First Meetings: A False Beginnings Spin-Off (1X1)

[X Accelerando X]

He had been here for at least two years now. Sure, Reno had noticed him the moment he arrived, but who wouldn't have? The kid was a new face in an island where everyone knew everyone, and so naturally Reno would see him at some point, and naturally would strike up an interest in him. Reno was a curious person anyway, but someone from a different place all together made him more irresistible. Unfortunately, the chance to actually talk to him was null. They were in completely separate classes and grades, different lunches, everything. They didn't even live near each other. Still, Reno could have made the effort to swing by his place and invite him to the islet off shore with the rest of his friends, the guy probably would have liked that, since his number of friends never seemed to be any more then the odd trouble maker from the school; of course, Reno was the biggest troublemaker of them (at least in his own mind).

That being decided, he determined that, today, no matter the circumstance, the moment he saw the kid, he was going to pull him aside and talk to him. Even if it meant playing hooky, he was going to speak with him, and at least learn his name and invite him to hang out. Nodding to himself, he closed his locker door and hefted his bag onto his back, pulling out his wallet for a moment to get out his money for lunch. "Just enough for today..." he sighed, closing it up and putting it back in his pocket. "Guess it's back to Kefka Burger for a while..."

[Mssr Miles]

Locke hefted his bookbag higher onto his shoulder, yawning and rubbing sleep from his eyes. Waking up late was a specialty of Locke’s, much to his foster mother’s despise... though she usually forgave him when she saw the ever-present shadow under his eyes... depending on how late he was that morning. The boy was quite an insomniac, rarely being able to get to sleep at a decent hour, no matter how exhausted he was. The doctors had prescribed him some sleeping medication, though Locke rarely took the vile little pills – they left him feeling woozy and sluggish, and with his not-so-reputable character... Let’s just say he wanted to be prepared if and when an attack from enraged students came his way, demanding to know where this trinket or that notebook was. Not that he usually knew... most of the time, anyway. This reputation had snuffed out any healthy relationships before they even started, so Locke mostly kept to himself during the school day.

The boy was quite late this day, though he didn’t mind at all. First class was Physical Fitness, which he was dismal at. It wasn’t that he wasn’t fit – he was plenty fit. The instructor disliked him, and turned a blind eye when the other student decided to pick on him... which was quite a lot, recently, Locke was sad to say. He still sported a bruise from a very well aimed soccer ball in the small of his back that he had received last week.

Entering the school at a leisurely pace, the blonde stopped at his locker to pick up a textbook he would need after this period was over. As the boy was just finishing putting the book in his bag, a sudden impact directly to the right of his locker made him jump. Whirling about, he saw the fuming face of Seifer, the captain of the football team as well as the leader of the school’s disciplinary squad, and a few of the teen’s lackeys milling about, cracking knuckles.

“Uh... Good morning, Seifer!” Locke stated, looking nervously at the taller man. “What can I do-“

Seifer grabbed Locke by the front of his shirt, shoving him against the locker doors. “Don’t give me your bull crap this morning, Thief! Where is it?”

“Where... is what...?” Locke coughed in a small voice, looking up into the older teen’s glaring blue eyes.

Receiving another hit against the lockers as a response, Seifer said, “You know what you took, now give it back and I will kindly ask my men not to beat you within an inch of your pathetic little life.”

Gulping, Locke squirmed in the man’s grip, and, finally breaking free, he took off down the hallway at a break-neck speed and skidded around a corner before Seifer got his group of mindless muscle-heads going.

“Get him!” Locke could hear Seifer yelling from down the hall.

He just couldn't catch a break, could he?

[X Accelerando X]

Whether it was luck, or fate, or whatever, Reno had to admit that he was pleasant surprised when Locke cam skidding around the corner, and the red head caught him by the shoulders before he slammed right into him. He only had his involvement in the school martial arts club to thank for that one, but now wasn't the time. It wasn't at all hard to here the ever-popular Seifer Squad coming, and Reno knew they were faced with a small window of opportunity, himself included. After all, if he was seen with him right here and now, Reno would be labeled an accomplice. It was then he was struck with an idea, and quickly, he turned around, taking Locke with him, and shoved him into the bathroom.

"Okay, kid, you mind telling me exactly what you didn't take from Chuckles out there? Or maybe I should toss you back out into the hall?" he asked quickly, his tone implying that he wasn't allowing for debate, as he leaned against the bathroom door, releasing the other and watching him carefully. "And make it snappy, will you? Seifer's not really patient, but he'll listen to me. So, what'd you take and where'd you hide it? Tell me now, and I should be able to keep him from drowning you in the toilet."

[Mssr Miles]

Locke had no time to stop his hurried escape before he was caught by the red-haired teen, and he was terrified that this was another one of Seifer’s lackeys... he struggled as the taller man held him, then stumbled, falling backwards onto a metallic stall wall as the man tossed him unceremoniously through a door and into the men’s bathroom, aggravating the bruise on his back. A wince later, Locke was looking up into an intense green stare.

As the red head started to speak quickly, Locke became confused... He wasn’t one of Seifer’s men? And he wasn’t going to sell him out to Seifer to get on the Disciplinary Committee’s good side...? And then nervousness won over as the teen offered to throw him back out of the room, to deal with Seifer on his own.

The boy gulped, fishing a hand into his bag. He pulled out a thick, silver chain with a rectangular charm attached to it – the very same trinket that was almost always attached around the football captain’s neck.

“I found it yesterday,” Locke stated indignantly, passing the item over to the boy before him. “The idiot left it in the locker room, and I recognized it, so I was going to take it to the office this morning... but he caught up with me first.” Locke glared up at the teen’s green-eyed-gaze, daring him to repute his truth.

[X Accelerando X]

Reno watched Locke talk, trying his best to look skeptical, though really, there was no reason to doubt him. Seifer was an idiot, and it was no surprise that he would forget something, even something important to him, lying around in the locker room. Taking the in hand, he flipped it over in his hands, looking it over. "Yeah, this is definitely his...I could smell it when it when you took it out of your bag." Smirking at his own joke, he looked back up to Locke, winking. "I'll see that this gets back to him. He's a little too excitable when there's someone to pound in the area, so I'll make peace with him for you." He couldn't believe he was doing this. It would have been a great deal safer to simply toss the necklace through the doorway when one of Seifer's cronies weren't looking, and let them find it. However, that wouldn't clear up Locke's name, and so Reno knew that he would need to step in.

"Just chill out here for a few minutes until the coast is clear, got it?" he asked, winking at the anxious youth before turning to leave, opening the bathroom door a crack to check and see if Seifer was still sniffing around. "Of course, you owe me after this, so, expect to pay up later." With that vague comment hanging in the air, he walked out of the bathroom, tugging his ponytail out of the black band that held it, letting his messy red hair fall free. This wasn't going to end nicely, no matter how you looked at it. Seifer may have been a bit more reasonable, but his lackeys weren't. All brawn and no brains, and seemingly only able to maintain a single train of thought in their minds at one time.

"Hey, Swiffer!" Reno called, his tone dripping with sarcasm and arrogance as he saw the football captain continuing his dogged search for the 'convict'. "Looking for this?" Holding up the chain, he spun it around in his fingers, adding, "But looks like you got the wrong guy. I've had my eye on this little piece of junk for a while now, but couldn't really get a hold of it until you were stupid enough to leave it in the locker room. Guess you want it back, huh?"

[Mssr Miles]

Sceptical eyes bore into Locke, just like they always did, and the boy kept up his glare... No one ever believed him and this happened almost near daily to the boy – it didn’t stop it from rather stinging his self-worth. He was a man of integrity. Sometimes.

The boy gave a snort of quiet laughter as the taller teen cracked a joke about Seifer’s unique and unpleasant scent, then looked rather flabbergasted as the upperclassman told him to wait there, to which Locke just nodded, staring at the closed door aft the man had left. A moment later, he was at the door, opening it a crack so he could hear what was going in the hall.

Seifer was stalking down the opposite end of the hall, his lackeys running ahead of him, looking for where the little thief had escaped to. Seeing the necklace that he had been chasing the boy for dangling from the delinquent’s fingers, Seifer abruptly changed direction and came at the red head. “You give it here, you little puke!” Seifer yelled at Reno, signaling his group to accompany him as he did so. They were five, including Seifer, as they started to surround the red haired man.

Locke's eyes widened at what this mysterious savior had done, and he cracked the door open a little more to watch what was the insane redhead was doing... Locke was going to owe this guy big time...

As soon as Seifer got close enough, he tried to grab the trinket out of Reno's fingers.

[X Accelerando X]

"Ah-ah!" Reno laughed, pulling the chain away, holding it behind his back as he looked at the group surrounding him, looking pleased as punch, but feeling more then a little certain he was going to receive a punch in a moment or two. "First, Swifey, you gotta admit that you were wrong. Not going to ask you to apologize, since I'm guessing you and your buddies can't understand the meaning of a word that has more then two syllables, but I would like to hear an statement that you were accusing the wrong guy."

Turning his bright green eyes around the group, looking at them all as if he simply knew he was the superior being amongst them, he added, "Of course, your friends here probably still some way to work out their anger, am I right?" His body tensed as he prepared for what was about to happen. "So, tell you what? I'll take on all of you at once, and you leave the little kleptomaniac alone from now on, got it? He's off-limits to you..." Holding up the necklace again, he dangled it in front of Seifer, knowing what it must have been doing, and readying for a fight, a pounding of most likely epic proportions. "So, you get this back, the kid gets off scott-free, and you, Swipey, can take a free hit, right here," he grinned, spreading his arms wide. "So bring it on, Chuckles...If you have the stomach to hit someone who can actually fight back, that is!"

[Mssr Miles]

Seifer glowered at Reno’s words, crossing his arms in front of him in defiance. “The little puke has stolen more things than you have owned in your life, idiot. But it’s better you found it and not him – if the little Thief had, I would have never seen it again.” When Reno began dangling the necklace before his eyes in a mocking manor, Seifer would take it no more. Reeling back, Seifer took his free swing at the man’s gut, planting a good, solid hit square in the abdominal region.

Shaking his head, Seifer stated, with a smirk, “As long as the nasty little puke doesn’t steal anything, he won’t have to see me or my boys – but the moment he steps outta line, I’ll be there...” The leader motioned to his men, grinning wildly.

Locke suppressed a gasp that threatened to escape his lips, wanting to help the man, but too scared of the big, burly lackeys to do so... the boy stayed where he was at the moment, hoping that his rescuer wouldn’t be hurt too badly on his account... But if things started to look bad... Locke knew that he would try his best to help. The names that Seifer called him hurt, though less then they usually did. Someone was standing up for him, and that seemed to make all the difference in the world. A tiny smile overworked the boy's worry, as he waited to see what was going to happen.

[X Accelerando X]

"Alright..." Reno coughed, down on the ground, his arms across his stomach as the flunkies moved in for the proverbial (and quite possibly, literal), kill. He hadn't thought Seifer could hit quite so hard, but he was far from being down and out. Still, this large group, all of them football players, wasn't going to let him off easy now, and he wasn't going to make it out of this without at least a few bruises. Oh well...he gave them a chance. At least now he can say they made the first hit...Everything he did now would be in total 'self-defense'. Rising to his feet, as one of the members hauled back his fist, Reno ducked beneath, thankful for his training, as the fist ran over his head, and smashed into the locker, its own pulling it back, howling pain and rage. With a swift upwards kick, his foot found the guy's groin, and that ended his term in the fight.

A solid blow to his face sent him back against the wall, his eye already feeling like it was swelling, as his eyes refocused in time to see another of the cronies lunging at him. Grabbing the guy's arm and shifting his momentum with a spin, he spun him off his feet and flipped him into the third guy. "Heh, normally I only dance with girls!" he grinned, before a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind tightly, pinning his arms to his side, as the last guy held him still.

"Have at 'im, Seifer!" he grinned, Reno squirming to break free, casting the tiniest of glances towards the bathroom to make sure that Locke wasn't doing anything stupid, before looking back to face Seifer.

"Just like you, huh Seifer?" Reno barked in a mocking laugh, "You know, only fight when you know you can win? Normally you have your buddies even the odds, right? Why? Too afraid to face me like a man?" By this time, the others starting getting up, cracking knuckles, ready to take part in the easy beating that the red head was now prepped for.

[Mssr Miles]

Glowering straight at the redhead, insulted by the boy’s choice of words, Seifer’s quick eyes caught Reno’s glance towards one of the doors in the hallway. Just what was the boy hiding...? Probably the little runt of a Thief, Seifer thought with distaste. “You!” Seifer pointed at his comrade closest to the door, all the while keeping his eye on the troublemaker in front of him. “Check the bathroom for the Runt.” Two of the other teens took a step or two closer, somewhat weary of the redhead.

Locke’s eyes widened when he heard the words, and he scrambled back from the door, gaze searching the room for a place to hide. Sadly, there was not many places one could hide in a loo... and so Locke was in the open when a giant of a teen stormed into the room, coming straight for him. Trying to outmanoeuvre the teen, Locke nearly got to the door before he was slammed into the still-closed exit with a thump. That smarts... The boy felt himself bite his lip, tasting the coppery liquid of his own blood, as well as hitting his forehead roughly against the un-yielding door, successfully stunning him. Before he knew what was happening, Locke was pulled back forcibly, and then thrown through the now-opened door into the hall, stumbling dizzily. He was caught up before he fell by Seifer, who grinned widely as the boy by the front of the shirt.

“I see what‘s going on here...” the man stated looking between the dazed boy and the redhead. “Trying to be the hero, ah? Let’s just see what your heroic actions have gotten you, hm?”

Seifer stood the boy he was holding up, and with a smirk thrown Reno’s way, hit the boy in the abdominals. Locke doubled over the fist, dazed eyes wide, and crumpled to his knees when the supportive fist was removed. The muscles spazmed and Locke coughed, holding his abused stomach as he looked up at Seifer defiantly. “Just let that guy go,” the boy said, after he had regained his breath. “He’s got nothing to do with this, and you know it!”

The Captain just laughed. “And why should I do that, you little Puke?” Seifer stooped, catching the boy by the front of his shirt again, lifting him to his feet. Winding up, Seifer took aim at the boy’s face with his closed fist just as the other men ran at Reno, in similar poses.

[X Accelerando X]

Reno braced himself for the pain once again, as the fists came towards his face, knowing full well that he had failed in what he had been attempting to do. Why was he so stupid?! He shouldn't have looked towards he bathroom like that! If he hadn't, then Locke wouldn't have been found out, at least. Now he was going to get pounded into mush, right alongside the red-head. Eyes closed, head turned slightly to the side, he held his breath from the fist that was about to become intimate with his face; it never did.

The two aiming for Reno's visage suddenly found their hands (the ones aimed at their target), caught in mid-swing, a pale hand clasped on the end of each, stopping them cold. Looking up, the eyes of Reno's older brother, Vincent, stared down at them with a burning, cold fury. Squeezing the trapped fists tightly, he slid his thumbs under those of his captives, prying them out of the fists, and then bending them backwards, painfully, inescapably, as his nearly glowing red eyes circled around towards Seifer. Vincent was not one to mess with, on any level. Captain of the Archery team, and second in the Karate team (and only because he couldn't be captain of two teams), it was understood that you didn't trifle with him; even more so his younger brother. Evidently, he would need to teach that lesson once again.

"I believe they ave received enough punishment, Seifer," Vincent growled through gritted teeth, frosty gaze locked on the other. Yes, Seifer was bigger, but Vincent could easily match strength for skill; a fair fight all the way. "Let the go now, and go on your way, football pig. You should know that Reno is off limits to you and your scum-sucking cronies. If I catch you touching him again, I will not hesitate to break your throwing arm so badly, you won't be touching a football until after your sorry excuse for a scholarship has expired..."

The two in Vincent's grasp were now on the floor, the Senior having released his hold, both of them cradling their bent fingers. Reno looked up at his brother in a sort of silent reverence, but knew that he'd be hearing about this the moment that Seifer left. And if he didn't leave right away, everyone present, except maybe Locke, knew he would go through with his promise to the very best of his ability.

[Mssr Miles]

Before Locke could throw up an arm to protect himself, Seifer’s clenched fist came into contact with Locke’s cheekbone, snapping the boy’s bandana-covered head backwards, a small pained noise sounding in the back of his throat. Hanging limply in the blond man’s grip, knowing from past experience that the beating would end sooner if he just let it happen, he kept his eyes closed and awaited the next attack. The boy has learned a few tricks to reduce the damage that came during a ‘fight’ such as this over the years he’d been subjected to them – though his favourite had always been running away... If only that upperclassman – Reno, that was what Seifer had called him – hadn’t tried to be his ‘saviour’. Though... it was rather nice to have someone looking out for him, even if he hadn’t done the most brilliant of jobs.. and was getting beaten up just like he was.

When the next attack didn’t come, Locke peeked an eye open, gazing up sideways up at his attacker. The man was standing, fist raised for another hit, but he had his ugly scowl trained on a black haired man who was dispatching the two who had attacked the redhead. Swallowing roughly, the bunched fabric of Locke’s scruffy school shirt causing him a bit more discomfort then he cared for in Seifer’s grasp, and stared at the upperclassman that started calling the football leader names. A worried expression crossed over Locke’s face as he took another peek at the blond man’s face.

The man looked furious – more so then he had earlier... and the fist bunched up in Locke’s shirt shook slightly with rage. Eyes wide, the boy’s face snapped back towards the tall black haired man, beseeching with his eyes for him to just stop before Seifer decided that Locke’s face would look better with a broken nose.

“Tell your brat of a brother to stop collaborating with little Thiefs,” Seifer growled back, throwing the smaller boy aside, “And he’ll have nothing to worry about from me.” The man said no more, and stomped off, neither looking back nor caring if his cronies followed. They all did, after they picked themselves up, mumbling and shooting glares at the Locke and Reno – none of them dared to look the seething black-haired boy in the eye.

Locke sat where he had been thrown, looking up at the dark haired man that had saved the two, whipping blood off his split lip with the sleeve of his shirt. He was very grateful that the two had stepped in, and said as much. "Uh, thanks," the boy said in a soft voice, crawling to his feet.

[X Accelerando X]

Reno closed his eyes and waited for the oncoming storm. As he was released and settled on his feet again, he didn't even bother to watch the retreating group, deciding to prepare some sort of response to the attack that Vincent was about to launch; this may not resort of violence, but Vincent had a wicked tongue, and could be scarier then even three angry football teams put together. He almost felt more sorry for Locke, who had never been on the receiving end of one of these, and would probably walk away with a new idea of fear (and maybe even a wet spot as Vincent had been prone to cause in those with weaker constitutions). And, as he expected, a hand was pressed against his chest, as well as Locke's, forcing them both against the lockers, Vincent's red eyes first shooting to Reno.

"Reno...!" he hissed, eyes flaring anew. "You should know better! What am I going to tell dad when we get home? He has enough trouble at the moment without you pulling some stupid stunt like this! And who is he going to blame? Not you! Me! For not looking after you! I shouldn't have to by this time, Reno, and you know it! When are you going to grow up!?"

"Blah, blah, blah," Reno shrugged, "I'll clean up before we get home, and tell dad I got this black eye from practice. No big deal, Vince." He was making far too big a deal out of this, though, really, ever since their mother had died, Vincent had become as he did; cold, stoic and quiet. He definitely wasn't some kind of Oedipus, but their mother was important to both of them. Vincent just seemed to take it harder since he hadn't been able to see her before she died. Man could he hold onto guilt or what? "You need to learn to chill. Seriously."

"I'll 'chill' when you quit pulling stupid stunts like this!" Vincent growled, before turning his eyes onto Locke. And you...! I am holding you personally responsible for this! Whatever happened, whether you stole something or not, you put my brother into a risky situation. I do not tolerate such behavior, whether he willingly did it or not. Either you take responsibility for your mistakes, like a man, or hide away. Either way, do not get others involved in your problems! If you cannot stand on your own two feet, then you have no business interacting with anyone let alone my brother!" Pulling away, he turned and stalked away, leaving the pair alone.

"Phew...he went easy this time," Reno sighed, folding his arms behind his head, stretching slightly. "Last time he made a kid cry..."

[Mssr Miles]

Was the boy surprised that Seifer just walked away? Yes and no. The boy had never seen the Captain walk away from any fight... but, then again, Locke had never seen Seifer matched with such an intimidating foe... and the look in the black-haired upper-classman promised a long, torturous ordeal before a messy death ensued. As the gang of disciplinary and football members left the scene, Locke scooted to his feet, mentally checking all his battle-wounds while he stepped slightly closer to the brothers. The split lip was still bleeding, it was tender and hot to the touch, his cheek felt a little swollen where Seifer had smacked him, and there was a goose egg forming just underneath his hairline.

Locke’s gaze traveled between the two brothers, surprised at how startlingly similar their facial features were. Despite the colouring and different hair styles, they could have passed as twins... but Locke could see the two were as different as night and day, personality wise.

The boy jumped as the man whirled on him, verbally thrashing him. Oh, yes of course, because it was completely Locke’s fault that this Reno had jumped into his business. He probably could have gotten away from the mini-mob if he had made it out of the school, but it wasn’t as if Locke was going to say that to the enraged older student. That was just asking to get kicked... and Locke wasn’t in the habit of doing as such, unless he knew for a fact that he could outrun them. And from the look of the black-haired man’s legs... he would probably catch up to the shorter boy before he got to the end of the hall.

Locke stared up at the red-head’s relaxed posture, a little weary, a little unsure of the red-head. “Fuh.. I can believe that..” Locke muttered, turning to see the older teen disappear around a corner, hair whipping like angry snakes. That man was one that Locke would not want to piss off...

“I... don’t think your brother like’s me much,” the boy stated, laughing a little nervously, quirking a smile around his bloodied lip. “I’m Locke, by the way. Locke Cole. And, uh, thanks for trying to help, and all. Sorry it got you in trouble with your brother.”

[X Accelerando X]

"Nah, I could sneeze too hard and Vincent would get mad at me," Reno chuckled, winking at Locke, before extending his hand. "And I'm Reno. Reno Valentine." He gave a small, genial smile. This could work out. Locke seemed to be a smart kid, even if he did have sticky fingers and a penchant for trouble. More to the point, he wasn't terrified of Vincent which was something worth noting as well.

Was this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

"Hey, if you're not doing anything after school, you wanna swing by my house and hang out for a while? I'm probably gonna need you to help explain to my dad about the...well, the black eye and everything. If we beat Vincent to the punch, I may just avoid getting my dad too excited."