As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough

by Alusy

Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. [Complete]

4. Take That Knife Out of my Back, please

What you need to know:

"Love Makes Life Hard" - speaking

Love Makes Life Hard - what's happening

Love Makes Life Hard - thinking

Love Makes Life Hard - Inner Sakura (and only Inner Sakura)

"Love Makes Life Hard" - Singing

Text centered in the page with italics - the song being sung by the artist

Summary:

(I changed the summary).

As if high school wasn't hard enough, Neji finds out Tenten is dating Sasuke. Hell breaks loose and disaster can't be far behind as new relationships form and old ones break. More pairings inside. Summary sucks. R&R!. Used to be Love Makes Life Hard.

This is sort of confusing, because I don't want to add the "crushes". If I do, it'll be like:

Tenten X Sasuke

Sakura X Sasuke

Ino X Sasuke

Ino X Shikamaru

Temari X Shikamaru

Hinata X Naruto

But that sort of messes up what the real couples are, and what the crushes are. So this is the only official couple so far:

Tenten X Sasuke.

And this is the only triangle to far:

Ino X Shikamaru X Temari (it's coming up, and it was in the preview in the last chapter)

I know Tenten and Neji also like each other, but it isn't official yet because neither of them admitted their feelings for the other yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

Chapter Four: Take That Knife Out of my Back, please.

"C-Congratulations," Hinata stuttered uneasily, hoping to break the tension and awkwardness in the atmosphere. "Congratulations to b-both of you." The boys, Hinata, and Tenten all shifted their weight simultaneously.

Sakura and Ino looked as though they were about to burst. Both girls were known to be the biggest fangirls of Sasuke Uchiha at school. Sakura was known as the closer friend, but Ino later joined as the four groups of friends joined together and instantly developed a crush on said boy. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were a group of childhood friends, so Sakura had more information about Sasuke than Ino did. Unfortunately, Ino began quite popular with the rest of the girls in their class, and some of the boys, so she received information from the people Sasuke hung out with, and from rumours. Since then, Sakura and Ino had what their friends liked to call a 'healthy rivalry'.

Both girls forced a smile and nodded, trying not to cause a scene or a problem. They tried to look at the bright side of this. At least they would be closer friends with each other, right? "Yeah, congratulations!" both girls chirped in unison.

Tenten sighed with relief and placed her right hand over her heart. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that! I thought you guys would be angry that Sasuke and I have been going out without your knowledge." Then she turned to face Neji and gave him the 'you dumbass' look, since he broke his promise he just made her. Surprising enough, Tenten was the only girl to perfect that look. Sakura perfected the 'I know more than you' look, Ino perfected the 'In your face' look, and Hinata, with the help of the other three girls, perfected the 'I pity you' look. Each girl was able to perfect the 'Boys are so stupid' look, as well as many others. Quoting the boys, it is one of the very few talents the girls possess. They received a smack on the head from each of the girls.

"So, how 'bout we all get together to form one big sleepover?" Naruto suggested. "You staying, Sasuke?"

Neji thought of exactly 253.5 ways to kill Naruto. Don't ask how he thought of 0.5, because he just did. Sasuke caught the angry expression on Neji's face, and planned to say yes, just to make Neji angry, but his cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" he answered. "Oh, hey. I'm at Neji's. When did you get here? Yeah, okay. See you." He flipped his cell phone closed and put it back in his pocket. "I'd love to," he smirked at Neji, "but that was just my brother, Itachi. He just arrived here and he wants me to help him unpack and set a whole bunch of things up. He's got a break from university."

"Too bad," Neji mumbled to himself.

"Hmmm? Did you say something, Neji?" Naruto asked obliviously.

Neji rolled his eyes. The one time Naruto acted smart this evening, and it had to be the one time when Neji didn't want him to. "No, nothing. Just wondering if you're meeting up with us at Ichiraku tomorrow," he responded.

Sasuke shook his head. "Sorry, but my brother said he wants me to help him all day tomorrow as well. He's got a few things to drop off here and there, and it's been a while since he's been in Konoha."

Shikamaru yawned. "Well, I guess it's just gonna be the eight of us. How troublesome."

The sun set twice, and rose twice. It was finally monday. Tenten made everyone at the sleepover promise they would't tell anybody about Sasuke and herself. Everyone nodded and crossed their hearts, laughing at their immaturity afterwards. Finally, the bell signalling the beginning of school rung throughout the crowded building.

Everyone walked into their homeroom and sat down. Lucky for them, their homeroom was the science lab. The desks were large and made of marble with four, strong, steel legs supporting the weight. Two students sat at each table, in the twice as large classroom. Neji beside Tenten, Lee beside Kiba next to them, Hinata beside Shino beside them, Shikamaru and Choji behind Neji and Tenten, Ino and Sakura beside them, and Naruto and Sasuke beside them. (A/N: If you're confused, it's like this...)

Seating Plan:

- Person beside that person at the same table

- next table

NejiTenten LeeKiba HinataShino (other people XP)

ShikamaruChoji InoSakura NarutoSasuke (other people again XP)

(A/N: And just another note, all of the desks are straight. Ignore how uneven I made the seating.)

Hinata and Tenten turned around to face Sakura and Ino and smiled. Ino, however, didn't return the look. She scowled, rocked on the back two legs of her high chair, and crossed her arms, causing Sakura to clear her throat uncomfortably. "Something wrong, Ino?" Hinata questioned, realizing something was wrong with her friend.

Ino rested her elbow on the desk and brought her fingers to her lips. The three girls noticed how her lower lip began to suddenly tremble and how she looked as though she was about to burst into tears any second. They decided to leave it before they had to wipe up the fallen tears of Ino Yamanaka. The bell rang, signalling that their next class was about to begin. All of them headed to gym class, which was the only class they all had together. Everyone came out, changed and ready to go. Both genders were allowed to choose from a white shirt, a grey shirt, or a green shirt, as long as the school logo was on it. Black shorts were required.

"Okay!" their teacher, Gai, exclaimed, striking a pose. "You will start by running laps around the field for six minutes. Remember to pace yourselves. If you must, you may walk, but push yourselves, and let the power of youth explode!"

Everyone nodded and exited the gym, heading for the field. It hadn't rained the past weekend, so the grass beneath them wasn't as wet as it was last time. In fact, it was so dry that if you slid, you'd get a grass version of a floor burn. Shikamaru jogged up to Ino, who insisted on running by herself. Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji were another group of childhood friends that joined the large group of friends they were in now. Shikamaru and Choji recognized many signs Ino would 'subtly' give them. A ticked off look really meant she was ticked off. Shikamaru took that look as a joke once. First he saw Ino's fist heading towards him, and the next thing he saw was the hospital roof, and a nurse asking if he had enough sleep the past three days he was knocked-out. Also, both boys noted that it doesn't matter if Ino's happy, because with a snap of the fingers, she could change her moods. Lastly, although Shikamaru seemed best at this, they were able to tell when something was bothering Ino.

"Is something wrong? You didn't smile back at Hinata and Tenten when they smiled at you earlier," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Nothing is wrong," she mumbled back, continuing to jog a small distance ahead of Shikamaru, who blatantly showed he wasn't going to leave.

Shikamaru shook his head. "How troublesome. You know, Temari isn't---"

Ino stopped and whipped around, her puffy red eyes staring deeply into his. "Why don't you just shove your tongue back in her throat?"

Shikamaru stopped as well and took a step back, as if her words had pushed him away from her. "What," he inquired, "are you talking about?"

Tears started to stream down Ino's eyes again as she clenched her fists, trying not to punch him in the face. "I saw you! I saw you, yesterday, making out with Temari." She could feel her heart breaking slowly as she said each word, but pushed herself on. "And don't even lie to me, Shikamaru! I really thought you liked me when Naruto told me Saturday night, but obviously it was just another stupid assumption Naruto made. And he just had to tell me!"

FLASHBACK

"Hey, hey, Ino!" Naruto whispered, pulling Ino to the side.

Ino gave Naruto a suspicious look, not trusting her friend one bit. "What is it, Naruto? What's so important that you just had to tell me right now, and that it had to be private?" She tried to read his eyes, but it seemed as though he put on a mask. That is, until his expression changed from impassive to devillish.

"I've got some juicy gossip I heard, and I'm sure you'd want to hear it too," he replied slyly.

Ino suddenly showed some interest. "What is it?"

Naruto made a tut-tut sound and wagged his finger, trying to make Ino angry. When she let out a low growl, Naruto took it as his time to tell her. "Oh, well, when we were playing truth or dare, Shikamaru said something about having a crush on you. I'm pretty sure that's what he said, I mean, but I was just coming back from the bathroom so I may have heard wrong. But I'm really sure!"

Ino's heart began to flutter as she felt as though she was being lifted off the ground. "Thanks a lot for telling me, Naruto!" she squealed.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I said you could walk," Gai's voice called. "I never said you could stop walking, you two!" Ino turned her back on him, physically and emotionally, and ran off, intending on finding her 'true' friends. "You too, Shikamaru! Start running!"

"Tch, troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he began to jog slowly. I was just going to say Temari invited us to the movies with her brothers, but I guess Ino was thinking something else. Okay, maybe I didn't go into the subject at the right time, but it just popped in my head! Aw man, Ino's gonna hate me now! he thought lazily. "Oi, Neji, wait up!"

Shikamaru picked up his pace a little, just so he could catch up to his other friend. Shikamaru could tell Neji was a little busy with boring holes into Sasuke's back and head. "I heard you and Ino fighting," he stated, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke. "Naruto thought he heard you say Ino's name, not Temari's. It's a shame, really. I always knew he would be the one to mess something up."

"No kidding," Shikamaru replied. "Now, Ino hates me! She's probably gonna nag me double time about everything I do. Kakashi-sensei will be able to tell when I'm sleeping in Ninjutsu."

Neji smirked and took his eyes off of Sasuke for once, and turned them to Shikamaru. "Well, I still don't know if Tenten hates me or not. I mean, I promised I wouldn't tell anybody and I told them only a few hours after I made that promise. She hasn't spoken to me after that. She won't even look at me, yet."

"You should try and approach her next block," Shikamaru suggested, "since Sasuke isn't in her blocks until the last block."

"And are you going to approach Ino and tell her what you really think?"

"No," Shikamaru said. "Oh, by the way, Temari invited all of us to a movie with her brothers on friday. You interested in coming?"

"Hn."

"Good; I'll take that as a yes. Just tell everyone else about it. You tell one girl, besides Ino, and it'll spread to the rest. That way, you won't have to tell Tenten. You can just tell Hinata."

"Hn," Neji repeated.

"Okay, everyone," Gai's voice exclaimed, "you may come in now! We will now start basic taijutsu techniques that you learned last year."

It was now the third block. Coming after this, would be lunch, then the last two blocks of the day.Neji had totally bombed the chance to talk to Tenten in the previous block. He went up to approach her at her desk during Art, but Sakura cut in front of him and began to incessantly, causing Neji to back down.

But this was this chance. Neji Hyuuga was ready, prepared, and he was going to take a chance. They were all reviewing for a genjutsu test on wednesday, since Asuma-sensei wanted to smoke for a few minutes. Few minutes my ass, Neji thought. But he wasn't complaining. This gave him more time to gather himself and approach Tenten. He walked up the empty desk beside her and turned so his whole body was facng her. "Tenten, we need to talk," he said sternly.

Tenten didn't move for a few seconds, as though she was trying to remember the excuses she thought up only the night before. Finally, she closed her book, still not looking straight at him. "You broke your promise, Neji. What else am I supposed to say?"

Neji expected this, so he thought a few steps. "You don't have to say anything, because I want to say something," he answered. "Look, I'm really sorry for breaking our promise, but you did break a promise yourself. You, Lee, and I promised when we were younger that we would share our promises. You haven't been truthful about your secret relationship with Sasuke, and I guess I was just angry about it." He paused. "But then again, I haven't been truthful about a secret I have either," he added. "Look, Tenten, I---"

The last words were unheard by Tenten, for the bell signalling lunch was ringing above his somewhat quiet voice. If he was Hinata, Tenten wouldn't be able to hear him at all. If he was Naruto, hearing him was a high possibility. But no, Neji's voice was half way between the two, except when he was angry. Neji's mouth had stopped moving, but Tenten couldn't respond to his statement. "Sorry, I couldn't hear that last part. But I have to go. Sasuke's waiting for me." With that, she stood up with her books and left.

Neji raised an eyebrow. She didn't seem quite happy when she said she had to go, nor when she said Sasuke was waiting for her. She sounded so...empty. This was not like the Tenten he knew since kindergarten. No, she sounded unhappy to be in her current relationship.

FLASHBACK (to only a few minutes/seconds ago)

"Look, Tenten, I...Ilikeyou," he said quickly. "And I'm not saying this because I'm jealous. I'm saying this because I really do care for you, and I have a feeling Sasuke's going to break your heart." Neji was too caught up in the moment, that he did not realize the bell was ringing while he was talking.

END OF FLASHBACK

He would just have to tell her another time. He could walk her back home after the movies, since he lived quite close to her, and Sasuke lived on the other side of town. If he got Tenten on his side for only that one moment, he knew Sasuke would back down.

Neji picked his books up and slowly walked out of the empty room, trying to gather himself for lunch.

During the third block, Sakura was copying down mathematical equations that Anko was scribbling on the board. As she did that, Lee was fidgeting in his seat, waiting for lunch so he could get up and stretch his legs. "Sakura," he whispered, "what time is it?"

Sakura paused and looked at her pink and black digital watch. "11:47," she muttered. She picked her pencil up, but then dropped it again and dropped her head down. "Hey Lee, don't you think it's weird how Sasuke and Tenten are dating? Tenten just...doesn't seem like the type to date, and neither does Sasuke. I mean, I know Sasuke, and he never showed any affection for a girl before. He's only showed small signs of friendship, but that's it. Is Tenten the type to date?"

"Nope," Lee remark. "Tenten has never shown any likings for any boy. She has always been very close to Neji and myself, but she never showed any affection for either of us either. It seems this relationship caught both of us off-guard."

Sasuke's supposed to be my boyfriend, Sakura thought angrily. Tenten should have known that! And besides that, Sasuke's one of my best friends. I can't believe she'd just get together with Sasuke without seeing if I was okay with it! And not just me, but Ino too, since we're the ones who've liked him for a longer time! She clenched her pencil and bent it with ease, breaking it in half. CHA! I'M SO ANGRY!

"Sakura, are you okay?" Lee asked, concern visible in his tone. He noted her anger when half of her pencil fell to the ground.

Sakura's eyebrows arched down, but then something hit her like a truck. She smiled mischievously and turned to Lee. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine, Lee! Thanks for asking!" she said sweetly.

Tenten walked beside Sasuke to the cafeteria, where they would join their friends. The two walked hand-in-hand, deciding it was time everyone should know they were dating. Many heads turned to see Tomboy Tenten and I'm-Not-Interested-In-Girls-But-I'm-Not-Gay Sasuke. An average girl in high school, with Mr. Popular. The Neji fangirls were singing praises since they now knew Tenten would not steal Neji from them. But their praises were cut short when they were forced to hold their Sasuke Fangirl friends back from pummeling Tenten.

Sasuke walked in front of her and held the door open politely. "Thanks," Tenten sang. Sasuke nodded and jogged to catch up to her. Both locked hands again and went to get some food before joining the rest of the group. Tenten reached in her pocket to get her wallet and pulled it out. "Aw man!' she sighed. "I don't have any money!"

The lunch lady showed no hint of caring about Tenten's situation at all. "I'll pay," Sasuke said smugly as he brought extra money out of his own wallet.

"Thanks so much!" Tenten exclaimed with relief, grabbing her tray and walking off to find everyone else.

"Welcome," Sasuke sighed, picking his tray up and following her. They found Naruto, who was waving wildly at them, and approached the table. Both placed their trays on the large table and pulled out a chair each. Everyone was already waiting for the couple. Everyone except for two people. "There you two are!" Ino exclaimed after a few seconds. "What took you guys so long?"

Everyone turned around and gasped. It was a good thing nobody had anything in their mouths, or it would have all dropped out onto the floor. "Sorry, but Lee and I had to stop by my locker to pick up my wallet. But then I lost it and we had to go to Lost and Found to get it back, but I didn't have any money. Lee was really sweet, though. He paid for it for me!" Sakura was holding Lee's hand, who was a deep shade of red. "Thanks so much again, Lee!"

"N-No problem, Sa-Sakura," Lee stuttered.

Tenten couldn't believe what was happening. Sakura was holding hands with Lee, and acting like they were a couple. And after that, hell broke loose.

This is my longest chapter yet! So now, as you can tell, there are more pairings. And more will be coming in the next chapter, or the one after that. I'm not quite sure yet. I'll have a few small timeskips. For example, I might skip to friday sometimes, because I might not have much to say when they're at school. Another update will be coming soon, since I'm having my spring break! Oh yeah, and I'm sorry for those Sakura fans (I'm a Sakura fan). She may seem like she's a b---- in the beginning, but I thought it would just add to the drama.