Ha! I told you guys this chapter would be up soon! –Shoves her ego in your face and dances like a moron—
LOL.
So, does anyone like that new song "Disturbia" by Rihanna? I think it's amazing, so I'm naming this chapter after it. ;D
Bum, bum, bee dum, bum, bum, bee dum bum. XD
Sorry, mates, it's addictive.
Anyways, this is the chapter that ZACK AND CLOUD FINALLY MEET!! –Dances like a moron even more—YESH!! XD As you can tell, I'm excited about this. :3
Oh, and thanks for the reviews and the 850+ hits, guys! 8D
I never thought this story would be going so well!
d0rkgoddess- LOL, don't worry, I make up words all the time (People stare at me when I say them, though XD). And YES. Dude, Zack could even turn a homophobe gay, that's just how uber "beautimus" he is (ROFL.)
SuicidalImbecile- LMAO!! XD Glad you like it, and no, no, no, it will definitely NOT be a Cloud/Aerith, Zack/Aerith, or ANYTHING/Aerith (for now, at least; I might hook her up with someone else later on). Don't worry, our boys'll be together soon enough ;D. (Shh, don't tell anyone, but that just might be the reason why this sounds almost like a Cloud/Aerith right now.)
PandaGaaraInsomniac9- Thanks! But, don't worry about Cloud; he'll be fine. 8D OMGMETOO.-Fangirl squee-
Brunette S Angel- Mehh, yeah, but who cares? XD I just wanted to show how Aerith and Cloud used to have fun as friends, ya know? That's why Aerith got all upset after they were done singing; I guess I shoulda cleared that up, huh? Whoops. XD
Ugh. Disclaimers suck like a whore on overtime.
DISCLAIMER: I, xAirashii, do not own, think I own, or even PRETEND that I own the characters and/or places in this story. I do this purely for entertainment and do not get profit from this, other than my happiness that comes from writing. All characters belong to Square Enix©.
On with the Ultra-Super-Mega, ground-breakingly, awesome chapter! –OMG EXAGGERATION OVERLOAD.—
NOW READ THE CHAPTER BEFORE I 'SPLODE, YO.
Chapter Three- Disturbia
It was early the next morning when Cloud awoke from his long, yet sleepless, night. He had been able to sleep for a long amount time, unlike back at his old home where he had to wake at eight thirty every morning, but he felt like he had only gotten an hour of sleep. His baby blue eyes flickered open slowly and gazed up at the popcorn-style ceiling (A/N: You know, when the ceiling is all…All…Gahh, you should know what I mean by "popcorn", right? XD)
The blonde groggily lifted his head to look at the digital clock on the desk across the room and squinted his sleep-deprived eyes to see the time better.
11:11 AM.
Ha, I guess I should make a wish. Cloud smirked as he thought this and he closed his eyes again, thinking about what he should wish for.
I wish…
His brows furrowed and his eyes clamped together tighter.
I wish…I wish I wasn't so alone.
The blonde slowly opened his eyes again and after a few moments, plopped back down on his back against the mattress.
I wish I had someone to love and care about, like how Sephiroth loves and cares for Aerith. I guess…I guess I wish for…
Love.
Cloud frowned as he thought about his wish and scoffed out loud, making a disgusted face at what he considered stupidity for believing in wishes. His wishes coming true would mean that his life didn't suck, and he couldn't possibly have that, now could he?
Wishes never come true…I'm just wasting my time.
He sighed heavily, sat up, and turned around, letting his legs hang off the side of the bed.
You never know, Cloud.
Mrs. Johnson's words all of a sudden popped into his head as he was slipping his pale feet into his ratty, black slippers. They were old and worn, but they were always his favorite pair of slippers because they were so soft and had molded to the shape of his foot, making them perfect in his eyes.
He shook his head of his elderly neighbor's words as he walked out of his (still freezing cold) room and trudged down the hallway to the kitchen, where Aerith was preparing breakfast.
Cloud sat down at the kitchen table to wait for breakfast and looked over to the television where a cartoon was playing rather loudly. The blonde smiled a little when he saw which cartoon it was: "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack"; one of his favorites.
"Good morning, Cloud!" Aerith called from over her shoulder in the kitchen, "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
Cloud averted his gaze from the TV and looked over at her, "Ah, whatever you have would be fine with me." He answered and returned the smile that she sent his way then looked back to the television.
"This is the West birthday ever!"
A cartoon sea monster appears on the screen, "Weeesssssstttttttt…"
Cloud chuckled as he watched the show until Aerith placed a plate full of bacon, eggs, and sausage in front of him. "Would you like some juice, too, Cloud?" She asked politely, "Yeah, thanks, Aerith." He smiled softly as she walked back into the kitchen.
The blonde turned back to the plate in front of him and dug in, humming in delight, Mmm, this is really good! I think it could even be better than Ma's cooking! He thought as he continued to shovel food into his mouth.
Aerith returned a few moments later with orange juice in hand and smiled, "Fresh OJ right here; I just got it from the store yesterday." She said and set the glass down on the table. The brunette girl giggled when Cloud gratefully grabbed the glass and took a large gulp of orange juice and sighed, setting it back down on the table, "Yum." Was all he said as he looked up at her, beaming.
"Well, I'll leave you to your feast, then." Aerith giggled again and walked back into the kitchen to get a plate of breakfast for herself and Sephiroth, who had yet to "grace them with his presence".
After Aertih had gotten a plate of food and glass of orange juice for herself, she sat down in front of Cloud at the table and giggled when some food missed his mouth.
"Do you need a napkin, Cloud?"
"Nahh, I gawtt 'un, gankth Ae'ith."
The brunette laughed at this, placing her head in her hands, "Cloud, you really need to learn some table manners, you know." Cloud looked up at her, his cheeks bulging with the food he had shoved in his mouth, "Ay doh nautt!" and then grinned with his mouth still full.
"Eww! Cloud! Stop it!"
"Stop what?"
The laughing teens both looked across the room at Sephiroth who looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower, for his long silver hair was actually held back in a dripping wet pony tail and had no shirt on (A/N: FAN SERVICE, ANYONE?! 8D).
"Umm…You need to teach Oinky here some table manners, Papa."
"Nuh- Uhnn!!"
"Shiva, Cloud, chew and swallow your food before you speak." Sephiroth scolded before he sat down at the table with his own plate of food he had gotten from the kitchen, "And for Gaia's sake, would it kill you to actually use that napkin that's right in front of you?"
Cloud narrowed his eyes in feign anger at the older man and swallowed his food, only to shove even more into his mouth, "So, Cloud, are you going to go look for a job today?" Aerith decided to change the subject before the two men got into a fight over how to behave at the table.
This time, Cloud chewed and swallowed his food before answering, "Yeah, I was thinking I could maybe be some kind of intern; like maybe for the local doctor? I already know a lot about doctor offices, since my mom was a nurse herself, so I could probably use that to my advantage. By the way, when do I start going to school?"
The other two at the table nodded their heads in agreement and Sephiroth spoke up, "Tomorrow."
Cloud nearly choked on the eggs he was swallowing, "Wh-What?!" he managed to choke out, "You're starting school tomorrow, and so is Aerith, as a matter of fact; tomorrow is Monday, after all. I have already registered you at Gongaga High School and they will be sending me your class schedule via E-mail sometime later tonight. Is there something wrong?" Sephiroth explained, briefly stopping to nibble on some sausage or eggs in between each sentence.
"Uhh…No, I was just thinking I would have a little more time to, you know, prepare, or whatever, but tomorrow is fine, I guess…" Cloud mumbled, not really looking forward to have to go to school again AND look for a job.
Being a teen sure did suck.
--
After he finished up his seemingly never-ending breakfast, Cloud decided he should probably go take a walk around town, or maybe "stop procrastinating and go get a job", as Sephiroth had said earlier.
"Cloud, after breakfast, you should go take a walk, to get familiar with the town again; it's changed a lot since you've last been here, you know." Aerith called over her shoulders while washing the dishes.
"Yeah, yeah…" He mumbled, drying the clean, wet dishes that she handed over to him.
"Oh! Could you also get some of the grocery shopping done, as well? Please? I always have to do it, so maybe you could do it this time while you're walking around…Pleeeassee?" She begged, giving the blonde the best puppy-dog face she could muster, "Ok, fine, but that puppy-dog thing doesn't work on me." He smirked and laughed as he hip-bumped Aerith, pushing her a little to the left.
"Hey!" The brunette cried out and did the same thing, pushing Cloud to the right, making him stumble and drop a dish, causing it to smash on the hard linoleum kitchen floor.
"Oh my!" Aerith gasped and went to get a broom and dust pan.
"Whoops." Cloud grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, "Uhh, maybe I should just go…Get that shopping done now…Ehehe…" He laughed nervously as Aerith shooed him out of the kitchen playfully with her hands on her hips and a "you klutz" look on her face.
And, so now, I'm stuck doing the shopping…Ugh…The blonde thought, sighing out loud as he scuffled down the dirt road away from the house. Oh well…I deserve it, I guess. He chortled but immediately stopped when he felt someone watching him.
Cloud stopped in his tracks, causing a cloud of dirt to fly up in the air around his feet, What the hell is that? Someone's watching me…He thought, looking around, and when he saw no one around, he continued walking, looking out the corner of his eye, just in case.
"Look at his hair…"
"Who is that?"
"What a loser…!"
The blonde heard whispers and hushed laughs coming from all around him, and he suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious.
"Come on, let's follow him…"
"He might hurt us…"
"He's so scrawny, he couldn't…"
Cloud heard more whispers and stopped again, looking around a second time.
"Shit…"
"I think he heard us…"
"Can he see
us…?"
His eyes narrowed as he focused on where the voices were coming from: the bushes.
I'ma loser? They're the ones hiding in the first place I'm going to look! Dopes…He thought then headed straight for the bushes, where he heard rustling and more whispers. They must not have heard him come up to the bushes for they didn't stop whispering to each other, even when he walked up behind them in the bushes.
"I know he is such a fucking loser, guys." He whispered with them as if he were one of the members of their posse.
Suddenly, the three ugly, teenage boys froze where they were sitting and turned around to face the blonde that was just a little bit younger than them.
"The hell do you want? I don't think we were talking to you, now, were we?" The boy to the right said angrily.
A cocky bastard, aren't you? Cloud thought to himself and smirked.
"The fuck are you smiling at, blondie?! I'm gonna wipe that fucking grin right off your bastard face!" The one to the far left shouted, cracking his knuckles to prove the point.
"Boys, boys, no need to get all worked up over this punk. He wouldn't stand a chance against us, anyways, now would he?" The boy in the middle said, a cocky grin on his face. This guy was obviously the leader of the group, for the two boys on either side of him immediately shut up and just sent a glare Cloud's way.
Cloud just scoffed and looked away, smiling for a second, then turned around and collided his fist with the middle boy's face, causing the boy to scream out in pain, "GET 'IM!!"
Suddenly, the two boys on either side of their "leader" jumped up at Cloud, one grabbing his arms so he couldn't hit them and the other grabbed his legs so he couldn't kick.
He was trapped.
The leader teen got up and stumbled for a bit and smirked through the blood that was flowing from his nose and down his chin. Way to go, Cloud, this is only your second day here and the other kids already hate you. Nice job.
Cloud and the other boy glared at each other before the brown haired boy spoke up, "You know, kid…" He said softly while pacing back and forth slowly in front of Cloud, "You should have never come here." His chocolate brown eyes landed on the blonde as he stopped pacing and stood right in front of him.
Cloud just glared and spat right in the brown haired boy's face, "Fuck you, I didn't have a choice." He spat out and shot daggers through his eyes at the other boy.
The brunette just laughed for a moment before pausing, then frowned and slammed his fist into Cloud's gut, knocking the breath out of him. The blonde gasped for air and bent over, trails of saliva coming out of his wide open mouth.
"What was that, blondie?" The brunette asked in a fake innocent voice, "I didn't quite catch that." He said, smirking as he grabbed a few of Cloud's blonde spikes, lifting his head to face the brunette.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," the boy commanded and Cloud just spat in his face again, "F…Fuck you…" the blonde said breathlessly, earning him yet another punch in the stomach.
"You should learn some respect if you want to continue living here, kid." The brown haired boy said, wiping the spit off his face and looked at the residue in his hand disgustedly, "Oh, you don't look so good, blondie." He said in a fake caring voice, then struck Cloud in the face with his bony knuckles, "You need some help there? You got a little blood on your face…" The brunette said, wiping some of the blood from Cloud's busted lip away to show to him, "See? Oh, that's just too bad…" He said, tsk-ing and shaking his head.
The other boy glared again at Cloud and smirked as he kneed the blonde in the stomach, causing Cloud to cough up even more blood and lose more breath, "This'll teach ya to mess with me!!" the brown haired boy shouted, raising his fist into the air.
Cloud flinched, squeezing his eyes shut, preparing for another beating, but opened his eyes when he didn't feel the familiar pain of the other boy's fist connecting with his face. Instead, he felt the two other boys that were holding him stop laughing and let him go, dropping him to the ground in an exhausted and bloody heap.
He looked up with his last bit of strength; he could feel himself slowly slipping into unconsciousness. The blonde blinked his eyes slowly, trying to stay awake as he saw the three thugs run off with their tails (metaphorically) between their legs and a dark figure move over to him.
Cloud's vision blurred as the figure moved closer and all he could hear was what he supposed was the dark form's voice, "Hey, you alright? Oh, Shiva, what the hell did they do to you…It's okay, kid, I'll get you out of here."
All Cloud could manage before he passed out was, "…I'm not…A kid…" he breathed out as he lost consciousness.
--
"Cloudy…"
Mama? Is that you?
"Cloud, wake up, baby."
Mama, it's you!
"Cloud, you have to wake up. He's waiting for you."
"Who? Who's waiting for me?"
"You'll see, baby; all you have to do is wake up."
Cloud's eyes fluttered open slowly and squinted from the bright lights of what he supposed was a hospital room or doctor's office. Well, considering the fact that Gongaga was a small town, it was probably just a doctor's office, not a hospital. Also, the nearest hospital was far away in the next city, so there was no way he was in a hospital, he figured.
"Oh, you're awake! It's about time, kid." A familiar voice called from the corner. "I'm not a kid…"the blonde automatically responded. What was with people and calling him a kid all the time? The voice in the corner of the room chuckled and Cloud could hear the person it belonged to get up and walk over to where he was lying, "Where…Am I?" He asked slowly, trying to open his eyes and adjust them to the bright light of the room.
"Junon Hospital." The voice answered casually, "WHAT?!" If Cloud wasn't awake then, he was now, "J-Junon?! How—Wh- What?!" His eyes snapped open and he bolted upwards, looking around frantically at the room and his eyes landed on something that caught his eye.
A man with wild, spiky raven colored hair was sitting next to him on the edge of the bed, looking down at him. The first thing Cloud noticed about him was his eyes: they were a deep, sky blue and were shining with happiness; they were arguably the most beautiful things the blonde had ever seen.
"Yeah, Junon. You feelin' alright? You took quite a beating from those douche bags back in Gongaga where I found ya." The man asked worriedly, and then smiled when Cloud, who was still staring into his beautiful eyes, nodded slowly.
That was another thing about the man that Cloud noticed: his smile. It seemed to light up the entire room and was so warm and gentle; almost like his mother's.
Gaia, this has to be the most gorgeous man I've ever seen before in my life…Cloud blushed and shook his head of those thoughts. He had never really been attracted to men this way, and he wasn't about to start (A/N: Oh, hell yes you will, Cloud. –Grins mischievously-), either.
"Oh, I'm Zack, by the way, Zack Fair!" the man who called himself "Zack Fair" said excitedly and smiled again, extending his hand for Cloud to shake. The blonde just stared at his hand for a moment and looked back up at Zack's beaming face, then back down at his extended hand, "I'm Cloud Strife…" he answered and smiled tiredly back up at Zack, grabbing and shaking his hand, Jeez, this guy's smile is contagious.
The raven haired man smiled even brighter, which Cloud didn't even find possible, "Nice ta meet ya, Cloud Strife!" he said, "No…It's just Cloud, Zack." The blonde corrected.
"Oh, okay, nice ta meet ya, Just Cloud Zack!" Zack grinned at Cloud when he laughed at his bad joke, This kid is way too cute for his own good…Zack thought, but then frowned when Cloud clutched his side from pain, "Gaia…Those assholes…"
"Oh, hey, I'm sorry about what those idiots did to you…They have to beat up smaller kids just because they're insecure about themselves, ya know?" Zack looked down at the cringing blonde.
"I told you…I'm not a kid." Cloud breathed out, "Aw, I'm just showin' affection towards ya, Cloudy-boy." Zack smiled brightly and laughed when the blonde looked up at him confused, "You already have a nickname for me, do you?" Heh…Cloudy…That's what Mom used to call me…
"Sure do, chocobo head!" Zack chuckled as he reached over and ruffled Cloud's hair, and when the blonde pouted, Zack busted out laughing, That pout has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen! The older boy thought, ruffling the blonde spikes again, "Hey, this is fun!"
"Yeah, well, stop it…When can I get out of here?" he pouted, earning another laugh from Zack, "Ehh, we can leave right now. You've already been here for the whole day; it's uhh…" Zack said before glancing down at his wristwatch, "About 7:30 PM in Gongaga right now." He confirmed, watching Cloud get up from the bed, "I should probably take you back, huh?" He asked, earning a nod from Cloud.
"Umm…Where are my clothes, Zack?"
"Oh, the nurse has 'em. I'll go ask her for them back, wait here." Zack said, already out the door, "O…kay." The blonde started but was cut off by the door slamming.
Gaia, what a day this has been…
--
After Zack had signed Cloud out from the Junon Hospital, he helped Cloud up on his back and gave him a ride as they wandered out to the parking lot where Zack had parked his motorcycle.
"Motorcycle? If we were on a motorcycle, how did you get me here without me falling off?" Cloud's face scrunched up in confusion as they made their way to where Zack thought he parked his bike.
"I coulda sworn it was over here somewhere…Oh, and I just sat you in front of me; it was no biggie." The raven haired man sighed from the frustration of not remembering where he parked his bike, "The hell is it…?" He asked himself, searching row after row of vehicles until they came to a shiny, black and silver motorcycle, "Is this it?" Cloud pointed to it from his position on Zack's back, "Oh! Yeah, that's it! Good job, Cloudy!"
Cloud smiled softly as Zack bounced him up in the air a little bit and carried him over to the bike. "Whoa…Nice ride…"Cloud stared in awe at how beautiful the bike was up close, "Thanks!" Zack nodded as he set Cloud down gently at the front of the motorcycle and then sat down behind him, straddling the cushioned seat.
"You ready, chocobo head?" Zack asked, ruffling Cloud's blonde spikes again, earning a glare and then a nod, "I swear, if I fall off this thing, I'll kill you, Zack Fair."
"Ah, don't worry your pretty little head, Cloudy, I won't let you fall no matter what." Zack smiled as he revved up the engine and peeled away out of the parking lot.
"How long is this ride going to take us?" Cloud shouted over the roar of the engine, "Ehh, about an hour or so if I keep going at this speed." Zack answered, shrugging his shoulders, "So, where are you from? You're obviously not from Gongaga." He called out, changing the subject.
"Nibelheim." Cloud answered after a brief pause, earning a laugh from Zack, "What about you?"
"Me? Born and raised in Gongaga! Lived there all my life, in fact!" He shouted proudly and Cloud nodded, "So, how old are you, anyways, kid?" the blonde sighed, giving up on trying to convince Zack that he wasn't a kid.
"I'm fifteen, but I'm going to be sixteen in a couple weeks." He said, hoping that Zack would stop calling him a kid if he heard how old he was going to be, "Huh, I just turned seventeen about a month ago. Ehh, you're still a kid to me." He grinned and Cloud just sighed defeat, "Whatever…"
"So, ya got a girlfriend?" Zack asked bluntly, causing Cloud's eyes to go wide, "Wh-What?"
"I said, 'so, ya got a girlfriend?'" Zack repeated with a laugh.
"No, not really…Actually…I've never had one before…" The blonde stated sadly, hanging his head in shame, "What? Really?" Zack asked, shocked.
"Yeah…Unfortunately…"
"Well, that's not right. I'm surprised a cutie like you isn't already taken!" Zack yelled over the engine.
Cloud's eyes went even wider as he turned to look at Zack in back of him, who was grinning some kind of dopey smile. The blonde shook his head and smiled to himself, "You're a moron, Zack…"Cloud said, still smiling.
"Mehh, I take it as a compliment." The older man replied and grinned that dopey grin again.
--
An hour drive later, Zack and Cloud finally arrived back in Gongaga and rode slowly down the dirt road that led to Sephiroth's house, "So, which one of these houses is it, Cloudy?" Zack asked, observing all the houses from his seat on the motorcycle.
"That one." Cloud said and pointed to the average-sized brick house on the left side of the road, "I bet your folks are worried sick about you, huh?" Zack asked, slowing down to a stop in front of the house.
I don't have any folks to worry…"Uhh…Yeah…"Cloud said, not wanting to tell his new friend about the fact that he didn't have any folks anymore.
"Hell, I would be. If I had a kid as cute as you, I'd have you chained to me so no weirdoes could take you away from me!" Zack said, allowing Cloud to climb onto his back while he carried him up the steep dirt drive way that led to Sephiroth's house.
Shiva, this is the second time tonight he's called me cute…Cloud thought, blushing to himself as he held onto Zack's broad shoulders, "Well, here we are, Cloudy. Thank you for choosing Zack Fair Airlines for your travel needs today and we hope you enjoyed your flight and will fly with us again soon." Zack said, pretending to be a pilot while letting Cloud down onto the ground, who was still using his arm as a crutch while he rang the doorbell.
The door opened wide and Aerith bound out, grabbing Cloud and pulling him into a hug, despite how much it hurt him to do so, "Cloud! Gaia, I was so worried about you! What happened? Why are you all bandaged up? Are you okay? Who's that?" She barraged him with questions and turned her attention to Zack, who offered her a friendly smile and a wave, "Zack Fair, at your service, miss. Oh, and, Cloudy, I thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend?" Zack grinned at Cloud, who was still trying to answer all of Aerith's questions, "You sly dog, you." The older man smirked, elbowing the blonde in the ribs, causing Cloud to groan out of pain, "Oww…Zaaackk…"
"Oh, oops, sorry, chocobo head." Zack grinned sheepishly and ran his fingers through his dark spikes.
"Hn, Cloud, you're back. Did you bring the groceries?" Sephiroth suddenly appeared behind Aerith in the doorway, "Shiva, Cloud, what happened to you?" the silver haired man's eyes widened when he saw that Cloud was bandaged and in pain.
"Well, Mr. Fair, thank you for taking care of Cloud for us. I'm sure he will tell us everything that happened when he get's his butt inside." Aerith said, hinting to Cloud that he'd better get his sorry ass in the house and spill it.
"Eh, don't mention it. Cloudy and I are friends, right, kid?" Zack asked and ruffled Cloud's hair for what seemed to be the fiftieth time that night, "Yeah…We're friends." Cloud said and smiled softly, "I'll see you around?" Zack called after Cloud when he hobbled into the house and plopped on the couch. The blonde looked up to see an expectant Zack standing in the doorway and nodded, "Yeah, see ya, Zack." He said and smiled when Zack waved and ran off after saying goodbye to Aerith and Sephiroth.
The door shut and Cloud could hear Zack's bike rev up and drive away as Aerith and Sephiroth stared him down.
"Alright, Cloud. Spill it."
--
Cloud had spent almost the whole night telling Aerith and Sephiroth about the punks that attacked him, about waking up in the Junon Hospital, and all about Zack Fair.
He sighed heavily as he trudged painfully down the hall towards his bedroom to go to sleep, but stopped in his tracks about halfway down the hall when he got to the study. The door was cracked open an inch or two and he could hear Sephiroth talking on what he supposed was a phone, for he couldn't hear anyone other than the silver haired man in the room.
Cloud peered through the small crack and saw Sephiroth pacing back and forth, telephone in hand, whispering in a, what seemed to be, angry tone.
"Yes…Yes, I am aware of the situation…" The older man whispered, while still pacing around the room.
"No, he doesn't know yet…He's only left the house once since he got here…Yes…Yes, of course, I'll talk to him about it…Zackary Fair? What about him…? Yes…" Sephiroth continued to pace agitatedly, getting himself tangled up in the phone cord, but not seeming to care.
Cloud's brows furrowed as he strained to hear the conversation going on between Sephiroth and whoever it was on the other end, Is he talking about me? I wonder what he's talking about…And why is he talking about Zack? Shit!
The blonde inwardly cursed as he realized that the silver haired man had hung up and was now making his way towards the door that Cloud was crouched in front of.
Cloud didn't even have time to get away from the door, which suddenly opened and slammed right into his face.
"OW! DAMMIT!!" he screamed out as he fell on his back, bringing his hands to his face to cover his now bleeding nose. "Cloud?" He opened up his eyes that were squeezed shut at the mention of his name and winced from the pain in his face. "Cloud, what the hell were you doing?" Sephiroth's eyes went wide with anger and shock as he bent down and observed the blonde's bleeding nose.
"Oowwww…!"
Cloud could only manage a moan of pain and squeezed his eyes shut
again, as Sephiroth gently poked and prodded at his most likely
broken nose and cheekbone. I guess this is what I get for
eavesdropping…He thought bitterly, cursing himself for being so
nosey and stupid.
The older man above him sighed agitatedly and
rose up from his crouching position and called out halfway down the
hall, "Aerith, could you help us out here?" and headed for the
bathroom to get bandages.
Aerith padded down the hallway and gasped when she saw Cloud on the hardwood floor, blood running out his nose and down his chin, "Cloud, what happened?!" her eyes went wide with shock as she fell down to her knees and began inspecting the blonde, just as Sephiroth had done a moment ago.
"Uhh…" He looked away from the brunette's emerald green eyes that were oddly similar to Sephiroth's, even though she was adopted.
"Well, I just decided to eavesdrop on your adoptive father and I got hit in the face with the door when he caught me." Didn't sound right, so he just moaned, pretending to be in more pain than he actually was so he didn't have to answer any questions.
"Oh, Cloud…" Aerith sighed and shook her head, "You're always getting yourself into trouble." She giggled and continued to examine the aching blonde in front of her.
"I found some bandages in the bathroom; Aerith, you can finish up here, can't you?" Sephiroth sauntered back to where Cloud was sitting, the blonde's eyes still clenched together with pain, and handed the young girl the gauze, bandages, and other items to be used in fixing Cloud's nose.
"Finish this all up in the bathroom. I don't want your blood all over my clean floor." The older man almost glared at Cloud as he walked by, back into his study.
"…Come on, Cloud, we can talk while I'm fixing you up." Aerith gazed into his azure eyes intently, telling him to "spill it" as soon as they were out of Sephiroth's earshot.
Cloud nodded slowly, as to not cause more pain to himself and fumbled around, trying to stand up, but took Aerith's hand when she offered to help him up off the hard floor.
The blonde stumbled around a little until he got his balance back and wandered down the hall to the bathroom, where Aerith sat him down on the toilet seat lid.
They sat in a comfortable silence as the brunette wet a wash cloth in the sink to wipe the now drying blood off Cloud's face.
There was another brief silence while Aerith cleaned Cloud's face before she decided to speak up, "So…Are you going to tell me what happened?" Aerith was always motherly; her calm and loving personality made her seem like one, at least.
Cloud averted his eyes from her gaze and winced when she touched a sensitive spot on the bridge of his nose, "…Nothing…Nothing happened, Aerith." He lied, and tried to smile to cover it up.
But Aerith saw straight through his act, "You're a terrible liar, and you always were, Cloud Strife." Her face was stern and her hands were on her hips in that "you're busted, kid, so just give up" kind of way. Cloud sensed that she wasn't falling for it and sighed, "Ok, I just heard Seph talking to someone in his study, so I just…Decided to you know-," The blonde started off, but was interrupted, "Spy?" Aerith finished the sentence, "I prefer the term 'investigate'." Cloud joked and smiled sheepishly, but the smile almost automatically fell when he saw Aerith's face; she was pissed.
"Cloud Strife!" She yelled, narrowing her eyes, "What came over you to make you think it was alright to snoop around in other people's business?" She bent in front of him, her hands still on her hips.
Shit, Aerith can be just as scary as Sephiroth when she wants to!! The blonde's eyes went wide with fear. Cloud backed up as far as he could against the back of the toilet (A/N: I have no idea what that big box thingy that's attached to the toilet is called. XD) when Aerith moved closer and closer, her eyes squinting and her foot tapping impatiently.
What came next shocked every bit of Cloud; it was…Unexpected…To say the least.
Aerith's hands came up to the back of Cloud's head, grabbing his blonde spikes, and pulled him up, crashing her lips onto his.
Cloud's eyes went wide with shock (and also pain, his nose was still broken, after all, and it didn't help that Aerith was crushing her own, unbroken one into his) as the brunette's lips caressed his own, until he pushed her off him, a little more forceful than necessary.
The blonde breathed in ragged breaths, taking in all that just happened, "Aerith…Wh-What the hell was THAT?!" he jumped up off the toilet lid, completely forgetting the pain in his face from his still broken nose.
"I thought I made it clear that we were just friends! What part of that do you not understand, Aerith?!" he cried, throwing his arms around in the air to add emphasis.
Aerith just stood in front of him, her head hung low, but then looked back up to him with tears pooling in her glowing, emerald green eyes, "I-I'm sorry, Cloud…I don't know what came over me…" She whispered, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than she was Cloud, "I'm so sorry…" she said again, her voice breaking.
Suddenly she turned on her heel and ran out of the room, leaving Cloud to clean the bathroom, his face, and his mind, for that matter, up.
…The hell was that all about? He thought as he looked in the large mirror, observing the damage on his nose and cheekbone. I still don't know what held me back…Aerith's a nice girl; a pretty one, too, so what in the name of Shiva stopped me from kissing her? He questioned himself and sighed as he realized he's probably going to have to go to the hospital for the second time that week to get his nose checked out again.
Hey, Zack, you up for another ride to Junon?
--
Mwahaha. Chapter three rocked your socks, did it not? :3
Whoa, dudes, you must love this story, because after I posted chapter two, I had 524+ hits, but, now, I all of a sudden have 850+ hits. For all you simpletons out there, that means that this story got almost 300 hits in just two days. OO
I don't know about you, but I think that's insane.
INSANELY AWESOME, that is. 8D
Another thing you guys should know is THIS STORY IS NOT BASED OFF OF THE FFVII COMPILATION STORYLINE. Not one bit!!
I mean, come on! Just look at this stuff:
-Aerith is Sephiroth's daughter
-Cloud is living with Sephiroth in his home. –Gasp-AND THEY AREN'T KILLING EACH OTHER!! OO;
-Cloud and Sephiroth are RELATED.
-Neither Zack nor Cloud are in SOLDIER and probably WON'T BE!
-Sephiroth/Lucrecia
-SEPHIROTH/LUCRECIA
-SEPHIROTH/LUCRECIA, FOR PETE'S SAKE!!
So, now you realize this story is in no way, shape, or form the FFVII storyline.
Just clearing that up, y'all. Sheesh.
Thanks for reading and please review! Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :3
