Tenten
Friday didn't come quickly enough.
On Thursday, the day after our latest "date", I went to school as normal, but I was inexplicably happy. The entire day was just cheery and everything in life seemed great. I giggled a lot, and I couldn't stop smiling, and this was pointed out to me many times.
"You're in loooooooove," Ino said, grinning. We were at lunch at the time, and I was giggling at my pudding.
Why the hell was I giggling over pudding? Not sure, but it sure as hell got the attention of my three best friends.
"Are you sick?" Sakura asked. Ino shook her head.
"I told you, she's in love!"
"Am not," I protested.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Okay, stop, you two," Hinata, said, rather forcefully. Everyone stared at her. "You shouldn't tease her, Ino. And Tenten, you've been giggling all day! Of course she's going to think that!" We stared at her for a while before she realized what had just happened. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. "I'm just under a lot of pressure." I knew what she was talking about. With her cousin getting married, there must not be a lot of time for her.
"Uh...it's fine. Are you okay, though?" I asked, truly worried. If she was going to break down into tears, I didn't know what I'd do. Probably cry along with her, because I like her cousin but didn't want to. Hinata started eating again, and I followed suit, absolutely starving. Sakura and Ino did as well, after exchanging a confused look.
I looked at the clock, and remembered that I had to get milk on the way home, and decided that the classes after lunch--since they were all study halls that day--were not useful. I chose to take the route that most students do on such days and leave early. The girls decided to go with me.
"It's getting warm out," I noted, pulling at the collar of my school uniform. I loosened the tie and undid the top few buttons. "When do we get to wear the spring uniforms?"
"Next month," Sakura said, fanning herself. The long sleeves we were wearing did nothing for us. The weather was nice, but the clothes were too heavy, making it too hot. I rolled mine up, but it only made it hotter around my shoulders.
"Ugh! This is too uncomfortable! Where can we go that we can buy new t-shirts?" I asked, looking at Ino, who knew every inch of the town's shopping accommodations. She pointed to a little boutique within a hundred feet where we walked, browsed, and bought t-shirts. As we searched through the racks, Sakura and Ino asked me about my date.
"So, did you wear that dress?"
"No, and I'm glad I didn't. We went into town and we went down all the back roads, and he had me jumping into trees and up fire escapes..." I trailed off and sighed, thinking about what would have happened had I been wearing the tiny minidress they'd bought for me.
"I hope you're not using some sort of sex metaphor here..."Ino said, narrowing her eyes. Hinata and I both nearly choked on air.
"INO! That's disgusting!" I screamed. Hinata just looked like she was about to puke. She couldn't look at me for a few minutes, but quickly swallowed whatever she was going to say and kept walking. The pink haired Sakura and her best friend quickly got caught up in shopping, and I decided to take Hinata aside. I wanted to talk to her.
"I'll catch up with you guys later!" I called, and they waved. "Hinata, let's get something to drink." She nodded and followed me to a cafe. we took a seat and ordered sodas. She stared at her hands and I stared anywhere else. The drinks arrived and we drank. "So..." I stared.
"S-so..."
"Um, Hinata, are you alright with me...being engaged to your cousin? I mean, you're one of my best friends, and if this is going to affect our friendship, then I'll figure out a way to--"
"N-no!" She exclaimed, cutting me off. "Really, this is a good thing!" She suddenly sat up straighter in her chair and leaned forward. "I've never...never seen Neji so happy!" I was taken aback.
"H-happy? Why?"
"Well, at home he's always...sad...or angry. He doesn't like my father. And my father doesn't like him much. They always disagree, and Neji doesn't have many friends that I know of at school either, so life hasn't always been good for him since his father died. And, well, I think he really likes you, and he's happy when he gets to spend time with you." I couldn't speak. Was it true?
I thought I didn't love him back, but what was this feeling in the pit of my stomach? I knew what it was, but I couldn't believe it.
A shiver ran down my spine, and I excused myself, promising to call Hinata later. I just wanted to go home at that moment.
--
By the time I got home, it was getting dark. I wanted to go back to my room and think, but at the same time, I didn't want to think. Thinking about this...made my head hurt. I'd thought about it so many times that I had over-thought it, and couldn't process it anymore than I already had.
"oy..." I told my parents I was going out for a walk and left. My hands slid into my pockets as I walked, and I stared at my feet as they hit the concrete. I hummed to myself to distract my mind from the thoughts it wanted to wander to, and as a result, I didn't notice where I wandered. I was back in the town, the one Neji and I visited together.
The one that I would now call Sanctuary.
My feet had taken me to Sanctuary, and I was on the street of Wakana's club. I hadn't even noticed until I saw the flashing lights. It was still early, though I saw her leaving. She had a purse on one arm and she was waving as she walked to her car, so I had no doubts that she was going home.
Until she saw me.
Something that looked like a grin spread across her face for a brief minute before disappearing. "Hi, Tenten!" she called, waving to me. She out her purse in the front seat of her car and then closed the door and started toward me. "What a coincidence! I've been wanting to talk to you, but I didn't know how to contact you." She chuckled. "So what brings you here?"
"Um, well, I was out for a walk and just...absent-mindedly got here." I shrugged.
"Oh, well, I wanted to talk to you, y'know, without Neji around. Maybe get to know you better?" I wouldn't mind that terribly, I suppose, even though there was something about her i just didn't like at all. "But I guess you can't stay out here too long, especially since it's nighttime. So I'll make it short." She bent down a bit so that her lips were level with my ear. "Neji belongs to me, so stay...away." She pulled away smiling like she'd just told her best friend a secret.
"Um...I don't really think he's property, for one, and two, I've got no choice in the matter. We're getting married by order of our parents. The law is binding." Her smile disappeared.
"Well, we'll just have to change that..." Kana turned on her heel like it was a pivot and stalked off to her car. She started it and drove off. I figured that was a good time to go home. I hadn't been counting on an encounter with her, but now, i at least knew I couldn't trust her.
But why she liked a boy four years younger, I didn't know. Not that he wasn't good-looking or a really nice guy, but for women, younger is never good unless you're insecure about your age.
Neji
I yawned as i woke up on Thursday. This was something that I never did. i was always silent when i woke up.
Did that mean something to me then? No. But had I paid attention, I would've known. When something about your character seems abnormal, something in your life is going to change. That was something my father told me. He told me that that abnormal something would be small. A change in my daily routine that I might not even notice, but it'd be there.
Well, I already knew what was going to change, or at least I thought I did.
For the last few days, I'd been packing my things. I knew where the apartment was, when i was moving in, etc. I had yet to tell Tenten. That responsibility had been dumped on me by a unanimous decision made by the parents. I wasn't looking forward to it.
Anyway, Thursday, I woke up, yawning. I rolled out of bed, showered, changed, went to school, the usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I didn't know that something would be changing very soon.
Friday, the next day, was when I was supposed to tell Tenten. Then we'd be moving in together on Monday, so she'd have the weekend to get it together. Friday was also the day of our next date. I was going to take her into town again. I thought she'd enjoy that. I never did, after all, get to introduce her to my other friend, Hiroto. Everyone who knew him called him Hiro.
He was one of the three guys that were almost infamous throughout the town. The others were Kei, and myself.
Hiro was a cool guy. The kind who might fit the stereotype of a biker, but he hated bikes. He preferred rusty old cars. He was just weird like that, but also a bit more normal than Kei.
I really wanted Tenten to meet him, but he hadn't been home at the time, and I couldn't change that. So i'd have to wait.
I hoped she liked him. He was one of the few friends I had in life, and so was she.