger man and suddenly wished for him too. Sakura wanted to hold him, to be held by him. To touch and love and share every feeling she could possibly feel inside her with him so that they could be joined in every way she could think of. Doubt filled her and she looked back at the other, whose eyes now flashed with danger, a warning to stay away…or maybe to come closer, or pay the consequence of refusing him.
Her eyes darted back and forth in between the two, staring hard at each before feeling a tremor pass through her. What did they want? Who were they? Biting her lip, she took a step toward the red-eyed man. Almost immediately, a threatening hiss, a warning sounding behind her and she twisted to look at the shorter one. His eyes had turned into onyx slits, so hard and narrow they reminded her of a snake…
Intrigued, she turned to come towards the enticing eyes of the snake, and heard a low sound of irritation escape from that behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she realized how lithe his form was, how indescribably perfect he seemed, sneaky and sly, like a weasel.
A weasel and a snake.
They were two incredibly different beings, each so beautiful and fascinating in their own ways. But which was she supposed to choose? Should she just leave and run away, or would she wait here and see what happened…how long would that take? Both were cunning and lethal, fearsome creatures that sent both quakes of fear and awe down her back.
It was suddenly too much – she couldn't decide.
In another second, they both moved at once. She opened her mouth to scream as they lunged at each other, fixed on destroying the other, but no sound came out. Placing her hands over mouth, she watched as they clashed, and then she was alone.
All right. I had a bit of writer's block, so the update was prolonged more than I had hoped. My style of writing is kind of different. I don't plan anything out when I write a story. I just write, letting the story move along just as it would in real life. For me, it helps the ideas flow more naturally and realistically so it's easier to relate to the story.
So, this chapter was a lot of dialogue, and it focused on Sakura growing and becoming better friends with her classmates. I took what Naruto said in one of the previous chapters and made Sakura introduce her own friends. I also tried to make it clear that more than anything, Sakura is confused.
Review, please. Tell me how I did and I'll update sooner. I've already gone for a little NejXSak, and definitely gone into the SasXSak and ItaXSak. So, I think I'll put in a bit of NarXSak in the next chapter. I may even take the KakXSak and GaaXSak to another level. Who knows? Give me ideas, tell me what you want and what you don't want. I'll be needing your votes soon on who Sakura ends up with - but that doesn't mean I want them now. I seriously don't, so do NOT review with your 'vote.' Or I'll get mad and won't go with what you say just to spite you.
Anyway, please suggest things. I really want this story to move faster. I'm loosing my ideas, but if you contribute, then maybe I'll actually be able to finish a story. Please and thank you!
