A.N.: This is probably really sappy, and I'm sorry. The angst is pretty stupid and all, but bleh, if you don't like it, then that's your opinion. Feedback and constructive criticism would be helpful.

I'm not one to fall in love, or get crushes, or anything of that sort, but when I see him, that all changes. Maybe I should make things clearer, my name's Tenten; I'm a fifteen year-old kunoichi for the Leaf. A few weeks ago, I loved my teammate, Hyuuga Neji. A few weeks ago, my heart died inside of me. Yet while he was the one to break my heart, he was also the one that healed the scar.

There wasn't anything going on between me and Neji, we were best friends and all, but it seemed like we wouldn't really become anything more than teammates. I had a crush on him since I was thirteen, I thought it would go away when my hormones calmed down, but it didn't. I wasn't used to the whole…crush thing, I didn't even figure out I liked him until my friends pointed it out to me, and even then I denied it. I don't even know why I liked him; he was an arrogant, egotistical bastard. Most of the time I just wanted to stab him with a kunai.

I saw him talking to Sakura, but it only struck me as odd. Neji didn't socialize much, but it seemed innocent enough. I was about to leave then, wanting to get in some training in while I could, when I saw him lean in a kiss her on the cheek. Sakura blushed, hugging him one last time before running further down the training grounds. He looked after her, a small smile on his lips. He walked away in a different direction, heading towards the Hyuuga compound.

My heart shattered. Even though Sakura was a good friend, I wanted to bash her face in. I wanted to because she could make Neji smile instead of smirk, because she could make Neji blush, because she could set him free from his cage, because she could make him feel. She was supposed to be obsessed with that traitor, Sasuke, she was supposed to be a clingy fangirl to him. She had two other boys fawning after her, but she had to go for Neji. A tear slid down my face.

I couldn't believe I was crying over Neji, a prick who hadn't seen my attraction to him. I bit my lip, trying to stop the tears, but they just kept coming.

Of course I knew from the start Neji would never like me; he wouldn't demote himself to dating someone like me. I was just a weapon's mistress, a hardworking kunoichi who didn't even have parents. Sakura was an intelligent and talented medic-nin, apprentice to the legendary Tsunade. What was I compared to her?

I felt tear after tear. I wanted to shout at myself to stop crying, but I couldn't. I promised myself I would never cry again after my parents died, to never show weakness…

I wouldn't have been any good for Neji. I would just be a hassle to him, a load that was stalling him from reaching his dreams. Sakura would help him reach his goals; she had a large amount of influence, being the Godaime's apprentice.

I kept telling myself that Neji would've never loved me as more than a sibling, that he wouldn't have ever seen me as his girlfriend. I let myself cry for exactly 20 minutes before finally forcing myself to stop. I made myself fall out of love with Neji, to support his choice of Sakura.

For the first few days after my choice, I looked at Sakura with utmost envy. She soon told our small group of friends about her and Neji; Ino and Hinata congratulated her warmly. I gave mine reluctantly. Hinata had given up on her crush on Naruto, moving it to an equally loud Kiba. Their relationship was helping her do away with her shyness. Ino had Chouji, a friendship turned love bond, helped by the friendships of their fathers. And now Sakura had Neji, leaving my as the only girl without a boyfriend.

I continued to spar with Neji, but now he asked more questions about Sakura, or about "girly" things. I tried helping him out with them, but every time he asked one of those questions, it was like a stab to my soul. I would deal with it, though; it was worth it, helping Neji with his problems. Just to see him act warmer to everyone else, even if I wasn't the cause, was a relief. I wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn't with me, so I dealt with the pain, bottling it up inside of me.

Hinata helped me through the whole unrequited love part of it. She had her deal of the pain, having had a three year crush on Naruto, the bright orange ninja. Out of my three girl comrades, (Temari was usually in the Sand) I was the closest with Hinata. We understood how it felt, and if one of us ever tried explaining it, we couldn't. It was just something that had to be felt to be understood.

And there was Lee. He was a type of person someone would never forget, but he didn't announce his speeches of "youthfulness" that much. He was sometimes hyper, but he was more of a caring individual. If he wasn't, he would've died years ago; he was more of a brother to me now.

I got over Neji pretty quickly, helped by two friends and a stubborn will in me to forget about him. But it still hurt a bit when I saw him smile while talking of Sakura, when I saw them together…it burned like fire. I got used to seeing the two together, though, got used to him talking about her; and it started hurting less and less.

But than came the day that Naruto brought Sasuke back from the Sound. I was at the regular training ground, waiting for Neji. I had arrived early, deciding to ponder my thoughts about Sasuke alone. I heard of the news from Hinata a few hours earlier. Neji came right on time, punctual as always, but there seemed to be something distracting him. His moves were a few milliseconds delayed, so I was able to get in more hits than usual. I felt guilty on taking advantage of his state, so I signaled for a break. He nodded his consent, taking out a roll of bandages from his pack.

"Neji, what's wrong?" I asked, testing the point of a kunai on my finger. He looked disgruntled, as if surprised I had guessed something he thought he hid so well.

"Nothing." He stated stoically, picking some of his own weapons off the ground.

"Neji, don't lie. You know you're going to end up telling me, anyway…"

He paused for a moment before sighing. "Sakura broke up with me."

My head snapped up to look at him, letting the kunai in my hands drop to the ground. It was the closest thing to crying I had ever seen him do.

"I-I'm so sorry." The words rolled out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was just so sudden, so shocking. I rushed over try and comfort him; he resisted it, probably wanting to work it out by himself. He tried pushing me away, but soon came to accepting it, knowing I wouldn't go away until he did. I didn't ask about what happened, knowing it would only cause him pain to try and recount the memory.

After a few minutes, he pushed me away, his pride battered to enough as it was. "Let's train."

When I talked to Lee later, he mentioned that Sakura was one of the people smiling when Sasuke came back. Realization hit me immediately; she still liked Sasuke. I was disgusted and amazed, wondering how she could like such a man who had betrayed the village, and how it had lasted so long.

Sakura told our small group about the breakup, only a small frown on her face to show discontent. She spent a few minutes talking about it, and how sorry she was about Neji, before launching into a whole speech about how excited about how Sasuke, or Sasuke-kun, as she called him, was back. I reminded her that Sasuke never liked her, and wouldn't all of a sudden realize his love for her. She shrugged it all off, berating me, saying how she and Sasuke were made for each other. I decided not to tell her about my thoughts that Sasuke was gay, knowing I would just get more scolding.

When I saw Sasuke and Naruto later that day, it just confirmed my views. Sasuke's arm seemed to be innocent enough, slung around Naruto's waist, until I saw him grope Naruto's ass. Naruto blushed bright red, but he didn't move away from Sasuke. I greeted Naruto cheerfully and nodded towards Sasuke respectfully. They greeted me in the same manner, except Naruto was a bit louder, and Sasuke a bit more…prideful. I looked at Sasuke for a moment.

"I hope you have molesting Naruto, Sasuke. I'm sure it's fun." I winked at them, before going off to buy a few things from the market.

I heard Naruto yelling from behind me. "Sasuke, stop! Not in public!"

The next day went off worse. When I saw Neji again, he was as distant as he was when we first became teammates. He wouldn't even try to communicate, if he ever talked it was to say something condescending, and he was basically…unbearable. I wanted him to figure out that he wasn't the only one who had to go through this, that he wasn't the most important person in the world. And so that's why I helped him. If I didn't, I knew he would just become more of an asshole, and blame all his losses on fate. It was probably his easiest way to get rid of guilt, the easiest way to deal with things because he was selfish. He didn't want to change himself, so he blamed another force that he knew he couldn't control. If he continued on like that…I knew he wouldn't really be able to fully enjoy the only life he would ever have…and I didn't want that. I knew I really cared about him more than a teammate, and…agh. I could and never will be able to deal with all these emotions. It never fitted me to try and express them, and so instead of being misunderstood, I just hid them. But Neji, the supposed emotionless prodigy, could never hold them back as well, because he was blaming another force for his troubles. The others in his family couldn't stand his mutterings; they were fed up with his arrogance and pride.

So I continued to try and talk to him, trying to lure him out of his cold shell. It slowly worked, taking about a few weeks, after constant training sessions, and annoying whining sessions from him, he finally returned to normal. Or what he was before Sakura ruined him. Sakura continued to believe Sasuke would learn his love for her while she ogled him, and followed him around. I admired her stubbornness, but there was obvious proof in front of her that Sasuke was gay. No one bothered trying to tell her about him when she rejected it for the twentieth time.

Neji and I got close again, close as in a sibling bond, because I knew he would only think of me as that. It was enough for me to just hope that he would someday see me as more, but for now it could not be, not after so soon a breakup with Sakura.

When Sakura finally saw the light, (she saw Sasuke and Naruto making out at on of their "training" sessions), she finally gave up on Sasuke. She decided to try her luck with another cold prodigy, Neji. She interrupted our training session to ask Neji for forgiveness, only a few minutes after the traumatizing moment. I was annoyed with the interruption, and Neji seemed to be, too, but consented.

"N-Neji… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have ever broken up with you…" Sakura whimpered, letting a few tears fall down her face. I knew it was all an act; but I also knew Neji still liked her. I seethed inside, completely pissed that she was after him again, after horribly dumping him for another guy. Neji looked at her, and then looked at me before shaking his head.

"No." he turned around and nodded towards me again. Sakura just stood there gaping at him, surprised by his answer, too.

"B-but…what? I thought you liked me!" she spluttered, outraged at the refusal. He glared at her.

"Did you think I would wait for you like a loyal dog while you chased after Uchiha? Did you think I would still like you when you dumped me while clinging to Uchiha's arm?" his voice raised steadily, his glare intensified. "You're just using me as your backup, someone who would always accept you."

She looked at him looking completely mortified at his accusations.

"I-I'm sorry, Neji, maybe I was too harsh, I really didn't mean to be like that, and…I'm just really sorry. I was way too selfish… And…I know we can't be together, but can we still be friends?"

His glare softened but he shook his head.

"It'll take time."

"Well, sorry for the interruption, anyway." Sakura sighed, but waved a cheerful goodbye to us.

I turned around to try and say something to Neji, maybe to congratulate him, maybe to scold him for being so harsh, but he stopped me.

"Tenten… I'm sorry for not telling you this earlier, but I'm not good with emotions or anything… and…"

I felt my heart ache, trying to let my previous feelings for him to surface; but I kept them hidden. I didn't want to feel the pain anymore; I didn't want him to sink because of me…

"When I got together with Sakura, I didn't really like her. I think I started to like her a little while I was with her, but I never really liked her enough to do anything…and well…"

He paused, seeming to shape his thoughts before continuing.

"I think I overreacted when she dumped me…it must've been because she was after Uchiha, and… I cared for her, but…before I ever liked her, I liked you. I just didn't want to be rejected, so I got together with Sakura to see if you would react. But you didn't react, and I thought that meant you didn't like me so I just continued to go out with Sakura. When she broke up with me, though…you were the only one who really helped me. And so…I don't know what that meant, but…I love you, Tenten."

"I love you, too, Neji."

I saw a smile form on his lips, and then felt contentment, knowing I was the one who caused it.