Hello my dear readers. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. As always I do not own anything. By the way song lyrics are in italics from now on.
Chapter 11: Midnight
He felt like a helpless child. He was alone, hurt and alone. The pain in his chest intensified as he watched with horror the scene going on in front of him. He had to gather all his self control not to break down. The blood was thumping in his ears, his heart was racing. This feeling was not one of anger, the boy was notable to identify it.
The red head quickly turned his head away. His blue eyes were met by a pair of black ones with a questioning look on them. Kankuro was not used to seeing his brother that way. His usually stoic expression was replaced by one of panic. He did not have time to ask. Gaara pushed passed him.
Gaara slowly let his arm drop from his cheat and regained control of his emotions. He tried to chase away the image of the girl willingly in the arms of another. She looked so content, Gaara loved to see her smile, but the reason for her happiness was just too much for him to handle. He had never made her smile in that fashion.
Gaara made his way across the room, he found a staircase where he could sit on. The teen let his body fall on a step in the middle. He propped his elbow on his knees and rested his chin on his palms. His blue eyes dashing across the room. Someone had the genius idea to turn the music down. He felt more calm. He hated the kind of music his peers listened to. Gaara took out his iPod and put his headphones on.
The music was on shuffle. Almost ironically Stairway To Heaven started playing as he was sitting on the stairs. He usually preferred songs that had more anger. However, the melancholic voice of Robert Plant made his feelings drift with the music.
"And it makes me wonder..."
He was taken out of his trance by a soft tap on his left shoulder. Gaara slowly opened his eyes and looked up. He could not move. His eyes were trapped. He did not know what to do. His face moved almost uncontrollably.
His cheeks tensed and his mouth assumed a very unnatural position for him. A smile, he hadn't smiled in so long.
Hinata was taken by surprise. A strong arm was wrapped around her small frame. She recognized the slight tan. Her cheeks immediately turned red. The adrenaline from having kicked a guy twice her size was still pumping through her veins. She looked up and smiled at the blond sheepishly. He had never been so close to her. In fact no guy had ever been so close to her. Neji always made sure of that. "Neji" That name echoed in her mind.
She did not have enough time to react. She watched as Naruto was snatched away. It was a gentle pull, however the attacker looked enraged. Hinata's white eyes stared into identical ones. However these were full of rage. "Neji nii-san.." The teen regained his composure. He gently took the girl's hand and dragged her away.
Hinata followed her cousin across the room. He pulled her across a flight of stairs. There he stopped and made the girl look straight into his eyes. "Hinata, never let that boy close to you." Hinata looked at her cousin. He was being unfair, she was not a little girl anymore. She tried to gather all her courage to speak. However, she knew how it was going to end. Hinata didn't even let Neji finish his speech, she acquiesced to his demand with a meek nod of the head. She then turned around and walked down the stairs looking for a quiet place.
Her attention was caught by the red head sitting on a step with his headphones on. If he could listen to music it must be quiet enough. Hinata approached the teen. She forgot her shyness and tapped him on the shoulder.
His head slowly moved up, his blue eyes met hers. She gently smiled. He looked shocked, however she did not pay much attention to it. She did not even notice the faint smile that was on his lips. "May I sit next to you?"
The red head took a few seconds to realize what was happening. He could see her delicate lips moving while she smiled. His ears however could only hear the lyrics to Sour Girl.
"Hey what are you looking at? She was a happy girl when she left me..."
He brought his hands to his head and pulled down the headphones carefully. His eyes were still locked with hers. His neck was stiff from the uncomfortable position. However, he did not care.
"May I sit next to you?" she repeated.
Gaara took a few seconds to process his thoughts. He slowly nodded his head. His spiky red hair moving at each nod.
Hinata found this quiet amusing, he was always so cold and stoic. However he looked different. For a while now the girl had changed her opinion of him. She sat down next to the teen. She rested her face on her arm. He expression seemed doleful. Her eyes looked blank. She was not focusing on anything in particular.
Gaara was still new at reading emotions. The last time they had been this close to her was at the school dance. Just like that time they were both in silence. To avoid the reveal of his feelings he slipped his headphones back on.
"I like it, but I'm not gonna crack. I miss you but I'm not gonna crack. I love you but I'm gonna not crack..."
Once again, music understood the way he felt. He had all these feelings he could not reveal. So he decided to stay in silence next to the girl. He felt happy. However, every time he glanced at her, her sad eyes made his heart contract painfully.
Time passed by. I was already ten according to Hinata's phone. She stood up, her legs were stiff. She started stretching. She looked down and saw his puzzled face. She had never noticed before, but he had beautiful eyes. They were so deep, such a nice color. She probably never noticed because he had such a cold look most of the time.
She blinked. Would it be bad if she asked him to hang out? She had lost sight of Shino and Kiba. He made her feel safe. If she was with him nobody would approach her.
The girl stood next to the teen and gave him her brightest smile. "Would you like to hang out now?" Once again he had to take his headphones off.
He slipped them off his head. He looked at her again, urging her to speak again. Hinata repeated her question. Without thinking about it twice he hopped to his feet. However, he did so with excitement. And unfortunately he tripped.
Gaara felt the cool stair pressed against his cheek. He didn't move for a good few seconds. He closed his eyes really tight waiting fro the shaming to begin. His ears were met by a joyful sound. She was laughing. It was the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard.
He opened his eyes slowly, and looked up. Her hands where over her mouth. Her eyes where closed and some tears started to flow from them. Those were tears of joy, she was happy. Her laugh was so contagious that Gaara started to smile.
He got up and dusted himself off. A smile still plastered on his lips. The girl kept laughing, then she opened her eyes again and smiled at the red head.
"The music is really loud isn't it..?" She muttered. Gaara nodded. She was still shy, however she didn't act afraid of him. He liked this attitude better.
She started walking down the stairs. Her skirt flowing behind her. Gaara looked at her mesmerized. He looked at her once she had reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked at him, waiting for him to join her. Gaara started following her down the stairs.
She started walking towards the living room. She was getting pretty hungry, she wanted to check what snacks there were. To her disappointment the table was filled with beer bottles and only a few chips. Gaara was close behind her. He could see her reach for her pocket but not find a wallet.
"If you want I can treat you to something. I bet some places are still open." These words flew from his mouth without him thinking twice.
Gaara and Hinata were walking on the sidewalk. The music could still be heard. "I am pretty sure the neighbors are going to call the police really soon if they don't turn it down." Hinata laughed at the comment. They reached a coffee house. They walked in, the warmth of the room hit their faces. Hinata stood there. "What would you like to have." Said Gaara in an almost sweet tone of voice. The girl approached the table where the pastries. "I would love...a cinnamon roll.. if it's alright with you.." Gaara nodded, "Take as many as you want." The girl ordered three cinnamon rolls and one hot chocolate. Gaara on the other hand just took coffee.
The two sat at a table, facing each other. Hinata was quick to finish her pastries. She was holding her empty cup with two hands. Gaara took the last sip of his coffee and then paid. "It's better if we get going, your cousin will be worried. I noticed that he is very protective of you." Hinata nodded and the two made their way back to the party.
They were met at the front door by a furious Neji. "Where have you been Hinata!" The girl winced at his harsh tone. Neji looked at his cousin's companion. He stopped, he had heard many things about the red head. However, he knew for sure that he was a serious boy. He had never seen him stare at girls or anything of that sort.
His rage dropped, "Next time please tell me about your whereabouts. Be ready to leave in 3 minutes. It's almost midnight." Tenten burst out of the door. "Neji! Don't leave just now." "I have to, I don't think it is appropriate for Hinata to stay here considering what happened earlier with that boy."
"I can walk her home."
The three teens directed their attention to the blue eyed boy. He looked as calm and controlled as ever. Neji raised one of his eyebrows. "Don't worry, I will make sure she gets there safely."
The Hyuga looked at his cousin, at the red head and at his girlfriend's pleading eyes. "If it is alright with Hinata I don't object."
The two were on their way. Everything was silent. Gaara was concentrated on keeping his calm. Hinata on the other hand was perfectly happy. She had found an unexpected new friend. He did not seem bothered by her shyness and that was good.
"I live here, thank you so much Gaara kun." She gave him a big smile. "Ummm.. maybe we should stay in touch...so here is my number.." The boy handed her a small piece of paper with his number written on it. His cheeks had become dark red, however it was too dark for the girl to notice. She smiled and said. "I will call you tomorrow." She smiled again and ran towards her door.
Gaara looked at her gracious figure. She is so pretty he thought. He gave a heavy sigh and then jumped in excitement. " She will call me!" He started running.
I hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you thought. Any feedback or ideas. I am planning on making Hinata think they are just friends at first.
