Pull Me in Gently
Chapter 8
It was another Thursday and Izumi met up with Itachi and Megumi for, yet again, another dance lesson. Itachi and her hadn't spoken since his mother's birthday and that was just fine with Izumi. She was too busy been mad at herself for ever letting it get that far. Sure they hadn't actually kissed but she still felt awful. Itachi seemed the same as always. He would smile at her and then focus on Megumi. It hurt at first that he didn't even seem affected by their near kiss but this was the way it was always supposed to be. Dance practices were beginning to wear on Izumi. Every time she saw them be affection in anyway she was reminded of their almost kiss and of the fact that he would never be hers. Izumi made sure to keep her distance.
Izumi set her bag on the floor and watched Itachi and Megumi warm up a little from the corner of her eye. It was getting closer to the time for the actual dance competition and Izumi could see the nervousness in Itachi and Megumi's eyes. They were doing fine but they lacked the confidence to really make their dancing shine. Izumi knew that she wasn't necessarily the best at being confident in her dancing and right now she had even less motivation to be so. Sasori had commented nonstop at their last practice that if she didn't get over Itachi soon he was definitely switching partners. So for today she brought in the most confident pair she knew: Deidara and Keiko.
Itachi rolled his eyes as Deidara entered the room in a shirt made half of mesh and half of real fabric. He was wearing ripped skinny jeans splattered in clay. Keiko entered the room bouncing all around talking to him about something she learned about emotions.
"Izumi, is this really necessary? I mean we were already reprimanded by Sasori do we really need this loser to give advice?" Izumi laughed as Deidara answered with a 'hey, watch it, yeah!'
"Yes Itachi. The thing that you and Megumi lack is confidence. Confidence in your ability and confidence on the dance floor. The Rumba was all about connection and togetherness and ignoring the judges. The Samba is a party and you need to have larger than life confidence to win. You need to be unafraid of winking at a judges table."
"Why are they teaching us if you beat them in the last competition?" Megumi had a fair point.
"Because they are the masters. The dance they are doing for the competition is the Paso Doble. Or the dance of the matador and the bull. It's full of strength, passion, and performance. They only lost to us because we had a better location on the floor."
Deidara beamed and Keiko smirked. "Dang straight. We are the best performers."
"Exactly. So I want them to do the Samba for you and I want the two of you to watch their body language, their interaction, and their interaction with the audience. Got it?"
Itachi and Megumi nodded as they took a seat against the wall. Itachi held her hand and Izumi pressed play trying to ignore the twist in her stomach.
Deidara spun Keiko around and she giggled. They were ready to perform. The music started up and the two of them instantly turned into matching rays of sunshine. They were having the time of their lives and it was showing with every step, turn, and arm motion. Deidara shimmed a little and winked at Megumi who giggled. Her and Itachi were totally enraptured with the couple dancing in front of them.
"So, what did you two think?" Izumi crossed her arms and leaned against the stage.
"That was freaking amazing. You aren't even wearing flashy costumes and I couldn't keep my eyes off of you! I feel like dancing now. Like the two of you are the couple that always gets the dances started and the clubs going."
"That's right. That's how the Samba is supposed to be danced. Let's watch you two do it and then we can give some pointers, yeah."
Itachi pulled Megumi into the middle of the floor and Keiko and Deidara joined Izumi in leaning on the stage. Keiko leaned against Deidara and he wrapped his arms around her. The two of them weren't dating but they had an affectionate sort of relationship. It stemmed from their friendship and larger than life dancing. Izumi and Sasori were somewhat the same way.
Megumi tried her hardest to move more energetically and to work the crowd more. Itachi was still really stiff and needed some work. But they were all expecting that. It took a while for him to relax and get comfortable and working the crowd was definitely not his strong suit. Deidara sorted as he watched Itachi try to smile while spinning Megumi. Izumi kept her eyes glued to his form as he moved around. She didn't even pay attention to the specifics of their dancing. Hopefully, Keiko and Deidara were.
"Okay, that was really good. My main points are that Megumi you need to raise your hips in the beginning and during the whole dance make sure that your head doesn't bob. In fact, Deidara is going to dance it with you and he'll hold your head that way you will feel the resistance every time you bob." Keiko immediately took charge noticing that her best friend wasn't really focused. Megumi excitedly ran over to Deidara and pulled him onto the floor. He laughed and the two of them got into position.
"Itachi I think you just need to lighten up. So, you and Izumi will dance and I'll observe." Itachi seemed a little hesitant as he pulled Izumi onto the floor and the two of the them started to dance. Keiko would yell out random things for him to work on and Izumi would try her best to help him. There was tension in the air but Keiko decided not to mention anything and Izumi was immensely grateful. Izumi started making a few funny comments and loosened up her stance. She may have been struggling but she was still here to tutor Itachi so she would try her hardest to make him a better dancer. By the end of the thirty minute period he was loose and laughing.
"Okay! Let's have Itachi and Megumi back together to dance with music." Izumi started the music as the two of them danced much improved. It was amazing that it had only taken them thirty minutes to get a near perfect low level Samba together.
Deidara, Izumi, and Keiko clapped enthusiastically. "That was really great you guys! I think that if you just keep practicing like that it will all be okay. If you honestly don't make it up to at least the top three the judges are blind. So, we will just keep at it until the competition. We can discuss how often you actually need my help. Also, I'll be doing my own practice with Sasori so my schedule might get crazy."
"Fair enough. Are you staying for dinner tonight?" Megumi asked like she owned the house and Keiko frowned. It had been nearly a week of awkward eating with the Uchiha's. Shisui had been there everyday and he at least was normal and talkative. But she didn't really speak to Itachi and he pretty much ignored Shisui. Izumi really didn't want to stay and endure more of that and it appeared that Keiko could sense it.
"Sorry, but we already have something planned for dinner. We're going to the Akatsuki restaurant because Hidan owes me big time for having to edit that monstrosity of an English paper." Deidara laughed.
"True, we'll see you later, yeah." With that the group of three headed out the door and to Deidara's truck.
"Wait. You were serious about that?"
"Yep. Seems Hidan's foul mouth carries over to writing so it took me for freaking ever to edit it. I had to crash on their couch for the night. Do you know how scary it is to wake up at three am because Zetsu is having one of his 'I'm going to eat you' episodes?" Izumi couldn't help but laugh out loud at her best friend's pain. So that was the reason Keiko never came home a few weeks ago.
"Wow, how did you survive?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
Izumi and Keiko stayed pretty late eating and talking. Sasori and Deidara got into an argument about art and that was when they decided to peacefully bow out. Kisame finished his shift for the night and offered to give them a ride. Izumi looked out the window at all the buildings they passed as Keiko and Kisame discussed the upcoming wedding. Kisame looked at Izumi in the rear view mirror.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure? You seem like there is something heavily weighing on you."
"Nah, I'm good Kisame. Probably just tired. Your best friend has been working me to the bone with these dance tutoring sessions."
Kisame laughed. "Yeah, Itachi can be handful, but he's worth it."
"Yeah. . ."
Izumi trailed off and turned her gaze to the apartment complex that was coming into view. She missed the look Keiko gave her at her response but she couldn't be bothered to care. Keiko didn't try to talk to her once they were inside. They both just headed to bed and that was it.
Izumi had a lighter Friday schedule so she was home by the early afternoon working on whatever homework she could. Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened over the last few months. All the little moments with Itachi where it felt like they were the only two people in the room. The moments where it felt like he was falling a little bit in love with her. All the times that he seemed jealous at the attention she garnered from some of his closest friends. But despite all of that he was still in love with someone else. Those moments were probably all just in her mind and imagined.
But, that wasn't even the problem. It was slowly tearing her up inside whenever he was nice to her or accommodating in any way. The fact that he had shared his lunch with her and had wanted to make sure she was okay when she left the garden was too much. If Itachi was a jerk to her when they weren't dancing it would be much easier to be rational and convince herself that she wasn't in love with him. That it was just a physical attraction and nothing more. But that wasn't the case. He was too gentlemanly.
Then there was the way that he could school his emotions and actions and seem like nothing had ever even happened. Izumi wanted the ability to not be effected by all the things around her. She would have been able to better concentrate in her classes when she realized that she had feelings for him and she would have been better able to tutor him the last week. Honestly, the way he could be the same as always made her pissed.
Izumi slammed her textbook on her desk and then proceeded to throw things around while she got everything ready to go to the Uchiha's. It was four thirty and Keiko had been home for at least an hour but recognized Izumi needed her space so she was keeping to the living room. Izumi stomped into the living room and grabbed her ballroom shoes out of the dance bag in the corner where she tossed it after her practice with Sasori earlier that afternoon.
"You like him don't you?" Izumi stuffed her ballroom shoes into her backpack and stood up to head out the door.
"Of course I don't! I'm just helping him learn ballroom better so he can pass the class and keep the girl of his dreams. I have absolutely no romantic attachment to him at all." She turned on her heel and made her way toward his mansion off campus. She knew she was being harsh but she couldn't help it. There were too many emotions rolling through her and they were starting to spill out in angry waves. But Keiko would see through it all.
"Oh come on. You're so full of crap and you know it. That is a classic case of denial if I've ever seen one. You don't just like him you're in love with him. Why didn't you say anything to me?" Keiko caught up to her in no time and grabbed her backpack forcing Izumi to face her. "Since when did Megumi go from being his girlfriend to the girl of his dreams? You have it bad. And I can't believe that I haven't noticed it. Girl, it's eating up isn't it?"
Izumi looked at her with a sad expression as she sighed dejectedly. "But I can't do anything about it so it doesn't matter. I can't tell him. Like I said I am just helping him with his ballroom and then I'm out of the picture. The semester is already half over. I'm sure Itachi and Megumi still be going strong by the time the semester ends and I can then live with the memories of the past few months and eat my summer weight in ice cream." Keiko regarded her for several minutes with a sad expression and then giggled.
"Fine. But I'm helping and bringing movies!" The two girls laughed for a little bit then Keiko grabbed Izumi into a tight hug. "You tell me if anything happens from now on. I promise to stop being so busy because it looks like you've needed someone to talk to for a while. Does anyone else know?"
"Sasori." Izumi pulled away and fiddled with the straps of her bag as she stared at the ground. Keiko roughly grabbed Izumi's shoulders.
"You're telling me that puppet freak figured it out before I did? The person who people claim can feel others emotions?" She shook Izumi a few times. "Sasori noticed and I didn't? I am such a crappy friend."
Izumi chuckled as she pried Keiko's hands off her shoulders. "Honestly, it makes sense that he noticed before you. We've been spending a lot of time together because of dance practice. It was starting to effect my performance so he was pretty upset."
"That makes sense. Leave it to him to only figure out that you are in love with someone because it is effecting his art. I swear, how did we end up with the two art freaks as partners anyway?"
Izumi giggled and shrugged. "Our personalities balance each other out?"
Keiko snorted. "Yeah, okay. Anyway, are you going to be okay at practice today? You seemed pretty upset earlier. Did something big happen?"
Izumi thought about how to answer for several minutes. Keiko didn't try to rush her. There were several students rushing past them to various locations. A few of them looked at Keiko and Izumi curiously as they passed but neither girl cared.
"Last week on his mother's birthday we almost kissed."
"What?"
"Itachi and I were talking in the garden and he was asking me if I was dating Shisui or Sasori and he was pretty upset. I asked him what was wrong and then we were leaning closer and closer. I stopped him before it could happen."
Keiko was silent as she watched Izumi. Her eyebrows were knit and it looked like she might cry any minute. "Iz. . ."
"It's okay. I should have never let it even get to that point. Gosh, I'm so stupid." Izumi grabbed her head angrily. She felt like she could scream at any minute. Keiko moved forward to placate her friend but was stopped by Izumi pulling her hands down. She still looked upset but like she had a better handle on it.
"I'll be fine."
"Do you need me to come to the session today?"
Izumi shook her head. "I can do this. I'm strong enough to do this. It'll be over soon anyway."
With that Izumi turned on her heel headed to the mansion. Keiko watched her walk for several minutes with a sad look on her face before she turned back into their dorm.
"Ah, Miss Izumi welcome back! Dinner tonight is at seven and he's already waiting in the ballroom." Izumi smiled Frank. The first genuine smile she had given someone all week. She loved talking to him. He always said the right things to put a smile on her face. Izumi figured that was the kind of personality you end up with when you serve a household of stoic Uchihas.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure that I'm staying for dinner again tonight. I feel that maybe I spend too much time here."
"Nonsense, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha would never allow me to let you go home without dinner. They care about you too much." He smiled down at her as she nodded her acceptance of dinner and made her way to the ballroom.
Itachi was alone in the middle of the ballroom with his arms up running through the moves of the Samba. He seemed to be concentrating rather hard and Izumi tried not to laugh at how cute his face was scrunched up. Realizing her train of thought Izumi scanned around the whole room looking for any sign of Megumi. It appeared that she wasn't there today. That was odd. She'd been coming to practice every day for the last two months almost She had been practically glued to Itachi's side since they started dating.
"Is Megumi not joining us today?" Itachi stopped moving and looked up at Izumi. He smiled a radiant smile before he spoke. The butterflies in her stomach kicked up and wouldn't stop. Why did he always have to smile at her like that? Especially when he was dating someone else? Izumi tried to not let it get to her. Hadn't she just told Keiko that she was strong enough to handle everything? She took a deep breath as she continued into the room to put down her backpack and put on her dance shoes.
"She had a review tonight for Biology. Besides, she said that she probably won't come to many more practices. She's got a lot of studies and she's been practicing with some other people in class as well. We already spend so much time together so I told her it was okay." His smile widened and he moved closer to Izumi and held out his hand. "Shall we?"
Izumi tried not to wince at the gesture. It innocent enough since they were dancing but she didn't want to touch him. The image of the two of them moving closer and closer on the garden bench were still too fresh in her mind. She had to remind herself that was only going to be in his life for another two months. That was it. She could withstand a few more touches.
"All right, since it's just you we'll just focus on things that you could be doing better individually. So let me think. Ah, yes! You're doing pretty good with the Samba but like I said in the Rumba you need to move your hips better. Do you remember what I told you about the hips last time?" He frowned down at her and took a step back before speaking.
"I thought I was doing a good job with the hips. Crap! There's just so much to remember." Izumi laughed and pulled him closer as she put her hands on his hips again without thinking about their close proximity for once. She was in tutor mode.
"Don't worry, you'll work through this so many times that by the time the test and competition come up it'll be second nature to you. Okay?" He nodded "Okay, now move like this." She took her hands and gently guided his hips into the right position in time to the Samba music playing in the background. Okay, she was in tutor mode until those impossibly dark eyes began boring into hers. Izumi averted her eyes to his hips instead and watched the movement.
He has a girlfriend. He has a girlfriend. He has a girlfriend.
"Izumi?"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?" He put his hands on her wrists and she stopped moving to look up at him.
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"You just seem far away like you're thinking about something. What's up? I know that we've been kind of on rocky footing the last week but I thought everything was okay?" Izumi swallowed. Was she really that far away that Itachi noticed? She kept studying his eyes and realized that was worried and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. There was no way that she could tell him everything she was thinking about. It would ruin the delicate friendship they had built. She wasn't ready to crumble that just yet.
"Yeah, I'm totally fine. I guess I'm probably just thinking about midterms and stuff. And we are okay. No worries on that front." Itachi kept observing at her. She could tell that he didn't completely believe what she was saying.
"Well, if you're sure that's all it is. . ." He took his hands off of hers but his gaze didn't break. Izumi never thought she would tire from those black eyes staring intently at her but he hadn't even blinked while observing her for the last few minutes. It was like looking into Sasori's penetrating gaze and she looked down at her watch and saw that it was 6:55. Thank goodness she had been running late because of her talk with Keiko.
"Ah, better get going. Your mom will kill me if I don't come to dinner on-time." She smiled her normal smile at Itachi and headed to take her shoes off. He headed to another part of the wall to take his off as well. They didn't talk. She could tell that he was still watching her. He wanted to know what was up but she didn't want to talk. What would she have said?
Oh, actually I'm madly in love with you but you're dating that other girl that I actually made you a better dancer for and stuff and being near you is really hard and all I can think about it what our kiss could have been like so yeah.
Yeah, that sounded real cool.
They walked to the dining room and both Sasuke and Sakura were sitting at the table. They said their hellos and then took their seats waiting for the parents. She didn't say anything but just stared down at her plate. Sasuke took a strand of Sakura's hair and started playing with it as they laughed. Izumi tried not to let it get to her but she could tell that she was grimacing. Goodness, did they have to be so freaking cute? Didn't they know that she was having a relationship crisis and she really didn't need this right now?
Itachi leaned toward her and she made no attempt to change her facial expression. Sasuke kissed Sakura's nose lightly and Izumi rolled her eyes. "Are you really sure you're okay? You're grimacing at my little brother and his girlfriend. Did someone break up with you or something? It wasn't Shisui was it?"
Izumi turned her burning gaze to Itachi and could see that he was being one hundred percent sincere. Why was he so dense? Hadn't she already told him that she wasn't dating anyone? "I guess you could say they weren't interested in me but someone else and today I'm handling it way worse than normal. And no, it isn't Shisui. I already told you that I am not interested." That seemed to shut him up from asking any other questions and he moved back to his seat as his parents walked in.
The meal was pretty painless. Itachi didn't try to talk to Izumi again and his parents could see that there was a little friction but they didn't mention it. Itachi talked to his parents and to Sasuke and Sakura easily like nothing had happened and Izumi sat quietly eating and avoiding everyone's gaze. She could feel that Mikoto was watching her intently but Izumi couldn't handle smiling like nothing was wrong at the moment. Dinner was over pretty soon and Izumi picked up her backpack and headed to the door.
"Thank you once again Frank for having me in this fine estate." Izumi loved how much she could joke with Frank and put on fake graces. It was so much fun and she liked having someone who would play along with her especially in her current mood.
Itachi followed her to the door but wasn't sure what to say to her. Izumi hoped he wouldn't say anything that would set her off again so she took the initiative and put on her best fake smile. "Well, I guess I'll be back same time on Monday. Okay?" He simply nodded at her question and she headed out the door.
Izumi walked as fast as she could back to her dorm. Keiko was out picking out centerpieces with Rin and Obito so she had the place to herself. Izumi had already finished her homework for her other classes so she stretched out on her bed and decided to watch a movie. She put on some chick flick that had great music and witty lines that she always loved but she wasn't completely watching.
She couldn't imagine what Itachi must be thinking right now. She told him basically that he was her problem but was he smart enough to figure that out? He knew he was good looking and he knew that he could probably make any girl fall in love with him, right? He was credited as being a prodigy and the smartest Uchiha that had ever lived. But he had proven to be dense sometimes when it came to dating. Maybe he still thought she was dating Sasori or Shisui and now was upset because they had broken her heart. She just wished that she hadn't fallen into the Itachi trap. She wished Rin had never set this up. It was proving to be more heartbreak than she could handle.
Her phone buzzed a few times and she picked it up thinking that it was Keiko on her way home or asking for her opinion on something. "Yes love?" She always referred to Keiko like this and she knew that everyone knew that.
Someone slightly coughed on the other end. "Um, Izumi?"
Izumi almost dropped her phone. She tapped the space bar of her computer to pause the movie and sat up a little bit. Why hadn't she checked the caller ID before answering? "Itachi? Why are you calling me?" She couldn't understand what would make him want to call her after their somewhat awkward conversation and her suddenly cold attitude.
"Well, I realize that we had a little bit of an interesting conversation earlier but I have to know. Who is this guy?"
Izumi sat for a few minutes trying to collect her thoughts. What was she supposed to answer? Um, you. DUH! She couldn't say that. There was no way she could say that. Maybe if she knew why he wanted to know she could decide how to answer his question.
"Why?"
"Because I am going to find him and beat the crap out of him."
"I'm sorry, what?" Izumi sat up straighter. She couldn't believe she just heard those words come out of his mouth. Itachi was always so gentle if not a little it intense but never violent. Why was he suddenly so enraged that he was wanting to beat someone else up?
"You heard me. Who does this idiot think he is breaking your heart and picking someone else over you? You're the most incredible girl that I've ever met and if he thinks that he can get away with making you feel like that, or if he thinks that anyone else is better than you, he's wrong."
Izumi could feel the anger of his words. He meant everything he had just said. He seethed on the other end waiting for her to say something. She had to tell him. Even if her better judgment was telling her otherwise she had to do it.
"Itachi. . . " He waited on the other line. "You can't beat him up no matter what you do."
"Like heck I can't just watc—"
"No, you can't unless you can split into two people."
There was a long pause.
"What?"
"It's you. You're the idiot that broke my heart by dating someone else."
Izumi let out a long breath. She did it. She had finally confessed to him her feelings and could now breathe a little easier knowing that he now knew. It felt like a huge weight had lifted off her chest. Now he would know why she had been acting so differently lately and why every time they got closer she pushed him away. What a freeing feeling. Izumi would laugh if she wasn't so terrified by what his reaction was going to be. He sat on the other line. Izumi thought that he was probably processing what she had just said. She really wished that he would say something instead of just letting it sit there but he didn't.
"Itachi? You still there? Itachi?" There was nothing on the other line except his quiet breathing, "Well I suppose it's pretty late now so I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She hung up the phone. He never tried to stop her. She had no idea what that meant but she resumed her movie and waited for Keiko to get home. Goodness, there was going to be so much to tell her.