Stereotype Me
Note: Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Also, I saw a number of errors in the last chapter that I did grit my teeth over, such as the fact that it's Panic! At the Disco, not At the Music… Wonder where that came from.
Two — When It Rains I Hope It Pours
—
Today, Gaara decided that he didn't like Gym at all. It made you sweaty, and forced you to reveal a fourth of your body at the least. Naruto didn't mind it though; Gaara had a lingering suspicion it was because the Gym uniform was blue. Now personally, Gaara liked to hide his body for reasons that have not been fully investigated yet, so the shorts did not do well to help that. The redhead, for the fiftieth time that normal teenage day, tugged at his shorts till they were just-barely-clinging to his hips, and pulled his shirt just a tad lower over his stomach.
Sasuke was in their Gym class, but today, just like yesterday, he had said that 'Oh I don't have my uniform, teacher' and was sitting on the bleachers off to the left, sneaking his iPod into his ear to intensify his luxurious break that Gaara'd kill for right about now.
Meanwhile, Naruto threw a basketball out of the blue that bounced off Gaara's head with a resounding echo. A random kid with brown hair made the effort to stop, look over, see the scene, tell everyone within a twenty-inch radius, and bend over in intense laughter. Gaara choked on the carbon dioxide he had once been ready to release, and reached down for the ball, passing it back over to Naruto with an extra-hard shove.
As the coach blew like hell was freezing over into the whistle, Gaara flinched and followed everyone else that had begun to form a circle around the coach. A few boys sniggered behind their hands as the coach set a very interest-inducing book on the chair behind him. "All right pansies. Today we're gonna play golf. Any problems there?"
Many voices rose in protest, and Naruto looked like he was about to stalk over and rip the Coach's jugular vein out for display. "Oh hell no! My frickin' grandpa plays golf!"
The coach smirked and began to order one of the students to go get out the golf clubs and golf balls. Naruto, for a moment, began to laugh muttering 'Ha…ha… He's not serious', but when the three students returned with the clubs, plus a mighty big bag of golf balls, his cerulean eyes widened in shock. "B-but w-wait! We can't golf inside!"
The older man leveled his gaze unflinchingly. "Who said anything about staying inside?" he answered with a malicious glint in his dark eyes. Naruto swallowed visibly.
"Uh, sir, it's raining—"
"Silence!"
A snicker could be heard somewhere off by the bleachers. Sasuke cranked his music up higher.
And so Gym continued, golf clubs being whacked over people's precious craniums, rain streaking down everyone and everything, and the field sporting a few new holes.
Forty Minutes LaterGaara also had a problem with changing in front of a bunch of guys. He was sure a lot of other people did too; it wasn't natural to not care, right? Even Naruto had the decency to leave his boxers on when he changed. The redhead was glad that the building was pretty new, for if it wasn't, taking a shower here would have sickened him to no end. Now that the shower stalls were at least clean, it wasn't as bad, but still.
On the way out, Gaara noticed that they still had ten minutes before the bell rang, and glanced around for the only two people he really knew, only to find Sasuke still on the bleachers, and Naruto nowhere in sight. Shrugging, he made his way over to the Walking Dead teenager, and sat down somewhat next to him, deciding to approach this neutrally.
"So, um…where's Naruto?"
After a moment of silence from the other end, Gaara turned and realized Sasuke was still listening to his music and had not noticed him at all. Deciding it was much safer to just drop the try at small talk,he watched as students began to pour out of the locker room and sit along the bleachers, talking about how much they walked to sue whoever invented golf. Maybe even murder. Although really, golf wasn't necessarily a sport now was it? All you did was hit a little white ball around with a metal stick.
So now Gaara was sitting, bored, watching Sasuke completely ignore him with his damn music… Oh wait, didn't he have music? Crap. It was in his locker. Why did he put it there! Stupid, stupid. At that moment, a ball of energized blue-ness bounced over and seated itself beside him, grinning.
"Yo! Why ya with Ice Queen? She don' like men," Naruto said jokingly.
It seemed Sasuke heard this one, for two black eyes blinked curiously (or dangerously) over at him. They were half-narrowed, like while everyone else had busted their butts trying to get the ball in the damn hole he had been daydreaming lazily. Gaara seriously wished he had the nerve to defy the rules like 'Ice Queen', or Paper-Eater as Gaara had become more accustomed too. Had Naruto first thought of Sasuke as 'Ice Queen' or did that crazy habit belong solely to himself?
The Coach shouted at them after that to 'Get the hell out of my gym', so they grabbed all their stuff and high-tailed it to their next class, which, unfortunately, was another obstacle before lunch.
—
In English, the class just after lunch, Gaara was left in the company of Neji Hyuuga (which had turned out to be his full name). The redhead glanced over at the otherwise mute boy, not helping but to wonder what his voice sounded like in class. Sure he knew what it sounded like in the hallways, but not in class. Was there a difference? Sure there was.
Neji caught him staring once and gave him a glare that had Gaara wishing the bell would ring to dismiss, even if class had begun a total of ten minutes ago. The teacher, a young man with brown hair tied back in a ponytail, announced that because it was the second day of school, they could have a break and enjoy a bit of free time. Immediately, kids squealed and blew kisses to their beloved English teacher, before turning, forgetting, and chatting about the latest gossip.
But great. Now Gaara was stuck with an anti-social, mute Transvestite for another, what, forty-five minutes?
Neji seemed to have something else in mind, for he pulled out a book, flipped it open, and began to read, completely ignoring Gaara. The redhead sighed and decided maybe he should finish his math homework, since it was his next class after all.
Obviously Peace didn't like Gaara very much, because the seat beside him (that this kid sat in… He didn't know whom) was vacated in favor of a pink-sporting blabbermouth. Oh gods.
"Hi!" she chirped. "'Member me? I remember you! Watcha doin'? Homework? Ugh! I hate homework! It's like so horrible! Did you know that once in seventh grade my science teacher gave us two projects in one week! It was evil! And—"
Gaara, for all his sanity was worth, turned to the poor, sweet, innocent excuse of a teenage girl and opened his jaw to mutter words that would surely show her how painful her jabbering was to his ears when, against all odds, another girl strode over and plopped her skinny little backside on top of his desk and grinned a wide grin. "Ah! And who is this little boy? Are you sure you aren't supposed to be in sixth grade? You're really, really short. Are you like extremely smart and skipped a grade or two? That's frickin' awesome!"
Gaara groaned to himself and mentally slammed his head against a convenient yet imaginary brick wall. Maybe if he thought hard enough he would feel the pain…
Neji seemed to sense the trauma the redhead had been unexpectedly been put through, and drifted over noiselessly. "Look, girls, he obviously is annoyed by your constant talking. Just…go away, if you will. Thank you."
But instead of disappearing, Sakura and the other girl's smile grew in size and they squealed over at the Hyuuga. "Hi Neji! Do you know who I am! Of course you do!"
"No, actually I'm afraid I do not—"
"We love you Neji!"
Was Neji really that popular with the chicks? Another piece of information stored in the back of his mind for later examination. Neji just sighed. In the back of the Hyuuga's mind, he was wondering what sadistic bastard put him through the pain of English with the immature.
After a struggle between the male and female race, Sakura and the other girl wandered off reluctantly, and he was left to deal with what could be considered his savior in the next universe over. "Uh, thank you, I think…"
"Not use to the attention?" Neji asked smoothly, taking a seat beside the redhead.
"Not really… In my last school they had rulers. You talk, you bruise. It was kind of scary, really…" The green-eyed thirteen-year-old gave a little smile to himself rather than Neji, whose eyes looked more like they were watching than actually seeing.
He shrugged, hair today tied back in a black ribbon. "Get use to it. That's how it is here; trust me. I've known some of these people since kindergarten."
"Like who?" Gaara couldn't help but wonder.
"Naruto, for one."
That explained their awkward friendship. Naruto and Neji getting along felt a little strange, sort of like new shoes. Tipsy at first, then wonderfully comfortable. That is, if they were the right size.
Nodding in the absence of something to say, Gaara sighed and laid his head down on the desk. He was tired, simply. Last night mother had gotten home really late, and dad just…didn't come home. Gaara's father worked downtown, being a lawyer. He thought maybe Father had stayed after work to continue on an important case of some sort. …Maybe. To his right, Neji remained silent for the redhead's sake. He could already tell that the smaller boy dazed off quite a lot, and didn't bother interrupting his thoughts. Neji would have been irked if someone had done that to him. Oh, definitely.
And the class went by like that, with comfortable chatter circling around them. Gaara's focus eventually drifted to his new life here. It was somewhat calmer, and the tense people he was use to, back at the Catholic school, dissipated in favor of young ignorance and a friend's stupid jokes.
—
Sometimes Gaara wished his older siblings weren't both at a different school than him. Now was not one of those times, though.
"Ahoy! To the weekend we go!" Naruto hollered after Neji and Sasuke, whom had a twisted sort of smirk on their faces, like they were planning something that would surely stop people in their tracks.
Gaara stared dumbly as Neji, like he had practiced countless times, approached Sasuke, and Sasuke, with the same look as his partner, grabbed Neji's shoulders steadily and swung the other boy's legs upover his arm, grasping Neji under the knees. Then the Ice Queen began to carry the Hyuuga down the hallway.
"Whoo! Satan! Get out the pig's blood, we gots'a sacrifice!"
The redhead paled. Meanwhile, Naruto was doubling over in laughter beside him. "Take 'im to the alter!"
"Uh…" he began in shock.
"Oh ignore them, it's Friday! Cut us some slack!" Grinning still, the blonde boy tailed after them, forcing Gaara to have to nearly run to catch up to the trio. By now there were many spectators, all shaking their heads disapprovingly. Some were laughing, and, even more, cheering along with an unusually out-of-character Sasuke.
Neji (still being held up) and Sasuke made their way to one of the yellow buses lined up and roaring impatiently. Around them, the crowd parted like the red sea. Gaara waved goodbye to his three friends and boarded his own separate means of transportation, before sighing heavily as normal routine kicked into gear. After another minute the happy-go-lucky, even-if-the-world's-ending-tomorrow-I'll-still-smile, pink-haired girl sat next to him, chatting the ride away.
Gaara let his mind wander again anyway. He was use to ignoring her by now. Either her hair had been blonde before she dyed it, or she just didn't get a hint, she was still a human being, he guessed. Best to just act as though she were a stranger.
Gods, where had the week gone? It felt like yesterday that he was being signed in by his mother and handed a schedule. On Monday he had attacked the day one step at a time, yet now… Now he was looking at his weeks as a whole. Five days instead of just a single one. It was strange and uneasy but, well, he could get use to it.
At home, he was bombarded almost upon entry by a hyperactive blonde sister, and the first thing she did was drag him into the next room and throw three articles of clothing at his gaping face. Gaara peeled the shirt, pants and tie from his head and glanced them over, quickly muttering a "What-The-Hell?".
"It's mom's birthday! Don't tell me you forgot! Hurry up get ready, we're going to dinner!" she said cheerily.
Gaara's mouth hung open. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit! I forgot!"
She sighed shortly. "What'd I tell ya… Anyway, quick, get dressed, dammit! Don't worry about it. Just move it!" And then Temari was out the door humming, with sounds of Kankuro questioning the lack of slices of bread in the kitchen.
Later, in her car, Temari explained curtly, "Mom's gonna meet us there. Dad too. It's that new Chinese restaurant we spotted our first drive here, remember? Yeah. So just act cool, like you knew it was her birthday," her blue eyes momentarily narrowed on her brothers, before she continued, "and also, don't say anything to get dad upset. You know how he gets when he's spending money, mom's birthday or not."
They nodded quickly. Oh, they knew.
The restaurant turned out to be pretty fancy, with elegant, Chinese tables scattered around. Gaara scowled as he got down on his knees, but erased the unpleasant look when Mother smiled over at him from across the table. "Well isn't this a surprise. You're all dressed up!"
This time he jokingly made a face.
When Father got there, only about ten minutes overtime, he immediately poured a glass of sake, but graced his wonderful family with a half-smile anyway. These were his kids and his wife, so dignity must be kept.
Outside, rain began to lightly fall to the ground, very softly and an almost pleasant background sound. Partway through dinner Kankuro accidentally made a side comment questioning where father had gone last night. Almost as though an answering machine had turned on somewhere in the man's head, he breezed out, "The case went by longer than we expected. I had to stay late at the office."
Instantly remembering his place, Kankuro's gaze shifted to the floor. But they all were a little hesitant, if at the least Gaara and his brother. It had only been a few weeks since they moved; had he gotten a major case that early on? They must've really trusted him.
Mother just smiled and thanked him for buying dinner, and leaned over to peck him on the cheek. He didn't say anything, but Kankuro could've sworn he say a flash in his dark almond eyes. Or was he hallucinating? His father wasn't evil, right? He wouldn't do anything like walk out on them, right? Well, mother had a strong job going anyway; they could support themselves anyway. Kankuro found himself wishing his Dad would. Then maybe it'd be peaceful at home again, not tense and uptight.
They paid and left the little Chinese restaurant, happy and talking to their mother animatedly about their day, and so on. Out of the corner of his eye, Gaara noticed that his dad didn't try to participate in any conversation whatsoever, even if he had been asked endless strings of questions. He was like an emotionless statue.
At home Father disappeared into his room, and Mother worriedly followed. The rain had somewhat let up, but trickles of water still leaked from the heavens stubbornly. Kankuro vanished to his room with a large yawn thereafter, and Temari pounced at the computer immediately. Things began to slowly tone down.
Somewhere around nine, when the sun had set and Temari had gone to sleep, leaving the midnight website prowling to Kankuro, a fight broke out. Gaara considered cleaning out his ears; this never happened ever, right? Maybe Temari was screaming in her sleep. …Maybe not. And all at once, the door to his parent's room banged open, and an enraged, red in the face Sabaku man stepped through.
"I didn't ask for this!" he shouted.
"Well maybe you should have considered that, before you asked!" Mother uncharacteristically countered.
Kankuro jumped and signed off instantly, rising from the computer chair to try and calm the two. At least it was Friday. No school tomorrow to worry about.
But Gaara, meanwhile, was panicking. He wasn't use to this kind of pressure; never was, and probably never will be. Standing from his seat at the counter, he set his pencil and homework down, and stared over at Kankuro, silently begging his brother to point him in the right direction.
"Gaara…go—go to your room…o-or outside… Just don't… Goddammit…" was all Kankuro could get out before Father and Mother fell into another heated argument, this time causing Father to begin to make wild movements with his hands.
At first Gaara thought his father was just overtired, but then he realized that…that the sake at the restaurant was really strong and…and crap…didn't he have several glasses? Crap, crap, crap, crap… Gaara made for the hallway, then thought better of it since he dad suddenly revealed that he was holding a beer bottle, and turned to go out the front door.
Outside, with cold drizzle dripping down his face, Gaara almost forgot the raging madness happening just inside his front door, his home, his beloved mother's home. Outside the darkness swallowed up all his fears of a drunken father, and replaced an awkward sense of peace.
At the same moment, the rain became more intense, and began to fall like miniature bombs. In less than a minute Gaara was soaked from head-to-toe, obviously forgetting that he had chosen not to change out of his dress clothes when he had gotten home. The white shirt clung to his chest, but he ignored it and stood out by the cleanly cut and manicured lawn, sporting a few gnomes that taunted him with their…jolliness.
What felt like not a long time afterward, with Gaara still in a trance-like state, his sister ran outside and down the steps, immediately draping a coat over his head and around his unconsciously shivering body, before rushing him inside. "You could've gotten pneumonia!I can't believe it!"
"Tema—" he vaguely heard his brother start.
"—Why'd you go outside? I was worried sick and—"
"Temari—"
"Shut the hell up!"
Silence fell. Kankuro blinked, shocked, and Temari apologized hurriedly under her breath. "It's just…you know… and I come out here and see you but not Gaara… I was freaked…"
He nodded in mute understanding. Kankuro turned to the redhead. "They're okay now. I don't know what happened… I think Dad had too much alcohol, but I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon, so don't worry. Mom's asleep. You were out there for an hour, Gaara."
Really? He had? He didn't remember. And all of the sudden he felt himself beingdirected into the hallway, then set gently on his bed while he heard Temari mutter something about pajamas.
"Kankuro?" Gaara heard himself whisper.
"Yes?" the brunette answered, having to stop and come over before he could be sure he could hear his little brother's quiet, shaky voice.
"What time is it?"
"T-ten twenty, last time I checked. Y-yeah."
"Oh." Then Gaara leaned over on his side, his red hair wetting the pillow under it, barely being able to think anymore, falling into a half-awake daze, and slowly left the conscious world behind.
—
Two – When It Rains I Hope It Pours
End Notes: Another chapter down the hole. Well, hope you liked it. Thank you for the feedback! More please!
Revision Notes: Unfortunately, you all tell me what love you had for Life in the Labels after it's deleted. (cries) Therefore, I'd have to repost it the same way and wait for more reviews. And unfortunately, I can't do that because I had hoped to have it behind me… Yeah, I'm very critical, but hey, that's what makes you improve, yes? Yes! YES! At least that's what I believe.
An Afterthought for the Brain: I just realized I made Sakura the most annoying bug on the planet.
