SLAP

The sound echoed throughout the now quiet cafeteria.

All eyes settled in on Konah High's so called "power" couple.

The boy staggered back clutching his cheek. His ink black eyes catching a venomous glint as he glared at the petite blonde across from him. The black and gold top and skirt of their high school cheer-leading uniform clung tightly to her curves, leaving nothing to the imagination. Her hair, of course, was up in her signature high ponytail accentuated with a golden bow. She watched as his face contorted from shock to anger as he looked around realizing that they had an audience. Her blue eyes never wavered from his as she stalked towards him. She got up on her tiptoes and her lips grazed his wounded cheek as she brought them up to his ear. "I'm breaking up with you," she whispered hotly..

Her hands were holding on to his black letter-man jacket collar for support. She stepped back from him and patted his cheek, giving him a perfect smile. The raven-haired boy glared down at her but the rest of his features gave away nothing. With his jaw clenching and un-clenching, he let out a breath that he had no idea he had been holding as he grabbed her wrist and carefully took her hands off his jacket. "Have you lost your mind?" His voice was barely a whisper escaping through gritted teeth. "We aren't doing this here," he said looking around the cafeteria. "And we both know you aren't leaving me." With that he bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, straightened his jacket, turned on his heel and marched out of the cafeteria.

Ino stood in the middle of the cafeteria, her shoulders began to shake as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. She wanted to collapse on the floor and let out a sob that had been bubbling inside her since she saw him last night. She heard a quiet chuckle behind her and her eyes snapped back into focus. She took in the image of the crowded cafeteria. All eyes on her. And then she did what she had been wanting to do since her father dropped her off this morning at the front courtyard. She ran.

Her white sneakers squeaked softly as she burst through the cafeteria doors. Her vision blurring as the tears she had been choking back released themselves relentlessly. Images flooding back of last night; Sasuke her boyfriend of 3 years, outside the gymnasium. The boy she thought she was going to marry, the boy she had picked colleges to attend with, the one she had conquered and claimed as her own. The boy she had trusted. Outside, pinning her best friend up against the gym wall, fist wrapped up in her hideous pink hair. His mouth seemed to be glued to her neck. Her head was thrown back in the night air, lewd noises spilling from her lips. In the shadowed area Ino could not tell where he started, and Sakura ended. Their bodies seemingly molded together.

CRASH

Ino staggered back from the impact wiping her eyes to no avail. It was as if a dam had broken inside her. She looked up to see her attacker locking on to a pair of brown eyes. They were the most beautiful chocolate brown. She knew these eyes.

"Hey Ino, what's going on? Are you okay?" His typically calm and uninterested aura seemed to disperse. She flinched slightly as he laid has hands on her shoulders to anchor her, but did not push him away. He peered into her eyes, as if searching for something. "Are you okay?" he repeated. The smell of his cologne wafted into her with a slight hint of nicotine. "I-I-I'm fine" she mumbled, breaking his gaze and stepping out from under his touch.

Shikamaru Nara, her childhood companion stepped back as well. A ragged breath escaping his mouth as he bent down to pick up his books that were now strewn across the hallway floor. It was then that she realized that he had not appeared out of thin air and in her emotional state she had hit him as he was exiting the library. Ino's tears had stopped and she could feel her face heating up in embarrassment. She quickly bent down to help him as well. "I'm sorry!" she blurted out collecting his Advanced Calculus and AP English book from off the floor. "I'm so sorry, I am such a ditz. I can't believe I didn't see you there." She let out a laugh that sounded far too forced and got back up brushing the imaginary dirt off the books before handing them back to him. He said nothing and she could see the irritation seeping into his features, his eyebrows were knitted together and his signature scowl had returned.

At a quick glance Ino could tell that this is not the little boy she used to tease in the sand box. Though they used to be the same height in middle school, he was now a good foot taller than her. He had a lean build, bordering on athletic but she was fairly certain that he didn't play sports. He was wearing a forest green t-shirt that complimented his olive complexion. The shirt was really working for him, pulling tautly at his muscles underneath. He was handsome, aside from the stupid ponytail he had at the top of his head. She could not deny that he was in fact growing up to be a damned good looking man.

God. I want to die. Stop staring at him you idiot. Her face was heating up, she probably looked like a raccoon from all the crying she had done. It had been years since she had a conversation with the boy and this his how he sees her? He was staring at her looking rather perplexed. Now it was her turn to frown. "Hey! Shika, I said I was sorry. Now can you stop looking at me like I'm some kind of alien." Trying to exude what little power she had left, she placed her perfectly manicured hand on her hip and glared at him.

The alien remark had taken him aback. Alien? Is that what she thinks? Not even close Yamanaka. What he was truly thinking was how after all this time, after all the pain she had unknowingly caused him, after all the sleepless nights he had spent thinking about her, that now, even with her tear streaked face and puffy red eyes. She was still beautiful.

He didn't know why or what had come over him. He wasn't sure if it was his 12-year-old self-whispering in his ear or the pained look on her face, but the next words just came spilling from his mouth.

"Do you wanna get out of here?"

Ino, to say the least, was taken by surprise by this invitation. Shikamaru Nara? Head of the class? The boy who got straight A's in school, the boy with perfect attendance, and in class participation (even if he slept through all of them), had just asked her to ditch school. She glanced down at her silver watch and it read 12:48. They had approximately 12 minutes left of lunch. The last thing she wanted to do was go and sit next to Sakura in their Environmental Science class. She didn't think she could handle that. Not after…not after yesterday…

"I would love nothing more," she smiled back at him. Securing her backpack straps as she turned abruptly on her heel turning towards the direction of the gym. Her ponytail swayed from side to side as the boy fell in step with her.

The blonde was no stranger to skipping school. She and Sasuke had ditched plenty of times. Her boyfriendㅡ ex-boyfriendㅡ would give her this flirtatious smirk and arch an eyebrow while holding up his car keys. She would ask to go to the restroom, wait outside the classroom door and religiously he had always followed shortly after. They would race to his red and black Porsche parked outside in the back-parking lot of the school nearest to the gymnasium so they could go to his house and fool around for a bit, before coming back for practice and splitting their separate ways. Sasuke was captain of the soccer team and he took it very seriously, he was damn good at it too. Ino was head cheerleader and she couldn't care less about it, but she was dating the hottest guy in school and to maintain her dominance and popularity status she stuck with it. And above all else, it kept her out of the house. Just the thought of her cheating once seemingly flawless boyfriend now made her stomach clench.

Shikamaru's mind was racing. What do I do? What have I done? Why did I say that? echoed inside his head as the exited the back door of the school out into the parking lot. The sun was shining brightly above the pair and the smell of fresh cut grass lingered in the April air. Ino stopped walking and looked at him expectantly, the sun light making her ocean blue eyes twinkle.

"So…" she drawled "where are you parked?" His eyes flitted over to his green 1995 Chevy Silverado and he grimaced.

"Well it's definitely not what you're used to riding in princess," he muttered as he fished his keys out of the front pocket of his dark wash jeans. Once in his hand he began walking towards the car hitting the "unlock" button. "Isn't this your dad's truck?" Ino asked, following close behind him as he weaved through the rows of parked cars. She vividly remembered his dad picking him up from middle school in this truck as they waited out front. He would come rolling up and honking the horn much to Shikamaru's annoyance. Ino always envied the fact that his dad was always on time to get him, and he always had this huge smile on his face when he saw the young Nara boy. He and his dad were practically twins, aside from the older man's facial hair.

Shikamaru opened the passenger side door for her and leaned up against the frame as the girl climbed in. "It was his truck," he said shutting the door behind her. She watched him through the windshield as he crossed around the front and into the driver seat. He leaned over the steering wheel, trying to get the engine to turn over as he twisted the key. "My dad died about a year ago…so I guess you could say it's mine now." He spoke these words as nonchalantly as possible and let out a sigh of relief as the hum of the engine began to shake the car. He quickly put the car in reverse putting his arm around the back of her head rest glancing over his shoulder. As they eased out of the parking lot an uncomfortable silence filled the car.

"I'm sorry about your dad Shika." Her voice came out shaky as she folded her hands in her lap suddenly aware of the fact that she just jumped into the car of basically a perfect stranger. "I had no idea…I can't imagine how hard that was for you." Ino didn't know why she felt guilty but she did. How had she not known that? He used to be her friend… she bit her lip nervously and glanced out the window. "If I had..."

He cut her off abruptly "Why would you know that Ino? I haven't spoken to you since freshman year." His voice laced with annoyance and his eyes never left the road. "You knowing about it wouldn't have changed anything so spare me the hypotheticals." To indicate that the conversation was over he promptly turned the dial of the radio up and the chorus to some Nickelback song Ino was sure she had heard before filled the car.

She caught a glance of herself in the rearview mirror and almost screamed. She quickly dug into her backpack for her trusty compact which she found safely zipped away in her front pouch, and upon rooting around further she found some makeup remover wipes as well. She began wiping the black streaks from under her eyes furiously, annoyed that she allowed herself to be so overcome by her emotions. She hadn't expected him to be so harsh, but she didn't blame him. After all it was her fault their relationship had turned so cold...