"I probably won't see him until fall break is over. It really doesn't matter, Ino.", Temari tried to justify.
"It does matter! You need a partner for the haunted house.", Ino explained.
"No, I don't. You just want me to have one. We're going in a big group anyways. What does it matter?", Temari huffed, taking her shoes off and slumping herself onto their couch, thankful all her exams are finished with.
"Because then it will be an even number and everyone will have a pair.", Ino whined, "Look, Hinata has Naruto, TenTen has Neji, And Sakura has Sasuke!"
"Okay? And? Kiba, Shino, and Lee aren't bringing anyone."
"Actually... They are. They told me the other night they were all bringing girls they met from a party they went to a while ago."
Temari groaned and sat up, "Okay, but what about you and I? We are a pair.", she said pointing between them urgently to get her point across.
Ino rubbed the side of her arm sheepishly, "I'd love to, but I told this cute boy in my art class he could join us because he said he's never celebrated Halloween before."
Temari slumped back into the couch, "I hate you. I'm not inviting that kid. We aren't on that type of basis."
Ino sighed and brushed her bangs back, "How about I invite my other friend then? The one I'm always saying you would be perfect for?"
Temari rolled her eyes and headed to her room, "Do what you want, but I'm not inviting anyone. I'd rather be alone then invite a kid I just met."
"Temari, hurry!", Ino shouted from their dorm living room.
Temari came out of their shared room, almost twisting her ankle, "Damn, Ino. I hate heels, do I really have to-", her eye's caught on a figure she found familiar.
He was leaned against the wall, black t-shirt with sleeves that hugged tightly around his biceps, dark blue ripped jeans were cuffed to show his black converse high tops. His usual ponytailed dark brown hair was down and slicked back. Instead of wearing his black leather jacket like the rest of the guys of the group, he carelessly slung it over his shoulder, holding it lazily with his left hand. He fiddled with an unlit cigarette in his mouth as his eyes idly worked their way upwards from the ground through the group and towards the commotion which was her.
Temari stiffened at the eye contact and he smirked mischievously, crossing his arms and leaning more of his back onto the wall.
Temari's eyes grew wide and they narrowed angrily at the boy. She yanked her roommate in her room and shut the door quickly behind them, "What the hell, Ino! Why is HE here?"
"Who?!", Ino asked, seriously confused.
Temari creaked the door open and pointed towards the man who was now surrounded by Shino, Kiba, and Neji, talking as if they knew each other for years, "Him! That one in the middle, there."
Ino peaked her head underneath Temari's to get a view of her complaint, "That's the guy I said I was trying to hook you up with!", Ino scream-whispered, and Temari closed the door again.
"Are you kidding me? That's my class rival. He's the guy I said I didn't want to invite!", Temari face palmed, "There's no way I'm doing this. I'm staying home. I can't even walk in these pieces of trash!", she exclaimed frustrated, kicking off her heels that matched Ino's.
Ino decided she wanted everyone to dress up in greaser outfits for Halloween. Meaning the guys of the group dressed in tight t-shirts, jeans, converse, and black leather jackets. While the girls had black skin-tight leather pants, a black crop top with sleeves that went off the shoulders, and red heels.
"Obviously you two are meant for each other then! He's already here and it would be mean if you left him alone. I'll even let you put some high-top converse on so you can stop complaining and not make a fool of yourself, but be out there in five minutes or I'm sending him in after you.", Ino shoved the door shut behind her and Temari paced the room.
She sat on the bed putting socks on and looked at her heels one last time, picking them up to put them away. The door creaked open and Temari yelled, "I'm going okay?! It hasn't even been five minutes yet!", she said frustrated, but the company wasn't Ino.
"Sorry to interrupt, did you two get in a fight?", Shikamaru asked, as he gently closed the door behind him.
Temari puffed her cheeks at him and continued to her closet to find her red converse, "No...", she lamely said, "Just a small disagreement."
Shikamaru sat on her bed as he watched her rummage through her closet.
"Did you know Ino was asking you to be here as my partner?", she questioned, not daring to look at him.
"I did not. I didn't even know you were her roommate until just now actually.", he leaned back nonchalantly on his hands, scouting the room of this mysterious unknown girl, "So, you're the girl she keeps trying to hook me up with?"
Temari tensed and looked at him annoyed, "She's been bugging you about that too?"
She finally found her shoes and sat next to him on the bed, plopping her shoes on the ground.
He stopped his interrogation of the room and looked at her worried, "You seem irritated. Can I ask why?"
"You just-", Temari growled, but stopped herself and took a deep breath, "There's really no reason I should be...", she said as she shoved her last shoe on and stood up with a sigh of gratitude towards her flat-footed shoes.
"It was the heels, wasn't it?", Shikamaru laughed.
Temari chuckled along, "I think that was my only issue.", she admitted as she looked up at him with a smiled, "To be honest, I wasn't too excited to see you here, but I think I was just worried I'd fall on my face in front of you."
Shikamaru pushed himself off the bed, "The converse suit you better anyway, but I would've thoroughly enjoyed you tripping over yourself all night."
Temari scowled and shoved him playfully, "Shut it, Nara."
"It's Shikamaru, and why does my name sound like an insult when it comes out of your mouth?"
"I'm going to call you Nara no matter how many times you correct me. And because it's meant to be that way. If I was planning to be nice with you, I'd probably use a sweet word."
Shikamaru followed her to the door, "Oh, like what?"
"Crybaby.", she smirked as she exited the room.
He scoffed, "That's right, I didn't think anything sweet could ever leave your lips."
"Seems like you two are getting along already?", Ino chirped.
"Oh, we're just ecstatic to be paired together, right Nara?", Temari unenthusiastically turned to her partner.
"Yeah, very ecstatic.", he lamely muttered.
Ino squealed and put her hands together excitedly, "You two are perfect for each other!"
The two frowned and tilted their heads in confusion. Temari was pretty sure their sarcastic personalities were going to murder one another. What Ino saw, she would never understand.
They all piled into vans that Ino rented for the night to a haunted house then a party afterwards. Temari scooted in first and Shikamaru slid in second next to her as they were shoved closer due to everyone else piling in.
Temari made a satisfied hum sound that made Shikamaru eye her curiously.
"What?"
Temari blushed and then laughed amused, "I wasn't expecting someone as lazy as you to smell good, or clean up so nicely for that matter.", she teased.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "...thank you? I think?"
"Temari, where is your red lipstick?", Ino scolded in disappointment.
Temari rubbed the back of her head, "Oh, you know what? I think I left it at home...", she sheepishly lied.
Ino perked up, "No worries! You can borrow mine."
"No, that's okay. I don't really like sharing makeup.",cTemari lied again.
Ino raised an unnerving eyebrow, "Temari."
Temari deadpanned, "Ino I look bad in red lipstick, I'm not doing it."
"You already got out of the heels, you have to at least do this."
Temari and Ino were in a standoff of glares.
"The bet.", Ino sang sung in a high pitch voice, waving the lipstick teasingly.
Temari snatched the lipstick from Ino who was in the front seat.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the two, "What bet."
Temari pointed a finger at Ino, "Don't."
Ino chuckled and continued anyways, "She was planning to stay home for Halloween and wouldn't budge on coming out with us, so we made a bet. Temari always whines about her ranking in her classes and how she is second in two of them. I told her if she could get her rank up on her last test for her two classes then she could stay home, but that obviously didn't happen."
Temari crossed her arms and sunk into her seat, "I was one point away this time!"
"Two on your other test.", Ino corrected.
Shikamaru nudged her shoulder playfully, "You're always two points away."
Temari glared and Shikamaru laughed.
"Lipstick now.", Ino demanded and Temari sighed as she sat up to do so.
"That still doesn't explain why she has to do what you say.", Shikamaru added as he watched the girl next to him apply the red makeup.
"It was in the bet details as well. She has to dress how I want, go where I want, and do as I want."
"Why would you accept such a bet if you always lose to me?"
"Shut it, Nara. I really thought I had you this time.", she pouted as she applied one last coat.
Shikamaru laughed, "No matter how much you study, you won't pass me."
Temari narrowed her eyes and pointed the red stick at him, "Careful, or you'll earn a red line across your face."
Shikamaru put two hands up and leaned away, "No thanks."
"Aw that would be so cute, Temari. Good idea!"
The two looked at each other then looked back at Ino in the front seat, "What?", they asked in unison.
"Temari, give him a kiss on his cheek. It would look so cute with your costumes if he had a lipstick mark."
Temari's eyes went wide and she shut the cap to the lipstick, anxiously handing it back to Ino, "I am NOT doing that, Ino."
Ino held out the lipstick one more time with a smirk, "Oh, I think you are."
Temari gave her a pleading look, but Ino stayed stern on her devilish gaze, knowing there was more to their bet she had over her.
Temari reluctantly took the lipstick back and looked sorrowful at the boy next to her.
The boy looked at her in question, "You aren't actually going to mark me with that thing are you."
She looked at the stick, "Well...", she said in a high-pitched tone, "Not with this... no?"
He raised an eyebrow at her with wide eyes as he watched her apply a new wet coat to her lips, "I'm confused, what do you mean.?"
Temari brought her hands up to steady his face, "Just don't move, okay?", she said in a sorry voice as she leaned closer into him.
Shikamaru watched as her teal eyes began to slowly close as her supple lips inched dangerously closer. He could feel her breath on his lips and his eyes cringed shut. Last minute, Temari inched her face to her right and pressed her lips against his cheek, lightly pulling back.
She opened her eyes to see a big red outline of her lips stained on his cheek. She handed the stick back to Ino, "Happy?", she sighed sarcastically.
Ino gladly took the lipstick and shoved it back in her purse, "Precisely.", she smiled then turned back around.
Shikamaru blinked a couple times then went to touch the place her lips touched, but Temari swiftly grabbed his hand, "Don't touch it or it will smear and I'll have to do it again.", she whispered frantically.
Shikamaru smirked teasingly, "Your point?"
Temari's eyes narrowed and she ripped her hand away from his to cross her arms, "So you're on her side then, huh?"
Shikamaru put his hand down to not mess the mark up and nudged her arm playfully again, "Do I at least look cool?"
Temari snickered and dropped her defensive stance. She looked sincerely at him and smudged at the bottom part of the marking to clean it up, "Yeah, I guess so. But you're still a big loser in my eyes.", she joked.
The van stopped and the gang filed out.
Once Shikamaru stepped out of the van he swung his leather jacket on and tucked his cigarette behind his ear.
He watched the entrance of the vans open doors as he waited for his partner. As she stepped out of the van she shivered with the coolness of the night and rubbed her arms to warm the shiver away.
Shikamaru let out a loud groan when she approached.
Temari raised an unsatisfied eyebrow, "What was that for?"
Shikamaru started taking his jacket off of his shoulders, "You're so troublesome. I just put my jacket on."
"N-No it's fine, really! I didn't ask for it, you big crybaby."
Shikamaru finished taking off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, "I don't care, you're taking it."
"I don't need it.", she insisted as she shivered again.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Then you can hold it for me. I don't want to wear it right now anyway, troublesome.", he said as he shoved his hands in his pant pockets and walked towards the rest of their friends.
Temari blushed then caught up to him and the rest of the group.