So sorry, this chapter is relatively short, but it's also the last chapter in Deidara's POV. (Not like last-last, but the next one won't be in his). A few of the following ones will be written in Sasori's POV, I think. I'll see how it works out. The next chapter will definitely be in Sasori's POV, don't know about the rest yet.

Uhh, so, yeah~~

Also, FF is changing its outlook again D: I don't like it -.- It creeps me out. It's like, I come online one day and am like WHOA, the fuck happened here? It's making my profile look all... wrong. Not the way it's supposed to be.

Anywhore, here's the new chap ^^. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 6 – Sour Taste of the After Party

When Deidara's eyes cracked open, they were disobedient to stay that way. They were sore and swollen and kept blinking closed and open non-stop. His head felt as though it had been stuffed with heavy rocks that all pounded against his brain like hammers against nails.

Covering his eyes from the bright, artificial light, he got up from the floor on his shaking hands. He groped for his clothes, pulling them on in a clumsy manner. He leaned against the sink, resting his forehead against the cold mirror. It felt good.

He had little memory of what had happened last night – only momentary flashes that didn't really make sense. Flashbacks of the hot touches by Sasori flooded his mind, making his head reel. Had it been real or had he dreamed it?

After splashing some cold water on his face, he stumbled in a zombie-like way out of the bathroom into the party room, only partly aware of his surroundings. The room seemed empty, at least as far as he could tell. Only one figure was asleep in an armchair. His hair wasn't red and thus was of no importance to Deidara, so he just trod out of the room without giving the person a single glance.

Deidara wasn't completely sure how he ended up in his own room so quickly – sort of like he'd leaped through a portal or something – but the next thing he knew, he had already closed the door and fell down on his bed, face first. He drifted off in less than a minute.

He woke up in shock, bolting up with a scream. He had to cover his mouth to muffle the sound, unable to keep the sobbing sounds in himself. He remembered it all so clearly now – Hidan's body covered in blood, Pein's merciless laugh, the conversation between him and Sasori, Sasori's words...and touches and kisses in the bathroom.

Where was Sasori now? What was he doing? What was he thinking? Who was he with? Where was he? Deidara couldn't stop his thoughts from whirling, driving him nuts. He wrapped his arms around his knees, drawing them to his chest, rocking back and forth on the bed.

He wanted to go home. He knew he was a coward, but who the fuck cared?Everybody was nutsin this damn hellhole! Where was Hidan now? What had happened to him? Where was everybody else? They hadn't been in the party room, so…

A sudden thought hit Deidara, making him stop swaying and stare wide-eyed at the ruined purple-colored wall. What day was it? It couldn't have been the weekend yet… Everybody was… in class?

Frightened, he glanced at his watch, seeing it was already midday. He looked out of the window accusingly, as though he was blaming the cloudy sky for his missed periods. Couldn't the sun shine at least, so he'd be able to tell apart the day from night?

He got up in a flash, going to his wardrobe and fishing out the first things he could get his hands on. The fourth period had ended 10 minutes ago, so it was lunchtime now. He didn't have time to re-do his hair, only run his brush through the blonde locks twice. He ignored the mirror on purpose – had he seen his make-up, he would've gotten stuck in the room for another half an hour.

He dashed down the stairs, outside, straight to the south-east building and to the canteen. He felt dizzy as he waited in the cue, the chatter around him sounding like the noise between radio stations. He leaned against the wall with his elbow, running his hand across his face, rubbing his eyes. He wished for the line to pick up the pace.

After grabbing some lunch onto his tray, he made his way to the large eating room, eyes already scanning the people for a certain group. He found the S-rank students sitting in the same place as before and made his way to them, trying to ignore the nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

He knew he should've avoided them at all cost from now, but he couldn't help it – this was the place Sasori was at! How on Earth could he notstay with the group the scorpion was in?

A few, including Pein and excluding Sasori, raised their heads and nodded in acknowledgement when the blond sat down. At first, he thought it'd be for the best to smile – a friendly gesture, why not? – but then thought better of it and settled for a solemn expression. It'd be for the best to try to fit in.

As he brought a spoonful of soup to his mouth, he looked around, trying to catch on to what was going on. He'd thought there was a conversation, but as it turned out, it had been only short sentences said with minute-long intervals. There was no group spirit, people were minding their own business.

Tayuya was sitting on Itachi's lap, eating and twisting around from time to time to look at the male. The sentences they exchanged were said in quiet voices and Deidara didn't catch the meaning of them. While the girl was eating, Itachi only played with her hair or said something to Kakuzu, who was sitting next to him, but didn't eat anything.

Next to Kakuzu and across from Deidara was Sasori, seeming lost in his own thoughts. He ate hungrily and Deidara found it somewhat cute. He was able to imagine way to vividly his own hand being the one to raise the spoon to Sasori's lips. Oh God, why did he keep thinking about stuff like this? Hiding his blush behind his messy fringe, he sipped the hot liquid off his own spoon.

On his right were Pein and Konan – Konan sitting on the redhead's lap. Once again she was wearing a really short black skirt and had her legs crossed, her bare thighs showing under the table, above her black knee-high stockings. She was wearing black high heeled ankle boots that looked really good with her long and slim legs, Deidara had to admit.

She was leaning slightly to one side, eating a green apple and letting Pein take a bite out of it from time to time as well. Her hand was resting on his shoulder. She didn't say a word while Pein talked to Kakuzu. Her suggestive pose made Deidara think of a hot Asian woman standing behind a leader of mafia. The kind of a woman who looked pretty, dangerous and didn't talk much and if only, then to her man. She was the one to stay behind the scene and relieve her husband at the end of the day, that being her purpose.

Deidara watched them and thought that everything looked the same way as it had on the previous day. Only something was missing… and then he remembered what it was. Orwho.Hidan wasn't there.

The soup seemed to turn cold in Deidara's mouth. He waited more or less patiently for a couple of minutes, not wanting to stir up drama for nothing. Maybe Hidan had gone to get a refill or something?

But that wasn't true, Deidara was sure of it. He would've had seen him on his way to the table.

Or maybe he'd slept in, like he himself had? Deidara dismissed the thought as 'unlikely' as well. Hidan was gone. To where, he didn't know. And he certainly wasn't going to ask anyone from this group, either.

He looked at Pein, the same hatred he'd experienced at the party awakening inside him again. What had they doneto Hidan?

"You sure took your time in the morning. Missing your classes and all…" Pein teased, catching Deidara looking at him. The blond blinked, staring at him for a moment before turning away. He deemed his almost empty plate to be a safe place to let his gaze rest on and gave a shrug as a reply to the boy.

"Can't blame a guy for wanting some sleep," he muttered, finishing up his soup.

Pein laughed loudly. It was the kind of obnoxious and insolent, yet funny and friendly if you knew the person, laugh. Deidara felt the corner of his mouth curve upwards in a smile, but it died and he paled as soon as he flashed to the last time he'd heard that laugh. At the party where they'd beaten Hidan.

Deidara awkwardly turned away again, his eyes shyly peeking from behind his fringe at Sasori. The scorpion had just finished eating as well and was now finishing up his glass of water. (How healthy of him.) Not once had he even glanced at the blond and this was making Deidara slightly worried. What was going on?

Sasori got up and took his tray, pushing back his chair and walking off to where the dirty dishes were supposed to be left at. He left without a word and no one else seemed to mind or find it odd. Except Deidara. He did mind. Once again he could hear Pein's words clearly in his head '… He may not be what you're looking for…' and he shook his head to get that voice out of his head. It was not true! Sasori was the one, he knew it! All they had to do was to get to know each other… right?

With little hesitation, but 100 percent determination, Deidara pushed his chair back as well and picked up his tray. He gave a low 'see ya' and went to put away his tray, before tracing after the redhead out of the door.

He saw him walking down the hallway, but before he could tell him to stop, he'd already disappeared behind the corner. Deidara clenched his fists and ran after him, calling for him right after turning the corner. There was no one else in the corridor but them, yet Sasori just kept on walking, pretending he hadn't heard him.

"WAIT!" Deidara shouted, then muttering 'damn bastard' under his breath. "SASORI! WAIT, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" He caught up with the redhead and grabbed his arm, swinging him around in a rushed motion. Sasori's emotionless expression dismayed the blond a great deal and suddenly, he didn't feel all that confident anymore. But his determination hadn't disappeared anywhere.

"What's up with you?" Deidara asked, trying to keep his tone calm and casual. "You're ignoring me today, while yesterday you were…" He trailed off, not even knowing how he'd intended to end that sentence. He looked Sasori in the eye, searching for an emotion, but ended up drowning in the depths of his dark eyes.

"What? Were you expectingsomething?" Sasori asked, his voice as stoic as his face. Deidara couldn't even make out whether he was teasing or genuinely clueless. He just kept staring, hoping the other would explain himself. He froze when Sasori stepped closer, lifting his chin up with two fingers. "You really are a brat," Sasori stated dryly. He let go of the blond's chin. "Leave me alone. You have nothing to do with me and vice versa."

With that said, the redhead turned on his heel and walked away. Paralyzed, Deidara couldn't help but look after him, his head swimming and thoughts whirling. What had just happened? How was he a brat? What had he done now?

-x-

Once upon a time Cinderella met a Prince at a ball and the two fell in love at first sight. They spent the whole night dancing and everyone was envious of Cinderella. Cindy and the Prince married three days later and lived happily ever after.

This had always been Deidara's favorite fairy tale, but it seemed like a lie now. He'd always wanted to be Cinderella, embarrassing or not. Now, though, he detested even the thought of it, since he'd experienced the real life version of the story.

What the story didn't tell was that the prince was a back-stabbing, horny faggot and that Cinderella and the Prince met at a party, then had a one-night stand. Cinderella had been warned before, but as a fool, had ignored the warnings. Nobody wanted to be in Cinderella's shoes now, let alone envy. Also, there was no happy fucking marriage at the end, since marriage between men is illegal.

-x-

Deidara sat on the floor in his dark room, banging his head against the mirror. The lights were turned off and he'd closed the curtains. Tears ran down his pale face like a stream that had no end. Looking in the mirror he saw that his skin looked sickly white and his eyes that would've appeared red in light, seemed dark and gray.

The longer he stared at his own reflection, the more he wondered how he had been able to live with himself so far. What was wrong with him? Why did he look like this? His blonde hair was rustled and messy, emphasizing the imperfections that made him want to scratch his eyeballs out.

Why wasn't he good enough? Why wasn't he born perfect enough for Sasori to take interest in him?

Sasori…

Deidara clenched his fist and smacked it against the mirror, gasping at how much it hurt. But he couldn't stop. He kept hitting the mirror, hurting his hands and only leaving mere stains on the glass. Why wasn't he perfect enough? And who the hell did Sasori think he was to be so picky? HOW COULD HE BE SUCH A BASTARD?

Deidara let out a harsh sigh, resting against the mirror and sliding down it back onto the floor. He had stood up without realizing it himself. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his heartbeat down, taking deep breaths. The tears still flowed down his cheeks but didn't hurt that much anymore.

He had to do something. He couldn't leave it like this. A person who hurts others like that deserves death!Deidara opened his eyes, letting his gaze find the red bag that sagged open on his bed.

To be continued...