Hello friends, thank you so much for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I just wanted to make mention of or remind everyone reading that some chapters in this story may contain content, conversations, or situations that some may find disturbing, triggering, or uncomfortable to read, so if you choose to read please do so with that in mind. Remember to stay safe and take care of yourselves always.

~Fifteen~

After filling in for Zack at Tifa's bar and helping to clean up, Tifa convinced Cloud to just stay the rest of the morning hours rather than walk home. He caught a few hours of sleep on the couch in Tifa's office upstairs, though Tifa told him he could sleep in her bed if he wanted. He was glad he passed on the offer because by the time six o'clock rolled around he was waking up sweating and feeling like he was about to have a panic attack. He almost always had his attack meds on him so he was able to take one and try to prevent his body from going into full panic mode. He moved himself to the floor next to the couch and as the feeling of calm being restored ran through him slowly he lay himself back on the floor and shut his eyes, taking some deep breaths.

"What are you doing?" a curious voice asked from close by.

Opening his eyes and lifting his head slightly from the floor he could see Marlene standing in the doorway in her pajamas looking like she'd just woken up. She was holding onto the doorknob in her one hand. He hadn't heard her when she eased the door open to look in on him.

"Hey," he greeted her as he sat himself up. "Nothing," he told her. "You're up pretty early," he noted, though it wasn't much earlier than normal for her.

"Were you doing a lot of sit-ups or something?" she asked him.

"Hmm?" he responded in question, shaking his head a little.

"You sound like Tifa when she does a lot of sit-ups," Marlene commented. He was, in fact, breathing a little heavily from his momentary panic episode. He smiled at her then.

"Oh, yeah that's what I was doing," he told her. She was still too young for the truth, he thought. Even if she could handle it, he didn't really want her knowing about his struggles. The time he had with Marlene was really the only time he had as a vacation from his problems.

"Why do grown-ups do that?" Marlene questioned as she let go of the door knob in her hand finally.

Cloud shrugged lightly. "Exercise," he told her simply.

"Should I be doing sit-ups too then?" she asked, making him smile again.

"No, you're healthy," he told her while lifting himself up from the floor back onto the couch. "You burn enough energy running around playing all day," he pointed out. She nodded before coming to sit next to him, getting herself up onto the couch and sitting cross-legged facing him.

"Tifa's been pretty mad at you," she said then. "She said you weren't allowed back over until you stopped being stupid," she revealed. Cloud couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Yeah, I think she's forgiven me," he said to her. He reached out to fix the bangs of her hair that had gotten messy and displaced while she'd been sleeping.

"I wish you wouldn't be stupid cause then I can't see you either," she scolded a little.

"Yeah you can," he told her.

"How?"

"You'd just have to come to my place, or we could go to the park," he reasoned. At mention of the park her face lit up.

"Can we go to the park now?" she inquired excitedly, jumping up to her feet on the couch cushion.

"After breakfast okay?" he said, watching her bounce a little up and down, about to warn her Tifa was going to get mad if she saw her jumping on the furniture.

"Are you making pancakes?" she asked and he gave her an exaggerated sigh. Of course she'd want pancakes.

"Don't you ever get tired of them?" he asked. "You know there's a whole world of different breakfasts to try," he pointed out.

"But it's my favourite," she declared. There was a sound from down the hall. Cloud thought it could be Tifa. He reached up and took hold of Marlene's arm and gently urged her down. She sunk back onto the cushion below her, kneeling.

"You don't know that for sure," he told her then. "Maybe you actually really like that oatmeal you keep refusing to try," he suggested. She gave him her grossed-out face that he couldn't keep a straight face looking at if he tried.

"Some things you just know, Cloud," she told him firmly.

"Well, I can't argue with that," he said in acceptance. "Okay, go get your bunny robe. It's probably cold downstairs," he told her.

When she left he took a moment to thank whatever force had kept him from going into full panic when she was there. It would have been awful if she'd walked in on him bawling and hyperventilating on the floor. He got up then to get ready to go downstairs to make the pancakes Marlene could somehow never get sick of.

He picked up his phone to check for any messages but it had died at some point while he was asleep. He didn't have his charger with him. It was still pretty early but he was going to need to get home soon to take his medication. He'd told Marlene he'd take her to the park though. He hadn't been thinking of his medication when he'd told her that.

When he passed by Tifa's room out in the hall he could see she was actually still sleeping. He didn't wake her and instead went down to the kitchen to start mixing the pancake batter. It was just him and Marlene alone for close to an hour before she joined them. Marlene spent the time telling him all about the kids at the play school she went to a few days of the week. Some that she liked and the ones she didn't. He was a little surprised to hear there were any kids at all she wasn't getting along with, though her reasoning was pretty sound. She wasn't a fan of a couple kids that sounded like bullies by the way she described them. He knew they were all just small kids, but the way she described so theatrically all the playground antics she and others got up to sounded so dramatic. It was pretty gripping stuff.

When Tifa joined them downstairs, Marlene quickly informed her that he'd promised to take her to the park after breakfast. She advised that she better wear something warm because it was still chilly in the slums that early in the day.

"That's nice of you to take her," Tifa said when Marlene went running to go upstairs. She headed over to pour herself some coffee from the pot Cloud had brewed behind the bar.

"Yeah, I wasn't really thinking though," he said back from the table where he and Marlene had eaten. "I have to go home to take my medication," he told her at the same time the doors to the back area opened and Zack was suddenly coming through them.

"This medication?" he said with a wide smile as he held up a clear bag with Cloud's pill bottles in it.

"You know I hate when you use that back door," Tifa commented tiredly from behind the bar.

"That's why I do it," Zack was quick to reply. Cloud took the bag from him when he came to sit next to him.

"How'd you even think to—" he started to ask.

"Because you said last night you were going to be staying and given the fact you never planned on covering for me, I figured you probably didn't have them on hand," Zack explained. Tifa approached them to set down a cup of coffee on the table for Zack then.

"Thanks, Tee," he said and she scoffed. They all knew she also hated when he used that nickname. She picked the cup back up to take it away and he stopped her. "Whoa! Tifa, I mean," he said. "My boss who loves me," he joked and she let him take the cup back from her.

"Well, thanks, for this," Cloud said to him as he opened the bag to get his medication out.

"I'm great aren't I?" Zack asked with a grin.

"You want an honest answer to that?" Cloud retorted.

"Please no," Zack said.

"You know," Tifa said to him from back behind the bar counter where she was looking at her inventory on the back shelves. "The polite thing would have been to tell your boss you were leaving last night. You know, before actually leaving."

"Sorry, even if you are my boss, you were low on my list of concerns," he countered lightly.

"That's no different from any other day," she argued without looking back at him.

"I am sorry though. Cloud do an alright job filling in for me?" Zack asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, he can have your job any day he wants it," she said in return.

"Damn, I really love those five cent tips that your cheap-ass patrons leave me though," Zack commented dryly.

"I could give you some tips right now if you want," she said back quickly. "They involve you shutting your mouth."

"Oh, yeah no thanks," he said with a smile. "Got an overflowing jar of those ones already."

"Well let me get you another jar," she said with a sweet smile before leaving the bar area to head upstairs to help Marlene get ready.

Zack looked at Cloud then. "Everything went okay last night?" he asked.

"Here? Yeah," Cloud confirmed with a light shrug. "How'd it go with Kunsel?" he inquired a little hesitantly. He almost didn't want to ask. He wanted to talk about him as much as he didn't.

Zack got serious then. He shook his head and exhaled deeply. "Oh man, I laced into him good and that was probably not the right thing to do, especially when he's not even sober, but I was so friggin' angry when I got there and saw him," he said.

"How'd he take it?" Cloud asked.

"He told me to screw myself and threatened to throw his half empty liquor bottle at me, but being as it's so precious to him right now that didn't happen," Zack explained sharply, clearly still angry.

"You know it's not really like that," Cloud pointed out and Zack shrugged before leaning forward on the table.

"Yeah well, I'm sorry," he said in a softer tone. "I shouldn't have sent you over there. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay," Cloud said but Zack was already talking again.

"What'd he say to you?" he asked. He paused a second and Cloud tried to think of how to answer. "Other than bringing up Rand and...and I really don't know he did that," he said then. "It's obviously a sensitive thing," he stated.

"He probably wasn't thinking," Cloud said as he shook his head a little.

"Still. What else did he say? He wasn't a jerk to you was he?" Zack questioned.

"Why?" Cloud asked back, suspecting there might be an actual reason Zack was asking.

"I dunno," Zack said as he looked away a moment. "Just some things he said when I got there."

"I'm sure he wasn't meaning to be," Cloud said and that was really what he wanted to believe though he wasn't sure he did. "Just—it's not worth worrying about," he told Zack then. "And he can say what he wants. He's allowed." Kunsel was entitled to his opinion, whatever that was, even if it was hard to hear.

"Like hell he is," Zack said, scoffing. "Anyway, I'm sorry for the whole Rand thing and anything else he said," he said sadly.

"I just don't like the thought of you talking about what I went through when you weren't even there, you know," Cloud explained and Zack nodded with understanding.

"I totally get it," he said. "It crosses a line, I know that. Forgive me?"

"Yeah," Cloud said and Zack smiled a little.

"Oh," he said then. "Um, I don't want to alarm you but Reno somehow got into your place and was asleep on the couch," he revealed.

"Oh yeah, I know. He asked if he could crash," Cloud replied. "He didn't want to be at Johnny's with Kunsel there."

"Really?" Zack responded with some surprise and skepticism. "That bothers him? Surprised he doesn't want to just try and drive Kunsel out."

"It's probably just as likely he wants to stay at my place so he can still drink," Cloud suggested and at Zack's questioning expression, he explained. "He said all the alcohol was taken out of the house for Kunsel."

Zack rolled his eyes a little at that. "Yeah, lot of good that did," he remarked flatly.

"Give it time," Cloud said. "He's not going to get better overnight," he pointed out.

"If ever," Zack spoke dully.

The doors nearby opened then and Marlene joined them, followed by Tifa.

"Hi Zack," she said when she saw him sitting at the table with Cloud.

"Hey squirt," he greeted her back. "You heading out to work?" he asked jokingly at seeing her with her coat and shoes on, looking like she had a mission in mind.

"I don't work," she said.

"Me either really," Zack replied.

"You're not kidding," Tifa threw in.

"Cloud's taking me to the park!" Marlene told him happily.

"Sounds like a fun time," Zack said.

"You know now that you're here, there's a truck coming in soon..." Tifa said to him from behind the counter, making him groan a little.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it," he said. He stood himself up as Cloud was doing the same.

"Have fun," he told Cloud. "Try to resist the urge I know you get to jump on one of those spring rider rocking horse things," he teased.

"Yeah, sure," Cloud said in return. He put on his coat and went to unlock the front door.

"Be careful," Tifa called.

"We will!" Marlene called back with a little wave. She went ahead of Cloud, exiting the building as he held the door open for her.

000

After the park, Cloud dropped Marlene back at the bar and headed home to hopefully get some more sleep. Reno was there when he got in, but was still on the couch and looked like he'd just been woken up. He gave a short greeting to Cloud when he walked in and asked where he'd been. Cloud told him he'd been at Tifa's and that he was going to try to get some more sleep. Reno indicated the same and that he'd be quiet otherwise.

In the bedroom, Cloud plugged his phone in to charge and laid down in bed. He was tired enough that his racing questioning thoughts weren't able to stop him from dozing off for hours. When he woke up next it was the afternoon and it was to the dinging of a text message notifications. It was Marco. There were a few messages on his screen, some from a little earlier.

'Hey blue eyes tonight's my last night here. Was hoping we could hang out'

When he hadn't responded for about half an hour the guy had sent some follow-up messages. It was the reminder chime of that last message that he'd heard when he woke up.

'I don't want to leave with things like…however they are'

'It'd be cool if we could stay friends'

'Maybe we could hang out again next time I'm in town'

He rubbed his eyes a little before tapping the screen so he could reply. Even with the cursor blinking and awaiting his words he still had to think over what he wanted to say. He'd actually felt something when he read those texts. He felt…relieved, he supposed. Even after brushing Marco off the day before, the guy had still been thinking of him and he sort of liked that and also didn't. No matter what he was feeling, it didn't change anything. Marco was headed out of town in a matter of hours.

'I'm busy' he finally responded. 'And I'm not really looking for another friend' he wrote immediately after. It sounded so harsh, but it was basically the truth.'It was cool meeting you. Good luck with business' he sent him and he shut his eyes tightly after hitting that send button. He let his phone fall against his chest. A moment later though he heard the notification of Marco's response and he dreaded looking at it.

'I have your jacket though'

Damn, he thought. He did have it. He'd forgotten. He'd left it in the guy's car when they were out in the wasteland driving—and then not driving—around. Marco had dropped him off back at the spot where the racing crowd had met up that night. Rick had still been there with a bunch of other people so he'd stayed and hadn't gone back to his bike right away. When he went to start it up to go back home, that's when he realized he didn't have his jacket. He'd basically forgotten about it after he was home.

'Just leave it at the front desk at the hotel and I'll pick it up' he sent back after a minute.

'Okay' was all Marco texted back at first. He'd almost put his phone back down again when he saw another message pop up below it.

'If you change your mind tonight hit me up. I'll be at the hotel'

He let out a long breath and thought about sending back a simple 'ok' but didn't. He didn't want to make him think there was a possibility of that happening. When he got up and went out into the living room Reno was just coming back in the apartment from outside. He had his cigarettes with him so must have stepped out to have one. Reno asked if he wanted to hit the gym with him and go get food after before he headed off to work. He agreed and texted Zack to ask him if he wanted to join them. He didn't respond right away and when he did he said he'd like to but that he had Kunsel over at his and Aerith's place. Aerith was going to make dinner and he wanted to talk to Kunsel again about his behaviour the night before.

So it was just him and Reno for a few hours. He didn't really mind. The guy could be annoying but there was also something refreshing or comforting about the fact the ex-Turk had no filter and would tell it like it is regardless of how much it sucked to hear it.

They spent about an hour and a half working out at the gym before showering and picking a place to sit down to eat. Cloud had sort of expected Reno to bring up the race from the other night or something related to it while they were at the gym but it wasn't until they were waiting on their food that he finally spoke of it.

"So, uh, you have a nice ride out there in the dark with, uh, what was his name? Ass-man?"

"Marco?" Cloud replied before he took a long drink from the cup of water in front of him. Reno smirked.

"Oh, wow, not even going to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, huh?" Reno said with some surprise.

"Can't be bothered, I guess," he said tiredly, setting the cup back down on the table. "This way I don't have to listen to you pester the crap out of me about it."

"Now, you know that's not entirely true," Reno argued as he leaned forward on the table. "So what happened?" he asked then.

"I'm not giving you a description," Cloud said firmly to that. Reno shook his head.

"Not what I was asking, dumbass," he fired back. "I mean like was that just a one-time deal or…"

"Or what?" Cloud said through a hard exhale, a little irritated. Reno just shrugged and sat back in his chair.

"I mean if I really have to spell shit out—" Reno said.

"What the hell are you even asking for?" Cloud questioned sharply.

"Oh, sorry, see it's called conversation," Reno told him sarcastically. "It's this thing that happens between people who know each other and hang out," he went on making Cloud huff in annoyance. "People talk about their lives and shit. That includes who they bang in a sports car out in the wasteland," he concluded.

"It wasn't in the car," Cloud said a little under his breath as he looked out the window next to them briefly. Reno uttered some sound of mild surprise at his words, clearly not expecting them.

"Why don't you talk about your life then, and whoever you're banging right now," Cloud suggested.

"Uh, yeah, I do, have you not been listening when I talk?" Reno retorted.

"Rarely," Cloud responded dryly.

Their waitress came to their table with their food then. She set down the plates and asked if they needed anything else before heading away again.

"Hey, if you don't wanna talk about it then that's fine," Reno told him as he reached for the ketchup bottle at the end of the table near the window. "Just thought if there's anything on your mind, or whatever, there's worse people to bounce shit off."

"Is there really?" Cloud questioned that while lifting the bread from the top of his sandwich to push around the lettuce and tomato a little.

"Screw you," Reno said lightly and Cloud gave him a bit of a smug smile.

He shook his head then. "Nothing happened," he said, going back to address one of Reno's initial inquiries. "We've hung out a few times this past week. That's it," he explained.

Reno nodded to his short explanation. "So, you like him then or what?"

Cloud scoffed. "Like him? Are we twelve?"

"You? Mentally?" Reno responded. "Wouldn't doubt it." He looked at him then for a moment like he was assessing him. "Actually, these days kind of physically too. You need more protein," he commented. "Like him, as in more than just rockin' beds, or in your case cars—or whatever you're rockin'." He smiled to himself then in amusement.

Cloud thought about it a little and shook his head. "Doesn't really matter," he decided.

"How come," Reno asked before putting a few fries into his mouth.

"He's not from here," Cloud told him finally. "He's just in town on business. Leaving tomorrow."

Reno hummed in acknowledgment. "That sucks. You hanging out tonight then?" he asked while looking down at his food.

"Probably not," Cloud said.

"Probably?" Reno echoed and he shook his head. He hadn't really meant it to mean anything other than 'no'. Reno gave him a questioning and doubtful look that had him internally rolling his eyes again.

"He asked me to hang out. I don't want to," he clarified.

"Why? 'Cause he's leaving and you're pissed?" Reno asked as though he found the idea both absurd and hilarious at the same time.

"I don't care that he's leaving," Cloud stated firmly but Reno wasn't buying it.

"So what if he is?" Reno asked simply. He shrugged again and looked out the window next to them briefly. "So what if that's it and you don't see him again? If he's cool to hang out with and gets you laid like you want, what are you gaining by not seeing him one more time?" he asked. "If you want to," he added. "I mean, what the hell? After everything you've been through the last like what? Six years or so? What the hell are you thinking about? The future?" he questioned, leaning in a little, looking at Cloud straight. "Thought you were just living for the day, isn't that why you're racing? Fuck tomorrow, live in the moment?" he asked strongly.

Cloud took in his words. For a few moments it was quiet between them as Reno went back to eating and he sat back and contemplated a little over what he'd said.

"Damn," he responded softly then. "You're kinda right," he spoke in realization.

What the hell was he so worried about? Why was he making a bigger deal out of spending time with Marco? At least he knew the guy wasn't a jerk, or at least hadn't been so far. He was pretty fun to spend time with, made him forget little about all his problems. Did he really not want him as a friend? Did he even want something more than something casual? No.

"I know," Reno said in return, nodding emphatically. "No one listens to me though. I've got wisdom, yo. For real."

"I think it just gets lost in the stupid way you say shit sometimes," Cloud suggested.

"Whatever," Reno said, waving off his comment. "Don't be such a wuss. If you want to hang with him, go do it," he advised. "Don't overthink that shit. Who knows what could happen tomorrow."

He actually liked what Reno was saying and it wasn't hard to get behind, given what he'd been through. He probably was way overthinking things with Marco. The guy hadn't done anything wrong. Perhaps he'd been assigning more meaning to some of his actions, like him trying to hold him the other night, or assuming he'd been trying to form some sort of attachment with him, when he was probably just being himself. Some people were just more affectionate. All in all, when he thought about it, he would feel bad if Marco waited around all night thinking he might show up and left town thinking he really didn't want anything to do with him at all, even on a friend level just simply because he wasn't a local.

He decided to head up to the hotel for about ten or ten-thirty. He didn't text Marco to let him know he'd be coming because he was curious to know if he really was just sitting around in the hotel like he said he would be. When he got up to Marco's room though, his knocking on the door went unanswered. He took out his phone to call him to find out if he was just sleeping or if he might have gone out to get something to eat or a drink or something. The call went to voicemail and he didn't leave a message. He decided to go sit down in the lounge for a little while and maybe text him to see if he'd answer that.

As he was passing some windows in the lobby that looked into the lounge, he suddenly spotted Marco. He was sitting in one of the leather lounge chairs talking to someone. He could just see the back of the other person's head. When he moved a few steps forward he could just make out the side profile of the person. A guy with light coloured hair. A build similar to his own. The two of them were engaged in a conversation that had them both laughing a little. They each had a drink in front of them.

As Marco was saying something, leaning forward a little, the guy passed him his phone and he began typing something into it. Cloud wondered if he was putting his phone number into it. I'll leave it up to you to call me, he imagined Marco saying, just like he'd said to him when he'd asked for his phone to put his number into.

Shaking his head and turning to walk away back to the main hotel doors, he couldn't believe what he'd seen and yet he felt stupid for not having expected it. He was also surprised at what he felt. He was angry. Embarrassed even. He was mad at himself for listening to Reno.

Rick had messaged him not long before to ask him if he wanted to join him and a couple other people that night. He'd turned him down initially but with his sudden change in plans and being as he was already on the plate, he texted him back after leaving the hotel and asked where he could hook up with them.

When Rick answered him a few minutes later he told him to come to Junction first. From there they did a little bar hopping until just after midnight. Over those few hours, Cloud had noticed that his phone had been ringing and he'd been getting a few messages. He'd purposely ignored his phone, only checking it while his group was on the way over to a club for the last few hours of the night. He could see that Marco had tried to call him back and had also sent some text messages saying he was sorry for missing his call and asking if he'd maybe been trying to contact him to meet up. He didn't respond and instead contemplated maybe just hooking up with someone random at the club.

Ultimately, though, he found himself just wanting to leave and go home. The club was loud. He was the only one who wasn't really drinking and the place was busy, people everywhere. He'd only been there about thirty minutes when he decided he was probably just going to take off. He sought out the bathroom first. The music was a little quieter inside, though not by much. It was almost just as dark in there too. He was washing his hands when the guy next to him said something.

"Hey," he said and Cloud barely noticed at first, having hardly heard him. He glanced to his side and saw the guy looking at him and he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hey," he said back, his eyes back on the sink and faucet. It was an automatic but the sensor seemed slow to react to the movement of his hands and shut off quickly after spouting a small amount of water.

"Hey," the guy next to him said again as he moved in closer to him and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He looked up at him in question. "You really gonna act like you don't know me," the guy asked.

"What?" he said back in confusion. The guy was tall and slim with an eyebrow and lip piercing. He looked about his age, but he didn't think he knew him. He tried to think if he'd run into him at the college when he was working. Was he one of the other maintenance guys?

"You give me a fake number or what?" the guy asked next. At his blank expression, he said, "What you really don't remember? I thought we had fun. I've been tryna hook up with you again, but you keep dodging," he went on.

"Oh," Cloud said. It started coming back to him then. He did know him, but barely. His name was something like…Kell? Yeah, his last name was Keller, but he went by Kell. He remembered thinking when the guy first told him his name he thought he'd said 'killer.'

"You know, the warehouse party," Kell said and he nodded. It had been a while ago.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry, I forgot," he told him simply, looking away from him as he turned toward the one wall to take some paper towel from a dispenser to dry his hands with.

"Forgot?" Kell replied sharply as if offended at the thought.

Cloud shrugged. "I mean I was kind of..." he started to say.

"Wasted?" Kell asked him, cutting him off and he shrugged again.

"I guess. Yeah," he agreed. He supposed he was. He'd been drinking. It was late, his memory was pretty hazy so he probably was intoxicated at the time.

The guy released a short laugh. "Me too," he said as he took a step closer to him. He looked back over his shoulder a second and then told him, "Still remember how fuckin' good you were on your knees though."

Cloud was put off immediately by the crudeness of the way he mentioned it but he didn't give him much indication of his disgust other than maybe a small tweak of it in his expression. "Thanks," he said pretty dryly as he made a move to walk past him to leave the bathroom. Kell stepped to the side to keep him where he was and he looked up at him impatiently.

"You wanna roll?" the guy asked as he reached into his one back pocket.

"What?" Cloud said back, not knowing what he meant until he saw a small baggy of tablets in his hand. "No thanks," he said then and attempted again to pass him but was stopped once more. He immediately started feeling anxious then but tried to keep calm.

"Yeah you do," Kell insisted. "Everyone loves rolling."

"I can't and no thanks," he told him firmly. He put a hand on Kell's left arm to nudge him over so he could get by and was taken a little by surprise when the guy put his own hand on his chest and pushed him back a little.

"Where you goin?" he asked, slipping his drugs back into his back pocket.

"Trying to leave," Cloud answered him sharply. He was anxious but he was also annoyed by the conversation and the fact the guy wasn't just letting him go.

"Why didn't you answer my texts?" Kell asked him and it hit him that the texts he'd been getting for a few days weeks ago, the 'hey' over and over again before he eventually blocked the number might have been from him.

He sighed then. "Look man, I shouldn't have given you my number. I don't give it out normally," he explained simply.

"But we had fun right?" Kell said back and he shook his head.

"I dunno, I guess," he agreed but since he barely remembered it and felt it was pretty unremarkable he knew it probably wasn't all that fun. That wasn't the answer Kell apparently wanted either.

"You guess?" he shot back aggressively. "I just wanna get down with you, thought we understood each other," he said as he took a step forward, closing the already tight gap between them.

"Whatever," he said to him dismissively, done with the stupid interaction he'd been pulled into in that bathroom. He assumed Kell was probably high and no matter what he said it was never going to be what he wanted to hear. He went to push past Kell one more time and found himself getting shoved backward.

"Whatever?!" Kell shouted then and Cloud looked past him to notice in that moment there was no one else in the bathroom right then. There'd been guys entering and leaving while they'd been talking but the music from outside the room was loud enough they probably didn't hear any of what was actually being said. "Not whatever! You think I'm fuckin' gay or something?!" the guy asked him angrily.

"I don't know you," Cloud told him, again keeping himself calm and trying to avoid having to get physical with the guy if he could help it. He really didn't want to get in a fist fight.

"No, you don't," Kell agreed, getting so close to him Cloud could smell the beer and nicotine on his breath. "You're tryin' not to right? You think you're gonna suck my dick and then dodge me when I'm tryin' to have a conversation?"

Before Cloud could respond or shove him back forcefully, which is what he probably would have done next, Kell took hold of the front of his shirt and was pulling him forward and turning him before shoving him backward into the closest stall. Kell slammed the door shut and locked it, confining them together inside the small space and in an instant his anxiety was morphing to panic and he felt anything but calm.