No flames if this isn't what you were hoping k? I just had an impulse and none of my stories really ever involved him so….REVIEW PLEASE!

Sakura loved the way his name rolled off her lips when she repeated it.

It was a little sharp but then rolled over like a wave.

"Gaara." She held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled and took shook her hand, then he ran it through his deep red hair. He smiled at her slightly then turned back to Tenten's cousin and his best friend, Lee.

Lee must have sensed the awkward moment so he gave a cheap grin and stepped in-between Sakura and the retreating Gaara.

"We should all go to the after party together!" He cheered.

Gaara shook his head passively. "I'm not going to the after party. I don't really do the whole partying thing."

Sakura leaned against Tenten. "Why not?" Tenten was brave enough to ask. "You and S-"

"I would appreciate it Tenten if you didn't try and force a faux friendship on myself and poor Sakura over there." Gaara breathed as he retreated to Lee's side.

Sakura took it extremely personally. Okay, She thought. He doesn't want to be my friend…that's fine. I'm too plain anyway, probably ruin his social reputation or something. At-least he didn't call me a hobo. She bit her lip. Her right arm was slack at her side and her left was wrapped protectively over her waist and clasping onto her right forearm.

From the corner of her eye, Sakura could see Tenten's mask of calmness. Tenten would probably pulverize anyone else for saying that supposedly nice sentence in such a manner. But Gaara had indeed been her friend for years.

"Sorry Sakura." She muttered. "I know you didn't want to meet him, I shouldn't have dragged you over here."

Sakura shrugged. Although Gaara and Lee were still definitely in ear shot, Sakura didn't mind talking freely like this. All hope was lost anyway.

Neji opened his mouth to say something, probably rude, and started to take a step forward but his younger sister was quicker to put an arm in front of him. Her chin held high.

"Neji. We're all living people. And you won't be living for long if you say a word or proceed to approach." Acid slipped into my voice and poisoned the already-sharp sentence.

Gaara was smirking now. Sakura this time, to show she was assertive and was not a wallflower she looked into his beauty in the eye. He seemed surprised and their eyes connected for some time until finally, it was the pink haired girl that looked away. Her assertiveness whipped clean of his penetrating gaze.

"Right." He said, in stoic victory. "I'm going to go see if I can them take down the decorations and then I'll jet. Lee you can go to the after party if you want."

Lee nodded as Gaara stalked off. Immediately after the red haired boy disappeared, he broke down into apologies.

"I'm sorry Sakura Haruno. Gaara, he get's that way-"

Sakura chuckled.

Tenten nudged her curiously.

"You're right Tenten. He's a cool kid, though a waste of time being introduced to him since he put me down like that. But, I can see how you like him. Reminds me WAY to much of Sasori though. That might me bad for my mental health. I hope I'm not too scarred. Can we go see what Kiba and Naruto are up to. If we're lucky, we'll be able to call the police."

Tenten looked at her friend in confusion, not knowing whether or not Sakura had fallen into denial or she really didn't care. Her amber eyes searched Sakura's with utter care. Turning up with the fact that, that had been done to poor Sakura so many times that she really was quite used to it, Tenten looked away and dropped the subject.

Shino beamed. "You should punch him sis." He said.

Sakura shook her head. "No, Shino. That would be a bad example for you and the other boys." She smiled down at her little brother. She could see through his sunglasses that his eyes were red and it made hers water.

"What's wrong with your eye's Shino?"

The little boy lifted one hand and snuck it under his left glasses lens to rub his eye. "Nothing, they just hurt a little. Makes it a little hard to see."

Sakura blinked hard. Red eyes had always made her feel uncomfortable, not only did her eyes start watering just from looking at it but they would grow irritated. She glanced away from her younger brother and brought him closer.

"Maybe you have pink eye."

Shino shook a wary head. "Maybe, but it feels like it's coming from behind my eyes. It's really weird."

"Maybe we should take you to a doctor."

Shino beamed again. "No need. It'll pass. We wouldn't be able to afford it anyway."

Sakura sets Shino down and he charges off in direction of the reception area. Sakura turned to Tenten and threw her a half-hearted smile.

"Can we go now?"

"Are you going to after party?" Tenten asked, completely forgetting Gaara.

Lee grinned. "Sakura! You should come! There will be dancing and everything!"

Sakura bit her lip. "Dancing. All the more worse."

Tenten pulled on a sly grin.

Suddenly, Sakura felt herself being grabbed and her wrists being pulled behind her back. She was so shocked that she couldn't find herself to say anything. Whoever was holding her was taller and strong. Quickly, one of their hands snaked around and the other around her shoulders.

"Wh-wha-"

"Thank you Neji." Tenten said, addressing Sakura's captor.

"N-Neji? What?" Sakura wriggled around in her group and turned her face as best she could and she could see her older brother was the one who had grabbed her.

"Neji! Let me go!" She demanded immediately.

"Sakura, you are going to get a life and you are going to like it." Tenten said, as if the start of a very long speech. "So, I'm going to kidnap you to get you ready for the after –party and we will be monitoring you so you don't escape while we're there."

"Kidnap me?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Tenten said. "You are going to make at least ONE new friend at the wedding after party okay?"

"No!" Sakura struggled in Neji's arms. "Neji, let go!"

He didn't respond, instead he said, "Sakura, I feel you need more friend than just Tenten. I will take part in kidnapping you if you can make more."

Lee bit his lip and curled his arms around himself. "I don't know guys. Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Not in this town it ain't." Tenten smirked. She added the 'ain't' probably for effect.

Sakura moaned. "This is awful."

"To ensure you don't escape, we've arranged for a little something-"

"Tenten! No!" Lee pleaded. "That's claustrophobically cruel!"

Tenten towed Neji and Sakura over to a black car that was parked on the side of the road.

"Oh no!" Sakura pleaded this time along with Lee.

Tenten opened the door casually and Neji tossed Sakura in. The inside was clean with light leather upholstery. The outside was sleek and black, like that of a polished black taxi cab. The floor and seats were bare as if the car was brand new and was bought for the specific reason of containing a prisoner.

"Tenten!" Lee called, he had trailed along with them.

Tenten smirked. "Sakura, I'm still your best friend even though I'm holding you against your will so I pinky-promise that this is never happening again." She held out a pinky and Sakura reluctantly shook it with hers.

"I'll come and get you before the party so we can get dressed."

Neji slammed the door and all the door locks clicked from the outside.

"NO!!!!" She yelled after the group walking away. She pounded on the window until her fists grew sore and she lay down across the back seats. Letting the full infliction of Gaara's rejection take over. She HAD cared about what he thought about her. Just like stupid Sasori.

Sakura made a mental promise that she would completely pulverize the red haired Akatsuki member when she got home and back to school.

She pouted and even shed a few tears silently as the hours quietly passed, waiting for the party that would certainly be her doom.