Fated Meeting: Chapter 1
It was a bright summer's afternoon in young Demyx Vody's second year in primary school but the joyous mood of the summer vacation approaching did nothing to cheer to boy up. Though he may have been smiling, it looked a little forced even to an untrained eye and his posture betrayed it all. Even his clothing gave off a darker look, despite the light colours. By all means, it was quite warm outside and yet Demyx wore a long-sleeved t-shirt and a washed out pair of jeans. His shoes looked old and worn. Even his hair gave in to the sullen mood of its owner as it lay down flatly upon his head, the fringe covering his eyes lightly, hiding the vibrant ocean blue orbs behind it.
Yet one might wonder why such a cute looking kid stood now by himself packing his schoolbag with the books he would need for his homework in the deserted classroom. It wasn't hard to guess why Demyx was so sullen though, for every day, the gang of bullies of the school stood at the gates to see him off, and not in a kind way. Thanks to them, Demyx had been ostracised and even those that took pity on him barely ever spoke to him. He didn't know why, almost beginning to believe he was cursed, though this was only the paving for the blessing that would follow.
He glanced out the window, brushing his hair aside briefly. Yep, there they were again. They'd catch Demyx as he tried to pass, knock him down when he tried to escape, scatter his stuff, beat him black and blue, humiliate him in some way and then leave him there to publicly lick his wounds and gather his things before heading home. That was the main reason he wore the long-sleeved shirt instead of a sleeveless one. Oh he wanted to, of course; it was far too hot in this weather, but he didn't want to be laughed at or questioned about his bruises. Hell, even his parents didn't see them. Then again, since when were they ever home to care, right?
He took a deep breath, attempting to steel himself from the oncoming onslaught and headed to the gates, wishing once more that there was another passageway out of this damned school so he could go home safely for at least once since the bullying had started. It was almost as if he had a sign with 'Bully me.' written on it hanging above his head. He had done nothing to deserve this, but surely some god or other out there thought differently of that. He stepped out and already from this distance knew that the pack of wolves had detected its prey. He took a deep breath and sprinted once more, being a little more lean and smaller than the others, he managed to manoeuvre out of them fairly well before one slammed their bag onto his back and he dropped to the floor- hard. He just barely managed to not bite his tongue as his chin hit the pavement.
He could hear the dark laughter above him as he tried to get his bearings again and climb to his feet, only to be kicked in the side and fall down again. That broke the dam and a multitude of shoes began to kick at his ribs and stomach, leaving the poor boy to only hope he would not end up with broken bones. He could barely hear their jeering and taunting above the pain until a new voice joined, suddenly stopping the attacks. He could tell some shouts were exchanged and a few punches maybe until he heard the gang leave, remaining with his saviour. He slowly sat up, wincing at the very bright and painful throbs throughout his upper body. He was relieved to find his things were still all in one piece though.
He heard more than saw his saviour crouch down next to him. "Are you okay?" When he turned to look at who had saved him his eyes widened and he almost stopped breathing. In front of him stood the most beautiful person Demyx had ever seen. Okay, so he hadn't seen or met many people, but still. This boy had a pale complexion and dark hair that covered his eyes, almost a deep shade of greyish blue when the light hit it just right. He had blue eyes similar to his own, though accentuated by a shade of grey in there. What the dirty blond found most captivating though, was the emotion and strength in those eyes. The boy in front of him looked concerned but had an inlaid pride and responsibility there that hardly matched his age, and was it wisdom? It was difficult to tell in the pained and dazed state he was in. It was only when the other spoke again that he realised he had been staring. "S-Sorry, yeah. I'm okay." He mumbled out, slowly getting to his feet and wincing a little at the sting in his side.
The newcomer obviously did not believe him and got to his feet as well. "Right. Well, how about we go back inside and get you fixed up? My name's Zexion by the way. I'm transferring here. What's yours?" No way! His saviour and most gorgeous person he had ever met was transferring to their school? It seemed so unreal. His shock probably showed on his face because Zexion chuckled softly, placing a gentle hand on Demyx' shoulder to lead him inside. "I-I'm Demyx. Thanks for saving me back there..." He said, still speaking softly and looking at the ground, a habit he had developed over the two years he had attended. Doing so he did not catch the somewhat sad look on Zexion's face. "No problem. I really hate bullies." He said, smiling kindly at Demyx and they walked in silence until they got to the nurse's office, where the nurse seemed surprised to see them. Still, she took care of Demyx without a fuss and Zexion excused himself to go to the principal's office, where he was expected and almost running late.
Once Demyx was all patched up he hesitated, wanting to wait for his saviour and maybe thank him properly, but he already knew he didn't have the guts for it, instead glancing sadly and almost longingly at the building before walking home, having gotten off easy today thanks to Zexion. Hopefully he would see the boy again, but something inside him told him this was all just a fluke, a lucky shot, and that Zexion would soon grow fed-up or bored with him and leave him to suffer again and Demyx did not doubt that voice. Everyone he attempted to trust had abandoned him, after all. It wouldn't do to get his hopes up now and fall once again. He was broken enough, inside and out.
Zexion hadn't known what possessed him to save the poor boy that was being ganged up on at the gates of the school right before his meeting with the principal and by all means, he should probably have alerted a teacher or something but instead had mouthed off against their leader and threatened him with imprisonment. It was useful to have a parent working in the law-department. The young boy before him had looked so broken though, one look into his eyes and he could see so much hidden there: pain, anguish, fear, hope and solitude. How such a young child had so many emotions he did not know. Then again, he was barely a year older himself so he didn't have much grounds to speak about age and emotions. He had grown up around a mature environment after all, causing him to grow up quickly as well.
Still, he could see recognise a caged bird easily when he saw one and Demyx was definitely a caged bird. Everything about him seemed to shrink in on itself, the way he acted, held himself and spoke showed an inferiority complex that had, now hat he thought about it, most likely been brought on by those bullies. The 'keep your head down and hope they go away' method. Quite notorious around bullied children, though it hardly ever worked. If it was only mild bullying or teasing then yes, that did work; however in cases like this, the offending party would continue because they enjoyed putting others down like that and proving their so-called superiority while they were actually nothing but filth; very desperate filth. Zexion truly despised such people and the effect they had on others. He'd read about it in one of his father's books along with what he saw at his old school so he knew what it did to people.
He did not know why but something about this shy and admittedly adorable boy made him want to protect him. Demyx looked like a shattered topaz, begging to be melded together again with a golden lining, like what the Japanese did to their pottery when broken. Meld it back together with gold as glue. No matter how fancy you make something, it will never truly heal, but it was a start, right? He shook those thoughts from his head quickly when he saw the time. Demyx was being taken care of by the nurse so he went up to the principal's office after getting a few directions from her, knocking politely before entering. He was here today because he was to be transferred here at the beginning of the next term, after summer vacation. It seemed far away but much needed to be done and he would have to check the curriculum they were following, along with getting the necessary books for the year and getting settled with his parents in their new house, just outside of the centre of town. They had needed to move away from their prior home because of a job transfer of his father's, leaving them to pick up and move out of the blue. It wasn't preferable, but it happened.
The meeting went smoothly, although the principal had been surprised to find Zexion had come by himself. Of course, said boy did not blame him, it was indeed unusual, would he have been anyone else. As things stood, he was mature enough to do this, thank you very much. Once all that was taken care of he filed the copies of a few documents in his bag and went back to the nurse's office, wondering if mystery-boy would still be here. He was hardly surprised the boy had left almost as soon as he had been treated. Zexion sighed, knowing he would not see Demyx again before summer's end. He did not know what it was that drew him to the other boy, but he was drawn and he had learned not to ignore his instincts. Those same instincts had saved him out a bunch of tricky situations like the one Demyx had been in earlier. Being a teacher's pet was hardly easy when it came to the jealousy of his peers. He shook his head, wondering if being here would be different. At least he had made a friend today, somewhat. He went back home with a hopeful smile on his face, deciding to go take out a book later or maybe attempt sketching again.
He had grown an interest in art lately and his parents had obliged by giving him a few books on the theory and a few sketchbooks so he could practice. Maybe this was his chance to practice drawing eyes? Demyx' were planted quite vividly into his mind at the moment after all. And then, in a few months, he'd see how things would go. Yeah, this would all work out fine, just like he had worked out every other obstacle or challenge he encountered in his life.