Thanks to all that have reviewed, favorited, followed, or even just read the updated chapters!

Splaaash-attack: I'm happy you've stuck around for the updated release and are so kind to me with reviews! I hope you continue to like my writing! Thanks again! Your reviews always bring a smile to my face :D

Tanuki-Thank you as well for your reviews! I appreciate you sticking up for me about the rude review, but I think that person was just having a bad day and needed somewhere to vent without consequences. Hopefully the guest reviewer won't make it a habit, but like I said, I appreciate it :D Please continue to enjoy the story!


The next morning soon comes and I wake up feeling surprisingly well rested for my first night in a new place. The bed the agency's provided for me is even more comfortable than the one I have at home or maybe it's just because I know my father is nowhere near me that makes me feel more at rest. Once Tenten left and Sakura'd retreated into her own room to unpack, I'd spent the rest of the night unpacking and reading over the sheet music provided to me in my folder. To my relief, Prestige's style of music isn't set into one genre. Instead, we'll be dabbling into many different genres. This alone raises my spirits that may have been slightly dampened by Sakura's clear dislike for me. I don't want our group to be a one-trick pony. We'll reach a wider variety of fans by broadening our musical horizons. On top of that, we'll have more room for self-expression when the time comes for us to write our own music.

Tenten's voice hollering from the living room has me jumping out of bed in fright. How'd she even get in? I look to the side once I'm out of my room and see Sakura coming out of her room in a similar state as I, but her expression is much less pleasant than it was yesterday. Note to self: Sakura Haruno is not a morning person. Tenten is standing in the middle of the living room with one of her hands on her hip and the other holding a drink carrier with four drinks from Starbucks, "Good morning, my lovelies! I hope you slept well! I come bearing gifts because I know I'd better have something sweet if I'm waking up the beast!" She sticks her tongue out at Sakura, who's eyes light up slightly as Tenten moves to hand her a drink. She hands me one as well and I cautiously take a sip, eyes widening when the bitter taste of black coffee meets my tongue.

I'm tempted to spit it out, but don't have anywhere to do so and am forced to swallow it. Both Sakura and Tenten laugh at my disgusted face. Tenten herself wags a finger at me as she sets down the remaining two drinks on the coffee table and heads toward the bathroom, "What did you expect, Hinata? You shouldn't load yourself up with sugar and milk right before your singing lessons! You'd better get used to drinking black coffee sooner than later." A sigh of defeat slips past my lips and I slump down onto the couch and continue sipping on my drink, not happy about it in the slightest.

Sakura either has already adjusted to it's taste or likes black coffee anyway because she's drinking hers like it's water and she's dying of thirst. Tenten soon reappears with two disheveled boys in two through the bathroom that connects both of our rooms. My face brightens up at the sight of sleepy and handsome boys. Sasuke doesn't even have a shirt on, his very fit and toned torso free for all of us to take in. He throws himself down on the couch beside me as though he hasn't noticed my presence yet and helps himself to a coffee. Gaara is already dressed for the day, but still seems tired. He thanks Tenten for the drink before sitting politely on one of the giant bean bags sitting to either side of the couch to sip it in silence. Sakura sits on the bean bag opposite of him and we all stare up at Tenten. She obviously has something to tell us or she wouldn't have woken us all up early.

She starts speaking without prompt, "After leaving you all alone last night, I did some thinking and I've decided to confront the issue as a group so don't hate me for it." My heart beat perks up in anxiety. Is she going to tell us that she's changed her mind about me and I'll be kicked from the group? Where will I go now? I can't simply go home after what I did yesterday. My favorite singer then turns to Sakura and holds her hands out to her sides as though she has no other choice but to confront her, "Sakura, babe, what is your problem with Hinata? Don't try to lie and say there's nothing wrong because it's dead obvious something's the matter. I know Hinata's too shy to confront you herself so I'm doing it for her and the sake of this group getting along."

Sakura chokes on the mouthful of coffee she has and takes a few moments to clear her wind-pipe before glaring at the ground with a red face, "Hinata hasn't done anything wrong." I look over at her in shock. If I haven't done anything to offend her, then why is she giving me the silent treatment? We all wait in silence for her to continue. I notice out of my peripheral that Sasuke has fallen asleep with his coffee in his hand and struggle to contain the amused smile that threatens to reach my lips. I reach over silently and slip the drink from his hands and set it back on the table before he can spill it. Sakura then continues with her confession, "Hinata and I went to school together a few years ago and we were bullied by the same person. This person u-uh..well..."

I can tell she's having trouble continuing and do so for her, "They c-c-cut her hair in f-front of her class." Tenten gasps loudly and puts a hand in front of her mouth in shock, "You're kidding! Who is she? I'll kick her ass!" Her face soon becomes confused and she points at Sakura in distrust, "Wait, why would you be avoiding Hinata if you were both bullied?" Sakura finally looks up at me with tears welling up in her eyes, "It's because I know the family she comes from. I assumed you would act differently now since you come from such a high-end family and know how much of a loser I was. I'm so sorry, Hinata. I should have talked to you about it first thing." An empathetic wave of emotion rushes heat into my face and I nod, "I-It's fine. I-I-I understand. I just w-want to be friends."

She reaches up with her free hand and grabs my free one, "Can we start over?" A smile slips onto my lips and she returns it with her own. We shake on it and all seems well once more. Tenten squeals excitedly, shaking Sasuke from his sleep, "Yay! We're all friends now! All that's left is to let you know that after your final lessons each day, you're all expected to spend some time together as a group to get to know each other before you debut. If you're planning on leaving the building, just text me where and when you'll be back. Okay, I'm off! Work hard today!" After her announcement is complete and she is out of the room, the four of us sit and sip our coffees in silence. The familiar ding of a text message received on my phone is muffled by my hand and I flip over the device to see who it's from. That same unknown number's sent me yet another text. "Don't forget about our meeting after school today, Hinata! I can't wait to see you!"

All the blood in my face leaves and panic strikes through my limbs. This can only be one of two people and I think I know which one it is just by the text they'd sent the other day: Suigetsu. I feel Sasuke move to my right and quickly move to click the screen off. He wasn't even trying to peek at my phone, but It's better to be safe than sorry. I don't need to trouble my new group-mates with my drama. Sakura is the first to finish her drink and rises to her feet to stretch out her limbs, letting out a loud yawn in the process, before going into the kitchen to toss her cup in the trash bin. She walks towards the bathroom and flashes a mischievous smile back at us before entering, "Dibs on first shower!" and then shuts the door behind her. The two boys look surprised at her sudden change in character and I'm sure my face looked similar. Not ten minutes ago she was a grumpy mess of morning dread. I rose to my feet to head into my room, only to be stopped by Gaara's soft voice that's slightly more gravelly since it's morning, "Wait! Hinata, who is the person who bullied you guys?"

I froze on the spot, turning awkwardly to face them with an uneasy smile, "Y-You wouldn't know t-them." Gaara's eyes widened, "Wait, there's more than one person?" A red sheen raises to dust my face. The more I talk, the more I accidentally give out information. Gaara's innocent looking teal eyes maybe aren't so innocent! I nod and try once more to head to my room, this time Sasuke's deep voice stopping me in my tracks, "One of them's a guy, right?" I don't turn back to face them because the panic on my face would give me away, but it seems the two are smarter than I think they are. "I can tell by how both you and Sakura act around us." What is he talking about? I act the same around everyone, right? In fact, Sakura even stood up to him yesterday, right? As I thought back, a sudden realization hit me. Her hands were shaking and in fists when she'd talked directly to him. Do I also have a telltale habit that I'm unaware of?

I'm pretty nervous around everyone so what can the difference possibly be? I take a deep breath before turning to face them with a smile of false-confidence, "I-I don't know w-w-what you're talking about." I shuffle quickly into my room and shut the door behind me before they can get another statement in. After a moment, I hear the front door open with the sound of the two leaving our room. Tears prick at my eyes as I glance down at the text message from Suigetsu once again. They had a point. The only real male contact I've had with non-family has been with Suigetsu and every meeting is more terrifying than the last. Has that left some kind of mark on the way I present myself around unfamiliar men?


Once Sakura is done showering, Gaara, Sasuke, and I take turns using the shower and head off to our individual lessons. I have singing lessons first things first and head to my lesson a few minutes early in case I get lost in the maze of hallways. The room I'm searching for is on the second floor with the rest of the training rooms. The halls are lively with both trainees and staff crowding the halls on their way to their own training sessions. I do my best to dip and squeeze around everyone and not be in the way. Finally, with just a minute or two left before I'll officially be late, I find the room and cautiously enter. Jiraiya is playing a grand piano very similar to the one he'd played during my audition.

He plays a soft melody and doesn't notice me until I'm just a few footsteps away. His fingers cease their movement and he turns on the bench to offer me an encouraging smile, "Good Morning, Miss Hyuga. Are you excited for your first lesson?" I nod with a nervous smile. He'd stated before that I had a lot to learn. Hopefully I can be impressive enough to stand out in time for our debut. His smile falters as he glances at his watch, "Tenten is late, once again. Do you mind if we go ahead and start warming up?" I shake my head, intent on getting everything I can out of these lessons. He begins playing the scales and instructs me to sing along with them to warm up. No sooner than we'd gone through one set of notes does he stop and give me a challenging smirk, "Alright, Hinata, time to start getting some beginners tips. I want you to stretch your arms as high above your head as you can without getting to your tiptoes."

I do as told, feeling a little foolish. "Perfect, now I want you to drop your arms and relax your shoulders, but keep your torso raised as though your hands are still up." I once again follow his instructions, singing along as he continues playing the scales. I notice it's suddenly easier to breath. I can sing much longer without breathing in-between notes. We continue warming up for a few minutes, but when we get to the higher notes and I start obviously struggling to hit the notes, he stops once again. "Now I know you're capable of hitting these notes. Let me help you. Keep in mind that you need to lift your torso at all times." I smile, feeling stupid because the moment he stopped playing the piano, I'd let my body fall back into it's normal posture.

He let out a small laugh, "Good good. Now when we get to these higher notes, I don't want you to back off because you're unsure if you can do it. Know for a fact that you can and let your voice reflect that. Open the inside of your mouth wider, but have your lips closed a bit more than they would be on lower notes. Also, do you know what your soft pallet is?" I shake my head with a red face. Today's lesson has me feeling like an idiot. He shakes his head, "No worries, that's why we have these lessons. I want you to yawn, and it should be easy considering how early it is, but I want you to pay attention to the ceiling of your mouth when you do. Toward the back of your mouth, you can run your tongue along it to feel it, the roof of your mouth is very soft and it rises when you yawn. Can you feel it?" I yawn and run my tongue back like he says to and immediately understand his words, nodding eagerly.

"When you sing those high notes, you should actively be rising that soft pallet. This helps you produce a healthy high note instead of a stressed one that can potentially damage your vocal chords. Let's try again, shall we?" The door to the room suddenly shoots open and we both look over to see a grinning Tenten rushing over to stand next to me, "Sorry I'm late! I was in a meeting with Kakashi. Where are we?" She tosses her purse onto the floor beside the piano and joins me in singing warm-up exercises. I keep in mind the tips Jiraiya has given me and truly do feel and hear the difference. It's somewhat hard to focus on my own voice when someone as seasoned and skilled as Tenten is singing right next to me.

Our lesson continues for a few hours and by the time we're released, it's time for lunch. Tenten takes me out to a cute little restaurant and we both order meals off the healthy menu since we'd eaten not so well at dinner last night. It's a comfortable silence for a few moments while we eat, but she soon speaks up in a slightly guilty voice, "So, Hinata, I have a question for you." I look at her as I chew a bite of my peppered salmon, waiting for her to continue. "I'm super interested in Neji, but he's mad that I got his number from you instead of asking him for it instead and he won't text me back. Can you find out where I can accidentally run into him or something so I can apologize?" Thankfully by the time she finishes her question, I've swallowed my bite and don't choke on it.

The Tenten is having trouble with boys, and not just any boy but Neji. I suppose he is a difficult person to get to know since he's so reserved, not to mention blunt. He's had many partners through the years, but they never last long because he doesn't understand the importance of subtlety. If something is bothering him, he says it straight out and it often hurts his partners' feelings and they leave him. A part of me in nervous that he'll do the same to Tenten if she gets too close, but she's also much more self-assured than any of the women he's been with. Something tells me she'll actually prefer that he is this way compared to not being able to speak up because he's afraid of losing her. I nod and motion for her to give me a moment to do some digging.

After just a few moments, I find out that he's going to be at the grand opening of Evolution's new dance club tonight in order to represent the company. I bet Father regrets agreeing to that right about now. He'd been hearing the rumors that the Hyuga family is considered boring and stuck up, so he agreed to help publicize a few clubs, restaurants, and even theme parks in the area to help change this and simultaneously get Neji out in front of the public so he can get used to a public relations setting. Tenten's eyes light up and she grabs my hands eagerly, "For real!? I'm cutting the ribbon for that tonight! Sweet!"

We go back to eating once she's done thanking me and we soon return to the agency so I can head to my first dance lesson with Tsunade. I find the room I'm meant to be in very quickly this time, growing slowly comfortable with the layout of the training floor. It looks like any other dance studio would: clean floors, a mirror covering the entirety of the western wall of the room, sound panels anywhere they can fit on the walls, and an expensive sound system sitting on the floor in the corner. As soon as I step foot into the room, Tsunade presses play on a remote in her hands and loud dance music soon starts blasting through the speakers to the point that I can't hear anything she's saying. After reading her lips to the best of my ability, I realize she wants me to try and follow her movements as she does some simple dancing to the quick-paced song.

I do my best with a bright red face. The moves she's doing are more confident and risque than what I'm used to. Like I said before, I've only ever done ballroom dancing, like the waltz. Despite this, I do my very best to impress my new teacher. After about ten minutes of nonstop dancing, Tsunade stops and turns the music off with the click of a button. I am gasping for air at this point, heavy drops of perspiration running down the sides of my face. She speaks in a matter-of-fact voice as I desperately chug water from my bottle. " I'm impressed, Hyuga. I didn't expect someone from your family to be capable of dancing at all, let alone be decent. I think we'll be able to shape you up in time for you debut."

I sit my water bottle down and let out a sigh of relief, "R-Really?! That's great!" She puts her hands on her hips and motions with her head for me to get back onto my feet, "We're going to jump right in and start learning choreography for your debut performance, get up. Follow along as much as you are able." I get up as told and stand next to her in the mirror to follow as much as I can. She clicks the music back on, but this time it's the demo version of the title track for Prestige's first album, We Don't Talk Anymore. There's definitely a difference between what I read on the sheet music and how it sounds on the demo, but that's most likely because the sheet music is written for a piano accompaniment and not multiple instruments.

Tsunade's dance moves are cohesive and fluid, much like the guitar riff in the song. More importantly, her moves involve a bit more gyration and sexuality than I'm prepared for. Once the song has run it's course and I've given my best effort to follow along with her movements, Tsunade turns the stereo back off and faces me with hands on her hips, "I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully. You need to sex yourself up a bit. You look like a nun trying to be sexy for the first time in their life." My face erupts with heat. Am I really that awkward?

"H-How am I supposed t-t-to do that?" A hint of a smirk graces her lips and she offers me some advice, "Don't tell Kakashi I'm recommending this, but maybe you should practice with one of your male group-mates. That Sasuke seems like he'd be open to teaching you some tricks." My vision gets fuzzy at simply the mention of getting sexy lessons from the brooding Uchiha and I feel myself struggling to stay standing. Tsunade rushes to steady me with a concerned look, "Or maybe you should ask Tenten to sneak you into a club or something to practice?" That option seems much more applicable in my current standing and I nod, taking a few deep breaths to try and clear my head. We continue our lesson until it's nearly six in the evening, when it's time for me to head to the recording studio, my last stop of the day before heading back to my room. I arrive in the studio and the producer in the production booth rises to his feet to shake my hand. I gingerly accept his greeting, a little uncomfortable because my hand is still sweaty from dancing.

He doesn't seem to mind and introduces himself, "The name's Asuma, nice to meet you, Hinata. Congrats on getting in. How's it feel?" I let out a breathless laugh, "I-Incredible!" He chuckles and motions for me to let myself into the recording booth. I do so with unsure steps, feeling odd while putting the large headphones over my ears. A small squeak slips past my lips when I suddenly hear his voice through the speakers, "Alright, I assume you brought your sheet music?" I nod, shuffling to grab my folder. "Wonderful, today we're going to work on your solo song. Have you looked through that one?" I nod, having played through it a few times on the keyboard last night before going to bed.

Asuma gives me a thumbs up, "We won't record it the first time through, but do your best to get a good feel for it. Ready?" I nod again, taking a shaky breath as the a countdown from three starts in the headphones. I start singing when the sheet music marks that I should and I'm a little thrown off when the acoustic guitar comes in through my headphones. Asuma gives me a nod of encouragement when I give him an unsure look. By the time the chorus comes around, I'm slowly getting used to singing with the headphones on and feel a bit more comfortable. Once the song reaches it's bridge, a full ensemble of music comes in and I physically jump in shock. That isn't in the sheet music! The producer laughs outside of the booth and I shake my head with a small smile on my lips. The sudden band will definitely be amazing if I ever get to perform this song live!

A small, more confident Hinata inside of me is relieved that the song isn't relaxed and acoustic all the way through. She loves a bit of flare and a big finish. The song soon finishes up and Asuma speaks again through the intercom, "Well done! Now that you're familiar with the song, we're going to record this next one, okay? If it's not the one, we'll re-record the parts you don't like instead of having you re-record the song over and over again, alright?" I nod in understanding and he starts the countdown once again. I close my eyes and let my body go on auto-pilot, save for putting into action the tips Jiraiya gave me earlier. The song's finished before I know it and I can't remember if I sound good or not, just that I wasn't very nervous for once in my life. Asuma plays the song back to me through the headphones and I'm surprised at my own voice. I'm not in love with myself or anything, but it sounds much better than I'd expected!

He motions for me to come out of the recording booth and I gather my things. "So I'm going to do some editing tonight and we'll listen to it again tomorrow. If we need to redo any sections or there's something you don't like, we'll fix it then, sound good?" I shake his hand as he offers it, "T-Thanks!" He smiles and squeezes my hand, "You did great for a newbie! See you tomorrow." I leave the recording studio and immediately run into Sakura in the hallway. She wraps an arm around my shoulders and heaves a giant sigh, "My god, today's been so long! Wanna go out to eat with me and a friend here in a bit? She wants to meet you." I agree with a shy smile and we head up to our room together. Sakura is talkative, but not so much as Tenten.

The main thing I notice in her personality as a whole is confidence. The green of jealously seeps into my being at her growth. I saw how defeated she was when Karin and Suigetsu were cutting her hair. Never would I have imagined she'd become this healthy, wholesome person. We arrive back in our room and take turns freshening up in the bathroom. As I'm in the shower, Sakura helps herself into the room and I let out a startled squeal. She peeks behind the curtain and winks at me, "Ooh Hinata! You didn't tell me you have titties! How do you hide them so well?"

I panic splash water at her and she lets out a loud laugh before knocking loudly on the door that separates the boys' room from the bathroom. I quickly squeeze the shower curtain shut with a heated face. Is she insane?! I eavesdrop on her conversation with the two. "We're going out to eat with one of my friends in like twenty minutes. Do you guys wanna come?" I hear Sasuke's scoff even over the running shower, "I'm going to be spending at least the next two years with you people. Why would I want to give you my free time, as well?" Sakura bit back at him, "Probably because Tenten said we have to spend time together, you ass." Gaara replies before Sasuke can get another rude remark in, "I'll get dressed." There's a silence before I hear the door close. I dare to peek and see Sakura is now in the mirror putting some finishing touches on her make up. She catches me and rolls her eyes, "That Sasuke can be a real pain, huh? He's lucky he's so sexy..."

I personally don't care how...sexy he is. A bad attitude like his ruins it all for me. If he was kinder, like Naruto, we'd have a different situation. I rest my head against the wall and let the water massage my back. Has Naruto noticed that I'm gone? Maybe me missing from the halls in school will make him realize he likes me. I shake my head and start rinsing my body of soap. No, there's no way he likes me back or he'd surely have told me by now. He's had years to do it. I turn the water off and ring some water from my hair. Well, if I think about it, so have I. Naruto and I are very different people, though. Once I'm finished showering and getting dressed, I apply very minimal make up and meet Sakura out in the hall.

She's wearing a pair of black overalls with a bright red bandeau top and matching high-heeled shoes. The overalls are skin-tight instead of being baggy like the original jean ones. Her shoulder length hair is french-braided into two low pigtails and her make-up is expertly done. She looks like a celebrity already and she's not even debuted yet. I, on the other hand, settle for a much more reserved look with black dressy leggings, some strappy sandals, and a sleeveless, floral dress shirt with a belt at the waist. My hair is much too long and thick to style in the short amount of time we had to get ready, so I just blow-dried it and brushed it out until it was shiny. Gaara comes from his room wearing a very nice looking pair of jeans and a bright red polo shirt with an expensive clothing brand label on it, pairing his outfit with black Jordan's. My face heats up when I see him stand next to Sakura.

They look like a couple, wearing the same colors and everything. The two don't seem to notice this. "Where's Sasuke?" Gaara shakes his head, "He said he's not coming." Sakura rolls her eyes, something she seems to do a lot when it comes to the Uchiha boy, "Oh well. More fun for us, right Hinata?" I nod with a smile and we all head to the elevator. It's nearly eight in the evening at this point so the building is much quieter than earlier in the day. While we ride in the elevator, Sakura attempts to learn more about Gaara, "So how old are you, Gaara?"

The boy seems unenthusiastic to reply, but does so in his usual polite voice, "I'm seventeen." The pinkette links her arm with his, "Oh my gosh! You're still a baby! Hinata and I are older than you." He visibly tries not to pout, mumbling a bit quieter than before, "I'm only a year younger than you. I'm not a baby." Even I have to admit his unhappy face is pretty cute. Even if he is much taller than both Sakura and I, when he makes a face like that he seems much younger than he is. Sakura bravely gives him a short hug, ignoring his argument, "Aww, don't worry little Gaara. Hinata and I will protect you!"

His face turns a subtle shade of pink and he glares at the ceiling of the elevator as though he can see the face of God through it and is asking him why he put him in this situation. A small laugh slips past my hand and the two look at me. Sakura releases the poor red-head altogether, "Here Hinata. You'd better put these on before the paparazzi see us." She hands me a pair of sunglasses that I accept in realization. She really thinks of everything. I slide them onto my face and she pulls out her phone so all of us can take a photo together. Once the photo is taken, the doors to the elevator finally open and we head out the front doors. The paparazzi take their photos, like they always do, but they aren't as crazy because they don't recognize any of us.

Once a cab has been hailed and we are riding in silence to whatever restaurant we're supposed to be meeting Sakura's friend at, Sakura speaks up again, "So, Gaara, how long have you been with the agency. I know it's longer than I have because you were with Tenten when she scouted me." He nods, ears still slightly pink as he sits in between us in the back seat, "I've been a trainee for six months now." Sakura and I both look at him in shock. "That's insane! Why didn't they let you debut earlier?" He looks down at his hands awkwardly, "Tenten said she knew what to do with me and to just be patient." Sakura and I looked each other with looks of confusion but ultimately let the subject go. We're definitely not the ones to question the star's decisions. When we arrive at the restaurant, a higher end one that always has a waiting line outside, Sakura pays the cab driver and shoots out of the car like a bullet from a gun.

She heads straight to a gorgeous blond who seemed to be waiting for us. Once the light of the street lamps catch her face, I immediately recognize the attractive young woman as Ino Yamanaka. She's famously the youngest model to ever be the face for a Gucci underwear line, debuting at just sixteen years old, near the same time as Tenten's debut. Her career's been taking off like lightning since. She's currently, I believe, working as a Victoria Secret model and designing her first ever clothing line with the help of her good friend Choji Akimichi, a prodigy in the fashion design world. She already has a perfume line out that is absolutely amazing, yet Father would never let me wear it because he thinks that she's too slutty and representing myself with her product would make me look cheap.

"Saku! You look so hot! What took you guys so long?" The two girls hug each other tightly. Gaara and I awkwardly stand there as they part. Ino motions for us to follow her and we're immediately let through the doors instead of having to wait in line. The crowd outside hollers in protest, but the noise disappears as the doors shut behind us. The restaurant is very youthful, having furniture and lighting similar to that of a club. We are seated in a very large booth and have our orders taken immediately. When the waiter leaves us to put our orders in, Ino smiles at us and her beauty is almost blinding. This is a girl that lives a life of luxury and clearly enjoys it. She seems to radiate happiness and success. "I'm Ino, by the way. Nice to meet you guys."

Sakura does introductions for us, thankfully, so I don't have to try to get my name out in front of this perfect young woman. "This is Hinata Hyuga and Gaara Subaku. They're in my group." Ino's eyes widen up and she grabs Sakura's hands in delight, "You're going to debut?!" Sakura's smile is wider than I've ever seen it and she lets out an excited laugh as Ino pulls her into a hug. When they part, Ino reaches for her drink, "I told you it was coming, didn't I? Oh my gosh! You guys are going to be so big!" Sakura slaps the girl's arm jokingly, "I'll have to start paying for dinner, then, huh?" Ino pointed at her while she sipped her drink in acknowledgement. When she sits her drink back down, she zeroes in on Gaara. The boy in question squirms under her gaze, sipping his water and staring down at the table to try and avoid her pastel blue gaze. The model nudges Sakura and speaks in a teasing voice, "You didn't tell me he'd be so hot, you bitch!"

Gaara chokes on his water and Sakura pats his back a few times while laughing, "You should see the other one! He's a god!" Gaara finally clears his throat and his embarrassed gaze stays down, a small frown on his lips. My heart yearns for him. The poor guy looks like he's suffering. He seems shy around women and the two next to him are doing their best to tease him. Another part of me finds it humorous, just like Sakura and Ino, but that part's much smaller. Ino turns to me and I offer her a small smile in greeting, "I've heard of the Hyuga's. You're all super uptight, right?" I shrug, an awkward laugh slipping out. Sakura smacks her friend harder on the arm, "Don't be rude, Ino. She's just a little shy." Ino looks at me with a wink and a flirty smirk, "Well, we'll change that real quick, won't we Hinata?"

My face burns at her insinuation and luckily our conversation is interrupted by someone approaching our table. I assume it's the waiter checking on us for refills, but the familiar rumble of a certain Uchiha's voice meets my ears, "What'd I miss?" Sakura, Gaara, and I look at him in utter shock as he slips into the booth on Ino's other side. He immediately lets his eyes wonder over Ino, doing little to hide his attraction to her. Sakura speaks through grit teeth, "I thought you weren't coming, Sasuke?" He tears his dark eyes from Ino's pale ones and puts on a cocky smirk, "Well, I figured I should come meet your friend and I'm glad I did." He looks back to Ino, who's face is taking on the slightest hint of pink at his advances, "I'm Sasuke."

Ino, who is obviously used to getting this treatment from men, gives him a sultry look, "You must be the final group member. I'm Ino." She offers her his hand to shake and he takes it with the obvious intent to place a chaste kiss on it, but is interrupted by Ino letting out a surprised shout. Sakura's tugged on her high ponytail, effectively ending whatever moment was about to happen, "That's my teammate. Off limits, you hoe!" The rest of us suck in a shocked breath. There's no way an esteemed celebrity like Ino Yamanaka is going to sit there and take that. To all of our surprise, she pulls her hand from Sasuke's and reaches over to flick Sakura in the forehead, "Don't be such a cockblock, Forehead!"

Sakura sticks her tongue out at the blond and soon the two are laughing as our food is being sat down in front of us. We eat slowly, enjoying some casual conversation as the night continues. Before long, it's nearly eleven and we need to be getting back so we can get some rest for training tomorrow. Ino get's into a black SUV with the help of one of her bodyguards, since she'd become a bit drunk drinking with her meal. The rest of us climb into a cab, Gaara being the unlucky one that has to sit in the front seat with the driver. I can see his pout in the window's reflection and smile to myself. The poor guy's really had a rough night and he just wanted to get to know us. I bet he'll never volunteer to come along again.

I glance to my left and tune in to Sakura and Sasuke's argument which started the moment we were seated. "You just wanted to see if my friend was hot. You don't care about spending time with the group!" Sasuke scoffs and shrugs, "Duh. I already said that." Sakura doesn't take that answer kindly and starts barking back at him. I tune out and rest my head against the window and try to ignore the heat erupting from the part of my thigh that's touching Sasuke's on the seat. Maybe Tsunade's right and I need a teacher. It can't be Sasuke, though, because things could get awkward. Who's it going to be, then?


NOTE: REPOSTED BECAUSE I FORGOT TO FORMAT -THANK YOU TANUKI