A/N: Ho'kay, so... I'M EXTREMELY SORRY FOR THE UBER LATE UPDATE! EXTREEEEEEMELY! I started writing it, and then.. BAM. I got caught up in an extra credit story for French. And then, like two days later, we went into review mode for exams, and I was attacked my math. True story. Anyway, I'm really sorry, and I hope this makes up for it. It's long. It started out as a filler a while back, but then the ending of it is extremely beneficial. And it makes me happy. lovelovelove
As always, read and review. And, once again, SORRY! Forgive me?
Returning to school on Monday made me feel like an animal on exhibit at a zoo. Everyone stared, whispered, and told their friends about it.
Apparently, rumors had flared over the weekend about what had really happened with Shikamaru. Since he was still in the hospital with no chance or desire to get out anytime soon, the only people that knew the true story were Chouji, Sasuke, Ino, and I. I walked through the halls, feeling very self concious. I had heard some of the rumors before today; random people messaging me on Saturday and Sunday to ask me things like 'Is it true that you cut the brakes on Shikamaru's car,' or 'Did Sasuke really pay someone to come hit Shikamaru?' These accusations were both very, very incorrect.
"Hey babe," Ino said from beside me. She had a habit of popping up when I needed someone to walk with. She liked being in at the center of attention, so identifying herself with me was good for her. "How goes the Monday morning?"
I huffed, frowning slightly. "If I were to say horrible and slightly disturbing, would you consider that an understatement?"
"Probably." Ino took this opportunity to glare at some passerby who looked at me wrong. She was a good friend when she needed to be, which was most of the time. "I've heard a lot of horrid rumors about Shikamaru, Sasuke, and you. I've had to set a few people straight, on account of the fact that I don't believe you stripped while being on top of Sasuke's car to put Shikamaru in the hospital."
"How would I hold on and remove my clothes at the same time?"
"Exactly." Ino slowed as she spotted a few of her 'friends' in a group. The quotations are there to signify that they weren't really friends, just people that knew the crap going on so she could stay informed. "Sakura, I'll see you later today. I've got gossip to catch up on and stop from spreading. See ya later, billboardbrow."
"Later, pig." Ino just grinned as she moved away, and I ducked my head to try and make it down the hall without any problems. But the problems seemed to follow me. Someone must have grabbed my bookbag, because suddenly I was straining against the straps. I started twisting my arm out of the strap, but a voice stopped me.
"Are you really trying to get away from me, Sakura?" I turned, smile on my face now, to see Sasuke.
"You didn't have to go through all the trouble of attacking my bookbag, you know. You could have just told me who you were. And where have you been this morning?"
"Ah, very accusatory this morning, aren't we? I did if I wanted to surprise you, I don't like scaring people with my voice, and you were with Ino and she kinda scares me sometimes. I do believe that covers everything you said." Sasuke stopped, and looked around at all the kids that were staring and whispering. He frowned.
"I can't tell if they're looking at us, because we're walking together, or you, because you supposedly killed Shikamaru." Sasuke had taken me to the hospital the day after Shikamaru's accident. My parents were both busy, but offered to take me. I told them no, Sasuke would. And he did. Sasuke mostly stood outside while I went in and talked to Shikamaru. And when they did talk, it was pretty awkward, because Shikamaru doesn't like new people. Either that, or he just doesn't like Sasuke, but I could never guess why.
"What? Now I'm being accused of killing Shikamaru, too?" I sighed, ready to bang my head up on a locker. "Geezus, I might as well not have come to school today. This is too much."
"But if you didn't come to school today, I would have missed seeing you and then I would have had to skip school to see you. And that just doesn't sound fair, does it?"
"You could have always come after school, you do realize that?"
"Yeah, but then I'd have to think about you all day." I just shook my head, trying to look disapproving but secretly dying of happiness. The bell rang, and Sasuke kissed me goodbye. I was blushing scarlet as I walked to class.
I entered the biology classroom, completely unaware that it had gone from loud to silent in less than two seconds. But suddenly, I had that paranoid feeling that I was the main attraction of a new circus. I turned to my bookbag, pulling out the thick biology book, trying to act nonchalant like no one was looking at me.
Then, the whispers started. It was like a roar of insects flying in a single group, all coming toward me. I looked up to see everyone staring, as I knew they would be, and then they all turned away, like it hadn't happened. I could see everyone glancing at me behind bent hands, whispering to the few who don't know the newest rumor. Shikamaru's seat looked annoying empty.
"Class, be quiet!" The teacher yelled, trying to get everyone to calm down. "Be QUIET!" She screamed again, but nothing was working. They were all too wrapped up in this hellhole of high school drama.
"SHUT UP!" Finally, everyone looked up at her. She was panting heavily like screaming took a lot out of her, and I wouldn't doubt it did. "Now, as you all have heard, one of our students will not be in class today because of an unfortunate accident involving a drunk driver. The principal, Tsunade-sama, has told us to acknowledge it but go on like nothing has happened. Never mind that our number one student is lying close to death in a hospital bed because of the carelessness of another person."
Her words, meant to let everyone know that I was not the culprit, didn't help. It sounded like she was blaming me without meaning too, and it was getting quite hard to ignore the glares that were sent my way. I shifted lower into my seat, opening my book and staring down at the picture of a mantis attacking and probably eating another mantis.
The caption read 'Female mantis eats mate after intercourse as a means of survival.' I looked at it in horror. Everyone was against me today, huh?
"Excuse me, ma'am, but Tsunade-sama needs to see Sakura-chan," a voice said as my eyes started to blur from the attention I was receiving. I hated when people looked at me; despite the tough-ish appearance I put on, I was extremely self-conscious and hated when people looked at me for too long.
"Of course, Naruto. Sakura, you are needed." I moved to pick up my bag, but she shook her head. "It shouldn't be that long, you will come back."
"Oh, no, ma'am. Tsunade-sama said that I was to remove Sakura from class for an indefinite amount of time because she needed her for something." Naruto was nodding like an idiot now, but I was grateful for the fact that I was getting out of this classroom.
"What is it for?" The teacher asked, suddenly suspicious.
"I can't remember. But here, Tsunade-sama wrote a note because she said you wouldn't believe me." Naruto walked up, handed her the note, and waited. I held my breath, wanting to get out of here ASAP.
"This is her seal. Well, Sakura, it looks like you will be leaving for at least this period. Gather you things." I nodded. I grabbed my bag, picked up my book, and followed Naruto out of the room. We walked to the principal's office. I was kind of freaked out, as I had never been here before, except to… Well, nope. I had never been here before.
We entered the double doors that led into the lobby of the office. Sasuke was sitting in a chair, looking quite bored with himself, and Tsunade-sama was sitting at the attendant's desk, her feet propped up.
"Tsunade-sama?" I said cautiously. She looked up at me, and then smiled.
"Baa-chan, you were right. That lady didn't believe I was really sent by you to get Sakura-chan."
"I told you that you don't have a good reputation from these people," Tsunade responded, closing her eyes and sighing. "You really need to learn when to cut it out, see?"
Sasuke just sat in his chair and smirked. I stood there, watching this unfold with what was probably a very, very confused look on my face. Sasuke patted the seat next to him, and I moved quietly to sit next to him as Naruto and Tsunade started arguing.
"But I enjoy these pranks! Everything else in this school is so boring!"
"Maybe if you actually listened to your teachers and tried to learn, your mind would be filled with something other than brainless plans of pranks!"
"Maybe if you let me take a course I WANTED to take, I wouldn't have to be so bored! Who wants to take Kumogakure literature, anyway? No one! That's who!"
"Tons of people take that class! And if it wasn't for me, you'd be living in that house with no one else! You better be glad your uncle and I took you in, anyway!"
They continued to argue, but Sasuke tapped my on the shoulder, and I completely blocked them out. "You're not even going to ask why you're here?"
"Well, I figured someone would tell me eventually. Frankly, I don't even care why I'm here, just as long as I'm not there," I said, the memories of just a few minutes ago plaguing my mind. All of the eyes staring at me with such intensity… I shuddered from the thought of it all.
Sasuke seemed to understand what I meant, and didn't press me on the subject. "Well, I convinced Naruto to pull some strings and Tsunade was definitely understanding enough, so we got you out of class to help her do errands today. Karin has something up her sleeve to try to make everyone forget about you and Shikamaru by tomorrow, although I'm not really sure what it is. She doesn't do things like this for just anyone, so you must have made quite the impression, Sakura. You're set, pretty much, to not have to deal with all of this drama until we can start setting the story straight." I just nodded, warmth filling my entire being. All of these people were going out of their way to keep me from being hurt…
"But that doesn't mean you're just going to sit here, Sakura," Tsunade said, the argument having stopped a while ago. "I usually have Shizune do my errands, but she's not here. So I've called you, Naruto, and Sasuke out of class for the day to do all of her work."
"It takes three people to do what Shizune does? Yeah right," Naruto snorted. I just looked at the orange clad boy with a small smile on my face. Only five weeks ago, he was pretty much obsessed with me. But then Shikamaru 'accidentally' got him and Hinata talking, and now he wasn't so in love with me anymore. It was a nice change.
"She does a lot of things," Tsunade said, and picked up a stack of papers from beneath the desk. It rose to about her bosom when she stood up. She slammed a hand on it, and all three of us looked at her. "I want you to get this entire stack done by the end of the day. In the mean time, I will go and get your make
up work from all of your classes so you won't be behind. Like I stated before, you are to be done by the time the final bell rings or else. Go!" Sasuke pulled me up, and grabbed two sheets from the top of the stack, and handed one to me.
"We'll all do one at a time. When you're done, just come back here and get another one. It'll go faster this way." Naruto agreed with this, and grabbed a sheet. All of us looked down at our sheets at the same time. Mine read:
'Shizune-
Don't forget to deliver the letters to all the teacher's mailboxes before the beginning of the day. If you do, then I hope you're ready to run around the school and hand deliver them. Too bad I gave you this note after the bell rang for classes to begin… Have fun!
-Tsunade'
I groaned, and Tsunade handed me a stack of letters. "I knew someone was going to get it. Have fun!" I took the stack, and went on my mission. Some teachers looked quite annoyed at me for interrupting their class, while others just took the paper and shut the door. Kakashi-sensei smiled when I knocked on the door. He had no class at the moment.
"Kakashi-sensei, I have a letter from Tsunade-sama for all the teachers," I said, handing him a sheet. He invited me inside while he read the letter. I was glad to not be running around anymore. His room was freezing, though, and I shivered a bit. No wonder why he always had a scarf covering his mouth and he had a black headband covering his eye. It looked like it had just fallen there, on accident, but you could never be too sure with Kakashi-sensei.
"And here I was hoping you were Shizune; oh well. Let's see here… Tsunade has you running errands for her?" I nodded. "Well, then you can do something for me. Have you already gone to Ms. Yuhi's room?"
"No, sir, she's further down the line."
"Ah, well then. When you get to her, can you deliver a message for me? Tell her that Asuma has reservations for 8:00 at the Red Dragon to make up for what happened last time. Tell her he says he's sorry, and that the message went through Kakashi first. Bye, Sakura." And with that, he pushed me out of the room. I went about my business, trying to remember the message until I got to Ms. Yuhi's room. When I got there, though, she had a class full of kids who looked at me with knowing eyes, ready to start talking once I left. Ino was in this class, as well as Chouji.
"Ah, Sakura, thank you," she said once she got the letter.
"Kakashi-sensei wanted me to tell you something, as well. He says that Asuma-"
Ms. Yuhi shook her head, and took me outside. "Now, what were you going to say? I don't want them to hear you."
"Oh. Kakashi-sensei says that Asuma will meet you at the Red Dragon at 8:00 to make up for what happened last time. He's sorry, and the message went through Kakashi first."
Ms. Yui just smiled. "Kakashi is trying really hard this time. Asuma really needs to than khim once in a while." I stood there, completely confused, and just nodded. "Anyway," she said, returning her attention back to me, "How is Shikamaru? He's good, I hope?"
"Yes ma'am. He's alive and doing perfectly fine. I must go finish my deliveries, though, I only have a few left, and I'd like to get done soon." Ms. Yuhi just nodded; she understood Shikamaru must be a sore spot for me. She returned to her classroom, and I finished up my task. I went back to Tsunade's office, ready for my next task.
Sasuke was sitting there, playing with a pencil. He was curling it on his upper lip. Naruto was sound asleep in the chair. I looked from one to the other, confused as hell. "Um…?"
"We got tired of doing work," Naruto said, eyes still closed.
"My job is watching you, nimrod."
"And Sasuke is supposed to watch me, so we aren't doing much."
"Oh…" I said, realizing the stack was going to be for me. I knew I had to get my butt into gear if I was to take Shizune's place for the day. I grabbed a small stack of papers, and read the first once.
"Oh, look Sasuke, she's actually working!" Naruto said, trying to do a cute, cute voice.
"Don't try and do cute talk, it doesn't suit you."
I just ignored the two of them and read the assignment.
'Check in the nurses office to see how many supplies we need to order!' I sighed, and ran down there, determined to get all of these done today. After getting the correct numbers, I ran back to the office and handed it to Sasuke. "Tell this to Tsunade and ask her what needs to be done with them. It's the medical supplies." He looked slightly surprised at my taking charge, but did it anyway.
I looked at the next one. 'Order sake for next week.' I put that one on the desk, as I wasn't legally allowed to order it for anyone just yet.
The day progressed forward. I decided to force Naruto and Sasuke to do actual work, despite Naruto's many complaints. It turned out he was very afraid of me whenever I went into angry Sakura mode, and my cracking fists were more than enough to get his gears into motion once again.
At the end of the day, we were down to once piece of paper, and only a few minutes left. "Come on, guys, we're almost done! This is no time to be tired."
"Easy for you to say," Naruto heaved. "You didn't spend the last hour running the length of the school tracking down a million different people." I just grinned and looked down at the piece of paper.
'Good job, Shizune. Another day done. Treat yourself to a doughnut or something for all the calories you must have burned running the length of the school tracking down a million different people."
"Well done, you three," Tsunade said as the bell rang. We were all staring at the tiny piece of paper in disbelief. "You can all leave now."
"That's it?" Naruto asked. "That's all we get? A doughnut?"
"Who said I'm buying you a doughnut?"
Sasuke gently pulled me out into the hallway. Both Tsunade and Naruto were oblivious to our exit, as they were in yet another heated argument.
He led me down the hallway, out the door, across the campus, and to his car. Its black paint shined in the afternoon light, and he pulled his keys out of his pocket. I stopped short, looking between my boyfriend and his car. "What are we doing?"
Sasuke grinned. "Ah, you don't like surprises?"
"No."
"Well, you'll like this one."
He pulled on my arm, but I put an equal amount of force to stop him. "I'm going to see Shikamaru after school."
"We can go see him after this."
"No, I want to go see Shikamaru!"
"I don't this his status has changed much, Sakura. I'm pretty sure he's still going to be stuck in the hospital, unable to do much, still pretty banged up. They said he would live. Now come on."
He pulled once again, but I still tried to stop him. "Please, let me so see Shikamaru! I told my mom to pick me up so we could go!"
"Geezus, I already called her! She knows what we're doing. I'll take you to him afterword. God, if I wasn't your boyfriend, I'd be suspicious. Heck, I am suspicious." He rolled his eyes, and let go of my arm. "Are you coming?"
"What was that supposed to mean? He's injured!"
"Look, Sakura, I don't want to get into this right now. Please, you're going to ruin the mood!" I bit my lip, looking off to the side. If my mom knew, then it must have been good… And it's not like Shikamaru was really going to miss me. Ino and Chouji said they were both going. He would be in good company, right?
"Okay," I said, giving in with a small smile. Sasuke grinned, and pulled me into the car, shutting the door behind me. On his way over to his side, he stopped suddenly, and looked at his phone. I could hear a faint ringing, and I knew someone was calling him. He answered it, and his perplexed expression soon turned into a soft smile. He kept talking, but I could hardly hear any of it.
"Alright, see you later tonight. Yeah, we're doing something this afternoon. Maybe next time. Love you. Bye." He snapped the phone shut, and continued to his door. Climbing in, Sasuke slid into the seat, and put the key in the ignition.
"Sorry for the interruption. My mother tends to forget that I actually do things after school. My brother Itachi," he said with a hint of aggressiveness. "He never did anything afterschool. He would come home, and study. Number one in his class… My parents worshipped him." I just sat in stunned silence. I knew that everyone had troubles, but I'd never heard anyone talk about like their siblings like that.
"It's fine…" I mumbled, feeling extremely awkward at the moment. Was I supposed to say something? Console him, or agree?
We rode in silence all the way to wherever he was taking me. I didn't want to say anything without risk of upsetting him further, and he wasn't saying anything after both the fight and his mother's call.
Finally, we pulled up to a small store or café… I couldn't exactly tell. Sasuke parked, and got out to open my door. "I've got it, no worries," I said, getting out myself. I liked the fact that he was such a gentleman, but I wasn't so far gone that I would need him to wait on me hand and foot.
I had never been to this place, despite living in the city my entire life. It was on the opposite side of town from what I normally went on, and from what Sasuke was saying, it just opened like a few months ago. He was surprised I hadn't heard of it, but I was always out of the loop.
"Is it good?"
"You'll see," he said as he pulled me inside. Sitting in the rather cramped looking café was a lot of the more 'popular' people in our school. None of them even bothered to look at us when we walked in. In a way, I was surprised, as Sasuke usually attracted attention. But I remembered that all of these people were his friends and none of them cared.
I smiled; it was nice not to be stared at for a while. "They're not looking at me."
"Do you want them to?"
"No. I like it." After today, even thought I hardly saw teenagers, I didn't ever want to be stared at.
"Good. I know you would."
"SAAAAASUKE!" A loud, obnoxious voice rang out above the rest. We both looked up, and Sasuke smiled. I saw Karin dancing forward, smiling heavily like she was already drunk. "Sasuke, don't you look lovely today," she said as she gave him a small hug.
"Karin, please. You're being embarrassing. I told you you can't drink coffee; you know what it does to you." But he was smiling, and so everyone else was, too.
Karin glanced over at me, and a grin erupted on her face, too. "SAKURA! You're here! Oh, we were all afraid that today would be too much for you…" She ran over and gave me a hug, which I was not expecting. "We are going to have the best time ever, just for you. It must be hard to have such a good friend in the hospital. Luckily, you have us!"
And Karin lived up to her word. For the next five hours, time just flew by in a slew of laughter, food, and random things. The best part, though, had to be when Temari and Karin challenged Sasuke and Suigetsu to a dance off. I could barely contain my laughter when Temari began to pop, lock, and drop it. Karin was apparently a ballerina, because she was dancing on her toes the entire time.
Sasuke and Suigetsu totally owned, though. Those two were amazing dancers… Well, not ballerina style, more hip hop-ish. If I didn't already like Sasuke, tonight would definitely make me like him.
"Having fun?" Sasuke asked after a few ours of hanging out. I was more than surprised to find that I really was having fun. I can't remember why I had fought coming here in the first place.
"Yeah, a lot of fun."
"Are you glad I made you come?"
"Yes, I'm extremely glad." He just smiled, gave me a small kiss, and we continued to talk.
When 8 o clock rolled around, Sasuke declared it was time to go. I felt bad for leaving; I wanted to stay there as long as possible.
We rode home in the same silence as when we came, but this time it was not the result of a fight. I was just extremely worn out from the fun of being in this cool kid hangout, and Sasuke must have known I didn't want to talk.
I sighed as I stepped out of the car, dragging my book bag inside the house. I had a bit of homework to do that Tsunade had given me after the day of errands, and I was dreading doing it. Luckily there wasn't a lot of it, so I was good for tomorrow. When I stepped in the door, my mother walked up with a smile on her face.
"Did you have fun with Sasuke?"
"Yes, mom!" I said as I headed up the stairs to go to my room and get to work before bed.
"That's good, honey. Did you end up going to see Shikamaru today?"
I froze on the stairs, my mind rushing back to my best friend, in the hospital bed. I had completely forgotten about him when I was with those people… I hadn't even gone to see him? "No mom, I didn't have time to go see him. I guess I can go tomorrow," I said, feeling a twinge of pain in my chest. I shouldn't be feeling so guilty… He was fine, and he had Ino and Chouji to come see him! There was no way he missed me.
I lumbered up the stairs, feeling the exhaustion of the dancing and the many laughs. "I might have to take a nap, and then do my homework," I said, the plan sounding better and better to me.
I slid through my door, dropping my book bag on the ground, and I fell like dead weight onto the bed. My eyes shut instantly, and I felt the rush of exhaustion cover my body.
It was a hospital room. The lights were on, and there were voices. Three voices, in fact. I walked through the door, like a ghost or an angel might. Sitting on the bed was Shikamaru, and Ino and Couji were in the chairs near his bed. "So she said she was coming?"
"She said she wouldn't miss it if she could help it", Ino replied, shedding pity on Shikamaru."But I bet there was something that went on to prevent her from getting here."
"Who are twee talking about?" I mused, but they didn't hear me.
"I saw her fighting with Sasuke before I came… Maybe something happened there. She kept shouting "I'm going to see Shikamaru!" But I guess she never did…" Chouji trailed off. I realized they must be talking about me.
"I'm right here, guys!" I shouted. I walked up to Ino, and hit her in the back of the head. My hand sailed right through. "Dream, this must be a dream…"
Ino grabbed Shikamaru's had, and frowned. "Look, I know you like her, but she has a boyfriend. Either get over the girl or wait it out. The good news is that Sasuke will most likely play her, like he plays all girls." I glared a hole through Ino's head. How dare she?! Oh wait… This is a dream… This is me saying all of this. I guess Ino was my doubts…
"No! I don't want her to be crushed! That would be one of the worst possible things to happen. I want her to be happy. And he would never play her. He was th one that encouraged us to talk, the entire fight."
Ah, Sikmamaru must be the hope I have in humans. "Still, Shikamaru… You really need to get over her eventually. I mean, she had a crush on you, and now you have a crush on her. Why cant you two have a crush on each other at the same time? Jeeze."
"Ino, I don't ant to get over her. I think I love her."
"Don't say that, Shikamaru. Please, don't say that," Chouji spoke this time, giving his friend an earnest look. "That's the worst thing to do is to cut yourself off from every opportunity on just a whim that Sakura might like you."
Shikamaru sighed, and stared up at the ceiling. I knew that he –or rather, my mind's depiction of Shikamaru- was reverting back to his lazy state. "I still wish she had come."
"No more, please," I mumbled, turning over on the bed.
Suddenly, the scenery changed, and I was sitting inside a car, staring out of a windshield. It looked familiar… I recognized it as Sasuke's car. And I could see the school. This was where I was right after our fight, when he got the phone call.
I heard the ringing of the phone very clearly in my mind. I could hear everything going on, even the words being spoken.
"Hello?"
"Sasuke, it's Karin," was the reply. A feeling of confusion ran through my veins… This was supposed to be his mother.
"Karin, I told you not to call me during the day. I'm with Sakura."
"I know… It's just… I was thinking about last night. It's really unfair to her that you keep doing these things. I know, it's a new relationship, but still."
"What, are you guilty?" he asked, voice coated in anger. "Was I not worth it?"
A shrill laugh came from the other side of the phone. "Oh no, you're always worth it. And God! It feels so good. But I don't want you to really hurt Sakura… I like her. She's a good kid. She doesn't deserve to be cheated on."
"Look, I know. But she would never do that shit with me. At least, not yet. I need to work on her."
"I don't want to be forgotten, you know."
"Oh, I know. I'll always have you in mind, every time I do anything with her, just as I imagine she'll have that Shikamaru in her mind, telling her to stop." A grin spread on his face.
"You are a sick, sick boy. God! But I love it. Well, I've got to get going. See you tonight?"
"Alright, see you tonight." Sasuke glanced at me. I knew I must have been staring.
"Are you going to the party?"
"Yeah, we're doing something this afternoon."
"Good. But I wanted to get wasted again. It's more fun when we're drunk."
"Maybe next time."
"Love you, Sasuke."
"Love you. Bye." He snapped the phone shut. I realized that the ending was exactly like I had heard it this afternoon. I stared at him as cold shudders ran over my back.
My eyes snapped open. I was breathing heavily, my mind racing to all the run that Karin and Sasuke would be having tonight. I didn't want to believe it…
Wait. That was a dream… It must have just been the doubt in my mind that I wasn't good enough rushing forward. That had to be it.
I decided that after those two dreams, I didn't want another nap. I moved off my bed, and got to work on my homework, trying to forget about the conversations that I had made up in my mind.
Two hours later, I was done and my eyelids were dropping once more. I changed into pajamas, pulled back the covers, and went to sleep.
This time, my mind wasn't plagued with thoughts to cheating. I imagined my wedding. I could see the church, lined with people, all watching me as I walked down the isle, smiling. The bridesmaids were dressed in navy blue gowns. I knew that Ino was the maid of honor. Something in my mind was just telling me that she was.
I smiled at all of my guests, and gave my dad a squeeze when he stopped in front of the altar. He smiled, and moved out of the way. The priest looked at me, and I looked at him, and then he turned to face my husband. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man I was going to marry. Shikamaru stood tall, and my heart lit up to see him in a tuxedo. He was much taller than I was now, which struck me as funny for some reason. He went from the boy who was barely my height to the man that was standing next to me.
We moved through the ceremony with lightning speed, both of us reciting lines from memory. The man then looked at Shikamaru, who in turn looked at me. He took my hands in his own, and looked my in the eyes.
"Do you, Shikamaru Nara, take this woman, Sakura Haruno, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"And you you, Sakura Haruno, take this man, Shikamaru Nara, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"You may now kiss the bride."
He leaned toward me, his eyes closing softly as he neared my face. I followed suit, letting my emerald eyes shut as I wanted in anticipation of what was to come.
I could feel my skin tingle as his breath tickled my face. My entire body was alive with happiness, and I felt like I could burst at the seams from all of the joy I was trying to contain.
My eyes tore open, and I was staring at a ceiling. A dark, textured ceiling. I looked over at the red clock on my nightstand. The numbers read 3:12 AM.
I frowned.
"Damn. It was only a dream."
A/N: Tee hee. Just to let you know, BOTH ITALICIZED DREAMS DID REALLY HAPPEN! No, Sakura's not psychic. It was just a clever way for me to tell what happened during the suspicious phone call and with Shikamaru without having to add all the annoying -- things and make a totally out of way story to clarify. This chapter wasn't originally going to have anything of much value until I got swamped with school and couldn't update. SORRY YA'LL. You know I really do love you. Anyway, updates should happen much much more, as I am now almost out of school. Only one more exam (Ooooooon Moday) and then I'm hoooome free for the rest of the summer! I know, it's amazing! Anyway... Well, I hope you liked my ShikaSaku dream. Foreshadowing, maybe? I hope so! Oh wait, I'm the author... Anyway... I really liked he ending of this update a lot more than the shitty beginning. And as a PS, I'm sure all the fucking cussing that may or may not be n here (I can't exactly remember... DAMN) would break my school's filter, LOL. Soum... yeah. Read and review.