Up All Night

Summary: AU. Characters are OOC. Sure, Neji's cute, but he's also obnoxious! So try telling that to Tenten's mom. She thinks that Neji is the perfect guy for Tenten. So when Neji surprised Tenten by asking her to the prom, she had to say yes for her sick mom whom she didn't want to let down, even if it meant spending the most romantic night of her life with him. Neji. The guy she can't stand. On the other hand, Sakura isn't interested in love. Her parents are divorced and Sakura is pretty down on couple hood. The last thing on her mind is jumping into a relationship, that is, until Sasuke comes along. Will these 2 girls have their perfect prom night? Pairings: Neji/Tenten, Sasuke/Sakura.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Rated: PG

Chapter 2

"Do you think Jun would like me?" Sakura wondered aloud.

It was Tuesday and Tenten and Sakura were having lunch at their usual table in the lunchroom. Since the cafeteria was serving an orange glop they had the audacity to call "macaroni and cheese", Tenten was glad she had the wisdom to bring a smoked ham sandwich from home.

"Aren't you off relationships?"

"Well…yeah…I was…until I saw him…but I don't know if that's called love. But I really think I like him." Said Sakura.

"Really? Well, go for it then! I'm with you all the way!" Tenten said brightly.

"How? I don't think he likes me…" said Sakura sadly.

"Why don't you tell him? And ask him to the prom too."

"I can't…I freak out everytime I see him. Imagine what would happen if I went straight up to him and talk. I'd probably faint."

"Write him a letter or something."

"Letter? Well, yeah that sounds good…that…"

Tenten sighed as Sakura went into a ramble in a dreamy tone. Tenten resisted the urge just to close her eyes, put her head on the table and let Sakura's babbling swirl around her like a gentle stream. She never thought the sound of her friend's voice could be so…soothing. Sure, Sakura's problem was minor compared to what she was dealing with. But that's exactly what she liked about having Sakura around. Sakura had made a tacit agreement not to push her to talk about her mom's illness and she not to talk about Sakura's parents' divorce. Both of them knew they weren't the type to pour out serious problems and they respected each other's wish to maintain their privacies. At the same time, Tenten knew that Sakura would be there for her when she needed to talk, and her there for Sakura.

"Well, that's settled then, I would write him a letter expressing my so called love for him and ask him to the prom! What do you think Tenten?" Sakura asked, interrupting Tenten's thoughts.

This time, Tenten did laugh. Sakura sounded so serious as if she were discussing a Middle Eastern peace agreement rather than expression of "love".

"That sounds alright. Go for it! I'm sure he likes you too. I saw how he looks at you during classes sometimes."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Do you really think he likes me?"

Tenten settled more comfortably in her chair, ready to launch into a long, detailed discussion about the state of Sakura and Jun's relationship. Friends. What would she do without them?

On Thursday morning after school, Tenten stood hidden behind a pillar while she peeked at Sakura glancing nervously around her. Suddenly, Tenten saw the target approaching and gestured frantically at Sakura. Sakura saw the hint and started trembling nervously. Well, here goes, she thought.

Sakura close her eyes and shot out her hands holding the letter she so carefully written two nights ago.

"Hi Jun, I like you very much, please go to the prom with me!" she blurted out in a rush.

Tenten winced at what she saw. Sakura opened her eyes and saw that Jun just walked past her without even looking at her. What happened? Sakura looked up slowly and to her horror, she saw another guy smirking at her and her outstretched hands with the letter were directed towards him. She stared into his onyx eyes as he continued smirking. Finally, she broke the trance uncomfortably.

"S..sss..sorry, I…I got t..the w..wrong person!" Sakura stammered.

The guy just kept staring and smirking at her.

Help! Someone help me, Sakura screamed in her mind.

"Hey Sakura, come over here!" said Tenten.

Sakura looked at Tenten and hurriedly jogged to where Tenten was and both girls walked quickly away from the scene.

When the girls finally left, the tall raven hair guy looked down and saw Sakura's letter on the floor. He grinned evilly.

"Oh my god Sakura! How could you get the wrong guy!" Tenten yelled.

"I don't know! What the hell happened! I am such a failure! Forget it! I am off relationships!" moaned Sakura dejectedly.

"Don't say that! It was just a mistake. Try again tomorrow." Tenten comforted.

"No way, it's so embarrassing! I wont do it again!"

"Come on, don't give up! You've come this far!" urged Tenten.

"Well…if you say so. I guess I shouldn't give up so easily…"

"Great, I'll help you out again tomorrow. Hey, where's your letter?" asked Tenten as she noticed Sakura not holding anything in her hands.

Sakura looked at her hands and started to panic. "Where's my letter?"

"That's what I was asking you!"

"Oh no! I lost it!" shouted Sakura.

"Maybe you dropped it at that place. Let's go look for it. Don't worry, it'll still be there."

The girls hurried to the scene before but Sakura couldn't find the letter anywhere.

"Where is it!" asked Sakura worriedly.

"Maybe it got blown away by the wind or something. Don't worry, you can write a new one tonight."

"Well, I hope it gets blown far away! I don't want anyone reading my letter!" said Sakura.

"Don't worry! Everything's going to be fine! Listen, I got to go, I'll catch you later ok?"

"Ok, thanks Tenten."

After Tenten left, Sakura continued looking for her letter, hoping that she could find it. She was so engrossed in searching for it that she didn't see anyone coming up to her and she bumped her head onto someone's legs and fell on her bum. Sakura started to curse and look at.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you stupid dumb …" Sakura stopped mid sentence when she saw who the person was.

"Are you looking for this?"

Sakura stared at what he was holding and stood up. She stared at her letter and walked slowly towards him.

"Yes, thank you very much! Please return it to me!" Sakura blurted as she reached out and grabbed the letter. However, all she grabbed was the air.

The guy held the letter above his head and smirked at her again.

"Do you think I would be waiting for you here just to return this to you?"

Sakura looked at him pleadingly. But all she got was an even larger smirk.

"You can have your letter back. But on one condition."

"What do you want?" asked Sakura.

"You have to do everything I ask you to do."

"What? No!"

"Fine then. What do you think would happen if I make copies of this letter and distribute it to everyone in school? Including the guy whose name is on this letter?"

"You're an asshole!" Sakura shouted.

"So, deal or no deal?"

Sakura just stood there fuming.

"I take that as a yes."

He gave her one last smirk and walked away. Sakura just stared at the spot he was standing and crumbled to the ground. Why me…she thought miserably…

The moment Tenten put her car into reverse in order to pull out of the parking space and head home, the feeling of well-being she had enjoyed just a few moments ago started to evaporate. Matt, the guy she liked just talked to her! His blue eyes, his scent, his voice…all of that seemed like a surreal daydream. Now she just wanted to get home and see how her mom was feeling.

Tenten shook her head, willing away the fear she always felt when it was time to go home. Will her mom be worse? Will she be in pain? Is she having a good day? A bad day? The same questions ran through her mind again and again everyday.

Tenten backed out o her packing space and drove slowly through the nearly empty lot. The rain had turned the sky dark and it felt more like seven o'clock then four. She needed a nap. Maybe when she got home, she would crawl into bed with her mom and doze for an hour or so before her dad got home. Even now, there was no place she felt safer than at her mom's side.

Her mom always had the power to soothe whatever chaos was going on inside her head – even when it was her own illness that was the source of that chaos. A mother's instinct, Tenten thought. Her mom always knew what to say.

As Tenten started down the street that led to her block, she caught sight of a lone, dark figure on the side of the street. She knew that walk, she thought. Because of the rain, she couldn't see his face. But there was no doubt in her mind that it was Neji.

She should let him slosh through puddles all the way to Sunset Avenue, she thought. After the way he was going after her a few mornings ago, the guy deserved to catch pneumonia on his way home.

This was what she believed, but she already knew that she was going to pull over and take the boy out of his misery. She couldn't help herself. Neji just looked so…pathetic. Tenten stopped next to the curb and blared the horn.

Through the rain, she saw Neji's head swivel toward her car. A second later, he was jogging in her direction. Tenten rolled down her window and thrust her head into the rain.

"All aboard for Noah's ark," she called.

Neji sprinted around the car, yanked open the passenger-side door and dove into the seat.

"Thanks Tenten!" Neji said as he slammed the door shut and heaved what sounded like a huge sigh of relief.

"I was seriously worried that the five pages of notes I have to study for my history test were going to get so wet that the erasable ink was going to run all over the place."

"No problem," Tenten answered. "I mean, its not like I have to go out of my way to take you home." She added.

And if she were perfectly honest with herself, she would have to admit that she preferred even the company of Neji to the onslaught of concerns that had been ricocheting around her brain. Of course, admitting that to herself didn't mean she was going to confess it to him.

Neji shook out his shaggy head of dark hair, sending a million droplets of water in Tenten's direction. Tenten opened her mouth to tell him that it was supposed to be raining outside. Then she stopped herself, snapping her jaw shut. He sounded so genuinely grateful for the ride home that she decided to allow just this one obnoxious gesture to slide. There were, after all, those moments when she almost liked Neji. They were few and far behind but they did exist.

"You know who you look like right now?" Neji asked, settling into his seat.

"Who?"

"Ms. Whiskers."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "And who is Ms. Whiskers?" she asked, knowing that she was going to regret the question.

Neji grinned. "She was one of my favorite stuffed animals. Ms. Whiskers was a big, pink rat…until I left her out in the rain one afternoon. Then she was a big, pink, drowned rat."

"Gee…thanks." Tenten said sarcastically. She had stopped to give Neji a ride out of the goodness of her heart and his reaction had been to compare her to a drowned rat. Touching…SO much for that fleeting moment of near tolerance.

"It's not too late for me to stop this car and make you walk." Tenten pointed out. "We rats aren't known for out generous spirits."

"Hey watch what you say about Ms. Whiskers. She was a loyal friend, until that day."

"Are you this annoying all the time?" Tenten asked. "Or do you save the "special" parts of your personality for just me alone?"

Neji scoffed. "You think I'm annoying?" he demanded.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn I saw you driving into the parking lot with Matt Fowler." He added.

Okay, now he was asking for it, Tenten thought.

"What's wrong with Matt?" she demanded.

"Nothing…he's a nice enough guy if you like the type."

I am not going to respond, Tenten told herself. This is a trap. She stared straight ahead, focusing on the moment of her windshield wipers.

Neji cleared his throat. "So is that the guy you're so psyched to hand out with at the prom? Pretty boy Matt Fowler?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "I don't see how that's any of your business." She retorted. "Last time I checked, I didn't need to clear my dance partners with you. Having said that, yes, Matt and I will probably be keeping each other company during prom night."

Neji snorted. "Matt's a really deep guy," he remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I guess his good looks make up for his lack of personality."

"Ha! Its not like Wendy Spencer is known for her sparkling personality!" Tenten spat out.

Neji frowned. "How do you know about Wendy?"

"Please! You're not exactly a master of subtlety, Hyuga. I happened to see you practicing your lame brand of flirting with the girl in the cafeteria the other day."

"So?" he asked.

"So it doesn't take a NASA engineer to figure out that you've got the hots for her." Tentn paused. "Although why you would want to go out with a ditz like Wendy is a complete mystery to me." She continued.

"Wendy is a very nice person," Neji stated as id he were giving her a good reference for a potential future employer.

"Suit yourself. You can date Wendy or Bambi or Candy for all I care."

"Thanks for the stamp of approval. Now I'll be able to sleep at night, " Neji retorted.

The rain had let up considerably in the last few minutes, leaving only a drizzle that seemed less romantic than the torrents that had been coming down when Matt had been talking to me. Tenten found herself wishing for something more dramatic – thunder, lightning, hail. The drizzle was just plain…dreary.

Finally, Tenten stopped the car in front of her house.

"Do you think you have the strength to make it from here?" she asked.

Neji glanced at the block toward his house. "Yeah, I think I'll manage." Then his eyes moved toward the driveway beside Tenten's house. "But I guess my mom cant even walk a block. Her car is here."

"Your mom is the greatest." Tenten told Neji. "I don't know what we would do without her."

Neji nodded. "She…well, she wants to do whatever she can do to help. You know how much your mom means to her."

Tenten nodded.

"How is she? I mean, my mom talks about her…but she doesn't like to focus on her illness." Neji asked.

Now, that was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question. How was her mom doing? Tenten wanted to say she was doing fine. She wanted to say she was getting stronger every day. She wanted to give him a million of different positive responses. But none of them would have been true. Her mom was getting weaker every day and there was absolutely nothing that she, or anyone else, could do about it.

Tenten didn't even realize that tears had started to toll down her face. It wasn't until she felt Neji's hand on her shoulder that she realized her cheeks were wet. She wanted to stop the tears but the unexpected gentleness of Neji's touch triggered something inside her.

Maybe it was the knowledge that if someone like Neji felt sorry for her, then the situation had to be truly awful. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had been bottling up her feelings for days, weeks, months and she couldn't hold back for one second. Or maybe it was simply that it had been a while since some one had come right out and asked her that simple question. Tenten couldn't help herself and she started to sob. As she cried, she felt the tension slowly start to dissolve.

"Tenten, I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…"Neji whispered softly.

"Its not your fault, I just…I don't know…" Tenten interrupted.

Talk about humiliating. Of all times to crack, she had to do it with none other than Hyuga Neji sitting next to her. She breathed deeply, willing to let the tears to stop.

"I don't usually cry, I don't want anyone's pity, it's just that sometimes…"

"Hey, don't think twice about it. Crying is the most natural thing in the world." Neji said, his hand still on her shoulder.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. I'm sure you cry all the time."

Neji kindness was threatening to bring a whole new fresh round of tears. Be strong, don't let him see you're hurting, Tenten told herself. Well it was a little too late since he had already witness her total breakdown.

"I do cry, just last week I had a nail stuck into my toe and I was crying like a baby. And the other day I was watching one of those cheesy soapy movies, the tears hit me before I knew it.

Tenten giggled. "Let me guess, you carry around hankie just in case you happen to stub your toe?"

"As a matter of fact, I made it a policy never to leave home without a pack of Kleenex." Said Neji as he unzipped his bag and passed her some tissues.

"Thanks," Tenten said as she dabbed at her eyes.

"Those could really come in handy when the bullies at school try to steal out money or lunch. One time I wept all through my missing-turkey casserole," Neji said in a gravely serious voice.

Tenten giggled again. And then she started to laugh. Really laugh.

"I hope you never get into carpentry. I would hate to see what would happened if you accidentally hit you thumb with a hammer!" Tenten said in between laughs.

"Forget about it! We're talking about a major flood! A total disaster!" Neji replied.

Tenten kept laughing. It wasn't that Neji was so funny, although she had to admit the guy had a sense of humor. It just felt so good to really and truly laugh that she never wanted to stop. After what felt like an hour, but was probably just two minutes, the laughter slowly started to subside.

"Its good to see you smile, Tenten." Neji whispered gently.

Tenten looked into his deep brown eyes and they just stared at each other until Tenten started talking.

"I'm a mess," she moaned. "First I'm sobbing then I'm laughing hysterically! I don't want anyone to see me like this."

" Hey as far I'm concerned, this never happened." Neji shrugged.

Tenten nodded. "Do you mind just leaving me alone? I don't want to go inside until I am one hundred per cent calm."

"Say no more," Neji said as he hopped out of the car. Neji gave her one last glance. "Thanks for the ride." He said and shut the door gently and began jogging to his house.

Tenten closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the seat. She couldn't believe she totally lost it in front of Neji. She didn't want that to happen again, but then she had to admit that Neji was cool.

For a few minutes, she felt like they were back in the sixth grade, talking and laughing like there was no one else in the world. She really needed that.

Thanks Neji, Tenten said to herself. This was one time he really helped her. Tenten unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of her car. She couldn't wait to go inside and talk to her mom. Maybe she could have a few laughs with the woman she loved most in the world…

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Please review! I am pretty busy with school now but I'll try to update as soon as I can! Don't worry! I will definitely finish all my stories! See ya in the next chapter!