Chapter 1

The final bell of the day rang signaling the end of freshman year, "Guess I did it…I finally survived being a high school freshman." Kagome said to herself as she packed the remainder of her belongings from her locker into her school bag. She sighed and ran her fingers through her silky black tresses.

"Hey Kagome!" Sango, her best friend's voice bellowed from down the hallway. "So, do you have any special plans for the summer?" She asked,

"Not really," Kagome answered, "Just the usual summer beach house in Beverly Hills. You know my father gets a time share down there…"

"I don't know why you always seem to bored with the fact that you spend summers in California! You have like, an eighty percent chance of meeting a movie star…honestly, I'm jealous of your rich ass!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I'm not rich…and, well…I guess I'm just not all that into meeting celebrities. There's more to life than that. When we go to Cali, half the time I just go to the beach and read a good book. I've never had a real adventure not that I was looking for one either."

Sango shook her head at her friend, "You really need to burst out of that antisocial bubble you live in. It's honestly a buzz killer. What you need to do this summer is go to Hollywood half naked and catch the eye of someone rich and famous!"

"That's not what I need to do…it's what you want to do." Kagome responded while finally closing her locker door and heading out of the school building with her friend.

You could see the fascination inside of Sango's eyes at the thought of getting to travel and meet someone like that. "Well of course I would want to. That is like, every girls dream! But since you actually get to live it, I will live my dream through you, Kagome."

Kagome had an impulsive idea, "Why don't you just come with us…?" She asked her dear friend.

Sango burst out into laughter, "That's funny; the day I could afford a trip like that would be the day pigs fly…"

"I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind paying your way. Besides, we already have the beach house, you can share a room with me, of course. And the house is paid for, all you would need is air fare and my parents wouldn't mind paying. You're practically family, Sango. Once I persuade them…they're sure to let you come along!"

The two girls decided to slowly walk to Kagome's house together to try and come up with a convincing story as to why it was important for Sango to tag along with Kagome's family to California. Before they knew it, they were in front of her Parents presenting their case.

"So you see, mom and dad, I never really enjoyed our trips to Cali because, dad's always working and mom, you're always off doing something that doesn't interest me. I'm stuck in the house watching TV, or on the beach just sitting in the sun. If Sango comes, it will be much more enjoyable for me. She can keep me company, and we can go out and do girl things. I don't have any friends in California that can do stuff like that with me…"

Sango chided in, "And, I already asked my parents. They're totally cool with me going if you guys are. We don't do anything during the summer anyway. So, instead of me being here alone and bored, and Kagome being eons away, bored…we can be together, and both have an awesome summer."

The two rested their case and stood silently before Kagome's parents waiting for an answer with their fingers crossed. Kagome looked at her father with pleading eyes, "I promise I won't ask for anything else for the rest of the year. Except for my birthday…and Christmas! Please….?" She begged.

Her parents looked at each other, and then back at Kagome and Sango, "Fine…." Kagome's mom answered. "If it will get you out of the house and doing something to actually enjoy your summer vacation, why not."

"No way!" Sota, Kagome's younger brother yelled down the stairs. "It's bad enough I have to put up with Kagome all year! Now I have to put up with her and her friend all summer!? Double the girl germs! Don't do this to me, mom and dad! I thought you loved me!"

"Oh, poor Souta, stuck in a house with two girls all summer. Oh, how will you ever survive?" Kagome mocked.

Souta just stuck his tongue out at his sister and ran up the steps. "This is going to be the worst summer ever!"

-X-

After hours on an airplane, Kagome, her family, and Sango finally landed in LAX. The airport was packed with people that all seemed like that were in a rush to get to one place. There were screaming girls everywhere and camera flashes going off ridiculously.

"Ugh, here we go…" Kagome said nonchalantly,

"What do you mean?" Sango asked.

"It's LAX, the main airport in California. There's probably some celebrity either getting on, or off their flight here and all these fan girls are here with the same hopeless dream of getting a photo or autograph from that person. It's sad really…because the celebrity, whoever it is, won't ever remember them once they leave. I pity all the girls that waist their life chasing celebs." Kagome answered in a very monotone voice, like this was everyday activity.

"Oh, wow. You really are a vacation buzz kill, Kagome. Getting noticed by celebrities can be fun. Regardless if they remember you or not. The thrill is the fun part."

All of a sudden, fan girls started running and screaming through the airport as a mod of body guards started descending a flight of stairs. They were in the form of a circle, most likely to protect whoever was in the middle.

"Who do you suppose it is, Kagome?" Sango asked.

Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "Who cares…."

"Inuyasha Takahashi, we love you!" Sango heard from a distance, "Inuyasha Takahashi…? The new pop singer! Oh my gosh, is he here!?"

"Don't become a zombie, Sango. You will make me regret bringing you with me…"

"C'mon Kagome, can you honestly say you don't think he's good? He rose from the bottom in like two seconds! He's really good! I want to meet him if he's here!"

"He's okay…" Kagome said with a very annoyed look in her face, "Look, our cab is here and my family is leaving rather you are with us or not."

Sango sighed and decided not to pursue Inuyasha like the rest of the fan girls in the air port.

The entire ride from LA to Beverly Hills, Sango stared out the window in amazement at all the scenery. "California is so beautiful, Kagome! How can you be so miserable being here? I don't even know if six weeks is enough to do all the fun things there is to do here!"

"We come every summer; I've done it all…at least twice."

"Stop being such a negative nelly!" Souta shouted from the seat behind the girls. "It's getting extremely annoying!"

"He's got a point Kagome; your vacation will only be as fun as you make it. You're fifteen…there has got to be a tone of stuff to do!"

Kagome merely rolled her eyes and popped her ear buds in and cranked up her iPod. "Whatever…" She said.

"Don't worry Mr. and Mrs. H, I'll make sure Kagome breaks out of her shell this summer!"

Kagome's parents chuckled, and after that, all was quiet for the rest of the cab ride. When they finally arrived at the Higurashi Beach house in Beverly Hills, Sango was actually pretty disappointed in the house in front of her. She was expecting some big Beverly Hills estate. But this was just like a regular house…just near the beach. Kagome walked her friend inside. Once inside the house, Sango who view on the beach house changed. It was beautiful, porcelain floors and stairs, glass tables and expensive looking furniture. Sango was afraid to walk too hard or touch anything in the event she may break it.

"This house is amazing…" She said,

"Eh, it's Okay…" Both Souta and Kagome said simultaneously.

"Y-you two are kidding…right?"

Kagome started walking upstairs, "Our old beach house was better…c'mon, I'll show you my room." She said and Sango fallowed suit.

The two girls came to a door to the far end of the hallway and Kagome kicked the door open. The room was huge, with sea foam green walls and pure white carpet. The bed was a queen sized water bed, and the ceiling was made out of mirror. There were two windows in the room that were wall sized with sheer green curtains, that Kagome was opening to let some light in. There was a dresser and vanity inside, and a huge closet.

"This…is your room," Sango bellowed.

"Yea, when we had to switch houses I told my parents I wanted the biggest room in the house. Since my dad is always working and my mom is always off doing her own thing, letting them have the master just seemed like a waste. So, they treated me. They have the second biggest room in the house, and then Souta has the smallest. But even Souta's room is a decent size."

Sango shook her head, "I am so jealous of you Kagome! Here you are living a dream life and you don't even appreciate it."

"I just don't really care about stuff like this." Kagome laid on her bed and started flipping through a magazine that she picked up at the airport. Meanwhile, Sango started unpacking some of her clothes.

"Aren't you going to unpack…?" Sango asked.

"No, I have enough clothes in my closet and drawers already. I just bring more clothes in case I want more options. But since I barely do anything, I guess that was pretty redundant."

"Listen to me Higurashi," Sango said jumping in her friends face, "You and I are going to make this a summer to remember!"

Sango's move startled Kagome and made her drop the magazine. On the back of it was an ad for a new teen night club that was opening up for the first time that night in LA. "Starting with this!" Sango said, "You are I are going to this party tonight." She shoved the ad in Kagome's face.

"No way, I don't do parties…or crowds of people!" Kagome protested.

"Look, you're going! You're fifteen; you're hot…start acting like it!"

"I'm not going to that party…"

Four hours later…

"I can't believe, I am at this party…" Kagome said with her arms crossed, trying to cover her heavely exposed chest. She couldn't believe that Sango talked her into the party…and got her in the outfit she was wearing. Tight silver leggings, with a see through black shirt and black bandeau with black heels to match. "I want to go home, now…"

"No way! You look great, and you are going to have a really good time." Sango replied, the doors should be opening soon. So just hold out a little longer. I promise it's going to be worth it." Sango was wearing black leather shorts and a pink crop top with black leather thigh high boots. Her hair was also pulled back in a ponytail, whereas Kagome just left her hair down.

Kagome rolled her eyes and started patting herself down to find her cell phone. She knew any form of entertainment was better than just standing in a line she didn't want to be in, with a bunch of screaming girl that were gossiping about a special guest appearance by the club owner's, daughter's, boyfriend. "Hey, Sango…I think I dropped my phone somewhere. Can I borrow yours to try and find it?"

Sango pulled her phone from out of her bra, "Sure…do you want me to come with you?" She asked.

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, if we both go…we'll lose our place in line. You stay, I'll go. If I'm not back before the club opens, wait for me outside. I'll be right back." Kagome said,

"Um…okay," Sango wasn't sure if she was okay with letting her friend roam the streets at night alone, but if she said she would be right back, then she believed her.

Kagome retraced her steps from the moment she and Sango were dropped off. "Where is it?" She said to herself while looking under different cars. "If I lost that phone I'll never get anything nice until I'm thirty." She pulled out Sango's phone and started calling her own, from a distance, she could hear her ring tone, but it was really low. Kagome started walking in the direction she heard it coming from and saw it laying on the ground in front of the door to the back of the club. "There you are!" She let out a sigh of relief while running over to the phone.

"I never agreed to that! You should have asked me first, Kikyo!"

"B-but, baby…c'mon. It's the opening night. Please…for…"

"No! I'm out of here!"

Kagome could hear voices coming from behind the door, but she wasn't paying attention. Especially when the sound of footsteps got closer and closer, and before she knew it, the heavy, metal door swung open and hit her from behind, knocking her to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry…are you okay!?"

"Ow…" Kagome said while pushing herself to her knees and rubbing the back of her head.

"Do you want me to get help?"

Kagome looked up and saw the person that was talking to her was none other than Inuyasha Takahashi. Her face fell into a scowl, "No thanks, I'm fine…no thanks to you!" She snapped, spitefully.

"Inuyasha! What do you think you're doing? You're just going to leave Kikyo's party like…well, hello?" Another guy poked his head out the metal door and saw Inuyasha on the ground with Kagome. "What happened here?"

"Shut up Miroku, and help me, help her up…I accidentally hit her."

Miroku raised an eyebrow, "You…hit her? What the hell did she do to you, man?" He bellowed, while taking one of Kagome's arms, whilst Inuyasha grabbed hold of the other.

"I didn't just walk up to her and hit her in the face! She was behind the door when I opened it and got with the door." Inuyasha answered.

"Oh man…this is bad. You're looking at a potential law suit this early in your career! How could you let something like this happen?"

"I'm sorry; I don't interview doors before I open them to know who may be on the other side!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Kagome yelled, gaining the attention of both guys. She also snatched her arms away from them, "And let go of me, I don't need you guy's help!"

"But…you do need a doctor to look at your head. Come with me, I'll take you to someone that can look at that for you." Inuyasha said to her.

"I can't just leave; my best friend is going to be looking for me. And I have her phone, so it's not like she can call me!" Kagome said.

"I'll go find your friend, what does she look like? I'll tell her what happened and tell her that you'll meet her back home." Miroku offered.

Kagome thought about turning the offer down, but her head really was pounding and she probably did need to see a doctor. "Fine…" She said while showing Miroku a picture of Sango and said that she should be waiting for her outside the club. After that, she was guided by Inuyasha to a huge, black Lamborghini. She got inside and still rubbed her head, Inuyasha got in the driver side and revved up the engine.

"I really am sorry for hitting you in the head…" He said,

"You should be. You did it…" Kagome answered.

"Okay, what's your deal? Do you not know who I am or something?"

Kagome chuckled sarcastically and face him, "I think the better question is, if I care who you are? Because, I don't! I don't like you!"

If he wouldn't be putting his own life in danger by hitting the breaks in the middle of the street, Inuyasha would have. "How can you say you don't like me? You don't even know me…"

"Yea I do…Teen singing sensation, Inuyasha Takahashi. Psh, big deal…ask me if I care?"

"You still don't know me. You know my name…you know my profession, but you don't know me. From the moment I tried to help you, you've just been being completely rude! And, I'm trying to help you…"

"No, you're trying to help yourself so I don't go to the police and sue you for everything you have…or just started to get. Please, I don't want your money…"

"So, what do you want from me?"

"I want to you take me to this doctor…and then take me home, then…we can both forget that we ever met each other." Kagome snapped.

Inuyasha shook his head, "Say no more…"

-X-

"Okay Miss Kagome, it looks like you have all you have is a slight concussion." The doctor handed Kagome a small vile with tablets inside. "Take two of these, once in the morning and once at night every day until the bottle is gone, and you should be just fine."

Kagome nodded her head. "Thank you," She said. "Hey, you and Inuyasha look a lot alike, are you related."

"Unfortunately, he's my half-brother…"

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha came bursting in the examination room, "Do you have car here I can barrow?" He asked, seemingly in a panic.

"Nothing that you could bare to be seen in." He answered.

"Great, can I barrow it!? You can keep my car for however long you want!" Inuyasha said while practically throwing his keys at his brother.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, while holding ice on her head.

"Paparazzo…everywhere, all in the waiting area. I don't know how they knew I was here! But I cannot leave in a car that they would suspect I could be driving!"

"Why do you always find ways to wrap someone else in you and your personal problems?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Look, I'm serious! I have to take this horrible little monster girl home! The last thing I need is for someone outside to be taking her picture."

"Who are you calling a horrible girl!?" Kagome chided.

"If it weren't for the girl, I'd make you walk right out there with all the paps, and their cameras." Sesshomaru answered and pulled a set of keys out his lab coat pocket. "Take the back stairwell, it will lead you to the employee parking lot. You'll find my car, and I'm sure no paparazzi will be down there. You should be fine."

"Thanks!" Inuyasha said while grabbing Kagome by the arm and dragging her out of the room and down the stairs.

"Inuyasha, slow down! I can't even keep up with you! Why are you in such a hurry!?" Kagome yelled.

"Shhh! Be quiet, and just keep running!"

"But, why!?"

"Shhhhh!"

When the two of them finally reached Sesshomaru's car, Kagome's eyes widened at the shock of how beat up and run down it looked. It was a grey, old, boxy looking Toyota with rust in certain places, peeled paint, and a missing headlight.

"This is what we're driving?" Kagome asked.

"Look, don't complain…this is the only option right now. Get in!" Inuyasha said.

"I-is this thing even safe!?" Kagome cried.

"Probably not, which is why it's driven by a doctor…look, get in! We need to get away from here before the camera people start wandering!"

Kagome quickly contemplated, but decided to just get in and Inuyasha zoomed out of the parking lot unnoticed.

"Do you mind explaining to me what just happened?" Kagome said.

Inuyasha peeked at me, "That depends…do you mind telling me what I did to make you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you…" Kagome rolled her eyes, "I'm not exactly a fan of you…but, that's beside the point."

Inuyasha's phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? Oh, mom…wait? Tonight…? But, I though…" He sighed, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Something wrong…?" Kagome asked, not really caring. She just felt it was the civil thing to do.

"No, but um…we might have to make a stop before I take you home."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Why!?"

"I uh, sort of…forgot I have to be at this dinner thing at my house. I thought I could get out of it by going to the club opening tonight. But since I'm not there…I'm obligated to be at this dinner."

"And, how long is this going to take?" She asked getting very irritated.

"Not long, maybe about thirty minutes…one hour tops."

She crossed her legs, "What else do I have better to do?"

With that note, Inuyasha changed routs and started going in the direction of his Hollywood mansion.

-X-

It was already past midnight, and Kagome knew that the club had closed by now. But Sango hadn't called her yet. Not even to see if Kagome was okay. She really wondered what was going on with her friend, but Inuyasha said he spoke with Miroku, and that Sango was with him. What they were doing…he had no idea, but they were stalling until they could get the girls back together.

Finally, Kagome and Inuyasha pulled up to the high gates of Inuyasha's home. There were giant T's on the gates that obviously stood for Takahashi. After the gates opened, Inuyasha drove inside and parked in front of the house not even bothering to turn the car off. He knew someone would be around to take care of the car soon. He and Kagome stood outside the front door for a moment before he unlocked the door. "Okay um…when I open the door, you'll see a swivel staircase, you need to jet up the stairs before anyone can see you. When you get to the top of the steps, three doors down on your right is my bedroom…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why does it seem like you need me to hide somewhere? What's wrong? You embarrassed to be seen with me? But it's okay for you to chauffer me around all night? What the hell!?"

"No…I just…ugh! Look, there is this big event going on at my house. I have to perform a song for a number of different important people. My house is going to be filled with paparazzi. It's not that im afraid to be seen with you. I take pictures with fans all the time. But walking into my house with a girl that is not my girlfriend…well, that is just asking to stir up some gossip. I'm trying to protect you from that! The pap's…they don't stop! So just go upstairs into my bedroom and just hang out there for a minute until I come and get you…"

"And then you'll take me home?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, yes! I'll take you home right after. I promise! No more detours."

Kagome sighed and gave him a look, "Fine…"

"Okay, on three…one, two…three!" Inuyasha opened the door and Kagome ran up the stairs and did just like Inuyasha had told her to do. Meanwhile, he went in another direction and met up with his mother and father that seemed to be waiting for him. Kagome could see the big crowds of people all through his house from the top of the steps. Of course, there was too much going on for anyone to look up the stairs to even bother noticing her.

"This has been…an eventful night," Kagome said to herself while walking to the room that Inuyasha said was his. When she opened the door, there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The room was red and white all over with a plain, nothing special bed. His room did have a balcony though. Kagome noticed some lights coming from outside and decided to be nosy and see what was going on. When she stepped on the balcony, she heard singing; a soft singing and an electric keyboard melody ringing through the air. Kagome looked down and saw Inuyasha sitting in front of a keyboard singing front of a large group of people. The song he was singing had a very calm, warm feeling that came from it. She closed her eyes and just let the song fill her up. When Inuyasha was done singing, Kagome was slightly saddened. She had no idea he could sing like that.

Kagome continued to spy on the goings on of the party underneath her. She saw Inuyasha being congratulated, most likely on the song he just performed. Judging by what she saw from a distance, he really didn't see like that much of a bad guy. But, he was a celebrity, and pretty soon her Cinderella moment would be over. It wasn't even like she was enjoying it…that much. Without realizing it, she started smiling, but softly. At that same moment, Inuyasha looked up at her, noticing a long time ago that she had been watching him from the balcony. He saw her smiling at him and he sent a quick smirk right back at her. Kagome gasped and her eyes widened, quickly, she ran back inside the room and sat on the bed. Her face was heating up…did she and Inuyasha just share a silent flirt?

Not much longer, did he come in the room and started changing his outfit. Kagome, feeling a bit awkward that she was in the room with him while he was changing his clothes decided to turn in the opposite direction of her. Her action didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha, "You know…for a grouchy wench, you're kind of cute." He said.

"I am not grouchy!" Kagome turned around and snapped at him, but her face heated up at the sight of a topless Inuyasha and she immediately turned back around. 'Get a hold of yourself, Kagome! Why am I getting so flustered!?' "Um, so…when are you going to take me home?" She asked.

"Whenever you're ready." Inuyasha answered standing by his bedroom door in a completely different outfit.

Kagome turned around and saw him in a white V-neck and basic pair of jeans, with grey and black sneakers. "Why did you change your clothes?" She asked as he lead her out of the room and back down the steps. They went out of a different door than they came in.

"Because, all the pap's here saw me in that outfit and know what I'm wearing. I changed to try and throw them off a little. Normally, Miroku and I would just switch clothes, but since he's with your friend, I don't really have that option."

Inuyasha led Kagome into a dark room with a heavy echo, "Where are we?" She asked and Inuyasha clapped his hands twice. The lights came on and Kagome realized she was standing in a giant garage filled with expensive cars.

"Pick one…" He said.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me…"

"You want to go home, right? Might as well go in style, right? Pick a car…I'll take you in whichever one you like the best."

"No! I'm not picking your car!"

Inuyasha shrugged, "Okay, fine…we'll walk. Where did you say your house was again?"

"Beverly Hills!" She screamed.

"Oh, okay, no problem. We'll get there…on NEXT THURSDAY!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "Oh my gosh, you are so irritating!"

"What exactly did I do to make you hate me so much!? This whole time I have done nothing but try and be civil to you, but you are making it very hard! Everything I do upsets you! You keep finding some reason to snap on me when I haven't even done anything wrong. The only fault I made with you is hitting you with that damn door! And hell, I've been paying for it ever since! To be quite honest, I can't wait to get you back home and out of my hair! You're a chronic complainer with a really bad attitude! You might have a pretty face, but you are horrible on the inside!" Inuyasha yelled in her face and unlocked the doors to the closest car to them. "Hurry up and get in the car, the quicker you're in…the quicker you're out." Inuyasha finished his statement and slammed the car door shut.

Kagome just stood dumb founded, but got in the car nonetheless. She had never been spoken to like that before. Honestly, it hurt…but in a way, all Inuyasha did was give back to her what she had been dishing out to him all night.

Inuyasha turned on the car and started his rout to Beverly Hills. Twenty more minutes of this girl and he could be done with her forever. To mask the how thick shield of tension between them, Inuyasha turned on the radio that coincidentally was playing his song at the time. He didn't feel like hearing his self, so he instantly turned it back off deciding that silence was better.

"Kagome…" She spoke up.

"What…?" Inuyasha said, not bothering to take his eyes off the road.

"My name…its Kagome."

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, "You're point?"

Kagome took a deep breath, "I-I…just don't want to remember me as a grouchy wench. That's all…"

"A little late for that, don't you think? Look, just be quiet and we can make both avoid making this ride worse than it has to be."

'Good job Kagome…you blew it. Perfect start to the worse summer vacation ever…'

Twenty minutes came and left in the blink of an eye and now it was too late for Kagome to try and make up for the she was acting all night. She saw Sango standing by the back door signaling for her to sneak in. She knew Sango must have covered for her, but despite all her complaining, Kagome wasn't ready to go home. She was finally given the opportunity to have an awesome summer vacation and she ruined it all in one night.

"Thank's…" She said while getting out of the car,

Inuyasha merely nodded his head, just informing her that he heard her. After she closed the car door, he shook his head in disbelief that someone so small could harbor so much anger. He started the car back up and started easing out of Kagome's driveway, but realized that a paparazzi truck was heading down the street.

"Damnit! How did they find me!? Fucking relentless!" Inuyasha turned off the car and ducked his head down and low as possible in his car seat. He eased over into the passenger seat and slipped out of the car and crawled across the grass to the backdoor of Kagome's house. He knew he was going to regret this later, but he softly knocked on the door. Inuyasha was sweating hoping that he could find somewhere to hide before the pap's circled back around and spotted him, or his car. Inuyasha knocked on the door again, "Kagome…" He whispered.

A few seconds later, Kagome came to the door, "What…?"

"Look, you don't like me…and I don't like you. But the pap's are on your block and I just need one little favor from you. Hide me somewhere and I'll be out of your hair and out of your life before the sun is even up in the morning."

Kagome crossed her arms and leaned up against the door post, "Why should I?" She asked,

"Look, I'll pay you! Just…please, please!" Inuyasha's plea was truly sincere and Kagome could see it in his eyes. Perhaps this was the gods way of giving her a chance to make up for her attitude from before. She ran her fingers through her hair and simply said, "Okay…"

Chapter 2

It was the next morning and Kagome had made it through her first night of many in California this summer. When she woke up, she noticed she was the only one in the bed and figured Sango had already gone downstairs for breakfast. So, without further delay, she got out of the bed, brushed her hair into a messy but and went into the bathroom to freshen up before going downstairs to join the rest of her family. Once in the bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth while trying t process all the events that happened to her the night before. It was still too good to be true that she spend her entire last night with a celebrity…that probably hates her guts right now. But the even stranger part of last night’s events, is that, that same celebrity was now in her family’s shed out back.

“Okay Kagome, get a hold of yourself…yesterday is over and now it’s a new day. You’ll probably never see Inuyasha ever again except for TV. So, it’s time to get back to reality and try to make the most of this summer vacation.” She said to herself.

After the little pep talk she gave to herself, Kagome left the bathroom and went downstairs to find her mother, father and brother, as well as Sango all sitting at the breakfast table. A buffet off foods was spread out on the table with foods like bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles, fruit, cereal and other things.

“Good morning, Kagome!” Her mother said, initiating a conversation with her half-dressed daughter. Since Kagome decided to sleep in, she was the only person not fully dressed at the table, with the exception of Souta who woke up not too much earlier than Kagome did.

“Good morning,” Kagome replied. “Wow, you really went all out this morning huh, mom?”

“Well, it’s because I was not sure what types of things Sango would want to eat, so I just made everything.”

“Oh, wow! Mrs. H, you didn’t have to do all this for me. I like everything you make!” Sango cut in.

“So, how was that new club you girls went to last night?” Kagome’s father asked, averting the conversation o something else.

Both Kagome and Sango hesitated and looked at each other. Since it was late, they hadn’t talked to each other yet on a story in case this very situation came up. Sango was the only person at the club with that guy Miroku, while Kagome was off with Inuyasha…but of course they couldn’t tell her parents that.

“Oh…well, actually. It wasn’t all the great. You could almost say it felt like I wasn’t even there…that’s how boring it was.” Kagome said nervously.

“Yea, what she said…” Sango added.

Kagome’s mother raised her eyebrow, she knew that look teenage girls give when they aren’t tell you something. She used to give that same look. “What do you…”

“Aww man, no syrup!?” Souta cut his mother off completely making her loose her train of thought. Kagome knew she would have to thank her little brother for this one day.

“If there is no more in the cabinet, then you’ll have to go look out in the shed outside. You may be able to find some in there.”

Souta nodded to his mother, “I’ll just go look outside then…” He replied.

Not really paying attention to the conversation going on, Kagome spooned a mouth full of cereal in her mouth, before her brain registered and she spit it all out across the table. ‘Oh no, Inuyasha’s in there! What do I do?’

“Uh, don’t worry Souta! I’ll go look…I, uh…need something from out there anyway!” Kagome quickly said and stood up from her seat to chase her brother to the back door.

Souta gave his sister an up and down look, “Um…no thanks, I’m capable of walking across the yard.” He said to her while opening and exiting the house in rout of the shed. Kagome was hot on his heels trying to come up with reasons why he didn’t need to go and get the syrup. When the two reached the shed, Souta went to open the door, but Kagome closed it back before it was opened. “Kagome, what are you doing?”

“Who needs syrup anyway? Haven’t you heard too much sugar can be bad for you, little brother?” Kagome said cheerfully nervous.

“…I’m a kid, I like sugar.” Souta once again attempted to open the door, but Kagome closed it back. “Stop doing that!” He yelled.

“Make me? You’re like half my size…”

Souta hated when Kagome teased him, so he kicked her shin and made her move from in front of the door. “Ouch!” Kagome screamed while falling to the ground, “I’m going to get you back for this!”

Again, Souta opened the door, but with Kagome on the ground this time there was no one to obstruct the door. Kagome held her breath knowing that Inuyasha was now exposed and that she’s probably going to be in a world of trouble for the night before. But, her worries were put to ease when she realized that Inuyasha wasn’t there. Souta opened the door to a nothing out of the ordinary food shed. Inuyasha must have left way before now. In a way, it actually upset Kagome. She still never got the chance to properly apologize to Inuyasha. The way she acted was eating her up inside, especially since the persona he has of her isn’t actually who she is.

Once Souta got the syrup, the both of them went back into the house and finished their meal with the family. After dinner, everyone discussed their plans for the day. Kagome’s dad was going to work of course; Souta and Kagome’s mom were going to some arcade Souta said he wanted to go to. All that left was Kagome and Sango which…neither of them had any plans.

The two girls lay in opposite directions of each other on Kagome’s bed discussing what they should do for the day.
“We could drive to the malls and blow some money…” Sango suggested.

Kagome sighed, “Actually…I’m not in a shopping kind of mood. I’d rather read a good book.”

Sango noticed that her friend wasn’t acting like herself and decided to ask her why, “Kagome, what happened to you? What’s going on? Did something happen last night, and that’s why you’re so down?”

Kagome chuckled, “You always know what is wrong with me, Sango.” But the reason for my mood is my entire fault.” She explained everything that happened between her and Inuyasha, even the part about him being in the house the night before. Honestly, Sango was expecting some crazy out of the story books, fairytale type of night, but instead got just the opposite.

“Kagome, how could you be like that? Don’t you know who he is? You had the chance to have an amazing summer with him…but you pretty much made the guy hate your guts.”

“…thank you, Sango. Because, I didn’t figure that much out myself.”

“Oh, right…I’m really sorry that happened. But hey, we can still make this a great summer!” Sango got up off the bed and started sifting through some of Kagome drawers and pulled out a neon green and orange, bandeau styled swim suit and threw it at Kagome.

“Sango…what are you doing?”

“Put on the bathing suit…now!” Sango said aggressively, “We’re going to the beach…and we’re guy watching!”

Kagome furrowed her brows, “Y-you’re kidding me…right?”

“Do I kid, Kagome? Never that! Now…c’mon because we are going to Malibu beach!”

 “And…how do you propose we get there?” Kagome asked nonchalantly.

“With your mother’s car…duh, she and Souta are taking a cab to that arcade; and judging by your brother’s enthusiasm, they’ll be there all day. You and I will go to Malibu, have a little fun and be back before anyone even knows the car was gone.”

Kagome didn’t think the plan was the best idea…but what did she really have to lose? She already didn’t do much on her California vacations. If her parent’s home bound her until they go back to their actual home, it wouldn’t really affect her anyway. In fact, they’d be giving her what she wanted. So, she agreed.

-X-

The air was dry, the sand was warm and the salty sea water was refreshing. It had been ages since either Sango or Kagome relaxed the way they were doing just now. The two had only just gotten to Malibu, but the instant they stepped onto that sand, it seemed like nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Kagome was lying out on her towel reading a book while Sango splashed around in the water. Though Kagome had a bathing suit and full capability to go into the water, she just didn’t want to. Water wasn’t one of her favorite things in the world unless it was a shower. So, she was content watching her friend have splash fights with random guys that she met on the beach.

Several feet away from her, she noticed a male figure sitting in the sand. He was wearing a fishing hat and sunglasses, so she wasn’t quite sure if the person she was seeing was actually who she was seeing. But she recognized that outfit. “Hm…I wonder?” She said to herself while standing up and brushing some sand off of her denim mini shorts. Kagome was wearing just the swim suit top and her shorts to allow her skin a little vitamin D. She walked over to the person and stood behind him, blocking his sunlight.

“You know…you remind me of someone I met last night.” She said. But the person did not say a word of response, he merely shrugged his shoulders. That did not stop Kagome from trying to press a conversation with the guy. She sat down next to him and sighed, “I want to apologize for the way I acted to the person you remind me of…I know it doesn’t concern you, but…just getting this off my chest maybe enough since I’ll probably never see him again. If I were ever given another chance, I would like to start over again.”

Still, the male figure still continued to just sit and say nothing.

“I know I…I kind of messed up last night, and I know I’m probably the last person on earth you want to hear from right now, but…I’m really sorry for the way I treated you. Everything you did, was because you wanted to help and…and I was too ignorant to notice it. If you’re willing to start over…I am.” She finished then chuckled, “Who am I kidding…I’m pouring my sorrows out for a complete stranger. I’m sorry for wasting your time, sir. I’ll get out of your way…” Kagome started to stand up, but the guy grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. “Um, let me go…sir.”

“Shhh!!!”

This was deja-vu all over again, the last time she was shushed was by… “I-Inuyasha….?” She said lowly.

Slowly, the guy pulled down his sunglasses low enough so Kagome could confirm who it was, but swiftly put them back on. “Please do not draw any attention to yourself, just sit back down and act natural.”

Kagome scanned her surroundings and saw that no one was watching the two of them. Granit, the beach she was on was a fairly smaller one. She and Sango decided a more subtle, quiet beach was more suitable. “Inuyasha, what are you doing here?”

He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, “After I left your house early this morning, I didn’t want to risk gong straight home in the even someone may have followed me. So, I came here…I come to this spot a lot when I want to be left alone. It’s quiet and peaceful…nice to just get away sometimes. I’m able to think here.”

Kagome nodded and then looked straight off into the ocean attempting to avoid eye contact. Especially since she pretty much confessed her inner feelings to the person they were meant for, which was not her intention. “So…how are you?” She forced out.

“I’m alright, could be better…could be worse. My phone died sometime last night though, so I haven’t gotten any of my calls. I guess that’s a good thing though, no phone means no one to track my movements and tell me what to do. I can actually just relax for a while…or at least until I have to drop back into reality. You’re really lucky for your life, Kagome…” He stated and then things got silent between them.

Kagome started playing with the sand beneath her feet and sighed, “Um…look, everything I said before, I meant. I really am sorry for last night.”

“I know,” Inuyasha turned his head to face her. “I heard your apology the first time.” He smirked at her.

Kagome’s face heated up at the smirk he swung her way, “Okay, well…um, I guess that’s it.” She said and started to stand, but once again Inuyasha pulled her down.

“Wait!” He said as he looked around and noticed some people with camera’s just standing around the beach. “What the hell, how do they always know where to find me?” Inuyasha started pulling the hat further down his head.

“Inuyasha, anyone with half a brain would know where to find you. You’re not that hard to locate.”

“Alright, I need another favor from you…do you have a car?”

Her eyes widened, “No…no way! Not going to happen, it’s my mom’s car…and I’m not even supposed to have it!”

Inuyasha looked really nervous, as the pap’s numbers started to increase and he wanted to get out before they noticed who he was. “Look, I’ll pay you! Five thousand dollars…I’ll give you whatever you want. I just need this favor…right now.”

“Keep your money,” Kagome said and held out her hand. “Give me your keys…”

He raised a brow, “What…?”

“If you’re taking my car, you can’t leave me here without one. C’mon…keys.” Inuyasha pondered that, and wondered if he should just take his chances with the paparazzi. “You don’t have much more time to think about this, Inuyasha.”

“Okay, okay…fine!” He hesitantly pulled out the key fob to his Bugatti and dropped them into Kagome’s hands.

Kagome examined the set of keys and nodded. “Hm, Bugatti…keyless start car, huh? No wonder the paparazzi found you here, what normal person would have a car like this? This would be fun to drive into a brick wall though.” She joked.

“Don’t play like that, Kagome! I love that car as if it was my child…don’t do anything crazy.”

Kagome stood up and started walking to her things, “Don’t worry…I’ll take good care of your baby.” When she got back to her and Sango’s belongings, Kagome pulled her mom’s car keys out of Sango’s bag and replaced them with Inuyasha’s. “I just hope he gets back with my mom’s car before my mom actually comes back home…” She whispered while making her way back to Inuyasha. “Here you go,” Kagome held the keys out to him and he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the beach parking lot before any pap’s noticed them slip off the beach.

Inuyasha was led to a lime green, Volkswagen beetle by Kagome. “Y-you’re kidding…this isn’t your car.” He said.

“Look, this is the best you’re getting…at least no one would suspect you would be in this car.”

A paparazzi van pulled into the beach parking lot, and a plethora of pap’s started to filter out the van. When Inuyasha noticed the numbers of them, he pushed Kagome to the ground. “Ow!” She yelled,

“Shhhh…” Inuyasha crouched down and scurried to the driver side and got inside the beetle car. Meanwhile, Kagome started to pick herself up off the ground when Inuyasha pushed open the passenger side and hit her with the door, knocking her down once more.

“Okay, you really need to stop doing that! That’s the second time you’ve hit me with a door!” Kagome yelled at him.

“Shut up, and get in!”

She furrowed her brows, “What…? Why?”

“Get in!!!!” He yelled at her and Kagome just did so in the heat of the moment. Inuyasha started looking through the glove compartment and the back seat of the car and found a pair of sunglasses and a head wrap. “Here, put these on, crouch down as low as you can…and hurry up!”

Kagome scurried, not really knowing what was going on. However, she put on the glasses and the wrap.  Then she scouted as far down in the car seat as possible while Inuyasha started up the car and slowly drove off the lot trying not to draw too much attention.

After about twenty minutes of driving in silence, Inuyasha started to rise from the driver’s seat allowing him to be sitting completely up. Kagome followed suit.

“Okay…what the hell was that!?!?” Kagome started screaming.

“Pap’s…cameras, everywhere. You didn’t see them…and I didn’t want them to see you. That’s why I pushed you down. Sorry about that though…if I hurt you, it wasn’t intentional.”

Kagome sighed and shook her head. Lucky for her, she had her cell phone in her shorts pocket…but everything else of hers was left on the beach. She pulled out her phone and dialed Sango’s number.

“Who are you calling!?!” Inuyasha bellowed sounding like a nervous wreck.

“Sango…what’s the problem?” She asked.

“Listen, you cannot tell her you’re with me. You can’t tell anyone. Okay? I’m serious Kagome…not just for my sake, but also for yours.”

“Why not? What is the big deal? She knew I was with you yesterday…she’s bound to figure something is up once she realizes the car keys she has aren’t the ones to the car we came down in.”

“Just…please! Don’t tell her.” He begged her.

Just then, Sango’s voice mail pick up and Kagome had no choice but to leave a message. “Hey, Sango…its Kagome. Sorry, I skipped out on you like that. I got a little bored at the beach and decided to take a walk around town. I didn’t want to ruin your fun so I’ll take a cab home. Please grab my stuff and bring it back to the house, I’m going to take a cab home . I didn’t want to walk around with my beach stuff. I’ll see you later, thanks…” Then she hung up the phone and took a deep breath while taking off the head wrap and scarf. “So…what do we do now?”

“Well, we’ve got some time to kill before the paparazzi starts to die down. How much of Cali have you actually seen since you’ve been here?” He asked.

Kagome thought for a moment, she had been coming to California every summer for fifteen years and never actually went sightseeing.  “Not much…” She answered.

“Well then, next stop…Hollywood.”

-X-

Back on Malibu beach, Sango had finally gotten out of the water and parted ways with her beach buddies. “Hey, Kagome…” She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Kagome was no longer there. Sango looked around wondering if she had wondered off, but Kagome was nowhere in sight. “Where did she go?”

Sango pulled out her cell phone from her beach bag and proceeded to call Kagome when she noticed she had a missed call from her, as well as a voice mail. She put the phone to her ear to listen to the message.

‘Hey, Sango…its Kagome. Sorry, I skipped out on you like that. I got a little bored at the beach and decided to take a walk around town. I didn’t want to ruin your fun so I’ll take a cab home. Please grab my stuff and bring it back to the house, I’m going to take a cab home. I didn’t want to walk around with my beach stuff. I’ll see you later, thanks…’

“Ugh, really…you left me here? Some friend.” Sango mumbled while packing up all the stuff and walking to the beach parking lot. A bunch of camera men showed up and the beach get really crowed so Sango decided it was time to leave. Especially since it had been several hours and she knew Kagome’s mom and brother should be getting back to the house soon. She had to beat them there. When she got to the lot, she looked around for the green car but it wasn’t anywhere to be found. She took the car keys out her bag and attempted to press the panic button in order to locate the car, but the whole set of keys was different. “What the…?” She pressed the panic button on the car keys in her hand, and the alarm for a fresh, black Bugatti went off in front of her. Sango’s eyes widened, “Oh…my…” She turned off the alarm and unlocked the doors and began going through every drawer and door attempting to figure out who’s car it was that she was now inside of. Inside the glove compartment, Sango found insurance and registration papers for the car that read that the owner was Inuyasha Takahashi. “No way…” She whispered to herself while thinking back to the voicemail Kagome left her on her phone. ‘I got a little bored at the beach and decided to take a walk around town.’ “Kagome you little liar…” She laughed.

-X-

Kagome and Inuyasha had spent nearly the entire day together, and Kagome was having so much fun that she didn’t even realize how much time past. The two were off sight-seeing in Hollywood, they did a little light shopping where Inuyasha treated her with a simple charm bracelet with a charm of a dog on it. Now, they were sitting on the edge of the mountain that the big Hollywood sign sat on watching the sunset.

“This has been a truly amazing day,” Kagome whispered to herself whilst taking a sip of a Slurpee she had gotten when they were in town.

“I have to agree,” Inuyasha replied. “You’re not as bad as I thought you were…”

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and lightly slapped him on the arm, “Are you ever going to let me live down how bratty I was to you? I apologized to you already.”

“Yea, I know…but, if your showed me how sweet you were from the beginning, you wouldn’t have had to. What did you have against me, anyway?”

She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, “There wasn’t anything about you specifically…it was your social status. You’re so big…and I thought your ego was going to be big too. A lot of celebrities get like that when they get a little taste of fame. I didn’t want you to think I was going to fall all over you because you were a big star…”

“That’s understandable I guess. But…I’m really not like that. I mean, of course I like my fan attention. But I also like to just kick it with a good and trust worthy friend every now and then. I’m sure you can understand that.”

Kagome nodded her head and pulled out a disposable camera she had gotten off a cart in the city before they came to the mountain. She sat closer to Inuyasha and held the camera up to snap a picture of the two of them together. “Say, best summer ever!” She said and they both snapped some silly pictures together and just laughed and enjoyed each other’s company.

After the sun had set, Kagome and Inuyasha got back in the car and began their rout back to Kagome’s house so she could face her mom on the reasons for the stolen car. Kagome had been mentally preparing herself for the blow up she was in for as soon as she stepped foot into her house and just decided it was best to enjoy her day while she still had it. The entire ride back to Kagome’s house, they did not speak but through the silence, Inuyasha and Kagome knew what the other wanted to say. Every so often one of them would glance over and the other and flash a grin. Usually when Inuyasha did it, Kagome would begin to blush like a school girl running into her crush.

Forty-five minutes of driving seemed to have flown by as if it were two and Inuyasha had pulled up into Kagome’s block. He pulled into Kagome’s garage without making too much noise. Both got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk facing the other not really knowing what to say.

Kagome looked at the ground finding it more interesting than Inuyasha, and he in turn kept looking around in an attempt to avoid eye contact. “So…this is it, I guess. We um…part ways huh?” She asked.

“Uh…yea, I guess so. It’s time I got back home anyway…I’ve been out since yesterday. I need to get inside and wash shower and stuff. Come back to reality. It’s been fun though; I had a great time with you today.”

“Right…same here.” Kagome replied while sticking her hand out for a shake, “Friends…?”

Inuyasha took the hand and answered, “Friends.”