[Crash] into me [Open]

[Deidara]

The morning was breaking as the sun began to rise, sending it's warm rays down toward earth. There was a gentle breeze, although it felt much colder due to the winter air. Wrapped up in his black cloak, the male stepped outside with his eyes closed, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. It was chilly outside now, but it would be a very pleasant day later, that he could tell. He took a few steps away from his house, his blonde hair shimmering slightly due to the sun catching it just the right way. With that, he opened his blue eyes, although only one was visible, like usual.

A small sketch book was in his hand, which he protected as best he could as he climbed up a large oak tree that resided in his front yard. He had to go to school, but he had about half an hour before he had to get there. If he rushed, he could get there in about ten minutes, leaving him time to sketch out the landscape. Normally his forte was sculptures, but on occasion, he enjoyed drawing as well. It just went to show how very much he loved art; although he personally preferred to make exploding clay sculptures, he also appreciated other forms as well, and even attempted to dabble in them.

Once Deidara pulled himself up into the tree, he leaned his back up against the trunk. The mouths on his hands were snarling from the bark they'd been forced to endure. His rolled his eyes at their protests and ignored them, as he took a pencil out from behind his ear. His hand flew across the paper, the pencil dancing across the flat surface of his sketch book, as he began to flesh out the sunrise. Deidara frowned, as it wasn't coming out quite as good as he imagined it would. Sculptures were a no brainer really, he could create them without any thought put into it. Drawing though, took more effort then he remembered, to get a decent result. He began to use the eraser on the top of the pencil, trying to fix the errors he was making, but he just kept making it worse.

"Forget it, un," he muttered to himself, tossing the cheap sketch book out of the tree. Deidara reached in his pocket almost instantly, taking out a chunk of clay that was mixed with a substance that easily blew up. The mouth on his right hand ate it up eagerly, then spit out a small dragonfly sculpture a couple seconds later. He tossed it at the book on the ground, watching happily as it disappeared in a small explosion. "That's better...yeah," Deidara murmured. With that, he hopped down out of the tree, just as the door to his house opened. His eyes widened slightly, he'd woken up one of his parents. "Oh, shit," Deidara stated, then began to run as he heard his mother yelling after him for scorching the lawn...again. "What? I can't hear you! See you after school," he said, pretending he was too far away to hear the lecture, giving a small wave. Yeah...he'd be hearing about that later.

The closer he got to school, the more he shoved his hands into his pockets. Sure, they couldn't go in any further, but it was as though he had to check and make sure. Somehow, he had mostly been able to keep his additional mouths a secret from the student population at Konoha High. Whether that meant covering his palms with band aids, wearing gloves, or just keeping his hands shoved in his pockets, he had done it. Maybe it was more trouble then what it was actually worth, but he just wanted to be accepted, for once. Back at his original home town, the people had hated him, feared him even, due to the genetic mix up. ...Okay, so it had a lot to do with the fact that he blew up a lot of things as a child, too. He hadn't been above throwing his bombs at people either, when he got mad. So, maybe he understood why some people didn't like him. But that wasn't why everyone hadn't given him a chance, no, a lot of them had called him a freak without even taking the time to know him.

So far at Konaha, he'd had pretty good luck. Deidara was even one in the 'beautiful people' group. Him, beautiful? They obviously hadn't noticed his deformities yet, since never before had he been called 'beautiful'. But, things were going good, and he wasn't going to complain about it. He'd been mistaken for a girl a couple of times, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary in his life. He was quite defensive over that subject, and had been quick to correct those that made the mistake. So what if he wears a bit of eyeliner, and he had long hair? That didn't necessarily constitute a female. People were just ignorant, that was all.

His mind had wandered and before he knew it, he was making his way up to the front doors at school. He was still somewhat early, since he hadn't taken a whole lot of time working on his drawing. There was still at least fifteen minutes before he needed to get to class, and that was if he wanted to be early. Deidara didn't actually care. He wasn't a bad student per say, but he wasn't nearly as obsessed as some of the students around the school were. In fact, he wasn't a stranger to skipping, if a better offer came up. Overall, he played by his own rules, and lived life the way it sounds best at the time. In the hallway, he moved over toward his locker. Leaning up against it, he put one of his feet up against the locker as well. He'd see what came up, before making any final decisions on what he was going to do for the day.

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Notes: Okay, so I took my sample post and built off it, and it turned out to be really long. So, replies definitely don't have to match my opening one, but they can, if you want!

[. SAKURA )]

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BUT THIS IS A TEMPORARY FOREVER
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→ It was okay at at first. Suddenly being grouped with the 'nerds'. They were going to be my friends for the rest of High School. I thought that it was a bit unfair -- a bit confusing, but I dealed with it. I dealed with it and I still do deal with it. I dealed with it for a few months, I suppose. But I was getting tired of not being able to laugh and talk, of not having friends. I mean...I do have friends. At least, I think I do. It's hard to tell. We don't talk to each other much because of how we're grouped and all. It's like a code or something to ignore the people in all the other groups. The thing is though, I don't want to ignore them.

→ She stared at the alarm clock sitting innocently at her bed-side. Time for school. And not any ordinary school -- High School. Konoha High School. The young girl hugged her legs together and pursed her lips, silently glaring at the object. Mind you, Sakura enjoyed school. She enjoyed the way she easily answered questions and she enjoyed how her teachers praised her. What she didn't enjoy was her social life. Or lack of social life. Sakura hadn't expected to be mauled by boys or anything, but she had hoped to at least hold a few hearts in the palm of her hand. Unfortunately, it hadn't exactly gone the way she had hoped. Sure, people were curious. They wondered why she had such a weird hair color -- they wondered why her forehead was so large. But they never seemed to wonder if she were single or not. Sighing rather dramatically, Sakura got out of her bed in a rather ungraceful manner since she had tripped over her own two feet and fell right on her face. It seemed like it was going to be an awful day. How unfortunate.

→ Pulling herself up off the ground, Sakura muttered a few curses before walking toward a lone mirror. She looked at her reflection with furrowed eyebrows and stared long and hard at herself. Her short pink-hair fell just above her shoulders, her bright, green eyes stared right back at her. Somewhat unnerved, Sakura fingered her hair and frowned. I look so...weird.

[/color] Frustrated with herself, Sakura stomped toward her bathroom, not wanting to continue thinking about her appearance. Who cared if she looked weird? Sakura didn't, and it wasn't as if anyone really noticed at the school -- there were a lot weirder looking people out there. So who cared? I do. I care.[/color] No, no, no! Stop being insecure, she told herself. She looked just fine, she told herself. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, weird about how she looked. Compared to others, she was considered normal looking. Maybe even, sort of pretty.

→ It took Sakura five minutes to realize that she was repeating everything her mother kept telling her.

→ By then, Sakura had stomped into her room to put on the clothes she would wear to school. Her mother yelled up at her from downstairs, thus making her mood even worse. Plucking a T-shirt and jeans from her closet, Sakura slipped the pieces of clothes on, before grabbing her jacket and bookbag, before racing down stairs. Her mother looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Sakura," her mother, Azami said, "I'll be late for dinner." Irritated, Sakura rolled her eyes at her mother and crossed her arms. It was like this every morning, Azami would tell Sakura she would be late, even though Sakura knew she would be. However, Sakura supposed that her mother was just used to telling her it every morning. "I know," was all she said, before pulling her jacket on and stepping out of her home, a piece of toast stuck into her mouth.

→ Fortunately, Konoha High School wasn't too far from her house, so it didn't take long for her to walk to. However, Sakura wasn't at all enthusiastic about going to school, so she took her time going there. Taking in the scenery, she told herself. Her neighborhood was awfully pretty. Her lack of enthusiasm had absolutely nothing to do with dreading the time she spent at her school. Nope, nothing at all. Shivering slightly, Sakura clasped her hands behind her back letting a smile grace her face. It was quiet, peaceful almost. It made her want to giggle, to make some kind of noise to fill the silence. Soon, her smile left her face, as she saw the school building come into view. It wasn't as if anyone teased her about how she looked, as some did when they were in elementary school, it was just that everyone ignored each other. Well, at least the people in different groups. To be honest, Sakura felt rather annoyed by it -- by the unspoken rule between groups. It was just so annoying.

→ She couldn't help but wonder if it would always be this way. If they would always be in groups like this. The rosette-haired girl hoped that it wouldn't be this way for that long. There was no way she would be able to handle it. Then again, maybe she was just being dramatic. Her father had always praised her for being his 'tough little girl'. So maybe she could handle it -- at least for a few more years. High School didn't take long to finish. But, Konoha High School sure made it feel like it took forever, and forever was a long time. Sakura sighed, the doors to the High School now right in front of her. Pushing through the doors, Sakura made her way through the halls toward her locker, passing several people along the way. She had gotten to school early, she noted with mild interest. Oh well. Soon enough, Sakura began letting her mind wander, not really paying attention to her surroundings. She idly noticed a person of the male persuasion leaning against a locker, but didn't pay further attention to him.

→ After all, she didn't know him.

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word count _ 1031
listening to _ naruto opening - forgot which one. x-x
notes _ INSECURE SAKURA ALERT. 8O

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

[Deidara]

There he stood, bangs hanging down over his left eye, while he watched people walk on by with his right one. They just walked by, not bothering to acknowledge his existence, even though his body language was so clearly begging for it. His friends weren't around, and he was beginning to get frustrated. He just wanted some human interaction, was that so much to ask for?! When Deidara got bored, the wheels in his mind began to turn, often leading to an explosion if he wasn't distracted. His left handed mouth began to twitch, the tongue searching around the pocket of his cloak, looking for a bit of clay. Finding some, it began to chew it up like a piece of gum, then spit it out once it was finished. Deidara barely noticed the process; his hands pretty much had a mind of their own. Careful to pull his hand out of his pocket without revealing his palm, he looked at the small sculpture he created out of boredom.

His eyes sparkled with defiance, he glanced at the floor in front of him. The sculpture was a tiny bird, and if it exploded, it wouldn't be enough to actually hurt anyone. But, it would definitely be enough to cause fear and even a bit of panic. Deidara tossed it out in front of him, a smirk crossing his face as people kept trudging by. That'd teach them, for ignoring him. Of course, as soon as he had done something that would be interesting, it seemed as if the steady trickle of student had ended for the moment. "Hmph!" the noise left his throat, as he stood there, feeling dejected. Shoving his hand back in his pocket, he kept still, continuing to watch for the victim that'd step on his little trap.

Then, a pink haired girl began to approach. His eyes widened slightly--maybe this would be it! Deidara studied her, even when her feet seemed to miss his sculpture. She wasn't in his group, he didn't think...not like he cared about that sort of thing, anyway. He entertained himself with trying to place her. Perhaps she was in the tough group...no, that didn't make sense. Her face didn't look like it'd fit in with Sasori, Pein, or the others. Cheerleader, maybe? Hmm, yeah, he could see that. She had a pretty face, she'd fit, right? No...she didn't look like sports would be her thing. Damn, he wasn't very good at the game he was playing, without knowing anything about her. Deidara glanced away, trying to take interest in something else, but her face and strangely colored pink hair was imprinted in his mind. He was curious now.

Pushing himself from his locker, Deidara tagged along behind her to a different locker, which he assumed was her own. He didn't care if she wasn't in his group, and now by getting a closer look at her, maybe she was. Either way, he wasn't one to follow the rules, he never had been. Who cared if others looked down on him for interacting with another clique? Being forbidden to do so...that was a dumb rule to begin with. "Hey, un," he said, once he got closer. Deidara didn't get too close, but close enough so that he could perhaps talk with her, if he wasn't blown off. It was sad, really. From what he could tell, they didn't differ in age very much, and yet he still didn't know her name.

"I'm Deidara," he said, introducing himself without removing his hands from his pockets. From what he could tell, normally people shook hands after meeting one another, but not him. God knows what his mouths would do, or the reactions he'd get to them. Well...he had an idea about the latter...it was nothing positive. He didn't care about being formal though, what he really wanted was her name to go with the face, the one that was stuck in his head.

[. SAKURA )]

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UNTIL THE STARS LOSE THEIR SHINE
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→ I've never been good around guys. Sometimes I get all nervous, and other times I want to smash their heads into a locker because of how annoying they are. But, I've never gotten those little 'butterflies', the girls in the romance books I read always get when their around the guy they like. It's always been like that, and I have a feeling it will continue being like that. Sometimes, I wonder if I'll have to become asexual, which my mother really wouldn't approve of...

→ The first thing that Sakura noticed, when she had bumped into another person, was this: Someone's following me.

[/color]

→ Blinking, Sakura didn't turn around to actually look, she just had that feeling a person got whenever they felt like they were being followed. She frowned, not knowing what to do, and decided to ignore them. They were probably heading toward their own locker. She was just overreacting, like she always did. After all, her parents had always told her she was a rather paranoid person. Which was why they didn't let her watch all those TV shows that had crime and murder in them, much to her chagrin. But that was besides the point. Silently sighing, the rosette-haired girl traveled to her locker while paying no attention to the other students in the hall way. Once she was in front of her locker, Sakura put her hand on the lock, expecting to gather her things for her class.

→ "Hey, un." She looked toward the voice, surprise apparent on her face. Sakura didn't know him, and he looked like he belonged to a different group, so why was he talking to her? Was this some kind of trick, or something? Discreetly, Sakura looked around, eyeing the blond teenager suspiciously, while trying to find any other participants in this little practical joke. And Sakura was sure it was just some kind of joke. "I'm Deidara." Wearily, Sakura noted that he was probably in the 'beautiful people' group, or something. He was handsome, she'd give him that. She stood there for a moment, just looking at him incredulously. Finally, Sakura hesitantly spoke, "Sakura." After all, it was common courtesy to introduce yourself, after the other person had. It would be impolite to just stand there, looking at him strangely.

→ Pursing her lips, Sakura crossed her arms, leaned against her locker. "...what do you want?" Sakura just wished to get to the point. If he was planning on tricking her, Sakura didn't want to beat around the bush. So much for getting ready for getting to class early, she though, frowning. At least there was still time to get to class, she didn't want to be late, after all. Not waiting for an answer, Sakura turned around and swirled the knob on the lock, thus entering her locker combination into it. "Look, if you're planning on playing some practical joke on me, don't. I'm so not in the mood to deal with them, right now," Sakura said, shoving her book bag into her locker and taking out her necessary books. Sakura swirled around and closed the locker with her right foot, hugging her books to her chest. "And if it's not some practical joke, then just tell me what you want." At the moment, Sakura was feeling rather irritable and it showed in the tone of her voice, even though she didn't mean to sound like she was, because it was sort of nice to talk to someone that was in another group.

→ But that was breaking the rules, and Sakura wasn't one to break the rules.

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word count _ 617
listening to _ so contagious by acceptance
notes _ ^o^ sakura's not haaaappyyyy.

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deidara]

As he stood there by here, his eyes wandered around, looking at the other faces passing by. He was still waiting for the satisfying sound of an explosion, but somehow, people had managed to not step on his little sculpture. He would've made it bigger so it'd be more likely to be stepped on, but it would be liable to cause some real damage. The male didn't actually want to hurt anyone by the trick. If he was aiming to cause damage, he'd go about it more directly, and for a better reason then simply boredom. He noticed that he was getting funny looks by the people walking by. Was it because he was talking to the pink-haired female? Receiving a particularly nasty look, Deidara scrunched his face up and stuck out his tongue at the person.

His attention was reeled back in when he heard her speak. 'Sakura.' Deidara repeated the name mentally. It sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he would've remembered talking to her before on a previous occasion. He raked his mind for something that would give him a clue to why he knew her name. Ino. The other name popped in his read, and that's when he remembered where he'd heard about Sakura before. She was the girl with the big forehead that Ino always complained about! He and Ino were in the same group, and so they knew each other by association. They had a very strange relationship, sometimes they could tolerate each other and even be friendly, other times they went at it like cats and dogs. But, that wasn't important right now. Deidara glanced at the famous forehead. Personally, he didn't see what the big deal was. Perhaps it was a bit bigger then usual, but it wasn't as though she looked hideous or anything. Quite the opposite, actually.

'...what do you want?' Deidara frowned at how irritated he seemed to make her. What, did he smell or something? Deidara absentmindedly sniffed his cloak. It smelled a bit like smoke from his explosions, but nothing terribly unpleasant. Well, before I wanted you to step on my bird, but you didn't... he thought snidely to himself, but didn't say the words aloud. Instead he gave a shrug of his shoulders. There was nothing specific that he wanted from her, except for her name, which he'd already gotten.

'Look, if you're planning on playing some practical joke on me, don't.' Deidara tuned out whatever else she had said, because he didn't like the tone of her voice. "Oh give me a break, un," he said, rolling his eyes. If he wanted to prank someone, he wouldn't just walk up and introduce himself. Normally when he was in the mood to bug others, he went to people that were familiar to him, because he knew which buttons to press. "Why would I come up to you and tell you my name if I was just going to pull a prank on you? It's not like I'd be considerate enough to give a name, I'd just be more liable to get into trouble that way, yeah," Deidara stated, going back to leaning against the lockers.

'And if it's not some practical joke, then just tell me what you want,' she had said. He let out a small grumble, his frown still intact. "Why so hostile, un? Let me guess, you believe in all that 'separate groups' crap that everyone spreads around here? What fun is it, being so close minded like that?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest, careful to keep his extra mouths hidden, like usual. "Be spontaneous and take a chance...yeah! I don't bite," Deidara told her, the frown erased, replaced with a slightly hopeful look. His mouths chomped on his sleeves, as though to disagree. They often put in their input on situations, but it was rare when he actually took them seriously. He noted the books that she was clinging to, and it was then when he knew almost for certain what group she belonged to. He pegged her for one of the mathaletes, which made a lot more sense then the others he had come up with for her. She was defensive toward him, probably because she got teased by the other kids around here...like Ino.

"Don't you get tired of having to stick with the same group all the time, un?" he asked, trying to provide further assurance that his current purpose wasn't to make her feel bad or pull some sort of joke on her. If Deidara was still unwanted after his little speech, then he'd go find someone else to talk to, or find another way to entertain himself.

[. SAKURA )]

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SHE GOT LOST IN YOUR EYES
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→ Ino. Yamanaka Ino. I know her, we're friends, secret friends. We were the best of friends when we were kids. We still are the best of friends -- we do all those best friend-like things, but we never act like it at school. I mean...we're in different groups. So, we don't talk to each other at school. It's a little funny -- a little sad. We were inseparable back in grade school. If you saw Ino back then, I was probably there, tagging along behind her. Best friends, that's what we were. Emphasis on the were.

→ Were guys always like this? Sakura wouldn't know, hence her lack of interaction with the opposite sex. To Sakura, men were unknown territory. She had never tried to talk to them when she was younger -- that had been Ino's job. The only males who had ever talked to her consisted of Uzumaki Naruto, her father, and her teachers. She may have been in a small chat with one once or twice, but never in a conversation. Besides, her conversations with Naruto were usually about ramen or something. That boy was so weird, but at least he was nice -- albeit a little bit too talkative and annoying for her tastes. Then again, she could be the same way at times. When she spoke with the boy, it rarely happened at school. The pink-haired girl tried her best to avoid interacting with people who weren't in the same group as her, much to her chagrin. "Why so hostile, un? Let me guess, you believe in all that 'separate groups' crap that everyone spreads around here? What fun is it, being so close minded like that?" Sakura narrowed her eyes and frowned. "I don't believe in it -- it's just the way things are," she said her voice low, but firm. That's how high school, isn't it? With the cliques and what not? It was all apart of the high school experience, she told herself.

→ But she knew it was a lie. High school would have it's good and bad times, she knew that, but what was it with people blatantly ignoring people? At his next words, Sakura cracked a humorless smile. "Be spontaneous and take a chance...yeah! I don't bite." Tilting her head to the right, her smile still in place. "Tell me how to be spontaneous then," she said, deciding to humor him. What was the harm in humoring him, this person who she had just met -- didn't even know. What was the harm? Considering the mischievous air around him, a lot. But it was too late to take back her words. Not as if she wanted to take them back. Except she did, but only a tiny bit, though. She took it as a sort of challenge. Of course she could be spontaneous! Of course she could take chances! The thing was that she didn't allow herself to get into situations that made her do such things. Sakura had always been cautious -- had always been a little bit paranoid. There was nothing wrong with being careful. However, all of her that was thrown out of her mind, determination replacing it. It showed in her bright, green eyes. Maybe, Naruto was getting to her. She made a mental note not to hang around him outside of school that much anymore -- he was a bad influence, as her parents often told her. (But she knew she was just lying to herself, because Naruto was far from a bad influence. Sakura also knew that she wasn't going to follow through with that mental note of hers.)

→ Sometimes it amazed her at how easily her mind was changed. After a little speech from a stranger, she was ready to do anything to prove that she could be spontaneous -- that she could take risks. "Don't you get tired of having to stick with the same group all the time, un?" Now that settled it for her. Now she really needed to do something to prove that she could take a chance if wanted to. Normally, Sakura would've just ignored someone who had given a speech like that. Maybe it was the way he looked, when he had spoken that riled her up. Or maybe it was his (pretty) blue eyes, she didn't know. Now that she thought about it, why did she want to prove herself to him? She barely even know him! These thoughts made her second guess her words. For a moment, these thoughts almost made her want to regret what she had just said, only a moment ago. The thing was, that she didn't regret them. Not one bit. After all, she had never been one to back down from a challenge (like Naruto). Sakura idly noted that if she didn't get to class, she might be late. The rosette-haired girl had thrown away every wary thought she had had of the older boy, just because of some speech.

→ Well, either that, or she had been longing to do something spontaneous and risky for a while.

[Deidara]

His blue eye watched as she frowned at him. 'I don't believe in it -- it's just the way things are.' "But if you don't try to change it, isn't that sort of the same thing, un?" he countered quickly, as though engaged in a debate. It was decent point, if he said so himself. He hated the way things were around the school, even though he enjoyed being somewhere near the top of the chain for once. Still, he remembered how it felt to be disliked because of a mere label or preconceived notions, and he didn't like it. That's basically what was going on around Konoha High. Everyone had a label slapped on them, and if two people's labels weren't the same, they paid no attention to that person. So many chances for friendships or other relationships were thrown down the drain without any real reason because of it. He understood that not everyone could get along, of course. But, wouldn't it be nice to at least be able to make that decision on his own?

'Tell me how to be spontaneous then,' Well, things just got interesting. It was more then he had expected out of her, really, mostly due to the way she had reacted to him coming up to her in the first place. His face brightened considerably, a sly grin crossing his face. He scooted closer to her now that he was accepted, as he leaned his face towards her ear. "How about I do you one better? I'll show you, instead," Deidara said in a whisper, like he was sharing an important secret with her and her alone. The blonde moved his head back a little, quirking a brow at her, before taking a couple steps away from the locker. He didn't know what he'd show her just yet, but he was sure to come up with something. The blue eyed male rarely thought much about his words before they left his lips, and just made things up as he went along. Although his face was as confident as ever, he was really just flying by the seat of his pants; he was completely and utterly spontaneous.

As he stood there, he thought briefly about what to do. He came up with some ideas, most of them less then practical. Some would probably end in him nursing a growing lump on his head from being punched or slapped in the face. But, he wanted to shock and awe her, to be an inspiration, to show just how fun things could be if a person let go once in a while. Then the obvious answer came to him--he'd show her his artwork. He'd be able to show off at something he was really good at, and then he'd take it from there. It would be the perfect way to corrupt show her. Besides, if his art wasn't appreciated by other people, then what good was it?

"Well, come on, yeah?" Deidara said, slowly walking away from her locker. Would she follow him? He wasn't sure. "I want to show you something," he said, leaving bait that he genuinely wanted her to take. He was interested, curious, and most of all, wanted to see how far a few pointed comments and effort would lead him. If she stopped, would he try and talk her into coming with him more? Yes, probably. Sakura had humored him, after all, and that was progress. Maybe things wouldn't as segregated during school hours. If he was able to talk one person out of following the herd of sheep that were their classmates, maybe there was still hope for the rest of them. In a quick and fluid motion, Deidara bent down and retrieved his small bird sculpture that had failed in it's mission. He walked confidently, as though he was sure that she was following him, but he still wasn't sure. Deidara wanted to turn and look, but he didn't want to seem as though he really cared.

He stopped and glanced back anyway.

[. SAKURA )]

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IN PURSUIT OF A HAPPY ENDING
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Was she really going to follow some guy she didn't know? She was going to be later for class and-- The sound of the bell could be heard through out the building, she almost winced at the sound. Late. She may as well skip school entirely. Sakura hated missing classes, and was rather tempted to just miss all of them for the day if she just missed one. This guy, Deidara, was pretty weird -- but okay, she supposed. And he hadn't really bothered her or made her uncomfortable-- "How about I do you one better? I'll show you, instead." Had he just gotten into her personal bubble? Sakura twitched and glared at Deidara. He had gotten into her personal bubble! Sort of. Had she given him permission to do that? No she hadn't! Whenever Naruto got that close to her, she would always push him away, and he was one of her closest friends. The young girl should have just turned around and headed to class. There was no way she was going to follow him!

Then again, she had already missed a class. Why not just follow him? He seemed rather interesting. Sakura was conflicted, and it probably showed on her face. She was considered an open book when it came down to her feelings. Her parents would often tease her about it and say that they knew her like the back of their hand. For some reason, that worried her. She didn't want her parents to know everything about her. It was unnerving, since she barely knew anything about her parents. Well, except for the basics such as name, date of birth, etc. Other than that, there was nothing she really knew about them. Nothing they would tell her. So, it would be annoying to have someone she just met be able to read her so easily! Beyond annoying! Infuriating even. Perhaps. Pursing her lips, Sakura crossed her arms and frowned, contemplated whether she should just go with him.

It took Sakura a moment to realize that he was walking away from her. She blinked before taking a few steps forward, wanting to follow him. However, she stopped for a moment and thought it through. Maybe it was a bad idea. Furrowing her eyebrows, Sakura wondered if she should just head straight to class right then -- while she still had the chance. But the sound of her alter ego, stopped her from doing so -- always the more self-confident and bold out of the two psyches, Inner Sakura pushed her forward. The older boy was already several steps ahead of her, but not too far ahead so that she couldn't hear him talking. "Well, come on, yeah?" It seemed as if he were walking slowly, as if he were taking his time. How could he be so confident? They could be caught for not being in class at any moment now! "I want to show you something." He wanted to show her something? She frowned, feeling the need to be difficult. She would only follow him if he stopped and waited for her, if he stopped and looked back.

Sakura hated the idea of being left behind, after all. For some reason, the rosette-haired girl doubted he would turn around. She doubted that he would even notice that she wasn't following him. Hugging her books to her chest, Sakura was ready to just turn around and leave, until he stopped and glanced back at her. Okay, change of plans, apparently. It looked like she was going to be going with him to wherever he was leading her. Blinking, Sakura walked forward and stopped until she was right beside him. Giving him a small smile, Sakura tried not to feel nervous because she just wasn't the kind of person who was spontaneous. She help her books with a death grip, and tried to be calm because really. She was going to be with this person of the opposite sex, alone while he showed her something. She had every right to be nervous, didn't she?!

Her voice held nothing but confidence as she spoke though (Naruto really was rubbing off on her), "Lets go."

[Deidara]

Deidara had skipped school many times before, so it was something he'd grown rather accustomed to. Even when he showed up to school, he sometimes didn't actually attend his classes, sort of like today. Sure, he'd come prepared to go to class, but a better offer had come up, and he had taken it. He was still considering where he could take her to show off his artwork. It's not like it'd be a good idea to just start throwing explosives around on school grounds...as fun as that might be. There was a good chance of them getting caught later on with Sakura in tow, because he didn't know of anyone else who had pink hair, like she did. Certainly other people would think that, too. And really, he didn't want to get her into too much trouble. Then again, she seemed to be one of those people who avoided trouble at all costs, so would they even believe it was her? Still, there was a spot on the grounds that he knew of that was somewhat secluded. From the school, they wouldn't be able to be spotted. By the time someone would come to investigate, they would be long gone. If she decided to continue to follow him, or took the initiative to lead, anyway.

His body was still as his head was turned, as he looked back at her. Deidara could read what he thought was conflict on her face. He could imagine it'd be awfully different to have a stranger come up and try to lure him out of school for no real reason, aside from a lesson in how to be impulsive. To try and make someone else break the rules, possibly getting them into trouble. Come on Sakura, take a step, he thought to himself. A grin crossed his face when she started to walk towards him. Victory! He glanced away then as she approached, but returned his gaze to her when she stopped beside him. Deidara almost let out a laugh, at the way she seemed to cling to her books as if her life depended on it, but refrained. He didn't know what good the books would be on the journey, but he wasn't going to suggest she put them back. It'd probably give her time to rethink her actions, which he didn't want. Besides, it'd take more time, and he could be impatient, especially when teachers could walk out at any moment and direct them to go to class.

'Let's go.' To his ears, her voice had changed from before. The small smile was new, too. "Sounds good to me, mm," he answered happily. He briefly thought of leading them back to his house, but almost automatically deemed it to be a bad idea. His parents were probably still home, and from the rude awakening he'd given his mother earlier in the morning, she was probably in no mood to deal with him breaking more rules. She might, however, be happy that he was hanging out with someone other then the lot of troublemakers that he ran with after school. He could just hear her now, which pretty much settled that thought. His mother could embarrass him like no one else on the planet could. It was like a gift, really. No doubt she'd be sure to point out how pretty Sakura was, and ask him if he thought so, right in front of her, leaving him to give some sort of awkward response. That was if she was being tame, not even mentioning what questions she might hurl at Sakura. His house was definitely out.

He began to walk again, leading the way to the front doors of the school. In the meantime, he shoved his hands back in his pocket, although there was a different purpose now, instead of just trying to hide them. He needed to make another sculpture. The tiny bird was fine, but it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as a larger one would be. Pushing the door opened with one hand, the mouth on it behaved, remaining pursed so that it could pass for a long cut or a crease if examined more closely. Holding the door opened for his companion, his other hand pulled out a large bag of clay. Deidara was able to control his spare mouths into behaving still, and it was a good thing too, because he wasn't sure what Sakura's reaction might be. All the progress he had made with her might be lost. Letting the door fall shut, he opened the bag and took out a large chunk of clay, while continuing to lead to the place he had in mind. "So, what grade are you in, un?" Deidara asked. That's why he had approached her in the first place, right? To talk and get to know someone outside of his group? So, that's what he was going do to, aside from showing off.

Slipping the bag back into his pocket, he worked the clay between his hands, beginning to form it into the shape of a dove. He had a thing for birds today, apparently. He pushed his hands together tightly, sandwiching the clay between them, as his spare tongues began to shape the details. While it was easier for his spare mouths to just chew on the clay, it'd look awfully suspicious, and would be harder to hide then the technique he was currently attempting. On the grounds, there was an area where a gathering of trees where, along with some bushes as well. That's where he was currently leading the way to.

[. SAKURA )]

=============================
YOU'RE NEITHER FRIEND OR FOE
I CAN'T LET YOU GO
=============================

He talked confidently, boldly. "Kind of like, Naruto..." she mumbled, not wanting her musings to be heard -- although she wanted them to be spoken. However the thought that had remained unspoken was one that she hadn't wanted to be heard by the older boy. Kind of like Ino...

[/color] That thought she didn't want to be heard. Her and Ino were secret friends, after all. And unknown to most people, she had treasured Ino's friendship when they had been younger. Ino had been her first friend after all. Unfortunately, high school had placed them into different groups, much to Sakura's chagrin, so she wasn't able to talk to her friend during school hours at all. For some reason, Deidara reminded her of Ino, what with their appearances being somewhat similar to each other. Sakura supposed that was why she had walked forward, not because she wanted to do anything spontaneous (in other words dangerous) but because he had reminded her of her first friend.

And people trusted their friends, didn't they? Well, normally people trusted their friends. It was sort of sad, she imagined, to have trusted a strange individual so quickly. Then again, whoever said Sakura trusted him? Because she didn't. Trust him, that is. Sakura wasn't called a brainiac back in middle school for nothing, after all. She was smart, intelligent. The rosette-haired girl knew when to trust someone and when not to. And Sakura most certainly didn't trust him, this person she had just met! (She was repeating this, she knew. How repetitive. It was as if she wished for the message to get through to...who? She didn't know.) There was no way she could trust him. Absolutely no way! So then why was she following him then. If she were so sure that she didn't trust him, why was she following him to who knows where? For someone who flaunted her intelligence to people (like Naruto) sometimes, she was doing something stupid.

Sakura hated being so unsure, so indecisive. The young girl was used to knowing what she wanted. So, it was a new experience to not know what she wanted. It was confusing, to say the least. Confusing and frustrating. Why was she thinking so hard about it, if it only caused her a major headache? A small contemplative frown appeared on her face, showing that she was in deep thought. However, the words he spoke had broken her train of though. Blinking, she looked at him, not all there. Had she just heard him ask her what grade she was in? Sakura wasn't sure -- she had been so deep in thought, that she had practically forgotten about his presence. "Uh, well..." The rosette-haired girl wondered if she had heard him, for she didn't want to make a fool of herself for answering a question he hadn't asked. Finally making her decision in answering the older boy, after much contemplation on what he had asked in the first place, Sakura spoke, "Ninth. I'm a freshman."

Seeing as he had asked her a question, it seemed as if he wanted to initiate a conversation between the both of them for whatever reason he may have. Knowing it would be best to know something about him, Sakura decided to ask him a question of her own. "What grade are you in?" So what if it had been the same question he had asked her? That didn't matter, what mattered was the fact that she knew at least something about the person who was taking her to who knows where. Suddenly, getting what she thought was a brilliant idea, Sakura's eyes brightened and a smile appeared on her face. "Let's play twenty questions! Then we'll get to know each other," she had added the last part as an explanation as to why she wanted to play the game, not wanting to seem childish or anything.

Sakura idly noted that she was still holding her books. At least it gave the illusion to others that she was just heading to a class. Her parents would surely be disappointed if they saw her right then. Sighing, Sakura tried not to think about the reactions she'd get from her mother and father if they saw her. They would certainly feel disappointed in their only child. The thought of her parents finding about of this little adventure worried Sakura, since they expected her to be a good little girl. Which she had been, until this point. Sure she hadn't done anything too bad, but her parents would probably go overboard anyways. Her mother the most, since she had inherited her temper from the woman. It wouldn't be a very nice experience to be reprimanded by her two parental figures. In fact, Sakura suspected it would be the complete opposite.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Deidara]

As he packed the clay between his hands together, he thought he heard her say something. However, he missed whatever she had said, either because she talked too quiet, or he was more in tune with his sculpture. He wasn't bothered by it though; if it was important, it would be repeated. Maybe he thought that way because some of his friends spewed out so much junk that he just learned to tune out things that weren't directed at him. 'What grade are you in?' Obviously, he realized that the question was for him to answer, this time. "I'm a sophomore, un," Deidara replied. So, they were a year apart. He had figured as much, since she did appear to be a bit younger then he was, but it was hard to tell sometimes.

'Let's play twenty questions! Then we'll get to know each other.' Deidara was a slightly surprised at her words. For some reason, it vaguely reminded him of something Tobi would say, or something that even he would say if he was trying to be annoying. However, he didn't take it that way, coming from her. So, he nodded in agreement, before speaking. "Okay, I think I can handle that, hmm," Deidara said. Since she had asked the last question, regardless of the fact that it had just been a repeat of his own, then he figured it was his turn. Cradling the partially made bird with one hand, he moved the other one up to his mouth, tapping his chin with his finger. His nails were painted black, and although they hadn't been visible before because he'd been hiding his hands. The reason for him letting his hands be seen more now didn't just have to do with the fact that he was working on a piece of art. Actually, it had to do with the fact that he was more comfortable, now that he was out of school, and that Sakura had accepted his company so easily. Thankfully, his mouths were still behaving, so he didn't have to try and explain that yet. He was hoping the topic wouldn't come up, and as long as he continued to be somewhat careful, it might not. "Let's see, what do I want to know..." he murmured to no one in particular.

He wanted to come up with something good! Something that would help him understand the girl walking beside her, because she was certainly different. She had given him a chance, when most others in her position would've just walked away. "Why did you end up following me, anyway un?" he asked, the question popping out of him due to his train of thought. It wasn't something he regretted though, since he deemed it a good question. It wasn't lame, like 'what's your favorite color', although he supposed that could be important too. Still, her answer would possibly give him insight as to what type or person she was, although he already had his theories.

While he waited for an answer, his gaze returned back to his bird. With a jerking movement, he flipped his hair out of his right eye, reveling the scope-like object that was covering it. He used it to get a better view of things far away, to check the details of his sculptures, or other things of that nature. Putting his right hand up to his scope, he operated it with the buttons on it's side, looking closer at the dove he was holding. Deidara didn't always check the fine details of his sculptures, but he wanted the bird to be particularly impressive. He quit walking upon arriving at the spot he had been planning on taking her to. He zoomed in on the direction of the school with his scope, to see if it was visible, he found that he had picked a good place. If he couldn't see it, they couldn't see them, right? It sounded good enough to him. Deidara finished the bird up quickly, then held it out for her to look at. "Don't drop it," he warned, in case she wanted to pick it up. It wasn't because he didn't plan on destroying it in a couple of minutes, but because if it was dropped so closely to them, the two of them would be seriously injured, if not killed.