This was meant to be a quick update (I started working on this around November, phew!), but I got stuck on it for ages, hence why it is being uploaded 3-4 months late. Still, I hope this installment meets with everyone's approval… looks apologetic
My Thank You Corner the Sequel…
DidiTwitches – thank you so much for reviewing my last chapter! It was super-nice and it made me super-happy! hands you cyber cheesecake
Title: Not All as It Seems
Warnings: Comedy aplenty, fluffy goodness and eventually some lovely romance (hooray for us)
Pairings: Gaara/Young, Shikamaru/Temari, Naruto/Sakura/Lee and gonna attempt Naruto/Hinata; suggestions and requests are more than welcome! I'm open for most ideas, so give me a try
Disclaimer: Meh, you copyright people just won't rest until this is said, will you? I do not own Naruto and I'll never be rich enough for this to happen anytime soon, so go away and leave me be! I'm just a humble fan who enjoys writing for its fandom without making a single dime (or Euro cent) in the process, capisch!? Good!
Claimer: The character Granny Nadia, appearing in this chapter (and hopefully more to come), is mine. For my fellow Golden Girls fans, you'll indeed notice she's a lot like Sophia Petrillo, and that's because Nadia was inspired from Sophia's awesome character.
For those that are still reading and thought the previous chappie was long, you might need some espresso for this one, as this ended up being even longer… I'm on a roll!
Chapter 4
Meeting His Family and Other Surprises
8th December, 2002 (Sunday)
"Ooh, ooh, can I be the best man at your wedding?"
Argh, how tempted I was to dump my entire bowl of Trix down Naruto's pants. If I had just one penny to how many times he kept nagging and pestering, not to mention teasing me about what really happened between Gaara and myself in the two nights we've known each other, I'd be (quite possibly) richer than Bill Gates himself!
"Where are ya gonna go for the honeymoon? Hey, when ya have kids, can you name the son after me?"
'Honeymoon!? Kids!? Grossness!'
"Naruto, I swear if you don't change the subject right now, I'll give you some more lumps to add to the collection I gave you last night!" I threatened while waving my spoon at him.
"Just admit it and I won't mention this again," the blonde said like it was the most obvious thing ever.
"For crying out loud, there is NOTHING to admit! Like I told you a gazillion times already, we fell asleep watching TV!"
"Oh, yeah? Then how do you explain that date?!" Naruto asked triumphantly.
"That wasn't a date! Maybe you and Lee could've come if you weren't so busy rumbling like a couple of pro-wrestlers!" I bellowed, yet I could feel my face flushing like crazy. I myself was still debating whether it had been a date or not… But, please! We barely knew each other! How could it possibly have been a date? Right! Not a chance!
'Still, woulda been nice if it was…'
"Jeez, your face is redder than a bottle of ketchup! That totally shows something or other is going on!"
"Redder than a bottle of ketchup? What kinda tonto comparison is that?!"
So busy were we arguing like an old married couple, we didn't hear the sound of someone else sitting down and pouring some cereal into a bowl. Looking up, I realized my troubles could finally be over.
"At last! Gaara, please, please, PLEASE tell this idiot once and for all that there's nothing going on, because I am this close to strangling him!"
"You cannot argue with photographic proof!" Naruto challenged.
"If the 'photographic proof' is coming from a nitwit then we can so too argue with it!" I challenged right back.
"What in the world are you two talking about?" Gaara asked in such an irritatingly calm voice that suddenly I wanted to change whom the lucky recipient of the contents of my cereal bowl ought to be. This was all his fault to begin with!
"Never mind that! Just tell him nothing's going on between us! If you don't, prepare yourselves for a really painful pillow-fight!"
Naruto actually started laughing at me, clutching his sides and gasping for breath.
"Fine! Be that way!"
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you're not a morning-person!" Naruto said, still chortling softly.
"Whatever," I groused and went back to my (now mushy) breakfast.
The blonde jerk went to get something from the fridge just as I was sitting back down. There and then I decided to get back at him. No one makes a complete fool of Claire Piscopo and gets away with it, and he was gonna learn this the hard way!
"Now what are you doing?" the redhead demanded.
"Just hush!" I said, feeling my annoyance at him ebbing away. I wanted to stay mad at him but I simply could not.
Edging Naruto's bowl of Cap'n Crunch (YUCK!) a little closer, I poured in some salt and pepper from the shakers that had been oh-so conveniently left on the table.
"Isn't that a little childish?"
"You're just taking his side," I shot back, placing the bowl back where it originally was.
He rolled his eyes and said nothing more. Hmph, men! They're insensitive bums, the whole lot of them!
"Here's some orange soda!" came Naruto's cheerful voice.
"Eh?"
"You did say orange soda calms your nerves, right? So, here ya go!" he said whilst handing me a glass of that sweet, orangey, bubbly goodness.
"Uh, okay. Erm, you might not wanna eat any more of that cereal…"
"You didn't spit in it, did you?!"
"EW! Don't be nasty! I just dumped in some salt and pepper!"
"Oh, alrighty then!"
While Naruto was pouring himself a fresh bowl of cereal, I swung my foot and successfully connected it (a little too sharply, I admit) with Gaara's knee.
Aiming a furious glare at me, I mimicked him then bobbed my head slightly in Naruto's direction.
I could not believe it when the guy actually got up from his chair and went back to Lee's room, slamming it shut.
"That does it! That brat is asking for a really serious butt-kicking! After he woke me up and everything, who the heck does he think he is!?"
Without staying a minute further to hear what Naruto was trying to tell me, I marched to the closed door, heaving an extremely annoyed sigh upon finding it locked.
'If you think this is over, you better think again!'
"You open this door! You hear me, you jerk!? Open the door!" I screamed while pounding both my fists as hard as I could against the wooden surface.
"Stop that! You will only hurt yourself!" Lee suddenly came from out of nowhere and tried to pull me back.
"I'm not leaving this spot until that LOSER opens the door!"
"He's probably just nervous," came Naruto's voice, sounding unusually calm.
"What on Earth for?" I demanded, feeling my hands throbbing painfully.
"He's gotta go home today. Can't blame him, I'd be on edge too if my old man was a creepy, unreasonable, downright mean jerk!"
"Please! How bad can he possibly be?"
"You wouldn't believe it unless you met him yourself," Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"Hey, that reminds me! He did promise!"
"Promise what?" asked Lee inspecting my knuckles - blast, I actually managed to crack the skin on my left hand! At least it wasn't really bleeding that badly.
"He promised I'd get to see his place," I mumbled, not feeling so enthusiastic about it anymore.
"WHAT?! How did you manage that?! I must've asked him a million times before he finally agreed!"
"Did you try singing the 'Bottles of Beer on the Wall' song? I find it usually works like a charm," I said, chuckling at the memory.
"Argh! So simple! No wonder I didn't think of it!" Naruto exclaimed with jealousy in his voice.
"Yeah, no wonder," I put in.
"Just give him a few minutes to calm himself, okay? In the meantime, let's get that hand of yours cleaned up," Lee said in a kind voice.
"Fine, fine…"
v-v
After having eaten my breakfast and helped out with the dishes, the door to Lee's room finally opened. Hmph, about time!
Ignoring Gaara completely, I went into the room to get changed. After doing so, I took off the blue hair-tie and shook my hair free of the braid. Good, just as I had hoped, my hair didn't get completely messy during the night. Packing up the pajamas and dolls, I went to join the guys in the sitting-room.
"Where are my games?" I asked Naruto.
"Here's Parasite Eve, but please let me borrow Final Fantasy VII!" Naruto pleaded as I packed up the former of the two.
"Sorry, but that is one game I won't lend to anyone. You can borrow whatever else you want from me, though," I said trying to pry my favorite game out of Naruto's hands.
"Come on, please! I'll lend you Sons of Liberty!" he coaxed.
"I don't have a PlayStation 2," I said pulling harder.
"I'll lend you my PS2, then!"
"No, already!"
"What will it take to change your mind?"
At first I was going to say nothing whatsoever would change my mind, then I thought of a good exchange.
"Fine, I'll let you borrow it for that picture you took."
"DEAL!"
Not letting go of the box, he slid the coveted photo from the pocket of his orange sweatshirt and handed it to me. Stuffing it as deep as I could inside my bag, I finally gave in and Naruto began dancing around in triumph with the game held above his head like a trophy. Meh, maybe he should refrain from eating such sugary cereals in the morning…
Slinging my bag over my shoulders, I made my way to the kitchen.
"Okay, I'm ready," I said with a tap to Gaara's shoulder.
"Ready?"
"What are you, a parrot?"
"Ready for what?"
"Don't play dumb, mister! A promise is a promise!"
"Why is your hand bandaged?" he asked sounding concerned.
"Don't change the subject," I snapped. Having a change of heart at the rather upset look on his face though, I added, "Just a little cut, but Lee was a complete worry-wart about it. The guy's like a mother hen!"
"That is true."
Curses, I was so determined to stay angry with him for as long as I could, but it ended up lasting for the grand total of half an hour. How does he do that?
"Let's go, already! I'm dying to see your house!" I squealed, feeling my excitement return.
Gee, I realize that Gaara's father sounds really unpleasant, but why did his eyes look so sad? A father isn't supposed to cause such a look…
v-v
Boy, I never really enjoyed walks in the cold and I was really regretting not bringing my woollen hat to cover my ears. And as beautiful as the snow was, it sure was no fun crunching your way through it to get to where you wanted. (it had snowed for a lot longer than I thought, and all the public transportations were down because of it)
"I'm getting a pair of really soft gloves for Christmas, that's for sure!" I got out with a groan; I'd tucked my hands as deeply as I possibly could in my pockets, but denim is not really the best thing to protect a person from the sheer cold…
"We're almost there," he said sounding really uncomfortable, though I highly doubted it was from the cold.
After some more walking we both stopped in front of a mansion of a house. I was about to point out to Gaara that now was NOT the time to be admiring huge buildings, no matter how lovely they were, when he proceeded to the large iron gate and opened it.
Before he could go any further I grabbed onto both of his shoulders. "What are you doing?! We're supposed to be going to your house!"
"This IS my house," my red-haired companion said stiffly.
I could not believe what I was hearing, but that may very well have been because my ears were in extreme pain from the cold and my head felt like it was going to split wide open.
"I'd love to hear more about that, but let's go inside first before my ears fall off!"
Within minutes we were inside the huge manor. I began to shake out the snow from my hair and clothes, when I suddenly heard an old voice squeal in what sounded a lot like joy.
Before I knew it, there came a cute little old lady, with hair as white as cotton, a huge pair of glasses on her wrinkled face and a beaded purse hanging from her right arm. (whoa! A Sophia Petrillo look-alike if I ever saw one!)
"There's my favorite grandson!" she said, squeezing Gaara's cheeks like there was no tomorrow.
'Ooh, that's gotta hurt!' I thought with a wince. Having been a victim of cheek-pinching myself as a child, I certainly knew this sort of thing was far from fun.
"I was just telling that yutz father of yours about how well you're doing in school," she went on.
I began darting my head in every direction, thinking that in a minute three more old ladies would pop out - one smart and sarcastic, another dopey but lovable and the other being (in her opinion) unbelievably devastating. I was left extremely disappointed when no such thing happened.
"And who's this? Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"
'What? This again?'
"Uh, actually, I'm not. I'm just his friend, who happens to be a girl. But I'm in no way his girlfriend," I quickly said.
"What?" she demanded, sounding outraged, "My boy not good enough for you?"
"That's not it. But we've only known each other for a couple of days is all…" I managed to mumble while massaging my earlobes with my fingers. 'Agony!'
"Oh, well just you wait! If anyone is an ideal boyfriend around here, that would be my Gaara!" the old lady said quite proudly.
"Good for him. Listen, I could really use an aspirin. This migraine's killing me…"
"What do I look like, a maid?"
"Grandma!" came my friend's somewhat startled voice at the woman's rather rude response.
"No, wait a minute…" She began fumbling in her purse, "Hm, I thought I had a couple left. Oh well, how would you like some hard candy?"
"My head feels like there's a bunch of sugar-high kids playing Dance Dance Revolution inside it! The last thing I want is something hard to chew on!" I groaned.
Feeling my arm being tugged, I played along and found myself walking through this maze-like hallway, eventually getting into a really fancy dining room. Helping myself to a chair (comfy!), I crossed my arms on the table and lay my head on top of them.
"Here's a nice cup of tea! That should warm you right up!" said the old lady cheerfully, passing me a fancy cup and saucer.
Not wanting to be rude, I raised my head as high as I could, brought the cup to my lips and took a tentative sip. My eyes went as wide as dinner plates. This was the best tea I'd ever had in my life, not even my great-aunt ever managed to make me tea this good, and I considered hers to be the best.
"This is some blend," I said, taking another sip.
"I should know, kiddo. That's my own special brew."
I guess I can now add tea to the things Grandmas can do better than anyone else.
"No, it isn't. You made that up," Gaara accused as he handed me the badly needed aspirins.
Okay, maybe not.
"Eh, so what? As long as I keep talking, I know my heart's still beating!"
"You got that line straight out of the Golden Girls!" I chortled after having gulped down the tablets.
"Who?" she asked looking baffled.
"Uh, no one. So, where's everybody else anyhow?"
"For starters, the yutz had an "important meeting" to attend to," Granny began, distaste covering her voice entirely.
"My, how convenient!" I cheered, my headache starting to get better.
"Isn't it?" agreed the Sophia look-alike. What in the world is her name, anyways?
"What about Mother?" came Gaara's quiet question.
"Ah, that girl loves her early Christmas shopping!" she answered, "I would've joined her myself, but I figured I might as well wait up for my favorite grandson instead."
"Say, I never even asked! Do you have any other siblings, Gaara?" I asked in curiosity.
He said nothing, so Granny answered for him, "I hardly see my Temari these days. She's almost always with that Shikamaru boy. Can't say I blame her, he's such a good-looking young man."
Well, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd actually hear an old lady sound giddy, but there you go! Life in America is simply full of surprises.
"Ah, so you have a brother and a SISTER! Why does everyone have a sister but me?"
"Only child?" asked Granny.
"I wish! I have two brothers. To add insult to injury, I'm the middle child," I said like it was the most evil thing that could ever happen to a person (close enough).
"Oh, just like my Kankurou!" exclaimed the lady in a cheery voice.
"So then, is Temari the baby of the family?" I asked.
"Dearie, she's the eldest."
"WHAT?! Gaara's the baby!? Well, if that doesn't beat all!" I got out in surprise, laughing just a little bit. He was the last person I would have called "the baby of the family". What will I find out next, that I'm older than him?
Seeing that my red-haired friend was looking both annoyed and embarrassed, I quickly decided to change the subject. (how could he not enjoy being the youngest, though? I'd kill to still be the youngest myself)
"So, uh, where's this Kankurou bloke?"
"Who knows? That boy never tells me where he's going!"
Just then, we all heard a female voice call, "I'm home, Grandma!"
Next thing I knew, a really attractive blonde girl had come through the door with a hunk of a guy standing close by her. Without even bothering to introduce himself, the boy named Shi… er, Shim… Shi-something took one of the free chairs, sat down, and in a couple more seconds, he was sound asleep.
"Is he for real?" I asked bemused and began poking him with my teaspoon.
"And you are?" the blonde girl asked, looking exasperatedly at her slumbering boyfriend.
"Claire's the name. I just moved here," I answered, still mercilessly poking 'Sleeping Beauty'.
Before long, the teaspoon was pulled out of my hand. At first I thought it was Temari that had done that, but it turned out that it was Gaara, who then handed it over to his sister.
"Aw, you're no fun!" I grumbled.
"Why don't you go annoy your own boyfriend?" the girl scolded.
"Uh, 'cuz I don't have one?"
"And she thinks our Gaara isn't good enough for her, either!" Granny continued.
"I never said that! I said I've only known him for two days!" I said defensively.
"Yes, well, don't go getting any ideas into your head, missie!" Temari said, sounding quite protective.
"I wasn't, I wasn't…" I said unable to face her while crossing my fingers between my knees.
v-v
Sometime later found me in my friend's enormous bedroom.
'Gee, our old house would easily fit in this room!' I thought admiringly. On the other hand, the redhead was looking around the room with extreme loathing.
With a pitiful whistle (I can't whistle properly to save a person's life) I dumped my bag onto his bed, then plopped down on the plushy mattress myself.
"Woohoo, nice!" I said cheerfully, resisting the massive urge I got to do the same thing Naruto had done the other day, and jump and bounce on it like a trampoline.
Just as I was about to ask where the stereo was (there is no way a room this huge doesn't have some kind of entertainment system hiding somewhere), I heard Gaara unexpectedly say, "I'm sorry."
'Sorry? Oh, he's probably apologizing because Granny Nadia asked me if all Maltese girls were scrawny and spoke with amusing accents.' Earlier, I'd learned that the Sophia look-alike was named Nadia, though she insisted I call her 'Granny', as just about everybody else did the same.
"Oh, don't apologize for Granny! She's hilarious!" I said with a slight bounce on the mattress. (WEE!)
"I wasn't," he said pointedly.
"Right then. I forgive you, whatever it is you're apologizing for," I offered. I tried to remember why I'd been angry with him earlier in the first place, but I couldn't for the life of me. If only I wasn't such a cranky time-bomb nearly every morning, but hey, no one's perfect.
"How could you forget the fight we had this morning?" he demanded softly.
"Oh, didn't I mention? I come from a long, long line of forgetful, absentminded people," I joked.
My friend gave me a really blank look at that. Tsk, this guy really needs to lighten up!
"Relax, I was just kidding! Well, sort of… I can be pretty forgetful and absentminded, as is the rest of my family. But, really… That wasn't a fight. You saw I'm no morning-person, and Naruto's teasing really put me in a foul mood at the time." Having said that, I got up from the bed - even though I really didn't want to - and gave his hair a quick ruffle, "No hard feelings, eh?"
"Do you always forgive people this easily?"
"Please! I've been known to hold grudges for months and months! You're just one of the lucky ones," I said, then muttered under my breath, 'I don't know what it is about you, though.'
"What do you wish to do now?" he asked.
"First things first, we're gonna take care of these jitters of yours! And I know just the way to do it," I said, wasting no time in opening my backpack and rummaging inside. Stacked among the many things I'd left in there after the plane rides was my dad's Hell Freezes Over CD by the Eagles.
Handing it triumphantly to him I said, "This thing really calmed MY nerves when I was on that long flight from Heathrow."
Turning the case over and over in his hands, he just had to ask, "You're not afraid of flying, are you?"
"Naw, not afraid. Extremely horrified are the words you're looking for."
"And how good are these 'Eagles'?" he asked, still turning the box round and round.
"Come on! It's the Eagles! They're only the greatest group in the entire universe!" I said in surprise. Who the heck hasn't heard of the Eagles?!
"I've not heard of them."
"Yeesh, then you've never lived! Put it on right now!"
Without a word further, he opened up this large cupboard near his bed and inside was the coolest hi-fi system I'd ever seen in my whole life. I couldn't hide my jealousy I was feeling at the time; I should totally get that for my birthday, which was just around the corner.
As he was putting the CD in (and I'd stopped drooling for the gorgeous piece of equipment) I managed to tell him, "Go ahead and skip it to Track 6. That's their most famous song."
He did just that and within seconds we were listening to the awesome guitar solo, that then led to the start of the famous Hotel California.
"Ah, doesn't Mr. Don Henley have the sexiest voice you've ever heard?" I asked swooningly.
"Yes, he certainly does," he responded whilst trying to bite back a laugh.
"Hey, you just made a funny! I knew you could!"
Sadly, almost as soon as the song had come to its powerful close, we heard this really cold voice call out Gaara's name. I could just feel this sense of impending doom right then.
His eyes widening slightly, he quickly shut off the system, closed the cupboard and made sure it was securely locked. With that, I was suddenly being shoved to what I assumed was the closet, though it was so big, it might as well have been another room. Before I could even ask, the door was quickly opened, I was pushed in, and then the door closed again.
'Man! How do I always get myself in these predicaments?' I asked myself. I could feel really soft cloth all around me; so I was indeed stuffed in the closet.
Opening the door just a tiny wee inch, I could make out this tall chap. He would've been what I'd call good-looking, but he just looked so cold and mean… 'Ugh, the man's his own Halloween costume!'
I couldn't make out what was being said between them, but it certainly didn't look like it was anything good. Not with the way my friend was holding his head down and even trembling slightly.
'Poor guy… I'd hate to have a father like that…'
Just as quickly as the guy had come in he was gone. With that, my pale friend went to his knees, sighing in what might've been relief. Can't blame him at all.
'Wait, what am I still doing in here? Go and help him, you moron!' I scolded myself.
Joining him and clutching his shoulders, I asked, "You okay there, chum?"
"I have to get out of here," he said looking as though he might start hyperventilating at any moment.
"No worries, buddy! We'll go to my place."
Really, I wasn't the clingy type, but I couldn't help myself then. I didn't even realize I had done it at first, to tell the truth. Yet there I was holding him in my arms and pressing his forehead to my shoulder, whilst keeping the angry words I had running in my head to myself.
v-v
It was around 2 hours later that we'd finally managed to get out of the house without being spotted by that old coot and get to my apartment.
"Anyone home?"
No answer. A second later, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Ah, it was a message from my parents. They'd just gone out for lunch. Just fine by me.
Another message came in as I was about to say something… "Now what is it?"
Opening it back up there came my mom's warning that I'd best be ready for the 5 o' clock Mass. "Yeah, yeah…" I mumbled at the phone.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing to worry about. I just have to be changed in time for Mass. I heard my parents say the Church we're going to is really beautiful. Can't wait to see it myself."
I was tempted to ask Gaara what religion he practiced, but I feared he might think me rude so I kept my mouth shut. I myself was born and raised as a Catholic-Christian; I felt kind of sad that I won't be able to attend the Christmas Mass in my old hometown this year.
He surprised me with the following question, "Would it be all right if I went with you?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course it would!"
Hm, I could see I was really going to have some tough competition considering the really fine clothes Gaara had on now. We'll see about that.
"So like, I still have about 2 hours to get ready. Now don't say I didn't warn you, but my dad tends to get a little rambunctious behind the wheel," I said, wishing that it was a joke.
"I'll keep that in mind," he responded while taking a seat on the couch.
'Still seems shaken…'
Back in the kitchen, I made him a really strong cup of tea. They say that usually calms a person down, might as well give it a try.
v-v
Since Gaara refused to speak no matter what conversation I tried to engage him in, I decided then was as good a time as any to go on and change into my evening clothes.
In my room I found an outfit waiting for me on my bed - a pretty lavender dress with a matching blouse thingy to go with it. It was sort of a nice combination but there were two huge problems: Problem 1, I was too old to be wearing outfits picked out by my mother. Problem 2, I wouldn't wear a dress or a skirt if I was offered a million dollars. Picking up the clothes with two fingers like it was something yucky, I marched to my parents' room and dumped them on the bed, not really bothering to be careful of creases.
'Sheesh! When will parents learn?'
Picking out something myself, I was soon dressed up in my best black pants and super-comfy dark gray polo-neck, over which I'd put on this gorgeous pink Chinese-style shirt (with those cool buttons) covered in pretty Oriental designs. Slipping on my black boots (I sure like those 'thlunk' sounds they make, heh), I began to ponder how I was going to tame my now extremely messy hair. Then…
"IDEA!"
I almost expected Gaara to come rushing in here at my sudden outburst, but that did not happen. Ah well…
Hairbrush in hand and hair-tie in the other, I went back to the couch. Yep, he was still there just staring at the dark TV screen, the tea untouched and stone-cold.
"Say, can you help me with my hair again?"
Nothing.
"Uh, okay, please help me with my hair?"
No cigar.
Waving a hand in front of his face and still getting no reaction, I began to worry. 'How would Naruto deal with this sorta situation?'
Jumping on the cushion next to him, I dropped the stuff out of my hands, grabbed onto his clothes and began to shake him as hard as I could, "Come back, buddy! Come back to me, please!"
After a few more seconds of this, my hands were forcibly pushed away, and he asked me as though I'd lost my mind, "What are you doing?"
"Getting you back in the zone! What are YOU doing?"
He didn't answer. Man, what did that mean jerk father of his say to him back then? I truly wanted to ask him and find out, but I just couldn't bring myself to. The last thing I wanted was for him to close up completely. I'd feel absolutely terrible if I caused that to happen.
"Listen, I could really use some help with my hair."
"You're not going to sing again, are you?"
Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up that I can't sing.
"I'm not that mean," I said playing along.
As if on cue he held out his hand, into which I dropped the brush. Now, usually brushing my hair is a true pain in the neck, but for the second time this weekend I felt like I was in complete paradise.
'Heh, I wonder what those three morons back home would be thinking if they knew I had this uber-handsome, simply sweetest guy brushing my hair. Ha!'
"Why are you grinning like that?" I managed to hear my friend ask in an unsure voice.
"Am I grinning?" I tried playing innocent. Like I'd tell him I was having some really giddy thoughts about him buzzing in my head. "Oh, I was just thinking about something real funny! Yeah, that's it. Hilarious."
"What was it?"
"Huh?"
"This 'real funny' thing. What was it?"
"Uh…" For crying out loud, now is one of those times I could really use a lie or a fib or a story or something that wasn't at all close to what I had been truly thinking. Suddenly, it hit me. "I was thinking about that Nativity Scene skit on Mr. Bean that we watched last night."
At the sound of his really soft laugh, I figured I was safe.
'Phew! Thank you, Mr. Bean!'
Well, since I brought it up, "Say, I feel like watching that episode again. Do you?"
"Let me finish first."
"Aye aye, cap'n!"
A few minutes later he claimed he was done, so I went to the nearest mirror to check out the result. Gosh, this kid's a genius is what he is! He had tied my now perfectly-brushed hair into a low ponytail with a pretty red ribbon that we found (quite conveniently) on the coffee table, but left some strands free to frame the sides of my face. It all seemed so simple, yet every time I tried to style my hair like this, it always ended up looking disastrous. My friend actually succeeded in making my hair look pretty. (miracle of miracles)
'If Mom doesn't complain this time about having my hair tied, I'm gonna hire Gaara to be my personal hairstylist!'
v-v
After I'd failed in finding my ancient Mr. Bean tape, we decided to just talk until the rest of the family got back home. We ended up learning quite a few things about each other, too.
For starters, you know, to get them out of the way and all, I confessed all of my fears in order:
1. All bugs and spiders (with some very few exceptions)
2. Getting my blood drawn (3 panic attacks are NOT a charm)
3. Thunderstorms (after the way I'd clung to Gaara the other day, he could easily believe that)
4. Flying (as I was about to explain)
5. Clowns (including Ronald McDonald)
"Isn't it amazing how minor turbulence could leave a girl traumatized about flying for the rest of her days?"
"You did say you were 9, though."
"Yep. I thought I was going to be blown into smithereens before my age hit the double digits," I said, playing with the free strands hanging over my shoulder.
I'd also found out, contrary to what I'd thought earlier, that Gaara was actually older than me, by nearly a year. I thought it was really neat that we shared the same dates on our birth months (though I left out the fact that this was the same case for my younger brother).
"Sure is a pity our building has a super-strict no animals policy. I really wanted a kitten for my birthday," I said with a little sigh.
"We can't have everything in this world of ours," he said back, though I felt that that last part was being pointed at his awful father.
Somewhere along the way, we'd ended up telling each other what we wanted to be once we're adults. I'd said that now that my dream of becoming an American citizen was at last realized, I wanted to become a famous authoress. Gaara himself wasn't truly sure what he wished, so I gave a helping hand.
"How 'bout a musician?"
"What?" he asked looking absolutely appalled with my suggestion.
"You've got perfect musician's hands, did no one ever tell you?" I pointed out holding his left hand in front of my eyes. I spotted this out a short while ago myself; his hands were absolutely beautiful and just perfectly shaped to handle most instruments.
Before he could answer, the front door was unlocked and opened and in dashed my brother, thankfully zooming straight for his room.
Jumping off the couch, I dashed to the door to greet my parents. "Hiyas, parents! I had a blast of a weekend, how 'bout you?"
"Looks like living in America is really agreeing with you," said my mom, fingering some of the free strands in, I hoped, admiration. "Why don't you wear your hair this way more often?"
Bingo, bingo, bingo!
"You like? That's all thanks to my new pal!" I beamed, pointing at Gaara, who had stood up from the couch though remained frozen in front of the coffee table. Oh well, might as well carry on with the introductions…
Going back to the couch, I grabbed one of his hands and dragged him to meet my folks.
"Ma, Dad, this is my new buddy, Sabaku Gaara. Gaara, my folks. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's orange soda time!" (hey, I've had only one glass for the whole day! A girl's got to recharge sometime!) However, before I'd taken even one step, my left hand was quickly grabbed by my redheaded friend. Ah, the things I do for love!
"Well, nice to meet you, dear!" Mom said shaking Gaara's free hand.
"Likewise, ma'am," he said in a most polite voice.
"Hey, uh, is this gonna take long? I really need some orange soda," I moaned trying to tug my hand free, alas… Gaara's grip was way, WAY too tight.
"Mind your manners!"
"Er, I meant, is this gonna take long, please?"
Receiving two sets of really furious glares, I hastily shut my mouth and let them get on with it. Jeez, what's with them? I DID say 'please'!
Once everything was all said and done, my parents left to change for the evening.
"Dude, let go of my hand!" I practically begged.
"Oh, sorry about that," he said, dare I say it, sheepishly.
"That's quite a grip you got there, just don't use it on me next time," I groused as we went into the cozy little kitchen. That's when I remembered I no longer had my secret stash of orange soda, on account of I hadn't bought any since we got here.
"Aw, shucks! No carbonated orangey yumminess!" I cried, eyeing the limited choice we had in the fridge; water and orange juice… some things never really change.
Just then, we heard a knock on the door.
"Could you get that? It's probably the babysitter!" called Mom.
"Babysitter, huh?"
Without a word, we made our way to the door, and I opened it. At the doorway was a girl roughly my age. She had blonde hair and blue eyes filled with arrogance. She had an odd sense of style if I say it myself, and she seemed way creepy when I made eye-contact with her.
'This is a babysitter? Woof!'
Without introducing herself or anything, her eyes quickly darted to my friend. Aw, cripes! She's not gonna flirt with him too, is she?!
"Well, well. Sabaku, what an unpleasant surprise this is!"
Eh?
"What the hell are YOU doing here?!" was Gaara's response, politeness having gone to a galaxy far, far away.
"Wait, wait! Hold the phone! What's with the attitude here?"
"Oh, silly me! How could I forget my manners?" said the girl with a smirk.
"Maybe because you have none to begin with…" muttered my friend.
"I heard that, you makeup-wearing freak!"
Oh no, she didn't!
"You'd better take that back before I kick your behind to Kingdom Come!" I said through gritted teeth.
"Whatever. The name's Meno, by the way. And where's the little munchkin I'll be taking care of?"
"Meno? You're the prat that got Naruto in trouble, aren't you!?" I accused.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You see, he does a splendid job of doing that on his own," she said with a sneer while helping herself to the couch.
Before I could answer her right back (or preferably pound her), I was pulled back to the kitchen.
"Why her?" was all Gaara asked.
"How should I know? I didn't even know they were gonna hire a babysitter!" I said, filled with rage at the cow's awful behavior.
"Okay, shall we be on our way?" came my dad's friendly voice.
"We can't leave that girl in charge, Dad," I began.
"Why not?"
"She's a… a… She's a witch! A witch, I tell you!" I realize I sounded like an overly-dramatic knucklehead, but I couldn't help myself at the time. Anyhow, I bet I wasn't far from the truth; I'm sure she had a big ole broomstick hiding somewhere, and that her house was made entirely of candy to lure unsuspecting kids into her evil clutches.
"Don't be silly, Claire. She's really nice," interrupted Mom.
'Nice? She must have used the ultimate form of butt-kissing to be able to convince anyone that she's NICE!'
"Come on, or we'll be late!" my parents said as we were both pushed to the door.
"But she turns kids into pastries! She's evil!"
v-v
"You're both being awfully quiet," tried my mom.
"I keep worrying about my stuff. You shoulda let me lock my room!" I grumbled.
"Don't be such a baby," intervened my dad.
"Well excuse me for living," I said, hiding the snap in my voice.
After about an hour's worth of driving, we were finally inside the Church. I must say I was almost thankful for all the snow as even my dad could see that driving fast in such weather conditions would have been a hazard; good for Mother Nature!
Once we were seated, I couldn't help but to eye every single nook and cranny of the building. It was truly beautiful, just like my parents said it would be.
In all honesty, I have to say I enjoyed the Service immensely. Everything about it was perfect, especially when the Hymns and Christmas music were being sung, and that's when I got the most pleasant surprise of all as well.
When the first piece came, I was holding my book in front of my face but not singing, and then I heard this rich strong voice singing to the words I was reading. My jaw literally fell wide open when I saw that the gorgeous voice was coming out of Gaara's mouth. With each word he sang, his eyes practically glowed.
'Wow! Is there anything this guy can't do?'
It took me a minute to realize my heart had started to beat ten times faster. Phew, is it getting awful warm in here? Quietly closing the book, I began to discreetly fan my face with it.
When it was over, I whispered to him, "but you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
With that, I was looking forward to every time there was singing, not only so that I could hear my friend sing, but also to see that peaceful look on his face, his horrible experiences with his nasty father and that Meno girl not seeming to matter to him anymore.
v-v
"Wow! That Church is awesome!" I said trying to hide away all my giddiness as I was putting on my seatbelt.
"Really? What did you like best about it?"
Oh, come on! Is she seriously quizzing me about this? I certainly couldn't give her my honest answer, which was listening to Gaara sing, but I certainly wasn't going to lie, even if I could.
"Um, I liked the whole thing equally," I attempted.
I was saved when my red-haired pal continued with, "I quite agree with you."
Phew… Hiding this rapidly-growing crush I'd developed on him was getting harder and harder. I certainly couldn't deny it to myself any longer.
"Now, what would you rather do tonight? Join us at our business dinner or stay at home?" Dad asked.
"Home!" Gaara and I shouted together at once.
"Home it is," Mom said with a laugh.
When we got there, I found this energy out of nowhere to run all the way to the 50th floor, slam my key into the keyhole and barge in, "All right! Pack your bags, Meno! You're outta here!"
"Where's that loser boyfriend of yours?" she challenged.
Man, if I hadn't just come home from Church she'd be in SO much trouble!
"First of all, you kymekwaut, he's not my boyfriend. And second of all, if you insult him one more time you'd better hope you have your will written and ready!"
She rolled her eyes as she packed her things.
In a minute or so I was joined by my friend, who looked at the blonde girl with such ferocity I was almost certain he was going to hit her. Quickly grabbing his arm and leading him to my room, I located the key and bolted it shut.
I gave the room a thorough inspection, sighing in relief when I saw that everything was left untouched. I was beyond certain she would stoop as low as to take something that didn't belong to her, but I guess she wouldn't risk doing that on the job, especially since our first meeting was a disaster. She might be a creepy cow if I ever saw one, but she wasn't stupid.
"Bleh! I can't wait to see her royal majesty again in school tomorrow," I said getting out a pair of pajamas.
"Now you see why it's better to stay away from her?" he said.
"Talk about learning a lesson the hard way."
"I'm thinking you're right," he said while absently going through the books Lee had been shelving the other day.
"'Bout what?"
"She must be a witch."
Unable to control ourselves then, we actually burst out laughing.
v-v
"That's correct, my good man! 1 large BBQ Chicken pan pizza with extra cheese, extra sauce, oh, and extra onions! And DON'T forget my chocolate shake!" I said cheerily through the cordless phone.
"Weren't you just promising you'd have a healthy dinner?" asked Gaara without looking up from his work (yes, indeed, he was back at it - it wasn't even due for tomorrow!).
"I had my fingers crossed," I answered as I flipped on the tube; phew, I am SO glad my brother was already tucked in bed and that he was a really sound sleeper (he could easily sleep through an earthquake, and that's no lie). More pizza for me, yay!
"Maybe instead of watching television all the time, you should be getting your things ready for school," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Heh heh heh, you kill me!" I said sarcastically.
"What about your speech?"
"Speech? Why would I give you a speech?"
At that question, Gaara looked at me like he couldn't believe his ears. Hey, I thought that was a funny comeback myself.
"You mean you have nothing prepared?" he demanded.
"Am I missing something? What speech?" I demanded myself, turning the TV back off.
"Surely you know that you're to speak in front of our classmates and teachers tomorrow?"
"WHAT?! Tell me you're making one of your really rare funnies!" I cried shaking his shoulders.
"Stop that!"
I was so panicked then, I actually felt the room spinning round and round and round… Oh, wait… that was me pacing around the coffee table like a lunatic. How could I have not known about some speech thingy and yet Gaara knew?! Better even, why didn't my parents tell me?! I'm always the last to know anything, even if that something happens to be about yours truly.
"I am NOT speaking in front of no one!"
"That didn't even make sense."
"You know, you are THIS close to getting a smack upside your fuzzy head!" I glared at him.
"Just stop panicking and sit down," he offered.
"Easy for you to say," I mumbled chomping on my fingernails.
Before anything else could be said, there was a knock on the door. Gee, normally I'd be feeling great about the food-delivery service being this fast, but right now I absolutely couldn't care less. My appetite was completely gone. Still, couldn't leave the poor pizza guy hanging…
Heaving a really long sigh, I went to open the door.
"HIYA! HIYA!" Naruto greeted with a bear-hug.
"Let go, you maniac!"
"Jeez, what's your problem?" the blonde asked inviting himself in.
"For starters, your pal over there is really confused. He's actually convinced I have to give some speech thingy or other tomorrow."
"Oh, that. What are you gonna say? How 'bout a sneak-preview?" Naruto pleaded slinging his bulky bag off his shoulders.
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna say: nothing!"
"But you have to," the blue-eyed one argued.
"No, I don't. I'm not giving any speeches and you can't make me!" I challenged, poking a finger into his chest.
"Hey, it's not like I made it mandatory! What's the big deal, anyways? You just need to talk about yourself for like 20 minutes and it's over!"
"TWENTY MINUTES?!"
For the second time, there came a knock on the door, followed by, "Pizza Hut Delivery!"
"Yay! Pizza!" Naruto cheered whooping the air.
Getting out the money I had in my pocket that my parents had given me to pay for dinner, I opened the door again.
"1 large BBQ Chicken pan pizza and a chocolate shake," said the man holding out the stuff.
"Great… Here you go, keep the change."
"Uh, but this is a $100 bill," he said in puzzlement.
"Call it your Christmas Bonus. Okay then, see ya!" I snapped, grabbing the food and slamming the door in the poor bloke's face. (and that, dear parents, is why you should NEVER entrust your fourteen-year-old child with your hard-earned $100!)
"Help yourselves, then. I'll be in the bathroom having a really big fit," I muttered as I dropped the cardboard box on the table, then took several huge gulps of the shake… Wait… "BRAIN FREEZE!"
"She's even worse than you," whispered Gaara to Naruto.
"I heard that, you jerk."
"Just relax. Why don't ya try practicing on us?"
"Here's why, because I am not doing it," I finally said firmly, plopping down onto Dad's recliner and crossing my arms over my chest.
"Stop being so stubborn. It's not the end of the world, you know?"
Oh, that does it! That does it! I've had it up to here with his 'I'm oh-so calm about everything' attitude!
"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you try saying something useful!?" I shouted, hurling a cushion at him, which Naruto was quick to catch.
"You know something? I'm starting to get really sick and tired of your overreacting attitude," Gaara said slamming both hands on one of his many open books.
"The feeling's mutual, you bocciagalupe!" I shot back.
"Sheesh! This is like your third fight since you've known each other!" joked Naruto.
Just like that, I was feeling extremely guilty. I finally realized I was acting like a complete brat. They were only trying to help after all, and all I kept doing was jump down their throats without even trying to consider any of their suggestions.
"Aw, shucks! You guys are right! I'm sorry!" I said in near-tears, giving them each a huge hug.
"Hey now, no worries! Right, Gaara?" Naruto said cheerfully, elbowing the redhead sharply after I'd let go.
He didn't answer, but he gave me one tiny nod, even though his eyes said otherwise. Ah well, I had it coming really.
"Man, I'm depressed! I need a cookie!" I sniffed and marched to the kitchen to find just that.
I began to rummage in every cupboard, drawer, jar, the oven (hey, you never know!), fridge… "Chocolate-Cream Oreos! A depressed gal's best friend!"
The two boys still in the sitting-room, I could hear Naruto singing the Krusty Krab Pizza song whilst drumming away on the pizza box like it was a bongo drum. Listening to him, I wondered how in the world I could have ever raised my voice to that lovable kid.
Not expecting the sudden tap to my shoulder, I let out a startled shriek, tossing the box of cookies above my head.
"Jeez, don't ever do that again! You scared me to death!" I said between gasps, bending down to pick up the Oreos box.
Since I could still hear Naruto rocking out on the abused box, I began to feel most awkward being alone with you-know-who. After all, he hadn't actually forgiven me. Not really wanting to face him, I dropped the cookies onto the counter and propped myself up on one of the stools.
'Whoops! I forgot the milk…'
"Say, uh, be a pal and pass the milk," I said in an uncharacteristically small voice, searching for where the glasses were kept. "Aha! I found you!"
Triumphantly placing two glasses on the counter, I was back on my stool and tearing into the nummy chocolatey goodness. At the same time, Gaara poured us both a most generous helping of milk.
As I dipped two cookies into the milk, he drummed his fingers round his glass, the both of us staying quiet.
"Hey! Have you two made up or what? I'm starving!" came the blonde's energetic voice as he bounced into the room, holding the pizza box, squished beyond recognition, on top of his head.
"To tell ya the honest truth, I have no idea," was my uncomfortable answer.
"Come on now, kiss and make up!" Naruto laughed, helping himself to the pizza.
"EW!" I choked, my face turning scarlet red. "I'm not kissing anybody! No way, no how!"
"Stop acting like I don't know! I'm too smart for that!"
"What are you talking about? What do you know?"
"Aw, please! Just drop it! I have bigger problems on my mind! Remember, speeches, anxiety attacks, drowning away my downy mood in cookies?"
With that last bit having been said, a pale hand fell onto mine. Looking up one way, I saw Naruto scarfing down his third pizza slice, dripping sauce all over the counter. Looking the other way, I could swear my heart stopped beating for a minute right then. Gaara had that gorgeous smile on his face and he was mouthing, 'I forgive you.'
The blonde, as usual, had to ruin everything all too soon… "AHA! What's your excuse now?!"
"Uh, he was just shooing a fly offa my hand. Nothing to get all excitable about…"
"Yeah? Well, I still think…"
But what Naruto still thought is something we may never (thankfully) know, as he'd suddenly glanced at the clock and noticed it was 9 o' clock. "Yikes! I gotta get home! See ya both tomorrow at school!"
With speed that would have made the Road Runner extremely jealous, he'd grabbed his bag, sprinted to the door, and mere seconds later I could actually make him out through the snow-covered window of the kitchen.
'Saa… This is awkward…'
Unconsciously, I took out one Oreo cookie after the other and crushed them in my milk. After I'd emptied the whole thing, I wasn't really feeling any better. (I had just wasted an entire box of super-delicious cookies. Heck, I felt worse!)
Pacing back and forth with my hands tucked behind my back, I tried to think things through, '20 minutes, huh? What could I say about myself that can last for that long a time? Hm… I could talk about when I got a summer job to buy my PSOne… No, that's boring! Let's see, I can always talk about the fact that my eldest cousin has the hugest collection of X-Men toys in the history of the US… But that isn't really about me… Oh, man!'
"What's on your mind?"
His question was asked so softly I could just barely hear it.
"Blargh! I dunno what I'm gonna talk about for 20 minutes. How's about I shorten it to 2 minutes? I can do 2 minutes."
"Why don't you say a few things about your old home?" he suggested.
"Uh, if I were to, it'd still be too short. All I can say about that is: my life there was really boring and uneventful… No, wait, there's a neat fun factor about Gozo."
"Which is?"
"Welp, according to research, THE oldest manmade structure in the entire world is found right there! Did ya know that? I bet you didn't!" I said, my voice filling with great pride.
"That's interesting, but…" he began.
"I know, that's not something that applies to me… Gotta think about something else," I said with a sigh and plopped back down on my seat, chin resting on both my palms.
Why must the life of a teenager be so tricky and chock-filled with obstacles?
End Chapter 4
Nyuk, I swear this story has taken a mind all its own. That certainly would explain why it keeps getting longer and fluffier.
I want to say this first before anything else; I am indeed a Catholic-Christian and have absolutely NO qualms or whatever with those who practice different religions! If this story gave that impression in any way, please don't flame me about it, because I hate meaningless fights. This is a part I couldn't resist adding in the story - it felt so cute, and even sweet that I just had to write it. All clear? Goodie! Let's keep going.
Heh heh, for those who are curious, that list of my 5 greatest fears is completely true. I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat, aren't I?
Woo, I simply had to add in something about the Eagles in there. I love oldies music tons, and the Eagles are my most favorite group of them all, ranking somewhere after The Black Mages and TWO-MIX. (and yes, Don Henley is my favorite. I can never decide with the others, but right now I'm all for Joe Walsh) I'm SO jealous that my parents got to see them live on their Long Road Out of Eden tour! SO LUCKY! They played my favorite of their long songs, 'Waiting in the Weeds'… sighs
As you can see, some new familiar faces have appeared, albeit briefly. Don't y'all just hate Gaara's dad? He's so creepy and mean! (whenever I see pictures of him, I go all, "Yah! It's the evil daddy!") The gal, Meno, is from the game Konoha Spirits. She doesn't exist in the anime or manga (phew!). That chick really gives me the creeps! As for the witch part, that's an idea I got from one of Gaara's lines in the game, as he indeed called her an evil witch (though I still say she deserved more than just being called a witch).
Oh yes, I couldn't resist to add that bit about Ggantija, the oldest manmade structure in the whole world. That truly makes me proud to be a Gozitan. Gozo may be the most boring place to live in, it being so tiny and the things I love to do most do not exist (my dream job is to work with animals, but there's really not much to be offered) but I can't deny how great its historical value is.
With that all said, do review! I crave 'em like my mom's cheesecake… well, almost like my mom's cheesecake.