Author's Note: Still don't own Naruto. Aside from that I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. I have been dealing with a lot lately. Anyway some notes I would like to make. This chapter is not one of my favorites. I am sorry if it comes off as choppy or poorly written as I said a lot is on my mind at the moment and it is a filler chapter so I had a hard time staying focused on it. Secondly as I said it is a filler chapter, sorry for the lack of excitement. Next chapter will be better I promise. Plus I have an idea for the next (or maybe the one after) chapter that came as a sort of request from one of my readers. I am not saying what it is though… you will see when it happens. Let's see what else can I tell you. After the next chapter or so things are going to really start to pick up. A lot of things are going to happen at once. So if you have been thinking the story is slowing down bear with it until then. I am still torn between two possible endings for the story though I think I am leaning towards the one. Either way I would appreciate knowing your thoughts. So I would like to know if you are all interested in a squeal to the story or if I should simply end it with this one. I don't need to know right away but keep it in mind, give it some thought, and then I would appreciate it if you let me know. Once again thank for reading and reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter even if it isn't my favorite. Also I almost forgot I am sorry Neji/Tetnen fans since they not exactly very nice… you will see in this chapter. I think that is out. Next chapter should definitely be out sooner. If not I give you permission to throw things at me :D


Hinata hated Mondays. They were by far the worst day of the week. It wasn't the fact that she had to go to school. Really when it came down to it she didn't mind school all the much and it did get her out of the house and that was always a good thing. There were two problems with Mondays. The first was that she had to wake up so early. Now normally she had no problems getting up early. She wouldn't call herself a morning person but she usually did just fine in the mornings. The problem was that she always got next to no sleep on the weekends. She was out to all hours and still had to get up rather early to have breakfast on the table. She had to get up even earlier on Mondays and by then the lack of sleep usually caught up to her.

Her second problem with Mondays lay in the fact that she had a whole week ahead of her in which she was stuck being Hinata. So it wasn't exactly a whole week, more like five days to be exact but it might as well be an eternity for the way those five days stretched on. Five days as Hinata Hyuga wasn't something she looked forward to. Violet was her release, her way of expressing herself under the safety of a mask and to be kept from that for a week always wore on her. By the end of the week she often found herself so frustrated she was ready to scream. But of course she would never do that. That was quite unHinata like. If only she would just break that shell she had enclosed herself in.

So like every other Monday morning Hinata tried to scrub away her grogginess in the shower with little success. She wanted nothing more than to slip back under the covers of her bed and fall asleep but somehow she was able to force herself to get dressed and go downstairs to prepare breakfast. Breakfast was a blur though a silent one for she said nothing and nothing was said to her. She vaguely remembered listening to her father and Neji talk about something, perhaps it had been football or schools. She couldn't remember now.

"Earth to Hinata," Naruto said waving his hand in front of her face as she stood there, her hands holding a few of her extra books to her chest as she stood with him waiting for the bus.

"Oh s-s-sorry Naruto. I'm just t-tired," she said with a sheepish smile which was followed by a yawn.

"Yeah me too but Iruka let me sleep in yesterday morning because he said I looked exhausted," Naurto said with a grin as he grabbed her by the elbow and drug her onto the bus which had come to a stop in front of him. Hinata idly wondered when the last time she had been able to sleep in was and discovered she couldn't even remember.

She took her seat beside Naruto and looked forward at Shikamaru who was sound asleep in the seat in front of him. She envied his ability to fall asleep in practically any situation. She could never do that. So instead she leaned her head against the back of the seat and simply stared out the window as the bus began the drive to the school.

It didn't take them long to reach the school though morning traffic always turned the ten minute drive into something closer to twenty. They all filed off of the bus and headed for their lockers. They weren't in the same homeroom, but she and Naruto's classrooms were rather close. Usually after they went to their lockers they would meet up and talk for a few minutes or go over homework before class began. So as Hinata made her way to her locker, she was mentally preparing herself for another long day. Little did she know she wasn't preparing herself nearly enough.

Hinata opened her locker and set her schoolbag down on the floor. Looking back up she went to reach into her locker when it closed right in front of her face. Her pale eyes stared at the feminine hand on her locker and then trailed up the arm and to the face of Tenten. Inwardly she thought what a miserable morning this was turning out to be. Outwardly, Hinata's expression remained blank as she stared at her cousin's long time girlfriend.

"Hinata," Tenten said, her voice sounding as bored as her expression looked. "I forgot my money for lunch so I need yours." Hinata stared at her, a bit of shock registering on her face as she processed what had just been said to her. What gave her the right to demand her lunch money because she had forgotten hers? She had never gotten along with Tenten, the girl had never had anything nice to say but this here was crossing the line. Someone really needed to stand up to her. No one did though since she was Neji's girlfriend and one of the 'it' girls in the school. And Hinata realized that she wasn't about to stand up to her either despite how much she wanted to. She just was never able to get her thoughts expressed into words. It was like she had some sort of block of something.

"W-wh-why don't you ask-k N-neji for s-s-some," Hinata stuttered out, having unconsciously taken a step away form Tenten.

"Why ask him when I know that you will just give me yours. You heard me Hinata, hand it over. You don't want to cause a scene or anything. Plus," she said raising an eyebrow disapprovingly. "It's not like it will hurt you to miss a meal anyway."

Hinata's eyes widened as she felt the sting of Tenten's words. She of course knew that she wasn't fat or anything close to it but the words stung nonetheless. The wounded her already fragile ego to the point where she was ready to give Tenten the money just to make her go away. In fact she was about to, when Naruto showed up.

"Leave Hinata alone Tenten. You have no right to talk to her like that. If you forgot your money then that is your fault not hers," he said coming to stand in between the two of them. Hinata looked adoringly at her friend's back and wished she had an ounce of his confidence. He didn't need to be someone else to stand up for what he believed was right or say what was on his mind. If only she could be more like him.

"Oh how cute. Your little boyfriend showed up just in time to stand up for you," Tenten taunted.

"N-n-n-naruto is not my b-boy-f-friend," Hinata stammered out as she took a step forward to stand next to Naruto. Tenten opened her mouth to say something in return but instead another male voice reached them all.

"Yeah Tenten he is not her boyfriend. I suppose even loudmouthed losers have some sort of taste," Neji said as he came up beside Tenten and wrapped his arm around her.

"You take that back," Naruto growled and started towards Neji. He was only stopped when Hinata pulled lightly on his arm. He turned around to look at her and she shook her head. One look at Hinata's face and the fight went out of him. He stopped where he was standing but he glared at Neji.

"Smart move. There is no chance you would ever beat me in a fight anyway. It just isn't possible," Neji said with a smug air that made Hinata wonder how in the world they were actually related. "Now come on Tenten. We certainly don't want to hang around with them very long."

Tenten let out a girlish giggle and cling to Neji as she allowed him to lead her off. Hinata watched the two of them go and once they were out of sight she turned and let her back rest against her locker. She slid down to the locker until she was sitting on the floor, he body slumped forward in defeat slightly. She hid her face in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees as she shed invisible tears over their words. She felt Naruto sit down beside her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him.

"Hey Hinata don't listen to anything they say alright? You are way better than either of them and don't you forget that," he said as he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "And one of these days you are going to realize that yourself and tell them that. Until then you got me to do it for you," he said softly.

"Thanks Naruto," Hinata said quietly as she pulled herself together and lifted her face out of her palms. She gave Naruto a brave smile and he helped her up to her feet. Hinata gave him a hug. "I don't know what I would do without you," she said before turning back to her locker and opening it yet again.

Somehow Hinata made it to lunch without much more trouble. Unless she counted the pop quiz that she had in History, but even that hadn't been as bad as her run in with Tenten and Neji. She had been able to make it through that without feeling like crying afterwards.

Now however she sat with Naruto and Shikamaru and picked at her lunch. She didn't have much of an appetite at the moment, and what little appetite she had managed to work up was quickly squashed when Kiba came over to bother her. She had known Kiba for quite some time now. They had been in quite a few classes together when they were younger. Kiba had developed a fondness back then for picking on her and it hadn't seemed to have faded over the years. The only thing that changed was the topic of the teasing and in that respect his jokes and such had only seemed to have gotten cruder. Hinata resisted the urge to smack her head down on the lunch table. This was by far one of the worst Mondays she had been through in quite some time.

"Hey there Hinata," Kiba said as he shoved Naruto out of the way and sat down right next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. Hinata made an attempt to shrug his arm off but he put it right back the second he got the chance. "Come on now baby don't be like that. We all know you got to be hiding something under those baggy clothes of yours. Why don't you let me see?"

"Hey Kiba, take your filthy paws off of her. She isn't showing you anything," Naruto said as he pried Kiba's arm off of Hinata's shoulders.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered from across her. "Seriously Kiba why don't you just leave Hinata alone."

"Why don't you both just can it? I'm only playing with her," Kiba shot back as Hinata scooted as far away from him as she could without ending up on the cafeteria floor.

"Come on Kiba just leave the girl alone." That voice. Hinata jerked around to see none other than Sasuke standing there with his arms folded over his chest. Hinata nearly fell out of her chair. What was he doing here? She was tempted to bolt but that would make her look like quite an idiot. So instead she sat there, her face warming as a blush crept up on her cheeks. On a positive note she didn't seem to be the only one caught off guard at Sasuke's sudden appearance. Everyone seemed to just be staring at him. It wasn't like something like this happened everyday meaning Sasuke Uchiha standing up for a little nobody.

As much as she hated to admit it, Hinata had noticed Sasuke more than ever today. Before she had hardly given him a passing glance. He was after all never someone who had paid her any attention. He hadn't treated her poorly or anything like that but they weren't exactly friendly either. They both were just happy to acknowledge the other and nothing more. Today though in History, during their pop quiz she had found herself glancing up to study him. He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark washed jeans. His face had been set in that same concentrated look she had seen him wear when he was racing. It brought a faint smile to her lips at the time.

And then as the school day had continued to drag on she had noticed that he wasn't the same person that he was at the rallies. Actually it was a bit of a relief considering she wasn't either. At the rallies Sasuke had a cool confidence and irresistible charm. He was almost friendly to say and wore an irresistible smirk quite often.

Here though at school things were different. He still had that same cool confidence but he seemed quite a bit more cold and distant. He wore quite a stoic expression no hint of a smirk even in the black depths of his eyes. He seemed to have a solid front in place that made him almost intimidating. She wondered how it was that everyone seemed to like him so much. And then she was brought back out of her thoughts by his voice.

"Come on Kiba. I told you to just leave her alone."

Kiba realizing that it really wasn't worth starting something with Sasuke, muttered something under his breath and then left the table. Hinata continued to stare at Sasuke in awe.

"T-t-thanks," Hinata finally stuttered out and was shocked when Sasuke took the seat across from her, right next to Shikamaru.

"No problem Hinata," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, though despite it all his stoic expression remained. Hinata's eyes widened and before she could stop herself her voice tumbled forward from her lips. That was the first time she had ever had that problem.

"Y-you k-n-n-now my na-na-name," she said muttered quietly resisting the urge to clamp her hand over her mouth once the words had slipped out. Sasuke nodded.

"Why wouldn't I? You're in my history class plus you're Neji's cousin," he said easily. By now though Shikamaru and Naruto had gotten over their shock. Shikamaru raised a speculative brow.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but what exactly are you doing here," he asked. Sasuke let out a sort of amused snort or sorts or something like that.

"You two are pretty good friends with Violet. I mean Shikamaru I dropped her off at your place the other night so obviously she trusts you two the most," Sasuke said now focused on Shikamaru and Naruto. Then again that was good considering Hinata could feel herself beginning to blush like an idiot.

"So what's you point," Naruto said a bit defensively. Hinata knew that he certainly wasn't a fan of Sasuke Uchiha.

"My point is that I like her. I want you guys to help me get a date with her."

Hinata was now as red as a tomato. She felt like her face was on fire and this time she had to grab the table to keep from falling off of her seat. Naruto and Shikamaru both looked rather stunned as well and unsure of what exactly they were going to say next.

"No way," Naruto said jumping up and nearly sending his tray flying. "Why would we do that for you? Besides Violet would probably kill us if we set her up for a date."

Sasuke chuckled. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much. She was certainly different. Still he was determined to get a date. He hadn't been this intrigued by someone in quite a long time. And that other night, he had come so darn close to kissing her. He was now regretting that he didn't. He wanted another shot at that. It was keeping him up at nights. He wasn't sure what sort of hold Violet had on him but it was there and he was going to do something about it even if he had to wait another week to see her at the rally though he would prefer not to do that.

Right now though he had to deal with her two overprotective friends it would seem. He opened his mouth to try to convince Naruto and Shikamaru when he realized that Naruto's attention was no longer on him. He followed Naruto's gaze until it landed on a certain pink haired girl that he was all too familiar with. Sakura. Sasuke smirked. Perhaps he needed to give Naruto a bit more incentive to try and get him a date with Violet.

"I'll tell you what. If you get me a date with Violet then I will get Sakura to go out with you," Sasuke stated calmly to which Naruto's jaw nearly hit the floor. He started to nod his head in an enthusiastic yes when a kick from Shikamaru under the table stopped him.

"He's going to have to get back to you. What about tomorrow," Shikamaru said quickly interrupting them.

"Alright, tomorrow is fine. I will see you guys later," he said standing up from the table before pausing and turning back to Naruto. "Look just so you know I am only promising a date. I can't force her to like you. That is all up to you." And with that he nodded at them before strolling back off. Hinata watched him leave, her face still red as she continued to wish she could disappear. She knew that Naruto had had a crush on Sakura since he had first met her. He had been dying to get her to notice him the way she noticed Sasuke. He could finally have that chance if only she would go on a date with Sasuke.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to do this for Naruto and she knew that as much as she hated to admit it, she was finding herself more and more drawn to Sasuke. She was beginning to accept the fact that she liked him but she wasn't sure she could handle going on a date with him. He liked Violet not her though she was Violet so did that count as the same thing? Plus she might just completely embarrass herself on a date. She had never even been on one before. She was nervous just thinking about it.

"Hey Hinata are you okay? You got a fever or something? You're face is all red," Naruto said, his face in front of hers.

"She is fine you idiot," Shikamaru said as he placed his head down on the lunch table. "She is just blushing because she likes Sasuke."

Hinata's pale eyes widened as she looked at Shikamaru. She was just beginning to admit it to herself. How did he have that figured out already? She was going to have to kill him later when she regained her composure for saying that out loud. What if someone had actually overheard that?

"Hey wait a minute. Hinata used to get all red in the face around me. Does that mean…" Naruto's voice trailed off and his blue eyes widened. Shikamaru actually lifted his head from the table and looked Naruto straight in the face. He nodded slowly.

"Only took you all these years idiot," he said before putting his head back down on the table.

"Hinata you used to like me," Naruto practically yelled turning to face her. But Hinata was already long gone. She had taken off, her face even redder now if that was possible as she headed for the nearest girl's room wondering what she was going to do about a possible date with Sasuke and wondering how in the world she was ever going to face Naruto again.