A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. I've had, as they say, writers block with this story. I've finally decided how I'm going to end this (I hope) so the updates will hopefully get faster. If my writers block goes away. Anyway, I've been toying around with some other story ideas, and that's not helped with writing this one, either. So I hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry for it being so short and so late. I can't promise faster updates, though. I know, I'm pathetic.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Sorry, but I'm no manga artist.

Okay, this is in CHOJI'S POV. So it will (hopefully) be different from Ino's POV. Like a little more thoughtful and less shallow, maybe? I dunno. Hope you like the world from Choji's POV.

There we were, sitting at the campus coffee house. The object of my affections was sitting across from me, sipping away while reading a book. This was the first time we had hung out in weeks; to me, it felt like years. That damn Lee had been occupying all of her time.

The weather outside was cooling. The usual hot temperatures were fading for the winter months. Many of the students walking by donned university sweatshirts in a multitude of colors, ranging from aqua to yellow. Not that anyone was to fond of seeing a bright cyan sweatshirt, but some people had them.

According to the phone call I received from Ino this afternoon, we were going sweatshirt hunting.

I asked her why she didn't have any sweatshirts or winter coats. Her response was simple. She only had sweatshirts from Kumogakure. And "That just wouldn't be right, ya know? I'm in Konoha now." I accepted it as a plausible Ino answer, and agreed.

So here we are, not looking for a sweatshirt while sitting in a coffee house. Not a lot of conversation, either.

"Chouji, I don't understand why we have to read these stupid poetry books," Ino complained as she furrowed her brow, trying to understand the poets delicate choice of words.

"It's to better understand the literary culture around us. Poetry's not hard, nor is it stupid. It's a more artistic way of expressing oneself than, lets say, writing a novel or a short story." If you couldn't tell, I like poetry.

"Lee writes short stories. They're so good..." Ino responded in a dreamy tone, apparently not taking in a word I said.

I frowned. "Ino, how about we go to the campus store and look at those sweatshirts you said you needed."

Her blond head snapped out of it's daze, and she looked at me with slightly confused eyes. "Huh? Sweat- Oh, yeah." She nodded as she closed her 'evil' poetry book. Slowly, we both rose, and left the coffee shop.

The chilly wind hit us full blast as the door swung shut. Ino was wearing a pathetic excuse for a long sleeve shirt, and looked as if she was about to freeze. Almost immediatley, she started rubbing her arms for warmth, trying to get to the student store as fast as possible. I felt sorry for her, looking like a lost, frozen puppy.

I slipped off my coat and handed it to her, insisting that I would not be cold.

"Chouji, you really don't have to... I'm not that cold."

But after I insisted, yet again, she took it. I could tell from the relief in her beautiful, crystal blue eyes that she was grateful for it. And that look made it all worth it.

Soon, we both entered into the University Store. There were so many people in here, it was scary. Isn't there like a legal limit for stuff like this? It was a fire hazard, for sure. Ino pushed her way through the crowds, heading for the clothing section.

I followed behind her.

We stopped as Ino examined the different patterns and designs. She grabbed a yellow sweatshirt. Holding it up to her body, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

It was an adorable face.

She threw it away, back on the shelf. Yellow, Ino said, was not her color. I quickly agreed.

She went through many other colors, looking for just the perfect one. I could tell she was having a hard time. I thought they all looked perfect.

She disagreed with me.

Finally, Ino's slender fingers landed on a purple Konoha sweatshirt. She grabbed an extra small.

It still looked baggy on her small frame. She held it up to her body, and modeled it for herself. I could tell from the look in her cerulian eyes that she had found the perfect Konoha University sweatshirt.

"It's perfect!" she exclaimed, hugging it close to her body.

"Didn't you grow out of purple, Ino?" I asked. Just this summer, she had been going on about how much she hated the color now.

Ino flashed a white toothed smile. "I did, but Lee says it looks good on me."

How I hate that Lee. Not for anything he's done, but he steals away all of Ino's affections. Something that I want.

"Well, it does," I said, and gave Ino a half-hearted smile.

She smiled brilliantly again.

And then, she surprised me.

She walked up, and kissed me. She backed up and looked me in the eye, and said, "I love you, Akimichi Choji."

Or at least, that's what I wanted to happen. In reality, she just hugged me.

"You're such a great friend, Choji. I'm so glad that we can hang out like this!"

A kiss it was not, but it still filled me with an abrupt warmth. I felt the supposed butterflies in my stomach, and I felt my face warm up.

I never wanted to end the friendly embrace. I wanted it to go on forever, for the moment to never end. I wanted so much from such a little gesture. I wanted it to move onto something more, like a kiss. I wanted Ino to realize her undying love for me. I wanted her to tell me we would never be apart. I wanted to spend my life with her. I wanted a little girl that looked exactly like her. I wanted to come home everyday and see her there.

But it would never happen. Ino backed away, and I let her go.

She was still beaming about the sweatshirt.

I was still wishing for more.

She made her way to the register to pay or her sweatshirt.

I stood still, hoping that if I stayed here long enough, I could somehow go back in time. But that could never happen.

Science has made sure of that.

But a few minutes of standing there, I knew that nothing was going to happen. So I went to the register where Ino was paying for her sweatshirt.

I decided to walk her back to her dorm with her. She blabbered on about things that didn't matter to me. I tried to listen, honest. But it was hard. My thoughts strayed to this summer, to her, to my feelings.

We had spent so much time together. We would talk a lot, and everything we went out to do things, we would just talk and have a great time. I felt myself becoming more and more attracted to the blond. I found myself making up things to tell her so I could talk to her. And I felt like, even if it was just a little bit, she liked me, too. I wanted to tell her how much I liked her.

With every passing moment, I fell more and more 'in love' with her. I found myself thinking of her, even when not with her. I found that I had day dreams of us, together... Kissing, married, hugging. I would think of her before I slept, and I would look forward to the next time I saw her with more excitement than I can ever remember having for anything else.

But life was not so kind to me. I felt that she was starting to like me. I wanted her to like me so badly.

"Choji? We're here..."

I blinked a few times. "Oh, yeah. I must have been thinking of something else again, sorry Ino."

"It's okay." She put her hand on the doorknob. I just stood there, waiting for something. "Um, I guess this is goodbye for now. Bye, Choji."

I nodded, knowing that she probably wanted me gone. So I just waved, and left.

I felt like such an idiot now. I had always wondered who she liked over the summer, but never wanted to find out. We never talked about it.

As I made my way back to my dorm, I felt slightly empty, and sad. Here I had been so infatuated with her that I didn't see the obvious. I didn't see that she was just being a good friend to me, and she didn't even like me. Or at least, not now.

I had been rubbing of on her, just a little bit. I can feel it. She was starting to see that I wasn't just an idiotic piece of fat. I was a real, thoughtful human.

As I placed a chubby hand on the doorknob to my dorm, I came to a single conclusion about Ino's sudden disinterest in me. It was not my fault, at all. I did not disgust her. I did not fall blindly in love with a girl who would never love me. No, the girl I loved, I had a chance with. But now, Ino's change can all be blamed on someone. There was a scapegoat for my losing battles in love, my struggles with my feelings. Being able to come to this conclusion about my love was like freedom for my soul.

Ino stopped liking me when we got into college.

So there's only one person that could have changed her feelings. One person to blame.

I blame Rock Lee.

So hopefully you guys liked it. Remember to review! If it weren't for that last review by Lavan-the writer, I would have discontinued/deleted the story. I know, shameful xD So yah, please review. And, for your information, this chapter had a surprising lack of things to correct, something that astounds me. I always feel like I mess up on almost every word, but apparently not. Maybe I'm a better speller than I have led my self to believe. (I kin totilee speel coreectdlee. xD)

Just so you guys know, Choji's POV is only temporary. I wanted to get his feeling out in the open. He really, really likes Ino and blames Lee for her not showing any interest in him. I really liked the last line, for some reason. But anyway, hope you guys enjoyed. Sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, too. I still love ya! (Yet again, I should not be allowed to make authors notes when I'm tired. I have a bad habit of rambling on about the stupidest things.) Oh, and if you wondered how I'm describing Choji's feelings of unrequited love that he doesn't know if Ino likes him back or not, I'm going through the same thing. There's this guy that I've been hanging out with a lot this summer that I'm really starting to like- a lot. I found out a few weeks ago that he doesn't like the girl he's liked for a few years now. He just stopped really liking her this sumer, so keep your fingers crossed for me! If I ever get up enough courage to tell him, that is. I feel so giddy just thinking about him. Gawd, I'm a loser. I'm just going to stop now.

Rai Lockhart