Co-Authors Notes: The story actually begins...
RinRan: Alright! This party's getting crazy!
Sambi: Party? What party? This is only the first chapter...
RinRan: ... (holds up bottle of ginger ale)
Sambi: ... Whooho party! Now give me that soda. (tackles and runs away with) Ha ha ha it's all mine!
Chapter 1 : The Beginning of a Beautiful, yet Gay, Story
It was the first day of school. Like any normal teenager, Cloud was dreading this day. However, unlike most normal teenagers, it was not because it was the first day of high school; it was the first day of his senior year, and at a new high school to boot. Not to mention that this 'new high school' just so happened to be the cross-town rival of his old high school. It was the very same high school that he had spent the last three years mocking, taunting, and just all around hating.
However, it also happened to be the only high school in the district to have a swimming pool, and Cloud, as you must know, had always dreamt of playing high school water polo-
-Especially since over the summer he found out that he was over the age limit at his old water polo club.
So now Cloud, putting aside his years of hatred, reluctantly got ready to go to school. He grunted a farewell to his mother and trudged off to the train station, hoping to dear God that he wouldn't run into any of his old friends.
So far, so good. Now, safely at school, he hoped that he could get through the day without too much incident. As he walked through the double gates of Twilight Town High School, Cloud followed the crowd of students heading to pick up their schedules. Upon receiving his, he quickly scanned the familiar classes next to unfamiliar names and sighed before memorizing where he was due for first period. It was...AP Calculus.
"Crap," he thought for the millionth time that morning as he climbed up three flights of stairs. Already he hated this school, and first period hadn't even started yet! Fortunately, when Cloud entered the classroom, he was the first one there. Seeing as this was his chance to make himself unknown, he quietly took the furthest seat in the back row without bothering to greet the teacher. Not that the guy would have noticed, sitting in his big, comfy-looking office chair with his back to the rest of the room. Cloud sighed and studied his schedule again, all the while waiting for the bell to ring so that he could get on with his class and eventually his life.
"Let's see...first AP Calc., second AP Literature...third AP Chemistry, fourth AP Government/ AP Economy, fifth AP Psychology..." Yes, Cloud just so happen to be one of those students who somehow found the need to take as many college preparatory classes, even if meant sacrificing those precious moments of freedom that came with being a senior. Apparently, it didn't occur to him that he was, in fact, a senior and that he was entitled to as much fun and socializing time as the next guy. "And finally, sixth period...empty." Cloud then smiled to himself. "But not for long..." Nope, that's just how he was: a masochist.
While he sat there fantasizing about his soon-to-be sixth period, the rest of the class filed in. The bell rang, signaling school to begin. Cloud was oblivious to all of this until he heard an eerily familiar voice and a loud:
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, T. T. HIGH!! I'M TIDUS NELSON AND THIS IS YOUR ANSEM REPORT FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!"
Thank you, Captain Obvious, our blond hero thought as he shifted nervously in his seat, fearing what was to come out of the speakers next. He had hoped that his new school year would start quietly, with no one caring about him at all-
"Attention, folks! Before we start the actual bulletin, I, Tidus Nelson, would like to give a LOUD SHOUT OUT-"
-Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.
"-to a particular student that had RECENTLY TRANSFERRED to Twilight Town High for his senior year! I mean, who the hell does that?-"
"Tidus!" growled a new voice on the speakers, interrupting Tidus' voice. All the students snickered at the deep, somber voice of the school's principal, Ansem the Wise (actual title). Cloud merely groaned and rested his forehead against the desk.
Tidus laughed nervously. "Eheh, sorry Mr. Ansem the Wise, sir. Well, anyways...I would like everyone to welcome this guy –evenifhedidcomefromHallowBastion- if you see him! He's got blond spiky hair, he's got blue eyes, he's got a BIIIIIIIG-"
"Tidus, I'm warning you..."
"I swear-I didn't mean it in THAT sense! And he's one of my bestest best buddies; let's give it up for CLOUD FUCKING STRIFE!!"
"TIDUS!!"
"Meep! And now on to the bulletin read by the new ASB president ya'll choose last year-except for Cloud 'cause he wasn't here -who also happens to be my girlfriend, Yuna Moonchild-love ya honey- while I go and run my ass off from the principal-bye!"
A girl's voice blared out from the speaker, trying hard to keep from laughing. "Thank you, Tidus. Now, to all students with last year's debt: please report to the finance window immediately after first period or else-"
In his first class, Cloud could feel 20-maybe 30- pairs of eyes fixed on him. He lifted up his head, gave everyone a good glare, and slammed his forehead against the desk with a loud bam. I'm gonna kill that bastard, he made a mental note. Meanwhile, everyone else exchanged glances with one another, while the bulletin finished with a loud feedback.
Suddenly, the teacher's chair swung around, revealing him to the class for the first time. He beamed at the class and sprung to his feet, exclaiming, "A-hyuck, let's get this show on the road!"
Yes, school had officially started.
-- : : : --
As usual, school moves by pretty fast when you're a senior. One minute, you are in an embarrassing situation during first period, and the next, it's suddenly lunch time. However, the embarrassing situation remains, and in this case, deepens.
"Hey, you see him?"
"Who?"
"The blond guy-you know, with the Chocobo hair style?"
"Oh, riiiiiiiiiight...Him! From Hallow Bastion!"
Cloud groaned inwardly and slammed his head against the table. Even after four hours people were still treating him like some sort of freak show. He could hear them as he walked through the halls, to and from classes, and into the cafeteria, whispering and giggling behind his back. Every time he lifted up his head from the table, someone always whispered something along the lines of "Heartless", and sent him back into withdrawal.
"At this rate I'm never going to eat lunch," Cloud moaned quietly into the sticky wooden surface of the table.
"At this rate, you won't even last the first week of school, let alone the whole year," a new voice piped up smugly.
Cloud tore his face from the table and stared wide-eyed at the person seated next to him.
The person just smirked and stared right back.
The two then proceed to engage in a two minute staring contest.
"Uh...who exactly are you?" Cloud ask, his right eye starting to twitch.
The other person smirked again, his green eyes remaining still and cat-like. He leaned in towards the blond. "More importantly, sweetheart, WHO are YOU?" he whispered seductively.
Cloud leaned back violently, almost knocking into a student behind him. However, he never took his eyes of the newcomer, in fear of losing the technically unofficial staring contest. "'Sweetheart'?! Excuse me?!" he gasped as his face started to turn red.
"Hey, junior. Get lost and stop harassing my friend." A hand came from behind Cloud, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back. Cloud yelped in surprise as he fell back and looked up into the grey-blue eyes of a familiar newcomer, beset by glasses and upon a sharp face framed by layered brown hair. Squall Leonhart, another senior, smiled in greeting before turning sharply to the other person. "Didn't you hear me, punk?" he muttered coldly.
The junior smiled and raised his hands in a show of good will. He then stood up and sauntered away, but not before giving the two seniors a flirtatious wink.
"Thanks, man," Cloud muttered as his seat was pushed back up to normal. His friend took the empty seat next to him and sat down. "Hey, Squall...who the hell was that?"
"Casanova," Squall replied. He smiled upon seeing the confused look on the blond's face and explained, "To be honest, I don't really know his name. Didn't care or bother to find out, since he's one grade below us. But make sure to stay clear of him-he's known as Casanova by the girls AND guys at school for a reason."
"...Twilight Town's pretty open-minded, huh?"
"As a public school, it's pretty relaxed in terms of discipline and views. I believe there's a word for it-liberal."
Cloud chuckled and smiled. "That's good to hear. If guys like 'Casanova' there existed at Hallow Bastion, he would've been kicked out without a second thought."
Squall smiled back softly. "Hallow Bastion's that strict? Man, you're a nutcase for going there in the first place."
As the two continued to catch up, let us take a moment to study Squall Leonhart and his relationship to our blond hero (thus clearing up this WTF moment).
A senior as well, Squall attended Twilight Town High for all four years of high school. From his looks, one would assume he was intelligent as well as athletic. We are proud to say that this was the case; he is top of his class and he has been on the same club water polo team as Cloud since they were little. However, belying that cool exterior lurks a deep, dark secret. A secret so secretive that not even he knew about it yet-for now...
Now let's go back to the conversation at hand. Squall now arrives at the question that had plagued everyone's mind: "So, why did you transfer here anyways? Well, not that I'm complaining or anything, you know."
Cloud laughed sheepishly. "Well, technically it's because my family moved to this school district, but...I wanted to join the polo team here."
"...But what about our club team? You were still going to that during summer..."
Again the blond sheepishly laughed. "Yeah, about that...It turns out that it is only for sixteen and under. So...yeah."
Now Squall, previously unaware of this information, has to deal with a major reality check. He momentarily lost his composure and grabbed Cloud by the front of his shirt, bringing him close. "Why the hell didn't you tell me this earlier?!" he growled.
The blond looked away. "I...well...I...Hey, Tidus!"
Squall stared at him in confusion. "No, Cloud, I'm not Tidus, I'm L-" He was then cut off by a sudden weight on his back and two sun-tanned arms choking him in a bear hug. "Ack. Oh...H-Hi, Ti-dus..."
"Hey Cloud!" chirped Tidus, another senior and long time friend of the two. This suntanned blond with soft baby blue eyes and a constant happy smile was also the announcer from the morning bulletin, and thus the source Cloud's awkward embarrassment for the day. "Hey Squall! Lookin' lively, you two!"
"It's-Leon," gasped Squall-now-known-as-Leon. "And let go-already..."
Tidus pouted. "But you always let Cloud call you that-"
"LET. GO."
"Fine..." The tanned blond let go with a hop and walked over to Cloud with a grin. "So, you heard my welcome speech on the intercom this morning? Bet you're the talk of the whole school now."
"Yeah," Cloud muttered. He caught the glance of passing students whispering and sighed, "Yep, though I can't say it's a good thing." He yelped in surprise when Tidus suddenly gave him a hearty slap on his back.
"It's okay; you don't have to thank me."
"...Who said I was going to?"
"Jerk!" cried Tidus overdramatically. He then playfully punched Cloud in the arm and sighed. "So, what's up you two?"
Leon gave a cough and smoothed out his hair, saying as he did so, "Cloud's quitting club. That's why he transferred here, hoping to play polo with us since his old school didn't have a pool."
Tidus nodded understandingly. "I see..." He then frowned. "Uh...Cloud?"
"What?" asked the blond.
"...We don't have a water polo team here."
"...But...But...My counselor said-" Cloud paused and thought back to his conversation with Ms. Gainsborough. He thought and thought until he couldn't think any more. "Huh. I don't remember what my counselor said." His friends merely smiled; they were already used to this side of Cloud. "So, what do I do then?"
Leon shrugged. "You could always join the swim team," he paused at the murderous look on Cloud's face. "Or...not. Then there isn't much you could do."
"Wait. I have an idea," piped up Tidus. "I've been thinking about this for the past three years, but never really followed through with it. Cloud's entering our school must be a sign that this was meant to be!" He struck up his fist and posed dramatically. He stared at them both expectantly for a while, but Cloud merely reacted in confusion and Leon simply adjusted his glasses, so he gave up and continued on, "So, I'm thinking of petitioning for the start of a water polo team. Anyone up for it?"
"Wait-what?" asked Leon, his eyes widening. "You can actually do that?"
Tidus grinned cheerfully. "I'm the ASB spirit commissioner and the ASB president's boyfriend-I can do anything. Heck, I get to say who lives and who dies...figuratively speaking, of course."
"Start our own team," mused Cloud. He smiled and patted Tidus' shoulder. "I like that idea. Let's go, let's go, let's go!" With that he quickly grabbed his stuff and headed out the cafeteria, not worrying anymore about the strange looks he was getting or the whisperings behind his back.
Leon and Tidus stared after him. "Do you think he knows where the sport administration office is?" asked the brunet.
"I always thought this sort of thing had to be discussed with the principal," replied the tanned blond.
"You're in ASB. Shouldn't you know about this sort of thing?"
"Well, look who's talking, Mr. Fourth Year."
"...Tidus, you're a senior too."
"...Right," sighed Tidus. "I guess this is where our lunch ends." He waited for Leon to grab his things and together they headed out of the cafeteria into the sunlight.
Leon smiled softly. "And where our story begins. If anyone could create and lead a new water polo team, it would have to be Cloud."
He's the only one with the passion to do it-
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
OMAKE (After Thought):
As they walked around the quad, trying to locate their spiky haired blond friend, a thought occurred to Tidus. "So, just why is it that Cloud's quitting club?" he asked Leon.
The brunet adjusted his glasses. "He said something about not being able to play due to being too old. Turns out our club is sixteen and under, and you know that Cloud had his birthday over summer."
"Oh," Tidus nodded, "so that's why." The two walked in silence, until Tidus interrupted again, "But wait-how the hell are WE still doing club? I guess I was okay since it was only for summer and I'm turning 17 in December, but what about you? Weren't you 17 since spring?"
Leon stopped and gaze thoughtfully up at the sky. Tidus stopped beside him and waited impatiently for an answer. "Hey, Leon! Are you there?" The shorter teen smirked. "You probably lied about your age, didn't you?"
"...You know...I didn't eat lunch today."
So he DID lie, thought Tidus with a bow of his head. I can't believe I looked up to this guy for moral guidance.
Co-Authors (End) Notes:
Sambi: YAY! Chapter 1 is up. Now for the creation of the team.
RinRan: Hooray indeed. There's gonna be so much to do-finding a coach, finding members, designing the team Speedos-
Sambi: (Sticks tongue out) Kill joy.
RinRan: Hey! Anyways...when's Axel gonna show up? Can't have just Cloud as the center of attention now, can we?
Sambi: Oh, he'll pop up soon enough... Oh and just to clear up any misconceptions, this is not an Axel/Cloud fic. They're just both the main characters.
RinRan: ...Though there WILL be a little bit of Axel/Cloud fluff now and then. XD
Sambi: Yeah that and Axel/Tidus; Axel/Demyx; Axel/Seifer-
RinRan: HEY! No giving anything away! (coughAxelCidcough) Oh well, see ya'll soon! And review please!
Sambi: NOOO! Why'd you say that?! Now they're never gonna review...
RinRan: ...damn...
