Hello everyone! Now I knew it's been entirely too long since I've updated and for that I apologize. I've been super busy with school but since the semester is winding down I found some time to finish this (I had the first half written for months). I don't know when the next update will be but I hope it won't be too long before I post the next chapter. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Things should start really picking up after this one.

Cover My Eyes

by, Rampantt

Chapter Eight: Graduation Fiasco

Congratulations Hyuuga Hinata for masterful completion of a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, University of Konohagakure Class of 2012, Valedictorian.

The Hyuuga heiress posed proudly withher gold-faced plaque, holding it to her chest and smiling pleasantly for the camera.

After what seemed like an eternity, with many sleepless nights and long days, she had finally completed her degree. While most of her classmates were thinking about how good it would be to finally get a decent night's rest, Hinata had other things on her mind. Today she had proven to her father that she was more than capable, more than exceptional. She had proven to him, herself and everyone else that Hyuuga Hinata was the standard for excellence, to strive for excellence one ought to model themselves after Hyuuga Hinata.

Her heart was racing with pride. For once in her life she was actually better than Neji. She had beaten him. They had both graduated from the same university under the same program but she had been the one to finished in first place.

Take that.

"You look really pretty, Onee-chan," Hanabi gushed, snapping a few more pictures of her sibling.

Hinata beamed.

She donned her black graduation cap, the gold tassel resting by her cheek. Her black gown had been folded neatly over her arm and she stood in a long-sleeved navy blue dress, gold bracelets snapped around her left wrist and matching pillar earrings dangling from her ears. On her feet, a graduation present from her beloved Naruto, sparkly gold pumps with infamous red bottoms. She had received them a few days prior when the two had met for dinner. He had explained that he wouldn't be able to make it to her graduation unfortunately, but he was proud of her and wanted to congratulate her hard work with the Christian Louboutin pumps. She was saddened that he wouldn't be there to share her proudest moment with her, but the shoes made it just a little bit better.

"Alright, group shot," Sakura chimed in suddenly, ushering the Hyuugas together for a picture.

Hinata looked to her best friend. The pinkette looked glamorous as always in a deep red long sleeved dress and white pumps. Her cropped bubble gum locks were forced straight and cut new and abruptly at her chin. Her emerald orbs were glittering thanks to designer mascara and the careful black lines painted onto her eyelids. Sakura was pretty but yet somehow, Hinata thought she twinkled just a little bit brighter than the pinkette that day.

She didn't feel guilty for it either.

In fact, she didn't feel guilty for anything she felt that day.

Her family crowded around her, Hiashi by her right, Hanabi to her left and Neji just beside her father.

It felt good knowing that she was outshining so many spectacular people for once. Normally, she allowed everyone else to take the lead, let them shine as brightly as they possibly could but on this day it was her turn and she was going to enjoy every last moment of it.

The pinkette snapped several photos of the family until she was satisfied, directing them to stand closer upon occasion. "Alright, now just Hyuuga-sama and Hinata," she said, shooing away Neji and Hanabi.

Hinata swallowed and stood closer to her father, schooling her features until she mirrored her father's neutral expression. She held her plaque tighter to her chest as if to reassure herself that she had something to be proud of herself for despite Hiashi's cool demeanor. Sakura's smiling face behind the camera gave her confidence somehow and she found herself standing taller, straightening out her back and lifting her chin until her head was held high.

"Good," Sakura cooed, looking down at the picture on the display.

"That should be enough," Hiashi said.

Hinata bobbed her head once, pushing a lock of raven hair behind her ear.

"I'm so proud of you, Onee-chan," Hanabi gushed, hugging Hinata tightly once again.

The eldest sister smiled a bit and cleared her throat. "Hn."

"Neji and I have work to attend to, however, I expect to see you in my office Monday morning, Hinata," Hiashi said.

"Yes, Father," the heiress said.

"Are you coming?" Neji asked Hanabi.

She shook her head. "Sakura says I'm old enough to party with them now."

Neji cast the two of them – Sakura and Hinata – a look. Sakura smiled guiltily.

"You know that's out of the question."

Hanabi pouted. "But Neji! They said I could go! Why are you being so mean!" she cried, running after him after he started walking away.

Hinata ignored them. She held her plaque tightly, watching as her father and brother walked away from them. Her heart was racing as she thought of the conversation she would be having with her father within the next few days. Her entire life had been leading up to this moment – finally she had proven to her father that was worthy. At one point it seemed impossible and she remembered countless times how badly she wanted to quit, how easy it would have been just to live off her inheritance money and live a carefree life; after all, that's what everyone else her age were doing anyway. She wouldn't have needed to work as hard as she did, Neji could easily run her father's company and she could have easily lived a life of comfort. Yet, that just wasn't nearly as satisfying. That kind of life was what she imagined many people dreamed of, but it wasn't for Hinata. She dreamed of proving her worth, of running the company that had been in her family for generations. It was her birth right to run Hyuuga Enterprises and she would rather die than watch her cousin run it instead of her.

She breathed out slowly. She was here and she wasn't going anywhere.

Sasuke would have rather to be anywhere but there and it was probably obvious too. He stood scowling in the corner, observing all of his friends and acquaintances as they mingled with one another, music playing mildly in the background. There was probably no place he wouldn't rather be than there. It had been three weeks since he last seen the Hyuuga heiress and he cursed himself for even have kept count of the days. It wasn't like he could help it however.

He had committed himself to fixing his relationship with Sakura but as he thought of it more he realized he only decided to be with Sakura out of retaliation to Hinata's snub. If she didn't need him than he definitely didn't need her and when he thought about it, he didn't even like her. So fuck her.

But even as he decided to move on from Hinata and spend more time with his girlfriend, all he ever did when they were together was notice that she wasn't Hinata. He found himself wondering how Hinata might do something Sakura did. How might Hinata make breakfast in the mornings? How might Hinata's voicemails sound on his phone? Would Hinata even leave a voicemail? He wondered what movies and TV shows Hinata would force him into watching with her, what her favorite places to shop were, how often did she shop? The more time he spent with Sakura the more he thought of Hinata.

Sasuke was going crazy and if he were being honest with himself he wasn't that upset about having to attend her graduation party, in fact, he was anxious to see her again after so long. How might she act towards him? Would she ignore him? Would she even notice him to even ignore him? Would she be with Naruto the entire night, flaunting her affection for him in his face? Would she be jealous seeing how happy he and Sakura were now? Would she wish to take Sakura's place? Would she think she made a mistake turning him down in the grocery store? Probably not. Sakura and himself weren't even that happy for anyone to be jealous of them.

Obviously, Sakura was happy however. She was so oblivious to Sasuke's real feelings that sometimes he wondered how she could even claim to love him when she didn't even know him. Sometimes he wondered if he ought to just break up with her like he wanted to since staying with her wasn't making him happy and it wasn't like Hinata even cared either. It became harder and harder to tell why he wasn't even in the relationship anyway.

Of course he loved Sakura but it was more of a love one felt for an old friend. Sakura was someone he'd never be able to replace in his life but that didn't mean he was in love with her. Of course he wanted to see her happy and he wanted the best for her and it one point he might have really been in love with her but now he needed something different. Sasuke wondered how Sakura couldn't see that and if she did, why didn't she need something different at this point? They were so different from one another and had so little in common.

Sakura had no idea what hard work looked like and was perfectly fine living off of her family's wealth. She was the true definition of an heiress and socialite. Sure, being with Sakura had it's benefits but was it worth it at this point? Sasuke was perhaps ten times more wealthy than Sakura in terms of family assets and even had more social access than she did so it wasn't like he really needed her. Sasuke was estranged from his family because he didn't want to get ahead using his family and their money. With the deal he closed with H.E he didn't even need her father's support either so what as holding him to her other than the feeling of comfort that came from being with someone who simply knew him, or rather someone that he simply knew?

Sasuke's scowl deepened.

"There she is!" he heard someone say.

He looked up immediately, to his later disgust, and there she was.

Hinata donned a sleeved, purple lace dress that did little to hide the curves of her frame. It cupped her derriere perfectly and allowed a generous amount of cleavage, just enough to make the mind wonder. On her feet were a pair of nude pumps with notorious red bottoms, making her much taller than she would have been without them. Her long black hair tumbled down her shoulders and back in large, loose waves, her bangs curled away from her face in slight wings. Silver eye-liner on her water line made her white eyes seem so much clearer.

She was smiling, really smiling, Sasuke noticed and he couldn't stop staring at her. He wasn't sure how long he had been staring at her before he realized what he was doing, but it was far longer than he was comfortable with. Scowling, he tore his gaze from her, only to find someone else staring at him.

Emerald eyes focused hard on him, wide with question. Catching himself, Sasuke cleared his throat and relaxed, bobbing his head to tell her he sees her too. Sakura continued to stare at him, her eyes asking him things her mouth would never dare to. She tore her gaze from his to look to her best friend who stood beside her.

Hinata was beautiful, Sakura noted, she had always been but the way Sasuke had been looking at her made the pinkette uncomfortable. When had he ever looked at her that way?

"What's wrong?" she heard Hinata ask.

She must have been staring at her because the heiress was looking at her curiously. "You okay?"

Sakura bobbed her head once, offering her dear friend a small smile. "Of course. I'm just really happy for you."

Hinata, seeming to believe her, smiled gorgeously. Sakura felt her heart pang. "I'm really happy for me too."

Sakura laughed instantly and squeezed the heiress against her. She loved this girl and this girl loved her, so what if Sasuke noticed her? Hinata was beautiful and deserved to be noticed. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

Hinata on the other hand had a different thought process.

She hadn't seen him yet, but knowing Sakura, she invited him. But then, why wouldn't she? Nothing happened between them and everything was normal – or at least she needed to pretend things were that way, if she continued to avoid him like she had been then it'd become obvious that something was up. Hinata wasn't sure how many social gatherings she could skip out on before Sakura called her out on it. If it were up to her, she would have even opted out of a huge party for herself but there was no way she could do that without looking suspicious. For now she would have to suck it up.

Hinata had to admit however, Sakura had out done herself. The hall she rented for the occasion was exquisite, Hinata honestly hadn't expected Sakura to go all out. She was usually content with small house gatherings but if she were being honest with herself she liked being fussed over, it wasn't a usual occurrence.

"I'm really proud of you babe," Sakura said, pulling away from the heiress and smiling.

The heiress blushed just a bit, casting her shy glance towards her feet.

"Don't be like that," Sakura urged, stirring her raven haired best friend further into the party where she was met with smiling faces and loud cheering. "Tonight is your time to shine Hyuuga Hinata."

Hinata nodded her head, agreeing. Tonight really was her time to shine and she wasn't going to let someone as insignificant as Uchiha Sasuke and his staring ruin it for her. There was however, one person who could make the night more memorable.

Her white eyes began darting around the room in search of that familiar blonde mop. Her heart was racing at the thought of seeing him again. Truthfully, she had been so busy with school and work she hadn't gotten to see him as often as she typically did. If she were counting the days, not that she had been but if she were, it had been over a week, nine days to be exact. Their phone conversations had been shorter and fewer in between as well. Hinata was really starting to feel lonely. However, her approaching party kept her sane; she knew she would be reunited with him then, there was no way he'd miss her important day.

However, the more she searched with her eyes, the more she began to panic. Naruto's here isn't he?

Hinata turned to ask Sakura the same question but her opal eyes found the onyx gaze of the man she was so desperate to avoid. Her heart became lodged in her throat as she took him in. He stood there, all six plus feet of him, towering over her despite the pumps she donned. His skin looked pale as always and she noticed the tell-tale signs of bagging under his eyes. The heiress caught herself beginning to worry over him and it startled her. Hinata cleared her throat and looked away at last, realizing only too late just how long she had been staring at him for.

She composed her self quick enough for the pinkette to notice, however. Hinata fought the pounding in her chest as she watched Sakura latch onto his arm, pressing her small frame into him and leaning in for a kiss. The heiress swallowed hard, drowning out the sounds around her and turning her head from the scene before her. It was strange... she had seen Sakura and Sasuke kiss millions of times but never before did her chest burn and her throat close up like this. She breathed slowly throat her nose and waited for them to finish before she looked to them once more.

"Thank you for coming, Uchiha-san," she heard her voice say. Manners would not allow her to remain silent for much longer.

His gaze met hers in what she realized was a very long time. The familiar ache returned but ten times worse. Hinata was certain the wretched organ would burst from her chest at any given moment. Since when did Uchiha Sasuke have this kind of affect on her?

Hinata watched as the corners of his lips quirked just a bit; as if he knew what his presence was doing to' her.

Her belly flipped. She could throw up at the sight he and Sakura made.

"Thank you for having me," he said, his voice deep and thick, different from how she remembered it.

Hinata forced a polite smile. "Really all the thanks and admiration goes to Sakura for even throwing such a nice event for me."

Sakura smiled at her best friend again, nuzzling her face into Sasuke's bicep and making Hinata silently uncomfortable. "I told you already Hinata, you deserve this."

Hinata smiled a bit, feeling suddenly embarrassed after having had been under Sasuke's scrutiny for so long – not that it was long at all really, she just wanted to be away from him.

"Have you seen Naruto?" Hinata asked, breaking the suffocating silence.

Sasuke felt a tick starting in his jaw. Just hearing her say the blonde's name annoyed him. He felt his arm wrapping around Sakura's waist, holding her closer to him. He narrowed his eyes just a bit. Was she talking to him?

"I'm not sure," Sakura answered when he didn't. "I invited him this time so I don't want to hear any crap out of him later," she said with a huff.

Hinata bobbed her head, averting her gaze from the couple. She didn't like how...jealous seeing them together made her. She didn't like the feeling in her chest, the ache in her heart or the throbbing around her temples. She was going to be made sick if she stood around them any longer. Her opal gaze scanned the sea of smiling faces once again, in search of the only face that mattered to her at that moment.

"It's strange of him not to be here yet..." Hinata said after a few moments, still searching the crowd for the blonde.

"He's probably got more important things to take care of," Sasuke suggested.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, swatting at his arm.

Hinata swallowed past the thick lump that lodged itself in her throat, turning her gaze back to them, or rather to Sasuke's. She smiled a familiar smile. "Probably."

The tension between the group was plausible. Sakura found herself looking between the two of them, not quite sure what was going on but she knew it was something. Sasuke had been acting really strange the past few weeks, she noticed. It wasn't that she didn't like the attention he was giving her, she did, but something about it just wasn't sitting right. She didn't want to say it wasn't genuine or sincere but something was missing. Something was going on with him. Standing there now, looking between him and her best friend she couldn't shake the feeling that it might have something to do with the heiress.

"I'm gonna get a drink," the heiress announced, tearing her gaze from the couple and making her way through the crowd.

Her head and her chest were both pounding. It was as if she had been holding her breath up until this point. Keeping the truth to herself was going to be a lot harder than she imagined, especially if her chest felt like this every time she saw Sasuke with Sakura. Where was Naruto when she needed him? He had been acting so differently lately, where was he?

The heiress wound up at the bar, she scooted onto the stool, holding her dress in place much like a lady ought to. She blew out a puff of air, trying to relax but to no success.

"You look like you could use a drink," a voice interrupted her thoughts. "What'll ya be having?"

Hinata looked up from her hands and found a handsome young bartender smiling encouragingly at her. The heiress bobbed her head once then forced herself to smile. "Champagne?"

He corked a brow. "Fancy."

Hinata's smile widened a bit. "Well, I am celebrating," she mentioned. "I just graduated."

"Ah... so this shindig is all for you," he commented, fetching the champagne from the shelves behind him.

The heiress nodded once, watching as he fished out a long crystal flute and poured champagne generously into it. "Yeah, my friend can be a bit overboard sometimes."

He offered her a smile. "At least she was thoughtful enough to give you such an extravagant party," he reasoned, offering her the flute.

A pain started in her chest, forcing the raven to clutch at her dress trying to soothe the ache there. "She is really thoughtful," she said softly as if to herself.

"Then why do you look so sad?"

Hinata looked up, opal orbs widened. "I was that obvious, huh?" she asked, schooling her features almost immediately.

He nodded his head and leaned against the bar ready for her to confess her worries to him. Hinata didn't know what it was that made her do it, but she had a sneaky suspicion about it however. It must have been the fact that he simply asked that made her so ready to tell everything to him much like she would have if Sakura bothered to noticed her feelings, she realized. The only reason Hinata hadn't confessed sooner was because no one had ever asked her directly what was troubling her.

She took a thick gulp of her champagne, letting it burn the back of her throat before speaking.

"I think I like my best friend's boyfriend."

The bartender didn't say anything at first. He seemed to just be taking everything in and considering what he might say.

"Well, that's definitely not the worst thing I've ever heard," he started. "But there's nothing wrong with that, honestly."

Hinata began shaking her head. "No, there is. How could I –"

"How could you not?" he interjected. "People can't control how they feel no matter how hard they may try. The fact that you're feeling at all means that there's nothing wrong with you. It's the situation that's fucked."

The heiress stared at him in wonder. He wasn't making her feel better but he did give her another way of thinking about the mess she was in. This entire time she had been blaming herself for everything that had been going on, but how was any of it her fault? How could she have controlled her feelings? God knew she had tried.

"What you should however, think about it, is what are you going to do with those feelings?"

Hinata looked down at he flute, peering at the gold liquid inside. What was she going to do? "Well... The best I can do is just...stay out of their way... out of their happiness..." she mumbled.

The bartender nodded. "Yeah, you could do that," he answered. "But what about your happiness?"

The heiress frowned into her glass. She had never really considered her happiness in terms of Sakura and Sasuke. Grabbing the flute, the downed the firey beverage and allowed it to burn the inside of her throat. "I'll be fine..." she mumbled, setting the flute down.

"More than fine, in fact," she went on to say. Because when she thought of it – "I already have someone."

"Do you?"

"Yeah..." she said hesitantly.

She had Naruto. Her whole life, the only man she had ever seriously wanted was Naruto. It was a little frightening to know that she was having these kinds of reactions to someone like Uchiha Sasuke when not too long ago, the only person who could make her feel was Naruto. But that didn't change anything, she told herself. Sakura had Sasuke and that was how it was supposed to be. She on the other hand, had to put more effort into Naruto. But where was he?

The bartender quirked a brow at this admission. He seemed to be considering what she said for a while before he spoke again. "Then if you have someone why worry so much over your friend's boyfriend?"

Hinata licked her lips and wondered. Why did she feel this way? Naruto had always been enough for her. It wasn't until she and Sasuke kissed that things changed, Hinata thought. The person she loved deep down was and would always be Naruto. So why then did Sasuke make her so nervous and why did it hurt so much to see him with Sakura now? The heiress chewed at her bottom lip.

"I don't know..." she whispered mostly to herself. "Can I have something a bit stronger?"

The bartender nodded. "What'll it be?"

Hinata shrugged. "I don't know... something to make the thoughts go away."

"You got it."

He reached down below the bar returned with a tall bottle of brown liquor; a brand the heiress had never seen before. Hinata watched with her opal eyes as he fixed her a set of shots then sliced up a few lemons. He turned away again and came back with a little salt shaker which made her curious.

"I'm gonna teach you something new," he told her.

The heiress couldn't think of any reason to say no and so nodded her head.

"Okay, this is gonna sound a little strange but trust me," he began. "Lick the back of your hand a little."

Hinata quirked her brow at him, a little hesitant to follow his instruction.

"Trust me."

Hinata blew out a breath. Fuck it. She licked the back of her hand like he said and watched as he sprinkled the salt onto her skin.

"Okay, so this is what you're gonna do: you're gonna lick the salt off then quickly take your shot, then I want you to bite into this lemon," he instructed her, handing her the lemon wedge.

Hinata nodded, accepting the fruit from him and watching as he licked and sprinkled salt onto the back of his hand as well.

"One, two...three."

Quickly, the heiress licked at her hand, the salt an interesting taste in her mouth. Luckily it didn't last long because she was soon throwing back her shot and biting into the lemon. She tried to pull away at first but found the sensation wasn't so bad after a while, in fact it was pretty good.

"Wow..." she sighed, pulling the lemon from her teeth.

"Mhm. You want another one?"

"Yeah," she responded a little more enthusiastic this time.

Hinata watched as he poured several more shots. Eventually she was tossing back shot after shot, having had lost count a while ago. A wide smile stretched her lips apart and she wasn't quite sure who she was talking to anymore and what they were even talking about but it was a pleasant enough conversation.

"Hinata?"

The heiress felt her back straighten at the sound of her name. She couldn't quite place the voice in her head so she swung herself around, the world spinning with her and her stomach dipping. She felt strong hands grabbing onto her back to steady her. Who was touching her?

"Hinata, get yourself together," the voice demanded.

Who was talking?

"Wait... I still have more...in my...glass," she slurred, spinning around again in an attempt to grab her drink.

Her stomach flipped again.

"Put that down!" she heard the voice again, her drink being pulled away from her slippery hands.

Was she sweating?

"God, how long have you been sitting here for? Huh? No, she's fine, thank you."

Hinata tried opening her eyes, not realizing they were even closed at first. "Who...?"

"Hinata!"

Strong hands again; she had been slipping out of her seat and they were there to rescue her. She laid her head against the strong frame the suddenly crowded her. There was something comforting about this stranger, she realized. The heiress nuzzled herself closer, practically clinging.

"Hinata..."

Her back went stiff as a familiar scent filled her nostrils. "Naruto..."

"Hn. I'm here.."

Her opal eyes fluttered and a wide smiled graced her lips. "You made it."

"Hn."

Suddenly she was being lifted from her stool, the world flopping beneath her feet. She latched on to the broad shoulders of the frame that held her, resting her head against his chest.

"You're really wrecked..."

The heiress smiled, nuzzling her face into his shirt. "It's okay...since...you're here...now..." she breathed out, carefully going over her words.

"Hn. But, you can only do that in front of me, no more getting drunk in public, okay?"

Hinata opened her eyes and stared up at him admiring the planes of his face, the straightness of his nose and the fullness of his lips. "Where have you been?"

"Does that matter?" he asked her, carrying her away from the bar.

"Yes."

Naruto was silent. Instead he adjusted her, propping her against his shoulder, one arm on her back and the other under her bottom. The heiress nuzzled her face into his neck and breathed. She could almost forget Sasuke and her best friend. With Naruto she could pretend that couple didn't exist – she didn't even know them. The only person who mattered now was Naruto. Her stomach lurched.

Where was he before however, when she needed him to save her from Sasuke? Where was he when she was looking for him?

"You're late..." she whispered against his skin.

"Ah. I'm sorry."

She was silent for a while but then her eyes fluttered open and she could almost place where she was. "I need some water," she told him.

Hinata felt him nod his head, blonde locks brushing against her cheek. In a few moments she was being placed on her feet, carefully and gently. "Don't move okay?"

The heiress bobbed her head once and immediately regretted it. Her stomach dipped again and she clenched at the fabric of her dress. Silently she prayed she wouldn't throw up like last time. Sasuke had never mentioned her accident in his car and part of her wondered why. She would have offered to pay for the cleaning but she was far too embarrassed to even bring it up.

Sasuke...

Hinata swallowed past the thick lump that lodged itself in her throat at the mere thought of his name. Why was she feeling like this so suddenly? She was the one who decided they should have nothing to do with one another, and yet, why was she feeling so lonely? Better yet, what was there to feel lonely for? It wasn't like Sasuke and her were the best of friends and she so suddenly had to cut him off. She didn't even know Sasuke when she thought of it. So why then did she miss him? Why did her chest ache when she witnessed him with Sakura? Why?

She chewed lightly at the bottom of her lip, feeling sicker than before.

"There you are!"

Hinata blinked a few times, a feminine voice pulling her from her thoughts.

Sakura.

The pinkette pushed through the crowd to find her, Sasuke in toe behind her.

The heiress swallowed again at the sight of them. Couldn't they just leave her alone? Why was Sakura always bringing Sasuke around her? Hinata had never minded before but when she thought of it, Sakura was always...showing him off. She dangled him in front of her constantly and Hinata was beginning to wonder if Sakura was doing it on purpose?

"Oh look how happy I am, Hinata. Look at me and my perfect boyfriend and our perfect relationship" Hinata imagined her best friend saying.

Or maybe Hinata was over-thinking things once again.

"Hn," she mumbled softly, standing up straighter.

"I went by the bar to check up on you and you were gone," Sakura explained. "Did you see Naruto yet?"

Hinata nodded her head, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the Uchiha who loomed in the background of their conversation.

Sakura grinned. "He came in with a large white box, did he show it to you yet?"

Hinata's eyes widened a bit, the sound of a gift bringing her out of her gloom, if only for a few moments. "No, he... didn't," she responded, her speech still slurred. "I w-wonder... what h-heeee got m-meeee..."

Sasuke scowled. She was pissy drunk yet again. He was beginning to wonder if she had a problem. There was no doubt in his mind that Sakura would insist on bringing the drunken mess home and Sasuke would have to deal with whatever she left in the backseat of his car this time. Part of him was still a little ticked about the last time the heiress had been in his car.

"Anyway," he interjected. "Naruto seems to have found her so we should leave them alone."

Sakura's head whirled around faster than Sasuke expected. Her emerald orbs shot him a look that told him she wasn't even close to agreeing. "We can't just leave her Sasuke."

"Why not? Naruto is here, he'll take care of her."

"Well, I want to see what his gift is."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is the gift for you?"

"What are you getting at?" Sakura demanded, pink brows crumpling.

"Nothing."

"No, you've got something on your mind, what is it?" the pinkette pressed.

Sasuke was silent for a while, unsure of whether it was wise to tell the truth or if his best bet was to drop it all together.

"Nothing," he insisted.

"No, it's something. Right Hinata? It's something and he should tell me – or us rather – what's got his panties in such a knot."

Hinata hesitated, her drunken and foggy mind not quite sure why she was being included in whatever argument the two were having. "I d-don't –"

"Don't drag her into this."

"Whatever your problem is, it has to do with Hinata," Sakura insisted.

Sasuke swallowed hard and cursed himself immediately afterward – Sakura would not have missed it.

"I knew it had something to do with her. You've been acting so strange lately and not even just since we got here either; don't think I haven't noticed."

Hinata began to panic. Sakura was looking between the two of them, her and Sasuke, and she had no clue what to do.

Oh no.

What if she figured it out? If she noticed how strange Sasuke had been acting then what if she picked up on how Hinata had been feeling towards him? What if she realized the truth. What if she got mad and never wanted to speak to her again? What if she –

Suddenly the heiress was hunched over and emptying her stomach onto the floor before her. She couldn't stop it, it just kept coming and coming. Tears poured from her eyes and snot from her nose as her stomach heaved. She could hear gasping around her and people shuffling back.

Uh oh...

"Oh my God, Hinata!" the pinkette gasped, stumbling around the puke on the ground to grab her best friend's hair quickly. "Not here Hinata, no."

"I'm s-sorry..." the heiress sniffled.

Sasuke frowned watching as Sakura disappeared with Hinata, the crowd separating for them. He was pissed with the Hyuuga heiress for drinking so much yet again and making another mess. Didn't she have any better way to deal with her problems? Not that he was any better really. Sasuke might have been just as self destructive as Hinata was in his own way.

Sasuke wasn't dumb however, he knew exactly why she ended up drinking so much. He pushed her into it. Sakura didn't force him to come like so many other times, in fact, she told him he didn't have to come if he didn't want to. It was part of her plan to get them back on track with one another; no more forcing him into things she knew he'd rather not be apart of. If he were being honest with himself, he just wanted to see Hinata. Even if it was only for a few awkward minutes, at least she'd be looking at him and acknowledging him and that was better than nothing at all.

Honestly he was mad at Hinata for more than just the drinking. It was everything. He knew things were fucked and he knew it was his fault, but she was making everything harder than it had to be. Why couldn't they just... Just what?

He pushed a hand through his raven locks and breathed.

Just what?

"I told that girl not to move," a voice cut in.

Sasuke looked up from his thoughts to find Naruto standing beside him, a bottle of water in hand. "Jeez... this wasn't her, was it?" he asked, referring to the vomit on the floor.

Great. Just the person he didn't want to see. Naruto was his best friend. The only person would could put up with his moodiness without fighting him about it until he was really out of line. Naruto knew him best and Sasuke was sure he knew Naruto best as well. It was interesting how one girl could make him not even like his best friend. Sasuke just couldn't understand what the heiress saw in Naruto that she didn't see in him.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

The blonde sighed. "I should have gotten here sooner."

"No shit," Sasuke agreed.

Naruto frowned, jabbing him in the arm. "I had something to do."

"Like what?"

A sneaky grin stretched a blonde's lips apart. "A date."

Sasuke stared at his best friend, quirking a brow. "A date?"

"Ah," Naruto responded. "Blonde girl I met in town a while ago. I don't know man, this could turn into something."

"What?"

"I mean, I really like her," Naruto said to his friend, smiling from just thinking about her. "She's really cool, I don't know. Never met anyone like her."

"What about Hinata?"

It was the blonde's turn to quirk a brow. "What about her?"

Sasuke's brows crumpled and he could feel himself frowning. "You're really going to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about?"

Naruto stared at him for a long time, standing his ground before finally giving in. "I don't know... I mean, I love her, I do, but more like a sister than anything else."

"A sister?"

"Yeah. I mean, if she's having a problem then I want her to come to me. I want to take care of her, protect her, but as my sister."

Sasuke didn't even bother to fight the anger that was boiling up inside him. If that was the case then, "Why are you leading her on?" he heard himself ask.

Naruto looked surprised at first and then a wave of guilt washed over him. "I'm not," he answered. "Things just got a little out of control and then I guess I was too scared to tell her the truth."

"So playing around with her is your only choice? You know why she got so drunk Naruto? Because she thought you weren't coming to her party. You should have seen the way she was looking for you? And where were you? Out with some other girl and now you want to show up and take care of her?"

The blonde stared wide eyed at his friend, bewildered by his outburst. At first Naruto didn't know what to say but it wasn't long before he found his words. "Why do you care so much?"

"I don't," Sasuke snapped.

"You were just ripping me a new one over this. You don't even like Hinata, why do you care what goes on between the two of us?" Naruto questioned his best friend, his frown now matching Sasuke's.

"I don't. But I know I'll be forced to hear all about what a jerk you are once Hinata goes running to Sakura about you," he reasoned.

Naruto snorted. "Bullshit. Don't try to lie to me teme, I know you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If you know me so well then why don't you tell me why I care so much? Hmmm?"

"You like her."

Sasuke's back straightened and he swallowed past the lump in his throat. "What are you even talking about?"

"You can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me," Naruto responded. "You better stay away from her teme, the last thing Hinata needs is you fucking up her life."

"And since when do you know what Hinata needs? Since when do you care about what Hinata needs?" Sasuke found himself arguing.

"So you do like her?" Naruto challenged.

"I don't like her."

"You're lying."

"You know what?" Sasuke started, spotting Sakura making her way towards them, supporting Hinata's arm over her shoulder, the two walking carefully. "You stay away from Hinata. She doesn't need you fucking up her life. Look what you've done so far. You think you're she's going to congratulate you and your new relationship? Get real.

"Let's go Sakura. Give her to me," he said, ignoring his best friend and lifting the heiress off her feet and hoisting her over his shoulder.

The pinkette bobbed her head, allowing Hinata to be taken from her. "Goodnight Naruto," she said, patting his shoulder as Sasuke began walking away with Hinata.

"Goodnight," he responded. "Do you mind giving Hinata her gift for me?"

"Sure Naruto."

"Wait right here and I'll go get it," he said, walking off into the crowd.

Sakura stood there and watched him leave. Something wasn't right. Sasuke and Naruto must have been having a fight before she got there because she could sense the tension between the two of them immediately. Something was telling her it had to do with Hinata. She didn't know why or what was making her feel this way but she was. The pinkette was certain that whatever drama that was about to unfold had something to do with the heiress. She just hoped whatever it was didn't change anything between them.

Thank you for reading, until next time everyone.