IMPORTANT: Italicized sections are flashbacks
So here is the first chapter of the long awaited sequel to A Painful Secret…Well, not really long awaited, but I hope you enjoy.
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One month had passed after the verdict came in. Sakura had moved in with her art teacher, Hatake Kakashi, the day after he called and offered a roof over her head. She, in turn, offered to pay him rent since she received a large sum of money after her father was sent to jail. However, the silver-haired man refused, saying, "Your mother would kill me if I made you pay." Other than a few statements like that, Kakashi said nothing about her mother and she didn't ask, not wanting to force him to talk about it. One day, she will though. And on that day she will get her answers.
As the pink-haired girl strolled down the halls of Konoha High School, she kept her eyes peeled for a certain dark-haired boy. She hoped she could catch him a distance and then find a way to avoid him. Yes, Sakura Haruno was trying to stay out of Sasuke Uchiha's sights because they were no longer together…
The day they expressed their feeling for each other was the day they broke up. That quickly, it all ended and even though a month had passed, Sakura still filled up with grief whenever she saw him. Especially after she heard that Sasuke had moved on and that he was back to his old ways of claiming drunken girls at parties.
Just thinking about it made her heart ache and her breath still. But could she really blame him? It was…her fault after all…
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One month ago…
Sitting down to dinner that night was hard. The only think Sakura could think about was telling the Uchiha's that she wasn't going to stay with them. She didn't know how Mikoto and Fugaku were going to take it, but she knew that they would understand her decision in the end. The person she was most concerned about was Sasuke. He would take it the hardest out of the three. She was pretty sure that he thought she was going to move in. But after Kakashi revealed that he knew her mother, Sakura just had to move in with the silver-haired art teacher.
Mikoto reentered the dinning room, a large grin on her painted lips and a bowl of pasta in her hands. She had made a beautiful spread of Italian dishes all for Sakura. They were celebrating the verdict and Sakura's new freedom. However, this only made things harder.
As Mikoto finally took her seat, Sakura rose from hers, ready to make her announcement. They all looked at her, questioning. She drew breath to speak, her emerald eyes never moving from Sasuke's face….
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"Sakura! Sakura!"
The said girl stopped and turned to the familiar voice. A boy with a bowl cut and abnormally thick eyebrows rushed towards her, waving. She waved back, a soft smile on her face. "Hi, Lee. How are you today?"
Rock Lee was a new student at Konoha high. He transferred from another school two weeks ago and Sakura suddenly found him following her and expressing his undying love for her. It was odd, yes, but he was also a good listener and even though he didn't know anything about her past, he knew about her problems now.
"Hello, my love," he greeted, taking her hand in his. "I am doing much better now that I am with you."
Just before he kissed it, Sakura pulled her hand away and laughed nervously. Her heart still belonged to someone else and even though Lee was a good friend, she sometimes felt he went a little too far. She turned and started towards her next class, the odd boy in tow.
Sakura kept her eyes moving about as she tried to spot a certain boy. However, she was neglecting to look in front of her. She crashed into someone and stumbled back, dropping her books and gasping. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't…" As her eyes refocused, she realized just who it was she bumped into.
Sasuke Uchiha looked down at her. He didn't move to help pick up her book or even ask if she was alright. He just smirked. "You and your boyfriend should what where you're going," he said dryly, turning his back to them and disappearing into the flood of students.
Sakura followed him with her eyes. That was the first time he said a word to her since they broke up and it wasn't what she was hoping for. Swallowing the tears that had rushed to her eyes, she bent down and started gathering her books.
Lee bent down as well. "That jerk!" he shouted. "I still don't know what it was that you saw in him. He is a complete ass-"
"No!" she said sharply, cutting him off. After seeing his shocked face, she offered the boy an apology. "Sorry, but please, do not judge him."
Nodding, Lee handed her, her books and they both headed to their next class.
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"What's wrong, Sakura?" Mikoto asked when the girl stood from the table.
The pink-haired girl hesitated at first. It was hard to speak, but she forced herself to choke out the words she wanted to say. "I…I have decided to move in with…Mr. Kakashi."
The Uchiha's mouths dropped in utter confusion. They had no idea Kakashi was even offering her a place to live. They were more surprised by the fact that it was he, her teacher, whom she chose to move in with.
Sasuke looked away, contemplating her decision. She couldn't decipher his blank facial expression and was anxious about what he was going to say. To her surprise, he rose from the table and just left. He disappeared into the living room and then headed upstairs.
Sakura frowned and looked at Mikoto and Fugaku. "I am sorry…I appreciate everything that you've done for me. Really, I do. But I have a reason for moving in with him, I just can't say it right now."
Mikoto sighed. "I'm not going to lie, Sakura. I was hoping you would stay with us. I even bought you some toiletries and bedroom décor…but you have your reasons, so I guess I can understand."
That was a kick in her stomach. Mikoto went as far as buying her bedroom accessories just to make her feel comfortable. The woman's eyes were full of hurt and it pained her to look at the woman.
"This is a shock," Fugaku finally said. "I am truly baffled." He paused, his eyes flicking to his wife. Mikoto had gone on and on about finally have a 'daughter'. She was so excited. He knew his wife was devastated. "We…don't want to keep you here any longer, Sakura. Please, say goodbye to Sasuke before you go."
Sakura almost collapsed with tears right then. This was proving harder than she thought and when Mikoto got up from the table, hugging herself, disappearing into the kitchen, her heart sank into her stomach. When Fugaku followed after his wife, leaving Sakura standing next to a beautiful banquet, she looked up at the ceiling. The worst was yet to come.
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This was the class she dreaded; Art. She was still partnered with Sasuke, but after they broke up, they didn't meet anymore. They each had their chosen sketches and worked from them. In fact, today was their due date and when Kakashi told his students to lay out their pictures on the desks so that everyone could walk around the room and look at them, Sakura hesitated. She wasn't sure if she could go through will letting Sasuke look at it.
But when she saw that the Uchiha had laid his out, she drew in a deep breath and did the same. When Kakashi instructed the students to get up and look at each picture, Hinata quickly rushed over to Sakura.
She and Hinata had remained friends, though it was much different now. After their breakup, Sakura didn't say much anymore. The violet-haired girl was alright with that though. She didn't know what had happened between them, nor did Naruto, but ever since the breakup, she made sure that Sakura knew that she would always be there for her.
"Hey, Sakura," she greeted, her eyes straying to her chalk-based picture. She gasped at it. "This is…amazing…"
Sakura blushed. She had captured Sasuke from the chest up, with his arm slung around the back of a chair. He was smirking, but his eyes were bright with interest and humor. She made sure to capture his eyes and all of their emotion. It was her best piece yet, but she still feared what the featured boy had to say.
"Thanks," she replied, shyly.
As students began circling around the room, she and Hinata did also. They stopped at Hinata's picture which depicted her blonde boyfriend in colored pencil. It was a good picture, but Naruto was making the weirdest face in it…It captured him perfectly.
Naruto's drawing was rather...interesting as well. Poor Hinata looked like a blob on the paper. You could decipher where the eyes were and the mouth, but you really had to concentrate to decipher the girl in the mess. Naruto claimed it to be abstract and that was how it was supposed to look.
Then, Sakura's eyes fell on Sasuke's picture. She was nibbling on a brownie in his picture and had crumbs around her mouth. He had done a full body painting of her eating the delectable pastry, while sitting uncomfortably in one of his chairs. She remembered that day vividly. She was so nervous as his eyes ran over her, capturing her very being.
She shivered at the remembrance of his gaze. When those dark eyes fell on her, Sakura felt like he could see right through her and right into her soul. It was intimidating and seductive at the same time. Oh how she wished he would look at her with those eyes again.
Sakura frowned and backed away. Turning, she left the classroom without a word to Hinata or Kakashi.
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Sasuke watched her leave. He was watching her the whole time. Her solemn expression when her eyes fell on his painting, the sorrow that rushed to her eyes. He wanted to run after her and comfort her, apologizing for everything he said to her that night, but then he would remember her betrayal. She left him, choosing to stay with someone she barely knew over him. It made him question her love for him and if she ever really wanted to be with him.
"Yo, man," Naruto said in a whisper. "What the hell happened between you two?"
Sasuke looked at his blonde friend. This wasn't the first time Naruto asked him that and he always gave the same answer; "It's none of your business." He would never say what happened and why they broke up. It was the one thing he would never spread around. If everyone found out who she was staying with, all hell would break out. So, he kept that a secret.
"Dude, you know she still loves you. I mean, just look at this picture…"
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed on the depiction of him. She must have spent countless hours getting the emotion in it just right. She had captured him in his rawest form, exposing his softer side. Only she knew that side of him; the caring, loving side. But as soon as they parted, he put the thick wall that she broke through, back up. However, she also took a part of him that left him feeling empty all of the time. Even when he was seducing a random girl, he could only compare it to when he held the pink-haired innocent in his arms.
But he would never have her as his again…
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As Sasuke paced around his room, contemplating what he was going to say to Sakura when she undoubtedly came after him. He had to leave the table before he lashed out at her and said something he would regret. But what she decided to do was like a stab through the heart. Did she not want to be around him? Did he do something wrong? Maybe he pushed her too far that day when he had her in his arms, underneath him, penetrating her…
A knock came to his already open door and he turned to find her standing there, apologies just waiting to spill out of her. "Sasuke, please listen to me…"
He couldn't just listen to her. "What else could you possibly want to say?" he questioned harshly.
The girl flinched. "Kakashi offered a place for me to stay and I have to take it."
Sasuke growled. "I offered you a place too! Why would you want to stay with a teacher and not me?" He was pissed, but hurt at the same time. He knew he was sounding selfish, but he didn't care. He wanted Sakura all to himself. "What the hell, Sakura?"
She didn't back away. "I have to move in with him, Sasuke. I can't tell you why yet, not until I understand everything myself."
His black eyes darkened even more. "What? Can't even trust me anymore?"
She shook her head. "No. That's not it!"
Sasuke moved before her, glaring down at her. His heart pounded as he looked into her emerald eyes. He felt like she had betrayed him, that she didn't want to be with him anymore. "Then go live with Kakashi! But don't even think about bothering with me anymore."
His words were sharp and clear and sent her running, leaving a trail of tears behind her. But as she left, she stole his heart and even though he ended their relationship, he knew it wasn't really over. It would never be. Sakura Haruno was different than any other girl he had ever met. He would lay his life down for her, if only to see her smiling face the next day. She claimed a large portion of his heard, which is why her decision hurt him that much more.
Sinking into his mattress, Sasuke sat in a lonely silence suddenly feeling like his happiness had come to an abrupt end….
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Finally, it was the end of the day and Sasuke waited in his car for a chance to back out of the crowed parking lot. Sakura came back into the classroom when the last bell had rung to reclaim her work. He was able to catch a glimpse of her, though she didn't see him. He saw her red, puffy eyes and her frail, shaky form. His heart lurched in her direction, but his body turned away.
Looking through his rearview mirror, he gritted his teeth. She walked passed his car, Lee by her side. Every time he made a move on Sakura, the Uchiha wanted to take that bushy brow's face and slam it into the ground. They may not be together, but Sasuke still claimed her as his and seeing her even talking with another guy irked him to no end.
When they passed, he screeched out of his parking spot and sped off, not bothering to look at them as he drove by. But, through his side mirror, he saw her face sadden. Lee tried comforting her and she offered him a week smile.
Cursing loudly, he turned a corner, leaving the image of her behind.
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So this is the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and there is more to come. Promise.