My Trip To... (ShikaIno)

Train Rides

Of course, she left. What else could he have ever expected? He was supposed to be a genius and to expect anything else after seeing this result so many times before was said to be madness. That's what she did to him, though. She drove his rational, even thoughts from his mind so all he was left with was her. She was his madness.

And he paid for it...

        - - -

She felt sick to her stomach before she even made it on the ride. There was something seriously wrong about this situation. Holding Sasuke's hand was not meant to feel like this. Ino should know because she had imagined doing so so many times before. Maybe she had imagined it wrong? Maybe she was doing it wrong? Something got caught in her throat at the next thought she secretly wondered... Was Sasuke the wrong boy?

That's couldn't be.

It just couldn't be. It was impossible that she had so wrong about him. She had spent all of her high school years pining after him. She hated to think that it all could have been a waste of time. Especially when this trip was a chance to get to know him better. It just couldn't be. She was finally getting his attention too and now she was finding it didn't do anything for her. The ride gave her more chills than Sasuke did.

She was at a loss. The only guy who seemed to have any romantic interest in her and she couldn't seem to manage it back now that it was finally happening.

She didn't work this long and hard for Sasuke to like her only to have it all go down the drain because she didn't get the proper butterflies. No, it couldn't be like this. Not when she finally had a guy interested in her. She didn't want to let this go. It had taken so long. Sure, she had shared a kiss with Kiba but she had dropped him too after not feeling the right emotions. If she did it again, would it take this long to find another guy to like her? What if those emotions just weren't meant for her?

Troublesome...

Ino swore she could hear Shikamaru in her head and she had to stop herself. This wasn't the time to be freaking out about Shikamaru when Sasuke issues were coming up, yet it persisted. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry at the thought of Shikamaru. The look on his face when she had left him with the wands had made her feel so many things that she wasn't sure about. She knew one thing; it made her feel like a bad friend...

A truly awful friend and Ino was grappling with it.

This wasn't how she wanted to feel around Sasuke. Being bored and even a touch guilty wasn't a part of the plan. A fear still gripped her, though. Seeing what Naruto and Sakura shared wasn't getting any easier. She didn't want to live her life without love. She wanted what they had and she couldn't seem to find it.

Maybe that's why she held Sasuke's hand a little tighter. Fear. Having something was better than having nothing, right?

       - - -

Ino spent the next hour with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura after riding Dragon Challenge, which was easily the scariest Rollercoaster she had ever ridden. She had texted Shikamaru to see if they wanted to rejoin up but those mysteriously went unanswered. She wasn't sure of what to make of that.

Though something deep inside of her told her, Shikamaru was probably mad at her... While Shikamaru wasn't the sort to constantly be on his phone, he did make sure to check it from time to time. He may be lazy but he wasn't irresponsible.

It left her eerily hollow, knowing he probably read her texts and decided her unworthy of an answer. It hurt more than Ino wanted to admit, yet she didn't let it stop her from texting him again before getting on the Hogwarts Express.