C4
"How much are you willing to bet?"
"Nothing!"
"You suuuure?"
"Yes, Kiba! I'm sure!" Hinata cried exasperatedly and rested her head in her hands. "There is no way I am going to let Sasuke Uchiha woo me with his badass-ness and…and…and good looks!"
The messy haired brunet sunk back into his seat with a smirk. "Good. I don't want my best friend to become crazy love sick with a jerk that doesn't deserve it." He looked away and muttered under his breath. "Not that she hasn't already."
"Naruto isn't a jerk!" She hissed and looked across her desk shiftily, making sure that no one was listening. "And he deserves a lot more than he gets!"
"Hinata, you've been in love with him ever since he moved here at the beginning of middle school and he still hasn't noticed it!" He hissed back and leaned forwards. "So yeah, forgive me for thinking that he doesn't deserve your love!"
Sinking limply into her chair, Hinata glanced over at the exuberant blond on the other side of the library who was currently leaning forwards into a certain pink haired girl's personal space, trying his hardest to earn a date with said pretty girl (who adamantly, if not with a hint of exasperation and annoyance, turned him down each time). "I know." She whispered. "I'm trying to get over him."
"Aw, Hinata." Kiba gave a pained look and sighed, "You know I didn't mean it that way…I just…"
"It's okay, Kiba." Hinata said quietly and gathered her textbooks up into her arms. "I know what you meant…study period's almost over anyways…I should head up to my locker." She gave him a weak smile. "I'll, um, I'll see you and Shino at lunch, okay?"
Unsure and with a worried expression, Kiba said, "Okay…well, I'll…I'll just see you then."
Giving back a small reassuring smile, Hinata held the books close to her chest and exited the library into the relatively deserted halls to lean back against a wall. It hurt whenever her friends brought up her futility at loving Naruto, not because it was embarrassing…
But because they were so right.
Naruto had never so much as given her a flirtatious wink or comment, even if he was kind enough to the shy, quiet weird girl who turned all sorts of shades of red when around him. Not that that was saying much at all, Naruto was kind to everyone. Naruto was the golden boy among the students, he went out of his way to help others (even if that did affect his marks…though one could argue it was just lack of interest), and never put anyone down, always encouraging was dreams or goals one had, no matter how insignificant it may be.
You see, the unfortunate thing about getting lost in your thoughts while walking towards one's locker is that the real world is rarely paid attention to at the same time. Said affliction was not above Hinata who was exhibiting such said symptoms and was thusly almost knocked right off her feet as she ran right into a rather solid obstacle.
Nervously, she glanced up and brushed back her disarrayed bangs. "Sorry, I wasn't--" The words died in her throat as she found herself looking terrifyingly up at the frowning face of a certain Uchiha orphan.
"Sasuke…" She breathed, to terrified to move. Did he remember all that happened while he was sick? Would he get mad at her? She wanted nothing more than reach into her pocket and squeeze the scrunchie in it at the moment, but instead reached into her brain and snatched the first thing she could find.
"Did the soup have enough salt?"
At his raised eyebrow, Hinata raised a hand and slapped it against her backstabbing, traitorous, and definitely evil mouth. Of all things to blurt out, she had to do the one thing that may remind him of that evening…
Perhaps his delirium had been too far to remember anything.
Ah…hope. How dare you show your cowardly face here in this crucial moment of shameless desperation.
"The chicken noodle?" His frowned deepened to an almost glare. At her squeaky mouse face though, his expression softened to that of amusement. "Uh…sure. It tasted fine to me."
"Um, good." She looked away quickly and shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Good."
"Right…" He stepped around her and continued down the hallway, a single binder that she hadn't noticed before tucked under his arm that had its hand stuffed in his pocket. "By the way, Itachi wants to teach you some other jobs around the store, like front desk, bakery, and stock."
"Wh-what? Why? Am I not doing a good job of cashier?" She bit her lip worriedly and clutched her books closer to her chest tighter.
Turning around, he sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. "No. The opposite, actually. Itachi thinks you have more potential to help around. You'll still have your job…but with more responsibilities and possibly a raise."
"But I've only been working there for a week!" A raise? Sasuke was definitely pulling her leg…
"Yeah, but for some reason, Itachi thinks that you're some super special type of teenager with a ridiculous amount of will power to act responsibly." He shrugged. "I dunno. Ask him." With that, he turned around once more and continued walking down the hall.
Biting her lip indecisively, Hinata called out, "Thank you!"
"For what?" He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her. "Thank Itachi, not me."
Hinata merely smiled and continued her way down the hall with a different bounce in her step than before. Well, sure, they weren't about to be best friends at school like he had made her agree…but somehow the hostilities were surprisingly absent.
--
The Bakery was a rather misleading name, it turned out. One did not bake at all, but instead spent the time packaging away said baked goods into neat plastic boxes, and on rare occasion would write in neat curly letters on a cake. All-in-all, it was a pleasant job to have, considering she was the only one there with no one to pester her about coupons, different amounts of change, and the location of certain groceries.
At least, no one if you didn't count her supervisor.
Having Sasuke there with her, alone in the smallish room was still ridiculously nerve wracking. His words still held scathing remarks and scoffs, but somehow they seemed less offensive and mean…but perhaps it was more that she was a little less afraid of him since seeing him delirious with fever, than him actually being less rude.
"Do you get it now?" Sasuke asked and leaned against the counter. "All understandable?"
"I…I suppose." Hinata answered back quietly and brushed her bangs back with the back of her wrist. "Thank you."
He blinked before turning away and replying gruffly, "Don't thank me for everything. I'm just doing my job."
It was Hinata's turn to blink and turn away as she mumbled, "Oh, um…sorry."
"God dammit," He growled with frustration and tilted his head back to stare angrily at the ceiling. "Listen, I know I'm an asshole. I know everyone else thinks so. I know that you think so too. But, fuck, the more you put up this…innocent act, the more…fuck." He sighed tiredly and resumed packaging the baked goods. "Forget I said anything."
Worrying her lip between her teeth, she stopped her packaging and curled her hands into fists on the counter in front of her and said quietly, "I…I don't…" She looked away and frowned at the cookies before her. "You're not an asshole."
"Then you're definitely more naïve than I thought. Or you've joined my fan base." He spat out the last two words with a cringe. Hinata knew about the large majority of the girls in her school who adored Sasuke (though it couldn't be for anything more than his exceptionally good looks because at school, he sure as hell didn't show much else that warranted their slavish devotion other than his badass and mysterious persona), and she also knew about his loathing for it too.
"If you were an asshole…th-then you wouldn't admit it. You wouldn't consider h-having any faults." Hinata countered as firmly as her usual meekness would allow.
At this he raised an eyebrow, a quirk that Hinata was starting to find almost endearing on him, and snorted. "Right." He pointed at her nose. "You've got powder on your nose." When she didn't rub said spot correctly, he sighed and mimicked the action on his own face. "You've still got it."
Unable to suppress the tiny giggle bubbling up in her throat, Hinata pointed back and said, "Now y-you do too."
Scowling, he raised his wrist to swipe away at the white powder.
