Chapter Nine
There was a birthday celebration for Hanabi at the Hyuuga household one Saturday afternoon. The house was crowded with her friends from school. Her grandparents were even there. Of course, they wouldn't want to miss her eleventh birthday party. They brought presents and wore party hats. Hinata had never seen Hanabi looked so happy.
"Happy birthday, Hanabi," Hinata said with a proud smile tugging on her lips.
Hanabi grinned and hugged her older sister. "Thank you, nee-san!" she said before going back to her friends.
Hinata grabbed a slice of cake and walked to where Neji was. He was standing in a corner with a plate of cake on his hand. He wore a party hat on his head and his usual apathetic look on his face, which made him seem somewhat ridiculous.
When he saw Hinata approaching him, he straightened his back.
"How's the cake, Hinata?" he asked politely.
She looked at him with smiling eyes. "It's delicious, Neji-nii-san."
"It is." He silently agreed, playing with his food.
She stood next to him and looked at Hanabi playing with her friends.
"Hanabi looks very happy, don't you think so?" she said before eating her cake.
He agreed.
"And you look miserable with that hat on, which makes it funny." She remarked, chuckling timidly, while looking at his party hat.
He had a grim look on his face when she said that, and she couldn't help but to laugh some more.
"Hanabi made me wear it." He said.
"I know." She chuckled. "Father looks funny, too, because he's always serious like you, nii-san."
He looked at her and a small smile tugged on his lips. "I'm glad to see you having a good time, Hinata."
She flashed him a wide smiled and nodded her head, agreeing.
He really was glad to see her happy like that. The joy that radiated from her wasn't hard to miss. He was slightly getting tired of the miserable air she always carried everyday, and a change of emotions was great for her and those around her.
Walking to school everyday with Neji made Hinata realize that the blossoms were blooming again after what it seemed like a long winter. She stopped wearing scarves and didn't have to wear thigh highs that often because the weather was growing warmer. Just like everybody else, she looked forward to spring break.
In class she started to hang out with Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. She didn't have to eat lunch alone anymore, because they invited her to sit with them. She was shy, but excited otherwise to have lunch with them. They were very nice to her.
"What are your plans for spring break, Ino?" Sakura asked during lunch.
"My parents are going to Hokkaido and they're going to drag me with them," Ino said with a sigh. "I really want to stay here during break."
"Don't forget to buy souvenirs!" Sakura said excitedly.
"Yeah, yeah, I won't!" Ino waved her hand, and turned to Hinata, who was eating lunch quietly. "What about you, Hinata?"
Hinata glanced up from her lunch. "Um, I don't know yet."
"You can hang out with me during the break if you don't have any plans, Hinata," Sakura said, her eyes sparkling. "Since Ino is going to be in Hokkaido."
Ino sighed. "Unfair!"
Hinata looked at Sakura with wide eyes, then Ino and back. "I-is it okay without Ino-san?"
"Don't worry about me," Ino grinned.
"Give me your phone number and email address, Hinata!" Sakura said, pulling out her phone.
"Give me yours, too!" Ino said before stuffing tempura into her mouth.
Hinata exchanged numbers with the two girls. She was so happy to have friends in her contact aside from Neji and her father. Which reminded her about Gaara. She didn't have his phone number yet.
When Hinata asked for his number, Gaara was surprised. She came to him when classes were over, and she was fast enough to stop him from going out of the classroom. She was shy and had a smile tugging on her lips when she asked. She stood before him, holding her phone.
"Gaara-kun," she began, "may I have your phone number?"
He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Sure."
They quickly exchanged numbers, and Hinata called his number to make sure he wasn't giving her a false number. She hung up immediately when his phone rang.
"Why do you want to have my number?" he asked out of curiosity.
She glanced up from her phone screen to meet his eyes, and she gave him her widest smile. "Because you're my friend, Gaara-kun."
He didn't know what to say when those words left her lips. He wanted to smile at her, but he was too confused and surprised to widen his lips.
"Let's walk together," he said.
Her eyes sparkled and she nodded her head. "Okay."
Heads turned towards them when they walked down the hallway together. He would quietly glance at her to see if she was fine because almost everyone was looking at them. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and a bright shade of red blossomed on her cheeks. He thought she looked rather cute.
"What are your plans for spring break?" Gaara asked, looking straight, as they climbed down the staircase.
"I don't have any plans," she said softly, but he was able to pick up the words. "What about you, Gaara-kun?"
"Me neither."
Hinata stopped walking when they almost reached the lockers, and he asked her what was wrong.
"Neji-nii-san is probably waiting for me there," she said softly, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Oh."
She shyly looked up and met his eyes.
"Thank you for walking with me, Gaara-kun," she said with a small grateful smile, playing the straps of her bag on her shoulder.
"You're welcome."
"I'll see you soon." She said.
"Goodbye."
"Bye."
He watched her quickly walk away from him before making his way to his locker and change his shoes.
He received a text message from Kankuro when he finished using his shoes, and opened it, thinking it was urgent. It said that Kankuro was going out with his friends. He closed the message and opened the contact. The name that stood above his brother's was Hyuuga Hinata's. He stared at it for a while; trying to accept the fact he had a girl's—aside from Temari's—number on his phone. He shoved his phone back in his pocket, a smile played on his lips, and he walked away from the building, feeling his heart race a little bit.
Author's Note: There it is, everyone! Chapter nine! Thank you for reading and don't forget to review!