A/N: Is this considered late? If so, I'm so sorry! Buuuut the good thing about it is that I'm almost done with the last chapter. I didn't know that I had a lot of developing to do with regards to the characters and omg. My head hurts.

Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Chapter 2: What She Thinks

Tenten was given the surprise of her life when she was called upon to the lobby of the hotel she was (assistant) managing. Not knowing what to expect, she started to get anxious. Palmar sweating was something that she never grew out of. She entered the elevator with furrowed brows.

She hadn't done anything wrong that would cause her to be called out. Unless you can count her, 'borrowing' one tiny bottle of lotion. It just so happened that her hands were in dire need of moisturizing and she had run out at home. The housekeeper had oh-so-temptingly left the little cart of goodies unattended in the corridor, again, as she was doing her rounds. Guests hoard them all the time! She didn't think it was an issue!

Tenten huffed, she oughtta scold the housekeeping later.

Distracting herself had been a wise move. Her sweating had abated and looking at her reflection in the elevator walls, she hadn't looked like she was worrying herself crazy.

It worked so well she hadn't realized that she was already in the lobby. To think she came from the fifteenth floor.

Before the elevator doors could even close, she felt the air whoosh infront of her. She felt it first before she saw it.

It being a very familiar ponytail suddenly invading her nose.

A blonde had ran up and hugged her even before she had the chance to distinguish her face.

But then again, Tenten only knew one person who tied their hair in that fashion.

"Ino!" Tenten exclaimed and excitedly hugged her back. Ino Yamanaka was the blonde bombshell the bunhaired girl knew since highschool along with her other friends, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga and Karin Uzumaki. They haven't seen each other for months.

"What're you doing here?" she finally asked after ending the embrace.

Ino, for one, looked a bit annoyed. "What am I doing here, what're you doing?" At the look of confusion that went in her friend's face, the blonde explained, "We have a party to go to girl!"

Tenten's confusion only deepened, "I don't remember being invited to any party." The brunette lead them both to an empty couch in the five-star lobby.

"Haven't you checked your email? An invite was sent three weeks ago."

"Why, what's the occasion?"

Ino looked like she wanted to pull her hair out due to her friend's cluelessness. "We have a reunion coming up! Everyone's going to be there!" Eyes beaming and her mouth stretched into a wide smile, nothing has changed much in her friend's personality when it comes to parties, Tenten noted. "Aren't you excited? I've missed everyone!" the blonde added.

Excited wasn't actually the word she was looking for, Tenten realized, as she stood underneath the shower head of her ensuite.

Ino's words were still echoing inside her head. Everyone's going to be there. Does that really mean everyone?

oOo

Six years ago, Senior Year

Tenten was doing everything she could not to panic. Waking up in someone else's room was one thing, waking up in said room wearing her birthday suit was an entirely different matter especially when there is an equally dressed (or not dressed, in this case) human male sleeping like the dead beside her.

In an effort to not hyperventilate, Tenten closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she felt as if the pounding in her ears abated at least a little, she once again opened her eyes and tried to asses her situation, more calmly this time. Now that Tenten has had a clear mind she realised that the room was actually quite familiar. Whether that was a good thing or not, she wasn't sure yet; honestly, she wouldn't want to risk looking at her companion's face.

From her perch on the bed, Tenten was carefully trying to take things in; stark white walls, there were books aligned neatly on their shelves, a simple study desk with a laptop on it, a lone bird figurine on the window sill, a flower vase that held no flowers...but wait a minute. The figurine is awfully familiar.

She knows that tiny piece of junk, a sparrow is what it's supposed it be. Looking at it now though, it resembles more a butterfly whose wings were cut off. It had taken her hours to carve that and staring at it, in the back of her mind she knows she could have put a little more effort in the thing. Who would've thought someone found it worthy enough to display.

Tenten felt shame swallow her whole body. No, not because of the stupid ugly bird. Knowing who was sleeping beside her, she felt something coming up her throat; she knows it wasn't due to the hangover. Shameful wasn't an intense of a word enough to describe having drunk sex with one of her closest friends. She should be sent to court and be trialled. There was no punishment grave enough to penalize having betrayed the trust of the person she held dear to her heart.

Without further ado, Tenten very carefully retracted herself from the bed, grabbed her clothes and rushed out. She couldn't bear to face Neji at the moment. She needed time to think and curse herself for her lack of responsibility.

She didn't know what her leaving that morning meant for the man she called her best friend.

oOo

Tenten was jolted out of her trip down memory lane with the sudden pour of cold water. The hot water had ran out. She tried to stifle a groan. The water bill would be a pain to see. Had she really been standing there that long?

After rinsing the remaining soap suds off, Tenten turned off the tap and stepped out of her shower, clad in a towel. As she went about blow-drying her hair in front of her vanity, the twenty-four year old couldn't help but wonder. Is he going to be there?

Three days before graduation, she had experienced the worst phone conversation of her life. She remembered almost dropping the kitchen phone as a deep voice stiffly told her of his departure in three days time.

'For how long?' She remembered asking.

'I don't know,' was his only answer.

After much hesitation, she dared to ask, 'Is it because of me?' She cursed herself for she knew her voice had cracked towards the end.

Neji took a while to answer, during those tense moments Tenten could only hear the sound of his breathing. She was about to say something when he answered softly, 'No, of course not Tenten. Don't worry your pretty head.' Liar.

She remembered being angry had known that the genius had applied to numerous universities abroad, known that he got accepted by most of them but,

'But we had plans,' Tenten remembered herself thinking, anger coursing through her veins. They were going to the same university, they were gonna have an apartment their second year and they were supposed to be roommates. They were gonna attend parties and be hungover the next morning! But Tenten's train of thought turned somber.

After a bit of reflection, she knew it had been for the best. Right after the 'incident', as she liked to refer to it, things had been full of tension between the two of them.

Two months before summer vacation, they had started to drift from eachother. In Tenten's case, she couldn't stand being in his presence, not after what he said about what happened. Try as she might, she couldn't bear to see him in the same light anymore. After a month, they just stopped talking.

"We wanted different things after all," was the gist of what she told the heartbroken Lee, even if what she really wanted was for the three of them to go back to the way they used to be.

Tenten let out a sigh as she turned off the hair dryer and put it down, arranging her hair in a classic messy bun. 'No use thinking about it now. You have a party to prepare for.'

Tossing the towel some place else and putting on her undergarments, Tenten slipped on a white and maroon sleeveless dress she had prepared beforehand. The dress was made of light material and clung to her body, displaying soft curves and slightly exposing her legs as it ended inches above the knee. Going back to the vanity she proceeded to apply light make-up.

'I'm going to have fun tonight,' she thought to herself. The past is in the past. Besides, 'it was a long time ago,' whether or not she was trying to convince herself, she didn't know. All she knew was that she's going to the party and she would be talking to all of her friends and she was gonna have a good time.

With a new found resolve, Tenten finished her makeup; shaking her hands to remove any imaginary dusts, she took a small bottle from the vanity and tried to place some of its contents on her palms, only to intake a sharp breath due to irritation. She had ran out of lotion, again! Tenten can only sigh.

Instead, she put on her three-inch heels and she was good to go. She just hoped that this resolve wouldn't crumble if he ever did decided show up.

oOo

Tenten spent all of her Sunday in isolation, thinking of ways on how to properly broach the subject; it all ended with convincing herself to just wing it.

Monday found her being approached firsthand by Neji himself at the school gates. She couldn't help but notice how good looking her best friend was.

Shaking her head to dispense her thoughts, Tenten started brewing words in her mind to apologize for her actions that weekend. But it turned out that she didn't have to.

As Neji drew nearer, Tenten steeled her resolve. Before she had the chance to open her mouth, however,

"I'm sorry about Saturday, let's just forget it ever happened."

Something heavy settled on her stomach.

Her eyes widened for a fraction of only a moment. She dared a glance at his face before focusing them once more on the concrete ground of the sidewalk. Neji's face betrayed no emotion. It was like the ground beneath her feet; cold, hard and unfeeling. The stinging in her eyes were becoming painful to ignore. 'Get a grip, Tenten,' she thought furiously.

Instead she looked back at him with her sunshine personality and with a huge smile she said, "Cool, it's like you read my mind." Completing the act with a forced laugh, Neji could only nod in reply and went ahead; his footsteps, along with his heart, heavier than before but she seemed to not have noticed.

'This incident will blow over,' she kept saying to herself.

It never did.

She didn't know why at the time but she felt like her heart broke into a million pieces that day.

oOo

A/N: Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant in posting this right away. Most said that they liked the first chapter because it was in Neji's pov but the thing was, I already finished the draft for this before I even posted the first one! It's been sitting for a while in storage. And ugh. I just can't change it. But thou shalt not worry! Most of chapter three would be back in Neji's POV. If some parts of the chapter were confusing, just ask. I'll try and clarify.

That aside. Whaddya think? Is it good? Consistent? Did it suck? Tell me in a review! Constructive criticism is highly appreciated. Also! Thank you so much to those who reviewed, it gave me a lot to think about! Thanks also to those who favorited(?) and followed the story. Till the next chapter! (That was so lame btw)