Reunited

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO AND THE COVER IMAGE!

It was Sunday, which was the day that I hung out with Ino, Sakura and Hinata. We met at a café and ordered a mug of coffee and a small dessert each. "So, TenTen, how was yesterday with Neji?" Ino asked me. To say I was shocked would be an understatement; totally flabbergasted was better. How did she know that I was with Neji? I didn't tell a soul about us hanging out together.

"How do you know about that?"

Sakura scoffed and told me, "Everyone knows TenTen."

"How?" I didn't understand! How do they suddenly know? Hinata grabbed a magazine from her bag and held it out to me. I took it from her and looked at the picture on the front page. It was Neji and I hugging at the front of his house. I then looked at the title.

Secret Meeting! Old Friends Meet Again!

What's supposed to be a secret? They put it all out there for everyone to see. It's one of the things I hate about being famous. There's always Paparazzi that try to find out the latest gossip or make it up. Escaping my thoughts, I flipped to the page that showed the article about Neji and me.

This photo was taken yesterday evening at the house of Neji Hyuga (one of the best designers in the continent). He was hugging the famous dancer known as TenTen. According to some sources, they were best friends in high school, but it's unknown what broke their friendship. They were seen talking at a party the night before. So everyone wants to know! What's going between these two? At the moment it's a mystery, but we'll keep you posted!

I read it two more times before I put the magazine back on the table. "So what happened?" Ino asked again. I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of it.

"He invited me to his house and we talked while he made a dress that he gave to me. We hugged when we said goodbye and then I went home." I looked at the girls' reaction. Ino looked half shocked, half happy. Sakura just looked at me, still processing what I said. Hinata gave a light smile.

"TenTen, what exactly happened in high school that broke your friendship with him?" Sakura asked curiously. I looked down at my coffee while going down memory lane.

"He humiliated me in front of the whole school just so he could be popular." I heard the girls gasp and Hinata gave me a soft reassuring hug. I kept staring at my coffee, distant, remembering one of the worst moments in my life. I didn't talk to anyone that year anymore and my grades dropped dramatically. I remember my teachers assigning me tutors but I never showed up for them to help me get my grades back up.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Ino speak. "I don't get it. If he was so mean to you, then why did you talk to him and go to his house and let alone hug him?" I sighed. She had a good question and I'd probably ask the same thing if I were her. So why did I do those things? Why did I act like our friendship never broke? Why did I forgive him so easily? Was it because I was in love with him back in high school? Am I still in love with him now?

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I used to be in love with him back then and I never really wanted him to stop being my friend in the first place." The girls stayed silent for a while until they decided to change the topic. After a while, I told them that I needed to go practice some new routines and left to the dance studio.

I was almost there until a reporter came out of nowhere and started to ask me some questions about my relationship with Neji (if you could call it that). "So when did you meet him again?" the reporter started as I continued walking to the dance studio. I sighed. I knew there was no way out of this.

"I saw him at a party on Friday." I replied. She nodded, writing down my answer in a notepad while trying to keep up with me.

"So what happened at his house yesterday?"

"We talked about stuff and he made a dress while we were talking," I said. I knew I was leaving out a few details, but she didn't need to know that.

"Are you two in a relationship?" She asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"No, we're just friends," I told her. She nodded again.

"Final question. What broke your friendship with him when you were both in high school?" I froze on the spot and repeated the question in my head. What should I tell her? The truth? No, Neji would hate me if I told her what really happened. Not only would it break the friendship we just re-established, but it would give him a bad title, that could ruin his career. So my only other option was to lie. Only what could I tell her that she would believe?

"We just had a lot of work on our hands and saw each other less and less," I lied. She scribbled down my answer into her note pad. She looked at me and smiled, thanking me for my time. She then walked away, her heels clicking on the pavement.

I entered the studio and walked over to the CD player. I looked through the piles of CDs next to the player and decided to go with the PussyCat Dolls. I pressed play and turned up the volume, letting the music echo through the room. I let the rhythm run through my body, letting it take over. I danced for so long that I didn't notice how late it had become. Once I realized that it was already late evening, I decided to finish my dance session.

I grabbed my bag and walked out of the studio. The stars shone brightly and I decided to walk home instead of trying to call a cab. As I turned the corner, I could see a man leaning against a wall, a bottle of alcohol in his hand. It looked like he saw me as well, because he started approaching me.

As he got closer, I could smell the alcohol coming from him. He definitely was drunk and I didn't want to stick around to see the effects of what it might do to him. "Hey, hot stuff! How about we get some action?" I wrinkled my nose in disgust from the overwhelming scent of alcohol.

"No thanks." I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. He roughly pushed me against the wall, making my bag slip off my shoulder and land on the ground. My eyes widened in shock as he came closer towards me. Before I knew what was happening, he kissed me. I was still so shocked that I didn't know how to react.

Suddenly he pulled away and slapped me, angrily shouting, "Kiss back or you'll regret it!" Before I had time to respond, he claimed my lips again. Tears started to fall from my eyes as I kissed back, not wanting to feel pain again.

"Let her go!" I heard a cold, demanding voice say. My tears had blurred my vision and I could only see the outline of a person. I blinked a couple of times, holding back the rest of tears that were threatening to escape. My vision became clearer and I saw him.

"What if I don't? What are you gonna do about it?" the drunk man sneered. Milky eyes narrowed dangerously and I could see his hands balling into fists.

"I'm going to make you experience a world of pain," he answered back firmly. The man let go of me and ran towards Neji. Neji dodged the man's attack and sent his fist into the man's face. While he was trying to recover, Neji gave him a hard kick to the head, knocking the man unconscious.

Neji walked towards me and asked, "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" His voice sounded worried and his eyes were scanning my body for wounds. Before I knew what I did, I lunged myself at him and hugged him tightly. My arms were hooked around his neck and my face was buried in his chest. New tears had come and stained his shirt. He stiffened at the sudden contact, but relaxed and put an arm around my waist to hold me closer whilst the other made soothing circles on my back.

"Shh. It's okay, Ten. He's unconscious and he won't hurt you again; I promise. Everything will be fine, Ten. I'm here to protect you," he whispered. I missed him calling me that. His voice soothed me and I relaxed, my tears coming to an end. I thanked him and he called for a cab. We sat next to each other, my head leaning on his shoulder. I felt totally exhausted, so I shut my eyes and fell asleep, not before feeling a light kiss on my forehead and him whispering, "Good night and sweet dreams."