I'm stood still, I can barely breathe
She turns away immediately, blushing furiously, and cursing her heart for beating so fast.
That is, until she hears the car come to a stop behind them and Tenten feels the colour drain from her face.
"Oh, look, it's Sasuke's brother!" Hinata unhelpfully supplies and the girls turn to wave, except Tenten, of course.
This is a nightmare.
Why did they always seem to meet suddenly, without any preamble, or some kind of divine warning?
Act cool. You're okay. You did not have a breakdown.
"Tenten?" She doesn't even have time to hide the shiver that runs down her spine when he says her name. Why does he even know her name? Did he ask his brother, maybe? Was he intrigued by his Soulmate? Did he want to meet her again? She tries to crush the glimmer of hope almost immediately.
Tenten turns around and tries to hide her nervousness.
It really is him.
Itachi is wearing an immaculate, black suit. Not even one hair is out of place. How is it possible for a man to look like that?
"Good afternoon," she greets him politely, yet trying to create distance at the same time. He arches a perfect brow.
"What, no 'dude' this time?" he jokes gently with his deep voice and Tenten feels three pairs of eyes looking at her.
"I'm sorry for my behaviour on your wedding day, Mr. Uchiha. I wasn't myself that night," Tenten continues, even though she doesn't want to speak to him, not like that. It's as if she is not the one talking.
Instead, it's the bitterness and anguish and the disappointment speaking through her. Something changes in his eyes after her choice of words and Tenten looks away. She can't afford seeing the effect her words have on him, as she is hurting herself enough as it is.
Maybe they feel the same pain.
"I need to talk to you," Itachi says suddenly and Tenten turns away from him, surprising herself, but maybe in doing so, him as well.
"I don't know what business we two might have," Tenten replies cooly and starts walking away, before her body and heart betray her and she runs to him and starts begging for him to leave his wife.
She doesn't hear his footsteps following her and she wonders immediately if her words were too harsh.
She also cannot stop herself from hoping that he would run after her. He doesn't.
This man is married. He is off limits, she reminds herself.
The girls distance themselves a little from her after this, though they are still following her. Itachi doesn't seem to have followed them. She isn't sure whether this is supposed to make her glad or sad.
After a while, Sakura catches up to her.
"Tenten?" Her voice is gentle and she seems to take her time to choose her words carefully.
"Are you okay?" she asks and Tenten almost breaks down. Almost.
"Let's go get something to eat!" Ino suggests from right behind them and Tenten doesn't agree immediately, but she also doesn't want to wallow in self-pity at home.
The fact that she saw him makes her angry. What were the odds? She hasn't seen him once in person, before his wedding day.
Was it destiny? No!It couldn't be.
And yet their eyes had met while he was driving by. This whole situation was utterly ridiculous. She turned her head towards the sky, a little annoyed by her heart, but mostly by the strings destiny seemed to pull.
Something up there truly wanted to see her hurt.
"What about some Ramen? Tenten, are you in?" Sakura asked with carefully hidden worry, even though she didn't need to do so. Tenten collects her thoughts before she replies.
"Yes, sure. At Ichiraku's?"
After that the ice seems to be broken and the girls continue talking and laughing, while Tenten wears a mask to hide her pain.
+ + +
The days go by and she notices more and more how her life appears to go back to normal. Or at least, no one mentions anything anymore. Her friends had never asked her anything, knowing that Tenten is pretty shy when it comes to her own matters.
Today she is working a double shift in the best restaurant in town. Naruto had told her that they were in urgent need of a helping hand and Tenten was not going to be the one to say no to some extra money. She had to put on some makeup and her best shoes for the damned place and the first thing she hears when changing into the uniform is that three waitresses left because they had not been paid. Great, but there is no turning back now.
Well, if Tenten is not going to get her coin, this place will have been burnt down to the ground by dawn.
She leaves the locker rooms and walks by the kitchens and grabs a tray. Even though it's her first time in this restaurant, she knows what is expected of her.
Throughout the evening she realises that the people coming here are more than willing to tip a lady and Tenten is totallynot trying to be extra friendly to earn some more money…
But she is.
Those old geezers are driving Porsche and Mercedes, surely they can spare some of that coin.
Whoever said that money doesn’t make anyone happy has never cried in a mansion.
Even though money is not the most important thing to her, it sure causes her a lot of worries.
Because unlike her friends, Tenten is poor, and that is, sadly, a fact.
So she works until the closing hours, when suddenly the manager storms into the locker room and starts rambling.
“You, you and you, I need you to stay here. We will have a quite prominent pair over,” he says, pointing at two guys and Tenten. The boys sigh, but Tenten is more than happy about the extra money. A special pair that prevents a whole restaurant from closing? She can already smell the gracious tip.
After everyone has prepared a romantic dinner table for the pair, Tenten is tasked to stay near their table, in case they want to order anything. She is told to stay far away as possible, but not too far away and to stay focused. The manager must have been impressed by her somehow, as he entrusted her with such an important duty. Her feet hurt and she is sure that the exhaustion is visible on her face, but at least it will be worth it, that she is sure of.
It's half past ten when the doorbell of the restaurant gently rings and all of them bow politely.
“Good evening and welcome to La Bonne Nuit. Please follow me, we have prepared a special table for you,” the manager says politely and almost overly friendly, yet professional.
“This waitress will be at your service tonight so do not hesitate ordering whatever you desire.”
“Thank you,” a gentle, yet strangely cold feminine voice replies and a male voice merely harumphs.
Tenten rises after the ‘introduction’ and immediately locks eyes with a shocked Itachi Uchiha…Who came here with his wife.
Her heart starts beating faster, even though she wills it to just stop. Yet, he doesn’t avert his gaze, not immediately and that is the only second she needed to realise that he absolutely feels the same way as she does right now.
And that thought is more than horrifying and sobering.
Itachi does not break eye contact, not until his wife clears her throat and the two of them take a seat at the table - at the table Tenten prepared for them.
This is an absolute nightmare.