disclaimer: don't own naruto

olly: thanks to all my reviewers!

sakura: sorry if you dont like me goth. i dont like me goth either!

olly: shut up. its my story!

gaara: i like you goth -smirks-

sakura: -reconsiders being goth-

okiedokie than! Chapter 4!

Sakura's alarm went off. When she had gone to bed the night before she had used her cell phone alarm and placed it far away from her bed. She continuously smashed her already broken alarm clock but realized the beeping wouldn't stop. Slowly getting out of bed she walked over to her cell phone and looked at the time. It read 6:25. Sakura groaned and went to her bathroom. After taking a shower and brushing her teeth she stood in front of her closet once again. She remembered how cold she had been when she rode Gaara's bike yesterday, so she chose a black tank with a red etched dragon on it and a black hoodie over it, with grey jeans and her Cons (A/N ok from now on she pretty much just wears her Cons with every outfit). She quickly applied some makeup and ran down stairs.

"Good morning honey." Chorused both her mom and dad. She had already told them about her car and how a friend was going to pick her up. She just hadn't mentioned the part about the motorcycle.

"Sakura where did you get those clothes?" her dad asked.

"Oh I just went shopping with my new friends is all. Oh look! Its 6:58, I'm gonna go wait for him." She said laughing nervously and grabbing a power bar and juice like before. Her father stopped her however.

"Him? You never mentioned a him." Her dad said eyeing her cautiously. You know those commercials where they can't find anything to say so they just stuff s Twix in their mouth? Yeah. That's what Sakura did with the power bar.

"Oh if's nofing thad. Hethes comving on a motvercycle tvoo!" she rushed out the door with her bag before he could say anything else and ran to wait at the end of her driveway. Choking down the power bar and drinking the juice she saw him coming. Seven o'clock on the dot. This guy was good. He stopped in front of her and looked her over. She couldn't see it through the helmet, but Gaara was pleased. She looked just as good as she did before, if not better. He tossed her the helmet and she slipped it on. Suddenly some shouting drew their attention. They both looked up to see Sakura's father storming out of the house. Sakura yelped and climbed on the bike. She didn't want to have to deal with her dad right then. Gaara seemed a bit surprised but through the helmet Sakura squeaked, "go, go, GO!"

Gaara obeyed as she slipped her bag in the side bag and wrapped her arms around his middle. They lunged forward and were off to school with Sakura's dad yelling after them. Gaara wound around corners and finally made it to an empty road. He pulled over to the side and took off his helmet.

"What the hell was that?" he said eyeing her with almost amusement. She took off her helmet and started laughing.

"I'm sorry, but I knew if he caught us we'd never get to school because one: he doesn't like guys around me and two: he despises motorcycles. I knew if there was any chance of us getting away it would have to be before he got there." She giggled some more and smiled humorously at him. He smirked.

"Well ok. You just surprised me is all." He said. "I thought you were a daddy's little girl." He put his helmet back on.

"Well I was before I met you guys." She said, putting her own helmet back on.

"Do you regret it?" he asked through the helmet, revving up his bike again.

"Not a bit." She said, hugging him from behind. He smiled (A/N omg OOC) but it was hidden. They started up again and went all the way to the school. Gaara pulled the bike into the same spot it had been in before. They got off and put their helmets away; Sakura grabbed her bag. She was happy to see that her car had been taken to the auto shop already. They made their way towards the 'group tree' and waited. They were early, even with their detour, and Gaara climbed up into the tree. Sakura felt lonely on the ground by herself, so she jumped to grab the lowest branch and only barely caught it. Gaara watched her as she pulled her legs up through her arms and latched onto the tree with her legs. She was now hanging upside down and shirt fell exposing a small part of taut belly. Upon seeing this small patch of bare skin Gaara's body quivered and he nearly lost his balance. She quickly fixed her shirt and pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully as she turned to face Gaara. He eyed her with confusion. "I was lonely down there," she explained. "So I thought I'd join you up here. It's actually quite nice; I can see why you like it." Gaara was silent and leaned his back up against the trunk. Sakura made herself comfortable (as comfortable as you can get in a tree) and sighed, content to be in his company.

"Hey Gaara?" she called.

"Hn?" he asked slightly shifting his head in her direction.

"Are we friends now?" Sakura asked innocently.

He paused. "I guess so".

Sakura smiled. "Good." She said. After a while she became bored with the silence. She knew it would annoy Gaara, but she tried to start a conversation anyway. "Why do you have 'love' on your forehead?" she asked.

"I dunno. Why is your hair pink?"

"I dunno. What are those black rings around your eyes?"

"I'm an insomniac."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Well ok."

"How come you don't have a boyfriend or something?" he asked, focusing on a random spot on the ground.

This question caught Sakura off guard. "well that last school I went to was an all girls school, and like I said my dad doesn't like the thought of 'boys' and 'me', so no. I've never had a real boyfriend. I've never even had a real kiss before." She confessed blushing slightly but then recovered. "Well what about you. You're not bad looking, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

"hn…girls are afraid of me, and the only two girls that can tolerate me besides my sister are Hinata and Ten Ten, but they like other people cough cough Naruto and Neji. And also, I've never really liked a girl like that."

Sakura giggled. "Are you implying that you're gay?" she asked. He shot her a nasty glare but when he saw her giggling he realized she was joking.

"Hell no. I don't swing that way. I just mean I've never gotten close to a girl." Sakura sighed. He was surprisingly easy to talk to.

"Well do you like anyone?" she asked.

"Didn't we just go through this?" he asked a bit annoyed.

"No. you said you never had a girlfriend. Now I want to know if you like anyone. Like right now. Liking someone is completely different from having a boyfriend or girlfriend."

"But don't you have to like someone to be their boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"Just answer the question."

She waited for a 'no' but when she heard none she gasped. Sitting up on her branch, she looked over to where he was sitting, emotionless. "Aieee! Who is it? Who is it?" she asked. She was acting all excited like a three year old at the fair.

Gaara turned to face her. "It's you, Sakura." And with that he leaned forward and started kissing her senseless.

Back to reality.

"Gaara tell me! Please?" she begged, giving her best puppy dog eyes. Gaara turned away. "no." he said sternly.

"Aw, please? Please?" she said, standing so she was at eye level with him. He turned back around. "I said n-" Oh god, they were really close. Her face was barely an inch from his. Her smile faded into a cute pout. "Fine!" she said pulling back a little. "Don't tell me! I could give you valuable advice on how to get the girl, but noooooooo!" Gaara kept his face stern. When she saw her bribery didn't work she leaned forward a little more. Gaara's eyes widened; they were even closer than before. She batted her beautiful eyelashes. "Please?"

"I-I…oh shit!" she had leaned in too far and Gaara slipped some off the branch. Luckily there was a smaller branch nearby that he quickly grabbed onto. Only his feet were hanging on the branch he had previously been sitting on, and he swung there stupidly with both hands holding onto the small branch for dear life. He glared at her.

"Sorry!" she called sweetly. After a bit of maneuvering Sakura was able to help pull him back up on the big branch. He just glared and turned his back on her. She whimpered. "You're not mad at me are you?" she asked carefully. He turned around to say a very defiant 'YES!' but when he saw her face he sighed and said, "hn, no."

She smiled again. "So what do you wanna talk about now?"

"I don't feel like talking anymore." He said turning back to face the other direction.

"But you just did."

"Shut up."

"Look you did again!"

"Grr!"

"Does growling count as talking?"

"OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"

"Look you did again!"

Thankfully Neji and Hinata showed up, followed by Gaara's siblings and Kiba. Naruto showed up a little later, and Shikamaru simply wandered in when no one was looking. Had it not been for their appearances Gaara swore he would've tackled Sakura and put duct tape over her mouth. He began to doubt his crush on her, but when he heard her laugh and saw her smile his heart immediately melted again. Oh well he thought.

(Nothing happened that day so let's skip ahead to when school gets out, shall we?)

Ten Ten, Hinata, and Sakura walked out together. They were joined by Temari and Kankuro and then later the rest of the guys. Sakura immediately wandered over to Gaara's side, and the group raised their eyebrows but said nothing. The all parted and said their goodbyes, agreeing to meet back at Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari's house at five. Soon the only two left of the group were Sakura and Gaara. They started walking silently towards his bike, until they were interrupted.

"Hey forehead girl!" Sakura turned around and mentally slapped herself for answering to such a name. Gaara turned around too, hands shoved in his pockets. Ino strode toward them, with a very smug expression.

"Hey!" she said to Sakura. "You've been avoiding me, you little bitch. Are you afraid to have a fight with me again because you know I'll win?"

Sakura shrugged. "I haven't been avoiding you. I guess I just don't care enough about you to notice your completely unnecessary rantings about Sasuke and the whole damn world. And as far as I know, I don't think I could expect you to lay a finger on me in a fight. You'd be out cold before you took a swing." She said, slapping on her own smile. Ino glared.

"Don't think I haven't noticed they way people are looking at you now, and the way Sasuke asked you out! They say you look better than me. You had better go back to your old self quick or else I will hurt you!" She was threatening Sakura now. Gaara glanced at Sakura to see what she would do, but she only smirked and put her hands on her hips defiantly.

"You know Ino, if I'm better than you, it's not because I try, and I doubt you would do such a thing. You're scared of me and that's why you go behind my back and do low down things like stab my car tires because you wouldn't be able to do anything to me in a fight. And by the way, I'm glad you did that to my car because I got to spend time with the hottest and most badass guy alive (Gaara did a double take at that). Better than Sasuke even." Sakura sneered. Ino's face became a shade of red. "Oh, and about Sasuke," Sakura said scowling. "He's the most repulsive guy I've ever met. It's absolutely disgusting. I can see why you would like him though."

"Don't you ever insult Sasuke!" Ino shrieked, lunging forward. She raised her hand to slap Sakura, but Gaara's hand shot up, caught it, and twisted her wrist. Ino whimpered in pain and shot a nasty glare to Sakura. "You just wait till I catch you without you're bodyguard here." Gaara released her wrist with a small shove and turned to walk away. Sakura started to do the same, but Ino followed her a few steps. Sakura whipped around and gave Ino a swift punch in the cheek; the force knocked her to the ground.

"That's why you wouldn't win in a fight against me. You'd be out cold before you could take a swing. I told you so!" Sakura said to the fuming Ino. Gaara just stared at her, then at Ino, and then back to Sakura again. When Sakura turned back around to leave, Gaara stood there in shock for a moment before turning and walking with her. As soon as they were out of earshot of Ino, Gaara grabbed Sakura's shoulders and spun her around to face him. He saw that she had really been angry and only hiding behind a smile.

"Where did you learn to punch like that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "My mom made me take self defense classes for like, ever."

He nodded, but then his eyes narrowed. "Why did you say that stuff about me?"

Sakura turned pink. "Uh, well…I…knew it would piss her off?" She said it like a question, and it made Gaara wonder, but he said nothing about it. They continued on to his bike, and after climbing on and putting on their helmets they were off. As they were leaving the parking lot, Sakura saw Ino stomping furiously to her car. She stopped and stared in shock at Sakura on the back of a motorcycle. Sakura laughed at her reaction and slipped one of her arms out to wave to the traumatized girl. Gaara popped a wheelie for dramatic effect and Ino's jaw dropped in utter shock and anger. Sakura's laughter was drowned out by the sound of the bike and she quickly wrapped her arms back around Gaara so as not to fall off once they gathered speed. He went this way and that way and finally made it to the auto shop. Sakura ran inside to pay.

Gaara thought about all that had happened. Why would sakura say that stuff about him? Her excuse was that it was to make Ino mad, but it wasn't very convincing. And she had blushed when she said it. Did she really think it was that cool? He inwardly smirked with pride, only to have his contemplation interrupted by a furious sakura storming out the auto shop door.

"Those idiots!" she shouted angrily, walking up to Gaara. He arched an eyebrow, as if to ask what was wrong. She continued. "They didn't have the right size tires and they're still waiting for the next delivery. Can you believe that? What kind of auto shop doesn't carry all the right sizes for everything? Its just stupidity!" She leaned up against the bike. Gaara said nothing. "Gaara?" she asked motioning to the bike. "Could I—"

He nodded and handed her the helmet. "You know," he said. "I don't usually go around chauffeuring people but I guess it's fine." He straddled the bike.

"I feel awful really," she said. "I really could find other ways to get around if you'd rather." She said looking away. He smirked.

"But I thought you liked being around the hottest and most badass guy alive." Sakura became a deep shade of pink and she put on the helmet to hide it.

"Well I suppose you don't mind my hugging you from behind, right? Because if you did I'm sure I would've noticed." It was muffled through the helmet. He pulled on his own helmet and shrugged. He prayed to the heavens that she hadn't seen his reddening cheeks. Sakura got behind him and wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his back. It felt strange and foreign to Gaara, but he liked it, and soon they were on the road again, making their way to Gaara's house.

When they got there, it was a little bit past five, so almost everyone looked out at their arrival. They all stared in shock as they watched Sakura climb off the back of Gaara's motorcycle. Looking at each of their faces all Sakura could read was 'WTF?'. She turned a slight pink and handed Gaara the helmet, waiting for him. When he had kicked the stand and put the helmets away he made his way up to the house. Sakura followed politely behind him. She complemented his house and he merely shrugged. Once they got inside they were greeted by 'hey!'s and 'where were you?'s. Gaara waited for Sakura to explain before they all went down some stairs into a basement.

This was Sakura's first time in Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro's house. To be honest it was a little messy, but it was homey and welcoming. Reaching the basement, Sakura looked around. It was the ideal lounge with futons, a big comfy couch, bean bag chairs, a mini-fridge, and a microwave. There was a big TV and some game stations in one corner, and in the other corner was a small stage like area, with two electric, one bass, and a drum set, patiently awaiting use. "Alright guys, let's get to practice." Gaara said, leading Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji over to the instruments. Sakura sat down happily between Kiba and Ten Ten. Akamaru roamed around the floor, sniffing this and that. Temari popped some food in the microwave for them to eat. Kankuro plugged in the game station and challenged Kiba to a game. He accepted while Hinata took his now abandoned seat and pulled out a book. Ten Ten started talking down her buns and Sakura asked to play with her hair. Ten Ten agreed and so the fun began.