When I got back to Ino and I's place I had calmed down considerably. I walked into the living room and saw not only Ino and Sasuke working, but Itachi too. It was a credit to my sneakiness that they all jumped when I yelled,

"I said I was doing it!" Itachi stood up and walked over to me. (He really should learn to keep his distance.)

"I told you I don't want you doing it by yourself." I snorted and sat down on the arm chair Itachi had sitting on, which was also the last chair. I grabbed one of the books on Pluto only to have it snatched away from me.

"Hey!" I reached for but Itachi held it out of reach.

"I don't want you working until you tell me what had gotten so worked up." I gave him my cutest face and almost laughed when I saw him struggling to stay strong. "No Sakura, tell me what's wrong and then you can work." I pouted and crossed my arms.

"Nothing's wrong." I could tell he didn't believe me so I sighed and got up. "Fine, I won't work then. You can do it yourself." I grabbed my manga book that was on the coffee table and headed to my room. About an hour later Itachi walked in, without knocking of course. I glared at him,

"I could have been naked you know." Itachi smirked (finally, a smirk! I was getting worried) and sat down on my bed.

"You ready to talk?" he asked. I made sure to keep my arms covered with my blankets and shook my head.

"I'm not talking about it, there's nothing to talk about." He sighed and got up.

"Well Sasuke and I are leaving, I came to say good bye."

"Leaving for good and never to return?" I asked hopefully. Itachi laughed,

"No, I'll see you tomorrow at school." After he left I waited a few minutes then jumped up and ran to the living room. He had taken the books with him.

"Figures." I muttered and looked at the clock. 10 PM! I need to get to bed! I put on sweat pants and an oversized T-shirt and crawled under the covers.

12

Over the next several weeks Itachi never mentioned him 'wanting' me again, so I figured he had just been messing with me. He did seem persistent in getting me to tell him about Hidan though. Ino and Sasuke had grown closer so when she said they had started dating I wasn't surprised. We had all been walking to the ice cream shop to celebrate getting A's on our project. (I had gotten a perfect score.) About halfway there Karin drove up in her limo.

"Oh Itachi-kun, want a ride? I was just heading over to that place you like so much." I laughed when Itachi winced at the thought of going somewhere with Karin.

"No thank you, I'd rather stay with Sakura." He responded in a cold voice. He wants to stay with me? Specifically me? Maybe he hadn't been just messing with me; he did make Kakashi-Sensei make me work with him. Karin glared at me but before she could even open her mouth Sasuke added,

"Yeah, leave my brother alone you pathetic excuse for a witch!" Itachi started to walk away and I was surprised to be pulled along with him. I hadn't had noticed him grab my hand. After we arrived and got our ice cream Sasuke asked me the one question I always dreaded hearing,

"Why do you always wear that jacket? It's like, 90 degrees out here. Aren't you hot?" I looked at Ino for help but she seemed just as panicked as I felt.

"Yeah, you really should take it off." Itachi agreed. I quickly shook my head,

"No I'd rather not."

"Oh come on, take it off." After refusing a second time Itachi decided to make me. He grabbed my jacket and pulled it off me, exposing my arms. Both boys stared in shock as tears welled up in my eyes. I grabbed my jacket and flew off, running away before they could say anything. I flew home and ran up to my room, not bothering to lock the door. I sat on my bed trying not to cry. After what seemed like hours my cell phone rang. Expecting it to be Ino, I picked it up,

"Hello?" I winced when I heard my voice crack.

"Hello Sakura, how nice to hear your voice again." My eyes widened,

"Hidan?" I heard him chuckle.

"You sound afraid, good. I hope you don't think I was done with you. I won't keep you long; I just called to let you know I will be returning to school on Monday. You have tomorrow and Sunday to adjust to the idea of me returning. I'll see you soon Sakura, good bye." I heard a click and knew he had hung up. I set my phone down and wrapped my arms around myself. I looked up as Itachi opened my door. He didn't say anything, just sat down and pulled me into his embrace. I laid my head on his chest and I started to cry.