Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Okay, so here's the deal; I'm on summer vacation and I've been taking these naps around 1 or 2 everyday and they last until like, 5-7. Anyways, these naps give me energy to work on until, like, late at night and throw that together with the fact that I know how I want this story to go so far, equals frequent updates. I know, I seem old for taking routinely naps, but I'm telling you, it is really relaxing. It took me forever to pull myself out of bed this afternoon. Alright, enough of me boring you, now on to chapter 3 of Walking Tightropes!

Walking Tightropes

Chapter 3: The Ex

I really like Lit and for many reasons actually. One, it's one of the only classes where I understand what the hell the teacher is talking about. Two, the books we're reading aren't absolutely horrible. And Three, I'm taking AP Lit and it's the only AP class that I have an A in. Oh, and Mr. Vyke isn't all that bad looking for a 28 year old. Not that I have a creepy, underage crush on him or anything.

But, there's a bad side to every good thing and here's the thing with Lit: Hojo's in my class.

I know, sucks, right?

-x-

I had completely forgotten all about Hojo in the time between begging Sango to keep the break-up out of the paper and seeing Inuyasha for the first time. However, the memory at the park hit me like a ton of bricks when I walked into Lit, hand still gripping Inuyasha's forearm. Hojo looked at InuYasha and me and gave me a look that could kill. I'm not doing a very good job with disproving the whole 'slut' rumor Hojo is probably spreading around.

I immediately took my hand off Inuyasha and walked to my desk in the middle of the class with my head down. I think Inuyasha was going to follow me to a nearby empty desk, but, unlike Mrs. Muso who didn't notice Inuyasha until he asked for a book, Mr. Vyke noticed Inuyasha immediately and made him come to the front so he could issue him a book and make him introduce himself to the class after the bell rang.

To make the situation even better, Hojo sits behind me. He sits behind me and breathes down my neck when all I want to do is forget his existence. Yes, I broke the guy's heart, I'm not proud of it, but I can feel his eyes burning holes in the back of my head and it's not very comfortable. Hojo hates me, I know that, but his Darth Vader heavy breathing on my neck was starting to creep me out.

I finally decided that I couldn't take it anymore and I should try my chances at acting as if Saturday night never happened. I don't like the whole… awkwardness of this situation.

"Hey Hojo," I smiled as I turned around, the entire room falling into a hush. This is what happens when your boyfriend tells everybody you're a heartless mega bitch that only goes out with people to get them in bed. All lies. "How was Mr. Kahn's class? Sango said she had a pop quiz feeling and I'm hoping to disprove her for once, so…"

Hojo looked at me with suspicion laced with hate as he searched my face for a clue as to whether or not I had any ulterior motives. And I didn't; I just wanted to know if we would be having a 'pop' quiz or not (and to get him to stop breathing down my neck).

"Kahn keeps lecturing us on how pissed he gets when we give it away that we're having a pop quiz to his other classes and he's threatening to take away our extra credit," Hojo finally answered. "I can't tell you anything."

Funny, because you sure didn't hesitate when you thought you could lure me into your bed. It was a bitter thought and it's not like I can hold him against it since he was in love with me and seriously, what should I expect? To be treated the exact same way after that horrendous break up? Fat chance; break ups don't work like that.

"That's too bad," I sighed, but I didn't really want to turn back around yet. "So… how was your weekend?"

Hojo's eyes narrowed. "It was pretty shitty. Yours?"

Maybe that wasn't the best question to ask. We broke up this weekend. And Sunday, judging by the amount of rumors humming through the halls, he was pissed and spent all day in his room telling everyone what a bitch I was. I should have kept the questions simple. Something like what he had for breakfast.

"Eh…" I offered, shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing special."

For some reason that seemed to piss Hojo off even more. What? What did I do now to make him hate my guts even more? He asked about my weekend and I chose to remain indifferent and say nothing special happened. I went to the park, broke up with him, and spent the rest of Sunday avoiding all contact with the outside world. What could I have possibly done wrong now?

"It seems you found yourself a new toy." Hojo whispered dangerously low, glaring over my shoulder. When I turned around I saw he was burning holes into Inuyasha's back. "Where'd you find that one?"

Oh, so this is what that look of hate is about. Jealousy. He thinks I like Inuyasha and I can see why he'd be pissed considering it has been only… less than two days since we broke up. But, Inuyasha shouldn't be the one he's worried about; it should be Dai. Dai is the one I was comparing him to the entire time, the reason we broke up, the reason I will never love him. God, I am a bitch. Faking it like Hojo had an honest chance when I was really just… I don't even know what I was doing for the six months anymore.

"…a real keeper." Hojo was hissing when I tuned back into the conversation. "I mean any guy who dyes his hair silver is a strait as Ronnie's hair." Ronnie is this kid on the baseball team with the biggest afro of curls you can imagine. It's like he refuses to get a haircut.

"One, not only am I 99.5% sure that he's not gay, but I also happen to know that the color of his hair is natural. And two, you're a fucking jackass and I don't regret breaking up with you at all." And three, I don't like Inuyasha. Why can't anyone see that?

That said, I turned back around in my desk and faced the front, ignoring the eruption of conversation that broke out in the classroom as the warning bell went off. I don't get it. I'm not popular and I don't stand out very much in a crowd, but everyone is always in my business and I don't know why. Yeah, you just watched the editor of the school newspaper and her ex get in a post break up fight, good for you. What good does that do anyone? In fact, more than half the people in this school don't even know I'm the editor of Shikon Times. Then again, less than half the people at this school actually buy the paper.

"Well, you're a bitch Kagome," Hojo hissed in my ear as he leaned forward. "And don't you ever forget it."

I hate him. I hate Hojo so much. What I did hurt him, I get it, but he's being a really big asshole about it.

"All right class," Mr. Vyke spoke, clapping his hands together as the bell rang. "We have a new student joining you in this prison cell so let's all make him feel welcomed." I loved how Mr. Vyke admitted that school was a place that contained our free spirits. "Inuyasha, please introduce yourself to the class."

Inuyasha stepped up and took center stage, not looking nervous at all considering he was being singled out as the new kid. Not that I think anyone in their right mind would have a reason to hate Inuyasha. I mean, just look at him. Oh man; I sound shallow.

"My name is Inuyasha Takahashi, I now live with my dad, I play the guitar and piano, but I don't like to really sing. But if you know of any local bands looking or a guitarist, just let me know."

A girl in the front raised her hand and Inuyasha's brow furrowed together before he called on her. "Yeah?"

"Would you like us to give you a contact number in case we do find a band that is looking for a guitarist?" She gave him an alluring look, licking her lips and pushing her chest out just a bit more than she already does for Mr. Vyke. That slut!

"Just talk to me at school," Inuyasha answered, offering a fleeting smile. He looked at me and gave me a what-the-fuck look and I felt special for being the one he shared this thought with.

"Alright, that's good Inuyasha," Mr. Vyke interrupted before any more hands could shoot up. "Please take a seat…"

Next to me. The guy I sit next to always skips this class or is sick or whatever. He misses so much class time I don't even know his name. Really, who would care if Inuyasha sat next to me and we ended up bonding over The Illiad?

The breathing on the back of my neck was hot and got heavier. Maybe Hojo would care.

"The seat next to Kagome is always empty; please take a seat beside her." Whoo! I love Mr. Vyke. "Kagome, please be sure to help Inuyasha out with whatever."

"No problem, sir."

Inuyasha was wearing some sort of smirk as he walked down the aisle and towards his seat. He smiled at me as he slid into his desk and leaned over as Mr. Vyke jumped into a speech about this weekend's homework.

"I guess you're stuck with me," He whispered in my ear and a set of shivers ran down my spine.

"I guess so."

"Shhh," Hojo hissed from behind us. "Some of us actually care about what Mr. Vyke is saying and aren't trying to find a new toy for their enjoyment."

"Hojo…"

"No, I think it's fair this guy knows exactly what he's getting himself in." Hojo said, looking at me dead in the eye, challenging me to stop him. Even if I wanted to—and I really, really did—Hojo continued before I had a chance, now looking at Inuyasha who looked a bit confused. "You see, Kagome isn't looking to settle down at all. No, it's really a friends-with-benefits relationship except you're left out on that tiny bit of information, and you don't find out until you fall in love. Then she wants to laugh in your face and call you delusional because you actually thought the relationship was going somewhere when in fact, it's all just a relationship formed to satisfy her—"

"I do not—" I stopped myself before I blurted it out and looked around to make sure Mr. Vyke hadn't heard our little conversation. So far, so good. "Just drop it, Hojo," I hissed, still facing forward. "He's got nothing to do with this."

"I'm not the only one who says it though," Hojo continued talking behind my head and I wanted to rip him to shreds, instead I gripped the edge of my desk to keep from doing so. "I didn't believe it because we were together for six months"—for some reason I don't want anyone to know I dated Hojo, now that he's being a complete ass—"but it's all the same no matter how long you're with her. Kagome doesn't commit and she's only in it for the fun. She's your Class A sl—"

"Shut up!" I shouted, whirling around completely forgetting the fact that I was in the middle of class. "I'm not a slut, okay? I just don't love you. Back off," I seethed through gritted teeth. I hate Hojo's guts.

"Is there a problem here?"

I flinched at Mr. Vyke's deep voice and slowly turned around, trying to ignore the many pair of eyes on me. I hate discussing relationships in the middle of class. Even when Hojo was playing nice and leaning over his desk to whisper in my ear when we were dating. I hated it because I knew every single pair of eyes in here saw him flirting at least once and I just hate that feeling. The feeling when the whole class knows your boyfriend can't keep it in his pants; it's just awkward.

"No, everything's—"

"Not okay," Inuyasha cut me off, I looked at him to ask him what the hell he was doing but he didn't even look back at me. "This guy over here is clearly harassing this girl with these crude remarks and while I'm trying to ignore him, all his hissing and deep breathing is distracting me and I didn't catch a word you just said. I can't sit here and pretend to be invisible when this guy is verbally abusing…" Inuyasha squinted at me as if he was trying to remember something. "Kagome, was it?"

"Uh… th-that's right. I…m-my name that is," I managed to get it out like the bumbling fool I've been about all morning when it came to Inuyasha. But this time I was surprised and not too caught up in Inuyasha's looks to completely blank on a response. I was genuinely shocked that Inuyasha was… was he trying to defend me?

Mr. Vyke looked back and forth between me and Hojo before his eyes finally settled on me. "Is that true Kagome?"

"I… It's…" I looked over to Inuyasha and he nodded his head discreetly. "Yeah," I finally answered, surprised that the words made it pass the tennis ball in my throat. "We're not really on the best of terms right now." I whispered, hanging my head so my hair hid my face from everyone else in the room. Just thinking about everybody who was watching this little drama unfold was making my stomach sick.

"I see." Mr. Vyke looked around for a second and the class fell into an awkward silence. Even the shuffling of papers seemed wrong in this situation. "Uh…Yoko? Yes, Yoko," Mr. Vyke repeated to himself, assuring himself that whatever he was planning was a good. "Yoko, would you please switch seats with Hojo?"

I tensed for a second. I get rid of Hojo but only to be replaced by the girl the guy I love is in love with. I don't know whether this change is for the better or worse.

"Uh… sure," Yoko answered after a moment of hesitation. When I looked over my shoulder she was gathering her stuff and heading towards Hojo's seat, where Hojo was still sitting, dumbstruck.

"Mr. Vyke, I'm not—"

"I heard enough of the conversation to know who to believe," Mr. Vyke cut Hojo and I blushed a deep shade of red. "Please, to your new seat."

After some huffing and grumbling under his breath, Hojo finally got up from the seat and marched towards the back of the class and Yoko took her new seat behind me. At least she wasn't breathing down my neck. Then again… if she ever finds out I'm in love with her boyfriend she might shove daggers in my back when I fall asleep in class.

"Alright, now that that's been taken care of, let's get back on topic." Mr. Vyke picked up his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird and delved us into a discussion over this weekend's reading

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha whispered from beside me but when I looked over, he was facing forward as if he never said a word. For a second I thought it might have been my imagination, but he looked at me out of the corner of his eye after I was quiet for too long. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" I finally answered, slowly facing forward to make it look as if we were actually listening. "Thanks a lot by the way. I… I was just going to endure it. I thought I deserved it because of the break-up and everything, but he was hitting on some really—"

"Nobody deserves to be treated like that over a break-up." Inuyasha whispered back, cutting me off. "Unless you cheated on him, and I don't see you as the type of person to cheat."

"I'm not."

"Well, then he's being an asshole. You don't deserve to be talked about like that."

I looked at Inuyasha out of the corner of my eye to see him staring at me intently, and the seriousness in his gold eyes took my breath away.

"I… uh, thanks," I mumbled, looking away to hide my blush behind a curtain of hair. "That's really good to hear."

"Ahem, Kagome?" Mr. Vyke cleared his throat and looked at me with raised brows. "Is there another problem over there?"

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "Everything's…" I looked at Inuyasha who was looking at me blankly as if nothing happened. I still blushed a bit and my lips twitched up into a smile. "Everything is fine, Mr. Vyke. Perfect."

"Then please, would you answer number two on the study guide?" He looked at my blank desk and clucked his tongue. "Really, Kagome, I'd expect you to be on top of things after two months of school."

"Sorry." I mumbled, pulling the crinkled sheet of paper out of my book bag and smoothing it out on my desk so it would be a bit easier to read. "Number two…"

"We're waiting."

"Right. Well, I thought…" For some reason I didn't have an answer number two. Or three or four or the whole sheet for that matter. Crap. But I did the reading so all I had to do was read the question and try to form an answer. "I thought that when…" Mr. Vyke tapped his foot, looking impatient. I quickly threw some crap answer together. Mr. Vyke was pleased enough to move on to the next question that I was sure to copy the answer down for.

"Very impressive for someone who didn't do their homework," Inuyasha muttered from beside me and when I looked over he was trying not to smile.

"I did the reading," I mumbled. "But you have to be able to think on your feet."

"For some reason, I don't see you being good with that." Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe the whole 'your hair is what's up' thing just has me a little off base." He smiled, but I was still embarrassed beyond belief that he hadn't chosen to completely discard that memory. "But there's always a next time." Inuyasha smiled and my heart skipped a beat.

"Next time," I promised, "I am going to blow you away."

-x-

"And he was such an ass about the entire thing," I told Ayame in the locker room as I pulled my shirt off and tossed it into the open locker. "I usually feel like the big bad bitch after a break-up, but I don't this time. I'm just…" My gym shirt dangled from my hand as I tried to grasp the right words, "pissed. I just hate him so much now." I pulled my shirt over my head and got to work on taking off my jeans. "And then he tells Inuyasha all this complete bull about how I'm a slut. Me!" I shouted, whipping my jeans off and throwing them in my locker to join my shirt and I pulled my shorts out of my book bag. "He is being such a bitch!"

"Such an asshole," Ayame agreed with a nod as she finished tying her shoes. She's always dressed and ready before me. "Telling Inuyasha—and I have no idea who he is or his significance—you're a slut is just wrong; it has assholery just written all over it."

"Sorry," I apologized, giving Ayame a weak smile as I pulled my shorts up and grabbed my sneakers. "Inuyasha is this new guy in my Calc and Lit class. And I think Sango told me we shared this class. He's, like, ridiculously hot."

"Ahh…" Ayame nodded as she stood up from the bench in the middle of the row of lockers. "So, in other words, he's your new crush."

"No," I denied almost too quickly. "He's just… really hot. And I was mad at Hojo for telling him I was a slut because he could be very good friend material," I answered before Ayame had a chance to ask, propping my foot up on the bench to tie my shoe. "And I don't like Hojo telling anyone I'm a slut. It's degrading."

"He should have thought of a better way to deal with the heartbreak." Ayame agreed, snatching her water bottle from her locker. "Then again," I looked at her expectantly, "you should have thought of a better way of breaking up with him. The friends with benefits deal? Really?"

"I was just trying to completely crush his hopes that I would ever eventually love him!" I thought over what I just said. "I guess that doesn't sound very good."

"Exactly. You should have tried to bring him down easy and then find a good excuse as to why you can't go out with him any longer." Ayame advised and I listened carefully. "He'd only be mopey and not an asshole if you did it that way."

"Why can't you just do the break-ups for me?"

"I can't stand to see a heartbroken face." Ayame shrugged. "Now let's go before coach barks at us again for holding up our class with our 'lady talk'." Ayame rolled her eyes and I laughed, quickly tying my other shoe. We both headed out of the locker room to the weight room where Weight Management was held.

Ayame and I met freshman year in gym. We bonded over complaining about running laps, push-ups, sit-ups, flag football, etcetera, and celebrating when it rained, meaning we couldn't run laps on the track or play any of the outdoor activities. Rainy days usually resulted in playing basketball indoors, but, being athletically challenged, we usually ended up sitting off to the side, talking and rolling a ball back and forth between us. Then we took Swimming together as sophomores and whined over the hundred sit-ups—and I'm not exaggerating—we ended up doing on Workout Wednesdays that had our stomach aching the next day. Junior Year it was aerobics and getting tired of the constant lifting of our legs, and now we're in Weight Management together, not liking days when we did track exercises. Over the years we managed to mold our complaining into a solid friendship and actually stayed fit through all that complaining.

"Glad to see you two finally decided to join us." Coach Rowan greeted us as we stepped into the weight room, checking our names off on his attendance sheet. The middle of the floor was cleared and mats were set down and my classmates were lined up on either side of the mats. Great. We were starting off with sit-ups and push-ups. "I'm going to start timing you two and marking you tardy. Holding up the class with your lady talk…" he mumbled, setting the clipboard down on the floor behind him. Ayame and I both rolled our eyes. "Get into the line ladies so we can finally start," Coach Rowan ordered and we complied.

We squeezed into line on opposite sides of each other, two spots down from where Inuyasha stood across from Miroku who waved as we passed him. Inuyasha caught my eye on my way and offered a miniscule smile that Ayame didn't miss and she nudged me.

"You may not like him, but he seems to be really into you."

"Shut up!" I whispered, pushing her away as she laughed.

"Alright, we're going to warm up today with some push-ups." Ayame and I shared a look of dread. "Let's do… three sets of ten to start. Down on the mats!"

I grumbled under my breath as I got down on my hands and knees. I was about to start doing 'girl' push-ups—Coach Rowan refers to them as Type 2 push-ups to not be sexist but he slips up all the time—when Coach blew his whistle obnoxiously loud in my ear.

"Real push-up today girls," Coach scolded and I sighed, lifting myself up on my hands and toes. I can do real push-ups, easy, but is there really a crime with being lazy? "Alright, we'll do the first two sets on my count. Ready? Down!" We went all went down. "Up! One!" The weight room isn't that big so I don't get why Coach Rowan always insists on yelling.

"You know, I finally understand why you keep dating," Ayame whispered so not to be overheard by Rowan where he could lecture us again about our distracting 'lady talk'.

"Down!"

"You've only told me this a hundred times."

"Up! Two!"

"No, but I really get it now." We went down as ordered. "You are codependent."

"Up! Three!"

"I mean, think about it. You don't have to try to fill the void now; we're in high school for heaven's sake and how many high school relationships actually last?"

"Down!"

"There are plenty of high school sweetheart stories and I am not codependent. I do plenty of things on my own!"

"I said down Higurashi!" I dropped to the ground, grumbling. "Up! Four!"

"Well, codependency is the only explanation the public is going to believe. Well, that or the other explanation."

"One, people should mind their own business because this has nothing—"

"Down!"

"—to do with them." It's so stupid that people talk about a person they don't even know just because they're bored and need something to talk about. I'm pretty sure less than half my senior class knows who I am without hearing my name through gossip. "And two, what other made up explanation is there?"

"Up! Five!"

"That you have a sex addiction," Ayame said easily.

"Down!"

"I do not have a sex addiction," I hissed, trying to control my volume. "Hojo is just—"

"Higurashi! Down."

I dropped to the ground again, but I heard the undeniable sound of someone trying to stifle a laugh. I looked over to my left and saw Inuyasha biting his lip with a red face, laughing through his nose. He was whispering something to Miroku who looked at me, lifting up his brows and I had to look away to hide the huge blush creeping up to take over. The one thing I was trying to keep Inuyasha from finding out about and I was the one who spilled the beans. Great. This is a total Office moment (Jim told everyone at the rehearsal dinner that Pam was pregnant instead of Michael like everyone thought).

"Up! I said up Higurashi!"

I would prefer to stay down, thank you very much. Maybe I had a better chance of hiding embarrassment if I kept my face pressed into the ground.

-x-

I really hate Weight Management for all of the obvious reasons: the physical effort that is required causes a mental strain on my creativity and a physical strain on my body. The fact that you can't take a nap in a class that requires constant movement. Oh, and get this; on lifting days weights are actually heavy. Who'd a thunk it? And Coach Rowan is always calling me out for, I don't know, everything wasn't making that class any better.

But Inuyasha is in my class now and things were starting to look up for me. I was almost actually looking forward to Weigh Management. But then I had to go and make a fool out of myself and for some reason Inuyasha knowing that I had a lot of boyfriends—he'd probably find out sooner or later—let alone slept with them, just doesn't sit right in my stomach.

-0-0-0-0-0-

And that's it for chapter 3. I had a better ending planned but right before I could write it my mom comes bombarding in and kicks me off the computer, claiming she needed to use it, and I completely forgot what I was planning to write. Don't you just hate it when that happens? Alright so I hoped you liked it and PLEASE REVIEW! Because I get really happy when I read reviews :D

hanmajoerin was so here, and let THUNK slide…which means she edited...DUH!

~Kimiko888~