Another Year (Jacky, and anyone else)

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari rolled around in her bed sleeplessly, she couldn't stop. Sighing, it was almost time for school, and she'd stayed up all night. Maybe it was the pressure of having to be a student again, not that she normally paid attention or anything of the sort. Her alarm clock rang, and being responsible as she was, (Ok, so maybe not,) She shot up out of bed, at least she didn't have to be hot anymore and have too much on her mind. Smirking to herself, she went down to the kitchen. Her, Kankuro, and Gaara lived in a small apartment that they shared, and each split up the bills, since they didn't live in Suna anymore and didn't have any parents. They all worked odd jobs here and there.

Sneaking out into the kitchen, she chuckled mischievously to herself and grabbed a metal pot out of a cabinet, and a long spoon. Going back into their rooms, she took a breath, and then started banging the pot as loud as she could, laughing hysterically. "Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!" Temari shouted. Kankuro shot up out of bed screaming like a loon, and Gaara only grumbled at her, but both eventually got up. It was just like Temari to do so. Putting the the dishes away, the junior sighed and went back into her room, dressing in her uniform she had recently bought, a white t-shirt and her tie. But instead, to be a rebel, she tied the tie around her head like a turban. She laughed to herself in the mirror, awaiting the teachers' reactions.

Pulling out drawers in her dresser again, blindly grabbed her black skirt, and slipped it on, and then went out into the kitchen. Kankuro was trying to make eggs again. Temari shook her head, he was the worst cook in the world, but she wasn't going to stop him, out of the little kindness she had in her heart. They grabbed plates, and Kankuro served the eggs. They were a little burned, he was getting better. She scarfed it down, but both her brothers looked at her like she was a freak. In turn, she only smiled, her tie wrapped around her head. After she ate, Temari slipped on her shoes, brushed her teeth, and exited their apartment, grabbing her fan. The wind was blowing today, so she would get to school faster.

Jumping on it, Temari flew, everyone else at the school grounds looking and pointing at her. "Yes, I am the legendary Temari, look at me." She thought. Today was going to be great. Smirking, she landed, folded it up, and tied it around her back, it wasn't going to fit into her locker, she had learned that her freshman year, and it wasn't going to get stolen. Entering the school, she walked into the hallway, and found her locker number. Twisting the lock until it clicked, Temari pulled it open, taking a few books out, and shoving them into her bag. She looked at her mirror, looked at herself, and then closed it with a bang. There were new freshmen chattering excitedly, and Temari looked around. Maybe she could find Shikamaru.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>The obnoxious blare of the alarm clock woke Shikamaru from a humble dream. He had a content smile on his features until the alarm made it twist into a scowl. He groaned and sighed impatiently as he rolled over and tucked the blanket back over his head. From beneath the heavy comforter a mumble could just be made out. "How troublesome." After a few moments, he pulled the blanket from him and turned off the alarm, he was awake now and was just realising that it was once again the first day of school. He sighed and got to his feet as he trudged to the bathroom to get ready. Sinc he had taken a shower the night before, Shikamaru merely ran a brush through his matt of hair and pulled it up into a tight ponytail. It was actually quite handy, not having bothersome strands of hair in his face all day.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he headed back to his bedroom to get dressed. He discarded his dirty pajamas (a grey t-shirt and olive green boxers) in his hamper and found his school uniform folded on his desk, courtesy of his mother. He sighed and put on clean boxers, his dress pants and his collared shirt, he hung his tie around his neck as he headed down the stairs. Shikamaru saw his parents, who were sitting at the table, look up as he came decended. His mother smiled a good morning while his father gave him a half-hearted grunt, he didn't even look up from his newspaper. Shikamaru sat down next to him and grabbed a piece of toast and finished it quickly before finishing his glass of orange juice. With the back of his hand he wiped his mouth and got up. "See you tonight." Was all he said before he left, he mother called after him, "Have a good day honey." And he merely grunted back in response. He walked out to his car, a black '05 Mustang he had gotten for his 16th birthday, and climbed in. If his parents hadn't pushed him to get his licence, Shikamaru wouldn't have even gotten it, he was far to lazy. He started the car and drove off, heading for school.

When he arrived, he parked in the closest spot he could find and grabbed his bag from beside him. He pulled his schedule from his pocket and looked it over, he figured that he would have to go to his locker first. Shikamaru locked the car and trudged up the sidewalk, past babbling cheerleaders, the druggies, smoking in the corner, and the other various group before coming to his locker. With a few turns of his wrist, he unlocked the locker and thrust his things inside. Shikamaru sighed and finally looked up, a familiar face was a few meters away. Temari. He smiled gently, but wiped it away and darted his head in anther direction when she looked up. He could tell by his periferals that she was coming towards him, "How troublesome." He managed to whisper to himself before she approached him, as she did, he looked up and nodded to her, but his gaze went to her tie around her head. "Why is your tie around your head, Temari?" His eyebow was raised slightly in question, she sure was a weird girl.</sup>[/color]

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Someone arrived through the doors, looking at his schedule, his head hidden benieth. He opened his locker, stowed away his books and such, and finally looked up to see her with her tie above her head. Temari could tell he didn't look to pleased, but that was his problem, sometimes he seemed to serious. That made her thought of the foursome, and almost made her smile, but she didn't. Why is your tie around your head, Temari? Cunningly, her tongue replied by itself, but it was good, not babbling, or being stupid and wouldn't shut up. This made her a bit satisfied.

"Be a rebel, Shika!" Temari chuckled, she got a lot of these reactions from a lot of people looking around at her. Once she could get together with her old friends, they'd form a rebel group, which would be pretty interesting. Her dark turqoise eyes met his, and for awhile, she held his gaze, but then looked away to see babbling cheerleaders. She wanted to kick herself from looking at him, but he'd probably figured out that she had a crush on him. Anyways, he was the 'top student.' He had an I.Q. of over 200, Shikamaru was extremely smart, though he did underestimate girls a bit.

There was only 10 minutes before the bell, she'd have to catch up with her other friends later. When she entered her first period, the teacher was sure to give her a dirty look, they'd always known since Freshman years that she was a rebel. Temari would eventually find a new fashion for her tie, she wasn't going to be like everyone else. They'd all know her as, "The Legend from Suna!" She smiled to herself at that. "So Shikamaru, how was your summer?" Temari asked curiously. She herself hadn't done much, just enjoyed that she wasn't at school, and could have the freedom she needed. With school uniforms, it was far to caged. She leaned against her locker, her gaze flickering around to different students talking to eachother and laughing while she awaited his response.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>True, Shikamaru was probably one of the smartest kids at school, but his girl-smarts were a little less than average. He thought a little too low of the female gender and couldn't even comprehend one of them liking him opposed to all the other guys at the school. Shikamaru had had his suspicions in the past, but he had talked himself out of it before he could even comprehend it. His own tie hung, untied around his neck, he was too lazy to tie it but he would have to for class eventually. He stole another glance at Temari and shrugged, "I'm only rebelious when laziness is counts." It was so true! Shikamaru was a bit of a rebel because he never did any homework or schoolwork really, picking up the pencil was much to tiring in his opinion. Many of his teachers scolded him for it, but he just shrugged it off and went back to sleep on his book.

As Temari looked deep into his eyes, he felt his own widening, but stopped them, he didn't want to look too suprised. It was just that not many people looked at him like that very often. It seemed like she was looking into him and could read him like a book. He blinked and gulped inaudably, the moments they stood there seemed like an eternity. But the chattering of the cheerleaders next to them called his attention and his sighed and rolled his eyes at them. They were such sad people. They had pathetic lives and annoying, high pitched voices that made Shikamaru's toes curl. One thing he hated, was preps.

But Temari's voice soothed him and brought his attention back to her. He gave a simple shrug, "It was pretty good. I got to do nothing all summer, but I enjoyed it quite a bit." His gaze returned to normal as he looked at her, he was leaning against the lockers with one arm, his stance lazy, as usual. "How abut you?" He actually did enjoy Temari's company more than most. She was one person who actually made him laugh and got him to be a bit less lazy. She was one female who he respected and didn't deny being friends with. Her and Chouji were his best friends and deep inside him he knew he couldn't deny that life without them would be much more...well...troublesome.</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari kept her smile, her gaze flickering back and forth at new Freshmen. They were really in for it, a lot of the teachers were harsh the first few days to show them they were business, but lightened up when they got the picture. Surprisingly, she hadn't seen anyone else she'd known except Shikamaru. Thinking about him made her smile more, but she didn't on the outside, she kept her own. Temari was only half-awake, rubbing her eyes now and then. It would be hard during class to stay awake. She yawned, covering her mouth. She wasn't bored, and she hoped she gave that message to him, Temari could never get bored of him, he was extremely smart, cute, and funny. Her attention was brought back to him as he started to speak again.

I'm only rebelious when laziness counts. She nodded thoughtfully, chuckling. It was true, Temari never took notes, usually slept during class, and got a lot of scoldings and detentions, though she'd never been suspended before. She had, however, gotten a few referrals for fighting kids. But when they provoked her, man, they were really in for it. It was their own dang fault, they'd brought it upon herself. Temari didn't usually fight for no reason. Her eyes again traveled back to him as she replied about his summer. It was like Shikamaru to not do anything. She gave a small shrug, and her lips parted to speak. "Eh, working odd jobs to pay the bills, and aside from that, nothing, really." Indeed, she had spent most of the summer working to pay the bills, they were demanding. But she only shrugged it off, she didn't mind talking about things like that.

Temari really loved her mother, it was ashame she had to die. But she didn't hold a strong bond with her, so at least she died when they weren't really close, her death would've been hard. And her father, she really did hope he died, for killing Gaara. If he was to try and assassinate him again, she would personally kill him herself. She would do anything for her siblings, and that meant protect them full on. "So, what class do you have first?" Temari asked. She wanted to catch up with him more than most, she could pass notes to her other friends in class, later. She was surprised that the teachers didn't do much, though. Jiraiya only sat on his good for nothing bum looking at porn, Kakashi was pretty fun, she had to admit, History was boring, but at least she could do something. Art wasn't too bad, she did enjoy it more than most. Her other classes were just...dumb and good for nothing. Sure, foreign languages, she knew Japanese quite well, it was her native language. Sometimes she had to question the authority over this school.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>When Temari chuckled, he gave a small smile, he usually didn't much at school. She always seemed to make him do that, but he hadn't really noticed it until now. He pondered it for a little in the back of his mind but he ended up shrugging off the thought for further contemplation later on. But why would Temari think highly of him? Compared to the other guys at their school. Shikamaru wasn't amazingly good looking, or witty, or funny. He was smart, he would give himself that much. But who knew, girls were odd and he had never given them much thought anyway.

He found his crumpled schedule in his hand and she she asked, he brought up his hand so he could look at. "Math." He scanned the paper again and gave a half smile when he reached his history class. Mr. Sarutobi was his favorite teacher, he has understood him so well and made learning actually worthwhile and not boring. He made it a mind game and it intertained Shikamaru enough to actually do it. He couldn't wait for that class and lowered his hand again and simultainiously raised his head to look back at Temari.

He had never particularly liked math, it was too much work for his taste. Mr. Hatake tried to get him to work, but he never really did. P.E. was even worse, they were forced to do something and during that hour of school, Shikamaru wanted to shoot himself in the face. And Mr. Maito's happy-go-lucky, you-can-do-it attitude got on his nerves quickly. English was a different story, hikamaru talk back more than anything in that class and Mr. Umino got so mad it was actually a bit of a game in his own eyes. It should be amusing. French was his easiest class, he had been speaking French since he was young and could easily pass French X, but he was too lazy and was only in French I. He passed the class with flying colors, without doing anything, that class he didn't mind either. Science mad him shudder, Mr. Oro was a creep and made his skin crawl when he saw the pale skinned freak. Because of that, he had never really liked the subject. And finally last period, Composition with Mr. J. Everyone just called him by his first name, Jiraya, he didn't mind anyway. The class was also a breeze since Jiriaya didn't do anything but look at porn, it was a good napping period.</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari chuckled, making Shikamaru smile. She was good at that with him, maybe she would break him out of his lazy shell. Maybe she could become more than a good friend, which she had always hoped she would be. But, even as courageous as she was, couldn't find herself asking him out. Maybe later, but she had to do it soon, because in two years, she'd be leaving highschool. That wouldn't stop her from seeing him, though, unless he decided to travel to a new village. But she personally thought he wouldn't, because he was far too lazy, even so.

She watched with turqoise eyes as Shikamaru pulled out his crumpled schedule, and took it, scanning it. She smiled. She was in a different grade as he, so she would never be able to be in any of his classes. Maybe they could see eachother at lunch, though. In turn, she grabbed hers out of her bag, and handed it to him. Temari sighed in her head, she wouldn't get to be in any of his classes, which was a big bummer. But she didn't show it, only scanned the last of the paper and handed it back to him, waiting for him to give her own back. Temari'd remembered her schedule already, though, and she didn't need it. But maybe it would come in handy, in case if the teachers didn't believe her. She didn't lie much, but the teachers knew better to take caution.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>Shikamaru looked over Temari's classes, if he tried in school, he could most likely be a Junior or even a Senior by now, but due to his laziness he wouldn't ever skip a grade. He would have liked to be in one of Temari's classes one time, but he wouldn't want to tire himself too much. He looked up and noticed the sigh nearby it read 'Get a date! Homecoming's just around the corner! Tickets on sale soon!' He sighed inwardly, How troublesome... He thought to himself, but as he looked back to Temari, his eyes narrowed in thought and his gaze turned far off if only for a few moments. Invite her to homecoming! His insides screamed, but on the inside he shook his head, his face turning red. I-I couldn't, it would b-be too...too t-troublesome! His insides scowled and he came back to reality, but of coarse on the outside he had just stared off.

He scratched the back of his neck, and nodded to the sign he had just had so much confliction inside of himself over. "What do you think of that?" He wasn't asking Temari, no if he was going to do it, it wouldn't be now. "So many people seem to love it, but I've never been to a dance." Of coarse, Shikamaru was too lazy. He took note of the small cluster of girls that had accumulated around the sign, they were squealing and giggling with nervousness. It made Shikamaru roll his eyes, he never wanted to date a girl like that, he would want to die right there. He remembered when Ino, the most annoying and bitchy of them all, had told them she liked him in seventh grade. And without even asking him, she told everone he was her boyfriend. This had enfuriated Shikamaru and eventually just stopped talking to Ino, she got the point when he told her he hated her in front of all her popular friends. That was the end of that stage.</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari handed back the crumpled paper to Shikamaru, and he gave hers back. It was a true bummer. She sighed in her head. Gah, maybe things weren't going to go as well as she thought this year. Shikamaru, she knew, if he wanted, could even be a senior, the problem was, he was just too lazy, no work ethic, no enthusiasm. Not that Temari had much, either. But if she wanted to, she could. It was just that school was terribly boring. Sitting in a prison for 8 hours was hell. She'd probably get a lot of detentions, no doubt, but, that was Temari, you couldn't change it. She was headstrong, rebellious. Maybe when she was in college, she would change, because it was her money she was spending, anyways.

Many girls squealed and ran down the hall with their other friends, scanning someone on the wall. Temari only got a glimpse of it. It was a homecoming sign. Ask him, ask him!!! She didn't know if she could though, she'd never gone to Homecoming, she never had dates. Not that she wanted any other boy. She'd always been too afraid to ask Shikamaru. Temari saw Shikamaru's face temporarily turn red, and she caught his eye, smiling. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as she was? He was, after all, Shikamaru. She turned back to the wall, cheerleaders were squealing, and it made her cringe, literally. She rolled her eyes, these types were so freaking annoying, no wonder she couldn't be their friends without hitting them all the time. Like Sakura and Ino, too bitchy and bratty. Temari almost gagged, that was how much she hated the two.

Temari gathered all of her courage she had. It was now or never, she didn't know when she'd see him. She took a deep breath, then began. "Um, so... Do you have a date to that?" She said nervously, one hand behind her neck. This was too hard, but at least her tongue was babbling and saying stupid things, she had control of her brain. She didn't want to look boy crazy like the other girls here.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>Thoughts started to fog his mind, he got confused and suddenly scared because he couldn't seem to think straight. Temari's words hit him hard and caused this reaction, but he calmed himself, he had to keep cool. He cleared his throat almost nervously and reached back and scratched the back of his head, another nervous habit. He was concentrating suddenly on the floor and shook his head statically, "No." He forced himself to raise his gaze to meet Temari's and he could detect nervousness in her own, at least they were on the same boat so to speak. "I usually don't go to those kinda things. But this year I was considering it..." His voice trailed off, but he kicked it back into action as he continued to speak, an unusual tone in his voice. Nerves perhaps? "What about you? D'you have a date?"

He blinked several times, he wasn't doing this. He would have never even imagined himself coming this close to asking a girl, let alone one like Temari. But if he was to ever date someone, he realized he wanted it to be Temari. He smiled slightly at her, he had lowered his hand a few moments ago and had pushed himself to standing next to her. Even though she was older than him, he stood several good inches above her. He hoped she wouldn't have a date, perhaps he could go with her, it would be really nice. It suprised even himself that the thought of Homecoming wasn't troublesome, his eyes widened unnoticably at this and he realized how much of an impact Temari had made on him. Even though he had promised himself at a young age that he wouldn't fall 'head over heels' (so to speak) for a girl, he found that he was ever so slightly starting to like Temari more and more. But he wouldn't let her know that, no not yet.</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari could feel his nervousness, too. At least they were on the same page. Shikamaru reached his hand behind his neck, a nervous habit of his, and she knew very well. She'd seen him do it a lot to cover up his emotions and what not. Nervously, she bit the inside of her lip. Gah, why couldn't she just be brave? Shikamaru's words hit her. He wasn't going to go? Oh no, wait, he was considering going. She was relieved by that. If they went, how long would he stay? He didn't seem like one to party, he was too lazy for that. That's ok, just going with him would make her feel happy, she'd wanted too since she was a Freshman, but he was in the 8th grade.

What about me? Do I have a date? Her mind stopped for a minute, and she couldn't answer. She kicked her mind back into gear, and managed to reply. "N..no." Temari stopped for a minute, and then replied again, her mouth dry. She took a deep breath, and with all the courage she had, she started to ask him. "Um, s..so, do you want to g..go with me?" Damnit, she was studdering! Cmon Temari, don't do that! She thought inwardly to herself. Why was she doing this? She could feel so relaxed around Shikamaru, and yet, this was such a tense and emotional moment. He turned to her side, he was a bit taller than her. Most boys were, because even Kankuro was taller than she was. It was kind of sad, but, she didn't mind. Why would she?

Ever since Kindergarten, Temari had a crush on him, but she'd never really told him. By now, though, she figured, he did. After she'd just asked him to go to Homecoming with her. What would she wear if he accepted? Would he even accept? Scenarios were running through her head, and she tried as best as she could to push them in the back of her mind. But they kept popping up. What a tense moment. The bell was going to ring soon. After he gave her his answer, that would save them from further convorsation.</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>After much slow and steady breathing, Shikamaru calmed himself on the inside and was ready to talk to Temari with a clear head. She was stuttering as much as Hinata, and he waited silently for her to finish her statement before contemplating the thought. He mind started geting fuzzy again, but he calmed himself immediately. How could this be happening to him? Shikamaru never thought he would live to see the day that Temari was so scared of something that she was reduced to stuttering. But I guess it was right alongside the thoughts of anyone ever asking him to a dance. He guessed that something was up with with world today, but not to say that Shikamaru didn't enjoy this. He did. But not in a menical way.

He paused for a moment, then nodded, "Sure." He was glad to go with Temari, they would have fun. Even though, she herself was quite troublesome, he didn't mind, he rather liked her company. Perhaps even as much as Chouji's. As the time for class drew ever closer, Shikamaru sighed and pushed himself up from slouching to his full height. "Guess its time for class." He began to walk away before stopping, "See you at lunch." That was Shikamaru's way of asking if she would have lunch with him, they could just sit and try to enjoy themselves the most they could in a place like this. He gave a small wave and continued towards his first class, when he was out of sight, he smiled slightly, today would be a good day.

[Maybe finish off the post and then start lunch?]</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari kicked herself. She couldn't be so afraid, let alone studder! Her insides were screaming at her, scolding her for studdering. Right now, she was probably studdering as much as Hinata, and that was a lot. She put on a grin for him, and scratched behind her head nervously. Ugh, she couldn't be so nervous! How would she act at the dance with him? Temari would have to learn to get tough with boys, she never really conversed with them much, except Shikamaru. Her breathing was getting hard, but was quiet.

Sure. YES! DOUBLE YES! THRICE YES! Her grin was wide now, after he had accepted, she'd relaxed exceptionally. She was more relieved than anything, now. They would definitely have fun at Homecoming, she could see it already. The mischief maker, or maybe even the two mischief makers. Even if they weren't going to make trouble, she'd still enjoy his company and have fun. Who knows, maybe they'd even dance? Possibly. Temari would have to clear her mind when she got home, school was coming up. The first few days never mattered, though, they were all just classroom procedures and what not. See you at lunch! Was this really happening? Shikamaru had even invited her to sit with him at lunch! "Ok!" She nodded her head, waving to him.

The bang rang, and Temari was off to her first class, what a drag. But, her mood was light and happy today, she couldn't wait until lunch!

ooc-Ok, lunch then. ^^</sup>

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[jacky-chan <3]

<sup>The passed slowly, to Shikamaru's discomfort and he found that he had tons of homework, though it was only the first day. He sighed and stuffed his things into his bag in the last few minutes of fifth period, it was almost lunch. Just the thought made him smile meekly. When the bell rang, he headed to their normal table from last year, it was outside, under a large oak tree. It was the perfect table and since it was a nice day, he enjoyed the autumn sun.

Shikamaru was the first to the table which wasn't suprising, he usually was, since Naurto and Kiba were usually held back in class for disrupting and Chouji was buying as much food as he could carry. Shikamaru took a seat on the table, in the shade and sighed in school-time angst. This vicious cycle was starting over again and he hated it.

He start to get lost in thought as he pondered the upcoming year. It seemed to be working out quite well already and he hoped it continued to go up from here, he needed at least some good high school memories. But suddenly his mind floated to Homecoming, everyone got so dressed up for the event and tobe truthful, Shikamaru was quite nervous about it. He didn't get dressed up often and the mere thought of something as fancy as a tuxedo gave him shivers. Hopefully it would all work out.</sup>

[O.oSpazzyo.O]

<sup>Temari sighed boredly, looking around unsatisfied. The day was going way too slow, and she had loads of homework already. Not that she'd really bother to do it, anyways. Most of the time, it'd not even be halfway finished and turned it in, anyways. The teachers seemed to just love her and her mischief. She'd already gotten detention after school, which made her laugh to no end, making the teachers even more angry.

The bell had rang, and finally, Temari was free. She ran out the halls, eager to see her new date to Homecoming. She ran back to her locker, opened it up, and grabbed her lunch. She shut the locker door, and walked out excitedly. There she saw Shikamaru at a table all alone, none of his friends were there yet. But it wasn't surprising, Chouji was trying to stuff himself with all the food he could get, obviously. Naruto and Kiba had probably gotten in trouble. The fun was starting all ready, Temari couldn't think how the rest of the year would be if the first day were this fun. She plopped down next to Shika, and smiled. "Hi. How were the classes?" Temari asked, hers hadn't gone particularly well, or so the teachers thought.</sup>

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