Chapter 6

"Prestige, please welcome the Uzumaki family. I'm sure you've heard of them."

We politely bowed before the guests in silence. Sakura glanced at me out of the corner of her eye while we rose back up. Sasuke glanced between us with an annoyed expression, but also seemed mildly curious. The confidence I'd built in the past twenty-four hours flew right out the window at the sight of Karin's smug face.

"Their daughter is debuting as a designer with her first clothing line and they've selected our agency for promotion. You're all close in age to Karin so I thought you'd be the best fit. Please introduce yourselves."

Kakashi was being his charming yet professional self and appeared to have no idea he was welcoming a terrible bully into what's supposed to be a safe place.

Gaara wasted no time in stepping forward and shaking hands with the three guests and speaking in his usual softer voice, "Hello, my name is Gaara. I'm excited to work with you."

He looked like he was part of the family since his hair matched both Karin and her mother's in color. Kakashi seemed pleased with his initiative.

It made sense to introduce ourselves in order, so Sakura was up next. She took a step forward and spoke in the least confident voice I'd heard from her to date, "My name is Sakura. Nice to meet you." She pressed her hands flat against her thighs, a tactic I often used when my nervous hands would get clammy, before shaking each of their hands.

Sasuke snickered quietly at her,obviously noticing the move too. I was appalled by his insensitivity and bravely elbowed him lightly in the side. His gaze hardened angrily, but he couldn't show any other reaction because it was his turn. "My name is Sasuke. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Karin's taunting gaze briefly left its position of jumping between Sakura and I so it could land on the handsome man offering his hand. The attraction she immediately felt toward the handsome young man was incredibly obvious. She eagerly leaned forward to meet his handshake, even having the audacity to wink at him. Her parents ignored the act as if it were a normal occurrence.

Finally, it was my turn and I stepped forward, "My name is Hinata." I didn't know what else to say and I didn't want to trip over my words trying to figure it out so I cut my introduction short. Honestly, I was just impressed I'd managed not to stutter.

Karin shoved her hand into mine eagerly, squeezing firmly as she held my fearful gaze with her cockier one. I pulled my hand away before she could get to me and quickly shook Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki's hands before stepping back into my place.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment as we all stared at each other before Karin spoke up, "May I take them out for dinner, Mr. Hatake? My treat." She played the young professional role so well she could've won an award.

Kakashi grinned easily, "Of course, Karin. I think it's a great idea to get to know the people who'll be representing your brand."

He addressed us politely, "Please postpone any training you have scheduled so you can enjoy a dinner together."

We each offered different varieties of acknowledgement. Karin then stepped forward and walked between Sakura and Sasuke, cutting our group in half, and started leading us to the exit. I gave one last yearning glance back at Kakashi's office before following the others. The CEO noticed and offered me a small look of encouragement, still clueless about the situation.

I didn't have my sunglasses with me because I didn't know we'd be leaving the building and the paparazzi recognized me immediately. We were swarmed in an instant. I tried lowering my head to hide my face from the unwelcome flashes.

My face felt hot and suddenly I didn't feel the rest of the group with me. I pulled my arms away from a couple photographers who were brave enough to try and force me to look up, but a third one simply went for my hair and yanked it back. Unfortunately I wasn't expecting this and was sent tumbling backwards onto the sidewalk.

"Hey!" I heard Sakura yell angrily.

There was a loud crack that drew the attention of the photographers who were taking photos of me on the ground rather than helping me up and I looked up to see Gaara pulling Sakura away from the guy that'd yanked at my hair. Her face was red with anger, her hand was still in a fist from the punch that she'd thrown, and I felt tears well up at her display of loyalty.

Karin was laughing at me from the curb, standing in front of a large limo that her parents had gotten for her, undoubtedly.

I felt a strong hand grab my arm and start to pull me up. I nearly jumped, thinking it was another handsy photographer, but when I looked up it was Sasuke doing his best to actually be helpful. He wouldn't meet my gaze, but held a menacing glare on the man that was holding a bloody nose and cowering on the pavement. His camera broke when he dropped it. I allowed him to help me up and brushed off my outfit before walking past the others who were still shooting photos.

Sakura pulled her arm away from a concerned looking Gaara and rushed to link her arm with mine, "Are you okay? I should murder that asshole!" She looked past my shoulder to send the bloodied man one last glare before refocusing on me. My face was very hot and I felt light on my feet, but otherwise I was completely fine.

We climbed into Karin's limo. I sat beside Sakura, the boys sat on the side seats, and Karin sat by herself opposite me. Once the vehicle started moving, Karin finally spoke, "This is the last place I expected to find you, Hinata. Have you been hiding from me?"

Her voice was sickly sweet where it was obvious to anyone who didn't know the situation (Sasuke, Gaara, and partially Sakura because I hadn't told her any details about exactly what Karin and Suigetsu had done to me) that we were not friends. Sasuke and Gaara quietly watched us females converse which was probably the smartest decision.

I felt Sakura squeeze my hand supportively and replied, "It's nice to see you, K-Karin."

Karin's fake smile disappeared and a sneer appeared in its place, "Well it's not nice to see you. Suigetsu told me all about how you tried to force yourself on him, you slut."

Sasuke scoffed, seemingly unable to keep himself from interrupting despite the warning looks both Sakura and I shot at him, "We are talking about Hinata, right?"

Karin's gaze flickered to him momentarily before returning to my face. She raised an eyebrow impatiently.

I tried to defend myself, not wanting to let everyone in the car know that I'd almost been raped. "T-that's not true! Suigetsu, h-he-" Just thinking about how he'd attacked me made my heartbeat quicken rapidly and I couldn't finish my sentence. Goosebumps rose uncomfortably on my skin at the memory.

Karin leaned forward, giving us all a clear view of her cleavage, "That's not what he said. I should tell Kakashi about this and get you kicked out of the agency."

Sakura spoke up then, "Stop it, Karin. We're all adults now, let's act like it." If the photographer 's bloody nose earlier wasn't proof enough that the pink-haired young lady was holding back a lot of anger, then I don't know what would be.

Karin looked stunned that Sakura had the audacity to speak, but changed the subject as she addressed her, "Sakura, long time no see! Your hair looks amazing, by the way! How long did it take to grow it out like that?"

Gaara and Sasuke were glaring at her at this point and they didn't even understand the relevance of what she was saying.

Sakura clamped her mouth shut and sat back against the expensive leather seat, turning her gaze out the window and effectively ending the conversation. I squeezed her hand in reassurance and she squeezed back. Both boys looked absolutely lost. They were obviously confused by the animosity between us all.

After a few tense moments, we finally arrived at a sushi restaurant. It was a newer one that recently had its grand opening. Karin led the way in and the man that was at the door knew her by name, "Mrs. Uzumaki, welcome back! Would you like your usual booth in the back?"

Karin grabbed the attractive doorman's arm and gave it a seductive squeeze, "Yes, thank you."

I heard a quiet psst! behind me and turned to see Sasuke leaning down slightly to whisper to me and Sakura, "Excuse me, but what the hell's going on?"

Gaara nodded and leaned toward us to listen for our answer, after Sakura and I glanced at one another, we silently agreed this conversation would have to wait, "We'll talk when we're back at home."

Gaara nodded and returned to walking normally, but Sasuke frowned at us before turning his gaze back to Karin, who was now taking a seat at a velvet-covered booth. She sat in the middle so I sat on one of her sides so Sakura wouldn't have to and Gaara sat on her other side. Sure, Karin has bullied me for years, but I couldn't imagine the trauma Sakura had to suffer through after having her hair cut like that.

After we ordered our food, Gaara surprisingly started the conversation before anyone else could, "Would you like to discuss your clothing line, Karin?"

The young woman looked just as shocked at his sudden inquiry, but quickly recovered, "I don't really know much about it. My parents hired a team of designers to handle everything."

Sasuke scoffed loudly and we each shot him looks of warning. We don't need Karin to return to her parents and say that we were disrespectful.

"Don't you feel any shame saying that?"

Karin waited for the waiter to sit down everyone's drinks and leave before taking a sip of her mixed drink (No one would dare turn away her down if she wanted alcohol in fear her family would release a negative statement about their restaurant) and replying, "I don't know what you mean, Sasuke."

The young man in question glanced over at Sakura and I. Both of us shook our heads to signal that he should stop talking, but he continued anyway, leaning across Gaara so he could steal a sip of Karin's drink.

To a clueless onlooker, it probably looked as though Sasuke was flirting with Karin, but his words were harsh, "So you're stupid and talentless. Impressive."

Gaara nudged the man away with a glare, which caused Sasuke to nudge him back before relaxing back into his seat and sipping on his own, nonalcoholic beverage.

Karin looked offended, her plump lips turning into a frown, "I'm not talentless! My family is rich and-"

Sasuke's laugh was humorless as he cut her off, but he did look like he was having a great time taking her down a peg, "Being rich isn't a talent."

Karin didn't have a reply to that and the table became awkwardly silent as we waited for our food to arrive. How couldn't she see that being downright awful every time she says something made her look so unprofessional?

Once our food arrived, Sakura quietly asked me, "Who orders a salad at a sushi restaurant, you dork."

She said it jokingly, but Karin snorted loudly, "Look at her again and ask yourself if she really needs anything but a salad."

My cheeks felt hot and a lump formed in my throat that I couldn't seem to swallow back. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. What did I do to this woman to make her treat me this way?

Sakura shot the meanest look I'd ever seen on her face at Karin and opened her mouth to tell her off, but Gaara cut her off, "I think Hinata looks great."

Everyone's eyes shot to Gaara and I gave him a grateful smile.

Sakura still put in her piece of mind, "Yeah and maybe she just really likes salad!"

The real reason I was eating salad is because I'd eaten more than I'd meant to when we went out with Ino and I was trying to balance my diet. Karin gave a dramatic sigh when she realized no one was going to put up with her being mean and ate her sushi in silence. The rest of dinner was quiet and tense, as was the car ride home.

When we arrived back at the agency, it was already dark and a majority of the paparazzi were gone. The few stragglers still there took a few pictures, but kept their distance. I much preferred the night crew to the day.

We escorted a defeated Karin back to Kakashi's office, where it looked like her parents were waiting. The Uzumaki's left wordlessly, her parents being respectful enough to exchange bows with all of us.

Kakashi waited for the door to close behind them to address us, "So how 'd it go?"

Sasuke let out a light chuckle, "It was alright."

We all slowly nodded in agreement, scared that saying anything would give away just how treacherous the night really was. Kakashi nearly blinded us with a dazzling smile, "That's good news. Take the rest of the evening off and get a good night's rest. Thanks for your work today."

We all respectfully said our goodbyes to our boss before heading to the elevator so we could get back to our rooms. The second the door closed behind us in Sakura and I's dorm, Sasuke blurted out, "What the fuck happened tonight?"

He was slowly becoming less insulting toward us, but he was still quite abrasive in general and had a knack for cussing. Gaara didn't say anything, but stared at us expectantly.

Sakura started off, thankfully, "Last year, Hinata and I went to the same school as Karin. None of us were friends, but Karin bullied both Hinata and I. Her and her boyfriend, Suigetsu, cut my hair in front of the whole gym." Her voice cracked as she talked about the tragic event.

Gaara and Sasuke looked surprised, but followed Sakura's gaze to me as they all waited for me to add to what she said. I took a deep breath and had trouble mustering the courage to speak up, "P-Please don't tell anyone about this b-because I haven't told anyone."

Gaara and Sasuke didn't speak, but silently seemed to agree, while Sakura held onto my hand and nodded.

I closed my eyes and thought back on the past year of highschool, "Most of the bullying was m-mental because Neji w-would always be around to scare S-Suigetsu off. Suigetsu is Karin's b-boyfriend. On Monday, he t-tried t-t-to force me t-to..." Sakura's hand squeezed mine and I couldn't get the rest out, my eyes watering as I recalled the horrible event.

Gaara was the first to speak, "We have to tell Kakashi about this."

The rest of us let out various noises of disagreement. Sakura spoke above us, "We can't do that or Karin will have this hold on us forever!"

Sasuke spoke next, "We're not a bunch of cowards, Gaara."

Sakura rose to her feet and held her arms out from her sides, "Let's just make sure no one's alone with Karin at any time so nothing happens that we can't stop." We all nodded in agreement.

Sakura continued, obviously trying to change the subject and lighten the mood, "Do you guys wanna hang out…or something?"

Sasuke looked like he was about to jump to his feet and leave, "Was that a joke? Why would I want to stay here when I could be doing literally anything else?"

Sakura slapped his arm flirtily, "We should hang out so it's more natural whenever we're in public. You wouldn't want the press to think we're fake, would you?"

Sakura had done two things with that reply. She'd started her plan of getting Sasuke to sleep with her and figured out just how to convince him to do things he doesn't want to do. He doesn't care all that much about making friends, but he sure cares a whole lot about his career and image.

Sasuke shrugged her hand off of his arm and let out a dramatic sigh, "Ugh, you're right. What are we doing?" I stifled a giggle that slipped out. Her plan was going so smoothly.

We waited for Sakura to come up with some ideas.

She quickly let out a devilish grin and squealed, "Let's play truth or dare!"

Every single one of us immediately protested, but Sakura yelled over us, "We're doing it! Shut up!"

She locked the door to our little condo and dimmed the lights, setting the mood, as she claimed. I'd never been to a party so I'd never played this game, but I wasn't a complete hermit so I knew the rules.

Sakura went first, "Hinata! Truth or dare!"

Why me first?! "T-truth!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at me, "Of course."

Sakura shot him a look before returning to look at me, "Who was your first crush?"

Sasuke let out a tortured groan at the gossipy question. I felt a slight burn on my cheeks, "N-Naruto."

Sakura gasped loudly, "Naruto Uzumaki!? You're kidding!"

Sasuke's attention was drawn back to the conversation and Gaara spectated silently as usual. My face was burning hot as I'd forgotten she'd gone to school with me and would know who he was, "Y-Yeah, I've liked him for years."

Sakura plopped down next to me with an odd expression. I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to say what she was thinking, but she just kept pouting, "What?"

She buried her face in her hands dramatically, "I went out with Naruto one time."

Jealousy welled up in my chest, but I knew it wasn't warranted. It's not like Naruto was my boyfriend or even really knew who I was anymore so I couldn't really rationalize my feelings of betrayal. I nodded and gave her a sad smile, "He doesn't even know who I am. Don't worry about it."

I quickly changed the subject, "Gaara, truth or dare?"

He quickly replied, "Dare."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, and Sakura gave a little holler, "Yeah Gaara!"

I thought for a few moments, "I dare you to let S-Sakura do your makeup."

The boy looked as if I'd just told him to drink toilet water, but Sakura squealed and ran into the bathroom to get her makeup bag. Sasuke actually laughed out loud at him.

We set a time limit of five minutes so we weren't here all night watching Sakura give Gaara a contour. She had him sit on the floor and she knelt down in front of him and started applying eyeliner. The pinkette was so close to his face that she didn't notice the small blush on his cheeks, but I noticed it and I was sure Sasuke did too. Does Gaara like her or was he just nervous being so close to a girl?

His seafoam green eyes studied her hyper-focused face with an odd look of wonder, like he was trying to memorize what she looked like so close up. He's only seventeen so he may be inexperienced with women, which I couldn't judge because I was pretty much a nun compared to most girls my age.

Sakura was so focused that she didn't notice she was so close her breath was hitting his face.

My face was getting warm just watching the scene unfold. I glanced over to see Sasuke giving me a judgemental look. My face got even hotter and I spoke to Sakura so I wouldn't have to address him, "Sakura, o-only a minute left!"

She broke out of her trance and backed up a few inches, "No! I only have his eyes done!"

She quickly flitted through her bag to find a soft pink lipstick that would actually look good against his skin before lightly applying it to Gaara's lips. Sakura finally seemed to notice his bashful expression and developed one of her own as she tried to act natural. It'd be hard not to when you're literally touching someone's lips.

Once the timer on my phone went off, Sakura came back next to me and slapped my leg playfully, whispering so only I could hear, "Dare me to kiss Sasuke or something."

Gaara spoke up with his face looking very luxurious. It didn't suit his serious demeanor i the slightest, which made it even more amusing, "Sasuke, truth or dare?"

Sasuke scoffed, "What do you think?"

Gaara gave Sasuke an incredulous look before speaking up, "I dare you to give Hinata a serious compliment."

Sakura laughed, "It's sad you have to dare him to be nice."

Gaara's lips tilted upwards slightly as he waited for Sasuke to do his dare. I stared into Sasuke's dark eyes and waited for him to say something. He silently stared back at me for a moment and I nearly shook when I realized I was starting to feel attracted to him. I dumbed it down to the fact that we were staring at each other and it immediately went away when I thought about him making fun of my underwear when we first met.

His deep voice broke my thoughts, "You have beautiful eyes, Hinata." He said it so sincerely that even Gaara and Sakura were staring at him in shock.

I could feel a bit of blush warming my face and quickly went to reply, "Tha-" but he cut me off with laughter, "You should see your face, Hyuga!"

My heart dropped and annoyance filled my veins. He's such an asshole.

Sakura didn't say anything to Gaara or Sasuke, but looked at me and smiled, "Your eyes are super beautiful, Hinata."

I gave her a grateful smile before Sasuke cut off our friendly moment, "Sakura, Truth or Dare?"

Sakura seemed annoyed that he'd chosen her because I couldn't ask her now. She answered quickly, "Dare."

I felt like such a pansy for being the only one to pick truth.

"I dare you to run down the hallway in your underwear."

Sakura's face turned red with what seemed to be a mix of anger and embarrassment, "You just want to see me in my underwear, you perv!"

Sasuke chuckled, "We won't look! You can wear a sheet over your shoulders if you want."

Sakura sat silently for a moment before huffing and jumping to her feet and heading to her room and shutting the door behind her. Sasuke looked surprised and whispered to Gaara and I, "I didn't think she'd actually do it."

Sakura emerged with her pink bed sheet wrapped around her and her face matching its color, "I heard that!"

She unlocked the door to our room and stepped outside. Sasuke spoke, "Hinata, you watch her to be sure she does it."

I jumped to my feet and peeped out the door only to be sure the boys wouldn't look. Sakura walked down to the far end of the hall, opposite the elevator and unwrapped her sheet to reveal a white pantie and bra set and sprinted down the hall with the sheet trailing behind her like a cape. To both of our horror, the elevator opened just as she reached that side of the hall and Tenten stepped out. The girl started cackling wildly and tackled a screaming Sakura, who was as red as a tomato.

Sasuke pulled the door out of my fingers and rushed out to see Sakura wrapped in a cocoon of sheet while Tenten led her back to our room. Tenten shoved the embarrassed girl through the door and toward her room, still laughing loudly, "Let me guess, truth or dare?"

We all confirmed her suspicions and she laughed even more wildly, "Without me!?"

Sakura soon came out of her room in her pajamas and we continued playing with Tenten as a new addition. By the end of the night, Tenten had licked the bottom of Gaara's shoe, Sasuke had pranked Shizune's personal phone, I'd let Sakura try to spike my hair with this super strength hair spray, and many other things happened.

As I lay in bed after everyone went back to their respective rooms, I turned onto my side and hugged a pillow to my stomach with a smile on my face. It'd only been a day and a half since I met these people and I felt as though I had really good friends already.

I felt happy for the first time in a long time.

My phone lit up, signaling a text message coming in. I pulled it up to my face, ignoring that it was already midnight and I had to be up at four. An unknown number had sent me a message and my giddy feeling ran cold as I read it.

"What're you wearing?"

I was baffled as to who it was so I replied with a text. "Who is this?"

The number replied immediately. "I'll give you a hint: We've kissed."

It could've only been from one person: Suigetsu.