Upside-Down

TK Grimm

Chapter Six:

Awkward Moments

Saturday, oh wonderful, beautiful Saturday. Saturday was the day that work went by fast and afterwards, Sakura got to go home and relax. Saturday night, she could stay up late and not worry about work and school the next day. Sunday morning, she could sleep in as late as she wanted without a care in the world. It was March 8th, and that meant – though she refused to admit she was counting down – there were 20 more days until her 20th birthday.

Smiling at the thought, Sakura continued inputting in the meeting times for the following week on the computer. She was having such a good day so far, she didn't notice the door open until Deidara put his hands on the front desk, glaring at her. "I told you that was my spot," he said menacingly, pointing at her Tommy Kaira outside the door in the front parking place. "I let it slide yesterday, but today you're moving, yeah!"

Nothing was going to get in her way on Saturday, not even a self-centered, narrow-minded idiot named Deidara. She gave him a sweet smile and said, "Today is Saturday, Deidara. I get the spot on Saturdays. But as soon as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday get here, you can park there all day long," she finished, pinching his cheeks as if he were a little kid. To top it all off, she took the cigarette from his mouth and extinguished it by pressing the end down on papers she was about to throw away. Then she tossed it and the pile of papers in the trash can. "No smoking in the studio, you know that," she added innocently.

"I wasn't gonna…" he said in a slightly pouting tone.

"Oh, I'm sure."

"All right," Deidara said, running his hand through his bands. A smirk crossed his features. "You get it today… but I'll be here way before you on Monday."

"Keep telling yourself that." Sakura kept the fake smile up, but on the inside, she wondered if she just took on a bit more than she could handle. No! It's Saturday! Nothing can go wrong on a Saturday; she refused to let anything go wrong on a Saturday! Besides, there was no way Deidara would wake up as early as she did, or earlier, just to get the parking spot. With this resolve, she gave him a final smile and resumed typing on the computer.

Sasori came downstairs at that time and approached the front desk, handing Sakura another folder. "I just finished a new painting," he said. "Here's the data for it, can you put it on the computer and add the photograph on the website?"

"Sure thing," Sakura replied. "I'll do that as soon as I've finished with your meetings next week."

"Thanks, Sakura."

"Not a problem." Sakura's phone rang, causing the song 'Temperature' to sound through the room. Ignoring the raised eyebrow looks she got from both men, Sakura took her phone from her pocket. Giving Sasori an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, is it okay if I take this? It's Sasuke."

"Its fine," Sasori replied. He didn't care if Sakura used her phone; she did a good job with her work and earned these privileges. As she answered it, Sasori went through the folder, making sure everything was there.

For some reason, Deidara had a bit of a scowl on his face as Sakura answered the phone. "Hey, honey," she said. "I'm at work now, is it okay if I call you later?" Deidara was holding onto his car keys so tightly, his knuckles were white. Only Sasori seemed to notice when he looked at him from the corner of his eyes. "Oh, that's not a problem. I'll see you after work, then, same place as last week." Deidara's left eye twitched once in what Sasori dared to call frustration. "Love you, too."

That was it. "I'm gonna take my lunch break early, yeah…" Deidara said before walking out the door. Sasori's perceptive amber eyes watched him as he got in his car and drove off, then drifted back to Sakura. Interesting.

Sakura hung up her phone and set it back in her purse. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, looking around once. "Where did Deidara go?"

"Lunch," Sasori replied without missing a beat.

"It's 10:45," Sakura pointed out, her look of confusion increasing.

Sasori smiled ever so slightly, but shrugged. "I'll be upstairs."

"Okay," Sakura said, turning back to the computer. "Don't work too hard."

"Yeah, okay."

After work, Sakura got in her car and checked the time. 4:02; it was time to meet Sasuke at the restaurant they had gone to the Saturday before. As soon as she drove into the parking lot, she quickly spotted Sasuke's Lamborghini – it sort of stood out. Taking the available spot to its left, she got out of her car and walked up to his. He was on his cell phone again, but he rolled down his window, smiled at her, and gave her the one-minute sign.

Sakura smiled and nodded, waiting for him to finish his call. She always told Sasori not to work too hard, but she never realized she had never said that to Sasuke. Now that she thought about it, she felt a little guilty. Though perhaps, even if she had said that, Sasuke most likely wouldn't have listened.

By the time Sakura got home, it was 5:47. As soon as she hung up her coat, her cell phone rang. It was the default ringer, so it was obviously someone she hadn't assigned a personal ring tone as of that moment. She looked at the screen. Deidara… I wonder what he wants. "Hello?"

"Hey, chick. Didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?"

"No, I just got home," Sakura replied slightly awkwardly as she took her shoes off. "What's up?"

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

Sakura blinked. Is he asking me on a… No, he knows I'm dating Sasuke. "No, I'm free tomorrow."

There was a pause; for whatever reason, Deidara seemed hesitant to ask. "I was just thinking we could… I don't know, get a cup of coffee or something, yeah?"

"Sure," Sakura said smiling. "Do you want to meet in the morning?"

"Anytime is fine."

"Okay, how about Panera's at 10?"

"Sounds great."

"Yeah, see you then," Sakura finished.

"Hey, Sakura…?"

"Yeah?"

He paused again. Sakura frowned slightly, wondering what happened to make it so awkward for Deidara to talk to her. "Nothing… never mind."

"Hey, don't be like that," Sakura said in a teasing tone of voice. She would have added a playful poke to the forehead if they weren't talking over the phone. "Come on… tell meeee…"

"Sakura…"

"Please?"

Though she didn't know it, Deidara was thankful at the time that he didn't have to see the puppy-dog face on Sakura as well. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Sakura replied. "Bye bye."

"Later."

Sakura smiled as she set her phone down on the kitchen counter. Shower time; she walked into the bathroom and looked at the mirror, surprised. Am I… am I blushing?

Sakura stepped out of her car and locked it with the remote control on her key. Carelessly dropping it in her purse, she walked into the coffeehouse with a confident smile. It would be nice to see Deidara; she was sure they had a lot to catch up on that they'd missed before. As soon as she walked through the door, she caught sight of him sitting at a booth, looking out the window as he extinguished a cigarette.

He turned his head slightly and saw her walk in, waving at her once. Sakura smiled brightly and waved back, but as soon as she did, her purse went flying. Her eyes widened in horror as it came crashing to the ground, the contents spilling out onto the floor. She felt several pairs of eyes on her but refused to look up as she crouched down, trying to gather everything. Sakura thought that spilling her purse at work was embarrassing – she never bothered to imagine spilling it at a coffeehouse.

"Wow," she heard Deidara say. He knelt down in front of her and helped her with a few things. Sakura refused to look at him because she knew he was trying not to laugh (and failing miserably). "You're pretty klutzy, you know that?"

Sakura's reply was a small whimper of embarrassment. She finally gathered everything and zipped the purse back up. Deidara tilted his head slightly, obviously oblivious as to why it was such a big deal. "It's not that bad… yeah."

"Yes it is," Sakura mumbled as she followed him to their booth. She absolutely refused to look at any of the other customers. This is the last time I come in this coffeehouse, she thought miserably.

Deidara sat down across from her and gave her an amused smile. "Could have been worse."

"How…" she groaned, sinking into her seat.

"You could have pushed the panic button on your car keys… yeah."

She sat back up. That was true. That button would have made the car's horn go non-stop and the lights blink on and off until she canceled it. "Good point," Sakura said, resting her head on her hand with her elbow on the table. "This is so embarrassing…"

Deidara shrugged and nodded once. It probably was. "But who cares?"

"I do," she retorted, looking at him as if he were crazy.

"Why?"

"Because people saw me!"

"So?"

"I don't want them to think I'm some sort of… I don't know, clumsy idiot."

Deidara sighed. "Are you ever going to see any of these people ever again?"

Sakura bit her lower lip, looking away. "No…"

"Then why does it matter?"

"It's embarrassing," Sakura said. "And hey! You saw me!"

"So? I'm not gonna hate you just because you dropped your purse, I thought it was hilarious… yeah."

"Oh, thanks," Sakura grimaced.

"You've done it before," Deidara pointed out.

Sakura shook her head, trying to distract herself from the perfect start to her day. "So what did you want to see me for, anyway?" she asked pleasantly.

Deidara paused; he didn't think she'd ask that. "Err… I need a reason?"

"No," Sakura chuckled. "I guess I just thought you had something important you wanted to tell me."

"I could have called you for that," Deidara said, tilting his head to the side. The waitress passed by and took their orders – both of them stuck with a simple coffee. "When did you start working at Akatsuki?" Deidara asked, starting a conversation.

"About a year ago," Sakura said, stirring cream and sugar into her coffee. "Oh, you should have been there," she laughed. "My interview was humiliating – I was so surprised Sasori hired me."

"I'm not," Deidara told her. Sakura looked at him, confused, so he thought quickly. "You're good with people; that's an important skill for a receptionist. Plus, we were friends in high school."

"I only knew you guys for a year," Sakura insisted. "And we hung out in different crowds."

"We were still on good terms at least, yeah," Deidara said.

Sakura nodded, "That's true. So what happened after high school? Get yourself a girlfriend?"

"Not even," Deidara chuckled. "I partied too much, and these days I have other things I need to fix before I start dating again."

"Like what?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side.

Deidara gave her half a smile, "I've got to get my life in order. Sort of had a wakeup call a few days ago," he finished in a slightly quieter tone.

"What happened?" For some reason, she was hesitant to ask.

"Don't worry about it," Deidara replied, flashing her a cheeky grin. "So… have any more dreams about me?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "No, and the first two were just coincidence."

"First two?" he inquired with a smirk. "You mean you plan on having more?"

"Deidara, you jerk! Get your head out of the gutter; I'm dating Sasuke!"

The quickest traces of a frown passed over Deidara's face in half a second, so much so that Sakura didn't notice. He plastered a cocky grin on his face and shrugged, "Oh yeah, choose spoiled little rich boy over amazing me."

Sakura smiled, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder, "You'd be even more amazing if you stopped smoking."

"Ouch," Deidara said, holding his hand over his heart in mock pain. "Low blow!"

Sakura giggled as she rolled her eyes. "How about… you'd be more amazing if you painted the hood of my car like you did yours?"

"I'm not gonna put a phoenix on your car," Deidara said as if it were obviously the wrong thing to do. "Those belong on Trans Ams, not little preppy girl cars."

"Okay… then what can go on my car?" Sakura asked, trying to ignore the 'preppy girl' comment.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sakura's eye twitched, "Why not?"

"I told you already," he retorted, folding his arms and looking out the window. "Nothing goes with purple."

Monday morning, Sakura made sure to get out of bed on time. She had her clothes set out the day before – a cute, sleeveless red mini dress with white trim – and prepared a quick bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. After munching it down with a glass of apple juice, she cleaned up the mess and headed to work. As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she smirked triumphantly upon seeing her spot was free.

For lunch, she left work, heading to a sandwich place that was just down the street. It wasn't Sakura's job – nor was she asked to do so – to bring lunch to Deidara and Sasori, but they had been cooped up in the studio's art room all morning, so she felt bad. Her guilty conscience caused her to buy them sandwiches, too. Sasori's paying me, so I'm not gonna let him die of starvation! And besides, Deidara did pay for my coffee yesterday. It's only fair.

As soon as she got back to Akatsuki Studios, Sakura saw that no one had been covering the phone in her absence. Sasori and Deidara were still upstairs. She looked at the recording machine and sighed with relief that no one had called. After hanging up her coat, she walked upstairs and knocked on the door. A faint 'come in' was heard, so she hesitantly opened it.

The art room looked how she had pictured it; it was amusing to admit to herself that though she had worked there a year, she'd never been on the second floor. It had plain white walls and newspapers scattered throughout the floor. Blank or unfinished canvases were placed randomly and bits of clay and wood seemed to litter the floor.

"Sakura?"

Sasori's voice brought her out of her thoughts. Sakura looked at him with a smile and spoke in a teasing tone, "Guess what I brought…!"

Deidara looked up and saw the sandwich bag she was carrying. "Sakura, you're a saint, yeah!"

"Only on Mondays," she laughed, handing both of them a sandwich. "Sorry about coming up here, but I knew you guys wouldn't be leaving any time soon. Had to bring you something or I'd feel guilty."

"How much do we owe you?" Sasori asked politely.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura insisted, looking around the room. "Wow, you guys sure keep busy, don't you?" The room was somewhat separated into two sections; one was Sasori's and the other was obviously Deidara's. They worked on separate projects, though it appeared they took on more than one at a time. An idea clicked in her mind, and she knelt down in front of Sasori, giving him a suggestive grin. Feeling her gaze on him, Sasori looked up from his painting of a mountainous scene and gave her a quizzical look. "Sasori, make Deidara paint my car like he did his."

"I said no!" Deidara said, taking a break from the clay bird sculpture he was working on. "He's not gonna help you!"

"Why can't you paint her car?" Sasori asked curiously.

Deidara gave him a warning look, silently demanding 'who's side are you on, yeah?' before pouting slightly. "Because."

Sakura looked at him for a moment before deciding on a different route. She was still in a kneeling position, so she crawled her way over to Deidara's side of the room and sat down on her knees again. She put her hands on the floor in front of her, just close enough to push her breasts slightly forward for more of an appearance than her tight red dress already gave. To top it off, she gave him the sweetest baby look she could possibly muster. "Please?"

To her sheer delight, Deidara's eyes lingered for a moment on her chest before he forced himself to look away, breathing ever so slightly heavier than before. "No. …G…go away."

Sakura sighed, surprised and disappointed that it hadn't worked. Unbeknownst to her, if she had kept it up, it would have. Finally, she stood up, folded her arms across her chest, and stuck her nose in the air, looking at the ceiling. "I must have been mistaken," she said. This was her last option. "Here I thought you really had painted the phoenix on your car – I can't really believe you if you don't give me a demonstration say… on my Tommy Kaira."

Deidara's blue eye twitched once in annoyance before he glared up at her. "You did not just say that."

Sakura grinned triumphantly, "Well? Prove me wrong."

For a moment, it looked as if he really was going to give in and paint her car. But then he clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly, the scowl still on his face. After about ten seconds, he appeared calmer and was able to smirk at her again. "Don't believe me? Okay, I can live with that."

"W-what?" Sakura stuttered.

Deidara shrugged, "I don't need you to believe me – I know what I did." Grinning, he added, "Going to have to try a lot harder than that."

Sasori had been quietly watching the two of them for a while, using the side of his hand to hide the highly amused smile that was forming. Though Sakura didn't know it, she was winning. She just had to keep pushing. However, she seemed to lose her resolve after this, for she sighed and slumped down on her knees again. Soon, Sakura found her eyes wandering around the room again, looking at all the finished and unfinished works of art with awe. "Well, I've got to get back downstairs," she said at last, standing up again. "Got to cover the phone in case someone calls. If you need anything, let me know."

As soon as Sakura made it to the last step, she heard Sasori call her name. "Sakura, wait." She turned around and saw him close the door to the art room before walking down the stairs to meet her. "Did Deidara tell you what's going on? About any problems recently?"

"Um… I don't think so, why?" Sakura asked, confusion and concern evident in her voice and facial expression. "Wait, he did mention something yesterday, but he changed the subject right away. Is everything all right?"

Sasori paused, wondering how best to say what came next. "You're aware he listens to you, right, Sakura?"

"Err… I guess, but you know, I did sort of exaggerate that call last week-"

"No, not that," he said. "I know you exaggerated, but that's not the point. You did get him to come back after just talking to him once. Believe me when I say that Deidara is a stubborn brat."

"Oh, I believe you," Sakura sighed, thinking about it.

Sasori offered her an encouraging smile and put his hands on her shoulders. "He listens to you; not sure why," he lied, though kept his tone convincing, "but he does. Read this… you'll understand."

Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion, but accepted the letter from Sasori regardless. It wasn't the one she was to deliver to Deidara. It appeared to be a business letter addressed to Deidara's apartment. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but opened it to read it. Just after reading the first few lines of the business letter, Sakura felt her heart tie in knots. "Oh my…"

The letter stated that if Deidara didn't come up with rent by March 15th, he was going to lose his apartment. He hadn't paid in two months, and this was his last chance.

"I'm trusting you with this," Sasori said all-knowingly. He could believe in Sakura; she was a miracle worker. Her bringing Deidara back to Akatsuki was proof enough as it was. "He won't let me help him, but he might if you talk to him."

Sakura nodded, smiling at him. "Thanks, Sasori. I'll try my best."

"I'll cover the phone," he said, walking to the front desk.

Sakura thanked him again and walked back upstairs. She opened the door to the art room and quietly closed it behind her. Normally, every time she saw Deidara she had funny flashbacks of high school or even excited feelings. It was so easy to smile when he was around. This time, she looked at him as he worked on the details of the clay bird's feathers and felt as if she had received news of a loved one passing away.

Feeling an uncontrollable urge to comfort him, she slowly walked towards him. Hearing her footsteps on the newspaper, he looked at her. That slightly arrogant, goofy grin of his was perfect – she would have bought it in a heartbeat, easily believing that nothing was wrong in his life. But she had just been proven otherwise. Kneeling down beside him, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Deidara looked at her in confusion as she buried her face in his chest. "What happened?" he asked, trying not to get clay on her dress. "Did someone die?"

Sakura pulled away and gave him a sad smile as she slowly shook her head. "No… but…" Deidara's eyes traveled to the letter in her hand, and he saw the addresses. It became clear then; Sakura knew about his apartment.

"Yeah," Deidara said, switching his gaze to the window. "Life comes at you fast… yeah. I thought I had it all, and after I left Akatsuki, it just flew right by. I started smoking to get rid of the stress, started hanging out with some shitty new friends, and it just got worse from there."

"What are you going to do?" she asked, voice tinged with concern.

"I'm going to have to see if I can take out a loan."

"Don't," Sakura said suddenly, causing him to switch his gaze from the window back to her. "Those are all… those loan companies just want to make money. They'll charge you an awful interest rate, and then you'll be right back where you started."

He tilted his head to the side, looking at her with a sad smile. What was she doing, worrying about a piece of trash like him? "Don't worry about it, Sakura," Deidara said. "I'll figure something out, I always do."

"Sasori wants to help you, but you won't let him," Sakura pointed out. "And… and I'll help in any way I can."

"No way," Deidara said sternly. "I don't accept charity. Thanks," he added, "but no thanks." Damn men and their prides.

"It's not charity," Sakura informed. "It's me helping out a close friend. It's a shame we lost touch after you graduated, but I'm more than willing to make up for lost time." You and me both, Deidara thought with a frown, looking at her determined face. "I have an idea!" she said at once. "Give them the apartment – you can live with me!"

His expression turned from a frown, to surprise, to confusion, to a mixture of both. "Say what?"

"You've seen my place; it's more than enough for one person," Sakura said, feeling excited that she would be able to help.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Deidara said uncomfortably.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, confused. "I keep it clean! My cat won't bother you – she leaves people alone. I… I can do your laundry for you and stuff, I promise it won't be bad!"

"No, it's not that," Deidara interrupted. "It wouldn't be right, yeah? I can't even afford my place, there's no way-"

"We'll split rent! Besides, you're working here again, and soon, more of your artwork will sell, and you'll have more than enough! Think of it as temporary," Sakura added quickly. "I know the thought of living with me isn't the greatest of concepts, but as soon as you save up some cash, you can get your own place again!"

Deidara looked at her, frowning slightly. What was she thinking? Who wouldn't want to live with her? "It's still not right," he said. "It wouldn't be fair-"

"Oh will you stop that!" Sakura scolded. "Don't let your pride get in the way! I'm sure you'd much rather trust me than some loan company!"

"Why exactly do you want to trust me?" Deidara inquired. "Before last week, we hadn't talked in three years."

"So?"

Deidara slapped his forehead in frustration. "Haven't you ever been warned about psychopaths and rapists, yeah?"

At this, Sakura laughed. Not a little giggle or something like that. She actually laughed, placing her hand on the floor for support. Deidara quirked an eyebrow at her, still frustrated. "You a rapist?" she asked between bouts of laughter. "Oh, sorry – haha – that just gave me a mental image! Oh, that was funny," she sighed. "Wow. So when do you want to move in?"

"Sakura," Deidara said. "I'll ignore the rapist comment but I can't move in with you. I can't depend on others just for a place to live, that's not living at all… yeah."

"It's just temporary."

"That doesn't matter!" He searched his brain for another reason. "Besides… how's your boyfriend going to react." He was more than bitter about mentioning that one.

"Sasuke won't care," Sakura assured. "I'm a grown woman; I make my own choices. I don't need a man making them for me."

Deidara sighed, finally realizing he was fighting a losing battle. Like Sakura pointed out, it was only temporary. He would live there for a month, if that, and then move out and get his own place again. "Fine."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, happy she won the argument. "It'll be so much fun, trust me!"

"Uh-huh…"

"We can wake up in the morning and have breakfast and drive to work in the same car sometimes!"

"M-hmmm…"

"We can even stay up late and watch movies! Oh, this'll be great!"

"…"