After reading a few ShinoHina fanfics I really got into the couple. So I wrote my own. ;D

NOTE:
(1) I do not own Naruto, its characters or any of the quotes I cite.
(2) This chapter was reuploaded and extended upon request.
(3) A few lines were inspired by Stephenie Meyer's New Moon and the idea was inspired by Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
(4) This was originally named "Ever the Same" because it was inspired by the song by Rob Thomas. It's still inspired by that song, but I felt this title was more fitting.

Hope you enjoy! :)

A WALLFLOWER'S CURSE

Chapter 1: Knowing

"Now when I caught myself,
I had to stop myself,
From saying something that,
I should have never thought.

You got it, you got it, some kind of magic
Hypnotic, hypnotic, you're leaving me breathless."

-Paramore

Usually, when people regret, they regret not knowing things sooner. When Shino regrets, he regrets knowing all together.

Because it is knowledge that usually lands him in a place he neither intended nor wanted to be.

His observational and analytical skills are second only to Nara Shikamaru, but were nonetheless impressive.

For one, he was one of the few who felt the impending doom about to engulf the Leaf Village during the Chunin Exams. He knew there was a plan about to commence from eavesdropping on the sand siblings. He knew how to find them by planting a female beetle on Uchiha Sasuke after listening to Kakashi-sensei's directions towards three other genin in his class. And he knew how to defeat his opponent Kankuro within a few minutes into the battle. After watching the puppet's movements he quickly noticed the poison hidden in their compartments and saw the vulnerability of the charka strings at his fingertips – as well as his opponent's slight fear of insects. He won that battle both effectively and efficiently.

He also knew to learn from the mistake of being pricked by a poison dipped needle and knew to be grateful that his father found him in time to save his life.

He always observed and analyzed, listened and assembled, noticed, waited and gathered. He knew many things. He even knew things about others that they didn't know themselves.

Most of the time he knew it was a gift, but he was no fool. He knew that every gift can, very easily, become a curse, and his gift was no exception. But knowing to appreciate what he had, he never complained about it.

Sometimes, he just knew too much and other times, he grew tired of it.

Knowing: it's a perk of being a wallflower.

But on the days that he noticed something about her that was just too much, it was a perk he wished he didn't have.

The day before, he noticed a different shade of pink that flushed her cheeks when Uzumaki Naruto complimented her on her skill improvement. Yesterday, he noticed how hard she trained by her bruised and reddened knuckles.

"Shino-kun?" She disrupted his thoughts. He looked down at the box of rice balls in her hands. An offering.

He looked up, taking a small white grainy sphere in his hand and thanked her with a nod.

Today, he noticed how cute she was with her new hair cut and that she was wearing peach flavored lip gloss (his Kikaichu told him that, but he could tell himself that she used floral scented shampoo).

"I really like the new do, Hinata. It's working for ya." Kiba complimented, grinning.

"T-Thank you."

She looked away blushing as she always did from Kiba's never-ending mental list of ways to make her change colors. That was consistency he always noticed about his teammates.

It was Hinata's consistency that drove the unrest in Shino's mind. Everything about her was consistent: her kind and gentle nature, her sheer determination and humble disposition, and her sincerity and warmth. Of course he couldn't not notice her shy beauty - and how good she smelled - but to him, appearance is only the icing on the cake. She was true to herself and in turn, to others - making her all the more beautiful - and that was a quality Shino knew to appreciate. Kiba's was too, but he couldn't focus much on him when she was around.

The sound of the Hyuuga's soft voice broke his train of thought.

"He actually returned today." He smoothly jumped into the conversation by correcting Kiba on when Naruto completed his mission.

"Oh, really? Wow, I thought it'd take him at least another day to find that rich landlord's stolen treasure chest with his navigational skills."

She let out a small giggle, leaving the bug-user to shift his attention to her. He loved hearing her laugh. It almost made up for all the times she had finished crying before joining them for training or a mission. All from either her relationship with her father or from Neji's remarks. Shino always knew from the slight hue of pink that surrounded her eyes and the saturation of moisture on the skin under them. Those were times he considered his gift a curse; seeing her in any level below content.

He was so grateful when she moved into her own apartment and - more importantly - away from her blood-line family. After that, everyone saw the smile-born dimples on her cheeks more than tears.

That made him happy. Because she was happy.

"So when are you going to ask him out?" Shino stiffened at Kiba's question directed towards Hinata.

"I don't know..." She took a delicate bite out of her plum rice ball.

"Come on! You've liked the guy for like three years! When are you gonna do something about it?"

One thing always remained the same: Hinata liked Naruto. And that bothered the hell out of the Aburame. It was one consistency he wished would change. Shino's feelings for Hinata grew after he learned of her crush on the knuckle-headed ninja, and if he hadn't had noticed, then he would have already made an attempt to be her only one. She was already his.

But he thought that Hinata deserved the best of what she wanted and not settle for the best friend that's always been there.

He was thoughtful and considerate, and for that he cursed himself.

She stalled for time by taking a rather large bite of her rice ball. A lady never talks with her mouth full. She chews slowly with manners, too.

"I will. Later."

"When?"

"I don't know. Eventually." She was uncertain if not interested in such an act.

"I'll help you if you need me to."

She was skeptical. "What would you do?"

"I'll figure something out, don't worry."

Shino's insects were restless, sensing a wave of frustration crawl over him and the slight ache he felt in his chest. But it faded a bit after several beats, so it didn't bother him as much, allowing the colony within him to settle down.

"Well I gotta go." Kiba excused himself. "Gotta go help my sister with whatever she nagged me to help her with last night. I don't even remember what she said, but yet again I can't make out her words when she's yelling. Let alone nagging plus yelling."

"Ok, see you later, Kiba-kun."

"Kiba."

"See ya guys."

He pushed his dark sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose knowing that he might accidently let a confession escape if he didn't compose himself right away. He wanted her to be happy with the one she wanted because he knew that was what would make her happiest. Even though he knew it was the same as painfully admitting to himself that he probably couldn't make her as happy as he wished he could.

"You know," he began, asking for her attention.

"Hm?"

He suddenly froze mid-sentence. The feeling of sincere interest and attention emitting from her eyes enthralled him. Breaking eye contact was something impossible to do even if he wanted to - and he didn't want to. When he remembered to breath, he coughed trying not to suffocate.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing is wrong." He fixed the collar of his jacket to hide any possible color forming on his face. "Nevermind." Hopefully she didn't notice his sudden lapse. Afterall, he didn't stutter or need to clear his throat or anything that might show nervousness.

"A-Alright." Her cheeks raised from a growing smile. She always understood that his lack of words was nothing to worry about. But it didn't stop her curiosity from wondering, "what was he going to say?"

He stopped himself from saying what he wished he'd never thought, even if it meant suffering from an information overload.

The two remaining members of Team Kurenai sat on the blanket, enjoying each other's company as they shared idle conversation with periodic, moments of calming silence. Upon finishing the box of rice balls, the carton of mixed fruit, and the canteen of iced tea, they packed up the picnic and bid each other farewell until training the next morning. He watched her leave a little more content than when she arrived. It was all in her facial expression.

Her happiness made the whole suffering thing a little more bearable.

He stood in the clearing, sifting through the multiple bits of information and details in his head. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to think straight.

A cluttered mind: the down side of knowing.

A rustle in the foliage snapped him into a defensive stance. He remained calm, though, as he always did.

"Relax." Called a female's voice.

He recognized the source of the voice before she even stepped out of the shadows. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just around. Training. And then saw you guys eating." She un-strapped the giant fan on her back and set it onto the ground, leaning it against a generous tree.

The gesture allowed his defense to soften half way.

She smirked at his distrust. "I don't expect you to trust me, but still, you should relax. I'm no threat to you."

You only watched us from the trees as we ate. That's not suspicious at all. He thought to himself sardonically. "So you say."

"I wouldn't harm Shikamaru's friends for no good reason." She shifted her weight to her right leg.

A small breeze made its presence clear as it ruffled both of their hair: his wild brown hair and her four wild tan pigtails.

The air stood still as the two shinobi observed each other in indifferent curiosity; him wondering why she was spying and her wondering about his intentions.

"You're not much of a talker are you?"

He shrugged.

"Guess not." Her eyes rolled to the serene emptiness of the sky. "What I don't get is why you didn't tell that Hyuuga girl how you feel."

A bit taken back, he could only utter, "Pardon?"

"You heard me. I know you like her. It's not obvious, though. You hide it well, but I can tell when a guy has a girl on his mind. I do have two brothers. Well…at least one of them counts." She made a face, thinking of Gaara's love life, or rather lack thereof.

His brown eyebrow twitched.

"So tell me, why don't you tell her?" She made herself comfortable on a tree branch and padded the space next to her asking him to take a seat.

He shook his head declining.

She shrugged and continued, "Please tell me. I'm very curious."

"Why?"

"Because. You don't seem like the type of guy to be afraid of rejection. Nor do you seem like the type of guy to care what others think. And you're a guy. A guy will pursue a girl if he feels strongly enough, and I think you do, but you hold yourself back. Why?" she paused, aware of the slight streak of pink just barely escaping from under his collar. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

The shady ninja didn't have much choice but to believe her because she already knew. He waited until he felt the color drain from his face before he continued.

"She has someone already."

"That demon carrier?"

Not wanting to say confirm or deny, he made mo movements to be taken as an answer.

"Whatever, that doesn't stop most guys. Why does it stop you?"

His eyes went down, then up and around, avoiding contact with hers in hopes that remaining silent long enough will bore her into losing interest.

"I have all day, buddy."

Fuck. "It's none of your business."

"I know. Can't blame me for trying, though." A stolen smile from a very familiar lazy genius found her face. "Is it because you feel like you don't deserve her or that you can't compete with Uzumaki?"

A sudden paralysis hung over him as she hit the nail on the head.

"Well in either case, I don't think you should let it hold you back. Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too. Just like that Hyuuga girl."

He couldn't deny the truth in that because he knew it was so.

"Well I can see I won't get much out of you." She leaped off the branch using only her upper body strength. "I might see you later." She twirled into the forest like a gust of wind, leaving behind a small indent in the dirt from where her fan rested.

Leaving traces of your presence behind. The bug ninja commented. Not very smart of any shinobi to do.

The other trace she left was an echo in his head. And it sang: "Wallflowers deserve to be happy, too."

But that would be selfish. He tried to combat her logic with his. And she deserves someone who isn't so selfish.

Trying to get inside Shino's head is kinda hard with how quiet he is though...but I welcome the challenge.
Hope you liked this first chapter at least. :)
I'm pretty satisfied with how this is going so far I guess.
Chapter 2 coming soon.

Review if worthy! :)