Demyx followed Sora out of the administration office, and down a hall into the heart of the school.
"We'll go find your locker first," Sora said. "Then I can take you to Calculus."
"Cool," Demyx replied, keeping his voice nonchalant, eyes observant, as they made their way down the hall. This school seemed somehow stricter than his last. The closer it came to eight o'clock, the more students started to arrive. But their movements in the corridor were purposeful, there was no lingering at lockers, no loud voices ringing out. Everything was a low, respectful murmur. In a way, it was a little creepy.
"Where did you move from?" Sora's voice broke his concentration enough to distract Demyx from his worrisome thoughts before they could form into even darker, possibly inaccurate assumptions.
Demyx looked down a titch, regarding the boy by his side. "Oh, not from too far off," he said, choosing his words carefully. "My family just lives over the hills, in Traverse."
He hadn't moved at all, in fact. Just boarded at his last school. It hadn't been so bad, at least not until…
"Do you board here?" Demyx asked, cutting off his own thoughts as they began to stray into dangerous territory.
Sora looked up, surprise in his eyes. "Oh, no. My family lives here, in Twilight Town. The only people who board are the…"
Sora trailed off, face flushing a little, as Demyx looking over curiously. The what, he wondered, opened his mouth to ask. But Sora surged ahead, skipping a little in front of him as he retrieved the paper Kairi had handed him from his pocket. "Your locker should be on this row," he said, running a finger lightly across the black-paneled numbers. "Same row as mine…just a little further down."
Demyx followed dutifully, eyes wandering, unconsciously searching for the red-head he'd encountered earlier. There was no apparent sign of him in this hallway, at least.
"Here, I found it." Sora pointed to the last locker in the row and consulted the sheet of paper again before starting to plug in the combo. It clicked in easily, the locker opening with a light metallic clang.
A moment later, Sora turned, arm outstretched as he handed the paper to Demyx.
"Your locker combination is on this sheet, same for your class schedule."
Before Demyx could respond, long silverly white hair invaded his vision, as a boy only an inch or two shorter than himself appeared to Sora's right. He eyed Demyx carefully, wordlessly, as he stepped in closer to Sora. There was possessiveness in his stance.
"Hi," the newcomer said, tone curt, expression impassive.
At the sound of the voice, Sora turned, a bright smile lighting up his entire face.
"Oh, Demyx. This is Riku. He'll be in some of our classes too."
Almond shaped eyes of the most unique color gazed back at him, although having already spoken once, Riku merely nodded an acknowledgement now.
"Hey," Demyx returned, eyeing the pair somewhat carefully. They were so close to one another, Sora's smile so bright that it was possible…well…it made sense that…
"Oh man," he breathed out, his voice full of relief. "Is this place cool with gay couples? Sure as heck could've fooled me when I first got…"
The words died in his throat as Sora visibly blanched.
"What!" The shorter boy's voice was a high-pitched squeak. Immediately, Demyx knew he'd make a mistake.
"Riku and I ar-aren't homosexuals." Sora was stammering now. "Why would you…I mean, that would go…"
Sora looked up at Riku, seemingly for guidance, but the taller boy's eyes were on Demyx, a strange expression gracing his otherwise stoic features.
"Against God," Demyx supplied, his voice soft, stomach flipping.
"Yes, exactly," Sora responded, nodding with unparalleled eagerness.
Demyx put his hands up in a peaceable display, forcing a nonchalant smile on his face. "My mistake," he said, thinking quickly. "I was just trying to be tolerant. Y'know, just in case."
His expression might have been easy-going, but inside Demyx was reeling. This place was going to be worse than the last. His parents probably had someone watching out for him here too, seeing whether he truly was reformed or if it was all just a show to avoid a less desirable fate. It could even be Sora. It'd make sense, with him having been assigned as a guide, after all. And here Demyx had gone and just practically blurted out that he was okay with gays...
Refusing to outwardly show the turmoil he felt, Demyx bit the inside of his cheek as hard as he dared, feeling a sense of helplessness wash over him. It was mixed with a healthy dose of anger he knew he couldn't show.
Apparently taking his words at face value, Sora nodded, if a bit warily. "Well, you won't have to worry about that liberal propaganda at Holy Hearts," he said, his tone still a little uncertain. "The teachers make sure of it."
Behind him, Demyx noted a slight grimace on Riku's face. Even the idea of gay people disgusted this crowd, it seemed. What would they think if they knew Demyx had…
"Come on," Riku said, breaking the silence that was beginning to settle awkwardly between them. His voice was hard, tone still curt. "Let's get to Calc. You still have to introduce him to Mr. Valentine before class starts," he reminded Sora.
A pensive expression remained on his face, but Sora nodded slowly, eyes fixed scrutinizingly on Demyx as though trying to read his mind. Demyx, for his part, kept his expression as neutral as possible. Hopefully it would look like his verbal faux pas was the last thing on his mind any longer.
They turned together, Riku moving slightly away from Sora as the shorter boy took his place next to Demyx. They walked in silence down a few adjacent halls, before Sora finally looked up at the newcomer once more.
"You're probably going to want to tuck your shirt in. The teachers here are real strict about that." Sora's voice was quiet, somewhat guarded as he eyed the new student with a newly wary eye.
Demyx stopped dead in his tracks for a moment, barely suppressing a curse, as he tucked in his shirt quickly in front of the pair. "Crap," he said, forcing that same good-natured tone into his voice that he felt like he'd been feigning all morning. "Thanks. I didn't know."
Again, that uneasy look. Again, a brief nod from Sora, and a scowl from his companion.
Then it was back to following Sora and his not-boyfriend Riku, this time into their first class of the day.