"Ugh," a teenager huffed as a box threatened to tip over the large stack she currently held in her hands "Stay, please stay..."
Skylar made her way up the last stair to her room before slowly inching her way towards the open door, where the stack of six boxes waited to be set down and unpacked. She held her breath as the top box tilted sideways, willing it to stay put for the last three feet until she could set the pile down in her dorm room. Fingers gripping the brown cardboard, Skylar Milton shifted her weight and made a mad dash for the medium sized room only feet in front of her. She involuntarily emitted a yell of victory as she all but dropped the boxes on the floor, kicking the door behind her shut with her foot. Her lips curved up into an exasperated smile as her hand made it's way through her hair, body pressed up against the off-white colored door decorated in various posters and notes.
The nineteen year old bent down to pick up the contents of the top box, which had fallen out onto the light brown carpeting during their captor's trip from the air to the floor, and her hands brushed against the picture frame of her family happily. Fingers brushing softly against the wooden frame, she lifted it and quickly placed it on top of her dresser, joining a collection of cheesy Poke-dolls she'd collected over the years, and a large vase full of fake Orchids that her mother had sent with her. Entering her second year at a new college, Skylar vowed to actually keep her dorm room clean and organized so she didn't fall behind trying to find an essay she'd lost among the mass piles of sketches and paintings. Besides, "Fusion", as the campus was called by almost everyone, was known for it's art and tech programs all throughout the world. She assumed that was why people called it Fusion, since kids from all over came to study here.
Out the window that Skylar had yet to put curtains on, the sun sank lower and lower into the sky, bleeding trails of soft yellows, pinks, and purples as it allowed night to take over the sky. Wisps of clouds floated in the sky still, the light reflecting colors onto them and illuminating them strange tints of the pinks and purples, the yellow fading into the background.
The teen inside, however, was far more focused on the task of stuffing as many clothes as she could into one drawer. Her mother had sent her off with a list, and putting clothes away was a first. Out of three drawers, one was full of panties, bras, sports bras, tank tops, socks, and sleeping shorts; another filled with pajamas, jeans, and T-shirts; and the third stuffed to the brim of her favorite outfits she'd bought before driving the three hundred and eighty-eight miles with a rental moving truck from upstate Pennsylvania to smack dab on the outskirts of The Big Apple. Just far enough away from the noise, but close enough for weekend trips, Skylar was pretty satisfied with the place so far.
After managing to close all of her clothing into the polished oak dresser, the teen flopped down onto the bed and admired the room respectfully. Though she hadn't gotten to the minuscule things, like curtains and game systems, she'd gotten most of the large things out of the way. Her TV was successfully hooked up and mounted on the wall, DVD racks filled to the brim with an extensive collection of horror films. The bed was made, the originally blank and dull mattress transformed into various shades of blue ranging from Sky to Royal. The dresser was finished, sent by her father and younger brother as a project and good luck gift they had made together. Underneath the TV was a medium sized wooden desk, painted baby blue, with her HP Laptop, Kindle, sketchpads, and other art supplies that ranged from oil pastels to charcoal pencils.
Nodding, Skylar turned over onto her back and closed her eyes thoughtfully. Classes didn't start for another day or so, and she was supposed to meet her unruly second cousin tomorrow morning and pick up their schedules and uniforms. She hadn't seen him in a while, and could wait even longer to see the loudmouth again if it was up to her. They were supposedly meeting at the small Cafe on campus at noon, though Skylar doubted he would show up on time.
'Hell, he might not even recognize me,' was the only positive thought in her mind as she unwillingly drifted off, lost in thought and the extremely comfortable pillows.
Skylar awoke the next morning to an extremely loud banging of fists against her door. Blinking open tired eyes, Skylar dragged her feet over her bed and placed them onto the floor, toes wriggling against the soft carpet as she stretched. The banging hadn't eased up in the slightest, and Skylar dragged her tired body to the door, flinging it open with a glare. In front of her stood a tall, extremely pale teenager with silver-white hair and magenta eyes, which were currently narrowed into small slits of anger as he glared down at her.
"Hidan." she greeted plainly, leaning against the door-frame as they stared at each other, an awkward tension filling the space between them. Skylar shifted after a minute, gaze softening as he continued to glare at her.
"Skylar, you're fucking late! I just had to walk all the way to your shitty dorm to get your stupid ass!" Skylar raised an eyebrow up at him, an amused smirk playing on her lips.
"Fuck you," She shrugged again, then added "Lemme get dressed, one second."
Without giving him time to respond, she slammed the door shut again and slid up against it. She didn't hate Hidan, but there were times like now where she wished she could grind him through a sawmill. There was never any tolerating Hidan, just learning to ignore him and move on, which she had plenty of experience from when they were younger. As Skylar pulled on a shirt, she couldn't help but laugh to herself at how little he had changed. She hadn't seen him since they were fourteen, and he still had the same mouth, attitude, and lack of greeting he'd always had. Opening her door again, she nodded briefly to him, and without another word, they were walking.
It was a short walk to the cafe, Skylar learned, where Hidan muttered something about having to meet his "douchebag friends" before he showed her around campus. Skylar also learned that her mother had payed Hidan generously to be her friend for the day, and that after today, he was done with her "stupid bullshit". The walk to the small coffee house had been quiet and uneventful, neither wanting to talk to the other very much, and Skylar could have sworn if there was an award for "Most Awkward Tension Between Two People", they would have won it in a heartbeat. As Skylar made her way into the warm coffee shop with Hidan on her trail, the sound of obnoxious teenagers fighting over something greeted her. She stopped, watching as Hidan trudged over to them and muttered a stiff 'Hey' before slumping down in the booth next to another boy with red hair.
Skylar stood awkwardly, subconsciously rubbing her arm and staring until a boy with spiky blue hair shot her a glare out of menacing black eyes. She watched him whisper something to the table, all eyes moving to her in one swift movement.
Hidan groaned, flicking a slender finger her way "She's my second cousin or some bullshit." he muttered "Skylar, faggots. Faggots, Skylar."
The introduction was brief, only a few nods from the boys around Hidan, before their conversation returned to normal. Skylar frowned, shuffling over to the counter and ordering a small cup of vanilla late while she waited for Hidan. Considering the place was empty, aside from the group of boys and a few of the typical theater kids, her coffee arrived fairly quickly in a simple, cream colored mug on a plate. Whipped cream topped the cup, sloshing against the sides as she took it in both hands to a two person table semi-close to Hidan, though too far for her liking. Her arms itched as her senses became hyper aware of the other kids staring at her, trying to get a look at the new Sophomore who was apparently related to one of the most badass guys in the University. She'd scoffed when she heard that, rolling her eyes and laughing out loud.
Skylar wasn't sure how long she'd been absently drinking her coffee, but soon enough, the hot liquid stopped paving it's way down her throat and she was left sipping at an empty mug when Hidan approached her table. He planted his hands down on either side of the small oak table, staring down at her silently.
"Yes?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at him as she curled her fingers around the mug after setting it down on the plate again.
"We're leaving. Some of my friends are coming with us, since their dumb asses waited until the last minute to get their stuff." He motioned behind him, towards the table he was at moments earlier.
Skylar nodded, pushing the chair back and standing up, walking next to Hidan out the doors with a blonde and redhead following quickly.
The walk was fairly silent, aside from the few minutes where the two other boys would shove each other and fight about art. They reached the main office of campus quickly, Skylar's hands shoved in her pockets as she shouldered the door open. She didn't bother to wait for the other three, instead opting to go straight to the attendant. Her schedule and blue uniform were handed over fairly quickly, after a quick signature and confirmation with Skylar's ID. She walked past the three on her way out, glancing briefly at them before turning her attention back to the ground.
Deidara, as she'd figured out, was a junior, only a year older than her, while Sasori was a senior. Hidan was a junior like herself, but she'd known that already. Deidara and Sasori were both art majors like Skylar; though Deidara was majoring in ceramics and Sasori, puppetry. Skylar herself had been working on getting a simple degree in all types of art, though painting was by far her favorite. Hidan was attempting to major in religion and criminology, particularly forensics so he could work with blood.
Skylar sighed, gripping the uniform to her chest tightly as her body began to itch, the burning sensation filling her body in seconds as she hurried back to her dorm.
Deidara watched a girl, who looked eerily similar to Hidan, walk into the cafe. He carefully brushed the blonde hair from his eye to get a better look at her, and yep, that was definitely Hidan's cousin. Silver hair that looked nearly white, purple-pink eyes (though they appeared to be more of a violet color than magenta), and an aura that just screamed irritating. She looked around nervously as he introduced her to them, though Deidara wasn't paying much attention. She was a tad on the short side, only about a 5"2 to his own 5"6, but she carried herself well. Deidara rolled his eyes and snorted softly to himself, lips pinched in amusement as he watched Hidan sit down and the girl sit at a table away from them. He returned to the conversation between his small group, which had shifted from this year's babes to Skylar.
"Yeah, the bitch just got out of some crazy house in PA," Hidan laughed quietly, eyes brimming with untold secrets he knew everyone wanted to hear "I don't know what she was in for, though."
"Do you really think you should be sharing this information, Hidan?" Kakuzu rumbled, glaring at the albino with piercing green eyes from across the table.
"Who cares, Kakuzu. Secrets, secrets, are no fun, unless you share with everyone." Kisame laughed deeply, the tattooed gills on his cheeks moving up and down with the motion.
Kakuzu quieted, turning his attention to fixing his mask around his face again, re-tying it to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Deidara couldn't help but let out a short laugh - his friends were total idiots.
"Seriously Stitches, shut the fuck up. I can say whatever the hell I want to." Hidan retorted, huffing and jabbing a finger into the mixed man's chest.
Kakuzu paid him no attention as he swatted the pale finger away from him, muttering curses under his breath.
"So she came all the way here, from PA?" Konan, the only female in their group, piped up, attempting to steer clear of a fight.
"Yeah, I guess so. Her mom said it's because I'm here, like she thinks I'll be friends with her psycho daughter or some shit." Hidan let out a loud, borderline irritating laugh before wiping amused tears from his eyes.
Konan glared at him "She can probably hear you, you know."
"Good." was Hidan's only response before the conversation faded into their schedules and who was taking what classes.
Deidara glanced at the albino once more, watching as she sipped at a dangerously low cup of coffee and stared at the table. He snorted, jabbing Sasori in the ribs before motioning to her.
"What a fucking idiot, hm?" he smirked, although Sasori's face remained emotionless.
"Whatever." the redhead started standing up "We're coming with you to get our things from the Headmaster's office, Hidan. Collect your cousin and let's go."
Deidara raised an eyebrow without commenting as he followed the three out of the shop and towards the main office. As they walked, he noticed how she walked with her head down, eyes trained on the ground, and hands stuffed in her jean pockets. He made a point not to look, or speak to her, for that matter, and instead opted for taunting Sasori about his major.