Okay, I've had some amazing reviews that have had me jumping round my room in happiness, but at the same time I've had some people query the school system. I guess since most of you wonderful readers are American, I'll have to explain how things work in our little isle :D
Right then, in Britain we go through school in year groups, and there aren't really any end of year exams. But in year 11 (age 16) we have GCSE's, a whole load of exams in every subject, testing what we've learnt throughout the whole of school. After these, school is no longer compulsory, but we can go on to college (as Itachi and Deidara have done) where you do an advanced set of exams - 'A' levels. These are necessary to get into a university. The IB (international Baccalaureate) is a system that is equivalent to A levels and is also accepted by universities. A levels, however, are a purely British thing, whereas the IB is done in other countries – hence why Itachi did it; he wasn't in England at the time.
This is dedicated to my beta-reader, anime-loon, whom I won't see for ages. Love you and miss you my awesome bean-paste-chan!! And this is also for Squid, whom I will see again today at last!!
Link to fanart on my profile.
"You do know that people with ESP can influence the minds of those around them right? Especially people like you who don't have it."
The Uchiha nodded. "Of course I do, what's your point?"
Naru yawned widely again, propping his head up on one hand. "Did it not occur to you that Deidara could unknowingly be psychic?"
The previous night's conversation bugged Itachi the whole mile long walk to school. Could Naru have been right? It seemed like a huge coincidence, and he didn't exactly believe in coincidences anymore. But it explained why he'd been acting so unlike his normal self – if Deidara was psychic then he would be able to unconsciously manipulate his own aura to make people trust him.
Damnit surely he would have noticed if the blonde had been doing that! He was trained to notice those sorts of things!
Itachi snarled and turned the volume on his I-pod up to full in the hope of drowning out the annoying internal voice that kept asking these questions. It was still raining as he reached the college, so as always he decided to pass the time until registration in the Beach Hut. His normal stigma against the place didn't really apply to mornings, since no-one in sixth form tended to arrive as early as he did and he more or less had the place to himself.
The notice board drew his attention and had he been a less stoic person he would have groaned; the RE teacher was ill and had left work for the class. This usually wasn't an issue, but his teacher had a habit of leaving huge articles that weren't even relevant to the course for them to read.
Is that really why you're pissed at the lesson being cancelled?
Itachi slammed his books down on one of the desks, making the only other person in the room – a timid year twelve student – jump violently and stare at him with wide eyes. He ignored her and picked up the useless article to begin reading it; the more he did now, the less he'd have to do in the actual lesson period. Anything to keep that little voice from whispering that it would have been the only lesson in the day he shared with a certain blonde enigma.
Quickly immersing himself in the study of utilitarianism, the Uchiha didn't pay any attention when he heard someone else enter the common room. However, he was forced to look up when a soaking wet bag was dropped onto the table right next to him and someone flopped into the chair besides his.
"Morning!" Deidara grinned cheerfully, pushing sodden hair back behind his ears. "Bit wet out there, huh?"
Itachi stared, and for two very good reasons. Firstly, he hadn't expected Deidara to remain friendly and had assumed they would have gone back to being casual acquaintances. The second reason was one he found a little easier to put words around.
"You look like a drowned rat."
Deidara's jaw dropped for a moment, then he began laughing. "Well you have an umbrella! And I don't look that bad!" He glanced over at the board and saw the work set for them. "Alright! Free period!"
"We still have to read the article." Itachi stated, pushing one over the table to the blonde. Deidara only gave it a cursory glance before throwing it into his wet bag. "Nah, I never read these things." He grinned at the raised eyebrow he received in reply. "They're so dull! How can you even bother?"
Itachi sighed inwardly, just his luck that the only person wanting to talk to him was a slacker. "I need to get straight A's."
"Why?"
Was Deidara stupid or something?
"To get into university."
"Yeah, but I'll bet you've already got good grades from your IB, and you did all the hard subjects!" The blonde pulled an apple out of his bag and began munching on it. "Why do you need more qualifications?" He asked with his mouth full. "Which uni needs you to be that smart?"
Itachi tried not to look irritated at the question. "Harvard med-school."
Deidara choked and Itachi had to slap him on the back to dislodge the piece of apple from his throat.
"H-Harvard med-school??" He gasped, as soon as he could speak. "As in the Harvard?!" The awe on Deidara's face was almost comical as Itachi nodded slowly.
"Yes, 'the' Harvard, as in the one in America. I'm going to train to be a neurosurgeon."
Mouth open, eyes wide – Deidara looked like a rather attractive bowling ball.
Itachi began to feel uncomfortable under the awed gaze, and cleared his throat nervously.
"So, do you know which uni you're going to?"
The blonde snapped out of his stupor and his blue eyes lit up as he nodded enthusiastically.
"Sure, I'm going to Nottingham Trent." He waved his hands around animatedly, trying to get his point across. "I'm going to do an art foundation course, then a full degree the year after. I want to specialise in sculpture and photography."
"That's...a strange combination."
"Oh no, not if I destroy my sculptures in an artistic way, and take photos of the result, like with the bird yesterday. Or I-"
Itachi realised that he wasn't actually listening any more. Deidara had gone off into his own little world, talking of things that made sense only to his artistic mind. And the Uchiha found himself feeling strangely jealous, an emotion he was unaccustomed to having. Deidara didn't have a high aim in life; he wanted to be an artist, that was all. Not a politician, or doctor, not someone who's job made a difference in the world. Just an artist. And he was so excited at the idea! He obviously couldn't wait to start his foundation course – even though it was at a university that was barely known, and not on any decent league table. An old polytechnic, and he was proud to be going there, proud enough to be unable to stop talking about it.
Itachi found himself wishing that he could have the same enthusiasm for his own future, and jealousy flared up when he realised that he never could. He was a born genius, so his parents had decided for him what he was to do with such intellect. Being a neurosurgeon would be interesting and a challenge, but he wasn't passionate about it like Deidara was for his chosen course, and that comparison made him feel a little bitter.
Both were stirred – Itachi from his brooding and Deidara from his hyperactive soliloquy – by the bell for registration.
"Crap!" Deidara practically flew out of his chair, "Sarutobi hates it if we're late!"
Itachi barely had time to hear the words before his companion was a disappearing blonde blur. He sighed – knowing that was probably the only chance he would have all day to talk with Deidara – and left the Beach Hut at a much more sedate pace. His tutor was one of the less-liable-to-kill-you types, and being a few minutes late wouldn't matter. He pitied Deidara though, everyone knew that Sarutobi – the deputy head – was a strict man and had no time for idleness. It was a school theory that if he was your tutor, then you'd done something very bad in a past life. Itachi didn't believe in reincarnation, but he could see where the idea came from.
Poor Deidara.
'Poor Deidara' didn't actually need to be pitied. He had made it in time to receive a glare from his tutor, but no angry tirade, and now he was in art.
Completely unaware of the classroom around him, the blonde's whole world narrowed down to the clay he was working with. A shape was growing out of the mass of grey, a proud head slowly forming and rising. A pair of wings followed, feather markings delicately inscribed along their edges. A tail was the last to be lovingly sculpted into life, its solid weight balancing the creation. Then was
the tricky part; feathers, eyes, scales, all were painstakingly etched into the smooth surface, until at last a falcon stood proudly on the table, wings unfurled and head thrown back in a triumphant cry of victory.
It was only when he was clearing the area around the bird that Deidara felt the pair of eyes watching him. He sighed irritably, knowing full well who it was, and wishing that he could throw a lump of clay at their head.
"That looks great Deidara!"
Predictable as always!
Deidara raised his head to glare at his antagonist. A vision in blue and black met his gaze, ignoring the death glare.
This happened every art lesson, and with increasing frequency out of the class as well.
"Do you need something Konan?" He snapped.
Konan didn't take the bait at his raised voice, and just smiled at the grumpy blonde. "No, I just wanted to say that you've done really well with that, it really looks life-like."
"Well, you've said it, do you need to keep bothering me?"
Now, most – if not all – of the guys in the collage wouldn't be able to understand Deidara's problem here. Konan wasn't your average girl and that made her very popular. A mix between punk and Goth, she was instantly recognisable by her bright blue hair that had been dyed since year eleven. And she was lovely. Vivacious, friendly, kind; in general the best sort of person to go out with.
People just couldn't understand why Deidara had such a problem with her attention. She wasn't forcing herself on him like some girls did, and she had very similar interests as he did. But no, he was cold, indifferent and at times plain nasty to her.
Like now for instance.
Much to his dismay, Konan sat down in the seat next to his, watching as he fiddled with the angle on one of the wings.
"Chosen which arts college you're going to yet?" She asked, quietly enough so as not to ruin his concentration, but loud enough to make sure he couldn't ignore her.
"Hn."
Well, that was the theory anyway. It seemed that Deidara was blanking her.
"Um, I've applied to the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design." Konan continued, still attempting to get a reaction.
"Good for you." Deidara couldn't be bothered with the hassle of pretending that she didn't exist, so went back to the original plan of being an ass-hole. A quick glance towards the girl showed him that he was doing well; she was looking slightly dismayed at his curt answer.
"Do you still want to go to Nott's Trent?"
For the love of God! The nuisance just wouldn't take a hint!
"Yes."
She smiled again, happy to have got a response at all. "That's great! I've heard it's very good for art and design."
"Whatever."
Deidara picked up a scalpel-like implement to score delicate feather patterns around the birds beak, wishing his aggravator would just leave already! There was a blessed silence for a few moments, and he almost hoped that he'd been left alone. But no.
"Um, have you seen the new Indiana Jones film yet?" There was a hesitance to Konan's voice now that – had he been really paying attention – Deidara should have picked up on.
"Not yet."
"Well, I'm going to see it with a group of friends tonight." Konan shyly twisted her hands in her sleeves – an action that was quite out of character for her, and this time Deidara did feel the nervousness pouring off the girl. "Uh...would you like to come with us?"
He looked up sharply, only to realise that she was now refusing to meet his gaze. That was pretty much an invitation to go on a date, and he scowled. This hadn't happened before. Sure, she was always badgering him, but asking him out was a first. And if he handled, this right it would be a last too.
"No."
She looked up, more puzzled than hurt. "Maybe another night then?"
"No."
"Well how about bowling if you don't want to see a movie? Or paintball-"
"NO!" A few people in the class glanced their way at Deidara's raised voice. "Leave me alone Konan, I'm busy and I don't want to go anywhere with you!" He angrily shoved his pencil-case into his bag, and pulled his jacket on.
"Oh." Konan backed away a little, eyes downcast again. "Alright. I understand."
"Good!" The blonde swung his bag onto his back and rose from his seat, scooping his creation up. Marching over to the drying-racks, he labelled the little falcon and placed it on the side to await firing in the kiln.
Job done, he turned to leave, when a voice called him back.
"Wait, Deidara!"
Konan. Again!
Deidara snarled, turning back. Okay, he was officially at the end of his tether with this girl now!
"For God's sake Konan! I don't want to talk to you, you stupid bitch!" He shouted as she approached him. "I don't like you, I won't ever like you and I don't want to be associated with you, now leave me the fuck alone!"
There was a stunned silence across the classroom.
"I...I was only going to say that you'd forgotten your sketch-book." Konan's voice was trembling, and it was only when she said that did Deidara notice the large red folder cradled in her arms. She thrust it into his hands and pushed past him – running out of the classroom.
Deidara stood there, clutching the sketch-book and feeling like the world's biggest ass-hole as the rest of the class glared at him. Being a sixth form lesson, there wasn't a teacher present – and for that he was eternally grateful; he'd have been in deep shit had there been one!
Not waiting for one of his classmates to say anything, he turned and left the room, unconsciously following Konan's footsteps as he trudged back to the Beach Hut.
Opening the door he was met with the quiet and comforting babble that told him the place was near empty, since most people were still in lessons. A small group of girls in the far corner glared at him and he figured that Konan must have come back here too. A wave of relief washed through him as he scanned the mostly empty room and spotted a head of familiar raven black.
Itachi looked up and met his gaze calmly, although Deidara hadn't yet made any move to announce his presence. The blonde ignored the tingling feeling of unease he got at the idea that the Uchiha must have sensed him, and stormed over to slump in the chair next to his peer.
"What did you do to Konan?"
Straight out, just like that!
Deidara stared at him blankly. "How did you know-?" He stopped, then scowled. "Hey! I don't care what mystical hocus-pocus you've got, but keep the hell out of my head!"
Itachi regarded him in faint amusement. "Deidara, I told you yesterday that my ESP is minimal at best. There's no way I could read your thoughts. As for how I knew something had happened: Konan came running in here about ten seconds before you did, in tears. She grabbed one of her girl-friends and the disappeared into the toilets. She probably wanted to cry where no-one could see her. And I knew it was you responsible since the rest of her friends-" He nodded over at the gaggle of girls in the corner, "-Began muttering, and I heard your name. The rest was putting two and two together."
Deidara nodded slowly. "Okay, I'm sorry I snapped. This just isn't my day!" He lowered his head to rest on the table-top. "Yeah, I upset her, and I don't seem to have learnt since I just got shirty with you too." He sighed.
"Want to tell me what happened?"
"There's not much to tell, she's just so...so aggravating!"
Itachi frowned slightly. "She's always seemed pretty nice. She's never been rude or malicious like many girls are." He shrugged. "But then again, I wouldn't know very well, I've never actually spoken with her. Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Deidara quickly explained what had happened in the lesson. To his credit, he didn't embroider the story, and told it as it was – contrite enough to admit to his own pigheadedness. Itachi remained silent throughout, only nodding now and then to keep the blonde talking.
"So, yeah, that's all of it." Deidara finished lamely. He looked up at his companion, wondering what Itachi would think of his rather cruel attitude towards his blue-haired admirer.
The Uchiha watched the embarrassment and stubbornness war on Deidara's face, before giving his verdict. "I'll admit that I haven't known you for long – if you can call two days long – but snapping out at someone like that when they were only trying to be friendly doesn't seem like the sort of thing you'd do. What's the issue with her?"
Deidara scowled, slumping down in the chair and letting his long side-fringe swing in front of his face.
"Oh it's not her that's really the issue; I just don't want any associations with that wretched brother of hers!"
Brother? Itachi tried to dredge up the very little information about Konan that had seeped into his little self-contained bubble. He didn't recall ever knowing that she had a brother, but since all he really knew was her name, that wasn't such a surprise.
"Okay, start from the beginning." He said firmly.
Deidara huffed moodily, blowing at his fringe as he did so. "Fine. Konan has an older brother. Well, I say older, he's actually our age, but didn't go to college or anything."
Itachi nodded, remembering that Deidara had taken a couple of years out before returning for A-levels, which made him two years older than all the other year thirteen's – minus Itachi of course.
Deidara looked up and saw Itachi's 'well go on then' expression. He sighed, sitting up straighter and dropping the attitude.
"Okay. From the beginning then." He bit his bottom lip thoughtfully as he worked out where to start from. "I guess it started back when I was in year ten." He smiled wistfully. "I was best mates with this guy called Sasori – we'd been friends since play-school. Then in year ten this new guy called Pein joined our class. He was, well...cool, I suppose. A mix of Goth and punk, and always breaking the school uniform regulations – he came into class on his first day with his tie covered in badges of heavy metal bands, and six piercings! Not to mention his hair! If you think Konan's is bad, you haven't seen Pein's; it's orange!" Deidara chuckled lightly at the thought. "As I say, we were year ten – so in a nutshell hormonal fifteen year olds. Sasori was going through a rebelling stage and Pein became his idol in a matter of days. I didn't mind at first. Sasori let him hang around with us, and it wasn't too bad since he loved breaking rules – and when you're fifteen that's fun. But he began to change Sasori."
Itachi couldn't really do much at this point except nod encouragingly, which he did so at the appropriate moments.
"One day, completely out of the blue, Sasori came in to school with his hair dyed crimson! I mean, he was naturally ginger, but dying it that colour was unnecessary!" Deidara's scowl was back as he continued. "About halfway through the year he started going to all these rock concerts with Pein,
lying about his age to get in. Not that I have a problem with that – hell, I did it myself enough times! – But Pein was changing him. He wasn't the Sasori I knew anymore. He never wanted to talk about art or music or films like we used to, and stopped coming round to my place to play X-box like we used to. All he cared about was stuff like Playboy and...And Marilyn Manson! By year eleven all those two would talk about was which girls they'd like to do, and in some cases had actually slept with. I felt like a spare part! And it's all Pein's fault!"
Itachi felt a twinge of sympathy at that. Maturing was a hard time, and it was natural that friendships would change in accordance to the changes to each person in them. He'd been lucky enough that his uncle had home-tutored him, and he'd been spared the annoyance of having other hormonal teenagers around. It had been a lonely time, but hearing what puberty seemed to do in a normal school environment he was quite glad he'd been well out of it.
"I can understand why you don't like him, but is there any reason you should take out your anger on his sister?" He asked, meeting Deidara's glare with a firm gaze.
"Do you know what Pein does now?" The blonde spat. "He's the leader of one of the town's gangs. That group on bikes that like to tear up the playing-fields and stuff, you heard of them?"
Itachi nodded, a frown creasing his forehead as he tried to imagine Konan being associated with the local hellions. The mental image didn't really work. As much as she was unorthodox and had a wacky taste in hairstyles and clothing, she wasn't a biker-chick by anyone's standards.
"Don't you think it's a little unfair?" The Uchiha voiced his opinion. "You understandably don't like Pein, but isn't taking your dislike out on his little sister a bit harsh?"
Deidara folded his arms mulishly. "No." He realised how mean that sounded and tried to clarify. "Look, she just won't leave me alone! Did you know that she takes art, English and gymnastics? Well I do, and I don't want to know. I don't care!"
"It's an odd mix of subjects."
"So? She's an athlete or something. I spent an entire double period of art with her twittering on about how she competes in some stupid sport I've never heard of."
Deidara huffed and irritably brushed his hair away from his face. "Can we change the subject please? I have to deal with her enough in lessons."
Itachi smiled slightly. "If you want. What do you want to talk about?"
It looked like Deidara hadn't thought that far. He cast around for a topic, looking out of the window for inspiration. It had stopped raining, and the ground was a sodden quagmire on the field behind the common room. A grin lit up his face when he saw it.
"Wanna play football?"
"What?!" Itachi followed his gaze and stared. "It's horrible out there!"
"Uh, yeah, that's the point." Deidara jumped to his feet. "Come on, where's the fun if you don't get horribly muddy in the process?"
Itachi shook his head vehemently. "No, I don't play football." That caused his blonde companion to sink back down into his seat in dismay.
"Rugby then? Bulldog?"
"I don't play sports."
Deidara laughed at that. "Oh it's hardly sport, it's just a chance to run around, get covered in mud and have a laugh. Didn't you ever do that with that group you used to work with?"
Itachi thought back to his time with SPR. The most they'd ever got up to was Bou-san chasing Mai every now and then. Sure they'd had fun in between work, but it was along the lines of watching a film or some good-natured teasing. They'd never played games beyond cards.
"No." He saw something akin to pity shine in Deidara's bright eyes, and felt that he was letting the side down a little. "They weren't the type of people to do that. Well, maybe Bou-san and John would...and perhaps Yasuhara-san, and we could possibly get the girls involved, but Naru and Lin never would allow it."
"Not even after hours?"
Itachi rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Okay, if you have to know; I can't play rough games like that, alright?"
The blonde watched him silently for a moment, before understanding lit his face. "Oh I see. You know, there's no shame in just admitting that you don't know how. "
Itachi gave a small embarrassed grin. "Well, I don't, so can we just stay inside please?"
He received a blinding smile in reply. "Sure." Deidara reached across the table and picked a fork someone had abandoned alongside a plate earlier. "I know how to pass the time."
Itachi looked confused until the utensil was handed to him and the blonde looked at him expectantly. Then he just rolled his eyes.
"Fine, but make sure no-one's watching." Once given the all clear, he concentrated and forced the steel to curl.
"Can you tie it in a knot?" The child-like enthusiasm was back in Deidara's voice as he watched in glee. Itachi complied and kept the metal bending until there was a loop that he could force the head of the fork through. Doing so, he put extra stress on both ends to tighten the new feature, then handed it back to his companion.
Deidara laughed delightedly, examining the flawless knot in the solid metal. To anyone who hadn't seen it just happen it looked like the strange quirk was factory made. There was no way a human could technically do that...well, not conventionally anyway.
A loud bell disturbed the two teens, and Itachi looked at his watch. "I've got to go, I have a politics lesson."
Deidara pulled a face. "Bleh! Politics! Have fun with that."
The Uchiha smirked and nodded, before grabbing his stuff and leaving. Deidara opened his art book and began to sketch the destroyed fork, grinning as he did so.
The rest of Itachi's day was uneventful. Without the R.E lesson he only had politics, geography and accounting to get through, which he did with ease.
The weather had gone back to being terrible. The wind had picked up again, and by the time he started to leave at the end of the day it was lashing down with rain. Trudging through ankle-deep puddles, the Uchiha was glad of his umbrella as he made his way to the school bus-park and exit. Younger children pushed past him, some laughing and chasing each other through the down pour, others squealing and holding their blazers over their heads to keep out the worst of the wet.
A flash of bright blonde amidst the green and black uniforms of the lower school caught his eye, and he hurried over to where Deidara was also pushing his way through the screaming crowds of kids who were trying to reach their buses.
"Here."
Deidara looked round in surprise as the rain stopped hitting him, and he grinned when he saw it was Itachi holding the umbrella over him.
"Thanks." He scooted closer in an attempt to stay as dry as possible. "You have a good day?"
"Average."
"Heh, yeah, same here."
Itachi watched as the blonde tried to keep his precious sketch book dry by closing his coat over the top of it.
"That looks awkward."
Deidara laughed. "You have no idea. At least this is only my A4 one; the A3 is a right bugger to carry!" He pushed his wet fringe out of his face. "So, are you going home now?"
Itachi nodded, tilting his head slightly to one side in thought as an idea struck him. "Are you doing anything tonight?" He asked nonchantly.
"Nothing other than the plan for my history essay, why?"
The Uchiha bit his lip, wondering how best to phrase this. "Do you want to come over to mine for a little tonight? I can show you some more stuff my uncle taught me."
Deidara looked stunned, then his whole face lit up. "Really? You mean it? I'd love to!" He looked like Christmas had come early, and Itachi had to laugh at the expression on the blonde's face.
"Great, you have no idea how brilliant it is to find someone I can talk to about this stuff again." The Uchiha said with a warm smile. He tilted the umbrella a little. "Shall we get going?"
However, they'd hardly moved a few steps before a loud noise made them and others around them stop and look towards the school entrance. Kids that had been walking across the bus-park scattered
with terrified shrieks as a huge Yamaha motor-bike with a souped-up engine careered through the hoards of screaming year sevens and eights.
It weaved about through the crowds a lot more than it needed to, giving the impression that the driver was enjoying nearly running people over. Finally the monster came to a halt at one of the kerbs, and the rider pulled his rain-splattered helmet off to reveal a thick head of bright orange hair, and more piercings than were natural. He left the engine running as he waved over to a person in the stunned mob that was now trying to press closer to have a look at the gleaming bike. A harsh word sent them on their way, and Konan pushed past the water-logged kids to reach the bike's side. She swung her bag high up onto her back and took her place behind the rider, and he turned to speak to her.
It was hard to see in the rain from where Deidara and Itachi stood, but it looked like she was crying again as she replied. The man handed her his helmet – seemingly far more concerned about her safety than his own – and gave her a very quick smile that she returned albeit with little enthusiasm.
He then revved the bike up once Konan had put the helmet on, and began to drive back out. As they passed Deidara and Itachi the bike slowed enough for his dark glare at the blonde to be noticeable.
Deidara shuddered as the bike disappeared out of the school gates.
"Who was that? And why did he look at you like he wanted your head on a spit?" Itachi asked in bemusement.
"That was Pein. And he looked like he wanted my head on a spit because he does want it on a spit."
"Any reason why?"
"Because I upset Konan. I'm in deep shit!" Deidara shook his head. "C'mon, let's go." He muttered.