Zero Hour!

(A:N) I really want to thank each and every one of you all individually for the lifeline reviews you all leave me. I can’t appreciate them more. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If I haven’t emailed you and thanked you personally then it’s because I don’t have your email address or I still haven’t gotten to you. ::Huggles:: Thanks again!
Disclaimer: I don’t own any Naruto characters.

Chapter X
Say Your Prayers


Monday flew by fairly quickly. The three-day weekend was needed for everyone to rest. Hardly anyone met with anyone from school. Contact was made through computer conversations, various phone calls, and text messages. Friday and Saturday had literally driven people off the deep end. So some much-needed space away from everyone was graciously given.

Naruto stayed locked in his room for most of the day, trying to avoid Sasuke, who in turn hadn’t left his room much that day either. His half of the job was to keep an eye on Itachi while he was home but Sasuke refused to show his face to anyone, let alone his brother.

Neither of them had been approached or contacted by Gaara the entire day. He remained in the safety of Naruto’s basement in the darkness, doing what he thought was ‘necessary’ for the good of the plan. Naruto had gone down there twice but Gaara wouldn’t let him in, wouldn’t respond to Naruto begging him to come out and eat something.

Gaara ignored him as best he could. How could he eat at a time like this? How could he do anything after Neji had confessed all those horrible things to him? Gaara sat in the computer chair he stole from Naruto’s room with his feet in the chair. He had also swiped Naruto’s computer and Sasuke’s laptop. He had a total of three computers in front of him-counting the old one already in the basement-

Gaara’s plan was to use these computers, and the camera(s) he bought to get a better understanding of what he was probably up against.

-----

“Hello?” Orochimaru spoke into the phone carefully. The number had been restricted and as of that day, there were more than a handful of people after him. He wasn’t going to take any chances with who it might be talking on the other end.

“Orochimaru.” Gaara spoke just as softly into the phone. He was still down in the basement, hacking away at one of the computers. He pushed the phone against his shoulder and tried to type as he talked.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Gaara…?” He laughed. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard anything from you. This call must be important.” He put the phone down and turned on the speaker.

“There’s…been a change of plans.” Gaara said, his eyes plaguing the screens. He kept looking back and forth between the monitors. He heard Orochimaru choke a gasp on the other end. Gaara smirked to himself, things were about to get very interesting.

“Oh?” Orochimaru dropped whatever it was he was holding. “Why?” He asked, stepping away from the phone to clean up his mess. Gaara could clearly hear him shuffling around in what sounded like the kitchen.

“I’m…no longer pursuing Neji.”

There was a long silence between the two of them. Gaara could hear running water from Orochimaru’s side of the phone but that was about it. Gaara breathed into the receiver. He’d spent all night deciding if that was the course of action he was going to take. He could barely stand to remember Neji anymore.

Everything Haku had said to him was true, Neji had been using the both of them. Or so that’s what Gaara was thinking. He took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. He wanted to hang up the call but he was going to have to explain how things were going to work.

“…and so it ends?” Orochimaru asked, startling Gaara. He put the phone back to his ear and licked his parched lips. How was he going to say this without sounding like a complete psychopath? …he wasn’t-

“Naruto has a back door that leads down into his basement. I need you here within the hour.” Gaara hung up the phone and set it down on the desk. He was tired of talking and he had barely talked since the night before. He just had a headache, and now he needed to call Zabuza.

He dialed the number but something grabbed his attention. He circled around in the chair to look at the door. His eyes moved from the stairs to the door itself. He narrowed his eyes but he knew the door was locked. He turned back around and went back to what he was doing.

“”Hello?” Zabuza coughed and sounded groggy. Gaara swore he heard something behind him but he ignored it again.

“Use the backdoor to Naruto’s house and get here as quickly as you can. We have a lot to discuss.” Before Gaara could hang up the phone-

“AH! Gaara! What the hell is all this?!” Naruto shouted as he turned on the lights and blinded the redhead. Gaara didn’t turn around, he just snapped the phone closed and continued to stare at the screens. Naruto grabbed the chair and spun him around.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re resorting to invasion of privacy?!” Naruto looked at the computers and then back at Gaara, and then back at the computers again. He was in shock at what he saw. His mouth was hanging wide open. Gaara stared at him and didn't blink. He was waiting to hear Naruto scream some more, but it never came.

“That’s what he asked me, you know.” Gaara said silently as he dropped his head. Naruto cocked his head to the left and let a confusing sound leave his mouth. What the hell was Gaara talking about?

“Neji.” Gaara ran a hand through his hair. “Just last night, he said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ and I didn’t answer. Is there really something wrong with me, Naruto?” Gaara looked up at him with a smug grin. His eyes were nearly popping out of his head and he just looked…different.

“Gaara, you’re watching people on the computer. To me-“ Naruto walked over to the screens and took a closer look. “-it looks like you’re spying on Neji, Itachi and I’m going to assume this is Haku’s house-how you got in there I’ll never know. Anyway, that should prove that there’s something wrong with you.” Naruto leaned closer to the screens. “I’m all for the get back at Neji plan but you’re just freaking out now. Do you even care about him anymore, you know, after the whole party thing?”

Gaara was silent for a moment. He didn’t exactly know how to answer that. He didn’t know if he wanted to. Naruto walked back in front of him and stood with his arms crossed.

“You’re one of my best friends Gaara, so maybe I should be the one telling you that you should just forget about him. You’ve never looked so miserable, except for maybe when he actually broke up with you but my point is-“

“No.” Gaara said quickly, trying to rid his mind of any and everything Naruto was saying. “I…don’t care about him.” That had been the first time Gaara had said that aloud. Was it really the truth? He couldn’t know for sure, he was still stunned by everything he’d found out the other night.

Naruto let his shoulders fall. Who was he to be giving Gaara advice on how to deal with someone he cared about? He was having his own problems with a certain Uchiha. Naruto finally shrugged and threw his hands up.

“Fine. I’m not going to tell you what you’re doing is wrong. If a certain other teammate of yours thinks it’s wrong then I’ll side with you.” Naruto pointed his finger at Gaara. “As long as you stop keeping me in the dark about things. Iruka would have my neck if he knew what you were doing down here.” Naruto grabbed a fold out chair from the corner and sat in front of Gaara.

“Deal?” Naruto stuck his hand out. If they were going to be spying then he wanted to be apart of it entirely and not just some little gullible sidekick like everyone made him out to be. He was smart…at least he thought so. Gaara stared at Naruto’s hand and then up in his eyes. Naruto was of course smiling and none of this made any sense to Gaara. He was sure Naruto would be siding with Sasuke-not that Sasuke knew what was going on anyway. However, Gaara thought it would be safer to at least have more than Orochimaru and Zabuza on his side. He couldn’t ‘really’ trust those two.

Gaara took the blonde’s hand and shook it lightly, all the while staring at Naruto so hard that he thought Gaara would drill a few holes in his face.

“No worries Gaara ma’ boy. Uzumaki Naruto is on the job!” He smiled and Gaara touched the side of his head. His headache was going to get a lot worse now. He sighed. What could he do but accept the help. He was driving himself into a wall alone. And he definitely couldn’t count on Sasuke doing anything. Were they even talking?

-----

Zabuza got to Naruto’s house first. He stepped inside the basement room and immediately had the same reaction that Naruto had when he saw the monitors. He didn’t let it bother him too long though. He laughed and pulled a stool from the downstairs bar to sit on.

“I underestimated you, Gaara.” He studied the screens very closely. Neji wasn’t home and neither was Haku so Zabuza didn’t recognize their rooms but he did see Itachi slugging around his room. “So I know we’re following Itachi and Neji but-“ He pointed to the screen farthest to the right. “-don’t tell me that’s Haku’s room.” He leaned closer and raised an eyebrow when he could finally see clearly.

Naruto sat in his chair staring at Zabuza. He knew Gaara had recruited Orochimaru and Zabuza but Naruto failed to see what they still needed him for. Haku and Neji weren’t together anymore. That’s what Gaara had wanted. Of course, Gaara couldn’t just cut Zabuza loose now that he knew everything.

The three of them watched the screens for a while. Gaara had said nothing since Zabuza had come in. He was trying to collect himself.

When Orochimaru got there his first reaction was an evil grin. Apparently no one thought Gaara was going to go as far as…well…stalking. He stole the other barstool and sat next to Naruto. Gaara still hadn’t said anything. His eyes were closed and he was taking light breaths.

No one said anything to him. For some reason it was known by all of them to just wait until he had something to say. So, they stayed like that for five minutes straight. They were all-minus Gaara- watching Itachi roam around his room like he was lost.

“Everything’s changed.”

They all turned to Gaara. His eyes slowly opened and he rolled his chair closer to the computers. Naruto moved to say something but he didn’t know the initial plan so he kept quiet. Orochimaru stared and Zabuza grunted. This was only going to get more complicated.

“Everything I told you last week is going to be different. My aim to get Neji back has taken a turn. If I’m still trying to gain his attention, then it’s in a different way.” He drew little circles on the desk with his finger. He hadn’t fully figured out what he was planning to do and all he had was half a day.

“And the two of us?” Orochimaru asked. He was curious about how driving Neji away was going to differ from Gaara trying to get him back. Since in all actuality Gaara had been driving him away from the beginning.

“I have decided upon befriending Haku, so to speak. He called me yesterday to see if I was okay.” Gaara frowned like he still couldn’t believe it. “Nothing’s changed there. I know he still loves Neji and they’ll be back together soon. Zabuza, its’ still your goal to keep him away from Neji. Although, it will be a lot easier now that they’re apart and he starts to get closer to me.” Gaara closed his eyes again and covered his mouth to cough-it never came.

“Orochimaru, you’re new mission is to ignore me as much as possible. Lie to the school. Tell them I was a horrible lover, I don’t care. Just get Itachi to go back out with you.” Gaara clenched his fists as he stared at Itachi’s screen. “I have reason to believe that the Uchiha knows our cameraman.”

They all looked at him in surprise. Had he found that out by looking at the screens all night? All the day before? Naruto gulped when his saw the look of hunger in Gaara’s eyes. The boy was almost drooling an evil aura.

“He’s made numerous calls to Neji in the passed two days. Lee mentioned on Friday that Itachi stole his camera and gave it off to one of the seniors. Who do we know that can run at a fast pace and do acrobatics?” Gaara questioned. The three other boys in the room all started thinking about that. There had to be over a dozen candidates that fit the profile.

“In addition to you following Haku-“ He pointed to Zabuza.” –and you trying to get back with Itachi-“ Gaara looked at Orochimaru. “-the both of you will receive a list of people you should keep tabs on. I came up with six people who could possibly be our cameraman.” Gaara took a deep breath. That headache was becoming more apparent.

“I counted seven.”

They all looked at Naruto. He held up seven fingers and counted them again. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’re thinking of the same six people but I think you’ve forgotten one very important one.” Naruto moved his chair up. “Look…” Naruto pulled a sheet of paper out of the folder that Gaara had next to him on the desk and started writing. They all hovered around him.

1. -Kimimaro- “First you’re going to consider him, since he ran cross country last year.
2. –Tenten- Girls aren’t excluded and especially since she placed first in last year’s gymnastics state finals. I saw the jump the cameraman/woman did into the tree. Of course the voice was male but any electronic equipment could fix that.
3. –Kiba- He was on the track team last year and bears a nasty grudge against both Neji and Gaara.
4. –Kabuto-Why he was on the cheerleading team I don’t know…but that’s reason enough. He has the body of a runner and he could very well flip into a tree if he wanted.
5. -Deidara- He seems to have that weird voice thing down pat. It’s my opinion but he’s a trickster and wouldn’t pass up the chance to fuck with someone else.
6. -Lee- Who we have not scratched off the list because all sources point directly at him.”

Naruto looked back at Gaara who looked more impatient by the second. “The last person is someone we couldn’t possibly expect but it’s a great start.” Naruto wrote the name on paper and everyone’s eyes lit up. None of them would ever even think of suspecting him.

“I don’t believe it.” Orochimaru shook his head. “How could he benefit from any of this? He doesn’t even have the guts.” He stole the pen from Naruto and scratched the name out.

“Well I’m siding with Naruto, this guy’s been hanging out in the background of everything. Why not consider the bastard?” Zabuza then stole the pen from Orochimaru and circled the name. “If anything he’s our biggest threat.” They growled at each other.

“What do you think Gaara?” Naruto turned around to see Gaara in the light of one of the computer screens. He was staring at Neji as he arrived and walked around his room. Gaara’s face was lit up in the dark and he was smiling so widely that he honestly looked scary. Naruto shivered as he touched Gaara’s shoulder. Gaara slowly turned to him.

“Orochimaru.” He paused to cough. “Kabuto and Kimimaro are already your friends. You know their houses and their schedules. They’re your problem. Zabuza, you’ll take Deidara and Kiba, I have no special reason for why but if you can’t get close then just follow them around. Naruto, since you and Lee are close already then you take him. He’s very close with Tenten so it won’t be hard for you to get to her.” Gaara looked back at the screen.

“I have plans for our last person. There will be nothing but glory when I ask Haku to trail him.” Gaara laughed. “Then I’ll trail the both of them.” He smiled and turned around to face them. “You can’t get caught, this is foolproof, even for you Naruto. None of us are friends from here on out. If you need me, contact Sasuke first.” Gaara’s heart beat faster, he was almost to the end. He just needed to talk to Neji one more time.

-----

The next day started out in a horrible way. Tuesday’s were officially Gaara’s worst days ever. He growled as he slammed his locker shut and heard the unmistakable voice that belonged to Haku. He was screaming at Itachi about something Neji said. It seemed apparent that Neji and Haku were passing messages to each other through Itachi. Gaara watched them as they came down the hall. Better start trying to be nice now. He needed Haku to figure out if Naruto’s hunch about the cameraman was right. He dropped his head and threw on his role. Today he was going to play pitiful.

“-and tell him I said he’s selfish and a prick and his head is huge and that he’s a horrible lover. Tell him he’s no good in bed either. Oh, and that I hate and him and I hope his car 360’s off a cliff and I hope he’s in it and sinks to the bottom of Lake Konoha. Are you listening to me Itachi?” Haku was going on and on and on. He only stopped talking once he realized Gaara was right in front of him.

He stared at the redhead and Gaara stared right back at him. Itachi stopped short of Gaara and narrowed his eyes. Hell if he was going to have a ‘friendly’ conversation with the person who was screwing up his little circle of friends. Let Itachi tell you, Gaara was the reason he was stuck in the middle of Neji and Haku’s fall out.

Haku didn’t say anything either. He was at a loss for words and he was starting to feel uncomfortable. He half smiled and waved at Gaara before he grabbed Itachi and pulled him down the hall. Gaara watched him leave. He couldn’t help but think that Haku was actually trying to make amends so how. Gaara turned around and headed to his super fucking early biology class. He’d be late if he wasted time trying to understand how Haku’s mind worked.

-----

During class Gaara got all kinds of unreadable stares from Haku. Every time he would look up Haku would snap his head back down like he hadn’t been staring. At first it made Gaara uneasy. He felt like he couldn’t do anything without the boy keeping a close watch on him. Then the more he thought about it, he could remember those odd stares and how they traced back to Neji. While Gaara and Neji dated, Haku used to give Neji those same stares.

Gaara pretended to put his head down once Haku had looked away. When Haku looked back up Gaara was staring at him this time. Haku smiled and scratched his head. He’d been caught and now he was blushing. Gaara looked behind him and then back towards Haku. There was no one sitting behind him so Haku was definitely staring at him.

Had they not been testing at that point Haku probably would have walked over and sat next to him. Gaara shivered, just what the hell was going on here? Gaara stared drawing on the corners of his paper. Whatever the hell was going on better not be the same thing Gaara thought it was, other wise he would have to change his plan yet again.

-----

In Neji’s first period Orochimaru was back to bothering him. He noticed that today Neji looked a lot more rested than he had the previous week. His hair didn’t look so tossed and he seemed to have a certain glow about him. This made Orochimaru frown as he approached the boy.

“For someone to have fucked up relationships with two of the most good looking guys in school, you sure seem…happy.” The last word fell out of his mouth like it was something he didn’t really say much. Neji looked up at him from his seat and grinned.

“This was my first weekend alone.” Neji said, smiling to no one but himself. Apparently that made him feel really good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a couple days of peace. Except for the phone calls from Itachi, he’d been resting. He went out alone and came back alone.

“You spent the weekend alone and you come back to school looking like you’ve been on a vacation in Palm Springs? I fail to see why that helps? Aren’t you like the type to sulk? It doesn’t concern you at all that Haku broke up with you?” Orochimaru sat on the desk in front of Neji. The boy didn’t even seem like that had done any damage to his ego.

“Haku will come back to me.” Neji said with confidence. “What sense does it make for me to go chasing after him? He’s just a girl.” Neji said, smirking as Orochimaru’s face fell emotionless. This was definitely not the same Neji he’d come to know over the last three years. He ignored the comment and transferred to something more important.

“Word around school is Gaara’s done with you.” His words reached Neji’s’ ears and the boy twitched but he didn’t lose his cool. Neji didn’t deny it was true. Orochimaru had ways of finding out things he couldn’t possibly know.

“I wonder why.” Neji cracked his neck. “Itachi tells me you two have been mighty close as of lately. It was you in fact that moved Gaara out of the Uchiha house. He must be really good in bed for you to throw away a relationship with Itachi for him.” Neji gritted his teeth. His anger was beginning to show but he was holding it back.

“Only you would know such a thing.” He licked his lips with that extra long tongue. “I moved him out on a whim. And you’re right, I fucked him, so. what.” Orochimaru leaned forward and dared Neji to take a shot at him. Neji did no such thing. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms. He closed his eyes and sighed while Orochimaru went back to his previous position.

“That’s hardly any of my business. You did your job in the end right? I merely wanted him off my ass and you did just that.” Neji looked at the broken clock on the wall. Then he rolled his eyes and looked at his watch, grinning. “Now, I’ll have you do just one more thing for me, Orochimaru.”

-----

Throughout the morning Gaara was always being followed by someone. Shortly after first period he found Haku following him. He thought he was being discreet but Gaara knew he was there.

After Gaara left his third period class, Naruto was trailing him and hanging on him. He was taking every chance he could to stay away from Sasuke.

“You never told me why you’re following me around like cloud of bad luck.” Gaara shook Naruto off his arm and the blond pointed at him in between the eyes. He put one hand on his hip and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“I HAVE…no reason??!!” Naruto sighed and dropped his head. “Got time to ditch a class? If I don’t talk to someone about this then they might give my coe-captain spot away. On account of I’ll be in the hospital from massive heart trauma.” Naruto grabbed his shirt and pretended to rip his heart out of his chest. Then he fell on the floor and went into some dramatic dying scene. Something he’d doubt seen on one of his LifeTime Original Movies. Gaara stepped over him and headed out the nearest door. Naruto finished his show for the people in the hallway then he got up and ran after Gaara.

They ended up walking to the parking lot where they sat on the curb. They both took off their backpacks and laid their heads on them, looking up at the sky through the trees. Nothing was said between then for awhile. Naruto didn’t even know where to start, how could he blame Gaara for his bad luck?

“Sasuke kissed me on Sunday.” He sighed. This should have been a moment he was looking forward to. He should be running around rejoicing and doing cartwheels in the school halls. He should have teasing all those stupid fan girls for thinking they even had a chance with Sasuke. But he wasn’t doing any of those things.

“And how’d this dream end? Did he confess his undying love for you or did you two run of and elope in Vegas again?” Gaara stared at the clouds in sky. He knew he couldn’t count on Naruto ever being serious about anything.

“I’m serious Gaara!” Naruto sat up and shouted. “He kissed me at the dinner on Sunday. He told me he’s liked me for a long time but that I didn’t seem to pay him any attention so he looked elsewhere. What could I possibly have been doing that made me blind to that?!” Naruto’s words were shaky and his fist was clenched. Gaara didn’t move but he looked over at Naruto. There was no way Naruto could have known all that unless Sasuke really did tell him.

“He wants me for himself. He wants me! He told me!” Naruto looked like he was near tears but he dare not cry in front of Gaara. If anybody was having a hard time with love, Gaara was. Naruto was only in the beginning stages, who could his loss compare?

“Tell me you said something to him. For Sasuke to come out of his little cave and say something like that, he must really be feeling something. You did tell him you felt the same way, right?” Gaara turned his eyes back to those fluffy white balls of whatever clouds are made of. Naruto slammed his fist on the ground and then wished he hadn’t. The skin on his hand tore a little and blood started seeping out.

“I couldn’t tell him anything. All I said was I couldn’t do it. The...the…” He looked away and took a deep breath. “The way you and Sasuke kiss…it just looks so real. It’s like he’s wanted you for a long time. Who am I to step in and ruin such a thing? For all we know, you and your pretending could lead to something else. Did you know that every time Sasuke kisses you…you blush?” Naruto sniffled.

Gaara felt a wave of regret rush over him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had no clue that this was going to have such an affect on Naruto and his feelings. He felt horrible. He hadn’t felt this bad in a long time. It traced back to those days when he suspected Neji of cheating. Back to those days when he’d wanted to die. He couldn’t even imagine how Naruto felt right now.

What kind of a friend was he being? And throughout all of this Naruto had kept his cool. He hadn’t hinted to Gaara or Sasuke that it was bothering him. He just seemed to smile through it all and pretend like he wasn’t seeing anything, or like he was happy for his friends. Here was Naruto helping Gaara get back at Neji when he felt like this? Gaara didn't understand. Naruto should hate him.

“Naruto-“ Gaara’s phone vibrated and startled him. He thought to ignore it but he needed the time to think of an apology for his friend. Naruto wiped his eyes and turned around as Gaara opened his phone. It was a text from Sasuke. Naruto rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Gaara looked at him before he opened it. Sasuke hardly texted anyone, apparently he didn’t see the point of it all.

-Gaara! Where the hell are you?! Did you get the new picture mail everyone has? I’ve got something to show you and you won’t like it. You should hurry and get to the gym. And whatever you do, Stay. Away. From. Naruto. It won’t look good if you’re walking around with him after this.-

Gaara and Naruto looked up at each other. “Act like you haven’t seen me all day. Go through the parking lot and go to east campus. I won’t be able to see you until lunch. I’ll let you in on what’s going on when I find out.” Gaara threw his backpack on and so did Naruto. “Hey.” Gaara said, as they started their separate ways. “It was never my intention to get between you two. I hope you know that.” Gaara’s eyes were sincere and Naruto’s were still soft and hurt.

“I know.” Naruto said, nodding. At that very moment Gaara’s phone vibrated again. He opened it and logged onto his network to see the picture mail. The forward list had at least 50 or so contacts on it. Gaara took a breath and opened the file. As it came into focus Gaara gulped and clenched his teeth.

“Gaara-“

“Go. Sasuke’s right. If we’re seen together now then everything I’ve done will looked planned.” Gaara watched Naruto turn away. “Naruto.” Gaara said, waiting for him to turn back around one last time. “I’m…no matter what I do, we’re friends.” He turned and headed for the main building, pressing the forward button on his phone to send it to Naruto.

------

By the time Gaara made it to the gym, Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Zabuza were already there. Gaara didn’t like how this was turning out. It must have been bad if Sasuke had to call Orochimaru and Zabuza himself. He walked slowly over to the bleachers where they were all sitting. The doors behind him closed and were chained with locks. Gaara looked at the other two entrances that were locked up as well. He looked behind him to see Sasuke pad-locking the door closed.

Gaara threw his backpack down and stared at Sasuke as he walked back over to them. The Uchiha dug through his backpack and pulled out a manila folder. It wasn’t thick but Gaara was still afraid to see what was inside. Sasuke handed him the folder and Orochimaru and Zabuza stared closely.

“Someone knows what we’re doing.” Sasuke said scratching his head. “That was in my locker this morning. I don’t know why I got it instead of you but this only means someone knows something they shouldn’t. The cameraman isn’t going to let us get away with anything anymore. You saw the cell picture, he’s following me now.” Sasuke kicked the bench.

“Gaara opened the folder and pulled out a lined piece of paper. The first seven words of the letter addressed to him made him take a quick seat on the bench.

-Gaara,

I know what you are doing. All the unexplained tension between you and the Hyuuga has sparked an interest in me. You chased me down the other night and I commend you on your efforts. However, I am not so easy to catch. You see Gaara, you are making to many mistakes. You think I am trying to corrupt your life with my art. I am doing no such thing. I merely wanted to capture Neji at his best. We both know that is when he is fucking up lives and stealing hearts. You are searching for me when I am not out to get you.

Only now Gaara, you have hurt my feelings, so I am going to hurt yours. The cell pictures will only be the first of my wrath if you continue this hunt for me. I can make your life a whole lot more miserable if that is what you wish. If you have any objections to anything I have written in this dear letter than please, take a look inside the envelope. You will see that this is no laughing matter. I have my ways of sneaking around this town. I will drag your name through the mud again if you so chose it. I will contact you again very soon, and you will listen to every word I say to you. Other wise, those lovely works of art I have sent you, I will also send to Neji. You will be caught.

Of course I didn’t mean to ruin your lovely relationship with the poor Uchiha but I could not resist showing you my work. I also have no clue what you have been planning, but some digging will send me in the right path. Please don’t forget about me Gaara, I’m always watching you.-

Gaara folded the letter back up and handed it to Zabuza since he was closest. He went through the envelope and pulled out five pictures. The first was a picture of Orochimaru going into Naruto basement door. The second was the same picture but it was Zabuza. The third was Zabuza and Orochimaru leaving the shed on the field. And the last two were different shots of the current cell phone frenzy.

Gaara looked at Sasuke as he heard Zabuza growling behind him. He gave the paper to Orochimaru and snatched the pictures from Gaara. Sasuke wiped the sweat of his forehead and sat down as well.

“You can’t hang around Naruto anymore if you’re going to continue with this. For that matter, you can’t continue dating me.” Sasuke put his head in his hands. Gaara was running out of ideas now. He couldn’t keep changing the plan. His mind was already on overload from everything Neji had said and everything Haku had said. He just couldn’t do this anymore. He didn’t have the strength.

-----

Meanwhile, in his third period class Neji was having a hysterical fit of laughter. He dropped his cell phone on the floor and held his mouth closed as he tried to contain himself. He absolutely couldn’t believe his good luck. He excused himself from the class and went into the hallway to continue snickering to himself. He looked almost half-crazy as he sat on the floor and beat the locker to death.

‘You’re not so happy now, are you Gaara?’ It took him five whole minutes to calm down. And he only started calming down when he realized that this was screwing him over more than it was making him happy. Now he cursed his luck. This wasn’t going to bring Haku back to him, it was going to push him away. Haku knew of the grudge Neji bared against Gaara. Haku would blame Neji for the picture.

‘Damn.’ Neji thought. Just as he reached a clearing, the damn cameraman had struck again. Putting him at fault just like he had been for the last picture. He stood up and walked to the bathroom. He had planned on skipping his session the next day, but now he was actually looking forward to it.

-----

When lunch came around the school was talking so much that Gaara didn’t even want to go in the cafeteria. His name was in everyone’s mouth and if it wasn’t his then it was Sasuke’s or Naruto’s. Gaara sat at his usual table, no one had arrived yet. He looked over to the ‘Dark Trio’ table to see only Itachi there. He couldn’t recall a time when Haku hadn’t been there on time. Gaara shrugged and figured Haku was probably standing behind him, drooling none-the-less.

Gaara heard the back door open, but that was typical. Everyone came in through there for lunch. He only paid attention when the cafeteria quieted down way too much. Gaara didn’t turn around. He knew it was, Sasuke, Naruto, Neji or Haku. He really didn’t want a confrontation with any of them at this point. Too bad though-

“Gaara.” Naruto’s voice was sad and shaky. Gaara tried his best not to lose his cool. He wanted to turn around but he knew if he did then he was going to end up doing something he didn’t want to do. He sat quietly ignoring the whispers from the other students.

“Gaara...it-it was an accident. I never meant to-“

“Betray me?” Gaara said. He stood slowly off his bench and balled his fists. Suddenly all the whispers in the room stopped. It was so quiet that Gaara could hear himself breathing. He turned himself around and his hateful eyes met Naruto’s apologetic ones. He stepped away from the bench and started walking. People in the way hurriedly moved and everyone scattered to reach a wall. Naruto dropped to his knees and started crying.

“You don’t understand. I never meant for it to look like this. I never meant to put you in this kind of situation.” Naruto tried to explain as Gaara got closer and closer. The fire in his eyes was enough to scare Satan himself. Naruto gulped as Gaara closed in on him. It only made things worse since Gaara was walking extremely slow.

“You meant for it to happen. You were planning it the entire time. You just didn’t think you were going to get caught.” Gaara stepped into the last two feet between them. “The pictures were from Sunday. You told me nothing happened.” Gaara grinded his teeth and knelt down.

“I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I let my emotions get the best of me. I never meant to hurt you. You have to believe me, I’m your-“

“My what, Naruto? My friend?” Gaara laughed loudly. “My Friend!” He snatched up Naruto’s collar and raised him off the floor. Naruto’s feet dangled in the air and he tried to reach the ground. Gaara laughed again, this time louder. His arm shook as he held Naruto, all the while he just kept laughing his wicked laugh.

“Were you my friend when you KISSED HIM?!” Gaara flung Naruto onto one of the tables and crawled over him, still holding Naruto’s shirt tightly. “An eye for an eye huh? Is that how it works between us?!” Gaara pulled his first back and punched Naruto in the jaw. “I can’t-“ Punch. “-believe-“ Punch.”-you!” Two more punches. Naruto took everything. He couldn’t fight back, this was his fault. Gaara picked him up and slammed him.

“Gaara…” Naruto coughed up some blood and tried to explain again. Gaara slammed him again and tears fell from Naruto’s eyes. He didn’t know what to do anymore, Gaara just wasn’t listening to him.

“How would you feel if I kissed someone you love?!” Gaara shouted. His breathing was out of control and he had so much emotion on his face that Naruto couldn’t tell if he was mad or hurt or confused or anything. Naruto tried to breathe through his nose but it seemed to be closed up. He choked on the air that came through his mouth. He looked up at Gaara.

“You have.” His words were soft but everyone heard them. Everyone gasped and Gaara stopped moving. His anger never left but he remembered the conversation he had outside with Naruto during third period. Did Naruto love Sasuke? Was that who he was talking about? Gaara shook with confusion now. He didn’t know what to do anymore. He growled though, Naruto had no right to go unpunished. Gaara pulled his fist back again and Naruto’s closed his eyes.

“Stop!” The scream came from two different sides of the room. The students looked back and forth to see Haku on one side of the room and Sasuke on the other. They had both just come in and seen the entire thing. Even Neji was apart of the audience now but he just stood near Itachi, laughing.

Sasuke made it to Gaara first. He pulled a reluctant Gaara off of Naruto and pushed him back. “Just look at what you’re turning into. You just beat the hell out of him!” Sasuke said walking over to the table and helping Naruto up. The blond held his nose and looked at Gaara. The redhead had no remorse on his face.

“Like you didn’t have a hand in it, Sasuke.” Gaara growled at him. Sasuke turned to him faster than anything. Gaara seemed to be making his way towards him now. He pushed Sasuke hard. “You’ve been aching to get back at me. You’re just like him.” Gaara was just about ready to punch Sasuke when Haku grabbed his wrist.

“You’ll have to stop this. It’s not their fault and you know it. You know exactly who’s behind all this.” Haku looked at Naruto and covered his mouth with his other hand. “Take him to the nurse.” He said behind his hand. Sasuke didn’t move though. He stood and stared at Gaara, who snatched his hand away from Haku’s grasp.

“Am I the only one that’s alone now? Am I Sasuke?!” Gaara turned and left the cafeteria. He had no idea where he was going but he just couldn’t stay there. He disappeared off campus and didn’t come back. Haku stared at Sasuke and Naruto as they tried to make it to the nurse. Then he turned around and looked at Neji. He glared and Neji smiled at him. Haku looked at Itachi and then began walking out. He was expecting Itachi to follow but the boy remained at his table.

Neji watched Haku walk away. He couldn’t help but feel like he needed to go after him. They hadn’t talked in days and he was sure Haku thought all this was his fault. He needed to tell the boy that it wasn’t. Worst case scenario, Haku would start crying and then Neji would be there to make it all better. Just like he always did.

-----

Evening crept over the small town. Gaara found himself laying on Naruto’s bed where he’d been for most of the day. Iruka and Naruto hadn’t come home and Gaara guessed why. He spent a lot of time thinking about the day he had. Threats from the cameraman, pictures he didn’t want to see, Haku following him. He couldn’t handle anything else. It would be humanly impossible.

Gaara heard the door open a few moments after he was calmed down. He could hear Naruto whining to Iruka about being fine and how he just needed some sleep. He heard Naruto walking down the hall shortly after they finished arguing. The blond pushed the door open and turned on the light to see Gaara laying on his bed.

“You got me pretty good.” Naruto said, not too surprised that Gaara was there. Gaara sat up and Naruto closed the door. He removed his shoes and then opened his window. He made his way around the room, putting things away and acting as if he was cleaning up. Aside from the bandage on Naruto’s nose he appeared to be okay.

“Four hours in the hospital, thanks.” Naruto fell in his beanbag chair and put his hands behind his head. He smiled when he saw Gaara just staring. “Well, say something.” Naruto barked, poking his lips out.

“Nice show.” Gaara said, smiling.

“Meh, I do my best when there’s camera’s around.” He laughed but then quickly stopped when his nose started to hurt. Gaara nodded and smiled a little.

“I thought it could have used a little work.” Sasuke crawled through the window and shut it behind him. He fell on the bed next to Gaara and propped himself up against the headboard. Gaara looked at him and then back at Naruto.

“What are you talking about, Sasuke? It was perfect. Some of the best acting of my life. I even got my ass kicked. By the way, you can’t just come intruding in my house through the window doing your ‘Sasuke’ thing. Didn’t I tell you about that already?!” Naruto shoved a fist in his direction.

“Yeah right. I’ll have Gaara kick your acting ass if you even try it.” Sasuke laughed. Gaara smiled at that too. It was so good to have the three of them in the same room together. Gaara didn’t know how but they pulled it off. He only felt bad about one thing though.

“Naruto.” Gaara said, in the middle of Naruto threatening to kill Sasuke will a pillow and some cocoa oil. The blond looked at him and got up. He sat on the edge of the bed cross-legged and rubbed the back of his neck.

“What’s up?” He smiled, thinking it was nothing more than just some random thought Gaara was having. Which it was but it held more meaning to the redhead than he knew. Gaara looked at Sasuke and then at Naruto again. He didn’t say anything. Naruto looked at Sasuke and the brunette shrugged.

“I asked you how it would feel if I kissed someone you loved…you said that I have.” Gaara saw Naruto take a deep breath through his mouth, like he knew where the question was going.

“Naruto, do you love Sasuke?”

-----

End Chapter

I don’t think that’s considered an Evil Cliffie but if it is then
::Runs to the top of the stairs and strikes a Captain America pose:: Mission Accomplished! Were you all shocked at the little Gaara/Naruto scuffle? Or did you know it was a fake? Lol…swear to god…when I was writing it…I was like this is so fake…gah….start over start over. But I loved how it turned out. There wasn’t much in this chapter but I think the letter from Mr. X (we’ll call him since in math the unknown is always an x) was the most important piece of information. I’ve been working on this chapter since when?? A week or so ago? I wrote four pages in like…a week and then I sat down today or rather tonight or rather this morning at like 1am and finished! At 5:05am. Yacha! Make sure you review this one my pretties! –Nik

OMG! I forgot to mention what was on the cell pic! NEXT CHAPTER!