Hinata walked over to Sakura and Ino and gave them a nervous smile. "Hi guys."
"Hey there Hinata. How was school?" Ino asked.
"It was good. How about you?"
Ino was about to respond but Sakura cut in. "Enough small talk for now. Did you drive to school today?"
"No. Neji drove me today."
"That's perfect. That means you can ride with us and not have to worry about dropping you back here." Sakura smiled.
But her smile made Hinata uneasy. Hinata got in the back of the car and Ino sat in the passenger seat. Sakura put the keys in and they drove off to the mall.
Hinata stayed quiet through the drive. She didn't really have any close girlfriends, unless she counted Neji's girlfriend Tenten, so she didn't feel very comfortable just yet.
"Here we are!" Sakura put her car in park and the girls got out and headed for Konoha's mall.
Konoha Mall was big. It was two stories of shopping along with a third floor that held a movie theater. Besides Ichiraku's, it was a common hang out place for teenagers.
"Where should we start first?" Ino asked.
"How about Kunoichis' Korner? It my favorite store here." Hinata offered.
"Oh good idea. I love their clothes." Ino cheered.
"What do you think Sakura?" Hinata asked.
"I think that would be good."
As the three walked through the mall, heads defiantly turned. Practically all the boys would do a double take at them. Sakura and Ino seemed to bask in the attention while Hinata just looked down.
"Hinata, if you are going to hang with us from now on, then you are going to act like us." Sakura said while winking at a guy who was working the pretzel stand.
"Yeah, cheer up and enjoy the attention." Ino added.
"What do you mean hang with you from now on?"
"I mean, since you are now actually popular, you can now hang with Ino and I socially. Congrats." Sakura coldly explained.
"O…okay." Hinata simply said. She wasn't to sure she actually wanted to hang out with them. She was quite content hanging with her guy friends. These two made her uncomfortable. But she wasn't going to say anything. To be honest, Sakura scared her a little.
And how could she not be scared. Sakura was the most popular and prettiest girl Hinata knew. She had all the boys chasing after her like Lee and Naruto. Hinata knew all to well about Naruto's obsession with her. He has had a mad crush on her since they were kids and when he was teamed up with her and Sasuke with Kakashi as their teacher freshman year, he nearly burst with happiness. But no matter how hard Naruto tried, Sakura would always turn him down and sometimes even use physical pain to show how much she did NOT want to go out with him.
Hinata hated to admit it but she was glad Sakura didn't have feelings for Naruto. It would kill her to see Naruto with someone else. She would be happy for him of course but her heart would break.
Kunoichis' Korner was a small boutique in the middle of the mall. It had all the latest trends for young woman and it was reasonably priced.
"Ah, look at this skirt!" Ino quickly spotted a short form fitted dark purple dress with a black tribal design on it.
"That would look nice on you Ino." Hinata smiled. She really did mean it.
Ino was a very beautiful girl. With her long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she was the ideal girl for many guys. But it seemed she was always in the shadow of her best friend Sakura. They had an odd relationship of fighting and calling each other names then hugging and laughing a few minutes later.
Sakura just nodded her approval of the skirt and went to look through the rack of blouses.
The girls gathered up the clothes they wanted to try on and headed for the changing rooms.
Hinata was the first to walk out in a simple white flowing top and the jeans she had been wearing that day. She looked in the mirror but couldn't decide if she liked it or not.
"Do I look hot or what?" Hinata turned around and saw Ino come out in a sexy light fitted corset like top and a short jean skirt.
Hinata's eyes went wide. The outfit practically left nothing to the imagination. Even with her makeover, Hinata knew she would never put those two things together and call it a good outfit.
"Not as much as me." Then Sakura walked out in a short short red skirt and tight deep v-neck shirt.
Once again Hinata wouldn't be caught in the outfit.
"What do you think Hinata?" Ino asked.
"Oh….um….well…"
"Speechless. I think that's a good sign. Don't you agree Sakura?"
"Actually I don't like those outfits at all." Hinata blurted.
To say that Ino and Sakura were shocked would have been an understatement. No one has ever said anything like that.
Hinata saw a flash of anger cross Sakura's eyes and she was immediately regretted saying anything.
"And what's so bad about our outfits?" Sakura had her hands on her hips.
"N-nothing."
"Come on Hinata, tell us." Ino asked a little more kindly.
"Well its just….that those outfits are so revealing. They don't leave much to the imagination."
"Ha, what do you know?" Sakura scoffed.
The old Hinata would have backed down but this Hinata wasn't going to let Sakura scare her. "I do know what boys like." Hinata snapped back. "I am close friends with a bunch of them and they tell me stuff."
"Sakura, she does have a point. She's best friends with Naruto. Close friends with Kiba and Shino. And she even talks to Sasuke."
Hinata noticed a change in Sakura's expression when Ino mentioned Sasuke.
Sakura let out a sigh. "Alright. What would you suggest we try on?"
Hinata gave her a smile. "Just stay here for a second."
Hinata knew she didn't have the best fashion sense but she did learn a lot when she went shopping with Kiba and Shino. They showed her what guys thought was hot and what clothes were not. How short was too short and how to be sexy without being too revealing. She grabbed a few outfits and walked back to the dressing rooms.
"Here try these on."
A few minutes later Ino and Sakura walked out in their outfits.
"This is SUPER cute!" Ino spun around.
Hinata had picked out a flowing bright blue skirt with a white floral print on it and a simple white off the shoulder blouse.
"I have to admit I look good." Hinata a put Sakura in a figure fitting tshirt dress that went down to just above the knees. To complete the outfit Hinata added a pink belt to showcase Sakura's unique hair.
"I'm glad you like it." Hinata smiled. Maybe she could really make some good girlfriends.
"Now it's our turn." Ino grinned.
"W-what?"
"You picked us outfits, now we get to do the same." Sakura pulled Hinata out of her seat and into the dressing room.
Ino had picked out an outfit and flung it over the door. "Put this on if you want to get out." Ino and Sakura giggled.
A few moments later Hinata peaked her head out the door. "Do I really have to show you guys this? Its really revealing."
"Yes you do." Ino proclaimed. "Now come on."
Hinata reluctantly opened the door. She stood in front of Ino and Sakura wearing a tight black corset with lace trimming, and a short jean skirt. It was a very un-Hinata type outfit.
"Oh you are SO getting this." Ino declared.
"Totally. You look hot." Sakura chimed in.
"I don't know guys."
"Come on. Would we steer you wrong?" Sakura asked.
She then gave Hinata another one of her too sweet to be real smiles. Which made Hinata want to say yes. But she already messed up once today. She wasn't going to do it again.
"N-no."
"Great. Then its settle. We will buy the outfits you picked out and you will buy that one." Sakura and Ino picked up their clothes and headed for the cashier. Hinata quickly changed back to her clothes and walked over to meet up with them. But she made a mental note to hide the outfit deep inside her closet.
The girls walked around the mall and did a little more shopping. Once they had maxed out their cards they headed for the food court and ordered some smoothies.
Hinata grabbed her strawberry banana smoothie and went to meet up with Sakura and Ino who had found a table in the center of the court.
"So Hinata, can I ask you a question?" Ino took a sip of her mango smoothie.
"Sure."
"Why did you change your look?"
"Oh…. I guess I wanted to get out of the background and make a statement before we all left for college."
"That makes sense."
"There's more." Sakura said. "That can't be the only reason."
"Well… it was also to get a boy's attention." Hinata blushed.
"Awwww how sweet." Ino cooed. "Who is he?"
"I rather not say."
"It's Naruto right?" Sakura asked.
Hinata eyes widened. "H-how did you know?"
Sakura shrugged. "It's pretty obvious. You blush all the time around him. And that stuttering thing seems to come out a lot around him. Any one with half a brain could figure it out."
Hinata put her head down. "Oh….I didn't realize I was so easy to read."
"It's okay Hinata. We all have crushes. Just look at my girl Sakura here. She is so madly in love with Sasuke that she…" Sakura stopped her by stepping on her toe. "OW! Hey what's that for?"
"Shut up Ino-pig."
"What's your problem forehead! I was just telling Hinata how you can't tell Sasuke you like him."
Hinata stayed quiet and watched the two best friends hash it out. She had a feeling that Sakura liked her gym partner, but Sasuke had never given her any indication that the two of them even talked let alone that Sakura liked him.
"So Hinata…" Sakura broke Hinata from her train of thought. "What is it that you like about Naruto anyways?"
"Oh…well… a lot of things I guess. He has been my best friends since I was little. He has always been there for me even when no one else was. He gave me the courage to do better. He showed me that no matter what other people think about you, as long as you believe in yourself, anything is possible. He showed me that no matter how many times you fall down, its up to you to stand back up." Hinata saw Ino and Sakura give her a strange look. "It's pretty silly I know. Naruto would never see me that way."
"Aw don't say that Hinata. You never know. Boys can surprise you. Look at Sai. Who would have guessed that he liked me and turn out to be such a good boyfriend."
"Wait. You're dating Sai!"
Ino giggled. "Oops I shouldn't have said anything. We just became a couple before school started and we have been kind of keeping it a secret from our rents."
"Oh well that's nice. He's a really great guy." Hinata said honestly. She and Sai had always been friends in art class. He was the only one she trusted to see her paintings.
Hinata checked her phone. "OH NO! Is it really that late!"
"What's the matter?" Sakura asked.
"I have to get home. My dad will kill me if I'm not home soon."
"So you have a strict dad huh?" Sakura asked.
"Very."
"Interesting." Sakura mumbled.
"You think you could take me home?"
"Sure no problem." Sakura smiled.
The girls headed to the car. When they pulled up to Hinata's house their jaws fell to the ground.
"This is your house?" Ino gasped.
"Yesh. I know, its to big for just the four of us." Hinata got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride. I really had a nice time."
"Yeah us too. Maybe we can do it again sometime." Ino and Sakura waved as the car pulled out of the drive way.
Hinata waved one last time before going inside. She actually had fun and was looking forward to getting to know them better. Maybe they weren't as bad as she thought.