A/N: ...an AU high-school romance. I always said I would never write one of these... Is it ironic that I'm preparing to leave high school for college, and I'm finally writing one?

Written for the livejournal mission_insane prompt AU.

"So there's this guy I kind of like, and I went to the Winter Formal Dance with every intention of asking him to dance with me... and never did." Arms crossed, Tenten slumped back in her seat with a glare. "I'm really disappointed in myself. Talked to him a little... didn't make a move. So the rest of my weekend sucked after that."

Across the circle of desks, Hyuuga Neji studied her face carefully with a frown. "Who was it?" he asked.

Her face flushed, and she markedly turned to stare out the window. "Pass!" she called, meaning she didn't want to answer the question and it was time to move on to the next person.

Neji shook his head as the person beside her began to speak about his weekend. It was customary, at the beginning of AP History, for the class to shift their desks into a circle for discussion and talk about their weekend or the day before... Gai-sensei said it was to reduce the stress of the class, since it was one of the most challenging courses Konoha Academy had to offer. Neji rarely said much in the circle; it wasn't really anyone's business what he did on weekends, which was, for the most part, nothing.

Inexplicitly, he couldn't let her comment go. Something about it was bothering him as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her brown eyes squinted almost shut, her lips pursed and pouting, he could tell she was extremely upset with herself. He'd seen her at the dance, but she hadn't seemed to have been hanging around anyone in particular; she'd been with her usual friends. Wearing a slim-fitting black-and-white dress that looked like it came straight from a classic movie, hair out of its customary buns and down around her shoulders, he'd seen many people compliment her... was it one of them? Now he regretted leaving early; maybe she'd spoken to this mysterious person after he'd left. Maybe it was–

"Neji-kun!" From Gai-sensei's tone of voice, it was obvious he'd called his name at least once before.

"Sorry." Unapologetically, Neji shrugged. He hadn't even heard the circle come to him. "I also went to the dance, and I'd like to know who Tenten was going to ask." His piercing pale eyes stared at her relentlessly.

She didn't even look as all attention shifted to her side of the circle. "Pass!" she repeated irritably.

"It's not a personal question," he pointed out, "so there's no reason to pass."

"I'm not telling you. Pass!"

"Why not? You can't say something like that without further clarification."

"It isn't any of your business! Pass!" She finally turned to glare at him, her face flushed a deeper shade of red.

"I am making it my business. Tell me."

Her voice seemed to stick in her throat for a second, then at last, she sighed and laid her head on the desk in defeat. "If you want to know so badly, I'll tell you after class."

"Thank you." Neji nodded to Gai-sensei. "I have nothing further to say." As the last one around the circle, his comment was the signal to begin class.

Gai-sensei raised a bushy eyebrow, but said nothing in response to Neji and stood to go to the board. "So last night we read chapter five of the "Political Traditions of the Land of Fire... responses to the chapter? Anyone?"

Uchiha Sasuke's hand shot into the air. "The author's perspective was extremely biased toward the Senjuu clan and very anti-Uchiha. I thought there could be more benefit derived from..."

Tuning out the complaints of the other boy, Neji kept watching Tenten out of the corner of his eye. There was really no reason to be so concerned with her feelings, but the improbable fact was, despite all the girls in the school who constantly made confessions of love to him in the halls, she was the only one who would actually tell him what was on her mind, and it was she who'd earned his respect again and again. Granted, he hadn't spoken to her often– they moved in different groups of friends– but she was still never far from his mind, offering a smile and a hello if they happened to pass each other in the halls. After a few months of being in class with her, he'd finally admitted to himself that maybe, just maybe, he was falling for her.

However, he would never be able to come out and say anything to that regard. He was a Hyuuga, one of the most distinguished clan-families in the Land of Fire, while she was not only not of a clan, but not even a member of one of the smaller-yet-still-noteworthy families, like Haruno Sakura a few seats from him; her family was the most prosperous medical supplies business in the whole country. From all rumors, Tenten had been accepted into Konoha Academy on scholarship. Her parents lived in a town further away, so she lived in a small apartment complex on her own.

"Uchiha Madara was an ass, Sasuke." Neji blinked as Tenten spoke, her head propped on her hands and a long-suffering expression on her face.

"Seconded," Neji remarked, backing up her statement simply for the participation points.

Sasuke snorted and ran a hand through his dark hair. "I knew that already," he snapped. "It just irritates me how the entire Uchiha clan is lumped in with him when–"

"Enough, enough!" Gai-sensei clapped his hands to halt that thread of discussion. "I've had an idea for a project we can do... the most prominent clans in the Land of Fire, I want you to research them, and Sasuke-kun... you're to do the Senjuu clan."

A chorus of groans rang through the room as Gai-sensei left his seat and headed over to the computer, Sasuke making a face that suggested he'd just drunk a full glass of sour milk.

"Good job, Sasuke!" Uzumaki Naruto shouted sarcastically. "You couldn't just stuff it about the Uchiha, could you?"

Neji sat back, slightly amused by the fact that Sakura had to grab the back of Sasuke's shirt to keep him from lunging at Naruto. Any shot against his rival Uchiha was a plus for him. Glancing across the circle, he saw Tenten whacking her head against her palm and winced. Anything about clans had to be a sore spot for her.

"Okay, we're going to do this in groups!"

Neji coughed in disbelief, no longer satisfied with the assignment. "What?" and his voice joined the other dissenters.

With a flourish, Gai-sensei withdrew the paper the printer spat out. "I hit the random button on your seating charts to determine your partners."

It was Neji's turn to whack his head on his palm. "I hate group-work," he muttered.

"Sasuke, you'll be with Sakura, Naruto with Hinata, Shikamaru with Chouji, Kiba with Shino..." he read of the list quickly as if the bell were going to ring any second. Neji glanced up at the clock and started; it actually was. Had he been that zoned out for that long? More importantly, had Sasuke managed to single-handedly rant about the Uchiha for that long?

"...and Neji with Tenten."

He started again, wide-eyed gaze flying across the circle to meet her equally-surprised glance as the bell sounded.

"I'll post the assignment online, so check when you get home!" Gai-sensei shouted as the class dashed for the door.

Moving more leisurely, Neji fought the urge to smirk as he waited for his now-partner. "So who–"

"–do you want to do this project on?" she cut him off quickly, brown eyes sparkling as she led the way out the door.

Pausing at his locker, he shrugged, shifting his books to one hand to twirl the dial for the combination. "It doesn't matter to me. You should come over after school."

"I guess..." she trailed off thoughtfully, then her face fell.

Concerned, he stopped mid-spin to look at her. "What is it?"

"I have kendo right after school."

"You're interested in sword arts?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly and returned his attention to opening the locker.

She shook her head with a weary grin. "Yeah." Blushing a little, she looked away. "I do martial arts and weapons training."

"Well, what time is it over? I could meet you there."

Her lips twitched. "Not until late," she admitted unhappily. "I have to be there early to teach the younger kids and then train in my own class, so... not until at least six tonight."

"That's fine. Give me your phone number."

A quick smile darted across her face as she scribbled the number on a scrap of paper covered in doodles and passed it to him. "I need yours, too."

Neji pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number she'd written. Tenten jumped and yanked her vibrating phone from her back pocket with a glare. "What'd you do that for?"

"Now my number will show up in your missed calls list."

"Makes sense... I'll see you later, then." Pocketing the phone, she turned away.

"Wait!" He slammed his locker shut and leaned against it, arms crossed. "You said you'd tell me who you were going to ask."

She flinched and visibly tensed, standing still in the middle of the hall, the sea of students parting around her; so soft he barely heard it, she muttered, "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"No. Who was it?"

Turning around, she walked just past him, turning so her lips brushed his ear, and whispered, "You."

With that, she disappeared around the corner, leaving Neji stock-still as the bell rang. He was late for his next class, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

-xXx-

Tenten laughed as she tied her sneakers, brushing sweaty hair away from her eyes. "So I told him." With a muffled curse, she unzipped her bag and started to dig for her cell phone, forgotten somewhere in the bag.

"Really?" Best friend and fellow martial artist Rock Lee hit her shoulder with a grin. "Good luck with him tonight."

Her head jerked around to meet his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Lee's grin widened, and he shook his head, lifting his bag and starting to walk toward the door. "I heard from Sakura-san about the partners for the project. Since you came here directly after school, you have to meet with him later."

"What do I need luck for?"

He just laughed. "Never mind, just accept luck when someone offers it to you."

"Um, thanks?" Finally finding her phone, Tenten focused on packing her sweaty uniform back in her duffel bag as they walked. "Speaking of tonight, will you lock up? Sensei asked me to, but I don't want to make him wait–"

"I don't mind."

Tenten stiffened and turned toward the observation area that had been set up for parents and siblings who wanted to sit and watch the class. Sitting in the back, arms crossed with an amused smirk sat Neji. "How long were you...?"

"Since you yelled at that little kid for making a face at you."

Lee laughed as Tenten's face burned, shoving her clothes in the bag and hurriedly zipping it. "I'm ready."

"Have fun!" Lee called, snatching the key to the dojo she tossed him.

Neji fell into step behind her as she bowed out the door and wrapped her scarf tighter around her. "What was that about?"

"Oh, nothing!" She laughed uncertainly and shoved her hands deeper in her pockets. "It's really cold." Casting her gaze upward, she couldn't see the stars through the thick clouds obscuring the sky. "Do you think it will snow?"

He shrugged and followed her gaze, squinting from the streetlights lining the sidewalk. "Probably. We'll have to finish quickly before it starts snowing." He pointed around her shoulder to indicate she take a right onto a different avenue.

"What clan are we doing?" Tenten hefted her bag higher on her shoulder and fumbled with her school bag.

Neji's lips pursed. "Give me that." Reaching out with one hand, he took her book bag, hand brushing hers. It lingered there for a moment, then moved back.

"Hey!" She turned, loose bangs flying in front of her face as she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and put her hands on her hips. "Give that back!"

He walked past her without looking. "It'll go faster if you're not worried about dropping something. Besides, it's a man's job to carry a woman's bags."

She raised one eyebrow. "Been spending too much time with Shikamaru?" she questioned, but followed behind him, hoisting her martial arts bag on her shoulder. "And I didn't really yell at that kid too much, did I?"

"No, he deserved it."

They fell into an awkward silence as they walked, cars zooming past on the road without the barest thought toward the two teens making their way slowly toward the nearest bus stop. Tenten shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her.

"So..." From the tone of his voice, she could tell that she wasn't going to like whatever he was about to say. "Me, huh?"

"..." Determinedly looking the other way, she could feel her cheeks flushing and hoped the dim streetlights would be enough to mask it. "It might be a little presumptuous of me, but I figured since we were friends and you didn't have anyone to dance with, you might want to dance with me."

"Oh really?"

"And that's why I didn't ask you!" Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk again, she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "You are such an ass."

Neji took a step back, rubbing his chest with his hand. "Ow."

"You're so high and mighty and so arrogant and so distant and I sometimes just want to take my sword and–" She used her hand to mime two quick slashes and a thrust, then spun on her heel and held her bag closer. "Come on, let's just go before I embarrass myself further. We'll miss the bus if we don't hurry."

"Ten..." he trailed off when it was obvious she wasn't listening. Checking his watch, he clenched his teeth and followed her. The bus would be arriving at the stop soon, and with the mood she was in, he didn't want to aggravate her further by making her miss it. Studying the curious way her hair reflected the streetlights, he barely noticed the light flakes of snow drifting slowly down.

The bus stop was in sight, and with a final burst of energy, Tenten broke into a run to throw herself upon the bench with a sigh. At a more leisurely pace, Neji sat beside her and looked at the dirty sidewalk, the gum on the side of the bench, the advertisements for movies and clothes– anywhere but at her.

"So..." Surprisingly, it was she who broke the silence first, staring down at her hands. "Are we still friends, or did I manage to ruin that, too?"

"Friends? We were never friends."

Her head jerked around, shock flooding her face as tears welled in her eyes. Neji met her eyes and reached out to take her hand, feeling his heart beating in his ears. Neither noticed the first flakes of snow starting to lazily drift down outside the small roof covering the bus stop. "Tenten, I should have told you a long time ago, but..."

Her heart was shattering into pieces, he could see it on her face as clearly as if he were grinding the shards to fragments on the sidewalk below, and he hastened to finish what he meant. "What I'm trying to say is–"

"You've been leading me on since we met," she finished angrily, yanking her hand away and standing. "Laughing at how stupid I've been for the past few months."

"That's not–"

"Really? I don't belie–"

Neji lunged to his feet and seized her lips with his own, tasting the salt of her tears spilling down her face and mixing with the sweat from her training, the energy bar she'd hastily eaten on her way to kendo, and something uniquely Tenten that was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. Reluctantly, he finally pulled away and stared into her eyes. "Do you believe me now?" he managed to whisper over the sound of his pounding heart.

She said nothing for a moment, then reached up to touch the side of his face as if to reassure herself that it wasn't a dream. "I'm not sure," she breathed finally, leaning in. "Prove it again."

A/N: I really should have worked on my scholarship essays instead of doing this... Uhm, oops?