edited: 20/3/18

"It sucks, but it's exactly what I thought it would be like trying to start over"

iii.

"Ugh, you're so lucky. Life just isn't fair!" Ino huffed, her lower lip sticking out to show her displeasure.

Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino's theatrics while Hinata quietly laughed. The three girls were outside, leisurely walking towards their usual spot under one of the many trees that surrounded the school to have lunch. A few other students had come outside as well, some still walking around to find a good place to eat while others had already settled down in the grass. It was bit humid out, but otherwise bearable. The intense heat of summer had died down in the past weeks.

Hinata didn't think she was lucky at all, though she could wholeheartedly agree that life wasn't fair in the slightest, especially in regards to lab partners.

"You have to tell us everything that happened," Ino insisted as the three settled onto the grass. They were seated under the cooling shadow of one of the biggest trees on the campus. "In detail this time," she stressed, expression suddenly serious and a mischievous glint entering her blue eyes, "those texts just weren't enough."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement a similarly serious expression now on her face. Looking back and forth between her two friends, Hinata stifled the urge to smile.

"I'll do my best," She reassured them in a solemn voice, trying her best to mirror their serious expressions. As always, she was the first to crack a smile before the three of them burst into fits of laughter.

"But really," Sakura wheezed out as she caught her breath, "I can't believe you ran into Sasuke so many times today."

"Right?" Ino added shaking her head, her high ponytail swinging back and forth behind her with the movement, "I had to fight to get a good glimpse of him this morning and he practically falls into your lap!"

"You know I would trade places with either one of you if I could," Hinata softly reassured picking at the food in her bento. She sighed before adding, "He's going to be my lab partner for the rest of the year."

"Stop rubbing it in" Ino whined around her mouthful of rice. "I would give an arm, a leg, and another arm for Sasuke-kun to be my lab partner for a month, and you get an entire year!"

"Only two arms and a leg?" Sakura asked, her face twisting in mock disgust,"Your weak dedication sickens me."

"Like you could do better forehead" Ino retorted, igniting an argument between the two.

Hinata smiled as her friends proceeded to hurl insults at each other. She used to get genuinely worried when Sakura and Ino would start arguing, sometimes for the pettiest reasons. Hinata long since learned it was one of the many ways they expressed their affection for each other. The smile slipped off her face as was reminded of the subject of their argument. She was stuck being lab partners with Uchiha Sasuke. He already intimidated her to the point she could barely speak to him. She couldn't imagine how she would reign in her nerves enough to manage to talk to him regularly, even if it was only about school work. She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw a piece of shrimp fly across her face and over Sakura's head.

"How could I possibly miss a target as big as your forehead, forehead?" Ino taunted, quickly ducking as a piece of sushi narrowly missed her. The two girls glared at each other before Ino suddenly shifted her focus back to Hinata.

"Enough arguing, Hina-chan still hasn't told us about Sasuke-kun."

By the time lunch was over Hinata had answered every possible question that could have possibly been asked about the Uchiha. None were serious, Ino and Sakura made a game of besting each other with more and more ludicrous questions. There had been a lot of laughing, but Hinata was glad the whole ordeal was over and done with. She didn't mind satisfying their curiosity, but she'd rather not spend every lunch until graduation answering oddly specific questions about the withdrawn Uchiha. Hopefully tomorrow they could find a better topic to pass the time. She longed for the time, which was only a few hours ago really, when her two friends would go off on random tangents about Sasuke and she could just pretend to listen while she thought of something else. The three packed up their belongings before they made their way back into the building.

"I'll see you after school!" Sakura called, waving cheerfully at Hinata and Ino before walking in the opposite direction to get to her next class. Hinata and Ino waved back before walking off in the direction of the Gym.

iii.

Hinata slowly walked to her locker, grimacing with every step she took. Gai-sensei did not know the meaning of a 'light workout'. Her body was so sore that the light gym bag that hung from her shoulders felt like a bag full of bricks. She was looking forward to getting home and taking a nice warm bath to soothe her aching muscles. She just had to get through a couple more classes.

Carefully reading the numbers above each locker, Hinata paused when she reached her own. She looked down at the slip of paper in her hand to confirm before entering the combination. After placing her bag full of gym clothes inside, she made the sudden decision to organize her locker. She still had a good amount of time before her next class. When Hinata was first assigned the locker earlier in the day, she only had time to throw in the books she didn't need before rushing off to class. She didn't like it when her locker was messy. It was too easy to lose things and for homework to get wrinkled or even torn. She had learned that the hard way.

She had to stop herself from wincing with every movement. Maybe this could wait until tomorrow.

At that moment Hinata noticed someone was standing a few lockers beside her, entering their combination. She glanced up at the person before quickly looking away. Why did she just now realize how counterproductive it was to try and organize her locker while still sore from gym class? If she only realized it earlier, she could have just grabbed her math book been long gone before he arrived. The universe was truly conspiring against her. Hinata stiffly continued to straighten her books, trying her best to act like being next to the imposing Uchiha didn't make her so uneasy.

If she left now, he would probably think she was leaving because of him, which would only partially be true. She didn't want to give him a bad impression, so she stayed and organized despite the numerous protests her body gave with each movement.

Being lab partners would be much more difficult if he disliked her. Thinking back to how he caught her staring during class earlier, she feared that he already might.

No, she was thinking badly of him. She couldn't just assume something like being caught staring in his general direction was all it took to get on his bad side.

Hinata subtly shook her head, she was being ridiculous.

Sasuke probably hadn't even noticed she was the one standing next to him. Had he even looked in her direction? If she hadn't been intensely staring into her locker since he got there maybe she would know. Realizing her hands had stopped moving, she sighed. It was time to go, she could finish later. Her math book felt like a heavy weight as she pulled it out.

'Gai-sensei really? It's only the first day of school', she thought, shedding a single mental tear.

Using both arms to carry the book in an effort to lessen her discomfort, she held it tightly against her chest. Sighing, she turned to make her way to class.

iii.

Sasuke didn't like to think he was a coward, but a very cowardly line of thought had definitely ran through his mind the moment he spotted the waist length midnight blue hair of a certain soft spoken Hyuga. She was using the locker just two down from his. He had checked the paper currently crushed in his hand two times to confirm.

Sasuke wasn't exactly rushing to analyse the reason he felt like fleeing—something told him he wouldn't like the conclusion he would come to. So Instead, he decided to flat out ignore said feelings and continue on his way to his locker. First lab partners now this? Homeschooling only grew more appealing as the day went by.

How was he expected to get over his strange fascination, distraction—or whatever the fuck it was —if he was forced to be around her all the time. It's not like he could avoid using his locker, or skip Science class every single day until graduation.

Sasuke briefly felt the Hyuga's eyes on him as he was entering his combination. She seemed to stiffen the moment she looked away, a reaction he wasn't expecting. She had seemed fine when she was sitting next to him earlier. He immediately dismissed the line of thinking, deciding he just didn't care, as he put his history book into his locker.

Sasuke was about to grab his gym bag when he noticed a head of crimson red hair enter his peripheral vision. He looked over to see Gaara walking towards him, causing an icy chill to run down his spine.

The rumours surrounding the apathetic redhead when he first transferred in the middle of first year were unpleasant to say the least. Stories of how at his previous school Gaara had sent numerous students— and even teachers—to the emergency room while others were sent straight into an early grave had been all over the school in a matter of hours. It didn't help that not long after Gaara transferred anyone who looked at him the wrong way wound up in the hospital. The student would always say they fell or tripped—off what, a cliff?— but almost everyone knew what really happened. Sasuke had to remind himself every time he saw laid eyes on Gaara that the guy had changed, but still the sight him never failed to make the Uchiha uneasy.

Gaara stopped a few feet away from him, sea foam green eyes briefly flickering behind Sasuke's back. The fact that the Hyuga was still next to him hardly registered in his mind before he felt her move closer to him, her forehead briefly making contact with the back of his neck. Every muscle in his body tensed at the touch as he turned his head to look at her. He was met with the sight of her down turned head. The Hyuga was holding onto her text book so tightly her knuckles nearly were nearly white.

Sasuke looked back to the stoic redhead still patiently waiting for him, and suddenly he understood. If Gaara instilled a small but healthy dose of fear in him, then it must be infinitely worse for the timid girl still standing too close to him.

If Gaara noticed his affect on the Hyuga he didn't show it. He instead had his emotionless gaze locked on Sasuke. A few awkward seconds passed before the Uchiha realized that his hand was still hovering by the straps of his gym bag. He quickly took the bag out of his locker and slammed it closed.

The sound seemed to snap Hinata out of whatever stupor she was in and she immediately took a step back, a murmured apology escaping her lips. She was still standing in front of her locker, head bowed, as Sasuke and Gaara left to get Naruto.

iii.

Hinata shifted uneasily on her stool as she listened to the Home Economics teacher, Kurenai-sensei, give the instructions for a worksheet meant to keep the students busy until the end class. Kurenai finished by saying they were due at the end of class before sitting back down behind her desk.

Hinata tried and failed to read the first question off of the worksheet. She couldn't concentrate, not when Naruto was seated beside her. She chewed on her lower lip nervously, barely noticed the ache of her sore body. This would be the second class she shared with him, but at least she wasn't seated anywhere near him in Literature.

Hinata had been sure she would have this station to herself. She had come in not long before the bell rang. The two person kitchen station where she currently sat was the only vacant one when she came in. Hinata had assumed she was the last one to arrive before Naruto burst into class only a few moments later, just seconds before the bell rang. He greeted her with a wide friendly smile, which she half half heartedly returned, before he sat down. She had avoided looking at him ever since.

This entire situation would have probably been ten times worse if it had occurred during their first year. She couldn't be anywhere near Naruto without feeling feint, sometimes to the point of actually fainting. As it was now, she just felt highly uncomfortable. She didn't know how she was supposed to act around him. She barely knew how she felt about him, just that her feelings were different.

Hinata was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a soft but clearly frustrated sigh. She turned to look at Naruto for the first time since he had come in. His brows were furrowed and a frown marred his sun kissed face. He was looking at his own worksheet—which was just as blank as hers was—with intense concentration. The only thing written on the paper was his name.

Naruto seemed to sense her attention on him and shifted his blue eyes to look at her, startling her. She froze, her throat squeezed painfully as she gazed back at him with wide eyes. The look of concentration melted from his face, replaced by a sheepish grin.

"I thought this was supposed to be the easy class," he joked, a half hearted chuckle escaping his lips. When she didn't respond, his eyes dropped back to his worksheet, a frown once again gracing his whisked face as he absentmindedly tapped his pen against the counter.

Hinata released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had no idea how to talk to him, even when he was just trying to be friendly. She was instantly filled with regret, she could have at least smiled instead of just staring at him with wide uncertain eyes.

Now that she really allowed herself to think about it, her old feeling for Naruto hadn't just faded, they were gone.

Hinata was used to having an enormous crush on him. She was used to fighting to remain conscious and trying to still her rapidly beating heart when in his presence. She was used to looking at him in an wholly different manner than she did now. It was almost like being around a different person. She sighed, the middle of class wasn't the best time to be thinking about things like this.

Hinata once again tried to clear her mind as she looked at her assignment, properly reading over the questions for the first time since she'd been handed the worksheet. It contained various questions about kitchen safety and classroom conduct all pertaining to things Kurenai-sensei had talked about in the introduction to the class. She was surprised to find that she knew the answers to just about everything, despite having a hard time concentrating during the introduction.

Hinata was about to start filing out the answers when another groan accompanied by Naruto's forehead hitting the counter in front of them reminded her that he was having a hard time with the assignment. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.

Hinata had been paying enough attention to remember that Kurenai-sensei said they were supposed to work on the worksheet individually. Noticing that it was a lot noisier than it had been when they first started the assignment, she realize that on one else seemed to care. Some students even went as far as copying directly off each other. Since Kurenai hadn't reprimanded anyone yet, she probably didn't mind.

Looking back and forth from the spiky blonde head of hair on the counter next to her and the worksheet in front of her, she made her decision. Taking a deep breath and building up some courage, she spoke

"A-Ano... Naruto-kun?" she struggled to keep her eyes on him when he turned to look at her. Stray strands of blonde hair obscured his blue eyes as he looked up at her expectantly, head still lying on the counter. Her voice shook with uncertainty as she continued

"Ano... I-I-If you'd like, I could…I could help you..." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she struggled to finish. The little confidence she had quickly vanished when he didn't immediately respond.

Suddenly Naruto broke into a huge grin and lifted his head off the counter to properly face her.

"That would be great! Thanks Hinata-chan, you're the best!" He beamed at her.

She immediately felt her face heat up as she returned his bright smile with a tiny smile of her own. She suddenly felt silly for worrying about how to act around him. Just because her feelings had changed, it didn't mean he had.

Naruto began asking her questions about the worksheet and soon she got caught up in his exuberance, her smile larger and more genuine than it had been when they began. By the time class was over, not only had Hinata helped him finish the assignment, she no longer felt uncertain or nervous around him. She still blushed when he lavished her with compliments, but that was her typically reaction to being praised.

After the bell rang, Naruto gave her a hasty goodbye before running out the room. The smile faded from her face as she finished gathering her things and stood. The room was mostly empty by this point, most students like Naruto had wasted no time leaving. Hinata took her time so she could think. Being around Naruto had been an all around pleasant experience—at least after she had gotten over her initial apprehensiveness—but she couldn't help but feel a bit despondent.

All the thoughts she'd been trying to suppress in the weeks following her break-up were brought back to the forefront of her mind for the second time that day. It was so much easier to keep these thoughts out of her mind during summer break. Being back at school brought back too many memories. She was faced with too many people who reminded her of those times.

Now that she was alone—or as alone as a person could be in the middle of a crowded hallway—she allowed herself to think about it. She wished so badly to turn back time and answer him properly now that she was no longer confused.

But that was impossible, nothing could fix her mistake.

Her uncertain feelings had irreversibly ruined the relationship and spending all her time thinking of the possible 'what ifs' wouldn't change that. He obviously had already moved on. The few times she'd seen him today—the first time since the break-up—he hadn't spared her a second glance. She was the only one stuck in the past, thinking about things she could never possibly hope to change. It was high time she moved on. She'd been trying to do it since they had broken up, but maybe now that she finally had her feelings for Naruto sorted out, she could finally put the past behind her all together and start anew.

But it would never be that simple.

Starting over was never that simple.

Sorry that It's been a while since I've updated, I'll try to be better about that. I've got some major writers block with the next chapter. I have it planned out, but attempting to write it has been a pain. I'll try and update soon though, thank you for reading!