SasuHina: Beyond The Camera

Chapter 53

-Sakura's POV-

The moment I opened my eyes in the morning, complete and utter humiliation washed over me as I recalled what had happened between Gaara and me yesterday. Not only did he see me completely naked, but I had the drunken gall to ask him if he liked what he saw.

Jesus Christ... As if I need yet another reason for him to judge me.

Since we don't have lessons today, I texted Ino and asked her to come to pick me up for the makeover that she begged me to let her do, but she insisted she was too busy and that I'll just have to drive myself. When I arrived at her condo, I realized what exactly she meant by busy. Sai greeted me with a shy smile as he poured himself a cup of coffee in her kitchen with nothing but some sweatpants on.

My face fell and warmed bashfully as I averted my gaze from his naked torso, "Ino, you slut!"

The blond popped her head out the doorway of her large bathroom to make sure I could see her flipping me off, "You're just jealous."

I rolled my eyes as I dropped my purse onto her sofa and kicked my shoes off by the door before trekking into the room she was waiting within. When I realized she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt, likely Sai's since he's out there without one, and her underwear, I gave her an incredulous look. She grinned happily, not bothering to lower her voice in the slightest, "Bitch, just you wait. When I kill this makeover, and we get to have that sleepover, I'll give you all the juicy details."

When she gestured for me to sit in the chair at her vanity, I obeyed with a blush but shot her a playful glare in the mirror, "Don't ruin my hair, Pig."

After grabbing a comb and starting to section off my hair, she spoke casually, "So..." I stared blankly at her, and she rolled her eyes, "We haven't had a chance to hang out since...well, you know. Are you doing okay?"

That's not what I expected her to bring up, especially soon after I arrived. Feeling a bit anxious, I averted my gaze down to the expensive products lining her vanity, a diverse assortment of makeup, lotions, and perfumes, "I'm doing better. I...I need to tell you something, but it's private."

Her hands paused in my hair, and when I met her eyes again, she nodded before walking over to close the door, so Sai wouldn't be able to hear us so long as we kept our voices low.

Sighing, I turned to face her and closed my eyes tight as I spat out the truth, "On Christmas, Sasori...h-he...he, um, what he did wasn't consensual."

The room became silent and stayed that way for a long time. So long, in fact, that I opened my eyes to verify if she was even still standing there. Baby blue eyes were wide and full of disbelief. Then Ino was crying and hugging me tightly against her chest. Her breaking down made my control slip, so I joined her.

After a bit, we both managed to regain our composure, and she knelt in front of me with rage igniting her very being, "I'm gonna rip his dick off, baby, don't you worry. He's not getting away with this."

I shook my head, wiping away my tears and offering her a grateful smile, "Thank you, but please don't. I'm in the process of building a case so I can press charges."

I was right about letting others in. Now that it's not a secret to my closest friends and family, it's not so hard to talk about what happened. It still hurts, and I'm still terrified when my mind manages to wander too far, but I can tell that someday I'll be completely okay again. I can do this.

Once all the drama was out of the way and discussed, Ino returned to work on my makeover. A couple hours later, she turned me around in the chair, so I could see the finished product. My mouth dropped slightly, and I cautiously reached up to finger the much shorter ends of my hair. The extensions were removed; it was shoulder length and parted in the middle rather than to the side, like always. Ino'd taken it upon herself to style my hair and makeup, giving it mild romantic waves that made my face seem softer.