Chapter Six

"Someone's in a good mood." TenTen said to Sakura as they walked into school together. "I'm starting to finally get a full nights sleep." She smiled, "That's good! What changed?"

A blush came to her cheeks, "Sasuke just slept over the last few nights." "Yet you're not dating him, why?" She rolled her eyes, "Ugh. Because our relationship is just different."

"You obviously like having him around." Sakura nodded, "I love it, it's just, we can't talk to each other, you know?" "Like about the important stuff? I definitely get that. Neji and I are people who don't open up easily to other's either, but one night I started talking, and he listened. From that point on, it became easier for us to talk to each other."

Their conversation was cut short, as Shikamaru and Neji, approached them. "Hey, You guys." They said in unison, and Neji kissed TenTen's forehead, making her smile.

"Anyone seen Ino?" Shikamaru asked them, "I haven't, she texted me and said she was sick though." He nodded, before him and Neji walked off. "Hinata and I are having a little gathering for Neji's acceptance into the military academy, Friday night." "I'll be there." Sakura said, "Perfect!"

The pair stood around Sakura's locker conversing about the party, before Sakura looked a few lockers down, to see Sasuke and Naruto. "So do you sleep there every night now?" Naruto teased, "Just as long as she needs me to." He said, before turning his head to look in the direction of her locker.

Their eyes stared into each other's, and they smiled genuinely. They both excused themselves from their friends, and started walking toward each other. "Good morning, again." She said while looking up at him, "Morning, Beautiful."

His eyes gazed at her lips as she said to him, "We need to really start working on our project." "We do, you need to stop distracting me." A giggle left her lips, as he leaned over her, with his hand against the locker behind her head.

"I distract you? How?" "You just start talking, and next thing I know my hands are taking off your bra." She laughed while placing one of her hands against his chest, "What's keeping you from kissing me right now then?"

"Honestly?" Her emerald eyes looked from his eyes to his pink lips, wanting nothing more than for them to be against her's. Biting his bottom lip, he whispered into her ear softly, "I know that if I started kissing you right now, I wouldn't be able to stop."

A blush came to her cheeks, "Who says I would want you to?" Just as she said that, the bell rang. "Let's get to class." He bit his bottom lip while nodding.

Walking into class, Sakura saw a smiling Hinata and Naruto with an even brighter one. "Morning you two." Sakura said to them, "Good Morning, how are you?"

Hinata asked her, "I'm good, you?" "I'm good." They both seemed to mean it when they said it, and it made them both smile. "Where's Ino?" Hinata asked, "Home, she said she was sick."

She nodded, "How did you convince Hiashi to let you throw the party for Neji?" Sakura asked, knowing how strict he was. "I didn't, Friday's are his poker nights, so we'll be fine."

Sakura shook her head, "If we get caught, you're dead.""I know, but honestly? I think he'd actually be chill about it. He wants to invite Naruto over for dinner this week."

"Really? That's so great! Hopefully it'll go better than it did with Toneri." Sakura said, referring to Hinata's first boyfriend. Hinata gave her look, before Naruto paused his conversation with Sasuke as he heard what Sakura had said.

"Toneri?" Sakura wanted to face palm when she realized she hadn't told Naruto about him. "Toneri is my ex. We broke up like eight months ago."

Naruto nodded, "Oh okay." Hinata smiled awkwardly with a blush on her face, "Yeah." Luckily Mr. Hatake walked in and started his lecture just as she parted her lips to start rambling.

Hinata facepalmed when Naruto turned in his seat to face the front of the classroom, and Sakura mouthed that she was sorry. It wasn't that big of deal, Hinata just knew that if Naruto knew about Toneri, he'd ask a million questions, and that was a door she didn't want to open if she didn't have to. The thought of her ex alone, made her sick from the trauma that she always seemed to relive. She didn't give him enough credit though, because Naruto assumed that she'd talk about her ex if she ever wanted to.

After class, Sakura apologized to Hinata repetitively. "Sakura, it's okay." She said while closing her locker. When she turned around, she looked into her best friends eyes and saw tears in them. "Are you sure? Because now you have to talk to him about him, and he was horrible to you, you know?"

Hinata pulled her friend into a hug, "I promise you that it is okay, Sakura. I am not mad, you didn't know." She was obviously having a mood swing, and Hinata helped the best she could. "But still."

Sakura started, and Hinata cut her off,  "No, but's. It was an honest mistake, it's okay. Besides, I have to talk about him at some point, don't I?"

"Are you crying? What's going on?" Ino asked while seeing the two of them in the hallway, as she walked into school. "I'm just being emotional, I'm fine." Sakura said with a sigh, "It'll get easier, you're doing great, Forehead."

"Hopefully, Pig." They laughed, "Are you feeling better?" Hinata asked Ino, "No, honestly." She answered, "Then why did you come in? You didn't miss much in first period by the way, I'll give you my notes."

Ino smiled, "Thank you, but I just couldn't be there with my mom all day." She laughed, "Alright, let's go to second period, see you later, Ino. Text me if you need anything."

Hinata said, before they were off. They sat in their seats just as the tardy bell rang. "I hope everyone's projects are going well." Their teacher started, and almost on cue Sakura zoned out.

Although she had been getting sleep at night, her withdrawal symptoms only seemed to worsen. It had been five days since her last dosage, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling the way she did. She couldn't stop compulsively thinking about how all of her anxiety, and everything else would disappear if she just took one.

As she annoyingly clicked her pen, Neji reached over and grabbed her hand, snapping her out of her trance. "That's so annoying." He said, making her click it one more time, and wink at him.

Neji rolled his eyes with a smile on his lips, and she placed the pen on the wooden desk. "Noted."

Instead of clicking her pen, she settled on bouncing her knee up and down, as her heartbeat started to quicken for no apparent reason. Her thoughts were occupied with memories of her and Sasuke from last night, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was genuinely enjoying spending so much time with her, or if he just was using her for sex.

Although that seemed to be their dynamic, she was very vulnerable emotionally, and not secure in where she stood in terms of their relationship.

As she thought about Sasuke, he sat behind her, thinking of his next move to find his missing brother. Like Danzo expressed, they had no real leads, but Sasuke hoped that the person he hired could've missed a step somewhere along the line, that could possibly lead to Itachi. He had been searching for him since he was a kid, and it gradually became an obsession of his.

The amount of hatred he had within him for his brother was what drove him, and he wouldn't stop until he was dead. The two of them stayed in their separate day dreams the entire class period, while Hinata avoided Naruto because of last period. She had the horrible habit of avoiding problems, instead facing them head on like Naruto did.

After the bell rang, Naruto grasped Hinata's arm lightly, and pulled her into a hug, before she could walk away from him in the busy hallway. "You don't have to avoid me, Hinata. I'm not going to pressure you into talking about your ex, okay?" She looked up at him, about to lie, but he stopped her.

"It's okay, you know I'm here for you, and if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here, Princess, but if you don't, I don't care." She nodded, feeling bad that she had even thought he would be anything less than level headed about it. He smiled, "Okay."

She leaned up, and kissed his lips before saying, "Okay. I'm sorry." "You don't have to be sorry, Princess. Now get to class." He said with a wink, making her giggle before doing as he said.

When she walked into her third period class, she saw Ino in her normal seat and she smiled at her. She seemed different, but Hinata decided to not ask her what was wrong, but rather wait for her to talk about it. Sasuke walked in, and instead of sitting where he normally sat, he decided to sit behind Ino, away from Karin.

Hinata and her glanced at each other, slightly surprised. "Hey, Sasuke." Ino said, "Hey." Hinata smiled at him, before turning to face the board.

"TenTen and I are throwing Neji a surprise congratulations party this Friday night, you have to come." Hinata said to Ino as their teacher allowed them to work on an assignment in pairs. Since there was an odd number, Sasuke decided to work on his own.

"Friday? I'll try and make it, I have a doctor's appointment after school." Hinata nodded, "How about you, Sasuke?" He looked up from his assignment, "What did you say?"

"We're throwing a surprise get together for Neji, you should come." He nodded, "Oh for sure, when is it?" She smiled, "Friday night."

"Alright, sounds good." "Perfect, it should be fun." "Hiashi is letting you throw a party?" Ino asked, "He won't be home, so as long as it stays relatively small in size we should be fine."

"And if he see's Naruto? Does he still hate him?" She shook her head, "N-no! Actually he's coming over to have dinner with us Thursday."

Ino smiled, "Aw that's good! He'll love him once he gets to know him." She nodded, "Hopefully."

"Sasuke, is he good with parents?" Ino asked him. Sasuke thought about whether or not he wanted to be honest. "I'd say he's good, but I don't really know. He's never had a real girlfriend before."

Hinata blushed while Ino gasped dramatically, "Are you serious?" Sasuke nodded, "I thought he would've told you that." Hinata shrugged, "We never really got around to that conversation." Sasuke nodded, "Well I think he'll be fine. Everyone loves him." Hinata nodded, "Yeah, he should be fine."

Although she said that, she was extremely anxious. Her father already didn't like him, and she hadn't informed him that they were now dating. After everything she said about him being only a friend, she couldn't imagine that conversation going well.

The three of them made light conversation for the rest of the class period, before heading to lunch. Sakura sat in her teacher's classroom, finishing the test that she had previously been excused from. Although she didn't feel any better, she was determined to finish the test, and she was only three questions away from the end, when she looked up at the clock that seemed to be going abnormally fast.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she took a deep breath, while telling herself that she was imaging things. "You're fine." She muttered to herself, snapping herself out of whatever trance she was under.

"Thank you again!" She said while leaving the classroom, and heading to the courtyard where her friends typically had lunch. As she passed the girls restroom, she heard what sounded like someone throwing up, and naturally went to ask the person if they were okay. "Are you okay?" She asked while opening the door, and walking in to the room.

"Y-yes! I'm fine." Her friend called out. "Ino? " She asked, as she opened the unlocked stall.

"Well what's going on? A stomach bug?" Ino sighed, "Sakura? I'm screwed." "What's wrong?" She asked while looking at herself in the mirror. "You remember how I slept with Shikamaru like a month ago?"

Her emerald eyes widened, "Did Sai find out?" She shook her head, "God no, but I took a pregnancy test last night." Ino's eyes watered as she held it together. "It was positive wasn't it? Shit, Ino."

"I know, but it's okay, I scheduled an appointment Friday." "To terminate?" Sakura asked, and she nodded. "Okay, I'll be there. What time?" Ino smiled slightly at her best friend, loving that she knew naturally that she'd ask her to come.

"Right after school." Sakura nodded, "Okay, I'll pick you up in the morning, and then take you after school? We can just tell Hinata that we won't be at Neji's party."

"Are you sure?" She nodded, "Of course, I shouldn't be around alcohol and stuff anyways." Ino sighed, "I'm not going to tell him, because he'll want to be there for me, and that's not his place. I'm with Sai."

Sakura nodded, "You are, and you're going to have to tell both of them eventually." "I'm just going to live with this. I know that I'm too young to have a kid. I have my entire life ahead of me." Sakura nodded, "And you have every right to do this, Ino. I would too."

"Really? Because somehow I feel guilty. I know I shouldn't, but I don't know." She said while sighing, before laughing a little. "It's what I get, I cheated on my boyfriend with my childhood friend, and now I'm pregnant with his freaking baby."

"You guys were on a break." Sakura said, Ino shrugged, "Yeah, but I didn't even give it a day. He had every right to be jealous like he was, Sai doesn't deserve this." She walked closer to her friend, and cupped her beautiful face in her petite hands.

"Hey, it's okay. Everything will be okay. We're all here for you." The door opened, and in walked TenTen and Hinata. "Are you guys about to kiss?" TenTen joked, making them all laugh. "But really, what's going on?" She asked, making Ino sigh before telling her friends what they had just been talking about.

"I'm so sorry, Ino." Hinata said, while TenTen just hugged her tightly. "It's really karma biting me in the ass for sleeping with Shika." She said making Hinata shake her head, "You still feel bad about that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. It just changed everything. I think I love Sai, but Shikamaru is just always there, you know? And we've known each other for so long." Hinata nodded while saying, "I know you miss him, he's familiar, but remember how it felt when he cheated on you."

She sighed, "I know, and I did that to Sai." TenTen shook her head, "That's completely different, you and Sai were on a break." "I know, but-" Sakura cut her off, "No, you shouldn't feel bad, and if you do, you need to talk to Sai. He'd understand."

"I know he would, and that's why I feel bad! He's so understanding, and it's like he doesn't care, you know? Like if I told him, he wouldn't even be jealous."

"Because he trusts you." Hinata said, and Ino smiled while thinking of her boyfriend. "I know. He's so perfect, it's annoying." Sakura laughed, "Must be nice."

"Right? I want a perfect guy." TenTen said, Hinata thought of Naruto and smiled. She thought he was pure perfection, although he did have a questionable past, she trusted that he was changing, or at least tried to convince herself to.

"Have you eaten anything, Sakura?" Hinata asked, and she shook her head, "I'm not hungry." "You sure? I still have some of my lunch left over." Hinata said, "I'm fine."

"Okay, well Ino? If you need anything, we are all here. Honestly say the word and we'll cancel the party to be with you." She shook her head, "No, it's for Neji." TenTen shrugged her shoulders, "He'd understand."

"You can't tell him. He'll tell Shika." "I know, I won't tell him." "All of you, this stays in here. Okay?" They all nodded, "Of course, Ino." The group of girls exited the bathroom, just as the bell rang. They glanced at each other, before going in their opposite directions for their separate classes.

Sakura sighed when she realized that she had her next class with Shikamaru. They were friends, but it would be hard to look at him after knowing everything. "Hey." She said simply, taking her normal seat, next to him.

"Hey, Sakura." He said before leaning forward, and resting his head on the table they shared, about to nap until their teacher noticed, like usual. She subconsciously stared at him, wondering how he'd react to Ino telling him about the pregnancy.

He felt her eyes on him, and he yawned while turning his head to look up at her. "What?" She blushed once she realized that she had been staring, "S-Sorry! I didn't realize I was staring."

Looking away, she tried to pay attention to her teacher's lecture, but she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the thought of one of her best friends. She hated that she was going through this, and she made a mental note to do research on how to help someone in her shoes. Times like these made her want to thank her mom for allowing her doctor to prescribe her contraceptives.

Teenage pregnancy was a natural fear for Sakura, because she knew how hectic it was to raise a child, and she didn't plan on doing it anytime soon. Tears came to her eyes just thinking about Ino, and how hard it must've been for her. "Are you crying?"

Shikamaru asked quietly, snapping her out of her thoughts, and wiping her damp face."Oh my God, yeah." His eyebrows scrunched as she giggled a little while sniffling, "Are you okay?" She nodded, "Yeah, I didn't even realize." "Hm. Weird."