This chapter took me way longer than I thought it would to complete. Originally, I had a pretty simple idea in mind, and then it just blew into a 7,000 word chapter. Hopefully it's 7,000 words of a good chapter! I have a pretty big direction that I plan to take this story in and I don't want to reveal too much, but if anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them! I'm happy that some of my readers from My Dirty Secret have given this a try and a few of you have reviewed/PM'd me about your interest in this story. I love receiving feedback, guesses as to what's going to happen next, and suggestions for ways I can improve my writing/story!

If you like what you're reading, please drop a review or PM and let me know what you think! I'll try and keep writing on a regular basis to get the next chapter out soon. I think this one just took so long because it took so darn long to end (I also may have gotten distracted by writing a lemon for a future chapter. Whoops. Gotta write when the muse hits, right?).

Without further ado, here is chapter 5! Please enjoy!

Chapter 5

What happened last night?

A thousand questions swam around in Sakura's head and remained unanswered as she sat through her remaining classes. Her eyes flickered curiously to Sasuke's back every few minutes. Things weren't adding up and it was beginning to make Sakura feel uncomfortable. Not once in the past several years did Sasuke mention Kokoro to any of them, even as an afterthought. For a close family friend, he didn't seem very excited about her return. In fact, he seemed to be down right avoiding her or any conversations that had to do with her. And yet, he had gone to see her last night and never said a word.

Why? She had given him a gift and he wore it without second thought, so clearly he didn't hate her.

Sakura nibbled on her lower lip. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but after finally meeting Kokoro in person, she wanted to know what the nature of their relationship really was. Nervousness set in her belly. Sakura wondered if she should try asking Sasuke about it after class, but she had a feeling he would just dodge her questions. Again. Just like he kept avoiding any conversation that involved his supposed childhood friend.

The final bell rang and Sakura dragged a hand through her soft pink hair. "You're being stupid, Sakura," she muttered to herself as she grabbed her things and got up to leave the classroom. She had no reason to doubt Sasuke's faithfulness to her; he wasn't that kind of guy to use someone or go behind their back. Yet, despite knowing that…she couldn't understand why he would hide anything from her.

Sakura walked to her locker in a haze of thoughts, debating if she should bring it up or not. She saw Naruto chatting Sasuke's ear off at their lockers. He seemed to be behaving normal now. Sakura furrowed her brow, wondering if anyone else thought something weird was going on… Maybe she was the only one reading into something that wasn't actually there?

She watched as Sasuke took a swat at Naruto's head for something he did or said. The blonde ducked, laughing in good spirits, and she saw Sasuke's lips pull into an amused smirk. Sasuke rolled his eyes, then paused catching sight of her. He motioned for her to come over.

"Sakura, come on. I'm free tonight, so I'll walk you home."

A light blush covered Sakura's cheeks. Despite her earlier suspicions, her heart skipped a beat like it always did when Sasuke did couples things with her. Unable to deny her happiness at hearing his offer, a smile lit her face. "Sure!" She chirped. She skipped over and slipped her arm around Sasuke's, holding him close to her chest. That's right. You're just being silly, Sakura told herself.

Naruto walked with them to the school gates, then went straight while they took a left. Sakura leaned her head against Saskue's shoulder as they walked. Her house was only about a mile from the school, so it wouldn't take them long to reach it. A relaxing silence settled between them and Sakura wondered if she dared to break it. If she was going to ask him, now was the chance. Perhaps he would be more open to talking now that they were alone.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, tipping her head up to look at him. He looked to be in a good mood now. The tension she felt earlier was gone. "I was wondering… Well…" Sakura paused, the words sticking to the roof of her mouth. Her tongue felt heavy and all the questions she wanted to ask were stuck behind her lips.

"Hm?" Sasuke asked, looking down at her curiously when she didn't continue. "Whats wrong?"

"Nothing," Sakura replied quickly, unable to bring herself to voice her concerns. "It's nothing."

Sasuke arched a brow, confused by her sudden change of mind, but didn't press any further. "Okay then?" A moment later, Sasuke pulled his arm from hers and surprised her by taking her hand instead. He laced their fingers and brought her hand up, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. "If something is troubling you, you can let me know anytime, okay?"

How - how sweet! Sakura flushed pink at the unexpected action. Sasuke was never the overly affectionate type, so he had a way of catching her off guard and making her heart race. Her stomach flipped in a good way this time, banishing some of her insecurities away. "Thank you," she gave his hand a little squeeze. "I'm okay, really!"

"Okay," Sasuke replied.

—-

Sasuke walked Sakura to her door step. Before she went inside, he tipped her chin up and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, smirking at the way her face turned a darker shade of pink than her hair. "Good night, Sakura," Sasuke said, letting go of her.

Sakura nodded her head all too excitedly. She bid him good night before she retreated inside her house, looking the happiest he'd seen her all day. Sasuke waited until he had rounded the corner and was out of sight before he let out an exasperated sigh. This was rapidly growing more and more complicated. Kokoro had asked him to give her a couple days to process everything, so he tried to keep his distance, but his nosey friends just had to butt their way in and make things more awkward. And to make it even worse, Sakura was suspicious now! Kokoro had always been better than him at hiding her emotions. He was good at not talking about it, but she was good at making people believe there was nothing wrong in the first place.

Thankfully, that walk home seemed to be the right thing to do to alleviate some of Sakura's worries. He knew he should have told Sakura the truth, but after having set things straight with Kokoro, was there really any need to? He was allowed to have his past; Sakura didn't need to be troubled by that. There was no reason he should break two girls hearts in the same week. At least, that's what he told himself, but in reality, he knew he was just convincing himself this was the right thing to do because it was easier for him to avoid the drama than to deal with it.

The rest of the week went by a bit better. Ino and Sakura continued to invite Kokoro to lunch with them and proceeded to talk about whatever girly things they felt like. Naturally, she was invited to Ino's party and Sasuke was surprised to find this was actually a great distraction for Sakura. They were so busy discussing party plans that it kept her mind off the fact that he and Kokoro still weren't talking.

Friday came quickly. Sasuke met Sakura after their last class and walked with her to a quiet little cafe called Le Chat Noir. He paid for tea and snacks for both of them. Not one for sweets, Sasuke got a couple onigiri, while Sakura got a small strawberry shortcake. He nodded his head, half listening as she babbled on about plans for tomorrow, his mind on nothing in particular until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Sasuke agreed to pick her up at six tomorrow night to go to Ino's together. Sakura fell silent as she took a few bites of her pastry. Sasuke used that moment to check his phone quickly and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Who is it?"

Sasuke glanced up, halfway through typing his reply. He wasn't as discrete as he thought he was. "Oh, no one. Just Kokoro…" Sasuke quickly hit the little 'send' button on his reply and tucked his phone away. Sakura's eyes glowed with questions as she swallowed another bite of her cake. There was a slight frown in the corner of her lips and Sasuke wondered if he upset her.

"Kokoro is someone. She's our friend," Sakura scolded him. Suddenly her fork was pointed at him. "And yours, too, unless there's something you're not telling me."

Sasuke blinked, not quite sure what to say. Why would she say something like that…unless she really did suspect that there was something between them? She didn't, did she? "I…" Sasuke hesitated, trying to quickly regain his composure at being caught off guard. What was he supposed to say here?

Luckily, Sakura saved him from replying. She laughed softly and waved her hand. "I'm just joking. Don't look so serious," Sakura said.

Damn it, Sakura! Sasuke let out a breath, seeing the smile on her face. She'd nearly thrown him off his chair with that one, but she wasn't wrong and he was way too uptight over it. "She was just asking me a quick question, thats all," Sasuke clarified, unsure why he felt like he needed to do that in the first place.

Sakura nodded contently, taking a sip of her tea and changed the subject. "So, what color are you wearing tomorrow?" She quizzed him.

Sasuke wasn't sure he liked this new topic any better. Somehow, he felt like he was being tested on something she'd told him this less than five minutes ago. "Um…Red?"

"Green," Sakura deadpanned.

—-

Kokoro answered the door when Sasuke arrived. Rather than letting him in, she closed the door behind her and led him to the pond in the back yard. She sat beside the water, wearing a dark blue sweatshirt and a pair of bluejeans shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid and her head tipped toward the sky. The full moon reflected in her amethyst irises and its rays glistened off her milky white skin. Sasuke was almost afraid to sit next to her, but he did, placing himself a safe three feet away from her.

"So," Sasuke finally broke the long silence. It strangely wasn't awkward, but he was curious as to why she asked to meet with him so late. "What did you want to talk about?"

He watched as an unreadable smile stretched over her cheeks, unable to tell if it was happy or sad, but noticed that she didn't once remove her gaze from the stars as she spoke.

"I'm okay now," Kokoro declared. "Thank you, for giving me time to work through my emotions and get my head on straight. I know it's been awkward at school, but I needed that time to let it all…sink in." Kokoro paused, finally dropping her gaze to the water. "Sakura is a nice girl and I decided that I will respect that you're in a relationship with her. If it's not too much, I'd like to be friends with her and you. The others as well."

That was it? She was actually fine with him dating Sakura? Sasuke wasn't sure why he felt just as disappointed as he did relieved. It shouldn't have come as any surprise to him; Kokoro had been getting along well with the group and she wasn't the type to force her will upon anyone, even if a small part of him wished she did say she wasn't giving him up that easily.

But, this made things easier for him now, didn't it? They could stop acting awkward around each other, Sakura wouldn't be suspicious, and he was off the hook about telling her their history. It was a win!

"Of course that's alright," Sasuke replied. Hell, she was already friends with them and he previously told her they could stay friends. His reconfirmation seemed to set her at ease though and her smile became more relaxed.

Kokoro threw her arms out to the side and flopped back in the grass. "Do you have curfew?"

Sasuke shook his head and glanced down, feeling tiny fingers wrap around his wrist. He fell on his back with an 'oof' as Kokoro swiftly tugged his arm out from beneath him and knocked him down beside her. For the next couple hours, the two lay beneath the stars talking about their last several years apart. Sasuke wasn't sure when they'd moved closer together, but somehow Kokoro's head came to rest upon his shoulder while they talked. It was nearing one in the morning when he told her the story of when Naruto actually managed to glue Mitsuki-sensei to his chair.

"…no one actually expected it to work. Mitsuki went to write the assignment on the board and toppled himself and his bookshelf over when he stood and took the chair with him," Sasuke explained, describing how they all needed to be escorted from the room while the nurse came in with a spare pair of slacks and some scissors to free the distressed teacher. "The dumbass actually tried to blame it on someone else, but it backfired on him and he had detention for a week."

Kokoro fought to keep her laughter down. "That's hilarious. I missed so much! I would have loved to see that."

"I'm sure you will see the next ones," Sasuke said. "Naruto is know to be the class clown. He attempts at least one prank every few weeks."

Kokoro rolled onto her belly and grinned down at him. "Maybe I should join him in his next prank."

Sasuke arched a brow up at her. "Since when are you a prankster?"

"Being home schooled was so boring," Kokoro shrugged, "I think I'm due for a rebellious streak. What do you think?"

"Not a chance in hell. I forbid it."

"What are you, my father now?"

Sasuke smirked at her. He just couldn't see her pulling a prank on anyone, except maybe her older brother; she was too kind hearted and focused for that.

A loud voice suddenly echoed through the night air making Sasuke nearly jump out of his skin. "Hey, shrimp sauce, it's one in the morning! What the hell are you still doing outside?" Dai's voice echoed through the night air so loud he may as well have been screaming into a megaphone.

Kokoro cussed under her breath, spinning around to look at the upper story window where Dai's silhouette could be seen. "Shut up! People are sleeping," Kokoro yelled back.

Not anymore, Sasuke thought as the two siblings threw insults at each other.

"Then stop sucking off your boyfriend and get your ass inside."

Even in the dark, Sasuke could see Kokoro's face flare up in embarrassment and anger. He felt his own cheeks heat up as she stumbled over her retort. "What?! Sucking who - no one is - there is no sucking of anything going on! You are such an ass!" She yelled, her voice shrill and final. Sasuke nearly facepalmed; that was not a very good comeback. To make it even better, he saw a light down the hall flicker on - her parents.

"Oh shit. Shit. Sasuke, go. I'll see you tomorrow," Kokoro said. She rushed in giving him a quick hug before scurrying back toward the house.

Not really in the mood to deal with her giant of a father tonight and futilely explain his innocence, Sasuke heeded her advice and took off as quickly as he could.

—-

Ino's house was bigger than Kokoro expected. When she heard that Ino's parents owned their own florist shop, she had envisioned them to live in an cottage-like home with elegant landscaping, but it turned out they lived in a rather modern two story home in a high-class development in downtown Konoha. She was pleased to see that elegant flowers and shrubs lined the house and walkway, fulfilling her image of lush. Several cars lined the U-shaped driveway. Kokoro parked her bike at the very end of the driveway so it would be easier to get out and draw less attention to herself. Her outfit was eye catching enough.

Ino opened the door when she arrived. Her sea green eyes searched Kokoro from head to toe, widening as they went. "Damn girl, you wear leather like a pro."

Kokoro wore a pair of fitted leather pants that tucked into her heeled boots and a black leather jacket that she left open to reveal a fitted long sleeve black crop top. She crowned her head with a braid and left the remainder of her hair down. "Oh, really? Thanks," Kokoro smiled. This was her first party, so she wasn't exactly sure what to wear. She had thought about wearing a dress like Sakura and Ino, but it wouldn't really work with her ride.

Ino wore a flowy light purple romper with a deep V down the front and straps that twisted down the back. "You look great as well," Kokoro complimented as she stepped inside. "Your place is really nice." Ino mentioned that her parents were out of town which is why she was throwing this 'Back to Hell' party to celebrate the first week of the school year. While she admitted she always wanted to be the one to throw a big school bash, she'd been careful with the guest list and only invited people she knew could be trusted not to completely wreck the halls when unsupervised.

Kokoro noticed a couple people from her class, and many more faces from other classes that she didn't recognize at all as Ino gave her a miniature tour of what she needed to know. Bathroom was downstairs and one upstairs (first door on the left), kitchen held all of the food and drinks, and the lounge and living room was where the most people frequented: dancing to music, eating, drinking, flirting, and all around just having fun.

"Kokoro!"

Pink flashed in front of her vision. Sakura grasped her hands with a smile. "You made it!" Kokoro smiled back at her an nodded, complimenting how cute she looked. Sakura's long hair was pulled into a half-up/half-down, with two strands braided and clipped in the back of her head with a cherry blossom pin. She'd curled the ends of her hair into little ringlets that bounced against her shoulders. The short halter dress she wore had an open back and was a light green that contrasted against her hair to bring out the color of her eyes.

"Sasuke and Naruto are in the lounge room with a few others. I'm going help Ino, but you can go in and say hi to everyone," Sakura told her.

"Do you want my help with anything?" Kokoro offered; if something needed to be done she'd be more than happy to take care of it for them!

The two girls exchanged a look. Ino quickly shook her head. "No, no! Don't worry. This is your first party AND your first time as a guest in my house. Go have fun and relax," she said.

Something about her grin made Kokoro question what they were really going to do, but she supposed in the end it wasn't really any of her business either. "Okay then," Kokoro replied. She smiled and waved to the two before back tracking to where Ino pointed the lounge to be.

It wasn't very hard to spot her friends. She noticed Naruto first. His blond head was bobbing up and down as he engaged in some sort of pushing contest with Kiba. Both their hands were locked together, their feet rooted in a deep horse-riding stance. The two bobbed back and forth, pressing their hands together in attempt to knock the other down first.

Hinata sat on a chair, her pointer fingers pressed together by her lips and her opaque eyes locked on Naruto's struggling frame. Kokoro smiled. She only spoke to Hinata once when she joined them for lunch, but she thought the quiet girl was probably the sweetest person she'd ever met. And quite obviously she had a thing for loud, obnoxious blond boys with a short temper.

Kiba dropped his weight back suddenly, causing Naruto to fall forward faster than anticipated. As soon as his balance was off, Kiba shoved his palms to the side and Naruto's footing was lost. He tripped and fell to one knee. "Goddamn it Kiba!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the ground. "One more time!"

"Give it up, loser. That's your third loss in a row."

Kokoro's eyes drifted over to Sasuke. He stood against the wall, a few feet away from where Hinata sat. Tall, brooding, handsome… He wore a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a dark green shirt (to match Sakura, obviously), and a nice pair of dark washed blue-jeans.

"I'll win this time! I figured it out," Naruto insisted.

Kiba snickered, "You mean figured out how to lose?"

"Can I try?" Kokoro stepped forward with her hand raised and a playful grin on her face. It looked like fun!

They all turned their attention on her. Sasuke gave her a small nod of acknowledgement while Naruto chose a more exuberant exclamation of her name. Hintata smiled shyly. Kiba gave her a once over and arched his brow skeptically. "Seriously? You want to take me on? Look…I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but…" He made a hand gesture that was supposed to indicate their difference in height and body weight.

Kokoro shrugged. "I think I can hold my own," she said.

"No way," Kiba laughed.

Smirking, Sasuke crossed his arms and shook his head. "What's the harm in letting her try?" he asked.

Kiba opened his mouth, then thought better and closed it. "Suppose there is no harm. Okay then, shorty, give it your best try. Do you know how to play?"

Shorty? Kokoro twitched, but let it slide. She knew she was short and it was a bit better than her brother's nicknames for her. Kokoro slid into a horse-riding stance and held out her palms. Kiba stepped up, took his own stance, and placed his palms against hers. "Just don't cry when you lose."

Oh please.

Hinata started the countdown, "Three…Two…One…G-go!" her quiet voice exclaimed.

Kiba was definitely bigger than her. He had a lot more body mass and one might argue he had more muscle…but that's not what won this game; it was technique. Kiba pressed forward against her palm. Kokoro kept her muscles relaxed so he had no leverage against her. She gave a little push back. He returned it to her. As he pushed forward again, Kokoro gave him a little resistance, then quickly pressed one palm up and the other down while straightening her knees. The fast, unexpected motion caught Kiba off balance, causing him to rotate and fall flat on his ass.

Kokoro gave Kiba the 'V'ictory sign while he gapped up at her from his position on the floor.

"No way!" Kiba scrambled to his feet once the surprise wore off. "That was - that was cheating - it was cheap!"

"Kiba got beat by a girl!" Naruto hackled, loving every moment of Kiba's defeat. "Not as good as you thought, are you?"

Kiba scoffed, rounding on Naruto and telling how much worse he must be for losing to the guy who lost to a girl. Kokoro slipped past the bickering boys and slid next to Sasuke against the wall. "This is some prime entertainment," She commented. Kiba appeared to now be giving Naruto an involuntary piggy back ride as the blonde attempted to get him in a headlock.

"They make for a good comedy show." Sasuke looked down at her, taking note of her choice of outfit. "Don't tell me you actually got one…"

Kokoro beamed up at him, knowing exactly what he was referring to. When they were younger she'd always told him she was going to ask for a bike for her sixteenth birthday instead of a car. He hadn't necessarily been against it, but he vowed never to get on the back of one with her in control. "I had to wait until we got back before they bought it for me, but yep! Dai got the car, so we agreed to switch if the occasion calls for it."

"Fair enough."

A sharp crash stung Kokoro's ears. They looked to see Kiba flipped Naruto over his back. Misjudging the distance between them and the side table, Naruto's foot hit the table, knocking an ornate dish to the ground. The boys stared at it in horror before they began scrambling to sweep the pieces under Hinata's chair. The sweet girl hissed at them to stop and tell Ino the truth, to which they begged at her feet not to say anything.

—-

"Okay, I think I got this down…" Ino held a stack of dare cards in her hand. She carefully 'shuffled' the cards by cutting the deck in precise spots, flipped five cards and then had Sakura flip the sixth. The pink haired girl read the card, a blush covering her cheeks.

"Are you sure this will work?"

Ino took the card back and reorganized the deck. "Absolutely! It's the perfect plan. Now, all you need to do is make sure you're sitting in the sixth position and Sasuke is to your left." Ino grasped Sakura by the shoulders and winked confidently at her. "Don't worry, girl! Tonight, you and Sasuke are going to level up!"

Sakura placed her palms on Ino's hands and smiled up at her, determination in her green eyes. "Yeah, I'm ready! Lets go."

Ino grabbed the pile of dare cards, put them back into the box, and tucked it beneath one arm. Her other arm looped around Sakura's and together the two girls shuffled out of Ino's room giggling. They made their way back to the lounge where their group of friends were sitting. Sakura let go of Ino as she sprang forward. "Hey! Lets all play a game," she called. Kiba and Naruto both went rigid at the sound of her voice, but simultaneously relaxed when she suggested the game. They were the first to enthusiastically agree to play.

Sakura headed over to Sasuke, surprised to see him talking with Kokoro only. Not just saying hello, but having an actual conversation. Sakura blinked. "Hey," She smiled, walking over. The two stopped whatever conversation they were having and looked at her. Kokoro smiled sweetly and Sasuke nodded. "Sorry that took a while. I was helping Ino find a game to play."

"It's fine," Sasuke said.

"A game?" Kokoro asked, interested. "Well, lets play then." She headed over to the group first while Sakura hung back a moment.

Sakura wrapped an arm around Sasuke's, making sure he was on her left side. "You two are talking now?" Did she miss something since yesterday? This whole week they acted like one another didn't exist, and now they were talking... as easily as she had originally expected them to! Sakura glanced up at him. He looked calm and completely at ease.

"Ah…yeah, of course." As if it was normal.

"Okay," Sakura murmured. She returned her gaze to the group forming. Ino sat at the start of the circle. Beside her was Hinata, followed by Kiba, who, at Ino's command, left enough space for Naruto to squeeze in between them when he returned from running to the bathroom. Kokoro took the spot beside Kiba, so Sakura quickly took the sixth position beside her and pulled Sasuke down next to her. Perfect! All according to plan. Shikamaru was dragged over by Chouji and the two sat to Sasuke's left, completing the circle. Sakura shared a look with Ino from across the circle. Butterflies fluttered anxiously in her stomach as she watched Ino set the game up.

"I'm going to go get a drink while we're waiting for Naruto," Kokoro said. "Do you want anything?" She asked Sakura.

Sakura jumped out of her thoughts. "Oh - well, some punch might be nice actually. Thanks."

Just as Kokoro went to stand, Sasuke stood and told her to stay put. "I'll go get it," he offered. Kokoro thanked him and sat back down beside her. As soon as Sasuke vanished into the kitchen, Naruto chose that moment to return from his bathroom break and plopped himself down in Sasuke's spot.

Sakura rounded on him instantly. "Naruto, that's where Sasuke is sitting! Go sit over there!" She pointed to the empty spot beside Hinata that was meant for him.

"But I'm already here. What's wrong with this spot?" Naruto frowned, leaning back on his hands and making no move to get up. Sakura repeated herself, more firmly this time since Naruto was clearly too much of a knuckle head to get it. Couldn't he see he was ruining everything?!

In the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Sasuke coming back. She shot Naruto a final glare, "Naruto, go!" She hissed. Still, Naruto stubbornly refused, content with his current spot.

Kokoro sighed to her right. "This is silly. Here..." Sakura looked to see Kokoro shoo Kiba over, forcing him to sit beside Hinata. Kokoro then shifted down a spot. "That way he can still sit next to you," she smiled.

It was a sweet thing to do. It really was. But Sakura needed him on her left not her right! Before she could shift closer to Kokoro, Sasuke made it back to them. "Ladies," he greeted, handing them both a cup of punch. He took the seat between them without complaint.

"Thanks," Sakura took her cup and shot a worried glance over to Ino. The blonde saw the whole thing. Her sea green eyes were quick and calculating. There was no way they could move positions around without drawing suspicion, so she shuffled the cards differently and placed the deck on the floor in front of her.

"Okay everyone," Ino took a deep breath. Their gazes met again. The confidence in her eyes earlier was replaced with uncertainty and apology. "Let's play."

—-

Ino started by explaining the rules of the game. It was pretty simple, really. Whoever's turn it is has to draw one card from the dare pile. The player reads the card out loud and completes the dare. There are no switching cards and if anyone back's out of a dare they need to expose an embarrassing secret about themselves. Pretty straight forward. Ino kicked off the game by drawing the first card.

"The person across from you plays the dirtiest song they know. Dance to it for 30 seconds." Ino flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and shrugged. "Not so bad." Since there were only nine of them playing, it was either Sakura or Sasuke that had to give her a song. She picked Sakura.

Sakura searched her phone for a minute, finding a fitting song to play. Ino stood in the middle of the circle as the music to 'Strip That Down' began to play. Ino swayed her hips to the music, running her hands along her sides until the thirty seconds were up. Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji cheered her on in good fun. Sakura stopped the song and Ino sat back down. "Okay, Hinata. You're turn."

Hinata, far more bashful, drew a card. Nervously she read, "Do your best to impersonate the person to your left." Her eyes fell on Kiba. She did her best to act like the wolfish boy by copying the way he sat, with an arm draped over one bent knee and her other arm supporting her weight. Despite some minor stuttering, Hinata strung together a couple Kiba-like sentences that got a laugh out of the group.

The game proceeded for several rounds. Kokoro's first dare was to close her eyes and guess three random objects people put in front of her. Her second was to do a headstand for one minute, which she completed with ease. Everything had been going well until the third round. Kokoro drew her card and the laughter on her face fell immediately as she read what was on the dare.

"Well…what's it say?" Naruto asked impatiently.

Kokoro hesitated. "Is there…any way I can draw again…?" she asked.

Ino laughed. "No way, that ruins the fun. Come on tell us the dare!" The others agreed, urging her to hurry up and keep the game going.

Kokoro pressed her lips tight and looked to the left. Sasuke stared down at her, brow arched in curiosity. Everyone's eyes were on her, including Sakura's. The pinkette smiled at her, "Well? How bad it is?"

The answer to that question depended on whose perspective she was asking it from. Had the circumstances been different, one might consider this to be a great card to draw. Realizing there was no way around it, Kokoro sucked it up and read the card out loud.

"It says..." Maybe once she read it, everyone would veto the card and let her draw again! "Make out with the person to your left for one minute."

Silence.

"What?!" Naruto was the first to break the tense, awkward silence that settled. "Thats totally not fair! Why does Sasuke get to kiss her?"

"Because he's sitting to her left you idiot." Shikamaru, who had hardly spoken except when it was his turn pipped up, looking annoyed by the drama.

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed. "Sasuke's already dating Sakura-chan. So, I think it should skip both of them and jump to me!" Naruto exclaimed. He leaned forward and winked at her. "What do you say, Kokoro-chan?" Hinata's face instantly fell at Naruto's solution though he wasn't paying any attention to notice it.

Uh, how about no. Before she had the chance to refuse, Kiba piped up, "No way! Nice try, loser but the card should reverse so she has to kiss me instead." He lifted her chin with one hand and tried to pass off a seductive smile that she wasn't buying for a second. "What do you say?"

Honestly, she'd rather not.

An arm reached around her shoulders and knocked Kiba's hand away from her face. "Both of you knock it off," Sasuke scolded them. "She's not a toy to fight over." His hand curled around her shoulder and pulled her further away from Kiba. Instinctively, Kokoro began to sink into his touch before remembering she needed to keep her distance and sat back up straight.

"Seriously, you guys are ridiculous," Shikamaru sighed, leaning his face on his palm. "Just make out already so we can move on."

Ino, looking somewhere between scared and frustrated, nodded her head rather stiffly. "Those...are the rules. Kiba...keep the time. They only get 60 seconds." Every word sounded tense and forced. Kokoro didn't miss the way her eyes shot toward Sakura in apology as she spoke. She didn't dare look at her.

"Okay," Kiba sighed, pulling out his phone. Kokoro felt Sasuke stiffen beside her. She suddenly felt very aware of how close they were. "Timer, ready. Get set..."

Kokoro took a deep breath and looked up at Sasuke. It was just a stupid dare. A stupid dare kiss. She'd kissed him a hundred times; it wouldn't be a big deal. The only difference was he had a girlfriend sitting less than a foot away, watching them. Not awkward at all or anything.

"Kiss!"

And they did. Kokoro wasn't sure who initiated the kiss first; all she felt was Sasuke's lips pressed against hers, soft and almost chaste at first. If that had been all they needed to do, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but they had a minute and the innocence of their kiss faded quickly.

His lips were warm and welcoming…Instantly, they fell into their old habits. She parted her lips and Sasuke took her invitation. Time seemed to stand still as their tongues battled for dominance. Kokoro grabbed the lapel of his button down shirt with both hands, tugging him closer while one of his hands fisted the hair at the nape of her neck. Their kiss was long and deep, full of unfulfilled passion. A warm, fuzzy feeling settled in the pit of Kokoro's stomach as all her worries just seemed to melt away to nothing. All was right; all was as it should be… A soft moan reverberated in the back of her throat.

She had all but climbed into Sasuke's lap when Kiba stuttered out a quiet, "T-time…Time!" He shouted a bit louder when they didn't seem to hear him the first time. The haze surrounding Kokoro's mind began to clear and she remembered exactly where she was and what she was doing. They didn't break apart immediately. Instead, their kiss slowed. Sasuke held his lips against hers for an extra second before slowly pulling back. His hand fell from behind her head and she dropped her hands into her lap.

Thank goodness Kiba had stopped them. Another couple seconds, and Kokoro feared she may have crawled into Sasuke's lap and pushed him down in front of everyone. That minute was far too long, and yet not nearly long enough to settle the craving flowing through her veins.

"Eh hem!" Sakura cleared her throat, sharp and shrill.

Kokoro jumped in surprise and made the mistake of tearing her eyes away from Sasuke to look at Sakura. Her hands were balled into tight little fists in her lap and her mouth was thin as a straight line. Hurt and confusion was evident in her eyes. Kokoro instantly dropped her gaze, ashamed at herself for getting carried away.

"Are you quite finished now?" Sakura asked, a little snappier than she probably intended.

Kokoro didn't blame her. She'd be pretty pissed off in her shoes too; actually, she was just a couple days ago. She gave a little nod, unable to trust herself with words at the moment. Her fingers shook at the thick, unsettled silence. Sasuke also avoided Sakura's gaze, his eyes looking intently at the floor. He said nothing.

"Damn…that was hot," Kiba finally opened his mouth with probably the least helpful statement of the evening. Ino reached across Hinata and smacked him upside the head. "Ow," Kiba muttered, holding his head. "Well, it's true."

Speaking of temperature, Kokoro felt hot and restless. Passion and guilt swirled inside her, intensified by the glare she felt Sakura give her. No one said anything and perhaps that alone made the air around her feel so much heavier. Before the game continued, Kokoro stood up and excused herself from the circle. "I'm sorry, I'm just going to step outside for a few."

Before anyone could protest, Kokoro retreated from the room and made a beeline for the exit. She threw the front door open and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air. The air had cooled after the sun went down, and she felt a light draft through the leather of her jacket. Kokoro wrapped her arms around her waist and moved to walk around the side of the house.

Just last night she'd declared she would respect Sasuke's relationship with Sakura, and because of a stupid dare games she'd practically stomped all over her decision. She was supposed to be letting him go, not making out with him. Not losing control over a little kiss! This passion…the desire… she couldn't have it. Kokoro pressed her back against the side of Ino's house and dropped her head into her hands. She had to calm down, suppress these feelings she couldn't have anymore, and regain composure. Most of all…she needed to apologize.

Sighing, Kokoro slapped her cheeks and prepared herself. She was okay now, it was fine, she could do this; she would do this. Just as she turned to go back inside, Kokoro caught the sound of a loud snap from the thin tree line surrounding Ino's property. She whirled around, senses alert. Lack of light made it difficult to see, but she could have sworn she saw a figure move along the trees. "Whose there?!" She called, taking several confident strides forward. The figure froze. Kokoro narrowed her eyes, trying to see better. "Who. is. there?" Kokoro repeated, her hand sliding toward her back pocket and curling around the pocket knife she had tucked away.

The front door opened.

"Kokoro?"

Kokoro glanced behind her at the sound of Sakura's voice.

"What are you doing? We're you talking to someone?"

Kokoro looked back toward the tree line. Whatever that figure was, it was gone now. She bit back a curse and pulled her hand from her pocket. "Oh, no one. I thought I saw something, but it must have just been a squirrel or something."

"Uh huh…" Sakura closed the front door and crossed the yard over to where she stood. She seemed weary, carefully guarding her emotions as she drew closer. "I was hoping to talk to you alone."

Three guesses why. "I'm sorry," Kokoro apologized immediately, already knowing what she wanted to discuss. "I…that never should have happened. Please don't be mad at Sasuke - It's my fault. it was a stupid dare to take part in." She wished she could have apologized better, but she wasn't sure what the right thing to say was.

Apparently, that wasn't what Sakura wanted to hear. Her expression didn't change for the better. "Clearly, you're not as sorry as you'd like me to believe you are, are you?" Sakura accused her.

Kokoro said nothing. Sakura's piercing green stare seemed to see straight into her soul. She already knew the answer to her question. While she felt bad for hurting Sakura's feelings, Kokoro couldn't say that she necessarily regretted the kiss, or that she didn't enjoy it.

"Just what exactly are your feelings for Sasuke?" Sakura asked, straight to the point.

Sasuke really didn't tell her a damn thing about her, did he? He must not have wanted to hurt or worry her. Kokoro swallowed down a throat full of bitterness. If Sakura wasn't going to beat around the bush, neither should she. If she was going to be Sasuke's girlfriend, then that meant she deserved to know the truth, whether Sasuke felt he needed to tell her it or not.

Kokoro spoke the three simple words that would decide the future of their friendship.

"I love him."

End Chapter 5