A/N: I'm happy this song is next. You have no idea what My Chemical Romance means to me. Throughout my depression and anxiety issues, they were one of the bands that helped me, and still continue to do so. This song is an art piece that deserves to be better known. It reminds me of my boyfriend of one year, so I'm dedicating this to him. I actually wrote it with our names, and then had to change them to Neji and Tenten. I had to edit and rewrite some stuff to make it fit into the NejiTen storyline. I guess it's sort of the situation I'm in, so I had to write something for it. It's sort of melancholy might be a bit OOC. My apologies if it is.
I hope you enjoy, however. This piece will definitely be more personal for me than any others.
Key – Text message/call.
Normal text.
#2: Summertime – My Chemical Romance
When the lights go out, will you take me with you?
And carry all this broken bone
Through six years down in crowded rooms
And hallways I called home?
Time could not have been a more curious thing, the brunette decided as she lied on her bed, staring at the ceiling of her dimly-lit room.
The fighting was getting to her; it was doing things to her mind that she couldn't even begin to fathom. And she didn't have anyone to talk to. She didn't have anyone that would listen to her. And if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to trust anyone. She had grown up with the knack to deal with things her own way, to bottle up her emotions and store them far into the back of her mind. But that space was filled. She was done pretending to herself. Time seemed to slow down when the fights began, as if to increment her torture.
There was another yell, and the girl closed her eyes immediately, turning the volume on her iPod all the way up as a tear ran down her cheek.
Her family, the only thing that had kept her alive up to this point, had finally fallen apart.
And if she was being realistic, she had to admit to herself that her family had been falling apart for quite some time. It was a mutual thing. Both her mother and her father had had enough of each other, it seemed. The thought of divorce terrified the teen. Who the hell wants to choose between two of her parents?
Her phone, held tightly in her other hand, lit up and vibrated as it received a call. With a shaking sigh, she opened her eyes and raised her arm to take a look at her phone.
"Hey," she said, after pressing the green 'send' button.
"…Are you okay?" the deep voice on the other end of the line sounded concerned. It was rather odd for him.
"Yeah, just–" another shout shook the house, this time from her dad, and interrupted her sentence. "Just sitting here." She finished, her voice barely making it out of her throat.
"You don't sound okay. They're fighting again, aren't they?"
Tenten could feel her cool slipping as her eyes began to sting again and her vision became blurry almost immediately. She could only force her voice out in a whisper. "…Yeah."
It's something I can't know 'till now
'Till you pick me off the ground
With brick in hand, your lip-gloss smile
Your scraped up knees and
If you stay, I would either wait all night
Or until my heart explodes
The next time she saw him, she couldn't help but feel like he, of all people, was keeping her sane. He, who was so caged himself. He, whose family was just as broken as hers.
He, however, had never truly known what an immediate family was. His father died when he was four, and his mother never even got to have the wonderful chance to know him: She died during childbirth.
She pursed her lips and brought a smile to her face, though she knew perfectly well that he could tell she was acting. Faking it. That it was not a sincere smile.
She didn't want to worry or burden him. She hated feeling this weak and powerless. She hated knowing that no matter what she did, the minute she came back home, it was back to the same thing, the same feeling of dread.
The brunette boy in front of her just looked at her face as she drank her coffee. They were both enjoying a moment of solitude at the local café, thankful for its unusual lack of customers: The place was habitually packed, and at the moment, neither could stand more company than that of each other.
"Tenten, what is on your mind?"
His voice broke through the comfortable silence that had settled between them. She raised her eyes to look at him, and immediately decided it was a bad idea: she found herself unable to look away.
"… Nothing." She managed after pursing her lips. She knew it wasn't convincing. And Neji was not likely to give up once he wanted to know something.
"Are you quite sure? Because I can read you better than I can read a book."
Tenten looked out the window, not wanting to risk talking. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get out two words before her eyes would get moist, and she did not want to cry in front of her best friend.
So she settled for nodding.
A pregnant, semi-awkward silence followed, and while looking out the window of the small café, she noticed a small family walking down the street together. They looked so happy, so much at ease. She was faced with an uncomfortable, jealous feeling at the pit of her stomach at the sight of them. And she hated herself for it.
And the next thing she knew, Neji's calloused thumb was caressing her cheek carefully, as if he was afraid he'd break her. She hadn't even noticed him leaning over the small table of the booth that separated them. She felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
"Really now?" he murmured. "Then why are you crying?
She had not noticed the stinging in her eyes either, for her jealousy had taken over her mind. She looked up to meet the soft, beautiful white and lavender tinted eyes she had grown to love, not being able to move.
"Talk to me, Tenten," and then, under his breath, so that she wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly: "I want to help."
With bated breath, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips. She didn't want to talk about it, but then again, she never did. And it was only building up more and more grief in her chest, making her feel so suffocated and trapped. She didn't have anywhere else to go; she couldn't just leave the house that had been her home for so many years. Until the fights had begun, that is.
So then, she spilled her woes on the table and all over their coffees to her best friend as he soothingly rubbed circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. It was all he could do.
How long until we
Find our way
In the dark and out of harm
You can run away with me
Anytime you want
The beginning of the following night brought yet another fight, and she decided she was done. She wasn't going to put up with this anymore. She couldn't.
Slowly yet surely, she slipped off her bed covers, reaching under her bed to pull out her rather large duffle bag. Her nimble fingers searched thoroughly, extracting pieces of forgotten clothing from her martial arts days (which, mind you, weren't exactly too long ago) and other items she had left unattended.
Another vulgar bellow shook the house, and Tenten, with more determination than ever, walked over to her closet, throwing the door open, and pulling out random pieces of clothing to fill her makeshift suitcase. Once this task was finished, she went to her dresser, pulling out several socks full of money, which she had saved from previous summers of work, allowances, birthday and Christmas gifts. She threw them in her duffle bag, along with several other things, like the panda bear she slept with every night (the only thing that kept her sane in her house when the fights started), her phone and iPod chargers, and her jacket.
She picked up her phone from the place on the bedside table, where it usually resided in, and called the boy that she called her best friend.
"Hello?" He picked up shortly after about 15 seconds of ringing. His voice sounded like he had been napping.
"Neji? I need your help." She said, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she fastened a belt on her hips.
He sounded a bit more rejuvenated when he replied. "With?"
"I need to leave my house."
There was a long silence from the boy on the other end, and Tenten was growing worried that she'd scared him off. She hastily wrote a "Fuck You" note to her parents. Why say sorry when they know what you've been through, and still continue to do it?
"I'll be there in maybe fifteen to twenty minutes. Meet me outside your window."
Terrified of what I'll be
As a kid, from what I'd seen
Every single day when people try
And put the pieces back together just to
Smash them down
Turn my headphones up real loud
I think I need them now
'Cause you stop the noise
"What exactly do have in mind?" The teenage boy behind the wheel asked, his pearly white eyes on the road.
"…To be honest, I don't have a plan yet. I just couldn't take it anymore. I need… I needed to get out." She mumbled, sneaking a sideways glance at his face and pursing her lips.
"Well, you packed a bag full of clothes and money and you told your parents in your note, and I quote, 'I hope you burn in hell. Sincerely, Tenten.' You must at least have something in mind." He sounded a bit amused as he said this, but his expression was a bit disbelieving.
"…I just don't want to go back." She brought her knees up on the seat, and wrapped her arms around them. Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Neji spared a glance in her direction. He sighed, snaking a hand over to put it on top of one of hers. His other occupied hand was tightened on the steering wheel.
"You can stay in my apartment with me for as long as you want, Tenten. You know that."
The girl, surprised at his declaration, looked at him. He was so noble, so self-sacrificing, and she felt like she now owed him her life. She slipped her hand from under his, only to grip it with enough strength to stop his blood flow, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Thank you."
If you stay, I would even wait all night
Or until my heart explodes
How long until we find a way
In the dark and out of harm?
You can run away with me
Anytime you want
"Okay. I would take you on a tour of the place, but as I'm fully aware that you know it by heart, there is no need. Make yourself at home. I'll go make us some tea or something." he said once they were inside the apartment. The place wasn't terribly big, per see, but it was nicely decorated. Tenten, as well as the rest of the city, knew that the Hyuga family had enough money to bathe the large number of family members in.
"Uhm… Neji?" she asked feebly, setting her bag down on the floor next to her feet. "You only – have one bedroom, isn't that right."
"Yeah," he called from the kitchen. "What of it?"
She made her way slowly to the kitchen, as if she wasn't familiar with the living quarters, even though she knew it almost better than Neji.
"Well… I was just wondering–"
"Where you'll sleep?" he finished for her, taking out two cups and setting them on the counter next to the stove.
She blushed and nodded, not looking at him.
The long-haired male in front of her smiled slightly at her insecurity, now looking at how instead of the kettle he had set to boil.
"Don't worry. You will be taking my bedroom, and I'll sleep on the couch." He said, turning back to the now-steaming pot.
She finally willed herself to look at him. "No, I think I'd rather take the couch. This is your home and I'm not about to–"
"No." he cut her off effectively, looking back straight into her eyes. A blush settled over her cheeks again. He smiled. "I don't care what you say. You're sleeping on the bed."
She pursed her lips, and realized that he wouldn't budge from his current decision. With a sigh, she agreed.
Satisfied that she seemed to finally accept reason, he turned back to tea, which was ready. He promptly turned off the stove, and poured two cups of the steaming-hot liquid.
"I know you like this kind of tea, so," he said, setting the cups on the table while he fetched two spoons and the sugar.
"You made cinnamon tea?" she instantly smiled as she sat down on her respective spot as Neji set the needed utensils and the sugar in front of her.
"Don't get used to it," she heard him mumble under his breath, but she knew he didn't mean it.
A few minutes of comfortable silence where cinnamon tea was consumed, and Tenten needed to hear his voice. "…Neji?" she started slowly.
He looked directly at her. "Yes?"
"…I can't thank you enough for this, what you're doing for me. I don't know what I would do if you weren't there." She said, her voice shy and shaking a bit.
The young man in front of her smiled slightly. It was the only smile he ever exhibited on his handsome face, and she knew that it was always exclusively for her. It gave her a jolt, almost like lightning, to see it, no matter how many times it happened (and it wasn't often).
"You have no reason to thank me. But it is getting late, so you might as well sleep. I expect your parents will call you tomorrow-" he was cut off by her ringtone. He shrugged nonchalantly, picking up his cup and lifting it to his lips. "Or now."
She picked up her phone, debating whether or not to answer it. She looked at Neji, who nodded at her encouragingly, though it wasn't enough to convince her.
"You're not… going to answer?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She pursed her lips, not looking at him. "I don't want to talk to them."
The phone went on, ringing, for about fifteen more seconds, and it was driving the teenage girl crazy. She didn't want to be faced with the reality of the situation, though it was practically slapping her face.
It stopped ringing, finally, and she was absolutely sure they were leaving her a voicemail.
"Tenten…"
"I know. I know you're going to say that I shouldn't have done that, and that I'll have to go back sooner or later, and that I need to-"
"…That's not at all what I was going to say." He interrupted, looking at her seriously.
She looked at him questioningly, and he smiled again, though it was bigger than before. Tenten was dazzled.
"I was going to say, that you don't have to face reality for a bit. At least not while you're here. If you want to go back, then that's up to you. You're the only one who can decide your destiny. But I want you to remember something,"
He paused, setting his cup of tea down on the table, and taking one of Tenten's hands in his own. The girl didn't know what to say. Her eyes were stinging a bit, though she was adamant on not crying in front of him again. His voice was barely above a whisper when he spoke again.
"You can run away with me anytime you want."
A/N: Didn't finish the song for the sake of the story. I thought it was dragging on and on. But I'm quite content with it. I know it's a bit choppy, but this is one of the ways to get a lot of the frustration that's trapped in my chest. I'm glad I did this.
So like I mentioned in the beginning authoress' note, this means a lot more to me because it is what I'm going through, in a way (though, admittedly, I've not run away yet, though the thought has crossed my mind many times and is very incredibly inviting).
While writing this, I kept thinking of ways of how to end it, and decided that using part of the lyrics was best fit. Sorry if it's confusing or something. I tried to end it on a happy note, though I think it still leaves a bit of a bitter taste. There's fluff though, but only a bit so you don't get cavities and sue me.
Hope you enjoyed!