A/N: Be prepared for the worst OOC of your life! Don't say this author didn't warn you! I wanted to have this all done by Christmas, but seeing as there are two more chapters, I might not have it out until I feel like it. Unless I type a chapter each day. But I'm gone on Christmas. I'll try and have it done, alright? And sorry that the previous chapter was underline. FF sometimes does that. This time I'll remember to fix it. One part inspired by Through the Grapevine by lovegirl132

Chapter 3

SHIKAMARU'S POV

I sighed. What was I supposed to do? Just get up and hand her a gift? Why?

There were a lot of whys not. But the biggest one: Why did I like Temari? Why someone that I could hardly stand? I couldn't answer that and I couldn't think of anyone to ask.

Chouji had zero luck with Shintei as far as I knew. And Asuma would probably just go on and on about Kurenai.

Another major question was did she feel the same way as me? I wished that I had never even met someone like her.

I also wished that it wasn't Christmas Eve. I didn't want to see what would happen when some other person told her that they loved her. It wasn't worth it.

"I guess I'll just give up," I said aloud.

"Give up on what?" Chouji asked, coming up behind me.

"Nothing," I said.

"Hey," he said, "what do ya think Shintei would like for Christmas?"

"I don't know," I said. "How am I supposed to know? If you want to impress her, tell her the truth."

He looked like I had just suggested to jump off a tall building.

"I can't do that!" he said.

"It was just a suggestion."

"I don't think that would impress her at all," he said. "I don't think she even likes me.'

I sighed. He was as clueless as Naruto. It was completely obvious that Shintei was smitten with him.

"You've won a girl's heart before. Tell me what I'm supposed to do," he begged.

"What are you talking about? I haven't 'won a girl's heart'!" I protested.

"But what about Temari?"

Wait. What? "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh, well, I heard from Naruto, who heard from Sakura, who heard from Ino, who heard from Tenten, who heard from Almond, who heard from Hana, who heard from Shintei, who heard from Hebi, who heard from Kitsune, who heard from Temari herself. And she said that she likes you."

Even someone as smart as me would have trouble keeping up with what Chouji was saying. But I got the point. Temari liked me. Temari liked me.

"I…just be yourself," I advised. After all, that's all I had done. I hadn't even realized that she liked me or I wouldn't have been fretting about whether or not I should got for her.

"But what if that's not enough?" he asked desperately.

"Then she's not the right one for you. Now if you'll excuse me," I said, "I have something to do."

"Oh? And what's that?" Chouji asked.

"I'm gonna make Temari's Christmas wish come true," I said, grinning.

SHINO'S POV

"Hmm…so you want them to be special?" teased Yamanaka Ino. I nodded.

I was at her families flower shop, getting flowers for someone.

"How come?" she asked.

"Because, I want her to like them," I replied. "Why else?"

"So, who is she?" Ino asked.

"Sakura," I replied. She wore a face that told me she didn't like it that another boy had fallen for her rival.

She shook it off and said, "Well, someone else came for her earlier. Better make sure you get to her first."

"Lee," I said, without too much thought. She nodded.

"So, let's see," Ino said, glancing at the flowers around her. "Her favorite color is pink…"

Soon, Ino had a whole bouquet made for me. I paid, thanked her, and left quickly.

Sakura…like most boys, I had fallen for her. Her sweet voice, her beautiful face, her competitive nature.

Naruto, Lee, even Sasuke. We were all victims of her perfection. And I was determined to be the one who got her.

This wasn't my usual self. I never spent so much time dwelling on what other people thought of me, much less some girl. So why was I getting this way over Sakura?

I guess I had just gotten a dose of reality. The reality that the best girl in the world was right in front of me. Being in love sure did make me act different.

I was in a daze and didn't notice Hinata at first. She was standing on the street corner.

"Hello, Hinata," I said, walking up behind her.

"O-oh! Shino-kun!" she said, turning around.

"You look afraid of something," I said. "What's wrong?"

"Oh…well…can you keep a secret, Shino-kun?" she asked, blushing.

I nodded.

"I think that I like Kiba-kun," she said, turning red.

Well, it's about time thought. Kiba definitely liked her. It was obviously killing him that she had a crush on Naruto But now that had changed and Kiba would finally get his way.

"Well," I said, "I think you made the right choice. Kiba is nice to you and you two would make a good couple."

She smiled. "You never used to give me advice before," Hinata said softly. "Are you in love, too?

I debated on whether or not to tell her. She would keep a secret.

"Yes," I said. "I love Sakura."

HINATA'S POV

So it was Sakura that Shino liked. I smiled as encouragingly as I could.

"Sakura-san will like you," I said.

It was interesting. Shino and I had been friends but we never talked like this. How close we had become in these few minutes. Which is why I didn't tell him that Sakura had a lot of boys chasing her and she was chasing one herself. I didn't want my friend to lose hope.

"Thank you, Hinata," he said before walking away.

My thoughts drifted back to Kiba. How could I have not noticed this great person, right there in front of me?

Being shy over Naruto when it would never happen. I had wasted so much time. Could I have a chance with Kiba, more so than I did with Naruto? Was I willing to have my heart crushed?

Oh, Kiba-kun, I thought, will you ever like me?

SUNAKO'S POV

So…Hikari knew about my feelings for Gai.

After hitting her, I headed to where the Christmas party would be held.

Tsunade had placed the responsibility on Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, and I to plan the party. It was intended for the genin we taught, but somehow Hikari ended up on the guest list. Also, Hana had told me that I had to invite Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and Kitsune.

Now, all the planning was coming together. The main thin we had to do was decorate the place and get the snacks.

Hana, excited about the party, had done a lot to help. She had polled the others to find out what snacks they all liked, helped me remember who to invite, got addresses for the invitations, and came up with decorating teams.

I was more than grateful that she had put Gai and I to decorating the walls and hanging things and anything else that wasn't being taken care of by the rest.

Asuma and Kurenai were decorating the tables and arranging the plates. Last, Kakashi was using the money we had for the party and buying snacks and would put them on the plates.

Anko, though not responsible for anything at the party, had promised to get some punch for us. Probably just an excuse to get to see Kakashi.

As I approached, I noticed that I was the last to arrive. I handed Kakashi the money and said, "Sorry. I got a bit held up with Hikari."

We got to work, not wanting the party to start before we even got done.

I got a bit distracted on more than one occasion. Okay, I'll admit it. I was dropping things on purpose, hoping that Gai would get it for me. Being the great man he was, he helped every time.

I guess I was flirting but what other choice did I have? If I wanted him to notice me, I had to do something, right?

I know that I was pathetic. I was just as bad as Hikari. A grown woman, and I was playing teenager games to win a man's heart.

A/N: SHEEESH!!!!!!!!!!!! I was typing all day, but I took so many breaks that it took me forever to finish! I have to get this done by Christmas. Chapter 4 is going to be short so I might be able to type it tonight. And that would mean I would type and add chapter 5 tomorrow. Next time I write a fan fiction, I'm not going to write it on paper first! Too much work with zero motivation! This has been chapter 3.