Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 7
Pale lavender eyes ablaze with fury bore on his.
"How could you?" she said, her voice soft but filled with venom. "How dare you do this?"
He wanted to move, to turn away from those piercing eyes, or say something to explain himself. But he just stood in place and did nothing. What could he possibly say? Her reaction was reasonable, her accusation true.
Her brows furrowed and she glared hard. "You betrayed me" she said, her tone rising. "My trust!"
He tried to speak. But when he opened his mouth, his voice got caught in his throat. He reached a hand out to make her stop, to plead for forgiveness, but she backed away.
"Don't touch me." She snarled. "I hate you, Sasuke!"
Sasuke shot up gasping for air, waves of dizziness overwhelmed his senses at the sudden movement. He squeezed his eyes shut if only to lessen his unease.
It was just a dream.
With a groan, he carefully laid back down against a soft object he recognized to be a pillow. He counted a few seconds before he opened his eyes and saw the room's white ceiling. He was lying on a bed but his room had never been bright and his ceiling's black. Frowning, he turned his head to the side and found a white curtain preventing him from seeing more of the room. He stared at it for a moment before the fog in his mind cleared.
He's in the school's infirmary, though he wasn't exactly sure why. The last thing he remembered when conscious was meeting Hinata at the school by the shoe lockers. He started mumbling things, and then they somehow ended up at the rooftop. He couldn't recall any more after that.
He was shaken from his thoughts at the sound of a door opening and closing. The curtains opened to reveal a woman, probably in her early thirties, if Sasuke were to guess. She was wearing a lab coat and hanging around her neck was a stethoscope.
"Oh, good" the nurse said, smiling slightly. "You're finally awake…uh," she checked the clipboard in her hand, "Uchiha Sasuke." When he just stared, she continued, "You passed out from fatigue and was out for about five hours now."
Five hours? That long?
The nurse stepped closer to his bed and checked up on him. "Care to tell me what made you so exhausted?" she said while scribbling on her clipboard.
Sasuke thought for a moment, deciding if he should or shouldn't tell her. Finally, he hoarsely said, "Long story."
The nurse nodded but didn't prod him further. She just handed him a glass of water.
After emptying the glass, Sasuke gave it back to the nurse and settled back down on his bed.
Last night he couldn't sleep a wink. With all the time he spent with Hinata yesterday, his conscience was starting to get to him. Not to mention, after dismissal, he had a conversation with the Sabaku that made him realize what a total jerk he truly is.
If there was a term worse than asshole, he would probably be called that.
Hinata's the last person to deserve such treatment, after all. She's the kindest and most innocent person he's ever met. Even he had to admit that.
Why did she have to ask for help from someone like him, of all people? Why did she have to trust him? Why did she have to smile at him like he was the most pleasant person to be with when, in fact, he's not?
Why, despite her absence, does she make him think of her?
He wasn't supposed to care.
But no matter how much he denies it, he knew deep down he does.
"Oh," the nurse's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
Sasuke turned to the nurse who was looking back at him with a smile on her pink painted lips.
"Have I mentioned your girlfriend brought you here herself?" she said with a chuckle. "That young lady sure has some strength in her if she could carry you without help."
Sasuke blinked. Hinata managed to bring him to the clinic herself? She's a lot stronger than she looks.
Though what exactly happened earlier before he fainted? If Hinata had been the one to carry him—
Images started flashing in his mind. Hinata's worried face, his incoherent mumblings and, finally, he remembered about his near revelation of his true intentions.
Sasuke paled.
No wonder he dreamt about Hinata getting furious. Sooner or later, he'd have to face the real Hinata screaming at him. His mind was just preparing him for what's to come.
He gulped.
Heaven help him.
"Anyway," the nurse continued, "whatever happened to you yesterday must have truly stressed you out or this wouldn't have happened." She gestured to his state.
She patted him lightly in the shoulder. "Rest. I'll come back and check on you later" she said and left.
Sasuke settled back down on his pillow and closed his eyes. Soon, his thoughts brought him back to his conversation with Gaara. Now that he had pondered more about it, the Sabaku was most likely speaking based on assumptions. There's no evidence whatsoever to back him up. He could be bluffing the whole time.
Sasuke frowned.
He couldn't believe he let himself get carried away like that. Because of it, he nearly spilled the beans to Hinata. He should really be careful next time, especially around Gaara. It definitely won't be the last time. The Sabaku's just starting to make his move. What his objectives are, Sasuke doesn't know. But whatever it is, Hinata's surely involved.
There was a knock on the door, followed shortly by the sound of it opening and closing. The footsteps of the person certainly didn't belong to the nurse earlier.
The light tapping drew nearer and soon a head shyly peeked through the drawn out curtain beside his bed.
Sasuke couldn't help but feel glad at the sight of his "girlfriend", but his face remained impassive. With a grunt, he pulled himself into a sitting position. Hinata was at his side in a flash and assisted him.
"I'm fine," he said with a frown, "it's not like I'm sick."
Hinata smiled. "I know" she said. "But I just want to be of help."
He sighed and decided to just let her do whatever she pleased. "So," he said once he was settled, "You finally decided to visit after leaving me by myself?"
She bit her lip. "I'm sorry" she said. "I really wanted to stay earlier but sensei scolded me."
He raised a brow in skepticism. "The nurse? Why?"
She gave him an odd look. "The exams…remember? It started today."
Crap.
He forgot about that.
"Of course I remember" he said, crossing his arms. "So? How did it go?" He definitely wasn't about to forget their competition, although that was all him.
To his surprise, Hinata drew out a long breath and she looked crestfallen.
"That bad?" he said. His eyes were wide with astonishment. The "intellectual dweeb" Hinata found the test difficult?
She sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not that."
His brows furrowed in thought. What made her depressed?
"It wasn't hard" she said. "It's just…" she bit her lip and glanced his way. "I couldn't focus."
Sasuke stared at her for a moment, unable to believe his ears. "You…couldn't focus" he slowly said while he tried to process the words.
Hinata nodded.
When she didn't say anything more, he asked, "And why?"
She glanced at him once more. "I…I was, um," she said, "I was…worried about you." The last part came out as a whisper. Sasuke had to lean in and strain his ears to hear.
"Worried about me?" he parroted.
She nodded.
As much as his heart swelled at that, Sasuke ignored it. Instead, he frowned. "So, you're telling me, you failed your test…because of me?"
Hinata unconsciously wrung her hands together. "I never mentioned I failed—"
"It's all the same!" Sasuke said. Hinata flinched and looked at him in shock. He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
Somehow, he hated the idea of Hinata getting fail grades just because of some stupid reason. One observation he had seen in her was she's too selfless to the point that it caused her to neglect taking care of herself.
Then, he paused.
So, maybe…
Maybe it's his job to tell her when to stop. Isn't that what boyfriends normally do?
"Stop worrying and focus" he said.
"But—"
"Focus." He didn't have to raise his voice to make Hinata snap her mouth shut.
She sighed. "I'll try…"
"Don't try, do it" he said. Of course, he told himself, if I truly want to beat her, she'd have to perform at her best. "Swear it."
"I…I promise."
There was a short period of silence.
"Um, Sasuke?"
"What?"
"Earlier," Hinata said, "about what you wanted to tell me…"
He froze.
"You mentioned something—"
"Forget it" he said. "It was nothing important."
Hinata bowed her head and mumbled, "It seemed important, though."
"What was that?"
She looked at him and took a deep breath. "I said it seemed important."
"But it's not."
"Well, I'm not convinced" she insisted.
"Could you just drop it already—"
"No, Sasuke, I couldn't!" Hinata said, her expression daring him to oppose.
It was his turn to snap his mouth shut.
She pulled out a chair from the side and sat down just beside his bed. She looked at her hands on her lap. "You were really not yourself earlier" she said.
He raised a brow. "What made you say that?"
She looked up at him. Her eyes were pleading. "Sasuke, you did something I've never seen you do" she said, her voice laced with concern. "Earlier, you asked me permission if we could go somewhere."
His eye twitched.
"It's strange," Hinata continued, "for you to ask first before doing something. You always go ahead and do what you want without caring about what other people feel. And there's also the fact that you became talkative, creative with your words even. Sasuke, I was worried something really bad happened to make you change so mu—"
"Alright, that's enough" Sasuke said, glaring daggers at her. "You're being talkative."
Hinata clamped a hand to her mouth. "S-sorry" she said. "It must be the anxiety I felt."
He snorted. "I bet." They returned to another silence before he broke it off. "Were you really worried?"
She looked him straight in the eyes and nodded.
A warm feeling surged inside him, but he pushed it aside. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "Thanks" he said so quietly Hinata had doubted she heard it at all.
She blinked in surprise. "Sasuke, did you just…"
He raised a brow in question. "What?" he said. "Have you never heard a 'thank you' before?"
Hinata blinked again. She shook her head. "No, I did. It's just that…" she stared at him, mouth slightly open, "it's the first time I've heard you say 'thank you'."
Sasuke looked at her for a moment before he averted his gaze and shrugged. "There's a first time in everything. And you had no reason to be worried" he said, his voice betraying no emotion. "But you still did."
Hinata tilted her head to the side. "But I do have a reason" she said.
He turned to her.
She gave him a warm smile. "You're my friend, Sasuke. So, it's only natural I'll be concerned for you."
His eyes widened in surprise.
Friend? Somehow, he felt warm at the mention of the word, almost like he felt happy to know Hinata considered him her friend. He used to wonder at times what their relationship really was. They were far from acquaintances, but they weren't exactly a couple. To the eyes of the many, they have something. But to the both of them, weren't they just at a loss?
Well, at least now he finally knew what they really were.
They were friends.
The thought brought a smile to Sasuke's face without him realizing. Hinata really was something. He couldn't see why someone like her would befriend someone like him. How naïve of her, yet compassionate.
He smirked. "Even when you think I'm a heartless person, you'll still worry about me?"
Hinata's expression was of mild surprise. "You're not heartless" she said. "Well, once, I thought you were. But as we spent a lot of time together, I realized I was wrong." She smiled at him. "You're a kind and considerate person" there was a short pause, "in your own way."
Sasuke blinked and, for a second, he just stared at her. Then, a snigger escaped his lips and soon he was laughing. He had his arms lightly clutching his sides while his laughter bounced around the walls of the enclosed room.
Hinata looked at him like he had gone insane.
It took a while for Sasuke to force himself to stop. He cleared his throat and tried his best to put on an impassive face, though he had the feeling his amusement still shone bright in his eyes. "It's funny how you could calmly describe me as 'kind and considerate'" he said.
Hinata smiled, a spark of mischievousness lit up in her eyes. "Nevertheless, I'm surprised to know Uchiha Sasuke could actually laugh."
"And Hyuga Hinata can actually tease" he said with a smirk.
A comfortable silence fell upon them with the two just staring at each other's eyes. But then, Hinata's expression dimmed and she averted her gaze.
"Sasuke?" she said so softly it sent shivers down his spine.
He frowned in thought. Recently, he had been feeling strange, especially around Hinata. He briefly pondered about it before he forced his attention back to the lavender-eyed girl. He raised his brow slightly to indicate he was listening.
Hinata inhaled slowly before asking, "Do you think…" she hesitated but continued, "Do you think Gaara-kun really cared for me when he agreed to date me?"
Silence was her only response. She waited some more, but when she heard nothing, she finally looked up to see Sasuke's blank expression.
"Why do you ask me?" he finally said.
She thought of a reason, but came up with none. "I'm…not sure" she said. "I had always wondered why Gaara-kun agreed to be with me. What did he see in me? He was always a mystery. One would think his ex-girlfriend would know more about him, but that wasn't the case." She sighed. "He's no more than a stranger to me. He didn't even explain himself when he broke it off between us. And I hadn't had the courage to ask him either."
She smiled weakly. "I'm such a coward."
She couldn't ask Gaara, couldn't confront him about it. Heck, the last time he approached her, all she had wanted to do was turn away and run. She was scared. Scared to hear what he had to say. Scared to realize that maybe…maybe from the very start, he never really cared. But if that was it, then why were they together? Why did he accept? What was she really to him?
She looked up to meet Sasuke's gaze. "Maybe I just wanted to know from a different perspective" she said in reply to his last question.
Sasuke kept his eyes on her, studying her closely. Finally, he said, "I wouldn't know."
She nodded. "I see."
"But from what you just told me," he added, shifting slightly in his bed, "if he really did care, don't you think he would at least tell you his reason why he broke up with you?"
Hinata sat still, pondering on his words. He was right. She knew of it all along but kept on denying it. She wanted to believe in Gaara, to believe he had actually seen something special in her. But she was wrong. And she was a fool for refusing to give in to the truth. All those times she had spent with him, there was never a time he had proved he felt the same towards her, no action or words reflecting even a drop of what she had for him.
And with someone finally pointing it out to her, she suddenly felt like she wasted everything for a person who never really considered her as anything.
She suddenly felt hollow inside. Tears pricked at her eyes but she held them back. She wouldn't cry. She refused to. Not here, not now, and especially not in front of Sasuke. It would only end up with him loathing her.
Her mind went back to the time she broke down and Sasuke comforted her.
No. She wouldn't cry in front of him again.
She forced on a smile, if only to get rid of her depressing thoughts, and changed the subject. "So," she said, trying to sound cheerful, "are you feeling better now, Sasuke?"
Sasuke watched her with scrutinizing eyes. It doesn't take a genius to see the hurt in her eyes. She felt betrayed, he knew. Truly loving someone only to realize afterwards that their love was not reciprocated would definitely crush anyone's soul. But then again, to Sasuke, he could only base on theories as he had not experienced things like this before.
Watching the hurt in Hinata's eyes had pained him somehow. Though it wasn't only that. Sasuke was stunned to feel a dull ache in his chest when he thought about how strongly Hinata felt for the Sabaku.
Was he actually feeling…jealous?
Sasuke shook out the thought before he could dwell into it further. He couldn't afford any distractions. He knew what he wanted, he always has, and he'll stick with it until he gets it.
Remembering Hinata's question, he said, "I'm fine. I had rested."
He stared at her once more. Her eyes…they were still swimming with pain.
He couldn't stand it.
Without much of a thought, he raised his hand to her forehead and flicked it.
Hinata gasped at the sudden pain that shot through her head. Her arms flew up to rub the sore spot and she frowned at him. "Why do you keep doing that?"
"You needed it."
"What for?"
"Distraction" he said offhandedly. "My brother would sometimes do it to me, too. Though he only does it whenever he feels like it." He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he needed to share it with her.
Her eyes softened and she smiled, her hands dropped back to her lap. "Thank you, Sasuke" she said and laughed a little. "You're right. I needed that."
Sasuke couldn't help but think, though. Sooner or later, she would find out about his little secret. And surely, she would be hurt.
In the end, he's no better than Gaara.
He gritted his teeth. The guilt was eating him up. What should he do? It's either he would tell her himself or let her find out the truth.
It's better if I'll be the one to tell her, he thought and looked at Hinata who still had a smile on her face.
He couldn't. He suddenly found himself unable to say it.
His fist clenched. Next time…I'll tell her next time.
"Sasuke? Does your head hurt?" Hinata asked, eyeing his clenched fist with concern.
He forced himself to relax and shook his head in response. "The nurse said she'll check up on me later" he said. "You should get to class."
Hinata looked like she wanted to protest. But she eventually nodded her head and stood up. "I'll be going then" she said.
He gave her a nod.
She smiled shyly and a blush crept up her cheeks. "Get well soon, Sasuke."
What she did next was the last thing he expected. She bent down and pressed her lips lightly on his forehead. He went completely still, even when she pulled away and left without looking back.
A strange sensation made itself known inside him. His stomach coiled, he could feel the heat rise up to his face and he suddenly felt lightheaded. No matter how much he pushed and ignored the feeling, it just wouldn't go away.
Persistent emotions.
He knew, without having to look in a mirror, his face was as red as a freshly picked tomato.
"I'm not sick, damn it…"
After resting for most of the day at the nurse's insistence, the following day, Sasuke was finally able to attend his class for the examinations. He passed the test with flying colors, to which he was a little smug about.
Hinata was also able to focus and answer her test properly. Sasuke could tell she was satisfied with her results.
Good, he thought, because finally we'll see who's better between us. He smirked and looked up at the bulletin board holding the ranking of the students for each year level.
Ha! How could I lose? Then, he faltered just a little bit. She did mention she couldn't focus. Maybe I'll consider it as a draw—
He paused.
He read over the first two names again.
And again.
And again.
He scowled in disbelief at the offending piece of paper pinned against the board. There must be some kind of mistake. There has to be!
"Eh?" a soft voice sounded beside him.
His head snapped to Hinata and his frown deepened.
She didn't notice and continued to mumble, "I didn't think I'd be ranked first again." Then, she smiled when she spotted something. "Sasuke, congratulations! You're ranked second—" she stopped short when she saw the look on his face. She tilted her head in confusion. "Sasuke? You don't seem happy…"
He gritted his teeth, turned and walked away. Damn it, damn it, damn it! He lost. Again. He heard Hinata call him, but he didn't stop.
Couldn't focus, my ass
Hinata's brows creased in worry and confusion. Sasuke suddenly left. Did she say something that offended him?
She heard voices and she turned to find a few girls—probably from Sasuke's fan club—stare in the direction the raven-haired guy disappeared to.
"Is Sasuke-kun alright?" one asked.
"I heard he was in the school clinic for the whole day during the first day of exams. He still must be feeling ill."
"Poor Sasuke-kun…"
Hinata looked away, not hearing the congratulations being thrown at her. Maybe they were right. Sasuke must still feel unwell and he's just not showing it.
She turned and ran after Sasuke.
She found him at the rooftop, the one place only the two of them shared. He was leaning against the railings and staring at the view ahead. Slowly, she approached him.
He didn't make a move to acknowledge her.
She waited for a moment for him to tell her something. Then some more. But she was only greeted by silence. She drew in a breath. "Sasuke" she softly called. When he didn't stir, she continued, "Are you still feeling ill?"
Slowly, he turned his head to face her. He gave her an odd look. "I'm not ill" he said.
She blinked. "You're not?" she said. "Then—"
"It's nothing" he said, looking away.
She understood. He didn't want to talk about it.
But still, she had this strange urge, this want for him to share what he's thinking. She wanted to know more about him.
"I'm sorry" she said.
His attention went back to her, his expression showing a mix of confusion and mild surprise.
"I'm sorry for whatever I did" she said and bowed her head.
Then, she heard a chuckle. She looked up and found Sasuke smiling at her, a tinge of amusement flashed in his eyes. Heat rose to her cheeks and she quickly looked away.
"Idiot" Sasuke said. "Don't apologize when you don't even know what you did. And didn't I tell you already? Stop apologizing."
She nodded absently. "Sorry…" she mumbled, only to cover her mouth.
He shook his head. "And it's really nothing. I was… just thinking."
Hinata glanced at him. "So, you're really not sick?"
He raised a brow. "I told you. No."
"And it wasn't because of me?"
There was a short pause before he said, "No."
She looked at him, searching his eyes for a hint of dishonesty. Once satisfied, she asked, "You really were just thinking?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes in exasperation and nodded. "Yes" he said.
After a few moments, Hinata released a breath she'd been holding and smiled. "That's a relief" she said. "I thought there was something wrong. I was worried for a second there."
Sasuke just shook his head. "Stop worrying over trivial things" he said, a frown marred his face. "You'll grow old fast."
Hinata grinned. "Stop frowning so much" she said. "It's a waste for such a handsome face—" She quickly slapped her hands to her mouth and looked at Sasuke with wide eyes.
He looked as taken aback as she was but he regained his composure and smirked deviously. "Huh…so Hyuga Hinata thinks I'm handsome."
Hinata was flustered, her face a dark shade of red. "D-Don't think too much about it."
"That's interesting" Sasuke said as if he didn't hear her.
"F-Forget I said th-that" she pleaded.
Sasuke just continued to smirk at her. It amused him to no end in seeing her so flustered over her slip up. She's cute.
He caught himself before he could dwell more on his thoughts. He pulled away from the railings. "Let's go" he said and went to the door.
He looked over his shoulder to see Hinata following in a daze, her face toning down to a lighter shade. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He had to admit, teasing Hinata was entertaining. He should do it more often.
He held out his hand. "Come on" he said. "A snail's faster than you."
Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and stared at Sasuke's hand. It took her a moment longer before she finally caught on reality and placed her hand in his.
When they exited the rooftop and were on their way to the classroom, Hinata was once again lost in her thoughts. She kept her head down, causing her to bump with several students along the way despite holding Sasuke's hand.
An exasperated sigh escaped Sasuke's lips.
He stopped in the middle of the corridors and turned to face her. "Listen, Hinata" he began. When she looked up, he said, "If this is about earlier, don't be bothered by it."
She studied his expression. He didn't appear angry or annoyed. Instead, there was still amusement sparkling in his eyes despite the impassiveness in his face. She frowned. So he found her humiliation funny, huh? Well, good for him. At least one of them was laughing.
Then, she noticed the twitching at the corners of his lips, making her frown deepen.
He stepped closer to her and leaned down to her ear. His breath tickled her, sending shivers down her spine. Heat rushed back to her cheeks.
What does he think he's doing?, she screamed in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut in a futile attempt to calm her thundering heartbeat. People are looking! She could hear them talking. And she just knew they were the center of attention at that moment, everyone's subject of conversation.
"To make it fair to you," Sasuke whispered. "I'll admit that you're not bad-looking yourself, Hinata."
She went still, slowly processing his words in her mind. She pulled away to look at him in the eyes, her own lavender orbs wide with shock. But Sasuke wasn't looking at her. He grabbed her hand, turned, and continued walking them to the classroom.
Hinata let him lead the way, too busy with trying to collect herself and calm her overheated cheeks. It was hard to believe, but Sasuke just complimented her. Sure, once he told her she was beautiful and cute but she didn't think he realized what he had said, with him focused on her messy hair.
This time though, he really had said it.
Remembering the way he leaned in and whispered on her ear, her face went up in flames and her hand unconsciously touched her ear. What was he doing to her? It was just a compliment. Even if she's not used to the feeling, she shouldn't let it get to her so much.
"My! How sweet"
Hinata heard a female voice say, but kept her eyes straight ahead.
"Did you see that? They were cuddling!"
Her head snapped to the source of the voice. W-What? We didn't cuddle!
"No, they weren't" said another.
Hinata mentally nodded. No, we weren't.
"They were kissing."
Hinata nearly tripped on her own feet, her cheeks burned once again. Thankfully, Sasuke was holding her hand. She looked up, curious about how Sasuke was taking the rumors. To her astonishment, there was a barely noticeable uplifting of his lips.
She raised a brow at this. He certainly is in a good mood, isn't he? Well, it's better than a grumpy and mean Sasuke, she thought.
Before they turned a corner at the end of the corridor, Hinata heard one last sentence that somehow brought a sense of happiness and a smile on her lips.
"They sure look good together."
Flipping her long brown hair, Sari continued on her discussion with Gaara. But if she were to be honest with herself though, it was nothing more than a one-sided conversation. Her redheaded boyfriend had his attention to somewhere she couldn't reach. All throughout, he had his jade eyes fixed somewhere outside the window.
She didn't mind. She's used to it. Gaara never paid any attention to her whenever she talks. She knew, yet she had this wishful thinking that maybe someday, Gaara would look her way and give her his undivided attention. No, it wasn't just a wishful thinking. She believed he was listening despite showing otherwise.
So, she didn't mind.
Gaara was hers, after all.
A group of chatting students passed by, but she didn't care and kept talking. But then, something caught her attention and she turned her head to the group. At the corner of her eye, she saw Gaara do the same.
"—came from the library" one of guys from the group said. "But then, Hinata-san dropped the books she was carrying. Sasuke-san immediately picked it up and insisted that he'll carry it all for her instead."
The only two girls amongst them sighed dreamily. "Sasuke-kun's such a gentleman."
"Oh, but there's more…" the voice drifted off when they were far enough from the listening couple.
Sari scowled. So what if that nerdy Hinata dropped her books? So what if Sasuke offered to carry it? Seriously, don't the people in the academy have anything better to do than gossip petty things? There wasn't even anything special in what she heard. It's common sense for a guy to carry a girl's stuff.
She scoffed and turned back to Gaara only to freeze in place at the dark look marring his features. "Gaara-kun" she said. "They were just rumors." It was to no avail. When he stayed still, she reached out a hand to him. But before she could even touch his cheek, he slapped it away.
He looked at her, the intensity of his glare caused her to step back. "Leave me alone, Sari," he gritted out before leaving her alone to collect herself.
The last time she saw him like this was a week ago, when Sasuke told him to back off.
She wasn't stupid. She knew what caused Gaara to act like he did.
"Hinata" she grounded out. Her fists clenched at her side. One would think Sari wouldn't have to worry about the indigo-haired girl. She's Gaara's past, his ex-girlfriend.
There was supposed to be nothing hindering her from Gaara anymore. But no. Somehow, Hinata just kept on doing that still.
She felt like screaming, but reminding herself of the reputation she had to keep, she didn't. Her image was everything to her and Hinata wouldn't take it away from her, too. It was one of the things she refused to give up. And that includes Gaara.
She couldn't afford to allow it.
Let the people talk. It wouldn't be long anyway before they tire and completely stop.
But that's the thing. She was wrong.
The first week, she somehow tolerated. Conversations about Sasuke and Hinata were only heard along the corridors. Sari rolled her eyes at the girls who were busy listening to the story about Sasuke saving Hinata from a boiling pot during Home Economics class.
It's only a boiling pot. Why was it such a big issue?
The following week, she heard another rumor of Sasuke sitting beside Hinata during study session. He almost threatened the person sitting beside her to exchange seats with him. The guys all felt their hairs standing on end when they tried to get near the couple. But some admired the picture perfect view of the "love birds".
Sari and Gaara were at the cafeteria eating lunch when another rumor reached their ears. The topic was the two were having a picnic at the soccer field. There was one who said he saw Sasuke had his head on Hinata's lap. Gaara's chopsticks stopped midway to his mouth.
But then another monger took up the story. "And that's not all. Hinata was feeding Sasuke—"
"With her MOUTH?!" The table clattered with the force the student made when he suddenly stood up asking the question. The sound of a wood breaking followed. Sari's head snapped to her side. It was Gaara's chopsticks while the person himself had on a blank expression.
"No, you idiot, she used her own chopsticks. Indirect kiss, indirect kiss!"
But then, the rumor turned out false. She received a message from an anonymous number showing a picture of Sasuke and Hinata just sitting beside each other eating their meals. She turned and saw Gaara had received it, too. She hadn't missed the slight softening of his expression. However, no sooner than that, her phone buzzed again. Another picture was sent showing the same people reaching out for the same canister, their hands touching. This time, there was a caption that read, "KYAAAA! So SWEEEET~!" The sound of a plastic being crushed made her look at the redhead once more. He was glaring at his phone with a deformed water bottle in his hand. She tried reaching out to him only to have her hand slapped away.
Sari gritted her teeth.
But the last week's experience, or rather the rumor, was the last straw.
The story goes with Hinata handing Sasuke a chocolate. But he would not have it.
One rumor said Sasuke got annoyed and kissed Hinata to silence her. Another said Hinata was just eating her chocolates and a chip of it was on her lips. Sasuke suddenly leaned down and licked it off. To add to that, one said passion took over and they made out in the halls.
But the actual event was caught on camera. Hinata had persisted Sasuke to taste a little bit of chocolate, indeed. Sasuke got annoyed, reached for the box holding the chocolates, took one and shoved it to Hinata's opened mouth, effectively silencing her. Sasuke's finger lingered on her lips until she turned beet red. The video ended with Sasuke turning away smirking and Hinata silently chewing.
Everyone in the room became animated in discussion. Cheering and squeals of excitement erupted until the noise was almost too much. Gaara slammed his book against his desk causing everyone to a surprised silence and looked at him oddly. He silently stood up and stormed off to the hall where Sari ran after him. She came upon when Gaara smashed his phone against the opposite wall, shaking in fury. Instinctively, she hid from his sight and listened to him curse under his breath again and again.
That's it.
No more!
Sari hated it! She hated seeing this side of Gaara. She hated her! Hinata was the cause of all this. She was to blame for everything. If only she hadn't existed, if only she hadn't moved to this academy, then everything would have gone her way.
A/N: Wah! *grovels* I swear I never anticipated that I couldn't update for this long. I'm really sorry! You see, I am a graduating student. And because of this, there are a lot of things to do and there's just not much time to write. Even my weekends are occupied because I have to prepare for my graduation stuff (requirements, clearance, etc). And I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand. I forgot to tell you last chapter and I couldn't just announce it to you guys in a form of another entry because, for one, I would be violating ff's rules and, second, I wouldn't want to disappoint you dear readers when you get an e-mail that I had updated when it's only an announcement. So, I'm really sorry for the long wait.
And there's been a concern. Don't worry. I'm never dropping this story especially because I enjoy writing it. I really just need time and that's what I'm lacking right now. Everyday's just so hectic I think I might crack from the pressure. Not to mention, some issues in my school's been going on. And I'm already ranting, so I'll stop. Anyway, please bear with me.
