A.Pace.Too.Fast.
-;ten Art Show Part 2
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Standard Disclaimer Applied
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notes: this chapter was originally supposed to have all of the Art Show in it, but this became a lot longer then I had first thought it would be, so I figure it will be best if I put the rest into a part 3... after all, i'd hate for me to rush the ending of the night.
I edited all the other chapters, and tried making it look more pretty! go look if you'd like.
goal: to reach 78 reviews, and I won't update until i get it!(:
It was six o'clock in the morning on the Thursday of the Spring Art Show, and Tenten was wide awake – just as if it were the first day of school, in the aspects of excitement and anxiety. She was supposed to dress semi-formal for the day, so she had on an army green woolen skirt, a thin ivory top, and simple matching jewelry completed with ivory flats. As per usual, she kept her hair up, but left a few blue strands dangling down… she figured it looked kind of dramatic, or Victorian, or something.
Realizing she had ten minutes left before Udo would be taking her to school, she settled down at her desk, flipping open the laptop and turning it on. As soon as it was up and ready, she clicked onto the Mozilla icon, opening up the internet. MySpace was her home page, and she habitually logged in, typing her password more out of instinct then actual memorization.
Wasting time, she clicked through her friends, browsing the profiles with only remote interest. That is, until she came across Sasuke's, where she lingered on the page for a little longer. She noticed right away that his flashy background was gone; it was replaced with tiles of abstract black-neon designs. Still eye-catching, but not as obnoxious as the last. She smiled thoughtlessly, when her eyes froze upon recognition of his next profile addition – his top friends were unhidden. More than that, she was on said top.
Naruto. Shikamaru. Itachi. Tenten.
Naruto. Shikamaru. Itachi. Tenten.
She couldn't help but stare, not even recognizing the second line – Neji, Sakura, a band, Tom (famed owner of the site). Her position was fourth.
"Tenten!"
The sound of her brother calling snapped her out of her blank, faltering smile – out of shock, surely not displeasure – and she quickly replied. "Coming!"
Well, in a second or two she would be. She clicked 'home', and was greeted by her default picture. Scrolling down, she came across her own top friends, and found the edit button for that. Moving Sasuke from nine to four wasn't even a thought she dwelled on for a second – everyone else in between the two, even Naruto who had been seventh, wasn't someone who was more … important.
"Tenten!?" Udo called again, a hint of impatience on his voice.
"Yeah, coming!" she yelled back once again.
She saved the new friends order, exited out of the internet, shut down the computer, grabbed her school bag, and jetted off. Her positivity and confidence for the day was heightened, and she found herself more eager for lunch than the actual show.
-?-
"You seem peppier today," Naruto commented, a smug smile on his face.
"Peppier?" Shikamaru echoed, taking his seat with ease. "Maybe."
"And why is that?"
Much like Naruto, there seemed to be a permanent smile on his face (albeit, much smaller and much more subtle) and a little more 'oomph' in his step.
"It's Ino and I's seventh month," he shrugged. The small smile crept to be a little larger, and he rearranged his binders so they were situated away in the left corner.
"Ooh," Naruto grinned. "How is the ol' girl?"
"Fine," Shikamaru said freely. "She's coming tonight," he added after a second's pause.
"Really? So is Sakura!"
"Of course she is."
"Well, yeah."
Shikamaru had a good point – Tenten and Sakura were inseparable, for the most part.
The brunette glanced at his friend. "Going to ask her, already?"
"What?" Naruto looked caught off guard.
"So when are you going to?"
"I don't know. I guess I haven't really thought about it," Naruto admitted after a pause.
"Well you should," he said, and then positioned his arms and rested his head for a short nap on the desk.
Naruto? Naruto did as he was told, and thought.
-?-
It seemed lunch never really started until Tenten got there. On the days when she hadn't shown, in favor of staying in the art class room, the twenty five minutes ticked on slowly, and boringly. So, every time she showed up – Sasuke honestly couldn't think of even one time she had ever been on time – it was almost a relief.
This time she was only four minutes later coming then everyone else, and her walk was slightly staggered as she made her way to the table, plopping down with an irritated look on her face. Sasuke glanced at her in question, while the others hardly noticed.
"I like socks," she said firmly. He raised an eyebrow – what?
"Socks, yeah, I like them," Tenten repeated, and then finally elaborated. "I mean, I wore these stupid flats, and now the back of my ankles have cuts in them. I had to get band-aids, and it just looks ridiculous."
"No one will notice," he remarked flippantly.
"I notice," she sighed. And, "How's your day going?"
"Average," he replied. Not entirely true – his curiosity over what tonight would be, left him a little bit more alert than usual, and the typical lethargic feeling wasn't enveloping him. "Yours?"
"Good," she smiled. "I feel so awake."
Ironic. "Nervous?" he questioned.
"Not yet, but I'll probably throw a fit once five o'clock hits."
"You're still coming at two-thirty right?" Sakura cut in, leaning behind Sasuke to talk to Tenten.
"Yep, I'm going to need help with my hair… Lutz said I should wear it down," she answered, gripping the table with her hands and balancing backwards.
"Yeah, you should. You never do."
"It looks bad down."
"Does not," Sakura scoffed.
Filled with good humor, Sasuke mimicked Tenten's position, and leaned back to cut off their view of each other.
"Should I wear mine up?" he asked, his voice all too bland and serious.
Sakura's eyes widened exponentially - as if it were her first time hearing his heavy sarcasm - but Tenten only retracted her arm from the table, an instinctive gesture to shove him playfully. Of course this set her off balance, and she tumbled backwards, falling to the ground with her legs stuck in the air.
Sakura burst out in giggles, pulling herself back to the table in amusement. Tenten just scowled, leaning up slightly to straighten her skirt back down, and then resting back down on the ground in defeat.
"Smooth, aren't I?" she remarked.
Sasuke was still leaning back, looking at her indefinitely, a tantalizing smile on his face. She stared back, entranced – she wasn't entirely sure if she'd ever heard him laugh before, but one smile was enough of an anomaly to take her breath away.
"Very," he finally agreed.
She grunted indignantly, and swatted at his face. He didn't pull away, letting her succeed with her intent. It wasn't as if she had hit him hard, more of a very light smack, and her triumphant grin was rewarding.
-?-
Tenten sat on the third stool at her kitchen counter, eating a banana as she watched the clock. Excitement was churning through her, along with a candid smile to match.
2:12 pm. In about eighteen minutes she'd be able to leave for Sakura's house, just as soon as Udo arrived home to take her.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Tenten felt the vibration, not even processing it as she opened it up.
"'Ello," she answered.
"Tenten?"
"Oh," Tenten stalled, placing the banana down onto the small paper plate. "Is something wrong?" It was her mom.
"No, not at all. I have a surprise for you," her mother announced.
"Oh?"
"I'm on my way home now, but I just got off the phone with Raquel. She said they had a canceled appointment, so they've got room for one more… so we can go get new styles done, okay?"
" I have an art show tonight," Tenten reminded her.
"I know!" she replied, as if she never forgot important events before. "That's why it's perfect; they'll curl it real nicely. Wear a button down shirt so you won't mess your hair up later, and do your makeup beforehand if you want. I'll be home in twenty minutes."
"Okay," Tenten replied – not bothering to mention that she never wore makeup.
"Okay," her mom repeated, and then hung up.
Tenten kept the phone to her ears for a few seconds, before sighing deeply, and taking it away from her head. Mind awhirl with thoughts, and excitement severely quelled, she dialed Sakura's number.
"Hey, you on your way?" Sakura answered a few seconds later.
"Not quite."
"What's wrong?" she asked, her tone changing from enthusiasm to concern.
"Mother called, she's taking me to the hair salon."
"Oh, well, that's good right? … Is she going to come tonight?"
"Uh, I don't know. She said she was last month, and I just mentioned it a moment ago."
"Alright. Call me when you're done okay?"
"Hm, yeah," Tenten agreed.
"Ten," Sakura scolded. "Your mom is taking to get your hair done, on your big night! Stop moping, this isn't a bad thing."
"Yeah, yeah," Tenten brushed off. "Talk to you later."
"Bye, Tennie."
Without a doubt, Sakura was one of the smartest people Tenten knew – in the subjects of academics as well as sociality. However, she still never understood, not with her own mother caring for her unconditionally (though, sometimes a little over protectively). It wasn't like Tenten's mom to call her, to invite her along, to welcome her within her presence. Either she was extremely bored, had bad news to deliver, or just wanted to gossip because she had no one else. It wasn't as if this act would be beneficial for Tenten herself.
-?-
"Ino?"
"Hey, Sakura! What's up? Oh, I tried on my blue dress, and it was way too tight around the chest, I think I'll have to go with my pink one? Well, I have the brown one, but that's so unflattering—" Ino rambled, shuffling around her walk-in closet, phone pressed to her ear.
"Why don't I just come over?" Sakura asked, laughing a little at her new friend's concerns of wardrobe.
"Really? Oh, but don't you have plans?"
"No, not anymore," Sakura said vaguely – she wasn't going to spiel out Tenten's story, it wasn't her place. "I'll bring my stuff and head over now?"
"Great. That sounds great," Ino replied eagerly.
"Okay, see you in a few."
"Mm-hm!"
-?-
Ms. Lutz was one of those people who just looked like an artist. She had curly, out-of-control black hair that reached to her shoulders, and red-framed glasses that hid the intensity of her blue eyes. Her hands were always at work – whether from cracking her knuckles or twiddling her thumbs, and her mind was always distracted, studying things in ways that not many other people saw.
An automatic, but still pleased, smile was adorned to her face as she greeted people into the gymnasium, handing them pamphlets as they came. The tedious job would have been boring had it not been for her anticipation for the night.
A head of pink hair caught her eye, and she focused on the actual group, her smile more real as she acknowledged them.
"I love your hair," she told the student approvingly. Definitely an art teacher.
"Thanks," Sakura smiled brightly, taking the pamphlet gracefully.
"Not a problem, dear."
Ms. Lutz moved onto the next person, and was surprised to see another… surprise. Standing in front of her was just another student, wearing a black dress shirt and skinny black pants, with a strikingly familiar aura. Her smile turned to a frown as she inspected him – deep black hair with tints of blue, large coal-colored eyes, a flawless pale skin… He, in this form didn't look familiar, but she could have sworn she had seen him before, in something else.
"You look very familiar," Ms. Lutz told him, an eyebrow raised curiously.
"I go to Wildehyde," he said disinterestedly.
"No, it isn't that…" Then, in that second, it clicked. Oh! "I remember now. Oh, yes. Well, enjoy Hope, will you?" she said – sounding like a lunatic to Sasuke, who moved past her with a skeptical look on his face.
Naruto was laughing, as were Shikamaru and Ino. As soon as they were out of earshot of the teacher, the friends collapsed into a conversation.
"Enjoy hope? She doesn't know you very well, does she?" Naruto joked.
"Ha-ha," Sasuke replied dryly, separating each syllable with sarcasm.
"That was pretty creepy; sounded kind of religious or something," Ino acknowledged, slipping her hand into Shikamaru's.
"You're not kidding; I wonder what that was even about?" Sakura put in.
They all shrugged, except for Sasuke. His face was still filled with disinterest as she shoved his hands into his pockets. On the inside however, his mind was fevering with curiosities.
-?-
"Tenten dear?" a sickeningly sweet voice called out.
"Uhh?" Tenten turned around quickly, surprise shown across her face.
"Hey! How are you darling?"
"Just fine… what are you doing here?"
Tenten was getting a little worn by these family-related surprises. Standing in front of her was now her grandmother, dressed in a leopard printed business suit, her deep reddish brown hair twisted into a tight bun.
"Oh, well, I'm sorry… but you're mother called me, and…" Tenten sucked in a breath. "She couldn't make it, apparently work called in. She's really sorry she couldn't come, so she asked if I would mind coming in her place."
It wasn't even two hours ago that Tenten had departed from her mom, with her long brown and blue hair pinned back and let loose with sausage curls. But, work called? Of course.
"Oh, I see," Tenten nodded – 'I don't care, I'm not surprised, I don't really care…'
"Mm, I'm so very sorry darling. But, the good news is, we can go out to eat afterwards if you'd like," her grandma smiled cheerfully – the grandma, who most people would confuse as her mom, with well good reason. That suit was tight, form-fitting, sophisticated, and stylish. Everything Tenten wouldn't wear and wouldn't be.
"Food is catered here," Tenten told her, forcing her voice to be appropriate, instead of wary.
"Oh. You don't really want catered food though, do you? I'm sure we could find something better," she replied in a low scorn.
"Yeah." It wasn't an agreement. And, "Well, enjoy yourself grandma, I've got to go."
"Right, right!"
Tenten walked away as fast as she could in her strappy black heels, but obviously wasn't paying enough attention – she walked straight into another person, and barely kept her balance so she didn't trip.
"Oh, Tenten."
Said girl looked up, surprised to find a familiar face surrounded by long, straight blonde hair.
"What are you doing here, Ino?" Her voice was filled with disbelief.
The question was answered when a tuff of pink hair caught Tenten's attention, and she took a step past Ino -- to see Sakura, fiddling with the white sash in the back of her magenta colored spaghetti strapped dress.
"Hey Tennie, how's it going?" Sakura asked nonchalantly, removing her hands from the now re-knotted sash.
Tenten blinked. Well, let's see. Her mom ruined her earlier plans, just so she could feel less guilty when she didn't show up tonight. Instead of just letting those chips fall where they would, she sent her grandmother instead. The grandmother she had long ago lost respect for, and there in forth had to struggle to keep her rude mouth shut. To top all that off, her best friend had replaced her quickly, with - of course - someone she held no particular partiality to. Tonight was taking a drastic turn for the worse.
"Pretty good," she lied.
"That's good. Uhm, I think you guys know each other. Tenten, this is Ino; Ino, this is Tenten."
"Yep, we do," Ino said cautiously.
Tenten resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yep. Well, I have to go find something, be right back," she dismissed herself, with no real intention of returning. In the back of her mind she wondered if Sasuke and Naruto were here, but quickly forgot about it – if they weren't, she'd be just that more disappointed.
Hurrying away from the two, in the opposite direction she thought her grandma was in, she traveled across to the other side of the gym and took the stairs onto the stage, ignoring all the artwork that was set up to get to the back table where any of the entered students could sit.
What really shouldn't have surprised her was the site of antisocial Gaara sitting down at the table she had been planning to go to. She stalled abruptly, and stared. He looked up, and stared back.
He had small green eyes and deep red hair, matched with a clear skin that not even freckles had touched. He was wearing a men's green V-neck along with a simple gold chained necklace. There was nothing she could think of saying to him.
"Would you like this seat?" he finally asked, not bothering to get up.
"No thanks."
"Okay."
There was another long pause, before she cleared her throat, gaining a hold of herself. "I didn't see…yours, yet."
He nodded. "I didn't see yours yet, either."
"I did see the Frankenstein map though…"
He looked at her expectantly, almost daringly.
"It was nice," she finished.
"Thank you."
They were being civil, and very polite – she didn't know about him, but she really just wanted to rip his throat out. Well, not exactly, but something of the type.
"Well, I'm going to go find some friends, see you later."
Of course, such things were one of the things she had been running from. After one quick nod of his, she speedily turned around, heading back the way she came.
-?-
At six-thirty on the dot, Ms. Lutz went to the front and center of the stage, the microphone she could barely use correctly in her hand. Someone dimmed the lights, not quite succeeding with the professional look, and she called attention with her microphone.
"Hello students, parents, judges, friends, and fellow art-lovers," she started, her smile blazing. "I am proud to announce that this is our Spring Showing of 2008, which Wildehyde has been more than happy to host. In the past hour I have greeted many of you, and seen the art work now set up. I've got to say… I'm impressed. And, I hope you all are too. In the next two hours you are welcome to roam the room and stage, go to the back of the gymnasium for dinner – which is being catered by Five Guys, whom we greatly thank, and talk to the students who have put much, much effort into their work.
"Each piece of art will have a red number by it, so keep the number of your favorites in mind. At ten o'clock we ask that all votes be taken; if you see this table to my right, there is a large box where your votes will go in. We can support you with paper and a writing utensil. The rules are to only vote once, to write legible, and to vote fair. I'll be sitting at the table all night if you have any questions. Alright, thank you everyone, enjoy the evening!"
Tenten was clenching and unclenching her first nervously, standing in the very back of the group of people, listening only barely to her teacher, mentor, and even friend. When a soft touch landed on her shoulder, she practically jumped.
"Nervous," Sasuke said faintly, lips curved in a familiar smirk.
"Yes," she admitted without hesitation, glancing away from him.
"I want to see him," he told her after a few seconds.
"Demon-baby?"
"Aa."
"Okay," she agreed. It was at that second, when she realized what she was doing – taking Sasuke to her precious piece, the little item that had consumed most of her time recently, the thing she felt so very proud of – that she realized just how naked this was making her feel. It was a big part of her now, this little demon-baby. What if he didn't like it? What if he thought it was stupid – just like the Frankenstein Map? What if it – what if she – wasn't good enough?
Tightening her first once again at her side, they headed for the stage, which she easily walked up, although in her uncomfortable heels. He followed silently, seeing the way her shoulders were positioned too tightly, her jaw too square, her hands at such unease.
Not a moment later she stopped, abruptly in front of a stand that read "number 14". Sasuke tore his eyes away from her, and onto the artwork that he had long anticipated seeing.
And what he saw was not what he was expecting. A mangled piece of clay, that somehow looked beautiful – that's what he saw in his head, every so vaguely. The thing in front of him, however, was not 'somehow' beautiful. It just was.
The clay was not fired; he knew that much from his one semester of art. Instead, it was just hardened; creating a deformed body that was, in all senses, "rough around the edges". He could make out the head, the torso, the legs, and the one arm – each were twisted and hideous, clearly getting across the idea of pain. Demon-baby's face was not in detail, but the agony stretched across the carved-in lips was uncannily accurate.
The undeniable beauty came in the form of the baby's other arm. At the shoulder mark, it started off just as warped as the rest of him. However, it slowly transformed, turning into a smooth and delicate forearm, wrist, hand, and fingers. The contrast was so severe, even without color, and the details were so precise, he doubted there was one single imperfection.
There was some color in the piece, though. But it wasn't in the form of clay. In the baby's undestroyed hand was one, simple flower – a carnation, probably just one dollar, in the color of yellow. It was holding onto the flower, its fingers wrapped tightly and desperately around the green stem.
Sasuke spent a good five minutes, staring at it, looking at every detail – and always, his eyes returned to the perfect arm, holding onto the flower as if it's very existence depended on it.
He was about to finally look away, when he caught notice of a tiny placard, one that read its title. Last Grip on Hope. His eyes darted to Tenten's, appearing to be blank, although his mind was not.
"Do you like it?" she asked quietly, eyebrows knitted together.
He avoided that question for now, and instead pointed towards the flower. "You didn't tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"This." His hand wavered from the flower, to the placard, and then back down to his side. When he returned his eyes to her, he knew she understood.
"Oh," she breathed. "I don't really like to talk about… the deeper meaning. It makes me sound silly."
"It shouldn't," he replied briskly.
"Yeah," she whispered. "Uhm. You want me to explain?" She hadn't really made it a question though, since she already knew the answer. He nodded once.
Tenten's eyes looked away from him, and focused in on her piece. After a long moment of studying it, she explained to him – explained to him what it had meant to her, what she was aiming for, what she most obviously succeeded in.
"The body is malformed, twisted and bent. He's in pain, but not the physical kind. It's all internal, and his mind is being tortured relentlessly. Insanity and depression have taken their hold over him, absolutely ruining him. The expression on his face represents his distaste for the situation – it's not something he wants to be dealing with, and he can hardly endure it as it is, but it isn't something he has any control over. It's the arm that is most important, not exactly the flower. But the flower is symbolizing hope. Hope for something new, hope for change, hope for love – it could be anything, but it's mostly centered on the hope of escape. All he wants is to get away, to be out of the Hell he's at. Now the arm… well, the part of the arm closest to the flower – to the hope – is untouched by the deformities, and the part that is further away is ruined just as the rest of him is. It's showing him that he's almost there, if he can just hold on."
By now she was leaning towards the piece, her fingers delicately touching one of the yellow petals. "So, technically, he is a demon-baby. I mean, he is in Hell. Just not the underworld kind, more of the mental kind," she finished.
Slowly, Tenten turned her gaze onto him. He was staring at the flower, or more accurately, her hand enveloped around the flower. "He isn't too bad, is he?"
"No," Sasuke answered immediately.
"That's good," Tenten mumbled softly, pulling away from the piece, not sure if she should be satisfied with his answer or not.
There were a lot of compliments he could have forfeited from his lips, but none of them seemed commendable enough. Eventually, he decided on a simple, indirect one – his usual fashion.
"Worthy of my vote."
"Thanks," she said, a half-smile gracing her features. After all, it was one thing to have him vote for her because she was a friend, and another because she was an artist.
notes: those of you who are more intuitive might have realized why i gave you details on Last Grip Of Hope. and those of you who are more aware might have realized that i'm pulling this Art Show stuff straight out of thin air. sorry, i only write, definitely don't sculpt or draw!
the links of Sakura, Ino, and Tenten's dresses are on my page :)!
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