My first-ever Naruto fic! Read and review. R&R! I DESPERATELY NEED REVIEWS :beams: Um yeah that's about it…

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Naruto.

Chapter One: The Door

Ino was not a happy girl.

But then again, what she had just seen would have made any Sasuke fan-girl go reeling mad, right?

Ino brushed her tears away angrily with clenched fists, choking back a sob. She didn't know when her tears had started leaking out, but she hated them. She tried to hold them back as she ran. Tears were signs of weakness.

And Yamanaka Ino was not weak.

Yamanaka Ino was strong.

Yamanaka Ino was confident.

Yamanaka Ino never cried.

Curse them! Ino thought, blinking back her tears furiously. She knew that Sasuke was the most sought-after boy in the village of Konoha, and whoever nabbed him as a boyfriend would be the envy of many broken-hearted girls. Ino had always dreamed of that day, when she would be clinging onto Sasuke's arm and Sasuke would be smiling adoringly at her. And Sasuke would ignore all the other girls, especially Haruna Sakura.

Sakura.

She thought back to what she had seen minutes ago. She had been taking a stroll in Konoha and come to the park, her favourite place. The park had many varieties of flowers, and she liked looking at them. The flowers were so pretty…

And then she'd heard giggling from behind her. Ino looked behind her shoulder and could make out two figures behind the trees. Curious, she'd crept nearer towards them. Somehow, they sounded strangely familiar. Then she wished she hadn't seen what she had.

Sakura clinging onto Sasuke's arm. Sasuke smiling adoringly at her. Sasuke sensing Ino's presence, flickering his eyes towards her for a moment. Sasuke ignoring Ino's stare. Sakura realizing that she and Sasuke were being watched. Sakura looking up in dismay to meet Ino's eyes. Sakura raised her right hand as if in attempt to stop her.

Then Ino ran off.

Yes, Ino could hear Sakura calling out her name, calling her to come back. But she couldn't go back; she couldn't face them. The damage had been done – her heart was shattered. Ino hurt - badly. She wished uselessly thatshe could have avoided that experience.

Ino finally stopped running. Her legs were already aching, anyway. Sniffing, she looked up to see where she was.

She was at the doorstep of Shikamaru's house.

Ino quickly made sure her tears were dry, wiping her face with her hands. If a member of the Nara family should come out seeing her like that, they'd think something were wrong and tell her father. She definitely did not want that.

She listed her options: Take Shikamaru, or leave him. Should she go confide in him, or Chouji? Ino shuddered. Noo, not Chouji. Not an option at all. She closed her eyes.

If she did go crying to Shikamaru, what would he do? Would he react like the typical male and diss her? Would he roll his eyes and think of her as a silly girl? Would he...? Wait NO! This was SHIKAMARU she was talking about, for crying out loud! He would never leave a teammate in the lurch, right? Even if his teammate were a female who liked bossing him around, he wouldn't ignore her, right? She inhaled deeply.

Ino was sure Shikamaru would be hospitable.

She raised her hand to knock on the door. She hoped Shikamaru was at home. Shikamaru was her teammate after all, and a nice one at that. He once cheered her up when she was down, and she knew she needed his comfort and reassuring words now more than ever. She sighed. She wanted to feel the warm hug he would give her, to show that he would always be there for her. She wanted to be able to pour out her sorrow to him, and hoping that he would understand. She wanted to see his lop-sided smile and…

Wait a minute, where was this train of thought traveling to? Ino shook her head hastily and forced herself to regain her composure. Well, anyway she just needed someone to talk to and she knew Shikamaru would most likely be available, so…yeah. As soon as she started thinking about Sasuke and Sakura again, the tears started welling up. She pushed them out of her mind and glared at the door in front.

It seemed to be mocking her. She narrowed her eyes and swallowed. She decided to be firm. Nara Shikamaru would NOT dare to chase her away.

Ino knocked.

Shikamaru was trying to decide what to cook for his dinner. His mother and father were out, and Mrs. Nara had conveniently told Shikamaru that she wouldn't be cooking dinner for him since she knew he wouldn't starve. And if he did starve, he could cook for himself. That was, if he didn't find cooking troublesome, of course.

If he found cooking troublesome, then dying from starvation might perhaps be more troublesome.

The lazy shinobi groaned. He was feeling rather tired, and didn't feel like spending time in front of the stove and getting his hands stained with oil, which he would then have to wash off with soap, after which he would have to clear the dishes and clean the crockery and utensils, then wipe the plates dry and…ugh, there was so much work involved.

He scratched his head and heaved a long sigh. Actually, he didn't mind cooking and eating, but he did mind clearing up after everything. Snorting, he muttered his famous catchphrase, "How troublesome."

Knock, knock.

Hey, what was that? Shikamaru stopped scratching his head and put his hand in front of him, staring in surprise. No, he was pretty sure he wasn't knocking his head…

Knock, knock.

There it was again! And the sound was coming from…Shikamaru smacked his face. Of course he couldn't be knocking his own head. With an IQ of over 200, he doubted he'd be dumb enough to do that anyway. He walked towards the front door, and placed his hands on the knob. Now, who could it be? Maybe his mother had finally come to her senses and decided to –

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Crap, the person at the door was getting impatient. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh…"

Shikamaru opened the door.

A/N: TADA! whew...first chappie's done.

Okay, sooo...what do you think of it? Um please R&R! I NEED reviews! I'm new and need feedback...yeah! Thanks!