Thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm sorry for the wait and for the…cliff-hanger that people don't usually like lol
Okay sorry, onwards! Hopefully I can do the story justice…
It's not that he never gets in trouble…but this still pushed his comfortable boundaries. Ven gently knocked on Riku's door while continuously looked over his shoulders from being paranoid. He found himself holding in a yelp when Riku opened the door unexpectedly. With a hush sound from Riku, the older male took the blonde's wrist and swiftly maneuvered them out of the school.
"Okay, believe it or not it actually gets easier out here," Riku stated as he glanced around the area from a corner before pulling Ven along and then dodging into the bushes and into a crawl.
"Really?" Ven asked in surprise, following. You'd think there would be more security of some sort outside.
"Yeah, not so much of people to worry about. There are plenty of cameras but I already know the blind spots," he stated, a hint of gloating behind it.
"Wow…that's pretty impressive, Riku."
The two continued with their small talk as they escaped from school grounds. Once they entered the forest, Riku deemed them home free. Taking the younger one's wrist again, he made them run through the trees. What Ven found impressive once more was the fact Riku knew where he was going at this speed in practically complete darkness considering the trees blocked out the moonlight. He became less impressed when his foot hit against something hard and he felt himself falling forward.
"Whoa! Ven!" With a yank, Riku pulled the other upwards and helped rebalance Ven before he actually collided with the dirt, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah…" Ven replied as he felt his chest. After a light breather he continued, "Can we…not run?"
"Sure, sorry about that," Riku apologized and to give the harsh grip he had on Ven's wrist to keep him from falling a rest, he switched it to Ven's hand.
Like he said, the boy took it more slowly and carefully guided Ven. Soon, the younger boy saw light and it slowly enlarged as Riku guided them out.
"Wow…" Ven whispered without thinking.
"Yeah…the place looks nice at night," Riku added as the two stood at a high point and looking down at the nearby city. The lights shone in the colors of the rainbow as the activities never end in the bustling city. Ven stared in awe at the beautiful sight but stared even more when Riku gently nudged him and pointed up at the glowing night.
"Whoa…we can see the stars!"
"Yeah, pollution surprisingly isn't as bad as other cities. This spot has one of the best views I've ever seen," said Riku as the two looked at the twinkling little lights in the sky accompanied by the full moon tonight. The two didn't exchange words, but merely enjoyed the sight of both the city and sky. The only noise that filled the air were the sounds of crickets and barely audible, at this distance, of the busy city. It was relaxing and comforting for Ventus who thought of nothing and simply felt in-tune to what's around him…
"How did Riku get goody-Ven all the way out here AND get to hold his hand?"
The two yelped in surprise, or fear of being caught on Ven's part, and the blonde reacted by grabbing Riku's shirt(not that he'll admit but the silverette would make a good shield for anything else). Riku on the other hand reacted by doing the same thing, instead for protective reasons. But as soon as Riku saw it was only a certain trouble-making-red-head behind them, Riku relaxed his shoulders and gave the man a look.
"Axel…don't just sneak up like that!"
"Pth, who said I was?" Axel chuckled, "And this isn't fair, how did you of all people get Ven to agree to go on a midnight date with you?"
"…Date…?" Ven repeated, not sure if he heard right but afraid to start comprehending it while a blush started to rise to his face, "The food?" but his mind ended up going to the wrong definition of it anyway and the blush never finished showing up.
Without word, Riku immediately grabbed a hold of the Ven's shoulders and pushed the boy away from his body and then swiftly let go.
"Shut up, Axel, not funny," the silverette nearly growled at the taller man before making a quirk of his head to use his hair to hide his face and the rising blush.
"I wasn't joking! Although this is good news to me…wanna come back to my room, VenVen? For fun?" an arm snaked its way around the blonde's shoulders who only stared up at Axel with a confused expression.
"What would we be playing?"
"Just say yes/no!" Axel and Riku exclaimed in unison.
"Just leave him alone, Axel! What are you even doing here?"
"The same reason you're here," Axel replied with a shrug, "And it's not like you're the only one that knows this place exists!"
Riku let out a sigh while crossing his arms.
"Yes, I know…but unlike you, who I assume is probably out here because your roommate kicked you out, I'm here for Ventus."
"Aww does he need cheering up?" Axel playfully pinched the younger's cheeks who slapped his hand away in annoyance while pouting that…adorable pout.
"No I don't!" Ven replied with a whining tone.
"Aww well you're denial isn't helping your case!" Axel grinned and his hand went back to the face. Riku felt the urge to kick the red-head out of here and to stop bothering them…the only thing preventing it from happening is the look on Ven's face.
"Stooooop...ah! No! Axel! Stop!" Without warning, Axel lifted the smaller body up into the air and then swung him under his arms, carrying him like a football.
While the boy spurt words of Axel's actions to stop, his face was a lot more expressive…
"Come on, tell me I'm one sexy man."
"Yeah right!" After that line, Ven let out a laugh while he struggled; which is what Riku was looking for. So he let out a sigh and relaxed a bit as Axel's presence hasn't done any real harm yet.
After about 15 minutes of the two fooling around, as Riku sat beside a tree to oversee the two, Ven finally got tired and convinced Axel he actually was tired so the man would stop. Before long, the two joined Riku and leaned against a tree to catch their breaths.
"You guys are awesome…thanks for tonight," Ven stated for the only two people that gave him the time of day of their own free will.
"Hey, you want fun, just call me up!" Axel offered and smacked the blonde at the shoulder, who let out a cry…but quickly punched the other back that was hard enough for Axel to let out a grunt.
"Well I figured you needed a break from that brother of yours. If you want to hang out, just look for me," Riku also offered and Ven responded with a pleasant smile and a nod.
"I will, thank you!"
The three fell into a small moment of silence and enjoyed the stars above them and the city lights before them. Without word, Ven stood up and slowly walked closer to the edge but stopped a good 5 feet from the end which was just enough to see the whole city.
"Hey! There's a river below us and an old bridge! Look down!" Axel shouted from his seat though Ven only stiffened.
"N-No thanks! I'm…no good with heights…" Ven replied nervously.
"Really? Aww that's too bad. Oh!" Axel jumped up and walked past Ven. He knelt down to look down and tried to wave Ven over, "I'll hold on to ya. The bridge is ancient but it somehow still holds together and its usable! Also you can see the remains of this older bridge!"
"There's nothing interesting about a bridge, Axel!" Riku commented but Axel only sent him a glare,
"It isn't interesting if it didn't have a good story behind it!" he countered and then looked back at Ven, "I'll tell you it if you come take a look. Just a peak, I'll hold onto you. Conquer your fears tell you!"
Well Ven does like a good story…
The boy got down on his hands and knees and slowly crawled over. As soon as he was closer enough, Axel held onto Ven at the arm and side of his body. With a nervous approach, Ven carefully took a peak below him.
"Wow…that's a big river and that bridge…looks like it could fall apart any second!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah; I went there last year with some friends, it was awesome," Axel laughed at some of the memories.
"What happened?"
"Well, there was a story about a girl who jumped off the river to fake a murder and…well we decided to start jumping off the bridge since the girl supposedly lived…"
Riku face-palmed at the reminder of the other's idiocy. Ventus on the other hand let out a series of giggles. After a quick glance at the view, Ven started backing away until he was a safe distance away again.
Riku stood up from his spot and walked up to Ventus who stood where he and Riku originally did earlier.
"Any reason why you're afraid of heights?" Riku questioned while Axel joined them in hopes of hearing as well.
"I…I fell off a cliff when I was little. It wasn't as a high as this one but…I was really little so I guess it did more damage to my body. Since then I never was comfortable with heights except…I never did remember how it happened. I was just told what happened but…I don't remember how it happened or the incident itself…"
Ven stared at the edge as he spoke, broken images of his past being seen in his mind as the other two spoke but nothing was being heard to the blonde.
"I remember Roxy being there…" he whispered and the other two stopped speaking, "I remember…only Roxas. But…" Ven started moving forward on his own, closing in at the edge…4 feet…3 feet…
The fear rose in his body but so did the pieces of his memories…they were still unclear…and they were still of Roxas. Ven frowned…
"Why do I only remember the one person that never was there for me for the longest time…? Stupid…stupid Roxas!"
The brother snapped out of his thoughts when Ven felt the grip on both his arms.
"Forget about Roxas," Riku stated on one of his sides.
"You alright?" Axel asked from the other.
"…Sorry…yeah…I'm okay," Ven lied as he looked ahead of him again. Slowly he felt his body being turned around by the other two but his mind didn't stop retracing itself into his buried memories.
"Wanna go back?"
"Yeah, I'm bushed!"
"…Sure," Ven whispered and they all slowly started retreating while he paused and looked over his shoulder.
"You're so selfish!"
"I'm not selfish! You're stupid!"
"I am not! And Mommy and Daddy says you can't call people that!"
"Well I just did! Stupid!"
Ven felt like an arrow pierced his heart upon a certain fight that brought itself into Ven's mind. The day that started it all?
"Ven."
"I hate you!"
"You're so mean!"
"Ven!"
Rocks…Falling…Roxas…
"Ventus!"
A hand…Roxas's hand…?
"Ventus!"
"Roxa-aah!" Gravity took over Ven as he felt a misstep and the next thing he knew, there was no ground. With the vision clearing for him, he realized he was dangling …
"Shit! What the hell is wrong with YOU? Don't go walking off the cliff! What are you? Suicidal? " Axel exclaimed as held onto Riku by his shirt and belt. In turn, Riku had both hands gripping onto one of Ven's arms.
"Well in Ven's defense, he technically didn't walk off the cliff," Riku motioned towards a patch of grass that Ven stepped on only to have no strong ground supporting it, thus the fall.
"Who CARES?" The red-head snapped back, "Ven! Don't just daydream! Give us your other hand!"
Trying not to panic, Ven tried to comprehend Axel's orders and when he did, he threw his other arm up, trying to reach for Riku.
"Can't you reach for him?"
"Axel, if I reach any farther, all 3 of us are going over! So shut up!" Riku snapped, trying to focus on actually rescuing Ven.
"You know, if we land on the bridge, maybe we'll actually live so…"
"Not funny, Axel!"
"I wasn't joking!"
Every time Ven reached up for Riku, the two hands would miss or Riku was trying his best just to hold onto the one arm but the longer he dangled there, the more he felt himself slipping…
When Axel noticed the losing grip, he felt himself releasing his own on Riku to help Ven but the moment he tried, Riku felt himself about to go over until Axel realized and re-grabbed the man. The sudden halt made the grip loosen even more.
"Axel…? If that girl in the story lived…you and your friends lived…surely I will too?" Ven asked in a whisper, unsure at the thought himself. He took in a breath and looked up, choosing to be the brave one as he offered a smile, "Hey…everything…will be okay!"
He reached his other hand up again but to gently rest it upon Riku's in comfort…
"...ay…pleeease…ba…don…go…"
"Ngh…"
"Simple and clean is the way…"
"Ugh…Wha…?"
"It's hard to let it go!"
"Sora…" Roxas groaned for the other to wake up and pick up his phone, "Sora! Get the stupid phone!" he exclaimed, the crankiness showing.
"Ngh…what?" the other replied from his bed but upon hearing the song, Sora reached to the desk next to him and checked the name, "Riku…?"
Roxas wanted to punch a wall…who calls their best friend at what? 1 or 2, or is even later, in the MORNING?
Sora answered, knowing Riku probably wouldn't call at this time unless it was important.
"Hello…?" he responded groggily while pulling the covers up and shutting his eyes, "Uh huh…what…? Say that again?"
"Just hang up…" Roxas groaned to himself before picking up the pillow and putting it over his head.
"What…?"
Roxas heard Sora shift in his bed and his voice a bit more awake.
"Ventus is where?" That voice now sounded worried and definitely more awake. In turn, Roxas practically threw his covers and pillow off,
"Riku's with Ventus?" he hissed in whisper, knowing screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night isn't going to help him and his in-school suspension.
"Y-Yeah…um…Roxas, Riku wants y-"
Roxas was out of the bed and then across the room to Sora's in a split second to grab the phone that was held out to him.
"What the #$% did you do to my brother you #%$ing asshole?"
"Roxas!" Sora exclaimed but flinched when Roxas abruptly stood up and paced in their room that suddenly seemed smaller to Roxas as he shouted and screamed without stopping that Sora wasn't even sure if Riku had a chance to say anything on the other end. Although his answer came when Roxas stopped in mid-sentence. His movements halted and he stood there in silence. With every second passing, the blonde's breathing began picking up, his face warping into fear and anxiety, and his ability to speak was caught up in his throat.
Sora swiftly got out of bed, threw on a jacket for himself and then put one around Roxas's shoulders. When he did, the blonde shut the phone. Sora wasn't sure if the conversation was over or Roxas just hung up on Riku. Still, he worried over how still and silent Roxas was. A wave of emotions crashed down on Roxas and he was doing his best not to let it all out at once…
Gently taking his phone back, Sora called for Leon. Without word, he pulled Roxas along as he swiftly left the room to find his brother's room. Throughout the whole quick-walk, the lion-man never picked up and Sora just gave up on calling.
"Nii-Chan…"
Sora peaked over his shoulder to see Roxas on his own phone, his head lowered and body stiff…
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Cloud groaned when he fell on his bed for a nice 20 minutes and about to fall asleep except the very next thing that happened was his phone going off. He was tempted to ignore it but just in case it was Ventus, he reached over and picked it up without checking the ID.
"Hello…?"
"Nii-Chan…"
"Ven?"
"N-No…Roxas…"
Cloud raised a brow and found himself sitting up as he questioned if he heard right.
"Roxas? Uh…are you okay?"
"Ventus…Ven…"
Now Cloud grew really concerned. He swung his legs over the bed to sit up properly and in case of the possible need to act on something. It sounded like crying…Roxas never cries…that's like against nature to Cloud!
"Ven…Ven's being taken to the hospital!"
"WHAT?" Cloud immediately shot up into a stand and grabbed some things to throw on with one hand, "What happened, Roxas? What's going on? And which hospital? Probably the closest but just checking…"
"I don't…I don't know!"
"Roxas…? Roxas, calm down…it's okay, we'll figure this out, just breathe…" Cloud whispered, trying to be as soothing as possible to calm the other.
"You think I can be CALM? My BROTHER is in the HOSPITAL!"
"And we're not going to get anywhere if you don't stop yelling into the phone!" Cloud snapped back as he picked up his leather jacket and started out of his room.
"I…Sis?"
"Sis?" Cloud repeated in confusion.
Leon, with Sora pulling along Roxas, rushed down the hallways and as they turned the corner they almost ran over a poor being who, upon being frightened, fell onto her luggage.
"Geez! Don't scare me like that!" Rikku exclaimed as he recovered her posture.
"…Sis?" Roxas whispered upon seeing her which quickly gained the girl's attention,
"Oh Roxas! Wha…what's wrong, Roxas?" she rushed up over to him, practically shoving Sora to the side to wipe away those tears.
"I…Ven…"
"I don't know who you are but I assume you know Ventus. That boy's in the hospital. If you want a ride, I'm going there now so follow if you wish," Leon quickly explained before grabbing a hold of Sora to start pulling them along again.
"Venny is WHERE?" the girl hesitated, as she was dragging along her belongings, but after a moment's pause, she left them in the hallway to be by her brother's side...
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"Sis is here…"
"Rikku is there now? Wow…she decides to come back during a crisis!" Cloud opened the garage and then slapped himself,
"Left the car at the school! Why did I let him drive me home?"
With a quick sigh, he rushed to the wall to his plan B.
"Hey, closest hospital right?" Cloud asked again as he patted the seat of his baby.
"Y-Yeah…"
"I'll meet you guys there."
With that, he hung up and quickly started pulling out Fenrir. Closing the garage door as he did, the man quickly got on and started it up.
"You better be okay, Ven…"
Please read and review!
Notes:
-Yes, the bridge story was from Ace Attorney