Chapter 3

Ino found herself gazing up admiringly at the baroque chandelier above her. The intricate crystal facets were catching the light and casting little rainbows all around the great room at the local country club. The room was large and decorated in the era of the year they had graduated, which in itself was a loose concept. The year they had graduated hadn't really found itself one defining trait like the 50's poodle skirt or the 20's flapper dress. Maybe another 40 years down the line there would be more to look upon as the defining trait of the early 21st century, but not as of right now. The music the DJ was playing was a testament to that particular time though as another song by Usher came on.

Ino glanced around the room, noticing a few familiar faces. It was a small turn out to the event; no more than 70-80 people. She figured that it must be due to the time of the year. It would have made more sense to host this event in the summer rather than the fall.

Her gaze landed on the form of her friend Sakura as said girl practically ran to give her an embrace. She was wearing a knee length, blood red dress with an umpire waist and pleating along the top of the A-line ensemble. The dress was sleeveless and had a modest plunge to the top of the umpire waist.

Smiling with the embrace Ino complemented, "You look great, Sakura!"

"Oh thank you, Ino. You look gorgeous," said girl found herself blushing at the complement.

She had found herself wearing a strapless, dark purple, knee length sequin dress with a sweetheart neck line. Her long cascade of hair was pulled back into a French twist to show off the creamy skin of her shoulders, collar bone and neck.

Not wanting to have too much attention placed on her, she asked Sakura, "Is Lee here?"

"Oh no he had to work. Bummer huh?" Sakura pouted slightly before grinning at Ino, "but I know someone who you would be interested to know is here."

"Who?" Ino asked excitedly, glancing around the room.

Her eyes fell onto a familiar form and she felt the center of her chest go numb. She could feel the heat rising in her ears as this very individual was looking back at her unwaveringly with the same bored expression she remembered so well. This very act brought back so many memories…

She remembered he would stare at her when they were younger to irritate her and make her uncomfortable… She had realized this early on and would stare back competitively. She never won these staring matches, because once he realized she was being defiant he would smirk evilly. This very act incited Ino's irritation further to the point that she would go over and yell at him or attempt to ignore him completely…but she always remembered the feeling those unwavering dark eyes gave her…

She could feel a slow tremor make its way through her body as she looked away with a frown. She didn't remember him being so tall… Well it had been ten years since she had seen him last… Her wavering gaze fell upon Sakura's questioning one and she could feel herself begin to blush as her shoulders stiffened. The knowing look in her friend's eyes was unnerving…

"What?!" she practically snapped, glaring at the pink haired girl.

"Nothing, just watching you drool," she teased.

"I was not drooling!" Ino protested vehemently, "Why would I be interest to know that Shikamaru was here anyway?!" she retorted.

"I wasn't referring to Shikamaru, Ino," Sakura corrected, her shrewd smirk growing.

Ino regarded her with a helpless expression as she realized she had been caught. Her cheeks grew hot with dismay as she opened her mouth several times, grasping for a witty retort that never came. Why had she let his very presence stir her up like that? All he had to do was look at her to get a rise out of her and this frustrated Ino beyond all belief. She chalked her dramatic reaction up to unpleasant memories and made to move along with the conversation.

"Well then who are you talking about?"

"Choji," Sakura answered simply, gesturing to the staunch man hovering over the buffet line like his life depended on it.

Ino's expression lightened as she shouted over to the aforementioned man. With a startled expression, he looked back over his shoulder as Ino and Sakura made their way over to him. His narrow eyes brightened as he recognized both girls.

"Ino, how's it going?" Choji asked amicably.

"Good! How are you, Choji?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his thick neck in a gentle hug.

Choji was one of her best guy friends. He had grown taller and in doing so had evened out from being previously overweight. His hair was a light ruddy brown that matched the color of his eyes. His face had thinned out substantially, but his cheeks still seemed boyishly round. He was tall and she could almost define him as bulky with his broad shoulders and large chest.

"You know, living the dream," he responded nonchalantly to her query.

Ino loved his personality. He was a laid back kind of person and very loyal. He never let anything bother him and Ino wished she could be like him more than once in her twenty-eight years.

Upon arriving at the party, boredom began to set in as Shikamaru yawned widely. His lackluster expression seemed to ward off any potential conversations as he sauntered around the great room of the local country club. Why he had deigned to attend this monotonous event he did not know… Until his sharp eyes caught sight of something glittering out of the corner of his eye.

His lazy expression turned into that of a confident smirk as he took in the sight of his former class mate. Yamanaka Ino was talking very animatedly with Haruna Sakura and the former woman looked incredible. Her glittering cocktail dress hugged all the right curve and he found himself drinking in her appearance hungrily…

Even at a young age, he had noticed the appeal of the blond. She was vivacious and confident and as she grew older in years her body had filled out to that of a woman's. She also seemed to know the power that she had over men as she selected her would be suitors with a shallow eye. She had only seen it fit to show her affections to those men who she deemed as handsome, which left him out of the running…

But that didn't stop him from torment the girl. He had loved to get under her skin as a kid, ignoring her nagging entirely and doing every possible thing he could think of to get a reaction out of her. It made him happy that the very least he could do was get her to notice him through anger and frustration…

Looking back on it now, it had been juvenile…but he was certain that she hadn't forgotten him as she turned to meet his inquisitive gaze. He could feel a small sense of satisfaction as she looked upon him with wide eyes, her ears notably turning a dark shade of red.

He could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest as her gaze traveled over his form before she looked away abruptly to hiss something at Sakura.

Oh yeah, she remembered him alright. Allowing a pleased smile to pass over his lips, he continued to watch her, remembering the way that she had made him feel back then. He had been infatuated with her and, to some extent, still was today. He was never foolish enough to act on these feelings, though, as he did have some sense of self-preservation back in high school… He would have been the laughingstock of the school if he had asked her out. But now, at his age and with the success that he had made for himself, he was free to peruse and be with any woman that he wanted…and right now he wanted her…

With his mind made up, he took on a lazy expression once more as he noticed the two women approaching one of his good old friends. And after a few more minutes, he wandered over to see how his friend was doing.

"Hey I'm going to go say hi to Naruto. I'll catch up with you two in a little while, ok?" Sakura offered as she excused herself.

Ino nodded in understanding, continuing her light hearted conversation with Choji before she noticed his eyes looking above her head. She looked back at him curiously before turning slightly to find Shikamaru had come to stand behind her.

She could feel a stalker insult on the tip of her tongue but bit it back. There was just something about his very presence that put her on edge and made her want to be on the defensive. It wasn't necessarily a negative feeling. It was almost like an exciting thrill not knowing what to expect from the lazy, stoic individual.

Most other men were so predictable. They really only wanted three things in life: sex, food and sleep and most of them in that particular order. It seemed, even back then, that Shikamaru had been different. When her friends were all bragging about having sex at the tender age of sixteen or seventeen he was trying to cut class to take a nap outside underneath the football goal.

Ino regarded him silently. He was tall with jet black hair pulled back into a messy pony tail at the crown of his head. His eyes were black as well and always seemed to know more than he let on. Ino had always known him as a guarded individual who never really expressed himself. He was lean in the waist, broad in the shoulders, and narrow in the hips. Ino didn't remember his stature being so appealing back then. He had been a skinny stick from what she had remembered. He was still thin, but he seemed more proportionate.

Her assessment of him took no more than a few seconds and with that she gave him an uninterested look and turned back around to continue her conversation with Choji. Realizing that Choji's attention was no longer completely on her, she grudgingly stepped aside to allow the dark haired man into their conversation.

Ino could feel her insides tremble nervously. Her muscles tensed in expectation as she could feel Shikamaru's eyes on her again… Why wouldn't he stop staring at her…?

"How's it going Shikamaru?" Choji asked amicably.

With that his eyes left her and Ino had to restrain a sigh of relief, "Pretty good, how have you been Choji?"

"Living the dream, like I was telling Ino."

Being drawn into the conversation, Ino smiled cordially at the dark haired man as his eyes fell upon her again. Nervous energy built up within her and she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I saw that magazine article about you in Forbes," she began, "hope you haven't gotten stuck up now that you're rich and all," she wanted to kick herself for being so blunt.

Shikamaru raised a single brow at her rude comment before smirking down at her, "Well someone out of our class had to be successful. Too bad it didn't happen to be you, huh, Ino?" He jeered back, never missing a beat.

Taking the bate, Ino shifted her weight to face him fully. Her four inch heels assisting in her desire to be insistent as she pressed a finger into his chest, "Who said I wasn't successful?!"

Not intimidated in the slightest he answered back with a smirk, "No one, I just haven't seen any magazine articles about you is all."

Ino's ire was incited as she glared hatefully up at the tall man. Not knowing what to say, her brain finally caught up with her mouth. Understanding dawned on her as she schooled her expression and turned to look at Choji once more. He was trying to get a reaction out of her and he had succeeded, the least she could do was show a little resistance by turning the conversation in her own favor.

"So what have you been up to Choji?"

"Not much. Just been working on my fast food franchising. I got five stores set up along the east coast and I'm looking to open two more by the end of the year."

Ino's heart sank at the mention of his accomplishment. She was happy for her friend, no doubt, but it seemed like she was the only one from their graduating class that hadn't turned out to be a success. Sakura was on the verge of becoming a doctor, Choji was running his own stores, and Shikamaru was a multi-millionaire assisting a company that's net worth was one quarters of a billion dollars. It was a cruel future that she had fought for, and at this very moment she was wondering if her dreams were really worth the short comings she continued to uncover.

Recovering quickly from her short spell of silence and self-loathing, she beamed brightly up at Choji, "That is incredible! I am so happy for you. What chain of restaurants is it?"

"Chick-fil-A," he answered simply, looking back to Shikamaru he asked, "So what's this about you being in Forbes?"

Ino could feel the desire to scowl and did her best to suppress it. She did not want to hear about Shikamaru's success story! So what if the guy was Mr. Money Bags right now…? Despite this feeling she found herself listening intently to his story.

"It's nothing, really. I just started out advising a couple of my father's friends and attended a few parties. I got the attention of a couple of top name companies and now here I am."

He made it seem so simple! Ino found herself trembling again, however it was a much different feeling than before. She was feeling irate and jealous and unaccomplished. She clenched her jaw with an almost audible snap and made to excuse herself from the conversation as she looked around for an escape route. Not finding one at the ready she found herself lying just to get away.

"Oh hey I see Sai! I'll talk to you later Choji," turning to face the dark haired man beside her she noticed an unfamiliar, dark expression upon his face. Choosing to dismiss it, she smiled at him in a sickeningly sweet manner, saying his name in dismissal, "Shikamaru."

With that she restrained herself to a steady, confident strut as she swept by the dark man and headed in the direction of the restrooms.

Shikamaru could feel his irritation rise as he watched the blond stroll off, not giving him a second glance. It felt so similar to their high school days that it almost made him sick. Off she went to go chase after some emotionless jerk that didn't even like her. The guy didn't even know she existed, while he stood by, waiting and hoping that one day she would realize what was right in front of her all along.

Shikamrau had not been the type of person to pine over anyone, but he had infrequent thoughts about the blond during their ten years apart…

His eyes followed her as she brushed by people in a hurry. Suspicion dawned as she did not approach the individual she had mention, instead opting to head in the direction of the restrooms. A calculating look came across his face as he scanned the room for Sai.

Shikamaru smirked as he noticed that said man wasn't even present…

He excused himself from the conversation he was having with Choji to get a breath of fresh air out on the terrace. Ino was avoiding him, but why he didn't know. She seemed agitated in a way that was different from the norm and he wondered what could possibly be wrong with the petite woman.

Upon reaching the restrooms Ino found herself panting nervously. She entered into a stall, leaning dejectedly against the door as the balls of her hands pressed to her eyelids. She could feel the hot sting of tears and chocked back a sob as she attempted to regain control of herself.

She should have never come to this stupid reunion. All it was doing was reminding her that she could never measure up. She felt inadequate her whole life and fought that feeling with a bravado that was beginning to diminish…

With the previous conversation acting like a cold shower, she recalled the main reason she had chosen to attend the party. She needed to ask someone if they could help her get her foot in the door of some well-paying company…

Sighing in defeat, she steadied her emotions and exited the stall to look at herself in one of the mirrors. She needed to do this. She needed help, pride be damned. She was desperate and she needed to accept the almost certain possibility that she could end up out on the streets. Resigned to her fate, she bolstered her courage and left the restroom in search of more familiar faces.

She only recognized a few people and cursed at the thought that she wasn't social enough in high school. Uzumaki Naruto, a tall blond haired man with bright sky blue eyes, was talking animatedly with Sakura. Beside him stood Hyuuga Hinata, a beautiful, quiet girl with pale grey eyes and a long fall of midnight black hair. She noticed the two of them sporting bands on their left ring fingers and knew that they were out as potential helpers. After paying for a wedding they were most likely in no position to help her and she didn't want to bother the couple with her own personal problems…

Scanning the room further, Ino realized that she didn't recognize anyone else there… Heart sinking, she made her way over to a set of French doors that lead out to the terrace. She needed some fresh air desperately.

The terrace was aglow with fire lit torches, giving the area a mysterious feel. An outdoor fire place was stationed and ignited underneath the pergola that was decorated with shear flowing curtains at each corner. The atmosphere felt secluded and romantic.

With a sigh, Ino glanced through the partitions of the pergola at the star dotted sky. She could begin to feel the onset of a fresh bout of tears as the feeling of defeat settled into the pit of her stomach. Clenching her jaw, she willed the feeling to leave her as she stepped nearer to the glowing fireplace for warmth. The autumn air was brisk and chilly and it set off a tremor throughout her body.

"So if a magazine article was written about you, what would it say?"

Ino jerked at the unexpected voice and glowered as a figure came out from behind the fireplace. It was none other than Shikamaru, and Ino stiffened up minimally, gathering her defenses around her. She watched as his eyes regarded her passively and practically bristled as a slow smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. Another staring contest had begun before Ino lost, looking to her side contemptuously.

"It would say 'Driven Woman Finally Achieves Lifelong Dream'," she lied as her eyes settled onto a set of outdoor wicker chairs.

"Would it now?" Shikamaru asked brazenly as he approached her steadily.

Ino felt as if she was being looked at as prey and averted her eyes to gaze upon Shikamaru steadily. She refused to let him get under her skin and set her shoulders in a straight line while tilting up her chin defiantly.

Shikamaru came to a halt no more than five feet from her and continued to engage Ino with his cool gaze. Ino felt unnerved by his stare and closed her eyes against it.

Taking in a deep breath she confesses, "'Determined Woman Strikes out Once Again'," she realized the double meaning to this and left it to the proposed genius to determine the actual meaning.

Nothing was said after that and the silence became smothering to her. She opened her eyes to discover a minute change to the look in Shikamaru's gaze. It was so minimal that even she wasn't sure that there was a change, but she could swear there was a slight softening at the corners of his eyes. With that she took the dive…

"I was actually wondering if you had a connection that you wouldn't mind setting me up with?"

AN: It was a lot of fun to write for Shikamaru. I love his personality and how cocky he is. Funny though, guys that do that in real life really irritate me…Please review.