SasuSaku: Worth The Risk

Chapter 13

Sakura cried freely for a long time, relieved she no longer had to hide it. Sasuke didn't say a word and just held her there while falling asleep.

The thing that had her so shaken up was a text message. When the woman moved to Oto, she changed her number in hopes no one from Konoha would be able to contact her. It seemed successful until her ex's name crossed the screen with the message, 'I love you,' and nothing else. It was like someone had thrown her into a bathtub full of icy water and held her down so she couldn't come up for air.

'What does it mean? Did he send it because he's found me, or is he just trying to scare me? But how did he get my new number? No one from back home has it. Not even Hinata!'

Hinata Hyuuga is the only one Sakura considered a friend, though they weren't all that close. It's just that she knows the softspoken woman doesn't have the heart to befriend someone with bad intentions.

The Haruno girl's fingers clenched handfuls of Sasuke's shirt more tightly than before, inching closer still and silently begging the comforting warmth he offered to chase away her anxious terror. It definitely helped.

In the morning, the Uchiha man surprised her by forcing her to ride to school in his car, which she'd refused since moving into the Akatsuki house. Now that they're getting along better, she wasn't as inclined to continue denying the favor. That doesn't mean that everything's fine between them, though.

'He still hasn't said a word about the fact that he's a fucking gangster, much less that he knowingly tricked me into becoming involved with multiple dangerous people. I've been surrounded by criminals for weeks without knowing it. He must see me as the biggest idiot in the world.'

She glared at her lap as the man in question drove turned into the college's student parking lot, 'And what was I thinking, letting him kiss me and hanging out with him all day yesterday like we're best friends?'

Needless to say, Sakura was back to being pissed off and scared because the heat of the moment had passed, and her mind had cleared. Now, the woman was even more uncomfortable because Sasuke thought she was over it when, in reality, she'd been too swept up in overwhelming emotions and the drama that'd occurred.

"Are you gonna sit there all damn day? C'mon."

Sasuke was an asshole a lot of the time, but especially in the morning. Frowning silently, Sakura got out of the car and pointedly ignored him as she walked toward the entrance. He didn't say anything. Hell, he might not have even followed her. She wasn't sure because she didn't look back to check.

"Good morning, Sakura! Fancy meeting you so early in the morning," Mr. Hatake's familiar voice met her ears, making her face pale as she recalled drunkenly flirting with the college professor.

'Oh great. He probably thinks I have some perverted student and teacher fantasy kink now. Should I apologize or just act like it never happened? I'll wait to see what he does.'

Sakura turned to offer a sheepish grin to the white-haired man, "Good morning, Sir. How are you?"

He grinned from behind his mask, tilting his head as the pair ambled through the crowded entry hall, "Better than you, I assume, since you weren't here yesterday. Did Saturday's party prove too draining?"

Blushing and humiliated since he didn't beat around the bush in the slightest, Sakura brought a palm to her forehead and groaned, "Can we pretend that night never happened? I'm so embarrassed."

Mr. Hatake chuckled warmly and lowered the volume of his voice as he said, "Why? I thought you were quite charming. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I was simply worried you'd gone overboard and become sick. It's a relief to see you looking normal today."