Story Arc:Rise in Love
Title: Right Now
Author: Rangiku
Genre:AU, Drama, Romance
Rating: M
Pairing: ZackxCloud
Spoilers: None
Summary:Mmm, this chappie is all about the now.
Warnings:Yaoi, Fluff, Violence
Disclaimer:The usual. I do not own, though I wish I did…
A/N:Yo, sorry about the wait everyone! I had to get my computer fixed so I couldn't continue on this chapter when it was halfway done. THEN, lo and behold, I get it back and the internet connections are all screwed up 'cause I use wireless. Exciting huh? So it's not fixed yet but I just HAD to get this chapter up. THREE WEEKS AND I WAS READY TO KILL MYSELF! So here we go, sorry again!
Right Now
Three days after I put up this note, guess what happened? Me and my friends went out and were fooling around and I ended up falling and hitting my head on a lamp post…started bleeding everywhere…stupid huh? So it wasn't serious, thank you, it just took a day out of me…
So I decided to give you a long chapter to compensate…?
November rolled around faster than anyone could believe and the early coming nights had them yawning in their seats at school. The sky was dark until ten in the morning, was dull all day for most days, and then darkened again by five o'clock. By the time daylight savings had come around, people were already sick of the darkened sky. Mid terms began and Cloud didn't have much time to think other than about what was coming next. Math had him studying like crazy and English was making him sweat more than he ever had. Writing commentaries, even though he was good at them, was stressful.
The corridors were almost empty as he was rushing to his math class, late after finishing his English mid term. He turned a corner sharply and who should he run into but Zack himself. Cloud hit his broad chest and began to fall back, only to have Zack catch his wrist and pull him back towards him. Despite this, he overcompensated and Cloud ended up flush against him.
With a weak laugh, Cloud said, "Uh, hey Zack."
Zack simply grinned at him, "Hey babe, what's with the rush?"
"M'late, aren't you?" Cloud frowned.
"Yeah, but I'm not as uptight about it as you are."
"I am not uptight!" Cloud cried defensively, "Just worried about my mid term. I need to boost my mark by 5 or 10." Cloud shrugged.
"Oh really?" Zack raised an eyebrow, "So worried you wouldn't take the time to talk to your boyfriend?"
There was a shuffling of feet down the hall and Cloud glanced at the corner where a figure disappeared from sight. He returned his attention to Zack after taking a quick glance around. He leaned up and kissed the dark haired male softly on the lips. He felt Zack smile against him and as he backed off, Zack said, "Feeling bold today aren't we?"
"Just a bit," Cloud countered. Zack raised an eyebrow, a grin still present on his face. Cloud just smiled and continued on his way to his math class. Zack watched him turn the corner, pleased with the new development as Cloud glanced at him and grinned. He walked in the opposite direction and his face turned stoic.
Maybe it was time he told someone about them…He wanted to be able to hold Cloud without having to be careful about where they were or who was around. He wanted to kiss him and touch him and not have to worry about it. Above all, he wanted to be able to love and protect Cloud where everyone knew it. He would show all of them why you didn't hurt someone like Cloud.
He would.
Zack returned home with his eyebrows knit in tight concentration. It was Wednesday so he couldn't go to Cloud's apartment. He had decided to take the subway home that day and walked from the station to his house. He looked up when he stepped onto the driveway. The house loomed over him and was probably larger than Cloud's entire apartment complex. His gaze swept down and his eyes came to rest on an expensive looking Lexus sitting in the driveway. It wasn't the fact that he didn't like Lexus' (Which he didn't because only bad drivers would need automated parallel parking), it was because of who owned the car.
He opened the door with his key and was greeted by Aeris who had a soft smile on her face. His cousin continued up the stairs and he dropped his gaze again and was met with the most horrendous sight of his entire 18 years of life. Big brown eyes and long brown hair glared up at him and he hated the way those breasts would bounce everywhere. Get a better bra, honestly.
"Hey Zack," Tifa said with a smirk on her face, "What's up? Why didn't you come with us home?"
Zack's nose wrinkled as he smelt the perfume waft around him. "Hi…Nothing and I felt like taking the subway to think. I have to go," Zack lied, "You know, lots of homework…guess I'll see you later…" He gave a fake grin and made a quick escape to the kitchen where his face dropped with disgust.
In truth, he had no homework. He had finished it all in class, but any excuse to get away from the monstrosity that had ruined Cloud's life was good enough. He dropped his bag on the floor and sighed when he opened the fridge and saw nothing of interest. He poured himself a glass of juice and sat at the kitchen counter, his forehead on the flat, hard, surface. He almost let out a groan when he though about what he had been considering all day.
Zack sat and drank his juice, biding his time and waiting for the perfect opportunity. He glanced up at the ceiling when he heard shuffling. Tifa flew down the stairs and opened the front door. She turned and yelled up the stairs when Aeris probably stood, "I'll be back in ten minutes! Don't go anywhere!" Zack snorted as she closed the door. Where was Aeris going to go at this time on a school night?
He saw his chance as it was and abandoned the counter to move to the stairs. He grumbled on his way up. He made his way through the halls until he reached a plain white door. He sighed and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He knocked and waited for an answer.
"Come in," Zack pushed the door open and Aeris looked up form sitting at her desk. "Oh…Zack," She sat up and said, "Is something the matter?"
"I kind of need to talk to you about something…" Zack said, averting his gaze to the pale pink that were her walls and questioned for the thousandth time that day if what he was about to do was the sound thing to do. "It's kind of…personal."
"Oh that's fine, I won't tell anyone, you know me." She looked at him with the same sincere and sweet smile she had always held for him.
He grinned and sat on her bed when she offered it to him. "You see, it's about…my love…life?" He cringed at the corny way it came out.
Aeris looked at him with wide emerald eyes and motioned for him to continue, "You see, I've been having feelings for someone for a while now, I haven't had the courage to tell anyone really." He paused here but Aeris didn't interrupt him. "I've told them about it and we're happy. It's just that I wouldn't think you would…approve." Approve was the last word he should have used.
"Is it because it's a guy, or is it because it's someone that the rest of them don't agree with?" Aeris said softly. Zack's gaze shot to her and he scratched his head.
"How did you know?" He paused, "That I was gay?" Zack stared at the carpeted floor.
"I've known for a while, I'm observant you know." He could hear her smile in her tone. "Just by the way you look at guys differently than girls. I wasn't too sure at first, but I guess this confirmed it."
"I see, am I that easy to read?" Zack wondered.
"Oh, heavens no, just for me." He looked up as Aeris left her seat at her desk to sit beside him on her bed. "I would approve no matter what Zack. Just because you love a boy shouldn't hold you back from the love that everyone should feel." There was a pause and Zack swallowed, Aeris grinned suddenly, "So who's the lucky guy?"
Zack was silent and the spoke after forming his words, "Well, you know how you asked if the rest of the group would approve?" Aeris gave a small nod, "Let's just say this is the last person they'd want to see me with."
"Are you talking of Cloud?"
"Ohmy God, Aeris!" Zack threw up his hands and fell back on the bed, "Is it impossible to hide something from you?" Aeris laughed and Zack continued, "How did you find out?"
She smiled at him, "Leon and the others haven't beat him up lately. When I found out it was because you were trying to keep the peace among the student body, I knew that it was for a reason." She glanced at him, "You never used to be disinclined to fight." Zack gave her a sheepish grin.
A figure stood by the door, her heart beating wildly. Her face was contorted with rage and her body shook with anger. Her fist was white knuckled as she ground her teeth against each other harshly. This wasn't something she would let slip through her fingers.
The door opened suddenly and both Zack and Aeris looked up. Zack's eyes narrowed when he saw Tifa step it. The brown haired girl gave a sheepish smile and said, "I'm sorry! I forgot my car keys!" She rummaged around and pulled them out from under a paper at the desk.
"Oh that's fine. Are you just leaving?" Aeris said in that soft tone of hers.
"Yup, but I'll be right back!" With that, Tifa skipped out of the room and Zack listened to her thunder down the stairs. It wasn't good that she had come in at a time like that. Had she been listening? Zack frowned.
"Well, I have to go do some homework," He lied again, "thanks for listening to me." With that he opened the door and left down the hall to his room. Aeris stared after him with a cheerless expression on her face.
When Zack went to school the next day, everything seemed kind of…off for some reason or another. He couldn't really pin it down though. He spent all of his morning classes glancing around and frowning to himself. It just felt as though something was going to go wrong.
Lunch rolled around and Zack decided that' he'd check in with Cloud at the library, maybe get a good chat in with Sephiroth while he was at it. He entered the double doors and smiled at the librarian who only nodded at him. He continued through the library until he reached Cloud's favorite place.
Only Cloud wasn't there. He spun around when he heard a chair being pulled out. "If you're looking for Cloud," A deep tenor resonated, "Then he's not here."
"Have you seen him today?" Zack asked Sephiroth.
The silver haired teen only glanced at him with a small shake of his head. "It would be advisable if you found him quickly." Sephiroth answered after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, thanks Seph," Zack left it at that and quickly left the library. Pulling out his phone, he hit his speed dial and lifted the phone to his ear.
It rang once.
Pick up, Cloud, pick up the phone.
It rang twice.
Just as it was about to ring a third time, there was a click and silence until someone said, "Zack?"
Zack let out an unconscious sigh of relief. "Cloud, where are you?"
"Don't come loo-" Cloud's voice was abruptly cut off. There was a shuffling and someone else spoke. Someone Zack didn't want to hear coming through Cloud's phone.
"Come and get him Zack." Zack could hear her devilish smirk through the phone and scowled.
"What are you doing to him?" He growled, barely containing his anger.
"Oh, nothing…" She said softly, "Not until you're here to see it at least." Zack remained silent and she huffed, "Meet us in the industrial sector's parking lot in…" She seemed to contemplate it, "two hours or your boyfriend won't be coming back for our second term." With that, the phone went silent and Zack pulled it away from his ear. He stared at the clinking light on it for a moment until it returned to his menu screen.
He let his face scrunch up in pain that wasn't cause by physical damage. His eyes were strained and he closed them before banging his head on his locker. How could he have let this happen? He knew he should've kept a closer eye on Cloud after last night. He stood with his head against his locker for a few more minutes as he went through his options.
Knowing the Populars reputation for going to the industrial sector to cause some real damage to someone's mind and body was renown around the school. They were never caught, they had that kind of power, but everyone knew. Zack knew. If he went alone, he and Cloud would probably end up hospitalized. It would be safer to bring a few people he knew he could rely on. If this was going to end up being a big issue, taking precautions could never be too troublesome.
Zack opened his locker and grabbed his jacket. He tugged it on and shoved his bag into the metal box. With a sigh, he shut his locker and locked it before heading through the crowd of teenagers for the east south exit of the school, to the parking lot. Zack grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number he hadn't dialed for a few good months.
It rang and someone picked up almost automatically, "Yo, Zack! What's happening, man?"
Zack let out a chuckle, "Nothing really, bud." Zack looked up as he walked through the halls. People were walking, talking, laughing, eating, and as he walked by, they glanced at him, without a second thought and continued what they were doing. "Listen, I need a favor…Reno."
Zack emerged from the school and turned the corner where he stopped unexpectedly. He was silent as he stared at the figure before him. Sephiroth turned to him and said impassively, "I thought it would come to this." Zack watched as the silver haired male pushed himself off from the wall and turned to him. "Where did they take him?"
Zack leant his weight on one foot and turned away, shifting his glare to the first Mercedes he saw. It happened to be black, and owned by one of Kadaj's brothers. "To the industrial sector."
Sephiroth was silent and gave him a calculating stare. "Are you willing to go this far for him?"
Zack growled and snapped his eyes to Sephiroth, his eyes narrowing. "I am," there was calm, "I would do anything for him." With a tone of finality, Sephiroth's eyes glinted slightly and turned when a car came screeching around the corner near the school.
"In that case, allow me to come with you." Sephiroth said. Zack frowned, he didn't know what Sephiroth was thinking as he couldn't see his face, but he knew that whatever it was, Sephiroth didn't have the intention on turning his back on Zack or Cloud.
With a grin, Zack said, "Sure," As soon as he finished his sentence, a beat up Civic pulled up in front of them, grazing the curb. A window was lowered and a shock of red hair was seen. A shit eating grin glare dup at them and Zack couldn't help but smile back.
"What's up, Zack? You ready for this?" Reno flashed a thumbs up.
"More than ready," Zack answered, he opened the back door and offered Sephiroth to go first. The taller male took it and clambered into the car. Zack followed in after him and continued after nodding once to Rude who sat in the passenger seat, "They've had a good beating coming at them for a while."
Reno nodded and they pulled out of the parking lot. He was about to speak when he screeched unexpectedly and slammed on the brakes. "Are you crazy!" Zack peeked around the chair and raised an eyebrow, "Who the fu- what kind of lunatic…?" Zack heard Reno mumbling obscenities under his breath.
Zack opened the door and leaned over the car top. "What brings you here, Vincent?"
The dark haired boy slowly shifted his gaze towards him. Zack didn't flinch when the red eyes landed on him. They were unwavering and glazed over but nonetheless piercing and Zack had watched many shiver under his stares.
No one knew Vincent very well. He was always an enigma to everyone but looking at him now, Zack didn't doubt he knew what Vincent was there for. "You know what I'm here for, Zack."
With that, Zack waved a hand at him dismissingly and ducked back into the car. He left the door open and Reno turned to look at him. Zack shrugged at him and Vincent got into the car, closing the door behind him. Reno turned back to the front and hit the gas. They tore out of the parking lot and Zack turned to look at Vincent from the corner of his eye.
Cloud had told him that is was a simple relationship. Neither of them really liked one another. Zack guessed that they had just become attached to each other without realizing it. It was ironic, how it had worked out, but Cloud just had a sad aura of loneliness that surrounded him. It was hard to ignore something like that.
It only took around an hour to get from their school, through the city, and a ways into through the country to the industrial sector. They made it to the parking lot with twenty eight minutes to spare. The others hadn't gotten there yet so Zack ended up sitting on the front hood. Reno turned to look at both Vincent and Sephiroth.
"So, why did you guys decide to help him out?" He asked in a bored tone.
"Light attachment, perhaps, a sense of guilt." Sephiroth mumbled to him. Reno turned to look at Vincent. The latter just shrugged and gave him a glare that told him to expose why he had come to help.
"You haven't met Cloud, have you?" Sephiroth asked, calmly.
"No," Rude answered shortly, "But Zack needs our help, and that's all that matters."
Reno nodded, "And if this Cloud cat means that much to one of our precious friends and if he's ready to risk everything…then we are too." He was silent and then a grin, "Besides, I've always hated their basketball team. They've been our rivals since we started playing each other. They always beat us somehow though, and it kind of sucked. They're pretty obnoxious also."
Rude found Vincent's eyes closed and frowned at him. When they opened again, they were narrowed and angry. They shifted slightly and there was a knock on the top of the car. Zack leaned down and said, "They're here."
They got out of the car and they looked towards the other end of the parking lot. There were two expensive SUV's. Some would say they looked like gang assassination cars, with all the black and tinted windows. Zack's eyes narrowed when the doors opened. From the first car, Leon, Tifa, Yuffie and Aeris clambered out along with another member of the basketball team. From the second, there emerged was Barret, Cid, and two others from the Populars that dragged Cloud out with them.
Zack's eyes trailed over Cloud, analyzing him, and found that his leg had been hurt. Other than that, he wasn't hurt at all. Zack watched him struggle against the two that were holding him and found that his hands had been tied behind his back. Zack began to walk forward. Sephiroth, Vincent, Reno and Rude followed closely behind him. The Populars opposite of them stepped up also.
Once they had come to a stop, Zack opened his mouth, "Let him go! He's done nothing wrong."
Leon laughed and said, "He's done everything wrong, since the day he was born…Or didn't you know? He's the reason he's all alone, it's his entire fault."
"I don't believe you," Zack answered through grit teeth when Cloud's will seemed to flicker at Leon's words. "I'll ask you again, let him go."
"Why should we let this filthy piece of shit go?" Cid growled, and then he let a grin spread across his face. He turned to Tifa.
Tifa nodded and asked slowly, "What does he mean to you?" Tifa smirked.
"He means everything to me." Zack answered firmly.
Leon snorted, "And here I though you would be better than that." He walked to where Cloud was held against his will, "Instead you find yourself falling for trash."
Tifa hummed and joined him, "A beautiful piece of trash, thrown away by everyone he has ever known." She gripped Cloud's chin and forced his head up from where he was slumped, "Unwanted by even his parents, and left to fend for himself." Cloud jerked away from her as if he'd been burned. Tifa growled and continued, "Why would you want an old, used up toy?"
"He's not a toy, like you, Tifa." Zack said. Tifa turned to him with narrowed eyes.
"It is not one's past that defines who he is, but the choices that they make." Sephiroth interjected, "Cloud is a good person, and deserves better than what he has." Zack stared at Sephiroth and nodded in thanks when he caught his eye.
"Ah, so the great Sephiroth does speak after all." Barret said, "I thought you were a mute all this time. Made me wonder why you were regarded so highly."
"Probably because he actually has a brain," Vincent muttered. Barret's eyes bulged and he flexed his muscles daringly.
Cloud watched it from where he stood. He observed reactions and when he noticed neither Aeris nor Yuffie were speaking, he looked at them. Aeris has her head hung down and her hands clasped together as she peeked at Zack. Yuffie had begun to shrink away as soon as she caught sight of Vincent. She was either intimidated or embarrassed.
"Let him go!" Zack repeated, "He doesn't deserve this just because I chose to be with him." Zack's hand was clenched by his side.
Leon was silent and he turned to Tifa whose face had become twisted in anger, "You'd rather be with a mutt like him, than with us? We are power, we are everything at Shinra!"
"There's a whole world outside of Shinra Academy, and I'm more worried about what they'll think of me, than what you think of me!" Zack yelled in return. "I only want to be with him!"
"Why?" Leon snarled.
Zack was silent and his friends behind him turned to look at him. Cloud shifted his gaze to his boyfriend, scared of what he would say. What if Zack really didn't want to be with him? Only, why would he bring all these people after he had been so rudely taken away for a reason he didn't know? Cloud was confused, and his blurry blue eyes confirmed it.
The Populars waited for an answer and just as they were becoming impatient, Zack said loudly and confidently, "Because I love him."
Cid shook with rage, "How could yo-"
"Is it so wrong to want to be with the person you love?" Aeris interrupted him. Cloud looked at her, astonishment written all over his face. Zack stared at her. Her fists were trembling and tears ran down her cheeks when she lifted her head. "Does it matter who they are? Why is it wrong to want to be with the person you love no matter who they are?"
The other Populars stared at her in disbelief. Yuffie was the first the recover, "It shouldn't matter where they're from, what they do, or who they are to everyone else…" She said lowly, "If you love them, you should be with them." Her eyes lifted directly and stared straight at Vincent.
Yuffie turned decisively towards Cloud. His blue eyes, full of sorrow and pain, looked up at her. She mumbled an, "I'm sorry," Before ordering the two holding him to let him go. They too, were in a state of shock at what the two girls had said, but when Aeris turned a glare on them, they dropped Cloud. Yuffie helped him up and while the others were still staring at them, she, Aeris and Cloud began to walk towards Zack and the others.
When she was half way, Leon yelled after them, "What are you doing?"
Yuffie yelled back without looking at them, "For once, we're doing what's right!"
"You know you'll never be able to come back!" Tifa yelled after she had finished.
"Who would want to go back to those who are frigid to the rest of the world?" Aeris said softly stopping and turning back to them. "I have been against what you've been doing for a long time, and this is pushing it too far. Messing with your friend's relationship just because you don't like who they're with for the wrong reason is not right. It always gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I've finally found what it is," Aeris turned back to Zack, "It was disgust towards my own actions, and pity for those who would never find something so beautiful."
As she began to walk away, Tifa stated loudly in an infuriated tone, "We're leaving, now."
"Fucking traitors," Cid growled. Reno watched them clamber back into their SUV's and drive off. Their actions filled with anger and hatred.
"Looks like we weren't needed after all," Reno lifted his hands behind his head. Rude only nodded in affirmation.
"It was ideal," Sephiroth said, as inexpressive as always.
When Cloud was close, Zack dashed for him and caught him and a huge embrace. Yuffie and Aeris stood back and continued to the others, scared of what they might think. Instead, Reno laughed and patted them on the back, "You two made my day a lot easier, thank you very much!"
Yuffie glanced at Vincent and caught his eye. After a moment, Vincent nodded at her and a dazzling smile spread across her face.
"I was so worried," Zack mumbled into Cloud's hair.
"You didn't have to be, I can take care of myself," Cloud grinned at him.
Zack pouted, "Yeah but you mean a lot to me and I was scared I might lose you to some stupid teenagers who had a God complex shoved up their asses."
Cloud looked down and was silent for a moment. When Zack was going to ask what was wrong, he spoke, "Did you mean it?"
"Mean what?"
"When you said you loved me?" Cloud looked unsure of himself and Zack just grinned.
"Of course I did," He said softly, "Ever since that first day, I've loved you." Zack stroked his cheek, his other arm wrapped tightly around his boyfriend's waist.
Cloud looked up at him and felt the warmth of happiness melt up his spine. It warmed him to the core and it didn't take him long to understand what it was. He leaned up and kissed Zack softly on the lips. It wasn't long, or passionate, just a loving, lingering touch of his lips.
"I love you, Zack."
Well, it wasn't the way he wanted to, but he was able to expose his relationship to the scrutiny of the public. It would be around the school by the next day, Zack was sure of it. In the end though, he got what he wanted. He would finally be able to show how much he loved Cloud…all the time.
I wanted to end the chapter before they argued and fought over everything, but I made you guys wait for three weeks so I thought that it would be cruel. So I kept it up and this is what you get, confessions of undying love. So there we go, chapter seven finished!
Sorry it took so long! I hope you liked it!
