SasuSaku: Worth The Risk

Chapter 2

AN: Sometimes, when reading fanfiction, I'll cringe a little when things get overly dramatic. Now that I'm writing my own, though, I'm like, "F*CK IT BRING ON THE EXCITEMENT! Ha!"

(but really, though, I'll try to reign it in and not write a damn telenovela LOL)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter One and leave lots of reviews/comments because it makes me feel good! *shameless*

Thanks!

The group of people around Sakura suddenly gasped and became quiet as she stood there, a wine glass upside down in her hand. She'd dumped its contents on the head of an unbelievably handsome man with black hair and even blacker eyes, though they were currently burning with the wildfire of rage.

When she did it, every part of her was irritated and offended, severely clouding her judgment. That said, this man had spent the past three hours tormenting the poor woman and in front of all his buddies, no less.

So when the angry fog in Sakura's mind began to clear, she didn't let the man's intimidating demeanor get to her and venomously spat, "I've never met someone so full of himself in my life. Maybe other women put up with this kind of treatment, but I refuse."

The black-haired man unfroze, lifting a brow while obviously struggling not to lose his temper. He snatched her wrist and squeezed it tightly enough that it wasn't possible to pull away, "What the fuck did you just say to me?"

Sakura swallowed her swiftly rising terror, attempting to free herself and failing, "You owe me an apology," she paused, anxiously glancing over to see Ino hurrying toward the manager's office, "...Right now."

Other patrons were beginning to gather around in the crowded Oasis bar, hushed chatter barely being masked by the loud music.

The man stood, towering over the slender woman with an aura of danger. Glaring down his nose at her, he pulled her closer by her arm, leaning in to hold her gaze, "You're going to regret what you just did."

-Five Days Prior/Monday Afternoon-

"You're new here, right? I don't recognize you." A drop-dead-gorgeous blonde woman approached a stunned Sakura Haruno. She came to sit beside her at the furthest back desk in the classroom, "I'm Ino Yamanaka. Let's get along well!"

'Is it really that easy? I haven't said a single word, and this pretty girl wants to be friends,' the awkward girl thought while nodding. "I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you, and yes, I am new."

Ino grinned, flashing pearly white teeth while offering her phone, "Here, put your number in. Where are you from? I assume you've just moved to Oto since it's the middle of the school year."

Throughout Sakura's entire school career, from elementary to the college she's attended thus far, meeting and befriending new people has been a challenge. In fact, all the friends she left behind in Konoha only put up with her because they wanted to hang around her ex-boyfriend.

'Don't think about him. Give Ino your phone, too, or she'll think you don't want to be friends.'

"Here, put yours in mine, too!"

'God, it's obvious how fake my smile is. Get it together, Girl! If she finds out you're having a mini-panic attack, she'll realize you're a big loser.'

The twenty-one-year-old college student's social anxiety has always been a hindrance, but it's never been this debilitating. Maybe being in a strange new place with no familiar faces put her on edge, or perhaps it's fear that she will see someone she recognizes, someone she left Konoha to get away from.