The room was silent. Gaara's steps were muted, padding towards Sakura lightly on the linoleum floor. She did her best to appear fine, whatever that looked like. She had yet to catch a glimpse of herself- the bathroom lacked a mirror, something she'd grown accustomed too after her own had been… shattered. She considering smoothing her hair back to look more presentable, but doing so would reveal her arms. Above everything, Sakura feared him seeing her- she feared anyone seeing her.
He wasn't saying anything. She peered over the sheets to verify she wasn't imagining his light footsteps. Ami was rising from her chair quietly. Surprisingly, Sakura was sad to see her go. Though the old hag was condescending and made her feel self-conscious, she found herself more capable of being fake in her presence.
Sakura watched Ami exit, but not before the black-haired nurse gave Gaara a respectful nod. It was only now that Sakura's eyes drifted to him, the young man whose family paid her salary. She was overwhelmingly curious as to why he'd be visiting her, but feared being disrespectful by questioning him. So she said nothing, daring to make eye contact with her superior only every so often.
"I hate hospitals," the red-head declared. Sakura's eyebrows rose so far up they would have disappeared, had her forehead not been so massive. Before she knew it, her hands had flown to her face to suppress a giggle. It was Gaara's turn to look surprised.
However, he was instantly distracted by something. Damnit, Sakura swore inwardly, my stupid fucking body. Gaara had the courtesy to avert his eyes quickly as she scurried to cover herself up again after her movements had thrust off the sheets. He cleared his throat and began again.
"But Naruto asked me to come apologize for him. I know we're effectively strangers, but Naruto cares deeply for you, which I respect. So… that's it," he finished awkwardly.
"Thank you," Sakura whispered, staring down at her sheets. When she looked up, the red-head's back was already facing her as he headed for the door. Not even a goodbye. Asshole! Sakura grimaced at the rudeness of the boy with dark-rimmed eyes. He probably thinks he's SO much better than me. Gaara reappeared at the door before she could revel in the obvious truth of her statement.
"You should really come get ramen with us sometime," he stated bluntly. "It would mean a lot to Naruto. Later."
After the words passed his lips, he turned around and once more left the room. Ami drifted in after he had been gone for several minutes. The pair reverted back to the same state they'd been pre-visit: constant silence.
It seemed like an eternity before Ami spoke. "How are you feeling?" she asked politely. Like shit, Sakura thought. The events of the day had made her angry, and she noticed her anger was now spilling into her thoughts. Thankfully, it had left her speech untouched thus far.
"I feel much better! Guess all I needed was a good meal, huh?" she joked, returning the falsetto tone Ami had used to ask the question. Ami laughed, "I'm offended! Even I know the food here stinks, no need to mock me!"
"What time is it?" Sakura asked offhandedly, trying to feign disinterest. Ami stood up in response, gesturing that she'd be back in a moment. When she returned, she wore a large smile.
"Time for you to head home!" she proclaimed cheerily. "Who should I phone?"
"Phone…?" Sakura questioned.
"Well, you didn't exactly drive here yourself. We didn't notify your parents since you're legally an adult, but I can call them to pick you up if you'd like!"
"No!" Sakura shouted, perhaps a bit too loudly. Picking up on Ami's shocked expression, she laughed nervously. "I just don't want to bother them, sorry. Can you call Naruto? Err, Naruto Uzumaki, that is."
"The blond from before? He actually left his number with us… he was the one to drop you off in the first place. I think he intended on picking you up once you'd finished your stay. Before I call him, let me make sure you're really ready to go." Sakura tensed- just what would this woman be checking? She was relieved to see Ami simply pull out a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor. Once everything appeared to be normal, aside from what the black-haired nurse referred to as a "relatively low blood pressure, likely due to all the sleeping you've been doing today!", Sakura was given the okay.
"I'll go call Naruto now," Ami promised. "Don't move an inch!"
With that, she was gone. Sakura was nearly sent into shock by the course of events had taken over the last few minutes. As much as she dreaded the car ride home with Naruto, anything would be better than a car ride with her parents. I shouldn't be thinking about them right now, Sakura reasoned, feeling rather drowsy. She shut her eyes for a few minutes, wondering what she'd do once she was released from this hell hole.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Hey, sleepy-head," came a loud voice to Sakura's right. "Ready to go home?"
Sakura's eyes opened slowly- she was groggy from her short nap. She looked the the right, taking in the sight of Naruto, who had his hands behind his head in his typical sheepish fashion. Sakura could tell he was nervous, and looked away from him accordingly. Looking to her left, she bid farewell to the yellow, plastic curtains.
Nodding, Sakura shifted her legs to the right side of the bed she'd inhabited for the past 24 hours. Luckily, she'd left the socks from earlier on and was spared the wrath of the unforgiving icy floor.
"Ami offered to wheel you out. Like, in a wheel chair? If you felt you couldn't do it, or anything." Naruto said, observing how slowly Sakura was moving away from the bed she'd been so eager to leave before. Seeing Sakura's eyes open wide, Naruto allowed himself to laugh. "I think it was a joke, Sakura-chan."
Sakura laughed too, but it was painfully obvious to both parties that she was faking. Neither said anything, and Naruto offered her his arm stoically. She felt him falter as she accepted his help, grasping his arm with her thin fingers. She clasped his arm like a small child would, fearing falling and actually being wheeled out.
The odd pair traveled down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the bathroom. They reached the front desk, which Sakura now saw for the first time. Ami came running up behind them, carrying an overstuffed bag.
"You probably don't want to wear that once you leave," she explained, panting as she gestured at Sakura's revealing hospital gown. Sakura suddenly became painfully aware of how short the gown was. It only just reached her knees, and she found herself pulling at the hem in an attempt to lengthen it by sheer force of will.
"My car's not far. Want me to pull up to the front while you change and check out?" Naruto asked timidly. Sakura nodded gratefully, traveling back to the bathroom to change. She swore to herself she wouldn't ignore Naruto on the trip home to pay him back for his kindness. Once she reached the bathroom, she shut the door behind her quietly. Sakura took a deep breath as she pulled the gown over her head. She was thankful now for the absence of a mirror- had there been one, she may have never left the bathroom. She pulled on the clothes from the night before hurriedly, trying to ignore the thoughts which came creeping into her mind.
She'd eaten, she'd kept it down, she was disgusting. Sakura was used to these thoughts, and before tonight, she'd never had to deal with them. She couldn't get rid of them now though, not with Ami hanging around. Speaking of Ami, where was she? Sakura realized, with rather immediate glee, that the doting nurse had not followed her to the restroom. Sakura rejoiced and rushed to lock the door, grasping the handle just as the aforementioned nurse turned it from the other side.
Sakura bolted from the door as though it had electrocuted her. Ami walked in without knocking, not bothering to cover her eyes as Sakura rushed to finish pulling on a shirt. "Just wanted to remind you there's some paperwork for you up at the front desk! Nothing too terrible, just a few quick forms; don't forget to sign them!" Sakura nodded helplessly, shoving the limp gown she'd been wearing before in the bag and handing it to Ami.
Ami left the room with Sakura in tow, who was presently cursing Ami a thousand times in her head. When Sakura reached the front desk, she signed the paperwork and faked a smile the whole way through. She smiled at Ami, who told her politely that she "hoped she'd never see her again". The hospital is likely the only setting where such a farewell can be considered polite- except a prison, Sakura supposed.
Sakura left the hospital with her head raised high; she reached Naruto's car with it hung low. She tugged idly at the band on her wrist, which she couldn't seem to remove. They'd used a child's size on her- she was sure, since it wouldn't simply slide off- nothing a pair of scissors couldn't fix.
Naruto drove an old Honda accord. It was a plain tan color, with a scratch on the side from the previous owner and windshield wipers which were slightly misaligned. It wasn't much to look at, but it was his pride and joy. Once he'd earned enough to buy it, he took Sakura and Sasuke along with him on a ride around town. They spent hours exploring places which had previously been out of reach for the trio. Sakura couldn't help but smile as she remembered those times. When she opened the door, Naruto greeted her with a grin of his own.
"Ready to go home?" he asked her for the second time, appearing more excited than Sakura herself. Sakura nodded, turning away from him as she sat and began to buckle her seatbelt. As he started driving, Sakura saw him grimace for a brief moment before his smile reappeared. She felt her own façade slipping, and looked away from him, choosing instead to enjoy the view of the city at night.
"Look… I uh, I'm sorry for before. I was just so scared, Sakura. You mean so much to me, and I can't imagine if you'd di-" Naruto stopped immediately. He seemed terrified that he'd gotten so close to even uttering the word.
Sakura simply nodded, trying desperately to honor her promise of not ignoring him. The rest of the car ride was silent, with Naruto only making small talk very occasionally, and Sakura simply nodding or interjecting a few "hmm"s and "oh, yeah"s. When they reached Sakura's house, Naruto got out of his seat and opened the door for Sakura. She muttered her thanks and began to slide past him as quickly as she could.
"Wait," Naruto said, grabbing Sakura's arm to hold her in place. "Do you want to maybe… get dinner tomorrow night? Gaara thought it would be a good idea."
"Sure. Tomorrow's Saturday, right? Call me," Sakura sighed, defeated.
And with that, the pink-haired girl vanished, leaving Naruto grasping at thin air.
Hey all! Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews. In response to Ellishia, who asked the very reasonable question of how the heck Gaara is supposed to help the basket-case that is Sakura- I guess you'll have to wait and see! Sorry for that, hehe, but I don't think I'll give much away just yet. Don't you worry, though, eveerryyythinng will be okay in the end! Uhm... I hope.
Heads up: next chapter is going to be from Gaara's POV. We all wanna know what's going on in his head, right? Thanks for reading!
