Hey everyone! Another chapter up, so enjoy!

Failing Miserably

"Hello, Sasuke," Sakura began. She tried her hardest to keep her voice steady. "Be strong!" she reminded herself.

Sasuke didn't move. He couldn't. His body wouldn't let him, and he felt like his heart was going to burst. His smoky eyes scanned the room nervously as he racked his brain for something to say. And being so overloaded, that brain gave him the only answer it could give.

"Hn."

"Oh bad," he immediately thought.

Back in the kitchen, Naruto, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata were thinking the exact same thing.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise then quickly grew small, full of anger.

"Hn, Sasuke?!? HN!?! THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY!?!? YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!!! ARE YOU FREAKING….." She was about to go on a full-blown rampage, but stopped her would-be tirade when she saw him. His sad eyes were wide, his hair was everywhere, and his lips were still a little blue from the cold outside. He was slumped over too, as if he was trying to hide inside himself. A little wave of hurt washed over her heart, and she found it in herself to try to talk again. This time, a little calmer.

"You first, Sasuke," she said in a tired voice.

"I got lucky on that one," he thought, "Well, here we go."

"Ah, Sakura…. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. I know that you're angry and what I did was wrong, but, I'm sorry, and I love you." His voice was soft and whispery. He shifted from one foot to the other, eyes on the ground.

"He looks so sad…. and he really means it, right?... Wait! This is exactly what Ino said to watch for! Don't fall for it!" she thought, and said with impressive resolve,

"Not good enough."

He lifted his head, surprise written all over his face.

"I'm sorry? I'm sorry?I don't think that's going to make up for anything. Do you? I want to know the story, not hear apologies. Oh, and start from the beginning." She sat back down on the side of the couch, motioning for Sasuke to sit on the other side.

Our friends behind the door shifted uncomfortably. This was probably going to get ugly.

Sasuke stood gaping for a few seconds. Since when had she been so……commanding? He shrugged off his thoughts, however, and complied with Sakura's request. Once he had settled himself in, he took a breath, and began.

"Okay…. uh… do you remember when you had to stay at the hospital for about a week because all of those people were getting hurt?"

She slowly nodded. It had been a pretty miserable week. Several teams had come in half-dead, and then there were those idiot kids who didn't happen to know that hairspray was flammable…..

"Well, the guys and I went out one of those nights you were gone. We went to this bar, where I met her. I was just sitting there, and she came up to me."

Naruto smacked his forehead. He remembered that night. Sort of. Well, he remembered that they had all been wildly drunk, Neji had started some commotion about snorting bananas, Kiba had started stripping in the middle of the road, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji had tried to fly…unsuccessfully, and that Sasuke was supposed to have been the "designated driver", or in this case, the "designated make-sure-they-get-home-in-one-piece guy." And he had been with that woman the whole time! No wonder they had all woken up in an empty swimming pool!

The discussion outside continued.

"She started to talk to me, about how her boyfriend had just left her or something, and I just sat and listened. I don't know why, but I did. Geez, it was hard. Her voice annoyed the hell out of me, but, eventually, she seemed really…nice. The more she talked, the more I became sort of…. infatuated. She reminded me of you… so intelligent and beautiful…. and it was kind of like being drunk. Not on alcohol or anything, but on her. Sakura, you don't know, but every time I'm around you, it's like I'm flying, like I'm drunk. I love that feeling."

Ino scrunched her face and said in a high but quiet mocking voice, "Oh Sakura! You don't know, but you give me this high! I love you, so I went and cheated on you! Blah blah blah!" She returned to her normal voice and stated, "Idiot, he's making me sick." Hinata and Tenten nodded in agreement.

"Shut up for a second you guys! I can't hear!" Naruto complained.

"Oh no, Naruto. You cannot say anything," Tenten retorted, "YOU were with him that night. YOU didn't even watch out for him! YOU do not have the right to talk!"

"Come on, you guys!" Hinata whispered, her Byakugan activated, "Don't fight, we're here for Sakura, remember?"

The group got quiet and went back to eavesdropping.

" But, she didn't give me the same kind of high as you did, and I was missing you. I wanted to feel that high that you gave me so badly, so I started to talk to her, and when talking wasn't enough…. I kissed her….. but I still didn't feel it… so… I pushed it to…. you know."

Those words hit Sakura like a brick wall. Breathing became difficult, and she started to sort of hiccup to bring in air. Was she interpreting this right?

Oh God…. he gave himself to her….. How many others were before her? …..ew….. I don't even want to think about that…..….. I waited for him….. he couldn't wait for me?

The single kiss was bad enough…. but this… this was…

"Sakura! Are you okay?" Sasuke asked concernedly while taking a few more steps towards her.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, a red chakra was swirling around a certain blond boy, just barely in check. Ino was nervously twisting her hair while Tenten punched the air, wishing for something a little more Sasuke-shaped to smash. Only Hinata remained still, watching closely and silently praying that everything would be okay.

"S-stay away from me!" she gasped. She stuck her arm in front of herself to keep him away in case he got any closer. He didn't. "W-W-We're not done talking! …… You went back to her……. More than once .….W-w-why?"

The mood was suffocating him. He had to do something…something to lighten the atmosphere….

"Ah, well, you know… it's like Pringles."

Sakura gave him a confused look. Sasuke continued with possibly the worst move ever made by anyone in history.

"You know…. once you pop, you can't stop."

"WHAT THE HELL, SASUKE!!!!" Naruto screamed from behind the door, "YOU'RE WORSE THAN SAI!!!" Several pairs of hands covered his mouth to silence him.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Tenten whispered, "We're not really supposed to be here."

Naruto stopped struggling and quieted, but his breathing still came out heavy and angry. All four sat in quiet reverie.

Man, if I wasn't so pissed I'd probably be laughing. That was the worst line I have ever heard…

Oh, poor Sakura, she is going to kill him. Wait, poor Sasuke. Meeting such an untimely death…..

That freakin' ugly, disgusting, unfaithful, insensitive, stupid, undeserving piece of…..

Well, good thing I brought the clean up kit.

The fighting couple glared at the kitchen door and then turned back to each other. One look at Sakura's face and he knew his life was over. Her teeth were bared and her hands were balled into fists. Breathing still irregular and heavy, she growled out a response.

"Whaaaat?"

"S-s-sorry. B-bad t-t-timing," he stuttered.

That was it. She couldn't hold in her feelings any longer. She stood up and pointed an accusing finger.

"Sasuke! You idiot! Do you know what you're doing to me?! Okay, you know what? Let's make a list. Number one: What makes you think you have the right to come here and compare me to that other woman? That whore. What happened to, "Oh Sakura, you're the only one for me, nobody else is like you."? Number two: How could you do this to me!? All I ever do is love you, care for you, and what do you do? You turn around and throw it in my face! Number three: You can't say you love me. You can't! And instead of saying it, how about showing it? Show your love, don't just say it. But it's too late for that now. Finally, number four: WHAT THE HELL KIND OF LINE WAS THAT!?!?!? PRINGLES!?!?! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!?! YOU ARE JUST…….

Sasuke had been listening, eyes wide and shiny. He wasn't really processing everything, just catching a few words, and spending the rest of his time lost in thought.

Wow… she's so beautiful…even when she's screaming at me…I can't believe this is happening...what do I do?…..she wants to see love?...I'll show her my love…

He quickly got up from the couch where he was sitting and rushed at Sakura who was still yelling.

"….AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT YOU DARED TO…mhf!"

He had pushed her up against a wall, holding her arms down with his.

"I said I'm sorry," he whispered, voice hoarse. He leaned in closer to her and nestled his head in the crook of her neck. " I'm sorry, okay? I love you. I know I messed up. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry. I'll work harder at showing you how much I love you….. please. Just stop. Don't say anything, because I don't know what else to say. I love you……" He continued to whisper into her neck, giving her chills that ran down her spine and making her knees buckle slightly.

Sakura's resolve was slipping. She stared across the room, in a daze. He is so warm, and comforting, and he meant what he said, he meant it!! She felt something wet and hot drop on her shoulder. Turning her head to look, she saw that Sasuke was crying.

"Hinata, what's going on?" Ino softly questioned, "It's too quiet in there."

"He's holding her," the Hyuuga replied, "Close."

"She's letting him touch her? Oh no, she's giving up!"

"Ino, come on," Tenten broke in, "you have to let her do it her way. If she wants to take him back, then let it be."

Naruto was busy rummaging through the refrigerator for snacks, but called out, "Yeah, just let her do whatever she wants. As long she's happy, it's okay."

Back in the living room, Sakura was still looking at the boy who she loved so much. Her eyes traveled from the top of his head, down, down, past the spiky, messy hair to his neck, where there was a weird mark…. What is that? Oh my God, is that what I think it is? She ran her thumb over the strange, red streak, and saw the stuff smudge. It is. It's lipstick. And it's not mine.

Sasuke lifted his head a little bit, hopeful that the touch meant she was starting to forgive him.

She felt all of that frustrating, destructive anger surge back. Chakra gathered in her hands, and she smacked him. Hard. Right on that garish red lipstick mark that was pissing her off so bad.

Hinata could not help but smile behind the door, and quickly relayed what she had just seen to the others.

A simultaneous, "YEAH!" emerged from the others.

Sasuke quickly jumped back up, temporarily going crazy. His sharingan was flashing in his eyes. NOBODY hit Uchiha Sasuke like that. He was in a confused fury, and advanced toward Sakura.

Sakura became scared and pressed herself closer to the wall. Was he going to attack her?

Hinata gasped, and called out, "Intervention time!"

All four friends quickly scrambled up, grabbing weapons. Naruto kicked the door open, and the three girls rushed out and slid in front of Sakura, ready to defend her.

Naruto promptly leapt from the doorway, tackled Sasuke, and yelled, "TEME! I thought you were pretty stupid, but pulling a stunt like that? You do not go around attacking your friends. Especially Sakura. Attacking Sakura is a no-no. Right guys?"

The three girls nodded.

Sasuke by now had deactivated his Sharingan. There was panic in his eyes, and he just couldn't think straight. What had he just done? He saw Sakura peeking out from behind her friends, hurt and confusion on her face.

Oh God…. She thinks I'm a monster.

Naruto began to drag Sasuke out the door. "In that case, I hereby adjourn this meeting. Sasuke, she probably never wants to see your face again, so let's go." He turned to address the girls. "Don't worry guys, I'm just going to drag him home. Just to make sure he doesn't try anything….. sneaky."

The girls nodded again, but didn't give up their fighting stances. Naruto continued to drag Sasuke. He was surprised that Mr. Ice Princess wasn't struggling either. The only thing that gurgled out of his throat was, "Sorry, Sakura….. you know I didn't mean it." She looked away, unable to bear the pain anymore. He finally understood that he was losing her, and becoming desperate, started to wriggle. "Sakura! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Naruto, let me go! Sakura! I'm sorry! I wasn't going to hurt you! Please!"

His cries were lost as Naruto yanked him out into the street.

It had been about ten minutes when Sasuke stopped struggling and went limp. He had turned into a silent rag doll. Naruto continued to drag him a while longer, but then stopped.

"Get up, teme. You're too heavy for me to drag all the way to your house. We gotta talk anyway."

Sasuke stood, brushed the dirt off himself, and gave a bitter smile.

"Yeah, we do."

And so ends chapter, uh, 5! Hope you liked! I know updates are slow, but I'm trying to get it right for you guys.