disclaimer i don't own naruto.

HINATA

chapter one – (un)social media

Harsh sun, hot winds, dry air – this was the arid climate of one such Sand Village which Hyuga Hiashi, Hikari, Hinata and Hanabi were currently on vacation in. The Leaf villagers were not used to extreme climates, and were rather sensitive to the sun due to their fair skin, but that didn't stop them from entering and staying in the village situated in the bloody desert because of two factors: Hiashi had some business to attend to and most buildings had the blessed invention of the air-conditioner, so Hikari had deemed it okay.

"It's okay," the mother said. "We'll be fine," she said. Well… mother knows best.

So now they were stuck in a fancy hotel in a fancy bedroom, Hinata and Hanabi on separate single beds on their phone and laptop respectively. Their mother was cooking while their father was out in some hoity toity meeting with the Kazekage and some other official what-nots. So Hinata did what any other teenager who had recently signed up for Instagram did – took pictures of her surroundings, in particular the Sand village skyline.

"Ne, Hanabi, follow me pleeeease," Hinata pleaded her younger sister as she decided on the caption to her filtered image, backspacing and re-typing every few seconds indecisively. Hanabi gave a non-committal 'hn' as she continued some TV series on her Macbook. Not that Hinata paid attention to her response anyway. She was agonising over what tags to put, being the social media noob she was.

Eventually the photo was uploaded, and almost instantly she received three notifications telling her that so-and-so liked the picture. She beamed, so glad it was well-liked by her peers and acquaintances, then moved on to reading her book as she waited for the likes to roll in.

An hour later, Hanabi logged into her Instagram to follow her sister and like her photos when a certain comment caught her eye.

uchiha.s we're in the same city and yet, my view isn't as good as yours.

Immediately she choked, checked the commentor's identity, and hyperventilated for a few more minutes. "Onee-sama!" she exclaimed. "Check your Insta!"

Hinata reached for her phone in a hurry, expecting a like and a comment and maybe a request to hang out and date and maybe even marry from Naruto, only to slump her shoulders in disappointment when it wasn't so. "Uchiha … Sasuke-kun?" she wondered aloud. A brief image of a scowling young Sasuke in Naruto's mum's car flashed in her mind, before disappearing once more. 'How very interesting…' she pondered as she read over his comment. 'I've always wondered what it would be like to talk to him.' So she did.

hyxgahinata uchiha.s what a shame, maybe next time :)

Hanabi sighed as she scrolled down her news feed. She dearly hoped her sister wouldn't get in trouble by their dad or cousin for talking to boys, much less an Uchiha, online. Dearly. (And don't even get started on the fangirls…)

Her instincts were definitely right when they told her to just go and get a life online. Instagram meant she could sta- see what Naruto was up to, maybe get to talk to him again, and also meet new friends! Sasuke was a definite example of that secondary goal. With his real-life customary silence, or so his reputation foretold, it was hard to imagine he commented and briefly conversed with her over the last two days let alone even had an account. Maybe it was just because they were currently sharing the experience of having a vacation in the Sand.

So Hinata decided she would take a step further with this friendship thing. It was risky, oh yes, asking for Sasuke's kik on her quite-visible-to-everybody post, especially because she had her father and Neji to swat away any guys who even dared to look at her, but perhaps it could be worth it. 'He seems like he would be a good friend anyway… He's Naruto-kun's friend after all,' she reassured herself before pressing the 'send' button.

hyxgahinata uchiha.s btw, do you have kik?

A response came only three minutes later.

uchiha.s of course i do. it's s_uchiha

She felt silly then. Of course he had a kik, who didn't these days? She needed to be on top of things, dammit! But she felt her heart leap in her throat. This was her chance, and she would gladly take it! It was time for her to expand her social circle, one person at a time, starting with Sasuke.

Hinata Hyuga hi

"Hinata?" her mother suddenly called. "Are you ready yet? We'll be late for lunch and your father won't be pleased. This restaurant is very hard to get a booking for only a day in advance."

Hinata internally groaned in disappointment. Hanabi eyed her in pity. Guess her social life had to wait.

It was about evening when Hinata could check her phone again. She had several notifications , one which came from kik. She opened the instant messaging app to a reply from her new friend.

Sasuke Uchiha hello.

The heiress smiled, but then frowned a second later. How was she supposed to continue the conversation now? Ah, that's right…

Hinata Hyuga ah, sorry for the late reply. i had to go out with my family.

Hinata Hyuga how long have you been in Suna for?

She wasn't expecting an almost instantaneous reply.

Sasuke Uchiha two weeks. you?

Hinata Hyuga oh, just a few days. it's much hotter than the Leaf, isn't it?

Thus began the little online friendship between Hinata and Sasuke. Both of them didn't put their phones down for a long time after their whole families had gone to bed.

author's note
wow, i'm really surprised i typed up another chapter LOL. now hopefully i can write a third!

thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, liked and favourited! i'm always afraid that i'll disappoint you with my chapters.

and yaass, naruto characters on social media has always been a fave. don't worry though, it won't take over the story. :) also i'll be switching between sasuke and hinata's povs throughout the story (hopefully), so you'll see which pov it's from at the top of the chapter.

see you next watertime! (for you free! lovers out there, if any. including you, sharinganeye272 and bubblearya. :3 )