Hanabi approached Neji quietly and waited patiently for him to notice her.
"Hello Hanabi-san," Neji said, looking up at her. Hanabi nodded curtly.
"Hello, Neji-san," she replied, her voice tart. "I heard from Hiashi that you're going to a party on Friday." Neji nodded.
"Hai, Hanabi-san," he said. "I am." Hanabi nodded and looked away.
"Well, h-have a good time," she mumbled, her voice trailing off so Neji could barely hear the last part of the sentence. He internally grinned.
"Arigato, Hanabi-san," he said. Hanabi nodded and left quickly. Neji watched her go. She's taking the first step towards real conversation. Neji thought. He sighed and turned back to the piano. He wanted to learn this piece as soon as possible. So far, it had been very interesting to sight read. He had heard the song The Prayer before, but it was sung by professional singers and the piano and violin parts had never been much, and what Neji was playing was a little more difficult than what was played in most versions. In his first sight reading of the song he made many mistakes. It was an unusual piece and had many surprising twists. During his second play through of the song he made only a few mistakes. He was getting used to it and was learning what and what not to do. It was in his third play through that he played the song through without any mistakes, whatsoever. He felt a small surge of pride in himself, but brushed it away after a moment. He now had to speed up the tempo. He had been playing it at a slower speed than what was given.
By the time dinner was ready, Neji had the song down perfectly. He went to the dining room at hearing Hiashi's voice and answered a few questions from his uncle about the party. He did not know much about it, but Hinata stepped in, answering what the brunette boy could not. As Neji found out more and more about the party, the more he didn't want to go.
"How many people are there?" he asked slightly incredulously. Hinata went red.
"Well, there's everyone we sat with at lunch today," she replied quietly. "And some other freshmen, and some seniors too. That's about it." Neji had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes and shouting, "Is Naruto inviting the whole damn school!?" Instead, he said calmly, "That's a lot." Hinata nodded and returned her rather embarrassed attention back to her food, picking at it.
"Hai, nii-san, it is a lot, but I don't think you have to talk to all of them," she said. Neji looked at her, eyes wide. That was probably the first reassuring thing Hinata had ever said to him. He nodded to her gratefully.
"Arigato, Hinata-san," he said. His voice, for the first time, was true to his emotion, which was relieved at the moment. Hinata nodded and the red deepened, but then lightened slightly. Neji felt a little more at ease when the level of red in his cousin's cheeks lessened, and returned his own attentions to his food.
When dinner had ended, Neji found himself wandering to the garden and sitting down on the dirt path, looking at the anemone flowers, as was the norm for him. He felt his body slow at the sight of the calm serene flowers and he relaxed, more so than he had ever allowed himself to in the presence of others.
He soon felt his eyes begin to grow heavy and he let himself doze off a little. Minutes later, he heard a voice call him and he turned to see his uncle calling to him from the door.
"Neji-san, it's ten o'clock, come inside," Hiashi called. Neji nodded and stood slowly and tiredly up. He walked to his uncle, nodding as he passed him and went right up to his room to prepare for bed. He was in his bed and asleep five minutes later.
When morning came, Neji was out of bed the same time he was the previous morning. He was beginning to set his routine here. He would shower, then get dressed, then eat breakfast, then do whatever peaceful activity he felt like doing until it was time for him to go to school. Hiashi had already left by then and the three children were left alone. Hinata and Neji were out the door at seven, and Hanabi left right after them, turning the other way at the end of the driveway to head to the elementary school.
This morning, and unlike any other, Hinata began a conversation with Neji.
"So, are you looking forward to the party, nii-san?" she asked shyly, afraid that he might be as far from a morning person as Hanabi was. Neji shook his head.
"Not really," he replied. "I'm a little apprehensive, actually." Hinata's face took on that all-too-familiar red shade.
"O-oh," she said quietly. Neji couldn't take it anymore.
"Hinata-san, I'm never angry at you when I answer questions in the negative," he explained. "I'm just being truthful. I'm not really interested in this party because I don't really know anyone who's going to be there." He stopped and Hinata nodded hastily, her cheeks still quite red.
"Would you like me to talk to Naruto-kun about you not going?" she asked, and Neji chuckled.
"No, I've already asked Hiashi and it would be rude to just suddenly decide that I don't want to go," he said. "I'll just go with you and if there's no one to hang out with, I'll stand by the side and wait for it to finish." Hinata giggled.
"You know, nii-san, Sasuke-san's going to be there," she said. Neji raised his brow and looked at her suspiciously.
"I've never heard you use such a mischievous tone before," he said. "How much, on average, have you been hanging out with Naruto?" Hinata giggled again and shook her head.
"He just pointed out that you two have been spending a lot of time in school together, and now that I think about it, he's right," she clarified, an amused edge to her voice. Neji was appalled. He had never heard Hinata like this. He shook his head and turned to face forward, unable to say something to counter what Hinata had just said. Unbelievable.
Despite himself, Neji felt a small feeling of warmth within him. He hadn't felt that way since before his father died. Perhaps he was falling more into place with this family. Maybe one day, he would be able to call Hiashi "Uncle." Maybe one day, he would be able to openly smile with Hinata and Hanabi. Maybe one day, they could make his heart whole again. He sincerely hoped so.
Hinata and Neji arrived at school and they bid each other goodbye, Hinata turning to walk with Naruto and Neji, with Sasuke.
"Did you get an invitation, too?" Sasuke asked, turning his head to face Neji. The Hyuuga nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes," he said. "And before you ask, yes, I am going." Sasuke laughed.
"You sound a little disappointed," he said. Neji nodded.
"Well, I suppose I am. On my second day here, I was invited to a very large party by a hyperactive boy and I was told by my cousin that he expects me to be there." Sasuke grinned.
"Yeah, well, I can't say that I'm all that excited to be going either," the Uchiha shrugged. "I prefer smaller parties with your closest friends, not huge parties like this one. But Naruto is my friend and I promised him I'd go." He broke off and Neji nodded.
"I know," he said. "The same thing ran through my head. I suppose we'll have to grin and bear it." Sasuke nodded and grinned.
"It's going to be a little harder than that," he chuckled. Neji looked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked. Sasuke smirked.
"Well, this is Naruto's party," he said. "And, knowing Naruto the way I do, he's probably going to have all sorts of games like truth or dare and spin the bottle. Maybe even a dance-off. Probably to embarrass people. That's how he gets his kicks. And I have to admit it's pretty funny, especially when the target isn't me." Neji looked irritated.
"Great," he said in a long suffering voice. "And I suppose Naruto is going to force everyone to take part in his activities?" Sasuke nodded.
"Yup," he confirmed. "He's probably going to focus his attentions on getting you to join the games since you're new. This party is probably going to be like an induction ceremony. Once it's over you'll officially be a part of Naruto's group."
"You make it sound like a cult."
"Well, that's how it went for me when I came here. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I sort of fell into place more after it." Neji sighed.
"I only hope it doesn't go horribly." Sasuke laughed.
"Well, until you get there, there's no way to tell how it's going to go," he said.
Neji went to English class in a slightly off mood, still thinking about the party, wishing he didn't have to go. He went through his first four classes on autopilot, but when the time came for art, he immediately came back to reality. Ino, he noticed, was indeed wearing a flowery outfit. She had a beautiful blue kimono shirt on. There was some silver thread that was stitched in the shape of flowers and leaves that adorned the blue top, and she wore a long amethyst skirt that traveled down to just past her knees that matched the shirt perfectly. Neji approached her and she turned.
"Will this do?" she asked. Neji nodded.
"You look great," he said, drawing a red blush from her. She nodded her thanks and stood by the window as she had the day before. Neji retrieved the pastels and his unfinished drawing. He propped the two-dimensional Ino on an easel as he had the day before and he got to work. Ino was in exactly the same "pose" as she was the previous day. Neji began to illustrate her hair, which was shining in the light morning sun, providing Neji with an interesting dilemma. He tried to recapture the sheen of the sun on her hair onto his paper. He finished and looked at it for a moment, resigning himself to the fact that it wasn't perfect, but that he would work on it later. He moved on to her shirt. The blue fabric also showed reflections of the sun's light and the silver was positively sparkling. Neji carefully mixed and blended, stopping every now and then to look at what he had drawn. He spent most of his time looking at Ino, instead of his project. One of his art teachers had told him that when he was doing a project that involved a model of some sort, the artist's attention should be on the model most of the time, otherwise he would lose the feel of the painting. Neji, looking now at his work, thought that the shirt color was a little too dark and had to add a lighter color. He gently rubbed his fingers over the dark blue to mix the two shades as best he could without disturbing the silver flowers on the shirt, which he believed looked fine. He had only just got started with the skirt when Kurenai told them all to put their supplies away and prepare to leave. Neji was putting the pastels away and noticed Sasuke looking at his drawing, eyebrow raised. He looked at Neji as the Hyuuga lifted the painting off the easel.
"Is there anything that you're not good at?" the Uchiha asked sarcastically, following Neji over to the art counter as the brunette boy placed the drawing carefully down. Neji sighed.
"Yes, there are plenty of things that I'm not good at," he shot. Sasuke smirked at him.
"I know there are," he said. "Recognizing sarcasm is one of them. Showing us all up, though, is not." Neji felt his cheeks go slightly hot and he turned away quickly, preparing to leave.
"Well, there's no need for you to be sarcastic," he said, a little more defensively than he had intended. Sasuke noticed, and raised his brow, choosing not to say anything. He followed Neji out of the art room and to the gym.
Again, Sasuke paired with Neji for tennis, and again, the game ended up tied. Again, Neji noticed that Sasuke looked good in tight clothes, and again, Sasuke blushed at seeing Neji come out of the showers with nothing but a towel wrapped around his slim waist.
Naruto forced them to eat lunch outside again, and Sasuke sat next to Neji again. Deidara smirked as Neji approached them and asked if anyone had aroused any "sexual desires" in the Hyuuga. Neji had chuckled and shook his head, but said he was keeping his eyes open, which got a laugh from both Deidara and Sasori. Lunch for Neji was much less awkward and people seemed more apt to talk to him that day than the day before, something that irritated Neji, but only a little.
In orchestra, Hayashi had Neji play his piece for the duet and had told the violinists to pay close attention, something that, Neji noticed, Sasuke was only too happy to do. They played their other songs too and Hayashi reminded them that the auditions for the violin part were going to be on Tuesday of next week. Sasuke had walked out of school with Neji and bid him goodbye, before turning off and walking away with Itachi, who once again, accused his brother of being obvious.
The next day, Thursday, passed in the same fashion, and before Neji knew it, it was Friday, and he was once again, leaving orchestra and about to head home with Hinata. However, the ebon haired Hyuuga was waiting with Naruto, Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Lee. All of them had extra bags that Neji assumed held their clothes for the sleepover. Neji sighed, knowing that they were all waiting for him so they could go to the party. Sasuke smirked at Neji's rather crestfallen face and followed the energetic Uzumaki to his house, Neji lagging behind; not quite up to keeping in step with the strenuous pace the overly excited blonde was setting.
They arrived at Naruto's rather large house and the grinning blonde ushered them all inside. He instructed them to put their bags down in his room, which he pointed out to them, and then he brought them all back out into a very large room with a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, a dance floor in the center of the room and a large long table with food, punch and other refreshments. This room was jam packed with people, all holding a glass of some sort of drink and talking to each other loudly over the music that was blaring from two large speakers. Neji let his eyebrow rise. He hadn't expected to see so many people. He hadn't seen too many bags in Naruto's room. He assumed that meant that not everyone who was at the party right now would be sleeping over. Thank god. Sasuke, at seeing Neji's surprised look, sniggered.
"Naruto's foster parents are filthy rich," he informed the bewildered Hyuuga. Neji looked at him.
"Naruto has foster parents?" he asked. Sasuke nodded solemnly.
"His parents died when he was born," he said. "It's a really tender subject for him, so don't go asking about it when you don't need to." Neji nodded. It seemed that there was more to Konoha than meets the eye.
He felt a push on his back and looked angrily behind him at Naruto, who was guiding him to the center of the chaos. The blonde had a mischievous gleam to his eye and wore a grin to match it. He grabbed Neji's arm and dragged him over to the stereo. The Uzumaki turned off the music and the guests looked around, confused. Naruto put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Everyone's attention turned to him. He smirked.
"Hey, everyone this is Hyuuga Neji!" he shouted, shoving Neji forward. "He's the new kid here! Have at him!" Neji turned to glare at Naruto, but the blonde boy was turning away to turn the music back on. A moment later, the room was full of the noise from the stereo and from the party guests. Neji sighed and made his way over to the long table to get some punch, ignoring the quiet glances and subtle stares from many of the girls.
"Hey, what grade are you in?" Neji turned; the punch ladle in his right hand, a small cup clutched in the other and saw a girl with strawberry blonde hair kept in a very complex hair style. Clearly this girl went all out for this party. She had very long painted nails and was wearing a halter top that was very revealing and had a mini jean skirt to go with it. She stood at an angle that for any other boy would have been appealing, but to Neji was just plain disturbing. He bit back a sigh and spooned some punch into his cup.
"I'm a sophomore," he replied. The girl raised her brow and rocked slightly on her feet, subtly moving her body in a way that showed off her figure. She wore a very flirtatious look on her face.
"I'm a freshman," she said. "Maybe that's why I haven't seen you much." Neji looked at her.
"I suppose," he said. "I can't remember seeing you all that much." The girl smiled prettily, batting her eyelashes.
"Do you wanna see more of me?" she asked; her voice extremely suggestive and, dare I say it, seductive. Neji raised his own brow.
"I can't say that I do," he said. "Though I can think of plenty of other boys who would love to take you up on that offer. Excuse me." He nodded once to her and walked away, leaving the girl quite surprised and irritated. Neji walked away from the people cluttered in one big mass at the center of the room. By now, some kids had begun to dance. Neji watched as they grinded up against one another, and he felt his stomach jump slightly. He looked quickly away, wondering how anyone could stand to dance like that. He turned his head back slowly, trying to control it but unable to. The people dancing, he saw, were good. he just didn't like the fact that they never separated from their partners. That was what ultimately ruined it for him.
"Having fun?" Neji whipped around and saw Sasuke smirking at him, holding a cup of punch and resting one of his hands on his hips. Neji sighed.
"Not at all," he said. "What are those people doing?" Sasuke looked at the dance floor.
"Getting as close to sex as their parents will let them get," he laughed. "I'll bet you find it pretty damn disturbing." Neji nodded.
"Only a little," he said. "It looks like they're having fun, but why would anyone choose to dance like that?" Sasuke shrugged.
"It's not that bad," he said. "If you're doing it with the right person then it's not all that disgusting." Neji just watched with a slightly revolted look on his face. He finally managed to tear his head away to look at Sasuke.
"Is there anywhere else we're allowed to go?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Sasuke stifled a laugh.
"Yeah, there's a game room," he said. "But that's about it." Neji nodded.
"Where's the game room?" he asked. Sasuke smirked and beckoned him to follow.
"It's down the hall, I'll show you," the Uchiha said. Neji followed Sasuke down a well carpeted hall and turned into another room, not quite as large as the last one, with TVs and video games set up. On the far side were a few pool tables and some foosball tables. Kiba was dominating DDR, Shino was playing a calm game of pool with a not-so-calm Lee and Chouji and Shikamaru were playing foosball. There were others in the room that Neji didn't recognize, but he didn't really care. He was just thankful to be away from that loud music and dancing that almost bordered on infernal. He settled himself down in one of the chairs and watched Kiba on DDR. He was currently dancing to a song that Neji didn't recognize and was playing on a high level. Neji was fascinated with the way Kiba's feet moved to all the right places at the right time, and how his body moved with them, his eyes still managing to stay on the TV.
"I'm going back, Hyuuga," Sasuke said. Neji nodded.
"Alright, Uchiha," he replied. Sasuke turned and left the room. Neji sighed. So far, things were not off to a good start.
And it just seemed to get worse. Just as Neji started to settle into the comfortable surroundings the game room provided, Naruto burst in and shouted, "Alright, the dance-off's about to start! Anyone who wants to join, get your ass down to the dance floor, and anyone who wants to watch, same goes for you!" He turned to Neji and smirked.
"Come on, Neji-san!" he said, grabbing Neji's arm. "You're at least watching." He pulled Neji and pulled the protesting Hyuuga down the hall back to the room he had tried so desperately to get away from. Neji made a face. Damn.
Naruto pulled Neji into the humungous crowd now gathered around the dance floor. He didn't let go until the brunette boy was right at the front. Neji grimaced, trying to fall back out of the crowd but Naruto wouldn't let him. On the other side of the dance floor, also at the very front, Neji saw Sasuke, except the raven haired boy seemed to be having much more fun than he. Neji watched in irritation as Naruto jumped out onto the middle of the dance floor, his grin in place.
"Alright, everyone!" he said. "Basically, if you want to dance, you dance! But if you get pushed into the middle then you have to dance. Anyone can push someone else. Ready? START THE MUSIC!!" The crowd's deafening roar made Neji's ears ring and the Hyuuga lifted a hand to his ear, his face screwing up in a wince. He watched, unimpressed as a senior boy was pushed out into the center and started break dancing. He jumped up, did flips, and he even fell onto his back and began to push himself around, spinning like a top. Neji raised his eyebrow. He hoped he wouldn't be pushed out into the middle, but he knew Naruto would love to see him embarrass himself. The boy finished and a girl with black hair kept in a high ponytail went out into the middle, doing a belly dance that awarded her numerous shouts, jeers and even a few wolf whistles. Neji blinked, disinterested and disturbed. He wanted out. Now. But luck, unfortunately was just not on his side.
Before he knew what was happening, Neji felt himself being pushed out into the center of the dance floor and turned angrily to see Naruto, grinning and standing where he had just been, giving him a thumbs-up. Neji heard people shouting and caught a glimpse of Sasuke's face. The Uchiha boy looked as though he had suddenly become interested in the party. His eyes were wide with anticipation, his mouth was in the biggest smirk Neji had ever seen, and he was leaning slightly forward, waiting to see what the Hyuuga would do next. Neji internally panicked. He did not know anything about dancing the way these people danced. He only knew ballroom dancing. His father had had him go to lessons right until his dying day, and that was the only dance genre Neji knew.
He stood on the dance floor, doing nothing, appearing to be the epitome of casualness. There was a shout across from him and he turned to see the girl who had flirted with him earlier get pushed into the center. She looked at him and made a gesture as though telling him to start dancing. Neji just looked at her. He was frozen.
HAA!! Neji's in a real predicament! Before I continue, I have one question; SHOULD HE DANCE??
I'm leaving it up to the readers, but, know that he only knows how to ballroom dance...he's like the perfect prep, piano, art and ballroom dancing. Seriously.
Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE!! And answer the quesiton. Please! xD
