"Hey you guys!" Neji called out to the people on stage, waving a hand in the air for attention. The group stood up and peered over in their direction, with the clubs flashing lights it took them a moment to recognize the man behind he voice. Once they did however the equipment was immediately set down so they could hurry over. Gaara had to squint to see what the people looked like through the hazy room. The best he could tell there were four slightly generic looking men wearing all black that Gaara assumed were other band members standing behind a tall slender girl. She had her long brown hair pulled up into two buns on either side of her head, secured with a shiny metallic hair band. The rest of her outfit matched the bands, a silver glittery mini-dress, gloves that reached to her elbows, and knee high boots, overall it was an oddly stunning techno-pop/rock n' roll kind of look. Her eyes skimmed briefly over Gaara before turning to his longhaired companion.

"Neji!" She squeals excitedly, throwing herself around him in a hug. " I'm so glad you could come!" Neji hugs back a little before pushing her away laughing lightly.

" Of course I came." He looped a casual arm around Gaara's shoulders and pulled him closer in an attempt to draw attention to the slender teen. "And I brought a friend. TenTen this is Gaara, Gaara this is TenTen." The girl observed his the arm wrapped around him, eyes narrowing ever so slightly before a huge fake grin was plastered over her face.

"Pleased to meet you, Honey." She sounded like she was talking to a mentally challenged six year old.

"Same here." Gaara lied. She tilted her head up a bit, seeing right through his lie and turning to face the Hyuga with bright eyes.

"You look fabulous! I'm so jealous! Your hair has always been shinier than mine." TenTen ran her fingers idly through the Hyuga's locks, a small flirtatious smile on her lips. Neji shifted uncomfortably and Gaara glared daggers.

"Hey TenTen," one of her generic band mates interrupted from behind, "we really need to keep setting up. We're going to be on in like, ten minutes." He looked impatiently up at the messy stage. TenTen rolled her eyes huffily before pulling her hand away from Neji's hair.

"Well, I guess I'll see you after the show." She purposefully angled her body away from Gaara, ignoring his presence. "Hope you have fun." With that she turned and flounced back onto the stage, the edge of her dress coming dangerously close to exposing butt cheek. Neji turned and smiled apologetically at the redhead.

"I'm sorry about that. TenTen and I dated back in high school and sometimes she has trouble getting over the past. Don't judge her for it she's really a good person." Gaara muttered something noncommittal and looked off to the side. This girl hadn't exactly made his list of top ten favorite people. Neji smiled at his behavior. " Don't worry we're going to start having fun soon." He gave his shoulders a light squeeze. "Let's go get something to drink." The redhead was led over to a mahogany bar located opposite the stage. Surrounding the bar were tons of people, either perched up on stools or just milling about the area. They rowdily clinked their glasses together, talked, and shouted for refills. All the noise and commotion made Gaara feel slightly dizzy; he'd never been good with crowds. Neji steadied him a bit as they approached the bar, casually raising one hand, to successfully catch the bartenders attention. "One rum and coke and one…" He trailed off turning to Gaara. "What do you want to drink that isn't alcoholic?"

" A coke I guess."

"Alright. And one plain coke." The haggard looking bartender nodded and hurried to fill their orders, quickly handing over two drinks. Neji gave him a folded bill and smiled. "Keep the change." By the time the two had finished their drinks and wormed their way back into the crowd the band was all set up and raring to go.

" Hey, everybody!" TenTen Grabbed the mic stand, bringing her lips right up to it. " Are you guys ready to PARTY?!" The room erupted in cheers and catcalls. She grinned out at her adoring audience before turning to face the band. " Alright, boys hit it!" The band immediately started playing an adrenaline-pumping tune, TenTen waited a few moments before she began belting out lyrics.

As much as Gaara hated to admit it the band was really good, just the kind of music he enjoyed and TenTen had a superb singing voice. He stood there for a little while, watching the crowd move around him as he enjoyed the song. TenTen pulled the mic stand between her legs and started swaying her hips sultrily, effectively driving the crowd wild. She ignored the various screams of adulation, scanning the audience until her eyes came to rest on Neji. Her eyes continued boring into him as she sand. Gaara couldn't help but flare up a little at this. What does she think she's doing? He's my date dammit. He inched to the side a little, closer to Neji as he glared daggers at the girl on stage. Neji noticed and, smiling slightly, reached out to pull Gaara in front of him, pressing his chest against the boy's back.

The redhead smirked, leaning into the hug and taking in the shocked expression on the lead singer's face as she quickly looked away. And although she recovered in record time, throughout the whole performance her eyes kept drifting back over to the pair enviously. Gaara had to acknowledge that it felt good. Neji maintained a firm grip around him, nose buried in his hair as he took in the younger boy's scent. It was delicious, he smelled just like an apple orchard and the Hyuga idly wondered what kind of shampoo he used.As the songs changed the crowd's dancing did too. There was a mosh pit right in front of the stage, there were people jumping up and down and flailing, and there were couples practically having sex on the dance floor. But Neji and Gaara, they just stood like that, swaying slightly to the music and not doing much else. It was rather comforting; Gaara really didn't think he had it in him to dance. Being like this with Neji…it was pure bliss.

All too soon though the band had stopped playing and people were filtering out of the club. Gaara turned to his counselor expectantly.

"Should we go back to camp?"

" I kind of thought we could hang out with the band for a little afterwards. Unless that's a problem, do you want to go?" He looked down at the boy with concern.

"No, it's fine. We can stay." Truthfully Gaara was feeling a little tired and he wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending time with TenTen. But he didn't want to be a party pooper and besides, any time he spent with Neji was time well spent.

"Great. Follow me." Neji took the boy's hand in his own and started walking behind the stage where a small door, marked "performers only" was located. The two went through it and soon found themselves in a smoky room furnished with nothing but a large pink couch and a wardrobe. They had to step around scattered equipment to reach the couch where the five band members were lounging about. Neji sat down, pulling the boy next to him.

"That was a great show everybody."

"Thanks, man." One of the guys raised a beer bottle up and saluted him with it.

The strong scent of alcohol suddenly invaded their nostrils as TenTen draped herself over the back of the couch, dropping in between the two and resting her elbow on the top of Gaara's head which caused him to scowl with an uncharacteristic amount of malice.

"Hey, baby." She slurred her words, grinning drunkenly at Neji. How she managed to get so drunk in such a short period of time was beyond anyone in the room. "I'm glad you liked my show." The addressed male pulled away from her, utterly disgusted. In response she pouted, attempting to look cute but succeeding only in further annoying the object of her affection.

"TenTen please back off, Gaara is not a part of the couch." She looked over at the redhead as if noticing him for the first time even though it was glaringly apparent her actions were purposeful.

" Aw c'mon. Why are you being nicer to some kid then you are to me? I thought we were friends." Neji sighed with exasperation, reaching out and pulling her arm off of Gaara. Unfortunately in doing so he caused her to lose balance, falling face first against his chest. She started giggling uncontrollably and rolled over onto her back, grinning up at him. " If you're that desperate you could've just asked." It was impossible to tell whether she was kidding or not but either way Neji was pissed.

"That's it. We're out of here." He stood up abruptly, shoving TenTen off. " Come on, Gaara." The redhead immediately jumped to his feet, eager to leave.

" Geez why you got to be so uptight?" TenTen glared up at him from her awkward position on the couch.

"I'll see you later, Ten. When you're not totally wasted." With that Neji bid a quick farewell to the generic band boys and took his leave, Gaara in tow. Once they were back in the car, buckled safely he turned to his companion.

"I really am sorry about that. You've gotten a terrible impression of TenTen tonight I swear she's not normally that bad."

"It's jealousy." Gaara stated bluntly. " She's jealous of us." Neji rubbed the back of his neck.

" That was surprisingly observant of you." The redhead cocked an eyebrow.

"Surprisingly?"

"Well, yeah. No offense or anything but you don't pay much attention to detail." Gaara looked down at his hands, thinking about Itachi and all the clues he'd missed. Not to mention all the blunt facts he'd chosen to ignore. Neji noticed the sudden change in mood and bit his lip worriedly. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean it as an insult or anything. It doesn't matter." He used one finger to lift the boy's chin and force him to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Gaara smiled shakily. Concerned, but able to tell when to back off, Neji started the car and began driving. During the ride back Gaara stared absentmindedly out the window, not thinking about anything in particular while Neji fretted over the date. Finally, they reached the camp parking lot and walked up to the dorms. Being the gentleman that he was Neji insisted on walking Gaara to his door.

"So…did you have fun tonight?" The boy tilted his head to the side, thinking.

"Yeah, yeah I did." He smiled honestly, it had been a rocky night but overall he'd enjoyed it, the Hyuga's presence seemed to make everything all right. Pleased with the reaction, Neji smiled.

"I'm glad. Maybe we could do this again sometime?"

" I'd like that." Gaara grinned while Neji stared at him with wonder. All right, here it is the end of the date. Now what do I do?

Neji tentatively leaned forward, every fiber in his being screaming to kiss the boy even though his logical self knew it was too soon. Gaara recoiled slightly at the action, causing Neji to pause before decisively reaching out and putting one hand on the back of the boy's head, staring into those wide confused eyes. Gaara bit his lip.

Is he going to kiss me? With a tender smile Neji moved in further, pressing his lips dead in the center of Gaara's forehead.

"Good night, Sweetheart."

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How was that for a chapter ending? Good and fluffy::grins:: I like this chapter, even though I didn't mean to make TenTen as skanky as I did. (I don't hate her! Sakura is the only character that I hate!) So yeah, reviews please. I want to know what people thought of the kiss. I did contemplate making it on the lips but decided it was too soon. Besides, this way the fic will be more drawn out. -Evie