Chapter Twelve

• • • • • • • • •

Road Trip

• • • • • • • • •

Sasuke's P.O.V.:

•

Sasuke awoke to the contrasting feel of his silky smooth sheets and a pounding headache. This was why he didn't get too wasted often; hangovers were a bitch to deal with.

As he rose from his bed, ascending the few steps separating his lounge from his actual sleeping area and heading towards his bathroom, his thoughts went back to the previous night; back to her.

Sakura.

He glared at the sink.

She'd left him, Sasuke Uchiha, all alone at a great party –in his own home! And for some college punk, no less! No one stood up an Uchiha.

He found himself grumpily shampooing his hair as steaming-hot water ran down his body. Then he found himself scowling as he toweled off and got dressed. It was only when he closed the door behind him and began walking down one of the many hallways, towards the kitchen, that he realized what he'd been doing.

Am I really pouting over some girl?

He stopped in his tracks. The thought was absurd; Sasuke Uchiha did not pout. Ever.

He continued walking, shaking his head along the way. He had finally managed to clear his head of all Sakura-related thoughts, feeling his migraine decreasing with the lessened stress, when another problem popped out of nowhere.

Literally.

"Hey Sasuke!"

No, no, no. God, not now.

Sasuke gripped the bridge of his nose between two fingers and let out an agitated sigh. He'd almost forgotten that the idiot had spent the night at his house. He could already feel the migraine returning.

"Morning sweetheart," his mother emerged from the kitchen, handing him a plate of food. "How was the party last night?"

He eyed the tomato and cheese omelet, v8 vegetable juice and diced potatoes –his version of hash browns– on his plate, realizing just how hungry he was.

He pecked his mother on the cheek, mumbling out an 'okay' before sitting down and eating. Apparently, Naruto disagreed with his rating of the party, and he didn't hesitate to voice his own opinion.

The blond jumped from his seat. "'Okay?' Just okay?" he screeched, a look of disbelief stamped onto his face. "That party last night was awesome! There was great food, drinks, and hot girls everywhere, awesome music. How could it have gotten any better, teme?"

I could've screwed Sakura.

Sasuke smirked at the thought of hearing her moaning his name over and over again. Waking up next to a frazzled pinkette, making sure his brother saw her leaving his room the next morning. It would've been perfect…

If only it'd actually happened.

He sighed before realizing that he was being talked to.

Naruto's eyes shone as he continued speaking. "… So when are we leaving?"

All his friend got in response was a blank look and a raised eyebrow.

He sighed. "You weren't listening to anything I just said, were you?" he asked.

"…"

"…"

"No." Sasuke finally answered, getting a long, whiny version of his name from the other boy, followed by an exasperated sigh.

"I was talking to your mom this morning, and she thought it'd be a good idea if we took a little break from school for a while, and since we'll be going on break in a couple of days…"

The dark haired man gave a small smirk. He knew what his friend was saying. Shrugging, he asked, "Where to?"

"Vegas."

• • • • •

Less than ten minutes after they'd figured out what hotel they wanted to stay in, the two men were already arguing.

"I say we drive!"

"Don't be an idiot, dead last," the Uchiha scoffed in annoyance. "Why would we drive for hours then fly the rest of the way to Vegas when we can just fly the whole trip?"

He waited and listened for the (nonexistent) logic of his friend's reasoning.

.

.

.

"Oh shut up, dick!" he shouted. "Everyone knows that the road trips are the best part of every vacation!"

"… I am not sitting in a closed space with you for hours."

Naruto grinned.

"Don't forget about Neji, Kiba, Hinata, Shikamaru, Ino, Temari, Chouji, Tenten, Lee, Shino, Sakura, Gaara, and Kankuro. Can't leave them out!"

•

Sakura's P.O.V.:

•

Sakura woke up sporting a light headache and feeling disoriented. Blinking groggily, she tried to roll away from the strip of sunlight that was glaring at her face, but there was something slung against her waist.

Confused, she moved to glance downwards, only for her eyes to come in contact with a familiar red comforter –followed by red walls and a tanned arm.

'Shit!' The pinkette followed the arm and came face-to-face with him. That hurtful, backstabbing jerk.

It was only when she felt a small tingle run across her chest that she realized she was naked.

'Does that mean that… we…'

Sakura was in the process of lifting the comforter to peek at what lie beneath when a hand lightly caressed her side and she found herself meeting his light purple gaze.

He smirked. "How do we always end up in this position after our break-ups, Sakura?"

She felt her cheeks flare up at being caught like that –then she remembered just who she was all cuddled up with. Her green eyes narrowed.

"You're a scheming asshole, Pein, that's how." She snapped, bringing a subtle frown to his face.

He sat up as she went to retrieve her clothing, eyeing her every movement, appreciating her beauty. As she searched for her underwear, he decided to speak.

"I think we both know how false that statement is, Sakura." He said calmly, not liking the sarcastic snort that came from her luscious lips.

She finally straightened from looking beneath the bed and met his gaze with a look of pure betrayal.

"You ditched us," she said quietly, sadly. "You left you only family for a pack of shady strangers. We want nothing to do with you anymore."

With that being said, she returned to her search in silence, frustration the only emotion on her face. Suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore. He had to do something…

His hand went beneath the comforter and pulled out the lacy, red lingerie she'd been looking for and held it up for her to see.

"Looking for these?"

Sakura looked up and strode around to his side of the bed, reaching for them when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the bed. She looked up at him with angry eyes and he pinned her down before she tried to escape.

Fiery emerald eyes met purple(ish) ones and the intensity between their gazes was almost tangible. They stayed like that for what felt like hours until Sakura broke the staring contest, turning her whole face away.

She released a shaky breath and visibly relaxed in his grasp. "I'm tired of this." She whispered. "I want to hate you, but I can't. My heart won't let me."

His gaze softened completely as he pulled her up and sat back with her in his lap. He could feel her lower lip trembling against his bare shoulder and tightened his hold on her.

Within mere minutes, they were engaged in a passionate joining, neither of them knowing where their bodies began or ended, their hands exploring each other in a heated frenzy.

• • •

When Sakura awoke for the second time that morning, she found herself still tangled up in Pein's embrace, her legs between his, her head rested on his chest.

She removed herself from the cuddle and sat at the edge of the bed, a sense of regret bubbling in the regret that she felt. They always ended up like this. They'd argue, her screaming while he just shot calm retorts back at her, then he'd pull her to the bed and they'd have passionate sex.

Usually, she'd remain in his arms if she woke before him, hoping that this time would make all the difference, would bring him back to her for good –but it never did. And she knew this time would be no different, so she gathered her clothing, dressed and headed down the stairs and out of the house.

She was just leaving the driveway to walk to the nearest bus stop when her cell phone rang.

Incoming Call: Naruto

Sighing, the pinkette answered it. She just wasn't in the mood for the blonde's high-level energy right now, but he'd probably just continue to call if she didn't answer.

"Hello?" she mumbled, running a hand through her messy pink locks.

She could almost hear the grin in his voice as Naruto's yell sounded through the receiver.

"Sakura, you actually answered!" he shouted happily; though she could her someone grunt in disappointment from the background.

It's probably just Sasuke being a jerk, as usual.

"Hey, Naruto" she greeted in return. "What's up?"

There was some mumbling in the background before the boy came back onto the phone.

"Uh, yeah," he gave a small laugh. "Well, the whole gang is goin' to Vegas this weekend for the two-week break from school. Wanna come?"

Vegas?

"As in Nevada?" she questioned dumbly and shook her head immediately. She must have still been in shock of what had just happened with Pein.

She wasn't the only one who found her statement to be on the dimmer side; she could hear Sasuke snort in the background and Naruto chuckle good-heartedly.

Once the laughter stopped, Naruto was rambling on without giving her the chance to answer officially. "So, gimme your address and I'll come pick you up." He continued.

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I haven't even packed yet –plus I have to walk home. By the time I get there –"

"Where are you?" he asked eagerly. "We'll come pick you up!"

We?

Her stomach tightened at the idea of him and Sasuke seeing where she lived, knowing how to get there whenever they wanted. Then she shook her head.

Her confrontation with Pein was seriously screwing with her state of mind. She wasn't some helpless little crybaby, if she didn't like something, she'd fix it. So if Sasuke started acting like a jerk and vandalized her house or something stupid like that, she'd break his face. And if Naruto broke in and threw a party, he'd be a dead man.

There. Problem solved.

"Alright," she said into the receiver. "I'm by the Costco's on Spooner Street."

Naruto hesitated. "The old abandoned building?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, even though she knew that he couldn't see her. "Yeah, I'll be waiting out front –"

"No!" he cut her off, then less harshly added, "Um, wait across the street or something. Don't go near the property."

"…" She was stunned and had no reply. Why didn't he want her near the building?

He chuckled nervously. "We wouldn't want anyone to think you're trespassing, they'd probably arrest you –you wouldn't be able to go to Vegas with us!"

… Okaayy.

"Um, okay," she said slowly. "I guess I'll wait by the CVS across the street, then."

•

Normal P.O.V.:

•

The ride to the car dealership was tense. There were too many of them for one car, so they'd need more than one car. Plus, they had to be able to return it once they reached the airport in Kansas and took the Uchiha private jet the rest of the way. And, of course, Sakura was stuck with the one person she'd hoped she wouldn't make that much contact with for the rest of the trip.

Sasuke.

After what had happened that Friday –two nights ago –she wasn't really sure how to act around him. Sure, they still disliked each other, but Sakura had begun to wonder whether it was just for show.

As they pulled into the parking lot of a dealership right on the outskirts of Konoha, Florida, she wondered if Sasuke was going to rent a car, too.

He stayed in the car, however. Well, maybe it was more of a truck. He was driving his custom-made Cadillac Escalade that was fit to hold four people comfortably. Its white leather interior, high-tech entertainment, GPS and plush, foldable seats made him feel even more at home as he reclined in the driver's seat, waiting for his travel companions to purchase their rentals.

Sasuke glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw her laying back in a similar position to his. His eyebrows scrunched.

Why was she so quiet?

The entire day, she hadn't said more than a couple of sentences. Hell, even he'd talked more than she had.

It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed it, though.

The whole time, she'd been trying to act normal. Like the whole Pein thing hadn't happened earlier that morning. Like she and Sasuke didn't do anything at his party. Like Naruto's caution about the abandoned Costco's didn't affect her at all.

But it wasn't working. She knew she'd need some serious sleep and distractingly funny YouTube videos –which shouldn't be too difficult considering Sasuke's truck had comfy seats and built-in laptops –before she felt normal again.

Another thing was that she couldn't get a hold of Sasori and Hidan, which kinda worried her. Sure, they were grown men and could definitely take care of themselves, but they were her family; worrying was only natural.

They'd told her that they were going to New York to settle some business with the NY district of their gang, but that was weeks ago –they should've been back by now…

"What the hell's with you?"

Sakura jumped at the harsh voice, and Sasuke found himself slightly surprised that someone in a gang would be so easy to startle. She must've really been out of it, but now she was back in reality and looking quite upset. Her cheeks were slightly pink, as was her nose.

Either she had a cold…

Or she was about to cry.

His eyes widened.

Oh. Shit.