AN: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. Here's chapter three. I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 3

A week passed before the Hyuga's love letter came to Sasuke's attention again. He found it under a pile of discarded papers and when he saw it he remembered that he had yet to read the entire letter.

Curiosity is a wicked thing, so when Sasuke picked up the love letter, he had no idea what he was getting himself in.

"Dear Naruto, I am in love with you. I have admired you longer than I can remember and I have been in love with you for three years. At first, I had no plans on telling you about my feelings, but after two weeks of spending time with you, I knew I could no longer hold in my feelings anymore. I love you! I need to know if you can ever return my feelings, so please try to answer my question as soon as possible. I can't stop loving you until I know for sure.

Sincerely, Hinata"

The love letter in Sasuke's hands was immediately dropped when he finished reading it. He began to pace around his room in agitated thought. The Hyuga was love in with Naruto, he knew that much. That and the fact that Naruto was in love with Sakura and not the Hyuga. Sasuke suddenly felt very cornered and agitated. He realized now that he should have never stuck the letter in his pocket, he should have just allowed the letter to be found instead of getting himself involved so carelessly.

How does one act in a situation such as this? Sasuke picked up the love letter he dropped and tossed it onto his dresser. No way did he want to get tangled up in a love triangle. But, Sasuke glanced at the open letter; it seemed that he already gotten himself tangled up. Perhaps he should just go ahead and give the letter to Naruto and let that be the end of his part. Sasuke picked up the love letter and stuffed it in his pocket.

So much trouble for a little piece of paper.

On the way to Naruto's house it began to drizzle and thunder. Sasuke frowned at the sky, its gloomy presence not helping his mood at all.

When Sasuke pulled up to Naruto's house he noticed their car was missing and both the front and screen door were shut. Naruto's family always left their front door open in the summer, except when no one was home. Sasuke sighed in disappointment; he honestly didn't want to hold onto the love letter any longer than he had to. He wanted to leave the letter in the mailbox, but doing so would mean having to walk through the drizzle that was now a downpour. Tomorrow would have to do then.

Turning the car around, Sasuke decided to take a shortcut home, by going past the town library. He usually avoided going that way, because even though it was a shorter distance, it always took longer. Why? Because it seemed that the library was a safe haven for everybody.

Skateboarders, bicyclist, and pedestrians were always crossing the road to and from the library to the parking lot. This always made driving through there an annoyance. High school students just seemed to love the library, which made no sense to Sasuke. Most of the kids he knew didn't like to read, yet the library was their center of activity.

Across from the library was a large parking lot, which was never really full. The skateboarders seemed to dominate that area, while the bicyclist stayed on the road, riding up and down the street doing ridiculously tricks. Then there was the small park area right next to the library. It wasn't really a park, since it only took up the space between the library and the bank. It had clusters of trees and benches and picnic tables that on weekdays were dominated by high school students.

The place around the library was always busy, but probably not today, considering how hard it was raining. As Sasuke drove down the deserted street, he looked around curiously. The place seemed absolutely depressing in its current condition. Everything looked gray, the road, the library, even the trees; their leaves limply hanging from their branches. There was no movement either, except that of a stranger who stood underneath a tree. She had on a jacket that she huddled against herself and she continually leaned her head outward, her neck craning to watch for oncoming traffic.

Sasuke checked his rear view mirror for any other cars. No one else was on the street except him. Sasuke sighed in annoyance. If Naruto had been in the car with him, Sasuke would have kept on driving, knowing that Naruto would have made him stop. But Naruto wasn't with him now, so that meant Sasuke had to sacrifice some of his pride to help a stranger. Not that helping a stranger was so terrible, it just made Sasuke feel awkward. He stopped in front of the stranger though, because believe it or not, Sasuke had a little bit of a conscience.

The girl under the tree peered at Sasuke and his car. The hood covering her face fell away and revealed that it was the Hyuga.

Mentally, Sasuke groaned to himself. He was becoming a stalker, or appearing to be becoming one. No, no, no, no, no!

Rolling down the passenger window, Sasuke tried to remain calm. He hoped the Hyuga thought it only as a coincidence, because it was nothing but that. A coincidence. The Hyuga girl leaned down staring at Sasuke with obvious shock. Sasuke stared back and she continued to stare blankly at him.

"Do you need a lift?" Sasuke's voice was sharp, but each second that passed meant more rain; which was already beginning to flood his car.

The girl glanced behind them, hesitating in accepting Sasuke's offer. If she honestly didn't want to ride with him, that was fine with Sasuke. She could stand out in the rain for all he cared; he had at least made an offer. Sasuke sent an obvious glare of impatience and the Hyuga finally climbed into the half drenched car. She told Sasuke her address, which wasn't necessary, he knew where she lived. But Sasuke felt a little reluctant in admitting this for obvious reasons.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to arrive at the Hyuga's house. He blessed himself with his luck in not having to suffer a drive with a long awkward silence. His luck ended though when he pulled up in front of the Hyuga residence. He expected the Hyuga to immediately jump out of the car and not look back. When Sasuke pulled up though, she continued to stay seated. Sasuke glanced at her, but she didn't budge.

"Well?"

The Hyuga slowly turned around and Sasuke saw something like fright in her expression.

He rolled his eyes. How could one person be so fearful and meek?

She kept on looking at him. Sasuke tightened his grip on the steering wheel. She was probably seeking courage to ask him about Naruto. Sasuke frowned. No way, if she asked him anything about Naruto or the love letter so help him, he was going to kick her out of the car. Girl or no girl, she was going to get shoved out onto the pavement and Sasuke was going to speed away and leave her sorry ass.

"You look old."

Sasuke gaped at the wide eyed girl. She had just called him old!

The Hyuga shrunk under his gaze, she didn't look frightened though. She looked only surprised, maybe even more surprised than Sasuke. It was as if she couldn't believe the very words she had said without a stutter. She had said it quickly, but she said it nonetheless. Of all things to say!

They stared at each other for a moment longer before the Hyuga broke the eye contact.

"B-bye." she stuttered. She began fumbling with the door handle and was unable to open the door. She then blushed violently when she realized the door was still locked. Finally unlocking the door, she swung it open ungracefully and hastily began to get out.

By this time Sasuke had recovered a little, his shock replaced with anger. He grabbed the Hyuga's wrist before she was completely out. She tugged at her wrist for a moment, but instantly gave up. Sasuke had a death grip and he wasn't letting go until he had some answers.

"Why did you say that?" Sasuke's eyes bore into her skull. If she wanted to go so badly, she could easily answer this question.

The Hyuga's eyes began to flicker everywhere, like at the café. She took a long, deep breath before shyly glancing at Sasuke. "Y-you look a-a lot older w-w-when you frown."

Without thinking, Sasuke frowned.

The girl tugged at her wrist and Sasuke flung it away as if it was the most detestable thing to him in the world. He peeled out the moment the car door swung shut and drove wildly through the rain. He almost when zooming by his own house and had to slam on the brakes to stop in time.

He turned off the engine, but didn't get out of the car for several minutes. It took him a while to regain his temper and pride. Sasuke was use to be complimented by girls. He was use to being called hot, cute, sexy, et cetera. He was use to being desired by girls, but being called old made Sasuke feel both insulted and undesirable.

Drumming on his steering wheel, Sasuke glanced unconsciously in the rear view mirror. His finger's stopped in mid drum. Oh no, he wasn't going to allow what the Hyuga said get to him. Sasuke gritted his teeth and willed himself not to look, but finally relented to the temptation.

Adjusting his mirror, he looked at himself and frowned.