A Summer Apart Chapter 22: Vulnerable, a naruto fanfic

A/N: Back with a new chapter! I decided not to change the last two because I'm to lazy and I wouldn't want the people who already read it to re-read it when it's just about the same plot! So I'm starting to write this later then I expected so maybe I won't finish this story by the end of the summer...

"Text": Talk

'Text': Thinking

Text: Stuff previously said

Text: Internet Stuff

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto because Masashi Kishimoto owns it. I also don't own cupcakes because no ones wants to bake them for me (I can't bake... not even those that you just add water and put in the oven).

Start date: July 9, 2008

Chapter 22: Vulnerable

Love is defined as strong affection, warm attachment, and/or beloved person. Ten-Ten knows that because she looked it up on her electronic dictionary… one hundred times. (A/N: It actually does say that on my electronic dictionary!)

Of course people say I love you all the time and can say it because they feel all those three things for the person but for some people it's different. For Neji, Ten-Ten knew it was different.

For Neji, saying 'I love you' meant like 'Before either of us were born, it was destiny that both of us will be together. Marry me after a few years, please?'. But did she, Ten-Ten, love him back? She wanted to be a hundred percent sure that she loved him before she answered it back and that's what she told Neji, which he responded with a light "Okay, I understand" which for Neji meant 'Take your time. I understand'. So why did she feel so bad!

"Ten-Ten." Ten-Ten turned to see Neji staring at her with a look that Ten-Ten could only describe as nothing.

"Yeah?" Ten-Ten asked.

"It's been a day since I told you that I loved you and--"

"--I'm still thinking," Ten-Ten said hastily.

"I know but I've been thinking," Neji said, his voice revealing nothing. "I think we should break up."

"Wh-What?" Ten-Ten asked, or really gasped since she momentarily forgot how to breathe.

"I think we should break up," Neji repeated himself.

"Why?"

"Because," Neji started to say but he just sighed and looked away. "I never had a real girlfriend, Ten-Ten."

"I've known you since even before "puberty" is suppose to start for you so I knew that you never had a girlfriend," Ten-Ten pointed out, trying to make a laugh out of this even though she felt like someone just punched her in the gut.

'And plus I would have killed the person who even insisted to be Neji's girlfriend,' Ten-Ten added, even trying to distract herself from crying in her head.

"I mean that I don't know how this is suppose to work, but I'm pretty it's suppose to be easy--" Neji started up to say. His voice was still indifferent, but Ten-Ten couldn't tell if his face was the same.

"--It's not suppose to be easy!" Ten-Ten cried out. "And what problems? The only problem I know of is you not letting me do anything because you're afraid I'll get hurt!"

"Exactly," Neji muttered under his breath.

"What?" The brunette asked, raising an eyebrow in clear confusion.

Neji sighed for the second time and Ten-Ten frowned. People only sigh when something bad is happening.

"Neji," Ten-Ten said, grabbing Neji's jaw and forcibly making him face her. Her voice was soft despite the scowl on her face. "What's the matter?"

"I'm..."

"...Your...?"

"I'm..."

"...gay?" Ten-Ten guessed, making a face that combined both joke and shock.

"No."

"Then what?"

"I'm--"

"--AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Ten-Ten suddenly interrupted in obvious agony, grabbing her leg while muttering curses very loudly.

"Ten-Ten!"

"I'm fine," The brown eyed girl tried to convince her boyfriend. She didn't like it when Neji showed concern or other foreign feelings that he likes to hide. She tried to smile as a reassurance, but all she ended up doing was biting her lip to keep from screaming.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Love is giving someone the power to hurt you but trusting him/her not to. -- John Albert Halili

"You said you were fine."

"I am fine! ...Most of the time... It's just a side effect when I got beat up!"

"How?"

"I don't know! The doctors were talking about it, but they were getting scientifically about it and I zoned out--"

"--Because the pain was to much to listen to anything else."

"No! Because it was getting boring!"

"You should have told me. We were together. I trusted you to tell me everything."

Ten-Ten noticed the past tense in her boyfriend's words.

"...We were?"

"I told you that we should break up. This just gives me an other reason to break it off."

"What do you mean? Don't I get a say in this?"

"You can say okay."

"Will that make you happy?"

Ten-Ten noticed that a very small part of Neji body cringed.

"Yes, it would make me happy."

"Okay then we're broken up."

As Neji walked away, two things happened in Ten-Ten's life: 1) she noticed that the "think of something happy so you won't cry" doesn't work, it just makes you smile while tears are falling down and 2) her heart obliterated.

A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart," --Anonymous

SportsChick: I just feel... empty

CherryBlossomSakura: That's it?

FlowerFabulous: That's normal. That's how I'm feeling now

SportsChick: After your break up, did you feel like your heart was obliterated?

FlowerFabulous:Actually, for me it was like Shikamaru took me heart and then Temari stomped on it with a pair of stilettos, but the pain subsided and since there was nothing else, it just left me empty

SportsChick: Same here, but that's the pain and agony of a break up, huh?

CherryBlossomSakura: All of the fab four are sadly single again! :(

ShySun:To be technical, my father is making me be apart from my boyfriend, but I'm still with him

FlowerFabulous:Get your story straight Sakura, Hinata is sadly apart

CherryBlossomSakura: Still the same thing

CherryBlossomSakura:...No offense Hinata

ShySun: It's alright

SportsChick:...Wait, Sakura didn't you tell me that YOU broke up with Sasuke?

FlowerFabulous: WHAT!?

FlowerFabulous:Forehead girl, how the hell can you break up with someone like SASUKE!?

FlowerFabulous:And to think I was pitying you because I thought he broke up with you!

CherryBlossomSakura: It's... complicated

FlowerFabulous:He's HOT and for some reason loves you and you're obsessed with him!

FlowerFabulous: How complicated is that?!

CherryBlossomSakura: Very!

CherryBlossomSakura: Can we PLEASE change the subject!?

FlowerFabulous: NO!

SportsChick: I think I'm going to be a nun

FlowerFabulous: ...

CherryBlossomSakura: ...

ShySun: ...

SportsChick: What? I think I can pull off white and black!

CherryBlossomSakura: Ten-Ten, you're not even in a religion that would need nuns.

SportsChick: Then I'll be a priestess! Anything that will force me not to think about any guy in a romantic manner!

FlowerFabulous:Does it matter? We all know you're going to end up with Neji anyway

SportsChick: HELLO!?

SportsChick: In case you haven't notice: WE'RE BROKEN UP!

ShySun: Why? You never told us.

SportsChick: I don't know

SportsChick:He said I'm not honest with him since I didn't tell him that my leg hurt sometimes

SportsChick: But he was going to say an other reason before my leg started to hurt and he won't mention what was the other reason

FlowerFabulous: Maybe he's gay

SportsChick: He's not...

CherryBlossomSakura: He does have really long smooth hair...

SportsChick: I said HE'S NOT

ShySun: Maybe he's scared

ShySun: Of you being hurt I mean

SportsChick: ...I don't get it

ShySun:Neji's my cousin

FlowerFabulous:We know that Hinata

ShySun: Hold on, let me write down my thoughts

ShySun:Neji's my cousin and also lives with me, so I know him well. He doesn't like to be scared or show that he's weak. He also never had a girlfriend, but has always liked you, Ten-Ten, but (like most things) he never showed it. And that obviously grew to love. A long time ago, Neji realized that love makes a person not weak, but vulnerable, which is stronger then weakness. Like I said before, he doesn't like being weak.

CherryBlossomSakura:Very insightful Hinata

FlowerFabulous: Yup, very deep

SportsChick: Why doesn't he like being vulnerable?

SportsChick: It's because of his stupid macho pride, huh?!

ShySun: Everyone doesn't like to be vulnerable, Ten-Ten

SportsChick:Yeah, but Neji isn't everyone

CherryBlossomSakura: That's the best comeback ever ;)

SportsChick:I'm serious! Neji is really proud! And he probably doesn't like to be vulnerable because of pride!

FlowerFabulous: Calm down Ten-Ten

SportsChick: I AM CALM!

SportsChick signed off

FlowerFabulous: ...All caps is not being calm

"Loving is a feeling that brings both joy and pain in my heart. Joy from being with you, being filled with an emotion so deep and tender that no other feeling can compare. Pain from knowing that I'm so in love, that I'm more vulnerable than I've ever," --Anonymous

Ten-Ten's POV

"Stupid macho pride," I growled to myself as I turned off the computer rather forcefully. "He was broke up with me because he feels vulnerable!" I grabbed a nearby pencil and squeezed it hard to tryto relieve my anger. "When I see Neji, I'm gonna--"

"--Going to do what, Ten-Ten?"

Speak of the devil...

"Going to tell you that pride is a deadly sin!"

"...So is wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, and greed," Neji pointed out. "Why did you want to tell me that?"

I felt the blood rushing through my vains as the pencil in my hand snapped in two.

"Because it's wrong just to break up with a person just because their big macho pride is in the way!" I yelled hotly.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow. "Pride I wanted to break up with you in the first place, Ten-Ten."

"Yeah right!"

Neji gave a small smirk. "Yeah, I am right."

I glared at him. Now, when I'm was serious, he took things lightly?!

"Neji," I said, clenching my teeth.

"Ten-Ten," Neji sighed, grabbing my hand and lightly lacing our hands together. I felt the blood rush through my cheeks instead of my veins. "It's not pride that makes me scared of being vulnerable."

"Oh."

What else could I say? Just holding hands with Neji, who looked like he was going to confess something huge, was strange enough. Knowing that my conclusion jumping was stupid and wrong just made me dig a deeper hole of embarrassment and awkwardness.

"Even after eight years, my father has never been the same," Neji said, his voice distant as he gazed through the cabin window as if it held all the answers. "It's as if he has gone from indifferent to deadpan. It doesn't seem different, but it is. When he was indifferent, he acted apathetic and didn't care. Or he acted like he didn't care, but deep down he did. But deadpan... he is impassive. He doesn't care and deep down he still doesn't. Of course he cares for me, I'm his son. But he put a distance between us after the accident because he can't handle being so close to someone again and feeling the pain he did when that someone is lost forever."

I didn't speak. I didn't need to. I knew what he was talking about: his mother. When we were ten, Neji's mother fell off a window and died. Neji never wanted to talk about it so I never pushed it. But if he was talking about it now, at this moment, I knew that this was a significant moment that would be ruined if I talked.

"My father didn't want to feel vulnerable to a lost that will happen again since death is our destiny. And I understood that because I didn't want to feel the same vulnerability. But you, I felt like I wanted to love you so I went for it. Then, your own accident came along and I that was my wake up call: I can't lose you, Ten-Ten. I just can't."

"But you'll still feel the vunerablity," I noticed, after noticing the present tense he was using.

"Yes, I thought by breaking up, I won't be scared. But I still am and I still love you Ten-Ten," He replied, now looking at me with his pearl eyes.

"I love you too." ...Now I can say it!? If I just said that two days ago none of this would have happen!? Well, I guess we got it through faster. "Don't worry about the future, just live in the now, Neji."

"Aren't you scared? Scared feeling vulnerable?"

I kissed him lightly on the lips and decided to say the one thing he also told me when I was scared about anything. I smiled. "Leave everything up to destiny."

End Date: August 12, 2008

A/N: ...Yeah, that was a lame ending, but I couldn't think of anything else! And, sorry if you all got a message or something that said I posted up a new chapter, I just revised a chapter and accidentally put it as a new one! Sorry!

Next chapter: Ino and more drama.

I changed Ino's last story (where she was talking to Aoi after going to L.A) so please read it (end of chapter 20) to understand the next chapter! ...Although I don't know when that is since I'm going to be a senior in like less then two weeks! Yikes!

Anyway, please review, but no flames!