A/N: Chapter 4 here! Please review folks! :]
Chapter 4
The sun cast a bright glow over the school. Misaki shielded her eyes from the bright light, racing toward the art classroom. She was a little late, but she smiled. Today, the teacher posted their project partners. Misaki didn't dare hide her excitement.
As Misaki made her way to the classroom, she noticed her class crowding outside the door. She also noticed that most of the kids were already grouping together. She recognized the familiar bob of her blonde haired friend. She was talking to someone. Coming up behind her, she greeted her friend, waving. "Hi, Temari!" She then smiled, recognizing the other person. "Hi, Sai!"
The girl's blue eyes lit up. "Misa-chan! Good morning! Just a little late, I see." Misaki smiled sheepishly, averting her eyes bashfully. Sai smiled at her, nodding.
Hiding her embarrassment, Misaki turned around, trying to get a close look at the board posted outside the art room. "So, what are the groups? Please tell me we're in the same group..."
Temari smiled, chuckling. "Sorry, no, but Sai and I are in a group together along with Kankuro. I saw your name, but someone scratched out the names of your partners. Stupid, really. But, there's a note saying that one of them is going to meet you near the lunch hall at the Sakura tree apparently."
What she said caught her off-guard. Maybe her partners wanted to be secret? She didn't know, but played along anyway. "I see. That's a little weird, but okay. I'll see you later guys!" she yelled, waving.
'Who could it be? Scratching off names… huh… I guess I'll just have to see them for myself…'
Misaki rushed towards the solitary Sakura tree by the lunch room. After a moment, it appeared in the distance, swaying slightly in the breeze. She picked up her pace and as she neared the trunk of the tree, she noticed someone was sitting on one of the branches. A boy that she had only seen a handful of times appeared to be sleeping, his long, dark blonde hair, kept neatly in a ponytail, playing in the wind. His long bangs hung low covering half his face.
Misaki stared up at him, waiting. She didn't want to disturb him, but on the other hand, she wanted to know her partners for the project. A welling grew in her stomach as she opened her mouth and closed it.
'I hope I'm not bothering him…'
"Ummm," she started, uneasily. "Excuse me?" she asked, a little bit louder. The teen opened his eyes and ran his hand over them.
'Ah… His eyes…They are such a particular shade of blue', Misaki thought to herself. 'So bright and stark, like the ocean…'
The boy stared down at her before a grin spread over his lips. Without another thought, he jumped down from the tree flawlessly. He held out his hand, smiling a toothy grin. "You must be my group mate, hmm?" he said lightly. Misaki nodded slightly at his cool personality. "The name's Deidara, un."
She took his hand, shaking it slightly. "I'm Misaki," she said smiling.
Deidara ran his fingers through his bangs, fixing them to the side of his face. "And now, we just have to wait for one more person..." he grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets, leaning against the tree.
"So was it you or this other person that scratched our names out on the art room board?" Misaki asked situating herself next to him.
"That would be the other person," he said, grinning at her. "I left the note." He smiled. Misaki nodded, staring off in the distance.
Not a moment later, a rustle from behind Misaki broke her from her slight reverie. She began to turn around to greet her new partner.
"Deidara."
Misaki stopped, stiffening at the all too familiar voice. She shuddered before turning to face him with a tight smile.
'Not him… Please…' She prayed to whatever God was supposed to be sitting up in heaven.
"Uchiha," she sighed as she turned completely and looked at the raven-haired male, dropping her head slightly. His presence alone was enough to destroy her mood.
'Sasuke Uchiha... why, oh why, did it have to be him...?' She internally groaned.
Sasuke ignored her, facing Deidara. "Let's get this over with. I have lots of work to complete," he said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, like the rest of us just love coming to school on Sundays..." Misaki mumbled bitterly under her breath.
Deidara bounced off the tree, noting the tension between the two. "Okay, now. Let's get to business," he said getting serious. "We get to spruce up the parade! We have to make the parade more attractive so that people will come to the stage. They want us to come up with more interesting ideas," he noted with enthusiasm.
Misaki had no clue what they were talking about. One problem with being new to a country was that very custom they practiced was foreign to her. She felt a little embarrassed.
'Why didn't I ask Temari about this before?! And now I have to look dumb in front of him!'
She looked up sheepishly, raising her hand slightly to get their attention. "Could you guys, um, tell me about the parade...?" she asked, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.
Deidara smiled, touching her shoulder slightly. He sat down, and Sasuke and Misaki followed suit. "Of course, un! It's called K-Fest and it's only the second best festival in town! What's even more awesome, is that only our school gets to showcase it. So, every year, the students dress up in their costume and parade through the city starting from the Great Hokage Stone Faces and ending at the school. Then, we all perform our plays in front of them!" he explained happily.
"Oh..." Misaki said, biting her lip. "Thank you for telling me."
Sasuke fell back onto his back, his arms cradling the back of his head. "Baka..." he muttered so low that Misaki wasn't even sure if she had heard it. She closed her eyes, anger welling in her chest. When she opened them again, Sasuke was staring at the clouds in the sky rolling lazily by.
'No. Don't respond, Misaki. He's just trying to piss you off. Don't give him the satisfaction by snapping back at him.'
She sighed, smiling slightly, staring at the grass beneath her. The sun was warm and the breeze tickled her cheek, playing with her hair.
'The day is just too beautiful to stay mad, anyway.'
Sasuke stole a glance at the new girl. She was smiling, staring at something in the grass. He was taken aback.
'Why the hell is she smiling?'
His mouth hung open slightly. He had to admit that with the scenery and with the wind playing with her hair, she didn't look half bad. The sunlight rivaled the brightness of her smile and the greenery around them brought her features out beautifully.
'Is she always this beautiful?'
Then he realized his thoughts. He mentally smacked himself, regaining his composure. He immediately looked away from the oblivious girl.
Deidara watched the exchange, a small grin playing at the edges of his mouth. He rubbed the back of his head chuckling. "This is gonna be one long day..." he muttered.
Misaki snapped out of her reverie, looking up to Deidara shaking his head slightly. "So what play are we going to do this year?" The blonde met her eyes, shrugging.
"That's what we get to decide. How about we list some and choose one that everyone is willing to do?"
Misaki nodded, smiling. "Hai, let's get to work!"
After a couple of hours, Misaki flopped onto her back. "I'm so tired," she whined, basking in the warm sunlight. They had come up with a decent list, and over the course of the list, they agreed and disagreed on several plays.
"Well we're pretty much done for the rest of the day. Okay, so we have Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Much Ado About Nothing for plays, and we agreed on a Wizard of Oz theme for the parade." Misaki and Sasuke nodded. "So now all we have to do is pick two plays and assign roles then, un."
Misaki sat cross-legged, bending forward, resting her head on her hand and placing her elbow on her knee. She thought for a moment, her brows furrowing. "Well, I really like Much Ado About Nothing, so we should do that one," she said happily. "And we should do-"
"Romeo and Juliet," Sasuke dully interjected, cutting her off. Misaki and Deidara stared incredulously at him. Before they could say anything, Sasuke continued. "Before you two say anything..." Misaki suppressed a giggle to which Sasuke returned with a glare. "That play has never been done before. Not to mention that the other two choices are completely boring."
Misaki returned his glare. "Hey! Sleeping Beauty is not boring! It's a beautiful love story and is-"
"Completely boring," Sasuke ended for her, eliciting another glare from the girl.
"It is not."
"Yes, it is," Sasuke said tightly.
"It is not!" Misaki said, her voice rising.
Deidara watched the two grow heatedly towards each other. He came up with an idea. "Um, guys? I think I have an idea about the...assigning...of" His words fell on deaf ears. The two were too wrapped in their argument to notice him. "...the roles..." He threw the notebook on the grass, falling back. He cradled his head with his arms and stared into the sky, drowning the two out.
"Yes, it is!" Sasuke yelled, his voice rising significantly.
"No it's not, you dumbass!" Misaki screamed at him, standing up. Sasuke stood up next to her, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Shut up! Baka!"
The anger welled in Misaki's chest. She heaved heavily, trying to catch her breath. She couldn't think. She blurted the next word that came to mind. "Duckbutt!"
Sasuke's anger rose. "What the hell did you just call me?!" He yelled, his fist clenching.
"I called you a duck-"
"Guys! Cut it out already! It's been a long day! It's hot! I'd like to go home! We have a freaking parade to plan and you two are acting like children!" Misaki and Sasuke turned to a heaving Deidara. His face was red, stark contrast to his bright blonde hair, and his eyes angry. Misaki could almost see the steam spouting from his ears.
Misaki felt horrible. She didn't know what it was about the boy next to her, but he made her so angry! She knew she didn't do anything to him to elicit such behavior from him, but whatever it was, she wanted to know. She stole a glance at the angry boy before averting her gaze to the ground. She shuffled her feet. "I'm sorry, Deidara," she muttered.
Hearing her reaction, Sasuke turned to stare at the girl's bowed head.
'I just can't believe this girl! She's driving me insane!'
Never in his life had he ever lost his cool like he had just now. The thought made him angry. What was this girl doing to him?
Deidara cleared his throat. Both teens turned to look at him. "So, as I was saying," he started more calmly, "the two plays are going to be Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet. To choose roles, we'll place names in a hat and do a random draw. How does that sound?"
"Do whatever you want," Sasuke muttered, earning a glare from Misaki.
"Don't listen to him, Deidara. He's just being a downer. I think it's a great idea!" she said happily, smiling brightly.
Sasuke caught himself staring at her once again. His thoughts began to betray him as he began to think her smile was beautiful. He shook his head.
'I have to get out of here.'
"I'm leaving," he finally said, walking away from Deidara and Misaki.
Deidara watched his friend leave, hurt apparent in his eyes. Misaki noticed and rested her hand on his elbow. As much as part of her wanted to follow Sasuke and give him a piece of her mind, she decided to stay behind with Deidara and keep him company.
"Let's make those slips of paper!" she said happily, breaking Deidara from his thoughts. He smiled down at her.
"Thank you, Misaki," he said thankfully. He smiled as the two of them headed for a table. He couldn't help thinking to himself that Misaki wasn't like the other girls from the school. She wasn't not only pretty on the outside, but she was genuine and nice. The thought caused him to smile as Misaki led him back to the art room.
When they arrived, they got to work immediately, and after only a short time they had various names written out onto tiny slips of paper. Misaki sighed excitedly, placing the last name in a hat.
"That's the last one! I'm so excited! I can't wait to see who gets what part tomorrow! I really want to know who plays Romeo and Juliet!" she squealed happily.
Deidara nodded. "Yeah, me too, un." He then thought for a second. The sun was setting soon and Misaki would need a ride home. A blush crossed his cheeks. If Misaki didn't have a ride home then he could give her one. His face grew hot as he opened his mouth to ask. "It's getting late. How about I take you home?"
"Eh? Oh no, thanks though, Deidara. It's alright; I can catch the evening bus."
"The evening bus? Wouldn't it be safer to come with me in my car than with a bunch of strangers on the bus?" he asked, slightly worried.
"Uh… I didn't think of that. Ok, then, Deidara, thank you," she said smiling. The two cleaned up, returning the hat to the teacher, and left the room, heading for Deidara's car.
As the car drove away, a man appeared from around the corner. He watched the car drive away then smirked to himself. The wind whipped at his brown hair. His smirk grew as he thought about the certain dark haired girl that just rode away from him. As he walked away, his mind reeled.
'It wouldn't be long now, my beautiful flower.'