frat boys and she-devils

chapter 5: when in doubt, deny


With all the chaos of moving house and surviving idiotic friends, Sakura had almost forgotten that she was here to study. The 5 hours of sleep were not a good omen for the first day of her course, but there was nothing to be done about it – apart from the 2 cups of coffee that she practically inhaled before stumbling from the house.

Hidan's first lecture was at the same time as hers, so before she could even think of all the reasons this was a bad idea, he was already planted in the driver's seat of her car. Not sure when exactly he had managed to get the keys directly from her back pocket, Sakura merely had to accept that she probably wouldn't be making it to her first day of third year.

If she didn't end up being forced into bunking off, she would almost definitely be found dead at the side of the road.

This comforting thought in mind, she double checked her seatbelt was done up tightly as Hidan swung out of the driveway and took off at what must have been double the speed limit – she was too scared to check. The drive that should have taken 20 minutes took just over 10, and Sakura spent the whole of it clinging tightly to the passenger door and praying that she wouldn't die when she hadn't even kissed Deidara yet.

Hidan, the good friend that he was, noticed Sakura's obvious discomfort and so went even faster.

When they pulled into the campus parking lot, Sakura stepped out onto shaking legs and had to take a second to lean against the car and try not to throw up. He had really swung round those corners. Hidan merely laughed and slapped her on the back.

"Well that was fun princess, we should definitely do it again sometime," he cheered, not in the slightest bit fazed by her withering glare, "catch you later pinkie!".

With one last evil grin, he was gone, and Sakura was left to figure out where the fuck she was meant to be. Seeing she had 10 minutes to find the right lecture hall, she sighed loudly, swung her bag over her shoulder and headed in the direction she was sure she was meant to be going in.

It was only a few minutes later that she suddenly realised Hidan still had her keys, and she feared no longer for her own life, but for that of her car.


Fast walking into the room with 5 seconds to spare before the bell rang, Sakura threw the lecturer a sheepish look and flung herself down into a chair in the second row. The lecturer, Tsunade, merely rolled her eyes at the pinkette, and continued shuffling through the documents spread on her podium. The general noise of the room continued, and so Sakura took the opportunity to introduce herself to the girl she had almost squashed when flopping into her seat.

"Hey, sorry about that, I really thought I was late! I'm Sakura Haruno."

The girl smiled prettily in return, pushing back her dark hair shyly. "I'm Hinata Hyugga, it's nice to meet you."

As they smiled at each other, Hinata seemed to come to a conclusion in her head. "Are you new here?" she questioned. Nodding, the pinkette explained her transfer between universities, but before the conversation could continue any further, Tsunade smacked a hand on her wooden podium.

"Alright, alright, everyone shut it. We've got a lot to get through today. Hope you guys are ready for the toughest year of your lives," The sadistic smile on her face brought a mix of worried silence and dread-filled groans from the students.

Sakura knew she'd like Tsunade.


After class, Sakura and Hinata had an hour's break which was spent on a tour of the campus, and the swapping of stories. Sakura really liked Hinata, and was ecstatic to have made not just a female friend, but a normal friend.

Now she just had to keep her far, far away from anyone else she knew.

Hinata was currently giggling along to one of Sakura's tales of her and Ino's exploits in first year when they were interrupted by the sudden movement of everyone around them.

"Damn, time for class. Ok, I'll finish the story later over dinner," Sakura promised as she brushed the grass from her jeans.

"Outside The Lagoon at 6, got it." Hinata smiled back, and with a wave they left in opposite directions.

Finding her seminar room without too much trouble, she smiled at the few people who had beat her there and leant back against the wall to fiddle with her phone. Sending a quick text to Hidan threatening bodily harm if he'd damaged/stolen her car, she was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

"Didn't expect to see you here," came a masculine voice she knew all too well.

Spinning round with a grin, she threw herself into the man's arms. Said man laughed and hugged her back, just about managing to maintain his balance against the momentum.

"Hey, I texted you, you never replied!" her tone was accusing as they pulled away from each other, accentuating her words with sharp prods to his chest. Sobering a little, she continued "I missed you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes at her and placed a large hand on her head.

"Yeah, yeah, missed you too, whatever." he supplied back with his signature lopsided smile that Sakura hadn't seen in person for nearly 5 months. Ever since he had abruptly moved away following his dad's job transfer nearly 4 years ago, they only saw one another a few times a year. Despite this, they were still great friends, and this reunion was one of the main reasons Sakura had been ok with moving her life to a whole new city.

Because if there was anyone who could keep her sane through the crazy, it was Shikamaru.


The childhood friends spent the next 2 hours of their seminar catching up on everything that had happened since they last spoke - which, too be fair, was less than two weeks ago but it was safe to say that Sakura had a lot to talk about.

She didn't mention the situation with Deidara.

Unlike Sasuke and Naruto, he didn't get stupidly protective over her when he learnt about the guys she now lived with - he was too lazy to worry when he'd seen first hand how tough she really was.

She would have liked to spend more time with, but she was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. Looking at the caller ID, she rolled her eyes and answered with a sharp "what?" that had Shikamaru chuckling.

"I'm at the gym, meet me here in 5 if you want your keys, alright pinky?"

That was all she got from Hidan before he hung up on her, and all Sakura could do was roll her eyes again.

"Ok, I've gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow in the psych lecture?" she confirmed with a smile. He nodded and ambled away, disappearing in his usual cloud of smoke.

Sakura set off in the other direction, speed-walking because she knew Hidan meant it when he said 5 minutes. The gym was a big building with glass walls and was absolutely full of beautiful people.

Feeling slightly self-conscious, she pulled her top away from her stomach and made a bee-line for where Hidan slouched against a pillar.

She couldn't be blamed if she took the chance to admire his physique while his attention was on his phone - she hadn't seen him shirtless before. Raising her eyes to a respectful level before he looked up, she approached him with hands outstretched in a grabby motion.

His violet eyes raised from his screen and he snorted in amusement, pocketing his phone and crossing his arms.

"So do you have to go home or do you want to join me for a workout?" He propositioned through a lecherous grin.

Unamused, Sakura merely stood with her palm outstretched until he relented and gave her the keys.

"That's a shame, doll, I wouldn't mind doing some stretching with you." He called at her retreating back, "then again, we all know you prefer them blonde!"

Both middle fingers in the air, she swore on her life that if her car was the slightest bit damaged, she would be getting physical with Hidan - as she buried him six feet under.


The restaurant that Sakura now stood before was exactly what she'd hoped for when Hinata had told her the name. The Lagoon was a unique eatery, and would have looked at home on a beach in Thailand. It was bright and friendly, with all sorts of beach themed decor. Most importantly though, it offered 2-for-1 cocktails.

Eyeing up what appeared to be a life-sized model of a dolphin in a waiter's uniform, she looked up at the sound of her name and quickly leapt to envelope the girl in a hug.

"Your car was still where you left it then?" Hinata questioned through her giggles as they were seated by the waitress.

"Yeah, thank god, otherwise I would have skinned that idiot alive." Sakura growled out as she scanned the menu, drawing another laugh out of the other girl.

Her and Hinata were hugely different - Hinata was quiet and sweet and mature while Sakura constantly stuck her foot in her mouth and was almost permanently exasperated or irritated. Somehow though, the two got along amazingly well, and it was because of their differences - and the 3 cocktails she had consumed over their meal - that Sakura plucked up the courage to discuss her predicament in the hope of some advice.

Toying with the umbrella in her glass, she avoided eye contact as she tried to figure out the best way to word her worries.

"Hinata, I know it's probably a little weird of me to already be telling you this sort of stuff when we've known each other literally a day, but I could do with some advice," she finally stated, glancing up at her newest friend.

"It's fine, I'll do what I can to try and help," Hinata replied, somewhere between curious and concerned as she pushed away her half-eaten dessert to give the pinkette her full attention.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura proceeded to tell Hinata everything about her and Deidara - the almost kiss at her dad's house, the exchange in his studio, the drunken flirting, how she wanted to spend time with him more than anyone else. The further she got through her explanation, the bigger the smile on Hinata's face became. Then when Sakura went on to raise her concerns, it shrunk back down to a frown.

"I just don't know if it's a good idea. I mean, there's Sasori for one thing. I don't want to ruin his friendship with Deidara, and I know he'd feel super uncomfortable if we were to get together. Especially because I don't even know if it would work. Deidara's much more the 'week long fling' kind of guy rather than a 'serious relationship' kind of guy. What if we got together and it didn't work? We couldn't stay living together, I couldn't handle seeing him every single day. I'd have to move and I definitely couldn't afford that. Oh god, but I really like him and I really want to try it but I'm so bad with relationships, I have such major trust issues and Hinata you have to help me, what do I do?"

Her speech had sped up as she carried on, the alcohol in her system just enough to lessen her inhibitions and say her true thoughts. After she was done though, she immediately felt embarrassed - she wasn't usually one for sharing - and drank the rest of her daiquiri in a single gulp.

Hinata was sitting silently as she digested the wealth of information, chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip. The silence unnerved Sakura further, and she gestured to the waitress for a refill as she waited on a reply.

Finally, Hinata locked her eyes on Sakura's.

"Is he worth it?"

Her response was not what Sakura had expected, and she sat slightly confused for a moment before Hinata elaborated.

"It sounds like you really like him, and I understand why you have concerns. But Sakura, if you really do like him, you have to try. You'll regret it forever if you don't."

Her words hit home, and Sakura leant back in her chair slowly as she realised that Hinata was completely right. It was what she'd been too scared to let herself accept, even when deep down she knew it was the right thing to do.

The girls sat in silence for several minutes before a small smile graced Sakura's features.

"I'll do it."

Hinata smiled back.


By the time Hinata and Sakura parted ways, the sky was a deep purple and promised an intense storm.

As much as she loved to sleep to the sound of thunder, she knew that the amount of work Tsunade had given them on day one would mean that she'd be up for a while yet. With this thought in mind, she heaved a sigh and stopped off at a coffee shop for the much-needed caffeine fix.

Sakura had had a great time with Hinata, and was glad to have already made such a good friend, but her advice was circling in her head. She knew Hinata was right - she wanted to be with Deidara, see if they could work, but she needed to be the one to talk to Sasori. God knows what he'd do to Deidara if he thought the blonde was preying on his little sister. Arguments filled her mind, but right now she needed to focus on her studies - it wasn't like he was going anywhere.

She was so busy thinking about how to not think about Deidara that she completely missed the last step and stumbled forwards with all the grace of a blind goose.

She now finally understood what people meant when they talked about time seeming to slow down at dramatic moments, because she saw every facial expression that passed across the tall man's face as her coffee covered him head to toe.

Luckily, Sakura was able to catch her footing before she went flying face-first into the man's side. This was definitely a blessing, because judging by the look on his face, if she had touched him, he would have drop-kicked her.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I just didn't see the step and I was distracted and oh my god are you ok?" Her words came out in a panicked jumble as he ever-so-slowly turned to fix her with the scariest glare she'd ever seen on someone's face - and she was familiar with the Uchiha's.

Determining the she should really shut up, she clamped her mouth closed and stared warily up at him - up because her head barely reached his chest.

A beat of silence passed as she subtly attempted to study his face, before he abruptly turned and stalked away. Blinking slowly, Sakura came to her senses and, happy to have come out of that encounter alive, carried on towards her car.

She had never seen someone with so many scars.


A/N – So if the interactions between Shikamaru and Sakura seem kind of coupley, it's because they're one of my favourite couples (as you'll soon see from my other stories I'll shortly be uploading) and even when I don't mean to, I always write them slightly romantically.

Also, thanks for all the support I'm getting, it's nice to know you guys are enjoying it!