Chapter 4- Doubt
It takes a lot of understanding, time, and trust to gain a close friendship with someone. As I approach a time of my life of complete uncertainty, my friends are my most precious asset.
–Unknown
Sasuke's POV
"Sakura's sure acting suspicious..."
I sat on my chair with my arms crossed, the chair leaning back far enough to stand on its hind legs. My head was thrown back for my eyes to stare up at the ceiling as I balanced a wooden pencil between my nose and lips.
Right now, I felt too bored to continue on with my homework.
Closing my eyes, I exhaled a long sigh.
I could count two months spending time with Hinata and the progress so far was satisfactory. The lunches she brought to school were pretty good. I loved eating homemade food and I could tell she poured her heart into cooking.
And Hinata's not loud. An upside. I practically loathed girls who wouldn't shut their mouths up for the world.
What did I have to do to silence them? Mercilessly shave their heads bald and drench them with thick and heavy tar? Yeah, that'd keep them traumatized for awhile.
Damn, what's with girls and their obsession for the need to be pretty? Most girls tried so hard... and yet they still turned out ugly.
"Hrm." My throat grumbled in annoyance. How the heck did I trail off from Hinata's good points to reminisce on my history of meeting the most irritating and stupid girls known to man?
Now twirling the pencil within my hand, I supported my weight and this chair by folding my legs on top of the table.
Hinata's interesting, appealing... different... not bad to hang around with...
I smirked.
When it came down to making friends, I was pretty picky and cautious. I didn't gain many to begin with, but only because I was careful around the people whom I chose to socialize with. On the contrary, leaving Hinata alone like that without any friends was depression personified to the extreme. It's even sadder I used to be in the same position.
Ugh, now I began to feel pity for myself. Wonderful.
The quiet stillness of this house was suddenly disturbed when someone noiselessly took a seat across from me.
"Are you finished with homework?"
"No, Dad." I rolled my eyes. "What does it look like?"
"Hmph. You seem troubled."
"Just thinking." Great, now the insightful man who parented me since my birth had finally made his appearance, and it's about time.
Begrudgingly, I wasn't so sure about how to go with this new friendship of mine or if I could work it on my own. My previous friendships with people in the past had been rather... unsuccessful.
Slapping the pencil down beside my homework assignment, I slammed the chair back down on all fours. Feeling drowsy because of the late evening, I propped my arms on the table and leaned my chin on them.
Looking up, I peered at my Dad who wordlessly slurped at his warm mug of cream coffee.
"How's the girl holding up?"
"Her name's Hinata. And yeah..." I trailed off, not quite feeling in the mood. Man, why was it whenever I thought of her, she had a calming affect on me? "...well, shy girls are... Hinata is... something else." I yawned. Sleep sounded like a good idea right now...
"You... do not regret being her friend?"
"Pft." My eyebrows knitted together sternly. "What kind of question is that? You make it sound like I'm on trial or something." I scratched my head, on the verge of growing exasperated.
"Well, do you?"
"No." I scowled. I didn't like to be questioned. "Why would she be my friend if I doubted her in the first place?"
My Dad, Fugaku, chuckled knowingly and a heavy smile worked its way on his masculine face.
"I've guided you well, my son." I stared at him for a couple of moments, before averting my eyes to the window. I could faintly hear it - the sprinkle of rain.
The impassive frown on my lips curved into a slow, yet faint smile. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
What could I have done without him in my life?
My father, who had to work so hard into raising me up after mom passed away. I felt grateful he's still here.
He had taught me so many things; there's no use in counting his kind-hearted moments to measure how great of a single-parent he was all around.
"I'll go and turn in for the night..." My dad steadily pushed the chair back and placed the half full mug of coffee into the sink. Just as he was making his way out the kitchen, I stared at the pale colored wall before gaining the nerve to speak up.
"Hey, Dad...?"
He paused near the door and turned his head over his shoulder to look at me. I found those strong, deep eyes of my father reassuring and comforting.
"Thank you." My stubborn frown hid the gratitude I felt for my father. Internally, I was smiling inside. The warmth of a smile was growing in my heart.
The class period finally ended.
I thought, while packing my belongings inside my backpack, of walking Hinata home even though it wasn't really raining outside.
We should spend more time together as friends and work to kill away our doubts of each other. My Dad had said one time that– a relationship with the utmost of trust and little doubt is by far the most blissful of all.
Hella poetic of him.
Swinging my black Jansport backpack over my shoulder, I strode toward Hinata's desk. She didn't notice me as she took her time putting her notebooks away. I tapped her desk.
"Let's go." Startled, Hinata shot a glance at me before hurriedly stuffing the rest of her books away in her backpack.
"...o-okay." She left her seat in time for me to follow her out the classroom and as we walked side by side down the corridor, loitering students eyed us strangely.
Hn, hadn't those idiots ever seen two friends walking together at the same time and place? Sooner or later, they're going to convince me soon enough of friendship extinction.
I casually took note of how the female students glared at Hinata in heated jealousy and because of the hostile looks, Hinata seemed to stiffly hunch her shoulders and hid her face behind her long, ink blue hair.
I sometimes didn't understand how shame could make such a big impact on people.
"Raise face."
"Ex-excuse me?" She brushed a hair strand behind her ear to glance at me questioningly.
"Lift your head."
I slid my fingers under her chin and pushed it up for her. Now Hinata looked straight ahead with a flushed face. She must be embarrassed and her white, lavender eyes appeared to look anxiously uptight.
I frowned in irritation. Was I that great of an uncomfortable person to hang around with? I had a good idea of how many people would kill to be in her position right now.
"I-I am so-sorry."
"Hm?"
"...um, I'm s-still not u-used to it. H-having a fr-friend, I-I mean."
Right now, in my head, I apologized to Hinata for not being patient enough to tolerate her. Hinata was Hinata, and I couldn't rush her to trust me. I should know more than anyone that there's no easy way into building a true friendship.
I inwardly breathed out.
"Let's go someplace to eat."
"Wha–? B-but di-didn't we–."
"Just follow me and no complaining." I dragged her off into the streets of the wet town, thinking where a good place to go is. Soon, I led Hinata inside a trendy, cozy looking restaurant called Thai Food. This place had an Asian feel to it compared to other American fast food joints and I liked the meals here. They're so properly cooked.
"Welcome to Thai Food." A young, bleach haired waitress greeted us at the entrance and gleamed with a practiced smile. Then, I narrowed my eyes in annoyance when her eyes seemed to linger on me. "Table for two?"
"Yes." I casually stuffed my hands inside my jeans' pockets indifferently and watched as Hinata took in the pleasant interior of the restaurant.
So far, so good. She's getting comfortable, slowly but surely.
"Right this way." Without further ado, she led us to a booth situated near the glass window pane, which outlooked the city and its calm atmosphere. White and cloudy, the day not blaring bright, but still wet and chilly.
I slumped onto the leather seating and Hinata took the initiative to sit across from me, the table standing between us as our distance. Next, the waitress girl, whose name tag read Ino, handed us each a menu.
"I'll be back in five minutes to take your order. So until then, please relax."
"T-thank you."
I made no gesture to acknowledge this girl's service. However, Ino made sure to throw a flirtatious smile at me, winked, then waved before leaving to tend to another customer. I'd rather not bother with girls who made it so obvious they're available.
Since I already planned for what I wanted to eat, I didn't bother opening my menu. But Hinata took her time in scanning her eyes along the restaurant's choice of dishes.
"So... what are you thinking of getting?" I leaned forward, folding my arms atop this table as I awaited her response.
"...um, I th-think I-I'll go for th-the... uh..."
She's taking too long.
"How about the Stir-Fry with holy basil?"
"S-sure," she nodded, "I've n-never tried it be-before."
"What would you like it in? Pork, chicken, or mushroom?"
"M-mushroom w-will be f-fine."
"I'll have one, too, but with pork." I added, slumping on my seat and staring out the window. I watched as cars drove past, the water puddles splashing outward on the already wet sidewalks and some naive kids were running around, leaping on any puddle they could find and laughing when the rain water soaked their legs.
I faintly smiled. They're so childish.
Not until what appeared to be their parents snatched their wrists and scolded them for acting inappropriately. 'But it's fun!' they whined as the parents dragged them away.
Damn, adults these days. Let alone parents... they're not what they used to be.
Fishing inside my pocket, I popped a stick of gum in my mouth and chewed it. Glancing at Hinata, I could see her anxiously rubbing at her arms, looking at nothing in particular.
Maybe I should offer her something so she would stop her nervous habit.
"Here." From across the table, I slid a piece of gum wrapped in thin, silver foil toward her. Hinata picked it up and gazed at it with big eyes as if she's never seen such a thing before. "You know... gum."
"Gum? I-I've heard a-about it, a-and seen i-it a c-couple of t-times, but..." She blushed in embarrassment. Then my eyes widened in complete surprise and my mouth paused in mid-chew.
"You've never tried chewing gum before?" I inquired. The inevitable question: "Have you been living under a rock your whole life?"
Nervously, she shook her head, speechless. "That," I pointed to her, "Is what you call gum. A piece of it, and it's a childhood necessity.
"I don't know what your parents have taught you..." I stood up and walked over to her side, gesturing for her to move over. "But every kid on this planet have chewed gum at least seventeen times in their entire lifetime." Hinata scooted over and I sat down next to her.
I unwrapped the gum for her and handed it to her. "I want you to chew this, but be warned. It's not something you swallow. So throw it away if you don't want to chew it anymore." Hinata nodded, indicating she was listening.
"Now watch..." I waited for her to chew it and give her undivided attention until I started.
I blew a bubble nice and big... until it popped.
I slowly smirked when she gasped in amazement. "How d-did y-you do that?"
I chewed and chewed and closed my eyes as my smirk widened. "It's a secret."
She looked sad all of a sudden. Like a kid who felt they weren't special enough to be trusted. I twitched.
"...but I'll tell you anyway." Hinata suddenly smiled a timid childish one and my heart quickened. Cute. "Promise not to tell anyone."
She nodded eagerly and I leaned closer. "It's magic."
"M-magic?"
"Yeah."
"H-how does th-that work?"
"It's simple. You can't do it unless you really try. It might take awhile, since nothing comes easy, but practice is always good."
"Oh..." Hinata looked thoughtful for a few moments before she smiled a bit. "Okay. I-I'll try."
"Let me, as the friend, pass on the teachings of the art on how to blow a bubblegum. What you do is..."
We had fun.
I never knew Hinata could look so funny, clumsily trying to blow the most pathetic bubbles I had ever seen. And I couldn't hold back my laughter when she breathlessly blew one big enough to explode on her whole face. That's what I called outstanding effort.
Time could surely fly when you're having fun, because the food was given to us before we knew it. We couldn't even remember ordering it.
While I didn't hold back into eating my delicious pork stir-fry flavored with savory spices, I came to wonder how mushroom stir-fry tasted like.
I had always ordered the same thing. Maybe I should try something different.
"How is it?"
"Oh... it's... r-really good!"
"Let me try some." Without asking for permission, I reached out with my fork and plucked a few mushrooms from her plate and ate them. Hinata was staring at me as if I ate something truly disgusting and wrong. Mushroom's not bad, by the way. "What?"
"Um... m-my f-father said i-it is rude t-to eat fr-from other p-people's food. A-and it's also un-unhealthy–."
"It doesn't matter when we're friends. Here, why don't you try some of mine?" I pushed my plate toward her, but she just stared at it, not knowing whose advice to go for. "I'm telling you, it's good."
She nibbled off her fingertip indecisively. "...b-but–."
"I'm saying please." I gazed into her eyes, beguiling her to take some under the deep intensity of my dark orbs. Then, I smirked. "It's not like I'll poison you."
Hinata instantly blushed in shame and she cautiously ate some. I watched and waited for her reaction until she broke into another small grin. "This... a-also tastes g-good."
"Hn. What'd I tell you?"
"S-sorry f-for doubting y-you."
I sighed. Need to remind myself. It takes time. "You'll get over it."
Hinata looked away and sipped her pink lemonade.
"...thank y-you."
After the lunch, I took the liberty of walking Hinata home, climbing the porch steps to reach the front door together. She turned to regard me with a grateful, yet shy smile. It must be her trademark.
"I-I wanted t-to say th-thank you again. L-lunch was r-really g-good."
"If you want to, I'll take you there next time."
"Mm." She nodded, then waved. "Good bye."
"Alright. See you next morning." I backed out and started walking. Until I heard Hinata close the front door behind her, I turned around to stare at its two-story height.
It was a big living space for a house... but how many exactly were living in it? Not many lights were on inside, except one that just flickered on. And no car rested in the driveway.
I stuffed my cold hands inside my jacket pocket as I realized this house gave a solitary and empty aura.
Hinata could be seen presently in the kitchen through the open window. She approached it as if planning to close the window and keep the cold out, but when she noticed me she paused to wave.
I waved back and turned to leave once again.
That house felt entirely lonely. No wonder she's depressed. When the opportunity arrived, I could invite her to my home where it offered some family warmth. And only then might she feel better about living.
My home was always a reprieve for me, but I wasn't sure if Hinata had one of her own.
(A/N):
OMG, the gum scene (in my friend's words) was retarded! XD I have no Earthly clue where I came up with it. I'm so deranged...
Hinata has child-like innocence and a sheltered life, so I can't blame her. Okay, I can tell her stuttering is annoying you guys, but I promise it will get better. It's just, starting out with a clear voiced, dignified Hinata is uninteresting and nonprogressive. Unless for a completely sensible reason!
Heh, anyway, next chapter, Sakura is coming back with a vengeance! What would Sasuke do? What will happen to Hinata? Well, read on to find out!
