Author's Note: Ayyye[= I brought this story back to life! Yay! I edited this chapter, so you might have, err, need, to read this chapter again.(: I'm sorry for the inconvenience guys…but I hope you enjoy this improved chapter! I hope to write some of the second chapter today, or tomorrow, so watch out!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, but the plot.
Now onto the story!
Who Should I Choose?
Chapter 1: The Ruined Moment
You just had to ruin it, did ya?
~Normal P.O.V~
Shikamaru sighed. He was alone, lazily spread out on the soft grass, while watching the white, puffy clouds, like he did almost every day after school. He didn't mind being alone, because he knew that she would be here soon.
Ino Yamanaka, to be specific.
That girl had Shikamaru Nara, the infamous lazy ass of Konoha Prep, wrapped around her finger.
Ever since they had been introduced by their set of friends in freshman year, they were the best of friends. Their friendship was so strong to the point where Ino had to marry him on Facebook. (1) It was also to the point where Shikamaru's dad had to give him the "talk" and Ino's father saw him as a threat.
Even other people at Konoha Prep envied their golden friendship. Though sometimes Shikamaru thought it was "troublesome", he would be there to tutor Ino when she had low grades, the one to actually handle her during her time of the months (even though he didn't come out without a few hand prints on his face), and be Ino's shoulder to cry on. Especially during a time in their freshman year.
It was around Valentine's Day. Shikamaru had initially planned to ask Ino out to the Valentine's Day dance at their school. Why? Because, even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he had started to fall for the blonde. He just couldn't get her face out of his head. And that drove him crazy. He had never felt that way towards a girl before. So, he made a carefully laid out plan to ask her out. Though, he had left out a variable that was very, very important in the end.
A week before the dance, he had his method of asking Ino out in his locker, all ready to go when the time came. When Shikamaru closed his locker and started to walk to first period, he heard a familiar squeal. Shikamaru turned, and he saw Ino hugging Kiba, Konoha Prep's playboy, who was hold a bouquet of red roses. He clenched his fists and spun around, speed walking to God-knows-where. Shikamaru wasn't stupid. He knew what happened back there and at that moment, he never felt so disappointed in his life.
So when the dance finally came, he went stag and watched the girl of his dreams, laughing and smiling with another guy. He felt his heart tighten. The days following the dance, Kiba and Ino was an official couple. His other friends, Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji, tried cheering him up-in their own ways. But it didn't help the empty feeling that nagged him. Shikamaru started to become distant, saying that he didn't want to "cross any boundaries". Sure he and Ino still hung out, but it wasn't the same anymore.
After 6 weeks, Ino spotted Kiba making out with the school's slut, Ami. She confronted them and in a heated fight, Ino told Kiba off and broke up with him. Shikamaru was at his locker when he heard crying sounds heading closer and closer. When he turned around, a small figure wrapped its arms around him tightly and cried into his chest. Shikamaru sighed and comforted Ino the best he could. That's when he knew that he got his Ino back, and he wasn't willing to share. After the break up, life for the two went as if Kiba never existed.
Anyways, he started to close his eyes, worn out about the thoughts of the past. He almost fell asleep, but he heard light footsteps coming his way. It wasn't necessary to open his eyes, he was 99.99% sure he knew who it was.
"Watchin' the clouds again, Shika?" Ino asked him, whilst sitting next to the tired boy. Shikamaru yawned and opened his eyes.
"Ah, troublesome woman, I was going to take a nap too," he drawled out lazily.
She glared, but then smiled and punched his arm playfully. "You sleep too much anyways, lazy ass."
He sighed and stretched out to sit up. Shikamaru looked to Ino and smirked.
She glanced toward him at him, smiled again, and then stared in awe at the sky. He looked at the sky too, entranced by the fluffy balls of white that contrasted to the orange-ish sky.
"Hey, Shika?"
"Hn?"
"Why do like watching the clouds? I mean, there are a whole lot of other things to look at, ya know?"
'Yeah, like you,' he thought, smiling inwardly.
"Because they're…they're just free. Free to do anything they want, without be pressured to do anything. Nobody expects anything outta them," the pineapple-headed boy explained, looking at the clouds. Ino gave him a sideways gaze, slightly surprised by his answer.
"Oh, I get it now. Peaceful, huh?" Ino asked, getting a nod in return.
She scooted closer to Shikamaru, closing the gap between them, putting her head on his shoulder. He inhaled, then exhaled slowly, clearly comfortable with their position. However, you can barely see the faint blush staining both of their cheeks. Ino had always wanted to watch the clouds with Shikamaru like this, alone and with no one stopping them.
The blonde looked to watch Shikamaru, who was still looking up at the sky. 'H looks so cute!,' she thought and giggled half-heartedly.
He looked down to Ino with a raised brow and asked, "What's so funny?"
She lifted her head up to face him and said, "Oh, it's nothing…."
They both suddenly looked into each other's eyes, and were lost in them. It was…different from the other times they looked at each other dead in the eye. It was calming, yet made heat rise to their cheeks and made their hearts beat erratically.
'Wow, I never noticed how beautiful Ino's eyes were...'
'His eyes are…wow.'
Without each other's consent, they both unconsciously leaned in toward each other…
The two's breaths mingled as they continued to lean in. Their noses touched and their lips almost joined-
"No! Nara, she's mine!"
End of Chapter.
Next Chapter: Those Damn Feelings
Additional Notes: (1): 90% of people marry their best friend on Facebook, regardless of gender(;
But anyways, here's this chapter. I sort of want a beta reader, but if you don't want to, you don't have to beta read my story, sooo…
Yeah.
Read and review, please!
~Just A N3rd
