A Little Dose Of SasuHina Love - No. 6: Fed Up

"Oh, hi... Hinata," Sasuke grimaced, rubbing his swollen cheek to soothe the pain. Damn, Sakura could really punch. Who knew she'd be so touchy about her flat chest?

"H-here's my written portion..." Demurely, his science lab partner held out the page of notes and he grumpily took it.

"I'll take a look at it when I get home." Not to insult the girl, but he really wasn't in the mood to look over her work. Besides, Hinata was dependable enough to carry out her part of the project. She's surprisingly level-headed and polite for her age. Most girls, like his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend (Sasuke snorted), were usually concerned about popularity, boys, the everyday gossip, boys, their looks... did he forget to mention boys?

"Um... Sasuke?" Hinata's light voice snapped him out of his mental grumbling. He blinked rapidly, mentally disoriented from the stress of his life, focusing his eyes on Hinata as if he was seeing her for the first time. Now that's something he never noticed before...

"Since when did you start growing out your hair?"

"Oh? Uh, after 8th grade..." Bashfully, she lowered her face and let her long tendrils of dark hair shadow her cheeks. The shade was a notch lighter than his own black hair. Instinctively, Sasuke raised a hand to touch a strand, soft like silk. If anything, natural beauty attracted him.

"You look..." Reluctantly, Hinata raised her pearl eyes to stare at him, curious to his pause. "Nice." Complimenting a woman wasn't one of Sasuke's well-known talents. However, the price of dating the strawberry blonde chick was constant flattery and sweet, petty words.

Next, Hinata blushed prettily, flattered of the simple compliment. "T-thank you..." Truthfully, Sasuke was surprised she didn't want him to elaborate. Compared to Sakura, Hinata's easy to please. Now the petite raven-haired girl straightened herself, brushing her hair out of her glowing face, smiling faintly. "How is Sakura? Is she doing well?"

"She's high maintenance. I swear, it's like she never heard of anger management." Hinata frowned in dismay. Sasuke couldn't tell if it was out of pity or genuine sympathy.

"Are you two fighting?"

"...You could say that."

"D-did she... slap you?"

"Who else would?" Sakura was the only one with the guts to hit him, even if the reason happened to be insignificant. Too bad Sasuke found it unattractive.

"It must've hurt..." she remarked quietly, cautious not to appear too nosy. For God knows Uchihas are the last people you ever want to tick off.

"Obviously," he quipped sarcastically. Out of concern, Hinata slowly reached out a hand to his face, only pausing to gauge his reaction. When all he did was watch her, waiting to see what she would do, Hinata took it as silent permission to touch his swollen cheek. He flinched despite the gentleness she used, his skin tingling from the contact.

"Do y-you want to see a nurse for that?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke remarked tersely, roughly pulling her hand off his face. Her kindness burned his heart, and it wasn't unpleasant. Sakura made him feel guilty, and he hated it. "It's none of your concern."

"S-sorry..." The girl withdrew her hand to her chest, massaging the hand she used to touch his cheek shamefully. With a polite, dejected 'goodbye,' Hinata scurried off to eat lunch with her friends. Left to himself again, Sasuke welcomed the lonely solitude with gratitude and sighed.

I should really consider dating girls other than Sakura. It is bad for my mental health.

(A/N): Yeah, the title speaks for itself. XP I'm seriously getting tired of SasuSaku's blasphemous existence.

Paragraghs No. 6, 15, and 17 are my favorite parts of the dabble - besides the last line, lol. Share me your favorites. :)