Neji's first thought was that this ridiculously maddening woman seemed to like his chest, having had run into it twice in one day. His second thought, as she stared up at him with wide, surprised eyes, lips parted slightly in shock, was that he very much wanted to kiss her.

He had seen her as soon as he entered the house, his eyes finding her instantly in the crowded room. She looked stunning in that emerald green dress, her bare shoulders exposed to the night air. She normally wore her hair up, but it cascaded down her back tonight, thick and luxurious. Beautiful.

Up close, her chocolate brown eyes seemed to reflect the green in her dress, making them almost mesmerising in their appearance. Neji hadn't had the chance to admire them earlier that day, but he noted now just how lovely her eyes were.

One of her friends cleared their throat, startling the couple from their trance. Neji took a step back, releasing the arm he hadn't even realized had been around her. She flushed a pretty pink, eyes darting around the room in embarrassment.

"It's good to see that you were able to make it tonight." The pink haired friend, Sakura, said, a sly smile on her lips.

"We were just about to get a drink from the kitchen." The other friend, Ino, added. "Would you like something, Neji?"

"No, thank you." His reply was instant, eyes glancing briefly to the blonde before settling back onto his auburn-haired beauty.

"We'll leave you to it, then." Sakura sent a wink towards her chocolate eyed friend, causing he flush to deepen. The two women walked away, arms linked and heads close together, their giggles floating back to the couple's ears.

Neji cleared his throat and turned to the girl beside him. He leant forward, his lips close to her ear so he wouldn't have to shout. "We haven't had the chance to be properly introduced yet." Not that he needed an introduction; Neji had learnt her name months ago. But he thought it would be unwise to call her by her name when he wasn't supposed to know her. "I'm Neji."

She seemed to blush a lot in his presence. She did so now from his proximity, and Neji found he quite liked the reactions he received from her. Neji had to give her credit though; despite her embarrassment, she didn't back away from him. "Tenten."

Neji had to play it cool—he couldn't let on that he had been infatuated with her for the past year, or he would surely scare her off before he had the chance to get to know her. And he dearly wanted to get to know her.

"Would you like a drink?"

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Tenten shook her head, still unable to quite meet his eyes. "I'm okay, thanks." Ino's words echoed in her head, warning her from taking drinks from strange men. Not that Neji was a strange man—she trusted that he wouldn't do anything untoward. She just didn't think that alcohol would be a good idea, not when her brain was already addled enough around him.

"Would you like to go somewhere quieter?" He asked.

Now Ino's other words drifted to her mind, about not following someone to a dark corner if they asked. But, what else could she do? She wanted to talk to him, and they couldn't talk in this raucous environment.

He must have noticed her hesitation, because he took a step back, creating space between the two of them. "Or," he had to raise his voice to be heard, now that he was further away. "We could talk here?" By the expression on his face, Tenten gathered that wasn't something he particularly wanted to do.

She shook her head, a smile gracing her lips. "Let's go somewhere a bit quieter. I can hardly think in here."

The relief on his face was instant, and Tenten laughed softly. Her laugh turned into a squeak when he reached down to take her hand before manoeuvring her through the crowd and out the front door. He found a relatively quiet spot on the lawn by the house and sat down, pulling her down to sit beside him.

She expected him to say something, but he was quiet for some time and Tenten noticed he was tapping his foot anxiously. She thought for the first time that maybe she wasn't the only one feeling a little shy in this situation. That notion sent a thrill through her—the knowledge that she had the ability to make someone nervous.

"Do… do you usually come to these parties?" She asked, deciding that the silence had gone on long enough.

He shook his head in response. "No, never. I normally stay away from these sorts of gatherings."

"Oh?" She wondered why he had decided to come tonight, then. "So do I. I'm not really a fan of parties, but my friends insisted I came along tonight and have some fun."

He looked at her, an eyebrow raised in question. "Are you having fun?"

Tenten wondered if he realized he was still holding her hand. She thought he would have let go after they had settled on the grass, but he kept it firmly in his, his large hand almost swallowing her small one. "We just recently arrived." She replied. She leant closer to him and stage whispered, "Between you and me, though, I was waiting until the girls left me so I could find a quiet place to relax."

"Well then," Tenten thought he looked satisfied with her answer. "It seems neither of us are fans of this kind of crowd." Neji cleared his throat, shifting into a more comfortable position on the grass. "If you would like to leave early, I can take you home. Are you staying at the dorms on campus?"

Tenten knew she should be alarmed by his offer—if she wasn't supposed to follow someone to a dark room of the house, she definitely shouldn't be accepting an offer of a ride home from someone who was practically a stranger to her.

"Thank you for the offer, Neji, but I think I should wait until my friends are ready to go home. But," she added quickly when she felt his hand loosen on hers. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I would be happy to stay here for a while, talking with you."

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Neji had to keep from grinning like an idiot. She wanted to stay there, with him, talking. Not only that, but she hadn't tried to extract her hand from his, and he was glad of that. It felt right, having her sitting so close to him, their hands joined together, as they talked about their majors and the classes they were taking. Neji learnt that she had been into sports since she was young and had tried a multitude of activities—archery being her personal favourite. That didn't surprise him. She seemed like she would be good at any sport she tried, having the athletic frame that she did.

"Were you on the track team in high school?" He asked her, curiosity getting the better of him.

She had been looking at the ground in front of her, her legs tucked to the side, but she glanced at him now. "How did you know?"

"You are a fast runner, so I thought you must have been part of a team at school."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head to one side questioningly. "How do you know I'm a fast runner?"

Too late, Neji realized his mistake. Of course he wasn't supposed to know! He wasn't meant to know her at all. Neji racked his brain for a way to get out of this, but decided that the truth would be for the best. If they did end up getting to know more about each other after tonight, she would no doubt learn about it anyway.

"I may have seen you run during last year's sporting event." His voice was hesitant, unsure how she would take this revelation. Would she think him a creep, now that she knew he had known her for longer than just this one day?

"You… saw me?" It seemed she didn't yet understand the ramifications of what he had said. Neji forced his gaze on her—despite wanting to look anywhere but. He needed to see her reaction. "You saw me last year, during the race?"

He took a deep breath. Then replied, "yes."

"And you still remember me? Wow, you must have a good memory." Tenten seemed genuinely impressed with him, and Neji wasn't sure if he should be relieved to have an out—he didn't need to confess to having liked her for the last year after all. But, despite the possibility of her rejecting him, he wanted her to know. He didn't want to start this relationship, if it were to become a relationship—and he dearly hoped it would—with a lie.

He decided to be bold. He was Neji Hyuga after all—he had grown up being confident in himself and his abilities—so surely, he could manage to find the courage to properly tell this enchanting woman beside him how he felt about her.

"You are quite hard to forget." He stated simply, his eyes watching for a reaction.

And what a reaction it was.

Her breath caught, lips parting and chocolate green eyes widening at his admission. Tenten looked stunning under the light of the full moon, staring at him in disbelief.

"Surely not." She finally breathed, after what seemed like a lifetime of silence between them. "I am easily forgotten."

Neji shook his head firmly. "Quite the opposite, actually. I have been enchanted with you ever since that day."

If she wasn't so shocked, Neji thought she might have snorted in derision. Instead, a strangled, choking noise sounded from her throat and she turned a charming shade of red. "You're lying. How could you possibly be enchanted with me?"

"How could I not, Tenten? You captivate me."

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Captivating? Her?

He was definitely playing a game with her. A cruel, twisted game to try and win her heart.

She had never been called captivating in her life! Nor enchanting, for that matter. Those words were reserved for people like Sakura and Ino. Not her.

"You don't believe me." Neji's words were soft as he stared at her, his pearl coloured eyes even more wonderous in the light of the full moon.

She didn't know she was shaking her head until his free hand reached up to cup the side of her face, stilling the motion. Her breath caught again. No one had ever touched her with such affection. Surely, this must be some sort of joke. Right?

"I-I'm not captivating. Or enchanting." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"You are to me." He replied, his voice just as soft.

Surely not. This man—this beautiful, kind man—who she had known for less than twenty-four hours, was confessing his attraction to her? "But… but why? I'm not feminine. I barely wear makeup. I basically live in sweatpants when I'm not in class. I'm a plain, boring tomboy. What could be so enchanting about that?"

His eyes turned sad, as if her words had hurt him somehow. He dragged his thumb across her cheek, caressing it in such a gentle way that it made Tenten want to cry. "You have no idea just how beautiful you are, do you?" Neji moved to grab a stray lock of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. His gazed reached up to meet hers again, eyes earnest.

"I'm really not. You must have disillusioned yourself that day. Maybe you were taken in by my competitive spirit." How was she supposed to think straight when he was looking at her like that?

"I assure you; my feelings are real. Tenten, I have been quite besotted with you since that day, and I would very much like to get to know you better, if you would let me?"

If she would let him? Tenten didn't think she could refuse, even if she wanted to. Neji was the first man to look at her with such tenderness, as if he really, truly cared for her. She forced herself to hold his gaze, searching for any hint of deceit but finding none. Finally, she spoke. "If… if you are okay with someone like me."

The grin that spread across Neji's face took her breath away. It was beautiful. Radiant. Mesmerising in its brilliance. And it was all for her. He leant forward, finally letting her hand go so he could hold the other side of her face. "I would like nothing less. You are perfect for me, Tenten."

She smiled at him in return, wondering if she had ever been as happy as she was in this moment. As Neji moved closer, their breath mingling briefly before he planted a soft, sweet kiss to her lips, Tenten thought that, maybe, there was somebody out there for her after all.

And that's it! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I wanted to switch back and forth so you could see both of their thoughts and feelings. My one-shot turned into a three-shot, and I thank everyone that encouraged it to keep going.

I LOVE hearing your thoughts on my stories, so if you enjoyed it, please leave a review about what you thought, and if there was something in particular you enjoyed. It would make my day! ^_^