My Trip To... (ShikaIno)

Dino Rawr and Ribs

She can't meet his eyes and it embarrasses her, even further that she was Ino Yamanaka and she was unable  to meet Shikamaru in the eye. It was a travesty. She was being shy around Shikamaru as they both followed after Choji who was looking for the perfect restaurant. 

Really, she was ashamed of herself. This wasn't how she acted around anyone. She wasn't even this bad around Sasuke! Who gave Shikamaru the power to do this to her?

Yet thoughts about last night drifted back to her as they walked past a pair holding hands. There was no other way to explain it. Everything had just felt odd. She wasn't sure if it was a good or bad odd. All she knew was that from the moment he had come for her at the cafeteria something had shifted between them. It would probably explain the weird night they had had together, yet Ino felt no less confused about the whole incident. 

Either way, this couldn't be their new status quo. This wasn't how they work. She even let him tell what to do! The bottle of ginger ale in her hands was already half gone after he got on her case. Though she wouldn't hate him for it this time because her stomach did feel a lot better. 

But she wasn't going to say thank you!

The problem with this plan of not looking or talking to Shikamaru was that: a) awkward, b) boring, and c) making it harder to figure out if it was all in her own head. Ino began to wonder if she had just been so drunk last night that she had imagined him leaning in close... Were they actually about to kiss? Looking at him now she couldn't imagine how she could have thought he could do such a thing.

If so, maybe she should lay off the booze. It was obvious it was having some weird effects on her. Why else would she be thinking Shikamaru was leaning in to kiss her? And why would she lean in for such a thing? Yep, it was time to end the booze cruise. She was supposed to be leaning in for Sasuke! Not Shikamaru.

She couldn't be crazy, could she? Why else would she think Shikamaru was about to kiss her? Suddenly she had the urge to question Shikamaru about last night. Only to prove that she wasn't crazy or a bad drunk!

She turned to Shikamaru ready to barrage him with question with her usual Yamanaka bravery but suddenly turn to stone again at the sight of him. 

"Uh..." She blushed and looked away and was thankful the sound of the Jurassic Park ride muffled out her noise. It was because of Choji, she quickly found herself internally saying as Choji finally chose a restaurant and they all walked in. She couldn't be asking all these weird questions around Choji!

There was a huge line inside. Of course, Choji had to pick the most popular restaurant to eat at...

"What do you guys want?" Choji asked with a shy smile, obviously not expecting the big crowd. 

"Are you sure you want to eat here?" Ino asked. She had thought Choji would have picked a fancier place since this restaurant didn't have waitresses and Choji would have to go and wait in line for their food. 

"They're supposed to have the best barbeque in this park," Choji explained. "I just didn't expect it to be this busy... But there's no point in all of us waiting in line. It's my treat!"

With that,  Choji got in line for all three of them and Ino quick found her old  excuse for not questioning Shikamaru gone.

"Er... Let's grab a table!" Ino said without warning and started to march off for a table of her choosing. She could hear Shikamaru following her. His steps sounded thunderous to her ears, even though they were in a busy restaurant.

She finally sat down in a somewhat quiet corner, which she silently regretted the moment Shikamaru joined her. It was too quiet. She swore she could feel his eyes on her. The sensation tickled around the curve of her face till it slid down her neck. It finally ended with her arms. She immediately guessed it was his gaze. Empowered by this because she was used to guys looking at her, she looked over at him. It felt like the control was back in her hands.