Odd Fact: I name each mission Sakura performs with the Akatsuki.

Most of the time, they're pretty basic but this chapter was slightly different.

Since this story's creation, this mission has always been referred to as "Snow Betrayal."

Just a bit of "trivia" for you lovely readers, I guess XD

I was up all night with a cold as I was editing this so I hope it's alright ^^;

I'm getting a Beta -_-; I can't handle editing. Any offers?

You would have my undying gratitude.

-Anii

Chapter 14: "Don't let this siren cast her spell. Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone!"

― Hellfire from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame

Flurries of snow beat against the pinkette's already frigid body with astonishing velocity. She tucked her chin under her collar in an attempt to keep some of the fierce snow from her sensitive and wind-burned face. Her breath had long ago stopped puffing out in white clouds. Her shivers were violent and several times she collapsed in the snow. However, without fail, a hand reached down to help her back up and Sakura always took it, albeit a little disdainfully.

Deidara will have warm clothes, she chanted in her mind as if it would save her.

Mental images of fire, blankets, and hot food were the only things to keep her trudging through the unbearable tundra. Sakura cracked open her eyes, peering through her snow flake encrusted eyelashes to stare ahead. As if springing up out of the ground tiny dots of light glimmered in the distance. Sakura's head snapped to the side so quickly, she thought she heard her neck crack—it was impossible to be sure with the wind howling in her ears. The girl stared hopefully at Itachi, her wide eyes shining brightly. Snow flakes adorned the Uchiha's midnight black hair as it billowed in the wind behind him. He nodded his head the slightest and Sakura's hopes soared to new heights. She felt life and adrenaline pump back into her veins. Her legs felt stronger and her cracked lips parted in a ghostly smile. She clutched her fluttering robe tighter around her body as she pressed forward, telling herself that she was almost there. Finally, they reached the quaint snow-covered town. Not a single person dared brave the blizzard and Sakura didn't blame them.

Itachi pointed down an alleyway. "There."

Sakura scrunched up her nose. Was their destination going to be some shady warehouse? The alley before her didn't look like it led to much else. Itachi moved down the dark passage, not waiting for her to make a decision.

It doesn't matter, she told herself. As long as I can get warmed up there, a shady warehouse sounds perfect.

The girl jogged after her departing companion and a street lamp overhead cast a golden glow on the pair as they emerged from the alley unscathed. It was almost noon but the blazing snow and thick grey clouds blocked the sun, darkening the world. Itachi placed his hand on the small of Sakura's back, guiding her to the right, and quickly snatched back his hand. Even though it was just for a moment, Sakura had felt the warmth of his fingertips seep into her skin. When they finally came upon the inn, Sakura's breath halted. Her lips parted as she tilted back her head to take in the magnificence of the old-fashioned architecture. She was so awe-struck, she didn't hear Itachi call her name.

Blinking as if she'd been a daze, the girl lowered her gaze to see the Uchiha standing in the doorway, patiently waiting for her to come along. A crowd of people stood inside, happy and warm, oblivious to the blizzard raging just outside the door. In too much of a hurry and nearly frozen to the bone, Sakura tripped on the step leading into the building and face planted on the smooth wooden floor.

"What a way to make an entrance." The snarky tone of that familiar voice made Sakura's face screw up with disdain.

"Ma'am!" a woman shouted as she hustled to Sakura's side.

"Oh! You're so cold!" another woman shouted when she touched the exposed skin along Sakura's arm.

Sakura lifted her head as Itachi spoke to the inn workers, "Please see to it that she's taken care of."

"Come on, dear. We'll get you warmed up and take you to the bath. Come on, up you go," the elder woman cooed as she helped Sakura climb to her feet.

"Itachi," Sakura blurted in such a harsh tone that both women gawked at her. Sakura's eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips as the man looked back at her with calm indifference. She wasn't necessarily angry with the man so much as she was confused by him. Why were they here? How had Kakuzu allowed them to spend so much money on such an extravagant establishment? How could this be classified as a mission? She wanted to ask him a thousand questions but she found that words escaped her as every face in the room turned toward her. A heat spread across Sakura's cheeks and she adverted her gaze.

"Looks like she isn't happy with you, Itachi," Deidara taunted, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk that could launch a thousand war ships.

The elder employee rubbed Sakura's shoulder comfortingly. "Come on, Miss."

Sakura dubiously allowed herself to be led away, but refused to lift her head as she brushed shoulders with Itachi.

••••••••

"You two took forever to get here," Deidara bemoaned as he lay sprawled out on the floor of their rented room.

He sat upright, letting his yukata hang loosely on his body; with one wrong move, the garment would fall open and completely expose the artist's naked form. He shoved a hand through his free blond hair and bit his lip. He was entirely dissatisfied with this situation. He was being kept in a room with the only man to ever humiliate him and was also the traveling companion of Little Miss Useless. He'd imaged dozens of ways to end the pinkette's pathetic life while he waited in this stuffy, over-priced replica of an ended era. The girl's entrance today, however, had nearly made him think that, perhaps, she would do him the honor of snapping her own neck so he wouldn't have to get in trouble with Leader later on.

"Did you have food prepared?"

Deidara ground his teeth together. "Do I look like the damn kitchen staff?"

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, menacing eyes piercing through the rebellious artist, but didn't speak a word. He simply walked over to the sliding door, poked his head outside and waved over a worker in the hallway. He merely asked the woman for a warm meal but any observer would have thought he were begging her to spend the rest of her days with him; the worker looked star-struck as she gazed up at the red-eyed guest with a look of desire across her face. Deidara snorted and rolled his eyes, sick to his stomach. The woman was completely delusional when it came to beauty. She had the same repetitive and uncreative mind that most humans had. Art was beautiful. People were not.

Deidara lay down on his side and scratched his exposed chest absently. His hand passed over the design etched into his skin and he grinned impulsively. He pushed his hand against the design firmly. With this, he would show the world true beauty.

"Thank you," Itachi murmured as he shut the door in the woman's face and walked back into the room.

"You practically had her clothes melting off," Deidara teased without a hint of friendliness.

"You have information on this mission," Itachi stated bluntly as he sat across from Deidara, completely ignoring Deidara's jabs.

"Do I have to explain?"

Itachi's unwavering stare and silence were enough of the answer for the blond, who shrugged his shoulders and propped himself up on one elbow. "Some guy gave away our secrets."

"Who?"

"Some arms dealer named Dato or whatever. Anyway, you're supposed to use your jutsu to make him cough up the names of the people he leaked information to."

"And you?"

Deidara grinned from ear to ear. "Take a wild guess."

The sliding door parted. Deidara, thinking it was just the food arriving, lifted his gaze with disinterest. He became even more disinterested as he watched Sakura step into the room. She cautiously glanced at Deidara and, for a quick moment, he wondered if she'd run from the room screaming if he growled at her. The blond snickered aloud, picturing the girl fleeing in terror, and Sakura's face hardened. Her simple observatory glance over of Deidara became a sharp death glare. The girl's unusual hair was tangled and wet as she dropped down beside Itachi. Her yukata was cinched tightly at her waist and gave nothing away. Deidara made a "tsk" sound and silently called the girl a prude as he itched his inner thigh, oblivious to the fact that his yukata had fallen open completely. Sakura's spine went rigid and her face turned a comical shade of red that made Deidara burst into a fit of laughter.

"Excuse me, your food is here," someone announced from just outside the screen door.

"Already?" Deidara mused. "Isn't that peculiar, Itachi?"

"Please don't expose yourself to the staff," Itachi murmured dryly as he called the woman in with his usual gentle tone.

Deidara waved a dismissive hand, barely making an effort to drape the end of the yukata over his hips. "Yeah, yeah."

The sliding door opened and a young woman, different from the female before, slid into the room with a trail of much older women behind her. Each one had a tray of food in their grasp and they arranged the trays in the center of the room. The older women left without a glance at any of the three guests, but the younger woman stayed behind to ask if there was anything else she could do. She looked different than the other workers he'd seen. Her hair wasn't tied up in a tight knot at the back of her head, it hung down in a loose ponytail. When she bent over too far, some of her inky black hair slipped out of the pony tail to frame her face. She seemed to have a tiny bit of red accent on her lips and her eyes were lined with thin black lines. She was a beacon of light that demanded attention. Much to her dismay, she got none of it here.

"No, thank you. This all looks amazing!" Sakura blurted, her eyes glued to the splendid array of food in the room.

The woman's face twisted with disdain even though she fought mightily to hide it. "You're welcome, ma'am. Is there anything I could get the gentlemen?"

Her hungry brown eyes immediately locked onto Itachi, who paid her no attention until the lingering silence became noticeable.

"No, thank you." The clueless dolt turned to Sakura, "Will you be okay to eat?"

"Uh, I think," Sakura muttered without realizing the storm brewing within the ignored woman in the doorway.

The inn worker, completely miffed by her rejection, slammed the sliding door shut and Deidara felt delirious laughter bubble in his chest. He kept it at bay, however, and reached out a hand to grasp a ripe fruit that called to him.

"The mission..." Sakura's voice trailed off in the hopes that someone would pick up the conversation.

Deidara blatantly ignored her attempt to gather information. Itachi, however, responded politely, "It's nothing too complicated."

"But what are we doing?"

Annoyed, Deidara blurted, "We're going to torture some guy until he tells us what he spilled about the Akatsuki and to whom."

Sakura tried to hide her glance at Itachi. "Oh. When does it start?"

"Tomorrow. The guy is staying in this hotel. We're going to follow him to his secret warehouse and that's when you and I part ways. Itachi has his part and I have mine."

Sakura didn't seem to give a shit about Deidara's part in this mission. The bitch didn't even hide her disinterest and she moved onto another topic. "Are we all sleeping in this room?"

Deidara snorted and bit into his fruit. "You're definitely a prude."

"Excuse me?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"Kakuzu wasn't going to let us buy a separate room for our little princess simply because she's a modest mouse."

Sakura's face flushed. "That's not what I—"

"Don't worry. I wouldn't even dream about touching you."

Clearly even more offended, the girl bristled and her hands clenched in her lap. "Good. I wasn't asking for mod—"

"We can arrange something." Both Deidara and Sakura turned to the Uchiha in the room.

"What the hell do you mean?" Deidara hissed. "We aren't going out of our way for her."

"We can ask the female workers if you can sleep with them," Itachi offered, ignoring Deidara's outburst.

"Uh, no we can't. She has to get over it. Hey, are you listening to me!?" Deidara felt like chucking his fruit at the bastard's head.

"You don't have to," Sakura insisted. "I promise, I'm only asking because—" She bit down on her lip, physically stopping herself from speaking further. "Nevermind. I'll go."

Deidara's eyes narrowed as he stared at the girl sitting across from him. Her prim and proper way of sitting aggravated him. Honestly, that was just another thing to add to the list.

He really didn't like her.

••••••••

Sakura stared up at the ceiling blankly. The room was pitch black and silent except for the small snores of the women surrounding Sakura. The staff had been kind enough to allow Sakura to sleep with them—which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that Itachi asked them—and Sakura had to feign relief to appease the red-eyed man. In actuality, she wasn't concerned with modesty, not much. She'd only asked about the sleeping arrangements because she wanted it confirmed that she was sleeping in the same room as her two male companions. Despite everything she told herself, the pinkette was concerned for Itachi. Since she'd seen him experience a night terror, Itachi had become much more vulnerable in Sakura's eyes. In reality, the man was just as strong as ever, but in her mind, he now had a very human flaw. She wanted to know that she would be in the room if something were to happen. Deidara was an idiot and might try to wake Itachi up while he had his night terror.

A new wave of anxiety washed over the girl and she tossed back her covers, unable to sit still any longer. She placed her blankets around her shoulders, wrapping her body in the warm covers, and carefully maneuvered her way around the sleeping women and to the door. Once in the hallway, Sakura shivered. She wasn't sure what caused the reaction but chose to ignore it and press on toward Itachi and Deidara's room. She found it without much difficulty and placed her hand on the door, poised to open it. Unfortunately, her bravery escaped her and the girl dropped her hand.

She wasn't Itachi's keeper. She wasn't even his friend. There was no reason that she had to open that door. Itachi had probably had night terrors before and he was fine. There was no need to fret over a grown man whom she was supposed to hate. Frustrated, the girl turned away from the door hurriedly and caught sight of the sliding doors lining the opposite wall. There was a soft light and a cool chill emanating from the other side of the door. Wondering what was causing the difference, Sakura carefully cracked the door open and peered through. Just outside of the door, lay a tiny courtyard blanketed with snow.

Sakura listened carefully for the sounds of footsteps and, when she heard none, the girl thrust open the door all the way and sat down on the hard, wooden floor so she could stare out into the quiet snow-filled courtyard. An eerie calm settled over the pinkette as she blankly stared at the glittering snow and she pulled her blankets closer around her body. The bitter cold didn't hurt much now, not when Sakura had a blanket fort to huddle into. She hugged her knees to her chest under her covers as fat snowflakes drifted down onto the blanket of pure white snow outside. The full moon shone brilliantly in a dark sky peppered with silver stars. It felt like ages passed before the girl felt a slight tiredness befall her. Sakura pressed her face into her warm blankets and wondered how long she'd been sitting in the hallway. A cold breeze rolled into the hallway, kissing Sakura's face.

"You'll catch a cold."

Sakura didn't turn. She didn't have to; she knew who it was. Sure enough, Itachi came up beside her in his plain white yukata. Unlike Deidara's, Itachi's yukata was cinched properly, only revealing a small section of the man's bare chest. His hair was loose, hanging casually behind his back. The Uchiha turned his gaze to the snowy courtyard, squinting as if his eyes couldn't see the snow that was right in front of him.

As if giving up on the task, Itachi glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eyes. Sakura thought she saw him smile before saying, "Your nose is red."

Sakura touched her nose self-consciously, a blush creeping up her neck. The pair lapsed into silence and Sakura jumped up to escape the awkwardness. Before she could run far, however, she stumbled on her twisted blankets and fell backwards. She inhaled sharply as her fingers instinctively latched onto Itachi's sleeve. He seemed just as stunned as her by what she'd done; so much so, that they both tumbled down into the snow.

A flurry of powdery snow burst up as their bodies collided with it. Sakura opened her eyes, her held in breath puffing out in a tiny white cloud. Itachi leaned over her, his body propped up on his elbows so he didn't crush her against the ground. She opened her mouth to apologize, but found herself stunned by the expression on the man's face. Sakura meant to ask him if he was alright but her voice failed her again as an unfamiliar sensation grasped her. Her heart thundered loudly in her ears, beating frantically against her breastbone. Her mouth went dry and she found it hard to draw in enough breath. Her stomach flipped in her torso as she saw the same unusual reaction reflected in Itachi.

••••••••

Itachi could feel his heart rage in his chest as the flame burned hotly and spread its heat to his entire body. His muscles trembled as he stared at Sakura's small face below his. She gazed up at him without speaking, her green eyes as wide as his.

He told himself to look away.

He begged his body to move.

Nothing worked; he was lost.

Itachi's eyes scanned over her face, taking in all the things he had missed or never cared to look at. His vision was poor but, this close, he could clearly see the tiny flecks of brown in her green eyes and the way her lower lip trembled. The movement was so slight he wouldn't have caught it if he weren't looking. He could smell the scent of vanilla that always seemed to follow her. He even noticed her hair splayed out against the snowy ground. He also, admittedly, noticed the rhythmical rise and fall of her chest and how the speed increased with each passing second. She was as nervous as he was.

He silently cursed. Damn it all to hell.

His hair slipped over his shoulder and gently fell against her cheek; the inky black strands were a stark contrast to her pale skin. Her hand moved up and her palm lightly touched the middle of his chest. The skin on skin contact made him flinch. Her small hands were freezing compared to his burning hot flesh. Why was he so worked up?

Sakura retracted her hand and murmured an apology but he could barely hear her over the roar of his thrumming heart.

His eyes locked onto the small snowflake that had decided to land near the corner of her mouth. He felt the corners of his lips tip downwards. He'd nearly watched her freeze to death at the beginning of this mission. Even with her chattering lips turning a shade of blue, he'd kept his distance for fear that the warmth of his desire would burn them both. Several times he'd reached out to help her when she'd fallen and even that was enough to drive him wild. His skin had ignited with an overwhelming fire the moment his flesh had met hers. If it had been a choice between her slowly turning into an icicle and him succumbing to his incredible desire, the girl would be a block of ice by now. However, in this moment, those thoughts escaped him. In this moment, he didn't fear his growing desire to touch her skin and, before he realized it, he was already leaning closer to the girl.

Itachi pressed his lips to the tiny snowflake stuck to Sakura's cheek in a soft kiss and it immediately melted from the heat of his mouth. His eyes dipped down the slope of her pale neck. His fingers inched forward to tangle themselves in the girl's hair. He wanted to kiss her and he wore his desire like a scarlet badge. Only a sharp feminine cry from behind managed to snap the lustful man out of his trance.

Itachi turn his head to find an elderly inn worker standing in the hallway. Her eyes were wide and her face was horror-stricken. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she waved them inside hurriedly. Before either Sakura or Itachi could explain, the woman had run off to find towels. Itachi had an urge to laugh deliriously. He'd been sucked in by this girl, yet again. Instead of laughing, however, his body tensed with a familiar pain and the ninja doubled over. He coughed into his hand, feeling the tang of blood in the back of his throat. His vision darkened and he swayed to one side.

••••••••

Sakura reached out to steady the coughing Uchiha. "Hey, are you okay? Itachi?"

He didn't respond and collided with the still open courtyard doorway. Sakura grabbed hold of him firmly and ignored the panic that had settled in her stomach. "Hey, Itachi?!"

The pinkette snatched up the blanket at her feet and led Itachi into his room. Deidara was sprawled out on his bed and snored loudly, oblivious to Sakura's entrance. Carefully, the girl helped Itachi down onto his own bedroll. Forgetting herself, Sakura also reached down to brush a strand of hair away from Itachi's face. Coincidentally, her fingertips brushed against Itachi's closed eyelids. The room around her melted and Sakura's breath hitched in her throat.

No, no, no, she repeated in her mind as she sunk into a world of darkness. Not again.

A light sliced through the dark and Sakura wondered if she should ignore it. If she didn't pass through the light, would that keep her from seeing those chaotic images again? Without warning, the chill of the darkness wrapped her with its invisible arms and Sakura felt the void drain her body heat. She dashed for the light and, like before, the moment she passed into it, the darkness vanished. Red surrounded her entirely. Heat crashed down on her, making her skin prickle. Without warning, several near featureless shadows burst up out of the ground; all of them had the Sharingan. They hissed Itachi's name but charged after her with their terrifying shrieks. Sakura backed up on unsteady legs as terror blossomed in her chest. One of the shifting shadows swung its arm at her and raked its claws down her upper arm. They all cried out revenge, their red eyes seething.

"You killed us!"

"Murderer!"

"Pay for your crimes!"

Sakura clamped her eyes shut and the heat vanished. No more attacks came. No more shadows screeched.

She dared to open her eyes and found herself back in the rented room. Her heartbeat pounded against her breast bone like a jack hammer. Her skin was slick with cold sweat. Itachi squirmed beneath her. Sakura had forgotten he was there. She glanced down at the man to find that his eyes were cracked open slightly now. He stared up at her with apologetic eyes, but he soon fell back into an inescapable slumber. Her hands flew away from his face as the man began to thrash around without warning. Shoving aside her own confusion and panic, Sakura jumped into action. She seized Deidara and tossed the man out into the hallway on his ass. His shouts of anger were quieted as she slammed the door in his face. One insult rang clearly into the room, however, "If you wanted to screw him, you could have just said so!"

In medic mode, Sakura brushed aside the comment and sat down beside Itachi as the man writhed on the ground. She badly wanted to reach out and cup his cheek in her palm. The thought startled the young girl and she reeled away from Itachi. This wasn't the time to think about anything but the patient's safety, even if he did happen to belong to Akatsuki. After twenty agonizing minutes, the fit passed and the Uchiha fell back into a peaceful sleep. Sakura pulled his blanket up to his chin and sat still beside him, unable to bring herself to exit the room. One conundrum after another had fallen into her lap tonight. The strange lust she'd felt earlier in the courtyard with Itachi; the vision that she'd seen when she touched his eyes; and now another night terror. She ignored the first out of mere embarrassment and chose to focus on the other two. Sakura checked her arm for injuries. There were none meaning the images had been in her head as she'd feared. The first time she'd seen that black room in her vision, she'd been under a genjutsu. Was this a genjutsu as well? Could the pain from her imaginary wound have covered up the tingling she felt in her arm when under genjutsu? As she was trained to do, Sakura reviewed the incidents in her head, forming a timeline to help herself understand.

Itachi had gotten sick and coughed up blood. Itachi had fallen asleep and Sakura had touched him. She'd seen yet another short vision that had seemed directed at Itachi. She'd snapped out of it. He'd fallen back asleep and had a night terror.

Icy fingers latched onto her heart and the girl pursed her lips. The answer was right in front of her. She could feel it in her mind, but every time she reached out for it, the answer shied away from her touch. Sakura dropped her head into her hand and reeled back against the door frame in shock as she noticed the wetness on her palm. It wasn't bright crimson blood the girl found on her hand, however, it was tears. When had she started to cry? Why was she crying? Sakura hadn't cried out of fright since she was a child. Were these tears really out of fright or something else? Something the girl couldn't understand just yet?

••••••••

Sakura's eyes jerked open and she sat bolt upright, clutching her thick blanket to her chest. She panted softly, her body trembling slightly. Her gaze roamed the room and met a set of eyes, staring at her creepishly. Sakura screamed and threw her pillow at the intruder. Deidara yanked the pillow out of the air and tossed it aside.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Deidara demanded.

He wore his gray sleeping shirt which had the Rolling Stones signature logo plastered on it: a pair of plump cherry lips with a large tongue poised to lick someone. His hair hung around his face and stuck up randomly as if he had tossed and turned in his sleep.

"Why are you in my room?" Sakura growled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"This isn't your room," Deidara argued.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's my..." her voice trailed off as she noticed that her shared room was devoid of sleeping women.

"Itachi!" Deidara moaned, making kissy faces, "Itachi!"

"Jeez, Deidara, keep your fantasies to yourself!" Sakura hissed, shoving another pillow into his face.

"Those weren't mine, hon." He blocked the pillow attack. "That's what you were just doing! Now answer me, what the hell are you doing here!? You kicked me out of my damn room last night! I had to sleep in the friggin' hallway!"

Sakura gapped, embarrassment making her sputter nervously, and grabbed fistfuls of her blanket just as the door snapped back. Itachi stood in the doorway with his long hair flowing down his back.

"Deidara, see if you can find our target. He's leaving soon," Itachi ordered.

The blond grumbled with annoyance but obligingly got up and dressed quickly. As he passed into the hallway, Deidara looked back at Sakura and Itachi. Sakura thought she saw suspicion in his eyes but before she could confirm it, the man stalked off. Itachi stepped into the room nonchalantly and Sakura squeaked. He paused and glanced at her, intrigued by the sound. Sakura felt her ears burn and she couldn't quiet meet the Uchiha's gaze as she squirmed around in her borrowed bed uncomfortably.

"I have to get dressed," the girl stammered lamely.

In her sleepy haze last night, the girl had changed out of her yukata, unable to sleep comfortably in the garment. Unfortunately, the sleep-addled Sakura had grabbed a random shirt and nothing else. Beneath her blankets, Sakura had no pants on.

Itachi simply bowed his head, hiding a smile with his hair, and undid his yukata. Sakura threw up her hand and scooted away as her face bloomed red. "T-That wasn't an invitation!" she cried.

Itachi went on as if he hadn't heard her. He slid the white fabric from his shoulders and held it out to her. She slapped a hand over her eyes, afraid of what she might accidentally see. Sakura heard a soft sound and removed her hand to find Itachi laughing. It wasn't a deep belly laugh; it was barely a soft chuckle but his eyes danced with amusement and Sakura found herself staring. He's laughing...

It didn't even register with her that he was laughing at her. The concept of Itachi laughing swirled around her mind but refused to connect. She couldn't grasp the idea of what she was seeing even though it was right in front of her. A slight hint of pink appeared in Itachi's cheeks as he realized that she was staring. Sakura snapped her jaw shut, feeling rude, and accepted the yukata without thinking. As she took the garment, she noticed the shorts on Itachi's hips, which hid anything she shouldn't see. The girl slipped the yukata on and rose to her feet.

"Thank you," she murmured as she walked past him.

Accidentally, Sakura brushed against his shoulder and the heat she felt there brought back flashbacks of last night. She wheeled away from him as if she'd been burnt and cupped her hand over her mouth.

"I-I'm sorry. I should just—" she fumbled over her words as she ran from the room.

*Fans self* Whew. This was probably my favorite chapter to write ;)

Once I get a Beta, these chapters are going to get A LOT longer. So if you know anyone good or would like to Beta, please let me know :) -Anii