A/N – Hey you guys! First, lemme discuss what's going on in the review section. I just wanted to say to each and every one of you:

Calm it down. Relax.

I know both of those fools pretty well and I've already discussed with them that I LOVE how they are fucking with each other. I think it's hilarious, and they understand it's for good fun (even though they srsly wanna kick each other's teeth in.)

So no more hate towards them and their reviews. I WANT MOAR OF THIS. It pleases me. Plus they are always super long reviews, and I LOVE super long reviews.

So shhhh, its ok you guys. It's ok. Let me have this. I'm alright with this. Let them get bloody. I NEED this.

Oh and by the way. Lead. Don't fucking play games with me. I WILL BEAT YOU UP. YOU HEAR ME? I'LL CUT YOU BRO. WITH YOUR TRASH LEONA SUPPORT THAT I HAVE TO FUCKING CARRY AS MY GOD LIKE LEE SIN JUNGLE.

Yeah. I went there.

Suck me dry homie.

And Neonbby, I love you. Lots. 3 Kay?

See. Nothing but love!

DISCLAIMER – I do not own Naruto.

Songs used for this chapter ~ Kasbo - White Lies Ft. Lemon &DNNYD feat. DyCy - Don't Hold Me Back (Couzare Remix)

I sat there, my gaze to the floor with everything a blur around me. My mind wouldn't shut off, no matter how hard I wanted it to. Thoughts jetted to the far outskirts of my conscious and reeled back just as fast, all jumbling and tangling together as if my head was filled with a pile of string. Blinking tiredly, I wondered how long these thoughts would keep me up and hoped that maybe one more beer could force them to go away.

Everyone else was asleep, I was sure of it. We came to Temari's place stupid drunk out of our minds and worn out as all hell. Naruto and Sasuke took precautions in making sure they weren't too drunk to drive us home safely, but soon after arriving drank some more as we sat around a circle and talked. After an hour or two of indulging in each other's company, one by one everyone wandered and never returned.

Tenten was the first to go. She wasn't as chippery as she was known to be, but with every wary glance I would give her she would return with a reassuring smile. I didn't believe that curve at her lips for a second, I knew something was up, but to awkwardly bring it up in the middle of conversation with everyone was out of the question. So a bit helplessly I watched as she stood up and strolled into another room, and wondered if she was peacefully sleeping when she subtlety disappeared for good.

Temari left after another beer, not bothering to give a reason. Instead, in the midst of her quiet spurts, stood up and placed her beer on the table. And then, just like that, she was gone too.

Naruto began yawning every two seconds, and when tears began to slip down his cheek from his last huff, he mumbled that he would go pass out in the many guest bedrooms of the house.

Sasuke didn't bother staying much after that. Instead he chugged the last of his bottle, placed it on the table, kissed me on the cheek and mumbled for me not to stay up too late before going to sleep as well.

So I was alone, for a while, with nothing but empty bottles to keep me company. It wasn't so bad, I guess, being left to my thoughts. I kind of appreciated the silence, no matter how deafening it was, because there was no pressure to sit and come up with conversation. Instead I was allowed to quietly hope that my body would grow too exhausted to entertain my wandering mind any longer.

Yet time passed and sleep never came.

As I sat there, staring at the floor, I heard footsteps padding their way towards me. I curiously wondered if maybe someone had to use the restroom and waited for the creak of the bathroom door, but the sound never came. Instead they made their way quietly closer until eventually the footsteps were just around the corner. My eyes dragged to the opening of the living room as I waited patiently and spotted Temari walking in.

She didn't seem very surprised to see me awake, by her body language I wondered if she saw me at all, but her brown eyes slipped right to mine as she made her way closer and without any words of exchange sat right next to me.

I bit my lip and glanced over at her, wondering what she was doing still up. She had changed out of her costume into a more comfortable outfit, basketball shorts and a tanktop. I hadn't bothered to change yet, actually I assumed I would just sleep in what I had. But before I could believe so any longer, Temari mumbled quietly, "I placed some spare clothes in the third guest room."

"Oh," I replied, a bit surprise. Then in a stumble, I continued, "Well, thanks."

"You wanna go change real quick and then help me pick up all these bottles?" She asked with a glance at me, her face unreadable.

I looked about before nodding and standing up, "Yeah sure, it does look pretty messy in here. I'd hate for your parents to think we're crazy teenage slobs."

"They are out of town, as always," she drawled in reply, leaning back against the couch with a sigh, "But I'd rather not have the maids thinking we are teenage drunken slobs."

I peeked over my shoulder, but she had her head leaned back and her eyes closed. A bit worried about how tired she looked, I quickly went to the room to change so I could get her into bed faster. It didn't take long for me to wiggle out of my costume and into my burrowed tiny shirt and shorts. When I padded my way back to the living room bare footed, Temari was still sitting there in her spot.

Upon hearing me return, she opened her eyes. I stood there, waiting patiently for instructions on what we should do with the bottles. Yet I was never given any because leaning forward, she grabbed two fresh beers that had been camouflage with the rest. Holding one out to me, she informed, "These are the last two. Let's finish them off."

I bit my lip but took it without much thought. Walking around the table, I folded my leg under me as I plopped on the couch next to her. We both twisted our bottles open at the same time, and with a sip I sighed and leaned back in comfortable silence.

For a while nothing was said, just us sipping occasionally while we relaxed. After the sixth sip I took though Temari shifted next to me to dig into her pocket. She leaned forward and offered me her hand, but with her fingers curled I couldn't quiet catch what it was inside. I held out my palm in curiosity and was a bit confused when she gave me a small coin.

"Penny for your thoughts," she mumbled while leaning back onto the couch.

I blinked and looked down at the penny, then with a bit of a frown I tore my eyes away and stared ahead, "I don't have any thoughts."

"Don't lie," she replied quietly with a sip of beer, "Come on. Just spill a little."

Shifting, I glanced back down at the coin before muttering, "One penny… one thought."

My eyes slipped back up to hers, but she didn't seem at all worried. Instead, with a bit of a smile, she dug into her pocket and pulled out two nickels. Placing them on the table in front of us, she said, "Well, 11 cents equals 11 thoughts, right?"

"I never realized you had a dork side," I teased with a roll of my eyes.

"I'm just a bit lucky in having so much chump change in my pocket at the moment," she responded, unfazed.

I sighed and shifted, picking at the sticker on my beer. Then, in a bit of a stumble, I started slowly, "Tonight was… a mess."

She was quiet for a moment, but after the silence continued for far too long, she prompted, "That's one…"

I ran my hand through my hair and stared hard at my bottle of beer as I breathed out, "And I'm still so confused."

"Two." She counted, sipping on her beer as she looked forward.

"What happened tonight was none of my business, but I can't get it out of my head. And I keep wondering what is going on, but then I feel like I have no right to know," I went on, feeling the words starting to flow much easier.

"Three and four," she said after I paused, waiting for her count off.

Swallowing, I pushed forward, "Sakura tonight, I hardly even recognized her. Whatever happened between us wasn't that serious, but I keep wondering if it was some mistake. Then the things she said… it makes me think if I'm being a bitch about this whole thing."

"Seven," she breathed out with a sigh, head falling back to stare at the ceiling.

I took a sip of my beer and did the same, "I have a best friend who is an idiot and a girl who won't give up on me. I like two girls at the same time, but only one seems to actually want me. My thoughts are jumbled and twisted so much that I can't even comprehend what is happening, but with each passing second I realize how much bull shit has been going on and how little has actually been solved."

We paused for a long time before she quietly she informed, "You've got one more."

My grip on my beer tightened as my other fingers curled into a hard fist. Eyes burning and throat closing, my heart hammered as the single thought in my mind that had been screaming the loudest fought its way past my tongue. Swallowing, I opened my mouth and took a shaky breath. Then, with a bit of a crack in my voice, I forced out weakly, "She kissed her..."

Temari glanced at me, but I quickly turned away from her prying eyes. Giving my face a quick rub, I stood up, drank the rest of my beer, and walked towards her kitchen.

"I'll grab some bags," I told her as I left and was grateful when she didn't stop me to give me one last penny.

I didn't want to admit that my next thought was how badly it hurt.

X

I woke up the next morning with the worst kind of hang over, but was grateful that the screaming headache, heavy beer echoing tongue, and dessert dry throat kept me from thinking about more than the overwhelming need to magically get better as I curled in a ball and hid in bed for most of the day. My phone was gone, lost somewhere within the walls of Temari's mansion but I didn't feel the urge to go find it. Actually, I hoped it wouldn't turn up for the rest of the day, feeling a mixture of dread and anxiousness on what alerts I could possibly have.

Everyone checked on me every so often, making sure I was alive and breathing. Tenten made sure I was brought breakfast, and kept me company as I groaned and miserably attempted to eat toast. Sasuke laid with me for a bit, seeming to believe that cuddles would fix me. While it didn't exactly cure my illness, it was nice to be pressed against something warm and solid. Naruto couldn't stay long, but he was sure to visit me before he left, giving me a good luck kiss with getting past the hell I was going through. Temari visited the most, checking on me every hour. She didn't bring up last night, but the wary look in her eyes gave away that it was still fresh in her mind.

Eventually my body began to nurse itself back to health, but at agonizing pace. In the midst of my groaning stomach ache and throbbing head, my mind gradually found strength to wander. With each second a single thought would pop into my head and after an hour my mind was left stuffed all over again. I tried so hard to close my eyes and push everything away, but that did nothing to help.

Soon even the four walls around me couldn't contain my thoughts. I became restless, unable to sit still, so I found myself leaving the bed in hopes to escape. The first place I went to was the kitchen, hoping to find some orange juice to fix my dry throat and something bready to settle my churning stomach. As I approached though, I realized I wasn't the only one seeking refuge where the food was hidden away.

"So you gave him your number?" Temari asked tiredly, sounding almost bored while I was still down the hall.

"He was fun, so figured why not," I heard Tenten answer conversationally, "Plus he was amazing to dance with. For such a cute boy you would think he had no skills, so I seriously couldn't help myself."

"Well I'm glad you had a good time then, sweet heart," Temari replied sincerely. As I turned the corner I saw her sitting in a chair with a bowl of cereal in her hand and her feet kicked up on the table, "Maybe you'll see him around."

Just then Tenten turned around, eyes rolling angrily with an annoyed look on her face. When she caught me walking in, she frowned and walked past without much of a greeting. I watched her go with a small frown of my own, eyebrow rising as I glanced back at Temari. She continued to relax as she munched on her cereal, shrugging when she caught my gaze. Figuring there wasn't much to say about that little scene, I made my way towards the fridge to begin my search.

"Where is Sasuke?" I asked conversationally as I bent down and began shifting things on the shelf.

"He went ahead and dipped out for a couple of hours, but he told me to tell you that he'll see you at school," Temari answered from behind me.

"I should probably go soon too," I replied, glancing at the stove clock, "I'm sure my mom is wondering where I'm at."

"She called earlier," she informed, rocking out of her chair to place her bowl in the sink, "I told her that you had crashed at my place and was still sleep. She was relieved to hear you were fine, said you weren't picking up the phone."

"It's lost somewhere," I huffed while standing up straight and scratching my leg with my foot, "I should probably go find it."

"I'm sure the maid's will come across it eventually," Temari said while idly leaning against the kitchen counter. After a short pause, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," I responded sarcastically, taking out sandwich meat, lettuce, cheese, and a bottle of orange juice.

"You sound like it," she laughed while watching me, "And you look like you're literally dragging yourself around right now."

"I still have a bit of a hangover," I admitted while moving across the kitchen to grab the bread out of the pantry, "I wish it would go away."

"We did drink a bit last night."

Her statement forced out a short laugh as I began making my sandwich, "Yeah, a bit being the biggest understatement of the year. I don't know why I thought I could handle that much."

"Granted, the party was out of control," she pointed out, and then added with a bit of a frown continued, "And we never did see Sakura again. I wonder if she's alright."

"I'm sure she's fine," I quietly assured but reframed from saying much else. Tenten was the only one to see the fight, everyone else didn't know why she suddenly left.

We were quiet for a moment, Temari standing there beside me as I layered my bread. After a couple more seconds, she asked, "I've been wondering, after last night with the two of us… You said something about 'The things Sakura said'. Did you guys have a fight? Is that why she randomly disappeared?"

I sighed and admitted, "Yeah, we had a short argument."

"Was it about her kissing some other girl?" She asked curiously.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and quickly informed, "No, it wasn't anything like that."

"You mentioned someone kissing her. If it wasn't Sakura, were you talking about that best friend of yours?" She continued.

"Listen, sorry, but I really don't want to talk about this," I shot out while quickly turning around to put back everything in the fridge.

She sighed as I began placing things on the shelf, "I figured you wouldn't, but idunno Ino. You seem a bit off."

"I'm fine," I swiftly informed.

"No you aren't, and you sure as hell didn't look fine last night," she countered, still leaning at her spot, "You looked on the verge of tears, and I'm just trying to show that you can talk to me if you want."

"I know I can," I replied, turning around to give her a desperate look, "But I really don't want to talk about it. It's already hell just standing up straight; I just want a moment to just shut down."

She gave me a small frown before sighing and pushing herself off of the counter, "Alright… but you should remember you have friends that you can spill to. You don't always have to shut us out, you know?"

My chest tightened as I stood there in silence, watching her leave. I felt my throat closing all over again, feeling absolutely miserable. Pushing past all the raging emotions, I turned and grabbed my sandwich and my orange juice. For the next hour I sat there at the kitchen table, attempting to force down my food but unable to get past half of it.

I felt completely sick, but it wasn't the hang over that wasn't allowing me to eat, it was Temari's words and the memories of last night.

Eventually I gave up on eating and threw away my food, feeling bad for wasting it. After that I wandered towards the living room, wondering if I had possibly left my phone on the couch I was sitting on last night. With little surprise, I saw it laying there next to some a pillow, and anxiously I grabbed it and put in my password. When I reached the home screen I saw that it was almost dead and that there were several alerts, but all 5 of them were from my mother.

With a swallow I turned it off and walked back to my guest room, not knowing whether to feel grateful or like complete shit.

Temari and Tenten didn't bug me for a very long time, and when the sun had fell Temari came in offering me a ride home. I thanked her graciously as I gathered my things, her of course telling me not to worry about it. When we were walking out of the door I inquired where Tenten was, wondering if she would possibly be traveling with us.

"Ah, she had one of the butlers take her home earlier," Temari answered as she closed the door and dug her keys out of her pocket, "I offered her to wait until I was ready to take you home, but she seemed to be in a hurry to leave."

Glancing at her as we walked down the front steps, I hinted, "She looked pretty irritated earlier."

"Yeah she did," she agreed without much thought.

I bit my lip and began again, a bit more obvious this time, "Don't you think it was something to do about the whole phone number conversation?"

"I'm sure it was," she replied with a simple nod.

My eyebrows came together as we approached the jeep. Waiting for her to unlock the doors, I said, "Didn't you know she would be annoyed by your apathetic reaction?"

"I thought it was a possibility," she answered as we both climbed inside.

I opened my mouth, but then closed it and took a second to think while buckling myself up. Opening my mouth again, I asked slowly, "Then… why?"

"She's upset with me about last night," Temari shrugged while cranking up the engine, "So to keep myself out of trouble, I sit there obediently and play nice."

"But, don't you think you just managed to get yourself in more trouble by acting like you don't care?" I asked, absolutely confused, "I mean, I guess that's what she wanted, right? To act like you cared about the whole phone number thing and actually engage in conversation."

"I'm sure that she wanted my take on the situation, yeah," she agreed while driving around her half circle driveway, "But I thought better of it."

"How is upsetting her better in this situation?" I asked with a frown.

"Because me being apathetic is probably smarter than telling her my true thoughts about the whole thing," she explained as we drove down the road.

"But that's what she wanted," I argued, still limping along in attempting to understand, "Don't you think she would have been happier if you would have just gave that to her?"

"No," she said while keeping her eyes on the road.

"And why not…question mark(2)." I pressed in frustration when she kept quiet right after, not bothering to explain.

"Because what I wanted to say would have sparked an argument," she answered truthfully, "So it's better to just keep my mouth shut, play nice, and cave."

"Well…" I began, now becoming a bit curious, "How did you feel about her passing out her number to that boy?"

"Like I wanted to kick the guy's mother fucking knees in," she answered flatly.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, and then pointed out, "You're jealous."

It wasn't a question, but she answered, "Maybe just a skosh, but it's none of my business. I'm only her best friend, it doesn't really matter what I think about everything."

With a small frown, I disagreed, "No, you can still have a say in the matter if you want."

"Not exactly," she replied as she turned a corner, "She'll do what she wants when she wants to; and at the end of the day I'm merely supposed to steer her from trouble, make sure she's safe, and continue maintenance on her wellbeing. That's all."

"But your jealous," I pointed out.

"Yes I am," she agreed.

"And she wanted your opinion," I continued.

"Maybe," she replied.

"Then say something!" I shouted out.

"It's none of my business, doll," she answered simply.

I threw up my arms and gave out a huff in disbelief, "How the hell do you expect her to know you're jealous if you don't open your mouth?"

"I never said I wanted her to know I was jealous," she countered, and then shrugged, "She doesn't need to know anything like that anyway. If she wants to pass out her number, that is fine with me; as long as she's safe."

"But you're jealous!" I repeated in frustration.

"Mhmm," she replied.

"And she wanted your opinion," I said again.

"It's very possible she wished for my honest opinion, yes," she nodded.

I made another huge noise of frustration, growing irritated. Rubbing me eyes, I said furiously, "You are an idiot."

"You think so?" She asked curiously while glancing at me.

I gave her a glare, "It's like you're torturing yourself."

She laughed and looked back at the road, "I don't see it like that at all, doll."

"You have an opportunity to say something, and you don't!" I argued with my hands moving as I spoke, "And when you're asked how you feel about it, all you do is 'play nice'? Don't you think you should actually say something if that's what she honestly wants?"

"If she honestly wanted it badly enough, she would have pestered me about it," she answered while slowing at a red light and leaning back in her seat as she relaxed, "And like I said, there is no point in her knowing silly stuff like that. It's none of my business who she takes interest to. The only thing I make my business is making sure whatever guy she finds cute knows there are no games to be played with the girl I look after."

"But- but," I sputtered out with my face twisting in absolute disbelief, "Don't you like her?"

She shrugged, "Maybe."

"Then why wouldn't you want to say something?" I pressed.

She pulled off from the line when the light turned green and replied, "I never said I didn't want to say anything."

"Then why don't you!" I shouted.

"Because that isn't a part of my job description," she answered calmly, managing to infuriate me even more.

"Well it's your job to take care of her right?" I asked furiously with a point at her, "Then why don't you try to be the only one who takes care of her?"

"Because I'm supposed to work for whatever she wants," Temari replied as she turned into my neighborhood, "I'm not supposed to give into my own need, that's what my job doesn't entail. She requires me to be selfless, so I'll be selfless. She wants to sit here and tell me about every boy she's talking to, cool. She wants to tell me about every date she goes on, alright. She wants to ask me what she thinks about passing out her number, fine I'll tell her what I think."

She glanced at me and continued, "I wasn't lying, I am really glad that she had fun last night. I mean, am I jealous? You're fucking right I'm jealous. I wanted to punch the guy in the face the second I saw him walking up; but guess what, I'm sure that's not what she wanted, so that's not what I did. Met the guy and gave him a smile; passed her off so she can dance with him after he asked and she agreed; told her I'll grab us some more beer as I waited patiently; when I came back they were still dancing. She wants to keep dancing with him? Fine with me. I'll find something to do while I wait, like dance with some girl."

"But I think she got really jealous about that," I informed quickly as I thought back to last night, "She said the girl wasn't cute enough, so she disapproved."

"The girl is never cute enough," Temari replied with a roll of her eyes.

"But she was jealous!" I pressed the important fact of the whole conversation, "She was honestly pissy that you went to run off with some other girl."

"She's always pissy when I don't give her my full attention," she said with a shrug.

"Don't you think that's something you want to exploit?" I asked with a slight shake of my head as I gave her a look, "Don't you think that's some sort of sign?"

"No, because she's a little brat," she responded, but there was an upwards tug at her lips as her face turned amused, "She does that all the time, but just because I'm her best friend doesn't mean I'll take her shit. It's a two way street. She wants all of my attention? Well first she has to give me all of hers."

"But she was jealous!" I cried out.

"Yes, yes she was," Temari replied with a knowing smirk and a glance at me when we finally arrived outside of my house.

I blinked, and then accused, "You did it on purpose?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, doll," she answered with a little grin.

"I just… don't even know what to take out of this whole conversation," I breathed out as I began to wind down, shaking my head and looking at my hands, "Like really. What the fuck is even going on between you two?"

She laughed and gave me an easy smile as she shrugged, "Nothing is going on. We just hang out a lot."

I opened my mouth at her words, but then sighed as I shook my head and began gathering my stuff, "God I think it's better if I just don't know."

I only seemed to tickle her humor even more as she continued to give out a small laugh. Shaking my head again, I opened the door and hopped out of the car, turning to look at her with a tired look, "Anyway, thanks for the ride."

"No problem sweet heart, any time," she replied with an earnest smile, and then paused before informing me, "By the way, there is someone on your roof."

My eyebrows came together at the information and with a quick glance behind me I saw that she was right. There, right by my window, a girl was sitting and watching us quietly. Turning back around, I stared a bit slowly, "Oh, uh, yeah… that would be my best friend."

"I see," Temari replied as she scooped out the figure with curiosity, "Welp, good luck with that."

"Thanks," I answered, and then added, "And good luck with that whole fucked up situation you got going on."

She snorted, "Thanks. Call me if there is trouble."

"Yeah I will," I assured and then smile, "Thanks again. I'll see you at school."

"See ya later," she fair welled, and with that I closed the door and made my way towards my house.

For some awkward reason I didn't want to make eye contact with Tayuya, so I carefully kept my head down as I crossed my front yard and walked up my front porch steps. It wasn't too late when I finally walked into my home, just about 8 o'clock. My mom was still down stairs, shuffling around in the kitchen. When she heard the door open, she quickly poked her head out of the doorway and gave me a smile.

"Hey sweety, did you have fun?" She asked.

I gave her a beam as I attempted to answer earnestly, "Yeah, it was a pretty awesome costume party."

"Well that's good," she replied, slipping back into the kitchen before turning off the light and coming back out a second afterwards, "I was starting to get worried on if you'd come home."

It was then I noticed the smell of cookies and knew that I must have really made her anxious. It was way past my mother's bed time; she usually was telling me goodnight and locking herself in her room by seven to shower, watch TV, and sleep to wake up early and garden or some nonsense. I was sure if I walked into the kitchen I would see two huge plates stacked with cookies, because she always seemed to over bake when she was worried.

Giving her an apologetic smile, I replied, "Sorry. I really should have called, but I lost my phone and I woke up really late."

"No no it's alright dear," she brushed off, waving me over to walk up the stairs with her, "I'm just being a worry fart. Your father started it, pestering me if you had checked in just hours after you left, and ever since I've been nervous."

"Is he upset?" I asked as we climbed the steps.

"Him? He's upstairs watching football, but he'll be happy to know you're finally home."

I gave her a smile and shortly after told her goodnight when we reached upstairs. Only when she closed her door with a happy little air kiss to me good night did I turn and open my door, dreading what was waiting for me inside. Stomach churning and heart beginning to thump nervously, I stepped inside and closed my door quietly, tossing my phone on my bed and my costume inside my closet where the dirty clothes were piled.

Feeling it would be rude if I prolonged it any longer, I walked right over to my window and slid it open, stepping back as Tayuya began to climb in. Though I stood there a bit silent, watching her until she managed to get both feet on the ground and stretch to her full height, as soon as she shoved her hands in her pockets and raised her eyes at mine I quickly looked away and went to sit in bed.

She stood there as I folded my leg under me, the other hanging off the side of the bed. Instantly my hand went to my phone in the nervous silence, but it only helped me realized that it had died a long time ago. Biting my lip I stretched across the bed to plug it in, and awkwardly I laid there watching it hum awake.

I heard the creaks of Tayuya's footsteps as she shifted from her spot, and then waited for the dip in the bed for her to sit down, but it never came. When my phone finally blinked with my home screen on, I decided to sit back up. I faced Tayuya as she leaned against my dresser, hands still in her pocket and brown eyes glowing as she watched me. I tore my eyes away and waited, my fingers coming together as they began to fight with each other.

Another moment or so passed before I heard her sigh. I'm sure she knew she had to start off this conversation, because I wouldn't have been able to. As if she could read my thoughts, she began quietly, "You didn't come back last night."

I glanced back up at her before shrugging with a mumble, "I crashed at Temari's place."

"Mm," she hummed in response, another sigh slipping her lips while she drawled, "That would have been good to know yesterday."

"No offense, but I wouldn't have been in a very talkative mood anyway," I replied honestly.

She gave me a small frown, but attempted to hide it as she looked away, "Yeah well, maybe it's a good thing you didn't show then… I always said I wouldn't be able to handle the rejection of you saying no, I can't come in."

"Even though it would have been pretty stupid of me, I would have let you in," I admitted with frown of my own, "No sense of having you sit in the cold… Were you waiting long?"

"Last night? Pretty much until the sun came up. Tonight, no I wasn't waiting long at all," she answered tiredly, and I wondered if she had gotten any sleep since the party. But when I thought about how much of a great time she must have had with her 'friends', I magically didn't care much.

"Well… did you want something?" I asked a bit bluntly.

Her eyes flicked back up at me, but her frown hadn't gone away. Watching me steadily for a moment, she began slowly, "I just wanted to apologize-"

"No need," I said quickly, staring right back at her gaze.

She continued to watch me before sighing with a shake of her head, "Ino…"

"Don't," I pressed adamantly, "There is no need."

"You don't even know what I want to apologize for," she pointed out.

"I kind of don't care," I replied without much thought.

Her frown pulled even more, but I refused to look away. Taking a breath, she shifted and stood up a bit straighter, and then tried again cautiously, "About the party-"

"Tayuya," I warned with a frown of my own.

She gave me a look and responded simply, "Ino."

"Seriously- I informed again.

She rolled her eyes played off my word, "Yes, seriously, I want to apologize. Why can't you let me do this?"

"Because I don't want to hear it," I answered truthfully.

"Well can I at least put it on the floor, explain how sincere I am about it?" She asked exasperatedly.

"No," I replied simply.

She gave me a look, but I returned it with a blank features. Shaking her head again, she took one hand out of her pocket to rub her eyes, mumbling, "Why are you making this so hard?"

"Why do you want to give me an apology when you know I won't accept it?" I countered.

She flung her hand up before dropping it to her side and admitting, "I don't think you aren't going to accept. I mean, I don't know what I expect. I just feel like I should apologize-"

"Well I'm here telling you that you don't have to," I cut off.

"Then let me rephrase the statement," she snapped back, growing irritated, "I want to apologize. What happened last night was pretty stupid. I wanted to say sorry-"

"Ok, sure, whatever, you're sorry. Let's move on," I waved off with a roll of my eyes.

"That it was really immature and stupid of me, but I seriously lost my cool-" she pressed forward, ignoring me.

"I don't care," I repeated, now glaring at her with an annoyed look, "So what's the point of even going through this motion. Just drop it."

"But I'm not going to let her, or anyone, sit there and talk about us like that," she explained with a glare of her own, but I think she was more annoyed with the memory than with me continuously attempting to stop her apology.

"She was frustrated," I informed as I waved her off, "I'm sure she meant half of it, but does it really matter? It's over."

"Yes it matters, because that shit isn't ok," she replied with a hard frown, her arms crossing over her chest as she continued, "Because I could give two fucks about how she's feeling, if I could care less I would become an empty fucking void. She can get pissy all she wants, stomp around and come at me in every angle she pleases, those are the things I don't care about. But she isn't going to sit here and approach a subject that has nothing to do with her."

I sighed, not impressed by her dramatic behavior, "You're talking about the two month thing."

"You should tell her to keep her mouth fucking shut about it, because princess I promise you won't be able to stop me the next time around. I'm going to make her understand that these buttons she finds pretty enough to jam with her finger a thousand times aren't idle and broken," she ranted, but I hardly listened.

"Not talking about it isn't going to change the fact it happened," I replied boldly, my eyes flicking up to her brown ones as I continued bravely, "You left for two months… it's over with."

"Yeah, I left for two month, but no one is going to come up to us and pretend to understand what the fuck went down during that time," she glowered, her eyes churning dangerously as they began to darken.

"What is there to understand?" I breathed out while running my hand through my hair, "You left, you came back. Not much to the story besides that."

"Is that seriously what you think?" She asked with her eyebrows coming together.

"Kind of," I answered honestly.

She shook her head slowly before looking away, "Right, ok, whatever."

"Is there more to the story, Tayuya?" I asked in a bored tone, "Some secret plot twist I don't know about?"

"Fuck it," she spat, and with a blink I realize how angry she sounded.

I watched her the way her jaw set and the hard look in her eye as they glared at my wall. With my eyebrows coming together as well, I asked quietly, "Is there really more?"

"Don't worry about it," she answered, shifting with her eyes sliding to me and a tight frown at her lips she pushed forward, "Just tell Sakura to shut her fucking mouth about it. Princess I promise you if you don't, I will."

My frown turned small as I stared back at her, wondering what could possibly be going through her head. Then, with my attitude slowly floating away, I replied, "I told her that night that she shouldn't say things like that… but I'll tell her again."

"Good," she said simply while ripping her eyes away from mine all over again. I looked away as well, eyes falling to my bed as I tried to push past the curious thoughts and probing emotions. I didn't want to get too lost in the extra things that were churning in my head and chest, because I didn't want to forget that I was still upset about the party.

The silence stretched on, and I saw no end to it. As she leaned there, arms crossed and jaw set, I scooted back into my bed to press against the wall. As we continued to say nothing, I glanced at my phone. There still weren't any alerts, and I wondered what Sakura could be doing.

Eventually Tayuya began to speak again, but her hard agitated tone was gone. Her voice was careful as she began slowly, "I didn't invite Karin to that party."

I stiffened at the statement, and quickly became defensive. My whole body hardened, and even my mind quickly shut down. Emergency mode was coursing through me, and just like that my attitude was back, "It isn't any of my business who you hang out with."

"Ok, but I still want you to know that I didn't invite her. She wasn't going to come at all, I had no plans of doing that to you," she went on explaining.

"I don't care," I quickly pressed, "Drop it."

She frowned and sighed, uncrossing her arms to rub the back of her neck as she continued in a leveled tone, "She asked what I was up to this weekend, I told her I was busy. She pestered me about what, I told her I had a party to go to. She asked to tag along, and I didn't know what to say. What could I say? 'Sorry, my best friend hates your fucking guts, so no you can't come'."

"Sounds pretty legit to me," I mumbled, half to myself.

"It's rude," she replied while dropping her hand to her side, "And to tell her that and not be able to give her a reason why you hate her so much is even worse. So I tried telling her it probably wouldn't be her thing, but she wanted to come along anyway. I said she would need a ride, she said she'd figure it out. I didn't know what else to do-"

"Yeah well, it isn't like it mattered," I said flatly, propping my elbow up on my knee as I held my chin with my palm. Eyes wandering my walls, I continued, "Not like we hung out, so it's probably a good thing you brought her. I'm sure it was loads of fun having her around."

"Not when I wanted to hang out with you and you were either ghost, mia, or all over your other half," she replied with an empty laugh, "I managed to find Sakura though. What a fucked up night."

"What did you ask her to get her so riled up?" I asked with a frown, "You said you only it was only a question."

"Don't worry about it," she replied shortly afterward.

I shook my head in my palm and slid my eyes away, mumbling, "Well whatever. Like I said, probably a good thing Karin was there. She was able to pull you away from the fight when I couldn't."

"As soon as you came between us I was already going to back off, she just happened to show up around the same time," she informed while tugging at her beanie, "And I knew you wanted nothing to do with me, so I just left. Figured I fucked up your night enough."

"Kinda," I said, not bothering to sugar coat it.

"And that's why I want to apologize," she went on to explain, speaking with her hand as she talked, "I know you're fed up and I'm really sorry about everything."

"Yeah, sure, ok, I forgive you." I said, sounding as authentic as my caring tone- which I didn't have.

She sighed and fought back her irritation, "I'm sitting here trying to fix things before everything gets worse and all you want to do is start blowing me off early. Do you not believe that I'm honestly sorry?"

"No I'm sure you're sorry, but not over the things that happened," I answered with my eyes coming back to hers and a frown pulling at my lips, "I think you're sorry about what you know is coming now that everything is done with, but I doubt you lost a wink of sleep over what you did."

"I've been restless the moment I left you in that hall with her," she said with an angry look in her eyes, "I've been trying to figure out the right words to use to apologize. Sure I don't want you to give me the cold shoulder and ditch me for weeks, but I'm more concerned about how you feel and clearing the air."

"Well I don't feel much about it and I don't mind the stuffy air," I assured with a shrug, "So who cares? It happened, all done with, whatever."

"Don't bull shit me," she snapped, glaring as she spoke in a serious tone, "You look like complete hell. I can tell I'm not the only one who lost sleep about last night, you did too."

"Maybe, but it isn't any of your business. I can take care of myself," I brushed off, not at all effected by her rising frustration.

"This isn't about you being able to take care of yourself. I know you're strong enough for that, but I don't want you to do it alone," she tried to explain.

I continued to brush her off, "Well I don't care what you want."

"It's my job to make sure you're alright, Ino," she strained past my apathetic tone.

"I'm here to tell you otherwise," I responded simply.

"I can't just pretend to not notice you're upset," she continued.

"Well I wish you would, because it would be doing me a huge favor," I sighed out.

"God it's like everyone on this damned earth is losing their fucking mind one at a time," she huffed out to herself, snatching her beanie from her head and throwing it on my dresser when she reached the limit of her patience. Struggling to tame her tone, she bit out in a tight voice, "Have you forgotten who I am? Do you see some fucking stranger standing in front of you right now? I'm your best fucking friend. I'm the one who is supposed to take care of you. However your feeling is my business. This is how it works. This is how it's been. Did you somehow forget?"

"Maybe I did," I snapped back, tossing my hands up as I began to get fed up as well, "Maybe I forgot when you suddenly disappeared and wasn't there to take care of me over a length of time."

"Ino," she sighed out tiredly.

"No, you need to understand something, because I feel like you don't understand anything at all," I shot back, heart starting to pound with my voice starting to shake, "What you did, whatever the reason, had its fucking consequences. I told you I forgave you- and I did, I still do. I don't get why you left, but you did and I accept that. But what I want you to get is that you can't just stroll back after that and believe you can resume your respected position and think everything will be fine."

"Alright, I get it," she replied without much of a fight, "I fucked up, I understand that."

"You didn't fuck up; it was just something that happened that had its penalties!" The words were now spilling without my consent. I didn't want to say any more, but I just couldn't shut up, "Sakura said it right; she was there to look after me while you were gone, but it was like it hardly mattered. She tried to get in, but I wouldn't let her. I was scared of what would happen if she magically walked out too. The only thing I learned from the whole situation was that I don't want to depend on anyone, because I don't want to end up like the same pathetic pile of mess you left me in."

She dropped her hands to the dresser and gripped the edges loosely in calm obedient silence, watching me without any signs of speaking up. For some reason her just standing there quietly made my words tumble out so much easier and even though I wanted to, I couldn't find it within me to stop talking, "So forgive me for not being peachy when I'm not in a good mood, but don't mistake it. I don't have the strength to pretend I'm happy, and that's the only reason I let my emotions show. I'm not hoping for your comfort, I actually would prefer I didn't get it. I'll figure it out myself, so don't fucking worry about it."

I took a breath and furiously looked away glaring at my walls, wondering after another full minute of silence why she wasn't responding. Seconds continued to tumble by before she sighed and said carefully, "I get it Ino, seriously I do, and I won't be able to say sorry enough. But to be honest, I don't give a fuck what happened back then; it isn't going to affect how I act now. I did it for a purpose; if no one wants to understand that, then that's fine. That's on me. I understood what the consequences might have been, and one of those was having it continuously tossed in my face as a time that I fucked up and made you hurt."

"I don't toss it in your face," I snapped back while turning angrily to her.

It was even more frustrating that I was merely met with a small smile and steady eyes that were still watching me, "My bad, wrong choice of words. What I mean to say is it's something that will always pop up one way or another. At the end of the day, when fights are over and we're ok, I still need to remember what I did and why I did it. I'm sorry it hurt you so much, but I won't lie and tell you it was a mistake. I also won't let it define our relationship. Just because I hurt you then doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and idly let you go through anything alone; whether that's a bad day, you having a shitty time at a party, or me knocking you down with my stupid lack of control. So I'm sorry-."

"Stop trying so hard to apologize," I cried out, becoming sick to my stomach over hearing the things she said and listening to same three words over and over, "I don't give a fuck if you're sorry, I don't care. Just let it go."

She waited until my outburst was through before speaking up again in the same calm manner, "But I seriously want to apologize."

"And I seriously don't care," I countered furiously, "Don't you get that? I don't want it, just fuck off."

"What did I do to make you so upset?" She asked curiously with a small frown.

"Besides saying that you leaving me wasn't a fucking mistake?" I asked with my face twisting in disbelief, "I'm not fucking sure Tayuya, who the hell knows."

"I know that's really shitty for me to say-" She began slowly.

"You think?" I snorted out while looking away with a shake of my head.

"But it wasn't," she pressed simply with a level tone, "Just because you don't understand why doesn't make it a mistake. I know why I did it."

"And why did you?" I demanded with a glare, "Why did you think you had to leave? For who's benefit was any of it for?"

"It doesn't really matter," she shrugged with her fingers still curling at the edge of the dresser, "Because I found it necessary and you didn't. Actually, you pretty much think I did it for no reason at all."

"Because it wasn't for my benefit!" I shouted back, feeling myself getting angrier and angrier, "I mean, it couldn't have been. So who was it for? You? Or did you do it for Karin? Did you guys have fun while I was put on a shelf?"

"What are you talking about?" She sighed, as if tired of the way I was acting.

It only managed to infuriate me even more as I snapped, "Only that I think it's really funny that when you leave for two months, you surprise me by being all over her still without a god damn problem. And coincidently the same girl you were always tongue deep in is at the party I invited you to."

Finally I had pressed some buttons; her eyebrows came together with a tighter frown forming at her lips, "Karin? You think I left for Karin?"

I shrugged, replying with some humor in my tone, "Well why wouldn't she be the reason? I mean it isn't that crazy of an idea. It wouldn't be the first time that I was put second for her."

"What the fuck, Ino," she said with her face scrunching, "You're never second place."

"And yet while I was put on hold, I could bet anything that you were with her. Probably wasn't one fucking problem having her hold your dick while I was kept away from," I snorted with a roll of my eyes, "I'm not fucking stupid."

"You're acting like it," she snapped with a glare, officially becoming angry, "For some shit like that to come out of your mouth."

"But is it such an off the wall idea?" I asked with a mock curious tone, "I mean, I feel like the way you're constantly down her throat-"

"What the hell are you really upset about Ino?" She cut off furiously with a hard look, "The fact that I fucked up and brought her along to the party, or the fact that you saw me kissing her?" I watched her unwavering eyes while she continued in a tight even tone, "Because it sounds to me that the thing you're pissier about isn't that she managed to show her face once again."

I looked away quickly with a small laugh, "What the fuck ever."

"Yeah, ok," she agreed with a short laugh of her own, "Convenient for you to blow that one off, huh? I keep her out of sight constantly and the first time I slip up all hell breaks loose? I'm almost positive there is more to the story than that."

"What the hell are you guys anyway?" I asked with a shake of my head, pretty much ignoring her, "I'm so fucking sick of seeing her around, but never having a reason why. You should tell me if you guys are going out, maybe then I would try to actually tolerate her."

"Well seeing as you really hate her for no reason, I don't get why you don't do more than tolerate her in the first place," she pointed out indifferently, "But no Ino, we aren't going out. And I guess you don't have to like her, it isn't like she's your friend."

"Do friends seriously inspect each other's tonsils like that?" I asked in absolute disgust, "That's questionable. You can't tell me you guys aren't together.

A small smile pulled at her lips as she watched me steadily, "We've done some pretty questionable things as friends too, Ino…" After trailing off, and effectively forcing my eyes to pull away, she continued, "But to be honest, Karin isn't as complicated as you make it seem. You're sitting here trying to decrypt who and what she is, but it's simple. We aren't much, we just mess around sometimes."

My chest tightened as I spat out angrily, "Cool, so you're just fooling around with anything with legs."

She only smiled, "You have it all wrong princess, it isn't like I'm chasing after anything that moves. She's just one girl; there aren't twelve on the side, simply one. I guess it's weird that we aren't together yet."

"It's sick," I said with a shake of my head.

"How?" She challenged without looking the least bit phased by the insult, "I'm keeping it at one and I see it no different as dating. Plus, you and Sakura aren't together right?"

My eyes snapped to hers and I watched as she waited patiently for my answer. With a bite in my tone, I answered, "No. We aren't."

"Then tell me sweet heart, how are you any different from me?" She asked a bit quietly.

Her words were slow to sink in, and for a while I was silent because I couldn't find an answer. She stood there for as long as the silenced stretched, leaning against the dresser with her arms crossed and brown eyes glowing towards my direction. Eventually though, she sighed and pushed herself up straight.

"Right well, I came here tonight hoping to apologize and manage to fix everything somehow, but it looks like there is no hope," she sighed as she pushed her hands in her pockets and walked towards the window. Opening it with one palm, she continued while looking outside, "I figured you would be too pissy to even bother hearing me out, but I wanted to try anyway. Just tell me when I'm out of the dog house with this one; I know I fucked up pretty bad…"

I watched as she looked over at me, small smile on her lips just as she was hunching over to climb out. Then, in this sweet little tone she admitted quietly, "I miss you already…"

Without my consent my heart throbbed and before I could say anything in return, she slipped out of my window and left me for the night with only thoughts to keep me company.

(1) - These songs are pretty good. Mellow with feels. Good shit. Check them out.

(2) Does anyone do this? Lol. Me and my bro do that shit all the time. "And you did this why….question mark?!." Love you dude. You know who you are.

Did you guys like the Temari and Ino conversation? Besides it being a tad fucking ironic and funny, I hope you found it informative. Oh you didn't? Well get your ass back up there and read the whole thing again. THIS TIME OPEN YOUR EYES JERK.

Sorry I didn't mean it. Hearts.

***You must now pay attention. This is important***

Anyway. Me and my bro- the girl who literally keeps me on my toes with this crazy series- thought it would be a pretty spiffy idea if we added bonus scenes at the end of the story, like it's a mother fucking exclusive DVD box or some realize there are a lot of parts in the story where everyone (including me) simply want to SEE what happened. I know it's pretty restricting reading in first person (duh point of the story is as a human fucking being we don't know or see it all. It's one sided, so you need to actually venture and investigate yourself and ask questions and actually talk to fucking people. God damn communicate and shit) so sometimes the things we really really JUST REALLY want to see can't be seen because of the position and style my story is written in.

So, nifty spiffy little Dessy over here thought "Whoa bro. Why don't you write a scene of what went down in that room withTayuya and Karin. I mean you don't even have to post that shit, just give it to me so EYE can read" (She's a bit spoiled. We know this. This is why I love her.)

That is one scene I already plan on doing on my off time- that being whenever I have writers block for the chapter I'm supposed to be posting. Another scene we have already discussed is a TemTen situation. Also Karin and Tayuya meeting for the first time. And maybe a short of Sakura and the academy student that takes care of Ethan now days. Shit like that.

That's right. That's rightttt. Start fangirling and fanboying. Because I think this could be a lot of fun.

That being said, please send in your requests in reviews or pm if you perfer. I'll look over ALL of them and my bro will give me the yay or nay on the ones we should actually do.

To keep it limited- because i don't want it to get crazy wild in here- you've got till I post next chapter to give me your ideas. Be creative. I srsly want to do this for you guys.

Alright? Ok. You guys think, I'll be writing. Faithfully. As I always do.

BUT before you guys get too excited, please tell me what you think of the chapter so I can get an idea of how everyone is feeling. Kay? Kay.

Shycadet loves. Out.