A/N: Woo-boy, school = suckage, my friends. Luckily I'm taking classes I at least like, cuz if not… we'd all be screwed. 8O
Yeah. And I'm not talking the good way either!
Anyway… in this chapter; in which Sephy-poo gets all the more creepy with his little stalking-hobby, we are briefly introduced to a rather vile character whom I'm sure we all hate with a passion, both Cloud's and Seph's issues are clearly exploited (in a manner of speaking, of course), Zack's evil-ness is shown rather spectacularly and more plot-points are made (did I mention this is an A/U? because this is totally an A/U if you haven't gotten it by now, lawl).
Any questions, my dears? Lol. I didn't think so (yet).
I don't think I need to tell you guys about the whole criticism thing… you all get it. ^.^
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own "27" by Fall Out Boy nor do I own the Final Fantasy series- we know this already, so why the hell do I have to keep doing this?! -.-;
"If home is where the heart is
Then we're all just fucked.
I can't remember…
I can't remember…
And I want it so bad-
I'd shoot the sunshine into my veins!
I can't remember the good ol' days.
And it's kind of funny…
The way we're wearing anchors on our shirts
When being anchored aboard just feels like the worst.
My mind is a safe and if I keep it then we all get rich…
My body is an orphanage; we take everyone in.
Doing lines of dust and sweat off last night's stage-
Just to feel like you… "
-"27" by Fall Out Boy
Title: When You Walk Away
Chapter Four: 27
Cloud laughed as Sephiroth nearly stumbled over his own feet, the faint blush settled over his cheeks nearly translucent against his already-pale skin. Ignoring the comical glare now aimed towards him, Cloud continued to laugh his pretty blond head off, not sure how to take in the sight of a stumbling, dirty Sephiroth pouting at him without doing so.
"Ahem," clearing his throat in an attempt to regain the propriety he deserved, the silver-haired man brushed off his dirt-encased knee-caps and caught Cloud's arm in his unyielding grip, pulling him forward "if you are done here, then I shall take you home, Cloud."
"You don't have to do that." Shrugging off the bit of concern that lay hidden within Sephiroth's (for once) well-meaning gaze, the off-beat blond fixed the sleeves of his bomber jacket and strode forward, blue eyes a bit dimmer than usual. "I'm sure you have better things to do, and I don't think anybody's gonna stop and try to surprise-rape me at this time of day."
"You'd be surprised…" The older man muttered underneath his breath, making the young blond next to him shuffle straight up in shock.
"What was that?!"
"I said… just to be on the safe side…?" Sephiroth almost kicked himself in the shin as the statement came out of his mouth in a halfway sort of question, trying to save face by keeping his expression as neutrally bland as possible.
Cloud quirked an eyebrow as he stared at the blank faced college student beside behind him, leather jacket flowing around his long legs in a pseudo-cape motion. The man was absurdly handsome; there was no doubt about that, but Cloud still felt as if there was something Sephiroth was hiding from him…
The rest of their time was spent mostly walking in silence, though it was a comfortable silence; something Cloud was not used to, really. Most of the time he spent in quiet was spent thinking… brooding…
Aerith called it 'pouting', but he was insulted his older sister even associated such a word with such an introspective person such as himself. Finally noticing the familiar street sign indicitating that they were quite close to his home, Cloud finally turned to his companion, trying to will down the flush attempting to crawl over his cheeks as he narrowed his sights on silver and green.
"Will you… be picking me up tomorrow too, Sephiroth?"
"Would you like me to, Cloud?" The silver-haired giant smoothly questioned, trying not to take satisfaction in the burnt complexion of Cloud's face and ultimately failing.
Fidgeting with a particularly long blond bang hanging over his bright cerulean-colored eyes, Cloud let his gaze fall to the ground as they appeared before his house's winding gate. "I…"
Sephiroth leaned forward almost imperceptibly, venom-green eyes shining as the setting sun's dying rays hit his face at an odd angle.
Feeling oddly intimidated (though he didn't quite know why), Cloud quickly nodded before scurrying inside the gate and locking it, giving Sephiroth one last small smile in turn.
Watching the embarrassed 16-year-old hurry up the house's steps and slamming the door behind him without so much as a goodbye, Sephiroth simply smiled as he spun around and made his way to his own home, long silver hair trailing behind him like a cape of some sort.
Though he had not made the progress he would have liked, it was progress all the same.
'Soon… very soon…'
Sephiroth winced as he opened the door to his home (house) and slipped off his steel-toe boots by the coat-rack; the hallway (as always) completely dark. Peeling the large leather duster off of his person, Sephiroth did not even announce his arrival as he threw the warm garment on the coat-rack and strode into his also-dark living room.
The house itself was large and spacious, the rooms luxurious in their entire splendor. The paintings hung off the burgundy walls in classic juxtapose positions as candelabras and mini-statuettes lined the Victorian-styled shelves, complimenting the cream colored mini-pillars decorating the edges of the hallways beautifully.
All in all, it was a beautiful home to whoever lived inside it.
But even though he lived there…
It just wasn't Sephiroth's home.
No personal pictures hung off the walls nor did any cute knickknacks clutter the shelves alongside the graceful items within the living-room; not like Professor Gast's home. The tiny family's house was smaller and much more well-worn; a sense of homeliness igniting its demure décor and the people who lived inside it with a magical glow that Sephiroth could not explain.
Even Cloud, who had only lived in the large city they called Midgar for barely six (now going on seven) months seemed to come alive within the home, holding the two other residents of the house as his family with barely any effort on his part whatsoever.
Sephiroth didn't want to say he was jealous…
Sighing as he made his way inside his bedroom (the clinical white walls washed out by the small objects Zack, Aerith and Angeal had bestowed upon him throughout the years), the now weary 21-year-old sat down on the bed and leaned forward, letting his head fall into his hands.
But he knew that would be the appropriate response at the situation at hand. Even he wasn't so firmly etched inside his own denial that he couldn't at least admit it to himself of all people.
This was the life he had become accustomed to; the solidarity of a cold home and piece his own life together himself. There was no hand to guide him or moral support of the parental kind to steer him in the right direction. Both of his parents had been gone for a good 15 years now, and quite frankly he could barely remember either of their faces.
But it wasn't all that bad he would think to himself on days where he could look past the loneliness and concentrate on matters of much more significant focus. He had friends (few friends, but friends all the same) who were willing to look past his apparent socio-retardation and see him for the person he was and not the person everyone else made up in the process.
Hell, even if it hadn't been for his friends (mainly Zack and Aerith) he would have never even taken any notice in Cloud…
Smiling sadly as he got off his nearly impeccable bed, Sephiroth grabbed a pair of sleeping pants from one of his bureaus (that were also organized spectacularly) and made his way into the bathroom.
All this introspection was beginning to give him a headache…
'I suppose I wasn't made to be the angst-ridden type.' The lone college-student thought to himself, the small bit of humor lightening his otherwise dismal outlook as he massaged his pounding temples. 'I shall get ready for bed now; tomorrow's plans must be made with the utmost care, and I must be in top form for the trials and tribulations ahead…'
His inner-Zack cackled at the thought, making the headache forefront in his head all the more painful.
'You would make this kind of shit into some sort of mission objective, Seph-Seph! I didn't know Cloud was so effing dangerous! Dangerous to your libido, I mean! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'
"Shut up, Zack." Sephiroth growled out, feeling his sanity leak out through his ears.
Shutting the bathroom door behind him, Sephiroth couldn't stop the wince as the headache grew in strength.
'Even in my head I have no privacy…' Letting his pants fall to the ground, Sephiroth glared at his reflection. 'Somehow, I blame you, Zack.'
Zack nearly fell backwards from the force of his sneeze as Angeal and Genesis stared at him from the corner of their eyes, eyebrows raised up to their hairlines.
Blinking back at his two temporary-guardians/room-mates, the dark-haired young man scratched the back of his head.
'Huh. Wonder what that was about?'
Cloud stared out his window, knees to his chest as a silly grin still hung from his lips.
'Don't you remember?' A small voice echoed in the back of his head as his hands tightened their grip around his raised legs. 'This is only temporary.'
Letting the smile slowly fall from his face, the now despairing blond let out a small sniffle.
'Temporary… his fascination with you, your time in this place with these people, your life here in Midgar… it's all temporary.'
And it was true.
There was no use becoming comfortable here with these people…
Yet why did this aching sensation not want to leave him alone whenever he thought about leaving this city?
'One day, he'll grow tired of you just like everyone else did. Do you really want to go through that all over again?'
Cloud squirmed uncomfortably, blue eyes filling with unshed tears.
'No…'
Squeezing his eyes shut, the blond slowly let out a small shaky sigh.
'I can't be weak…'
Steeling his grip over his knees, Cloud forced himself to calm down.
'I can't get comfortable…'
Letting his legs unfold over the bed as his arms fell off to his sides, Cloud finally lied down on the bed and opened his eyes, staring up at the tall ceiling above him. Watching the last of the sun's light fade away through the reflection of his window, blue eyes became accustomed to the darkness surrounding the tiny bedroom as Cloud lay awake to watch the night's inevitable progression.
'Not when this is all just temporary.'
A fluorescent green alarm began to shrill loudly as the bright red numbers 6:15 am blinked on their screen, almost jumping up at the sound of the clash of noise emitting itself from its small body.
Sephiroth slowly opened his eyes, the darkness of his room both comforting and familiar even as the morning dawn peeked in through the large window leading out to his mini-balcony. Not even groaning at the disturbance of rest, Sephiroth smoothly propped himself up and shoved the blankets off of his lap as they fell from his chest. Running a hand through his never-ending silver locks of hair, the 21-year-old student bounced off bed and undressed out of his pajamas (which only consisted of a pair of old lounging pants, really) and shoved on his sweat-pants and dingy wife-beater.
Quickly running downstairs, Sephiroth almost tripped over his feet as Hojo stared up at him from the kitchen table, sipping on a obscenely large coffee cup.
"I see you're finally up." Hojo snarked before taking another sip, his dark beady eyes taking in his foster-son's appearance rather regally behind bifocal-lenses. "What's gotten you so excited?"
"I am simply getting ready for my morning run." Sephiroth quietly deadpanned; his face now blank and completely neutral. "Did I disturb you?"
"No." The look on Hojo's face clearly stated that he did not believe a word that was coming out of Sephiroth's mouth; the smirk now settled over his lips growing eerily by the millisecond. "I was just leaving for the day."
"Of course." Holding back the eye-roll threatening to overtake his expression, Sephiroth opened the refrigerator and grabbed the orange juice without a second's moment of hesitation. "Will I see you tonight?"
"No, but thank you for the concern." The smarmy voice was barely audible to the young man's ears as the sound of a chair screeching across the tile floor of their kitchen dominated the air. Footsteps echoed throughout the house before the slam of the front door reverberated rather achingly within Sephiroth's hearing, his posture sagging almost immediately. Downing the juice within his cup in a moment's time, the now-tired young man quickly washed the dish in a fit of obsessive-compulsiveness.
'He won't figure it out…' Sighing as he leaned over the sink, green eyes closed in tired worriment. 'He won't.'
Casting a quick glance over at the kitchen clock, Sephiroth jumped as the time read 6:30.
'I'm going to be late!' Rushing out the door whilst pushing on his sneakers, Sephiroth rushed towards his destination, which was still a good 15 minutes away. 'Damn it!'
'Not late, not late, not late…'
Quickly diving behind a rather large tree obscuring the familiar house from the rest of the houses on the block, Sephiroth nearly hissed as his leg hit a rough part of the bark attached to the tree he was hiding behind, ducking so as to minimize his chances of being caught…
Checking his watch, he sighed in relief.
'Just in time for-'
"Have a good day at school, Cloud!" Aerith's voice sweetly rang out the door as it swung open, pretty blond hair swaying in the wind as a large scarf obscured much of the young boy's face, his school uniform partially obscured by the familiar bomber jacket. Watching the 16-year-old loner presumably wave back at the originator of the voice, Sephiroth ducked further behind the tree until the boy made it halfway up the street and turned a sharp corner. Finally deeming it safe to go forward, Sephiroth dashed up the street as well, missing the pair of laughing green eyes staring at him from the still-open door of the Gast's home, the young girl stifling a raucous guffaw as she slowly re-entered her house and closed the door after her.
Hitting the corner, Sephiroth pressed himself against the wall of the gate beside him. Peeking over the side, Sephiroth watched as the boy continued on, not even turning back on a hunch of suspicion to being followed.
'How can anyone be that infantile?' Letting his silver hair fall over his nearly-bare shoulders, the 21-year-old stalker stared as the teenager continued on his merry way (though unlike Zack, he simply walked and didn't 'skip' his happiness to the world). 'Perhaps Cloud lacks the survival instinct…?'
Nodding to himself, Sephiroth once again strode forward until he hit a mailbox, ducking behind the large contraption as Cloud lazily crossed the street. An old woman stared at the silver-haired behemoth as he shifted his uncomfortably long legs beneath him, shaking her head before continuing on her way.
Sephiroth pretended not to even have noticed the look.
Sliding past the mailbox, the large college student quickly sprinted across the same street and blinked at the sight that greeted him.
Cloud had finally came to a halt as three large-bodied teenagers (though Sephiroth had to wonder) appeared before the boy, surrounding him almost immediately. Forming a fist with his right hand, Sephiroth leaned against the wall he was currently hiding behind as a large snarl formed over his thin lips. Watching the scene before him with narrowed eyes, Sephiroth almost leapt forward as one of the larger boys pushed the 16-year-old onto the ground and kicked him in the stomach, laughing.
The blond simply stared up at them before trying to stand back up, the kick having obviously hurt a lot more than it looked (and it had looked pretty vicious from Sephiroth's vantage point). As he stood back up, the dark-haired teen on the original tormentor's left side kicked him on his side before slapping him on the face, knocking the wind out of Cloud's lips.
'Another correct assumption on Zack's part.' Sephiroth growled as the last boy, an ash-brown haired teenager with a stupid smile spit on Cloud's face, laughing the loudest of them all before turning around and beckoning the other two boys to follow his lead. 'Why would Cloud not say anything about this to either Aerith or Professor Gast? And why does he refuse to at least defend himself in some manner instead of sitting there and taking their abuse?'
Giving the boy discrete look of shock, Sephiroth tilted his head to the side as Cloud limped his way to his feet, wiping the spit off of his face with the sleeve of his jacket while supporting his, what Sephiroth could only assume, now bruised mid-section with his other arm.
'There is a lot about you I still have to learn, Cloud…'
Diligently following the tiny teen the rest of his way to Midgar High, Sephiroth thought of how to breech this subject with Zack without giving into the urge of massacring anyone in the process.
"Yo, Cloud!"
Not used to having his name randomly called out in the middle of a school day, Cloud reluctantly spun around, blinking as a pair of familiar green eyes and shock of red hair swayed towards him.
"Hey, Reno." Trying to edge his way closer to his locker, Cloud nearly fell backward as the redhead came into his personal bubble. "Uh… what's going on?"
"Ah, nothing much; just wanted to see how you got out of Yuffie's clutches yesterday." Brushing back a wisp of crimson from his bright gaze, the senior smirked as Strife's discomfort lay openly over his face. "She looked like she was ready to tear you a new asshole."
"Yeah. All over a stupid party…" Not noticing how Reno's face suddenly brightened at the word 'party', the oblivious blond shifted his backpack over his shoulders and tried reaching for his locker once again.
"So you're going?"
"Being forced to, is more like it." Cloud muttered. "Are you?"
"Most definitely!" Leaning forward once again, Cloud cursed as he fidgeted with the knob of his locker, his fingers becoming all the more clumsy the closer Reno came to his person. "And… I'll definitely be looking for you, Cloudy. Wouldn't miss a chance to see this cute face for all the alcohol in the world."
Giving the boy one last sharp smile, Reno finally snapped back, giving the boy a tiny wave. Cheeks burning in a combination of embarrassment and confusion, Cloud let his head fall forward as he thought back on what the senior had just said to him.
'Did he… was I just…'
Cloud blinked as he stared at his still-locked locker, blue eyes still glazed and confused.
'Was he just hitting on me…?'
Shrugging it off, the young boy went back to opening his locker and taking out the last book he needed for the day.
With the way his week was rolling, Cloud didn't even have it within him to even be shocked anymore.
"SEEEEEEPPPPPPPHHHHHH!"
Sephiroth internally winced as Zack practically glomped him through the crowd not-quite surrounding him (yet still creepily staring at him), trying to make it out of the lecture hall in one piece.
"I've come to save you from these savage beasts!" Zack turned towards the high concentration of girls (and boys, though they strayed off at a further distance than the females) and began making whipping motions with his right hand while his left hooked against his best friend's bicep. "STAY BACK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! NO, HE SHALL NOT MAKE-OUT WITH YOU OR FULFILL ANY OF YOUR SICK, SICK DESIRES! STAY BACK, I SAY!"
"Zack…" Knowing his friend was only over-exaggerating for his benefit (he honestly wondered how many lives Zack had saved from his unerring wrath acting like a complete idiot) but it was still embarrassing to be a part of nonetheless. "You do realize that if Angeal catches you acting like this again he will re-consider kicking you off the kendo team, right?"
Laughing uncomfortably at the thought, the dark-haired deviant scratched the back of his head as he thought of his very-serious coach and his never-ending speeches of honor and self-respect.
"I… have no idea what you're talking about, Seph. Acting like what?" Pulling his companion forward by the grip he still had on his arm, Zack grinned over at the silver-haired male who was now relishing the almost-quiet. "But aaannnnyyywaaayyyy… how's your Cloud-Stalking going, my friend?"
"It's not-" Sighing at the disbelieving glance his friend shoved his way, Sephiroth bit his tongue and changed his course of direction. "Fine. It's going just fine."
"Heh. So am I to believe that you're halfway to the boy's pants by now?" The doors of the school snapped open as both men enjoyed the sun now beating down upon them, trying to ignore all the stares sent Sephiroth's way. "Jeez, Seph, not even two weeks since I told you about the kid and already you've got instant access!"
Employing his special ability of not giving a crap whenever Sephiroth turned his death-glare-of-doom onto him, Zack let his hand fall off his friend's arm and pulled it behind his head with the other. "I knew I was doing something good when I asked you to-"
"You could have done it yourself. He likes you, Zack." Sephiroth glared at the set of girls giggling over at him and pointing besides the school fountain, hoping they all fell over and drowned in the small amount of water the monument provided. "From what I've been able to calculate so far he barely tolerates me…"
Hiding his mischievous grin behind a well-muscled arm, Zack bit back the comment just behind his lips.
'That's what you think, Sephy-dear…'
"How about this," dark spikes bounced as Zack rounded before his friend, amethyst orbs glowing with delight "let's set up an occasion where Cloudy can't escape your ever-sexy presence."
Giving the slightly shorter boy a queer stare, Sephiroth hesitated in asking just what Zack meant.
(Usually Zack's plans meant nothing but trouble and even if Sephiroth was socially-ignorant, that didn't mean he was Zackary-ignorant.)
"What…?" Was all Sephiroth was able to get out before his friend's large grin scared him into silence.
"Double. Date."
Zack laughed maniacally at the confused look his friend gave him, knowing his girlfriend was going to love him for this.
'I'll admit it; if Aerith is the Queen of Evil, I must be the King. Poor, poor Cloudy… you have no idea what you're in for. Ku, ku, ku…'
Cloud shifted within his seat as he sneezed, rubbing at his nose in a rather innocent manner.
'What the…? Why is it the bad feeling I've had these past couple of weeks… has suddenly increased a good two-fold?'
The blond silently slumped over his desk as the teacher gave him a dirty look at having been interrupted by his bodily reaction.
'I get the feeling I've just been doomed to something, and I don't quite know why…'
