Author's Note: Hi, everyone! I just got back from my vacation, which explains why I haven't updated in a while. Sorry about that. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and also a happy new year! Without further ado, chapter four!

Chapter Four

Gaara lay very still on his bed with his piercing gaze fixed on the ceiling. His breathing was much lighter than before. He had succeeded in calming himself from another nightmare. He shifted his gaze towards the clock on his bedside table. It was three past twenty minutes. He wasn't sure how long he slept—an hour or less, perhaps?

He ran his fingers through his messy hair and sank them to let out his frustration. He wished he could rip his head apart if that meant he could finally sleep.

He jumped out of his bed and desperately searched his room, hoping that he would find at least one cigarette. Without any success, he gave up and sat down on the edge of his bed with his face buried on his palms. Failing to find a cigarette, made him feel hard to breathe, as if there was a weight on his chest. He gritted his teeth together, angry at himself that was allowing himself to continuously think about his nightmare.

He was walking down the path on a mountain when he heard the sound of someone slipping and fell hard against the ground. He quickly turned around to see Hinata on the ground struggling to get up. He immediately rushed to her side and helped her stand.

"Are you okay?" he asked, unusually sounding very concerned.

She looked at him with that small shy smile she often flashed to everyone. "I'm fine," she said softly. "Thank you, Sabaku-san." Her smile faded quicker than usual.

She slightly bent and wiped away the dirt from her knees with her fingertips. She was wearing her school uniform, but her skirt seemed shorter than the usual one she often wore, exposing her porcelain skin more. Her legs seemed so smooth, he was tempted to touch her.

"Can you walk?" he asked her, looking from her scraped her knees and then her face.

"I think so," she said, and then flashed him another shy yet assuring smile. "Don't worry."

He frowned and then continued to walk down the path with her following behind him. They were surrounded by tall and dense trees. The forest was so dense that it was impossible for the sunlight to shine through.

Neither of them said a word nor made a sound except for their soft breathing and footsteps. He would look up once in a while to see the long branches and leaves cover the sky. He heard birds chirping, but after walking for some time, all he could hear—aside from his and Hinata's footsteps—was the sound of silence. It was hollow and daunting, making him feel uneasy.

"Hey, what are you doing here anyway?" he finally asked.

He wasn't given any answer from her after he started to speak. It was odd. She usually would respond to him almost immediately after he says something. He could still hear the sound of her light footsteps. He was overwhelmed with bugging curiosity and anger. He didn't like being ignored at all.

He glanced behind his back over his shoulder, but he didn't see Hinata walking behind him. He stopped dead on his tracks, bewildered. He heard her footsteps just a moment ago, but why wasn't she there?

The fear of being alone and abandoned crept up to him as if it had been waiting all that time. It crept up faster than the feeling of his curiosity and anger. His chest felt overwhelmingly heavy, and his head spun.

"Hey! Hinata!"

His desperate cry echoed through the woods. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He cried out for her again, but she didn't answer.

Without thinking for another second, he went off the path and desperately searched for his quiet companion. He called her name over and over as he ran through the woods without stopping despite how heavy his legs felt. His lungs felt like it was on fire as he panted and loudly called for her.

He finally found her on a bubbly brook far from the path that led up to the mountain. Her pale face was above the cool water, her eyes wide opened and lips slightly parted. Blood streamed from her forehead down to the side of her head and on to the water. She looked so peaceful, yet terrified at the same time.

He didn't realize that he was crying.

Gaara made no effort to talk to her now that they were done with their work. Hinata felt somehow lonely now that they didn't talk as often as they used to. She often wondered why he stopped talking to her, but the answers her mind usually came up with brought her down.

She always saw him on his desk listening to music during breaks, and sometimes he wasn't present during certain class subjects. She often wondered where he went to and what he did. She would occasionally muse to herself how nice it would be to skip a class once in a while without worrying over her father yelling at her.

She finally had the opportunity to skip a class one day. It was art class, the last one for the day. She tried her best to lie to her teacher without feeling guilty, saying that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to rest in the health center. She was allowed to go so easily that it surprised her.

Her heart beat enthusiastically when she closed the door after stepping out of the classroom. A smile graced her lips, and she wondered where to go best. She decided to go to the rooftop even though it was off-limits for students. She didn't care. She wanted to lie and break the rules once in a while in order to keep herself sane.

To her surprise, the door at the top of the staircase that led to the rooftop wasn't locked. When she opened it, she saw someone leaning against the railing with his back facing to her. His red hair shined below the sun and swayed away from the direction of the wind. She closed the door and approached him.

"So this is where you like to go, Sabaku-san?" she asked him and placed her palms on the railing.

He didn't turn his head to look at her. He only gave a short murmur, "Hm."

She looked at the view of the school's wide courtyard and intimidatingly prestigious gate. The courtyard seemed wider and more spacious from above. She was mostly amazed by the view of the buildings cramped up together, and the faint groaning sounds of cars.

Gaara noticed her amazement when he secretly glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw her mouth open with her twinkling gaze fixed on the view of the city.

"Tokyo looks cramped from here, don't you think?" he remarked.

"But it's still a lovely city. Full of excitement." She said.

"I guess so." He sighed, scratching the back of his head.

Silence engulfed them like the vast ocean before he turned his head to look at her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

He sounded annoyed, but Hinata tried to ignore his tone.

"I've never skipped a class before." She said, looking straight ahead at the view of the city. "This is my first time."

"No kidding."

"I enjoy art class. I r-really do." She bit her trembling lip. She mentally cursed herself for slightly stuttering. She took deep breaths before speaking again. "But I prefer to appreciate it rather than creating one. What about you, Sabaku-san?"

"Me too."

She pursed her lips together. She felt that she was annoying him—disturbing him from his time alone. All of a sudden, she felt terrible. The feeling of it struck her so quickly like lightning. She backed away from the railing and looked down at the floor. She blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Forgive me, Sabaku-san, for disturbing you," she said each word very carefully as if she was afraid that he would strike her. "I think it's best for me to leave now."

"No." He said firmly.

Her head shot up in surprise. "What?"

Hinata was puzzled. He sounded annoyed when she tried to talk to him; making her think that he didn't want her there, and then he told her to stay. It didn't sound like a request. It sounded more like an order—a shy desperate order to keep him company.

She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand before standing next to him and then placing her palms on the railing once again. Neither of them said a word. They listened to the sound of the blowing wind instead of speaking to one another. They both seemed to enjoy the comforting sound of the wind, so neither of them bothered to say anything.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I don't know how to make friends."

She looked at him. His face was serious, and his gaze was fixed on the view ahead of him. She noticed the dark color around his eyes, and how tired he looked despite his handsome facial features.

"That's okay," she smiled shyly. She blushed. "I don't know how to make friends either."

The corner of his lips lifted into a small smile. "I've always thought that girls are great at making friends."

She chuckled heartily, covering her mouth with her fingers. "Unfortunately, no."

He turned his head and looked at her. She felt her already blushing cheeks grew even redder, and she quickly looked away in embarrassment. He chuckled quietly and she glanced back at him.

"What's wrong?"

"You're pretty odd," he said with a smile. "But that's okay. I like that kind of people. It makes everything more interesting when you're with them, I should think."

She shyly flashed him a smile that warmed his heart.

"Thank you, Sabaku-san."

"Gaara is fine."

She softly chuckled, clutching her hands in front of her. "Okay."

They stayed there standing next to each other in comfortable silence, gazing at the view until the school bell rang for dismissal.

"I better go now," she said to him softly, gazing at him. "Nii-san might come looking for me."

He nodded his head. "Right."

"I'll see you again tomorrow, Saba—Gaara-kun," her voice softened when she said his honorific. He didn't seem to mind.

He nodded his head again. "See you."

She quickly walked away from his down to the art classroom to pick up her stuff. When she walked out of the classroom, she found Neji waiting outside as faithful as always like a dog. He straightened himself when he saw her come out of the classroom, and gave her a warm smile.

"Hello, nii-san," she greeted him warmly.

"How's your day?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you. How was yours?"

"Very nice."

They walked together out of the building after changing their shoes. As usual, Hinata walked behind her cousin with her gaze fixed on his back, avoiding meeting other people's terrifying eyes.

By the time she arrived home, she lay on her bed with her gaze concentrated on the ceiling and thought about Gaara.

There was something cold about him when she first spoke to him. His gaze was sharp and it slightly frightened her whenever she looked at him at first. But now she felt that the tall unbreakable wall, which surrounded him, was slowly breaking. She was certain that it must have been rather hard for him to tell her to stay earlier that day. He never showed his true feelings to her and everybody else, for that matter. But when he smiled—even just a little—her heart was overwhelmed with gladness. His smile was charming, yet slightly forced. She could understand. After all, he always kept a straight face.

Gaara-kun should smile more often, she thought to herself with a small smile adorning her face.