Live-In's

By BlackFeatherz29

Chapter 1

For the time being, I need something therapeutic to write during the school year. My junior year is turning out to be hell on Earth at the moment, so I feel that writing romance is the way to go. Although, personally, I probably don't have enough credentials to even write one. I've never dated before, and here I am, writing about college students! Way to go, me!

For that reason, none of the romance here will get too extreme... because I don't have enough personal experience to vouch for all that. But I promise you, this will not disappoint you. Also, I'm warning you now that if you're looking for Sakura-bashing, here is not the place to find it. I can't even bring myself to hate Orochimaru, let alone Sakura.

So as a last word, I'm letting you guys know that I'll try and update this story at the very least monthly, which is a big task for me. Please support me with your reviews!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; I only own the storyline. And this was a brainchild of mine long before this was typed out, so don't even try to steal it.

Pulling her old rickety Toyota into a space in the very corner of the parking lot (she was sure that it would be hell to get out of, but she preferred not to think about that right now), Hyuuga Hinata yanked her keys out of the ignition just in time to catch her beloved David-san before he fell onto the floor. The plaster bust was strapped carefully onto the passenger seat, but no matter what she did, it didn't seem to have the ability to stay there for more than a few minutes. David-san was a custom cast; he was a 36:1 model of the head and shoulders of Michelangelo's famous sculpture, and he was Hinata's favorite thing in the world.

This was why he was sitting in the front seat along with her. He was her driving companion. She gave his plaster-cast hair a fond pat before straightening him up yet again.

"5:46", her watch read. Much too late for lunch and not yet time for dinner. This was a problem, as her stomach found the need to rumble yet again because she had not stopped for lunch. What a predicament.

And on top of that, her whole rooming situation was a mess. For the third time, she half-asked herself why she hadn't taken up on that offer to stay at her own house instead of the dorms.

She mentally shook her head. No, this was a right she had earned herself! She would learn to live independently and escape her doting father for once. Granted, the thought of going back to her nice warm bed was very tempting, but stubbornness would prevail, if just this once!

Because of her doting father's interference, she hadn't even planned on rooming here on campus until a few days ago. And now Hinata didn't even know if there was any studio rooms left this late… her classes started tomorrow!

Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the car and shut the door with an affirmative thump. She regretted doing this a split second later when David bashed his head unceremoniously on the armrest next to him.

A little while later, Hinata found herself sitting nervously in a flowery upholstered chair in front of the director's desk. There was only one crucial element missing.

It had been twenty minutes. Why wasn't the director there?

The wait was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a boy in a large black shirt and a beanie that completely obscured his face. He had plopped down next to her and immediately plugged his ears with his music player.

Hinata rolled her eyes slightly as she heard the remnants of heavy drums escaping the headphones, but she would refrain from commenting. Instead, she focused on the horrible fake bush that sat in a straw basket by the corner of the desk.

It would be a long time before she was startled by a sound reminiscent to an eighteen-wheeler trying to mow down a house. The door burst open and a woman stumbled in, her black dress suit rumpled. Making her way to her desk without a single glance at the two people staring at her, she plopped into the leather chair and hiccuped before rubbing her eyes.

Mid rub, she seemed to notice her unexpected audience.

"Oh…" the blonde woman said intelligently, eyes roaming over the small dark-haired girl and the punk kid with the headphones in surprise.

"I thought for sure that all the brats would be at that big pre-school year bonanza at the community center today," she muttered, straightening her jacket. "But apparently not."

Taking her face in her hands and scrubbing vigorously for a few seconds, the blonde woman came up looking completely normal. She seemed to have simply swept her hangover clean away.

"So! What do you two brats need today?" she asked in a jovial tone that Hinata could only hope meant that she was feeling normal.

"Um…" Hinata began, glancing nervously at the headphones boy beside her. He didn't seem to be in a hurry to move from his seat, so after a few seconds, Hinata decided she should just get it over with.

"I need a room," she blurted, noticing offhandedly the embossed nameplate that rested on top of the cherrywood desk. 'Tsunade G.', it said. 'Headmistress.'

"Now?" the buxom blonde woman, Tsunade, asked a bit irritably. "Dues were supposed to have been handed in last week. Where were you then?"

"I already mailed in the money for everything else!" Hinata squeaked, squirming uncomfortably as she remembered the tearful argument that she had had with her father on that exact day. It was best to be truthful, though she disliked talking badly of her father. "I had… family troubles."

Tsunade quirked a blonde eyebrow at the girl, unsure what to think. "Fine," she signed, moving to push her chair to in front of the computer. "I'll look up if there are any open rooms available. There probably are a few still open. There always are a few around this time of year reserved especially for students," here she glanced purposefully at Hinata, "who have to wait until the last minute to pick a room."

Suddenly remembering the one important detail she forgot to mention, Hinata added quickly, "It needs to be a studio room!"

Tsunade looked at her with skepticism. "Now that I can't guarantee, sweetie. Studios are highly sought after for the extra living space."

"But I need it!" Hinata exclaimed, suddenly panicked. "I'm a studio art major!"

The blond headmistress sighed. "I guess that is a legitimate reason. I'll look it up, but I can't promise you anything." She went back to her computer and started typing.

Hinata slumped down in her seat suddenly feeling a heavy sense of loss already. All this trouble, with her father and them with Tsunade-sama, and she probably wouldn't even get anything back in return. It really was a horrible way to start off her school year.

Just as she was mentally calculating how difficult it was going to be to drive back home and face her father again, Tsunade gave a low whistle and exclaimed, "Looks like this is your lucky day, honey! One apartment with a studio available in Building 309 down by the end of the lake."

Hinata's heart gave a leap of joy against her rib cage, but that was cut off a second later when the blonde woman suddenly frowned. "Wait a sec… this is one of those blasted 2-bedroom studios."

She turned in her swivel chair to face Hinata, a rather pitying look on her youthful face. "I'm afraid that the only way you could use that dorm is if someone else stays in the other room, honey. Do you have someone in mind?"

The dark-haired girl mutely shook her head, wondering what on earth had just gone wrong.

"No? Well, I guess that's too bad then. We here at Konoha have a policy that says that all rooms have to be filled to their maximum before beginning the issuance of the next room. We don't usually have a problem because all our students sign up at about the same time. But unless you can find somebody to share the dorm with you, I'm sorry."

Hinata's lower lip started trembling perilously, the corners of her eyes stinging hotly with mounting tears. She nodded jerkily and sunk deep into her seat.

'There really was no way this was going to be able to happen,' she thought miserably.

Just as the hot tears were threatening to roll down her cheeks, Hinata heard a rustle beside her.

The headphones boy had turned off his music and sat up from his slumping position in his chair.

He pulled off his beanie to reveal a pale face that could have been chiseled out of marble on a Michelangelo statue. Hinata's mouth fell open and stayed that way for a good several seconds before she remembered to close it.

Those perfect features were just begging to be be recorded on a canvas or pedastal somewhere. The strong cheekbones, the straight, almost Greek nose, and the messy dark hair that framed them; here was the vision of perfection only seen on a fellow human being.

Such was her shock that she nearly missed the words that came from that person's mouth.

"I'll take that extra room."

That might have sounded like 'love at first sight', but I assure you, there is more to it than it looks. I know from personal experience, and I'm afraid that if I talk longer about this, I might spoil the whole plotline.

Expect the second chapter out in a week or so. I've written about half of it already, but I still need to write the othe half and type the first half. And I'm back from Hurricane Ike-induced week-long break in a few days, so I've got to get a headstart on the rest of my homework.

Please review! Tell me what you think of this story idea! And please excuse the mistakes I make about college life; I'm making this up as I go. I haven't been to college yet.

EDIT: Yes, I did go back and edit this chapter. I read it again today, and was appalled by all the mistakes. You guys need to tell me about these things! I never realized that I was such a horrible writer! And yes, I am being lazy and just editing this instead of working on the new chapter. I'll put it up before I go to China next month! I promise!