Here you go."
Hinata took the offered bag and smiled at the cashier, "Thanks." She walked briskly out of the store and looked around the long, busy hallway in the mall. She bit her lip and decided to go left, the direction of the food court; she deserved something to eat by now.
Normally shopping (especially at a crowded mall such as this) was not something Hinata enjoyed and usually did, the last time she had came there had been a big fiasco between her and another customer over a (now that she looked back on it, it had been quite hideous) brightly coloured summer dress. She figured though, that since it had been so long since she had been shopping and that Gaara had gone furniture shopping without her that it was a necessary evil to endure. That and after a week of having her cast removed, the doctor said she should try doing some light walking on it.
The food court, much like the rest of the mall was packed full of people taking full advantage of a lazy weekend afternoon to shop their hearts out. Hinata sighed, another reason as to why she hated shopping, she always managed to hit the mall at the busiest time of day. She looked around for a moment and finally took note of a single free table. She raced to it before the grungy looking man eyeing it from several feet away from it could snatch it before her.
She let out an overly dramatic sigh and sunk into the booth comfortably, not such a great day to finally confront her fear of heels and wear them in. She lazily rolled her head to the side to eye her many bags of clothes, shoes and accessories, then looked back down at her lap shamefully, she felt guilty for spending her money so frivolously, but she figured that it was the last time she'd be spending her own money before she got ma…marr…
She clutched her head and shook it around in her grip, what the hell! She couldn't even say it in her head, it frightened her…commitment frightened her. Thinking of her and Sasuke getting married sent her flashbacks of some of the more horrendous moments in her and Naruto's marriage.
She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hand and thought about her growing hunger as a distraction against her thoughts of marriage. Damn. She should've bought some food before sitting down; she was going to lose her spot if she got up now. She glanced at the closest fast food joint, then at her uncomfortable shoes that she was sure she would be receiving blisters from. Stomach or feet. Hinata groaned. Such a cruel choice to make. After one more glance at the deliciously greasy looking food, she steeled herself and stayed put, she could always get food later, who knew when she'd be able to get a decent rest for her feet next.
Yawning, she rested her head in the crook of her elbows and watched as people passed her one by one; there was an adorable old couple bickering back and forth between each other, a child who was clinging as if to save his life to his mother's leg, some woman with blindingly bright red hair clutching some man's arm-
Some man?
Sasuke?
Hinata nearly leapt out of her chair right then, what was he doing here? What was he doing here…with some other woman? Was this his reason to the intermission? To continue an affair with some woman who had been unable to compete in the contest for some reason?
Before Hinata could jump to further conclusions, she was interrupted by an incredibly attractive man who looked only a few years older than herself and was looking down curiously at her, "Excuse me, miss, would you mind if I sat down here?" He gave her a charming smile and shifted the tray of food he had in his hand to the other.
"Oh, yes, go ahead." Hinata motioned her hand to the chair opposite to her and continued to glare daggers at Sasuke, trying to figure out just what he was trying to pull.
"Your boyfriend?" The black haired man asked solicitously and chewed on a fry.
She averted her eyes from Sasuke and down at her fingers, blushing, "Um, k-kind of."
