It was late. Abberleigh knew that. But despite her best efforts, something was keeping her awake. She moaned in exhaustion and saw Deidara shift slightly in his bed. Lucky roommate, she thought wretchedly. Stop taunting me with your sleeping figure.When nothing happened (meaning Deidara didn't spontaneously burst into flames and wake up or have a nightmare and wake up or fall out of bed and wake up), Abberleigh groaned and rolled over.

"You're still awake too?"

The voice startled Abberleigh. She'd thought her roommate was sleeping. When she rolled over to face him, she realized that he was indeed awake, and gazing at her. Abberleigh nodded to him. "I'm so tired that it's driving me nuts. Maybe that's why I can't sleep," she suggested.

Deidara chuckled. "I know how that is," he said.

Abberleigh sighed. "I want sleep. I want it," she whimpered.

Deidara nodded. "I know how you feel. Just close your eyes and try to sleep."

Abberleigh blinked. "Tell me a story," she insisted.

Deidara sighed, exasperated. "Fine. Once upon a time…"

"I don't like those stories. Tell me a different one."

"OK. So…do you like action stories?"

"Yes."

"OK. So once, this guy was walking down this…tightrope, and he fell, but he landed on this squishy thing, so he was like 'whoa, cool, I'm not dead,' but then he found out that the squishy thing he landed on was some thing's mouth. So now he's like, 'oh snap, now I'm gonna get eaten,' so he ran away. But then the thing chased him, and then it ate him, and he's all like, 'CRAP! NOW I'M DEAD!' but then he found out he wasn't dead.

"So now he's in this thing's stomach, and…he takes out one of its bones and stabs it and it implodes. But since it's imploding, he gets squished inside of it and then everyone dies. The end."

When Deidara looked over at Abberleigh, he found that, to his surprise, she was actually asleep. "Abbi?" When he received no reply, Deidara chuckled to himself and rolled over.

Abberleigh yawned. "I'm tired. But I managed to get to sleep last night. Thanks for the story," she added fondly to Deidara.

"If you'd actually heard it, I don't think you'd be thanking me. In the end, everyone died," Deidara laughed.

"That's terrible!" Abberleigh whined. "Why did you kill everyone?"

"Duh, that's kinda what I do," Deidara snorted. "Well…not anymore. Not since I came here. 'Cause of the rule, and all."

Abberleigh shrank away from him instinctually. "I really don't know anything about you," she said quietly. Deidara nodded absently.

"Abbi, I wanna show you something. Come over here," Deidara ordered, leading Abberleigh to a deserted music room and walked immediately to a corner. The palms of his hands were turned in and cupped slightly. Abberleigh could see nothing. But as they walked further into the room, Deidara closing the door behind them, his hands slowly began to uncurl. "Look, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret; are you ready?"

Abberleigh nodded slowly. "I guess…"

Slowly, Deidara sat on the ground and laid his hands palms-up on his legs. "Ta-da."

Abberleigh crouched down and blinked. "Um…you have very normal hands…" But then she saw them. Snaking out of a gap in Deidara's hands were two pink tongues.

Abberleigh screamed. "Shush!" Deidara hissed, throwing a hand over her mouth. Abberleigh struggled, but eventually she stopped trying to talk and quieted. Then she remembered the mouths and gazed up at him. He was blushing madly. Abberleigh could barely tell what his original skin tone had been. Then, slowly, his hand pulled away. Abberleigh was panting with fear.

"W-what are those th-things?" she whispered. Deidara looked away.

"Well, they're part of my kekei genkai…"

"What the heck is that?"

"Forget it, OK? You think I'm a freak, don't you? Never mind."

"Deidara…"

"No, just..." Deidara sighed. "Forget it, Abbi. I thought someone like you might accept me, but I was wrong."

"You weren't wrong!" Abberleigh cried. "I mean...I don't think I'll ever understand where they came from or why they're there, but...but it's OK. Because even though you have a freakish deformity..." She trailed off.

Deidara laughed dryly. "Thanks," he muttered.

"That's not what I meant," Abberleigh insisted. "I just-"

"Abberleigh, just stop," Deidara whispered. "We have to go. Come quickly."

Abberleigh stood. Deidara watched her stand. He was still blushing. To hide this, he turned away quickly and stalked off to class. What's going on? Why won't he talk to me, or look at me for that matter...

It took her until they were in class for the answer to occur to her. That was when all the pieces of the puzzle fit into place—the puzzle that started when Deidara slapped his hand on Abberleigh's mouth in the room and ended now. His awkwardness afterwards, the mouths on his palms—all now made perfect sense. Deidara obviously had a crush on Abberleigh. And in the room, in a way, he had kissed her.

Abberleigh blushed. I wonder...am I right? And is that why he stayed like that even after I stopped trying to talk? Does he really like me? She sighed.

I know nothing about him...

(Author's Note: I feel the need to say that this chapter is probably the only time you'll ever see me use the "crud-but-not-crud" word in a book. Face it, I'm so goody I won't even spell it out. But I put in in this chapter because it fits Deidara's personality more, and also the feeling he was-conveying, I suppose?-through the "story". The end.)