Sorry for the late update. I wasn't neglecting this story on purpose. It was a busy school year.

Please enjoy

Hinata gripped the glass stem of the champagne tightly; hoping it would stop the slight tremble in her fingers. Her heart was pounding with so much force, she couldn't hear a thing. She was taking too much breath in her body and nothing was coming out. The lights were too bright. The alcohol was too strong. She felt cold, small, weak…

Worthless.

Why did Sasuke invite her? Why couldn't he consult her first? Thinking that he knew what was best for her.

Just like her Father. Always forcing her to do things that she didn't want to do. Giving her expectations that were so high, that nobody could satisfy him.

Except Hanabi could do it.

She was always not enough. She needed to be better. Smarter. Stronger. Focused. But it always seemed like she is walking in the wrong direction, moving further away from the goal until it becomes so small that she can't see it anymore; she's lost. Running in circles in her father's clutches. The eyes that constantly found flaws. His words lashing at her. Stripping away her confidence and dignity piece by piece, until she is left bare with humiliation and shame.

But Father would have loved Sakura. At first glance, one could see that stubborn and strong woman inside that small body. Sakura was the one who got a scholarship to one of the best universities. The summa cum laude. The Doctor. She would be saving lives while Hinata was still trying to fix her life.

A strong hand gripped her shaking shoulder. Hinata looked up and faced the hard stare of Sasuke. He wanted his presence to settle her insecurity but Hinata could barely even think. Just looking at Sakura could make her froze.

"She's coming."

A swarm of bees buzzed through Hinata's head, but somehow she managed a shaky smile and gracefully fixed her chiffon straps.

"Thank you for inviting me", Sakura gave the trio a polite smile.

Naruto stepped forward eagerly, "You look amazing, Sakura." His eyes taking in every single detail of her.

Sakura lifted her shoulder embarrassingly, "My friend lend me the dress."

Naruto looked up and gave her a playful smile, "I wasn't talking about the dress."

Sakura laughed and shook her head, "Stop it, Naruto"; she looked at Hinata and smiled, "Especially when Hinata-san looks absolutely stunning in that dress."

Hinata returned her compliment with a wave, yet her stomach was heavy with dread and jealousy, "Thank you, but you do look wonderful."

Hearing the compliment, Sakura flushed causing her green eyes to sparkle in warmth. She was about to say something but thought against it. Instead she looked at Sasuke, "Thank you for picking me up."

Sasuke gave a cool nod, "I hope Kiba didn't give you much trouble."

With a half-smile, Sakura shrugged, "Well, he did make an acquaintance with my friend, so I came late to the party." Saying this, she gave an apologetic glance to Hinata.

Furrowing his brows, Sasuke spoke in a serious tone, "I talked to him about it after—"

Shaking her head, Sakura smiled with humor, "Don't bother. My friend was also very happy to meet Kiba. I would never deprive her from making a new… friend."

A waiter passed, Naruto gestured him to come over, "How about some champagne, Sakura-chan?"

Hinata couldn't help but wince at the familiarity of the two. She felt Sasuke moved closer behind her.

Sakura shook her head, "As much as I love to, I have work tomorrow. Dr. Tsunade wouldn't like that."

Naruto scrunched his nose, a habit that tends to happens when he heard something unreasonable, "But that old lady drinks during working hours. I doubt she will actually mind."

"That old lady also pays my rent."

Blue eyes flashing, a thoughtful look appeared on his face. He tilted his head, a boyish smirk slowly emerged, "Why don't I ask my Dad to talk to that old lady? She'll definitely listen to him."

Hinata couldn't help but let out a silent gasp. Alarmed at Naruto's careless mention of his Father, Hinata instinctively went over to intervene. She couldn't watch Naruto do something he might regret, but before she could say anything, a hand stopped her.

"It's okay."

For the first time, Hinata couldn't stop the annoyance rising in her. She turned sharply towards Sasuke and her voice crisp, "Naruto-kun is going to—"

"She knows."

It took her a moment to process his words, "But she shouldn't."

The strong grip on her arm loosened, Sasuke put his hand in his pocket and looked anywhere but at her, "President Namikaze and Doctor Tsunade are old friends. Haruno-san is like a daughter to Dr. Tsunade."

Even though she understood the connection in his words, Hinata still could not believe Sakura knew about Naruto's background. Sasuke and she knew because of their families and how they grew up together. Konoha's President, Minato Namikaze, was truly Naruto's father. A secret that was kept from the media and public. The President wanted Naruto to have a normal childhood and for security reasons, Naruto took his mother's last name. Yet when he turned eighteen, Naruto refused to reveal his real identity, saying it was easier this way and was his choice when this secret could be told. Till now, only very few families knew about Naruto's real heritage.

Yet suddenly, this girl came out of nowhere, knew everything about Naruto, things that took Hinata years to find out and understand.

Somewhere deep in her heart, Hinata could feel the jealous clench as she saw the animate couple talking to each other.

A voice drifted from behind her and Sasuke's familiar murmur brought her back to the party, "The Sabaku siblings are here."

Automatically putting on a courteous smile, she waited for the siblings to greet her.

"Welcome back, Hyuuga-san", Gaara was the first to speak. His cool eyes glanced at the man behind her and gave Sasuke a small nod.

Sasuke returned the gesture.

The female of the siblings gave a much warmer greeting, she touched Hinata's hand and smile, "Thanks for inviting us, Hinata."

Being friends for so long, Hinata gave Temari's hand squeeze, "I missed you."

Temari laughed, her short, choppy blonde hair swaying, "Me too. Tenten can't wait to see you."

Hinata's eyes brightened when she heard the name but knowing it was not the time, she glanced at Temari curve-hugging black halter dress and said, "You looked wonderful."

"You as well."

Realizing she hadn't greeted the final sibling, she immediately turned to her left but instead she saw a surprised face of Kankoro.

"You're that pink-haired doctor!"

Sakura who looked like she was atempting to leave, turned around and winced at the voice, "I was hoping that you wouldn't recognize me."

Kankoro chuckled, "Not me. Especially when you were the one who saved my life."

The other two siblings perked at their brother's voice and when they saw Sakura, their eyes lit up in recognition.

Temari was the first one to walk over to Sakura's side, "It's great to see again, Sakura!"

The tip of Gaara's lips curved and for the first time ever, Hinata saw gratitude in his dark eyes, "It's been a long time, Dr. Haruno."

Naruto who stood next to Sakura, looked at her with surprise, "You know Gaara?"

Sakura smiled embarrassingly, "I took a medical course in Suna for a few months."

"And when she was there, she saved me when I got food-poisoning", Kankoro added proudly, as if it was all because of him.

As Gaara fixed the collar of his black suit, he spoke in a blank tone, "The idiot was lucky Dr. Haruno was there to help him went he got to the hospital."

"It was nothing serious. It was just minor food-poisoning. He would have recovered by himself after a few days", Sakura rubbed her arm, her face flushed.

Temari pulled her back to the group, "If it wasn't for Sakura at that time, Kankoro would be moaning for days. He made it seem like he was dying."

Kankoro shrugged and an easy smile formed on his face as he ruffled his brown hair, "It sure felt like I was dying."

During this whole time, Hinata was silent. She wasn't bothered by the fact that all attention was directed at Sakura. In fact, Hinata was more comfortable that way. The thing that bothered her was the way Naruto looked at Sakura during the conversation. His sapphire eyes sparkled with awe and admiration. He smiled at her as if he couldn't believe he met someone so special. And when the small orchestra started playing the first music piece of the party, Hinata was sure Naruto would ask Sakura if she would like to have his first dance.

However, before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke stepped forward.

"May I have this dance, Haruno-san."

Sakura wasn't sure why she actually came to the party. She was sure they would understand if she refused. She didn't know much about Hinata and her meetings with Sasuke have always unsettled her.

Yet she was here.

The Sabaku siblings' arrival was a pleasant surprise. The day she left Suna, she did not have the chance to say goodbye in person, instead she left a note with her email and asked one of the nurses to give it to Temari if she came by to visit. Since then the girls only kept in contact with their emails flying back and forth.

Clearly out of place, their presence made it much more comfortable. And for a moment she thought she hadn't made the wrong choice.

That was until Sasuke asked her to dance with him.

On instinct, Sakura was about to say no, yet when she saw the hard lines of his jaws and the unreadable expression in his dark eyes, she placed her hand in his palm and allowed him to lead her to the ballroom.

"I'm hope you would enjoy the party tonight."

Sakura looked at him cautiously. She knew from his blank tone, the remark did not derive from his heart. What perked her interest was she thought Sasuke wasn't a person to make small talk.

"I'm sure I will", she felt Sasuke's hand on her waist as he lifted her right hand. Sakura couldn't stop the small blush on her face when she felt his touch, but it seem like Sasuke didn't notice at all. She tentatively moved her left hand to his shoulder. Their steps falling into beat.

He was a great dancer. Even though he did not bother with any flourish or technique, he led her with grace. For a moment, she actually enjoyed the dance; it's been ages since the last one.

"Naruto was very happy for you to come."

Sakura looked up and stared at his face. After a few moments she turned her face, her gaze searching for the familiar figure. It took only a second to find Naruto and his signature blonde hair. His face was a bit disgruntled, yet he was still talking to Hinata, not noticing the stares that were directed at him. By the look of Hinata's blushing face and her focused gaze on Naruto, Sakura immediately understood a thing or two.

"Naruto just really enjoys gatherings and parties."

Also looking at the duo, a small frown formed between his brows. He then turned his gaze back at her, his eyes hard, "Are you in a relationship with Naruto?"

Hearing his blunt question, Sakura was taken off guard causing her to miss her steps and stumbled a bit. However, Sasuke hid the mistake well; he swept her up and steadied her.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you in a relationship with Naruto?" He patiently repeated the question again.

Sakura looked at him astonished, and for a few minutes she looked like she was clueless in what to say, "…W-Where do you get that idea?"

His gaze was directed back to where Naruto and Hinata were standing and Sakura looked as well. Naruto said something to Hinata causing her to blush even redder, however also Hinata shyly nodded her head at him. When Naruto took Hinata's hands, it was clear the man has asked her to dance.

"You can't be clueless about Naruto's… affections."

Hearing this, Sakura couldn't help but let out a dry laugh. She lifted her head to look at Sasuke, searching for something under his handsome façade.

"Yes, I know about it."

Catching his attention again, Sasuke broke his gaze from the dancing couple and glanced at her. The straight line of his lip did not move. It wasn't after a few beats, did he opened his mouth again.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"What is there to do?"

Abruptly, Sasuke stopped dancing even though the music was not near finished. Recovering from the sudden stop, Sakura looked at him curiously. The frown between his brows disappeared yet she did not miss the hard clench of his jaw or how the grasp of his hands stilled. She stood there and waited for whatever he was going to say.

"Let's leave."

I always think I rush my chapters. Sigh, I might have to edit it again.

Also can anyone recommend any good BETA readers. I like to have one.

And don't forget to REVIEW. I lurve them.