The smell of sweat and sugary sweet perfume filled the Hyuga complex. Ino pitied the timid Hinata Hyuga for having a wild child sister like Hanabi. Hanabi was the polar opposite of her sister, she was a firecracker just like Ino. Ino did admit the little freshman could throw a killer rager, especially for only being fourteen. Ino used to be that crazy party girl too, and part of her still was. She was the queen of popularity, soon to be dethroned. For once in her life, she was hanging in the back corner. The same party animal that used to push her way to the center of the dance floor no matter what. She worked every angle of her body in perfect sync to the blaring pop music. Her bangs would stick to her forehead with sweat, but her hands were still in the air and her hips swayed to the beat. Her other friends like Mitsuri and Sakura would cheer her on. Ino consumed whatever drink handed to her, leaving her tipsy in minutes. She didn't care, Hinata's serious cousin Neji would never let anything happen to her, in his own house that is. Anywhere else Ino doubted. Actually she believed he only cared because having his family known as the family that allowed rape at parties would be unbearable due to their pride. She could've always called Shikamaru if anything got serous, since he firmly denied ever stepping foot into a party. The only party he ever attended was Choji's sixth birthday party, where he and Ino were the only two to show up. He did insist to call him anyway, as troublesome as it would be.

That was back when she could drink and dance without consequence. Ino's uniform for ragers was to wear as little as possible. Denim shorts with crop tops or when she was feeling especially scandalous she switched the top out for her lucky string bikini. Compared to most people at ragers she was being modest. She was actually glad her apathetic friend refused to make an appearance, she actually cared about his opinion. He'd scold her into the next week if he knew about her secret attire.

Now her blue eyes scanned the room for any familiar face. She was getting irritated by the feral looks she was receiving by her drunk peers. Maybe wearing a skin tight minidress wasn't the smartest idea of hers. She wanted to flaunt her figure for as long as possible before it would be marred by a baby bump. She had to turn away offers of the obviously spiked punch, a rookie party thrower mistake. When she threw her ragers the alcohol was displayed proudly and without shame.

Sakura was trying to work her boyish figure across the room. Ino smirked as she sauntered up to her best friend. The girl's emerald eyes flickered with envy as she frowned. She hated her best friend's naturaly voluptuous figure.

"Let me show you how it's done billboard brow." Ino sneered at her. She fluidly bent down and grazed her hand back up her leg. She turned confidently and let the music take over her. The upbeat lyrics fueled her veins like nicotine. She needed to let lose tonight, let it all out on the dance floor. Other girls tried to keep in step with the blonde to no avail. They were no match for Ino, she owned the party and everyone knew it. Her blue eyes twinkled as they made contact with the hungry schoolboys. Some seniors thinking she was an easy hit, others were meek freshman that would murder to have her for a night. The crowded complex seemed to fill the single room and circle around her.

Ino used every trick in her little black book of partying, she swayed, shook, spun, shimmied, and slid. She decided she didn't care about anything that would face her once the party was over, this was her night to live. Her night to finally breathe. Her night to rid herself of her fantasies to prepare for reality. She was getting cheers and hollers that could've deafened her.

Then she was zapped back to reality, the song was over. The entire party was focused on her, eyes full of admiration, jealousy, hunger, awe, and so much more. She suddenly felt the weight of judgement on her. It had never fazed her before, she enjoyed the attention. Now she felt disgusted by herself, she just let them absorb her like it was nothing. Her prideful nature felt undignified. She didn't even feel like herself.

Ino hadn't realized her feet had carried her to the front door and her hand had thrown the door open. The brisk air felt like a slap across her face, it felt deserved. What kind of role model would she be. What if her future children asked what she was like in high school? How would she answer them? But a child wasn't that far in the future for her. She thought she had accepted the thought, it was inevitable. Then why did it feel so sudden, like when she first saw those two damn pink lines.

Read between the lines, she had thought that at the time. Now she finally knew what that saying meant. The two lines symbolized her pregnancy, but there was so much more to it. The meaning of maturing and acceptance. The resurfacing of her old feelings for Shikamaru. The difficulty of making a choice. Everything she had to give up to keep her baby healthy and safe. Her baby, she liked the ring of it. She knew Shikamaru wanted to keep it. She refused it so much in her head, but her heart said otherwise.

Ino cursed at herself for getting stuck in her thoughts, her stupid feet had carried her away from the complex. She had no idea where she was, the night was too dark to tell anything apart. Her baby blue eyes searched the area in a daze. She figured she wasn't too far from the complex. Besides she learned defend herself so she would never get caught off guard again. She could protect herself from any creep in the night, she didn't need Shikamaru to rescue her. It wasn't like she could call him to pick her up since she had no idea where she was.

Her arms and legs were turning blue from the cold. Her pace quickened as she searched for anything familiar. She wanted some kind of warmth, her home sounded nice. It was safe and warm, everything she wanted at the moment. Instead a wet drop landed on her forehead. Then another until rain smacked the concrete under her feet. Her already sweat slicked hair was plastered to her face like glue. To her surprise she erupted in laughter, the sweet irony of it all. Her entire life had turned into ironic gold and there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was no point in whining, it wouldn't solve anything like it used to.

She remebered the advice her father had given her when she was young, when you're scared just laugh. Ino didn't understand why, she thought screaming would've been more suitable. He replied saying laughing will make what we you're scared of go away. Ino still didn't believe him, and rolled her eyes at him. She thought he was being a cheesy father at the time. Turns out his advice was exactly what she needed.

Ino continued to walk around her neighborhood, luck wasn't on her side that night. Luck hadn't been on her side for the past two months. She was drenched to the bone that combined with the chill air, Ino felt like a human popsicle. Ino sighed as she trudged through the puddles of the road. She hugged herself and wondered what time it was. She got to the party only an hour prior, how was it so dark already. Crickets were chirping, interrupting the silence. Her mom would flip if she didn't get home soon. Especially after all her previous shenanigans.

Ino was once again zapped out of her thoughts, this time by a car horn. Her reflexive instincts heightened as she spun around. Ino was relived when it was Choji's car, both Shikamaru and Choji had already stepped out of the car. Shikamaru was faster and brought her into his arms. He didn't understand why because he wasn't much of an affectionate person, at least not in public. He always worried about her, but never acted on it. At most he poked her forehead or held her hand, not even lacing there fingers. Shikamaru muttered his signature phrase as the rain soaked them head to toe.

"When did you two get so cozy?" Choji teased, his eyebrows dancing in accusation. They forgot that Choji had no clue about their romance. They kept their secret from everyone, including their other best friend. It wasn't a long secret so they didn't feel too guilty.

"Since he knocked me up." Ino responded in a matter-of-fact tone. Her blunt nature was back. She saw nothing wrong in telling Choji, he wasn't a blabber mouth. By the way Shikamaru's jaw dropped and he pushed her face into his chest to muffle any other secret she wood share. Choji's auburn eyes bulged out of his head and they looked between his two friends.

"Wait, so she's pregnant?" Choji choked barely over a whisper. He asked the question directly to Shikamaru, as he was getting flustered with the blonde. Ino peeped her head out of his chest and nodded. Choji chuckled as his two friends bickered about her spilling their secret.

"Sorry we kept it from you for-" Ino added before Shikamaru placed his hand over her mouth to keep the loud mouth from blurting out their secret to the whole village. Ino pulled it off her with a defensive pout. His frown plastered on his face.

"Looks like I need to teach you what a secret is." He groaned and lifted the girl off her feet and into the car. Her laughter filled the air and made both boys grin. Shikamaru sat next to Ino in the backseat instead of the passenger seat like usual. Ino squeezed his arm as payback.

"So how did you guys find me anyway?" Ino questioned.

"Sakura called and said you disappeared so I got Choji and we drove around looking for you." Shikamaru answered in his signature monotonous voice. It was his shield to hide his true emotions. He would never tell Ino how calm and collected demeanor shifted to slightly panicked determination he heard she was missing. How could he not? He always cared for her particularly now that she was carrying his baby. He hated anything that could put the people he cared about in trouble.

"He made me drive so fast that he practically had me at gunpoint." Choji added in a teasing manner. Shikamaru glared at the larger boy and freed his arm from Ino. He crossed his arms over his chest and rolled eyes.

"Aw you must've been pretty worried about me." Ino purred with a wink. She nudged his shoulder playfully, earning her an annoyed huff. Still he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Maybe." He replied with a hint of a mysterious tone. But Ino knew it wasn't a mystery, she had him wrapped around her finger. That was something they both knew.

Choji interrupted them before Ino could get a retort in, "Hey if you two want to cuddle and make out or whatever it is you guys do, can you do somewhere besides the backseat of my car?"