"Hinata! Hey, wait up!" Sakura called behind me. I could hear her footsteps coming towards me. The bell rang for second period, right now I was going to my locker.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? You seem…depressed," she stated. I tried to pull out a smile to hide away my sadness.

"Oh, it-it's nothing really!" I reassured her. I didn't want Sakura to go all worry wart on me. The other times she was worried, (this was in 8th grade) she made me tell her who cut my hair uneven during art. Then Sakura went to beat up the person, really, sometimes I wonder if Temari was a bad influence or not.

Sakura looked at me kind of suspiciously, like the same way Temari does when I try to lie to her. Then she shrugged it off, "Well, anyway. I heard from Ino-pig that you got Mr. Sasori, so, how was it?"

I bit my bottom lip and looked down. If I told her that the girls in my class were being mean to me, Sakura would be outraged. Although, I guess I SHOULD tell her the good news though, "Um, well Ino was right. He is kind of attractive." I said quietly.

"Kind of? He's sooooo sexy!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands over her mouth to cover a girly giggle. I laughed a bit too. It was sometimes amusing to see Sakura in a girly state, even if she acted all tough at some points.

"Yeah, I guess he is," I admitted.

"Well, did you get the chance to flirt?" Sakura asked, rather in a slyful way.

I flushed slightly, "N-no, of course not! I like Naruto, not him!" Even though I knew she was joking, I couldn't help but exclaim that!

Sakura scoffed, "Hinata, you are so much better off without that obnoxious weirdo. I tell you, rumor has it that he fancies some ugly bitch in this school."

I sighed, if only Sakura would realize THAT ugly bitch is HER! People already knew that Naruto likes Sakura, even me, but the ones who have messed with her called her an ugly bitch. So they started spreading rumors about that. And even if Naruto likes Sakura, I'm still hoping that when he confesses her and she rejects him, I would have a chance here! And I already knew that Sakura does not like Naruto.

"I know, but I can't stop." I said, giving off another sigh.

"Hinata, you have been crushing on that guy since 7th grade! I wonder if your first crush will be your final crush," she said.

"Sakura," I started.

"I know, I know," she said, putting her hands up in defense, "'he's the one who gave me the courage', blah, blah, BLAH! I don't even think he likes you, didn't he say that he thinks you're dark, weird, and quiet?"

"Yes, he did, but he did say that he likes people like me so I might have a chance!" I protested.

Sakura sighed, "Well, fine. I just think you should go for a guy who would even acknowledge your existence,"

"But he does know that I exist!" I defended.

"Well, not too often he don't," she retorted sharply.

I slumped my shoulders in defeat. Maybe she's right, but I still couldn't stop liking Naruto! After all, he was my knight in shining armor even if he doesn't know it. Even when he didn't know that I was there, I would see him try so hard. I was a failure, and he was one too back then. But compared to him, he is even better because he tries and never gives up. That is how he gave me the courage to try harder and never give up hope like how I would usually.

"Hinata," Sakura said softly, "if you like the guy, then why didn't you confess to him after all these years?"

"Well…I know that he likes someone, so I'm waiting whether that person would reject him or not." I replied.

"And if he gets rejected, would you finally confess?" she asked.

I blushed at the thought, putting my both of my hands on each side of my cheeks, "U-umm, m-m-may-b-be,"

"Maybe? MAYBE! Hinata, if he does get rejected then you WILL confess to him. Even if I have to force the hell out of you!" Sakura scolded.

"W-what? No! That is too soon! Besides, I think it would be awkward if I tell him how I feel after he gets rejected,"

Sakura placed a thumb under her chin and thought for a second, "Hmm, yeah, that would be weird. Well then, how about this? Confess to him after a few days then see what he says?"

"Few days from now?" I cried.

"No you moron! Few days when he gets rejected!"

I thought for a while. Wait, we're talking about when he does gets rejected from his crush, Sakura. And Sakura doesn't even know that he likes her. Should I tell her that? But what if she secretly likes him? What if she was saying how much an idiot he was to hide the fact that she likes him because I do? …But didn't she like Sasuke? Ohhh! I'm so confused!

"Sakura, do you know who Naruto likes?" I asked.

"Hmm? No, not really," she replied.

"Oh, okay,"

"Hey Hinny, do you know who he likes?"

"Eh?" I looked at her wide eyed, "Umm, well, yeah," I murmured.

"Well, spit it out already then,"

"Uh…I can't," I said.

Sakura looked at me oddly, "Why not?"

"I just can't," I repeated, feeling awkward.

Sakura gave me one look then shrugged, "Well, I don't know why you can't, but oh well. Oh look! Ino is coming, lets ditch her!"

"I heard that forehead girl!" Ino shouted.

Sakura gave her a menacing glance then pulled my hand to follow her. I giggled and played along the game while Ino is chasing us screaming and ranting at us with her fist in the air waving. Which is funny because sometimes we would playfully run away from her, then when she catches us she would lecture about what nice friends we are in a sarcasm kind of way.

"Sakura, the bell is going to ring soon," I commented. Sakura stopped and let go of my hand.

"Yeah, you're right, well be careful of that wild boar!" Sakura teasingly mentioned, then she darted off leaving me with a breathy Ino to take care of.

"I-huff-can not-huff- believe that you-huff-guys ditched me AGAIN! –huff-" Ino said when she finally appeared by my side.

I giggled, "Sorry Ino,"

"Don't give me that cute innocent look Hinata, when that forehead girl took your hand, I saw a twinkle in your eyes that you wanted to play along. So don't give me an excuse that Sakura was forcing you to!"

I smiled nervously, "Okay Ino, you are right, I wanted to,"

"AHAH!" Ino exclaimed, accusingly pointing at me.

"Well, how was your class?" I asked as we walked to our next period class.

"Hmm, it was totally BORING! I had Mr. Hatake. You had him last year for one of your classes, right?" Ino said.

I held my chin while thinking, "Oh yeah! I think I had him for, uh, literature I think,"

"Well, I got to admit that he does look handsome in some way, but he is so lazy! I mean, agrah! He is even late for class too, like 30 minutes!"

"'Agrah'?"

"Don't push it,"

I chuckled at her threatening response. I remembered when Mr. Hatake was my teacher, yes, he was always lazy and always give out a pathetic excuse for why is he late. But I have to admit, he was a pretty understandable teacher, and even if he was lazy he would be strict when he has to be. But what I could kind of register is how he looks like, Ino does got a point, he does look kind of handsome, but not as handsome as Mr. Sasori.

"Sooooooo," Ino said, "how was class with Mr. Sasori?"

I inwardly groaned, "Eh, not too bad I guess,"

"Oh my gosh, isn't he like soooooooo dreamy to look at? I'm so sad that I don't have him anymore," she said while pouting.

"What about Sakuke?" I asked.

"Oh, I like him too, even though he's not like a male model like Mr. Sasori, but he'll go for the hottie section," Ino replied. I could still see a hint of glitter in her eyes, it's about how 'dreamy' her crushes are or that she used too much glitter make up.

"Oh, wait, but didn't last time you said that you had a major crush on Shikamaru or something?"

"The lazy bum? Yeah, I kind of do,"

"Ino," I said while adding a sigh, "I don't think it's fair that you're trying to hit every guy in school. You should just pick one then stick to it,"

"Oh Hinata, sometimes I forget how naïve you are," Ino said, shaking her head as if she knows better.

"Please explain," I said, placing my hands on my hips.

"Well, take this as an example. What if I just like Sasuke, but Shikamaru asked me out. Then what should I do?"

"Decline?" I suggested.

"No! What if I'm in desperate need in a boyfriend? And what if Sasuke is taken by…by Sakura! Which of course will never ever happen."

"Ino!"

"What? I'm trying to be realistic here. So it is best to have as many crushes as possible," Ino finished.

I frowned slightly at the idea, well jeepers, what an amazing concept Ino. Where you get it? From the hobo sleeping next to your block? "Well, I still think it's wrong," I even remembered how she tried to flirt with Neji, it was so embarrassing!

"Have it your way. Oh yeah! You still crushing on Naru-turd?" Ino joked.

I frowned even deeper, "Ino! That's not nice either!"

Ino just laughed. Ino can be such a jerk, but the rest is what I love about her. Luckily for me she didn't ask more about Naruto, which is good because I just had enough lectures from Sakura. Before the bell rang, Ino and I made it into our classes after saying our good byes. I had science right now. On the board was a list of our names, which instructed us where we have to sit. I had my seat somewhere in the middle, next to a brunette girl with her hair tied in two buns. I placed my stuff on my desk and sat down.

The girl turned to me and smiled, "Hi! I'm Tenten, nice to meet you!"

"Eh? O-oh, hello, I'm Hinata. It's going to be a pleasure working with you," I responded politely, while bowing my head.

Tenten chuckled, "Yup, you're definitely Neji's cousin alright. Is it a family tradition to be all formal like?"

I straightened up when I heard my cousin's name being mentioned, "Huh? You know my cousin?" I asked.

"Yeah, he and me are in the same class since 5th grade, which is a shocker, well to him it is," she commented while adding a good laugh.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Well, he's acting as if he's better off as a loner. I always tried to open up to him. Then finally, we're buddies!" she exclaimed.

I nearly choked a laugh, "Neji made a friend?"

"Unbelievable, huh? After some spending time with the anti social jerk, I finally managed to get him out of that shell of his. Although, he's still sort of a loner. But he has me, oh, and he has Lee too!"

"I kind of had a hard time registering the fact that my cousin actually opened up to someone, was it hard?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah it was! But it was worth it since he needed someone,"

I stared at her amazed, it's like the princess has tamed the wild dragon. Then I noticed a faint blush on her face as she was unconsciously smiling to herself. Did she have a crush on Neji?

"So, I figured that you have been pushed around since you're with my cousin," I said.

"Hmm? Oh no, he doesn't bother me or anything, although he can be a jerk sometime,"

"No, I meant by the girls," I said.

"Oh, oh. Why? Cause he's like a hottie or something? Nah, actually girls look up to me since I'm such a role model!" she playfully boasted.

"A role model?" I inquired.

"Yeah, I'm like a major tomboy. I take swimming, soccer, baseball, track and field lessons, and more, but I can't list them all!" she replied while adding a hearty chuckle.

I gasped, "I didn't know there were tomboys in high school! I heard that there were girls who made a lowly remark about how stupid tomboys were, or something like that," I said sheepishly, probably regretting what I just said. I don't want to make her mad!

Tenten frowned, "Oh, sluts. I hate them! There were once a group of them accusing me as a lesbian because I didn't find girly crap interesting, they make me sick,"

I giggled at the comment. Tenten is a total opposite from Ino, if they had the chance to meet I am pretty sure that they'll be arguing. I wonder if Neji ever commented about how Tenten should be more like a girl, if he did then he might have received a black eye.

"So, the other girls don't think that you're a lesbian, do they?" I asked.

"Nah, I'm too good for them anyway. Hey, you're only a year younger than Neji, right?"

I nodded, "You're in junior year, am I correct?"

"Yep! I'm your sempai!" she said while jabbing her thumb to her chest.

"Sempai?" I said while cocking my head, "what's that?"

"Huh? Isn't most of the school population Japanese?" Tenten said.

"I am Japanese, but I never had the chance to learn the language," I said. My father and Neji tried teaching me Japanese, but I never had the time since I was always busy studying and things like that.

"Oh, well sempai means upper classmen. Like how a 3rd grader would say to a 4th or 5th grader in Japan." Tenten explained.

"Oh, like a name. Like I would call you Sempai or Tenten-sempai, right?" I said.

"Yeah! But please don't call me that, it sounds cheesy, just call me by my first name, Tenten!"

"Okay Tenten-sempai! Err, I mean Tenten," I quickly replied. Tenten playfully frowned as I laughed.

Before the bell rang, Tenten and I talked for a while. When the bell did ring, everyone got quiet and the teacher finally entered. I heard faint gasps across the room, I looked around the room, every girl in class was staring at the teacher. I then turned to Tenten who was also looking wide eyed. I finally looked up to see what is so special about this teacher.

"Hello students, I'm Mr. Uchiha, I hope that this year would go well," said the handsome man who looks like Sasuke Uchiha.

W-what are they, brothers?