"Wait, what? What do you mean we aren't going to be dorm partners, Ino?" A slightly upset Sakura asks her blonde haired friend who was preoccupied, munching on some veggie straws.

"Because *crunch, crunch* we've been together, doing everything together for all elementary to like high school, Sakura. I think we should meet more people this year. You know spread our wings, go to parties, make out with some boys."

Sakura sneered lightly for she was never a fan of people talking with their mouths full and that's exactly what Ino was doing. Sakura changed the position she was in and criss-cross applesauce on top of her bed, putting her book she was currently reading aside. Ino was sitting near her desk, spinning in her chair completely oblivious to Sakura's growing irritation of crumbs falling everywhere on her carpet.

Ino stopped spinning and licked the grease off the tip of her fingers. "Ugh, so good." She wiped her hands off her tight purple top that was barely covering her tummy and stretched. Sakura watched her gorgeous friend flex her arms up, her perfect no fat tummy along with it. Her silky blonde hair in a high ponytail swaying with grace making Sakura glance down at her split ends that were in dire need of chopping.

She tugged on her hair self consciously then sighed. "That's not fair, Ino. You're so good at conversing and people naturally drift towards you. You know, you're the only reason why I ever went to a single party in high school or even did anything social."

The blonde huffed, moving her bangs to the side and walked over to sit across from Sakura, making her bed creak.

"Duh. If I didn't, you might have just stayed at home every day going through books left to right. Even now, you still haven't changed." Ino pointed to my stacks of books in all kinds of genres for further proof.

"Old habits die hard."

"Well this habit is about to die!" Ino said while standing suddenly, scaring her pinked haired friend. "You need to branch out more, get loose, experience the adventures you read. It's the only way you'll ever live!"

The anxious girl hugged the current book she was reading tightly to her chest. "People who have the most fun suffer more consequences. Reading them is almost as close to experiencing them. "

Ino gave her a dumb look. "No, it isn't and you know it. Listen, Sakura, I'm not going to baby you again for the next four years or more. It's going to be up to you to decide if you want to do things or not. You could always hang out with your new super cool roomie!"

"Psh, she wouldn't be as cool as you."

"Of course not! No one ever will." Ino got up her to walk over to Sakura's closet. "Now let's be productive and sort out the clothes you'll need to bring. "

"I already did!" Sakura pointed to her red suitcase with a hello kitty on the back waving. She unzipped it, quickly revealing least 10 or more sweaters and hoodies.

"What the fuck is this, Sakura? You're not going to a retirement home. "

'Hey! " She spoke obviously offended and hurt, so to retaliate she shoved Ino's shoulder with all her might.

"Ouch! This won't do. Nope." Ino began throwing her placed clothes all to the ground, the nerve of her! Those took forever to fold.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere with these many sweaters. Especially this one." She held up a white oversized wool sweater with dogs near the bottom.

Sakura sighed. "Okay, that one's pretty bad but...cute."

"It's bad. Like really fucking bad. I should burn this for you."

"Ugh, you're so dramatic."

Ino walked over to her closet and started grabbing multiple tops at once. She lined them out on her bed and studied them hard. "Okay so you're definitely going to bring this one." She held up a red crop top with no straps holding it up.

"Uh, no I'm not. That would look awful on me."

"YOU HAVEN'T EVEN WORE IT." Ino tried to regain her composure, not wanting to gain wrinkles before she started college. "Look! I even bought this for you on your 17th birthday, your first ever crop top."

She held it up to her face, nuzzling it. "It's so cute and was so expensive. You definitely need to wear this. It's going to make your chest and tummy pop."

Sakura opened her book up, giving her a worried expression. "I don't want anything to pop, it sounds dangerous. And if you like it so much, then you can have it."

Ino gawked. "What! No! I gave this to you as a present and you are going to wear this to at least one party."

"Fine, mom."

Ino shook her head violently. "You know what, I'm going to do you a huuugeee favor and pack your suitcase. "

"Just pack me at least a couple sweaters. "

"2 is the most I'll do."

"3."

"Nope. That is literally all you wore to high school. You aren't going to repeat it again for the next four years."

"I most definitely can." Sakura said, not looking up from her book and turning a page.

Ino stalked over to her closet again and ripped everything out of the drawers to then inspect each piece of clothing carefully. She hummed. "You actually have some really good stuff in here yet you've never worn them. You might have been more popular with guys if you wore any of this."

Followed with an eye roll, she responded. "I don't want the attention of boys, Ino. You do. I could care less."

She giggled. "Yeahhhh, you'd rather capture the attention of the characters in the book you're reading."

Sakura grabbed a pillow and threw it at her as hard as she could, not appreciating the mocking tone. "You're so dramatic and immature."

"You love it."

"Maybe."

Ino left later that evening saying she would pack more clothes and gave a bag of make up she said were essential. She told Sakura it took her forever finding the right products, carefully sorting it out because it would make her "pop."

Sakura shivered at the thought. Ino and her weird slang.

The pinkette placed the bag carefully into the front of the suitcase's pockets and pulled it off on her bed then outside of her door. She sighed, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead then shoving her medium leg the hair into a messy bun. Walking over to her desk, she flicked open her laptop to begin typing up a random radio station and clicked on instrumentals of songs.

Piano filled the air making Sakura sigh in bliss, leaning on her chair. It spun accidentally, choosing to stop at the corner of her room filled with the most books. It literally occupied an entire section.

You know how people stack clothes because they don't want to fold them? That was her with books except whenever she was done after fully analyzing and re-reading them for dozens of times. She smiled proudly at her collection. Books never failed to fill her with wonder so she couldn't grasp how people found them boring.

They were the complete opposite for her.

Her assortment of them consisted of: finished books were placed on the side of the bed, near the window so it didn't block her pathway to her door. She knew they'd have to be boxed and placed away in a dusty warehouse. The thought pulled her heartstrings

If she could, she'd bring all her books with her into the dorm. She hated the thought of leaving them, especially in a suspicious storage but she already packed more than she promised to herself.

Sakura gave up on arranging them and simply placed the ones she couldn't bring into the boxes. After hours of filling them completely, she pushed them aside.

Looking around her room, Sakura breathed in the last hours of her apartment where she practically grew up. if it was Sakura way, she'd never leave. She continues to lock herself up in her room, reading books online or hardcover. She'd take all her academic courses online and she'd be content with that. Who needs the company of others? Besides Ino, Sakura would never get bored of her. She'd just adopt a couple of cats, feeding them would be her exercise. People were needy, cats weren't.

But she knew that was just one of her hopeless delusions.

She never wanted to be like either of her parents, who were ruthless enough to leave her into this world to grow up alone and figure things out alone because they couldn't properly settle a divorce. Maybe that's why she depended on unrealistic imaginative characters to bring her happiness. It's what she was used to as a child.

She shook her head, bringing her arms to hug herself, refusing to remember the bad things and pushing them away. It's okay, she still had Ino.

A new path to her life would open up through college where she could hope to depend less on books and be free.

Let go.

Sakura eyed a book on her stand, glossy-eyed at the sight and hesitantly reaching for it. She halted and walked away to her bathroom to wash up but quickly ran back for her book.

Well, she'll try in college to let go. After all, that's when everything will really start.

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Saw how god awful my early chapters were and had to re-do this one before uploading a new one, so sorry you had to read that. I'll re-do the other ones later!