Well… Hello there everybody.
I just want to say I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!
You probably won't believe me, but this is actually the first time I've managed to actually attempt to update. I'm skipping my Video Production work today for you guys so please accept my apology.
So getting down to business I have an announcement.
I WILL BE RE-NAMING THIS STORY AFTER POSTING CHAPTER 15.
Yep. Paradox will officially be renamed "Nothing But The Truth".
Just letting you know. OH! I'm also gonna be starting another fic. It's called "Life Is An Open Window" and it's a Seifer x Hayner fic because there is not enough love for that couple! The first chapter of that should be up in about a week.
If you are still with me, THANK YOU!
Again I apologize. I will probably update on Monday if I can!
Don't own Naruto.
If you love me still, please review.
Chapter 14
Pein glared at his ward with piercing oranges eyes. The pink haired girl kneeled before him, head bowed in respect. Konan stood next to her, one hand on the girl's shoulder and the other on her swollen belly. Pein leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple in irritation.
"Let me get this straight," the orange haired man growled. "You want to skip school, during your first week, to attend a birthday party?"
Sakura winced. "Um… yes?"
Pein's nostrils flared and he looked like he was about to explode. Konan sensed her husband's fury and quickly went to her side.
"Now Nagato," the blue haired woman crooned. "She'll be with plenty of other people and can easily make up the work she misses."
Sakura shot a grateful look in the woman's direction. Pein, however, was not impressed.
"I don't know," he grumbled. "If she misses school, it should be so that she recovers from yesterday's event, not shopping and spending the night with friends."
"You should be happy she has friends!" snapped Konan. "You know how difficult it was for her before."
Sakura tuned out the couple's argument in favor of spacing out. Her mind focused on the one thing it had revolved around since the previous night. Gaara. More specifically, Gaara's text message.
Sleep well, love you.
Love. Gaara loved her. An unconscious smile slipped onto Sakura's face at the possibility that the redhead had feelings for her. Of course, she knew that he could very well not mean what he had said, but Sakura didn't want to think about that option. She was perfectly content with allowing her mind to run wild with fantasies until she saw Gaara again. Which would hopefully be later that day. Sakura glanced at her two guardians who were still fighting.
"I WILL NOT DRESS UP AS SANTA FOR CHRISTMAS KONAN!"
"FINE! I SEE THAT YOUR PRIDE IS SOOOO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR OWN CHILD. I'LL MAKE SURE TO LET THE BABY KNOW THAT ITS FATHER WAS A STUPID JERK!"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'WAS'!?"
"WAS! MEANING PAST TENSE BECAUSE I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Sakura cleared her throat. "Can I go?"
Konan stopped strangling her husband for a moment in order to smile sweetly at the pink haired girl.
"Of course honey," the blue haired woman chirped. "Just be back before midnight tomorrow!"
"Ten o'clock!" Pein choked out.
"SHUT UP! I SAID MIDNIGHT!" Konan continued beating Pein to a pulp.
With a sigh, Sakura pulled herself up from the floor and left the couple to fight. Once she was out of the office, Sakura made her way upstairs to collapse on her bed. She seriously wondered why she put up with her family at times. After several minutes of doing nothing, Sakura decided she should probably get ready for the day.
After taking a quick shower, she dug through her messy closet, searching for something suitable to wear. Ten minutes later, she was wearing a tight black skirt and red leggings along with a red tank top that generously hugged her curves. After much debate with herself, Sakura also pulled on a short leather jacket over her bare arms and some dark knee boots. With flitting fingers, Sakura quickly braided her waist length hair tightly, flipping the braid over her shoulder when she finished. She stared at herself in a full body mirror that resided in the corner of the room. She didn't look half bad. With a sharp nod, she turned and left in search of Kakuzu, who was going to have several heart attacks when he found out she was going to the mall.
. . .
Gaara ignored the knock on his bedroom door. He continued to stare at the blank ceiling, mind reeling with thoughts that had troubled him all night. The knock came again.
"Gaara!" a female voice cried from the other side of the door. The redhead growled and flipped over onto his stomach. His sister was the last person he wanted deal with at the moment. However, Temari had always been known for her stubbornness.
"Gaara open the door! Kankuro said you were having girl trouble!"
Damn that stupid idiot.
It wasn't his sibling's clingy actions that frustrated Gaara however. The redhead considered himself to be a pretty good liar. Hell, he could lie himself out of a crime scene if he needed to. But there had always been one person he couldn't lie to, a person who needed the protection of untruthfulness the most.
Himself.
The redhead hugged his pillow tightly, burying his face with a sigh. He was so stupid. He had told an emotional unstable girl who had been raped by her father that he loved her, only after a week of knowing her. Not only that, but Gaara wasn't even sure he meant what he had said. He didn't know the first thing about love. He couldn't help Sakura through any internal struggles she had. In fact, he'd probably hurt her in the long run. He sighed again.
He was having girl issues.
The banging on the door increased and Gaara scowled.
But there was no way he was going to tell his siblings that.
"Gaara, there's someone at the door for you!" Kankuro's voice joined their sister's. Gaara glanced at the clock on his dresser. It read 6:42 am. Who the hell—? Oh.
"I'm not going," Gaara growled. "Tell Naruto I'll see him next Monday."
"Yeah," Kankuro said. "He thought you'd say that and he and this pink haired bitch with anger issues said she had no problem dragging your emo ass out of your room."
Kankuro and Temari both chuckled at the thought that anybody could attempt to maim their younger brother. The door to said brother's room slammed open suddenly, making the two jump out of their skins in terror. Gaara stood in the doorway, breathing erratic and eyes clouded over.
"She came?" he whispered hoarsely. "After what I said to her?"
His two siblings stared at each other in shock. Then, Kankuro burst out, "HA! I KNEW YOU WERE HAVING ROMANCE—MMPH!"
Temari clamped her hand over her obnoxious brother's mouth.
"Yeah Gaara." the blond said gently, while Kankuro struggled wildly in her arms. "Naruto's waiting downstairs with her… What do you want me to tell them?"
Gaara opened his mouth, only to close it again. He glared angrily at the floor before mumbling, "I'll be down in five minutes."
Then he slammed his door, leaving Temari and Kankuro to stare at where their younger brother had been, wondering what the hell had just happened.
. . .
Gaara shifted awkwardly as he surveyed himself in the mirror. He wore black cargo pants with aluminum chains hanging off of his belt loops and pockets. A tight red shirt with the word 'Rebel' scrawled across it clung to his well-toned chest. Dark steel-toed combat boots were on his feet and a black wife beater covered his arms. As an afterthought, he slapped on some Twilight Woods cologne and attempted, unsuccessfully, to comb out the knots in his red hair. With a grunt, Gaara decided that he wasn't going to look any better than he already did. He grabbed his phone and wallet, making sure he had enough money for the mall, and stuffed them into his back pocket. He then exited his room and slipped through the hall. He stopped at the top of the stairs, uncertainty welling up inside of him when he heard her laugh. It was such a pretty laugh.
What would she do when she saw him? Would she hate him? Fear him? What if she assumed his words meant he wanted a relationship? Gaara shuddered at the mental image of an overly clingy girlfriend, giggling constantly and hanging all over him. Sakura laughed again, jolting Gaara out of his thoughts. He knew Sakura wasn't like that. Knowing he'd have to face her sometime or another, Gaara swallowed his doubts and tramped as confidently as he could down the stairs.
She was sitting in his favorite armchair, legs crossed, a smile on her face. Gaara stopped dead at the bottom of the stairs, staring openly. Her emerald eyes glinted with a content and happiness Gaara never wanted to see leave her. Her perfectly angled face glowed in the light of the lamp next to her and her pink bangs framed her feline jaw. He felt himself go slightly red as she as she flipped her braid over her shoulder and stretched, tight tank top lifting to reveal the porcelain smooth skin of her stomach. No—not smooth. He could see a faded line running up from her hip and disappearing into the material of her shirt. Disregarding it for the mean time, Gaara decided it didn't really matter.
She truly was beautiful.
Suddenly, she glanced in his direction, stiffening when she caught sight of him. Her cheeks turned a flattering shade of pink as her eyes flitted from his boots to his face. She took in his appearance with thirsty eyes, drinking in every detail.
In the back of his mind, Gaara thought, She likes what she sees. The thought made the redhead smirk.
"Gaara!"
Naruto bounced over to his friend, wearing an orange sweater, blue jeans and a large grin. Gaara glared at the blond.
"Do you know what time it is?" he growled in a deathly quiet voice.
"Umm," Naruto's blue eyes shifted to the watch on his wrist. "Yeah, it's like not even seven yet!"
Gaara continued to glare at the blond for a moment, before punching him square in the face. Naruto yelped and fell onto his ass, swearing epically at the redhead. Sakura snickered and offered Gaara a high five, which he took with another smirk.
"So you're my little brother's romance issue. Go figure you're violent and pretty."
Kankuro flounced out of the kitchen and plopped down next to Sakura. Gaara hissed in annoyance.
"Get lost Kankuro."
The brunette just waved the redhead off. "Well I'll have you know that Gaara never pays attention to anyone, especially girls!" Kankuro babbled. Gaara glared at his brother and Sakura giggled.
"We actually thought he was gay for a little while."
Gaara twitched. Kankuro rambled on, unaware of his imminent danger.
"You know, we could tell from the moment he started school that he was girl shy. This one chick in kindergarten tried to hold his hand during recess, and he went crazy and ran up a tree. It took all afternoon to get him down. So just know that with my little brother you're going to have to compete for girls and guys— GAH!"
Gaara swiftly walked past his brother, who was holding his head in the pain of his younger brother's punch. Gaara grabbed Sakura's hand and caught Naruto's collar, gruffly dragging them both out of the sitting area.
"Let's go," he growled.
. . .
After everyone had been picked up and taken to the mall, the teenagers went directly to the food court which contained a small buffet. Sakura watched in disgusted awe as Gaara practically inhaled two omelets, three waffles, a stack of pancakes and a plate of bacon before going back for seconds.
"How the hell can you eat that much and still stay so damn skinny?" Sakura asked as Gaara tucked into another piling plate of food.
"It's a gift," he mumbled between bites. Sakura shook her head as he downed a carafe orange juice.
"Seriously, you eat like they starve you at home!"
"They use to," the redhead muttered. Sakura blinked. Not quite sure how to take this, she turned away to examine the rest of the table's occupants. Neji and TenTen sat at the far end of the table, leaning in close to whisper to each other. Lee and Kimimaro were chatting across from them while Sai picked moodily at his food. Kiba and Ino were making out over their shared meal and Hinata was stammering something to Naruto, who had an arm casually draped across the back of their chair. Everybody was in their own little world, neither paying any attention to the others.
Sakura's mind wandered to the conversation she was hoping to have with Gaara. She glanced at the redhead out of the corner of her eye, smiling when she saw him contemplating his last piece of toast before lazily nibbling it up. She didn't know how he would react. Gaara was normally so blunt about things, so the fact that he had yet to comment on the text message worried Sakura to no end. Biting her lip, Sakura twisted the end of her braid as she contemplated how she was going to approach the redhead.
"What's up Bubblegum?"
The pink haired teen jumped, startled out of her thoughts by Gaara's soft question. She snapped her head around to look at him, only to freeze when she saw his pale eyes staring back. A light blush touched Sakura's cheeks and she looked away quickly to hide it from him. Gaara's eyes narrowed at her suddenly introverted attitude.
"Bubblegum?"
Sakura didn't turn back to him. With a growl, Gaara got up from his seat and rounded the table, stopping next to the pink haired beauty. After staring at her for a moment, he plopped down next to her with a sigh.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. Sakura turned to look at him in shock. Gaara looked down, not wanting to meet her emerald eyes.
"I shouldn't have said what I said," he continued. "I was only acting on impulse and I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't offend me!" Sakura protested. Gaara ignored her.
"I didn't take your feelings into account and I apologize for that—"
"No Gaara! I really don't mind you—"
"—my actions were positively inexcusable and I can only hope—"
"SHUT UP GAARA!" Sakura screamed in frustration. Ignoring the redhead's shocked look, the pink haired girl reached forward and grabbed his shirt.
"Now you listen to me," she growled. "I was not offended, I am not mad, and I don't care if you meant what you said because I…"
Sakura paused. Did she feel the same way? She wasn't sure. She had only known Gaara for a week, but so far he was making a lasting impression. With a sigh, she released the redhead's shirt turning her back to him, blushing furiously. Gaara had been frozen in shock the entire time. Slowly he reached out to touch Sakura's shoulder, pained when she didn't turn around.
"Bubblegum," he murmured. No response.
Gaara closed his eyes and sighed again. He leaned close to Sakura's turned back, lips only inches from her ear. Her pink hair tickled his nose as he inhaled her sweet scent of wildflowers and ginger.
"I meant what I said," Gaara breathed lightly.
Sakura shivered at his words. As the redhead withdrew from her presence, Sakura felt a wave of indescribable feeling well up in her. She didn't want him to leave. In a fleeting instant, Sakura turned and gathered Gaara into a tight hug. The redhead went stiff as a board, eyes widening as Sakura clung to him with firm arms. She was shaking, possibly crying. Not knowing what to do, Gaara reached over and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the pink-haired girl.
"Bubblegum?" he asked.
"MALL TIME!" screamed Ino. A cheer rose up from the table and everybody immediately scrambled up to find a shopping buddy. Everyone except Gaara and Sakura.
"Let's go to Forever 21!" squealed Tenten.
"Not a chance!" yelled Kiba. "We're going to Gamestop!"
"I-I'd like to g-go to the art store," Hinata whispered.
Just as quickly as the argument had started, it ended. Everyone had disappeared into clouds of dust, pushing their way ferociously to their respective stores. As the excessive amount of particles slowly settled, Gaara was unsurprised to discover that he and Sakura were the only ones who hadn't moved. Unwrapping his arms from around the pink haired girl, he turned to look into her beautifully emerald eyes and stated plainly, "I believe we just got ditched."
Sakura laughed. It was a lovely, tinkling sound and Gaara made it his personal goal to hear that sound each and every day.
Yay! Subtle progress!
I'll see you guys next week!
Veni, Vidi, Vici…
Shadow