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Characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Dana

Alicia

A day had passed since Gaara had confirmed his hopes about still being friends and since then Neji still hadn't been able to think of something else other than the redhead. It made him very glad to know that Gaara still wanted it as well or at least give it a try to be friends again. Although, much to Neji's disappointment, it still didn't feel the same as before, but of course that wasn't completely unexpected.

Like he had promised, Gaara nicely had brought him home yesterday and also picked him up again this morning, but during the whole ride from school towards their houses and vice versa no words had been exchanged. Normally they would have had at least some kind of small conversation and if that wasn't the case, then there would hang a comfortable silence between them. But now the silence had been anything but comfortable. It even could be called awkward with all the tension that hung in the air, but Neji just had ignored it and had looked out of the window instead.

Then Neji's mind went back to the kiss that Gaara suddenly had planted on his lips. They had been very lucky that the bell had already rang, so fortunately no one had seen it. But what if that hadn't been the case? Would Gaara still have kissed him? If so, then there would be no point in denying the rumour anymore since no one would believe him after seeing the "evidence".

Neji also couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he hadn't pulled away from the kiss. Would Gaara assume they were dating or something like that, despite his own words about not being interested in such a thing? Or would he afterwards just pretend like it hadn't happened, basically what they were doing right now? And would everything be just as awkward as it was now?

A soft sigh escaped Neji's lips as the questions kept repeating in his mind. Currently they were in the dressing rooms to get changed, as it now was time for the second, but also the last class of the day he shared with Gaara: PE. Not one of his favourite classes, but hopefully it would take his mind off things a little. Thinking about everything that had happened only slowed him down with everything he did, even with a simple task such as changing clothes.

Of course Gaara wasn't going to completely ignore Neji or even not treat him like a friend anymore. But he was still insulted and a little hurt. Wasn't he good enough for the brunette? It was already a miracle that Neji had wanted to be friends in the first place with all that was wrong with the redhead. But they had gotten along so well and it felt as if they had gotten so close. Somehow it made Gaara want more, even if he wasn't sure what it was. And then the whole comment about not being gay… How can someone just say that so easily? It annoyed the redhead mostly that he was pushed aside with that reason. At least give him a personal reason and not something that had to do with gender.

So Gaara hadn't really spoken to Neji, even if he had picked him up and drove him back home. He needed to hold back the questions he wanted to ask so badly. Maybe because he didn't really want to know the answer or maybe because he would ruin everything about this friendship then. So he kept his mouth shut and only spoke when it was truly needed. He would get over it, but he needed some time.

And now in the dressing room it was very noisy. They had PE with all of Neji's and supposedly his friends, so it was busy with everyone talking and laughing. Except for Neji and Gaara who were both on another side of the dressing room, just trying to be a little further away from each other. He wasn't sure if the others had noticed the awkward vibe between them, but it wouldn't be strange if they had.

'Hey, Gaara!' Naruto shouted excitedly, walking up to him with a happy smile on his face. 'Ready for a swimming competition? I'm very curious on how good you are…' Yeah, they apparently had a pool in this building and this semester they spend swimming a lot. But this also meant that Naruto was already in his swim shorts, showing off the tanned stomach that looked rather good in Gaara's opinion.

He of course wasn't ogling the blonde, but yes, he did take a peek. 'I'm actually not that fast, so you will probably beat me,' he admitted, never really caring for swimming or actually anything that had to do with PE. And all the while he had been staring at Naruto's stomach rather than at his face.

A quick glance across the room was all that was needed for Neji to realise that he really was slow compared to the rest, as almost everyone already was wearing their swimming shorts while he still was standing in his jeans... So as quick as he could without looking completely ridiculous, he continued to change his clothes until he was similar dressed to everyone else in the room, his eyes landing on a certain redhead during the whole process.

As he was too busy with thinking about Gaara before, Neji only now noticed how much said person was trying to keep his distance from him. Was he doing this on purpose? Well, maybe it was good to keep a little distance from each other after everything, but Neji still couldn't help but think that this was a little over the top. They had spent almost their whole day apart, only really seeing each other on the drives to and from school, the lunch breaks and of course the two classes they had together. And even then they barely talked to each other...

Damn, just thinking about this really made Neji doubt if the redhead had been honest about still wanting to be friends with him as well... Of course it was understandable that Gaara acted like this towards him, but he wasn't trying to be his friend at all, despite the fact that he still picked him up to go to school... Well, maybe Neji wasn't really doing his best either, but how could he? Naruto always seemed to be standing at the redhead's side and Neji couldn't just order the blonde to stay away from Gaara or anything...

And of course it wasn't a surprise to see that also was the case now. It was like Naruto was the redhead's best friend or something like that. Every time Neji even glanced at him, the blonde always was found somewhere near him. And of course it also helped that Naruto always wanted to be friends with everyone, but as far as Neji knew, he couldn't recall a time when the blonde tried this much. Not that he usually paid that much attention to Naruto, but still...

The redhead didn't really seem to mind the blonde's company either. Well, maybe he had looked a little irritated at first, but as it was now, it seemed like he was enjoying it? Normally it was like he hated everyone, but apparently Naruto was an exception, just like Neji was... or had been.

A soft sigh escaped Neji's lips, the same feeling, which he still denied to be jealousy, suddenly being present again. Quickly he averted his eyes from the two boys on the other side of the room as soon as someone asked him yet again if he really was dating Gaara or not. The only answer that came from Neji was a simple shake of the head, which was returned by some mocking glares, but he chose to ignore them as he suddenly was too occupied with pretending to be searching for something in his bag. But in the meantime, he still couldn't stop his mind from wandering off to the redhead again.

Seeing his favourite blonde being near Gaara again, Sasuke casually walked up to the both of them. He ignored the redhead though, and fully turned to face Naruto instead, purposely standing a little closer to him than normal friends would, but not enough to draw suspicion. 'Are you done changing yet, Naruto?' He asked softly, although the answer to that question was quite obvious. The real reason he'd asked it was to draw Naruto's attention to himself rather than to the redhead.

Immediately Naruto faced Sasuke with a big grin on his lips, glancing up at the slightly taller raven. The brush of the hand didn't go unnoticed by Gaara, although it seemed as an accident. But the redhead knew it wasn't and it was that little gesture that got to him. It seemed so… normal. The urge to get a smoke rose up again, but he ignored it, knowing it wasn't the time nor place to do so anyway. Smoothly he took his shirt off, showing off his own bare chest, his boxers already traded for his swim shorts.

'Yeah! We can go to the pool now!' Naruto exclaimed happily and then shifted his eyes towards Gaara for another moment, taking in the pale form. 'Hey, your skin colour is the same as Sasuke's!' Kind of a strange comment and it made Gaara fidget a little. The same colour of skin? Okay, well great?

And then Gaara thought of something else. Something he probably shouldn't say, but he did it anyway. 'And do you think our skin feels the same way as well?' he said loud enough for everyone to hear. Yes, he wanted Neji to hear it, immediately feeling stupid about it. But he just wanted Neji to know that he could be attracted to other people as well or maybe he wanted the brunette to be jealous. Also a good reason. He even managed a slight smirk on his lips, even if it felt strange.

A blush settled on Naruto's cheeks as he blinked his eyes at Gaara, smile disappeared from his face. Hesitatingly he reached forward, wanting to get a feel of the redhead's skin. And then he realised what he was about to do, who was also standing beside him, and what this would even mean. Quickly he pulled his hand back again and then in the end slapped the redhead on the shoulder awkwardly. 'Gaara, you are crazy!' he called out, trying to fake his cheery mood. 'Let's just get in the pool already.' And with that the blonde started walking away.

'I do have to admit that your tanned skin asks to be touched.' Why did he say that? Why couldn't he just shut up? What the hell was going on? Did he really want to touch Naruto's skin even? Yes, it looked nice and Naruto wasn't an ugly guy, but god, he would shoot himself before ever dating the blonde. He was just so out there. And still here he was, saying things he really shouldn't.

Wide blue eyes turned towards him, looking a bit afraid even and without a word Naruto hurried away, pulling his raven friend along by his hand. 'Is Gaara flirting with me?' he hissed at Sasuke, quickly leaving the dressing room to just get away from the redhead.

Well, that hadn't worked out well and now he found the dressing room almost empty. But Neji was still there, dressed in his swim shorts. And that perfect pale skin really begged to be touched, to be marked, to find out if it could actually change colour and not be this perfect white coloured marble. Gaara walked up to him and glanced at the taller brunette, taking his time with looking up the almost bare form in front of him.

Trying to think of something else, Gaara absentmindedly wiped a finger across his lip, wanting to say something. 'Let's get into the pool. Then you can show off just how good you'll be at this and then I'll just relax at the side of the pool and do nothing,' he murmured, his eyes shifting towards the door. He tried, right? That was the point.

A deep frown was marring Sasuke's features, obviously not liking this entire situation. He was about to tell Gaara to back off, but before he could do that, Naruto was already pulling him away from the scene. Maybe it was a good thing the blonde did that, because otherwise things probably wouldn't have ended up nice, but of course it certainly didn't prevent Sasuke from glaring at the redhead over his shoulder until he was out of sight.

'I think he was,' Sasuke grumbled in annoyance, 'But if he's smart, then he better not be even thinking about making such a comment ever again...' He let his voice trail off, his eyes showing a deadly intent. However, as soon as his gaze fell back on Naruto, his face immediately softened again.

The flirtatious comment Gaara had made certainly hadn't passed Neji either. Just how could he not have heard it? The way the redhead had raised his voice to such an unusual, loud volume was kind of hard to miss and then he wasn't even talking about the flirting yet...

Showing this kind of behaviour really was unlike the redhead and it made Neji wonder if he actually had heard it right. He wasn't used to Gaara acting like this at all, so it certainly had caught his attention. Pausing his movements, Neji couldn't help but look up, watching as the scene unfolded right before him with wide eyes, the shock evident in them, mixed with a hint of jealousy.

So this meant that Gaara liked Naruto in another way than in one where they just were friends... If Neji hadn't seen it with his own eyes, then he probably wouldn't have believed it since the redhead never showed any signs of being attracted to the blonde. But he figured that this proved yet again just how good Gaara was at hiding his feelings, because yesterday Neji hadn't seen the kiss coming either, nor had he noticed the fact that Gaara possibly had been interested in him... So if it was true about the redhead liking Naruto, then maybe it would make the stupid rumour about Gaara and himself disappear?

For some strange reason those thoughts didn't cheer Neji up at all like it should have. And wait, did this also mean that Gaara was over him already? This quick? He didn't know why, but that actually stung, to be pushed aside like that, as if he wasn't important enough anymore. And what did Naruto have that he didn't, anyway?

Neji mentally cursed. Shit, why was he even thinking like this. It really didn't make any sense. He actually should be glad that Gaara was over him, so they just could go back to being normal friends again! But why did he still feel so empty on the inside, then?

Neji was pulled out of his thoughts yet again as soon as he noticed the redhead walking up to him rather than following after Naruto and Sasuke. And of course he also didn't miss the way Gaara suddenly was looking at him. It confused him a little, because why was Gaara looking at him like this after flirting so shamelessly with the blonde? Neji really didn't understand it and shifted a little where he stood, but instead of covering himself up like he normally probably would do in a situation like this, he suddenly found himself staring right back at the redhead, his eyes following every curve of the pale torso. Damn, Gaara really did look good...

Suddenly the redhead spoke up, the sound of his voice making Neji realise what he was doing. Immediately his eyes snapped up to Gaara's face, a blush now forming on his cheeks. Shit, hopefully he hadn't noticed he'd been staring...

Neji was quiet for a moment, feeling a bit embarrassed, but also trying to cover up that he was a little hurt by the fact that Gaara liked the blonde. He quickly regained himself again though and even managed to smile a little at the redhead again.

'Oh, but I'm sure you're just as good as swimming,' Neji replied softly, not really knowing what else to say right now. To be honest, he didn't really know what the redhead meant by making such a comment, but he probably only was trying to be nice. 'Come on, then.' Waving Gaara over, he began to make his way out of the dressing room as well.

Gaara stared after Neji for a moment, before following, wondering where the stare had come from. Had Neji been checking him out or was it more to measure what is type of body was. The brunette did seem like a competitive person, so maybe he did want to know if he could beat Gaara. Hell, everyone could beat Gaara. He might be strong, but the smoking didn't help for his long capacity, so holding his breath was like ten seconds or something.

Quietly he followed after Neji towards the pool, unsure if they would be hanging together there or if he indeed should just sit lazy by the side of the pool. The latter did seem more appealing, because he really didn't feel like swimming. Most of the guys were already in the pool anyway, sliding effortlessly through the water, laughing and cheering when someone won a match. Sasuke and Naruto seemed very competitive over each other, but still didn't seem to mind when one of them lost. It suddenly felt very wrong for flirting with the blonde. He knew the two were together. To him it wasn't hard to miss. Maybe he should apologise later on, although he would probably have to tell them as well what was going on. That didn't sound too horrible either though… Maybe they could help him get out of this mess.

Turning towards Neji, Gaara lightly tapped the brunette's shoulder. It felt a little weird to actually touch Neji, thinking it might make him feel dirty or something. This really was a horrible situation they were in. 'I'll be right back,' he said, turning his eyes towards the blonde again, now having moved out of the pool and shaking out his unruly blond locks. 'I have to talk to Naruto for a moment.' And with that he left, walking towards the blonde.

A bit surprised and awkward Naruto looked up at Gaara, glancing around to find a way to escape this situation already. 'H-hey, Gaara. Can I do something for you?' he asked, his voice breaking in the middle.

For a moment Gaara just stared at Naruto, seeing how things had turned weird here as well. Great, he was screwing up every friendship he possibly had. 'I wanted to apologise. I am aware that you and Sasuke are together and only because I wanted to make someone jealous. I, uh, I have feelings for, uh.' Why was it so hard to say it out loud? 'For Neji and he rejected me, so… I kind of used you and I apologise.'

Completely shocked Naruto only stared at the redhead, trying to think of where he and Sasuke had gone wrong, but no one else had ever noticed! He definitely needed to talk to Sasuke about this and fast. 'O-okay,' he replied, before the last part settling in. 'He rejected you?' he asked unbelievable. 'I'm sorry, man. That must've been hard. But I get it… Although I don't think making him jealous will work. But if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here.' And then Naruto lightly laid his hand on Gaara's shoulder, making the redhead relax and actually very happy he had shared his problems. Maybe the wrong place to do so, but still, with the support he might actually get over Neji a lot faster and get some tips to do so as well…

Talk to Naruto? About what? Hadn't Gaara talked to him minutes ago? Or had he decided that right now was a good time to flirt with the blonde again? Those were the questions that were running through Neji's mind at the moment, and he didn't even get the chance to reply before the redhead already had moved away from him.

Not making any move to get into the pool where everyone else was, Neji just kept standing there, studying the two guys as they interacted. From this distance, he couldn't really make out what they were saying, but he did take a note in how awkward Naruto seemed to feel at first, and how quickly that disappeared after Gaara started talking.

What could Gaara possibly have said to the blonde? Maybe he had explained that he had feelings for him... So did this mean that Naruto returned them? And were they officially together now? Neji didn't really know the answers to those questions, but what he did know was that there definitely was something going on between those two...

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