Revised.

. : S u f f o c a t i o n : .

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L o o k : B a c k .

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"You're so fucking pathetic, that I actually pity you." He spoke just after he was struck.

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Cloud Strife had been raised by a loving mother, in a suburban household as an only child; doted upon with double the love that a single parent could produce, whilst hoping for better things.

He had been taught that it was okay to speak up for himself, if the situation deemed it necessary. He had been taught that he should always be himself, and never let anyone force him otherwise. He had been taught that violence was never the answer, and that problems should be dealt with in a passive, and reasonable manner.

And that was exactly why Cloud Strife refused to fight back when his head was slammed back into a locker; the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as a fist pummeled into his stomach. Because, after all, he always told himself that he was better than them. He would never allow himself to stoop so slow as to return their abuse, because he had more dignity than that.

So instead, he took it. He never talked back – never uttered a word, all he ever did was look up, staring unblinkingly into the eyes of his abuser.

He was better than them, he told himself over and over. Even after he fell to his knees, his vision spinning and head throbbing. He was having a hard time feeling the rest of his body; he always did. Whenever they would inflict their pain upon him, his body always seemed to shut down a little, not letting him feel any pain below him neck. But then, in the hours following the beatings, he would ache so bad he could hardly move.

"Come on, faggot. Stand back up." Seifer Almasy spat, as he shoved at Cloud's shoulder with a booted foot. "I saw you looking at me earlier. Were to checking me out, you fucking queer?"

Cloud refused to grace the bastard bully with a response, so instead, he merely kept his head down, swallowing thickly in an attempt to rid himself the bitter taste of blood. Some things never changed. When you attend a rather wealthy school, where rules aren't strictly enforced, stereotypes start becoming more and more obvious.

The Jocks owned the school, and they made the rules within the student hierarchy. And they cut down anyone within their path. They were cruel, vicious, and violent, and beat down on those particular groups they thought deserved it.

And in their opinion, Cloud Strife deserved it. Even though Cloud was gorgeous, absolutely stunning, and quite possibly one of the top 3 best looking people in school, that didn't matter. It didn't matter because he was gay – a guy who liked others guys; a faggot, a princess, a queer, a fruitcake... The names went on. Cloud was an outed gay, and that didn't sit well with a school filled to the brim with straight-folk; especially not the Jocks, who took it upon themselves to make Cloud's life a living hell.

He had been 'outed' in his Freshman year, when it was openly revealed that he was dating Zack Fair; a very popular male stud, who excelled on the soccer field, and was genuinely nice to all other social cliques. Of course, back then it was okay that Cloud was gay, because he was dating Zack.

Zack was bisexual, and his fellow teammates and Jocks were okay with that, because it was him. Zack made a safety barrier, not allowing anyone to criticize Cloud, and he could do and say so because he had the power. He was among the highest in ranking when it came to the school's hierarchy. He seemed too good to be true, in a way. Popular, athletic, handsome, and unnaturally kind.

Of course, when Zack Fair wrecked his motorcycle during his Senior year, it was confirmed that he really was too good to be true. He died at the age of 18, leaving behind his 16 year old boyfriend. And when Zack died, his power went along with him. Cloud no longer had Zack's protection, so he was free to be devoured by the violence the others distributed.

And now, during his Junior year of high school, Cloud's life remained a living hell. A new group of Jocks came into Power after the previous ones graduated, and it was their top priority to make sure that Cloud was reminded on a daily basis what kind of trash he was.

"Answer me, Strife." Seifer snapped, leaning down to grab Cloud's collar lifting him up slightly, his other fist cocked back, ready to inflict another blow. "Piece of shit." He said, just as he started his punch, but froze in the act suddenly, when the class bell rang throughout the halls.

Scowling, he pulled back only to give one final kick to the blonde's side. "Now look, you made me late for class. You know, you're going to pay for this later."

Cloud kept his eyes closed until he heard the Jock's footsteps fade away. He had been cornered in between classes, and when students that passed by saw what was happening, they just snickered to themselves and continued walking on. Everyone knew better than to interfere with Seifer when he was beating down on someone, not that anyone would want to help out Cloud Strife, anyway.

He sat on his knees for several minutes, not wanting to move and inch despite the fact that the late bell had already rang. Finally, he braced his hand on the locker his head was beat against, as he slowly stood up. Calmly straightening out his uniform, Cloud headed to his 4th period class, his walk deliberate and casual, no sign of hurt or pain within his steps. He would never allow himself to appear weak in front of others.

Approaching his classroom door, he stood outside for a moment, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath. He slowly counted to ten, then opened the door and walked inside.

The class before him seemed to still, as everyone turned to look at him as he entered. He didn't like this kind of attention, but made no sign of it, instead he kept his face black as he closed the door behind himself.

"Mr. Strife, class started some time ago."

Looking up, Cloud faced his teacher whom stood at the front of the classroom, ignoring the rest of the students that inhabited the room. "Yes Mr. Xehanort. I'm sorry." He said almost mechanically, as he moved to take his seat.

"Faggot." Somebody muttered just loud enough to cause the entire class to giggle at his expense.

Ignoring the laughter and insult, Cloud looked down to his desk, just therein realizing that he didn't have his book, notebook, or pencil; the reason he had gone to his locker in the first place, only to he caught up by Seifer. Again.

Slowly clenching his hands into fists under his desks, Cloud trained his face to remain stony and indifferent. He was better than them, he told himself over and over in his head.

He was better than all of that.

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"I'm not a failure, even though I know – deep down, that you think so." He said, looking at his mirror image.

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Roxas Heart had always been a rather violent child, after all, given the way their life had been going, if Sora was going to get mad about it, Roxas had no choice but to. He had been kicked out of school after school for fighting, Sora always tagging along with him, never wanting to leave him alone because they were twins, and twins never separated.

No one could tolerate Roxas' extreme attitude. If he didn't like something, or someone, he made sure that it was clear and obvious. If he didn't like the way you looked at him, he'd take it upon himself to re-arrange your face. Yes, Roxas Heart was violent, and angry, of course, this didn't mean he won every fight he was in. True, he'd beat up his far share of students, but his size made him an easy target. Roxas and Sora were both small for their age, and people took advantage of that on a daily basis.

While people would beat the shit out of Roxas for provoking a fight with that smart-ass attitude of his, Sora would get walked all over by those he called his friends. They weren't incredibly popular or anything, in fact – Sora and Roxas were pretty average to most. Though, Sora was the more friendlier and social of the two, Roxas was the more violent and antisocial one.

Sora Heart was Roxas Heart's exact opposite. The two of them often made it a joke upon themselves to say that they were 'The Good Twin' and 'The Bad Twin'.

"Sora, and Roxas, huh? Nice names."

"Thank you." Sora smiled, looking to his twin whom sat moodily in the plastic chair next two him; both of them currently in the Principals office, of Twilight High School.

Principal Xemnas leaned forward in his leather chair, checking over the folder records that lay on the desk before him. "Alright... Now," He started, finding the paper he was looking for. "Roxas, I'm well aware of your history."

Sora glanced at the blonde in question out of the corner of his eye, but Roxas merely kept his arms crossed over his chest, not giving a reply.

"You should be more than happy that I even allowed you into this school." The Principal continued. "If it wasn't for the high grades, and excellent attitude and attendance that Sora has displayed, I wouldn't have accepted you in along with him." Closing the folder, Mr. Xemnas folded his hands together as he rested his chin on them. "But your P.O has informed me that you've definitely turned a new corner over the last few months. Is this true?"

Flicking dark blue eyes to the man before him, Roxas looked him straight in the eye, not backing down as he lied; "Yes."

Principal Xemnas stared at him for a few moments more, as though coming to a decision. "Indeed. Now Roxas, I have to tell you that if you are reported in any way – if a student comes to me with a black eye, claiming you were the culprit, you're out of here. Do you understand?"

Roxas still didn't break eye contact during the conversation, didn't even blink. "Yes." He bit out again, trying his best to sound calm.

Giving a nod, Mr. Xemnas turned to Sora as he opened a new folder. "Okay, now the two of your shouldn't have too much trouble catching up; seeing as it's only the 6th week into the school year, but as for -"

Knock, knock.

Pausing in his speech, Mr. Xemnas looked up to his office door which had previously been rapped upon. "Yes, come in." He called.

The wood framed door opened upon permission, as a male teen casually strolled in. Sora felt his heart suddenly drop, his breath cut short at the sight of the teen, and judging by the way Roxas swallowed thickly, he felt the same. Never before had he seen someone to fucking beautiful.

The teens hair was fluffed and layered, a shiny and silky color of silver, matching wonderfully with his cerulean blue eyes. His hair was cut so that his bangs in the front fell over his eyes in a seductive way, but that didn't keep them hidden because his porcelain pale skin seemed so contrast that it brought out his blue orbs even more.

He had an air of cool confidence about him; as though he wasn't just sexy, but he knew he was. Even his school uniform, something that looked dorky on most, looked incredible on him. He had the first few buttons of his shirt undone, and his tie was loosened around his neck. Sora could see a couple of jelly-bracelets gracing his wrists in fashion. Teenagers like this were rarity in their essence; only a handful in high schools, and their beauty gave them an untouchable vibe. The fact that he was standing there, in reach of someone so beautiful, made Sora feel almost inadequate.

"Ah, I was expecting you." Principal Xemnas greeted the silver haired teen, shutting the manila folders on his desk, before stacking them on top of each other. "Sora, Roxas. This is Riku Tybalt. He's our Etoile, and it's his responsibility to show you two around the school, and answer any further questions you might have." He explained, as the teen named Riku ran his gaze over the twins with a cocked eyebrow, as if sizing them up. "You two already have your schedule's, so Riku, they're all yours."

With blue eyes so superior to their own, Riku closed them as he turned away, starting out of the office. "Come on." He spoke, his voice smooth and almost sounding like it had a cooling lace of poison. Sora and Roxas followed without question.

When they were finally away from the office, out into the schools main halls which had been crowded with students getting ready for first period, Roxas scowled. Riku had lead them down the mass of students, whom all had to cheer and greet him, both male and female acting as his fans. Roxas didn't like it. He didn't like him period. The way this teen seemed to strut around like he owned the place, like he was some kind of fucking god. It pissed Roxas off.

Sora evidently noticed the way his twin was tensing up beside him, because he turned to flash one of his brilliant smiles, as Riku lead them out into the front of the school. They made it out to the front steps, where Riku suddenly perched himself, and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Neither Sora nor Roxas said anything, as the silver haired teen lit up one of the thin white sticks.

"So you guys are twins, huh?" He questioned, exhaling a thin line of smoke in the process.

Roxas crossed his arms and turned away, burning silently as Sora grinned. "Yeaup! Roxas is the older one, though. He beat me by 4 minutes!" He responded with enthusiasm. His smiled faltered a little, as Riku took another drag on the cigarette, a look on cool disinterest clearly written across his face. Suddenly feeling inferior and self-conscious, Sora lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head out of nervous habit.

From his seat on the steps, Riku stretched his legs out before him, tilting his head back a little as he closed his eyes in relaxation. "Whatever... Now, here's the deal. This school runs the way I tell it to be run. I'm Etoile, and I have all the power, therefore, all the students obey me first and foremost." He opened his eyes, turning to look at the twins with a serious expression. "And trust me, you'll want to do as I say. Disobey those in power..." He shook his head, trailed off with the threat.

Moving to stand up, Riku flicked his half-finished cigarette on the ground, snuffing it out with his shoe. "You got it?" At the way Sora gave a hesitant nod, and Roxas' glare, Riku graced them with a cocky smile. "Good. Now let's go."

"Um..." Sora started, as the silver haired teen lead them back into the school. "What's...'Etoile'?"

"Etoile is something like a public school's Student Body President. The Etoile is in charge of the student body, and is elected through the popularity vote; meaning in which, someone doesn't just decide they want to run. Other's decide that for them." He turned to give Sora a rather seductive look, as he flicked his eyes up and down the brunette's body. "And they chose me."

Roxas growled slightly to himself, at the way Sora's face began to flush at Riku's look. He just found himself new reason's to hate the guy.

"Give me your schedule's." Riku demanded, holding out an expecting hand.

Sora hurriedly dug his out of his pocket, and handed it over right away, while Roxas deemed set on glaring at the silver haired teen instead. Giving his twin a slight look, Sora nudged his shoulder. "Roxas." He urged.

Continuing to glare silently, dark blue eyes narrowed with anger and distrust, Roxas reluctantly pulled his schedule out, and handed it to the Etoile.

"Hmm..." Riku mumbled to himself, as he scanned the papers over. "You're Sophomore's, eh? ...Looks like Mr. Mansex was nice enough to give the two of you the same home room." He stated, handing the papers back, as Sora giggled a little at the name joke. "You've got Math with Mrs. Dalmasca; one sexy teacher, I'll tell you." He said as he started off in a new direction, heading up the staircase to the second floor.

"Freshmen have all their classes on the 4th floor, so you don't have to worry about them. Seniors are all on the 1st floor, which is where the gym, the pool, and the lunch room are. Sophomore's and Junior's have their classes on both the 2nd and 3rd floors, they're pretty much integrated together." He explained, as he lead them down the hall of the second floor. He stopped in front of one classroom in which the outside of the door was decorated with numbers and equations. Placing his hands on his hips, he nodded towards the door before speaking again. "Just show her your schedules, and that's pretty much all you need to do...And that's it."

"Um...what about our other classes – we don't know where any of them are." Sora said sheepishly, rubbing his arm out of nervous habit.

Riku rolled his eyes irritatedly. "So what? Find them yourselves – it's not that critical. I told you that your classes will be on the 2nd and 3rd floors, so you won't have to be running around like mad. It's not that hard to read the numbers on the doors to find out where your going."

Sora looked down, feeling rather stupid for even mentioning it in the first place. "Right... sorry." He mumbled.

Roxas growled at this, sending Sora a look. "Don't apologize to him. He's a goddamn fucktard who thinks he superior to the rest of us." He snapped, before sending a glare Riku's way.

The silver haired teen in question stopped at this, blinking a few times before letting out a slight mock-laugh. "Excuse me? You are talking to me, right little boy?"

Stepping forward, Roxas clenched his fists tightly, feeling the heat of anger rise up within his body. "Damn right, I'm talkin' to you! Don't you dare talk to me, or my brother like that. I'll make sure it's the last thing you damn well do!"

Riku smiled letting out another laugh; and it was more than obvious that he wasn't smiling because he was happy, or laughing because something was funny. "Okay...Roxas." He started, crossing his arms and looking down at the blonde in a suddenly serious fashion. "You need watch yourself, and watch it good. I already told you before that attitudes towards me won't be tolerated."

"Roxas, stop." Sora said in a whisper, grabbing his twins arm and pulling him closer. "Please?"

Roxas' glare on the Etoile never once faltered, or even blinked as the words were spoken to him. After a slightly tense moment of silence, he finally averted his gaze and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to cause trouble for Sora. "Right." He muttered.

Giving a slight 'Hn' in response, Riku flicked his gaze over to the younger twin, letting their eyes meet for just a moment, before turning away and leaving them. "Keep that feral tongue in your mouth." He said, as he walked away from them.

The twins stood still for a moment, watching intensely as the silver-haired teen turned a corner, exiting from the line of sight. Letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding, Sora turned to his brother, giving him a slightly worried look. "Roxas, please don't start anything. It's our first day here, and you heard what the Principal said." Sora reminded, trying to meet his twins dark blue eyes, as the blonde glared off to the side. "I don't want you getting kicked out of here."

Giving a slight sigh, Roxas lowered his gaze to a more depressed fashion, rather than angry. They held their silence for a few moments, before Roxas finally answered. "I know...Sorry."

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"I feel like my heart is breaking, when I'm around you." He said with remorse in his tone.

Demyx Melodious was not one to take things seriously. He liked relaxing bubble-baths, sleeping in 'till noon, texting away to his friends, and he seemed to be permanently attached to his Ipod. He never worried about the future, or where he was going – he figured if something important was meant to happen, then it would. Until then, he was content with taking everyday as it comes, never stressing about potential worries in his life. School was a perfect example of his lifestyle.

He currently resided in his 3rd period Biology class, feet up on his desk with his head lightly nodded in time with the music blasting into his ears from his headphones. His fingers skillfully danced across the keyboard on his phone; typing out a text message to a friend, as his lips moved along with the song lyrics. It wasn't until he felt a smack on his foot, that he looked up into the face of one rather unhappy Mr. Vexen. He watched the teacher's mouth move, obviously saying something to him, but he didn't hear a thing with the way his music drown him out.

After a few seconds, Demyx reached up and plucked the headphones from his ears, raising a curious eyebrow to the elder. "...Uh...Huh?" He questioned like the highly intelligent individual he was, causing the rest of the class to laugh at his audacity. Demyx was known to be the class clown; which gained him some popularity in a sense. People were attracted to his humor.

Mr. Vexen didn't look to pleased, however. Rolling his eyes, the teacher repeated himself once more. "I said, put away your Ipod and phone, before I am forced to take them."

"Awwww..." Demyx whined, but reluctantly obeyed, as he lowered his legs from his desk, and turned his Ipod off. However, despite the teachers orders, Demyx continued typing out his text.

"Demyx!" Mr. Vexen snapped, reaching forward to take the cellphone.

Demyx leaned out of the teacher's way, continuing to text as the class began to laugh harder. "Just wait – I'll put it away after I send this last one!" Keeping his word, he hit the send button and pocketed the device, before looking up to Mr. Vexen expectingly.

The blond man stood before him, hands on hips with a rather peeved expression. "Are you done?"

"Yeaup! I'm done. Please continue your lesson, monsieur!" Demyx said merrily, spreading his arms out on each side, as if to say 'Teach me! Please, God, teach me biology! I'm entirely interested!', but it was obvious it was meant to be taken in a mildly sarcastic manner.

Rolling his eyes, Mr. Vexen turned back around and headed up to the front of the classroom, leaving Demyx to sit at his desk, smiling like a 12-year-old. A few moments passed, before he started to bounce one of his feet, trying to make match the tempo of the song in his head. Getting more and more bored, as the minutes ticked on, Demyx decided to add in his fingers to the rhythm, thumping them on his desk-top. A few more moments passed, and soon his pencil joined in on the tapping.

"MELODIOUS!" Mr. Vexen roared, turning around to face him with an extremely pissed expression. He pointed sharply at the classroom door, his hand almost shaking in the slightest from his anger. Really, Demyx was surprised he hadn't given himself a heart-attack yet; after all, that amount of anger in someone's life couldn't have been healthy. "GET. OUT." He emphasized.

Letting out an over-dramatic sigh, Demyx stood from his desk and slung his messenger-bag over one shoulder. Slowly, he approached the front of the classroom, a grim and serious expression on his face. Standing before the teacher, he looked at him sadly before shaking his head. "You cut me deep just now." He placed a hand solemnly over his heart. "I'm sorry... but I don't think our relationship can ever be the same." At this, the class burst out laughing as Mr. Vexen's face turned beat red. He moved to go after the younger blond, but Demyx merely giggled and quickly ran out of the classroom before the older man could do any harm.

Grinning to himself at the cheers and cat calls that followed him from the room, Demyx continued sprinting down the hall until he deemed himself a safe enough distance and began to slow down. Panting slightly to catch his breath, he rounded the corner to the 2nd-floor staircase, and swiftly pulled his cellphone back out. Leaning against the staircase railing, he decided he would just loiter around until the bell-rang, and he could head to his next class. Humming happily to himself, Demyx began to type out a text to Zexion; his one and only best-friend whom he had dubbed his 'Sexy-Zexy', among other things.

-Zexyyyyyy! I got kicked from class! Where r u so we can tlk?-

After hitting the send button, he waited patiently for a few moments before his phone began to buzz in the middle of his palm, indicating his reply.

-Stop texting me so damn much. I don't care if you got kicked out of class; knowing you, you probably deserved it. I'm turning my phone of now. Get a life.-

Okay, so Zexion wasn't the nicest of people...rather, that was a stretch. Zexion was a down-right bastard, and he knew it too; yet he didn't even try to change his attitude. Evidently, he carried himself with an air of contempt, caring next to nothing for those around him. He often hurt people with his cruel words, but yet, they always came back for more. After all, he was Sexy-Zexy, and Demyx was just like all the other fools; a moth drawn towards the black-hearted flame.

Knowing that Zexion was telling the truth, and had indeed turned his phone off, Demyx gave a sigh of boredom before turning to make his way down the staircase. He had lunch Gym next anyway, so he'd might has well beat the crowd seeing as he had nothing better to do. He only made it half-way down the stairs, however, when the class bell suddenly rang, and almost instantly classroom doors were slammed open and noisy teenagers came into sight.

Placing his hands behind his head in the up most relaxed manner, Demyx walked casually through the crowd of fellow high-schoolers who were now fooling around in the halls before starting towards their next class. Digging out his Ipod, he popped on his head-phones and cranked the volume up to full blast to drown out the loud voices of those around him.

His arms dropped to his sides, however, when a commotion in the side of the hall caught his attention. Seifer Almasy was there, beating down on the body of one Cloud Strife, who wasn't lifting a finger to defend himself. Staring at the scene for a few moments, he watched the way Cloud's face contorted in pain, haunting blue eyes staring straight ahead as if silently begging for some form of savior.

A part of him felt bad for the tortured blond; after all, it was a well known fact that Cloud was gay, and therefore deserved to get punished for it on a daily basis. Demyx himself should have felt some relation to him, seeing as he himself was bisexual – but that was something that only he knew. But then again, Cloud Strife was not one of his friends, so he decided he didn't care.

Flipping is Ipod to a different song, Demyx turned his back to the two blond's, and continued towards his class, never once looking back.