A/n: Okay, here's chapter 7! And thank you so much for all the reviews!! They really make me so happy. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Artist's Alley

by: roses.red

Chapter 7

A knock sounded on my door. I curled up in a tighter ball on my bed and didn't answer. I didn't know how long it had been, but it felt like a slow, painful eternity.

I heard the door open, and the sound of footsteps drawing nearer. Squeezing my eyes shut, I cringed beneath the thin safety of the blankets. He must be angry, and how could I blame him?

"Kay." His voice was soft, right above my head, and he didn't use the 'un'.

I didn't move a muscle, hoping he would think I was asleep and leave. A hand touched side of my face, and I almost jumped. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, and then he rested his palm on my cheek. Softly, his lips brushed against mine, and then the footsteps left and the door clicked quietly shut.

I opened my eyes and sat up, releasing the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. My fingers moved to my lips, which were still tingling. Was it another dream? But no, this had been real. I was startled and confused. Why was he doing this? What about that other girl? Was he purposefully messing with me? If so, that was just too cruel, even for him.

I curled back up on the bed, burying my face in the pillow, and cried myself to sleep.

When I awoke, it was morning of the next day. For a moment, I forgot to be unhappy, and then I remembered what had happened the day before, and all of my emotions came rushing back. I sat there, staring at the wall, until my stomach growled. I pulled myself out of bed. There was no sense staying there and letting myself get sick.

I walked out into the hallway and heard voices. Pausing to listen, I recognized the woman's voice. "How is she?" she was asking.

"Sleeping," Deidara told her.

"Aaw, the poor thing," she cooed. "She must really like you." She giggled, like it was funny. I frowned. Deidara grunted something I couldn't make out.

Taking a deep breath, I walked into their line of vision. The woman noticed me first. She was sitting on the couch next to Deidara, leaning on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. "Oh!" she said, turning her head to look at me. "Hello there!" She smiled brightly.

Deidara looked at me and our eyes met. My heart skipped a beat and I looked away, blushing. "I-I was just getting some breakfast," I mumbled. I hurried into the kitchen. Behind me, I could hear the girl's tinkling laughter.

Wanting nothing more than to return to the safety of my room, I grabbed a poptart out of the pantry and half-ran back with it. "Oh, wait," the girl started to say as I passed them. I ignored her, pretending not to hear.

Back in my room, I shut the door and sat on my bed. I wasn't feeling very hungry anymore. I nibbled at the poptart for a moment, and then set it down on the bedside table and lay down. Staring at the ceiling, I sighed and rolled onto my side. Images, voices replayed in my mind. I closed my eyes, watching them. The memories squeezed my heart so hard, I felt like I would die. I opened my eyes, gasping and blinking back tears. No more. I couldn't take it anymore. All I wanted was to forget, forget everything that had happened. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were?

A knock on the door startled me. I sat up slowly, wiping away tears that had leaked out as the door opened and Deidara came in. He stood by the doorframe for several moments, watching me silently. I stared at the floor; I couldn't bring myself to look at him. What could I do? What could I say?

"Kaya," he said finally. He came over to the bed, kneeling on the floor so that we were on eye level. "Are you alright, un?"

Pretend. Just pretend. I looked up, forcing a smile for him. "Yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

He stared into my eyes for a long moment, until I finally blushed and looked away. Then he stood up and took my hand. My heart skipped a beat. He placed something in my palm and closed my fingers around it. "For my favorite student, un," he said, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I opened my fingers to see a miniature clay figurine. Looking at it, I realized it was me with red cheeks, crossed arms, and a pouty look on my face. I laughed. It really did look like me. I laughed again, holding it up in the air to get a better look at it, and realized I was crying. I wiped the tears from my face and set the figurine on my dresser. Strange, how something so simple had cheered me up. I decided that, no matter what, I would always treasure that figurine, because it was the first real gift Deidara had ever given me.

Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was now almost three in the afternoon—time for me to stop lazing about in my room. I started for the door and then paused, my hand on the knob. What if that girl was still here? I shook my head. It didn't matter much anyway. I felt like I could handle her now.

I went into the living room to find Deidara pulling his car keys out of his pocket. "Oh, Kaya," he said when I came in. "I'm going to buy food, un. I should be back in a little while."

"Oh, okay," I said, guessing that meant his girlfriend was gone too.

I went into the kitchen after he left and fixed myself a turkey sandwich for a late lunch. Once I was finished eating, I went into the living room and started flipping through the channels on the TV. Nothing was on. I needed to go take a shower and get dressed, but I didn't feel like it. Deidara had only been gone about twenty minutes when the doorbell rang. I stood up to go answer it, wondering if he had somehow managed to lock himself out. I would definitely give him a hard time about it if he had. Call it revenge.

Deidara wasn't the one standing at the door, though. It was the woman from earlier. I blinked at her. "Um, Deidara-sensei isn't here now," I told her, wondering why she was back.

She looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but then she brightened up. "Well, I only came to get my purse," she said, pushing past me into the house. "I just can't believe I forgot it! It's a designer bag, you know."

How nice. Now get out. That's what I wanted to say, but since she was his girlfriend, I guess she had some free reign over his house. Damn. So instead I followed her to Deidara's room, where she made a show of straightening out the covers on the bed before she grabbed her purse off of the dresser. "Here it is!" she giggled, coming back out into the hallway.

"Oh, is this your room?" she asked, seeing my door. "Let me see what it looks like!"

Okay, now this is just going too far. I followed her, frowning deeply, as she opened the door to my room and went inside. She stared around like she had never seen a teenage girl's bedroom before, "tsk"-ing at the very few articles of clothing on the floor. She stopped at my painting from the other day and picked it up. "This is nice," she commented.

Alright, that's it. If there is one thing I really don't like, it's when people I don't know touch my stuff. "Um, sorry, but do you think you can leave my room?" I asked softly, trying to be nice about it. "I don't really like people invading my privacy."

She glanced at me, and for a split second I thought I saw a dangerous glint in her eye, but then it was gone. She giggled and set the painting back on the easel. "Oh, of course. I'm sorry!" To my relief, she turned around and headed for the door. That was when something unexpected happened.

Instead of leaving, she suddenly closed the door, locked it, and leaned against, blocking my way out. The dangerous glint was back in her eyes, and this time it didn't go away. She crossed her arms and smiled sweetly at me, tilting her head to the side just a bit. "Well, Kaya-chan. Let's have a little girl-to-girl talk, shall we?"

I stepped away from her. What was up with this woman? She began to walk towards me, and suddenly her fist met my face, and stars were whirling in front of my eyes as I stumbled backwards. Before I could react, she pushed me, hard. My back hit the corner of the dresser as I stumbled, and I fell down painfully, unable to move from the sharp jolt of pain coursing through my spine.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair, and I cried out as she jerked my head up and glared into my eyes. "You little slut," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Why don't you just go back to where you came from and stay away from my man. He doesn't need you; he has me." She threw me backwards and my head banged against the dresser.

While I watched, she grabbed my painting from the easel and ripped it, throwing the pieces in my face. Then her eyes fell on something above my head, and I sucked my breath in. "Aaw, isn't this cute," she said, picking up the figurine. She held it up for me to see. "Did he make this for you?"

"Don't," I said, trying to stand up and failing miserably. I don't deal with pain so well.

She tilted her head. "Don't what?" she asked. "Don't do this?" She released the figurine, and fell into the floor in front of me, shattering. I felt my heart skip a beat. The gift which Deidara had made for me, molded with his very own hands, was broken, gone forever. I swallowed. Why?

There was a knock on the door, and we both jumped. "Kaya, I'm back, un," Deidara called.

Try as I might, I couldn't answer him or call for help. My voice just wouldn't work.

After a moment's silence, he knocked again. "Kaya, are you asleep, un?" he asked, more softly this time, and tried the doorknob. When it wouldn't turn, he jiggled it. "Kaya?"

Finally, I managed to speak. "S-sensei," I croaked. My voice was barely audible, but I guess he heard me, because he started jiggling the doorknob and calling my name more urgently. "Kaya, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" With a loud thud and the cracking of wood, Deidara forced the door open and stared in shock at the scene before him.

"Akane, what are you doing?" he demanded. She didn't say anything, only stared back at him, and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Get the fuck out of my house right now," he said.

Her eyes widened. "But Dei-kun, I was only—"

"Now," he said, pointing towards the door. When she still didn't move, he grabbed her arm roughly and pushed her out. She shrieked and seemed to get the hint, because she ran down the hallway and I heard the front door slamming shut.

Deidara turned to me, his face gentle and concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded silently, casting my eyes to the floor and the broken pieces of the figurine.

As I stared at them, tears began to well up in my eyes, and suddenly I was crying. Deidara knelt on the floor beside me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed, my body shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, my sobs subsided and I lay there against his chest, listening to his gentle, calming heart beat. My eyes slid shut and lost myself in sleep, held tightly in his warm, protecting arms.

A/n: Just a note...Akane doesn't normally act this way. It's just her jealousy getting the better of her. Just felt I needed to say that. Ok, bye bye!