Disclaimer: Haha! Own me not! Siggy? Uh, yeah!

A/N: iflip talks normal. Siggy talks in italics, which is really cool! We'll talk like this in our author notes so that you don't get confused. Siggy, intro the story. It's about people. And other stuff. Since she's useless, I'll explain. This story is told from Ino's point of view (though occassionally it'll switch) and it's an AU high school story. Yeah... Points to you if you understood that. And yes, it does have a plot. Now, on with the show! I thought it was a story... You're pathetic.


The lights dimmed, the music slowed down, and the couples began dancing. Everything was perfect, except for the tiny fact that I had no one to dance with. As if by magic, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me out onto the floor. They then went on to release my hand, just to position themself for a bout of slow dancing.

Before I followed his motions, I looked to see his face. He didn't have one. Just then, the romantic moment turned to one out of a horror film, as the fire alarms started going off. My faceless hero disappeared, as did the lights, the music, the other people. I was left alone in the dark, with the horrid ringing still in the air. Wait, ringing? The alarms at Konoha High didn't ring. The alarms at any nice hotel within a five-mile radius didn't ring. The alarms at the local swimming center didn't ring.

There was only one culprit here. A clock. A very certain clock. My clock.

My eyes opened and I glared at the alarm clock accusingly. Nope, still don't have psychic powers. I pressed the off button and sat up, rubbing my eyes. It was then that I noticed the time.

"Ack!" I slid out of bed and raced over to my closet, all drawsiness gone. The time was 7:00, ten minutes until the school bell rang. Since I live right next to school, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, except that I have to be there early every day this week. I'm in charge of planning the school dance, and let me tell you, it's a lot of work. Changing into clothes from my purple PJ's was fast enough (a purple skirt, leggings, and sweater), but my hair was another story.

It's long. Very long. I chopped most of it off about three years ago because I said that I would when my best friend, Sakura, cut her hair, but it grew back. Hers didn't. It also gets tangled really easily, which is why I always pull it back into a long ponytail. Unfortunately for me, that always means a wrestling match in the morning with my hair. I usually win.

Today, however, it's being stupid.

"Come on," I muttered, dragging my purple brush through my hair, eyes watering as I yank it through a paticularly dense knot. It takes a good two minutes to brush out my hair. I quickly pulled it up into a high ponytail and pin back the bangs on one side with a purple clip.

Yes, my favorite color is purple.

I grabbed my backpack from the corner of my room, threw open my door, and go down the stairs. I wish I could say that I flew down with grace and flowed out the door. The truth? I tripped down the stairs and ran into the door.

"Ow..." I stumbled back, rubbing my nose. "That hurt..."

"Aren't you going to have breakfast, Ino?" my mother asked me.

"I've got to get to school! School dance, remember?" I reminded her. My mom tends to forget a lot of things. Once she left the house to drive in her slippers. Now that was funny.

"Oh, right. You should still eat though. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she preached.

I rolled my eyes and took a blueberry bagel from the table. "Fine," I waved it in the air and raced out the door, slamming it behind me.

It took about five seconds outside for me to realize exactly how cold it was. Sure, it was winter, and it was seven in the morning, but I didn't know it was going to be so cold. If I had known, I would have definitely brought an extra-heavy jacket and a scarf or two. But, since I had to hurry to school, I couldn't turn around to grab those things. I just had to endure it. It was a good thing it only took me about a minute to reach the big doors leading into the school.

Opening those doors was easy. Getting through the mobs of people behind them wasn't too hard, but it was much more difficult than getting in the building. Once I made it past them, it was time to start talking to Sakura, who was walking right towards me.

"Oh, hey, Sakura," I said, smiling.

She looked at me impatiently. "And why are you late, exactly?"

"Um..." I pushed my fingers together. "I got lost?"

She just gave me a look. This was the 'suuuuuuure' look.

"Ok, fine. I slept through my alarm."

This time it was the 'my friend is a moron' look. Everyone gets it at one point or another, usually from either me or Sakura. Hinata's too... floaty to give it and doesn't notice when she recieves it, and everyone else... Well, they just don't care. One thing about Sakura that's different, besides the fact that she's a huge medical student and is great at giving evil looks, is the fact that she's got light pink hair. And it's natural. Yeah. I don't get it.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Hi, Naruto," she sighed. Naruto grinned. I've known him for about three years, and for most of those three years, he's been a shrimp. Then he shot up over summer break, so now he's taller than I am. He's also got bright yellow hair that's always a complete mess and strange whisker-like markings on his cheeks. It's no secret that he really, and I mean really, likes Sakura. Except to Lee. But he doesn't count. Not really.

"Hey, Ino!"

"Are you always so chipper this early?" I asked him wryly.

"Yup!" he turned to Sakura. "Are you going to the dance?'

"Yes, but-"

"Yaaaaaaah!"

Speaking of Lee...

"As usual, I have no idea why he's so excited."

Lee and Neji, respectively. Best friends, fierce rivals, and complete and total polar opposites. Lee has severe issues. He wears this ridiculous green jumpsuit constantly and has this thing for punishments and rewards that always seem to involve running, push ups, sit ups, or something else. His haircut is crazy. It looks like someone threw a bowl on his head and cut around it. And his eyebrows are huge. His crush on Sakura is even bigger than Naruto's.

Okay, maybe not, but he's certainly louder about it.

And he copies his homeroom teacher in everything. It's scary.

Neji, on the other hand, is cold and intelligent. Not that Lee isn't smart, he just doesn't act it. Neji's been getting a lot better though. He's tall, really tall, and has long brown hair. He's a Hyuuga, which means he's got the Hyuuga eyes, white with no pupil. Apparently seeing is no problem.

"What is Lee doing now?" Tenten, a tall girl with brown hair up in twin buns and chocolate brown eyes with a tendency for being late, walked up beside Neji.

"I have absolutely no idea," was the response.

"I'm going," Sakura restarted her sentence, "but I don't have a date."

"I'm dragging her along," I added.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

"Choji!" I turned to see Choji standing behind me. He was just standing there, though. Not continuing on with his thought, not saying anything, not really doing anything except for take up space. Lots of space. "Why have you decided to entertain us with your input?"

"No real reason," he replied, looking down at the ground.

"So it wouldn't bug you if someone told you that your comment was not needed?" He nodded. "Well, don't expect anyone of us to. It was very well-fitting."

Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg!

"I hate that bell," Choji commented. I nodded, and, waving a goodbye, grabbed Sakura and started to walk down the hall.

"I can walk by myself, you know," she told me. "You don't need to drag me."

"Is it just me, or do you sound cheerier?" I asked, letting go.

"Maybe."

"Answer."

"Well..."

I didn't get a full response, partly because Sakura trailed off, and partly because Hinata drifted towards us and fell in beside me. Which left me sandwiched between my two best friends. "Hello," Hinata waved at us.

"Hi," I reply. Now, Hinata's a wonderful friend, but she's very strange. She's Neji's younger cousin, but she acts totally different from him. She's really into therapy by scents and colors. And yoga. She's also very scatter-brained and drifts off.

Sakura sniffed at the air. "What is that smell, Hinata?"

"Hmm?" she looked faintly surprised. "Lavender perfume. I wanted to wear extract of lavender, but there was none left."

I stare at her. You do realize that this is the most sane thing she's said in the past two weeks?

But Sakura has to go and ruin it by asking, "Why are you wearing lavender scent?"

I stomped on her foot. But the damage had been done. "It calms the mind and soothes the body," Hinata replies serenely.

"That was my foot!" Sakura hissed.

"You just had to ask, didn't you," I retorted.

Sakura shot me a glare, but at that moment we came up on the hallway where she had to turn off to go to her homeroom. "Lunch," she warned. "You are dead."

"I'm not worried," I replied, earning another glare before my pink-haired friend turned and stalked off towards her classroom.

"You should wear lavender colors," Hinata informed me. I glanced over at her, noticing that she is indeed wearing a lavender hoodie. "They're very relaxing."

"Hey, Hinata!" The voice of Kiba behind us distracted Hinata and saved me from her explanations of colors and scents which I don't care about. I don't even turn to look, because he always wears the same thing: a gray hoodie with the letter K sewn onto the sleeve and red triangles painted onto his cheeks. I don't know why.

"Hmm?" Hinata looked at him.

"C'mere a sec," he called. Hinata smiled, nodded, and drifted away, waving a hand vaguely back at me in farewell. I shook my head. That's my friends, or at least, most of them. A good one third of them at least. Come to think of it, I have the strangest array of friends. That's including everyone. And, for whatever reason, Choji's been acting a bit strange lately.

The ringing of the minute bell distracted me from my contemplation of friends. Our school is huge. It takes forever to get anywhere. This meant that I had to dash off to my homeroom, recieving several shouts from hall monitors, open the door, race in, and plunk down in my seat just as the bell rang.

Ino: 1, School: 0.