Hello everyone. I'm back. I've had this chapter for a while but I've been too busy with nothing really important to finish it lol. I did tonight though (July 4h, 2014). Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I don't really like it, but hey, you guys usually like all the chapters I don't. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. Without further rambling:
Cover My Eyes
by, Rampantt
Chapter Eleven: What Love Has Done To Me Part II
Hinata laid back in the reclined driver's seat of her Range Rover. Her opal eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, silently counting how many times she breathed in and out. She wasn't sure how long exactly she had been laying there for but her heart had long since calmed. Yet somehow, there was still a war ragging inside of her. She could feel the anger bubbling in her gut but she wasn't quite sure who exactly she was angry with; herself or them.
Naruto and Ino.
Sakura and Sasuke.
Her father and Neji.
The heiress sighed and licked the gloss away from her lips. The person she really should be upset with was herself. She had been letting her emotions get the best of her a lot lately and it had been clouding her judgment. She needed to remind herself of what was important here. Herself.
Sitting up and returning her seat to it's natural position, she let herself out of her car. As she unlocked the garage door and let herself into the laundry room, she made a promise to herself: Her only concern was her own happiness and her happiness would only come from being heir-apparent of Hyuuga Enterprises. Fuck everything else, she decided.
The heiress strolled into her home, heels clacking against the marble floors. But even though she promised herself, as she climbed the spiral stair case up to her bedroom, she couldn't help the pounding of her heart and the thoughts of despair that clouded her mind.
Hinata couldn't remember the last time anything had ever hurt this badly. She had lost the love of her life and what was worse was she couldn't even fight for him – he was happy with someone else. It wasn't that they had a falling out or drifted apart, he simply found someone who matched him. That was probably what was stinging her. She had been so caught up in Hyuuga Enterprises that she didn't even notice him slipping through her fingers.
She tossed herself atop her bed and breathed in the scent of jasmine and lilac. She didn't even bother to fight the tears that welted up in her eyes. How could this be happening to her? Naruto was her everything. The feeling of betrayal bloomed in her chest as tears silently licked her pillow cases. How could Naruto do this to her?
Hurt quickly transformed into anger and the heiress sat up. After all that she had done for him, all that she had dedicated to him. How could he toss her aside like this? How could he forget her so soon? Did the kiss they shared mean nothing to him then? Did she mean nothing to him then? She must have been less than that for him to dangle that blonde bitch in front of her face like that. She might not have eve confessed but Naruto was no idiot; he knew exactly what was in her heart. The heiress could feel the heat rising from her chest to her neck to her face until her cheeks were flushed with anger.
She sprung from her bed, and stormed about her room until she came upon her desk. She stared at the pictures she had framed there. One of herself from childhood, another of Hanabi and herself at their home on the riverside, a few here and there of Sakura and herself on various vacations. She scanned over multiple images until she arrived at one of herself and Naruto. She picked up the cherry-oak frame, white eyes studying the expressions on their faces. She remembered that day – their senior luncheon. Everyone was dressed in white. Naruto had been smiling charmingly into the camera, one arm draped over her shoulder and pulling her in for a friendly hug. She looked calm, her cheeks just a little pink and a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Hinata remembered how her heart hammered in her chest when that picture was taken.
The heiress sucked at her teeth, nose wrinkling up as she stared at the image of the two of them. "Liar..." she breathed out, flipping the frame around and tearing the picture from inside of it. She stared at it a little more, tossing the frame onto the bed. Then, with her mind made up, she tore the picture in half, ripping Naruto's image from the picture completely.
A fire lit itself in her gut then.
Hinata stormed out of her room and returned soon enough with a large cardboard-box, placing it down on her bed. The heiress huffed to and fro, ripping up pictures of the man who reminded her of the sun and dumping them into the box. She filled it with gifts and trinkets sent to her from his travels, shoes and purses he had lavished her with over the years; dresses and sweaters, diamonds and pearls, all tossed into the box as if they were being placed for a garage sale. The heiress was livid; hot were her cheeks and her palms as she stormed about her room, ripping Naruto from her life.
She ended up on her knees, pale arms digging under her bed for what was probably what she treasured more than any of the gifts he had given her. Hinata pulled out an empty Givenchy shoe box and placed it neatly atop her bed. White eyes watered as she stared down at the box, her heart pounding in her chest as a million thoughts swirled through her mind.
"Don't read them..." she whispered softly to herself, wiping a tear from the corner of her left eye.
But even though she told herself not to, her hands would not obey her orders. Opening the box she discovered what had been hidden inside, what had been preserved so peacefully up until that point. Hundreds, maybe thousands of letters sent from the love of her life while he had been away on deployment. Her shaking fingers dug inside and pulled one out; her eyes did not hesitate to scan over the words so beautifully drafted in blue ink over the yellow stained paper, brown at it's corners.
Dear Hinata,
Thirty days have went by and you are the first to write to me. I am well, I think. I don't really sleep much anymore. I wish I could write a bit more, but I don't really have time to. I'm going to be heading off to my next assignment. I can't tell you where that is, but here's a hint; the rain is never-ending. Tell the gang that I miss them. I miss you too.
Naruto U.
The heiress sighed and folded the later again, placing it back into the box. She found herself fishing in there once again, pulling out pictures he had sent to her from the Lightening Country. He had been smiling with children in many of them, their cheeks dirty but smiling so happily for the clean water they were about to get. Hinata placed the images back inside and pulled out another letter, despite what her mind had told her.
Dear Hinata,
I know you've told me not to, but I've still been counting the days. It's been three hundred and forty-nine since I've seen you and everyone else. Sasuke wrote me not too long ago, he seems okay, check on him sometimes for me, won't you? You know how blind Sakura can be sometimes.
I'm glad that your studies are well. Before you know it you'll be graduating. As for me, I've been dreaming of ramen a lot lately, promise me a bowl when I get home. Ha.
Honestly, Hinata, I don't know how much longer I'm going to last here. Every time I make a friend, they die. It's the worst thing I've ever experienced – some days I wonder what we're even fighting for. I dream of escaping some nights, just to avoid the same fate as my comrades. But when I wake up, and I go out there each day, I realize why I can't. We all need each other out here, so far away from our families, we are each others' family. I just wish it didn't have to be like this.
I watched one of the best men I've ever met in my life die last week and until now I haven't spoken to anyone about it. It should have been me, you know? He died protecting me. This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to endure...
When terror forces sleep to elude me, I lay awake at night, staring at the pictures you sent me, wishing I was there with you instead.
Two hundred and eighty-six more days more.
Naruto U.
She pulled out another.
Dear Hinata,
I miss you.
One hundred and fifteen days more.
Naruto U.
Hinata shoved bother letters back into the box, tears streaming down her face and her heart hammering in her chest so loudly that it echoed in the back of her ears. Dumped the shoe box into the larger one, refusing to read another one of his letters or look at anymore of his pictures. She lifted the box, ignoring it's weight and carried it out of her bedroom and down the spiral stair case to the foyer where her heels clacked against the marbled floors. She stormed through the kitchen, startling the chef and a few maids as she stormed inside.
"I need lighter fluid and matches," she said softly to no one in particular.
The maids bobbed their heads, eying the box she held and disappeared to find the items she requested.
"Are you okay, Lady Hinata?" one of the servants inquired.
Hinata offered a soft smile, but her eyes weren't quite there. "Yes, I'm alright, thank you," she said.
The maids returned quickly with the lighter fluid and the matches, placing them neatly in the box to her direction.
"Do you need any help, Lady Hinata?" one inquired.
The heiress smiled again and shook her head negatively. "No, thank you," she answered as she breezed out the back door.
Her heels sank into the grass as she crossed the lawn to the stone walk way, her opal eyes set on the infinity pool that made up a good deal of her backyard, seeming to spill over the hill top. The heiress set the box down and opened the lighter fluid, drenching the box and everything in it with it, her heart pounding away.
"Hinata?" a familiar voice called, but the heiress ignored it.
Grabbing the matches, she lifted the box and set it down in the pool.
"Hinata? What're you –"
The heiress grabbed a handful of the matches from the box and lit them quickly, tossing them one by one into the box and watching as fire erupted into the pool. Just before she could light the last one, a hand curled around her wrist, pulling her arm back.
Hinata jerked at her hand furiously, tears wetting her face. "Let me go," she sobbed, turning to face her cousin as he pulled at both her arms now.
"Hinata, calm down," Neji urged. "Don't cause a scene. If your father wakes up do you want to have to answer for this?"
The heiress continued to sob, letting herself drop to her knees. Neji released her hand and watched as the heiress wept silently now. He turned to find a few of the servants watching them and the growing fire. He called one over.
"I don't want any of you gossiping about this nor do I want my uncle to find out either. When we're done out here I want all of this cleaned up," he ordered firmly.
The servant bobbed his head once then darted back inside to tell the others.
Neji watched his cousin for a while, wondering silently what had overcome her. He had never seen Hinata behave this way before. With a sigh, he sat himself down beside her and listened as she sobbed, rubbing her eyes and nose with the back of her hand.
He wasn't quite sure of what he was supposed to do in a time like this, Hanabi was the one who usually needed comfort after emotional outbursts, Hinata had always been the level-headed one. Neji was quite surprised that out of the two of them, Hinata had been the one to actually light a fire.
So he sat quietly beside her, allowing her to sob as much as she liked until she was calm. He dug around in his box and pulled out a cigarette, pushing one between his lips. "Hand me one of those matches," he said to her once she had fallen silent.
The heiress sniffed then obey, handing one over. Taking it, he dragged the match against the stone until fire erupted and light his cigarette with it. "I don't suppose you want one, do you?" he asked, one an exhale.
She bobbed her head once and he fished around his pocket for another one, lighting it for her once it was between her lips.
Hinata inhaled slowly, letting the poison fill her lungs. She pulled her knees up to her chin and exhaled slowly, breathing out all her sorrows.
"So. You gonna explain or should I just assume some things?" Neji asked, sucking on his own cigarette.
Hinata smiled at the fire she had caused, a little impressed with herself. "This is what love has done to me," she said softly, sucking on her cigarette and blowing the toxic smoke out slowly.
Neji was silent for a long while allowing her the opportunity to elaborate. And she did. Hinata spilled her guts to her cousin that night. The two Hyuuga heirs watched the fire in the pool as Hinata confided in him everything that had been burning in her stomach for months.
"You poor thing," said the pinkette a few days later. "No wonder I haven't heard from you since you got back from the Hot Springs."
Hinata sighed and pushed her feet into a pair of white, thick heeled Givenchy's. "Yeah, I haven't been feeling like myself lately," she said softly, staring at her feet in the mirror.
Hinata, her sister and the pinkette were all out shopping at a new department store that had just opened up in center Konoha. Hinata had been in desperate need of a little retail-therapy. The three of them had already spent tens of thousands in the store and were on their way out when Hinata finally spilled the beans to Sakura.
"Don't worry babe, Naruto's still a boy, he'll realize soon enough what a mistake he's made," the pinkette assured her.
Hanabi bobbed her head in agreement, looking up from a pair of black Prada clogs. "I've been telling her that all week."
Hinata smiled at her reflection. "I'm okay with it," Hinata said. "I really should just focus on myself right now, there will be time for boys later."
Sakura huffed. "No there won't be."
Hinata tossed a look at her best friend over her shoulder, one shapely black brow arched "Hm?"
"I want to be married soon, Hinata. I want little strawberry-haired babies that will smile just like their daddy," Sakura moaned, plopping down in a chair and lifting her leg to study the strappy green Givenchy's on her feet. "Time is running out for us."
Hanabi laughed. "You're barely twenty-three, that hardly sounds like a time to be distressed over marriage"
Sakura huffed once more. "I don't want to be 30 when I have my first child, twenty-four is a decent age for that, I'd say. But that looks impossible now, since I have to start over."
Hinata licked at her suddenly dry lips. "Oh? You don't see you and Sasuke making up? It's only been a few weeks."
The pinkette shook her head 'no'. "Nah. I still love him, but Sasuke wasn't very good to me honestly," she said softly, peeling the heels from her feet.
The heiress was silent. Truthfully, Hinata had been wanting to see the raven. He had been right about Naruto, seemed like he had been right the whole time. Hinata realized she ought to have believed his best friend of all people. Sasuke was prickly and maybe even a little bit jealous, but she didn't know him to be a liar. But even if she wanted to apologize for their last argument, there was no real reason to see him. The heiress wasn't quite ready to admit that she simply missed him. With Naruto out of the picture and him and Sakura no longer dating, it seemed like her dream of not having to see him again was getting closer to reality at last. Yet somehow, she wasn't as happy about it as she would have liked.
"It's time for both of us to move on," Sakura said, sliding her feet into her red pumps and placing the Givenchy's back in their box.
Hinata bobbed her head once.
"I can't believe you're finally moving out of the compound though," Sakura said, standing up.
"Yeah well there wasn't much of a choice," said the heiress, stepping out of her shoes and placing them back in the box. "I don't think I'll be getting these."
Sakura laughed. "Yeah I guess Hiashi wasn't too happy about the fire you started in his back yard."
Hinata smiled guiltily. Hiashi hadn't put her out necessarily, but he did make it clear that no fires, for whatever reason, were allowed on his property. Hinata took the conversation they had as a sign that it was time for her to start her life anyway. A fresh start in a new home was exactly what she needed. When she informed her father of her plans to move out, he had offered to pay for it and the heiress accepted – it wasn't like she had the kind of money to afford the digs she was used to on her own anyway.
The two gathered up their bags and headed for the exit, heels clacking against the floors of the store. They dumped their things into the back of Hinata's Range Rover before pulling out of the parking garage.
"So when are you moving?" Sakura asked, strapping on her seat-belt as Hinata began gunning down the high way.
"I already did, just need some furniture. All I've got is my bed and some dressers" Hinata said.
"Oh, you bought the place already?"
"Yeah, Hiashi purchased it last week," the heiress answered.
"Oh, you little shit, you've been up to a lot in the past two weeks," Sakura bitched. "Keeping secrets from me and what not."
A lump formed in Hinata's throat. Her living situation and things with Naruto were not even the secrets Sakura ought to be worried about. Thoughts of the raven made her heart clench often and it was confusing considering how certain she was of her feelings for Naruto. Her feelings for Sasuke were strange. Ever since they kissed a few months back, she found herself thinking of him from time to time, enjoying their little arguments and missing him when he wasn't around. It was odd.
The heiress smiled. "It wasn't really a secret, I've just been a bit overwhelmed," she said, watching as her sister tried on a pair of red heels.
The pinkette scoffed but didn't seem to be too angry. "Should we have a house-warming party? Y'know, to break you place in."
Hinata shrugged her shoulders once as she picked up whatever boxes of shoes she intended to purchase. "I don't know Sak, I'm not really into partying right now. I've got a lot going on with work and –"
"Which is all the more reason for a party," Hanabi interfered, a wide smile stretching her cheeks.
Hinata frowned a bit. "Only you would think that; you have no clue what it means to be responsible."
"Pfft. And you're too responsible; always so seriously. Let your hair down, have fun once in a while, you're always so tightly wound up, it's uncomfortable looking at you some times."
"Don't look at me then," Hinata said under breath, pouting as the three of them made their way to the check out.
"I can't resist, you're too cute," Hanabi teased, sticking her tongue out at her sister.
Hinata ignored her however, stacking her shoes up on the counter, followed by the pinkette who added: "Maybe you're sister is right, Hanabi; the last few parties we had she was totally wrecked. I'm not sure if I can handle another drunken Hinata episode."
Hinata shot her a look. "This was your idea, and now you're backing out of it?"
Sakura smiled guiltily. "Well, sweetie, when you drink, you really drink."
Hinata shook her head and ignored the two of them as they got into a conversation about her poor drinking skills. But when Hinata thought about it, the last few times she drank, she ended up causing such a mess for Sasuke – all because of Naruto. It made her wonder, was Naruto even worth the hurt that pounded in her chest?
Silently, she watched as her boxes were scanned and bagged, then handed over the plastic black card she carried with her.
Her mind was still on Naruto, and Sasuke. Best friends who were so different and yet, she couldn't understand why she felt the way she did towards either one of them at the moment. If Hinata were to be fully honest with herself, the way she felt was her own fault. She never really told Naruto what he meant to her and had been waiting for him to make the first move for years. The fact that he hadn't should have told her that he was not interested in her the way that she wanted him to be. She had been holding onto something that wasn't real.
The heiress thought of this fact as the three walked out of the department store and to their respective vehicles. Once in her car, she pulled off, driving a bit faster than the speed limit allowed her to. She just wanted to get home, she could feel the tears stinging the backs of her eyes. Why had it taken her so long to see what she had been doing to herself?
It wasn't long before the the heiress reached her new home. She parked her range rover in the parking garage and took the elevator to the 14th floor, where she let herself into her penthouse. It was a shinny, two story place, with a terrace pool off the living room. It was empty, save for a few appliances and a glass coffee table – a gift from Neji.
Hinata locked the door and dumped her bag onto the table before making her way into the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of her favorite white wine and poured herself a glass. She knew it would do her no good trying to drink away her problems, but it made her feel better, if only for a short while. She knocked back the glass in a few gulps and allowed the alcohol to calm her. The last few weeks had been rough. Work was piling up and matters with Naruto and Sasuke didn't make things much better.
She poured herself another glass and tiptoed her way up to the second floor and to her bedroom. Setting the glass on the dress, she stripped herself and crawled into bed, sinking under her sheets where she finally allowed herself to cry.
How could she have been a fool for so long? Hadn't she learned better from her father? What would Hiashi say if he knew his eldest had been deceived by something as trivial as love? The heiress sobbed once before drowning herself with more wine.
What was even worse than Naruto having a girlfriend was the conflicting feelings she had for Sasuke. She could barely navigate them. She found herself missing him often, especially now that Naruto had broken her heart. Sasuke was normally around to take care of her when Naruto fucked up, but now she was alone. Maybe he wouldn't even talk to her again – why would he? She was nothing but mean to him whenever he came around her. Who would continue to waste their time pursuing a person who constantly fought them and told them to go away?
But what she she supposed to do? Sakura was her best friend and she couldn't just explore her feelings for Sasuke and pretend that her friendship with the pinkette didn't matter. Everything in her life was so messed up at the moment. Hinata wondered how she had even gotten herself into this. Family matters were always complicated but when did her social life become so messy?
Hinata sat up and dried the tears from her eyes before taking one final gulp of her wine. She stared out of her opened infinity windows and breathed slowly. She missed Sasuke more than she missed Naruto, she realized. It would have been nice if she could call him – but even if she had his number, what exactly would she say to him? He was right about Naruto having a girlfriend and she didn't want to apologize to him for her attitude, but what else would they even have to talk about?
The sounding of her door bell pulled her from her thoughts. Quickly, she pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt to cover herself in and rushed down the steps to her front door. The heiress tossed a glance at her video-com, stunned by who she found standing on the other side of her door. Hinata stood there for a while, wondering if she should let him in or not. The door bell sounded again.
"I know you're home," he said, looking directly into the camera now, pushing the talk button on his side of the door.
Hinata licked her suddenly dry lips.
"C'mon, Hina, let me in."
She pushed both sets of fingers through her hair and stared at his image for a while, studying the planes of his face. She missed him.
Hesitantly, she opened the door. "Naruto."
He smiled that smile that made her heart ache. "Hina."
The heiress smiled nervously, stepping aside to allow him in. "Come in."
Naruto continued to smile as he stepped over the threshold, cyan eyes exploring her new place. "Hanabi, told me you moved out," he said after she closed the door. "Finally taking that first step."
Hinata laughed softly, making a mental note to kill Hanabi for telling him where she lived. "Yeah, it was time to. I need my own space now," she said. "Hiashi calls it a graduation present."
Naruto bobbed his head, looking around her living room and dinning room areas. "Planning on getting any furniture soon?
"Yeah, I don't know really," she answered him. "Not really sure what my style is just yet."
"Not gonna ask Sakura for advice?" he inquired.
The heiress shook her head. "Not this time, this place is my own," she told him, sliding her hands into her pockets.
"Hn. That's true..."
An unfamiliar silence fell between them. This was the first time since they known each other that it had ever been awkward between them. Naruto found himself at a lost for words. He could practically touch the wall she was hiding herself behind. It was clear to him how far away she was from him. He felt like he was talking to a stranger.
He knew her finding out about Ino would hurt her, but he didn't think she would start ignoring him. It had been two weeks since he'd seen her face and two weeks since she last answered any phone calls or text messages from him. Naruto didn't think that by getting a girlfriend he'd lose his closest friend.
"Hinata..."
"Hm?"
Naruto licked his lips once. "I don't.. know what to say really," he started. "I could ask why you haven't been taking my calls or why you didn't tell me yourself that you moved, but I already know the answer to that."
Hinata looked away from him shyly, her chest tightening up.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked her.
The heiress shook her head once. "Nothing," she said softly. "You don't have to say anything to me."
Naruto stared at him, feeling the gap between them widen. "Hinata–"
"Please... don't," she cut in. "You don't owe me any kind of apology."
"I do, Hinata. I, haven't been very considerate of how you feel, how you've felt," he told her, taking a step closer.
She took one back, not really wanting to be close with him like she once did. Naruto didn't let that deter him however.
"I came looking for you because I thought of how you must feel right now. I was wrong, Hinata. I didn't know the proper way to tell you, I figured the band-aid method would be best. I fucked up."
Hinata shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong to me," she told him, softly, breaking eye-contact for fear that she might waver and cry.
"How can you pretend like you're not feeling anything?" he asked her. "Don't shut me out like that."
"I'm n-not," she insisted, cursing her damned tongue for betraying her with that stutter. "I'm fine, Naruto-kun, you don't have to worry about me."
"How can I not when you're ignoring me?" he asked her.
"I haven't been ignoring you."
"It's not like you to lie, Hinata."
The heiress frowned. "Don't pretend to know everything about me," she said to him, fire burning in her stomach.
"What? If I don't know everything, then who does?" he asked her.
Hinata licked her lips. "You used to know me best," she told him. "I've changed."
Naruto smiled at her. "How much could you have changed in two weeks?"
"It hasn't been two weeks; had you not been too busy with your girlfriend … you would have noticed it," she told him, her voice wavering towards the end.
"So you are upset about that," Naruto said.
Hinata licked her lips and pressed her back against the wall behind her, opal eyes peering into cyan ones. "I am."
"Then, let's talk about it," Naruto said. "I don't want to lose what we have, Hina."
Hinata smiled a little, mostly to herself however. "I don't want that either, Naruto-kun."
"Then why are you acting like this?"
She hesitated for a moment. "I c-can't pretend like everything is okay when it's not," she said softly, tripping over her words as she did her best not to cry. "I didn't answer your phone calls b-because I didn't want to sm-smile and pretend that I'm fine when I'm really... b-broken."
"You don't have to pretend, Hinata, that's why I'm here, I want us to make up, I want us to go back to talking every day like we used. The last two weeks have been hard without you Hinata," he said to her, moving closer.
Hinata wiped away a tear that betrayed her before it had a chance to fall from her eyes. She refused to let him see it. He drifted away from her first; she wasn't the one who abandoned their so-called friendship. "They couldn't have been too hard for you, you have Ino," she said softly, looking away from him at last.
"We're not talking about Ino, we're talking about you and me."
"There is no you and me!" she snapped finally, unable to keep it inside.
Naruto stared at her, unsure of the person he was looking at. What did she mean by that? She couldn't possibly mean what she had said to him. Out of all the girls Naruto had ever met, Hinata was the one he held dearest. His feelings for her had always been wishy-washy, every since they met in high school. For stretch of months she was more than just his friend and then for another stretch of months she was just Hinata. It had been that way for him towards her for years now. Hinata didn't deserve a man who only loved her from time to time, which is why he never said anything about is feelings, despite knowing exactly how she felt towards him. If he had been honest with himself, there was nothing more he wanted than that kiss they shared a few months back and he found himself thinking of it here and there, but he couldn't commit himself to her based on that. He knew he couldn't do it. Naruto was glad he hadn't either because he met Ino around the time that happened between the two of them. He would never want to hurt Hinata by leaving her for another woman but in a way he supposed he had done just that. But still...
"You don't mean that, Hinata," he said gently to her.
"I do, Naruto, I do," she said softly, wiping another tear from her eye.' "You like to pretend you don't know what I'm feeling when I know you do. I might not ever had said it, but it wasn't a secret either. You knew exactly what you were to me, so how could you do th-that to me?" she asked, her voice cracking. "H-how could you b-bring another woman in front of m-me N-Naruto?"
Hinata wiped at another tear, cursing herself for being this weak. "You knew exactly how I felt about you and you hurt me anyway."
Naruto shook his head. "I never meant to hurt you, Hinata, I swear I never meant to do that. I'm sorry," he told her. "I'm so sorry, just don't say that we're nothing now."
It was Hinata's turn to shake her head. "We were never friends, N-Naruto," she said to him. "You gotta know that. You and I were never ever friends. Y-you can't have I-Ino and play around with me when you're b-bored. I'm tired of th-that."
"Hinata, I have never played around with you, you have to believe that," he said to her.
"Then why is it that I have to hear from Sasuke-san that you have a girlfriend and not from your own mouth?" she asked him. "I-isn't she the r-reason you were late to my p-party? I thought you weren't even going to come, Naruto."
Naruto stared at her. "Wait, Sasuke told you what?"
"He told me about Ino before I met her. I was just too s-stupid to believe him. I had it in my head that you and I were headed in that direction. But I was wrong for years, apparently."
The blonde stared at the the brunette, unsure of what to say next. He felt worse than scum. He had never intended to hurt Hinata and he could tell just how much so he had by the way she was talking to him and how easily she was ready to throw away their friendship. He was going to kill Sasuke for opening his mouth before he had had the chance to tell her himself.
"Hinata I–"
"Just g-get out of my house... Naruto," Hinata said softly, rubbing more tears from her eyes. "I don't want to s-see you here again."
"Hina—"
"Go!"
Naruto swallowed past the lump that lodged itself in his throat and bobbed his head once. "You're serious about us being over?"
Hinata bobbed her head, opal clashing with cyan once more and maybe for the last time. "Yeah."
Naruto studied her hard, his chest tight with regret and a slue of other emotions that he couldn't quite place. "You might have cut me out, but I'll never stop caring about you Hinata," he told her. "I know you're upset right now, so I'll give you time and space, but I'm not letting go of our friendship."
The heiress remained silent, her hands turning to fists within her pockets. "Hn."
"Call me, when you're ready to, okay?"
She stood there quietly still, refusing to speak to him any longer.
Naruto closed the space between them and pulled her close to him, closing his arms around her small frame. "I'm sorry Hinata," he said, placing a kiss against her forehead.
Hinata felt her heart hammering. She couldn't bring herself to push him away quite yet because all she wanted to do was melt into him and forgive him, but she couldn't. She couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt to see him with someone else, even if she did have those confusing feelings for Sasuke. She was certain of her feelings for Naruto and that was what she had to focus on when it came to their ending friendship.
The heiress swallowed past the tightness in her throat and slowly pushed him away from her. "Y-you need to l-leave now, Naruto-kun."
The blonde nodded his head and stepped away from her. Everything in him was screaming at him to stay there and beg her to forgive him until they made up but he figured he had been selfish enough in the past few years. The least he could do was allow her some time away from him. "Okay, Hinata," he said to her before letting himself out of her home.
Hinata stood there, back pressed against the wall and breathed slowly from her mouth. "You better not cry," she whispered to herself.
Her eyes betrayed her however and it wasn't long before she began to sob, her heart aching.
I'll admit, althought I'm sure everyone has noticed, I don't really like to proofread, so forgive me for whatever mistakes I've made. I can't promise that I'll start profreading if my typos are out of control; you all have to let me know though lol.
Reviews are appreciated.
Much love,
- Rampantt