A/n Hello lovely world of FanFiction! I am wayyyy excited for this story! I already have the whole thing typed up but I'm gonna ask you guys to work for chapters ;) Just a few reviews and I can have the next chapter up in 20 minutes flat!

Enjoy!

Sleepovers were a big deal as children. Who had sleepovers with whom, who had the best snacks, who had the biggest basement, the best sleeping bag, ect. They were a fad, a harmless fad. Little girls are competitive over everything possible, and sleepovers were just another thing to compete over. A simple little part of growing up…

I turned the faucet off after putting the last dishes away and dried my hands on my apron. From my station at the sink I could see right out the open window into my front yard. The warm summer breeze blew a few strands of loose hair in front of my face and I tucked them behind my ear, leaning my head on my hand and looking out over the neighborhood.

I live in a suburban paradise; happy children with excellent manners, gossipy neighbors always happy to share a pie or a juicy story, and husbands always available to fix a leaky roof or watch a football game. My husband, Shikamaru, and I had moved here as soon as I had gotten pregnant. Our penthouse in the city just wouldn't cut it, and since I had a bun in the oven, my modeling career was obviously over. But I couldn't have cared less about modeling; I had a miracle on the way.

Maki was my beautiful baby girl, and from the minute she was born I knew I'd die for her. I saw her really begin to peak when she turned 5. Her brown eyes had the intelligence of her father and her blonde hair always fell in perfect waves around her cherub face. She had porcelain skin and rosy cheeks and I wanted to hold her in my arms forever.

Maki is 8 now, and as perfect in my eyes as ever. Sure, the innocence turned into mischief and sometimes I could kill her when she back-talks me. But she's mine, the spitting image of myself…

"Ino! Why don't you come out here? Weather is gorgeous today, not a cloud in the sky!" TenTen called to me, trying to wrestle her twin boys apart from each other. I grinned and waved to tell her I'd be right there. I stepped away from the window and merely wanted to watch for a few minutes.

Kai and Kitsu, TenTen and Neji's twins, had mops of brown hair and the need to be constantly moving. TenTen was the most active mom in the neighborhood and was always willing to rough-house with her tots.

Hinata had a lawn chair out and was sipping lemonade while holding a book in her other hand. Hinata always had a new book each week because with a kid as angelic as hers, there was plenty of time for reading. Juun had silky raven hair, and bright blue eyes to match his father, Naruto's. But their resemblance ended there. Juun was as quiet as a mouse and sweet as sugar. I could recall only two times Juun had raised his voice, and one of them was only because he panicked getting lost in the grocery store.

And the final house in our little cul-de-sac is occupied by none other than my best friend, Sakura. Sakura's daughter, Dani, and Maki were best friends. Currently the two girls; one with locks of blonde and one with striking black, were playing hopscotch in the street. Dani's midnight hair was something that no one talked about. No one. Every day it was a harsh reminder of her father, and the poor girl with the apple green eyes had never even know him. Sasuke Uchiha was a dirty rat, in my opinion. He fled before he even knew Sakura was pregnant.

And oh, how Sakura suffered. And was still suffering. She had sunken eyes with dark bags and never left the shade of her front porch. She made little to no effort at any social contact and if you wanted to see her, her motto was 'you all know where to find me.' She denied that she had changed at all and acted like she was okay, but I could always see through her. Most of us could since we've been friends for so long. It was sad to watch my friend wither away and I honestly wanted to do more for her, but I had my own problems and my own family. It was hard to play babysitter to a grown woman, even if she was my best friend, when I had a real little girl to watch over.

"Hey Sakura." I plopped down on the porch next to her and Sakura offered a small smile. Just like every day, we sat in companionable silence. No matter what Sakura looked or acted like on the outside, she was still my best friend, she was just lost in their somewhere. I would never leave Sakura, whether she went crazy or not.

"Did Shikamaru tell you about the barbeque at Naruto's tonight?" Sakura asked. I grinned and asked her if she was going. I knew Sakura would just bite her lip and act like she was contemplating it very seriously, but Sakura always came. And Sakura always got drunk. Not passing out and vomiting drunk, but just tipsy enough to be the old Sakura. Just high enough to yell at Naruto, or bicker with me over trivial things.

"I might…" She answered predictably. I laughed and elbowed her in the ribs. Sakura yelped and elbowed me back. Yep, still my best friend.

That night my best friend gave me the surprise of my life…

Shikamaru slung his arm lazily around my shoulders as we walked across the street to Naruto and Hinata's house. Everyone else was already there and a grill was burning brightly in the middle of the driveway. I could tell Sakura already had a drink because she was laughing. I loved Sakura's laugh, I always have but now that they were rare I loved them even more.

I looked up at my husband who was already looking down at me knowingly. He knew how much I loved Sakura and wanted to see her happy again. The corner of Shikamaru's mouth turned up in a half-smile and I kissed him quickly, eager to get to the party.

Half a hot-dog and over five beers later (I lost count), Sakura and I were snuggled up on Hinata and Naruto's porch swing like we were little girls again. She swung her legs over mine and I rested my head on her shoulder.

"And you remember Sai?" I burst into giggles again and felt Sakura's shoulders shake with laughter under my head.

"Oh, yeah! You were so crazy about him and then sophomore year he started dating…" Sakura scrunched up her nose in concentration. "What was his name again…?"

"Gaara?" A strong male voice supplied. Sakura and I burst into giggles again for seemingly no reason, laughing until we tumbled over each other and landed on the dewy grass. We accepted Shikamaru's outstretched hands and I leaned against his chest, letting him support all my weight. I suddenly felt so weightless and heavy at the same time. Sakura smiled sadly and put a hand on my shoulder.

"I should really go, Dani's been having nightmares about Sasuke and if I'm not there…." Sakura trailed off with a confused look on her face.

"Dani's been having nightmares about… Sasuke? But she's never even met him?" Shikamaru said in a steady voice. Sakura's eyes went a little vacant.

"Maybe it was me." She said, seemingly unconvinced. I instantly sobered up at the mention of Sasuke's name and Shikamaru and I shared a nervous look.

"You've been dreaming about Sasuke?" I asked gently but Sakura jerked away from me suddenly.

"I haven't seen him!" She insisted loudly. By now she had attracted the attention of our entire cul-de-sac and we all went a little pale.

"We never said you did." TenTen said quietly. Neji just shushed her and pulled his wife closer, trying to keep her out of it. Sakura was silent with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. I haven't seen her this shell-shocked since Sasuke told her she was annoying when we were 12.

"Shika let's take her home." I wanted to forget what Sakura just said. I wanted to believe that she really hadn't been seeing Sasuke, but I would deal with it tomorrow.

A/n There you have it! Chapter one! Eeeeeee so excited!

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