Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Erin, Yaten, or Midnight Blues

I had no idea this chapter was going to be this long. I'm pretty sure I've never written a chapter this long before, but now you guys have plenty to read. I think I can thank all the dialogue for the length. I figured I can get some typing in while I'm on SPRING BREAK! I was actually supposed to have this chapter done on Friday (April 15), but I got distracted as usual.

Walking Tightropes

Chapter 10: Night Out

You can learn a ton about someone by playing 20 questions. Example:

Q: Do you have a girlfriend?

A: No.

Bam! You've just found out that one hot bod is on the dating market.

-x-

"No," I started, slapping Inuyasha's hand away from the CD slot. "I'm picking the CD this time."

"But this one is really—"

"I don't want to hear it," I cut him off, holding up my hand. "Every time we're in Triple G you choose the music and I think it's about time I get to pick."

"Kagome," Inuyasha sighed as we approached a red light and I unbuckled my seatbelt, "you can't name my car. It's mine."

Last week I gave Inuyasha's car the fitting name of the Gas Guzzling Giant. He drives this ridiculously big, black Silverado that can barely fit into a parking space. It's the reason why the world is going to be all out of natural resources in ten years, but for some reason Inuyasha still drives it. Triple G is just a nickname used for short.

"If you think of a better name, I will take back Triple G." I lifted myself out of the seat and leaned over the console to search the back seat for a CD to listen to. Inuyasha keeps his favorite CDs in the armrest, but I've heard all of those already, so, I was daring to search through the stacks of discs that populated Inuyasha's back seat. I stretched so the top half of my body was in the back of the car and I flipped through the first stack of CDs. "I honestly have no idea who half these bands are."

"How about we name it— what the hell are you doing!" I looked over my shoulder to see Inuyasha staring at me. I guess he didn't realize I climbed into the back until just then. "Are you trying to get me pulled over?"

"You can't get pulled over because we're at a red light and we're not moving." I pushed my glasses up my nose and moved to reach a few CDs that were under Inuyasha's seat. "Do you keep all your CDs in your car or something? Seriously, this is like..."

"A true CD collection," Inuyasha finished for me. "But no, I have a lot more at home. You don't put all your eggs in one basket. Hurry up, Kagome, the other light just turned yellow."

"Fine, fine," I grabbed the next CD I touched and pulled myself back into my seat. "How many CDs do you have? You know, just ball park."

"I don't know, a lot?" Inuyasha took the CD from me and read the title before shrugging his shoulders. "Not bad, but my original choice was much better."

"Of course you'd say that." I took the CD back as the light turned green and opened up the case to slide it in. "What are the best tracks on here?"

"Why don't you just listen to the whole thing?"

"Well, considering I don't know where we're going or how long it's going to take to get there, I want to hear all the good songs first."

"They're all good." Inuyasha shrugged as he switched lanes. "And there's always the ride back."

"Fine," I huffed and crossed my arms as the music started up. We were silent through the first verse and the chorus. The band—Marianas Trench—wasn't a bad band to fill the silence. "Why can't you just tell me where we're going?"

Inuyasha smiled and shook his head. "Surprises are good."

"Inuyasha," I whined. I hate anticipation because I hate having to wait. "Please."

"I'm not going to tell you. If you decide you think it's stupid, I don't have anything else besides this planned so I'd have to take you back home and I really don't... want to," Inuyasha mumbled, running his hand through his hair.

"Oh my." I placed my hand over my chest. "Is Inuyasha being bashful? Is... Is that a blush I see?"

"Kagome, please." Inuyasha looked over at me with pleading eyes and I couldn't help but smile at him. "My pride is already on the line as to whether or not you'll like the—where we're going," he caught himself. Damn, I was so close too. "Please don't make me feel like a teenage girl."

"I'm a teenage girl, jerk!" I shouted, hitting him in his arm. "And it feels pretty damn good to be one, thank you very much. And, if you ask me, your ego could use a little bashing. With all these girls going crazy over you, Erin praising you for your guitar magic, and with your own cockiness I'm the only one that can bring your head back to a normal size." I sat up in my seat and cleared my throat. "For example, you are a lazy bum that never accomplishes his schoolwork. Do you know what colleges take lazy bums? None."

"Ouch. That kind of hurt." Inuyasha looked at me out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "But I must point out that you're really lazy when it comes to working out. Honestly, you're not going to get that stomach toned if you keep doing those sit-ups the way you're doing them." He reached over and poked my stomach. "Just look at all that flab."

"Inuyasha!" I would have hit him in the head if it weren't for the fact that, at the moment, he was driving and holding my life in his hands. "Don't be such an asshole. And we're bashing your ego, not mine, so don't go flipping the script."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Please, continue bashing my ego. What else do you have against me?"

"Well... you, uh... um..." I couldn't be out of ammo this early in the game! Really, Inuyasha was not all that. "You're destroying the planet with this truck!"

"Not so wounded by that one."

"You're a coward!" I shouted, yelling the first thing that came to mind.

"Really?" Inuyasha quirked a brow as he continued looking out the window. "Care to elaborate on that?"

"You don't have the balls to do what you really want to do, right?" I pointed a finger at him when his face sort of fell. "Ha! I'm right! That's what Kouga said in your... weird conversation earlier and he wasn't just yanking your chain. You're a coward. Inuyasha is a coward," I sang over the music and Inuyasha was just shaking his head. "So, what are you so afraid of doing?"

"That's kind of a secret," Inuyasha said as he switched lanes. "But I'm slowly working my way up to accomplishing that goal."

"You're kind of annoying me with all this secretive talk."

"Everyone is entitled to their privacy," Inuyasha pointed out.

"Not if we're going to friends and this is where our relationship is headed, right?" I looked over at Inuyasha and he nodded his head. "Okay, so let's get to know each other better. What is your favorite pick-up line?"

"I don't use pick-up lines. They're corny."

Right, he uses his unbelievably good looks to pick-up girls. Duh.

"Well, you're no fun. I'll tell you my favorite pick-up line then."

"You pick up guys with pick-up lines?"

"Only the really cute ones." Inuyasha turned to give me a funny look, not believing me. "No, I don't use pick-up lines, but I like the ones that make me laugh."

"So if a guy can get you to laugh with a cheesy pick-up line, you'll actually give him the time of day?"

"Pretty much."

"Can I get an example?"

"How much does a polar bear weigh?"

"Uh—"

"Enough to break the ice; hi, I'm Kagome." I started laughing and Inuyasha just shook his head. "But isn't that funny? I saw it on the trailer for Hall Pass and it took me forever to get it."

"Wow… you're a special one."

"That's what they say." I sat back in my seat, pulling a knee up to my chest. "But seriously, what's your favorite pick-up line, even if you don't use them?"

"Okay then, can—"

"And it has to be funny," I cut Inuyasha off before he could even start his sentence.

"I thought we were talking about my favorite pick-up line, not what makes Kagome laugh."

"The only good pick-up lines are the funny ones. You never get a girl's attention if you give her a serious pick-up line. It's the funny part that makes her laugh and makes her pay attention to you. You know, as long as she's not a bitch," I added. "Kikyo is not a fan of pick-up lines. Not that she's a super bitch or anything. She just… has her moods."

"Can I go now?" Inuyasha asked and I nodded my head. "I'm feeling a little off today, would you like to turn me on?"

I was quite for a second. "Attention world, we have discovered another flaw in Inuyasha's character: He. Is. A. Perv."

"That was not a perverted pick-up line," Inuyasha argued. "Do you want to hear a really perverted pick-up line? Like, a Miroku level pick-up line?"

"Not really. I just like the funny ones. And I guess your pick-up line was okay."

"I've got plenty more stored in my head."

"I thought you didn't use pick-up lines." Inuyasha just shrugged as he slowed down for the red light. "Well, we have all night to hear your wonderful collection, but on to the next question. What—"

"Nope, it's my turn," Inuyasha cut me off. "That is the rule for twenty questions, right? People alternate between questions?"

"I don't remember saying we were actually playing a game…"

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Take me back to Kindergarten, why don't you?" I teased, but Inuyasha's cheeks actually reddened a bit. He seemed to be more nervous than usual. "Didn't I—oh my God, I didn't! All those mornings we spent eating breakfast together and I never told you I wanted to be a writer? Wow, this is a shock." I sat back in my seat and put my hand over my chest. "I usually make it pretty clear I'm going to write the best novel ever to everyone I meet."

"Makes me feel special to be left out of the loop."

"Now you know how it feels," I said, pointing my finger at him. "I was actually working on the portfolios I'm putting together to go with my applications to get me into an advanced creative writing program before you decided to steal me away. I was working on this one story where this girl's brother is killed by some unknown malicious murderer and when she goes to investigate things for herself, it turns out her brother was killed by some supernatural monster. It's going to be a horror which I don't usually do, but I'm trying to challenge myself." I shrugged my shoulders and played with the hem of Dad's sweatshirt. "There are actually a lot more conflicts in the story, but it's too complicated to explain all at once."

"I think I'm going to have to read your stories now," Inuyasha said, looking away from the road to give me a quick grin. "You've got me interested."

"Only after I can hear one of the songs you write down in your notebook."

"Fair enough."

"Okay then, it's my turn to ask the next question, since I already know you want to work in the music or film business." I smiled at him, tilting my head to the side. "Is Inuyasha Takahashi a night or day kind of guy?"

"You're seriously asking me that?" Inuyasha asked, looking at me with a raised brow. "I obviously hoot with the night owl, in case you miss the number of times I fall asleep during calculus."

"Right… that was a stupid question. I want another one."

"No can do," Inuyasha laughed. "So tell me Kagome, what is something most people don't know about you?"

"I like to read?" I offered and Inuyasha just shook his head.

"If we're going to be close friends, we're going to have to do some deep digging to get to really know each other." Inuyasha casted a look in my direction, "we're going to be close friends, right?"

I think I was smiling too much when I answered. "Of course."

"Alright then. Share something with me not many people know."

I thought for a second. "So you know Titanic?"

"Another obvious question; of course I know Titanic, Kagome. It was considered to be a phenomenal movie so I did actually take the time to watch it since I do want to work in the film industry."

"Okay, sheesh. I just didn't know if you were really going to sit and watch a long romance movie." I looked out my window before continuing, because for some reason I couldn't find the nerve to look at Inuyasha when I told him this. "You know how everybody thinks the most romantic part is when Jack and Rose are at the front of the ship, standing on the railing, and Rose says she's flying?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't. I think the most romantic part is when Rose jumps off the lifeboat for Jack. At that exact moment when she jumps off I can just feel the love between the two. It's just… I don't know, it means so much more to me that she jumps off the boat. And the way that entire scene played out, the way she was looking at him as they lowered the boat with the flares going off behind him, the way they ran to each other, how he was telling her she was so stupid and kissing her at the same time; I love it. It just makes me smile because that is love. 'You jump, I jump.'" I turned around to look at Inuyasha who was glancing back and forth between me and the road. "Nobody knows that about me."

"Is it really such a secret that you like a romantic scene from a romantic movie?" Inuyasha asked, his brows furrowing together. "Isn't that the prototypical teenage girl thought?"

"Most people don't think I'm capable of romance. Love is supposedly a foreign concept to me."

"Why?"

"You don't have to play dumb," I mumbled, rolling my eyes and looking back out of my own window. "I'm not stupid. I know guys talk about me in the locker room and I know they've told you all kinds of stuff." The worst part is that some of the stuff they probably tell him is actually true. "Right?"

Inuyasha was silent.

"Ryuuji didn't call me the easiest smart girl for nothing," I said, looking at the shops that flew by as Inuyasha drove down the street and trying not to cry. I refuse to let Inuyasha see me in tears because that is just so pathetic. "I have a 'reputation' at school. I'm a—"

"You're not…" Inuyasha cut me off, speaking through clenched teeth. "You're not that. Those guys are just assholes who are mad about getting dumped. Don't listen to them, Kagome. They're all just being bitter. I don't listen to anything they say so you… you should just drown them out too."

"Hmm…" I hummed in reply, still looking out the window. It was nice that Inuyasha chose not to believe those guys, but I knew that some of what they said was true. I wasn't as innocent as I would like to be.

"I'm serious, Kagome." Inuyasha looked away from the road and I finally looked at Inuyasha. He stared into my eyes, trying to convey his message through telepathy. "They're just… pricks, bastards, douche bags, whatever. They're not worth your time."

I looked into Inuyasha's amber eyes for a few seconds longer than necessary before I figured it was important for him to start looking at the road again.

"You're going to be a great friend," I told him, smiling to lift the atmosphere. My strategy to ignoring the rumors about me was simple: pretend like they don't exist. I had seriously messed up by bringing the topic up with Inuyasha. Now I needed to make it all disappear. "So, buddy, what's something nobody knows about you?"

"I used to dress up in a maid suit and serve my mom when she was sick to make her laugh."

My jaw dropped. "No you didn't."

Inuyasha's face was bright red as he nodded. "I did. The doctor said keeping her in a good mood would have a slightly better chance of improving her life expectancy."

Doctors. I hated doctors because Dad had to see them a lot and they didn't do much to help him. Considering the look on Inuyasha's face—the distant look people get when they're remembering someone who died—they didn't do much for his mom either.

"So, do you look good in a skirt?" I asked, wanting to steer away from any more serious topics tonight. I wanted to have fun with Inuyasha. "Or better yet, do you still have the costume so I can be the judge for myself."

"No, I burned that thing when… not long before I moved in with my dad." Inuyasha forced himself to smile at me, also wanting to keep tonight light and fun. At that moment I wished Triple G had a bench seat in the front so I could slide over and rest my head on Inuyasha's shoulder, to tell him it was alright.

I almost shuddered. That was a very girlfriend thing to want to do which is odd since Inuyasha and I have only known each other for a little over a week. But, then again, friends can comfort each other that way too. Right?

"We're here," Inuyasha announced, snapping me out of my thoughts. He was turning into a parking lot that looked pretty abandoned for a weeknight and a neon green sign was lit up on top of the building.

"The arcade?" I asked as Inuyasha pulled into a spot. "We're going to the arcade?"

"We're at the arcade," Inuyasha corrected me as he pulled his keys out of the ignition, reaching under his seat to pull out a huge plastic bag of quarters. He looked at my face and sighed, shaking his head. "You see, this is why I didn't tell you where we were going. You obviously don't like it so now I'm going to have to take you back home and—"

"No," I stopped him, throwing my hand up. "I love the arcade, I promise. I just… I wasn't expecting this."

"What were you expecting?"

A coffee shop where local musicians perform or a bar where a great band was playing like Erin always went to during the nights. Or a club.

"Typical band member kinds of hangouts," I told him as I got out of the car. "I'm sorry, I keep stereotyping you."

"You do." Inuyasha led the way towards the building. "When will you understand I'm not like all the rest?"

"I'm slowly starting to get that you're one of a kind."

"Damn right. You cannot replicate all this," Inuyasha said, motioning to his body and I rolled my eyes.

"And the arrogance makes its reappearance." Inuyasha held the door open for me and I stepped inside the arcade. "It's good to see you at least have manners."

"All women and wenches first." Inuyasha stepped in behind me, smirking at the look I was giving him. "You would be the latter."

"Latest on Inuyasha ego bashing: he is a complete asshole." Inuyasha laughed as I pretended to hold a mike up to my mouth. "He has no idea how to properly treat a lady."

"I know how to entertain the ladies," Inuyasha declared, waving to a girl working the prize counter as we ventured into every hardcore gamer's wet dream. Seriously, there were games everywhere.

"What makes you think that?"

Inuyasha smirked at me. "If I received a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I would have five cents."

I tried to bite my lip to keep from laughing, but I failed at trying to contain my wide spread grin. "That's not fair. You know pick-up lines are my weak spot!"

"I got you smiling," Inuyasha said, smiling back at me and then he stopped walking all of a sudden, staring at my face.

"What?"

"Did… Did the sun come up, or did you just smile?"

"Stop it," I laughed, pushing a gleeful Inuyasha forward. "You know your pick-up lines, I get it. But just so you know, that one wasn't funny. It was… complimenting in a cheesy way."

"It was still pretty good."

"Whatever. So, what game are we going to play first?"

"I think I'll be a gentleman and let you pick first."

I looked around the practically empty arcade slowly, trying to decide which game I had a better chance at beating Inuyasha in. Considering my arcade experience didn't exceed Chuck E. Cheese, I highly doubt I will beat Inuyasha at anything. And when I did go to Chuck E. Cheese I always played the games where you hit a button to stop the bar or the wheel to try and win 500 tickets because I really wanted a lava lamp. These games looked advanced; I was clearly out of my league.

"I like shooting." I finally decided seeing a game with two huge guns and a giant screen to the right. Above it were angry looking robots and it read: Terminator Salvation. I turned to Inuyasha and pointed. "Let's play that one first."

"I haven't played that one, actually." I smiled at my brilliant choice. "I think both players actually work together."

Am I a genius or what? Now I really can't lose to Inuyasha.

We walked over to the game and I picked up one of the ginormous guns, examining all the buttons on it. I counted a total of five. This should be easy enough. I watched Inuyasha feed the machine eight quarters (definitely out of the Chuck E. Cheese league. All their games are one token) and then I hit the flashing blue button on my side and Inuyasha hit his red button, starting the game.

"Alright, so you hold the two buttons at the front down when you shoot in order to aim, the button on top is to launch grenades, and the button on the bottom of the handle is to reload."

"I thought you said you haven't played this game before."

"I haven't," Inuyasha shrugged and then pointed to the diagram that was taped to the game. "But I can understand a diagram."

"I just happened to overlook that." Inuyasha shook his head and leveled his gun to get ready for the first attack. "What exactly are we killing?"

"Robots."

The screen then displayed a barren battle ground with what looked like a huge spaceship (or whatever) resting in the middle. Our characters were hiding behind a hill and some guy was giving us a background on the situation, but I didn't understand much of the military talk. I figure with shooting games, it's not important thought. You point, you shoot, you kill, you win. Easy.

"Alright, Kagome." I pressed the two buttons down at the front of the barrel, ready to shoot. "Don't let any through."

"I'll try."

Tall, people-looking robots popped up on screen and started making their way towards us and I immediately started holding down my trigger, moving my gun back and forth as if I had a flame thrower instead of a machine gun. See. This wasn't hard at all.

"Do you think you could try aiming?" Inuyasha asked, pointing and shooting his gun with purpose. "I don't want my money to go to waste so soon if we die this early."

"I don't need to point. Look! They're all dying."

"Because I'm killing them."

"Pish posh," I waved off. "You're not good enough to kill all of them. I must have killed—hey! My gun isn't shooting anymore!"

"Reload!"

I hit the button at the bottom of my handle and looked back up at the screen to see a robot five feet away from me and I quickly shot it only to see three more behind it. "Wait a second. This is a little too many robots."

"It's a robot takeover!" Inuyasha cried out, trying to fight a smile while he shot. "What exactly did you expect?"

"Something easier!" It seemed like six of them were gaining up on us and I started to panic even though I was only playing a video game. I closed my eyes and just held my trigger down, hoping I would kill some alien robots.

"Open your eyes, Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, holding back his laughter. "Is this how you would act if you had a real gun?"

"This is why I don't have a real gun." I opened my eyes. "There are too many of them!"

"You have a grenade, use it!" I hit the button on the side and a grenade flew out into the wide open where there were no alien robots. I've got mad skills to be able to use a bomb and not kill anyone.

"Well, damn. I thought you'd think to aim it."

"I'm overwhelmed!"

"Fuck!" Inuyasha hit the reload button on the bottom of his handle with his knee and started shooting again, but the enemy was gaining on us. "Why won't these things die?"

"This game is cheating!"

We were both cracking up by the time the robots finally killed us (45 seconds later, totaling a two minute game that cost two dollars) from shouting at each other for doing stupid stuff. I kept shutting my eyes and forgetting to reload and Inuyasha shot people on our side twice. We are both great players.

"You lose," the game announced for us, displaying the words in large red letters on the screen.

"Thank you, captain obvious," I said as I placed my gun back where I found it. "I don't like shooting games anymore. What are we going to play next?"

"Guitar Hero," Inuyasha decided without any hesitation. "You chose the last game so it's my turn. Let's see how good you are on the guitar."

"Nope," I refused shaking my head. "There is no way I'm going to try to compete against the Guitar King in Guitar Hero. No way am I boosting your ego anymore."

"Don't be a spoiled sport."

"In case you have forgotten, my job is to bash your ego tonight and bring your head back down to size. Too much arrogance is a bad thing."

"It's my turn to pick so we have to play my game." Inuyasha smirked at the look of reluctance that fell over my face. "Scared of a little competition?"

"Only afraid of what it might do to the size of your head. You might not be able to make it back through the door later."

Inuyasha fed the game money and he got to pick the song (an easy one for my benefit) and he still absolutely killed me. He beat me by about a million points which had him grinning for a while.

"Back to playing twenty questions," I started as I put my guitar back on its hook. "Why exactly did you ask me out tonight? Did you just want your ego stroked or what?"

"I wanted to prove to you that I was planning to see you again to make, 'I'll see you later' a legit goodbye and I was bored." Well that just makes me feel really special. "And," he continued, "You need to relax. A lot. You were suffering from a work overload at school and I thought you could use a break."

"Thank you for reminding me," I groaned. "I have so much homework to do. I can't believe I actually just went out on a school night with all the—"

"Stop," Inuyasha cut me off, holding up his hand. "There will be none of that tonight. No work stress in this fun carefree zone."

"But—"

"That wasn't up for negotiation. It was an order."

"I don't follow many orders."

"Well you're going to tonight. We're going to play Star Wars now so just comply."

"To the battleship!" I shouted, completely forgetting that it was actually my turn to pick the game we played.

After playing Star Wars, a flight assimilator game, three different racing games, five rounds of skee ball (to win tickets), one game of laser tag, and three of those games of luck to win more tickets, it was finally my turn to pick again and I pointed to the motorcycles that rested to the left of the arcade. It was another racing game, but on a motorcycle which made it better.

I ran and hopped on my red motorcycle while Inuyasha strolled over slowly, taking his time inserting the coins. I leaned side to side, moving the motorcycle with me, as I waited for Inuyasha to hurry up and mount his ride. When he finally pressed start I hurried to pick my motorcycle (silver and green!) and then picked the course (desert).

"You do know that the desert is difficult, right?" Inuyasha asked as the screen switched to the beginning of the race, the countdown starting at three.

"Are you afraid of the challenge?"

"I was just making sure you knew you picked a hard course," Inuyasha shrugged, turning back to his screen. "I'm still going to crush you."

"Keep talking because it's going to be funny when you eat those words."

Go!

I took off as fast as possible, going up on my back wheel and zooming past three contestants. I leaned side to side with the motorcycle, doing a kick ass job at kicking ass considering I've never played this game before and I've never ridden a motorcycle. This must be a sign that I'm a natural and should get my own motorcycle to try riding it for real.

I was approaching a sharp right turn and as I leaned over to my far right, I realized something… I went a little too far and fell off the motorcycle, then landed on the ground, and completed the act by rolling twice and coming to a full and complete stop.

Maybe I shouldn't get a real motorcycle.

"Ha!" Inuyasha laughed. He was cracking up; laughing too hard to even ask if I was okay or to even help me up. A real gentleman would have offered me his help, not laughed. Or at least offered help before he started cracking up.

"You should have seen yourself!" Inuyasha gasped through his laughter. "You… you were there one second and then… and then the—the next second you're gone and your arms and legs were flailing around and—hahahhahahahaha!"

Inuyasha clearly isn't a gentleman.

"I'm fine, thank you," I said, picking myself off the ground. "Thanks for asking."

All Inuyasha could do was point and laugh, his face turning red. "You—you… you should have—hahahhahahaha! That was so fucking funny!"

"Glad to be your source of entertainment." I was trying not to blush, but trying not to blush is like trying to live without breathing; it just wasn't possible. "It couldn't have been that funny."

"It was, it was," Inuyasha insisted. He calmed down enough to sit himself up right on the motorcycle to give an example of what I did. "Oh look, I'm making a right turn and—ah!" Inuyasha fell off the side of his motorcycle, throwing his arms up and kicking his legs around as he fell to the ground.

"I did not fall like that!"

"Yes you did!" I walked over to where Inuyasha was lying on the floor, clutching his stomach from how hard he was laughing. "Baby, you must be a broom, 'cause you just swept me off my feet!"

I had to smile at that one.

"You're such an idiot."

Inuyasha finally stopped rolling around on the floor and caught his breath, looking up at me with bright eyes. "I'm hungry."

"Then I guess we should eat."

"Yeah." Inuyasha got up from the floor and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and then handed it to me. "You can go order something for us at the food counter because I've got to use the bathroom."

"Alright. Do you want anything in particular?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a second before shaking his head. "Nah, not really. Just make sure it's something with meat." He pointed to himself. "I'm a meatatarian."

"I find that disgusting." Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care about my opinion (and he probably didn't on that particular subject) and started in the direction of the bathrooms and I turned to the "food court" (it was too small to be a real food court) where there was a guy working the counter wearing a ridiculous hat with a hotdog standing up.

I opened Inuyasha's wallet to get some money when it occurred to me just how much you can learn about someone by having their wallet in your possession. I looked at his driver's license to see that he had braces when he was 16, his birthday was on the 8th of December, and that he was under 18 (surprise, surprise). I looked around at the other cards in there and found a platinum credit card (which means he's loaded), a gift card to some men's store I've never heard of, and there were ticket stubs from a concert. Oh! And his address was on his license as well. Now I can be the one with the surprise visits.

"Can I take your… Fuck."

I snapped my head up to correct the cashier about his improper language, but I stopped.

Oh. Shit.

I stared at Hojo's face as he stared back at me, his hat with the giant wiener on it seeming bigger than it did when I didn't know who the cashier was. He stared back at me with a look that was a mixture of horror, hate, and embarrassment.

Of course. It's just my rotten luck that I would run into Hojo now. I have been doing my best to stay the hell out of his way since the blow out in Mr. Vyke's class and until now I was succeeding. Then again, how the hell was I supposed to know Hojo was working at the arcade? I couldn't effectively avoid him if I wasn't expecting him to be around.

I suddenly wished Inuyasha hadn't gone to the bathroom so he could give me a reason to not to talk to Hojo, but Inuyasha has to empty his bladder and I was forced to face Hojo, the bastard.

"Nice hat," I said before I could think the sentence through carefully.

Hojo blushed and ripped the hat off his head, glaring at me. "Why the hell are you here? Are you stalking me?"

"I think the better question is: are you stalking me? You were the one in love and obsessed, not me." I was sounding like more of a bitch than I meant to, but what can I say? Hojo happened to bring out the ugly side of me. Most exes do. "But no, I'm not stalking you. I'm on a date."

"At the arcade?"

"Are you blind? Yes, at the arcade." I was standing right in front of him in an arcade. Idiot.

"Still getting it as easy as you can, I see," Hojo sneered and I was confused on what exactly he was talking about. "You're going with the friends-with-benefits guise again to satisfy that sex addiction. Is your next date going to be at the bowling alley?"

"Inuyasha picked the arcade," I defended myself. "I don't use the same trick twice."

"Maybe the trick's being used on you then," Hojo said, lifting his eyebrows. "It would be a great way to pay you back for all your whorish ways."

I licked my lips and bit back what I wanted to say (a long string of curses) and tried my best to smile at Hojo. This is how I deal with bad break ups: pretend they never happened. I didn't think at all that Inuyasha was trying to pull a friends-with-benefits routine with me, but it irked me that Hojo had even suggested it.

"So when did you start working here?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from me and my "whorish ways". "I thought you were working at WacDonalds."

"I got fired," Hojo spat. "Not that you actually care."

"I don't, but I thought I would at least try to be civil."

"Fuck off, Kagome."

"I need to order." Hojo glared at me. "I don't think your new boss would appreciate it if you tried pushing paying customers away."

Hojo took a deep breath and asked through clenched teeth, "What would you like to eat?"

"I'll have a cheeseburger with fries and…. Chicken tenders. With fries."

Hojo punched my order in. "To drink?"

"Inuyasha likes Coke." Hojo grimaced and punched in the drink order. "And I'll have Sprite mixed with—"

"Pink lemonade, I know." Hojo finished for me. He actually sounded miserable so I looked up at him and then it clicked; Hojo said he loved me and I dumped him and I was already on a date a week later.

Guilt, guilt, go away!

"Anything else?" Hojo asked, looking up at me with hard eyes.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "About—"

"I don't need your pity," Hojo spat, causing me to flinch. "Just take your number and wait for your order to come to your table. And here are your drinks." Hojo shoved two filled cups and a number for my order in my direction. "Don't fuck him on the first date."

The guilt was beginning to subside.

I glared at him. "Have fun wearing that hat."

"I will," Hojo huffed, shoving the wiener hat back on his head. "It'll be better than having to look at you."

"I'm sure." I took the cups and my number off the counter and stomped away to the furthest corner away from the counter. Unfortunately, even though I was as far from Hojo as possible, he could still see me.

"What'd you get me?" Inuyasha asked as he slid into the seat across from me five minutes after I had claimed the table.

"A burger with fries." I saw him looking down at his drink. "It's a Coke."

"You seem to know me pretty well." Inuyasha smirked and took his straw in his mouth, taking greedy gulps of soda. "I've got another question."

"Shoot."

"Is that Hojo in a wiener hat?" Inuyasha asked, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Unfortunately," I laughed. "He got fired from WacDonalds and it looks the arcade needed someone to wear that hat." I thought of a question to ask Inuyasha. "Would you ever buy a motorcycle?"

"Yes," Inuyasha nodded without a second thought. "Why?"

"I've just always wanted to ride on a real motorcycle and I could hop on the back of yours if you went and bought one. It'll be one thing I can check off my things to do before I die list."

"Alright, if you had to punch Jesus, your grandma, or your mom in the face, had to or they'd all die, who would you punch?"

"That's such a horrible question!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "I refuse to answer that question."

"But the rules—"

"The rules can go to hell! I will not betray my mother, Jesus, or dance on my grandma's grave by agreeing to punch anybody in the face. Ask another question."

"Fine." Inuyasha thought for a second. "If you could have any—"

"Here's your food," A waitress interrupted Inuyasha, balancing a tray of food. "Chicken tenders for…" I lifted my hand, "the lady and a burger for the man." She picked up our number and smiled at us. "Enjoy your food and feel free to ask me if you need anything."

"Thank you," I smiled and Inuyasha dove into his burger. "You sure didn't waste any time."

"I was hungry," Inuyasha mumbled through a mouthful of food. He looked down at my plate and then back up at me, swallowing. "Aren't you going to eat?"

I glanced at Hojo who was glaring at us.

"I'm afraid they might have spit in it," I said, pushing my plate away. "Or poisoned it. Yeah, my appetite is gone. Sorry for wasting your money."

"I'll just eat it." Inuyasha pulled my plate over to him and I made a horrified face. "What? I'm not going to let some suspicions keep me from eating." Inuyasha took a large bite out of a chicken finger. "And if they did spit in it I'm not afraid of a little spit."

"Obviously." I reached for my soda/lemonade and took a sip of it as I watched Inuyasha devour his food. "You were about to ask another question."

"Right." Inuyasha took time to chew and swallow then reached for his Coke before finally asking the question. "If you could have one of your friend's traits which would it be and why. I, personally, would like Miroku's boldness."

I scrunched my nose up. "Why? He gets slapped for his boldness all the time."

"Because he never worries about being rejected so he never misses his opportunity to tell somebody how he feels because he's afraid they won't return those feelings." Inuyasha sat back in his seat, sipping his Coke. "It's a good trait to have."

"As long as you can control it," I scoffed.

"Alright, now it's your turn? Whose trait do you want?"

I leaned back in my seat and thought it over. Do I want Bank's great photography skills, Sango's strength, Erin's ability to live in the moment, Kouga or Inuyasha's never dying confidence, Ayame's energy? I looked over at Hojo and hated that he was looking back at me pitifully. I'm on a date with Inuyasha and he won't leave me alone.

"Kikyo's ability to ignore all the bad things people say about her," I finally decided and Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up. "I know, it's shocking that I actually consider Kikyo a friend, but she does have her moments. All these people call her a bitch and a horrible person, but Kikyo just brushes them all off and basically tells them to shove it in her own Kikyo way. She just knows what she's doing and is confident and she doesn't let comments slow her down." I shrugged. "It would be nice to have that trait every once in a while."

Inuyasha stared at me for a long time and I looked down at the table, playing with the napkin that I didn't use. I wish I had just taken the easy root out and wished for Erin's ability to see through people's bull shit because that is a nice trait to have.

"Those guys are all—"

"So you want to play some games?" I cut Inuyasha off, snapping my head up and smiling as if the topic of me and boys didn't just come up again tonight. I didn't want to even be told that they were wrong and I was right; I wanted to banish the whole thing from existence. I've realized I deal with a lot of my problems by pretending they don't exist. "We should try getting more tickets so we can win good prizes."

Inuyasha was quiet again and I started pushing my seat back, making the decision that we were going to play games and not talk about this clear.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom while you finish eating," I said as I slid out of my seat. Inuyasha looked like he wanted to say something, but I didn't give him the chance and went to the bathroom to throw water on my face and get my act together.

-x-

Thankfully, Inuyasha decided to be a kind a person and play my game, pretending my slight freak out never happened and we went along playing games around the arcade.

My phone rang as Inuyasha tried shooting balls into the moving basket and I turned my back to him, fishing it out of my pocket. It might be Mom finally calling to yell at me for running out of the house without an explanation with a boy she's never met. And on a school night.

Thankfully, it was Kouga.

"What's up?"

"I'm just calling you with the latest Erin—I was watching that! We're not going to watch…" Kouga's voice faded away (probably covering the mouth piece) and I waited for him to get back to the phone. "…my house, I get the remote. So," Kouga said, returning to our conversation, "I have the Erin update."

"Is she alright? Why'd she cancel practice?" I took a step away from Inuyasha at an attempt for a little more privacy. I didn't know if Inuyasha knew about Erin's family issues and I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"Her mom was being a fucking bitch," Kouga hissed. "She locked her in the house and then... yeah."

I bit my lip. "How bad is it?"

"She'll be using Ayame's makeup to cover up the bruises tomorrow."

"You should see my fuckin' mother! She's not in the greatest shape either!" I heard Erin shout in the background and it finally clicked that Kouga was yelling at Erin earlier, not Ayame like I assumed.

"She'll stay with me for the night and maybe tomorrow. Ayame comes over on Thursdays though and then she says she'll—"

"I GOT JACKPOT!" A person screamed on my left, hopping up and down as a game spitted out tickets. "MOM! MOM! I GOT—"

"Where are you?" Kouga asked as I moved away from the celebrating girl. "I hear talk about a jackpot."

"Holy shit!" I could hear Erin clearer than earlier and I figured she moved closer to Kouga. "Are you at a casino, Kagome? That's illegal. Win us lots of money!"

"I'm not at a casino," I sighed. "I'm at the arcade. Inuyasha picked me up and took me out for a much needed break."

"He did, did he?" Kouga started. "Well, that's—"

"I'm so happy for you!" Erin shouted, drowning out Kouga. "Congratulations Kagome, really, but if you screw around with my guitarist, I'll—"

"Give me my phone back!" I heard Kouga shout in the background.

"I'm on the phone! I'll have to punish you if you screw around with Inuyasha," Erin threatened, returning her attention to me, but I could hear the scuffle occurring between the two. "So tell me everything. How the hell did you end up going out with Inuyasha? I want to know every little detail and a full report on what happened."

"I'm still in the middle of the d—it," I corrected myself, glancing over my shoulder at Inuyasha who had finished his game and was waiting for me, pretending to be impatient with his eyebrows raised. I still wasn't sure if I could classify this as a date. "It'll be kind of rude."

"You've already been ignoring him to take this phone call, what's a few more—get off of me! Jeez, did you know that Kouga weighs as much as an elephant? And that he's sitting his fat ass on my—"

"Hey Kagome," Kouga was back on the phone. "Is Inuyasha still with you?"

"Yes…" It was kind of a stupid question considering we did come here together.

"Put him on the phone. I need to talk to him for a second."

"Okay. Tell Erin I'll talk to her tomorrow at work." I handed my phone out to Inuyasha and he looked mildly surprised.

"That's not your mom, is it?"

"No, it's Kouga." I shook my phone in my hand and he finally took. "He needs to talk to you about something."

"Huh." Inuyasha looked down at the screen for a few seconds before finally lifting the phone to his "ear", his real right ear on top of his head tilting down to listen. "What?"

I was caught in between whether to eavesdrop or not. Inuyasha hadn't turned his back to me and he was actually looking at me while Kouga told him whatever it was he was telling him. And it was my phone he was using. And, you know, eavesdropping on others' conversations is a great way for a writer to develop dialogue…

I'll listen.

"No, I got this idea on my own… I would never take your advice, flea bag… I didn't!" Effective eavesdropping is hard when you're only receiving one end of the conversation. "It's going fine. Why the hell are you asking me about—… Fuck you! When did you lose your dick?"

I've decided I don't want to listen anymore. The way guys talk is just… I don't like it.

"Yeah… Okay, sure, whatever… Yes, I'm rushing you off the phone… Shut up! Bye, asshole." Inuyasha hung up and handed me back my phone.

"I really feel the love between you two," I said and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's a great friendship."

"We work together, Kagome. I don't actually like Kouga."

"Uh-huh," I said, giving him a knowing look and Inuyasha just sucked his teeth, waving me off. Why is it so hard for guys to admit they care? "So I know what game I want to play next." I pointed to the DDR platforms in the middle of the arcade. "Let's test your dancing skills."

"I think I'm going to have to pass," Inuyasha mumbled, giving the dance platforms a wary look. "That shit gives me nightmares."

"It's my turn so we have to play the game I chose. That is the rule, right? And this is our last game so I'm not going to give up my game choice for your benefit."

"Yes, but really Kagome. I'm bad."

"The mighty Inuyasha can't be that bad." I started walking backwards towards the game, smirking at Inuyasha's look of dread. "Show me those fantastic hanyou moves."

Except, apparently, there are no such things as fantastic hanyou moves. Inuyasha really does suck at DDR. While I was jumping in time with the music, hitting all the correct arrows on the screen, Inuyasha was staring down at the platform and waiting for the squares to light up there before trying to stomp on them in time to get a point. He was always completely thrown off whenever there was a double. It looked like he was playing whack-a-mole with his feet and it was the funniest thing ever to watch. I almost peed in my pants from laughing at him so hard.

"This isn't funny," Inuyasha pouted when we finally ended the game, crossing his arms over his chest. "That game is hard."

"Attention viewers still tuning in for the Inuyasha Bashing segment: Inuyasha can't dance!" I started cracking up and Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. "How are you ever going to get a prom date this year?"

"With my amazing good looks, of course."

I rolled my eyes this time even though it was obviously true, as shallow as that sounds. "Let's go cash in out tickets."

Inuyasha and I moved over to the ticket counting machine and crouched on the floor, taking turns feeding the machine rows of tickets until we were all out.

"You've got two hundred tickets," the machine announced, "save for a bigger prize."

Finally! Something that resembles Chuck E. Cheese.

"We must be special people to get two hundred tickets on the dot," I said as I grabbed the receipt and we headed towards the prize counter. There was a different girl working there than the one that we saw earlier and that made me look at my watch to see just how long it's been. Crap. It was just nearing midnight.

My phone rang and I looked down to see Mom on the caller ID. To be bitched out now or later?

I turned my phone off and dropped it in my bag, deciding I'd take the lecture when I got home.

"What prize do you want to get with our astonishing two hundred tickets," Inuyasha asked me, looking at all the available prizes through the glass case. "I'm liking the giant bouncy ball."

"That's fifty tickets! And you're going to lose it within the first week you get it. That's the way bouncy balls work."

"Well excuse me for suggesting something. What is it that you want again?"

"I want the lava lamp," I admitted, looking up at the blue blobs moving in the lamp that sat on the shelves with the other prizes reserved for big ticket winners only. "But you suck at skee ball and we don't have a thousand tickets." I sighed as if it really hurt me that I couldn't get the lava lamp. "Let's get candy," I suggested, pointing to the baskets of Airheads and Dum Dums that sat in the 5 ticket section.

"With all the tickets?" Inuyasha asked with his eyebrows raised. "Seriously?"

"You can never go wrong with candy."

"Until you get a mouth full of cavities."

"So have you two decided yet?" The girl was getting impatient now and she looked annoyed that it was taking us so long to pick. I get that it's late and she probably has homework to do, but could she have some respect for the customers? Kids these days.

"We'll take twenty Airheads and twenty Dum Dums." Inuyasha told the girl and she reached into the bins behind her to get our candy. "I'd prefer watermelon Airheads."

"Cherry for me."

The girl dumped a handful of Dum Dums in front of us, glared, and then went back to pick through the Airheads for watermelon and cherry.

"So back to Twenty Questions," I started, turning to face Inuyasha, "what is your greatest accomplishment as a guitarist?"

"That's easy." Inuyasha picked through the Dum Dums until he found a mystery flavored lollipop and unwrapped it, putting it in his mouth. "Finally mastering Jaws of Life. Best day of my life."

"Is that supposed to be impressing?" I was a writer, not a music genius. I don't know what Jaws of Life sounds like at all.

"Are you kidding me?" Inuyasha looked at me wide-eyed in shock. "It's fucking amazing! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get through that song without messing up once? It's a huge deal for me!"

"I guess I'll just have to see you play it to actually know for myself," I shrugged. "Or I can just ask Erin."

"You can do both." Inuyasha made a funny face and pulled the Dum Dum out of his mouth. "It's chocolate flavored."

"Chocolate is good!"

"Not on a lollipop." Inuyasha put the Dum Dum back in his mouth though, twirling the stick between his fingers. "So what's your greatest accomplishment as a writer?"

"Currently nonexistent," I confessed. "Writing is not an easy industry to make a name in. But I do really like this story I am working on about this anorexic girl. It's very intense."

"Just how many stories are you working on because I think you've mentioned ten tonight."

"A lot," I told him. The girl was coming back with our Airheads and I began gathering the Dum Dums in my purse. Inuyasha stuffed his pockets full with the Airheads, separating the cherry and watermelon in different pockets. "Every time I get a new idea I start a new story."

"Do you ever actually finish those stories?" Inuyasha asked as he headed towards the door and I reached my hand in his right pocket, quickly grabbing an Airhead and grinning up at his surprised look.

"I finish the short ones, but the long, drawn out chapter stories take a while to finish. And if I don't finish the story I at least have the idea written down so I can return to the story years later if I really wanted to."

Inuyasha held the door open for me and I stepped through, heading towards his car. "It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that you read and write for fun."

"You sound like Souta," I grumbled and Inuyasha gave me a confused look. "He's my little brother."

"Oh."

"What about you?" I asked. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I was living with my older brother and his wife for a few months before I moved in with my dad." Inuyasha unlocked his car and I ran over to the passenger's side to hop in as Inuyasha slowly got into the driver's seat. "But then Rin got pregnant and their house wasn't big enough for the four of us. And it's not like Sesshoumaru and I really got along to begin with, but he was tolerable at times."

"He did let you live with him though."

"Because he knew Dad would be even worse than living with him and I'm pretty sure Rin put him up to it." Inuyasha put his car in drive and then drove out of the parking lot. "It's shocking Sesshoumaru even understands the concept of sympathy."

I was quiet for a second before finally asking, "Do you hate living with your dad?"

Inuyasha looked over at me and just stared at me for a few seconds. "It's my turn to ask the question," he said, but he said it in a way that told me I probably shouldn't ask that question when it was my turn again.

"What's your question then?"

Inuyasha thought for a second as he flew through a green light. "How much money would it take for you to kill a puppy with a sledgehammer?"

I looked at Inuyasha with wide eyes. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Do you have an answer or are you going to refuse to answer this question too?"

"Do you plan on killing a puppy?"

"No."

"Then why in the world would you ask such a morbid question?" Inuyasha shrugged and I shook my head. "I guess about… however much it takes to buy a sledgehammer. And maybe you'd have to pay a couple of people off to keep quiet about the whole ordeal because not many people are going to be happy about you killing a puppy. Especially with a frickin' sledgehammer."

Inuyasha laughed. "We have really weird conversations."

"All thanks to you. How will you know when you have lived a full life?"

"When I don't desire anything else in the world," Inuyasha answered after thinking it over for a second. "You?"

"When I can go to bed happy every night. But, to get specific, I would like to be married and have children before I can call my life a full one. And possibly have a book published. Or three."

"Stay at home mom?"

"No," I said immediately shaking my head. "I don't know how my mom does it because I would lose my mind if I was stuck in the house with me, Souta, and grandpa all day. Maybe I'll be a columnist for the newspaper on the side. I won't be a workaholic, but I'll want to get out of the house."

"I see," Inuyasha said, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "How much would it cost to kill a cat with a chainsaw?"

"I own a cat!"

We continued with our game of Twenty Questions (even though I'm sure we've asked about a hundred questions) all the way home until we reached my neighborhood and Inuyasha turned right onto my street.

"Last question of the night and it's all yours." Inuyasha glanced at me quickly before turning back to the road. "What do you want to know?"

Is this a date or not? It would really clear up a lot of confusion if I just opened my mouth and asked Inuyasha straight up, but the words just weren't coming out. Maybe Miroku's boldness really is a good trait to have.

"Um… if you had to listen to one song for the rest of your life, which would it be?"

Inuyasha thought carefully for what felt like forever before he finally shook his head. "I'll have to get back to you on that one. It's too hard to be asked to pick on the spot just like that. Can I ask why you want to know?"

"You can learn a lot about a person from their favorite song. My lifelong song is currently Rolling in the Deep by Adele."

"Wow. Got a lot about you from that song," Inuyasha said as he approached my house. "Certain person you're singing that to?"

That's definitely not the kind of information you reveal on the first date. Or ever.

"Not really," I lied as we pulled up to my house. "Looks like we're here."

"Home." Inuyasha stopped in front of my house and put Triple G in park. "Safe and sound."

"You say that now." I looked at my house and distinctively saw Mom's light still shining through her window. "It's half past midnight on a school night, I ran out of the house without an explanation, and I let all of Mom's calls go to voicemail. I'm just asking to be killed on the spot."

"I guess I didn't give her the best first impression," Inuyasha mumbled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Stealing her daughter away in the middle of the night and all."

"Don't worry about it," I waved off. "She hasn't seen your face so she won't know it's you who kept me out this late and I won't mention your name. I'll say it was Bankoutsu. She likes him too much to get mad at him."

"Bank seems to have a thing for older woman. First Mrs. Kido and now I'm finding out he worked some charm on your mom. Bank is going to be robbing the grave when he gets older."

"That's just the way he is," I shrugged. I reached over for the latch to open my door, but I couldn't find the want to actually open the door and step out of Inuyasha's car, bringing an end to our night. "Have you ever watched The Office?"

"I've seen a few of the British episodes." Inuyasha shrugged. "It's not really my cup of tea."

"What!" I was used to parents telling me The Office was a just a stupid show that was too stupid to be funny, but never has another teenager told me that. "You've got to be out of your mind! Watch the American version then. That's my absolute favorite show and I won't be able to accept the fact that you don't like it."

"I would, but I don't have the DVD. Sorry," Inuyasha said, not looking at all sorry about it.

"I'll give you the DVD for season one," I declared, finally opening my door. "It's only six episodes so you can watch it tonight when you're not doing your homework. If you don't like any of those episodes than I'm afraid we can't be friends. The Office is just too important to me."

"I don't think it's logical to base a friendship on whether or not I like a show."

"I'm going to get the DVD right now." I hopped out of his car and slammed the door shut while Inuyasha rolled down the window. "Don't move."

I ran up the steps to my house then and swung open the door, almost running into my mom who was waiting for me in the foyer.

"Kagome Higurashi." Oh shit. She used my full name. "Do you have any idea how late it is? And on a school night!"

"Sorry Mom," I apologized as I breezed past her. "I have to give Bank something really quick."

"Bankoutsu doesn't drive a monster truck!" Mom yelled from the bottom of the steps as I ran down the hall into my room. Of course she decides to pay attention to the details now.

"I just have to give him something!" I threw the door to my room open and went over to my desk where every single Office season was neatly displayed in a row. I took the first disk and ran back out my room, zooming past Mom who had now made it to the hallway.

"It is past midnight, young lady!"

I ignored Mom, running back out the front door, smiling when I saw that Inuyasha was still waiting outside, his fingers drumming against his steering wheel in time with the music.

"Got it!" I shouted, slamming against the door to stop myself. I grinned at the way Inuyasha shot up in his seat a bit. I reached through the window, handing him the disc. "Here you go. It's really funny."

"Really now?"

"Really," I encouraged nodding. I looked back over my shoulder to see Mom standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and it was clear my night (or morning) was coming to an end. "So… I'm guessing you have to get home now."

"Yeah. I have to do my Calculus homework sometime. And I'm guessing your mom wants you back in the house," Inuyasha said, peeking around me to see Mom. He pulled his lips into a half smiled and gave a small wave in Mom's direction.

"I don't think she can see you in the dark."

"Oh, she saw me alright." Inuyasha turned to me and smirked. "I don't think your mom likes me very much."

"She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Every girl has to have her bad boy. You're in a band, you keep me out late on weeknights, and you drive a car that kills our ecosystem; you're as bad as they come."

Inuyasha laughed and sat back in his seat, shaking his head. He looked down at the DVD I had handed him, turning it back and forth in his hands. "Do I seriously have to watch this?"

"Yes!" I smiled at him. "It'll only take you three hours tops. Maybe only two and a half. I'm going to quiz you tomorrow morning too."

"That reminds me; It's your turn to bring breakfast."

"I already got it planned." Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast! I just love that cereal.

"Just making sure." Inuyasha glanced over my shoulder at Mom again and he put his car into drive. "I really think I should get going now."

"Oh, Okay." I smiled at him and took a step back away from the window. I wanted to reach my hand through the window and hold his hand or climb back in and hug him. I really wanted him to just get out of the car and kiss me, at least on the cheek, but that was asking too much on a first date where we spent most of the time emphasizing the word friends. But, considering he was going to be kissing a whole bunch of girls starting next week, it would have been nice if I was the first girl he kissed at this school. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye Kagome."

Inuyasha drove slowly for a while, looking back at me through the window, before he finally put his foot on the pedal and drove away, leaving me alone by the side of the street.

Thinking it all over, it was a pretty good first date.

I turned back around and started back towards the house where Mom was looking a lot less than happy.

"Bankoutsu, huh?" she questioned, raising her brow as I walked past her, closing the door behind her. "I didn't know Bankoutsu dyed his hair silver and sprouted ears."

"I was just at the arcade, Mom," I assured her. "Inuyasha was trying to help me take a break from the work overload I've been given. We're just friends."

"Sure didn't look like it." Mom turned off the light in the foyer and we both headed up the stairs, side by side. "He was a very handsome though. I bet his ears are really soft."

"They are." Mom gave me a knowing smile and I rolled my eyes. "Friends, Mom. We are just friends."

I think.

-x-

"Be my bad boy, be my man/ be my weekend lover/ but don't be my friend."

~Cascada "Bad Boy"

This song may not be my lifelong song, but it reflects my feelings at this exact moment in time.

-0-0-0-0-0-

I found my mp3 player from two years ago and I was listening to it, taking a trip down memory lane, and Bad Boy by Cascada was on it so I just had to use the song in this story. And if you saw the latest Office episode with Will Ferrel: MOST AWKWARD HUG EVER! It just made me laugh so hard. And the Titanic scene: my absolute FAVORITE part of that movie. I'm in a great mood because it's fucking SPRING BREAK = 9 DAYS AWAY FROM SCHOOL! And I'm in Disney World. Life is good so I decided to updates so you should to decide to REVIEW!

I finished this chapter April 17 (Happy Birthday Fi!), but hanmajo momentarily gave up Inuyasha for Lent.

~Kimiko888~

Happy birthday to me, on Friday I turned sixteen, I meant to give you all a birthday present (this story), but My Chemical Romance stopped me (that concert was THE shit, oh jeez, I loved it)! Apologies again for the long wait. I would love to have all the stories shoved in my inbox uploaded in one day, but I can't edit that fast and I've been cruelly busy lately. I will continue to be because my next black belt test is just around the corner :/ thanks for all your patience, guys! I will hopefully be finished editing I have a confession to make for next week!

Also, don't forget to wish Kimiko888 a happy birthday! She turns sixteen on… TODAY!

Happybirthdayauthorlady!

THE END.

~hanmajoerin