AN: Besides Sasuke and Naruto, I secretly love reading Sasuke and Hinata stories. An unlikely pairing, but I enjoy them together, nonetheless.

Chapter Three: The Hot Neighbor

The smell of his cologne lingered in the kitchen along with the fresh scent of chocolate chip cookies. This was a toxic combination for her. She was still waiting for him to scream at her for being a peeping tom, but the more he kept quiet, the more it pushed her to the edge. Overthinking made her restless to the point she could not sleep. All she did was think and think and think. And when that happened, all she could do was lock herself in her bedroom, curl herself into a ball, and cry. Crying wasn't any stranger to her. She seemed to cry for most things.

"Are you always this quiet?"

His sudden question made her jump. For a second, she almost forgot he was there.

With her back turned, she nodded.

"Hope I'm not being too loud. You can let me know. It won't hurt my feelings."

He was loud, but that didn't bother her in the slightest. No, what bothered her was this hot guy even conversing with a girl like her.

"I-it's o-o-okay," She couldn't help but sigh. Her stuttering was still getting the best of things.

"So, besides going to school what do you usually do?"

Hinata started playing with her index finger, twiddling them, and pushing them together. She knew it was rude to have her back turned, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Um… cook a-and ta-take c-care o-of m-m-my plants."

"Were you the one who decorated those flowers in the front of your house?"

Another nod.

"Oh wow. I knew something looked different with this house," Naruto said, placing his elbows on the marbled countertop.

Hinata looked over her shoulder briefly when she heard him. Seeing her confused expression made him smile. "What? Do you really think a nineteen-year-old can afford a three-bedroom house on their own?" He laughed. "My cousin used to live next door, so I used to visit once in a while. Haven't been here in years."

"Y-y-you mean that m-married couple?"

"Oh, you mean Yahiko and Konan? Those are my cousin's friends. They were staying in Konoha for a while, so he let them use his place."

She nodded.

"Are you the only one who lives here?"

She shook her head. "No." She whispered. Here it comes. Once he found out about her roommates/friends, it was sayonara. "I l-li-li-live with m-my f-friends."

Naruto grinned. "Really~" He whistled. "I couldn't do it. My friends are annoying, and I'm annoying so it'll be hell every day." His lips curled up when she turned around to face him. Her eyes darted to the tiles on the floor.

The boy was friendly and comfortable with sharing things. It almost made it seem as if they were friends. He made it natural. She knew she wasn't a talker, and usually, she would get annoyed when Sakura and Ino talked her head off, but with Naruto it was different. Perhaps it was because she was a little infatuated with him, but that couldn't be the case. She was infatuated with Sasuke and Kiba and they still annoyed her with their presence at times. Chewing down on her lip, she turned her gaze to Naruto, who was looking around the kitchen. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and that sun-kissed tone were a rarity in Konoha, but nonetheless, he was good-looking. She wondered if Kami was messing with her, introducing her to all these gorgeous people, something she wasn't. Speaking of gorgeous, she wondered how his parents looked. They had to be a work of art to produce someone like him. Well, perhaps not. Both her parents were gorgeous and here she was, the ugly one. Her mind was doing that overthinking. Looks got you everything you wanted. It didn't matter how poor or old you were, as long as you were hot, it took you places. There was no denying it. Sakura and Ino showed her that. So did Kiba and Sasuke. But people like her were considered to be outcasts.

"Huh?"

Her eyes widened, and her knees buckled. Standing in front of her was Naruto. He was so close. His hand was pressed against her forehead, and he had that curious look in his eyes.

"Sorry about that. I was calling out to you and then you started to get red." He stepped back from her to give her some breathing room.

Hinata lowered her head. Now that he had seen her close, did he see her ugliness? Did he see the dark eyebags that ruined her face or those little pimples that highlighted red? Yeah, he had to see it. The ugliness that she tried so desperately to hide.

"You have some pretty eyes." He leaned against the counter, engulfing her entire image. "Never seen anything like that before."

She wondered if he heard her heartbeat. For the first time, someone had complimented her eyes and sounded sincere. That made her blush a little.

"T-thank you." She briefly looked at him. "Y-your e-eyes a-a-ar-are pre-pretty too."

"Yeah?" He slid his fingers between his hair, exposing his forehead. To her, it looked like he was striking a pose. "Thank you!"

The corners of her mouth tugged up as a wave of happiness washed over her. "Um… the c-cookies sh-sh-should b-be done s-soon. Wo-wou-would y-you like a tour?"

"Lead the way, Hi-na-ta,"

Never in a million years did she ever expect to give a tour of the house. Usually, it was Sakura and Ino, living up to being a good hostess, but now it was her. She took him throughout the bottom part of the house. She showed him the kitchen, the living room, the guest bathroom, the laundry room, and the garage. Then, she made her way upstairs, and with each step, her heart skipped a beat. She could feel how close he was behind her.

The house was a three-bedroom, four-bathroom house. When she mentioned to Sakura her father was getting a real estate agent, she was ecstatic. One day when she had returned from school, Sakura was in his private study hall. Apparently, she had cozied up to the man persuading him to let the real estate agent find a big house, one preferably with a pool.

"Um, t-these are my fr-fri-friends r-room." She said, pointing to the two doors.

Naruto hummed as he approached the picture frames decorating the walls. Hinata's heart fell to the pits of her stomach. Those were pictures of Sakura and Ino. Now that he knew what they'd look like, how long until he completely forgot about her?

"Where are your pictures, Hinata?" He turned to her.

She was quite surprised that he hadn't inquired about the two hot girls in the photos. It took a minute to register her response. "I-I d-don't l-like t-ta-taking photos."

There was a disappointing look that dawned on his face. "I think you should." He never elaborated on what he said. Instead, he shrugged. "And I guess this is your room," He pointed to the door.

She nodded.

"Can I see?" He grinned.

Another nod.

Naruto pushed the door open and was met with an open view of his room. He looked around, spotting the different plants that harbored her dresser, station, and even the balcony. Different stuffed animals aligned on her bed. Then his eyes spotted the purple curtains.

He stepped further into the room and made his way to the balcony.

Her hands were beginning to tremble.

"Wow~" He whistled. "You can see all in my room."

"Curtains!" She shouted, causing him to look at her. "I-I-I-I was g-going to p-put u-up the c-c-curtains," She darted to the bed to grab the curtains to show him.

"Hm. I don't think you should," He moved closer to her. "I told you before that your room looks way better without the curtains," He smiled warmly. "Makes it easier to bother you," He chuckled when she looked at him strangely. "I told you I can be annoying." His eyes then spotted the bonsai tree sitting on the desk.

"You know, I expected your room to be a little darker." He said, hinting at the purple décor around the room. "I guess purple is still considered dark."

He was talking, but Hinata wasn't processing anything he said. She was 100% sure he was going to scream at her, berate her, and call her a creep. But this reaction was bizarre!

"Y-you're not mad?"

"Mad? About what?" He watched her intensely as she tried to find the right words to say. "That you can see in my room?" He answered for her.

There was a nod.

"Should I be? It gives me an ego boost knowing that a hot girl has access to looking in my room."

Time froze. Like literally froze. Hinata was sure of it. She didn't hear the cat clock ticking on her wall. In fact, she didn't hear anything after that. Her ears had deceived her! They had to. Maybe she had heard what SHE wanted to hear. Something wasn't right. The world was ending, it had to be. Or maybe he wasn't real. No, he couldn't have been real. She was sure she watched a documentary about this. Hot? She? No. Her mind refused to believe that.

"What?"

Naruto smiled. "I said it gives me an ego boost knowing that a hot girl has access to looking in my room." He said it for a second time, word for word.

So, she did hear him right. But was he real? Hinata didn't know what possessed her to do this, but she approached him and started to touch him. She touched his forearm, his chest, and even his stomach. And to her surprise, he was real, alright.

She quickly drew back her hands and squeaked, "Sorry."

His chuckle echoed throughout her room. "It's fine."

Hinata felt that feeling down there. He was real. He had said what he said. And did she mention he was fucking rock solid under that shirt of his? She couldn't help but ponder if that's how a man was supposed to feel.

"A-are y-you real?"

Naruto stared at her then he let out another laugh which startled the young girl. "What the hell?" He continued to laugh. "I'm real, Hinata." She was embarrassed and it showed on her face. "You're funny."

The fresh smell of home-baked cookies harbored the kitchen. They were warm and still needed to cool. She was washing some of the dishes she had used, while Naruto stood next to her talking about any and everything. She would occasionally nod her head or respond with a yes to show she was paying attention. Unlike Kiba and Sasuke, who suffocated her, Naruto was a different suffocation. He was bearable. Time went by, and before she knew it, he had been there for exactly three hours and she did not mind one bit.

Then it dawned on her. "A-a-are y-you hungry?"

As on cue, his stomach growled, and he ended up blushing. "I am now."

She had a soft smile on her. "I-I'll m-make y-you s-s-something to eat."

Naruto shook his head to her surprise. "Nah. You already made me some cookies, twice now and all I did was yap your ears off." She was about to object until he spoke. "I don't know how to make anything except a cup of noodles, so why don't I order us some pizza? My treat."

"Eh," Hinata quickly covered her mouth.

"You don't like pizza? I should have asked. What would you like to eat?"

She shook her head profusely. "N-No. I-i… I like p-pizza."

"Really? Let me grab my phone to order some. I'll be right back."

When Hinata heard the door close, she breathed. This had to be a dream and soon she would realize it. Naruto wouldn't come back. There was no way. If it wasn't a dream, then he most likely only used that excuse to leave.

This was NOT real.

"Pizza is on its way!" Naruto shouted as he entered the house.

This was real.

It felt so strange eating or even spending so much time around a guy… a hot sexy guy. Hinata would occasionally look up to watch him munch on the pepperoni pizza. Besides him, there were some of the cookies she had baked and his cell phone.

"S-so, w-what made y-you move h-here?" She tried to start up a conversation.

"Ran away from home," He shrugged.

Hinata was shocked at the confession.

"B-but y-your p-parents are g-going to g-get worried,"

He scoffed. "It's going to be a while before they realize I'm gone." He then shrugged. "But it's a good thing I did because I would have never met my hot neighbor." He winked at her.

Her pale skin had turned red.

He was making this so hard not to masturbate to him later tonight.

The kitchen chair scraped against the floor when Naruto sat next to her. "You know," He started, "you're really hot." Her face had turned redder than before making Naruto grin. "I feel kind of lucky. Too forward?" He laughed. "Sorry," He rubbed the back of his head. "Got that straight from my mom."

Hinata couldn't believe this was happening. There was no way he thought she was hot. Did he not see her face clearly? The dark eye bags, pimpled skin, the oversized clothes she wore? He had to have gotten a good look at her face when they were in the kitchen, and he sure as hell should have seen it now since he was close!

"I'm not hot," Hinata muttered.

Naruto gasped. "You didn't stutter that time, Hinata. Wait, what?" He wore a shocked expression on his face. "Are you kidding me right now? There's no need to be shy about it."

Instead of joy, Hinata felt a little bit of anger. He was clearly making fun of her. There was no way she had any appealing features to her.

"Hey, I hope you don't think I'm joking or anything. Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked when seeing the darkened expression on her face.

She glanced at him, and all the anger subsided. He had a genuine look of concern on his face.

"N… no," She looked down at the half-eaten pizza on her plate.

"Good. Because I was serious," He gently grabbed her chin and tilted her head up. "You're really hot."

Hinata felt the strong urge to kiss him, but she restrained herself from doing so.

Six hours went by, and Naruto was still there, and she did not mind it one bit. They were currently sitting in her room, in her favorite spot. He chose to sit there, so she sat next to him. The night sky had approached, and the smell of rain lingered in the air.

Naruto babbled on and on, never running out of things to say. She just listened to him, yet her mind lingered on the confession said three times earlier. He found her hot. He got her pizza. And he didn't run away. What dream world had she entered?

"Can't believe it's nighttime already." He pointed out. "Smells like rain."

"I-I t-think it's g-going t-to r-rain."

"It'll be good for your plants."

Hinata felt her breath caught in her throat when Naruto accidentally brushed his arm against hers. Down there was pulsing and she had the strong desire to touch herself… in front of him. She wanted to die for thinking something like that. First of all, he probably would have found it disgusting, and secondly, there was no way she had the confidence to do something like that. Now, if it was Ino and Sakura they wouldn't hesitate. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them as a means to stop that feeling down there.

She didn't realize it, but Naruto had stopped talking.

He was staring outside the sliding door and into his room. Unbeknownst to her, his lips tugged up.

There was tension brewing between the two. It was obvious. One was thinking about it, and the other was thinking about how to implement it.

Naruto was always told he could be forceful, honest, and pushy, but even he understood boundaries… to a certain extent. Sometimes he did something without thinking about the consequences until after… just like his mom. Seems there was no escaping their family gene.

"Hey, you ever been kissed before?"

Surprised by the question, Hinata looked at him which made him snicker. "Sorry. That was a stupid question. I'm pretty sure someone like you has a lot of admirers."

Okay, she was sure he was either high or on drugs. He just had to be.

But when he didn't say anything else, she realized he was being honest in what he said. Now to answer his question… How could she put it without wanting to make her upset? She had kissed someone before…. Well, it was more of the person was dared to kiss her as punishment in high school. She was stupid to fall for it.

"Is it okay if I kiss you? Been wanting to do it all day."

Hinata was speechless. She looked back and forth, waiting to see if a camera would pop up with its crewmembers screaming, "You've been punked!", but it never happened. It would be a lie if she said she didn't want to. She did. Real bad.

"T-that's f-fine." She hugged her knees tighter.

When he turned to her, there was a spark that ignited in the pits of her stomach. She was nervous, and she had every right to be. This would be her first true kiss. It didn't bother her if she had only known the blonde for a day or so. All she wanted to do was kiss him and possibly do more. The lingering scent of pizza and cookies engulfed her the closer he leaned in. She felt slightly tickled when his lips brushed against hers, and for a change, she finally understood what her friends meant.

The kiss only lasted a second, maybe two, but to Hinata, it felt like forever.

His face was welcomed by the cold air when he pulled back drawing the warmth with him. Her eyes fluttered dreamily, and she couldn't help but stare at him in a dream-like state. Naruto pushed a few strands behind her ear, his smile never ceased.

"Wanna do that again?"

Hinata nodded shyly. She figured she should enjoy this moment before it got ruined by Sakura and Ino. It was inevitable.

Naruto placed his hand behind her head and pulled her close to him, smashing his lips into hers. She had no idea what she was in for.

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