At around 6:32 pm, the biology club had begun settling into their cabins that were arranged for them up in the woods. Most of their day had consisted of observing the various creatures and insects of the woods, learning about their environment and habitat, their eating and sleeping habits, and in the case of a few certain mammals, mating rituals. That probably wasn't something they would like to see again. But in mere moments, their original plans for a bonfire was cut short when heavy storm clouds brewed. Their club advisor suggested they stay indoors in case it began to pour. Ten minutes later, it did just that.

The cabins themselves were quite nice. Fortunately they were in all on one building, else they get wet when going from the beds to the common area. All the floors except the showers were carpeted, and the water was actually hot, so everyone was able to get a nice shower in to clean off all the dirt and nature smell they attracted.

At around 10, the heavy rain was still pouring, and while the boys were rough-housing and tossing food at each other, most of the girls had retired to their cabins, falling fast asleep despite the commotion the boys made outside. Sarada and ChoCho, however, were up talking on the top bunk of the set they shared. Both sported white pajama pants, but while ChoCho wore a sleeveless white tank top, showing off massive cleavage, Sarada wore simple long-sleeved pink pajama top.

"So you think he's reeled in?" asked ChoCho.

"Maybe," Sarada replied, "He definitely seemed flustered. But that second part about falling on top of him was not part of the plan."

"But it all worked out, didn't it?" ChoCho squealed, "Now he's got to have nothing but you on his mind! This is your chance to finally ask him out!"

"...I sure hope so."

Earlier at around 7:30 back in town, Naruto was heading back to the Haruno residence with the three bags of groceries she had asked him to get. The bags themselves weren't heavy, but they were all he could carry. But anything that could win him brownie points with Sakura, he was willing to do.

The storm hadn't reached town yet, but the clouds were getting more grey, so Naruto hastened his pace as he approached the Haruno residence. Careful not to drop anything in the bags, Naruto rang the doorbell. Five seconds later, the door opened up and there she was. Sakura had just been doing some form of workout, he could tell, because there was a visible sweat drop dripping down her forehead over the purple diamond in the center, as well as the fact that she was wearing a sleeveless red shirt with tight-fitting black shorts coming up mid-thigh, and was barefoot.

"Oh hi, Naruto!" she exclaimed, "Thanks again for doing the groceries!"

"Anytime, Miss...er, Sakura," Naruto replied, still getting used to being on a first name basis with her.

"You can relax for a bit while I go put them away," Sakura said, taking the bags off his hands.

Naruto sat down on her couch while Sakura went into the kitchen and put the groceries away accordingly. Naruto looked around the living room from his spot; for a teacher's salary, she had a pretty nice pad. Clearly polished wood, a large circular rug in between the leather couch and the flatscreen television set, and a chandelier lighting up the room. A chandelier. On a teacher's salary. Unless it came from Sasuke's foundation money. That was probably the more logical explanation, but Naruto didn't want to pry too deep into Sakura's private matters.

About 10 minutes later, the rain come pouring down, meaning there was no way Naruto would get home dry. Or home at all, for that matter. Fortunately, Sakura came back with some good news.

"I just got off the phone with Tsunade," Sakura said, "She's totally fine with you staying here for the night!"

Naruto could have sworn he had heard angels singing when Sakura told him that. A whole night alone with Sakura? With no catch?

"I know it's a little inconvenient with the timing and everything," Sakura said, "But since school tomorrow has been cancelled on account of the storm, and since I feel like being one of those cool teachers, maybe we could just watch some movies the rest of the night?"

"Y-Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, "That sounds great!"

"Awesome!" Sakura said, "There's some popcorn bags in the pantry if you want to heat some up. I'm just going to shower off my workout odor."

Sakura wouldn't believe him if he told her this, not that he currently had the guts to do so, but he found her scent appealing, even when it was 'workout odor'. As she went upstairs to shower, Naruto heated up some popcorn bags, making a large bowl's worth, roughly about three bags. In the ten minutes it took to pop all three bags, Sakura had finished her shower and was getting changed in her room. By the time he got the bowl set up, he heard her coming down the stairs and into her kitchen, but did not actually see her.

"You want anything to drink while I'm here?" Sakura called out to him.

"Just some soda, if you have it," Naruto called out.

"I live with a teenage girl who loves sugar," Sakura called back, "Of course I have soda."

Naruto put a blanket over himself, cleverly preparing to hide any potential boners he may get from being alone at night with Sakura. He honestly should have known to expect her in pajamas. As she came out holding cold beverages, soda for him and beer for herself, he saw that she had changed into tight-fitting, pink pajamas. The pants legs came just above her ankles, showing clear pale skin and large bare feet, and the button-up pajama shirt, similar to her daughter's top, but short-sleeved, which exposed her belly button and showed just enough of the points of her nipples through the shirt.

"A soda for you, as promised," Sakura said, handing him one.

They both pulled the tabs off their respective canned drinks, and each took a sip before Sakura grabbed the remote.

"All of the media my daughter and I watch is conveniently placed inside the set already, so no needless trips to change any settings," she said.

She pressed the ON button and began scrolling through some choices. After finding a buddy cop comedy near the top of the list, Sakura pulled up Naruto's blanket and put herself under it right next to Naruto, making the younger boy blush. Especially when Sakura's feet started touching his own with every beat of the opening theme.

"You know, I'm really glad you could be here tonight," Sakura said, "I hate being alone. So thanks for bringing the groceries when you did, or else I wouldn't have a wonderful young man to share the night with!"

"Y-You're very welcome, Sakura," Naruto stammered, "I hope I'm not being too forward."

"Nonsense, we're close enough," Sakura said, sipping her beer, "Besides, between you and me..."

Naruto felt his whole body go stiff as he felt Sakura's warm breath on the back of his neck.

"...You're my favorite student."

Naruto almost choked on his soda when she said that brazen statement. Instead, a loud, unintentional belch was all that could escape his throat.

"Oops," Naruto said, "Sorry. Tsunade says I'm not supposed to do that in front of ladies."

Sakura chugged down one of her beers, and just as she grabbed another one, released a louder belch.

"Tsunade clearly doesn't know me very well, then," Sakura said.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed, "I didn't think anyone could burp louder than me!"

"I'm just glad you're cool with it," Sakura said, "My daughter screams at me every time I do anything remotely un-ladylike in the house."

"Yeah, that's Sarada for you," Naruto said.

They both continued to watch the movie and some more television, both occasionally resting their hands on each other's, neither of them really caring.

Only three things kept Sarada awake at night, but now all three of those things were torturing her with just one overnight trip. One was the thunderstorm; rain she could handle, but the lightning would always shock her awake (not literally, of course). The second was the sound of snoring. Normally, it was her mother's snoring that kept her awake, whether it was when they shared a bed when she was much younger, or sharing a room when going on vacation. This time, it was ChoCho's snoring that drove her bonkers. Especially since both her arm and her foot was slumped over from the top bunk, almost touching Sarada. She knew she should have chosen top bunk while she had the chance.

The third thing was thinking about Naruto, which happened almost all the time. She would sometimes daydream about him making out with her, but tonight she was just wondering if he was okay. She knew her own mother hated being alone, and being trapped inside the house alone during a severe storm had to be hard for her.

I just hope she's doing okay.