Sorry for another late update…I own no Some kind of Wonderful (movie edition) or Naruto.

Recap:

He holds out his hand. Shikamaru looks at Tenten, she gives him a glare and he shakes Neji's hand.

"A pleasure," Shikamaru says

"Yeah," Neji turns to Tenten "Are you busy?"

"Just sitting here with Shikamaru, why?"

"I need to borrow your car. If you had something to do, I'd swing back in a while and pick you up."

"Where're are you going?" she asks

"I want to give Sakura a ride home."

Not the answer she wants to hear. Shikamaru stick his hand out.

"By the way, congratulations; she's smokin'."

Neji shakes his hand, and Tenten fishes her keys out of her pocket. She flips them to Neji.

"I'd appreciate a couple of bucks for gas."

Neji is surprised by the remark. He doesn't mind paying his way; it's the manner in which she asked. He nods.

"About an hour?" he says

"Fine, It's just time, not like it means anything."

Neji nods again. He's confused by her attitude. He backs away and goes to her car. Tenten slides away from Shikamaru.

"You gotta wait around for an hour?" he asks

She nods.

"Do you know how much damage we could do in an hour?" he says

She chuckles a bit, a small smile coming to her lips for a moment "Now it the perfect time to start pretending that you like me."

"Yeah I thought so, too." He laughs. "This wasn't as much of a drag as I thought it would be. If you need to do it again, I wouldn't mind helping you out."

"Thanks," she nods "I'll see you later," she turns and walks away.

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Chapter 7

Neji is sitting outside, waiting. Sakura and Ino exit the school, Neji stands up as they pass.

"Sakura?"

Sakura and Ino stopped, and look back.

"Can I give you a ride home?" he asks

Sakura looks at Ino. She'd love to laugh, but she knows better.

"I was going home with Ino. Do you know each other?" Sakura asks

Neji shakes his head, and offers his hand. Ino hesitates, but after looking to Sakura takes it and shakes it back.

"Hi," Neji says

"Hi," Ino replies

Neji takes back his hand "I thought maybe we could talk."

"Well I was…" Sakura pauses "Why don't you call me?"

"Yeah, okay." Neji begins

Sakura feels terribly sorry for him. Neji is melting in the presence of two girls. Ino intercedes.

"Why don't you go with him?" Ino talks to Sakura, giving her a look close to a glare.

Sakura glares daggers back at her. Neji waits for an answer, and studies Sakura Ino's movements. They are nothing like Tenten. He finds himself comparing the way that the two girls in front of him hold their books and the way they stand, to the way Tenten (when she has them) props her books against her hip, and puts most of her weight on her left leg when waiting for something, usually with some kind of look on her face. He watches as Ino and Sakura converse with their books clutched to their chests, and their knees locked. Sakura looks up at him and he smiles with dread.

"Where're you parked?"

Neji smiles with relief.

"I'll pull around." He heads away, and Sakura turns back to Ino.

"Thanks a lot!"

"He's given you the perfect opportunity to back out. He wants to talk. Tell him it's over and you're back with Sasuke."

"I'm not back with Sasuke."

"You want to tell him the truth?! You want to tell him that you used him, Forehead?!" Ino asks

"I didn't use him, Ino-pig!"

"Oh really? You used him to get away from Sasuke."

"It wasn't deliberate. It just happened. I was mad and he stepped in. It was just bad circumstances." Sakura looks down.

"Regardless, the longer you wait to kill it, the worse it's gonna be. He's completely deluded. Unless of course, you're interested in him?"

Sakura shoves Ino, making Ino laugh.

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Neji sits in the driver's seat of Tenten's car. The parking lot is empty, and Neji is alone. The starter's screaming, the engine won't turn over. Neji sighs a defeated one, and looks down at the steering wheel.

"Shit, Tenten…" he looks into the car, the gas gauge in stuck on empty.

He looks off back to where Sakura should be waiting. She's gone. Given up on waiting and walking down the lot, and to where Neji and Tenten's car sit.

"The car won't start." He says

Sakura sighs, and turns and yells to stop a Suzuki Samurai pulling out of the lot.

"Ino!" She waves her arms, and the car stops, reverses and pulls around.

Neji watches as Ino returns for Sakura. He's lost. Tried and Failed.

Sakura gets in the front. She looks in the car, then back at Neji. She waves him over. He smirks, flips the keys on the seat and heads for the Samurai.

Sasuke is in his car, watching. From his point of view he sees Neji climb into the seat of the car. His blood boils, and he wants blood.

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Ino and Sakura are in the front. Neji is in the jump seat. The music is playing and the windows are rolled all the way down. Ino sneaks a look at Sakura, who returns it. Ino then looks back at Neji in the rearview mirror.

"Where are we going?" she asks

"Home," he says

"Where's that?"

"D Street,"

There's a long uncomfortable pause. Neji swallows and looks at Sakura. She's wearing diamond stud earrings. He thinks it's odd that Sakura's wearing diamonds. Considering where she lives, he leans forward.

"Nice earrings." He says

Sakura turns around to face Neji. An embarrassed smile stuck on her lips. "They're not mine. I just barrowed them from Ino." With another embarrassed smile she turns back around.

Ino looks at Sakura and motions to Neji. She mouths "Tell Him." Sakura sneaks a look around to the back seat. She returns and looks back at Ino. She shakes her head slightly. Ino urges her on with a stern look.

"Sakura? Don't you want to say something to…" a quick glance at Neji "What's your name again?"

"Neji."

Sakura gives Ino a cold look. Neji watches the back of the two girl's heads. He's cautious and suspicious. He's feeling supremely put down. Sakura turns in the seat and looks at him. He looks back at her.

"You want to forget about the date. Right?" he asks

Sakura is startled that he knows. Little changes in Neji's expression, but his eyes plead for the truth. Ino is disgusted with Sakura. She shifts her eyes to the rearview mirror. Sakura back pedals a bit.

"It you want out, I'll understand." Sakura says.

Neji shakes his head. "If I wanted out, I wouldn't have asked you in the first place. I don't want out, do you?"

She can't say it. All she can muster is a limp smile and she turns back.

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The car parks outside his house, and he gets out. Neji mumbles a thanks. Ino smiles obsequiously, replying with a sweet but forced "My pleasure." Sakura just smiles. Neji backs away from the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He takes a few more backward steps. He back-walks until it's too stupid to do it anymore. Neji turns, stuffs his hands in his pockets and saunters up to his house.

Ino is angry with Sakura. Sakura turns her look from Neji to the footwell.

"That was swift. I gave you the perfect window to throw him out of, and you went limp.

Sakura is on the defensive "Maybe you can do that kind of thing, but I can't. Not in clod blood anyway."

"Then I guess you got a new boyfriend." Ino states.

Sakura looks at her angrily.

"He's too dim to catch a hint. If you don't tell him, he won't get it." She continues.

"So what if I go out with him once? It's not like the end of the world."

Sakura and Ino look at Neji's house.

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Neji is in the arch to the kitchen drinking from the orange juice carton. Hanabi walks in.

"Hey, I saw your girlfriend out in front."

Neji lowers the carton suspiciously. "Did she say anything to you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." She heads up the stairs after her words.

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Tenten is behind the wheel of her car. It's moving slowly, and she's trying to figure out what happened to Neji. A voice from a distance calls to her.

"How far are we going?" it says

"The nearest gas station!"

Still in the school parking lot, Shikamaru and Tenten struggle with her car. Tenten has enlisted the help of Shikamaru to push it.

"How far is that?" he asks

"Don't worry about it. You're young." She calls back.

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