A/N: Eww… ew ew ew… I really really hate this chapter, it's so disgusting and extra ooc… fdjfhkdjsafhldsfj.

The cringe level is so real…

The thing with spares was that you were basically free to do whatever you want, as long as you kept quiet about your own business. And so it was a very convenient time for Sasori to "brush up" a bit on his art.

He went to the library and sat down in his usual spot. The day was really dragging on, and it felt quite nice to sit at a quiet, secluded area where he was left alone to do whatever he pleased.

Hmm... what to draw today. Maybe more oak shelves, or mahogany tables, or just another wooden inanimate object. Wood was Sasori's favourite medium; it was always so sturdy, and held many details. The material definitely had some kind of artistic nature to it.

He reached for his sketchbook in his bag. He didn't know why he still carried it around. Or why he didn't get a new one when it started falling apart. He had had it since he was fourteen; when his passion for art had started. It was a present that his Grandmother had sent him from the hospital.

He held it gingerly in his hands. It was really worn out. But not worn out to the point where he really, truly needed a new one. Sure, there were a few bits and pieces that didn't quite make it, but it wasn't anything that tape couldn't fix. But once it was destroyed completely, he would maybe get a new one.

That was the only reason he still kept it around. There was definitely no other reason.
Or so he kept telling himself.

Opening the book to a new page, he started to draw the outline of a human body. As to why he chose one was beyond him at the time. And it didn't really matter, either. His thoughts started wandering off to the conversation he had with the blon - er - Deidara during lunch.

He had said that true art was fleeting. Ha ha. Right. What an idiot. Does he even take art this semester? He felt somewhat bad for whoever the teacher would be.

But only somewhat.

It had been a while since someone had actually listened to him talk about art like that. He almost seemed to encourage him to voice out his opinion, as if he wanted to listen to what he had to say.

Deidara, huh? Such a weird name. It fit the person, though.

Maybe they'll get to talk again someday. Not that he cared if they didn't. What would they even talk about, anyways, other than art? Sports? Girls? Malls?

Do guys even go shopping for recreation?

Or they could just talk about art. He wouldn't mind that too much.

His cheeks started hurting. Why was that? Oh. He had been smiling this whole time. Maybe he was just really happy that it was finally quiet. Silence always made him happy, after all.

His mind wandered back to the previous events. Why had he run away from Deidara?

Well, maybe he didn't exactly run away, but it wasn't like he had stayed, either.

And - just a tiny bit more importantly - why had he opened up to him? Why did he even start talking? Sure, it was art, but it's not like he would have conversed to just about any idiotic "artist". What was so special about him? In fact, he seemed almost brattier than most.

He had definitely felt... something... at the time. But what was it exactly? An emotion? He hadn't had those in a while. And frankly, didn't want them back. Ever.

But whatever it was… he wouldn't mind feeling it again. He didn't like it, of course; such illogical things always made him annoyed to no end. But this time, he found it a bit more tolerable. A lot more tolerable. It was there, yet it didn't seem like an obstruction. It felt… natural.

Maybe a bit too natural. Maybe he didn't really feel anything back then, and it was just annoyance and obnoxiousness prodding his mind. Maybe he was dizzy from all the blonde's nonsense-talk. Maybe he was developing some sickness or whatnot?

Tch. Why was he dwelling so much on something so trivial? He'd ignore it for now. It was probably something that happened according to the situation; he didn't feel anything as of right now.

He heard the bell ring. What? Was his spare finished already? He looked down at his drawing. Only the outline of the body was drawn faintly. Since when did he get so distracted?

Okay, enough of this. He had a "study session" to attend. And of course, the teacher didn't tell him where to meet up. He would have asked, but he really didn't want to meet the brats anyway. Maybe he'll just stay in the library and hope that the brats (won't) find their way. And if they don't meet, it's not his fault that the teacher didn't give clear enough instructions.

But just in case, he should probably get some English text books. Who knows, maybe Kakashi sensei is on scouting duty today.

He headed towards the English section of the library. What did they need help with specifically, anyways? Maybe he'll get a bit of everything? He picked out at least five different books. These will have to do until he gathered more information.

He heard footsteps nearby, followed by a lot of hushed yelling. He deadpanned. Quiet noise did not mean that it wasn't noise. And it sure didn't make it any less annoying, either.

"We don't even know who this person is! How are we even going to find him?" Oh, this voice. Hidan, was it? Was he lost again? Sasori started to walk in the other direction. Not dealing with them again.

"I know... Kakashi sensei didnt even tell us where to meet, yeah. And his door is locked, so hopefully they're somewhere here." Deidara's voice. Sasori nodded to himself and then stopped abruptly. Did they mention Kakashi sensei? Something about meeting someone?

"Well at least we know this f*ckers name. Or at least you know it. He had some weird-*ss name that I can't remember. Kakuzu, was it?"

"No, it was Akasauna no Sasene. Or something like that, yeah. I don't remember either. But what's the point in all of this, anyway? Can't we just ditch and say the guy didn't show up?"

Akasauna no Sasene, huh. Tch. Some remembering. They were - without a doubt - the two missing people in his study session. He walked up quietly behind them.

"It's Sasori." The two males jumped, startled by the sudden voice. Hidan was the first to turn around.

"Who the – oh Jashin, it's you again!" What had he ever done to the two of them?! It wasn't his fault that they got lost, was it now?

Deidara turned around as well. "…Oh. It is you. Are you our English tutor, yeah?" Sasori's eye twitched. Were they really going to refer to him as 'you' throughout the whole day?

"Yes, I believe so." He tossed the pile of books into their arms. "Will these be sufficient, or shall I get some more books from the middle school section?" he added the last bit sarcastically.

"Hey, we aren't that stupid, yeah." Deidara countered.

"What do you mean by we? Last time I checked, I was a whole 25% better than you," Hidan chuckled. Sasori blinked. A whole 25%? And if the Albino had also failed…

"What were your scores in the English exam last year?" Sasori asked the pair.

"F*cking 46%" Hidan replied, a bit too smugly for someone who had failed. How did they even get accepted into the school if they didn't pass? Maybe they had some special education plan that covered them, as was his case.

Wait… he had gotten a 46%? Then that meant the blonde only got a 21. Sasori quirked an eyebrow at said person. "Did you even study for the exams?" he accused. There was no way someone could fail that bad, even without studying. Deidara paused for a bit before answering, a little too cockily.

"Study? Heh. What for? I could have probably aced the whole thing if I actually tried, yeah," the blonde smirked. "But who cares, anyway? It's only English." Sasori deadpanned. This kid had got to be kidding.

Hidan gave Deidara a look. Sasori could have sworn that it held something other than mockery or arrogance. Maybe something along the lines of… worry? But before it could be confirmed, Hidan broke into a smirk. A bit forced, Sasori noted.

"That's right. What's the point in any of this, unless you're trying to become a f*cking author or something?" He and Deidara high-fived as Sasori internally face-palmed. He did not sign up for this. Literally.

"What is it that you guys have the most trouble with?" Sasori asked, a bit annoyed. Okay, not a bit annoyed. A lot annoyed. Extremely annoyed.

"Tenses." Hidan said, and then glanced at Deidara. "Err… actually, a bit of everything would be nice." Sasori sighed inwardly, and showed them to a table. He took a book from Hidan and opened it to the first page.

"We'll start with tenses, fill-in-the-blank style." He copied down a couple of questions on a sheet of paper, modifying each a slight bit. Then he passed it to the pair.

"You may start."

Hidan looked over the paper and started doing the questions in his notebook. Deidara, on the other hand, didn't even bother to move. He merely sat down and stared at his pencil, unamused. Sasori sighed as Hidan handed back his papers. Surprisingly enough, they were all correct. He wrote down a couple more exercises and gave the paper back.

"Aren't you going to do them as well?" Sasori questioned the blonde.

"There's no point, yeah."

"Don't you want to pass?"

"Like I said, there's no point. Pass or not, I'll still be here."

"Just because you're covered by an education plan, doesn't mean that you can slack off like this."

Deidara gave him a look. "How'd you know that I have an education plan, yeah?"

"Not anyone can just fail an English exam and still make it to Kisaragi High," Sasori replied. Deidara nodded to himself, yet made no further movements to start the exercises. Sasori left him and turned his focus back to Hidan, who was actually doing pretty decently. A bit too decently. He handed him another, certain piece of paper.

"Here, do these."

Hidan sat there for less than a minute before tossing down his pencil and turning to Deidara. "There! F*cking finished! See, Dei? It wasn't that bad. You should just get it over with so we can ditch as soon as possible."

Ditch the session, huh. Good idea. Although they were quiet for the most part, their very presence seemed to irritate him. Especially Deidara's.

"I'm done for today." Said blonde got up from his spot and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I'm leaving now. Don't expect me to come back, ever. Yeah." Fifty percent of burden gone. Nice.

Once Deidara was gone, Hidan grabbed Sasori by the collar and pulled him close. Sasori raised an eyebrow at the Albino.

"What do you want." It was more of a question than a statement, like always.

"Listen, man. I know Deidara seems like a total f*cker right now, but he's a really good guy and-"

"Could you at least put me down before continuing the rest of your life story?" Sasori said in a monotone voice. Really, he had expected more than a simple conversation about the ditching brat.

Hidan let go of Sasori and sat back down. There was a pause before he started speaking again.

"Deidara… he studied really hard for that final exam."

"Do you expect me to believe that? He himself said that he didn't study at all." What was this guy trying to get at?

"No… well he did say that… but he did study. A lot. He just said that he didn't because of his pride. You know, the cockiness and stuff. It's all just an act. Well, I'm not saying that he's never genuinely hot-headed, but you know…" Hidan trailed off.

"Just… could you help him? F*cking please? We've had people help us before, but none of them seem to understand him that well, and you two seemed to get along pretty well today at lunch, so…"

"Why don't you help him yourself?" Sasori interrupted.

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "Are you f*cking kidding me?! I got a 46% on that test, you know! There's no way that someone like me could-" He stopped as the redhead held up the most recent paper he solved. "What about it?"

"You just got all of these questions right."

"Yeah, so what? They were easy."

"This was the first page of the entrance exam two years ago." Sasori deadpanned, and Hidan gulped.

"I believe you're missing a part of the story here. Explain everything to me again, correctly this time." Sasori stated. He wouldn't have usually minded, but this seemed like a very peculiar case. And why was he sent to teach a kid who wasn't even failing? "What did you get on your English exam last year?"

Hidan sighed. "Jashin, fine. I got a 98%, okay? The teachers only sent me here so that Deidara wouldn't feel alone!"

Sasori deadpanned. "What." So because of some stupid loneliness, he had to deal with two brats instead of one?

"I… Tobi and I are the only ones who really understood him. I mean, sure, we didn't lose both parents like he did, but we sorta got what he felt like. Yeah, it sucks, I know," Hidan added at the end. "His mom died when he was born, and his father… uh… yeah. He was an English teacher, so he would always help Deidara out and stuff. Deidara's best subject used to be English. But then, five years ago, his father… yeah. And I don't think he's gotten over it. Like, it's not just because his dad isn't there to help him. It's… oh, I don't know! Something's wrong, okay! I know Deidara was smart enough to answer all those questions on the exam. Just… something happened."

Is this why Sasori was to tutor Deidara? Because they both lost their parents? And why was Hidan leaving out parts just before he talked about the death of Deidara's father?

"And Deidara tries to improve. He really does! He knows he has to snap out of it, but he told me that no matter what he did, he just couldn't! And I try to help him but… Jashin, there's more to it than just knowing the subject itself. You need to know him." Hidan stopped talking for a bit before sighing. "I don't know why I'm telling you any of this, man, but you seemed like a nice guy at the lunch table, although you kinda blew us off at the beginning of school…"

Sasori blinked. He seemed like a nice guy, the albino had said. Since when? And now he had to deal with some emotional blonde brat who can't even get over past events? It was bad enough before he heard their little sob story. And now the teen in front of him expected him to actually do something about it?!

"I barely know the brat. And you expect me to do something about his condition? Tell him to go to therapy or something, but don't just leave him for me to deal with."

"Can you at least try to be friends with him? I mean, you've lost your parents too, haven't you?" Sasori raised an eyebrow at him. How did he k- "It's a long story. But will you do it?" Hidan asked, almost pleading.

"Why would I do it? There's nothing in it for me."

Hidan sighed. "Fine. The final decision is up to you, but please consider it. I know you're a nice guy at heart; I can read your eyes, you know." Sasori blinked. More about reading eyes?

"Anyways, we'll be back tomorrow, but during your actual spare. So with that…" he got up from his chair and stuffed his notes into his bag. 'I'm off now."

Sasori faceplanted the desk. This was quite a bigger task than he thought it would be. And something told him that Kakashi Sensei knew about this extra load. Tch.

He had to make friends with the blonde? Just because of some depression symptom thing? Tch. This was going to be troublesome…

He found this very annoying, as usual. And the annoyance was doubled, this time, for it had to do with Deidara.

If he were to feel anything other than annoyance, it would probably have something to do with anger, since being annoyed ultimately made him mad.

But for some unknown reason, he felt like smiling.

A/N: Ughhhhhhh... this cringe! I'm so sorry that you had to go through this, minna. (I wrote like 3 drafts of this and eventually ran out of ideas... I tried T_T)