New A/N: So the below author's note is from before I revised these chapters! Didn't want to delete it for sentimental value (:

A/N: Thanks so much to you guys for the reviews on the first chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! Now, this next chapter is from Kagome's perspective and gives you some background on her. So enjoy and keep REVIEWING!

The Drug Game

Chapter 2

Simplicity

Kagome's POV

Innocent.

Gullible.

Naïve.

All words I hear whenever someone takes a moment to look at me before turning away. But looks can be deceiving, as that cliché saying goes.

And I totally don't apply.

My looks, often described as innocent and adorable, are far from deceiving, though truth be told I wished they were. It's not that I wanted to necessarily look like a different person. It was more about wanting to be a different person. I mean, my life is so boring. Everything is so predictable with no sign of excitement to be found. Daily I forced a smile through my mundane existence, any trace of my unhappiness invisible to any onlooker. I could only hope that this move and that this new school would bring something new… something better.

Already I met the epitome of what I was looking for.

The first day of school, I met the most mysterious and dangerous guy I'd ever encountered, not that I had a line of dangerous dudes comparable. He had waltzed out of the abandoned gym after hooking up with a girl and suddenly he was apart of my life.

And there was just this air to him that appealed to me.

Inuyasha.

I couldn't stop thinking about him.

I mean, most girls are attracted to the bad boys, especially me. But the bad boys aren't always attracted to me. Usually they want the bad ass girl with the tattoos or the freaky girl who's up for anything.

I'm neither of those girls.

I'd like to think my lack of a wild streak was because of the responsibility I have at home. My mom's a nurse who usually works late night shifts, leaving me to take care of Souta, my 12-year-old brother, most of the time. Depending on my mom's shift, I've got to take him to school, pick him up from school, take him to and pick him up from soccer practice, a friends house, or anywhere else, not to mention cooking our meals and sometimes keeping up the house. It was like he was my own child. But I was a teenager, and I shouldn't have to have that responsibility.

But I did, and I did it because my mother's amazing, and did everything in her power to make life for Souta and me great.

I swear, my life would be so different if I just didn't give a damn and was selfish... but I do, and I wasn't.

So going out and partying like a normal teenager didn't happen often… which made Inuyasha that much more intriguing to me, because he didn't appear to live like a normal teenager either. He seemed so much wilder than that despite his quiet demeanor, which made me so curious about everything about him.

And by the way he was actually talking to me, he seemed somewhat curious about me, too.

Or at least that's what I thought until he began ignoring me the second day of school. I tried not to seem hurt by this, but I had to admit I was disappointed. He was the first person I met, and the only guy who had caught my interest. Though a lot of guys were flocking around me in hopes of getting a date with the "new cute girl," I knew from experience that once they realized what a bore I am, they'd disappear quicker than Inuyasha had.

"Hey, Kagome! Over here," Sango called from the lunch table.

I walked over from where I awkwardly stood looking around and smiled at the group. "Hey guys."

"What's up Kag!" They all shouted different variations of this, making me laugh.

"So you guys up for the party at the Warehouse this weekend?" Shippo questioned, glancing around at everyone as they said yes excitedly. His gaze stopped on me, however. He raised a brow. "Are you going to go, Kagome? First of the year. I heard it's going to get crazy."

"I'll try," I said simply.

"Strict parents?" A girl named Hitomi asked.

"Yeah." I answered, breaking off a piece of my banana and popping it in my mouth, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "But if I can go, I'll definitely be there."

Normal conversation continued but I could feel a pair of eyes burning a whole through my cheek. I turned to look at Sango who had a knowing look on her face. "So what's the real reason?" She asked quietly.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Not at all. I'm just good at reading people." She waggled her brows around with a mischievous smile.

I sighed. "My mom works late shifts and needs me to watch over my little brother. So I don't get much freedom since I'm helping her out most of the time."

"Ah, working mom, no father in the picture. I see, I see. But this can be easily fixed. Listen, I have a little brother, too, and when things like this come up, he always has a place to go. Meaning I always get a sleepover arranged so he can be out of my hair."

"What about your parents or mom or dad or whoever?"

"There is no whoever," She said without a cringe or a flinch. I guess it had just been her and Kohaku for a while. She continued talking like it wasn't a big deal, either. "So what I'm saying is it won't be too hard to arrange a sleepover for Souta so you can come out with us!"

"Yeah, but Souta's the new kid in town, and he doesn't make friends so easily," I said. I loved my little brother and totally didn't mind spending time with him, but it'd be so amazing to actually go to a warehouse party. Maybe I'd be able to actually get drunk or get high like I'd seen in every typical high school movie, or like I'd heard from the few friends I had at my old school after they had a weekend of fun without me.

"Which is where I come in." Sango winked her eye. "I've got this. How old is Souta?"

"Twelve."

"Kohaku's just two years older, and he failed a grade so his friends are all younger! Long story, don't ask. So they can hang, and Kohaku can introduce him to friends. Why don't you bring Souta over to my house tonight so they can meet and chill. Kohaku's really friendly, by the way. He associates with so many random people. Then you and I can chill some while they get to know each other better." Her eyes brightened. "Actually, why don't I just have a small gathering at my place so you can hang with people, too? The kids can stay upstairs while we have a small mixer in the living room."

I took a moment to absorb everything she just said. I didn't want my little brother seeing any orgies going on, but Sango said it was a small gathering. She seemed like someone I could trust. "Yeah, that sounds perfect. Thanks Sango."

That mischievous smile played on her lips again. "We're friends now. It's what I do."

The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly. There was no sign of Inuyasha anywhere, and I tried to seem like I wasn't searching for him, but I took about three classes with him, and though he was always absent in my short time at the school, today was different. I really wanted to see him and talk to him and drop the hint that I would be at Sango's house in case he wanted to stop by.

As I walked to my car I let out a long sigh. Where would telling him that even get me? Did Sango and Inuyasha even hang out? How rude would it be to just invite him over to a friend's house without being sure it was okay first. It was such an immature action to do... such a...

I remembered suddenly my friend Yuki from my other school, and how she would always spend the night at my house because her parents were so strict and my mom was hardly home, and she'd always invite her boyfriend over, where I'd let them make out in my garage if Souta wasn't home. Yuki was the epitome of a normal teenager, and being rude and immature was apart of that.

Would inviting Inuyasha really be that bad?

Rolling my eyes I turned my keys in the ignition, mumbling to myself, "As if it matters. Inuyasha's MIA."

I ripped out of the school parking lot, trying my hardest to push thoughts of Inuyasha from my mind as I drove to Souta's middle school to pick him up. As soon as he hopped in the car, he began rattling off about how many cool kids he met and how he thought that maybe moving here was a good idea. I tried hard to pay attention, but my mind was totally focused on not focusing on Inuyasha's great disappearing act.

It wasn't until we got home that I was able to pay some attention to my little brother.

"Hey, kid," I said to him as I made sandwiches for the both of us in the kitchen of our small apartment. After my grandpa died, living in the huge shrine just didn't seem right. Besides, we didn't have the money to keep it beautiful the way my grandfather worked hard to do. It hurt to let it go, and my mother still cries herself to sleep at the thought of having to sell it and at the stress of working so often… but times were hard. Some things just had to be done.

I placed the sandwich in front of Souta and leaned on the table to look at him closely. "I met this girl and she has a younger brother who wouldn't mind playing his new Xbox with somebody."

"Seriously Kagome? You set up a play date?" He questioned with an exasperated expression. "I sound so lame."

"No, you don't. It's a freaking Xbox."

Souta shrugged, though a saw a small smile play on his lips. We didn't have an Xbox and he only played at friends' houses. Maybe Kohaku could be his first Xbox buddy. "Fine, fine. When should we leave?"

"About three hours?"

"Cool." We both ate our sandwiches in a comfortable silence before going our separate ways. I glanced through my closet and found a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Nothing cute because I was just hanging out with the same kids I chilled with at school.

After I finished my homework, I watched TV until it was time to leave, which was pretty routine for my humdrum life. Homework and TV and the internet. I was relieved when it was finally close to a reasonable time to show up to Sango's, so I called Souta, who ran quickly down the stairs, and we headed over to her place.

"What's the address again, Souta?"

He glanced down at the paper that Sango jotted her address on. "1144."

As I made a left turn down a street, I realized that him saying the address was pointless because I could see a lot of cars in the driveway of the home and other cars parked along the street, signifying that people were already there. Were all of these cars here for Sango's small gathering? We hopped out of the car and rang her doorbell, which she answered immediately. Her outfit let me know that, yes, all of the cars outside were here for Sango. She wore a bright hot pink bandeau top with black leggings, her makeup done up gorgeously. "Hey, hey! Welcome. This must be Souta. Hi, I'm Sango. Run upstairs, first room on the right, and Kohaku should be up there."

Souta glanced at me. When I nodded my approval, he ran up the stairs and left us alone. Sango put her arm around my shoulder guiding me inside, and I faintly smelled alcohol on her breath. "So we're already in full swing, girl! Like I said, it's not a party. It's written all over your face how freaked out you are! But a few more people than I expected showed up."

I looked around and saw the people dancing around the living room, having a good time and laughing… but it wasn't the normal kind of laughing that's done amongst friends. It was like these people were in their own world and laughing at a joke that only people from that universe could understand.

"Are they drunk?" I asked Sango curiously.

"No, no. They're not drunk. I'm tipsy, and on the verge of drunk if I have two more of these drinks. But them?" She pointed to the people in her living room. "They've been eating."

"Eating?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

She pointed to a plate of brownies and waggled her eyebrows. "Guess what the special ingredient is?"

I smiled. "Wow. It's one of those parties, huh?"

"No, one of those small gatherings that got a little bigger. And before you ask, I provided the kids with food upstairs so they won't wander down here and try to sneak some of the brownies. Besides, Kohaku knows better" She grabbed my hand and said, "But none of this would be possible without the wonderful and immaculate Miroku Houshi! Give him a round of applause!"

Miroku wrapped his arm around Sango's waist, who leaned against him for support. "Ah, thanks for the praise, Sango." He said, kissing her forehead, which made her beam happily. "And… you are Kagome Higurashi. What a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"I hope good things." I said with a smile.

"Always good. And most of the time always concerning your lovely looks. More beautiful up close than I could ever imagine."

Sango feigned a whisper and said, "He's a flirt, just so you know."

As she erupted into giggles, I looked at Miroku, who seemed perfectly sober and completely aware of everything going on. At the same time, he appeared to be having fun. How could he be having fun when the rest of the party-goers were acting like they were in a completely different world?

Miroku caught my stare and grinned widely. "Want to do some business, Higurashi?"

"What do you mean?"

He narrowed his eyes while raising his brows. "What do I mean?"

I laughed. "Well I'm curious… what did you do? I mean, Sango said none of this would be possible without you. Are you the party-planner, or did you get the booze here?"

"Ah, yes I have connections. I provide the booze and illegal substances." He answered before leaning in and putting his finger to his lips. "It's a secret, though."

"So you're like a god around here, huh?"

"Demi-god, of course." Sango put in before wrapping her arms around Miroku's neck. "And you know what I like to do to demi-god's, right?"

His eyes gleamed with delight. "What's that?"

She brought her lips up to his and before I knew it, they were having a hardcore make-out session. I walked away demurely and glanced around for something to do. Some random guy came up to me and offered me a cup, but I knew not to take it from him. I mean, he could've slipped anything in there. Every teen movie teaches you not to take random cups.

As I wandered away, I looked around and realized that, even though Souta was okay upstairs, I still couldn't immerse myself into the fun these kids were having. I had to drive Souta home, and I wouldn't feel right doing that with alcohol in my system.

God, can you get anymore square, Kagome? I said to myself, bringing a laugh out of my mouth.

I walked onto the empty balcony and leaned over the edge. It wasn't a great view. It was simply an open field of grass, a blue dumpster out there in the distance.

"Why aren't you partying?" Someone asked behind me.

I turned around and my face lit up at the sight of Inuyasha. Not only was I happy to see him, but I was happy to see that when I smiled, he smiled too. "Hey there, stranger. I haven't seen you in a while."

"I come and go when I please." He said mysteriously. He smelled like weed. Either he smoked it or hung around people who did. I loved figuring it out-I wanted to figure out more. "I didn't think this would be your kind of scene, I have to admit."

"What makes you say that?" I asked, leaning my back against the banister.

"I don't know. The whole naïve thing you've got going on."

I rolled my eyes and turned around to face the empty field again. "Ah, you and everyone else thinks that."

He stepped closer to me, and the smell of marijuana seemed to emanate from him. It smelled good. "Is there reason to believe otherwise?"

Chancing a glance at him, I saw he was already looking at me. A blush crept up my neck. "Uhm, I wish." I laughed and folded my arms across my chest. "But I'm a pretty simple person."

"Not that you want to be," He remarked.

I grinned at him. "So you remembered our little conversation the other day."

He let a laugh slip out. "Yeah, I did."

"Well, my life is pretty dull, Inuyasha. I've got to take care of my little brother." I told him. "He's here, you know. Upstairs with Sango's little brother. They're playing games on the Xbox."

"Really? I was just up there with them playing. Souta, right?"

I nodded my head, adoration in my eyes. "Why were you up there playing when you could be down here partying?"

"Honestly? This isn't so much my scene." He looked behind us into the house. "A bunch of teens bouncing off the walls from eating one too many fun brownies? Doesn't appeal to me."

"Really?" He obviously smoked. Were sweets just not his thing? I wanted to say something, but I instead looked at the scene inside and smiled as a guy tripped over the sofa as if he didn't see the massive piece of furniture right in front of him. "I wish I could at least experience it."

"Why?"

"Because," I said as if that were the answer. When he stared at me expectantly, I continued. "Because I want to do things like normal teens do. And that doesn't mean get drunk to the point that I have to join AA, but at least experience it. I want to experience everything that I feel I can't."

"One of those girls." He said with a sly grin. "An experimenter."

I laughed. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're up for anything, right?"

"No, no. I'm not. I like to think I have morals, but I don't want to be uptight, you know?"

"Sounds like an oxymoron to me, Kagome." He grinned down at me as I laughed. "I'm gonna tell you something that I probably shouldn't."

"What?" I asked quietly, forcing myself not to get excited.

"You may think your life is dull... but you're not."

My heart hit my chest hard. I felt my nerves tingle and excitement begin to settle in, but I turned my face down and stared out at the empty field with only that dumpster in the background. "Now, why shouldn't you tell me that?" I turned back to him and smiled lightly.

His lip twitched and I could see the smile on his face. It was enough. It was perfect.

"I haven't talked this much in a long time." He admitted.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." He rubbed his hands down his face. "Seriously."

"I'm happy to hear you say that." I confessed. "I mean, I thought you were avoiding me yesterday. When I saw you, it was like you didn't see me."

"I like my space."

I watched as his face tightened. When that happened, he looked almost like a different person. Still extremely handsome, but just like another handsome person instead of the Inuyasha that I saw smiling at me. This other Inuyasha looked hard and emotionless. It was a little scary.

"Understandable." I tilted my head and just stared up at him until he looked down at me with a pleasant smirk. He transformed back into the Inuyasha I was used to. The one I wanted to keep talking to me.

I stared up at the sky and sighed. I didn't want to leave his side, but I encounter was perfect. I didn't want to ruin it by pushing him to talk to much. I turned to him and spoke, "I've only been here for like thirty minutes, but I feel like it's time for me to go."

"Well, Souta's having a lot of fun up there. Why don't you try?"

I smiled. "Okay, I'll try. Are you coming back inside?"

"Nah, I'm going to chill out here for a little while."

"I'd probably have more fun with you than in there, but I'll give you your space, Inuyasha." Again, I smiled at him and I felt a part of me melt a little when he returned it. "See you later."

"Later." He commented.

I turned around and went back inside, where I made my way to the kitchen. I found a Dr. Pepper in the fridge and popped the can open. "Hey, Kagome! Over here."

I looked to see who called me and saw Hojo standing there. "Hey Hojo. What's going on?"

He seemed totally sober, which made me feel somewhat relieved. "I really like this song! Want to dance?"

I grinned. "Sure, yeah."

He led me to the middle of the dance floor, and we started dancing goofily like everyone else, laughing at the fact that we were the only two people around that weren't drunk or high.

"You look great tonight, by the way." He said into my ear.

"Thanks, I kind of wished I had dressed up more! Everyone looks so nice."

He grinned. "No you look perfect! If you can make a t-shirt and jeans look so great, I can only imagine what you'd make a dress look like." He pulled back, but then put his head beside my ear again. "And I can't believe I just told you that!"

I laughed. "It's okay. I appreciate the compliment."

He stopped dancing and took my hand in his. "I'm wondering… you know, I'm sure a lot of guys have asked you this, too… but I was wondering if you'd let me take you out some time? Like to a movie or dinner or something."

Hojo was cute, no doubt about that. But he wasn't… wasn't what?

Wasn't Inuyasha.

That's right.

"Thanks Hojo, but I just want to get settled in for now, you know? I would if it wasn't so soon!"

"Ah, I understand! Maybe in a month or so?" When I simply smiled at his words, he glanced at the clock. "It's already ten thirty. I should get home. It's a school night, and you know how strict parents can get."

"Yeah, I do."

Hojo awkwardly leaned forward and gave me a hug. "Alright, I'll see you at school tomorrow, then!"

"Okay. Bye, Hojo."

When he was gone, I decided that I should get Souta back to the house as well. Though I felt so lame saying it, I was kind of getting tired myself. I wasn't used to doing this on a weekday. I went up the stairs, distracted by thoughts of what I'd have to do when I got home, and opened the door on the left. But it was the wrong room. Souta definitely wasn't in the room I just entered. Instead I saw a girl was in a bed, getting fucked senseless by a white-haired boy.

I watched in amazement as the girl, on all fours, bounced against him, head thrown back in ecstasy. Her eyes tightened as if she was experiencing a combination of pain and pleasure with every impact of his thrust, and she gripped the sheets as her moans got louder and louder. His head was turned up so his closed eyes looked up at the ceiling, his momentum increasing as her moans continued to increase. They seemed to overpower the music as I watched. I kept trying to pull myself away from the room and close the door softly, but I couldn't tear the eyes away from the scene in front of me. This was way different from the porn I'd seen a couple times before.

This was real.

"Kagome?"

I slammed the door shut and looked behind me. "Hey Souta." I said, rushing a short way down the hall to my little brother. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of getting sleepy. I had fun though!"

"Great, great. What'd you eat?"

"Inuyasha brought us some lasagna to eat a little while ago." He answered. "He said he knew you when I told him about you."

"Yeah, I know Inuyasha." I said quietly, thinking about what I'd just witnessed moments before. I wondered if the girl in there was the same chick he had hooked up with in the gym, but deep down I knew it wasn't. He was Inuyasha. He got with as many girls as he wanted.

"Bye Kohaku!" Souta said one more time before closing the door. He looked at me and said, "Hey, what were you looking at in there anyway?"

I cringed at his question and awkwardly answered, "Um, just a pretty bedroom. You know, all… pink and stuff. Very pretty."

"Very girly." He mumbled not catching me in my lie. The kid was too gullible.

As we headed down the stairs, I instructed, "Souta, cover your mouth." I didn't want him to inhale too much of the smoke that was surrounding the place. Just as we were about to walk out of the front door, Sango ran up and asked, "You two leaving so soon?"

"Not so soon. Souta has to get to bed." I told her, trying not to be judgmental but feeling like I should voice my concern, albeit somewhat passive aggressively. "You know, he has school tomorrow." Just like your little brother. We weren't cool enough for me to make a comment like that but I wanted to say the words.

"Right, right, school. I'll probably let Kohaku skip or whatever." She said, stumbling sideways. "Oh, you should've joined me and Miroku, Kag! That would've been hot!"

"Uh, you can have him all to yourself." I said with a laugh. "Okay, I'm going to get going. See you at school tomorrow… or not, if you decide to stay home with Kohaku."

She laughed as if what I had said was truly hysterical. "You're hilarious! And it'll probably be a not." With that, she slammed the door, and all was quiet outside.

"Kagome… was she drinking?"

"Yes, she was Souta."

"Kagome… were you drinking?"

"No, I wasn't Souta."

"I can tell." He began walking towards our car and smiled up at me. "Sis, I'm glad you didn't drink."

"Yeah, me too."

"When I saw those people, they reminded me of how Dad used to get."

"Let's not talk about that… And don't mention this to mom, either, okay? I didn't know Sango was going to bring so many people over. I don't want Mom to think that I brought you to this kind of place intentionally."

"I know, Kagome. Besides, I had fun playing Xbox. Kohaku's cool… And I'm your brother. I'm not going to snitch on you."

I ruffled his hair as I started the car. "Thanks kid."

"Yeah, yeah."

We pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the house, where we both showered and got into bed. But it took a long time for me to go to sleep that night. I couldn't get the image of Inuyasha having sex with that girl like he could never stop.

Couldn't get the image out of Inuyasha doing that to someone else.

Couldn't get the image out of Inuyasha doing that to me.

A/N: I hope that wasn't too risque! But that was Chapter 2! Now Go Review! More coming soooon :)

New A/N: Okay so that was the revised Chapter 2! I still need to revise Chapter 3 and 4, which I'll do sometime before next week. There will be no plot changes in the next two chapters so if you're new, do read! And I'll be back soon with a Chapter 5. Oh, and review please!