Oh my God you guys, I'm so so sorry for making you wait so long for this update! The last few weeks have been pretty lousy. I broke up with my long-term boyfriend and although we both knew it was coming, it was still pretty depressing and so it was hard to write about love or to write anything at all for that matter when I was feeling so down.

Anyway, I'm better now and I'm relieved to have finished this chapter. The first half was horrible to write, I rewrote the whole thing at least five or six times.

I'd like to thank each and every one of you out there who read this fic and reviewed. Special shout out to BlueSakuraLauren who has reviewed every chapter so far! I look forward to them everytime, you totally rock!

This fic is dedicated to thecoolauthorwithstory my 50th reviewer!

This chapter as well as more chapters further on in the fic will deal with drugs. If that bothers you then don't read this fic! My characters are young and stupid and smoke weed but they will learn. Because no matter what drugs are bad!

Chapter 8

..~**~..

Sakura stumbled forward and Sasuke caught her deftly around the shoulders. She stood before him, eyes wide with shock before she reeled backwards, steadying herself.

Sasuke's eyes roamed over her small figure before he could even think to stop them. They took in the sight of the pink-haired girl wearing what he assumed was the new cheerleader outfit. It showed off perfectly her every curve and asset, leaving little to his imagination. The short top and skirt showed off her toned stomach and legs rather nicely he thought, while the black and red colours emphasised her creamy, white skin and, surprisingly enough, didn't clash with her ridiculous pink hair.

As she had stumbled forward, her long hair had fallen into her face and around her shoulders adding to the attractive picture that she was already painting.

Sasuke knew he shouldn't be checking her out. Hell, she was Naruto's friend and judging by the looks his blond friend gave her; she was clearly off limits. However, for some reason he couldn't stop himself. Something compelled him to find out more about her. She intrigued him. She was different from the other girls at school, for starters, she wasn't a fangirl and every time they met she was always angry at him for one reason or another. It was new and refreshing… she was refreshing.

And she wasn't exactly rough on the eyes either.

Now if only I could get her to blush, Sasuke thought slyly and, almost on cue, Sakura did as she finally noticed his intense gaze on her.

"What – what are you doing here?" she asked him, sliding her arms around her stomach in a futile attempt to hide herself.

"Bathroom," he told her simply.

"No, I mean why are you here? At Ino's?" she clarified a hint of anger in her voice.

"She invited us," Sasuke answered with a shrug, taking a step closer to her as she stood in the doorway. From the way she immediately tensed up, he knew he was making her uncomfortable. "Is that the new uniform?"

Her green eyes avoided his own. "Yes, but I was just about to change back -"

"They're waiting for you outside," he cut her off, turning to look down the corridor.

Sasuke could almost hear the panic in her voice. "W-What?"

"Didn't you say you'd come out to show them?" he pointed out, tilting his head to one side, watching her closely.

She was biting her lower lip nervously, obviously struggling with herself whether to go outside or not.

Sasuke smirked. "The whole school is going to see you wearing that next week and yet you're too scared to show your friends?"

Almost immediately her eyes flashed angrily at him. His smirk grew wider. Riling her up was too easy.

"I never said I was scared," she bit back.

Sasuke moved to one side, creating enough space for her to pass by. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura glared at him in return, before raising her head defiantly and stomping off down the corridor towards the outdoor patio.

Sasuke looked on amused. His dark eyes didn't fail to notice the gentle sway of her hips, nor the way her short skirt brushed the top of her thighs, teasing him with glimpses of her red briefs.

..~**~..

Sakura was beyond furious. This was not at all what she had planned. She had no idea what was waiting for her outside. Correction – she had no idea who was waiting outside! Sasuke hadn't exactly given her any names, but showing herself in her cheerleader uniform to the guys was definitely not part of the plan.

Why the hell hadn't Ino mentioned anything before about inviting guys! Surely she hadn't invited all of them over. However, as Sakura slid open the window door, she felt her stomach drop as she spotted the small crowd gathered before her.

She immediately noticed Naruto, goofing around with Kiba. Shikamaru, seated by Ino's feet on a lounge chair, was talking to Deidara seated beside them whilst the girls were helping themselves to some food that had been setup on a long table.

When they finally caught sight of Sakura, they all fell silent except for Kiba, who whistled.

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush!

"Hey guys," Sakura greeted them with a nervous smile as she tried to get a hold on her nerves. "I didn't realise you were coming over here."

She looked pointedly at Ino as she spoke hoping to convey the hidden message that she was going to kill the blond girl later.

Ino had the decency to at least look guilty.

"Is that the new uniform Ino was talking about?" Naruto blurted out, his jaw hanging open in shock.

"Man, I wish I was still in high school," Deidara muttered to one side.

Sakura ignored him. "Naruto, what do you think?" she asked him, stepping closer.

"You can't wear that!" he spluttered, his eyes going wide.

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Oh come on, you've seen me wearing less than this!"

It seemed the others preferred to remain silent as they watched her on-coming argument with Naruto.

"Yeah but the rest of the school hasn't!" Naruto countered quickly. "And when they see you wearing that, all the guys are going to get the wrong idea!"

Sakura's temper flared immediately. I can't believe he just said that! He's never cared before about the way I dress!

Sensing Sakura's anger, Ino quickly jumped out of her lounge chair.

"Naruto, seriously! Do you even think before you speak?" she scolded him before turning towards her pink-haired friend. "Sakura, forget the idiot, you look hot! Now go change so they can all stop oogling at you."

Sakura glared at Naruto one last time before turning on her heel and storming back towards the pool house. She noticed Sasuke standing beside the door watching with amusement.

God, he looks so hot in shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt, Inner Sakura approved loudly in the back of her mind. Sakura, however, tried not to think about how he had previously checked her out in the hallway and shamelessly made her blush.

A few minutes later, she returned to her friends wearing her normal clothes and joined them on the lounge chairs, eating away the buffet. Sakura chose to sit down beside Tenten and quickly reached for her phone to inform her mom she wouldn't be home for dinner.

Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. He apparently had been called away to deal with clan stuff, which was also the reason why Neji hadn't turned up.

The small group continued to eat and chat amongst themselves. Eventually Naruto sheepishly approached Sakura to apologise for his earlier behaviour and she smacked the back of his head in return, telling him he was an idiot, but still forgave him.

After a while, Ino decided to go for a swim in the pool and went to change along with Tenten. Sakura stayed on the patio with Hinata but kept glancing at the boys surrounding Deidara, who seemed to be rolling something… and Sakura had a feeling it wasn't cigarettes.

As soon as they lit up, the smell of weed hit her nose.

It suddenly brought back a lot of memories to the front of her mind. Specifically the times she had spent with Kankuro and his friends in Suna. How things had gone from smoking pot behind the school building after school hours to parties where small plastic bags filled with white powder or pills were handed out. As soon as Sakura began to date Kankuro, she gradually became acquainted with the party scene in Suna, which was filled with drugs, despite herself. Eventually came to hate it because of what it did to her friends. It was all fun and games… until it wasn't. However, Sakura pushed all thoughts of Suna away and focused on her new friends instead. Hinata was watching the guys with a disapproving look as Sakura merely hoped that none of her friends used more than weed.

She suddenly spotted Naruto sitting down next to Shikamaru and frowned remembering the extreme effects weed had on him.

"So you guys ready to win the championship or what?" Deidara asked them, joint between his lips.

"You bet!" Naruto told him, grinning widely. "We're going to kick Tanzaku's ass next Friday, right Shika?"

Shikamaru merely grunted, his gaze turned towards the pool where Ino was slowly slipping into the water followed by Tenten.

Deidara watched Shikamaru out of the corner of his eye and smirked, before turning towards Naruto.

"Hey, you want?" he asked the blond, offering him a hit.

"Nah, forget Naruto," Kiba spoke up, beside him. "He doesn't smoke."

"You serious?" Deidara said jokingly, lifting the joint towards Naruto again. "Come on, it's just a drag."

Shikamaru's brows furrowed. "Dei…" he warned.

Naruto looked back at the older blond hesitantly. "I… um…"

Sakura didn't want to intervene. Really, she didn't. Naruto could do whatever he liked. They had never stopped each other before from getting drunk or stoned. However, she knew the effects weed had on him. She also knew that Naruto didn't really want to smoke, but he stupidly never backed out from a challenge.

That's why when Naruto's hand reached out towards Deidara, Sakura was up on her feet in a flash. She approached the boys from behind and before any of them even noticed her, she nimbly plucked the joint from Deidara's fingers.

They all turned around to face her in surprise, although Naruto's eyes didn't quite meet hers.

"Now, now, Naruto," Sakura lectured him in a sing-song voice. "Don't you remember the last time you got high?"

Naruto gave a small laugh in return, clearly looking embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, I'm still really sorry about that, Sakura-chan. Oh look! Poor Hinata's all by herself…"

And before Sakura could respond, he had jumped from his seat and moved towards Hinata, who was sitting by the pool, her legs dangling in the cool water. Sakura shook her head with a sigh and then plumply sat down between Deidara and Shikamaru.

"Fuck, what are you, his mom?" Deidara remarked snidely causing Kiba to chuckle until Sakura gave them both dark looks.

She wasn't sure how to answer though. No, she was most definitely not Naruto's mother, but she wasn't about to let some prissy clan heir pressure him into smoking weed. Especially since she knew the effect drugs had on Naruto. Flicking the ash off the end of the joint, she brought it to her lips and sucked in slowly.

"I'm just looking out for him," she replied honestly, releasing a trail of smoke. "Naruto and drugs don't mix well. Last time he was high, he tried to punch one of my friends."

"No shit," Kiba exclaimed, his eyes gazing towards Naruto again.

"Yeah," Sakura confirmed, inhaling again. "Best stay away from Naruto with red eyes."

The guys then picked up their conversation about the upcoming basketball game and Sakura zoned out, happily taking a couple more drags before passing the joint to Shikamaru. Deidara had already started rolling another one.

"So Pink," Deidara spoke up, finally turning to face her. Sakura, who had been lying with her arms behind her head, watching her friends chase each other around in the pool, slowly tilted her head towards him. She immediately noticed his eyes raking over her figure. "You new around here? I don't recall seeing you with Ino before and I never forget a pretty face."

From Sakura's other side, Shikamaru chuckled. "Don't even bother, Dei," he told him, his gaze still firmly set on the pool… more specifically on Ino. "She's Tsunade-sama's niece."

"What?" the blond cried out, bolting upright. "And you just let me light up in front of her? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Did he really think she'd rat him out to her aunt? "It's okay, I won't tell or anything. Relax, it's fine. However, call me Pink again and I might just change my mind. My name is Sakura."

"Whatever," Deidara mumbled, before lying back down on his lounge chair. "Shit, I can't believe no one told me you're Tsunade-sama's niece. No wonder you're good friends with Uzumaki."

He finally lit up just as Shikamaru left with Kiba to join Naruto by the side of the pool. Ino, who was lazily holding onto the side of the pool, looked up as the boys approached and smiled brightly. Sakura, left alone with the Yamanaka heir, watched on.

"They've been eyeing each other for years and yet it'll take a miracle before either one finally takes the first step," Deidara commented quietly, looking amused at his younger cousin flirting shamelessly with the boys.

Sakura quickly realised that he meant Ino and Shikamaru.

She turned to smile at him. "Oh I think the new cheerleader outfit should take care of that."

Deidara laughed in return, coughing on the smoke that exhaled from his mouth. The two of them then sat in silence for a while until he passed the joint to her.

"So any specific reason why you're hanging out here with a bunch of high school students?" Sakura asked impulsively.

Deidara regarded her calmly for a moment before answering. "Well I've known this bunch since forever," he explained. "Being part of clans, we pretty much all grew up together. I mean most of our parents are friends so we saw a lot of each other when we were kids and also during weddings, birthdays, council meetings and other damn gatherings. I guess once Ino and her friends started high school, they somehow always ended up at our parties and that was it."

Sakura nodded slowly, her mind beginning to feel slightly hazy as she inhaled again.

"Oh and I guess it's partly because Itachi's my best friend," Deidara added as an afterthought.

Sakura turned to look at him confused. Of course, if she hadn't been stoned already, she would probably have realised that the blond was talking about a person. However, since her mind failed to make the connection, she thought he meant her cat.

How the hell does Deidara even know about my cat?

Since it was too much effort to think about it, Sakura decided to play along.

"Itachi? Really?" she asked in disbelief, slowly inhaling the smoke, which burned her lungs.

"Yeah, I know, it's hard to believe. People don't understand why we're friends since we're so different."

"No kidding," Sakura giggled loudly, suddenly noticing Naruto turning to look at her from afar. "So how do you communicate with him?"

"With difficulty. I mean he's not much of a talker, is he?" Deidara pointed out. "I guess it runs in the family. Whereas I'm always running my mouth off, which annoys him most of the time, but I can't help it. I guess one day he'll tell me to fuck off for real."

"Oh I doubt that'll happen as long as you keep feeding him," Sakura stated, erupting into another fit of giggles as she passed the joint back.

"Yeah, I guess – no, wait, what?" Deidara exclaimed, finally realising what Sakura had said. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura turned to face him, her green eyes slightly red and glazed over. "What are you talking about?"

"I -" but he stopped and relaxed back on the chair once more. "Never mind. Damn this shit is strong."

"Yeah… I think I'm too stoned to talk," Sakura agreed with a chuckle.

Deidara winked at her. "Sorry, shoulda warned you."

Naruto suddenly appeared, shirtless and with his jeans rolled up to his knees, by Sakura's side. She didn't notice the cold stare he gave Deidara as she gawked at the view.

"Sakura, I'm gonna head off," he informed her, slipping his T-shirt back on. "I can give you a ride home if you want."

She nodded slowly, barely able to put thoughts into words as her green eyes continued to stare at him as he left to collect his things.

"So you're Uzumaki's girl then, huh?" Deidara asked behind her, catching her by surprise.

Busted! That's what you get for perving on Naruto, your best friend, in such a blatant way! Her Inner self roared inside her head. Sakura turned to face Deidara, catching the large smirk on his face.

"No, we're not – we're just really good friends," she corrected him and thanked God when he said nothing more on the matter. Sakura's gaze turned back to the pool and she relaxed in her chair as she waited for Naruto to come back.

Ten minutes later, having said her goodbyes, Sakura walked towards the orange car. Feeling a headache coming on, she drank lots of water before leaving and kept a water bottle in her hands.

Naruto, beside her, was unusually quiet.

The ride home was tense and silent apart from Sakura occasionally playing with her water bottle. As soon as Naruto parked outside her residence, she turned to face him, determined to find out why her usually cheerful best friend was looking so grim.

"Naruto," she spoke up, watching him closely. "What's wrong? Are you mad?"

"It's nothing," he lied, watching the road straight ahead.

Sakura had never seen him act like this before and was unsure of what to say next. "I'm sorry about earlier if that's what's wrong."

He turned to face her, looking confused.

"When Deidara offered you a hit and I stepped in. I was just looking out for you."

"Looking out for me?" he echoed in disbelief.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I mean you don't need to prove anything to him or any other clan member. It's okay, I understand. We didn't grow up in the same world as them and so you feel like you have to try and fit in, I get it. Believe me, it was the same thing for me in Suna. But you know where that got me."

Naruto gave a loud sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know. It's never like that with the guys, but whenever Deidara's around things are different. I feel like I'm constantly reminded that I'm not one of them."

He dropped his eyes again and swallowed. The dejected look on his face caused Sakura to put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"Naruto, you don't owe them squat," she told him earnestly, trying to catch his eye. "You have nothing to prove to them. You're the most awesome guy I know and if they don't see that, then fuck them."

Naruto nudged her hand away. "And yet you're the one who just spent the entire evening getting stoned with him, rather than be with me."

Sakura froze. She felt her heart jolt as she realised what he had just admitted. He had wanted her to spend the evening with him. He didn't like the idea of her being with Deidara.

Oh my God, he's jealous!

And Sakura suddenly realised that she didn't mind it at all.

Her pulse quickened and she fought to keep her voice steady. "It wasn't like that, Naruto. We were just smoking. I barely talked to the guy."

"Oh don't be so naïve, Sak. Dei's probably been with half the girls in Konoha and he was looking at you like you were his next fuck."

"So what? Are you jealous or something?" Sakura asked before she could stop herself.

"No, of course not, it's nothing like that," Naruto snapped with brutal honesty and Sakura abruptly felt like she'd been slapped in the face.

"Oh…" She tried in vain to hide the disappointment on her face and could barely watch as his blue eyes scanned hers before going wide as realisation hit him.

"I… er…" she trailed off, desperately trying to swallow the large lump in her throat and failing.

Sakura felt like an idiot for completely misreading the situation and felt like an even bigger fool for being so obvious about it.

Naruto looked completely baffled. "Sakura…"

Sakura wanted to kick herself. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she grabbed her bag at the feet before climbing out of the car.

"Sakura, wait -"

She didn't stop or turn to face him. "Just forget it, Naruto. Thanks for the ride."

And before he could add anything else, she rushed towards her front door, hastily wiping away her unshed tears with the back of her hand.

..~**~..

Sakura was purposely late for school the next day as she wanted to avoid Naruto as much as possible and arrive just in time for the bell. She felt like a complete fool for being so obvious about her feelings the previous night when she hadn't even been able to define them yet.

She blamed the weed for impairing her judgement.

Yeah right! Blame the drugs instead of admitting that you wrongly jumped to conclusions, you loser, her Inner self sneered.

As she arrived through the school car park, she tried to ignore the feeling in her chest as she spotted Naruto's orange car and headed straight for the school entrance. The girls were nowhere to be seen as the first bell had already rung and Sakura hurried inside hoping to snatch her books from her locker and make it to her homeroom class before the bell rung again.

As she headed down the junior hall, students were still hanging around, talking amongst themselves as they headed to class. Sakura's eyes darted through the crowd, fearing Naruto was around but she didn't see him or any of her new friends. Reaching her locker, she pulled out her notepad along with a few books, balancing them in one arm.

Before she was finished, someone suddenly pushed her hard from behind, brutally slamming her into the lockers and causing all her belongings to fall to the ground.

Sakura bit back a cry, cradling her hand to her chest as she turned to see who had attacked her.

She immediately recognised the dark-haired girl with a nasty look on her face.

Ami.

"You should watch where you're going, cheerleader," she hissed at Sakura, whilst her friends on either side of her laughed. "Sasuke-kun won't always be there to save you."

They left at once and Sakura remained speechless as she watched them disappear in the crowd.

What the fuck! What the hell is their problem? Are they really that pissed they didn't get on the squad?

Before she could find an answer, the bell rang again and Sakura quickly bent down scrambling to get all her papers and books back. Of course, none of the other students still out in the hallway, who had witnessed the scene, came to help her. They either didn't seem to care or were probably afraid Ami would target them next.

Or maybe it's because I'm the new girl and they don't actually know me, Sakura thought sadly to herself, finally reaching out for her notebook and finding a pair of expensive-looking shoes next to it.

Slowly lifting her head up, Sakura was surprised to see Neji standing before her.

Without a word, he bent down, picked up the notebook and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she told him quietly, balancing everything in her arms again as she stood up slowly.

She noticed his pale eyes fixed on her grazed hand and realised she was bleeding slightly.

"What happened?" he asked her, although she was sure he already knew the answer.

"Nothing," she lied, hoping he'd drop the subject.

He watched her closely for a few seconds before walking past her. "Come on, we're late for homeroom."

Sakura followed him down the hallway and as they reached their classroom, she whispered softly. "Please don't say anything to Naruto."

He turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her and nodded.

As usual Kakashi hadn't arrived yet and Sakura immediately spotted the free seat beside Ino. She waved at the boys sitting behind as they greeted her, but tried her best not to look Naruto's way. Sitting down in her seat, she listened half-heartedly at the girls' latest gossip and glanced instead at her hand, which was throbbing painfully. The back was bright red as the skin was grazed raw and two of her knuckles, that had probably hit the locker hinges, were bleeding. Sakura tried to discreetly lick away what little blood had leaked down to her wrist, but winced at the pain.

"Sakura, what happened to your hand?" Ino asked rather loudly, catching Tenten and Hinata's attention.

"It's nothing, I just fell," Sakura answered automatically just as Kakashi arrived in the classroom. She didn't want her friends to worry and cause a fuss especially when Naruto could hear them. "I'll swing by the infirmary before Chemistry."

Ino nodded although she didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked softly.

Sakura smiled and assured her once more that she was fine, although her hand still hurt like a bitch.

Stop being such a wuss, Inner Sakura lectured her, this is nothing compared to some of the stuff that happened in Suna. Go to the infirmary, take care of your hand and then go kick that girl's ass!

However, Sakura decided to ignore her and quickly took out her biology homework that she had yet to finish.

She didn't notice Sasuke sitting in the back of the room, watching her closely.

..~**~..

Sasuke didn't fail to notice the state of Sakura's hand as soon as she appeared. She had a worried look on her face and when he spotted her red, swollen hand, he knew something was up. It was then further confirmed by Neji, who gave him a particular look as he passed by that meant trouble.

Something else that bothered him that morning was Naruto's attitude. His usual boisterous, annoying best friend seemed rather out of it and as they walked to homeroom, his eyes kept wandering around the hall obviously looking for someone.

It wasn't until Sakura entered the classroom that Sasuke realised that Naruto had in fact been looking for her. However, the pink-haired girl barely greeted him as she walked in, which was unusual since she nearly always stuck by Naruto's side in school.

However, it seemed that something had happened between the two of them and Sasuke was curious to find out what. Although it was probably because of something Naruto had done or said. He could be such an idiot at times…

As soon as the bell rang, Naruto leapt from his seat but Sakura was quicker and out of the door before he could stop her.

"Sakura, wait!" he called out to her, but she ignored him and left.

The blond returned to his seat in a hurry, grabbing his belongings before dashing out after her. Sasuke merely looked on with a frown. Just what the hell was going on?

"What's up with Naruto?" Kiba asked as soon as they were out in the hallway.

"Looks like he had a fight with Sakura or something," Shikamaru spoke up, trailing beside Sasuke.

"Did anyone notice her hand this morning?" Kiba continued. "It looked pretty banged up."

"I heard she told Ino that she fell," Shikamaru answered, stopping off at his locker.

"What the hell dude? I thought you were sleeping! You could've helped me with Maths!" Kiba exclaimed just as Neji appeared beside Sasuke.

"It was Ami's fault," he stated bluntly causing Sasuke and Kiba to stop.

"What? Are you serious?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke felt his fist clench. "What did she do?"

"She pushed Sakura into the lockers just before the second bell rang."

"That little bitch!" Kiba growled, but Sasuke ignored him.

"Neji, make sure Sakura finds her way to the infirmary," Sasuke said to him, spotting the pink-haired girl ahead of them and going the wrong way.

Neji nodded walking faster to catch up with Sakura. Kiba turned to face Sasuke. "And what about Ami?" he asked.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'll deal with her."

..~**~..

Sasuke had to wait until lunchtime before he could confront Ami in private. He hadn't seen much of Sakura all morning since they didn't have any classes together, but by lunchtime he noticed her sitting with the girls along with other cheerleaders. Her hand was bandaged and overall she seemed a lot happier than in homeroom.

Naruto, on the other hand, looked gloomier than ever but he refused to tell the guys anything.

Just as Sasuke left the lunch hall, he spotted Ami sitting with her friends outside. She seemed to be leaving and he managed to corner her before she reached the junior hall.

As soon as she saw him, she squealed and tried to latch onto his arm, but the cold look he gave her stopped her short.

"Sasuke-kun," she exclaimed, looking slightly nervous. "Did you come to meet me in secret?"

"I don't know what your problem is with Sakura Haruno and I don't care. Just leave her alone," he told her firmly, his eyes glaring down at her.

Ami looked back at him, confused. "Sakura? You mean that pink-haired bitch! Why do you keep defending her? I heard she slept around with tons of guys back in Suna. She's a slut, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke took a step forward and grabbed Ami by the wrist. "Don't lie. And don't make me repeat myself," he continued in a low voice. "If you don't leave Sakura alone -"

"You'll what?" Ami sneered, raising an eyebrow.

Sasuke's expression turned to stone. He had to admit the girl had guts to talk back to him like that.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he told her, threats drenching his words.

Ami finally lowered her eyes, shaking her head.

Satisfied, Sasuke let her go and quickly turned to leave, thinking the matter was closed. He never saw Ami's fixed stare on his back or the glint of anger in her eyes.

..~**~..

Why oh why is Sasuke so hard to write? I feel like I should just make him say 'hn' all the time because he feels OOC as soon as I make him say long sentences.

I hope I didn't turn you guys off with the NaruSaku part and that you appreciated the SasuSaku moments! Whatever's happening between Naruto and Sakura should be done and dealt with in the next chapter and then lots more SasuSaku moments, I promise!

Please review!