"Hinata! Where have you been? We were so worried about you!"

"Neji, I'm fine. Don't worry. I was just having some….me time. You know?" Hinata said.

Neji frowned slightly. "Well. Just try to be back sooner, okay? You know what your dad's like."

"I know, Neji. I'm sorry I worried you, but I can handle my father." She knew she was lying. But right now, she just wanted to get away from everyone. "I'll be in my room. Call me if you need me, okay?" she tiptoed away, without looking back.

Hinata quickly changed into her pyjamas. Tired, she lay down, resting her head on the soft pillow, and let her mind wander.

Opening his eyes, Deidara yawned, and scratched the back of his head. Wondering what the time was, he picked up his phone, and noticed he had atext from Sasori. He read it, with blurry eyes, and, after registering that the time was 8:55, curled back up, wrapping his duvet round his shirtless body. Realisation set in. Deidara sat bolt upright, and re-read the text.

"Don't forget the band tryouts, it's already 8:30, I figured I'd give you a thirty minute alert. DO NOT mess this up, okay?"

"GODDAMNIT!" he yelled. What was the time? Shit, he had less than 5 minutes to get to the studio! "This," he muttered angrily to himself, "is why you shouldn't leave your phone on silent!"

The rehearsal studio was always been cold in the mornings, but it took a while to get accustomed to the temperature. Hinata, shivering in an attempt to warm up, listened to her friend's idle chatter about boys, occasionally nodding. She wondered vaguely why they felt the need to talk about them so often. Even when she had had a crush, she never used to talk about Naruto. Maybe she was just too shy? Or maybe Ino was too fond of gossip? Deciding it was probably closer to the latter, Hinata got up, and began to stretch before the teacher got there. She'd been a natural at ballet ever since she could remember, but it still meant she had to put hours and hours of practise into it. It's not as if she didn't like it, more that she didn't care, there was no real motivation. But her father wanted her to become world famous, and, being to owner of a large company, he had enough money to ensure she would. So that was that. Her fate, sorted. There was nothing she could do about it. Powerless. She had absolutely no control over anything, and she hated it. It was so boring. Sure, she'd become a famous ballet dancer, but who cares about ballet anyway? No one she knew under 40. She wanted to kick out, to do something shocking, that no one expected, something to let out all the anger she had built up over her father. But she let him walk over her. 18 years of ages, and he still controlled her. She loathed it, but was too meek to help herself. She sighed. Suddenly, the door flung open. A breathless, blonde teenager, clad in well fitting blue jeans and a simple crew neck white tee underneath an open shirt, looked around, confused. A guitar case hung from one shoulder.

"GOD DAMN." He shouted angrily, making the girls jump. Noticing their surprise he apologised. "Umm. You don"t happen to know where the studios for a band called Palindrome are, do you?" He mentally facepalmed.

Everyone slowly shook their heads, unsure of what to think of him. He looked around desperately, then noticed her. Wow. She was perfect, the most beautiful piece of art he'd ever seen. He stood for a while, transfixed by her beauty, before realising the time. "GODDAMNIT!" He backed out of the studio, and started to sprint down the corridor, before remembering his manners, running back in, and shouting "SORRY!" and then taking off like a cat on fire.

"Was he staring at me?" Hinata wondered to herself, but her train of thought was interrupted as her teacher came in, announcing she had some amazing news.

"SASORI, YOU ARE NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS, YEAH."

"……..Are you driving?"

"I GOT TH-…wait, what?"

"Are you driving?"

"What? Why?"

"If you're driving while you're on the phone, I'm not gonna be a happy bunny. Answer the question, douche."

"No?"

"Good. Now, what where you saying?"

"……………You've gone wrong, yeah. BUT I GOT LEAD GUITARIST!!"

"THANK GOD"

"Oh, sure, thank god, don't thank Deidara and his amazing skills, yeah."

"Pfft. Whatever. Anyway, hurry home, I'm hungry."

"You're an idiot, yeah."

Deidara hung up.

Well, her father was happy. She supposed that was all that mattered. Her ballet teacher's 'Big News', was, in fact, that she had received an offer for three of her best students to perform in front of a talent scout for a world class ballet troupe. Naturally, Hinata was the first girl to be picked. This would be her big break. She was so excited, she could barely keep her eyes open. Her father ordered a celebratory ball, to be held three weeks from now, and was currently telling the family over dinner.

"And, if all goes to plan, and Hinata is picked to join the troupe, she will not only be on her way to fame, she'll also be moving out to Germany for a year, to train!" He beamed at her.

Hinata 's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Germany?! When was that mentioned? She couldn't remember her teacher telling her that! She couldn't leave everything behind! There was no way she'd cope! The performance was one and a half years away, in order to fit in with the talent scout's incredibly busy schedule. This was her only chance to do something she didn't particularly care about. But it would mean leaving her family and friends for a whole year. She needed some space. After dinner was over, and she had been hugged and congratulated by the whole of the family, she asked her mother if it would be possible to go to the local café for a bit. Admittedly, an eyebrow was raised, as 6pm isn't the usual time to go out, but she was allowed. She breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly skipped out the door

Sasori was hungry. So hungry in fact, that he had contemplated making his own dinner. But he decided that was stupid, so he just listed to his stomach rumble in anger. Damn Deidara, where was he? His fingers started to tap on the wooden coffee table. He was wondering if it was edible, when Deidara burst through the door.

"THANK KAMI. WHERE'VE YOU BEEN?!" Sasori exploded.

"I've been walking you baka, where do you think? And what was that about the driving, the only time I drive is when I borrow Pein's car, and he's being a bitch right now, I think he's having relationship issues with Konan, they don't seem to be talking much, and apparently she was crying the other day cause of something he did, and—"

"Deidara." Sasori cut in, "You know way more than you should about people's relationships."

Deidara snorted. "I listen occasionally. Unlike you, who just whines. Am I going to make dinner or what?"

"Hn."

Deidara opened the fridge, looked inside, and gritted his teeth. "You know how I said you don't listen, Sasori?"

"Hn?"

"You didn't listen when I told you to go get some eggs and milk, did you?"

"………..."

A vein jerked in Deidara's forehead as he stormed towards the door.

"YOU KNOW SATURDAY IS PANCAKE NIGHT SASORI! WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING IN THIS FLAT?!" he yelled, as the door slammed shut.

Sasori was still hungry.

Deidara shoved his hands in his jean pockets. Damnit, he was like a housewife to a lazy husband. He fumed as he strode along the path, when he saw that the local café was open. He checked his change. He had enough for a cappuccino, and plus, it would do Sasori good to learn to have a bit of patience. He changed direction, making a mental note to go to the store afterwards.

Hinata folded her arms, wrapping her jacket tighter around her petite frame. She thought back to that morning's ballet lesson, and her mind lingered on the memory of the blonde boy who had come in. She blushed unwillingly at the thought of the adorable face he had made once he'd found out he'd got the wrong studio. And had he really been staring at her? Her blush deepened. He had a guitar too! And he was auditioning to be in a band. That made him cool. He was a guitarist, then. Maybe a bassist? She figured she'd spend the rest of her life wondering. She'd never see him again, she knew that for certain. Shame. He was cute. She squeaked when she bumped into someone, too deep in thought to notice where she was going. Looking up, her blush was deeper than ever.

Deidara looked down at the girl whose face was currently buried in his chest. He blushed lightly when he realised she had the same hair as the girl in the park. She looked up, an expression a mix of shock and apology for bumping into him. He almost cried out when he recognised the face, then he jumped a step backwards, apologising profusely, not able to break eye contact with her. "You're doing well Dei. Bust her ballet class, and then walk into her. Real smooth." He thought to himself.

It was him! He was even better looking up close. He stepped back, not breaking eye contact, and began to speak, though she wasn't listening. The only eye she could see was a beautiful blue, the other covered by a long blonde fringe. She blinked, and shook her head.

"—really sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you, are you okay??"

She registered what he was saying, and nodded. She tried to talk, but her voice stuck, making her gape like a fish.

"I-it's fine, umm, i-it was really m-my fault, umm…" she finally managed to get out.

"Are you going in here?" Deidara gestured to the café.

Hinata wordlessly nodded.

"Wanna sit with me?" Deidara mentally hit himself for how stupid that sounded. Damn, he really wasn't doing well. If only he had Itachi's charm… He was surprised, though, when she replied to him.

"U-um, y-yeah, I would l-love to!" she said, a little too fast. She blushed, and smiled. Her first date, huh? If you could even call it that. Deidara smiled back at her, and opened the door, letting her in before him.

She thanked him quietly, and sat down at a small table. He joined her, sitting across the table. A silence developed. Deidara was overwhelmed by how cute she was when she poked her fingers together like that. He figured he should say something, rather than get distracted by her beauty.

"So, you're into ballet?" He ventured.

"U-um, yeah, you could say t-that…" remembering her previous thoughts, she perked up a bit.

"S-so, do you play g-guitar or bass?"

"How did you know I played anything?"

"Y-you walked into m-my ballet class, remember? I saw the b-bag over your s-shoulder."

"Oh yeah, un. I remember. Haha, sorry about that. I play guitar, but i can play bass aswell, yeah."

Now he was just bragging.

"A-are you in a band?"

"I am actually! As of this morning, that is, un. After I crashed your class, I found the right studio, and they thought I was pretty good. I was responding to this ad in the paper, un. So they recruited me. They're pretty cool guys too, and they're all really good at what they do, they have good taste in music, they could get pretty big, yeah." Realising he was babbling, he blushed. "…uhh, I'm sorry, I tend to talk a lot…"

"O-oh, I don't mind in the slightest" she smiled at him. Damn, she was so cute.

She wasn't lying, his over enthusiastic talking and amazing smile had won her over completely. At least there wasn't an awkward silence. She was beginning to drop her stutter too.

Realising they were, in fact, in a café, both started talking at the same time.

"Should we-"

"-order s-something?" Hinata cut in. She gasped, she hadn't meant to talk over him, would he think her rude? She looked down, when she heard him laughing quietly, she looked up at him, and saw him smiling that gorgeous smile of his.

"Yeah, good idea! What would you like?" He wondered how much change he had on him. Maybe he'd have to leave the eggs for another day…? This was more important than Sasori's stomach anyway, and it's not like there was nothing in the house, food-wise. He could cook, they had baked beans, and they're not exactly hard are they? He'd have to cope.

Hinata's eyes widened when she realised he was offering to pay for her. "No, it's fine, I have enough m-money to get something!"

"Don't be silly, I'm the guy here, that's just how it works! And it'd be a pleasure…" He smiled brightly, appearing more confident than he was.

"O-okay then, umm, if you're sure…"

"Of course" he grinned.

"Could I have a hot chocolate, p-please?"

"Coming right up, milady"

She smiled at the grin he flashed at her as he turned his back. A slight hint of smugness overcame her as she noticed how many women were looking at him. And he's all mine… she thought to herself. Almost shocked, she reminded herself that they were barely even friends, for all she knew he had a girlfriend already. She watched him weave through the people gathering at the till, and noticed he had black converses on. Her favourite type of shoes. Of course, she wasn't allowed to wear them. Oh no. A ballerina in converses? How ungainly, her father had said. She sighed, for the millionth time that day.

"What's up?" His voice sounded caring and gentle, unlike what she was used to.

Hinata looked up, into his concerned and forced a smile.

"Oh, nothing. Just some, um, old memories…"

"Are you sure?"

"I….I'm okay."

Deidara sat down next to her, and put the drinks on the table. He put his arm round her, awkwardly at first, to be honest, he didn't know what he was doing, but she seemed to think it was okay, as she leant into his chest, bringing her arms around him. They sat like that for a few minutes, Hinata getting just what she needed, Deidara trying to make everything better. They didn't notice their drinks getting colder.

Sasori was hungry. He was starting to get desperate, too. He eyed the microwave, and the can of baked beans. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

A whole hour went by. Arms still round each other, though much more relaxed, the couple ("Am I part of a couple now?" Hinata had blushed, burying herself into his chest.) had been talking. Deidara, it turned out, was at university, studying something to do with music, he had said. And art. He was big on art. His knowledge amazed her. He was 21. He played guitar, bass, and drums. He said music was art, an art that only lasted a few minutes, and yet one that could bring up so many emotions. His favourite colour was blue. He liked to read, though he often got impatient with how slowly the books went. His favourite drink was cappuccino. He was pretty stressy about his hair. When she asked him about his family, he had given a sad look and said he'd rather not talk about it. He had changed the subject, asking her questions. Yes, she did a lot of ballet. No, she didn't really like it. In fact, she hated it. It wasn't her choice. It was her fathers. She told him about how he expected so much of her, how when he found she was naturally good at ballet, he'd clung to it, and she wasn't allowed to stop. How she hated that it was the only thing she could do. How she wanted to do something crazy and kick out from what everyone expected. How she wanted to shock everyone. And how she was too scared to do it. Deidara pulled her closer to him, and kissed her forehead.

"It'll be okay. I can make it okay."

And during the time she spent with him, Hinata truly believed him.