The next day, I practically raced to school, dragging Liz along behind me.
"How do you know this plan will actually work?" she demanded, panting as she ran after me.
I shook my head, "I don't know. But I've got to try" I said between breaths that billowed out in the winter air.
The hope that had manifested itself within me yesterday was bursting out in waves almost. I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait to expose Hana and her true intentions. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face. I couldn't wait to have Sasuke back to normal again.
I plowed through the doors to the school, Liz barely kept up behind me. I looked around before racing for our homeroom. It was our first class today as well. I didn't even bother to stop and say hello to people I saw in the hallway. I was much too excited. Well, maybe I'd stop if I saw Hana, just to tease her.
"Sasuke!" I called as I slid around the corner and exploded into the classroom.
"Ah, thank you for being on time for the attendance, Elvira" Kakashi smiled pleasantly at me.
"I'm here!" Liz called, breathless as she appeared behind me moments later.
"Well, take a seat, you two" Kakashi gestured to our empty desks in the back, "You don't want to keep the class waiting, do you?".
I was too stunned to move, "Uh...where's Sasuke?" I asked.
"Well, quite obviously, it looks like he's not here, Elvira" Kakashi's voice dropped several decibels, "Now, if you don't take a seat soon and stop disturbing the class, I'm going to have to give you and Elize detentions" he warned.
I dejectedly dragged my feet to my desk and plopped down in my seat.
"I don't understand...where is he?" I pouted.
Liz sighed, "Relax, he's probably sick, or maybe the bruises around his neck turned out to be worse than he thought" she shrugged, "He'll be back by tomorrow" she seemed so confident.
I heaved a great sigh and sagged against my chair, staring tiredly at my blank desk. I was in no mood to listen to Kakashi discuss the Great Depression right now. I already felt depressed enough as it was.
"Gaara!" I cried as I saw him in the hall at lunch.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw me and Liz pelting towards him. Weird, Liz hadn't been able to contact him all day today and he refused to answer any of our notes in class. He even snuck out when the bell rang for lunch. He was definitely trying to avoid us. Though, why, I had no idea.
"Hey, Gaara!" I called again as he began to walk the other way quickly.
Liz and I caught up with him before he could get far.
"Oh, hey!" he greeted overly cheerfully.
"What's the deal?!" Liz demanded, her cheeks puffed up angrily, "Why are you ignoring us?! Most importantly, me!" she stomped her foot to emphasize her point.
Gaara scratched his head and laughed nervously, "Was I?".
"Oh, stop acting. You're really horrible at it" I brushed off his erratic behaviour quickly, "I know you know something about Sasuke being away today. Tell me what happened" I commanded.
"T-there's r-really nothing w-wrong" Gaara stammered, "R-really!" he insisted.
Liz rolled her eyes, "Uh huh, you think you could actually trick me with that act of yours? I know you inside out. Now spill it" she said harshly.
Gaara sighed, his shoulders falling, "Sasuke...he's...how can I put this...I guess..." he paused to look me in the eye, "He's not feeling well" he said, frowning.
I winced in my heart. It was because of me.
"And...I would like to say more to you especially, Vira...but it's not my place to say. It's not fair to Sasuke then" he said, shaking his head.
I looked at him, my heart thumping along like a drum.
His expression was similar to that of Sasuke's the other day and it tore at my very being, "Please" he said quietly, "Don't let him get hurt again...I know he won't ever be the same again if he were to be with her again. I don't trust her" he said and put his arm around Liz, holding her to him.
He needed the comfort of someone he was just as close to right now. I backed out of the situation quietly, leaving the pair to themselves and wandered down the hall in a state of trance. I kept thinking about Sasuke's expression the last time I saw him. He had left the school with Hana that time and his face looked so...betrayed. My heart squeezed itself as I thought this.
It was all my fault, I thought despairingly.
I had been so immersed in my thoughts as I walked that I had bumped into someone.
"Ouch!" they hissed, "Watch where you're going!" another voice added vehemently.
I snapped out of it to see Hime and Hitsumi, Hana's two little lap dogs. I didn't like the feeling they gave me on any day but today especially, it seemed like something was really off about them.
"Hey, where's Hana?" I asked suspiciously.
They looked me up and down, "Hana?" Hime repeated with a smug smile on her face, "Who wants to know?".
"Wow, it's amazing how a human brain can actually be the equivalent of one of a goldfish. Your memory doesn't span any longer than three seconds, does it?" I spat.
"Nerd much?" Hitsumi added contemptuously.
"At least I know people don't just like me for my ass" I lashed back.
Hitsumi smiled a sickeningly sweet smile, "Aw! Well isn't that kind of you! I've always liked that perfect, heart-shaped ass of mine too" she cooed.
"Now stop beating around the bush, where the hell is Hana?" I demanded.
"That's none of your concern, Sassy" Hime scoffed, "Just know that she's having a good time anytime she's not under the same roof as you" she snapped.
I clenched my fists, "What? She's not here today either?".
"Pft. Where are those brains you were bragging about a few seconds ago?" Hitsumi jeered.
The pair of them sauntered away, giggling to themselves.
I slapped my forehead, "This is so much worse than I thought...".
My first thought was to find Liz and consult. The situation could be a lot more serious than any of us predicted.
"Say what?!" she cried, making my ears ring.
Gaara frowned, he obviously wasn't too happy. The likelihood of our predictions were just to great.
"No. There's no way you can let her get away with that" Liz said with a determined expression.
"Well, what am I supposed to do? Just storm up to his house and crash the party?" I said sarcastically.
"That's exactly what you'll do" Liz said, surprising me.
"What? Are you serious? Isn't that a little obvious?" I pointed out.
She shrugged, "Isn't that the whole point?".
"What? No!" I responded, horrified, "That's not my style".
Liz rolled her eyes, "This isn't about style anymore, Vira. If you're going to try and rat Hana out and win this thing, you're going to have to come clean. And I mean clean" she emphasized.
I frowned, "But...".
"There's no other way he'll come back..." Liz said, almost sadly.
I stayed silent for a few moments, then, "Fine...I'll go as soon as school ends".
The last few steps to Sasuke's door were the hardest for me. I was short of breath and my heartbeat was erratic. All kinds of scenarios had come up in my head on the way here and all of those scenarios included me walking in to discover Sasuke and Hana together. There was almost no doubt about it at this point.
I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Fingers crossed. I heard footsteps and the door opened mere seconds later.
"Hey".
"Oh...um, hey..." I replied.
I hadn't expected this at all. I couldn't have.
"Um..." I quickly checked the house number, "Is Sasuke here?" I asked shyly.
The man standing at the door had long, blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail, his bangs hung over his left eye. His other blue eye stared at me as if I were an alien.
"Uh...not at the moment...you are...?" he asked.
"E-Elvira...I'm...uh, one of his classmates. I'm...uh...here to give him his homework..." I lied quickly.
"Ah, I see, come in then" he said, beckoning as he stepped aside to let me in.
"Ah, no, it's fine, seeing that he's not here-" I tried to excuse myself.
He seemed comparatively more relaxed now, "No, no! It's alright! We don't bite, you can come in!" he invited, taking my hand before I could decline him again.
I was dragged inside the house.
"Uh, but, you see, I really have to-".
"It'll be fine if you just stay long enough to explain what his homework is, right?" he insisted, "I'm practically his brother, I help him with his homework all the time!" he said dismissively.
All of my protests were brushed away as he led me into the kitchen. There was a whole lot more where that came from.
Two more men were in the kitchen. One of them, the biggest one of the three had slicked back white hair and purple eyes. He was definitely well-built. He looked strong enough to pull a tree out of the ground if he wanted to. The second one looked much more fragile. He had fluffy-looking red hair, similar to Gaara's and warm, brown eyes. He looked like he was about my age and about the same height too, if not, only a little taller.
"Hey, who'd you bring back, Deidara?" the red-haired one spoke up.
The blonde beside me laughed, "One of our baby brother's classmates. Cute, isn't she?".
I tensed up right away. I wasn't going to stay here with these guys if they were getting any ideas.
The big, strong one spoke this time, "If you're looking for Sasuke, he's not here" he said coldly.
I nodded, "I heard...when do you think he might get back?" I proceeded to ask.
"Don't know. He's out with the girl today" the red-haired one said nonchalantly.
My face must of displayed my unhappiness.
"Don't be so insensitive, Sasori!" the blonde, Deidara, beside me scolded.
"Ah, no, I'm not-".
"What? I don't blame him. She's finally out of the house, jeez, she's never not whining" the white-haired one complained.
I jolted. Hana was living in Sasuke's home?!
"Hidan! You too! Don't speak so carelessly in front of Sasuke's girlfriend!" Deidara reprimanded again.
"What?! No! I'm not!" I burst out, "I'm not his girlfriend!".
Deidara looked at me incredulously, "But, you're at his house and all! You're so desperate to see him too!" he pointed out.
I turned red, "N-no, it's j-just that I-I'm the one who's s-supposed to give him his h-homework!" I stammered.
"Aw, look! She's blushing!" Deidara indicated to my glowing cheeks, "That's so cute!".
Hidan chuckled, "Stop making the poor girl uncomfortable. She's distressed enough as it is without Sasuke here".
I steeled myself, "I said I'm not his girlfriend!" I persisted.
"Strong-willed, I see" Sasori observed.
I shrank back. I didn't know what to do with them attacking from all sides like that.
"Well, you're welcome to wait if you want. But none of us have any idea when they're getting back. We were asked to come here and watch the house by Itachi" Sasori explained.
I reserved a speck of hope in my chest, "Do you have any idea where he might be?".
"Who? Itachi?" Deidara piped up, "Nah. He took off after Sasuke and Hana".
For some reason, I felt a little more at ease hearing that. At least, now I knew that they weren't off doing who knows what.
"Worried, were we?" Deidara teased, patting my head like an adult would to a child.
I pushed his hand away, pouting, "I wasn't!".
I felt a twinge of guilt though. How could I think that way of Sasuke? He might've been perverted and stupid sometimes but he wouldn't do something so reckless and impulsive for a small thing like this.
I jumped as someone's phone rang.
"Ah, hello?" it was Sasori's phone.
Everyone had turned their attention on him for no apparent reason.
"Mhm. Yup. Yeah, yeah, I know. Eight? Alright, okay. See ya" the call ended.
A spark of hope ignited again within my chest.
"Um..." I started to ask.
But Sasori already knew what I wanted to say, "Yeah. That was Itachi. He told us that they'll be home by eight".
"You can hang around till then if you want. We're stuck here since we're supposed to be watching the house for Itachi" Deidara sighed, "I mean, why couldn't he just get a key? I mean-" he was interrupted brutally by a notebook to the head from Hidan.
"Do shut up, please. Your nagging is about the worst kinda noise in the world" he growled.
"Okay, okay! Ow...that hurt..." he whined and ducked behind me, his hands on my shoulders, "See how mean they are to me? Come on, you have to stay. You'll protect me from them, right?" he said hopefully.
I sighed, "I...I don't know..." I said hesitantly.
"Come on, please?! Sasuke's getting back at eight! And I'd like to hang out with Sasuke's girlfriend! You're a lot more cool than that other girl..." he pleaded.
I backed away, "Really, I've said many times already, I'm not Sasuke's girlfriend, I'm just-" then I stopped myself mid-sentence.
It seems as if Hana's been getting on their nerves too. Maybe if I could impress Itachi's friends...that might get me an advantage?, I thought over my plan a few times and concluded that it would be a good card to play.
"Well...I guess...eight, right?" I confirmed timidly.
Deidara nodded his head eagerly.
I breathed out, feigning reluctance, "Fine".
Now all I had to do was survive the next four hours.