Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Author's Note: Here is the much awaited paintball chapter. The inspiration for this chapter came while watching 10 Things I Hate About You. It is another 90s chick flick, much like She's All That. Anyway as usual thank you all for reviewing. You are all wonderful!

Chapter Ten- The Paint

First period was always the hardest period to get through. It was one of the only classes where she didn't have a friend. Worse yet it was health class, which meant midway through the semester this would become her gym class. Gym class was one of her least favorite classes. She didn't mind the activities, but she was always the last girl picked for teams, and honestly, she was intimidated by most of the people in the class. So rather than play, she preferred to hang back in the corner and only participate when she was required to.

Sitting in her seat, she said nothing as the rest of the class chatted around her. Drawing meaningless scribbles on a piece of empty notebook paper, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Naruto dropped down into the seat beside her.

"Hey there Hinata!"

"H…h…hi," she squeaked out, her face instantly flushing a bright red.

"So this weekend is my birthday and instead of having a party a bunch of us are going to play paintball. Awesome," right," he asked before continuing. He didn't wait for her to answer and for that she was thankful. At the moment she was struggling to remember to breathe let alone talk.

"Anyway I wanted to invite you and your sister. The more people the more fun it is. "Right now Sasuke, Sai, Shino, and Kiba are all going. I invited other girls too but they all said no, so it would really mean a lot if you came. So what do you say? Will you go?"

She had no idea how to play paintball, and she imagined that she would be horrible at it. Going would also mean being around Naruto, which always seemed to end in her fainting. Plus he had rattled off the names of students who didn't associate with the likes of her, Sasuke excluded for some reason she couldn't understand. There was no way she could go. She wouldn't even last five minutes. She opened her mouth to tell him no thank you because that was the smart thing to do.

To her horror though she realized she was nodding her head yes. Her mind screamed no but her head said yes. Her eyes widened, and for a brief moment she considered taking back her nod. Yet the way Naruto's face lit up had her bite back the words on the tip of her tongue. He looked so happy.

"You are the best Hinata! It is going to be awesome," Naruto cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

All Hinata could do was stare at him and continue to nod her head like some sort of robot. It was really pathetic, and yet she continued to do it anyway because it was far safer than talking. And if the day wasn't already weird enough, Ino turned around in her seat to face the two of them.

"Hinata's going to go," she asked, raising a perfectly arched brow.

"Yeah she said she would. Hinata's awesome," he cheered again.

"Cool," Ino said, grinning at the two of them. "I'm in too Naruto."

"Wait, what? You said earlier that…"

"Please Naruto," Ino said rolling her eyes slightly. "I said I wouldn't go earlier because I didn't want to be the only girl running around with a bunch of meatheads. Sakura isn't going because she is too busy with her new boyfriend and well who cares about Karin because she is a bitch anyway. Since Hinata's going though, you can count me in. I can't let Hinata represent us girls all on her own," she said shooting a brilliant smile towards Hinata.

Between the Karin comment and the smile, Hinata determined that she liked Ino a bit better than she had before she had come to school this morning. She even managed to smile back.

She still couldn't believe that she had actually agreed to this. Of all the things she had allowed herself to get dragged into, it had to be paintball. She had never fired a gun in her life whether it be one of those toy Nerf guns, a cap gun, or anything else that 'shot' something. She had never been inclined towards violence or weapons for any reason. In fact aside from the occasional squishing of a bug, the only violent thing she did was occasionally play video games with Choji.

She stared down at the paintball gun that she held in one hand unsure of how to hold the thing. She ought to back out now before she made herself a living target and completely humiliated herself. Still Naruto had asked her to play and she hadn't actually fainted. She had even managed to respond. Unfortunately while her brain had said no thank you, her head had nodded yes. Now she was she was dressed in a drab green jumpsuit that had its pockets filled with ammunition and other things she had no idea how to use.

She lifted her gaze from the gun and saw everyone else going through their pockets and testing out their guns. Even Ino looked like she had an idea what she was doing, but that was probably because she had asked Kiba. Hinata swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to work up the nerve to ask for help without looking like a complete idiot. She looked around for Naruto but noticed that he was explaining to Hanabi what to do. She sighed and looked back down at her gun. This was going to be a complete disaster. Perhaps she could find a good spot to hide until every else finished shooting one another.

Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She nearly dropped the paintball gun as she jumped out of her skin. Whirling around she cam face to face with a set of unnerving coal black eyes. Sasuke was standing there clad in the same drab green jumpsuit as her own. He had a paintball gun and a mask in his hands.

"Do you know what you're doing," he asked, to which she shook her head, a blush creeping its way onto her cheeks. She heard him sigh before he set his gun and mask down on the ground and then faced her.

"Alright show me how you would hold the gun."

She looked at him but he offered no guidance and so she awkwardly lifted up the paintball gun. She held it out in front of her, away from her body at an awkward angle. For a brief moment she swore that she heard him chuckle but by the time she looked back at him, he looked as stoic as ever as he studied her. Again she had to resist the urge not to shudder under the intensity of his gaze. Those black eyes of his made her want to squirm right out of his gaze.

"Lift it up a bit and bring it closer to your body, it doesn't have to be against your shoulder but it should be close to it," he explained.

She attempted to follow his instructions but again she felt awkward standing there holding the paintball gun, and that feeling clearly showed. She tried to fidget with the way she was holding the weapon only to freeze as Sasuke reached around her and lifted the gun into the proper position. He didn't say a word as he placed his hand over her wrist and moved her hand to a new position on the gun. She wasn't sure what was more unsettling, the fact that his arms were around her, the fact that he was touching her, or the fact that she could feel his warm breath tickling the back of her neck. It was all she could do not to drop the gun and attempt to bolt, forget about actually paying attention to how she was supposed to hold the thing. Just when she was beginning to feel the need to wriggle out from the encasement of his arms, he dropped them back to his sides.

"Like that," he said with a nod.

She recovered quickly from the brief panic attack that Sasuke had induced and hefted the gun upwards a bit more to make the point that she had gotten how to hold it.

"Alright now your paintballs go into the hopper."

She gave him a completely blank look when she turned around to face him. He shook his head and tapped the plastic holder on the top of the gun.

"Just flip it open and pour them in there and you are set to go. The paintballs are in several of your pockets so try not to break them when you are running around. They aren't easy to break but falling on them will certainly do the trick. Oh and this," he said reaching into his own pocket and pulling out what appeared to be a black ball, "Is a paint grenade. Pull the orange cap and throw it."

He shoved the paint grenade back into one of his pockets and she again nodded, not trusting herself to speak in case she started that awful stuttering or said something stupid. However when she nodded, the mask that had been perched on the top of her head fell forward over her face. Before she had a chance to fix it however, Sasuke reached over and lifted it up, settling it into the proper position over her face.

She opened her mouth to say something, anything in return, but nothing came out and Sasuke turned away to retrieve his gun and mask off the ground. Without another word he turned and walked away, leaving her feeling slightly more confused than when she had first picked up the paintball gun.

The first thing she had done was bolt to the nearest source of cover and hide behind it. The inflatable barrier offered plenty of room to duck behind. Crouched behind it, holding her paintball gun with an unnecessarily tight in her hands, she listened to the sound of shouts and shots coming from everyone else. Biting her lower lip, she eyes the gun in her hands. Shakily, she opened one of the pockets of her jumpsuit and took out a handful of paintballs. With an uncertain hand she loaded the hopper and snapped the lid shut.

She then carefully eased her way up over the barrier so that just her eyes were peeking out over the top of it. At first she didn't see anyone, but after a minute she noticed Kiba dart from one barrier to the next. When he did, a series of shots rang out, some hitting him, others bouncing harmlessly into the dirt. His move caused Hanabi to bolt from her position as well, rolling from one barrier to the next. Naruto jumped out and started firing, and just like that chaos began.

Nervously Hinata brought her own gun up. She fingered the trigger as she poked it over the top, still staying close to the barrier. Naruto was still in front of her, his back facing her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

"Ouch," Naruto shouted as he whirled around, his gun raised towards her.

Her eyes had flown open at his outburst and widened suddenly when she saw the gun pointed in her direction. With an 'eep' she ducked back down behind the barrier before Naruto could get off a shot.

Under heavy fire from both Shino and Kiba, Sasuke bolted from his position and for the nearest cover. He could hear the paint balls whizzing past him and offhandedly thought that Hinata and Ino were probably better shots than the two of them. Though to their credit Sasuke did feel one paintball bounce off of his leg right before he darted behind the cover.

It turned out that his selection for cover had been poor as it was already in use. As he rounded the side of the inflatable barrier, Hinata whirled around, her paintball gun pointed straight at him. He froze just as she pulled the trigger. Only nothing came out other than the distinct sound of the carbon dioxide. From beneath her mask he saw her lavender eyes widen in surprise. Obviously she had forgotten to reload her hopper.

It was what happened next though that caught him off guard. As she frantically looked down at her pockets, he expected her to try and refill her hopper. Uninterested in shooting her at point blank range, Sasuke peaked over the barrier in order to make sure the coast was clear in order for him to move. As it turned out Kiba and Naruto were now shooting at one another and from where he was, he couldn't see Ino. Deciding now was as good a time as any, he turned only for his own eyes to widen in disbelief.

Clutching a paint grenade in one hand and the orange cap in the other was Hinata. As soon as she realized he had turned back towards her, she threw the grenade at him. At such a close distance it would have been impossible for her to miss, and she didn't. The paint grenade hit him directly in the mask, sending paint splattering everywhere including his hair. For a brief moment all he could do was stand there in shock as the paint dripped down his mask and onto his jump suit. Hinata took seemed like she was complete shock as she stood there staring at him, her mouth slightly agape.

The seconds continued to tick by and all the two could do was stare at one another while the paint continued to drip off of him. For some reason he was having the hardest time believing that she had just nailed him in the face with a paint grenade. Here he had spared her and she turns around and throws a paint grenade at him. Up until this point he had remained relatively paint free. Snapping back to reality as a stray paintball hit the barrier they were behind, Sasuke shook his head and reached into his own pocket, pulling out his paint grenade. If she wanted to nail him with a paint grenade he had every intention of returning the favor.

He heard her let out a squeak as he pulled the cap off of the grenade but before he had a chance to throw it at her, she took off. Again he found himself relatively stunned at just how quickly Hinata had taken off. Still he was determined to get his revenge and so he streaked off after her, abandoning all rational methods of attack. After all he was covered in paint now, what did it matter?

He saw Hinata look back at him as she nearly dove behind another barrier in order to get away from him. The barrier however wasn't very tall and so Sasuke got right up next to it on the other side. Carefully he began to ease his way up figuring that he'd be able to lean over and drop the paint grenade right on top of Hinata. As it turned out though, he wasn't the only one trying to peak over the top. Onyx clashed with lavender as the two of them came face to face with each other. Sasuke stared at Hinata from across the barrier, once again noticing how her eyes widened with surprise and her lips parted ever so slightly. The sight distracted him for a brief moment, but nevertheless he brought up the grenade. However it never left his hand.

"Freeze," Naruto shouted as he jumped out from more cover and pointed his paintball gun at both Sasuke and Hinata. "Man I always wanted to say that!"

Sasuke froze, his hand mid-air holding the paint ball grenade as he turned his gaze to Naruto, who was grinning ear to ear.

"What happened to your face," Naruto exclaimed before bursting out into a fit of laughter. "This is priceless!"

Sasuke frowned at his blonde friend who though, still laughing, had his paintball gun trained on the two of them. What he wouldn't give to shoot Naruto right in that mouth of his. Maybe a mouthful of paint would quiet him down for once in his life. Still if he made any attempt to lift his own paintball gun Naruto was probably going to let him have it.

"Any last words Uchiha," Naruto asked, his voice taking on a dramatic tone that only Naruto was capable of pulling off.

Sasuke was about to execute some sort of roll that would hopefully cause Naruto to miss, he was a lousy shot anyway, when he felt his paint grenade being snatched from his hands. A second later the paint grenade was flying towards Naruto, and before anyone had a chance to react, the grenade nailed him straight in the head. Again paint flew everywhere, though most of it landed on its target.

This time it was Naruto's turn to look shocked as the paint dripped off of his mask. However Sasuke's attention wasn't on him. Instead it was on the girl who had thrown the paint grenade. Hinata, who was blushing underneath her mask, had just hit both himself and Naruto in the head with paint grenades. He wasn't sure if it was dumb luck or if she really had a throwing arm but he supposed it didn't matter. His gaze drifted to his best friend and he took in the sight of Naruto covered in paint. He watched as Naruto, who was only just now getting over the shock, clutch at his face with one of his hands as he staggered forward.

"Curse you Hinata," Naruto cried as he spun around and fell to the ground in a terrible impression of dying.

Sasuke watched his friend give one last dramatic twitch, and then he did something that he hadn't done in quite some time, he started laughing.

She wasn't sure if she was more embarrassed, pleased, or shocked when she hit Naruto with the paint grenade. After all the fact that she had been able to hit both Sasuke and Naruto with the paint grenades was a rather impressive feat. Still if anything it had been more of a reflex reaction than anything. Both times she had thrown the grenades she hadn't been thinking. If she had been she probably would have never thrown them, especially at Sasuke. He was far too intimidating to think about throwing a paint grenade at. In fact as soon as the grenade had left her hand and hit him, she had wondered what he might do to her. She certainly did not one to be a target for his deadly aim.

Naruto on the other hand, well he wasn't as intimidating, and as she watched him give a dramatic presentation of his death by her paint ball grenade, she was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Still with Sasuke right next to her she was afraid that he might silence any laughter that escaped her lips with one of his glares. Only then did she realize that someone was already laughing, and only then did she realize that someone was Sasuke himself.

For a brief moment Hinata thought she was imagining things. She wasn't, and the warm sound of Sasuke's laughter was soon accompanied by Naruto's. She turned to look at Sasuke and felt her chest constrict almost painfully at the sight. Sasuke was smiling and even through the mask and the paint Hinata was certain that it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Sasuke was the type of person who looked attractive no matter what expression he wore on his face. However, there was no comparing the cold mask he usually wore to the smile on his lips right now. His teeth were perfect, the kind she had seen on dentistry ads. Did Sasuke have a single physical flaw?

Her thoughts were interrupted though as Hanabi popped out from behind a barrier and let a stream of paintballs fly from her gun. With an impressive amount of ease and grace, Sasuke shifted his weight and, using his arm to help, leapt over the barrier that she was currently hiding behind. He landed beside her in a half crouch, his movements more appropriate for some sort of graceful predator than a high school student. She stared at him in slight awe, her mouth hanging open slightly. Their eyes met, onyx clashing with lavender, and for a brief moment she was completely lost.

Then his hand shot out and landed on her shoulder. He shoved her down just as several paintballs peppered the barrier and flew overhead. The sound brought her back to reality and she looked away from Sasuke to hide the blush that bloomed across her cheeks. From behind the barrier she heard Naruto, who had been caught out in the open, yelp. She peaked around the side of the barrier to see him rolling over. He got hit with another paintball as he stood.

"No fair. I was laying there defenseless," Naruto yelled as he started to run.

"All is fair in war," Hanabi yelled back as she took off after him still firing shots from her gun.

It struck Hinata then how similar the two were. Both of them were loud, and while Naruto was a bit more obnoxious about it, Hanabi certainly had her moments. Both were genuinely good people that cared for those around them too. It was funny how she hadn't noticed it until now.

From behind her Sasuke cleared his throat causing her to turn around and face him. When she did, she realized that he now had his gun in his hands and was looking directly at her. While the smile had long since faded from his face, his eyes still held a bit of amusement that added a considerable amount of warmth to his features. Warmth that she found herself drawn to. It was nearly impossible not to start staring again.

"You might want to start running," he suggested.

Her eyes widened with realization as she glanced at the gun and then back at his face. She was still holding onto her own but the hopper was still empty. She hadn't reloaded it.

"I… uh… it's…," she stammered before she finally blurted out what she had been trying to say.

"You wouldn't. We are too close together."

Sasuke smirked again, reminding her how painfully attractive his smile was. She imagined how plain she must appear beside him, especially when he was smiling. She might as well not exist, and yet for some reason, he was still standing there with her. Even if he was threatening to shoot her with a paintball gun.

"That's why I suggested you start running," he replied smoothly.

One more look at his face and Hinata took off with a squeak, darting out from behind the barrier as fast as she could move. Behind her she would have sworn she heard a low chuckle once again.

Hinata was sitting on one of the wooden picnic benches that had been placed outside of the playing field. Her paintball gun and mask were sitting on the table beside her and she had a bottle of water clutched in between her hands. She took a sip of the water and stared at the pair chatting away in front of her. Hanabi and Naruto were seated in the grass laughing about something. Both of them had also abandoned their paintball guns and masks.

Hinata envied that fact that Hanabi's hair still looked flawless in its ponytail. Just like Ino not a strand seemed to be out of place. Her own hair was sticking to her forehead from sweating and probably sticking out each and every way. Running a hand through her bangs she pulled them away from her forehead and went back to watching her sister and Naruto. She watched Naruto lean closer, listening eagerly to whatever it was that Hanabi was saying.

It dawned on her then why Naruto had mentioned she bring Hanabi along. As she watched them, the obvious became quite clear. Naruto liked Hanabi. In that moment a little piece of her heart seemed to shatter. Naruto, the one she had always wanted, not only didn't want her, but he wanted Hanabi. The back of her eyes burned with unshed tears as the disappointment she was so familiar with sank in.

"You don't have a single drop of paint on you."

Her grief momentarily forgotten, she glanced up at Sasuke, who took a seat beside her and leaned back against the table. He too was a picture of perfection even though he was covered with smudges of paint from the grenade she had hit him with.

"I guess I don't," she answered back after glancing down at herself.

"Beginner's luck," he commented, to which she shook her head.

"You think you are that good then," he countered, raising a dark brow in a questioning way.

"No… I think some people may have missed on purpose," she commented back shyly as she looked up at him.

"Hn," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

His response earned him a beaming smile from the wallflower beside him. From behind the usual pieces of hair that hung in front of her face, he was able to see it. It lit up her face in a way that was intriguing to him, and he found his fingers itching to push away her hair so that he could really see her. Even still it was a smile that erased all of the grief that had been there moments ago, and he was glad that he had taken the care to purposely miss when he had been shooting at her. It was uncharacteristic of him and he had caught himself doing it without even realizing. However, even after he had picked up on it, he kept on missing. Listening to her let out little startled noises as a paintball whizzed by her had kept him quite entertained.

He had caught her watching Naruto and Hanabi, and realized that what he had known already, had dawned on her. It had been interesting to watch the emotions play so clearly across her face despite the hair she hid behind. It had also been mildly unsettling. The pain that had flickered across her face had left him torn between going to her or walking over to Naruto and hauling him to his feet to give him hell. In the end he had gone over to her, unsure of his intention other than to distract her from what she was feeling. It seemed to be working too, and while he wasn't one to give much concern to how other's felt, he was actually glad that he had at least momentarily succeeded.

He ignored the part of his brain that pointed out that he shouldn't care so much. He also ignored the odd feeling that seemed to creep up on him when she smiled. And finally he ignored the completely irrational part of himself that was glad that Naruto was interested in someone other than her. He watched as she looked back down at the water in her hands, a small smile still present on her lips. He dropped his own gaze to his paint covered jumpsuit and wondered when the hell he had ever started to care.

"Hey Hinata."

"Hi Tenten," Hinata said quietly into the phone.

She had just gotten out of the shower. She hadn't had to worry about scrubbing paint off herself, because surprisingly she hadn't been hit with anything, but she had wanted to wash away the sweat and grime that had covered her from playing. She was sitting on her bed wearing a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her hair was still wet, but it was already pulled back into a messy bun. She planned on drying it, but she wanted to talk to someone first. Tenten was one of the few female friends she had aside from Hanabi, and this wasn't something she could talk about with her sister.

"What's up girl? If you have been trying to get a hold of Neji, he is sound asleep on my couch… something about his roommate trying to get him up at five in the morning to run youthful laps around the school."

Hinata giggled into the phone as she pulled a pillow over and covered her lap, hugging it slightly to her chest. From the sound of things Neji was having roommate troubles. Hinata wasn't overly worried though. She knew that Neji was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and Tenten was there for him as well.

"I actually wanted to t…talk to you," Hinata said after her laughter subsided. "I just n…needed another g…girl to talk to."

"Hold on Hinata. Let me sit myself down for this," Tenten announced. There was a slight pause after that before she spoke again.

"Okay you have my undivided attention. What's going on?"

"Well it's N…Naruto," she paused and then a sigh escaped her lips. "Again."

"It usually is," Tenten supplied.

"Well… I am p…pretty sure he likes someone else," Hinata whispered into the phone.

"Honey we've been through this before. If that boy wasn't so dense he would have realized by now what an awesome thing he could have with you! Someone really ought to just smack some sense into him. But really," Tenten ranted on, "in all honesty I am sure this crush of his is going to pass. It will be just like the others."

"Tenten," Hinata started trying to stop the older girl's speech. She knew that they had had this conversation many times before, and she knew that Tenten probably thought it was the same this time. It wasn't though. It wasn't even close.

Tenten kept on talking, spilling out reassurances like a good friend who had heard the same story one too many times was supposed to. And so Hinata did the only thing she could think of to get her friend to stop talking. She blurted the problem out.

"It's Hanabi. He likes Hanabi."

When she blurted out those words she waited for the pain to come. The gut-wrenching pain of wanting someone who barely knew she existed, the pain of having that same someone fall for someone else. She expected it to tear at her heart like it had done so many times before, only she expected it to be so much worse this time. She waited for the pain and yet all that came was a small ache. An ache from losing something that had been a part of her for so long.

A shocked silence followed, during which neither girl spoke. Hinata was consumed by her own thoughts, not understanding why it didn't matter anymore. What had changed? Before she managed to give the question much thought Tenten launched herself into full on friend mode.

"Oh my goodness Hinata I am so sorry! Wait does Hanabi know? I am sure if you tell her she will back off. She would never do that to you! Do you want me to drive back? I can be there in like two hours if I leave now. We can have some much needed girl talk and eat ice cream and chocolate until we feel like we are going to puke."

"Don't be silly. You don't have to d…drive all the way back here," Hinata said when Tenten finally paused to take a breath.

"I would though. If you need me just say the word," Tenten protested.

"I'm fine," Hianta said. "Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Hinata answered, surprised at how true her answer was. She really was fine, and as much as she appreciated Tenten's offer, she didn't need the older girl.

"So you're sure you're alright?"

"Yes Tenten," she said with a small sigh. "It's not like…"

Hinata trailed off, trying to think of the words that weren't coming to mind. It wasn't like… A brief imagine of Sasuke's laughing face flitted across her mind when she closed her eyes in concentration. Her pale eyes snapped opened immediately and the sight gave way to the familiar sight of her room.

"He's the only guy there is," she said quietly, unaware that the words had left her mouth until it was far too late to take them back. Again there was silence, and for a brief moment Hinata wondered if perhaps Tenten hadn't heard her comment. Of course she wasn't that lucky.

"You like someone else, don't you," Tenten demanded in a voice that caused Hinata to hold the phone away from her ear slightly.

"Wait, what? N…n…n…no," Hinata stammered out. She slapped her head lightly as the awful stammering slipped back out, knowing that it only fueled the fire that was Tenten.

"You do," she all but shrieked. "Who is it?"

"N…n…no one," Hinata protested again, sounding even less convincing this time around. She didn't like anyone though, at least she was pretty sure she didn't. Confused seemed like a far more appropriate word to use. It wasn't that she liked someone, it was that she was confused about someone.

"It's the Nara guy isn't it? He's smart. You two would look cute together," Tenten said pleasantly into the phone.

"S…Shikamaru," Hinata managed to choke out in disbelief.

"Yes that's his name."

"No I don't like him like that," Hinata said after she managed to find her voice again. She did not like Shikamaru as more than a friend. Besides Shikamaru was interested in someone else whether he knew it or not.

"Choji," Tenten questioned naming her other friend.

"No," Hinata answered, her tone indicating that she wasn't lying. She was a terrible liar after all and Tenten was well aware of that.

"Hinata they are the only guys you talk to! Please don't tell me it's someone you never talk to," Tenten pleaded. "Oh wait I got it. Sai!"

"S..sai," Hinata spluttered. "No."

"Yeah I am pretty sure he is gay anyway," Tenten muttered over the phone.

"I'm not so sure about that," Hinata commented. Sai had mentioned a girlfriend a few times before though she had never met her. She didn't go to their school apparently. Still she knew Sai had been labeled gay by quite a few people. Personally she didn't mind either way, but she was inclined to believe him about having a girlfriend. Granted he could be lying, but again, it didn't matter to her.

"Okay so spill already. I want a name," Tenten demanded once again.

"Oh… H…Hanabi is calling m…me. I've got to see what she w…wants," Hinata said suddenly. Again she was a terrible liar, but really she didn't want Tenten prying into her head before she figured things out first.

"Hinata I know you are lying. Don't you dare hang up this phone!"

"I'll call you later… Bye Tenten," she said hurriedly before snapping her cell phone shut. A second later the display lit up with Tenten's name as the phone buzzed in her hand. Biting her lower lips nervously, she shoved the phone under her pillow. Out of sight, out of mind. She would just have to remember to call Tenten back later before her friend decided to drive home. Avoiding admitting anything was hard enough over the phone. In person Hinata knew she wouldn't stand a chance.

Sasuke walked into his second period class with his hands shoved into his pockets, a scowl on features. It was Monday and he was in school. It was all the explanation needed. He glanced up and his gaze fell on Hinata who was already seated with her books out in front of her. He noticed that she had been looking at him, and when his eyes met hers, her face flushed like it always did from behind her hair. This time though she didn't look away.

The corner of his mouth quirked upwards ever so slightly in what was nearly a smirk, the scowl giving way to a softer expression all because of the wallflower hidden behind a wall of hair. He was surprised because the subtle change in his own expression caused a smile to spread across her features. He resisted the urge to quirk the corner of his mouth upwards even further just to see her reaction. Instead he walked past her and to his seat.

Dropping his bag on the floor by his seat he sat down and pulled out his books for class. Glancing up he noticed that Hinata's shoulder were hunched slightly and shaking, her face buried in her hands. It looked like she was crying or… laughing. It took him a minute to realize that the small girl in front of him was doing her best to contain her laughter. Frowning slightly, he thought about asking her what was so funny. On the other hand he didn't want everyone in the class to be witness to their conversation. However, when she turned around and glanced at him, only to cover her mouth with her hand again and turn quickly around, he decided the hell with worrying who was listening.

"What's so funny," he asked, his voice coming out like more of a growl. Actually it sounded like the tone he usually used.

Hinata turned around, the laughter vanishing when she met his intense gaze. Her lips parted slowly, and he realized he was more focused on them then on anything else.

"Y…you…"

The bell rang, cutting off whatever it was that she was going to say. Sasuke glared though it was at the back of her head because she had already turned around to face the front of them room. Annoyed, Sasuke leaned back in his seat and took to glaring at the blackboard in front of him. It was then that he noticed Hinata jotting something down on a piece of paper. She paused, like she was hesitating about writing something, before she took a tighter grip on her pencil and continued writing.

He watched as she put the pencil down and took her piece of paper out of her binder. She slipped the paper into her book and then lifted the book up like she was reading it. The piece of paper still lay against the pages of the book. Sasuke read over the handwriting and the scowl once again returned to his face.

There's still some paint in your hair. Don't worry it's in everyone else's hair too.

"Yeah everyone except yours," he muttered under his breath.

A/N: Well I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It was on the longer side and I managed to get it done before within two weeks. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Thanks for reading!