I shut the door behind me and slumped to the ground, too stunned to walk another step.
What the hell just happened?, I asked myself as I wound my arms around my legs and buried my head in my arms, Why do I feel so damn dirty?!
I rubbed my arms, feeling vulnerable, then I remembered the key in my pocket. I reached into my back pocket and removed my house key, the whole reason I was in this mess. I turned the key over and over in my fingers. Because of this stupid key, I had been at the mercy of Sasuke, which was a terrifying experience. I shivered as I remembered the way I hadn't been able to move under his oppressive strength and the feel of his tongue running down my neck. I shook my head vigorously, as if I could shake the memories of the past few hours out of my head. It didn't work. I tossed the key onto my bed and found sanctuary in the bathroom where I quickly turned on the shower, hopefully, I wouldn't feel so dirty afterwards. Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out into the humid room, a towel drawn tightly around me. My brain was still crawling along uselessly, incapable of making even a remotely coherent mind work. I wiped the steam on the mirror away so that I could see my face and comb my hair but that was what really threw me out of my reverie. Two reddish patches of skin the size of my thumb nail were nestled on my neck.
"What the hell?!" I cried out as I got a closer look at them in the foggy mirror.
There were, quite obviously, two hickeys planted in plain sight, high on my neck.
"God damn that bastard!" I hissed, covering the hickeys with a hand.
I dried myself quickly and immediately set to work disassembling my wardrobe. Five minutes later, I had on a pair of jeans and a gray turtleneck sweater. Currently, I was donning my red scarf, making sure to cover my entire neck. I had checked the mirror fifty times just to confirm that the hickeys were no longer visible. I checked the clock again and it read six in the morning.
Liz should be waking up soon, I thought tiredly but collapsed on my bed anyways.
I put my cellphone down beside my pillow and the house key right beside it. I felt violated, as if someone had just burst my safety bubble. Then the images came back. Those vivid images of Sasuke hovering over me, his mischievous smirk playing shamelessly across his lips. His gaze seemed sinister and quite frankly, perverted. I would've been dead meat if...if what? What made him stop? Was he really that scared of me? He could've gone much farther but...he didn't. Is he really not as much of a jerk than I thought he was? My mind spun crazily. I turned my head and screamed into the pillow, not knowing what else to do to let out my frustration. Just then, my phone began to ring.
I sat up and answered, "Hey".
"Woah, you sound like a zombie. Hurry up and get ready, we're going down for breakfast in five" Liz said quickly before hanging up.
I ended the call as well and rubbed my forehead tiredly before getting up and stowing away my key, checking my scarf was covering my neck and finally leaving.
As I walked out and shut the door, a voice made me jump, "Morning" it was just Gaara.
"Oh, morning" I answered, relaxing a bit.
"Jeez, you look like you just dug yourself out of your own grave. Couldn't sleep?" Gaara asked, a pitiful expression on his face.
"Uh-".
"I slept like a rock" I nearly had another heart attack.
This time, it was Sasuke, staring at me with the same annoying smug expression from last night. Unconsciously, I drew my scarf up higher until it was covering my chin, just below my lips. Gaara raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
"Hey guys! How'd you sleep?" Karin greeted.
"Hey Karin" I returned her gesture.
"I like that scarf, looks good on you" Karin complimented as she came to stand by my side.
This only made me feel more self-conscious, "T-thanks".
Sasuke smirked at my stutter, "It was the best night's sleep I've ever had...particularly warm too" he teased.
I gritted my teeth, "Brought your stuffed animal on the trip, have you? Must've been nice and warm sleeping with all those teddy bears keeping you company" I retorted, trying to gain back some of my old confidence.
Sasuke laughed, "Oh, you bet. They're nice and plushy too" he said winking.
"Creep" I muttered, giving up.
Sasuke laughed openly, earning confused glances from both Karin and Gaara. I put on a sour expression and crossed my arms in front of my chest angrily. At that moment, Liz came out of her room.
"Uh...did I just miss something?" she asked as she looked at the mirthful Sasuke and the bitter me.
"No. Let's just go get breakfast" I said grumpily and stormed off towards the elevator.
I got to the dining hall long before the others but it felt as if Sasuke had been following me the whole time. His stupid smile kept replaying in my head and if that wasn't creepy enough, what was 'they're nice and plushy' supposed to mean?! Did he...? My mood turned ever more sour, taking my appetite with it.
"Screw this. I'm just gonna get a coffee" I grumbled to myself.
I helped myself to a nice, big cup of coffee. Surely this was enough caffeine to last me throughout the day with no problems, right? Feeling unsure, I grabbed several packs of sugar and dumped them all into the coffee and then added ten spoonfuls of cream. I threw the lid over the cup and went to find a seat just as the others walked in.
"Coffee? She never gets coffee..." I heard Liz say aloud as I passed her.
I sat down in an empty booth in the far corner of the dining area, my back facing everyone else. I sipped my coffee gingerly, feeling slightly revived by it. Just when I thought I could have some peace and quiet to myself, something shattered it.
"So...how'd you sleep?" Sasuke asked casually as he sat down in front of me with his breakfast of bagels and fruits.
I scowled at him, "Go find another table. I was here first".
Even though I sounded confident, I couldn't help but move to readjust my scarf around my neck, making sure that it was covering everything.
He smirked, "There's enough room for all of us, so stop being so grumpy" he reached out with his hand to my face but I shrank back right away.
"Don't you dare" I hissed, eying him dangerously.
He took back his hand and raised both in a sign of surrender, "If it makes a difference...I like your scarf" he smiled mischievously.
I gripped my scarf as I glared at him, "If you don't shut up now, I'll make you" I threatened and took another swig of my coffee.
I angrily began to look out the window, choosing to ignore the pervert sitting in front of me, just begging for attention.
"Hey! There you are! We looked all over for you guys" Liz burst in on our big bubble of tension.
"Hey" Sasuke moved over to allow room for Gaara while Liz and Karin slid in next to me.
"Holy crap, Vira, that's a massive cup of coffee. You're gonna be hyper all day" Liz remarked, eying the caffeine bomb in my hands.
"Better than asleep all day" I muttered under my breath.
"Did you not sleep well?" Karin asked out of concern.
I decided that it was smartest not to answer but I guess it was the same either way.
"So...why the loss of beauty sleep?" Liz perked up, throwing her eyebrows up and down.
"I dunno...too much hot chocolate last night?" I replied weakly, I didn't have any strong back up stories.
"Yeah, right...because that's so believable" Liz grumbled, "Now, what really happened?" she pressed me for the truth.
"Nothing, okay!" I exclaimed, quite fed up, "I got a bad night's sleep. That's it" I said firmly.
Liz's eyes widened, "Alright, alright. I get it" her tone was that of someone giving up but I could almost see the glint of understanding in her eyes.
Oh, no. She was already jumping to conclusions. I just wanted to die right there instead of going through all this slow torture and then dying at the end anyways. A painful death at that. I chugged half of my coffee in a futile attempt to calm my nerves and everyone sat in awkward silence.
"So!" Liz interrupted the awkwardness, "How 'bout we go rent some skiing gear after breakfast and hit the slopes for a few hours before lunch?" she piped up, giving me a sly wink.
"Sure, sounds good!" Gaara agreed right away.
Karin seemed excited too.
Sasuke glanced at me, "So, since we're all done...wanna go get in line for skis?" he offered with a cocked eyebrow.
I turned my head to face him directly, my eyes burning, I answered slowly, "No".
"Aw, come on! You guys can go save spots for us!" Liz pleaded.
I glared at her, "Liz!" I hissed through gritted teeth, "I would not like to go get skis...especially with this creep following me around! It's embarrassing" I grumbled.
"Ouch" Gaara chuckled.
Sasuke didn't seem at all perturbed by my rude comment, "It'll be fine. This way, no other guys will get any ideas".
I turned red as I again involuntarily recalled the memories of last night, "I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" I rebuked haughtily and squeezed my way out of the booth, "Have a great time without me. I think I'm going to try to get some sleep now".
"Woah there!" it wasn't Sasuke who had stopped me this time, it was Liz, "Where do you think you're going?".
"To my room? Where else? You expect me to sleep in the snow?" I asked, being overly sarcastic.
Liz rolled her eyes, "Come on, drama queen. You're skiing with us today, no buts" she said, wagging a finger at me.
"Yeah, Elvira. Ski with us" Karin beckoned supportively.
I gave her an apologetic look before pulling Liz closer to whisper, "You know that I can't ski, right?" I hissed.
She nodded and shrugged, "So what? That's why you learn" then she broke into a wide grin, "And I know just the person to teach you" she almost sang.
"Liz!" I cried, exasperated, "This isn't funny anymore! I can't ski and I'm not going to learn how with that creep as my tutor!" I shook her.
Liz only laughed, "It was never funny, Vira. It was always planned though" her eyes glinted mischievously.
"You didn't" I growled, pulling away from her.
"I did" she smirked and pranced away before I could get my hands around her neck.
"Argh!" I screamed, How could she just tell him like that?!
An hour or so later, I was nearly in tears. I was standing on my metaphorical execution stage and that metaphorical execution stage just happened to be a ski slope...even though it was a bunny hill.
"Oh, relax Vira! It's like a bump in the road!" Liz said dismissively.
I grimaced, "Well, that's one hell of a big bump".
She laughed at that but turned away to chat with Gaara instead of tormenting me further. We were currently in line to take a test in order to receive a stamp on our card, allowing us to go on the easy hills. As Liz had said, there would be a test on the easy hills as well to authorize our use of the medium hills. This went on and on until we hit the black diamonds, which I swore I wouldn't even set foot on, much less ski on. I was nervous, even though I had been taught the basics of skiing and handled them all very well. It was mandatory that everyone went through the same tests and procedures to ensure that everyone knew what they were doing.
"Nervous?" I jumped at the sound of someone reading my mind.
Of course, it was none other than Sasuke, the notorious creep, pervert, psychic and all things unpleasant.
"Nervous my butt. Go bug the girl next door" I shot back icily.
Perfect for the weather. I shivered.
He chuckled, "Sorry if my bed wasn't more comfortable so you could sleep better".
I bet my face was so red, you would've thought that I had just dumped a bucket's worth of blush powder on it.
"Gee, thanks for your concern...you damn bastard" I added quickly under my breath.
"I heard that" he noted with a tone of mild amusement.
"Really? Congrats! Do you want a gold star, tiger?" I adopted a high-pitched voice.
He laughed good-humouredly, "That's alright but...I wouldn't mind a kiss to warm up my lips" he said shamelessly.
"Like I'd kiss that perverted face of yours" I said, raising my chin to dignify myself.
He wrapped his arm around my waist, "By the way, you looked beautiful last night" he whispered in my ear, "I'm never gonna forget the way you looked at me, with those eyes full of wondering...and perhaps desire?" he purred.
I crossed my arms over my chest, "If you don't back off in the next ten seconds, you're going to find my ski pole in your eye" I said calmly.
He smiled and patted my head, "If you can even stand without it" he said rather loudly.
"Shush!" I hissed, "It's embarrassing enough already having you of all people know".
"It's not that bad. So what if you don't know how to sk-" I slapped my hand over his mouth before he could finish.
I raised my eyebrows, "Did that warm up your lips?".
"Next!" someone suddenly called behind me.
I turned around to see the instructor beckoning me forward to take the test. My eyes widened and I swallowed nervously as I approached the starting point. Why was I born without any skiing skills?!