Tenten finally stopped dragging him behind her when they reached a deserted alley. She turned to face him, releasing him at the same time. Neji stared at her blankly. "What did I do?"

Tenten gaped at him, finally shaking her head and sighing angrily. "What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?! You sang the freaking Emo Song to Sasuke in public, for one! You sang Raining Men right when I was about to fall asleep last night! AND YOU READ MY DIARY! THAT is what you did, Neji Hyuuga!" Her hands flew to her hips and she glared at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? If you don't tell me right now, I'm taking you to the Hokage, and SHE can diagnose you. Because I sure as hell can't figure it out!"

Neji sighed, and scratched the back of his head. Finally, he mustered up the courage to look her in the eyes. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"Bullshit!" Tenten cursed. Neji jumped in surprise. "Alright...I'm going to figure this out, whether you like it or not. You were fine the day you came to my house, for the most part. We went through all that stuff on my desk, and played Ding Dong Ditch. You took a bath, and then we went to bed. Everything was normal."

Neji watched her as she began to pace back and forth, tapping her chin thoughtfully and keeping the other hand on her hip. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't consult the list, not with Tenten right there. "I have to go to the bathroom." He turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't. You're staying right here or your out on the streets for the rest of the week!" Neji froze in his tracks and gulped, turning back around to watch Tenten resume her pacing. "The next morning was when things got weird. First you stared at me, then you said you appreciated me. That's way too nice to be normal Neji Hyuuga behavior. Isn't it?" She looked up at him suspiciously. Neji just stared back nervously. "Now, what could your motives be for these actions? Well, when I really think about it, there can only be one logical reason."

Neji gulped as Tenten turned to face him, a smug grin on her face. "Neji, you don't need to act all nice just because I'm letting you stay at my house. It's what friends do, right?"

Neji blinked. Immediately his heart rate returned to normal and he struggled to keep from sighing in relief. "Of course. Very well. I'll go back to normal, then." He cleared his throat and wiped sweat from his forehead when Tenten wasn't looking. As they exited the alley, Tenten grabbed his hand and grinned at him.

"Good. Now let's go get something to eat!"

.

Tenten and Neji sat across from each other at Tenten's favorite eatery, waiting for their food. "He's doing it again..." Tenten thought as Neji looked up at her for the billionth time. As soon as their eyes met, he looked back down at his lap. Tenten scratched her head and pretended to be interested in the tablecloth. "If this wasn't Neji, I would genuinely think that he liked me. But it IS Neji. And he doesn't care about anyone but himself. But then again...he acted like he cared about me today. He even said he was trying to be nice since I'm letting him stay at my house. That shows that he values our friendship. And he HAS been acting kind of weird around me. Staring at me, singing even though he's horrible at it, playing with my hair, holding my hand, smiling so much, trying to cheer me up..." Tenten's eyes widened and she stared at Neji. "Oh. My. God."

Neji's head shot up and he stared at her. "What?"

Tenten's expression didn't change. "You...you...the list!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly.

Neji felt his heart shoot up into his throat and his heart rate increased tenfold. "Wha...what...I don't know what you're talking about," he said quickly, calming himself down and promptly standing up. "Now you're the one acting weird, Tenten. Babbling about mysterious lists...I can't handle this kind of absurdity. I'll be going now."

Tenten stood up too, a grin spreading across her face. "The list. The list on my desk. From years ago! I'd completely forgot about it!"

Neji turned away from her, making his way towards the door. "No idea what you're talking about, Tenten. I suggest you pay the Hokage a visit. She can fix whatever's wrong with you."

Tenten's grin only got wider as she followed him towards the exit. "You're lying, Neji. You found that list the first night while I was asleep, didn't you?"

"No," Neji shot back without looking back at her, leaving the restaurant and heading down the street. Tenten followed behind, refusing to give up.

"You did, didn't you? And I'm sure you kept it. It's probably in your pocket right now."

"No, it's not, Tenten. You're wrong." Neji shoved past a few people on the street, heading in a random direction and finally turning into another alley. At the same time, he stuck a hand into his pocket, and in a flash the list was in his mouth and he was using chakra to force it down his throat.

"Well, it doesn't matter whether it is or not!" Tenten exclaimed, speeding up her pace to catch up to him. "You took it and read it, and then you did all those things that were on it while I was around..." She reached out and grabbed his arm, spinning him around and shoving him against a wall. "...because you like me," she finished confidently.

Neji swallowed roughly, feeling the paper go down at last. He looked from Tenten's determined face, to his left, and finally to his right, deciding there was no way to escape. There was only one thing left to do...lie through his teeth. "No, that's not true. None of it." He couldn't risk being rejected by his best friend. It was cliche, but their friendship could get ruined.

A bit of uncertainly flashed across Tenten's eyes, and Neji took advantage of the moment. "I...uh...you were right before. When you said I was just grateful that you let me stay with you. That's all."

Tenten released him, folding her arms across her chest and trying to hide her disappointment. "But the list..."

"Alright, I admit it. I found the list. But I didn't do those things out of affection. Just appreciation. You're my best friend, Tenten, but that's all we'll ever be. And I'm okay with that. Aren't you?" His heart was thumping so hard against his chest that it hurt, and he was using every muscle he had to stop himself from grabbing her and kissing her, but he couldn't let Tenten know that. She would never talk to him again if the feelings weren't mutual.

Tenten tapped her foot against the ground nervously, biting her lip and looking up and down the alley. "You're sure that's it?"

Neji nodded determinedly. "Positive." He looked into her eyes as he said this. Wait... something was wrong. Being Tenten's best friend, Neji didn't miss the glint in her eyes when she looked back at him. Tenten was definitely up to something.

"Sooo...you wouldn't mind if I did...this?" Tenten asked. Neji opened his mouth to ask what the heck she was talking about, and was cut off by a pair of soft lips against his own. His eyes slid shut immediately.

"Wait...what the hell? Who's kissing me? Nobody else was here except Tenten. Oh! This must be her! I can't ruin our friendship by letting her know I like her! Don't kiss back...don't kiss back...don't kiss back...wait. Tenten's FREAKING KISSING ME! I think we're a little bit past the Just Friends stage here! Why on Earth would she kiss me if she didn't like me. Tenten would definitely never kiss a guy unless she liked him. In fact, I don't think Tenten's ever kissed a guy before. Holy shit! This is Tenten's first kiss! I'M Tenten's first kiss! She's...wow, really good. Even though I'm not even doing anything. Wait, why aren't I doing anything? Mmm...oh God. I can't even remember. I don't even know why I'm still thinking. Stop thinking NOW, Neji. Just focus on kissing your amazing best friend."

Tenten grinned against Neji's lips when she felt him kiss back. "Ha...I knew it. He tastes like...paper? Okaaaay...Er...now what do I do? I'm sixteen years old and this is my first kiss... I'm pathetic." Neji pressed harder against her, and something wet slid across her lips. Tenten tilted her head to the side in confusion, and Neji hummed against her lips. It felt funny, and when Tenten opened her mouth to laugh, Neji's tongue slid in, and both teenagers lost any train of thought they had left.

Eventually they broke apart, gasping for air. Tenten took a deep breath, and in spite of everything that had just happened, still managed to give him a mocking grin, their faces inches apart. "Told you you liked me."

Neji frowned at her, crossing his arms. "That's all you have to say? I think you played a small part in this as well."

Tenten's grin widened to the point where Neji was almost annoyed with her. Almost. "That was my first kiss, you know."

Neji's eyebrows furrowed. "I know."

Tenten's smile faded slightly, and the reality of the situation set in. Blushes formed on both Tenten's and Neji's faces, and they looked away from each other awkwardly. "Well...um..." Tenten started. "...does this mean...?"

The question hung in the air. After a moment of silence and avoiding each other's eyes, Neji's cleared his throat. "I...er...hope so."

Tenten's looked at him. "You do?"

Neji took a deep breath and cleared his throat again. "Yeah. I...um...well, you probably know by now. I like you...a lot."

Tenten blushed darker. "I like you too, Neji."

They leaned in to kiss again, when suddenly some frantic footsteps were heard nearby, and both ninja turned to see Tenten's parents turn and flee from the alley.

"OH MY GOD, OUR DAUGHTER'S A LESBIAN!"

The End