Chapter 20 – I'm Missing The Same Old Us

Well, it was safe to say she had well and truly pissed Uchiha Fugaku off with her behaviour.

"Your mother could not have worded it better," muttered Fugaku. "You disgraced yourself."

Seated in his impressive office chair, behind that overly large desk, he was incredibly intimidating – and that was before her horrific dream swept to the forefront of her mind, reminding of her fear and anxiety.

"I am well aware that you were not the one who instigated the fight," he went onto saying and she swallowed hard at the oncoming but. "However, your response has shamed us all."

She nodded wordlessly, knowing she was not to speak up yet.

Fugaku didn't need to stand for him to feel like he was towering over her, his presence forcing her to feel so miniscule and insignificant. In response to the feelings, she looked down at her feet, willing herself to be strong, though looked him in the eye when Fugaku ordered her to do so.

"While we are on the subject of being shamed," he began, and her blood ran cold as she knew exactly where the conversation was headed. "Showing up to Sasuke's party dressed the way you are, paired with the way you behaved, was entirely disrespectful."

Again, she nodded.

"Give me one good reason as to why I should not end things between you and Sasuke," he ordered coldly, gaze narrowing.

Disbelief had her looking up at him, wide eyed and slack jawed. "Because it's not your relationship to end."

That narrowed gaze widened fractionally and in response her breathing stopped, like one sudden movement would cause him to lunge for her throat.

Shit.

Shit!

Gods, she was all talk, wasn't she? She'd been fine throwing her weight around, proclaiming to be standing her ground and making a statement, but when it came to standing before the man who caused so much upset and pain, she backed down. She lost her supposed backbone.

Like in her dream, he stripped her bare, leaving her vulnerable and scared.

"Watch your mouth," he muttered in a cold warning. "You are causing problem after problem as of late. Do not think of me as a lenient man who will tolerate this kind of problematic behaviour."

If he was able to hurt his family without thinking twice about it, what was he capable of doing to her? Sakura didn't want to find out. She truly didn't.

Remaining frozen in her spot, she was unable to react to him standing, but much to her utter relief, there was a knock on the door, the intruder refusing to wait to be given permission to enter, instead sticking his head inside the room.

"Ah, there you are, Uncle Fugaku."

Glancing over her shoulder, she begged Shisui to get her out of there with her eyes, hoping and praying that he would find some sort of excuse to help her. But would he? Would he be too scared to go against his uncle? He knew what Fugaku was capable of, after all. He knew what he would do if they were to get in his way.

"I am busy."

"My apologies," he said, but she wondered if he really meant it. "Itachi asked that I find you – he has a request."

"It can wait."

Smiling apologetically, Shisui told him, "I'm not sure it can."

Fugaku's annoyance continued to grow and she needed to get away. "Are they his words?"

Would it really make much of a difference?

"I'm afraid so." Then, he added, "Sakura-chan, Sasuke is waiting for you in his car. He's asked me to escort you."

Freedom.

She leapt at the chance, all but sprinting to the door and smiling gratefully, doing her utmost to ignore the deathly glare boring into her back. As soon as she reached him, Shisui held out his arm, refraining from expressing his emotions to her in that moment, but Sakura knew that it was only due to being in Fugaku's presence.

"I have not dismissed you-"

At her subtle flinch, Shisui's eyes narrowed fractionally, his arm strengthening its hold on hers. "But it's Sasuke's birthday," he said jokingly. Was she the only one to see the seriousness in his eyes? "Surely you will allow it just this once, Uncle?"

He merely stared.

She swallowed, turning but not releasing Shisui's arm. As much as she hated to do it, as much as her pride begged of her not to, Sakura said, "I'm sorry, Fugaku-san. For my appearance and for my behaviour throughout Sasuke-kun's party. I never meant to cause any offence or bring any shame on your family."

There was instant tension in Shisui's body at her words, but she was so very glad that he didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Fugaku sighed. "Thank you. You may leave."

That was it? He simply wanted her to apologise?

Hiding her frown, she allowed Shisui to escort her from the office, grateful that his usual flirtatious behaviour was nowhere to be seen. Adding fuel to the fire at that point wouldn't only be disastrous, it'd be catastrophic, Fugaku's demand to know why he shouldn't end her relationship with his son repeating itself in her mind. They couldn't give him more reason to believe that to be for the best.

It was the second they were way out of earshot that he tucked her into the dining room, shutting the door to and cupping her face, eyes serious as he assessed her features like he was trying to see some kind of bruising or other signs of abuse.

Just the relief that filled his expression frightened her, answering her earlier thoughts of Fugaku being more than willing to bring harm to someone.

"I won't ask if you're okay," he murmured lowly and stepped back, granting her some space to take a shuddering breath. "But I will ask: how are you feeling?"

"Scared," she admitted, voice weak and she swallowed. "He asked me why he shouldn't end my relationship with Sasuke-kun."

There was a quiet curse and Shisui peered through the gap of the door, the pair of them remaining silent as they heard Fugaku's office door opening. Said man soon walked by the dining room, his features stony.

When he was gone, Shisui looked to her again, saying, "It would be best to keep your head down for a while, Sakura-chan." Then, he smirked that perverted smirk of his, adding, "As much as I love seeing this–" He gestured to her state of dress, admiring the flare of her hips and the boost in her breasts, much to her embarrassment. "I don't like seeing you getting into trouble."

It wasn't fair, though. She felt comfortable in her own skin for the first time in forever. She enjoyed being complimented by others – loved that they admired her like they would Ino. Why did she have to cover up? Why was Fugaku in control of what she wore like they were back in the stone ages?

"No."

Having been preoccupied with peeking through the crack in the door, Shisui quickly looked her way again, repeating, "No?"

She laughed without humour, shaking her head. "Don't think of this as me disrespecting Mikoto-san, because I'm not. I love her like she's my own mother. But… I refuse to be anything like her."

He sighed, but there was a small smile that accompanied it. "At least give me some warning the next time you decide to make a statement." The smile vanished, his features growing concerned. "I won't let you become like Mikoto-san. The people you claim to love should never become your personal punching bags."

He was on about Sasuke, wasn't he?

Instead of letting anything show, Sakura smiled tiredly. "Right."

"Go," he said with a faint tinge of reluctance. "Sasuke is waiting for you."

And so she left.

Holy shit.

She'd never thought it would be so different from her own – driving Sasuke's car, she meant.

It was so freaking different.

Earlier, she'd lied to Sasuke in saying she'd driven his car to a garage. Really, it'd been their best friend (she'd been too scared of damaging it and angering him) and she was scared as hell that he would find out. He would lose his damn mind.

"Easy on the clutch," he ordered, and she knew he was inwardly cringing at the sound his engine was making.

Not for the first time, she apologised profusely, especially when turning a corner and accidentally mounting the pavement with the back tyre. Gods, she was so tempted to pull over and force Sasuke to take over, but he didn't know where they were going and had had so much to drink that evening. She had the route memorised.

It wasn't only the clutch that she was struggling with. It was the sheer size of his car, too. Hers may as well have been an original Mini Cooper – that was how big Sasuke's car felt in that moment. Everything was wider. Longer. Hell, whenever they pulled up at the lights, she always ended up leaving an unnecessary amount of room between her and the car in front, terrified that she would accidentally bump into them, as the bonnet was longer than her own.

"Where are we going?" questioned Sasuke.

Was he trying to make her feel more at ease? Sakura smiled, but didn't dare to look away from the road. It felt like she was a learner all over again. "Away from Konoha," was all she said.

It took her another half hour before she began to feel comfortable stopping and starting in his car, her confidence growing whenever Sakura saw Sasuke smirking proudly. It exploded to new heights when he soon relaxed in his seat, admiring the sight of her driving. She supposed it was a rare sight for him, as Sasuke was always the one to drive. He rarely relinquished control.

Unlike Itachi, a traitorous voice whispered in her mind.

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

She kept seeing his reaction to her telling him to move on, her words causing his face to fall. The look of–

No. She refused to call it heartbreak. Calling it heartbreak made it more serious than she wanted it to be. More than she could handle.

"We need a break," Sakura suddenly spoke up, smiling in his direction. "Time away from everyone and everything."

"Just us," he agreed.

"So, I was thinking," she began slowly, awkwardly. "We could leave our phones in the car."

Much to her surprise, he agreed easily, nodding. "No distractions." There was a pause before he added, "Mother said she's hosting a dinner tomorrow night. Madara's coming." Her smile faltered and Sasuke sighed in response. "You don't have to come, but I would appreciate it if you could."

He wanted her support. Sakura's smile returned, her eyes focusing on the lane they were about to switch to. Due to it being so late into the evening, the roads were pretty much empty.

Honestly, she shouldn't really have been driving due to drinking earlier. But she'd sobered up considerably, eating her bodyweight in food and refusing to drink anything alcoholic after her bust up with Ino five hours ago. She knew it'd still be in her system if they were pulled over, but her driving was fine from what she could tell. No, it must have been, because Sasuke wouldn't have let her drive otherwise.

"No, I'll come," she assured him, slowly coming to a stop at a red light. She was getting the hang of driving his car now. "If only to irritate him with my presence."

He smirked at that.

It took another twenty minutes before they arrived at their destination, pulling up to a field that'd been fenced off. Legally, they shouldn't be trespassing, Sasuke informed her, stopping at the fence even as she climbed over it, waiting for him to hand the bags over. It was her smirking impishly, goading him (knowing exactly how to bend him to her will, thanks to Naruto), that had Sasuke following reluctantly, eyeing his car warily.

"It'll be fine," said Sakura, grinning while taking his hand. They were each carrying a couple of bags, equally distributing the weight (something she was so very happy about, as it meant he didn't think she was weak). "Do you really think I'd have your car all done up just to put it at risk a few hours later?"

He grunted and she took that as winning him over, tugging on his hand so that she was able to lead the way.

Further into the field, there was a dip, the top of the hill shielding them from people who could potentially walk by the fence and spot them. She knew Sasuke valued privacy, so they made the bottom of the dip their destination.

Sakura glanced up at the night sky, her grin widening at the sight of the stars, before she placed down the bags, grateful that the grass was not wet. To be on the safe side, she'd brought along a waterproof sheet that would go beneath their blankets (as well as a tent, just in case they planned on staying out).

Opening the bag, she took out the blankets and waterproof sheet, thanking Sasuke when he helped her in laying them flat on the grass, brushing away any dirt once they were ready. He also took the liberty in putting the tent up not far from the blankets, looking her way once it was finished, making her stomach flip.

"Just in case," she murmured shyly.

She knew the implications of bringing a tent. It would be their first time staying out all night without friends accompanying them. Even at the hotel not too long ago, they'd had their friends there, the constant reminder of Naruto potentially walking in on them (as well as not being ready for such a huge step) keeping them from going any further sexually.

Crouching, Sakura continued emptying the bag, placing a stereo to one side of the blankets, directly opposite the picnic blanket Sasuke suddenly put down.

"Did you have a good birthday?" she asked as they sat down together.

The quietness of the field was relieving, although it did add some awkwardness to their conversation as she struggled to find topics for them to discuss. That kept happening as of late, she couldn't help but notice – struggling to talk about things. While they were certainly more open with one another than ever, finding ways to fill the silence when there was nothing important to talk about was difficult. It'd never been that way before. They'd never found the silence uncomfortable – well, she didn't, anyway.

Sasuke nodded, busying himself with pouring two cups of tea from the flask she'd filled up. "It got tiring, though."

Yeah, she'd been able to see that. He'd never really been one for being the centre of attention and now, much to his great displeasure, there was a dinner party in his honour. To make matters worse, Madara would be there and whatever other Uchiha hadn't been able to attend. Part of Sakura hoped Shisui would be there, if only to lighten the tension. He clearly hadn't been too worried about standing up to Fugaku.

"I think you made your mother's night," she praised him, smiling. "I've never seen Mikoto-san smile like that before."

"Neither have I," he admitted after a prolonged pause, his expression troubled.

It hurt seeing that pain in his eyes. Reaching out, she took his hand, shuffling closer while carefully holding her tea as still as possible so that it wouldn't spill on either of them. She was still wearing her dress and loathed the idea of ruining it.

"You're not to blame for that," Sakura said seriously. Watching him, she tried her best to convey her words in her eyes, hoping it would truly hit him that it was not his fault. "She's scared of your dad, Sasuke-kun."

"What did he say to you earlier?" Finally, Sasuke met her gaze, frowning. "You were quiet when you got in the car."

Gods, did she tell him? Could she tell him? Would it set him off? It struck her deeply that she shouldn't be worried about how something would affect him, but she did, because Sakura knew exactly what Sasuke was like. She knew how he would react deep in her heart and she knew that it would not be pleasant.

But they'd promised to be more truthful with one another.

Itachi's face flashed to the front of her mind, his reaction to her telling him to move on making Sakura swallow hard. It caused a weight in her chest, one that doubled when she met Sasuke's eye again.

Neither of them deserved the pain she was causing them or going to cause them.

"Sakura."

"He said I disgraced myself and brought shame on you all," she said before she could think of a more eloquent way of phrasing it, the words flowing from her mouth without a second thought. "He…"

The anger shining in his expression forced her to grow silent, leading him to push with a quiet, "He…?"

That weight wasn't letting up, Sakura realised with a quickly escalating fear. Gods, she couldn't breathe! It was like her lungs were too big for her chest, only growing larger with every breath she took and she sat up straighter, only vaguely seeing Sasuke's concern knocking the anger away entirely, taking the cup from her and placing them down near the picnic basket.

"Sakura?" he questioned worriedly.

Tears filled her eyes.

She was a horrible person.

"H-He…"

"Forget him," Sasuke ordered, hands faltering when he'd reached out to grab her face. Frustration had him glancing to the side momentarily, but he took a deep breath, telling her in a much calmer voice, "I'm sorry for getting angry."

It wasn't Sasuke. Not entirely. No, the problem was her. She was the one who was hurting everyone. She'd hurt Itachi – looked like she'd broken his goddamn heart. And Sasuke! Gods, what was she supposed to do? She had to tell him the truth. She had to tell him what she did. But he'd never forgive her, would he? He'd hate her. Rightly so! Gods, what was she thinking?

"Calm down," Sasuke demanded, eyes growing wide at the sight of her panic. Still, he didn't touch her. "Please, Sakura. Breathe."

Out of desperation, she grabbed at him, fingers locking in his shirt several times like she was trying to find a better, more secure hold, and Sakura got to her knees, hovering over him. She focused on his eyes, her gaze then moving to his lips and the rise and fall of his chest, which soon settled into a more relaxed rhythm, understanding that she was trying to copy him.

"He…" She swallowed hard, ignoring Sasuke when he told her to forget his father again. It was getting easier to breathe, especially when she demanded herself to shut Itachi out of her mind, locking him and their kiss behind a door that would never be opened again. "He asked me why he should allow us to keep seeing each other."

"He has no say in the matter," he growled, hands covering hers before falling away, his focus fixated on her hands, frustration returning briefly. "It's our relationship. Not his."

"That's what I told him," she said with a weak smile.

Dark eyes widened. "You stood up to him?"

"And chickened out seconds later," Sakura tried to laugh. "Shisui saved me."

"Saved?"

"Well, got me out of there. He–" She paused, willing the pain in her chest away as she took a deeper breath, eyes shutting as she focused on returning her breathing to normal. "He made up some excuse about Itachi needing to see him."

"Itachi probably saw you going in there with him," Sasuke informed her. "You're his friend. He wouldn't want to see you hurt, even if it's not physically."

She nodded, mentally shoving all her weight on the shaking door labelled 'Itachi'. To try and change the subject, she asked, "Do you remember this song?" As much as it shouldn't have, it hurt that he had to think about it, listening to more of the song before nodding, as Sakura knew he only nodded to try and spare her feelings. He didn't remember it. "Naruto was playing it on our first day at school after starting our relationship."

It wasn't anything significant, she supposed. To others, it probably seemed like nothing. But to her, it meant so much. After all, it was the day when they let the whole school know about their relationship. The song never failed to take her back in time, making Sakura smile whenever she recalled the way Naruto had obnoxiously half yelled down the school corridor, supposedly singing along, grinning whenever people groaned and told him to shut up.

It hadn't been all that long into their relationship, so she and Sasuke had still been so awkward around one another. So unsure of how to act around each other.

Sakura bit her lip, cheeks flushing when Sasuke stepped closer to her, allowing a group of older kids to pass by them, nodding once to them in passing. Belatedly, she noticed his older brother, Itachi, amongst the group, eyes drawn to the way the others surrounded him. He seemed so casual, so carefree. Nothing like the boy she'd spoken to and seen around the Uchiha Manor who rarely said a word.

She smiled when their eyes met, cheeks continuing to burn when he returned it with a gentle one of his own.

That was…

Sakura shoved more mental weight on the door, locking the once pleasant memory in there too. At least, the part that included Itachi.

Funny how she'd never really paid much attention to that before – to him, she meant.

No. She couldn't think about it. If she thought about it, too much would change.

"I remember," Sasuke said suddenly, his genuine realisation taking her breath away. "You changed perfumes that day for the new year."

Green eyes widened and she fell back onto her haunches, hold on his shirt slackening. "You remember that?"

"I remember all the perfumes you used," he said like it was obvious. "That year was the year you started your tradition of changing it every year, right?"

Yes. It was.

She threw herself at him, arms coming around his neck, squashing their bodies together and Sakura groaned with annoyance when his hands remained mid-air, like he was still worried about touching her.

"Gods, Sasuke-kun. Just touch me!"

Her breath caught as they stumbled backwards, her lower back coming into contact with his dresser before Itachi surprised Sakura by lifting her with ease, setting her down on it. It was naturally that her legs parted, dress hiking higher until it was barely touching her thighs at all, granting him unspoken permission to move closer to her. His hand fell flat to the wall behind her, other white knuckled next to her thigh, brow creasing.

"It's okay," she breathed between kisses, unable to connect the voice as her own, briefly meeting his eye. "You can touch me."

He didn't need telling twice, hands instantly seeking out her smooth thighs, her skin tingling at the feeling of them finally touching, the pressure of his grip eliciting a short-lived, breathy moan that only seemed to spur him on. The hold on her grew bolder, more confident, as they slid up her thighs, clutching at her ass and making her hiss with need when she was yanked forward, their hips pressing together deliciously.

Shutting down the memory was difficult.

Like his brother, he didn't need to be told twice it seemed, his hands immediately coming to her body. First her waist, before they trailed along her dress, coming to her back, his arms slowly wrapping around her until he was returning her embrace with equal strength, cheek resting on hers. Sakura shut her eyes as she felt his sigh of relief, like he'd missed holding her so freely, without worry of frightening her and she felt tears filling her eyes in response.

She missed it, too.

She missed it so fucking bad.

Slowly, unsurely, her leg shifted over his, allowing her to straddle him and instantly, Sasuke looked to her, pulling back a few inches to meet her eye.

The door in her mind started shaking again.

Sakura shut her eyes.

Move on.

She had to move on, too.

Her hand came to his face, eyes opening once more, a small smile playing on her lips as she saw his uncertainty.

"Sakura…"

"It's okay," she told him.

It was during the process of her hand slipping to the back of his head, stroking the nape of his neck, that Sakura's head lowered to his, capturing his lips in a slow kiss.

Move on.

Brow puckering as Sasuke deepened the kiss, leaning up, hands pulling her closer, Sakura did her utmost to relax into the kiss and keep the door in her mind shut. Curiously, her hands began exploring his body, fingertips hesitant, careful, when she sat back, parting from the kiss to watch the shift in his shirt as she touched him.

She was in control when on top of him, Sakura realised, initiating the kiss once more and it seemed as though Sasuke didn't mind too much. Instead, he savoured their kisses, breathing out shakily when she lowered herself to him fully, fingers popping a single button open before pausing on the next. Stunning her, Sasuke groaned quietly into their next kiss, his tongue seeking hers, tangling in a way that wasn't wholly unpleasant, although the inexperience did show. She wondered if her own had been obvious when Itachi–

She faltered, damn near flinching.

Sasuke pulled back, his uncertainty returning. "What is it?"

"Your last surprise," she lied, swallowing. "I've left it in the car."

He brushed it off, lips going to her neck. "Leave it for now."

The hold on her was strong, Sakura realised with a surge of panic, her own hands coming to his shoulder and chest, forcing him back slightly. "I-I'd rather not."

It seemed he realised he was being pushy, because Sasuke nodded and allowed her to get up, eyes not meeting hers.

She smiled shakily. "I'll be back in a second."

Having swapped her heels for flats before leaving (knowing she would be driving), Sakura had no issues in jogging back over to the car.

As expected, it was still in perfect condition and she wasted no time in slipping into the passenger seat, opening the glovebox where she'd hidden the surprise. Luckily for her, Sasuke hadn't been too suspicious when she'd demanded to be the one who put the phones in there, instead busying himself with grabbing the bags.

She grabbed the surprise, holding it in the palm of her hand to admire it before steeling her nerves, gripping it tightly.

But as she was about to leave the car, she heard a familiar ping that had her pausing.

As much as she knew she shouldn't, despite knowing how badly it would be invading his privacy, Sakura reached out, tilting the phone upwards so that the screen would light up, the name that showed making her frown.

She was glad the interior light had shut itself off in an attempt to save the battery, for her frown only deepened when Sakura took the phone out of the glovebox, her heart in her throat as she easily unlocked it. Sasuke knew she knew his passcode and it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest – something she repeated in her mind as his message opened, the picture she was greeted with making tears fill her eyes.

Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun.

Hand covering her mouth, Sakura could only stare at the picture of her supposed best friend in horror, the sight of her naked body causing her own to fill with a mixture of intense anger, hurt and hatred.

How could she…?

Swallowing hard in a sad attempt to smother the building sob, Sakura scrolled through the previous messages, frown turning to a scowl as she saw Ino's provocative words. Sasuke, in his only defence, repeatedly told her to sober up and leave him alone, but it did little to lessen her anger and hurt, since he should have told her. He should have blocked Ino's number. Why the hell hadn't he done either of those things? If he was so worried about hurting her, he should have blocked Ino at the very least.

"Oh my Gods," she finally sobbed, heart breaking as she found it wasn't the first nude Ino had sent to him.

"Sakura-"

She didn't even try to hide the fact she'd been reading through his messages with her best friend, too infuriated, too broken up, about the fact that he'd seen Ino naked, had been receiving sexts from her, had been checking her the fuck out right in front of her–

"I-"

"Don't you dare say you can explain."

He fell silent.

"What-" Sakura cut herself off, just barely resisting the urge to slam the phone into the dashboard as she was able to keep scrolling. "How long, Sasuke-kun?" Silence. Her voice raised. "How long does this go on for?"

"Too long," Sasuke admitted, voice low.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" she demanded.

"I told her to stop-"

"You should have blocked her!" Sakura snapped angrily, though made no move to get out of the car or stop scrolling, her heart breaking the further and further she continued to scroll. "You should have told me!"

Many of the texts he received went unanswered, but whenever that happened, Ino would get the response she craved by sending a nude photograph, prompting him into telling her to leave him alone. One nude came after eleven ignored texts.

Deciding she couldn't read Ino's passages about what she wanted him to do to her and what she'd do to him, Sakura placed her hands on the dashboard, trying to breathe through her rage and betrayal.

"I'm sorry."

That didn't stop her tears. It didn't stop her sobbing.

Grip intensifying, she tossed the phone back into the glovebox like she'd been burned, hands coming to her face. She didn't want him to see her so broken up by it – he didn't deserve to see it.

"I need a minute," she croaked.

"How am I–"

"I said I need a minute."

"No-"

She dropped her hands, glaring up at him, yelling so damn loud that her voice gave out in some places and shook in others, "I said give me a minute, Sasuke!"

The pain in his face as he turned and returned to their spot in the field shouldn't have caused her more upset and it only made her rage grow when it did.

It was in that moment of rage that she reached for her own phone, sending only two words to a number she rarely, if ever, texted. His responding thank you went ignored though as Sakura threw her phone back into the glove box, attempting to calm herself. But how was she supposed to do that? He'd–

He'd told her to stop. While he hadn't blocked her or told Sakura, he'd made it obvious he didn't appreciate the messages. He ignored the majority of them.

The door in her mind shook again, stronger than before.

Was it really that different from what she'd done? Yes, it was, because what she'd done was so much worse. Whereas he'd ignored Ino, Sakura had welcomed Itachi with open arms. Whereas he'd told her to go away, she'd kissed Itachi.

She was such a goddamn hypocrite.

Wiping at her face, she grabbed Sasuke's phone once more, calling Ino without hesitation, breathing deeply to remain calm when the blonde answered immediately with a smug tone in her voice.

"Well, well, Sasuke-kun. I knew that one was the best one I've ever taken, but I didn't think it'd actually gift me with a phone call."

For a moment, Sakura couldn't reply, throat feeling impossibly tight.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Ino questioned in an almost purr. "Are you playing with yourself too?"

Bitch–

Deep breaths, she warned herself.

"I am," she whispered seductively, breath hitching. "Just thinking of-"

"–of how much of a backstabbing bitch you are makes me sick to my stomach," Sakura snarled before she could stop herself, the sound of Ino's shock making that anger in her gut twist sharply. "Did you even think about me when you started sending your slutty messages to my boyfriend?"

"Forehead-"

"Don't 'Forehead' me," she snapped into the phone. "Did you seriously think I wouldn't find out?"

"Did he tell you?"

"Yeah," she lied with surprising ease. Gods, she was so angry. "You know, I was willing to put our fight behind us for the sake of our friendship, because despite how hard you were trying to hurt me, I didn't want to lose you."

There was a shake in Ino's voice as she said, "Please, Sakura–"

"Go to hell, Ino," Sakura told her in another snarl. "You've made it pretty clear you don't see me as a friend, so rot in the hell you've made for yourself. I'm done with you."

With that, she hung up the phone, returning it to the glovebox, determined on speaking calmly with Sasuke.

Upon leaving the car, however, and finding Sasuke climbing back over the fence to talk with her, she felt the anger reigniting, even though Sakura repeatedly told herself she had no right to be so upset with him.

"Sakura–"

"Block her number," Sakura ordered, already grabbing the phone and handing it over to him. "And delete all messages and pictures from her."

Sasuke nodded, doing so without hesitation. "I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"She's your friend," he responded quietly, frowning. He held up the phone, showing Sakura that it was done, but she kept her hard eyes on his. "I thought that by telling her to get lost or move on, or by simply mentioning you, would make her realise how ridiculous she was being."

Move on.

"I should have told you," he went on to saying, his frown deepening. "I didn't think. I'm sorry."

What right did she have to be upset with him? She'd kissed his older brother. She'd been so worked up after their steamy make out session that simply knowing there was a bed in the room riled her up.

Move on.

She had to accept her own advice, didn't she?

The tears returned, throat constricting.

As much as it hurt, she had to forgive him and move on. She had no choice.

"Please," she quietly begged, her sudden vulnerable display making Sasuke falter, his own expression falling, her next words making his own eyes glassy. "Please stop hurting me."