What you need to know:

"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - speaking
As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - what's happening
As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - thinking
As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough - Inner Sakura (and I guess Inner Neji in the later conversation)
"As If High School Wasn't Dramatic Enough" - Singing
Text centered in the page with italics - the song being sung by the artist

Official 'couples' so far:
Tenten X Sasuke
Sakura X Lee

Love triangle(s) to far:
Ino X Shikamaru X Temari

Okay, I got this chapter up like 2 weeks before I thought I would (check my profile page.) I hope I didn't forget any couples. I'm losing track of everything now. Curse my bad memory!

And WOOT! 31 story alerts and 31 people have this on favourite stories! That means more reviews...? -insert strange, constipated smile here xD-

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters, to my dismay.

Chapter Twelve: Heal My Wounds

Hinata stood there speechless. Every word she tried to say, and every phrase she formed in her head, would choke her. "Hinata," Naruto said softly, his voice caressing her skin, "did you just say you like me?" Hinata couldn't muster her voice, so she squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Naruto's mouth formed a straight line, seriousness taking over his face. "I don't know what to say."

Hinata's eyes shot open as she looked up at Naruto, seeing a side of him she never did before. He looks...like his face is made of stone. So serious...like Neji or Sasuke. What is he going to say? Hinata felt something grab her gut and twist it around, but she remained still, looking into his blue eyes. She waited for him to say something, like those romantic movies she would watch with Ino, Sakura, and Tenten, but nothing came. "O-Okay," she whispered, turning around quickly to hide the small tear rolling down her cheek. But before she could move, something, or someone, had wrapped his arms around her like she though she would slip into eternal darkness.

"Please, don't leave," he said in a pleading voice, holding her even tighter. He moved his head next to hers so his lips were next to her ear. "I really like you too, Hinata." And so the two stood there, wishing the moment would last forever.

"I told ya they'd get together!" Ino exclaimed in a hushed voice to Kiba.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I know, that's why I broke it off with Hinata." So she could be with the person she actually wants to be with. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Ino looked at her watch and gasped quietly. It said 3:24. (A/N: In my story, they end at 3:10. It adds to the effect that Ino must be on time...errr...don't ask.) "I'm going to be late!" She grabbed her purple schoolbag and zipped down the halls. She weaved through the people who didn't leave school yet, which included some of her friends such as Choji and Shino.

"Hey, Ino!" Choji called as she ran by. "I need to te---"

"No time!" she interupted, jogging in place. "I need to be somewhere in four minutes. Tell me later!" And thus, she continued to run through the halls. Ino glanced at her watch as she rounded the corner at Ichiraku. "3:29," she panted between breaths as she sat down. "Shikamaru should be here any minute now."

---------------10 minutes later---------------

"ARG," Ino yelled, scaring a few people passing by, "WHERE IS THAT LAZY-ASS?"

"Hey, Ino," a lazy voice called, "keep it down, would you?"

Ino whipped around, steaming shooting out of her ears, and saw Shikamaru take a seat next to her. He just took his finger out of his ear, which was placed there in hopes to lower the volume of Ino's barks. "I had to run here from school to be one minute early, and you take your time to be ten minutes late?"

"Nine minutes," he responded coolly. Ayame, the daughter of the owner of Ichiraku, welcomed them and asked what they would like to eat. Both ordered miso ramen and thanked her. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Ino, who was anxiously folding the same napkin over and over again, stopped and folded her hands together on the table. "I know I may have not been so supportive about you and Temari. I mean, I was probably snobby, rude, obnoxious, and selfish." She inhaled deeply so she was completely relaxed. "But I just want to say that I'm okay with you two being together. I know you might not believe me, but I am! You guys do go well together, and I was blind to not see it."

Shikamaru didn't respond, but Ino didn't want to press on the subject. Both of them broke the chopsticks in half so there were two (A/N: I don't know how to explain that, but you know what I mean). They each ate some of their ramen until at least half of the bowl was empty. "Temari and I broke up earlier today."

Ino spit out the noodles and soup in her mouth back into the bowl accidentally. "What?" she asked with bewilderment, wiping the rest of the soup and noodles that didn't make it back into the bowl with the folded napkin. "But you guys were just m---" she didn't find 'making-out' to be a very good work to use, "---together---"

"You were going to say making-out," Shikamaru interupted. "I know. But we broke up."

"Why?"

Shikamaru shrugged and placed his chopsticks across the top of the bowl. "I don't know. I just didn't feel anything between us. I mean, I admired her from a far before. But after we got together, I guess I realized nothing was really there."

Ino felt guilty. "You didn't break up with her because of me, did you?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself, Ino," Shikamaru said coldly. "That is how the mighty fall."

Ino felt his hands grab her heart and pull it apart into two pieces. He doesn't like me. What did I do? Was it something I said? She tried to open her mouth, but she ended up choking back a sob and nodding repeatedly. She found her hand moving to her face to wipe the forming tears. Ino didn't want him to see her that way.

"You'll only get hurt if you put yourself so high," he continued. His eyes slowly averted from his ramen bowl, drifting to Ino. He saw her desperately trying to hide her tears and felt guilty. I was too hard on her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ino," he said softly, placing one hand over hers. "I just wanted to warn you."

The tears only kept coming, and neither of them knew why. "S-Shikamaru?" she sniffed, trying to stop her voice from wavering.

"Hmmm?"

"You hate me, don't you?" Her voice was pained, like she was being tortured. "You think I'm a slut, don't you?" She swiftly moved her hand away from his and grabbed her wallet from her pocket.

Shikamaru felt his voice cracking. "No, Ino, I----"

"Thank you, Ayame," Ino said in a near hysterical voice. "The ramen was very good." She placed some money on the counter, grabbed her school bag, and ran off.

"Wait, Ino!" Shikamaru called, throwing his money down, grabbing his bag, and running after her. "Ino, just wait a sec!" She was moving too fast for him, slowly getting out of sight. Suddenly, she stopped running and seemed to be trying to hide at the side of the road. "Ino, wait a sec." He grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"Oh my gosh, aren't you Shikamaru Nara?" Ino squealed.

Wait. Squealed? Shikamaru knew Ino was bipolar, but she wouldn't be able to change her mood that quickly, especially in the condition she was in before. And she wouldn't be able to change her eye colour from blue to brown, nor her clothing from--- "Sorry, wrong person," Shikamaru said shortly before dashing towards Ino's house. As he neared closer and closer, his speed began to decrease dramatically, until he finally stopped only meters from her house.

If I talk to her now, he thought, she won't listen to me. She's probably crying right now, and I'll only make her sadder or angrier. It would be best to just speak to her tomorrow or the day after. Maybe I'll get Sakura, Hinata, or Tenten to tell her I need to talk to her. He opened his bag and dug inside for a piece of paper and a pen. When he found it, he folded the paper twice so it was smaller, then scribbled on it:

Ino,

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or hurt you in any way. I don't think you're a slut, although you do wear clothing that can be a little too revealing. But that isn't the point. The point is, is that I'm sorry. Really, truly, sorry. And...I love you.

-Shikamaru.

He folded it once more, then wrote Ino's name on the front in his messy masculine handwriting. He slowly walked to her front door and slipped the note under it. Love is so...troublesome, he thought, as he walked away from her house.

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Ino walked downstairs to grab a tub of ice cream to eat. It was a habit she had whenever she was depressed. Normally, she would invite Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura over, but she was sure they were busy. As she passed her front door, she saw a white piece of paper on the ground a few centimeters from the door. Ino carefully picked it up and looked at the front. Her name was written on it in familiar writing. I'm not in the mood to read anything from him, she thought angrily. She continued to the kitchen, with the note in hand, and opened the freezer. She grabbed the bucket of vanilla ice cream, a spoon, and headed upstairs.

Ino stared at the note, deciding on whether to read it or not. She stuffed a spoonful of vanilla ice cream in her mouth and let it melt. "It's probably some apology note," she thought out loud. "But I know he doesn't like me. Everyone, even my friends, think I'm bitchy. Is it my fault I'm not perfect? Nobody is!" She angrily threw the note at her desk. "I hate it when people pity me! It makes me feel so low!" After furiously shoveling mounds and mounds of ice cream into her mouth, she finally came to a slow stop. And now I'm throwing myself a pity party. Woot woot...

Before she could continue sulking in her problems, the doorbell rang. I swear, if that's Shikamaru, I'm gonna crack. She pushed herself off of her bed and headed downstairs. She looked through the peep hole in the door and saw blonde hair and teal eyes. Ino unlocked the door and opened it. "Temari?"

"Hey," Temari said sweetly, waving. "Can I come in?"

Ino seemed suspicious of Temari's motives, but nonetheless, let her in. "Sure." Temari stepped in a looked around the house, surveying it.

"Nice place you've got here," she said, observing a decorated vase on the living room table. "Are you home alone?"

"Yeah," Ino replied. "My mom is working at the flower shop, and my dad is off on another mission."

Temari nodded and looked up at Ino. "Cool." She placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Look, I know you don't really like me because I dated one of your best friends."

"No, I really don't mind," Ino lied.

"You can't hide it," Temari insisted. "I know you like him too. But I didn't know that when I accepted the first date."

Ino nodded, although she didn't believe a single word Temari was saying. "So, why did you come?"

Temari absent-mindedly twirled her hair that was down for once. She sat down on the couch and crossed one leg on top of the other. She wore alight blue v-neck sweater over a white shirt, a long navy blue skirt. The outfit was topped it off with a jeans jacket. "Shikamaru and I broke up. Or, rather, he broke up with me. He said something about me not being what he expected. I broke down for a few hours. My brothers, even Gaara, kept asking if I was okay. But eventually I stopped crying and grasped the fact that he doesn't like me that way. It was perfect while it lasted, though."

Ino crossed her arms hand took a seat on the couch across from her. "And why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know I actually liked him." Her eyebrows knitted together and her chapped lips pulled into a frown. "I know there have been rumours going around saying that I only agreed to go out with him because you like him."

"Liked," Ino interupted.

"Fine, liked," she corrected, using air quotations. "But they aren't true. I'm not like that."

Ino stared at Temari, waiting for even the smallest smirk to appear on her lips, or even a glint of mischief. But there was nothing. "Yeah, I have heard some rumours floating around here and there," she finally responded. The truth was, Ino and Temari had been rivals for a while. Ever since they had the same crush in elementary school. The boy chose Ino, but later cheated on her with Temari. Ino accused Temari of seducing her boyfriend, forcing him to cheat, but Temari defended herself and denied everything. Ever since then, Temari wanted to get revenge on Ino for making everyone think she was a whore. "But how can I trust you're telling the truth after what happened before?"

"Tenten trusts me," Temari said softly, brushing her bangs from her eyes. As much as Ino didn't want to believe that statement, it was true. Tenten and Temari had been best friends before the incident in grade seven. But after that, the two girls began speaking to each other less and less. Their communication was almost completely cut off because of summer break. Tenten only hung out with her other friends, and Temari hung out with other people. Eventually, they stopped speaking to each other because they went to different schools. But after Temari started dating Shikamaru, she began to see more of Tenten, and they became friends again. Not best friends, but friends. "Why can't you?"

Ino took a moment to think about the situation. She weighed her choices, then finally came to a conclusion. "Okay, I trust you."

Temari chuckled lightly, and Ino joined her, finally relieved. "You know, Shikamaru asked me out in the weirdest way possible."

Ino raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh? How did he do it?"

"He gave me a note."

Ino gasped. She felt her heart flutter like a butterfly just spreading its wings. "Really?"

Temari caught the glitter in Ino's eyes and stood up. "I guess I'll be going now."

"Are you sure?" Ino asked. "Do you want to have a drink or something to eat?"

Temari paused in thought. She clutched something in her jacket pocket, but then let go and pulled her hand out. "Nah, it's okay. I've gotta go babysit this kid, and the parents hate it when I'm not at least ten minutes early." She looked at her watch then sighed. "So if I leave now, I'll get there about five minutes early." Ino and Temari laughed lightly.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later!" Ino exclaimed, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, it was nice finally clearing up the air between us," Temari agreed.

They both said good-bye, and Ino closed the door.

Temari continued walking down the sidewalk until she reached a familiar park. She, Kankuro, Tenten, and Naruto would always go there when they were much younger. Gaara would go as well, but he always either sat on a swing by himself, or under a tree. Even though everyone begged him to join them, he sternly refused.

Temari reached into her pocket and took out a package labeled 'food poisoning'. She smirked, shook her head, then threw it into the garbage can and continued walking. It's not even worth it anymore. The fight had to end somewhere, and if I did anything, it would only continue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ino rushed upstairs and grabbed the note on her desk. Please, please, please, please! she chanted, unfolding it. She read the note, taking in each word he said. When she was done, she held it close to her heart and happiness overwhelmed her. She loved his honesty, and most importantly, she loved him.

Ino stumbled backwards and plopped onto her bed. She heard a 'squish' sound, causing her to stand up immediately. She looked down and gasped. Whatever she sat on, it was white and liquidy (A/N: Is that even a word? It is now) with white chunks in it. "T-THE ICE CREAM!" Ino screeched, rushing to clean it up.

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Tenten walked along the streets, heading home. She was listening to her iPod that Neji gave her for her last birthday.

There's gotta be more to life

Than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me

Cause the more that I'm...

Tripping out thinking there must be more to life

Well it's life, but I'm sure...there's gotta be more

Than wanting more

Kakashi asked her to stay after the bell because he had a few questions. Tenten was worried than he was going to ask what the poem meant, but agreed. Instead, he asked her if she was having troubles with what they were learning in ninjutsu. Tenten sighed with relief and nodded. After about half an hour of explaining, she finally realized what she misunderstood. She exclaimed a 'thanks' and rushed off.

He soft humming to the tune evolved into her quietly singing to the song. "I've got the time, and I'm wasting it slowly. Here in this moment, I'm half way out the door. Onto the next thing, I'm searching for something that's missing. There's gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me."

She was so occupied with the tune weaving through her ears, Tenten didn't realize the tapping on her shoulder. "Tenten," the voice called. No response but continual humming. "Tenten." Nothing. "Tenten!" Finally, the person got fed up and pulled one of the ear pieces out of Tenten's ear.

"Hey!" she said, going to grab it again. Suddenly, she looked up and saw Neji staring at her, a little frustrated. "Oh, Neji! When did you get here?" Then she remembered the moment they shared a while ago and lightly blushed.

"I've been following you for a while now," he said stoically, looking down the road.

Tenten whispered a 'sorry' and took the other ear piece out. She wrapped them around the iPod and stuffed it in her pocket. "So, what's up?"

"Be careful."

Tenten cocked an eyebrow. "Of what? In general?"

Neji shook his head. "I called the date Kei and I were supposed to have off." Then he looked straight into her eyes. The lines on his forehead appeared, showing he was either stressed or not comfortable. "She started screaming at me, asking if it was because of you. I said you had nothing to do with it, but she doesn't believe me. Just watch your back."

"She's already done so much to me," Tenten breathed, her eyes slowly shutting. She stopped walking and stood there, barely swaying in the wind. "She barged into my house, turned one of my best friends against me. I mean, I want to forgive Sakura, but---"

"Wait," Neji interupted, taking her shoulders. "What did Sakura do?"

Tenten blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from swelling in her eyes. "S-She was with Kei. B-Both of them destroyed everything!" Tenten couldn't take it anymore. She threw herself at Neji and began crying in his chest. Neji just wrapped his arms around her and stroked her head gently, trying to calm her.

Neji's first instinct was to go over to Sakura's house and tear her to shreds for causing Tenten such pain. But jail was something he wanted to avoid, so he decided against that idea. He learned how to cheer Tenten up with years of experience. The only thing that really brightened her day was...

"How about we have a sleepover at Lee's house tonight?"

Tenten stopped crying and looked up at him with red eyes. She no longer looked sad, but...angry? She playfully punched his shoulder---Neji flinched because it was a little too hard---and gave a condemning look. "We can't just invite ourselves to Lee's house without asking him first! You of all people should know that."

Neji shrugged innocently. "Lee is a pushover; he'll give in if both of us ambush him."

"Neji Hyuuga!" Tenten gasped with disbelief, dramatically placing a hand to her heart. "Ask him now!"

"But---"

"Ask!"

Neji groaned and shoved his hands through his pockets. His fingers weaved through pieces of lint until his found his celll phone. He pushed speed dial number two and placed the phone to his ear. It rang twice until an over excited voice screaming, "HELLO, NEJI!"

Curse caller ID. "You free tonight?"

Lee seemed to think this over for a moment. "Well, I was going to ask Sakura if she wants to go out for dinner tonight." He drifted off into a sea of murmers about his beloved Sakura and how beautiful her bubblegum hair was or something like that. "Why do you ask?"

"Sleepover. Your house. Seven sharp." Neji left no room for objections.

Again, Lee pondered the thought. "Sure! Who else is coming?"

Tenten sighed then grabbed the phone (she was able to hear everything because of Lee's loud voice.) "Lee, you can't just let Neji boss you around like that. It's at your house, for goodness sake."

"TENTEN!" Lee exclaimed. "I did not know you are there as well! Would you like to come to the sleepover?"

Neji snatched the phone from Tenten, who shot him a glare. "Actually, I was thinking it's you, Tenten, and I. Are you free or not?"

"Of course I am!" Lee said, completely forgetting about his girlfriend. "Be over whatever time you wish. I will buy snacks and drinks, and clear out my living room."

"Okay."

Tenten moved her face towards the speaker of the phone and exclaimed, "Thanks, Lee!" It only took her and Neji a few seconds to realize how dangerously close her lips were to his.

"No problem!" And with that, Lee hung up. The dial tone echoed through their ears.

They blushed lightly, until Tenten jerked her head away and laughed nervously. "I guess I'll see you tonight," she said quietly.

"Hn." Tenten twitched at how annoyingly familiar that was to her.

I forgot, she thought, watching Neji fumble with the pieces of lint in his pocket as he put his phone away, Sasuke and Neji both say that. "Bye," she said quickly, running towards her house.

Neji was going to follow Tenten, since his house was that way. But it would be awkward if she stopped running and if I caught up. He decided to take the long way, praying he wouldn't run in with Hinata. To him, it was getting quite annoying at how smart she was. That, and how she made everything Neji said and did seem so predictable. Being predictable was one of the things Neji hated, and Neji hated a lot of things.

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Sasuke was out for an after school stroll. Or, that's what he said. The truth was, he was planning to pass by Tenten's house without even planning to. Did that make sense? It did in Sasuke's head. As he passed by her house, he saw a large truck drive into the driveway. The doors to the drunk burst open, and a few people walked out, carrying furniture. "What's going on here?" Sasuke asked one person.

"We're moving this furniture into this girl's house," she explained. "Poor girl. Her house was ransacked, and now she's trying to afford new furniture to replace everything else. Her couches were sliced at with knives, wooden tables were missing legs, and all of her dishes were broken on the floor. Personally, I'm doing this moving job for free. She's struggling enough to pay for the rest of the people here."

"Is she in there?" Sasuke asked. The lady nodded, and before she could continue talking, Sasuke zoomed into the house.

He looked around to see people replacing old, beaten up furniture, but Tenten was no where to be found. Finally, he barged into her bedroom, and sure enough, she was there. staring out the window. "Tenten," he said soothingly.

Tenten looked back to him, seeming to snap out of a daze. "Oh, hey Sasuke. What are you doing here?"

"I was just on a walk and I saw a truck pull up into your driveway." Tenten opened her mouth and let out a silent 'oh'. "Are you feeling alright?"

Tenten shrugged. "Yeah, I'm good."

Sasuke peeled his navy jacked from his white shirt and placed it onto one of the chairs. "Really, because that poem your read in ninjutsu didn't seem that cheery, and what happened at lunch didn't make you seem ecstatic either," he said. "Do you not trust me with your problems?"

Tenten chose not to to answer right away. "After hearing what Sakura did to me," she started slowly, choosing her words carefully, "I don't really know who to trust anymore. I'm not saying I don't trust you, it's just... I have to be more careful."

Sasuke nodded with understanding. Although he wanted Tenten to trust him with everything, he knew what she was going through was tough. "Do you wanna go out for dinner tonight? It's all on me."

Tenten smiled, but shook her head. "I'd love to, but I'm going to a sleepover."

"On a wednesday?" Sasuke inquired. (A/N: I have no idea what day it is in my fanfiction. If there is a specific day and if someone knows, please tell me in the review. I'll credit you.)

Tenten nodded. "Yes, Sasuke, on a wednesday," she said in a mocking tone.

Sasuke smirked. "Another one of these girl sleepovers?" He remembered the last one he went to. He wasn't welcome, per say, so he left a little after arriving. (A/N: He did, right?)

There was a pause, causing Sasuke to tense up. "Actually, I'm going over to Lee's to have a sleepover with Lee and Neji."

Sasuke frowned and tensed up even more. "Why only you three?" Sasuke knew Tenten had feelings for Neji for a while, but he chose not to say anything about it. If they're left alone, he thought, staring hard into her eyes, then...what if... "Do you promise me you won't do anything?"

Tenten felt insulted. "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke was pressured to yell at her for liking Neji, but tried to keep it under control. "Just promise me."

"Of course I promise!" she said incredulously.

"How will I know if you keep that promise?" Sasuke no longer sounded serious, nor playful. He sounded like he was spiritless and depressed. "Well?"

Tenten thought for a moment. Sasuke was being so interrogative and seemed like he didn't find her loyal. Then, an idea hit her. "I know how you'll know if I keep that promise or not."

Nothing really to say, except that this story is coming to the end. I think there will be...hmmm...3 more chapters at the most, then an epilogue. The epilogue will just be added for fun, though. Wondering what Tenten's idea is? Stay tuned for next time!

And here's the preview! Haven't had one of those in a long time...

"Sakura, I want to talk to you." Sakura, who was animatedly chatting with Ino, slowly turned to see Tenten's hollow eyes staring into her own. "Privately."

Sakura looked a little uneasy, but Ino nudged her and gave her a serious look. Sakura gulped, stood up, then followed Tenten to a secluded room.

"I know you and Kei broke into my house," Tenten said sternly. "I want to know why."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. How did she find out? What will everyone else think if they find out? I have to do something! Sakura silently screamed for help as she did the only thing she could think of. The next thing Tenten knew, Sakura was charging at her. "I'm so sorry!" she screeched before Tenten found her self slamming against the wall.

That's the end of the preview! Let your imagination run wild as you try to guess what Sakura would do to hide the secret!