Just A Love Thing

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and other characters. But Enjoy the story anyway, k?

Emotions drive our every action.

When we're happy we smile.

When we're angry we yell.

When we're sad we cry.

Perhaps this is what happens when we love...

"Isn't that Naruto over there?"

Hinata's head jerked up in surprise. Sure enough across the street, where Kiba pointed, was the unmistakable mussed up blond head of the one she most admired. Unfortunately the hand that was clasped in his was not her own but that of the ever popular Sakura. Hinata's round pale-eyes reverted back to the ground in front of her. She gave a slight shrug in reply. The pale-eyed girl had already known that Naruto was going out with Sakura but the sting of the pain she felt when she first found out echoed back to her at the sight of seeing them together anyway.

Yesterday (Team 7 training ground)

The late afternoon sun was beginning to dim to a dusky color as Hinata sat on the grass waiting nervously, twirling her index fingers. Her pale eyes circled the grass constantly yet staring at nothing in particular. Earlier Naruto told her he had something important to tell her and that he was going to meet her here. It wasn't unusual for Naruto and her to meet up somewhere and just spend time together, but it was never been more than just friends hanging out. Ever since Naruto started to notice her during the first Chuunin exam, their friendship has slowly grownbut recently their relationship had been closer than ever…. or so she had hoped. Somewhere in between the time she began her weird tendency to stalk him as a kid and the present, her admiration of him had grown into something she didn't want to put a name to but shewas sure that it ran much deeper than admiration. But she knew it wouldn't amount to anything anyway because he treated her like a little sister. Her eyes steadied to a stop as she remembered the matter of fact way that he had picked her up and dusted her off when she fell of the tree while practicing. She remembered it clearly because that was the same day that she had accidentally blurted out that she liked him. His response to her confession was a big grin and a 'I like you, too' in which the 'as a friend part' was implied. Before her mind could wander off anymore she was reminded of why she was at the training ground. The pale-eyed girl wasn't sure how she figured it; perhaps it was how his tone deepened or the seriousness of his face that made her believe that what he had to tell her was extremely important. She couldn't shake off the niggling feeling that there was something distinctly wrong with the situation though.

"Hina-chan!"

Hinata smiled instantly, tilting her head back to watch as Naruto approached. Her blond-haired, blue-eyed prince was coming to meet her; it was the moment that every girl dreamed and yet only one thing could ruin it. The corner of her lips faltered slightly as she saw the grinning Naruto, her goofy prince charming, with an unexpected Sakura in tow. Hinata stared in confusion as the image of Naruto and Sakura smiling, holding hands presented itself, coming ever closer until finally they were in front of her.

"Hey Hinata!" Sakura smiled widely at her but all Hinata could manage was a meager tilt of her lips. Sakura and Naruto gave each other a secretive look, the look that normally only comes between people who are extremely close. Before Hinata could prepare herself, it came; Naruto uttered the five simple words that could crush her whole existence….. "Sakura and I are dating."

She knew that the words were coming but it didn't make that uttered phrase any less devastating. In that moment her eyes didn't blink; it remained large and unfocused. She knew that the moment she blinked her eyes the tears would come and she would have no way of stopping them.

In the corner of her mind she could hear Sakura babbling away…. "…..I don't know when it happened it just did…" but right then she didn't care; all she wanted to do was curl up alone in a solitary corner where there are no disappointments, where no one could let her down. Instinctively she retreated into herself. She knew she had to do something, anything to get away from them. She did the only thing that she could do, Hinata rolled up to her feet, wrapping them both in a hug.

"I'm happy….for you," she whispered softly. With that she turned and left, leaving shattered pieces of her heart trailing behind her.

Naruto sighed as he watched Hinata's retreating back. If you only knew. He turned to his left and regarded the pink-haired girl with gratitude. "Thanks for helping me out Sakura-chan."

"No trouble, though I feel kind of bad lying to Hinata like this. I feel like I'm taking part in ripping the wings off of a harmless lady bug." Sakura regarded him curiously with her hands on her hip. "What's with this whole charade? Don't you like her?"

Naruto sighed heavily, "Sure I like her, who says I don't? I just don't like her, like her. Not it that way."

Sakura rolled her eyes, disgusted at guys who just didn't know when they have a good thing going in front of them. Much like Sasuke, she thought. "Hina-chan is so cute. Why couldn't you just give her a chance? Have you even tried?"

Naruto plopped down on the grass in mental exhaustion. "You just don't understand. I know that Hinata likes me but I like our relationship just the way it is. What if we date then break up? We can never be the same again, it would be too weird. I'm not going to risk our friendshipover feelings that I might or might not have for her. She's going to eventually forget about being more than friends if she thinks I'm dating someone else. And things are going to go back to the way they used to be." His eyes shifted back to Sakura intending to change the subject of him over to her. "Anyway, this plan is good for the both of us. Didn't you say that Rock Lee was being more annoyingly persistent lately?"

It was Sakura's turn to sigh. "Yeah, Rock Lee's always around." Dead Silence They both lay there for the longest time in companionable silence contemplating the complicated relationship between a guy and a girl.

End flashback

Shaking out of her reverie Hinata began to slink backwards; her only thought was to avoid them. She spent so much of her life being invisible that she was able to naturally disappear in silence, leaving a bewildered Kiba behind.

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A/N: Sorry this first chapters seems a little drab, no 'hahaha' yet. But then heartache is just the beginning. I've finished the next chapter just have to do alittle revising, I'll update pretty soon.