Troublesome Love

Chapter 4

Shikamaru's POV

I got here relatively early and looked in my locker. A new letter, I tore it open and read it.

Dear Shikamaru

How are you? I know you won't respond but you looked really tired today, super exhausted, I hope you aren't doing too poorly. I just wanted to make sure you were alright!

Well, I really like your lazy smile, I find it very sweet and even though you hardly smile, I appreciate seeing it when you do.

-Your Secret Admirer♡

I smiled, I don't know, this person appears to care about me somewhat. Even though I don't know who they are, she seems super nice and it makes me feel a bit bad about not reciprocating. I head to class and notice Y/N here early I head over and decide to talk to her. "Hey Y/N, what's up?" She looks at me with a small smile as I sit on her desk. "I'm okay Shikamaru, what about you?" I nod and look at her, "I'm good, anyways I was just checking in, you seemed down yesterday." She shook her head quickly, and smiled wider, "Nah, just tired."

The bell went off and I sat at my seat. I thought about what Choji said and I felt someone staring at me. I looked and noticed a girl, brown hair and brown eyes, she quickly looked away. Before long I noticed at least 5 different girls look at me at least more than twice during each of our classes. So I just wasn't aware of how many people liked me. It caused me to fluster, I looked at Y/N as she wrote in her notebook. I wonder what she was writing about, I think back on what Choji said, do I like Y/N?

No, we've known each for years, we're close and all, but not like that. Wouldn't I know if I liked her? Wouldn't she know, and have told me? Would she write me letters. I rolled my eyes, no way, Y/N isn't into that sappy romantic stuff, I mean neither am I, so why am I even thinking about it. I sighed as the lunch bell went off, and I put my stuff away and I got up heading over to Y/N.

"Hey shikamaru, take any notes?" I shook my head and she rolled her eyes, "What a genius you are, huh?" I looked at her and shrugged. "What about the homework in Kakashi's class?" I paled, Kakashi actually gave us homework. "No." She looked over at me and burst out laughing, "Wow Mr. 200+ IQ, you remember over a hundred Shogi moves but not a sheet of Homework?" I could hear the sarcasm, it was immense and I just sighed. She chuckled, "What a drag, huh?" I laughed she knew me too well. We finally sat at our spot.

"Yeah, yeah, make fun of me, alright, I got a lot of stuff to do before the end of the year." I smiled lazily and laid back against the tree listening to Y/N talk about a prank Naruto pulled the other day. "Then Sakura socked him and he fell back as Sai caught him, guess what she said?" I closed my eyes, "What?" She struggled through her own laughs, ""Eat that Idiot" She legit stomped away as Sai and Sasuke had to help him up." She bursted out laughing. Of course I knew she felt bad for Naruto, but he also hid Sakura's lunch and she yelled about being on a diet.

I laughed a bit, and she continued to talk, i replied back when prompted until lunch was over. We went back to class and studied until the end of the day. Y/N waved goodbye to me and I waved back, talking to Y/N reminded me how much better I feel hanging out with her, she wasn't too much like Naruto and she wasn't annoying like Sakura.

I walk to my house and enter, "Shikamaru, when are you going to ask out a girl. I'm not getting any younger here!" My mom chastised, I rolled my eyes and my dad laughed before telling her to relax. "Yoshino, relax, Shikamaru will find a woman when the time is right, let him live." She placed her hands on her hips and continued, "Yes well, he is a man now, he needs to get himself a wife that he will take care of, how about that one girl, Temari?" I shook my head and laughed.

"Temari is pretty and all, but she's aggressive, she's like you, too troublesome." I replied my mom glared and yelled, "How dare you say that about your own mother! Shikaku, you better talk to your son." She kicked us out of the kitchen while she cooked. I sighed and we went over to the Shogi table. "You know, when you find the right one, you won't think she's troublesome at all." I looked up and looked at him puzzled.

"What do you mean?" He looked down and moved a pawn, "Before I met your mother I was much like you, thought women were  troublesome, it was until I met her I realized it wasn't that they were all troublesome, I just hadn't met the right one." I moved and sat listening. "It might also be that it's not the right time, but when it is, when you meet her or when it's the right time you'll know, you know that she's the one for you." We kept playing until the game was over and I won as he stood.

"Maybe, Shikamaru, you're looking at the wrong one." I looked up, "The wrong what?" He walked exiting the room to join my mother, "You'll figure it out, you're a smart kid." Closing the door behind him I sat in front of the table. I hated how ambiguous he was.