Series: Naruto
Setting: AU
Prompt: 028. Writer's Choice Déjà vu
Rating: PG
Warnings: Blood
Summary: Does déjà vu really exist or is it something that lures you into a false sense of security?

Have I Seen You Before?

The. Beach!!

How he longed for this day to come. It had only been a couple of days ago since he dropped his pants baring his bright white backside to the school body that sparked the rebellion that lead to this event. Hoards of Year 11 and 12 students all patting the blond on the back with gratitude for the stunt that saw them getting onto a bus for the drive towards ultimate fun, the road trip two hours in the driving to make it to the sunny shores. Not even the leave of 6AM could shake the spirits of the students. The weekend was tomorrow so it did not matter one little bit, rounding the week out down to perfection that would see them through until Monday where teachers barking for their assignment work would crush them once again.

It was not all of happiness and fun times. As a provision for this, they were set out tasks for their chosen years. The 12th Graders had to identify the effects that the pollution was having on the habitat of the beach and the projected outcome they saw for the future while giving their own explanation on how to combat it. The 11th Graders just had an excuse to run around and observe sea life, jotting down the diverse forms they would come across and write up a report on at least one they had identified.

There was a very high probability that there was going to be forty reports on seaweed.

One at a time, they all piled onto the two buses allocated for them, combining classes mostly so friends could sit together, chanting for the driver to hurry up and take leave so they could get the party started. Bodies shuffled up close, feet waddling like penguins to make it to their seats, huddled together - some even four to a three-person seat - but next to him was predictably vacant.

Before the bus has even closed the doors, Itachi was searching through his bag for entertainment, removing a paperback from the front pocket. A thin trail of saliva lined his thumb, moistening to move through the pages returning to his last point of reading from the night before. A few momentary looks over to see what the Uchiha was reading giving a shrug before turning back to their own, a book that said the title stated 'blood something' but his hand obscured the rest of it.

This was not his typical genre of choice, a bit of a mixture of crime, intrigue and the popular teenage theme of vampires had caught him by surprise, now on the fourth book, Blood Pact, by Tanya Huff. The vampire aspect of it was generic, bland; Henry feeding on other women to survive was atypical. However, the chemistry between satisfied enough to continue through with the series. A detective fighting against supernatural causes with her vampire sidekick would persuade the cravings. It was a two-hour ride after all; this would help to drown the screeches of the girls and the moronic roars of the boys that swung from the overhead rails like chimpanzees.

In addition, the loudest of them all finally entered his kingdom. Making his grand entrance at last, Deidara threw his arms up into the air calling for exciting cheers, which obviously was responded by the eager teens. Collectives of clapping, screaming, working through to a chant of his name, banging feet against the floor had teachers waving their hands about asking for silence as he took his seat. A superstar of the moment he was and the blond was soaking up every bit of attention that he could have received.

The source of it changed rapidly after Deidara's speech to them all, doors closing, wheels turning, starting their trip towards their destination of bliss. Everyone there had something to keep themselves occupied during the drive. Most people were talking, some were playing card games, socializing in general except for the quiet brunette that hide in the corner, resting his head against the window soaking up the morning rays of the newly risen sun. A book held more attention than anything else around him, even more so as the clues started to fall into place, drowning out the sounds into muffled voices.

Almost all voices. Once shone out brilliantly over the static drone, his voice heard clearly, as if he was standing next to him, homing in through the pack The rest of the teenagers were just blurs of nobodies that lead up to him. He joked and laughed with his peers, his so-called friends, telling them all about the joyride he supposedly got into the other night that seemed so fake. Everything about him was false while in that company. The arrogant tone, the feigned laughter, trying to be someone that he was not or perhaps he was mistaken and Deidara was only showing the fraudulent side towards him.

When they were out playing soccer or walking back from school together late in the eve, he was completely different. He was someone that he could identify with and speak openly about certain issues, listening to Deidara's own qualms in return. His mother was not around as much as she used to be when he was younger; his father lived away trying to get his life back together needing to stand on his own two feet before he could take in his son. Itachi's first assumption of him had been uncannily correct or maybe he already knew it.

Something about him that clung there in the back of his psyche, a constant sense of déjà vu. The smallest things relived from the past ranging from the gentlest touch to the pitch he used as if spoken before in a preceding life. Itachi did not believe in reincarnation and all that hype surrounding it, only in the life that you live now. No second chances. If you mess up then you would learn from your mistakes not at all to carry on in the next confrontation but Deidara... there had to be another explanation.

It took three quarters into the ride to get the students to settle down to an acceptable decibel, giving the teachers time to speak about what they were going to do. They had devised the schedule earlier on with three teachers guarding the beaches, two taking groups around for a look for their assignment work. Lunch call was at twelve where they could regroup for a head count, then leaving the last three hours for them to play around in the allocated beach areas until the trip back. Each group aware of this during the muted period, only that half way through talking the 15-kilometer marker on the side of the road abruptly escalated the racket once again.

Into the large car park pulled the two busload of students, stomping as heavy as a herd of elephants pushing people left and right to get off the vehicle the quickest. Itachi could only shake his head at how stupid they were, packing his book away steadily in wait for the crowds to pass. If they took their time, they would have got off at the same rate, perhaps faster.

"Beach! Beach! Beach! Beach!"

The classes started their chant again dwindling away as they exited which meant it was time for him to leave, standing up slowly shuffling his legs to the side. It wasn't as if the ocean was anything special. It was just water with salt, sand, pollution, sharks, and other large flesh-eating mammals.

"You don't look happy to be on an excursion, un."

That tone again, the one that caused a sudden snap of his head up startled expecting to be alone only that he was not. Younger and brighter with an apparent issue stopping him from pronouncing words correctly. The feeling was so close that he could almost touch it. So familiar. So nearly in his grasp, fingers reaching for the piece that dangled in front of them and them boom, back into nothing except for the tag as a reminder to consider it later.

"In reality, it is no different to any other day," the Uchiha shrugged giving his retort.

Nevertheless, something was different. What was it?

Together they got off the bus, soon parting in separate directions not spending the time with each other outside of the view of peers. Deidara had his friends; he had the dense air around him. Itachi was not the person to be hanging out with, although, he wished he was deep down. The brunette pulled his backpack on over his shoulders, sinking into the sand with a couple of steps looking around for where to go. There was a purpose for being here. Slacking off was completely forbidden.

Over in the far distance laid a large composition of rocks and caves worthwhile of exploring. No one would miss him if he took the chance to venture off on his own as long as he was back in time for roll call at lunch. Walking away from the crowds running for the salty ocean and playing with their friends in the deep blue, Itachi set off away from it all, just to be alone. The way it should be.

Roll call came and gone without Itachi's return, Deidara stepping up for him explaining he had ran into the toilet ten minutes ago and from the smell, he would not be out for a while. The teachers had bought the excuse since they had no reason to doubt one of their top class students was feeling ill in the stomach and continued with their plans.

It was not at all like him to just take off like that, he was the level-headed one, the one who was presumably sitting down somewhere on a small rock taking observations like they should have been doing instead of having fun. If it were not for the fun that they had together on a one on one basis then he would have believed that Itachi was in reality born an adult. Deidara, however, was not, perking up to the happy calls to get his butt back in the water, complying with a dash back towards the waves belly flopping against the crashes. Once Itachi had returned, he was going to drag his ass in there to enjoy part of this trip.

Past midday, the hottest time of the day for the summer period. Temperatures were at peak, able to fry an egg and other assortment of thin-layered food on a surface that retained the heat. Anyone who was out of the water was now back into it to stay cool, the ones taken to the shore trying to get a tan sweltered with hopes that their sun block was going to hold up between applications.

A few could not handle the unrelenting rays, ducking for shade, drinking down fluids to rejuvenate the body, gust of dry heat could be seen visibly rising off the sand making them appear hotter than it already was. It was not the time of the day to be active without proper precautions, a drink of cover. Itachi had not heeded those warnings, trudging back alone the coastline dragging the backpack with him that felt ten times heavier than it was originally. Nothing new inside of it except a few scribes from observations over the walk, most of the pages actually blank caught up instead thinking of the incident on the bus.

He must have been delirious or sleep deprived. Triggering some kind of memory that never occurred only believing that it was in his mind, a movie or TV show might have had the same situation. However, no matter how much he tried to contradict himself, nothing could disprove that it was happening frequently as of late. Small things, nothing large. A touch, a look, a tone, a smell. Like an amnesia patient trying to regain the past, he too thought that there was something there. Something significant that was missing from his riddle except when it came time to find out, it was too late.

Stumbling towards the group of boys playing around in the water, Itachi rubbed his eyes to clear the white speckles in his sight. His throat parched despite the extra salivation his body was producing to compensate, having trouble swallowing around his swollen tongue. Maybe he had walked for too long.

All but one of the group laughed loudly at the disorientated teen, pointing at his misfortune finding it highly amusing. Deidara was not in the mood to be joining in with them. Itachi looked… off. "Hey, you okay?" he called out.

The brunette blinked a couple more times fighting to regain the focus, looking over at the blond with a slightly crooked neck to the side. Of course, he was okay; he only went for a walk after all. A trickle down his face made him shiver, touching the area feeling wetness warmer than sweat, thicker than most liquids. He examined it with the pad of his thumb circling over the index and middle, looking down at smeared red across the tips. More droplets followed into the palm of his hand from his face that just did not seem correct. Holding the cupped hand under his face, he looked over at Deidara deliriously confused on why he was losing liquid from his body.

"It's just like the anime!" "Yeah totally." "I bet he got a hard on over Deidara."

He could not stand to listen to their childish banter anymore. Was he just like them before, sounding that stupid and obnoxious? Itachi had just started bleeding from his nose and they were acting like moronic retards who thought it was entertaining to see like animated characters that spewed blood from their nose after seeing a big-breasted girl. No one did that because it looked fun. There had to be something wrong with him.

"Immature idiots, un," Deidara spat under his breath, walking towards the swaying tower of Itachi. He looked pale or it could have been the sunlight reflecting off his skin, which was his job to find out. "Itachi, where did you go?" he asked him with a keen eye.

Deidara did not get the answer fast enough from him, temporarily blacking out falling backwards embedding and sinking into the soft sand. He should have rushed towards the Uchiha to help him out but inwardly, he could not deny that it was a hilarious site seeing someone just thudding against the ground like that. Repercussions of the catnap he was getting were not as enjoyable, hooking under his arms dragging the dead weight up the beach to the cover of the picnic area, into the shade propping him up on the park bench.

It was only a short doze at that, coming back around face down against the wooden table, peering over at Deidara ripping his tank top off wringing it out from seawater. Itachi knew that he should look away and respect the boundaries of privacy, but his eyes drew towards him. Never had he found anyone sexually attractive or pleasing enough to admire for a long period. Deidara had a certain quality that was appealing with his mismatched looks, feminine exterior put out of place by his baritone voice. Not that he would admit it aloud, but the blond was striking.

Ogling at him behind his arms was not going to suffice for long, groaning while he lifted his head into a tilt, tasting the bitter liquid trickling down his throat. Maybe it was the momentary black out that caused his thoughts to think such things that was the only explanation that he could give, generosity could have been another factor when the removed garment carefully placed across his face cooling it down and soaking up the blood.

"Wait here, un. I'll get you something to drink," Deidara told him, leaving Itachi's eyes to track him when he ran off.

What was it about him? That was all that Itachi could think about. There could not be a chance that he was developing some kind of strange feelings towards him, some sort of schoolyard crush that the girls got, scribbling their name and the other parties down surrounding it with an adjoining love heart. Absurd. He would never succumb to that level. There had to be another explanation.

However, there was no chance to think about that as Deidara joined him by his side again, pushing over the bottle of Gatorade telling him to sip it slowly to replenish the water he had lost. Certainly, his initial conception of Deidara had changed since that day at arriving at school. He was not deficient in brainpower, not at all, more that it wasted away on unnecessary focus, on those 'friends' of his that were like leeches sucking the potential out of him.

"I do not know what happened," Itachi explained, alternating between the slow sips of drink and checking the shirt to see if the blood had stopped flowing.

"Let me try and explain this in something that you will understand more, un," Deidara told him with a stiff nod. "Itachi plus walking, with the variables of heat and dehydration. Adding an error margin of hmm... 80 percent for forgetting water bottle equals overheating."

Itachi had to drag the shirt down lower over his mouth to stop himself from laughing; hiding his amusement at was not at the blond's expense. That reason was inventive he would give him that. "Is that all?"

"I left out the additional variations for stupidity."

Okay, okay. He had him on that one. Going off into unchartered sands in the scorching heat of the sun without proper precautions would not be the highlight of his life. In fact, it was a brainless low point.

"I haven't had a blood nose since I was young," Itachi complained about it in a nasal voice from the pinched bridge.

The last time that he could remember something like this happening was when he had spent too much time outside playing in the sun, ignoring his mother's calls to come back from the park for lunch and a cool drink. In fact, he was not alone that time as well; he had his friend… friend…

Pulling the compress away from his face wiping away the left over blood, the Uchiha blinked a couple of times at Deidara feeling that same far off scene once again. "Have you ever had déjà vu?"

"From time to time but there is nothing special about it, un. Why?"

This sensation he was facing always revolved around Deidara and no one else, tied only to him. He wanted to ask him if he felt anything of the sorts around him when they were together, any element had set one off inside his head but it was so ridiculous that there was no point.

"Just making conversation," Itachi covered up his reason. "Thank you for your help. You did not need to pull yourself away from your companions."

Deidara snorted at him, breaking out into hysterical laughter for no apparent reason except he had found one that Itachi was not seeing. There was no time to ask for an explanation from him with the call for everyone to return to the bus, time to leave their water paradise and back to school to finish off their day.

Itachi held out the shirt to return to him but Deidara had bolted back for his belongings and the group that he had left behind. His nose was still seeping so he would wash it out and return it to him later, keeping it pressed over his face, picking up his backpack and energy drink, returning to the bus and the near back seat he had taken before.

All of the groups piled back in taking to where they were sitting before, still vacant next to him. Resting his head against the window, he stared back at his own reflection sighing at himself for not saying something. He had a friend, one that he left behind so long ago, that drifted away never to be in contact with again. Itachi cycled through his memories to point out the moments they had shared together, wanting to remember a time when someone accepted him, not ran off to be with others. The name was on the tip of his tongue, his big smile, and missing baby teeth the only part of him that he could remember.

"Hey."

The position shifted from the weight pressing to the chair next to him, sinking down to the side up against the leg at his side. That familiar voice, the ghosting reflection in the side window, the tassels of blond locks feathering over his shoulder as he lowered. Deidara had sat down next to him. "Why are you . . .?" he asked, cut off by the tug of his chin around to face him.

"Look like you need a friend, un."

That smile, almost ear to ear in a Cheshire cat grin. It was nearly identical to that image in his mind. Teeth were all in place again but the blue showing through the squinted slits for eyes, puffed up by his rosy cheeks that still had a touch of baby fat to them. It had to be a coincidence. It was only a hallucination produced by the affect of the sun frying Itachi's brain, haunted by memories that did not exist now projected forth onto Deidara. Of course, he was not that boy from all those years ago. Or was he?

"I think your fan club does not like that notion," Itachi motioned his head over towards the bewildered faces that beckoned him to stop being an idiot and to come back.

"Meh, I don't care," replied Deidara, shrugging back at them uninterested. "You should try and get some sleep on the way back. I'll make sure no one throws spitballs at your head, un."

Itachi didn't agree with the recommendation at first, staying awake when they started moving back on the road, having a conversation with Deidara. It moved between anything and everything that normal teenagers would talk about without the squealing and the bullshit talk, natural conversation that friends, not acquaintances would have. Halfway back the talking stopped by the peaceful breathing from the Uchiha, head resting against the glass failing to win the fight over the argument of just resting my eyes.

It was just after 5PM that they arrived back at the school grounds, all of the students running off the bus heading straight for their awaiting parents except for two. One of the teachers approached the back seats towards the pair resting peacefully, Itachi still against the window and Deidara leaning on his shoulder. He told them it was time to leave gently so he did not startle them, shaking their shoulders to rouse them awake.

Groans and complaints came from the blond while he tried to push him away, telling the teacher that it was Saturday and he was allowed to sleep in, the brunette only rubbed his eyes and sat forward, dropping Deidara's head off jerking back into mid air. That woke him up at least. Itachi followed the zombie's moans and shuffles down the aisle and out of the motor vehicle, looking around for his mother but she was not there. Deidara's wasn't either.

"Do you want to . . . stay . . . the night?" Itachi asked unsure if he wanted him to, but felt like he had to offer.

Deidara yawned widely, stretching his arms up crackling all the bones and cartilage down his back, trying to wake himself up. "I'm going to see my father this weekend so I'll catch ya on Monday." Not that he shared that information with anyone else; they all thought he was going to a wild college party.

Nodding in agreement, they both turned their directions and stared walking home. Before he could get too far away, Itachi turned back, looking over at the petite blond to get that one final gaze. Was it a random concurrence or did he truly know Deidara from previous place, previous time? And if so, was he the only one aware or just the false sense of security that you get from déjà vu?