Chp.7- Musical #2
Naruto practically crawled into his acting class, he was so nervous. Not because they were doing monologues for the class, he had his memorized for ages now… it was because Hinata also shared that class with him. He took his normal seat next to Lee, expecting Hinata to come in any minute and take the seat on his own side. But by the time the teacher arrived and the bell rang, Hinata hadn't showed. The teacher began calling attendance and when she arrived on Hinata's name, Lee finally spoke up, "Professor, Hinata-chan had to go home early today! She was hit with a nasty headache taking a history quiz this morning!"
Naruto's heart dropped and his lingering hope fell immediately. So that was it… well, if anything, it gave him more time to think of a way to ask her. Hopefully she'd be back by the end of the week….otherwise… it was death by jockstraps for Naruto. He got lost in his own thoughts as the teacher kept talking until her voice rang out his name.
"Mr. Uzumaki, would you care to go first?"
"Eh?"
The teacher sighed and said, "Sleeping again, Mr. Uzumaki? I asked if you would like to present your monologue first." Naruto sighed, realizing that he was at least in the right mood to present his monologue accurately. He nodded and stood before the class, dragging a chair to the center of the class. "So, Mr. Uzumaki, what monologue will you be presenting?"
"I'll be performing the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet."
The teacher nodded and he cleared his throat. "To be or not to be, that is the question… whether 'tis nobler in the mind…"
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The bell rang and Naruto left class in a thoroughly sour mood. Not only had he not gotten a chance to ask Hinata to the dance, but he had botched up his monologue so badly that the teacher suggested he do it again at a later date, when his "head would return to class". Lee patted him on the shoulder and said, "Sorry dude, guess it was an off day. Good luck next time!"
Naruto grunted in response and Lee shook his head as he turned around. "Tenten-chan! Neji-san! Over here!" Naruto's head snapped up and he paled as he saw Neji and Tenten walk down the hall, Neji wearing a very triumphant smirk on his face. Tenten and Lee went into their own conversation, allowing Neji and Naruto to stand aside and talk.
"Well dobe, my end of the bargain has been paid. Tenten and I are officially together for the dance. And… you?"
"Hinata didn't show… she went home early with a migraine…"
Neji's smirk instantly fell away and he looked extremely abashed. "Oh… wow, sorry about that… it must've been that history quiz she was dreading, she tends to pass out and stuff when she's stressed…" Naruto ignored him and walked off to his last class. Tenten rejoined Neji and saw his worried look, following his gaze to Naruto.
"What's wrong with him? He looks like somebody shot his dog."
"He was dead set on asking her too… he was going to ask Hinata to the dance this period, but she's home sick. Now he doesn't know what to do."
Tenten mouthed a silent "o" and followed Neji to their next class.
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Naruto slumped up the stairs to his apartment and winced upon hearing Jiraiya's door open, expecting another yell for rent. Instead the old man came right up to him and said, "You got yourself a visitor, brat…" Jiraiya passed by him and went down the stairs, muttering something about taxes or whatever…
Naruto made to put his key in the door, when he heard a shuffling inside and a soft voice humming. He opened the door as quietly as possible and his eyes shot open wide. There in his kitchen area stood Hinata, filling up his cabinets with more groceries. He suddenly remembered that it was already Wednesday…Hinata always came to help restock his food on Wednesday.
Naruto made to speak, but opted not to when Hinata began singing to herself…
The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear
Are still inside my head
The kindest words I'll ever know
Are waiting to be said.
The most enchanting side of all
Is yet for me to see…
And the dearest love in all the world
Is waiting somewhere for me.
Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me.
Naruto smiled in spite of himself as she continued humming and decided to join in the fun. Right as her humming led back to the chorus, he sang the words, causing Hinata to jump and whip around, blushing madly.
The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear
Are still inside my head.
The kindest words I'll ever know
Are waiting to be said.
The most enchanting side of all
Is yet for me to see…
And the dearest love in all the world
Is waiting somewhere for me.
Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me.
Naruto hummed the next interlude and Hinata smiled shyly as both of their voices once again came in for the chorus.
The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear
Are still inside my head.
The kindest words I'll ever know
Are waiting to be said.
The most enchanting side of all
Is yet for me to see…
And the dearest love in all the world
Is waiting somewhere for me.
Is waiting somewhere… somewhere for me.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Naruto just stared at her with a small smile, Hinata with a shy smile and an impressive blush. Naruto closed the door behind him and said skeptically, "Home with a migraine, eh?" Hinata blushed and said, "Well, I was… my head does funny things when I'm stressed… my migraines hurt but they usually pass by quickly enough. Besides, I would be here to help even if my head was still pounding."
Hinata turned back to place the last few items and closed the cabinets quickly, walking out to take a seat on Naruto's couch.
"Hinata–chan… I really could've used your help in acting today."
"Oh that's right, the monologues! I completely forgot… how did you do?"
"Well, to be frank… I sucked, big time."
Hinata's smile fell somewhat and she stammered, "I-I'm sorry…" Naruto shrugged and said, "It's nothing… the professor gave me a chance to redo it later." Hinata nodded and was silent for a while. "By the way, I ran into your cousin today, Hinata-chan…" Her head rose again and she looked confused.
"He finally asked Tenten to the dance."
"Oh thank god! He's been bugging me all week with his nerves…"
Naruto laughed and fell silent again. He cleared his throat and said, "Do… do you have a date to the dance?" Hinata blushed more impressively than ever and stuttered, "W-well…I-I want to ask this one guy… b-but I d-don't have the nerve…"
"Yeah… me too. There's… there's th-this girl I've wanted to ask… but I can never seem to figure out how."
Hinata's face fell even further, a fact Naruto did not miss.
"She looks… disappointed? Why would she be… wait… could she… no…she couldn't… could she?"
Hinata and Naruto both faced away from each other, faces contorted with anxiety and thought. They both seemed to flow from confused, to frightened, to determined at the same time as apparent by their changing facial expressions. Then suddenly, they both whipped around and practically yelled at each other,
"DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME?"
They both froze and looked at each other with wide eyes, both blushing madly. Naruto managed to stammer. "Are…are you…really asking me?" Hinata blushed even further and stuttered, "I…I-I am….are… a-are you?" Naruto nodded dumbly, his eyes never leaving hers.
Their expressions soon softened up enough and Hinata started giggling. Naruto found himself giggling as well. He fought back a couple of chuckles, and before either of them knew it, they were laughing out loud. They were laughing so wildly that neither of them noticed their bodies shifting closer to each other until they dared to look each other in the eye again.
Their faces were about six inches apart, it couldn't have been anymore. They lost control of their heads and they began unconsciously closing the distance between them. A fierce blush crept across both their faces and their lips were about one inch apart when a rough voice came in from Naruto's door.
The lock undid itself and Jiraiya walked in, saying, "Listen brat, I got some errands to run and… am I interrupting something." Naruto and Hinata leapt back to opposite ends on the couch before any contact was made, both blushing madly, a vein bursting in Naruto's head. Jiraiya stammered, "Yeah… uhh, I need you to make sure my door is locked Naruto… I'll be back in a bit… see ya…" The door closed and Hinata shot up from the couch. "On my god, look at the time! I gotta head home or else papa is gonna find my apartment empty!"
She gathered her things and ran to the door, but Naruto grabbed her arm. "Wait, are we… you know… going to the dance?" Hinata smiled and said, "Absolutely, I'd love to go with you. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran out the door, bounding down the stairs as fast as she could.
Naruto closed the door and flopped onto his couch. His was in quite a state right now… and as he fell asleep, Hinata's pale lavender eyes floated through his mind, smiling at him as he fell into a deep slumber…
A/N: For those who don't know, this song was from the Cinderella movie with Brandy and Jason Alexander. I heard this song a couple days ago and went, "EUREKA! IT'S PERFECT!" So Naruto finally got up the nerve. wOOt! Stay tuned for more! And remember, reviews are like chocolate, I LOVE THEM!