I've been gone for nearly a year, I know. I'm horrible, I know. sorry and thank you.

This chapter probably would have still been in progress for even longer if not for xXVioletRibbonXx who reminded me that there's still a little fanfic here which needs some attention. So thank you xXVioletRibbonXx, this chapter wouldn't have been finished without your encouragement. It's dedicated to you.

chapter 9 - Maybe I Want You

.o.O.O.o.

Gaara absolutely hated this school. He couldn't put his finger on exactly why he hated it so much, though. It was prestigious and modern and there were lots of advanced subjects to for him to take. But there was just...something that didn't feel right to him. Naruto told him it was probably because Leaf Academy was still better than Haki. Maybe, Gaara didn't really care.

Naruto seemed to have fitted in almost perfectly, but then again, it was always like this with Naruto. He was just so friendly and... well, nice. But Gaara knew, though, that Naruto was hiding his true feelings from the world. If Gaara hadn't known Naruto so well, he would've fallen for that stupid goofy smile, like the everyone else. Naruto may believe he had fooled Gaara, but Gaara knew the truth. Naruto was miserable, and he missed Sasuke terribally. Although, he would never admit it, not aloud at least, and not to anyone. Gaara himself, didn't miss Leaf Academy at all. Sure, it was better than Haki in almost every way, but he didn't miss it. And he surely didn't miss that stupid Hyuuga.

He thought about him, though. Almost all the fucking time. He still found it hard to believe that the other boy had said... what he had said to Gaara. Gaara couldn't even bring himself to think those words. What the hell had happened then? Memories of that day kept flooding his mind, frustrating him, making him so angry and wanting so badly to go kill the Hyuuga boy. He was just... unbelievable. Unfortunatle for Gaara he could only do so much and so he was stuck with unwated memories untill time would make them fade away. He had no intention to ever see Hyuuga Neji again, not if he had a say in the matter.

Naruto tried to talk to him, convince him that he didn't have to transfer too, but Gaara heard nothing of it. there was no way he was letting Naruto go without him, not when Naruto was so vulnerable. Yes, he had told Neji that Naruto was much more dangerous than himself, but only because Naruto's ability to control his demon was so unstable and fragile. With Naruto you could never know what tomoroow will bring. Besides that, Gaara had no reason to stay in Leaf. Actually he had a reason to leave. Hyuuga Neji. If there was a person Gaara was terrified of (aside from a demon-possesed Naruto) it was Hyuuga Neji. That boy simply terrified him and it was silly, really, because Gaara was much stronger than him.

Hyuuga Neji had the one thing in the whole world Sabaku Gaara was afraid of.

~O~O~O~O~

Naruto could feel eyes boring holes into the back of his head and he turned around. There. It was that pretty boy again, looking at him and smirking-smirking! It was his third day in Haki Academy and Naruto managed to fit in rather ok. the other students were nice enough and even though he hasn't made any particular friends yet, he was doing alright. There was this one guy, though. Naruto first saw him on his second day at Haki and had though he was a girl! he had such a pretty face! his nose was small, but not too small, and his beautiful hazelnut eyes were framed by long thick lashes. His dark brown hair reached just bellow his shoulder and he let it loose to hang freely on his shoulders. The boy seemed to notice Naruto too and he had arched one long brow before sending him a smile. Naruto returned a hesitant smile and that was it. They hadn't spoken to each other yet but today Naruto thought something might happen.

And he was right. The boy approached their table and gave Naruto a bright smile. "Hi," he said and without waiting for an invitation, sat down in front of Naruto. Gaara shot him a glare but said nothing.

"Hi," Naruto replied with a smile.
"I'm Haku. Nice to meet you." Naruto took the offered hand. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. This is Sabaku Gaara," he gestured to Gaara. Gaara ignored them both. "He's really a nice guy," Naruto smiled, afraid that Haku might run away at Gaara's glare. Haku laughed and it was melodious and Naruto liked it immediately. "I have no doubt," Haku said amicably and Naruto heaved a sigh of relief. "So, you're new here, aren't you?" Haku asked.
"Yes. This is actually our third day." Naruto answered.
"Do you like it here?"
"I don't know yet," Naruto said truthfully. "It seems rather nice." Haku laughed. "I hate this place," he told them. At Naruto surprised look he chuckled. "I've been here for two long years and I still don't like it. I guess I just still miss my old school," he said. Naruto could relate to that. Well, he didn't really miss Leaf Academy, rather he missed the few friends he had made there, but it was probably what Haku had meant. Haku seemed to notice the look on his face because his expression softened and he said: "You feel the same, don't you?" Naruto nodded and looked away. "It gets better in time," Haku went on and Naruto chanced a glance at the boy. He was smiling softly and Naruto couldn't help but smile back. "I think so," he added and Naruto laughed. "That's reassuring," he said sarcastically and Haku gave a lop-sided grin. "You won't go mental, that's for sure," he said and made Naruto laugh again. It was so good! It's been a really long time since he had laughed like that, and there really wasn't anything that funny about the situation. But Haku, there was just something about the guy that made Naruto let himself put aside all his worries and just live the moment. Maybe it was Haku's confident smile, or his bright eyes that seemed to be filled with kindness like none other. Maybe it was a combination of both, Naruto had no idea, but it didn't matter, not really, because he was laughing again and it felt incredible. Naruto nearly forgot how good it felt to laugh like that, so free and careless.
"You should laugh more often," Haku said suddenly. "It's nice." And Naruto felt bubbles of laughter already forming inside of him, making him truly happy for the first time in a very long time.

~O~O~O~O~

"Sasuke, what the hell is wrong with you?" Sakura didn't add '-kun' which meant she was really upset. And if she was that upset it meant he was very obvious.
"What makes you think there's anything wrong with me Sakura?" he asked, more irritated with himself than with her.
"Please, right now you're the epitome of distress. So what's wrong?"

School has ended not long ago and because he had nothing better to do, Sasuke agreed to stay after school and let Sakura paint his portrait again. He was pretty reluctant, but Sakura had knew what to use against him.

As he sat there on a stool, in the middle of the Art Club room, he supposed it wasn't so bad after all. He could think in that time, and he had a lot to think about. Mostly, it was about Naruto. He didn't miss the guy, at least not yet, but Naruto was almost a permanent thought in his mind. What is Naruto doing right now? Does Naruto think about him? Does he miss him? Is he having fun? Every other thought was about Naruto and it was driving Sasuke crazy. Never before had something like that happened to him and he certainly hoped it would never happen again.

"So, Sasuke-kun," Sakura suddenly said, startling him from his thoughts. "Have you talked to Naruto yet?"
"No." Of course, she didn't know the real reason why Naruto left Leaf. She believed to some cover-up story Naruto fed her, about Gaara not liking it at Leaf and his older sister wanting him close to her. She didn't pry, even if she didn't believe it whole-heartedly, and that was probably why she was nagging to Sasuke now.
"No?"
"No."

Sakura heaved a dramatic sigh and put down her pencil. "Boys are so stupid sometimes," she said. Sasuke watched her as she pulled closer a nearby stool and sat on it, exactly in front of him. Oh no, he thought, here comes the talk. He hated the 'talks'. Sakura ignored his glare and took his hand in her. Her hand was small and delicate, an artisan's hands.

"Sasuke, what are you afraid of?"
"Why do you think I'm afraid?" he replied.
"You are. You know, no one will think of you as less of a man if you admit that you're afraid." she said, ignoring his question. The audacity!
"I am not afraid Sakura," he answered. Maybe, if he showed her how well he was handling her prying, she'd see he's a big boy and let him be.

No such luck.

"You like Naruto, don't you?"
"What?" at that Sakura grinned in triumph. "Ha!" she cried joyously. "You do! You do! You do!" and she went on laughing and pinching his cheeks, which really annoyed Sasuke.

"And here I was thinking you've matured somewhat," he said dryly. She grinned at him. "Oh my god, you fancy him! You really do!" her eyes were wide with amazement and all of a sudden she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Lucky for me I got over my crush on you," she said and he shot her another glare. But Sakura was a brave girl and big bad monsters like Uchiha Sasuke didn't scare her at all. "Aww poor Sasuke is so confused! You're so cute when you sulk like that!"
Sasuke became more annoyed with every second that passed. "Is there a point to you harrassing me?" he asked, rather fearing the answer.
"So you don't deny it?" she asked, still grinning like a madwoman. Sasuke said nothing but he could feel the blush oh his cheeks.
"You don't," she said softly, and she sat back down on her stool. "So what happened? he rejected you?" Sasuke snorted as if the idea was too absurd to even laugh at. Which kind of was. "As if," he said and glared here, mad that she could even suggest such a stupid idea. Sakura was patient and she said nothing, giving him time to relax. But Sasuke said no more after that and Sakura sighed in exasperation. "What is wrong Sasuke?" she asked again but this time there was some annoyance in her tone. Sasuke wondered the same thing. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn't he get Naruto out of his damned system? Who was Naruto really? Why did Sasuke have his photograph? Why did he have this burning urge to leave Leaf and go to Haki? Why did he so achingly wanted to make Naruto come back?

He had no answers and quite frankly, he was afraid to have them.

.o.O.O.o.

A/N: Long time no see! Yes I know, I'm awful. But for the record I'm truly. As xXVioletRibbonXx kindly reminded me, I haven't updated in almost a year, which is horribly sad. And I feel like I owe you an explanation, so:

My sister's computer, the old one on which I saved all my documents, completely broke down because it's sooo old and has such little storage space left in it. We still haven't fixed it, but about a week ago my sister came back home from her boarding school for summer vacation and she managed to run the machine. I quickly transfered all my documents to my other sister's new computer (no I don't own one of my own). Then when I read the draft again, I was so disappointed in it I rewrote everything! trust me when I say this result is way better than the first one.

so I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed rewriting it.