I'm FINALLY done with this story. I'm happy with the ending. I hope you like it too. I enjoyed writing this story and I hope you guys enjoyed it too. Thank you for all your coments and support. I had a alot of stress trying to finish this story, and with summer almost over I knew I had to finish it. So, here it is. The last chapter.
Disclaimer: I dont own any of the characters or songs mentioned in this fanfiction. This was for just for fun.
-Lalie-chan.
Chapter Six: War is Over.
"First, I would like to make an announcement. Neji, can you please come here for a minute?" the girls were clueless of Tenten's plan or what the hell she was doing. Neji walked to the stage, and headed next to Tenten.
"Oh, what are you doing, Tenten?" Neji wondered.
"Um, how do I start? Neji, I realized that everything whatever her name was told us about all of you was, well, not true. I might be the only one to figure this out, and I want to say this in front of everyone here in this crowd… I'm sorry, for everything. For not believing you, and for… for… acting the way I acted." Tenten said looking down at the floor. Neji couldn't believe what he had just heard. Tenten was actually apologizing. He couldn't be happier, but there was still some sadness in him too.
"I… I don't understand…" He whispered. Tenten looked at him confused, and the rest of the girls and boys were in shock of what was going on.
"What don't you understand? I'm apologizing here, you know." Tenten shook her head and turned around, faced the crowd and said, "We should get started. Um, you can leave now Neji…" Neji did as he was told, and left the stage. "Hmm, so we should probably get started. We are singing 'Fall to Pieces' by the wonderful Avril Lavigne. Here we go…"
"(Tenten) I looked away
then I looked back at you,
You tried to say
the things that you can't undo."
"(Ino) If I had my way
I'd never get over you,
Today's the day
I pray that we make it through."
Ino sang with sarcasm in her voice, laughing a little as she heard the lyrics she was singing. Shikamaru noticed and whispered something under his breath.
"(Tenten) Make it through the fall,
Make it through it all."
"(All) And I don't wanna fall to pieces
I just wanna sit and stare at you.
I don't wanna talk about it.
And I don't want a conversation
I just wanna cry in front of you.
I don't wanna talk about it."
"(Tenten) 'Cause I'm in love with you."
Tenten smiled and looked down. She grabbed the microphone with both hands and giggled.
"(Sakura) You're the only one
I'd be with till the end.
When I come undone
you bring me back again."
"(Hinata) Back under the stars,
Back into your arms."
"(All) And I don't wanna fall to pieces
I just wanna sit and stare at you.
I don't wanna talk about it.
And I don't want a conversation
I just wanna cry in front of you.
I don't wanna talk about it"
"(Sakura) 'Cause I'm in love with you.
Wanna know who you are,
Wanna know where to start,
I wanna know what this means."
Sakura walked over to Tenten and sang next to her. Then Tenten took the lead. The boys were all listening closely to the lyrics and the message the girls were trying to send them. They got it.
"(Tenten) Wanna know how you feel,
Wanna know what is real.
I wanna know everything. Everything!"
I don't wanna fall to pieces
I just wanna sit and stare at you."
"(All) I don't wanna talk about it.
And I don't want a conversation
I just wanna cry in front of you.
I don't wanna talk about it.
And I don't wanna fall to pieces
I just wanna sit and stare at you.
I don't wanna talk about it.
And I don't want a conversation
I just wanna cry in front of you.
And I don't wanna talk about it
'Cause I'm in love with you."
"(Tenten) I'm in love with you,
'Cause I'm in love with you.
I'm in love with you,
I'm in love with you."
"Well, this was all for now. Thank you for listening!" Tenten shouted through the microphone and they all left the stage. The judges had to count the points to see who the winning band was. Both bands had to go backstage to their dressing room.
"Do you think we are gonna win?" Ino asked playing with her hair.
"You know, I don't even know anymore. We could win, but the boys could win too. We have to admit they are good too and they have done this for a long time and won the first time they competed," Tenten said sitting down on the sofa, closing her eyes for some rest.
"It's a 50/50 chance, and we have next year," Sakura stated crossing her arms.
"I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to be a college freshman still trying to win a Battle of the Bands. I have goals you know," Hinata commented right after.
"Hinata is right, this was a one in a life time experience. We are never gonna do this again. We got into this whole band thing to get back at the boys, and we now know that what does girls said just got in our heads and wasn't real. If we win, I know I am not getting the satisfaction I was getting before I knew the truth," Tenten explained opening her eyes, looking at each girl. They all just realized that Tenten was right. Winning at this point was worthless. They knew it meant more to the guys than to them.
"But if, per say, we win. It wouldn't feel bad either. And we would show the boys that we can rock too," Ino spoke with wise words.
"It would be nice if we win…" Sakura whispered.
"Then what are we waiting for! We can't give up now! Ino shouted raising her drum sticks. "I didn't take drum lessons for nothing, right?"
They all laughed at the comment.
"Girls, don't you feel like something's missing?" Hinata asked.
"They guys! They're usually always in our dressing room. No wonder it's so calm and peaceful. Naruto isn't here screaming like a psycho," Tenten giggled.
"I guess they are in their own dressing room. I wonder how they're taking this situation. We did leave them thinking with our song," Ino said thoughtfully.
"I wonder if they are really trying to get the meaning of all our songs," Tenten wondered walking up to the mirror and giving her make-up a touch-up.
"The first song they did was 'The Reason', right?" Sasuke asked writing stuff down on a piece of paper.
"Yeah, then the second one was 'Won't go Home Without You'. Tenten must have picked it for a reason," Neji answered listening to something in his iPod.
"Umm, 'Teenagers' doesn't matter, right?" Naruto asked sitting upside down on the sofa.
"No, but 'Thinking of You' is one of the most important." Shikamaru held his thinking pose. The boys were having a hard time getting the meaning of all the songs the girls played during the Battle of the Bands.
"I GOT IT!" Sasuke shouted raising the piece of paper.
"What? What is it!" All the boys asked in enthusiasm.
"Its-"
"Boys, the scores came in. We need you in stage," the lady with the microphone and clipboard came in and called the boys out. They all sighed, and left the dressing room.
"I'll tell you guys later. It all makes sense now," Sasuke reassured the guys and the all nodded.
"Okay, so the judges have made a decision. I know you are all dying to know who wins, believe me, so am I," the announcer said holding a red envelope that said "War of the Bands" in yellow. "Now, if I can have both bands here with me." Sour Candy got out first waving at their fans and stood to the left of the announcer. After them Connected got out and girls started throwing stuff at them. Bracelets, necklaces, cards, flowers, occasionally a bra or some sort of underwear.
"Alright, so let's open this envelope," the announcer said opening the envelope really slowly.
"OPEN THE GOD DAMN THING ALREADY!" Naruto shouted killing the silence.
"Okay, okay. Calm down…" He took the paper out and looked around. "The winner is…"
Everyone was quiet now, waiting. The ones closest to the announcer tried to look at the paper with no success. The crowd started to get anxious. So, finally the announcer did his job.
" 'SOUR CANDY'!"
The girls wouldn't move, they wouldn't talk, they were just in shock.
"Wh-what? W-we wo-won?" Tenten asked. The announcer nodded in response.
"WE WON!" Ino shouted jumping up and down hugging Sakura and making her jump too.
Hinata was shaking Tenten, and telling her that she wasn't dreaming.
"Well, congratulations, I guess we under estimated you. Sorry," Neji walked up to Tenten and shook her hand.
"Uhh, thanks?" she nodded, and then turned to see Hinata, "We won?" she whispered.
"Yes, Tenten. We won, they lost. We are the champions." Hinata giggled a little looking at Tenten's shocked face.
"Wow," she looked up to see Neji giving her a weird expression. "What? I'm just surprised we won."
"Ha, a fifth win wouldn't have been so bad, but I guess you deserved it more."
"Well, in a way we did, but I guess its karma just getting back at you." Tenten grinned, and stepped closer to Neji. She got really close to him, one inch away from his face. He moved a little closer and Tenten moved away. "I guess you're still after me. Sorry, buddy. I'm not falling for you that easily."
"How hard do I have to try?" he asked.
"Really hard." Then she walked away, walked to where her best friends were. "So, we won!"
"YEEEESS, let's go get our price!" Ino ran towards the announcer and the girls followed behind.
"So, your price is a 100,000 dollar check, and a first a recording contract with one of the most prestigious music companies in the whole Fire Country!"
The girls were in true shock. They had just gotten what the boys dreamt about their whole lives. A recording contract. They were excited yes, but they felt guilt in a way.
"Um…" Tenten looked back at the guys, they were all looking down. "Great, now they're making me feel bad…" Tenten sighed and took her microphone. "We can't take the recording contract. It's not our dream, it's theirs," Tenten started talking, looking back at the guys while she spoke. "We can't take it, we just can't. I feel like I'm taking their dream away. It's not right, not fair. So, we keep the money, but the guys keep the recording contract. I hope there isn't a problem with that, after all they have more experience with all the band deal than we do. And we did this for fun, not to make a career. Thank you for all your cheers, and for sticking with us. We really appreciated it." Tenten turned off her microphone and the guys went up to them and thanked them. About a thousand times.
"You guys deserve it, anyway…" Sakura said as they were walking backstage.
"It's still really nice of you to do that. You guys know how much we've wanted a recording contract," Sasuke said putting his arm over Sakura's shoulder.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Ino asked elbowing Sakura. She just rolled her eyes at the blonde's action.
"Nothing, Ino. I'm wondering that myself… Sasuke would you care to explain?" Sakura asked him looking up to see his face.
"What? I thought… So…Um…" He moved his arm slowly off Sakura's shoulders, she smiled and kept on walking.
"Oh, Sakura don't leave the poor guy like that! You are so MEAN! Go back and tell him… I don't know, just tell him something!" Ino pushed Sakura back to Sasuke. "There, now bye-bye!"
"Wait, what? Ino! You Pig!" Sakura complained under her breath.
"So…"
"Don't even try."
"Right…"
They both walked in silence, Sakura with her arms crossed, and Sasuke with his hands in his pockets. He kept on glancing at her.
"So, the kiss didn't change anything, did it?" he asked, still looking at her, but constantly looking at the floor.
"I didn't say that. It's just gonna take some time for me to get used to the idea that everything was a BIG mistake and nothing happened between you and Karin. It's just so complicated," she explained. Sakura stopped walking, making Sasuke stop to. She turned around and faced Sasuke. "You have no idea how hard it has been for me not to jump and kiss you every time I see you. But I have to reason, and I say to myself, 'Sakura, you have to see where time takes you.' So, that's what I'm doing. I'm gonna give us some time, and maybe you can make 'us' happen again."
"Why didn't you just do it? You know, jump up and kiss me. I wouldn't have complained."
"I know you wouldn't have. Sasuke, let's take it slow, okay?" She putted her arms around his neck and smiled.
"Fine, slow. I really hope time is on my side and it goes by quickly," he said wrapping his arms around her waist.
"GET A ROOM!" Naruto yelled from the dressing room. The rest of the group laughed.
"Naruto, go back inside!" Sasuke yelled back. "Let's go to the dressing room, get your stuff and let's all go celebrate."
"Great idea! Girls, time to PARTY!" Sakura ran into the dressing room and group hugged the girls.
"Great idea, Ino. Another sleepover. Like the first one wasn't enough…" Tenten complained as she entered her apartment. "And you had to do it in my house. Couldn't it be on yours?"
"No, you are the only one with a mom on a business trip. I don't want my dad on our business. So, come in everyone!" Ino welcomed the boys into Tenten's apartment like if it was her own. Which made Tenten really mad.
"I need to get snacks. I'll be back. Don't destroy the house while I'm gone." Tenten got her keys and started to walk out the door.
"I'll go with you." Tenten turned around and saw Neji behind her.
"Okay. We'll be back!" They both left the apartment, and walked in silence. As they walked down the stairs Neji tried to make conversation several times with no success. Now he knew how Tenten felt. After all he was usually the quiet one and she was the one doing most of the talking. They got to the store and Tenten started picking the snacks, handing them to Neji.
"Hey, Tenten! Great show tonight!" Tenten and Neji turned around to find Kiba smiling and ready to hug Tenten.
"Hey, thanks. Thank you for getting everyone there! Oh, and the shirts were great! The girls loved them," Tenten said, grabbing a pack of sodas. Making it impossible to Kiba to hug her now.
"I made some for the band to, they're all special edition. Yours is lime green, of course."
"You didn't have to, I'll pick them up as soon as possible." Tenten gave him a smile and then glanced at Neji. 'Priceless,' she thought. 'Um, we have to go, but it was nice to see you Kiba. Thank you again." Tenten walked over to the cash registers and set down the sodas.
"I can't stand that dog guy," Neji muttered under his breath, but Tenten heard him and laughed.
"Jealous, Hyuga?" she asked raising her eyebrow.
"Me?" He asked raising his eyebrow. "Of course I am Tenten. He is not good for you, come on. He loves dogs! You hate dogs; your favorite animal is the cat, because of the Chinese zodiac legend. He doesn't know you. He's just stupid," Neji said everything so fast, he left Tenten with her eyes open wide.
"You remembered…" she whispered.
"Ma'am, it's gonna be 20 yen." Tenten quickly looked at the lady at the counter.
"I'll pay," Neji said handing his credit card to the lady.
"What a nice boy, they are hard to find you know ma'am," the woman at the counter said looking at Tenten and then swiped the credit card. "Here you go, and sign here…" Neji did as he was told and then they were off to his car. Tenten got in and looked at her hands. Neji got in the car and looked at Tenten, she was daydreaming as usual.
"Tenten…Tenten…Tenten," Neji called several times, Tenten finally looked up.
"Huh?"
"You dazed off. Are you okay?" he asked turning on the car and started to drive off the store.
"I'm fine… I just… I can't believe you remembered… the story I told you so long ago. I'm just surprised, that's all." Neji smiled at her response.
"Why wouldn't I remember?" he asked looking at the road. Tenten looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it's just a silly story I told you when we were ten. I though you would forget, we are seventeen now. It's been a long time."
"It wasn't silly for me. That was the first time I ever heard of it, and the way you told me the story… it was like you believed it actually happened. And I think that's when I knew you would be the girl I was gonna be with forever… Well, until now…" Neji sighed as he parked in front of Tenten's apartment building. He left Tenten speechless.
"Forever?" she whispered as he got out of the car. Tears started rolling down Tenten's cheeks. She looked up and got out of the car. "Neji, wait!"
Neji turned around and saw Tenten smiling with tears in her eyes.
"If you say I'm supposed to be with you forever, why don't you try harder?"
"I am trying Tenten, harder than you think. You have to understand that I'm new at these things… You are the first real girlfriend that I've had. The first girl that actually turned me down… twice. You are different, and that is what I love about you. I love everything about you. Tenten, I love you."
Tenten was I awe, that was the first time he's ever said he loved her.
"You… love… me?" Tenten got closer to him, more tears on her eyes now. "Neji, you have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that…" Tenten leaned over and kissed him. Neji was surprised at first, but then just smiled at the kiss.
"Tenten I have something to give you," Neji said checking his back pocket taking something out. "I saw this and I thought of you, so I bought it." He held the necklace in front of her face. Tenten smiled and grabbed it.
"Thank you, and can you put it on?" she asked turning around lifting her hair up.
"Sure," he said grabbing the necklace and putting it on Tenten. She turned around and putted her arms around his neck. "You know, I'm gonna get used to this."
"You better," Tenten said getting his hand and walking into her apartment building. They walked up the stairs and got to her apartment. "Should we go in? Or wait a little longer… Believe me, they would want an explanation on why we are so close now. You know how that gets…"
"If we take longer they're gonna start to wonder why we never came back. Besides, they won't notice anything," Neji got Tenten's key and opened the door to find the living room with Sasuke and Sakura watching a movie. Sakura's head on Sasuke's shoulder and holding hands like the couple they were before.
"What's going on here? Where's everyone else?" Tenten asked sitting with Neji in another sofa.
"They are probably making out somewhere in your apartment," Sakura said looking around and then going back to her original position.
"Making out? Isn't it making up?"
"Nope, that was earlier. You guys took forever and I'm starving!" Sakura held her hand as Tenten gave her some chips.
"HELLO, HAPPY PEOPLE!" Naruto shouted as he walked into the living room holding hands with Hinata.
"Someone's happy," Sasuke commented grabbing some chips.
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm the happiest man in the world!"
"Does that mean you and Hina-chan are back together?" Tenten asked.
"YES, WE ARE!"
"Naruto, the neighbors are gonna complain. Quiet down," Neji said getting something from a bag.
"Well, they can't stop my happiness! Oh, and Tenten…" Tenten turned around to see Naruto and nodded.
"You might want to check on Ino and Shika. You know how they are…"
"Holy, I forgot about them! Last time they destroyed my room!" Tenten stood up and headed to her room.
"Tenten, but they're together now," Sakura thought for a while.
"That's why…" she hissed.
"OHHHHHHH, I get it. EWWWWWWWWWW."
"EXACTLY!" Tenten walked into her room to find Shikamaru on top of Ino. Luckily both were still with their clothes on, but they didn't seem to notice that Tenten had entered the room. "EEHHHHHMMMM."
"Huh?" Ino looked at the door and saw Tenten tapping her foot. "Oh, hi there. Um, we were just…"
"DONE! Get out! NOW!" Tenten pointed to her door, and both Ino and Shikamaru got out as fast as they could. "Gosh, next thing you know, my place is gonna be the make out point."
Tenten got out of her room and walked back to the living room. She stood there looking at all the happy couples. Then she stopped at Neji, who was staring at the screen. She smiled unconsciously, he always made her smile. Even if she didn't want to, he always found a way to make her smile. Neji turned around and found Tenten staring at him, he smiled back. Neji stood up and walked up to his now girlfriend.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
"I'm thinking about how happy everyone is now. This is how it should have been since the beginning. With no bumps along the way… But I guess that's life, and we have to deal with it. Because life sucks, but we'll get over it." Tenten grabbed Neji's hand and walked back to the couch. All four couples watched the movie in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a good silence. A silence they all needed after all the fighting. Now, they were all happy. The war was over… for now anyway.
Thank you all! Review!