Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Jumping Tracks	By : AvangalineHazel Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1045 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. I also make no money from this fiction.

Chapter List
- 1-Jumping Tracks
- 2-Chapter 2
- 1
- 2
Gaara swiped his key through the electronic lock with an
agitated sigh, praying that no one would be home to question him about how his
first day at his new school had gone. Just thinking about it made the redheads
pale cheeks flush a dark red and if simply thinking about it made him
embarrassed what would talking about it do? Mortification was the only word
Gaara could come up with to describe his current view on his first day at
school and as such he did not, under any circumstances, want to talk about it.
Maybe lady luck will
take pity on me for once and everyone will be out or still at work, Gaara
thought, letting a little spark of hope flare in his chest as he walked into
the large penthouse he was sharing with his family while their house on the harbour
was undergoing some completely useless-in his opinion- renovations, if only I could be so lucky.
After taking off his shoes at the door and sneaking down the
entryway Gaara poked his head out around the corner to see that the large open
plan living and dining area was empty despite the fact that the flat screen
television was on, showing an energetic young women clad it brightly coloured
clothing giving instructions about some fitness position or another while her
team, each as brightly coloured and energetic as their leader followed along.
Gaara scowled, that meant Temari was here�somewhere.
Holding his breath as if the simple act of breathing would
alert his sister to his presence the redhead began to slowly tippy toe through
the penthouse, freezing at every little noise the heard and wincing at the soft
scuffle his feet made against the plush cream carpeting even though he know in
his rational mind there was no way Temari could have heard such a miniscule
noise. However that didn�t stop his irrational mind from breaking into the
forefront of his thoughts and preparing him to see his sister jump out from
behind everything and anything to apprehend him and most likely scare him half
to death.
Once through the living room Gaara paused again, looking down
the hall that lead to everyone�s separate rooms with a critical eye, assessing
his situation. This was the danger zone, his sister could be waiting behind
anyone of those doors, ready to ambush his and it didn�t help that his bedroom
was at the very end of the hall. It was looking more and more like he�d have to
make a break for it and run if he wanted to survive.
Taking a deep breath the redhead steadied himself and glared
at the general expanse of the hallway, had it been that long when he had left this
morning and had the darkly stained oak doors looked so menacing?
Gaara scoffed at himself, shaking his head slightly, get a hold of yourself Gaara, there just
doors and this is just a hallway, exactly this same as always. And it�s just
Temari; seriously all you have to do is distract her with something she�s more
interested in like her new boyfriend Shaka. No wait that�s not right. Shin? No.
Shaun? No. Shimmer? I should really hope not. Damn I know it�s a Sh-something!!
Sh- Sh- Sh SHHHHHHHHHHHH-
�Gaara do you want a sandwich?�
Gaara nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his
sisters voice coming from somewhere behind him, in the kitchen he guessed since
she was offering to make him a sandwich,�
before he bolted down the hallway and slamming his bedroom door closed
once he was safely behind it making it blatantly obvious to Temari that he
didn�t want to talk to her, his intentions to be somewhat subtle with his
sister by changing the subject of any conversation they were to have about
himself completely flying out the window.
Watching the younger Sabaku literally run from the room the
elder pursed her lips and returned to the kitchen, pulling out her younger
brothers favourite sandwich ingredients. Gaara always avoided talking to her
about things, it wasn�t anything new to her but to have him actually run away
was definitely a new occurrence. What had happened to make her younger brother
so evasive? Whatever it was it must have happened at school. Temari began
buttering the bread for both sandwiches with a little more gusto than necessary
as she let her mind run away with her. Having Gaara home was proving to be much
more interesting than she could have ever anticipated.
Oblivious to Temari�s daydreaming Gaara stood leaning
against his door facing his quiet air-conditioned room, breathing deeply as he
attempted to regain his composure. It was
like she seriously did come out of a wall that time, how does she do it?
�Gaara let the strap of his book bag slide
from his shoulder as he pushed away from the door, deciding that perhaps a
shower would help him relax after the drama that had been his first day. Not
bothering to close the door of his ensuite bathroom since he had been sure to
lock his bedroom door the young Sabaku stripped away his mostly black attire,
sighing as he freed himself from the stylishly ripped skinny jeans that was one
pair of the many in his collection.
Turning on the shower as hard as it would go the redhead
stepped straight into the scalding spray, wincing as the too hot water turned
his alabaster skin the colour of a tomato almost instantly. Adjusting the
temperature so he wouldn�t get third degree burns Gaara pressed his forehead
against the cool cream tiles, enjoying the sensations of the different
temperatures assaulting his body, the shocks of both hot and cold finally
clearing his muddled head.
I can�t believe I sent
someone to the nurse�s office on my first day. He might have even had to go to
the hospital since I didn�t see him again afterward. And Naruto seems so
popular; everyone was really worried once they saw him bleeding. I�ve ruined
any chance I had to make friends here. Gaara face palmed before rubbing at
his suddenly tired eyes. I suppose it
won�t be so different from my old school, I never had many friends there either.
It�s not like I not used to it though I'm not particularly looking forward to
eating my lunch in the bathrooms again and I doubt the ones at Konoha Art and
Design are as regularly cleaned.
Finally reaching for the soap Gaara lifted his head away
from the tile and began trying to clean himself of the memories from his first
day of school, Maybe I should call Sai
and ask him if he has heard anything about Naruto. He did give me his number
after the whole incident so he mustn�t dislike me too much. Maybe he�ll even
let me eat lunch with him again tomorrow.
Shutting off the water with an agitated grunt, deciding that
it would be best to call Sai sooner rather than later. There was no use putting
off the bad news right? Wrapping a towel around his waist Gaara trotted back
into his room and fell to his knees in front to his bed, pulling out the large
suitcase that resided under it to search for some clean clothes, but not before
turning on and logging into his laptop that lay open on his bed, discarded from
this morning�s hasty use. Checking
Facebook really is like readying the morning paper for our generation, the
redhead thought offhandedly, remembering a page he had seen on the social
network site that very morning. Needless to say he had liked it, it was true
after all.
By the time he was dressed in a pair of cotton sleeping
pants and an oversized shirt emblazoned with the words �Monsters Need Hugs Too!!� he was eagerly awaiting his news feed to
load. Gaara didn�t have many friends it was true, but the ones he did have
always made an effort to keep in touch with him.
But there was nothing there waiting for him, from his old
friends at least. Gaara frowned deeply at the screen, squinting a little to
make sure he was seeing things right; He had three pending friend requests?
From who? And Why? The redhead blinked owlishly as he opened the little window
that would answer his questions, not really believing what he was seeing.� Sasuke Uchiha, Sai McNinjaMan and last of
all, Naruto Uzumaki.
Doing an army roll off his bed Gaara grabbed his bag like
his life depended on it, digging through the murky depths in order to find his
mobile phone and the piece of scrap paper Sai had written his number on,
fingers flying across he touch screen with practiced eased.
The phone hadn�t even run twice before it was picked up and
Gaara thought that if Sai was nothing else at least he was prompt, not being
one of those people that let his calls go to voicemail to deal with later, �Hello this is Sai, who is this?�
Gaara stopped the pacing that he hadn�t even realised he was
going and returned to his bed, �Umm its Gaara, you gave me your number
remember?�
�Of course I remember,
are you on Facebook right now, I don�t see you on my chat.�
�oh yeah but I only just logged in, let me confirm your
friend request,� as he clicked the appropriate buttons and listened to the dead
air on the other end of the phone something occurred to the youngest Sabaku,
�McNinjaMan?�
�Naruto hacked into my
account about a week ago and I haven�t been bothered to change it back yet.
Besides I kind of like it, ninja�s are cool right?�
Gaara hummed his agreement as he thought about one of his
favourite shirts �Quit work, Be a Ninja.�
It really was a fantastic saying, one that he wished he could live by, �so
is Naruto okay? I have a friend request from him here so he mustn�t be too
angry at me, right?�
�Naruto is incapable
of anger�most of the time. Accept his request and see for yourself,� there
was some shuffling in the background and after about two minutes of silence the
redhead was about to ask Sai if he was still there when the other boys calm
voice floated into his ear, �I'm sorry
Gaara but I have to go. I'm covered in clay and I want to shower before it
dries and hardens. I�ll see you tomorrow.�
The line went dead, leaving Gaara to stare at the phone in
his hand, then at the computer screen and back again, mulling over his options
and there weren�t many. He could either ignore Naruto and his friend request in
the hope that the whole incident would eventually be forgotten and everyone
would leave him alone or he could take a chance and attempt to make friends,
something he wasn�t entirely sure how to do.
Biting his lower lip nervously the redhead made his decision
and accepted Naruto�s friend request, trying his hardest not to close his eyes
like a child before a scary part in a movie.�
Gaara sighed when Naruto�s name was added to his chat list, glad to see
that the blonde wasn�t online at the moment since Gaara still didn�t know what
he was going to say to him.
Gaara felt a flare of determination settle in his chest as
he clicked on the blondes profile to do a little stalking. He�d come this far
so why should he stop now and if he had to admit it to himself Gaara knew that
his curiosity would eventually get the better of him and he�d end up stalking
Naruto later anyway. Why put something off for later that he could do now, it
just wasn�t practical.
He was expecting to see many things on the blondes profile
but what the redhead hadn�t been expecting to see was something that would make
him smile. Naruto�s latest status update was a picture of him and Sasuke
sitting together on a hospital bed, both smiling despite their somewhat morbid
surroundings. The picture though wasn�t what made him smile; it was the caption
that came along with it.
Five stitches in my
forehead bitches and a new scar for the ladies. Sasuke is so jealous about
that. Thanks to Gaara, this has to be the funniest start to a friendship I�ve ever
heard of and I�ll definitely be telling the story over and over again.
All the weight that the youngest Sabaku had felt pressing
him down from the day�s events slowly lifted as he studied the picture and the
caption underneath it. He wasn�t a fool, Gaara knew that it would still be
awkward to talk to Naruto the next time they ran into each other but at least
he wouldn�t be freaking out about the fact that the blonde might be angry at
him.
Friends. He was friends with Naruto and Naruto was friends
with him, Gaara had to admit that he liked the way that sounded but what made
the situation even better was the fact that he was also beginning a friendship
with Sai and maybe even Sasuke through extension of Naruto. He�d made two,
maybe three, friends and all he had done was be his normal, quiet, awkward
self. It was a nice feeling, fantastically new and refreshing. People liked him
for him.
With a happy little grin plastered on his normally secretive
face Gaara eagerly accepted Sasuke's friend request before logging off and
shutting down his computer.� Feeling a
whole lot better about everything the redhead seceded that he did want to talk
to Temari if for no other reason than to let her know that he was okay. Leaving
his room to find his sister Gaara blinked at what he saw waiting for him
outside in the hallway. A sandwich and a note.
Picking up the plate Gaara took and bite and groaned. Having
not eaten anything all day the BLT was like heaven against the youngest
Sabaku�s tongue.� Still chewing Gaara
opened the small note and nearly choked on his food at what he saw there.
Sai, Sasuke and
Naruto?
Rolling his eyes and taking another bite of his sandwich
Gaara ventured out of his room to talk to Temari with one thought racing
through his head, that his sister must be some kind of mind reader to know what
she knew almost as soon as he did.
Either that or her internet connection was faster.
***
Gaara shifted nervously from foot to foot in front Iuka�s
desk as he looked over some of his previous work that he�d been asked to bring
in so that his skill level could be assessed. Every time the teacher clicked
his tongue or moved a hand over a work, examining the line work the redhead
would flinch almost imperceptibly, already expecting the worst before anything
had even been said.
He had made sure to bring in a wide variety of pieces as
well as some of his half-done works in an attempt to show Iruka his process,
how he worked the lines to portray what he wanted them to but new, as Iruka sat
scrutinizing one of the half done works with a deep furrow between his brows
the redhead wasn�t sure that, that had been the greatest of ideas.
What made it exponentially worse though was the fact that he
could feel almost everyone in the class watching on, waiting to see if the new
kid would sink or swim. Still in that sea of eyes at least Gaara could take
comfort in the fact that Sai was there somewhere, cheering him on silently and
Gaara was more than grateful to the boy who had sought him out that very
morning and lead him to their class.
�Have you ever taken any professional classes before Gaara?�
Iruka asked as he set the sketch he had been scrutinizing aside, �I looked over
your file and I noticed that you didn�t take any art classes at you old school
so I'm wondering where you picked up your skill from.�
Gaara continued to shift nervously as he thought about the
question that he didn�t really know how to answer. He�d always loved to draw
since before he could remember and as he got older had expanded himself into
other art forms but he�d never known where his interest and general knack for
the subject had come from, �No sir I haven�t, but art has been my hobby since I
was little. I guess my skill has just developed over time.�
Iruka nodded and scratched the vertical scar across his nose
as he thought about the answer. It would have been clear to anyone that Gaara
was a natural with pencil and paper and had some good, if still raw, skill in
other artistic mediums, but Iruka could see that the kid was something special.
To be at this level as a self-taught sketch artist was something Iruka rarely
saw. The only other student with this level of self-taught skill in his class
was Sai.
�Well these are all very good, you have some real skill here
Gaara,� Iruka reassured the boy, �but I do have one request. I�d like you to
take part in Kakashi�s life drawing classes. You don�t have to say yes or even
answer right now but I think it doing so will help you refine your craft.�
�Sure okay,� Gaara said belaying his growing eagerness at
the opportunity to hone his skills, he was always looking to improve, �when are
the classes?�
Iruka smiled at the boy�s immediate acceptance of his
proposal, glad to see that the young man before him was ready to learn,
�straight after lunch on Wednesdays and Fridays and they go for about an hour,
do you have any other classes then?�
Gaara pulled out his schedule that was still a little
foreign to him and glared at it for a moment before giving in with a dejected
sigh, �I don�t know.�
Iruka let out a warm chuckle and held out his hand for the
schedule, �it looks like you�ve got a sculpting classes then for two hours a
piece, those are both my classes though so I�m okay with you going to the life
drawing classes for the first hour of my classes as long as you promise me to
show up for the second hour without fail.�
�Of course, thank you so much for this,� Gaara took his
schedule back from Iruka along with the artworks he had given to him.
�Don�t mention it. Now I�ve set up station for you next to
Sai�s with everything you should need but if you find yourself lacking
something just ask Sai or myself and we should be able to find it in the store
room somewhere,� as Gaara turned to leave and head to his aforementioned
station Iruka called him back with one last question, �Gaara why did you never
take art cases before coming to this school, your clearly quite talented.�
Gaara clutched his art to his chest and looked at the
ground, �my father has always thought that art was useless, just a hobby to be
indulged now and then and my old school was of the same mind set.� They never offered art as a subject.�
�That must have been hard for you, having your talent
neglected and shunned by you peers and elders,� Iruka said softly, wondering
how anyone could deny another person, let alone children to express and be
themselves through whatever means they wished, �if your father doesn�t think
art is worth anything then why did he send you here?�
�It wasn�t so bad� at
my old school I guess, just because I couldn�t practice art as a subject didn�t
mean I couldn�t indulge in it during my personal time, Gaara explained with a
shrug, �as for why my father sent me here I guess he thought my grades would be
better if I was doing something I enjoyed. I wasn�t doing the greatest at my
boarding school and I think he just got fed up with teachers calling him to
report my bad grades.�
Iruka nodded and scratched at his scar again and Gaara
realised that it must have been a habit for the teacher when he was thinking
about something, �I suppose I understand that but I have to admit I was told
that you were asked to leave your old school,� Iruka watched the boys already
pale face go whiter still, contrasting incredibly with his blood red hair,
making Iruka want to pull out his own sketch book, �I'm not going to press you
for details about what happened, nor am I going to go to Tsunade for my answers
but if you ever want to talk about it though I�m here most of the time as Sai
has probably already told you.�
�Now why don�t you go and set up your station the start
thinking about what you want to do for your major work this term. Since your
two weeks behind everyone else I�ll let you continue a work you�ve already
started as your submission but I�d really like to see you push yourself and
some up with something totally new.�
Gaara didn�t answer his teacher; he was still too stunned by
what he had said. Did Konoha�s principle really know the true reason why he had
been asked to leave the school and if she did who else in the school knew? It
was something he had wanted to keep hidden as was the case with most of the
things he was ashamed about in his life.
Instead he just moved off to his station next to Sai�s with
ideas about what to do for his terms work already hopping around his head like
rabbits with a terrible case of rabies.�
The station wasn�t much really, just an area marked off with
bright yellow chalk on the ground with his name already written in the space to
tell others it was his. There was a small wooden easel and a tech drawing table
with overhead light and uncomfortable looking plastic chair as well as trolley
with wheels where he could put his art supplies when he wasn�t using them.
Gaara looked around at the other student�s stations and
noticed that many of them had added their own little touches to their stations
like photographs and little knickknacks. Some had even put drop cloths down in
a vain attempt to keep the already paint strewn floor clean.
�Are you okay Gaara, I'm not sure but I think your paler
than you were yesterday,�� Gaara blinked
and looked to his left to see Sai siting at his drawing table with his head
hanging over the back of his chair, looking at him upside-down.
Gaara nodded and gave Sai what he hoped was a reassuring
smile before he put his armful of artworks onto the trolley and hooked his bag
over the chair, pulling out a small sketchbook and come charcoal pencils as he
went.
Setting everything up Gaara sat down, put his headphones in
and began doodling uselessly, hoping that some inspiration would come flying at
him through the haze off half formed ideas and dub stepped music blasting into
his cranium.� What hit him howeve was a
ball of scrunched up paper, sai�s jevenial attempt to get his attention.
Taking his headphones out the redhead looked at the other
student with a barely supressed glare that was met with a nonchalant smile, �I
couldn�t get your attention any other way, your music was too loud for you to
hear me,� the raven explained, head still hanging off the back of his chair,
�anyway Naruto just texted me, he wants to know if he can have your phone
number and if he can give it to Sasuke as well.�
Gaara opened and closed his mouth, doing his best imitation
of a fish as he tried to think of an answer but in the end he just ended up
nodding dumbly, snapping his mouth closed with enough force to hurt his teeth.
With Sai�s question answered Gaara put his headphones back
in and went back to work, turning down the volume a tad so if someone wanted
his attention again they wouldn�t have to throw anything at him to get it.
Closing his eyes and breathing deeply the young artist let
the music flow through him, not really hearing the words that where being sung
but focusing on the beat and the way it jumped and twisted but still seemed to
blend together effortlessly. Music was an important part of Gaara�s art, not in
the sense that any of his pieces included musical subject matters or points of
focus but in the sense that it allowed him to relax enough in order to let out
his expressive side and feeling after keeping them all so locked away. Without
music he would have no way bring out the qualities of himself that he wished he
didn�t have to keep so hidden and that was why it was a vital part of his
artistic expression.
It wasn�t that he couldn�t function as an artist without it
though. Put a bowl of fruit in front of him and he could draw it without fail
like most artists could do but without the music to release him there would be
nothing of his essence in the work. It would just be another boring picture of
another boring bowl of fruit.
And then out of the blue there it was, the illusive idea
that he was searching for, coming to him when his mind was distracted by other
things over the gentle hum of music in his ears.� It was blurry but it was there, a shape, an
image of what would be his inspiration for his first ever artwork that would be
scrutinised by a man who had dedicated himself to art, that would be graded and
judged.
Gaara�s art had always been for himself, something that
grounded him when he felt himself floating away in a sea of stress, was a tool
he used to dig himself out of the deep holes of depression he sometimes found
himself falling into.
Still somewhere in his heart of hearts the redhead had
always wanted someone to tell him what they thought of his work, to instruct
him on what he was doing wrong so he could improve and praise him for what he
had done well. The praise, he really wanted the praise. After being around
people like his father who looked down on the whole idea of art for such a long
time he was starved of anything positive when it came to his passion apart from
the occasional compliment from his brother and sister, both of them having a
few of Gaara�s sketches decorating their rooms.
Of all the people he knew in the world his father was the
one person in his life that Gaara could never have any understanding for, the
man was a total enigma to him. He ran one of the largest entertainment
companies in Sydney, organising events for artists from ever genre, music in
particular. It was through supporting art that the man put food on the table
for his family yet he looked down on the very idea of basic expression.
His father was a hypocrite, making a living off of something
that he didn�t believe in, and a lot of money at that. He would never tell his
father that though because when he really thought about it he himself was just
as involved in the elder Sabaku�s conceited existence.
He was right now, at this very moment, using his father�s
money to be here at a school that was based on the ideas of free expression and
creation and it seemed to him that he was creating and continuing what seemed
to be a strange cycle of love and hate when it came to art. It was a strange
and somewhat morbid feeling to be the polar opposite of the man who helped to
give you life.
Gaara didn�t have time to dwell on that thought for very
long though because his phone started vibrating in one of the many pockets of
his cargo pants. At first the redhead ignored it bad the vibrating stopped but
after a few minutes his curiosity got the better of him and the phone
practically flew into his hand.
Gaara narrowed his eyeliner laden eyes at the screen; he
didn�t recognise the number and hated getting text messages from randoms who
had the wrong number. The youngest Sabaku�s heart fluttered as a thought
crossed his mind, What if it was him.
It wouldn�t be the first time he�d received a text message
from his ex, who really wasn�t even that since thy had never dated or made
their relationship official. It looked like he was going to have to change his
phone number, again. Why did he have
to persist, didn�t he know that it ripped open the slowly healing hole in
Gaara�s chest every time they had their one-sided conversations. The redhead
never responded, he couldn�t take the hurt he felt and the messages never held
anything he wanted to read anyway since most of the time they were
inappropriate. Gaara had never understood sexting, he had always some out of
the experience feeling dirty and used.
Gaara�s resolve to stay strong against the temptations of
his ex eventually caved through; there would be no problem with just reading
the text message would there? Maybe it would be different to all the others he
had received and maybe he would wake up tomorrow to a world of sunshine,
rainbows and cotton candy.
The redhead scoffed at his naivety, he could hope as much as
he wanted but thing were never different and waiting around expecting them to
become so was just a foolish waste of time. Gaara deleted the message before
his mind could once again attempt to tell him otherwise. Yes there would be a
problem with reading the message, if he read it all he would for the rest of
the day would be think about the past and that was something he was trying to
erase.
It was his second day at a new school and it was time for
him to let go and focus on the future, forget his past by burying himself in
his new life here. A small part of Gaara�s mind told him that he couldn�t have
a new life as long as things from his past remain unresolved, that all he was
doing was running but he chose to ignore that part, blocking it out by turning
up his music just that little bit louder and focusing on the blank page in
front of him. He focused on the clean slate.
***
�The first half of the
day past slowly for Gaara. He got very little work done in art and then
received two more term assignments, one in his compulsory English class and the
other in his computer class where a boy called Shikamaru had taught him more
than the teacher had. By that point he had to admit he was starting freak out
about the work load just a little since he still had three more classes to go
to today and then the extra class he had picked up this morning thanks to
Iruka.
Seven classes all together. That meant seven major
assignments each term for four terms. That was twenty eight whole assignments!!
The redhead�s brain was swimming at the mere thought of it.
This school may have a
laid back atmosphere but it�s certainly no cake walk, Gaara thought as he
made his way slowly out of his English class, not as eager to get to lunch as
the other students. He wasn�t really looking forward to eating his meal alone.
Leaving the class Gaara�s eyebrow twitched as his phone
started vibrating in his pocket for what seemed like the hundredth time that
morning and he was about to throw it at a wall to make it stop, or perhaps take
less drastic measures� and just turn it off.
Wrenching the phone out of his pocket the redhead saw the
same unknown number flashing up on the screen as it rang. Gaara growled at the
phone as if it were an annoyingly determined enemy, enough was enough.
Jabbing his finger against the answer button on the touch
screen Gaara put the phone to his ear, �Look you already know I don�t want to
talk to you so why the hell do you keep calling me, sont you know how much it
hurts?!� he tried to keep his voice even as he said it but the words came out a
little louder than he had expected, making a few of the students who seemed
just as disinterested in lunch as he was regard him quizzically.
�Shit I�m sorry but I think
I have the wrong number,� Gaara heard shuffling sand he guessed that the
mouth piece of the phone was being covered over because the next thing he heard
was a muffled shout, �DAMN IT SAI, YOU
GAVE ME THE WRONG NUMBER!!�
More shuffling and a few shouts sounded across the line and
Gaara frowned, what the hell was going on, on the other end of the line and who
the hell had Sai given his phone number to? The redhead sucked a breath in
through his clenched teeth as he realised who must have been trying to contact
him all morning, �Naruto?�
�No its Sai now,
Naruto really needs to learn to defend his phone better. He's grumbling right
now about how I�ve ruined his lunch.�
�Because you took his phone,� Gaara was a little confused to
say the least but he understood now that all the strange noises he had heard
before must have been the two fighting over the phone.
�No because I
accidently stood on his bag while taking his phone. Now where are you so I can
give you directions on where to find us?�
�Find you?�
�Yes of course, unless
you wanted to eat lunch alone today.�
Gaara was about to open his mouth to tell Sai where he was
and thank him for the invite to lunch when the teen grunted rather loudly and
what was clearly a shout of victory was heard, leaving Gaara to wonder for the
second time what the hell was going on.
�Gaara its Naruto,
where are you and why haven�t you answered your phone. I swear I�ve called and
texted you like a hundred times.�
�y-yeah sorry, I thought you were someone else,� Gaara
swallowed the lump in his throat and prayed to every god he knew that Naruto
wouldn�t ask him who he�d thought he was, �I'm just coming out of my English
class, I can�t really tell you where I am though since I don�t really know.�
�Sai showed you around
through yesterday right, so he should know where it is?�
�Yeah I guess so.�
�Alright just stay
where you are and I�ll come get you, that way we can talk about yesterday
without everyone staring at us and laughing at me.�
�umm alright I guess so,� the lumps was suddenly back in his
throat at the thought of talking to the blonde about something he wanted to
forget but then he remembered that though it was an awkward situation Naruto
wasn�t angry with him about I, he probably just felt that it would be awkward
as well.
�Okay I�ll see you in
a minute,� Naruto�s voice was bright as he hung up the phone without saying
goodbye and Gaara felt a smile pull at the corners of his mouth. His work load
might be growing exponentially and he was still getting lost but at least he
was working things out with some, hopefully, future friends.
Gaara dropped his bag to the floor and sat down, leaning
against the wall of the class room. He knew how long the seemly scatterbrained
blonde teen would be. This however
was a perfect opportunity for him to update his contacts so there would be no
more confusion.
Too busy fiddling with his phone Gaara didn�t notice when
Naruto came running toward the classroom and practically threw himself onto the
ground next to him, making the redhead jump and drop his phone onto the
concrete.
Ignoring the blonde next to him who was apologising
profusely for scaring him Gaara reached down to pick up his phone all the while
chanting a mantra in his head of please
don�t be broken, please don�t be broke. Thankfully the gods heard him and
the phone was intact, leaving Gaara to place it back in his pocket as if he
were handling some kind of precious artefact.
Finally turning to Naruto who had stopped apologising Gaara
found that he didn�t know what to say, he just sat there looking at the other
teen blankly, wishing that some genius comment would pop into his head so he
could at least attempt to start a conversation.
Naruto smiled at Gaara, hoping to ease the suddenly tense
atmosphere between them. He had never been good with silences, especially
awkward ones but just like Gaara was at a loss on how to start any sort of
conversation between them aside from stating how nice the weather was which was
totally lame.
�Umm so how is your head?� Gaara finally asked, staring pointedly
at the white gauze strip taped to Naruto�s forehead, �I hope it doesn�t hurt
too much.�
Naruto shrugged, looking away from Gaara to stare at the
little garden across from them where a small group of students were enjoying
their lunch hour �not so much now but it stung like a bitch when it happened.
I�ve had worst though so I suppose I can�t complain.�
With that said the oppressive silence from before settled
over them again, seeming to take joy in making the two boys squirm
uncomfortably during the lulls in their conversation.
�Why didn�t you tell me you were a student here when I met
you?� Gaara decided that jumping right in was really the only option he had
right now, either that or he could just get up and walk away.
�we didn�t really talk that much and to be perfectly fair
you didn�t tell me you went to this school, all you said was that you were an
art student, � Naruto pouted as he defended himself, �if you had have asked if
I was a student I would have told you, it�s not like I deceived you on
purpose.�
�Why would I ever ask a security guard if he was a student.
By the way how old are you anyway, I thought you had to be 18 to do that kind
of work.�
�No its just like any other job, you just have to have the
qualifications and licences which I got about three months ago. What do you
think I am, some super old dunce who doesn�t have enough brain power to finish
high school and just keeps repeating?�
Gaara sighed and rubbed at his temples, �no I don�t think
that, I'm just looking for an explanation is all.�
Naruto huffed and crossed his arms against his broad chest,
�alright then here is your explanation. I'm a student here but I also work part
time as a security guard at Central Station doing night shifts. Happy?�
Gaara nodded, not trusting what may come out of his mouth if
he opened it. It was clear to him that he had irritated Naruto and he didn�t
want to make it worse by saying something that might offend him. This was
really not how he had hoped this would go.
�I'm sorry if I freaked you out yesterday, �Naruto offered
quietly, continuing to stare off into the distance, �you must have thought I
was some sort of crazy stalker or something, that�s what I would have thought
if I were you.�
�You don�t have to apologise, if anything I should be saying
sorry to you for making you hurt yourself,� Gaara bit his lip, �and I was more
worried that you were going to think that I was a stalker, this is your school
after all and I kind of just showed up.�
Naruto hummed his understanding and his whole posture seemed
to relax, �that makes sense is suppose but I didn�t even think of that at the
time, I was more worried about what you thought of me. Well that and the fact
that you got really pale once you saw
that I was bleeding.�
Gaara ran a hand through his hair at that thought, �I'm not
the strongest person when it comes to blood. I had to get Sai to show me where
the closest bathroom was after Sasuke carted you off to the nurse office.�
Naruto chuckled but the light sunny sound was drowned out
the a loud rumbling noise and the blonde looked down at his stomach before
standing and holding out his hand to the still sitting teen, a large sheepish
smile plastered on his features, �wanna come to the canteen with me, Sai
murdered my sandwich with his big feet when he took my phone.�
Gaara couldn�t help but smile back at the other teens grin
and the fact that he was talking about his lunch as if it were a person and
before he knew it he was grasping the larger tanned hand, allowing himself to
be pulled to his feet and across the school grounds, laughing as the blonde
talked animatedly about all the different foods he like and the very few foods
he didn�t.
When they finally got to the small canteen Naruto left Gaara
against a wall, asking his if he wanted anything before weaving his way through
the light crowd in search of food to appease his now almost ferociously
growling stomach.
Gaara was distracted from watching the blonde by his phone
going off in his pocket and with an exaggerated sigh he fished the device out,
determined to turn the annoying thing off once he had dealt with this latest
text.
Sender: Temari.
Hey is your second any
better than your first?
Gaara smiled at the message, for once not being annoyed by
the fact that his sister was constantly worrying about him like a mother hen
decided to send her a quick message back but paused in his texting when he
heard Naruto�s excited voice declare to everyone that he had claimed the last
chocolate muffin.
Gaara deleted what he had just been writing to Temari and
started something new, all the while watching Naruto through his peripheral
vision as the blonde came toward him, happily stuffing his face full of
chocolate muffin with one hand and polishing an apple on his shirt with the other.
To: Temari
You know what?

It really, really is. �
***
A/N: Just thought I�d let you guys know that I'm using the
Australian schooling system for the schooling system in this story since it�s
the one I grew up with. If you have any questions about it just ask and I�ll
explain but basically the school day goes for about six and half hours but can
go for up to eight hours depending on the amount and type of classes you take.
There are four terms a year and each term goes for about eight to twelve weeks.
English is a compulsory class for everyone in every year and maths is
compulsory up until years eleven and twelve which are the senior years. I think
that just about explains it.
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