Okay, on a personal note, I would like to thank all those who had favorite/alert or comment on this story. Thanks a lot, everyone! =] I really appreciated all your support. Besides that, I had also decided to take the advice of Youwhine2muchby separating the speakers. I am still new in that field so please forgive me if I made any mistakes. .
Anyway, without further ado, please enjoy the story. =]
Hmmm. Angeal paused in the marking of his stack of English homework, his pen hovered in midair. That looks like Zack's handwriting, Angeal thought with a playful smile on his lips as he saw the messy scrawl on the pages.
Angeal turned the cover page over and saw that it was indeed Zack's book. Zack Fair… Angeal couldn't help wondering what he was doing right now. Perhaps preparing a romantic dinner with his crush?
Angeal's heart clenched in pain when he thought of that.
Recently rumors were floating around in school regarding Zack and a girl named Aerith. Angeal had saw Aerith before, and even he had to agree that Aerith was a very pretty and kind girl, someone worthy of Zack.
Angeal released his breath, leaning his whole body against the chair as he stared at the ceiling. If only Zack and him were not from the same gender, things would become less complicated.
Angeal was suddenly jolted awake by the sound of a door opening as a figure flitted into the office gracefully.
"Angeal, I have something for you," Genesis said in a sing-song voice , closing the door behind him.
Angeal's pen quivered slightly, betraying the placid expression on Angeal's face. Genesis's footsteps halted, taking in the scene before breaking into a wide grin and seemingly floated into the office.
"Having naughty thoughts about the puppy?" Genesis gloated, sinking into his own chair. Angeal coughed and tightened the knot on his tie, averting his eyes away from Genesis's inquisitive ones.
"No, I was just resting for awhile," Angeal mumbled, bending down towards his books once more.
"Really?" Genesis teased, his eyes twinkled mischievously. "Here." Genesis tossed something into the air towards Angeal who caught it neatly in his hands.
"Just something I picked up for you." Genesis's tone was sharp and discerning.
Angeal fingered the pink color envelope, his pulse raced when he saw the untidy scrawl on the envelope. "Angeal Hewley" Zack's handwriting. What was Zack's letter doing in Genesis's hands anyway?
Angeal placed the envelope on his table blithely, and resumed marking his students' homework.
"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Genesis asked, supporting his chin with his left hand as he stared at Angeal. "A love letter from you? How thoughtful," Angeal replied jokingly, trying to control his hand from trembling in excitement.
"It's not from me. I am pretty sure you can recognize that handwriting." There was an edge of impatience in Genesis's tone. Somehow, Genesis could always look past Angeal's pretenses so Angeal decided to just tackle Genesis head front.
"When did you get this letter from Zack?" Angeal asked pointedly, dropping his pen on the table. The grin on Genesis' face widened as he stretched both of his hands into the air before locking them behind his head.
"I found it," Genesis replied shortly.
"You found it?" Angeal repeated. "And where was it?"
"Your little puppy was too busy chatting with his buddy that he didn't realize his letter dropped to the ground. You don't sound too happy," Genesis said slyly.
"I-" Angeal took in a deep breath, re-arranging his words carefully first so he won't be trapped by Genesis. "Why didn't you return this letter to Zack?"
"It was addressed to you. So I thought I was merely doing the puppy a favor by delivering it to you. Personally."
You merely wanted to see my reaction towards this letter, Angeal thought darkly as he surveyed a grinning Genesis. But since you put it that way, I will just play along with you. "Alright, thanks a lot." Angeal cracked a small smile at Genesis and picked up his red color pen once more.
"That's all?" Genesis asked, the smile on his face dropped. "Aren't you going to open the letter and read the contents? It might be a love letter for you on Valentine's day."
Angeal's heart gave an extra loud thump when he heard that but he tried to regulate his breathing so that his excited emotions didn't show up in his face.
"Don't you have class to go to?" Angeal swiftly changed the topic. It was too risky for him to continue treading in dangerous waters. Just waiting to suck him in if he made one wrong move.
"Well, I am waiting for the PE class. Your puppy is in my class," Genesis's voice dropped a notch. Angeal remained quiet as he stacked up his marked books neatly and took down another book from the table.
"You are no fun," Genesis pouted before standing up and walked out from the office in a huff. "See you," Angeal said cheerfully. Once the door was closed, Angeal's fingers immediately clawed around the letter.
Salivating, Angeal was about to pull out the letter from the envelope when an announcement rang in the office. "Mr Hewley, please come to the headmaster's office immediately."
Talked about bad timing. Groaning, Angeal dropped the letter on top of his marked pile of books. Angeal swore to himself that the moment he come back to his office, he will read the contents of the letter.
With one last longing look at the pink color envelope, Angeal let the door of the office slammed shut behind him.
xxxx
"Cid?" Vincent asked tentatively, throwing a sideway glance towards Cid. Cid remained bent over his text book, the grip around his pen tightened as he jotted down notes on his book.
"Cid, talk to me," Vincent whispered through the corner of his mouth yet Cid remained numb. There was a low growl from his side, as Vincent turned his head and he saw that Cid's pen had punctured through the book's page.
Vincent was about to whisper to Cid again when Mr Rude suddenly snapped his book shut. "Alright, class ends today."
Right on cue, the bell rang just after Mr Rude finished speaking. Everyone started packing up, getting ready for their next class. Cid quickly shoved everything into his bag and without waiting for Vincent, he strode out from the class room all by himself.
Disappointment ripped through Vincent as he stared forlornly at Cid's departing back. "Cid?" Vincent muttered to himself.
Cid had never treated him this way. Never. Even when they fought, Cid would never give Vincent the cold shoulder and he would always be the first one to apologize. Even if it was Vincent's fault.
What was bothering Cid today?
Vincent swept all the things from the table into his bag, swiftly getting up to follow after Cid. 'Cid!' Vincent's shout echoed around the hallway causing everyone to stare at Vincent like he was some kind of weirdo. Vincent blushed as he chased after Cid. Cid never slowed down although he visibly stiffened.
After making a turn around a corner, Cid disappeared from sight.
Vincent heaved a sigh of exasperation as he pushed opened the wooden doors to the gym. The changing rooms was empty except Cid who stormed around inside with a dark cloud above his head.
Vincent stepped inside warily, dumping his bag on the wooden bench and fishing out his PE shirt. All the time, Vincent was peering at Cid through the corner of his eyes.
Cid opened his locker with a loud 'bang', taking stuffs out from the locker and dumping them on the wooden bench.
"Cid, please tell me what's wrong," Vincent said meekly, half leaning against Cid's locker, trying to catch Cid's attention. "Please?"
Cid breathed out noisily, finally turning his head to look Vincent in the eyes. "I-" Cid paused, lowering his head to the floor.
"What do you think about Cloud Strife?" Cid asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Confusion flashed across Vincent's face as his heart skipped a beat. What did it have to do with Cloud Strife?
"Cloud? He's one of my good childhood friends," Vincent said, shifting his feet uncertainly.
"Oh. And that's all?" Cid pressed on anxiously.
"Yeah. What did it have to do with us anyway?" Vincent asked. Cid chose to ignore Vincent as he continued to interrogate Vincent with the airs of a judge examining an accused.
"If you were forced to choose either one of us, who would you choose?"
That question sent chills to the depth of Vincent's heart. What was that all about? One look into Cid's eyes and Vincent knew that Cid was not kidding. He was very serious about this.
"Why are you asking that?" Vincent asked, stalling for time.
"Don't evade the question," Cid said, taking a step closer. "Who would you choose?"
Cid's stare was so intense that Vincent had to tear his eyes away.
"I-I don't know," Vincent mumbled incoherently.
Well, after all Cloud was someone whom he grew up with, of course Cloud meant a lot to him. But Cid was someone Vincent really cared about too. How could he choose either one of them? Vincent hoped that his answer would satisfy Cid as he stared at Cid worriedly.
Clearly it was the wrong answer because Cid slammed his locker door shut, looking mutinous. "I see you have made your choice," Cid whispered in a deadly tone, turning his back towards Vincent.
"What? Cid, wait!" Vincent nearly choked on his words.
What did Cid meant by that? How could Cid just jump to conclusions?
Just then a group of students came pushing in the doors of the changing room, giggling and chatting with one another. Oblivious to the awkward atmosphere between Cid and Vincent.
"Cid, what are you talking about?" Vincent swallowed hard, his palms wet with sweat.
Cid shot Vincent a glare before slipping into his PE shirt. "Don't play innocent," Cid sneered. And before Vincent could say another word, Cid stormed out from the changing room, leaving Vincent gaping alone.
It took Vincent several seconds to realize that the gym was unexpectedly quiet. Whirling around, Vincent saw that everyone was staring at him with confused expressions. They were all watching him, waiting to see what his next move would be.
Vincent took in a deep breath and lifted his long black hair from his shoulders, looking calm and composed. As if nothing out of the extraordinary happened.
Vincent walked with steady steps towards his locker, grabbing his bag on the way. Even though he was on the edge of breaking apart, Vincent managed to reach his locker without any incident. Vincent opened the locker door and half hid his face behind the metal door.
When Vincent was certain that nobody was looking, only then did Vincent allowed a tear to slip from his eyes. The walls of protection which Vincent built crumbled around him. Showing a sign of momentary weakness.
To be continue…
Dear all, I am extremely sorry for the very late updates. I got writer's block while trying to complete this chapter. Asides from that I also got tied up other stuffs, so for the past week I was quite busy. Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. =] Please leave a review/comment behind. Thanks a lot for reading and stay tune for the next chapter. =]