So it's Thursday and it's so fucking boring. We're all in Study Hall again and GET THIS. People are actually studying. Well except for me. We have this big English test, but since English is my first language, it's not gonna be that hard. The only person who isn't studying besides me is Shikamaru. He's sorta like a genius. Where the hell is he anyways?
"Juliet!", I heard. I looked up from the teachers desk I was sitting on and I saw Shikamaru standing there. Well speak of the devil. He ran up to me, eyes wide, and took my hand. "I need you."
"You what her?", Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You sadly can't have her, Gaara and her want each other.", Ino stated.
"Say what?", Naruto squeaked, looking at Gaara, Sasuke doing the same.
"No, no, no. I don't know what the fuck she's talking about.", Gaara explained himself, trying to stay outta trouble.
"Don't deny it, I saw your little moment yesterday.", she snorted. Gaara's eyes widened.
"What little moment?", Sasuke asked giving Gaara the darkest look I have ever seen in my entire life. And I used to have an abusive father, so that's saying something.
"Yamanaka, say one more word about what you saw and I will cut you.", I gave her my death glare. I almost smiled when she shrunk into her seat.
"You guys are so troublesome and I don't need her like that you perverts.", Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I just need to talk to you.", he turned attention back on me. I nodded and he began to drag me out the door.
"Juliet.", Naruto called right before I exited. I turned around. "We're not done with this Gaara business.", he added. I rolled my eyes.
"So I find him cute, kill me!", I dramatically threw my arms in the air and left the room. "So what is it?", I asked my pineapple-haired friend. He looked around and pulled me down the hallway by my wrist. He looked around again.
"I think I've gone insane.", he finally said. I blinked. Huh?
"What?"
"I think I'm mental.", he repeated. I nodded.
"Why is that exactly?"
"I think I like...I think I like...I think I like...", Shikamaru stuttered, obviously having trouble saying what he wanted. WAIT A SECOND.
"You like Temari.", I finished for him. His eyes grew to the size of fucking bowls.
"How did you know?!", he almost shouted. Asuma turned into the hallway and saw us.
"What are two doing here.", he asked us.
"Dealing with teenage drama, you?", I shrugged.
"Going out for a smoke. See you at Math.", he threw over his shoulder, walking out of the entrance. I turned back to Shikamaru.
"How would I not know?", I laughed, sticking my tongue out a bit. "You get this look that you only get when you look at her. I'm surprised you didn't figure this out until now.", I continued laughing.
"Maybe you're smarter than me...", he trailed off.
"Shika, stop! You're making me blush!", I exclaimed, pushing him away and covering my face. He rolled his eyes.
"Don't get too excited.", he shrugged. Shikamru sighed and leaned up against the wall where I was. As if on cue, we both slid down to the ground. "What do I do?", he muttered. I looked and him and smiled.
"Is that why you told me? Cause you need advice?", I giggled. He nodded.
"Well yeah, you guys are like best friends.", Shika sighed. Oh boy.
"Okay, listen closely.", I started. Shikamaru looked and me and nodded. "This is gonna take three phases. Phase one: Befriend her. Yeah, yeah, you're already her friend but show up a little more in her life. Let's say we all hang out. Make sure to walk with her and sit with her, stuff like that. But also talk to your other friends around her too, make it look casual. BAM. You got her attention. Phase two: A little more than friends. Flirt a little. You know, stare at her a bit and smile when she catches you! Compliment her. Smile for no reason. Maybe even take her to hang out one on one. Just you and her. Let her know you see her as more than a friend. Phase three: You get together. After all this flirting and little casual dates, ask her out! And that's all! Don't worry, I'll give you updates on how things are going on her end."
"...Wow.", Shikamaru's jaw hung open. I laughed.
"Wow is right! You're starting phase one during the Christmas party. Okay?", I asked.
"Alright, but it sounds like-"
"Such a drag! I know. Now let's get to class periods about to end.", I stood up and adjusted my jeans. Shikamaru did the same and we both strolled back to the class. Once I opened the door, everyone was back to studying. Ugh, so boring. Within minutes, the bell rang and everyone filed out the room. I hopped off the desk and waited for Sakura to pack her books, along with Sasuke and Naruto. Gaara was about to walk out with Neji and Hinata, but leaned into me and whispered.
"I'm cute, huh?", he teased me. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, get out of here!", I pushed him towards the exit and smiled when he looked back at me. And with that. He was out of sight. Sakura managed to zip up her bookbag, with the help of Naruto and with that, we left.
"What do we have?", Naruto asked.
"Hygiene.", Sasuke answered in a bored tone.
"With the pervert.", Sakura sang. Hygiene was another class that our homeroom class shared. Much like English and Drama.
"Aren't we suppose to talk about puberty in boys today?", I laughed. Sasuke and Naruto hung their heads. "I'll take that as a yes.", I added. Once we found our classroom, I sat next to Sai. We were in the front row. Gaara and Hinata were to my left and Sasuke and Kiba were to Sai's right. Once the late bell rang, Jiraya shut the door and sighed.
"Alright class, today we'll be discussing puberty in boys.", he said walking over to the SmartBoard. It's like an electronic chalkboard that you hook up to a computer or laptop.
"Yaaaaay!", I started clapping.
"This is going to be fun.", TenTen chimed in.
"Word.", I laughed. Jiraya shook his head.
"You girls are weird.", Jiraya gave us a weird look. "Okay, so I have a video to show you guys...about penis enlargement."
"HA!", I choked out.
"Can you not?!", Gaara asked covering his face.
"Yeah, most of us are already in puberty!", Kiba pleaded, begging for Jiraya not to play the video.
"Well some of us are late bloomers.", Haku muttered, embarrassed.
"Guys, suck it up. I wanna hear how your balls drop!", I exclaimed.
"I can't believe I have a crush on you.", Gaara said under his breath.
"Huh?", I looked at him. He shook his head.
"Juliet, Gaara, stop flirting.", Neji winked.
"We're not flirting!", we said in unison, turning around to look at him. He just had a smirk on his face.
"You guys are so troublesome.", Shikamaru shook his head. He was sitting next Neji.
"G-guys, I think we should listen to Jiraya. I mean, we need to learn about this.", Hinata shrunk farther into her seat with each syllable that rolled off her tongue.
"Yeah, he's not getting paid to stand there and babysit us.", I turned from Neji and smiled at his cousin.
"Actually, I'm getting paid either way...", Jiraya trailed off. I shot him a look.
"I was trying to help you.", I firmly said.
"Okay, Sasuke shut off the lights.", Jiraya commanded as he started the video on the SmartBoard.
"Hi there, if you're watching this video, you're probably a boy noticing some changes in your body.", the video greeted us. All the boys in the classroom groaned. Even Sasuke did as he walked back to his desk after her turned off the light. While they groaned, all the girls, including me, giggled. After a couple of minutes of some woman talking about dicks, Gaara tossed a note on my desk. I reached for it with not a care in the world, cause the room was dark and Jiraya wouldn't even give a shit. I unfolded the note.
You, me, ice skating and then dinner. How bout it?
I smiled and looked up at him to find that he was looking at me, with one of his genuine smiles. I smiled at him and reached for my pen to respond.
Only if I pay for the ice skating, and you pay for dinner. :)
Happy with my response, I folded the paper back up and tossed it on his desk. I watched him unfold it and smile. He grabbed his pencil and wrote on the crumpled piece of paper. He threw his pencil back on the desk, and tossed the note. It landed on my lap. I picked it up and read it.
Deal. So it's a date. I'll pick you up at 6:30. That would give you enough time to get ready since you girls take FOREVER. Wear something cute for me. ;)
I snorted, which caused Gaara to smile, Sasuke to look at me, and Neji to make kissy noises, since he just witnessed us passing notes. I turned to look at him.
"Save it for your pillow.", I sweetly smiled.
"Ooooo", Shino awed.
"I believe that's what you call a 'burn', right?", Sai commented. I turned back around satisfied and Gaara had his eyes wide.
Harsh, he mouthed to me. I just shrugged and focused my attention back to the video. The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. I walked home with Neji and Naruto. Sasuke and Sakura went to hangout or something. And The rest of them went their separate ways. Naruto and I finally got home and we both collapsed on the couch. Naruto wrapped his arms around me and smiled.
"Oh man, I'm so tired!", he stretched. I nodded.
"Me too. But, I can't take a nap...", I trailed off, relaxing in his firm grip, around my waist.
"Mmm...and why's that?", Naruto asked me.
"I've got a date with Gaara.", I simply answered, snuggling into my "brother".
"Mmm...what time is he picking you up?", Naruto snuggled into me as well.
"6:30.", I replied.
"It's 3:30 now. Let's go change into more comfortable clothes and we can both take a nap together, yeah? I'll set an alarm so we can wake up at 5.", he offered.
"Okay.", I nodded, sitting up. Naruto and I made our way up the stairs, and into our separate bedrooms. I changed into some sweatpants and a tee shirt. I opened Naruto's bedroom door.
"Couch, or my room, or your room?", he asked me. I shrugged and lied down on his bed.
"Here is fine. I really don't mind.", I stuffed my face into one of his pillows. It smelled like him. It smelled like cologne mixed with candy. It was his scent and I liked it. Naruto nodded and got into his bed next to me. See, this is why I'm lucky to have Naruto. He's the best. I could tease him, hug him, hit him, and even cuddle with him. And we will never have any other feelings for each other except friendship, and a family type of love. I could even tell him that I'm a serial killer and he would still accept me. I love him...
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
"Mmm..", I murmured, reaching for Naruto's phone on his nightstand. I picked it up and yawned. Once I shut off the alarm, I turned and saw Naruto was still asleep. "Naruto...Naruto...wake up...", I mumbled as I shook him. He turned and looked at me, his eyes slowly opening.
"What time is it?", he sleeply asked, his voice cracking from not being used for a couple of hours. Honestly, I think the sexiest thing ever is a guy's voice right after he wakes up. I looked at the time on his phone.
"5:02.", I answered. He sat up and nodded, leaning against his bed frame, looking at his T.V. The news was on. Some woman won something in court or something. I was too busy going through Naruto's phone. I knew his password and he knew mine. Naruto looked over my shoulder and peered at his phone.
"What are you doing?", he asked me.
"Nothing, just playing a game. You have a missed call from Lee though.", I informed him. He nodded and yawned.
"I'll call him back later.", he told me, standing up and stretching.
"Think mom's home yet?", I asked, beating the game I was playing and putting down his phone.
"Nah, she should be here in a few minutes though.", was his answer as he went through his closet for a shirt.
"Mmmmm.", I muttered, swinging my legs over the bed and standing up. I walked down to the living room and sat on the couch. I had about an hour and I half to get ready for my date, so I might as well use every minute of it. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cereal bar from a cupboard. I began to unwrap the snack then I heard the front door open.
"Mom?", I questioned from the kitchen, chewing on the cereal bar.
"Who's there? Are you a ghost?!", I heard my mother's voice. She sounded so frightened. "SHOW YOURSELF!", she commanded in panic. I slowly walked out the kitchen and saw her with her eyes wide and knees weak.
"Mom?", I repeated. When my mother's eyes met mine, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Juliet. It's just you..", she began, walking towards me and cupping my face. "My sweet, sweet, daughter.", she added. I could smell the horribly strong scent of alcohol on her.
"Oh...you're drunk.", I said in understanding.
"What?", my mother said offended. "I am not drunk.", she defended herself.
"Whatever you say Grandma.", Naruto said walking down the stairs. "Just go take a nap.", he told her.
"Okay. I don't know why I have to. It's not like I'm drunk and I have to sleep off the alcohol. I'm completely sober, guys. Though, you guys never do believe me. I just had a couple of shots, God!", she complained on the way to her bedroom and shut the door. Naruto and I looked at each other and giggled. She's so wacky.
"Lee, Neji, and Kiba are coming over soon.", Naruto told me. I nodded.
"I'll be getting ready now.", I said, and Naruto nodded. I trudged up the stairs and into the bathroom. I undressed myself and looked down at my thighs again. No more scabs. Just scars. I don't like calling them, "Self-Harm Scars". I like seeing them more as...Battle Wounds. It's like you're constantly battling with yourself, and the scars are just proof that you've been fighting. And fighting, means you're trying. Trying to forget about all your problems and issues. I've had none of that since I've been here. Though...I have a feeling I might just explode. I mean...I've been faking a smile for three months, and I haven't cut once. I have a weird feeling that something just gonna trigger me, and I'll remember my horrible childhood, my self hate, my depression. Then I might turn to my blade and end this streak of being self harm free. It's just a thought though...but I still worry.
At about 6:20, Naruto and I were just watching T.V. and waiting. I was waiting for Gaara, and Naruto was waiting for Lee, Neji, and Kiba. The doorbell rang soon enough. I stood up, and walked to the door. Once I opened it, all three of my friends jaws dropped. We stood there for what seemed like forever.
"You guys just gonna stand there and freeze your asses off?", I asked them, raising my perfectly groomed eyebrows. They took twenty minutes to do, but it was worth it. All three boys, just walked in and I shut the door.
"You look so pretty Juli-chan!", Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah, you do.", Neji agreed taking off his coat.
"What's the occasion.", Kiba asked. I shrugged.
"I just have a date.", I told them, playing with my shirt.
"With?", Kiba asked. Neji rolled his eyes.
"I can take a guess...", Neji snorted.
"It's Gaara!", Naruto called from the living room.
"Bingo.", Neji commented, looking pleased with himself.
"Ah, I should have known!", Lee smiled.
"What about Sasuke?", Kiba asked walking towards the living room to Naruto.
"What about him?", I followed him.
"I always thought you two would've gotten together.", he explained while he fist bumped Naruto as a greeting.
"Not gonna lie, I always thought so too.", Naruto laughed, sitting up on the couch.
"Well, I don't think Sasuke sees me like that.", I muttered.
"Ah, but do you see him as a love interest.", Neji asked.
"Uh..."
Just before I said anything, the doorbell rang. Gaara is always saving my butt, even if he doesn't know it. I swear that boy is something else. I left Neji's question to linger in the air and turned to open the door. I skipped to the door and opened it.
"Hey Jules, yo-...uh...", Gaara stopped himself as he looked at me up and down. "Wo-wow. When I said wear something cute, I was just kidding.", he said, at a loss for words. Okay, so maybe I went a little overboard. I might've even worn the only skirt I own. I played with my skirt and leggings.
"What, this? I just pulled it out of the back of my closet.", I threw my hands around.
"Bullshit. She took over an hour to get ready."
I turned around and saw Naruto standing there laughing, along with the other boys. I turned back to Gaara.
"Okay, maybe I went a little overboard.", I admitted. Gaara just rolled his eyes and smirked at me. He then turned his attention to the guys.
"Hey.", he waved to them. They all waved back. I took my coat off the coat rack and threw it over my arms.
"Okay, I'm ready to go. I'll be home...?", I looked at Gaara for an estimate.
"9:30, 10:00, the latest.", he said. I nodded.
"Alright, go have fun, don't make a fool of yourself Julie!", Naruto threw as a farewell, and closed the door behind us.
"Bastard didn't even let me button up my jacket yet.", I complained. Gaara just shook his head and smiled. He reached for my jacket, aligned the buttons, and began buttoning it for me. I had to fight back laughter when he carefully made sure not to accidentally touch my chest in the process. Once he was done, he took my hand and we hopped down the steps and made our way to the sidewalk. Gaara walked over to a motorcycle and picked up two helmets. He walked back to me and put it over my head, careful not to fuck up my hair.
"Woah, when did you get a motorcycle?", I asked him through the helmet, as he secured it around my head.
"For my fourteenth birthday. Almost about year ago.", he told me.
"Oh yeah, your birthday is in January...wait how do you drive a motorcycle if you don't have a license. Don't you have to be like...17?", I asked him another question.
"I look old enough, and I drive well, so there's no need for anyone to ask for it. Who cares if it's illegal?", he laughed and backed away from me when he finished adjusting my helmet.
"You get hotter by the second.", I swooned.
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing.", I skipped to his motorcycle and sat on it. "Come on!", I called him, giggling. He smirked and threw his helmet over his head and sat in front of me. He twisted the handlebars and the motor started.
"Hold tight.", he warned me. I wrapped my arms around his chest and we began to move. I don't know why, but all the people I hang out with are so...fit. Like all the girls have flat stomachs and they could do 50 push-ups with ease. And all the guys have well-toned arms, chest muscles, abs. Like what? We're all only 14! Here I am, un-fit. I'm not overweight, not at all. I have a perfect weight. It's just that, I'd rather eat Skittles than a banana, you know? I think I need to change that. Gaara and I just sat in silence, while he drove, which allowed me to think. Which I find HIGHLY DANGEROUS. I like to think, I find it cool that no one else knows what you're thinking. I can either think innocent thoughts like how fit everyone is, or I can worry about shit. Thank God Gaara stoped the motorcycle. We made it to the ice skating rink and I didn't let my thoughts run wild. Gaara hopped off the motorcycle and took off his helmet. He slowly took off my helmet for me, and I got off the motorcycle as well. He parked in some abandoned parking lot right next to the skating rink.
"You know how ice skate?", Gaara asked, as we began walking to the building. I nodded.
"Yeah, I know the basics.", I answered. We made our way into the building and I paid for the both of us. It was only $35. So that's like 3,500 yen? I'm not sure. We went out to the rink and it was extremely cold. Gaara and I sat on the benches and laced up our skates while we watched other people skate around. Some of them were beginners and some seemed like experts. Once we were done lacing up, we sorta...waddled to the ice rink. Gaara stepped on first and he held my hand as I stepped on the ice. It's been a long time since I ice skated. My parents never believed in fun. But I had a couple of school trips to go and I did. In a matter of seconds Gaara and I were skating all around. I was enjoying myself until Gaara skated towards me at full speed then stopped all at once, causing ice to fly off the rink and shower me. I've ALWAYS wanted to know how to do that.
"How did you do that?", I asked him. I must learn how to do it.
"It's easy.", he said, spinning around and doing it again.
"First get some speed then quickly stop.", he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"Okay...", I trailed off as I spun around and stopped. I tripped over my own foot in the process and began to fall.
"Hey!", Gaara said as he caught me. "Be careful...", he warned me, letting me go when I regained balance. I nodded and began to try again. I thought I was gonna fall again, but I didn't. In fact, I heard a satisfying tear go through a layer of ice. Did I do it. I stopped spinning and saw that the bottom of Gaara's jeans were wet. I looked up and saw a smirk stretched across his face. "You did it.", he told me.
"Really?", I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips. He nodded. "Yaaaay!", I jumped on the ice. We skated around for a couple more hours, then we left.
"You like steak?", Gaara asked me as we walked out the building.
"Yeah why?", I asked confused.
"Cause I know this place...", he began.
"Wait, Gaara. Are you serious?! By dinner I thought McDonald's or something! I can't let you pay for steak, do you know how expensive that is?!", I started freaking out.
"Calm down, Temari gave me $100, I've got it covered.", he said, playing with his wallet.
"Huh...why?", I asked. That doesn't seem like something Temari would do.
"I dunno. She said something about young love and salads.", he told me.
"That girl...", I began, shaking my head. Gaara took me to this place that had really nice fireplace, though it was really dark. So we ate, and talked about school, friends, love, the Christmas party, and kittens. Yes I got Gaara Sabaku to talk about kittens.
First Date: Successful.
A/N: Holy shit! I'm sorry this took soooooooo freaking long. I had school work to do, then some family thing came up, then a school trip, then today is Thanksgiving. Um...sorry. But thank you for waiting. This is the longest chapter out at the moment! :) Other than that, next chapter shall be up soon, reviews are really appreciated! Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans. See you next time, bye, love you. :)