8. In These Situations

Sakura stared at the scene in front of her in fear.

She was standing with Gaara, Shikamaru, and Temari outside the classroom, watching Sasuke and Kankarou walk towards them. But to her, it felt she was standing on top of a hill, watching two trains coming towards each other at lightning speed, and not having the power to stop them from colliding.

"Temari!" Kankarou called, smiling happily. "Gaara!" Kankarou's pace picked up. Sasuke followed suit, looking out from under his spiky, black hair at the group in front of him with an interested expression.

Sakura gulped, thinking of the stupid sentence she had written in her letter. "I'm hopelessly in love with a guy named Sasuke Uchiha, who barely knows my name." She had thought that she had reached the bottom, having her own teachers, the foreign teachers, and Gaara read her letter, but somehow, things kept getting worse.

"Kankarou!" Temari smiled, too. Gaara looked at his brother, his expression bored.

"Good morning," Kankarou said, stopping in front of them. Sasuke skidded to a stop beside him, studying the contrasting people in front of him in curiosity. Sakura felt her cheeks turn red, feeling alternately hot and cold. She couldn't think of even one way that this situation could turn out well.

"Good morning," Temari replied. She grinned, elbowing Shikamaru in the ribs. "This is my host, Shikamaru Nara," she said.

"Hey!" Shikamaru said, wincing. "That hurts." He sent the tall blonde a scornful look. "Troublesome woman."

Temari ignored him. She patted Sakura on the back. "And this is Gaara's host," she said, "Sakura Haruno."

Sakura blushed even redder and looked to the floor.

"Hello, Sakura, Shikamaru," Kankarou said pleasantly. "I'm Kankarou, Temari's and Gaara's brother." He offered a friendly smile, to which Shikamaru replied with a nod, and Sakura with a feeble smile. The tall brunette turned to his siblings. "This is my host," he said, looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Temari smirked at Sakura. Gaara looked up at Sasuke, suddenly interested. "… Sasuke Uchiha?" he asked.

Sasuke looked at Gaara in surprise. Sakura paled, her red cheeks turning white. NO, NO, NO! she pleaded in her mind. She stared right at Gaara with wide, fearful eyes, trying her best to communicate her message to him. STOP!

But it was a plea on deaf ears. Gaara studied Sasuke through watchful eyes, and then turned to Sakura. "… Sasuke Uchiha." he said, as if pondering it. "… You wrote about him in your letter."

Sasuke looked even more surprised at this statement. Sakura's mouth fell open. GAARA! STOP! she screamed on the inside. STOP IT! NOW!

But Gaara didn't listen. "… You… love him… Right?"

Sakura gaped at the redhead in front of her. NO! Gaara just looked back at her in a calm manner, seemingly unaware of the social incorrectness of his behavior. Sakura's cheeks went from white to crimson when she realized that the tall siblings were snickering in amusement, and Sasuke and Shikamaru were staring at them in extreme confusion and total shock.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

She knew that she had to do something. She couldn't let this idiotic redhead out her like this. This situation called for immediate damage control.

Mustering up all her self-control, Sakura forced herself to laugh.

"Oh, Gaara!" she said, laughing hysterically and hitting him on the shoulder. The others just kept staring, as amused and confused as ever. "You… You're too funny!" Sakura continued. "You just crack me up!"

She grabbed the redhead and started pushing him into the classroom. "Now, come on! Class is starting soon! Better be there in time!" Even her voice came out hysterical. "First day and everything!"

Sakura pushed Gaara into the crowded room and steered him towards her seat without looking back. Her cheeks burned.

Oh, my God! she thought, falling into her chair. Why, oh why do I put myself in these situations?

Gaara just looked at her in puzzlement.


The eighth chapter. I hope you liked it! (:

As always, thanks for reviewing, following, and favoriting! ilu. ^^

Oh, and the obvious song reference here is, "Oh Whoa! (Me vs. Everyone)", by Forever the Sickest Kids. (:

NOTE: I'll be going on vacation tomorrow, so I won't be able to update for a few weeks. ): But to make up for it, I'm uploading two chapters today! I hope you guys enjoy! See you soon! ^^