YEY!! Omg!! I got reviews…thank you so much I will take your advice Hopefully I can write more this time
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (cries) and NEVER WILL!! NOO! So don't sue me. I'm poor. i also do not own A.F.I, H.I.M or The Nightmare Before Christmas cries as she realises how little she owns
Naruto sat hunched over on the steps outside his school. Every inch of him ached and he was almost certain that a couple of his ribs were broken. It certainly hurt to breath in, and every time he did he had to stop himself from wincing. Truth be told he was lucky. He could remember being beaten so badly that it hurt to keep his eyes open. He shivered and shook his head. No. Don't' think about it, he told himself. He tried to keep the memories of his past locked away inside his head.
Thinking about them brought him down, no matter how high he was. He thanked god it was a Wednesday. It'd been hard enough crawling out of the supply closet never mind being locked in school at night. If the art club hadn't been on he didn't know what he'd do. Or rather what Gaara would do. God, Gaara was going to throw a hissy fit about all this. He'd probably blackmail Naruto into telling him the names and then…Naruto didn't want to think about what he'd do. He remembered one time when Naruto went round to his house with bruises. When Gaara asked the name of who did it, Naruto didn't really think twice. It was only when the boy had come into school the next day sporting a broken arm and multiple scratches across his face had Naruto realised what he'd done. Yeah…Gaara really was overprotive.
Naruto heard the hum of an engine and looked to the source. Yup. There he was…and looking pissed. The redhead leapt out the car immediately after parking it and ran to Naruto.
'Hey Gaara,' he said smiling up at him weakly. There was dried blood around his mouth. Gaara's eyes were blazing.
'Naruto…what happened,' he said venomously while leaning down to support Naruto, looping his arm over his neck. Naruto gasped at the movement and Gaara slowed down as they walked to the car.
'Same old,' Naruto said, painfully inching towards the rusting old banger.
'Naruto,' Gaara warned looking down at him sharply. Then he leaned down and opened the car door, manouvering Naruto inside before slamming the door shut and stalking round to the drivers side. Naruto knew he wasn't specifically angry at him, but felt his insides squirm all the same. There was an awkward silence as Gaara sat, breathing heavily, gripping the stearing wheel.
'Naruto...tell me who did it,' he said quietly. There was an awkward pause.
'I didn't see Gaara,' Naruto said calmly. Gaara turned to face him.
'Naruto, tell me so I can kill these fucking bastards! Why the fuck are you on their side??' he shouted, his eyes wild.
'I'm not on there side,' Naruto shouted 'but I really didn't see them!' his mind wandered back to the thought of Kiba, his arm poised, but he shook off the feeling of guilt and contined none the less.
'They knocked me head first into a locker! They got me from behind!' he said sadly before looking at Gaara with his blue eyes brimming with tears. Gaara held his stare for a moment.
'FUCK!' he shouted, lashing outwards and hitting the stearing wheel. He sat there heaving for a moment, trying to contain his anger.
'They hurt you. They fucking hurt you...'
'I know Gaara. But it's over now. You couldn't have helped me, it's not your fault!' Naruto said reassuringly before timidly reaching out and placing his hand on the red-head's shoulder. Gaara fliched before relaxing into the touch and sighing.
'Why won't she let you change schools?' he said shaking his head.
'You know aunt Tsunade. She thinks I'll be better off there..you know. She went there...it was alright then...' Naruto muttered.
'It's changed!' Gaara snapped angrily putting the key into the slot and turning it viciously. He put the car into gear and stamped onto the accelerator, causing the car to shoot forward, out of the small carpark and onto the road. Naruto anxiously gripped the sides of the seat mentally kicking himself for forgetting about Gaara's notorious driving skills. Not only was his liscence fake, but the 16 year old had no disregard for pedestrians and was subconsciously aiming to break every speed law on every road. Naruto could tell that this behaviour would only worsen with Gaara's anger and gripped tighter as they swerved to avoid an elderly woman near a zebra crossing.
'Gaara slow down!!' he shouted. Either Gaara had gone spontaneously deaf or was ignoring him. The second option was more likely. Naruto sighed. He'd have to play the sick card.
'Gaara I'm injured and in considerable pain, in case you forgot, so SLOW DOWN!' he said. Gaara's speed decreased almost immediately and his eyes darted from the road to Naruto looking guilty and apologetic. Naruto felt his gut twist in guilt; he hated doing that to Gaara as he knew how much he cared.
'Eyes on the road racoon,' he said, calling him the nickname he hated.
'Shut up you fucked up fox,' Gaara replied, placing said racoon eyes back on the road. the insult had no bite though, they were used to it. The nickname though, had developed over a young Naruto's obsession with the dark rims under each eye. And fox...well the whisker like scars explained that.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as the car came to a shuddering hault outside Gaara's house. Naruto tried to leap out, forgetting his injuries, but pain caused him to hunch over gasping. He was used to pain, but that didn't mean he liked it. He felt two hands on his shoulders and looked up to see Gaara, his eyes full of concern.
Gaara helped him up and Naruto leant his weight on him. Then, slowly, they made there way to the house. Naruto suddenlt realised he hadn't evern noticed Gaara appear beside him, until he was looming above him. Hadn't heard him move. He chuckled to himself, god Gaara's a weird one. Easy to spot in a crowd, but stand him alone and you'd find he'd blur in with the background.
Naruto was so busy thinking, he didn't notice he was infront of the house until he could see the peeling off paint on the door. Mind you it wasn't much to look at. It was like a grey box, dull and depressing. The windows were caked in a thick layer of dust and the ground around it was dead, no plants in sight. It looked as though no living thing could blossom near it and it had an eerie feeling. There was always a sense of foreboding when you entered the Sabaku dormain. The inside wasn't much better either. Dried plaster coated various parts of the wall and the staircase was drenched in darkness. Spiders hung above, preying on thoughts and their webs dripped downwards seeking escape. The house, overall had a very depressed feel to it. Which was probably why Gaara's siblings Kankuro and Temari were so cheerful. To fill the void as such. This was probably why Naruto was greeted as he was when he entered the household.
'Naruto!' came the voice of Gaara's older sister, Temari, right in his ear. He then felt his body being constricted in an all mighty hug. He nearly screamed, but was saved by Gaara possesively grabbing him back.
'He's injured you moron!' Gaara shrieked, gingerly holding Naruto, who was still leaning his weight onto him. Temari's eyes widened when she took in Naruto's disheveled appearance.
'Who did it?' she asked angrily. Naruto opened his mouth.
'That's what I'm trying to find out,' Gaara said, cutting across him.
'Why won't he tell you?'
'God knows,' Gaara said sighing. Naruto narrowed his eyes.
'Hey! I'm right here you know!' he said sounding agitated. Gaara and Temari stared. Naruto rolled his eyes.
'I'm in a bit of pain so if we could hurry this interrogation up a bit...'
As soon as he said it Gaara started steering him upstairs.
'Temari, get the first aid kit' he said, carefully helping Naruto to move. Each step caused his ribs to ache and his head was throbbing. His ears still had a distant ringing in them. He had his left arm looped over Gaara's neck and Gaara had is arm around his waist, taking half the weight. To anyone else, they would seem like a couple, but they'd always been this close. They'd been each others only friends for seven years.
'Hey, Gaara, where's Kankuro?' Naruto asked casually as they reached the top of the stairs.
'At work probably,' Gaara replied swinging open his door. His room was a contrast to the house. The house looked as though it had no say in what it wanted to looke like, and so was depressing. Gaara's room was gothic by choice. The ceiling was a simple black, but his walls were plastered with every band he liked and random scribbles done in black marker pen saying things like 'I will kill you some day'. Yeah. It was typical Gaara.
Gaara sat Naruto down on his bed and opened his drawer pulling out some painkillers. He snapped them open and gave the pills to Naruto with a glass of water on his bedside table. Not wanting to think of how long the water had been there he threw them in his mouth and downed them with a gulp.
'Can we have some music on?' he said, asking for anything to take his mind off the pain.
'Sure. H.I.M?' Gaara asked, stepping over various piles of clothing to reach his CD rack.
'Any A.F.I?' Naruto asked.
'Only one of their old albums,' Gaara said, rifling through. Naruto shrugged. Gaara fiddled with the player and soon 'The Lost Souls' was blasting through their ear drums. Naruto's eye twitched and he mouthed
'Can you turn it down a bit?'
Gaara shrugged and twisted the volume button. Naruto could now hear his own voice.
'Jesus Gaara, we're not at Rave Crave!' he said exasperated.
'Yeah, well when you spend all your time there, your hearing's not so great...hey speaking of Rave Crave...' Gaara began.
'I don't think I can dance tonight. Can you...?'
'Yeah I'll tell Jiraiya you can't make it. Reckon you can do Saturday?' Gaara asked. Naruto smiled genuinely.
'Yup! It takes more then a beating to keep me down!'
Just then they heard a knock.
'I brought the first aid kit,' came Temari's timid voice from the other side of the door...she always did hate Gaara's room. She thought it was...well just plain creepy. What with 'I hate you fucking bastards' scribbled across the wall.
'Yeah, just bring them in,' Gaara said offhandedly.
'Er...I think I'll leave them here actually hehe,' she said. Gaara raised his eyebrow (or rather where an eyebrow should have been...he shaved his off...like you do...yeah...). He walked over and flung the door open and saw the place where Temari had just been and a first aid kit lying abandoned on the floor. He picked it up and looked at Naruto as if to say 'wtf?'
'I really have no idea,' Naruto said keeping a straight face (though finding it quite hard). Gaara sat down on the black bed sheets beside him and clicked open the box. pulling out wipes.
'Give me your face,' he said.
'What!?' Naruto asked confused. Gaara looked as though he wanted to roll his eyes, but being Gaara of course he simply grabbed Naruto's chin (gently though) and started to wipe the dried bloood off with a tenderness quite unimaginable for someone looking at him. He had an appearance that sent alarm bells off in any human being, and made you instinctively cross the road, or run away screaming. One rumour used to be that he could kill a person just by glaring at them...that was a lie of course, but it spoke volumes when you have a rumour like that about you.
'Do you really not know who did this Naruto?' Gaara asked, still cleaning Naruto's cuts.
'No. I swear,' Naruto said, feeling overwhelming guilt at having lied to his best friend.
'Take your shirt off and before you ask, I need to see your ribs,' Gaara said bluntly. Knowing Naruto he'd think he was coming onto him. Naruto slowly lifted his shirt. Gaara growled at what he saw. Across Naruto's chest were deep gashes and dark black and purple bruising. It looked nasty. Gaara tried to contain his anger.
'Okay Naruto, I'm gonna add some antiseptic so they don't get infected okay? It will sting a bit,' he said, preparing some cotton wool.
'Can't be worse then when it happened can it?' Naruto said, smiling weakly, still holding his shirt up. He took a breath and Gaara started to dap at his wounds. Naruto's breathing hitched as he tried to ride through the stinging pain. His wounds, still tender, were on fire.
'Nearly done,' Gaara said reassuringly. Naruto couldn't talk and only nodded swiftly. Tears squeezed there way out of his eyes and he clenched his teeth. Then the stinging stopped.
'Okay your all clean. I'm gonna add a bandage okay?' Gaara asked, guilt written across his face for causing Naruto pain. Naruto smiled.
'I know the drill Gaara. You've done it enough times already,' he said. Truth be told he felt more reassured at Gaara's technique of explaining all the procedures. It made him feel better for some reason. Gaara painfully wrapped a bandage round Naruto's ribs and at last Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. The painkillers were starting to take effect and he lay back into Gaara's touch. Gaara leaned over and ruffled his hair before wrapping an arm round him. His lips quirked a bit, too small for others to notice, but Naruto knew it was a smile and so grinned like a maniac him self.
'Why wont you let me move to your school?' Gaara asked him. Naruto sighed.
'We've been over this. I don't want you to get into trouble. The kids in my school are brutal...'
'Which is why I should go!' Gaara said, removing his arm. Naruto felt cold at the lack of touch.
'Please Gaara...move to my school, but just not now. Later please,' Naruto begged. Even if his friend was strong, he'd get picked on. And he'd hurt them. He'd get sent to juvie or worse...prison for G.B.H grievious bodily harm. He din't want Gaara to put himself out for him.
'I...I just hate it,' Gaara said looking down.
'Hate what?' Naruto asked moving closer to him.
'I hate how...I can't help you, protect you. You're getting hurt and...I...I can't help you,' he said quielty, yet still full of anger. Naruto felt his heart clench ; he sounded so helpless.
'But you can Gaara. You help me. You were the first one to ever help me in my life and I'd die without you,' Naruto forced Gaara to look at him and there eyes locked.
'I need you,' Naruto said slowly and forcefully.
Gaara felt his heart swell. He needed him! He h
ad a purpose in life, he was needed. He would defend Naruto with his life, even if it meant death. He swore. He would protect him. No matter what.
Naruto swung his arm over Gaara's shoulders and smiled, ignoring the pain in the joints. His head felt better now he was drugged up and he was happy sitting here with Gaara.
'Can we watch a film?' he asked cutely. Gaara looked into his open blue puppy eyes and felt his heart melt.
'Sure,'
'YEY!!' Naruto said, his voice making up for lack of movement.
'Can we see a horror! A really gruesome one!' he said giving a toothy grin. Gaara was amazed at how bi-polar his friend was, from so lonely, to serious, to hyper. He was smug to know that he was the only one who saw under Naruto's mask and witnessed his true smiles.
'Can we watch...er...Nightmare Before Christmas!' Naruto said jumping a little on the bed.
'That's not a horror,'
'Yeah it is. It's got skeletons and ghosts and...okay. It's not a horror. But it's still amazing!' Naruto said defiantly.
'Yeah yeah,' Gaara said walking over and selecting the DVD. He then manouvered to the CD player and turned A.F.I off which was still happily playing throughout all the drama that ensued. Finally he slotted the DVD in and watched it dissapear into the machine. The movie started.
Naruto spent the entire movie singing along to the songs, demaniding Gaara got him some popcorn, waving it about, commenting how Marilyn Mansons version of 'This Is Halloween' was 'so much better' and generally annoying the hell out of Gaara. But Gaara let it slide. He loved seing Naruto happy...he was like a disease and his happiness was contagious. On a downside, his depression was easy to catch as well. When Naruto was sad, it almost seemed to rain around him, causing Gaara to become upset as well. But Naruto was happy now, so Gaara was currently resisting the urge to grin like a maniac.
'Hey raccon-eyes, what time is it?' Naruto asked yawning loudly. Gaara checked his watch.
'Quarter to ten,' he said. Naruto yawned again.
'Better be heading off soon,' he said stretching and wincing. He was so happy he forgot about his injuries.
'I'll drive you,' Gaara said, commandingly. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
'Okay,' Naruto said. He was too tired to argue and wanted nothing more then to lie down and rest his bruises and aching body. Gaara stood up and offered Naruto his hand. Naruto took it and was half carried, half dragged out the room and down the stairs, when Temari ran out in front of him.
'Naruto! Are you leaving?' she asked. Naruto nodded.
'Yup! Gaara's giving me a lift,' he said smiling. Temari leaned into to give him a one armed light hug (being wary of his bruises) and whispered
'Are you sure...you know Gaara's driving,'
'If I die you can have my cat,' he whispered back. They shared a knowing smile and Naruto left the house calling
'Tell Kankuro I said hi,'
'Will do,' she shouted back.
They trecked to the car and Gaara helped him in and did his seatbelt.
'Hey...how come you don't wear a seatbelt?' Naruto asked, tying to look outraged and failing miserably.
'Coz I'm a grown up,' Gaara replied smirking, knowing it'd piss Naruto off to no end.
'What? You're two year older then me, not twenty. And your only sixteen. SIXTEEN!' Naruto shrieked flailing his arm. Gaara turned on the exhaust and thrust the car into reverse.The journey from hell had begun as Gaara swirved down the small alleyways and curves doing at least 60mph. So it was no surprise that Naruto was considerably paler when they arrived outside his shabby little flat.
'No, Gaara it's okay, I can walk,' Naruto said, waving off Gaara's atempts to help him. He heaved him self out the car after giving Gaara one last hug and limped off to his door. He turned, gave a cheery wave, said
'BYE! Remember to tell Jiraiya!' and stepped inside. His demanor changed and his face dropped.
Naruto's flat was tiny. Miniscule even. It had the essentials, but that was it. A small kitchen slash bedroom, a shower slash toilet and one tiny tv set on a small wooden table. It was clean, spotless even, but it had the feel that no one lived there. Wheras Gaara's had the feel that someone inhabited it, Naruto's had no 'homey feel'. So as Naruto stepped inside, the only thing that he enjoyed looking at was his cat Kyubbi.
'Hey Kyu,' he said smiling. Now to you it may seeem quite sad that he was friends with a cat, but Naruto had no friends until he met Gaara. He takes any he can get. And Gaara got him Kyubbi. For his birthday a year ago. If Naruto's love for Gaara could have increased any more, then it did at that moment. Naruto wouldn't stop hugging the red-head for twenty minutes, and even then kept on grinning. And so Naruto wasn't entirely lonely anymore. He had his cat and his red-head. And with that he was content. But when Naruto was alone and having one of his moments, one of his urges to just...a cat wasn't enough. And Gaara didn't know...wouldn't ever know. It was his little secret...well his and Kyubbi's, but he was a cat...what did he know?
Naruto slowly peeled off his shirt and school trousers and threw them unceremoniously in a heap by his small bed. Then he fell onto the bed falling into a fitful slumber.
DrEAm SeQUenCe 1st person naruto p.o.v
It's dark. So dark it actually hurts. I can't see anything or hear anything. It's like being underwater. I can't breath, I'm choking. There...there's a man...his arm is raised. I...can see...it's an alleyway...theman...he..he's still here. He's gaining on me...my feet can't move. I'm trapped! No! NO! He's..taking me somewhere..no...No..NO!!
Dream over...normal p.ov
Naruto woke up shivering. He was dripping sweat and breathing heavily. What had that dream been? Why had he had it? Why now? He could see Kyubbi staring up at him with wide eyes. Had he been making noise? Thrashing? He was panting now, trying to draw in breath...but he had the urge. Subconsciously he reached under his pillow and grabbed it. The knife. He loved it. The way it glinted when he urned it towards the light, the way it would slice so easily the way the blood looked as it...No! He couldn't be thinking this. What would Gaara say? He had to think of Gaara. Doing this was betraying Gaara. Hot tears staretd to run from his eyes as isolation kicked in. Did Gaara really care? Despair filled him as he gripped the knife.
tbc.
Yey! another chapter! Please review!! by the way if anyones reading this then Sasuke will be making his debut soon enough :)