Happy Halloween kitties! Did anyone dress up today? :) I was a cat. Very creative, I know! I apologize in advance that this chapter might be kind of short, I have been extremely busy all week and the creative juices don't seem to be flowing as much. But I'll do my best and if this one is short, I promise the next one will be longer!

I'm also updating because I finally reached 65 reviews thanks to AnonymousInu YashaLover. So you can all thank her (or him?) and I'm thinking 80 before the next update k? (;

Chapter 10: Friction

InuYasha grunted from his place at the kitchen and shoved another letter out of the way. "Don't know you, don't know you, you have a weird name..." he muttered as he flipped through his Sweetheart Booth cards. "...Feh. Yura." He made a disgusted face and flung hers to the end of the table.

Kagome giggled as she took a sip of her water and screwed the cap back on. "You should at least read it," she said slyly.

"As if."

"Well, fine, if you won't..." she replied, strolling over to where the letter sat, "...I will!"

Grabbing it, she dashed from the room and up the stairs, listening as InuYasha made a loud "Aargh!" sound and thundered after her. She quickly made a sharp turn into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it just as he grabbed the handle.

"Kagome!" InuYasha hollered, banging on the door in frustration. "Get out here now and give me that damn letter!"

Kagome could barely contain herself, she was giggling so hard. She folded open the card and began to read in a high pitched, girly voice.

"My dearest InuYasha, although we have been out together only twice-"

"Once!"

"-I find myself longing for you. Your touch, your scent, your soft voice whispering in my ear-"

"Kagome, I swear if you don't stop reading right now..."

"-your beautiful silver hair, it all makes me want you more. Please say you'll be my valen-"

"Last chance!"

"-tine. I promise to love and cherish you forever-"

"Alright, you asked for it!"

Kagome suddenly stopped reading when she heard him stomp off down the hallway. Where could he be going? Waiting a couple of minutes to see if it was a trick, she slowly turned the lock and opened the door. Peeking out, she couldn't see him anywhere.

She stepped out of the bathroom and smiled to herself, thinking how funny that had been. However, the smile was wiped right off her face when she saw the door to her room at the end of the hall was closed. She always left it open, just in case.

No.

She scrambled to her bedroom door and jiggled the doorknob, her heart sinking as she realized it was locked.

"InuYasha! InuYasha, come on, it was just a joke!" she yelled, banging at the door as she had done only minutes earlier.

"Yeah, well, let's see how you like having your letters read aloud," came InuYasha's muffled voice.

"Y-You'll never find them," she said nervously, knowing she had tucked them safely away. As if her heart couldn't sink any lower, she heard the mattress squeak as it was lifted up, then make a loud noise as it hit the box spring again. How could he...how did he know...?

"You've always had the same hiding places since you were a six," InuYasha said confidently, and she heard her mattress squeak again as it sagged under his weight.

"You wouldn't..." she said with much less confidence in her voice then he had had.

"Oh, what a surprise, Hojo wrote you a letter," she heard him say in mock surprise. "Aw, he still wants to be friends. Feh."

Kagome leaned heavily against her door and closed her eyes, wishing he would stop. She instantly regretted taking his letter.

"Koga wrote you a letter too? Wanting to go to the movies? And Hojo called me a player." Now he sounded slightly angry, but also a bit annoyed. "Hey, one with no name. Wonder who it's from?"

She heard him pause as he read the letter, then the mattress squeaked again as he stood up. He didn't say anything for awhile, and she wondered what could have him so tongue tied. Finally, the lock to the door clicked and InuYasha pulled it, looking confused.

Kagome seized the opportunity to snatch the three letters from his hand and race into her room. She glared at him as she shoved the letters back under her mattress and sat on it, crossing her arms.

"Get out," she said coldly, throwing Yura's letter at him.

He blankly stooped to pick it up, staring at the wall behind her head. "Who is that last letter from?"

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. It's simple curiosity."

"Yeah, well, it's none of your business. Even if I did know I wouldn't tell you."

"So you don't know?"

"It said secret admirer! Of course I don't-" She paused. Why did he look so strange? And why was he so interested in that letter? "Wait...so you didn't write it then?"

InuYasha's expression changed from curiosity to confusion. "Uh, what? No?" He cocked his head to one side and blinked. "You thought I wrote that letter? Something so...ridiculous?" He started laughing, quietly at first, and then it got louder and louder. Kagome started to find it offending.

"You know, InuYasha..." she said slowly, getting up from her bed and crossing over to him. She stood on her tip toes so she could be face to face with him. His laughing ceased and his eyes grew wide in anticipation.

"Why don't you..." she placed both her hands on his chest as he looked down at them. "...never talk to me again!" And with that, she used all her strength to shove him out the door and slam it in his face. She heard a loud thump and assumed he had fallen on the floor out of suprise. He probably wasn't too happy about that.

He muttered quietly to himself as he got back to his feet. "Fine! Not like I'd want to anyways your highness!" And he stomped off down the hall.

Kagome huffed and fell onto her bed, hugging her pillow close. He was such a jerk! Why did she have to share a house with him? Why couldn't she have been sent to live with her grandpa and Sota? Had her parents really intended for her to stay in a place where the father was never home and the son was a cold and shallow jerk?

She let out a groan as she put the pillow over her face.

The worst part of it all... she was disappointed he hadn't written the letter.

xXxXx

Pale sunlight streamed through the window and Kagome was reminded of the morning she'd awoken before her parent's death. A sudden urge to cry overwhelmed her for a few moments, so she pulled the covers over her head and waited for the feeling to pass. When it did, she finally crawled out of bed and into the bathroom.

After a shower and pulling on her uniform, Kagome walked slowly down the stairs, dreading having to face InuYasha after last night. Had she been too hard on him? She wasn't sure. She had never been in a situation like that before and it confused her. Handling guys was not her specialty, especially ones as stubborn as InuYasha.

However, as she entered the kitchen and thought it was strange he wasn't at the table eating cereal, she noticed a note in his usual place. Picking it up, it was short and to the point.

Had to be at school early. Public bus stops by around 7:30. Sorry. - I.

Seriously? Kagome wildly looked at the clock. It was already 7:25! Fuming, she grabbed her books and shoved them into her bag. There was no time to cook anything or even have a bowl of cereal, so she took a few quick bites of a pop tart and raced out the door. The crisp winter air stung her face and she tightened her scarf around her neck, swearing that she would kill InuYasha the next time she saw him.

Luckily, the bus was just approaching the temple as she finally made it to the sidewalk. She hated all those steps, and hadn't anticipated taking them two at a time this morning.

The double doors of the bus opened for her and she climbed up, thankful that she had enough change for a ticket. The driver gave her a cheerful smile but she could only return it halfheartedly as she took a seat in the middle. The doors closed and the bus pulled back onto the main road.

There were only a handful of people on the bus; an elderly women at the front staring out the window, a middle aged man with a brief case reading the morning newspaper, a teenage boy typing away on his cell phone, and a man only a couple years older than her. Actually, now that she noticed him, he seemed to be staring at her.

Chancing a peek over her shoulder, she saw that he was indeed staring intently at her. Kagome didn't like how uncomfortable it made her feel, and she shifted uneasily in the leather bus seat. The man looked about 20 and had flowing brunnette hair, something uncommon among that age group. His eyes had something...evil about them, and reminded her of bottomless black holes. He was pale and gave off an air of superiority.

Kagome tried to ignore it as best she could, but she didn't know why there was such a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. When the bus finally pulled up to the school, she got off as quickly as she could, remembering her book bag at the last second. She was grateful this time for the sting of cold air on her cheeks.

She turned and watched the bus drive away, wondering who that man had been and why he was so interested in her. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone approach her and say her name.

"...Kagome?" they repeated, tapping her shoulder.

She jumped and whipped around, seeing only Koga standing in front of her looking slightly amused.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, glancing over her shoulder one last time at the bus before deciding to let it go. "Just having a rough morning."

She started walking towards the school and Koga walked alongside her.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that," he said, looking at the cement as they walked. "Hey, did you ever get my card? From the Sweetheart Booth?"

Kagome gulped. "Yeah, I did. Thank you."

"So...did you give any thought to what I asked?" Koga stopped walking and looked at her, his blue eyes glittering in the morning sunlight. He really was very handsome...

"Look, Koga..." Kagome began, knowing it was best just to put out the fire before it ignited.

But before she could get anything else out, a motorcycle revved and pulled into the parking lot near them. They both looked over and saw InuYasha taking off his helmet as he stepped off his motorcycle. It was 7:55.

Kagome felt anger bubble up inside her for the third time since last night. He hadn't left early to get to school...he was just now getting here! As he strode towards the front doors to the building, their eyes met for a split second - but that was all it took.

Squaring her shoulders, Kagome turned back to Koga and flashed him a dazzling smile.

"Sure Koga. I'll go out with you this weekend."

xXxXx

Sorry it's short! It's really late and I have school in the morning :( booo. I'm going to shorten my thank you's too, since a lot of them are just that - thank you, thank you, thank you, over and over haha! But I do appreciate every single one!

georgiagirl5 - wait, what sexy costumes? Like the ads?
booklovertothextreme - i loved your review :) made my day. thank you!
Mika - thank you girl!
InuYashaLuverDuver - well if one things for sure...Hojo's definitely a creep! lol.
Lady Elisabeth - I know you've been waiting so I'm sorry it's short! I'm so sleeepy :'(
Anonymous - thank you! Wish I knew who you were :)
Kag - We'll see if it was him ;)
RAINRAIN9 - here's your update! :)
PermanentlyFrozen - Yeah, Hojo's a jerk! He's always so nice in stories, but it gets old..lol.
iheartinuyasha - glad I have your curiosity :)
Dead-Physco - Thank you!
AnonymousInu YashaLover - Thanks for being review number 65! :D