What is she doing? You're thinking. How can she start another fic with two others already on the go? Okay, that probably never passed your mind. But I'm not starting a new fic. ^^. I wrote this three years ago and just never uploaded it for some reason. The whole 50,000 odd words are all written and collecting dust on my hard-drive. So I thought, why don't I just upload the damn thing?

Five virtual cookies for whoever can guess which anime I got this idea from ^^. You probably won't be able to guess until chapter 10ish, though.

I hope you enjoy it. I'll either update once a week or whenever I get a load of reviews. Whichever comes first, I guess.

The sides of my face were raw again, and I knew why. It was down to another long night of crying myself to sleep. I couldn't even remember drifting off, which explained why I still had my clothes on. I changed into my black, short-sleeved shirt and my blue jeans that were frayed at the bottom. Finishing the ensemble off, of course, with the red wristbands that I wore everyday.

My blank expression stared back at me in the bathroom mirror. My blood red hair was a mess, but to be honest, I was too tired to care. I dragged a comb through it and headed downstairs to the smashed photo frames littering the dirty, grey carpet. The family photo of my parents and I lay on the floor, covered in shattered glass, and I gazed down at our fake smiles while feeling a sharp twinge in my chest.

Unwashed clothes hung on the sides of the sofa and chairs. It was all evidence from the argument the night before. I picked a few of the clothes up as I passed through into the kitchen and forced them into the already full washing machine. I scrunched my nose as a sickening stink of cigarettes and alcohol lingered in the air, making me feel queasy. And a loud, grisly snore came floating in from the living room -- it was my dad. He'd been wearing the same clothes all week, and they were stained with food and drink. To say he stunk up the gaff would've been the nice way of putting it. Welcome to the Sabaku house. Drinks will be served in plastic cups since we can't manage to keep glass un-smashed, and food will be served when you make it yourself. Feed yourself or die. It really is a dog-eat-dog world, after all.

It was too early to deal with the man who'd stolen my father's body -- he hadn't been my dad since he started on the bottle when I was a young lad -- so I just left for school.

My eyes closed as I leaned my head against the cold surface of my wooden desk. The murmur of voices from the class drifted into a far off echo as my body finally relaxed. I needed some sleep. Some proper sleep, anyway -- not that stuff where you toss and turn all night, because that was doing me no good. If I carried on with my two hours a night, I was going to have a breakdown. But I'd had things on my mind for the last two weeks.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Matsuri. Trust her to be the burden in my side. Couldn't that girl see I needed my rest? The thick eyeliner around my eyes wasn't there just for show. She patted the back of my head, and I groaned loudly, letting her know that her antics weren't appreciated -- especially not this early in the morning.

"Go away," I mumbled, shielding the back of my head with my hands.

She sat in the chair next to me and shoved my arm forcefully, almost as if she were actually trying to knock me from my chair. That girl had strength.

The classroom smelled almost as stuffy as my house. Some of the old tiles in the ceiling were cracked, and there were black stains on the worn, green carpet, where chewing gum had fallen onto it. I sat straight and formed a black hole in my face as I yawned. "Morning."

"Morning," she said, eyes wandering the surface of the table as her demeanour altered. What was her problem? The usual morning girl wasn't happy for once? I could've done a little jig. Maybe she'd leave me alone long enough to get a few Zs.

Sighing, I decided the decent thing to do would've been to at least ask what was going on. But if she wasn't going to tell me then I wouldn't force it out of her. "What's the matter?" I asked, resting my elbow against the desk and tilting my head in her direction.

One corner of her lips lifted into a small smile. "The police came to my house again last night." Her eyes averted mine, and she unpacked her school bag, dropping books atop each other.

That wasn't good. "What for this time?"

Her finger ran in circles over her English book. "To ask if Sakura said anything to me." Ah. Sakura. No one had seen her for two weeks. We were the last two she'd visited before disappearing off the face of the earth, and thanks to that, the police wouldn't leave us alone. It was like, Come on, two sixteen year olds are not going to abduct a girl. But I'm sure it happens.

"What did you tell them?" I leaned closer so she didn't have to speak to loudly. We didn't want to broadcast the fact we were possible suspects.

"The same thing I told you. There was something she had to do; she wouldn't tell me what it was." Matsuri's dark eyes misted over. "I should have made her tell me. It's my fault. I--"

"It's not your fault, it isn't anyone's," I said, touching her shoulder gently to show my support. The police had been to my house as well, they weren't the nicest of people to speak to. Although, I didn't think they'd be back after my father practically threw them out. I was hoping they were going to come back and arrest him. No such luck.

She sniffed. "Then why do I feel like it is?"

"We both could blame ourselves," I mumbled. "But neither of us knew this was going to happen." It was true. None of her belongings had gone with her, so the pink haired girl must've been snatched. As horrible as it was to think about, there was no other possibility. Matsuri gazed at me through hopeful eyes which churned my stomach, making me feel as if it were my responsible to cheer her up. "She'll be back," I said with a confidence I didn't feel. "I just know it."

She nodded half-heartedly and smiled.

Our teacher entered the classroom not long after our conversation. His long, greasy hair shone in the light -- everyone called him Mr. Slick. He thought we were calling him 'cool' -- we all knew otherwise. Mr. Orochimaru wasn't the best liked teacher around -- especially not after being suspected of abusing a student. Kabuto. But that kid was almost as creepy as the teacher himself. They'd have made a lovely couple… I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

"How was your date over the weekend?" Matsuri whispered, changing the subject.

I rubbed the back of my head, letting the red locks twist between my fingers. "Uh…"

"You didn't go, did you?"

Here we go again, I thought. Why couldn't she mind her own bloody business? "Well, you see--"

"Gaara, don't start making excuses," she interrupted.

"I wasn't going to, I--"

"You know what your problem is?" I was going to slap her senseless if she cut me off again.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, but I'm pretty sure you're about to enlighten me."

"You have commitment issues." She wagged an accusing finger at me.

"Commitment issues?" I echoed. "How, may I ask, did you come up with that conclusion?" I didn't know why she enjoyed getting involved in matters that didn't concern her. It must've been a girl thing.

"When was your last girlfriend?"

"I don't see what that--"

"It was last year," she said, making it sound like vital information. "And I can't even remember her name because it was so short."

"It lasted a week," I muttered.

"It lasted five days!"

"It lasted a school week then, but that doesn't mean I have commitment issues." It didn't! It just meant the girl made me want to eat my own head before seeing her face one more time.

"Okay, whatever. I give up trying to sort out your mess of a love life," she mumbled, writing the date down in her book.

My mouth dropped. "I didn't need you trying to sort it out in the first place. I'm perfectly capable by myself."

She snorted. "Yeah, it shows."

"Um, excuse me, but where's your boyfriend?" She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off like she had me. "You don't have one. So, what makes you think I should have a girlfriend?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just trying to help."

"If I wanted your help, I'd ask for it," I said, writing the date down in my own book.

She grumbled something under her breath. It was so aggravating when she tried to get involved with my nonexistent love life. I didn't need her running around trying to fix something that wasn't broken. The class began and Mr. Orochimaru started reading Lord of The flies out. We had to do some essay on it. I'd always enjoyed the novel. The ending always gave me goosebumps. The children believed they were saved when the adults arrived, but they were just being brought back into the same sort of environment that they'd created themselves on the island. It really does go to show the fundamentals of human nature.

"Not sleeping well?" Matsuri asked after watching me yawn for the tenth time within an hour.

I shook my head. "It was too stuffy in my room."

"Open your window, or try taking sleeping pills. You look like crap."

"Gee, thanks," I mumbled. "I'm fine, though." I yawned and rested my head back on top of the desk. "But I think I should take up drinking coffee."

A strong, orange glow lingered around the town, casting long shadows across the floor. I lived in a town called Colchester. It was the oldest recorded town in England, and there was never bloody anything to do as all the social clubs had been closed due to the increase of crime in the area. There were a few old Victorian houses still standing but most had been knocked down and replaced by more modern houses and flats. Some people didn't appreciate culture.

I walked slowly, dragging out each step. There was no sense in rushing home to a dad I couldn't stand and the possibility of a punishment I didn't deserve. Ever since my brother and sister had moved out, I found myself being his new punching bag. After all, why spend fifty quid on a real one when you have a son? No, that money could be spent on alcohol and cigarettes. Can anyone say twisted priorities?

The smell of freshly baked bread, tangy gingerbread men and lemon cakes came floating in my direction from the bakery and I sniffed the air eagerly. That was definitely my favourite part of walking home. Sometimes if I had the money, I'd go in and buy something delicious to eat and munch on it before getting home. It was the highlight of my afternoon. God, I really was such a sad, deprived child…

The bakery's door swung open and Naruto, Sakura's boyfriend, backed out with a pile of boxes stacked up in his arms. I pulled my phone from my pocket and pretended to text someone -- I didn't feel like talking to someone I'd only met once before and he gave me the creeps. No one should be that happy all the time, it was unnatural and downright wrong.

I managed to escape past him without a word, but as I stuffed my mobile back inside my pocket -- it'd completed its job for now -- I heard the sound of smashing cardboard and cakes splattering onto the pavement. I glanced over my shoulder and our eyes met. Great. Now I had to stop and help him clean up the mess or I'd look like a jerk. Moron. How hard could it be to keep hold of a few boxes?

"Need any help?" I asked, scooping up a mound of cake from the dirty pavement. I tossed the gunk inside one of the open boxes.

He gazed up at me through intense, blue eyes, shielded by his long, blonde fringe. "Thanks." He looked back at the mess.

Naruto was eighteen, which made him two years older than I was. He was a bit taller and a lot more muscular than I was. If I had his body I wouldn't have been wasting it in a bakery. I'd have been… well, I don't know, but I wouldn't have been working in a bakery, that was for sure.

We stacked boxes and globs of cake in silence, until the last broken box was back firmly in his hands. He cleared his throat. "So, how've you been?" he asked. "I mean, it's been two weeks now since Sakura disappeared." His voice dropped as the words were spoken. The usual gleam in his eyes disappeared and I knew he was hurting. Perhaps he blamed himself as me and Matsuri did. -- What if I'd have been with her? What if I'd done something more. It was going through all our heads.

I smiled weakly. "Okay, I guess. How about you?"

He looked down at the white boxes in his hands. "I miss her."

"Me too," I said. "But she'll be back." There went the fake confidence again.

He smiled as weakly as I had a moment ago. "Yeah, of course." We stood and stared at one another for an uncomfortable few moments before he decided to break the tension. "Well, thanks for the help." He adjusted the boxes in his grip and placed a hand atop them to keep them stable.

"No problem, I'll see you around." I flicked my hand in a wave.

"See you around." He backed up into the bakery with a slight nod of his head.

I checked the time on my phone and gritted my teeth. I was late, and I knew for a fact my father was going to be extremely angry.

I officially love writing Gaara's voice.

Well, more to come.

Please review.

Ja ne

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