Sorry for another late update, but I got a reviewer that reminded me about the story. So I'm writing this chapter for them, because I can't make them wait for long. Thanks again, and please review!
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The black Corvette's parked at the pumps. Sasuke and Sakura sit inside. Neji walks out of the repair bay. His pace slows as he recognizes Sakura. Sasuke sees Neji and Sakura looks at him. Sasuke honks the horn and holds it for several long seconds. Neji isn't amused, and a hard cold look passes over his face. He walks around the front of the Corvette.
"Twenty dollars, super unleaded." Sasuke pauses, with a cocky smile "Check the oil."
Sasuke reaches under the dash and pops the hood. Neji steps back to the pump and removes the hose. He uncaps the tank and shoves the nozzle in.
"Be nice, or I'll make you check the tires." Sasuke replies.
Neji sighs with disgust. He looks at Sakura, but she avoids his eyes.
"So is this what you do for a living?" Sasuke asks
Neji looks at him, but says nothing. He just walks back to the front of the car and opens the hood. "You want to cut the engine?"
"My pleasure," Sasuke says. He turns off the engine and Neji leans into the engine cavity and looks at the dipstick. He finds it and pulls it out, the horn blows.
"Sorry about that, my hand slipped." Sasuke laughs
Neji shakes his head at the cheap trick. Sakura isn't amused by Sasuke's cruelty.
"Why don't you cut it out?" she says
"Why don't you mind your own business?" he says
Tenten slides down off the bench and walks out to the door. From there she looks out. Neji's checking the oil, Sasuke and Sakura are talking. Neji slams the hood shut and goes back to the pump. Tenten's interest in the situation increases. Neji is watching the pump meter.
"You like looking at my girlfriend?" Sasuke says. Neji glares at him, and Sakura gives him ice. "What he likes looking at you!"
"Shut up Sasuke." She says
Neji removes the nozzle from the tank. Sakura shoots him a look. After putting the hose back Neji looks at Sakura. It's a serious look, a look the gives her more questions then answers.
"I'd recommend you keep your eyes off my girl." He starts the engine, and Neji gives him a fake smirk. He's not frightened by Sasuke's intended threat. Sasuke hold a twenty between his index finger and his middle finger, Neji takes it. Sasuke slams the car into gear and screams out of the station. Neji watches them go, before folding the twenty and putting it in his pocket. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls Sasuke's dipstick out. He tosses it into the trash barrel and walks back to the repair bay. Looking at the pump it reads $8.00. Neji's only given him ten dollars worth of gas.
Tenten's seen everything. She'd like to kill Sasuke and possible Sakura too. Neji walks in, and goes back to his work.
"Neji, I watched that, it was sick. If that doesn't show the real Sakura Haruno, then I don't know what does."
Neji picks up his tools and goes back under the jaguar. Tenten watches him, and then turns up the radio and sits back on the bench.
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The school tennis courts, girls' gym. The bell rings and the instructor blows a whistle, waving the girls in.
Sasuke's car pulls up fast and stops. Sakura gets out, pulling a tennis racket from the car. She hurries up the steps onto the courts. Sasuke pulls away. Sakura's class is heading back to school, she hurries to join them. She hopes to avoid detection, rushing into the crowd and quickly adjusting to their gait.
Neji and half a dozen downtown boys are sitting on the bleachers. Neji sits up as he sees Sakura join her gym class. He sees the instructor cut across the courts and call the Sakura.
"Sakura Haruno?"
Sakura slows and stops. She knows she's caught. She curses under her breath. Neji leans over the side to watch and listen.
The teacher catches up to Sakura. "Excusing yourself from class to leave grounds with the boy with the hot cars buys you two weeks of morning detention.
"I was just talking to him," Sakura says
"If all you wanted was to talk then you could have done it with out leaving school.
"What are you saying, Kakashi sensei?"
"Nothing that hasn't been said before," He says. Sakura holds her glare on her teacher. "Get inside."
Sakura turns angrily and heads for the school.
Neji's seen and heard everything. A smirk spreads across his face as an idea streaks through his brain.
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A hand grabs it, pulls. The fir alarm goes off.
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The break off dawn and Neji is standing in the doorway. A puzzled worried look on his face. He scans the room. It's filled with the meanest, most wanted citizens of the school. They look at the door. Neji is stunned, not a female face in the room. No Sakura Haruno.
In the hallway Sakura is talking with a male teacher. He's a middle aged goof; you may remember him from earlier. The same man Neji's Uncle talked too a few days ago. He's clearly appreciative of Sakura's charms.
"It's really sweet of you to not make me sit in there. It's all guys, I'd feel weird." She says
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you served your detention in my office." Jiraiya says.
"Actually, I have a better idea. What if I didn't serve my detention at all? What if I swore I wouldn't do it again?"
The teacher is unable to resist. He sighs "We'll keep it a secret between you and me."
"You're incredibly nice, and I like the way you wear you hair like that."
"Really?" Jiraiya asks
She nods, and he gives her a big goofy smile. She leaves and he looks at his hair in a chrome fire extinguisher.
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Neji is sitting with the beasts. The boy, Kiba, that Neji confronted earlier is sitting next to him.
"Serves you right, kid." Kiba says
"Thanks," Neji replies
"My pleasure."
They look at each other; it's a tense stand off. A long exchange of looks that could easily end badly.
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A small, dreary bungalow badly in need of pain, care and repair. Sandwiched between freeway and refinery. Neji and Tenten are sitting on the porch. Semi-conscious hound is sprawled out on the sidewalk below the porch. Tenten is playing with a throwing star.
"If you don't figure out your stuff pretty soon, it's going to be too embarrassing to be your friend." She looks over at him "What kind of moron gives himself two weeks of detention?"
Neji looks away, he embarrassed enough.
"You familiar with road runner cartoon? Beep! Beep!" she says, a smirk on her lips.
"I really don't need insults." Neji says
"You're going to hell in a hand basket. Sakura Haruno doesn't know you, doesn't care about you. You're trying to do the impossible." She is trying the impossible too. "How many times do I have to listen to myself tell you this?"
Neji holds a stare on her. "You know what kind of guy Sasuke is?"
"Handsome, rich, popular, muscular, hot, happening and capable of reducing your head to a crimson stain on the wall."
With a bitter chuckle Neji replies "You know how to ferret-out the dark and ugly, don't you?"
"I deal in reality. Sometimes it's rank and raw. It hurts, I know." She pauses "The lifestyle I've chosen for myself opens me up to plenty of pain, if you think girls give you grief, consider what they tell me. You can always pop a guy, but with girls you just have to grin and bear it."
"Sasuke's a jerk. He screws around and treats her like trash." Neji says, stubborn and unmoving.
"An obviously she likes it. You're losing it; and when it's lost, all you are is a loser." She says
"You have no idea how I feel, so why don't you just butt-out of it?" Neji spits
"I know how you feel," Tenten says back
"Yeah? You've been in love?" he asks
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me."
With a smile, Neji continues "Who've you ever been in love with?"
Tenten sits up straight, and turns defensive. She's exposed too many secrets, too many feelings.
"You want to abuse yourself, then be my guest." She says
She slides off the bench, slips the throwing star into her pouch and wipes the dust from her pants.
"Hey, Tenten, nothing ventured nothing gained, right?" he says
"Hey, Neji, once a fool always a fool, right?" she says
She walks into the house and Neji watches her go.
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I hope you liked that, please review!
