A/N: I'm a slacker; I am taking Princeton Review, doing AP homework for two classes, writing this story, community service at the library and at Lupus, and trying to squeeze in a little social outing with my girls. All I can say is that this story IS LONG, I agree. Of course, every story will have to have an ending, and right now, Dangerously Sixteen is not ending yet; there is still more to come. I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I do while I write each chapter.
Second A/N: Why are guys so complicated? This is just one of my random ramblings. When a guy says that he will call a girl, he should at least have the courtesy to dial her phone number and not have her waiting by the phone. It's pathetic, if you ask me. And also, I don't think that girls should ask guys out, you can call me old-fashioned or quixotic, but that is just my outlook in the dating game.
Everyone knows the rules in the game, and some cheat to win and some lose and get hurt. And now I think to myself, why are we playing this game when we know that we will get hurt? Lose the game, and reevaluate the person you are dating. Can you see him or her with you in the next few years? Can you picture the two of you being married and having kids? IF not, then why are you dating this person? Isn't dating supposed to be the agenda of finding that one person to spend the rest of your life with? Just think about it, what is YOUR reason for dating? If you said "no" to any of these questions, then just recollect your thoughts and take a break from the dating realm. That way, when you come back to the thrill of the game, make sure you have your priorities straightened out; neither yourself nor someone else will get hurt in the process.
Previously on Dangerously Sixteen: A lot of things happened, I can tell you that. :D
Disclaimer: The characters that you have never heard of belong to me, and the ones that you have heard of belong to the sole creator of the series of Naruto. However, this story is copyrighted under my possession and should not be plagiarized at anytime and anywhere.
Title: Chapter 34
The squeaking sound of the sliding shower door screeched in the bathroom, as the tune of a hot air blowing instrument blew.
"Hey Ino!" Naruto peeked his head out of the shower and wiped his wet expression off his face.
Holding the hair dryer in her right hand, Ino twirled the comb in the other and answered her friend, "Yeah?"
"Hand me one of those shirts on my dresser, it's the one with the blue stripes and a few buttons on there," Naruto instructed as Ino entered the bedroom.
NOTE: You might want to play DHT's Listen to Your Heart (the slow version) while you read this; it set me in the mood to write it. :D
Dressed in a knit white top and a flowery skirt, Hinata took a deep breath as she took a few steps further toward the doorstep. She straightened her hair and pointed her finger at the doorbell. Before she rang, she recollected her thoughts.
"You're going to apologize," she thought to herself, "Yes, last night was a mistake Hinata, you didn't mean what you said to Naruto,"
Pangs of memories darted in the back of her mind as Hinata tried to think of more reasons she shouldn't dump Naruto.
Of course, the pearly white smile and his low comforting voice adhered to her memories of Naruto. His protective arms around her, and his gentle hands that would casually glide into hers, Hinata blushed at Naruto's manly grace when the two shared a moonlight dance under the stars.
The raven-haired teenager hit the side of her head, "Dang it Hinata, why did you have to ruin the moment?" she scolded herself.
The blonde-haired teenager gave the casual top to Naruto, who had recently turned off the water. Stepping out in a white towel, Ino yelled at him.
"God, wrap the towel around your waist! Have some decency when I am in the same bathroom as you," Ino slightly upbraided the young man, who did as he was told.
"Yes, mother," Naruto joked as Ino playfully hit him on the left shoulder.
The teenage girl asked him what the casual shirt was for, usually Naruto wouldn't wear anything nice to school unless he had someone to impress.
"I want to make it up to Hinata," Naruto's eyes shone with honesty.
"Aw, poor baby, you'll get her back," the two shared a quick embrace before Naruto grabbed the toothpaste and turned on the faucet.
Hinata softly pressed the tip of her finger against the doorbell.
She couldn't hear the doorbell ring inside of the house.
The girl pressed the bell again.
No ring.
"He probably left for school already," Hinata thought of an excuse to herself, "Darn it Hinata, of course he went to school. Stupid! Stupid! There's no way that he could actually give you a ride to school," she hit the side of her head again in stupidity.
She accidentally swiped her hand against the doorknob, and a creak answered her movement. Much to her astonishment, Hinata's eyes dilated roundly as she stepped her foot between the small crack.
The girl thought to herself, "You're trespassing Hinata, don't go in!" however, part of her conscience go the best of her, "So what? It's not like anyone's watching you Hinata, just go inside,"
When she entered into the foyer, she quickly shut the door behind her. Hinata walked across the living room and heard footsteps coming from upstairs.
A smile crept on her face, she knew that Naruto was still in the house and hadn't left for school yet.
She jubilantly ran up the stairs to greet the blonde of her dreams. As she reached the doorway to his bedroom, Hinata was stopped short by the laughter of someone else.
"Stop it, Naruto!" a giggle was muffled behind the door, "You love to tease me, don't you?"
Hinata's heart beat twice as fast as she placed her sweaty palm around the doorknob. She gently turned the knob and swung the door open.
In the bathroom, Naruto heard the door open. As he entered the room with only a white towel around his waist, he ran his hands through his wet hair and stood still.
"Hinata," Naruto couldn't think of a better greeting as he saw Hinata stand in the doorway.
"Good morning, Naruto," the girl whispered, whose eyes were locked with Naruto's.
Before the young man could say a word, Ino came running into the room, "Have you seen my shorts? I know I put them somewhere—," Ino stopped talking when she saw Hinata in the same room.
"Oh, hi," Ino smiled. Her eyes gazed from Naruto to Hinata, and knew that something was wrong.
As Naruto opened his mouth to talk, Hinata spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," the girl turned on her heel and went down the stairs.
"Hinata, wait!" Naruto followed her and called her name, "It's not what you think!"
She kept on pacing down the stairs, and quickly wiped the tears of what was left from her face. On her way to the foyer, she heard Naruto tell her that it wasn't what she thought it was.
Hinata still was not convinced; she knew the truth.
"Stupid! How could you be so stupid! Barging into his house like that!" Hinata scolded herself as she stormed out of Naruto's house.
In the midst of her Health class, a pink-haired student tried to keep herself awake by hiking her arm on her desk to support her face.
"And now, let's turn to page 76 where we learn about the anatomy of the female body, as you can see, the fallopian tube is located in…" the teacher's voice seemed to saturate into thin air as Sakura tried to pay attention.
She gazed at the page, and the knowledge and key terms couldn't click into her mind.
"A woman ovulates and when the egg is released into the fallopian tube, the uterus has prepared itself for a new baby," the teacher continued to lecture.
In the middle row, Sakura covered her mouth with her hands as she stifled a yawn. Her drooping emerald eyes tried to open as she listened to her teacher's interminable lecture.
"And if the woman has not had sex, the uterus' lining will shed and blood will emerge from the vagina; and that is why girls get their menstrual period that would last from 3 to 7 days," the teacher flipped to a few pages, "However, if the uterus lining does not shed, there is a clear indication that the female may be pregnant," the man pushed back his glasses against his nose.
Beside her, some of the other students were trying to pay attention, and others were passing what seemed to be love letters to each other, and some were asleep.
"And for teenagers, it is a high risk issue nowadays. Now we are going to see a movie on teenage pregnancy. I assume that your parents have signed the content release form, and therefore, I am able to release the film to you. I warn you that there will be graphic images from aborted fetuses of the teenage pregnancies, and there will be intimate and real interviews with teenage girls who had unplanned pregnancies," the teacher explained.
Sakura opened her eyes as the teacher slid the videotape into the VCR.
"UZUMAKI NARUTO! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND GIVE ME 50 SETS OF PUSHUPS!" the P.E. instructor blew his whistle.
"YAMANAKA INO! QUIT YOUR PRANCING AROUND, RUN AROUND THE TRACK FOR ONCE NOW!" the coach noticed that the blonde teenager shot him a look of disdain, given their previous history.
"Go to hell, bastard," Ino growled under her breath.
Among a throng of girls who were drooling over the sight of Naruto giving pushups, Hinata maneuvered around the girls to the water fountain. As she made her way out of the crowd, she saw Naruto, who was sweating under the sun, giving pushups and when he made eye contact with her, he smiled.
Blushing, Hinata shook the thought of Naruto smiling and headed to get a sip of cold water.
Sakura and the other students began to listen attentively to the film. In the beginning, the opening credits rolled upwards on the screen, and it displayed a few teenage girls laughing. The picture faded out and then explicit images of aborted fetuses faded through the screen.
"34 percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 years old, which would accumulate to a total of 820,000 unexpected pregnancies per year, and most of these pregnancies end up in abortion," the narrator of the film echoed.
A few girls in the right corner made a few gasps, and some looked away from the television.
Sakura gazed at the television screen, as the pictures dissolved and debunked a close interview with a teenager. And then the screen flipped to a few horrifying pictures and the narrator began to list off the statistics.
"8 out of 10 of these pregnancies are unplanned and 79 percent are to unmarried teens who are between the ages of 14-17,"
As if mesmerized, Sakura glued her eyes to the screen as she listened attentively to the television screen.
"For teenage girls, the younger they are to participate in non-voluntary sex, they are more likely to become pregnant. As a result, teen mothers are less likely to complete high school, however, only a third of them receive a high school diploma,"
Suddenly, the pink-haired teenager began to feel her stomach flip flop a few times.
"Only a small 1.3 percent of teenage mothers earn a college degree by the time they turn the age 30. Teen mothers also are more likely to end up on welfare, nearly 80 percent,"
Sakura massaged her face and tried to ignore the pain in her back. However, she raised her hand and excused herself to go to the restroom.
"ALL RIGHT EVERYONE, YOU GOT 30 MINUTES LEFT OF CLASS! YOU CAN EITHER RUN A FEW LAPS AROUND THE TRACK TO BURN OFF THE EXCESS CALORIES, OR IF YOU ARE REALLY LAZY, YOU CAN GO HIT THE SHOWERS RIGHT NOW! AS LONG AS I SEE YOU DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, I WILL ALLOW IT!" the coach called out.
When he approached two teenagers who were groping each other in the corner, he called out, "AND WHEN I MEAN SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE, I DO NOT MEAN ABOUT TO MAKE PRODUCTION, NOW GET YOUR ASSES ON THE FIELD! AND YOU! HIT THE SHOWERS AND YOU! LIFT UP THOSE WEIGHTS FOR YOUR WUSSY ARMS!"
Behind the building, Ino and Naruto shared a laugh as Hinata passed them on her way to the locker room.
Turning his head, Naruto saw Hinata and called out her name. Unfortunately, she ignored him and opened the locker room door.
Sakura entered her classroom, and realized that all of the students fixed their eyes upon the television screen. She moved her hand up to her neck and massaged her cheeks and then pressed her fingers gently across her forehead and temples.
"After their pregnancy, the children of teenage mothers have lower weights, and are more likely to perform poorly in their education and also are at a greater risk of abuse and neglect,"
The television displayed photos of stillborn fetuses, and newborn babies who were thin in appearance.
Sakura felt as if she was going to faint, and tried to maintain her balance.
"The sons of teenage mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison while daughters of teenage mothers are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves,"
She couldn't hang on anymore as she was on her way to her desk. Sakura felt herself go weak in the knees and the next thing she knew, everything went black.
Slamming his book locker shut, Sasuke held his Marine Science book around his waist. Before he left the main hall, a good friend approached him.
"Hey man," Shikamaru greeted him.
"Don't you have a class?" Sasuke walked beside him.
"Nah," he placed his hands behind his head in a nonchalant manner, "Hey, do you want to smoke up a joint with me?"
"Sorry man, I'm trying to lay low from the weed, I'll see you after class," Sasuke saw Shikamaru open his locker and wave a clear bag of some leafy substance.
Soon, a few faculty members and the Head Nurse bombarded the main hall. They were carrying a small stretcher and passed the two teenagers by the lockers.
Sasuke and his friend saw a glimpse of Sakura in the stretcher and immediately ran after them.
Apparently, every one of her friends have heard the news and immediately assembled in the nurse's office; they were awaiting the nurse's news.
"Sakura will be all right; and I'll contact her parents immediately," the nurse shut the door behind her to leave Sakura for her sleep.
"You can all go to your classes, she'll be fine as soon as she gets her rest," the nurse addressed to Sakura's close friends.
"Will she be ok?" Kaede held her hand in Itachi's.
Nodding, the nurse reassured everyone of Sakura's well being.
Everyone left, but a young man remained seated in one of the chairs of the waiting room.
NOTE: Play "Listen to Your Heart" by DHT (the slow version, not techno) it'll help you sympathize with the characters…
In the hall, Naruto saw Hinata heading toward the locker rooms.
"Hinata!" Naruto ran behind her.
"What do you want?" Hinata finally answered. She clutched her books across her chest and looked deeply into his eyes.
"I…I need to speak with you," Naruto lowered his voice.
Hinata scoffed, "What is there to talk about? I saw what I saw, and just keep in mind what I told you last night!"
She began to start down the hall, but Naruto grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Will you please listen to me?" Naruto placed his head near Hinata's ear, "What happened this morning was NOT what you thought it was,"
Hinata wouldn't budge.
"Ino came over to my place last night for a place to crash, she needed someone to talk to," Naruto explained.
"Of course, she needed someone; why didn't I think of it?" Hinata couldn't believe her ears.
"Because she had a fight with Shikamaru! I mean, I had to be there for her. Ok, things led to another and then you showed up on my doorstep," Naruto replied.
"EXACTLY, that's my point. Now let me go," Hinata tried to release herself from Naruto's strong hold, but Naruto still embraced her close to his body.
"No! Ino and I did nothing!" Naruto thought Hinata would understand, "I thought you'd actually feel what I'm saying. What did you expect me to do when I saw her crying at my doorstep? Did you want me to just close the door on her?"
Naruto continued to clarify the misunderstanding, "I'm her friend, Hinata. Please understand this, nothing happened between Ino and me."
Hinata shook her head, "Let me go,"
"No. Look," Naruto turned Hinata's body to face toward him, "She and I didn't have sex last night, if that's what you're thinking."
"No, I wasn't," Hinata denied.
"Yes, you thought that. I could tell by the look of your eyes," Naruto nodded.
"Hinata, I would never want to deliberately hurt you, I like you too much!" Naruto admitted.
He placed his hands around Hinata's neck and gently leaned toward her and kissed Hinata on the lips.
Hinata reluctantly pushed him away from her, "You kissed her Naruto," she whispered, "You hurt me,"
"It was a mistake," Naruto agreed that what he did was wrong.
"It is a mistake Naruto. You, are a mistake," Hinata said straightforward.
She readjusted her skirt and walked to her next class, leaving Naruto alone in the hall.
He was still not convinced, and Naruto began to pursue Hinata. However, he was stopped short, when he was greeted by a hit in the face.
"You fucking bastard!" Shikamaru grabbed Naruto by his collar and slammed him against the lockers. The locker doors shuddered in response, as the slams of the locks' percussion vibrated through the vacant hall.
Trying to resist him, Naruto breathed hard for air. Behind Shikamaru, Ino came running.
"Shikamaru! Stop it!" Ino tried to pull Shikamaru away from Naruto.
The black-haired young man wouldn't release his grip; instead, he tightened his hands around Naruto's neck.
"What did you do with Ino last night, HUH?" Shikamaru hissed and clenched his teeth.
"Stop it, Shikamaru! He and I just kissed, that's all!" Ino cried out in tears, as she tried to stop the two from fighting.
Before Shikamaru could land another punch in Naruto's face, someone came running and pushed Shikamaru away from Naruto.
"Sasuke!" Ino exclaimed in tears as she ran over to Naruto to check if he was all right.
Sasuke tried to prevent Shikamaru from giving him a blow to the face.
"Hey man, stop this. It isn't worth it," Sasuke tried to calm the young man down.
"Fuck this shit!" Shikamaru screamed as the veins around his neck expanded.
Shikamaru ran toward Sasuke and lunged after him, he wrapped his hands around his neck and crashed him into the lockers. Before Shikamaru could throw him to the ground, the school principal arrived.
"Nara Shikamaru! Stop this right now!" the principal ordered the teenager.
"Report to my office!" he called out to Shikamaru, "Now!"
Naruto kneeled beside the wall as Ino comforted him. Nearby, Hinata hid behind the wall and peered to see the two together. Hinata couldn't handle it anymore, and ran to her class with tears streaming down.
"Are you all right?" Ino massaged Naruto's neck.
"Yeah, it just hurts like hell," Naruto cried in pain as Ino massaged his face.
Across from the two, Sasuke breathed heavily and wiped a few drops of blood on his lip. He ambled toward Ino and asked if Naruto was all right.
"He's ok, I'll take care of him," Ino thanked Sasuke.
"No problem," Sasuke responded and excused himself to check on Sakura at the nurse's office.
The raven-haired young man opened the door and saw Sakura, who was pale in the face, lying in a bed. Her hair was held down with a wilting hair ribbon in her hair. The once energetic emerald eyes that would shine with alacrity were faded.
He slowly pulled a chair beside Sakura and held her hand tightly. Sasuke grinned at the young girl who apparently had an upset expression on her face.
"You ok?" he asked.
Sakura sniffed back a few tears and closed her eyes, "No, I'm not."
He placed her hand close to him and inclined his body toward Sakura, "What's wrong? You can tell me,"
Tears streaked down her cheeks, and Sakura quietly sobbed. Comforting her, Sasuke held Sakura in his arms and rubbed her gently for consolation.
Lifting her head, Sakura gazed into Sasuke's eyes. She squeezed his hand and breathed softly.
"Sasuke…I'm scared," her voice was full of fear and quivered as a few tears rolled down from her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke kissed Sakura gently on her forehead.
In response, Sakura held Sasuke's hands to her chin and gazed deeply into his onyx eyes that would make her feel weak in the knees. The young teenager sifted her hands through his dark hair and stroked his cheeks.
"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered as the young man listened with attentiveness.
She slid her hands into Sasuke's and tenderly touched his lips with her own.
"I think I'm pregnant," a tear dripped from her face as Sakura whispered the news to Sasuke.
A/N: Please, review :D