Hinata exploded with laughter as she linked arms with her best friend, Rikku, and skipped along on the sidewalk. Both had indulged in quite a few scoops of ice cream, therefore altering their ability to be calm and act accordingly to what society expected.

Rikku collapsed on a nearby bench and exhaled deeply. The exhalation was followed by more giggles.

"I don't think I've ever been this hyper!" Hinata squealed, sitting next to her ecstatic friend. Rikku shook her head, trying her best to relax and breathe. (She was failing miserably.)

After a few more minutes of giggling and squirming, the pair managed to calm down and catch their breath.

Rikku tucked a strand of her thick dark hair behind her ear and sighed. "It's too bad that you had to go to public school," she murmured sadly. "Otherwise we could hang out like this all the time instead of just on weekends."

In the past, fifteen-year-olds Hinata and Rikku had been just like sisters. Both had shoulder-length black hair and pale skin. Their birthdays were within one month of each other. They rivaled each other in academics. Their families were in the same business and had been friendly associates for quite some time. In fact, one of their only differences was their eye color. Hinata sported milky lavender eyes while Rikku's were an intense icy blue.

But for their sophomore year, Hinata's parents had decided to send her to a public school as they did not expect her to take over the family business and saw no need to keep financing her private education. She had just finished her first week at North Konoha High with her older cousin Neji, and had never felt more miserable or lonesome in her life. So she decided to invite her best friend Rikku over for a cheer-up sleepover.

Hinata let her head rest on Rikku's shoulder and pouted. "I know. I don't even really like it there. All of the girls are complete whores and most of the guys are rude and conceited."

"Well, it has only been a week. Who knows what all will happen there. You might end up really liking it," Rikku said.

Raising her head, Hinata asked, "But what about you? What ever shall you do without me?" she added dramatically.

Rikku laughed. "You know I'm really in to theatre. I can keep myself busy. Besides, I still have Kohaku," she said, mentioning one of their friends.

Hinata nodded.

"We should probably start heading back to my place," she said softly. "My father will be wondering where we are."

Rikku agreed.

Neji looked up as the doorbell chimed. Setting the Oreos aside and putting the TV on mute, he licked his lips to remove any stain of chocolate and went to open the door. When he opened it, all he could do was blink.

"Let us in!" Rikku squeaked. "It's getting cold!"

Instead of the cute girl delivering his pizza, Neji was met with two very wet, very cold sophomores.

Hinata grabbed a clump of her skirt and wrung out some of the water.

Neji watched it fall and splatter on the ground.

He blinked again.

"Hinata," he said apathetically. "What were you doing?"

The young Hyuuga cringed, fearing the worst.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOUR FATHER HAS CALLED FIVE TIMES WONDERING WHERE YOU WERE, AND…"

"Well," Rikku began. "It's a bit of a long story. You see, we were walking back and the funniest thing happened…"

Neji groaned and said, "Takahashi, save it. Just get in the house."

The two didn't need telling twice. They shot in without another word as Neji slammed the door behind them.

Neji slunk back to the couch and said, "Sorry you had to hear that, guys."

Hinata and Rikku, who had taken up residing in the kitchen, poked their heads over the bar, confused.

Sitting next to Neji were three boys.

Rikku's eyes widened as Hinata's face flushed brighter than the sun. Hinata could name them all too—they were friends of Neji's from school.

Uchiha Sasuke, Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino.

Shino was actually an acquaintance of Hinata, but he was better friends with her cousin. Probably because they both rarely talked.

Sasuke and Neji were like replicas of each other. Both were quiet, stoic, reserved, rich, and (by other girls' opinions) gorgeous.

Shikamaru, like his companions, was a certified genius. He was just too lazy to have much of a social life.

Hinata feared that they would make fun of her or that Rikku would say something embarrassing to them, but thankfully, they were all too busy watching TV to notice and Rikku had a practically nonexistent attention span. She had taken off her shoes and had begun to slide on the tile floor in her wet socks. Hinata soon followed suit.