I blame all of you fabulous people for doing this to me.

Disclaimer: Yah no

Tenten has some difficulty scrubbing the smile off her face over the next few days. She tries to tell herself that it is not because Hyuga Neji is embarrassingly cute, it is not because she found that terrible date painfully endearing, and it is definitely not because he is a good kisser. It just isn't.

But, before she gets halfway through convincing herself of these things, she ends up dwelling on them instead, and the grin is back with a vengeance, pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Stop it, she tells herself sternly.

Technically, the fact that she is amused by any of it is surprising because Hyuga Neji is not her type, at all. Tenten prides herself on her extensive history of dating bad boys, each one worse than the last. Her friends tell her she has bad taste, but Tenten thinks of it as a joke more than anything.

"I'm dating them for fun," she tells them. "They're not serious." She's always treated with skeptical (Sakura) and appreciative (Ino) glances, respectively.

Honestly, Tenten thinks Hyuga Neji is weird—only a step above some of the creepier guys she's come across. Tenten's bad boy preferences cannot be applied to Neji in the slightest. He is introduce to the parents, responsible, good student, considerate, Class A boyfriend material. Hyuga Neji is not someone who makes Tenten want to climb onto the back of his motorcycle. He's more like study group leader or something. Tenten winces, but shrugs. No use denying the truth.

And yet—she bites her lip. She rolls her eyes, shaking her head. There was no way she could bring herself to go through with it, no way.

"So, how was your date?" Sakura asks, sipping her chai.

She and Tenten are waiting at Starbucks. Ino is late as usual.

Tenten scratches her bitten fingernail across the wood surface of their table. "Well, it sucked, honestly."

Sakura tilts her head to the side, and opens her mouth to respond when Ino arrives, sitting in the remaining chair with a loud huff. "Remind me, please, not to wear new heeled boots to walk across town," the blonde says loudly, leaning her head back tiredly.

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Pig, will you shut it? Tenten was just telling me about her date."

"What!" Ino exclaims, turning sharp blue eyes on her friend. "What date?!"

"I had a date last night," Tenten says flatly, taking a sip of her coffee.

Ino's eyebrows arch suspiciously. "This better not be Genma again."

"Anyway," Sakura interrupts, shooting a look at Ino. "You were saying?"

"It was probably the worst date I've ever been on."

"Why? What happened?"

Tenten sighs, "On the way to dinner, he started telling me about the genetic makeup of snowflakes, which duh, I already know that, and then when we got to the restaurant Genma was sitting at a table, so I hid."

Sakura and Ino stare at her. "You hid from Genma? On your date with another boy?"

Tenten nods. "I had no choice."

"Oh, God, does this mean you told him the whole story?" Ino asks, her hand flying to her forehead in secondhand shame.

"Not the whole story. . ." Tenten defends.

There is a collective groan from her two friends, and Tenten's embarrassment rises. "Look, he took it, you know, okay, considering."

"What happened after that?" Sakura asks, waving this information aside.

"Well, we both knew the night was a goner. So, he just walked me back to my dorm . . . and I told him the date had been pretty bad—"

"Tenten! You didn't! I can't believe you said that!" Sakura says.

Ino shrugs in response, sniffing. "At least she was honest."

"Anyway, I told him the date had been pretty bad, and then . . . well, I kind of made out with him a little."

Ino grins approvingly, but Sakura just shakes her head, looking at the cup in her hands. "You two are ridiculous. Way to send him mixed signals, Tenten."

Instead of replying, Tenten drains her coffee. The warm liquid is soothing to her throat.

"I didn't even know you had a date! When did this happen?" Ino says, ignoring Sakura as she sips some of the girl's tea.

"He asked me the day before yesterday."

"That's weird. I haven't heard you talk about anyone. Who is it?"

Tenten hesitates to answer. It is not because she fears their reaction (okay, maybe she does a little), nor is it because she thinks they would disapprove (Sakura would be all-in; Ino would at least withhold her judgment). Tenten pauses because she kind of likes keeping this secret to herself—Hyuga Neji, however incompatible he is to her, is different and new and Tenten likes the feeling he brings to her thoughts.

But she gives in and tells, because Ino has her ways of getting information. "Hyuga Neji."

There is quiet at the table, and Tenten isn't sure how to take the two girls' gaping expressions. Ino is the first to respond—guffawing so loudly that the customers at the next table shoot her dirty looks.

"Oh, my God, you're kidding me, please say you're kidding," the blonde laughs, clutching her chest for air.

Tenten glares at her, a little miffed. "No, I'm serious."

Ino's chortle increases in decibel, and Sakura stuffs a napkin in the open girl's mouth, rolling her eyes. "Honestly," the other girl says, turning back to Tenten. "Wow. That's—that's something."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tenten asks, eyes narrowing.

"Nothing!" Sakura is quick to say. "It's just. . . He's so. . ."

"Nice? Polite? Proper?" Ino lists.

"Yeah," Sakura says lamely, forehead creasing.

Tenten doesn't understand what they're saying. "And I'm . . . not?"

"No! No, no, no, that's not what I'm saying," Sakura says.

"Yes," answers Ino.

"Will you stop?!" Sakura punches Ino hard on the arm, and the blonde groans a little from the impact. "Tenten is nice, it's just. . . Neji is so. . . I don't know, different?"

"And different is bad," Tenten states, guessing at her meaning.

"No! I don't—I don't know what I'm trying to say." Sakura sinks back in her chair, hiding behind her cup.

Ino turns to the brunette. "He must have been a good kisser, right? I mean, you did say you made out."

Tenten shares a devilish grin with her friend. "He's . . . capable," Tenten ends slyly.

Ino cackles as Sakura hisses, "You guys are ridiculous."

They get off subject, switching to Sakura's woes with Naruto and Sasuke (not much to report, same situation), and Ino's endless string of guys (though Shikamaru is very persistent in getting her to commit). However, at the conclusion of these discussions, it circles back to Tenten.

"Are you going to see him again?"

Tenten shrugs. "Shouldn't that be up to him? I don't even have his phone number."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to go out with him again?"

Tenten mulls it over. Does she? Even though the date was terrible, it wasn't all his fault—she had as much to do with it as he did. Shared responsibility and all that. Besides, it was just one date, and it had ended on a good note (she really had enjoyed kissing him). And there was no denying that Hyuga Neji was intriguing, regardless of his poor conversation topics.

"I wouldn't be opposed to it," Tenten says without commitment.

"Well, I just so happen to have his number. You want it?" Sakura asks, holding up her phone.

Tenten chews on the inside of her cheek. She breaks, "Yeah, okay", and leans across the table to punch it into her phone contacts.

"Hi!" Tenten greets anxiously biting her thumbnail when he answers. She has debated about calling him for hours now, ever since she got the number from Sakura.

At first, she thought she could just text him and be done with it, but then there's the awkward situation where she didn't know if he texted, or if he would respond to an unknown number, or if he would just ignore it altogether.

So she had decided to call, which brought up a whole other arsenal of problems—what if he didn't answer? Should she leave a voicemail? Would it be weird to leave him a voicemail? How long should she wait to call—isn't there a waiting period for these types of things?

And then Tenten just mashed the call button because the overanalyzing was driving her crazy, and honestly, when has she ever been one to obsess over these things? He hadn't called her; she'd kind of perpetuated that she never wanted to see him again, this was her duty. Inwardly, Tenten grimaces. Duty? Wow.

"This is Tenten," she hurriedly says, wincing at the unusually high pitch of her voice. God, why is she so nervous?!

"Oh," Neji says on the other end of the line. "Hello."

Tenten accidentally bites down on her nail with heavy force and she curses into the phone, dancing around her room in an attempt to soothe the pain.

"What did you say?" Neji asks, his tone overly polite.

Tenten whispers another curse, saying in an audible voice, "Ah, nothing! Sorry about that. Uh, how are you?"

There is a pause, and Tenten literally smacks herself on the forehead. 'How are you?' What was that?

"I'm fine," Neji says slowly. She can detect the bemused smirk in his mouth, and her humiliation skyrockets. When did she get so bad at this? Usually she had no problem— "Did you only call to ask how I was?"

"Uh, well, no, I guess not." Tenten scrambles for a reason. In her haste to be rid of the circles she'd been running in her head, she had failed to actually come up with a legitimate cause for calling. Dammit. Think, Tenten! "Uh, so, the other night. . ."

Neji waits.

"Um," Tenten runs her hand through her bangs, "thanks? We—me, that is, I guess I was wondering if you wanted a do-over? Since last night sucked?" Tenten flinches at her poor delivery, shaking her head at herself.

Neji is silent for a long time before he says, "Why? You said it was the worst date you've ever been on."

"Well, okay, I might have been exaggerating. It wasn't all bad," she says, thinking of his lips. She clears her throat. "You can say no. I know that I probably scared you off."

"Tenten," Neji says. Her heart picks up a little—something about the way he says her name. . . "Are you sure you want to go out with me again?"

"Yes," Tenten answers. "Except maybe this time we could do something . . . simpler. And with less chance of running into my ex-boyfriends." She laughs and then immediately regrets it, realizing that it's not funny.

"You . . . want to catch a movie, or something?" asks Neji.

"Yes! Movie! Perfect," Tenten exclaims, a little louder than necessary. "Um, like now, tonight?"

"Let me. . ." his voice trails off, and Tenten can hear him rustling through paper. "Tonight's fine. Do you want to meet me there?"

"Yeah!" Tenten is already envisioning the shuttle schedule in her mind. "Seven, okay?"

"Alright. See you then."

Tenten ends the call and holds her arms up high like she just did a victory lap in the Olympics. Then the painful awkwardness that she inflicted on the whole conversation hits her.

"Man, what the hell? I am so off my game."

To say that Neji is surprised by Tenten's phone call and suggestion they go on another date, is a fairly large understatement. Walking away from their first date, he had resigned himself to leaving her alone and avoiding her at all costs (no matter how much he had enjoyed kissing her). She had made it clear she hadn't had a good time, and since it was half his fault, it was only logical to remove himself from the equation.

But then she had called him. Absently, Neji wonders how she even got his number, because he certainly never gave it to her. But, that's really beside the point—she had called, she wanted to see him again—tonight, no less! Short notice, but if it meant having another chance . . . well, Neji knew he would be a fool not to take it.

He waits outside the theater for her, hands shoved in his coat pockets to keep them warm. He is decidedly less nervous than he was the previous day, which Neji takes as a good sign. Besides, there is little time to talk during a movie, which means less time for him to make a fool of himself.

They see each other at the same time, and Neji stands still as Tenten comes up to him. She's wearing that dumb hat again. But it does look cute on her, Neji decides.

He goes to pay for her ticket, but Tenten vigorously shakes her head and jumps in front of him in line. Inside, she buys popcorn and a soda, waiting on Neji to lead the way into the theater.

They settle in the middle section. Tenten offers him some of her drink and popcorn, but Neji stiffly declines, wondering if her penchant for desserts extends to all junk food. They are quiet as they wait for the lights to fall dark, both seeking for something to say.

Neji didn't even know what they were seeing. Tenten picked the movie. However, when the lights are doused and the screen comes to life, he instantly realizes that she has terrible cinematic taste.

It is a garish slasher film.(1) The first scene alone contains two deaths—one character's trachea is pulled out with some pliers, another falls on a large assemblage of garden rakes (really?) and is impaled.

Neji glances over at Tenten. Surely she didn't pick this movie knowingly. However, Tenten sits enraptured, stuffing popcorn in her mouth, only halfway through chewing when she fills her mouth with soda. Neji doesn't know if the sight is humorous or grotesque.

She senses his gaze and turns to him. "What?" she whispers.

Neji shakes his head, flicking his eyes back to the screen. He sees Tenten analyze him for another minute before turning back to the movie. In his peripheral vision, he watches as she shifts the popcorn container closer to her face, attempting to be more inconspicuous, but if anything, her consumption is only a steady increase.

Neji notices that he's smiling. It is promptly wiped off his mouth when the slasher in the movie beheads his next victim.

"What did you think of the movie?" Tenten asks him as they exit the theater.

"It wasn't what I expected," Neji replies carefully.

Tenten grins at him. "So you hated it."

"Pretty much," Neji says honestly.

Tenten laughs, and her eyes dance a little as she scans the city street. "Want to get some ice cream?"

"It's winter."

"So?" Tenten says, starting towards a yogurt shop a few blocks down.

"It's cold," Neji reminds.

Tenten shrugs. "Alright, suit yourself. But I'm getting some."

Ten minutes later, they are back outside, walking aimlessly. Tenten is humming happily as she tastes her ice cream—chocolate, adorned with pretzels and walnuts.

Neji's curiosity is about to burst its seams. "Why did you call me?" he asks.

He glances at her, and she is considering the lights that have been wrapped around the trees for Christmas. They reflect a little in her eyes.

"Do you want the honest answer, or the made-up one?" she eventually counters.

Neji purses his lips. He does not want to play such a game. Tenten eyes him and says, without waiting for a response, "You're going to think I'm shallow."

"Tell me anyway," he says.

Tenten grimaces, sticking her spoon in her dessert like it's a pole in the ground. A blush creeps across her cheeks. "I told Sakura and Ino, and how last night went. . . They were—well, I guess surprised is the best word—that you asked me out in the first place."

"Why?" Neji's forehead creases.

"They think we're really different." Tenten shoots him an apologetic look. "And you're not really my type, to be honest."

This stings less than Neji thought it would. "Your type is thirty year old senpais," Neji says measuredly.

Tenten manages to snicker and look offended. She shoves him a little. "Wow, thanks."

Neji shrugs, smirking. "Am I wrong?"

Tenten ignores him, saying, "What I mean to say is that the type of guys I usually go out with are . . . you know, trouble. I guess I'm a little bit of an adventure-junkie. And you're, well, not."

Neji frowns. "You don't know that for certain."

Tenten treats him to a condescending smile. "Oh, really? Have you ever been arrested?"

Neji shakes his head. His family would rather bury him alive than he have a criminal record.

"Tattoos?" Tenten is holding her spoon, holding it aloft as she swallows her ice cream. He wonders if she's pretending to direct traffic.

"No."

"Do you have any drug problems? Have you ever seen a psychiatrist? Do you know how to operate a motorcycle?"

"No," Neji answers.

Tenten lifts her eyebrows sadly. "Then I am afraid, Hyuga Neji, that you are not like any of the guys I've dated before. Which is why my friends reacted the way they did."

"They don't like me," Neji states, forehead creasing.

Tenten glances at him, eyes wide. "Oh, no. They have no problem with you! They think that you're too good for me."

Neji lifts an eyebrow quizzically. "Am I?" he asks softly.

Tenten's mouth twists into a half-smile, but it is not pleasant. "Probably," she mutters, turning back to her ice cream.

They walk a few more moments in silence until Neji points out, "You never answered my question. Why did you call me, if we're not compatible?"

A mischievous look crosses her face.

"I liked kissing you," she says, smiling into her ice cream.

Neji tries not to let that go too quickly to his head. "That's the only reason?"

Tenten bites her lip. "No. You—I don't know. You just . . . you're completely different from the other boys I've dated. And maybe I like that, a little."

Neji mulls this over, trying to make sense of it.

"Hey," Tenten says. She grasps his coat sleeve and pulls him close to her, angling them both to the side of the sidewalk. Her mouth brushes his, and Neji grips her waist, grabbing a handful of her coat. Her arm slides behind his head. She tastes like chocolate; the ice cream lingering on her lips.

Neji breaks away first this time. He looks down at her, and attempts to resist the pouty gaze she's giving him.

But they're in public, and Hyuga Neji, however much he likes this girl, cannot bring himself to be one of those blatantly obvious individuals who kiss in front of random strangers.

"Sorry," Tenten says, reading his expression. Her cheeks are flushed with embarrassment and the bite from winter. She chews on a fingernail distractedly. Carefully, Neji takes her hand, slipping his fingers around hers.

They walk to the shuttle together and get on, Neji deciding to make sure she got to her stop near the university safely. They say little on the ride, content with each other's silence. Several minutes before Tenten gets off, Neji asks, "Was this an improvement from yesterday?"

A slow smile spreads across her face. "Yes. But it's still weird."

"If this were any other date, what would you be doing right now?" Neji says, curious.

Tenten sinks back in her chair, rolling her eyes. "I'd probably be at some party, wondering when I could go home because the music's too loud and I have to study. Or I'd be just hanging out with the guy, at his place." Tenten studies him. "What about you?"

Neji raises his eyebrows. "I don't date," he answers simply.

"Oh, you're one of those long-term relationship people," Tenten says knowingly.

He shakes his head. Tenten narrows her eyes in confusion. "I don't ask people out. I don't go on dates," Neji supplies. "School rules that out for me." And my family, but there's no reason to bring that up, he thinks to himself.

Tenten stares at him and then grasps her forehead. "Oh, God," she whispers under her breath.

Neji feels her second-wave embarrassment for him and winces. "I just ruined it, didn't I?" he states quietly.

Tenten's body is shaking, but when Neji reaches over and pulls her hand away from her face, he can see she's laughing.

He shakes his head and leans his head back against the seat. She's genuinely laughing at him! This night is just as bad as the previous!

Tenten's hand slides up to grip his arm. There are tears in her eyes, a grin on her mouth. "Neji, no, I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at myself!"

"Why? You can't believe you went out on a second date with someone as lame as me?" Neji retorts sullenly.

Tenten squeezes his arm and places a kiss on his cheek.

"No. It's not you. I'm laughing because this is so out of the ordinary for me. If my friends saw me right now, I'm pretty sure they'd have me psychoanalyzed."

Neji does not find this anymore encouraging. Tenten realizes she is not being helpful and says, "Listen. I know that our current . . . acquaintanceship has not been the smoothest. But what I'm trying to say is that I want to see where this goes. Really."

There is a desire for acceptance and agreement in her brown eyes, and Neji weighs it against his own feelings.

"But I'm not what you usually want," he points out.

Tenten shrugs. "Even I don't know what I want. And where has that gotten me? In crappy situations with crappy guys. I never take dating seriously—which is why this should be up to you. . . Because . . . I don't want to hurt you. You're . . . special, and I don't want to screw you up."

Neji hardly thinks that's possible, and he has no idea where she's coming from with that 'special' comment, but he leans forward and briefly kisses the corner of her mouth. Tenten closes her eyes, sinking into it, but then the shuttle slows to a stop. Her eyelids slide open sleepily.

"Goodnight," Neji tells her, releasing her hand.

Tenten walks off the shuttle, and waves a hand at him through the window. It is then, as the shuttle leaves, that she realizes how much she wants him, and the heaviness of it takes her breath away.

She shoots a group text to Sakura and Ino as she walks home: I think I'm sick.

(1) If you're unfamiliar with this term, slasher movies are horror films that usually just have a main character that goes around and kills everyone. Think Hitchcock's Psycho or Halloween. Lots of blood, lots of violence. Not a lot of "high-art".

Ugh. . . What did you guys think?