Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or any Square Enix characters!

"This is gonna be so fun, Tifa's bringing in like a truck load of alcohol so we don't even have to worry about getting that ourselves!" Yuffie exclaimed as the rest of the group nodded enthusiastically. It was lunchtime on a very sunny Friday so the group, consisting of Cloud, Yuffie, Yuna, Tidus, Vaan and Penelo were hanging out by the sports field. Zack and Reno were currently playing the game with a couple of other jocks like they did most lunch times.

"Yeah, and her parents aren't due back till Monday, so it's probably gonna be an all nighter." Tidus added.

"Why would that matter to you, Tidus? You're gonna be sleeping with Yuna either way." Penelo teased the boy, who stuck his middle finger up at her and put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.

"Yeah but we're always looking for new and exciting places t-"

"Tidus!" Yuna hissed, slapping her boyfriend on the back of his head.

"Sorry babe, you know I was just kidding." Tidus sheepishly apologised, she just rolled her eyes at him in return.

"Well for those of us who aren't old and married this party should be the best." Yuffie smirked suggestively while waggling her eyebrows, ignoring the way Yuna and Tidus started making puppy faces at each other. She really hated couples who acted like that in public. Yuck, Yuck Yucky!

"I know mister Strife here already has an admirer." She nudged the blond boy sitting next to her. Cloud looked up dazed; he had been so absorbed in what he was writing that he had pretty much of zoned out of the conversation.

"What?" He asked the black haired girl, confused.

"Uh, you're such a spaz-head, Cloud." She groaned, letting her tongue hang out of her mouth and leaning forward as if the life had been sucked out of her. "I'm talking about Seifer's sudden interest in weather or not you're going to Tifa's tomorrow night."

"What about it? I talk to Seifer sometimes; he was probably just being friendly." Cloud stated airily, trying to brush the whole thing off. The group all rolled their eyes at that while Vaan opened his mouth in outrage.

"Seifer Almasy is not friendly," he seethed "he's a prick and's only nice to people he wants to screw."

"He doesn't want to screw me." Cloud replied, shocked that the other could even think that.

"And I would never do that with him anyway." He stated as an afterthought.

"We know you wouldn't blond-head, but that doesn't change the fact that he would. He's meany mean mean. You better watch out, that jerk face can get pretty rough. Uh, huh, baaaaaaaaad news." Yuffie replied giving him a wide-eyed look. Cloud rolled his eyes at her over-protectiveness.

"I can take care of myself Yuf, It's not like I'm the one who gets too drunk to even walk properly every weekend." He retorted, earning himself a punch in the shoulder. He frowned at the girl while rubbing his arm. Yuffie just shot him a 'you deserved it' look, flipping her hair to the side huffily.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter because Zack would kill Seifer if he so much as looked at Cloud the wrong way. You know that Yuffie. He's threatened like every guy who's ever tried anything before." Tidus added, nodding his head towards the raven-haired boy out on the field.

"That's true." The rest of the teens apart from Cloud agreed.

The blond pouted, giving an embarrassed, "no he hasn't".

"We're not talking about this again." He said firmly, shooting each of them a look.

"Talking about what?" The group all turned their heads to see Zack standing there, wiping at his face with the shirt he was no longer clothed in. Standing there, he really was a sight for sore eyes; all rippling muscles, sweaty and tanned.

"Oh, we're just talking about Cloud getting laid on Saturday night." Vaan stated jokingly, blowing out some air through his teeth and raising his brows high on his forehead. Cloud hunched his shoulders.

"No, we weren't." The blond mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Well, I should hope not." Zack replied, smirking at the blond whose cheeks were now pink with embarrassment. He couldn't believe that no matter how mature Cloud acted, he still got so awkward when anyone talked about his sex life; non-existent as it was. He was a cutie pie.

"Why not Zack? Don't you want little Cloudy to become a maaaan?" Yuffie asked a challenging sneer on her childish face.

"Of course I do Yuffie," Zack answered in an overly polite way, putting emphases on her name, "but I don't think that loosing you're virginity to some drunk at a party is the way to do that. "
"Isn't that what you did?" Yuffie shot back..

"He's better than me." Zack stated firmly, causing Cloud to look up at him with an unreadable expression.

"Zac-"

"Anyway. Meh, it's almost two and I'm still smelling like a behemoth. I'm off to shower. No girls, you can't come. Or any of you boys. Specially you Vaan. No watchie." Zack interrupted the blond quickly. He gave them a small wave before turning and heading for the school showers.

"Well, that was awkward." Yuffie stated, smiling at Cloud.

"Why did you say that Yuf?" He replied in a tired voice. He rubbed at his hands and stared at her, trying to make her feel guilty.

"Oh, he'll survive. Anyway we better start heading to class soon, we have Reeve next and I really wanna get a seat up front." The black haired girl got to her feet quickly, placing her hands over her heart and smiling dreamily while batting her eyes. "He's so hot and so…sophisticated. The perfect man for the greatest ninja in the world."

"I totally agree, Yuf. Come on Yuna, let's go." Penelo jumped up, pulling Yuna up with her. The three girls linked arms-Yuna rather reluctantly- and began walking in the direction of the school, cooing about their technology teacher the whole way.

The three boys just sat there, blinking.

"Sophisticated? Big word Yuffie!" Vaan mumbled, causing the others to chuckle.

"Three laps, that's enough for today I guess." Cloud mumbled to himself, wiping at the sweat running down his brow with the back of his hand. Since he was twelve years old, Cloud had run three or four laps around the local park at least five times a week. He didn't play any kind of sports or go to a gym so he had decided to take up running in order to stay in shape. He really enjoyed it now, mostly because it was good way to get rid of the tension that built up in his life.

He leaned forward with his hands on his knees and inhaled deeply. The sound of an engine broke the serene atmosphere and he looked towards the road to see a black motorbike making its way to him at the entrance of the park. This wasn't just any bike though. It was a black Harley Davidson with a red flame on the side. The bike came to a halt a few inches from the blond.

"Hey!" Zack said, taking off his helmet and running a hand through the raven strands on his head, pushing them into some semblance of order.

"Hi," Cloud replied back, standing up straight, "what are you up to?"

"Not much. Just finished training and I figured being the compulsive weirdo you are you'd be

here so… You finished your laps?" Zack asked, running his eyes over the others sweaty form. Cloud was dressed in a loose black tank-top, and baggy shorts- his usual running attire.

"Yeah," Cloud bent down to his gym bag, opening the zipper and rummaging through it, "just finished my third lap. Why? Did you wanna do one?" He asked, looking up at the other from his kneeling position. Zack shook his head, laughing.

"Nah ah! Cid ran us half to death today. My feet are crying so if you want me to run you'll have to carry me home. Not fun at all Cloudy, considering I'm three heads bigger than you." He pressed his bottom lip out and held his hand out in front of him to indicate the size difference.

"Does that mean I'd get to drive your bike to get you home?" Cloud asked, his eyes shining in mock happiness. He took a white towel out of his bag and stood up, wiping himself with it.

"Then we'd both be unconscious." Zack stated dryly, running his fingers over the bike like it was a cherished pet.

"Oh really?" Cloud smirked.

"Oh yea-Oww, hey! Not fair!" Zack yelled, rubbing his backside where Cloud had just whipped him with his towel. Cloud just laughed and whipped him again, this time on his shoulder. "Ah! Oh okay, that's how you wanna play it? Bad choice blondie. "Zack yelled, lunging for the blond who side stepped him and took off running.

Zack spun around with the skill of a trained athlete and began chasing him. Cloud was fast but Zack was both taller and quicker so he caught up to the boy easily, grabbing his arm and pulling them both to the ground. They roughhoused right there on the grass for almost ten minutes, laughing and insulting each other, until they both got tired and just laid there exhausted, looking up at the darkening sky.

"Zack." Cloud said softly after a few minutes silence.

"Hmm,"

"It's not true." He mumbled.

"What's not?" Zack asked, looking over at the other confused.

"I'm not better than you Zack. Not at all." Cloud answered, sitting up. He sighed and ruffled his hair to get rid of the leaves and grass which had got tangled in it during their activities.

"Yes you are." Zack smiled, copying the others actions and sitting up himself. "But that's okay. I'm mostly to blame anyway."

"What?"

"Yeah. My super amazing mentoring skills have kept you from becoming a party mog. If it wasn't for me you'd be showing that white ass all of yours all over the city. Bad bad stuff." He clenched his teeth and shook his head, as though seriously disturbed by the thought.

"Well, as long as you're happy." He drawled, fiddling with a piece of grass in his fingers.

"Don't know how ya manage to cope with all your mom stuff though. Can't take full responsibility for that."

"You'd be surprised by what you're capable of doing when someone you love needs you." Cloud answered, staring straight ahead thoughtfully.

"Yeah?" Zack asked softly, also looking ahead of himself.

"Yeah" Cloud smiled. After a couple of minutes, he stretched out his hands in front of him and turned his head towards Zack, merriment shining in his eyes. "Hey, wake up!"

Zack, who had been in a bit of a daydream, jumped slightly at the sound of the others voice, causing the blond to chuckle. The raven haired teen rubbed a hand over his face before shooting the boy a dirty look.

"Don't scare me chocobo-head. Uh, you're really sadistic today y'know. Hitting me and putting grass down my pants.?" Zack grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing.

"No I didn't," Cloud said, eyes squinting in confusion.

"Yeah well, you were just about to, if I didn't move away. You're just a demented pervert behind that squishy face." He explained, running his eyes up and down the others form in suspicion. Cloud saw this and pushed him away.

"You're the pervert Zack," He laughed. Zack held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry so just don't hurt me again please," he said, "but speaking of pervs, you'd better watch out for Seifer tomorrow night. I don't like the way he's been looking at you lately." This was stated seriously, he tried to catch the blonde's eye to convey that he wasn't joking. The blond wouldn't return the favour, however, and let out a loud groan while rolling his eyes towards the sky.

"Not you too Zack." He complained. "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, but that guy is pretty tough. Just promise me you'll be careful." Zack replied, still serious.

"Whatever!" Cloud gave in sulkily. Zack smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Good boy. I'll buy you a lollypop."

Cloud sat in front of his dressing table, staring intently at his reflection. It was Saturday night- the night of Tifa's party, and he was almost finished getting ready. He gathered some hair product into his hands and ran them through his hair, ruffling it a bit to achieve his desired 'bed head' look. "As if I need help with that." He mumbled to himself. He never really used hair product, his hair being gravity defying enough as it was, but he usually put a small bit in his hair going to parties or clubs, just to give it a more edgy style.

He stopped fussing with his hair and brought his hands down, wiping them in his pant leg to remove the sticky residue. He studied his reflection critically, he was dressed in a tight black sleeveless shirt, black jeans and black converse shoes topped off with silver dog tags and slightly styled hair. Deciding he was ready, he opened the top drawer of his dresser and took out a black box which he kept his money in, grabbing a twenty. He was just standing up when he heard a knock on the front door. Figuring it was Leon, Cloud quickly put on his jacket and exited his bedroom.

He looked at the clock while opening the front door. "You're earl-" he started to remark but stopped when he saw who was at the other side of the door; not Leon but Shera Highwind. Shera was a very good friend of Sky's and often came around to keep her company since Sky had very few friends now and couldn't really leave the house. Shera was a little strange, in Clouds opinion, but she was very nice and he appreciated her keeping his mom company.

"Well hello there Cloud. Don't you look handsome!" Shera complemented as Cloud stepped aside to let her in. "Is your mom awake?" She asked in a soft voice. Cloud didn't know how such a quite woman could live with a man like Cid Highwind: Zack's coach and Shera's husband.

"Yeah she's just in her room. I'll go get her." Just as he said it, Sky came out of her bedroom, smiling brightly at the two. She was dressed in a white nightdress with her blond hair tied into a neat bun. She had been quite sick earlier that day and her face was now ghostly white.

Cloud had been reluctant to leave her alone tonight but she insisted that she felt better now.

"Shera, darling. How are you?" Sky asked, walking over to hug her friend. Shera laughed, returning the hug.

"Oh Sky, if I had to listen to that man for one more second I think I'd have to pull out my own fingers." Shera grumbled causing Sky to laugh and Cloud to give her a 'psycho' look. Strange woman…

"Cid is an earful." Sky agreed.

"Um," Cloud interrupted the two "I'm gonna head downstairs and wait for Leon so he won't have to come all the way up here." He explained, pointing his thumb towards the door. "Bye mom, call me if you need anything." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He gave Shera a small wave and headed outside.

When Cloud and Leon arrived at Tifa's, the party was in full swing. Tifa's house was huge, her father being the Mayor of the town, and it had an enormous garden with a pool out back.

When Cloud got out of Leon's car he could hear the music blazing pretty loud and kids already splashing in the pool. He shook his head a looked over at Leon who just shrugged.

"Rich kid's throw crazy parties." The brunette mused, slamming the door of his car and moving towards the entrance of the house. Cloud followed him, passing some guys who were sitting on the grass snorting meteor dust from a piece of tinfoil. Cloud wrinkled his nose at that and followed Leon up the steps towards the front door. It was open and Cloud could see that this place was totally packed. He entered the house and, almost deafened by the music, began making his way through the hall which had teens lined up against the walls like some drunken guard of honour. He walked into what was probably the living area and was pleased to see that it was less packed and that the music was a little lower there.

"Cloud! Leon!" He turned to see Yuffie and Axel sitting on one of the couches with drinks in their hands.

"Hey," he replied, walking over to them and taking a seat beside Axel.

"Hey there. This party is sucky so far y'know." Yuffie complained, flicking her empty cup in her hands. "Meh, I need another drink. You want one, Cloud? Leon?" Yuffie asked, getting up from her seat a bit wobbly.

"Okay." Cloud replied, drumming his fingers against his lap and looking around himself a bit awkwardly.

"I'll come with you." Leon said and both he and Yuffie made their way towards the kitchen, leaving Cloud alone with Axel. They had never really talked one on one before so it was a little awkward.

"Nice jacket." Axel commented to the blond who nodded, looking down and fidgeting with said jacket.

"Thanks, it was my Dad's" Cloud replied.

"Cool."

"Yeah..."

"AXEL!"

Both turned their heads in the direction of the doorway to see a very drunken Reno stumble inside "I didn't know you were here cuz! An Cloudy too? Shit, this party is fucking good." The redhead yelled as he was guided to the couch by another boy. He was plopped down beside Cloud.

"Gaia..." Axel mumbled, running a hand over his face. Reno inched closer to Cloud who backed away, trying not to laugh.

"Damn blondie! Yer lookin fuckin' hot tonight. If you weren't Zack's boy I'd fu-"

"How did you get this drunk so fast Reno?" Axel questioned wearily, interrupting his cousins lewd remark.

"Oh come on maaan, loosen up a bit," Reno slurred. He leaned over Cloud to give Axel a pat on his shoulder, which was slapped away testily. However, Reno pressed on, pushing his fingers into the boy's face until he retaliated, leaning over to punch him in the shoulder. The two then began a swiping match, ignoring Cloud who was caught in the middle. The blond wiggled a bit, sliding down beneath their arms and off the couch where he landed on the floor with a thump. He was about to get up when he heard Yuffie's voice.

"There he i-uh, Cloud?" The small girl yelled confused.

Cloud put his hand on the couch and pushed himself up until he was in sight of her. "I'm here Yuf." He said sheepishly, raising his hand. He looked over and saw that she was standing in the doorway with Leon and Zack who all looked at him curiously.

"What are you doing down there?" The drunken girl giggled, walking over to him with two drinks in her hand. He stood up and took a can of Budweiser from her.

"Trying to avoid a black eye." He answered, pointing his thumb towards the squabbling redheads on the couch. Zack walked over to the two, laughing.

"Guy's, no family disputes in public, remember?" He joked, earning dirty looks from both Reno and Axel, who had stopped fighting and turned their attention towards him.

"Fuck you Fair!" Reno slurred, waving his hand in the air aimlessly. The redhead seemed to muse over something and then "Fuck this, I need more drink. You want one Ax?" He asked calmly, their dispute seemingly forgotten.

"Maybe you've had…Ah, whatever lets go." With that, both of the redheads left the room in search for some alcohol.

Zack chuckled at the two before turning towards Cloud. "Hey chocobo, having fun?"

"I will now." the blond replied, holding up his can. "How long have you been here?"

"About an hour or so, it's pretty crazy huh?" Zack answered, grabbing a cushion from the couch and sitting down on the floor. The others followed his lead and they formed a little circle.

"Yeah." Cloud chuckled, though it was slightly strained.

"Uck, how do you drink that raw, Leon?" Yuffie asked in disgust, referring to the bottle of vodka in Leon's hand. The stoic teen just shrugged in response.

"At least he's not doing the dust like those guys out front. They've got to be crazy. That stuff can kill you." Cloud spoke up, shaking his head. Zack sucked in a breath of air through his teeth and nodded.

"Pretty intense." He agreed.

"Pretty idiotic." Leon mumbled.

"Oh, that too." Zack laughed.

Cloud put his hands under the tap, drenching them in cool water. It was two hours into the party and the blond was feeling pretty buzzed. He was currently in one of the upstairs bathrooms washing his hands after reliving himself. The downstairs restrooms were rather occupied (for lack of a better word) so he had to go the whole way upstairs and into one of the on-suite bathrooms, quite a hassle for a slightly drunken teen. He turned off the tap, grabbing a towel to dry his hands and then exited the bathroom.

"Hey."

Startled, the blond looked up to see that the bedroom he was about to exit wasn't empty. Seifer Almasy was sat on the bed with two drinks in his hand, grinning at the blond, his face flushed with intoxication.

"Hey Seifer. I… didn't hear you come in." Cloud said a little shakily, not comfortable with being taken off guard.

"Yeah, I'm like that." The older blond said lowly. He stood up from the bed and held out a closed can to Cloud. "I got you a drink."

"Um, I already have one downstairs," Cloud replied, motioning his head towards the door, "so I'd better-"

"It will still be there." Seifer said forcefully, urging the boy to take the drink. Cloud looked around for a minute before sighing and accepting it with a small smile.

"Thanks." He said. Seifer nodded, staring intently at the blond. His pupils were dilated and he was swaying from side to side. Perhaps more than drunk. He spun around on his heal and walked back over to the bed and sat down.

"Come sit." Seifer said, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Cloud ran his hand through his hair, looking at the door behind him before bringing his eyes back to Seifer.

"I'd better get back Seifer." He said finally. He was about to open the door when he heard Seifer sigh in exasperation.

"Oh come on Cloud, I'm not gonna fucking bite or anything," he laughed, "please?"

Cloud sighed, he knew that he should probably get out of there as fast as he could but then again Seifer was just a high school kid, albeit a high school kid with a bad reputation, it's not like he was a murderer or anything. He sighed again and smiled lightly at the other.

"Okay." He relented, walking over to the bed and sitting down stiffly. "Just for a while." He cautioned.

"Cool!" Seifer smirked. Cloud opened his can and took a drink, trying to relax a bit. They sat in relative silence for a couple of minutes, one relaxed and the other tense, before Seifer spoke up.

"So, any partners tonight?" He nudged the blond suggestively.

"No." Cloud replied, shaking his head. He stopped when he started feeling dizzy from the motion.

"Why not?" Cloud just shrugged. Seifer smiled in a way that made his eyes narrow.

"Because of Zack?" He asked suggestively. Cloud wrinkled his nose at that.

"Me and Zack are just friends." He stated firmly, his voice coming out a bit slurred due to the alcohol.

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say." Seifer held up his hands in surrender, seeing that he had hit a nerve. He seemed to muse over something for a minute and then looked back at the boy.

"So your single?"

"I guess so." The blond shrugged, taking another swig of his beer.

"Well isn't that a coincidence? So am I!" The elder drawled, running his eyes up and down Cloud's form.

"That's not what I hear," Cloud said, oblivious to the staring, "I hear you have a new partner every weekend"

"Well," Seifer drawled again, boldly reaching out to touch the others bang, "I'm just searching..."

"For what?" Cloud asked curiously, turning to look him in the eye. Seifer lowered his hand from the blonde's hair and took hold of his drink.

"For the right person, like everyone else is." He mumbled, taking the others can. Cloud was beginning to feel uneasy and edged away as Seifer leaned over him to place his drink on the locker. His drunken mind was beginning to clear and he was realising that he had gotten himself into a precarious position.

"Seifer, I'd better get going." Cloud started to say but was cut off when the older boy caught hold of his hand. Cloud tried to pull away but his grip was firm; very firm. Panic began to rise in the teen's chest.

"Shh Cloud. Just let me show you." Seifer whispered as he leaned in close to the others face.

"Come on Cloud, you know you want-OWW!" He jumped back when Cloud kicked his shin, giving the blond time to get up from the bed and run towards the door. "Cloud? What the FUCK!" Seifer yelled as he regained his bearings and got up to follow him. He exited the bedroom and saw the blond heading down the hall towards the stairs. "Cloud." He shouted, breaking into a run.

Clouds mind was in a panic as he ran down the hall. He was just about to turn for the stairs when he felt a tug on the back of his top (he had left his jacket downstairs). He was then pulled back forcefully and fell against the wall.

"What the hell is your problem?" Seifer asked, leaning down in front of Cloud.

"I just wanna go downstairs Seifer." The blond said, trying to sound calm. Seifer's eyes looked like the eyes of a madman as they widened in rage.

"WHY?" He shouted, causing Cloud to jump and back up into the wall. "I didn't do anything. What are ya going to start saying to everyone?" He whispered, placing both hands on Clouds shoulders and leaning in. Cloud tried to catch his eye as he shook his head.

"Nothing," the blond denied "I just want to go down to my friends." He explained slowly, as if he was talking a man down from the edge of a building. This was bad, Seifer was way too worked up and the music was too loud for anyone to hear them.

"I'm not your friend?" Seifer hissed. Cloud opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Seifer continued, "You think you're too good for me?" and Cloud shook his head desperately, he felt sick and his head was spinning.

"Seifer. Let. Me. Go." The blond said firmly, looking into the others eyes without blinking.

"No." Seifer spat, the word dripping off his tongue like venom. "I'm sick of always doing what people want. I want to do what I want for a change and that Cloudy," He cooed the blonds name, "is you!" He said as he crashed his lips against the smaller boys with bruising force. Clouds eyes widened in shock and he pushed against the others chest with all his strength. Seifer was a lot stronger than Cloud and he easily restrained the teen. Cloud closed his eyes in despair but opened them when he felt Seifer pull away quickly. He looked up and was met with a pair of very angry purple eyes.

"You son of a bitch!" Zack seethed, eyeing Seifer like he was a piece of trash. "Get the fuck off of him." He growled. Seifer looked like he was going to obey for a minute before something seemed to click in his head and he looked up at Zack challengingly. He wasn't in his right mind, his hands were shaking and his eyes weren't focusing properly.

"Make me." He smirked, raising a hand to Clouds hair, stroking it. Cloud was just about to slap the hand away when Zack lunged for the older blond, knocking him off Cloud and onto the floor.

"I'll kill you." Zack roared, punching the other square in the jaw. Seifer kicked his legs upwards, knocking him off balance and then head-butting him in the forehead.

"What's your problem Fair? You're another bastard. Think you're shit don't smell." Seifer sneered, spitting out blood with each word.

"Better than a piece of trash like you." Zack shot back, kneeing Seifer in the stomach. Cloud got up, using the wall for support and watched the two squabbling violently on the floor.

"Stop!" He cried but was ignored by the two. "Zack. Stop." He tried again. The music was blaring so loud that the fight went totally unnoticed downstairs and Cloud didn't want to leave them alone so he had no choice but to remain and try to intervene.

"Oh trash am I, coz I'm not hanging from my famous uncles belt buckles." Seifer jeered, getting an elbow underneath the other chin and pushing upwards. Zack gagged for a minute and then pulled himself back.

"No, you're just leeching off the fucking government instead. You shouldn't even be in this school." Cloud barely recognised the boy as he spat out the venomous words.

The violence went on several more minutes, both continuing to kick and punch and insult like madmen, until finally Zack seemed to get the upper hand when he punched Seifer in the temple, successfully knocking him out. Cloud watched in horror, however, when Zack did not stop punching the teen but just kept on delivering bone cracking shots to his body. "Zack!" Cloud shouted, rushing over and trying to get the boy to come to his senses. The dark-haired boy was drunk as well, even more so than Cloud.

"ZACK!" He called, feeling his eyes water at force of the boy's punches. He could really be causing damage. He grabbed Zack's arm and yelled "Stop," once again. Zack stopped mid-punch, looking up at the blond, dazed.

Zack's mind was fogged. He remembered sitting down stairs and thinking that Cloud was taking a long time in the bathroom; too long. He had gone out to the downstairs bathroom and saw that the blond wasn't in it so he had decided to walk upstairs in search of him instead. He remembered going upstairs and seeing Seifer towering over Cloud. The blond was struggling.

The last thing he saw was Seifer leaning in to kiss Cloud before his vision went red.

"Cloud?" He asked softly. He then looked down at his hand in the others hold, covered in blood. What had he just done? He looked at Cloud's white face and his stomach dropped. The blond looked scared. His blue eyes were full of tears. What the fuck had he just done? Cloud didn't say anything; he just stared at the other wide-eyed.

He quickly got off the unconscious blond and keeled beside Cloud. "Uh, this isn't good." He muttered. Cloud let go of his arm and bent down to check Seifer, he was breathing and his body seemed more damaged than his head. Cloud let out a breath of relief.

"He's okay, I think." He stated, looking at Zack. Zack nodded, running a hand through his hair. "You're all hurt." Cloud said sadly, taking the elders hand in his to inspect the bleeding knuckles.

"It's nothing," Zack assured "just a few bruises, we should probably call a doctor for him though." He said, referring to the unconscious teen. Cloud nodded and was about to take out his phone when Seifer started coughing and shifting. The bloody blond eventually opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling for a minute before dragging them over to the two beside him.

"Fuck," he hissed, laughing "you throw one hell of a punch Fair." Zack inched backwards, dragging Cloud with him, as Seifer slowly sat up, hissing as he jolted a sore rib. The blond then got to his feet using the wall for support. Cloud and Zack also stood up, eying him warily.

"Seifer, you need a doctor." Cloud spoke up. Seifer brought his bleary eyes towards him slowly.

"Ha, just a few bruises and cuts. Gaia knows I've seen worse." He chuckled wetly before he turned serious again. "I'm sorry Cloud. Didn't mean that. Just a bit fuck up, my fucked up life is…no fuck it." He laughed again, shaking his head. Cloud looked at him sadly, he just seemed so…broken. "Good thing ya came in ther fair. Couda got serious."

"It did." Zack said, his tone clipped.

"It doesn't matter now. You need a doctor." The younger blond interrupted, earning himself a disbelieving look from Zack. Seifer nodded and began heading for the stairs, he was leaning his hand on the wall which left a trail of blood behind him.

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked, worried, both about his mental and physical condition.

"Fucked if I know." Seifer shouted back, giving the two a wave and heading down the stairs.

"Oh…kay." Zack uttered after a moments silence. Cloud shook his head.

"He needs a doctor. He's off his head."

"He'll be okay Cloudy." Zack said. Cloud could tell he wanted the conversation to finish so he sighed.

"Think he's leaving?" He asked the older teen who shrugged, wincing when the movement jarred his body.

"Come on." Cloud said, noticing the movement. He took the taller teen's hand and led him back through the bedroom and into the bathroom he had previously used. "Sit." He ordered, motioning towards the closed toilet seat. Zack did as he was told, a small but groggily. Cloud got a clean towel from beneath the sink and ran it under the cold tap.

"Well, that wasn't fun at all?" Zack said, trying to lighten the mood somewhat. Cloud nodded, walking over to the him with the soaked towel. "Good thing I didn't think you pissed for that long." He muttered.

"Head up." the blond commanded softly, dabbing the towel on Zack's bleeding eyebrow.

"Sorry!" Cloud said when the boy hissed in pain.

"Are you really though?" Zack answered through clenched teeth. Cloud moved onto his split lip, wiping the blood away. Zack noticed his hands were shaking. "Okay there Chocobo-head?"

"Just a little… y'know." The blond replied softly.

"He didn't do anything-"

"No." The blond interrupted quickly. "I don't really think he would have. He was just drugged or something," Cloud kneeled down in front of Zack, looking the other in the eye, "thank you though. You're a hero." He said, taking one of Zack's hands in his and running the cloth over the bloody knuckles. Zack smiled, he liked hearing that. He wanted to be a hero.

"Yeah, and I have good hair so I'm basically perfect!" Zack smirked. Cloud shook his head in wonder, this guy never changed.

"Don't let it get to your head." Cloud joked, giving him a pointed look.

"Awe, you saying I'm big headed or something yellow-head?" Zack gasped in mock hurt. Cloud nodded his head, laughing. His entire body was shaking but he tried to ignore it.

...

"I kind of wanna go home now." The blond said softly, after he finished fixing the other up. Zack nodded.

"Yeah, that ruined the mood for me too. Wanna share a taxi?" He asked while standing up from the toilet, groaning at the movement.

"You sure?" Cloud felt guilty, he didn't want to ruin the other's night. Then again, Zack couldn't really stay there looking the way he did.

"Oh yeah, I need a bed, pronto. I'm all bloody and gross." Zack chuckled, blowing some hair out of eyes. Cloud mumbled 'okay' with his eyes downcast. The dark haired boy motioned the boy towards him and when Cloud was close enough he wrapped his arms around him.

"Let's get goin." Zack said after a few minutes, leading the blond out the door.

Brriiing Briiing

"Uhhhh!" Cloud groaned, rolling over in his bed.

Briiing Briiing

"Gaia!" He grumbled. Who the hell would call him this early in the morning.

Briiing Briiing

"Okay!" He moaned, sitting up in his bed and grabbing the incessant cell phone from his locker.

Briiing briii-

"Hello?" He growled out. Why should he be polite? He was tired.

"Cloud."

"Yuffie?" Cloud asked, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Cloud! Did you hear bout Seifer?…He's dead."