Thursday:
November 6th: Naomi's Birthday!
I've always hated my birthday. It just brings unwanted attention to me. And trust me this is very unwanted attention. So when I woke up on November 6th, my sixteenth birthday and Pein wasn't in my room, I knew immediately why he wasn't here and internally groaned. I knew they had all been planning a surprise party. A surprise party that I had begged them not to throw, and one they also agreed not to throw. I wake up and stare at the ceiling for a few minutes, wishing I could lay in bed the whole day. It's too quiet, too damn quiet for me not to be suspicious of everything I know that is going on. I sit up and find a happy birthday banner taped across my closet door. I sigh heavily. You'd have to blind to miss it. I can tell that my eyes are a mass of colors already. It's like a psychedelic mess in my irises today. A rainbow. This happens sometimes. I get up and walk over to my closet. I open it, ignoring the birthday banner as one side of it slides off of the door and falls to the ground. But when I open my closet, I find an outfit concealed in a plastic bag with a note on it. There's a pair of shoes beneath the bag, which I assume go with the outfit. I pick up the note, it reads:
Happy Birthday, Naomi!
Wear this. If you don't, we'll make you change.
~Tsuki & Noki.
I smirk at the note. I should have known they would be dictate what I was going to wear today. I pull the bag out of my closet and open it. I set the outfit out on my bed. It's a short black ruffled skirt and black fishnet tights. The shirt is a black shirt with a lace back and it matches the skirt quite well. Along with it, there are shoes as well. They are black boots that go up all the way up to my shin. I smile. At least they know what I like. I quickly change into the outfit. As soon as I pull the shirt down, Tsuki and Noki barge into my room, surprising me. I let out a little squeal, as they scared me. They grab me by the arms and drag me into the bathroom. I try to protest against them, but I can't. By the time I struggle free, they've dragged me into the bathroom, and locked the door behind us. Noki plugs something into the wall, and Tsuki brings in a huge bag full of make-up.
"What are you doing?" I ask a little scared.
"What do you think we're gonna do?" Tsuki asks, flashing an evil grin. Noki turns around, holding a curling iron and a various bottles of hair dye. Her grin matches Tsuki's. After that, it's just a blur of make-up and hair products. After they're done, I can tell that they've done my make-up different. I look in the mirror, and I don't recognize the person in the reflection. The girl in the mirror has bright purple, blue, and green woven into the deep onyx that is mixed in. The bright, neon ends of her hair were slightly curled and twisted. And her eyes, those bright rainbow eyes. Dark black surround her eyes, flattering the rainbow irises. Her eyelashes are so long and full. I couldn't believe that this girl was me. Is it me? How did they do this?
"Do you like it?" Noki asks.
"What did you do to me?" I ask, amazed.
"You don't like it?" Tsuki asks, sounding disappointed. I look away from the mirror and at her.
"No, I do. I really like it." I say, grinning. I noticed they changed my piercings too. The one on my tongue and my septum are both purple. My spider bites are a lime green and my gauges are black. I leave the bathroom, and Noki and Tsuki run out in front of me, hurriedly making their way to the kitchen. I sigh and roll my eyes. When I walk out into the kitchen, all of them are sitting at the table except for Pein.
"Happy Birthday!" Kisame yells, standing up from his chair and tackling me with a hug.
"Thanks." I say between fits of laughter. I get up and he sits back in his chair. I now notice the huge Happy Birthday banner across the kitchen, but choose to ignore it, much like the one in my bedroom. I lean back against the counter. I try to walk over to the fridge, but Kisame stands up and covers it with both of his arms, blocking me.
"Don't look in the fridge!" He yells, putting his arms over the doors. I laugh and walk into the living room. I sit down in the couch, where Sasori is normally seated, but he isn't today. I sigh and lean back. The day is off to a good start, which is nice. I get bored of the T.V and stand up. I walk back into my room to make sure I grabbed everything. I'm picking up my iPod when there's a knock at my door. I yell for whoever it is to come in. It's probably Pein anyways.
"Happy Birthday." I hear a voice say from behind me. I already know who it is.
"Thanks." I say and turn around. I hug him and then pull back.
"Look at what they did to me." I say, pointing to my face. His eyes widen noticing all of the changes. But the he grins.
"You look beautiful as always. Your eyes are…colorful today. It's pretty." He says, smiling.
"I look weird. I don't ever look like this." I say, shoving my iPod in my pocket. He picks up one of the ends of my hair that is curled and colored.
"I do like your hair like this though." He says, letting it flutter back down. "It looks nice." I look down and a blush a little. It's kind of weird I still do that.
"Yeah, it's kind of interesting, but I like the hair. At least they know what I like to wear or else this would be torture." I say, smiling up at him. He grins back down at me.
"Oh, and another thing, if you got me anything for my birthday you can consider yourself dead. I don't want presents from any of you, none at all." I say, looking at him. His face shows a worried expression for a minute and then he nods.
"I should probably run that by the others." He says. I smile and nod. Then he grabs my hand and we leave my room. We walk out into the living room and he chuckles at the Happy Birthday banner that decorates the kitchen. I shoot daggers at him and Kisame laughs.
"If any of you get me presents, I'll kill you." I say, following them out of the apartment door. I'm actually not too worried about school. Not that many people know about me or my birthday, so there's no reason for me to be. I walk with Pein up to the school, and inside, where the bell rings. I'm getting my things out of my locker when somebody tackles me.
"Happy Birthday!" Tsuki yells, throwing her arms around my shoulders. She wears a dark silver dress that ruffles all the way down to the floor. Her hair is pulled up into a very elegant bun at the top of her head. She's not dressed like this for my birthday is she?
"Keep your voice down!" I say, bumping her shoulder. She giggles and grins at me. I smile back at her, and look over at Pein, who is grinning at the two of us. Then we walk to class where a couple kids tell me Happy Birthday, but other than that is a normal class period. I'm still confused as to how many people know that it's my birthday, but dismiss it. The next class goes the same way and then we go to art class, which is normally the most entertaining. The three of us walk into the room and Hidan grins evilly at me from the desk.
"Don't even think about it." I say, glaring at him. He flashes another evil grin.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NAOMI!" He yells. Which causes everyone to look right at me. I shove Hidan's shoulder and blush from everyone looking at me. He staggers a little and then sits back down in his chair, grinning.
"I hate you." I say, glaring at him. Pein chuckles and puts an arm around my shoulders. I smirk up at him. Tsuki then walks in, her dress trailing behind her. She looks at Sasuke and then looks back down and begins to jitter and get nervous again. This confuses me because just a couple of days ago they were talking and getting along fine. What happened that I don't know about? Anko shows up, late as usual, and then dismisses us to lunch. As we get up, Noki grabs my arm harshly.
"Hey, I need to talk to you." She says, a look of worry on her face.
"But we're going to lunch." I say, my stomach grumbles, joining the conversation.
"Now!" She says harshly. My eyes widen in surprise at her tone and I follow her into the girl's bathroom.
"What is it?" I ask.
"You know Itachi?"
"Of course I know Itachi." I reply.
"Yeah, you know he always flirts with me and stuff, and I think he likes me. But then, I got this note from Sasuke the other day, and he likes me. And I don't know what to do!" She yells. I grab her shoulders.
"First of all, calm your shit. Now, you're gonna have to decide which one you like more."
"I don't know!" She exclaims. I roll my eyes.
"Tsuki, the look the exact same. If I were you, I would go for Itachi just because I think he's nicer. But you do what you want you, I'm not going to tell you what to do." I say, as I grab her and rush out of the restroom. After that, Noki and I get in line, get our food and sit down. As suspected, there is a seat saved next to Pein, and one saved next to Itachi. I sit down next to Pein, and Noki uncomfortably settles down next to Itachi. I narrow my eyes at Itachi, who looks at me weird. My phone buzzes and it's a text from Cody.
"Happy Birthday, Naomi! Meet me at the back of the school when school ends?"
I grin and reply back, happy that he remembered that it was my birthday.
"Sure. Meet you there."
Afterwards, school is uneventful, P.E is really dumb. Gymnastics day. Ino glares at me and I just stick my tongue out at her. It turns out that not very many people are very flexible. And I found out that Kisame can't do cartwheels without landing on his face, and that Itachi can't do handstand. But, nonetheless, a pretty normal gym day. At the end of class I remember that I have to meet Cody at the back of the school.
"Pein, " I say, touching his arm and catching his attention. "I'm gonna go meet Cody. He wanted to see me. Is that okay?" I ask.
"Of course. You don't have to ask." He says, touching my cheek. He then places a kiss on my lips. I smile and the bell rings. I walk out the gym doors and then out the front doors of the school and walk to the back. As I come around the corner, I see Cody standing there.
"Happy Birthday!" He says, hugging me and picking me up off the ground. I laugh and he sets me back down.
"Thanks, " I say, grinning. He takes a step back and holds his hands behind his back.
"You didn't." I say, hoping he didn't get me a present.
"I did." He says, holding out a little dark blue box. He hands it to me. I don't open it.
"Aren't you going to open it?" He asks, looking excited at the box.
"Do I have to?" I ask.
"Yes." He replies. I sigh and open the box. My eyes widen and I gasp. Laying there in the box is a necklace. It has "Pierce The Veil" on it in twisted, barbed wire lettering.
"It's so pretty." I say, in awe.
"Do you want to put it on?" He asks. I look up at him and nod. He has a grin on his face. I pull up my hair, and he clasps it around the back for me. He gets a little close, but it's not really uncomfortable.
"Thank you. I love it." I say, smiling. He smiles back at me. I turn around and face him. I reach up and hug him, he hugs back for a minute and then he pulls back to look at me, and suddenly his lips are on mine. I am completely shocked as my eyes widen and push back his shoulders so he's a few feet away from me. Why did he do that? I don't like him like that. He knows that Pein is my boyfriend. Hell, he even met Pein. Doesn't he know that Pein will never forgive him? I stare at the ground, hoping that what happened didn't happen.
"Cody…" I say, shaking my head and closing my eyes.
"I'm sorry." He says, his voice low.
"You know Pein is my boyfriend. Why did you do that? I don't feel that way about you. I'm sorry if you got that impression from me but I don't…." I say, not being able to finish.
"Yeah. I know. I just- I don't know why I did that." He says, looking down.
"I'm just gonna…go." I say. I don't wait for him to respond. I turn around and walk away as quickly. As I walk back, tears start to form. I wipe them away. That was a bad idea. I should have told him to just come to the apartment. This could have been avoided. How am I supposed to tell Pein without him freaking out? I climb the stairs to the apartment in shock. Did that really happen? I reach up and touch the necklace around my neck. It did happen, even though I really wish it hadn't. I make sure that all the traces of tears are gone before I open the door to the apartment, knowing what awaits behind the door.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Is chorused out in the room by lots of voices. I break out in a grin and cover my mouth. All of them are here. Pein runs forward and hugs me. When I don't hug back he takes one look at me and then drags me into my room, seeing that I'm extremely upset. I sit down on my bed and bury my head in my hands. I reach behind my neck and violently undo the clasp and throw the necklace. Pein widens his eyes and skips out of the way of the necklace that crashes into the wall and clinks as it falls to the floor. His eyes soften as he looks at me.
"Darling? Are you okay?" He asks softly, coming over and kneeling in front of me. He rests a hand on my back. I shake my head and hug him.
"What's wrong?" He asks, curious. He's going to be so mad. I don't want him to be mad.
"You're gonna be furious." I say. I feel Pein go stiff against me. The points click in his head, and he figures out what the problem is very easily.
"What did he do?" Pein asks. He doesn't have to ask if it was Cody because he already knows that is was something that he did.
"He kissed me. I immediately pushed him away and told him that I didn't feel that way about him. I just- I was so mad. I just left. I didn't know what to do." I say, and pull Pein closer. His hands clench into fists on my back, and I can practically feel his rage.
"Pein just forget it, okay? It's not a big deal." I ask. I pull back and look at him. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are dark. I can tell he's mad.
"No wonder you threw the necklace." He says, nodding to its place on the floor by the door. I chuckle a little and nod, hoping he can forget about this and won't let it ruin his day.
"Yeah." I say, smirking. I lean forward and gently push my lips on his. This seems to work because I feel him smile. He places his hands on my back and then pushes me against him. Then I pull away and drag him out in the living room. Everyone looks confused, but no one asks. Later I explain that Pein had a special gift he wanted to give me in private. Then I see that there is a large cake on the kitchen table that has "Happy Birthday, Naomi!" on it written in neon purple lettering.
"Thanks, guys. But I really, really didn't want this." I say, looking around at all of them.
"You didn't really have a choice." Noki says, grinning. Tsuki nods beside her.
"I guess not." I say.
"So, " Tsuki says, "Presents?" She asks, looking at me and grinning.
"No." I say, shaking my head. "I'm not opening any of them." I refuse.
"Oh, yes you are!" Tsuki says, shoving one in my hand.
"No!" I say, wanting to drop it.
"Open it, dammit!" Noki yells, pushing me in a chair at the kitchen table. "It's from me." She says, grinning. I sigh heavily and lightly tear at the box. I get it open, and it's an updated version of an iPod. I grin and look at her.
"Thank you, Noki. But please don't ever get me anything ever again." I say, smiling and then flashing her an evil glare. She just grins and laughs. There are a few more scattered around on the table and when I open them all, I am extremely embarrassed. Then we cut the cake and everyone has a piece. Afterwards, everyone leaves and it's just my normal roommates. I excuse myself to my room, managing to carry all of the presents, that I wish I hadn't gotten. When I set it all out of my bed it's a new Asking Alexandria shirt, the iPod, lots of band bracelets, drawing supplies, and an Avenged Sevenfold poster. Just as I finish putting up the poster, Tsuki barges into my room for the second time today. This time without Noki.
"Hey, Tsuki. What's up?"
"Uh, not much. Just, um. You. Going on a date." She says, grinning. I freeze and then slowly look over at her.
"You're kidding me, right?" I ask. She shakes her head.
"Do I have to?" I ask.
"Yes! This is part of why Noki isn't in here. She's with Pein." She says. I sigh and sit on my bed.
"I think I feel worse for Pein." I say, smirking.
"Yeah. Anyways, I was really hoping it would be easier if I went about this gently. Plus, the sooner I dress you up, the sooner you can take it off." Tsuki points out. I nod.
"Fine. Let's get this over with." I say. Everything after that is a blur of clothes and makeup and other things. Kind of like this morning, but worse because I'm more awake and aware of what she's doing. All I know is that when I'm done I don't even look like me anymore. Tsuki has wrestled me into a light purple dress that has mid-length sleeves, and it stops just a little above my knee. I'm wearing black boots that only come up to my ankle. Tsuki has re-curled my hair so it flows down in waves. She also re-did my makeup the same as this morning. I scowl.
"I'm wearing a dress." I say, unhappy.
"Yes, you are. And you look great, so don't complain." She says. Then before I know it, she's shoving me out of my room and out into the kitchen.
"No!" I protest, turning around and trying to run in the other direction.
"Go!" Tsuki yells, catching me and shoving me out in the kitchen. Pein is there, looking very unamused. He's been dressed up as well, and he doesn't seem to like it. When his eyes land on me he grins. I'm still frowning.
"You're wearing a dress." He says. I sigh and nod.
"I wish I wasn't." I say.
"Okay!" Noki says, and pushes us out the door. "Have fun!" She yells and then slams the door in our faces.
"Well, then." I say, turning around. Pein turns around and grabs my hand before we descend the stairs.
"Where are we even going?" I ask.
"I dunno. Maybe the park or something?" He asks. He's just as awkward with this date idea as I am which makes me feel a little better. I nod and we walk to the park nearby where we went when he first asked me to be his girlfriend. It feels like forever since we've been here. We find a bench near the back of the park where there isn't anybody else and sit down. We make minor small talk about random things and then there are a few minutes of silence.
"As you can tell, I've never really been on a date." Pein says, shrugging.
"That's okay, me neither." I say, smiling. I think that's what makes this so easy. Neither of us are very experienced in relationships, and I think we both would rather be home sitting on my bed listening to music or something.
"Really?" He asks. I nod.
"Well, you look beautiful." He says, blushing slightly. I chuckle.
"Thanks. But it wasn't really my choice. She just, kinda, did it. I didn't have any say in it whatsoever." I say, smirking.
"Well, nonetheless, I think you look very nice." He says, smiling. I smile and blush slightly. He clears his throat.
"So, um, I- well…" He stutters, trying to get something out. I smirk.
"Yes?" I ask, chuckling. He grins.
"I just- well…um. Happy Birthday." He says, taking a box out of his pocket and smiling.
"I told you not to get me anything." I say, smirking and blinking at the small box in his hand.
"But I can't just get you nothing. How weird is that?" He asks. I shrug. He balances the box on my knee, but I don't open it. I just leave it there. I stare at it like it's something from another dimension. It might as well be.
"You gonna open it?" He asks. I shake my head. He sighs.
"Close your eyes, then." He says. I do, and then I feel him take the box from my knee and open it. He grabs my hand but I can't exactly tell what he's doing.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now." He says. When I do, I find a silver chain bracelet around my wrist. I lift my hand to my eyes to see it more clearly. It has little charms at different points. One is a star, another is a cat, another one is a guitar, and the last one is a heart. It makes a jingle noise when I move my arm. I blush and smile.
"It's really pretty." I say. "Thank you." I look over to find him smiling at me.
"I'm glad you like it." He says. "I figured I'd go with something simple." He says, shrugging. I nod and lean over, pecking him on the cheek. He blushes due to us being in public.
"You wanna head back?" He asks. I nod. We both stand up and start walking. Without a word he takes my hand and intertwines my fingers with his. We walk back in silence, but when we enter the door, we are bombarded with questions. We ignore them and quickly go to my room. I smile and sit down on the bed, kicking off the boots. Pein sits down next to me and smiles.
"This was a good birthday. Minus all of the gifts that I didn't want." I say, smirking. He smiles.
"Well, that's good. I think it was a relatively good day for everyone, actually." He says. I nod. After a few minutes of silence he stands.
"I'm gonna go change." He says, getting up. I nod and he leaves. I change back into a pair of grey skinny jeans and a baggy black sweatshirt, and then pick up the purple dress and throw it into my closet, never to be found again. The boots go in right after, I may never see those again either. I still wear the bracelet Pein gave me. I'm in the bathroom brushing out the tough curls in my hair when he comes up behind me. The ends of my hair are still different neon colors, but that's the one thing I liked about this little makeover. I smile and continue to rip through the curls in my hair and wince at the ones that are particularly determined to stay curly and wavy. He puts his hands on my waist and slightly pulls me back against him. I see him smile in the mirror.
"Y'know, you look nice in a dress but I think I like you more like this." He says, his lips brushing at my neck. A chill runs up my spine and a light shiver runs through my body.
"Yeah?" I ask, a light blush creeping up my cheeks. He nods.
"I'll have to tell Tsuki that." I say, setting the hairbrush down on the counter and turning around to face him. He smiles and wraps his arms around my back, pulling me closer. I stand on my tip-toes and I can barely just reach his lips. He chuckles and leans down, making it easier for me. His arms curve around my waist, and then he surprises me by picking me up and setting me on the counter so that he doesn't have to lean. I smirk and wrap my arms around his neck. Then there's a knock at my door. We both jump away from each other and then laugh. Pein smirks as I jump off the counter, blushing slightly. Pein follows me to the door. When I open it I find Tsuki, who smiles at both of us, unknowing of what just happened in the bathroom.
"Hey, Tsuki." I say, letting her in. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to know how the date went." She says, smiling. The three of us sit on my bed.
"It went good." I say. "We went to the park. It was fun." I say, smiling. Pein smiles too.
"Well, I'm glad it was fun. I hope you two plan to do that more often, you are a couple y'know." She says, smirking. I laugh.
"Yes, we're aware." I say, and she gets up and leaves the room. I lean back on the pillows on my bed and sigh.
"We have school tomorrow." I groan.
"Unfortunately, yes." Pein says, laying down next to me. I scoot a little closer to him and he wraps an arm around me. I lean my forehead on his chest and fall asleep, tired from a very good day.