Gaara glanced at the clock on his bed side table with a groan. 10:31 at night.
"Hyuga... wake up." he gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder and watched her practically twitch back to life.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" she screamed suddenly, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"Calm down Hyuga! Geez!" he took her by her shoulders to steady her and she snapped back suddenly with a sigh.
"Oh... sorry about that.... you scared me." she mumbled in a yawn.
"Hyuga..." he couldn't help but roll his eyes, then turn in bed before his face dropped, "Do you have a cell phone on you?" he asked her as she stretched her arms out in front of her. She nodded and pulled a small broken looking phone out, flipping it open.
"Yea, but no one's called me," she said gently, rubbing her eyes as she turned and caught a glimpse of the clock. "Oh shit! Daddy is gonna kill m-"
A knock came at Gaara's bedroom door as it interrupted Hinata's frightful rant, but not Temari's soft swift knock. Nor was it Kankuro's three knuckle tap he had claimed to be patented. This was an adult's hand beating on the thin wood that was his door, the size he knew all too well from when his own father was still alive.
He stood up hesitantly and stalked over to his door, pulling it open a few inches. Before him was a tall, overly strict looking and very pissed off older man, his gaze alone looming over him.
"What do you want?" Gaara asked, looking up at the man and trying to hold his ground.
"I'm here for my daughter." he said as if it was the answer to everything, folding his arms over his chest. A boy stood behind him, his hair hanging down his back and a bored expression on his face.
Neji.
Hinata scrambled beside Gaara faster then lighting, her bags ready. The once bright glow had faded away to no glow at all, her head down and her things on her back. "I'm ready father..." she whispered, her voice afraid and stiff as if on auto reply.
Her father lifted up his hand and Hinata winced as if she was going to be hit, but instead he handed Gaara a card with a picture of the Hyuga seal on it. "The next time you decide to kidnap my daughter call me so I can know where to pick her up instead of having to track her down."
Hinata let out an inaudible sigh of relief, choking back her fear all over again. She walked to catch up to her father as he headed down the hall and gave a meek wave back to Gaara, no smile, her eyes unfocused on nothing just like when he'd first seen her.
Neji followed suit, watching his cousins every move as if he were daring her to step out of line in front of him or her father. "Stupid. Bastard." Gaara mumbled under his breath as they turned to corner. He went back to bed and shut the door with one of his shoes, anger and frustration ebbing off him.
The next morning Gaara waited diligently for Hinata during third, he needed to see her and make sure her scolding hadn't been too brutal. When she walked into the classroom she was adorn in a long sleeve shirt and leather trench coat, hiding away in the yards of fabric.
She walked over and sat right behind him, taking his hand from him and hugging it as he slipped it behind his desk toward her, silent comfort.
He saw she needed to talk to him, but knew she couldn't yet, not during class at least. He nodded to her and rubbed the side of her face when no one was looking, then turned around quickly and started working as the teacher stomped in. After class he waited on her, holding her hand when she finally slipped out and latched onto him.
"Are you ok, Hyuga?" he asked her in silence, ignoring the looks, his focus was on his friend. She shook her head but refused to open her mouth, a quiet shiver.
"What did he do?" she shook her head again and pulled him down the hallway, urging a conversation change.
"We need to get to science class, then go to lunch ok?" a gleam came back in her eyes and she smiled lightly. Her grip was warmer now, her glow was back. But he knew from experience she wasn't ok.
Gaara helped her with the notes, pinching her leg and making her 'epp' during class randomly to spite the fact she refused to talk about last night. His shoulder would be red by the end of the day with each punch she gave him, but he didn't mind. Hinata was his human contact.
When they walked up to fifth Hinata left her things by her desk and sighed quietly, rubbing her temples. "Gaara..." he turned around and looked up at her, still on his knees digging through his backpack for whatever it was he needed.
"Yea, what's up?" he asked her, tugging through the mess.
"Can I borrow your jacket?"she asked in a sickening sweet voice, one she used to give him when she would wake him up.
"But your wearing long sleeves and a trench coat." he replied, staring at her in an odd fashion. She bit her lip and tilted her head in a plead and he gave in with a shrug, wrapping her up in his over sized leather coat with a toll of his eyes. "You'll die of heat stroke." he warned.
But she only smiled as they both sat down as soon as the teacher walked in.
"Class, by now you've filled out the papers I've given you. So pass them forward." he stood at the front of the class, skin as white as copy paper. Purple eye shadows and liner, a tarnish white tuxedo on. Coach Orochimaru. The man of 'many talents,' they said. One of them was pissing off Gaara.
As he walked by taking the papers he smiled at some of the students, then stalked back to his podium to take role.
"Sakura Haruno?"
"Cheua! Oh you bet I'm here!"
"Very well, Sauske Uchiha."
"Present."
"Tenten I saw before class, Rock Lee?"
"Present sir!"
"Good morning to you too... Hinata Hyuga?"
"Half awake but here...." she said in a lazy voice.
"Well welcome to the class my dear. Gaara Sabaku?"
"Yea, here as I'm going to be."
"Kiba Inuzuka?"
"Yup."
"Shino Aburame?"
"Here." that boy was the one to watch for around girlfriend's, even if he didn't want them. The dark mysterious kind you didn't like even though you know you'd get along fine.
Gaara sighed and looked at the small class, willing the floor to open up and swallow him. "So, we have a full class today do we? Very good, I want you to pair up." Orochimaru said in a dull voice.
So everyone flung to their pairs like glue. Sakura sitting right next to Sauske, Tenten sitting in the same seat as Lee as she bickered at him to scoot over. Hinata sitting on Gaara's knee as she tried falling back to sleep.
And Kiba and Shino leaning on each others desks.
Orochimaru handed each group a slip of paper and went back to his desk as if nothing had happened. "I want you to fill the paper with words that symbolize the word 'trust.'"
Hinata fell back into Gaara's arm as he wrote, falling into a dream.
The lunch bell broke Hinata from her thoughts and she got up from Gaara's lap, hugging his side as she dragged him up. "I wanna sit on your knee again at lunch." she muttered in a soft voice. Gaara noticed the glaze over her eyes and nodded, knowing she was being clingy for a reason, he just wish she'd tell him why.
Outside at the lunch benches Hinata had managed to pry Gaara's legs apart and was now perched between his thighs, her legs crossed swiftly over each other as she ate. She was currently humming against his chest, twiddling with her fingers around her food.
"So... what did you need to tell me? And why did you insist on sitting between my legs instead of on them? You know that bugs me." Gaara asked her, rubbing her shoulders as he abandoned his lunch. Hinata just smiled and took hold of one of his hands.
"Your legs are comfy, and I wanna ask you something serious... can I move in with you?" she was stern and all together determined.
Gaara let out a sigh. "Hinata, how old are you again?"
"I'm 15."
"How old am I again?"
"You're 16."
"Did you ask your father?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He didn't care, your house is closer to the school and I have to go back periodically for clothes anyway."
He sighed deeply, now he wanted her around but he knew it probably wouldn't fly too well with Kankuro... Temari would love it sure, but Kankuro wouldn't. "Why do you wanna move in? My house is a mess!" he asked her, looping his fingers with hers.
"Just 'cause." she said quickly, too quickly. Gaara thought for a moment, a quick snapping thought entered his mind and came out of his mouth before he realized it had.
"Oh only if you be my girlfriend for a while."