A/N: How old are you all anyway? I'm just curious, if you were my age, you would definitely know the stress of the SATs and AP homework. I'm a procrastinator at heart, there should be a profession for that; I'd definitely need a raise. (haha) Anyhow, I'm glad that all of you like my story, especially to those who reviewed and those in my statistics who went to read my chapter and did not review. I know who you are. :D
Second A/N: I haven't updated since like summer? Lo siento mucho, porque yo tuve mucha tarea en mis todas seis clases, no fueron divertido. See? My Spanish is improving! I haven't told you my summer even though it's December… I got my wisdom teeth out and my oral surgeon had to stick an IV up my arm, and then I fell asleep. I saw Red Eye and Wedding Crashers…and then took my official first SAT in October. Note to self: Never study the night before…
Third A/N: Are you reading this? If you are, I love you very much because it's appreciative for someone who has the time to read all of my nonsense. It's kind of funny to those who have WAITED for a new chapter and all they do is just skip all of my author notes and go straight to the chapter. How about this, I'll write a loooong author's note and write two paragraphs for my chapter? HA! Take that! But then I'll get flamed, but flamers can get on my back because I can just stop this story…but I won't, I'm anxious to finish it.
Fourth A/N: Yes, I will get to the chapter. I should be doing my homework anyway and not typing this chapter at all. But for you guys, I will. You all owe me one review!
----THE STATISTICS FROM THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER ARE TRUE AND FOUND ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD WIDE WEB. PLEASE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT I DID NOT MAKE THE STATISTICS UP FOR MERE PLEASURE ON MY PART. THANK YOU----
Previously on Dangerously Sixteen: What would you do if you caught your crush "sleeping" around with your friend? What would you do if you found out that you were pregnant? What would you do if your best friend punched you in the face? Yeah…that's what I thought.
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 35
The soft hum of a coffeemaker and the subtle tapping of the keyboard was audible next door of the nurse's office. The subtle clicks of the clock ticked in a monotone sound as Sakura held Sasuke's hand close to her.
"I think I'm pregnant," a tear dripped from her face as Sakura whispered the news to Sasuke. She wasn't sure how he would take it, but all she could do is hope for the best.
In response, the raven-haired young man squeezed his grip and gazed deeply into her eyes. For a moment, there was a tender vibe as the two sat together in a comfortable silence.
It was questionable whether the seconds of silence were stillness of joy for having a child coming into the world or a solemn state in which forsaken fears have skimmed the surface.
"Everything is going to be ok," he gently answered.
The young teenager in front of him shook her head in denial. Tears streamed down her cheeks as Sakura released her hands from Sasuke, who wiped the wet drops off of her face.
"What are we going to do?" she cried.
Sasuke tried to console Sakura, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Fine?" Sakura was taken aback by the young man's calm answer. Of all the places she could be, she was sitting in a small room and had just discovered her pregnancy and the father of her child appears quite stoic.
She couldn't' believe her ears, she assumed that he would be jumping for joy at the "good tidings" of a child they have mistakenly created. However, Sakura felt a tinge of regret from the idealistic image of Sasuke showing any warm feelings at all. It was not in him, he was as cold as a stone.
"How do you expect 'us' to be fine? Do you have any idea of what we will have to go through?" Sakura's disappointment couldn't have increased more of Sasuke's indifference.
"What am I going to say to my parents? Oh, hi Dad, guess what? I'm going to have a baby in the next 9 months and Sasuke is the father. We're going to live happily ever after with this wonderful bundle of joy after a procreation in a night of meaningless sex!" Sakura's voice echoed and the sounds of typing next door stopped.
Upset, Sakura knew that the secretary heard her outburst and yet Sasuke turned his countenance away and shifted his sitting position a few inches away from her.
Sakura could only wish what thoughts he was struggling with inside his head. When she knew of the pregnancy, she thought that it would bring her closer to him. Little did she know, that it had no significant effect on him. Was she mistaken?
The girl did not have in her to describe the emotion she currently held inside. She wished to scream the top of her lungs for the whole world to hear her, and yet she was incapable to reach the one person she shared her most intimate thoughts with.
There was still silence. Sakura saw him shift back toward her and could see his lips beginning to part as if he was about to mutter a word. However, the door suddenly flung open and Sakura's parents sprinted toward their daughter's side.
"Sakura! Sakura!" Mrs. Haruno, nearly in tears, ran to her as her father gravely stood in the doorway. He tilted his head in acknowledgement of Sasuke's presence, who in turn, slithered past him the family in privacy.
Tears were fully laced in her face, as Hinata pressed her books against her chest as she tried to control her sobs. She made her way toward the crosswalk away from the campus and leaned against the light pole. Vehicles swiftly turned against the curb and Hinata slammed her fist against the crosswalk button. (Is that how you call it?)
"How have I been so stupid these couple of days?" Hinata's comments and thoughts raced through her mind as she saw the red light appear on her side. She ran across the cement ground and reached the other side. She clutched her schoolbooks against her tightly and wiped her face with her other hand.
When she finally reached home, she did not bother to greet her guardians who were in the dining room discussing what seemed to be a casual husband to wife conversation and immediately headed straight toward her room.
Hinata threw herself into a fit and cast the books against the wall in a great fury and rubbed her pillow against her face as a place to comfort her wet tears.
Nearby, her cousin entered and approached Hinata from behind. With a worried expression on his face, he asked, "Was it Naruto?"
"Leave me alone!" Hinata's muffled voice from the pillow answered.
"You couldn't possibly think that he would hurt you, would you?" Neji sat beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder for solace.
"Naruto is not like that, he can't be that big of an asshole and choose someone over you. You were probably there at the wrong place and the wrong time. Things happen," Neji calmly reassured Hinata of Naruto's known nature.
"If you were…you were in my shoes, if you were in my shoes, you'd…you'd understand exactly…exactly how I feel," Hinata's voice quivered with staggered breaths and sobs.
"Just give it some time, he'll come around," Neji continued.
"I gave him enough time and all he did was screw it up. I'm not going to give him another chance. I saw what I saw, and what I saw was enough reason for me to not be with him!" Hinata buried her face against her pillow.
"Stop it, just stop it!" Neji stood up agitated by his cousin's remarks, "I am sick of your whining and immature fit, this little tantrum you're throwing isn't going to solve your damn problem. Just pick up the fucking phone and talk it over with him."
Neji was tired and annoyed by Hinata's endless melodramatic scenes.
"Stop being such a spoiled brat and get some sense into your head. Your endless wailing in the bedroom won't wash away any of your issues. Get your act together Hinata, you know better than that!" Neji shook his head in disappointment and ambled away.
Before he exited, Neji turned his head around and whispered, "Just give him the benefit of the doubt."
The room was cold and frigid and the distant echoes of vehicles were heard in muffled sounds within the windows. Vibrant sounds emitted from the television that had been left on for an hour. The bedrooms were empty with only silence as their guest.
Only the small sound of a faint cry was heard in the kitchen. The cool blade of a utensil gracefully danced against the pale skin slowly seeking for a supple vein to engrave.
The young woman sat against the wall and closed her eyes as the knife, as if it had a mind of its own, discovered its target and slyly entered against the soft supple vein.
Without a second to glance behind her, a young man came into the room in search of her.
"Sorry Kaede, the door was unlocked!" He turned on the kitchen light switch on the kitchen light. When he saw her against the corner of the room, he gaped his eyes open, "What the hell are you doing?"
Kaede couldn't answer and felt the warmth of her blood slowly emerge from her arm.
"Holy shit! We have to get you to the hospital!" Itachi hurriedly rushed to her side but Kaede didn't budge.
"Leave me alone!" she refused to move.
"You're fucking bleeding!" Itachi instantly removed his white shirt and wrapped the cloth around her arm. Kaede struggled to keep her arm away however Itachi managed to tie a knot and held her close.
As he held her, she felt her faint pulse beating in her chest. Itachi turned to gaze at her face only to be greeted by a sickly expression on Kaede's face.
He got up and carried her in his arms and ran out of the kitchen to receive help.
The door slowly swung open as Shikamaru and his mother approached a mahogany desk and routinely seated themselves against the leather texture of the chairs as if they were frequent customers of the room.
A man with a discontent face sat in front of them as he clasped his fingers together to recollect his thoughts and deliver his words to the parent of his student.
"Mrs. Nara, I assure you, from the looks of his visit, that I only have disappointing news for you and your son," his gruff voice replied.
The young man beside his mother, slouched against the chair as if he had not heard a word the principal had said.
"I am afraid I am mistaken, I thought the message I received from you was about Shikamaru's grades. I understand that he has been slipping behind in his classes…" however Mrs. Nara was interrupted abruptly by the principal.
"Mrs. Nara, the faculty has recently informed me that your son has an illegal stash of marijuana in his school locker in the Main Hall," the principal's voice rose a little higher than before. His grave posture leaned forward against the desk and his grim eyes were attached to the young man sitting in front of him.
He took a deep breath and countered his words, "Your son will take temporary leave from our school, ma'am."
A puzzled look was written across the woman's face, "What do you mean?" Mrs. Nara looked at her son.
With a sigh, the principal tilted his head and pulled his left drawer open which gave a creak. He tossed a bag of leafy substance onto the surface of the table and pushed his drawer shut, which echoed through the spacious space.
"Care to explain, Shikamaru?" the principal leaned back against his chair after showing the substantial evidence.
The young man in front of him simply rolled his eyes and casually scoffed, "It wasn't me."
The principal gazed over at the mother, who was staring in disbelief of the object in front of her.
"Well, if it wasn't you who supposedly set this into your locker, then who possibly could it be? Remember Shikamaru, this school does not tolerate such deeds that could very well endanger the well being of a student. You are on dubious grounds Shikamaru. The carrying of illegal drugs will be your ticket to expulsion. As a minor, immediate measures must be taken to prevent this event to ever happen again," the man sternly said.
"This is absurd, you cannot simply expel my son from this school. How do you know that it was he who stashed it? Someone could've put it there to frame him!" Mrs. Nara stood up in defense for her son.
The man allowed a few seconds of silence before he answered.
"Ma'am, contain yourself. What your son has done possesses grave consequences. I assure you that if such accusation you have addressed me were factual, you and your son would not be having this conference," the principal supported his argument.
Crossing his arms across his chest, Shikamaru could not help but laugh.
"Do you call this amusing, Mr. Nara?" the principal eyed him.
"Look, what you just said was bullshit—" his mother interrupted Shikamaru.
"Watch your language, young man!" her mother tried to maintain her composure.
"I did not put that in my locker. Like I said, Sasuke set it in there," Shikamaru calmly replied.
"Well then, I will immediately request professional assistance and have them pay your friend a visit. And as for you Shikamaru, though you have claimed that your friend has placed the marijuana in your locker, you are still hold liable because you are the holder of that school locker. I have enrolled you in a military academy where the best of the best martinets will discipline you and instruct you on how to behave how you ought to," the principal informed.
Sakura rested her head against the seat of her father's vehicle and gazed out the window as the scenery rolled by like a movie. Her father occasionally looked at the rearview mirror to check on her daughter. Mrs. Haruno sat quietly and closed her eyes muttering a prayer beneath her breath.
Soon the black automobile approached the gates, which opened, and cruised around the fountain and made its way toward the steps leading to the door. The house butler was standing poised patiently standing to wait the Haruno family.
Mr. Haruno retrieved the keys and gave them to the butler, and Mrs. Haruno and his daughter entered the mansion as the butler drove the car to the garage.
When they entered inside, Mrs. Haruno placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and asked if the cook could prepare a snack for her.
"I'm not feeling hungry," Sakura dismissed her mother.
Before she could make her away up the staircase, Mr. Haruno stopped her.
"Sakura, we need to have a talk with you," Mr. Haruno addressed.
Sakura sighed and told her parents that she felt light-headed and needed a good rest. The hours she spent at the nurse's office was not something she would want to go through again and Sasuke's indifference made her more ill.
"Well, we couldn't let you starve. Sakura…" Mrs. Haruno felt uneasy to finish her sentence, "you are after all…feeding for two,"
The young teenager shook her head and ambled onto the stairs.
Upset, Mr. Haruno strode to his office and slammed the doors shut behind him. Mrs. Haruno walked to the kitchen to tell the cook to whip up Sakura a meal even though she asked her not to.
A few minutes later, the main door swung open and the butler gently locked the door. When he saw Sakura in sight, he called out to her quietly. Hearing him, Sakura turned around from the top of the stairs. When she saw that the two were alone, she ran down the stairs and embraced him.
"I have news for you Sakura," the butler retrieved a folded piece of stationary that was in his back pocket.
When she received the letter, the butler left to give her privacy in reading the letter. Sakura walked toward one of the couches and lounged herself against one of the pillows and slowly read the note.
Meet me at the park tonight at 7.
Bring a jacket with you, it might get cold.
Sakura folded the note and stuffed it inside her pocket and gazed at the clock. It was 4:00.
The slow rhythm of Kaede's heartbeat was monitored and the young girl breathed slowly as she adjusted herself to the IV that was attached to her arm. Later, she heard footsteps and greeted Itachi, who looked as if he had not eaten or taken a shower since he carried her to the hospital.
"The doctor said that you were lucky. You didn't cut your major artery that was in your wrist," Itachi gradually slid a chair beside the bed and held Kaede's hand.
"Why?" he whispered. He gazed at the previous wounds that lacerated her once porcelain arms that would wrap themselves around his waist.
Kaede smiled, "I feel pathetic," and looked away, "just don't ask me anymore, it hurts too much already."
Itachi moved his chair closer to Kaede, "Kaede, you need help. What you are doing is very sick,"
There was an awkward silence that crept between them. Itachi tried to think of numerous reasons of why Kaede would attempt to cut herself until Itachi thought of the worst possible motive.
"…are you trying to kill yourself?" he asked.
"No," Kaede simply replied, her eyes were lacking of their vigorous color, and her body lay limp on the hospital bed.
"Is it your friend?" Itachi didn't want to mention the name since it gave bad memories.
"She was troubled and needed help," she defended the person.
"She was insane and a sick fuck," Itachi retorted.
"It's my fault, it's so obvious that it is," Kaede tried to hold back her trembling voice.
Itachi couldn't understand what she was saying; he knew that the two were very close but he knew for sure that Kaede had nothing to do with Kaiya's insanity. The girl needed help and Kaede couldn't help her because there was nothing left to do.
"You didn't make her insane, she did it all by herself because of that fucked up obsession she has with my brother. I'm telling you, if I see her now, I want to put a bullet through that fucking head of hers," Itachi felt his urge for revenge begin to surface.
"Itachi, remember the time when we were at the court? Kaiya looked at me, she looked at me with those eyes. She has never had that look on her face before; and I just knew that something bad was going to happen. Sooner or later, something bad is going to happen. I can tell you this, she is up to something, and I can feel it. Every time I cut myself, I just want to get rid of the shitty feeling I have inside," Kaiya explained.
"She can't be up to anything, she's in jail and locked up," Itachi held her cold hand.
"Promise me one thing," he whispered, "don't do it again, something like that is not worth killing,"
Itachi stood up and told her to sleep and have some rest. When he reached the door, he turned off the light switch and slowly shut the door behind him.
It was definitely a cold night, Sakura thought to herself as she wrapped her favorite leather jacket around her body for warmth. She took short breaths as she strolled the sidewalks and when she would open her mouth, small wisps of air would emerge into the air.
Emotions were running high in her mind, and Sakura couldn't decide how she felt. Her life seemed to be falling apart and yet something in side of her thought that this child would somehow mend everything together.
She pulled her hair back and continued to walk until she was at the park. What was so important that she had to be there tonight? Sakura scolded herself of thinking that Sasuke probably set up an impromptu date at the park. A moonlit dinner under the stars at a children's park, and a long dance in the sand was a ridiculous thought.
"Bullshit," Sakura whispered to herself. Sasuke was definitely not capable of anything romantic; even he accused her of being a hopeless romantic herself.
The young girl finally reached the park and looked around the area. The swings were empty and there was no table, no dinner, and definitely no candles. It was a normal night at the park: quiet and tranquil.
Although she wore her warm leather jacket, Sakura couldn't prevent herself from shaking and rubbed her hands together for warmth. When she stood still, she heard the sounds of footsteps coming from behind her.
Sakura was glad to recognize the visitor who was walking toward her in his typical denim jacket and low-hung jeans. However, tonight, there was a certain attitude that was reflected off of him that Sakura has never been acquainted with before.
"Cold night," Sasuke greeted her.
"Yeah, very cold," Sakura watched him move close to her. He held out his hand, and Sakura locked hers with his, and Sasuke led her away from the sidewalk.
Although the night was still young, crickets began their early ballad and a few stars shone from above which were the teenagers' only source of light since they were far from the lampposts.
Sakura took a deep breath and was surprised when the two reached the swings. The two sat at the swings and gave each other a few minutes without conversation.
"So, why did you tell me to come here?" Sakura moved slowly on her swing.
Sakura could tell that there was distance in Sasuke's eyes, who was staring off into space. She could tell that he was contemplating on something, but she wasn't certain of what that "something" was.
The young man looked down at the sand and his pale complexion gave a natural glow to his face. The two did not look at each other at the time, and only stared right in front of them; the jungle gym was the only thing in their sight.
"I remember when we were playing on that," Sakura reminisced of her childhood memories of when she first got to know Sasuke, "you were mean to me that day. When I finally reached the top, you were behind me and pushed me down,"
When she talked of the past, she couldn't help but turn her head and gazed at Sasuke's profile, who was still staring at the jungle gym.
"But…luckily, I caught onto the bars. I was crying so hard that day and I thought I would hate you forever since that day," Sakura sounded hopeful, "but then you apologized to me later that afternoon. At first, I though that you were lying because you didn't want me to tell my dad about you; he had a nasty temper back then and still has one today,"
Sakura knew that talks of the past would not relieve her of Sasuke's cold silence. Suddenly, it became very uncomfortable for Sakura because for the past five minutes, she has been on the swings with Sasuke and yet he has not said a word since he talked of the weather when he arrived.
Before Sakura could talk or something random to ease the awkwardness between them, Sasuke told her something that tugged at her heartstrings.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke apologized, "about what happened today at school, I didn't know how to react in front of you. I mean, you are…"
"Pregnant? Yes, Sasuke, I am pregnant," Sakura replied as if Sasuke didn't remember if she was with child.
Sasuke looked at her and there was a look of hurt in his eyes. He turned away and silence fell upon them once again.
Beside him, Sakura sat still on the swing and rubbed her hands again to create warmth.
"At the nurse's office," when Sasuke began to speak, Sakura stopped moving her hands and listened, "when you told me that what happened was meaningless sex…"
Sasuke paused and Sakura was still attentive to his words.
"Sasuke, I…I didn't mean what I said," Sakura half-heartedly joked about her comment that afternoon, until she felt her cheeks flush pink of what she had said, "well, I didn't' say that I mean what I said…well, what I meant was that it wasn't really meant to…"
Sakura felt tongue-tied and she felt a light chuckle coming from Sasuke.
Nodding her head, "Yeah, I'm glad that I can be of amusement tonight. So I suck at explaining,"
Sakura bit her lip and was screaming inside; she couldn't' believe that she said something stupid.
"Sakura," Sasuke took on a more genuine tone. The girl locked eyes with him and the two looked at each other for awhile.
"I know that I'm a guy who makes mistakes," Sasuke admitted his flaws, "but this afternoon, I've sat alone in my bed thinking about what you told me today,"
"And that is…?" Sakura asked.
"I'm a person who does things at the wrong time and at the wrong place, and I know that I can be a bit stoic at times and may sometimes feel as if I shut you out a bit from time to time," Sasuke continued on.
"I know that sometimes you need time for yourself, everyone needs a few minutes of privacy to themselves," Sakura understood.
"Sakura, wait, just let me explain," Sasuke's earnest voice quieted Sakura, who was carefully holding onto every word he said.
"I know that I haven't been that good of a person to you this year. With everything that happened, I felt that you and I have distanced from each other. But then there was that one night when I was alone with you…" before Sasuke could finish, Sakura couldn't handle his words anymore because all of her hidden feelings were beginning to surface.
"Sasuke, just stop. I just can't do this," Sakura felt herself going weak.
"Please," Sasuke leaned his swing closer to Sakura, "let me finish, I have something important to say,"
Sakura sat still in response and gazed at the young man beside her.
"When I was alone with you that night, I realized that for once in my life, I had done something at the right time and place," Sasuke softened his voice, "and…"
Sakura still held her gaze on Sasuke, who got up from his swing.
"tonight, I want to make it right," Sasuke smiled for the first time that night.
The girl was still confused at what Sasuke was saying to her.
The young man before her took a few moments and still locked eyes with her. He slowly lowered himself onto the cold white sand and bent down on one knee before Sakura. He lifted his head and beamed a gentle smile and held out a small case in front of her. With another hand, he invited his hand with Sakura's and held it gently.
"Marry me?" he opened the case to reveal a small pearly white diamond ring that glistened in the cold dark night.
A/N: Please review! You know you want to!