On to chapter 2...

Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable.

"Gaara, is it? So come on, tell us a bit about yourself!"

The boy didn't seem embarrassed to be the center of attention, but he didn't look at ease either. He sank slightly into his seat and replied.

"I'd rather not."

Everyone in the classroom gasped, except for the teacher (who chose to ignore Gaara's inpoliteness- kids these days…)and Sasuke, who was looking at the boy beside him with polite interest. Sakura leaned into Hinata and whispered, "He's weird." Her friend just shrugged, "M-maybe he's shy." Sakura wasn't convinced.

"Well then, let's begin class."

"I mean, you're shy, Hina, but you would never answer a teacher like that! Especially with everyone looking at you. You'd be polite, and seem friendly."

"I g-guess…" Hinata said, as they made their way to the cafeteria. "B-but maybe he's the t-type of person who doesn't n-need friends."

"Everyone does!"

"N-not everyone's the s-same, you know." Hinata said, a smile on her face to show she wasn't being critical. They went over to their table.

Most people from Konoha High knew each other from Konoha Junior High, and social circles were tightly knit. Sakura and Hinata, being always together and not belonging to a particular group, could afford to switch tables from time to time. They used to sit with the nice, slightly geeky girls from their year. Sometimes they'd sit by the Sasuke Uchiha fan club, but Sakura knew Hinata hated it. Besides, even she knew the environment was a bit too pressuring at times, with everyone trying to find new ways to impress the boy and, consequently, make her comrades less impressive.

"I wonder where he's gonna sit."

"Wh-who, Sasuke?" Hinata asked.

"No, the new guy. He hasn't made any friends yet…and with that attitude he won't." Sakura said, huffing a bit. Hinata smiled, teasingly.

"Why d-does it bother you s-so much that some people aren't as f-friendly?"

"I know not everyone's friendly. It's just that I know I make an effort to be nice to everyone. Why wouldn't he, when he's new, and needs friends so obviously ?"

"Uh…S-Sakura…" Hinata said tentatively. "You're n-not nice to everyone."
"Of course I am!" Sakura put her hand over her heart, her face in a dramatic pose. "I always try to plant a little flower of good in everyone's garden."

"W-well, what about I-Ino? Or…" She lowered her voice."N-Naruto..."

"I have reasons for those two! Ino's my rival, and Naruto is…well, he's just annoying!"

Hinata sighted, not really minding her friend's antics.

"He m-might sit with the D-Drama club…"

"Who? What?"

"G-Gaara. He does h-have the look…" Sakura nodded vehemently, her mouth full of food. When she swallowed, she leaned over and whispered, in a conspirational tone.

"I think he'd fit in with the emo kids."

Hinata was puzzled.

"Why the n-need to whisper?"

Sakura looked around before answering. "They scare me. Once I was in the bathroom, and there was this emo girl doing her hair in the mirror. When I told her she had done a great job because she looked just like Ashlee Simpson with black hair, she started crying and locked herself in one of the stalls."

Hinata tried not to laugh. "Y-you need to know h-how to approach your p-public."

"But I was paying her a compliment!"

Both girls stopped talking as they watched a recently-familiar redhead make his way to the waiting line for lunch, tray in his hands. Everything about him screamed "I don't want to be here": from the headphones, to the hostile look on his face, to his black t-shirt with some band Sakura didn't know, black skinny jeans, combat boots, and various studded accessories. The line moved up and he was collecting his lunch, and was coming dangerously close to paying and finding a place to sit. Sakura, Hinata, and probably the rest of Konoha High were watching anxiously. Where would the new kid sit? This question seemed to carry the weight of the world, at the moment. Where he chose to sit would influence how and if he would fit in, with which crowd, what reputation he would have to live up to every day, what kind of social life he would have, and, consequently, all of this would affect his teenage life and his memories of it for years to come. A person's happiness was at stake here!

Not that Gaara seemed to be aware of any of this (his happiness-threatening decision or the number of eyes on him). When he finally finished paying for his meal, and moved away from the line, standing where he could see every table, Konoha High fell quiet. The only sounds that didn't feel the pressure of this moment where the lunch ladies yelling "Next!" and the Computer club's portable…ahm…computers' beeps. Gaara didn't seem fazed, or aware, as he scanned the tables with his eyes, looking as collected as ever.

The Sports table, including jocks and cheerleaders, was a suicide attempt for Gaara. The Computer club and the School band were nice enough, but not everyone could handle their topics of interest. The Drama club table was full. So was the Sasuke Uchiha fan club table (which wouldn't have exactly been a first choice for any straight guy).

Suddenly, it seemed like he had been standing there, in front of the whole school, for something resembling too much time. The tension was mounting, although the boy in question gave no exterior sign of it.

Without warning, Gaara's feet began to, slowly but surely, move. In some direction.

A girl gasped. He was heading for the Artsy Gay table.

Eyes widened and mouths opened. If his butt touched that plastic chair, his high school life was over.

Sakura whispered hurriedly, "I've got half a mind to get up and ask him to sit with us." She was actually considering it. It would be better to sit with the girls and be a regular gay than be an Artsy gay.

She placed her hands on the table, about to get up and go over to him, to save him from the imminent danger. Even if he looked at her meanly.

Then, out of nowhere, steps. Coming from one of the last tables. The table where a bunch of regular guys had sat for years. The table where Sasuke Uchiha sat.

A loud gasp was heard, echoed by some others. The steps where directed to where Gaara stood, about to pull a chair to sit down. Sasuke whispered. Gaara looked at him, an impassive look in his eyes, whispered something back, and followed him to his table. Some moments of quiet followed, and then everyone resumed eating. And just like that, Gaara's (social) life was no longer in peril.

"He's l-lucky that Sasuke w-was so n-nice." said Hinata. Sakura nodded, relieved that her help wasn't needed and that it hadn't been refused either.

A/N: Just as a note, I have NOTHING against gay people, or any other people for that manner, I'm a very loving person 3. I'm not critisizing the Artsy gay types, if they do exist; I'm just depicting the way things would work if they did. At least in my school, if there was such a group, well, it wouldn't be the most respected one.

I have a lot of fun writing this american-style high school scenes, because I've never been to a public school, or any school that worked like american schools do in movies. So, yeah...

Thanks for reading, whoever you are! I'd like to hear your opinion, it's just like 3 seconds of your life! Yeah, you know what I'm talking about...a review! A bunch of sentences that lets me know what you think and how I can improve. Don't be shy, I appreciate constructive criticism.

To last chapter's reviewers:

Lela Rye: Thanks, keep writing!

phantomofthedarkness: Yeah, Sakura is a total fan-girl in my mind. And since there is no ninja drama here, she could be older and still be a fan-girl. Thanks for the review and for adding me to like, all your favorites and alerts! :D