I don't own Gaara or Kankuro or Temari, but Lu is mine. Alice belongs to a friend of mine.

Chapter 9: Options

A shrill scream filled Lucretia's ears, and she quickly latched onto Kankuro's arm. She had forgotten not only how jumpy she could be during movies, but also how she really did get frightened during movies like this. Silent Hill was probably the only truly scary movie she had ever seen that didn't give her nightmares for weeks. Hell, Poltergeist and Pet Semetary chilled her so much she couldn't sleep for two or three days. Well, Poltergeist hadn't really scared her, but that stupid clown-doll thing did. If it weren't for Kankuro, she would never be able to survive the movie, and she was probably spending that night at the two brother's house again anyways—her parents thinking she was still at Maggie's, of course. They trusted her with things like that well enough, since she never did anything wrong at all.

Kankuro thanked the darkness of the theater multiple times. Lucretia constantly jumping and latching onto his arm made him blush continuously, though he couldn't understand why. He didn't blush like this so much before. He thought it might have something to do with the outfits she tried on at Hot Topic, but it could also be the fact that every time he glanced over to check on Gaara to make sure he didn't get any…ideas from the movie, Alice was latched onto him just like with Lucretia and himself. Kankuro could swear that he saw just the slightest hint of a blush on his little brother's face.

Gaara couldn't understand why this girl was attached to him like a leech, because she wasn't even watching the movie. He watched her some from the corner of his eyes, and she never once looked at the screen. She kept staring at him. Gaara shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wishing she would stop holding on to him like that. The whole situation gave him an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach; he didn't like it. He turned his head finally and looked Alice in the eyes. She flashed him a smile, and before he could pull away, she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.

This was just too much for him. His reaction was instantaneous: the red haired teen leaped from his seat screaming uncharacteristically and ran from the theater.

Kankuro couldn't believe what had just happened, and could much less comprehend it. It seemed as though Gaara got scared and bolted, but that was odd, since movies like this only either interested him thoroughly or made him laugh. It must have been something else. He knew he needed to go after him, but everyone was staring at him and the two girls that had made up their small group. Shrugging off the unrelenting gazes of the other moviegoers, Kankuro stood and motioned for the two girls to follow.


Lucretia wasn't sure what had happened, but it was apparent something was up as the three of them approached Gaara. The red haired teen was sitting on the floor in the hallway, curled into a ball and muttering to himself incoherently. Lucretia turned to Alice, who looked quite shocked.

"What the hell did you do!?" she demanded in a low whisper.

Alice looked at her with apologetic shock. "I don't know! I just pecked him on the cheek real quick!"

"WHAT!?" Kankuro and Lucretia exclaimed simultaneously.

"Is there something wrong with that?" she asked, puzzled.

"To hell there is!" Lucretia started as Kankuro went over to comfort the shaking boy. "I knew it was a bad idea to agree to…" She paused and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I kissed Gaara once, and caught him off guard. He totally flipped and Kankuro had to calm him down. He doesn't know how to handle things like that."

"Damnit!" Alice shouted, hitting herself on the forehead. She walked over to Gaara and sat down with him. He acknowledged her presence, but wouldn't look at her.

"Gaara, look, I'm sorry about that…I didn't think it was that big of a deal…I mean, I think you're cute and Lu said you were single and—"

"Wait," Gaara broke from his silent delusion and glared at the girl sitting next to him. "You…no…no…this can't be true…it's all lies…all of it…you…you stay away from me." Gaara tried to back up, but he felt a hand grab his.

"No, you shouldn't be afraid," said a soothing voice. But he wouldn't look up to see whom it belonged to, though he could easily guess—even with his current state of mind. Before he could try to pull away, the owner of the voice pulled him into a warm embrace. For the first time in years, Gaara couldn't help himself; he broke down and just cried. He cried out all his past confusions, frustrations, fears…everything into Alice's arms. She held him silently as he cried, comforting him.

Kankuro looked to Lucretia, motioning for her to come with him. The two of them walked in silence for a bit, just trying to figure out what to say. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Lucretia spoke.

"I didn't think she would do that." She turned towards him, and he saw a pained look in her eyes. "I was hoping maybe…something would happen with them. Like, they would just click, you know?" She chuckled nervously and added, "She has better luck in things like that than I do anyways."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kankuro questioned.

"It's just…I mean…people don't…they don't like me. Or, rather, they very rarely do because of my…obscure personality. While others can get away with it and pull it off as 'cute,' they just all look at me like I'm crazy. I'm so glad to have met you and your brother, because to tell you the truth, it usually takes me months to open up to people and become friends with them. Not to mention the paranoia…" she mumbled the last part, and Kankuro could barely make out what she said.

"What the hell are you talking about? Who ever told you you weren't a likeable person? Hell, I like you, and we both know it. Apparently everyone else does, too," he mumbled the latter to himself. "What do you mean 'paranoia?'"

"Well…" Lucretia began, "I have this irrational fear that my friends aren't really my friends; that they're all fake, and would betray me in a heartbeat just to see me hurt." She blushed a little, and turned away from Kankuro.

He reached forward and took her chin in is hand, turning her face towards his. "Don't let that get to you," he told her. "And if anyone does happen to betray you like that, I'll not only kick their ass, but I'll be there for you no matter what." With that, he couldn't stop himself and pulled her face to his, giving her a light kiss.

Though they had agreed on not letting anything happen because of Gaara, he couldn't help but feel that with Alice in the picture now, he wouldn't have to back off like he had. Maybe if Alice got through to his little brother, Kankuro could get what he wanted for once. He had always lived somewhat in his brother's shadow. Though his brother was never sociable, Kankuro couldn't help but notice that he could have had normal friends and relationships if it weren't for Gaara spooking anyone who even considered him as a possible friend.

Lucretia couldn't help but notice the fluttery, yet comforting feeling that filled her as the brown-haired teen kissed her softly. Unlike any other kisses she had ever had—which would be playful, caring, or even romantic—this one was filled with promise. A wordless promise had passed between Kankuro and her with this simple kiss, a promise that was worth thousands of words. With this silent promise—and a shy intertwining of fingers—the newly recreated couple made their way back towards, hopefully, another newly formed couple.


She spotted Alice and Gaara now sharing the bench outside the movie theater. They were chatting a little, so that was a good sign. Lucretia's hopes soared. She turned to Kankuro, who silently returned her delighted gaze and squeezed her hand a little. Maybe things would all be okay. Gaara could have someone to open up to, Kankuro could have a relationship, and Lucretia would be able to have both boys happy without hurting herself in the process.

"So, you guys cool now?" she asked as she approached her two friends.

"I had to talk with him about things a bit," she began, "but it didn't take long for him to see things my way," she finished with a subtle wink.

"Oh!" Lucretia giggled, "Well, I guess we should, I don't know, split up for a while to 'see things each other's ways'?"

Grinning wildly, Alice nodded. She grabbed Gaara's wrist and immediately led him off into the mall. He looked back to his brother, a confused look on his face. He and Lucretia just chuckled to themselves and waved him on, realizing he didn't catch her mock sexual innuendo. She didn't intend it to be taken like that, but it was still funny to her to joke like that.

Kankuro watched his poor brother being drug off by that overenthusiastic girl before turning back to the—in his opinion—beautiful girl attached to his arm. He liked having her on his arm like that, and the image it produced to others about the two. He was unsure of how things were, but if he wasn't considered her boyfriend now, it wouldn't be long.

"Shall we grab something to eat?" he asked, grinning widely. "All of this excitement has worked up my appetite."

"Sure!" Lucretia seemed to feel a bit hungry herself.

"Where would you like to go?" he questioned. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Nah, any place is good to me!" she exclaimed, smiling.

Kankuro sighed, "So you're going to make me pick, huh?"

"Yep! 'Cause I'm insanely indecisive!" Lucretia smirked at him, and dragged him to the food court.


Gaara couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at being dragged around by Alice. Though he had calmed down, he still wasn't sure what to think of her. She had claimed some similar things as Lucretia had a few days earlier, but that didn't comfort him any. After all, she had held feelings for both him and his brother. Granted, he had already pushed her from his thoughts as best as he could, but he still felt a bit jealous of his brother. But, in all sincerity, who wouldn't be jealous if their first crush was close to their sibling as well? It was perfectly normal.

Perfectly normal? Gaara hadn't used those words to describe anything related to himself in years. Maybe this whole situation was a good thing…

Alice pulled Gaara from his thoughts when he heard her repeating his name.

"—aara? Gaara! Earth to Gaara!"

He looked at her, acknowledging her finally.

"Hey, you zoned out there for a second. You okay?"

"Yeah," he said, waving a dismissing hand. "What's up?"

"I asked you if you wanted to go to the arcade or something," she told him, rolling her eyes.

"Uh…yeah, sure."

She didn't hesitate as she grasped his hand and lead him off towards the arcade.


Lucretia worked hard to suppress a nervous laugh as she attempted to decide on what to order. The two had been standing in front of
Chick-fil-A for several minutes, letting others ahead of them.

"Damnit…I told you I'm indecisive…just…just freakin' order for me or something! I can't decide!" she finally exclaimed.

Kankuro just laughed at her and pulled her into the line with him, finally. "What do you want to drink, though?"

"Uh…tea!" she replied, grinning. "At least I can decide on that!"

The brown-haired teen smirked at her, and then ordered the two of them some regular meals.

The couple held up conversation easily while eating, enjoying each other's company. Lucretia guessed it was from the lack of tension between them that had finally been achieved with the possibility of Gaara and Alice being an item—hopefully. They sat and talked about anything and everything, even long after they had finished their food.


Gaara couldn't believe it. Why hadn't he ever discovered DDR before!? He was amazing, even on his first try. He could sense the large crowd that was now watching him, as well as the jealousy emanating from most of that crowd. There was no other way to describe it: he was a natural, a genius.

Along with his fans, he could sense the mental fangirl drooling of Alice. Surprisingly to himself, he didn't mind this. He actually liked it, welcomed it, wanted it. His mind went reeling. The redhead couldn't understand it; he had only just met the girl. The song ended, and he walked off of the platform, earning cheers—and some boos—from his fan crowd. He quickly grabbed Alice's hand and dragged her off.

"We need to talk," was all he said, his eyes focused straight through her. Alice followed in silence.

"What do we need to talk about?" she ventured as the two of them sat down in a secluded place in the mall—not an easy thing to find, as Gaara found out soon enough.

"Well, I don't know," he began. "I'm so confused right now. I guess I thought you might be able to help me out or something."

"Sure! Anything! I'll do whatever it takes to try to help you out."

"I…I'm not sure where to go with this," he admitted. "These are still new things for me Emotions, I mean. Well, emotions other than loathing and hatred. For as long as I could remember, I never really cared about anyone. I mean, I care about my brother somewhat now, but only somewhat recently, and only to a certain point. Then, Lu came along…and things went a bit haywire." He sighed and placed his head in his hands before continuing on. "I guess you could say she's my first crush—my first infatuation—but though that may not be a huge deal to others, for me it was. At first I was confused, but after I realized what was happening, I felt great. I felt…important."

"That's good," Alice stated. "You are important, Gaara. I'm sure many people would agree with me."

"Well," he sighed," you'd be wrong about that. There's Lu, Kankuro, possibly Temari—I'm not sure—and, well, you I guess."

"Of course and me!" Alice grinned and wrapped her arms around Gaara. "Though it may not be many people, it's still enough for you to exist for, to be happy about."

Gaara shifted a little in her embrace, but quickly returned it before returning to his task at hand: figuring out his emotions. "But, with all these feelings and emotion fluctuations, I'm not really sure what to think. The feelings I have for Lucretia aren't alone now. I get those feelings even when I'm not thinking about her or talking with her or something. I don't know why…"

"Well," Alice began, "when else do you get them?"

"Well, when we were in the theater, and then when I was sitting in the hallway outside the movie, and right now, I guess."

Alice grinned widely. "I knew it! I know exactly what it is!"

Gaara turned to her, startled. "What!? How? What is it then!?"

She beckoned him closer whilst smirking. Gaara leaned in closer, their faces mere inches from each other.

"You…" she began softly, so only he could hear her. "You…like…me!" She grinned and closed the gap between their two faces, pecking him on the lips.

This time he didn't pull away. This time he didn't freak out. The red haired teen did something neither of them expected: he grabbed Alice and kissed her fully.


Kankuro and Lucretia walked hand in hand through the mall, looking for the other couple in their group. It was about time to leave, and neither teen had yet to be found. They had been practically everywhere, except the arcade and its corresponding end of the mall. That being the only place left, the couple headed in that general direction.

It wasn't long before the stumbled upon the two, sitting in a secluded corner. Neither raised their voices, though. Both wanted to see what would happen. But, when Alice pecked Gaara on the lips, and he grabbed her and practically almost made out with her in return, Lucretia couldn't help herself.

"OH…MY…GAWD!" she screeched.

The two looked at her, startled. Gaara began to blush slightly.

"It…is…so…CUTE!" Lucretia began squealing and jumping around towards their general direction. She glomped both of them together, overly excited about what had just happened."So! You guys going out now or something!?"

Gaara blushed deeper and glanced towards Alice. She gave him the "I'm okay with it if you're okay with it" look, and Gaara nodded to Lucretia.

"This is so awesome!" she shrieked. Realizing how loud and girly she was being, she blushed and apologized to them. "Sorry, I was just really excited. I'm glad you two are together. Even if it is a bit weird and rushed; you've only known each other for less than a day. But, hell, it can happen, right?"

The four of them couldn't help it at this point: they all broke out laughing. They left the mall still laughing a bit, and with farewells to Alice, headed back to the brothers' house. Today had certainly been interesting.


WEWT chapter 9 is done! sadly, this is the end of this fanfic. but! i am gonna write an epilogue! it will be about their prom-night! nothing dirty, sheesh...but just good-natured "awwwww so cute" love

review please! you know you want to!