Love Rival

By Night Beauty


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Atashi wa Bambi of which this fanfiction is based off of.


Chapter 3: The Kiss


I tapped my pencil against my desk repeatedly, staring at the empty seat next to me. Naruto had left yesterday without telling Sasuke, which in turn led me to spending time with Sasuke.

Which wasn't what I wanted.

What I found out was that Sasuke was more popular than Naruto, yet their friendship was astonishing to everyone. Naruto was the athletic goofball who often times got in trouble with the teachers. Sasuke was the silent student who excelled in everything, including sports. In fact, they had both started out rivals, yet earned respect of each other's ability and skill when sportsmanship came along.

"Yo!" Naruto grinned as he slid the door open to the classroom. Sasuke was behind him, rolling his eyes.

Girls giggled beside me. I stopped tapping my pencil.

Some girls chased after Naruto, some who really liked him, some who just wanted to be closer to Sasuke. The latter was more likely, but why? Why was Sasuke better than Naruto?

'Just because Sasuke might be better looking, doesn't mean that he's better than Naruto. Personality should count too, right?'

"Hinata, you look cute with your hair up!" Naruto smiled sheepishly as he placed his things on top of his desk.

I looked away and towards the window. "T-Thanks."

"Che. You don't have to lie in front of her face," Sasuke commented from behind me, 'accidentally' kicking my chair.

I let out a scowl. 'Sasuke probably has split-personality disorder when Naruto's around…'

"Oi! Naruto! Sasuke!" Kiba barked from the door. "Come here!"

"Yeah, yeah…" he responded, walking over. Sasuke just stayed in his seat, arm propped on the desk with his chin resting on his palm.

"I'll let Sasuke-teme know!" Naruto said, nodding to Sasuke in acknowledgement.

"Hn."

'I'm jealous that S-Sasuke gets his attention…' I sighed. But I wasn't going to let middle school repeat! I'm going to try harder to improve my social ineptness!

"Sasuke!" a blond girl squealed.

I knew her name was Ino, but she probably didn't know my name. Her level of popularity far exceeded mine, as well as her circle of friends.

The raven-haired boy behind me didn't respond. I decided to rest my head on the desk until the bell rung. Naruto was probably going to be late again…

"Let's have lunch today! I made some food for you…" Ino chirpped.

"Not interested," he replied bluntly.

"But…"

She rambled on, and I heard in and out of it. However, Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he let the bell ring to save him.

"You should sit, or the teacher will yell at you," he said.

Ino pouted, but complied. Kurenai-sensei entered the room. Five minutes later, Naruto stumbled in, giving a cheeky grin.

x x x x x x x

From the bleachers I watched Naruto, Sasuke, and his friends playing soccer. I sat away from the screaming girls, eating my homemade onigiri.

"Watch out!"

SMACK!

"-ata? Hinata? Hinata-chan?" a voice repeated. I move my head left and right. Finally my eyes fluttered open.

My pearly eyes met with beautiful cobalt ones. Naruto's face finally focused. "Huh…" I whispered.

"What did you say?" Naruto moved closer.

Almost too close.

And without thinking, I muttered, "T-This is how I should have met you the f-first time."

"Eh? Really?" Naruto pulled back and blinked, scratching his head.

'But Sasuke came, instead,' I thought glumly. 'You didn't even notice that you hit me that day…'

When my senses returned, I realized I was in the nurse's office.

"Feeling okay?" Nurse Shizune inquired, handing me a new ice pack for my forehead.

I sat up slowly and steadied myself on the bed. "I t-think so."

"I'll be back, some other students came in," Shizune excused herself.

"I guess I should be more careful, huh," Naruto sighed as he put his hands behind his head. "Sorry, Hinata!"

"Mm, it's okay…" I said softly, blushing at his presence.

"How are you lately?" he asked. "No one's picking on you, right?"

'Right, he knows about my past,' I reminded myself. I was tempted to tell him Sasuke did, but decided to keep my mouth shut. 'Naruto remembers… so he cares about me?'

"Right," I smiled at him. 'Because you're here.'

"Well, I have to get to class, or else the teacher will yell at me," he said, stretching his arms out. "I'll see you later, Hinata!"

I nodded, watching him leave the room. I swung my legs back and forth, readjusting the icepack on my forehead. A few minutes later, Shizune returned.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank y-you," I replied, standing up.

"You can return to class, if you want. But if you want to rest, you can as well."

"I-I'll go," I said a bit quickly, thinking of Naruto.

Shizune nodded. "Come back if you need another icepack."

I bowed and walked out. In my anticipation of seeing Naruto again, I nearly ran into someone. "S-Sorry!"

"Clumsy as ever," a familiar baritone voice spoke.

Of course it was Sasuke.

"W-What do you w-want?" I snapped.

"The teacher sent me to get you," he shrugged. "You look pretty happy for making an idiot out of yourself."

I didn't say anything.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked impatiently.

"Y-Yeah," I muttered, following behind him. From behind his hair looked like a duck's butt… 'Why does this guy bother me so much…?'

"Was Naruto with you?" he asked, not looking at me.

"Y-Yeah," I felt my face heat up at the mention of his name.

Sasuke didn't say anything else on the way to class.

"Sasuke-kun?" a girl inquired from ahead.

I didn't know her, but the first thing I noticed was her unusual crimson hair. One side was straight while the other appeared untamed. Her school skirt seemed to be shorter than it should be…

The boy in front of me didn't say anything. Instead of acknowledging her, Sasuke kept walking.

"What a coincidence, bumping in like this!" she said happily. "Why don't we skip class together? I'll make it worth your while."

I suddenly felt nauseous. 'She's… straight-forward… I wonder if guys like that?'

"Hinata, keep up," he said, passing the redhead. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me so that I would walk faster.

I didn't look back.

x x x x x x x

"You got hit again?" Tenten sighed. "What a moron."

"It's okay," I said, unsure if she meant Naruto or me. "It w-wasn't that b-bad."

"Right," my best friend eyed the bump on my head. "Did he apologize this time?"

I nodded in response.

"You're never going to get anywhere if getting hurt is the only way to be near him," she teased.

'I've never been good at expressing my feelings,' I thought sadly. 'Especially in the past when I was looked down upon and picked at. But that girl earlier… she wasn't scared at all.'

"Earth to Hinata!" Tenten waved a hand in my face. "Break is almost over, head back to class. I'll walk home with you after, okay?"

I nodded. "S-See you, Tenten!"

As she took off, I glanced one more time out the hallway window. Outside the gates, someone caught my eye. She was extremely pretty, with mid-length strawberry hair. Her uniform wasn't from our school, so why was she here? A few seconds later, she left, heading to the private school down the street. Perhaps she was on a late lunch recess?

"Not looking forward to class anymore?" Sasuke asked from behind me.

"Naruto's n-not in my next c-class," I said softly, still gazing at where the girl once stood. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Ah," he said, propping his elbows on the windowsill next to me. "That's right, only I get him next class."

'He probably knew, just wanted to rub it in my face.' I guess my lack of a response worried him.

"Are you going to visit him after?" his eyes glanced over at me.

"W-Why would I?"

"You should tell him."

"I thought y-you w-wanted him," I replied in a whisper.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I can't take the next step."

"Why--"

"He'll be there in the classroom waiting," he said. "Play fair."

x x x x x x x

I texted Tenten letting her know I would meet her at the school gates after running my errand. I stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath as I slid it open. Naruto was there, leaning back on his chair with his legs crossed on his table.

"Huh? Oh, Hinata-chan, it's you!" Naruto said, not moving from his spot.

"You're all a-alone?" I observed.

"I was waiting for Sasuke so we could walk home."

I clenched my fist. 'Sasuke can make Naruto wait on him…'

"What're you doing here Hinata?" he asked.

"Oh, I-I think I left something in my c-class e-earlier here," I stuttered, thinking of an excuse on the spot. I maneuvered closer to him, examining the desk. Nothing.

"What was it? I can help!" he said, moving his legs swiftly to the ground.

"N-N-No!" I said a bit loudly, holding my hands up. He arched an eyebrow. "A-Actually, I came t-to tell you s-something."

"What's up, Hinata?" he took a seat on the desk.

I took a step closer. "In r-response to your q-question earlier," I gulped. "I-I-I am f-finding school t-to be g-good!"

"Oi, Hinata, did I hit your head to hard?" he laughed as he scratched his head. "You told me that already!"

"B-But," I continued, feeling my face heating up uncontrollably, "it's b-because o-of y-y-you!"

He remained quiet. I took another step forward.

"S-So… I-I…"

I shut my eyes tightly and moved forward, pushing my lips gently against his. I felt him tense as his hands grasped my wrists.

He didn't push me away, but he didn't pull me close.

It was only five seconds, but to me, it was five seconds of bliss. When I pulled away on my own, breaking away from his hands, I bowed my head. But from the corner of my eye, through the Japanese paper door, I saw the shadow of a familiar duck-butt hair and it's owner walking past…

To Be Continued…

x x x x x x x