A/N: So an other chapter. I'm just trying to get as much done as possible cause I'll be away two weeks starting Saturday. -.-v My muse for this fic better not disappear over the time, or else I'll be annoyed. It's been so much fun writing this. Thank you for your reviews. This chapter is dedicated to: ninja sloth! yeay!

My Countdown Starts Now

xxxx

Hinata looked around shyly, fidgeting with her skirt as she waited to see the faces of her friends. Today she was wearing something very different from her usual attire. Now if Hiashi wasn't surprised when Hinata decided to start growing out her hair when she was twelve, he sure was surprised to see her dressed less like her child of the past and more like the teenager she was.

Today she'd summoned enough courage to go from her usual sweater and jeans to a plain tan tank top and a purple skirt and lavender high chucks she'd gotten when she went shopping with Tenten last. Her only accessory was a simple daisy hairclip holding back some loose locks from one side of her face.

"You look different today, Hinata-chan," Shino said politely as he walked in with Kiba. Kiba took one look at her and grinned. "Wow, Hinata, you're even more pretty than usual," he said friendily, slinging an arm over her shoulder. Hinata blushed , glowing completely red.

Kiba wasn't that bad looking himself. His hair was pretty much the same messy-just-out-of-bed style. He was wearing baggy, camoflage pants, a black muscle shirt and an oversized brown hoodie. Not to mention his black Doc Martins, the one's he drew on in silver sharpie everyday since seventh grade. Not so black anymore...

"T-thank you, K-kiba-kun," Hinata mumbled with her head down, trying to hide her blushing. Kiba simply grinned and began leading the way to Homeroom with Kakashi.

Hinata sat at her usual desk between Shino and Kiba and started twiddling her thumbs while Kiba talked to Shino about his new cell phone.

"Wow, Hinata, this is a side of you I haven't seen!" Chouji said happily while he sat down at a desk in the row in front of her. Hinata nodded meekly and looked around to find most of her classmates already there."Ne, where're Naruto and Shikamaru, they're going to be late for class," Hinata wondered aloud. "Haven't seen them," Chouji answered with a frown, turning back around to where he was doodling on a piece of paper.

The door suddenly opened with a slam and everyone's conversations stopped to glare at the cause. At the doorway Naruto and Shikamaru were gasping for air, slowly trudging there way to their seats, ignoring the minute glares.

"Ne, alarm clocks are so troublesome..." Naruto muttered, still breathing a bit heavily. Shikamaru made an annoyed sound and weakly swatted at Naru's head as the sat beside each other. "Not as troublesome as you, baka." Naruto winced a little and pouted sadly. "Don't be mean, Shika. I said I was sorry, I was up all night doing some homework and writing fresh stuff."

"Ne, writing what kind of stuff?" Kiba butted in, looking interested at the blond. Naruto blushed slightly and waved his hands in a dismissive way. "Ne, no-nothing really. Just uh..." "Ideas for art class," Shikamaru answered looking completely serious.

"Ideas for art class?" Kiba looked doubtful, wondering why you would really need to write that kind of thing down, and why it would take long. "Y-yea! Yea. Ideas for art class. I was really, really inspired from our, uh, time at the arcade that I had a whole bunch of thoughts. Um, and I, you know, don't have such a good memory, so... um yea. I wrote down my ideas," Naruto said, trying to sound convincing.

Shino narrowed his eyes a bit in suspicion and Hinata felt the vibe too. "What kind of ideas did you have in mind," Shino asked with his smooth, calm voice. Naruto fidgetted a bit but quickly took up a serious mask. "I, don't like sharing my ideas, really... You know, um, an artist's work is a secret until it's, eh, revealed?" Shikamaru blinked and sighed at the pathetic way Naruto made to get out of it.

"Hey, um, wow, Hinata, don't you look nice. Who are you trying to impress?" Naruto suddenly asked, grinning a bit nervously. Hinata blushed again, while Kiba and Shino didn't look too satified, more suspicious from the change of topic. But they had to forget about that as the door slammed open with a loud crash and a screeching Shizune came in.

"Seriously, Kakashi-sensei, when will you learn to take your responsiblity as a educator more seriously? These kids..." Naruto thanked the Higher Beings for giving him this escape, as he turned back to his desk, away from his probing friends, and gather his things for the lesson. "You are so lucky," Shikamaru muttered quietly so only Naruto could hear.

Naruto nodded slightly and glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Yea, and who was the one who started this? Art ideas, pfft..." Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes and looked down at his text book, before long he was giving in to the urge to sleep. Naruto sighed as he looked over. "Lazy ass," he mumbled, a small smile on his lips.

xxxxx

"Can't say I really believe it, but neither did Ino, and she's the one who usually knows where all the rumors start and-" "Tenten, I believe this is history class, not social hour." Tenten looked up at where Kakashi sat reading his book, not even looking at her as he spoke.

Where as other students would of stopped and obeyed guilty, or others maybe with muttering under their breath, Tenten didn't back down. Lee looked up from his own notebook of answers. He found it sort of strange the way Tenten would act out most of all in History class. In others she would be respectful, yet a bit playful with the teacher.

In History she glared at Kakashi-sensei and seemed to always talk back. Like now. "Oh, sorry, did I miss some of your thought-provoking lectures? About the 18th century lifestyle?How important it is to learn about?" Her sarcasm rang through the classroom, giving way to a dead silence as most students stopped their work to stare between Tenten and their sensei.

Kakashi's eye looked up with a fleeting emotion and stared at her. "Detention." he said simply, turning a page. Tenten snorted loudly and turned to the girl beside her she'd been talking to before, closing her text and notebook without a look.

"Two detentions, Tenten-chan. Would you like to go on to a whole week of detention?" Tenten turned back to her desk, angrily frowning at it. "No, thank you, Kakashi," Tenten said disrespectingly before reopening her books. Kakashi gave a last glance, then went back to his book like nothing happened.

The class took the hint and went back to their work, but Lee kept staring at Tenten in confusion. She didn't seem to notice, or maybe was ignoring it. Lee finally stopped and looked over at Neji.

Their eyes made contact and Lee sent him a confused look shifting his eyes from Tenten back to him. He glanced at her himself for a few seconds before shrugging and writing down something that he discretely shifted closer to Lee.

Lee leaned down slightly, and read the message quickly. 'She wasn't like that last year when we had him. It kind of started a week into the school year...' Neji ripped the paper quickly and stuffed it in his pocket, going back to work like he was doing it the whole time. Lee stared blankly at his text book before he decided that things aren't always meant to out in the open, knowing that himself through experience.

xxxxx

"Ne, Hinata, I see you're wearing that skirt I convinced you to buy. It sure was worth it, pretty princess!" Tenten exclaimed at lunch time. Hinata cheeks stained pink, a great improvement from earlier that morning. Lee chuckled and sat next to her like he usually did.

"Hinata-hime, I'm guessing this isn't a usual occurrence. Why the change?" Lee said, starting right away with his soda. Hinata sighed, blushing more at the nickname, and played with the helm of the skirt. "Hinata-hime has her eyes on someone. She's using her feminine advantages to hook 'im in," Naruto joked, giving her a good-natured grin.

Kiba looked, bewildered, over at the silent girl. "Really, Hinata? Who is it?" Ino nodded looking increasingly interested. "Yes, tell us, Hinata-chan. I could give you a few tips to charming the boy of your dreams," Ino offered with a smile and a wink.

Hinata looked like she was going to cry, she was so embarassed and flustered. Lee looked at her with pity and hugged her around the shoulders. "Come on guys, stop prestering the poor princess. Can't you see she really doesn't want you meadling?"

Hinata hid her face in Lee's shoulder and felt some relief from his standing up for her. Sakura nodded and frowned at the rest. "Yea, just let her be. If she wanted you to know she'd have already said something." The subject was dropped just like that and turned to Friday.

"So, what kind of things will we being doing, Tenten?" Ino asked curiously, picking at her salad. "Oh, you know. Games, music, maybe even a movie if we can agree on something." Tenten looked preoccupied with something, not that anyone really noticed.

"What kind of game would we play?" Naruto asked innocently, thinking of Monoply and Life, and how he always, always managed to lose in those and other board games.

Ino and Sakura put on twin mischievious smiles and leaned in as if telling a secret. Unconsciously everyone leaned in too. "Oh, you know..." Ino started with a knowing toned. "The kind of games with..." Sakura continued.

"Kissing!" they said together, smiling dreamily. Naruto jerked back and tilted his head to the side. "Oh, those kinds of games! Like spin the bottle?" "And Seven Minutes In Heaven?" Kiba asked, getting quite interested. Sakura grinned and nodded.

"And truth or dare, definitely," Ino added. "Oh, I heard of this one group game I've been wanting to try out!" Sakura said suddenly with a happy smile. Ino looked interested. "Oh, what game?" Sakura furrowed her brow and looked thoughtful. "I think it was called 'I Never...' It's a drinking game-"

"Woh! No booze!" Naruto suddenly said waving his hands wildly. The others looked at him strangely. "What? A little acohol won't be bad..." Tenten said. "No, um, one of our friends that's coming. She can't be anywhere near booze. It... doesn't do her any good. No one else either," Naruto explained tone making it all clear that it was a dangerous thing.

Tenten nodded slightly and said it probably wouldn't be a good idea in case one them got smashed. Sakura nodded in agreement. "Well, we could still play the game with soda, at least. It's kind of a truth game. I think you say something like 'I never... whatever' and take a sip, and either anyone who hasn't or has takes a sip too. I forget which one..." Sakura frowned, rubbing her head, trying to remember. Tenten nodded. "We'll figure that out some other time. How about movies. Any suggestions?"

Movies were shouted and rejected one after an other, and by the time the lunch bell rang, they still hadn't decided.

xxx

"On this upcoming trip I want you all to express what you think is important. What you think the city is all about. What ever catched your eye. You'll need a sharp eye to impress me," Zabuza grunted at the end of photography class.

Naruto was practically bouncing in his seat in excitement. The first photo trip since their entree to Konoha High. They'd since only milled around campus, trying to catch something photo-worthy, which was mostly time for Naruto and Lee to talk. Lee had tried talking to Neji, but found that the brunette was too focused at the task at hand.

That time though, with Naruto and Lee talking just amongst themselves, formed a certain promise, a pact really. A secret pact that left them grinning at the end of the lesson.

xxxx

Shikamaru looked up at the dark clouds that were slowly drifting in from the east. "It looks like it'd going to rain," Shika murmured as they silently exited the building. Lee looked up too and frowned.

"Ne, Lee, could you do me a favor and recopy your notes from Science for me, since i missed part of it when i went to the office for Jiraiya-sensei?" Tenten asked, slapping a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Oh, Tenten, don't you have detention?" Tenten made a face and nodded. "How could i forget? So, will you do that for me?" Lee nodded and Tenten smiled before running off back inside.

"Ne, Neji!" Lee said, seeing him come out of the school after Tenten went back in. "Lee," Neji said monotone voice.

"Come to the arcade with us. We'll have fun!" Lee said enthusiastically. Neji frowned and shifted his eyes. "No, thanks. I-" "Have absolutely nothing to do this evening. Unlike me, Father wants me home tonight for to help him with a few things," Hinata said coming up behind them, uncharacteristically being assertive.

Hinata smiled shyly at Lee and tried ignoring Neji's stare. Lee was so kind, she felt the need to help him with gaining Neji's friendship more. He might of said they were friends, but Neji seemed to avoid talking to him alot. Neji sighed and crossed his arms.

"Just this once, Neji-kun?" Lee asked with a pleading look. Neji rolled his eyes and gave in. "Just this once..." Lee beamed and punched the air. Hinata looked down and noticed something. "Ne, Lee-kun, do you know who's wallet this is?" Hinata asked, picking up a nice black and purple checkered fabric wallet.

Lee looked at it and took it from her. "I think this is Tenten's. I guess I'll go give it back to her now. Neji, go wait with Naruto and Shikamaru, I'll be back in a second." "Hn."

Lee jogged slightly down the empty halls and stopped at the right door. He looked at it curiously, a bit perturbed from the complete silence.

He opened the door a crack to make sure he'd found the right room. He peeked in and his eyes widened and his grip on the wallet went slack and it fell. It echoed a bit in the emptiness, and Lee pulled away from the door and quickly ran down the hall.

Tenten opened the door completely, checking the empty halls and looking down at her lone wallet. "Shit," she cursed under her breath and looked back at Kakashi. He quirked an eyebrow, his mask completely off his face. "What's wrong?" Tenten shook her head and picked up her wallet, looking down the hall again. "Nothing, don't worry about it..."

"Lee? What's wrong, you look a bit shocked?" Naruto asked as Lee approached them. Lee shook his head and put on a smile. "No-nothing... so, no one else is coming?" Lee asked looking at the three in front of him. "They said they had tests to study for and other shit..." Naruto said slowly, looking at Lee strangely. "Yosh! alright, let's go then!" Lee said cheerfully and started leading them. Neji frowned at the raven haired boy and followed silently, knowing something was up.

xxxx

Neji aimed and SPLAT! Lee watched as Neji killed off all the zombies quickly and precisely. "Wow, you're really good at this game, Neji," Lee said in a dazed voice, completely hypnotized by it. In the background Naruto was cheering triumphantly as he won against Shikamaru in Street Fighters for the umpteenth time.

"Alright, guys, I'm closing up in five minutes," the arcade worker, Hayate, said between a few coughs. Naruto looked up at him in surprise and checked his watch. "It's only... 3:49! How can you be closing up so early!" Naruto yelled.

Hayate winced at his loudness and flipped a switch that cut off the power to all the games. "Easy. In case you haven't heard, there's a thunderstorm starting up soon, and what's the use of being open when the power goes out. Besides, you four are the only ones here. Now hurry up and get home. And It's actually 4:00 right now" Naruto fumed silently, grabbing his bag and pocketing his tokens."Hn, your watch keeps getting slower and slower, Naruto," Shikamaru commented absently, grabbing his own pack. "Whatever..."

xxxx

They started walking, thunder boomed in the distance and they all stared up at the sky. "Let's go to my house, it's the closest. You can call your Uncle from there, Neji." Lee said absently. Neji nodded and it wasn't even a minute before the rain started beating down heavily on them.

Lee started off at a sprint, and the others immediately did the same. By the time they finally got into his house they were all soaked and standing uncomfortably in the living room. "I'll go get us some dry clothes," Lee said rubbing his dripping hair.

He came back with a couple pairs of loose sweatpants, T-shirts and towels. They changed and Lee took their clothes to put in the dryer. "Do you guys want any hot drinks?" Lee asked from the laundry room.

"Hot chocolate!" Naruto shouted back at him, happily rubbing his hair with the fluffy blue towel. "Tea for me," Shikamaru said just a bit louder than his regular voice. Lee popped his head into the living room with his towel on his shoulders. "Neji? Want something?" Neji stared at his dripping hair and blinked. "Tea."

Lee nodded once and disappeared. The sound of the kettle cooking and opening cupboards came from the kitchen. In the meantime, Naruto had clicked on the television a flashy cartoon lighting up the screen.

Shikamaru snatched the remote from him and put it on the weather channel. "Hmm, looks like it'll blow over before tomorrow morning..." Shikamaru muttered, then flipped to the TV guide channel to see what was on. Lee came in carrying a tray of cut fruit and put it on the low coffee table in the center of the room. Lee sat next to Neji on the ground, leaning back into the couch where Naruto and Shika were sitting.

"Oh, Let's watch that movie," Lee and Naruto said at the same time. Shikamaru turned to that channel they made it just in time to see Oompa Loompas finish their song. Lee laughed softly and grabbed an apple slice. "This movie is so weird, but good." Naruto nodded in agreement, chewing on his orange slices.

Neji grabbed a banana slice and watched silently, slowly relaxing into his environment. Lee noticed and chuckled under his breath. When the kettle started shrieking, Lee got up and ran to the kitchen, turning it off and taking out the drink ingredients.

He came back a few minutes with an other tray with four steaming mugs. He set the tray down next to the fruit and handed them out. "If you want to call your Uncle the phone is in the kitchen. But the clothes won't be done for an other twenty minutes," Lee told Neji softly, watching the movie happily.

Neji nodded and put his mug down on the tray and got up. Naruto commented on the bratty girl, Bazooka or something, and Neji came back. "His driver will be here in a half hour." Neji said still watching the screen. Lee nodded and sipped his hot cocoa.

"Lee, what happened when you went to give back tenten's wallet?" Neji asked quietly so they could only hear. Lee glanced at him and bit his lip. "I-i don't think I should say..." Lee said slowly. Neji gave him a look and Lee pouted.

"I mean, I can't, not without talking to Tenten first... it's- it's a trust thing, I guess..." he said pathetically looking down at the mug in his hands. The steam wafted slowly and Lee looked back at Neji, who was looking at him.

Neji gave him a small nod and looked back at the TV. "Alright," Nejki said simply. Lee wondered about Neji. Neji was so closed up on himself, it was kind of frustrating. But then again, Lee mused, he wasn't all that honest himself with his Konoha High friends. Time. Time was the tool. Time would show them slowly the truth. He looked back down at his drink and frowned thoughtfully. Time was really getting on his nerves lately.

xxxx

Lee watched as Neji went to the car through the rain. His two other friends were still watching the movie silently. Naruto was yawning every five minutes, eyes trying to stay open. For once, Shikamaru wasn't the one falling asleep.

"So, you guys want to sleep over?" Lee asked them as he reentered the living room. Naruto nodded sleepily and let his eyes close. Shikamaru looked up at the wall clock and contemplated it. "Well, I guess if my mom starts yelling at me I could just hang up on her," Shikamaru said, getting up to call his parents about it.

Lee nodded and took the empty trays and mugs into the kitchen. He quickly cleaned them and went to the closet, taking out a few pillows and blankets. He threw one blanket on top of Naruto and handed Shikamaru one.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" Lee asked, now sitting in an arm chair. Shikamaru just shrugged and Naruto's answer was a soft snore. Lee smiled tiredly at his friends and looked back at the movie. Thoughts swirling in his mind, distracting him from the what was happening in the real world. Life wasn't getting any more simple for them.

xxxx

A/N: Ah! Omg, that has to be the worst chapter I've written so far. -sigh- Oh well, hopefully my muse for the next chappie will be nicer. I wonder if the Tenten thing is obvious? -shrugs- I feel so preoccupied for some reason. Damn my concentration! That got soaked thing actually happened to me on Saturday when me and my brother went for a walk around town. We got seriously soaked. ' my poor low chucks. wet socks is not a pleasant feeling, lol.

Anyway, Please Review, Loves!