Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. The story on the other hand, does. If you take it claim it as your own work, I will find you and tickle you to death. You've been warned.
Chapter Three, Part 1: Mid Finals
Things had been going very well since the winter break, despite the one episode with Karin. Most of the students seemed to have written of the graphite on Gaara's locker as a joke, although there were still a few that went out of their way to avoid him when they saw him. Not that he minded. He also seemed to have gotten taller as well. At the start of the school year Sakura and Gaara were the same height, but how she had to tilt her head up a little bit to meet his eyes. She hadn't noticed till one day she's seen him scorning at the cuff off of his pants, which exposed a little bit of his ankle to the cold weather.
Along with the New Year came something that all students dreaded. Mid term finals. It was something new to Gaara, and it was a huge change of pace to see people studying together or students walking around with cue cards in their hands.
"Don't they study during the whole year?" He had asked one morning.
"No," Sakura scoffed. "They all wait till the last minute and cram it all into their brains like Naruto does." As if to prove her point, she pointed a finger at the said person who was chewing on the end of a pencil while reading a text book.
"To each his own I suppose." Gaara said
"Speaking of studying, would you like to study after school today? We can go over some of the things from the start of the year."
"It wouldn't hurt. Might as bring him with us. I think he'll need it more then us." Gaara said, pointing back at Naruto.
0o0o0o0o0
"So… how do you play?" It was the weekend before exam week and Gaara found himself out at the park with Naruto. The yellow haired youth was pouncing a soccer ball on his head, to his foot, and then to his head again.
"Pleeeeaaassseeee…" Naruto had asked "If I study anymore my head is going to explode. Come out and play some soccer with me."
"I don't know how to play." Gaara protested, but one of his hands was reaching for his jacket that was lying on the sofa.
"We'll just kick the ball around. Come on, please?"
"So, you can touch the ball with any part of your body, except your arms and hands." Naruto said, pouncing the ball from his chest to his foot and then on top of his head again before letting it fall to the ground and putting his foot on top of it so it wouldn't go anywhere. Gaara breathed some warm air on his hands while watching.
"Didn't they teach you how to play in grade school?" Naruto asked while tapping the ball lightly with foot, sending it over to Gaara. He wasn't able to stop it as neatly as he'd seen Naruto do.
"No, I was one of the kids that preferred to play in the sand box." Gaara kicked the ball back and took a few steps back to expand the distance from each other.
"Ah, I was a
swinger myself." Naruto kicked the ball back, taking a few steps
back as well. He kicked the ball to the left, causing Gaara to run
after it. "But I love this game."
They kicked the ball back
and forth for a few more moments before Naruto spoke again. "So how
do you remember all this stuff anyway?"
"I study at night. I don't have anything else to do." Gaara kicked the ball high and watched as Naruto did a jump to hit it with his head.
"What? Like all night?"
"Pretty much."
"Ohhh… that's why you're eyes are so dark…"
"It's a birth mark." Gaara said a little irritably, kicking the ball a litter harder then he meant to.
"Right right… go long!"
They ended up being out longer, and more sweaty, then Gaara thought they would have been. What had been a simple pass game had turned into a one-on-one match. Even though Gaara tried his best to keep up with him, he ended up losing horribly to Naruto. Before they headed back, they were laying on the ground together looking up at the sky.
"What are you going to do when you get out of school?" Gaara asked.
"I want to go to Serie A…"
"What that?"
Naruto laughed. "It's the best soccer league in Italy."
Gaara frowned while looking at his friend. "Why?"
Naruto looked back over at him. "No one can ignore me when I am world's best soccer team, can they?"
Gaara nodded, more to himself then to Naruto. "If you make it, I'll make sure watch your games."
"Really?" Naruto looked hopeful.
"Yeah."
Naruto grinned at him and held out one hand with a pinky held out. The corner's of Gaara's mouth turned up a little at it and hooked his own pinky around Naruto's. Pinky promise. Not that Gaara didn't mean what he said. If, no when, Naruto made it, he would watch his games. Even if he had to take time off work or stay up late to do it. It was the least Gaara could do.
When they got back to the apartment complex, they waved before heading off to their separate buildings. Naruto wanted to go to Serie A, Sakura wanted to be a doctor… what did he want to do? He had said that he wanted to do something useful with his life, but he still didn't have any idea of what it was that he really wanted to do.
'It'll come to me later.'
0o0o0o0o0
Gaara put his
pencil down and looked around at the other bowed heads of the
students
'Does it really take a week to do this?' He wondered
while taking his test up to the teacher.
"You're finished already?" The man said, looking up in surprise at him.
"Yes. Do I have to stay, or can I go?"
Gaara watched his teacher as the man flipped the pages to make sure he had answered all the questions before writing him a pass to the library. He took a look over at Sakura and saw that she was on the last few pages. She would be joining him soon enough.
Walking down the hall of the school was almost like walking around in a ghost town. He kept expecting to see someone or hear some chatter in one of the classrooms. The school library wasn't really any better. He showed his pass to the scowling woman working there before walking around the vacant area. He found himself in front of case that held the past school year books. He pulled out the books for the last four years and brought them over to a table.
He opened the first one and started flicking through the pages. He passed the section with that years graduating class and went to the Freshman section and scanned the pictures there. He looked at three pages before finding a face he recognized.
Her hair was longer in this picture and she was wearing a ribbon in her hair rather then her current headband. His lips turned up a little at bright hopeful look in her eyes. Gaara looked at the picture for a few more moments before looking at the other pictures. He spotted a few of Naruto's friends before actually finding Naruto himself. Rather then the nice smile photo that the rest of the students had, Naruto had painted his face, looking like one of his brother's samurai puppets.
Turning the page, he started moving into club photos. His eyes merely moved over the photos, not really taking in the names or comments at the bottom of the photos. He was about to close that book, when one picture made him stop.
The captions at the photo said "Friendship Festival – success!" but it was who was in the picture that caught his interests. It was a shot of the torso up, with Naruto in the center of the picture with an arm around two others. Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura had her happy bright smile while the other was smirking at the camera.
Closing the book, he reached for the next one and started looking through that one, this time knowing what he was looking for. It was at that the start of the sophomore section when he found the first picture. There were four teenagers in the picture standing on the steps leading up to the school. His eyes moved down to the caption.
'Sophomore Preseident – Sasuke Uchiha, Vice President – Sakura Houra, Secretary – Kirin, and Treasure---
A few pages later, there was a shot of Sasuke and Naruto playing soccer together. He leaned onto the table, studying the pictures more carefully.
'So they use to be friends. Close friends?'
He reached over for the last book. This book was different. There weren't any pictures of them together… and they all looked a little different. Sasuke was looking more as how Gaara had seen him this year. That air aloofness was very evident along with the current group of people he was hanging out with. Naruto and Sakura seemed a little… he didn't want to say sad. They were still smiling and laughing, but it didn't seem as vibrant in the other pictures he had seen. Sakura in particular.
He slowly closed the book and stacked them neatly on top of each other. Sitting back in his chair, Gaara laced his fingers behind his head and looked up at the florescent lights above him.
The sound of a chair being moved made him look across the table. He was expecting Sakura… but…
"Hi there."
Karin said, fluttering her lashes at him. "What brings a guy like
you here?"
Gaara eyes shifted from the left and then right. She
had come alone. "I like books."
"Really? What kind of books?"
"What do you want?"
He saw her frown. Karin crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. "Why do you have to be that way?"
"Because I find it hard to believe that you would come and talk to me just because you were interested in what I was doing."
"But it's my job to know what you're doing." She gave him a grin that he didn't care too much for.
"Does Sasuke always send his whores to do the talking for him?"
"You should know. You're dating one."
The amount of willpower it took Gaara to keep him from reaching over and punching her in the middle of the face was amazing. He gritted his teeth instead and glared at her. She shifted in her chair a little.
"Look, you can make it easier on yourself."
"You can go away."
Karin looked
offended. "Fine." She got up and he watched her walk out the
library.
He sat there for a few more moments before taking the
year books and putting them back. Sitting back down at the table, he
pulled out one of his textbooks, but try as he might, he couldn't
get past the one page.
0o0o0o0o0
"You ok?" Gaara asked at the end of the week, Naruto stumbling next to him.
"My brain feels like mush." He said shakily. "At least I won't have to do it till the end of the school year. But there is a good side to all this…" He said, rolling one of his shoulders.
"What's that?"
Naruto gave him a big grin and wrapped an arm around his neck. "We get to party!"
Gaara raised his non-existed eyebrows. "At your place?"
"Ah, no. I tried that last year and the land lord got on our ass about it. I am thinking about a club somewhere. I know one that allows kids our age… Anyhow, I'm going to pass the word. Tell Sakura we're going to Shakes, she'll know how to get there."
Gaara watched as his friend ran off down the stairs. "Shakes?"
0o0o0o0o0
'Why do I suddenly feel like I am going to the home coming again?' Gaara thought as he knocked on Sakura's door. There was some noise on the other end; he could make out Sakura's voice and what sounded like her mother. The door opened and Gaara saw a pale middle aged man with green eyes. He almost looked like what Gaara thought a baker should look like.
'Must be her dad.' Gaara thought while they stared at each for a moment. He saw the older man take in his appearance, from his t-shirt with the fishnet sleeves to his pants a boots. "Is Sakura in?"
"She's getting ready. Would you like to come in?"
"Sure."
Stepping inside, Gaara realized that he done the very thing Sakura didn't want him to do. It was too late now, and truth be told, he didn't see what the problem was. He was rather curious about her family. The inside of their apartment was very different from his own, it was also clear that the mother did the decoration here. Décor plate hung from the wall and there was a paper rose border at the top of the wall.
"So…" Sakura's father sat in a chair in the dinning area. He gestured his hand for Gaara to sit in the other one. "You're the boy that moved in upstairs last summer. Sakura says you very bright."
"She very kind." Gaara could hear mother and daughter arguing about something she was wearing.
"She can and can't be. She seems rather fond of you." He had a look on his face and Gaara had the sudden thought that Sakura got her intelligence from him and looks from her mother. There was a look in his eyes that he had seen Sakura have when she was thinking about something. Only in this case, Gaara had a pretty good feeling he knew what the man was thinking about.
"Can I ask you a direct question? I'd ask Sakura, but she won't give me a straight answer."
"Sure."
"Are you two seeing each other?"
"… Yes."
"Ah." The older
man said, tapping to his pointer finger and index fingers on the
table twice. "I thought so. Don't tell her mother, she'll start
wanting you here for dinner."
Gaara blinked. "Is that bad?"
"Well, I don't mind you being here, but my wife is a horrible cook…" he stopped at the sudden sound of foot steps coming down the hall.
"I didn't know you were here. Have you been waiting long?" Sakura said, straightening the skirt that had been the subject of the argument. It was very… short, but Gaara could at least admire the view it gave.
"Not too long. We were just bonding as men." Sakura's father said. He stood up and went to his jacket that was hanging on a rack near the door. He fished around in the pockets and pulled something out. "I am going to say you are a better driver the Naruto." He said while looking back at Gaara.
"Much."
"Good."
Sakura's father tossed him the object he'd been holding. Gaara
caught it and looked at the keys in his hand. "Don't crash in to
anything. Now off with you."
"Thanks dad." Sakura said,
kissing the older man on the cheek. Gaara got up and followed her out
the door. He followed down the stairs and into the parking lot. "He
must have really liked you to let you borrow the car."
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Turn here."
"What kind of place is this anyway?" Gaara asked as he turned the wheel.
"Just a dance club."
"…. You know I can't dance, right?"
"It's easy, I'll teach you. If makes you feel any better Naruto can't dance either."
"No, that doesn't
make me feel better." Gaara turned the car off and got out. He
waited for Sakura before locking the car and walking besides her. He
could hear the music already from where he was and knew that his ears
would be ringing by the time he left.
"Hey, there's Ino. Ino!"
Sakura called out. Ino turned and waved back. Sai turned and waved to
them as well. They were both in a matching outfits of some kind of
black/blue pattern. Ino beckoned them over with her hand.
"We got something for you." Ino said to Gaara, pointing her finger from her to Sai and back to her. "We saw it in the thrift store and we both thought of you."
"How did you know I was going to be here."
"Naruto said you would. Anyway, here." Ino help up the thing she had been holding and handed it too him.
Gaara took it and looked it. "You got me a hat?"
"It's a boller hat. We thought you would look really good in it." Ino took it from his hand and placed it on top of his head.
"I feel silly…"
"It actually
looks kind of cute." Sakura said while standing up on tip toes to
adjust it a little. Gaara only grunted with every intention of taking
it off as soon as he got inside.
It was easy to find Naruto once
he was inside, even with him in the middle of a group, his bright
yellow hair was a give away. Although Gaara couldn't understand
what kind of dancing they were doing. All the group was doing was
jumping up and down. Before Gaara could think about it anymore,
Sakura took his arm and lead him to a table in a corner with some of
the people that he remembered from the Winter break. They all waved
and exchanged pleasantries with each other by the time Naruto came
over.
"Whatcha think?"
"It's loud." Gaara had to shout to be heard over the music.
"You'll get use to it. I'm getting drinks, who wants what?" Naruto took a quick tally before going over to the bar. Jucie bar, Gaara had to remind himself. It was hard imagine someone would build a place like this for high schoolers, but it was better then them on the street, as his sister would say. Gaara watched as Sakura went with Ino and Hinata to dance while he sat with the other guys.
He took his hat off and put it in the middle of the table and leaned back in his chair to watch. Naruto returned with the drinks before running off to the dance floor to twirl Hinata around and dip her. Gaara wondered if he should do the same, but knew he would make a complete fool of himself if he did. Instead, he preoccupied himself with drinking his water and trying to enjoy himself.
Course, as luck would have it, he couldn't do that. The music changed tempo to something slower and before he could blink, Sakura was at his side. "Come on, let's dance."
"I can't dance…" Gaara protested.
Not listening to him, Sakura pulled him in the middle of the room. Turning she placed his hands on her hips and wrapped her arms around her neck.
"See? It's easy." Sakura murmured into his ear.
Gaara nodded mutely, letting her lead the dance.
This wasn't so bad…
Author Note:
Don't have a note for this chapter. Grammar and misspellings will be fixed when story is complete.
