You have th wonderful Quiet and Complicated to thank for this! She suggested that Sasuke and Hinata somehow get closer
So, I present to you, chapter 14! Ahead of schedule XD
Enjoy! :]
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, stepping out of his car in front of the apartment building. It was maybe six stories high, and only the top three floors had balconies. It was a hideous blue-green color, which was peeling, with a puke green trim. This thing was an insult to artists everywhere. Whoever thought that went together was sorely mistaken.
And then there were the women. The minute he stepped through the front door, a girl, no older than fifteen, was staring up at him, her and two other girls, who were most likely her friends, smoking on the stairs. He tried, he really did, to ignore them, but the instant he glanced at the mailboxes, they were practically screaming their heads off.
He grimaced as they gathered around him, happily gushing about his artwork. Apparently, they had gone to every gallery he had ever done, and even a few that were out of country. He couldn't even act like he was a different person. The minute he had walked through the door, he had taken of his sunglasses.
One of the girls brushed the sleeve of his leather jacket with her hand and squealed, loudly, right beside his ear. That did it. He brushed past them, mumbling his thanks for their support and headed upstairs, to the sixth floor. Fortunately, they didn't follow him upstairs, but he could still hear their delighted squealing, even though he was six stories up.
There were only twelve apartments in all, meaning the apartment doors were adjacent to each other. Which wasn't so bad, because he only had to choose between door number one and door number two. And then he remembered, Hinata liked a nice view. Meaning her apartment would be facing the bay, which meant she was on the left.
He knocked three times, and could hear the clicking of her undoing the locks. Stepping back, he slid on his platinum aviator. Hinata yanked the door open and gasped sharply, stepping back to look up at him. Her opulence eyes widened with surprise, and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form the words necessary to ask why he was at her front door.
He raised an expectant eyebrow at her, hands in his jeans pockets. "Well, can I come in?"
She blushed, stepping out of his way. "Why are you here?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" he replied, smirking as she blushed darker, closing the door. Glancing around, he let out a low whistle at the clutter. "And I thought were a neater person. It's always the quiet ones, hmm?"
"Well, I didn't know you were coming," she stammered softly, fidgeting in her lavender sweater and red skinny jeans. "And they didn't exactly do a good job of putting my stuff back when they ripped the roof off." She blushed again as he looked at her. "I'll get some tea."
He nodded as she maneuvered through the mess of rolls and boxes towards the kitchenette. Everything seemed to be scattered around, even though she had tried to tidy the place up. Rolls of fabric and naked mannequins leaned against one wall. Clothes and projects were folded neatly and tucked into whatever could hold them.
"At least you try," he commented, sitting cross-legged at her oak kotatsu table, slipping off his jacket. "You do better than me at least."
She blushed again, setting down a tray with a blue tea set. "It's the best I could do, at the moment. But soon, I'll be moving." A small smile tugged at her lips as she sat traditionally beside him, pouring a cup of tea. "I can't wait until my new apartment gets finished. It's so much bigger than this place."
Sasuke nodded, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm. "You deserve it. I don't think anyone could live in this place. Maybe a college kid, but this is crazy."
Hinata bit her lip, her eyes turning towards the window. "I was in college when I bought this place. In college and working two jobs. It was the only way I could pay for this place every month." With another soft smile, she stirred her tea gently. "I've done so much here, made so many memories, good and bad, but I have no regrets in leaving this place."
"That's deep."
She laughed, cupping her mug. "That's Hanabi said when I told her."
He took a long sip of the tea and smirked. "So, are you ready?"
She blinked, looking to him. "Ready for what? Are we going somewhere?"
"Precisely." He drank the last of his tea and stood up, motioning towards the hallway that led to her room. "Get your jacket. We'll be late."
"W-what?" She hopped up, a flush of confusion covering her cheeks. "But I'm not dressed to go out!" She blushed darker as he raised an eyebrow at her. "I-I mean, I can't go out dressed like this. Hanabi would kill me!"
Sasuke smirked, placing his hands in his pockets. "We've got ten minutes. Maybe fifteen, if I speed a little bit."
Nodding, she rushed towards the back, tugging her sweater off in the process. Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, keeping in his laugh. She had good timing. By the time she had managed to get her sweater off, she had dashed behind the wall.
He consulted his watch and found that in seven minutes, she was back out, dressed in a long-sleeved white Calvin Klein button up blouse, a distressed medium wash denim skirt that reached her ankles and –surprise!- strappy silver heels. She had brushed her hair until it had a certain glow and swiped on a coat clear gloss before sweeping past him out of the front door. He nodded approvingly, because out of all the women he had dated, she could really make a conservative outfit look good.
"So where are we going?" she asked softly, locking the door and sliding her keys into her black hobo bag.
"My gallery opening."
She stopped suddenly and he glanced over his shoulder at her, seeing the surprised look on her face. "What? Are you really that surprised by the fact that I have a gallery opening?"
She blushed, clutching at the strap of her back with both hands. "N-no, I'm just . . . surprised is all. You never said anything about a gallery opening." A smile blossomed across her lips. "Congratulations, Sasuke-kun. You must be so proud of yourself."
"Aren't you proud of me too?" he said teasingly and she blushed again, stammering over her words. And then he remembered the girls at the stairs, and that no doubt they would be waiting for him to be reappear again. Sure enough, they were there, only two others had joined them, and they were all chattering happily.
They all gasped when Hinata and Sasuke appeared before them, their eyes wide with shock. And then the redhead in the black beanie who had "touched" him, grinned at Hinata. "Hi, Hinata-chan! I didn't know you knew Sasuke-kun!"
Hinata blinked and opened her mouth to say something back, but the girl was faster. "Are you two dating? How long has this been going on? How come he's never come here before?" And then they were all in and crowding around them, chattering happily and trying to get them to spill something juicy. They weren't even jealous that Hinata was dating Sasuke. In fact, it made them more ravenous for gossip.
"Okay!" Sasuke said over them. He grabbed Hinata's hand and gently tugged her out of the door, making a quick dash towards his car. She dropped into the front seat, her face flushed as he quickly pulled out. "That was . . .unexpected."
"Well, when you're as awesome as I am, it tends to happen," he said blandly, earning a giggle from her.
-
"These are so . . . beautiful, Sasuke-kun," Hinata breathed, folding her hands behind her back. Her eyes looked towards a picture of a big ball of white, supposedly the moon, on a rippling dark blue-green backdrop. She realized it was the reflection of the moon on the water's surface.
"You think so?" he shrugged softly. "I'm just doing what I do best."
She smiled up at him, rocking back on her heels. "And you do it very well." She swept past him towards another painting, this one showing a traditional-style house with a beautiful garden sprawling around it. A stone path led towards the front door, cutting through the bushes and flowers and she felt as if she could walk along that path, smelling the cherry blossoms and freshly cut grass. It was gorgeous.
"That's so wonderful," she whispered, remembering the days Hiashi was actually nice. When they used to go the vacation home they had in Okinawa. It was built traditionally, with tatami mats and shoji screens. They had all worn summer yukatas and sandals. But that was when she was younger and her mother was around to sooth Hiashi's anger.
She turned to Sasuke with a soft smile. "I used to have a house like that. But it was only a vacation home, for the summer and breaks. Or whenever Father felt like getting away from it all." With a pained sigh, she stepped back. "But that's before I was unofficially disowned."
His eyebrows practically jumped off his face as she looked to the floor, a blush covering her cheeks. "Unofficially?"
"Hiashi isn't an overprotective father, Sasuke-kun. He's," she cringed as she said the next part, "a control freak."
"For lack of a better term?" he commented and she nodded. Suddenly, people surrounded them, all wanting to congratulate Sasuke on his eighth gallery opening and for winning whatever award he hadn't won at this point. He slipped an arm around Hinata's waist and bent down to whisper in her ear, "I used to live in that house. My mother was a gardener in her spare time."
Hinata blushed, standing closer. "Then that's a painting from your memories?"
"Yep." He guided her out of the group, walking across the gallery towards another painting. It seemed to dominate the whole wall and Hinata's mouth dropped open, her eyes wide. A woman in a floor length gown seemed to be standing in the rain in the night, holding a moonflower in her delicate hands. Her long hair seemed to swim in the non-existent breeze, multiple shades of blue, black and purple weaving in and out in her waves.
"Oh." She brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide. "Sasuke-kun . . . that's . . ."
He smirked, stepping back and letting her enjoy the picture. "You're welcome."
A small smile stretched across her lips, tears brimming her eyes. "Thank you! This means so much to me!" She turned back to the painting and her smiled brightened. Paparazzi swooped down on them as Hinata studied the painting. You couldn't tell it was her, unless you had been to the restaurant debut, like Naruto and Ino had, but there was a close resemblance.
"This is incredible," she stammered out, her fingers running along the brushstrokes. "How long did this take you?"
"A couple of weeks," he answered, pride in his black eyes. "It's probably the biggest piece I've ever done."
"You're amazing."
He blinked, look down at her. She nodded softly, folding her hands behind her back again. "You've got a wonderful talent, Sasuke-kun. I can see you going to very far."
Something close to a smile tugged at his lips as he looked back to the painting. "You're the first person to actually mean that."
Okay, question!
Do you think Hinata seems a little out of charactor?
Please tell me if you do! I want this to be perfect^^
And!
I feel some lovey lovey coming up! I can't promise when, or what, but it's comin' XD
I'm outtie ~CocoaAngel95 :]