Chapter 3 – And You Still Won't Hear Me

Itachi's words played on her mind a lot in the following weeks. Was it strange that she was so caught up on them? No, she didn't believe it was. What he was insinuating was… Well, it wasn't really insinuating, was it? It was true. Sasuke did like to control her. Noticing that, Itachi had tried to offer her some friendly advice that would prevent her from being a doormat. She simply… Damn it.

It had been two weeks since the party and during those two weeks, Sakura had spoken with Itachi on several occasions, although it was usually only when she was invited over by Sasuke for dinner or something of the sort. There was never an opportunity to question him or try and defend her relationship, as Sasuke was always by her side whenever she happened to cross paths with the older brother. To mention it in front of her boyfriend would no doubt cause trouble and that was pointless. She didn't want the drama.

Somebody else she had barely spoken to since the party was her best friend, Ino. The blonde had tried her luck with Itachi, who – very politely, might she add – rejected her. Of course, it was all hers and Sasuke's fault, as they'd gotten it in her head that she didn't stand a chance with him, which had a massive impact on her confidence. Obviously, Sakura had argued that Itachi was five years older than them, meaning he probably didn't want to go out with a child. Her response?

"A child?" she'd demanded, red in the face and shaking with her anger. "At least I'm not some uptight bitch. Even your boyfriend is bored of you!"

Oh, it'd stung. No, it had done more than that. For her best friend to say something like that, knowing that she was attacking an insecurity was… It hurt. A lot.

"It's just a falling out," her mother had told her over breakfast the next morning, smiling. "Everyone has them at school. You'll be friends again by next week, trust me."

"We were supposed to have graduated," was all she'd argued with.

Friends again? It wasn't as simple as that. For the past year, Sakura had been the one keeping Ino from getting into trouble. When she was too drunk to control herself or look after herself, Sakura had always been there. It was her who was called at stupid o'clock in the morning, having to try and calm a sobbing Ino down over the phone because one thing or another had gone wrong. Sakura believed she had every right to feel betrayed by Ino's harsh words. Betrayed, angry and hurt. After everything she'd done for Ino, how the hell could the blonde turn around and say something like that to her? It was way out of line. Bringing up her relationship with Sasuke to insult her, knowing it was an insecurity of hers? Way too fucking far.

Sometimes, Sakura was certain that Ino still had feelings for Sasuke. It was the way she would look at him, the way she would hang on his every word. Not even a month ago, when the weather had started to get increasingly hot, Ino had actually turned up at his house in a freaking bikini, bottle of vodka in hand, asking if she could use his pool to cool off. Then, when she noticed Sakura was already there, had muttered under her breath, "Give the guy room to breathe, will you?"

Room to breathe? Room to fucking breathe? And what sort of breathing was she talking about? The simple kind, or having him pant for breath as she fucked him? Sakura's fists clenched, shaking ever so slightly.

Luckily for her so-called friend, Fugaku had returned at that moment and told Sasuke that he would not have half naked girls running around his house, making it look like some kind of brothel. Oh, Gods she couldn't have been happier to hear those words. If looks could kill, Ino would've had him dead a thousand times over and it was so worth it. After all, what kind of friend did that? Ino had her problems – she knew she did and she did her best to sympathise with them. Sakura understood how difficult the past few months had been. But just because her parents were getting divorced, it didn't mean she had the right to lash out like that.

Ino hadn't always been a bad friend. Growing up, she was like the sister she never had. They'd been so close, always confiding in each other and having sleepovers. They'd been inseparable. When her parents announced their divorce, however, it broke something in her best friend. To her, she'd always viewed their relationship as perfect. They had refused to show the ugly side of their relationship in front of her, so it truly was like her entire world shattered when they told her of the divorce. Now, to numb the pain and mend her broken heart, she got drunk. And when she got drunk, she got mean.

Shoving the thoughts from her mind, Sakura sighed and grabbed her bags, making her way downstairs.

"See you tomorrow, Dad," she called. "Mama, are you ready?"

"Wait, tomorrow?" came her mother's startled response. Rounding the corner, she dried her hands on a towel, asking, "Where are we going?"

"Don't you remember?" When her mother's frown only deepened, Sakura groaned. She wasn't going to have to ask for permission again, was she? She was eighteen years old. She was technically an adult. "Sasuke-kun is taking me to the opening of the new amusement park tonight and we're going to stay there overnight. Naruto's coming, too. I already told you about it, remember? You offered to give me a ride to work so that Sasuke-kun can pick me up? We're taking his car tonight."

Sudden realisation had her waving a dismissive hand through the air. "Oh, I remember now. Sorry, Sakura." Placing the towel down on the stand by the door, she said, "Give me a few moments and I'll be ready."

Work had been a drag. As usual, her bitchy supervisor found more reasons to hate them all, yelling that their standards were awful and how they should be ashamed of themselves for the state the store was in. There was no arguing with her unless they wanted to lose their jobs, so they took the horrible comments without batting an eyelash. Many had quit because of it. It was simply the harsh reality of the world, was what an older woman told her. People weren't always nice.

Groaning, she threw her bags into the back of Sasuke's car and all but dragged herself into the passenger seat. She was so glad she didn't have to go back for a whole week – she'd booked a holiday at just the right time, it seemed.

"Can we take the back roads to Naruto's place? I'm too hot in this stupid uniform. It should give me enough time to change, right?"

As expected, dark eyes went wide, his car straying too far to the right until he quickly got a hold of himself, fixing his error. "Can't you wait until we get to Naruto's place?"

She pouted, not letting onto her ulterior motive. "But Jiraiya's staying there."

A sigh reached her ears and hearing it, Sakura inwardly grinned victoriously. If there was anyone who hated the thought of her being spied on while getting changed more than herself, it was Sasuke. He was so possessive. Seeing that side of him was pretty thrilling, as sad as it probably was to admit.

She turned in her seat, eyes skimming the back seat until she caught sight of her bag. There were four bags altogether. Two belonged to her, one was Sasuke's and the last one was… Naruto's? Just as Sakura began to question why it was already in the car, she realised why. Knowing Naruto, he would forget about bringing clean clothes and a toothbrush and anything else he'd need. All he would bring was his phone and money. It'd happened before on a camping trip and they'd had to drive four hours all the way back for his things.

Grabbing her bag, Sakura opened the zip and rummaged through it quickly, smiling as she found her shorts, shirt and a clean pair of shorts. It was with great pleasure that she turned around, noticing that Sasuke was incredibly tense. So he was affected by her? Why didn't he ever do anything about it, then?

It was quickly that Sakura kicked off her shoes and socks, leaving them on the floor as she raised her hips off the seat, leaning heavily against the backrest and using it as support while she unbuttoned her trousers. Smoothly, they slid down her thighs, revealing pale, toned legs which gained her a heavy swallow. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking. The plan was working. Already, she'd discovered that Sasuke wasn't unaffected by her. For some odd reason, he just didn't ever act on his attraction towards her. At least she knew what to do now if she ever wanted to get a rise out of him and strangely enough, it made her feel powerful. She had Sasuke squirming in his seat.

Once her pants were removed, leaving her carefully chosen lacy underwear on display, Sakura took her precious time folding said trousers before grabbing her shoes and socks, placing them all on the back seat and giving Sasuke a decent view. In response, she felt the car pull to the left, mounting a kerb momentarily. There was a muttered curse, followed by the car suddenly pulling to the right, straightening up.

Never before had Sakura done anything to provoke Sasuke, but Ino's words continued to play in her mind, telling her that she was uptight, that her boyfriend was bored of her. It was the push she needed to do something crazy, which, from the looks of things, was going down well with her boyfriend, who repeatedly stole glances of her body when he thought she wasn't looking. Apparently even the great Uchiha Sasuke was ruled by hormones at some point in his life, too.

She wouldn't lie: being half naked in front of him made her nervous, but it was no different from the times he'd seen her in a bikini – at least, that was what she told herself. Taking a deep breath, Sakura began unbuttoning her shirt and she could've sworn she heard his breath catch. The feeling of being powerful doubled and she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Sakura."

There was a growl to his voice, she noticed with glee. "Yeah, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hurry up and put your clothes on. We're almost there."

And then that happiness shattered. "…Right."

That wasn't what she'd planned on happening. She wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but it certainly wasn't that. He wasn't supposed to look down on her while telling her to put her clothes on.

Quickly, she yanked on her denim shorts, followed by a shirt of her favourite band, feeling idiotic for so much as entertaining the thought that her boyfriend could possibly be interested in her body. While she was leaning over to put on clean socks and her converse, Sakura allowed her hair to shield her expression from him, giving her a few moments to try and compose herself. Gods, she was so stupid. Why the hell did she have to listen to Ino? No, the blonde hadn't told her to go and strip for him, but she had told Sakura she was boring. What else was she supposed to do to try and add some sparks to their relationship? Jump him?

Sitting up, she ran a hand through her hair and fully opened her window. The breeze worked for getting rid of the blush on her cheeks, hiding the evidence that she was ashamed of herself. Despite cooling her down, however, it didn't take away the awful burn of rejection.

Didn't Sasuke like what he'd seen? She'd been so certain that he had. But maybe she was wrong. Maybe she wasn't thin enough? Was it because she didn't have big breasts? Were her hips too small? Was she too pale? Sakura bit her lip harshly, turning her head further away so that he couldn't see her. Growing up, she had always told herself that she was beautiful. That, despite her big forehead, she had an exotic appearance. That her bright green eyes were captivating and her pastel pink hair helped to make her stand out. What if that wasn't the case?

Was she really beginning to bore Sasuke?

The car pulled to a stop just as the question filled her mind, but it took her a few moments to realise they were at Naruto's house. It was a big place that was secluded, but that had never surprised her. His father was Namikaze Minato, a powerful politician who had the respect of thousands due to never backing down in his decisions or beliefs. If he wanted something to be legalised, it was going to happen. He was currently in the running for the next leader of Konoha and Sakura knew that, next year, he would achieve that status.

"Sakura."

"Mm?" she hummed.

"Look at me."

Reluctantly, she did so. It hurt to look into his eyes, though. "What is it? Do you want me to go and get Naruto?"

There must have been a certain expression on her face, because her boyfriend frowned. "Why are you upset?"

"I'm not." She frowned and looked away. The last thing she wanted to do was admit her shame.

It was with a roll of his eyes that Sasuke lifted his hand to her chin, forcing Sakura to look at him again. "You can't lie to me, Sakura. I know you too well. Why are you upset?"

"It's nothing." The frown deepened, but that wasn't what betrayed her words. It was the shake in her voice. Gods, she hated that about herself. She hated being so weak emotionally. "Something Ino said is getting to me."

He scoffed. "You're letting something she said to you, upset you? She's a drunk, Sakura. Ino obviously has problems of her own going on, so you shouldn't let anything she says get to you."

There was no stopping her sigh. He just didn't understand, did he? It was okay for him, because other than Rock Lee (and maybe Naruto every now and then, but he was usually only kidding around), no other guys took any notice in her, so he didn't have to worry about her running off with somebody else. Sasuke, on the other hand, was the hottest and most popular guy at their school (even though they had just graduated). Yes, she trusted him, but she didn't trust his fan-girls. She didn't even trust her best friend.

Hearing the sigh, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What did she say?"

"It's no-"

"Don't tell me it's nothing if you're going to sit there and sulk all day."

She nodded once in some form of apology, looking away again. "She told me that I'm uptight and that you're getting bored of me."

His eyes narrowed further, a flash of disbelief and, dare she say, hurt flitting over his features. "Which is why you decided to get changed in the car? To try and prove her wrong?" Sakura didn't answer. Couldn't find her voice. "If I was bored of you, Sakura, we wouldn't be together. You're not a whore like the other girls, so quit acting like one."

With that, he got out of the car and made his way up the drive, shoving his hands into his pockets, leaving her in a state of shock and hurt. Tears filled her eyes no matter how hard she fought against them and Sakura quickly ducked her head, willing herself to calm down, her hands shaking. But…

A whore.

He said she was acting like a whore.

On the way to the amusement park, they had to stop off for more gas and while Sasuke filled up his car, she and Naruto seized the opportunity to stock up on snacks for the rest of the drive. Already, they had been in the car for two hours and it would take another three and a half before they finally got there, meaning they just about had the time to check in at their hotel before the opening.

Much to their delight, the late night opening of the amusement park was open only to those sixteen and older – all the rides would be open all night, as well as several bars. There was also a club, which was obviously only for those over the age of eighteen. Sakura and Naruto were eighteen, however, Sasuke was not. They were going to try and sneak in, but if that failed, they would still have the rides to enjoy.

"Oi, Sakura-chan." She looked up and saw the blond peering over the shelves of snacks from the other aisle. "What do you want?"

She was supposed to be on a diet, but Sasuke's words had her breaking it once more. Damn it, she needed comfort food. "Get the cheesy ones."

"Big pack?"

"Yeah."

Knowing what brand was her favourite, Naruto dumped a couple of packets into his basket, doing the same for himself. "Chocolate?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

He chuckled. "Guess not." Knowing what her favourite was, he grabbed several bars of it, mumbling that it was for tomorrow, too. "Water or cola?"

"Uh…" For a moment, she debated which would be best. If she was screwing up her diet, she may as well do it properly. Then again, it was a hot day. She needed to stay hydrated. "Both."

"So," he said conversationally while walking to the refrigerator. It wasn't until he had their drinks in the basket that he finally joined her on the magazine aisle, pulling his face at the thought of reading while on a road trip. "Are you gonna tell me what's up?"

"Aren't you getting anything for Sasuke-kun?" she asked, hoping to avoid the question.

"There's a couple of things in here for him. If he doesn't like it, the bastard can get his own snacks." Then, he shook his head, grin disappearing. "Oi, don't try changing the subject. What's up?"

Sakura supposed that was the downside to having friends that knew her so well. The second her mood slipped south, they clicked on and questioned her instantly. Even when it was obvious she wanted to be left alone, they continued to bug her about it until the sadness turned into frustration.

"It's been two weeks now since I've spoken to Ino, you know? And with school being over it's not like I can see her in the corridor. I'm just a little worried," she lied easily. "I heard that she went out with some new friends last weekend to a club and, well, I'm usually the one who looks after her, aren't I?" That one wasn't a lie. Sakura was actually pretty worried, even though she was still hurting. Did it make her a bad person for not reaching out to her, though? "What if something bad happens to her?"

Sighing, Naruto shifted the basket into his other hand, his arm falling onto her shoulders. "Ino's not a kid, Sakura-chan. She can take care of herself. Now, are you going to tell me what's really bothering you or am I going to have to ask Sasuke?"

Green eyes went wide. Just the thought made her feel sick. "Naruto, don't. Please. Just… Just leave it alone, will you?"

"So it was Sasuke," he muttered, frowning. "What did he do, Sakura-chan?"

"I said leave it."

With a growl of annoyance, she shrugged out of his hold and stormed out of the store, not sparing Sasuke a glance as she got into the car. All he responded with was the narrowing of his eyes as he finished filling up the car, replacing the pump and soon making his way to the store.

"I'm pretty hungry."

Even with his sunglasses on, Sakura could tell Sasuke was rolling his eyes as he replied, "You're always hungry."

Looking over her shoulder with a frown, she asked, "What happened to all those snacks?"

"I, uh…" Smiling sheepishly, he scratched the side of his face. "I already ate all mine."

"You better not have made a mess back there, idiot."

"Chill out, you control freak." Naruto smirked and Sakura tried her best to hold back her own at the angered look that flashed through Sasuke's features. Everyone knew that his car was like a child to him. "I used the bag as a bin."

She couldn't really blame Sasuke for being worried, not when entering Naruto's room was like entering a minefield. It was impossible to see his carpet due to the dirty clothes, rubbish and unidentifiable… things. The guy lived like a pig, sharing his bedroom with several different species of bugs as they crawled over his dirty dishes and empty food packets. It wasn't like his parents never told him to clean up, because they did – all the time, in fact. Naruto just never listened to them or, if he did and actually tidied up, then it would messy a few days later.

"I'm kind of hungry too, now that I'm thinking about it," mumbled Sakura, turning to look out of her window again as the highway sped by them. She hadn't eaten any of her snacks yet, deciding at the last moment to give her diet one last try.

For some reason, Naruto grinned at the words and leaned forward, causing them both to eye him warily from the corner of their eyes, especially when his grin grew sly. "Is there something you're not telling us, Sakura-chan?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she turned to face the two men and from the look on Sasuke's face, she could tell he was equally confused. "Well, you're emotional all the time and now you're hungry. Are you sure you're not pregnant?"

Sasuke's dark eyes went impossibly wide and his hold tightened on the steering wheel. She saw him steal a cautious glance at her, one that momentarily made her heart sink, but then she saw the minute shaking of his head, the one that all but pleaded with her not to lash out. Oh? So he was concerned for their safety? At least one of those idiots could see the building anger.

"Do I look pregnant to you?" she questioned quietly, voice dangerously soft.

"Well, not really, but-"

The 'but' had her grabbing his face and upon realising what he'd been about to say, he paled, his fear palpable. "Do not continue with that sentence," she warned. Any answer to that question was the wrong answer.

It was with a sigh that Sasuke indicated to leave the highway, immediately pulling into a restaurant's car park. No doubt the only reason why he chose to pull over being that a fight was about to break out beside him. Sakura knew he wouldn't do it simply because Naruto was hungry.

"McDonald's?" she asked with a frown, finally releasing Naruto's now red face. "Is there nowhere else?"

It was like the Gods were putting her through every test with the latest diet and she wasn't happy about it in the least. She adored McDonald's and their sickeningly unhealthy food. That was why she didn't want to eat there – it was definitely going to break her.

"No," came his simple reply, already pulling the keys out of the ignition.

Sighing, she followed the two men out of the car, trying to ignore the awful growling of her stomach as she breathed in the smell of the food. Already, she was weak. She was going to cave. Damn it. She followed silently, trying her best to ignore Naruto as he threw his arm over her shoulders again.

"Maybe a double cheeseburger will cheer you up?"

Was her bad mood that obvious? Sakura bit her lip worriedly, glancing over her shoulder at her boyfriend. He stared back blankly in response, raising a questioning eyebrow. She faced forward as Naruto opened the door, almost yelling about what he was about to order. It wasn't like she meant to dampen the mood or anything, as they'd been looking forward to the amusement park's opening for weeks – she was genuinely upset. Sasuke had said that she was acting like a whore and to top it all off, he hadn't been affected by her seeing her half naked like she thought he had. It was killing her inside knowing that he didn't find her attractive.

What was wrong with her?

"Oi, look," came Naruto's sudden exclamation, pointing rudely towards a large table. "It's Itachi!"

Hearing Sasuke curse under his breath, Sakura followed their line of sight, holding back her own groan of embarrassment when everyone turned to face them in disapproval. Anyone who wasn't glaring was laughing at him and she wasn't sure which was worse. Really, did he have to act like such an idiot?

It was automatically that her hand found the back of his head, hitting him. "Shut up."

"Look, they can see us," he said, undeterred. "Oi, Itachi!"

From across the room, she saw Itachi raise his head and sigh, more than likely deciding that he had no choice but to see what the commotion was all about. Sitting with him was a large group, many she recognised from his party. It was good to see him out with friends, she decided, remembering what he'd told her about being too busy for friends at university.

She smiled politely and was about to turn back to the queue when Naruto started dragging her along with him to their table, ignoring her startled squeal. He was more gentle in the way he urged her to sit beside another blond, though she didn't have his attention for long. Behind them, she noticed Sasuke reluctantly joining them, shoving Naruto out of the way when he moved to sit beside Sakura.

"Oi, bastard," the blond growled, but instead of causing another scene, he stood up and walked around to the other half of the table, dusting off his jean shorts. "Whatever. I'll sit next to Nagato."

Wait, Nagato? Sakura was surprised to find that she did, in fact, know three of Itachi's friends and smiled apologetically for not noticing them sooner. They all knew each other through Jiraiya, who was Naruto's perverted Godfather. The two guys were called Nagato and Yahiko, while the woman was Konan. They weren't that close, but they did meet up every now and then to see how the other was doing. Apparently Nagato was also a distant relative of Naruto's mother, Kushina, though she wasn't entirely sure how they were related or if it even effected the two men.

Nagato gave Naruto a small smile as the blond squeezed in beside him. On his other side, Konan also smiled. "How are you doing, Naruto?" she asked, voice as soft as ever. "We haven't seen you in a while."

She was quickly out of the conversation when the man beside her asked, "You're Haruno Sakura, right?"

Strangely enough, he reminded her of Ino. While he had a brighter shade of blond hair (more like Naruto's than Ino's), the style of it reminded her so much of her friend, for his bangs covered a great deal of his face just like hers did. All she could really see of his features was a single, startingly blue eye and his lips.

"Yeah, have we met?"

"He was at the party, Sakura-san," Itachi informed her. He was sitting directly opposite her in the cramped space, seeming perfectly at ease despite the setting being odd for him.

"Oh." She blushed with embarrassment, making the man beside her laugh. She pretended not to notice the narrowing of Sasuke's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I'm Deidara, yeah."

She felt so rude. Had they spoken at the party? Sakura couldn't remember, but she doubted it. She remembered saying hello to Sasori (who was sat on Deidara's other side) and Kisame (who was next to Itachi), but after that, she avoided Itachi's friends because according to her boyfriend, they were all bad people. Wait. Did that include Yahiko, Konan and Nagato? Sakura frowned and turned her head to the side, glancing up at him questioningly. Why did he dislike Itachi's friends so much? Those three were definitely decent people – they had to be, to be associated with Jiraiya (despite the fact he was a huge pervert).

"I'm going to order," Sasuke stated. "Sakura, come with me."

Seeing the look in his eyes that he wanted to talk, Sakura nodded once and followed after him, smiling politely at the group. They already knew Naruto's order – hell, the entire restaurant knew his order. As they left, she could feel their eyes on her back and it had her repeating Itachi's warning in her mind. Was that what they all thought? That she acted more like his obedient pet than his girlfriend? Since the party, Sakura had started notice all the ways she acted as such, but what was she supposed to do about it? Start disobeying and ignoring him? No. That wasn't what a respectable woman did. Right?

"What are you having?" he asked as they joined the queue once more. It wasn't as long as it had been moments before, much to her gratefulness.

"Uh." She grimaced, looking up at the menu. There was nothing she wanted more than to stuff her face with a cheeseburger, but… her diet. Inwardly sighing, she made up her mind, willing herself to stay strong. "I'll have the salad."

He gave her an odd look. "Salad? Again?"

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal despite the fact her stomach was growling its arguments. "I've been trying out this-"

"Dieting," he said, suddenly catching on with a roll of his eyes. Then, she was pinned with a serious look, one that froze her in her spot. "You need to stop that. There's nothing wrong with your size."

Was… Was Sasuke complimenting her? Another blush stained her cheeks. "I'm not saying there is, I just want to lose a couple of pounds."

Without warning, his hand was tugging on her chin, the other falling to her waist to bring her closer. Once again, Sakura was left feeling stunned, as she knew her boyfriend despised public displays of affection. He didn't mind holding hands or putting an arm around her waist, but anything more than that was a major no-no to him. It made him uncomfortable. So why? Was he trying to make up for earlier? Had he realised how much he upset her? Was his act of gentleness his way of apologising?

"You don't need to lose any weight, Sakura," he murmured, lips ghosting over hers.

The hand on her waist slipped around to her lower back, making her blush. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

There was a smirk on his lips. It wasn't harsh, though. It seemed more like a smile – a genuine smile – and it only confused her further. "What?"

What was he doing? Being so openly affectionate, especially in a restaurant, wasn't his thing. He hated it. If he wanted to make things up with her, he could do it after when they were alone. Honestly, she didn't want him to make himself uncomfortable for her. Still, she didn't want to destroy the tender moment, so found herself replying with, "It's nothing." She smiled and it widened when he pressed his forehead to hers, the hand that had once been cupping her cheek moving to her hip. "I'm sorry for being moody all day."

"Ino always gets to you," he stated with a weak shrug. "Just like you always get to her."

That was true. "But still, this is supposed to be our night, right? Ino isn't here, so she shouldn't matter."

"You're right," he murmured, voice dropping low when her hands held onto his shoulder and upper arm, like she was locking him in place.

She couldn't believe what was happening and was pretty certain her heart was about to slam right out of her chest as he kissed her, her cheeks burning. It wasn't a simple peck like she'd assumed it would be – his lips moved with hers almost tenderly and Sakura couldn't help but sigh into the kiss, all but melting against him. Always. He always had that effect on her. It was like her mind and body would turn into a gooey mess and it frightened her. At the same time, however, it was exciting. She loved being able to just let go sometimes.

There was the rude clearing of someone's throat, forcing them to part and Sakura frowned at the sight of the scowl on Naruto's usually cheerful features. He seemed angry – no, he looked hurt.

"Oi, Sasuke," he said, that scowl looking odd as he smirked at him and shoved him aside. "If you're trying to make people jealous or show them that she's yours, this is what you do."

And then he was yanking Sakura against him, making her eyes go wide as she was bent backwards, his arm around her waist and his hand cradling the back of her head just in case he lost his grip on her when she started to fight back. However, she couldn't find the words to argue. All she could do was hang there uselessly as Naruto began to leave sloppy, playful kisses all over her face.

Trying to show she's yours.

Usually, she would have fought Naruto off. She would have either laughed at his childishness or slapped him upside the head for being so forward with her. However, all she could hear were his words, his hidden warning to her: don't lower your guard, Sakura. He's proving a point. Realising she wasn't playing along, Naruto finally allowed her to stand up straight, his expression apologetic while his back was to Sasuke. He'd always had her back, hadn't he? And lately, it seemed to be more than ever.

She looked to her boyfriend, showing him she was hurt by his actions. Had he really only been showing everyone she belonged to him like she was some kind of trophy? Did he really feel that inferior to Itachi's friends? Had he even meant the words he'd said? Sakura knew that she was probably overthinking everything, as usual, but she couldn't help it. Sasuke was a difficult person to understand. That point was proven when he finally met her gaze, only for her to notice that he wasn't looking at her. He was looking straight through her.

Did she even mean anything to him?

Of course, she knew she meant something to Sasuke, because otherwise he wouldn't be so goddamn possessive over her, but was it love? At that moment in time, Sakura seriously doubted it – he'd never even said the three words to her. She was glad Naruto interrupted what she'd previously thought was a tender moment. Unlike her and her stupidly naïve heart, he'd clearly seen straight through Sasuke's actions and put a stop to them, knowing that it wasn't fair to her. Not for the first time that day, Sakura felt like an idiot and her pride was hurt.

"I'm going back to the table."

"Wait, Sakura-"

"Naruto's here, Sasuke-kun. I don't need to be."

Like hell she was sticking around simply because he didn't want her sitting with a table that consisted mainly of guys – a table who sent her questioning looks as she sat down with them, all of which were ignored as she smiled at them. It didn't matter to her if they could see through the fake smile, as Sakura seriously doubted they would even say anything to her about what had just happened. At least, not to her face.

Gods, she was so stupid. Why did she have that horrible habit of surrounding herself with toxic people (not including Naruto, of course)?

Much to her horror, when the other two members of the group returned and the tray was placed in front of her, she found she did not have what she ordered. Instead of her salad, there was not only a double cheeseburger and large fries, but also nuggets.

"Sasuke-kun, this isn't-"

"You're not dieting again," he stated seriously, uncaring as he called her out on it in front of the others.

Her cheeks burned.

"Is it really up to you what she can and can't eat?" the man beside her, Deidara, questioned, his visible eye narrowing.

Sasuke ignored him, sitting down and tucking into his meal without a care.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan. You know you love McDonald's," Naruto encouraged her with a grin, trying to take the attention off Sasuke, who, despite seeming calm, was clearly getting agitated. "Why do you want to eat that rabbit's food anyway? It's so boring."

Couldn't he see he was adding to her embarrassment? She could feel the others staring at her, probably wondering why she was being so pitiful or ungrateful.

"Your figure is fine, Sakura," came Konan's gentle reassurance, surprising her. "And I am sure Sasuke is merely trying to look out for you. Too much dieting can lead to unhealthy obsessions with your weight, which then leads to eating disorders." Her lidded gaze moved to the blond by her side and she added, "Deidara, Sasuke has every right to be concerned, seeing as he is Sakura's boyfriend. You cannot make assumptions when you have only known them for five minutes."

Returning her gaze to her food, Sakura tried her best to hide her anger and embarrassment. Of course she knew about the dangers of obsessing over her weight. But surely, the situation was just as bad for her confidence? So what if she wanted to diet? Most girls her age did. What right did they have to question her choices?

Despite her thoughts, to get them off her back, she looking up with a smile, saying, "Thanks." Hopefully, they couldn't tell that she was being fake with them. "That means a lot."

Before turning back to her meal, she noticed the man sitting opposite her watching her with something akin to pity, making her stomach turn. What right did Itachi have to pity her? She looked away angrily, willing herself to calm down. Getting worked up wouldn't help the situation – she would only stress herself out. She tucked into her meal without much enthusiasm, upset to find that her usual love for McDonald's wasn't present. Then again, she supposed it wouldn't be when she was being more or less forced into eating their food, knowing that those she was seated with were watching her every move.

"Your car isn't in the parking lot."

The statement had her momentarily glancing at her boyfriend as he addressed his brother, who replied blandly, "I am riding with Kisame-san."

Was it just her who noticed how… cold he seemed towards his brother? No, it couldn't have been, because Sasuke did a double take, his eyes narrowing fractionally with an unspoken question of, what did I do?

"Are you guys going to the new amusement park opening?" asked Naruto loudly, disgusting them all as he spoke with a mouth filled with food.

"Yeah," Kisame answered for them without looking up, also engrossed in his meal. "It's been a while since any of us have had time to actually kick back, so why the hell not, eh?"

"Nagato, Konan and I were unable to make it to Itachi's welcome home party," Yahiko explained further with a roll of his eyes at Kisame's answer. "So, we decided to treat him to a night out, even if we had to drag him here." There was an annoyed expression on his face as he added, "That's partly why he isn't driving – he wanted to work during the journey there and back."

His words had Sasuke scowling and he muttered, "I didn't know you had a job." When Itachi merely answered with a stare, his scowl deepened and he demanded, "Is it with the company?"

Finally finished with her burger, Sakura scrunched up the wrapper and looked up. She'd only been partly listening to their conversation, too absorbed in her own teenage drama to really care. Reaching forward, she dunked a fry into the sauce sitting between her and Itachi and ate it, both savouring and hating the taste. It was either eat or starve and she wasn't ready to go that far just to lose a few pounds.

"Father thought it best that I became involved now rather than later."

"But you've only just come home," she argued, unable to help herself. Fugaku had always rubbed her the wrong way. "You should be resting for a while after being away for so long."

Unlike when he spoke with Sasuke, Itachi gave her a small smile. "I will be fine, Sakura-san. You don't have to worry."

"She worries about everyone," Naruto said with a dismissive wave, shoving more fries into his mouth. "Mom says Sakura-chan is like a mother hen, but Dad says she's got a doctor's heart – whatever the hell that means."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Is that what you want to be?" asked Yahiko. She looked to him in confusion and he clarified, "A doctor, I mean."

"Yeah," she said with a faint smile. "It's always been a dream of mine to help others."

"What about the rest of you?" questioned Naruto suddenly as he counted the people present. So far, there was only: Itachi, Kisame, Konan, Nagato, Yahiko, Sasori and Deidara. "There were others at the party, right? The funny guy who swore a lot and the other one. Uh… I can't remember what their names are."

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. How rude of him to speak of people he didn't even know in such an uncaring way. However, it was Deidara who answered, saying, "You mean Hidan and Kakuzu?"

"Yeah."

"Doubt they'll be coming, unless they just turn up, yeah," he said with a shrug. He was already finished with his meal and was busy scrolling through his phone. "Hidan, maybe – he's always looking for crazy ways to get his kicks. But not Kakuzu. That bastard cares too much about saving his money or earning it, yeah."

Well they sounded like joyful people to be around. Sakura could vaguely remember Kakuzu, but it was impossible to forget Hidan. Naruto had been in fits of laughter with his constant swearing, thinking he was hilarious for not caring about how others thought of him. She, on the other hand, despaired for poor Mikoto, who hadn't been expected such crude words.

"Oi, why don't we all hang out at the amusement park?" suggested Naruto. He was always up for increasing his group of friends, as he wasn't one to believe in having a small circle like many others did. He was someone who wanted to get on with everyone. "We could make it a night to remember."

"That sounds fun," Yahiko agreed, not hearing Sasuke's sigh of annoyance.

Realising that it would annoy him and wanting to get her own pay back for earlier, Sakura smiled brightly at them, surprising the group with her suddenly cheery attitude. "I think that's a great idea."

Opposite her, Itachi smirked, eyeing his brother up with a raised eyebrow. "I have no objections, unless… Do you, Sasuke?"

It was obvious that he didn't want their groups to join up for the evening, but soon enough, it was an entire table against him, leaving him to grumble, "Whatever."

Sakura grinned victoriously, even though it didn't feel like much of a win.

A/N - I'm going to regret updating so quickly, but the response has been amazing and you've all been so kind, so I think you all deserve another update. That and I just finished writing chapter 5 and I've definitely fallen back in love with the story. There's just so many opportunities with this story, like so much to discuss and introduce and warn people about, you know?

For those of you who have read my other stories: I always want to convey some kind of message to my audience. Like with They Never Knew, I wanted to talk about mental illnesses, the stigma attached to them and abuse. With Breath of Life, I talked about fertility issues and/or difficult choices that have massive impacts on others, and how you have to make those choices carefully. With Give Me A Reason, (in the beginning, at least) I talk about the dangers of online relationships and meeting people you've never met before. I'm sure you get the point, right?

The support you have all given to me so far has been amazing and it's really helped with my motivation for writing this story. In the beginning, it was just so I could get to the sequel, but now I'm enjoying the writing process. Thank you all so much!