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

18—Not So Easy

Sakura sighed as she tried to concentrate on her studies, but it was hard when she could feel the eyes of her classmates on her. She knew they were judging her. She was sixteen, pregnant, and unmarried. After the confrontation with her parents, Gaara had said nothing else about them marrying. She didn't want to push the issue, but she wanted to marry before their child was born. She smiled as she thought about the baby inside her. They were having a little boy. She'd gone for her ultrasound and her brother had walked her through it. Gaara hadn't been able to go…he'd had something very important to take care of that concerned his legal guardian.

She'd been scared at first. She'd never gone without Gaara before, but he'd sent Hinata in his place and promised to see her after they got back. She had gotten car sick on the way home, threw up on her favorite dress, and she had a headache. That day had been one of the worst. Not to mention that Gaara hadn't come back to the Hyuuga house until nine that night. He'd looked so tired she didn't have the heart to scold him.

She bit her lip as she thought about her lover and the father of her baby. She loved Gaara with everything in her, but she had a feeling he was hiding something from her. Just what had he talked about with his legal guardian? Wasn't he emancipated? She didn't understand what was going on in that aspect and she was afraid to ask. She was about to start on her math again when a piece of paper landed on her desk.

She looked at it before looking over her shoulder. She noticed several boys making lewd gestures and she scrunched her nose before opening the piece of paper. Tears came to her eyes as she read what they'd written. Calling her easy, asking if she'd blow them all at the same time and let them come inside her too. She stood abruptly, interrupting her teacher, and walked out with her books still lying on her desk. She went to the nearest girl's bathroom and threw up. This was how it always was if she got upset: she threw up. She heard the door open and a female teacher walked in and pushed the door to her stall open. It was Anko, her art teacher.

The older woman noticed the tears streaming down Sakura's face, the vomit in the toilet, and the sobs coming from the young girl. Anko knelt down and shushed her, pushing her long hair from around her face and hugging her tightly. Sakura cried against Anko's shoulder, not even trying to stifle her sobs. The bell rang, dismissing her previous class, and yet she stayed there, wrapped in Anko's arms. Several minutes passed and the bell rang again, signaling the start of next period. Still Sakura cried, her art teacher shushing her and telling her things would get better.

Anko pulled back and looked at Sakura, wiping tears from the flushed sixteen-year-old's face. "Sakura, I want you to listen to me very closely. You're not a bad person for being pregnant. You made a poor judgment but that doesn't make you a bad person. My mom was fourteen when she got pregnant with me, fifteen when she had me." Sakura nodded and took the crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Anko. The brunette arched a brow and smoothed the paper out enough to read what was on it. She hissed and wrapped her arms around the younger girl once more. "It's going to be okay sweetie. I will take care of this." Sakura nodded and sat on the floor in the stall while Anko got a wet cloth for her to wipe her face with.

There was a commotion at the door and they both looked up when the door burst open and Gaara was standing there, a frantic look on his face. "Sakura…" He breathed and rushed to her side. He dropped to his knees and took in the sight of her sitting on the bathroom floor in a dirty stall, tear trails staining her cheeks, her hair mussed from being thrown out of the way, and vomit in the toilet. He knew instantly from the look on her face she'd gotten upset. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her, telling her he loved her and he would never let anyone hurt her and he would do anything for her. She snuggled up in his arms and wiped her tears on his sleeve. She took a shuddering breath and told him that some classmates had said mean things and that Anko was going to take care of it.

Anko laughed humorlessly and waved the paper. "Nope…I'm not the one that they are going to have to be worried about. It's Kakashi that's going to be gunning for them once I turn this over to him. He's in charge of ISS." Sakura giggled at that and cuddled closer to Gaara, who was looking at the paper as if he was contemplating if he could snatch it from her. She laughed and shook her head. "Alright you two. Let's get Sakura to the nurse's office. I'm sure being in this dirty bathroom isn't good for the little one. Nor will it be good if Kakashi finds out about this. He's really protective of his little flower." She winked at Gaara, who arched a brow. This woman knew something and she wasn't telling.

With more restraint than Sakura had ever seen him display, Gaara helped her up and wrapped his arm around her, helping her to the door. When he pushed it open, it was to see a bunch of people crowded around the door, as if trying to figure out what was going on. Sakura knew they only wanted to best new gossip, so she closed her eyes and allowed Gaara to steer her towards the nurse's office. Anko was with them as they walked in and the nurse, Shizune, regarded the pink haired girl with sympathy.

"You got upset again, didn't you Sakura?" Sakura nodded and looked at her feet. Shizune just smiled and grabbed an extra pillow as Gaara helped his pregnant girlfriend onto the bed. He kissed her forehead and whispered that he loved her. She smiled at him before her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep. Gaara sat by her side until Kakashi showed up. The silver haired teacher narrowed his eyes as he noticed Anko holding a wrinkled piece of paper. Gaara watched as the man reached for it, only for the art teacher to hold it out of his reach. She whispered to him and his eyes narrowed before he whispered back, making the woman smile. She handed it to him then with a smirk. He watched Kakashi's face as the older male read the note and knew instantly it was something really bad, because the older man bared his teeth and nearly shredded the note until Anko reminded him it was evidence.

Kakashi growled and shoved it into his pocket before he walked out. Anko looked smug as she watched him leave. When she turned back to Sakura, it was with satisfaction. "Trust me when I say those boys won't be upsetting Sakura anymore." Gaara arched a brow and looked at his little lover. She was leaning towards him in her sleep. This made him smile but his voice was cold when he spoke.

"What was in that note, Sensei?" Anko shrugged and looked out the window.

"Sakura didn't want anyone knowing what was in that note…especially you. Suffice to say that it wasn't kind…nor innocent. That note can be taken several different ways, depending on the mindset of the recipient. I can guarantee you that when Kakashi brings it up to the school board, he will make sure to point out that Sakura feared for her safety." Gaara growled but his rant was cut off when Sakura whimpered and pressed tightly against him. He looked down and then started running his fingers through her hair.

"I wish I could protect her from all of this. These people make assumptions and they spread their meaningless gossip and all it does is hurt her." His words were clipped and tight, showing how agitated he was. Anko nodded, her eyes closed.

"My mother went through the same thing, only she was a year younger than Sakura when I was born. And my father wasn't around to support her. Nothing about teenage pregnancy is easy, Sabaku-san. Remember that." She said before walking out and leaving the young couple alone.

Gaara watched the woman leave before turning his attention back to Sakura. He cupped the side of her face and caressed her. He heard her murmur and shift closer to him. He pursed his lips and reached into his pocket. He pulled a little black box from it and opened it. Inside was a small diamond ring. He'd worked really hard for it, taking all kinds of jobs without anyone knowing so that he could buy it for Sakura.

Without a word, he took the ring out and lifted her hand. He slipped the ring onto her finger and then leaned in, kissing her forehead. He pulled back and noticed a smile on her face. She looked so happy. "I love you Sakura." He whispered and shifted so he was leaning back against the bed. With a sigh he closed his eyes. He had no intention of sleeping, but he did have a test in his next class. As soon as Sakura woke up, he'd head back. Until then, he'd review the information he'd studied and retained.