How to be a Heartbreaker ✔

(30)

"I don't like him, I don't like him, I don't like him," Tenten kept mumbling to herself over and over again.

Temari facepalmed. She was trying to study chemistry, but Tenten's chants were not helping.

Her phone buzzed. She glanced at it. It was Sakura.

Sakura:
Hey, we need to talk. I am out in Ichiraku. Can you come?

Temari glanced at Tenten, who was rocking herself on the bed murmuring the same thing over and over.

You:
Sure. See you in five.

Temari pulled on a denim jacket on her white shirt and dark blue jeans and ran off before she had to hear anymore of Tenten's chants.

She found Sakura sitting on a stool by herself, playing with her phone nervously.

"What's wrong?" Asked Temari as she slid into the seat next to Sakura's. Sakura heaved a sigh of relief when she saw her.

"Thank goodness," she mumbled. "I really need to talk to you. Did you notice?"

Temari ordered herself a ramen before looking at Sakura with narrowed eyes.

"Notice what?" asked Temari suspiciously.

"How the other girls are behaving," said Sakura urgently. Temari's narrowed eyes returned to normal and she shook her head.

"It's a lost battle, Sakura," she murmured. "They have fallen for them despite all the vows and warnings. I only hope that the boys won't break their hearts. They aren't really bad, but fame does strange things to people."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me you also-"

"No!" Temari shook her head immediately. Silence fell as Ayame served their ramen. "I am not 'in love' with Shikamaru. But I know that he won't do anything wrong. I have a feeling that they are pure by heart. And you know my skill of reading people."

Sakura bit her lip. She ate her ramen silently before speaking again.

"Are you sure?" She mumbled. "I am so worried that if this time, their heart gets broken, they will never even look at boys. That will just, ruin their future completely."

Temari placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"I understand your worry, Sakura," she said softly. "But believe me when I say that they won't. I just know it. Call it intuition or whatever."

Sakura gave a small smile.

"I trust your intuition," she said loudly. Temari grinned.

"So, anything for duck-butt-hair?" Asked Temari, sipping on the broth. Sakura nearly choked on her spoonful of broth.

"Gah! Temari!" She whined, wiping off the spilt soup. Temari laughed. "H- He isn't bad but I still get nervous when he's around. I, I just feel alarmed that he might abuse me too."

Sakura said the last part in a low voice. Temari gave her a side hug.

"He wouldn't dare," she said. "I'll threaten him for you, if you want."

"There's no need," said Sakura, smiling at her friend's half-joke. "Sometimes I do feel worried for him. What about you?"

"Uh, nothing right now," said Temari. "I am just, getting used to touch for now. You know how I hate it. But Shikamaru's helping me in it. So I am glad. It also helped me realise that they don't mean harm to us."

"Well, I hope they really don't."

The two girls finished the ramen and paid their bill before stepping out of the shop.

"All we can do is support them right now," said Temari lightly, as they walked back to their house. "I have never seen them so happy. It just shows how much they really mean to them. To us."

"Yeah, you're right," said Sakura, nodding her head. "We should help them get the boys. But all this goes against the rules of being a Heartbreaker, you know."

Temari stopped in the middle of the street. She gulped silently as she thought about how to approach the topic. Sakura stopped and turned back to face Temari.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, her brows furrowed.

"I wanted to suggest you something," Temari said, her head hanging low.

"What about?" asked Sakura, stepping close, her worry increasing.

"Th- The Heartbreakers," Temari said. Sakura stopped moving closer. "Should we disband the group?"

Sakura blinked thrice before inhaling sharply.

"You," Sakura looked at her in disbelief. "You read my mind."

Temari's heart stopped as she looked up in confusion. "What?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Sakura nibbled on her lower lip, not meeting her eyes. "If they are all having a chance to have a stable love life now, we shouldn't burden them with club rules. Set them free, you know."

Temari smiled widely. She knew this was hard for Sakura, but she said it. Temari immediately hugged Sakura who hugged her back.

"You are the most amazing friend we ever had the fortune to meet!"

-TBC-