Beyond The Camera: The Sequel

Chapter 13

-Sakura's POV-

Gaara and I waited until we heard Sasuke and Hinata's bedroom doors close upstairs before looking at one another. What happened on the stage this morning was undoubtedly a significant milestone for the Hyuuga girl's healing journey.

"I've never heard her sing like that," my boyfriend said in his usual, soft tone.

I followed him into my bedroom, where we dropped our backpacks on the floor and fell lifelessly onto the bed, side by side, "Yeah, but she's never been hurt like this before, either."

Of us all, I'm the one having the least amount of trouble understanding her state of mind. What I went through with Sasori wasn't precisely the same, but the emotional toll was similar. Until a few days ago, it seemed she wasn't handling things well. After her display on stage, though, I'm confident everything will be okay with Prestige, our friendships, and her relationship with Sasuke.

No one said anything over the past weeks, but it was clear the Uchiha man had no idea how to act around Hinata. It could worsen things if he made the wrong approach, so he kept his distance and allowed the girl to work through her emotions. The look on his face anytime she wasn't around said it all. He was barely managing his nerves.

"Do you think she's upset with me for helping?"

I turned my neck to view the redhead's handsome profile. Teal eyes were clouded with deep thought, jawline sharp as he gritted his teeth.

Us and Sasuke had been standing off stage, watching the Hyuuga girl pour her heart out for the world to see and trying with all her might not to lose her composure. When Gaara noticed her fingers were trembling, he visibly got anxious. We could see clearly on his face that he wanted to help. Of us three, he was the only one capable, so I gave him a light shove toward the stage. At first, he tried to return to my side, but then Hinata turned our way. When we saw the look of appreciation, we knew it was alright.

"She doesn't care about winning. You know that."

Gaara and I have been on edge, too. Both of the others felt like ticking timebombs, and we didn't know what'd eventually set one of them off. Luckily, when we arrived home a few minutes ago, the aura between them seemed a million times calmer. If they're not up there talking things out right now, then it's bound to happen sometime soon.

He turned onto his side, a slight pink dusting his cheeks when he realized I'd been watching him the entire time, "I wish they'd told us they were dating."

A wistful sigh left my lips, but a smile tugged at them as Gaara fingered a strand of my hair absently, "I wish I hadn't been so blind. Looking back, it was obvious."

After Hinata's rescue, I finally had time to think things over and ended up recollecting memories of the couple over the past year. So many little things happened that pointed toward them falling for one another.

At the Masquerade ball, Sasuke was even more irrationally angry than usual when Itachi swept Hinata away for a dance. He couldn't take his eyes off the couple the entire time and had been so obviously irritated that Gaara and I didn't dare say anything.

Now that I look back, though, his demeanor was definitely out of the ordinary. Sure, the Uchiha man's been protective of our timid bandmate from the early days of Prestige's existence, but nothing bothered him enough that he lost his temper with her as he did that night.

Then, Kiba broke up with Hinata after the Halloween party. The girl even told me it was because of her feelings for Sasuke.

We both refused to talk about our thoughts on the boys then. Conversing about it would make it real, and no one was ready to make that leap then.