So, I wanted to upload this earlier, like 6-7 hours ago kind of earlier, but my document app was glitching so I had to wait until I could get on my computer. I also want to thank MYK-ON, AlabasterConstellation, Lana Iguana, and SpicyWifey for your reviews! They mean a lot to me :-)

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Two

Hinata really needed to learn how to say "no." As she pushed her way through the loud, crowded space she practiced saying it in her mind: 'No. No. No. Non.' She even threw in a French no just for good measure. How come she was perfectly capable of thinking the word, but the minute her friends gave her their pleading looks she would cave and do what they wanted?

She was a bit of a people pleaser, she supposed. That was probably the reason her childhood had been so difficult - her father was impossible to please and that's all she wanted to do. Hinata sighed. If only he could see her now. He'd probably have a heart attack.

The bluenette imagined her cousin's face if he could see her and giggled to herself, not worrying about looking weird since everyone around her was so drunk. If Neji knew where she was, where his girlfriend was, his eyes would probably roll back in his head and he would faint. TenTen had been the one to convince him that Hinata would be okay coming with them, and Hinata was sure that he was glad the two would be there looking out for one another. Sakura and Ino had a reputation for getting a little crazy at times.

They were good people, though. And they had very stressful jobs, Sakura as a surgeon and Ino as a psychiatrist. Hinata really couldn't blame them for cutting loose whenever they got the chance. She just wished they would stop dragging her with them all the time.

Lavender eyes scanned the room trying to find Sakura's signature pink hair or Ino's long, icy blonde ponytail. When she still couldn't see them, she tried looking for TenTen. After fifteen minutes with no luck, she shrugged and went to try to find a place to sit. The dance floor was getting to be too much for her and she wanted to rest for a bit before continuing to look for her friends.

As she was making her way over to some seating, she found herself running straight into a broad chest. Hinata looked up to apologize, and grew uncomfortable at the way the man was leering at her.

"Well hello, little lady," he said and Hinata wrinkled her nose. His breath reeked of alcohol and his eyes were a bit unfocused.

"Hello, um, I'm sorry for running into you," she said, not wanting to make him angry. She knew that anger and drunkenness did not mix particularly well.

He smiled, but the smile was not bright and warm like the young man she had met earlier that day. Instead it looked sleazy and made her feel more uncomfortable. He hadn't said anything in response, and she wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but instead of staying to find out she tried to excuse herself, saying "I have to go now. Sorry again."

Hinata started to move away, but felt his hand on her wrist. The grip wasn't tight, but it was enough to make her tense. She had some martial arts training - her father's way of trying to toughen her up - and she used a maneuver to free herself without seeming like she meant to. She glanced around and noticed a door a couple of feet away.

"Sorry, I do have to go. Nature calls, you know how it is!" she said and made a beeline to the door before opening and closing it behind her.

Luckily the man was either too drunk, stunned, or just didn't care enough when there were so many other drunk females around him and he didn't try to follow. Hinata let out a sigh of relief before realizing that she was now in some kind of dark enclosed space. Before her eyes could adjust, she practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of a deep voice coming from very close.

"Damnit. Now you've fucking done it."

"P-pardon?" she asked, terrified and a little offended by the tone.

"That door won't open from the inside," the deep voice sounded again and her eyes went wide.

She turned immediately and tried the knob, tugging in vain as the door did indeed stay shut.

"I told you it didn't open from the inside. Are you hard of hearing or something?"

Hinata could now make out some vague shapes and realized she must be in some kind of supply closet. She saw the outline of a man sitting just a couple feet away and scrambled as far as she could to the opposite side, which was unfortunately only about another foot.

"Don't get any funny ideas just because we're in here," the voice said again and Hinata could feel herself becoming indignant. Didn't he see her trying to get away from him? And why would he just assume that about her?

"You don't know a-anything about me so I'd appreciate it if you would s-stop making comments like that."

The effect was somewhat ruined by her nervous stutter, but she heard something like a grunt in response and when he hadn't said anything else for another minute she took it as assent.

Realizing she likely wouldn't be getting out of there anytime soon, Hinata sat down on the floor. Her leg accidentally bumped the man who was in there with her and she could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of him. She quickly brought her knees up to her chest and pulled out her phone.

TenTen would have been her best bet for rescuing her as she was likely the least drunk and constantly checked her phone. Unfortunately, her phone had been almost dead before they left for the evening and she had left it charging in the room, figuring Neji could get ahold of her through Hinata if he needed to.

Sakura had received a call earlier that day from the hospital from a fellow doctor who had apparently not realized she was on vacation and gone off on her for some scheduling issue that had not been her fault in the first place. The pinkette had a bit of a short temper and after giving the man a piece of her mind, had turned her phone off, thrown it onto the bed, and refused to take it anywhere.

That only left Ino.

Hinata groaned. Ino did always have her phone on her, but she never heard or felt it when she was out. Sometimes she would even store the item in her bra and still wouldn't feel the vibrations from a call due to the loud music and dancing.

Hinata tried calling anyway. When the call rang through to voicemail she hung up and dialed again. Desperate, she tried one last time before sending off a text message that she knew was even less likely to be seen and putting her head in her hands.

She was on vacation. She was far from home so anyone she would usually call for help was out. And now, she couldn't even get in contact with the people she was here with. She really needed to start saying "no."

The bluenette leaned her head back and scrolled through her contacts, in some vain attempt to feel like she was still trying to escape. She couldn't understand why the rude guy was just sitting there calmly. Did he already have someone on their way to help? Wouldn't it be common courtesy to let her know?

"Um, excuse me," she said.

No reply.

"E-excuse me," she said a little louder that time.

Still no response. Maybe he had fallen asleep? Or was he just ignoring her? She shined her phone light in his general direction to check, but quickly turned it off at the glare she received.

"What the fuck?" the man said.

"I was talking and you weren't responding! I was just checking to see if you were asleep."

"Why? Trying to take advantage of me while I'm unconscious? Tch, typical."

Why on earth would he think something like that?! Fine, she didn't want his help anyway. Even if he did have someone on his way to help the person would probably be a jerk as well.

Hinata pouted and began scrolling yet again through her contacts. This time, however, she stopped as she came to her newest number: Naruto.

She hadn't had the courage to message him yet. She had barely had the courage to put his number in her phone, but Ino threatened to steal it and send him some raunchy texts pretending to be her if she didn't so she'd quickly programmed it in. She didn't honestly think the Yamanaka would do something like that, but it was always better safe than sorry.

Could she ask him for help? She didn't exactly have any other options down here and she really wanted to get away from this person she was stuck with. Then again, she didn't want the first thing she ever sent Naruto to be a text begging him to come rescue her from some random storage closet. He'd probably think she was crazy.

Out of options, Hinata gathered up what courage she could and sent him a message.

'Hey.'

Okay, maybe that hadn't exactly expressed the urgency she was feeling.

'Who is this?' he texted back, and she smacked the back of her head against the wall at her own stupidity. She hadn't given him her number earlier so there was no way he would know who this was.

Suddenly, she was feeling less brave as she realized that even if she told him who it was, he might not remember. He was, after all, a very attractive young man and New Orleans was currently filled with beautiful young people all looking to have a good time. What's to say he hadn't already met someone else, someone less plain and boring?

'Is this Hinata?'

Her eyes widened and suddenly all the insecurities that had just been eating at her melted away. He remembered her! And if he was giving his number out to a ton of girls he probably wouldn't be asking all of them if they were her. That didn't seem like smart playboy practice. She smiled before typing back, 'It is, sorry. I forgot that I hadn't given you my number.'

'Well, you can't take it back now ;-)'

Hinata almost giggled at the flirtatious tone, but stopped herself at the last second, not wanting to hear any more scathing comments from her closet buddy. At the thought of him, she was suddenly reminded of her predicament and why she had messaged Naruto in the first place. Before she could even figure out how to explain her situation, she received another message.

'So, do you need me to come rescue you?'

Hinata gasped. How did he know? Was he psychic? She felt her phone buzz again in her hand and read his next message.

'You'd mentioned your friends had gone to Bourbon Street last night and it didn't seem like your scene. I meant it when I said I wouldn't mind showing you some other places you might like better.'

Oh, well now she felt a little silly.

'I actually could use some rescuing,' she typed out, wanting to hear his answer before explaining the situation. If he was busy she didn't want him to feel like he had to come just because she told him she was trapped in a closet with some grumpy stranger. At least this stranger seemed safe enough, even if his attitude was unpleasant.

'No problem. I'm actually heading that way to help a friend out with something. How about when I'm done with that I give you a call and you can let me know where you are so I can meet you?'

Hinata nodded before realizing he couldn't see her because he was, in fact, not there and hastily typed out her agreement. She sighed, glad that she would be getting out of there soon and blushed at the thought of being rescued by such a cute guy.

About ten minutes later, the closet door burst open and she shielded her eyes against the light shining in. The club hadn't been brightly lit, but it was intense compared to the darkness she had been sitting in.

"Dobe," she heard the rude man say to the person she assumed was their savior, "It's about fucking time."

"Seriously? I was like halfway across town when you called! I came as fast as I could and that's the thanks I get? I should just leave you here."

Her fellow captive was standing in the doorway now, blocking their rescuer from sight, but she was almost positive that it was his voice. When he started to close the door in mock anger she panicked and quickly stood up, yelling, "No!"

Sure enough, after she stood up she found herself looking into the surprised blue eyes of Naruto.

"Hinata?" he asked in confusion, "What were you doing in the closet with Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" she asked before realizing that must be the name of the man she had been stuck with. "Oh, you know him?"

"Yeah, this is my best friend! He's the one I told you I was helping. He didn't tell me anyone else was in there with him."

"Your friend?" she said with disbelief. Sasuke was like Naruto's polar opposite. He was rude and cold, where Naruto was warm and friendly. He even looked his opposite, with jet black hair and eyes such a dark brown they were practically black as well. She would admit that he was quite attractive, but his personality left a lot to be desired.

The blond nodded in affirmation and she looked between the two, giving Sasuke a wary glance before saying, "B-but he's so mean."

Naruto's eyes widened and Hinata winced at her stupidity. She would admit that she wasn't great at talking to guys, but she knew it was not a good idea to insult the best friend of the guy you were attracted to. How did that saying go? Bros before hoes?

Suddenly the blond threw his head back and started laughing. It was a loud hearty laugh and Hinata was mesmerized at the joie de vivre that practically radiated off of him. Once he had finished laughing, he put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder to stabilize himself and looked at Hinata, eyes glittering with mirth.

"Ha! I can see he made quite the impression on you! Then again, I probably wouldn't want to be stuck in closet with this asshole either."

He followed his statement with a wink and ignored the icy glare Sasuke shot his way. Hinata blushed at the gesture, making Naruto smile even wider. She was too cute for her own good.

"Well," he said again with that beautiful smile that made her melt, "where do we go from here?"

There you go! The second installment in this little series. I can't promise consistent updates because I'm trying really hard to consistently update my other chapter stories, but I promise to do my best. Besides, when I'm having trouble with one thing I usually write on another to keep my brain working so this definitely won't just sit there. I promise :-)

Anyway, let me know what you think!