Neji sat stiffly at the dinner table. The pink haired girl sat on one side while the blonde girl, Ino, he recalled, sat on his other. The rest of the family took their spots, leaving one available seat left open for her. 'Tenten' He thought to himself, his eyes following her to the table. She sat down across from him, looking nervous.
The servants brought in many different kinds of food, placing them on the table before them. Hinata's friends were wide-eyed, all except one. Tenten sat with her hands in her lap, staring down at the floor. She looked up, holding his gaze until Ino tugged on his arm to get his attention. Trying to pay attention to what she was talking about, he couldn't help but notice how much she was eating.
He filled his own plate, taking a small bite. He turned to listen to Sakura while he reached for the sauce in the middle of the table. He didn't feel the hard handle of the sauce dish, instead he felt something soft and smooth. Confused, he looked at see that he was holding Tenten's hand. The entire table grew still; she dropped the dish, her mouth making a small "o" expression.
He seemed frozen; he couldn't seem to make himself let go of her hand. Soon, every eye was on them, and he could feel his face heating up. His uncle cleared his throat, making Neji drop her hand like a hot potato. Quietly excusing herself from the table, Tenten silently got up and quickly retreated to Hinata's room.
The rest of dinner drug on without a word. Neji looked up to find almost all eyes on him; it was awkward. He excused himself, going straight for his room. 'Well, this night can't get any worse…' He thought to himself as he headed for the shower in the hall.
"Tenten?" Hinata asked, walking into her room. "Are you alright?" I smiled, reassuring her as the other girls clambered in. "Yeah, I'm fine. I-I just wasn't hungry." Sakura and Ino exchanged a look, and then eyed me. Temari blew them all off, saying, "Who wants to play a game?"
"W-what k-kind of game?" Hinata asked, twiddling her fingers. Sakura jumped on the bed, a smile across her face. "Truth or Dare!" She seemed to have taken some hyper pills or something; I honestly thought she was fixing to bounce off the walls. Ino laughed as she shut the door, saying, "Of course! There's no better game!" Temari grinned, "Alright, you in Hinata? Tenten?"
Hinata smiled her answer, and then they all turned towards me, waiting. 'They're going to think something's up if I don't play, but this is going to get me into so much trouble…' I thought to myself, nodding at them, smiling. "This should be fun." I muttered under my breath. We sat down in a circle on the floor, all dressed for bed, wrapped up in our blankets, getting ready to play. "So, who's first?" I asked, looking around.
We kept the game simple, but fun. Truth's like: Who was the first guy you kissed? Have you ever dated anyone of the guys in our village? Dares like: Eat that whole bag of chips within 60 seconds. Run around the entire manor in your nightclothes, while singing "I'm a Barbie Girl". I wish we could have got that on tape; Temari's face was priceless. She looked ready to kill Ino when she got back.
Everything was perfect; I was beginning to think that I had nothing to worry about until it was Sakura's turn again. Some kind of silent communication was going on between her and Ino, she turned to me, an evil smile spreading across her face. "Truth or Dare Tenten?" "Truth" I said, knowing it was the safest way to go. "Oh come on," Temari complained. "You haven't chosen Dare the entire game! You're a wimp!"
I glared at Temari before saying, "Fine, Dare." Crossing my arms, I let out an aggravated sigh. Ino and Sakura burst into laughter; Ino raced over to Temari and Sakura to Hinata. Temari joined in with their laughter, and Hinata's face turned red. "B-but I-I don't t-think—" She started to say, but Sakura waved her off. Ino piped up, saying "Didn't you see them at dinner? Obviously there's some kind of connection". "B-but h-he—" Hinata stammered, unsure if she should tell them what happened with his last relationship…
I looked around at all of their expressions, 'This can't be good' I told myself. Hinata quietly stated, "I d-don't think you should p-push them…" Ino quit laughing, her face going serious as she said, "Hinata, we're not pushing them, it's just a little nudge in the right direction." She started laughing again, Hinata seemed to give up her fight, keeping quiet. "So," I said, "What's the Dare?"
"We dare you to kiss Neji Hyuuga." I looked at them, dumbfounded. "Neji?" I asked, completely confused. Ino rolled her eyes, impatiently saying, "Hinata's cousin! And, it has to be on the lips. " My heartbeat stopped. I stared at them, my eyes wide with disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" I asked, even though I knew they weren't. Standing up, clenching my blanket around me tightly, I glared at all of them. 'I knew this was a bad idea.'
Wrapping a towel around his waist, he turned off the shower, tying his wet hair in a loose ponytail behind his back. Letting out a sigh, he opened the bathroom door, steam emitting into the hallway. He took a step out, his bare feet touching the cold marble when he heard a noise. "Neji?" A soft voice, sounding unsure but hopeful, asked.
Looking up, he saw her; her wide brown eyes searching his face, her brown hair loosely tied back and thrown over her shoulder. She wore a pair of dark capri's and a light brown tank top. She looked timid, but beautiful. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes?" She gave a small shy smile before stepping closer. His heart swelled, he just wanted to hold her in his arms, breathe in her aroma. Something that smelt similar to a mix of cinnamon and sugar; Spicy, but sweet.
Taking a step back as she moved closer, only made him realize that he was naked, except for the towel. She noticed too, her cheeks turning bright pink, but she continued to move closer. "L-listen… I have to k-kiss y-you…" She stammered. His heart pounded in his ears, was she serious? She stopped moving, her body only inches away from his, warm steam surrounding them both.
An image of their kiss in the forest overtook his mind, replaying over and over again. She sighed, twisting a finger in her hair as she whispered, "I-it's a dare, and I'm pretty sure that the girls are just around the corner, watching…" 'A dare?' he thought to himself, 'she's only asking for a kiss because of a dare?' His heart sank a little, but he straightened up, about to move past her, saying loud enough for the girls to hear. "I don't do dares."
But she wasn't about to let him go past her. Placing an arm firmly against the door frame, she loudly stated, "Well, I don't back down from mine." She lowered her voice, whispering only for him to hear. "Please just play along." He gave a curt nod, and she abruptly pushed him back against the wall. Before he had time to react, she reached up, kissed him briefly on the lips, and ran out of the bathroom.
Remembering to play along, he made a sour face, wiping his mouth off on the back of his hand, cursing loudly. He tried no to laugh as he stomped to his room, slamming the door shut.