Difference between Crush and Love

Chapter Four. Ouch! Mayhem at the Gardens

Ino sighed. She was bored. History wasn't really her best subject. She absolutely despised it. They were supposed to jot down notes but she didn't bother with it. She could just copy Sakura's notes when there was going to be a quiz or something. She was sure that she wouldn't refuse. After all, you can't just let your very best friend fail a subject, can you?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a really loud snore. She looked around for the person who made the noise. She found out that it was Shikamaru, the lazy guy. Everyone else was looking at him, too. Their teacher, Asuma, stopped talking and became aware of this.

"Alright, class, settle down. Face front," ordered Asuma. He made his way to Shikamaru's seat and slammed the History book on his table. Shikamaru still slept on as if nothing happened. This amazed everyone. For one, the slam was hard and the sound it made echoed around the room. In fact, they all winced as they heard it.

Asuma cleared his throat and shouted at Shikamaru's ear, "HEY, YOU! WAKE UP AND PAY ATTENTION FOR ONCE!"

Shikamaru sat bolt upright and looked around wildly. When he saw Asuma, he groaned. How troublesome. I fell asleep in class, so what? I know all this stuff already.

But in truth, he wasn't really aware of the height of his IQ. He was too lazy to even pick up a pen. It was a wonder that he passed his elementary days.

"That's it, Shikamaru. If you don't pay attention I'm going to have to send you to the principal's office. You don't want that now, do you?" said Asuma.

"No, sensei," replied Shikamaru. He yawned and opened his book.

"Good. Now that's what I want to hear." Asuma then resumed the lecture and for rest of the period, the room was filled with the sound of writing and the turn of pages. Soon after, the bell rang and everyone left hurriedly to avoid hearing any assignment for the day. Fortunately for them, Asuma didn't give any.

--

Hinata opened her locker and got her books for Japanese class. As she was heading towards the classroom, she heard laughter. She recognized the voice immediately for it was Naruto's. She wondered what had happened to make him laugh that hard. She turned around the corner and found him on the floor, laughing so hard that there were tears in his eyes. He was doubled over and was clutching his stomach.

It was then that Hinata noticed that there was another person in front of Naruto. It was Rock Lee. He was drenched in what is known as white paint. It turned out that someone played a prank on him. So when Lee opened his locker, the can of paint fell on his head. And now, his hair was completely white and hard. It didn't help that the paint was quick-drying.

Naruto still hadn't stopped laughing. He finally straightened and walked to where Lee was. Hinata thought that he was going to do something bad but Naruto only conked Lee.

"Hey! Your hair is so hard that I didn't hurt you at all! Wow!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Na-Naruto-kun, please stop making fun of Lee-san," said Hinata. She looked worried that he might get angry because of what she said.

"That's alright, Hinata. Lee doesn't mind, right Lee?" said Naruto with a bright smile on his face. He turned to Lee.

Lee regained his composure and said, "That's absolutely correct, Uzumaki-san. It doesn't bother me at all. I know that whoever did this—oh!"

He looked at his watch and took off running. They were going to be late if they didn't hurry up. Naruto and Hinata followed and were able to get in the classroom before the teacher came. They were going to get in detention if that was the case. They had no right to be loitering around the campus during class hours. Hinata had a perfectly clean record and wasn't about to tarnish it with tardiness.

"Ohayo. Please take your seats. We will begin our lesson momentarily," said Anko. She turned her back on them and began writing in Japanese characters on the blackboard. "Copy this in your notebooks and I will collect them after class."

Naruto blew her a raspberry and grinned at Hinata. She blushed and looked down on her table. She was going to have to control the blood flow to her cheeks but she can't. She just can't avoid blushing around Naruto. He was her crush after all.

Sometimes, she asked herself why she liked him. There were so many good-looking boys in her school so why him? She didn't know. She had no reason but all she knew was that her feelings for him were true. Back then, she just thought of it as a childhood crush and nothing more. But now that they were fifteen, she wasn't sure anymore.

She couldn't look at other boys because she has Naruto although he seemed oblivious to the fact that she likes him. She had already made up her mind. She was going to be a good friend and support him all the way until she was sure about her feelings. They were still too young.

She reverted to the board and began writing. She finished and passed her notebook to the front. Several others were finished, too.

When she got back to her seat, she found a piece of paper on her table. She looked around and saw Sakura smiling at her as if urging her to open it. She sat down and began reading. What she read made her blush madly.

Naruto, huh? Don't think I haven't noticed, Hinata. I mean, it's so obvious! Don't worry, we'll help you. Reply.

Sakura-chan! Arigatou. I have trouble with blushing. Perhaps you could help me? Hinata scribbled quickly and passed it to Sakura.

Sometime later. I'll tell the others about this as well. I'm not experienced with crushes so it would be advisable to ask help from Ino and Tenten. I'm sure they'll be able to help out. We'll make plans at Ino's house later at 4.

Hinata looked at her and nodded. She couldn't believe that they were really going to help her! She had changed. She was more herself than ever. And for that, she was thankful for her friends.

"Naruto! Stop that!" shouted Anko.

Naruto was doodling on a piece of paper. He drew a caricature of Anko with her nose emitting steam. He made it look like she was a bull.

Anko raised it so the class will see. Everybody chuckled. Well, mostly everybody. Some even laughed loudly but the laughter ceased when Anko looked at them sternly.

"But you've got to admit I'm good, am I not, sensei?" grinned Naruto and made a peace sign to the class.

"That's it, Naruto. It's detention for you!"

Now, Anko really looked like the drawing and Hinata noticed it. Everyone else noticed it, too. They had to stifle their chuckles and giggles or they'll get detention too. And that's the last thing on their minds.

Naruto remained undaunted and still held his smile. He got up and went to the detention room. He was often sent here for his doings. Mostly for his pranks. He loved the attention. It was the only thing he could do to gain acknowledgement from others though not in a good way. He was recognized for his pranks and not his achievements.

When Naruto left the room, Anko continued her lesson but was unable to get order back. Everybody had amused smiles on their faces. She only hoped that they won't get ideas from Naruto. There would be utter chaos if that happened!

Hinata looked at Sakura and saw her wink at her. It made her blush again. She almost regretted ever showing hints that she liked Naruto. Now, her friends are teasing her! How will she be able to stand this? Will she be able to? She didn't think so.

The bell rang, signaling that it was their study period already and they can go out to the gardens or fields. For the girls, they chose the gardens at the center of the campus. It was a breezy and sunny day. The weather was perfect! The clouds were up high, forming nice patterns in the sky. They lay down on the grass and looked at them.

"The clouds are so nice. They make me feel free," said Ino. She had a dreamy look on her face as she said this.

"I agree," said Tenten, "But we really should have a head start in our math. Who knows, maybe there'll be seatwork."

"We could do some quick tutoring. I'll help the three of you. I've already read this last night and it seemed quite simple. You'd be able to understand it," said Sakura, opening her math textbook.

"Oh, Sakura. We know that you know this already but can we have just a little time to enjoy the weather?" groaned Ino.

"Alright. But don't tell me I didn't warn you. I'm pretty sure that there will be seatwork in math," said Sakura.

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. I need to study as well. I'm not really good at math," said Hinata.

"Not you too, Hinata," said Tenten. She sighed. "I guess it won't hurt to study."

"No fair! If you three study, then I'll study also! I don't want to be left behind like the other day when the two of you (pointing to Hinata and Sakura) went ahead on the way home!" Ino pouted.

Sakura and Hinata just smiled sheepishly. Tenten looked between the three of them and felt like an outsider. She wasn't there because they didn't meet her yet and become friends with her. She brushed it aside. It was no big deal. They were all friends now and that's all that matters.

Sakura noticed that Tenten was being left out and said, "Well, that's just about enough. If you want to learn, then learn from the master. I mean, mistress," Sakura grinned, scratching the back of her head.

"Then, shoot, O great Math Mistress," said Ino sarcastically. The four of them laughed and started reading.

--

The boys of First Year – B decided to go to the gardens also but to a different part. They were still in sight of the girls who were unaware that they were being watched.

The garden was beautiful. The grass was trimmed and the bushes had colorful flowers. There were cherry trees abound the garden. But one particular tree stood out from among the rest. It was perfect. It was also placed in the middle.

Their group consisted of Rock Lee who had nothing to do but follow the cool ones, Naruto who was finally able to get out of detention, Shikamaru who decided to tag along and watch the clouds, Neji who was going to the gardens anyway, and Sasuke who had nothing better to do.

Shikamaru was lying on the grass with his hands behind his head, watching the clouds as usual. Neji was sitting down Indian style. Lee was sitting with his legs stretched. Naruto was doing Indian seat also but with an elbow propped against his left leg. As for Sasuke, he was leaning on the trunk of a tree behind them. He had his right knee bent and extended his right arm on it.

"Sakura-chan is really pretty, don't you think?" said Lee with hearts in his eyes.

When nobody answered, Lee repeated his question again. And they still didn't answer. He got frustrated and backed off the conversation if there was even any.

Naruto couldn't help but blurt out, "Hinata-chan is kind of cute, in a way." For a moment he forgot that he was with Neji, Hinata's cousin and suffered under his cold deadly glare. He shut his mouth and kept his thoughts to himself.

Mental note: Never talk about Hinata in the presence of Neji, thought Naruto.

"Psh. It's that annoying girl again. That one in the auditorium who had the guts to slap me," Neji muttered. Unfortunately, the rest of the boys heard and Naruto laughed.

"Geez, Neji. You didn't tell us about that one. We want to know all about it. And don't leave anything out. We want all the details," said Naruto, smiling in a teasing way.

"What if I don't want to tell? What would you do?" asked Neji.

"Oh, it's no problem. If you don't, we could just announce it to the whole school. I have connections," said Naruto, not looking at him.

Now, let's go to the quiet ones. Shikamaru thought it was too troublesome to even speak. Sasuke was preoccupied with whatever. In his mind, he was going through the formulas in math. Not that he needed to. He knew them by heart. It was just like a second nature to him. But he had nothing to do anyway so he resorted to doing that. As he thought of these, he was staring at the clouds just like Shikamaru.

"So, blackmail? Your method isn't really as effective as mine. But I have no choice but to tell you. Okay. Here goes. It was in Gym. We were told to do laps but we finished early so Gai-sensei allowed us to play soccer. There was Nakura's team and Hakutsu's. But one time, I kicked the ball too hard that it flew to the auditorium. It hit somebody's head. Her head (pointing to Tenten). So she got really angry and slapped me. That's all," related Neji, "Now, don't bother me with your nonsense."

Then there was complete silence. You couldn't hear any sound at all. But just then laughter rang throughout the area. This made the girls look at them. They stared at the boys as if they were crazy. They thought that they were laughing at them.

It was Naruto, again. He was laughing so much that day. Maybe he was high on ramen and not sugar. Could that even be possible?

Naruto found Neji's story amusing. It was not everyday that someone, especially a girl, would go slapping Neji on the face. Neji was often calm and collected just like Sasuke. They were alike but for different reasons.

"What are you laughing at! You think it's funny to laugh at people who are just studying?" Ino confronted them. She had got up and made her way to the boys to give them a piece of her mind.

"Ino! Stop that! You don't even know if what you're saying is true. You may have assumed wrong," said Sakura. The other girls had followed Ino to prevent her from doing anything rash that may lead to trouble.

"You should listen to her, girl. Do it for your own good," said Shikamaru. He sat up to tell them the real reason why Naruto laughed. "For your information, Naruto here was laughing at Neji. You see, this girl Tenten slapped him and he was telling us about it."

"Oh! Well, don't expect me to apologize. You deserve it! You didn't tell me before," screeched Ino.

"You didn't give us the chance to," said Lee.

"How troublesome," said Shikamaru.

"You dare call me troublesome!" thundered Ino.

"I-Ino-chan, th-that's e-enough," said Hinata meekly.

Ino didn't heed her and instead hit Shikamaru on the head with the thick math textbook. Hard. It resulted in Shikamaru becoming unconscious. Ino's eyes bulged and got as big as saucers.

"WHAT HAPPENED HERE!"