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Chapter Three

The two girls had barely gotten inside the bedroom when Sango exploded: "You owe me a full story Kagome Higurashi. Not a half story. Not a quarter story. A full story with lots of minute details."

Kagome head straight for her friend's bed and sat down. "Yeah, yeah, I know." she said softly.

"Don't 'yeah, yeah, I know' me, Jelly." Sango said sternly as she continued to pace. "I had to keep quiet this whole day, waiting patiently for this moment, while fending off others who were so desperately trying to pry out of you the same story I wanted to know. You know how much that took? Do you Jelly? You better tell me every single detail, you hear me?"

Kagome sighed, rubbing her temples to ease the tension growing there. "I hear you PB."

"Good." Sango said with finality. Then she glanced down at her friend to see her expression pained. "Hey...you okay Kag?" Sango asked, her toned softened with concern.

Kagome sighed again, wondering how okay Sango would think she was if she told her she had spent the rest of the day fighting off more tears after completely breaking down in the girls' bathroom. Probably not that okay.

"I'm fine." She said quietly. "Just...long day is all."

"I can imagine." Sango said as she sat down next to her.

No, she couldn't. She could hardly imagine what it was like all day, having to deal with Inuyasha not quite looking at her anymore, flirting blatantly with other girls, and having to remain indifferent about it all for the sake of Koga. She couldn't imagine how it felt to wonder why she felt so weird about Inuyasha's flirting with other girls anyway, when she was already very much in love with her boyfriend. She couldn't imagine the contemplating over whether she really did still love Koga anymore, what had possessed her to push Inuyasha away, what she should do next. Today wasn't just long, it was rough.

But now she'd get to unwind a bit, to the one person in the whole world she could trust. Kagome hadn't really wanted to tell anyone, but that was before Inuyasha showed up in her homeroom. Now it seemed she didn't have a choice. But at least telling Sango would release some stress.

"We met in Cali." She began softly. "Over break."

"You and Inuyasha?"

"Yeah. I had seen him when I was in the mall during my first week there, but we didn't actually get formally introduced until the following week. Mimi and I went to this party, and he was there–""Mimi?"

"The girl I hung out with while I was there." Sango nodded. "Anyway, I had told her that I had seen this incredibly hot guy in the mall the other day and that he was at the party now. And it didn't take rocket science to realize I was talking about Inuyasha so she introduced us."

"And the rest is history?" Sango offered meekly.

If only it were that simple. She and Inuyasha spent the rest of that night sitting out by the pool deck, away from the rest of the party, picking each other's brains and laughing with one another. It was the first time Kagome felt like she was really enjoying herself since she landed in California. He offered to drive her home and, after explaining the situation to Mimi, she humbly accepted. They talked more during the drive, and exchanged numbers once they reached her house. He promised she'd be hearing from him really soon before driving off.

And really soon, turned out to be the very next day. She went downstairs the next morning, half asleep in a less than flattering state, to find him sitting at the breakfast table with her aunt and little cousin. Mortified wasn't even the right word. But Inuyasha just smiled like it didn't matter that her hair was doing something wild atop her head, or that she was wearing no shorts underneath her big tee. He just said something about needed to see her as soon as possible and jingling car keys to signify they were getting out of here. Kagome couldn't resist the spontaneity and quickly ate breakfast and changed for a day out.

He drove her all over the little town she was staying in, pointing out all the places he'd need to take her to. He told her about all the upcoming events that he would humbly be her escort for. He seemed to have planned an entire itinerary overnight about what she would be doing for the rest of her summer. And her smile grew with every word. She barely remembered that she had just met this guy last night. Already she couldn't imagine her summer without him.

And he was in every part of it. They were together almost everyday. Mimi faded into the background while Inuyasha stepped into the limelight. Sometimes they just hung out at each other's houses. The first time Kagome went to Inuyasha's house was after about two weeks of knowing each other. His mom was absolutely delighted to meet the girl her son couldn't stop talking about, which made both Kagome and Inuyasha turn a lovely shade of red. Kagome met his brother, only to find that though he just as unbelievably gorgeous as Inuyasha, he was not as friendly, and kept mostly to himself.

Then there were other times were Inuyasha would only tell Kagome to wear a swimsuit – no other clues – and leave her speechless to find out they were going surfing, or snorkeling or some crazy thing she had never done before. The idea of parasailing had scared the shit out of her when he had first suggested it. But then he promised to be up there with her. And he was: strapped in behind her so that his arms were wrapped loosely around her shoulders. Kagome completely forgot about being scared: partially because was she was in the air, the rush of things fueled her body with excitement, but also because she had comfort in knowing that she was in Inuyasha's arms.

That's when things started changing. That's when Kagome should have caught herself before she let her hormones get the best of her. But even as she saw it happening, she was powerless to stop it because...well, she didn't want it to stop.

"He kissed me that day." Kagome said quietly.

Sango's eyes widened: "Really."

Kagome nodded. "He walked me to my door, like always. But before he let me in, he took a step towards me and kissed me. It was the sweetest touch. He held me tenderly, as if afraid to hurt me, and kissed me like I was precious." Kagome had to smile at the memory. "His hands didn't wander and grope, and his kiss didn't go any further than what I wanted. He left everything up to me. And when he pulled back, he told me exactly that: that everything was up to me, and if I never wanted him to kiss me again, he could respect that, but he just had to get that first one off."

"What a gentleman." Sango said with a smile.

"Yeah..." Kagome said whimsically.

There was a long pause, then Sango said indignantly: "Wait...hello?! Is that all? I know that's not all."

Kagome grinned. "No that's not all. I told him he could kiss me whenever he wanted to, and he said something like wanting to kiss me all the time, and...I don't know...I guess after that, we were...I don't want to say dating, but–"

"I get it. You guys hung out still, but you kissed more. Friends with benefits. Got it."

"But it didn't feel like that." Kagome said. "You don't get it. It wasn't just: we're friends who kiss each other now. It felt like...so much more than that. He's so sweet Sango. So incredibly sweet to me. He's kind of mean sometimes, and pretty arrogant, but he's also smart, and funny, and he loves his mom, and he makes me smile and–"

"Hang on Jelly, take a breath." Sango said to slow her friend down.

Kagome smiled faintly: "Sorry."

"So you had a crush, then? And he had a crush on you?"

"It was more than just a crush." Kagome paused. "He...he told me he loved me." She said in a whisper.

Sango's eyes ballooned again: "What?!"

Kagome looked away from her friend's shocked expression. "Yeah..."

"And...how?"

"Well, we had been talking about his life, and his being a hanyou – he gets a lot of shit for it back there – and he told me that, except for his mom, I was the only person who didn't care. That I saw him as Inuyasha, not as Inuyasha: the sexy hanyou, or Inuyasha: the dirty half-demon. And then I told him that I still thought he was sexy and then we laughed and then...he said it."

Another pause. "And?"

"And...I said it back."

"You told Inuyasha you loved him?"

"Yeah..."

"But what about Koga?"

"I know. Telling Inuyasha I love him doesn't cancel out my feelings for Koga."

Sango looked unconvinced: "I guess."

"Well that's not even the whole of it."

"Oh jeez Kagome. There's more?"

Kagome nodded. "We had started kissing, and it was pretty heated, and then...well, next thing I know we..." Kagome's cheeks burned at the very thought. "Well we..." Damn, and now she couldn't even get the words out.

But clearly the words she had gotten out were enough for Sango to get the picture. "Kagome...don't tell me you guys..." She raised her eyes brows and gave an expression that spoke volumes.

Slowly, Kagome nodded. Sango exploded in surprise: "I don't believe you!"

"You don't understand." Kagome said quickly.

"I realize that!"

"It felt so right. It felt more right than anything in a long time. You know how things were going back here." Sango nodded solemnly. "Well, now it felt like those things didn't matter, and all that mattered was Inuyasha, and only I mattered to him."

"Did you...just once?"

Kagome shook her head, still blushing: "Three times in total."

Sango took a deep breath. "So things really did get serious."

"Yeah they did."

"So I don't understand Kagome. If you love Inuyasha, why are you still with Koga?"

"Well, here's the part where I'm confused. Because in that last week before school started, when I was home, I started having...second thoughts about things."

"Second thoughts?"

"It's not that I regretted my actions, because I didn't. But then I wondered if I just did it to escape everything. I mean, here I was: half way across the country, away from everything I'm familiar with into unknown terrain. I had a chance to do things that I couldn't do here, and would never get to do here. I had a chance to live."

Kagome paused: "And it's possible that in the experience of living, I got a little too caught up in the person who let me live. And maybe all those feelings I thought I had were...misguided. And at the time, it didn't matter to me cause, I didn't think I'd see him again. I thought I could just look back on the memories of my summer and enjoy them as memories. Good memories of course."

"And then Inuyasha comes sauntering back into your life on the first day of school." Sango summed up nicely.

"Exactly."

"Well you have to decide then."

"I did decide. I spoke to Inuyasha at lunch today and told him that what happened in Cali, can't happen here."

"How did he take it?"

"Not well, but I can't do anything about that. I do have a boyfriend here."

"Yeah, a boyfriend you were planning to break up with when you got back from vacation."

Kagome was caught at that. She had been planning to break up with Koga when she got back from break. And spending the summer with Inuyasha had fuelled that thought all the more. But somewhere between landing back in NY and the first day of school, she couldn't help but feel guilty about breaking up with him after she was in the wrong. She could only keep her summer to herself, and hope that Koga never found out about it. He loved her, and she had betrayed that love.

"I can't break up with Koga." She said quietly. "I love him."

Sango sighed. "I know you do."

"Being with Inuyasha almost made me see that even more. I think I was just hurting because of...well, because of what happened–" Sango nodded knowingly. "–and Inuyasha and this vacation was just my outlet from everything. But now I'm back, and I'm ready to get back to my life before Inuyasha."

"But he goes to your school now Jelly. You can't go back to your life before him if he goes to your school."

"I know," Kagome said softly. "But I can try, can't I?"

"I guess."

The two girls sat quietly in their own thoughts for another couple of moments, before Kagome finally said: "So tell me about your summer."

Sango blushed profusely. "Oh Kagome, it was simply amazing."

"What's going on with you and Miroku? Is it official?"

"It's pretty official." Sango said with a smile.

"How'd it happen? And I don't want a half-story."

Sango giggled, and Kagome had to smile at her friend's happiness. "Well, it started when I came back from my aunt's house – I was there for a week. And Mom told me I had a message from a boy to call him when I got back. Mom said they didn't leave a name, so I could only assume it was Miroku. But when I called him, he told me he didn't call since he knew I wasn't home. And then he told me the thought of some other guy moving in on his Sango drove him insane, and now was the time to set some barriers."

"Sounds like Miroku." Kagome said with a snort.

"Yeah well, I told him to shove it, and that if other guys that weren't him wanted to call me, they could, but he wasn't having it. So then he asked me out, and I said whatever, and – god, I needed you that day Kagome, cause I didn't have a clue what to wear..."

Kagome had to giggle at that: the thought of Sango worrying about what to put on.

"...But I pulled it off okay, and it was a great date, save for the fact that Miroku kept trying to grope me in true Miroku fashion. And then we were inseparable after that." Sango finished her sentence with a bright smile.

"Well it's about time I say." Kagome said. "He's loved you forever you know."

"I know." Sango said, rolling her eyes.

Kagome grinned. "Awww, Sango has a boyfriend."

"Shut up Kagome, you sound like my parents." She rolled her eyes again.

Kagome could imagine: Sango's parents had been promoting the 'Sango and Miroku' show every since he confessed his undying love for her at their dining table. They thought Miroku was 'adorable'.

Sango fell back on her bed and grabbed a pillow. "I'm happy though." She said softly. She gave the pillow a squeeze. "Miroku makes me happy."

Kagome lied down next to her friend. "That's what matters right? Even if you fight sometimes, and even if he gropes you a lot...he makes you happy."

Sango turned to face Kagome. "Does Koga still make you happy?"

She faced Sango as well. "Of course."

"Something seems different between the two of you."

"Well, there's the part that I'm harboring this awful dirty secret from him, and the main part of that secret now sits next to me in Physics class."

"Not just Inuyasha. You guys just don't get the way you used to."

"I know that. We had hit a rough patch. But I want to work it out with him."

"Because he makes you happy?"

"Because he makes me very happy."

"Well..." Sango turned to lie on her back again. "That's all that matters then."

Kagome nodded, but it didn't feel real. Koga did make her happy, that was without a doubt. But Sango was right: so much had changed between them. And now there was this thing with Inuyasha that would be hanging over them like a cloud. Especially with him going to their school now.

And there was how she felt about Inuyasha herself...

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Koga?"

"Yeah..."

"I can't Sango. He'll break up with me for sure."

"He deserves to know though Kags."

"I know he does...but, I can't. Not so soon."

"The longer you wait, the worse it might be."

Kagome grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her head. God she didn't want to hear this right now. "Can you play the role of my conscience later, PB?"

Sango sighed. "Fine. You know I'm just looking out for you."

"I know."

There was another long silence, before Sango spoke again:

"So, can I ask you a question?"

Sango's voice came out muffled since Kagome was buried under the pillow, but she got the gist of what she said. Removing the pillow she said: "Sure, what's up?"

"Did it hurt?"


Author's Note: heres another chapter. hope you all like it. seems you guys like how the story is going so far.

read and review (thanks!)

see you in the next chapter,

Brin.