Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I dont own Naruto or it's characters. If I did, then I'd be in the story. Probably as Ino.

Pairings: A possible ShikaxIno...and still SasuxSaku

Author's Notes: Aw. This is the romantic in me showing through. Not majorly romantic I admit, but I like fluff. hehe. I hope you like Chapter 2 and feel free to review. I'm also up for suggestions just incase I get writer's block again...

Chapter 2

Shikamaru's dark eyes glare back at me. He's leaning against the tree I was attacking just a minute ago, lazily holding my fist in his own.

Why is he here? I don't need Shikamaru. I can handle this perfectly well all by myself. Alone. Just like I always do.

Then again, if I could handle it myself then I probably wouldn't be standing here crying and beating the crap out of a tree.

Or maybe that's just my way of dealing with heartbreak.

But on the other hand, maybe it's not.

Wait, why the hell am I arguing with myself? I'm sane! Honest! I'm not Sakura for god's sake.

I turn my attention back to Shikamaru. Obviously he got bored whilst I was fighting with myself and he now has his eyes closed, still holding tightly onto my clenched fist. It's still clenched because I can't actually move it. If he doesn't let go soon I might never be able to straighten it again…

"Oh you better not be asleep!" I shout at him. If he's fallen asleep like that I will definitely never get my hand back.

He sighs. "How could I possibly be asleep with you standing there shouting at me?"

Good question. One I really can't be bothered to answer right now. He still hasn't opened his eyes so he's just standing there still looking like he's sleeping. I hate it when he does that.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I say, sniffing slightly and putting my free hand on my hip haughtily. Ha. Take that. I'm being stuck-up now so there. Not that he's got his eyes open to see me anyway.

He better have a good explanation for this. 'This' being following me here and ruining my wallowing in self-pity. I was enjoying that. Well actually I wasn't. What kind of person enjoys having their heart broken?

He sighs again and opens his eyes. Finally. He has really gorgeous eyes; dark brown, but almost black; almost as handsome as Sasuke…wait. No! This is Shikamaru I'm thinking about! How can I possibly be comparing him to Sasuke?

"When you ran through Konoha, you looked sorta upset." He says. He's not looking at me when he says it and instead is staring at the few puffy clouds behind my head. What is up with his fascination with clouds?

"Then I heard you shouting and followed your voice here. I watched for a while, then I thought I should probably intervene before you did some real damage to yourself…or the tree."

Aw. He was worried about me. I'm so touched.

Wait a second…he heard me shouting? Oh crap. I wasn't that loud was I? I start to 'explain' which is mainly me babbling stuff like "I don't really hate everybody…" And "honestly, I didn't mean it…" I sigh, shaking my head and look into his eyes. He's looking at me properly now.

Giving up on my explaining, I cut to the point. "So why did you follow me anyway?"

He blushed and quickly looked away. That makes me smile. He really is sweet, my little Shikamaru. Crap I did it again didn't I? Come on Ino! Stop thinking about Shikamaru!

"Well…" he says shyly. Wow. Shikamaru being shy? That's gotta be a first. "We're team-mates. We look out for each other." His eyes meet mine again and he smiles, embarrassed.

Oh my god. Shikamaru. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. Really.

I can feel the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes again. Oh great. But this time I'm smiling and crying at the same time. Don't ask me how it works; it just happens I guess. I'm not so good at the whole 'emotions' thing.

He's still clutching my hand firmly as I throw my arms around him and start to sob into his shoulder. I don't know if I'm still crying over Sasuke and Sakura, or over what he just said, or nothing and everything all at once, but it feels so…refreshing to be able to cry properly in front of someone.

Shikamaru tenses for a second. I mean, why wouldn't you? I'm an emotional wreck right now so he's probably scared to death of me.

Realising that I'm not actually going to bite his head off or kill him in some other, equally brutal way, I feel his body relax again as he puts his arms nervously around me.

"Heh." He says. "What a drag." But I can tell he's smiling really.

So did ya like it? Did ya? Did ya?

More to come, I promise! Could Shikamaru and Ino be a couple? What about Sakura and Sasuke? And how much does Naruto really want ramen? When will I stop asking questions to give hints for the next chapter? Who will stop me?

All these questions AND MORE to be answered in CHAPTER 3!

xxxSammi-chanxxx