Disclaimer: Let's make this fresh by scrambling up the words, shall we? Inu-Yasha own don't I! That was fun!


Author's Note: Ack! My updating skills are horrendous, I know. I'm so sorry! Life's been a bitch, lately- not worth getting into, but I hope you can forgive this stupid authoress. ::sighs::

Anyway, this is gonna be the last update for a while, as well- one of my bestest friends is coming to visit from out-of-state for the week of Thanksgiving, so we'll be hanging around and getting utterly bored of each other these upcoming seven-ish days. XD (She comes today at 11! EEEEK!)

Also, some of you may have noticed that I no longer have a bio up. That's because changed the bio set up into this weird process that I just can't get to work. So sowwy, no more bio for a while. (Not that it really matters, does it? Eh heh heh. . . ::sweat drop::)

Finally, a few quick self plugs.

Anyone who enjoys Teen Titans and likes the character Raven, please check out my short one-shot 'The Ravens'. I'm really proud of it, and I hope you enjoy!

Two, since my bio isn't up I'll post this here: Anyone who wants to read 'Pirate's Life For Me', it's posted on my animespiral account. Anyone intrested in the original copy of 'I'll Remember You Forever,' that can be found in the 'Guily Pleasure's archive. If you can't find them, please e-mail me and I'll send you a URL. (But please try to find them yourself first. I really don't have a lot of time on the computer as it is, and when I am on it, I like to be able to try and update. Thankies!)


That's it! I hope y'all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Eat a piece of pie for me. ;-)

- - - Headlines: A Hollywood Romance- - -

-Chapter Ten: Pies, Beers, and Other Sweet Things -

Ah, what a beautiful night. The air was cool and crisp with the promise of upcoming winter; the heavens the silkiest of blacks- sprinkled with a shower of diamond-bright stars. From the horizon, the full moon glistened like a frosted globe of ice and wonder. Autumn leaves were slowly beginning to fall, gracing the blackness with the faintest brush of color. Yes, it was a beautiful night. Inu-Yasha stood in the middle of the almost deserted parking lot, breathing it all in.

A beautiful night, indeed. Perfect for going to a bar. Then again, what night wasn't perfect for a bar?

'Onigumo's old place'll be open till midnight,' he thought perkily, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. 'I have plenty of time to get smashingly drunk.' Which, it should be added, he needed desperately. It had been an excruciating day- even worse than normal. Not only had Kagome refused to talk or argue with him (which had built some pent-up aggression to say the least), but she kept glaring at him out of the corner of her eye, making him feel all . . . squirmy-like.

Ah well. No matter. He'd soon not remember a thing of it. Smirking slightly as he straightened his woolen scarf and windbreaker, the hanyou began to walk towards the security exit, eyes on the sky, when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him- and the softest of throats clearing itself.

'?'

The half demon stopped on instinct, whirling around as the wind whipped through his silver hair. He already knew who it was. Still, it was sort of hard to believe- after the cold shoulder that had been stuck in his side like a thorn for the past 9 hours, anyway.

"What do you want?" Inu-Yasha asked coldly, a sneer of dislike and disgust on his face as his cold tawny eyes fell upon the strangely timid form of Kagome, standing a few meters away with her eyes downcast and her loosely clenched fist to her mouth. "I don't have the time for more bullshit, wench. If you had something to say, why didn't you say it ea- - -"

"Wannagotothedinerwithme?"

Inu-Yasha blinked.

Kagome blushed.

Silence.

". . . What?" the hanyou barked in- what sounded like- exasperated bewilderment. Kag sighed, her head flopping lower. "Say again?"

"Do. . . do you want to go to the diner. . . with me?" she repeated, more slowly and quietly this time. Still, this wasn't enough for Inu, who looked as confused as if someone had just turned the world upside down and forgotten to tell him.

"What?" he echoed, nonplused expression still glued to his face. Kagome's eyebrow twitched, annoyed. She knew he was thick headed, but this was ridiculous. 'He's just being mean, isn't he?'

"Do you want to go to the diner with me!" she snapped. "You know- out! For pie! Do you want me to spell it out for you?!"

Inu-Yasha, though he remained more or less lost, managed to crack a grin all the same. "Yes, do."

She glared. "I-t." With that, she stomped over, grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards the security gates, so frustrated (and, quite honestly, embarrassed) that she didn't even realize that his fingers had intertwined with hers.

x

Twaaaaaaaang. . .

Twaaaaaaaang. . .

Twaaaaaaaang. . .

Twaaaaa- - -

Kagome covered Inu-Yasha's fork with her palm, eye twitching. "Do you mind?" she grumbled, "That's really aggravating!"

The actor smiled, animalistic. "Why the hell do you think I'm doing it?"

. . . Point taken.

Kag sighed as she removed her fingers. 'I should have known.' Yep, Inu-Yasha. All the joy of a 'terrible-toddler' in the fun-fun body of a grown man. "Immature idiot," she mumbled quietly, forgetting for a moment that her 'fun-fun friend' had exceptional hearing.

"If I'm such an immature idiot," he suddenly drawled, eyes on his fork (which he had decided to keep playing with), "Why'd you invite me here?" The dark haired woman's face flushed as she straightened in her chair, watching him watch the utensil with the eyes of a deer in headlights.

Twaaaaaaaaang. . .

"Uh. . . " she began smartly, shifting through her best excuses and coming up with nothing.

Twaaaaaaaang. . .

"I mean- - -"

Twaaaaaaaaang. . .

Inu-Yasha continued, "- - - You hate me. I hate you. We'd dance on each other's hand-made graves. You wouldn't even fight with me today- why all of the sudden this change of heart?" He propped his feet up on the table as their waitress (who, thank goodness, wasn't the same girl they were blessed with last time), dropped off their plates of pecan pie with a dirty look down at the actor's boots. That is, it was a dirty look until she realized who's icky boots they were- then it was a secret though of 'I wonder if I could pick that gum off the bottom of his sole without him noticing?' But she was shooed away by an icy glance from both people at the table, who seemed to want to be left alone, before she could even move a highly-manicured nail. So much for that. She'd have to think up another way to get rich on e-bay.

. . . Maybe if she burnt the image of the Virgin Mary on grilled cheese? Hmmm. . .

She scooted off to talk to her chef friend about her idea, leaving Inu-Yasha and Kagome alone again- the whole restaurant their little battleground.

"It wasn't a change of heart," Kagome grumbled as Inu 'twanged' the fork repeatedly, still refusing to meet her eyes.

". . . Oh." And for some unknown reason, he allowed that answer to stand.

But even though they'd left it at that, the tension in the air was making it hard to breathe. Both decided they'd rather attack their pie instead of each other, however, so they ended up munching in silence, though it wasn't a comfortable one. It was so terrible that Kagome almost began to miss the insentient twanging of Inu-Yasha's fork.

Bad sign.

Then suddenly- and quite randomly- Inu-Yasha sighed, dropping his fork on top of his half-eaten pastry and running his hands over his face and through his hair, seemingly torn. Kag watched him quietly, only picking at her own food. ". . . What?" she finally managed to ask, voice strained.

The actor blew out his cheeks, lacing his fingers together and leaning his face against them, glancing at the woman before him over the backs of his hands. ". . . What happened?" he inquired, golden eyes full of something. . . rare. Kagome blinked, unsure, before putting on another emotional guise.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she sniffed haughtily, pushing a few nuts to the corner of her plate. Inu-Yasha was not the patient type, however, and didn't feel like beating around the bush on this topic. At least, that was what Kag gathered when her grabbed her hand mid-movement, clutching it tightly with his own.

"What happened between us?" he clarified, steely gaze making the actress want to wiggle and turn away. But she didn't, which surprised her slightly- instead keeping the eye contact with a flare of indignation.

"Keh," she all but spat, lip curling. "That's a stupid question."

Ripping herself away, she barley had a chance to rub her sore wrist before she heard his growl, glancing up to stare into Inu's annoyed features. "No, it's not," he replied forcefully, getting to his feet with a bang of his fist. "I still don't have a fucking clue! One day we were the best of buddies, the next you're telling me to never speak to you again! What the hell happened?!"

Kagome sneered as the older man towered over her, bangs shadowing his face. "What do you mean?!" she hissed menacingly, standing as well. "You DID it! I heard you- I heard what you told everyone!"

"What did I say?!" Inu-Yasha choked, as if trying to swallow the irony. "YOU were the one that started all of this!" Kagome was not entertained by this notion, however.

"Don't you dare give me that!" she growled, hands clenching around her butter knife as if it were the most deadly of weapons. Not that she began wielding like a sword it or anything- that might look a bit suspicious. All the same, Inu cast her hand a warily look of mild fury. "Don't you DARE! I can't believe you! God, I don't know why I even try!"

"Feh! Like you try at all," the actor snorted tartly, crossing his arms as he turned his side towards his co-star. "You just give up or chicken out."

"Oh yeah?" Kagome challenged, waving her hands wildly (after putting down the knife, of course). "I didn't back down in asking you out tonight, did I? See?! What do you call that?!"

The hanyou narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure," he replied suspiciously, glaring down his nose at her "Perhaps a ploy to kill me with a butter knife and make it look like an accident?"

. . . Oh yeah, that was it.

But though her flat look said it all, she took the bait anyway. "One," she began dryly, holding up a finger as if he couldn't understand the word, "if I was to kill you, I'd have done it a lot sooner. And not with a butter knife. I'm not that cruel."

He muttered something under his breath that sounded quite a bit like 'Wanna bet?', but Kagome decided to let it slide. For now.

"Secondly," she continued frostily, holding up a second finger, "This wasn't any sort of ploy! I only- I. . .

I only wanted to apologize for overreacting at the Kikyo's Kiss thing!"

Inu's eyes widened.

"Oh HO!"

"!" Kagome faulted at his sudden smirk and astounding amount of interest in her. Her fingers wilted at the sight and she began to blink stupidly as he rounded upon her, victorious. "So you finally realized the difference between an acting kiss and the real thing?" he practically purred, very much amused at her floundering expression. "About time, bitch. I was getting a little worried about what was going on through your mind when we had to do that sort of crap."

Vein throb.

"OOOOO- PARDON ME," Kag spat, eyes narrowing furiously. "Some of us aren't as easy as others! Some of us don't kiss every scantly clad body we see! Some of us haven't been kissed since HIGH SCHOOL"

"Mm?" Inu rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "And that's supposed to be my fault?" he questioned coldly, examining his claws with a yawn. The fire in her eyes jumped a few hundred degrees.

"I'm not even going to justify that with an ANSWER," she grounded out, though she knew that by saying that she might as well have just said 'yes'. "Perhaps it's that some of us forget, all right?!" With that, she turned to storm out of the booth, through the door, and towards her house.

. . . Well, that was the plan, anyway.

As it was, Inu-Yasha had different ideas.

With an impatient sigh, the hanyou roughly grabbed her arm, yanking it practically out of the socket as he stepped out of the booth and into the little hall between tables, pulling her next to him. Actually, 'next to him' didn't quite give what he did justice. He practically squished their bodies together, wrapping his hands tightly around her upper arms to keep her from fleeing. She did try to wiggle, but his glare made her attempts a little less wild then they might have been otherwise.

"Idiot," he breathed icily, glaring down into her bright red face- though now it wasn't so much from anger as it was from. . . other emotions. "Do I have to teach you everything? THIS is an acting kiss."

Tugging her unceremoniously forward, the half demon pressed his lips rather tightly to her own, so their faces were squashed stiffly together. There was little response on either side, though when acting they generally tended to fake that. It wasn't that hard with practice, but it never got any more comfortable.

After what seemed a small eternity but was probably only a few moments, Inu-Yasha pulled away- leaving Kagome with the familiar dullness that plagued her after every other identical experience. They were numerous in quantity, but not much in quality. Great, now she was getting all depressed and nostal- - - No! She was not getting nostalgic! And- wait- she can't get depressed! She had to stay mad! She couldn't be mad and depressed. . .

By then, however, her eyes- despite her best attempts to continue looking strong and defiant- had drooped slightly, in addition to her chin and her gaze. Not that she had really noticed- - -

Until Inu's taloned fingers gently lifted her face towards his again- his expression blank, but his eyes. . . oddly warm. Like tea, maybe. And sugar cookies. She blushed, eyes widening as her heart leapt into her throat. She hadn't seen those amber pools like that since. . . since. . . since. . .

"And this," he whispered, head already slowly dipping down as his hands glided fluidly towards the small of her back, pulling her gently closer, "is a real one."

This time when their lips met there was an odd spark- wasn't that what they called chemistry? The slightly humorous thought crossed Kagome's mind but fled in a rush of emotions and dizziness when she felt him deepen the embrace, allowing his tongue to glide erotically across her's as she instinctively opened her mouth to him. Her surprised and wide azure orbs fluttered shut as her own arms inched their way towards his neck, wrapping tentatively around him. He responded to this with a small nip on the lower lip- the kind that used to make her purr- as he slowly began pulling away again, leaving both silently panting for air.

If her face had been hot before, it was aflame now. And she seemed to have lost her voice. . .

Literally.

His self-centered smirk grew as he watched her mouth like a fish, though his cruel amusement did nothing to hide the evident blush on his cheeks. "See the difference?" he inquired cockily, carefully detaching himself from the actress, tossing his hair over his shoulder. But before she could answer he had already begun his walk towards the door, leaving her completely spell bound and dumbstruck- and the only person at the table to take the check. Ah, revenge was sweet.

Inu frowned slightly as a blast of frigid wind blasted across his face. Speaking of sweet. . . that pie was really sweet. (Or was that Kagome's li- - - No! Don't think about it anymore than you hav- - -! Ah, dammit!) Growling softly, the half-demon decided against going straight home. Instead, he'd go to Onigumo's for a cold drink. Though, he admitted to himself grudgingly, it was probably a cold shower that he needed more.

"Double dammit."

x

All right, that's all for now! Forgive any grammar/spelling mistakes, I didn't have a lot of time to edit. ::sweatdrop:: I hope you enjoyed all the same. Please review! XD

Ja ne!