Wake Up Call
Life is so full of choices. It's your own decision of whether you take the bus to school or walk; who you sit with at lunch; who you call friends and who you don't. However, if anything, there is at least one thing that you have no say in, and that's family. When it comes to family, you have no choice, no decision, no 'buts'; they simply are. You don't have the power to choose who is related to you and who is not, but sometimes we wish we did; times like six o'clock on a Wednesday morning.
"Good morning, Sunshine, this is your wake up call!"
An enthusiastic voice pierced through the darkness, followed by the sound of springs crying in protest as weight was suddenly thrown onto them. It was as though someone had thrown a large wet dog on his bed, but in reality, it was something equally wet but far more annoying. Cloud wished it was just a large wet dog.
"Get off my bed, you disgusting little worm," he hissed, kicking his brother as he pulled his pillow over his head. Roxas laughed and crawled further along the older male's bed, wrapping his fingers around his brother's covers and pulling them off him. Instantly, Cloud lashed out and snatched them back with one hand, the other hitting Roxas across the head with his palm. "Get out!"
Roxas, who must have just got out of the shower because his hair was still dripping with water, jumped off the bed laughing and went to the curtains, pulling them as far open as he could. The sunlight, although it was rather dim, lit up the room considerably, forcing Cloud's blue eyes closed. A growl formed in his throat as he lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light, a glare instantly falling upon Roxas as his eyelids flicked open. Taking this as a sign that his brother was well and truly pissed off with him now, Roxas dropped the curtains and ran from the room, slamming the door closed on his way out. Cloud could hear him laughing all the way down the hall, before silence gradually took over his room again.
That boy had a nerve, waking him up so early when he didn't even have to be at school until ten o'clock. Roxas knew exactly how to press his brother's buttons, and did as such at any given opportunity. However, much to his dismay, Cloud was the older one and therefore the 'more responsible' one, as his mother put it. In other words, he couldn't do much about the way Roxas provoked him. Whenever he returned the favour, Cloud got into far more trouble than anything Roxas ever did; all because he was supposed to rise above it. Cloud understood what his mother meant by it, but sometimes it was incredibly hard to remind himself of it as Roxas continued to antagonize him. Apparently Roxas was just going through a phase … one that he'd been experiencing since he was five.
Cloud was the sort of person who couldn't get back to sleep once he'd been woken up, so with a sigh he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the fuzzy navy blue carpet coming into contact with his feet. After a moment and a bit, Cloud's eyes readjusted to the darkness and allowed him to stand up without the high risk of him falling over. The eighteen year old ran a hand through his blonde hair, the other rubbing his eye lazily. With a disgruntled moan, Cloud approached his door, wrapping his fingers around the door handle and opening it with a frown. His parents weren't here; Roxas was going to pay.
--
Cloud found the smaller blonde in the kitchen, sitting on the counter and watching some cartoon that was playing on the small television in the corner beside the kettle. He was still in his pyjamas, like Cloud, except now his hair had been dried and was looking as it always did: spiky. Roxas looked up at him as he neared, a childishly innocent smile curling up on his lips after he'd realized what situation he'd just fallen into. Cloud folded his arms across his chest, which was adorned by a simple navy shirt, a disapproving look appearing on his face. The fifteen year old bit his lip, watching Cloud expectantly.
"This is going to hurt you much more than it's going to hurt me." Cloud stated, eyes narrowing. Roxas continued to watch the older male, and Cloud knew his brother well enough to know what was going to happen next. In a flash, Roxas jumped off the counter and made a run for it past Cloud. However, the older blonde was too quick for him, putting an arm out and catching his fleeing brother. The boy struggled against him as he pulled him towards him, holding the other tightly in his arms and restricting the movement to a bare minimum. Roxas wriggled hopelessly, groaning in an irritated fashion before he finally shouted out.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry!" he yelled, squirming uselessly in Cloud's firm hold, "I-I just … didn't want to be alone while I was getting ready for school." The eldest rolled his eyes, refusing to ease his grip on Roxas.
"Don't give me that, Roxas. You get ready every day on your own; today is no different." Cloud growled, holding even tighter to the boy as he continued to twist and turn in attempt to free himself. Roxas knew that Cloud had much more strength than him, but he was very relentless when he needed to be. He sighed, but it was one of aggravation.
"Fine, you win, now let me go!" he muttered in defeat, but didn't stop struggling. Cloud shook his head, though he knew that Roxas couldn't see him, as he was holding him so that he faced the other way.
"No, I don't think I will." He said sternly. At Cloud's answer, Roxas became still. The older blonde was slightly surprised by the way his brother gave up, but wasn't at all curious as to why. Roxas leaned back against the other, body becoming limp as his head dropped with a sigh.
"Cloud …" Roxas whined, drawing out the pronunciation, making him sound like a small child. The said male let go, putting a hand on the back of the other's head and pushing him away. Roxas stumbled forwards, but soon caught his balance before falling over. He brushed the non-existent dust off the black shirt that he wore to bed, and then pulled his silky red boxers up properly, as they'd slipped down a little while he struggled against his brother's hold. Cloud folded his arms across his chest again, giving Roxas a look that told him that trying to run off again was a bad idea.
"If I have to tell you one more time to stay out of my room, I'm going to hang you up by your ankles on the roof, understand?" he said threateningly. Roxas glared at him for a moment, but nodded for risk of being locked in a closet, which Cloud had done once last year when he refused to co-operate. Cloud turned to leave, but Roxas grabbed his wrist.
"Will you drive me to school?" he asked, surprisingly nicely. The older boy shook his head, mouthing the word 'no'. Roxas shook his wrist violently, half jumping as he whined. "Please, Cloud? I don't want to catch the bus!" he whimpered. Cloud shook his head again.
"Then walk, it'll do you some good." He said, jerking his hand away from the boy.
"The weatherman said it was going to rain, and the sky's already grey!" Roxas pleaded, bright blue eyes becoming wide and despondent. Cloud looked out the window, seeing whether or not his brother was telling the truth. Sure enough, the sky was already lined with dangerous grey clouds. He turned back to his brother suspiciously.
"Why don't you want to catch the bus?" He asked.
"I've missed it."
"It's quarter past six, you lying runt."
Roxas frowned, staring at Cloud angrily. He sighed, his expression becoming a more depressed one. At first, Cloud thought the small blonde was trying to lead him on, but the way Roxas spoke so genuinely sadly made him think otherwise. "There's this boy … and, well, he's kind of been giving me a hard time." Roxas mumbled, eyes dropping to the tiled ground that they stood on. Cloud's face softened, blue eyes surveying his brother curiously. "Who's giving you a hard time, Roxas?" he asked. The younger male looked up at him, almost ashamed.
"It's Seifer." He whispered. Cloud frowned. Seifer was a kid in his year, one who wasn't exactly the sweetest cookie in the jar. In fact, he was the bitter coffee that made you want the cookie in the first place. He had a sort of personal vendetta with Cloud's best friend, Leon, and had apparently opted to give his little brother hell.
Taking Roxas to school meant that he had to get ready himself, because once he was there he would have no time to go back home again. Cloud contemplated letting his brother suffer after what he'd done that morning, but as he turned away, he sighed. "Fine, but you owe me." He said, piercing blue eyes wandering to the wall clock with a pained expression. To think, he could've still been asleep if it weren't for siblings. Oh, why couldn't he have been an only child? Roxas bounded past him, thanking the other as he disappeared into the hallway.
--
Roxas was the sort of person who seemed to almost have a split personality. When he was provoking his brother to the point that he lashed out, the young blonde was generally pretty spirited, but any other time he seemed to be in his own little world. He'd willingly speak to you when spoken to, or if something is needed to be said, but otherwise he's awfully quiet and deep in thought. What exactly he was thinking about, Cloud never knew, nor did he ask. Cloud knew that, when asked, Roxas wouldn't give a truthful answer anyway. His thoughts were almost like a secret, one that he rarely confided in anyone.
The clouds were on the brink of a downfall, painted such a dark grey that they made the sky a dull black. It was eight o'clock, but the sky was sinister enough to deceive anyone into believing it was still night time. Cloud watched the road with little interest, his head lights showing that there was no one else on the road besides him. Roxas was sitting in the passenger's seat, his elbow propped up against the door and his head leaning into his hand, vibrant blue eyes staring unfocused into the oncoming storm. As they pulled into the school grounds, Roxas sighed. After finding a parking spot and turning the engine off, the older male averted his gaze onto his brother. Roxas hadn't moved at all, even though the car wasn't even running anymore. Cloud knew that something was wrong.
Before he had a chance to ask what was bothering him, however, Roxas pressed the button to release his seat belt and opened the door without so much as a word. He grabbed his bag, shutting the door gently behind him. Cloud folded his arms, leaning back into his seat as he watched Roxas curiously, who was walking with his hands in his pockets and his bag slung over one shoulder. The younger boy had always been the sort to bottle up his emotions, to keep his troubles as his own, to pretend that everything was just dandy when, in fact, they weren't. Cloud's reflections were cut short as the doors to the backseat suddenly opened, three figures piling in.
"- so then I told him that he could only wish that he was man enough to admit to being gay, and he almost hit me, but then Mrs. Merryweather turned around the corner and he walked off."
"Good for you, it's terrible to think that Seifer would poke fun at people for being gay. But in his case, I thinks he's bi, actually."
Cloud looked at the two females, who were already deep in conversation, through his review mirror. "Who's bi?" He asked, a quizzical look appearing on his features. Aerith's attention fell onto Cloud, a slightly surprised expression on her face as though she hadn't even realized he was there.
"Oh, didn't you know? It turns out that Axel is." She replied casually, brushing away the small creases on her pink skirt. Yuffie nodded as if to confirm Aerith's answer.
"There's quite a few of them announcing it now, aren't there?"
Cloud turned to look at the third person in the back seat, recognizing her instantly from her long black hair. He nodded at Tifa, who smiled warmly. "Yeah, there are." He replied nonchalantly. In all honesty, he didn't see anything wrong with it. It was such a silly reason to put people down; they were just as human as the next person. It was incredibly biased to be so judgemental of them.
"Sora's gay, isn't he Cloud?"
Cloud's cousin, Sora, was indeed gay. He had announced it to his family a while ago, along with the fact that he was dating Riku, his best friend. At first, Cloud felt a little awkward around him, but in turn, he felt incredibly guilty about feeling any different towards his cousin because of it. He got over it fairly quickly, but Roxas had never had a problem with it from the word 'go'. Cloud nodded to answer Yuffie's question, before the passenger seat door opened.
"What's up with your brother, man?" Leon asked, sitting in the car and shutting the door. Cloud shrugged, watching the brunet as brushed a leaf off the fur collar on his jacket.
"I have no idea. But, apparently, Seifer's been bullying him." He replied, listening gratefully as a series of unappreciative coughs, groans, and snorts came from the backseat. Leon sighed heavily, putting his elbow on the door and leaning into his head much the same way Roxas had done.
"Seifer's such a fucking twat." Leon scowled. Cloud gave a small laugh at his best friend's comment. Leon had a burning hatred for Seifer, even more passionate than Roxas' loathing of him. From the middle seat in the back, Yuffie leaned forward so that she was between Leon and Cloud.
"Changing the subject!" she said loudly, "We're going to go to the park on Saturday night; Zack said he'd bring alcohol. You have to come, alright Cloud?"
"I can't, Yuffie, I have to look after my brother, remember?"
"Aw, I'm sure that Roxas would love to come too! Just bring him."
Cloud gave her a disapproving look, before turning his head towards the window with an irritated sigh. The sound of soft whimpers drifted around the car, causing Cloud to look back at Yuffie, who was pouting with wide eyes. She looked much like a puppy, which made the blonde feel obliged to give in to her. He sighed again, but this time in defeat. "Fine, I'll ask him if he wants to go."
"Awesome! Saturday's going to be a blast, Cloud, you won't regret it!" she said enthusiastically. Cloud rolled his eyes, checking his watch to see that class didn't start for another couple of hours. Yuffie's classes, however, started soon.
"Get lost, Yuffie, homeroom will start soon." He said with a smile. As Yuffie clambered over Tifa to get out, Aerith leaned forward towards the two males in the front.
"Hey, do you guys want to go get some coffee?"
Cloud started the engine.
