Finally, I'm back from that little excursion I went off on last night, lol. As I write this, I'm listening to a lot of emo songs, so don't be surprised if it comes out sad and emotional. That's not so bad though is it? Prepare yourself for some serious angst! . . . or fluff. I don't know, maybe both, since I'm just going to write it as I go.

Yes, the beginning is one of those cliché 'ice cream' sharing things, I know, but hey, at least I took the time to put the plot together on my own. The entrance of Kiba was inspired by a friendship fic I read a while back about Ino and Sakura eating ice cream, I just took it in my own, slightly different direction. The outcome is fairly close to the same, with the exception that it is a flash back.

Note: Flashbacks are ALWAYS in italics.

Also, I quoted Yoshiyuki Ly and sorta edited it because there were a couple spelling mistakes and such and it wasn't quite exactly what I had in mind for Sakura's dreamy-thought stuff. You'll get it later . . . don't hate me

"You're so cute when you make that face!" Ino said, giggling.

I huffed, "Shut up. You know I hate that."

"That makes it even better, Saku-chan. You know I love teasing you." She brushed a hair out of her face and slurped on her straw.

"I know. That makes it even worse." I sighed, sitting my empty milkshake cup down on the table. We had decided to go eat lunch at the park.

"You're such a pessimist, Sakura. You know that?"

"Oh really?" I said, crossing my arms.

Ino went quiet, looking the other way.

"What's wrong?"

"Jackass," Ino said, sounding annoyed and disinterested.

"What did I do?!"

Ino took a sip of her milkshake, "You know what you did."

"Whatever." I sighed, "I'm getting an ice cream. You want one?"

"Sure. This milkshake sucks anyway." She tossed the cup into the trash and got up to go with me.

I went up to the stand with Ino in tow, nervous, as I could feel her eyes on me. I had been thinking about her lately . . a lot, and I couldn't deny that I had fallen for her, even if I had wanted to. She was . . . sexy. The way she looked at me never failed to send shivers down my spine. Ino was intoxication at its finest.

I was snapped back to reality by the sound of Ino's voice calling my name. "Sakura, are you going to order or what?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, um, just give me a strawberry double scoop in a waffle cone . . ehe," I grinned sheepishly, biting my lip nervously.

"So, one vanilla and one strawberry?" The man asked, "That will be 300 yen please," He said, calmly scooping the creamy soft-serve and piling it onto the cones.

I grabbed my wallet and began yen, "Okay, so . . . 50, 50, 50 . . 100 . . 50 . . . Ack! I don't have enough!" I yelped, flipping faster through my yen, as if that would do me any good, "Er, sir, I'm sorry, uh, I don't want mine, we'll share one ice cream." I said shakily.

"No, I'll pay for it Saku-" Ino started, only to be interrupted.

"No, no, no, don't worry. It's on the house girls. You starving teenagers are the reason we're still open!" he said, smiling gingerly, handing us the ice cream and assuring us that it was indeed fine that we took it. He was truly a kind man.

"Thanks mister!" We said in unison, trotting off to a park bench and proceeding to lick the soft, creamy treats.

I lapped at the substance in my cone a time or two, squinting at the taste. It didn't taste as good as it should have. It tasted different. Not bad, and not good either. I could taste the tang of the strawberry flavor on my tongue, but none of the sweetness. It was just a bland, flat flavor. I hated it, like I hated myself.

Ino was so unique, so vibrant. She always knew what to do, what to say, and how to say it. We were total opposites. It was fitting that the flavors we chose were so different.

I couldn't help but to stare at her as her tongue passed over the frozen mounds, entranced. It was almost seductive in a way. The way she softly flicked her tongue across those delectable expanses melting what remnants of logic and sanity I had left, only to have her voice freeze it all back into place again.

"Sakura, you're not eating much of yours . . . Are you okay?" Ino said, close to finishing hers.

"Hnn?" I pretended that her interruption hadn't absolutely shattered my train of thought again, leaving me to throw up my wall of defenses. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

I'm pretty sure my eyes told otherwise. They always betrayed me. They definitely did. Ino said, "You sure? You looked like you were spacing out . . . and . . There's ice cream dripping down your hand. You want mine or something?"

My face flushed a deep red. I could feel it. I could literally feel the blood pulsing through it.

"Um, I-"

"Here, take it," she said, passing her ice cream over to me, which I hadn't expected at all. I obeyed, passing her my own and taking her cone in my fumbling fingers. My face felt hot, hot like it feels when you put your hand over the stove. How I didn't drop it, I will probably never know.

"Are you sure? This is your favorite flavor," I asked, voice shaking.

"Well, you can't let good ice cream go to waste, right?"

"Um, I guess."

I stared at the cone in my hand, already lightly dripping, the grooves from Ino's previous licking still present. 'Well, Ino did give me this . . . I guess I should . . lick it,' I thought, 'But what if she's staring at me?'

I inhaled the vanilla flavor, taking a deep breath, and licked the sticky mound. Her saliva was still coating it lightly, leaving a light trail from the cone to my tongue with each stroke of my tongue. It tasted of ramen and lip gloss.

I wondered if she planned for it to turn out like this, toying with the idea in my head, not noticing my eyes begin to glaze over. It was pure ecstasy, the more I thought of it in my mind, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. Alas, ecstasy only lasts so long, and then it's gone.

"Um, Sakura? You look kinda high. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Haha, I'm all good. Don't worry," I murmured between licks, "This is great."

"I was just about to say the same thing."

"You actually like that?" I said, coming back to my senses momentarily, "You've got to be joking."

"It reminds me of when me and you were kids and we used to get free ice cream here. Remember? Last time that stupid dog-boy showed up." She looked annoyed, but gave a smile anyway.

I recalled the memory, not fogged in the slightest by time. I smiled bitterly. This wasn't the only time we had shared ice cream together, far from it, in fact. "Ino, that was years ago."

- Flashback -

It was a sunny day, not sweltering, but hot none the less. Ino and I were eating ice cream in this very spot, giggling about what had happened at school that day. It was a typical school day, with no Sasuke to speak of and it was good.

Ino said, "Sakura, your ice cream is dripping."

"Hnn?" I mumbled, glancing down at my hand, "Oh."

"Are you okay?" She asked, watching me lick myself and giggling.

We started eating our ice cream again when Ino suddenly stood and stretched. Then, out of the middle of nowhere, Kiba showed up, running full speed. Needless to say, Ino was bowled over, and her beloved vanilla ice cream was mashed into the sidewalk.

"Sorry!" Kiba had yelled, turning pink and dashing away, followed by Shino, Hinata, and a small mob, nearly all of them trampling the ice cream cone, save for Hinata, who took care to avoid it, blushing fiercely and asking where Kiba had gone off to.

I helped Ino up when she left. "Stupid Kiba, what a jerk! Stupid stinky dog-boy." I said, furious.

"Yeah, and look at my ice cream!" She pouted, pointing at the pathetic mess on the ground.

"It's okay, we can share mine . . I mean, if you want." I looked at my feet, holding out the cone to her. I still wasn't all that brave, so it was rather uncharacteristic of me, not to mention accompanied several deep blushes.

"Okay," Ino said, cheerily taking a seat on the bench, pulling me down with her.

I held the cone out to her blushing like mad. I didn't even notice when she had taken it and passed it back again, until she snapped me out of it.

"Your turn, Saku-chan." Ino said, giving me the strawberry flavored treat, covered in small grooves, from where she had licked.

We ended up picking sides, sitting with our faces mere inches from each other, the only thing separating us being the sugary ice cream, which was slowly vanishing. Bit by bit, we pressed our tongues against the sides of it, twisting it round and round like some kind of can opener with our fingers. We didn't talk, with the exception of a giggle or two. After all, that was enough for us.

Then the moment finally came when the ice cream was nearly gone, and we were forcing our tongues deeper into the cone, occasionally bumping noses as we shoveled the melty goodness into our mouths, when suddenly, our tongues brushed and we pulled away, blushing at least ten different shades of red.

"Saku-chan?"

"Hnn?"

"What just happened?" She asked, still blushing deeply.

I bit my lip, "I . . don't know."

- End Flashback -

We finished our ice cream and left the park. I still had that flashback on my mind though. How could I have forgotten it for this long? I didn't want to know the answer.

Ino and I walked back to her house, almost totally silent the whole way. It was getting around Christmas time, and the seasons were just now starting to change. Holiday break was just around the corner. I couldn't be any more depressed, unless of course Ino and I stopped being friends again. Ino had yet another boyfriend, and I was being increasingly left out, as they got closer. I kept telling her that he only wanted her for her body, which was true, but she never believed me, just like she never believed anyone else.

I could only be happy that I had the opportunity to be next to her, to breath her air, share her bed, to let her borrow my clothes, and even to have her try to make me wear hers. I needed her, just like I always had, if not more than I used to.

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Ino asked, looking worried.

I blushed, "I've told you a thousand times, I'm find. You sound like some kind of psychologist when you ask me that." I said, laughing grimly.

"At least I care." She crossed her arms, walking in front of me. I secretly thanked her for it, because it meant I didn't constantly have to watch where my eyes were roaming.

"I guess you're right."

"You're such a pessimist."

"You told me that once already." I said, making faces, even though I knew she couldn't see them.

"It's true." She said.

"Damn right."

That night, we clambered into her bed as usual, her on the side by the wall, and me on the side next to the night stand. As I expected, Ino was fast asleep within minutes. It was no wonder, she was always running around and tiring herself out.

She's so cute when she's sleeping. I thought.

No doubt, Ino was beautiful. If only she knew how much I loved her, wanted her, needed her. She was the only thought in my head. I silently cried myself to sleep yet again, shivering in her sleeping arms until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

Glossing my lips over your body,

Hearing you sigh and shiver,

Memorizing your every perfect imperfection -

Indescribable.

What I feel for you is so powerful -

Warmth, ardor, zeal -

You do this, give this; make this of me

So far, only in the sanctity of my dreams . . .

End Chapter

Eh, sorry for not updating too fast. This was hell to write. Sorry about the length as well, I'm trying to learn to be more concise with my writing for when I get back to school. I hear highschool literature is hell also. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!