Author's note: Hey everyone, I have decided to rewrite this story. It's been about five years and finally, I have the motivation to write! Since the ending of the Naruto manga, I've been seeking ways to cope with the loneliness. Naruto is very dear to me, and Naruto's embodiment of hope, ambition, passion, and hard work is the message I got from the show/manga. I love Naruto, no matter who he ends up with. The shipping, OTP stuff among the fandom doesn't bother me because Naruto has never been about romance. HOWEVER, it doesn't mean we can't ship what we want, or write about our favorite ship. I knew that Sasuhina would never happen, but that didn't stop me from loving them. I hope you lovely readers enjoy!

Summary: Naruto and Sakura like to test their best friend's limits. When Hinata Hyuuga transfers to Konoha Academy, she is the subject of a bet. The devilishly handsome Sasuke Uchiha must date shy Hinata until Christmas. However, the Hyuuga beauty doesn't know it's a bet, and Sasuke finds himself falling for the young woman.

Warning- Can be very cliché

Chapter 1: Elegant and Petite

Sasuke Uchiha was never the type to worry about others. He was too busy worrying about himself. And right now, his stomach needed fuel…food…tomatoes…revenge. But that damn Naruto couldn't shut up.

"Hey, hey, hey" Naruto pranced around, smiling with a lopsided grin, "Hina-chan, how about you join me and emo boy for lunch?" he pressed his hands onto the poor girl's desk and leaned close to her flushed face. She tried to smile, but her face was more surprised than anything. She brought her small hands forward, waving them in the air, implying that she was okay- that she didn't want to join Naruto and Sasuke for lunch.

"It's okay, I'm actually going to speak to Kakashi-sensei about the math test." Her voice was soft and sweet, but her words clear and straight to the point. Sasuke couldn't tell if she was telling the truth. He believed the girl didn't have any interest in eating with them. He was still irritated by the fact that Naruto called him 'emo boy'.

Ever since Hinata transferred to Konoha Academy, Naruto had been trying to make friends with her. He even convinced Sakura to help him in his deed and open up to the quiet girl. Hinata kept to herself and didn't start conversations with others, but she was nevertheless a good speaker. She was also very well-versed in the language of math and English. And Sasuke took notice of her. Her long, gorgeous blue hair cascading down her back and bright lavender eyes that could capture anyone's gaze. He wondered how she kept herself so pale, and the pink tint on her face. Sasuke could never actually admit this to himself, but she was a beauty. He just acted like he didn't notice her.

"But Hina-chan, you probably aced that test." Naruto pouted, disappointed that she couldn't join them…again. Hinata let out an airy laugh and nodded her head sorry. The light from the sun shone on her hair, and Sasuke could see sparks of purple in her thick straight hair. He took short glances at the girl, waiting for his obnoxious friend to stop pestering her. Sasuke sat a row left of Hinata and two seats behind her. This gave him the perfect backside vision of the Hyuuga princess.

Sasuke brushed his strands of hair to the right and glared at the watch on his wrist. He squinted, still hungry and annoyed.

Hinata pushed her chair in and bowed to Naruto, whispering sorry again before walking out of the classroom. Her footsteps were always light, almost unnoticeable. Immediately the handsome Uchiha stood up from his chair and sauntered past Naruto, murmuring "Loser" into his ear.

Naruto stuck out his tongue, snickering at Sasuke's comment. "Emo boy, wait for me!" Naruto jumped into the air and ran towards the Uchiha's shadow, as he was just one corner away from grabbing hold of him. Sasuke knew his friend very well, so before Naruto could grab hold, Sasuke stepped to the left. Unfortunately, Naruto slipped onto the dirty ass tile floor.

"You dick." Naruto breathed as he rubbed his aching tummy and leg. Sasuke didn't stop to look at the crazy boy, but he secretly smiled. "I know. My dick is bigger than yours, loser."

The cafeteria was full of scrambling students. They talked with their mouths full as their belts came undone. The pink haired and blonde haired students stood out the most. Sakura opened her bento box lunch and held it into her hands, bringing the lunch close to her face. The green and yellow vegetables to the left, the crispy, cooked beef to the right, and the white rice centered in the middle. She was good at cooking and she used that to her advantage. Naruto was not jealous though, for he had a hot, steaming bowl of ramen he bought from the ramen line. The broth was very flavored and creamy, with the little fishcake sitting on top of the ramen noodles. It was Naruto's favorite. The two sit in silence among the loud students until they noticed they were missing a part of their puzzle: the sexy, pale man with black duck ass hair.

"I haven't seen Sasuke-kun at all. I thought he was with you." Sakura mentioned as she eyed the many students, trying to find her friend. Although many students had black hair like Sasuke, he was always easy to find because of his mysterious aura. Anyone could feel that glow he emitted…well, not glow, but ominous glare.

"Eh, that sucker left me to die. I bet he had to poo so bad that's why he was so quick to leave." Naruto said in between his slurps of ramen. Sakura only eyed her friend weirdly. But it wasn't a surprise to her, for Sasuke was always gone. They were never sure of what he did, but they didn't worry, no one would dare anger him.

"Anyway, Sakura-chan, I asked Hina-chan to eat with us, but she keeps denying us. Do you think she hates me? I mean, I treat her so nice." Naruto asked as he put the bowl to his lips and drained the remaining broth.

"Stop eating and talking, you idiot," Sakura rested her chin onto her hand and blew invisible air up to get that annoying strand of hair out of her face, "Hinata needs time to open up. And you need to stop pressuring her. You're too much for a girl like Hinata." Sakura stood up and dusted her skirt to free the wrinkles. She gathered her purse and bento lunch before waving goodbye to Naruto.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't leave me all alone!" Naruto yelled, catching the attention of near by students. Sakura only laughed. "I told you, I was going to meet up with Ino the last ten minutes of lunch." Her back was turned to Naruto, but he could hear her voice clearly. He sat back down into his stiff chair and pouted. He grabbed his water bottle and chugged down the room temperature water…only to burp. At least his ramen was good.

As soon as Naruto fell on the floor, Sasuke bolted to the cafeteria. He did not want his friend seeing him order ramen. It was one of the first times Sasuke ever craved ramen. Part of the reason he hated ramen was because his friend never would shut up about it and ordered it everyday. The image of Naruto slurping ramen was something he did not like to picture, but he did a good job of making ramen look really delicious. However, Sasuke tried to live vicariously through Naruto's ramen eating habits. Today was just a different day and Sasuke's stomach spoke louder than his brain.

He quickly took his tray and headed out the door into the sun. He smoothly made his way to an empty area where a lonely table sat. He made sure not to spill any of the hot soup. As Sasuke was enjoying his ramen, he noticed a lonely figure sitting at a bench perpendicular to where he was at. He could only see the backside, but he could tell that it belonged to a girl. Her hair was long and under the light, he could see purple. She sat up straight and seemed to mumble quiet things to herself. Sasuke raised a brow as he eyed the girl. He continued to shove the ramen into his mouth, but the figure stood up. She quickly wrapped her box lunch and slapped her backpack onto her shoulders. Sasuke could barely hear all these movements, even though she was only a few feet away. It was as if she was a ghost, her footsteps unnoticeable and her skin as pale as the whiteboard in his class.

And her eyes, a bright lavender so captivating, he couldn't help but stare. When Sasuke kept eyeing the girl, he noticed that her expression changed and her lips came apart and her cheeks became red. She stopped near the table and opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Sasuke was still gawking at the beauty, fantasizing about what she really looked like and how gorgeous she was. He didn't notice that she was actually standing right there in front of him. Sasuke never let himself look this stupid. His cool and calm demeanor was no more, and she was the first one to take witness to this vulnerable side of the ever so popular Sasuke Uchiha.

The young girl began to giggle and Sasuke only eyed her weirdly. He didn't understand what was going on, but he was for sure she was real. It was like a dream, the background of the trees and building fading into white, and it felt like they were the only two people left in the world. His gaze was still on the girl, and finally, he could hear a soft voice…calling to him.

"Sasuke…Uchiha, are you okay?" Her voice was hesitant. She never spoke to a man like this before and never said his name. The feeling was foreign. Of course, Mr. Uchiha did not respond, but the girl was not offended at all. She noticed his gaze never moving and his mouth wide open. He looked as if he saw a ghost. She wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.

Then came the little drop of drool from the side of his mouth. She immediately threw her bag on the table and scrambled through her papers to find a napkin. Her cheeks were flushed, but she didn't care. Her dainty fingers finally grabbed hold of a crumbled piece of napkin. It wasn't pretty, but gosh darn it, this man was drooling like a baby!

Her hand extended, reaching closer to his face. She unconsciously leaned in, closing the space between her and Sasuke. The girl was shaking, for she's never been this close to a man, especially Sasuke Uchiha. He was so popular and smart. He never spoke to her, never looked at her, as if he didn't like her. Those vibes she got from him were not bad, just unfriendly. But he was friends with the two most friendly and talkative people she had the chance to meet.

The napkin was almost to the side of his mouth, but that moment of pause…doubt, allowed Sasuke time to regain his senses. It had only been a minute, but it felt like an eternity to Sasuke. His body was stiff and stuck in a position he could not let go of. The wind, the bowl of hot ass ramen, the school, and all the colors came back to him…and the lonely figure standing in front of him. Sasuke never experienced anything like this before, but he didn't show it on his face.

The heat Sasuke felt wasn't the sun, but warmth emitting from another person…kind and a little hesitant. It was so close, almost kissable.

There, standing face to face with him, was a beautiful girl with lavender eyes he could not forget. Those eyes belonged to only one girl.

"Hinata Hyuuga," his voice was stern and cold, but her name rolled off his tongue so comfortably, as if he always spoke to her…knew her, "What are you doing?" His gaze was on the girl's hand and piece of napkin. He immediately grabbed her tiny wrist. She winced, not because it hurt, but she was startled.

This man was so strange to Hinata. He was so silent just a few moments ago, but now it was the complete opposite. It was as if he was luring his prey…seducing her with his strong eyes and full lips, eventually entrapping her because the little prey was too stupid to realize it was just a trick.

She shook her head no. His grip still tight, but Hinata calmly explained herself. "I'm sorry Uchiha-san, I just wanted to offer you my napkin, but you didn't respond." Her apology was genuine and Sasuke could tell that she was telling the truth. He let go, and she stumbled a couple steps back.

Hinata blinked at him, but he just continued to eat his ramen. She looked around, trying to spot any other students, but it was just her and Sasuke. She scratched her head, confused about what just transpired a moment ago. Sasuke acted like nothing happened, but it wasn't a dream. It was all too real. His expression was unreadable, but Hinata tried not to stare at him too much. He might think she was weird.

Hinata froze in her place, but the Uchiha stood up and held the tray in his two hands. He dared not to look at the Hyuuga. She held her hands together and brought them down to the center. It wasn't hard to tell that she was nervous. Sasuke brushed it off and smirked. He walked a couple steps away from her before turning his head around.

"Hyuuga…you're strange," he casually said, no hesitation or strain in his voice "but-" he couldn't quite finish his words.

Hinata did not want to hear what he had to say, so she disrupted him mid-sentence. "You were drooling and gawking at me, so I had no choice but to do something about it!" Her voice rose with each word. Her tone wasn't mean though, she was just nervous talking back to Sasuke.

Shocked the Uchiha only raised his eyebrows. He couldn't believe she was capable of talking this loud. She's never even said hi to him before. Man, did she have some guts.

Sasuke was hard to read, but Hinata could tell that he was surprised. She was about to apologize to the Uchiha, but her pride stopped her from doing so. She wanted to show others that she was not scared. She quickly grabbed her bag and box lunch from the table and power walked toward the Uchiha. It looked as though she was about to bump into him, but she gracefully swirled to the left and brought her face up. She looked into his eyes for a quick second and nodded her head, signaling her departure…her goodbye. This feeling…Hinata has never felt before; however, she knew it was a good feeling. Her gaze never faltered, she didn't dare to look down to the ground. Confidence, a foreign concept to Hinata, came so natural to her.

At that moment, Sasuke saw something he never saw in any other girl. Her gaze was soft, but strong, and she kept smiling. This meek girl was never meek to begin with. He only judged her from her conversations with Naruto.

As Hinata walked away, Sasuke stood there frozen. He was standing so still with the tray of ramen still in his hands. It was so quiet, but the atmosphere felt peaceful. He closed his eyes to study the sound of her footsteps, but instead, he could only hear his heart beating.

Hinata kept her chin up and pushed open the door. She entered the hallway and avoided the gazes of fellow classmates. As she rounded a corner, she placed her back onto the cold wall and slammed her palm to her chest. She felt relief, closing her eyes and breathing in and out…counting every breath. She dropped all she was holding to the ground and sunk into her knees, hugging them. Hinata felt a tingly sensation in her stomach, like butterflies in her stomach. She ran her hands underneath her bangs to wipe off the little droplets of sweat. Her breathing was normal again, but her heart beating fast. Hinata cringed, uncertain about this feeling.

"Sasuke Uchiha…why did he look at me that way? I completely embarrassed myself." She murmured quietly into the confinements of herself, hoping no one could hear. She peaked from the corner to make sure no students were wandering around at the end of the hallway. It was too loud anyway, with a couple of jackass students shouting at the opposite end.

Her memory comprised of Sasuke's composed figure and drooling face. She couldn't stop thinking about what he said earlier or how easy her name rolled off his tongue. She understood why so many female students sought after the Uchiha, albeit he was still too cold and not responsive- the complete opposite of his supposed best friend Naruto Uzumaki.

And his eyes. Hinata blushed thinking about how good he looked. She shook her head left and right, trying to erase that image of him. She gave up, bringing her two hands to cup her hot, flushed face.

"Why is Sasuke Uchiha so handsome?" she sighed, finally admitting what her heart wanted to say for the last two minutes.

Sasuke continued the rest of the day the same. He ignored Naruto's pleas, gazed out the window, and only worried about himself. The last bell rung and Sasuke swung his bag to his side. He sauntered pass his two talkative friends, avoiding eye contact with them, hoping they wouldn't call out to him. But he didn't always have good luck.

"SAS-GAY! OI! SAS-UHHHH-GAYYY!" Naruto obnoxiously yelled, fashioning a stupid expression. He wrapped his hands around his mouth, trying to amplify his annoying tone even though Sasuke was only about three feet away.

Sasuke ignored Naruto with a blank expression, not stopping one bit to say anything to his friends.

"Naruto stop talking so loud," Sakura pinched the blonde boy on the arm. She turned to Sasuke, coughed to clear her voice, and spoke very loudly: "I guess we just have to eat all the tomatoes without Sasuke."

Naruto pouted, "You told me to stop talking so loud, but you're even louder than me." Sakura only smiled at Naruto.

She grabbed his orange collar and whispered into his ear. "Guess what doofas? You won't get his attention like that. Sasuke is obsessed with-". Sasuke came storming in before Sakura could finish. Her mouth was open and dry while Naruto was squinting as he tried to back away from her booming voice.

Sasuke looked at both of them furiously in the eye. The other students had already left, and the three remained. Naruto, surprised, cocked his head back. "W-what and how did you get here so quick?!" Naruto squeaked, his voice slightly breaking. Sakura let go and Naruto stood up immediately to face Sasuke.

Words were thrown back and forth between the blonde and black haired males as their female friend annoyingly eyed the two. Sakura rolled her eyes, tired of Naruto's nonsense.

"Man Sasuke, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have a single friend!" Naruto pointed his finger to Sasuke, almost touching the highest point of his nose and closing the gap between the two.

"Idiot, don't stand close to me." Sasuke retorted. He pushed his tan friend back with an unreadable expression. The two continued to bicker even as they walked out of the school building.

Sasuke tried to walk away from the two, but Naruto kept rushing to his side, defending himself whenever Sasuke would make a rude remark.

Sakura hung out in the back, watching the two argue. It was kind of cute. "Why am I stuck with these two idiots? Seriously, they don't get along." She smiled before running ahead to catch up.

.

.

.

Hinata was not very fond of working in groups. But her teacher Kurenai decided to assign groups of three to create a slideshow on activities friends could all do. Kurenai wanted to give the students a break from the constant testing.

"Thanks sensei! I love you so much!" Naruto grinned, fist pumping into the air while standing on his seat. Kurenai smiled, but gestured to the young man to safely sit back down. The room exploded in cheers and hollering. Sakura turned back to glance at Hinata, but her eyes were only on her notebook.

"Hinata, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked, worried about the stiff girl. She looked even paler than before, if that was possible. Sakura turned her whole body towards Hinata and waved her hands, trying to get her attention. Hinata did not even blink; it seemed as though she silenced everyone's voice and focused on her hands and blank notebook page- the two blurring into one color.

"Okay Sakura, so I'm guessing we should form a group with the douche face-"

"Shhhh" Sakura quickly silenced the boy with a finger to his lip. She narrowed her eyebrows and mouthed 'shut the fuck up', and Naruto immediately nodded his head, afraid of the hurling punch of the ambitious pink haired girl.

Sasuke glanced at the two and the unmoving Hyuuga. She looked away, carefully avoiding his gaze. Sasuke, muted and pale, crosses his fingers together and lodges calmly on his chair. Sakura reaches for Sasuke's collar and pulls his into her bubble, and the space between them dims. She grabs his earlobe with a pinch and whispers word for word her plan. Sasuke only nods and returns to his original position.

Naruto converses with Kiba nearby and the shy Hyuuga is confused that no one is talking to her about the project. Time runs out and she sees everyone gather into groups. She turns around and stares at the pink haired girl who is chatting away with Ino. Then she notices Shikamaru with his pout, nod his head yes to whatever Temari was mouthing. Then her eyes shift to Chouji, Shino, Gaara, and the rest of the class. But out of everyone, black, spikey hair is what she sees. She remembers yesterday, clearly in fact, that is kind of blurs her vision. She had such good dirt on him though, and if she told Naruto, it'd be a running joke for the rest of his life. Sasuke would probably hate Hinata if she told Naruto what happened, but she wouldn't mind seeing the Uchiha loosen up. But by the time Hinata cleared up her thoughts, everyone formed groups…except for her and the pretty boy she couldn't stop thinking about.

"Is everyone in groups of three's yet?" Kurenai said, getting the attention of each student. They all turned to their fellow group members and nodded their heads. Hinata's face turned a weird shade of blue, as if she couldn't breathe, because she noticed the other person that wasn't in a group yet.

Naruto turned to Sakura and whispered, "You sure?" he questioned, scratching his head. Sakura scooted her chair to get closer and nodded, "I'm sure they'll be alright and plus, you're in our group already." Sakura smiled, and Naruto pouted, glancing at the other member, whom was none other than Ino.

Sakura cleared her throat before standing up, center and front of the entire class. Kurenai and everyone else looked at her, a little bit surprised. "I believe Sasuke and Hinata don't have a group yet." Her eyes closed but her posture straight and soldier like. Hinata shudder and felt a strange tingling in her body…like everyone was observing her…talking about her…judging her. And the class did just that. They had no qualms eyeing the stoic Sasuke and reddening Hinata.

Kurenai only nodded, "I knew we'd have leftovers," she smiled, "but that's fine, Sasuke and Hinata can form a two man duo, I mean, man and woman." She cleared her throat.

Sasuke had no reaction- just a bored face, and no movement. But Hinata placed her shaking hands on her chest, feeling her heart jump up and down. She couldn't believe she was working with Sasuke- and alone at that! And we can't forget what happened yesterday. Hell gods no!

Sakura strolled up to Hinata's desk and smiled widely at her. "If Sasuke gives you any problems, you can just hit me up!" she threw a torn piece of paper on her desk, shooting her a wink before walking away with Ino. "SUPER GERMAN COMPLEX, I'll show you KIBA!" Naruto shouted, but not before Sakura grabbed his neck and strung him along. He struggled, yelling profanities, but a slap and a whisper, and bam, the boy stopped. Kiba followed, wanting to continue the argument.

Soon, the students all left the classroom and only two bodies occupied the room. Hinata, sitting in the center, and Sasuke, at the corner next to the window. Hinata unscrambled the piece of paper and read the number to herself. She finally got Sakura's number! She could text her anytime…but that'd be a little weird, but at least she had someone to shoulder her worries to. She reached into her bag and tore a piece of paper. She wrote her number as discreetly as possible. She didn't want him to hear.

Then Hinata stood up, all her school supplies packed and her head up, looking ready to take the world. Maybe not, but she was taking baby steps. And literally. She sauntered towards Sasuke, counting her footsteps and breathing as softly as she could, almost suffocating herself. When she arrived to the side of his desk, he turned to look up at her. His eyes sharp and dark, and to be honest, a very bold move for an Uchiha.

They uttered no words, but Hinata knew Sasuke was not as bad as he put himself out as. He purposely waited for everyone to leave because he knew she was too shy. He could have also gone up to her first, but that required too much energy.

She sucked in a considerable amount of air before opening her mouth. Her lips were trembling but she tightened her fists, she couldn't possibly run at this point. "Sasuke," she took a breath, "I hope you can accept me as your partner," her eyes meeting his, "I will work hard!" She bowed and tossed her scrap of paper on his desk. There was no response.

Hinata took this as him saying "You can leave now" and mouthed goodbye before bringing herself back up. She turned around, facing the door out. She wondered if Sasuke would text her. She contemplated her actions. Would it have been better if she asked for his number? Or if they exchanged at the same time? What if he never calls or texts? Or worse…never noticed the paper! Wait, he couldn't be that dumb.

Before she could take one more step, Sasuke softly grabbed her hand. She slightly turned her head to see him. "We need to talk." he muttered, letting go of her hand. She turned fully to the boy and nodded her head. She knew exactly what he was gonna say.

"I'd prefer if no one knew what you saw yesterday," he nonchalantly said, revealing more of his face as he brushed his hair away from his eyes, "Or if you can't keep it a secret, I'll just have to force you." He whispered into her ear. He stood next to Hinata for a second before brushing past her, a grin on his face. At the door, he smiled and brought his fingers up, with her paper in between. "Oh, and I'll call you when I need to, thanks Hyuuga." He slipped the paper into his pockets and walked out.

Hinata lied. She had no idea he was going to sexily whisper into her ear, almost threatening her. She seriously had no idea what would come into her future.

Ending note: Not completely satisfied with the way I did Hinata, but that will be fixed in chapters to come- I guess you could say "character development" This story was supposed to be about a bet, but im not sure how im going to have Naruto and sakura convice Sasuke to do so, but I guess he has ulterior motives too.