Lonely Existance(Pheonix/Cleon)

[Pheonix Arashi]

Pheonix rested his head against the cool brick outside the school. He couldn't stand it anymore. Highschool on the mainland was just to rough, no one understood him. They picked at his excessively long hair, even going as far as trying to cut it, and called him all sorts of names. They were mostly ture names, but they didn't need to know that, they had no business knowing that. It wasn't his fault he was different. Spending most of his life on a ship, around all sorts of wild people, had done that.

Now his mother had ripped his peaceful life to shreds and he wanted to escape, to go away somewhere where no one picked, where he could actually feel good about himself, feel wanted and cherished. Sighing in the cool air, watching a tuft of his breath float into nothingness, he kicked his way through the snow, heading towards the road.

The little patch of woods overlooking the calm sea. That was the place that always gave him solace, calmed his frazzled nerves when the crush of life got to be too much. Golden eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing as his feet carried him over the farmiliar path to the solitary beach. Everyone was in school or at work, and it was too cold for the beach to be a vacation spot. Pheonix sat in the cold sand, taking off his shoes and digging his feet in, numb as he usually was when his feelings got out of hand. Somewhere out there his father floated on his majestic cruise ship, free as a bird. And Pheonix was left here, enduring a world where he had to hide his true self.

[danicaloy]

It had been a long and strange day, but it was finally over as the soft annoying chime rang through sensitive yet strange looking elf-like ears. The boy glanced at himself in the mirror of the school restroom. Carefully hiding his strange feature with his thick silken white hair, Akia hurried out to his locker to collect his books and bag. Being a senior in high school was tough, but also just being notified that he was valedictorian of his class put even more pressure on him. Everyone expected Akia Matsumi to be the best.

As he walked out the school gates, Akia sighed with relief. Finally he could be left alone with his thoughts.

And so, the boy began his solitary walk home, but somehow, the ocean breeze seemed to calm his moods every time his was feeling bad. However, the cold wind made him hug his coat tightly around him.

With this calm feeling in his heart and mind though, he began to sing the very song he heard the music teacher played today in class.

[Pheonix Arashi]

Pheonix sighed again and buried his head into his knees, warming his freezing nose. He heard the school bell in the distance, letting the masses of students free for the day. He should be there, should be gathering books from his locker to do homework. His mother was going to kill him. Yet again his teachers were going to send home bad reports. He wasn't stupid, just unwilling to concentrate on the world he so wanted to escape.

Standing and brushing the gritty sand off his jeans he pulled his shoes back on, relizing the sudden warmth that flooded into his numb feet. "Geez it's cold out here," he blew into his closed fists and started back towards the tree line. Maybe, if he was lucky he could sneak in to his locker before the school locked up, and go tell his last period teacher he had been in the bathroom, sick. Nobody had come to check on him anyways, so what was the difference?

Pheonix stopped in his tracks when he heard the singing, a beautiful song floating through the dense, knotted trunks of trees. Strangely, it reached out to him, lulling him with the harmony of the voice behind the song. He was in a daze before he realized somebody was actually coming, trespassing in his carefully constructed world of silence. 'Oh crap!'

[danicaloy]

Akia with his eyes closed continued his song, but stopped soon after, all together, when he heard the sound of footsteps slowly approaching him and stopping abruptly.

The youth opened his cerulean eyes to see a young boy standing in front of him with a braid of beautiful red hair and equally stunning golden eyes. Seeing the bag on the boy's shoulder, Akia figured him to be a student and smiled, at same time pondering.

"Good afternoon. You do know classes are over for the day, or are you part of one of the clubs?"

[Pheonix Arashi]

"I uh....." Pheonix was stunned. His eyes swept over the pleasing features of the other boy. No one had ever really talked to him in such a civilized manner before. They would rather call him names and sneer at his appearance. But it would be rude not to answer right? When someone finally talked to him, it would be disrespectful to walk away, turning a deaf ear.

Shyly he shuffled his feet and looked at the pattern of the sand intermixing with the grass of the forest. "I was hoping to go grab my books before they locked the school.....homework," he said quietly, afraid to raise his eyes. Sometimes those golden orbs expressed to much of his inside self, things he didn't want to think about anymore.

[danicaloy]

Akia smiled at the boy, at the same time pondering for a moment before answering the boy.

"Well, the teachers I believe are at a meeting so they're not going to close the school for a while. I suppose it would be ok for you to get your things."

With one final warm smile, Akia brushed past the red-headed boy. But stopped short. Turning his head, Akia called out hoping to catch the boy before he disappeared.

"Hey! If you ever need to talk, I work at the coffeehouse at the corner of Brooks and Main. My name's Akia! You should smile too, I bet you look pretty when you do!"

[Pheonix Arashi]

A cold feeling passed through Pheonix as the boy passed by. 'He's leaving....just like all the rest. Nobody cares.....' He trudged forward, kicking a rock, intent on getting those books. The voice of the boy pulled him back, made him stop short, the rock disappearing somewhere in the underbrush.

He looked back, suprised. Nobody had ever invited him to talk. Could this actually be his first ever, main-land friend? "I...thanks," he called after the boy a tiny grin surfacing across his lips. "M..my name's Pheonix," he bit his lip. Maybe, after he was done pleasing his mom with some finished homework he'd stop by. The coffe house sounded like a nice place, he'd seen it before but never went in. Too many people hanging around. But if he had a friend, it'd all be better.

"What's yours?" He asked, shoving icy fingers into his jeans.

[danicaloy]

Cerulean eyes widened curiously. Akia wasn't sure exactly what the boy meant by that.

"I already said my name! It's Akia. We can talk later right? It would be much better than shouting across streets like this."

With that, the white haired young man smiled and turned to continue his solitary path into town.

[Pheonix Arashi]

((Oh, whoops, sorry bout that ;D))
"Uh...yeah, sure," he whispered too low for the other boy to hear. Pheonix blushed and smacked himself alongside the head. Of course! He must've been too lost in being happy with Akia's words to have heard everything Akia said. 'You just made yourself look like a complete moron!' He wandered away into the forest, crossing the street and wandering into the eerily quiet school. Quietly he rushed past the lockers, stopping at his.

Carefully he clicked it open, reaching in to pull out a stack of books, letting the metal door bang shut as he balanced them on a slim hip. "Well....atleast I made a friend...right?" It was the first time in awhile he felt good enough to go home, the first time he actually looked forward to completing his homework. Now there was only one more stop before home....

Pheonix peeked in the fuzzy glass door of Mrs. Hersh's office. He took a deep calming breath before composing himself as the old woman opened the door, the lie on the tip of his tongue. Instead his mother was there, glaring at him. "You are in so much trouble Pheonix Dalorian Arashi!" He choked back a wave of fear at the look of loath in his mothers eyes. 'You just had to come back to language arts, didn't you?'

[danicaloy]

Akia made it successfully to the coffeehouse. Pushing open the front door, the young man smiled warmly to the young red-haired woman, who was busy serving a couple of steaming cups to a few gentlemen sitting, idly talking.

The red-head excused herself from the conversation, and made her way to the white-haired boy, hugging him welcomely. "Akia, early as usual, did I ever tell your my favorite employee?" Akia laughed at this and calmly removed her from his person. "You're way too kind," was the only thing the young man said as he walked behind the bar and started to serving to the customers.

[Pheonix Arashi]

Pheonix's heart beat against his ribs as the front of the car nosed into the garage, coming to halt, the door closing behind them, caging him in with his glaring mother. She opened her door and got out, and without a backward glance, disappeared into their small house. Pheonix shifted, tearing his seatbelt off and scrambling from the car. Hopefully he could reach his room, lock the door and maybe escape later to the coffee house.

He opened the door and stepped into the kitchen, his sneakers squeaking on the polished wooden floor. His mother was waiting for him, leaning against the counter, a glass of golden, bubbling liquid half finished in her hand. Her eyes were cold, dark bags lining them. "You really are an ungrateful brat," she spat out, "I fought long and hard for you Pheonix and everyday you show how much you care. Your grades are worthless, your apologies are worthless, you are worthless. Get up to your room and don't come down. I can't bear to look at your face. I'm going to call that school I've been thinking about. Maybe by the time your school career is over you'll have grown up, come to appreciate me."

Pheonix felt the beginnings of hurt tears clog his throat as he tore up the steps, locking his door and throwing his textbooks across his bed. He turned and pulled a coat on, wrenching his window open. The roof was slippery and he had to clutch the side of the house to keep from plunging to his death. Carefully, he slipped down the rain gutter, pounding down the street in flurry of motion, his mind set on one destination.

((Wow....took awhile to think up, haha^.^;)

[danicaloy]

Sighing, Akia leaned back against counter. It had been quite boring today, but of course friday evening was always the busiest.

As the white-haired youth wiped down the bar counter in long, slow strokes, hoping to try and pass time quicker, Akia's mind kept flashing back to the boy from school. 'I wonder what Phoenix is doing right now? I bet it's a lot more than here.'

But still, something deep told him, something was not right. "I do hope I could at least see Phoenix again. I hope he's ok." The young man whispered under his breath.

[Pheonix Arashi]

Pheonix came to a halt across from the coffee house, brushing his face with his coat sleeve. His hands trembled and he wanted to go see the ocean, to blurry himself in the cold sand and stay that way. Would anyone even care? He sniffed and wiped away a fresh wave of tears, walking across the street with his face down. Hopefully his eyes weren't red and he'd be able to hide his misery.

Without looking up he pushed the glass door open, the warmth of the coffee house enveloping him in its fragrant arms. He took a deep breath and looked up, catching sight of Akia wiping down the counter in, seemingly, deep thought. Pheonix walked over and sat down, plastering a tiny smile on his face. "Hi," he said quietly.

[danicaloy]

Hearing the gentle chime of the front door, Akia awoke from his daydreaming. Blue eyes looked up to see the young red-head, whom was currently occupying his thoughts, sitting down on one of the stools in front of him.

The boy looked to be shivering inside his coat, and completely out of breath. Quickly turning his back for only a second, he faced Phoenix again, placing cup of hot tea in front of the boy.

"Here you are. Drink this. You look almost chilled. Did you run all the way here?" Akia was glad to see Phoenix again, but he couldn't help wonder what made the boy seem so upset. Soothinly, Akia took the boy's hands in his own. He was most surprised. They were trembling. Was this from the cold, or something else?

Akia knew it was none of his business but his heart wouldn't let his mind drop it.

"Phoenix," he started kindly, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

[Pheonix Arashi]

Pheonix cleared his throat against the tears building there, the hard knot painful. He stared into the warm cup of tea, watching the tiny wisps of steam disappear in the fragrant air of the coffeehouse. He shivered once again, letting his hands rest in the warm circles of Akia's.

"Uh...yeah I ran here...my m...mom...I went to school to get my books, you know, to do my homework. And I wanted to go to my last period teacher, to tell her I was sick in the bathroom...or something. I've been skipping alot of class lately and my mom gets angry about the reports. She started drinking again....I guess i'm a bad kid or something. And she wants to send me off to some school, a boarding school for boys. She hates seeing my face." He took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears. He couldn't quite figure out what it was about Akia that made him want to get it all off his shoulders.

Unconciously he pulled one hand from Akia's and took a sip of tea, letting the warm liquid roll down his throat, warming him from the inside.