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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or Neji. Or Sasuke. Or the Ichiraku. Wow, that's almost depressing….

A/N: Originally a songfic but I had to change it. Someone warned me that has been taking out a lot of them so I went ahead and fixed it, but you can find the original on my myspace: http // blog. myspace. com /64671473 (without the spaces.)

"You promised me Naruto," Neji said calmly and I thought I would fall apart at his words. "And I don't think I can trust anything you say anymore."

xxx

I was shaking when I returned home. I wanted to be anywhere but where I was, with those stupid coupons. They were all tainted now. I had lost Neji, who may very have been the only person to love me, over a trick with ramen coupons. I was more alone now than I had ever been before in my life. With shaking hands, I slowly began to clear away the coupons. Once they were all back in the box, I put it on the back of my counter where I couldn't see it.

It was then that I finally broke down, I dropped to the floor and cried my eyes out. Time no longer mattered, it made no difference to me how long I sat there and cried. I never even knew it was the morning until there was a knock at my door.

I made no move to answer it, the memory of what it had led to last time too fresh in my mind. Then another knock came, more urgent this time. The last flame of hope in me flickered dangerously, hoping I'd open the door to see a pair of understanding white eyes. So I wiped my eyes and wandered over to the door, opening it slowly.

There was a flash of pink and then a pair of arms were around me. It took me a moment to register what had happened, but then I realized who it was. It certainly wasn't Neji, he didn't cling this tightly, there wouldn't have been a flash of pink, and there definitely wouldn't be as much pressing into my chest. It was Sakura.

She pulled away from me with a solemn look in her eyes. I don't know how she knew I was upset or why she had come. It was weird with Sakura, ever since we were both put on team 7 it was like she could read my mind. Maybe that was why I had liked her so much. Then taking in the whole scene, I saw a gloomy looking Hinata standing behind her. Why she would come see the boy who had betrayed her cousin I didn't know.

"Naruto, I came as soon as I heard," Sakura said in a soft tone but I didn't want to hear it.

"Yeah? And whose side did you hear?" I wanted to know.

"Neji… He told us…a little," Hinata spoke up. She looked genuinely concerned, but I had my doubts. She was his cousin after all, and probably thought I was scum. Just like Neji. The thought made me sick.

"It's not your fault, you know that, don't you?" Sakura placed a hand on my shoulder but I turned away. I don't need sympathy, pity is for the weak. I will not be weak, that's at least one thing Neji and I have in common. He probably thinks I gave in to Sasuke, thinks I was weak. The very idea of Neji thinking that about me hurt.

"How did you learn from Neji that it wasn't my fault?" I asked half-heartedly, not even knowing I'd spoken.

"We didn't," Hinata said. "We…Heard that from Sasuke." That remark stopped every one of my thoughts in its tracks. Sasuke told them? He told them he tried to rape me? And there, I'd finally called the incident what it really was. A rape attempt.

"Sasuke? Why?" I looked up at the two of them and realized there was more to the problem. Sakura's eyes had filled with tears by now. "Sakura?"

"Sasuke wasn't himself when I saw him…It was like he'd lost his mind," Sakura shook the tears away.

"When Neji told me about it, I looked for Sakura since…She knows you…So much better than I do," Hinata added. "When we put the stories together we decided to come see you."

"Naruto," Sakura put a hand on my shoulder again, this time I didn't pull away. "He has to believe you. Deep down he loves you just as much as you love him, and he will understand." I felt doubtful but then she gave me another hug. I barely returned the gesture, but appreciated it all the same.

And so I found myself being dragged out by the two girls and into the Ichiraku. I had managed to snag three of those dumb coupons and we each had a bowl of ramen before we headed over to the Hyuuga household. I still felt horrible and my legs seemed to be moving of their own free will. Sakura was giving words of encouragement the whole way and I barely heard them. Hinata merely stood there, supportive in her silence.

As the household came into view I felt my stomach flip. It seemed more intimidating than any other time I had seen it. Hinata led us inside wordlessly, walking through the halls she knew by heart. Even Sakura seemed affected by the numerous turns inside the home, we would have been hopelessly lost without Hinata.

She stopped before a plain door and pointed to it calmly. I didn't understand at first, then Sakura rolled her eyes at me and gave me a shove towards the door. It was about then that I made the connection. It was Neji's door, and he was inside right now. The two girls stepped back far enough to be out of sight, but close enough to hear. Or give me another shove, in Sakura's case.

I knocked on the door, and heard shuffling on the other side. The knob turned, and a stressed out Neji stood before me. He seemed to stare at me in utter disbelief for a moment, before slamming the door in my face.

"Neji!" I called out and knocked again. "We need to talk. I didn't come all this way to talk to your door."

There was no response on the other side. I sighed and knocked once more, only to receive no reaction.

"I know you're upset, Neji. I am too, I didn't want things to turn out this way. But you've got to believe me, I did not want this to happen," I paused, and still heard nothing on the other side. Glancing back, I saw the girls who made motions for me to continue so I did. "I was stupid, okay? If anyone knows how dumb I can be its you. You have to believe me, I would rather spend the rest of my life arguing with you than doing anything like that with someone else ever again."

I could have sworn I heard movement on the other side of the door, and I continued with whatever came to mind. If he was listening, I didn't want to lose him now.

"I love you Neji," I said, deciding to keep it as simple as possible. "Remember the first day we said that to each other? That was the best day of my life so far. Our destiny is to be together, Neji. I can't go back to life without you; you're all I have. And you're all I need."

The door opened very slowly, and I felt time slow down for me. I was about to either lose him forever, or be loved by the one person who lit up my world. When the door finally opened all of the way, he fell against me and held me tight. I hugged him back just as tightly, never wanting to lose him ever again.

"You've got to be crazy," Neji cried softly into my shoulder, revealing a tender side I had never seen before. "To love a guy like me."

"Not half as crazy as you," I laughed and wiped away one of his tears. "Thinking I could ever glance at someone with hair almost as short as mine, that's ridiculous." He laughed with me and we kissed softly. I felt warm inside, and I knew I could be happy again. Because I had Neji, and no one was ever going to pull us apart ever again.

A/N: Chapter title comes from the Alanis Morrisette song "Joining You" on her album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie.