Alright, guys, new story time!!
Here's the summary I promised before I go off and start talking about useless crap:
A high school fic in which Gaara has to survive going to boarding school, and that's a lot easier said than done. Armed with his iPod, vocal chords and portable iPod charger, he must battle the forces of homework, school dances, annoying teachers, talent shows, bands, romance, heartbreak, dead batteries, bruises, wet shoes, drunken friends, insomnia, blackmail, first kisses, seizures, hangovers, alarm clocks, nightmares, suicide notes, hospitals, flashlights, revealed secrets and talents, prom and homecoming, and a visit from a person he wishes he'd never have to see again. And he's taking you along for the ride.
As for the pairings, we have LeeGaa and SasuNaru, along with KibaHina, ShikaTema and NejiTen, though those aren't important. I know, I'm such a yaoi fangirl. Bite me. :D
Alrighty then! I've had the idea of doing a Naruto high school fanfic for a few months now, and it started off centering around Sasuke, but I changed it to this. And I know the stuff in the summary is a bit hard to swallow (and yes, I copied and pasted it off my profile XDD), but it'll all make sense as the story plays itself out.
I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANYTHING RELATED, INCLUDING THE MUSIC IN ANY OF THE CHAPTERS. So leave me alone 'bout it. Stupid lawyers...
Alright, let the madness commence! Let me know what you think of this one, which means please please PLEASE review!!
"Turn that crap off, wouldja?!"
"Oh, like your sorry excuse for noise is any better! Just put your headphones in or something, like Gaara!"
"I can't hear it with that damned boy band stuff blaring!!"
"First of all, Paramore's lead singer is a girl, you dumbass, and second of all, I do not listen to boy bands!" There was a pause. "But that can be arranged, if you want. Would you rather me listen to the Jonas Brothers?"
Silence followed in response.
Temari giggled. "That's what I thought," she said smugly.
Kankuro scoffed and stuck his head around the side of the front seat, looking at the thin redhead in the backseat. "Oi, Gaara," he half-shouted, yanking one of Gaara's headphones out.
Said teen's head snapped in his older brother's direction, eyes demanding the reason for breaking him from his blissful, sibling-less trance.
"Can you hear it, too?" Kankuro asked hopefully. "I'm not the only one, right?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed. "What, the voices in your head? I thought we'd already discussed this, Kankuro," he spat back. "Those dolls of yours cannot talk."
"They're puppets, goddammit!!" Kankuro snapped, a snarl twisting his face. "Why doesn't anyone get that?!"
"Yeah, and that paint you insist on wearing when you play with them is totally not makeup," Temari added sarcastically, giving him a sidelong, playful glare.
Kankuro sighed curtly. "Just forget it," he grumbled, facing front and slumping down with his arms crossed.
Temari smirked. "I win," she said triumphantly. Kankuro glowered.
Gaara sighed as well, shook his head, and shoved his headphone back in place, irritated. It didn't help his mood when he'd remembered where they were headed. He groaned loudly, hitting his forehead on the window and keeping it there as he glared out the window.
What are the chances of us blowing a tire or getting pulled over? he pondered, though he knew it wouldn't happen, and that was merely because he wanted it to happen.
His tear-colored eyes searched lazily around the cluttered, messy car. They stopped on the clock.
"How long have we been driving?" he asked, voice raspy with such little use.
"Huh? Oh, uhm…" Temari answered, thinking for a short moment. "About an hour and a half."
Gaara moaned again and slammed his head against the window harder than before. It took two hours to get to their destination. "Shikusho," he grumbled under his breath.
"Aww, c'mon, Gaara. School ain't that bad," Kankuro said, voice more annoyed than sympathetic. He hated when Gaara was in a bad mood. It was a pain in his ass.
Gaara didn't answer, though YES IT IS YES IT IS YES IT IS YES IT IS was the only thing going through his mind.
What was the point of even going anymore? It wasn't worth it. Why was he putting himself through this headache? Why hadn't he just stayed home?
Oh, yeah. Because if he had, he'd be in for an even bigger headache.
God, he needed an aspirin.
With a sigh, Gaara looked down at the screen on his iPod, leafing through the songs of his favorite band, Linkin Park. He finally settled with 'Run Away' and turned the volume up.
All too soon, there was an annoying tug at his ear as the headphone popped out. "Hey, Gaara, for the last time, do you want McDonalds or not?!" Kankuro shouted loudly, a foot from his exposed ear.
Gaara snatched his headphone back from Kankuro's hand. "Only if they sell tranquilizer guns," he retorted. He didn't even bother with a sarcastic smirk or a roll of his eyes.
Instead of shuddering or turning around like Gaara wanted him to, his older brother simply raised a brow and looked at Temari. "Get him a milkshake or something. He's pissed," he said, smirking at the seething redhead.
"For the love of everything that is holy, would you shut the hell up?!" Gaara finally snapped. He groaned a sigh and slammed his head back onto the headrest of the seat. "You two are going to be the death of me…" he growled.
"Hey, what'd I do?!" Temari asked defensively as the employee handed her a bag and drink carrier. She tossed the bag to Kankuro and stuck her hand out behind her, holding a medium-sized container out to Gaara.
He stared at it angrily. "I don't want a damn milkshake," he said in a low voice.
"Then just take it so I can drive, wouldja?" Temari said, exasperated. She knew he'd drink it anyway. Everyone liked milkshakes.
Gaara snatched the cup from her with a snarl on his face.
Temari grinned.
"What're you so pissed off for, anyway?" Kankuro asked before Gaara could shut him out with his headphone.
The redhead sighed, shutting his insomnia-stained eyes. "What do you care?" he grumbled so low no one else could hear.
"What was that?"
Gaara remained quiet until Kankuro gave up. Then he sighed, letting his head loll forward to stare at the milkshake in his lap. He studied the Braille on the cap intently.
How could Kankuro not know what he was so pissed about? Gaara had always hated school, and not just in the way most teenagers did (only hating the work). Most of his teachers were insanity-inducing; exams were always tough and sometimes didn't cover material they'd learned; their uniforms were too colorful for his taste; his classmates were worse than his teachers, if that was at all possible; not to mention he was just dying to see what new names and insults the other students had come up for him this year. If it weren't for Uzumaki Naruto, his best and only friend at the moment, he wouldn't even be in this car.
He was just starting to wonder if jumping out of the car would kill him or not when Temari announced with a flourish, "Well, here we are!"
Kankuro and Gaara sighed at the same time.
"Psh. Don't get so excited, boys," Temari teased, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, urusei," the brunette whined. "You don't even go to this school anymore."
Temari laughed once. "Yeah. Like college is any better."
There was a pause. "Hmm. Touché," Kankuro replied.
"Do you even know what that word means?" Temari asked cynically.
Gaara had already stopped listening to them. He looked down at his slowly melting milkshake, almost accusingly, like it was its fault he was on the verge of having a migraine, then took a big gulp and sighed. His head instantly felt better.
He saw Temari smirk in the rearview mirror, but he didn't care. To prove it, he took another sip. He switched hands with his milkshake and searched through the songs on his iPod, finally settling with 'Behind Your Lies'. He stared out the window absently and sipped at his milkshake.
Not far ahead, the young insomniac could see the bright green lawn that stretched far ahead of the large complex of brown-red buildings. A large, white sign was fast approaching on the side of the road.
Konohagakure no Sato Boarding School
Huzzah, Gaara thought.
Gaara sighed as he fished in his pocket for his room key. His fingers scanned over some dead batteries, lint, but no key. He groaned and searched the other pocket, finally pulling out the small metal key.
It was odd, knowing Temari wasn't going to be there this year. Then again, it was equally as odd not having Kankuro as a roommate, but he could live with that.
The only drawback was wondering who his roommate would be this year.
He hoped to God that it was Naruto. Even though he was loud and rambunctious most times, and had an unhealthy addiction to ramen, he was still Gaara's best friend, and if it meant not having to deal with...well, anyone else, he'd put up with Naruto. Besides, it wasn't like he needed sleep in the first place, and Naruto was notorious for staying up late (and sleeping in, too).
With a heavy sigh, he turned the key until it clicked, grabbed his bag off the floor, and entered the dorm.
"Gaara!!" shouted the yellow flash that rammed into the thin redhead once he'd shut the door behind him. The bright blur slammed the both of them up against the door, somewhat painfully.
"Augh! Itai!" Gaara said through his teeth, looking at his slightly taller attacker. Relief washed away his irritation at once. Blonde hair spewed off the teen's head, framing two, stunning blue eyes and a foxy grin. Three scratch marks adorned each cheek. Both arms were wrapped around Gaara's chest in an embrace. Gaara couldn't help but let out a chuckle, even if the hug violated his personal bubble. "Hello, Naruto," he said, half a greeting, the other half a hint for the blonde to release him.
Naruto let Gaara go, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and grinning. "Heh. Gomen," he said. "But I haven't seen you in months! What'd you expect?"
"Nothing less from you," Gaara replied with the slightest of smiles, grabbing his bag once more. "So you're my roommate?"
Naruto nodded vigorously, still smiling. "I convinced Tsunade-baa-chan into allowing it," he said triumphantly, crossing his arms as he led Gaara down the narrow hallway.
Gaara tilted his head to the side, confused. "You wouldn't rather room with Sasuke?" The redhead knew how Naruto was constantly with his best friend, the raven-haired Uchiha.
"Naw, I can hang out with him anytime," Naruto said, shrugging it off. "I hardly get to see you anymore. So, I talked Tsunade-baa-chan into it, and now I get to torture you every day!!" He grinned malevolently and rubbed his hands together.
"Yippee," Gaara said in mock annoyance, rolling his eyes.
Naruto smiled wider still, but after a moment, it faded. His eyes drifted down to Gaara's arm, and a frown found its way to his mouth. Gaara gave Naruto a questioning stare as he took the pale teen's wrist and turned his arm sideways, revealing a dark blue spot, about as big as the front of a fist.
Naruto looked up at Gaara, now. "Dammit, Gaara, you can't take that shit from him!" he chided.
Gaara pulled his arm away, his sour mood returning. "And do what?" he demanded, a bit harsher than he'd meant. "You know there isn't a thing I can do."
"Punch him back!" he said, putting his arms out to the side. "Give him a taste of his own medicine!"
Gaara shook his head, staring at the bruise. That might as well be a suicide wish, he thought to himself.
After five seconds of silence, Naruto gave up with a sigh. "Well…whatever. Whatever goes on between you two isn't really my business anyway, is it?" he said, shrugging. Then he smirked.
"What're you smiling about?" Gaara asked, one invisible eyebrow arched.
"Think about what I just said," Naruto said, shaking his lowered head and still grinning.
Gaara did, then grabbed a pillow off the couch and smacked Naruto upside the head with it. "You have a sick, twisted mind," he grumbled, unable to keep the tiny smirk off his face. Leave it to Naruto, he thought.
Naruto fell onto the brown-and-green-striped couch in a fit of laughter. "Man," he said between breaths, "I missed—messing with you—like that!"
Gaara rolled his eyes and headed towards the bedroom to unpack, though he knew, as much as he wouldn't admit it, that he'd missed it, too.
"So what happened this summer? Anything epic?" Naruto asked after letting out a long, contented sigh.
Gaara blew air out of his mouth as he stared up at the sky. He and Naruto had opened a large window and were both sitting on the sill, legs dangling down. The number of stars in the sky said it was about two in the morning, and both boys were still wide awake. A soft breeze swept past them, raising tiny bumps on Gaara's bare arms. In response to Naruto's question, he shook his head. He then looked at Naruto and asked him the same question with his eyes.
Unlike most, Naruto wasn't put off by Gaara's silence. He understood why. "Oh, oodles," he said, leaning back a bit and cradling his head in his hands. "I've been dancing a lot more lately."
Gaara nodded, urging the teen to continue. Naruto had told him about his hobby, or passion, rather, about two years ago. He'd made Gaara swear never to tell a soul, to which Gaara had replied "Who would I tell?" Naruto had shut up after that. A few weeks later, Naruto had asked him if he'd wanted to watch him dance. Gaara had agreed, and was glad he had. Naruto was amazing—the way one move flowed into another flawlessly, even if Naruto's style was hip hop and freestyle, and the occasional break dance. Still, no one had found out about his hidden talent, though Gaara didn't understand why.
Naruto's face darkened. "Iruka found out about me dancing," he said glumly. "He says it's alright as a hobby, but I have to focus on school first, to get a well-paying job doing something I enjoy." He sighed and shut his eyes. "Only thing is, dancing is something I enjoy doing. I've been doing it for years, and not to be stuck up, but I'm pretty damn good!" He shook his head now. "But what kind of well-paying job can I get dancing?"
Gaara remained quiet, listening to Naruto vent.
"And not only that," Naruto went on, "I can't tell anyone about it—besides you, o'course. And it annoys me. I can't even tell Sasuke, cuz what'll he think then? He'll just call me a gay fag or something and never speak to me again." Naruto's voice sounded defeated.
"Why are you afraid of his reaction?" Gaara asked in his quiet, raspy voice.
Naruto flinched. "Uhm, ah…n—no reason," he stammered, shaking his head again.
Gaara shot him a confused look. What was he getting so nervous about? Did he miss something?
Naruto looked at the redhead. "Augh, sorry for putting all of that on you," he said, sighing. "It ain't your problem."
Gaara shook his head. He didn't mind it when Naruto vented on him like this. He always listened whenever Naruto needed him to. And Naruto told him pretty much anything and everything, knowing Gaara was a trustworthy person and wouldn't breathe a word to anyone.
Said blonde's sad mood seemed to melt. "So, c'mon, nothing interesting happened?" he pestered, sucker-punching Gaara's shoulder.
Gaara rolled his eyes. "Naruto, I think you and I both know my life is anything but uneventful." If not painful, he added mentally as he massaged his new bruise.
Naruto pretended not to notice Gaara doing so, and instead stretched and yawned elaborately. "Well, I'mma crash right here if I don't get to a bed soon," he said. He spun around and slid off of the window sill. "You mind if I turn in for the night?" He knew full well that those rings around his friend's eyes were not eyeliner.
Gaara nodded.
Naruto smiled and headed towards the bathroom. "A'ight, then. Oyasumi nasai, Gaara," he said cheerily.
"Oyasumi nasai," Gaara replied. Once Naruto had shut the door behind him, Gaara sighed, kicking his right foot absently. He felt his iPod thump against his leg in the pocket above his knee. He reached in to retrieve it, sticking both headphones in his ears, then he swiveled to the side so he could rest his feet on the window sill and still see outside. 'Papercut' by Linkin Park pulsed through the tiny speakers, it being the last song he listened to in the car. Gaara pressed the pause button and lowered the volume a bit before choosing 'Take Me Under' by Three Days Grace as his next song. He was vaguely aware of Naruto
leaving the bathroom and walking lazily to the bedroom, but he didn't acknowledge it. He was already getting lost in thought among the stars.
Naruto's words from earlier in the day rang through his head like an echo.
'Dammit, Gaara, you can't take that shit from him!'
'Punch him back!'
Gaara almost laughed to himself. Him? Fight back? He was hardly athletic—he could run pretty fast and far, but when it came to strength…
…Eh, not so much.
But there was more to it than that. The last thing he wanted to do was fight back, to show that the bruises and cuts were finally getting to him, that he was finally starting to crack under the pressure. Gaara would not let that…bastard have the satisfaction of thinking he'd won.
Gaara honestly couldn't understand how Temari and Kankuro could stand to call that man 'Father'.
What kind of parental love or guidance had he ever shown Gaara? Since when had he ever cared about his wellbeing, like a father should? What kind of father beats their son for something that wasn't their fault?
Gaara's hands balled into fists, quivering slightly. It didn't make sense. Everyone seemed to blame him for his mother's death. For Christ's sake, she'd committed suicide when he was only a week old! How the hell could he have caused that?! Did anyone even realize the torture he went through day after day for her actions, the actions he was being accused for?
Did she realize that? Was she watching him, wherever she was, knowing that she was the cause of all his misery? That she was the reason Naruto was his only friend, the reason he'd used to hate every other human, including his siblings and himself? The reason he no longer slept, the reason he'd spent half of his life taking out his rage and self-hatred on other people?
He hoped she did.
Gaara flexed his fingers, trying to relax his muscles once more, but found it hard to do so. His entire body was tense and stiff with anger that he'd, for the most part, held in all week.
He pulled out a headphone for a short moment. The sound of Naruto's snores in the other room came to meet his open ear. Gaara sighed. He knew once Naruto was asleep to the point of snoring, he wouldn't wake up to any noise at all. A shotgun could've blasted right beside his ear and he might have flinched, but he wouldn't have woken up.
Gaara was sure that Naruto wouldn't be able to hear him…
Sighing, Gaara replaced the headphone in his ear and chose the song 'Wasted Time' by Fuel. He started humming along to the tune. He pulled his knee up in front of him while the other leg dangled out of the
window, and laid his forearm on his knee, still humming. The chorus passed, starting the second verse. His humming grew a little louder throughout the verse until the chorus started again. This time, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth, singing quietly.
And say hello to alone again
'Cause everything's broken
Everything's vacant
Everything's wasted time again
Sentiments hopeless
Innocence jaded
Everything's wasted time again
He shut his black eyelids, his voice growing a little louder as he sang into the bridge.
Oh, someday we might find
Some sacred place in time
But until then all we'll share
Are dreams we've left behind
He started bobbing his head lightly to the beat, becoming more absorbed in the song and less focused on his surroundings.
'Cause everything's broken
Everything's vacant
Everything's wasted time again
Gaara's head bobbed a bit more now as the instrumentals picked up once more. He started vocalizing until the lyrics picked up again.
'Cause everything's broken
Everything's vacant
Everything's wasted time again
Sentiments hopeless
Innocence jaded
Everything's wasted time again
His eyes remained shut, engrossing him in blackness, disconnecting him from the world around him. His headphones were a stopper to unwanted sounds, leaving him blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Luckily for him, tonight, there was no one to bother him, as Naruto was still deep in sleep.
Everything's broken
Everything's vacant
Everything's wasted time again
Sentiments hopeless
Innocence jaded
Everything's wasted time again
At this point, Gaara was so immersed in the song that he'd forgotten where he was, or what he was stressing about, but he didn't care to remember either. The only thing he wanted was to keep singing. So he did.
Everything is broken (Everything is broken)
Everything is wasted time (Wasted time)
Everything is broken (Everything is broken—)
Everything is wasted time
The song ended too soon for Gaara's liking. His eyes slowly opened, then quickly looked down at his iPod, setting the song on repeat, and he didn't hesitate to immediately join in, not even checking if Naruto was still asleep. He knew he was.
Say it to my face
Look me in the eye
And say what you have to say
You know we can't erase
These words that form goodbye
And turn the final page
Ah, here comes alone again
'Cause everything's broken
Everything's vacant
Everything's wasted time again
The redhead closed his eyes and was immediately wrapped up in the song, forgetting everything else that could possibly matter at the moment.
Gaara's voice, like his speaking voice, was a little rough and raspy, but it added to the uniqueness of the sound rather than took away from it. His tone wasn't low, more in the middle, like most teens his age. He could hit the higher notes if he wanted to.
Gaara sang on throughout the night, finally able to relax his tense muscles, even in the cramped position he was in. Nothing mattered to him, and he felt like nothing could.
As he sang, he hoped his mother could hear him. He wanted her to hear him, to know that her even though she may have hated him, and had cursed him with his name, and had killed herself just to put him through hell, he had found a loophole. A way to escape from the stress and anger and depression. He'd found something he was truly happy doing.
He hoped, wherever she was, she knew that her efforts were wasted time, and now, there wasn't a thing she could do about it.
Gaara couldn't help but grin at that thought.
Ayup. Gaara sings. And Naruto dances. If you don't like it or think it's gay, then leave. kthnxbai.
I love the song 'Wasted Time' by Fuel. Seriously, people, listen to it. You won't regret it.
Alright, well, as always, please review and let me know what you thought of my new story! I'll try to upload more, but school is starting on Tuesday (sob sob) so I'm not making promises. But I will try, and that includes 'You'd Never Get It', as well.
And that's all folks! Time for me to intensify my self-induced insomnia by staying up 'til the ungodly hours of the morning by writing and drawing!! :DD Ja ne!
Sakamoto Michiko