--I Never Stopped Loving You--

--Chapter 2: Forget --

-Shika/Saku-

Disclaimer:I Don't Own Naruto.

"Fuck, it's midnight," said a groggy voice from the phone. "What the hell could you be calling me for at this time?"

Sakura held the phone close to her ear. It was still hard for her to talk, she couldn't stop crying. She needed a place for her and Ryuu to stay for a night or two, so she called her best friend, Temari. Temari heard sobbing from the other line, and it got her concerned and wide awake.

"Saki-chan?" said Temari in a concerned tone. "Are you crying? What happened?"

Sakura breath out before talking on the phone, "Sh-hikamaru and I, we....br-roke up. -sob- I need a place where me and Ryuu could stay. Pl-lease, can I come over? Just for a night or two."

"Oh my god," gasped Temari. "You're telling me all the fucking details once you get your ass over here! Once I find out what that idiot did to you, I'm going to go kick his ass! You can stay here as long as you need to, until you find a place. Don't worry about anything, I'll just kick Gaara or Kankuro out of their room."

Sakura smiled, she knew that she could always count on Temari. They were practically sisters. They became best friends...because of Shikamaru actually. Temari and Shikamaru were going out, and afterwards they broke up because it wasn't working out so well. When he started dating Sakura, Temari got a little mad and went up to her. She liked Sakura's attitude and guts, and soon they became the best of friends.

"Thanks Temi-chan," said Sakura appreciatevly. "I'll be there in a few. You still live with your brothers?"

"Sadly, yes" sighed Temari. "Our father demands that we stay together until he comes back from his business trip. I swear, that's all a load of bullshit. He wants us to end up realizing we can count on each other for anything even when we're grown up and what not. Ugh, they drive me crazy! Well, I'll get things set up, see you in a bit Saki-chan!"

Sakura giggled, "Kay, bye. Oh and thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Stop thanking me, you're my little sister, I'd do anything for you," said Temari in a softer tone. "Well, see ya soon!"

They both hung up. Sakura sighed, the tears stopped rolling down her face. Yeah, Temari sure did have that effect on her. She could always get her back to smiling and laughing, no matter how tough things were at the time. That's why they were best friends, and that's why they would stay as best friends.

'I know that I always told you everything Temari...' thought Sakura. 'But I can't tell you about what Ino did. You will definitely get pissed off and maybe even kill her. You always hated her, this won't help anything. Ah, I need to come up with an excuse.'

Sakura started driving out of the driveway, and onto the road. She looked one last time at the mansion and smiled sadly. There was nothing she could do, she had do to whatever it took to keep Ryuu safe. After about fifteen minutes of driving, she made it to Temari's house. It was quite big but, nothing fancy. Just a normal big house. It was pretty but plain, clean but not spotless.

Sakura parked the car in the driveway and got out of her car. She opened up the door to the back seat and unbuckled Ryuu out of the booster chair. He was already napping. Watching him sleep peacefully saddened her, now his life was all messed up. It's not fun to have separated parents, and it was especially sad when you saw them with someone else. She would try to stay single, for Ryuu. Hopefully Shikamaru does too, hopefully he doesn't end up falling into Ino's devious lies.

She walked on the paved sidewalk and then walked until she was at the front of the house. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door. After a moment, someone finally opened the door, and Temari appeared at the doorway.

"I am so sorry," said Temari apologetically as she moved aside to let Sakura walk in. "You can put the baby in Gaara's room. Gaara doesn't sleep anyway, so I told him to get his ass of the bed and to help you with your suitcases and stuff."

Sakura smiled, she already knew where Gaara's room was. She had been to their house tons of times. She use to come almost every day, well that was about five years ago or more. When they were in high school, Sakura and Gaara were really close friends. That might have been hard to believe but, guess what's harder to believe? They ended up going out. Their relationship did last quite long though. It lasted for about a year and a half, almost two years. Afterwards, she ended up going out with Shikamaru. Temari was never really home, so she never noticed Sakura when she was going out with Gaara.

She didn't remember why they broke up but, she knew that he was the first boy that she fell in love with. She couldn't lie, even though she was with Shikamaru, she still liked Gaara. Just a bit though, cuz she was still completely in love with Shikamaru. She never felt so strongly in love with anyone, the way she felt with Shikamaru. She went up the carpeted steps and walked down the light green walled halls until she reached the door to Gaara's bedroom. She took in a deep breath and hesitantly turned the knob.

'Hopefully he's not there!' thought Sakura. 'I will definitely feel embarrassed. Maybe I shouldn't have come here. Living in the same house as my ex, is NOT good. I should have thought this over more! No, calm down Sakura, I can do this. Shut up and stop being a drama queen!'

She opened the door, and it seems like luck was not on her side. There was Gaara, standing half naked, with black sweats pants on, and a white t-shirt in his hands. She guessed that he was getting dressed to go outside and help with her things.

Sakura's cheeks flushed pink from embarrassment, "Ah, I'm so sorry! I should have knocked first!"

Sakura quickly shut the door and tightened her grip on Ryuu, hoping that the noise didn't wake him up. A few moments later, Gaara opened the door and looked down at her- yes he was taller than her. Sakura looked up at his jade eyes with her mesmerizing emerald eyes.

'He's.....hot' thought Sakura. 'Ah what the fuck am I saying?! I love Shikamaru! He does look hotter than Gaara. But even so, Gaara is still pretty hot. Ah! This was definitely not a good idea.'

"Your looking as hot and as embarrassed as ever," said Gaara smugly, leaning his back on the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

Well, she couldn't say it wasn't true. He always did seem to catch her all flushed and embarrassed. It was usually his fault though, with his smug and cool ways.

Sakura gave him a light glare, "Oh shut up and move."

"What if I don't want to?" asked Gaara coyly.

'Damn, I just got here five minutes ago and already he's flirting with me,' thought Sakura frantically. 'This is not good! I was never able to resist him. Gah, half an hour of me being single, and already I got a hot guy all over me. I think things would be better if I just died! Ugh, I really want to be back with Shikamaru. No Sakura, you have to forget about Shikamaru! Otherwise the stupid witch will hurt Ryuu! Being here will probably be a good thing...it'll help me forget about Shikamaru. But, I don't want to- oh well, I have to! -sigh- I can't do this.'

"It doesn't matter if you want to, smart ass" said Sakura defiantly. "Move, I have to put Ryuu on the bed to sleep."

"Ryuu?-"

Sakura gestured towards the baby in her hands. Gaara hadn't even noticed him.

'So, Nara got her pregnant?' thought Gaara. 'Temari told me they were still together for like five years and that now they broke up and Sakura needed a place to stay. Never did she tell me that Sakura had a baby. Damn, this must all really suck. Why did they break up anyway?'

Gaara moved aside and let her get through. Sakura walked over to the bed with red sheets and moved the pillows around so that Ryuu could be more comfortable and so that he couldn't fall of the bed, in case he woke up. She walked out the room and closed the door behind her. Thus, leaving her to be alone with Gaara. She was a bit nervous, she didn't want to end up falling for Gaara again.

"Why'd you guys break up?" asked Gaara. "It must have been pretty big, considering you two have a child."

Sakura shifted her eyes away, "It was."

That's all she said, and then she turned to walk down the hall and down the steps. Gaara stared blankly at where Sakura was just standing.

'What the hell happened?' wondered Gaara as he started walking to follow her.

They both ended up outside, and he helped her bring in the suitcases. When they left the suitcases in the room, Sakura was about to leave. But, Gaara closed the door and stopped her. He turned her around and made her back up against the wall.

"What happened?" asked Gaara.

"Why do you care?" asked Sakura with cold eyes.

Gaara was getting annoyed, and Sakura could tell that he was. He never liked his questions being answered with a question.

"Dammit Sakura," started off Gaara in a bitter tone. "Stop with the games and tell me what happened. Who broke up with who?"

"It's not like it has anything to do with you," said Sakura in a harsh tone. "Whatever, I broke up with him. As for the reason, I really can't tell you, or anyone for the matter."

"If you broke up with him, then why are you over here?" asked Gaara. "Shouldn't he be the one who moves out of the house? Did he cheat on you or something? Just tell me!"

"Promise you won't tell anyone and that you won't confront her or mention anything?" sighed Sakura, she knew there was no use in keeping secrets from Gaara. He always ended up getting it out of her.

'Her?' thought Gaara confused. "I Promise."

Gaara was shocked and utterly confused when he saw Sakura start to cry. It was like a waterfall of tears, that would never stop coming out of her eyes. He wasn't so sure of what to make of this. Sakura grasped his shirt and leaned on him, Gaara slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"I-it was Ino," said Sakura, her name was enough to get Gaara pissed off, he knew that she was always jealous of Sakura. He knew what type of girl Ino was, she was a bitch. "She got int-to my house somehow and took Ryuu. -sob- She was with a gang of guys...and she threatened to kill him if-f I didn't break up with Shikamaru. She said if anyone found out, she'd kill Ryuu. -sob- T-hey even held a knife at Ryuu's neck! I had to leave Shikamaru, no matter how much I didn't want to. No matter how much...-sob- I love him..."

Gaara felt that his shirt was soaked with tears but, he didn't care. He was astonished by what Sakura had just told him. He never knew Ino could stoop so low. She wasn't in love with Shikamaru anymore, she was obsessed! Who the hell does that?! Especially when someone has a baby. Who would kill an innocent little child?! That girl is crazy, and needs to be put into a mental institution.

Gaara pulled Sakura closer to him.

"Damn, I'm really sorry Sakura," apologized Gaara. "I know that doesn't help at all but remember, I was always there for you back then, and I'll always be here for you now, we may not be together anymore but, that won't ever change. You'll pull through, hopefully we can find a way to get you back with him, and get the crazy bitch in jail. I.....never thought that she could stoop so low."

Sakura looked up at Gaara with sad eyes and gave him a small smile, "Thank you so much Gaara."

Her eyes started to close slightly, as everything around her starting spinning in circles.

"S-akura," said Gaara. "Sakura, you okay?"

Soon, everything turned black. Gaara shook her, "Sakura, wake up! Wake up!"

He touched her forehead, it was really hot.

'It's okay, she just fainted,'thought Gaara, hoping that she really would be okay. He carried her bridal style and carefully opened the door and ran down the hall, with Sakura in his arms.

"Sexy lady in the house!" said the perverted, annoying, immature voice of Kankuro. He was sleeping but heard a lot of rucus so came out of his room to see what was the cause of all the noise. "Are you guys back together?"

Gaara glared at his older brother and decided to ignore him and go downstairs. Temari appeared out of the kitchen and looked at Sakura in shock.

"Put her on the couch in the living room!" ordered Temari as she ran back in the kitchen to get a cold towel to put over Sakura's head.

Gaara did as told and went into the living room and rested Sakura on the couch. He looked at her, concerned.

'This must be really hard for her,'thought Gaara. 'I really can't believe Ino would do something like that. She still hasn't gotten over him?! I think Sakura's only option...would be to try to forget about her feelings for Shikamaru. That's going to be really hard, Ino just screwed up Sakura's and Ryuu's life. What a bitch, I'd go up to her and say so much shit and possibly murder her ass, but I promised Sakura I wouldn't. Dammit, she should have called me, both of us could have kicked their asses!'

Temari quickly rushed into the living room and pushed Gaara aside as she placed the wet towel over Sakura's head and put the water bottle on the small wooden table.

"What happened?" asked Temari as she looked over at Gaara.

Kankuro walked into the living room, "What's going on? It's one in the morning. We should all be sleeping. What's pinky doing here?"

"Long story, just shut up and go to sleep Kankuro," said Temari.

"Oh trust me, I would love that idea," said Kankuro. "Too bad you guys are making a lot of noise and won't let me sleep!"

"We'll be quiet!" said Temari. "Now get your ass up those stairs and in your room!"

"Whatever," muttered Kankuro as he did as told.

Temari turned her eyes to look at Gaara again, "So..?"

'Sakura doesn't want anyone to know about this...'thought Gaara. 'But, Temari is like a sister to her. Still, Sakura should tell Temari herself...I don't want to end up getting Sakura mad at me.'

"She was crying because she really misses Shikamaru..." said Gaara, that wasn't a lie. "I guess all the crying made her get a fever because of all the stress, and she ended up fainting. Maybe we should let her have some space. Don't bug her too much about why they broke up."

"I guess you're right, I'll let her tell me what happened whenever she's ready," agreed Temari. "I'm going to see if I can rest a bit. Take her to your room and keep an eye on her. I know I don't even have to ask you to, you'll do anything for her, right?.....You still love her."

Temari sent a sad smile towards Gaara, she knew he still loved Sakura, he never stopped. He never went out with anyone after Sakura and him broke up. He couldn't, he loved her and only her.

"Yeah..." said Gaara in a hushed tone.

"She still doesn't remember what happened, does she?" asked Temari.

Gaara shook his head and averted his eyes towards where Sakura layed on the couch.

"Are you ever going to tell her?" asked Temari softly.

"I don't know," answered Gaara as he kept his eyes on Sakura. He looked a bit sad now.

"She deserves to know...." said Temari. "But, whether or not she knows is up to you. Goodnight Gaara, make sure she's alright."

After all of that was said, Temari went up the stairs and went to her room to sleep.

Gaara had his fists clenched as he saw Sakura sleep, 'It was all my fault. We could have still been together....if I had been a little more careful.'

-----Flashback

"Gaara-kun, why did you call me and ask me to meet you here?" asked Sakura confused.

Sakura and Gaara were in a park, sitting underneath a tree. Gaara looked at her with sad eyes.

"I love you Sakura-chan," said Gaara. "And you know that I'll always love you right?"

"Of course!" said Sakura, smiling happily. "You know that I'll always love you too!"

Gaara captured her lips with his and the two kissed. When they pulled apart, Sakura blushed a bit.

"Why would you call me over for that?" asked Sakura a bit confused. "I know that you love me. You seem a bit sad Gaara-kun....what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan," said Gaara as he stood up and looked down, covering his eyes with his red hair. "We can't be together anymore. It's best if you forget about any feelings you ever had for me! It's done! We're over!"

Sakura looked up at him with tears in her emerald eyes, "Gaara-kun...but, you said you'll always love me!"

"I do, and I always will," said Gaara as he started walking away. "But, we can't be together anymore. Just forget that you ever loved me! Forget."

He left, and Sakura was standing there with tears in her eyes. None of this made sense to her, none of it.

"Forget...?" asked Sakura. "Forget my love for you? ...Never."

Sakura clutched her head in pain as she fell on her knees. All the memories of the times she spent with him started going through her head........then they started to disappear. Forget. That's what he had told her to do right? Forget. She didn't want to but, slowly, all the memories were disappearing. Forget. That's all that was running through her mind. She couldn't forget about him. She didn't want to. Forget.

Boom. Most of her memories with him disappeared just like that. She stayed on the floor, unconscious. Gaara, who was looking at her from afar, came and quickly took her to the hospital.

'I had to do this...'thought Gaara. 'I won't put her in anymore danger. She has to forget about me...what I did, is unforgiveable. Even though the accident made her forget what happened...I still remember and I won't put her in anymore danger. It's a good thing that I put those pills in her lemonade. Whatever I tell her to forget...she forgets. She forgets only because her memory is already so weak because of that accident. She needs to forget about this. I never will....and I don't want to.'

Just as he was about to run out of the hospital, a doctor stopped him.

"You did it?" asked the doctor.

"Yeah..." said Gaara.

"I told you to really think about this..." said the doctor. "Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes" answered Gaara.

"Why would you do this..?" continued the doctor.

"Because I love her." answered Gaara as he ran out of the hospital.

-----End Of Flashback

Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He wasn't quite sure if he regretted that decision, because he still loved her. No, he made the right decision. He didn't want to put her in any danger again, what he did had to be done.

He grabbed the water bottle and then carried her bridal style again. He carried her up the steps and made his way to his room. Her eyes started to flutter as she regained consciousness. She looked up through half lidded eyes and saw Gaara.

"What happened?" asked Sakura softly.

"You fainted," said Gaara, as he stopped in front of the door to his room.

"Sorry to cause you so much trouble.." apologized Sakura.

Gaara looked down at her, "It isn't any trouble. I like being able to help you in some way."

Sakura smiled, "You can put me down now."

Gaara put her down and opened the door to his room. They walked in and Gaara sat on his small couch, while Sakura layed down on his bed, next to Ryuu.

"Gaara....what do you think I should do?" asked Sakura softly...almost in a whisper.

"I wouldn't risk anything happening to your son..." said Gaara. "Maybe it's best if you try to forget about your feelin-"

Gaara stopped himself from going on any further, 'I already made her forget about her feelings towards me...If I make her forget about Shikamaru....this guilt will only grow. What the hell can I do though?! I don't want her to risk getting her son and herself killed! Getting her back with Nara is simply impossible! We need to find some way to get her to move on. She probably won't want to though...Ryuu will get upset. But, what else is there to do? Trying to forget about him will really crush her in the process.'

"What do you want to do..?" asked Gaara.

Sakura looked at him, "I don't know. I want to go back with Shikamaru but, the chances of that happening are close to impossible. I don't want to go out with another guy....until Ryuu is at least about thirteen...which will be in forever. It'll be hard to forget about Shikamaru....especially since I will see him every week. Since Ryuu has to spend a week with each of us. I guess I shouldn't do anything. Just move on with life and make sure Ryuu's safe. I guess Shikamaru and I ....our love....was never meant to be. But, I still refuse to forget....that our love for each other did exist at one point in time...and will continue to go on...forever."

Gaara was going to say something but saw that she had already fallen asleep. He wondered, 'Was this how she would have felt about me if her memory wasn't partially erased? Would she feel so crushed? ....I guess making her forget really was a good decision. I wouldn't be able to live with the thought that me leaving her, was slowly killing her inside.'

Gaara just stayed on the couch, watching Sakura cuddle with her baby, and fall into a light sleep.

'I really wish we could still be together Sakura...'thought Gaara. 'I know you love Shikamaru....but, what about me? You haven't forgotten completely about your feelings...have you? Cuz I sure haven't.'

A/N: Decided to continue it. =]

I hope you liked the chapter. I will update when I can.

Oh and before I forget, there will be slight Saku/Gaa but, this is mainly Shika/Saku and the pairing is Saku/Shika.

Thanks for the reviews, they're the only reason I decided to continue this story.

Please review, I would like to know what you think of this chapter.

Til next time. Bye.

-X Emerald Goddess Of The Night X-