I do not own "Final Fantasy VII" or any of the characters in this story,

Nor do I own the song "LOVE SCREAM PARTY" by SuG.

Written for Midnite Kitsune

"Graduation Plans"

All of the SOLIDERs and cadets were called to Director Lazard's office that morning for a quick briefing, which would probably be the last briefing of the school year. This was graduation weekend for most of the young men at the academy, including Cloud and Zack.

Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth all stood to the left of Director Lazard's desk. Each of them were perfectly picturesque. They held their sober expressions on their faces, and were as still as statues. If it weren't for their blinking eyes, you'd think they were perfect wax statues standing there.

Lazard stood up from his chair behind his desk and picked up a clipboard. He adjusted his glasses. "Greetings, men." He cleared his throat. "As you all very well know, this weekend is Graduation, which undoubtedly means that you'll all be celebrating in some form. Aside from the basic ground rules, there is one that I can never over emphasize…" He looked up from his clipboard and narrowed his eyes at the young SOLDIERs. "No drinking… understand?"

Each one of them clicked their heals and said, "Yes, sir!"

Lazard nodded. "Good. Other than that, have a great time this weekend. Dismissed."

As Cloud and Zack joined the perfect line that the other SOLDIERs were forming out of the room, they noticed that Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth were all striding out of the room perfectly through another door. Those three were the golden boys of the Shinra Academy. They never made a mistake, never messed up, always followed and made the rules, and they really did deserve a lot of respect.

oOo

When Cloud and Zack came back to their dorm room, Zack was the first to kick off his boots and jump up in the air like a little boy in a candy store. "WAHOO! FINALLY! We'll be in SOLDIER for sure now!" He leered and raised an eyebrow. "And we even get to have a little fun beforehand…"

Cloud crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head. "Zack, I'm not so sure we should do this anymore."

Zack's smile dropped from his face and he gave Cloud a bewildered look. "Why not? We've been planning this for a month!"

"I know, but the Director just told us that we--"

Zack laughed out loud and shook his head. "Cloud, it's just beer. And it'll be just fine as long as we stay in our dorm room."

"I'm not so sure. I've heard that people can get so drunk that they don't even know what they're doing. We might end up leaving our dorm and not even remember until we're in detention!"

Zack walked over to the fridge and opened it. He examined the three -- yes three -- packs of beer he had purchased the day before. He examined the brand. "Well, this brand shouldn't be too bad. It's got a low alcohol content. Ha! This stuff is for rookie drinkers."

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked as he knelt down in front of the open fridge to look at the beer.

Zack nodded, his smile returning to his face. "Oh, yeah. There's nothing wrong with this beer." He winked at his best friend. "We'll have some tomorrow night, okay?"

oOo

It was Saturday night. The graduation ceremony was over, and Cloud and Zack ad finally made their way into SOLDIER. Of course, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth were present at the ceremony. They stood there like marble statues, watching the other cadets receive their diplomas. As always, they looked and acted absolutely perfect.

Back in their dorm room that night, Zack and Cloud were more than eager to throw off their uniforms and tasseled hats. The sound of loud music came booming from the outside of the dorm, meaning that other students were enjoying their own loud party. The song was "LOVE SCREAM PARTY" by SuG.

"PARTY TIME!" Zack shouted as he ran over to the fridge and pulled it open, taking out the beer. He took out two bottles and twisted the caps off. He handed one bottle to Cloud and they clicked them together. "Bottom's up!" Zack exclaimed as they both took a drink.

Cloud was trying his best not to make a sour face when he tasted the beer. It tasted terrible to him, but he didn't want to be embarrassed in front of Zack.

Zack also thought that the beer tasted terrible, but was hiding it as best as he could.

After they were finished with their first gulp, Zack asked, "So… You like the stuff?"

"Uh, yeah. You were right! This stuff isn't so bad."

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Zack asked.

"Genesis," the sophisticated voice replied.

Zack and Cloud's eyes bugged out as they rushed to hide the beer in the way back of the fridge. They closed the fridge door and checked their breaths. "Does our breath smell like beer?" Cloud asked.

"No, we're not too bad. We didn't drink that much."

Cloud composed himself when he came to the door, and opened it. Genesis stared at them soberly, just like he always did.

Cloud and Zack saluted. "Good evening, sir!"

Genesis just stared at them for a moment, holding his arm behind his back… then, he hiccupped.

Cloud and Zack were bewildered. "Huh?" they both asked.

Angeal and Sephiroth came running up to them and caught Genesis just as he was falling backward, passing out. "Woaw, Genesis. We told you to take it easy," Angeal said, laughing and hiccupping.

Cloud and Zack just looked at each other in shock, then looked back at the golden trio. "What?" they both asked in shock.

Sephiroth looked at the two graduates, smiling nervously. "Uh, yeah. I guess he drank a little too much."

Their mouths dropped. "DRANK TOO MUCH!?" they exclaimed. "You guys have beer?"

Angeal shook his head. "No way! We're not drinking that nasty stuff. We've got wine."

Sephiroth gave them a slightly disgusted look. "Beer," he scoffed. "Gentlemen like us do not drink beer. We get drunk with class!"

Genesis groaned as he took his arm out from behind his back, revealing the half empty bottle of red wine he was carrying. "You want some?" he asked in a slurry tone?

"Uh, isn't drinking against the rules?" Zack asked innocently.

Sephiroth laughed ridiculously and nodded. "Yeah… but who would suspect us? We're perfect."

Cloud shrugged. "Good point." He opened the door wider. "Come on in. We'll all share."

"OKAY!" the three exclaimed as they stumbled into the dorm room.

Zack smirked, and Cloud smirked back. "Oh, this is gonna be fun," they said.

The five men closed and locked the door, drank, and danced to "LOVE SCREAM PARTY" all night… and we all hung over the next morning.

THE END