[A/N]: I think I'm going to put my long-winded author's notes up here from now on since I believe it clutters the end of the document and all of the things I have to say there (I dunno). So, to start, this chapter is again, approximately 600 words less than what you've come to expect from each chapter of this story and for that, I apologize. I think the last three or four chapters have been shorter due to the fact that the time between homecoming and Thanksgiving break and Thanksgiving break and Christmas/winter break is so short that I don't have a lot of room to push any more details than I already do. Also, there is a lot of dialogue in this chapter (dunno how it happened, it just did), so enjoy! ~Sasori33-001
ITACHI WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED when he returned to a vacant room Sunday afternoon. The halls were to open at noon, giving all students the chance to return half a day in advance before classes started again and Itachi seized the opportunity. For him, the decision was simple: sleep in a little and make the trip before most church services concluded or stay at home another day and wake up several hours in advance to beat the morning rush-hour traffic and drive two hours to make it in time for his first class.
Though Itachi loved his family, he could only handle so much prodding concerning his social life or lack thereof. Especially after his uncle's comment about how he and Deidara were so close, walking to class and eating lunch together. The man made it sound like they did those sorts of things all the time when in reality, Itachi only ate lunch with his roommate twice a week, and dinner three times a week. And of all the times Itachi could think of where he and Deidara had walked to class together, it was because the biochemistry major saw him walking and jogged to catch up with him.
Was it so wrong to share lunch with one's roommates or walk to class together? Okay, Itachi admitted that walking to class together was a little much but Deidara was…clingy…that way. Although he had friends of his own, Itachi seemed to be his closest, and after the incident at homecoming with Sasori, Itachi accidentally put himself in the position of Deidara's guardian, the one whom Deidara could come to with all of his problems and consult with if he ever found himself in need of advice.
Was that so wrong? Everyone needs a friend they can confide in every now and again, right?
Itachi rolled his suitcase to the edge of the bed, ready to haul it onto the mattress to unpack its contents before deciding to sit down and lay back instead.
While Itachi was fine being his roommate's confident, the only problem was the closeness it brought with it.
-8-8-8-
"So," Deidara said as he munched on a cheese quesadilla slice, "how was your Thanksgiving break, yeah?"
Itachi shrugged. "It was fine. What about yours?"
According to his understanding, Deidara had woke up at six thirty in the morning and made the two hour drive to arrive to his 8am class that morning, albeit fifteen minutes late due to traffic. "It was great, yeah!" Deidara chimed through a mouthful of cheese. "My cousin tried to follow a Thanksgiving turkey prep episode on a cooking channel, but it was going too fast for her and she didn't have all the ingredients ready!" Deidara laughed. "She had to keep pausing it and eventually she had it paused for so long that the episode started to resume and—"
There were a lot of people walking by, Itachi noted and glanced at his watch. 12:45pm. That was a reasonable lunch hour, since most classes let out after noon. While Deidara chattered on about his cousin's antics over the break, Itachi watched the people passing them by. Most of them were busy laughing and carrying on with their friends while others looked down at their phones while they walked and the rest looked straight ahead, concerned only with the destination before them. I wonder how many of them pass by at this exact time every day, Itachi wondered. Nobody struck him as familiar as the crowds passed them by, but never before had Itachi cared to study the flocks of students on their way to and from the cafeteria lunch line or cutting through the cafeteria to reach their classes more quickly. I wonder if any of them care that I'm sitting with another man who looks like a woman. What if they know Deidara? Do they know that he's homosexual? If so, do they think that I'm homosexual too, or think that we're lovers? He continued to watch the hundreds of students pass by their table and decided that most of them didn't them any mind, and if they did, they probably didn't care.
"But yeah, not sure what I think of Kurotsuchi's new boyfriend. I mean, who dates a guy whose name sounds almost exactly like hers, anyway?"
Itachi realized with a start that he'd completely zoned out from the conversation and hadn't heard a word of Deidara's anecdote and immediately felt guilty for it.
"I dunno." Deidara said before Itachi could even utter an apology. "I just think it's weird, yeah, but I guess names don't matter when you're in love, right?" He chuckled.
He didn't even notice. Or if he did, he didn't care. A trend that seemed to be the norm for Itachi's generation.
-8-8-8-
Remarkably, Itachi was able to reach out to Kisame upon returning to campus yesterday to schedule a tutoring session in the library. And as per their agreement after midterm grades were posted online, Kisame not only agreed to meet with him the next day, but arrived on time as well.
In Itachi's mind, this was progress.
"Let's start by reviewing the material we've learned since midterms and once we finish with that, we'll review the material covered before midterms. Sound good?"
"Wait," Kisame interjected.
"We won't be able to cover everything in one day;" Itachi continued, "we'll cover it over the span of the next two weeks; maybe four lessons each time?" He asked, looking up to meet Kisame's eyes.
Kisame shook his head. "Why do we need to study the stuff we learned before the midterm exams? All of that stuff is still fresh in my mind; shouldn't we focus on the new stuff instead of the old?"
"Not all of the material we learned before the midterm exams appeared on the exam itself." Itachi calmly explained.
"Yeah, but—"
"Plus, the final exam is cumulative and if I recall correctly, you didn't do very well on the midterm."
"Yeah, but," Kisame attempted to argue and sighed in defeat, "I still remember all of the stuff that we covered."
Itachi regarded him doubtful stare.
"I just…forgot most of it when the exam was in front of me." He answered in a small voice.
Itachi sighed.
"I have test-taking anxiety, okay! Give me a break, will ya!?" Kisame loudly explained, and earned a look of displeasure from the librarian who was putting away some texts nearby. "It's not my fault." He muttered.
Itachi set his thick philosophy book on its spine and pried open the middle of it using his thumb nails. "Then we'll just have to study so much that it becomes second-nature to you." He said, idling flipping through the pages of the text.
Across from him, Kisame sighed and mimicked Itachi's movements, roughly flipping through his own text to match the page number Itachi was at.
-8-8-8-
"I need a break." Kisame announced not even twenty minutes later.
Itachi glanced at his watch. "We've only been at this for twenty minutes so far—"
"I need a break."
Itachi regarded his classmate with a look of annoyance. "If you want to do well on the final, then we need to—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I get it, and if it means staying here an extra ten, twenty, minutes then so be it, but if you want me to retain any of this, I need to take a break."
Itachi sighed and went back to reviewing the text. "Fine."
"How long do I have?"
Itachi glanced upwards. "How long do you need? Three minutes?" He asked. When Kisame's brow wrinkled, he asked "Five minutes?"
"I was thinking like, ten minutes, actually." He bargained.
"Seven."
"Ten."
Itachi sighed and sat back in his chair. "Look, I have things that I need to get done for tomorrow, so you can either take a seven minute break or we can continue. Your choice."
"Seven minutes isn't even enough time to grab a candy bar from the vending machine!" He cried in a hushed tone.
"I would be if you weren't so preoccupied negotiating with me." Itachi responded coolly, flipping a page of the text.
"And if I'm not back in seven minutes?" He asked, watching Itachi skim the paragraphs printed on the next page.
Itachi didn't even look up. "Then I will not be here," he said, checking his watch, "and you only have six minutes now, so if you want a candy bar, then I suggest that you—"
"Running in the library is prohibited, young man, do you hear me!?" The library shouted from behind him, causing Itachi to jump in look to the direction of her wrath.
"Sorry, ma'am!" Kisame called over his shoulder as he raced around the corner to find a vending machine, leaving behind a bewildered Itachi.
-8-8-8-
After a solid hour of studying, Itachi declared that they could stop for the day and would meet again at the same time on Wednesday afternoon and possibly on Saturday once Kisame checked his swim team schedule.
"Alright; sounds good." Itachi said as he eased his tablet into his messenger bag.
"So." Kisame said.
Itachi looked up. "What is it? Do you have a question about something?"
"How was your Thanksgiving break?" He asked.
This took Itachi by surprise. He and Kisame weren't friends. They were classmates who only talked before and after class and during the few tutoring sessions they shared together. Itachi didn't know Kisame and Kisame didn't know him, so why was he asking him about his break. "Fine. And yours?" He shrugged. I guess it's just a conversational device, Itachi thought to himself.
"Lemme guess; you spent the whole time studying, didn't you?" Kisame asked, completely ignoring Itachi's question.
"Not entirely." Itachi supplied, securing the straps on his bag before hoisting it onto his shoulder. "I do have a life outside of school you know."
Kisame, who had only brought his philosophy text with him, plucked it from the table they were sitting at and held it by his side. "Really?" Kisame arched his eyebrows in surprise, which took Itachi aback a little bit. "And here I thought that you lived underneath the library or something, only emerging when you have class or when you want to torture me!" He laughed.
Itachi narrowed his eyes in contempt. How did this man ever make it as far as college, much less graduate from preschool?
"So aside from studying, what did you do over break?"
Itachi shrugged and pushed open the double doors of the entrance. "I did what everybody else does during Thanksgiving. I spent time with relatives."
"I bet your folks are fun people!" Kisame mused with a grin.
Itachi forced a grin in return, hoping that Kisame would take the hint and end the conversation already. "Not really." He answered when it became apparent Kisame wouldn't leave without one.
"Really? I would've never guessed!" He laughed.
So much for that. Itachi thought. "So I'll see you in class tomorrow?" Itachi turned and took a step in the direction of his dormitory.
Kisame nodded. "Yup. I'll walk with you; I'm headin' in that direction too, actually." He said. "So what do you all do when you get together? Practice your Hebrew or something?"
"I'm not Jewish." Itachi offered tersely. What did it take for this man to take the hint?
"Do they make you copy Latin poems?"
"No." Itachi answered, deciding that maybe if he answers were short and directly, Kisame would get the idea and stop talking altogether.
"Then what does your family do when you all get together?" He asked.
Didn't I already give you an answer to that question? Itachi wondered. "We talk."
Kisame made a circular motion with his hand, urging him to continue. "Do you have any siblings?"
"One.
"Older or younger?" Kisame asked.
"Younger."
"Brother or sister?"
"Brother." What was this, twenty questions? Kisame had used the word "torture" today to describe their tutoring sessions, so was this some sort of payback? Payback for what? Itachi's intent was to help Kisame, not torture him, so why was it that this man was trying to befriend him all of a sudden?
"So you have a younger brother." He stated.
Itachi nodded and caught Kisame smiling at him from out of the corner of his eye.
"Is he as boring as you are?"
At this, Itachi glared at him, but gave in and answered his question regardless. "Like any teenager, he spends a lot of time on his phone texting his friends."
"You guys get along?"
"Yeah."
"What d'ya talk about?" He asked. "You said your family talks when you're home, so…what d'ya you and your brother talk about? The news, politics, world peace?"
Although Itachi did attempt to engage Sasuke in all of those subjects at one time or another, he had a feeling that admitting so to Kisame would only prompt a lengthy discussion about political views – views he had no doubt Kisame would be opposed to. "I ask him about school and what his friends are up to and he gives me indeterminate answers."
"Indeterminate?"
"Vague." Itachi supplied.
Kisame chuckled. "I can see how you two are related. Does the rest of your family act like that?"
They were only a few yards away from Itachi's dormitory and wherever Kisame was heading in this area so Itachi decided to wrap it up as quickly as possible. "More or less." He answered, hoping that Kisame wouldn't follow him all the way to his room. That was not on his agenda for the day.
"Sounds like fun." Kisame said.
Once they reached the entrance of the building, Itachi turned around to face his stalker. "Where are you going?"
Kisame frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You said you were heading in this direction." Itachi said. "Do you live here?"
And just as quickly as it faded, Kisame's smile returned. "No, I live over there." He gestured to a set of buildings on the far end of campus.
Itachi furrowed his brow. "If you live all the way over there, then why did you come all the way over here?"
"Because this is the first time I've gotten any indication that you're human like the rest of us and not the study-obsessive drone you make yourself out to be." He said and turned on his heel in the direction of his dorm. "Well, see you in Philo tomorrow!" He waved.
Itachi stood motionless at the door, watching Kisame's retreating back as his brain worked to comprehend what just transpired between them.
"Because this is the first time I've gotten any indication that you're human like the rest of us and not the study-obsessive drone you make yourself out to be."
Kisame's words still echoed in his head, long after they had parted, earning him an expression of confusion from his roommate.
"Is everything alright, yeah?" Deidara asked. "You look like you just saw a ghost or something!"
Itachi blinked a few times in order to register what had been said to him and responded "I'm fine. I've just had a long day. That's all." He placed his messenger bag by the side of his desk.
Deidara nodded, though his look of concern had immediately morphed into that of worry. "Are you sure? You seemed kind of spacey during lunch today too, yeah."
So he did notice. "I'm just adjusting to being back at school, that's all."
Deidara smiled and glanced back at his open text book before meeting eyes with Itachi once again. "Oh yeah, that reminds me; how was your break? I know you said that it was fine, but you didn't really tell me what you did while you were at home, yeah."
Why is everybody so interested in what I do when I'm at home? Itachi wondered. Does everyone seriously believe that I spend every minute of every day studying? "Family stuff." He shrugged. "I did a little bit of homework here and there, but I spent some time with my family too."
Deidara smiled and kept his gaze level with Itachi as if he was expecting him to say more and nodded. "Sounds like fun, yeah."
Not quite the enthusiasm Itachi was expecting from the artist, but he didn't dwell on it. "Not really. They wouldn't stop asking me about how I'm doing and if I'm getting along with my roommate."
Deidara flipped his hair over his shoulder only for his bangs to cascade over the left side of his face again. "We haven't had any major fights so far this year!" He chimed. "You're the oldest in your family, right? You're the first born?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sure your folks are just curious to see if you're making the 'smooth transition from high school to college' that our advisors keep yapping about. I know your mom worries about you a lot judging by the way you talk to her on the phone. 'Mom, I'm not going to any end-of-the-year parties, I have finals to worry about; yes, I have friends; no, I will not grow up to be a lonely bachelor who collects stamps—"
"She never said I would grow up to be a lonely bachelor who collects stamps!" Itachi protested.
"My point is," Deidara continued, sliding off the side of his bed, "family can be overwhelming sometimes, and, no offense, but your parents seem kinda intense, yeah."
Itachi averted his gaze to the floor beneath their feet as the corners of his lips quirked upwards. "None taken."
Deidara placed a hand on his roommate's shoulder, making him snap his head up in surprise. "Well, if you ever need an escape, you're always welcome at my place." He winked.
Why did he wink at me just now? "Thanks." Itachi uttered.
"I mean it! I'm not telling you to run away and join the circus or anything, I'm just saying, if you ever need to get out of the house for a few hours, give me a call and I'll give you directions!" Deidara said. "Maybe over winter break or something? I dunno! But if your family gets to be too much, you're always welcome at my place; trust me, I know the struggle." He smiled.
"Thanks. I'll think about it." Itachi said. He had no intention of going out of his way to spend more time with his roommate than he already did in school, much less drive forty-five minutes to hang out with him outside of school. But if telling Deidara that he'd consider it made him happy, then a little white lie wouldn't hurt.
Deidara grinned and slid his hand off Itachi's shoulder and hopped back onto his bed, causing his pens and sticky notes to bounce a foot into the air. "Shit!" He cursed, reaching over the side to pick up the ones that fell onto the floor.
Worried that Deidara would flip and crack his skull open, or worse, snap his neck and be forever paralyzed, Itachi knelt down to help him pick up the fallen highlighters that were just inches from his reach.
"Thanks, yeah." He said, flipping himself back onto the bed, his blonde hair wild like a cockatoo's mane and his face reddened from the blood rush. "And remember, Itachi, if you ever need me, I'm just a phone call away!" He breathed, apparently winded from his little acrobatic stunt.
"Yeah." Itachi smiled.
I don't even know where to begin with regard to Itachi. He seems to view every social interaction as either a twisted game, doesn't he? But the person I feel has it the worst this time around is Kisame. Poor guy.
And no Shisui this time! Don't worry! I have plans for him to make a guest appearance next chapter, and things are bound to get heated...
As always, please leave a review, and Trucky, I haven't seen you in three chapters! Where are you? *sob*
Until next time~
Sasori33-001