Disclaimer: Sis didn't own Naruto, only her story plots and her OCs.

3—Trust Given

The following week was awkward for Sakura. She saw all three of the guys she'd run into in the pizza parlor, including the owner's nephew Kiba. Ino had stated her interest in the youth, so their entire group of friends knew he was off limits. Sakura's situation, however, was a little more complicated. It was very obvious now, after these last few days, that there was some sort of competition going on for Sakura and the poor girl was powerless to do anything about it.

Naruto started hanging around her more, though part of that was because he had a very obvious crush on Hinata, who also had a very obvious crush on him; neither of them seemed to notice the other's feelings though. Sasuke would loiter around her classrooms to try and walk her to class, but she'd ignore him and just head to her next class. She had to hand it to Gaara, he didn't loiter and he didn't practically stalk her like Sasuke was doing. If he ran into her, he'd catch her eye and keep contact until he was forced to break it or crane his neck uncomfortably. But he didn't go out of his way to run into her.

He did, however, cause a bit of a ruckus with Sasuke when he casually reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair, pushing it out of her face. Sasuke had seen the somewhat intimate action and had gotten in the redhead's face about it. Gaara had merely stared at him before quietly telling Sakura to have a nice day as he turned and walked away. It had made Sakura blush, that gentle action so unlike the rumors that surrounded the stoic young man.

But what Sakura hadn't seen that Naruto had was that Sasuke was glaring not just as Gaara, but also at her. Naruto couldn't help but smile because for once, things weren't going the way Sasuke wanted. Maybe, just maybe, this one would be the one Gaara could trust.

For Sakura, she started to feel this little niggling sensation of admiration for the young man who was so distant and yet so caring. When she got her blush under control, she rejoined her friends, who questioned her about the two warring young men. She told them what Naruto had told her and it was Ino that sighed dreamily and stated she wished she had two hunky guys vying for her attention. Sakura just rolled her eyes and said she was more than welcome to the mess, as long as she didn't complain about it after she took it over. That set them all into fits of laughter.

Another incident occurred two days later when Sasuke waited for her by the gate. She passed by him, just like she usually did, but this time he grabbed her wrist and jerked her towards him. Her friends made to come to her aid, but they didn't get far because before anyone knew what was happening, Gaara was there. He was nose to nose with Sasuke, growling something so low that Sakura had a hard time hearing him. It was the first time Gaara had spoken to Sasuke that Sakura knew of. It was broken up by the gym teacher, who had witnessed what had happened and dragged Sasuke to the office to have a talk with the Dean.

Gaara turned to her and took her hand, looking at her wrist, which had a faint red mark on it. His soft green-blue eyes glared over his shoulder in the direction Sasuke had been dragged and he muttered curses before he offered to walk her home. She blushingly accepted after a little goading from her friends. She felt a little better when she noticed a slight blush on his cheeks as well as his friends hooted and hollered about him walking a pretty girl home.

As they walked, she asked him questions. She asked him about his likes and dislikes, in which she found they both liked reading classical literature. They both enjoyed writing: he music and her poetry. She asked him about his birthday and his parents, his time in the orphanage, and what his plans for the future were. He quietly told her that he was born in January, which she replied she'd been born in March. He told her about how his mother had died due to complications after his birth, his father had been mugged and killed and he, his older brother and older sister had lived with a his uncle for a while until the man had committed suicide.

She gasped and when he looked over, there were tears in her eyes. At the sight of her tears, he freaked out. He practically begged her to stop crying and that had surprised her. He was seen as such a hard ass and here he was, begging her to stop crying. It made her see him in a different light when it was just the two of them like this. He was more open, gentler, and she found herself liking it more and more.

When he asked her about herself, she blushed and said that there was nothing really special about her. She liked all kinds of music, especially if she could dance to it, and she liked to paint. Her favorite subject in school was English and her worst was math. There had been a note of suppressed pain in her features as she'd spoken about her parents and school. He got the feeling that even with Sakura being a straight A student, it was never good enough for her parents. He found himself very hesitant to ask her about them, but she dove right into the subject, stating her parents loved her but they were very strict.

He remained silent but he couldn't help but wonder who she was trying to convince more, him or herself. But who was he to judge? He had his own issues to worry about. Like how he was going to explain his actions to Naruto, or worse yet, his sister. It was no longer a secret about his feelings for Sakura. He'd never have stuck up for her if he didn't care for her and everyone that knew him also knew this. He'd seen the look Naruto had given him. Sakura bit her lip as her house came into view. Her parents were home and they were sure to say something rude to Gaara if they saw him.

She turned and smiled at him, thanking him for walking her home and for sticking up for her to Sasuke. He regarded her and she blushed, looking over her shoulder nervously. Quickly, before she could be spotted by her parents, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She blushed even more and turned, walking very quickly towards her house. Behind her, Gaara stared after her with his hand to his cheek, his eyes wide with shock and confusion.

Sakura quickly unlocked her door and shut it behind her, leaning back against it with a blush that turned her entire body red. She was breathing heavy, embarrassed, but still glad she'd taken the chance and kissed him on the cheek. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Now all she had to do was figure out what she was feeling, if it was real, and if it was worth pursuing.