Party

By: Jaylonni Love

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"Oh come on TenTen," Ino urged as she attempted to pull at the sheets the brunette was trying to hide under. Frustrated with her roommate, the blonde sighed, "We all promised Sasuke we would be there tonight. You can't back out now." She smiled and added as an afterthought, "And to my knowledge the very hot Neji Hyūga will be there too. I know how much you've been crushing on since you first met him at in your English Comp class three years ago. Before I even got here."

A single brown eye peeked from under the sheets up at the younger woman that stood beside the bed, "That's even more of a reason for me not to go! I don't want to look awkward around Neji."

"Oh please," Ino said rolling her eyes, "With my help you'll be sure to nab his attention as soon as you walk into the room. Besides, what better way to get the prodigy's attention than showing up at a party and being the best… well second best looking person there, hm?"

The sheet was pulled away from her head and she looked up at the pretty blonde, "That sounds ridiculous Ino."

"You never know until you try, TenTen," Ino said flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder. "So… how about it? Let me dress you up and we go have a good time tonight, yeah? And possibly get you a boyfriend in the process of it all."

Sitting up, the brunette sighed as she looked up at the younger girl, "Fine. I'll go."

"Good," Ino chimed happily pulling the reluctant girl from her bed and out of their shared apartment to go last minute shopping.

I'm probably going to regret this later on, TenTen thought to herself with a roll of her eyes. Great.

…

After several hours of walking mercilessly through the overly large mall of the Konoha County, TenTen and Ino finally sat to take a much needed break. The blonde girl had been pulling the poor brunette all through the mall trying to find something for her to wear to the party that night. TenTen had wanted to go with a beautiful red cheongsam dress with gold lining and a beautifully designed multi coloured dragon stitched into the back, the tail curving around to the front. The slits on the sides coming up to just beneath her thigh, showing off enough of her leg to draw attention.

But Ino had other plans. Instead she picked out a short, form fitting black, backless dress that stopped at the middle of her thigh with a gold collar to hold the dress together around her slender neck, several gold chains hanging off the back of the clothing.

Somewhat appalled by the dress that Ino had picked, TenTen reluctantly allowed her to purchase it for the night's festivities, opting to still buy the cheongsam herself for another day. Once they left the dress store, they looked through several different shoe stores before Ino finally decided that she would buy a pair of four inch gold heels for TenTen to wear.

This pissed TenTen off. It wasn't that she didn't know how to walk in heels. She had plenty of experience in walking in the uncomfortable shoe wear courtesy of the younger blonde that was with her. It's that she didn't want to wear heels. But then again, she couldn't exactly wear a pair of sandals with the dress Ino had oh so happily picked out for her.

She should have just let me wear the cheongsam tonight, TenTen though bitterly as she had walked in the heels to show Ino she was capable.

Giving a happy thumbs up, TenTen took that as a sign that she could sit and take the annoying shoes off and hand them over, which she did.

And now, here they were sitting by the ramen stand, enjoying a bowl of ramen and a few drinks after a very productive day.

"You're going to look amazing tonight," Ino said happily. "Especially with the way I want to do your hair. You have to let the buns go, just for tonight at least."

TenTen touched her hair, making a face at the suggestion, "But I like my buns."

"Yeah I get that," Ino said rolling her eyes, "But just for tonight, lose them. Then tomorrow you can go back to your usual hairstyle."

TenTen gave a slight pout, subconsciously poking one of her buns, "Fine."

This brought a grin to Ino's face before she dug into her ramen again.

I'm really going to regret this, TenTen thought to herself, pushing her food around halfheartedly.

…

Neji sighed, tying his tie at the end of his hair before looking into the mirror, checking his appearance. He really, really didn't want to go to this ridiculous party tonight but once word reached his ears –through his younger cousin Hinata– that the beautiful bun wearing female known as TenTen was going to attend, so he had agreed to accompany his younger relative.

"N-Neji-nii-san," Hinata's soft voice floated to his ears from her place at his open bedroom door, "A-are you ready to leave?"

"Hn," Neji grunted as he nodded, turning to follow the younger girl out of the Hyūga compound.

Together they walked to the vehicle of choice for the night, a cherry red Ferrari, Neji taking the driver's seat before heading off towards the Uchiha home for the gathering.

For the entire drive, the elder Hyūga was completely silent, listening to the younger girl chattering happily about who all would be there, stuttering just a bit when she got too excited whenever a particular name came up.

He added in a grunt or a nod whenever she would ask him a direct question before she would continue chattering away. This continued for the entire forty-five minute drive until they pulled into the already crowded driveway of the Uchiha home.

Together they got out, stepping out of the exotic sports car and making their way to the front door that had opened as if someone knew they were coming.

Stepping in after his cousin, Neji let his pale orbs scan the room, searching for one person in particular… TenTen. She wasn't there yet though.

"Hn," he grunted softly, moving through the crowd to find a spot on the wall to wait.

He didn't show it, but he was a bit excited to see the beautiful brunette again.

…

"Hurry up, TenTen," Ino urged, poking her head into her roommate's bedroom.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," TenTen replied, placing the butterfly clip in her hair to keep her bangs from falling into her face.

After checking her appearance in the mirror, she turned and made her way out of her room to where Ino was waiting. When the blonde caught sight of her brunette friend, she whistled, admiring her handy work.

"I did an amazing job," she praised herself as she stood, moving a piece of hair out of TenTen's face and back where it belonged. "Neji couldn't possibly resist you when he sees you as soon as we get there. Who knew you had all those curves under those baggy clothes you like wearing." Her grin widened slightly when she saw the pink tint to the other girl's cheeks, "Oh don't be so bashful. What are you going to do when Neji compliments you? You can't exactly stand there with a cheesy look on your face." She flipped her hair out of her face before grabbing the other woman's arm. "We're already late and I would rather not get there when the party's damn near over."

"Fine, fine," TenTen said following the other woman out of the apartment.

…

When Neji noted the door opening, his head turned and his jaw damn near dropped but it didn't because he was Neji Hyūga and his jaw doesn't drop. Ever. However, that didn't mean he couldn't be stunned by what he saw.

TenTen, the girl he had been looking for the entire night had just walked through the door wearing the most alluring little black dress he had ever seen in his life. And her hair, which she usually wore up in her signature buns, was let down for once, flowing down her back in thick, wavy curls. He thought she was beautiful before but now, she was absolutely breath taking.

Swallowing the lump in his throat before subconsciously licking his lips, the Hyūga turned his attention away from the brunette, not wanting anyone to notice that he had been looking directly at her.

Now that she was here, he had to figure out a way to approach her. And as discreetly as possible.

…

TenTen had caught sight of Neji about an hour after she had arrived. He was standing in the far corner, avidly attempting to ignore one of his many fangirls that was trying to strike up a conversation with the stoic male. This somewhat made her nerve waver, what if he did the same thing to her?

Then again, she wasn't one of his overly annoying admirers that pestered him every day just to get a moment of his time. She liked him from afar, seeing how he would get agitated when they would bother him every single day.

TenTen sighed, leaning back in her seat near the refreshments table slightly, nursing a strawberry soda that the party offered.

"TenTen," a very familiar voice called out to her, making her turn to the left and look.

She smiled when she saw her pink haired friend walking towards her, a large grin on her face, "Sakura, hi."

"You look amazing," Sakura complimented, grinning from ear to ear as she took the seat next to the young brunette woman.

TenTen looked down at the dress she was wearing. Sure it wasn't something she would normally wear much less buy. But Ino had insisted on it, "Thank you."

Glancing over the older girl's shoulder, Sakura gave a knowing smile, "Ino's trying to set you up again, huh?"

TenTen nodded, glancing over her shoulder to see the girl that had been trying to talk to the Hyūga walk away in a huff. That was the tale tell sign that she had been unsuccessful in trying to get him to talk to her.

"I wonder when those girls will ever learn," Sakura mused more so to herself. "He doesn't like pushy. You'd think they would have realized this by now."

TenTen nodded her agreement, taking a sip of her soda.

…

Another hour or so passed before Neji spotted TenTen once more. She was walking out to the balcony for fresh air.

"You know," a voice said from behind him, "This is probably the only chance you're going to get to talk to her since she seems to disappear on you all the time when we're on campus."

Neji glanced over his shoulder, noting that it was his cousin's boyfriend talking to him, "Kiba. I have absolutely no idea what it is you're talking about."

Kiba snorted, turning his head to look out at the balcony where the lone brunette was standing, "Sure you don't dude. Sure you don't." He placed a hand on the older man's shoulder, leaning closer so that he could whisper, "You're gonna regret it if you don't talk to her."

And with that, the brown haired man walked away, leaving Neji to his own devices. Pale eyes glanced back to where the young woman had disappeared to before he slowly began weaving his way through the large crowd to make it to the balcony.

…

TenTen sighed, her cheeks resting in her hands, elbows propped up on the railing of the balcony, eyes gazing up at the stars. The loud music could still be heard from behind her, which caused her to be unaware of the man that was slowly approaching her. She sighed longingly, a dreamy look in her face as he came to lean on the railing as well. Then he spoke.

"It's a nice night, isn't it," he said shaking the brunette out of her thoughts.

I know that voice, was the only thought that crossed her mind as she glanced to her side through her peripheral vision.

A silent gasp escaped her throat.

Right there, by her side, was Neji Hyūga, the boy… no man she had, had a gigantic crush on since the first time she saw him in their shared English Composition class her freshman year of college… three years prior.

He turned to glance at her when she didn't answer and she quickly averted her gaze, giving a light nod of the head. She was grateful for the make-up Ino had put on her before they had left, it was hiding her blush quite well, "Yes, it is."

He allowed his lip to twitch, rising a fraction of the way as he turned away again, a comfortable silence falling over the two young adults. Together they stood, watching the stars in silence for several minutes before Neji spoke once more, "You look…"

I look what, TenTen wanted to shout, her heart lurching at possible insult to come.

"…stunning," he finished after a moment.

TenTen felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't believe what she heard, the Neji Hyūga had just complimented her.

This has got to be a dream.

"T-thank you," TenTen said, her blush threatening to grow more intense.

"Hn," was his reply as he nodded. A few more seconds passed before he turned to look at her again. Unfortunately she wasn't looking back at him but that somewhat made it easier for him to ask his next question, "What do you say to having coffee with me some time?"

TenTen couldn't help the grin that began to spread across her lips as she turned, giving a dashing smile, "I'd love to, Neji."

Song: Party

Artist: Beyoncé

Album: 4

That was longer than expected but fun at the same time. Hopefully you all enjoyed? Let me know in a review. Ciao.