Back again! I figured out what I was going to do for this chapter, and just had to finish and upload it! WARNING! THERE IS SOME CUSSING IN THIS ONE! I don't remember if anyone cussed in the other ones, but I don't think so, so I just wanted to warn you. I mean, that's part of why people put their stories under 'Rated T', but I just wanted to warn you guys before any of my readers read it and flipped out :p Soooo, Beware! and,

Enjoy!

It was dead silent other than the occasional sniffle. Naruto had just finished his story and was now staring at the ground, and the others could see tears falling into the grass in front of him. Hinata was leaning on his side, stroking his back comfortingly while her own tears fell.

"So…" Everyone looked at Naruto, who cleared his throat before going on, "So… if you don't want to be my friends, or… you know, hang out with me anymore, I… I understand…" It was dead silent for a moment, and then Sakura growled.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Everyone, including Naruto, looked up at her in surprise. Naruto met her red- rimmed eyes, which were glaring at him. Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when suddenly Sakura jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Naruto's eyes widened like saucers. Hinata felt Sakura's arm cross over hers as she hugged Naruto and smiled.

"You're an idiot, Naruto," Sakura murmured, holding Naruto tighter, "Of course we're still going to be your friends." Sakura pulled back and smiled at him. Naruto looked at all of them in absolute shock as they nodded and smiled at him. One by one, to Naruto's astonishment, all of the girls hugged him and the guys gave him pats on the back or nods. Except for Lee, of course, who hugged him while tears poured from his eyes and he exclaimed loudly how what a great friend Naruto was.

Everyone else watched in surprise as tears started slipping down Naruto's cheeks. He couldn't explain what he was feeling; his heart could hardly control the joy and relief he felt. To the other's surprise, he laughed, tears still pouring from his eyes.

"T-Thank you…" he told them, meeting each other their eyes individually, true gratitude shining in his eyes, "Thank you… All of you…" From beside him, Hinata smiled, her eyes filling with more tears, happy ones this time. Naruto had finally gotten the friends he deserved. Suddenly Sakura spoke, talking to Sasuke.

"Seems like his is way worse than yours." It was dead silent and Sasuke gave her a glare that made the others think a hole would open up beneath her and send her into hell.

"Oh yeah?" he challenged, his eyes burning with rage, "What the fuck has happened to you, Miss Princess? You don't know shit out losing anyone, do you? So why don't you just shut the fuck up?" The air was tense, and everyone's eyes flickered from Sakura to Sasuke and back again. Finally Sasuke stood up and left without a word. The others watched him leave, and it was silent.

Sakura glared at the ground before standing and walking away, heading in the opposite direction Sasuke had went. Ino glanced at the others, giving them an apologetic look before standing and running after her. The others were left in silence to wonder what would happen next.

Sakura was growling under her breath and still storming away when Ino caught up with her. She took a moment to catch her breath.

"You shouldn't have said that to him," Ino told her quietly. Sakura gave a sharp, agitated sigh.

"Why?" she snapped, "I was only being honest!" Ino shook her head and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, forcing her to stop.

"Who's to judge how bad a person's life is, especially compared to others?" Ino asked her, "What if we told a girl who'd been raped, "Oh, it wasn't that bad!" because we compared it to someone who had their mom die in a car accident? We don't know what either of those is like. But what we do know is, both things are horrible, and we should provide help and comfort to them no matter how bad their lives seem or don't seem." Sakura sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"I know, I know," she mumbled, "I just… That's what bugs me the most! All of you have these secrets, these bad things that have happened to you that make you more understanding of stuff, and I have no idea about any of it! Nothing bad has happened to me! I'm just some 'princess' that can't understand anything!" Ino shook her head and pulled her friend into a hug as Sakura let frustrated tears onto her shoulder.

"Oh, Sakura," she said softly, stroking her hair, "Be thankful that nothing's happened to you. Being blessed or even just lucky is never a thing to be ashamed of. You can still try to be understanding, though you might not be as understanding as someone who has been through things. But you'd be the solid rock, the belief to give a person that not all the world is bad. Now if they judge you because of that… Well, that is them." Sakura pulled away from the hug and gave her friend a small smile.

"Thanks, Ino…" she said before trailing off, her smile disappearing, "I just wish…" Ino shook her head with a smile.

"No point is wishing for something other than what is already determined," she said, "You can only make the best of it." Sakura shook her head, her eyes hardening.

"How can I make the best of this situation?" she demanded, just below shouting. Ino shushed her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have friends," she reminded her, smiling, "Naruto, Hinata, Lee, even Sasuke, and the others. Keep them close while you can, Sakura. They'll help both of us. Can you trust them, and me?" Sakura sighed, wiping her face with the back of her hand. Finally she nodded. Ino smiled.

"Good. But you still need to apologize to Sasuke, soon, before you lose him."

Sasuke sat brooding on a bench near the front of the school. Naruto's past was terrible, he admitted that. But how could some girl like Sakura, who probably never had anything bad happen to her in her life, tell him his past wasn't that bad? What did she know about any of it? He heard footsteps to his left, but ignored them. The footsteps stopped at the end of the bench, and it was silent. A moment past before Sasuke raised his head and met the sight of Sakura, standing uncertainly by the bench. Sasuke's eyes immediately narrowed and he turned away.

"What do you want?" he growled. Sakura breathed, determined not to get rude. She reminded herself of what she said and was met with guilt deep in her gut. Sakura licked her lips and took a deep breath, trying to think of something to say. Finally she sighed.

"Can I sit?" It was silent a moment before Sasuke finally sighed and shrugged. She took that as a yes and sat on the other side of the bench, putting a lot of space in between them. Sakura took a deep breath; apologizing wasn't what she was best at.

"I'm… sorry… About what I said before…" If Sasuke was surprised at her apology, he hid it well. Sasuke glared at the ground and dug his shoe into the dirt.

"Whatever." Sakura glared at him.

"Hey, I'm giving you a sincere apology here, so you could at least look at me!" Sasuke lifted his head and glared at her. She felt her breath momentarily gone when his dark, broody eyes met hers, such compassion burning in them.

"And why are you apologizing, exactly?" he snapped, bringing her out of her trance, "Because you think you were wrong? Or because Ino told you?"

Instead of getting mad, Sakura turned to stare at the ground and sighed.

"Who's to judge how bad a person's past is?" she asked, turning his eyes to his again, which seemed a bit surprised, "I don't know much about having a bad past, but I'm trying to understand. And… I know that I might have a bad future, so I'm trying to make the best of it while I can." This last part was whispered, but Sasuke caught it. He observed her.

"What's going to happen?" he asked carefully, "Is it the same thing that Ino is hiding?" Sakura sighed again and glanced at him.

"I…" Tears gathered in her eyes, and her breath came in short gasps. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced up in surprise to see Sasuke right there, staring at her with concerned and intense eyes. Sakura couldn't help it; she turned and wrapped her arms tight around Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke's body stiffened when she hugged him, and Sakura partly expected him to push her off, but after a second he wrapped his arms around her waist. After a few moments she let go, feeling her cheeks heat up. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. It was silent, and Sasuke didn't go back to the other end of the bench; he watched from her side with calculating eyes. Sakura sighed.

"I wasn't always like this, you know," she told him, "I used to be happier, giggly… People actually wanted to be around me. But then, Ino… And I just changed. I guess… things like that change people…" It was silent for a moment. Sasuke knew if he pressured her, he could get Sakura to tell him what was wrong with Ino. But with her this fragile, he didn't want to make her tell him and then regret it later. Besides, it was more Ino's story to tell, when she was ready.

Sakura sighed and looked over at Sasuke, who looked deep in thought. She elbowed him in the ribs and he turned to glare at her. Sakyra simply smiled and stood.

"C'mon, we should probably get back to the others before they start worrying," she said. Sasuke nodded and stood. Sakura turned to start walking, then hesitated and turned back. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her in question, and she took a deep breath before grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him in, pressing her lips to his. It was quick but sweet, and Sakura pulled away with her cheeks burning.

"Thanks," she muttered, and turned away. Suddenly he grabbed her hand and spun her around, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pressed his lips on hers. This one was longer, and Sakura's lips moved with his. After a minute they pulled away and Sakura could tell her face was bright red, much darker than the pink shade of her hair.

"You're welcome," Sasuke told her with a slight smirk, which she found attractive yet annoying at the same time. Sakura rolled her eyes and smiled as Sasuke took her hand and pulled her back towards the others.

Ino practically squealed with delight when the two appeared back holding hands, and Sakura rolled her eyes, the biggest blush on her face. Naruto explained to Hinata what they were all freaking out about and she smiled. This made Sakura glare at Naruto, her blush growing. The guys teased Sasuke about it, but he simply rolled his eyes, only a faint pink hue coloring his cheeks. Still, it was the first time any of them had seen Sasuke Uchiha blush.

Ino smiled as she looked around the happy, laughing group. All of them were having fun, all of them supported each other, and most importantly, no one judged. Her eyes turned a little sad. If only the rest of the world could follow their example.

"Hey Ino, you alright?" she turned to see Kiba frowning at her. She gave him a smile.

"Of course! Just spaced out a bit. So Sakura, when are you guys goin' on a first date?"

Aww :) Well, I told you there was cussing! Sasuke got ticked o.o Of course, anyone would expect him to... So, tell me what you think, and if you have any suggestions, let me know! Review and stuff, See Ya!