1.
Sometimes she really had good days.
She would hang out with a group of friends during lunchbreaks. As if she wasn't lucky enough theirs jokes were actually funny and she didn't have to pretend to find their stories about things she'd never experience herself interesting. Other days she had her karate practice, an activity she was first introduced by her mother and kept pursuing to share the older woman's longstanding passion. Besides, she got to hang out with her practice fellows who were nice and easygoing.
Other times she had bad days, and those ones usually included anything that had to do with her family… just like today, when her bad time had to bleed into her good one. She couldn't blame Tenten for trying to get her cousin's permission slash help to invite her to a party –it stemmed from a good place and she wasn't the first one. However, there was a disrupting feeling in her gut that drove her to stop Tenten not only from speaking to her cousin but especially about her.
"Tenten-san…" Hinata said for the umpteenth time, her voice pleading.
"why are you such a stick in the mud, Hyuga?" Tenten's voice was a harsh whisper as Hinata noted with relief the unusual lack of cuss word "if you don't trust me, at least you can come with her. It could help you loosen up... something you could definitely use"
Hinata knew that her friend approached Neji to invite her at first. Her cousin being a man of few words, it was mostly a monologue on Tenten's part which went from inviting Hinata, to showing her disbelief of the overprotectiveness the latter was showered with, and back to inviting her. Now the one-way chat was slowly degenerating into personal territory and a stare-down contest.
Panicked, the subject of the soon-to-be-quarrel put herself in between her cousin and her friend. The last thing she wanted was things to get worse. She knew deep down that one of her two sole reasons for happiness would be removed from her life. As Tenten was about to drop something probably nasty if judging by the sneer that adorned her lips, Hinata spoke first.
"Enough Tenten-san. Thank you for your unexpected invitation but I can't come. My family has strict rules-"
"You, enough of that bullshit" Tenten roughly said with a flick of her left wrist "you really form a nice pair: one cousin pretends not to be friends and the other pretends not to be my boyfriend… I'd had enough of your bullshit"
Both cousins watched as Tenten stomped through the corridors until her back disappeared. Before the retreating girl totally vanish from the left corner, Hinata saw things unravelling before her eyes: Tenten's resentment when Neji'd crush her heart, the sour atmosphere once others members of their karate club would catch up wind of everything, the blaming eyes bestowed upon Tenten's ex cousin…
"Hiashi-san is coming back this week end, so drop everything you'd planned" Neji said before going the exact opposite way from Tenten's.
As if my presence was important to father
She thought so, but she'd definitely show up. Rules were rules, but as soon as the thought arose it was quickly replaced with the situation at hand -her friend going out with her cousin who obviously didn't care enough to console her. She knew about these kind of stories, and she knew she was too involved to mingle. On one hand she couldn't go anywhere near her cousin; on the other she didn't know what to tell her friend. Apologies wouldn't cut it, neither dissing her cousin, which would feel forced… and hypocritical. Her thoughts didn't foster kind words of consolation but inquisitions about Tenten's tastes.
Of all the boys roaming Konoha high school why him?
He didn't talk to most people, walked down the corridors like he was above all and he was cold to practically everyone. Tenten was joyous, easygoing and friendly. Water and fire doesn't mix. Yet people tried, yet her karate aficionado friend tried…
Was it exactly because he was cold?
Mysterious, moody guys with a side dish of coldness was really in with the girls at her school and for the life of her, she couldn't understand the appeal. The point of going out with a boy who couldn't care less about his girlfriend was beyond her. She preferred warm boys, who would make you laugh, who beamed like thousand suns, who would lift your spirit and make you feel good about yourself. Alas, being treated like a nobody was more appealing around here, thus people like her cousin were popular.
People like Sasuke. She shuddered. If her cousin was bad, Sasuke was another thing to her. Most of the rumors on him were definitely high school trash gossips, but she couldn't ignore what had him being expelled four years ago. He wasn't simply cold; he had apparently a penchant for chaos. What surprised her even more was the friendship between Naruto, the aforementioned sunshine and Sasuke.
The romantic appeal could be justified by his looks: he was objectively attractive. Really attractive. He wasn't square faced like Naruto, but his elongated face gave him the appearance of an angel or prince from old paintings... or bishi from otome games. The most beautiful trait on his otherwise proportional face were his eyes. They were ridiculously enticing, smoldering… and scary to her. How girls held his gaze was beyond her. Friendship however didn't work that way. May be something was escaping her…
Tiring of wonder about things that vaguely concerned her, she made her way to the cafeteria. As expected, it was booming with laughs and shatter, and soon the noise appeased her. She quickly fell into line to get her lunch when she realized she didn't bring money with her what with all the Tenten-Neji trouble. Sighing, she slowly moved again to let the following student move along. Hinata moved forward, her eyes searching for her friends' usual spot. Her smile grew a bit more when she recognized unruly short blond hair.
Half way toward the table, the said blond got up and waved at her with a grin.
"Hey, Hina! Come here"
She'd definitely take goofy warmth over sexy coldness any day. Amaru was a lucky girl.
"you're not eating anything?" Naruto asked.
"I forgot the money" Hinata answered with an apological smile.
"My forgetful ass is rubbing off on you, huh" Naruto added as he scratched his head "anyway, take some of my meal" he pushed his second plate toward her "and no protesting young woman"
"but-"
"I'll share with the greatest love of my life, my second half, my-"
"flattering me will only get you so far honey" Amaru said with creased eyes.
Naruto sported one of his devilish look before whispering into his red haired girlfriend's ear. She blushed, huffed and shoved him back with an elbow "you think too high of yourself"
"go ahead, open it" Naruto beamed, infecting Hinata's face
She opened the box, not surprised by its contents "Oh... Ramen"
"Yep"
"It's... Is that pork?"
"Yep and it's delicious as hell"
"u-uhm I don't eat meat N-Naruto-kun"
"uh? Shoot! Definitely an insensitive jerk" Naruto then laughed awkwardly, scratching his head "let me buy you something, and no, you can't fight me on that"
"w-well thank you" Hinata whispered, fighting the emotional lump forming at the base of her throat
"also, I had a favor to ask from you, Hina-chan. Would you help me?"
"of course Naruto-kun" Hinata smiled warmly, more than happy to help "what is it about?"
"well, it's about Sasuke." Naruto paused, overlooking Hinata's bewildered expression "you know how he came basically in the middle of the school year, so he needs to catch up with school stuffs and shit; and you know how I'm not good at school stuffs and shit" he said with a sheepish grin "and you're so good at it and stuff. So you ok with it?"
"y-yes…?"
As soon as Hinata was coaxed into accepting before thinking properly about the whole thing, Sasuke cut in.
"when did we go from an advice to you coaxing people, dobe" Sasuke said, his cool voice making shivers run down Hinata's back.
"I'm helping you baka, and that's how you thank me" Naruto retorted with a sneer.
"Never asked for your help anyway" Sasuke said before turning his attention on the back of the girl on his right "Hinata"
"y-yes…" Hinata's back snapped straight, then she turned toward Sasuke as swiftly.
Their eyes met.
Three things crossed her mind at that moment: she didn't do justice to him earlier; he was drop dead gorgeous up front, especially his eyes. Secondly, she couldn't hold his gaze. Thirdly she was scared of him. His appearance doubled with his stare were taking a toll on her. It was as if he was forcing his way into her being without warning, without permission… staring into someone eyes was something so intimate to her that she'd never do it for too long, even with her closest friends; she wasn't doing it with the scary guy beside her.
Hinata hoped he'd take the clue.
"Since you agreed with Naruto, let's change our contacts to discuss it properly"
Shock stroke her once again.
She was in a daze. The feeling was strange to her, as confusing as the time between just waking up from a dream and the dream itself. It felt real but then not. At that moment she didn't know why that sensation bloomed or the meaning behind it, only confusion swarmed in her mind… and the fear of meeting his intimidating gaze.
Once he gave her back her phone, a ring too loud for her ears tore her from her lightheaded state. The ring from her message notification confused her. She never received message during lunch break before. The content made her heart skip a bit once more.
Sakura: what's up with Sasuke?
At least, she'd only have to give him her notes and give a brief overall view of the thing. Her next Saturday would be a hell to go through.