She is one of the last people in the classroom. The paper that she had carefully written on, with her very best handwriting, was no longer in the pristine state it had been five minutes ago. Wrinkles marred the edges on which her anxious fingers rested.
The clock ticked on. More people left and the creases grew deeper. With a deep breath Hinata finally rose from her seat and scanned the room for the familiar mop of blond hair. She found him immediately, but she wasn't able to tell whether the skip in her heart was one of relief or dejectment when she realized he was not resting, but rather asleep.
Hinata erased the creases in the paper as quietly as possible and folded it into a neat square before leaving it by the sleeping boy. As she took one step towards the door she turned back around. She shouldn't wake him, but he should know that it was her who gifted him with those notes, right? She took back the paper and carefully wrote down her name.
In a sudden burst of confidence she decided to tap his shoulder gently. No response. Again, she tapped and his drowsy gaze immediately shifted into an unusually distrusting alertness.
Hinata stepped back with a quiet squeak and Naruto's eyes widened before jumping out of his seat. "Sorry, Hinata, I didn't mean to scare you. I thought…"
"No, no," Hinata said, waving both of her hands in denial. "I shouldn't have— well, you were sleeping and I just…"
Naruto laughed and rubbed his neck. All traces of tension had disappeared from his semblance. "You're good, it's just that sometimes some guys will try to pull pranks on me." Hinata raised a hand to her mouth, covering a frown. Naruto added quickly, "not that I don't trust you, I know that you're really nice and you wouldn't do that."
Her face burned and she shrugged, unable to think of anything that could make things better. "I— I'm sorry about that. I'll let you know if I ever see anyone suspicious around you," she offered. It seemed to do the trick because Naruto patted her shoulder with a bright smile.
"See? I knew that you're really nice."
A smile made its way to her red face and she raised the square in her hands. "Thanks… also, um, here's some notes. They aren't that good, but— but I hope they can help you pass the test tomorrow."
Hinata made her way through the village with a skip in her step that day. She playfully kicked the leaves in the air with a gleeful squeal. He thought she was nice and he even accepted the notes! She didn't stutter that much either or make a fool of herself either. Her day could not possibly get any better so she pointedly avoided the Hyūga compound.
When the sun approached Hokage Mountain Hinata collected her blades from various trees and abandoned the training grounds and returned to the heart of Konoha with a growling stomach. Unwilling to face any upset relatives in the kitchen at the compound, she decided to indulged herself with take-out food. And perhaps Neji too. Just something small for him to hold out until dinner; even if he wasn't a fan of take-out she could already imagine that he would be needing a meal soon.
When she dropped off her kunai pouch and sweater in her room, Hinata glanced at the desk sitting innocently in a corner. She wouldn't allow any negativity to mar what had been an excellent day… and yet she found herself once more with a pen in hand and writing with the uncertainty of how well received her intentions would be.
Footsteps approached as she rested the tray by Neji's door. Hinata jumped to her feet and the carefully crafted note fell carelessly onto the tray as she zoomed away to the neighboring hallway. The crunch of paper being crumpled reached her ears after a moment.
She returned to her quarters with a small smile. The quiet sound of metal brushing against the wooden floor and the absence of any other noise to indicate his rejection was a victory all on its own.
