Chapter Twelve
Rain dropped from the sky, pattering against roofs and the ground. Gaara felt the warmth of Hinata's arm pressed on his. They were sitting close to one another under the roof of a bus stop. Just a while ago they went out of the theater after the movie ended. Surprisingly, Hinata didn't close her eyes throughout the movie unlike what he expected. As they walked down the street, rain started falling. He held her hand as they ran, hoping to find shelter from the rain. They ended up sitting side by side at a bus stop. His heart was beating fast and hard. He clutched at his chest—scared his heart would pound its way out. He looked at her from the corners of his eyes and she was rubbing her hands together.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
She glanced up at him and nodded her head. Strands of hair were sticking on to her face.
He took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She looked at him, her colorless eyes glimmering thankfully. She slid her arms into the sleeves. His jacket was big on her, but it was warm judging from how she sighed in relief.
"Better?"
She smiled. "Yes."
He had the sudden urge to brush his hand against her cheek. He held his hand in place to keep it from doing so. He thought she was beautiful with her hair wet and sticking to her face. Her face was as white as snow, yet her cheeks were a bright shade of rose.
"I should've checked the weather yesterday," he said monotonously.
"It's fine, Gaara-kun. I quite like being stuck in the rain with you." She said, blushing a deeper red.
He felt his cheeks burn yet he managed to keep a straight face. "I'm still very sorry."
She let out a soft chuckle. Hearing her laugh made his heart skip a beat. "You don't need to say that."
He didn't say anything for a moment. He watched the rain falling from the dark sky, and looked at the reflections on the puddles. He cleared his throat.
"But you'll get sick."
"Don't worry about me, Gaara-kun." She said, looking at him with a sincere smile gracing her lips. "Thank you anyway."
They sat there at the bus stop for a long moment, waiting for the rain to stop. Buses had come and gone as they waited, and peopled walked away with umbrellas above their heads. Gaara didn't mind waiting. He liked the silence that was present between them. It was a comforting kind. He felt like he didn't have to make small talks with her. He hoped she felt the same way.
"Gaara-kun," she began, her voice breaking through the sound of the rain. "May I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
She didn't say anything for a while. He looked at her face, waiting for the words to come out of her pink lips.
"H-have you ever been in love?" she asked, avoiding his gaze.
He was slightly taken aback by her question. He didn't expect for her to ask him something like that—being shy and all.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he watched a bus stopping in front of them. Passengers walked out, holding umbrellas above their heads.
"I've never been in love." He said. His demeanor remained straight and expressionless.
She turned to look at him, smiling. "Never?"
He shook his head.
"Not even second grade crushes?"
He looked at her, his lips tugging into a small smile. "Not even that. Sorry to disappoint you."
Silence followed. Gradually, the rain became soft drizzles.
"I'm not surprised, actually." She said, gazing emptily at the wet street.
He didn't say anything for a while. He scanned her face, looking for a hint of what she was thinking from her blank expression. Her face reminded him of a porcelain doll—beautiful and innocent, as well as fragile.
"Why did you ask then?" he asked. His voice sounded harsh than he intended it to be.
"I'm sorry, have I upset you?" she asked slowly, her head bowed low.
"I didn't mean to sound angry," he said after a moment of silence. "Please don't mind the tone of my voice."
She didn't say anything for a while. She was probably scared she would make another mistake with the words she had in mind.
Gaara's phone ringtone suddenly pierced through the silence it made Hinata slightly jump on her seat. He murmured a sorry as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it. It was Kankuro.
"Hey," he began, "are you done with your date yet?"
Gaara's cheeks turned a dark shade of red and spread to his ears. He pulled a straight face, and turned to face away from her.
"No. Why?"
"You gotta come home now. Temari is visiting again."
He tightly pursed his lips and suppressed the urge to groan. He wished Temari could call days before she planned to visit. However, he felt slightly relieved he had to go because he couldn't handle the feeling he had in his chest any longer.
"Fine. I'll see you later." He hung up.
He took deep breaths before turning to look at her again, hoping his blush wasn't showing so much.
"I'm sorry, I have to go now." He said to her. "My sister is visiting again."
She smiled, yet her eyes somehow seemed sad. "Okay."
"I'll walk you to the station." He said.
She gladly accepted his request.
They walked together into the drizzle softly falling from the gray skies. He kept his hands inside his pants pockets as he walked next to her, while he listened to the sound of their footsteps.
Hinata looked sad when they reached the station, mostly her eyes and smile no matter how wide it may be.
"You seem down." He said to her.
"I don't want to go back home." She said.
"Why? Did something happen?" he asked, worried.
She shook her head, blushing slightly. "I had a great time with you and I don't want today to end."
"I'm sorry. I promise our next date will be longer."
"N-next date?" she asked, her eyes twinkled hopefully.
"If you want." His lips widened into a broad smile.
She nodded her head. "I do want to go on another date with you."
"Okay. I'll see you at school then."
Her facial expression stiffened all of a sudden. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she suddenly pressed her body lightly against his. His heart began to pound. He could feel her small hands on his back and the shape of her breasts against his chest. Puzzled, he wrapped his trembling arms around her and closed his eyes. He didn't mind her clothes were slightly wet from the rain. They remained holding one another close—neither of them wanted to let go.
She finally did and ran as fast as she could from him. He remained standing there with an empty feeling on his chest, watching her long midnight blue hair swaying from left to right as she disappeared into the crowd. For the first time in his life, he was drawn so much into such beauty.
Temari broke into a loud laughter and Kankuro joined in. Gaara remained in his seat, his face blank as he suppressed his urge to leave the room. Kankuro had just told her that Gaara went out on a date with a girl, and so Temari laughed her heart out in disbelief.
"No way! That can't be!" Temari laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I know right? That's what I thought too!" Kankuro agreed.
Gaara couldn't understand why they found it so funny that he had a date earlier that day. He stared at Temari's half-empty wine glass and wondered if it could be the cause she thought it was funny. He hoped they would stop laughing at him.
"Kankuro, are you sure you didn't pay this girl to go out with him?" Temari asked, giggling.
"I'm 100 per cent sure." Kankuro grinned. "I've seen her in the hallway at school. I'm sure you've seen her too! She's always with that Hyuuga Neji guy."
She pouted her lips together, her eyes staring at the ceiling as she tried to remember their faces.
"Oh! I remember now!" she exclaims happily. "She's really pretty. What does a girl like that see in Gaara?" She laughed.
He shrugged. "Beats me."
She turned to Gaara. "So tell me what she's like."
He didn't say anything for a while, finding the right words to describe Hyuuga Hinata. He couldn't get the image of her wet hair sticking on to her face away from his mind, the feeling of her breasts against his chest, and how her long luscious hair swayed as she ran away from his arms.
"She's very kind to me." He finally said. "That's all I can say."
"Her dad is Hyuuga Hiashi—the old guy who owns that big corporation." Kankuro chimed in.
"No kidding!" Temari scoffed a laugh. "You better watch out then, Gaara. He's gonna kick your ass if you try to do something funny to your girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend." Gaara insisted.
"Okay. Whatever then." A smirk played on her red lips.
He took his gaze away from his older sister and watched Kankuro gulp at his can of beer. He knew neither of them wanted to stop drinking and he could tell it was going to be messy. He excused himself and decided to go out for a walk. He was greeted by the sound of cicadas and a dog barking in a distance.
A sense of calm rushed through as he looked up and saw the full moon hanging in the sky. The moon reminded him of Hinata's eyes—bright, yet somehow empty. He felt his heart race in his chest as he remembered the fading feeling of her warmth. Her arms felt small and tight around him. He remembered the rosiness on her cheeks as she turned to run as far away as she could. He wished he could hold her forever.
He came to a sudden halt beneath a lamplight, staring blankly at the deserted street ahead of.
Could Sabaku Gaara be in love?
Author's Note: Hi again, everyone! It's been a while since the latest update, hasn't it? Let me know what you think about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!
