The next day, Aqua found it safer to sit next to Vanitas in homeroom, since no one seemed particularly eager to fight her for the spot. He smiled omnisciently as she begrudgingly took the seat, having decided yesterday that she did not like this golden-eyed boy, didn't like him one bit. She knew his kind.
So, when he tried to say hi through a low, sarcastically pleasant voice, she just stared on ahead, ignoring him.
"I said hi. It wasn't a threat, the greeting won't self-destruct in ten seconds, I'm just trying to be friendly here, you can at least meet me half way."
"Why are you talking to me?" she asked with a curt look in his direction before resuming her staring contest with the blackboard.
"Look, Princess, you're new around here. And different. This is Canton. People don't like different here. So get with the program and stick close to me. You're going to need all the protection you can get."
"Excuse me, how am I different? And I never asked for your protection!"
"That's what makes me so nice. I see the unaware damsel, I help her."
"Ugh!" she grunted, "Just leave me alone!"
"No can do, sweetheart. See, I am a loyal and dedicated man."
"Aqua, Vanitas, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"
"No." Aqua mumbled, sinking down into her seat.
When it was time for lunch, Aqua took her brown-bagged sandwich and headed down the hall, toward the outdoor portion of the campus. Out of nowhere, Vanitas came walking from the opposite direction toward her, and hooked arms with her when he was supposed to have just walked past. She felt herself being pulled in an unwanted direction.
"You don't want to catch a cold on your second day, do you? Come on, I know this neat little café we could go to."
"What? Let go of me!"
He did, quite abruptly and she had to pinwheel to regain balance. After straightening her shirt, she stared sharply at him, and he returned the favor with a glare of his own.
"Now, are you going to come like a rational person, or would you like me to carry you there over my shoulder?"
"I guess if I can't get rid of you, I might as well come quietly." She grumbled.
"That's the spirit." He stopped at the janitor's closet and pulled out a rusted key and opened the door. Aqua raised her eyebrows.
"This is the part where I should start running, right?"
"Oh, calm down, no need to get your thong in a twist, I'm just going to get something." He slipped inside and slammed the door behind him. Aqua crossed her arms and huffed. What was she even doing with this loser? Why couldn't the place she settled have been a high school filled with sane, sensible people? And preferably better weather, but maybe even that want was pushing it. Still, she was curious about the blonde. Maybe hanging with Vanitas would lead her to him. After all, Ventus isn't necessarily a popular name.
"Miss me?" he inquired, stepping out into the pallid light of the hallway.
"You wish. Come on just take me to your café."
"If I may be honest a moment, it's not an actual café."
"Shocker."
"See, we have this place set up in the boiler room of the school."
"This place has a boiler room?"
"Yeah, follow me," he takes a swift right, "You see, it gets really could here during the — well, I guess you've already noticed it's pretty cold this time of year. This school needs a boiler room to keep it from freezing over. I wish it would, you know. I could finally see what it would look like if Hell froze over."
Aqua bit back a giggle.
"So, those boys you were with, are they with you?"
"I think you just answered your own question, but if you meant are they my friends, then, sadly, yes. Love them to death. Emphasis on that last part." Aqua could've sworn she caught a flash of a genuine smile amidst the smirks.
"In fact, that's who we're going to meet in the Boiler Café."
"Will Ventus be there?"
Vanitas rose his eyebrows suspiciously.
"The little punk has your fancy? You'd best stop thinking like that if you want to survive." He whispered almost inaudibly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Here, let me tell you the gossip before we get all they way down there," he replies as he takes another rusted key from his pocket and opens another door. He let's Aqua go first like the feigned little gentleman he is not, and they both begin walking down an endless and dark staircase, "Ventus lived his whole life in Florida before moving here in 8th grade. When he met Roxas, he was just as surprised as his doppelganger. There are rumors circulating even now, and still no one knows the truth about why they look identical. Either one's adopted, or both are adopted, twins split up upon birth, how tragic. But neither of their parents have yet to confirm they're adopted. Both are holding their ground remarkably well. My favorite theory is that they're clones, but I suppose you already picked up on that.
"There are a few others in our group I don't think you've met yet. Riku's kind of a wild card. Sometimes he's on our side, other times he's not, but a lot of the time he acts as a peacemaker for both sides. But I never said he was any good at it, that's why we're always split. He's iffy, but I guess he's still cool, even after all the crap he's pulled. And there's Xion, the girl he flirts with constantly. She's more a part of this group than him, though, make no mistake. Xion doesn't like Riku in that way, but they're still pretty close. Roxas doesn't like him because he thinks that Xion does. That kid is uncontrollably jealous sometimes. But then again, so is Xion. Roxas likes to hang out with another girl, Namine, and Xion's not always okay with that. They're always second-guessing the other's fidelity when they aren't even official, it's just so pathetic. Well anyway, there's Kairi. Sora likes her. She likes Sora. There's no competition, no obstacles, no problems with their relationship, and they aren't even official yet. We're such hopeless romantics even when we have what we're looking for."
"What about you?"
"Wha — me? I never really thought about it."
"You have tabs on everyone else's love life, but no grip on your own?"
"Well, I…" he scratches his arm and his eyes grow solemn.
"Come on. Why not tell a complete stranger who you like?"
"Alright, we're here, sharing time's over." He pulls out one last key and stabs it tentatively into the darkness.
When he opens the door, she taken aback by how nice the place looks. They're some beanbag chairs, some lava lamps, a few regular lamps for decent lighting's sake, a diminutive TV with a thick covering of dust, hooked up to a VHS player, and a mini fridge.
"How did…?"
"My dad didn't want the VHS player or the old TV. He was going to throw it out, so I took it." Roxas, who was seated in a black beanbag, answered.
"I was in charge of the lamps." Sora explained.
"I got the beanbags." Ven offered.
"I stole the mini fridge from Terra's place." Vanitas waved it off as if it was nothing, taking his spot on a red beanbag.
"You can take the teal one." She took a seat at the designated beanbag.
"So, Vanitas told me about the whole clone ordeal." Aqua announced. Ventus and Roxas shared a look. Sora laughed.
"Yup, that's Van for ya. A clever thief on the surface, a gossiping schoolgirl at heart."
"Shut up, you lazy bum."
They stared at each other a moment, before Sora broke the tension with more peals of laughter. Vanitas chuckled slightly, soundlessly.
"Oh, yeah, I was meaning to ask. How are you and Sora related? Brothers?"
It was dead silent. Vanitas crossed his arms and his gaze fell downward. Sora just zoned out. Roxas and Ventus's eyes darted from Sora to Vanitas and back to Sora again. Luckily, the tension was broken when a noise came from the boiler room door, it sounded like laughter.
The door opened to reveal a raven-haired girl, a blonde, and a redhead, all laughing to themselves. They stopped when they saw Aqua.
"Is that…?"
"Xion, Kairi, Namine. Meet Aqua."
"Hiya!" Kairi beamed, plopping down on the orange beanbag next to Sora.
"Nice to meet you." Namine did a little bow before taking the beanbag next to Roxas.
Xion smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes darted to Namine and Roxas, so she took a seat by Vanitas instead. The raven-haired boy in turn gave Aqua a meaningful look.
"So, Aqua," Xion began, "Where did you live before you came here?"
"Well, I was in Montana last time, and before that New Mexico, and before that Iowa, and before that Florida, and before that Pennsylvania, and before that Michigan, and before that Oregon, and before that Cali—"
"We get it, Aqua." Vanitas cuts her off, his eyes still downcast, still lost in thought.
She wonders what it is she said. She wonders why he wouldn't answer her. She wonder if Ventus is a more common name than she thought.
AN:
I apologize.