Kankuro: Are you absolutely, positively sure you got everything about the kissing thing from a book?
Me: -yawn- I told you already a million times yesterday. Now, stop bothering me.
Kankuro: Oh, yeah? Prove it! Which book did you get the tips from?
Me: -grabs and shows a random book- Here.
Kankuro: -reads cover- 'The English-Waikikian Waikikian-English Modern and Traditional Dictionary'? You got it here.
Me: Whatever.
Kankuro: -snatches book- Lemme see. Which page?
Me: Hell do I know.
Kankuro: -flips through pages-
Me: -whispers to you- There's no such thing as Waikikian.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
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Chapter Six:
"What Comes Next"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"I have to what?!"
No offense to Neji, but I couldn't help but scream.
He didn't react as if he was offended. In fact, he kept the frown on, "It's… nothing personal." He said, turning away, "Coz, honestly, no one else in the world has the lips of a rubber duck, if you ask me. So, get some experience with… a human, or something."
He's making sense, yet again.
I was hesitant. I mean, this is freakish. He's my best friend and he couldn't be possibly be flirting with me… right? He says it's nothing personal, of course. It's a lesson…
I realized that I hadn't answered in a few seconds and the silence was eating us up. So, he pushed away and said, "Alright, I guess we can skip that." He let out a forced laugh, "Well, I guess you graduate, alright. You pass. Congratulations."
He smiled back at me and I was sure I was just gawking back at him with red cheeks. Then, the weirdest thing came out of my mouth…
"But… I want to take the 'final exam'…"
What the hell…?!
And on that moment, he gave me the most disgusted expression I've ever seen. Honestly, I've never seen him do that before. His scowl turned into what looked like a half-smile and his right eye seemed to have twitched. "Gawd, Tenten, I was kidding about us kissing, you know."
"No! I-I mean, I just want you to… uh, you know, evaluate how I've improved. That's all." I need to ask myself: Why am I trying to snag a kiss from Neji? Of all the guys! Of course, it's better than trying to kiss Lee… but N-Neji?! It's almost illegal.
He arched a brow at me and stammered, "Really, Tenten, this is unnecessary and I'm sure you're already good at it. So, what do you say we just… go to the gym now, huh?" I saw that he was sweating a little and he was inching his way to the door.
I don't know what's coming over me. Why am I doing this? But, oddly, I didn't stop…
"Just one kiss."
What the hell is wrong with me, anyway?! Why am I asking for kisses?! Why?! Was I that desperate to have a guy kiss me?! I was desperate enough to actually ask that favor from my best friend! I'm a freak!
But something tells me that it's not desperation. It's… something else, I guess.
"You really want to test your new 'skills', huh?" Neji joked, reaching for the knob, "Well, try it on Sasuke or Kankuro."
When he said this, he turned the knob to unlock the door. But he didn't proceed to opening the door. No, he turned to me again and asked, "Are… Are you serious you want to try it on me? Won't it be… what, weird?"
Yeah, sure, weird. But what unwritten rule would we be breaking? It's just a kiss. It's not even one I'd consider my first kiss. This one's like a test. Practice. Preparation. Nothing special. It'll be just once and never again. A harmless and completely authorized kiss.
I saw in Neji's face that he was most probably thinking of the same thing. He's actually reconsidering. And before I knew it, he let go of the door knob, walked to me and instructed, "Do your stuff."
"Wh-What?"
"Kiss me. I just want to see how you've 'improved'."
"Oh. Okay."
To tell the truth, I didn't know what to do. It's easy for Squishy. I'd know where to place my hands. I wouldn't have to worry about spit so much. I don't have to know how to react. I don't have to watch out and try not to bite anyone's tongue. But, Neji isn't a rubber duck. He's human.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing the two of us closer and I didn't know where to put my arms at all. I peered through every part of him and soon, I just placed my hands on his shoulders. Hey, what else could I do?
I gulped a little and I swear that I've never seen Neji this close before. Because of that, I never realized that he had lavender in his pearl eyes. What a find.
"What's next?" I chuckled under my breath, slightly embarrassed. He snickered, too, and just coolly asked, "What do you think is next?"
Oh, yeah. I get it.
I was so unsure of what to do, but I found myself reaching for his lips. He, on the other hand, had also tried to reach for mine. Our heads were in a slight tilt, like he taught, and in a second, I was kissing Neji. It was just a soft brush of the lips. His breath was so warm inside my mouth and I gotta admit: Neji's a pretty great kisser.
Not exactly like Squishy…
…This felt great.
Creak. "Hey, guys!"
The cheery voice and the sound of the door opening disturbed the 'test' and immediately, Neji drew his lips away from mine with a tender smack. We both looked at the one at the door, caught red-handed. We found Lee.
Oh my gawd.
As Neji and I stood there in the middle of the room in each other's arms, Lee looked like he was either going to puke or faint. "Crud." Neji mumbled as we both stared back at our friend.
Quickly, I let go of Neji and yelped, "You saw nothing!"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Yes, Lee. Neji was practicing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on me. It's for Health class on Monday."
Who knew that Lee could be so gullible and clueless? As I sat there in one of Hanabi's bathing suits (WOW! THEY FIT!) in the same sauna with Neji and Lee, I was just glad that Lee bought the CPR excuse. If he didn't, we'd be in trouble.
"Oh, I see. And did it do you two any well?" Lee questioned, eyeing the two of us. In the little wet and wooden sauna room, we all looked like sweating tomatoes. We were red from the heat but I think I'm still red from the kiss. Neji is as pale as ever.
Neji just nodded on his bench and mumbled, "Yeah, sure, I guess I'll get an A and Tenten will, too." Strangely, he brought his Narnia book with him. Come on, who brings a book to the sauna? Not even the batch bookworm does that! Come to think of it, I think the bookworm doesn't even go to the sauna.
I turned to him and said, "It's not really a good idea to bring books to the sauna, you know. If you get that wet, Hanabi will kill you." As I poured more water on the coals before me to make the place warmer, Neji hissed, "Hey, don't make it any hotter! It's warm enough!"
"It's not even 50 degrees yet…"
"Well, if Lee starts to hyperventilate, you bring him to the clinic. I don't want to go from floor to floor, carrying him like last time."
Bad memoir. The three of us were in the sauna, like always, and then Neji and I were planning something new. We took three pails of water and dumped it all onto the coals. The more water you poured onto the coals, the warmer the place gets.
The steam made it hard to breathe, but Neji and I kept dumping the water in. At the tenth bucket of water, I couldn't breathe properly anymore. Neji looked like a million girls slapped him. Lee fell over, wheezing and choking in his words, "Help. Help. Ne-ji. Te-n.Te-n. Help. Me."
We burst out of the sauna, letting the steam escape. Neji slung Lee over his shoulder and ran to the nearest elevator to get to the clinic. The sauna's in the fifteenth floor and the nearest clinic is on the damned twenty third floor. People we're giving us odd looks, saying, "Why are two teens in swimsuits with a dehydrated and sunburned salmon?"
Even though Neji had told me not to, I poured some more water and breathed in as the coals hissed and sizzled, emitting more warm steam. Then, Lee began gasping for breath. "Oh. No." His voice is dry, "I. Bet. Ter. Go. Bef-ore. It. Too. Late." And he stood from his bench, running out of the sauna like crazy.
Neji chuckled as he watched Lee run to the nearest shower to get himself soaked in cold water then went back to reading his book. "So," I began, looking at him in his black trunks, "How'd I do?" Whoa. Is that… a four pack? Oh, no, it's just three. Still whoa.
"How'd you do what?" He replied, keeping his eyes on the book pages and as he turned it, I gave him a pissed glare and exclaimed, "The test, Neji. How'd I do? Was it alright? Was it sloppy? Do I suck?"
"Oh, you suck, alright."
"I… I do?" It wasn't something I expected, but if he thinks I'm not good at it, fine. "Well, I'm not surprised. It is my first time to do it so, technically, to a pro like you, I suck."
"Idiot. I mean you suck… literally. You're not supposed to suck during a kiss."
I froze. Oh, gawd, that was one sick statement.
"No! I mean, suck! As in, suck meaning stink or fail or amateur or… you know… suck! Don't play around with me!"
He snickered and answered, "Nah, you didn't suck figuratively. You sucked, literally, but that's… okay."
"Okay? You just said that you shouldn't suck during a—…"
"I know what I said," he interrupted me, turning to another page, "But you were good. Really good. And that sucking technique…? It really works."
"What do you mean it works?"
"I mean… it works."
"Neji!"
"What? I mean what I said. It works. It's great, it's captivating and it works."
I paused. Was that Neji speak for 'You're a great kisser'? How was I supposed to know?
"Thank you?" I said, not knowing what was the right thing to say.
He just nodded back and kept his eyes on the book. I knew that book. It's the second book of the series and Neji never rereads books unless he was either bored or he was trying to seem like he's busy when he's not. He can't be bored. Not with Lee and me. Never.
"Hey, Neji," I called to him, leaning forward to catch his attention, "Did you use Squishy, too, when your ex was teaching you how to kiss?"
When I asked him, he didn't even look at me. His gaze was fixed on the pages, but it was obvious that he wasn't reading. His eyes just pace back and forth but nothing comes into his mind. It's like he's reading the same paragraph over and over again coz nothing makes sense to him.
"Yeah, I used Squishy." Neji finally answered, halting the pacing of his eyes, "Squishy used to be Hanabi's favorite toy when she was a baby. Then, my ex came over to teach me how to kiss. She just tossed Squishy to me and, well, she told me what I told you. Okay?"
Through his explanation, not once did he even turn his eyes away from the book pages he was 'reading'. He's avoiding my gaze. Neji is never like that. Sure, to people he hates, yeah, but to me? No. Unless… he hates me now.
I was still curious, "Did you kiss her as a final test, too?"
This time, he answered immediately. "Tenten, don't you remember?" Neji muttered, keeping his gaze on his book, "My ex was just using me to get Inuzuka jealous. She never kissed me or hugged me. She just… held my hand and walked around with me like I'm some trophy. So, I never did a final test or anything like that."
That's something I didn't know. I knew that his girlfriend was just using him, but I didn't know that they never kissed or hugged. Then, maybe that made me the first girl Neji has ever kissed. But with the 'skill' he has, it surprises me.
"Something the matter?" I asked him, concerned. I was beginning to sound annoying, but something was bothering him. What weird thing was bothering him enough to make him bring a book to the sauna?
He arched a brow, still avoiding my eyes, "When are you going to quit asking questions?"
"Once you've answered them."
"I'm fine."
"Liars go to hell, you know."
"Yes, I know, Tenten."
"Are you mad at me?"
"No. Shut up, Tenten."
"Is this about the final test we did?"
"Maybe."
"You hate me for it?!"
"Who said I hate you?"
"It just…" I stopped and glared at him, then continued, "…looks like it."
He didn't answer after that. He busied himself with the book. Piss me off, eh?
"Oh, come on, Neji, it's not like we did the kiss because we liked each other, right?!"
Once again, he kept quiet. He still didn't look at me and my eyes grew. I repeated, "R-Right…?"
And there, he sighed and stood from his bench, excusing himself, "It's getting too warm in here for me. I'll see you outside." And with that, he brought his book with him, pushed the sauna door's exit and left, leaving me inside the sauna alone.
Neji does more mood swings than me experiencing PMS.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"W-Where's Neji?" I asked Lee, who was playing with a rubber band at the smoothie bar as he sipped on his guava-mango shake. I don't know why he likes that stuff.
He shrugged and said, "The last time I saw him, he was in the showers."
"He's not in there."
Lee let some of his shake squirt out of his nose, "Y-You checked?! You went inside the Men's lockers and checked?!"
Obviously, I blushed and screamed back, "No! I just… assumed, that's all! You go check on him, then!"
"He wasn't there when I went."
"Then… where is he?"
Lee shrugged and went back to drinking his shake. I rolled my eyes and said, "We'll I'm going to the gym and check if he's over there. We're going to my house for midday snack. Then we'll hang there and go pick Hinata up." And I stomped away, on my way to the gym. I swear, Neji does an awesome job on hiding.
After a quick peek at the gym, I didn't find him. As I was on my way back to Lee, I felt a firm grip land on my arm and it turned out that Neji pulled me to the side. "Hey, I was looking for you. I--…"
"Tenten, shut up and just listen to me first."
I arched a brow and said, putting my hands on my hips, "What is it? Lee's waiting for--…"
"Lee?!" He exclaimed, then rushed off, still holding my arm. Man, what a grip he had. I think he's going to tear off my arm, "Neji! What are you up to? The hell is wrong? Why're you dragging me? Where are you taking me?"
He didn't answer and soon, we reached a broom closet and he shoved the two of us inside, clicking the light inside the closet open. "The hell are you doing?" I freaked out, "Why are we in the closet?"
Great, he locked the door again.
"You have to listen up now, okay?" He told me, eyeing me furiously. He didn't do that kind of glare. He did when he was angry, yeah, but not usually. I nodded and prepared to listen.
It was pretty awkward, actually. The broom closet is pretty small and if I back off any farther, I'd bump onto the wall and a few mops. Neji was actually less than inches away. In fact, I think that's his pants' material brushing against my bare leg. What the heck is this?!
"I don't want Lee to hear any of this…" He mumbled, in a position as if cornering me. Poor Lee never gets to know anything. "This is about... the final test. This is gonna be hard to tell you. But I have to."
My eyes grew. Oh, gawd.
"I'm... I'm not exactly a good kisser, huh?" I sulked, disappointed.
"No!"
"Stop pretending! You can tell me the truth!"
"No, uh, hey, you're a real good kisser. Great job and honestly, I don't think you should really take this seriously..."
"Then, what is it? Did my breath stink?"
"Damn it, just listen to me!"
Fzzzzzz.
"Aw, sh--! What was that?!" Neji jumped up, tingling all over. I realized that it was my phone in my front pocket. Wow, was Neji near enough to actually feel my phone vibrate? Brr.
I shot my hand into my pocket and checked who the caller is. It's an anonymous number and I had to answer it to check who it was. I pressed the button on my phone and said, "Hello?"
"Tenten?"
"W-Who's this?"
"Uh, is this Tenten?"
"Yeah, who's this?"
"It's Sasuke Uchiha."
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Kankuro: I'm betting Neji's DemonPeacock.
Me: Falcon.
Kankuro: Oh, sorry. Rephrase: I'm betting Neji's FalconPeacock.
Me: -sigh-