Disclaimer: i own nothing ._. if i did...zack wouldnt have died and the game would be rated...(psst whats higher than rated M?) lol :D

I watched him. Sitting at a table, surrounded by our closest friends and all I could see was him sitting across from me flirting with almost every girl that came into the school cafeteria. I felt someone poke my side making me slightly jump, I turned to the redheaded Reno next to me and blushed a bit when he raised a red brow at me and smirked. I punched his bicep and praised myself when he hissed in pain and rubbed his now slightly red, pale skin and glared in my direction his dark blue eyes meeting my lighter blue ones. I grinned innocently and we shared a laugh.

"Cloud, just ask him out already" Reno poked my side again. I looked at the senior classmen that basically owned my affection. Zack Fair, spiky black hair, tanned skin, violet eyes that were unusually real and charisma that people labeled 'preppy' would envy. Zack was captain of the football team but was the complete opposite of the stereotypical label high school students were so willing to give. I sighed, grabbed Reno's arm and walked out of the cafeteria and walked toward the back of the school to get to the school roof. We got to the top and Reno stood expectantly.

"Reno, I can't just, ask him out" he snorted and sat down.

"Why not cloud, and don't give me a bullshit answer yo" it was my turn to snort and I took a seat next to him.

"He's just," I made a grabbing gesture with my hands and looked at them sadly "outta my reach, ya know? He's just, Zack I guess" Reno sighed and threw an arm around me.

"cloud, zack, like fucking worships you yo" I rolled my eyes "no strife seriously, it's always 'cloud this' or 'cloud that' getting kind of annoying but whatever, anyway, I have no doubt that he's into you" I sighed and leaned back a bit to see the cloudy skies that were commonly known as 'midgar clouds', thick and threating, and only in the midgar area.

"Ok, let's say he does like me like that, I mean, I'm not all that special compared to any other student here, if I had to say you or angeal had a better shot at him" Reno stayed silent for a bit.

"How are you not that special?" when I heard Reno's voice I turned to him to see is face contorted in mild shock and a little of anger hidden in his eyes, he took his arm from my shoulders. "your, like one of most," he paused and I assumed was looking for the right words "one of the most esteem challenged people I've ever met, and I met a shit load of people cloud" I brought my knees to my chest and laid my chin on them as I looked out in the distance, away from Reno "and I just don't understand why, your hot cloud, I mean why wouldn't he or any guy want you? Yeah, you don't have mega muscle but you've got more muscle then most guys here, me included. Your nice when you want to be and when you actually smile instead of those fake smiles people damn near melt yo," I looked at Reno, shocked that he was calling me out on stuff I hadn't even realized, and saw him glaring at the ground. "You're smart as hell and just an all-around good guy cloud and if you really wanted Zack you should just go and do it" he looked up at me and our eyes met. I saw sadness dwell in them, companioned by pain and resignation.

"Reno-"he cut me off and looked away into the distance

"Cloud, don't," he slowly shook his head "I've, accepted that I can't have you alright? But if I can't have you then, I want you with someone that you do want." I reached out to put my hand on his shoulder but stopped midway. I was, confused to say the least. How do I react when someone you've always confided in admits they wanted you? Similar questions plagued my mind but I brushed them to the side, Reno is one of my best friends, even if we didn't start out like that, and him liking me was unexpected but I felt sympathy for him, not because I don't feel the same, because given time I probably would, but I felt sympathy because I was so hung up on zack I sometimes forgot other people were around me and I hated people like that. I took my arm back but hugged him instead. The hug itself was awkwardly angled leaving Reno's arms trapped to his sides and my face buried in his shoulder but my body was left half twisted. I let go and we both looked at each other, then began laughing and holding our stomachs in pain.

"That was a horrible hug" I said in between the leftover giggle fit I was having. Reno calmed down and grinned at me.

"Yeah, but still, thanks" I grinned back and the bell for lunch to be over rang. We both groaned simultaneously when we realized that we had Mr. Hojo for science this period. We got up and dusted off the small pebbles and dirt off of our pants and dragged our feet toward class. We made it to class right as the bell rang.

"well, Mr. Strife so glad you could make it as could you Mr. Sinclair, now take your seats" Reno grabbed my arm and gently pulled me to my seat in the back behind him. After the first couple minutes of class a note landed on my desk. I looked at the note confused and looked at who had thrown it to me. I saw Zack smiling and waving at me. I opened the note wondering what he wanted.

'Where did u n Reno go lunch?'

'Had to ask him somethin' I quickly scribbled my message and passed it back. Not any sooner then I passed it, the note came back.

'Like what?'

'Some stuff :p' I wasn't about to tell him that we were discussing him

'aww I wanna be asked toooooo'

'Shut up zack :p'

'fine, be like that then ;p anyway…'

'anyway?'

'I was wondering something' my heart started to beat a bit faster

'what's up?'

'do you think that aeris likes me? :D' of course, aeris, the chestnut haired girl that liked to wear her long pink dress with her brown jacket and pink hair ribbon and her eyes a perfect green. She was one of the sweetest girls ever and loved being around both me and Zack. It was only natural Zack would fall for her and maybe her for him.

'yeah, probably y?' my face fell, I knew it did as I gave the note to the guy between us.

'I was gonna ask her out tonite….u ok? were you planin on asking her?' shit. He noticed.

'nah, wat makes u say that? She's not even my type u know that :P' when the note didn't come back I looked over at Zack who looked at the note, then me, then back to the note and wrote his response.

'idk. Just seemed like u were really sad for a sec...n oh yeah huh lol ur more into the manly men section of women lol'

'again, shut up Zack :P'

'ok then grumpy :P so, who's the guy?'

'zack…I don't think you want to go there lol'

'y not?'

'you're straight Zack :P stick to girls'

'I not straight cloud o.o who told you that?' I looked at the paper and zack in a similar fashion as him when he had done it.

"What!" the whole class jumped and they all started to turn to me as well as the teacher and Reno.

"Mr. Strife, I will not have yelling in my classroom now, either you can answer this question wrong and go see the principal or you can just go" I gritted my teeth and glared at him.

"the answers 27" I grabbed my stuff roughly and stormed out of the classroom pissed off, not at hojo, he could go fuck himself but knowing him he'd probably enjoy it, but I was mad at Zack. I've known him for damn near 5 years and why hadn't he told me he was bi? It's not like it would have mattered at all. I heard hurried footsteps behind me and I turned around to see none other than Aeris running up toward me.

"hey, what are you doing out of class?" I didn't have it in me to be mean to her. It wasn't her fault that I didn't know about Zack or that he wanted her and not me.

"got kicked out because," 'does she know?' I thought "what are you doing out here wondering the halls?" I changed the subject to avoid telling her something she may or may not have known of.

"I'm an office aid this period remember? Here, I'll walk with you, I don't feel like going back just yet" I nodded and we just roamed the halls talking about school, movies, books anything and everything really. We just had that connection that I didn't have with even Reno, and I liked that I could talk to all of my friends about something rather than just one friend who's dealing with his own issues. "hey, cloud?"

"yeah?" she didn't answer and I looked at her as she stared at the polished floors of the halls.

"Zack he, he asked me out earlier," I nodded and looked away when she looked at me "I told him no" I stopped abruptly and almost tripped. She said no?

"you, you told Zack no to a date? Why? I thought you liked him?"

"it's not fair to you" oh aeris.

"look, my" I moved my wrist in a circular motion looking for the right word "obsession with a certain black-haired boy shouldn't stop you from going out with him, it doesn't bother me," yes it does "I think you guys would be good together, maybe you could mellow him out" I ended laughing at the lame attempt of a joke.

"Cloud," she took my hands into her even tinier olive skinned ones, he bracelet jumping a bit as she moved "you are not obsessed with Zack, you're in love with him there's a difference" I snorted and she ignored it "I don't want to stand in the way of that and hurt you even more than you really are" I looked at her green eyes and saw determination to get me to see what she sees and her sincerity. I gave her a small smile.

"it's okay, please, just text him or call him and tell him you changed your mind" I took my hands back and held one up when she started to protest "if I love him I should want him happy right? And it would make him very happy to go on a date with you right?" I asked using her own words against her. She frowned and nodded slowly. "Ok then" the bell rang and students began flooding the halls toward the exits. "I gotta go, call me and let me know how it goes ok?" she gave me a hug and told me she would before I walked off. I made it outside and to my motorcycle, to finally leave the school and head to my usual spot. While leaving the student lot I saw Zack smiling widely at aeris and I sped out onto the road determined to not let Zack's new found attraction to aeris bother me. I was happy for him, for her, they'd be great together and as long as I continued to tell myself that it didn't bother me I and aeris knew it did and I didn't want it to. But the blow was softened when aeris told me she rejected him because of me, at the very least if I couldn't get over Zack I'd rather him be happy, and if it means being with her, then so be it.

Hey guys :) here i am with yet another story haha :D so as always leave a review or PM me and tell me what you think :) itd be greatly appreciated (sp? lol) also i updated my profile so check that out too! :)

-remember, keep to the dar and stay divine ;)-