Chapter 12: Those Words

~You captured my heart, with three simple words~

A/N Okay, here's the next chapter of Let Me In, now I don't want to disappoint anyone, but it might be a while before I update again. It's coming down to the wire for my graduation and I have a lot of things to get done, hopefully during the absence more reviews will come in for this story and the more reviews I get, I might update sooner than planned. ^_^

Recap:

"We need to talk to the principal, and we need to talk to him now. This can't wait." Shikamaru offered and they agreed.

"He's right about that, you should talk to him, I'll call over there and let him know your coming," Shizune told them as she picked up the phone on her desk.

The eight teenagers stood in front of their principal. They had just finished telling him what had occurred and by the look on his face he wasn't happy about it whatsoever. He sighed deeply and picked up the phone that sat on his desk, his white shirt crinkled from the movement. Quickly dialing a number he placed the phone to his ear and asked for a man by the name of Officer Masanori. The older man spoke with the officer, discussing Daisuke. Apparently Masanori was his parole officer, and from what they could hear the man on the other end was just as unhappy as their principal.

Nodding his head, the principal hung up the phone and turned to the students in his office. Their eyes asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to, what was going to happen to Daisuke?

"Well, that was Daisuke's parole officer, he's going to come take him back to juvenile hall."

"Good, he gets what he deserves," Naruto said smugly as he crossed his arms.

"Sasuke I think you should go to the hospital and have all the bruises and wounds fully checked out. Shizune has a colleague that works at the hospital over by the mall, she'll take you right in if Shizune calls for you."

"I don..."

Sasuke was cut off when Sakura and Naruto butted in. They decided for him that he was going to go to the hospital, he needed some x-rays and not just from the beating he got from Daisuke, but also the ones he received from his dad, which they left unsaid in front of the principal. They didn't need more people getting involved, and the doctor finding this out while giving the examine was just another one in on the secret Sasuke had kept for so long.

Sasuke was whisked away and Neji volunteered to go ask Shizune to call her colleague at the hospital, seeing as they would head over there when Sakura's parents showed up. He dragged Tenten along with him, and decided now would be a perfect time to ask her to the dance. That is, if would say yes to him, but just the thought of her saying no discouraged him and he wasn't so sure of even asking her.

Tenten walked by his side the whole way, they were silent but it wasn't an awkward silence. Neji hesitated before he worked up the nerve to even grab her attention by calling her name. She glanced toward him with curiosity written on her face.

"Um, I was wondering if uh..."

"What is it Neji?"

"Wouldyougotothedancewithme?"

He said it in such a rush she didn't catch a word he said except for me.

"What?"

"Would you go to the dance with me?" He repeated when he forced himself to calm down.

Tenten's heart began to race, this was exactly what she was waiting for. He asked her, she couldn't believe it. It wasn't long until she realized she may have been blushing, Neji's smirk gave that fact away. She tried regaining her composure and soon enough she nodded her head in response to his question. He calmed down immediately and smirked at her, she didn't think anything of it, that was until he had to go and ruin the moment they shared.

"Its fate."

"Oh would you knock that shit off!"

Sakura helped Sasuke through the front door of the school with Shikamaru and Naruto's assistance was well, despite Sasuke's protests. He felt like he was being treated like a mental patient, and it made him uncomfortable to say the least. He was seventeen for crying out loud, he could take care of himself, he has technically the past few months anyway. His father sure as hell didn't take that responsibility, Sasuke would be dying right now if he left his life in that man's hands.

"I can walk on my own you guys seriously, I can do it myself."

He yanked himself free from Sakura's grasp and put some distance between him and the others.

"Why is he being like that?"

"One thing you should know about Sasuke, he's very independent, he really hates getting help from others."

Sakura tried to understand that but he was stubborn, he was hurt and he needed help. She watched as Sasuke stopped at the sidewalk outside the school gates. He waited for them there since this is where Sakura's parents would be picking them up. That was when she noticed Sasuke had looked up and his eyes widened. Suddenly without warning he took off running as fast as he could. She was about to call out to him but she saw a car pull from a parking spot on the curb that started to chase him.

"NARUTO!"

The blonde heard his name and he turned to look as he saw his best friend run down the sidewalk with the car not too far behind. Shikamaru ran to his car with Ino and Hinata close behind, Naruto had taken off, trying to catch up to Sasuke. A car pulled up just as Tenten and Neji came out of the doors of the school and saw everyone had disappeared except Sakura so they ran over.

"Sakura, what's going on?" Man asked hurriedly.

"We have to go, hurry. Neji, Tenten come on."

They wasted no time and sprinted over to her parents car. The three teens hopped into the back as Keiji shifted into drive and drove off. Quickly trying to find where the others vanished, they couldn't have gone far, there really was no one they would be speeding around this part of town. If they were, they just hoped that the teens didn't get themselves pulled over by the police and recieve a ticket. A ticket Sasuke would surely blame on himself since they were trying to help him.

Sasuke's breath became ragged and quick as he kept sprinting, his sides were hurting from the running and the injuries only made it worse. But that man, the very one he had run from to stay with Sakura, was after him. Fugaku was pursuing him in a car while he ran on foot. If he didn't think fast, he would surely be in trouble, good thing he was on the track team his freshman and sophomore year. The practice sure came in handy right now.

Naruto went after Sasuke, he saw the car and soon his eyes widened when he caught sight of who was in the driver's seat. He tried to catch up to them but they were already to far ahead. A car pulled up next to him and Shikamaru yelled for him to get in. Wasting no time he got into the car and they headed off.

Sasuke skidded on his feet as he turned to go down an alley. He looked around the edge but he didn't see his dad or the car for that matter. Starting to take a step backwards, he bumped into something. His heart stopped then, having no time to turn around an arm came around his neck as the other covered his mouth. Sasuke attempted to claw his way from the tight grasp the man had on him. Fugaku merely chuckled at his attempts and leaned into his son's ear to whisper.

"You have until tonight to get your belongings together from Sakura's house. At midnight I'll be waiting on the curb in the car, you better be ready to leave. If you don't do what I say Sakura will have a little accident, the same goes for Naruto and the rest of those brats."

Sasuke froze; he wasn't attempting to get free any longer. With wide eyes, he fell to the ground when Fugaku freed him from his grasp. The older man walked away and left Sasuke on the ground badly shaken up. The raven-haired teen glanced around as he stood with shaky knees and leaned on the wall of the dark alley for support. The man was now gone from his sight, but his words still lingered in Sasuke's mind. The very words he never wanted to hear again, he truly believed he would be able to start living peacefully again. Maybe even tell Sakura how he really felt about her, but those plans were shattered. Now he had a difficult choice to make, but he already knew what he had to do.

'What the hell do I do?'

Two cars stopped by Sasuke's side as he came out of the alleyway. Sakura had jumped out of the car and immediately went to him and began checking for any new wounds he may have received. She was overcome with relief when she found none. His breath was still quick paced, he was still trying to calm himself down after running for such a long distance. Sakura smiled at him, but she didn't know about the inner turmoil that was slowly tearing him apart. There were only a few words that Sakura thought and those were the ones that made her smile at him.

'Thank god, his dad didn't get to him.'

She didn't know what really happened and as Sasuke watched her wrap her arms around him, he knew he had to leave she was in danger. All of them were in danger for that matter, he couldn't stay with her anymore, his father was coming for him tonight and he didn't have a choice or say in the matter. Sakura pulled away and stared into his eyes, her own reflected the worry she held for him, she knew something was wrong. But the chances of getting him to talk were slim to none, especially after this whole ordeal that he experienced.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"He's most likely a little shaken up."

Sakura nodded at her dad's words and she grabbed Sasuke's hand then led him to the car her parents were driving. The Haruno's dropped off the teens at the school so they could get their car as well and head home. Mana was worried about Sasuke's health so she told them they were going to take Sasuke home, she even promised to take him to the hospital tomorrow, right now, she wanted him to get some rest. Sakura agreed with her mother and waved goobye to her friends as they returned the gesture. Ino promised to call her later to ask how they were doing and then she would pass the news along to their group.

Arriving back to the Haruno residence, Sasuke realized his time was ticking down. Ticking down to the point where he knew everything that he worked to get back was about to disappear. Fugaku had something planned but he didn't know exactly what that was but Sasuke knew it was good, and that it was something he wouldn't like. Fugaku had that effect, he knew what Sasuke didn't like and he was going to use that to his advantage against him. Just that thought caused Sasuke to grit his teeth in anger, he was getting tired of taking this shit from his dad and his face showed it. Sakura wasn't oblivious to his mood, she saw the expressions on his face change thorughout the ride back to the house.

Mana and Keiji told the two to go up to Sakura's room, they were going to go down to the police station and file a report on child abuse. Fugaku was going to be caught and they wanted him put behind bars before they even let Sasuke go anywhere by himself. Even if he was with Sakura, she wasn't strong enough to handle herself against Sasuke's dad, and the very thought of their daughter getting touched or hurt by that man only increased their determination to get the situation taken care of quickly.

They left the house leaving the tw alone, Sakura took Sasuke into the bathroom to check his the injuries he recieved earlier that day. He needed medical attention but this was going to have to do for now, so she placed some simple bandages on his wounds. His torso stung deeply, the sprinting he had done added to that pain and he wished it would go away. While attempting to put his shirt back on, he flinched and hissed from the stinging of pain he felt. Sakura assisted him and soon laced her hand with his and led him to her room, she had this look on her face and he knew something was wrong with her. Despite what she thought, he could read her like a book.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She was lying, and he knew it, the tone in her voice was a give away by itself, but she wasn't a very good liar, unlike him, she had signs that proved his claim. The way she stood and crossed her arms was one, and the way she turned her back to him when she denied what his question had implied. Sasuke wasn't fooled so he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. Keeping a firm grip on her shoulder, he prevented her from turning away again, which she tried to anyway.

"Sakura, you are always telling me to tell you things, and I have, why won't you do the same for me?"

She shifted her eyes away from his stare, she didn't want to end up crying and if she looked into his dark irises she knew the tears would begin and she wouldn't be able to hold them back. Sighing angrily, Sasuke lifted her chin, with his right hand, to make her look at him. His eyes pleaded for her to say something, but she made no move to start explaing herself for the way she was acting.

"Sakura."

She didn't answer him, she deliberately ignore his pleas and attempts to get her to talk. She was being completly stubborn, just like he was when he first met her. Was this some kind of payback? She seemed fine when she was in the car and when she came running to his side when she was worried about him. Now she just cut him off completely, not saying a word to him.

"TALK TO ME DAMN IT!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY SASUKE?! YOU HAVE BEEN KEEPING SOMETHING FROM ME! YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT YOU CUT YOURSELF! WHY SHOULD I SAY ANYTHING TO YOU NOW?!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at what she just said, how did she even find out? Thinking back he recalled that he had been unconscious after he was attacked by Daisuke and his friends. Did she and the others find out then? Did the nurse remove his bandage? He looked to her and noticed that tears were falling from her emerald eyes. The very eyes she captured him with, she knew almost everything about him and he trusted her.

"Sakura, I.."

"SASUKE YOU LIED TO ME! YOU KEPT IT FROM ME!"

"HOW WAS I LYING TO YOU?! YOU WEREN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT IT AND IT'S NOT LYING IF YOU NEVER EVEN ASKED! WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS?!"

She didn't respond back as she continued to cry, Sasuke regretted yelling at her now. What was he supposed to do? She wouldn't give him the answers that he wanted. She avoided his questions by yelling at him and he never thought they'd end up in a fight like this one. Gazing at her down turned head, he was at loss on what to do, never had he told anyone about the knife he kept under his bed and what exactly he did with it. Sakura was only making this harder on him, he was about to turn and leave when she finally whsipered something.

"I'm scared."

He hadn't been expecting this from her, her shoulders were shaking and he knew she was trying to hold back a sob. That hadn't exactly worked, more tears fell as she cried, her sobbing became louder each time she tried to hold it back. Sasuke didn't hesitate as he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his chest. He shushed her and rubbed her back soothingly, how was he supposed to leave her tonight? This day just kept getting worse for him and it didn't plan to change or turn around for him even if he prayed.

"Sasuke, I'm afraid something will happen to you, I'm scared, I'm so in love with you, if something ever happened to you, I'd probably die," She sobbed.

Sasuke had tears brimming his eyes, he was going to break her heart when he left, he was going to get hurt he was sure and she was going to be, well, he didn't even want to imagine that. All he knew was that, it was either he left and she breaks down emotionally, or his father would come and take her life. He chose the emotional way, but he was going to be sure to show her how he felt. He was going to show her just what she meant to him. There was nothing that could break their bond, it would always be there, even if he was gone, he would surely feel it. Hopefully one day, if he ever came back, that she would be waiting for him.

The pink-haired girl didn't know what to expect to happen next, but she definitely wasn't expecting what Sasuke did next. Her eyes widened when he pulled away and quickly crashed his lips to hers, her tears were just a stain on her face now as she closed her eyes and returned the kiss to him. She then knew at that point that he returned her feelings and her heart swelled at the thought. Their kiss came to a soft and gentle end and Sasuke embraced her close to him as he took in the scent of her hair. What he said next brought a smile to her lips, the three words she waited to her back from him.

"I love you."

A/N Okay that's finished, please read and review and let me know what you think. :]