I was trying to make this chapter really long; I only got in 2156 words before I decided to end the chapter. Sorry.
I think it's a cute chapter. Sort of cliché, but whatever. My story; I'm allowed to be cliché.
Well, thanks for reading! (Oh, and reviews are love)
Allergy information: This chapter contains emo-ness, light BL (kissing, cuddling...) and swearing.
"Cloud, you have to go to school sometime."
I was shrouded in my blankets, curled up on my side, and attempting to ignore my blond brother.
"No, I don't." I mumbled. I couldn't go back. I couldn't face him. I knew if I were to ever see him again, I wouldn't be able to restrain my feelings. For Leon's sake, that couldn't happen. I couldn't have him worrying about me again; it was pitiful the way he looked when he was worried. I hated doing that to him. I had used to think that he'd eventually worry himself sick over me; he was always fussing over me, after all.
"Leon.. Hasn't been himself since you left. The least you could do is let him know you're still alive." I merely grunted in response, with my back still facing him. "Everyone's really worried. Especially Aerith."
I let out a sigh. Aerith meant a lot to me, whether I showed it or not. I'd simply have to suffer.
"I'll be down in ten minutes."
"Loire, late again?" I picked my head up slightly, just enough to stare at Leon. He was never late. It just didn't happen. And 'again'? How often had he been late?
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."
"He's been late everyday since you were absent." Aerith filled me in by whispering behind me. I was, needless to say, shocked. Had I really affected him that much? Surely it was a coincidence, right?
Leon took his seat next to me, and I found myself unable to remove my eyes from him, whereas he seemed to have no trouble not looking at me (as he hadn't spared me a second glance) which caused me to suppose that my earlier assumption about the coincidence was true. I tried my hardest to ignore the pain that thought brought with it. As sadistic as it was, I wanted him to be upset if he wasn't with me. It wasn't that I didn't want him happy-- I did-- but I wanted him to want to be with me. He had seemed really happy when we were together, but I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep at my desk. Despite spending the past week or so in my bed, I hadn't slept that much. I'd been too busy thinking, which rendered me incapable of falling asleep.
I woke up when the bell rang, and students began filing out of class. Hurriedly, I threw my stuff together, and tried to find Leon.
"Leon!" Finally. He turned around, giving me a look that clearly said "what do you want?"
"We need to talk." Well, that's ironic. Normally people say that before they break up with someone, not before they're trying to win someone back. I don't think Leon noticed.
"Really?" Because I thought we were doing just fine not talking. I especially liked the part where you broke up with me and after calling me out in the middle of the night, then avoided me for two weeks."
"Well, that's sort of why I wanted to talk to you." I said, fidgeting. I hated this. I hated needing him. It didn't help that he was making this impossibly hard. You know how in movies, when someone screws up, the other person takes them back without question? Well, that's a lie.
"Please, Leon… I really do care about you." I mumbled, hoping he wouldn't make me say it again.
"After all this, you expect me to believe that?!?"
"Yes, I do! That is why I broke up with you!"
We were yelling now, and quite a few of our fellow students had stopped to openly stare.
Daringly, I leaned up and pressed my lips against his, my hand holding the back of his head. He halfheartedly pushed at my chest, but I didn't move. He was stronger than that; I knew that. And he knew I knew it. Once I was finally sick of the lack of oral response, I pulled away and backed off a little bit, so that there was about two feet of space between us.
"Please…" I was near tears now. "I'm sorry, okay?" I found myself suddenly unable to meet his eyes, and resorted to looking at the floor. Ew, was that gum?
The bell rang, but neither of us made to move.
I heard him sigh heavily so I looked up at him. He wasn't looking at me, either.
"Cloud, I…" He ran a hand through his hair and I waited. I was trying as hard as I could to be patient, but I wasn't ever very virtuous at all. Goddamn, why does he have to be so fucking sexy? "I can't." He bit his lip nervously, and I had to shove down a whimper as I watched him intently. Dirty tease.
It took my brain nearly an entire minute to process that he had even said anything, and another fifteen seconds to register his words. "Can't… What?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer or not, but I felt obliged to at least ask. Part of me hoped he'd avoid the question, but the other part of me was dying to know.
"I can't do this." He finally looked at me. "I liked you. I still like you. But-- it's just that…" He let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
I let out a sigh. I knew what he meant. He was scared-- scared I'd go and do something stupid to hurt him again. Well, we weren't exactly on good terms anymore, to begin with, so this went as well as someone could have possibly hoped.
"Okay," I replied reluctantly. He'd better be glad I loved him. Wait… Love? I loved him?
"You do know I'm not saying never, right?" I looked up at him hopefully. "Just, maybe we could be friends again first?" He was obviously unsure, but it was good enough for me. I had to resist the urge to jump him. This definitely went well. Some people would think it to have been horrible, but it was possibly the best thing that ever happened to me, and I wasn't about to anger whatever deity by being ungrateful for it.
He kissed my cheek and-- while it was meant as a friendly gesture-- I felt my face heat up involuntarily. Damn him. Him and that sexy smile he just showed me. Okay, Cloud, not helping your case here any.
"Hey," He said casually, leaning up against a wall. "Since we're already so late for class, you want to take the rest of the day off with me?"
I shrugged, but inside I was jumping for joy. Literally. I felt like my stomach hated me, and was trying to see how long it would take before I hurled.
"It's not like I have anything better to do."
He gave me a genuine smile-- it may have been soft, but it was the best I had ever gotten from him-- and began to lead me out of the high school.
After a couple minutes of walking I looked up at him. "Hey, Leon?"
"Mhm?"
"Where are we going?"
"Coffee shop."
"…You're obsessed."
"Am not."
"Yeah, you are. When we went out," I swallowed heavily, trying not to think about it too much. "That was your favorite place, remember?" I silently praised myself for keeping my voice steady. I'm good.
"Actually, this one's a different one."
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah, I… Uh, it's closer to my house." Lie. He looked left. I decided not to call him on it, because I really didn't want to ruin this. It may have been awkward, but it was better than nothing.
We walked in silence until we reached the fabled Coffee Shop of Doom. Of course, that wasn't really its name. I'm just an idiot, and therefore dubbed it that. Leon happily dragged me in, and the strong scent of freshly ground coffee hit me. I took in a deep breath. I didn't really enjoy drinking coffee, but I loved the way it smelled; after all, Leon smelled like coffee. Coffee and leather and vanilla.
I sat down at a small table in the corner, waiting for Leon to get his coffee fix. He came back with a large cup of whatever his new favorite coffee was (probably some insanely caffeinated espresso or something) and two pastries, one of which he handed to me.
I gave him a smile and nibbled on it. I wasn't really hungry, but he had gotten it for me. I allowed myself this moment to daydream, staring at Leon without even noticing, despite the fact all my thoughts were on him.
He was so gorgeous. His hair was a little bit longer, and he had more difficulty keeping it out of his eyes. Instead of his usual leather ensemble, he was wearing tight black jeans and a white shirt with black stripes along it. Seriously, it wasn't like you could not stare openly at it. The shirt was tight-fitting, and you could almost see the outline of his toned muscles underneath it. It was at this point that I had to look away so as not to drool.
We had both finished our pastries, and he got up, motioning for me to follow, still sipping at his coffee.
"What do we do now?" I asked, catching up to him and slowing down to walk beside him. He shrugged, eyes trained on the sidewalk. Something was on his mind. "Leon, what's up?"
"I don't know-- this all just seems so… Surreal." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "It's just that… Lately, everything's been going wrong. And now, all of a sudden, this? I'm just waiting for something to screw up again, I guess."
I frowned, taking in what he had said. It's true that nothing lately had been particularly great, but that didn't mean he had to go and be all pessimistic about everything.
"There's a movie called The Secret." I found myself saying. "The secret is that if you say something's going to happen, you pretty much make it happen, even unintentionally." I liked that movie. It was a good movie.
I tilted my head back to look up at the sky. It looked like it might rain. It was getting dark, despite the time being about noon, and the air had become a little bit chilly. I shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind blew by, and stuffed my hands into my pockets.
"Do you want to come over to my house for a little bit?" Leon asked. "It looks like it's going to rain."
"Well, thanks, Admiral Obvious."
"I always thought it was 'Captain Obvious'."
"Admiral's a higher rank," I explained, "And you deserve it."
He gave me a look of fake hurt, and I laughed, pushing him lightly.
"Anyways, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Want to come over?"
"Uh, sure." I smiled to myself, watching the cars going by. "Not like I have anything better to do, since you dragged me out of school." I mumbled loudly enough that he could hear me. He rolled his eyes, neglecting to reply, and led me to his house.
Once we were inside the house, he motioned for me to sit down so I took a seat on the couch. I stared openly at him as he popped in a DVD and set it up before sitting next to me.
"What are we watching?"
"Dogma. You said you liked that movie. It's your favorite, right? I wanted to see it."
"Y… Yeah, it is." I was slightly shocked he had remembered. I'd only mentioned it once, and when I say mentioned, that's not an understatement.
Subtly, I moved closer to Leon with a shiver. It was really, really cold in his house. He didn't notice, I guess. How the fuck did he manage to not get hypothermia from living here? Then again, I do have poor blood circulation, so I'm more sensitive to temperature…
Fifteen minutes through the movie, I thought my body had frozen. I shivered again, and Leon noticed this time.
"Are you cold?"
"Yeah, just a little." I said with a weak smile.
"My mom keeps it really cold in here. I didn't think about it, sorry."
He moved closer to me and held his arms open, and I hesitantly cuddled up to him.
"Better?" He asked quietly. I cold feel his breath ghosting over my hair, and I shivered again, but not from the cold this time.
"Yeah. But… Is this okay?" I lifted my head to look up at him. He smiled softly back down at me.
"Sure, if it's you." Aw, that was sweet. Hey, wait, I thought he was the one against a more intimate relationship.
"Leon…?"
"Shh, just watch the movie."
I smiled and leaned back up against his chest.
"Okay." I whispered back.
Reviews are greatly appreciated! My eternal love goes to all my reviewers. (Mainly because this is on quite a few people's lists but I'm lucky to get 3 reviews a chapter. Hint hint.)
