Upside-Down

TK Grimm

Chapter Four:

The Stubbornness of Men

Sakura stared at the door to Deidara's apartment for a while, wondering what she was going to say to him. What exactly made it her responsibility to settle the fight between Deidara and Sasori, especially if she didn't even know what they had fought about? Searching her brain, she couldn't find an answer. Maybe Sasori just thought it would be easier because Deidara was a little less hostile towards her than he was towards Sasori. Finally, she reached her hand up to knock on the door, but before she could, it opened.

Deidara was clearly on his way out; he had nearly bumped into her after opening the door. Before he could say anything, Sakura put her hands behind her back and looked away, "Oh, you're busy, um… sorry, I'll come back at another time."

Sakura turned around to leave, but Deidara's voice stopped her. "Wait." She turned around, tilting her head slightly and giving him a quizzical look. He paused, wondering what to say.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said lightly with a slightly embarrassed smile. Every time she was around Deidara, she seemed to do something rather klutzy that made her look like an idiot. It was probably better that he had plans so she could save herself from further embarrassment. "It's nothing!"

"Come with me, yeah," Deidara said spontaneously, ignoring what she had said before.

Sakura's eyes widened momentarily, "S-say what?"

He ignored her for a moment, taking her wrist as he led her down the metal staircase to the ground level. "You want to talk, we'll talk. You can just come with me." Approaching his Trans Am, he effortlessly unlocked the door.

Sakura resisted the urge to ask if the old 1979 vehicle could still run safely and instead asked, "Wait, where are you going?"

Deidara opened the door to the driver's seat and glanced at her, "I have to meet Hidan – it won't take long… yeah."

Sakura hesitated, looking at the car. Sasori told her she could take as long as she needed… maybe she would need this time. It was certainly better than filing papers and answering the phone back at the studio… With that thought, she opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. Buckling her seat belt, she felt slightly uneasy seeing that Deidara didn't bother with his. "That's really unsafe, you know. You should buckle your safety belt."

"What are you, a mother?" Deidara scoffed, starting the car. Sakura frowned and looked towards the floor mats, choosing not to reply. Besides, remarking to sarcasm would most likely serve no purpose. Deidara noticed she was suddenly quiet but chose not to comment.

Looking around, Sakura noticed that the condition of his car was far surpassing to that of his apartment. It was clearly well-taken care of – Deidara struck her eye right away as one of those guys who takes care of his car like a baby. She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly.

"What's got you all giddy, yeah?" Deidara asked, grinning slightly as he drove down the road.

"Nothing," Sakura giggled. "You just… have interesting tastes." They had stopped at a red light, so Sakura took the time to point at the phoenix on the hood. It was normal to see a golden phoenix on the old 70s Trans Ams, but this one looked rather unique. It wasn't just an outline like the regular ones. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura asked, "Where did you get a decal like that? I would like to pay the maker of that a visit and see what he can do for my car."

Deidara glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, but the light turned green so he tapped the pedal with his foot and continued driving. "It's not for sale," was all he said.

Sakura looked at him with a slight frown, "How did you get yours then? Now you're just making me jealous."

"You like it, huh?" he asked, his voice lacking the usual sarcasm.

Sakura leaned forward slightly to look at the phoenix again. Even though from her point of view it was upside-down, she still found it very artistic and actually did want one of her own. Perhaps not a phoenix, but maybe something neat for her little Tommy Kaira. "Yeah, it's really nice. I want to get one for my car."

"You won't find it in a store," Deidara informed as he took a right turn. Sakura looked at him with a confused expression. "I painted it." Her jaw dropped. Though she was at a loss for words, her expression said it all. Feeling slightly unnerved, he said, "Don't look at me like that, yeah…"

"You painted that?" Sakura asked, shocked. She remembered that Deidara was exceptionally good in art class back in high school, but she didn't know it was still a hobby for him. Perhaps he and Sasori had an argument about art, and that's why they weren't speaking to each other anymore. Nah… they're guys, but they're not that bad… are they?

"Yeah," Deidara replied as he pulled into a driveway. "Like a birthday present to me, sorta. You wait here."

"Okay." Deidara stepped out of the car and walked up to the first door of the apartment building. Sakura was quite surprised; she hadn't noticed before, but this was her neighborhood. The apartment buildings were all very nice. Each apartment was separated slightly and had it's own driveway. They were small, but like little houses for rent only cheaper. Momentarily, Sakura wondered who Deidara knew that lived in one of these nice places. Then again, she also found herself wondering why Deidara lived in such a dingy one.

Wait, that's rude… she thought, mentally scolding herself. It wasn't his fault the place was… Sakura searched her brain for a word that didn't sound 'bad' in her mind. Run down… cheap… low maintenance… ugh, all of these are bad.

The door to the driver's seat opened, waking her from her thoughts, and Deidara sat back down. He ran a stressed out hand through his hair and sighed as he started the car back up. Putting one hand on the head rest and the other on the well, he kept his eyes on the back window to make sure he didn't hit anything. Sakura couldn't help but chuckle, remembering the time she hit the mailbox.

"Someone's a bit too cheerful, yeah," Deidara said, eyes still towards the back.

"Sorry," Sakura said with a soft laugh. "I was just thinking of this time when I ran over the mailbox at my place."

"Way to go," Deidara smirked, flashing her an amused glance.

"That reminds me, you know, I live on this street, too," Sakura told him. She reached over the driver's side and pointed at her apartment. Just as Deidara expected, there was a perfectly mowed lawn, flowers growing around the apartment, and some sort of dark fuzz ball sleeping on the windowsill. Realizing that she was rather close, leaning over him like that just to identify her place, Sakura quickly sat back down and refastened her seat belt. Before Deidara could throw out one of his sarcastic comments that she expected (though wouldn't have gotten) she brought up the first subject she could think of. "That's my kitty there in the window, Yuki."

"How typical," Deidara smirked as he drove out of the neighborhood. "Cherry chick and a cat… yeah."

"I finally remembered last night where that name came from," Sakura brought up with a playful glare.

Deidara raised an eyebrow though kept his gaze on the road. "Thinking about me at night now, are you?"

Blushing slightly, Sakura quickly switched her gaze to the window. "No. I had a dream about it."

At this, Deidara laughed, "Oh, and that's so much better."

Panicking, Sakura clamped her hand over her mouth. She looked at him frantically, "T-that's not what I meant!"

"Sorry, I don't date freshmen," Deidara said, still laughing.

"You jerk!" Sakura exclaimed, using every ounce of willpower to hold in her laughter. "First of all, I'm not a freshman! Secondly, I happen to be in a relationship already, and I am very happy, so there."

"Congratulations," he drawled, laughter finally calmed down. Deidara seemed to have more of a bored expression on now.

Feeling victorious, Sakura finally decided to bring up the reason she wanted to see him. "Actually, I'm here on business again."

Deidara sighed, all traces of a smile now gone. "What does he want this time?"

"What happened to you two?" Sakura asked suddenly. "You used to be such good friends. I mean… you were jerks since you picked on Gaara nearly every day, but-"

"Hey, that kid deserved it," Deidara said, feeling the corners of his mouth tug up slightly. This girl was certainly amusing, he'd give her that. "Being emo all the time, saying he hated everyone."

"That doesn't give you the right to be a jerk, you bully!" she scolded, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder.

"Oh and hitting me makes it better, yeah?" Deidara countered. "Didn't you ever hear two wrongs don't make a right?"

Sakura grinned. Two can play at this game. "Didn't you ever hear to pick on someone your own size?"

"I'd like to think you're taking on more than 'your own size' right now," he grinned slyly.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Anyway, seriously, what did you and Sasori fight about? I thought for sure you both would be in Akatsuki Studios working together."

"We did at first, yeah," Deidara told her. He started to slow down as he entered the neighborhood his apartment building was in. "We had a fight and I left."

"What did you fight about?" Sakura asked again, her tone soft. She expected something really serious and possibly slightly heart breaking.

"It was stupid…" Deidara started, parking the car on the side of the road in front of Sakura's Tommy Kaira. "It was an art disagreement."

Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow for a moment but decided to give them more credit than that and asked, again gently, "What happened?"

"Sasori thinks that art's something that lasts forever, yeah," Deidara said, getting out of the car. Sakura followed suit. "That's just lame – art is something quick; it's something amazing and beautiful that's there for a moment and then gone the next."

Sakura tapped her foot slightly, looking at him with a skeptical expression. "You and Sasori fought about that?"

"Sorta… yeah."

The pink haired woman couldn't help but sigh. This was just as childish as she originally believed it wouldn't be. That's the last time she gave them credit. "And, out of curiosity, how important does it sound now that you say it out loud?"

"Not very."

"That's what I thought. You shouldn't let different ideas get in the way of a friendship," Sakura told him with a smile. "Besides," she added, looking at the phoenix on the Trans Am with envy, "from what I can see, both of you are artistic geniuses."

"Oh, thanks," Deidara replied.

"So… consider coming back to Akatsuki Studios?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

Deidara paused for a moment, thinking it over. He looked at Sakura. She was standing near the passenger side of his car, looking at him with the most adorable, beautiful, babying expression he'd ever seen. She was always good at that, as far as he could remember. That, and her attitude, made her his favorite freshman. He smirked slightly. "Maybe."

Sakura's smile broadened when he winked at her, silently telling her that he would go back. In her mind, she was on Cloud 9. It couldn't get more perfect. Perhaps Sasori would be generous enough to give her a nice little bonus for her success with Deidara. Deidara turned slightly, leaning against his car as he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. Sakura immediately frowned, pulled away from her 'happy place' thoughts. "That's really bad for you."

"I know," Deidara said, holding the cigarette in his mouth as he fumbled with the lighter. After lighting the end, he put the lighter back in his pocket and exhaled, smoke coming from his mouth. Seeing her displeased look, he sighed. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't smoke in the car while you were there, yeah."

"No, but you're smoking now," Sakura pointed out. "Did you know that smoking contributes to at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths?"

"Thank you Discovery Channel," Deidara replied sarcastically, shooting her a look that had 'don't lecture me' written all over it.

If anything, that only fueled Sakura further. She stomped up to him, inwardly frustrated that her flip-flops weren't making the menacing sounds boots or high heels would have, and pulled the cigarette right from his mouth. "I'm not going to sit here and watch you poison yourself."

"What are you, some kind of health nut?" he asked, feeling his temper rise. Deidara wasn't necessarily angry at Sakura, more at the fact that she took his cigarette, but that could change in a matter of seconds.

"Actually," Sakura began, temper rising as well, "I'm a student at the University; I'm studying to be a doctor."

"Typical," he sneered.

"Are you aware that every thirty seconds, someone dies because of lung cancer?" she asked, tone showing that she wasn't going to back down.

"Are you aware that out of every ten people that try to quit, fewer than one actually succeed?"

Sakura was quiet for a while, but finally, she was able to reply to that, though her voice was a bit small. "The people who do succeed are the ones with close friends supporting them in that decision."

Deidara closed his eyes, counting to ten in his head. When he had calmed down, he looked at her. She had already dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. Again… One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. "Look. I appreciate your concern, yeah. But it's not exactly any of your business," he concluded, tilting his head slightly, the frown evident on his face.

Sakura sighed in defeat. He had a point. They weren't exactly 'friends' after all. More like reunited acquaintances. But still… that wasn't right. She wasn't going to sit back and watch as he withered away because of a stupid addiction. Calming herself down, she spoke in a lighter tone, not angry, but still firm. "I'm sorry. I realize it's none of my business, but I care about you, and I don't want to see you destroy yourself because of those!" she finished as she pointed at the pack in his pocket.

Deidara inwardly sighed; this girl wasn't going to quit until she heard what she wanted. Changing the subject to the first thing he could think of, he plastered a cocky smirk on his face and said, "So let me get this straight. First you dream about me, and now you're admitting that you care about me?" He put his hand on his heart with, pretending to be touched by her sentiments. "Oh, cherry chick, I don't know what to say."

"Watch it," she said with a warning glare, even though she knew the corners of her lips were tugging up in a smile. It wasn't long before she couldn't help but giggle. She waved her hand at him a few times, dismissing his victory grin. "Yeah, yeah, don't get too used to it," Sakura continued, trying to sound 'tough.'

Deidara gave a dramatic sigh, "Oh, what a pity, yeah." Sakura smiled at him, and seeing that look forced him to smile back. Something about her outgoing, caring personality was just enough to draw anyone in. It was impossible not to like her. He frowned slightly at the next thought – it was no wonder she wasn't single. Putting these thoughts away, he asked, "You want to come in for a while?"

Sakura thought for a moment, considering her options. She wanted to, she would admit to that. After finding out that Deidara had hand painted the phoenix on his car, she wondered what other masterpieces lay hidden in his apartment. If she didn't know better, he was possibly as talented as Sasori. Maybe that's why they started Akatsuki Studios together.

But then a few other thoughts passed into her mind. Sasuke was her boyfriend. He already didn't like the fact that her overtime was being spent with Deidara when they could have gone on another date or even back to his place for a while. Sakura promised to visit him as soon as she was free that evening, and it was already getting late. Unfortunately, she knew that Sasuke's jealous side would probably land them into another fight if he knew she had stayed with Deidara after – even if just to look at some of his art pieces or just to talk and catch up.

"I'm really sorry, Deidara," she said honestly, meeting his gaze once more. "I really want to, but I promised Sasuke I'd go to his place after work, otherwise I'd take you up on that offer."

Deidara nodded in understanding, the smile never faltering, even if it had in his mind. "Don't worry about it," he said simply. "Maybe next time."

"Sure thing," Sakura said. She slowly walked back to her car; though she couldn't see to be sure, she knew Deidara was still watching her. After unlocking it, she found herself hesitating to open the door. Looking back at him, her thoughts were confirmed. "Deidara?"

"Yeah?"

Another pause. "I'm really glad I saw you again last week. It was nice to catch up."

This time, Deidara hesitated. "Yeah… it was."

She had to go. Sakura had to, she knew this. She had to get in her car and drive away, but she hesitated. "Oh!" she remembered, walking back over to him. "How about I give you my number? You can call me sometime, and we can get together and, I don't know, have a cup of coffee or something. You can show me more art pieces like this," she added, gesturing towards his car.

Deidara raised an eyebrow, smirking at her. Was it that hard for her to leave? Oh, he noticed all right. "All right, I'll give you mine, too. Got a pen?"

"Success!" Sakura exclaimed as she drove down the road. She was on her way home, talking to Sasori on her cell phone.

"You got him to agree with just one meeting?" Sasori's voice came from the cell phone. Sakura wasn't sure she liked his tone; he sounded like he hadn't been expecting her to be able to pull it off at all.

"Yes, actually," she said slightly arrogantly. "I had him begging to come back to Akatsuki Studios." She shrugged. Might as well play up the part. "He was all over me. 'Sakura, Sakura, please, I'll do anything, so please let me come back.' It was so tragic, you know, so I just, you see, I had to let him. I mean, just seeing a full-grown man looking so desperate just because of my amazing skills with words." To top it all off, she gave a dramatic sigh as a conclusion.

She could practically feel Sasori's skeptical facial expression. "I'm sure," he said in a tone that a part of Sakura's mind dared to call sarcastic. "So he'll be starting tomorrow, then?"

"Why, of course," Sakura said with ease, taking a right. "Such an eager little bee. I can't help but think that without me, he wouldn't have come back. I mean, I had to use extreme methods of persuasion."

"Oh really?" She could swear he was toying with her, amused by her overly-exaggerated tale.

"That's right," Sakura continued. She slowly eased down on the brake pedal as she neared a red light. "I had to think about the perfect words to use in my head, but once I got going, oh it was easy pickings from there."

"I bet it was," Sasori said, rolling his eyes with amusement. He couldn't have picked a better receptionist, that much was obvious. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Don't forget, tomorrow's Tuesday," Sakura reminded in a cheerful tone. "You've got a meeting with Mr. Nara, and I've got class until eleven."

"I remember; see you then."

"Sure thing." Sakura closed her cell phone and set it in the drink holder between the two front seats. It was a handy place to put her phone, easy access and it wouldn't go flying all over the place if she made a quick turn. She sighed slightly, realizing she couldn't go home just yet. She promised to visit Sasuke as soon as she finished with her overtime assignment. Hiding her frown, she pulled into a driveway and backed up to turn around, heading towards Sasuke's place.