A/N: Sorry for the delay ^^; Minus the usual schoolwork, I've also been doing a number of projects lately that've required a lot of writing and a lot of imagination xD;; It's been really exciting and fun. I'm still in the process of doing many things. I think for the first time in my life I'm really struggling to juggle all the different parts of my life, but I'm not stressed about it. I think this is a good thing x3 I'm still the lazy fangirl that you all know, but I still think I changed a bit, mind-set wise. Zexion is in the process of undergoing a change as well. Let's see if I can channel some of that energy into this fic, hmm?

The Halloween party was going to be in this chapter but as I kept typing, I realized the length was getting pretty...well, lengthy. For this fic, at least. Once I hit 9,000 words, I decided I'd break up the chapter. So I am writing the party scene right now, but it's just not in this chapter :P

I really hope you enjoy.

Opinion: Truth Will Turn Smiles to Frowns

Sleepy – he was getting so sleepy. He didn't know why his body felt so heavy or why his muscles ached as if they had just had the work-out of his life.

Usually so attentive in class, Zexion's head kept swaying to the side as his eyes grew heavy, lids falling closed… Shit, wait! He had to pay attention! Okay, this was fine, everything was fine, just yawn a little and get some more oxygen into the brain…

What was Mr. Lee saying now? Ah yes, if you…just take the…

Thud.

"M-Mr. Lee! Zexion just hit his head on the desk!"

"…Dude, I think he's out cold."

"Zexion passed out? Who would have thought it..."

"Must be stress, it finally got to him. Zexion!"

"Zexion!"

Peeking above his copy of Crime and Punishment at lunch, the slate-haired teen glared at the girl sitting in front of him. "This is your entire fault, you realize," he declared dryly, pressing his book against his nose.

Pushing up her glasses, Quistis gave him a cordial smile. "Now why are you going to start lunch with accusations? This isn't the proper way to talk to a lady."

What sits before me is no lady, Zexion begged to differ. He didn't even know what prompted Quistis to skip on her staff aid period and sit with him in the cafeteria. Lexaeus was off somewhere and probably wasn't coming at all, since he was the first at the table usually. All Zexion really hoped for was that Demyx was off hanging out with his friends and wouldn't be joining them. Quistis was enough of a headache.

Well, suffice to say everyone was a headache to Zexion.

"Anyway, I needed some late-minute measurements to get the finishing touches on your costume done," Quistis explained with a mischievous grin.

Oh dear, not this again. "I thought you got enough of doing the seamstress thing when you barged into my house last night," replied the slate-haired teen bitterly. "I don't suppose you remember that, do you? Not only that, but you stayed for five hours. I stayed up late doing my homework because of you."

Quistis put her hands over her ears and shook her head, "Blah-blah-blah, I don't want to hear it from you." She gave him a meaningful look. "You'll like the costume once you put it on."

Zexion looked at her doubtfully and flipped a page. "I chanced upon seeing lace in your bag of fabric. What are you planning to do with that?" he demanded with a narrowed gaze. "If that's going on the clothing, my refusal to ever wear the damn thing increases significantly."

"Eh? Lace - on Zexion? Someone please tell me why I wasn't invited into this conversation."

With a sigh, Zexion pushed his book into his backpack – chances were, he wasn't going to get very far in it. "Demyx, have I ever told you that you arrive in the most unfortunate of moments?" he groaned.

"And I keep telling you, it's a gift!" jeered the swimmer as he took a seat beside Zexion. He tossed a small bag at him. "Here, a cookie for your misery. May it bring you great cheer."

Zexion frowned as he looked into the bag. "…It's shaped like a pumpkin."

"To you from me, Pumpkin Head," Demyx said with a laugh, biting into his own bat-shaped cookie. "Amazing how festive the school cafeteria ladies can get sometimes. I got this one for Lexy, but I just saw him and he told me he'd be somewhere else. Want his, Quis?"

Zexion rolled his eyes as Quistis exclaimed in glee at having gotten a free cookie. "Everyone, Demyx – how is it you know everyone?"

"It's called being sociable," Quistis retorted, shaking her cookie at him.

"Ah, don't be too hard on him. He'll know our ways soon enough," promised Demyx, giving Zexion a sure grin. "And I don't care how much you protest, or how much you criticize it all, you already said yes to going. So I'm not letting you out of my grasp for an instant. I'm going to make sure you have a good time."

Many a time had Zexion heard those words being said between couples, but he immediately ignored that thought and broke his cookie in half, biting into its crooked smile. "I never protested or the like, alright? If you took more notice, you'd see that I've rather accepted this – if anything, just to shut you up."

Demyx's face lit up and he tousled Zexion's hair roughly, making the teen scowl and slap his hands away. "Demyx Watera, get away from me," he growled.

"Aha, can I not be a happy person every once in awhile?"

Zexion raised a skeptical brow. "There's no such notion as 'once in awhile' for you. It's 'all the time,' more like it. You're chipper all the time. And loud, and mentally-lagging, and obnoxious..." Zexion counted off on his fingers each of the qualities Demyx enjoyed maxing out. At the blond's pout, he said, "That's not even half the list. There's too many extremes for you."

But instead of being perturbed, Demyx just chuckled and put an arm around the teen's shoulders. "Zexy, you don't even know all the things I can do to the extreme."

It could've been any number of things that Demyx was talking about, but it was because it was Demyx that Zexion knew exactly what he was referring to. He shrugged the blond's arm away and got up to sit next to Quistis, giving him some space between him and Demyx.

"This length between us," Zexion explained slowly, "is to be maintained at all times."

A moment of silence passed in which Zexion began to foolishly believe that he had actually shut Demyx up...

"Specify 'length,'" the swimmer requested with a sly glint in his eye.

Zexion practically threw his book at him, blushing red.

Saturday came without delay, much to Zexion's chagrin. It prompted him awake with the sun shining brightly through the blinds of his window and birds singing outside. Their cordial whistling reminded him of a certain blond that could sing just as if not more beautifully. Pillows over his head didn't make the day disappear, and neither did clawing his face like a cat for awhile, and neither did literally rolling off his bed in an attempt to gain a concussion.

Yes, Halloween was indeed here, for he was getting plenty of tricks.

He had to work on Saturdays, but the thought of going to work to deal with Selphie and then going to a stupid party to deal with Demyx and his gang of fellow jocks wasn't his notion of an ideal day. It took years of his trained willpower to rise up from the floor and head to the bathroom.

All he managed to get from falling out of bed was a stinging bump.

Quistis was supposed to – once again, uninvited – come over to his house to help him into his finished costume. Her eyes had all but been glowing when she proclaimed that she had completed the costume.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, especially since you haven't put it on yet," she had said with contained excitement and a bright smile, "but I just have to say, I think it's my best work~!"

That day, Lexaeus wasn't coming over to pick him up and take him to work. Zexion hadn't particularly minded, but what made him pause for a moment was when the auburn-haired boy had said something about having made another promise already. Zexion had hung up the phone, thinking about how he'd seen less an less of Lexaeus lately. What was up with that?

He had stared at the phone after the call, looking at it but not really seeing it. Roxanne's words had come to him, about how he normally wouldn't have noticed such changes before.

Everything seemed to be changing. And the thing was, Zexion was starting to think that...he didn't really care – no, he didn't really mind anymore.

The autumn air hit him as he walked outside after a quick breakfast of toast and eggs, not even saying a word of farewell to his slumbering family. Saturday mornings were always lazy in the Anderson house, making Zexion's activity pass quickly and unnoticed. The bus stop involved no crossing of streets but as he got off the bus when he reached his destination, he had to go through a busy intersection.

Traffic in the morning, thought Zexion bitterly. That's what I love about this day.

Selphie had given him his regular duties, and the work day passed smoothly, if not a bit quickly. Customers came in buying last-minute candy and costumes and party favors. As Zexion was on his way to get a restock of Batman utility belts, he passed Quistis at her post in the pharmacy.

She winked at him and waved him over. "I heard that you did rather well when you took over my pharmacy while I was gone."

Zexion shrugged. "I didn't think it difficult, though I have to complain that I didn't appreciate Vexen's constant hovering."

"Oh, he's a big softie once you get to know him," insisted Quistis with a smile.

"In any case, you came back to work earlier than expected."

Now Quistis shrugged. "I wasn't that attached to the relative that died. I only saw them during reunions and the holidays, anyway," she said, leaning against the counter. She smirked then. "Nice pumpkin."

Earlier when he finished getting changed into his uniform, Selphie had skipped over and pinned a lit-up pumpkin right above his name tag. She pressed a button that was the pumpkin's nose and it began cackling like a witch. Before he even had the chance to protest, she told Zexion that if she saw him and the pumpkin wasn't lit up, she'd have him head the Safe-Sex Tent in February for Valentine's Day.

Sometimes it really scared Zexion how simply he could be blackmailed by her with her fake-innocent smile. He told Quistis as much in reply to her so-called compliment.

"Do you ever think you exist just so other people can tease you?" she inquired with a laugh.

"Too often for it to be considered untrue anymore," he admitted with a sigh. He looked at her with weary eyes. "So the party is tonight, then?"

"Of course, I wouldn't forget a thing like that," she reassured. "I'll be at your house around six, alright?"

Zexion looked visibly more tired, but he waved in noncommittal agreement. "Yes, yes. I suppose I should at least be grateful you've given me forewarning this time." He glanced at her with a thoughtful and somewhat worried expression. He went closer to the counter and whispered, "By a relatively normal person's standards, how ridiculous is the costume?"

"Zexion," groaned Quistis. "You're doing it again."

"Well, I can always bring a change of clothes with me..."

Quistis reached over to grip his shoulders. "Zexion, as much as it doesn't interest you, I'm sure you're not so blind as to not notice that the purpose of Halloween is to dress up," she said, giving him a meaningful look beneath her glasses. As she let go of him, she offered, "Think of it this way, you can become whoever or whatever you've always wanted to be on Halloween. The costume and make-up is to keep people guessing. Isn't that exciting?"

"I can't say I've put myself in a costume enough to know the feeling."

"All the more reason you should do this. And you should know better than to doubt my skills," she chastised with a wagging finger. "You're dealing with a professional here."

Considering Zexion never had to deal with a master seamstress before, he couldn't say whether or not he really should believe Quistis' words. Actually, he didn't even have time to think about it before Selphie was griping to him on his headset, so he excused himself and set back to work.

After enduring a few hours of Selphie nagging on him, customers nagging at him, and Quistis popping up at random times, an exhausted Zexion headed for the locker rooms to change and clock out. It was a little past noon now, which meant there were still seven hours until the party started. He had never been invited to such an event before...

Would everything really be alright? Even if he (presumably) looked the part, this wasn't accounting for the fact that he was a rather inactive boy who mostly holed himself up in his room to read and study. He was sure Fuu used to tease him by saying his social skills were smaller than could be measured in a teaspoon. He had years of social interaction to catch up with.

Am I really that much of a sociopath?

He pulled his shirt down and closed his locker door. Lexaeus was still out doing whatever it was he had been doing, leaving the teen to take the bus home. He wasn't looking forward to it, and he planned to later ask what it was that the auburn-haired boy had been up to. Should he ask Demyx? The two sure seemed...rather well-acquainted...

When the hell did that happen anyway?

Roxanne was sitting on the blue-painted bench outside when Zexion went outside, wearing form-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved light-blue shirt that matched her glasses. It wasn't until her eyes snapped up to meet his that he realized he'd been gawking. Almost immediately he saw her cheeks turn pink.

"Oh...h-hey," she greeted quickly, looking down at the gum-infested cement.

He walked up and took a seat next to her. "Are you waiting for Demyx?" he asked. Oh man, just saying his name made Zexion's tongue feel like it bloated. He cleared his throat. "That is, is he your mode of transportation home?"

She nodded, her blond hair seeming to shine brighter in the October sun. "Yeah, I just called him." Her wide azure eyes gave him a glance. "Are, um...you going to stay here with me?"

"I was considering going to the dollar store down the street," he admitted, shoving his pockets into his black jacket. "I was going to purchase some of those sweet confections called gummi worms that your cousin introduced me to during one tutoring session. I'm rather fond of them." With an interested lilt, he asked, "Have you tried some?"

Roxanne regarded him tentatively, like she didn't understand the question. "Sometimes. I don't like gummies all that much. They're too chewy. And stretchy." She quickly looked away like she was scared of his disapproval.

"Honestly? That's what I find so appealing about them," he said in what could be considered a light tone. He didn't find anything wrong with it until he realized that Roxanne was looking at him in surprise.

He took another long glance at her clothing to get off the random candy subject. "Can I note something out loud?" he asked, raising a brow.

She shifted somewhat uncomfortably but shrugged. "S-sure?" she said, pushing up her glasses.

"Well, first of all, if you're going to answer in the affirmative, don't sound so dubious about it," he said patiently. Although he had to give her some credit; it had been awhile since he heard her stutter. But that wasn't the only difference... "I haven't seen you in casual attire often enough so I'm going to ask this. Do you wear such apparel often?"

"What kind?"

Finger and thumb came together to pinch her shirt. "I don't know how one would normally call it," he admitted as he thought. Appealing? Nicely-dressed? More girly? That one sounded closer to the word... He heard girls say it enough times to each other, now what was it...?

"That is to say, you look very cute."

Roxanne's face all but turned a very bright red and she quickly looked away. "Z-Z-Zexion, do you have a-any idea what you just-?" She couldn't even finish her sentence as her face got redder. She fanned herself with her hand, wriggling out of his grasp. The sputtering and clumsy Roxanne he was accustomed to had obviously returned at the sound of one word.

"Hey, guys!" came a cordial exclaim in front of them.

Now it was Zexion's turn to feel his face grow warm despite the chilling breeze. His heart seemed to shoot right up his throat. Was it romantic to feel like throwing up all your bloody organs at the voice of someone you liked? Zexion had no clue whatsoever.

Roxanne practically jumped out of her seat. "Demyx!"

The blond was walking up to the two of them, hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans and a smaller smile than Zexion was used to seeing on his face. That along with those oceanic eyes slightly narrowed in what could be considered a glare gave Zexion the impression that he was faking this innocence. Like Selphie could. But Zexion didn't want to think of her when he was looking at Demyx... That was just really weird.

Almost as weird as the abrupt realization that Demyx was hugging him tightly and that his head was nestled right next to the blond's warm neck.

"Oh Zexy, it feel like it's been so long since I've seen you!" he declared melodramatically. "I'm so happy we met like this! I don't think I could've gone another second without yoooooooou!"

Zexion didn't even bother to wiggle against the swimmer's embrace. What was the point if he'd just do it again in the near future?

Roxanne was the one to touch her cousin's shoulder to rouse him back to the real world. "Uh, um... Demyx, I don't think Z-Zexion can breathe properly like that," she pointed out.

"Eh? Oh!" Demyx pulled away, the smile on his face more genuine than it had been before. He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing. "Sorry about that, Zexy. You should've said something if you were dying!"

"I'm dying," the teen murmured sarcastically, rubbing his arms. Stupid athletes with their iron grip... "If your going to insist on displaying such affection, do you mind toning down the intensity of it? At this rate, I'll bruise. I'm surprised I haven't already."

"Just tell me if you do, I promise to kiss each one," proclaimed Demyx with a wink.

Then I wish I had one on my lips. Did he seriously just think that? Dear knowledge, this...liking people business was a more threatening ailment than he originally thought...

Luckily, Demyx didn't seem to notice. "Jesus, cousin, your face looks like Christmas wrapping paper. I don't think that's healthy."

Zexion looked back over at Roxanne, who's face was still indeed a bright red. "Honestly, were you offended by my notice that you are cute?" he asked with a frown. "And after I went through all that trouble of coming up with the correct term, too." He looked at Demyx for help. "Don't you think she looks cute?"

Demyx opened his mouth but then quickly closed it. "He's right, you look great," he complimented with a grin. "Where's all your usual baggy and boyish clothes? Don't tell me a certain someone spurred this on."

"Th-that's...!" Roxanne shook her head in a protesting gesture. Finally, she calmed down, gripping the hem of her shirt as she looked down. "Be honest," she said with a sort of conviction, "do I r-really look okay?"

Her question made Demyx chuckle suggestively. "Oho~ Who are we trying to impress, eh?" he teased, poking her cheek. "I think you look nice. It's a lot better than what you used to wear, I'll tell you that."

Roxanne made a noncommittal sound and began walking into the parking lot.

"Does she know where she's going?" Zexion asked with a raised brow as he watched her walk off.

Demyx waved his hand dismissively. "She's fine, she's fine," he reassured. "I park in the same general spot, you see. Want me to take you home, too?" His aqua eyes bore kindly on the slate-haired teen.

"I suppose so," he murmured, tugging down the sleeves of his jacket so that they went over his hands. He looked up at the swimmer. "Do you mind?"

He really shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Demyx's face was already lit up happily. "Uh, no?" he said steadily, like Zexion was slow. "I'm the one that offered, right? C'mon, let's go!" Without waiting for Zexion to respond, he gripped his wrist and ran out into the parking lot. Zexion could barely keep up with Demyx's pace.

"D-Demyx! Your legs are longer than mine!" he reminded in a panic, feeling like he was going to stumble for the fourth time. All he got in return was a laugh that he didn't know how to respond to.

By the time they got to the car, Roxanne was already waiting against it, her face less red now. Of course when Demyx let them all inside, it was as messy as ever, but there was that familiar smell again and Zexion found no reason to complain. He sat in the back as Roxanne joined her cousin in the front.

The car ride was relaxed, with Demyx chatting endlessly and making Roxanne laugh softly. Sometimes he'd stop mid-sentence just to belt out the chorus of the song playing on a CD he had on. It wasn't Linkin Park, the only band in the world Zexion was familiar with, but he didn't find any of them unpleasant.

"I'll give you a mix CD for your birthday," the swimmer promised Zexion with a grin. "I'm frickin' great at them, if I do say so myself. I make cover arts and everything."

"He gave me one every birthday since I was twelve," Roxanne added. She then chuckled humorously. "That is, until his mother called him cheap last year."

"Now is it really my fault my mom can't appreciate the work behind a mix CD?"

The slate-haired teen tried to get the conversation back on track. "And you know my date of birth how?" Zexion said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Sources, Zexy," Demyx reminded as he turned down an intersection. "I keep telling you I have them. November 6th, right?"

Zexion jumped as they passed a pothole. "You inform me," he returned sardonically.

Roxanne's stop came soon after at her friend Olette's house. She already explained earlier that she and her other friends were going to spend Halloween there to watch endless horror movies. Zexion had to admit, that sounded a lot better than a party. At least then, maybe – just maybe – he'd have more time to be closer to Demyx.

As the car drove away from Olette's house, Zexion found himself hugging his knees and looking down at his sneakers. The lines were really starting to blur in his mind. The more everything blurred and the more lines seemed to be crossed, the less Zexion seemed to know about himself. He thought he had it all down to pat. It shouldn't be so difficult to figure someone out, especially yourself, right?

About a minute into the ride Demyx began humming something, rocking his head in rhythm to it. The CD had ended and he handed the CD holder to Zexion. "Choose something to listen to." After that he went back to humming.

"Well, what's the name of the tune you're singing?" the teen asked as he flipped through the discs. Each one was decorated in markers and stickers. A bit more imaginative than the usual graffiti he saw but still far form the art he was familiar with. "I'll get the disc with that one."

"Oh, it's not something anyone has heard. I made it up," Demyx said with a proud smile. "Well, someone else made up the words, but I did the music. I'm thinking about playing it at the party. Would you be down with that?"

Zexion decided to settle on one CD marked with purple and black ink. "It's not my business what you do," he said, handing the disc to Demyx. When he put it in, a heavy guitar riff sliced through the air. Demyx nodded approvingly.

"Oh, my metal mix. This was from one of my more rebellious phases in middle school," he laughed as drums pounded the car. "Been awhile since I listened to it."

"Your cruel device

Your blood like ice

One look could kill

My pain, your thrill..."

The harsh drum pounding sort of put Zexion off, but the soothing guitar and verses calmed him down a little. The lyrics were ironic enough. He hated how Demyx's music seemed to read his mind. He debated whether or not he really wanted that mix from him or not.

"I want to love you but I better not touch (don't touch!)

I want to hold you but my senses tell me to stop

I want to kiss you but I want it too much (too much!)

I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison!

You're poison running through my veins

You're poison!

I don't want to break these chains..."

"So...do you like Roxanne or something?"

At first, Zexion hadn't even heard the question, but as soon as it registered, he snapped his head up. "Excuse me?" he said incredulously. "I don't experience such foolish feelings as infatuations."

Well, save for the person in front of him...

Demyx turned down the music a little and glanced back at him through the mirror. "Really? Because I never heard you say anyone was cute before. I didn't even think such a thing was possible."

Slightly irked, Zexion retorted, "Well, obviously you miscalculated."

"So," Demyx went on firmly, "by that logic, you must like her, right? I mean, I wouldn't blame you. Roxy is a great girl beneath all her shyness. She has one of the lead roles in the school play, did you know that?"

"I vaguely recall something of that nature," Zexion said tartly. He put his legs down, leaning closer to Demyx. "You must understand, Demyx, I don't view your cousin in such a manner. I'm an observer. I note things. I observed she was wearing different clothing and so I noted that she appeared cute. Nothing more."

He watched intently as Demyx considered. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel like he was trying to imitate the Jeopardy theme. "Does that mean you don't like anybody?" he asked in a low voice.

The question surprised Zexion, so much so that he almost didn't know what to say. How ironic that he has to be the one to ask me that. "I don't see how it matters," he settled on replying.

"You're evading the question," accused the swimmer.

"To be fair, you never claimed I couldn't."

"I now claim that you can't evade the question. Now answer it."

The passing scenery outside suddenly seemed very interesting. "If you keep going straight right here, we'll get to my home faster."

"Zexyyyy," whined Demyx. "Don't be a dick."

"You keep calling me that!"

"Because you are being one," instigated the swimmer, smirking at the fact that he was riling the slate-haired teen up.

Zexion sighed in exasperation and tossed himself back on the seat in defeat. "Fine! Fine! I concede defeat." Looking out the window, he said, "What was the question?"

"You," Demyx began, relaxing now that he'd won. "Are you incapable of liking someone? And do you like someone?"

"One question, Demyx Watera."

The car stopped at a red light. "Fine. Then do you think you'd ever like someone?" came the final inquiry.

After a long pause of fighting with himself mentally, Zexion replied, "I used to think that I couldn't." His voice was so soft that it was a whisper. But he knew that Demyx heard because he didn't move even as the light turned green. Only when honks began to sound behind them did the swimmer begin moving again.

Demyx didn't push the subject, but his face turned a soft pink color. They drove in silence the rest of the ride, and the music got turned up again. Within minutes the car parked and Zexion unbuckled his seat belt.

"Want me to walk you inside?"

"I'd prefer not. But my utmost gratitude for the ride," the teen said, nodding his head. He opened the door and got out.

Demyx called out to him, his smile back on his face. "You haven't forgotten about tonight, right?" he said.

"Quistis is coming by in a few hours," Zexion reassured. He chuckled tiredly. "She'd know if I was trying to escape before the thought even finished crossing my mind."

"That's my girl!" He winked at the teen. "See you later, then. I'll pick you up around six thirty or seven."

Zexion closed the door and quickly walked to his door, trying very hard not to look back. He knew Demyx hadn't left yet because he didn't hear him driving away. That made the feelings bubbling inside him burn hot. He had a hard time placing the feelings as pleasant or painful. What did it matter, though? He had just done something he promised never to do again.

Only when he was safely inside and had closed the door did Zexion let out the breath he had been holding outside. He didn't even have the strength to go to his room. He just slumped against the door, putting a hand over his face.

No matter how much he'd try to deny it, he just admitted it – to the one person he shouldn't be anywhere near on top of that!

A long time ago, after his mother left and after the therapy, Zexion told himself he'd never put himself through it again. No more nonsense. No more irrationality. No more emotions.

But Demyx knows now, he thought, his body shaking. He knows that I'm just like anyone else. I can... I can...

It wasn't until he sniffed that he realized he was crying. There was a familiar salty taste slowly dripping onto his lips and tongue, making his hot cheeks sticky and wet. His trembling hand came up, fingers reaching out to touch his face, when he suddenly brought it down heavily on the floor, leaning his head against the door. He laughed and didn't know why.

It could've been that he was crying of happiness. Was such a thing still possible for him?

Or maybe they were tears of anguish. Because when he admitted that he was willing to feel warm about someone again, maybe the "him" he had been for the past few years died a little. There was a peculiar thing about that notion though...

...and it was that Zexion didn't care.

Ending A/N: Things are approaching more and more of a turning point, it seems :3 I'm glad. The series is close to ending. Finally, right? But yes, the end is near. They'll be next chapter, a very short chapter after that, then one last one. I'm contemplating whether or not to put an epilogue still, but like I said, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Phew!

Oh, and I don't own the song lyrics to "Poison" - they, along with the song, are own by Alice Cooper.

My utmost apologies again for the long wait. I'm insanely happy that there are still some of you that have continued to read throughout the years. Yeah, years. And for you to deal with my procrastination for so long and still read and enjoy, it makes me want to explode with gratitude for you all -teary eyes- If I could successfully send each of you a tight hug, I totally would without hesitation.

Thank you for the support! QAQ