Deidara feels a mixture of excited butterflies and nervous tension as he walks home from school. He finally did it. He told his friends that he was gay. He had known this fact for a while, and many kids in his class had already teased him about it. But letting his friends know the truth made his chest release a knot that he never knew he was holding. They had accepted him, and his best friend Kurotsuchi had even told him that she was proud that he took such a big leap of faith in them.

But of course, the rumor spread quickly throughout his middle school. Throughout the day, Deidara couldn't help but notice the furtive glances and sneers that he received from other students. Yet Deidara didn't really care. Now that his family and his friends know, he is free to be himself.

Deidara hums quietly to himself as he rounds the corner that would lead him to his doorstep. His smile is wiped away as soon as he sees that his path is not clear. The wind is knocked cleanly out of him as a giant fist meets his stomach. He bends over forward, gasping for breath.

"You faggot!" someone yells at him. His ears are ringing uncomfortably, stars dancing across his eyelids.

Another pair of vicious fingers claw at his blonde strands and pull him up harshly. Again, Deidara feels like he can't catch his breath. His eyes are already beginning to water up at the corners, threatening to spill tears at any moment.

"Ahh! What the!" Deidara cries before his question is cut off by a rude kick to the side. He groans loudly and shuts his eyes, too afraid to even look his attackers in the face.

"I knew it all along! You dirty gay kid!" a gruff voice bellows in his ear. Deidara feels a surge of hatred rise in his chest. He was being attacked because he came out? That wasn't right.

Deidara finds the courage to fight back, even though he knows this is a losing battle. He opens his eyes and counts his attackers. Three against one. To make matters worse, one of the boys is a tall eighth grader, a kid who is more muscular than Deidara could ever dream to be. But at that moment, he doesn't care. He swings his leg around to kick the boy closest to him and punches an arm out to free his hair of that vice-like grip from the boy behind him. His quick and sudden attack works, and he is finally free, if only for a moment.

The eighth grader quickly sticks a foot out and trips Deidara, sending him crashing to the ground. He stops his fall with outstretched hands on the concrete, feeling the instant sting. There would surely be scrapes and bruises tonight.

The boy kicks Deidara's side again, sending him flat on the ground, in a more vulnerable position than before. "Why?" Deidara asks, clutching his burning side. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're a faggot! We don't want any gays at our school!" yells the tall mean eighth grader. The two boys behind him snicker with their arms crossed menacingly. Deidara starts crying, but he does not whimper. The tears leak out hot and fresh, but he wears a look of absolute rage. He is not going down, not yet.

Deidara gets back up and starts throwing punches with every ounce of his being. Once again, he is knocked down easily to the ground. Deidara looks up to see another fist coming dangerously close to his face. He winces, but the contact of fist upon his face never comes.

"Ahh! Who are you?"

"Hey that's not cool!"

Deidara hears two of his three attackers yelling. Confused, Deidara blinks his eyes open and gasps at what he sees.

An older student, clearly in high school, is standing above Deidara in a protective stance. He had stopped the fist from reaching Deidara and had rendered his attackers silent with a simple glare.

The high school student has bright cherry red hair and dark brown eyes. He stands tall and skinny, towering above the rest of them, and wears tight fitted jeans and a punk-rock t-shirt. When he speaks, his deep voice sends chills up Deidara's spine, "Leave him alone."

"Hey, this isn't your problem," it is the tall eighth grader who speaks up, although his hateful tone from before has faded, replaced by something similar to a cowering whimper.

"It is. I'm not about to just stand here and watch you three pick on this little kid," replies the red head. Little? Deidara thinks to himself. He uses all his energy to stand up, although he is a bit wobbly and everything hurts.

"He's gay," the eighth grader retorts, as though this fact clearly gave him the right to beat Deidara senselessly.

"So what. You think that shit is gonna fly in high school? You think you're cool for picking on the gay kid? Don't make me laugh," the red-head says. Deidara watches with silent awe. "Now get the hell out of here." The three bullies did as they were told, slowly backing away and giving a few last evil stares in Deidara's direction.

The redhead turns to leave, but Deidara stops him by tugging timidly on his sleeve. "Th-thank you," Deidara says, feeling his voice crack slightly. He clears his throat, realizing too late that there's a large lump there.

"No problem. I hate kids like that. You alright?" he eyes Deidara up and down, noting the few scrapes and the fact that blood was drawn near his lip. His eyes linger there, and Deidara can't help but feel his skin crawl with something involuntarily warm.

Deidara wipes the blood away and shrugs, trying to look cool. "I'm alright," he lies. He knows he is going to be a puddle of tears in his mother's arms in a few minutes. But that can wait. He's currently in the presence of an older, cute male who has just saved him. He wants to thank him properly, at least. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sasori," he replies, narrowing his eyes a little, as though he's suddenly suspicious of Deidara's intentions.

"I'm Deidara. Thanks again Sasori, I really appreciate it," Deidara says with a flashy smile.

"Again, no problem. Don't make it a big deal kid. I have to get going now," Sasori says before turning around again.

"Wait!" Deidara cries, not really sure what else to say to Sasori. He doesn't want to see him leave though. There's something about him that draws Deidara in, like a moth to a light.

"What?" Sasori asks coolly, turning his head to stare his half-lidded eyes at Deidara.

"Um," Deidara blushes, not sure what to say, "maybe I'll see you around sometime…" His voice trails off in a squeak, but he keeps his eyes planted firmly on Sasori's. Was it just his imagination, or did he see a flash of something beneath Sasori's dark brown pupils?

"I don't think so," Sasori says quietly before dashing off like he has some very important meeting to attend to. Deidara watches his lone figure disappear in the horizon before he slowly moves his feet again. That bright crimson hair, those luscious dark eyes…it was a sight to behold. Deidara doubted if he would ever be reconnected with that level of beauty in his lifetime, so he took his time watching Sasori from behind, taking a mental snapshot of every detail before it was all gone.