Again, I do not own Naruto or any brand names I mention in this story.

CHAPTER 7 - Damn Dresses

Temari woke up early that Saturday morning on a 5 AM. She blindly reached for her phone, looking to see the notifications she had gotten. Other than seeing Kankuro sending countless memes in the family group chat (which she has muted by now), she saw that she had gotten added to a group chat with Ten Ten and a bunch of unknown numbers. After scrolling through, she realized that Ten Ten had added her to a group chat with the guys and her roommates. She smiled to herself, feeling finally accepted.

She got up, opening her closet as she thought to herself that maybe she should decide to look cute today. As she scrolled through her closet, she finally decided to wear a cami dress that stopped at around a little longer than her knees but not reaching her ankles, with vertical white and bright yellow colored stripes. She then chose to wear tan buckle sandals to match. Laying her clothes out, she went into the bathroom and showered.

As she stepped in the shower, she grabbed her favorite vanilla scented shampoo and gently scrubbed her hair. After, she would let the soap run and turned off the water as she lathered on a good size of conditioner at the ends of her hair. While she let the conditioner moisturize her blonde locks, she grabbed a wash cloth and put a large amount of rose scented body wash on it, and scrubbed everywhere on her body. She would then rinse, sticking an arm out of the shower to grab her bath robe and a towel to dry her hair. Putting on her house slippers, she would enter her room, and put on her undergarments and put on some deodorant until her armpits.

Satisfyingly, she would put on the dress. It fit her right and snug, then grabbing a cheap but beautiful smelling body spray and sprayed a generous amount all over her body. While waiting for her hair to dry, she would see what would be going on on her phone, seeing she had received several text messages from Ten Ten.

'Hey Temari, we're going to the mall today, you wanna come with?'

'I just licked a raccoon's ass.'

'THAT WASN'T ME TEMARI THAT WAS NARUTO'S DUMBASS'

'Anyway, just send me the address, I'll pick you up in an hour if you want to come.'

Temari laughs at the messages, she manifests that today was going to be a good day. She texted back, saying that she would see her then, as well as the address. She then widened her eyes, seeing that she had sent a message that could possibly lead her to see...

"No," she told herself. "I'm going to have fun today."

After some time, her hair was now dried. She sat in front of her mirror, bundling her hair into a usual four pigtails. Considering she came from Suna, it was crucial for her to put on a good amount of sunscreen. The minute she was done applying, she grabbed a large tote bag, putting in her apartment keys, some sunglasses, a water bottle, chapstick, lipgloss, her wallet with a good sum of money, and lastly the bottle of sunscreen she had put unsparingly put on all over herself. She looked down at her phone, seeing that Ten Ten had arrived in front of the building. Temari grabbed her large, white, sunhat and swung the bag over her shoulders.

As Temari stepped outside, she waited in the lobby and peeped outside. It was extra sunny that day, in which she would dig in her bag for the pair of sunglasses she packed. She put on the black shades, stepping outside and feeling protected.

Meanwhile, in the car, Ino was cut off mid-sentence as Sakura commented on Temari's appearance.

"Damn, she looks good." Sakura stared. "She might even look better than Ino on a mall day, hah!"

Ino punched Sakura on the shoulder, before turning and regretting the reaction. "Okay.. she does look good. She's one of the few people I actually know that can pull off vertical stripes!"

"Yeah, plus the sunglasses, no homo, but she's gorgeous." Ten Ten said.

Hinata nodded, leaning back on passenger seat. "S-She would get a lot of boys."

"Hehe. Shikamaru~" They all hummed, quickly cutting off the note as Temari pulled the handle of the door that was a part of Ten Ten's Mercedes GLC.

Temari politely sat herself next to Sakura who was in the middle, placing her bag down, taking off her sunglasses and hat as she placed them on her lap. "Sorry if I wore such an obnoxious hat, I'm used to being protected from the sun considering I am from Suna."

Sakura smiled at her new friend. "It's no worries Temari, it sure is handy to have."

"Right... where'd you get your dress?" Ino grinned.

Temari blinked, actually not recognizing where she had gotten her dress from. "I'll check the tag later, and send you a picture."

Ino squealed, "I hope wherever it's from there are a lot more choices! It looks so good on you."

"Thanks hun."

Temari then buckled her seatbelt. Nervously watching out the window, thinking what if she looked a little too extra? What if she made it obvious she had the hots for Shikamaru? And how that they may think she was trying too hard to impress him? Oh, worries flooded her brain. Although it was a good thing she didn't look bad, she didn't want to look like she tried to hard.

'Either way, who knew if he was even showing up, Temari? Stop worrying' She thought to herself.

Boy, did she thought wrong.

As the girls pulled up into the mall's middle-floor parking lot, she saw a familiar black jeep park right across from them. Temari gulped, seeing Shikamaru in the driver's seat, Sasuke in the passenger, and Neji, Kiba, and Naruto in the back. As the girls unbuckled their seatbelts, Temari did the same, and before opening the door she would put on her hat and sunglasses.

"Hey, you guys!" Ten Ten waved to them, in which they waved back. "Fun car ride?" She asked.

"Yeah sure, try to be in a car with Naruto for fifteen minutes." Sasuke commented, causing Ten Ten to laugh.

Naruto fumed. "HEY! WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Nothing, loser."

As the two bickered, Temari stood beside Hinata while the two groups began to emerge. After standing in the parking lot for a good amount of time, just to greet each other, they started to walk as a group to the entrance of the mall. Naruto then said something as he finally noticed Temari.

"WOAH! Y-YOU LOOK HOT!" Naruto shouted out towards Temari. She would then take off her sunhat and glasses, smiling at Naruto.

"Thanks, Naruto." She told him. She didn't really want to compliment him back, knowing that Hinata had the hots for him and that would just be breaking girl code.

Shikamaru glanced at Temari, her noticing but did not turn to face him. He thought to himself, 'damn, she really does look good.'

'Why is he staring at me like that,' she thought. 'Does he not like the way I look?'

"Alright," Ten Ten announced, turning to the group as they naturally formed a circle. "Neji, Kiba, Hinata, and I are gonna go look at sports equipment, any of you guys want to come with?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Nah, we're gonna go see the new Galaxy Art's movie, so we'll catch up on you guys in about two hours." Sasuke told them, waving his hand away as if he was shooing them.

Sakura grimaced. "Would love to go with you Sasuke, but I am not sitting down in a dark movie theater for two hours straight with Naruto."

"Understandable, see you later." He would plant a small kiss on Sakura's forehead, before dragging away the whiny Naruto.

"Okay... That was weird." Ten Ten spoke then smiled at Temari and Shikamaru. "What about you two?"

Shikamaru scratched his nape, turning to Temari. "Well I-"

"OH NO!" Ino spoke in a lofty manner, pulling Temari by the wrist. "Temari is coming with me and Sakura to go shopping, she clearly has taste! Shikamaru, you can come hold our bags."

Ten Ten looked at the three individuals behind her, before looking at Shikamaru.

"W-What?" He shockingly said, then groaned. "How did I end up being the servant on this specific mall day?"

As the groups split apart, the four entered a casual store. While Sakura and Ino browsed, Temari and Shikamaru sat on a little seat near a pillar mirror.

"So," she began. "Looks like you're usually the one being tagged around."

Shikamaru smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, well it's a drag, but I'm not one that usually says no to the girl."

"Hm," Temari noised. "By the way you handle Kin, it's not hard to tell."

"Girls are too eager, I'd rather do online school than deal with her mess for the rest of my high school years."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Can't you afford it? After being here for only, what? A couple weeks? I can tell you're all filthy rich."

The pineapple head yawned, placing his head into his hand. "I guess you can say that, but you have to remember if it's the parents that control the coin, then we got no control on what they want to use it for." He acknowledged, then placed his hands out in explanation."Besides, my mom said I'd be lacking of 'social value' or whatever that means if I don't get out of bed all day."

"So what I'm hearing is that it's a mom problem, not the money." She briefed.

"Mhm." He hummed. "Say, you don't dress as differently as Ino, why aren't you shopping?"

Temari looked away. "I'm on a budget."

"Oh." Shikamaru said. He regretted asking. He knew where she came from, and regulars from Suna don't usually have a lot of money to begin with. Glancing at her, he noticed she looked the opposite direction.

'Did I get her in a bad mood? Damn it, I shouldn't have asked that.' Shikamaru thought to himself, feeling stupid for once.

"Hey! How's this look?" Ino stood in front of them, circling around as she showed them what she wore; a red sun dress.

Shikamaru stared blankly, not amused. "It's literally the same stuff you always wear except in a different color."

Ino glared at him. "SHUT UP SHIKAMARU! HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? I WAS ASKING TEMARI!"

Temari folded her hands on top of her crossed legs. "I think it looks great, Ino."

Ino squealed, making Shikamaru cover his ears lightly. "Thanks! Sakura is still in the fitting rooms, and she didn't really like this dress, but I bet you'd look amazing in this, Temari! Come try it on!"

Temari blushed. "I don't think-" Ino would then pull her up, ignoring her denial.

A few minutes have passed, and Sakura and Shikamaru sat on the small seat while Ino stood, eagerly waiting for Temari. She would knock on the fitting room door.

"Hey! Is everything okay in there?"

Temari looked at herself in the mirror. "Don't you think this is a little too revealing?!"

"No! Not at all! Come out!"

The sand blonde looked at the mirror. The red dress was flow-free at the bottom, ending at around her knees but was slightly longer towards the back. The frontal of the dress was held by a mere string that was tied behind her neck, and it was a very narrow v-neck. She began to tie the string multiple times in order to prevent as much side-boob as possible, and she looked back to see that her butt, surprisingly looked good in the dress. She walked out, causing a squealing Ino, a wide eyed Shikamaru, and a jaw-dropping Sakura.

"Damn.. you look.." Shikamaru couldn't believe his eyes.

Sakura and Ino shouted, finishing Shikamaru's sentence. "HOT!"

Ino stood next to her, leading Temari to another mirror. "You HAVE to buy this dress!"

Temari smiled, looking down at the tag, to see a whopping $70 on the price tag.

"I don't think I can right now, it's as pricey as my most expensive piece of jewelry."

Ino frowned. "Oh, I see." Then thought of an idea. "SHIKAMARU! TAKE OUT YOUR WALLET!"

Shikamaru stood up, two arms up in question. "W-W-What?! Why me?"

Ino walked up to the boy, placing two sassy hands on waist. "You were the one who had the most surprised reaction seeing Temari in the dress." She pointed out. "And I am not going to let one of my fashion clients walk out this store empty handed!"

"Empty handed?!" Shikamaru exclaimed. "This isn't even your store!"

"I am NOT arguing here, Shikamaru!" She would then point a finger at him. "If this dress does not get bought by someone right now at this instant, you will be on my enemy list forever!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Fine." He gave in. "Temari go put your clothes back on and we'll-"

"She'll wear it for the rest of the day, just so if anyone compliments her, she can credit me!" Ino grinned brightly, pushing Temari to the front of the store along with Shikamaru.

The pair walked to the front of the store to the cashier lady. "Hello! Did you two find everything okay?"

Shikamaru and Temari nodded and smiled. "We'll be taking this dress she's wearing right now." Shikamaru pointed towards Temari with his thumb, still continuing to smile.

The cashier lady smiled widely, taking the scanner as Temari turned and raised her hips a bit so the tag could sensor. "Alrighty! Will you be paying with debit or credit?"

"Debit." Shikamaru told her, lightly throwing the card onto the counter.

"Okay, we also have a girlfriend's coupon of $10 off a purchase $50 or higher, are you two a couple?" The cashier asked.

The two looked at each other, before looking back at the kind lady. "Yes." Temari blurted out.

Shikamaru widened his eyes, taking a glimpse at Temari. He turned bright pink, while Temari also tried to hide her blush.

"I knew you two were! You two look great!" The cashier lady complimented them, again receiving awkward smiles. She looked down at her screen, reaching for Shikamaru's card. "Okay, your total is $63 dollars and 6 cents. Would you still like a bag for your clothes, miss?"

Temari nodded, still awkward about the whole thing. "Please."