Author's Note: Thank you for all your sweet remarks. This turned out being a spin-off of prompt #6 (College).
A group study date where everyone cancels and Hinata ends up alone with Gaara and Sasuke.
(requested by sindia69)
"Where is everyone?" said Hinata, as she walked onto the large stage that still made her feel uncomfortable. She narrowed her eyes as they adjusted to the lights beaming down on them in the otherwise dark auditorium.
"Naruto can't make it. Football practice," said Sasuke. He stood a few yards away, towards center stage.
"Kankuro's sick," said Gaara. He stood with his arms crossed, not far from Sasuke.
"Ino cancelled as well." Hinata frowned. She glanced at Sasuke. "Ano…I thought there was no football practice on Fridays."
"Whatever. It's just the three of us today," said Sasuke, scrutinizing her.
"Only one female," said Gaara, and Sasuke scowled at her, as though it was her fault Ino had cancelled.
"We'll do what we can," said Sasuke. "I have to practice a scene for my class with Hatake. It starts with–"
"I have one too!" squeaked Hinata, before Sasuke could hijack the study group, as he often did. Sasuke clenched his jaw, so she continued. "T-two people."
The Uchiha nodded. "Which one of us do you need?"
Hinata looked from Gaara's monotonous stare to Sasuke's restrained animosity.
"G-Gaara-kun is fine."
Sasuke nodded and backed away as Gaara approached. Hinata lowered her backpack to a corner, withdrawing two scripts in the process. She handed one to Gaara.
"It's a scene about a girl arguing with a friend," she explained. "The two don't realize how i-important they are to each other, and-"
"It's fine. I got it."
Hinata hesitated, but nodded, too timid to argue with him. She stood opposite Gaara, who did not uncross his arms. Taking a deep breath, Hinata closed her eyes and allowed her insecurities to slide off her shoulders. She was not on stage, being challenged, and analyzed by her peers. She was doing the one thing that came naturally to her. It was like breathing.
So she opened her eyes, and got started, "How could you make up those lies about me? Now everyone thinks I spent last summer in rehab!"
"It was all I could come up with on the spot," Gaara responded apathetically, and Hinata was starting to realize he wasn't that good of an actor after all.
"Why couldn't you just tell them the truth?" she said, glancing at her script.
"That you spent the summer with me helping me detox watching me shake and sweat and cleaning my vomit out of my hair." He said the sentence blandly, with no punctuation. He was so bad, it was distracting. Worse, he did not seem to care.
"Why d-does it have to be a secret? It's like it never happened – like that time together counted for nothing." Hinata was getting frustrated by Gaara's monotony. His continuous, unending, scrutinizing stare. "But we were together."
"I know we were."
Hinata was relieved when the scene ended. She gawked at Gaara for a moment, then averted her eyes.
"I like that you put in the stutter," said Sasuke, pulling her out of her thoughts. "It adds to the scene, and it will be endearing to the audience." He seemed vaguely amused.
"R-right," said Hinata. She watched him approach.
"Read it with me this time."
Hinata hesitated, and nodded. Sasuke was the best actor in the university, and it would be stupid to refuse his help. Gaara offered him the script, but he simply shook his head. Gaara withdrew.
"Go," said Sasuke.
"How could you make up those lies about me? Now everyone thinks I spent last summer in rehab!"
"It was all I could come up with on the spot," said Sasuke, and with a fundamental frustration that spread from his voice, to his eyes, and every part of his bearing.
"W-why couldn't you tell them the truth?"
"That you spent the summer with me, helping me detox?" And unlike Gaara, Sasuke approached her, closing their distance inch by inch. "Watching me shake, and sweat, and cleaning vomit out of my hair?"
The space between them continued to narrow, and Hinata was getting a little unnerved. "Why d-does it have to be a secret?" she managed. "It's like it never happened – like that t-time together counted for n-nothing. But we were together."
And now there was no space left, and she could not back away, because they had accomplished a competent scene. Her hands touched his chest in an effort to maintain the centimeters between them, but Sasuke leaned down until his forehead touched hers. His gazed donned a weariness that seemed shockingly authentic. Her heart pounded, and her cheeks burned, as she mused on how his eyes were purely onyx. She felt the warmth of his breath pressing her lips. They almost brushed his as he continued:
"I know we were," Sasuke told her, and for that moment, everything was real. They remained like that, watching each other, until Hinata belatedly remembered to inhale. "Now my scene," said Sasuke, detaching her fingers from his shirt. He pulled away, and walked away, and it was like it never happened.