Olly: hello again. sorry for the wait... this is more of a half chapter. sorry. and i know my chapter names are messed up. i'll try and fix that. ok, chapter 13 :-D

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disclaimer: dont own naruto

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(A/N, just so ya know, its still the day after the painting party) Sakura blinked her eyes open. It was now about six-thirty. She had crashed on the couch after taking a shower and changing her clothes. Something was ringing, and it was annoying the hell out of her. Only after a few seconds of blinking and yawning did she realize it was the doorbell.

"Kyah!!! I'm coming!" she called, stopping in front of her hallway mirror to smooth out her appearance. The bell rang again, making her yelp and rush to the door. She opened it but had to shield her eyes from the evening sun light. "Sorry, I was aslee—"

In a split second, her lips were captured into a kiss, and Sakura still couldn't see who it was. Her first reaction was to yelp and push the intruder away. The person stumbled backward.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" she demanded.

"What?"

-pause-

"Gaara!"

"Yeah…"

"Omg, I thought you were the postman or something!"

Gaara arched an eyebrow at his girlfriend (A/N: yes, that's what I'm going to refer to them now). She was wearing loose black pants that waved back and forth around her ankles. Her shirt was a short-sleeve zip-up hoodie. Sea-foam green eyes gazed at him apologetically.

He snorted and leaned back on his heels. Sakura's eyes widened and she pulled him inside by his shirt. Gaara was a little surprised, but didn't say anything. "No, no I'm really sorry!" she apologized. Gaara smirked. "I don't believe you." he teased.

"No I mean it! I'm sorry!" Sakura said in a voice that became steadily higher. Gaara crossed his arms and smirked. "Prove it." Sakura's eyebrows creased in confusion but then she pulled him downward to meet her lips in their deepest kiss yet. Gaara was a little shocked but gladly went along with it.

Oh yes, that was proof alright.

When she pulled away Gaara slightly pouted and Sakura shut the door. "Why'd you come back?" she asked in curiosity. Gaara arched an eyebrow as though that answer was already clear. Nevertheless, he gave in and told her. "Well, one: I felt bad about leaving you like that earlier. Two: you probably need help moving all the stuff back into your room. And three: you told me you wanted me to paint something on your wall." Unsaid was the fourth reason: Gaara needed to get those cameras and microphones out before Sakura and/or her parents found them. Otherwise, he and all the other guys would be in deep shit.

Sakura blinked and smiled. "Aww! You're so sweet!" she jumped up and hugged him around the neck. Gaara grunted in surprise. No one, I repeat, NO ONE had EVER referred to HIM as sweet before. It completely caught him off guard. Oh well, I guess I'll have to get used to it.

Gaara sighed and handed Sakura the bag he was carrying. "Take these up to your room." He commanded simply.

"What are they?"

"Supplies."

Sakura cocked her head like a confused puppy but shrugged it off and headed upstairs. She stopped when she noticed that he wasn't following her.

"Gaara?"

"Oh…um, I'll be up in a minute. I just have to use the bathroom." Lame excuse, lame excuse, lame excuse, lame excuse, lame excuse!!!

"Ok."

YES! It worked!

Sakura turned back around and finished her journey up the stairs while Gaara made a mad-dash around the bottom floor of the house, trying to remember where they had placed all the cameras and microphones. He was smart. He wore his pants with the millions of pockets, each big enough to hold one camera and/or mic.

He had just stashed the microphone from the bathroom into a pocket when Sakura walked past the doorway. "Oh hey!" she called with a smile. Gaara looked down at her. "Are you hungry? I could fix you something to eat while you paint…or draw…whichever."

Now that she had mentioned it, he was kind of hungry. He nodded and Sakura hopped off to the kitchen. "I'm going to start on your wall." Gaara called over his shoulder. "Ok! I put your bag next to the wall I want!" Sakura replied with the sounds of banging pots and pans emitting from the kitchen.

Gaara made his way up to her room. The bag was next to the wall the Gaara recognized as formally having the boxes in front of it. It was the opposite side of the room that her bed went. He sat down and stared at it.

What to draw? What to draw? What to draw? What to draw?

Gaara thought about when he had taken Sakura to the art shop. He tried hard to remember her favorite pictures. For a moment he contemplated drawing a life-sized version of the picture of him, her, and all their friends, but then he remembered that she already had the original to hang up on her wall. He thought about Sakura's character, hoping that it would inspire him. She was gentle and caring, but held a strong will with determination. She was beautiful…but could honestly care less about her appearance. That was definitely something he cherished about her. She was strong and weak and shouldered many responsibilities.

Gaara knew of one thing: he wanted to draw her something that she would remember forever. Something big…yet simple.

Damn that stupid wall.

It was so big. He also noted that it would be easier to draw something on it if it didn't have multicolored paint spatters all over it. Oh well. He pulled out a pencil and didn't think about what he was doing. His hand flowed this way and that. making it as tall as the ceiling was difficult, and required him to stand on his toes at some points. He crouched. he stretched and let his pencil move on its own until he had an outline.

It was actually surprising. He hadn't imagined it to turn out like that at first, but he liked it. It definitely fit in sakura's room. Now, what color to darken the outline with? Gaara shuffled through his paint box. To his dismay, he had no bright colors. Crap. All he seemed to have was different shades of black, grey, and red. Usually Gaara preferred not using paint, considering he was more of a sketch artist.

Shrugging, he poured a little of his brightest red onto a paper plate. Maybe if he was clever, he could somehow turn that red into a sort of purple-ish color to correspond with the colors splattered in the room. A little black…ACK! TOO MUCH! TOO MUCH! More red!… phew…hmm, maybe this dark red…uhh…no, too dark…huh, I didn't know I had crimson. I'll add that…

"Hey! How's it going?" called the bell-like ring of his girlfriend's voice. Gaara looked up to see her carrying a plate of food and wearing a smile. He put down his now messy, paint-covered paper plate and stood up to greet her in the doorway of the room, so she couldn't see the painting.

"It's not done yet," he replied.

Sakura shrugged. "Can I see it?"

Gaara looked at her unsurely. "Well…"

She smiled. "nah. I changed my mind. It would ruin the surprise!" Gaara rolled his eyes and sat down to eat. Sakura joined him on the floor and hugged her knees.

"You aren't eating?" Gaara asked, a little confused. Sakura shook her head. "No, but you go ahead and eat. My mom wanted to make dinner for the family tonight. If she actually follows through with it, I don't want to be like, 'oh sorry, mom. I already ate'. Don't worry. I have leftovers down stairs just incase."

Black-ringed eyes frowned at her disapprovingly, but Sakura decided to change the subject. "When are we going to tell them?" she asked, referring to their friends. Gaara shrugged and answered, "The dance."

Sakura took on the confused puppy face once again. "Dance?" Gaara nodded and started eating what seemed to be a kind of pasta. It was actually very good, and he took another, bigger bite. Sakura noticed his actions.

"You like it?" she asked, completely forgetting about the 'dance'. Gaara nodded and proved his point by taking yet another large bite. Sakura grinned brightly. "It's a recipe I picked up from one of my friends before I moved. They're called Baked Noonies. They're great aren't they? And they don't take very long to make either." She smiled proudly and Gaara couldn't help but smirk. It was then, when he was gazing upon her smile and beautiful features, that he realized that the gods had really smiled down upon him. He was discovering a new him hidden underneath all the hatred and coldness. She was unearthing kindness and happiness that he had never experienced before. He thought back to when they had first met, when she had argued with him after her fight with Ino. She had been brave enough to challenge his decision, and probably would've taken his slap if Kakashi hadn't walked in. he had hated her taunting laugh and happy attitude. she was his complete opposite, and yet he had found himself listening to her every word, giving her rides on his bike, gazing at her whenever she wasn't looking, protecting her from whoever dared to either touch her or insult her (save their friends). He could've refused to have her come over for the band practice. He could've refused to play their best song for her. He could've refused to play their stupid game. He could've refused kiss her.

And then what would've happened? Would they still be enemies? Probably. He certainly wouldn't have taken her to the art shop, or decide to help out with her party, or save her from a tree, or come back now to paint a special picture on her bedroom wall. Above all, he certainly wouldn't have a girlfriend.

"Gaara?"

Gaara's mind came back to reality when he noticed sakura looking at him in concern. "Are you ok? Is something wrong with the Noonies?"

Sakura gasped in surprise when Gaara leaned up and kissed her. "the Noonies are great." he reassured (A/N lol I don't know about y'all, but can you imagine Gaara saying Noonies? –snigger-). She blushed and mumbled, "Thanks," when he pulled away. The red-head chuckled and continued eating in silence while Sakura stared at her knees in confusion.

After he cleared off his plate, Gaara leaned back against the frame of the doorway and sighed. Sakura gazed at him with smiling eyes and collected his plate to take downstairs. She stood and waved to him before turning around to leave. Gaara was silent for a moment before he called after her. "Sakura!"

Sakura turned around and looked up at him from halfway down the stairs. "Yeah?"

He snorted. "I'm kinda having paint troubles. You don't have any paint that I could use."

His statement confused her for a moment. It took a few seconds before she realized that he was actually asking her if she did, in fact, have paints he could use. She smiled. "Of course I do. I have lots of paints for school projects and such. Hang on, I'll get them." Gaara nodded and went back to her room to wait. It wasn't long before she returned with a picnic basket.

"Are we going to have a picnic?" Gaara asked sarcastically. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Only if you like to eat paint." She retorted. She set the basket on the floor and opened it, revealing that it was filled to the brim with different bottles of acrylic paint. "Will this do?" she asked, pushing the basket a little towards him. He nodded.

Sakura smiled. "Alright. I'll go downstairs and clean up in the kitchen and you can finish." She stood and went back downstairs, leaving Gaara alone with a basket of paints. He began taking them out one-by-one, seeing which one would go best with the room and the sketch. There were at least three different shades of each color…and what seemed to be every color imaginable. There was blue, orange, red, purple, green, pink, yellow, black, brown, and grey. He sighed and gazed at the sketch. Somehow, Gaara had subconsciously chosen some sort of purple for the drawing. For some reason, a dark purple seemed to fit in the room more than any other color. He took two different purples, a black, and a red, and started mixing. He was proud of the outcome, because it was as close as it could get to the color he had imagined in his mind. After thinning the paint mixture just a little bit with water, he pulled out his favorite brush and dipped it in the concoction. Carefully following the pencil lines, he made the outline easier to see. Once it was clearly visible, it looked even better. If he became any prouder of his drawing than he already was, he'd get a big head.

With a bigger brush, he went back over the lines a second time so the lines would be even thicker and darker. He sat down to let it dry for a moment before he applied a third coat. As he expected, one color looked to bland, so he mixed up a slightly lighter version of the purple to brush on here and there. Just to create the effect of light and shadows.

Alright. He was finished. Now all he had to do was clean up and call sakura to come see it. sakura's paints were placed back in her basket and his brushes washed out. everything that was his was put back in his box and placed, along wth everything else, placed by the opposite wall. Ok…moment of truth…

"Sakura!" he yelled out the door. He heard the patter of her feet running across the wood floors and up the stairs. "Yes?" she called, reaching the top step. She turned the corner to her room and stopped in the doorway. Gaara shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her. "I'm done."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really? Wow!" Gaara shuffled over to stand behind her. He covered her eyes and led her forward until she was facing the wall.

Sakura couldn't see anything. She had butterflies in her stomach, partly because she and Gaara were so close, and partly because of her new wall. She felt Gaara's hot breath tickle her ear. "Ready?" he whispered. Her whole body shivered and she nodded. Gaara's hand slowly moved away from her eyes. She gasped.

It was a tree. A tree with branches reaching into her ceiling. The roots gathered just above her carpet. On the left side the branches swooped into a heart, as if the heart and the branches were one. The tree, branches and roots included, was just an outline, but the heart was completely filled in. it all looked so perfect. She absolutely loved it.

"Gaara," she whispered. "It's beautiful." Gaara fought back the urge to say, "I know."

She hugged him around the neck, and would've kissed him, had she been able to take her eyes off the wall. "Thank you!" she murmured into his neck. He smirked and held her in his arms. They stayed like that until sakura's phone rang, scaring the both of them. While sakura fumbled in her pocket, trying to get her phone out, Gaara realized something. Her ring tone sounded strangely familiar. Not strangely. Very familiar. He didn't have a chance to analyze the tune though, because sakura had already opened up the phone and was talking to someone on the other end.

"Oh yeah?" pause. "You are?" pause. "Yeah, sure, I will." Pause. "No…I didn't." pause. "Alright, alright." Pause. "uh-huh." Long pause. "Ok…right…I'll see you soon…love you too. Bye."

Gaara watched her put her cell away before his curiosity got the better of him. "Well?" he asked. Sakura looked at him before answering, "My mom will be here in about half an hour, and my dad got off early (surprised gasp) so he'll be here in about forty-five minutes…" she looked around her room. "Soooo…we need to get all my stuff back in here quick, and…" she stopped.

"And what?"

"And…my dad won't be happy if you're here."

"Well he'll have to get used to me right?"

"Yes…but don't you think they're going to have enough surprises already?"

He smirked. "Yeah. I have an idea. Let's go all out and say you're pregnant."

Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah…let's also throw in that you're a drug-dealer."

"And that we're all part of a gang."

"Ooh, good one. I could say I got a good paying job as a prostitute."

"And I'm a known murderer."

"Wow, we're pretty screwed up." Sakura giggled. He chuckled and hugged her. "Yeah pretty much." He replied. Sakura sighed and pulled away. Gaara followed her into the spare room to start the job of moving all her furniture back into her room. They were on a time limit, so once they had the big stuff in, Gaara left sakura to get the small items and he ran down to move his motorcycle out of the way. Just incase, he hid it a good twenty feet away behind a bush. Once it was successfully hidden, he hurried back inside and helped sakura get her room back in order. They fixed the bed and the dresser back to they way they had been before the party. Sakura decided not to but her blanket on the bed, since it didn't match her room anymore. She folded it up and put it in her closet. Gaara found his picture of their friends and sakura pinned it to the wall right above her bed, "so I can see it when I go to sleep," she said.

They had just put the finishing touches up when Gaara saw a car drive into the driveway. "Shit! That's my mom!" sakura hissed while looking out the window. She took his hand and led him downstairs and around a corner, just as they heard the door open. "Sakura? I'm home!" Footsteps were heard going into the living room. "Sakura?"

Sakura shoved him into a room and through another door. She locked it behind them. "Sakura?" Gaara whispered. "Why are we in a bathroom?"

Sakura turned around. "This is my parent's bathroom." Was all she said. They could hear the sound of sakura's mom calling her daughter's name. If they were quiet for much longer, Mrs. Haruno would surely worry. Sakura bit her lip and turned to Gaara.

"Close your eyes!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Gaara obeyed, and he suddenly heard the sound of water running from a shower. Oh no…she wouldn't! After a minute or so, he heard sakura hiss threateningly, "alright, you can open your eyes, but if you say anything you will SO regret it!"

Gaara didn't dare turn around. For once in his life…he was afraid. He didn't know what he would see…and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Scratch that…hell, he wanted to know, but was being held back either by modesty or fear of being pounded for staring.

He jumped like a cat being sprayed with water when there was a loud knocking on the door. The confused young man found himself being push behind the door and that's when he saw her. sakura was wearing only a towel, and her cheeks were burning red with embarrassment. Her hair was wet, and he guessed she had just stuck her head under the running water. It suddenly felt a little too hot for comfort in the small bathroom, and sakura couldn't even meet his eyes.

"sakura, are you in there? Open this door right now!"

Sakura unlocked and opened the door, making sure Gaara was hidden behind it.

"What, mom? I was trying to take a shower."

"Sakura! Your hair!"

"Oh you like it?"

"Wait a minute, why didn't you answer me? I've been calling your name for five minutes now!"

"Sorry, I guess I didn't hear you."

"I called you just half an hour ago!"

"I know. I haven't taken a shower in two days. I didn't want to be dirty when we ate a family meal together."

"Well why are you taking a shower in mine and your father's bathroom?"

"It was the closest bathroom at the time."

There was a long…terrible silence. Gaara was almost afraid to breathe. Finally sakura's mom spoke. "Well…alright. Finish your shower. Your father will be here soon. Do you need new clothes?"

"No…I have some. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"It's ok…just next time let me know, alright?"

"Ok, I promise."

Sakura closed the door and leaned forward, letting her forehead rest against the surface of the door. For a moment it seemed as though Gaara wasn't even there. He just stared at her…in all her beautiful, towel-clad glory. Of course…Gaara's not like that. in all actuality, his mind was buzzing with relief that sakura's mom hadn't discovered him, though now he wondered if it would've been better to just have introduced himself to her and explain why he was there.

Gaara sighed…which in turn seemed to remind sakura just exactly where she was. She yelped and faced him. Her face was redder than Gaara's hair…and Gaara was pretty sure he was blushing too. It was like they were both frozen. He had never expected to see sakura in a towel…at least…well let's not go there. Apparently sakura had never expected to be in a towel in front of a guy, especially Gaara.

Actually, sakura wasn't really naked under her towel. She had been wearing a camisole under her sort sleeve hoodie the whole time. When she had grabbed a towel, she had only taken off her sweatpants and hoodie, leaving the camisole and underwear. From there tucking the straps underneath the edge of the towel was easy. She really didn't have a reason to be as embarrassed as she was. Perhaps it was because she really did appear naked under the towel…and also, that's probably what Gaara thought.

Gaara…on the other hand…was mentally struggling with himself, but I'm not going to go into detail.

Now here's where the big question comes in. what do you do if you're a girl who looks naked under a towel and your boyfriend is staring at you. You've just escaped your mom, because your boyfriend's not even supposed to be there in the first place. Now that you're in the awkward situation that you are, WHO SPEAKS FIRST???

Apparently…neither.

However, even while in complete silence, they were able to communicate:

Gaara averted his eyes: uhh…

sakura turned away to gather her clothes: don't say anything Gaara closed his eyes while she pulled her shirt and pants back on: why am I closing my eyes like a stupid kid?

Sakura arched an eyebrow at him after pulled her hoodie on: because if you don't, I'll pummel you.

Gaara opened his eyes after it was perceived safe to do so: no comment.

Sakura turned off the shower and opened the door to her parent's room. When she saw no one was there, she quickly went to shut and lock the door leading from their room into the hallway. Gaara followed her out into the bedroom before him, already guessing his means of escape: a window.

Water droplets were slung about as the wet-haired girl hurried to look out each window, seeing which one might be the best for him to escape from (A/N or maybe she was just trying to avoid looking at him o.0). Gaara, however, walked up to a random window and clicked the lock open. Sakura watched as he put one leg over the edge, but then stopped. Piercing emerald eyes looked at her, and she suddenly felt very embarrassed under his gaze. Without a word he walked up to her and one hand brought the crook of her neck towards him while the other slid down to the small of her back. A surprised squeak was caught in his kiss. It was different from their other kisses, as if he was holding back. They were so close that sakura was sure he could feel her heart beating in his own chest.

When Gaara pulled away he acted a little short of breath and didn't seem able to talk. He did grunt a small, "bye." into her ear before releasing her and slipping out the window. Sakura took a few deep breaths as she watched him disappear around the corner of the house. closing the window, sakura noticed she was shaking. A splash to her face with cold water was required before she could breathe normally. She sighed and went back to her mom to help her with dinner.

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Olly: phew, i hope that wasn't too short. R&R please!