Hey there! Yeah, I know what you guys are thinking, "…The hell is she doing writing another fanfiction…? Everyone knows she doesn't finish them!!". Well, you can just shove it. I was young and naïve back when I was writing those Fruits Basket fanfictions and had absolutely no idea how to write an actual story. So I gave up for about…I dunno… Three years. But, the point is, I'm back now with a NEW fanfiction called Contact, and it's actually plotted out so I don't plan on quitting on this one at all, so don't worry your pretty little heads. :)
Summary: Cloud is only fifteen years old and has to move away to his mother's cousin's house when she gets killed in a fire. Cloud is the new kid in town and is terribly shy; two things that don't mix well when you're starting a new life. When Cloud is picked on mercilessly, will anyone come to his rescue or will he just have to accept the fact that no one ever will?
Anyways, I guess I have to warn you guys about what's to come, no?
WARNING! This story contains explicit content not meant for younger readers, such as:
-Adult language
-Sexual/Adult situations
-Yaoi/Boy love/ Gay love/ Etcetera
-Torture
-Horrible writing skills
I will set a warning at the beginning of the chapter if there is any of content of this sort in it, so do not complain. If you do not like it, do not read it. Thank you.
DISCLAIMER: I, xAirashii, do not own, think I own, or even PRETEND that I own the characters and/or places in this story. I do this purely for entertainment and do not get profit from this, other than my happiness that comes from writing. All characters belong to Square Enix©.
Now that all the legal stuff is out of the way, here's the prologue!
Contact-Prologue
The heat. The unbearable heat. Flames. Fire. It's surrounding me, suffocating me.
Where is it all coming from?
Where am I?
Where's Mom?
I can't breathe…What's going on?!
Why can't I breathe? See? Think?!
MOM!! Where are you?!
Cloud cried out and bolted upwards, his breathing labored and his face covered in sweat. "…Wh-What the hell is going on…?" He breathed as he wiped some of the sweat from his brow, still shaking from his nightmare.
The blonde gazed over at the digital clock on the table beside his bed.
11:58 AM.
Mom's gonna kill me. He chided, trying to get out of his nightmare-induced stupor.
He swung his legs over the side of his small, single-person bed and let out a shaky breath.
"Was... That the same dream…?" He muttered under his breath. Cloud slowly rose up from the bed and trudged into his bathroom across room.
It used to be his father and mother's room, which is why it had a bathroom, and was probably the largest bedroom in the entire house.
His mother moved out of that room and gave it to Cloud; the memories of her husband too painful for her to bear.
His father had been killed eight years ago; someone had broken into their home at night, and, wanting to protect his family, his father threw himself at the robber while Cloud and his mother escaped.
He was only seven years old at that time and has lived alone with his mother since then up until now.
Cloud's father's death was hard for the both of them; things between Cloud and his mother were tense whenever either one of them, or anyone else for that matter, mentioned Mr. Strife.
But soon after his father was gone, Cloud became even closer to his mother, almost never leaving her side for the fear of losing her as well.
Now, never getting over that fear, Cloud is still protective of his mother at the age of fifteen. No one could come within ten feet of her when he was around, which he always was, of course, without receiving a glare from the blonde in their direction.
Cloud closed the bathroom door behind him, but didn't lock it; he never did, "Just incase someone broke into our house and…"
Well, he didn't even want to think of that.
Cloud looked in the small, smeared mirror and grimaced when he saw the reflection gazing back at him.
He'd been having that same dream over and over again for the past week, never allowing him to get any proper sleep, and his appearance had suffered because of it.
He poked and prodded at the dark bags under his eyes that were there due to sleep deprivation. His hair was a total mess; it resembled a chocobo that had just had its feathers blow-dried and not brushed or been washed. Yuck.
His normally honey-colored skin was pale, almost pasty, and he could swear he saw a zit forming on his chin.
He gave his reflection one last frown before turning on the water in the shower, stripping down, and jumping into the tub-slash-shower. The blonde let the heat and pressure of the water take him away to a world where he didn't have to worry, where he didn't fear everything in the world. Showers were his only vice, his only way of relaxation.
Cloud closed his eyes that were heavy with lack of sleep and exhaustion and let the water hit his back.
What is with that dream? Why do I keep having it every single night?
I don't know what it is…But I have a bad feeling about it…
He sighed and turned around so that he faced the wall.
Maybe I should take Mom away; we could go on vacation, or something.
Yeah…A vacation…That's what we need…A vacation…
He smiled and rested his head against the shower wall, not caring that the water had run cold already.
Wait till I tell Mom that we'll be going on a--
His thoughts were interrupted when suddenly a shriek followed by a loud clatter came from downstairs. Cloud's eyes flipped open and immediately one thing came to his mind.
"MOM!!"
He cried out and jumped out of the shower, not bothering to turn the water off.
His mother's safety was the most important thing at that moment; he could worry about the water bill later. The blonde grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his lithe waist and sprinted towards the staircase.
There was fire.
Everywhere.
He couldn't breathe.
Couldn't see.
Couldn't think.
Cloud coughed and winced when the smoke filled his lungs and the sound of an alarm went off, hurting his ears.
Why was it so loud?
He couldn't hear or see his mother. Where was she?
He ran blindly into the smog, "Mom! Where are you?! Can you hear me--", he yelled out when the blonde tripped on something.
Cloud cried out in pain when he realized he had twisted his ankle and pulled his leg up to his chest. Suddenly, he realized what he tripped on.
His mother.
Cloud's eyes went wide and tried to reach out to her, when he heard a sudden loud crackle. Wood splitting. Wood burning. Wood falling. The blonde slowly shook his head, tears pooling in his soft, blue eyes, realizing what was happening.
Another crack was heard.
A single tear fell down his cheek as a mass of burning wood fell down.
Down, towards his mother, who was most likely still alive, just unconcious, on the floor.
"MAMA!!", he cried out like a child when the blazing lumber fell down on to his mother and covered her in the deadly flames.
His mother.
Hismother.
The woman who loved him regardless, even when no one else would so much as look at him.
Tears streaked down his cheeks, one after another.
Is this really happening? No.
No. It can't be.
It's just a dream.
It's just a dream.
The same dream from last night and the night before, and every night before that.
It's just a dream.
"IT'S JUST A DREAM, DAMMIT!!", he yelled out, tears still spilling down his cheeks.
The blonde stayed there for a moment, crying tears of sorrow, anger, shock, and overall, sadness. He couldn't--wouldn't-- believe this was happening.
Cloud slowly rose to his feet, despite how much physical, and emotional, pain it caused him to leave his home ablaze like that.
The blonde slowly turned his still wet head as he came out of the burning building he once called "home" and cried silently to himself when he heard doors slamming and people's voices.
Gods, how he hated them.
All of them.
They did nothing for him, only teased him, mocked him, hated him.
The only one of his neighbors he didn't hate was Mrs. Johnson.
She was always friendly towards him; she gave him cookies when he was younger and always offered a warm smile when he walked by.
He wandered over to his neighbor's house, where he noticed everyone was already standing outside in their yards, staring, just staring, at his home going up in flames.
Mrs. Johnson gave him a small smile and wrapped her arms around his still bare shoulders in a warm embrace, showing him that she's there for him if he was ever in a pinch.
She covered him in a blanket and walked him into her home, where she called the police and had them and the firemen all come down to put the fire out.
"It'll be alright, Cloud...Just keep your chin up, and never give up." she told him, pulling him into another hug.
Cloud hesitantly returned it as a few last tears trailed down his pale cheeks.
She allowed him to stay at her house that night until the next morning when he would call the only family he had: his mother's cousin, Sephiroth.
His elderly neighbor offered him a warm dinner that night, telling him stories about her childhood at the dinner table.
Even though he found this a bit endearing, Cloud also found it boring. He sighed while she was still in the middle of telling him about the time where she and her friends got stuck in a well...Or something along those lines...He wasn't really paying attention. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and forget that anything ever happened.
Mrs. Johnson must have understood what this gesture meant; she set up a spot on the couch for Cloud to sleep until tomorrow and sat him down.
Cloud got under the blanket that she had given him and sighed.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Mrs. Johnson leaned back into the couch when Cloud was about to fall asleep, and whispered to him, "…I'm so sorry, Cloud…I know how you feel…"
No.
No one had any idea how he felt.
Watching your own mother die and not being able to do anything about it.
A piece of him died along with her and he frowned at Mrs. "Diana" Johnson.
"You…You will never understand how I feel." He said coldly.
He instantly felt guilty when the words left his mouth. Mrs. Johnson had been so kind to him, and he just mouthed off to her.
Not cool, Cloud. Not cool.
Whatever. I have every damned right to act like this. He thought to himself.
Diana Johnson just smiled a soft, saddened smile and got up from the couch where Cloud was now staring up at her.
"You never know, Cloud." She said softly and walked out of the room, turning off the light as she left.
Tomorrow, then. Cloud thought as he closed his eyes and snuggled up with the scratchy blanket on the lumpy old sofa.
Tomorrow, I leave for Gongaga.
--
Mwahaha, cliff hanger, oh yes!
Well, how'd you like it?
Yeah, I know it was pretty short, but it's just the prologue!! There's a helluva lot more to come, let me tell ya.
Actually, I most likely wouldn't have written this if it weren't for my friend LadyUzumaki pushing me to do it!
So, if you liked this chapter, go thank her! And while you're doing so, check out her fanfictions. They are Naruto/Sasuke, not Zack/Cloud, but they're still awesome!
Hell, I don't usually even watch Naruto, but I still love her fanfictions, so that has to say something, right?
Ha ha, well I'm out. Reviews are appreciated; they give me that extra BOOST! to write another chapter.
(Not that I'm not already getting started on the next one! I told you, I've started this, now I'm going to finish it.)
Well, enough of my ramblings.
Go review! Now!!
Please…? -Puppy eyes-