FINALLY

CHAPTER 1!

YOSH!

ONWARD!

Chapter 1

"Get your shit out of the car so I can leave!"

The porcelain-skinned, blood-haired boy lifelessly stared out the darkly tinted window, waiting a few more seconds to hear the exasperated sigh of his step-mother. His father's rising rage could be felt easily by the jewel-eyed teen, and he slowly grabbed his suitcase, opened the door, and slid out of the overly-expensive car. His door had barely been shut before his father sped off, leaving him standing alone at the entrance.

Sighing, the teen gazed up at the school, which was a large and stately building—his latest prison.

"Watch where you're going, freak!"

An icy glare silenced a now-frightened, small boy. Because of the people, Gaara never liked school. With this, his third year at the Barker & Johnstone Academy boarding school, he would be changing dorms. First and second years would share Barker Dorm, named after one of the founders of the school, who happened to be the younger of the pair. Third and fourth years would stay in the Johnstone dorm, obviously named for the other founder. The dorms were also separated by gender, with girls on the left half, and boys on the right, as seen when facing the buildings from the drive.

The thing Gaara dreaded the most, though, was that he would have to share a room, and it could be with either a third or forth year. The previous two years, he had shared a room with an arrogant prick named Sasuke. At first the boy was silent and kept to himself, but it wasn't long until Gaara's overly-emotional—and quite obviously gay—roommate showed his idiocy. If he wasn't talking of how he wanted to kill his brother (which Gaara could quickly silence him with telling him what it really was like killing a person), he was spouting out epics of his latest man-whoring, boy-chasing escapades. He constantly talked of his "blonde dobe," and other times some chestnut-haired boy a year ahead of them. Gaara never inquired about them, and yet the raven would still brag as if anyone cared.

It was Gaara's hope that he would get a better roommate this time. Not that he cared about homosexuality or any sexual orientation, but that he could not stand the boy's incessant prattle.

Making his way to the third floor of the eight-story building, the students around him parted slightly to allow him to pass, leaving a string of whispering clumps in his wake.

"319," he said to himself, almost a deep whisper. Gaara's eyes darted back and forth, the dread returning at the thought of finding his room, and more so of finding whoever or whatever lie within. All he needed this time was some gay kid that was worse than even that baka raven. Approaching the last set of doors in the hallway, he turned to the left, pulled out his key, and entered the room.

The first thing he noticed was that each light—spare the one on the ceiling—was covered neatly with dark material, reducing the ambient lighting significantly.

"Perhaps," a low voice announced from the darkness of a moderately tall shadowed figure in the corner, "perhaps you like more light?"

Gaara didn't answer.

"Good then," the voice went on, accepting Gaara's silence as a negative on more light. "That's good, because my eyes are a bit sensitive. My last roommate was a bit too bright and sunny for me. Luckily he graduated, and I doubt I'd have that problem, now that I've gotten a look at you."

As Gaara's eyes adjusted, the shadow moved forward into what little light the room had. The first thing he noticed was the teen's lilac-colored eyes. At a second glance, he noted the incredibly long chestnut hair, and skin as pale as his own.

"The name's Hyuuga. Hyuuga—"

"Neji," Gaara said, cutting him off. "I've heard of your little…'escapades' from the Uchiha."

Neji's cheeks flushed for a split second—for embarrassment or anger, Gaara couldn't tell—and his eyes glanced down slightly. "Well, that…he was just chasing me when Uzumaki denied him; which was most of the time. I was just unlucky enough to be caught, and could be controlled by my damn sensitive eyes."

Gaara let out a slight chuckle, and shook his head slightly as he strode over to his side of the room. "Well, I won't condone you for your past, but I don't want to hear about your future. That is a mistake that Uchiha made. I made sure he knew that before he and I left the other dorms, for sure."

As Gaara turned from the long-haired teen, he caught a visible flinch.

"Y-you were responsible for that incident?"

Gaara said nothing, and planned to say no more. He had said more than enough for the entire month already.

"N-never mind…fine, I'll leave you be. I enjoy silence and my own company as much as the next intelligent person."

The blood-haired teen smirked slightly to himself and plopped down on his bed. Thankfully, school wouldn't start until the next Monday, giving him four days to himself, away from most other students—especially the girls. He'd thought being called "monster" would deter moronic teenage fangirls, but these days, the girls were entirely…well, creepy and deranged. But, Gaara thought, sighing slightly to himself, at least it's only the girls. I can avoid them in the dorms.

oOoOoOo

"Alright! We're here!" cheered the small tan boy looking out the window.

"Remember you can come home whenever you want," the boy's foster father said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be okay Iruka-sensei," the boy said, while practically jumping out of the car.

"Don't hesitate to call," Iruka continued like a worried mother.

"Chill dad," his son replied, taking his belongings out of the car.

"Have fun!" Iruka said driving off.

"Bye!" the boy yelled, waving off at the car. His blonde hair shined in the sun. This was his third year at Barker & Johnstone Academy boarding school.

"Naruto-kun!!" he heard someone shout to him. Naruto turned around to find his latest stalker, Uchiha Sasuke, running towards him.

"Sasuke…hey," Naruto spoke in a less than enthusiastic tone.

"I missed you!" the raven cried throwing his arms around the blonde.

"Teme, please let go," Naruto said as politely as possible.

"Fine, dobe," Sasuke pouted, letting go.

"So, how are you?" Sasuke said. It was obvious he didn't want the blonde to leave.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to find my room," Naruto replied pulling out the paper with his room number on it. Sasuke pulled it away from him and began to read.

"Aww man!" Sasuke whined.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked trying to seem concerned.

"We don't have the same room!!" Sasuke whined more.

Thank you God! Naruto thought.

"But your room is right across from mine," Sasuke said with a smirk.

You hate me don't you? Naruto thought looking up at the sky.

"Isn't it great?" Sasuke asked, much more enthusiastic than Naruto was.

"Greeeaaat, yeah," Naruto gritted out, looking back to Sasuke.

"I know!" Sasuke almost squealed. In one year he went from "calm and collected" to "gay and annoying." He was still his cocky self, but when he was around Naruto all that dropped. The blonde hated it. Sasuke stalked Naruto and he was two-faced, not a good combination.

"I'll have a better chance this year," the raven muttered under his breath.

"Have a better chance at what?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, nothing," Sasuke said shaking his question off.

Great. He's gonna try again this year! God, you really do hate me, don't you? Naruto thought, looking back up at the sky.

"SASUKAAAAY!!" Naruto heard two girls shouted at the same time. A pink haired girl, Haruno Sakura, and a girl with long blonde hair pulled into a pony tail, Yamanaka Ino, came up to the two.

They were the only two Sasuke fangirls who wouldn't accept Sasuke as gay, even though it was blaringly obvious the raven was. He repeatedly tried to rape and kiss Naruto whenever the two were alone, and the whole school knew. Neji saw them once and told the whole school. Sasuke got himself a little something, something when he found Neji. Sasuke was happy and Neji was mortified for a while. The brunette didn't satisfy him for long though; Sasuke wanted a challenge, so he went back to Naruto.

"Hey girls," Sasuke said in the same voice Naruto used when he first spotted Sasuke. As Sasuke was distracted by his fangirls, Naruto made his get away.

He walked into the Johnstone dorm, trying to find the door labeled 313. "Unlucky number..." Naruto said to himself, opening the door.

He was immediately attacked by a small dog, yapping at his feet.

"Akamaru!" A boy with short brown hair shouted at the dog. "Hey Naruto. Remember me? Inuzuka-"

"Kiba," Naruto finished for him. "Yeah I remember."

Naruto knew Kiba from his former roommate, Aburame Shino. Shino had a scary obsession with bugs so he had them everywhere. In the beds, in the bathroom, EVERYWHERE! As for Naruto, well he had an irrational fear of bugs. He freaked out if he even saw one. He couldn't stand living with Shino. Hopefully Dog Boy is better than Bug Boy, Naruto thought. Kiba was also inadvertently how Naruto got his first stalker, Hyuuga Hinata. It's always the quiet ones.

Naruto placed his suitcase on the bed Kiba hadn't already claimed and began to put his belongings away.

"Damn, it must suck to have Sasuke as a boyfriend," Kiba said while petting his dog.

"Sasgay, is not my boyfriend!!" the now infuriated blonde shouted.

"Sorry man. I was just joking," the brunette said jumping back.

"I over reacted. Sorry, but Uchiha freaking stalks me!" Naruto said, attempting to calm down.

"I feel sorry for you," Kiba said walking out of the room.

"Me too," Naruto said to no one.

The tan skinned boy moved his suitcase and laid it on top of his bed. Four days, Naruto thought. Four days of dodging Sasuke and his fangirls. All the girls who finally accepted Sasuke as gay blamed Naruto—and more than half the girls at that school were Sasuke fangirls.

Naruto planned on staying in his room. He was a hyperactive child but at times he was avoidant. This was one of those times. He had to get used to his foster father not being around.

oOoOoOo

"NARUTOOOO!!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP TEME!"

Gaara woke up the next morning to something he had hoped never to wake up to again.

"NARUTO COME BACK!!"

Sasuke's voice echoed in Gaara's head for several minutes as he tried to wake up completely. Back when he had roomed with the raven, the baka had once woken the red-haired teen with his girlish squealing. It was the first and last time that ever happened. Even now, it seemed the Uchiha would never give up on the blonde ball-o'-sunshine.

Of course, Gaara couldn't care less about the two of them; he couldn't care less about anyone in the school, or anywhere in the general vicinity of himself, for that matter. Keeping to himself suited him best, so he did so as often as possible.

At home, Gaara didn't leave his own room, as not only was he afraid to leave it, but the door was locked from the outside anyway. Not that he cared, as that left him to his own thoughts. The only speed-bumps occurred when he was forced to go to a public primary school. It was then that he developed his "monster" reputation.

Those bastards deserved it anyway, Gaara thought.

The instant he joined the school, at age 8, he was ridiculed. He had never learned how to interact with others, and this isolated him instantly. He had a selfish streak the size of Mars, especially when it came to "snack time." Being locked in his room 24/7, he was given minimal food, so he was used to protecting it with his life like a feral animal. This deficiency of nourishment also had stunted his growth—as he was 17 and still only 63 inches in height—and caused him to seemingly permanently keep a frail, slender figure.

But, even with keeping to himself, and a slight habit to act as if he were feral, he quickly lost his temper—and mind. Not that he cared. Those bastards deserved what he did to them. Each and every singe one, each and every single time—especially the Uchiha.

The redhead narrowed his eyes at the ceiling, pushing his thoughts of his past back into the deepest depths of his mind. Now was the time to forget all that, and to just try to keep as far away from others as possible. His habits weren't too abnormal if he was left alone, other than his weekly ritual.

Gaara nearly chuckled to himself as he turned his head slightly to glance at the lightly snoring Hyuuga. Sasuke freaked the first time he saw Gaara in his ritual, and the blood-haired teen was intrigued to see how the chestnut-haired Neji would react. Some would call it a love for shock factor, but for Gaara, it was necessary. Horrible consequences would develop if he left the ritual too long undone, and his roommate would find out soon enough in one way or another.

Gaara lay in bed for at least thirty more minutes. As he looked at the clock to see the time, 7 AM, Neji stirred.

"I would say 'good morning,' but I doubt it really is for either of us," Neji mumbled.

Gaara didn't respond, but silently climbed out of bed and headed towards the shower with a stack of clothing. Thankfully for Gaara, the rooms each had a small bathroom with a toilet and shower, so he wouldn't have to face anyone else in the morning—or middle of the night, as he was prone to showers at 2 or 3 AM.

He silently walked to the small room and carefully shut and locked the door behind him. Ever since he was young, he had a habit of locking doors when possible. It made him feel more at ease, though he was far from relaxed at any given moment.

Gaara glanced in the mirror, noticing his hair was getting longer. It was completely straight, blood red, and almost to his collarbone now. He never felt the need to put effort in cutting it, though. His hair grew fast, and would only get it cut once his father deemed it too long to be appropriate. Well, at least, his father would strap him down and make him get it cut, as Gaara liked it to be a bit longer, so he could pull it out of his way. He had several times been given compliments on his hair by his occasional stalker-fangirls, but it never really made any difference to him.

He pulled his shirt over his head, his eyes avoiding the mirror at this point. Even though he was the cause of the majority of them, he had no intentions of looking at the various scars scattered over his pale torso and back. Shedding his baggy dark jeans that he slept in, he stared at the floor for the same reason. He turned on the shower as hot as he could stand without burning his skin off and let the water beat down on him as he thought to himself.

Classes on Monday... Gaara mused. Let's see, there's Trigonometry…then English…then Chemistry…then Lab…and then damn Static Arts. Gaara slammed his fist onto the wall of the shower. "Why the hell do they put me in the damn art class every year?" he mumbled angrily.

It wasn't that he was bad at art; he was an amazing artist, with a unique mix of macabre and surrealism in everything. He was praised by a professional art critic at age 10. But with this, he couldn't care less about creating art that would be seen by anyone, and he hated even more having to create his art in front of onlookers. His art was something he desired to keep to himself. Gaara wouldn't even look at his artwork after he finished it, because it lost its artistic quality to him.

Turning off the water, Gaara climbed back out of the shower and dried off. He pulled on a fresh pair of boxers and slipped into a pair of straight black jeans and a blood-red shirt. Next, Gaara pulled his blood-red hair back into a low ponytail and tucked the shorter strands from the front behind his ears—at least, the ones that would stay back there. Next came the covering of the insomniac's circles under his eyes, as he expertly—and thickly—lined them with black eyeliner, which caused a sharp contrast to his pale skin. He glanced in the mirror one more time, his tattoo quite visible on his forehead, a ghosting of freckles showing along the tops of his cheeks and across his nose, and then flinched as he saw his most recent mark. He lightly traced the long, fading red line down the inside of his left arm, wondering what he'd have to do for next week's ritual. Gaara smirked weakly, pulled on a dark grey System of a Down zip-up hoodie, gathered his things, and left the bathroom.

Back in the room, it was still quite dark, and Gaara could sense that the lilac-eyed boy had left already. Gaara grabbed his sketchbook and charcoal pencils, put them into his small black messenger bag (black was nice so that the vandalism of other random students wouldn't be visible…usually), and left the room, squinting at the change in the light level.

As he walked towards the stairs, a flash of yellow streaked by him; then he was knocked over.

"Oww…" Gaara heard an all-too-familiar voice whine. "What the hell was that for? Don't you watch where you're-"

The redhead glanced upward to see the horrified, yet still strangely composed, face of Uchiha Sasuke. His eyes narrowed as the raven quickly scrambled to get off of him.

"S-sorry…" he stammered for a second, and then quickly slapped a silly grin back on his face. "Oi, dobe! Wait up!"

Gaara snarled as he glared the black-haired teen down the hallway. Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked back, an annoyed look on his face. Gaara watched the blonde's eyes flash to himself quickly, and then he turned and continued running from the squealing homosexual.

Gaara picked himself up and finished the trip to the stairs. He had to make it to the abandoned classroom on the other side of the campus before he ended up killing someone. In that classroom, nobody would appear suddenly to bother him, and he could spend his four free days in peace.

It didn't take long to reach the run-down room. The walls were covered with graffiti, and several desks were knocked over or just utterly demolished. Gaara weaved through the wreckage and claimed the one desk that was clean and unaffected by the chaos around it. He pulled out his materials and prepared to sketch. He would pour his entire being into the artwork he did, as this was his only release. But pity be on those who ever discovered his artwork, as they would most likely be too terrified to ever close their eyes again in fear of the image returning.

oOoOoOo

Naruto awoke the next morning to someone breathing on his neck. The blonde looked around the room and Kiba was no where to be found. He rolled over to find the Uchiha cuddled up next to him, sleeping soundly. Naruto had come to the possibilities either he was in a nightmare or Kiba left the door open/unlocked. After pinching himself so many times and so hard that he had huge red welts covering his forearms that were beginning to bruise, he concluded he was awake. Next to figure out: did Kiba leave the door open on purpose or by accident. Thinking that through, Naruto decided if Kiba had done this for kicks he would be here to watch.

Instead of screaming at the raven, like he usually did, he gently shook him and quietly called, "Teme, wake up…come on, Sasuke."

"N-Naruto?" the pale boy questioned, still half asleep. After a few seconds, Sasuke regained full consciousness. "Naruto!" he said, shooting up and crossing his legs and making sure to face his love interest.

Naruto was laying down with his head propped up with his hand, making sure that his stalker didn't do anything inappropriate. In the sweetest tone Naruto could use, he questioned, "What the hell are you doing in my room? And why the hell are you in my bed?"

Sasuke thought for a second, then replied, "Oh, last night was fun."

"What!?" Naruto almost shouted, sitting up straight. "Don't tell me we…" He didn't even want to think of that.

"Yep." Sasuke smiled.

"Oh God!" Naruto said throwing his face into his hands.

Sasuke just sat smirking.

"You have to be kidding me!!" Naruto pleaded, his face filled with horror and disgust.

"Of course I am, dobe," Sasuke said like it was obvious.

Naruto glared at Sasuke before shouting "Go away teme!"

"Fine," Sasuke replied, getting out of Naruto's bed. Naruto followed to lock the door. Sasuke turned around. "Oh, before I forget: Morning sunshine!" he chirped cheerfully, stealing a kiss from the blonde.

"Leave!" Naruto shouted pushing him out the door and locking it behind him.

Naruto grabbed some clothes and went to take a shower. He had to wash the smell of Sasuke off him, and possibly scrub off his lips at the same time. The blue eyed teen double-checked the lock on the door just in case the raven found a way back in the room. Naruto slipped off his white tee shirt and glanced at his arms. The purple and brown marks on them clashed with the cuts on his wrists. Naruto had had the oddest habit since he was about six: every two weeks on a Thursday at three in the morning he had to slit his wrists. He just had to! He felt incomplete if he didn't. One time in middle he tried to stop. He was a crazy, jittery, paranoid mess for a month. Everyone began to avoid him more than they did before. Naruto decided it was best not to question his habits.

He had been on his own till he was about thirteen. That's when his teacher, now foster father, took him in. Iruka's childhood was much like Naruto's—minus the slit wrists and being avoided—so Iruka took to Naruto quickly. After a series of events, Iruka adopted Naruto.

The blonde boy glanced in the mirror. He was much too skinny, even though he usually ate about five bowls of ramen a day. Though it was true he never ate lunch, the ramen should have more of an effect on keeping his weight stable. Naruto was about average height, being 65 inches tall. The boy then dropped his boxers and slid under the warm water. Showers were Naruto's escape from everything.

Fucking teme! Fucking freaking me out like that! Fuck! Naruto shouted into the depths of his mind. Finishing, he turned the water off and jumped out, not bothering to look in the mirror.

The tan boy pulled on some clean boxers and a pair of baggy blue jeans. Next, he wrapped his arms in white bandages. Because Naruto wore the bandages everyday, no one thought much to ask about it. Or, rather, no one really cared enough to ask. After pulling his black tee shirt on over his head he began the fiddle with his necklace. It was a long blue crystal on a thick black cord. The person he won it from told him it was unlucky but he didn't listen to her and wore it anyway.

The blonde then brushed his hair. When wet his hair was short and choppy, the ends just barely touched the back of his neck; when dry, it was in blonde spikes. Before leaving the bathroom Naruto looked in the mirror and ran a hand down the three whisker marks on his left cheek, then over the three on his right. "Monster," he whispered to himself. Naruto gathered his dirty clothes and walked out.

He dropped his clothes at the end of his bed and glanced at the clock, it read 6:27 AM. Bastard woke me up early! Naruto yelled in his mind.

"Aww, your so cute when your wet," he heard come from behind him.

Naruto didn't say a word or even glance back at Sasuke as he put on his favorite orange jacket; Naruto loved the color orange.

"NARUTOOOO!!" Sasuke wailed trying to get the blonde's attention.

"SHUT THE HELL UP TEME!" Naruto shouted as he headed over to the opposite side of the room.

"NARUTO COME BACK!!" Sasuke called as Kiba walked in the door.

"Damn you guys are loud!" He turned to see Sasuke sitting on his bed. "Naruto, why is he here if you don't like him?" Kiba asked motioning to Sasuke.

"Ask him! The bastard was curled up next to me while I was sleeping!" Naruto snapped while trying to keep his cool.

Kiba chuckled wildly.

"It's not funny!" Naruto growled.

"Okay! Okay!" Kiba said throwing his hands up defensively.

The two roommates then looked at their unwanted homosexual guest, expecting an answer.

"The door was unlocked and I wanted time with Naru!" the raven said, looking at the object of his love with lustful eyes.

"Kiba, please make sure to lock the door!" Naruto pleaded.

"Umm, yeah…okay…sorry..." Kiba mumbled while feeding his dog.

Sasuke went and sat next to Naruto, as the blonde was now sitting on his own bed. Kiba, seeing enough of the gay love, walked out with his dog. Sasuke, thinking of this as an opportunity, swung his legs over the other boy's lap and moved in to kiss him once again.

"Get the fuck of me!" Naruto yelled, pushing Sasuke to the ground. Naruto the got up, drag the boy to the door, and pushed him out. "Get friends!" Naruto shouted as he slammed the door in Sasuke's face. "Almost two fucking times in one fucking hour!" (Fuck was Naruto's favorite word) The blonde locked the door yet again and laid on his bed.

Sleep was Naruto's favorite pastime; well, that and photography. He could always capture things in a way others couldn't. He was able to show people what they miss, whether it was something in a person or in nature; all he had to do was hide behind his camera. Naruto felt pictures made time freeze, if only for a moment. In that short moment, it showed people's true feelings, it showed true beauty, even if the picture was something you would consider disgusting. That was Naruto's gift with a camera. He made simple things look elegant and disgusting things beautiful.

After dozing in and out for about an hour, Naruto heard the door open. He saw Kiba walk in, leaving the door open yet again. Kiba seemed to never lock doors or keep them closed, and Naruto knew this was going to be a habit he had to change. He was not going to be miserable for another two years.

The blue-eyed teen had no idea what to do, so he thought he would go develop his film. He grabbed his camera, said bye to Kiba, and headed for the school's dark room, his favorite place to be. He stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Narutooo," the person behind him almost sang.

Naruto took off, not looking back. He ran past blobs of brown, a flash of red and black, then back to blobs of brown.

He heard mumbles of voices behind him and only turned around when he heard Sasuke shout, "Oi, dobe! Wait up!"

Naruto glanced to see the red and black flash was actually a redheaded boy dressed in black. 'Do I know him?' Naruto thought for a second, but took off again when he saw Sasuke chasing after him.

Naruto ran around for a while, running all around the campus. After losing Sasuke in a crowd of people, he slipped back into the school. Along the way, he caught a glimpse of that redhead Sasuke ran into earlier walking into an abandoned classroom. Naruto continued down the hall into the dark room. There he could hide from Sasuke while doing what he loved.

"I am so glad Sasuke doesn't know I love photography!" Naruto chirped happily as he worked.

HECK YES!

collab with a fwiend on devART. i'm Gaara, and she's doin' Naru. I've actually started typing up the next part even, as i want to get this one rolling smoothly. and, just like it says on the description, this will be HORROR. so, i will be putting in some warnings if you don't like to read that kind of stuff. i bet y'all can tell a difference in the writing styles b/t us. --

iono. i sure can, but that's just me.

i left a few tiny hints about stuff about Gaara's past involving family and the time he had to bunk with Sasgay. but the real goings on b/t the two of them (mainly the "incident" people are referring to) may or may not come out in the next chapter. which i hope to get out ASAP.

leave me loves!

now...i must continue it...