Chapter 24
Hai! It's me again! With another chapter for you! I got a question in a review about what happened to Dei's parents, and this should help clarify some things. It's the longest chapter in the story so far, and it's full of flashbacks!
I have to admit that Dei's daddy shows up more than his mommy does, but there is a reason for that too. It just might not be explained.
Also! Shadoe is an actual name! It's very unique, but it's still a name.
~Deidara~
"Are you happy, Deidara?" My father asked with a smile on his face. I smiled brightly at him in return.
"Yes, un!" I cried. I was 8 and I had finally gotten a book on famous artists that I had wanted for the past few months. I couldn't believe that I finally got it! I've wanted it and wanted it, but my mother said that it was just a phase, but I knew it wasn't. It was really the only thing that I had wanted for the past few months. "Thank you, un!"
"It's not a problem at all. You wanted it, so you got it." His bright blue eyes were shining at my excitement. "Now, what do you want to do until your mother gets home?"
"There's an art exhibit at the museum today, un" I said happily. I had loved art ever since I could remember. My mother loved art too, but she wasn't as lively about it as I was. "Then, if we have time can we go to Disney World, un?"
"Alright. If we have time then we can go to Disney World." He said. His light brown hair looked shiny because of the way the sun was hitting it. "I don't think that we will have time tonight, considering the time the exhibit opens, but if your mom says it's alright we can to to Disney World tomorrow. That sound okay with you?"
"Yes, un!" I said. I was bouncing with happiness. My father was one of the best people. He would always do things with me if I asked him too. He had always been nice to me, and always seemed to be happy. Not only that, but within two hours the exhibit would be open and I would get to see some of the best art from around the Florida area.
"Good." He hummed as he went into the kitchen. Our house was fairly big for the street that we lived in, and I really enjoyed living here. We even lived next door to my best friend Shadoe! It was great! We were currently in the living room, or I was now. I didn't know why he went into the kitchen. "Since it's lunch time, what would you like to eat?" He asked. Oh, that's why. I thought as I followed him.
"Do we still have any pizza, un?" I asked. My mom made some of the best pizza ever! I bet I couldn't ever find anything that could taste better.
"Yes we do." He said as he took a plate out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. Shortly after I got bored with waiting for it to get done, so I went back into the living room. My book was out there, and I had already read most of it, but I wanted to read it again.
A few minutes later I heard a 'ding' but I didn't really register it. I was too caught up in reading and re-reading things. I really couldn't care less about reading, but if it involved art then I would put up with it! Anything for art! Pretty soon after David came out into the room, this time carrying a different plate and two cans of soda.
"Don't tell you mother that I let you have this when you had some yesterday. She'll skin me." He joked as he sat down next to me, setting the food down on the table.
"I won't, un." I promised him with a smile.
"Good." He nodded. "Have you gone through this whole book already?"
"Mostly, un." I said, still reading through the artist that I was on. This book told about who the artists were, and how they got to where they were today. It told you things about the artists that you couldn't have even thought of. It wasn't just on the artist of the past – there were a fair amount from present time too. "I still have a couple artists to go yet, and then I'm going to re-read it, un!"
"Wow, Deidara." He laughed, and I looked up at him. "You just got it this morning, and yet you're already almost done with it?"
"Yup, un." I replied, causing him to shake his head.
"I swear: you're one of the first kids to enjoy reading and art this mention that I have ever met."
"That's a good thing, un." I pointed out.
"I know." He said before taking a sip of his Mountain Dew. I frowned when I realized that I had to put my book down to eat, because mom never let me eat while I was doing something else – watching television would be the only exception. I knew for a fact that dad wouldn't lean on the verdict this time. I set my book down and grabbed the plate and I ate a piece off of it. I practically inhaled it! I noticed the older males' disapproving look.
"Sorry, un." I said a little sheepishly.
"It's fine." He sighed. "Just eat slower. I don't need you choking."
"Alright, un." Then I looked at the plate to see the remaining piece starring at me. It looked like it had a face on it, and one with puppy eyes at that. "Do you want this one?" I asked as I took a drink of my own Mountain Dew.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"A little but aren't you, un?"
"Now I'm worried." He said and put a pale hand on my skin. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"Of course I am, un!" I cried indignantly.
"The Deidara that I know wouldn't offer." He teased. "Anyhow, thanks for the offer, but it's your food."
"What if I want you to have it, un?" I whined.
"Then just don't eat it, and I might eat it later."
"Fine. Then I won't eat it, un."
"Suit yourself, but I want you to eat if you're hungry."
"But I'm not hungry, un."
"You just said that you were." He looked at me skeptically.
"Did not, un." I muttered as I set the plate back down on the table and drank the rest of my soda. After that was gone I set the empty can on the table next to the piece of pizza before I curled up next to my father. I smiled with content when I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders.
"So - out of all the artists that you have read about – which one is your favorite?"
"I have a range of them that I like, un!" I was sure that my eyes were shining again. I always enjoyed it when people asked me about art – especially when it was my parents. "I enjoy Leonardo Da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh in the olden times, especially Van Gogh, un!"
"They were both very good." He agreed with a nod. "Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa while Van Gogh painted Starry Night."
"Yes they did, un! They are some of my favorite paintings!"
"I know. Alright, since those two are your favorite old artists, who are your favorite ones of the present?"
"Hmm, they are all pretty good but only two of them stand out to me, un. They are both pretty young too."
"I wonder if I've heard of them. If they are that young I must have. How young?"
"Both around the age of 20, un."
"That is pretty young to have made it into that book already. I must have heard of them. What are their names."
"The one that I like most is this guy named Sasori Akasuna. He looks even younger than 20 though, un. Then the other one is a guy named Haki. I find it funny how he has the same name as us! Haki Iwa. How many times do you think that could happen, un?" I was ecstatic but when I looked up at the elder again his face looked hard. "Do you know of them, un?"
"Oh- Yes. I've heard of them. I believe that they both live in California, am I right?" He asked, his face softening almost as quickly as it became hard.
"They do, un!" I probably should have asked what was bothering him, but I didn't think about it, so I didn't. "Though, I like Sasori a little better, un."
"What makes you say that? Surely they're both good."
"They are, but it says in the book that Sasori does all sorts of art while Haki just does sculpting. He apparently thinks that sculpting is the only form of art, un. The only thing that I don't like about Sasori is that he thinks true art is eternal."
"What do you think true art is then?" He asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"True art is fleeting, un!" I said with a huge smile.
"Alright!" He laughed. "Fair enough. Now, let's say we head over to the museum? I know that it's early, but we can beat the crowds and look at the other things in the place while we wait. What do ya say?"
"Alright, un!" I was all for the idea. It was just us today because mom was working double shift for something. I had hopped up to my feet: the tile feeling cool against my bare feet. "But what about your pizza, un?" I asked as I looked at his smiling face.
"I'll eat it when we get back." He said as he stood up, and picked up said pizza. "Now, go get socks and shoes on while I put this away." I nodded and raced to my room. I quickly threw on a pair of socks and then I raced back to where we kept the shoes.
By the time that he got back to where I was waiting I was already impatient. I normally was completely patient – more so than most kids my age – but I didn't want to wait any longer. I wanted to go to the museum now! The brunette gave me a look.
"Jacket." He said and I frowned, but when the look grew more stern I didn't hesitate to do as I was told. I really didn't want to wear it, but I wanted to hurry.
"Can we go now, un?" I asked hopefully as I zipped the jacket up.
"Yes. Now hurry up. You can sit in the front this time." I rarely ever got to sit in front, and I never got to when mom was driving. It was a treat when I could. Could today get any better than it already was?
I hurried ahead of him and got into the passenger seat while he got into the drivers side. Once we had both buckled our seat-belts he pulled out of the driveway and started to head down the road that was one of the many ways to the museum. When we stopped at one of the red lights I couldn't stop talking about things. The blue eyed male was listening intently to everything I said, and commenting every so often.
Screw the 'kid in a candy store' bull-crap. I would rather be a kid in an art museum!
Everything is going right. I thought with happiness as I continued to talk to my father. He smiled and gave a nod, and – when the light turned green – he started driving the car again. Neither of us noticed the car behind us as he floored the gas, but I did notice the car that wasn't stopping. I was about to open my mouth to say something, but the older male spoke.
"Get down, Deidara. Get down." His voice was calm, and I missed the look that flashed through his eyes. More out of habit than that of actually being frightened, I got down and curled into a ball underneath the dashboard. That happened right before we got hit by both cars – one from the back, and one from the side.
My eyes flashed open before I even realized that I was awake. My mind was still focusing on the memory that I just dreamt of, and I didn't know why it had to show up at that moment. It still felt like I had my fathers arms around me – almost like he followed me into reality, and had never died.
That's when my eyes focused on what was going on around me. It was dark out, and I could feel arms around me. When I tilted my face up a little I could faintly make out the face of Sasori. I must have fallen asleep. I thought. I didn't try moving. Why would I? I was comfortable in bed with him, with his arms around me, and I was sure that this probably wasn't going to happen very often.
I snuggled myself closer to him, and marveled in how good it felt to be in his arms. The feeling of his arms around my waist made me feel wanted. At the moment I really didn't want to think about anything else, but I couldn't help thinking of the memory that had resurfaced.
I had blacked out when the cars crashed into ours, and when I had woken up I had found my mother next to my hospital bed. I found out that my father had died, and that there were only two survivors – me and the woman driving the car that rammed us from behind. She had claimed that the only reason she went faster was because she thought that if she went fast enough, she wouldn't get hit. Stupid girl. I thought.
I also vaguely remembered them telling me that I was lucky. That the only reason I was alive was because I had been in the front seat instead of the back. They said that I would've died if I had been sitting in the backseat; even if I had did my best to curl myself into a ball on the floor. They said it was a miracle that I had survived, but I couldn't help crying for my dad.
I managed to shake those thoughts from my head and turn it slightly so that I could see the time. It was only a little after midnight. I wonder if Haki will be mad at me... I thought, but then I let my thoughts go as I fell into sleep once more.
"You ready?" Shadoe asked with a smirk as we went through his room for something to do. Since my mother and her new boyfriend – someone who I did not like by the way – were out doing something. I believe it was just dinner, but I wasn't sure. I just couldn't believe two things. I couldn't believe that my mom actually decided to date someone else, and no matter how long they had been together, I was still mad at her for it. Nobody could replace my father, and this man was trying too hard to do just that.
I also couldn't believe that they didn't trust their 12-year-old son to be home alone. What was I going to do? Burn the damn house down? At least they let me stay at Shadoe's house for the night. At least his parents trusted us not to do anything stupid.
The other teen was only about a week older than me and he had dark brown eyes that went fairly well with his medium length blonde hair. If it was anybody else I probably would've told them that it was a terrible look, but he pulled it off.
"Oh yes, un." I said, mimicking his smirk. "Are you sure you have enough money?" I asked.
"Yeah, we just have to find it." He said as he searched through one of his drawers. "Ha! Got it!" He held up the black leather wallet in triumph.
"Great, un! Let's go!" With that we raced out of the room and down the stairs.
"Where are you boys going?" Shadoe's mother – Shayla – asked as we raced past the couch where she was sitting. When I looked at the pair it sometimes made me wonder how they could be related. Shayla had light green eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She might as well have been a second mother to me.
"We're going to go the movies, mum." The blonde said with a sweet smile at his mother. The had moved from England when he was 6 because that was where his fathers family was from originally, but when his mom couldn't take it there anymore the three of them moved back to the states – to that I was thankful.
"At this time of night?" Her tone held some worry in it, but I knew that she trusted us. She just didn't trust other people.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine, un." I said with a hopeful look at her.
"We'll be back by 11 o' clock. I promise. Nothing'll happen to make you doubt it."
"Fine." She sighed in defeat. She could never resist either of us. Especially my cuteness. "Do you both have enough money?"
"We do." Shadoe said and we both nodded.
"Alright. Go have fun, and don't either of you be a nuisance."
"We won't, un!" I cheered as we both ran out of the door. I didn't miss her shake her head at us though. She was used to our antics by now. We both hurried over to our bikes and started to ride off towards the theater. It was warm enough that we could ride our bikes there, so we would. It was only a little damp, but not so much that we needed a jacket.
"Hey, what movie do you want to see, un?" I asked as we rode down the side of the rode. We probably would've both agreed to walk if it wasn't for the fact that it was dark, and it wasn't that safe to walk in the dark around here.
"Hmm... How about The Missing?" Shadoe said after a couple of minutes.
"Sounds pretty good, un. I've heard good things about it."
"Same here. Besides, it has some Indian's in there, almost all good movies have some form of Native American's in 'em."
"True, un." I laughed. "Are you sure we have enough to get in?"
"Do you doubt the awesome powers that I possess?" He questioned with a laugh. "Yeah, man. I'm sure that I have enough to get us both in."
"Alright, un!" I laughed. Shadoe always seemed to make me feel better. He was my best friend, and I'm sure that he would always be my friend – of some sort at least.
"Hey, how long can you stay til tomorrow?"
"I don't know, un. Why?"
"Because I was wondering if you wanted to hea-" He never finished what he was saying because before we knew what was going on pain hit me and I watched the truck hit my friend just moments after it had hit me. Minutes later the world stopped spinning and I managed to open only one of my eyes – the other wasn't responding to what my brain was telling it.
I managed to see that I was laying close to the other blonde, and our bikes were nowhere to be seen. I didn't really care at the moment because I just wanted to make sure that my friend was alright. I went to move my arm so that I could touch him to make sure that he was fine, but before I could I just fell into unconsciousness.
I woke up again with a silent gasp this time. I knew that I was still being held by Sasori because I could still feel the warmth of his body, but I felt like I needed more comfort than what his arms could give right now. Just for the feel of more of his warmth I tried to snuggle closer to him, even though I did so earlier in the night.
I couldn't really figure out why I kept waking up and why I kept remembering things that I haven't really thought about in a long time. It was like all the things that I had been trying to suppress were coming back out tonight, but I couldn't see why. I hadn't done anything differently lately, and I hadn't really said anything about it unless I had to.
If I had just been thinking about things that involved my family I could honestly understand, but the memory that I just had – involving Shadoe – I didn't really understand. I hadn't thought of my old friend in a while. I hadn't been meaning to think about him, but now I was. The last time I saw him was right before I had to leave.
I moved just a little so that I could rub my eyes with my hand, and when I did I felt Sasori's arms tighten around me. I was starting to calm down more, and my thoughts were slowing down because I was getting sleepy again. Yet again I tilted my head so that I could see the time. It was only a quarter to 5? It felt like it should be later.
I yawned again before letting myself fall into a steady sleep for the third time that night.
"Deidara, are you sure that you're okay?" Crystal asked me as she turned her head so that she could look at me from the corner of her eye. I was sitting in the back seat of the car. I would rather not be with her and Clay. I had taken to calling my mother by her real name, ever since she decided that she would marry her boyfriend. She knew that I didn't like him, but she said that it was for the best.
"I'm fine, un." I said tersely. I didn't just not like Clay. I thought he should just go away, but I wasn't going to get into another one of these arguments with my mother when the man in question was driving the car. If I would have had a choice, I would have chosen to stay at home, but Crystal had insisted that I go along. She still thought that I could do a better job in trying to get along with her new husband.
Didn't she know how betrayed I felt? Couldn't she see it?
I should have been able to drive myself to where we were going anyway, but no. I couldn't because I didn't have my own car. I had my license, but no car. What good was a license without a car? No good, that's what. I would've rather just stayed at home by myself or went over to Shadoe's house. He needed a friend at the moment too. His father had just left him and his mother without any reason why. All he did was hand over divorce papers.
"Deidara, you could at least act like you are looking forward to tonight." Clay said gently, and I chose to glare daggers at him through the seat. He had brown eyes and brown hair, and his personality was almost as bad as his looks. Trust me, they were both bad. I knew that he wasn't happy I was going with them to dinner either, but he wasn't going to flat out tell my mom that he didn't want me there. He was selfish and wanted my mom all to himself.
"I can't act like what I'm not, un." I muttered in an uncaring manner and I looked out the window. The scenery was okay, but I wish that it was better. We were on the same rode that I had been on nine years ago with David when the car crash killed him. I never really liked the road anymore, or cars for that matter, but it couldn't be helped when they were apart of society.
"Deidara-" The man had turned his head like my mother had done only for a second but cut off when my mother made a noise in the back of her throat. The brunette turned his eyes back on the road at the right moment, and just managed to miss the car that had broke down on the road. The relief that I felt didn't last long though. Just as we swerved to miss the car there was a different car that hit us head on – forcing the car to flip.
I didn't really have a chance to think why it was always me before my head was forced to hit the window, making me lose consciousness once more.
When I woke up for the third time I could faintly see the light coming in through the curtains, and I could no longer feel the warmth around me. I looked around, but I couldn't see Sasori and I figured that he had left considering that it was around 9 o' clock. That was according to the alarm clock. I forced myself to sit up and I looked around again before resting my head in my hands.
I could feel the sweat that was along my hair line, and I could feel the slight pricks of tears in my eyes. I needed somebody right now, because of how I felt right now. It was almost as if all my emotions were attacking my memory's all at once.
I wiped my eyes roughly a couple times to get rid of the threatening tears before I got to my feet. I obviously wasn't going to go to school today, considering I would be late anyway, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than the things that my mind wouldn't stop thinking of. I made my way out of the room and down the stairs. When I was half-way down them was when I heard the faint sounds of a person.
I made my way down the rest of the stairs and followed the sounds that seemed to be coming from the kitchen. To my surprise – and happiness – Sasori was there and he was looking through the fridge for something. When he closed the door was when he saw me, and he walked closer to me.
"Good morning, sleep head."
"Morning, un." I aid in reply. "I'm surprised to see you here, un."
"You're surprised to see me in my own house?"
"I'm surprised that you're not at school, un."
"I wasn't going to leave you in my house alone."
"You could've woken me up, un."
"I wasn't going to because you didn't look very good when I woke up." His eyes seemed to soften a little. I saw them soften more and more now a days. "Are you alright?"
"Not really, un." I said meekly. It was true. I didn't feel alright at all. I didn't like my nights rest, because it felt that I didn't get any. The only good part was actually sleeping with Sasori – it was my only real comfort. I felt him wrap an arm around my shoulder and I looked to the side to see him there. I hadn't even noticed him moving.
"Would you like to talk about it?" I shook my head slightly as I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my head in his crook.
"I just remembered why I hate car rides, un." My reply was muffled, but I knew that he had heard it because he wrapped his other arm around me. I could feel the tears threatening to come again, even if I didn't want them too. I could feel them start to travel down my cheeks.
"It will be okay, Diedara. It will be okay." Sasori said in a soothing voice, and despite the tears it made me smile slightly at how he was now compared to when I first met him.
To when I had first read about him in my book of famous artists.
Happy Valentines Day again! 8D
Random pick up line of the day:
If I flip a coin – what are my chances on getting head?
I hope you enjoyed that, my loveys~