Learning To Love
Chapter One: School

Summary: Abused by his father, hated by his town and shunned by the kids in school. Gaara has learned exactly how cruel the world can be. But can this bond kid named Naruto change his perspective on the world, and teach him how to love again?

Warnings: Abuse, rape, yaoi (boy x boy), lemon?

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The perfect mask to hide the true emotions.

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Gaara's POV

The clock read five-thirty. I slowly sat up, staring at the many posters that hung on the wall in front of me. I don't move my gaze as I quietly turn off the alarm before it has a chance to go off. As I give a small sigh, I pull away the blankets and let my body quickly adjust to the cold morning temperature. I take a quick glance at the calendar next to my clock. September third, great. Another sleepless night has past.

What a surprise.

I haven't got a seconds amount of sleep for the past two weeks, but that was natural, for an insomniac like me. Said insomnia is also the reason for the thick black lines under my eyes. Most people say it's eyeliner, but it's not. But I don't correct them. I could care less what people have to say about me. That's probably why there's so many rumors about me at school. I get up and move across my room to my wooden dresser, pulling out the clothes I was gonna wear today. Black pants that were snug at the hips, yet a little baggy around my legs; a silver chain belt hanging loosely around them. My shirt was a plain dark red cotton shirt with pitch black hems. I make my way to the bathroom that was at the end of the hall, just past my fathers room.

My father was at work, his job on Mondays starting at five. He was one of the important managers at a huge company. And, of course, he usually spent all the money on bills, food and booze. The food was meant for him, I only got the leftovers. I open the door to the bathroom and turn on the light. The lights flicker for a second before brightening even more, light spilling into the dark hallway behind me. I slip out of my shirt and pull over the clean one for today. I do the same with my shorts before looking in the bathroom mirror.

There was a medium sized cut near the corner of my right eye, slightly swollen. Though it didn't mess with my vision, it still hurt when I brought my eyebrows together. I searched my face for anymore cuts or bruises and found one more cut on the side of my left temple; next to my kanji tattoo. Thankfully, my hair covered it completely. I sigh and feel a small pain come from my chest, where my father had punched me just last night. I also flex my hand and slightly flinched in pain. I knew my wrist was fractured, and that it needed to be put in a cast. But I know damn well I can't afford to pay for a hospital bill. I flex it one last time before I open the bathroom cabinet and continue to get ready for school.

Naruto's POV

"Come on, Naruto. You gotta get ready." I hear my guardian call from downstairs. I groan in protest, burying my face into the pillow. I've never been much of a morning person, as you can tell. I hear someone enter my room and I crack an eye open to see my temporary guardian standing next to my bed. "Time to get up."

"Kakashi, I don't wanna..." Kakashi sighed, running his hand through his silver hair.

"Naruto, you know you have to get up. And we have to go soon. I got a lot of papers to organize." Kakashi was my homeroom teacher, so he didn't have much to do except organize papers. When he did have his free time though, he would always read the Make-Out Paradise series that my uncle Jiraiya writes. That pervy old man...

I roll out of bed and yawn, rubbing my tired eyes. I walk to my dresser and open the second drawer, I pulled out an orange shirt with a chibi nine-tailed fox on it and normal blue jean pants. I walk into the bathroom that was just to the right of my bedroom door in the hall. I close the door behind me and start changing clothes.

"Iruka called earlier. Says he's gonna be home in three days." A smile crosses my face. Iruka is my legal guardian. The one that saved me from my old foster home. Iruka had a small family problem happening on the other side of town, so he left me in the care of one of his closest friends: Kakashi. I slightly hurry to get ready, throwing pajamas into my room and quickly walking down the stairs. When I hit the bottom step, I slipped, letting out a small yelp. Luckily, Kakashi was near and caught me before I hit the ground. I swear, sometimes he moved so fast, he was like a ninja.

"You gotta be more easy on your leg, Naruto. Don't wanna injure it again." I smile sheepishly, scratching my cheek.

"Heh, sorry." I was still recovering from a broken leg from a month ago. I usually joke to myself about saying, 'So kids, what did we learn last month? Never play your PSP while carrying a full bowl of soup down the stairs!' What a stupid way to break a leg... I grab my bag and look at the clock before I head out the door. It read seven-o-three.

Gaara's POV

I continued to sketch in my small tablet as students continued to pass me by, some sending glares, some just glances. By how many students were at school already, I guessed the time was around 7:35. I usually got to school at six, walking from my house to school. My poor-excuse-of-a-father was too damn lazy to drive me or pick me up at school, which didn't bother me too much; though the walk was a good half hour. As I continued to sketch, a shot of pain ran through my arm. I flinched, dropping my pencil onto the ground. I let out a small curse as I went to pick up my pencil, only for someone else to pick it up. 'Great. This guys probably gonna try and pick a fight with me...' It wasn't unusual for someone to try and pick a fight with me, though no one's tried for the last year. I look up to see a blond boy with bright blue eyes, whiskers sketched into his cheeks. Wait, whiskers? A grin overcame the boys face.

"Hey, here's your pencil." He held my pencil out to me. I take it with hesitation. That's odd. People usually don't show me a speck of kindness.

"Thanks." I mumble, setting aside my pencil and tablet. The boy continued to stand in front of me, so I looked up at him. "What do you want?"

"My name's Naruto Uzamaki! What's yours?"

"Gaara." I responded quietly. The boys grin grew.

"Hey Gaara! Nice to meet ya!" I ignored the blond boy as I picked up a my tablets and textbook in my left arm. I started walking towards my first class, which was homeroom. Surprisingly, I notice the blond appear by my side. "So, where's your next class?" I didn't answer him, why should I? I didn't have to and I sure as hell didn't need to. "I'm guessing you don't talk much, do ya?" Once again, I didn't answer. Instead, I took a sharp right around a corner, hoping the blond would catch onto the idea I didn't wanna talk to him. But he still continued to follow, much to my disappointment. "So, Gaara, where do you usually hang out? I hang out over there, near the auditorium. You could come hang with us if you have nowhere else to go. My friends are really cool, except Sasuke. He's kind of a jerk, stealing all the girls attention. But I guess he's alright..." The boy continued to ramble about him and his friends and their favorite places to hang. I started to feel a small headache coming on, completely annoyed by the little blond brat. Why couldn't he just shut up? Ten minutes with him, and I'm already ready to strangle him.

I enter my homeroom classroom twenty minutes before the bell rings, taking my usual seat in the back of the class. And, much to my demise, Naruto takes a seat next to me. Guess he has the same homeroom as me. Great. I let out a heavy sigh and stare at the clock. The gods must really want to annoy me today. Now the boys chatting about all his classes and teachers and- Kami just shoot me in the head now and get it over with. I go to rub my temples when Naruto sends me a random question.

"So what are you doing after school?" I blinked, probably out of boredom if nothing else.

"Why?"

"Cause I wanna hang out with my new friend." I frowned. Did he just call me... friend?

Yes, OOC-ness, I know. But, please tell me what you think! Plus, all the other chapter will be long than this. Just had to make the first chappy short. ^^" I think I actually like this story a little, even if it's not my best work. So just tell what you think and if you have any clues on how I can approve, please tell me! Thank you~! ^^