It Catches Up with You

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any characters mentioned.

He glued his eyes onto the baseball as it was released from his rival's glove. He chanted the words his father said during practice: "Concentrate, concentrate. Keep your eye on the ball. You got this, Cloud." They needed three more runs to win the championships and bases were loaded with two outs. SLAM! The wooden bat cracked under the pressure of the blond's swing, and his force whacked the ball right out of the Babe Ruth League's park. The stands and his team in the dugout cheered wildly as the teen sped around the bases, raking in points with his grand slam. He jumped on home base triumphantly as his team ran from the dugout to cheer for their teammate.

Zack patted his best friend on the back and lifted Cloud onto his shoulders as he fist-pumped. The opposing team lined up to shake hands and continued on with their lives. For Zack, however, his life was never the same after that day.

Zack was fifteen, only half a year older than Cloud. His birthday fell a simple six months before Cloud's but they were still practically twins. The blond would match his friend's age in just half of a week on August nineteenth; Zack already wrapped his gift for Cloud's birthday/end-of-summer bash. The boys were in Zack's room, changing into their swim trunks together to meet their winning baseball team at the pool party outside.

Zack stood proudly in front of his mirror with Cloud by his side. Zack ranted about his killer tan that he got in the Costa del Sol last weekend. Cloud grimaced away from his pale figure, poking at his underdeveloped abs. He watched Zack flex and grin like an idiot, mentally noting that Zack's twenty squats a day workout wasn't half bad. Zack noticed his friend's stare and slung an arm around him. "Hey, don't worry All-Star. I'll get you on the Zack Fair diet: cheese balls and raw eggs. Then thirty – no! Make that forty squats a day." Cloud made a gagging noise.

"Are you ready yet?" He whined. "We've been up here for like an hour!"

"Calm down, Chocobo," Zack said coolly. "They probably think we're doing it or something." He laughed loudly.

"You'd like them to think that," Cloud retaliated sarcastically.

"Wouldn't you?" Cloud blushed. What the hell is that supposed to mean? He humored his friend and smirked, giving him a wink. Zack's eyes went wild and he flicked the blond's nose gently as he walked past him, heading toward the door. "You're going to be a rotten egg. Last one in the pool and all." The boys raced downstairs and outside, jumping into cannonballs and hitting the water simultaneously. They rose from the bottom of the pool, rubbing their eyes from chlorine as Zack immediately exclaimed, "I beat you!"

Cloud scoffed. "You wish! Why can't you ever admit I'm faster than you?"

Before Zack could defend himself, Tifa cleared hear throat at the side of the pool. "I don't know about that, Cloud. I think I saw Zack come up first." Tifa kicked her feet, sending light splashes toward them as she giggled. Zack whooped in victory and Cloud playfully dunked him underwater as he swam away to Tifa. He pushed himself up onto the cement ledge.

"You never take my side, babe." Cloud pouted as he wrapped an arm around her bare waist; He wanted to slap himself for never realizing how hot she was in a bikini before today. Zack frowned, wondering why Cloud would call Tifa 'babe' and why he was being so flirtatious.

"Of course I do." Tifa smiled and pecked Cloud's cheek then whispered into his ear, making him smile widely. Zack splashed his face with water to make sure he was seeing all of this correctly. He swam across the pool to Tidus, Angeal, Genesis, and Wakka. They were playing with diving sticks in the shallow end, almost making Zack bubble with laughter if it hadn't been for his current crisis.

"'Ey, Zack!" Wakka shouted cheerfully, followed by greetings from his other friends. "Real nice game, man. You 'nd Cloud're always saving our asses. How 'bout next –"

"Thanks, sounds good," Zack said quickly, ignoring everything that was just said to him. "Hey, so what's up with Cloud and Tifa? Are they hooking up or something?" Zack wondered aloud.

Tidus shrugged. "She's always hooking up with guys. She bagged you last year, Angeal, you fox." He nudged Angeal in the ribs until he was shoved away. Angeal, Zack's cousin, would be a junior this year, meaning he should play for the school but he joined their recreational baseball team after funding for the high school's team was too low.

"Tifa just wants to experiment. What else do you expect from her?" said Angeal. The group looked over to Aerith sitting under the umbrella table, shyly sipping her glass of lemonade in a one-piece bathing suit. Angeal said lowly, "I know what I expect from her…"

Zack pursed his lips as he watched Aerith. She told him once that she had always admired Cloud, but it could just never work. He knew she would never even consider flirting with him, but for reasons beyond him, he became extremely envious as he watched her. "Why don't you go talk to her?" Genesis suggested. "You won't stop looking at her."

As the boys noticed Zack staring, Wakka and Tidus cooed and sang stupid love songs about them together. Angeal's face grew hard as they sang and jealously started to boil within him. He was ready to knock their heads together. "Shut up, I don't even like her," said Zack. The older teen's face softened, but he still held his deathly stare. Genesis questioned whom Zack actually did like. "I don't know." He looked back to where Tifa splashed Cloud's face and then dragged him into a kiss on the lips. "I don't think you know… Uh, her," he lied with a frown.

Wakka slapped his back. "No worries, man. She'll come 'round."

Tidus nodded, "Yeah, I'll bet she's head over heels for you!" He wolf-whistled as Aerith walked over to them with two cups of lemonade and sat on the steps of the pool next to them. "Hey Aerith, nice day, yeah?"

Aerith smiled. "It's a beautiful day. Hey Angeal, do you want some lemonade?" she asked sweetly. He cocked an eyebrow toward Zack and Genesis and waded through the water to sit on the steps with her. When Zack looked back at Cloud, he realized they weren't there anymore. In fact, they weren't even in the backyard! Zack waded the stairs of the pool, pushing the water aside hastily and accidently knocking Aerith's glass of lemonade into the water. She scrambled to get the glass and exploded with apologies but Zack didn't care, he wanted to find Cloud and tell him the truth.

The others followed Zack indoors out of curiosity for his behavior. Zack hurried upstairs to his room, his friends right behind him. As Zack pushed his bedroom door open, he immediately wished he hadn't. Cloud was lying on his bed, his knees bent and his head tilted back. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly ajar as he released a long moan. Tifa was straddling him with her hand halfway down his trunks and the other stroking his chest. "C-Cloud…" Zack whispered. Tifa's head snapped up and she whipped her hands away from Cloud and climbed off him. Cloud's face went completely white when he was caught red handed by Zack and everyone else peering in behind him.

"Zack, please, I can explain," said Cloud nervously, holding up his hands in defense.

The black haired teen shook his head, allowing a tear to roll down his cheek. "I… I don't want to hear it." Cloud was about to speak, but Zack cut him off. "I'm in l-love with you," he blurted out, no longer caring who else was there. "How could you do this? In my house, too."

Behind him, Tidus whispered, "Zack's a fucking queer?"

Zack shivered and cool beads of water dribbled from his body, making him shake harder. "I thought you liked me!"

Cloud stepped forward and reached a hand out to touch his arm. "Where… Where did you get that idea, Zack?"

He rejected Cloud's touch by pulling his arm away violently. "On the phone last weekend, you were telling me who you liked. Black hair, friends for a long time, athletic… Attractive. But that was all Tifa, wasn't it?" Cloud nodded. "You led me on."

"You know I didn't mean to," Cloud said gently.

Zack laughed bitterly through a sob. "Of course I knew that, why else would I have thought you liked me back?" he said sarcastically.

"Zack, I'm not… I'm not gay."

Tifa stepped away from the corner of the room, taking Cloud's hand and staring up at Zack. "C'mon Cloud," she said. "Let's get you out of here." She led Cloud out of the room and Zack turned around when he heard the front door open and close. Aerith was behind him, crying for Zack's misfortune. She gave him a hug, stroking his hair and solacing him by reassuring him everything would be okay.

"Zack, man, I'm with Cloud," said Tidus. "I don't want… Sorry." He and Wakka left, obviously uninterested in being friends with Zack now. Angeal had never been such great friends with Zack, even though they were family, but he felt bad for the kid. As much sympathy as he had for him, Angeal wasn't much of a comforter. He apologized to Zack and told Aerith he would wait outside for her. Zack much preferred to be alone and urged Aerith to go make something work with Angeal. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, reminding him that she was always available to talk if he needed.

At the click of the front door closing, Zack's jelly legs failed him and he collapsed on the floor, sobbing into the carpet. 'I fucked everything up,' Zack reminded himself, making him cry harder. It was the weakest he had ever been, and once he collected himself, he vowed not to let it happen again.

Zack didn't hear from Cloud all week, and he skipped Cloud's birthday party for both their sakes. It was the first one of Cloud's birthdays he missed in seven years, and it just didn't feel right. But in Cloud's opinion, wanting to fuck guys didn't feel right either, Zack sourly reminded himself. The night before school started, Cloud walked the two blocks to Zack's house and knocked on the door. Zack's mom answered and was quick to ask questions of the boys' broken friendship. "I just need to get my stuff I left here, Mrs. Fair," said Cloud. Her shoulders slumped and she called Zack downstairs.

"Hey," Zack whispered when he stood in the doorway.

"Hey… Zack. I came to get my stuff from the party."

Zack was confused – He didn't go to Cloud's party. "What party?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. 'We have to discuss it, don't we?' Cloud thought. "From after championships."

"Oh. Sure. Do you want to come in?" Zack asked.

"No, Tifa's waiting at my house. Can you get her stuff too?" Zack nodded and went upstairs into his room where he folded their clothes and left them on his desk. He wanted to keep Cloud's things; they were so perfect. They smelled like him and plus, they looked hot on Cloud. It was Zack's favorite shirt of his and a pair of light washed jeans that hung off his hips. Zack took Cloud's shirt from the pile, stuffing it in his drawer, and taking the rest of the clothes downstairs along with Cloud's birthday gift.

Cloud eagerly took the clothes from him. Zack held out the gift. "Happy belated birthday," he said gingerly, desperately hoping it would mend their friendship.

Cloud looked away. "Uh, thanks, but you can keep it." He looked through the articles of clothing, noticing something was missing. "Hey, do you have my shirt? I think it's the brown and –"

"What do I look like, Cloud? A fucking clothes store? I don't have your damn shirt, maybe you left it at Tifa's house when you screwed her," Zack said heatedly.

Cloud shook his head and scoffed. "I didn't want things to turn out this way. It's not my fault I'm not a homo. You didn't have to tell me any of that stuff, Zack. What the hell were you thinking?" Cloud turned on his heel, leaving the house hurriedly once again. Zack slammed the door closed behind him, turning to his mother with her hand covering her mouth. He gave his mother the finger and retired to his room, dreading to start school tomorrow humiliated and alone.

LOLOLOLOL I DID IT. I started a new story. What is wrong with me?

Reviews? Please. I'll love you so hard.