Chapter 4: Operation—First Date

It was the last week of February, the snowfall had decreased and the remaining snow had almost completely melted. The girls were sitting in their room as school had ended for the day and they were giving Tenten a piece of their minds.

"Alright Tenten you and Neji have been best friends forever now and anyone can see that there's chemistry between you two and it's about time you two did something about it." Ino explained

"Don't you think you're reading too much into it?" she asked

"Absolutely not, now it's about time you two went on a date together." Sakura added

She knew they weren't going let her out if this situation so she had no choice but to accept.

"Fine, if you say so."

"Great and the best part is that you guys won't have to worry about a thing because we're all pitching in to put this date together…"

Xxx

"…Alright Shikamaru you and I are handling their outfits, Sasuke and Sakura you two will sort out the location and finally Naruto and Hinata you two are the time keepers; it's your job to make sure Neji and Tenten are on schedule from the minute they start getting ready until just before their date. They can't afford to be even a single minute behind schedule otherwise the whole plan will fall apart." She flawlessly explained the plan "Everyone know and understand the plan" they all nodded in agreement

"Alright then let operation: first date, begin!" she dismissed them and they all headed to class together, meanwhile someone had listened to the entire plan unknown to Ino and the group. The person took out their cellphone and dialled a number; they waited for the person on the other line to pick up…

"You'll never guess what Ino and her little posse are planning for Neji and Tenten. A date for them this Saturday and we definitely need to stop them."

Tenten and Neji were sitting together in the library talking about their date being planned for them.

"They're planning absolutely everything, from the minute we leave until the very last minute of getting ready, it's crazy." She expressed as she ate her apple on the balcony

"That does sound a bit excessive but don't tell me you're against it"

"Oh not at all, I'm totally for it but it just seems a little strange that I have no idea where we're going and what time, and I'm actually the one going on the date."

"You're friends are just trying to do you a favour that's all. I think you're overthinking it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And I'm actually quite excited to see what they've come up with… and spending an evening alone with you of course." She smirked at him when she said the last part of her sentence "But I am kind of nervous" she admitted

"What's there to be nervous about? We've been out together plenty of times"

"Yeah but none of those times were romantic dates. We just went out together as friends."

"It's okay if you're nervous, I mean look who you're going on a date with." He gladly complimented himself all while smirking at her

"You are so full of yourself Neji Hyuuga." She raised an eyebrow at him but couldn't help but smile

"I'm just kidding Tenten; you know I'm not that arrogant."

"Oh so you do admit to being arrogant but not as much as I think." She had him trapped—oh so she thought but then he did the unexpected. He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up so she was looking him directly in the eyes with a perfectly smug face she couldn't help but find attractive. Her cheeks blushed slightly as he leaned in to whisper in her ear in an intentionally seductive voice which slightly knocked her off balance.

"Hey I'm only like this because I know you like—scratch that—because I know you love it Tenten." He left her speechless as he pulled away and winked at her as he headed out of the library heading to class.

Ino and Shikamaru were in Gym class, they'd just run two laps around the gymnasium as Guy sensei instructed them. They decided to sit and catch their breath in the bleachers when Ino's cellphone vibrated.

"We're a go on the location. Reservations for two at seven 'o' clock this Saturday at 'Classic Dining' restaurant." Sakura texted

"How on earth did you organise this during school hours?"

"Sasuke and I have our ways" she added a winking emoticon

Ino put her phone away after finishing her conversation with Sakura.

"Alright so we've got a location and you and I have already taken care of their outfits. So that just leaves Naruto and Hinata's job and that one can't be completed until the actual date itself." Ino spoke to Shikamaru as he listened to the details. The same person that overheard the plan was hiding close enough to hear Ino speaking to Shikamaru; they smirked as soon as they heard the details of the restaurant and time.

Xxx

It was after school, Naoya was painting her nails navy blue when her best friend Yuki walked into the room she shared with her.

"Well they're going to 'Classic Dining' this Saturday at seven and Ino and Shikamaru have taken care of their outfits." She reported to Naoya "And they've got Naruto and Hinata on standby on the day of the date." She continued

"Good job Yuki, now we just need to come up with a plan to make sure that doesn't happen." She had evil smile on her face "And I've got the perfect plan…

Naruto and Hinata were eating lunch together as they went over the plan; Naruto then placed his arm around Hinata and she leaned into him.

"Do you think Neji and Tenten will end up together Naruto?"

"That's completely up to them, we're just setting up the date but whether they end up dating is their decision." Naruto explained and placed his chin on top of her head. He intertwined their fingers; she couldn't but smile and blushed. They were such an adorable couple—at least that's what Ino said everytime Hinata brought up Naruto in conversation. They weren't the kind to show off their relationship in public, they enjoyed spending their time alone together whenever they had the chance.

The next day Neji and Tenten were standing at her locker. Neji leaned against the locker next to hers with his arms folded with a smirk on his face as he was talking to Tenten. She was blushing as she took a book out of her locker.

"Remember our little talk in the library?" he asked

"You mean the one where you tried to convince me that I find you unbearably attractive, which is untrue by the way."

"I'm not so sure about that, you seem to tense up everytime I get close to you." he was teasing her

"Of course I tense up, you come within kissing distance of my face not to mention you always speak in that seductively low voice of yours. Just get over it Neji whatever you do won't work on me" She couldn't stop her inner self from speaking

"Mmm but that's what you love about him, that voice, those eyes, those lips and best of all that body. You have to admit it Tenten, your best friend Neji Hyuuga is incredibly sexy."

"Oh be quiet, I'll never admit anything to you…me…us…well you know what I mean. And would you stop talking about him like that."

"Hey I'm in your head which means that some part of you thinks he is attractive even if you don't admit it, I'm just proof that that you do like him."

"Whatever" her inner self had a point; when she snapped back to reality the situation wasn't any better. Neji was standing in front of her; his arms on either side of her and his face incredibly close to hers. Her blush intensified and her heart rate sped up. She froze and could do nothing but keep eye contact.

"Neji what are you doing?" she whispered and he proceeded to lean in

"Just proving a point" he pulled away and smirked at her

"That wasn't fair you caught me off guard." She turned away from him

"Whatever you say Tenten" he was clearly amused as headed to class ahead of her. She quickly caught up to him and walked into class the same time he did.

Tenten just couldn't concentrate in class—not that she found biology boring or anything, she actually enjoyed it—but a certain Hyuuga occupied her thoughts. What was going on with her? A few days ago she could lie down in his lap completely unfazed but now she found herself blushing more often than not when she was with him. Just when she thought she was rid of him in her mind, he spoke to her in reality.

"…enten, Tenten class is over, are you coming?" he arched an eyebrow at her. She finally looked in his direction

"Oh is class already over? I didn't even notice." She tried to sound as casual as possible. He just stared at her with an amused look on his face; clearly he knew exactly what was going on in her head.

"You were thinking about me weren't you? But I can't say I blame you" he smirked at her; he obviously nailed the needle on the head for she couldn't maintain eye contact with him.

"Cut it out Neji, stop acting like a playboy."

"And how do you know that I'm not?" he raised an amused brow at her as he stood up, backpack in hand

"Because I know you better than that and if you were I wouldn't be able to stand you." she stood up as she spoke and walked out of class together with him and towards the cafeteria, when something occurred to her.

"Hey Neji can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"Well since you figured out that I was thinking about you and I'm not going to deny that I do quite often, but do you…ever think about me?" she shyly asked although not without curiosity. He turned to her and looked her in the eyes for a few seconds before he answered her.

"More often than not" was his answer before he walked inside to join the rest of the group. Tenten stood on the spot for a few seconds processing his answer which surprised her to say the least.

She shook off the shock and walked towards her friends and took a seat next to Neji. She couldn't forget what he'd just to her.

"Hey are you okay Tenten?" sakura asked

Tenten looked over to Neji before answering "Yeah I'm fine" she couldn't help the smile that crept on to her lips which didn't go unnoticed by her friends.

The day of their first date had finally arrived. It was about five in the morning; Tenten was in the school gym practising with the punching bag. She barely got any sleep the previous night and when she woke up twenty minutes ago she decided to distract herself with exercise. She loved the silence the early morning had to offer; she could concentrate so easily and get lost in her own world. The rest of the school was still sound asleep lost in the world of slumber and not to be awakened for another four hours at least—it was Saturday after all. Tenten was so fixated on the punching bag that she hadn't even noticed that someone had walked in. The sound of a gym bag dropping to the floor broke Tenten out of her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

She whipped around to see someone she wasn't at all surprised to see would be awake at that hour. He was wearing black track pants and a white muscle shirt. He looked in her direction with those unreadable onyx eyes of his—it was Sasuke Uchiha.

"I should've known you'd be up at this hour, with today being the day that it is." He spoke up as he took a towel out of his bag and put it around his neck.

"And why are you up so early Sasuke?" she asked as she walked over to the punching bag he was standing in front of

"Why are you so nervous about today anyway?" he quickly changed the subject, obviously not wanting to talk about himself as he began boxing. Tenten sighed before answering his question—it was a typical move of Sasuke's; when he didn't feel like talking, he didn't and just ended up changing the subject.

"I just don't know how it's going to turn out" she admitted

"You're starting to sound like me on Valentine's Day"

"This is different to that time; you and Sakura had feelings for each other and you both knew it but with Neji and me…"

"You don't know if it's a two way street yet?" he stopped boxing and came around so he could look at her when he spoke. She shook her head; answering his question

"Well is it at least a one way street for either of you?" he asked as he took a seat next to her on the wrestling mat

"Well I guess it is on my side and that's what makes me so nervous. I do have feelings for him but I have no idea how he feels, I mean we've been through so much and I wish I could just skip the part that made me feel so…"

"Vulnerable" he finished for her "But isn't that the reason for this date? To find out if he has feelings for you in that way. If he does then it would turn out successful but if he doesn't then at least you could find out what he truly thinks."

"I guess you're right"

"And by the way…" he stood up along with Tenten "He's an idiot if he doesn't realise how lucky he is to have someone like you in his life." Sasuke finished which made Tenten blush slightly. These were the types of conversations Sasuke and Tenten had together when they were alone. And they usually ended with someone cheering up the other person or giving them some advice; which was taken to heart. Tenten really loved the relationship she had with Sasuke; there were certain things that she could only tell him during their time together, she really valued his friendship.

She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "You know I feel like there are some things that I can only tell you." she smiled and broke away from the hug

"What was that hug for?" he raised a brow at her

"It was just to say thanks for everything; I really appreciate the effort you put into this date, despite the fact that you and him aren't…the best of friends"

"I'm not doing it for him; I'm doing it for a friend." He smirked at her

"Well don't I just have the best friends? I guess I'll see you later; I'll let you get back to your training. I know this wasn't the most ideal way of spending your Saturday morning—talking to me about my relationship problems" she smiled up at him

"Hey if it's the right person, any conversation is bearable."

"By the way Sasuke…" she stopped mid-way to the door and turned around to face him "I like this side of you; you should show this side to Sakura I'm sure she'll like it too."

"You think?"

"Definitely" she walked out the door and headed back upstairs to her room. She managed to slip back into her room without waking the other girls. Her conversation with him actually brought some fatigue back—or maybe it was the fact that she had only received four hours of sleep—causing her to fall asleep on her covers.

It was four o' clock in the afternoon. Ino was standing in front of Tenten with a gleam in her eyes.

"Alright Tenten, it's time to get started" Ino had everything she needed set up; which included a make-up bag, accessories, the dress, shoes and everything else. Tenten took a shower and came out and found Ino getting the make-up ready. Ino blow dried Tenten's hair and curled it over then combed it so it sat over her left shoulder. Next came the make-up: Tenten wore a rosy pink lip-gloss and mascara. She wore two silver bangles on her right wrist. And finally the dress: it was a knee-length champagne coloured strapless dress. It was fitted at the top half then cinched in by the waist then continued A-line until the knee. She wore this ensemble with black heels and had a matching black clutch bag.

"Oh my gosh Tenten, you look phenomenal." Ino complemented her and patted herself on the back for a job obviously well done

"Yeah you look fantastic wait until Neji sees you in this." Sakura commented as she put her shoes on

"Thanks guys. Hey wait a minute, where are you guys going?" she looked around the room to see all three of her friends were dressed to go somewhere

"Were going bowling with the guys tonight" came Hinata as she walked in the room from the bathroom

There was about twenty minutes until her date with Neji, the girls were all ready to go and were about to leave when Ino said one final thing to Tenten.

"Neji will be downstairs waiting for you in his car but don't go down to early but don't arrive too late; good luck and enjoy" she winked at her before heading out with Hinata and Sakura

Ten minutes until their date, Tenten gave herself a final overview and decided to head down stairs. It would take her five minutes to get to the car park anyway. But as soon as she tried to open the door; it wouldn't move—it was locked from the outside.

"Going somewhere Tenten?" the voice on the other side of the door was filled with so much spite and jealousy "Well not anymore"

Tenten was absolutely furious "What the hell are you doing Naoya?!"

"I'm making sure this date never happens. You'll never have Neji, I won't let you"

"You're absolutely insane, now open the damn door!" She was barely able to keep herself from screaming with rage

"No ways; did you know that if you swipe the wrong card in the door, it automatically locks itself until the correct card is swiped—from the outside?" Naoya had Tenten trapped; there was no way that she could leave the bedroom.

"So what you're going to keep me in here forever?" she spat

"Oh no; then people would grow suspicious. I'm just keeping you here until your little date is over."

"This is ridiculous…" she walked away from the door and further into the room and took out her cellphone to call him. Naoya could hear her busy with her phone

"I wouldn't try calling him if I were you" but her comments went unheard as Tenten pressed the dial button on her phone and heard his phone ringing. A few seconds later she actually heard his ringtone coming from outside the bedroom

"Didn't I tell you not to call him?" Naoya answered his phone

"How the hell did you get his cellphone?"

"It was quite easy actually. You know how laundry day is on Saturday's; well I found his blazer and found his phone in his blazer pocket. Poor Neji he probably forgot to take it out, if it weren't for me he wouldn't have one. I was going to give it back but then I remembered this date and decided to hold on to it. It seems he really is quite fond of you judging by the fact that his screensaver is a picture of the two of you."

Tenten tried calling her other friends but they never answered, it seems Naoya's been busy making sure Tenten couldn't contact anyone to rescue her. Tenten finally gave up and sat down on the edge of her bed. This was absolutely unbelievable, she finally got a date with Neji and now she can't even go. Her one chance to find out if he really had feelings for her and if they could take their friendship to the next level was taken away from her. She was sure he wouldn't even speak to her again after tonight, in his shoes he's being stood up.

22:49 the clock read. Tenten sat up when she heard voices grow louder outside her room.

"Well our weekend curfew of eleven 'o' clock is almost here so I guess it's time to open the door. I hope you can explain everything in ten minutes Tenten." She heard her swipe the card and the door unlocked. Tenten didn't know what to do; she was afraid to face him. She was standing at the door for a few seconds and eventually decided to go out. Naoya and her friends were already gone by the time she stepped into the hallway; which was almost completely empty.

She walked over to the guys' side and found Neji on his way to his room; she quickly caught up to him.

"Neji…" he turned around to see Tenten behind him

"Tenten…you look beautiful"

"Thanks, you look great too" things were quite awkward, there were a lot of uncomfortable pauses between their words "Look Neji…about what happened—

"You don't have to say anything Tenten."

"But you don't understand—

"I understand fine" he sharply cut her off "Goodnight Tenten" he carried on walking and left her where she was. Tenten felt tears welling up in her eyes as she headed back to her room.

She was sitting on the staircase when her friends were walking up the stairs; they'd obviously enjoyed their evening.

"Man Hinata I had no idea you were so good at bowling, you tied first place with Sasuke." Ino high-fived her

"I've always loved bowling—Tenten" she finally noticed her and the others followed suit and raced upstairs to get to Tenten.

"Oh no don't tell the date went badly" Sakura said

"The date didn't even happen. Naoya and her damn friends locked me in our room."

"Did you try calling him?" Ino asked

"They had his cellphone and you guys never picked up when I tried calling you."

"That's because we weren't allowed to have our phones with us. It was the dumbest rule I'd ever heard; that guy Hiroto was totally weird."

"Wait a minute, Hiroto, brown hair, honey-golden eyes?"

"Yeah"

"That's Naoya's older brother. She must have known you guys were headed there and asked him to be sure you guys didn't have your phones with you."

"So you couldn't talk to anyone?" Hinata asked

"No, and now Neji thinks I stood him up." She stood up and headed into their bedroom wiping away her tears.