it wasn’t his scene, but gaara had been roped into going. honestly, he hadn’t any idea parties like this occurred outside of fictional depictions, but then his home town had been much smaller than the bustling city of wild youths. his friend seemed excited, which was something, just about the only something that had him agreeing at all. naruto was a hard person to say ‘no’ to when he got that look in his eyes ; all bright and hopeful and too blue to be real. his joy when gaara agreed had been worth it at the time... not so much now.
the party was, immediately, overwhelming. too many people he didn’t know, too much sound. hosted in the home of someone with a lot of money to their ( parent’s ) name, ample space to cram as many college aged bodies as one possibly could. who even knew this many people, he wondered. there were, some, familiar faces and for that he was grateful, but people were far too easy to lose track of in the sprawl. he was certain naruto would become one with the flood of bodies at some point, even with his height advantage, and gaara loathed the thought of losing his singular support in the foreign environment.
“sakuraaaa!” loud tone broke above the crowd and music, naruto barreling through people for an uzumaki flavored greeting. like an excited dog, he barreling into the girl, as well as the other person at her side. words were exchanged, ‘i’m so glad you made it! and hey! hey came!’ and the like while gaara stood awkwardly aside. hands stuffed in the dark, loose hoodie ( he had no idea how to dress for a party and chose comfort above all else ). hands gripped his shoulders, naruto having circled around to his back so he could scoot him forward in a way that reminded him far too much of his brother. gaara almost elbowed him out of instinct.
“sai, this is gaaa. gaara, sai. you two are gonna be geat pals, ‘cause you’re both kind of quiet and weird.” “naruto!” “what, it’s true! oh, hey, look over there --- he came!”
and just like that naruto had abandoned him, grabbing sakura’s wrist and hauling her away in the pursuit of another ( presumably ) friend, because nauto was actually sociable and knew people here. gaara knew naruto, and sakura to a smaller extent. if ino were around, he also knew her, but didn’t know if he wanted to spend time at a paty with her. mostly because he didn’t want to spend time at a party with anyone.
he looked to sai, again, after naruto disappeared out of sight. “... hello.”
