Chapter 5: Much Ado about Nothing

(A/N: I am the worst authoress in the world for making you all wait a year for this new chapter. If any of you are still following, I swear you will get something real from me. Maybe a teddy bear or a present on your birthday if I can afford it. I truly feel bad T_T Also, I lost the frickin' descriptions you all RE-SENT ME! -sobs bitter tears- So now I'm going to have to continue with these characters I created until you all decide to be gracious enough to re-resend me your descriptions of your OC's/yourselves. Anyways, enjoy this extremely overdue new installment with a catchy title :D)

Notethingie: This chappie has Spin the Bottle, PG-13 rated. Ye have been forewarned XD Also, sorry for the font being so different ^_^

Deidara could not believe what he had just done. He stared at his hands covered in red. He had actually engaged in the one form of art that had always disgusted him: finger painting! He glared at the little red-head girl that was giggling next to him, painting a picture on a large piece of white construction paper of what he could only guess was a sunflower and a house. He liked to imagine that it was a bomb shelter. He grinned evilly at that thought.

After the Akatsuki members had danced with the girls from the fangirls camp, the overbearing female counselor had allowed them to return to their own camp…only after promising to return the following night. Deidara's face soured, recalling the events of the night before. He couldn't believe he'd kissed that little blonde twit. He'd regretted it once he actually left the fangirl camp, and hoped that Rika wouldn't see the guilt written all over his face. He couldn't deny it, even to himself, that the girl was very pretty and bold, which he admired in anyone, male or female. But he also couldn't deny that what he felt for Rika was stronger than what he felt for Natalie. He ran his hands through his long pale hair and sighed. What am I going to do? I only like Rika, but Natalie is so pretty, and I like her style. Gah! This blows…did I really just think that word?

Of course, his idiot partner Tobi blissfully went on painting his self-dubbed "masterpiece": a picture of a horse riding a donkey, riding a bull, riding a man. And yes, he was somehow able to fit all of that on a page and draw it with just his fingers. It looked more like a massacre of paint than anything else. Just then, Pein came in with an announcement, not caring that there were children in the room, "We're all playing Spin the Bottle tonight, and Deidara—he gave him a mock rueful smile—"I'm going to have to ravage your darling Rika."

It took all of Tobi's strength to hold Deidara back from ripping Pein to shreds with his bare hands. Though the orange-headed leader of Akatsuki was a self-proclaimed badass with the battle scars and endless piercings to prove it, nothing could stop Deidara when he was pushed far enough. His last words before the other Akatsuki members had to get involved and knock him out were, "YOU'RE DEAD MEAT YOU ORANGE-HAIRED CAD!"

Needless to say, they'd needed to keep Deidara "occupied" until the Spin the Bottle game that night. When they finally released him, he looked every bit like a tomato with blonde hair. He was mad as hell, and he wasn't gonna take it anymore! But Tobi threatened to sing "What a wonderful world" over and over if Deidara even looked sideways at Pein. He didn't know when his partner had started caring about Pein's safety, but he didn't care enough to analyze it. He just stormed to the mess hall that had all the tables cleared out. There was just a large fleece blanket on the floor and one candle in the middle and a green beer bottle. He questioned whoever put that very obvious fire hazard directly in the middle of a flammable material, but no one listened to him. He shrugged. What did he care if everyone died in a fire? He'd just blow a hole in the wall and escape. Someone had placed a lot of bottles of alcohol: gin, vodka, wine, etc. on one corner of the blanket. Deidara stared incredulously. People need to get drunk to play this game? He thought the players just in general accepted the rules that you had to kiss whoever the bottle landed on, no alcohol involved. Man was he naïve.

He sighed and resigned himself to a random spot on the sheet. The others slowly started trickling in. Except for Konan, Zetsu, and Pein, the other 5 Akatsuki members were present. He assumed Konan was off sulking about something, and Zetsu was most likely the unfortunate victim of Kentaro's latest experiment. That kid had major issues, and he hoped to god it was entirely possible for the camp counselors to forcibly detain him at camp until he was too old to cause damage to society. His face contorted into a grimace when he saw a small group of teenagers, girls and boys, crowd in after…Jeffrey. He knew somehow he would get kissed by the counselor that still thought he was a woman, even after he'd nearly scarred the poor boy by trying to take off his shirt, proving that he WASN'T a woman. Jeffrey had fled the room so fast Deidara's shirt hadn't even made it halfway up his stomach.

He sighed again, until of course, Rika showed up. His face lit up, and he had hearts for eyes. He didn't even think once about what's-her-face. He only had eyes for Rika. Then they heard it...There was a rumbling, a brief crack of thunder, and a booming knock at the door. Jeffrey jumped up to answer the door and Deidara's whole world came crashing down. Seven girls came galloping in, the shyness temporarily gone. Taki smirked at Itachi and the cold, unfeeling, Sesshomaru-like Akatsuki member actually blushed. Everyone stared in shock, even the campers that didn't know him that well. Kisame waved like the blue-faced idiot that he was at Hayley, and she shyly blushed, sitting diagonally from him, a strategic move so she could somehow pick him when her turn came up for the game. He noticed this almost instantly and blushed. Deidara shuddered. The light pinkish red shade on that light blue face was horrifying to see.

Tobi absently wondered why the young girls from the fangirl camp were here. He glanced at the alcohol and sweatdropped beneath his mask. They were probably going to jail for allowing teenagers to drink. Then he stopped thinking as his leader slid into the room, all cocky smile and gleaming piercings. Tobi was glad that he had a mask on because right now, his face was flaming. He didn't know when, how or why he had fallen for the ruthless head of Akatsuki. He just accepted it. Of course, he could never tell any one, but not because they were both male; he highly doubted anyone would object to it because of that. He had to keep it a secret simply because despite his happy, bouncy and overall child-like nature, everyone assumed that he couldn't feel anything. Just like his leader and Itachi. No one could see any one of them getting into a relationship, or caring about another person. They all knew coming into the organization that they were in it for themselves; they only protected each other because likewise it was what people did in gangs: if you had less members, you had less power. So they had to care, at least about the safety of each other, in order to keep the organization powerful.

As Deidara planned how to keep Pein from kissing Rika, the counselor that had let in the "monsters" a.k.a the teens announced that the game was about to start. Everyone scrambled for a seat, hoping they picked just the right spot so they could kiss the person that they wanted. Tobi got nervous and started to shift in his seat. He didn't want to kiss anyone…except the one person who wouldn't want to kiss him. He saw the looks that Pein kept shooting Rika, and he didn't like it one bit. Neither did Deidara, as his face morphed into a mad dog, and Kisame had to hold him back, all the while making googly eyes at Hayley. Tobi sighed. This was going to be a long game. No one wanted to go first, so to get the ball rolling, Taki jumped in, looking completely disinterested. Itachi almost drooled at her indifference. He liked girls that gave off a cool, distant air that seemed to not care about anyone or anything. When the bottle landed on him, he nearly fainted. Again, everyone stared in complete and utter incredulity at him. Taki waited a full 30 seconds before planting one on him, clearly bored with his shyness. She winked at him.

"It's just like fighting, Itachi-kun, only with your mouth," she purred before returning to her seat.

With that comment, Itachi really did faint. Kisame worriedly went over to him, fanning him with his cloak. Deidara rolled his eyes and the other Akatsuki members couldn't stop laughing. Sarah, the shy and quiet one that had danced with Hidan the night before, decided to go next. She reached over and drank tequila straight from the bottle, choking a little but forcing herself to drink more. Hidan stared at her in disbelief: she was either a wild girl in disguise, or trying to make damn sure she could get through kissing him were the bottle to land on him. His eyes narrowed and he glared at her. She winked up at him when she noticed him staring, and somehow she managed to look completely innocent and every bit the damsel in distress. She had striking green eyes and hair that was a deep blood red. Her lips were parted in a grimace as the aftertaste of the alcohol finally hit her. Hidan snickered a little, until she sent him a foxy grin, grabbed the bottle and spun it. He prayed to Jashin-sama that it wouldn't land on him, promising that he would be a better servant and he would do whatever it took to please him. I'll pray more, I'll give you more blood sacrifices, I'll—Hidan continued to promise Jashin more and more examples of how he would prove his loyalty as the bottle got closer to him. The bottle slowed to a stop…

"Fuck…" Sarah crawled over to him like a vixen, and he vaguely wondered how the hell this 14 year old could go from shy and awkward teen to sexy red-head seductress in under a minute. She pulled him forward by the front of his cloak, and he closed his eyes, expecting an electrifying kiss. Instead, what he got the impression of was being kissed by a fish; then he thought about it, and he realized that was an insult to fish. A fish could kiss better than this. He abruptly stopped her, wanting no more of her sloppy, open mouthed, dry kisses. She pouted, upset that he'd stopped her. "Sweetie, let's slow it down a bit."

So he took control of the kiss, showing her with his lips and tongue how a kiss should be executed. No one made a sound for several minutes, feeling awkward seeing a make out session happening in front of them. Even the other Akatsuki members remained quiet. But when Sarah started to whimper, which caused Hidan to growl and pull her into his lap, the make out session had to be stopped by the only camp counselor in the room: Jeffrey. He decided to volunteer himself, and all the teens left the circle; like hell were they kissing a counselor. When the bottle landed on Tobi, both he and Jeffrey screamed, "Hell no!" And ran out of the mess hall. Everyone blinked in confusion except for the teens. No counselor meant no supervision. All the teens scampered off, no doubt doing what teens did best: wreaking havoc. Dara's turn was up, and the bottle landed on her dancing partner Kakuzu. His face revealed no emotion as she reluctantly made her way over to him and pecked him quickly. Nonetheless, when the brief kiss ended, she sat down next to him, and they held hands. None of the Akatsuki members wanted to analyze what the hell that was about. Pein spun the bottle, wolfish grin all ready, but the bottle landed on Mariko, his dancing partner from last night. Before he got the chance to protest, she beat him to the punch.

"As. If." Then she stormed out of the hall. Unlike Itachi, Pein hated women that were similar to him. Mariko was bad-tempered and bossy; way too much like him, which was exactly the reason they wouldn't work as a couple. Just then, Konan came in, but she wasn't wearing her cloak. She was in a fishnet top with a blue undershirt, and form-fitting black pants. Pein looked at her and wondered where she'd been all this time. Out of all the Akatsuki, Konan was the one he respected and liked the most, though he made sure he hid it well with snide remarks and cold glares. But Konan saw underneath his cold exterior. None had ever seen Pein show any emotion other than anger except for her. He'd made a promise to himself that even if he became a ruthless killer, he would never harm children. It wasn't that he had a soft spot for kids; he hated the little demons. They caused nothing but trouble and heartache, but their innocence and vitality scared him; their ability to express emotions so freely, without censoring themselves. That truly terrified him; he guessed in a way, even though he hated them, he was jealous that they could express what he couldn't. Adults were different. They'd already been robbed of their capacity to express emotions, corrupted by their environment and forced to grow up and survive in a violent and uncompromising society.

He'd protected this well kept secret for years. One day, however, his secret was exposed. It had been a routine assignment: terminate the leaders of a rival organization. Things had been going according to plan; Pein and Konan had managed to corner the last leader. Unfortunately, the last leader, Luca, wasn't going quietly; he'd chosen to use his five year old son as a shield. Pein hadn't been able to kill the leader without hurting the child in the process. He'd stood frozen for a few minutes, shaking. Konan had known then what his issue was, so she took over for him. They both knew that letting the boy live meant they were letting the enemy live. The boy was innocent, but he would have grown up to be full of hatred and seeking vengeance. Pein had nodded halfhearted, and she finished off the son and father. That night, Pein had sobbed in Konan's arms in the privacy of his office. A large part of him died that day, and whatever capacity to feel and be in touch with his emotions he had left in him was washed away with his tears. They never spoke of that night, but their bond had been formed from then on. He trusted Konan with his life, his organization, and his heart, as empty as it was. He questioned if she would ever accept his feelings. He knew women wanted stability, honesty, love and commitment, even women like Konan, and he could offer her none of that. Even so, deep in his heart, he realized that she was the only woman for him. On a side note, he just wanted Rika because she was cute and Deidara wanted her. He entertained himself by pissing others off.

"I'm going again, if anyone objects to that, they can take it up with their boss. Oh wait, that's me." Konan snickered as he spun the bottle again. Right when the bottle seemed like it was going to land on her and his empty heart almost stopped beating, Mariko returned and almost like magic, it stopped on her. His eyes snapped up to hers, narrowing, almost like she'd put some spell on it to spin in her favor. She rolled her eyes at him, flipped him the bird, but sat down anyway. Despite her bravado, he could tell that she was nervous about something. Ignoring the great wisdom and overall "power" of the all mighty bottle, he got up, crossed the short distance on the blanket, and then kissed the daylights out of the stubborn girl with the pouting mouth. (A/N: lol you thought it was Mariko, didn't you? XD Nope, it was Rika muhahaha.) Then she promptly slapped him. She could barely contain her outrage. She sat down next to Deidara, clinging to him, babbling about how the disgusting orange-haired man kissed her and he tasted like an ashtray, and the Blondie patted her hand consolingly. Pein didn't miss the forlorn sideways look he gave Natalie though as she spun the bottle. She looked highly upset; probably because her man was being cuddled up by another woman. An older, more voluptuous woman. Pein sniggered. It amused him to see other people's insecurities. This was why he couldn't be in a relationship; he wasn't loyal in any sense of the word, and others' pain and shortcomings made him laugh. He also didn't miss the sad look pass on Mariko's face before it was replaced with a fake smile. He shrugged. If she wanted to kiss him, she should stop being a bitch about it and just do it.

Deidara was chosen, and Rika almost had a bitch fit. He patted her hand; she had hearts for eyes then quieted down. The Blondie gulped, and Pein had to laugh again. He looked like someone on death row being offered a meal while the guard held a taser. He could get what he wanted, but not without a price. Natalie looked sad, but far from defeated. She shyly went over to him, and kneeled in front of him. Pein fully expected her to flounder like Sarah had, and to suck very much at kissing, but what he saw was far from that. She kissed Deidara like a woman far beyond her years. The blonde's eyes widened in shock, and everyone could tell he was fighting hard not to enjoy the kiss, but he was quickly losing the battle. His hands instinctively cupped her cheeks, and Pein watched Rika's cheeks puff up like a blowfish, letting out air slowly. She was deflating, and he couldn't help but want to kiss those pouty lips again, to see those green eyes flare up at him. At that moment, Konan touched his wrist and his skin felt like it had been burned. She jerked her head in Mariko's direction, indicating he should go with her. He shook his head in horror. She just laughed and patted him on the back. He felt like he'd been burned again. Her touch left him weak and his skin on fire. Emotionless and cold as he was, his feelings for Konan were starting to affect him not just emotionally, but physically as well. She whispered in his ear and he was done for. He made up in his mind he would act just like himself and take her just like he usually got women: by force.

It took Konan a full minute to comprehend what had just transpired. One moment, she'd been laughing at Deidara's obvious 'plight', the next thing she knew, she was outside in the cool summer night air, being manhandled by her leader and the man she secretly loved. Her body responded before her brain did unfortunately, as her fists balled up into his cloak, and instead of pushing him away like she knew she should and her brain was screaming at her to do, she pulled him closer, emitting a tiny squeak. This was a dangerous game Pein had started, and whether or not she wanted to, she was going to finish it. The man always had so much power over her; so much so, she was certain he didn't even realize how much. He bit down, not to hurt her, but because he was trying to control the emotion flowing out of him. It was like he was trying to clamp down what he was feeling for her at the moment, trying to hold back the truth of what was between them. Mariko had come outside, seeing the two flee the room, and what she saw made her crumple to the ground and start crying. That sound jerked Konan out of her fantasy. For a few minutes, the three just stared at each other. Then a fourth entered this crazy phenomenon. Tobi had decided to come back at that inopportune moment, and his heart was breaking right along with the young girl's. Pein felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. He could feel all of their emotions swirling around him, choking the life out of him. He couldn't breathe, and he knew he had to escape.

Meanwhile, inside, oblivious of what was going on outside, Kisame and Hayley had opted not to wait for the bottle game, and had a mini make out session in the corner. The shark-like Akatsuki member felt like a pedophile…until Hayley assured him that once he became centuries old, keeping count of the difference in ages was pretty pointless. He shrugged, enjoying her kisses too much to analyze it past that. Sasori and Yumi, as shy as they were, managed to section off a little corner of their blanket for themselves. Sasori made the first move, and soon the two were in the same position as their "blanket-mates". Pein finally could move, his muscles relaxing enough. He high-tailed it out of that scene as fast as he could, leaving two-heartbroken people and a confused one behind. Mariko glared at Konan.

"Bitch! Why don't you just find yourself another man?"

Konan stared incredulously at her. "You have the nerve to call me a bitch? You're the one that decided to pretend you didn't want Pein when you really did. That is in no way my fault." She absently pondered why Tobi also looked upset with her. It couldn't be because she had kissed Pein, Tobi wasn't…wait a minute…It all started making sense to her. All those little glances and "gestures" that she'd dismissed as loyalty to the leader were really Tobi showing his affections, whether he had recognized that at the time or not. She couldn't believe it. She stared dumbfounded at him until he walked up to her and gave her the most evil glare she'd been on the receiving end of.

"Don't say a fucking word. Pein doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way."

She scoffed. "You pretty much ruined that when you let your emotions go like that. He could feel your emotions pretty strongly, hence why he ran out of here like a bat out of hell. And you, too. You need to tone your bad-tempered teenage hormonal ass down. You're not going to get Pein that way."

Mariko thrust her hands on her hips, typical teenage pout on her face. "Don't act all self righteous on me now. You want my man, and I intend to fight for him."

Konan snickered at her. "You really think I'm going to fight you for him? Damn you've got a lot to learn about men. He doesn't want either of us. Oh he may want to kiss and touch a little, hell you might even get laid, and I've heard he's pretty good. But when it comes to commitment and love, Pein lacks strongly in that category. So you might as well give up now."

Then she walked away, leaving her laughter to ring in Mariko's ears. Quite unbelievably, Deidara had been kissing Natalie passionately the entire time. He still liked Rika, but he was literally getting addicted to the cute blonde teen's lips. Rika shoved Natalie out of the way, tears in her eyes.

"I thought you liked me! Why were you kissing this whore for almost half an hour!"

Natalie chuckled. "Why did it take you so long to say anything? That's kinda sick, to just watch like that. Don't you have any backbone?"

Rika's lower lip jutted out almost comically. She ran out of the hall, waterfall tears streaming from her eyes. Natalie looked back at Deidara, hoping he wasn't mad at her. A smile tugged at his lips, and she knew that he wasn't mad at her. He pulled her close. He cleared his throat. "Would you…like to be my girlfriend?" She practically glomped him, clinging to his neck. "HELL YES I WOULD!"

Pein returned two hours later, and Konan marched up to him. "You have to decide: me or Tobi." He gaped at her like she'd asked him to become a church pastor or something.

"We're not even dating, and you're giving me ultimatums?" Tobi came up to them, and crossed his arms.

"No, she's right. You have to decide, me or her."

Pein's brain started to hurt, and he seriously considered just murdering the whole bloody camp. Everyone was determined to drive him insane with all their emotions. Suddenly, Zetsu came running by, being chased by a horde of children, and Pein decided that maybe, just maybe, children weren't as innocent as he thought they were. Some deserved to be killed. He pulled out his weapons, and just as he was about to viciously end the cycle of terror that the kids had brought up Camp Birdwell, Konan and Tobi tied him to a tree.

"THIS IS NOT HOW YOU TREAT YOUR LEADER!"

(A/N: Again, I have no excuse at all for this taking so long, and now it has a plot and I have to go with it. Sorry everyone, but there might be yaoi, hate to break it to you. This fic has matured and taken a completely different direction, and I think I just might follow it. Hope everyone enjoyed reading, and please look forward to more updates! I will type them up as soon as I can as they develop! Thanks for reading.)