Hey everybody! I really appreciated the input. I was hoping to update a few days ago, but there were some really delicate scenes that I could spend the next month or two editing and still not get right. The message I got was STEAMY but not necessarily a lemon. ;) I think this might suit the bill. I doubt it's quite what you were asking for. ENJOY!
On Monday during chemistry class Tenten whispered, "Today we need to not sit with the boys. Okay?"
"Get in a fight with Neji?" teased Ino. Tenten looked at her desperately. "Yes, well. I'd prefer we didn't sit with them either to be honest…" A good deal of significant looks were exchanged just then, and they changed the subject.
Words came from their mouths, but their minds were elsewhere. Kurenai didn't really notice. But in the next class, Itachi did. "Girls." He didn't yell but there was an intensity to his voice that brought those five to attention. On Mondays he usually introduced that week's Kanji to learn. He pointed to one at random and covered its pronunciation with his hand. "Ino, can you tell me what this Kanji means?" She didn't say anything. "But it's pronunciation, surely you know that?" Ino shook her head. He revealed the furigana he'd covered up before he'd asked. "The five of you should probably pay attention for the rest of the class rather than staring off into space. You're as bad as Shikamaru."
When class was over, they filed out, eyes glued to the floor, ashamed but mostly embarrassed. "Okay so spill it," Sophia said. It wasn't really clear who she was talking to. Ino who'd left the picnic nearly in tears or Sakura who'd gone after her in Sasuke's car. But it was mostly Tenten who'd asked not to sit with the boys that she was talking to.
Tenten looked down at her lap. "I have something I need to ask. Something I can't ask in front of Neji." She looked up at Ino. "Ino, what's it like having sex?"
Ino almost fell backwards off her seat. She spluttered, "Wh-what? I- I didn't. What? How did? Why does everyone keep thinking I'm- I'm-" She turned her head up away from them and shut her eyes as if afraid to cry.
"Ino, honey what's wrong?" asked Sakura. Ino shook her head asking them to stop.
"I'm really sorry, Ino. I didn't mean to insinuate anything."
She took a deep breath. "No, I'm just overreacting. It's um. Nothing. As for your question Tenten, I really don't know. I can't honestly say I've ever done it." Ino put her head head in her hands and sighed.
Nobody reacted, though they were all surprised. She always let on like she had done. It seemed pretty clear what Shikamaru must have said to her. Or at least along what lines it was. Sakura got up, fists clenched. "I'm going to go kick his ass."
She pulled up her sleeve ready to give Shikamaru a wallop. Sasuke was talking and everyone else listened intently. She stayed back so she could hear. "It's all about being with the girl. It's not awkward as long as you know what you're doing. The whole experience is awesome; you don't have to worry about having sex." Sakura completely forgot that she was there to punch Shikamaru's lights out. She didn't want to hear anymore and just slid away back to the girls.
"Thank goodness you didn't hit him. It really wouldn't have done Ino any good if you'd gotten yourself thrown in detention," said Hinata.
"Yeah… I uh figured Ino needs me more."
"I don't want to make Ino feel uncomfortable or anything, but I really need to know," Tenten nearly whispered.
Sophia spoke up first. "Well… I couldn't say what it's like with a guy. It's bound to be different. But… there have to be some constants." The whole group's attention was on her now. "I'm not an expert mind you."
"You're the closest we have."
The bell rang for the next period. They might have been able to talk if Anko hadn't worked them too hard to breathe effectively let alone talk above their panting. History didn't work because Iruka talked the whole time. And English didn't work because the boys were there… among other people. They decided to have another Monday night sleepover.
"Okay, so why exactly are you cancelling our date tonight?" Gaara asked.
"I told you. We're all having a sleepover at Tenten and Hinata's because Tenten is having a mini crisis," replied Sophia.
"Would this crisis have anything to do with Neji?"
"Maybe. It's none of your business anyway."
"If Neji tells me, then it's my business."
"Well, has he?"
"Yes, actually. Well sort of. At lunch today, he asked Sasuke about his experience with women. And Sasuke told us what it was like…"
"Oh dear. We're going to have to have a talk, you and I." She sighed. "Just not tonight. Sorry."
When Tenten told Neji that they weren't going to be able to hang out that night, he acted incredibly disappointed. But it was quite clear he was relieved. Only Tenten didn't notice because she, herself, was relieved. He kissed her an awkward goodbye and left.
At the sleepover, the girls broke out the popcorn and candy. "Okay! Spill it girl."
Sophia almost jumped. "I don't know! It's amazing. Just not the first time. At least it wasn't for anyone I've ever known in person. Because at first it's sort of awkward and you don't know what to say or do and you're so nervous about how the other person is feeling. After a while you sort of just calm down and it gets better." She looked at the rest of them. "Is that even a little helpful?"
Hinata stared at her wide-eyed. Ino was looking around the room at everyone, gauging their reactions. Sakura squirmed a bit in her seat. But Tenten was the one Sophia was focused on. She was fiddling with the hem of her shorts, biting her lip in contemplation. Ino decided to intervene. "Tenten, do you want to have sex with Neji?" And before Tenten could splutter a response, she continued, "Because it's okay if you do. But more importantly, it's okay if you don't. I know you guys are taking it kind of fast right now, but it's okay to tell him you want to cool it."
Tenten just stared at the floor and nodded slowly. Ino almost started talking again, when she spoke, still not looking up from the floor. "I don't know if I want to do it or not to be honest. But there have been moments where I only just stopped myself, and I don't know whether or not I'll be able to again."
Hinata, in the most no-nonsense way, spoke. "Does it matter? I mean it's important, but it isn't the deciding factor for the rest of your life. Plenty of people have to have bad virginity stories, look at Buffy! Maybe that's not a good example…" She trailed off.
"Hinata's right." Ino picked up from where she left off. "If you weren't ready, it isn't the end of the world. And you can always tell him, you want to wait until you have sex again because you weren't ready the first time."
"Just be honest with him. If you aren't sure, then shouldn't you tell him that?" Sakura added. Tenten nodded, looking more relieved.
Sophia felt glad that she wasn't the only one talking, but had to add this. "Quick thing that you two should probably do, even if you aren't planning on doing it anytime soon: get tested. Even if neither of you have had sex, you could still have STDs. Also condoms. Just in case, make sure you have condoms."
From looking calmer and significantly more relaxed, Tenten tensed. "How exactly am I supposed to bring that up?!" Everyone opened their mouths to reply but found that they didn't really have an answer. Ino just said, "You'll just have to figure that one out for yourself." Luckily the rest of the night degenerated into an incredibly inappropriate game of Fuck, Marry and Kill.
Sophia yawned rather loudly. "Did you get any sleep last night?" asked Gaara.
"Ahs ith gummin fum oo," she grumbled back with her head on the desk.
"What?"
She looked up, glaring. "That's rich, coming from you. Mr Raccoon Eyes." He didn't say a word and tried not to laugh loud enough for her to hear. She put her head back down on the desk and didn't move until the bell rang for chemistry. The rest of the day followed suit. In chemistry, the girls actually took watches so that four of them could sleep while the other stayed awake to warn them if Kurenai-sensei walked past. During lunch they all just sort collapsed before without eating their food. And during Gym, they played dodgeball and purposely got out so they wouldn't have to try
English was an awkward affair to be sure. Tenten, and the rest of the girls, were finally fully awake. Ino was ignoring Shikamaru to her best ability, which wasn't that hard since he was pretending to be asleep. Sakura kept thinking of that overheard conversation from the previous day and just couldn't look Sasuke in the eyes. Tenten was beet-red because it had been agreed upon that she would talk to Neji after school. About EVERYTHING. And because of how tense it was, Hinata started stuttering again. Sophia needed to facilitate the discussion, but since half her group was pretty much refusing to talk, she didn't know what to do and ended up just giving up for the rest of the class.
Once everyone was done packing up their things for the day, both Neji and Tenten tried to sneak out (not together of course) to avoid meeting the other. Ino grabbed Tenten by the collar and pulled her back, demonstrating impressive strength considering how hard Tenten was fighting. Sasuke was the one to grip Neji's shoulder tight before he could get away. And as if Sasuke and Ino coordinated it this way, they shoved them towards each other at the same second. They tripped and fell into each other's arms.
Tenten immediately pulled away making Neji stiffen up and look away from her.
"We need to talk," they said in unison.
Almost relieved that perhaps the other could talk about something else first, they said, "You first!" with so much encouragement that they both started speaking non-stop.
"I'm just afraid that we're moving too fast and-"
"We should cool it-"
"the girls were saying that we should get tested and condoms, and-"
"I don't know if we're ready to go any further and-"
"I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU," they both almost screamed in each other's faces. They were both so taken aback that they just stared at each other for several moments.
"Thank kami-sama," sighed Neji in relief.
Tenten pouted. "I didn't realize having sex with me was such an abhorrent concept…" Neji kissed her, thoroughly ridding her mind of such ideas.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto called. She waited for him to catch up with her.
"Hi Naruto-kun."
"Are you okay Hinata-chan?"
"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked, suddenly nervous.
"Well, it's just today in class. You were stuttering again. Did something happen?"
"Huh?! No! No… It's just-" She cast about for some sort of explanation. She saw Naruto's face just politely waiting for her to continue, concerned. She suddenly grinned. "Nothing happened." She took his arm and started walking again. "I'm just really happy today." And everything about her smiling face was so genuine that Naruto just stumbled along in her wake, happy that she was happy.
"You're never going to go to sleep now. You do know that right?" said Gaara.
Sophia sighed heavily. "I know. That sleepover. UGH…." She looked at him a little guiltily. "I'm sorry about ditching our date yesterday."
"Well, at least I have you tonight."
The corners of her mouth turned up at that. She pushed her history book from her lap and turned so her feet were up on the couch. Her hands wrapped behind his back for balance. "You most certainly do. Now what to you intend to do with me?"
Sakura and Ino were holding a small pity party in their apartment. It was mostly for Ino. (At least that's what Sakura told herself when she felt guilty about it.) They might have been just a bit drunk… Their neighbors had banged on the door for them to turn the music down to no avail. "THIS SONG'S FOR THE SINGLE GIRLS!" yelled Ino.
"We're the only people here, Ino," said Sakura, confused.
"Well, we're single, aren't we? Aren't we two, vibrant single women? We're fucking catches!"
"Yeah! TCH! Men should be knocking down our doors!"
"THOSE BASTARDS DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE MISSING!"
"TCH! We don't need them! We're having a great time! Just you and me! We'll party all night without any boy on our arms."
"Yeah." but she didn't really have any heart in it.
Amidst her jumping around to the music, she didn't notice Ino's expression. When she turned to face her, she noticed Ino was no longer dancing.
"Oh come here." Sakura walked over to her and took her in her arms. "It'll be alright. Don't you fret." Ino cried into her shoulder just quietly enough that it couldn't be heard above the music.
"I wish I didn't care. I really do," she sobbed. "I wish he was just another boy. No. I don't care. I don't."
Sakura could be stern with Ino, in fact downright rude sometimes. But in the few times that Ino had been really upset, like when her father was in hospital for lung cancer, she'd just comforted her. Held her hand, brushed her hair, agreed with whatever she said. All that. But this time, Sakura spoke in as steady a voice she could manage while her best friend lay trembling in her lap. "Darling. That's bullshit. I don't know whether I could say if you have romantic feelings towards him or not. If you do, then I don't know if they'll go away or not. But you will never stop caring about that boy. You've known him, and loved him-" She made a noise. "Yes. You do love him. And it's been that way since before you can remember. You're family. And the stupid stuff they do, doesn't change that. As much as you wish it would." Ino sniffed.
"Can't I just disown him?"
"I won't let you hurt yourself like that." Sakura wiped away one of Ino's tears. "I think it's time you went to bed dear." She pushed her off to her room before sighing. She turned off the music. She noticed a faint buzzing in her ears where the blaring used to be, right before she dropped off to sleep.
Some sequence of events led to Gaara and Sophia on the floor with their homework papers scattered around them. Neither of them really seemed to mind. Her ponytail dug into her neck, so she pulled her hair free. He moved his mouth from her lips to her neck, leaving a tingling chain of kisses. She almost fell limp in his arms. Her breath fluttered past his ears in small pants. He let a low groan escape, the noise muffled into her neck, but the vibration sent chills up her spine.
She pressed her body closer to his. He moved his lips back to hers, first kissing gently and slowly. But their kisses quickly became passionate and sloppy. She tugged on the bottom of his shirt, trying to pull it free from under him. Without thinking he pulled it off and tossed it off to the side. She threw her own tank top over the other side of the couch, but left on her black and white polka dot bra. Her hands ran blindly up and down his back, tracing its peaks and valleys. He turned so she was on her back with him propped up above her. He moved his head down to where her breastbone started and trailed kisses all the way down to her belly button. She giggled, so he kissed her stomach again. "Gaara, stop it! That tickles." He looked up and saw her grinning face surrounded by a tumbling mess of brown hair, her small chest rising with each breath. "What is it?"
"You look beautiful, that's all." He leaned down, his face just inches from her blushing one. He brushed a lock of hair from her eyes, and just looked, his gaze strong and soft. She felt his breath on her face, and her heart raced more than it had for their first kiss. It threatened to beat a whole lifetime of beats before their lips met. Unable to take the wait any longer, she arched her back and closed the gap. He let down his guard, so Sophia turned the two of them over and pinned him down. She wasn't strong enough to keep him down if he didn't want to be, but he consented to stay there for the time being. (I wonder why? ;P)
She sucked lightly on his lower lip, and he opened his mouth. She slipped her tongue passed his and they grappled contentedly for some time. One of his hands moved to her lower back, the other nestled in her hair. Her grip had initially started around the back of his chest but began to move lower almost without thinking. When they hit the top of his jeans, she moved her fingers delicately to the front. She unfastened the button and zipped down his fly. Gaara tensed. She didn't notice and pushed the sides of his pants down just past his hips, keeping his burgundy boxers up. He stopped kissing her. She must have thought that it was a temporary pause, or that he was moving to undress or most likely she just wasn't thinking at all.
In any case, she started pulling down her own jeans, completely ready to go further, when Gaara's hand grabbed her own, preventing them from going any lower. But it wasn't his usual gentle caress. His grip was cold and hard. "No." She was stunned into silence. "No. We can't- I can't do this to you." His voice was both scared and frightening in it of itself. He slid out from under her, and dashed out the apartment without even grabbing his shirt.
"Shit!" she cursed when she finally came to her senses, several seconds too late, for he was already out the door. She grabbed the first bit of clothing she could find and ran after him. She slipped on the jacket, but wasn't able to zip it up while running so she just held the edges together. Can't I control myself? He nearly had a conniption when we kissed the first time. Why can't I just think before I act? Am I just a sack of hormones, with no consideration for others? Damn it all to hell! Her lips were raw, she'd been biting down so hard on them, cursing her empty-headedness. She went to his apartment and banged on the door. "Gaara! I'm sorry!" No answer. She banged even harder, yelling at the door, perfectly aware that other people could hear her. "Gaara! Please let me in! We need to talk!" She almost fell forwards when the door swung open. But it wasn't Gaara at the door. It was Sasuke. "Oh thank goodness. Sasuke, please let me in, I really need to talk to Gaara."
Sasuke looked her up and down. He noticed her pants were hanging lower than they should have been and that she only had a bra on under her jacket, which was still unzipped, held together by the fist she hadn't been using to pummel the door. Not to mention her hair which was clearly tangled up by rolling around on a bed (or a floor). "Oh you dumb slut," he whispered.
She glared back at him. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Really? Then enlighten me."
She reddened. "It's none of your business. Will you please just let me in?"
"No. I think I'd better not."
"If you don't move out of the way, I'll make you move."
Sasuke laughed and didn't even bother to comment. She tried to shove her way past him through the bigger gap between him and the door. It was a pretty feeble attempt and he pushed her back into the hallway without any effort. He stopped laughing, and his voice was cold. "I don't know what game you're playing at. And maybe I don't know what happened here." But he sounded like he doubted very much that he was wrong in his suspicions. He might as well have rolled his eyes. "But what is clear, is that he doesn't want to see you right now. Otherwise he would have answered the door."
She bit her lip in anger. At Sasuke, yes, but mostly at herself. She looked down and sighed, deciding something. "Fine." She looked back at him, eyes flashing. "Under one condition." He sneered, as if he expected her to suggest something ludicrous. "Just make sure he's okay." Her voice cracked then softened. "Please. I don't care if you have to break down the door. Just watch him." A horrible thought passed through her head and she had to keep herself from hyperventilating into an anxiety attack. "Fuck," she muttered to herself. She forcefully slowed her breathing. Sasuke just stood there watching, incredibly confused. She looked back at him. "I don't care about you and Sakura. I don't care that you pretend that you've slept with a slew of bimbos. I don't care about your family or your fangirls. Do whatever, whomever you want. Just please. This one thing." She shut her eyes and gritted her teeth, breathing slowly through her nose, opening her eyes after three of such breaths.
"Okay." And he shut the door in her face. If she hadn't been expecting him to do that for the last five minutes, she might have jumped. She turned around to go back to her room to find that a small party had gathered around her, listening in. They also noticed the state of her hair and clothing, their eyes flicking up then down almost in unison. She scowled and pushed past them, not at all in the mood to be around people. In her room, just as Gaara predicted, she didn't get any sleep.
DRAMA! I'm so sorry to everybody ever. I wanted them to be just fine and perfect. But when I was writing it, this is just how I saw it going down. *SIGH* This is going to make things decidedly complicated, but I didn't want to force any of the characters into doing things I'm pretty sure they wouldn't. And I might have already done that to be honest... Okay so I've decided that next chapter I'll do NarutoxHinata because that's what Wooimmafox1305 asked for. If there's another couple you'd rather see first, go ahead and tell me. I'm trying to get InoxShika to happen as fast as humanly possible. I AM. They're both just really... teenagers. They're angsty teenagers. It'll take time. I just really wish it was easier. I wish I could just have them as dolls and press their heads together going, "NOW KISS!" but I can't.
Okay, so in all seriousness, I might not be updating for a month or two because of some family drama happening in few days. Which is why I'm trying to get this chapter out now, rather than several weeks from now.
THANKS TO: Wooimmafox1305 and The Cookie Eatin' Ninja for REVIEWING! YAY! SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! review.
~MorwenKazul