I know this took forever guys, but literally it took forever. All of the different characters in different places. Coordinating it all with a time schedule to make sure things could happen like that. It was a nightmare. Okay guys I hope you enjoy!
Sophia woke up, rubbing her eyes in her bright, sunlit room. Quite content with her situation, she just lay there, enjoying the sun, and the comfort of her bed. Then she looked over to her clock, to check the time. It wasn't working. Everything flashed back to her. It's Friday, not the weekend! CRAP! If it's this bright already, I've got to be crazy late. She rummaged around on her nightstand for her phone. She brushed passed the notice about a missed alarm to find the time was 2:45. Really? By the time I get over to the building, the classes will be over? I'm so screwed. ARGHHH! How could I have screwed up like that? As she continued to berate herself for her complete lack of awareness, she paced her apartment like mad. She went into the kitchen, hoping to make herself some lunch, since she had missed breakfast to find pinned to the fridge a note:
Sophia,
Don't worry about your classes today. I covered for you. I told them you were asleep with a fever when I went to check on you this morning and I decided to let you sleep it off, rather than wake you. If there's a problem, I'll take the fall. I know you were concerned about your test, but I've talked to all your teachers and they're fine with getting your work in on Monday. Sorry about keeping you awake all night.
See you later,
Gaara
Her body, which a moment ago had been tensed up worse than a steel coil, suddenly relaxed, and it threw her off, so much that she almost lost her balance and fell to the tiled floor. "I don't deserve him," she whispered to herself. And with that she pulled out some bread and nutella and spread chocolaty goodness all over the bread. After she finished the entire jar of nutella, she decided to text him, to see if he was available. By that time it was 3:00 on the dot, so she wouldn't be interrupting a class. Sophia sent a quick text just to see what was up and immediately got a response.
"Do you think I could come over? Now? –G"
"Of course."
She went to go put on new clothes, as she was still wearing her sweats from the previous night. When the a knock rapped on the door a few minutes later, Sophia answered it wearing a red top and a black ruffle skirt over her trademark leggings.
"Hey," she said with a smile.
Gaara scratched his head, looking guilty, "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. To be honest I needed it. In fact I should be thanking you for covering for me, because even if I had woken up, I probably would have fallen asleep in class. I'm just afraid I won't be able to get to sleep tonight."
"That shouldn't be a problem, as I won't be dropping by tonight."
She pouted. "Well that's no fun. I mean if you don't want to, that's fine, but…" she glanced back up at him, puppy dog eyes in place.
"Well…. if you want me to..." They both broke out laughing.
"So what do you want to do tonight?" she asked, clutching her stomach. "Movie and popcorn, videogames?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of that dance Ino's been all excited about."
"Excited is putting it lightly," and she massaged a bruise she had gotten when she tripped carrying 4 bags for Ino and couldn't see the power cord in front of her feet. "But you really want to go? I thought I had you figured for a no hassle kind of guy."
"Not for the things that matter."
"Oh. Gaara, how is it that you're so sw-" He cut her off with a kiss. Tender and solid, he made her feel so safe. When he finally pulled away, she said, "Whoa. So that really happened? I wasn't sure if I could trust my memory."
"Well believe it. Oh god. I can't believe I just said that."
"Believe it." And for the second time, they doubled over with laughter. "Okay then, Uzumaki-kun, go get yourself some ramen. I need to get ready for the dance." He looked at her, mouth open, as if she was crazy to take four hours to get ready. "You don't think I'm going to go to my first dance in Japan looking like this, do you?"
"I don't know," he muttered. "I don't see a problem."
Sophia giggled and gestured to the door. Just before she closed she said quietly, "America, Japan, boys are all the same."
"What?" he asked, not sure of what she said.
"Oh nothing."
She came out of the shower, towel drying her hair, to hear another knock at her door. She opened it, not even caring that she was only wearing a towel. Ino stormed in, carrying a suitcase, followed by a sheepish looking bunch: Sakura, Tenten and Hinata. "What are you guys doing here?"
"What do you think we're doing?" Ino replied. "We heard you were sick and we didn't want you to miss the dance. So I brought my arsenal of makeup." She gestured to the suitcase currently occupying the coffee table in the living room. "But you don't look that sick."
She thought quickly on the spot, "Yeah, no I'm doing a lot better. I just had this huge headache and fever, but since Gaara let me sleep it off, I feel great. Don't worry."
"That's good," Hinata said not a trace of suspicion in her voice, but the other three's murmurs of agreement were not as innocent.
"Here, just let me put on some clothes, and I'll be right back. Make yourselves comfortable," she called from her bedroom. In less than a minute she returned in a blue sundress.
"That's not what you're wearing is it?" Ino asked, scandalized.
"What am I that fashionably-challenged that I would wear a sundress to a dance? And plus you decided to lend me that dress… Or did you forget?"
"I wouldn't forget something that important." She said pulling it out of one of the bags.
"Did the rest of you bring your dresses, too?"
"Yep. They're in the suitcase," replied Sakura. Tenten frowned. "Oh come on, it won't be that bad."
"I don't believe you," she spat, her eyes narrowed in anger.
The girls got ready in the comfortable atmosphere of Sophia's apartment. By 7:30, everyone had their hair and makeup already, to Tenten's frustration. So they changed into their respective dresses, making a fashion show out of it. Ino strutted down the makeshift runway in a purple dress with a key-hole neckline and a free flowing skirt that started just under her bust and went to her knees. Her hair was done up in a messy bun with a black butterfly clip pinning her bangs back. Hinata next came down, her eyes glued to the floor. She had on a light almost periwinkle blue gown. The sweetheart neckline suited her so well and her skirt poofed out slightly with layers of light blue tulle and a curly cue hem. Her long hair was half up in a bun that swirled like a piece of naruto fish cake. Sakura looked straight ahead, smiling as though suppressing the urge to giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. She wore a white dress with red flower embroidery. The top was a strapless corset with the embroidery swirling around from her right shoulder down to the hem of her skirt. As her hair was cut short, there wasn't much she could do with it, so it was done in her usual way. Tenten glared at everyone as she stomped down the aisle. If she would have stopped frowning, she'd have looked absolutely gorgeous in her one shoulder green dress. It was long, stopping somewhere past her knees with a slit coming halfway up her thigh. Her hair she had kept resolutely in buns, and the most she had let Ino do was change the ribbon to a dark green and tie them in bows. Sophia nervously looked around as she walked into her living room. She wore a dark blue dress with silver beaded embroidery just at the bottom of her skirt which flared out slightly when she spun. The top had spaghetti straps that made a u-shaped neckline. Her long brown hair was down her back in loose curls and waves. They all looked around, quite pleased with their hard work, even Tenten, and they set out for the dance, laughing and predicting what hijinks people might get up to.
Eight o' clock struck as they stepped into the ballroom. (WTF? The school has a ballroom? YEP. Why? Because the author said so that's why.) Luckily they weren't the first ones there. Hinata looked around the room for Naruto when all of a sudden he gave her a huge hug and began to talk very rapidly about how happy he was to see her, and how beautiful she looked, and whether or not she wanted to dance. The rest of the boys, besides Sasuke who had refused to speak to any of them since his and Gaara's fight the day before, trailed in behind Naruto, greeting the girls, only a bit less enthusiastically.
While everyone else was making introductions, Gaara came up behind Sophia and whispered in her ear. "Hey."
She smiled very wide and whispered back, "Hey."
"So I was wondering… Did you tell them about us yet?"
"Nope. I wanted to keep you all to myself. Why, did you?"
"I didn't either. For quite the same reasons." He smiled again.
"So do you think we should tell them now?"
"Why not?" he said, and he swooped down and kissed her. The rest of the group just stared.
She broke off, laughing. In between the laughing and trying to breathe, she got out, "That's not what I meant by telling them, Gaara." Gaara looked sheepish. (Baa)
Ino started to splutter, "You two… When? Idon't what? How did…"
"Calm down, Ino. You'll give yourself a heart attack," said Tenten.
"But, why didn't you tell us earlier?" asked Sakura.
"I don't know. It didn't come up?" Sophia said, hoping that she could get away with such a lame excuse.
"Well, Congratulations," said Hinata, tearing herself away from Naruto's arms to give her a hug.
"Thanks Hinata." The rest of the group seemed to finally get over their shock and congratulate the pair of them as well.
"I'm so happy for the pair of you," said Ino. And then to herself, "Two down. Two to go." And once again out loud, "Excuse me, but I have to go meet Dei." And she went off. Shikamaru looked distinctly put out and went over to a table to sulk, not even bothering to excuse himself.
Then Lee turned up, "SAKURA! MY YOUTHFUL CHERRY BLOSSOM OF BEAUTY AND YOUTH! WOULD YOU JOIN ME IN A DANCE?!"
"Hi Lee," she said smiling in an effort to not start giggling. "I'd love to. See you later guys." He swept her off to the dance floor.
"Hinata," said Naruto.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Would you like to dance with me?"
Her cheeks turning pink, she smiled wide and said, "I'd love to dance with you, Naruto."
They dashed off to go dance together. And Neji only glared after them for a few seconds.
"Well since Ino is distracted, I'm going to use this excellent opportunity to try and hide. Maybe she won't force me to dance this time. Call my cell phone if you need me, but with any luck I'll be blissfully free for the next four hours. See you later guys." And she exited the ballroom in the direction of the bathrooms (and the gym).
Now only Sophia, Gaara, and Neji were left in the group. Sophia and Gaara looked awkwardly at each other and then at Neji and then away. Luckily Neji caught on quickly enough. "Oh. Sorry. I'll see you guys later." He went over to sit next to Shikamaru.
Sophia looked up at Gaara, trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?" he asked, puzzled.
"It's just this is a little too amazing."
"You're a little too amazing."
"I don't remember you being this cheesy."
"Why don't you like it?" he asked, in mock hurt.
"I love it."
"Dance with me." His eyes were bright. The dark circles seemed to disappear, and two dimples, one above each of his cheeks showed themselves in his smile. This night he was really alive.
"Of course." While they were dancing, his eyes were locked onto hers, and vice versa. For nearly an hour, they didn't say a word. They didn't have to.
Of course right about then, yelling could be heard over by the punch and snacks.
"Sasori, you jerk! You spilled punch all over my dress. I look hideous now," yelled Sugako.
Sasori, not bothering to keep his voice down, said, "It's not really a change, is it?"
She began to scream. And then stormed out of the ballroom. Sasori just shrugged and drank his punch.
Kiba, who was dancing with Michiru at the time, asked, "Aren't you going to go help your friend?"
"Huh? You mean Sugako? No she can take care of herself," replied Michiru.
Kiba backed away from Michiru. "What's wrong, now?" she asked, annoyed.
"You're kind of a total bitch. I'm going to go." Kiba, still shaking his head in disgust, left the ballroom. Michiru, started to wail and flew off after Sugako.
Sophia and Gaara looked back at each other after witnessing this scene and just burst out laughing. She started laughing so hard she had to walk all the way over to the tables to sit down.
"Do you want me to get you something to drink?" asked Gaara. But this only made her start wheezing even harder.
"Are you going to spill it on my dress and call me ugly?" And then she started up laughing again.
"I might." She looked at him like "WTF?" but kept laughing.
"No. I mean I might spill it on your dress, but you're beautiful without it." (YOU PERVERTS. NO. I DIDN'T MEAN SHE LOOKS GOOD NAKED. GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!)
And all of a sudden she stopped laughing. "You mean that?"
He kissed her on the nose. "What do you think?"
"I think that—"
But Gaara cut her off. "Shit. What does he want now?" he muttered to himself.
"Gaara, what's wrong?"
"Just wait here. I'll be right back. Okay?"
"Okay…"
Gaara walked over to Sasuke who'd been standing nearby, just staring at them.
"What do you want?" Gaara asked, completely out of patience with Sasuke.
"I mean I was right then. You did like her."
"If that's all you came to say then you can just fu—"
"No. I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I've been acting like a complete ass this entire week. I don't have any excuse but I'm sorry."
"No. You really don't have any excuse… But I forgive you."
"Really? Even after all those things I said?"
"Yeah. That's what friends do. But, if you do talk shit about Sophia ever again-"
"You'll kick my ass." Sasuke smirked. "Go on," he said indicating Sophia with his head. "We can talk later."
Gaara nodded and went back, to explain, at least partially what was going on. Sasuke sighed inwardly and thought, "One down, four to go."
Sasuke went over to Neji and Shikamaru and began to apologize.
"So does that mean you've decided to stop acting like an asshat?" asked Neji.
"Yes. Do you forgive me?"
"Duh," replied Shikamaru.
"Oh. Good. Do you think Naruto will too?"
"Tch. You won't even need to apologize," said Neji. The three of them sat there in silence for a long while. Shikamaru and Sasuke's eyes followed Ino and Sakura, respectively, as they danced with their dates. Neji daydreamed about Tenten, wondering where she might be. Probably training in the gym. He smirked to himself. That had to be it.
"EEEK" came a shriek from the center of the ballroom. "BUGS!" It was Eiko in a strapless backless low-cut mini. It was really just a scarf tied around her waist. (Credit goes to the Golden Girls for that zinger. :P) She was shaking and sniffling, pointing to a couple small spiders.
Shino pushed up his glasses and sniffed. "Actually, they aren't bugs. They aren't even insects. They're arachnids. These are bugs." And he pulled out a handful from somewhere on his person. Eiko went into a fit of hysterics. Shino shrugged and scooped up his bugs, walking out after Kiba. He knew Eiko was easy, but her dislike of insects was too much to put up with, even if she did put out at the end of the dance.
Eiko was making a huge racket in the middle of the room. She hadn't fled the room to cry elsewhere like her friends and none of them seemed to care enough to drag her out of the room. Eventually, getting so annoyed at the noise she was making. Shikamaru went over to her, saying to himself that it would be more troublesome to just let her wail. He led her off to the hallway on the side of the ballroom, much to the relief of everyone else in the ballroom. Eiko almost immediately calmed once she realized that Shikamaru was there. She bit her lip pseudo-seductively.
Shikamaru flinched backwards. Eiko didn't seem to notice. She jumped him and began whisper terrifying things in his ear. Things so terrible you won't even hear them in an M-rated fic, because they aren't allowed on the site. Shikamaru did manage to disentangle himself from her grasp, with considerable difficulty. And he didn't exactly run, because Shikamaru didn't run anywhere, but he certainly left the hallway as quickly as possible, disappearing through a few corners to one of his hiding spots. "In order escape troublesomeness." (NOPE. Not trouble. Troublesomeness. DEAL WITH IT.) Eiko pouted but since there was no one there to come to her aid she didn't keep it up for long. She went to the girl's bathroom and found Sugako and Michiru there. So Eiko screwed up her face once more and cried with the rest of them about how horrid their dates were.
Naruto and Hinata were probably the most boisterous dancers on the floor. Hinata would have been content to just dance quietly in a corner, but Naruto kept saying, "You're going to be this dance's queen. BELIEVE IT!"
She just blushed red and said, "Only if you'll be my king, Naruto."
Naruto spun them right into Ino and Deidara, who were quite difficult to tell apart in the darkened ballroom. They both had their hair done up the same way… "Oh, I'm so sorry Ino," said Hinata.
"It's fine, Hinata. How's the dance been?" It quickly degenerated into a rapid fire discussion of the dance between Ino and Hinata, while Deidara and Naruto just stood there awkwardly…
Haku and Nozomi were dancing together. "I love your hair. It's so long. Like Fabio's, you know?" said Nozomi.
"Huh? Oh, uh. Thanks."
"Hey, what's wrong? You haven't been paying any attention to me at all."
Haku looked up from the floor, where he'd been staring for most of the night. Over Nozomi's shoulder, he saw the one face he'd been spending all night trying to avoid. Zabuza stared him down, hurt and too proud to do anything more than that. Haku let go of Nozomi.
"HEY! What's your problem?"
"I'm sorry Nozomi, but I can't do this anymore." He pushed her off him and started walking then running toward Zabuza, never taking his eyes off of Zabuza's. They embraced and Zabuza picked him up and spun him around. They kissed and when they finally broke apart, it was to find nearly everyone staring at them. It didn't faze them one bit. "I'm so sorry love. I was just so scared."
"Don't be sorry. And there's no need to be scared. There never was. I'm here to protect you." Haku leaned in to kiss him-
"WHAT THE HELL?" yelled Nozomi. "You're a homo? EWW!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" chorused all the onlooking girls.
"You're interrupting the MOE!" cried a tiny little freshman who had her hands pressed together in anticipation. Zabuza and Haku sweatdropped. Nozomi crossed her arms and stomped off the dance floor. She was about to go find her friends when she spotted Neji looking bored.
"… Yeah! Sakura and Sophia seem to be having a great time," replied Hinata.
"Yeah, it's been really awesome," agreed Ino. "Wait. Where's Tenten?"
"Um… Well… I think she went into the bathroom?"
"I'm sure she did… Dei, honey. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back soon. I have a certain butt I have to drag out here."
"Un."
Ino stormed off towards the bathrooms, determined to find Tenten, wherever she was hiding… "Um… Naruto. I have to go find Sophia. I'll be right back." Hinata practically sprinted off to the refreshment table where Sophia and Gaara were sitting. "Sophia, do you know where Tenten is?"
"Um… No? Wait. Why are you asking?"
"Because Ino just ran off to find her and I want to warn Tenten."
"Okay. Then yes I do know where she is. Just a sec, let me call her." She pulled out a small cell phone from her bra. Gaara blushed. "I just hope she has her phone on vibrate…" she muttered.
Meanwhile, Nozomi had been trying to come up with a way to entice Neji. She scooted up next to him. "Hey there Neji. You look pretty bored. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Not really, um, sorry which one are you again?"
Nozomi could hear the anger buzzing in the back of her head. But she just smiled and said, "You're so funny Neji. You know that it's me, Nozomi."
"Oh. Yeah… Nozomi. Did you want something?"
"I was just hoping we could do something fun together." She scooted closer and looked him dead in the eyes. "Don't you want to do something fun to me?"
"Don't you mean with you?" asked Neji apprehensively.
"Nope." And she ran a hand through his hair, pulling her face just that much closer to his.
"Excuse me, uhh, Nozomi! Sorry, but I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." He dashed off to the men's restroom as quickly as he could without looking like he was trying to escape.
Nozomi frowned and sighed. "Oh well," she thought. "No harm done." She decided to go find Karin and tell her that Sasuke didn't have a date, and just begging for her attentions.
"Tenten!" said Sophia.
"Yes?"
"Ino's looking for you right now and from what Hinata's told me, she's prepared to kill you, drag back your corpse, and then force your body to dance even if she has to move your limbs herself like a puppet master."
"Phew. It's a good thing I'm well hidden then."
"Really? I figured you'd just be in the Gym."
"If it was anyone but Ino, maybe I would be, but I've learned not to underestimate her."
"Okay. We just thought we'd warn you."
"No worries. Go have fun. There's no way she'll find-" Sophia heard the sound of door creaking open and slamming shut. "Shit," whispered Tenten. The sound crackled as she hung up.
"What happened?" asked Hinata.
"She just hung up really suddenly."
"Oh no. Ino must have got her."
"That seems a little dramatic. It's not like Ino's actually going to kill her…" She paused and looked at Hinata. "May she rest in peace." They bowed their head in respect for their fallen comrade.
"I have to get back to Naruto. We'll talk after the dance, okay?"
"Yep."
Gaara came up behind her and gave her a hug. "What's going on?"
"Shenanigans."
"Are they very interesting?"
"Not really. If I wanted mischief, I'd make it with you."
"I'll take that to heart."
Ino was roaming the halls. First she checked the gym, then the weight room, then the pool, all the locker rooms and even peered out on to the track and soccer fields. She even peered in on the fangirls, sniveling in the girl's bathroom. Now, you might think at this point Ino would just give up and go back to the dance and enjoy her night, but you wouldn't know Ino very well if you thought that. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Please. Ino on a rampage is like a meteor the size of the moon hurtling toward earth while superman is encased in a cage of kryptonite 15 feet thick. She's unstoppable. If she had the combination to every locker, she'd have opened them to see if Tenten was hiding inside. This wasn't the very first time Tenten had pissed her off though. She knew quite a few of the hidey holes across the school, just from chasing after her. Determined to see Tenten dance with SOMEONE, Ino stormed through every hallway, peeking into every corner.
Karin had managed to stay unnoticed a feat none of her other friends had managed, so some commendations are in order. That didn't last long. By the time Nozomi found her, Karin was just about to fall over drunk. Nozomi pulled her away from her date, Sai, and said, "Hey, Sasuke's here all alone." Seeing her friend's confusion she added, "Ripe for the picking?"
Karin replied, "What? But Sasuke's already here," she said pointing to Sai.
"No, that's Sai. How much have you had to drink anyway?"
"Drink? I'm not drunk. I just had some punch."
"Did you add something to the punch?" asked Nozomi, as if she were talking to a five year old.
"No… You know punch is funny. It has kind of a burny sensation as it goes down your throat. It's weird. I'm going to have some more." She hiccupped and started hobbling to the drinks table. Nozomi tried to stop her, but gave up. She thought it probably served her high and mightiness to look foolish for a bit, so she just stood back and watched as Sai went after his date.
Hidan and Kakuzu were manning the refreshments. Kakuzu was presumably getting paid and roped Hidan into helping him since Hidan didn't have a date. That didn't stop Hidan from having fun though… Sai got there just in time to see a flash of silver disappear into Hidan's sleeve as Hidan gave Karin a glass of punch. Putting two and two together, he took the cup away from Karin and threw it in the trash. "Hidan, have you been spiking my date's punch?"
"Yep, figured you'd have a better chance of getting laid, if she was drunk."
"You gave her some of the alcohol?!" yelled Kakuzu. "We were supposed to sell that under the table!"
"So stab me."
"You know, I might take up on that," said Sai.
"Don't bother," replied Kakuzu. "He's into that."
While they were arguing no one noticed Karin sneaking away. She had spotted Sasuke sitting over in a corner brooding all alone.
"Shit!" hissed Tenten as she heard the door slam open. She slowed down her breathing, hoping that whoever had just entered wasn't Ino. The footfalls weren't heavy the way Ino's were when she was angry. They were swift, maybe even a bit frantic. These were the footsteps of someone running from someone, not searching. The breathing was heavy, but there was a noticeable effort for composure. She closed her eyes and heard the creak of another door opening.
"Tenten?"
She blinked her eyes open. It wasn't Ino. "Neji. Uh… Hey. You might be wondering why I'm in the boys bathroom…"
Now, funnily enough at that point Ino had entered the girl's room. If she had waited maybe another minute, she might have heard Neji call Tenten's name. But as it happened, she couldn't hear anything above the racket Sugako, Eiko and Michiru were making. And when she left the room, she was in such a hurry that her footsteps covered up the sound of Tenten talking.
"Yeah.." said Neji. "I was sort of wondering that…"
Tenten explained about hiding from Ino. "Yeah. I know all about that," interrupted Neji. "But why are you in the boy's bathroom? Why didn't you hide in the girls or something? You know you aren't supposed to be in here."
"Well, exactly! Ino wouldn't think that I'd be in the boy's bathroom. But now that you've seen me, I doubt I'll be able to hide here again. Plus the girl's room is a bit damp from all the crying those girls are doing. It's like they're trying to flood the school." Neji laughed.
"That's true enough. I think they've caused enough trouble."
"Wait… What happened?"
Neji told her about the outbursts of the night, finally ending with Nozomi practically sexually assaulting him. He didn't really want to talk about that, but Tenten dragged it out of him. And by that point they were just talking like usual. As though they weren't dressed in fancy clothes. As though Tenten wasn't sitting on a toilet with Neji in the doorway of her stall. So it was a great shock to them when they heard the door to the bathroom open. Fully aware of how it might look if they were seen, never mind if it was Ino or Nozomi, they closed the door to their stall. Tenten lifted her feet from the ground and put them on the toilet.
Needless to say, bathroom stalls aren't very big. She could feel his breath brush the top of her head. A little knot squirmed in her stomach anticipating what might happen. Her heart beat faster and her breath must have been heavy. She desperately looked anywhere but at his face. She could feel his eyes searching for hers. When she finally looked him dead in the eyes, the knot melted. It was impossible to say who kissed who because they both leaned in, but it was the source of many arguments in the future. And depending on the mood they were in they'd change their minds and say it was the other.
Tenten maintains that Neji didn't call the next day or text or anything. Which is ridiculous because all 10 of them had spent the rest of Saturday together, and everyone else remembers how very affectionate they were. It had been permanently burned into their retinas. Neji says that she point blank refused to let him take her home. Which was quite likely. But apparently his arbitrary chivalry compelled him to walk her back to the dorms. That, however, sounded more like Neji just wanted to puff up his own journey back to the dorms, which just happened to have happened at the same time. If they had let him get away with it he'd still be saying that he carried her across the threshold with one arm and a bleeding stump of a leg. (Nobody knows where the sudden injuries came from.) So whatever happened after that kiss, it's really anybody's guess.
Karin made her way over to Sasuke, smelling very strongly of alcohol, and thoroughly incoherent. He didn't even notice, he was trying so hard to wish Rock Lee across the other side of the world, which was the kindest of his wishes to be sure. But Eventually he did notice when Karin actually touched his face and started gurgling something that sounded like, "We would make the most beautiful babies." He realized instantly that she was drunk, so he was pretty prepared to move out of the way when she almost threw up on his shoes.
He could have just left her there and hoped someone else would take care of her. But he stepped around the small pool of vomit and took her to the nearest friend of hers he could spy. Which happened to be Nozomi. He gave her 20 bucks for cab fare and said, "Take her home immediately. And watch that she doesn't fall asleep on her back or she might choke on her own vomit." Nozomi was so surprised that Sasuke cared enough to make sure she took care of Karin, that all she could do was stammer her thanks and agreement. Sai helped Nozomi support Karin as they walked her outside and waited for a taxi to drive by.
Sasuke didn't stay for much longer than that. He was sort of tired of watching Sakura dance with someone else.
Ino was thoroughly put out. She hadn't managed to find Tenten at all. She decided to check one last spot then call it quits. After all, Dei was waiting for her to get back. There was little nook where a staircase met some unused lockers. So to the left of the lockers and behind the stairs there was a narrow space that extended back just so far that you could see anyone if you were just passing by. Ino looked in and there was Shikamaru. She was so surprised that she said something along the lines of, "Where are you hiding her?" In his surprise, Shikamaru actually responded, despite his better instinct, "What are you talking about you troublesome woman?"
At this point Ino just collapsed right there. Which happened to be quite a feat considering the cramped conditions of that space, the dress she was wearing, and the shoes. "I don't know anymore. But you know, it's not really fair for you to keep calling me troublesome." She was speaking in such lazy way. As though she didn't put any thought into her words. She was much too tired. And all the steam she had collected during the search for Tenten just drained her more. But she kept talking the way one does when they're in severe need of sleep. "The last major bit of trouble I got into was when we let out half your family's deer out from the farm and into the forest."
"Yeah and that's not troublesome at all."
"We were like 9. Should you really still be judging me on that? Your mom said it was fine. I still eat at your house every Sunday. So yeah." She heaved a great sigh. "We don't talk anymore."
"We're talking right now. And I'm pretty sure that we were talking earlier today at lunch."
"Yeah… But WE don't talk together anymore. You and me, we used to be best friend thingies Shika. But now I'm just like another troublesome girl or something. It's so sad…" She yawned.
Shikamaru's mind was whirring. The options lay before him in a twisting maze of possibilities. He was trying desperately to navigate them in a way to his advantage, but there Ino was, unpredictable. He decided on inaction, which, in this case, seemed so much like indifference. Ino stared at him for a while, evidently hoping he'd respond. "Nevermind," she muttered to herself. Then she said to him, "I'm going to get my troublesome self out of your pineapple hair then." She pushed herself off from the floor and began squeezing herself out to the hallway, when something tugged on her arm, pulling her back.
"Wait."
"What? Why, I've got to—" He broke her off with a kiss. This shocked her back into full and total awareness. "Shika what are you?"
"Shh." He brushed her hair back from her face, which was at that point quite necessary, since she'd been running around the school. There was quite a bit of kissing after that, but Shikamaru did break away to say, "You're not just another troublesome girl. You're the most troublesome of them all. And I wouldn't have it any other way. It'd just be too easy."
"I can't even tell if that's sweet or not."
"I have to be sweet now?"
"You think you're so clever, you lazy butt. Fine I'm just going to go back to the dorms. You could walk me back, but that'd be "sweet," so I guess you can't." She stuck her tongue out at him and left their little recess.
Left alone in there, the full implications of what he'd done began to hit him. It was such an impulsive decision. And it seemed to have paid off. He finally told Ino how he felt, but his mind began going down all the possible avenues their future could go, and he left for home still trying to weigh the odds.
Sakura was having a great time with Lee. But she'd be having an even greater time if she could just forget about that jerk Sasuke. It was hard enough without even seeing him, but then when she watched him shuffle a piss-drunk Karin out to make sure she got home okay, that did it! Why couldn't she just hate him in peace? If you were committed to hating somebody because they were a jerk, couldn't they just stick to being a jerk instead of suddenly being a good person? She knew she was being ridiculous and childish, but she didn't know how else to be. She left the dance smiling and telling Lee what a wonderful time she had and how they should hang out sometime soon, but she bitterly wished she could just let go.
Gaara and Sophia were sitting down again because Gaara felt that Sophia was too tired to continue. She didn't argue which was testament to how true a statement it was. He offered to take her home, but she just kept saying, "I want to see Naruto and Hinata crowned King and Queen and then we can leave." Gaara rolled his eyes but sat next to her none the less. First just feeling the pressure of her arm against his then her head on his shoulder and by the time they began the announcements, she was thoroughly asleep, head on his lap.
He gently shook her awake, so that the fog was clearing just as they heard the announcer call, "This dance's King and Queen are…. ZABUZA AND HAKU! Come on up and accept your crowns. Let's give it up for our King and Queen!" Piercing shrieks of fangirls filled the room.
"You woke me up for this?" she asked Gaara, massaging her temples to stave off the headache.
"Well, I thought Naruto and Hinata were going to be crowned King and Queen. And you said you wanted to see it."
"Ugh.. Yeah…" she admitted, but she didn't sound too happy about it.
Naruto and Hinata began walking towards them. Hinata was looking concernedly at Naruto who was pouting. "Apparently, Hinata-chan and I weren't allowed to win." Naruto said after some inquisitive looks. "Since it could be viewed as favoritism, since Tsunade-sama is my mom…" While this was true, even if Tsunade-sama hadn't been his mother, nothing could have competed with a mob of fangirls trying to celebrate MOE, not even Naruto yelling, "Believe it!" for four hours. Scratch that, especially not Naruto yelling, "Believe it!" for four hours.
Those four danced the last dance together in a small circle. Despite how tired everyone was, they walked all the way back to the dorms, telling jokes and laughing. But by the time they got back no one wanted to go to their separate dorms, so the four of them crashed out at Naruto's. He pulled out the futon couch, and they passed out in a pile all on top of each other.
OOOHHHH! Well you asked for it and you got it. Comments, criticisms? I was wondering if I made Gaara too sweet and couply and whether I wrote him wrong... So you know confirming or denying my suspicions would be appreciated because then I can make him better for the next chapter. I HAVE PLANS! MWAH HAHA HAHAH. Yeah... you might not like me when the next one's done and over with... But I can't say more than that or spoilers! :p
~MorwenKazul ^_^