Solare

It's been a month since school began and Tenten felt he was getting the short end of the sharp stick.

He expected his third year to be stressful but not this stressful.

"Isn't there anyone else who could do this– anyone?" His tone verged on pleading, though he had too much pride to admit it.

Gai stroked his chin in thought before grimly shaking his head. "Afraid not. Ever since Lee's injuries there's been no one else available. I'm sorry but this duty falls solely to you."

Tenten refrained from tugging his hair out as Gai gave him a pat on the shoulder and exited the classroom. He sunk into his chair, folding his arms over his head while he waded through his options.

He and Lee had been part of the track team since freshman year, but as the classes got harder and the homework piled higher, not to mention various other responsibilities, Tenten receded from club activities to focus on his studies. It had been Lee's job to be in the relay race, but due to an injury that left him in a cast, there was no one else could compete.

Tenten stared down at the test on his deck, a significant amount of red marks glaring back up at him.

He was falling behind in class despite putting aside more hours, and he hadn't been to club even once this year. A bottomless pit sunk into his chest, wondering if he'd be forced to choose between his futile grades or the club he's been a part of since his first year.

The sound of the door opening pulled him out of his thoughts, head whipping up as his sights settled on Neji, another third-year, whose pale eyes stared back at him with a startling amount of focus.

As soon as their stares met, Neji tore his away and begin walking to his desk.

Neji was rather smart, getting the highest grades in the class. Tenten couldn't say they were friends but they weren't strangers either, belonging to different social groups that intersected now and again.

He watched as Neji pulled a textbook out, probably forgotten it beforehand. It was the exact textbook that Tenten was having trouble wrapping his mind around, and seeing it connected a thread in his head that moved his mouth before he could think it all through.

"Hey, Hyuga, can I ask you a favor?"

Neji's movement halted but he didn't turn around. Tenten hoped he didn't hear him, would just ignore him and leave. Sadly his wishes were unheard as Neji turned back to face him, that sharp-eyed look falling heavy on Tenten once more. Being the center of his focus was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise, something about those eyes that were so light yet held so much depth.

Trying not to fidget in his seat, Tenten figured he had nothing to lose. "W... would you mind, perhaps, tutoring me?"

If he agreed then Tenten could maybe make his predicament work. He wouldn't slack in his grades whilst also get back to training for the upcoming race.

Neji didn't have quite the same idea. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"I have chores after school."

"I'll help you with them." Just what was he saying?

If Neji's gaze wasn't boring a hole through him it was now. Tenten wondered if he should sew his bag fat mouth shut before things got any worse.

The other walked over to his desk in four quick strides, book held under one arm while he continued to look at Tenten as if he was some sort of insect.

Tenten hadn't thought of it before either but Neji was a rather tall man, and with him seated the other was basically looming over him, his shadow engulfing him entirely and making him feel just a tad bit small.

Soon the pregnant pause began to itch at him and Tenten drew his eyes to the corner of the desk, teeth wearing into his lower lip. He shouldn't have asked in the first place, shouldn't have taken advanced classes in general, shouldn't have stopped going to track club, shouldn't have ignored Lee in the hospital, shouldn't have done a lot of things – but before he could recant everything he's said so far, Neji finally spoke up.

"I'll consider it."

And within the same breath he was out the door, leaving Tenten once again the only soul in the room.

Even when he was the track club's last hope he still couldn't will himself to attend practice. His eyes already stung at all the reading that awaited him at home, causing his legs to drag from the weight in his chest.

Tenten looked to the ground as he walked, silently asking himself why he'd become so slow. Even if he did compete there was no way he'd be able to win.

He couldn't suppress the groan that rose up out of his throat, combing his fingers through his short brown hair. He was so screwed.

"Tenten! Hey, Tenten, wait up!" called a familiar voice, stopping him in his tracks until they caught up. Tenten turned to face them, finding it was Ino and her friends, Sakura and Hinata. He couldn't help but remember that the latter is Neji's cousin.

Ino wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him into a headlock and squeezing the air out of him.

Once he was sufficiently wheezing she lessened her hold. "You should come with us to this party at Chouji's! There'll be frozen yogurt and a pool, and tons of games! You'll like it, I'm positive!"

"I – hrk, I'm a bit busy this afternoon." Tenten struggled out of the headlock finally, rubbing at his throat. "I have to study…"

It was a weak excuse, and by the look Ino was giving him she didn't buy it either.

Ino was about to speak but Sakura cut her off. "Cut him some slack, Ino, being a third year's pretty difficult." Turning back to Tenten. "We'll catch you some other time then. Study hard."

Tenten nodded in gratitude, knowing that even if he wanted to he just couldn't. The two girls waved and began to leave, pausing when Hinata didn't make a move to follow. She pushed her forefingers together, attempting to look everywhere but where she wanted to look.

Taing in a deep breath she finally said, "Um… actually, I-I'm afraid I'll have to miss the party as well. And since, well, you're heading that way… there's a… there's the, uhm, library on the way I'd like to take a look at and…"

Her sentence pettered off but Tenten got the gist of it even as both Sakura and Ino held confused expressions on their faces.

"I'll walk you there," he offered.

"Thank you." Glancing back at her friends, Hinata gave a slight bow. "I'm sorry, I-I'll be sure to attend the next one."

Ino frowned. "But I thought you were going because Naruto would be there. Plus, all that trouble to get permission from your dad, not to mention dragging along –"

"I-I'm sorry again!" Hinata's face had turned beet red before Ino could finish, whipping around to push Tenten in the opposite direction. "But we really should go before the library closes! Bye, I'll see you two tomorrow, tell me all about the party!"

For someone so short and meek, Hinata pushed Tenten straight down the block before he managed to dig his heels in and stop her from throwing him into the street on accident. They both exhaled for different reasons now that they could catch their breath.

"Sorry," Hinata mumbled, gaze to the pavement again. It reminded Tenten of how he was acting mere moments ago, shoulders sagging and downtrodden, and for a nice girl like Hinata the look just didn't suit her.

"It's alright, you're a lot stronger than you look." He chuckled as they began walking, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, I should probably check out another book or two myself. Calculus is kicking my ass."

His reward was a soft giggle. Out of the girls he knew he definitely got along with Hinata the most.

They took several more steps, making sure to cross the road safely, before Tenten put his hands into his pockets and addressed what he'd been thinking.

"So… Naruto, huh?"

He could feel the warmth from Hinata's blush.

After a moment of no response he reached over to ruffle her hair and they continued on without speaking anymore.

This library was popular, located within walking distance of the school's gates, but since it was a Friday there weren't as many students dawdling between the shelves. Tenten took to finding a book on equations, deciding he'll meet up with Hinata later. To his surprise she trailed behind him.

They both stood in the textbook aisle, Tenten perusing for study material with Hinata off to the side, her frame unmoving and stock-still except for her fidgeting fingers that played with a stray thread in her sleeve.

Tenten mentally rolled his eyes when he finally found a book, tugging it out and heading for an open desk to begin reading, the pitter-patter of Hinata's shoes close behind. He kept his mouth shut, it's only given him trouble today, and went to finding the right chapter, the silence stretched between them only broken now and again by the flip of the pages.

Twenty entire minutes eek out between them. Tenten even forgets Hinata is there, too busy scratching notes onto a sheet of paper and tapping the point of his pencil, until she coughs loud enough to gain his attention.

"What's up?" Tenten asks, feigning nonchalance, not looking up from his writing.

When he receives no immediate answer he turns to the next page. From the corner of his eye he can see Hinata is struggling not to gnaw her lower lip to shreds, hands clenched firmly together. She was never good at explaining herself, and Tenten wasn't going to pick up what she wanted to say until she did it herself.

Another moment toddled by until, faintly, "I'm sorry… for using you as an excuse…"

Tenten finally looked over to her, blinking.

"I-I chickened out on the party because… Naruto would be there, even when I asked for so many favors to go. My family, I asked them all to help me and…" Hinata took a watery breath. "I decided at the last minute I couldn't do it."

"Hey now," Tenten said, pulling out a handkerchief from his bag to hand over. She sniffed, hiding her face in it, but nothing else. "We all get cold feet now and again, it's natural to be scared of the outcome."

Reaching out he ruffled her hair again, getting her to peek out shyly. Tenten grinned as reassuring as he could. "Wanna still go?"

Despite looking lost and frightened, Hinata nodded slowly.

The best part about being a hypocrite is that no one but yourself knows it. And if someone else knows, that means they're also a hypocrite. Tenten sighed for the upteemth time, hands stuffed deep into his pockets, standing by the food table, Hinata still by his side.

She wrung the handkerchief between her fingers as the two of them watched the dance floor in envy. Naruto was in the middle, playing his own version of some popular dance move and getting the tempo entirely wrong.

Even if she was here it seemed confessing was going to be a long way off. Oh well, at least they had snacks.

"I'll iron this before I return it," she said, thumbing at the cloth in her hands. Tenten shrugged in response. The blue handkerchief wasn't too important, the only thing differentiating it from any other handkerchief was his name in the lower corner, barely noticeable.

Tenten was about to open his mouth again, but no sound came out as Neji suddenly entered the room and his sights landed squarely on them. He immediately began walking over, bypassing the large crowd with surprising speed.

"Ruh-roh, Raggy. Uhm, how about you return it to me on Monday instead." Tenten felt a sting of guilt as he hurriedly left, leaving Hinata to deal with Neji alone.

"I thought you asked me to bring you to this party," was all Neji said before Tenten had fled out of earshot. He kept walking, leaving the house to head into the backyard and get some fresh air.

The pool was filled with various students, most notably the host of the party Chouji Akimichi himself. He had several floating trays beside him all laden with snack foods, smart enough to not pick anything that'd get soggy if it got splashed. Beside him in an inner tube was Shikamaru, apparently dozing, and around them were several others that Tenten didn't immediately recognize.

What he did recognize was Kiba standing across the way. Kiba, who was on the track team. Kiba, who looked up just in time to lock eyes with Tenten.

Spinning on his heel, Tenten didn't bother listening if his name was called or not, blood rushing past his ears as he scrambled to find somewhere else to hide, only to bump right into Neji himself.

Hinata was nowhere to be seen, and for a second Tenten worried that Neji physically ate his cousin and was going to spit her bones out on him. The panic must have shown in his face because Neji's eyes only narrowed further.

He took a step forward and Tenten took a step back, breath stuck in his throat.

"You brought Hinata to this party."

Not the question he expected but his forced his mouth to reply regardless. "Y-yeah?"

Judging by Neji's face that was the wrong answer as he continued to advance, forcing Tenten to backpedal.

"It was you all along."

What did that even mean? Tenten could only shrug, helpless. "Yeah, I guess?"

Neji's jaw visibly tensed, hands balling into fists. By now everyone else was likely watching them, even Shikamaru cracking open a single eye to watch this confrontation unfold.

"Hinata begged me all week to take her to this party, to promise her father that she'll be safe and brought back on time under my protection. Only, she didn't meet up with me like she said she would, and I find her at this party with you instead."

"I'm sorry?" Tenten tried, jolting away when Neji raised his hand that was holding something, but he couldn't figure it out before his heel slipped on the wet concrete and he tumbled backwards into the pool.

Water and limbs thrashed about. Tenten was good at running on land, not in the water, and by the time he got his head above water he felt a pair of hands yanking him back out.

A thump to his back caused water to escape his lungs, skin trembling and hair wetly sticking to his face. God, everyone just saw him nearly drown. What a day it's been.

A familiar voice was heard beside him, a towel coming into view. "You alright?"

Tenten looked up to see Kiba giving him a worried expression. He could only nod, accepting the towel to wrap around his shoulders. Around him both Sakura and Ino were there, Sakura asking him if he was light-headed while Ino demanded everyone else give him some space.

His eyes looked around, but Neji had already left.

Later that night, in his own home, sitting drly in his bed, Tenten received a text message. It was from Neji and it said five words:

"Meet me tomorrow for tutoring."