Hey guys! So yeah, this took a while. What can I say? The mid-term exams are coming up and today, we had tree plantations in school (Social Forestry Day Celebration.)

I named my tree Zetsu ^_^ (I don't like Zetsu but apparently, he isn't dying and just keeps coming back to life with his creepy Zetsu spores. So I gave my tree this name in hopes it won't die) it was tiring but fun.

The second Parliamentary election discussions in my country are as bad as the Naruto-Sasuke Hokage debate online. Speaking of which, anyone read the manga yet? Sakura-chan is so cool! And also, I expect some more SasuSaku and some action in the next chappie.

Anywho, here's chapter 32!

CHAPTER 32

All the way I was pouting and glaring out of the window of Pein's car. Pein, who was driving, sighed, "This is stupid; you're acting like a spoilt brat."

I turned to glare at him, "Me? You're the one kidnapping me!"

Pein gave me an annoying smirk, "I didn't know kidnappers acted like spoilt brats."

I groaned, "Shut up!"

Well not exactly kidnapping. Pein was taking me out on a . . . a . . . date. I winced; the words 'Pein' and 'Date' most definitely didn't go together. But I wouldn't call this a date to be honest. On a date, the guy is supposed to ask the girl politely and, with her approval, he is supposed to take her out for food, a movie or stuff like that. It was supposed to be enjoyable, fun, romantic . . .

Unlike my current situation.

Pein had sort of asked but it sounded more like an order than a question. Next, he didn't wait for my answer and dragged me out of my apartment and pushed me into his car. And also, he won't even tell me where we were going. I've never been on dates before but I have watched enough of Hana's chick flicks to know that this was one of those 'Disaster Dates.'

Pein rolled his eyes, "It's not like I want to do this. It's the band's and your friend's decision."

I scoffed, "Since when do you care about others' opinions?"

"Hn." Pein replied.

"You're as bad as Sasuke!" I said as I threw my hands up in the air. I then huffed and crossed my arms. "Anyway, can you at least tell me where we're going for our date?"

"Sure," Pein said flatly. "We're going where I'm taking you."

I rolled my eyes," Thanks; that clears my doubt."

Pein smirked, "Hn."

"Well I'm turning on the stereo; no complaints!" I said as I reached for the stereo. I turned it on and started to browse through his iPod, which was plugged in, for a good song. I noticed that most of the songs he had in his iPod were classic rock and a few pop songs.

"Didn't know you were a fan of the Classics," I told him as I played the song 'Paradise City' by Guns and Roses. "I thought you'd be more of a hardcore rap kinda guy. You know? Eminem? Jay-Z?"

"I am full of surprises." He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I grinned, "I agree with you."

Both of us were quiet for the next few minutes. The pitter-patter of raindrops was heard apart for the music from the stereo. I could even hear Pein's breathing; it was even and calm, relaxed.

Wait a minute . . . why, I ask myself, am I focusing on Pein's breathing?! I feel like such a stalker right now.

I glared at Pein, whose eyes were focused on the road as he drove. How did this guy have such an effect over me? Why did I lose myself in his eyes every time he looked at me in the eye? Why do his words leave me speechless at times? How does he make me so vulnerable with just a look or a surprise gesture?

'Maybe you're falling for him.' whispered a tiny voice in my head.

I resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Me? In love? That too with Pein? Yeah right! I do not plan on losing myself to a guy that easily; I was never one to wear my heart on my sleeve. Beside, I've never been in love before so if I ever do (keyword: if) the feelings would be completely alien.

And then it happened again; the pain shot through my head like a bullet, piercing my brain. At first the pain was immense but then something unexpected happened. Instead of the pain lingering and bringing me more pain, I felt this . . . weird fuzzy feeling inside me. It was warm and tingly. It was like the feeling in the dream.

Then the flashes of images started. This time they were brief but I saw each and every one of them; little me holding hands with the orange haired boy, the orange haired boy blushing while holding a guitar, the same boy smiling . . .

Once they faded, the pain was back.

I groaned as I clutched my head. Pein turned to look at me, "What's wrong?

"N-nothing," I said meekly. "Just the usual migraines."

"You take them casually," Pein said with a sigh. "Just consult a doctor."

"I'm fine," I said with a shrug. I crossed my arms. "I don't need a doctor."

Pein smirked, "Scared much?"

"No," I mumbled. "They just . . . freak me out?"

"Such a baby." Pein said as he shook his head.

"Am not!" I protested. I punched him in the arm but Pein simply chuckled quietly in response.

I sighed, "So . . . any ideas on what we should write about?"

Pein shrugged, "I don't know. What do you think?"

"Well," I said as I fidgeted a bit in my seat. "I was thinking . . . well, to be honest, about a person."

"A person?" Pein said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I said awkwardly. "Someone who totally gets under your skin; in a good or bad way, it doesn't matter."

Pein thought for a while and then he nodded, "Fine. I think I know someone who keeps getting under my skin every time. I still haven't decided if it's a good or bad thing though."

I laughed, "Well, good. I have someone in mind as well." I wasn't going to tell him that the person who usually gets under my skin was sitting next to me driving the car and taking me to an unknown destination.

Then there was that orange-haired boy from my dreams. But I tried not to think of him because whenever I even tried, a merciless pain enveloped my mind, suffocating me.

The car suddenly came to a stop. I couldn't see where we were because of the heavy rain. Pein unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. I did the same and was about to open my door but Pein beat me to it. He opened my door for me.

"Thanks." I muttered. I then noticed that he was slowly getting drenched in the rain so I picked up my umbrella and opened it. I held it above our heads and grabbed my lyrics journal before slamming the door of the Ferrari shut.

I looked at my surroundings and saw that we were in a garden. I knew the place because I had come here once in middle school for a field trip. Ame Botanical Garden looked eerie and deserted in the rain. Actually, it was deserted, except for an old man, the owner, who lives in the area and waters the dried poppies that never seemed to grow back.

Once it was a beautiful garden but after the wife of the owner died. He stopped caring for his flowers for he was depressed about his wife's passing. The whole place had no died. I still remembered the layout of this place. There was a glass green house in the center of the garden and towards the Far East it headed towards the woods. Towards the west was a garden where a variety of flowers used to grow.

Now the whole place was literally a forest now. Green creepers and wild bushes grew from everywhere. It had been years since I last visited this place and it was a shame to see that it was now nothing. Hana would be disheartened if she saw; she used to love coming here when we were younger.

Nobody was there. Pein gestured for me to follow him. We walked at an even pace and I held the umbrella above us; it did little to keep out the rain but at least we weren't completely soaked.

Pein led me towards the center of the garden, where the green house stood proudly. The glass was dirty but it was still in place. Green plants grew from all corners but the door remained uncovered. Pein walked towards the door and I followed him.

We entered the green house. The air smelled of dead flowers and moss and on the inside, there were wild plants growing too. The clatter of raindrops was as loud as ever on the glass roof, yet, it sounded melodious to me; like a soft drum beat. I closed my umbrella and leaned it against the glass wall.

"Follow me." Pein instructed. He walked deeper into the green house. I hesitated at first but followed soon after. He walked deeper and deeper and I felt like I was on some jungle expedition, like on National Geographic Channel. He then stopped in front of a wooden ladder, leading upstairs.

The ladder of course was tangled with vines.

Pein looked at me, "Up you go."

I backed away, "Are you crazy? Who knows what creepy slimy bugs are in those vines? Not to mention, we don't have a source of light!"

"Stop being such a pessimist. "Pein said with a scoff. He held out his hand to me. "Trust me."

I stared at him. His hypnotizing eyes gazed into my own and for a moment, as cheesy as it sounded, I couldn't breathe. I hated the fact that with one look he made my knees jelly. It's even more annoying that my body responded to his gestures so willingly and pathetically.

I shakily took his hand and he gently led me towards the ladder. I placed one foot on the first rung of the ladder. I looked back at him, "You'll be right behind me right?"

Pein smirked softly, "Stop being a baby; I won't let you fall."

I nodded slowly and took a deep breath as I started to climb up the ladder. I bit my lip as I reached the sixth rung. I kept telling myself that there were only four more to go but my body won't budge; I hated ladders. Escalators and Elevators were created for a reason . . .

"Keep moving." Pein told me.

"Easy for you to say." I said stubbornly as I gripped the sides of the ladder so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

Pein sighed. I turned my head slightly to see what he was going to do. In a second, he was hovering above me. There was only a little space between mine and his body. I blushed, "What are you doing?"

Pein didn't respond. His hands were on top of mine, prying my fingers off of the sides of the ladder. He then placed them on the eighth rung to give me support. His breath caressed my ear, "Relax."

I suppressed a shiver and inhaled sharply. I then exhaled slowly. Pein's leg nudged mine, "Now take a step up."

I squeezed my eyes shut, "No!"

"Just trust me." Pein said quietly.

Obeying his instruction, I took a shaky step and placed my foot on the next rung of the ladder. Clumsy me; I missed my step and slipped. I let out a scream. I was falling!

"Sheesh," Pein muttered. "Control yourself."

I blushed when I realized that Pein was holding me in his arms and had prevented me from falling. His body felt firm and . . . sort of bumpy against mine. Whoa! What the hell am I thinking?!

He slowly coaxed me (in a weird way) to climb up the rest of the ladder. And I did; with his long arms guiding me and his body protecting mine from falling. Once we reached the top, I tried standing up but I tripped on my own feet and landed on my back. Pein, who had just reached the top after me, was also tripped my foot and so he fell on top of me.

Our faces were inches away and I could feel his breath across my face. He wore a shocked expression on his face and I was pretty sure mine looked pretty much the same as his. We immediately organized ourselves; he got off of me and turned the other way while I sat up and hugged my knees.

I felt like fainting; it was partly the fault of the blush on my face. It immediately reminded me of our kiss back in Konoha. Having him close to me . . . it felt weird. But I couldn't deny that I minded it; honestly, I kind of . . . liked it.

'You've fallen for him.' whispered the same tiny voice from earlier.

Have I? Have I really fallen for him? Is that the reason why he has this . . . control over me? Have I, Konan, really fallen for Pein?

I shook my head vigorously. No way! No way in heaven, earth or hell! He was an ego-centric jerk who keeps annoying the hell out of me. There is no way that my heart now beats for him. There is no way that he is now the center of my universe. There is no way that he is my object of obsession.

There is no way I am in love. That too with Pein.

Right . . . ?

"Hey," Pein called out to me flatly. I turned to look at him. He was looking up at the sky. "Are we going to write the song or what?"

"Y-yeah," I replied. I opened a fresh page in my lyric journal, hiding the pictures I had drawn of him and his eyes. "Let's get started."

I know, I know; it's short. Bear with me? The next one will have more humor and some secrets revealed. Also, we are two (or three; it depends) chapters away from the rain festival chapter. Stay tuned and of course, keep sending song suggestions for Konan and the Akatsuki okay?

Till then, here's a taste of the next chapter.

Hana laughed. Suddenly, her phone rang. She frowned as she looked the ID.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Let's find out, "Hana said with a shrug. She answered her phone. "Hello?"

Whoever was on the other end of that phone had either said something or had scared my best friend because the color drained from her face and her hands started to tremble.

Xxx

"Eh? Deidara, is something wrong?" I asked him.

Deidara shifted uncomfortably, "Sharpie, can we talk?"

I looked at him suspiciously, "Okay . . ."

Xxx

I couldn't believe this was happening. I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was drowning underwater. But drowning would be better than being in the situation I was in right now. I felt disgusted with myself. I felt like such a traitor.

I squeezed my eyes shut with one thought on my mind, 'Kurotsuchi . . . I'm so sorry.'

Read and review! ^_^