Whoa it's been too long since i've last updated!
I apologize for my lack of consistency, but i assure you i have been working on this chapter since January.
I've been working on and off on this chapter, and nearly finished it in march (or maybe even february) but lately i've just been editing a re-reading and the chapter just didn't feel right... but after this last revision, i'm finally updating!
I hope you have not lost faith in me~~~~~
Enjoy!
That morning, it felt especially lonely; the emptiness of this small apartment, in which he lived all by himself, was more empty than usual. Normally, he didn't mind the quiet, or the fact that he was all alone. But today, for some reason, he felt a painful twinge of loneliness in his chest.
Naruto slowly pulled the covers from over him and groggily sat up, resting his warm bare feet onto the cold hardwood floor. The coolness of the floor sent a shock through his body, but at the same time, it felt good. For a while, he just sat there, trying to get the sleepiness out of his system before making an attempt to move.
In all honesty, he just wanted to go back to sleep, it sounded so enticing to just lay back down in his bed and drift away again… forget about school, forget about life… just sleep…
Suddenly, there was a loud sound,
'BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEEP'
Naruto jumped.
"Ahhh, shit! That scared the shit out of me!" He said, gripping his chest as he quickly leaped up to silence his alarm clock.
"Guess I'm up now…" he muttered to himself.
Walking down the short hallway into the kitchen, he glanced around at the messes before him; empty instant noodle cups, wrappers, used bowls, etc.
He cringed at the sight of a half-eaten bowl of cereal rotting away in the sink.
"I'll clean tomorrow…" He knew he wouldn't. He told himself this every day, but lately he lost the motivation to do anything, much less clean.
He pulled out the last clean bowl in his cupboard, pouring in his usual cereal. Opening the refrigerator door, he saw two containers of milk. Choosing the first, he began pouring it over his cereal, only to have two drops of milk come out.
"ugh." He tossed the empty container over onto the large pile spilling out from his trashcan, causing it to land onto the floor.
He grabbed the second container of milk; this container seemed much fuller than the first one.
He again attempted to pour the milk over his cereal, this time clumps of spoiled milk crash landed into his bowl.
"OH GOD!" He covered his nose as the curdled milk came sliming out of the container.
"UGH, I SWEAR. Didn't I buy milk like, last week? What the fuck is this!" He poured the remaining curdled milk down the drain and tossed the 2nd container onto the pile.
"I guess no cereal this morning…" reaching back into his cupboard, he pulled out a container of instant noodles and set it on the table.
"This is better, anyways" he said as he poured the boiling water into the container.
While slurping up the last clump of noodles in his cup, he glanced over at the clock.
"6:00?" He shouted in surprise, choking on his noodles. He quickly slurped up the remaining noodles, chucked the cup into the trash, then jetted off into the bathroom.
His bathroom was pretty small, but just big enough for one person.
Quickly, he undressed and tossed his clothes onto the floor as he turned on the shower and stepped inside.
The warm water flowed down over his forehead, causing Naruto to close his eyes before the water got into them. Naruto didn't like showers much, because they gave him too much time to think. He thought about school, how average his grades were. They had gotten better this year than the years previous; He never had a reason to try and get good grades before… he usually never cared at all about school…
That is, until he met Hinata. She was very smart and had excellent grades. She was too shy to admit it, but she was one of the top students in their class.
That's why Naruto decided to come to school every day this year. That's why he decided to care.
His face burned red as he thought about her. He crouched down in the shower, grabbing onto his hair, he tried to clarify his feelings in his mind.
Hinata was a precious friend to him… he didn't ever want to lose her. But it seemed to be a stronger feeling than friendship… his chest burned at the thought of her.
Naruto quickly hopped out of the shower, and jetted into his bedroom. If he kept going at this slow of a pace, he'd definitely be late.
He buttoned up his white shirt, then threw on his green plaid school pants and quickly tied his tie.
Looking outside at the gloomy Monday morning, he decided to put on his cardigan.
As he walked out the door, he grabbed his schoolbag, and then headed off.
The morning was pretty crisp and cool. It wasn't all that cold, but the skies told otherwise. It would probably clear up later, but who knows.
He walked down his usual route to Hinata's house. It was funny how he had always been to her house, but he had never been inside. Though, in all fairness, Hinata had never been inside his house either. She doesn't even know where i live. He thought to himself as he smiled. His apartment building was quite a ways away from where Hinata lived, but he didn't mind walking the distance, especially for Hinata.
He stared up at the sky as he walked, holding his bag over his shoulder and his other hand in his pocket.
Even though he felt alone at his apartment, just knowing that he would be seeing Hinata soon always made it feel like today would be a great day.
As he tilted his head down to look forward, he was surprised at the sight before him.
"H-hinata-chan?" To his surprise, there was Hinata, standing there in front of him.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun" She smiled at him with her usual sweet smile.
"But what're you doing way down here? I was on my way up to your house." It was true, Naruto was only halfway there, and the school wasn't even in this direction, so she couldn't have been trying to go on without him….
"Oh, uhm, you see, I appreciate that you take the time to walk such a long distance to my house every morning," She blushed as she diverted her eyes towards the ground and played with her fingers.
"S-so I wanted to meet you halfway so that you don't have to walk as far…"
Naruto's heart thumped in his chest as she spoke. He smiled down at the embarrassed dark-haired girl.
"Thanks, Hinata-chan." He placed his hand on her head.
"But how did you know where the halfway point would be…?" He smiled curiously.
Hinata's faced burned bright red. Hinata had almost forgotten that she had followed him that one day. She couldn't tell him that, though. He would think she's some sort of stalker!
Naruto patted her head. "I'm just kidding" He smiled once more.
They walked side-by-side the entire route to school. Usually Naruto walked a little bit faster than Hinata, so she always fell slightly behind. But this morning, Naruto slowed down his pace in consideration for the small dark-haired girl.
School went by incredibly slow. The clock ticked and ticked, causing Naruto to become anxious for 2nd period.
He rested his head in his arms atop his desk. Kiba glanced over at him.
"Psst, Naruto!" Kiba whispered.
"What is it? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" he hissed back.
"Whoa man, I was just going to ask how your morning walk was with Hinata-chann" He said 'Hinata-chan' in a cutesy girlie voice and puckered his lips, just to piss Naruto off.
"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned. Did it seem suspicious?
"Well, you guys seemed especially close this morning." He smiled, then looked both ways before leaning closer. "Are you two dating?" he asked, as he placed his hand to the side of his mouth.
Naruto's heart shocked as he said those words. He froze for a moment.
"N-no! Where would you get a wild idea like that?" he sputtered.
He had never thought of dating Hinata… well, it's not that he hadn't thought about it, it's just, he didn't want to screw up their friendship… although, she was very pretty and very kind… She had always been such a good friend to Naruto… Did he want to be more than friends? So many thoughts raced through his mind.
"Meh, I don't know. Just wondering." He shrugged as he smiled, then winked at Naruto.
"W-well, don't ask s-such random things!" Naruto huffed as he buried his head back into his arms.
The rest of the day went by smoothly. Hinata got called to the office during second period, so she was gone for most of the time. But even when she came back, she had to spend her free time with that damned Uchiha.
This partner thing was getting annoying. Especially since I'm stuck with Sabaku! He glanced over at the glaring Sabaku. He just scowled at Naruto. I'm gonna die!
Since Kurenai gave an extra week to work on the project, Naruto barely saw the dark-haired girl.
The most he ever saw her was in the mornings. Every day, it had been like this. All week. Here it is, Friday now. The project wasn't due until next Friday! Why on earth does Sasuke have to take Hinata away from me! He tried not being angry, but he was irritated every day.
At lunch, he tried finding the dark-haired girl before the Uchiha, but he couldn't spot her anywhere.
He walked over to his usual lunch table where all of his friends were already sitting.
"Hey guys, uh, have any of you seen Hinata?" everyone looked up at him grinning.
"Whyyy? Looking for your girlfriend?" Mocked Kiba, making a kissy face at Naruto while everyone else burst into laughter.
"Ugh, Nevermind!" He stomped off, incredibly irritated. Who does Kiba think he is, making fun of me like that! But also, he was growing more concerned. Where could Hinata-chan be? That Sasuke must have gotten to her before me! At that thought, he grew hopeless, yet irritated at the same time.
Man, at this rate I'll end up having to spend lunch with that dickbag, Kiba!
As he walked around the courtyard, he noticed a certain blonde-haired girl.
"Hey, Ino!" He called
The blonde girl looked over at Naruto in disgust. "What do YOU want, Naruto-baka?"
"Jeez, I was just wondering if you had seen Hinata-chan." He hissed at her.
Ino suddenly changed her mood. "Oh, well uh, I saw her going into her homeroom. I was going to ask her where she was going, but she was walking pretty fast." She said with a suspicious look on her face.
Naruto smiled, "Thanks, Ino." then headed back inside to the 3rd floor
As he approached the classroom door, he could hear voices talking. Sounds like Hinata-chan and…
"Sasuke-kun…."
S-sasuke? Since when did she start using his first name?Naruto felt a slight irritation at the sound of his name. He slid the door just a crack to peek inside, but what he saw brought disbelief to his eyes.
There they were; Sasuke, firmly holding Hinata's wrists in each hand, leaving her almost defenseless as he bent down, planting a soft kiss onto Hinata's lips. Hinata just stood there, her eyes closed.
Naruto couldn't move his legs as he stood there and took in the scene before him. He face grew red, and his eyes stung with the feeling of tears trying to push their way through. He slid the door completely open, furious but also slightly jealous.
Sasuke glanced up, and smiled as his spotted the blonde. Hinata froze in fear as she quickly turned around and saw Naruto-kun, standing there.
"N-Naruto-kun…!" she gasped, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Naruto couldn't believe it. It was true after all; Hinata-chan did like Sasuke…
"S-sorry to intrude!" Shouted Naruto as he gave a quick bow then slammed the door shut and ran down the hall.
How can this sort of thing happen? My worst enemy and my best friend! He clutched his chest as he sped into the nearest bathroom. Why do I feel this way? Why is there this pain in my chest? I don't understand… I don't understand why I'm feeling this way…
it's painful…
Tears started falling down his cheeks; he hadn't cried in years… why was he crying now?
When the final bell rang at the end of school, Naruto took off. He tried being as fast as possible, throwing his school shoes in his locker, and then putting on his sneakers. He avoided Hinata; he didn't want to walk home with her today. His mind was completely confused….
But, there she was, standing there, putting her shoes away into her locker.
He tried to sneak away, unnoticed, but failed.
"N-naruto-kun!" she tried calling out to him.
"I, uh, I'm leaving first, see ya!" he called back as he quickened his pace, and then broke into a run when he reached the outside.
Why am I running? I don't need to run do i? When he reached his apartment, he ran to his bedroom and lay out on his bed. He stared up at the ceiling as he tried catching his breath
How…. Childish…. He thought to himself, covering his face with his arm.
Tears rolled down his face once again. "I feel like a child…" he muttered to himself.
Why did he feel like this? Like his heart was just stabbed and shattered into a million pieces? Why am I feeling so jealous?
Suddenly, he thought about what Kiba had said to him earlier. "Are you two dating?" why would he say such things… Hinata would never think about dating someone like me when she has someone like Sasuke! I can't believe I'm thinking about this right now.
He pulled out his cellphone, and then dialed a number. I can't believe I'm really calling HIM.
"Heyyy Naruto! What d'you want?" Kiba's voice was so loud over the phone; Naruto had to hold it away from his ear.
"K-kiba, I need to ask you something…" he waited for a response
"This sounds serious! Hold on, let me turn off my music." He waited for a moment until Kiba responded again.
"So what did you want to ask?" his voice sounding curious
"W-well, uh… What would it mean if you think about someone all the time… and feel happy when you're around them? And your heart always beats faster… I don't understand." His face burned red. I can't believe I'm asking Kiba this..
"You dunce, What're you a kindergartener? If you feel that way around someone, that means you like them. Dumbass." He snapped. Naruto's heart shocked a bit.
"L-like?" Naruto questioned
There was a pause for a moment, and Naruto could see Kiba rubbing his forehead over the phone.
"You know, LIKE like. When you like someone more than a friend… maybe even love." Kiba sighed.
"Alright, uhh thanks Kiba." Naruto's hands were shaking.
"Yeah, yeah, no problem. Now stop thinking about me so much!" Naruto could practically feel kiba winking.
"WHATEVER, ASSHOLE, I'D NEVER THINK ABOUT AN ASSHOLE LIKE YOU" He shouted as he clicked the end button.
Even though he had asked Kiba, he had already known for a long time what it was that he was feeling… he gripped his chest as his heart pounded. It's been this way since he first met Hinata... and I always feel nervous around her… I guess i really do like Hinata …. I do.
Finally, he was able to admit it to himself. Suddenly, he felt relieved, because now he acknowledged these feelings he had buried deep inside him for so long… everything felt clear and refreshing. Naruto smiled to himself.
But then he remembered. … Hinata-chan likes Sasuke… I can't believe I almost forgot that. Now there really is no point…
He recognized how he felt about Hinata-chan, but he realized it too late; Hinata had already found someone she likes. He thought back to what he had seen at lunch… why couldn't it have been him? Why Sasuke?
"WHY? WHY SASUKE?" He shouted to himself, echoing off the lonely walls of his quiet apartment.
This one-sided love… Naruto would never have his feelings returned now…
School started off as a completely normal day. She met Naruto half-way like she usually did (as of late), she went to her classes… normal.
But the problem didn't really even start today. It started ever since Hinata was chosen to be partnered with the Uchiha boy… Maybe even before that.
Because of this project, Hinata has been stuck with the Uchiha for almost two weeks. Every night, there the Uchiha was at her front door. He always made her feel uncomfortable and nervous… always smirking and saying odd things… the way he said her name… he always sent chills up her spine, but she was never sure if they were good or bad ones…
But not only did he stop by in the evening, he also sucked up all of her free-time at school. Every time there was a break during class, he would show up and mess with her again. The only brightside was that Sasuke was very intelligent; he was almost Neji status. He had straight A's, so the project was coming along very well, and it was almost certain that it would get a high grade. Academically, Sasuke would be the ideal project partner… but personally, it was a living hell. He wasn't controlling or anything, he just really enjoys toying with people.
During second period, Hinata got called to the office. I wonder what this could be for…?
As she walked into the main office, she saw Neji sitting at one of the desks. He glanced over at Hinata before standing up and approaching the dark haired girl.
"Oh, welcome Hinata-san." Neji smiled.
"O-onii san..." she returned the smile nervously as she bowed "do you know why I was called to the office?" she asked as she passed him the slip of paper she received.
Neji barely even looked at the slip of paper before he smiled once more
"That was me who called you here, please take a seat. I will be with you momentarily." He ushered her to one of the chairs in the waiting area.
"Momentarily" was actually a pretty long time. She glanced at the clock and realized 2nd period was already 20 minutes into class. She tried thinking about why Neji would have called her to the office. She remembered that he was also the president of the student council and was very busy all of the time. He had many extracurricular activities on top of that, often causing him to arrive home late.
Hinata gazed off into space, waiting for Neji to return. She was brought back to thoughts of her evil project partner. How she wished she would never have to work with him ever again….
About another 15 minutes later, Neji finally showed up.
"I greatly apologize for such a long wait, sorry to inconvenience you." Neji said as he bowed slightly. "Anyways, I will be arriving home late this evening on account of school activities. Therefore, you will be responsible for cooking dinner tonight." Hinata nodded, though that was an unusual thing to be called to the office for, and especially to have waited for almost 30 minutes.
"Oh, and another thing…" He said, turning around to pick up something from his desk "Here, you seemed to have forgotten your lunch at home." He quickly passed her the cute little lavender container, and proceeded to usher her out of the office.
"That is all," he smiled "now go back to class, imouto chan."
"T-thank you, ani san"
Even though she got her lunch, those 30 minutes did seem a bit wasteful. Although, it did give her 30 minutes away from the Uchiha since there were only 20 minutes left of class.
…
At lunch, Hinata waited in her usual spot to meet Sasuke. She had only waited maybe 5 minutes before a tall figure approached her
"Hinata-chan." Said the tall figure that loomed before her.
"U-uchiha-san…" she gulped as he approached her. If only I could have lunch with Naruto-kun again… rather than suffer through this with Uchiha san…
"Well, then, let's get going." He smiled slyly as he guided Hinata down the hallway and into the classroom.
As they entered the classroom, Hinata felt a sort of dejavu.
"Wait here, I will go get the project from my locker." He said as he exited and disappeared down the hallway.
Hinata sighed in relief. It was only a dream, there is no need to worry myself.
When the Uchiha returned, his hands were empty.
"Sorry, I just realized that I left everything in my room at home. No point in trying to work on it now."
He said as he approached the dark haired girl.
"But don't worry, we can finish it by tomorrow." He smiled slyly as he came closer.
"Though it's not like I really care either way, this project will not even affect my grade in the slightest…" It was true, Sasuke's grades were really good, even if he failed the project he would at the most drop down to B+, but for him, he didn't even care.
"Uhmm… U-uchiha-san…"Hinata began, but was soon interrupted.
"Please, call me Sasuke-kun" he smiled even more like a devious cat than he had ever done before.
"S-sasuke-kun…" before she could finish her sentence, Sasuke had planted his warm, soft lips onto hers. She felt entirely paralyzed, as if she could not move. She thought about pushing him away, but his hands were gripping tightly onto her wrists as if he knew she would try. There was no hope of escaping, Sasuke could easily overpower her weak frame… in her mind she started panicking, what if this turns out just like my dream! Though, immediately as she had realized the situation she was in, thoughts of Naruto and her dream came flooding into her mind. She didn't like Sasuke-kun as much as she loved Naruto… right as she tried to pull away, the door suddenly flew open causing Sasuke to pull away and smile even more than before.
Hinata was horrified as she quickly turned around and gazed at the door.
"S-sorry to intrude!" The blonde boy said as he bowed and quickly slammed the sliding door shut. Hinata called after the boy, but it was no use, he was already gone.
