Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Does my butt look good?" Sakura asked her friends, staring at herself in the mirror of the school's bathroom. "If you ask us that one more time, I'm slapping you." She laughed at her friend's response, "Sorry, I'm just a little self-conscious tonight." Hinata smiled at her, and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Don't be, you're gorgeous."

A smile came to Sakura's red painted lips, "No, you. I absolutely love that dress on you." She complimented her friend, loving the beautiful off-white dress she wore. "Right? Her boobs are like fantastic." TenTen said from across the bathroom, as she reapplied her lipstick that matched her crimson colored dress.

"Your's too, all of us just look amazing." Ino said with a smile, making her friends nod in agreement. "Are you excited to hear that you won?" Temari asked her, referring to her winning the nomination for the dance.

She nodded, "I can't wait to dance with Sai. He's going to be so surprised to hear that we won." The only reason they all knew that she had won, was because TenTen had a friend who was on the planning committee.

"Yeah, I hear that he's never been to a dance before. He'll be happy, right?" Temari asked, and she nodded with a smile.

"Hopefully. He's shy sometimes, but I know he was so excited about tonight." Sakura smiled at the thought of that, "I'm so glad we're all happy, and in healthy relationships." Hinata nodded in agreement, subconsciously playing with the ring that sat against her chest, since it was attached to a metal necklace chain.

They had been engaged for only five days, and she hadn't told her friends just yet. She was more than happy, but she knew exactly what they would say, and she just wanted to be stress free for a few more hours, before telling them that she would be marrying Naruto the moment they graduated from high school. "Speaking of them, we should probably head back out."

"How's everyone's night going?" Mr. Guy asked the group of boys who sat at their table, drinking their fruit punch from the clear plastic cups. "Good, Sir Guy. How's your night been?" Lee answered, before they had a full conversation, that made the rest of the boys roll their eyes at their enthusiasm.

"And how are you, Mr. Hatake?" Naruto asked the man as he stood a few feet away, occupied by his book. "Great, Naruto." He answered simply, without looking away from his book. "Have you gotten to the part where they go to the spring of youth?"

With that question, Kakashi looked at his student. "What?" He asked him, indicating that he hadn't made it that far into the book. "Whoops." He teased, making his teacher groan loudly, before walking away from the teenaged boys. "Hello, Ladies." Guy said to them as they approached their dates.

"Hello, how are you?" TenTen asked him with a smile, while her manicured fingers sat against Neji's shoulder. On her ring finger sat a ring that he had given her last March, for her birthday.

The ring was a pear cut ruby, that was surrounded by shiny diamonds. When he gave her the promise ring, after a year of saving up for it, he promised that their first two years together was only a preview to the future he envisioned for the them, and he planned to fulfill his promise, by the grace of God.

His lavender colored eyes gazed at her painted lips, as she smiled at their teacher politely, while making casual conversation. A smile came to his own lips as he admired her beauty for a moment.

After an almost half a decade long relationship, a part of him was still surprised that he had managed to find someone so perfect for him. Like any young person, love didn't initially come easy for them, contrary to what their friends would believe, but after years of pure communication, and seemingly endless compromising, they knew that they were meant to be. The both of them could hardly wait for what the future had in store for them, because they had so much faith in one another.

Across the table sat Shikamaru, who was leaning against the table with his head in the palm of his hand, as his girlfriend talked to his friends. "Can you at least pretend to be having a good time?" She asked him, making him look into her green eyes. Ignoring her teasing, he leaned forward and kissed her lips gently.

  "You look beautiful." A blush came to her face, and she rolled her beautiful eyes while saying, "Thank you." As she looked into his inviting eyes, he watched as she resisted the urge of messing up her matte lipstick, by biting her bottom lip.

  "You look like you want to say something." Shikamaru said, and she blushed deeply. "Do I?" The both of them had been dating for two months, and just in the span of two months she saw how much Shikamaru really cared for her.

The way he made such an effort to befriend her brothers, all while traveling almost twenty four hours just to see her for a quick hour, because of her strict father's sexist rules, made her realize how great of a guy he actually was.

Initially, Temari was a little wary about their relationship, because he was still such close friends with his ex, but as she saw Ino and Sai, she realized that there was nothing to worry about. Ino was in love with her boyfriend, and she was already a great friend to Temari, even if they had only recently become friends.

She glanced at his friends, and saw the way they all looked at their girlfriends with so much love in their eyes. When her eyes met his, she recognized the look in his onyx eyes, and it brought goosebumps to her flesh.

Honestly it had only been two months, and though she wanted to take things slow, she wanted to tell him the truth, and she wanted to do it then and there. "Actually, Shika I-" She started, before she was interrupted by the sound of an announcer coming from the stage.

"Alright you guys, remember to finish casting your votes for our winter formal king and queen." They announced, making Ino smile brightly and ask everyone at the table, "Have you guys voted yet?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Right, we have to go do that. Let's go, Temari." He said while standing up from his seat, and extending his hand to her. With a smile, she took his hand, and walked with him leading the way to the table.

While Shikamaru marked the boxes next to Ino's and Sai's names, Temari did the same. As her hand reached to drop the paper into the ballot box, she heard the group of girls next to her who spoke about who they voted for.

"Yeah, they've always been so cute. I wonder if they actually ever got over each other." One of them said, and as Temari was walking away with Shikamaru holding her hand she heard, "I doubt it. They're always flirting in my seventh period class, and Ino is so gorgeous. There's no way he got over her."

For some reason, their words stuck with her as she watched the back of his neck. He walked in front of her, smiling at the few acquaintances he had in the crowd of people. "Choji, you're coming to Sakura's after right?"

As he spoke to his friend, with his girlfriend trying not to let a random rumor affect her mood, their friends were on the dance floor, dancing to the upbeat music. "I want you out of my head, I want you out of my bedroom tonight!" Sakura sang along with her friends, as she danced with them as they actually had a great time.

The last school dance they had all gone to was a night full of disaster for all of them. Sakura was high on a powdery substance, Ino found out that Shikamaru had cheated on her, and Hinata got into a huge fight with Toneri that resulted in her having to wear sunglasses for the next week.

However, as the four of them danced with each other, with infectious smiles on their beautiful faces, they all seemed to forget about the place they were in just two years ago. "Where's Temari? She should be here."

Ino asked with a bright smile, looking over her shoulder, to see if she could see the girl throughout the crowd of people. "Temari!" Sakura said, grabbing the girls hand as her and her boyfriend approached them.

"Hey, you guys." She said with a fake smile, and Ino could see that she was upset. "Are you having a good time?" Hinata asked as Shika walked away, "I am. Ino, do you know if Sai won?"

She nodded with a smile, "I'm pretty sure he did, we've been dating for over a year, so I kind of assumed everyone would vote for him too." Temari shrugged her shoulders, "I just heard a few people saying how they voted for you and Shika, because they were confused."

Ino's eyes widened, "You don't think a lot of people voted for us, do you?" She shook her head as she saw how she started to worry. "I don't know, everything should be fine though, right?" Though no one knew the answer, they all tried to reassure the blondes.

"Yeah, everything will be fine. They're announcing the winners in the next half hour anyways." They both nodded, before they all were intertwined with their boyfriends as a slow song began to play.

"I love your tie." Hinata said to Naruto, as her manicured fingers caressed his face delicately. "Thank you, Princess. Are you having a good time?" She nodded with a smile on her glossed lips, "I am actually, are you?" He nodded, "I am. You look gorgeous."

A blush came to her face, and she puckered her lips, before kissing him sweetly. When she pulled away from his lips she smiled at him lovingly and spoke into his ear as he leaned forward, "I can't wait to marry you." Her words brought a smile to his lips as he kissed her cheek softly, "Hinata Uzumaki kind of has a ring to it, doesn't it?"

A cute giggle left her lips and she nodded, "It really does." He smiled at her while saying, "I'm guessing you haven't told your friends yet." "No, I haven't. I'm not ready to be scolded about how I'm not ready." He nodded, "Well I get that, I'd bet they'd be happy for us though." Hinata nodded, "They will, eventually."

A few feet away stood Sakura and Sasuke, holding each other in their arms. "Do you like my dress?" She asked him, trying to be less self-conscious. "I do, you look great."  A blush came to her face, "Do I? Because I feel like m-" He cut her off, by cupping her face into his hands, and kissing her painted lips passionately.

Her blush only deepened, as his teeth gently bit her plump bottom lip, causing a light moan to leave her lips. When he pulled away, he lightly tugged at her bottom lip, making her open her eyelids, and look into his lustful gaze. "You look beautiful, and you should feel beautiful. If you don't, I could always make you feel better." His lips whispered, making her feel a pulse between her thighs.

"And how could you do that?" She asked him softly, making him bite his bottom lip. With his lips lightly brushing against her earlobe, he answered her question with a whisper. "Well I could always take you up to your bedroom, lay you on your back, and kiss your perfect body all over while we make slow, sweet love. Or if you're in a different sort of mood, I could always turn you onto your stomach, and make you arch your back, so that your perfect ample ass can be at my complete mercy."

Biting her bottom lip, her hands cupped his handsome face into her hands. "Would you pull my hair?" She asked softly with a playful smirk on her face. "Whatever you want." Her emerald eyes looked at his lips, as he told her what she wanted to hear.

"Would it be rude of us to leave before Ino wins?" She asked him, and he laughed a little, before moving his hands that sat against her hips, to her abundant ass. "Can't wait?" He teased, while his hands palmed her ass, making her already pulsing core leak her essence onto her lacy black thong.

She shook her head, making her lightly curled pink hair fall in front of her beautiful face. "Not if I can help it." His handsome smile came to his face, "Good things come to those who wait, Sakura." She pouted her bottom lip playfully, "Ugh, you're such a tease, Sasuke."

As they flirted shamelessly with each other, Shikamaru stood a few feet away, hoping to ease his girlfriends mind as she expressed her insecurity of him, and his ex girlfriend.

"You have nothing to worry about, I got over her months ago." He tried to reassure, but she only sighed, "You've been broken up for over a year, Shika." He nodded, "We've talked about this, Temari. Ino was the first girl I ever loved, and it took me a while, but I'm finally over it. I really....like you."

When he said that, he saw the blush that came to her face, and it made him regret not saying exactly what he wanted to say. "I know we've talked about it before, and I trust you, but it's just that you two are so close. You never even told me why you spent the weekend with her, back when we started dating. Did you guys hook up or something? I don't care I just need to know what I'm getting myself into."

Just the thought of that made him look at Ino, who was a few feet behind them, in the arms of her boyfriend. He didn't have any romantic feelings left for her, because like Ino had said, whatever feelings he had for her died alongside their offspring. Though he was distressed alongside Ino initially, the minute things got more serious with Temari, he was almost relieved. He knew that he could finally give Temari his all.

At the time of the procedure, Temari and him had been on a few dates, but they weren't official, which is why he didn't see the problem in him caring for his ex girlfriend. "If that was a problem, Temari, why didn't you bring it up when I asked you about it?" He asked her, making her roll her eyes.

"Because we weren't dating, and I swear I wasn't jealous at the time, I'm not even jealous now, it's just that if you're not over her I need to know that, Shikamaru." As he parted his lips to tell her that he was over his ex-girlfriend, the announcer started to name the people who had won the title of queen and king. "Temari, I genuinely am over her, and I have been since late September. I wouldn't b-"

"And your senior class, winter formal king is Shikamaru Nara." Everyone around them clapped, while their friends all looked at Ino and Shikamaru, with looks of surprise on their faces. "Fuck, Temari, I am so sorry." He said to her, before the spotlight was turned onto him, making him smile awkwardly at the crowd.

"I had no idea, Sai." Ino said to her boyfriend, and he gave her a smile before kissing her forehead. "Don't worry about me, you won." She smiled at him, and pecked his lips before she had to follow her ex-boyfriend up onto the stage. They looked at each other as he outstretched his hand, to help her up the stairs as she wore her six inched heels.

"What the fuck." They both mumbled in unison, as their student body president placed crowns on their heads, before practically forcing them out onto the dance floor. "I don't know how this happened. I genuinely thought everyone kind of knew we were broken up." Ino said to her friend, as the crowd of people broke off into their own slow dances.

"I did too. This is bad." He said softly, looking over the crowd in search of his girlfriend. "Is Temari upset about something?" Gazing into a pair of eyes that he had loved since he was a young boy, he couldn't stop himself from telling her his problems.

"She's just jealous about us, and I'm trying to convince her that there's nothing here, but she brought up September, and I don't know what to tell her." Ino nodded in understanding, "Did you tell her that we kissed?" She asked him, referring to September where they shared a sweet kiss, before she fell asleep in his warm embrace.

"N-no, did you tell Sai?" He asked, making her look at him as he stood with his back against the wall, talking to Naruto and Sasuke. "I haven't told him about anything." Shikamaru nodded, "I haven't either." She shook her head, as tears came to her eyes. "Why are we like this?" She asked him with a giggle leaving her lips, refusing to let her tears fall. Seeing her pained expression, he instinctively brought his left hand to her face, where he caressed her cheek. "It's always been easy for us to fall back into old habits, but it's different now. I really love Temari, at least I think I do."

As he confessed that to his best friend, he looked behind her, to see Temari standing with Hinata, as she had tears in her green eyes. When their eyes met, it strangely broke his heart as he saw one tear escape her left eye. The only time he had felt so much empathy for someone was with Ino. "I think you love her too, and I mean you're in love with her." Ino said, "Because though we loved each other, I think we just loved each other because after a while it became obligation."

He watched Temari wipe her face almost immediately, before bringing a fake smile to her face, and tearing her eyes away from his. "I love you, Shikamaru, I always will, but like the way you feel with Temari, Sai is the one for me." His eyes looked back into Ino's, as she looked at her boyfriend, who was chilling with his friends. They had been dating longer, so he knew the relationship Ino had with Shikamaru, and he trusted both of them. He trusted that his girlfriend would remain loyal to him, and he trusted that his friend wouldn't purposefully cause her to question it.

"How do I know it's really her? For the longest I thought you were it for me." He admitted, making her look into his caring eyes. Ino smiled at him, and brought her hand to his handsome face. "I have seen you make more of an effort with Temari in the last few months, than a year and a half long relationship you had with me. I think that means you love her." He laughed a little, "I know I've apologized for it already, but I really do regret what I did. You are the last person who deserves that."

"I forgave you for that forever ago, Shika, and until you do the same you're not as over me as you say you are." She said to him, "Well it's hard when we're falling back into bed with each other every few months." Rolling her teal eyes she said, "Seriously, Shikamaru, she is the sweetest, most beautiful girl, and if you aren't over whatever we had, you need to end it. Don't hurt her because you need someone to keep you occupied." He shook his head, "My feelings for you died when." He stopped himself from finishing his sentence, as he saw her eyes instantly advert to the floor.

"Are you okay since then, by the way?" A small smile came to her lips, "Trying to be." He nodded, "Well if it makes you feel better, I know that you made the right decision." She nodded, before wrapping her arms around his shoulders, resting her head against the crook of his neck. "Thank you." She said softly, while she closed her eyelids. "You were there for me when no one else could be, and you don't know how much I appreciate that, Shika. You've always been such a great friend to me."

"You have too, Ino, and I'm glad you allowed me to be there for you." He whispered to her, "If you need me to talk to her I will, and I'll tell her everything, as long as you promise me that she'll stick around." She said while pulling away from his embrace as the slow song came to an end. "I promise." He said with a small smile, before she stuck out her pink finger, making him interlace them. "Thank you, Ino." "Don't mess this one up, Shika."