Roommates

Chapter 13: Rocks and Confession

When she first woke up, it was nearly four in the morning. She was still wearing last night's clothes, and she remembered how she had fallen asleep after talking to Shikamaru.
Grabbing her phone, she composed an email to her boss and a few other of the nurses, letting them know that she wasn't feeling well and would be taking the day off. After sending the email, she placed her head back on her pillow and went back to sleep.
The next time she woke up, it was nearly nine-thirty in the morning. With her head pounding painfully, Ino checked her phone and saw a couple of missed text messages and emails.
Checking her first email, she read through the long message.
"Hey there doctors and nurses! This email is just a friendly reminder of our upcoming event!
Join us this weekend for the annual flowers and cupcake event! This event will help raise money for this year's Doctors Without Borders. Please bring your friends and family.
It will take place from nine am to five pm right across the street in the lovely Botanic Gardens.
In addition, if you would like to be part of this year's volunteering team of doctors and nurses, it is not too late to sign up!"
Ino looked at the big orange button which said "Sign Up Now!" at the bottom of the email, her mind suddenly thinking about the organization. She had always donated money to Doctors Without Borders as she was fascinated and proud of the work they always did. But at the same time, she had never thought about joining and being part of that team herself.
These volunteers traveled to mostly third-world countries and stayed there for months. She wasn't sure if she could handle living abroad for such duration, but she knew that it would be a great experience for her career. Not only that, but it would help her get Gaara out of her mind.
She quickly remembered the phone call with Shikamaru and how he had told her to tell Gaara about her feelings. Thinking about that scared her, and Ino groaned into her pillow while thinking about how to tell him. Telling him wasn't the only problem, though. With Fu around almost every evening, how was she going to get some time with him?
Ino groaned again and got off her bed, removing her shirt and pants. Opening the door to her bedroom, she walked out but was quickly met with Gaara standing right by her doorway.
"Oh shit! Gaara, you-you scared me! I didn't notice you there! And I'm in my underwear..."
She hurried back inside her room and put on her shirt and a pair of shorts. She could feel her face getting warmer by the second as she saw him standing by her doorway from the corner of her eyes, watching her as she put her clothes on.
"Aren't you supposed to be at work today?" she asked, placing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Today is my comp day,"
"Your what?"
"Compensatory day off... Meaning work gave me a day off because I worked over the weekend last week,"
"Oh, I see." Ino said with a slight nod, thinking that it was almost the perfect coincidence that they both had the day off.
"What about you? You're usually at work by this time,"
"I wasn't feeling well, so I took the day off."
Gaara looked at her and she looked away, wondering what he was thinking about. To her surprise, he walked inside her bedroom and towards her, causing the nervousness in her stomach to increase.
"...Are...you feeling better now?"
Ino blinked for a couple of seconds, her eyes traveling to his face and scolding herself for not trying harder on letting him know how she felt..
"Ino?"
"Huh?"
"Are you better now?"
"Um..y-yeah...I am..." she said, mentally cursing herself for not telling him right then and there how she felt about him. How hurt she was seeing Fu around him. How it destroyed her the moment she saw them kissing last night.
His touch on her arm made her jump a bit, and her gaze went back to him.
"Come eat with me," he said.
"..Um...wh-what?"
Gaara tilted his head towards the side, his eyes narrowing. "Ino, are you OK?"
"Yeah, sorry! I just have a bad headache. I skipped dinner last night..."
"I know," Gaara said with a sigh, "Come eat with me."
Ino rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "A-Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn't sure."
"Well, what about Fu?"
Wouldn't she get jealous?
"What about her?"
Ino tried her best to answer. "W-Wouldn't she want to...come? Unless she's at work, of course."
"She doesn't work," Gaara replied, and Ino held her tongue before saying some sarcastic remark. "...And I see her almost every day."
The last piece came out as a tired sigh, and Ino was surprised at how he said it.
"Now come on, go get ready and I'll wait for you." he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom, Ino loving the warmth his hands were bringing to her skin.