The winters were here in Konoha. The December was really bitterly cold. Snow had been falling for some days and the people were confined to their houses.

Hinata sat on the couch, looking at the television screen with a blanket wrapped around her. Her long hair fell around her and her bangs in her eyes. She was watching the television show, completely immersed in the show.

Neji walked in with a tray of hot chocolate and snacks to see her like this. She was so adorable sometimes, he thought to himself. He walked towards her and put the tray on the coffee table.

"Neji, you're the best." Hinata said as she looked at the tray.

Neji smirked as he sat down besides her. "I know that. And you don't have to butter me, you know."

"I'm still going to do it because it makes you smile." Hinata said as he grasped her cup of hot chocolate. "No seriously, who would have thought at school that tough Neji is so caring of his little cousin?"

Neji rolled his eyes and took his own cup of hot chocolate and his blanket. He was happy that his cousin was finally alright. It had been three weeks since her fight with Sakura and Ino and her breakup. She was happy now.

Naruto was still friends with her, Temari and Tenten hung out with her and Neji himself also took care of her. He was also noticing that since the trip to the states, Sasuke had become slightly more attentive towards Hinata. But of course, he liked her so.

Neji shrugged to himself. It was good, anyways, he was her fiancé. Hinata noticed Neji's thoughtful glance at her.

"Neji, what is it?" she asked.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He admitted.

She laughed lightly. "Neji, don't worry. I'm...completely okay." She said.

"I hope so." He said. She put down her cup.

"Believe me." She said. "Here" She moved to hug him, still underneath her blanket. He laughed as she attempted to hug him despite their blankets. He fell back on the couch and she laughed. He took off his blanket and hugged her lightly. She returned his embrace.

"Stay happy Hinata." He told her into her shoulder. She nodded and thought about how lucky she was to have Neji.
__________

Hinata sat by herself in her room, watching a funny video when she received a text from Gaara.

Hello Hinata-chan. Can we meet up tomorrow? We have not met for some days.

Hinata smiled at his attempts to be sweet.

Yes Gaara-kun. If tomorrow's school, we're meeting up. I miss you.

His sent his reply after a moment. She loved how eager and fast he was in their conversations.

The feeling is mutual. I am glad you are feeling better about your breakup with Naruto.

Hinata was not even surprised at how good he was at reading people. He was one of the few people who had not turned their backs on her, or called her a slut or a player in the past weeks.

I actually am. Also, I am on better terms with Sasuke.

Gaara hesitated to reply to that. He was slightly happy when Hinata broke up with Naruto, even though he hated himself for thinking that. He just wanted to see her independent. He wanted to see if she would like someone else if she was not with Naruto.

But then the news of her engagement had reached him. Thus he had let go of those foreign feelings for her completely. Maybe in another life, he had thought as he had looked out his window towards the rain.

I am glad. Anyways, I will text you later.

He finished the conversation as fast as he had started it. She sent him a quick bye but he did not reply. He simply turned away from his phone.
_________

Hinata had thought a lot about what Sasuke had said. Since his confession, he had become more civil to her. He had stopped being a jerk.

She sighed. She was so confused. Why did the difficult guys have to fall for her? Sakura would know what to do but she was pretty much ready to murder Hinata.

Hinata's second option would either ask Ino or Tenten. But Tenten was pretty busy in her exams and Ino was not an option right now. She could not ask Neji or Naruto because they were boys and well...they were simple creatures.

Ken. She missed him so much. She would usually resort to him but he had not replied to any of the messages or texts she had sent him. She wondered where he was.

She had to decide. She could not keep Sasuke hanging on and act like a bitch. She had tried to go out of her way and ignore him and stay away for the past weeks. He had not pushed it either, knowing she required time.

She could think of the reasons she should and should not be with Sasuke. She should be with Sasuke because:

Her parents wanted her to.

She was his fiancé.

He liked her.

She kind of liked him.

He was attractive and smart.

He had helped her a million times and saved her too.

Why she should not be with Sasuke:

He had been a jerk to her pretty much all the time.

He was an egoistic bastard and he liked to see others in pain.

If she dated him, it would totally be betraying Sakura.

He was completely different from her.

He was possessive, jealous and competitive.

Despite being confused, she had to admit. She did like him. When he had kissed her, she had thought it was a prank or he was playing with her. But she had liked it nevertheless. When he had beaten up Itsuki for her, she had been scared but also glad that he cared enough.

She did get annoyed whenever girls approached him. She did feel slightly insecure when she thought he liked a girl. She had asked him multiple times if he liked someone even though she had thought nothing of it.

But he had been a jerk to her so many times, he hurt her. She grasped her head in her hands. Suddenly, an image of Sasuke allowing her to sleep in his bed came to her mind.

They barely knew each other but he had allowed her to sleep in the same bed as him, because she was scared. Her eyes softened and she knew she liked Sasuke Uchiha too.

She smiled to herself and went to her dressing table. She pulled open the first drawer. She took out the glass case which had her pendent in it. She looked at it thoughtfully, knowing what she would answer Sasuke with now.
______________

Ino sat across from Naruto at his place. Their parents were friends and since Kushina was sick, Ino's parents had come to visit. The elders were in the other room while Naruto and Ino sat in the living room, watching a movie.

"Naruto." Ino broke the silence.

He looked at her interrogatively. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Naruto looked confused so she added. "I mean, are you okay with your breakup now?"

Naruto's face relaxed. He smiled slightly. "Yeah, I am."

"I can't believe that bitch would do that to you." Ino spat again, the hurt evident in her voice along with anger.

"Ino, stop; you don't know her circumstances." Naruto said a little harshly. "You're just saying that because she's Sasuke's fiancée."

Ino's blue eyes blazed. "I'm not saying it because of that!" she said loudly, taking Naruto by surprise "I don't even like Sasuke anymore. I am saying it because she hurt you and used you. And you're someone I really care about."

Naruto looked at her with surprise. She continued. "Naruto, you're my close friend and I don't want to see you hurt by anyone. I don't give a shit if she's Sasuke's Fiancé or anyone else's. But she was my friend and she hurt you."

Naruto smiled. "Ino, I'm really glad you said that. But she's still my friend. She didn't have a choice. And she didn't play with me. She never had the intention to marry Sasuke. She did like me. I was the one who broke up. Because Sasuke's dearer to me than a crush or liking."

Ino looked genuinely surprised. "You mean...Hinata's not ..."

Naruto shook his head. He smiled when Ino laughed happily and jumped to hug him. "God I'm such a bitch for saying those things to her without any verification." She said into his shoulder. Naruto shrugged.

"You can always apologize and be a little slower on the judging thing." She nodded into his shoulder, feeling mortified for her behavior towards Hinata.

"So...you care for me after all, eh?" Naruto asked, trying to lighten the environment.

Ino smirked and rolled her eyes as she pulled away to turn towards the screen. But Naruto was happy now. She did not deny it.
_________

Sakura stood at the far end of the grounds, immersed in her thoughts. The past three weeks had been tough on her. And they had taken their toll. Her eyes didn't shine as brightly as before and she stayed quiet most of the time.

Hinata Hyuga. She despised that name. Her so called friend had been Sasuke's fiancé the whole time and had not told her. To be honest, it would not have hurt as much if she had simply told her about it. It would still hurt like hell, but she would know Hinata was not a bad person.

And there was the matter of her using Naruto. How could she? She seemed so nice. And Naruto did not deserve that. Not at all.

And now, she knew why Sasuke never paid that kind of attention to her. He was in love with Hinata Hyuga. It had become clear the day at the cafeteria he had defended her. He would not usually do that.

She felt tears rise up in her eyes. She had loved him all her life. As a friend, she always had, but also as slightly more than friends.

Immersed in her own thoughts, she did not notice another figure walk up to her. "Haruno-san."

Gaara's voice brought her out of her reverie. "Gaara-san." She acknowledged, hastily wiping her eyes.

"I did not know you came here also." He noted. She nodded.

"I don't but..." she trailed off.

"I don't mind sharing this place." He paused before adding "You are upset about Hinata-chan?".

Sakura looked at him. She did not know why but she felt she wanted to speak to him about it. Maybe because she knew he would not judge her. "Gaara-san, she was my friend. And turns out she was engaged to the love of my life after all. She did not even have the decency to tell me. And on top of that, she used my best friend. She toyed with him."

"Haruno-san, I do not think you can be called her friend if you do not know that. She would not hurt you intentionally. Being a heiress might seem high and mighty but it is a big responsibility. Sometimes, it results in this."

That was the most he had ever spoken to her. "And she did not play with Naruto's feelings. She did like him. That much was always obvious."

Sakura looked into his majestic jade eyes as he spoke again. "And the love of your life does not even acknowledge you like that. How can you say she stole him away?"

At that moment, Sakura found all her queries and pains answered by this boy, who stood before her. His jade eyes matching her green eyes.

At that moment, Sakura saw beyond a boy who was quiet most of the time, who only liked to speak to a few choice people, a boy who was the future president of the sand country. She saw a boy who shared her grief; the grief of a love lost.
_________

Sasuke looked at Hinata as she walked outside the school building after saying goodbye to Gaara. He scowled at the last part but he walked out after her. She did not have a car? She was walking.

He walked up to her quickly. "Hinata." He called.

She recognized his voice and stopped and looked back. He expected her to run off like the previous encounters but she actually smiled. What the...?

"You don't have a car?" he asked gruffly, feeling awkward.

"Neji had to take Tenten somewhere." She told him.

"Come then, I'll drop you off."

He knew she would reject his offer but he made it anyways. "Okay." She said and walked towards him. He shook his head and start-wait. Had she just said okay?

Something was up. Why did she look so comfortable about the idea of driving home with him all of a sudden? He walked to his car with her in silence anyways and let her in.

He started driving now, as he usually did. She enjoyed the view as she sat comfortably. "So-how was school?" she asked.

"Fine."

"Oh. I had fun actually."

"With Gaara?" he asked, raising his brow.

"Yeah." She said smugly. Sasuke did not say anything to that.

Hinata struggled inside her mind to tell him her answer now. He still liked her-right? She took a deep breath but every time she wanted to say it, the words just wouldn't come out.

They reached her home. "Sasuke-..." he began when he cut her off.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing at her doorstep.

She looked in the direction he was pointing. A boy with dark brown spiky hair sat on her doorstep, his face buried in his knees. It was freezing outside. Why was he outside?

Hinata got out of the car and Sasuke mimicked her movements. She walked past the small fence gate and ran to the doorstep. The boy heard her footsteps and looked up.

As he saw Hinata, his face lit up and his green eyes shone brightly. "Hinata..." he said, standing up. He was as tall as him, Sasuke noticed. Where had he seen that boy before?

Hinata's eyes were wide with shock as he ran to her and pulled her into his arms. She embraced him back after a moment and he picked her up and swung her around.

"God....I missed you so much." He said, his eyes softening.

"Ken..." Hinata said, still looking perpetually shocked as if seeing a ghost. The cold wind seemed to freeze Sasuke's very blood as she uttered that name.

Sasuke groaned internally. Just what I needed, more competition.

Sasuke knew who he was now. He was the boy from Hinata's profile on Facebook. The boy whose pictures she had. Kenneth Jones aka Ken. Hinata's best friend in the states and her ex-boyfriend.
___________

Hinata still could not believe her best friend, Ken was sitting right here in front of her in Japan. He sat with her on the couch, talking to her.

Sasuke had left abruptly after greeting Ken and saying goodbye to Hinata. Hinata was slightly disappointed that she did not get to tell Sasuke but she was super happy and surprised by the sudden appearance of Ken.

"Ken, what are you doing here?" she asked once they were sitting on the couch together with a cup of coffee and a blanket around them both.

"I came to see you." he told her.

"You came to Japan....just to see me?" she asked, speechless. He nodded; his eyes bright. It was just like when they were kids. His eyes lit up whenever he was excited or happy.

"Ken...that's-that's so sweet of you. I don't know what to say."

"Hinata, you're my best friend. You've been my friend longer than the time you've dated me. If things didn't work out between us, it doesn't mean I'll stop being friends with you."

"Ken you moved. I went to the states and you weren't there anymore. And then you never texted me back and..."

"Hinata, I know I've been acting like a jerk to you and Joe, Robin and Anne but I just needed time for myself. And I think I'm good now. That's why you're the first person I came to see out of all our friends."

"Ken, I am so, so sorry about how things turned out between us. But it was better this way, wasn't it?" Hinata said, smiling sorrowfully.

Ken smiled in a way which made her heart break. That was the Ken she knew, always being brave. Always reassuring her, even though he was scared himself. That was her best friend.

"Don't worry about it Hina."

Hinata smiled and they both looked at each other for a moment and then Hinata was sure everything was okay between them.

"So-where did you go? Where have you been? What you've been up to?" she asked.

"I moved states and well...I needed time on my own and-I was doing fine."

"Do you like it there?" Hinata asked.

Ken thought about it for a moment before breaking into a wide grin. "Honestly, I hated it there and I still do. I'm moving back the first thing I go to America."

Hinata laughed and Ken joined her. "I missed you guys so much. Especially you. I missed your antics, laughter and you in general. Not just in a romantic sense only."

"I missed you too Ken. But you should really call Robin. He was seriously sad because of you the last time I saw him."

"I know. I will go back and...make it up to them."

"How long are you here for anyways?" she asked.

"2 days? My mom was seriously worried and she let me come here only if I promised to come back soon."

Hinata chuckled. "Your mom always was protective."

"Meh, I've come to appreciate it." Ken told her, taking in her face.

"You'll have to stay here while you're here." Hinata said.

"Neji will kill me Hinata." Ken laughed. Hinata smiled too. "I'll talk to him."

"Don't. I've already found accommodations in a nearby hotel. I just want you to skip school tomorrow. Hang out with me before I leave the day after tomorrow."

Hinata smiled smugly. "You haven't changed huh? Always skipping classes. Must be nice being smart."

Ken grinned. "Don't act like you're not smart Hinata."

Hinata smiled. It was good to talk to Ken again. It was good to see him again. She didn't realize just how much he meant to her until she had lost contact with him. So she told him everything that had happened in her life meanwhile in return of everything that had happened to him.
______

Sasuke ate dinner in a hurry and ran into his room as soon as he was done. His father was not home and his mother was calling Itachi, who had moved into his apartment in New York with Izumi after his marriage.

He started doing his homework but his mind started wandering away. He thought about Hinata. She seemed happy now. It was a good thing Naruto had continued being her friend.

Friends. His mind wandered to Ken. What was he doing here anyways? Please don't tell him he was here to re-kindle his relationship with Hinata or something.

She still had not given him an answer. He put his head on his desk and closed his eyes. Who was he kidding? Of course she was going to say no. The answer could not possible be otherwise.

Why? Why did he have to fall for the only girl who did not like him? He was sure this was kami's way of punishing him for all the bad karma he had collected in his life. He should not have been a jerk to all those fangirls. He knew it. No use now then.

As he was thinking this, his phone buzzed. A text. He picked up his phone and looked at the screen. Hinata? What the....why would she text him?

He unlocked his phone and checked his texts quickly.

Sorry to text you like this. Since you're in most of my classes, could you please lend me your notes later as I will not be coming to school tomorrow?

Sasuke wanted to ask her why wasn't she coming to school tomorrow? What had happened? Why was Ken here? Was he with her right now?

Instead he just texted her with a heavy heart. Better to start practicing his aloofness towards her from now on. Yeah okay.
____
Author notes:
This is it guys. This is the second last chapter and the next will be the final chapter of Paper Fans and Lavenders. We've come a long way, eh?

Don't get mad at me for including this unexpected visitor in the story but we had to resolve the Ken and Hinata tension. And if you feel sorry for Sasuke right now....well you should. The poor guy is miserable.

Thank you all for your comments on the previous chapter. I love you all. Aside from that, some of you (looks directly at Yanna) have been asking for a sequel to the story. Well...i'm working on some chapters for the sequel and if it do upload those, it will be set in the future.

So if all of you guys do want a sequel you can directly message me or you can comment here to give me your opinion. If you feel it will ruin the ending for you, i won't put it up. But you can decide that after i upload the final chapter. I have it complete, i'll just upload it later because i'm evil like that. :D

Anyways, did you like this chapter? What did you think? Do you think Hinata is too fine after her breakup with Naruto? Because i do not. so give me your opinion of this chapter because i went through some changes at the last moment to make this slightly longer.

I am also uploading a basic draft of the SasuHina supernatural story, go in my profile and check it out. If majority likes it, i will continue that otherwise no problems i can delete it. I'm not going to put a name for it. It's just SasuHina supernatural AU for now.

So guys, I've been ranting for long. Do comment, vote and follow me and let me know what you guys think.

Until next time.