So sorry I didn't publish this earlier. I think that after you read this chapter, you're either going to hate me, or reallyreally want more. Whichever way, I want to know what you think!

~*SAKURA*~

Lights flashed crazy colors in the dark, overcrowded room. With the atmosphere, masses of heated bodies swaying in a rhythmic convention, the pounding music syncing up to the beating of my heart, it seemed like a club. Ino had it set so she could make her house look like that with the snap of her fingers. The warmth and smell of sweat reached even the corners where people like me hung on the outskirts.

I was aching to dance, the pulse of the music charging through and calling me, but the thought of squeezing into the packed huddle made me nauseous. I never understood why anyone would want to dance so close to the point where you were grinding up against perfect strangers.

I took another sip of my drink. I wasn't sure how many I'd had. Only that it tasted good and I didn't think the lights were fuzzy enough yet. I wasn't dizzy enough yet. With all the sulking and self-pity I had really had the chance to forget myself—throw caution to the wind. Except I wasn't a good drinker and throwing caution to the wind usually meant mopping was in somebody's near future. I swore that was my last drink.

I watched the couples in corners and on the dance floor sucking face. I wrinkled my nose, repulsed. Maybe I was just bitter. I wished Kankuro was here, but I didn't feel like he'd want to be dragged out to some lame high school party. Of course, Ino would poke her eye out before throwing a lame party, but still. I was still uncertain about being in an actual relationship. It was so different than I imagined. It was comfortable and sweet. And, yeah, it was wonderful, but it made me feel guilty and bit more reserved than I thought I'd be. I thought it would be… liberating. Instead, I found it slightly oppressing, if anything. I was…. happy, though. I felt appreciated and cared about, so I decided it was worth it.

"You should dance," Ino came up and had to scream in my ear. She drunkenly shoved me into the crowd. I decided not to fight it, moving with it instead. If these people didn't want to get thrown-up on, they shouldn't have come to a party with so much booze.

I was jostled around some before the crowd spit me out and I went to get another drink. I ladled a cup out of the spiked punch bowl. When the first sip struck me as sinfully delicious I remembered my promise not to drink anymore and handed the red cup off to the nearest stumbling idiot. They would thank me.

Someone heavy fell into my side, reeking of alcohol and almost knocking me down. I had to bend my knees and push as hard as I could to keep myself upright. I somehow mustered the force to shove him off me. He righted himself, looming high above me. I realized why he was so heavy. Sasuke was a big guy. He was six foot with probably two hundred pound of muscle. One of the reasons he was the neighborhood heartthrob.

"Hey, Sakura, what's up?" he asked. I should have called the police then. Sasuke was initiating a conversation. The world may have well crumbled. I'd never seen him completely wasted like that. He drank enough to get buzzed, sure, but it just seemed so wrong to have The Sasuke Uchiha stumbling all over the place. It almost made him seem human. He never broke his façade for anything.

"Sasuke, how drunk are you?" Though I didn't have to ask. He was obviously shitfaced.

"I hate parties." He said. "Take me home."

My heart fluttered at his phrasing, but I was sure to keep it hidden. Not that it mattered. I could confess my undying love and he was too wasted to have understood. I only briefly had to consider what he was asking. I probably wasn't good to drive, but he would definitely kill himself if he drove, no doubt—especially since he was a madman on the road. God only knows how he got his license. I tried to rationalize it, telling myself it wasn't far away and I could drive there in my sleep. I slung his gargantuan arm over my shoulder. "You're an idiot."

I lead him to my car, half dragging, half tossing him into the passenger seat. I felt like Atlas with the weight of the world on my shoulders. I despised being so small. I probably should have considered a gym membership in that moment, but I decided that was enough exercise to last me a year. I shut the door on him and circled around to the driver's seat, settling down and jamming my keys in the ignition. All of a sudden I was anxious to get him home. Everything about being with him at that moment was vulnerable. Things between us were fragile as they were without me continuing to want to brush my fingers through his hair and jump his bones. Furthermore, he was exposed, which never happened. Ever. It messed with the entire balance of the universe. And we were drunk driving. I was about to get us killed.

"Ino's going to be pissed we just got up and left." I said. He only grunted in response. At least his was his old, silent self again. "Why the hell are you so drunk?"

He just kept breathing, slow and steady. He didn't speak until we stopped in front of his house.

"Put it in park," He said. "I need to talk to you."

I put it in park since he seemed no nonsense. When I looked back at him, dark eyes bore into me with a sort of scattered intensity. It was dizzying. I always loved his eyes; the contrast between them and pale skin, the way they reminded me of a charcoal drawing. They were dark, yet somehow soft, like the charcoal could smudge across the paper at a feather-light touch. He wrapped a hand around the base of my head. His fingertips were firm against the nape of my neck, almost aggressive. Instead of being threatened, I was kind of… turned on. Something was heating up in that car.

"I got drunk because I'm tired of thinking about you," he said before suddenly smashing his lips forcefully to mine, leaving me no window of escape. Not that I would have had the resistance to take one. But this kiss didn't make my chest fill with happy, little girl, unicorn infatuation. It was raw and sloppy and so much less than perfect, but it made my pulse pronounce and toes curls. I could feel my lips bruising and the dire need for air, but I let my lungs sear as I kept kissing him, grabbing onto his shirt and scooting in close as I could, though the car's space restrictions was making it difficult for us.

We somehow ended up fumbling and banging our way into the back seat. He was lying on top of me, covering me completely. I was dwarfed. I couldn't have gotten away if I wanted to. Thank God I didn't want to. Hungry ripping sounds of our kisses were the only thing to be heard, filling up night silence. I whimpered as his lips moved to my neck, fingers brushing just underneath the edges of my shirt. I only had a second of slight clarity, though still somewhat muddled. I'd be cheating on Kankuro. Sasuke was drunk and didn't know what he was doing. It could ruin everything I was trying to salvage.

Then my shirt evaporated and I made my decision. I arched my back so he could fumble with my bra clasp. It came off, followed by another shirt, pants, and other unmentionables. It was clumsy and drunken and unromantic and in the back of my car. But we didn't need anything else. We laid still and quiet afterwards until his alcohol breath whispered in my ear. "I have to go."

I nodded and we both gathered and shimmed on what clothes we could. He kissed me once again, hard, before pulling his shirt over his head and stumbling through his front door. I rested minute, mind swimming, before bumping my head on the ceiling climbing back into the driver's seat. I took another minute to collect myself before driving back home. I parked in the driveway. I somehow made it into my bed, trying to sort through what I just did, but the drinks were still juggling my thoughts. I was in an alcohol and Sasuke induced haze: not a good combination. Then I feel asleep wondering what the hell kind of hangover that would bring the next morning.

Xrawrapandax: Hopefully, you understand this in the end, but the whole reason these two keep going in circles is because their afraid to hope. Basically, my point is that hope can be a bitch too and that's probs why it was stuck in the box with all the bad things. Sometimes, it isn't much better.

Rina Serubeyoru: I noticed that, but to be honest, this whole story started as an exercise to focus on POV rather than detail. In a lot of my work, I feel like I'm much more descriptive. Thank you so much for the feedback though. It means a lot :)

Thanks so much for reading and asking good questions!