Chapter 1 - The First Date

Alright. I know I should be working on my other fics, but I just put up a new chapter for each of them, so I’m allowed to start a new one, right? Right?? As always, I really have no clue how this fic will turn out. All I know is that it’s going to be NaruHina, because I love them!! Hinata’s just too cute! Oh, by the way, if any of you know any good NaruHina fics, it would be great if you told me about them. I always have trouble finding them. Actually, I’m probably just not looking hard enough, or I’m too picky when browsing summaries, heh. Anywho, on with the fic!!

.Chapter One . . . . .

I’m not a stalker. I’m not a stalker… Hinata chanted inwardly as she trailed behind a certain blonde youth. It was becoming increasingly more difficult for her to believe that she wasn’t stalking her love interest. She had, after all, been secretly following him for about an hour now. I have a good reason; I am not stalking Naruto-kun! That’s right. She wasn’t stalking him; just waiting for the right opportunity to ask him out on a date. Ever since she had found out about Naruto’s ramen obsession, she had been planning to invite him to go out to eat some with her. The sad thing about this plan was that she had known about his love of ramen for years. Well, the best plans are never rushed, right?

She had finally gotten the courage to ask him. Well, almost ask him. She had said hi to him earlier when he had passed her while walking down the sidewalk. That’s almost like asking him… Okay, so it wasn’t. That’s why she was following him. She wanted to wait for just the right moment before she made her move. Come on, you can do it! She thought. Naruto-kun likes ramen. He’ll go with me… right?

She quickly hid when Naruto stopped to greet his team mate, Sakura. She mentally wretched every time she heard Naruto say the pink haired girl’s name. It’s not that she disliked Sakura. In fact, she hardly knew her aside from just as a former classmate. It just bothered her the way Naruto said her name. She had heard that Naruto liked Sakura and it was like being stabbed every time she saw the two together. Lucky for her, Sakura had no interest in him. How could she possibly compete with Haruno Sakura? She’s so pretty and popular. It’s no wonder that Naruto-kun likes Sakura instead of a plain girl like me… She thought downheartedly.

A loud exclamation caught Hinata’s attention. Apparently Naruto had said or done something stupid and got himself hit. Sakura was stomping away angrily. I wonder what Naruto-kun did? She didn’t have time to ponder the question, because Sakura happened to be stomping in her direction. Panicking, Hinata tried to look as casual as she could. This was difficult for the violet-eyed girl, because she never looked casual.

When Sakura saw her, she stopped scowling and smiled cheerfully. “Hi, Hinata-chan!” ((AN: It’s amazing the way she can go from pissed to just peachy, isn’t it?))

“H-hello, Sakura-chan.”

Stopping for a moment, Sakura asked “What are you up to?”

“I… I was going to… to go out for dinner,” Well, it was sort of true.

“All by yourself?” She made a face. “I hate eating alone.”

“W-well, I don’t mind…”

“Sakura looked around. “Hey, Naruto!!” Apparently, the boy was still in the area, but he didn’t hear his name. “Na-ru-to~!!”

Hinata nearly fainted once she realized what Sakura was doing. No, what are you doing?? Wait, isn’t this what I was going to do…? But, stop, I’m not ready yet!! All this was going through her head as Naruto finally noticed he was being called and began walking toward the two girls.

“What is it, Sakura-chan?” He noticed the now hyperventilating Hyuuga. “Hi Hinata.”

“H-hello, Na-Naruto-kun…” She was quickly turning scarlet as she carefully avoided his eyes.

“Naruto, do you have any money with you?” Sakura asked.

Naruto gave her a puzzled look. “A little, why?”

“Hinata-chan said she was going to go out for dinner alone, so I was thinking you should go with her to keep her company.”

“Huh?” He gave her a squinty-eyed look. “Why me?”

“Well, my mom’s cooking dinner tonight, so there’s no point for me to go out to eat. Plus, you were just complaining about being hungry…”

Hinata’s head was spinning. What was going on here? Was Sakura setting her up with Naruto? I should say something… Anything! I can’t just stand here!

“I… um, we could get r-ramen, Naruto-kun,” She practically whispered.

“See? You like ramen, so go. I’ve gotta get home, so I’ll see you two later.” She turned and walked away with a sly smile on her face. She was such a good person, setting them up like that. She, of course, knew all about Hinata’s little crush. After all, she knew everything that went on in Konoha. …Well, gossip-wise at least.

……

Naruto carefully counted how much money he had as they made their way to Ichiraku (Naruto had insisted that they ate there). Hinata noticed that he counted it several times. She was guessing he didn’t have enough and was hoping that he had only counted the amount incorrectly… seven times.

“Uhm… N-Naruto-kun?” She asked shyly.

“Hmm?”

“If… if you want… I can lend you some money.”

The energetic blonde blushed and chuckled embarrassedly. “Heh heh, thanks Hinata. I promise I’ll pay you back, okay?”

She blushed much deeper than him. He’s so cute!! “I-it’s alright… You don’t have t-“

“No, I’ll pay you back. I don’t want to owe you, or anything!”

“Oh… okay.” She had been hoping he’d say something more like “Next time, I’ll pay” or something like that. Oh well, at least were together now, she thought happily.

Once they entered the ramen restaurant, Naruto sat down at a stool and immediately ordered his bowl.

“What are you going to order, Hinata?” He asked happily awaiting his ramen.

“I… I’ll have… I’ll have the same as you, Naruto-kun.”

They sat in silence as their food was being prepared. Naruto eyed a bowl another customer was eating from while Hinata focused on a rather interesting scratch in the counter.

“Here you go, you two!” Said the owner of the restaurant as he placed their bowls on the counter in front of them. He gave Naruto an odd grin before he turned to do something else.

Naruto attacked his bowl like a man who hadn’t eaten in weeks. Hinata watched, amazed as he managed to stuff more ramen in his mouth than she believed was humanly possible.

“Ahnt oo uhnna ed abby uhb ohrs?” The blonde asked with a mouthful of noodles.

“I… What?”

He swallowed and grinned. “Aren’t you gonna eat any of yours?”

“Oh. Y-yes, sorry.” She quickly snapped her wooden chopsticks apart and began eating.

“What are you sorry for?” He asked with a confused grin before he started inhaling his ramen again.

She smiled. Somehow he even looked cute while he was stuffing his face with food.

“Wha?” Naruto asked with noodles hanging out of his mouth.

“N-nothing, sorry!” She really needed to learn not to space out while gazing at him like that. Well, at least it’s not as bad as stalking him, she thought as she slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

. . . . . .

And here ends the first chapter! Damn it, the italics aren't working again! Well, just pretend they're there, okay?? I know it’s a bit short, but I’m getting sleepy. Not to mention the fact that my right eye’s all blurry. I got shampoo in it while I was showering last night, and it still hurts! That was hours ago! Anyway, I know the beginning was kinda… bleh and unoriginal, but it was hard for me to think of a way to start it! Plus, I’m not that good at writing Hinata. It’s hard writing a character that’s so unlike me. I’m more of a combination of Shikamaru and Naruto, if that even makes sense. Oh, and did I get the ramen restaurant name right? Anyway, if you liked it even a little bit, you should review because that’ll encourage me to write more!

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