Turn On Me

Chapter 3-Dashboard

Well it would have been, could have been, worse than you would ever know.
Oh the dashboard melted but we still have the radio.

Dashboard by Modest Mouse

I dislike being late. It was one of the major pet peeves I had. But tonight, there was nothing that could drag me out of my house sooner than I had to. I waited until the last minute to get ready, took all the time in the world after that, and arrived at my sister's twenty minutes late. And that was fine with me. I was not looking forward to seeing Inuyasha again. Oh, part of me couldn't wait to lay eyes on him. It had been too long. But the other part of me, the practical, logical one, knew that it wasn't going to be easy to have something I longed for to be right in front of me but know that it was out of my grasp.

I entered the house quietly, my entire being filled with trepidation. This time, Eri didn't come to greet me. I walked slowly to the sitting room, hearing the soft voices of my family and friends in conversation. I peered into the doorway and sighed at the sight that greeted me. Miroku, Sango, and Rin were engaged in conversation. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found. I hope this meant he was away on business and wasn't in the kitchen poisoning my food or something. Miroku said something funny and the ladies laughed. On the sofa were Eri and Ayume, giggling like little girls. In between them was Inuyasha, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the attention he was getting from the girls. Eri had tucked her knees under her, her shoes consequently on the floor, and while she smiled at him in what appeared to be her 'seductive face', she ran her fingers lightly through his hair. She was enamored with him, I could tell. Ayume seemed genuinely in awe of having a famous musician sitting next to her, although I could tell from her body language that she wasn't interested in him that way. It appeared that she was giving way for Eri to make her move. I wondered if it had anything to do with Bankotsu, her latest fling. I sure hope it did, because that meant that Ayume had finally found someone who would make her happy.

After analyzing the intentions of my friends, I finally let my eyes rest on Inuyasha. I prayed for a few more moments to myself, before Sango realized I was leaning against the archway, to prepare myself to step in the room and face it all. He looked good. Really good. Time had only made him more handsome, in my opinion. I allowed myself a small, secret smile as I gazed at his figure. I could tell he wasn't having a good time, that he would rather be anywhere but my sister's sitting room, being pestered by girls who had issues stringing together intelligent sentences. He wasn't tense in his distaste. He accepted it for what it was. He was always good at making the best out of a bad situation. I wondered if he knew that Sango was my sister, that I was supposed to be here. He was certainly relaxed, if he did know. I was still freaking out, even though the reality of it all was right in front of me.

Eri leaned over and whispered something in his ear, giggling like the twit she was. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but Eri didn't seem to notice. He whispered something back to her, something that was probably insulting, but Eri didn't get it, and smiled brightly at receiving his undivided attention. Ayume picked up a magazine that was lying on the coffee table about home decorating, leafing through it now, knowing that she was going to be ignored for a little while. Quickly bored, she reached into her pocket and took out her cell, checking her text messages. She smiled and began to press buttons. I assumed she got a message. Eri slowly dragged her finger along Inuyasha's jaw. His eyebrows raised up but he didn't stop her.

Slowly, his eyes turned in my direction. His eyebrows went back down and he furrowed them, in concentration. I could feel myself flame up under his gaze. He didn't recognize me. Then his eyes widened with acknowledgment and he turned back to Eri. "Kagome! Honey, how long have you been standing there?" Sango stood and gave me a one armed hug as her other hand held her drink. I hugged her back.

"Not long Sango. I just arrived. I'm sorry I'm late."

"You had me worried for a little while. You're never late." I shrugged, the excuse I had gone over in the car gone from my mind.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Kagome. I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed being here last week," Rin chimed in.

"I'm glad," I replied, a little bit confused. I certainly hadn't added much to the evening last week. Besides, she couldn't be completely oblivious to her husband's obvious dislike of me. Could she?

"Well, you see," Sango continued, "Kagome and I are in such a habit of seeing each other at our weekly family dinners that I honestly couldn't think of a week without her. The fact that you two moved in so quickly really just gave me the opportunity to entertain. Miroku and I bought this house not too long ago and we haven't had nearly enough of a chance to entertain."

"Oh my, where are my manners?" I supposed it suddenly dawned on Rin that while we had been discussing the previous week, I had yet to be introduced. "Kagome, this is my brother in law, Inuyasha." I gave him a strained smile.

"Uh, yea…hey." The minute the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Uh, yeah hey?! Could I sound any more stupid? Four years, and the best I could come up with was Uh, yeah hey. I silently prayed for the floor to split into two and swallow me up. He nodded at me.

"Hey. Good to see you." His voice was flat, indicating that, in reality, it was not good to see me. He didn't look surprised to see me, though. I'm sure Sesshoumaru had told him of my presence. I nodded enthusiastically at his comment, my strained smile stretching further on my face. God, who was this crazy person possessing my body?

"You two know each other?" Sango questioned.

"We went to college together," Inuyasha replied. "We weren't really friends, but we certainly knew each other." God, he sounded so nonchalant about the whole affair. Had I tried to explain, it would have been an absolute disaster.

"You went to college together?" Eri screeched, "Why didn't you say something sooner, Kagome?" I blushed bright red and looked the other way, shrugging. Awkward silence fell over us.

"Well, Kagome, can I get you a drink?" Miroku offered.

"Yes please," I asked eagerly. "a French martini if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all." A moment later, I had my drink and everyone had resumed talking. I took a seat on a chair near the sofa where Inuyasha and the girls were sitting.

"So you really went to college with our Kagome?" Inuyasha nodded. "I imagine that must've been lovely. I visited her once, her freshman year, I think. It was a gorgeous place."

"Yeah," he responded, but was not more forthcoming. His eyes strayed over to me, catching me watching him. I blushed and turned away, only to glance back a second later. His eyes were already back on Eri.

"What'd you major in?"

"Music." Eri huffed at the lack of attention she was now receiving.

"I majored in fashion design and merchandizing at school," Eri continued to try to flirt with my ex, which I'm sure she would have done even if she had known the history between us, "I'm a fashion designer." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Well, I suppose that is what one does with a degree in fashion."

"It's…my passion. Surely, someone such as yourself understands about passion." I gagged on my drink as she said this, causing me to cough as the liquid went down the wrong pipe. I put my drink down and continued to hack, getting up and excusing myself. I exited the room and walked toward the bathroom, my coughing subsiding as I went. Still gasping for air, I entered the bathroom and locked the door. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I slid down the door and rested on the floor. So that was it huh? A hello and not another word after that? Truthfully, it's more than I deserved. He hated me; that much was clear. There was no way that this situation could be salvaged. I was just going to have to suck it up and put on my best cheery face and avoid him. I didn't have to talk to him, to watch him; he certainly wasn't going to do it to me. I would just have to focus on Miroku and Sango, maybe Rin. In a few weeks, this whole affair would be over. My heart ached and I pressed the heel of my hands into my eyes, trying to force the tears that began to gather to go away.

It could've been worse, was the only thing. In all honestly, considering our past, the first meeting between us after these long years could have been worse.

Without another thought, I got up, washed my hands and my face, patted them dry with a towel. I sighed, unlocking the door and closing it shut behind me.

"Oh, there you are!" I looked up and was met with the amiable eyes of my brother-in-law.

"Looking for me?" I questioned lightly.

"As a matter of fact, I was. You'd been gone a while. I wanted to make sure my favorite sister-in-law hadn't keeled over and died." Miroku smiled and put his arm around my shoulders, walking with me slowly back to the sitting room.

"Favorite sister-in-law?" I snorted. "Well, considering that your other option is Kikyo, it's no doubt that I'm your favorite. It's like asking a starving man to choose between filet mignon and a rock."

"I know, that's exactly why I need to make sure that you're not going to fall over dead on me." I laughed. "Seriously, though, Kagome, are you okay?" He stopped and turned to me.

"I'm fine, Miroku. Why?"

"You've been acting odd lately, ever since dinner last week." Had I been that transparent? "Sango's noticed it too and is starting to suspect that she's done something." I laughed weakly.

"It's nothing, Miroku. Certainly not something Sango may or may not have done. I'm just…sorting through some things." I forced myself to smile, trying to reassure Miroku; he only looked more apprehensive after I had done it though.

"If you need anything, anything at all, you just have to ask. Sango and I are here for you, Kagome." I hugged him.

"I know, Miroku. I just need to get it all sorted out in my head first. Then, I promise, I'll tell you and Sango both what's going on. Now, please, stop worrying about me and let's go back and entertain our guests." We walked down the rest of the hallway and as we rounded the corner to the entrance of the room, Inuyasha's voice reached our ears.

"I barely recognized her, to be honest." I stopped, forcing Miroku to as well. "She looks different than when we were in college. Time has not been her friend. It's a pity. She used to be rather pretty." I looked at Miroku, who looked shocked to hear something from a man he had only just met and surmised to be a decent fellow. He gazed troublingly back at me, as if expecting me to break down right in front of him. I didn't. Honestly, it surprised me too. Instead, I felt rage bubbling in the pit of my stomach and I fought the urge to run in there and scream at him like I had when I was nineteen. But as quickly as it came, the rage disappeared. It was true after all. It wasn't particularly nice, but it was true. I patted Miroku's arm to let him know that I was okay, that the whole situation was okay. We walked back into the room, ignoring the shocked and guilty faces, and I sat back down in my chair and picked up my drink. I took a rather large sip and sighed contentedly as the alcohol got into me.

As we exited the sitting room to head to the dining room for the actual meal, I realized that the whole evening wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, it wasn't perfect. Inuyasha didn't leap into my arms and kiss me senseless, but there had been no real insults, no dramatics. Apart from the fact that our past was looming over us like a black cloud, it was a relatively normal night.

We were lying in bed, practically on top of each other. Dorm room twin beds were not exactly the roomiest for one person, let alone two. His hand was threaded through my hair, my head on his chest, the sheets wrapped around us. I was slowly tracing patterns on his skin with the tip of my finger. I looked into his eyes and smiled, genuinely at him. He grinned back at me.

"God, what took us so long to get to this point?" I asked with a laugh. He leaned down and kissed me.

"Eh, I don't mind that it took us years to realize it all. I don't think we could have handled it. We woulda crashed and burned." I shrugged.

"You don't know that. Imagine all that time we wasted being angry with each other that we could have been happy. It's kind of depressing." He kissed me again, slowly this time.

"Stop thinking depressing thoughts in my bed. That's rule number one."

"No sad thoughts in the bed?" I asked with a laugh.

"Mmhmm."

"That has to be the strangest rule I've ever heard of," I remarked, matter-of-factly.

"I'm serious," he responded. "When we're in bed, we only think of happy things, okay?" I nodded.

"Okay," I consented, seeing his point. "Well, then, happy things."

"Yes. Happy things."

"Well, I guess I'll say I'm excited about graduation."

"Me too. You have any plans after?" I shrugged.

"I want to write a novel, I think. Just one, to start. I'll wait tables or something until it's complete and published. I'm sure you're going to go be some hot shot musician in the city and get a recording contract in a week." He laughed.

"If only we were all that talented and lucky."

"But you are! I mean, I'm not even sure why you bothered to go to college. You're amazing." He truly was.

"Eh, it's something I promised my old man I'd do. He never went to college. You know, one of those, my children have to have a better life than me. He knew that all I wanted to do was play music and he was fine with that. I just had to go to college first. I wasn't thrilled about it at first. Hell, I really hated it. But then he passed away and, while I wanted to drop out, I knew that I couldn't. I had given him my word that I'd graduate and even though he wasn't around to make sure that I did, I knew that I would." I kissed him.

"You're a good man, Inuyasha. A good, talented, kind, thoughtful, respectful, handsome man and your dad would be incredibly proud of you." His lips crashed onto mine and we shifted in the bed, so that he was on top of me.

I woke up the next morning with a groan as Sango opened the drapes, sunlight flooding my room and causing the pain to intensify in my head. "Up, up, up sleepy head!"

"Go to hell," I muttered at my sister as I squinted at her. I had the worst, god awful hangover in the world. I obviously drank too much the night before. I suppose I must've been too sloshed to drive home safely, which would explain the fact that I was in my sister's guest room.

"You have a visitor," she told me, shoving two ibuprofen and a glass of water in my hands, helping me to sit up.

"Who?"

"Inuyasha. He said he needed to talk to you about something. So get up, get dressed, brush your hair, and do it all quickly! I mean it Kagome." She exited the room and I took the two pills and drank the whole glass of water before I got out of bed. I put on the dress I was wearing the night before (I assumed that Sango changed me into a pair of pajamas I was currently wearing) and walked slowly to the bathroom, my head still throbbing in pain. I brushed my hair and washed my face, taking some time to examine myself in the mirror. Exiting the bathroom, I paused at the top of the stairs, debating whether or not I actually wanted to go down there. And although my head hurt, I knew that Sango would only be back if I didn't arrive soon and she would force me down, whether I wanted to go or not. I took a deep breath and began to descend the stairs. And there he was, leather jacket still on as he stood nervously in the foyer.

"What can I do for you?" He jumped slightly.

"Hey, Kagome. Uh, well, you see…" I sighed exasperatedly.

"Get to the point, Inuyasha. I'm tired, I have a killer headache, and I haven't showered yet."

"I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me." I blinked, confused.

"Um…what?"

"Take a walk with me. God wench, it's not a hard concept. You put one foot in front of the other outside while I do the same thing beside you." I rolled my eyes.

"You're making the decision to say no to you so hard, Inuyasha." I bit out sarcastically. He sighed in annoyance before he grabbed hold of my arm and began to drag me outside.

"Hey!" I screamed out, "What do you think you're doing?!"

"We need to talk," was all he said. Well, that didn't sound promising at all.

A/N: A little shorter and a little later than usual. I'm sorry it took so long. I had major issues with this chapter. This is seriously the fourth or fifth draft and so much has changed from my original outline that I'm not quite sure what's what anymore. Hell, I'm still not happy with this version, but whatever. I wash my hands of it.

Thanks to the few reviewers I had last time. I'm guessing that the last chapter wasn't that well liked, due to the lack of response. I hope this one is better (although I'm sure that it's not).

Let me know what you all think!

Emily

NaPs