"Sir, I want to go to the toilet."
Cloud raised his hand in the air, interrupting Mr Tseng's lecture halfway. Mr Tseng glanced at his watch and nodded his head. "Make haste," Mr Tseng said curtly before ploughing back into the History textbook without so much as missing a pace.
Cloud took out the letter carefully from his drawer and slipped it in into his side pocket.
"Good luck," Zack whispered conspiratorially from beside, giving him the thumbs up gesture.
Cloud nodded his head and walked out from the classroom calmly. Once the wooden door was closed behind him, Cloud sprinted down the hallways with his heart in his throat. The lockers were quite a distance from the toilets. If he was caught by Headmaster Rufus or other teachers, it would be problematic for him. No. He must remained positive that he would not get caught. If he was caught, he could always say he forgot to take out his notebook or something.
Cloud squinted his eyes and shook his head hard to clear away all muddled thoughts. The hallway was quiet except for the sound of his sneakers against the shiny tiled floors. There was a loud squeal as Cloud halted to a stop right in front of Sephiroth's locker.
Panting, Cloud stood on tiptoes and slipped the envelope between the vents of his locker.
Mission success!
Cloud gave a low whoop and after checking that the coast is clear, Cloud ran back to the classroom. His chest was heaving up and down when Cloud finally reached the classroom. Cloud quickly fished out his handkerchief and wiped away the tell-tale beads of sweat. Taking in a deep breath, Cloud knocked on the door and entered the classroom as cool as possible.
Mr Tseng didn't even look up from his book or paused in his speech. Cloud quickly walked towards his seat and slid back in without accident. Zack gave Cloud a hard nudge the moment Cloud sat down.
"How was it?" Zack mouthed, his eyes focusing on his textbook as if he was listening intently to Mr Tseng's lecture.
"Done," Cloud replied with a bright smile.
"Mr Strife and Mr Fair, please focus more in my class. If you guys want to talk please go outside immediately," Mr Tseng suddenly said in a loud voice, his back facing the both of them.
Cloud jumped up in shock as he stared at Zack in astonishment. How in the world did Mr Tseng knew they were talking?
"Sorry, sir." both Cloud and Zack chorused together.
Cloud knew he should not be grinning at a time like this because it would only get him into even bigger trouble. Yet, the grin on his face only grew wider.
He had finally done it. He had finally gathered the courage to confess to Sephiroth. Cloud couldn't wait to see the expression on Sephiroth's face when he read the letter. Hopefully Sephiroth also felt the same way about him.
Cloud looked back down at his textbook, his head swimming when he saw the lines and lines of words which made no sense at all. Cloud took a quick peek at his chocobo watch, he couldn't help groaning when he saw that only three minutes had passed. Mr Tseng continued to drone on about the history lessons but not a single word entered into Cloud's head at all.
All Cloud could think of at that moment was Sephiroth.
xxxx
A loud earsplitting bell rang around the whole school, signaling time for the next class. Sephiroth picked up his books and strode out from the classroom in a flash. People were starting to exit from the classrooms and crowded the hallway.
Sephiroth quickened his footsteps towards his lockers, his books hooked under his arm. The frown on Sephiroth's face deepened when his eyes swept the school hallway. Due to the special occasion today, the hallway was all decked out in distasteful colors of pink and red and the floor was showered with red rose petals. Besides that, a huge banner with the words "Happy Valentine!" was hung in the middle of the hallway.
Sephiroth nearly choked when he turned a corner and all he could inhale was the sweet scent of perfume and flowers. All around him couples giggled, exchanging gifts, and shouting out in happiness. Some even kissed in public despite the obvious disgusted looks by the passersby.
Repulsive.
He couldn't wait to get out from here.
Sephiroth deftly turned the combo on his locker, swinging the locker door opened. He was just about to throw in his heap of books and rushed outside when a silver gleam caught his eyes. Stunned, Sephiroth reached out his hand tentatively to grab the silver envelope. The envelope felt smooth to his touch, Sephiroth was about to turn over the envelope when -
"Sephiroth!"
A loud shriek echoed around the hallway making Sephiroth cringed in shock. Suddenly, a swarm of girls rushed towards Sephiroth, their hands full of flowers, chocolates and love letters. "Damn it," Sephiroth muttered, he chucked his books haphazardly inside and slammed his locker shut.
"Move it!" Sephiroth snarled at the students obscuring his way, pushing them roughly aside as he ran towards the school doors.
"Sephiroth!"
The shouts of the girls faded with every step Sephiroth took, but he was not taking any chances. Only when he was safely out of the school doors and breathing in fresh air, did Sephiroth paused in his steps.
It was the same as every year's Valentine. Strangers rushed up to him and surrounded him to give him their gifts and love letters, be it male or female. Valentine's day was slowly becoming a nightmare for him. Sephiroth took in a deep breath and ran his fingers over his long and silky silver hair, pondering on what his next action would be.
He didn't feel like entering into that devil infused hallway, and he was feeling a bit hungry. Might as well skipped class until break time. This way he could go outside to grab a snack.
It always made Sephiroth felt much more at ease once he had made up his mind about something. Whipping out his car keys, Sephiroth walked nonchalantly to the empty car park as if he had every right to do so.
"Click."
Sephiroth unlocked his black SUV and slid in to the leather driver seat. Sephiroth was about to start up his car when he felt something sticking him from under the seat. Grumbling slightly, Sephiroth felt the leather interior, but there was nothing.
Sephiroth's forehead creased in annoyance, wondering what was it that made him felt so uncomfortable. And then it struck him.
The letter!
Sephiroth had slipped it into his back pocket when he was on the run from the girls. He had totally forgotten about it. Sephiroth took out the envelope and examined it. When his eyes landed on the words on top of the envelope, his heart skipped a beat. That's Cloud's writing. There's no mistaking it, Sephiroth could always recognize those tidy block letters.
Why was Cloud writing him a letter? Could it be that Cloud wanted to confess to him on Valentine's day? The back of Sephiroth's throat felt dry as he ran the tips of his fingers over the letters. A feeling of exhilaration took over Sephiroth's usual calm demeanor.
It took Sephiroth several seconds for the truth to sink in.
Wait, this couldn't be right.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed into tiny slits as he took a closer look on the words.
"To: My Valentine"
What? The envelope nearly fell from Sephiroth's hands as he sat there looking dumbstruck. Cloud liked Vincent Valentine? An inhuman growl escaped from Sephiroth's throat, his eyes full of venom. Sephiroth had been so sure that this letter was meant for him. Should he open the letter anyway?
Sephiroth stared doubtfully at the letter, feeling torn in between. On one hand, he badly wanted to know the contents of the letter. Yet he shouldn't read other's people stuffs. Oh, forget it. Nobody would know anyway. Sephiroth pushed open the flap and took out the letter.
'I had always liked you.'
'Waited for so long.'
'Hope you feel the same way about me.'
Every sentence sank Sephiroth's heart even further. When Sephiroth finished reading the letter, all of his spirits and appetite was gone. What the hell? How come he didn't realize that Cloud liked Vincent? The letter in his hand shook as his hands trembled with rage. When did all this happen?
Sephiroth could feel he was rapidly losing control of his emotions. Without thinking of the consequences, Sephiroth smashed his hand into the side window to vent out some of his anger. The window shattered into thousands of pieces, showering Sephiroth in a rain of broken glass. Bits of glass stuck onto Sephiroth's fist but Sephiroth didn't feel the sting.
It was true that he felt pain. But the pain did not come from the glass, it came from the heart. It was as if Sephiroth's heart was smashed to pieces just like the car window. With a loud groan, Sephiroth banged his head against the steering wheel.
He had always thought that Cloud would perhaps have a crush on him. Seeing that Cloud always liked to follow after him eagerly and they always had lots of topics to talk about. Even though Cloud was a guy, Sephiroth couldn't help having feelings towards him. Damn it!
Sephiroth's heart squeezed tightly when his gaze landed once more on the silver envelope. Now what was he going to do with this letter? How could Cloud make this erroneous mistake? If only Sephiroth didn't read the letter, he would not be in such a disgraceful sight right now. Just a few seconds ago, Sephiroth was so full of hope, but now… Sephiroth heaved a huge sigh, straightening himself as he watched the mess around him.
Eating was definitely out of the question now. What bothered Sephiroth most was what to do with this letter. Sephiroth's eyes burned with an intense flame as he stared at the envelope. If the fire was real, the envelope would have been burned to ashes.
Should he slip the letter inside Vincent's locker? Or should he toss this letter away so that nobody would know of Cloud's crush?
Sephiroth stroke his chin thoughtfully, he badly wanted to do the later but something was holding him back. The image of an innocent-looking Cloud appeared in Sephiroth's mind. Cloud was always showing such a happy face when he was around Sephiroth, and it always cheered Sephiroth to see that.
How could he destroy Cloud's possible happiness because of jealousy? If somehow Cloud found out one day of what Sephiroth did, Cloud would never forgive him. Was he willing to destroy their friendship just because of this letter? Besides that, Vincent Valentine might not felt the same way towards him, Sephiroth thought with a sly smile on his lips.
Sephiroth banged his head against the steering wheel one more time, trying to get his thoughts straightened out. Sighing deeply, Sephiroth slipped the letter back into the envelope and thrust it into the pocket of his leather jacket. Sephiroth knew he was going to regret this, but for now this was the right thing to do. Sephiroth opened his car door and slammed it shut behind him, causing more broken glass to fall down.
Something seemed to be weighing Sephiroth down with every step he took towards the red-bricked school building, but he was not carrying anything. Okay. Except the letter.
Sephiroth's fist clenched in annoyance when he thought of that damn letter, it infuriated him even more that he couldn't tear Vincent apart from limb to limb. He was emitting a murderous aura around in full force. Every year's Valentine's Day was terrible but this year was the worst one ever.
To be continue…
Okay, I know this is a quick update and the last paragraph was crappy (sorry =[ ), but I hope to finish this story soon before Valentine's Day is too far gone. :P =] Anyway, hope you all enjoy this story and stay tune for the next updates. ^.^
p.s. Please leave a review/comment, it would make me really really really happy. =]