Long chapter! And still before I leave :D Yaaay me! This chapter improved a lot as well... Goddamnit I ruined Dei in the first version. Now he actually stands up for himself!
So after this I will be gone for about 3 weeks. So wait patiently on the next chapter!
Also don't forget to vote for my poll since I have a new one up ^^ The winner of the last one now has a weird prolggue and it's called Pick The Right One!
Enjoy!
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The weekend had not been a great time. On Friday I had failed the exam horribly. Fortunately my father wasn't too angry about it, as long as I passed the resit in a few weeks, then we wouldn't even talk about it. So unlike him, but very welcomed at this point. Because I didn't have any classes after the weekend, there was nothing for me to do either. No homework, no studying, nothing. So all I could do was think of Deidara and perhaps mope around a little bit. Not that anyone would really notice.
On Sunday I slept in first and after hunger finally pushed me out of bed, I made my way downstairs in an all too quite house. There were always people around, but they were now possibly just hiding. In the kitchen I ran into my mom. After muttering a morning I simply ignored her as she was humming some kind of song under her breath, making a cake we would be eating as a dessert later on or something. I simply grabbed a bowl and the cereal out of a cabinet, added milk to it and fled to the living room to avoid the small talk my mom would eventually start and also to aimlessly stare at the TV.
After going through my first bite of cereal, the door suddenly swung open again and mother walked in while drying her hands on a towel. So much for fleeing the scene… Still humming that now annoying song she sat down next to me, pretending she was going to join me in watching some kind of dumb cartoon that was supposed to make me laugh. For a moment I stared at the side of her face, squinting my eyes in suspicion, but she kept on looking at the TV, so I did the same, taking another bite of my breakfast, or lunch… Let's call it brunch.
Of course then she decided to speak up. 'You know you have that date tonight, right?'
Completely and utterly confused I turned towards her, giving mother this dumbfounded look, because I could not have a date tonight. I got dumped only a few nights ago and I was pretty sure I didn't want to date anyway. 'I have a date,' I answered in a monotone.
'Yes, your father arranged it.' The smile on her lips was supposed to tell me that she was happy about this and was encouraging me to be happy about it as well. The uncomfortable way she was fumbling with her skirt told a whole other story though. It was a nasty move of father to send mother to give me the news.
Turning back to the TV I scooped in another spoonful of cereal and then replied with a mouthful. 'I have to go, don't I?'
'Yes, you'll meet her at the Three Brothers.' With a nod mother then stood up, feeling like she had done her duty, and disappeared back into the kitchen. Probably to finish her cake. And it seemed I had a date to prepare for…
Everything about the date had been planned. My father actually helped me get dressed while giving me all these encouraging comments about how this would really help me and that this was such a lovely girl. I only felt worse after I finally got into my car and drove off. Couldn't he have given me some extra time to actually get over Deidara? Shoving a date down my throat was not a great way for that. But what had I expected? Of course father would continue right on the same foot. We had been in this situation often enough and I always went along with it. I did everything to avoid a raise of his voice or hand for that matter.
After I parked my car right around the block I made my way to the restaurant, the feel of dread really tugging at my heart now. I shouldn't be here. When I pushed the door open, the little bell above the door jingled, letting everyone know I had arrived. The place looked a little Italian, mostly executed on stereotypes we had, but it was cosy and it smelled nice around. Dark cherry wood decorated the restaurant area, thick beams holding the place together and giving the place a warm atmosphere. The bar area had spices and dried meat hanging from several places and the tables wore red and white chequered cloths. Why my father had chosen this place I was not sure of, but it didn't exactly seem to fit his style.
Waiting by the bar to be seated I was soon joined by a redheaded waiter and right away I recognised him. It was the redhead I had made eye contact with at the club the other day. Handsome still, but I wasn't very interested in redheads anymore.
'Hello and welcome to the Three Brothers, owned by my two brothers and me. Did you have a reservation?' As his eyes moved up from his book back to me I saw that flash of recognition and as a shy smile formed on his lips, a blush also appeared. One he tried to hide behind his ruby red hair instantly. It really was a nice colour. It almost looked dyed, but he didn't seem the type to do that.
Moving to lean on one foot I glanced away from his face and towards his book that held the reservations, not wanting to give him the wrong impression. 'Yes, thank you. I made a reservation under the name Uchiha, for two,' I replied softly. The idea of going on a date again ripped right through me. It felt like I was cheating somehow, even if I wasn't.
Glancing through the book he found my reservation, nodding with that smile still on his lips, though the look in his eyes had hardened a little. 'Of course, follow me.' And with that he moved from behind the counter and led me towards a small table by the window, my date already sitting in one of the seats, glancing out the window without much interest in me. 'Your waiter will be with you shortly. If you have any questions or concerns, just ask for Nagato and I will come running.' With another nod and now a brighter smile shot my way, one of the three brothers, apparently named Nagato, left us alone, shooting one last longing look over his shoulder.
Sliding into my own seat across from my date, the girl still didn't look up. Instead she blew out a breath, clearly as excited to be here as I was. Her looks did surprise me though. Not that she didn't look nice. This was a very beautiful woman. But this was definitely not the girl next door type my father usually set me up with. Short hair that was dyed a darkish blue colour, a white clip on flower attached to it. Blue eye shadow to match her hair and then a piercing right under her lip. Perhaps father had looked at Deidara and figured this woman would fit my type. Though I wasn't sure if father would actually care about that.
'Itachi,' I muttered at her as an introduction, not feeling the need to be extra polite or to give the girl a good time. If she was going to act uncaring, then I would do the same.
At that point she finally decided to look at me as well, leaning back in her chair as if to get as far away from me as possible. 'Konan,' she said in reply. For a second her gaze swept through the restaurant and then settled back on staring out the window.
Not wanting to go through this date in complete silence, I tried to strike up a conversation. 'Have you been here before?'
Konan then turned a pointed look on me, narrowing her eyes slightly as she finally really looked at me. 'Yeah, actually quite a lot since my boyfriend works here,' she spat, as if this was all my fault.
Stunned I stared at the woman, unsure on how to even take this news. Boyfriend. She has a fucking boyfriend that works here? I wasn't even sure how to respond to this. 'Then why are we on this date?' I asked, putting on my accusing tone too, because I was now going to blame her. Especially when this boyfriend would show his face and get mad at me for something that I had no control in.
Folding her arms together Konan clacked her tongue, but did turn her hard gaze away. Apparently she now realised this was not all my fault. 'Because my father is an employee of yours and he wants to get a promotion.' Tiredly I just rubbed my face, unsure on what to even do about this. Of course this was work related again. This had nothing to do with me. Konan then turned a worried eye on me. 'You're not gonna tell your dad, right?'
So there was a lot riding on this for her and I actually had to make a good impression too if I wanted to keep my father satisfied. 'If you make sure my father thinks I put some effort into this date, then I won't say a thing.'
'Oh, okay.' We then sat there in silence for a while, Konan twirling her fingers around each other. Strange how we got to this arrangement so easily. Now both of us could leave this place with happy thoughts. Or at least Konan could. 'So… what should we do now?'
With a sigh I tried to come up with a plan, but I couldn't really go anywhere. 'I can't go home yet and I can't hang out anywhere else either, because I might be recognised, so why not just have dinner?'
Pursing her lips Konan thought about it for a moment. 'Alright, I'll go along with that if you pay for dinner.' Instantly she picked up the menu, not giving me much of a say in this and stared picking out what she wanted to eat. As her eyes were scanning through the different dishes, Konan started talking as if the whole uncomfortable thing of before hadn't even happened. Apparently the idea of this not being a date put her mind to ease. 'You know the reason our date is here is because my boyfriend is one of the owners. He wanted to keep an eye on you. He must be happy about the fact that that won't be necessary though. Why exactly didn't you want to go on this date?'
I should've expected that question, though I didn't really want to go into details. 'I got dumped by my boyfriend a few days ago.' Should at least give me some sympathy.
Immediately a frown formed on her forehead as the awkwardness rose again. Not something you expected from your date. Shaking the sadness off Konan focused on something else. 'So you're gay and your father sends you on a date with a girl. That seems very unfair. Nagato over there,' she shot her thumb towards the bar to point at him. 'And Sasori, the other brother, are both openly gay and no one will tell them who to date. A much better life.'
So we were having this conversation. I still felt the need to correct her though. 'I'm actually bisexual, so I am also attracted to women. Still my father does not support who I date and rather chooses for me.'
Konan shook her head at that and actually completely waved it off. 'You should not let your father do that. You should date whoever you want to and I already know someone who is very much interested. Nagato has been staring at you the entire time we've been sitting here. I can help you out if you want me to?' And then the setting up started. I thought I had made it clear I didn't want to date anyone right now, after my recent break-up, but Konan didn't pay any mind to that. She was completely focused on showing how great Nagato was. 'Nagato is a real sweetheart, honestly. He once dated this guy and I swear it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He bought him gifts all the time and took him on a vacation. It was so sad when they broke up. I wish Yahiko was that sweet.' I assumed Yahiko was her boyfriend then, but at this point I wasn't paying attention much anymore. I still wasn't interested in Nagato at all and right now I was contemplating leaving anyway, because being set up was not what I wanted today at all.
Suddenly Konan fell silent though and I felt this heavy presence to my side. Glancing up at our waiter I was met with two of the most beautiful piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. Instantly my breath caught in my throat as those eyes coolly looked back at me. 'Want me to read the specials or should I leave you two alone again to see if you're more into girls again or rather date Nagato. I'm assuming since his name has been dropped quite a few times here.' It was cold and harsh and really unfair. Deidara had dumped me and then had been the first to move on as well. And I wasn't even enjoying this date.
Mouth agape Konan looked from Deidara to me and back again, suddenly realising. 'Holy shit, you're Deidara's ex?' she said exasperated, eyes almost bulging out of her head. But I ignored it. I only had eyes for Deidara.
How could I respond to that though? I didn't want to say anything mean to him in the first place. I wanted to have him back in my life and have him stay here. 'Dei,' I eventually said softly, but Deidara was already walking away from me. After Konan had called out her surprise, we got a lot of attention. Two other redheads had now joined us in the restaurant area, probably being the other two brothers. But I couldn't let Deidara leave me again like this. I needed to explain things, properly. I had to.
Scrambling from my chair I followed after him and finally caught up to him right as he turned a corner to go into the bathroom. Grabbing his wrist I stopped him from moving on. We were now sheltered from the other customers, so at least we had some privacy. 'Could you please just hear me out?' I said softly, tightening my hold slightly.
'Why? We're not a couple anymore, so I'm not judging you. Of course you should know Konan has a boyfriend already,' Deidara said lowly, trying to free his wrist from my hand, but I wouldn't let him. He was going to listen to me and swallow his accusing words.
'My father arranged this date for me,' I replied coolly, making sure Deidara understood what this meant. 'It's all business related. Konan's father works for my father and needs a promotion. I don't want to date Konan and she doesn't want to date me. I don't want to date anyone else, but you.' And with that said I finally released his wrist, giving him the option to walk away now. If that was the case, it really was over.
Slowly Deidara then turned around to look at me and our eyes met for a split second. I could see the pain there, the same sorrow I had gone through for days now. This was all just not right. Before he could say anything though a certain redhead turned the corner. He was one of the brothers and looked rather annoyed to me. 'Too bad he's not interested in dating you.'
Deidara snapped his head towards Sasori and send the heaviest glare his way. 'I don't believe he was talking to you.'
This strange vibe was now radiating around us and I wasn't sure what was going on until I added one plus one. Deidara's boss had been hitting on him for a long time and Deidara had been kissing a certain redhead the other day. This was him.
'Still that should be the answer you give him. Wasn't he a complete jackass and I thought you and I were now dating?' Strange for such a little guy to be so threatening. The way he tried to tower over Deidara, even if the blond was taller than he was. Not that Deidara was fazed by it. He simply leaned back against the wall and gave him this challenging look.
'I was fucking drunk and you took advantage of the situation. Don't act like I owe you anything. And if I want to give Itachi another shot, then that is my decision. I rather be with him than with you.' And that was the only clue I needed, the only thing I needed to hear. I had another shot. This was him saying that even if he didn't forgive me, he was willing to think about it or talk about it. Just something. It wasn't completely ruined.
For a minute I thought the redhead was going to hit him or just do something, so I stepped forward, showing off I was much taller than he was. He cowered away then, walking away from us and leaving us alone again to deal with this. I wasn't sure if he would stay away though. Deidara still worked here, but at least he wasn't afraid of the guy at all.
As we were left alone again Deidara turned to look at me and we just stared at each other. This wasn't fixed yet, but there was a chance now. 'We need to talk,' Deidara eventually spoke up. 'Explain to me what's going on in your life. What is the deal with your dad and shit? After that we'll see if we can continue on.'
'I hope we can,' I replied softly, sounding hopeful.
Deidara then pushed himself off the wall and moved back to the restaurant area, me following right behind him. 'I hope so too,' he whispered and that little line made a big smile form on my lips, it not leaving the entire dinner I still shared with Konan, being waited on by my favourite blond in the world.
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Characters © Masashi Kishimoto
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Alright guys, I will see you in a few weeks! Unless you read one of my other stories too. I might update them too today or tomorrow ^^ This means CtD or Are you my forever after?
Love, Dana