Chapter Eleven--Devil Inside

Yazoo sat beside the red-head whose lips were suctioned around a cigarette. It was 5th period but Axel was not in 5th period. Yazoo sat for a bit just watching the boy wear down the cancer sick between his long fingers.

"You gonna say something sweetheart?" Axel muttered, his jade gaze focused on the ground and the ashes he sent to it.

"No."

Axel looked up when Yazoo shook his head, almost mesmerized by the sway of silver locks bathed in the warm afternoon sun.

"Why not?" Everyone was more than willing to tell Axel exactly what he should do or could do with himself.Why not Yazoo?

"Because. You're a big boy now." Yazoo's eyes glinted mischievously and Axel felt himself leaning ever so slightly forward.

"Damn right I am." He said softly most certain that Yazoo was getting closer as well and for some reason, he found himself to be nervous, excited and nauseous all at once.

" You know what you need to do, koibito…" Yazoo drew the word out, breathing each syllable along Axel's pale lips with his warm, sweet smelling breath before he got up and headed back into the school, leaving a blushing Axel behind him.

Leon found that after the little incident, which left his home short two people, Cloud was a lot nicer. Not exactly an angel but not as angry as he'd been. Leon just hoped Cloud didn't fuck up again because he didn't want to put up with the blonde's PMS anymore.

"Nice work Leon. You know…" Cloud trailed off as he finished passing out artwork to his students before returning to Leon's easel as the students filed out of the room.

"There's a regional art show coming up. If you were to do a piece, I think you could win some big money. You're very good."

"I don't know. I don't do make art to get money." Leon said simply, turning his attention away from those piercing blue orbs and back to his sketch.

"I know. But it may be a good opportunity for you, you have a big family to take care of."

"Hn. You have a big family too, why don't you enter?" Leon noticed the way Cloud stiffened and looked away.

"Zack works too. We all pitch in and make it work."

" You can't keep pushing people away and expect them to stay with you Cloud." Leon said softly, not meeting the blonde's gaze. Instead he focused on his paper, forms taking life.

"I don't."

"You're a bad liar."

"I know." Cloud laughed mirthlessly and looked at what Leon was so intently sketching. What he saw made his heart stop. It was a simple piece; just two people. It was the people that got him because one was he himself and the other was Zack. You could almost feel the sadness in Cloud's charcoal eyes and the forgiveness in Zack's.

"I watched you and Zack yesterday. I thought it would have been a nice picture... He's not well Cloud." The seriousness in Leon's deep voice was different; somehow cautious and strained.

"What do you mean? Axel said he had the flu or something. He drinks a lot so I thought that probably had something to do with it."

"No…well, I would think if he was drinking that much you'd be more concerned but that's not what I'm talking about."

"Get to the point Leon." Cloud snapped, tired of Leon's skirting around the truth. What was wrong with his brother?

"Have you seriously not noticed? Because if you haven't, I don't even have the words to describe the kind of colossal dick you are."

Cloud was left grasping for something to say as Leon left the room.

He hated crying. Hated it with every fiber of his small body but here he was, crying against the side of the building all by himself. A fist was pounded repeatedly against said wall as the tears continued to stream down his tan face. He slid down the wall, burying his face in his hands and his shoulder shaking as he tried to stem the flow of tears but it wasn't any use.

"Sora? Sora what's wrong?" Sora's sapphire orbs shot up to the speaker, wiping frantically at his face, trying to calm his breathing. Shit…

"Nothing, just got something in my contact." Sora was not a very good liar by he gave it a shot. It failed, he knew, as a strong arm wrapped around his shuddering shoulders and pulled him against a warm, firm chest and slender fingers buried themselves in his hair.

"I want to say…that its ok and there's no reason to cry…but its not ok and I'm sure there is a reason…" To Sora's ever lasting shame he began to sob even harder against the one person he wished was not witnessing this.

"So just cry until you can't anymore and I'll wait." Riku's voice was soft and comforting and Sora clung to him like he was the only thing keeping him alive.

"I'll wait…"

A.n: another short filler semi-important chapter, dun, dun dun, Zack's mysterious illness comes to light! XD well in coming chapters. Review and tell me how much it sucked!

Ulti!