This fic starts out pretty dramatic, but is NOT a dramatic or heavy fic. It's actually a light fic. It is inspired by a scene from the Korean drama Reply 1988, which, if you haven't watched it, is SO GOOD. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and this story has no beta. There will probably be spelling & grammatical errors.

Read and review, please.

…

Friends in Tight Spaces

Someone was following her. She could hear the distinct rhythm of the man's long strides as he trailed behind her. She had grown accustomed to the sound, but she couldn't get over the anxiety and the fear that was choking her. She didn't want to let him know that she knew he was stalking her and so she forced herself to pretend like nothing was wrong. In the back of her mind she questioned whether or not he could see how tense her shoulders were. Did he notice that her strides had sped up by just a fraction?

She had noticed the silhouette of the man a couple blocks back and had turned down the music she had been listening to and her earbuds were now mere accessories as she focused on the sound behind her, trying to figure out of he was keeping his distance or if he was gaining on her.

She let in a sharp intake of breath when she saw the light of her neighbourhood corner store on and the young man who ran the shop out front, sweeping the fallen leaves. If she could get to the shop, she would be safe. There would be a witness and she could call her cousin to come get her from there and head home together with him.

She let out a startle cry when she heard the footsteps behind her break out into a run. She didn't wait to see what would happen before she broke out into a sprint as she ran for the corner store. Her eyes were welling up with tears, but she could see the light from the store and ran for dear life even as the pounding of footsteps behind her drew closer and closer.

"NO!" she cried out when the man grabbed the back of her collar and threw her down onto the ground.

She looked up at the face cast in shadows, unable to make out his face. If he shifted just slightly, the light from the store would illuminate his features and she would see her assailant. He took a step forward, about to twist so that she would be able to see him.

"Who are you?" she sobbed out.

Hinata's eyes snapped open and she woke up gasping accompanied by the sound of her alarm going off. She let out a relieved sigh. She had been having the same recurring nightmare scattered over the past few months. This was the fifth time, but it still took her a few minutes to calm down and reassure herself that it was all a dream.

…

"Where's Neji?" Sasuke asked as sat down beside Hinata on the bus that took them to school.

"He left for school early," she replied as she placed her backpack on her lap in an effort to cover her thighs.

Sasuke smirked at her even as he took off his blazer and tossed it at his friend so that she could use it instead of her bag to cover her legs. "You know it's your fault. You shouldn't have trusted Ino when she offered to hem your skirt for you."

"I know," Hinata pouted. "I just thought that she would take me into consideration.

"Just buy a new uniform," Sasuke shrugged.

"I'd rather feel slightly indecent than ask my father for money to buy a new uniform."

"Do you want me to get you a new uniform?" he offered.

"No, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually," Hinata sighed.

"Let me know if you change your mind," Sasuke said before turning to look out the window.

"I had that nightmare again," Hinata said, causing him to give her his full attention.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, knowing how much her nightmares affected her.

"Yeah," she nodded her head slowly.

"I'll come pick you up from your after school academy. Which ones do you have today?"

"Today I have piano and economics."

"Okay."

…

"Come on, come on, come on!" Naruto and Kiba had their faces practically on the glass of the claw machine as they tried to control the claw into getting the cutest plush toy.

"Damn it!" Kiba groaned when the claw dropped the stuffed dog before reaching the destination.

"Amateurs," Gaara rolled his eyes at the rambunctious duo.

"As if you could do any better," Naruto challenged.

"Watch and learn," Gaara said before dropping a coin into the slot and positioning the claw where he wanted. He slapped the large green button beside the joystick and watched as the claw dropped down and grabbed an extremely cute stuffed rabbit by a leg. Kiba and Naruto were more determined than ever when the claw released the toy into the retrieval bin for Gaara to grab just before he turned and gave his friends a triumphant smirk.

"You guys are wasting your money on this," Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," Naruto scowled. "I heard Sakura-chan say that she wants to go on a date and have the guy win a doll from one of these things for her. I need to practice."

"I think before practicing here, you need to first convince her to go out on a date with you," Sasuke smirked.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, but really couldn't refute what he had said and instead returned to trying to win a plush doll.

"You know, Gaara, you look even creepier than usual holding that doll," Kiba laughed.

Gaara had been standing with his arms holding the doll against his chest. His cold, expressionless face was in direct contrast to the doll's cute, smiling face beneath his.

"I'm going to get going. Have fun, losers," Sasuke said, checking his watch and jogging off.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Naruto shouted at Sasuke's retreating figure.

"You're not coming with us to karaoke?" Kiba shouted as well. "I guess not," Kiba shrugged when Sasuke disappeared around a corner without replying.

"Oh shit, that idiot left his wallet here," Naruto picked up a plain, black leather wallet.

"I'll take it to him," Gaara offered.

"You're not coming to karaoke either? The others are going to meet us there at nine," Naruto frowned.

"No, I don't sing, and I'm pretty sure I make your other friends pretty uncomfortable," Gaara shoot his head. "Give me Uchiha's wallet and you can tell Sakura-san you won this," Gaara traded the plush toy for Sasuke's wallet before walking off in the direction Sasuke had gone.

"We should get going too. It's almost nine," Kiba nudged Naruto in the opposite direction.

…...

Hinata had finished her economics academy class and stood at the entrance of the building waiting for Sasuke. She smiled as soon as she heard girls squealing and gasping. It was always easier to hear when Sasuke had arrived rather than seeing him. Sasuke was always catching the attention of females everywhere, though not very many girls had the confidence to do more than appreciate him from afar or snap pictures of him and post it on a Sasuke fan-made social media account where new photos would be uploaded regularly without his knowledge. The only reason Hinata knew about it was because Sakura and Ino were two of the admins to the account.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked when he reached Hinata.

She nodded her head and followed after him towards the street where both their houses were.

Sasuke noticed before Hinata did and contemplated whether or not he should let her know or just confront the creeper first. He hadn't been sure back when they were on the busier streets, but now that they were walking through a less populated area, he was sure they were being followed.

"Sasuke," Hinata said quietly and grabbed his sleeve.

He looked down at her and saw how full of fear her eyes were. If he had been alone, he would not have hesitated to confront the stalker, but his first priority at the moment was to keep Hinata safe. He couldn't risk her getting injured collaterally.

"On the count of three, run," Sasuke grabbed her hand firmly in his. "One. Two. Three." He had counted very calmly without raising his voice at all.

They broke out into a sprint with Sasuke pulling Hinata. She knew she was slowing him down. He was on the school track team while she was an average runner at best. Hinata let out a gasp when the person following them also broke out into a sprint.

"He's gaining on us," she said.

Sasuke turned a corner and searched for somewhere to hide. He didn't think twice before he pulled her into a tight spot between two buildings. The entire space was in complete shadow and the only way someone would see them was if they were looking for them.

They were panting from their earlier run and Hinata laid her cheek against Sasuke's chest while she caught her breath. She felt her head sway slightly with the rise and fall of his breath.

Sasuke could smell Hinata's gentle scent from the top of her head, which was right below his nose, and he took a deep breath, pretending to catch his breath. He had not realized until this moment that he had put himself in danger of Hinata. He was in danger of her finding out how he really felt about her. He knew that to her, they were just friends since they had grown up together living next door to each other, but his feelings for her had changed about a year ago. He didn't want to risk losing her as a friend and so he hid his feelings from her and all of their other friends as well. But right now, at this moment, with her body pushed flush right up against him because of the tight spot they were hiding in, their backs completely against opposite buildings, he wasn't sure he would be able to hide his feelings much longer. She was standing unassumingly with her breasts pushed up against his ribs and he was acutely aware of them.

He was currently looking down at her, enjoying the sight of her resting her cheek against him. He quickly looked away when she shifted to look up at him, unintentionally pushing herself against him more.

"Do you think it's safe to come out now?" she asked innocently, unaware that she was driving him insane right now.

"Let's wait a few more minutes," Sasuke choked out a whisper, angling his head to look down at her face which turned out to be his downfall.

"Shit." Sasuke shut his eyes tightly when he felt his pulse race and himself starting to get hard.

"Are you hurt somewhere?" Hinata asked, her voice laced with genuine concern, when she saw his expression.

"No," Sasuke shook his head and took a deep breath, leaning his head back against the wall so that his face was tilted upwards, away from hers.

Hinata's brow furrowed in confusion and curiosity when she felt something hard, that hadn't been there before, pushing against her abdomen. She tried to push away from Sasuke to relieve her discomfort, but she was already completely flat against the building behind her. She looked down, trying to see what it could possibly be when she noticed that Sasuke had his palms flat against the wall behind her, his hands on either side of her waist, with the veins in his forearms bulging from the effort he was exerting in trying to push his pelvis away from her.

Her eyes widened in realization and she looked up at him in shock. She had always thought that even though her feelings for him had changed, his had always remained platonic. She had noticed that he treated her differently than other girls in their group of friends, but she had always chalked it up to the fact that they had grown up together since their moms were best friends. She had always appreciated how he looked out for her despite putting on an aloof façade. She couldn't believe that he could see her as more than just a friend or that his body was responding to hers.

"Um, S-Sasuke," she spoke even more quietly than usual.

"What?" he grunted at her.

"Am I," she trailed off, needing a moment to gather her courage. "Am I turning you on?"

Sasuke's eyes snapped open in shock at her direct question. "W-what?" he cursed himself for stuttering.

"Are you turned on right now because it's my body against yours, or because it's a female body against yours?" she asked.

Sasuke studied her face carefully. She had a bright blush staining her cheeks and her beautifully innocent, moon-like eyes bore into his with no trace of disgust. Instead he saw a glimmer of hope hidden in those pale lavender pools of honest vulnerability.

"It's you," he said before he drew his lips slowly closer to hers. He stopped a hair's width away, pausing for what felt like forever to give her the chance to refuse. Her breath was hot and mingling with his and he wouldn't have been surprised if she could feel his heart pounding through his chest. When she didn't say anything to stop him, he pushed his lips gently against hers completely delighting in the feeling of her soft, plump lips moving against his.

"Found you."

Hinata screamed at the sound of a man's voice interrupting them, reminded that the only reason they had been in this position was because someone had been following them.

"Gaara?" Sasuke let out a groan when he registered the familiar face and hair of his friend. "What the hell, man!"

"Why did you guys run away from me?" Gaara asked.

"We didn't recognize you with your hood on," Hinata sighed in relief and laid her head against Sasuke's chest again.

"Oh," Gaara nodded his head in understanding. "You left your wallet behind."

Sasuke scowled and took his wallet back in annoyance.

"I didn't know you guys were together. I thought you were just friends. When did you guys start dating?" Gaara asked, obliviously.

"Today," Sasuke answered before Hinata could say anything, but he didn't miss her blush and small smile.

"Oh, I see. Well then, resume what you two were doing. I'll see you guys at school on Monday."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of everything.

"Let's get out of here," Sasuke sighed and they wiggled out of their hiding spot.

"So, we're dating now?" Hinata had a gentle smile on her face but she was looking down.

"Yeah," Sasuke grinned before he grabbed her behind her neck and pulled her into another kiss, this one a bit rougher and surer than their first.

"You know, my father's away on a business trip, Neji-niisan is at a student council retreat, and Hanabi is at band camp so it's just me at home tonight," Hinata bit her lip and looked up at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't say a word and instead grabbed Hinata's hand, leading the way to her house at a brisk pace.

…

Author's Note: I'm contemplating making this a two-shot… but for now I'm uploading this as it is right now. It depends on you, the reader, whether or not I'll write and post the next scene, I guess.