The media was starting to die down as the newest shiny drama overtook theirs. Mass media had a short attention span, and Hinata and Sasuke's relationship simply wasn't interesting enough when the companies refused to comment, and there was no larger scandal involved. If there was nothing new to report, the story died.

That didn't mean that the public wasn't still in a buzz about it. Hinata had to stop looking at it, not because of the hundreds of women saying she wasn't good enough for Sasuke. She knew how popular Sasuke was. What Hinata couldn't handle was the comments from the opposite side about her being too good for him. Hinata didn't know she had grown a male fan base just by being in the public eye, but she wished she had stayed ignorant.

At least a lot of Sasuke's popularity was in part his perceived persona and not… just his looks.

Hinata finished her last note as class ended.

"And here are your partners." The professor put up a paper on the board. "Check before you leave. You are responsible for contacting them."

Hinata collected her books and waited for the crowd to dissipate before she check the list for herself.

"I might actually get good marks working with you." Hinata blinked at Naruto before looking up at the list to find their names beside each other.

Oh, no.

"I didn't even know you had classes with him." Kiba made a face.

"It's not a core class." Hinata sighed. "I forgot he was even in the class." She stopped looking for him.

Hinata sought out Naruto's rejection at her lowest point when she had worse things happening, and then this whole relationship with Sasuke started, so she never really sat down to think about what letting Naruto go really meant to her.

Kiba's arm hooked around her neck as they walked. "Are you going to be okay with him?"

"I guess I have to be." Hinata leaned her head on him.

"Is lover boy going to be a shithead about it?" Kiba wondered.

"I don't think Sasuke-san is going to care much." Hinata couldn't see Sasuke as the jealous type, but no one really knew. He had never been in a relationship. He could make a show of it if he wanted, but Naruto wasn't a threat to their deal, so it wouldn't be real.

None of it was real.

Why did she need to remember that?

"Well, if you need us to be annoying and clingy so you don't have to be alone with him, Shino and I can take turns." Kiba declared.

Hinata smiled. If she could claim one thing in her life, it would be that she had the best friends.

Hinata laid her head down on Sasuke's back as the roads flew by them. It was an odd feeling watching the streets and feeling the wind rip past. If she closed her eyes, she might fall asleep, but that was probably the last thing she wanted to do on the back of a motorcycle.

Sasuke came to a stop in front of her house, and Hinata lingered with her helmet in her hands, focusing on it to get her thoughts out. "I have a group project with Naruto-kun."

When Sasuke didn't say anything, she forced herself to look up at him. His eyebrow knit together. "How do you feel about that?"

"I am not sure yet," Hinata admitted. "I haven't really thought about him, but I know that means… that I haven't really…" She never mourned her crush. If she was holding on, it wasn't fair to Sasuke.

Sasuke dipped his head down to hers. "I could always come and be the over-possessive boyfriend."

Hinata broke a smile. "I don't think that really makes sense for you."

"You don't think?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I think you're the only one who thinks that."

"You think you're the jealous type?" Hinata tipped her head up and felt heat run up her spine as she saw the look in his eyes.

Sasuke eyes flicked down to her lips for a moment. "Maybe."

Hinata wanted to move back, but why? This was supposed to happen, right? She breathed in the space between them feeling her face heat up. "I would think you would trust me."

"It's not you that I would be worried about." Sasuke's voice lowered, making her heart pound in her ears.

Hinata stepped back before her body could react on its own toward him. She held out the helmet at arm's length. "He's…" She cleared her throat. "I… I don't think you have to worry about Naruto-kun."

Sasuke took the helmet. "I don't know. We always fought over toys as kids."

"I'm not a toy." Hinata knew it was a stupid comment to focus on, but her brain was shorting out at the moment.

"People see what they can't have as more valuable than when it's freely available." Sasuke put the helmet behind him on the bike. "And if you're not over him, and he started liking you back…"

"I'm not backing out," Hinata assured him. She was in too deep… clearly. Her heart was still fluttering.

"Even for him? I can't really ask you to let go of something like that." Sasuke's question felt sincere. This was what was confusing her. Sasuke acting it up and then being so willing to let her go. Even if he kept his promise and managed to fall in love with her, would she always feel like this? Just shy of believing him.

Could she ever truly love him if she always thought it was fake? "I'm not backing out," Hinata repeated.

Sasuke sighed. "Alright." Hinata pressed her lips together. She felt bad for ruining whatever mood that was happening. She really did ruin everything. "Stop making that face. Just because I would let you go doesn't mean I want to."

Hinata blinked at him. Oh… because then she couldn't help him, right? "Okay."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say more, but he just sighed. "I should go. I'll see you in the morning." He opened his arm for their usual hug, and Hinata circled around him.

Sasuke lips pressed into her hair before he let her go. She was getting used to this. What would it even feel like to let it go now? Would it break her heart like a real breakup?

Hinata didn't think Naruto could be this quiet. It was awkward, but she expected more jokes out of him to crack the tension. He was faking his smile, and it almost made all this worse, acting like he was happy to work with her.

"You don't have to act like you're not uncomfortable." Hinata finally told him.

Naruto's face twitched as his smile disappeared. He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. It's just that we haven't talked since…"

"Don't worry about what I said. I'm dating Sasuke-san now." Hinata told him.

"Yeah, that's… weird too," Naruto grumbled, not wanting to say what he really thought. He was bad at lying. It was one of the things that used to make her heart flutter now. It just put a pit in her stomach.

Hinata closed her laptop. "I don't want to make things uncomfortable between you and Sasuke-san."

"I guess I just felt like I should have seen it. Everyone else did." Maybe this pain feeling in her stomach meant she wasn't over it. "And then Sasuke… I don't know how he never told me."

Hinata didn't know what to say about that. Sasuke's lie of waiting for Naruto to have a chance was a heart-wrenching thought if it were real. If it had been true and Naruto accepted her feelings, would Sasuke have watched his best friend and love get married without ever saying anything?

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't know, huh? I mean, you two are happy now, right?" Naruto was always trying to see the bright side.

Hinata felt a smile spread across her face. His hope was infectious. "Yeah."

"Did you tell him we were working together?" Naruto wondered. Hinata nodded. "Is he mad?"

Hinata blinked at him. Naruto thought Sasuke would be jealous? "Did you think he would be?"

"I mean, Sasuke's never liked sharing." Naruto shrugged. "He hit me in the head with a firetruck toy we were fighting over once." Maybe Naruto knew him better than she did. They both went right for the toy analogy. Maybe Sasuke's not being jealous would just be another beacon that this wasn't real to her now. She really needs to stop thinking about it that way. It was going to eat her alive.

Why couldn't she just forget and fall into the fantasy that Sasuke was creating?

"Ready to go?" They both look up as Sasuke came to the end of the table.

Hinata looked at the time. It was time for her to leave, but she wasn't expecting him to pick her up. Hopefully, he didn't hear any of that. "Yeah."

Naruto collect his stuff as Sasuke helped her stuff hers in her bag. "You two are cute together." Hinata blinked at his big smile.