Okay, so here's the new chapter, straight from the new 'puter.

Disclaimer: I just bought 98 cent red lipstick. Take that as proof that I do NOT own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke would probably not be a douche and there would be so many more KakaSaku moments.

Stumbling out behind the redheaded boy, Sakura was still in shock at her mother's words. On one hand, Sakura could see her point. She had sung some scathing songs, ones her mother wasn't even supposed to be privy to. Not because they were about Mitsu, but because they dealt with very personal, private issues. On the other hand, Sakura was hurt that Mitsu had not even shown an iota of concern. A normal parent would have interpreted those songs as a cry for help. Instead, Mitsu had taken them as an attack on her reputation. Dr. Kona was sure to hear about the performance at her mother's next session, which was almost a certainty.

She looked down to Gaara's hand, still circling her small wrist. His thumb unconsciously rubbed the inside of her wrist, almost soothingly. A warm blush erupted over her cheeks, and she remembered the benign way he had insulted her mother, as if commenting on the weather, or asking for the peas. Her eyes trailed back up his back, attempting to stare a hole in the back of his head. Clearing her throat, she tried to get his attention.

"Your keys," he said more than asked. He turned his sea foam eyes on her, and her blush began anew. Gaara's hand relinquished its hold on her wrist and, by proxy, her sanity.

"Huh?" She could have slapped herself. The keys, right. Jiggling the pockets on her black cargo pants, she finally heard the telltale jingle. She dug and handed them to him, snatching her hand back when their fingers met. She clutched it to her chest and shot him a glare when she realized what her reaction had hinted at. He smirked arrogantly, and Sakura fought to keep from smacking the expression off his face.

He unlocked her door and, in an uncharacteristic display of chivalry, held open her door. "Uh… thanks." Sakura sat in the driver's seat and found herself watching the redhead like a hawk. He was up to something. When he had gotten in and situated himself, she turned toward him. "So… what was that all about? What's so important?"

His head was turned toward her back window, watching the door to the Youth Center. "You looked like you needed an escape plan." His eyes narrowed and he forcefully pushed her head down in the seat. "Why do you put up with her? Is she always like that?"

"No, not always." She heaved a sigh, remembering the day just last week that Mitsu had suggested they order takeout and watch movies together. They had gotten sweet and sour chicken from the place in the shopping plaza, and watched American Beauty. Sakura remembered blushing during the racier parts, and crying at the end. Most of all, she remembered feeling like Thora Birch's character; looking for an escape from the banality of life with her parents, and their fucked up relationship. Wishing she had someone who loved her enough to whisk her away to an unknown future, a more exciting future.

"Sometimes, she's almost… human."

A mocking grunt answered her. Sakura smacked at the arm attached to the hand holding her head into her seat, ruffling her hair. Instead of relinquishing his hold, his fingertips dug in a little more. She didn't even bother to try to turn and shoot him an incredulous stare. He would simply ignore it anyway. "So what do you do on the days like this?" Finally, he let go, assured she would stay put, if only to keep from having him mess her hair up more.

She sighed, running a hand through her cerise locks to detangle some of the knots he had caused. "I find somewhere else to be until she's either asleep or at work." Sakura put the keys Gaara had placed on the center console into the ignition. She knew he had something else to say, but his attention was so focused on the door that it would end up being a waiting game. She searched around for her cigarettes, before he finally handed them to her, once again without looking. "Am I that predictable?"

"Duck," was her only answer as his large hand once again pushed her head down into the seat. As she allowed herself to be lowered deeper into her seat, she eyed her side-view mirror, growling. Her mother had exited the Youth Center. So that was why Gaara was forcing her into the polyester seat covers. Without further preamble, she slid herself the rest of the way into her seat, until she could just barely make out the shape of her mother sliding into her Subaru wagon.

As the headlights passed over their heads, Gaara slid back up into his seat and turned to her. "So, if you're that terrified of dealing with her, then why do you even bother going home?" He dug out his own pack and cranked his window down.

Sakura stared at his profile as streetlights and cars created shadows on his hard planes. He turned to face her and she dropped her gaze to her hands. "My dad's there." She contemplated her situation, wondering whether or not it was worth it to stay. In the end, she realized, she would always find a reason to stay until someone took her away kicking and screaming. Because, at the end of the day, she was really just a frightened girl with delusions of being more hardened than she actually was.

"So leave with him." His voice was quiet, almost hoarse. It gave her some comfort to know he was concerned enough for her that he would rescue her from her dragon of a mother. That he would suggest she leave her family house, father in tow, told her he was worried about her wellbeing.

"It's not that simple."

Gaara sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "It is that simple. People make it difficult."

"No, he- he doesn't make enough money, and my mom would constantly have the cops searching my car and whatever for drugs. I know she knows I deal. I'm not stupid. She just tolerates it because I pay for my own shit and she doesn't have to." Sakura shook her head, starting her car. She paused while putting her seatbelt on. "He's a good guy. He's had his problems, and has worked to improve himself. Living with her is slowly killing him- I can see that- but… but there's nothing I can do for him right now." That said, she put the car into gear and began to pull out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Gaara asked. It had just struck ten, and he was sure Kankuro would be waiting for him to return with stories about the pinkette's show. On second thought, did it really matter?

"To think," she replied simply. His breath caught as she grinned at him, patting his hand with her own petite one. "Don't worry, it's a great place. You'll see."

The lights of the city were small pinpricks of light blanketed by white snow. As Sakura's headlights passed over the snow-flecked foliage, small nocturnal animals ducked and hid; Gaara could see the green-gold of their eyes as they regarded the vehicle. She cut off her lights and put the car in park, leaving it running. Without a word, she got out and walked around to the back hatch, crawling in to lower the backseats and adjust the blankets.

"I come here to think sometimes." Really, she was saying, 'I come here to get away from my problems; this is my escape plan.' She waved him back with a cigarette already in hand.
You can come back if you'd like." 'Keep me company.'

He twisted in his seat and crawled as gracefully as he could back to where the blankets were laid out. They lay there in silence before she moved to roll a joint and put a cd in. "Sometimes I think I'm going insane here. Like I wasn't meant to be a part of my family. I look at all the people around me, and sometimes, they just make me sick." She handed him the unlit roll, and stared at the sky out her side window.

"Sometimes I think this is all one big joke… or a test… like my mother is just going to wake up one day and be all, 'hey! Ha-ha, j/k! I actually give a shit!'" She barked a short laugh, sarcastic and cold. He didn't like it one bit. The sound alone made him sick to his stomach with how unsuitable it sounded as it bubbled out over the pinkette's lips.

He lit up and inhaled sharply, the dank scent wafting into his nose, and making his lungs ache. Gaara watched out his own side window for signs of omnipotence, but only found satellites and dying stars. "What is her deal, anyway?" he turned his face to Sakura and watched her flicker through emotions with every possible answer. He couldn't describe how beautifully tragic she looked at that moment. Her green eyes were darkened with the night, and watery with smoke and unshed pain. Occasionally, her lip and chin quivered, until she finally drew a shaky breath to answer.

"She's unhappy."

"With what?" he was aware that this line of questioning would lead down a very dark path for her, but he was driven by an insatiable need to understand this girl that lay next to him.

"With me. With my father. With life in general." Sakura's face turned toward him, and he had to remind himself to keep breathing. Her pale pink hair was obscuring one eye, and he felt that he could lay next to her in peace, so long as she kept staring at him with that look upon her face. "Nothing is what she wanted it to be. And sometimes… sometimes I feel like I'm going to end up just like her; always waiting for my something."

The silence stretched on as they finished the joint and lost themselves in their own thoughts. Gaara's mind worked through ways to evoke the gleeful smile from the roseate next to him. He found himself wondering how he could get her eyes to glitter for him as they had when she was on stage.

"OH! I love this song!" Sakura exclaimed, unexpectedly. He jumped a bit, and relaxed at the low tones of the song. She lay back down after turning up the radio, and looked back out at the sky, mouthing the words.

'Sometimes I wanna take you down.

Sometime I wanna get you low

Brush your hair back from your eyes

Take you down let the river flow'

"This song is about the writer's newfound love and his addiction to opiates. He was torn between wanting to love just her, for her purity, and wanting to do the same drug with her, so she can be in his state of mind."

"Lovely," Gaara snorted. "So, he basically wants to substitute one addiction for another." He had to admit, though, the song was beautiful. If Sakura hadn't told him what it was about, and even despite the fact that she had, he found the imagery to be both sad and whimsical. It was as though the writer saw this girl as his Eve, and his addiction as his serpent, begging him to eat the forbidden fruit and gain higher knowledge.

"What's wrong with that?" Sakura's voice was quiet, insistent, and so full of insecurity, Gaara could taste it. "So… are you still mad at me?" he felt uncertain, hesitant to ask.

She chuckled, and eyed him, her eyes glittering as he had hoped they would for him. "I was never actually mad at you. I was… scared? I don't know." Sakura ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. "Besides, I hardly know you. It's hard to be mad at someone I don't know."

"What's there to know?" Gaara asked, propping himself up onto his elbow, facing her. The set of her face was serious, despite being under the influence. She rolled onto her side and tucked her arm under her head, eyeing him critically.

"Your last name, where you're from; you know, what's your story, morning glory?" Her eyes glittered, amused. Gaara turned his head and regarded the rear window with interest.

"Lame." He glanced at her again when she scoffed. Sighing, he attempted, "Well, uh… my last name is Sabaku, and I'm from Sunagakure. You know, Wind Country?" At her nod, he gained a little more confidence. "Well, I wasn't born there, but that's where I was raised for most of my life, by my father and his servants."

"Did your mom work a lot or something?" He could see she was trying to dull the edge of bitterness that had woven into his voice when talking of his father, but his answer only served to add a tone of sadness into the mix.

"No. She's- ah- she died while having me." Gaara's eyes slipped closed while she fumbled with apologies, stuck in the memories of having been ostracized in his family as a child. He brought death and pain wherever he went.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-"

"You didn't know. It's okay." He jumped when her fingers wove into his own, and relaxed at the comfort she offered.

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

Blue, blue is the sun

Brown, brown is the sky

Green, green are her eyes

A million miles, a million miles

Hey don't you wanna go down

Like some disgraced cosmonaut

A million miles below their feet

A million miles, a million miles

"Please, continue." Her whispered words were like the locks on a canal, and he couldn't fight the flood of words that came forth. He told her of his father, his position as Kazekage, and his childhood.

"I used to want to be an astronaut, but when I saw the admiration Suna's people held for him, it became my goal to be the Kazekage as well."

"Why? If the position kept him away from his family, and drove him to drink, why would you want the same thing for yourself?" During the conversation, she had subconsciously scooched closer, tucking herself just under his chin. Gaara could feel the vibrations of her alto voice in his arm and chest, causing his stomach to churn with an unrecognizable feeling.

He ran his fingers lightly up and down her arm as he chose his next words. Her proximity was making it very difficult to think, much less speak. "I… felt.. I felt if I could become their leader, Suna would slowly forget the injustices and dishonor of my father. I wanted them to have a leader they can trust in with their security and wellbeing."

"And now?" she ventured carefully.

He was silent, having just realized he had been speaking in the past tense. He attempted to redirect the conversation to a lighter subject, to give himself an opportunity later to think about his future. "So… if you were never mad at me…"

"Why did I push you away?" she sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "I… I'm sure you've noticed I have an imbalance." Well that was putting it lightly. "I'm acutely bipolar, but I have sociopathic tendencies, and combined… well, I get paranoid, and overwhelmed easily. I don't like new people coming into my life, because it's already messy enough, and I don't want more clutter to clean up. Does that make sense?" she gazed at him from beneath her lashes, and he couldn't think of anything more beautiful in that moment.

"No," he mumbled, "Not at all." He smirked to let her know he was teasing her, and brushed her hair back from her face with a gentle motion. She jerked and questioned him with her eyes.

"Don't be an asshole. And- and stop staring!" Sakura's face brightened in embarrassment, and she redirected her eyes from his, as if not making eye contact would make him stop.

"I'm not, and no." Gaara drew closer, barely nuzzling her jaw. She breathed sharply.

"Yes, you-" her words were not angry, however. He detected vulnerability, and an undertone of interest.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Gaara asked, effectively cutting off he sentence. He almost laughed when she turned to regard him again, shock evident on her heart-shaped face.

"Wh-what?! Have I- are you ins-" In the starlit darkness of her car, the radio playing softly, he let himself go completely.

"I'm going to kiss you now." His words weren't threatening or lecherous, but matter-of-fact.

And he did. And the music played on as their lips joined.

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

I'll be with you girl like being low

Hey, hey, hey like being stoned

AN- OMG IT'S THE TITLE TRACK OF THIS FIC *points* Sorry for taking so long. I had originally planned all of this out, and when I had written it, the notebook was turned to the wrong page *wah wah wah*

So, thanks for waiting. Hopefully this is up to par. I have the next few chaps planned, and I know where I'm going with the story once again. I have to tell you, the past few chapters and the ending chapters will be the most serious. Otherwise, everything will be pretty light and fluffy.

And, everyone go read Maerchen's fic, because she has done a masterful job with the angst and fluff. Also, if you're into KakaSaku at all (I know I am), go read a fic by Cashmeritan titles, "Rhymes of an Hour".