Hello everyone, I'm back with a new installation. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for the delay, as you know these things happen, but I'm glad you're still reading!
Aquilla Strife-As usual, I really enjoy your reviews and your new...vocabulary! Ha! Yes, Leon is very perceptive, I kinda like that about him. He sort of stood out that way to me in the game too.
Hanae da Firefly- Thanks for the review. I hope five pages is enough for you...it is for me, my hands are gonna come off... In any case, I'm glad you like it.
XO'Magik Moon'OX- Thank you for the review! At the convention, We were Geisha, attempting to be Kaoru from Rurouni Kenshin, however the kimonos we wore were different, so...hey. Ah, yes, the big revelation...it may occur soon...Thank you for noticing my error!
Alright, I own nothing but my humble plot!
Cloud stopped in the door way staring in a complete stupor, but only briefly before letting out a small sigh. Apparently he wasn't as well prepared as he had thought he was. His nerves were flaring up again, Cloud noted anxiously while placing his book-bag on the floor next to his bed. The air in the room wasn't particularly disquieted, but Cloud was having an awful fit trying to figure out what to do next. He kept shifting his eyes toward Leon—who appeared to be reading—and biting his lip while contemplating what he was going to say.
For the last few hours he had been sitting in the food court trying to figure out what to say to and do about the particular individual whom he couldn't even make eye contact with, at the present moment. Leon wanted a decision, perfectly understandable but seemingly impossible to reach.
He racked his brain the whole time he was in that food court, unable to make up his mind. It wasn't until he had gotten home and noticed the barely setting sun and the piercing red numbers on his digital clock that he realized how long he had been gone. He dimly remembered a custodian hovering about his table with a mop, but he was too deep in thought to really acknowledge his presence. So after hours of contemplation, what was his conclusion? It was simple...he would just have to wing it.
Leon observed Cloud angrily out of the corner of his eye, careful not to disclose that he was not reading at all. The last thing he wanted was for Cloud to find out he had spent the majority of his solitude thinking about him...
With a spark of impatience, he watched Cloud pace to one side of the room, fiddle with the pencils in the holder, pace back, sigh, scratch his head, fiddle with the notebooks on the table, pace again, sigh... The whole ordeal was almost maddening to watch. If Cloud didn't hurry up and say something, Leon was going to lose his forbearance and snap, which would not be good for the show of mild ill-temperament he was trying to pull off.
Finally, Cloud straitened his throat, took a deep breath and jabbed at the air a bit with his fist. His mouth opened to say something, but as soon as he looked back at Leon, he froze, his eyes averted him completely and whatever he had planned to say was forever lost. With his motivation annihilated, he went right back to the nerve-pinching task of pacing about the room. This time however, he added opening and closing his mouth to start and restart sentences.
Leon bit the inside of his cheek. He thought for sure he was going to lose it now. He shifted a bit on the mattress and turned the page of his completely abandoned novel. There was no way a simple answer could possibly be that difficult... unless it was the one that he knew Leon wouldn't want to hear... His heart raced again.
He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. What did it matter to him if Cloud decided to return to Seifer like a faithful pup? It would probably be best for Leon in the long run, and he wouldn't have to deal with Cloud and his ridiculous stupidity. He could just go back to the way things were.
Though the words seemed calming in his head, Leon's heart hardened a bit. The cruel hand Cloud was about to deal him was making him bitter and angry. However much easier to accept than sadness, the cold sentiments he felt were unwanted and unavoidable. He just wished Cloud would hurry up and confirm his anxieties before he combusted.
Several minutes passed. Cloud really knew how to test his patience. Fighting back a sigh, Leon waited a few more minutes until Cloud at long last stopped pacing.
The battle within Cloud's mind ended with a raised white flag on both sides. He just had to jump in, after all that was part of winging it. He sat down at the edge of his bed facing Leon who was coated in the dull, golden glow of the lamp and inhaled deeply.
"Leon...I..."
But before Cloud could even finish his sentence, Leon slammed his book shut, stood and announced "I'm going for a walk."
Without skipping a beat, he walked over to the coat rack, and grabbed his coat.
Cloud sat flabbergasted. "...You are?"
"That's right." He pulled his arm into the sleeve.
"Right now?"
"Mmhm."
"But..."
Leon slipped his other arm in the other sleeve. He was so fed up by now that the sound of Cloud's voice nearly set him off. Leon was going to let Cloud sit and think about how angry he'd made him—however now he couldn't decide what he was angrier about: earlier's musings, or the stalling that nearly wore Leon's nerves to frayed, little wire-like shavings. He reached for his scarf. This walk was definitely going to be a long one.
Cloud, needless to say was a little bit shaken and at a loss for what to do. He had just worked so hard trying to come up with what to say, and after he had finally formulated an idea, Leon was about to walk out on him! Cloud was not about to have all that work go to waste.
"Fine," he said standing. He reached for his coat as well. "I'll go with you."
Leon stopped mid-button. "What?"
"I said, I'll go with you."
Leon's turn to stare, gaping. Company was indisputably not an option."But...why?"
Cloud adjusted his coat a bit. "Because I want to."
He frowned, "Well, don't I don't need you to follow me." He opened the door, just as Cloud finished buttoning his coat.
"Well, I need me to follow you."
Leon didn't even pause to raise an eyebrow at his last comment, but instead focused on getting out of there. "Leave me alone." He stated, then briskly walked away. Cloud however was not to be lost as he followed steadily on Leon's heels.
"Stop following me!"
"No."
They had exited the dorms quite a while back. The distance traveled was unexpected. Cloud and Leon had now covered about a quarter of the campus, far longer a distance than he had wanted to go when by himself. Still, he continued on, with the somewhat fading hopes of losing his pursuer. Cloud was only a few steps behind him.
"I mean it Cloud! Go back home!" He shouted behind him.
"Not a chance!"
He rushed past the library and the gallery, his steps getting a bit sluggish, but Cloud managed to keep a steady pace.
"Cut it out!"
"I'm not leaving!"
The school building itself was insight now, as was the student resource center. Their shadows became more defined when the street lights began to come on.
"Can't you take a hint!"
"No thank you!"
Leon didn't even want to think about how long they had been out there. There was no one to blame but Cloud in all his relentless tenacity. With the amount of distance covered, it was certainly an extended time. The air was getting a bit nippy as they passed by the outdoor food court and the small garden that bordered it. The dim rays of the setting sun hardly made any difference at all in the temperature, but just provided a bit of light so Leon wouldn't run face first into the decorative trees in the courtyard, which they were now entering.
"Stop following me! I want to be left alone!"
"Forget it!"
Leon was really getting angry now. He had expected Cloud to give up way before this point, but he was keeping up as though they were attached. He stole a quick glance behind him. Cloud didn't look nearly as winded as Leon felt, but instead of the amused expression he had expected to see, Cloud's face was stern, touched with determination. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and he walked stiffly.
He looked up. They were standing on the cement walkway of the housing complex. The shortness of his breath and ache in his legs and feet confirmed it: They had just gone full circle around the campus.
"I don't believe you!" Leon shouted, turning around.
"And I don't believe you!" He closed the distance between them.
"Care to explain what you thought you were doing!"
"Hey, no one asked you to go over the entire campus!"
"No one asked you to follow me!"
"Argh, and it's freezing out here!" Cloud said ignoring that last comment. "Now we're both going to be sick and it's all you're fault!"
"My fault! How is it my fault! If you had just have gone home like I said, then we wouldn't be standing out here at all!"
"If you had have just stopped and listened to what I had to say, then I wouldn't have had to follow you!"
Leon rolled his eyes. "Oh really, you had something to say?"
"...Um...I suppose I did, yes!"
"Well, by all means, please share."
"I've made my decision."
Leon fought back a chortle. "Oh my, he's reached his decision!" His expression changed to a bitter scowl. "Well, Let's hear it. After all, you just might—"
Cloud grabbed Leon securely by the shoulders, and pulled him forward until Leon's balance was lost into Cloud's.
"Cloud...what are you...?"
He pressed their lips together firmly, squeezing his eyes shut and feeling Leon's shoulder's tighten up under his grip.
A door closed behind them. Cloud barely let go before he heard the voice that followed.
"Oh...I get it." The voice was unmistakable. He was standing right behind them, hand on his hip and his head cocked cooly to the side. It was Seifer.
Man, five pages... In any case, please review (I'm assuming you've read it if you're at the end.)
