-:-
"So, how was your first day of school?" Mrs. Hyuga asked as she and Hinata had dinner. "Oh, it was alright." Hinata answered, absently poking her ramen dinner. Sasori, the boy she met today, was clouding her mind. He was so kind and handsome... wait, did we go over this already? Mrs. Hyuga chuckled. "Did you meet Deidara?" Who was that? "Deidara?" Hinata inquired, confused. "You know, the nice boy next door." Mrs. Hyuga motioned to Deidara's house, which was visible from the kitchen window. Hinata thought for a bit, and then, slowly, Deidara's image appeared in her mind. Blonde, tall, ponytail, blue eyes, wearing a red shirt... Oh, that boy. "I... suppose." She answered awkwardly, a bit embarrassed to not really know anything about him except his name. "How do you like him?" Hinata played with her food while she thought of a typical adjective. "He's nice."
Mrs. Hyuga held a knowing look. "Is there something you're not telling me?" She asked, chuckling when Hinata turned a light red. "Um... Actually..." Hinata didn't like keeping secrets from her mother. It was both rude and improper. "Deidara's friend... Sasori... he..." She trailed off. "Do you like him?" Mrs. Hyuga pried. Flinching a bit, Hinata abandoned playing with her food and pressed her fingers together. "W-Well... It's a bit more than that..." Her mother looked at her quizzically, then she got it. "On the first day, too... Hmm..." She pondered on it for a few moments. "Is he a nice fellow?" she asked. Hinata nodded vigorously. "Yes! He's very nice, kind, handsome, too..." she clasped her hands together and sighed dreamily.
Hinata talked about Sasori for the rest of dinner, then Mrs. Hyuga sent her to bed. "Good night, Hinata." She said to her before retreating to her bedroom. Hinata danced into her room. She changed and got ready for bed, sighing wistfully as she lay down. "Oh, Sasori..."
"Yes, my dear?"
Her breath caught in her throat. "Sasori?" She said again, cautiously. "Out the window, in Deidara's house." Hinata sat up and looked out her window, and sure enough, Sasori was leaning out his window. "You called me?" he asked in a smooth voice, making her heart jump. "Well, not exactly, I mean, not that I don't want you here, but... well, you're not 'here' here, but still..." She stammered. He laughed a little and looked to the side. I bet I could jump over to your window if I wanted to." he said, looking at her. She seemed perplexed. "What is it?" he asked. Hinata touched her cheek. "There's a dark spot on your cheek." she said softly. Sasori raised his hand to his cheek and winced a little. "Yeah. That's a bruise." They were silent for a minute. "My dad hit me, so I ran back here."
Hinata gasped. "He hit you? And you're allowed to go out this late at night?" she asked, surprised. Sasori shrugged. "Not allowed, exactly, but they don't stop me. So I keep going." Hinata looked down to the ground. She couldn't believe that a parent could hit a child. And not care if he ran away or not! The nerve of the parent! He had every right to run away, and he could never come back! Hmph!
"Hinata." Sasori said. He sounded closer than before, so, curious, she glanced up. Sasori had climbed out the window and swung from the wires connecting their houses to her window. And, when he was right in front of her, he kissed her. Hinata's heart stopped, and she was in her own world for almost a minute. "Sweet dreams, Hinata." He winked at her, then swung back into the room just before Deidara walked in.
--
"You okay?" Deidara asked as he set a glass of water on his bedside table. Sasori took one last glance at Hinata before closing the blinds. "Just peachy." he laid down on his bed. "Alright. G'night." Deidara shrugged, crawling into bed himself.
"Sweet dreams..." Sasori laughed to himself.
-:-
"Maylene! What did Hinata say about her first day of school yesterday?" Melinda (As in Deidara's Mom) asked as she and Mrs. Hyuga (Maylene) walked on their way to work. Maylene coughed a little bit, then answered. "Apparently she's going out with Sasori." Melinda looked at her, surprised. "What the heck? But it's only been a day!" she scoffed. "I know! That's what I said!" They fell silent as a loud truck drove by. "But... I want Hinata to experience high school. And, I mean, she is a junior in a different school. Maybe Sasori will help her get used to high school." Meylene sighed, then coughed hard enough to make Melinda cringe. "That sounds awful! Should you go to work today?" she asked, putting an arm around her friend. "Oh, I'm fine. I've been coughing like this for a while."
Melinda gave her a concerned look. "Okay, if you say so."
They continued walking, and after a while, Maylene asked, "So, is Sasori a nice boy like Deidara?" Melinda avoided eye contact for a minute. "I could show you a picture, but you might get a heart attack..." She said, moving to take out her phone. "Oh, I'm sure he's not that bad..." Maylene said as Melinda pulled out her phone and showed her the picture of Deidara and Sasori on her wallpaper. "He looks a lot like Deidara..." Maylene said. "That's not him. Sasori's the one in black." There was a pause. "I don't think I approve..." Maylene began, but let herself trail off.
-:-
Well, wasn't this awkward?
As the three were walking through the school gates, Itachi Uchiha was waiting for Hinata at the door. "I thought you might need some help getting to class." he said. Hinata could never just tell him 'No' because he was such a nice guy. He was like that brother you never want to disappoint. Since they were running a bit late, everyone separated at the hall to go to their respective classes.
Deidara and Hinata walked together.
"So, Hinata... how's it going?" Deidara asked as they made their way to their classroom. "I'm doing... alright." Hinata sighed. "What's wrong?" he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I'm just sad that I had to separate from Sasori so soon..." she sighed again in a dramatic manner, making Deidara roll his eyes. "What's he got that I don't?" he muttered. "What was that?" Hinata asked as they entered the classroom. "Nothing."
Class started, and right off the bat, second day of school, the teacher slapped them with a team project. "You will choose a partner. Together, you will dadadadada..." Deidara tuned the teacher out when he saw that he was handing out paper instructions. Usually those were all he needed to complete a project. He glanced at Hinata, who was getting little notes and whispers from her surrounding classmates to be their partners. He mentally scoffed, turning his attention to the teacher again. "Choose wisely - Don't choose someone who just looks hot." The teacher looked directly at the people trying to get Hinata's attention. They shied back to their seats and those writing notes crumpled the papers. The teacher laughed. "Silly teenagers." He turned to sit behind his desk. "Commence the choosing." he clapped his hands twice, and immediately the classroom erupted with activity.
Deidara waited until he had a general idea of who was partners with who - He was glad that Hidan found another poor sucker to do the project for him. He was also glad to find that Hinata was still partner-free. Maybe this was his chance! A little too quickly, he made gathered his stuff and made his way to sit in the desk in front of her. "Hey, do you want to work on this project with me?" He sounded a bit too formal for his own taste. Hinata smiled a little. "Sure." he smiled back. "Okay." Before any form of awkwardness could settle, the bell rang, and the two left the classroom together.
"So, honey, how was first period?" Sasori asked as he suddenly wrapped an arm around Hinata. He got out of class early to meet her after her class. "Deidara and I are to be partners for a class project." Intrigued, Sasori leaned a little bit to look at Deidara, who was on Hinata's other side. "Really now?" he said, smiling a little. Deidara avoided eye contact. "Well, good luck with that." He and Hinata cuddled a little bit before they reached their classroom.
Unintentionally, Deidara had followed them, and now he was standing all alone in the hallway. Late, again, to class. Sighing, he turned around and jogged toward the other side of the school. However, on the inside, he was congratulating himself for a job well done. Partners with Hinata on a project... It's a start! he let himself smile a little right as he entered the classroom, whose class already started.
--
And so, after school, Deidara, Sasori, and Hinata were faced with a new dilemma: With the boys' detention, who was to walk Hinata home? Sasori tried convincing her that she could walk herself, but she strongly protested. "It's 3 in the afternoon! Practically sundown! Who knows what kind of people lurk out in our neighborhood at 3pm!" Sasori shrugged. "People with active outdoor lives?" Hinata gave him a look, and he kept his mouth shut. "Why don't you walk with the other people going in that direction?" Deidara suggested as Hidan walked by. "I'm going in herdirection." He smirked, as Hinata glared at him. "That man disgusts me." She said as if he weren't there. "Ouch. Burned by the hottie." Hidan laughed to himself as he continued walking towards his house. Sasori pulled her to him. "What a mean, disgusting man!" he yelled loud enough for Hidan to hear. "Fuck you, Sasori!"
"Perhaps... I could walk her home?" The three turned around and found Itachi scratching the back of his head. "It's a little out of the way, but I can make sure she gets home." he shrugged. Deidara looked at Sasori, who looked at Hinata, who looked fine with it. "Thank you, Itachi." she smiled at him. "Yes, thank you Itachi!" Sasori raised his arms in the air and hugged Hinata again, tightly.
Deidara put a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Make sure she gets there safely... and that her mom's there." he said. Itachi laughed a little to himself. "You're making it obvious that you like her." he said. Deidara turned pink. "I just want to make sure she gets home..." he defended half-heartedly. "Right, right. Have fun in detention." Deidara and Sasori waved goodbye to Itachi and Hinata before a teacher yelled at them to go into the detention hall.
-:-
"Why did you run away from home?" Hinata asked once they were well away from the school. Itachi sighed. "I felt trapped. I was suffocating under all the pressure of being the next in line for the head of the police force." Hinata nodded, even though she didn't understand. She thought he was lucky to have something to be an heir to, while she had nothing to look forward to. Being an heir gave you opportunities. Being an heir gave you an assurance of the future. How could he give that up? "Well, who's going to be the new captain when your father retires?" she asked after a while. "Sasuke, I guess. You remember, my little brother?" Sasuke was the one who tugged at her hair when Itachi wasn't pushing her on the swings. "Well, anyway, he seems to want the position more than I do, so I'll give it to him." Itachi shrugged.
They were nearing the house, so Hinata thought quickly of what to ask him next. "How can you give it all up like that?" She stumbled out. Itachi stopped, letting Hinata walk ahead a little. "Give up?" he repeated. Hinata instantly regretted the question. "I mean, your future was set - you had nothing to worry about. How can you give it all up?" she slowly walked through her front gate, and he followed. When they were at the front door, he slammed his arms on either side of her head. "You can't give up something you didn't want in the first place." he whispered. Didn't want? He'd be given respect, and everything he'd ever dreamed. Hinata was furious with him for not appreciating his set future; while she had a blurry future in this crummy house they were leaning against.
Then, suddenly, she burst out crying. Itachi wiped her tears away and leaned his forehead against hers. "What's that supposed to mean? You didn't want to live happily?" she asked shakily. "I'm happy, Hinata. I'm happy being the person I want to be." He pulled away from her. "But..." Truthfully, she had no argument against that. He should be happy being himself. She hurriedly wiped the rest of her tears away and looked away. "Hey." Itachi tilted her head up so she looked him in the eye. "I'm glad I got to see you again." he smiled and ruffled her hair, making her laugh a little. "Me too." She hugged him tightly, then let him go. He began walking down the porch steps, then turned back to look at her house. "Is your mom home?" he asked. Hinata, confused, shrugged. "I'm not sure. Why? Do you want to speak with her?" she began opening the door with the key under the mat. "Oh, no. If she isn't, Deidara sent me to babysit you." He teased and winked at her.
Hinata walked into her house and called out for her mother. No answer. "Well, I guess you're staying with me for now." she said, beckoning for Itachi to come inside.
"Are you thirsty?" Hinata's mother taught her to be polite to any guests and offer a drink. Itachi shook his head and sat on the couch. Not wanting to seem rude, she decided to drink water later. But another part of her thought, He's my best friend - he's not going to care if I drink something or not... But another part of her thought, Well, we haven't exactly spoken for a couple years... or more... Sighing, she forced herself to walk into the living room and join him. She noticed too late that she sat a bit too close, and Itachi leaned a little bit to look at her. "Hinata, aren't you going out with Sasori?" he asked, eyeing her with playful suspicion. Not exactly getting what he meant, she tilted her head to the side. "Yes, of course. Why?" he chuckled, hiding it with his fist, and looked away with a smirk. She lightly hit him, not sure if it was as playful as his eyes. "What? I don't understand." she huffed. Itachi kept his eyes locked on hers and slowly leaned down, his arm snaking behind her waist. "You will in a second." he said in his deep smooth voice.
Before their lips met, she slid off the couch, her heart beating and her face red. "Wh-What are you doing!?" She gasped. Itachi stared at her, equally confused. "I thought you wanted..." Upon realization, he blushed - yes, blushed - and looked downward. Then, after letting the embarrassment wash over him, he leaned back and sighed. Hinata still held her reserved spot, standing up and huddling her arms together. "I thought you loved me for a second." he muttered. Hinata's eyes widened a bit. "L-Love? But you knew that... I was going out with Sasori." she said, almost annoyed. Itachi shrugged.
"Love is a test, so some people cheat." he said. This made Hinata ponder about love.
-:-
If it's short, it's because I love you.
... Well, because I wanted to say RIP Michael Jackson and Happy 4th.
And because I haven't updated in a while...
So, RIP M-J.
Happy 4th of July.
(BY THE WAY. MAYLENE IS NOW HINATA'S MOTHER.)