A/N: My very first fanfiction in GaaraSakura, so I still need lots and lots of suggestions and critiques. There will be lots of grammatical errors, so please pardon me. English's not my first language, but still, I tried my best to make it less miserable : ) now please enjoy the show, Ladies and Gentlemen..
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do wish..
:A Love to Remember:
-Chapter 1 : The Beginning-
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Sakura drummed her fingers on the table impatiently. Her perfectly manicured nails clicking against its wooden surface. She brushed her pink locks to the back of her ear for the umpteenth time out of her nervousness. No, she wasn't nervous, she was furious. She had been sitting at this outdoor table of a coffee parlor all alone for more than half an hour, waiting for a certain red-haired guy. Yet the said guy was nowhere to be seen. The cardboard cup on the table that earlier was filled with her favorite cappuccino was now empty, and she found herself almost losing all of her patience. She kept shifting restlessly on the supposed to be comfortable couch.
'Today is my birthday, for crying out loud! Why does of all time he choose today to be late? And for more than half an hour that is to say! Does he forget about it?'
She thought, irritated. Sakura cursed under her breath and forced herself to relax. She closed her eyes and leaned backwards to the back of the couch.
Yes, he wasn't the perfect prince-charming type of a boyfriend. He was never a ladies' man. And he often refused to show any acts of affection at the public, not to mention his lack of talking. But he had his kinda-sweet side too. He wasn't romantic, he never give Sakura any sugar-coated compliments, so whenever he praise her—no matter how simple and straightforward his words were— it was genuine and honest, and it made Sakura's heart fluttered. He was never bold in showing his affection, but through his simple gestures such as holding her hand or his chaste kisses on her forehead—or sometimes— lips, she knew that he loved her. And though they weren't the chit-chatty kind of couple, they usually knew what each other meant through simple words, and that's enough.
But, they didn't mean that Sakura was confident in their relationship. Oh no, Sakura was all but confident in this. There were times—such as right now—when she would find herself deep in thought, doubting did he love her or not. He got irritated quite easily sometimes, and so did she, they really had what people called 'major mood swings'. And both of them were headstrong and stubborn, which resulted in arguments between them, ranged from rather calm to harsh and fierce ones. Sakura always feel like walking on a thin ice at a frozen lake, one wrong step, and she would fall into the freezing water.
Because it was her who fell for him at the beginning. He was one of the major hotties in school, but he got this dark aura lingering about him, which felt like shouting 'stay away from me!' to the other people around him. That, plus the faint dark circles around his eyes, made his appearance even more threatening and unapproachable. All he usually did was just sitting at the corner of the class, eyes shooting bored looks to the whiteboard or the teacher. On the lunch times, he didn't talk much, just laid back and all relaxed among some of his loud friends and siblings. He was Gaara Sabaku.
Unlike her, the other girls in their class didn't have enough bravery to approach him. Sakura though, wasn't affected. She even personally thought his uncommon attitude challenging, and boy did she love challenges. She found his crimson blood-red locks mesmerizing. His pale complexion and his towering figure alluring. And his eyes, oh his beautiful jade eyes, dazzling. What made her interested in him though, weren't his eyes themselves. It was the gaze he shot to other people. They found his stare cold, sharp, and unnerving, yet Sakura found something else. She saw a little hint of loneliness. Expertly hidden, but it was still there, and Sakura's eyes were much too good to be fooled. Pushed by her curiosity, she made her first step back then. Starting with trivial and insignificant talks, slowly yet quite surely, she peeled him off of his mysterious front wall. And after about 5 months of tiring efforts, here they are as a couple. She didn't really know for sure though. It had been 2 months since their 'relationship' begun, but Sakura couldn't really see any developing between them. They'd never even said 'I love you' to each other like those other normal couples.
Yes, now he's less cold than he was back then, but does he really love her? What if he just pities her? Or what if—heaven forbids— he's just toying with her?
Their so-called-romantic-relationship begun on one afternoon when they were walking home together—more like Sakura was trailing Gaara and attacking him with her usual carefree and trivial remarks though. It had been some weeks since they started doing it. They were walking down the busy street when suddenly Gaara's hand took Sakura's hand in his. And so they walked home hand in hand—Sakura's face blushing like mad while Gaara's seemed to be rather ignorant. And since then, they started to go on several dates. Most of them were just watching movies and nothing very romantic had really happened, but still they counted as dates. Weren't they?
Sakura sighed loudly and started to massage her aching temples. Is this what she really wants? Does this relationship really worth fighting for? She found it very fragile even to the softest touches. And there were many things she had given up for their sakes too—such as lowering her ego a little bit and never complained about their not-so-romantic dates— but it wasn't like there were no benefits come from it too. With Gaara at her side, she felt more… complete. But how about him? Does he feel the same towards her?
She suddenly blinked quickly when she caught a glimpse of crimson hair in the crowd of people walking down the street where the coffee parlor was located. She squinted her eyes a little and found what she had been looking for. Her eyes following a red-headed guy, clad in gray casual shirt with the two first buttons off, and dark-washed jeans. He walked towards her, both his hands in his pocket.
The moment Gaara arrived at her table and opened his mouth to say something, Sakura cut him off with a sharp tone.
"Sakura—"
"What took you so long?" she glared at him, anger true in her eyes.
"Sorry. I—"
"Of all times, why did you choose now to be late?"
"Listen, I know I'm wrong, but—" his voice dark. He hated it when he was being cut off by people when he talked.
"I've been waiting for you for one fucking hour, Gaara!"
"CAN'T YOU SHUT UP!? Listen to me first!" He barked in frustration. That was it, he really, really, hates it so much when people cut him off. And Gaara was sure, Sakura knew about that fact better than other people. So that only irritated him even more when she did what she knew he despised so much. The action was immediately regretted by him though. Especially when he saw Sakura's face. He hates when people cut him off, but he hates it even much more to see Sakura's hurt expression. His grasp at the tiny blue velvety box inside his jeans right pocket—his reason for his lateness— tightened.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Gaara shook his head and his left hand try to reach for Sakura.
But she had already turned away and ran. Her vision blurred from the tears she had been holding. She knew it was her fault, she knew she was too harsh and overreacting. Yet her ego—her damned-godforsaken-ego—refused to let herself be the one who was at fault. So she turned and walked away. Ignoring Gaara.
This wasn't their first fight—hell they even had quite a long history talking about their fights—but this one was different from the others. Gaara's yell earlier was ringing inside her heart and it hurt. It hurt so much she didn't even want to see his face, so she ran through the crowd of people to the crossroads not far from where she was. It felt not right. It felt like something terribly wrong was just going to happen, thus she ran away. Confused with her own emotions and actions.
Gaara cursed himself and ran after her. "Wait! Sakura!" he called to her, only to be ignored by the pink-haired girl. Sakura walked away fast. She looked like lost in her own anger. She kept bumping to other people, forcing her way to the crossroads. He watched in horror as he saw Sakura crossed the street, not even looking at the blaring red pedestrian traffic lamp. And his eyes widened when he saw a car speeding through the not too far side of the road, coming to Sakura's direction. Yet Sakura didn't make any move like she knew there was a car coming her way.
Gaara ran as fast as he can to where she was. 'No God, No! Not Sakura! Pick someone else, not her!' he prayed inside his heart while he force his feet to move faster and his strides longer until his legs felt like they were about to snap. He shoved the people walking around him roughly so they would get out of his way.
"SAKURA!!!" he bellowed. Her hands outstretched to her directions.
-oOo-oo0oo-oOo-
Sakura ran across the road. Her eyes still blurred and hazy from the tears. She kept walking in haste. All that went through her mind was Gaara.
'Gaara, Gaara, Gaara…' she thought bitterly.
"Why do I have to know someone like him?" she snorted.
Sakura was too engrossed in her own musings; she didn't catch the people's shocked face. She didn't see those people opened their mouth to shout at her, to warn her. She was about to take her next step when suddenly she was surprised by the blaring honk of a car just few meters from her spot—right at the centre of the crossroad. Her eyes went as big as saucers and her mouth agape, but she didn't get the chance to scream before she heard someone bellowed her name followed by a deafening sound of tires screeching against the asphalt.
Everything happened so fast.
And then everything was dark.
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How was that? I, personally, am not really satisfied with this. But I promise, the next will be better. Because, despite of this chapter's title, the next chapter is the real chapter where everything will start. This is more like a prologue. I hope I don't make them too OOC though, cus I think it would be weird to write a calm Gaara in a situation like this.. xD hehehehe..
Anyway guys, please review! Reviews will help me update faster, and gosh! how I love them so much, more than 3 meals a day.. xD hahahahh.
But seriously guys, I really, really, want to know what do you think about my story.. do you like it? Any helping critiques or suggestions? =D
With all the love of the world,
:Gentle Breeze of Spring:
