"M-mom!" Hinata stuttered badly, wrenching herself away from Naruto's grip. "W-what are y-you d-doing here?" she stood up, trying to cover for herself. Naruto just stared at Hinata's mother stupidly, of course, having no idea what was going on.
"Hinata…" her mom started, her tone expressionless.
"It's n-not w-what you t-think…"
"Hinata, I am SO proud of you!"
"Huh?!"
"You've only been in school for three days, and you've already got a-"
Even Naruto knew how that sentence was going to end. "No, it's not like that!"
Hinata's mother had a knowing expression on her face, and Hinata was rapidly getting red. Naruto was flushed too, and the pearl eyed sophomore found herself very slowly getting dizzy.
"Well, anyway. Are you all right, you don't look so good," her mother said worriedly when she took a close look at her daughter.
Naruto rescued her, with him realizing now was not the time to be goofing off. "She's a little weak from all the smoke, but she'll be all right."
"And you are?" her mother asked.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you," he said politely. One of Hinata's eyebrows shot up, he usually wasn't this well mannered.
"Hey Hinata, it looks like they're letting people back in to get their stuff," Sakura commented. Indeed, with the exception of the science students, the kids were hesitantly slipping into the school. "Come on, Shikamaru and Temari already went inside."
Naruto and Hinata followed Sakura into the building, with Hinata hesitantly looking around. The smoke was pretty much cleared, due to fans that were set up after the fire was extinguished. They found the jewelry room, which was untouched by the blazes, and picked up their stuff. Hinata was still blushing after the incident with her mother, and Naruto looked pretty pink as well. Silently they left the room once they had gathered all their belongings.
Had the embarrassment ended?
Of course not.
Sakura tripped over the cords of one of the fans, and went wheeling into Naruto. Naruto shouted in surprise and Hinata whirled around to see what was wrong.
Not a smart idea.
Naruto fell straight towards Hinata, and Hinata shrieked as they both went down. His face was now really close to hers, and when they hit the ground…
Their lips met.
Red alarm. Hinata's eyes went so wide that she thought they would pop out of her skull, before that blasted cherry red color stretched up her face. The blonde's blue eyes were just as wide, with every golden hair on his head slightly rising in horror. Naruto withdrew on contact immediately, but it didn't change it had happened. So Hinata did what she did best.
She abruptly passed out.
"Hinata, can you hear me?" Sakura's voice rang out through her waking consciousness
"Mmm," she moaned, her eyes opening a crack. They shot wide open, for they were no longer in the hallway. "W-where are w-we?" she stuttered a little, trying to sit up.
"In your room. Naruto had to carry you back," Sakura said with a worried glint in her eyes. Hinata abruptly blushed into a shade of puce. "I'm sorry I knocked Naruto over into you. What happened, anyway? I know it's more than Naruto getting close to you, because you've got to be used to that by now. Your mom's not here, she's getting some ice."
"Um…" Hinata began, scratching her head self-consciously. "Please don't laugh and whatever you do, don't tell anyone."
"Okay, you got my word on that," Sakura replied, placing a hand on Hinata's forehead for a fever.
"Um… when you knocked him over, I turned around… and we kinda kissed on accident," Hinata burst out in a rush.
Sakura blinked once, then twice, then three times, then three times again. It was obvious she was trying to keep a straight face. "That clumsy idiot," she finally remarked, once she regained control of herself. "Well, that's embarrassing as hell, so I'll keep my mouth shut. But… you're going to have to face him, sooner or later."
"I prefer later," Hinata butted in. "Much later."
Sakura laughed gently. "Okay, but don't delay it for too long. Just think about what you need to say." Just as she finished her words of advice, the door opened and Hanabi stood there.
"Oh, you're up," she simpered in a snotty voice. "I'll go inform Mom, God forbid she'd have a heart attack over this." She closed the door.
"Snotty little brat," Sakura muttered almost incoherently. "How do you live with this family?"
"They're not that bad," Hinata defended them.
"Yeah, and pigs fly. Well, I got to get on the road. And don't forget about him," Sakura reminded her firmly, with Hinata knowing exactly what she was talking about. With a sigh, she flung herself on her pillows. It would be awkward; there was no getting around it. Might as well get it over with now.
Her mom walked in. "Well, is there anything I can do for you?" her mother asked in a tone she hardly ever used. She actually sounded like a mother and not… weird. Amazing. Hinata started to shake her head, but then thought twice. "Can you get me the phone?" she asked shyly.
"Sure. Now about that boy…" Hinata froze. "Good choice. He's actually kind of cute," her mother said sweetly before leaving. Hinata abruptly hit her forehead in despair. As soon as she had the phone in her position, she stared at it as if it was some foreign object she had never seen before sighing again. She dug out her handy dandy list of phone numbers and started searching. Once she found it, she started dialing.
"Hello?" Naruto's goofy voice sounded over the phone. Hinata took a deep breath before speaking.
"Hey, it's Hinata." Hinata's voice sounded stronger than usual; it sounded alien to even her own ears.
"Hey." All of a sudden his voice sounded worried. "Look, I'm sorry about what-"
"It's fine, I really don't mind." Hinata interrupted. She was back to shy mode again, but she managed to stop stammering. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay."
There was a silence. Hinata fidgeted a little with her blanket, feeling more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by.
Finally he spoke, back to his normal, crazy self. "Well, that's a relief. That's the first time in a long time I actually felt worried."
Hinata laughed to ease the tension. "Well, I have to go. Crazy relatives, you know," she said, before realizing what she just said. "Why is it whenever I'm around him, I feel brave…?" she wondered strangely.
Another laugh came over the phone. "I don't know how you do it," he joked. "Well, I guess I'll see you in two days. No school tomorrow! Woot!"
Hinata laughed again, this time at his antics. "Nice. Yeah, I'll see you then. Bye!" With his response, she hung up the phone. Then it hit her.
Homecoming was this Friday.
"Oh my God!" Sakura shrieked. "Dear lord, help us all!"
"What?" Temari and Hinata called at once.
"Guys, homecoming is only in five hours!"
"Oh Sakura, grow up! We'll be ready, you'll see!" Tenten yelled from her room.
The rest of the week had passed by fast. The day after the phone call was barely awkward at all. Naruto and Hinata stared at each other for a few seconds, before Naruto made a funny looking face. Hinata burst out laughing, then Naruto started laughing, and everything was back to normal. There were no casualties or injuries in the fire, thank goodness. The science part of the building was still under construction, so the classes had to be shared with the bigger classrooms, which was a pain in the neck. Band practice was also going swell, even though Hinata fell off the stage and tripped over cords more times she could count. But... she was definitely getting better. And now... homecoming. All the girls were in Sakura's house, with Temari and Hinata in one room, Sakura in a different room, and Tenten in a separate one as well. Sakura, however... was probably going to have a seizure any minute now.
"But I'll never get ready in time!" Sakura wailed. "Then Gaara will hate my guts that I didn't put enough time into this and then I'll probably curl up in a ball and-"
"Sakura!" Temari screeched. "You've got five freaking hours! And if you just showed up in a tank top and jeans with all the makeup crap you usually put on your face, chances are my brother's gonna think you're hot! I promise! Now... calm down for the sake of our ears!"
"Besides. Temari will probably help you once she's done. She has no date to impress. So... calm." Tenten said sedately.
"I am calm."
"Thank God. Tenten, you should be a psychiatrist." Temari called as she pulled out her four pigtails.
"A head shrink?! Tenten? The entire world wouldn't be safe!" Sakura called frantically.
"Shut up!"
"Hinata, help..." Temari struggled with her hair. Hinata snatched the ponytail holder away from the blonde and helped her get all of it in a spiky bun. Her usual bangs helped frame her face, and Hinata took a good look at her. Temari was already in her dress, which was a beautiful white that helped show off her eyes and her blonde hair. One shoulder was bare save for a strap and the other had a sash like effect, and the dress ended just below her knees. Now Temari was applying thick eyeliner and mascara, with charcoal gray eyeshadow for even more effect. A little blush... yep. She was hot.
"You're hot," Hinata said bluntly.
"Gracias. Now I got to help our little damsel in distress," Temari commented lazily as she turned around and left the room.
Hinata sighed as she slid into the pale, shimmering silver dress. It ended just above her knees, with two inched long beaded strings hanging off the hem. The dress matched her eyes and brought them out a little bit more, so no eyeliner was necessary. Just a dash of mascara, sparkle on the eyes, and blush. Hinata decided that she wouldn't be able to tell if she looked good or not, providing she avoided dressing up at all costs. She grabbed a few barrettes and clipped her bangs back for once, allowing her hair to smooth together like ocean waves.
"Hinata, are you... Oh my God! Hon, you look fantastic!" Temari burst out.
Yay. Confirmation.
"Th-thanks," Hinata stammered shyly, smoothing her dress bashfully.
"You had better not act like that at the dance, or I will slaughter you on the spot, no questions asked. Okay. Tenten's getting there, and Sakura has a long way to go. So... they're both gonna need help. Especially Tenten the tomboy... and Sakura is really freaking out. So you take Tenten on, I'll get Sakura."
"Kay." Hinata nodded at her orders and stepped into Tenten's room. Well. That's a sight she prayed her cousin would never see. Omit a lot of detail... here.
Tenten was still struggling to put on her dress, so Hinata sighed and asked, "Help?"
"Please." With that answer, Hinata yanked the black dress over Tenten's head. The spaghetti strapped dress ended just below Tenten's ankles with an elegant V-neck. Silver rhinestones shot out the right side like fireworks almost clear to the other side, which made Tenten look like some sort of movie star.
"Hinata, do I have a pimple?" Tenten asked frantically, pointing to an imaginary spot on her chin. Hinata sighed.
"Yes. It's so big and so red I'm getting cross-eyed just by looking at it," Hinata burst out, nervousness making her act out of character. "Now stay still." Hinata helped with her hair until it was wrapped in a normal bun on the back of her head, and also helped her with the eyeliner and mascara.
"Stop blinking," Hinata said with... gasp... exasperation in her voice.
"I can't help it,"the tomboy protested, struggling to keep her eyes open. With them sitting on the bed, Hinata told her to close her eyes and Tenten willingly complied, with that segment of the eyeliner passing fast. Then, Hinata whipped out the mascara. Tenten stared at it as if it was going to turn into a demon attack squirrel.
"It's not a snake," Hinata explained patiently. "It's mascara. Now open your eyes, wide."
Tenten hesitantly complied, then Hinata placed it under her eyelashes. "Blink." The process continued until, at last, she was done.
"Okay, this is the easy part. Pick a color." Hinata thrust out eyeshadow.
"That one." Tenten pointed at the brown.
"Great. Close." Hinata applied the eyeshadow and some blush. "Okay. I think you look really good."
Tenten looked at herself in the mirror briefly before glomping the daylights out of Hinata. "You're amazing!" she squealed, hugging Hinata so hard that she almost stopped breathing. "Neji won't even recognize me!"
"Let... go..." Hinata gasped in a choking voice. Tenten let go cheerfully, bouncing around. "Don't crumple your dress," was all Hinata said to all of her jumping.
"I wonder if Sakura's ready. We only have an hour left, ya know."
"What?" Hinata glanced at the clock. Wow. Time goes by fast when... you're getting ready for homecoming. She got up as they heard thumping on the floor above.
"Hey, maybe Sakura's ready. Let us go, we mustn't be late," Tenten said in a formal butler voice, and Hinata started giggling.
They were sitting on the couch for another half an hour (the thudding in Sakura's room was a false alarm) before a very harassed looking Temari came down the stairs. Hinata had to redo her hair and they wiped some smeared makeup off her face.
"May I present the royalty, gorgeousness, picky, etc. etc. of the pink haired punk princess we all know and love, Sakura," Temari said with mock presentation. Sakura descended down the stairs.
"Ooooh... look at you," Tenten breathed.
Indeed. Sakura had an alluring black and red dress that dropped glitter occasionally all over the white carpet. The dress was initially black, but was adorned with red vines and flowers that were covered in glitter. They seemed to wrap around the dress to the very top, giving it a wild and free sort of look. Her sleeves hung loosely to her arms, showing off bare shoulders. The sleeves were a mix of bright red and black and had ruffles, which showed off even more shoulder and neck. The dress swooped above one knee and dropped back down on the other, giving a window peek at her legs. The dress, like the other girls, hugged and showed off her curves.
"Are you sure it looks all right?" Sakura asked frantically, her wide green eyes worried. Her hair was bound back with two chopsticks and she had dangling earrings, with all the makeup Tenten and Temari had.
"Hon, it's going to knock Gaara dead," Temari comforted her firmly. "I think it's safe to say we're going to make the boys fall unconscious," she teased, and they burst out laughing.
The doorbell rang.
"Oh shit," Sakura muttered, fidgeting with her hands.
"Well, I'm not getting it," Tenten said abruptly.
"Don't look at me!" Temari rose her hands as soon as they looked at her. Hinata sighed. She stood up abruptly, and walked towards the door.
The doorbell rang again, and Hinata swung it open.
Yes, I know I'm evil. And please, I beg of you... as far as you know, that chapter was a filler. looks around guiltily