A/N: Dude. This fic is coming along fast. (Oo) It's weird, this fic totally writes itself at some points. This is the first chapter where I have a definite plan, though.

Just a question, but do you guys think I should add a small supernatural element? Ya know, like a ghost or something? This fic will totally work either way, it's just that I got some ideas. Hell, I could even make this a zombie fic if y'all want!

Warnings: This chapter has mentions of rape and abuse. Also, it's a teensy bit darker than the others.

NOTE: To those first four lucky people who reviewed, ya'll got a little something special in the first few paragraphs!

Also, to those of you pissed that I take forever to update other fics, school will be over for me in two weeks and then I'll have LOTS more time to work on these stories. And, if all else fails, Spam me with messages to get it into my thick skull.

----------Chapter Three------------

"Maybe I'll never see you smile again. Maybe you thought that it was all pretend; All these words that I could never say, I just let them slip away." - 4am Forever, lostprophets

As soon as Cloud got home after his detention, he ran upstairs, past his parents and into his room, slamming the door. If his explosive outburst at Reno hadn't been bad enough, the rest of the day had been Hell. Reno was a VERY popular person in their school.

He had been harassed by several people that had all been sorely pissed at him. Two of the girls in his History class, named Elaine and Jasmine, had practically screamed at him before class started. Another girl, named Sapphire, had smacked him in the hallway. If it hadn't been for her dark skin, her face would have been flaming red with anger. Afterwards, she had simply stormed off, her equally angry friend Noah following, boyfriend Duo in tow.

Worst of all, Cloud had the misfortune of sharing Sixth Period Biology with Reno's older, VERY protective brother, Marluxia. The pink-haired senior was sending icy glares at him the whole fifty-five minute period. It was different from the looks other people gave him. It was a look of such pure loathing and hate that Cloud was surprised he wasn't dead just from the intensity of that glare.

After class, Marluxia had cornered him, and told him in a chilling voice that if he EVER went near Reno again, he would die where he stood faster than he could blink. The worst part, the blonde knew, was that Marluxia could carry out that threat. The gang the pink-haired teen was a part of, Organization XIII, backed up each of it's members, and would be itching to help since two of Reno's brothers were members. He also realized that the Turks that Reno was a part of would be all too willing to help, gang rivalries aside.

Yup. He was screwed.

And though he knew that he had been wrong in his actions, a small part of him was glad the relationship was over. The pressure from his family, and his embarrassment for being associated with the red-head had been taking a toll on him. Also, there was the fact that Reno absolutely REFUSED to allow Cloud to set even one foot inside the Tarshil house. He was always trying to come over, sometimes sneaking in and narrowly avoiding getting Cloud into trouble. And he drank obsessively, and smoked like a chimney...

Face it, Strife. You're sorry about what you did and now you've lost your chance to fix it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light knock on his bedroom door.

---

Sora chewed his lip nervously. The day's events played over in his head: his brother's outburst in the Gym; seeing Cloud getting decked in the hallway by a black girl after Third Period; seeing Reno in a blank daze; the other Tarshil brother's worried expressions.

And then there was the fact that after first laying eyes on the boy named Riku he had been unable to get the silver-haired teen out of his mind. He went red in the face whenever he saw him after that, and he couldn't understand the way his heart started pounding whenever their eyes met. It was almost as if he were attracted to the new boy...

Sora was in trouble, and he knew it.

The only person that he could really ask about this sort of thing was Cloud, and he wasn't sure if now was the best time, with the break-up and all. He couldn't ask Roxas or Demyx, because as far as he knew they were straight. But if he didn't figure this out soon, then he was going to go crazy.

So, after dinner, he climbed the stairs to the second floor and made his way to Cloud's room. Swallowing nervously, he lightly knocked on the door and waited.

When no answer came right away, he was afraid that his brother may have fallen asleep. Then he heard a weary voice say, "Come in."

Hesitantly, he opened the door to his eldest brother's room and stepped inside. The only light in the room came from a small lamp on the bedside table. The room was as he always remembered. Dark blue walls, a HUGE sword mounted high on the wall across from the door. There really wasn't much decoration, aside from a few posters. There was a My Chemical Romance poster hung on the back of the door, lostprophets and Muse posters adorning the other walls, and, oddly enough, a Gackt poster on the ceiling. Cloud never did explain that one.

Aside from that, there was a desk along one wall and a bed along the other. Grabbing the desk chair, he dragged it over to the bed where his brother lay and sat down.

"What is it, Sora?"

Cloud's voice sounded so tired and worn, and Sora almost left right there. But he needed help. "Well, umm...that is to say...uhhh..."

The blonde looked towards Sora, confused. The brunette rarely acted this way, and when he did it was usually something big. But when he saw the blush across his brother's cheeks he smiled softly. "C'mon Sora, go ahead."

Scrunching up his eyes and taking a deep breath, Sora blurted, "How did you know you were gay?"

Cloud blinked. Then blinked again. Did I just hear that right?

Looking into his brother's eyes, he realized he must have heard correctly. Oh, dear God. Could Reno have been right?

"W-why do you ask that, Sora?" The brunettes blush deepened, if that was even possible.

"Well, there's this guy that's new to town and he's in some of my classes. Every time I see him, I get really nervous and stuff." He paused to take a deep breath. "And,this is going to sound weird, but every time his eyes meet mine my heart goes all crazy."

Cloud was gaping at his brother like a fish. FUCK. Reno WAS right. I'm SUCH an ass.

Then he realized that Sora was now looking at him expectantly, and he had to answer.

"Sounds to me, Sora, that you may have feelings for this guy. That doesn't necessarily make you gay, though. Just bi. That is, unless, you've felt attraction to other guys...?"

"No. I've always liked girl's before. This guy is just...different."

"Ah, so you're like Roxas, then." After the words left him, Cloud immediately clapped his hands to his mouth. Shit. That was supposed to be a secret. Way to fuck up twice in one day, Cloud.

"What! How long has THIS been going on?" Sora was dumbstruck. Roxas? His own twin? In love with a guy? Well, that would explain the whole Axel bit. What else don't I know?

Now it was Cloud's turn to chuckle nervously. "Well, guess the secret's out. Yeah, Roxas has been going out with Axel since the end of last school year. And since you now know that, guess you should also know that Demyx has been drooling over Zexion for years now. As far as I know, though, I'm the only flamingly gay boy in the house."

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" Sora's voice was meek, quiet.

"Well, we all saw how freaked out you were when I came out to Dad. They didn't want you to see that again, and I didn't want anyone else in the family to go through that. We've just kept it hidden. Well, Axel and his brothers know, but that doesn't really count." Cloud sighed. Speaking of Axel, he probably hates me now, too. No more nights getting drunk with him, Roxas, and Reno, or sitting around at lunch talking about hot guys.

Sora smiled. "Well, I'm glad I know now. I won't tell Dad, obviously, but I wish you guys would have told me sooner. Now I just got to figure out if Riku feels the same."

---

History is so damn BORING. Rufus sighed, looking towards the flame-haired leader of his beloved Turks. He'd never admit it to anyone, but his Turks were closer to him than his pathetic excuse for a father. He thought of them as siblings, though he thought of Reno as more than that.

Over the past week, Reno's attitude had changed drastically. For the first few days after the incident with Cloud, the red-head had been withdrawn. His normal insults had less bite, his fighting had become pathetic, and for the first time since the blonde had met him he hadn't gotten himself into any trouble. Rufus had even heard from Shade that the boy hadn't been eating or sleeping all that well at home either.

Then, half-way through the third day, his demeanor had changed. The intensity of his insults had increased to the point where they had sent more than one person away in tears. He started fights at the drop of a pin, and had been berated so many times by pissed of teachers that he had probably set a new record. He ate and slept now, which was a relief, but he also stayed out half the night getting horribly drunk.

The way things were going, Reno was setting himself up for some major trouble in the future. That's it then. After class is over, I'm going to fix the situation.

As if on cue, the bell rang. The other students in the class hurried out, eager to be home after the incredibly boring final class. Rufus motioned for Reno to hang back.

When the two of them were alone, the teacher having gone to the office, Rufus approached the unstable Turk.

"Reno, it's come to my attention that there is a problem." He could tell by the look on Reno's face that it wasn't the best choice of words, but he couldn't take them back now.

"Problem? Just that spike-haired asshole thinking he's to GOOD for me! That GOD damn PRICK freaks out at me in front of ALL those people and breaks up with me for NO GOOD REASON! OF COURSE THERE'S A PROBLEM!"

If the outburst had surprised Rufus, he didn't show it. "So this is about Strife, then?"

Reno seemed to shrink into himself after the outburst. "Yeah. I mean, it wasn't perfect, but we had a good thing going. Then he starts gettin' all bitchy on me and before I know it, he's snapping at me in front of the whole Gym and telling me we're through." Reno lifted his head, tears of frustration in his eyes. "It's been a whole WEEK and he hasn't apologized for any of it."

Rufus regarded him solemnly. "Would you forgive him and take him back if he did?"

Reno shook his head vehemently. "Not after what that bastard did."

Suddenly Rufus smirked. "Good. That means I can do this, then."

The ashe-blonde gripped the back of Reno's head and crushed his lips to the red-head's. Green eyes momentarily widened in shock, before sliding shut as he returned the kiss.

Though Reno remained oblivious, Rufus was all too aware of the other blond watching them from the doorway.

---

As Shade walked through the nearly empty halls to his locker after his Period Seven class, he couldn't help but wonder if Reno would be okay. If Cloud had calmly told him that they were breaking up and told him the reason, then the older triplet wouldn't have been so upset. But it was the things the blonde said and the actions he had taken that had scared the eldest red-head so much. Cloud couldn't have known, but that doesn't excuse him for what he's done. Cloud's actions had reminded Reno of the abuse the brothers suffered at home.

It had started when the triplets were seven. Their mother had been ill ever since Shade and his two doubles were born. Their birth had taken too much out of her and she had never really recovered. It was amazing that she had even lasted that long. Close to their seventh birthday, their mother had gotten worse, and over the next few months her weakened body gave out on her. In the end, they could only stand by and watch as she died.

Their father never really gotten over it. He had started drinking pretty heavily after that, and it was after one of these particular bouts of drinking that the abuse began. He began hitting his three youngest boys, blaming them for their mother's death. When Marluxia, almost two years older, tried to stop him, their father turned on him as well. For years they cowered around their father, the beatings seemingly coming at random.

Then, just a few years ago, the brothers started retaliating. Reno stole money once so that they could try to go to a movie. When their father caught him, he broke all of the fingers on Reno's left hand, telling the doctors that the boy's hand had accidentally been crushed when roughhousing. He hadn't been able to use his had very well since.

Next, there was the time when Axel was caught lighting firecrackers out back behind the school. Shade still wasn't completely sure what happened, but he had seen the horrible burn scars that covered Axel's back and parts of his arms. How the kid was still a pyro was a mystery. The excuse that time was that Axel had been lighting firecrackers in an old shed and had gotten caught in a fire.

The worst incident, however, happened just over a year ago. It was after their father found out that his sons were gay. Marluxia's boyfriend Sai'x had carelessly kissed him on the front porch just as he was opening the door. To take the attention from their brother, the triplets had come out to their father at the time as well. He was so angry that they were lucky the punishment hadn't been any worse than it already was.

Shade, in a show of defiance, had started shouting back at their father, much to the horror of his brothers. The broken liquor bottle that lay on the ground from where their father dropped it in his rage was suddenly back in his hand. Before Shade or the other's had realized what had happened, Mr. Tarshil had lunged at his youngest son. Before they could stop him, the jagged edge of the broken bottle had dug into the skin of Shade's neck and was viciously dragged across. The pain had been immense, the youngest triplet's blood flowing freely across the floor.

Horrified, Marluxia had called for the paramedics before their father could stop him. Later, Shade was told how lucky he was to be alive. If the cut had been deeper, or the paramedics had gotten there slower, he would have died. As it was, he had an ugly jagged scar across his throat, and whenever he exerted himself too much or talked too long or too loud his throat would swell and it became hard to breath. Lucky indeed.

Marluxia had gotten him the collar and chain to hide the mark, and also as a small means of self-defense. The chain looked harmless enough, if a little odd, but the pendant at the end was actually a well disguised dagger that Shade could use to defend himself if their father ever went after him again. None of them have fought back since.

Shade was still deep in his thoughts when he suddenly heard a sharp cry. Turning the corner quickly he saw Marluxia pinned up against on of the lockers by none other than Sai'x, the pink-haired boy's own boyfriend. Why Marl liked the blue-haired freak was beyond him. That guy is trouble.

"Say that again and you'll regret it. You belong to ME now, remember? I can do whatever I want with you."

Yup. Definitely trouble.

"There a problem here, Sai'x?" Shade didn't bother to hide the loathing in his voice. His brother knew how he felt about Organization XIII's self-proclaimed second-in-command.

The blue-haired senior turned his scarred face towards the younger Tarshil and sneered. He dropped Marluxia to the ground. "Actually, I believe the problem is solved now." He moved in the direction from which Shade had just come. As he passed the red-head, he whispered menacingly, "Stay out of my way, kid, or you wont live long enough to regret it." Then he was gone.

Shade shook his head, then went over to help his brother stand. Marluxia was in bad shape, bruises littering his already battered body. Then the younger teen noticed something that angered him greatly. Most of his elder brother's clothes were torn. Many of the buttons had been ripped off of the deep violet shirt that he wore, and what could be seen of his chest was covered in bite marks and bruises. There were also rust colored stains on the inner thighs of the older boy's jeans. What did that bastard do!

"Marl, what happened? If it was that bastard, I swear I'll-"

He was cut off by his brother's tired voice. "I-it wasn't him. Well, not entirely anyway."

Shade stared hard at his brother. There was no way that he was going to just ignored this. He wanted answers, and told Marluxia as much.

The pink-haired teen sighed. "Fine. But don't tell Reno and Axel, alright? ESPECIALLY not Axel." Against his better judgement, Shade nodded.

Sighing again, he spoke. "Like I said, i-it wasn't just Sai'x. He took me to one of the empty classrooms and l-l-locked me inside. When he came back...the other Organization members were with him, all but Axel and Roxas. They locked the door behind them again...and then...they...they..." A choked sob wrenched itself from his throat. "It was HORRIBLE! They forced themselves on me, one at a time. After I thought it was over, and the others all left, Sai'x decided to have his turn, RIGHT THERE! He t-told me that since I was a m-m-member, th-that I belonged to all of them, and..."

It was then that Marluxia began to cry; loud, wrenching sobs wracking his body as his youngest sibling wrapped his arms protectively around him. Whispering words of comfort that seemingly fell on deaf ears, Shade's green eyes shed bitter tears of their own. Why were they forced to go through so much?

Tightening his arms around his broken sibling, Shade growled. "I'll make sure those bastards pay for this, and Sai'x is on the top of my list."

----------------End Chapter Three----------------

A/N: Oo Holy Crap. That came out better than I had hoped.

Marluxia: Better for YOU maybe...

Sai'x: Shut it, Bitch.

Marluxia: AHHHHHH! SHADE, SAVE MEEEEEE!

Shade: Chases Sai'x around with a pitchfork.

A/N: OO' Oooookay then. This is the last update till next week. Hopefully I'll have a new chapter up for this AND for Souls and Iron by Monday.

Here's a little teaser to tide y'all over till then, kay?

The red-haired teen stared up at his attacker, terror in his eyes. The scarred face looked down upon him emotionlessly, blood dripping from the blade held tightly in his grip. "I told you to stay out of my way."

Hopefully that'll keep you till then. Till next week, ja ne!

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