The cool air rushing past his face was replaced by a burning freeze as his chin ricocheted off of the icy floor, white frost quickly tainted with spots of red. Groaning and dazed, he struggled to lift his weight onto his forearms, perching awkwardly on all fours as he clenched his eyes, the dull throbbing being the only indication to him of injury in his semi-lucid condition.

"Hope!" The teen felt mittened hands on his back, urging him to sit up from his uncomfortable sprawl. A cloth was pushed into the hand pressing against his chin, his glove stained red by this point. Blurry eyed, he mumbled a numb "Thanks," dropping his rear gracelessly to the ice as a few of the adults skid to a halt near him, giving instructions to the boy next to him as those reprimanded were gathered and taken off the rink. He felt bodies around him, helping him slide easily across the man made surface towards the rink edge, mixed voices drowned out by the ever pounding, swelling gash on his face. As he was sat in the car, a very insistent body reaching towards his face from the back seat, the dull ache evolved into a painful throb, the heat only making it worse as he bit back the uncomfortable agony threatening to loose itself from his throat.

The white lights of the hospital burned straight into the back of his head, feeding the migraine blooming behind his eyes. He fumbled for his jacket before another pair of arms helped him dress. "Danks," he muttered, his lower jaw completely numbed. He felt at the bandages plastered to his chin as his companion chuckled, wrapping an arm around his waist as they walked to the exit, his father signing release forms at the front desk. He turned to greet them as they approached.

"Hope," the older man beamed a relieved smile at his son, nodding to his son's friend as he braced a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" Before he could even begin to recall the incident prior to his face making nice with the rink floor, his friend stepped in for him.

"Sorry, Mr. Estheim. It happened again; I tried to get them to leave him alone, but they were too persistent. They were chasing him up and down the rink; they hooked their blade into his when they got close and knocked his feet out from under him." The boy grimaced at the image he recalled, frowning and shaking his head. "It looked really painful.." The father figure let his smile drop a little as he rested his other hand on the boy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Maqui.. Thank you for always being there for Hope. I'm very grateful." The young teen looked up at him apologetically, knowing there was nothing more he could have done; bullies were bullies. "How about we head home, shall we? Is your mother okay with you staying for dinner?" The world was fuzzy around Hope as he let his father and Maqui steer him to the car, the atmosphere filled with excited chattering and comforting responses.

"See you tomorrow, Hope!" The teenager bid as Bartholomew closed the door behind him. Hope placed the last of the clean dishes into the drying rack, unrolling his sleeves as his father joined him in the living room. The TV glowed dimly as unfocused eyes took notice of it in an apathetic manner. "Has Ms. Nabaat found you a new tutor then?"

The question suddenly filled his head with pink, a slight flush dotting his skin. "Uh, nope! S-Serah said everything was fine; I'm supposed to meet with her tomorrow after class." Hope fumbled, urging his mind to stop racing. His father watched him carefully, concern etched on his lined face. Feeling uncomfortable, the platinum haired teen tore his eyes from the set, turning to give his father a genuine smile. "I'll be fine! Serah's great at explaining math and history, and her sister won't even be there tomorrow. Nothing bad's gonna happen."

"If you say so," Bartholomew reluctantly agreed as his son stepped past him, tapping his shoulder gently before making his way to his room for the night. "Goodnight!.." The man waited until her heard the click of his son's door before dropping himself back into the couch, the gentle hiss of air escaping around him as it settled. "Oh Nora.. What do I do?"

The warmth that rushed around and over his numb skin was more than invited as he hurriedly stepped inside while the door was closed behind him, careful to keep his feet from stepping off the mat. He caught a glimpse of pink dashing through his peripheral as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it inside the front closet, all the while toeing off his boots.

"What are we covering today?" He called out towards the kitchen, his skin tingling as feeling came back, sensation resounding stronger with each step he took towards the dining room. He let his bag drop heavily to the ground as he slid a chair out, pulling his backpack closer by the strap as he languidly unzipped it and dug around inside for his binder and books. He looked up at the sound of porcelain clinking against the table's marble surface in front of him, a smiling pinkette maneuvering around the corner to another vacant seat.

"Its hot cocoa," she offered, pulling her own glass close as she blew a few puffs on it, not yet willing to risk burning her tongue. The girl stretched her slender arm out to drag a lone textbook closer as she pulled her knees to her chest atop the chair. "Its pretty cold out all of a sudden, huh?" She attempted at small chat, having heard the news of his accident second or third hand after it spread like wildfire throughout the school that morning. Serah withheld a frown as she thought about the perpetrators; bullies were horrid people.

Hope chuckled warmly, bringing her back as he etched the date into his notebook. "Yeah it is! I'll be happy if this winter is a white one though; where I used to live, it was too warm for snow." He explained, reaching for his mug and blowing tentatively on the scalding cocoa. The older teen opened her mouth to respond when she heard a noise at the front door. Hope's blood ran cold as images of an angry older woman flashed through his mind, his grip on the notebook and pencil tightening stiffly. Unfazed, and appearing mildly confused, Serah rose from her seat, turning to say, "One minute," before trotting towards the main foyer. The boy swallowed thickly, the saliva passing down his throat leaving an awful burn rather than the soothing relief he do desired. He attempted to relax himself, making the mistake of trying to drink the still burning hot cocoa. He strained his ears, attempting to pick out pieces of the conversation held, but to no avail.

As Serah returned to the room, it was all Hope could do not to wet himself. Before him stood his schoolmate, and beside her towered a gorilla. The man was all fun and smiles, a stupid grin plastered obnoxiously on his unkempt face. Hope refrained from his gaping as his tutor returned to her spot at the table, the gargantuan man heading past them into the living room where he dropped to the couch, relaxing himself as if he lived there while he flipped through the channels.

"Snow," Serah's voice made him jump slightly as he turned to her, her line of sight explaining that was this brute's name as Hope turned back to him, eyebrows high and eyes curiously wide. 'Who the hell is this guy? Her sister's boyfriend?' His stomach dropped at the thought, but nonetheless maintained whatever little composure he still clung to.

"Please try to keep the volume down, we're going over homework," Serah instructed, her voice steady as she spoke to this massive being. A hearty laugh erupted from his throat as he chuckled, winking at her from across the room.

"Sure thing, baby; who's the kid?" Slightly offended at the offhand comment, Hope sat straighter in his chair, puffing out his chest and lifting his chin as he turned in his chair to introduce himself.

"I'm Hope Estheim, I recently moved here with my dad from Palumpolum." He explained tentatively, suddenly aware of how intimidating the older man's gaze was as it weighed in on him.

"And your face-"

"Snow!"

Serah was standing, having slammed her hands down on the table as she glowered at him, obviously trying to send him a message with her eyes alone. Snow gave an apologetic smirk as he lifted his hands in front of himself defensively, the show playing in the background forgotten.

"Sorry, wasn't meaning to step on anyone's toes-"

"Bullies."

The two quarreling turned to Hope, his attention very much so devoted to the numbers he was robotically copying to his page. Serah's face fell, defeated, knowing Snow wouldn't let this go now that he'd been given a sliver of the story.

"Beg your pardon?" The man inquired, lifting from his spot in the couch and pulling a chair out from beside the high school student. "What happened?"

"Bullies happened." The teenager responded stoically, beginning to solve the equation but realizing he had no idea which formula to apply. He circled the pencil above the paper as he thought, leg bouncing as he tried to maintain focus. His heart was pounding with this guy staring at him though; didn't he realize how intimidating he was?

"The eighth grade went on an ice-skating field trip yesterday," Serah's voice cut through the silence, feeling she owed a little more of an explanation as she offered the boy an empathetic look. "Some of the less intelligently inclined boys thought it would be fun to pick on him, you know, because he's new here. Apparently the best way to assert yourself in high school is to single out the new kid." She contemplated, her voice sounding frustrated. "I'm going to speak with Mr. Rosch about these incidents tomorrow; I won't tolerate this treatment of my friends."

Hope looked up at this, a light in his eyes as he locked his gaze with hers. His whole being filled with an unexplainable happiness, coming to realize that someone was looking out for him. "Th-Thanks," he mumbled, flushing slightly. Another hearty laugh and a slap on the back startled the teen, his heart racing once again as he snapped his attention to Snow, eyes wide.

"Don't go getting any ideas now! Serah's my girl."

"Snow!" Serah chastised, tutting as she gave him another look. It all suddenly made more sense.

"So, you're not dating Lightning, then?" He asked, unaware of the implications he was suggesting. Serah remained unchanged as her fiancé gave her an incredulous open-mouthed smile, pointing a thumb at Hope as he looked between the two of them.

"Hah! I hope you're kidding. Have you met her? She gives everyone the cold shoulder! Me especially, since I hold her younger sister's hand. But seriously? You thought me and Light were-?" He made a scissoring motion with his index and middle finger, still baffled by the idea. Embarrassed by the uproar, Hope cleared his throat to regain attention as he looked to Serah, shaking her head as Snow rattled on.

"We should get started," she said, thumbing through the pages of the book as Hope copied down more problems. Snow settled down in the chair beside him, watching intently as his bride to be explained the formulas and which situations called for them.

They finished just before dinner, Serah having left Hope with Snow as he packed up his books and readied himself for the trip home. "You need a ride?" The man asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as Hope tugged on his jacket. He peered around the man down the hall to where he could hear Serah moving pots and pans in the kitchen.

"Huh?" He replied, recalling the bus schedule from memory in habit as he pulled his boots into place. Something akin to fear lit within him as Snow grinned down at him.

Fifteen minutes later, freezing and clutching at the older man, Hope forced himself to release his death grip, stumbling off the bike as shaky hands pulled the helmet from his head. He found difficulty balancing himself in the driveway, the lights of his house feeling distant and unreal. A hand connected with his shoulder, bracing him.

"Hey, you did great for your first time!" Snow laughed, genuinely impressed. "Serah screamed the whole way." Hope couldn't help but join him in his chuckle as his head slowed down, the world returning from its diagonal distortion to its normal attributes.

"Thanks for the lift," He started on his way up before Snow stopped him.

"Don't worry too much about Light, you hear? She comes off like sandpaper, but she's really an amazing person. Just try not to rub her any which way, you'll be fine." The oversized bear of a man kick started his bike before Hope could respond, grin disappearing behind his helmet as he turned out of the driveway and disappeared down the road. Bartholomew was at the front door, asking what the loud noises were about as his son turned towards the house. Hope laughed as he reached his father, asking about dinner and if there was anything he could help with.

All throughout the meal, cleaning up and watching shows with his dad, the boy couldn't help but find a smile stuck to his face.