"I still can't believe that with all of us there, he still just sat there with Hinata of all people," Sakura complained to Ino as she pulled into her usual spot. Ino nodded in agreement as they walked to their usual morning spot. Sasuke, Neji and TenTen were already standing there. "I mean, he's the Kazekage's son… And he's only interested in that loner," She shook her head as they reached the three.
"Hey guys," Ino smiled and waved at the three. They returned her smile and wave. "Sakura was just going on and on about how Sabaku hung out with Hinata all of yesterday," The three nodded with similar looks of interest on their faces. The attention went from Sakura's irritated look to Kiba and Naruto's argument as they walked up.
"No way dude. I think Shino could totally kick your ass," Naruto told him with a laugh in his voice. Kiba grumbled and shot him an evil glare. The group they were headed to merely shook their heads at the argument. It wasn't anything unusual but it was always somewhat amusing until they started throwing fists. Sakura was about to ask when the familiar motorcycle rode up and parked in the spot across from Sakura's pink VW beetle. "Whoa, he got her a helmet," Naruto pointed out as the two got off the motorcycle and pulled off their black helmets.
They shared a smile as the group of popular students stared on. Sakura looked Hinata up and down and had to admit… She looked good. Hinata was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a white shirt with a heart design and the words 'Love will tear us apart' on the front. She had on a black belt with a heart peace sign buckle and a pair of black, ankle cut Converse. She had on her necklace from before and some red heart earrings. Gaara handed her, her messenger bag and grabbed his own bag.
Ino and Sakura stared at Gaara with a gleam in their eyes. He was looking good as well. He was dressed in a Three Days Grace shirt that was black and red, dark blue jeans held up by a black studded belt, red and black vans, and a black Affliction hoodie. It took a shake to the shoulders from Naruto to snap them out of it. Sakura felt a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach as Gaara laughed at something Hinata had said. Sakura had never felt jealous of Hinata Hyuga before, other than the fact that everyone had something nice to say about her.
Hinata smiled at Gaara's laugh. "Thanks for keeping me company yesterday," Gaara rolled his eyes at her comment.
"It wasn't just for you! You were keeping me sane," He laughed as she wrinkled her nose at that statement. "Too much time with Kankuro and Temari is a bad thing," Hinata laughed at his words. She'd prefer his family to her own. She walked with him towards the front doors of Konoha High and voiced her opinion.
"Well, your brother is slightly creepy. But Temari seems sweet. My family is boring. Hanabi is the only one I can stand to be in a room with for longer than a few minutes. Knowing my luck, my father is going to arrange a marriage or something," She let out a deep sigh. It would end up being something like that, or some kind of disowning fiasco. She felt her eyes begin to tear up and immediately looked away from the friendly red head. She didn't want him to see her cry. "Well… Um, I'm gonna get to class. See you at lunch," She spoke softly so her voice wouldn't crack and hurried away leaving Gaara in the hallway confused.
Hinata sat in her class wondering why her father couldn't be like everyone else's dad. He had never been one to believe in her and praise her. He only seemed to see her faults. She'd get an A, he'd ask why it wasn't an A plus like Neji got. Her mother had been her only escape, the only one to praise her as she grew up. She lost that when her mom died. The day her mom died was the day that a part of her soul died. When the teacher gave them silent work time, Hinata put her headphones in and turned on the music as she worked on her class work.
She felt completely drained by lunch. She was about to walk into the cafeteria only to be stopped by Sakura. "You know… You're only going to bring him down. Why else would Kiba leave you?" She asked as she rested one hand on her hip. Hinata rolled her eyes and went to walk around the annoying girl only to have Ino step in her way.
"I don't know why you care. He's just a friend… You have many friends so why is it that you care that I have one friend?" Hinata stood her ground. "Oh wait… I know why it's so important to you… It's because of who he's related to," She shook her head and looked into Sakura's green apple eyes. "I didn't think you were this shallow, Haruno," Hinata stated and walked around Sakura and Ino. She made a beeline for her usual table and sat next to Gaara. She reached into her backpack and pulled out two bento boxes. She offered him one with a smile.
"Thanks… Temari put you up to this?" Hinata shook her head no with a smile. "This stems back to that conversation about not eating lunch… Right?" Hinata nodded, laughing to herself at the look on his face.
"Not eating is bad. Your sister agrees with me and as long as you like what I've made it shouldn't matter, right?" Hinata asked with a knowing glint in her eyes. Gaara nodded with a smile. Hinata smiled as she opened her box and began to eat her lunch.
Gaara opened the other box gently and tried some of it hesitantly. Hinata's face lit up when he continued to eat. "This is really good. You're an amazing cook," He gave her a breath taking smile and continued to eat the lunch. Hinata smiled and finished her lunch. She closed the box and put it back into her backpack. She couldn't help but notice the glare Sakura was sending her way. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Gaara.
"It was really good," He said with a smile as he handed her the box back. She accepted it with a small smile. "When did you learn how to cook?"
Hinata smiled and spoke softly. "My mom taught me when I was young. And when she died, I wanted to continue it," She looked away and bit her lip. Gaara frowned, he had assumed that her parents were just divorced and that's why her mother wasn't around. He put his hand on her shoulder lightly.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea," His voice was soft and smooth. She didn't know what it was about his voice, but it calmed her down. "How long?"
"She died when I was six," Hinata admitted softly. Gaara shocked her when he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He rubbed her back lightly as she rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her bury her face in his shoulder and all he could do was try and comfort her. He felt bad for bringing it up, but it made him realize they had something else in common.
Sakura crushed her milk carton in her hand when she saw Gaara pull Hinata into a hug. Ino glanced over with a raised eyebrow and followed Sakura's gaze. She tugged on Neji's arm and gestured which soon got the others to look over as well. Neji got a weird look in his eyes as he looked away and went back to talking to TenTen. Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to working on some homework. Kiba felt his chest ache. He wanted to be the one hugging Hinata. He looked at the floor as he tried to figure out how he would be able to make it up to her.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Sakura poked Kiba when she noticed he was still staring at Hinata. "What's wrong Kiba? It's not like you've never seen Hinata before," She stated with a roll of her eyes. He growled at the way she said Hinata's name and snapped.
"There is nothing wrong with Hinata. She has never done a damn thing to you. So stop talking down on her like she's some sort of bitch," He kept his voice low so only Sakura heard. And the only thing he regretted was the fact that now he'd have to deal with Sakura's bitching for snapping at her.
"Excuse me?" She asked with an evil look on her face. Kiba glared at her just as evilly. The next words he said were laced with venom.
"You heard me," With that said Kiba stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Hoping that by walking out he would avoid hitting the pink haired bitch.
After the last classes of the day, Hinata walked to her locker and gathered everything she would need for homework and slammed her locker closed. She walked towards the front doors and wasn't too surprised to be stopped by Sakura again. "You're really just going to end up hurting yourself if you stay friends with him," She told Hinata with a look of pure jealousy on her face.
Hinata took a deep breath to remain calm and then walked away without saying a word. She met Gaara out by his bike and put on the helmet he offered her. They got on and she wrapped her arms around him. Sakura's words ringing through her head. Was Sakura right? Was her friendship with Gaara just going to end in anguish? The person she had been closest with had ended up hurting her… And how much did she really know about the cute redhead? Hinata bit her lip as more questions came to mind. Surely she wouldn't end up losing Gaara too, right?
A/n: Alright so I've been busy, and haven't been quite sure about how I wanted this chapter. I would also like to thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter. Your reviews mean the world to me! So whatcha think of Kiba's reaction to Sakura's comments? Anyways thank you for reading and let me know what you think!
Special thanks to Kazo Sakamari, ImCutePoison, MochaaxGonexCrazy, champylin, YukinaWinters, Princess Kitana18, Scarlet Rhi, Hiro-san-Hyuuga.
Enjoy!
