A/N I felt like adding another chapter today since the last one was….

Anywho….I hope you like it….I've been trying real hard not to make then OOC or anything like that.

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It's not ease.

Around five, everyone decided to go back. It was getting late and no one wanted to be stuck outside in the dark. Picking up the sleeping kittens, she put them in the basket and slipped her bag over her shoulder. Unlocking her bike, she pushed off a bit and began peddling towards the retreating forms of Naruto and the guys.

When she caught up, she dismounted and walked next to the guys. Shino and Kiba were deep in discussion about something Sakura couldn't hear. Gaara and Naruto and Sakura walked side by side on the walkway, a dead silence hanging over them.

"Hey Sakura-chan." Naruto began.

"Hmm?" She muttered, distracted.

"How'd you get those marks on your bike?"

Looking down, she saw the scrapes that had happened this morning. "O-oh…I…fell."

Hands behind his head, he nodded. Suddenly the dead silence dropped back again and Sakura began to sweat. This is so scary.

A few minutes of quiet walking, Sakura passed the place where she had fallen. In the shadows of the alley she thought she saw something move, and lost her footing. With a soft thump, Sakura fell on her rear end, dazed and shaking.

Kiba and Shino missed this as they walked farther ahead. Naruto, however, stopped immediately and turned to her.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" When she didn't respond, he became more worried. "Sakura-chan?"

Shaking herself, she returned to the present time. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto. This is….this is where I….fell…" Standing up and brushing herself off, she hopped on her bike. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I should be getting back soon. The cats'll need feeding soon and…"

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you're alright?" Naruto asked, even more worried. Something seems to have really shaken her.

She didn't seem to hear, however, or was ignoring him as she pushed herself up the hill, still shaking slightly.

Stupid alarm! Sakura cursed her alarm with every bad word she knew as she sat up. Turning it off, she dressed herself, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. Looking down at the sleeping forms of Merodi and Keikai, Sakura noticed that they had grown a bit in the week that she had them. Are they really house cats? Maybe baby tigers…or leopards…with all the spots……

Sakura pondered over what they were as she made her lunch and breakfast. "Thank you for the meal." She dug into her food happily. When she had finished she warmed some milk and went upstairs to nurse the cats. When she finished, they were wide awake and peppy as ever. Cleaning up her mess downstairs, Sakura locked up the house and went on her way to school.

Humming a tune and thinking about Sasuke, she didn't noticed when Naruto tried to sneak up on her. Kei-chan and Mero-chan did and began to growl at him. Naruto immediately back away, afraid of the little tykes.

"H-hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted, a ways away.

Waking up from her reverie, Sakura saw Naruto and Gaara walking together. She shivered a bit. "Hi."

Gaara just stared at her with lifeless eyes. Giving him a shaky smile, Sakura fell in step with them.

"Gaara-san, where are your brother and sister?" She asked.

"They ride to school." He grunted.

Sakura's eyes sparkled. "Really? In what?"

"They go by motorcycle."

"R-really now…" Her head dropped and she sighed. There was going to be another ice cube at school. That made three.

The rest of the walk was a quiet one, the three of them simply picking up their feet.

"Hey." Sakura said. "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto looked around, realizing something was missing. "Oh. Dunno." With another sigh and a wave, Sakura went to her locker.

In homeroom, Gaara sat next to her. When she moved between classes he followed her. She knew it was only because she had to show him around, but she went between pissed and scared as the day progressed. The only peace she could find was at lunch with Hinata and now Tenten, and in Music.

Sitting at the keyboard, since Hinata was at the piano, Sakura put the headphones on and began to play. She was able to lose herself in the music, all other sounds seemed to fade away. Bobbing her head with the beat, Sakura played. As she did, her mind went back to the conversation the three girls had had at lunch.

"Peace and quiet at last!" Sakura exclaimed, stretching her hands high above her head.

"What, is class that bad?" Tenten asked.

Glaring at the older girl, Sakura replied. "No, class is fine. It's who I have class with."

Tenten laughed. "Oh, you mean Gaara?"

"YES! He follows me everywhere, it's like he is stuck to my side. I know I'm supposed to show him around but the way he tails me….It's so damn aggravating!"

"Hush, hush, Sakura. Someone might hear you." Hinata cautioned.

"Hinata, don't worry. I gave Gaara to Naruto to deal with. They seem to get along."

"Geez, Sakura, is it really hard to get along with him?"

"Yeah. He's so cold it makes me shiver. If he could smile once in a while…..or at least really look at a person….then he wouldn't be that hard of a person to warm up to." Sakura glared at Tenten again. "It's all because of you this happened."

They continued the conversation with Tenten apologizing. Eventually the topic changed, and her thoughts drifted away.

Gaara…..who was he? What had made him cold? Is there…Dammit….is there any way I can thaw that Ice Cube?!

Sakura opened her eyes as the bell rang and fell backwards in surprise. A grinning Naruto stood before her, inches away from her face. Taking deep breathes, Sakura tried to surpress her rage.

Putting the headphones back on the keyboard, she gritted her teeth. "Naruto….what was that?"

Still grinning, he said. "Just wanted to tell you it's time to go home."

"Thank you for your concern, Naruto, but I plan on staying over a bit."

"Again?!"

Sakura glared at him and turned away.

"Sakura-chan, why do you always stay after school. Why not go home a play?"

"Do I need a reason?" She asked him, teeth grinding.

Noticing her held back anger, he backed off. "I-I guess not. N-never mind Sakura-chan."

Giving him a half smile, she backed away from the keyboard and walked over to the piano. Naruto left her alone, Gaara stood in the middle of the class. The pink haired girl looked at him and smiled fully.

"Gaara-san, you can go home with Naruto, I might be here a while." The red haired boy looked at her, and nodded before leaving her alone. S-so quiet.

When Gaara opened the door, he saw Naruto to one side, sitting on the floor. Going over, he sat down next to him.

Naruto popped one eye open to look at the red haired Ice Cube. "What'cha doing here, Gaara?"

Gaara looked at him, impassive. "Sakura-san told me to go home with you. But what are you doing?"

The blonde shushed him, "Shh. We've gotta be quiet otherwise Sakura-chan'll hear us."

The other cocked his head. "So?"

Naruto sighed, "Sakura-chan doesn't tend to like it when people are listening to her, that's why she never plays when people are around, she's sort of afraid. At the dance, she was sweating a bit while we preformed…..ah well…."

Gaara narrowed his lightless eyes, "You have a band?"
"Yeah, sensei assigned me, Sakura-chan and Sasuke in a group. Hey! I know, you can join our band, Gaara."

He thought about it. "But Sakura-san hates me."

"Naw. She's just afraid of you. Most people are. Still, I think you should join! Can you play an instrument?"

It took Gaara a moment to register all of that. Scared. That word echoed inside his head. "I……I play bass guitar."

Naruto smiled. "GREAT! We don't have one of those!" Forgetting himself, he screamed. The music immediately stopped and the door was shoved open.

"Naruto, I don't mind you waiting out here every afternoon, but don't start yelling!" She scolded. "I'm having a really bad day, so just go away, for your own safety."

Laughing nervously, Naruto stood up and backed away before sprinting off. That idiot.

Gaara stood too, but didn't run anywhere. He looked over at Sakura, who looked back. "Gaara-san, if you hurry, you'll be able to catch up with Naruto."

Without a word, the red head turned around and followed Naruto away. Sakura sighed and went back in, but after five minutes of staring at the piano she gave up and left too. With a whistle to Keikai and Merodi, the three of them headed home.

A/N FYI I don't own Naruto.

But I do own a computer which allows me to write more about Naruto and post it for you to read in your spare time and eventually go crazy because you're reading it.

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Sucks for you.

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XD