The meeting with Dana was awesome!
Sorry, that just needed to be said :P

Characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Dana

Alicia

Slowly Gaara made his way over to the table and stood a few feet away from it, staring at all the people sitting beside or opposite Neji. How was he supposed to introduce himself now? Just flop down and not care or first clear his throat and politely gain their attention or something? He had no idea what kind of people Neji was friends with, so it was hard to measure what would be the right thing to do. Gaara didn't want to screw it all up right away.

But before he could even do anything, blue eyes fell on him and a happy grin formed on the blonde's lips he had met before. 'Hey, it's the new guy!' he said enthusiastically. 'I thought you didn't like me, because you didn't say anything all morning,' he added sadly and then smiled again as he continued. 'But I guess you did since you are here now! Come sit with us and finally tell me your name.'

Well, that was unexpected, but at least he had gained everyone's attention now. Maybe not in the right way though and that blonde was kind of weird. Why would he think Gaara was here for him? The redhead hadn't spoken a word to him and had also forgotten his name, so that was also great. But he needed to say something now of course.

'Sorry, I am here for Neji,' he said in a monotone, eyes moving towards the brunette and settling on his friend, hoping he could save him out of this situation.

Neji was silent for a few seconds, his eyes darting back and forth between Gaara and his blonde friend, Naruto. He hadn't expected that they already had met each other, but now he thought about it, it wasn't that weird. Naruto always was the type who tried to befriend everyone. Apparently Gaara had been in Naruto's class and considering that he was the new guy here, the blonde probably had tried to become friends with him as well. But judging by Naruto's words and the redhead's reaction, it hadn't worked out too well.

But then Gaara's response came, and it surprised him even more. Although he was deadly honest, it probably hadn't been the best thing to say. Naruto only had tried to be nice, but saying that he wasn't the reason why the redhead was here was a bit rude. Probably wouldn't give his friends the best impression about him either. But despite that, Neji decided to ignore it, hoping that his friends would do the same and at least give Gaara a chance.

He glanced at the redhead for a moment, seeing the look that he was receiving. Apparently Gaara felt a bit awkward as well? So Neji quickly spoke up in an attempt to save the situation, not giving Naruto the chance to reply to Gaara's blunt answer. 'So I see you two already have met each other,' He began, clearing his throat a little. A somewhat nervous smile formed on his lips as soon as he noticed that everyone now had followed Gaara's example and that there were seven pairs of eyes directed at him now.

'Uhm, this is Gaara,' Neji quickly continued and motioned towards his redheaded friend. 'And this is Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto, as you may know already.' He pointed to each person as he introduced them and after that he quickly mentioned for Gaara to take a seat as well.

The only seat that was still left was actually beside the blonde friend, apparently called Naruto. This time Gaara would try to remember it since he was Neji's friend. Too bad he actually couldn't sit next to his friend, but there was no other way. With a slight nod he greeted everyone and then sat down beside the blonde, shifting a little uncomfortably.

Naruto hadn't even noticed how rude the comment could be and was more interested in how Neji and Gaara knew each other. 'Well, I know I know Gaara from Math class and History and…' He started summing up more classes and Gaara realised how many classes he would be stuck with the blonde. So he better tried and make friends with him, because otherwise he was screwed. 'But where do you and Neji know each other from? Are you dating Hinata? You are so handsome, I bet you have a beautiful girlfriend and Hinata would be perfect for you, right Sasuke?' The blonde happily turned towards his raven friend, wanting him to agree with him on everything.

Well, this wasn't awkward at all… Dating Hinata? Gaara had barely seen the girl, so dating her would be like the hardest thing ever. Way too shy and Gaara wasn't really interested in dating anyone anyway. 'No, not dating Hinata or anyone for that matter,' Gaara spoke in a monotone, making sure Naruto knew he was single and happy with that as well. 'Neji and I are neighbours, so that is why we know each other.'

The whole idea of how the two knew each other were out the door as Naruto only focused on the first part. 'You don't have a girlfriend?' Naruto questioned. 'But you are so handsome. I bet you have girls swooning all over you, right Sasuke?' he questioned his raven friend again.

Neji was glad that as soon as Gaara sat down, everyone went back to minding their own business again and that he wasn't being watched anymore. So he silently listened to the conversation Naruto was trying to have with Gaara. The fact that the blonde changed the subject so easily from how they met to girlfriends kind of surprised him, although he could've expected it. Typical Naruto, always interested in everyone's love life...

While the blonde questioned Sasuke about it, Neji tried to imagine what Gaara would look like with his cousin hanging off his arm. It would be very weird, as both their appearances and their personalities just didn't seem to fit together. And if Hinata actually had seen Gaara having an episode, then she probably either would've fainted right on the spot or she would've ran away and hide whenever the redhead even came close to her. The girl was just so shy...

Sasuke's dark eyes met Naruto's face, both his eyebrows raised at the question. 'Yeah, sure,' was the only reply that really came from the raven before he averted his eyes again. Obviously he wasn't really interested in their new companion. Or maybe he just didn't want to admit that the redhead indeed was as handsome that he probably would have tons of girls swoon over him. Whatever it was, it was clear that the raven rather not wanted to get involved into their conversation.

'Meh, Sasuke. What kind of reply is that?' And with that Naruto was turned towards his other friend again and Gaara let out a breath he apparently had been holding. It was one thing to have girls sometimes call him handsome, but suddenly a guy also called him handsome made it a little strange. It made Gaara a little suspicious, curious as to what Naruto really wanted from him. Hopefully he wouldn't be asked out on a date by the guy since he definitely wasn't interested. The guy talked way too much.

The thought of dating a man actually didn't bother the redhead as much. Mostly because he had never been out on a date before, so with whom his first would be didn't really matter. It would be a miracle if he said yes anyway.

And then suddenly some blonde girl was around Naruto's friend's neck, happily smiling and all and the blonde looked a little irritated, turning towards Gaara with a huff again. 'Stupid fangirls,' the blonde murmured and Gaara only raised an eyebrow, unsure of what was going on here. But it seemed Sasuke had fangirls and the redhead was suddenly very happy he wasn't him. Maybe he could try and make the blonde feel better.

'I bet Sasuke finds the fangirls just as stupid,' he mumbled, looking over at Neji for a moment, still feeling a little lost without his friend next to him. 'It's not that pleasant to be attacked by girls randomly.'

Blue eyes shot up to him, surprise written all over Naruto's face. And then a soft smile formed. 'Yeah… Thanks.' Then Naruto looked over at Neji, his happy mood back as he grinned over at the brunette. 'Hey, Neji. I like your friend. He's nice.' And with that the blonde leaned his head against Gaara's shoulder for a moment, as if he was acknowledging him as a friend. Kind of weird and Gaara wasn't sure how to reply to that.

Neji just watched as Naruto continued to interact with Gaara and a weird feeling suddenly started to bubble up when he noticed how easily the blonde seemed to become friends with the redhead, something which had taken him about a week. It was quite hard to read Gaara's thoughts off his face though, so he couldn't really tell if he liked to be Naruto's friend or not. He probably did, because who didn't like to have friends? But, for some reason, Neji mentally told himself that he didn't really like it. The redhead didn't like that many people, so why would he like someone like Naruto?

Wait, what was he thinking? He wanted Gaara to become friends with Naruto and everyone else, right? So his thoughts didn't make any sense... But still, it didn't take this unfamiliar feeling away...

Was it... was it jealousy...?

No, of course not! That simply was impossible, because he was Neji Hyuuga, someone who never was jealous. Not now, not ever!

Only when the redhead suddenly looked over at him, Neji snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that he'd been staring at both Gaara and Naruto. Quickly he averted his gaze to the next best person, who happened to be Sasuke with some random girl hanging off his neck. Apparently even after the vacation, the girls still hadn't decided that it was time to back off.

Sasuke only looked even more irritated now. He rather had his blonde friend bother him again with stupid questions about how handsome the new guy was instead of having to deal with those annoying girls bothering him. Without a single word he unwound the girl's thin arms from his neck, not even sparing her a glance to make it clear that he wasn't interested in her at all.

Gaara started to fidget a little, the need for another smoke rising while he just had one. But it felt like Neji was ignoring him. Not a word had left the brunette's lips after he had introduced Gaara and in his mind those words now sounded very cold, as if Neji didn't want him here. It could be something he imagined, but it was there and it bothered him. Not even a comment was made about Naruto liking him. Maybe this friendship with Neji was short-lived. Maybe he should become good friends with Naruto since he seemed very willing.

Soft green eyes turned towards the blonde again, purposely ignoring Neji now. 'Since you questioned me about my love life, you must have a girlfriend,' he simply stated, keeping his eyes firmly directed on Naruto.

A deep blush settled on Naruto's cheeks, quickly shifting his eyes towards the table, but what not went unnoticed by Gaara was how for a moment his eyes landed on his raven friend. 'N-no, no girlfriend.' And that stutter was something interesting as well. He could focus on this and maybe have some fun. And at least this might form some sort of weird bond between them.

Even though his face still was directed towards Sasuke, Neji still was watching Gaara from the corner of his eyes, carefully studying the redhead's actions. Of course he couldn't help but notice how the green eyes left him, not sparing him a second glance anymore and then of course the question about Naruto's love life was asked.

He didn't know why, but it actually hurt. If it was the fact that he wasn't important enough for Gaara to pay any attention to anymore or how the redhead suddenly seemed to be very interested in the blonde, he didn't know either. It probably was the first option, but that didn't mean that the second option didn't hurt at all.

Gaara was his friend, right? Not Naruto's... Neji knew that it was wrong to think like that, since he actually should be happy about this, both for Gaara and himself. For Gaara, because he finally made another friend. And for himself, because the redhead was now probably accepted by his friends.

But what if Gaara liked Naruto more than him? Or what if he didn't even want to hang out with him after this? Of course, it wasn't like he and Gaara were very close or anything, because how could you grow that close in just a week? But still, he had felt like Gaara understood him better than anyone else. He was also an orphan, so he knew what it felt like to have no parents anymore. Sure, he felt a lot different about his parent's deaths than Gaara did, because he apparently was glad about his father's death, but still... he did feel some sort of connection with the redhead in a form he'd never had with other people before.

But what could've made the redhead ignore him all of sudden? Had he done something wrong? Neji couldn't really recall anything other than just sitting here and observe the two teens a little, but that couldn't have angered Gaara or something, right? Suddenly he felt like asking Gaara, as he certainly wanted an answer to that question, but now didn't seem like the right moment to do that, with everyone else sitting here and stuff... So maybe he should wait until their next shared class or even after school.

Neji was so focused on his own thoughts that he didn't even notice how Naruto had looked at Sasuke after the question about his love life, but the raven himself sure did. Sasuke glanced at the blonde, giving him a look that could've meant anything, but Naruto should know that it was a warning one.

Quickly Naruto shook his head, knowing he needed the change the subject. So he put on his best smile again and turned towards Gaara. 'So you and Neji are now friends, right? How did that happen? Somehow you don't seem like the type to be Neji's friend or something. No offence of course.'

Well, that was an odd thing to say and Gaara looked at the blonde a little surprised, sneaking a glance at Neji right after to search for some help. How in the world was he going to answer that question? He didn't even like talking and now he was forced to. Naruto really wasn't his type of person, but it didn't matter anyway. That other guy seemed to be much more important anyway, so no worries there.

'Uh, well, Neji and I are neighbours and we were bound to meet of course,' he started, looking at Neji again as if he wanted the brunette to confirm his words and then glanced down at the table, feeling a little uncomfortable by all these questions. 'And then we found out we had some things in common and uh, it kind of just happened I guess. It was easy as soon as we both didn't mind to become friends.'

A blonde eyebrow rose at the last comment and Gaara knew then that he had said something else. He could feel others looking at him as well, wondering why he said such a thing. Of course they had never met anyone who was quite antisocial. 'Why wouldn't you want to become friends with Neji? He's like really awesome and quite nice if he likes you,' Naruto said happily, placing his arms in his neck as he leaned backwards.

The if he likes you part made Gaara glance over at the brunette, not understanding what that meant. So if Neji hadn't liked him, then he wouldn't be nice to him. Well, he wasn't that nice right now, so did that mean something? This was why he didn't want any friends. It was too confusing and it made his brain all confused. Being alone was so much easier. Maybe he should just through an angry tantrum and make everyone afraid of him.

Yet again Neji was pulled out of his thoughts, this time by one of Naruto's questions. It was kind of surprising how the blonde picked up a subject that he dropped so easily before, since apparently Gaara's love life had been a lot more interesting. But he also had to admit that this had sparked his interest. Even though he already knew the answer to the blonde's question, he still wanted to know how Gaara would describe it. Maybe he even would get some answers to his questions...

It was quite interesting, but also a little disappointing as he listened to how Gaara explained how they had met and stuff. It hadn't really described anything about him, nor what Gaara really thought about their friendship. But he kind of could've expected it, since that hadn't been the question at all...

But then his own question suddenly was answered, only not by the desired person. Though it was quite nice to hear that Naruto thought he was "awesome" and that he actually was quite nice. It was true, since he actually could be an asshole to people who he didn't like. He kind of had acted like that to Gaara in the beginning, too, when he'd given him the tour through the neighbourhood... Actually very stupid of him since Gaara really was a nice person if you got to know him. So now he just hoped that the redhead wouldn't notice this...

Although Neji didn't really have anything to add to Gaara's answer, it still felt like he needed to say something, even if it just was something nice. He'd noticed that after the question, the redhead did look at him again, but it still didn't feel right, so maybe that would lighten the mood even just a bit.

'But Gaara is very nice as well,' Neji said softly, and only after the words had left his mouth he realised how stupid it actually sounded, just to say something like that while he wasn't even involved in the conversation. It only made it sound even more stupid if you considered that he had been quiet almost the whole time. Not that he normally was a very talkative person, but he never had been as silent as he was right now... He didn't know whether it was because he didn't know what to say, or just so he could follow Naruto and Gaara's conversation, but maybe it was a mix of both.

As soon as the words left Neji's lips a slight smile tugged on Gaara's lips, having heard that for the very first time. So he was actually very nice… Why did it mean so much to Gaara that Neji found that of him? Why did he care about the brunette's opinion so much? It didn't matter. It was just nice to hear someone say such a thing about him and even better when it is your actual very first friend.

And then the strangest thing left Gaara's lips and even as the words came out, he wondered why he had said them in the first place. 'Neji gives me too much credit. I am not that nice or at least not as nice as he is.' Carefully the redhead looked up at Naruto first, meeting a very sweet smile. Something that made him wonder again, but there was no time to respond, not for anyone. Because suddenly there was another person at their table, almost jumping up and down on her feet that was how excited she was. Her eyes flicked from Neji to Gaara and back to Neji again, biting her lip as if to keep certain words again.

'Okay, I just have to ask, but there has been a rumour going around that Neji and the new guy are dating. Is this true?'