The Flower and the Avenger

Chapter 21

She stayed there until the ball was over.

Sakura had gotten the sense to pick herself up and clean herself off- trying her best to keep the swelling of her eyes down, remembering Ino's suggestions- "If you have any reason why you should cry, keep dry wetted teabags over your eyes to reduce the swelling." It didn't help with the redness though- but she could pass that off easily.

When she threw herself into her room, she immediately ripped off the mask and the dress- only a friend? She was only a friend to Sasuke? What a tease- no one had ever been the cruel to her. She even kissed him that night- and he hadn't pulled away.

Son of a...

Sakura removed all the pins and bobs that were keeping her hair up by practically ripping them off; it wasn't even like it hurt anymore.

She wiped all of her makeup off with such ferocity her skin grew red, throwing down the wet paper towel she used to wipe it all off in the trash with hard force, not even knowing why she was so heartbroken over someone she didn't even know liked her back.

When she finally looked in the mirror, new tears grew to replace her old ones- the confidence was gone, the beauty was gone, the glowing, happy, alive girl was gone. She saw, through her blurry state, a red-faced, bloosshot, messy-haired girl- a servant. That was all she was.

He had gone the best way to break her heart in two- hell, she wanted to yell out a string of curses every time he and Karin together appeared in her mind.

Why, though? Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he pull back? ...Was all this a prank?

Thoughts like these ran through Sakura's mind as she broke out a sob, then another, then another, until Hinata finally came in laughing and she clamped a hand over her mouth, almost choking at the pain of not being able to release the frustration.

When Hinata got into bed and the lights were turned off, Sakura quietly climbed out of her own bed and stepped outside.

She was going to get some fresh air tonight, whether Sasuke liked it or not.

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The cold welcome of the night air soothed Sakura's nerves by tenfold.

She breathed in deeply, exhaling through her nose as she stared at the sparkling night sky. She shivered as she cupped her hands around her lips- the lips that kissed Sasuke. The lips that kissed the guy who threw her away in the most heartbreaking way possible.

Something fell out of her pocket.

She frowned as she looked at it- then remembered. The letter that she had written to her parents about the ball.

Tears filled her eyes once again as she read it- had she really been that excited? did she really describe the dress as 'beautiful'? Well, now she was glad that she hadn't sent it to the mail- it gave her time to do this.

She stopped in front of the fountain that was still running, the water ice cold. The tears that threatened to fall now rolled down her cheeks- them turning cold instantly, freezing her rosy cheeks off as she tore the letter in half, then again, then again, until they were tiny pieces floating in the fountain.

"Sakura?"

She turned around to see a brown-haired man frowning at her. Who... oh! She remembered now. Neji, Hinata's older cousin from the side branch of the family.

"Fancy meeting you here." He took a seat as she hurriedly wiped her tears away. Thank goodness it was night. "Same to you," damn it, her voice didn't sound normal. She cleared her throat in hopes that it would get to its normal pitch.