It's amazing what happens on the Monday after a weekend party. Students make half-baked excuses as to why they didn't get their homework done, people taunts others for the alcohol-influenced actions they participated in and may not remember 100% of, and guys start hiding from their tutors they had sex with despite being straight. Wait… the last one is just Neku.

Neku groaned, banging his head against the drywall of the school building. No matter how hard he tried, he could not come up with a decent excuse as to why he slept with Zexion. Blaming booze was tempting, but all he had was soda, and not even the most amazing party-thrower could find a way to spike unopened cans of soda. He wasn't a girl, so he couldn't blame his period… lucky bitches. Neku decided to do what he always did when things like this happened… turn up his music as loud as possible and pretend the world didn't exist. Was this healthy? No. Did it work? Hell to the yes.

"Neku?" Neku froze as he faintly heard his name over the rock music and saw a shadow over him. He looked up quickly, and then thanked whatever deity existed for having it be Shiki instead of Zexion. "Where'd you go during the party?" She questioned after Neku removed his headphones.

"Uh…" Neku blushed lightly then noticed the silver ring on Shiki's hand. Damn. "New ring?" Shiki looked to her hand quickly then blushed, letting Neku know immediately that his suspicions were right.

Shiki knelt down before sitting next to Neku, "Well, I've liked this guy for quite a while… you know that junior, Pence?" Neku nodded, remembering the chubby teen from the yearbook committee… he was the one that snuck up and got a picture of Neku listening to his music on top of the school sign and then used it for the title page. "He's really a sweet guy," Shiki smiled fondly; "he's always helped me out with my art and said he'd volunteer to do a shoot when Eri and I get some outfits made." She hugged her knees to her chest and giggled, "I asked him out at the party… and he said that he's liked me too." She grinned, "I'm so happy!"

Neku sighed slightly; there was no way he could tell Shiki about how he felt about her now; popping that bubble of happiness would just be plain selfish. He groaned, "Well, I'm glad you had a good time." Shiki turned to Neku questioningly, "Well… after that whole thing with Zexion in that hula getup… I went back to the car." Neku swallowed nervously, "Zexion was there, and he was upset. I was trying to make him feel better, you know…" he looked to Shiki pleadingly, "I put my arm around him." Shiki blushed lightly, but nodded in understanding. "Next thing I know…" He turned a dark red, "well… uh…" This whole confession thing was really a lot harder than it looked, "We were… having sex." Neku groaned loudly and hung his head, resting it in his hands, ignoring the shocked look on Shiki's face, "I'm straight damn it!"

Shiki touched Neku's shoulder comfortingly, "Neku… do you remember why you slept with him?" Neku looked up into her brown eyes that he always found so comforting, "I mean, I don't remember you ever liking a girl before, maybe you are gay." Neku sighed, but wasn't in any way going to tell Shiki about his crush on her. "You obviously are having regrets," Shiki continued, "but what do you regret specifically?"

Neku snorted, "Sleeping with him." Shiki rolled his eyes, giving Neku a look that said very plainly, Think about it. She stood up as the bell rang, waving goodbye to Neku as she ran off to class. Neku paused for a moment to check for the senior he was trying to avoid, before he stood up and ran to his locker, turned his combination, grabbed his English books, and ran to his class. All of that in less than a minute, it's a shame that Neku hates extracurricular-activities; he could bring home the gold for a sports team.

Neku mentally glared his classmates, knowing how they would make his life Hell if they knew about what he told Shiki. He leaned against the back of his chair, watching with disinterest as the teacher wrote different examples of books they could use for their essays. Neku mindlessly wrote down the few titles that stood out and decided that if it got to the point where he and Zexion could even be in the same room, he would ask for help. That's when the thought suddenly struck him like summer lightning: he needed Zexion. No, this was not a bodily need; this was Neku realizing that there were some classes he would need the school's #1 tutor to get through. Sure, he could pass them all, but there were some, like his math, that he would never even begin to actually understand without his friend. Terror coursed through Neku as the thought of trying to get through math without Zexion went through his head and he tried his hardest not to get queasy. If he wanted to get through High School, he need to clear up this thing with Zexion, fast.

When the ball rang, Neku quickly departed from his class and went to his locker, noticing with dread that the exact same class which was giving him nightmares was next: Artist's Math. If there was some way to stuff himself into his own locker and hibernate for the hour, he would. Hwever, no one was skinny enough to fit in these lockers, not even Zexion. "Oh Nekky~!" Neku groaned, recognizing that smug voice anywhere. He turned his head slowly, not surprised to see Joshua standing right next to him. He turned back to his locker, deciding that there was much more use in figuring out how to hide in his locker rather than talk to his peer. "Why Neku," he felt a hand on his back and turned to the silver-haired youth in repulsion, "did you forget me already? This must be a record." Joshua smirked and Neku felt a strong urge to punch him.

"Not now, prick." He shook off Joshua's hand and grabbed the large book for their math class, "I'm having a mental breakdown," he growled, slamming his locker shut.

Rather than be like a normal person and consider this a battle for another day, Joshua took a step closer to Neku, to the point where he was practically rubbing against him, and purred, "I'm sure I know how to make your day better." Neku glared and pushed Joshua away violently, to which Joshua giggled, "Oh my, how cranky!"

Neku sighed and decided to handle this maturely, "Look, I'm not interested." He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Joshua, who didn't acknowledge if he had even heard the music-lover, and his smirk remained the same. Neku mentally slapped Joshua, and sighed, "I'm serious, keep away from me."

"Oh?" Joshua slid closer to Neku and took a lock of hair in his fingers seductively, "and why should I do that?" He leaned in close to Neku, his smirk too close to the artist's lips in his opinion.

Suddenly, Neku felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around his waist and pull him back away from the perverted silverette with a low hiss, "Because he's taken." Neku felt the strangest thing in his life: both the blood draining from his face and a deep blush growing across it as he realized this was Zexion's voice.

Joshua seemed shocked for only a second, before his haughty smirk graced his handsome features once again, "Why cousin, are we robbing the cradle?" Neku stared in amazement at Joshua, and if he could turn his head back far enough, he'd be staring at Zexion too. It was mind-boggling to imagine that these two were related. Joshua snickered, "Well, if you insist on being such a killjoy…" he gave a sigh too deep to be serious and turned away, "I'll leave you to your dirty fun."

Neku blushed a dark red and felt the arms wrapped around him loosen. He turned to face Zexion and was suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and turned with his back against the wall. He looked up at Zexion for only a split second before he felt a pair of soft lips crush against his own and a tongue invade his mouth. Neku stiffened initially, but the soothing feeling of Zexion kissing him caused him to melt against the older teen and moan lightly. "Oh!" The two stopped kissing and turned to see a bright red Shiki and smirking Eri staring at them. Neku looked down and saw a pile of books, and since Eri still had hers it must have been the shocked Shiki who dropped them. Shiki laughed to ease the tension, "Well, uh… I see you solved that problem… uh… have fun!" Shiki quickly gathered up her books and ran off, Eri close behind with her phone out… probably to text someone about the latest news.

"Great…" Neku sighed, before turning to Zexion, "What'd you go and do that for! I mean, I'm thankful that you saved me from that crazy cousin of yours, but why did you have to kiss me?"

Zexion raised an eyebrow and sighed, "It seems we have to talk." Before Neku could protest, he grabbed his hand and started running off; ignoring the bell signaling class should start. He pushed Neku into an unoccupied classroom and locked the door behind them.

Neku backed up and stared warily at his tutor, "If this is going to be a rape scenario…" Zexion shook his head and make an X on his chest with his fingers, and Neku relaxed visibly. "So… what do we need to talk about?" Neku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, knowing too well what this conversation must be about.

Zexion took a step towards Neku, "What do you think about what we did?" Zexion kept his visible blue eye trained on Neku as he spoke, "Are you repulsed by it, or excited?" Neku could feel tension building up in the room and coughed awkwardly, "Do you regret it, or…" Zexion paused, before turning away. "What do you think?"

Neku frowned, not quite sure of the answer himself. "I think… I'm straight?" He sighed, every time he told this to himself for someone else, it sounded weaker and weaker. After that kiss in the hall… Neku was so absorbed in it that he doubted his sexuality. As for the crush on Shiki… he never had the urge to kiss her or be kissed by her like with Zexion; to be honest he never even thought anything sexual about the girl. "I think…" he sighed again, "I think I'm as confused as Hell right now."

"Are you?" Zexion took another step to Neku and pulled him into a hug, kissing his forehead lightly. "I won't pressure you into anything Neku, we can go back to the way it was before." He pulled away from Neku with the smallest hint of a sigh, "I can be nothing more than your tutor and a friend."

Neku felt a small tint of sadness at that thought and frowned, remembering Zexion's words about being around Demyx, who acted like nothing happened. Would he really be willing to do that exact same thing and hurt Zexion? "Zex?" He crossed his arms, "I wasn't lying when I said I was confused… I still am. But…" he smiled lightly, "I think I'd be willing to find out."

Zexion froze, and then spoke, "Neku, you should be aware of what you're saying." He sat on top of a desk and sighed, "I like you, and I realized it when we were at the party." Neku blushed lightly, and Zexion continued, "I took advantage of you then: at the smallest opening of affection I ravaged you. If you were to agree to date me…" His ice-blue eye bore into Neku, "It would be much worse. I can promise to hold back on sex, but I would be very openly affectionate in every other way." He slid off the desk and walked to Neku, "For example…" He pressed against Neku and slid a hand into his back pocket, pinching lightly at the flesh hidden behind the clothing, "I would do things like this constantly." Neku arched his back and pressed desperately against Zexion, who couldn't help but add with a chuckle, "You're too sensitive, you make me want to do more." Despite his words, Zexion pulled his hand away, "I will only confuse you more."

Neku laughed, "That'd take a lot." He self-consciously rubbed his butt, trying to get rid of the sensation of a ghost hand pinching it, "I'm already pretty confused." He blushed, "I'm also… uh…" Neku squirmed, rubbing his legs together in embarrassment, "I'm kinda… you know… not minding… yeah…" Note: the art of conversation is dying more and more with every embarrassed confession Neku makes. Fortunately, Zexion is intelligent enough to interpret Neku's confused words, so he smiled at Neku fondly, making him blush only harder.

"I understand," Zexion wrapped his arms around Neku's waist, "I can do whatever you want," he whispered, bringing up a hand to Neku's neck and untying to green scarf he had wrapped around it to hide the numerous hickeys Zexion left earlier, "and a few things I want." He kissed Neku's neck lightly, making him squirm and moan against him. "Just be warned: now that you've agreed, you'll find me very difficult to get rid of."

Neku nodded, and gave a light squeak as Zexion "kissed" his neck, if such a light touch could be called a kiss, "That tickles!" He complained, only making Zexion repeat the gesture. "Zex!"

Zexion smirked and murmured in Neku's ear, "You're so cute." Neku blushed deeply and Zexion kissed his lips delicately, "When we do get together again," he whispered, "I'll be sure to explore each and every inch of your body and find every adorable quirk you have." Neku frowned, knowing immediately that could be both a ticklish and embarrassing situation. "You can do the same to me," Zexion added, "I don't expect this to be a one-sided relationship." He smiled at Neku, who couldn't keep from smiling back.

However, the blue-haired teen frowned when a shrill bell rang out, "Damn, Saix comes back this hour. We should probably leave…" He straightened up and stretched his arms out, freezing when Neku started to retie his scarf around his neck, "No." His hand shot out and grabbed the material, brining it over to the Goth, "The scarf stays with me…" His free hand lightly traced a hickey on Neku's neck, making the teen flinch, "I must leave my mark." He stuck the scarf in his bag on his back and continued, "I don't need anyone like my cousin thinking you're available."

Neku blushed lightly and brought a hand to his neck, doing very little to hide the pinkish marks splattered across his neck, "I don't think you need to worry about that," Neku replied sheepishly,

"I'm pretty sure Joshua just thought it'd be amusing to annoy me," he stated, mimicking Joshua's snarky tone perfectly.

Despite the impersonation amusing nature, Zexion frowned, "I see…" he gave a noncommittal shrug, "Regardless, you are not getting your scarf back." He smirked, making Neku's heart do a little summersault in his chest, "It's a trophy." Neku blushed and quickly dashed past his new boyfriend to the door, hoping to avoid letting him see what a reaction he coaxed out of him. Of course, he did fail at this and Zexion smirked at his back. "The door's locked, Neku!" He could see Neku stiffen, and he walked up to him and unlocked the door, both of them walking out of the door into a crowd of students, some of which shot suspicious looks at the two exiting an empty classroom, but saying nothing. "Have fun," Zexion whispered enticingly before slipping into the crowd and off to his next class, leaving Neku to do the same.