Authors note:

Okay So I really don't have all that much experience in the realm of fanfiction- writing, yes, but just not fanfiction. I've been inspired though, I guess, so READ AND ENJOY. This is AU, a –gasp- high school fic. Containing shounen-ai or shojo-ai if I see fit, if there's anything that bothers you then simply click the "back" button on your browser. The main character is Yamanaka Ino, because rarely do I see her given any real depth, and I like her character design, despite how shallow it may seem. It's set in first person in diary entries or thoughts, third person when absolutely necessary. I'm not going to list "pairings" because truthfully I haven't taken the time to think them out yet.

Disclaimer:

Naruto is NOT mine. None of the characters are mine unless they're marked to be mine- however I'm not a fan of OC's in other works so I'm really not planning on using any OC's in mine. Any song lyrics I happen to use or anything else copyrighted from the real world that I end up using will be cited at the end of the chapter.

Current Music:

Angel's Song by Ayumi Hamasaki

I woke up this morning to the sound of my mother slamming her fist into my door repeatedly. Apparently I was late to work for the day- I hadn't been informed that I had work today, honestly. My parents own a flower shop; and yes, that means my dad owns it too, despite how feminine it might be. I work there, for below minimum wage of course, usually on Saturdays and weekdays after school when I'm not in some extracurricular activity. Before anyone starts to ask- yes, I am indeed a cheerleader. Do I really enjoy it? Well, I suppose it has its perks. I joined because Sakura- the friend of mine that I play replacement best friend to- joined. I guess you could say we have a rivalry. I also say the whole 'replacement best friend' part because really, she isn't a very decent friend. I'm only her best friend when there isn't anyone else around.

I suppose some background on life as we know it is required. I went to an extremely small elementary and middle school, located in Konoha- where I currently live and attend high school. It's the type of school that no one recognizes the name of when mentioned, and the ones who did go there rarely like to actually mention it. The kids in our class knew each other all throughout that, and even though there weren't very many of us, there were still clicks. Haruno Sakura named herself as the queen- even though she had initially been the new girl, and I had been the only one to not make fun of her sizeable forehead. Me, Yamanaka Ino, I'm a tad bit competitive- so I became a queen bee too. The only other noticeable girl in the class was Hyuuga Hinata; she's always been really really quiet. She's got loads of cash though- I don't think she likes people to know that she's rich. We were the three girls of the class, but Hinata drifted off to hang out with others one we hit third grade: Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Kiba I don't really understand, he's loud, clumsy, and brings his dog around with him everywhere. Akamaru, his dog, is uber-cute though. Shino is just… Shino. He collects bugs, and doesn't really say much at all. He just sits sunk into his hooded sweatshirts, with these dark glasses on- I don't really know why he hangs around with Kiba or Hinata. They all seem like really opposite personalities.

I think Hinata was smart to move on to less shallow, more real, people. Sakura hung around with me, and a few other girls who I really can't even remember the names of. I was a complete snot throughout all of elementary school and middle school. Really, I don't think you could find a brattier little kid. I feel terrible for the two people who ended up dealing with the brunt of my pure, unrefined, brat: Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.

I can't say Sasuke didn't deserve the annoyance he got- he really is a jerk. But still, I can imagine why he'd be such a jerk, with people like me. I'll admit I thought he was really cute when we were in middle school- his attitude is a turn off though. Secretly, I really think he might be gay; he doesn't give off any flaming vibes or anything, it's just a feeling. I'd be shot in the face if I ever said that out loud. Sasuke… still is very, very, very attractive. I'm not attracted to him though. Sakura still is- she never stopped. I can only imagine that she's his pink haired nightmare.

Naruto… I'd apologize to him if I could. If I could bring myself to ditch my social status to get close enough to him and just say, "hey, I'm sorry I'm a bitch." The only reason he was ever made fun of was just because he was so different. I'm not even really sure what it was that made him so different… Sakura told me once that he was weird because he didn't have any parents. She didn't know the specifics of why he didn't have any parents, but people would laugh over it anyway… I still can't understand why. Sasuke's parents died when he was really young, he was raised by his older brother. It's kind of similar to Naruto's situation… I'm pretty sure Naruto has a foster father, anyway, so I still don't get why it was always so funny to make fun of him. I guess that's the point of 'making fun of' someone. There doesn't have to be a reason, the person just ends up being the unlucky scapegoat.

I'm really glad that Naruto seems happy enough to not ever kill himself or anything. I'd feel so awful- because I'd know that I was one of the people that caused it.

The only other people from our class that I can really name are Nara Shikamaru, and… I can't remember his surname, Chouji. I just called him the fat kid anyway- in my head, not to his face. It's a bad idea to say it to his face- for being the big, he really can chase you down pretty well and beat you to a pulp. Shika always sat next to me in class, but he was rarely actually awake. I do admit that sometimes I'd copy his test answers, because he's a lazy assed genius.

We all went to the same school, and then we all moved on to the same high school. That was when reality kicked in, and it was one hundred times harder to try to be a recognizable face. Sakura did, somehow or other- I rode along too, because for the first few months of school we both had to be each other's only friend. Everyone from our old school had gained their own cliques, but since we both were so… bitchy, for lack of better terms, to everyone, we weren't really included.

Scratch that, Shika and Chouji would nod at me in the halls, but I can't say I was ever invited into the clique that they had.

So now, here I am. I'm teetering at the very outskirts of popularity. I'm a cheerleader, I'm struggling to maintain a B average (I'm still so envious of Mr. LazyAss Prodigy), I work at a flower shop, and I have a sneaking suspicion I'm aisexual- but my locker has pictures of so called 'cute' boys, so no one questions. They all just think I'm like everyone else, and so if really pressured I just go and pull out the Uchiha card and that gives me nods of understanding.

After my mother woke me up this morning, I got dressed in uniform, splashed some water on my face, brushed my teeth, and went to work. I skipped breakfast, because I dislike eating- I just chew gum instead. During school I just drink a diet coke for lunch, and no one at my lunch table says anything. In fact, they'd be more alarmed if I went and bought a real lunch.

Work at the shop was very slow. The most exciting thing that I did was buff my nails. Oh, I suppose helping a senile old lady was entertaining too. I'm not really sure if she was senile or not, but she was quite the crazy old lady. She said she was from Suna- that's the next town over- and she'd kept talking about puppets, and her grandson, who didn't ever come to visit her. We'd sat and talked for a good hour, while she was trying to decide on buying yellow carnations or white lilies. I didn't ask her what the flowers were for, and she didn't really care about the meanings. It was kind of lonely once she left with her purchase- sadly enough, it was the most decent conversation I'd had all week. I wonder if I'll ever see her again. She did happen to tell me that three of her grandkids were going to be transferring to Konoha in the next few weeks. I wonder how long they'll last in the lions den.

After work I ate a few slices of bread and an orange that had been sitting on the table. I guess my parents had gone somewhere. They left a note to tell me to hang the laundry up. It isn't summer, mind you, so this didn't mean that I had to go outside and hang the laundry out on a line. This is another reality checkpoint- we don't have a dryer, just a washer. So our basement is covered in wire and clothesline, and we hang our clothes to dry down there. The concrete floor was extremely cold on my bare feet, and it didn't help that I had to freeze my hands while hanging up my father's cold, wet, boxer shorts. The phone started ringing off the hook while I was knee deep in damp T-shirts and jeans, and there was no way in hell I was going to run upstairs to get it. We had an answering machine for a reason.