Disclaimer:

I know I know. I own nothing. Nobody, no companies, no characters, nothing. Clear?

---

A/N:

Allll right...So It's been a while, I really do apologize. No updates since 11/10. Jeeez.

Well, I've been busy and everything (no excuse, I know..).

Anyway, hopefully I will get my stuff dealt with and get back on track with this story, if anyone is still reading.

---

CHAPTER 10

Cloud's POV

What is taking so long? We've been waiting in this classroom for the last fifteen minutes now, ever since school let out.

I scanned the room to see all the others who had chosen to come in. Today was going to be the first meeting of the Poetry Club; kind of a trial to see if you really wanted to join or not. There weren't too many kids here, just myself and nine others, some I recognized and some I didn't.

The small group didn't surprise me, I had been hoping it would be this way, actually. Again I looked around the room, bored. Oh. You have to be kidding me. My eyes fell on one kid who was picking his nose. Gross! And the kid next to him was just laughing about it! What was wrong with those two? Maybe I was in the wrong room, maybe this was detention...I looked up to the front chalkboard that read in large, pale yellow letters: "POETRY CLUB."

Below that it said in smaller but somehow more serious writing

"Sit down and shut up. Don't even think about stealing anything because I will know it was you. If you aren't serious about joining this group, then get the hell out now, before I get in the room. Thank you."

Yea...I was in the write room.

Okay. So it has been twenty minutes now, I've been waiting patiently, and there is still no teacher. I had asked around earlier at school, and no one seemed to be able to tell me which teacher was even going to be in charge of this group. The only proof I had that there even was a teacher was the message on the front board.

It was then that I heard the doorknob twist. Looking forward to having this mystery solved, I glanced up too see if I could see through the window on the door, but all I could see was a large box overflowing with of art supplies.

You can imagine my disappointment when the familiar face of Demyx poked his head in the doorway and looked around.

"Poetry club?" he asked. Several of the students told that it was indeed the right room. He grinned and pushed the door open with his hip and wheeled in a large cart with the boxes of art supplies stacked on it. No wonder I couldn't see past it.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He couldn't possibly be the teacher, could he? This better not be one of those 'student run, student led' type of organizations. If it was, I was going to walk away now. Though, one more glance at the board assured me that my happy friend was in no way the head of this class.

He finished wheeling the cart into the front of the room and plopped down in the seat next to me, and finally answered my question.

"I was just helping Mr.V"

Mr.V? Who was– oh no. Did he mean..

"Mr. Vincent?"

Demyx nodded as I laid my head down on the desk.

Of course. While he doesn't seem like he would do it, who else would head a poetry club? While he may be qualified, he had a definite grudge against me. He was my fourth period Art teacher, and everything I have ever done, he hated. There is no way I can do this if he is the teacher! He wouldn't even give me a chance!

I was about to grab my things and hightail it out of there when I heard the door knob again. I looked just in time to see the hallway lights flick off. This time the door creaked open, slow and ominous. The exposed doorway was dark and threatening in the lightless hallway.

Was I the only one a little freaked out here? I heard a few kids shuffle and one kid gulp. At least I wasn't alone.

I looked back this time to see a dark figure lingering in the doorway. I was about to get up and leave when the shadowy figure spoke.

"Goddamn janitors...Schools out for twenty minutes and they already have all the fucking lights off..."

The hall lights returned to reveal a particularly angry looking Mr. Vincent. He walked in and looked around. I suppose he wasn't pleased by his students-to be, as he frowned more and more with each face he took in. Suddenly I became overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt, as just our sheer presence seemed to make this angst ridden man yearn for death. Not that he didn't always look that way, mind you.

No one had uttered a word since his dramatic, and quite frankly- terrifying, entrance. Probably because the kids were to scared to say anything. If anyone spoke Mr. Vincent might leap up and rip them apart, then whip out a gun and shoot their remains into oblivion. At least that is what I gathered from the faces of some of the other kids. Everyone at this school thought Mr. Vincent was little crazy, faculty included.

He began digging through a drawer and removed a thin binder.

Slowly, he brought himself in to the front of the classroom, his posture alone reeking of untold pain and anguish, as well as a lot of pent up anger.

"Class" he started.

Wow..he sounded really..

"He sounds Pissed!" Demyx whispered to me, instantly earning a collective gasp from the class, since Demyx did not know how to whisper. Instead of pulling out some mystical, big-ass gun, Mr. Vincent went on as if he hadn't heard.

"I was hoping no one would show up today. But as fate would have it, you have, so write your name on the paper and pass it to the next person." he continued. He then handed the binder to a boy in the front before addressing the class again.

"I suppose I should start with an explanation. This is Poetry Club. Congratulations. Now you can say you are artsy and upperclass, or whatever else you call it. I will be your instructor, Mr. Vincent. Call me Vince, Vinny, Vin, or anything else, and I can promise you that you will get an inner tour of the school's newest pottery kiln. They say it gets hotter than hell, and I have been dying to test it."

I heard a whimper from somewhere in the back of the room.

"I suppose I should also inform you of my policies. I will not take any shit from any of you. Incase you have not noticed, I am less than thrilled about instructing you amateurs. Let me assure you that I want nothing to do with any of you, I am only here because the principal said it was Poetry Club or Volleyball. Now that we have that out of the way. Start writing your poetry and don't say anything. If you need something, deal with it."

And with that, he sat down at the large desk and began thumbing through a book.

...Whoa. I have never heard him say more than 3 words at a time before. That had to be at least a hundred! ...That man is so frightening.

A few moment's later Demyx passed the binder to me and I signed my name in it, and passed it along. I had considered writing a fake name, but I figured Mr. V knew who I was already, so it really would do nothing for my safety.

"Um...Mr. Vincent?"

Eyes wide, I snapped to look at whatever fool had decided to ask a question after what we had just been told. Please don't let it be Demyx. God, please don't let it be Demyx. He is the only person I know in this class.

Luck had been with me, because Demyx looked just as shocked.

There, down in the front row, was the dark haired head Tifa Lockheart, with her hand raised timidly in the air.

I had known her for a long time, we used to hang out a lot as children. Then she developed a massive crush on me and I kind of stayed away from then on. It's not that I didn't think she was a good person or anything, because she was nice, just...Girls scare me.

Still, regardless of whatever may have been felt between us, I didn't want her to die. Fortunately for her, he seemed to be ignoring her.

I guess she took her own luck for granted, since now she actually seemed irritated.

"Mr. Vincent!" she repeated. Again no response. You could tell she was getting steamed, and fast. If there was one thing that Tifa hated, it was being ignored.

Standing briskly, she got up and marched over to his desk where he was still reading.

"Mr. Vincent I was wondering if you were going to teach us something about poetry or if you were just going to sit in here and read..." she paused to look at his book. "..The Forbidden Love all day!"

Well that got his attention. And goddamn, could that man scowl. Frown firmly in place, he folded down his page and closed the book, placing it on his desk, before bringing himself to full height. Needless to say, he towered over her 17 year old frame.

"Teach? So you want this to be like a real class, do you?" he asked, drawing it out after some thought.

"Very well then. Like a real class, you can have homework, too. All of you are to go home and write seven poems and four sonnets. You will bring them in tomorrow and turn all but one of them in to me. One you will keep to read to the whole class. Also, as a real class, once you sign up for it, you can not get out of it."

He walked over to the boy in the back desk and grabbed the binder off of his desk.

"I now have all of your names. That means I know who to hold accountable, and if you do not show up tomorrow, I will write you up for truancy. You are dismissed."

And with that he gathered up his romance novel and was out the door.

If Tifa hadn't been on the verge of tears before, she was now, as the whole classroom glared at her.

I looked over to Demyx, who had just slammed his head down on the desk. "So..much...work"

he muttered against the faux wood.

Seven poems and four sonnets...

God, this was going to suck.

---

Tseng's POV

"All right. No, I understand. Thanks anyway."

Sighing, I hung up the phone as I was turned down for yet another job. I don't know what is so wrong with giving me a chance.

Oh well. It was 7:30 pm and I was giving up for the evening.

Besides, Zack was gone to Sephiroth's to start their English project, why waste my silence with job applications?

Just as I flopped down on the bed, there was a knock on the door. You have to be kidding me. "Yea?" I called out, though it was rather muffled through the pillows. Please don't be Randy wanting me to help him put the Christmas lights up, it's too late to do that tonight.

Lucky for me I was greeted with a much more welcome face in my doorway.

"Hey Rufus." I greeted him through a smile. He was just who I wanted to see on a boring night like this. He padded over to me and sat down on the edge of the bed. Strange, usually he just sprawls out next to me, but he hasn't even said anything yet.

Sitting up, I looked over to see that he was clearly debating something. He was just looking at his shoes and he dangled his feet off the bed.

I was about to ask him what was wrong when he turned to me with a serious expression.

"I need to tell you something."

That got my attention. Something was wrong with Rufus. I swear to God, if his father did something to him, I will go over there and make that man wish I were only Sephiroth again. I moved over and put an arm on his shoulder, which he shrugged out of. I have to say, that kind of hurt. And 'kind of' was a bit of an understatement.

He got up from the bed and walked over to stand before me.

"Tseng.."

I was worried now, he wouldn't even look at me.

He kept opening his mouth to speak, but each time he closed it immediately, trying to figure out just what he wanted to say. It was awfully cute, though I could tell he was getting frustrated with himself.

This went on for a few moments, before he stomped his foot on the ground.

"God Dammit! I can't think of any way to say it that won't make me sound stupid, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I have been going over it in my head for a long time now, even with Sephiroth, and I don't care anymore."

Angry and to the point, that was Rufus.

But what has he been going over with Sephiroth? I felt jealousy spike a little at the thought of Seph knowing something about Rufus that I didn't. Was he with Sephiroth now? That bastard! He knows how I feel about Rufus! I'll kill him if it is, best friend or not, I'll–

"I love you."

What?! You.. love me? I guess he took my stunned silence for rejection as he scowled and made his way to leave. No way. You aren't going anywhere now, dear Rufus.

Crossing the floor swiftly I grabbed him by the arm and whirled him around. I went to kiss him, or at least I had planned to, before hauled off and punched me square in the face. For a pretty-boy, he could hit like a bitch.

Clutching my nose I glared at him "What the hell was that for?!"

"Don't think you can just make fun of me about this! I won't stand for it. I just humiliated myself, and I won't have you taking the liberties of doing the same." He said, sniffing slightly.

Poor, poor, confused Rufus. Letting go of my nose, it wasn't bleeding, thankfully, I stood again and grabbed him by the arms so that this time he couldn't hit me.

"Hear me out. And if you try and head butt me, and you'll never walk again." I promised him. Looking at me hatefully he tried to free himself.

"I love you, too, Rufus."

That got him to stay still. He looked up, and before he could question me I brought my head down to kiss him. This time, instead of trying to slug me, I found him kissing me back eagerly. In fact, before I knew it, he had his hands tangled in my hair and was backing me toward the bed. I never knew Rufus was an animal, not that I had any objections. In fact, my only displeasure was that we couldn't be in my room for this, and that we had to be in Zack's bed, which embarrassingly enough was covered in a Jurassic Park bedspread.

When I felt small, soft hands working their way into my shirt, the dinosaurs were a mere memory. Jesus Christ, Rufus.

Smirking against his wild mouth, I ran my hands along his sides and rested them on his hips. He lowered his head to kiss my throat when I looked over his shoulder to see my brother and Sephiroth standing mortified in the doorway.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Zack screamed, caught off guard after walking into his room to find us making out shamelessly on his bed. Rufus was both angry that we had been interrupted and guilty that we had been caught, and in Zack's bed, no less. So this didn't look good at all..

I was the first one that tried reason. "Zack...I'm sorry. We-" Zack didn't allow me to finish.

"YOU CAN'T BE GAY" His voice was full of disappointment and accusation. This made everyone in the room pause in confusion. No one really understood why that revelation would anger him, Zack himself had shamelessly been lusting after another man for quite some time now. So what was his problem?

Zack was muttering to himself as he walked over to sit in the chair and rested his head in his hands, leaving Sephiroth standing half stunned in the doorway. Rufus, who up until now had been trying to hind behind me in his embarrassment, spoke up.

"Zack...um..you're gay..."

Zack looked up from his bowed posture. For the next few moments he just started up into my eyes, looking distraught, not saying a word.

I again opened my mouth to question my dear brother's behavior when he stood abruptly with his hands clenched in his hair.

"I WAS GOING TO BE THE BEST UNCLE EVER!"

What the Fuck?

"What?!" Rufus and I yelled in unison, Sephiroth looked at him incrediously.

"I was going to be a great Uncle! The kind that takes the kids places where their square of a father-" he said as he motioned toward me. I was a little offended but opted to only raise an eyebrow, "wouldn't take them! You know! Like Uncle Buck! But..better looking!"

Uncle Buck? Who the hell was that?! Was he someone in Jurassic Park or something?

The room fell into silence once more as Zack stood, breathing heavily. Thankfully, Sephiroth pulled himself into a semi- functioning thought process and grabbed Zack by the shoulder.

"I'm sure you can find some other child to torment every now and then. Come on Zack, we need to go."

Zack, who seemed immediately cured by the physical contact from Sephiroth, broke into a grin.

"You're right. I'm sure Tsengy and Rufus could adopt a kid anyway! See you two love birds later." he called as he led him and Sephiroth out of the room. That's it? He isn't angry anymore? What!? My brother was a Grade A nutcase!

I looked over to Rufus, who seemed to still be in a thoughtless stupor. "What...is wrong...with your brother.." he said slowly, contemplating each word. I was about to tell him that it was a hopeless mystery, and that thinking it would only waste one's life away, when Zack popped his head back into the doorway, wiggling his eyebrows.

"And I expect you to change the sheets before I get back."

I was about to tell him to fuck off when a stick of Deodorant came whizzing over my shoulder and stuck Zack in the face. I looked back to see Rufus sitting on the bed, looking more irritated than ever. Walking over, I pushed my now aching brother out of the doorway and locked the door.

I was planning on turning around and saying something along the lines of "now where were we?" when I was pressed against the door and Rufus' mouth was covering my own once more.

So it's official.

Rufus is a sexual deviant.

-----end chapter-----

okay, so, that's it for this one. I am pretty...unsatisfied with this chapter...ugh.

I haven't been in the writing mood lately, and I suppose it shows. I have been spending all of my time reading and neglecting my own work instead, hehehe.

Anyway, sorry about the wait and the lack of...goodness in this one? I don't know, I am just really disappointed with it. Feel free to tell me if you are too. Thanks for reading.