Well, it has been quite a while, hm?

So here are my brand new problems (I know you will all come hunt me down and kill me):

a. I have successfully forgotten my inspiration. Now, I have a general idea of what is going on, but next time I really should write it down. I guess I'll either have to remember, or wing it!

b. I have a lot on my hands now, so the chances of me updating fast are very slim. And, unfortunately, I was planning to have this be the last chapter before the dinner. So for all you waiting to see the dress (which, I'm proud to say, I have remembered), you'll just have to wait a little bit longer. Besides, some of you will probably be horribly disappointed with what I have imagined, so this might actually be a good thing (y'know, ignorance is bliss?).

Oh, and I would like to respond to a few people who reviewed for my last chapter.

0milica0: thank you for your very enthusiastic review. It is really great to know you loved the last chapter, because I personally did as well.

pinkprincess0210: Yes! My wonderful comebacks were appreciated by someone!

Mari Santoro: Yes, it is beginning to look like I'm just stringing you all along just to find out the dinner is cancelled. NO! I SWEAR THAT IS NOT WHAT I'M DOING! Although….Just Kidding! And yeah, my notes are quite funny aren't they? Ha ha, I'm so modest….but seriously, I'm glad you like them.

This is for sasusakuloverforever3 as well as Mari Santoro: Yes, "I love you" are three very complicated words. If you are not sure how the person you are saying them to will respond, then it might be better not to say them. However, what if you really do mean it? Then would you say it? Poor Sakura….and poor Sasuke! How does one respond to their girlfriend saying "I love you" to them?

Cardboard: We can only hope that they meet that fate in the end….

RedMapleLeaf (yes, I know you reviewed chapter 4): I see your point. Sasuke does seem out of character, and that is one thing I was struggling with. I wanted to make him cold, but then it would be harder to make this a romantic dramady (comedy and drama, for those who didn't know) if he pretty much ignored Sakura swooning at him. Then again, Sakura is a little out of character too! At first she wasn't obsessed with Sasuke, she just wanted him GONE! So I guess my story is just one screwed up piece of fiction!

Oh, and you'll see the Sasuke you know….without the "cool".

And without further ado……

Sasuke and Sakura

Sasuke was all better.

Well, sort of.

Physically he was no longer sick. A 24-hour bug that was all he had had. However, Sasuke did not feel like going to school the next day.

Or any day, for that matter.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. Sakura had said she loved him, but was that something he could simply brush off? Had she meant it? Sasuke groaned: what was he going to do?

Itachi poked his head into the room.

"Hey, Sasuke!" he said. "You're not sick, so get your lazy ass up! Don't you have to pick up Sakura?"

Sasuke winced at the sound of his girlfriend's name. He was lying down on his bed, but he slowly heaved himself up into a sitting position, his feet resting of the floor. He buried his head in his hands.

"What am I gonna do?" he moaned to no one in particular. But, since Itachi was there, he answered.

"About what?" Itachi asked. "I thought you were crazy about Sakura."

Sasuke's head snapped up. "I never said that!" he yelled. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"So what's the big deal? If you don't like her, get rid of her." he said simply, shrugging his shoulders. Sasuke looked horrified.

"I don't not like her! I do! But…oh it's complicated!" he finished.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Suuuure." He walked over and pulled up Sasuke's desk chair. He sat in front of his brother. "Look, if you like her, stay with her. If you don't, there is no use torturing yourself, and it will only end up hurting her in the end as well." Itachi stated simply.

"Here's a question," Sasuke spat, annoyed now at his brother's apathetical attitude, "what if I really like Sakura, but I don't want to face her because just yesterday she told me she loved me? Hmmm? Got any answers Itachi?"

Itachi paused. "Do you still like her?" he asked.

"I—." Sasuke couldn't answer. He hadn't thought about whether or not he still liked Sakura, he was only focused on how humiliating it would be to see her after what she had said.

"Sasuke, if you want to have a girlfriend you have to stop being selfish." Itachi said. Sasuke looked up, surprised. "You think it will be hard for you to face Sakura, just think about how she must be feeling! And besides, if you still like her there is really no reason for you to not want to see her! I mean, obviously she likes you." Itachi's mouth twitched at this last. He got up from the chair and left Sasuke to think about this.

After a few minutes, Sasuke stood, his mind made up. He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

……………………….

Sakura was pacing nervously inside of her house. She glanced at the clock once….twice….three times, each time growing more and more worried.

She hadn't decided to walk to school, but as the minutes ticked by she wondered if that was a stupid decision.

"Oh, I was stupid to think he would still want to be with me!" Sakura cried to herself. "Way to go, Sakura! Completely screwing up your relationship with Sasuke! I'm such an idiot!"

She stole a look at the clock one last time: if she left now, she would barely make it to school on time.

How could you even think he would want to drive you anymore?

I don't know….I thought that maybe….

He loved you back?

I guess I really am an idiot.

Sakura locked the door behind her. Even though she didn't have time to dawdle, she walked slowly down the sidewalk, a glimmer of hope still remaining.

She heard a car horn and spun around, her heart racing. But it was only an angry driver honking at a person who had just cut him off. Sakura sighed.

That settles it; I'm an idiot for sure.

Sakura walked dejectedly down the street: head down, pace slow. She heard another car horn, and thought angrily to herself that the driver should just accept the fact that other people are rude enough to cut them off and move on with their lives.

The car horn became louder, and Sakura grew angrier.

Finally, she heard a shout from a driver and spun around, ready to curse the man out if she really had to.

To her surprise, Sasuke was pulling up a few feet behind her and getting out of his car.

What the…?

"Hey, Sakura," called Sasuke, jogging ever so slightly to catch up to her, "Did you think I forgot about you or something?"

When he reached her, Sasuke put his arm around her waist and gave her a short kiss on her mouth. He pulled back and smiled at her, his arm still around her.

Now Sakura was really confused.

"Uh, I guess I just….thought you….forgot?" It came out as more of a question than a statement of fact.

Sasuke chuckled. "Now why would I forget you?" he asked, amused. He kissed her hair. "It's nice to know you have such confidence in my mental stability."

Sakura didn't even bother to answer, but instead changed the subject. "So, are you feeling well?" she asked politely.

Sasuke frowned. "I would feel a lot better if you would tell me what's wrong." he said.

Sakura was surprised. "Sasuke, nothings wrong!" she said.

"Sakura, I know you. You're not acting normal." Sasuke said, tilting her head back to look at her. "First, you don't wait for me to give you a ride. Then, you act all surprised when I finally catch you. And now, you're asking me if I feel better?" Sasuke's voice contained only a hint of disgust. "Where's my girlfriend, and who are you?"

Sakura was taken aback and hurt, but she didn't want to show it. Instead, she broke away from him and placed her hands on her hips. "Well sorry I care, Sasuke. Sorry I'm concerned about you. Maybe you would like it better if I never talked to you again!" she spat.

"What's with you?" demanded Sasuke. "Why are you being so defensive? I just want to know what's wrong!"

"Do you honestly not know?" cried Sakura. "Do you honestly not know a single reason why Iwould be acting so strange?"

Sasuke groaned. "Sakura, if this is about what you said on the phone…."

"Yes, it is about that Sasuke!" Sakura was close to tears now. "Don't you see that I'm upset about it?"

She paused in her tirade to really look at Sasuke. To her amazement, he looked hurt. No, even more than that. He looked….disappointed.

He thinks we don't like him anymore! He thinks we didn't mean what we said!

Well, did we?

…

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly. She placed a hand on Sasuke's arm, and he didn't move away. But he didn't look at her either.

"Sasuke I….I just."

"Sakura," He stopped her. "I don't care. I don't care what you said on the phone. I know this must be embarrassing for you, but can't you see that I don't care if you said that? I still like you, and I still want you to be my girlfriend." Sasuke finally looked at her, and Sakura saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth.

Sakura felt the tears welling up in her eyes spill over. She reached her arms out and Sasuke caught her in an embrace. "I'm sorry, Sasuke." she sobbed. "I do still want to be your girlfriend."

Sasuke stroked Sakura's hair. "Don't worry," he murmured. "I forgive you."

He kissed the top of her head and took her hand. "Now come on, we have to get to school."

Sakura wiped the tears off of her face and followed Sasuke into his car. He kissed her once more before starting the engine and speeding down the road.

Naruto and Hinata

Hinata was staring nervously at her blond boyfriend.

Ever since Sakura had admitted that she loved Sasuke, she had been wondering if she felt the same way about Naruto. And, more importantly, if he felt that way about her.

Logically, she had made a list of Naruto's pros and cons.

PROS

1. He was cute

2. He was funny

3. He was nice

4. He wasn't an idiot

5. He always supported her

6. He never made fun of her

All in all, the list of his pros stretched on for 4 and a half pages. His cons, on the other hand….

CONS

1.

2.

3.

4.

She couldn't think of one thing wrong with Naruto. She thought he was perfect, absolutely perfect. Maybe she did love him….

But before she knew for sure, she would have to make sure he felt the same about her.

……………………………

Naruto was sitting in front of the school, eating ramen out of a Styrofoam cup. When Hinata made up her mind to talk to him, she automatically became nervous. She could feel her face turning red and her hand s begin to sweat.

I can't do this….I can't! The voice inside of her head that usually made her chicken out was acting up again. But then….

Don't think that way, Hinata! You can do this!

What the…? Who are you?

I'm the voice that makes you confident! Lately I haven't been doing my job very well, but it's time for me to start working!

And your point is…?

My point is that Hinata is going to go over there and ask Naruto how he feels about her!

All of a sudden, Hinata felt sure of what she wanted to do. Her face no longer felt flushed, her hands were dry, and she was not scared.

She marched right up to Naruto.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto said, putting down his ramen and standing up to greet her. "How's it going?" He asked after kidding her lightly on the chook.

And all that confidence disappeared.

"N-Naruto?" she stammered quietly.

"Yeah, Hinata?"

"C-c-could I a-ask you s-s-s-someth-thing?"

"Fire away!" he said with a big grin.

Come on! Just ask him!

No!!!!! He'll just say no! Walk away now and you can still save face!

Are you going to live all your life as a coward?!

Yes, actually, that was the plan!

…

What?

You are so pathetic….

Hey!

Well it's true! Here's a girl who gets frightened just thinking about considering maybe trying to possibly look at her boyfriend!

Well if you put it that way….but maybe we like the way we are!

Really? Do you actually enjoy living every moment in fear and uncertainty?

No….

Then don't! Hinata, ASK HIM!

"Naruto, how do you feel about me?" Hinata demanded.

Naruto blinked, surprised.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What I mean is," Hinata took a deep breath; "well….let's say someone…..better wanted to go out with you. Would you dump me for her?"

"Hinata," Naruto said, "there's no one better than you! I would never leave you, for anyone!" He kissed her right on the lips. "You're perfect for me."

It took all of Hinata's willpower not to faint, not now. It was too perfect a moment for her to miss.

Neji and TenTen

It wasn't that TenTen didn't have the guts to ask Neji how he felt about her, it was just that she didn't know how he would respond.

Though her tough exterior hid this, TenTen was actually a very emotional person. She already knew she loved Neji: she always wanted to spend every moment with him, and was usually thinking about him when he wasn't near her.

What she did not know was if he loved her.

Neji was not exactly…emotional. He never really told her how he felt about anything; though she knew he cared about her. Their relationship wasn't bad or anything; it just didn't involve many heartfelt talks.

And that was why she had no idea what to expect.

"How should I tell him?" TenTen wondered aloud while walking to meet Neji by his locker. "Should I be straightforward, or more subtle?"

TenTen always needed a battle plan. If she went in unprepared, who knew what she would start saying? One thing was for sure, it would be embarrassing and she would never be able to show her face ever again!

TenTen stopped before she turned the corner to Neji's locker. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and breathing slowly.

"Okay, okay" she said to herself. "You can do this, TenTen! Just go up to Neji and tell him…no, wait! Go up to him and ask him….if…..if…"

"Ask me what?" came Neji's voice.

TenTen's eyes flew open. She nearly screamed, but managed to calm herself.

Well, almost.

"Oh, hey Neji! Nice day isn't it?" she gave a feeble, fake laugh.

"Uh, sure." said Neji.

"Um, yeah, so….you know." TenTen said weakly. Neji raised an eyebrow: what was going on?

"Is everything okay?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Wha—? Oh, yeah, everything's fine!" TenTen lied. Neji caught on.

"TenTen, why are you so nervous? You know you can tell me anything." He said, putting a reassuring hand on TenTen's shoulder.

TenTen had only one option. She was not ready for this talk, but she had to have it.

She would have to tell him everything.

I'm sorry Sakura, please forgive me.

"Neji…." she began. He held up a hand.

"TenTen, I can tell you right now, you don't want to tell me anything." Neji said. "I can see that you were just about to tell me something you shouldn't have, and I don't want you to have that on your conscience."

"What?" said TenTen, surprised.

"TenTen," Neji sighed. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but didn't know how."

TenTen had no idea what was going on, but decided to roll with it.

"Yes, Neji?" she said softly.

Neji took her hands. "TenTen, I know I'm not the most expressive person in the world, but I really want you to know how I feel right now."

WTF?!?!!? Did he have an epiphany or something? Not that I'm complaining….

"TenTen, you are the most special person in my life, and I never want anything to happen that would separate us….ever." Neji's brilliant white eyes locked on TenTen's soft amber ones.

"Oh Neji, I'm so glad you said that!" cried TenTen, locking her arms around her boyfriend. "I fell the same way!"

When she leaned back, she saw he looked relieved.

"Great to hear it." he said. "Now we had better get to class." He kissed her once and took her hand, leading her down the hall to their homeroom.

Shikamaru and Ino

Ino was sitting next to Shikamaru, the look of someone contemplating a serious decision on her face.

Shikamaru, for his part, was leaning back in his chair, feet up on his desk, eyes closed.

Hmm, I wonder if Shikamaru loves me… Ino wondered. She shrugged. Guess I might as well find out.

She was about to tap him on the shoulder to ask him, but something stopped her. What if he didn't love her? What if, because she asked, he broke up with her? The thought made her gasp in fear: she couldn't lose Shikamaru, she couldn't!

Ino and Shikamaru had been together the longest of any of their friends. When Ino first came to the school, she immediately caught the eye of every boy in the school with her long blond hair and sky-blue eyes. However, most of them couldn't handle her…..enthusiastic personality, and stayed far away.

Shikamaru, however, had been different. His last attitude eventually seemed to wear on her, a little. And her energy had given him a bit more life. Now, she was calmer and he a bit more active.

They suited each other, to say the least.

Before now, Ino had never really thought about their relationship. When they first started dating, she thought it would be a short-term high-school romance: a lot of fun, and it would hurt when it ended, but it wasn't a serious thing.

Now, however, they were going on their third year of dating, and she still had no idea how he felt.

I guess it's now or never! she thought to herself.

"Shikamaru," she said. "Do you love me?"

No reaction.

"Shikamaru?" Ino's voice contained a trace of panic. "Shikamaru!"

"Huh..wha?" Shikamaru said, sitting up at the sound of Ino's shout. "'Sup?"

It was clear to Ino that he hadn't heard her. But she couldn't bring herself to ask again and re-risk humiliation and pain.

"Oh…nothing." she said, turning away quickly. Shikamaru resumed his position.

Ino was wrong: he had heard her perfectly. He was expecting it, too: Sasuke had confided in him and only him about what Sakura had told him. Sasuke knew he could trust Shikamaru to keep his secret.

Apparently Sakura trusts Ino as well… Shikamaru thought to himself.

Even though he knew Ino would ask, he wasn't prepared to answer. He looked over at Ino's long, swinging blond hair and sighed. The two had been together for a ling time, yes, but so what? Did he actually have feelings for the over the top, energetic, talkative girl he had been with for three years?

Maybe it was time for a change. Maybe he should move on. Maybe he was just being stupid and should forget any of this ever happened.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and fell asleep for real.

So…how was it? Much longer than I usually do, put I wanted to jam-pack this chapter with so much stuff, seeing as you may be disappointed by the next one. I'm sorry I keep saying that…but I really seem to have writer's block! Oh well, since I'm on vacation, maybe I'll have a sudden inspiration.

Just a side note, I hope no one thinks this is anywhere near the end of this story! I've been wondering why there is so much hype over the dinner, as that isn't even the most critical point in the story. Sure, it is one of them, but there is so much more I have to do.

I'm not going to give you a preview of what is to come, of course, because that would spoil everything!

Personally, I really like this chapter. I had fun writing about all the different couples, although I kind of changed their personalities. Oh well, I'm having fun, so don't mind me!

Until next time!

Ciao!