She Deserves Better

Author's Note: This story will have two parts. The first part will be in high school and then the next part will be a few years later. There will be fluff, angst, bitter sweetness, and eventually a happy ending because Hinata is not going to realize Sasuke's feelings for awhile. If any of those things bother you, you might want to turn back now. For those of you still here, we hope that you enjoy this story.

Dedication: This story is dedicated to all the Sasuke x Hinata fans out there that were looking for something a little different and to my coauthor celestia193. This is a collaborate effort.

Disclaimer: We own nothing and make no profit off of any of our stories.

Chapter 1

To say the least, Sasuke really, really hated high school. "Not again!" He glares at pile of envelopes and carefully folded pieces of paper that fell out of his locker the moment he opened it. "This is ridiculous." How did they even find out that he changed lockers with Naruto this fast?! This had to be some kind of record.

Love letters. While Sasuke hated most of high school and wasn't naturally the most social creature, despite his efforts to at least talk to people and not be a complete bastard as Naruto put it, the world apparently didn't quite agree with his preferred introverted nature. In fact, the world was quite fond of telling him to fuck off. Ironically, usually with love letters or giggles.

"Oh come on, Sasuke." Naruto grins. "It can't be that bad!" The blond was his best friend, but they couldn't be more different.

Naruto was the archetype of loveable, dumb jock. Alright. That last part wasn't fair. Naruto generally made straight B's, but he was oblivious about some stuff. Like why Sasuke had no interest in the love letters that kept piling up in his locker.

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Even if I liked any of them, there wouldn't be any point." He was graduating in less than a year anyway and had already gotten accepted into West Point, not that he had told his parents that. "I'm going off to college next year and I doubt any of them are going to the same school."

He'd applied to a dozen different schools, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, just to make his father happy. His father wanted him to go into business or politics, something 'respectable'. The truth was, he had other ideas in mind, plans that he kept pretty close to his chest, which is why he'd told no one about applying to the military academy.

Sasuke knew very well that his parents would throw a fit if they knew where he was planning on going for the fall semester. So, he kept up the pretense of being interested in Harvard and going into law. Something 'respectable'. And sure, law was interesting enough, not business law or that boring stuff, but criminal law. He was interested in saving the world. So…why not start by doing it himself?

That was why he'd already chosen West Point. And first, he had to find just the right time to break it to his best friend, as well as his brother.

That said…the letters he held in his grip were annoying the fuck out of him. "You'd think that they'd just give up after I've told them a million times that I'm not interested." He'd been singing the same tune since he'd hit puberty, and actually, even before then. He's just not interested in shallow, brainless fangirls who have nothing better to do than bat their eyelashes, giggle endlessly, and blow kisses at him.

"Eh. What can I say, they're dedicated." Naruto grins. "Most guys would kill to be in your position." He opens his own locker and a few love letters fall out as well. Sasuke and Naruto were definitely two most popular guys at the school. "I mean, I like the attention. It's just I want to make sure that I choose the right one."

"The right one?" Sasuke scoffs. "High school sweethearts are a myth, if that's what you're hoping for." He wasn't expecting to find anyone worth the time and effort of a relationship in high school. Better to wait for college, where the more intelligent and ambitious girls would show up, the dumb ones weeded out.

He eyes the letters distastefully, all of them packed into brightly colored envelopes, with shimmering stickers and glossy, if sloppy penmanship on them. Annoying.

"Well it doesn't necessarily have to be in high school." Naruto smiles. "It could be later on, but there's someone out there for everyone. Even for you Captain Ice Dick." He grins. "Oh that one's expensive." Naruto blinks as he looks at a beautiful gold envelop with some rather elegant cursive on it done in what looked like silver paint.

About to growl at Naruto for the stupid insult, Sasuke catches sight of the light reflecting off the envelope, silver and gold, a beautiful, and obviously very expensive kind of paper. "What the…?" Tossing the other letters aside, he slowly opens the envelope, being careful not to just rip it open, and he slides out a much neater letter than the others he usually got. "That…isn't normal." Even less so when he opened it to see the same curvy silver writing as on the envelope. And, just like the envelope, there's no name on it.

I know that you must get letters from admirers every day and I know that you don't know me well. That's understandable. I'm not the girl that anyone notices first, but I am the one that loves you most. I don't want to bother you...but I feel like time is running out. We graduate in a few months and I have to know, if there is any possibility that you might feel the same.

So I decided to turn this into a game. I'll give you clues until prom. If you ever figure it out you can leave a note with your guess by the hole behind the water fountain. It's large enough. I've checked. If you don't, I'll be the one with the white rose in my hair standing by the stairs when the first song begins to play.

The words of the letter slowly sink into Sasuke's mind, and all he can do is blink at the wholly unexpected surprise. This was a far cry from the usual letters. This one was…unique…special even. "Well, that's different."

"Yeah. Pretty rare to see someone write in cursive." Naruto smiles brightly. "So what'd that one say? Must be pretty good for them to freaking handpaint it. That's like calligraphy or whatever that's called. That's some pretty old school stuff!"

"Yeah, pretty old school. It says that she, I assume it's a she, anyway…" Sasuke couldn't be totally sure, seeing as he knew he'd gotten a few letters from guys as well. Not that he was a bigot about that kind of thing. No, they just…lacked certain parts that Sasuke considered a requirement for having his interest is all. "Is going to give me clues as to who she is up until prom, and if I guess who it is, I can leave a note next to the water fountain with my guess. If I can't guess, she'll be the one at prom with the white rose in her hair." And had apparently liked him for a long time. "See or yourself." He tilts the letter towards Naruto, pretty sure that a second opinion from his best friend would help.

He takes a look at it. "That's pretty romantic. Well that and she's good at rhyming." Naruto pauses as he considers that. "She's definitely going after the wrong guy. You're way too much of a bastard for someone this...mushy." He sticks his tongue out at Sasuke playfully.

While he hated to admit it, that was probably true. Well, maybe. Actually, probably not. Not if his secret poetry books, and the hidden row of books dealing with fantasy and romance behind his row of textbooks had anything to say about it. Not that he would ever admit that out loud, especially in front of Naruto. The blond idiot would never let him live it down. "Whatever, idiot." He folds the letter back up and slides it back into the envelope, putting it up at the top of his locker. "Anyway, I'll play this game. It could be an interesting way to pass the time." Like a murder mystery, figuring out who did it.

"Well don't know who the poor girl is, but she's already gotten more of your ice dick to thaw than the others." Naruto laughs as he pats Sasuke on the back. "So maybe, she's got a chance after all. Come on. We better get going, if we don't wanna be late for gym."

Great, another opportunity for the girl to ogle him all covered in sweat. At least in gym, Naruto got just as much, if not more attention than he did. Sasuke was no slouch when it came to sports, but he did focus rather hard on academics. More than Naruto anyway. "Fine, but if any of the girls sneak into the locker room again, looking for my tomatoes and a lock of my hair, I'm going to set something on fire." The last time that had happened…he found the altar dedicated to him in the girls' locker room with Naruto. That had been a horrifying day.

And he did not have a dick made of ice.

"I really don't get what they were going to do with your hair anyway." Naruto blinks. "You don't think they are going to like try to use it and cast some sort of crazy black magic love spell on you, do you?" Naruto blinks again. "Cause I've seen some shit like that in a couple movies." The blond looks at Sasuke as they head into the locker room. "At least, they can eat the tomatoes!"

"But they were MY lunch, idiot. And I don't know what they wanted to do with my hair, or how they even got it in the first place, but I don't want to know." Sasuke shivers at the thought of just what kinds of movies, that Naruto had tried to make him watch, had black magic love spells in them. Probably the ones that crazy fangirls watched.

Meanwhile Hinata was in the girl's locker room. She had just changed and was waiting for the teacher to take the roll call before they would head out to join the boys. The bluenette could only hope that she wasn't shaking because her heart was pounding. Today, she had finally done it. She had finally sent Naruto the first love letter!

"So, what's got you so excited?" Ino grins from next to Hinata, noting that her usually quiet classmate was shaking in a way very unlike her. That meant something was going on, and that meant juicy gossip.

Hinata wasn't proud of it, but she squeaks. "O-Oh. Nothing. Just the start of our s-senior year is all." That was true, but it wasn't all of it. She was telling Naruto how she felt about him one way or another because this was her last chance to do so. "How are you?" Not that Ino needed to know that. She adored Ino and was friends with her, but her friend was also a Gossip Queen and Hinata didn't want her love for Naruto to be the talk of the school.

"Excited for prom, what else?" Ino grins at the thought of her prom dress, already picked out of course. All she had to do was finish putting together the accessories for the outfit. "But how about you? You're shaking, and your eyes are darting around like you're expecting chocolate to fall from the sky. What gives? Or is this about prom? Has anyone asked you to go yet?"

Hinata blinks. "Ino, it's only the second day back." She laughs. "It's a bit early for people to be asking each other to prom." She knew that was hypocritical since she had already asked Naruto to prom in a way, but she doubted any guys were going to ask the girls for months. "Though I'm glad you're excited." Dodging the subject was likely her best bet. Hinata Hyuga was a terrible liar.

"Hinata, it's never too early to be asking someone to prom. If you get the promise early, hen you can make sure that no one else snatches up the guy you like!" And Ino knew well that Hinata liked someone, she was too skittish for that not to be what was going on. Plus, she'd seen loads of crushes before. Yeah, this had to be Hinata crushing on someone, bad. Ino grins mischievously. "Come on, Hinata, at least tell me that you have a dress picked out. That's the most important part!" A bad dress was guaranteed to make any prom a nightmare. Even more of a nightmare than wearing the same dress as someone else.

A dress? It was months away! "Well I guess, maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least look for a dress. I don't have one at the moment." Hinata wasn't one to care about fashion that much. Her style was rather casual and at best it might be considered cute and sporty. At worst, well it was a little bland and conservative. "Maybe, we can go after school or something."

Ino DID know about dresses. Her friend might be able to help her. "That is, if you don't already have plans. I know you're busy with cheerleading." She needed to find something special for Naruto after all.

Ino holds up two fingers eagerly. "Cheerleading starts up again next week, we're all still recovering from the summer camp." It had been hard work, and several of the girls had gotten pulled muscles, but in the ends, the results were worth it. Their routines were ambitious and almost flawless. They just had a few things to tweak and perfect before homecoming. "We can totally go shopping today, and if we can't find anything good, we can go to this place in Queens! We can spend a whole weekend there!"

Idly, Hinata wonders what she had gotten herself into. "That sounds fun." Ino's shopping stamina was certainly a good deal higher than her own. "I'll just tell my father that I'll be home late for dinner tonight." She smiles at her. But Hinata just couldn't say no, her friend was so excited and she really did need a dress anyway.

"Great!" Ino claps her hands together as the teacher finishes the roll call. "It's a date!" And while they were out shopping, maybe she could pry a few details out of her shy and stubborn friend.

Hinata heads out with the other girls to play dodgeball. They were going to play with the guys. That meant, it was more likely than not that this was going to get rougher than usual. Everyone got so...competitive when the girls and boys were playing together.

Sasuke honestly didn't like dodgeball. Give him soccer, or better yet, basketball any day. He also didn't like it when it was boys against girls. He wasn't a wimp by any means, he just didn't really like hitting girls, no matter how annoying they were, well, at least not very hard. Of course, if they thought that they were going to tag him out, they had another thing coming. He'd tag them out, just…with a little more mercy than he would the guys.

Hinata grabs onto the ball and throws it at Lee. Mostly because she knew that boy could move and he'd dodge it. She didn't like hitting people. That and she was a bit distracted. Naruto tended to hang out a lot with Lee. "You'll have to do better than that, friend Hinata!" Lee beams at her as he dodges and scoops up the ball. Which meant she had a reason to stare at him and also Sasuke. Those two were just inseparable.

Hinata generally didn't pay much attention to him. He was Naruto's best friend and that was that. Sure, most of the girls liked him because he was attractive. Hinata wasn't blind, but it was like admiring the Moon. You'd be stupid to actually expect to touch it. (Well unless you were an astronaut, which Hinata wasn't). That was one of the reasons why she liked Naruto so much. He was so approachable. Well except to her, but that was just because she was so shy.

Sasuke sighs. Honestly, some of the girls were making it too easy, he could just catch balls left and right as they toss them far too gently at him. The only ones who gave him a real challenge were Ino and Tenten. The cheerleader and the tomboy, what a combination.

Tenten laughs. "TAKE THIS, SASUKE!" She hurls the ball at him with enough force that it was a wonder that she wasn't a professional pitcher for a baseball team yet. "See if you can dodge that!"

Quick as a flash, Sasuke bends over backwards, hands hitting the ground as the ball zooms over his head. He kicks his feet into the air, flipping over and landing on one foot, catching the ball with the other and kicking it up into his hand like a soccer ball. "Hope you don't mind if I return it." He hurls it right back at her, aiming for her middle. Head shots were off limits.

Tenten's eyes widen in awe and just a small bit of fear. Hinata manages to push her out of the way and take the shot. She winces as it hits her arm, but not as much as it would have Tenten. Even with a stunt like that, she knew Sasuke was holding back. "Hinata, are you okay?!" The brunette races over to her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm out though." She smiles as she rubs her arm. There was going to be a bruise there, but oh well. "I don't really like dodgeball that much anyway.

Well, he hadn't gotten Tenten out, but at least Hinata would be out of the game. Sasuke didn't particularly like that he'd hit her so hard, but she was tougher than she looked. Not to mention she could aim like it was nobody's business, and that would get really annoying later. All around, it was a good thing she was out. Now he could focus on Tenten while Hinata iced what was sure to be a decent bruise.

The gym teacher sighs. "Hinata, you should go to the nurse and get an ice pack for that. I'll write you a note to get out of your next class, if you don't feel up to it." Guy shakes his head. "That was very youthful of you to protect your teammate. And nice reflexes, Sasuke!" He flashes them both a blindingly bright smile.

Sasuke rolls his eyes at the exuberant display by their gym teacher. That was nothing new, the man had always been rather…flamboyant. Though he wished that the man would stop wearing that green jumpsuit. It made his eyes burn. "Right." He dodges another ball, picking up one that rolls by his feet, and hurling it towards the very agile cheerleader. She was another problem on the court, and contrary to what he used to think, was not the dumb blond stereotype. No, after one particularly painful soccer game last year, he'd never underestimate Ino again. Taking her out now was the best course of action, and Tenten as well if he could manage it.

Ino dodges and picks up the ball as she smiles playfully at Sasuke. "Don't worry, I won't rough you up too much." She hurls the ball at him. "I wouldn't want to hurt that pretty face of yours before prom!" Teasing him was so much fun now that she didn't have all those hearts in her eyes blocking her vision. Seriously, she should have gotten over him sooner, this was way better!

Naruto laughs. "I'm sure Romeo appreciates that." He couldn't resist joining in. "Sasuke, you should be nicer to the girls. Remember, Silver and Gold!" A reference to the letter.

Sasuke rolls his eyes again. "Shut up, idiot." Prom was not something he was worried about, if he even bothered to go at all. And as for the letter…well, he'd give it a month, tops before he knew who'd given it to him. Or maybe three clues, whatever came first.

Naruto shrugs. "Just saying. You never know." The blond was secretly looking to see if anyone freaked out at the subtle reference. If they did, that was probably the one. "Anyway, come on, Ino. Let's see what you've got."

Unfortunately, Hinata was already halfway down the hall by the time Naruto pulled that stunt. So his efforts were in vain. "Damn it." She sighs as she looks down at her arm. That was going to leave a hell of a bruise. If Sasuke was the Moon, she had just gotten hit by a freaking asteroid.

Sasuke was more than willing to throw a ball at Naruto's head at this point. But he resisted the urge in favor of teaming up with Naruto to try and take out Ino and Tenten. Together, he and Naruto were almost unstoppable. But Ino and Tenten…now those two were a force to be reckoned with on the girls' side of the gym.

"Ino, we're kinda in trouble here." Tenten glances at her friend. Sasuke might hold back at least somewhat against the girls, but even then...he was fiercely competitive and Naruto well sometimes that blond didn't know his own strength. "We've gotta take them out fast."

"I can see that!" Ino grabs two balls as classmates go down left and right on both sides, some of them being taken out by stray balls being lobbed by the four of them. This was becoming less of a game, and turning into more of a tag-team wrestling match between two of the most competitive boys, and two of the feistiest girls in their grade.

Tenten tries valiantly to help Ino. "Alright, I'll take Naruto and you take Sasuke!" And with that, she grabs one of the balls and throws it at the sapphire-eyed high school boy. "Take that!"

"Right!" Ino whips one of the balls at Sasuke, aiming high enough to at least scare him a little while Tenten gathers up some of the stray balls for them.

Sasuke narrowly dodges the ball as it whips past his neck. Head shots were off limits, but the neck and down…well, no one was going to get a concussion from that, so it was allowed. At least she wasn't aiming for anything particularly…soft. That would be really unpleasant, and Hinata wouldn't be the only one going to the office for an ice pack. "Naruto!" He signals with one hand. They were going to need to barrage the girls with their signature team attack. They didn't usually work together that closely, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and like hell was he going to let the girls win.

Naruto nods and gets into position. "Alright, bastard!" He grins. "Let's do this!" He smiles at Ino and Tenten. "Sorry, girls. We aren't going to let you win this one."

Sasuke picks up a ball in each hand, tossing them to Naruto as he kicks two more balls over his shoulder and into his palms. And as Ino turns around, the barrage begins. Sasuke hurls the balls he has at the girls, before doing a handspring backwards to pick up two more balls, tossing them high into the air for Naruto to catch as he goes for the last two on their side.

Naruto quickly catches them and tosses them at the girls. "No hard feelings!" He beams at them as the balls strike their intended targets. "Just you know, we don't like losing."

Ino yelps as she takes four balls to the legs and nearly trips. "Dammit!" She was so looking forward to putting these two in their place!

Naruto laughs and walks over. "Here, let me help you." She looked pretty unsteady on her feet. "Guess we got a little carried away."

Hinata blinks as she walks back into the gym and sees the carnage. "A little?" She laughs quietly. That was putting it mildly.

Sasuke chuckles at the sight of Naruto playing the knight in shining armor. He couldn't do that, no way. Mercy was about as far as he'd go in terms of chivalry. After what those girls nearly pulled, he'd let Ino fall on her ass. "We win again, Ino."

Ino pouts at her smirking opponent as she takes Naruto's hand. "We'll get you next time, just you wait!"

"Right." Sasuke's smirk widens. "Good luck with that." Next time, he'd have to make sure to take them out twice as fast.