A/N: This is delayed for a number of reasons. 1) I had midterms. 2) I've been going through a hard time lately. 3) I had no inspiration so continuing was a bit difficult. I'm currently working on the next chapter, which will hopefully be up sooner. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: There is some strong language use (thus the M rating). The bold and italicized area is an excerpt that I took from Eldest by Christopher Paolini so all credit goes to him; I did not write that part myself.
~That Friday~
Axel and Demyx were both lying on the school's lawn when Ven and Roxas showed up. Demyx flipped over onto his stomach as the twins approached. "Hey guys! So how did things go with your math teacher? Did Vanitas come clean? Did your dad get mad? Did-"
Axel placed his hand over Demyx's mouth. "Sorry about him. For some reason, his mom let him have sugar for breakfast," he said while shaking his head sadly. He quickly removed his hand from Demyx's face with a disgusted look on his face. "Dude! Did you just lick me?"
Demyx grinned. "That's why you should never put your hand over someone's mouth," he said triumphantly.
"That is so gross." Axel wiped his hand on the lawn and sent a light glare at his mullhawked friend.
Demyx gave him a disbelieving look. "Oh please. You wouldn't think it was gross if it was Roxas who licked you. You would probably find it exhilaratingly erotic." Axel's expression softened and he quickly developed a dreamy expression at the thought of any kind of contact with Roxas. Roxas flushed and inched himself away from the now drooling Axel.
Ven hid his laughter behind his hand before turning his attention towards Demyx. "Is that your word of the day, Demyx? Exhilarating?"
Demyx nodded happily and stood. "Yeah. Zexy's really impressed that I've been using the calendar that he gave me. Here he comes now! Zexy~" sang Demyx as he flounced off to greet the slate-haired teen. The two conversed briefly before returning to their friends. Roxas saw Sora enter the school yard and waved him over.
" Roxas, I have something for you," Zexion said as he began shifted through his messenger bag. He pulled out a somewhat thick text. "Here, I brought you my copy of Eldest," he said quietly while offering the book to Roxas.
Roxas took the offered book and cradled it in his arms as if it was the most valuable text in the world. "Thanks, Zexion. I promise I'll take really good care of it," he said with a soft smile.
Demyx let out a high pitched squeal and wrapped his arms around Zexion's waist. This elicited a blush from the shorter teen. "That's so cute! Zexy's making friends~" cooed Demyx before kissing the slate-haired boy on the cheek.
Roxas blinked at the two. "Wait a minute. Are you two together?"
Axel suddenly popped up next to Roxas. "You barely realize that?" he asked while wiping drool from his mouth.
Roxas gave the red-head a disgusted look. "I thought they were just really good friends," he said with a shrug.
Demyx looked nervously at the blonde. "That doesn't bother you, does it Roxy?"
"Of course not," he replied, looking startled. "Love is love. Why should gender make a difference?"
Demyx let out a sigh of relief and grinned. "So, Roxy? Are you gay? Bi? Straight?"
"I don't really have a preference. I guess I would classify myself as pansexual. Gender doesn't really matter to me as long as I love the person," he said with a light blush.
"That's so cute~!" Demyx squealed.
Ven laughed at his brother's discomfort. "Hey, Sora? Where's your cousin?"
"Hm. I'm not sure. He texted me this morning and said he was coming in early, so we didn't walk together this morning," he said with a shrug.
Ven nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna head to class. See you all at lunch," he said with a wave. The rest of the group waved back.
Axel slung an arm around Roxas' shoulders. "Since you don't have a specific preference, that means I have a chance, right?"
Roxas let out a snort. "In your dreams," he stated as he shrugged Axel's arm off and followed his brother inside.
Axel stood stunned for a minute before shouting after Roxas. "Every night, Babe! Every night!" Zexion rolled his eyes, pecked Demyx on the cheek, and followed after the twins. Sora waved at the two remaining teens before also going inside.
"Way to be blunt, Ax," Demyx snickered.
Axel glared at his mullhawked friend. "Oh, shut up. He loves me; he just doesn't know it yet."
"Keep telling yourself that. C'mon, Casanova. We've got a class to get to," Demyx replied while patting Axel on the back.
~Homeroom~
Ven and Roxas sat in their seats at the back of the room. Roxas took Eldest from his bag and started to read while Ven took out a piece of notebook paper and began doodling. "So, Ven. Why were you asking about Vanitas?" Roxas asked without looking up from the page he was reading.
Ven paused in his doodling. "I was just curious. He's been eating with us all week and it's unusual that he and Sora don't show up at school together." Roxas hummed and decided to let the subject drop for the moment. He had a feeling that his twin wasn't being completely honest with him. He gave his full attention to his book to keep from thinking too much about what he thought may be going on with his brother and Vanitas.
It was three days since the Varden and dwarves had fought the Urgals for possession of Tronjheim, the mile-high, conical city nestled in the center of Farthen Dûr, but the battlefield was still strewn with carnage. The sheer number of bodies had stymied their attempts to bury the dead. In the distance, a mountainous fire glowed sullenly by Farthen Dûr's wall where the Urgals were being burned. No burial or honored resting place for them.
Since waking to find his wounds healed by Angela, Eragon had tried three times to assist in the recovery effort. On each occasion he had been wracked by terrible pains that seemed to explode from his spine. The healers gave him various potions to drink. Arya and Angela said that he was perfectly sound. Nevertheless, he hurt. Nor could Saphira help, only share his pain as it rebounded across their mental link.
Roxas shut is book in disappointment after hearing the bell ring. He and Ven waved goodbye before they went their separate ways.
~Second Period~
Ven entered the classroom and took a seat by the window. Mr. Xigbar wasn't there yet and Ven had a feeling that he, as usual, would show up late. He let out a sigh as he looked out the window. As much as he hated to think about it, Roxas brought up some things about Vanitas that had him questioning his actions. Why had he been so curious about the raven-haired boy's whereabouts? He didn't even like Vanitas. So what was that constricting feeling in his chest? Was he coming down with something?
Ven's train of thought was interrupted when Mr. Xigbar barged into the classroom. "Alright you little fuckers. Shut your traps and pay attention. I hate to say this but in order to get paid; I actually have to teach you something about history. The year was 1492 when Captain Xehonart arrived in what we call Destiny Islands. He brought with him his wife, Maleficent, and half a dozen other ships that were jam-packed with people and rations. To make a long story short, Xehonart was a dictator that abused his power and was flogged by the people he ruled over. The end. Do whatever the hell you want for the rest of class." Mr. Xigbar propped his feet on his desk, leaned back in his chair, and fell asleep.
Ven could feel his eye twitch at how unorthodox Mr. Xigbar was. What was the school thinking when they hired the scarred and somewhat frightening man? He shook his head as the bell rang and headed for his next class.
~Math Class~
Ven was hurrying toward the classroom when he found himself sprawled on the floor after bumping into someone. He let out a soft groan of pain as he sat up. Someone chuckled above him. "Hey, sorry about that. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. You alright, little man?" Ven looked up into the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. The tall brunet chuckled softly and Ven could feel his face heating up. "Cat got your tongue? My name's Terra by the way," he said and extended a hand to the flustered blonde.
"Ven," he muttered, while taking the offered hand and getting up off of the cold linoleum floor. Terra grinned at him and Ven could feel his face heat up.
"Ven's a nice name," Terra replied as he gathered the blonde's notebooks off of the floor. "You have Mr. Leonheart next, right? I have him too. Would you mind walking with me to class?" Ven blinked at the hansom brunet before nodding shyly and the two headed to class.
Terra entered the classroom first and took a seat near the front. He placed Ven's materials on the desk next to his and shot a grin at the still flustered blonde. Ven took the hint and sat next to Terra, completely unaware of the glare that was directed at his new friend.
The class fell silent as Mr. Leonheart entered the classroom. "Good morning, class. Please take your seats so that class can start. I'm almost done grading you quiz from earlier this week, so you'll be getting them back after the weekend. Now then, I'm not sure whether your previous teacher has told you or not, but Open House is next Wednesday," he said as he passed out fliers to advertise the event. "This is a very important function as it allows the parents and teachers to meet and discuss your progress. It is not, however, mandatory." A few of the students let out sighs of relief. "I'll be offering extra credit to those of you who do attend. I strongly suggest you come as it could bump up your grade in this class." There was a bit of excited chatter at the thought of extra credit. "Now that the announcements are out of the way, let's continue with class. Today we'll be reviewing factoring and polynomials." The class groaned.
The bell rang to signal lunch. "Ven, Vanitas. I'd like to speak with you for a minute please." Ven turned at the mention of his name and made his way to Mr. Leonheart's desk. Ven could barely hold in a gasp when he looked at Vanitas. The raven-haired teen looked terrible; his hair was dull and the usual spikes were drooping, he had shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep, and Ven was just now noticing how pale and drawn out Vanitas looked. Mr. Leonheart cleared his throat before speaking to the two teens. "Ven, I wanted to remind you that you'll be taking your make-up quiz in the detention room today. Vanitas, you'll also be in the detention room after school." After both teens confirmed that they would be there, Mr. Leonheart dismissed them for lunch.
Both teens left the room, and just as Vanitas made to leave, Ven grabbed his arm. "Aren't you going to eat lunch? The cafeteria's the other way," Ven asked.
Vanitas roughly yanked his arm out of Ven's grasp. "I'm not hungry," he muttered.
Ven placed his hand on the raven-haired boy's shoulder, completely unperturbed by his reaction. "Are you feeling alright? You look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night. Maybe you should go to the nurse's office and-"
Vanitas jerked away from Ven's hand with an enraged expression on his face. "Mind your own fucking business," he growled before running off towards the gym. Ven looked after Vanitas with a hurt expression before heading off to his English classroom. He wasn't very hungry anymore.
Ven sat on the floor and leaned against the wall in thought. What got his boxers in a bunch? I was only trying to be nice and he goes and yells at me. Well, fine. If he wants to be a jerk, then I won't bother worrying about him. Wait. . . I wasn't worried . . . was I? Why would I? He's been nothing but rude to me and my friends . . . so why does my chest feel so tight and achy? He clutched the fabric of his shirt over the area where his heart was as the bell rang. Ven sighed before standing up and going into class.
~Skip To After School~
Ven and Vanitas arrived at the door to the detention room at the same time. Ven averted his eyes as he thought about their small fiasco at lunch and Vanitas hurried into the room. Ven sighed and went in after him. He spotted Mr. Leonheart sitting on one of the desks and went over to him to get his quiz.
Mr. Leonheart smiled and handed Ven his quiz. "This one is a different version of what you were given in class on Monday. The problems are different but the type of questions and the number of questions are the same. Detention ends in an hour so you have until then to finish. If you finish early you're free to leave," he said. Ven nodded and took a seat at a desk in the front of the classroom before looking at the first question.
What is the basic function of a linear graph? Label the variables.
Alright, the basic function of a linear graph is Y = mx + b where b is all real numbers . . . m = the slope of the line and b = the y – intercept . . . that was easy enough. On to question two.
Given the points (2, 4) and (1, 6), find the slope and y – intercept of the linear function that passes through those points. Using the slope and y – intercept, write the equation for the line that passes through the two points.
Okay, the slope is defined by the difference of y over the difference of x. So (6 - 4) / (1 - 2) = (2) / (-1) = -2
m = -2 Now for the y – intercept . . . Replace the variables with one set of points and the slope . . .
6 = (-2) (1) + b . . . 6 = -2 + b . . . b = 8 . . . Then double check with the other set of points . . .
4 = (-2) (2) + b . . . 4 = -4 + b . . . b = 8 . . . So the equation is y = -2x + 8
Ven continued to work on his quiz for the rest of the hour. When he was satisfied that he had answered all of the questions to the best of his ability he handed his quiz to Mr. Leonheart and packed away his notebook and pencil. The rest of the students packed up their things and rushed out of detention. Mr. Leonheart gave Ven a short wave and reassured him that he would have his results on Monday before leaving.
Ven was about to leave when he found himself pinned to the wall. He looked up and blue locked with amber.
"Vanitas?" Ven gasped out in shock at their close proximity before being silenced by the raven-haired teen.
A/N: Yes, I left a cliffy. Maybe it will get you all to review? Big thanks to the reviewers of the last chapter: ADeadBlackRose and P5ing-Me-A'Wy You two were my main inspiration for me to get this chapter out! =w=b
