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If at first you do not succeed, try, try again.
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Teach Me the Equation for Love
Gaara One-Shot
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"How did you do?"
A groan came as the response to the pink-haired female, Sakura Haruno.
"Oh, c'mon! You wouldn't show me it when we received them because you said you'll show it when we're at your house. And guess what, we're at your house!" Sakura's face suddenly soften. "It isn't that bad is it?" She practically whispered it because she, too, is a bit afraid to see the outcome. Yuzuki Ito groaned, but this time out of frustration. Her childhood friend has been bothering her nonstop for the entire day. She'd only said that just to shut her friend up, and she's beginning to regret it.
Sixteen year-old Yuzuki sat at the end of her bed, back leaning against the wall and a Hello Kitty pillow in her hands. She shook her head up and down, up and down, slowly. Not even looking at her friend either, but at the pillow, picking at a loose string casually.
Sakura was on the other side of the bed, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling off. Yuzuki heard a sigh. "Fine. As long as you don't get anything in the twenties, I mean, only the real stupid people would actually get that." She paused to think. "Like Naruto, for example."
The idiotic female bit the tip of her tongue, not saying anything. You'll be in for a surprise, then.
"Yu-chan," the pink-haired female started. "Let me see your scores. Then we'll go over the material I've given you."
When Yuzuki doesn't say a single word, she frowned, eyebrows knitting together. "C'mon, it can't be as horrible as you act-" Sakura gives out a chortle, quickly earning a scowl from her friend. "-so show me your scores, okay?"
The white-haired Yuzuki faltered before handing it over. Sakura, slightly nipping at the bottom of her lip, glanced over the sheet, reading the horrid numbers out loud. "Let's see...78, 60, 57, 86, 48, and...oh my goodness! Are you kidding me? A 23?How does your math score get worse? It use to be in the the fifties!How does it get this bad? And it's out of 100! 23? Really, Yu? Did you even study?"
In response, Yuzuki pressed a clenching hand over her heart as she pretended to be in pain. "Ahh~ the ouch! You hurt me, Sa-chan!" Then she brought both hands in the air, shielding her face from imaginary light when Sakura glared darkly. "AAAHHH! The light! It buuuuuuuurns!"
The pink-haired friend smacked her friend in the back of the head, lightly, but still strong enough that there's a sting. Yuzuki puffed out her cheeks, one of her bizarre trademarks, and gripped at her hair from where she got hit. "This isn't funny, Yu! From your marks, you can end up getting kicked out of this class! Did you even study the material I gave you? The math notes?"
"Well," Yuzuki wiggled, then stayed still with arms crossed. She tried not smiling from the memory of the day she "attempted studying". "You see, I was really...seriously wanted to study! Honestly! But I got a weeeeee~ distracted. First, Tenten called me, asking me about boy problems, and then after that, I realized how One Piece was starting. And you know how I can't miss a single episode! I HAVE to see my sexy man Zolo! But it turned out that there was a marathon! Somehow I ended up watching the entire thing, making me then realize how it's four in the morning and I need a little sleep before I went to school. Yep."
"Idiot! Dumbass!"
"Ow! Why ar-oww! Ow! St-stop hitting me! Owww!" The white-haired female leaped to her feet, standing on top of the bed as if that could save her from the smacking she's earned from the pink-haired. "I honestly tried to study, honestly!"
"That's it. You need to tutor," stated a completely serious Sakura as she settled down back.
Head tilted. "Tutor? Your actually going to tutor me?"
Another smack in the head.
"Owwww! What the fudge!" She hissed at her pink-haired best friend before puffing out her cheeks again.
"I'm not going to help you, but rather get someone else...Hmmmm~"
"Eh? What! But-but your smart! And good in math! I need your smartness to give me answers-ow! Okay, sorry. Fine. Whatever. So um...why are you ditching me exactly?"
"I'm not ditching you," she explained. "But rather I'm busy from now on because I got hired."
Yuzuki's nose crinkled, eyebrows narrowing together. "Hired?" Realization struck her. "Ah! You got a job? Where? Where? Where?"
Shoulders shrugged. "Just the hospital. Part time-that isn't important! What is important is you getting a tutor. Your my best friend, although a bit idiotic and immature, and I don't want you to get kicked out of class. Who else am I going to have to talk about boys with? To make fun of people? To laugh at your klutz-ness? So I think that the main problem with you learning is that you get distracted too easily-Yuzuki!"
"What?" muffled the white-haired female with a strawberry popsicle in her mouth. As Sakura was making her speech, Yuzuki's mother walked in the room with two popsicles and, of course, Yuzuki just had to grab both of them.
"Can't you at least pretend your listening to me?"
Yuzuki's mother snatches the other popsicle from her daughter's hand. "Would you like one, Sakura-san?"
"Oh, no thank you. I'm going to leave soon anyways."
The mother nodded her head then turned her attention to her daughter who's nibbling at the corner of greatness of red strawberries. "Yuzuki, at least listen to what your friend has to say. Don't be rude. Oh, and before I forget, I'm going out to see an old friend, so just eat some leftovers. Okay?"
"Whatever," came the reply.
The both of them chimed a goodbye as the mother shuts the door as she left. "I think that Gaara-kun would be a good tutor."
Yuzuki almost choked on her popsicle. "What? Did you say Gaara? As in the Gaara?"
"Of course. Who else?"
"In reality, you actually hate me, don't you Sa-chan? You can't just go up to him and be like "oh! Hey there Gaara! Would you do, like, a really, really, REALLY big favor and tutor me with my homework"! He'll definitely refuse, obviously."
"Yeah, he would do that to some stranger, but you guys use to be best friends! So it should be okay. Plus, he's the top of our class in all sections! Do you know how many people would kill to be taught by a sexy genius?"
"Uh, did you not understand the 'use' to part? Use meaning, past tense. We were friends in the past, but not now. He probably hates me!" She thought about it for a few mere seconds. "I would rather not die by his fan girls either."
Sakura came to her feet, throwing her backpack over one shoulder then fixing the strap. "It doesn't matter. I'll get him to tutor you. Promise." She flashed a smile that gave Yuzuki the chills. "See you tomorrow, Yu-chan."
"Sadly," she replied right as the door shut. She went to her feet, popsicle still in hand, and strode over to her desk where a picture frame was hung. In the picture, there was two kids around probably the age of six. No older than that. On the right was a female, long white hair in high pony tails hugging the other person, a boy with deep crimson hair and a smile spread across his lips. The two of them were laughing. At that time, they were wrestling...in a strange way, yes.
Yuzuki took the picture in hand, eyeballing the raven-haired boy. "Gaara, huh?"
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One Week Later...
"Yuzuki-san, may I please have a chat with you after class?" That was what the homeroom teacher, Kakashi, had suddenly inquired the white-haired female when she was pretending to be awake. She had jolted awake when he smacked her in the side of the head with a ruler. And now here the two was, at the end of Math class, Yuzuki standing in front of Kakashi's desk where she should be heading towards lunch, her favorite period.
Confusion washed through her. Had she done something wrong? Sure, she's slept through all the entire period, but it wasn't like she bothered anyone! Honestly.
"Um...you needed to speak with me?" She bit on the fat inside her cheek.
"Ah, yes." Kakashi fixes a pile of papers on the desk, making it all stacked and neat-looking. Then, his uncovered coal eye shifted to her face. "What do you think of Gaara?"
Say what? "Um...what?" Had she heard correctly?
Kakashi repeated again, slower and clear. "What do you think of Gaara?"
Was this some kind of test? "Well, I don't really know the guy. I mean, yeah, I know that he's great at pretty much everything-if you ask me, I get he's doing sterodes-but other than that, I couldn't care less about him. Plus, he looks scary as hell." Had the teacher smiled? "If you don't mind me asking, um, why?"
"Because," he began. He folded his hands, fingers entwining, resting the base on top of the stack of papers he'd made earlier. "you are failing my math class."
"And...?"
"You need a tutor. And Gaara had already agreed to help you until your letter grade becomes a lot better." When Kakashi saw the protest in the student's violet-red eyes, he continued on. "You can not argue, unless you want to re-take this entire class over."
Fuck.
She bit at the bottom of her lip. "Fine."
"Great. You'll start today right after school in the library until five. Gaara will be waiting."
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Gaara's Point of View
End of Eighth Period
The last bell rang, and Gaara sighed, pleased that the day was finally over. At last. Like always, it was a troublesome day. Girls flocked around him every second they could get, soccer practice was a lot harder and for some reason, he couldn't concentrate. Something in his gut is telling him that something wrong was going to happen. Yet he just couldn't point it out.
After doing his combination for his locker, he yanked it open to see a perfectly neat envelope. Curious, he tore the top part only to get a tiny red card that couldn't be larger than his palm. In familiar text, it said:
Gaara,
You are tutoring a classmate from now on.
Begins after school and ends at five.
Do. Not. Be. Late
Or else.
-Kakashi
He blinked once. Twice.
In a heartbeat later, he slammed the locker shut and bolted down the hall. He jerked the slide doors open of Kakashi's room. The teacher wasn't even there. No, instead there's a stuff dog sitting in the arm chair. Gaara cursed, wanting so badly to hurt something. Maybe punching a wall could work.
Should he even go? He began to debate in his mind on the odds. Truly, he just wanted to go home. Tutor someone? He hadn't heard anything about this at all. Kakashi had always loved to piss him off. Definitely. Maybe he could convince whoever this person was that he could leave. If it was a girl, it'll be easy. For once, Gaara hoped that it was one of his fan girls.
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Yuzuki's Point of View
Is he seriously going to come? Yuzuki frowned at the thought, tapping both her pointer fingers against her stomach. Class had been over for five minutes, and already the white-haired girl was growing impatient. She's never had the greatest patience.
That bastard. I'm gonna kick his ass if he doesn't hurry up! Yuzuki Ito is well known for her bad temper.
That, and sleeping and eating during classes.
Ahh~ find some entertainment. Must find some entertainment...Ah! Purple dooog~ on a Sunday afternoon! But wait...isn't it Thursday? Then let's just change it to Thursday! Oh! Har-har Tharsday! Hahahaha~
...My god, am I lame. She had the need to slam her head against the table, repeatedly. Or maybe a wall could do.
The doors of the library forced open so abruptly that she almost choked on her fruit juice and straw. She coughed, pounding a closed fists against her chest. Once. Twice. Foot steps echoed from each step. It mingled in with her coughing. The person coming must be Gaara. He must be! She couldn't tell because her back is facing him. By the time she was done coughing, the boy pulled a chair across from her, letting his bag drop to the ground. Yuzuki let her feet fall from the table to the ground and turned in her seat to face him properly.
Yep. Gaara.
She brought the cookie that was resting on the table to her lips and began to nibble it. When their eyes met, his sea-foam orbs meeting her violet-red ones, he froze, as if not expecting to see her. An emotion that Yuzuki couldn't understand flickered across his face but quickly vanished in the next second.
"You need...help tutoring?" He asked, almost in a way he was trying to make sure.
"Yuup." She popped the "p".
"In what subject?" He began to pull out a -book? and pen. What in the world is that for? Yuzuki tried not to gawk.
"Math and in every other subject. But mostly in Math."
"What are your scores?"
Yuzuki tried not to laugh when she handed him her score sheet. He quickly scanned it, eyes going wide. He mouthed "twenty-three" in astonishment. Was that a look of no hope in his expression? The white-haired female couldn't decide because it disappeared too quickly. "Then let's get started with math. Hand over your workbook." She listened, and right as she had it in her hands, Gaara forced it without a warning. He glimpsed through the pages, halting at a certain page, then going back a couple.
"What are you-" It came to her. She turned half her body in the opposite direction of him. The fingers in her right hand curl into a fist as she started to beat herself in the head with it. Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! She had forgotten all about the cartoons she's made in the workbook. It wouldn't have embarrassed her as bad if they were from another book, but in that pacific workbook...GAHHH~! So badly does she wish to cry.
In that workbook, there are the doodles of Gaara in there...with a mustache, different types of beards, boogers coming out of his nose, a piece of poop on top of his head, him dying with poison, and her punching him in the face. Shit.
"Are all your workbooks like this?" he finally inquired after a long awkward moment of silence. Yuzuki's tongue flicked across the bottom of her lip.
"Erm...not all of them," she admitted, truthfully. There are at least two more filled with humiliating cartoons of Gaara. He was never supposed to see them. Ever.
He flipped through pages until he got to the certain one he wanted. For some reason, he looked surprised. "You actually did a problem."
"Actually?" she mouthed, not believing he would say that. In front of her at least. "You know what? We should take a break. I did a lot."
"You didn't even do anything," he argued. His eyes flickered down at the food wrappers cluttering the table. "Did you eat all of this?"
Why does he sound so surprise? "For your information, I had to wait for you. Sensei had told me that you would be waiting, not me doing it! Also, I did eat all of it. Why?"
"Nothing," he hissed, but then murmured something after it. It was too quiet for Yuzuki to even detect it. Then louder, Gaara stated: "Your going to need up getting fat if you eat that much all the time..."
Could magical lightning beams shoot out of her eyes? If she tried hard enough? The white-haired female glared at the demon boy darkly. She said nothing of it otherwise, just glared.
"Then at least do a problem as you snack," he responded, flipping the workbook around so that the female could see it better.
"No way!" she disagreed. "This is a break. You go do it if you want it done so badly."
Gaara just sighed. He shoved a thumb in his eye socket as well as his forefinger, pitching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a lot harder than I expected."
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The Next Day...
Yuzuki sat in P.E. beside Sakura, not playing the game but talking. Gai, the P.E. teacher who looks freakishly like this one upper student Rock Lee, isn't even in the gym-he left because some problem occurred and they needed his help. The two best friends leaned against the wall. The white-haired female just explained the entire situation to her pink-haired friend, but a bit exaggerated.
"Can you believe it!" she exclaimed. The only thing the friend could do was laugh. "What's so funny?"
Sakura's chortle dies quickly within her throat. "First, you need to promise me not to get pissed at me."
"Pissed?" She frowned, eyebrows drawing together. She hugged her legs closer to her chest as her head slightly cocked to the side. "Why would I be pissed at you?" A gasp escaped her barely parted lips. "Don't tell me! You ate pudding? You know I love pudding! How could you!"
"It wasn't my fault! It was too good!" Sakura winked at the same time Yuzuki shot out a "you bastard". "Now will you promise you won't be pissed? Promise? I'll buy you pudding afterwords."
"Ooh~ pudding. Yum."
"Hey, hey, hey. You gotta promise me first," warned a pink-haired friend, half serious yet half joking.
"Whatever. Just hurry up! I want some pudding!" came as the reply.
"Alright. Do you remember, like, some time ago where I vowed to get Gaara to tutor you?" When Yuzuki nodded, the friend continued on. "Well, it took me awhile to convince Sensei, but he finally came through with the last assignment you handed in. It's a good thing that your an idiot and not a fan girl."
Even Yuzuki could see how her friend was a bit too pleased, too excited, but she made no indications of questioning. "At least some people are happy..."
"Ohmygosh!" Sakura suddenly squealed, turning her entire body. "You wouldn't mind me coming to one of your lessons, would you? I have a question on the assignment today."
Her shoulders shrugged, finding no harm in it. "Sure. I don't care."
"Great!" The childhood friend does one more squeal before giving Yuzuki a hug. "Thank you soooooo~ much."
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Gaara's Point of View
He loves her. He'll admit it.
Gaara of the Desert was in love with Yuzuki Ito. He had ever since they were younger and still now where he silently watched from afar, admired her exotic gracefulness. Her beauty.
Kakashi knew Gaara's bizarre love for Yuzuki, so when he had saw her in the library, he couldn't go home, couldn't make up a way to leave. He wanted to stay. And for once, he felt relaxed. Then again, that would always happened when he was around her. She had something about her that made a person feel comfortable, like they could be themself. It feels nice.
Now that the demon boy thought about it, he hadn't actually have a real conversation with Yuzuki for at least six years. Since when had they grown apart? It's a question that Gaara found himself pondering on multiple of times. Could it be...because of that accident. Yes, they grew apart after that.
Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He shut his locker door then turned to satisfy his curiosity. At the end of the hall, there was at least a group of females that he recognized-his fan club. They circled around one girl with...pink hair? Had he seen her before? That color of hair is quite difficult to forget. Honestly. Then where...? Ah! Realization struck him. She's the Sakura girl. Gaara remembers because that's Yuzuki's best friend.
Is Sakura good friends with them? Or is she a fan herself?
The demon boy shook his head. Maybe it's nothing.
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Yuzuki's Point of View
End of Day
Both Yuzuki and Sakura entered the library after school in locked arms. Gaara was early this time. He was waiting instead. And from the first sight of them, he frowned. The two took a seat right beside each other.
"You met Sakura before, right? Well, she had a question on one of the assignments and since I have a tutor, I thought that it would be fun if you could tutor her just for today. I mean, more the merrier, right?"
Was it just her imagination? Gaara looked pissed at her. What's his problem? Is it his time of month or something?
"What do you need help with?" Had he just glimpsed at her?
"Thank you! So I had a question on..." Sakura's words seemed to fade as she spoke. Both the demon boy and Yuzuki locked eyes. Her head tilted, trying to figure out what exactly is in that expression of his. And for some odd reason, it bothered her, badly. Why in the world is he looking at her like that?
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Three Months Later...
Sure, there were times where Sakura didn't come to the library after school because she had work, but lately, the white-haired female noticed, her friend has been coming more and more often. And it's beginning to piss Yazuki off. Even Gaara, because every time Sakura comes back, she would rather talk, ask the demon boy what his favorite color was, or if he'd seen some episode of some popular drama. Today seems to be one of those days.
Yazuki had been working on her math, trying to figure out the problem, but Sakura's constant bickering was bothering her. And that snap of the gum in her mouth...Maybe the student could stab her friend to stop it. "Yeah, so the movie that's coming out is supposed to be really good, or so I've heard. Honestly, I don't think it sounds very good. I mean-"
Yazuki bolted to her feet. "I gotta go to the bathroom." Anything to get her to stop talking! Sure, yeah, the student does love her friend and all, but she just hated it when she spoke too much! It's annoying.
"Oh, well have fun." Sakura does her little queen wave. "Wait! Let me come too."
Your kidding me!
Either way, the white-haired female waited for her friend to make her way around the entire table, then the two left. The bathroom was just at the end of the hall so it wasn't a long walk. Yet to Yuzuki, it felt a great amount of time was gone, flew out of her soul. The bathroom door flapped shut behind the two and almost immediately Sakura went to the mirror as Yuzuki attempted to go pee.
It doesn't work.
Toilet flushed, Yuzuki took her time before exiting the bathroom stall. Sakura was fixing her make-up.
Washing her hands, she decided to make some pointless conversation. "You've been coming to the library more often..."
"Yeah, I am. You probably think I'm annoying, huh?" Extremely. "Sorry, it's just...I really like Gaara."
"Eh?" How that's definitely a surprise. Sure, she knew that her friend thought he was good-looking, she never mentioned anything about liking him though! Yuzuki had always assumed that her friend was like her-disliked the demon boy. Guess not.
"So I was wondering..."
"Yes?"
"Can you do me a favor? It's nothing big, but it'll mean a lot to me." A blush creeped along Sakura's pale cheeks, stricking the curiosity inside Yuzuki. "Can you ask Gaara on a date?"
Eyes widen, mouth dropped. "Eh?" Had she heard her friend correctly? Are her ears playing tricks on her again?
"But it won't actually be a real date, of course!" Sakura quickly explained when she saw the startled, bewildered look. "You would ask him, but I'll go in place, saying how you were busy and such. Okay? Is that okay?"
The familiar painful squeeze came back in Yuzuki's heart. This'll happen when Sakura, or any other girl, would flock around Gaara and he would actually talk back. It hurts, almost like she's about to suffocate. The feeling confuses her, honestly. What does it mean? Will it ever go away? Several of those questions seemed to like to echo inside her brain, rattle around until it's just plain annoying and frustrating.
Yuzuki forced that pain away. "Why me, though?"
"If it's you, I'm sure he'll say yes no matter what." Huh? Had she heard her wrong? The sound of her voice was suddenly flat, completely bitter. But the white-haired student made no indications of asking. Instead, she pulled on a fake smile, the tightening against her chest worsening.
"Okay." And with that, her best friend squealed, embracing the uneasy girl by the neck. A single question run through her head. How would Gaara feel, though? But she ended up shaking her head to get that thought away. It wasn't important, she chanted, though she knew clearly how something was wrong.
The two of them re-entered the library to see how the demon boy was putting sticky notes in some type of black notebook. That better not be Death Note, Yuzuki mused, eyeballing it in suspension. Sakura automatically skipped around the table to sit in the seat near him. She gave her friend the look of "do it now". Yuzuki sighed, then shrugged off the wince of pain. She tapped against the table with the tip of her finger to earn his attention. It does.
"Um...I'm going to go see if I can find a book at could help me with an assignment. So I'll be back, alright?" He nodded his head simply, his attention tearing back to the black notebook. She shot a look at her friend that meant it was her turn. She understood.
"Gaara-kun! I think you should go with her!" She nudged at his shoulders, softly. "She might get attacked by the books."
"That's true," laughed Yuzuki. Gaara glanced up, stared at the student for a few moments, then didn't know whether to laugh, or kill him. He came to his feet as she stormed off. He easily caught up and followed from behind. It was when the two were on the other side of the library, far away from where Sakura could hear, that the white-haired female stopped in front of history books. She began to hum, running her finger across the spine of books, pretending to search for a pacific one.
"What are you looking for?" he inquired and in the corner of her violet-red eyes, she stole a quick glimpse at him. He, too, was looking at books, the tip of his finger lingering at certain ones. He doesn't even look at her. Does he seriously expect to help her?
She should ask now, right? "I can find it."
"Hm," was his response.
Silence
"Um...Gaara-kun?" Her hand stayed at the books as if found the one, but she turned only her head to speak to him. He does the same, except dropped his hand to his side. She licked the bottom of her lip, nervously. Even if she wasn't attending it, this was the first time asking someone out. "Are you-are you um, busy...Saturday?"
He narrowed his eyes in concentration, as if trying to figure her out. "Are you asking me out?" Was that a smirk curling at his lips?
"M-maybe?" It came out as a squeak, not how she planned it. Deep breath. Deep breath. "That depends on your answer."
"Hn."
She blinked once. Twice. "Is that a yes?"
He shrugged his shoulders in a way that it doesn't even matter. "If you want it to be."
Instantly, Yuzuki smiled. She slightly hung her head, bringing a hand to her lips, doing a gesture that Hinata was quite fond of doing. Her heart thundered against her chest, a tint of red capturing her pale cheeks. For some reason, she felt...pleased that Gaara would actually agree. She almost wanted to throw her hands in the air and scream at the top of her lungs. In excitement, of course.
Gaara, of the Desert, agreed to go on a date with her!
Why is she so pleased about that? Yuzuki fixed the posture in her back and right as her gaze shifted upwards, she flinched back, startled. He had his face just inches away from hers, gawking at her in a way that sent her heart racing, the blush on her cheeks deepening. His face was leaning towards hers and automatically her mind was sent to panic mode. Was he going to kiss her? This would be her first kiss. With a demon? Gaara?
Yuzuki does the first thing that comes to mind. She shut her eyes and waited, waited for the outcome. For Gaara of the Desert to kiss her. But seconds pasted. Nothing happened.
Confused, she peeked through one eye. Gaara was far away from her face. Actually he was at least a foot away and in his hand was something. Dust? Both eyes opened, knitting together in pure confusion. He must have noticed for he let whatever it was slip through the cracks of his fingers. "No one probably goes here. You easily got some dust on your shirt - I just took it away. Sorry if it bothered you."
Her cheeks blazed. How embarrassing! "Uh, no, it's fine." Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! So badly did she have the verge to smack the stupidity out of her. If he knew what she was thinking, he probably would have been appalled, wouldn't he? As Yuzuki began her babble of how embarrassed she was in her mind and then mentally hit herself, she turned to face the demon boy, apologize to him, perhaps. But he was already...leaving?
Wait, wait, wait!
"Gaara!" she called out, cupping her hand around her mouth. He stopped, she took that as a sign to continue on. "Um! Meet me in front of the coffee shop at ten! Saturday! See you...then." She muttered the last part when he disappeared behind some bookshelf. Ah, my heart is racing. She quickly frowned. Why is she so pleased? She's not even going to be able to attend this date anyways. She clenched a hand above her heart. Why do I feel so...guilty?
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Gaara's Point of View
Saturday
Three days.
It had taken three long, extremely long, days until it was finally Saturday morning. He was excited for once. His heart pounded, fluttered from the thought of them together. Gaara of the Desert and Yuzuki Ito. Together. Alone. By themselves. Never did he imagine that a day like this would come. Does this mean that she likes him, too? Then again, when they were at the library, she was expecting him to kiss her, maybe hoped for it. He smiled at the thought of it.
Although she was the one that asked him out, he made some plans. A movie,a boat ride, dinner, and a walk in the park. Simple things. They're not that much, but Naruto, yes, he had to ask a friend for some advise (after they laughed at him), said that that was something a girl would love. He really pondered if that was true.
He picked up the small black box that rested neatly on top of his dresser. (Naruto's advise: surprise the girl with a gift of something. They'll like that.) Maybe Yuzuki remembers? Inside the black is a necklace. But not just any type of necklace, but his dead mother's. Yuzuki had always wanted it, loved it. He remembered the time where her bunny-like eyes glistened with beauty. Even though it wasn't food, she drooled as if it were.
Would she accept it, though? Would she think he's going to fast?
But Gaara had always wanted to give the necklace to her. It was just that he could never find the right time, especially after the accident. They drifted apart, though he didn't want that.
He fixed his hair one last time, put the necklace in his pocket, then left his empty apartment he was accurately staying at. Outside, he noticed how the clouds were rolling in. Hopefully it doesn't rain.
By the time he got to the coffee shop like they planned, his heart was thundering, hands growing sweaty. It was strange because he had never been this nervous before in his entire life. He drew in one last breath before entering the store. People were inside it, but not a lot. His sea-foam eyes scanned the place than stopped when he saw the familiar pink hair.
Sakura? What is she doing here?
He faltered, not sure if he should, but decided to anyway. He strode over towards her and even slipped in the seat just across from her. Her green eyes sparkled when they saw him. "Gaara-kun! I was waiting for you."
Waiting for me?
"What are you talking about?"
In an instant, her eyes looked...sad? Sympathetic? Her gaze shifted downwards then back up to meet his oyxn orbs. Had something bad happen to Yuzuki?
"Yuzuki-chan...couldn't make it," she explained, calculating.
His eyes narrowed together, not believing a single word coming out of her mouth. "Why not?" It came out a lot crueler than he expected, but he couldn't help it. Anger began to boil inside him.
"She had something important to do, so she asked me to go in place. She wanted to tell you that she was sorry." The look in her eyes didn't match her voice.
It came to him, struck him. She never meant to come in the first place. She doesn't like me. Just the thought of that, and it made him frustrated. So furious that he wanted to destroy something. She lied to me.
.¸¸.¤´¨ ◕ ´¨¤.¸¸.
Yuzuki's Point of View
For the past forty minutes, Yuzuki had been stealing glimpse at the clock just above her TV set. She's been trying to distract herself with anime, but it's not working. Not even stuffing her face with ice-cream isn't working either. The guilt and pain tugged at her heart. She shoved another spoonful of her favorite flavor, Green Tea Ice-cream, into her mouth. It's no use. She's not even in the mood to eat ice-cream, and that surprises her.
Split. Splat. Split. Splat.
Is it raining? she pondered silently. Her curtains are drawn shut, so she couldn't tell. Maybe it's just something from the TV...
Either way, Yuzuki got to her feet. She just wanted to check anyways. Move around a bit. Peering through the fabrics, she noticed how it actually was raining. But something outside her mind made her freeze. Was that...Gaara? Is he seriously standing outside of my house? Why would Gaara be here, though? That's impossible. He should be with Sakura, hanging out with her instead...A sharp squeeze was earned in her heart. Could he see her?
Thump!
The ice-cream bucket plopped out of her hands, making her flinch back. She kneeled down, drew away from the curtains.
"No, it couldn't have been him...Could it?" she asked herself, picking up the bucket from the ground. "Why would he be outside my house anyways? He should be hanging out with Sakura. Unless their date got cancelled from the rain? Then how long has he been out there? For the entire forty minutes?" she joked, but her face fell. Could he have? She quickly put the ice-cream back into the freezer and dashed outside. Like she thought, it's Gaara. Drenched with the rain.
"Gaara-kun?" She brought a hand in the air to touch his forehead. It was burning. "Ohmygoodness! Why in the world are you out here?" She gripped at his wrist and dragged him inside her house. Once the door shut, his arms wrapped around her lilith waist. Her heart instantly bursted, pounding against her rib cage. She could feel him shivering. Yuzuki tried tearing his hands away, but they wouldn't budge. No, instead they tightened.
"G-Gaara-"
"Let me stay like this...for a little while..." his voice trailed.
Yuzuki let him. She stopped shruggling. Her heart skipped a beat and a blush formed to overwhelm her cheeks. The touch of his is soaking the back of her shirt, but at this moment, she didn't really care. Seconds pasted. Then minutes.
"I love you," he murmured in the crook of her white-lilly neck.
She breath became ragged. "What?"
He twirled her around then, a sad smile curled at his lips. "I've always loved you, Yuzuki. And I apologize for drifting away when you tried to help me after the death...of...him." Translation? Yashamaru. His arms looped around her waist, pulling her forward that all unwanted space was eliminated. He stared down at her with an expression filled with love, of hurt. He swallowed, nervously and his adam's apple bobbled slightly. "Even if you want me to...I can't stay away. I love you, and it'll only be you. You've already captured my heart, cheesy, yes, but it's true. Why would you set me up on a date with your friend, when my eyes will only be on you?"
She gulped. "I di-I didn't know."
The next thing that happened startled her. Gaara captured her lips with his own, the touch of their lips powerful and knee-weakening. Yuzuki tried to pull back, but he refused by deepening it. It came to her like a smack in the face. Why did her heart ache so much? It's because of him. Because of how she loved him. Always. Stubbornly. She gave in and let her heart burst with dancing, fluttering butterflies. Their kiss, not much movement, but still passionate. A kiss so sweet and gentle as rainbows showering the sky.
.
.
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Mina's Note: Hey everyone! I just wanted to say...thanks for reading! ^^ And hopefully, you guys liked it! Honestly, this story was originally a Sasuke one-shot I made, but I just changed it up so that it's Gaara. ;D Soo~ this is still first one-shot. Ever. How do you guys like it? Meh. I tried not to have it so cliche. *shrugs* Um...I've never liked short one-shots either, so I tried to make it long. =.= I hope it wasn't so long. Also, the main reason this one-shot is school life is...I've always LOVED reading tutoring/modern day one-shots. So cute! ^^
Thanks for reading! ^0^
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