Haunted by the Past

Main: Sakura & Sasuke

A/N: Going to stop putting the summary on the chapter, that just crowds the page. Anyways, that was my random thought for the day, not so random I know, but Shhh! And Anyways, again, I'm having lots of positive feedback for this story. And I loved getting comments on my writing style. That makes me smile. :D So here ya go! Ur reward, another chapter!

It had been a week since the awkward English class and he was still avoiding her. She couldn't tell if he was mad, confused or what. Finally, she broke down and asked Naruto what was going on. Naruto pretended not to know why the Uchiha was acting the way he was.

Sakura huffed before walking away from the gawking blonde and locating her best friend. When she found her in their usual section of the schoolyard, she was surprised to find her studying.

Forgetting what she'd come to vent about, she sat down by the blonde and looked at her curiously. "Um...Ino? Is that really you?" Sakura asked dumbly.

"Yes Saku-dear, it's me," she said in her grown-up, motherly tone. Then I noticed where her attention went to for a split second.

I looked across the bench and found a tall boy, probably a senior like us, with light brown hair glancing in Ino's direction. He wore glasses that made him look sophisticated. He was cute, I'd give him that, with what appeared to be baby blue eyes. He was lean and held himself in a way that said he was genius-quality.

I understood it now. I guess that I would let Ino continue her act, and who knows, maybe she would snag the smart guy. Stranger things had happened, like Sasuke not wanting to read his poem in class after hearing mine.

I stood and walked away saying a quiet 'goodbye' to Ino before heading off to go to the bathroom. Anything to pass the time. They'd given us a long end-of-day recess today because of an assembly so we had a good thirty minutes to waste away, and since I didn't have a car, I had no choice but to stay.

I was rounding the corner of the bathroom when, once again, I bumped into someone. Not again, I thought as I saw who it was.

"Now, Sakura...you really should watch where you are going. You might run into someone worse than me," he said in a snide voice before that snake walked away. Sakura felt something brush against her backside as he walked past and she felt the chill bumps crawl up her arm.

She quickly turned around and tried to rush into the bathroom but someone grabbed her wrist as she made it to the doorway. She turned around, ready to scream if it was that snake again.

Then, she relaxed a bit. Black hair, dark eyes, dark clothing, it was him. He smirked at her despite the fact that his face appeared troubled.

"W-what is it Sasuke?" Sakura asked, casting a nervous glance to where the silver-haired man had just walked away. Was it a trap? Was Sasuke supposed to trap her so Kabuto could...No! She had to stop this.

"I...wanted to talk to you," he said, glaring out the doors as if he sensed her fear of the silver-haired man. Had he seen the encounter between them?

"A-about what? I'm k-kinda busy," Sakura stuttered. Even though she tried to squelch her paranoid thoughts, they still showed their ugly head.

"About stuff, emotions and things that shouldn't be happening but are. I need to talk to you about us," Sasuke said, trying to shake off the irritating feeling in the pit of his stomach about that Kabuto guy. He shouldn't tell her what Kabuto had said while they were in the bathroom.

"What do you m-mean, us?" Sakura looked at him confused. She was fidgeting around, her wrist still locked in his hold.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore, what did that bastard do to you?" Sasuke exclaimed suddenly making Sakura flinch away from him. She tugged her arm, trying to free herself, but Sasuke wasn't letting her get away. His grip only tightened when she struggled.

"What are you talking about? Who?" Sakura said, her voice barely a whimper.

"Kabuto," Sasuke spat the name as if it were poison. He then loosened his vice grip on her and she looked up to see him take a deep breath with his eyes closed. In a softer voice, he asked again, "What did he do Sakura?"

She looked up at him with frightened eyes and then she felt him rubbing her sore wrist gently. "Nothing, Sasuke. He just creeps me out, is all."

"So he's never hurt you in any way?" Sasuke asked. Sakura didn't understand why he was being so protective of her.

"N-no, he hasn't," Sakura said, her voice barely audible. In the back of her mind, she heard the words, "As far as we know," and she shuddered.

"Okay Sakura. Just...tell me if he does, okay?" Sasuke said, holding her hand with both of his.

Sakura nodded before remembering what they were talking about before Sasuke's outburst. "Sasuke, what did you mean by 'us'?" she asked curiously.

"I think I'm falling for you, Sakura," he blurted out. He said it without thought, no hesitation. He really meant it, then.

"But what about...her?" Sakura asked, realizing that she didn't even know Sasuke's girlfriend's name.

"I know. That's just it. I feel horrible about it, but I can't stop," Sasuke said. Sakura thought that maybe he was revealing a little too much about himself.

"Sasuke, listen to me." His eyes rested firmly on her face. "Women are not just toys that you can throw around and do what you want with. We have feelings and must be treated with respect. If you are in a relationship with a girl, stay faithful to her. And don't end it just because of sex either!" Sakura said the last sentence with so much force, so much emotion. Sasuke was surprised. Had she been hurt before?

"Sakura...you're so...noble," Sasuke said slowly, trying to find the words as he withdrew his hands from hers slowly.

"Exactly, see? I'm not what you wanted anyways, so just go now," Sakura said as she tried to walk away.

Sasuke did not grab her but instead stepped in front of her. "On the contrary, that's exactly what I want," he said in a smooth, silky voice. Sakura resisted the urge to swoon.

"Sasuke, you're scaring me now...leave me," Sakura said, adding the last part slowly. She was fighting with herself about what she really wanted him to do.

Her body said, "Sasuke, kiss me already you idiot!" while her mind said, "Stay faithful, Sasuke." In the end, her mind won, as it always did. She was good like that.

She pushed away from him and walked into the girl's bathroom, knowing that he would not follow. She hated to shoot him down, but she had to. After all, he was already in a relationship and...and she wasn't ready. It was too soon for her to have a romantic tie to someone, even if Sasuke was the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor, her...she stopped herself. She didn't need to think of it that way. He's taken, she told herself.

-End-

A/N: Another chapter down! Thanks for the reviews, and the next chapter will be up shortly after this one. I started writing this chapter and before I knew it, it was twice the size of my previous ones for this story so I broke it in half.

Here's the first half of the cookie! Enjoy and review.