Chapter 5
It was now a Friday morning, and the energy of the entire student body was suffocating. Students were practically bouncing off the walls from anticipation of the weekend. There have been talks of huge house parties that were going to kick off after schools and tomorrow night. Even Sakura didn't bother threatening her because she was so wrapped up in her own party plans. Apparently, the majority of the students were going to an abandoned home on the outskirts of town to party. It was supposed to be epic.
Hinata soaked in the gossip and tedious information for a little while. She soon tired of the talk of getting drunk and things, so she thought of her own plans for the night. The small party at Naruto's house had been on her brain ever since Tuesday.
She actually pondered what she was even going to wear. She knew that there wasn't going to be anyone she hadn't seen before at his house, but she still wanted to spruce up a little bit. Maybe put on some tights and actually put her hair in some kind of up do. Casual but different than what they were used to.
Hinata sighed loudly and rubbed her forehead in frustration. Here she was being irrational yet again about something that wasn't a huge deal. All because of what exactly?
"Hey Hinata." She didn't have to look up to place the voice. She already knew it had to be him. After all, he was the only one that ever bothered to talk to her in first period. Notice that it's 'talk' and not 'threaten'. Since she didn't talk, she looked up at him in acknowledgement.
His hair was damp as if he had just taken a shower. A few little blonde strands were clumped together and fell right into eyes. She felt a strong urge to push it back for him, but she thought better of it. 'The more distant you are, the easier the separation will be.' She settled on a small smile. He brushed the hair away on his own anyway. Naruto took his seat next to Hinata, and did something that really surprised her. He didn't bother speaking. Normally he would be trying to bait her to talk, but today he was quiet.
Hinata couldn't help observing him for a while. He was acting strangely after all. His face portrayed no emotion as he began to read from his physics textbook. No discoloration, random sweat, or pained expression, so he most likely wasn't sick. He didn't seem angry or anything either. Just quiet. Hinata inwardly shrugged her shoulders and began to draw. The class had about eight minutes until it was officially in session.
Mr. Kakashi (or Mr.K as Naruto called him) arrived about five minutes late as per usual. "Class." His voice had an amused lilt to it causing everyone to visibly sweat drop. Hinata could practically hear the frantic prayers for no tests. "Relax. I just wanted to say that I don't feel like teaching today. Do what you want, but don't disturb me." He sat down in his office chair behind his desk and propped his feet up. It didn't take long for everyone to resume talking.
Hinata closed her journal suddenly bored of drawing at the moment. For some reason, today felt weird. Weirder than usual. She glanced over at Naruto to find that he was now engrossed in a comic book. It looked like a Batman comic from her angle. He still hadn't said a word. She was beginning to feel a little sad. Had she officially pushed him away?
Someone cleared their throat right in front of their desks. Hinata jumped albeit it wasn't noticeable. She looked up and nearly squeaked when she saw it was Sakura. 'Please don't hurt me.' She begged in her mind. However, the pink haired girl barely looked in her direction. "Naruto?" The boy was already putting away his comic. "I want to talk." Sakura seemed to have just noticed Hinata in that moment. Sakura gave the scared yet confused girl a terse smile and then looked back towards Naruto. He put his book away and gestured for her to sit in the desk on the other side of him. They began to talk in whispered tones leaving Hinata more confused than ever.
000
Temari and Tenten waited patiently at her locker right after fourth period. Naruto and Sakura walking off together after first period was still fresh on her mind. Who was she kidding? She was never in Sakura's loop to begin with. Hinata debated asking the girls what was going on between the two, but she didn't feel like writing anything at the moment.
Hinata decided to stick to her word and make amends with her first friends. Naruto was right. They hadn't actually done anything wrong to her...yet. She smiled brightly at both girls and gently nudged past them to open her locker.
"Kankuro was a total dickwad last night." Hinata rolled her eyes playfully about the sibling rivalry they had going on. Tenten giggled while she placed her hand over mouth. Kind of like what a posh old English women would do.
"I really wish I had a sibling sometimes. They seem fun." Both Hinata and Temari scoffed at the remark.
"You can have mine...except Gaara." Temari mumbled. They all fell into step to the cafeteria. The trio of girls made their way over to their lunch table, and put down their belongings. To be more accurate, Hinata gingerly placed her bag on the table top while the other two threw theirs down. The cafeteria was serving pizza today. They couldn't risk missing out and getting a burnt piece. Hinata was glad that she always packed her lunch.
She took a seat with the boys, and fumbled to get her sandwich out of her tote bag. Kankuru and Kiba were the only two that waved at her. Sasuke sat reading a book, and Gaara barely nodded in acknowledgement of her presence. Hinata didn't mind though. Out of the group, she felt safest around Gaara and Sasuke. They would be the last ones to ask her too much about her past.
Kankuro and Kiba were getting into a debate about who was the greatest superhero while the other three sat in silence. Hinata's mind began to drift to thoughts about Naruto again. 'Why was he walking with Sakura anyway? I thought they weren't dating.' Hinata barely registered the flavor of her tuna sandwich as her mind wandered. She was completely in a daze.
"Naruto's not coming to lunch today." The deep, gravely voice caught her off guard. It was beautiful and reminded her a sleepy man's voice. Her eyes looked around the table only to find Gaara's pale green staring straight into hers. She gulped her sandwich in surprise that he had even bothered to talk. She also didn't expect him to sound like that. She thought he was a real mute and not one by choice like her.
"Is he with Sakura?" Sasuke's voice was melodic and demanded attention. He lifted his head from his book shaking away his long bangs in the process. Hinata noted that they should both talk more often. As much as she enjoyed hearing Naruto talk, she wondered how a conversation with all three of them would sound. They all had nice voices.
"Yes. I spotted them walking toward the parking lot before I came here." Gaara folded his arms across his chest just then. Sasuke nodded his head. By then, the other two boys were tuned into the conversation.
"Woah. Naruto and Sakura?" Kankuro didn't really sound all that surprised as he drank his Gatorade. He sounded as if it were routine.
"You don't think they're..." Kiba let the sentence drift off and motioned to the other guys with his hands. It was like he was trying to imply something without actually saying it.
"No, but I don't really much attention to Naruto's affairs." Sasuke seemed completely disinterested.
"You two are the closest." Gaara said while narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I pay attention to his conquests . Besides, you're close to him as well." Sasuke put his head back down to resume reading. He barely missed Gaara shrug his shoulders as if to say "you're right." Hinata was still stuck on the fact that the word "conquest" was used.
"I wonder what they're doing." Kiba stated.
"What who is doing?" Tenten asked as she placed her tray on the table. She took a seat next to Hinata and Temari sat next to her brother. Tenten unfolded her napkin and laid it on her lap. She didn't want to get any pizza sauce on her favorite sundress.
"Sakura and Naruto." Kankuro answered. He had already scarfed down his tray of food and was now helping himself to Temari's apple.
"Really?" Tenten and Temari asked in unison.
"Yes." Gaara mumbled. The girls seemed surprised at that too.
"Oh wow. So I take it you feel comfortable around her now?" Temari asked teasingly.
"It wasn't a matter of being comfortable. I just like observing everything and everyone thoroughly before giving away my thoughts."
"Whatever." His sister replied. She was obviously used to his antics. "What about you?" She was now looking at Sasuke.
"I speak whenever I want to. I just don't usually feel like it." The group let the conversation die down as they consumed their food. Hinata was still wondering about the whole Naruto thing, so she just had to ask.
Is Naruto dating Sakura? Hinata scribbled on a piece of paper and slid to the middle of the table. All of the others leaned forward to read it and cringed at the words.
"That's...complicated." Kiba supplied.
"They have history, but it's not really our place to tell you." Tenten looked with an apologetic half smile. "Just know that we aren't too favorable of the whole thing." Hinata's eyebrow quirked at that.
"Some of us more than others." Gaara said bitingly. His eyes held a fierceness in them that was unrivaled. Hinata shuddered to think of what took place to bring on that look. She grabbed the note from the table and balled it up. Maybe even bringing it up was a bad idea.
000
Hinata stood at her full length mirror in regret. What made her want to go to his party anyway? She stared at her reflection in disdain looking over her outfit. She was just wearing a pair of teal skinny jeans, a light knit sweater with neon multicolored print, and a pair of white Vans. The outfit was something that she had worn before at the mall, but it felt different. She felt so stupid.
"Hinata." Her sister, Hanabi, called before bursting into her room anyway. She stopped short and gave her sister the once over. "You look nice. Are you primping?"
Hinata quickly threw her black sheet back over the mirror to avoid her sister's gaze. She didn't feel like being teased at that moment.
"Oh, calm down. I was just teasing." Hanabi took it upon herself to flop down on her bed. "You should have went with a tighter sweater to show off the boobs."
Hinata balked at her sister's shameless observation. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her chest. She was 12 for goodness sake. Is that what they were teaching at her school?
"You make this too easy." Hanabi giggled. Hinata glared at her until she composed herself. "I just came in here to tell you that your friend is here." Hanabi then jumped up on Hinata's bed using it as a makeshift trampoline. Hinata took that as a cue to leave.
"Have fuuuunnnn." Hanabi sang behind her.
000
Tenten had picked her up in her lime green beetle and they were now ringing Naruto's doorbell. Hinata realized the tune was a simplified yet recognizable rendition of Vivaldi's "Gloria". This place never ceased to amaze her.
The door opened less than 30 seconds later with Mr. Jiraiya on the other side. His smile beamed bright as he recognized them. "Welcome ladies. My son is upstairs in the game room." He stepped aside to allow them entrance. They ascended up the stairs hearing faint music along the way. "Have fuuuunnnn." Jiraiya sang behind them. Did everyone seem to know something that Hinata didn't?
Tenten opened the door to the game room and moved aside to let Hinata in first. There were a about five arcade games lined along the far wall, some bean bag chairs in front of a large TV with the entire collection of game consoles around it, a foosball table, a small bar area, and a pool table. The room really resembled a small arcade even down to the black space carpet and dark walls.
Everyone was sprawled all around the room. Gaara and Temari were both watching Kankuru fail at Assassin's Creed. Tenten was now playing the Dance Dance Revolution arcade game, Kiba and Sasuke were playing pool, and Naruto was playing Pac-man. There was a snack table aligned next to the door and out of the way of others.
Hinata grabbed a small party bowl and helped herself to the food. Popcorn, pretzels, Cheetos, M&Ms, and various other goodies began to fill up her bowl. "Glad to see that you enjoy the snacks." Hinata's heart nearly jumped out of her chest, but she didn't outwardly jump. She seemed to be getting used to people sneaking up on her. She turned towards Naruto and smiled sweetly.
"I'm glad that you came. You look very nice." Hinata seemed shocked to hear him say that. He raised an eyebrow at her reaction and searched around for something. His eyes found the orange-clad iPad on the bar. Naruto gestured for her to follow sat on the stools and Hinata opened the notes app again.
I didn't think you'd care that I came.
"Of course I would. I invited you didn't I?" Naruto's eyes had an amused glint to them. They seemed to sparkle when in this kind of lighting.
Something was definitely happening to her.
Where were you at lunch?
Naruto's smile faltered a little but only for a second. "I was with someone." She could tell that he would rather not talk about the issue. She just couldn't help but press on.
Sakura?
Naruto scrunched his face into a confused expression. "Why do you want to know so bad?"
Just curious is all. Hinata popped a Cheeto into her mouth as if she could careless.
The blonde sighed and leaned closer to her in that instant. It wasn't too close, but she could now smell his scent. He had a slight musky scent mixed in with a woodsy type aroma. She felt like burying her face in his neck and inhaling deeply. 'Where did that idea come from?'
"Fine." He sighed deeply. "I was with her, but it's not what you think."
What exactly do I think?
Naruto observed her with a stony expression for a few seconds. Hinata's confident facade almost faltered under his gaze. He suddenly grinned in that arrogant way he always does when something clicks together. "You think we're dating. Admit it, Hinata. You like me."
What?! No! Hinata knew that her over the top reaction told the tale. Her face was beginning to feel hot with the oncoming blush. Did she really like him?
"It's true." Naruto chuckled and took it upon himself to grab some pretzels from her bowl. Hinata glared at him.
If that were the case, it wouldn't matter anyway. You like Sakura. Hinata huffed in triumph as she watched Naruto's face fall.
He sighed deeply again. "We're not dating. We just have a lot of history between us." He avoided her eyes for a moment. "We're not ever going to date, but I can't deny that we use to have good times together. I just-"
Sorry. Never mind. Hinata didn't want to hear anymore. He didn't really have to explain himself for her sake.
"No. It's just kind of complicated and stressful. When someone you have history with is...hurting, you just do your best to help out. It's nothing more than that. I swear it." Hinata noticed that pained expression on his face more now. He looked so helpless and lost that she just wanted to hug him. She reached out her hand without thinking and gently squeezed Naruto's thigh. He looked into her eyes in surprise. Slowly, his expression eased into something unfamilar as his eyes began to roam. Hinata noticed his eyes drift downwards. She could tell that he was staring at her lips, but she had no idea what he was thinking.
The Earth seemed to standstill as they both sat in silence. Neither budged from their positions and yet both wanted the other to make a move. Everything in the background fell away as Naruto eyes drifted from her eyes to her mouth again. Hinata's hand unconsciously stroked Naruto's thigh and knee.
"Um...hello?" The voice shattered their peaceful little world smashing back down to reality. They quickly straightened up to appear as if they were innocent. Hinata eyes were glued to her shoes, so it was up to Naruto to address the intruder.
"Hey Temari." Naruto's calm demeanor betrayed the awkward tone in his voice.
"I was just getting a soda." Hinata didn't bother looking up as she was in too much shame. She heard the girl maneuvering around the bar grabbing ice and a can of Sprite from the mini fridge. "Carry on." Temari practically skipped a way. Hinata felt her face getting hot all over again.
"You wanna just go play foosball?" Naruto asked after a while. She could feel his discomfort also. She grabbed the iPad to answer.
Sure.
They both went over to the foosball table and played away their shame with Hinata winning 5-3. There was a silent agreement between the both of them not to bring up the intimacy they just shared.
000
Review please. :P
