Hey, Sorry it took so long to update. -- I'll try to get the next chapter up a little quicker. Thanks for the support and the reviews. I hope y'all like this chapter too. Please continue to review, it would be nice. Oh yeah, this chapter is also a little longer than the last two. Hopefully they'll be a pretty consistant length still.

†Havoc

--- --- ---

Chapter 6: Worry

Math first thing in the morning. It definitely wasn't where Gaara wanted be, but there he sat in first period geometry class. Gaara hated math with a passion. He sat there for the entire period not even pretending to listen as the teacher explained class rules and what they would be covering.

Gaara knew his entire day would be like this. Every school and every year, they all started the same way. The teachers introduced themselves, told you what they expected of you behaviorally and academically, then they would give you a brief description of what you'd be covering during the year. Oh yeah, there were usually some corny jokes in there because they wanted you to think they were cool.

It seemed like it took an eternity, but the bell finally rang. Even though he was on the opposite side of the room than the door, Gaara was still one of the first people out of the classroom. He hadn't recognized anyone in that class so he was glad to be going to one where there would be a familiar face… Even if it was gym. Gaara usually didn't mind the "lone wolf" thing, but it starts to wear on you after a while. So when he entered the stuffy, hot gym, he was glad to see Naruto's always cheerful face.

When their teacher walked in he commanded them to sit. Gaara took his normal place at the back of the group and Naruto sat right next to him. Naruto didn't seem to believe in personal space. When he sat down, he left hardly any space between himself and Gaara. It made Gaara feel uncomfortable so he scooted across the recently waxed floor until there was a bit of space in between the two.

Gaara looked up at his gym teacher. He was pretty stereotypical. A thirty-some year old muscular man who you knew must have played college or high school football. He was average height with average looks. The kind of gym teacher that would make any nerd cry. Gaara sighed, rolling his eyes. He could only hope that his next classes would prove more interesting with better teachers. All Gaara knew was that he was going to hate his mornings for the rest of the year. They'd put his two least favorite classes back to back first thing in the morning.

"Hey Gaara, you coming?" Naruto asked.

Gaara looked up to see the people around him all getting up and exiting the gym. He hadn't even heard them be dismissed. Naruto was standing above him. He had his arm outstretched to Gaara, offering to help him up. Gaara ignored his gesture and stood up on his own. They walked together to their next class, English, where they'd meet up with Sasuke.

When they got to the classroom, Sasuke was already. He'd picked a seat near the middle of the room. Gaara wondered if he liked people noticing his pissy mood, or just him in general, because many people were clearly staring straight at him. Most of them also happen to be girls. Gaara didn't think he'd like all the attention on him like that. Naruto walked into the room first and led the way over to Sasuke. Again by the time they got there, most of the seats were taken. Naruto sat in the seat to Sasuke's left. Gaara quickly took the seat behind Naruto. He received dirty looks from the long blond haired boy next to where he sat. Gaara just stared at him, only slightly wondering why. Most of his thoughts where about how the boy looked a lot like that Ino girl from the bus. Altogether the guy looked girly.

Gaara's thoughts were interrupted when another red haired boy appeared. He rapped on Gaara's desk to get his attention. He looked up at the boy. Gaara thought he looked young, too young for high school.

"I'm sitting there, please move," The boy stated forcefully but politely.

Gaara just looked at him in silence before saying, "Actually, I'm sitting here. So no, I won't move."

The blonde haired guy was gripping his desk. His knuckles grew whiter with every second that Gaara didn't move. The young looking red haired boy drummed his fingers on Gaara's desk. He was obviously not pleased. Most of the eyes in the classroom had now switched from watching Sasuke, to watching their little scene.

"Listen here!—" the blonde one snarled. But he was cut off by the bell and their teacher walking in the door.

Their teacher, a tall, young, and skinny man, eyed them questioningly then pursed his lips. The two boys still stood towering over Gaara, looking down at him angrily.

"Everyone up," the teacher ordered. "Stand at the back or on the sides of the room." He then began listing off names and pointing to desks. A seating chart. That solved the Gaara and the other redheaded boy's desk issue. Gaara's new seat was in almost the exact same spot he'd been sitting in originally. It was only one spot forward. Naruto sat kiddy corner in front and to the left of him, and Sasuke was directly across from him but two rows over. The blonde and the redhead still weren't sitting next to each other. The blonde one sat over an aisle to the right and two seats in front of Gaara while his friend sat on the opposite side of the room in the corner. The blonde boy had to have grumbled for the rest of the period.

English seemed like it was going to be a rather uninteresting class this year. You could already tell the teacher was rather boring and fairly strict. Gaara sat with his chin resting in his hand. This was the most he'd paid attention all day. Not because he found what his teacher had to say interesting, but because English was a class he didn't despise, quite opposite actually. Gaara just wished he had a better teacher. He also couldn't help but steal glances over at Sasuke everyone once in a while. Sasuke sat there with his arms folded across his chest. He'd either be looking down at his desk, or staring off into space.

The bell rang and the room was instantly filled with chatter and the scuffle of desks and hurried feet. The pace of the day seemed to be picking up. Gaara had just one more class, photography, before lunch. After that was science with Naruto, social studies, and then the class he didn't know if he was dreading or excited for: Art. Art with Sasuke to be more precise.

Gaara looked around the room. Sasuke had already left. He was driving Gaara insane. And it made Gaara even crazier that he was letting it happen. With a sigh he made his way sluggishly out the door. He took his time walking to photography, it was right down the hall from his English class, and stopped at his locker on the way. He arrived in his next class with plenty of time to spare.

The photography classroom was small and cold. Instead of separate desks, that had tables to seat two. Gaara hoped someone like the blonde haired boy from his English class wouldn't sit down next to him. The bell alerting students that they had two minutes to get to class beeped. The beeping sounded far away to Gaara. As usual, he was lost in his own thoughts.

Gaara heard the chair next to him being pulled out from the table. He looked up slowly to see the kid with long black hair he'd met that morning, Neji. Gaara gave him a look as if to ask "why there." Neji just looked at him blankly with his pale eyes and sat down with out a word. He folded his hands, resting them on the table and faced forward. The bell rang.

The class passed with no real excitement. Gaara knew he was going to like the class though. The teacher was the best so far, the class was small, and no one seemed to hate or take notice of him… yet. The teacher passed out a list of what they would need for the class. Gaara quickly read over it, he already had everything covered. He thought about the camera he had. It was out of date, but it still took good pictures and was functional. Gaara wished he could buy a new one but had no way of earning money yet since he was too young for all the open jobs around town. He'd save up the money for it eventually. The old one would do for now.

It was time for the lunch. The students started filing out of the room. Neji stood up fluidly and walked out of the room. He had an air of elegance and grace about him that you usually didn't see in a male. Gaara felt extremely blundering and clumsy in comparison.

Stopping at his locker again, Gaara dropped of some of his belongings he wouldn't need for his other classes and grabbed his lunch. He met up with Sasuke and Naruto outside of the cafeteria. Sasuke still looked ready to kill the next person who said a word to him. They walked in together and then Gaara found and empty table while Sasuke and Naruto bought their lunches. Gaara picked a mostly empty table at sat at the end of the bench. When Naruto and Sasuke came back they sat across from him. Naruto instantly began chattering about the first half of his day, what the teachers were like, who he had in his class, and the like. He asked a few questions to Gaara but didn't really give him time to answer before going on to another question or story.

Gaara looked over at Sasuke. He hadn't gotten very much to eat. What he did have though, he just picked at or moved back and forth around the tray. Gaara felt an urge to reach across the table, grab Sasuke by the shoulders and give him a good shake. Sasuke stood up and dumped his lunch in the garbage then left the lunch room. Naruto stopped talking abruptly. Gaara and Naruto watched Sasuke leave. They then turned slowly back to face each other, puzzled looks on their faces. Gaara just sighed and continued to eat his own lunch while Naruto picked back up on the story he had been telling.

After lunch Naruto and Gaara headed to science together. The science wing had a very dungeon-like feel to it. Since all the classrooms were in the interior of the school, none of them had windows which made them dark and slightly damp. It was a little creepy going there for the first time. They found the room moments before the bell rang so they grabbed the available seats. Gaara was glad when Naruto took the front row seat leaving one of the one a little farther back to him.

After science, Gaara and Naruto went their separate ways. Gaara now sat in his social studies class, staring at the clock. Only a few more minutes left. Gaara didn't know if he wanted them to go faster, or slow down. That's when the bell rang. Gaara's heart beat increased. He took his time exiting the classroom and walking down the hallway. He was in no rush to get to art. Even with stopping at the drinking fountain and his locker, Gaara still managed to get to art early. Not many people had come into the room yet. He'd been walking a lot faster than he thought.

The tables were set up in a horseshoe-like shape. Gaara picked a stool around the right side so that he could be facing the door. He now took time to look around the room and see if he recognized anyone. There were two people. Neji, again, sat almost directly across from him. A few seats down from him sat the blond kid from his English class. Gaara furrowed his brow, hoping the red haired boy wouldn't show up as well.

Sasuke walked into room, head down, hands in his pockets. Gaara could feel his heart beat even faster. He looked down at his hands folded on the table. Neji gave him a small 'hey' that Sasuke returned with a glare as he walked by. Sasuke picked the stool right next to Gaara and sat down heavily. That's what drove Gaara insane. Sasuke wouldn't say a word or even look at him, yet still he chose to sit by him.

Their art teacher passed out a small packet containing a long list. The list was all the projects, with a short description of each, that they were expected to complete by the end of the year. He told them that they could pace themselves however they wanted, interpret the project how they wanted; just make sure they had them all complete by the end of the year. There would be check in days every once in a while where he would check everyone's progress. Their teacher also explained the work they would be doing in the class, and of course, his expectations and rules for the class.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gaara looked over at Sasuke. For the first time today, Sasuke's eyes had a hint of life in them. Gaara wanted to smile. He didn't, he wouldn't let himself. Now Gaara also new Sasuke had a weakness for art.

Before Gaara knew it, art was done. He had his first day of high school under his belt. Gaara turned to Sasuke saying, "I'll see you on the…" But he was already gone. "…Bus." Gaara stuck the packet in his bag and left the room. Neji was waiting out in the hallway and once Gaara came out of the room, Neji pulled up alongside of him.

"You're friends with Sasuke?" Neji questioned. It seemed like an innocent enough question.

Gaara turned his head slowly towards Neji. "Why?"

Neji just shrugged, "I guess your type just attract."

Gaara furrowed his brow, expression darkening. His type? Gaara didn't like that he was being classified into a "type." Instead of responding, Gaara just stormed off to drop more things off at his locker and then head to the bus.

When Gaara got to the bus, Naruto and Sasuke were already on it. They picked seats across from each other close to the ones they had all sat in that morning. This time, Gaara sat next to Naruto. Sasuke pretended he didn't care. He just adjusted himself in his seat and folded his arms tighter across his chest. Gaara pretended not to notice and turned to face Naruto who had already began telling him about the second half of his day. Gaara just sat quietly half-listening. He nodded occasionally and even gave a small chuckle here and there, just so Naruto wouldn't question if something was wrong.

The bus ride home seemed to drag on forever. When Sasuke got off at his stop, both Ino, who was sitting a few seats behind him, and Naruto gave huge waves. Many of the other girls on the bus gave their little goodbyes trying to be cute and flirty, but none of them were as over the top as Ino. Gaara scoffed, she looked utterly ridiculous. Sasuke of course ignored everyone and stormed off up the path to his house.

At his stop, Gaara stood up slowly, saying goodbye to Naruto. Just as he was about to take a step into the aisle, Ino came shoving past. She gave him a disgusted look and stomped off the bus.

"Sorry about that…" Sakura said. She was waiting patiently for Gaara to go. A pleasant smile was on her face.

Gaara motioned for her to go then followed behind her. Once they were off the bus, Sakura looked over her shoulder, flashing him another smile, before practically being dragged away by Ino. With a sigh, Gaara turned in the opposite direction of them and started walking towards his house.

As Gaara walked up the driveway he noticed his father's car. He'd gotten home early today. Gaara groaned and headed up the front steps. Just as he stepped up on the porch, the front door swung open. Boku came storming, shoving Gaara to the side and knocking him to the ground. He heard the car pull out off the driveway and speed off down the street.

Gaara sat there dazed for a moment before standing up and brushing off his pants. He walked inside the house as if nothing had happened. Inside he found that everyone else was doing the same. Kankuro sat in front of the television in the family room with Temari, and Yasha sat quietly in the front room, mending some holes in socks. Gaara retreated straight to his room.

Flopping face down on his bed, all Gaara wanted to do was sleep. Today had made him exhausted. Gaara wasn't exactly used to feeling emotion towards another person besides hate. Today a lot of new emotions had been thrown in the mix. He sighed and rolled over onto his back folding his arms behind his head. Gaara hoped every day wouldn't be like this.

--- --- ---

Sasuke sat silently on the window seat in his bedroom. His knees were pulled up to his chest. Sasuke wrapped his arms around his legs and let his head rest against his knees. He felt like crying, but he wouldn't. That would be showing weakness.

"I am not weak," Sasuke whispered to himself. He closed his eyes thinking, "I will not let Itachi get the best of me."

The Uchiha parents were gone on yet another business trip, leaving Sasuke and Itachi by themselves again. As soon as Sasuke had walked through the front door, he was intercepted by Itachi. Itachi had slammed him against the wall, holding him by his neck. Hate flared in both of their eyes. Sasuke wasn't afraid, not anymore. That had stopped a long time ago. Now it was just a burning hate.

Itachi leaned in close, growling the same threats as usual into Sasuke's ear. Sasuke didn't know what had happened, but Itachi seemed to be more ill-tempered and bitter. His grip seemed a little tighter around Sasuke's throat than usual, his words a little more venom-filled and lethal.

Sasuke's breath came out ragged, it was hard to breathe. Then his eyes widened as Itachi mentioned Gaara. Itachi made even worse threats towards him. Itachi had told Sasuke that he was to have nothing to do with Gaara. Sasuke didn't see why he was so fired up about it. This couldn't be over a small insult, could it? Or was there something more? Itachi released Sasuke with a venomous chuckle and he slid to the floor with a dull thud. Sasuke was coughing as Itachi walked away.

Now there Sasuke sat in his room. He had darted quickly away as soon as his legs remembered how to move. Earlier, he had been trembling, it had since stopped. Sasuke had just replayed the entire scene over in his head. Since when had Itachi started picking his friends?

"Friend…" The word lingered in Sasuke's head. He opened his eyes and spread out across the seat. Sasuke pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window. It felt good against his throbbing head. Sasuke looked around outside. The sun was just starting to go down behind the tallest trees. What time was it? Sasuke spun around and looked at the clock. Dinner would be ready soon. Once again he'd be in the same room as Itachi. Alone.

Sasuke knew the situation well. Itachi would sit directly across from him. He'd flash a cruel grin, daring Sasuke to say something. But Sasuke never did. Sasuke would eat his food quickly or not at all, and then depart from the room to lock himself in his bedroom.

With a sigh, Sasuke hugged his arms around himself. "Please make this end," Sasuke whispered pleadingly to the empty room. He then pulled his knees back up to his chest and laid his head back down on his knees until he was summoned for dinner.