7.27.10
Stand
Full Summary: "Dad, if I couldn't stand her when I was five, what the hell makes you think I can stand her now?" Sasuke is not pleased with having Hinata Hyuuga living under the same roof, much less the in the same bedroom, as him; what was his father thinking? She was annoying, and she couldn't go to the bathroom by herself; she wakes him up every night because she needs to go 'potty'! Gah! What could be worse? Oh, wait, falling in love with her when his best friend is possibly in love with her, too, and he's about to be engaged to Sakura? Yeah, that falls under worse. sakuxsasuxhinaxnaru
But, it's eventually sasuhina.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
a/n :: Hey, welcome to Stand! I hope you guys enjoy this story!
I wanted to juggle another story while working on Dull, so one night I was lying on my brother's floor and thinking of what to write when this came up! Yay! It wasn't that difficult to think up a title, though I am not as pleased with this title as I am with the other, but we'll just have to live with it, eh?
I'm glad that I'm writing more often, though, it's a good thing since I've been on writer's block for several years. But, the bad thing is that this keeps me from my summer reading haha. And there are three books I have to read, two of which are probably giganto! Oh, and since I've been on writer's block for so long without any inspiration whatsoever, I'm really hoping that Sasuke stays in character throughout this first chapter. I'm better at his point of view that Hinata's, but still, I pray that he doesn't have random bouts of OOC-ness within this chapter, because I hate it when a character's OOC and will do everything in my will-power to keep it from happening!
But, anyways, if you have any questions about what's taking so long with the chapter updates, check out my profile! I'll be sure to have news in there as to what's going on that I'll try to keep up-to-date as often as possible whenever something comes up.
And no worries, I won't forget about my other story.
Now, without further ado, please enjoy: Stand.
oo1 :: meet sasuke, the new dog
I twitch in irritation.
"Dad, if I couldn't stand her when I was five, what the hell makes you think I can stand her now?"
He sighs and scribbles his signature on a stack of very important-looking documents. Eyeing me tiredly, I ignore his look, already used to his many expressions and methods of trying to get me to agree with whatever half-assed plan he had.
"The Hyuugas are good friends of the Uchihas," Fugaku says. "They were here for us when your mother died, and we are here for them."
I run a hand through my hair, annoyed to no end. "They're going to BALI. It's not like someone's dying in their family! Why can't they just take her with them?" Why does my father feel the need to associate with the Hyuugas anyways? We hate them and they hate us! This whole façade we put up is only because…because… Huh. Why the hell do we pretend to like them?
"Sasuke, she has a leg problem." He glares at me as though I'm the one at fault. "Now, I don't want to hear another word from you about this. She is going to be staying here with us until her parents get back and she will be staying in your room."
You hate me, don't you?
"What's wrong with the guest room?" I growl out between my teeth.
"Leg problems, Sasuke; keep up."
That keeps her from sleeping in a separate room?
He takes out another sheet of paper and quickly scans it before setting it aside with a look of disgust. Turning back to me, he leans against his hands and gazes at me with a…weird look. Oh, God. I know this look. He only ever does this when he knows he's doing something wrong and he knows that I won't like it.
"My son,"
Here we go…
"Ahem." He straightens his tie and clears his throat as if that would somehow make things any better. I don't know how he could make the situation worse, considering he just made me her dog, practically.
"There is…no easy way to break this to you, Sasuke, but… She will be transferring into Leaf High School."
That isn't too bad.
"And you will share classes together and you are responsible for her and I don't want you to let her out of your sight."
Never mind, now I've officially been made her dog.
"You're joking." I deadpan.
"No, son, I'm not."
"I'm not gonna sit here and take this shit!" Standing up, I'm just about ready to storm out of the office when my dad demands me to sit down and for me to watch my mouth. I turn around and glare at him, but he matches mine with a glower of his own and, reluctantly and biting down my pride, I sit down.
"Now, listen here, Sasuke," he says, using his serious voice. I can't help but tense up and wait for the yelling and the insults, but his voice stays quiet and stern. "When your mother died, the Hyuugas offered us a home. They offered us companionship, they offered us comfort, and they offered to help out with expenses in any way possible because business wasn't going well during that time; you remember that?"
He doesn't wait for a reply, but I remember it.
"They have business in Bali; very important business and they can't bring along Hinata, so I offered that she could stay with us while they were there."
"But, Hanabi—"
"I don't care that they're taking Hanabi with them! Hanabi is not the one who's afraid of planes and who has the leg problems, understand? Now, we are going to repay them for the kindness they showed us back then, and we are going to take care of Hinata for as long as they need us to!"
Great.
"I don't think you comprehend that the Uchiha name is on the line, Sasuke."
That perks up my attention because I am all for the plan, now. The pride of this family means a lot to me; our name is known worldwide and I will not let any shame come onto it. I nod my head and he smiles, glad that I'm aboard the ship, and then I take my leave, still feeling a little unsure and irritated with this idea but I shove it aside. Before I close the door, though, I ask, "When is she coming?"
"In a little while, so behave yourself."
Tch. Like I'm going to punch her or something?
"Well, text me when she gets back; I'm heading over to Naruto's."
"That blonde idiot?"
I smirk, completely agreeing with his words. "He's my best friend, Dad."
He grumbles something underneath his breath that sounds a lot like, "Well, your best friend couldn't find his way out of the closet if he had a sign on the door that said 'exit'." I snicker to myself as I head up to my room, knowing that what he said is probably true; but, you know, the thing about Naruto isn't that he's the brightest bulb in the shack – and I can promise you he isn't –, it's that he tries. Even if he was lost in a closet and too dumb to realize that he could walk out the door, he wouldn't ever give up; and I guess – I GUESS – that is sort of a good thing about him.
Sort of.
I head to my room and slip out of my clothes, sliding on some jeans and a black shirt.
Crossing to my mirror, I pocket my wallet and then pause, staring at the picture taped to the top, right-hand corner; it's been there for I don't know how long. Two pairs of eyes stare back at me; both familiar; one mine; the other belonging to a certain, dark-haired girl who I haven't seen in years.
"Tch."
She probably doesn't even remember me.
Afterwards, I rush down the stairs and grab my shoes, saying bye to my dad on the way out; getting out onto the driveway, I then crossed the lawn and headed into the house next door.
Which was Naruto's house.
Yes, he lives next door.
Yes, it's annoying.
Yeah, it's kind of nice having your best friend be your next-door-neighbor.
But I'd much sooner kill him than tell him that.
Moving along, I lift the ugly mat with a picture of instant ramen; hmm. No key. Checking underneath the ugly potted plant, there is no key there either. Where did that loser hide it this time? Frowning, I try the door to find that it is unlocked. Well, it took me longer this time than it did last time, so I suppose he did better, though I should probably warn him it's not a good idea to leave your door unlocked, even if we do live in a relatively safe neighborhood.
Closing and locking the door behind me, I head up the stairs and enter his room where he is sprawled upon his bed like a stupid bum.
"Oi, idiot," I kick him. Hard. "Get up."
Groggily, Naruto opens his eyes and yawns, rolling over to face me with a half-hearted scowl.
"Bastard," he says automatically. "What do you want?"
"It's three. Why are you still in bed?"
"It's a free country," he shoots back, sitting up and rubbing his face with his hands. His hair is even wilder because he hadn't combed it and I resist the urge to slam him against the wall. "So, what's going on, man?"
I take a seat at his cluttered desk.
"Hinata Hyuuga," I reply with a roll of my eyes.
"Who?"
"This girl I used to know. She moved away but her parents are leaving for Bali so she's coming to stay with us for a while."
"How long?"
I sigh. "I don't know."
"Sweet," Naruto grins. Of course he'd take it as a good thing; he's an idiot! "Another member to the gang; is she hot?"
I click my tongue and reach out to hit him but he merely laughs and dodges.
"What, is the rest of the female population not enough for you?" he teases and I throw a dictionary at him that he swiftly ducks out of the way. Damn. Maybe my trying to kill him really could be considered training; several weeks ago, he wouldn't have been able to dodge it if I had done it in slow mo.
"Shut up, moron." I hiss, throwing a few other things at him. "I'm stuck being her freakin babysitter until her family gets back, and I get the feeling they're not coming back any time soon."
"You're just whiny. I'm sure everything will be fine; how bad can it be, following a hot girl around, right?"
I knew he wouldn't understand.
"So, what's this chick look like anyways?"
"Dunno."
"Do you know anything?"
"Shut up, moron. I haven't seen her in over ten years."
"Damn."
Damn is right. Now that I think about it, the last time I saw her was when we were five. She had short hair that was more of a midnight blue than black and her eyes were a funny lilac/lavender color. Flat chest. No butt. Scrawny as hell.
What is this?
I actually feel…nervous?
Nervous is not in the Uchiha Dictionary.
But there I am, in Naruto's room, feeling very anxious about meeting this girl I haven't seen in forever. We are childhood friends, but that doesn't mean we got along when we were younger.
God. How am I supposed to stay in a room with a girl that hates my guts? I remember sticking gum in her hair once; she cried for four days.
I hear the idiot say something and I snap out of my thoughts, turning back to him.
"What?" I ask.
"When do I get to meet her?" he repeats almost impatiently.
"At school," I answer, and tap my fingers against his desk.
How is this supposed to work out? Are we supposed to share a bed? Sure, my bed is big enough, but me, sleep next to a girl? No, I don't think so. I could kick her on the floor, but I was raised to be a gentleman, which basically means me giving up my spot. Ugh. That doesn't sound fun.
"Man!" he exclaims, falling back on the bed. "What I would give to have a hot girl living under the same roof as me!"
"Tch. What you would give to have Sakura living under the same roof as you."
"That, too."
I lean back, folding my hands behind my head. "So, how's it going?"
I'm a little curious as to what's been happening between him and Sakura, and then the other half of me doesn't quite care. I don't really see what he sees in her; she's always following me around and kicking him down. Don't get me wrong; she's got her good points every now and again, but Naruto's… Well, she just doesn't appreciate him, and it ticks me to see him wait on her every whim and call when he could be chasing after someone—I don't know, better.
His face falls and he rubs the back of his neck. "It…isn't hopeless," he mumbles quietly.
Translation: it sucks.
"I still have a chance…"
Translation: There's a better chance I die by drowning in the Sahara.
With nothing else to say, I nod my head. "I see."
"Yeah…"
"Are you sure you—"
"Yeah, I'm sure." He heaves a heavy sigh, falling back on the bed. "She's…I'm in love with her, man."
"Why couldn't you have picked someone else? Someone…not as bitchy."
Naruto laughs, loudly and obnoxiously and it slowly dies down in an almost pathetic way. "I dunno; it's just…sometimes… It's hard. You know? I want her to…I want her to…?" He frowns, furrowing his brows as he tries to search for the right words, but given his tiny vocabulary he probably couldn't think of many that fits his mood.
"Be happy?" I suggest.
Another sigh. "I don't even know any more."
We sit in silence for what seems like hours, neither of us saying a word. That doesn't matter though; a lot of times, we don't even need to say anything and it's not awkward at all. We don't have to try and fill it with words because we're fine not talking, me reading some books and him eating ramen or playing some video games.
"Why don't you just hang with Hinata?" I propose, shrugging my shoulders. "Get your mind off Sakura." This way I don't have to deal with Hinata.
"I guess." Naruto ponders my proposal for a moment, seeming to find it a good idea. "What's she like?"
I stare blankly at him.
He corrects himself. "What was she like?"
"Quiet."
"…Quiet? Sakura's not quiet. She's actually loud, very loud. And talkative."
No. Really?
"We're talking about Hinata."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. So, what else besides quiet?"
"She was smart."
"She can do my homework then!"
"Naruto."
"Right, sorry."
"And…she's really shy."
A brow rises as he gazes at me, waiting for me to continue when I had nothing else to say. I honestly don't remember her that well; her being shy, smart, and quiet were the main things, but I know there was more to her than just that. I recall how she smiled and giggled when I did something stupid (which was quite often, I am embarrassed to admit). I remember how she would cling onto my arm when she was scared or nervous. I remember she kis…
Ahem.
"That's all I remember." I feel my face heating up which makes it heat up even further; coughing into my fist, I turn my head away.
Naruto whines and accuses me of purposely trying to ruin his life; right, because he needs so much help with that. He throws a pillow at me and I chunk it back at him; we end up doing that for several more seconds before we started juggling in books and vases and pens and pencils and whatever else we could find lying around his room. Before we could attempt to fling the television set, my cell phone rings with a text message and I drop the items to pull it out of my pocket; everything he throws at me finally dumps down and I collapse to the floor, buried beneath a mountain of random crap.
"I thought I called a time-out," I glare at him.
"There are no time-outs in war, Sasuke."
"Moron."
"Bastard."
Flipping open my phone, I see that it's a text from my dad.
I can feel Naruto's breath (and smell the stink since he hasn't brushed his teeth) as he tries to be nosy and read what it says.
"Get off!" I shove him and he stumbles backward and hits his head, resulting in my smirking. "And go wash up, you freakin' hobo!"
"I'll kill you…!" he threatens, wincing.
"You can try later, idiot." I put my phone away and get up, brushing off any dust that might've gotten on me. "My dad's calling me home."
"How come?" Naruto follows suit; while rubbing the bruise on his head as he follows me out of his room and down the stairs. He's not rich, but his guardian, nicknamed Hokage, is, and that's who he lives with.
"She's here," I groan.
"You want me to kick her ass?"
"I mean Hinata, dork."
"Oh." He makes an 'o' with his mouth. "I thought you meant Karin."
Not that I need him to beat people up or anything; I'm capable of that myself, but… Uchihas are gentlemen, and Naruto's just a moron with no compassion or pride whatsoever. If he thinks it'll help the situation, he'll beat up the little kids eating candy, old people trying to cross the street, women who can't defend themselves, whoever, whenever, wherever. The guy thinks with his muscles.
"I can handle Karin."
"Yeah, right," he says skeptically, and I would've punched his arrogant grin in if I hadn't needed to get home 'urgently and right away,' as my father had put it.
"I'll introduce you guys on Monday," I tell him as I'm putting on my shoes.
"Why not just now? I mean, you live next door."
"Monday," I repeat with emphasis. "See you then, Naruto."
"Later."
"And lock the door behind me."
"Gotcha. Won't forget this time."
So he says, but I don't trust him all that well, so I wait until I hear the click of the lock switching into place; then I cross the lawn, eyeing the foreign car in my driveway. It doesn't look familiar, obviously; they had like, fourteen different cars last time I was at their house. A little over ten years later, and I'm positive that they've added quite a few more to the collection.
I try the doorknob and find it unlocked, rolling my eyes. Does no one in this neighborhood practice safety?
"Dad," I call only loud enough for him to hear. "I'm home,"
"In my office, son!" he replies ear-deafeningly. "Come in; I want you to meet someone!"
I head towards where I know his office is.
Reaching for the handle, I pause, stopping once my hand gets a firm grip on it. I feel the apprehensive feeling bubble in my stomach and make it way up my chest to my shoulders and down my arms where my fingertips suddenly felt oddly tingling. So I haven't seen her in what, twelve years? No big deal. I never liked her back then anyways. We'll just get this over with. Nice, quick, and painless.
I take in a deep breath and turn the knob, stepping inside.
My father is at his desk, but he's not what catches my attention.
There is a figure sitting on a chair, across from the one I usually sit on when I get in trouble.
Her hair is longer, but still the weird, midnight-color it always is, a mix of black and blue; maybe indigo? She turns around and stares at me with wide eyes, a light purple, lavender, maybe with a hue of lilac. She's pale with perfect skin, but her skin tone and dark hair color complement each other well.
And, not to sound like the idiot Naruto, but the little, flat-chested, no figure, tiny, five-year-old girl I used to know just jumped right out the damn window.
If the blonde loser was here, he'd say: Good God!
Twelve years really does something to a person.
She smiles and bows from where she sits. "H-hello, Sasuke. It's n-nice to s-see y-you again."
"Haven't lost the stutter, huh?" I remark with an eyebrow in the air. "Should've guessed."
Just because she actually looks like a girl now doesn't mean I have to treat her any different.
"I guess you h-haven't changed e-either," she says softly.
Twelve years and I still have to strain my ears to hear what she's saying.
"Hasn't he grown up into a handsome, young man, Hinata?" Fugaku announces and I roll my eyes. Hinata's face flushes a deep crimson and she begins stuttering out nonsensical words that I have no interest in trying to decipher.
"Come on," I tell her. "I'll show you my room."
Hinata nods and gets up slowly; I remember she has a leg problem. It must've happened after they moved because I don't remember her being in any accidents before.
"Where are your things?" I ask her, realizing that I hadn't seen any suitcases when I first entered.
"O-oh, m-my butler t-took it upstairs," she explains, walking very slowly. If she came with her butler, why doesn't she just sleep in the same room as him? My dad just likes to make things difficult…
She looks around at the walls and paintings and other expensive crap we have lying around. Mom decorated it when she was alive, and we haven't changed anything since then. "I-I'm sorry for t-troubling you."
"Its fine," I lie. "It's not that big of a deal." It's a very big deal.
"Here." I open the door to my bedroom with its king-sized bed and spacious floor. Before Naruto vandalized it, it wasn't much; just some drawers, a desk, a bed, and a lamp. After he got through with it, though, I ended up having random posters on my walls and ceilings; there are strange items scattered around and a weird lava lamp on my other desk (one that he dragged in just to stick shit on). If you look closely, you could even see that he had written notes on my walls, too. I haven't read it all since he wrote a lot, but I found plenty that made me laugh and want to slit his throat and throw him in the river at the same time.
"It's…" She is at a lost for words. I know because I was the same way the first time I saw it.
"I-I like it," Hinata admits. "It looks like your r-room."
What the hell?
"That's because it is my room."
"N-no, I mean, i-it looks l-like a place you would s-sleep."
Whatever that means…
Noticing the picture on my mirror, I nonchalantly make my way over it while she is distracted by the horrendous decorations and tear off the photo, placing it face down on the table; I don't want her to know I still have that picture. It'd be awkward.
It looks like she finally notices that there's only one bed because she fidgets in f—did she just get an ass?
…
Moving along, she fidgets in front of my bed uncomfortably and I stand near my drawer uncomfortably. This is beyond weird.
"I'm sleeping on the floor," I proclaim, and she sighs with relief.
"I-I thought w-we were g-going to share the same b-bed…"
"I'd rather kill myself."
I think I hurt her feelings because she tenses and glances at me hesitantly with pained eyes; she was always an open book. At the moment though, it doesn't matter to me because I'm still in shock over the sudden changes. She had always been little five-year-old Hinata; now, she's all-grown-up Hinata. She probably has boys hitting on her and she probably flirts back and…does…stuff. Ugh. That's disgusting. Gross.
The sudden thought that this isn't a good idea strikes me again.
"I-I can sleep o-on the floor i-if you want," she suggests.
"Don't worry about it; just take the bed." If she offers again, I'd probably take it and then Dad would get mad at me, so it's just better for her to understand that I'll be sleeping on the floor. In my own room. When the bed is merely several inches away from me. God, I hate my life.
We stand there in silence for a while. She tries the bed and finds it to her liking, but then stares at the floor while I lean against the wall. Neither of us try to attempt at a conversation.
Not that this hasn't been fun, but I think I'm going back over to Naruto's for a while.
"Seems like you'll be fine on your own, so I'll go."
"W-wait!" She looks at me with panic in her eyes. "I…uh…"
"Spit it out."
"I…c-can't be b-by myself," she says. "S-sometimes, it's h-hard for m-me to walk."
I fail to see what this has to do with me.
"And?"
"Um…c-can… Can I…um… I-is it o-okay for m-me to h-hang a-around y-you?"
She's going to be a puppy dog? This was not in the job description.
"No." I roll my eyes, but she says, "Oh," and drops her head, holding on to the blankets with nervous hands. She bites her lips and I shuffle near the doorway, about to leave her when I make the mistake of glancing back at her; seeing how pathetic she looks, one can't help but feel a little bad.
I think I've been hanging around that blonde idiot too much. I'm actually growing a conscience, dammit.
"Come on," I mutter. "I'll show you around the house."
a/n :: Alright, so what do you guys think of this so far? I know it's not much, but… I dunno. It's just not much haha. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you review though, because I would love to continue this story! And there's no point in continuing it if I don't have people reading it, since I can always just play it in my head…
But anyways, if you did like, please review! It would mean a lot to me, honestly. :]
Now that they've finally met though, once I get started on the next chapter, that's when all the fun begins, heheh.
Until next time you guys!
Signing off,