10. Confronting Disasters

That first lunchtime of the year was one of the first times Cloud had had real fun in months. Reeve and Aeris still seemed a little cool and formal towards Cloud at first, but eventually things were right back to normal. Reeve and Zack were a riot, as always, and Aeris eventually warmed up and started helping Cloud critique the contents of Zack's hot dog combo, which made him lose his appetite. Cloud was even happier to find out that he, Reeve, and Zack shared the same Chemistry class after lunch. Aeris was kind of sour on this, though; she once again complained about how the school had sabotaged her schedule and not allowed her to register for Chemistry, which was full (according to the front office staff, at least). Instead, she was taking Biology.

"Geez, what's your problem?" Reeve asked her, when she started sulking. "I thought you liked Biology because of the flowers and pretty animals and skipping and whatnot."

"I took Bio last fall, at my old school, remember?" Aeris snapped. "But they wouldn't accept my class credit, because we didn't do any animal dissections. I thought I'd take chemistry instead, so I could study compounds for plant food, but those stupid administrators have apparently screwed me over again. I'll see you guys later."

The boys waved at Aeris as she turned and set off down the hall in the opposite direction. "You'd think they'd at least try to make up for shuffling her between schools last spring," said Zack. "Even I don't have that much trouble with scheduling, and I'm an out-of-townie."

"Such is the plight of a Sector Five tree-hugger caught in the cogs of the system," Reeve replied simply, with mock musing. He opened the door to the classroom.

The boys settled in two of the lab tables, Cloud and Zack sitting together while Reeve took a seat next to Joanie Hayes, one of Aeris' friends (whom Aeris had 'introduced' Zack to last March). She smiled reluctantly at Reeve; apparently she was waiting for another friend to partner with.

Zack and Reeve struck up a conversation with Joanie; Cloud decided that he didn't want in and chose instead to stare blankly with his mouth wide open at a chart detailing the oh-so-fascinating process of materia formation. He did listen to their conversation passively (about Joanie's trip to Costa Del Sol this summer), and noticed that Joanie preferred to talk to Zack than listen to Reeve's quality talk on motorboat mechanics.

The bell soon rang and the teacher walked in, casually slamming the door behind him. It didn't seem deliberate, but it did shut up the entire class at once and drew them to a rare state of attention. Cloud immediately realized that the man who had walked in was the very same guy who had shaken him out of a similar state of unconsciousness just that morning. He thought the guy looked a little less tired than before.

"Good afternoon, I suppose I should say," the teacher started, more out of courtesy than certainty on the time of day. "I'm Mr. Black, Stan Black, this is Chemistry, and uh, you are all in for a lovely, wonderful, totally awesome year of science. Hooray for you all, eh?"

Mr. Black's deadpan delivery earned a big laugh from the class, settling them down a lot. He chuckled. "Nah seriously, I'm not Mrs. Sheldon or Mrs. Richter or anything, so, uh, if you find yourselves wishin I was as honest and drop-dead gorgeous as those two-" again came another roar from the class, "and sugar-coated my teaching with as much saccharine as they did, then you'll probably want to transfer out."

Chemistry was shaping up to be a damn good class. After discussing the class content and going over lab rules (in a somewhat derisive tone, at least until he got to chemical handling, at which point he spoke very seriously), Mr. Black had them try out a simple penny-cleaning lab with varying amounts of hydrochloric acid, warning against spraying the damn squirt bottles at each other instead of the pennies.

Fairly well trained with water guns, Cloud clutched his 'weapon' like a pro, grinning mischievously at Reeve, pretending to aim the squirt bottle at him. "Reeve, move your goggles, I can't hit your eyes like that, dumbass."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my good man," Reeve said cordially, sliding the lab goggles over his forehead. "Is this better?"

"Great. Hold still, okay?"

"A'ight."

The two held their positions for a moment, and then broke down laughing after Reeve couldn't suppress a chuckle. Zack grinned amusedly, while Joanie giggled, saying "You guys are retarded."

"Heh, you so would have missed that anyway," Reeve told Cloud.

"No I wouldn't!" he insisted. "I could fire that crap up your nose from twenty feet away."

"Or even a hundred feet, eh Strife?" said a cold voice. "Just like your big brother did?"

The comment had issued from a boy sitting the table across from Cloud and Zack's, Mark Wick, a forward on the Varsity basketball team, and a friend of Sephiroth's. Students at the tables nearby stopped working, and looked over at the confrontational Wick. It was going to be interesting.

Cloud suddenly felt that familiar heaviness swim in his chest again, displacing whatever the hell it was that had been there right before. He couldn't respond, much less retort effectively. Thankfully perceptive, Zack picked up on this after a moment, and came to Cloud's rescue. "Shut your damn mouth, Wick," he ordered.

"Why don't you tell him then? The fucking freak don't know his place."

Zack stood up, tossing his goggles on the table. "The hell, man, he didn't do anything to you!" He yelled.

"Not yet," Wick answered, his voice rising. "I heard you talking, Strife; I know you're just like him, you little-"

"Hey!" Mr. Black shouted, coming up the aisle. The entire class was silent now. "Disrupting my class already, Wick? You the official class troublemaker?" He was looking Wick square in the eye. Wick did his best to match his teacher, but despite the fact that he probably had a few inches over the guy, he couldn't help squirming. Mr. Black smirked. "Believe me son, you do not want to mess with me." He paused a few moments, and then looked up again at the thirty-four eyes on him. "Start cleaning up, we'll finish the lab and do a write-up tomorrow."

Immediately the screech of chairs moving across the floor and pennies clattering on the tables resounded through the room. Cloud cleaned up slowly and intently; neither Reeve nor Zack met his eyes. Mr. Black glanced at him briefly before walking back to the blackboard, muttering "Stay after class" under his breath to the boy.

Cloud took his time gathering lab aprons, quietly telling Zack and Reeve that he'd catch up with them later. Soon his thirty-three classmates had exited, Wick among the last of them to leave. He shot a fleeting glare at Cloud, looking hateful.

Once everyone was out of the room Cloud approached Mr. Black at the front, who was sitting on a lab table. "Hm, I wondered if I'd get you," Mr. Black started, watching Cloud with an examining eye. "After I met you this morning, of course. Guess it's no wonder why you looked so depressed."

Cloud said nothing, still in a somewhat brooding mood. "You brother was one of my students, you know," the teacher continued, sounding strangely proud, even nostalgic. "He was in both my classes, Chemistry and Physics. Laziest little punk I've ever seen, but he was a damn smart one. He got A's in here even after he failed to turn in most of his homework. He really liked science, actually. Amusing guy."

"I hate him," Cloud muttered angrily.

The teacher scratched his head. "Well, I guess a lot of people around here do, understandably. But, you know, he did so much stuff that was hateful anyway. I remember getting pissed off as hell when I found out he was brewing his own meth at home." He eyed Cloud suspiciously. "You never did any of that stuff, did you?"

God, this was like Richter's office, without the bubble gum-supplemented sex demonstration. The only difference was that Cloud's impatience was rising faster this time, and it had just reached its limit in record time. "Look," Cloud started, bold and direct, "is there a point to this, or did you just call me up to accuse me of being a drug addict?" His voice was strained with edgy exasperation as he asked.

Mr. Black watched Cloud for a moment, fully aware of the anger boiling within the teenager, and then, to Cloud's surprise, he smirked slightly. "How come you don't use that assertiveness with Wick?" He asked quietly.

Half-insulted and half-confused, Cloud made like he was about to make a response, but couldn't quite figure out what that response was. All he could figure out was that Mr. Black had been testing him. He must have known that Cloud despised Reno, and he used it to see if Cloud could put up a fight about it.

And it worked marvelously, that bastard.

Cloud's teacher continued on with his 'point:' "Look, I like your brother, but I honestly don't give a damn about him right now, and neither should you. What I do give a damn about is the fact that you have your friends fight your battles for you when you're obviously capable of throwing punches. So do it yourself." He hopped off of the lab table, now only slightly looming over Cloud, but still just as authoritative. "…Or I might just call your two buddies over to clean beakers the next time Wick starts messing with ya."

He walked out of Mr. Black's room in a bewildered daze, spotting his friends waiting by the boys bathrooms. Cloud definitely wasn't looking forward to admitting to them that Mr. Black apparently only called him over to tell him to stop being a chicken wuss.

But what Cloud's friends had to show him was much more disconcerting.

"Alright, let's go," Cloud muttered shortly, preparing to field any inquiries Zack and Reeve might have.

"No,dude, wait," said Zack, insistent.

Cloud started off towards the east hall, saying, "Look, I don't want to talk about it, let's just get to class-"

"No Cloud, look!" Reeve started, pulling Cloud back. "Down the hall, over there!"

Cloud didn't have to look very long; the eyes of every person in that hallway were focused on one figure gradually making his way through the crowd. With not even the slightest trace of a limp or injury, Sephiroth Hojo casually walked past, looking as imposing and heroic as ever. Even his usual posse of jocks seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the return of their captain.

Slowly, claps began to initiate. The rest of the crowd joined in quickly, and it didn't take long for the teenagers to take up the same chants they had shouted for their hero only months before. Sephiroth returned with a soft, comforted smile, as the applause and cheers grew louder and louder around him.

And though everyone watched Sephiroth in complete admiration as he came past, Cloud was the only one who averted his eyes.

"…I heard they pumped him full of mako till it started oozing out of his ears," Reeve was saying animatedly, as the three of them walked home from school an hour and a half later, joined by Aeris. "He got better like, in a week, but he was radioactive and glowing purple for two months. And his doctors wouldn't let him outside because he was sneezing out paint thinner and pissing battery acid."

"Dude, that's the stupidest rumor I've ever heard; it's totally bogus," Zack said, rolling his eyes as he kicked a soda can out of his path. "…And anyway, it wasn't mako, it was crystal meth."

"Could we maybe move on to a less disgusting topic?" asked a repulsed Aeris, although she snuck a quick sideways glance at Cloud as she said it.

Reeve looked at Aeris with a bit of annoyance. "Uh, we're like, totally gossiping here, girlfriend!" He said in his most obnoxious valley girl voice, fanning out his fingers and waving them at her to accent the act. "You, like, do it all the time with Joanie, remember? If you're not going to join in, then you'd better like, recognize and butt out, fer sure!"

Zack howled as he watched Reeve swivel his head once around his neck and snap his fingers. Cloud snorted too and looked over at Aeris, expecting one of her dry retorts. "Gee, that's a really good imitation, Reeve," Aeris started coolly, "do you want to see my imitation of you trying to throw a basketball two feet into the air and hitting yourself in the face?"

"Shutting up," said Reeve quickly, as Zack and Cloud 'ooh-ed' admiringly at Aeris' reply. It was one of Aeris' better ones, although Cloud thought it was a bit random since they'd only tried basketball together once last year.

"Guess you guys aren't walking home together today?" asked Zack, as the four of them approached the fork where Reeve and Aeris usually parted ways.

"Not if I get owned again," Reeve said, looking at Aeris cautiously.

She sighed, shaking her head sort of tiredly. "Sorry Reeve, I think I just had a bit of a bad day; my Biology teacher hates me, just because she does not know what she's doing. It wasn't a fun afternoon. But it was awesome seeing you again Cloud!"

She hugged Cloud again, which still freaked him out, and said goodbye along with Reeve, setting off in the other direction. Zack of course, watched Aeris until she was out of sight.

"Oh god, don't tell me you're still crushing on her," Cloud told him, noticing Zack's stare.

"I'm still crushing on her."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I asked you not to tell me that!"

"Oh, come on Cloud, I told you, this takes time!" Zack started walking again, Cloud following soon after. "Right now it's just taking more time than I anticipated. No worries though, the plan's in motion."

"Dude, what plan? You've done nothing. You haven't even given her that damn flower we risked our asses for."

"But I still have it." He said mischievously, as if he were playing a prank or something. "It's all about timing Cloud, timing."

Cloud snorted. "Dude, shut up." And, actually feeling comfortable with making the reference, added, "You sound like my brother."

"No, your brother doesn't possess that kind of patience," came a voice.

The boys froze. Neither of the two recognized the feminine voice. The word 'cop' instantly reverberated in Cloud's brain. Slowly he turned around, as did Zack.

There was a woman standing there, probably in her mid-20's but clad in combat pants and a raggy blue sweater. She wore a red bandanna in her auburn hair, as well as a curious but very friendly look on her face. Was she undercover? She looked too clean and relaxed to be another drug dealer…

"He also missed Reno's cockiness by about a mile," she said, adding to her earlier thought.

"Who are you?" Cloud said immediately, but cautiously. "What do you want? And how do you know my brother?"

"Um…okay, Jessie, a hot dog, and he replaced my nitroglycerin supply," she answered, counting off her fingers. When she finished she smiled.

"…Er, what?"

Jessie shook her head, tossing her hands up. "Geez, if you're gonna ask a three-part question, keep track of your queries!" She sighed. "Okay, again…I am Jessie, I want a hot dog because I'm hungry, and I know your brother because he replaced my nitroglycerin supply the other day."

Cloud exchanged a look with Zack, then turned to give Jessie another confused look. Zack decided to speak up. "Nitroglycerin?"

"Yeah, you know, the explosive stuff?" she said, growing impatient.

"I know," Zack replied awkwardly, "but…why would you need a supply of-"

"That's not important! Ugh, this is taking longer than I thought! Look, Cloud, right?" Slowly, he nodded, and to his surprise, she came closer, bringing her voice down to a whisper. "I'll make this short. I am Jessie, and I'm with Avalanche, I don't think I have to explain who they are. Reno's with us too. He's in town right now, and he wants to see you, on Saturday." And before Cloud's jaw could even drop, she produced a letter from one of her pockets, addressed to Cloud in what was clearly Reno's disjointed handwriting.

Cloud stared at the letter in disbelief, exchanging a consulting glance with an equally dumbfounded Zack. "Um, Cloud, are you really into staring contests or something?" asked Jessie after a while. "You want me to open it for you?"

"No, no…" Cloud's finger pried apart the adhesive on the envelope, and he pulled the letter out. It read:

Cloud,

He noticed that the firstline was crossed out. It was still legible though, it read:

What up man? How's school goin? How's Mom? I'm okay,

And it ended there. He read the rest of the letter:

You know what? Fuck letter-writing, formalities make me sound like a douche. Basically, I wanna tell you what's been going on. I know, I've been a dick, but just come. I need you to meet me on Saturday at 10 AM. I can't write the meeting place right now, Jessie will tell you that. You can bring your little friends if you want, but DON'T TELL ANYONE ELSE. Not even Mom. And tell your friends not to be turds either.

Reno

"What…the fuck…is this!" Cloud started, with unusual hysterics. "Who the hell does that fucking idiot think he is, ordering me to meet him! He drops out of fucking society for five months and now he wants to explain! I'm sorry about the trouble," he said to Jessie, "but I'm not coming! Tell him to go fuck-"

"AHEM." Jessie cleared her throat loudly, managing to interrupt Cloud's tirade. He glared at her, looking grossly offended.

"There's a postscript," she said simply. Cloud looked.

PS: Please.

He considered it for a long moment. He gave Zack a sort of "what should I do" glance, but Zack looked a little too freaked out with Cloud's sudden mood change to respond normally.

Cloud repeated it to himself in his head. 'Please,' that was like a dirty word to Reno. Well, in the literal sense at least. And like most people, Reno only used it when he had to, like a dreaded last resort. And when addressed to Cloud, he had only used it exactly four times in his life (not counting whenever their parents forced him to). This is why Reno had used it as a postscript. It really was a big thing, both he and Cloud knew.

"So," said Jessie, smiling nicely at him, "Will you come?"

Cloud hesitated, looked at her with seriousness, and then said, "Did that dickhead really think that was gonna work for me this time! What the hell man, does he even have the slightest idea what I've had to go through because of him!"

"Cloud!" she started, with some shock, only to be interrupted again.

"No, tell him to go screw himself, I'm not coming."

Jessie sighed, shaking her head. "Well, I told him that wasn't gonna work. So we came up with a contingency plan."

"Why, am I supposed to be like a hurricane or something?" asked Cloud sarcastically.

"No, your brother just knows you too well. That's why he finally asked me to tell you that he wants you to punch him."

Cloud didn't quite hear that clearly. "Uh, excuse me?"

"He said that whatever hate or aggression you feel towards him, he wants you to pack it all into one big healthy punch, and to deliver it to him in the face the moment you walk in the door on Saturday," she said matter-of-factly.

So he did hear it. "Are you serious?"

"I think he was serious," said Zack. "Your bro did set a hamster on fire for you."

Jessie gave him a look. "Really?"

"Long story."

Cloud read the letter again, examining it with a feeling of extreme distaste. Another long sigh, and he crumbled up the letter, stuffing it into his pocket. "I am so going to regret this."

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Writing transition chapters can be a bore at times, hence the lateness. Obviously, the real Reno-ness will be in the next chappie, which is more plot-based, so this should be easier. Yay!