A/N: Hey guys I'm coming at you with a new story! Should I be starting a new story...? Probably not, but I have this idea that I can't get out of my head so I decided to go ahead and write anyway. I really will update my other stories soon too.

Chapter One : Orchids

Ino sat quietly behind the counter of her flower shop. She knew she would soon be busy with Valentine's Day quickly approaching. She already had several orders she needed to prepare within next month. Again she sighed. She would spend another Valentine's Day alone.

"I hate this time of year..." she mumbled softly as she watch a couple walk past her shop holding hands. They looked so happy, too happy for her liking.

She would be lying if she said she didn't want the love that couple that just passed obviously had. Even though it was only for a moment, she saw the love in the man's eyes as he listened to the woman walking beside him talk.

"God, I hate this..." She said laying her head on the counter.

*Bing*

Ino quickly raised her head when she heard the bell ring letting her know she had a customer. She put on her best smile.

"Hi, and welcome to the Inoichi's Flower Shop. How can I help you toady," Ino said as cheery as she possibly could. She had long changed the name of the flower shop in order to honor her father's memory once her mother had given her ownership.

"Hiya Ino!"

Ino looked up to see Naruto standing in in her shop. She raised her brow because he seemed nervous. He was giving her his usual smile, but his body language told her he was nervous. It was odd really, Naruto was never nervous around people.

"Hey Naruto, here to buy some flowers?" Ino asked as he moved closer to the counter. Even though she already knew the answer, it was just a habit of asking everyone who entered her shop. It was times like this that Ino envied Sakura. She just couldn't for the life of her understand why her pink haired friend didn't just go out with the poor guy already.

"Yeah..um..What would you get to let someone know they are special...?"

Ino tilted her head a bit in thought as she watched Naruto look at the various flowers in her store. Normally he would just buy Sakura roses since they were her favorite. "I'm assuming this is for Valentine's Day right?"

"Yeah, Shikamaru told me I should get my order in a little early since you're really busy around that time."

"Ok, well I have a few specials going on right now if want to take a look at my flyer. Any of these will let that special someone know how you feel," Ino said handing Naruto a flyer. She smiled when he took it from her.

"As you can see roses, tulips, pansies, daisies, and forget-me-nots are the most popular bouquets during this time of year," Ino said. She could see Naruto was having a hard time choosing. "And the prices are affordable to boot!"

Naruto scratched his head and gave Ino a nervous laugh. "I'm not really good at this..."

Ino rolled her eyes and waved her hand so Naruto could follow her in the back. "Come with me," she said and he immediately followed her to the back room of the shop.

Ino reached up and grabbed a pot from one of the higher shelves. "This is my favorite," Ino said showing it to Naruto. She saw his smile brighten at the flower.

"This one is nice, is it part of the special?" Naruto asked running his finger over the delicate pedals.

"Nope! Orchids are not part of the special. I don't grow these for the shop often. These I have for myself mostly unless I have a request for them."

Naruto tapped his chin as if he was thinking. "What does this flower mean?"

"Delicate beauty," Ino answered with a small smile. She looked and saw Naruto blush and look away from her. 'Ok, he's acting weird' Ino thought to herself.

Naruto saw the price on the side of the pot. "Could I get one of these?"

Ino nodded. "Sure thing. Let's go back to the front of the store so I can write down your order."

Naruto took out his wallet ready to pay as Ino handed him his order slip. "Oh, Naruto did you want to add a personal message?"

"Sure, you can write..."

Ino could honestly say her day was a lot better than she thought it would be. She was currently locking up her shop to head home. Ino laughed at the thought of heading home since she only had to walk to the side of the building leading up to her apartment. She slowly opened the door and stepped in. At times she hated going home, it felt lonely. Her place in her opinion was way to big for one person to live.

When she first got the new shop and her apartment built she wanted a lot of space. So her current shop was larger than her old family shop had been, so she decided to make her new apartment larger as well. Sitting down on her couch, what really was she thinking. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study, large kitchen and dinning area, a small den, and large family room.

It was depressing. Though she had so much fun decorating every single room herself. "I need some sleep," she whispered lowly.

"INO!"

Ino jumped at the loud noise. She heard banging on her door and her named being yelled. "God...Sakura..." Ino mumbled.

Grabbing her silk robe she slowly made her way to her front door. She so happened to notice the time on her way. What the hell could Sakura possible want at 7 am. She opened the door to see her long time friend frowning at her.

"What?" Ino asked with a raised brow.

Sakura didn't answer, she just walked past her blond friend. Ino sighed and closed the door. It was obvious something was bothering Sakura. She turned to see Sakura sitting on the couch and so she sat beside her.

"What's going on?" Ino asked. "It's not like you to show up unannounced."

"True," Sakura said looking at Ino. "It's Naruto..."

"Naruto?" Ino asked confused. "Did something happen to him!" Ino asked a little louder than she wanted to.

Sakura tilted her head. "No, no, he's fine. But he's been acting strange lately and I can't figure out why..."

"He did seem a little off yesterday when he stopped by the shop, but it didn't seem like anything to be worried about," Ino said tucking her legs under herself on the couch.

"He finally came inside huh?"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Well he's been walking by this place for the past month or so. I'm pretty sure it's to buy me roses...again. Not that I mind, but I have been trying to tell him that I don't see him that way," Sakura said sighing. "What am I going to do? I hate to have to keep rejecting him, it's tiring..."

Ino sat and listened to Sakura's rant. She really felt bad for Naruto and really wished he would move on. There were so many other women out in the world that would love him to pieces. She thought about Hinata for a brief moment. It was no secret she cared for Naruto and maybe she cared for him as well...? Ino almost smacked herself at the thought. She couldn't really persue Naruto when Hinata still cared for him.

"Love sucks..."

Sakura stopped her rant to stare at her friend. "It really does." she agreed. "We never end up with the person we want and the only one who want us are the ones we don't want."

Ino couldn't agree more with Sakura. Maybe she could help her friend with Naruto, but 'what about the flower he bought her yesterday?' Ino asked herself. Love really did suck.

"I'll try talking to him again and hopefully he'll get it this time. I'm flattered, but I just can't be in that type of relationship with him," Sakura said with a sigh.

"No, I have an idea."

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Hinata..."

Sakura eyes widened a little. "Why didn't I think of her! It's perfect Ino. We could just get them together and this whole thing will be over."

Ino smiled a little at her friend's excitement, but a small part of her didn't want Naruto with Hinata. 'Is that selfish of me' Ino though to herself. It wasn't like Naruto was off limits. He didn't technically belong to anyone, but what would the others think if she snatched Naruto away from Hinata...

A/N: Hey peeps! Let me know what you think of this story so far. If enough people are interested in it then I will continue it, and if not...well I'll just try a few more chapters before giving up completely.