What's this? An update? OMG it's been forever! Hello faithful readers! The story is back.. err... that is if I still have any faithful readers at this point? Idk. It's been ages since I've updated this story. But here you go! My muse has finally returned to me and I've picked it back up (as well as my other writings expect more soon!). I am so sorry for the lack of updates for those of you who do still read my work. Working full time and school full time makes it so hard T.T but enough excuses! I'm back and I will try my best to keep up with my writings again! So for my faithful old readers (if you're still there) I give you more! For my new readers: welcome I hope you enjoy. As always feedback is loved. Read on and expect more updates to follow shortly..ish...
The band finished playing and the crowd cheered like crazy. From her spot behind stage Naomi jumped up and down and cheered for her friends.
"You guys were awesome!" She cheered when they stepped back behind the stage. She quickly ran up to them and attempted to hug all four at once.
"We couldn't have done it without your song." Naruto cheered.
"Oh I hope you win!" She exclaimed.
When the winners were announced and the boys declared the winner of the Battle of the Bands, Naomi screamed in excitement and latched onto Gaara in a tight hug.
"Oh my god oh my god! You guys won! AHHHH I'm so happy for you guys! I could just kiss all of you! AHHH!" She screamed and Gaara smirked, slinking his arms around her and pulling her tight against him.
"Not all of us, just me." He replied and promptly kissed her passionately.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
Naomi groaned as the insufferable alarm continued, pulling her out of her passionate make out session and back into reality. She cursed under her breath and blindly reached out of bed to shut off her alarm clock. Once shut off she sleepily opened her eyes and looked around her room. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Having been so used to waking up in Gaara's house it took her brain a second to recognize her own room. It took her even longer to shake the odd feeling she had from waking without him.
"I've gotten so used to sleeping beside him, it feels weird waking up alone now... Ah snap out of it Naomi! You were only there for a few weeks. Don't make it a big deal. He's probably sleeping ten times better now with his place back to himself." She muttered shaking her head. "That dream though... stupid alarm, it was just getting good." She added to herself, blushing lightly.
Naomi caught her dogs giving her a curious look for a moment before they began to fuss, wanting to get let out. With a sigh she got out of bed. She let her dogs out into the backyard and fed them before heading back upstairs to shower and get ready for school. Once showered, dressed, and had her makeup and hair done she went back down stairs to let the dogs back in and get some breakfast. By this point the rest of the family was up and getting ready for their days.
"Morning." She greeted to her sister and father.
"Morning." They responded. As she got her breakfast she noticed them watching her "inconspicuously" but shrugged it off. Having run away in the past, she was used to their paranoia once she returned, it wouldn't last.
"Morning." Haruka's voice called out as she stepped into the kitchen.
"Morning." Megumi and her father greeted right away.
"Morning Haruka." Naomi greeted in false pleasantness.
"How'd everyone sleep?" She asked.
Naomi mentally scowled and quickly stopped making her breakfast, instead she grabbed a package of poptarts. "I've got to get to school." She cut in, making a beeline for the front door. "One of you can have my breakfast." She added.
"It's still early." Her father called after her.
"I told my friends I'd get there early." She lied while she ducked out of the room.
Naomi shook her head when she left the kitchen. Apparently it wouldn't be as easy for her to be around Haruka as she planned. She'd have to work on that for things to go correctly. Still, leaving early would give her more time to talk with her friends and apologize. She grabbed her backpack, stuck her breakfast inside, and swung open the front door before jumping in fright. Naruto was on the other side of the door preparing to knock when she opened it and jumped as well.
"Shit!" They both exclaimed at the same time, startled by one another.
"Jesus, Naruto, what are you doing here?" She asked as she stepped onto the porch and pulled the front door shut behind her.
"Picking you up for school." He answered as if it was obvious while handing her his spare helmet.
"Afraid I'll run off again?" She joked lightly as she took it from him, but touched by his concern.
"Uh yeah! You had us worried sick about you, you know. A few more days and I probably would have formed a search party for you." Naruto answered.
"I'm sure you guys didn't miss me that much." She responded as they walked to his bike.
"Yeah we did. You're one of us now. Hell, Sasuke took off once too, a few years ago and us guys, we really did form a search party and chased after him. Circumstances were a little different with him, but point is, we missed you and care about you just as if you've been a part of our little group all along too. We've all got a strong bond with each other and nothing destroys that bond. That bond has been extended to you. So when you think something in your home life has got you fucked up and you want to leave, sever that bond, whatever, we'll never let ya. It's a big clusterfuck of a family but we're all family and- hey, hey! wait! Why are you crying!?" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, cutting off his little speech when he noticed Naomi was standing there, looking at him, clutching his helmet in shaking hands and crying.
Naomi latched onto him in a tight hug and shook her head. "I've never had friends like you guys before, friends who cared so much about me. I've never felt wanted in my own home, but you guys keep surprising me with your acts of kindness and your compassion. You guys make me feel wanted and like I am part of this big 'clusterfuck' of a family and I've never had that before." She explained before letting go of him and wiping away her tears. "Sorry, didn't mean to get all emotional on you." She laughed weakly as she wiped the rest of her tears away.
Naruto laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I suppose I went a little overboard with that speech." He admitted.
She smiled and put on the helmet. "Come on, let's get to school."
"You'll tell me why you ran when we meet up with the others right?" He asked as he put on his.
"I'll explain the best I can when we're all together yea." She agreed, knowing none of them were going to be happy about her explanation (or lack thereof) so she wanted to do it all at one time.
Naruto hopped on the bike and Naomi got on behind him. "Good and if you run away again I'll kick your ass while I drag you back home. Hinata told me about your family situation- I mean the stuff with your mom, you've always got a home and a family with us, if nothing else." He concluded.
Naomi blinked back more tears and hugged him from behind tightly. "It's no wonder why everyone likes you so much Naru." She laughed. He had the biggest heart and was probably the nicest person she had ever met.
Still holding onto him but now for support, the two whizzed off to school. With Naruto's driving it didn't take them long to get there and they were soon walking towards the front steps of the school.
"I told everyone to meet us all here earlier than usual so we could see you. They should all be here by now." Naruto stated as they walked.
"That'll make it easier, I gotta go talk to the principle before class starts anyway." She commented. When they reached the steps Naomi saw that everyone was there already like he said they would be.
"Naomi!" Several of them cheered, jumping to their feet. Naomi quickly found herself being hugged by Hinata, Lee, Choji, Ino, Sakura, and Tenten all at once.
"You're back!" They cheered.
"Yep and I can't breathe." She replied with a laugh.
They let go of her but she quickly found herself receiving more individual hugs by the others. Kiba gave her a bone crushing bear hug, Sai an awkward one, Shino patted her on the shoulder, Shikamaru gave her a tight hug, she hugged Gaara and Sasuke (and they played along by returning it), and lastly Neji gave her a tight hug.
"I've been worried sick about you. You ran so soon after I left you. I'm sorry, I should have stayed." He stated as he hugged her.
Naomi returned the hug and patted him on the back awkwardly, signaling to him that he could let go now. Naruto and Sasuke quietly smirked at the death glare Gaara was sending Neji.
"You don't need to apologize, it had nothing to do with you and I'm back now. So it's all good." She answered and Neji let go of her.
"So where the hell have you been?" Sakura demanded, hands on her hips.
"Well..." Naomi trailed off, glancing at Gaara, she wasn't sure if he wanted them to know he'd been lying about where she was at.
"She was staying with me." Gaara answered, meeting her gaze.
"WHAT!?" Everyone (minus a few) exclaimed in shock.
"Are you serious Gaara!? You've had her stashed away all this time!?" Naruto demanded.
"Seriously dude we've been worried sick about her and you've had her stashed in your bedroom the whole time!?" Kiba demanded.
"And you said all those harsh bogus things to Neji!" Tenten chipped in.
"Guys!" Naomi cut in as they tried to gain up on him. "I made him promise not to tell anyone. I needed to be away from everything. Don't be mad at him. He was just doing what I asked. Also, I had my own room Kiba." She began explaining. "Plus, he wasn't the only one who knew either, Sasuke's known for awhile now too." She added, throwing Sasuke under the bus in an attempt to take some of their anger away from Gaara.
"Seriously!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"You didn't tell us either?!" Lee exclaimed.
"No, but I was going to if Naomi hadn't decided to return home when she did." He answered nonchalantly.
"What the hell! My two best friends knew all along and never told me shit!" Naruto sulked in annoyance.
There was a general grumble from almost everyone in the group. Shino and Sai weren't very concerned about her hiding spot and Neji seemed to be fuming. He was glaring daggers at Gaara, slightly red in the face. Shikamaru also seemed unconcerned.
"I knew as well." He spoke up.
"What? You did?" Naomi asked surprised.
"Temari told me, she said you were going through some personal things and asked me to keep it to myself but she let me know." He explained with a shrug.
Gaara blinked at him in surprise. Well that explained why he hadn't been suspicious of Gaara while she was gone. He was surprised his sister said anything though.
"Hideout aside, why'd you run?" Ino asked when the grumbling died down a bit.
"...I know you guys all really want to know why, but please understand it's something extremely personal that I don't' want to discuss ok? Just know it's all ok now and I'm back and things are good again." She answered, ready for them to get angry again.
"Oh come on!" A few exclaimed.
"You've worried us to death but won't say why?" Lee asked. A few, like Hinata, Shikamaru, and Shino nodded in understanding.
"Do they know?" Naruto demanded, jerking his head towards Sasuke and Gaara.
"No they don't know why either. It's personal." She lied.
"Wait, you let her hide at your place but didn't ask why?" Choji asked Gaara.
"She didn't want to talk about it so I didn't press the matter." He lied with a shrug.
"And you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.
"I just found her cuz I had a hunch Gaara knew something and I went to investigate. Since she wouldn't tell me why, I gave her a time limit to come home before I blabbed." He answered with a shrug as well.
"Are you really ok now?" Neji asked, he wanted to push for answers but understood her wanting to keep it private.
"I'm fine. Really guys, I know you think it's unfair of me but it was a private matter that's been sorted out and everything's gone back to normal now." She answered reassuringly.
After a bit more protesting they finally agreed to drop the subject and instead the rest of the time was spent filling her in on everything she had missed while away. Gaara watched Naomi talk with everyone, she looked genuinely happy now. Having spent most of the night texting her (until she fell asleep on him) he knew she had confidently carried out the beginnings of her revenge on her mother but he was still a bit concerned about her mental state.
Gaara also wondered if she had trouble sleeping last night like he did. He had gotten so used to her sleeping by his side and her warmth putting him to sleep that his insomnia kicked right back up when he tried to sleep without her. As he wondered, he realized Kiba and Naruto were watching him.
"What?"
"So, she really had her own room? You didn't keep her in your room?" Kiba asked with a cheeky grin.
Aware that Neji was not so subtly listening in, he was tempted to admit they did share a bed almost every night. But she already stated otherwise and he supposed it could look bad to admit it. So despite wanting to rub it in Neji's face, he went with her version.
"No, like she said, she used the guest room." He answered.
"And nothing happened at all?" Naruto pressed.
"No." He answered again, trying not to recall the few times they almost kissed.
"Come on Naruto, its Gaara, he doesn't know how to put the moves on girls." Kiba teased. "I mean if it was me, I'd be taking full advantage of the opportunity if you know what I mean." He laughed.
"Well I'm not a dog like you." Gaara answered indifferently.
"Ha, good word choice." Naruto laughed.
"Don't hate cuz I'm good with the ladies." Kiba retorted.
"There's nothing to hate on." Gaara responded and Naruto continued to crack up at their banter.
Kiba's eye twitched but he laughed it off and continued. "You know, if it weren't so obvious he's got the hots for Naomi, I'd think he was gay. Considering he's never shown interest in girls till now." Kiba commented to Naruto.
Gaara glared at him but didn't take the bait.
"Maybe he is." Neji chipped in, still irritated at the redhead.
This time Gaara did take the bait. "Well if I am, I'm better at hiding it than you are. At least I don't look like a fairy with my hair longer and better taken care of than most of the girls here." He retorted and Neji glared at him.
"At least I have eyebrows." He spat and Naruto finally lost it, howling in laughter.
"You two do realize how gay you're sounding right now right? You're arguing about not being gay but are using hair and eyebrows as insults!" He laughed.
Realizing the stupidity of their insults the two blinked and let out a small smirk. "Good point." The agreed, acknowledging their stupidity.
"Ever feel like guys are bipolar?" Naomi asked as the others watched them fight then start talking like nothing had happened.
"All the time." The other girls agreed.
After talking for a few more minutes Naomi checked her watch. "I've gotta go see the principal about my absences guys, so I'll see you all in class." She stated, excusing herself from the group.
"See ya." They waved.
Naomi left to go speak with principal Tsunade and once she was gone the group began to break away as everyone headed one way or another. Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji were left alone as they headed into the halls of the school.
"You're an asshole Gaara." Neji spat now that the girls and others were gone.
"Really? I hadn't noticed." He retorted.
"You had the nerve to talk shit to me when you were really hiding her."
"I was just playing the part."
"You should have told us where she was."
"She didn't want me to."
"So what? We had a right to know too."
"No you didn't. Apparently, unlike you, I value her trust and I kept my promise." Gaara snapped. "It is up to her who she confides in or runs to and a friend honors that trust and doesn't start blabbing. You're just being a little bitch about it because she came to me and not you." Gaara added.
"Who the fuck are you calling a bitch?!" He spat, taking a step towards him.
"Guys! Cool it!" Sasuke cut in, stepping between them.
"Neji, Gaara's right in that Naomi had the right to keep her personal stuff quiet, but Gaara, Neji's right too, you didn't need to be a dick to him just cause you saw the opportunity." Naruto cut in as well.
"Whatever." They both snapped, storming off in different directions.
Naruto and Sasuke both shook their heads. "They're acting like girls." Sasuke muttered.
"Jealousy is a nasty thing." Naruto responded with a shrug.
"At least with those two it is." He agreed.
"Seriously though, at least one of you could have told me where she was at." Naruto sulked a bit.
"Whatever." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.
Naomi walked through the halls after leaving the principal's office, a stack full of makeup work in her arms. "This is going to take forever to get done." She muttered to herself. As she walked she spotted Neji walking alone, a brooding look on his face. "Hey, you ok?" She called out to him, catching up. Naomi felt a bit awkward, still suspicious that he liked her, but she still really wanted to be his friend and move past the awkwardness.
"Hmm? Oh Naomi, yeah, I'm fine."
"Really? You must have a hardcore resting bitch face than." She laughed. "I know I do."
"I guess." He shrugged. "What's all that?" He asked, pointing to her paperwork and changing the subject away from him.
"Oh, it's all the makeup work I've got to do. Dad called Tsunade yesterday saying I'd be back today and she got all my teachers to packet together all the work I missed. I'm supposed to get it all done this weekend." She explained.
"That's a lot."
"Tell me about it."
"If you'd like, I can help you catch up." He offered.
Naomi thought about it for a moment. She had planned on asking Gaara for help, but Neji already offered and Gaara could probably use a break from her... "Sure, you can come over tomorrow and help me study if you want. I'd really appreciate it." She decided. It would be a good chance for her to try to hang out with him as a friend and not feel weird anymore. Plus she'd have her sister run interference if need be.
"Sounds good. I'll drop by around noon?"
"Works for me."
The bell rang and the two quickly said goodbye, going separate ways to their first hours. When Naomi arrived to class she got a tiny bit of a flak from Kakashi for making him worry about one of his students then she took her seat.
"Are you sure you're ok now?" Hinata asked quietly once she sat down.
"I promise I'm fine Hina." She answered with a smile.
"I won't push it but... it had to do with your mom right?"
Naomi paused but then nodded. "If you promise to keep it between us I'll tell you about it all later." She decided, though she wanted as few people to know as possible, she felt Hinata deserved to know the truth as her best friend.
"Ok I promise."
"Not even Naruto."
"I won't even tell him."
"Tell me what?" Naruto asked as he took his spot beside them and kissed Hinata on the cheek.
"Nothing just girl talk." Naomi answered.
"Gross."
Kakashi got their attention and class began. After awhile though they were set to do book work and talk amongst themselves.
"You know, you missed my birthday." Naruto complained after a bit of working. His birthday had just passed the previous weekend.
"I know, I'm sorry and I owe you a present." Naomi apologized.
"Should owe me two since we were all so worried about you, didn't even celebrate it and throw a party." He teased.
"Don't be greedy Naruto-kun. Besides, you had dinner with my family and Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei, and Tsunade-sama showed up." Hinata chipped in.
"Oh yea, seventeenth birthday spent with two teachers, my principal, and a family that doesn't think I'm good enough for you." He pouted a bit, flicking something off his desk.
Naomi noted the loneliness and sadness that washed over his eyes. She bet, as an orphan, he would have given anything and loved for a birthday dinner with his family and his family accepting Hinata with open arms. "Naruto..." Naomi began, but he suddenly sprang back into his usually cheery self.
"It's ok though, just having you there was enough to make my day amazing." He concluded cheerfully and squeezed Hinata's hand. Hinata blushed and smiled.
"You two are gross." Naomi teased. "All lovey dovey and shit."
"You could go be lovey dovey on Gaara you now, he wouldn't mind." Naruto teased. "Or Neji, he'd be all for it." He added snickering.
"Ha-ha!" Naomi snapped blushing.
The three continued to chat while they worked until the bell rang. Since dating Naruto, Hinata had become a lot more talkative. Though she was still extremely shy, she was coming out of her shell more and Naomi was glad to see that change.
Once Naomi arrived to her next class she took her seat in the back next to Shikamaru. Gaara hadn't arrived yet. "Soo... Temari told you huh?" She asked poking him to wake him up. She was still amazed at how fast he could fall asleep.
"Yep, but I kept it to myself like promised."
"Didn't know you two were close like that."
"We're extremely close."
"Hmmm..."
"What?"
"Is there a little something, something going on you two want to tell me?"
"No."
"Mhmm surreeee..."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Come on its obvious with you two."
"I could say the same about you and a certain redhead."
"Well we're not talking about me we're talking about you. If nothing else, the chemistry is there."
"What chemistry?"
"Come on, I thought you were a genius Shika. You two are perfect for each other. The way you two are towards one another, it just screams chemistry. Plus I can totally see her as your type."
"Oh? Please tell me what my type is than Ms. Nosey." He smirked.
"Well I can't see you as one to go for bimbo, younger, high maintained type girls. You seem like you'd go for an older, more mature girl, not someone like say Ino."
"Eh, true. I only put up Ino because we grew up together, could never date someone like that. Way too troublesome."
"Exactly. Temari on the other hand, she's mature, smart, kind, and low maintenance. She's not the type who'd need to constantly go out or show off. Or constant attention. I feel like you'd go for that. Plus she's gorgeous."
"She's also bossy, and demanding. She doesn't beat around the bush and she'll tell a guy he needs to grow a pair or what he's doing wrong. She's kind of bitchy." He countered, though he spoke as if those were flaws, the look on his face and in his eyes as he talked about her said otherwise.
"Exactly! It compliments your lazy ass perfectly. She keeps you in line, part of her charm." She laughed.
"Heh, and what are my charms then?" He asked curiously, and changing the direction away from Temari and towards himself as Gaara had arrived and took his seat beside them.
Naomi grinned at Gaara in acknowledgment before answering Shikamaru. "Well obviously your brains. You're also kind. Despite how lazy you are you can get motivated for the right reasons. You also don't strike me as the kind of guy who would be dumb enough to lie or cheat on his girl. You're way too smart, lazy, and mature for all that kind of drama and extra work. You'd treat girls right. You're a good guy who a dumb bimbo wouldn't appreciate or understand. You can at times go that extra mile for someone and when you do, it really shows how much you care because of how damn lazy you are. Plus you're pretty darn attractive for someone I don't think has ever gone to the gym in his life. We girls have to work for our bodies, lucky bastard."
"What are you two talking about?" Gaara asked, not liking the fact that she was giving Shikamaru so much praise.
"Naomi thinks she needs to give me advise on girls." Shikamaru answered with a shrug. "And what do you mean attractive?" He asked her.
"Don't play dumb. What else would I mean? You, like nearly all the guys here, are hot. Trust me, put a little effort into your appearance, clean yourself up a bit. Maybe let your hair out of that ponytail. She'll love it and be on you like Choji's on cake." She laughed with a wink.
"Control your woman Gaara." Shikamaru muttered, a light flush rising to his cheeks.
"I'm not his woman." "She's not my woman." They both snapped at the same time.
"I'm sure you three are having a lovely conversation back there, but I'd appreciate it if you at least looked like you were paying attention to me!" Jiraiya called to them, cutting them off.
"Sorry." Naomi called sheepishly . The boys didn't apologize. The three listened to Jiraiya teach for awhile. Or Naomi did, Shikamaru went back to sleep and Gaara was doodling in his notebook rather than taking notes.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Gaara asked Naomi after a bit.
"Tomorrow? Catching up on all the work I missed since you wouldn't let me make copies of yours." She answered, giving him a playful glare. "Why? Did you wanna do something?"
"Thought we could hang for a bit." He muttered quietly, he was unsure why he even asked in the first place all of a sudden.
"Heh, you're not sick of me yet? I figured you could use a break from me." She laughed.
"...No."
"Oh..." She blushed.
"Gross." Shikamaru muttered at the two.
"Oh go back to sleep." Naomi snapped at him with a dark blush. "Well, if I get a lot done tonight maybe tomorrow evening I'll be free to do something." She decided.
"Ok."
For the rest of the school day things passed pretty uneventful for Naomi. It was easy to act as if nothing had changed. During lunch she had more to catch up on.
"So next Saturday is the big concert right?" Naomi asked over lunch.
"Yeah, can't believe it's so close." Naruto answered.
"You guys ready?" She hadn't heard them play in awhile and wondered what Gaara did with her song.
"More or less." Sasuke answered with a shrug.
"Hey Naomi." Ino cut in.
"Hmm?"
"We girls were planning on having a sleep over the night before their concert. Pamper ourselves the night before and all go together since it's an all day thing. Want to come? I mean, if you're allowed to and not grounded or anything." She offered.
"Yeah, I'll see if it's ok. Haven't had any girl time in awhile. It'll be fun. Who's house?"
"Mine." Sakura answered.
"Alright sounds good."
"Man, there's a lot to do lately." Kiba commented.
"Yeah, there's the band's gig, then there's the school dance the weekend after, then Halloween the weekend after that. Busy every weekend. Plus there's still a few more games left of the season for you to play." Tenten agreed.
"Guess my weekends are full for a bit then." Naomi laughed.
"You're not grounded or anything?" Lee asked.
"Yes but also not really. I'm allowed to go out and such as long as I constantly check in with my dad. I've got a bunch of added on chores and shit though."
"Oh that's cool. So you should be able to do everything." Choji chipped in.
"Yeah should be."
After lunch the remainder of Naomi's classes passed quickly and soon she and Hinata were making their way to the band room to watch the boys play. They took their time as they went so Naomi could fill her in on why she ran away.
"I'm so sorry." Hinata commented when she was done explaining. "I can't believe she'd do that after how hurt she had been."
"I suppose I took things too personal. I just couldn't help it though. I just got so angry and felt it was an attack on me after all the hell she put me through for dad doing the same thing. I mean how could she? She calls my biological mother a whore right after I catch her screwing her boss? And she tells me to get over shit when she still hasn't? I couldn't handle it and I had a mental break down." She vented.
"At least Gaara-kun was there to help you. Our resident psychopath helping people deal with their craziness." She responded with a light joke at the end due to the irony.
"Of course, you need another crazy to understand someone who's crazy. He's been so kind to me in his own way." She smiled.
"Did you kiss him?" She asked boldly.
"Hinata? What happened to my shy quiet friend? Hmm?" Naomi laughed while blushing. "And no I didn't, came close but no..." She admitted.
"Oh? How close?" She pressed.
"Naruto's rubbing off on you." Naomi replied, turning away as she got redder.
"Only if it's just a few people that I'm close to, otherwise I'm still very shy."
"Well it's still progress."
"But you still didn't answer my question."
"Oh look, we've reached the band room!" Naomi exclaimed when they arrived and Hinata dropped the subject with a giggle.
When they entered the band room they found the boys all arguing with each other. "Oi! What's up?" Naomi called to get their attention.
"We agreed that we should add one more song into our set and Gaara wants us to learn a brand new song in just a week!" Naruto answered.
"It's is a song you wrote, we didn't work on it together or anything and we barely have time to compose any music to go with the lyrics." Sasuke chipped in.
"And he's mad that I've got a song written by you." Gaara muttered to her while jerking his head to Neji.
"The lyrics are good, that's not the problem. Its asking a lot to learn a whole new song in just a week." Neji chipped in.
"We've mastered all of our other songs. We could focus on this one and be fine." Gaara pressed.
"How do you guys usually come up with songs?" Naomi asked attempting to help.
"It depends, usually we brainstorm together and put one together as a group. Sometimes we write them individually too, but we still always bounce ideas off each other and proof read as a group even when the individual does the lyrics." Naruto answered.
"Would it really be too hard to learn Naomi's song?" Hinata asked.
"It wouldn't be impossible, just not very easy and it'll take a lot of extra work. Gaara sprung this on us so..." Sasuke answered.
"We needed one more song, I thought something new would be better." Gaara insisted.
"If you guys don't like my song, you don't have to use it. I was just venting when I wrote it and thought you might want it." Naomi replied.
"It's not that we don't like it, it's that we don't know it. We haven't been given the time to feel the song and bring it to life as we compose to it. Attempting to do all that, compose it, learn it, memorize it, all in a week, that's asking a hell of a lot." Neji reasoned.
"Famous composers have written pieces the day of their performances." Hinata chipped in encouragingly.
"Think of it as a challenge. If you make it big, you'll be forced to deal with deadlines. It's a learning experience. Try to do it. If you don't get it down in time, have another one to fall back on." Naomi reasoned.
"...Fine." The three others finally agreed after thinking it over.
After their extended band practice Naruto drove Naomi home and Naomi arrived home just in time for dinner. Over dinner she explained that Neji would be coming over to help her catch up on her school work (and begged her sister to lend a helpful hand) and asked permission to be able to go to Sakura's next weekend for the sleep over. She also told them about the concert.
"So it's a battle of the bands kind of thing?" Her dad asked.
"Yeah, it's a kind of all day festival. Each band that's playing gets to play four songs to impress the judges with. Gaara's band is going last."
"What do they win?" Haruka asked in false interest.
"Well, regardless of winning or losing, the bands get publicity, get some notice. Each band's got a booth to try an promote themselves when not performing. Sakura and Ino are running the booth for the guys, passing out demos. I'm going to help too, but Hinata and I are also backstagers with them to help with wardrobe an shit. It's a super big deal for local little known bands." She explained rather than answering her question.
"They're definitely going all out. Got themselves some stylists and booth babes." Megumi laughed.
"It was our idea not theirs." Naomi laughed.
"What do they win though?" Her dad asked this time.
"Top prize is a record deal. The judges are a mix of record companies and sponsors. The winner will get the backing to promote a full-blown album actually sold in stores plus two music videos to be produced." She answered excitedly.
"Big stuff." Her dad commented.
"I'm going too, told Itachi-kun I'd go support Sasuke." Megumi chipped in.
"Well why don't we all go? I wouldn't mind showing Gaara some support. I owe that kid for taking such good care of you Naomi." Her dad suggested.
"Well, if you guys want you can. It's fifteen bucks at the door per person." Naomi answered surprised.
"Mom?" Megumi asked Haruka who had remained silent again up till now.
She didn't look thrilled about the idea but glanced at Naomi from the corner of her eye and nodded. "If that's what you all want sure." She agreed.
"Nothing like bringing parents to a rock concert." Megumi laughed.
"I won't see much of you guys, but they'll appreciate you being there I'm sure." Naomi responded surprised her mother agreed so easily.
After dinner Naomi went to her room and stayed up late into the night working on as much homework as she could. The more she got done on her own the less she'd need Neji to help her with. Eventually though she fell asleep amongst her papers.
Naomi woke up early the next morning. She could hear her parents moving around downstairs. Curious, she let her dogs out of her room and went downstairs. She was surprised to find both parents and Megumi up and getting breakfast at seven in the morning on a Saturday.
"Why are you all up?" She asked as she let her dogs out back.
"We've got errands to run all day." Her father answered.
"I've got a surprise date with Itachi." Megumi answered as well.
"What? Damn I wanted you here to help with Neji..." She muttered. It'd just be the two of them now? Great...
"Oh you'll be alright." Megumi laughed.
"Why would you need help with this boy?" Her dad asked.
"Love triangle!" Megumi sang as she took her breakfast upstairs.
"It's not like that!" Naomi shouted after her. "It's just a bit awkward between us is all." She explained.
"I see." Her dad responded.
"If you don't like him, just tell him so." Haruka chipped in (a bit unsurely).
"Thanks for the tip." Naomi answered disinterestedly as she grabbed her breakfast.
Once she had finished eating she let her dogs back in and fed them. Then she went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day. By the time she was done showering and getting dressed her family had already left. She threw on a minimal amount of makeup, dried and brushed out her hair before throwing it up into a sloppy bun on top of her head before heading back downstairs with all her school work. The dining room table would be a good spot to work, not awkward like her room would be. She set the stuff on the table and went to watch TV while she waited for Neji to show up. He texted her asking if she minded if he came earlier than noon and when she said that was fine, it was around ten when he showed up.
"Hey." She greeted when she opened the door for him. Neji was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and had a dull gray, plaid, button up shirt on over a black t-shirt, his sleeves rolled up to above his elbows and shirt unbuttoned.
"Morning." He greeted as he stepped through the threshold and took in her appearance. She had a small amount of makeup on, just eyeliner and mascara (and probably foundation) and her hair was tied into a messy bun on top of her head, bangs still around her face. She was wearing black yoga pants and a baggy maroon sweater that went down to her thighs and hung off one shoulder.
"Sorry, bum mode was activated." She laughed when she noticed his starring. She didn't want to look like she just rolled out of bed, she had some pride in her appearance, but she also didn't want to look dressed up either. Comfy casual should've been a good choice to not give the wrong impression.
"A cute bum than." He commented before he could stop himself. "Though I didn't know makeup was included in the bum look." He tried adding in an attempt to not seem so bold.
"Ah, well, makeup is life." She laughed trying to brush off the compliment. "I think Gaara is the only guy who's seen me without it. Well and Kankuro too I guess." She added thoughtfully.
"You don't need it." Neji replied and mentally scowled at the mention of Gaara. "So where are going to study?" He asked changing the subject.
"Dining room." She answered and lead the way.
The two quickly got to work. Naomi was surprised at how un-awkward it was. Neji focused on his task as tutor and Naomi was given little time to think about anything but the work she was doing. It wasn't until they took a break for lunch that they talked about anything other than her schoolwork. When they decided to stop to eat Naomi rummaged around her kitchen for something to fix them.
"We don't have much, got to go shopping, is a sandwich ok? I think we've got some soup too." She asked as she looked around the kitchen.
"That's fine. Do you want help?" He offered.
"No its fine."
Neji ended up helping regardless, he made the soup while she made the sandwiches and when the food was ready they took them back into the dining room with two sodas and talked while they ate.
"So are you adjusting back here ok?" He asked
"Yeah more or less. It's only been a tad bit awkward.
"That's good."
"Yeah, sorry again for worrying all you guys."
"You're back, that's all that matters now."
The two ate a bit more in silence and Naomi mentally frowned. The silence was awkward. When she was silent around Gaara it was comfortable and didn't bother either of them, but this felt uncomfortable like they had to force out small talk. She was thankful they had already gotten through a lot of her schoolwork. After a bit more of small talk they set back to work and after a few more hours they had finally finished it all.
"Uhg. Finally done!" Naomi exclaimed, looking at her watch and saw it was 4:30 already. "Never would have finished so fast without your help." She added.
"I was glad to help." He answered and attempted what he hoped was a charming smile.
"So you gonna take off soon or stick around for a bit?" She asked, hopping he'd pick the first but didn't want to be rude and kick him out.
"I might stay for a bit longer. If that's ok."
The two ended up moving over to the living room and talked a bit more while watching TV. It was slowly getting easier for Naomi. She sat on the couch while she listened to him explain how he, Lee, and Tenten had become such good friends and the training they did together when her phone went off. She glanced at it to see a text from Gaara.
Done with your homework yet?
Yea, what's up?
Bored, want to catch a movie?
Sure!
Be there in a bit then
Naomi smiled, Gaara just asked her to the movies! Might not technically be a date but it was something. Now to get Neji to leave... She tried to figure out a good excuse to give him. "It's going on six." She commented as she glanced at the clock.
"Is it? Sorry didn't notice the time." He responded as he looked at his watch. "So would you want to go get some dinner with me? Afterwards we could I don't know go see a movie or I could start training you how to fight." He offered. "I did promise to teach you some time."
Naomi stiffened up a bit in surprise. Well shit. Now it was going to get awkward. Was that him asking her out on a date? She was going to pretend it wasn't. "I would totally be done for that, but I've already made plans later tonight with Gaara." She answered gently. "Another time though, we can get the gang together or it could just be us for a friendly outing. Sorry." She added apologetically.
Neji scowled but nodded. "It's fine. I better get going than so you can get ready for your date." He stated, a bit harsher than he intended.
"It's not a date."
"Sure." He began making his way towards the door. Well at least it wasn't a date. Or so she said...
"I do want you to teach me some kung fu sometime though." She smiled apologetically as she lead him towards the door, opening it for him.
"Heh, any time you want me to teach your body my moves I'm game." He responded with a smirk and Naomi froze, blushing from his innuendo. "I'm kidding." He laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "I'll teach you how to fight."
"Alright. See ya later then you smooth bastard." She laughed, brushing it off. She reached out for him to give him a friendly hug and as they hugged she noticed Gaara's car pull up.
Gaara pulled up to Naomi's house and frowned when he got a good look at the people on the porch. Naomi was hugging Neji. Why was he at her house? They broke away from each other and Naomi waved to him. Attempting to control the sudden rage in him, Gaara got out of the car, making his way towards them. He was almost seeing red and he had no idea why.
"Gaara." Neji greeted curtly as he began walking towards his car.
"Neji." He responded, biting back his temper. Why was he so mad? It took all he had not to punch him.
Neji left and Naomi let Gaara inside. "Hey you got here pretty fast." She laughed as she shut the door behind him.
"What? Trying to get him gone before I showed up?" He answered without much thought and a bit too harsh.
"What?" Naomi asked, confused by his hostile tone. "I mean yeah, I wanted him to leave before you showed up so it wouldn't be awkward."
"Why would it have been awkward?"
"Really? That hostile greeting on my front lawn just now wasn't awkward to you?" She responded sarcastically, not liking the tone she was getting from him.
"Why was he here?" He demanded, before he could stop it.
"He came over to help me catch up on my homework." Naomi answered calmly.
"Why'd you hide that from me? Why didn't you tell me he was here?" He snapped crossing his arms.
"I wasn't hiding it." She responded, crossing her own arms in irritation. "I didn't tell you because I didn't see the need to. I didn't realize I had to inform you when I hung out with other friends." She retorted. Why was he mad at her? What did she do wrong?
"You don't have to tell me that. I just would've liked to know if I was interrupting your study date."
"It wasn't a study date." Seriously what was with these boys today?
"Right. Well for future references, if you're going to have two guys over, make sure the first one is actually gone before you invite the second one over."
"Are you serious right now?" She demanded in shock, getting what he was implying. "If you're going to be an ass than just leave!" She snapped insulted and pointing towards the door.
"Fine, then you can invite Neji back over and continue where you left off!" He retorted heading towards the door.
"Maybe I will! Hell maybe I'll call up Sasuke next! And Shikamaru after that. Hell why don't I throw in Naruto too and make it a real party!" She snapped, ripping the door open for him.
"Go right ahead! Hell, call Kiba or my brother while you're at it. They're both always looking to score." He snapped back, marching through the door.
"Nice to know what you really think of me!" She spat and slammed the door shut after him.
Naomi glared at the shut door and blinked back frustrated tears. Huffing she spun on her heel and headed upstairs to her room. The tears she was fighting to control beginning to take over. Why was she so emotional? Why'd they even have such a dumb fight in the first place?
Gaara stood on the porch dumbfounded at what just happened. Why on earth did he say all that? He'd reluctantly admit (to himself and no one else) that he was jealous and pissed, but he knew her better than that. He knew she wasn't like that. He wanted to kick himself. What a stupid fight and what a great way to screw things up with her. Sighing he turned back around and rung the doorbell, he needed to fix this. He rang it twice more but Naomi continued to ignore him. Great he really did piss her off. Grumbling he pulled out his phone and called her but she ignored that too.
"Really?!" He snapped and texted her to open the door.
Let me in
Piss off
Seriously open the door
Can't I'm calling up all the dudes I'm about to screw
Damn it come downstairs so I can apologize
Nope too late
I'm not leaving till you do
Then get comfortable down there
Are you serious?
Dead serious. Do me a favor and let me know when my men get here
God, I'm sorry ok? let me in
Nope.
Gaara tossed his phone into the grass in frustration and paced back and forth a few times. She was being childish. He realized his mistake and tried to fix it and she was acting like a brat. Grumbling he retrieved his phone.
"Women are temperamental creatures." The devil spoke up. "Crazy really."
"She's not crazy. He offended her and hurt her feelings." The angel spoke.
"I think it's a bit of both." Gaara muttered.
"Well she's going to act like a child so let's just go." The devil decided.
"No, stay and make things right." The angel urged.
"Kinda hard to do that if she won't open the door." Gaara commented but sat down on the porch steps to wait. "I shouldn't have over reacted." He added.
"She's the one that didn't tell you she had company over." The devil reasoned.
"But she's right, she doesn't have to tell me stuff like that."
"She would if you asked her out." The angel decided.
"If they were dating and she was alone with Neji there'd be problems."
"Would you two drop that? I'm not going to date her. I do not like her."
"Still in denial. Why do you think you went into such a jealous rage than? The angel asked.
"Because Neji doesn't know his place." The devil answered for him.
"Go away you two."
After close to a half hour of sitting there Gaara heard the door open behind him. "You're still here?" Naomi asked surprised.
"I said I'd stay here until you let me in." He responded, standing up.
"Hmm.." Naomi frowned then swung the door open wider. "Come in already." She sighed.
Gaara came back inside and she shut the door behind him. Gaara took in her appearance, she no longer had the baggy sweater she was wearing when he first arrived, instead she had on a tank top (which had been under the sweater) and the make up around her eyes was a little smudged. Had she been crying?
"I'm sorry for what I said." He apologized quickly. "I know you're not like that." He added.
"If you know then why'd you imply that I was?" She retorted crossing her arms.
"Because I was in a bad mood and it slipped out. I shouldn't have taken my temper out on you."
"At least you know how to prove you're sorry. I really didn't expect you to stay out there like that." She commented with a sigh. "What would you have done if I hadn't checked?"
"Wait until someone came home and let me in?" He answered with a shrug.
"That could have been hours you know."
"Yep."
"You've changed since I've met you."
"How so?"
"The Gaara I first met I really doubt would've waited on someone's porch for hours to apologize over a stupid fight. You've gotten a lot kinder."
"Have not."
"Yeah you have."
"Maybe it's just you."
"Just me as in I'm imaging things or just me you're kind to?"
"Whichever." He answered with a shrug.
Naomi allowed a small smile on her face despite still being a bit peeved at him. She liked the fact that he was only this way with her and no one else. "So you still want to go to the movies or just chill here?"
"I guess we can just chill here." He no longer felt up to going anywhere.
"Alright. Netflix and chill it is then. Go pick something out to watch in the living room. I'll make popcorn." She decided.
She was a little disappointed that they weren't going to go out but they were still going to hang. Naomi started walking towards the kitchen and Gaara watched her as she walked away. His attention was instantly drawn to her backside. The yoga pants she was wearing left very little to the imagination.
"Smack it!" The devil shouted on his shoulder.
"Don't you dare!" The angel retorted.
"It's a good thing she was wearing that sweater while Neji was here and that beautiful ass was covered." The devil laughed.
"Don't be a pervert!" The angel snapped.
"Hey she's the one flaunting it."
Gaara shook his head at the two insanities and went to turn on the TV, but while he turned on Netflix he mentally thanked whatever genius invented yoga pants. When Naomi came into the room she had a bowl of popcorn and two sodas with her. Gaara was already sitting on the couch and flipping through various horror movies to watch.
"Horror movie marathon?" Naomi asked as she sat down beside him. Putting the bowl and drinks on the coffee table.
Gaara nodded and they made it through one movie and had just started the second when her parents came home. Her dad glanced at the two on the couch. "I thought that Neji boy was coming over?" He asked surprised, but gave a wave to Gaara.
"He did, he helped me study then left and then Gaara came over to chill." She explained.
"I see." he answered before heading to his study. Haruka went right upstairs to their room without a word to any of them but no one was surprised.
"How's that going?" Gaara asked, referring to her "mother".
"Eh, its going. I still have a lot of trouble keeping my temper but I'm working at it. I don't think dad or Megumi suspect much." She answered with a shrug. "Most suspicious thing I've seen was that she replaced the couch. I don't know what lie she told them, but I'm not complaining to a new one." She added.
"Why'd she replace the couch?"
"It's where I found them..." She explained bitterly. She wouldn't have been able to be near the old one she thought.
"Gross." Gaara replied, glad he wasn't sitting on that one.
"Oh, dad and her plan on attending the battle of the bands. Megumi too."
"Really?"
"Dad and Megumi want to show their support."
"Weird."
"I guess so. I already told them we won't see much of them. We'll either be at your booth or I'll be back stage with you guys too, getting you set up."
"Ino and Sakura have some type of plan for our booth. I'm letting them run that."
"Well yeah, they're gonna be booth babes to lure people in. We're gonna have stereos set up with headphones so people can listen to your demo cds and buy them. You guys should still spend time at the booth though too for P.R."
"You girls are really taking this seriously. Ino even had Sai design some cover art for our demos. Sasuke's getting them all finished later this week. "
"Well we want to help. I mean the booth babe things a bit odd considering they're sixteen and seventeen, but hey they're, or at least Ino's really hot, so work it I guess. Hina and I want to make sure you guys look awesome." She shrugged. "You know.. I've never gotten one of your demo cds either..." She added thoughtfully.
"We haven't done much with them. We rented a studio to record them but they're not sold in stores or anything. We just now decided to make enough to bring an sell at the concert. "
"Still you guys have passed a few out before. How come I've never got one?"
"You sit in on all our practices?"
"...I guess.."
"You'll get our first copy of our first real cd. Fair?"
"Fine, just be sure to autograph it."
"Why?"
"So I can sell it for a bunch of money when you're famous duh." She laughed.
"Right."
"So you ready to go crazy on stage?"
"Crazy?"
"Yeah, you can't just stand there and sing without moving like in practice. This is your first huge gig and could be your shot, gotta put on a good show."
"I guess. I move some when I perform."
"Trust me, just feel the music and nothing else and go crazy. It'll be great. "
"If you say so."
"I do say so."
"We gonna watch this next movie or not?" Gaara asked, pointing to the tv they had paused.
"Play it, play it." She answered waving dismissively.
Halfway through that movie Megumi finally came home and made a few jokes at Naomi and Gaara before heading upstairs. Shortly after, her dad came to say he was heading to bed and for them to not stay up too late and that Gaara could sleep on the couch if he was staying.
By the end of their third movie Naomi was getting sleepy. She leaned her head against Gaara's shoulder and fell asleep almost instantly. Gaara looked at her sleeping figure. He wasn't sure if he should leave or stay. Or if he should wake her up and tell her to go to sleep in her bed where she'd be comfortable. Her dogs had all gathered around the couch earlier but one had gotten up and pulled a throw blanket off of one of the recliners, dragging it towards them.
"You're way too smart." He commented to the dog as he took it and carefully draped the blanket over the two of them. After awhile his head fell back and he drifted off as well, lulled into sleep by the comforting sensation of having her next to him.
So there you guys go there's that! Nice and long. There will be more soon. I have almost all of the next chapter already typed up so it should be up soon..ish. Give it a few days or a week or so. But not a super long time! I also have most of the following chapter's rough draft (I hand write this shit when I'm bored at work) done so hopefully won't have much of a wait on that one either. Trying to get back into the swing of things and keep my writing going. Anyway expect more updates soon guys! At least expect a few more chapters really soon and I'll try to stay on top of it after that and not fall super far behind in my writing again. As always feedback is loved!
