More than Friends

Summary: Tenten's out to find true love. Tired of hearing her best friend, Hyuga Neji, talk about how easy it is to get a girl. Tenten says she can find someone special before he ever could. Neji doesn't know the first thing about love--all he knows about are hormones. But after weeks of dating misery, both are ready to accept defeat...until Neji suggests they date each other. Do friends really make better partners? Pairings: Nejiten and Sasu/Saku

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Rated: PG

Chapter 6

Neji couldn't get his mind off Tenten and Itachi. He had seen them flirting for the past few days and even saw them holding hands. He thought that it was weird to see Tenten acting like that. She seemed like a whole new person and he wasn't sure if he liked it. When he met the bet, he didn't think that she would do it so fast. Sure, Itachi is good looking and popular but his personality is so undesirable. Neji had never seen Tenten laugh when she was with him. She couldn't stop laughing when she was with him, he thought. Neji was getting nervous about losing the bet. Tenten would never stop making fun of him if he lost and Sasuke would give him a hard time for the next fifty years.

Neji thought that he was ready to take it to the next level with Ino as he pulled up to her house on a Saturday afternoon. As he walked up the steps to Ino's house, he whistled to himself. Ino answered the door and Neji drew his breathe as he took in what he saw. Ino was gorgeous as usual in a pair of tight jeans and red sweater. Her hair was tied loosely and several tendrils had escaped, framing her pretty face. Ino gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and they left for their date.

"Where are we going?" asked Ino.

"Lakers Pond." Replied Neji proudly.

"Is it pretty there?"

"Well, I can guarantee that the pond is sewage free. We're going to have a great time."

"I guess I have to take my chances." Said Ino.

"So how's life at Konoha high? Used to the life here yet?"

"It's ok. I've been buttering up some of the cheerleaders, so that I could get on the squad next season. I plan to transfer fully to Konoha High. And I think I have a good shot of being the president of the student government too."

"Really? Wow you sure are ambitious." Said Neji, glad that Ino was going to stay in Konoha high longer.

Soon they reached their destination. Though it was a warm and sunny day, they were the only ones there.

"This place is beautiful," Ino said, as if she secretly expected Neji to take her to a dump.

"Ino, may I present Laker's pond?"

Ino giggled and got out of the car. Neji grabbed the picnic basket and caught up with her.

"Just you and me and the sun!" Neji said cheerily.

"How cozy."

Neji started setting up the picnic area. Once he finished, he sat down, leaning back on his elbows and patted to the space beside him. "You table awaits, Madam."

Ino took a seat next to him and started opening up the picnic basket.

"How about a toast?" asked Neji as he raised his glass.

Ino grinned. Around them, golden red and yellow leaves drifted quietly onto the ground. The pond was a clear blue, sparkling under the sunlight. All they needed was some music and Laker's pond would be the most romantic place on earth.

"To us! And my new life here." Said Ino as she clicked her glass against Neji's and batted her eyelashes at him.

Neji put his drink down and started to edge closer to her. Their lips met and he kissed her softly. He felt a spark right away and his pulse began to race. He deepened the kiss and wished that Tenten was there to see it. She was going to have to eat his dust in the love department, he thought. Then Ino ran her fingers through his hair and he didn't think about anything else except her.

Next week in school…

"I asked Ino to the homecoming dance." Neji said to Sasuke. They just finished their intense basketball game.

"Did she say yes?"

"Dude, of course she said yes. Has a woman ever been able to resist my charms?" smirked Neji.

"I can think of one." Sasuke said as he shoved the basketball into Neji's stomach.

"Who?" Neji groaned.

"Who do you think? Tenten."

"Excuse me!"

"Tenten. Didn't you hear? Tenten, the girl whom you've been secretly in love with forever. She's never fallen prey to your charms."

"Tenten and I are FRIENDS. Get it? F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Look it up in the dictionary."

"Why don't you look up the word denial in the dictionary, man?"

"Hey I thought we were talking about Ino?" Neji said as they packed their stuff and headed to the carpark.

"We were. To tell you the truth, I don't understand why you're so desperate for a girlfriend. The Prom is still weeks away, you may find someone better."

Neji shook his head. "You know Sasuke, there's this really cool stuff in life. Stuff called love and happiness."

"So?"

"So what?"

"You think you're going to find all that with Ino?" questioned Sasuke.

"Yeah, why not?"

"I don't see how you can say you love some girl you've only known for a couple of weeks. Besides, you know Ino is just looking for fun. She's not the kind of girl you want to fall in love with."

"What do you know about women anyway? What about you? Who are you going to the prom with? You have been acting really wierd nowadays especially around Sakura. And you haven't been hitting on any girls in school." Neji replied, feeling a little annoyed.

"Piss off Hyuga. I don't want to talk about me. And I'm not going to the prom anymore." Sasuke said darkly.

"What? Why? So it's about Sakura? What happened between the two of you?" inquired Neji.

"I said lay off that topic." Shouted Sasuke angrily as he walked briskly towards his car.

"Hey cool it." Said Neji.

"Yeah whatever, see you Hyuga." Replied Sasuke as he drove off leaving Neji standing alone wondering what just happened.

Winter was coming to Konoha high. Everyone was wearing their new sweaters and commenting on how cold it was. Tenten closed the windows of her room and started thinking about the dance which was coming soon. Despite her continuous insistence that the whole idea of high school dances were stupid and a waste of time, she couldn't wait to walk in with Itachi's arm around her. She imagined all the jealous faces she would get and giggled to herself. She sighed as she thought again that Itachi's band would be performing that night, leaving less time for them to be together. But she comforted herself with the knowledge that every girl in the dance will be so jealous that she was with the sexy lead singer.

Friday afternoon, Tenten and Sakura headed to the malls to shop for dresses to the dance. Sakura still hasn't told Tenten who her date was yet. She had been in a bad mood for the past week and she was afraid to ask her about her date or Sasuke. Neji had told her Sasuke wasn't keen on the Sasuke-Sakura topic too. She wondered what happened. Sakura, however, seemed to be in a good mood today.

"How about this?" Sakura asked Tenten as she held up a pink dress with a ballooned skirt and a shocking pink feathers. The dress was hideous.

"If I wore that, you'll never see my face in Konoha High ever again." Said Tenten. She went over to another rack and picked a short black dress. It was simple but perfect.

Sakura picked out a pink chiffon dress and they headed for the dressing room.

"Sakura, you haven't told me who you're going with yet."

"Well…" Sakura hesitated. "Erm.. I'm going with Lee."

"Who?"

"Rock Lee from our English class."

"Oh..I didn't know that he's in our class."

"Yeah, he's not a popular guy. So am I. So when he asked me, I just agreed. No one will ever ask me anyway." Replied Sakura. She looked upset all of a sudden.

"What about Sasu…"

"Can we not talk about him please? We're here to get our dresses and enjoy ourselves."

"Ok…sure" Tenten said quietly.

"So, I guess Neji and Ino are getting serious huh?". Sakura said as she stepped out of the dressing room to take a good look at herself in the mirror.

"Tenten started to slip the black dress over her head and headed out.

"They are going to the dance together, if that's what you mean."

Sakura turned so that Tenten could zip her up.

"Yeah I know that. Everyone does. But the bracelet he gave her looks expensive. I overheard someone saying that bracelet costs a fortune."

Tenten stopped zipping halfway and looked up.

"What bracelet?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"You don't know anything about it?"

Tenten shook her head. "I guess he forgot to mention it to me."

"It's silver and there a sapphire heart charm on it. That's her birthstone. I saw it yesterday while we were in the changing rooms. It was hard not to notice it the way she was holding up her wrist."

Tenten tried to look uninterested. "I didn't know Neji would do something like buying a gift for a girl…"

"I'm sure he'll tell you about that. Maybe he didn't have a chance yet." Replied Sakura.

"Yeah." Said Tenten. Inside, she was furious. How could Neji not have told her such an important thing. Was she his best friend or not? Neji never got presents for his girlfriend. Maybe they are really in love, she thought.

"Was he going to abandon me now that he found someone better? He used to tell me everything about his life, including his love life. Now it seemed like he didn't need her anymore." Tenten thought depressingly.

"I think Neji going out with Ino is a complete waste of a great guy." Said Sakura breaking Tenten's thoughts. "She's a horrible person." She added.

"Why's that so?" Tenten had to admit that Ino wasn't someone she would befriend or like.

"That girl is a social climber. That day in the changing rooms, I heard her bragging about Neji. She was saying how handsome he looked and how popular he was but not a single word about his fabulous personality."

"Really?"

"Then I heard her tell Trisha that Neji was her winning ticket to popularity. Since everyone knows who he is, they will automatically know her too. Don't you think she's a bitch?"

"You're not jealous of Ino are you? I know you have a crush on Neji for a long time."

"I'm not jealous. Are you?" Sakura frowned.

"Don't make me laugh. I'll never go out with him. We're strictly friends."

"You always say that. But why wont you go out with him? I mean, he's a really great guy."

"Firstly, I like Itachi. Secondly, I just treat Neji as my brother."

Sakura laughed. "Ok, I'll just stop talking about you. I know you don't like to talk about Neji."

"Thanks. Now let's get out of here. My dream dress isn't here." Said Tenten as she pulled Sakura out of the shop. As they walked out, Tenten couldn't help the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach that Neji hadn't told her anything about the bracelet. She was going to confront him the moment she got home.

Later at home…

"Tenten?" Neji asked as he picked up the phone.

"Hey." Tenten's heart started racing all of a sudden. She felt that Neji sounded like a stranger.

"What's up?" he asked.

Tenten could hear him munching on something on the other side of the phone. "I have a date with Itachi. He's picking me up in an hour's time and I don't know what to wear."

"You're calling me to ask me what you should wear for your date?" Neji's voice sounded tired, as though he didn't want to talk to her at all.

"So I heard."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Tenten could tell that Neji was getting irritated but she didn't care. "You and Ino are getting close huh? Everyone's talking about the expensive bracelet you gave her."

"It was her birthday. So what?"

"Why didn't you tell me? Am I so not important in your life that you didn't care to fill me in about your life?" said Tenten, her voice getting louder.

"Excuse me for having a life. I thought you were too busy kissing Itachi that loser to care what I was doing." Now Neji was mad too.

"Haha," said Tenten sarcastically. "Your lips were glued to Ino that I'm starting to think that you guys are Siamese twins."

Neji stopped his muching suddenly. "I think you're worried I'm going to win the bet. And you know that sucker isn't going to last till the prom."

"Stop calling him that! I am totally in love with Itachi. You, on the other hand only care for a pretty face."

"You don't know anything about me, Tenten."

"Yeah right. Now if you would excuse me, I have to finish getting ready for my date. Have a wonderful life." Tenten spat.

"Same to you." Neji muttered.

"Goodbye Hyuga." Tenten said as she slammed the phone down violently. She was on the verge of tears. She couldn't believe the conversation ended so badly. She tried to get excited about seeing Itachi but warm tears starting to roll down her cheeks. Her eyes were red. Tenten felt like she just lost her best friend.

On Monday morning…

Neji was feeling anxious about seeing Tenten. They had literature class together and they haven't spoken since that heated exchange last Saturday. He couldn't get it off his mind. One second later, he saw Tenten strolling into the class. She sat down next to Neji. Since there were so many other empty desk, Neji took that as a sign she wanted to make up. Once the tutor started her boring lecture, he scribbled "Truce" on a piece of paper and slid it over to Tenten and poked her with his pencil. Tenten turned around and gave him a small smile. Neji suddenly felt a huge weight being lifted off him. When the bell rang, Tenten got up and held out her hand.

"Friends?"

Neji nodded and squeezed her hands. "Forever."

Ino was waiting for Neji at the lockers and she greeted them as they approached her.

"Hey Ino. That's a beautiful bracelet." Tenten commented.

"Thanks, its from my sweet Neji."

Tenten rolled her eyes and replied, "Yup, as sweet as sugar. See You guys later."

"Guess what?" said Ino.

"What?" Neji asked as he kept his eyes on Tenten. She was standing with Itachi and she was laughing cheerfully.

"We're going to double date with Josh and Alice for the dance."

Neji frowned. He didn't like those two very much. Both of them were obnoxious.

"Isnt that great? If I become good friends with Alice, I'd be in the cheerleading team!" said Ino happily.

Neji sighed and said dryly, "Yeah, that would be fun."

They separated at the door of Ino's next class. Neji spotted Sasuke in front and jogged to catch up with him.

"Hey Uchiha, what's up?"

"Hey Hyuga." Replied Sasuke.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Sasuke abruptly stopped in his tracks and was staring hard at something, or rather, someone.

Neji looked up and saw Sakura with a guy whom he didn't recognized. They were talking about the dance.

"Sakura, I'll pick you up at 7pm on Saturday ok?"

"Sure Lee. And thanks for asking me to the dance." Sakura smiled as Lee held her hands.

Beside him, Neji could feel a large amount of heat emitting from Sasuke. He glanced at him and saw that he was frowning and his fist was balled.

"You're not jealous, are you?"

"NO." Sasuke seethed.

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes were on them.

Sasuke said loudly and coldly to Neji, "I just don't understand how a nerd like her could get a date for the dance. Oh yeah, I know why. That guy is a nerd too. Only people of the same type ask each other out." He added.

"Stop insulting Sakura, You bastard!" yelled Lee. His fists were also balled, ready to fight Sasuke. However Sakura held him back.

"Don't waste your breath on losers, Lee. Come on, let's go." Said Sakura calmly.

Sasuke was furious. How dare she! He charged forward and grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving.

"Hey! Let her go!" shouted Lee.

"Get away, idiot." Said Sasuke as he pushed him away forcefully and Lee fell flat onto the floor.

"Leave us ALONE Uchiha." Said Sakura as strongly as she could while looking straight back at him with determined eyes.

Sasuke was taken aback. He had thought that she would be that crybaby Sakura he knew. They stared at each other for a minute until Sakura shrugged his hands off her. She casually walked towards Lee, supported him and walked pass Sasuke.

"Don't ever touch my boyfriend again." Was what she said. Then she left.

Sasuke was still in a daze. He was extremely red in the face and if looks could kill,anyone who saw Sasuke now would have dropped dead instantly. Neji walked up to him and tapped him lightly. He didn't want to agitate Sasuke any further.

As abruptly as he stopped before, Sasuke said, "I'm going to the dance."

"What? I thought you said…"

Before Neji could finish his sentence, Sasuke randomly grabbed a blonde girl and asked her to go to the dance with him. Of course that lucky girl was overjoyed and immediately said yes and walked off giggling with her bunch of friends.

"Sasuke…are you…"

"I'm fine Neji. I'll see you later. I got to get to my class."

Neji sighed as he watched Sasuke leave. There's going to be lots of tension at the dance, he thought. "I hope everything goes well" he added silently.

Ok guys, that's it for now! I've been getting lesser review nowadays. I do hope I'm not boring people. Anyway, Thanks to those who reviewed and thanks for reading and please leave me a review! Next chapter will be the dance..and Ten/Neji and Sasu/Saku! See ya then!