Chapter two! We loved writing this chapter. It was loads of fun. Thankfully, there's not as much to say here as there was at the beginning of chapter one. Sorry for putting you through something like that, but you're awesome if you bore through it to read the fic! What with winter break rapidly approaching, we hope to get chapter three (and maybe chapter four) out with less of a wait. Emphasis on the hope, because we're really just procrastinators when you get right down to it. We'll try our best, though!

Now please enjoy chapter two, and – as always – thank you for reading!

- princespeach and Thingbe

Disclaimer: Naruto, Tales of Symphonia, Bleach, FMA, .Hack, Facebook, MSN, Legend of Zelda and Mario.


Chapter 2 – On Relationships

"The spaces between your fingers were created so that another's could fill them in." – Unknown

C'mon… YOU CAN DO THIS! The whiskered blond told himself with a determination he just couldn't seem to maintain. This is easy! You can do it! Just… GO!

Naruto stood up from his chair, staring ahead at his target: Colette Brunel. She was alone, sitting by the window and seemingly spaced out. The library was empty except for them, which was a rare occurrence. Centennial Academy's library was very well-stocked (or so he had heard). Few students cared about the actual books in the library, though; it was prized for other reasons. First of all, a good quarter of it was sectioned off to hold twenty state-of-the-art computers, printers, photocopiers, and a whole pile of other things that Naruto didn't have a name for. These computers were almost always taken up by the many students printing and finishing homework, Facebooking, MSNing, and satisfying unhealthy addictions to the World. As if that wasn't enough to make the library the number one place to hang out, there was the wonderful layout. The multitude of tables, corners, stacks, and even an unsupervised basement made for the perfect make-out paradise. Everywhere you went (under tables, in-between stacks, and especially the lower level), young couples were going at it. The school's librarian Mr. Grantz had, after years of experience, decided that it was easier to just let the students have their way – all he asked was that the books were left out of whatever it was they were doing. This was why it was so incredible that the library was empty now (although he would have bet money someone was fooling around in the basement). Still, the top floor was deserted, and this was his only chance… He had to go now if he was ever going to.

… Yep, this was his chance…

Naruto sat back down again.

"Damn it," he grumbled before proceeding to periodically bash his head against the table.

"Tried to ask her out again, huh?" Naruto turned his head – it was Ichigo. That was weird. He knew that Ichigo (being a walker) usually came to school early, but…

"Aren't you sick?" He asked as his classmate sat down in the chair across from him.

"Not sick enough to spend the whole day with my dad, and don't change the subject," he said, inclining his head towards Colette, who was still staring out the window.

"Huh?" Naruto said in badly-feigned confusion. "I don't know what you're-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "You know, if you don't hurry up, you'll lose your chance."

"Ha! As if I'd ever let that happen!" The blond said, a familiar confidence coming into his voice. "If I really liked someone there wouldn't be anything that could stand in my way! Naruto Uzumaki has no fear!"

"Oh, hey Colette."

The triumphant smile vanished from his face in an instant, and he let out a small yelp that was unfortunately just loud enough for Ichigo to hear. His head turned slowly to glance behind him. Colette was still at the other side of the room. Damn it…

"Oh yeah, no fear," Ichigo said to him, laughing.

Naruto sank deeper into his chair. "Shut up, Ichigo…"

A few moments later the two boys could clearly hear the sounds of the shuffling feet followed by the groaning and moaning sounds of teenagers forced into unwanted wakefulness by their alarm clocks. It seemed that the morning buses were starting to arrive.

Naruto sighed; now it really was too late… He watched solemnly as Colette's best friend Orihime Inoue started a conversation with her, successfully making her completely unapproachable.

Naruto was so busy ogling over his would-be girlfriend that he barely noticed when more of the early bus' students began to crowd his own table.

"He ask her out yet?" Envy asked Ichigo while taking a large bite out of his chocolate bar.

The orange-haired boy shook his head. "Nah, he chickened out again."

"Again?" Ling asked, suddenly appearing behind them with Envy's chocolate bar somehow in his mouth. "The Halloween dance is next week! What's he waiting for?"

"Sitting right here, guys," Naruto said dryly.

"You know," Ling continued, ignoring the blond's comment, "Colette's pretty cute; if you don't ask her soon, someone else will."

"Eh, she's not that cute," Envy said, squinting at the smiling girl. "Ed's way cuter."

"Somehow I don't think anyone here is going to agree with you on that."

"Darn, not even you, Ichigo?" Envy asked jokingly.

"What?" The carrot-topped boy asked, looking strangely startled.

"Hey! I know!" Ling yelled suddenly as he grinned at Naruto. "You just had your birthday, right? Maybe you can get Colette to go out with you as a belated birthday present!"

"Ling, shut up, or I'm telling Sheena you said Colette was cute."

The dark-haired boy quieted instantly in response to Naruto's threat. Sheena, his girlfriend of three months, could be scary sometimes…

"Seriously though, Naruto," Envy continued in Ling's place. "Why don't you just ask her? You know she'd say yes."

"Really?" The blond asked hopefully. "Heh, 'cause of my awesome looks and heroic attitude, right?"

"No, actually, I was thinking more because she's too nice to say no. Even to you," he finished, laughing.

"Shut up!" Naruto half-yelled. "You know what? I will ask her! I'll ask her the next time I talk to her!"

"Hey, Naruto…"

The blond jumped in his seat as he instantly recognized the sweet, soft voice that could only belong to one person.

"C-C-Colette…"

"Well!" Envy said triumphantly, clapping his hands together and rising from his seat. "I'm feeling a sudden urge to go wait outside Ed's locker, how 'bout you guys?"

The other two quickly stood as well and gathered their things in less time than seemed possible.

"See ya, Naruto!" Ling said with a small wave.

Envy smiled widely. "Wow, you guys are actually coming with me?"

They said nothing, but Ichigo made sure to smack the love-sick boy upside the head as they walked out. Naruto sent the most threatening glare he could to their shrinking backs, but that didn't change the fact that he was now alone with-

"You're here early today…" Colette noted. She was trying to make conversation.

Naruto nodded dumbly. "Yeah, I got a ride off Iruka this morning so I could… finish some homework." The lie would be perfectly acceptable if it were coming from anyone but Naruto, who was well-known for not doing any homework (or school work in general); it was still far better than admitting the sad truth that he came here to admire her from afar and try desperately to find the courage to ask her out, however.

"Oh, that's great!" She said to him. Whether she actually believed him or not, he couldn't tell – but it was Colette, so he knew she wouldn't say anything either way. "Did you need help with anything?"

"Ah, no, that's okay, it's all done now," he said, fumbling about in his bag to show he was packing up.

"Alright," she said before frowning. "Naruto, is there something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You just seem sort of…" She struggled for the right words. "I-I mean… was there something you wanted to… ask me?"

Naruto was glad that by now her cheeks were a bright red; it made his own blush slightly less embarrassing. But only slightly. "I… Uh… Y-yeah, actually…" He struggled as well for a moment before swallowing hard. "D-Do you want to go to the dance with me?"

The words came out in such a garbled mess that Naruto was sure he'd have to repeat the dreaded question, but she took less than a second to answer. "I'd love to!" She cheered, beaming at him.

He smiled too, feeling as if some heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. "Really?"

She giggled. "Mhm."

"That's…" He didn't know what to say... He was going to the dance with the girl of his dreams. What did you say to that? "… Great." He finished lamely after a moment. Suddenly the bell rang – five minutes to get to class. Damn, why did his locker have to be at the opposite end of the ridiculously large school? "I, uh, gotta go…" He admitted reluctantly.

She nodded. "Alright, I'll talk to you later then."

He smiled again at the prospect of further conversation with the girl. "Okay, I'll… I'll call you tonight!"

She smiled too and nodded again before he hurried off, leaving the girl standing there.

"So…?" Another girl, Orihime, asked her still-blushing friend.

"He's gonna call me tonight."

The orange-haired girl smiled. "See? I told you he'd say yes!"


"So, did anybody do their homework?"

Mr. Hohenheim's question was met with mixed reactions; some looked around the room awkwardly, some groaned, and those who actually did their homework nodded. Ichigo rolled his eyes at Naruto, who was too busy grinning madly to pay any attention to the teacher. Or, well, anything else. The bouncing blond had been talking about nothing but the dance since he'd run through the classroom door, barely missing the bell.

"Only ten days until the dance! Wow, I'm so excited! Hey Ichigo, what should I go as? What do you think Colette's gonna go as? Should we match? Is that too lame? Hey, Ichigo, are you-"

"Naruto, you sound like a girl. You're calling her tonight, right? Just talk about it then," he interrupted, finishing with a sneeze. Ichigo turned to face the front of the room just in time for their teacher to start explaining a new assignment.

"-fun project yet! I guarantee you guys will love it!" Mr. Hohenheim was being pretty cheerful about it, and the class looked up at him eagerly.

"For your unit summative, you will be..." A dramatic silence hung in the air. "... making brochures on a genetically modified food! In pairs!"

The class sat in a slight state of shock over the anti-climactic announcement. It took a few seconds before protests broke out around the room. Raising a hand, the teacher silenced his students' objections (for the most part) and began speaking again. "Now listen, Ed liked this project, so you all should too."

"But Mr. Hohenheim, Ed likes all science projects. Besides, I don't think he'd be very happy knowing you brought him up in class again," Kiba spoke up. They had heard enough of Ed's ranting to know very well that he didn't appreciate his father talking about him to other students. At all.

The man waved the comment off and went on to describe the details of the project. Much to most of the students' dismay, he had chosen the pairs already. They had a week to research a genetically modified food and put it together in a brochure, with pictures. In other words, yet another pointless assignment that would end up being worth a lot of marks.

"Alright, so now I'll tell you your partners. Let's see... Ichigo and Ling, Naruto and Sasuke-"

"What? Why're you putting me with a bastard like him?" Naruto shouted, pointing at said 'bastard', who only rolled his eyes.

"Naruto, we will refrain from cursing in this class. You two are partners because it worked out that way. Now, if there are no further interruptions, I'll continue." He did just that, Naruto sinking into his seat.

Ichigo sighed at how the blond could go from indescribably happy one minute to scowling and angry the next. The orange-haired teen coughed a few times before saying, "Don't forget that you're going to the dance with Colette."

Predictably, Naruto grinned again and this time, not even the prospect of spending time with Sasuke could ruin his mood.


Music class with the grade elevens was a very interesting thing indeed. Though the school had seemingly limitless amounts of money, the only instruments to be played were ocarinas. It didn't help matters that the teacher wore an abnormal amount of scarves, leaving only their face visible. Stranger yet was their teaching style; it was one that none of the students could follow.

Ed watched with the rest of the class as the teacher played a new song. It was simple, considering how few notes it used. The teacher then looked at the class expectantly. There it was: Sheik's teaching style. In other words? Play the song, get the students to play it back. There was only one person in the whole class who could do this: the mute kid, Link. Who was now, of course, playing back the melody, but with many more flourishes.

This was his least favourite part of the day, watching Link play in music class. It always bothered Ed that he wasn't getting the top marks in any given subject. Though, he took comfort in the fact that music was so far the only one that anybody was doing better than him in.

Link reached the end of the song and the class clapped, bringing a large smile to his face. As usual, Colette began excitedly congratulating him on how well he could play. Ed sighed. He really didn't want to be here...

Something buzzed. His phone? He looked down into his bag where said phone lay, and up at the teacher who was now playing a duet with Link. It was safe. Stealthily pulling his cell out of his backpack, Ed opened it to find a message from Envy: come 2 the bathroom.

Rolling his eyes, he answered with a no, in the middle of class and put his phone back in its place, only for it to buzz again. Once more, he opened it, to find the same message. He gave the same answer, and the cycle repeated for a few more minutes before he gave up and answered fine, be there in a few.

"May I go to the bathroom?" Ed asked after teacher and student had finished playing, raising his hand. The teacher nodded, and he tucked his phone back in his bag before leaving the room.

The halls were unsurprisingly empty, and Ed took his time heading towards the heavy door of the boys' bathroom. He pushed this door aside and attempted to look around the small room, though there wasn't much time for this; soon after entering, he was pushed up against the wall by his boyfriend in record speed.

Skinny arms wrapped around his waist and Ed smiled. "Hey, Envy," he greeted, bringing his arms around the other teen.

Grinning, Envy asked, "So, music is alright to miss but nothing else is?"

The blond frowned slightly. "'Everything else' is English, biology, and physics. I'd say those are all pretty important. Wait... you're missing chemistry, aren't you?" He asked with a sigh.

"Yup. But your dad doesn't exactly hate me, so it's all good."

"Fine, whatever. I still think you should care about school a little more."

"Did you really want to be talking about this right now?" Envy moved closer to Ed, their faces mere centimetres apart.

"We're still talking about this later," was his reply, and Envy chuckled.

"I know."

They closed the distance between themselves as their lips met. Both shifted closer, deepening the kiss.

After a while, when the lunch bell rang, they jumped and left to hurry to their respective classes for their bags, but not before a final peck on the lips and a grin from each.


Crammed in the corner of a small janitor's closet, there wasn't much room to move. That, however, was of little importance to the couple against the back wall. Zelos had a spray bottle of some sort digging into his back, and something had fallen on Lloyd a little while ago, but neither could care less as they shared passionate kisses and a close embrace. They both took time to breathe, leaning their foreheads together. Lloyd's smile was barely discernible in the dim light, but Zelos felt it when a light kiss was pressed against his cheek.

"We should get going now," Lloyd murmured, but the tone of his voice betrayed a different meaning.

"There's always later," came the reply, and their lips pressed together once again. Right after, the light in the small room turned on, and both boys jumped at the sight of the school janitor.

"Mamma mia, kids these days. Have no respect for the janitors. And two boys, no less. What is the world coming to?" The two in the corner grinned sheepishly as Mario got the broom he was looking for, shaking his head and muttering all the while. He shut the light off as he left, a final 'click' signalling the close of the door.

"Think he'll tell anyone?" Lloyd asked, suddenly worried about what would happen if word got out. He wasn't quite ready for anyone to know yet, not even his friends. Though Sasuke was observant enough that he probably suspected something...

"No, who's he got to tell? The garbage cans? He might tell Luigi, but I don't think he cares enough to say anything," Zelos replied, fixing Lloyd's collar.

"I hope so…"

"Don't worry so much. He won't tell anybody. Now, where were we?"

Another few minutes of bliss lasted until the door was opened yet again. This time, however, it was two students. The couple in the closet froze as they heard voices drift in.

"Come on, it's unlocked! Hurry up!" A demanding female voice hissed, obviously trying to not get caught.

"Okay, okay. I'm co-" Came a lazy voice, this time male. Its owner stopped talking to gape at the two inside, revealed now by the light streaming in through the open door.

"What's the matter? See a spider or some... thing..." The female voice started to snap, but she also stopped to gape at the two wrapped around each other.

Zelos and Lloyd both stared back, saying nothing; no excuse could make up for their tangled limbs and messy uniforms. The female student – Temari, as they now knew from seeing her – was the first to recover.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She put both hands on her hips and smirked.

Then the owner of the male voice – identifiable as Shikamaru – put on the same kind of smirk and only said, "Interesting."

"Think the others might like to hear about this?" She asked.

"Definitely. Let's go."

By this point, Lloyd was very, very distressed. "Mario won't tell anyone, but what about those two? They're going to tell everyone!"

"Well, look at it this way. Now we can make out in public." Zelos chuckled as Lloyd groaned and rested his forehead against the other's shoulder in defeat.

Standing around the corner of the cafeteria doors, Zelos was trying (however unsuccessfully) to calm Lloyd down.

"Look, Bud, even if they did tell people, it'll take a while for it to get out. Don't worry so much." He swept a couple of wrinkles off Lloyd's shoulder.

Lloyd sighed. That was true... "Okay. But what will we do when everyone finds out? It won't be too long."

"We can talk about that later. For now, just do your best and act natural." They began to turn to enter the cafeteria, but stopped in their tracks when they heard Grimmjow shout,

"Oh my God, really? Wilder and Aurion? In the janitor's closet?"

At this, all other noise in the normally bustling cafeteria came to a halt (that is, except for the obnoxiously loud laughter of Grimmjow). Lloyd turned back around to face Zelos, anxiety written in his expression.

"Didn't think of that…" Zelos muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, change of plan. Here, just trust me," he said, taking Lloyd's hand in his own. Before Lloyd could stop him or ask what he was doing, they were in the cafeteria and every face was turned towards them. Grimmjow even stopped laughing to simply sit there and grin maliciously at the two. Zelos smirked and led Lloyd to the table where the brunet's friends were all sitting. He planted a kiss on the top of Lloyd's head as he sat him down, and walked confidently to his own seat. Noise erupted all around them as soon as Zelos sat down, smirk still in place.

Ignoring the questioning shouts from his friends (or, rather, Naruto), Lloyd dropped his head against the table in front of him. Naruto kept shouting, with Kiba still in a stupor. Ling continued to eat as though nothing had happened, Ed was giving him a sympathetic look, and Ichigo looked a little nervous – though he gave a sympathetic look similar to Ed's.

"What the hell was that? Are you two- Why didn't you- You're- ARGH!" Naruto yelled, flailing his hands in every direction and barely missing Kiba's head. By now, he'd recovered, and was trying along with Ed to calm Naruto down before he hurt someone.

Seeing what was going on, Colette rushed over with Orihime following close behind.

"Naruto, please stop! I'm sure Lloyd has a perfectly good reason for not telling anyone! Please, calm down!" Colette pleaded once she arrived, standing in front of Naruto, who was now trying to get out of his chair and make his way around the table to Lloyd. At seeing her, he stopped yelling, but continued to glare in Lloyd's direction.

"Alright. But he'd better have a good reason."

"Thank you. So, Lloyd, we would like for you to please explain why you kept this from your friends," she said, turning to fully face him.

Lloyd sighed. He hadn't quite prepared himself for this. Actually, he'd never even thought that something like it would ever happen. With a sigh, he lifted his head up to attempt an answer, though Ed interrupted him.

"Guys, don't you think we should give him a little time to sort things out? I don't think he's really ready to explain much of anything right now."

"I think that's a good idea. He can explain everything later," Orihime added. Everybody else nodded, Naruto included (albeit reluctantly).

"Okay. I'll take him to Nurse Unohana to get away from all this. The rest of you might want to get ready for other people's questions," Ed finished, grabbing Lloyd's arm and dragging him away.

When they were in the hall and finally away from the noise and questioning looks, Lloyd finally spoke up. "Thanks," he told Ed. "For, you know, rescuing me…"

"Yeah, it's no problem. Remember, I've been in that kind of position before, too. It isn't easy dealing with all those questions at once."

He sighed. "So, what time is it?"

"About 12:25. Why?"

Lloyd shook his head slightly. "Just wondering." His dad's co-workers should be there still, raiding the fridge on their lunch break. The blond beside him nodded, and there was a comfortable silence between the two before Lloyd spoke up again. "And, you know, thanks... for not interrogating me, that is..."

His friend smiled. "Hey, I know what it's like. Even though the situation's... slightly different, it's essentially the same, right? Everybody wants to know why it was a secret, how long it's been going on, yadda yadda."

Lloyd gave a slow nod, sighing again.

"And hey, if you ever need any help, I'm here, okay?" The blond smiled more. "I should be heading back for some damage control... You gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll just hide out in the nurse's office for the rest of the day or get a ride home. Thanks again, really."

Ed grinned. "Hey, what are friends for? See you later."

"Yeah, see you." They both waved, and Lloyd was left alone to his thoughts.

The whole thing was a mess. Yeah, Zelos had helped the situation a lot by outright confirming it, because they wouldn't have to live with the rumours... On the other hand, he still wasn't really ready for everyone to know. He wasn't ready at all...

Gah.

Looked like he'd be spending a lot of time thinking this afternoon.

He reached the door to the nurse's office, and opened it slightly, poking his head in.

"Er... Hello?" Lloyd asked into the empty room.

"I'm sorry. I'll be with you in a minute," a voice drifted through from an adjoining room. The person then appeared, and Nurse Unohana looked at the brunet for only a second before saying, "Oh dear, you look so flushed! Why don't you go lay down?"

Just then did he notice that he had been blushing fiercely the entire time. Mentally groaning, he nodded slightly at the nurse and followed her over to one of the many beds against the back wall.

"Alright, then. You rest for a while and tell me if you need anything." She put a hand on his forehead for a slight second before smiling. She began closing the curtains around the bed before he stopped her.

"Actually, would it be alright if I used the phone?" It'd be much easier to just go home, not to mention more comfortable (the beds in the nurse's office weren't exactly what one would call soft).

Nodding, she answered with a "Yes, that's fine." The nurse smiled and gestured to a wall near the beds. "The phone is right there. Tell me if you need anything else." She walked over to her desk, sat down, and began to work.

Lloyd went to the phone and dialled his number. He listened as it rang, and rang, and rang... and went to the answering machine.

Figures that the one time he actually wanted to find a stranger in his house, there wasn't one. Or (more likely) there was, but it was some pompous ass like Aizen or Gin who wouldn't pick up a call from his school. And where did that leave him? Sitting on one of the horribly uncomfortable beds watching Nurse Unohana busying herself with paperwork on the other side of the room. He had probably until the end of lunch before she 'suggested' that he head back to class, and maybe another ten minutes after that before she guilted him into actually going. He could always take the easy way out and call his dad at work. But since that would involve telling him (and more than likely Angie) the specific reasons behind his 'sickness', it wasn't an option he was willing to consider. Basically, he was screwed.

Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he looked up to see Nurse Unohana rising from her desk. Was he being kicked out already? The tall woman stopped, facing the door. Was she talking to someone? Lloyd was too far away in the over-sized room to hear the woman's soft voice. The other, male voice, however, was impossible not to hear. He watched as the kindly woman pointed in his direction, showing the unwanted visitor where he was hiding. Oh dear...

He slid off the bed to face the inevitable as he watched a whiskered blond – his best friend – approach him slowly. By the time he reached the brunet, Naruto looked as uncomfortable with the situation as Lloyd did. Neither of the boys looked at each other; Lloyd fiddled with his shirt cuff while Naruto dug his hands deep into his pockets and appeared to be closely examining the floor.

"Look, I didn't-"

"I never-"

The two boys stopped for a moment, laughing slightly at themselves before the silence settled in again.

"I'm... sorry," the blond said, struggling to find the right words.

Lloyd waited a moment, then laughed again. "You dork," he said. "What do you have to be sorry about?"

Naruto stared at him in surprise. "I, uh..." He blushed a little and one hand reached behind his head. "What I said to you back there, it was outta line."

"No it wasn't," the brunet told him, frowning. "I never should have kept it a secret from you." Naruto said nothing in reply, so Lloyd continued. "You're my best friend, Naruto. I should have known that I could trust you with anything, especially something as... important as Zelos. I'm the one who should be apologizing here."

Naruto smiled, but shook his head. "You didn't feel like you could tell me about something as big as this; that means it's my fault too. Like you said, best friends need to trust each other."

Lloyd nodded, and then grinned with his friend. "Lesson learned?" He offered.

"Definitely," the blond agreed before embracing his friend in a classic 'man hug' to solidify their strengthened friendship, letting go after a moment.

"You know," Naruto said thoughtfully as he wandered over to one of the many beds. "Now that I think about it, you and Zelos... it does explain a few things."

Lloyd cocked his head slightly. "It does?"

"Yeah." He lifted himself onto the bed. "You always came back from your 'locker' with your clothes all tidied up." He laughed. "It was kinda funny."

Lloyd blushed deeply as he recalled his boyfriend's odd little habit. "Y-yeah..."

Naruto laughed a little, all remnants of their quarrel long forgotten now. "It's so weird! You and Zelos? I mean he's so... so..."

"Zelos," Lloyd finished, knowing what the blond was getting at.

"Yeah..." Naruto looked at Lloyd. "How'd you two get together anyway?"

"Looooooong story," Lloyd said, pacing a little.

"C'mon! I'm curious!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Let's just say that there were some interesting experiences in summer camp this year."

Naruto scoffed. "Sure, the one year I don't go and something interesting happens. I should've known."

Lloyd laughed inwardly at the idea of Naruto being there to witness the events of that small, isolated cabin in the woods...

"Trust me, it's probably better you stayed home."

Naruto thought about that for a moment before giving Lloyd an odd and slightly grossed-out look.

"That's..." He shook his head. "Too much information."

"Hey." Lloyd held his hands in the air as a show of innocence. "You asked me."

"Whatever," Naruto said, shifting around on the clearly uncomfortable bed. "You're not gonna stay here all day, are you?"

"That depends," Lloyd answered. "What's it like out there?"

Naruto's smile widened. "You really wanna know?"

No, not really. But it was necessary. "Yeah."

The blond laughed. "Well, the school's pretty divided. See, there's the Zelos fangirls; they're pretty upset about the whole thing, and last I saw Zelos was trying to 'console' them." Lloyd rolled his eyes a little, but said nothing and let his friend continue. "And then there's Ed. He was sticking up for you, aaaand a few people were agreeing with him. They're probably still sitting there trying to figure out how the hell they didn't notice anything. I don't think I have to tell you what the gang's up to, and..." He stopped to laugh a little. "Then there's a couple of people who've been trying to understand how a guy like you ended up with a guy like Zelos. They figure you're some kinda behind-the-scenes 'player' or something."

Lloyd laughed out loud at the thought of himself as any kind of 'player'. Still, he didn't like hearing the news that he and Zelos were still the only topic of conversation out there.

"This thing's not dying down anytime soon, huh?" Lloyd asked his friend.

Naruto's smile lessened. "Probably not… But hey! Who cares about them? The important thing is that you don't have to hide anything anymore."

Lloyd grinned. "You're right, Naruto! It doesn't matter what other people think! I'm happy with Zelos, and I'm happy that I don't have to lie to my friends anymore. That's all that really matters."

"Exactly!" Naruto cheered to the elevated brunet. "So, are you gonna go back to class?"

"Not a chance."

"But-"

"Nope." Lloyd shook his head. "I'm not that brave. And besides, I've got a French assignment due last period."

"You didn't do it, huh?" Naruto said with a smile of approval.

Lloyd shrugged. "I started to do it, but then Zelos came over to help and we got... side-tracked."

"Too much information..." Naruto said, shaking his head lightly and jumping off the uncomfortable bed. "So I guess I won't see you later then?"

Lloyd shook his head again. "I'll call you, though. We can distract each other from homework."

Suddenly the blond's attitude seemed to change, and an odd-looking grin swept over his face as he answered. "Nah, I've got plans for tonight..."

The younger teen started moving towards the door, but Lloyd was on him in a second, eyes wide with surprise.

"Whoa there," he said, standing in front of his friend. "What's that supposed to mean? What plans?"

Somehow Naruto's smile grew. "Heh, nothing. I'm just gonna be busy tonight."

His experience with Naruto told him that something was up, and the expression on Naruto's face made it so that even Lloyd could piece together what it was.

Suddenly Lloyd's face brightened as he came to his conclusion. "You finally did it, didn't you? You asked Colette out on a date!"

"What do you mean, 'finally'?" He said in an angered tone, though he was still smiling.

"I can't believe it!" Lloyd continued, completely ignoring his friend's comment. "Congratulations, man! You finally got a girlfriend!"

"Again with the 'finally'!"

"So you're taking her out tonight then?" He asked quickly.

Naruto shook his head. "Halloween dance."

"Right!" Lloyd yelled. "Wait, when's that?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Your memory sucks. It's Halloween, next Friday."

"Really? That soon?" Lloyd said, more to himself, before smiling again at his friend. "And you've got a date!"

"You could sound a little less surprised..."

"Well, I'm trying to get used to the idea! I can't believe that you... you..." Lloyd frowned. "You idiot!"

Now Naruto frowned as well. "Huh?"

The suspender-wearing teen turned away from the blond, pacing a little. "Here we are, talking about how best friends shouldn't hide stuff from each other, and you were just gonna walk out of here without telling me you got a girlfriend? You're an idiot!"

"No!" Naruto started, completely clueless as to how he should approach the situation. "No, Lloyd, it's not like that, I just... forgot!"

Now Lloyd turned back to look hard at him. "You forgot?"

Naruto cringed. "Y-yeah?"

Lloyd closed his eyes and sighed. "You're such an idiot..."

"So you're not mad?"

He gave the blond a reassuring look. "No, not mad; I'm happy for you."

"Yeah?" Naruto asked again, happy this time.

"Of course. You've only been crushing on Colette since you were in grade seven-"

"I have not been-"

"Yes you have," Lloyd insisted. "And she's been crushing on you too. For three years you haven't been able to hold a conversation with each other without turning into bright red stuttering tomatoes. I'm happy that now you can be bright red stuttering dating tomatoes. Except not tomatoes... some other red fruit... apples. You can be apples."

"Tomatoes are a fruit?"

Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "The worst kind..."

"Lloyd?" The two boys looked up suddenly as Nurse Unohana approached them, carrying one cordless phone in her hand. "The phone's for you."

Lloyd nodded and accepted the phone. "Who is it?"

"I think he said he was your godfather."

Yuan. Finally, some good news. Lloyd quickly thanked the woman and raised the phone to his ear. Naruto mouthed a quick 'later' before walking off as well.

"Lloyd?"

"Hey, Uncle Yuan," Lloyd responded thankfully. Yuan of course wasn't his uncle, but little three-year-old Lloyd always liked to pretend he was, and the nickname sorta stuck after that.

"Sorry about earlier; SOME people were too stupid to answer the phone." He paused here to allow those people time to shout their inaudible excuse. "Anyway, I just got in. What's wrong?"

"Oh... nothing big. Just not feeling too well. Could you come pick me up?" Lloyd was glad it was Yuan; he knew what the man's answer would be.

"Sure, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Lloyd smiled as he heard the click before the dial tone. That was why he was glad it was Yuan – there were no questions asked. Anyone else would have needed the guilt talk and possibly even bribery before agreeing to come, and then they definitely wouldn't have left him alone after that. Gossip was a big thing with the co-workers.

He headed over to return Nurse Unohana's phone and sit down for the long twenty-minute wait for freedom.

Thirty minutes later, his ride arrived. Surprisingly, there was a large part of Lloyd that wished it hadn't. He thought that the ride would bring his rescue, but no; that would be too easy.

Instead, it was a police cruiser.

A big, flashy, partially neon police cruiser with the words 'Grand Cardinal Police Force' written clearly on the side. This was not his day. Still, he had no other option, and he could see Yuan's smiling face in the passenger's seat window, so he gave a resigned sigh and slid into the back seat. He wondered whether or not anyone had seen him get in. It didn't look like anyone was there, but this was high school – someone was there.

"Hey, Lloyd," Yuan greeted, leaning over the back of his seat to look at the teen.

He was smiling, and Lloyd knew why. "Hey, Yuan," he said nonchalantly. "Hey, Forcystus."

The driving turquoise-haired man smirked. "Lloyd."

Yeah, Yuan was always cheerier when his boyfriend was around.

"Thanks... for coming," Lloyd said a little awkwardly.

Yuan nodded. "Hey, I was in high school too once, I know how it is. Sometimes you just need a break."

"Yeah."

The rest of the drive was thankfully silent as far as conversation went. But then again, maybe conversation would have been better; it might have helped distract him from the two men loving each other in the front seats. Lloyd tried his best to keep his eyes on his window, but the drive home wasn't exactly a captivating sight, and there was nothing he could do about the sounds… or the reflection in his window.

It started slowly at first, Yuan inching inconspicuously closer to the driver's seat while Forcystus tried desperately to keep his eye on the road ahead. Then, when Yuan could get no closer without falling off his seat, the hands started. Forcystus was driving, so Yuan began by reaching over, softly stroking the man's arm. It being his automail gun arm (though the weapon only started at the elbow), he wasn't using it anyway and simply moved it so Yuan could cling easier and possibly reach the flesh half. Lloyd tried not to notice that Forcystus was now inching over to Yuan as well, and he was mildly worried about their safety as the policeman continued to have a more difficult time keeping his eyes on the road. After a minute or two the whispered comments started, small smiles appearing on both their faces. Lloyd held his own face in his hands and tried desperately to block out reality. One thing he never wanted (or needed) to know was what his uncle was doing with the chief of the police force…

By the time they actually got back to Lloyd's house, the two men were prime examples of an accident waiting to happen. Yuan was practically hanging off Forcystus, who somehow managed to drive properly while barely touching the wheel and looking away from his boyfriend as little as possible. It wasn't until the car came to a complete stop that the two managed to separate long enough to get out of the car, and by this time Lloyd was already fleeing to the front door.

The only good part of a really bad day is its end. Lloyd was eternally thankful as he stepped through the threshold and entered his home. Here, he could be alone with his thoughts, and maybe escape his growing worries about the day's events. Of course, this was only if he somehow managed to escape the swarms of co-workers no doubt lurking around his home. His worries were almost instantly confirmed as he walked into the main hall to find Yoruichi rooting around the kitchen. So she was here. She was one of the more annoying co-workers and her presence meant two things: one, Soi Fong was around here somewhere, and two, that they were almost certainly out of food. Looking around, Lloyd figured that his only escape was to make a run for the staircase before she saw him. Before he could move, however, Yuan and Forcystus stepped in, making no attempts to hide the noise of their arrival.

Yoruichi instantly turned, spotting the three males and rushing over to them. Lloyd doubled his efforts to reach the staircase and his bedroom in time, but the woman was freakishly fast. He barely made it up the first step when her hand grabbed his collar, pulling him back down.

"Hey! Lloyd's home!" She yelled loudly, more than likely in an attempt to annoy him. It was working. He struggled against the dark woman's grasp, but it was useless. "Did you have a nice day at school?"

Rather than attempt to explain the incredible UN-niceness of his day, Lloyd just glared.

"He's in high school, of course he didn't have a nice day," Yuan commented as he placed his and Forcystus' jackets on two of the many coat hooks.

Yoruichi frowned. "Lloyd's in high school? When did this happen?"

"About four years ago," Lloyd answered, getting more annoyed.

"Wow, you're getting old…" She continued. "Shouldn't you have a girlfriend by now?"

Incredible how she managed to find the worst thing she could possibly have said to him. Heading nearer and nearer to a mental breakdown, Lloyd twisted his way out of the woman's grasp and ran his way up the stairs, faintly hearing Yoruichi call after him something about his father being late just before he slammed his door shut, automatically turning the lock as he did so. The last thing he needed now was a concerned co-worker prying into his personal life. Slowly sinking into his couch, he waited for the world to end, or unconsciousness to kick in. Both would successfully get his mind off of the cesspool of stress that was high school.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there half-asleep and staring out into space, but he knew that it wasn't nearly long enough. Too soon an unfamiliar knocking sound came from his door. Lloyd didn't need to look to see who it was; there was only one person he knew that actually knocked before entering.

"Hey, Dad," he greeted nonchalantly. "How was work?"

Kratos shrugged a little as he entered the room. "Alright. Angie was annoying."

"When isn't she annoying?"

"Touché."

The ensuing silence had a tinge of awkwardness to it. They both knew that idle family chatting was not the purpose of Kratos' visit into the teen's personal space. Willing the inevitable 'father-son chat' not to happen, Lloyd sat silently. Unfortunately for him, his dad was unusually persistent.

"Did you have a good day at school?" The question was a lot less innocent than it sounded. Saying 'yes' would mean he was avoiding the subject, and it would prolong this awkward dance around the actual topic. Alternatively, saying 'no' would cut to the chase, but would show he was seriously upset, which would also end up lengthening the actual 'talk'. Not to mention that every second he deliberated, the closer Kratos got to being forced to assume the dreaded 'no' scenario.

Making his decision, Lloyd shrugged to show an uncaring attitude. "I've had worse."

This was entirely true. His first day as a niner had been rough. Even back then, his entire grade was full of assholes. Actually, the only difference between then and now was that they weren't as tall back then (except for Grimmjow. That guy had always been huge.), and he himself had been a little less knowledgeable about the temperament of his peers…

Lloyd halted his painful stroll through memory lane when he noticed Kratos was still giving him the 'fatherly concern' look.

"What happened?" He asked in his usual all-too-cool manner. Combined with the concerned yet un-judging expression on his face, Lloyd had to admit that the effect looked pretty genuine, and it probably was. Seventeen years of experience had made the older male a master of parenting. This could be very helpful at times, but mostly it just put Lloyd at an annoying disadvantage – like now. The brunet squirmed as he realized his father's gaze was getting to him, chipping away at his shrinking willpower… He was about to cave.

"N-nothing really…" He mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "People just sorta found out about… about Zelos and me…"

As suspected, Kratos' face showed a moment of wishing he'd never started the conversation. Teen relationships were always an awkward subject for parents, but they were also nearly impossible to hide. Many an awkward time Kratos had unknowingly walked in while Lloyd and Zelos were… entertaining each other.

However, even the knowledge that his 17-year-old son was doing unmentionable things with the next door neighbour wasn't enough to shake Kratos out of his cool and calm mind set. The topic of Lloyd's relationship had remained a blissfully untouched one before now, but the current situation was forcing Kratos to break this mutual silence. Still, to Lloyd's immense joy, he kept to the classic 'Kratos' parenting style that Lloyd was entirely accustomed to, and allowed his son to continue with his story.

"They caught us in the- uh, they caught us together, and then Grimmjow found out and…" His voice faded after a moment as he let the words sink in, allowing his father to come to his own conclusions.

He seemed to understand completely, as always, and with one heavy sigh he sank down onto the couch beside Lloyd.

"Someone really has to end that boy," he commented while bringing his hand to rest on his forehead.

Lloyd eyes widened in fear. "Zelos?"

"Grimmjow," he answered in exasperation.

"Ah," Lloyd answered, relief quickly wearing off as another silence ensued, this one much more comfortable than the last. Lloyd had to admit, he did feel better. Just telling someone – especially his father – seemed to make everything easier to deal with. Of course, he was still bombarded with feelings of nervousness and fear at the mere thought of what was going to happen next, but just as his forehead started to crease with worry, he felt a warm, comforting arm wrap around his shoulders. It pulled the teen in closer to his father, and Lloyd welcomed it. He realized that it had been a while since they'd had a heart-to-heart talk, and for the moment it was enough to just sit there curled up on the couch with his father like he had when he was a child, but eventually those pesky thoughts started troubling him again.

"I'm not so worried about today," Lloyd continued, quietly. "It's tomorrow that's the problem…"

His father nodded once. "Yes, tomorrow could be… difficult. But I think it'll be alright in the end."

Ignoring the fact that, as his father, Kratos was required to say that, he allowed himself to be comforted by the words. "Yeah, I guess," he said, smiling. "It will be pretty cool not having to hide anything anymore."

"Exactly," Kratos answered, deciding to focus only on the fact that his son was beginning to cheer up. "And pay no attention to anything Grimmjow says; in a few months they'll all be in jail."

Lloyd laughed. "For what offense?"

Kratos shrugged. "Take your pick."