Chapter 12-Mature Content Warning

-Hinata's POV-

The air was tense as Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and I waited for the boys to come out of their room so we could leave. We were running fashionably late, as expected.

Sakura was wearing a black, long sleeved dress with the sides cut out that showed off her tan skin and slim figure, accentuated with sparkly silver stilettos. Ino wore a neon pink bandeau top with a cape-like black jacket and skin-tight leather pants with shoes that matched her top.

I was wearing a dress I was quite uncomfortable in. Initially, I'd put on my preferred outfit: a lilac colored flowy dress that ended just above the knee and had short sleeves, but Tenten and Ino wrestled it off of me and forced a wine colored thing on in its place.

It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, but that was the only decent thing about it. It ended on the top half of my thighs, entirely too short for my taste, and hugged onto my body like a sticker would onto a piece of paper. There was a slew of expensive looking jewels decorating the bust of the dress, bringing unwanted attention to one of my most problemed areas.

When I tried to grab a jacket to wear over it, Ino tore it from my grasp and gave me a stern talking-to about self-confidence. I was forced into strappy black heels, but luckily they were only two inches, unlike Sakura's four inch stilettos. How the pinkette strutted around so skillfully in them was beyond me.

Tenten looked at the time on her phone and huffed loudly, "Neji's going to leave. We need to go!"

As if on cue, the boys came out of their room, arguing about Gaara stealing one of Sasuke's shirts. My face heated up as I was reintroduced to Sasuke's sleek appearance. Gaara was wearing a dark red button up shirt that nearly matched his hair with black pants. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, which was quite an attractive look on him, even I had to admit. The muscles on his arms seemed more prominent.

I caught Sasuke's gaze suddenly and nearly jumped out of my skin. He was looking in our direction with an unfamiliar expression, a small red hint just barely kissing the angles of his handsome face. Either he was shocked or had done a little too much pre-gaming.

Gaara had to pretty much drag him along as the elevator door opened. He walked toward us as if in a daze and I felt nervous. He must've been stunned by how different all of us looked compared to our regular clothes.

"Hinata, let's go," Sakura grabbed my wrist and effectively pulled me out of my trance.

I nodded and bustled into the crowded elevator with the others. The two guys finally got in and we were packed tightly like sardines. Sasuke's back was against my front and I almost willingly drowned in the scent of his cologne. It wasn't overbearingly strong like a lot of teenage boys do it with Axe body spray, but it was a refined smell that didn't give me a headache.

Tenten's phone started ringing and she started cursing loudly as she tried to wrestle it back out of her purse. We all groaned as she threw her arms around to try and make room. Finally, she got the phone out and answered, "This is Tenten!"

I watched as the color drained from her face. She replied after the person speaking was done, "I'm sorry! I'm running a little behind. I promise I'll be there in less than fifteen minutes!"

Obviously it was Neji calling to see if she was standing him up. We were twenty minutes late already, not that he knew the rest of us were coming along.

The club we're going to was humongous and it should be easy to keep it from him that we were there. We just stay on the opposite side of the room with the dance floor separating us. Tenten had drawn us a map of the floor plan there. It looked like a kindergartner had drawn it, but it did the job. Let's just say that her artistic abilities ended when she picked up a pencil. There's a large, rectangular dance floor in the very middle of the club that split the place in two. Each side had its individual bar, seating, and restrooms. So Tenten and Neji can have their date on one side and the rest of us will be on the other side in case Tenten needed help with something.

Honestly, we knew better than to believe that the singer needed our help for this date. She just wanted an excuse to get us all to go clubbing. I'm pretty sure she knew we knew, as well. Of course, Tenten being similar to Sakura in that they will get what they want one way or another, we didn't even try to fight it and went along without complaint.

Sakura stood behind me, smoothing my hair down as it had gotten messy whilst being dragged into the elevator. She gave me a quick hug from behind and rested her head on my bare shoulder. I looked over to see her smiling brightly at me.

She whispered very quietly, "I'm so excited to dance!"

I returned her smile, but mine was more out of courtesy than excitement. I've never expected myself to be able to handle a place such as a club or dance hall, so tonight would be a test of my strength.

The elevator soon opened and we all strode through the empty entryway and out the front doors. There were more paparazzi than normal since Ino'd been spotted entering the building, but we were smart and had the boys stand on either side of us so they could act as buffers to the overwhelming photographers. They took hundreds of photos, the flashes nearly blinding me as I was pulled along by Sakura and Tenten, who had their arms linked with mine. This time there were no mishaps with the photographers. My previous opinion stayed true: the night paparazzi had a better sense of boundaries than the day shift.

We climbed into Tenten's limo, which was more toned down than the one Karin used. I suspected Tenten liked the luxurious vehicles, but didn't want to overdo it. The three more outgoing girls talked about unimportant topics for a while as we waited to arrive at Masquerade.

As we were pulling up in front of the building, Tenten passed out fake IDs. I accepted mine and nearly choked in surprise with how real they looked.

Sakura squealed, "I can't wait to get Hinata drunk!"

There were a variety of agreeing noises following her remark, making me groan. I've tried alcohol a few times in the past, but it was always just a glass of wine at an important dinner or a gulp of Neji's whiskey. One time I told him it smelt bad and he dared me to try it.

We followed Tenten and Ino past the line at the door and the bouncers didn't even check our IDs before letting us in. Arriving with big names like Ino's or Tenten's has its perks. As soon as we were past the doorway my heart dropped into my stomach.

The music was so loud I could feel vibrations through my ribs each time the bass hit. There were so many people already clearly inebriated on the dance floor. Every instinct in my body screamed at me for being within a mile radius of a place like this, but I was determined to do exactly what the old me wouldn't do and that was to stay and have the best time that I could. We soon found a round booth with dark red leather seating and a sparkly black table and took a seat, wanting to get a drink before doing anything else.

Tenten waited for us all to sit before standing before us and frantically fixing her dress and hair, "How do I look?"

There were various positive responses, the loudest being from Ino, who somehow already had a milky looking drink in her hand and had taken a big swig of it, "Sexy!" Tenten gave us a wink before diving into the crowd of sweaty bodies so she could meet up with Neji.

Ino rose to her feet and shook her hips a bit, "I'll be right back with some drinks, don't move."

Sakura shouted over the music, "Tequila, Ino-pig!"

The three of us remaining at the table with the pink-haired girl looked at her in shock. She didn't seem the type to drink because she's a bit of a control freak, but we were obviously mistaken. Sasuke shook his head with a smirk before speaking loudly so we could hear him over the music, "I'm not carrying you out of here if you can't handle your liquor."

Sakura slapped his arm playfully, but it wasn't flirty anymore. She was completely over her desire to hook up with him and was on the prowl for someone else. I watched silently as her eyes scanned the crowd, seemingly looking for any standouts. Gaara sat on her other side. He opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Ino returning much faster than we'd expected.

I turned to greet her, but literally jumped in shock. Naruto and Karin were standing next to her with a few trays full of what had to be at least thirty shots. Most of them weren't even the same color so there was definitely a variety. Sasuke, who was the only one sitting next to me, snorted but said nothing.

"Looks like these two were waiting for us to arrive. How nice of them, right?" Ino put an emphasis on the question at the end because she knew we hated Karin but also knew we had to keep the peace with her for business.

Karin gave us a coy smile, "The drinks are on me tonight! Oh, and this is Naruto, my cousin." She knew that Sakura and I knew him, but was introducing him to the boys.

The redhead was being oddly kind. Was she just being fake or had she started drinking already and was just nicer when she was drunk? Her cheeks were slightly red so maybe the latter was the case.

Regardless, Ino sneakily moved and sat down next to me before the other two could, and everyone else scooted down so the two new arrivals could squeeze into the booth. We were all very close together now and I was again reminded of how amazing Sasuke smelt, but this time Ino's expensive perfume was also stealing my attention. I'd have to ask her about the brand.

I felt a nudge in my ribs and barely stopped myself from jumping, leaning slightly closer to Sasuke, who mirrored my action and whispered teasingly in my ear, "It's your lover, Hyuga. He's not what I expected."

With my face warming at a steady pace, I elbowed him back harder than he had me, ignoring the amused chuckle he did a poor job of hiding. I stared down at the drinks for a moment before looking around at the others. By looking around at the others, I meant pretending to look at everyone when my real attention was held by a certain blonde male that had made his first appearance since I'd left school.

I glanced at him often to try and study the tanned planes of his face. He had a bit of a baby face, but it was attractive and endearing. His bright blue eyes were as alert and cheerful as always and his smile was just as charming as I remembered. It felt as though I hadn't seen him in ages when really I'd seen him just six days ago when we passed one another in the hallway. He hadn't even looked at me, but it was hard not to notice someone like him.

Sakura didn't wait for anyone to try and start a conversation and quickly selected one of the more clear shots, most likely tequila since there was salt on the rim and a lime next to it. She shot it back and let out an excited "Whoop!" before tossing her hands in the air and dancing a little dance before letting her arms fall over Sasuke and Gaara's shoulders, "Well let's get this party started, you guys!"

Naruto let out a laugh and grabbed a random dark colored shot, "Hell yeah, Saku!" The pinkette snatched up another shot, this time the same shade of pink as her hair, and clinked glasses with him before knocking that one back at the same time he did.

Sasuke sighed, "Fuck it," before selecting a random drink and taking the shot.

Ino squealed, "Yes! The rest of you hurry up and take a shot! I wanna dance!"

I glanced over nervously and she nudged me before speaking at a regular level in my ear, which would be the equivalent to whispering if the music wasn't so loud, "Go for the fruity looking ones. They won't be so bad."

I gave her a grateful smile and selected a pink one that was identical to the one Sakura had taken and clinked my glass with Karin and Gaara as they both took one as well before shooting it back. It tasted like strawberries and alcohol, which caused my nose to wrinkle slightly as it burned my throat on the way down. The group peer pressured Gaara and I, the two more cautious people at the table, to take two more shots apiece.

Then, before I could realize what was happening, Ino was pulling me onto the dancefloor with a giggly Sakura yelling at the Uzumakis and Gaara to move out of her way so she could follow. One moment we were walking alone and the next we were swallowed up in a pool of sweaty and gyrating bodies.

I could barely hear anything but the bass of the song playing, which was one that I didn't recognize. When it finally seemed that we were in the middle of the dancefloor, Ino turned around to face me and started dancing freely to the music as if this were the place she felt most comfortable in life. It looked like she was in her element.

There was a warm, fuzzy feeling developing throughout my body, but it was different from the cloudiness that usually accompanied my discomfort. I felt very relaxed and found it easy to start moving to the beat of the music.

After a moment, a glass filled with neon blue liquid with a lemon on the rim was shoved into my hand and I noticed Sakura wink at me as she took a sip of the exact same drink, but she had one of her own. Where'd she manage to score these so quickly?

My curiosity didn't stop me from taking a sip. To my delight, the drink tasted exactly like the blue raspberry jolly ranchers only with a slight salty aftertaste. The flavor was so good that I couldn't stop myself from knocking back nearly half of the glass. Ino and Sakura laughed loudly, but I couldn't hear it over the music.

Sakura moved to dance in front of Ino seductively, their bodies even touching every so often. I kept dancing, feeling quite good, but was confused as to why they were acting that way. My roommate talked about boys way too much to be gay, and Ino...well I actually couldn't tell with Ino. Regardless, it all started making sense when I noticed the hooded glances they started making towards the group of men that had started to form around us. Some had female partners that they were starting to divert their attention from and some were obviously on the prowl. The two were obviously trying to attract men to ask them to dance.

When I noticed a few of the men getting antsy to move closer, I took a large gulp of my drink for courage before stepping in front of one of them to block their way to Sakura. I grabbed her free hand within my own and grinned widely to try and mask the fact that I was trying to scare away men. She smiled brightly, cheeks flushed with a mixture of the alcohol and physical activity.

She motioned for me to take another drink with her and I did, finishing off my glass. When I reopened my eyes, I noticed my vision became slightly blurry once in a while. It became obvious to me I had a strong buzz starting. It wasn't that I'd had that much alcohol, it's that I drank what I had way too quickly.

The song changed and it was one that I vaguely recognized, and I uncharacteristically let out a shout of excitement along with my two dance partners before we started jumping up and down to the quick-paced music.

I felt so…good.

This has to be what it felt like to be normal. The shy old Hinata who hid in the piano room while her bullies searched for her would've never been able to handle this kind of situation. Pride filled my chest like a balloon and it only added to the joy I was feeling.

Once that song ended, Ino pulled Sakura and I out of the crowd so we could rest for a moment. She led us to the booth where the two boys sat waiting, Naruto and Karin nowhere in sight.

-Gaara's POV-

Sakura was looking for trouble the moment that tequila hit her lips. She tilted her head back and I watched in agony at the slight movement of her neck as she swallowed the potent liquid.

She shot me her usual, dazzling smile and rested her arms over Sasuke and my shoulders. I noticed his eye roll and Hinata's concerned look out of the corner of my eye. My skin burned under her arm, even if clothing separated our skin from actually touching. It took every ounce of self-restraint to not reach over and touch one of her very bare, very silky looking legs.

For a girl as smart and strong as her, she never seemed to notice the strong effect she has on me. It's unlikely she'd even begin to comprehend the emotions that arose when I looked at her in that dress. A dark cloud quickly formed over my good mood. She wasn't dressed up like this to impress me. Some asshole in this building was going to try and coax something precious from her.

My mind drifted to our prior conversation as Sasuke decided to take a drink. I'd been so quick to get offended by her initial rejection that I didn't even try to think of any other reason for it than her finding me unattractive, but she'd hinted that there was something else going on entirely.

Of course I knew that by doing something as intimate as I'd offered, I'd potentially ruin our newly budding friendship, but if that meant she wouldn't look back one day and have terrible memories of some drunk guy taking advantage of her, then I think I can live with it. Of course the act itself would be no chore, but it was obvious she didn't reciprocate my feelings.

She was the type of girl that needed a head-strong, "lead-male" type of guy. Someone with much more confidence than me. Hell, she deserves someone like that to cherish and protect her. However, when she and Naruto reached over to toast before tossing their drinks back, the smile he gave her made me want to take him outside and most likely make a fool out of myself trying to pummel him.

He was Karin's cousin, apparently Sakura's ex-boyfriend, Hinata's childhood crush, and still he'd yet to do a single thing that warranted these negative thoughts. All he had to do was smile at her to make me angry. The fact made me feel uneasy and not having any right to feel that way just made it worse.

I didn't fight it as Sakura quickly shoved a glass in my hand and did as she asked. The bitter liquid burned going down, but it didn't bother me much. Hinata and I were made to take a couple more drinks before Ino grabbed the Hyuga's hand and started pulling her from the crowded booth.

Sakura smacked my arm lightly, hollering, "You guys move! I've gotta go!"

The other two on my left quickly got out of the way so I could let Sakura pass. She bounded after the other two. A waiter stopped her a few feet from the dancefloor and said something before handing her two drinks. She accepted the glasses with her pretty smile on her face before heading after her friends.

Someone bought them drinks. My eyes scanned the bar area, only to see dozens of men's eyes following the girls. Any one of them could have done it. I noticed Naruto disappear toward the bar and Karin disappear into the crowded dance floor, but not in the direction the other girls had headed. She was probably going to find other people to hang out with since none of us like her terrible attitude.

I glanced over at Sasuke, who shook his head at me with an annoyed look before motioning to the drinks. We took a few shots together, having a silent conversation about how much these women stressed us out.

My roommate drank a bit before we came, which I warned him against but he refused to listen. The redness on his cheeks hinted that he truly should've laid off. He sat there with a dazed look of irritation while watching for the girls. We could tell where they were solely by Sakura's pink head bobbing up and down, but other than that we couldn't see what they were doing.

"Hey guys! Where is everyone!" Tenten stood before us with a red face, from alcohol or something else I couldn't tell.

I nodded to the dance floor and she sighed before plopping down next to Sasuke and leaning her head on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't push her off as she explained herself, "I really like him, guys. He's so stoic, though! He's never going to want a serious relationship with me! I'm a damn popstar and he's this businessman with manners and stuff. What am I gonna do?"

I just stared at her in confusion. She looked at me expectantly for a moment before realizing I didn't have a reply before glancing up at Sasuke to see his gaze was back on the crowd. He wasn't even listening.

She huffed and jumped back up to her feet, "Screw you guys!" She stole one of the shots that were left, about half were gone, and swallowed it in one gulp before slamming down the empty glass and stomping off in the direction of the other side of the club, seemingly to return to her date.

There was a loud laugh coming from the other direction and I turned to see Ino dragging two tipsy girls behind her. Sakura plopped down next to me and did an excited little dance when I met her eye, "Gaara, will you dance with us at least once tonight?"

Ino sat on her other side, crossed her legs in a grand gesture, and put her arm around Sakura's shoulders so she could reach over to pull a strand of my hair. She gave me a wink with a big smile as I sat there frozen, "Yeah, Gaara. How about the next dance?"

She knew.

The way that she acted gave it away.

She knew I liked Sakura.

I glanced down at the giggly girl, who was leaning over the table to take another shot with Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata briefly caught my attention. Her usually shy smile was wide and carefree, giving her a completely different look. It didn't even look like the same girl that'd been at our table less than twenty minutes ago. Everyone else seemed to notice as well. She was easily the center of attention.

The Hyuga let out a small laugh after setting her glass back down, and leaned over lightly to touch Sasuke's arm, who looked utterly and completely lost as she began talking to him confidently. I could've laughed at the stunned look on his face. He didn't dare ignore her like he had Tenten.

Ino drew my attention away from the amusing scene as she rose to her feet and adjusted her top before talking over the music, "I'm gonna check on Tenten! Don't do anything stupid!"

Naruto suddenly came out of the crowd and she grabbed his arm before he could join us at the table. She glued herself to his side and obviously said something flirty before dragging him off. I felt guiltily relieved that he wasn't able to come sit with us. How petty of me.

I glanced down at the girl against my own side and felt panic rise as she took yet another shot. She was so close I could smell the feminine scent of her shampoo. The fact that her leg was touching mine probably didn't even register in her drunken mind, but it sure did in mine.

"Sakura, you should slow down..." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. The concern I felt overpowered my usually pristine self-control.

The pinkette glanced up at me before putting a manicured hand over my mouth. She picked up another shot and sipped half of it silently before moving her hand and placing the cold glass against my lips with a coy smile. The blatant flirting caught me off guard and I did what she wanted, accepting the remainder of the drink and quickly swallowing it.

She let her hand fall to touch my knee, the glass held between two of her fingers, and leaned closer to my ear so she could talk where just I'd hear, "Maybe you should speed up, Gaa-ra." She said my name slowly as if each syllable were its own word and it did things to me that I didn't know how to handle.

Sasuke's gaze shooting over to us ruined the moment, but I was grateful for the distraction. It was obvious the alcohol was talking and Sakura wouldn't normally act like this with me. I moved her hand away from my leg with one of my own, trying to help my nerves, but she took that as an invitation and grabbed my hand firmly before rising to her feet and pulling me with her, "Let's go dance!"

I looked back at Sasuke, who was looking between the now talkative Hinata, who had yet to stop since she'd taken her shot, and me. I nodded at him before allowing Sakura to pull me with her into the crowd.

If I was with her on the floor, no creeps would try to take her home, but was it selfish of me to enjoy the attention she was giving me?

The song changed as soon as we got to the middle of the crowd, and just my luck it was a fast song. Sakura cheered and jumped up and down excitedly, grabbing my hands as she started dancing easily to the music. Naturally, I danced with her, but with much less focus on the task than her.

I just wanted to take her all the way in: the way her hair stuck to the side of her face, how sweat trickled down her neck, and how beautiful she looked as she sang along with the overwhelming speakers.

The song changed to a more popular song and before long the floor was getting more and more crowded as it drew more people out to the floor. Someone accidentally bumped her and soon the girl was pressed up against my chest. Her nose hit my shoulder lightly, and she quickly jerked her head up to face me. Our hands were still clasped together, and I could feel her quick breaths hit my face as I stared into her hazy green eyes.

Before I realized what was happening, she started to lean in slightly, an obvious invitation to kiss her. I couldn't do it, not like this. I closed my mouth and leaned down so she could hear me, "Let's go check on the others."

I pulled back to see her face had turned a bright red. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Oh God. She thought I was rejecting her. She pulled away and took off in the direction of the bar Tenten and Neji were supposed to be at. I tried to grab at her hand, but missed and found myself searching the crowd for pink hair.

-Hinata's POV-

I plopped down next to an annoyed looking Uchiha, who nudged me when my arm accidentally brushed his. I gave him a quick glare before realizing how cute his grumpy face was and devolving into giggles.

Not even the great, scary Sasuke Uchiha could faze me in this state!

The joyous feeling running through my veins overflowed as I happily took a shot with him and Sakura, who was clinging onto Gaara in a way she really shouldn't if she didn't want to lead him on. She'd told me all about her small crush on him and how he'd offered to sleep with her so she wouldn't have to let a stranger do it. It was kind of exciting to find out that my hypothesis had been correct and he did care about her. I just hadn't realized he cared that much.

It was incredibly good of Sasuke to turn her down. I glanced up at the stoic man as we both sat down the shot glasses. He's not the big bad guy he tries to convince people that he is.

"Sasuke Uchiha." I felt brave.

The stunned look that graced his marvelous features only egged me on, "What's your problem? You've been going out of your way to tease me lately." The words were flowing out of me and I didn't care enough to stop them.

He opened his mouth to reply, but I didn't even let him, "Well you can just hate me by yourself because I'm done being negative. I'm finally free and I just want to get along with you. Look, Gaara and Sakura are getting along great!"

We both looked over to see Sakura pretty much kissing the side of the redhead's face as she whispered in his ear. His usually blank face was red and obviously shocked. We watched as Sakura rose to her feet and pulled Gaara with her.

I suddenly had words leaving my mouth again, not even realizing I was talking, "They're gonna go dance! Are you mad at them for leaving me here with you? You shouldn't be so flirty all the time. It really pisses me off. One of these days I'm-" A hand clamped over my mouth, but it didn't hurt.

Sasuke's eyes were dark, similar to how they'd looked when we had dance practice. Both of my hands reached up to touch his face in wonder at the mysterious expression, which caused him to lower his hand cautiously. "Your eyes look dark again..."

On this night in history, we discovered that Hinata Hyuga gets word-vomit when she drinks.

Sasuke looked unsure of what to do for a moment, but quickly recovered before pulling my hands away from his face and speaking in a teasing voice, "So what do you think? Is Naruto still the one?"

My face heated up instantly, but I put my hands in fists as he held my wrists, "Of course he is! Did you not see him? He's so cute and he's so nice to everyone and he does his best at everything-"

"Okay, Hyuga, I get it. Damn."

I glared at him, but he still didn't release my wrists. We were both silent for a moment, just staring at one another in annoyance for a few moments. I opened my mouth to say something else, but he quickly interrupted, "Let's go dance."

My face felt hot all over again. Was it the alcohol this time or had I heard correctly? "Sasuke Uchiha, are you really asking me to dance?"

The man pulled me to my feet before giving me a light shove in the direction of the dance floor, gesturing for me to lead the way, "I'm not asking."

There was a familiar sensation in my lower abdomen that I hadn't felt toward anyone towards Naruto before.

Please no.

He quickly realized that I wouldn't be leading him anywhere and pretty much dragged me into the thickening crowd. I suddenly felt much much more drunk. What was in that last shot I'd taken? My vision was completely doubled and I could barely walk straight.

I leaned against Sasuke's chest for support once we'd stopped walking. His scent overwhelmed me and I quickly turned my back to him in panic. How could a human being smell so damn good? I nearly toppled over, but his hands quickly gripped each of my hips, simultaneously holding me upwards and urging me to move with him to the music.

It was so hot. My whole body was on fire, but his breath on my neck was even more fiery.

My body swayed in time with his and one of my arms snaked up to pull lightly on the hair at the base of his neck. His chest rumbled in reaction and the sensation in my stomach returned. I felt my throat vibrate as a noise undoubtedly left me, but it was masked by the music. My other hand clasped tightly on top of one of his that was pressing against me ever so intimately.

A sudden wave of dizziness rolled over me and my double vision turned to triple. My legs gave out almost immediately and my thoughts became a jumbled mess. I felt Sasuke rush to adjust his hold on me so I wouldn't fall to the ground. He hoisted me upright so he could pull my arm around his back and hold me up with one arm under my shoulder blades.

My lips were still moving with words, but I didn't know what I was saying and didn't know how to stop. We stumbled along through the crowd for what felt like multiple minutes before I was suddenly pulled into a room and my back was pressed against something hard.

The music could barely be heard now. I, instead, heard his deep voice barking at someone before a door slammed shut and he moved to lock it with his free hand. It was a wall I was against, I think. It was cold and felt good against the parts of bare skin that touched it directly.

He helped me slide down to sit on the floor before leaving me. My eyelids were heavy, but I wasn't mentally tired. My body felt twenty times heavier than normal and everything seemed to move in slow motion one moment and then double speed the next. My head bobbed to the side and I struggled to hold up one of my hands to test my vision. I could make it out, but the picture was distorted.

A hand suddenly clamped down on my raised one and Sasuke's serious face was suddenly mere inches away. Again, my lips moved on their own accord, but I couldn't remember what I was saying even as I was saying it. He moved his hand from my own and lifted my head up to look him directly in the eyes.

Those eyes. He had the smolder down, even if he didn't mean to. Something about the expressions he makes when he's not putting on a facade hit me differently, in a good way.

His jaw twitched as he clenched it and that heat in my bones returned, my lips moved once more with words. I don't know what I said,but he looked shocked for a moment before quickly switching to an expression of complete seriousness.

He said something, causing my lusty vision to travel down to his mouth. Gone was the cocky smirk and in its place lay a frown. I just barely made out the words he spoke, "Did any of your drinks taste salty?"

Salty? He was kneeling in front of me looking every bit an angel and a demon at the same time, sent to Earth to make a mockery of my confidence and he was asking...how I thought my drinks tasted?

I struggled to keep my gaze on him straight. It was as if he was moving his head side to side, but I knew that he was keeping still. I willed my hand to reach up and touch his face, any piece of it, but he caught it with his own before I could accomplish my goal.

He suddenly raised his voice, making everything slightly more clear, "Hinata! Listen to me, did you taste any salt?"

Annoyance coursed through my veins. Now he's going to yell at me? What the hell! I forced out a reply, "Yes, you jerk! The jolly rancher thingy..."

I knew I should feel scared that I wasn't in full control of my body and I was locked in some room with a man alone, but I didn't. I suppose my subconscious was, but none of it registered. I just felt good. I felt hot and bothered and I didn't know what to do to quench it.

Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. My vision became dark and swirly and when he started talking to whoever he was calling, I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a different language. He finished his call and suddenly I was a puddle of dizziness. Everything was moving and mesmerizing, but my lidded eyes eventually slid shut and I fell easily into unconsciousness.

-Sasuke's POV-

This god damn Hyuga just had to get slipped a roofie. Her head fell limp as I finished my call to the cab service and I took a moment to survey her appearance. The piece of cloth that was considered her dress was riding up dangerously high on her thighs.

It would be so easy to take advantage of her like this. It was no trouble at all getting her into this bathroom and clearing it out so we could be alone. Imagine if someone other than me had been there when she'd nearly collapsed. The thought made me uncomfortable and that alone made me angry. Why should I care what happens to her? She should've known better than to accept a drink from a stranger.

Her face was relaxed in slumber. I honestly envied her comfort right now.

Her dark hair was wavy and falling into her face as she leaned slightly to the side. A softer emotion crept up on me, shoving my previously annoyed thoughts away, and I had the urge to lightly push it out of her face. I caught myself before I could and let an annoyed sigh leave my body with a whoosh.

I lifted her small figure easily and got her onto my back, piggyback style, with little trouble. She nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck and a familiar sensation ran through my bones. She can't keep doing that or we'd have a problem.

It was hard enough seeing her dressed so scantily and having her dance so casually with me. I didn't need her to unconsciously tease me, as well. The feeling of her body pressed so closely against mine not ten minutes ago clouded my vision, but I quickly shook the thought away and snuck out of the bathroom to search for an exit.

It was best to get her out of there discreetly so she wouldn't run the risk of being recognized. I'd tossed my jacket onto her so her dress riding up wouldn't be visible to anyone that might spot our escape. The thing was longer than her dress, a fact I both loved and hated.

The smooth skin of her legs against my fingertips only made me more conflicted. It was so soft and I greedily wanted to verify if her entire body felt like that.

Cut that shit out, Sasuke. Women pine over you, not the other way around. I'll be damned if the Hyuga of all people changes that fact. She's so weak and boring.

Despite how mean I tried to be towards her in my thoughts, my sub conscience was throwing contradictions at me left and right. A boring girl wouldn't have agreed to come out tonight. A weak girl wouldn't have been able to stand up to her father like she had at the hospital.

No, Hinata was quickly growing out of every single bad quality she had when she'd first fallen in front of me in the hallway and was quickly developing every single thing that drove me insane. Things like how soft her speaking voice naturally was and how she obviously gave one hundred percent in everything she did made it hard to keep up the facade that I disliked her.

My cab pulled up just as I slipped out of an emergency exit and I diligently slipped her off of my back and into the back seat while maneuvering myself beside her. Her head rested against my arm. The driver already knew where to go from my phone call and immediately started driving.

I glanced down at the vulnerable girl beside me and felt unease. Who sent her the drink? Didn't Sakura have one too?

I quickly slipped my phone back out of my pocket and called Gaara's phone, only for it to ring for a while then to send me to his voicemail. I let out an annoyed sigh and hung up, choosing to text him instead. I let him know that Hinata's drink had been spiked, that Sakura's may have as well, and that I was with the Hyuga and taking her home.

After sending it, I glanced down at the pale girl again. She'd lazily wrapped an arm around my waist in her sleep. Thank god she doesn't have the courage to do this type of stuff normally or else I'd be in a lot of trouble.

-With Gaara-

I searched for what felt like forever in the crowd for Sakura, but with no luck. Eventually I made it to the other side of the bar to see Ino sitting at the bar with Tenten standing next to her, seemingly pretending to order a drink so she could talk to her without Neji noticing. I approached them, but stopped when I heard what they were saying.

"Who would've thought Karin would buy the drinks? Makes everything easier for us!"

Ino nodded in agreement, "I've left them alone so hopefully something interesting happens!"

Anger rushed through my veins. So they were trying to get the girls drunk on purpose? It's not safe for anyone to ever get trashed in public, but especially someone who's obviously never been drunk like Hinata and someone who's under a lot of stress like Sakura.

Despite my instincts telling me to interrupt and give them a piece of my mind, I turned and headed in the opposite direction. I'd hate to say something I'd come to regret. That was a conversation for later, when I've had a while to simmer down. Right now, I had to focus on finding Sakura before something bad happened.

My gaze skimmed the dancing crowd once again for her again, but still had no luck. With a sigh, I turned to head toward the restrooms, only for a flash of pink to catch my eye. Sakura was leaning very heavily against a blonde guy that was leading her towards the emergency exit beyond the bathrooms. I rushed over and grabbed his shoulder, "Hey!"

To my surprise, Naruto's stunned gaze met mine and he looked panicked for a moment before realizing it was me. Relief flooded through my veins. At least it wasn't some random creep trying to take her home. Hinata liked this guy and Sakura had dated him so he couldn't be too bad of a person, even if he was Karin's relative.

"Hey, Gaara right? I think she had a little too much."

He turned to face me fully and I took in Sakura's state. She didn't seem conscious at all. Her face was bright red and the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground was his arm around her. I reached over and took her weight from him, letting her head fall onto my shoulder gently, "I'll make sure she gets home then, thank you." He seemed hesitant to let her go, but eventually nodded before heading eagerly off toward the dancefloor as though he were searching for someone.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I couldn't get to it right now so I let it ring to voicemail as I adjusted Sakura so I could get her outside. If she's as drunk as she appeared, being in a stuffy place like this wouldn't help at all. The cool wind shook the sweat off my skin in an instant, so I knew it had to help her a bit.

I led us over to sit on an empty bench on the sidewalk before glancing at her. She hadn't budged. My brow furrowed with worry and I gingerly put my fingers to her neck to check her pulse, surprised to find it beating quickly beneath her warm skin.

I shook her shoulder, "Sakura, wake up!" The girl groaned and made an uncomfortable face, but immediately fell back into her previous state. Maybe I should just take her back to the agency for the night. She'd be aghast if she woke up to find out she'd gotten trashed and someone from the press got photos. No one knew who we were yet, but we'd come in with Tenten and Ino so a few photographers might keep an eye on us just in case.

A cab was coming up the road and I quickly flagged it down as best I could from the bench. When it came to a stop at the side of the road, I lay Sakura down in the backseat and sat in the front with the driver. It was a burly old man who looked at me suspiciously, "I know you're not taking this girl home to take advantage of her, young man."

The color left my cheeks. I hadn't even thought about how this must look to others. I fumbled out a reply, "No, sir! We're siblings." The lie slipped out before I could think up any other excuse that might convince him. It wouldn't be too hard to believe since we both had tan skin and a variety of red hair.

That seemed to do the trick and he put in the address I gave him for the agency and started driving. Once we were back at the agency, I slipped us into the building from a side door Tenten had shown me she uses when she doesn't want paparazzi, or Kakashi, catching her out late.

Once we were indoors, I made it easier to move with Sakura by hoisting her up into my arms and just carrying her. She wasn't heavy at all. After making it upstairs by elevator, I realized I didn't have the keys to my room. Only Sasuke had taken his since we were supposed to come back together. I glanced down and noticed Sakura had a small purse slung across her body and felt conflicted. It was wrong to go through someone's personal belongings, especially a woman's purse, but wouldn't she prefer to sleep in her own bed rather than out in the hallway with me?

I gently let her legs fall to the ground so I could lean her against the wall while I quickly rummaged through her purse until I found her keys. It was easy enough to hoist her back up and carry her through the door and to her bedroom. It felt so very wrong to do all this without her consent. This was my first time in her bedroom and she didn't even give me permission to be here.

I lay her lightly onto the cherry red sheets of her bed before carefully taking her shoes off of her feet. After placing them, and her purse, on her bedside table, I gently adjusted her so she could lay comfortably. To my horror, as I reached for the blanket, she grumbled, "Mmm..."

Bright green eyes opened and locked onto my own nervous ones, "...Gaara?"

Her voice sounded off. Perhaps she really had drunk way too much.

I quickly went to move my hands away from her, but she fumbled to grab onto them, "Gaara." She said my name again, this time in a huskier voice, more confident.

Don't let this be happening right now. She told me no while sober and that's the answer I would cling to.

It was impossible to stop her from reaching her arms up past mine and snaking around to grab each of my shoulders, "Come here." She pulled me down onto the bed with a strength I didn't know she possessed and quickly switched our positions so she was straddling my waist and leaning down over me.

Our noses were touching. All it would take was the slightest movement from either of us and we'd be kissing. She simply stared into my eyes and I stared, stunned, right back at her until I realized exactly how bloodshot her eyes were and how small her pupils were for being in a dark room. She wasn't just drunk, that much was now clear. Someone had drugged her, which would explain why she was acting the way she was.

I willed my eyes to stick to her face because if I looked down I'd be able to see her underwear. Her dress had slid up in the midst of all her movement.

Jesus Christ, help me.

"Gaara, how could you think I don't want you?"

My eyes widened as I realized what she was talking about. She leaned back up from my face and moved to fumble with the back of her dress. I was too shocked to move. She looked so devastatingly gorgeous in the moonlight. Her hair was soft and straight and the sultry look on her face left me mesmerized.

Quicker than I thought possible, especially in her state, she had the dress unzipped and was pulling her arms out of it, "I do want you."

I raised my hands to stop her, but hesitated because it would be inappropriate to touch her in any way while she was like this. Soon she pulled the dress up over her head and tossed it off the side of the bed so it could fall to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to respect her privacy.

Her weight shifted as she leaned back down atop me and I felt the softness of her lips brushing against my ear as she repeated herself in a whisper, "I want you so bad, Gaara."

A breath escaped me as she pressed herself against the part of my body that had quickly begun to harden. A gasp escaped her lips as she undoubtedly felt it. There was a pause before she whispered even quieter, "You want me, too."

She snaked a hand down and my eyes shot open when it gently rubbed the front of my pants.

What the fuck was I doing? This has to stop!

I quickly rolled over on top of her and held her hands away from my body, "Sakura, we can't do this." I felt her try to fight against me, but I was stronger and held her still.

She argued in that same husky voice, "I know you want to, baby. It's okay, let's just-"

I cut her off, her bright eyes wide as she seemed to finally understand what was going on, "Not like this, Sakura. I'm not doing this."

Her muscles relaxed and she stared up into my eyes for what felt like years. I held my gaze steady to let her know that I meant it. She eventually gave a small nod and I climbed off her. I went to get off the bed, but she clasped my hand, "At least keep me company."

This all felt so wrong. I searched her face for any hidden agenda, but found none. She breathed out a plea, "Please."

A groan left my lips and I let my body fall onto the mattress next to her, physically and mentally defeated. She held my gaze as she pulled the comforter up around us and lay on her side to face me. Her hand never let go of mine, even after she fell asleep.