Chapter 1: Halloween sweets

"I wonder what I should wear to the dance." I asked the blonde who was flying clothes out of her closet faster than light. "Hmm. Here, this will work." She said bluntly. She held a black dress that was torn where the fish netting was visible. Fake blood was stained into the black silk. My impression of the dress was breath taking. "Thanks, Ino." I ran to the bathroom and slipped on the dress. My short pink hair hung there, just lifeless. I smirk as I saw the bottle of hair gel sitting on the long white counter.

"Sakura!" yelled Ino as I set up the last spike in place. "Here" She handed me some torn fish netted panty hose. She had everything planned out. "Thanks. So what are you wearing Ino?" I asked as I noticed she wasn't wearing anything that resembled a costume. "I'm not going. I love what you did with your hair. You look like a part of the living dead." Shock took over my face as I heard those three little word, "I'm not going" replay in my head. "What do you mean, you're not going?" Ino shrugged as hot fledged angry spread through me like poison. "I can't find anything. Plus, I have a date with Sasuke to the movies." She smirked to herself. She hated Sasuke for when he called a fat bitch, so I knew she had a nasty plan cooked up. She looked up at the clock and started to push me out the door. "He'll be here any minute, so go have fun. Meet a guy." She said like my mother would. I waved as I disappeared down the road.

My feet stared to hurt when I realized that I was running in 5in heels. I took a deep breath and started to walk to the academy. The Halloween party/dance was always there. Every year I went there alone and always drove every guy away because I was afraid that I was going to be hurt the same way Sasuke hurt me.

When the academy was in sight, you could hear loud music and flashing lights. A sudden rush of excitement made butterflies flutter all around my stomach. I walked through the doors to see all of my friends there except for two. A girl with short brown hair and white lilac eyes appeared in front of me. "Hey Sakura." She said in a soft and gentle voice. "Oh. Hi Hinata." I said in the same tone. The song changed to the upbeat song Fences. "Come on Sakura. You're all tense. You need to relax and have fun." Said a familiar voice. I turned around and saw a smiling blonde. I smiled a small smile back. "Naruto."

"Why don't you go get some punch?" asked Naruto as he got closer to Hinata. I could tell he wanted to talk to her in private. I nodded and headed straight to the punch bowl. I noticed that someone was up there just waiting. He had red hair and was wearing what looked like a living dead costume with little needles in the arms. Fake blood stained his cotton fabric. I walked up and poured some punch into a cup. He was whispering into a phone. "What do you mean you're not coming? You said you would. I can't believe this. We're done, Ruse." He sighed heavily and turned. His eyes met mine in an instant. The gaze only lasted for a few seconds when I looked away.

"Are you waiting for someone?" he asked a little uninterested. "Nope." I said quickly. I could feel his eyes on me and my face felt hot. I felt as though Sasuke was right in front of me. He shrugged and walked over to me. The song then changed to another upbeat love song, Every time we touch. He extended his hand and I lifted my head. "Do you want to dance?" he asked me. I was a little hesitant. I knew he could feel the way I felt. He placed his hand at his side. "Sorry. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Gaara of the Desert." His turquoise eyes looked directly into mine and I felt completely safe and I felt as though I could trust him. "My name is Sakura Haruno." I smiled a bit. "So do you want to dance?" he asked again a little more casual. I looked down at my feet and saw the dreadful shoes. The only thing I want to do is get these things the hell off my feet. "Yes." I answered quietly as he took my hand. We were on the dance floor before I knew it. The next song came on. It was Crushcrushcrush.

Why are they only playing love songs I thought to myself as we continued to dance? I looked into his eyes and realized that he had black eyeliner all around his eyes. It brought out his pale skin tone. He smiled a small smile when he caught my gaze. I looked down as I once again felt my face getting hot. I swear blushing in public is a curse. He placed his hand under my chin. His hand felt so cold to my hot face that it cooled me down just enough that the curse went away. "Why do you keep looking down?" he asked me so causal it was like he'd known me for a month or so. I was speechless. I had no clue of what to say. I began to feel my face get hot once again. It was worse this time because he caught sight of it. He chuckled softly as he brushed his hand against my cheek. He was like my own little cooling unit. My antidote to my poison.

"I think it's cute when you blush, Sakura." He said with a smile. I took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes once again. "Do you want to go for a walk, Gaara?" I asked quickly that I thought that he didn't even hear what I had said. "Sure. I could use some fresh air." We both walked off the dance floor and out the academy doors.

The cool night breeze flew by us and blew my hair. I looked at him and he was a god in the darkness of night. My cheeks turned pink and I heard a chuckle as he started to walk ahead to the river next to the school. I looked up at the moon and smiled as a star came flying through the sky. I wished on it with all my might. I looked back at Gaara and ran to catch up with him. A few more feet, and we came up to the beach that had formed over the years. He sat down and placed his hand down on the soft sand. I sat next to him and placed mine on top of his.

He looked off into the water where the moon was reflected. I shifted my fingers, weaving them into his so that they were together. He looked at our hands and smiled his lovely smile. I felt complete when I looked at him. He caressed my cheek as we both gazed at each other for a while. He cleared his throat as if to say something but never did. He turned a little pink and I giggled at the sight. He smiled at the sound of my girlish giggle. "Um… Sakura. I know we've only known each other for a few hours but I…" he stopped suddenly. I looked down and said quietly, "Gaara, I wanted to let you know that I like you." I blushed a bit as he lifted my chin. He whispered softly, "I like you too." Then he pressed his soft lips against mine. It felt so right but I felt as though I betrayed someone. I realized that within that kiss, I had lost the love for Sasuke and gained love for Gaara. The guilt over took me for only a second, but Gaara could feel it and pulled back. "What's wrong?" he asked as though he'd hurt a child.

"Nothing is wrong. It's just that this is the best Halloween night of my life." I said happily as I remembered the blunders of years past. He smiled, "Well it looks like I don't have to trick or treat to get my Halloween sweets." He said casually. I looked at him and said, "That was so corny." He smiled, "I know, but it's true. You're my sweet this time around." I frowned and he knew I didn't like the way it sounded. "I'm not using you or anything like that. Every year my sister sets me up with a blind date. This is the first time I have actually fallen for a girl." He turned bright red as he said all of this. I looked at him and then pressed my lips against his hard. He wrapped his arms around me and held me in his arms. He pulled away and laid his head on top of my head.

"I hope you know what this means." He said seriously. "What do you mean by that?" I asked confused by the sudden change of tone. "It means that you're mine." He said playfully. I frowned a bit. I do that when people do that to me, no matter what it is. I hate it.