Catseye*Rose and Chasmodai Blue here!
And here it is! Our first collab! It began as an attempt to mock soap operas, but it became so much more.
Things to expect: angst, angst, and more angst. And lotsa boy touchies. :3

Enjoy!

Prologue: Part One

It was lunchtime when Adria saw him, sitting in the courtyard outside, catching the idle bits of sunlight. His hair was different, he had piercings, and was no longer the kid he had once been, but there was no denying it was him.

Zachariah.

Adria stared at him, fingers clutching the book on his lap. What was he supposed to do now? He hadn't seen the blond for years. He felt the urge to go talk to him, but Riah was standing with a small group of people, smiling, laughing. He wouldn't remember Adria. Not after all these years.

Instead, Adria sat down in the shade of a lonely aspen tree and opened up his book, sipping absentmindedly at his iced tea as he scanned the page of letters. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not distract himself from the form of his childhood friend standing mere feet away. And moving closer.

He slumped lower, peeking through through the brown strands in front of his eyes. Five of them. He suddenly noticed the girl clinging to Riah's arm, her painted mouth stretched wide. Adria felt sick. But why should he care? Sure, he and Riah had been close friends back in third grade, but things changed. People grew, surrounded themselves with strangers. There was no denying that that one was Riah's girlfriend, not with the way she clutched his fingers, batted her eyes, pressed against his side. Every movement she made just screamed 'MINE'.

Her blue eyes landed on the brunet, glinting dangerously.

"What're you looking at?" she demanded, snapping Adria from his reverie.

The boy quickly looked down, ears burning. So much for keeping to himself.

"Hey! You look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Sharp points dug into his chin, forcing him to raise his head and meet the clear blue gaze of Riah's girlfriend, her face twisted into an ugly glare. "What the hell were you looking at, faggot?" Her teeth gleamed like fangs in the bluish shade.

"Diane," Riah chided, tugging back on her shoulder. "Come on, we're not supposed to—"

She shrugged him off and he stopped short. "Well?" Diane took a half step backward, but didn't shift her ferocious gaze. "You were staring, and that is—"

It was Riah's turn to interrupt her. "Diane, we used to go to school together. Back off." He jerked her back, and she struggled to retain her balance. "Sorry." He bowed his head quickly and bounced off after the rest of their group. Diane followed him, turning only once to glower over her shoulder at Adria.

The brunet stared after them with wide eyes, frozen in surprise. Riah...remembered him?

He tore his eyes away, not wanting Diane to return, and quickly rose to his feet. He would just find somewhere else to sit.

The sudden ringing of the bell cut off those thoughts, however, and with a sigh, Adria turned and trudged back toward the school. His feet felt suddenly heavy, a sensation that did not dissipate during the class following lunch. He spent the class period staring at the board, trying not to feel sick.

When it finally ended, Adria trudged out into the hallway with everyone else, head bowed and shoulders slumped. He followed the crowd, carefully dodging possible collisions and quickly winding his way to his classroom. He was almost there when something suddenly caught him around the arm, jerking him to the side. A surprised yelp flew out of his mouth as he fought to keep his balance, side slamming into a hard, slightly yielding surface. A soft grunt made him lift his face, eyes widening as they landed on his attacker.

"Riah?" he squeaked, surprise and wariness coursing through him.

The blond's face was blank, giving Adria no indication of what he was up to.

"Come with me."

Adria didn't have much choice but to follow the blond, amber eyes flicking back to his classroom. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting back today.

Riah walked quickly, dragging the brunet through several halls and stairwells until they finally reached a small, dented door. Riah's hand fell away from Adria's arm, rummaging in his pocket for something. Adria watched in bemusement as the blond knelt in front of the door, fiddling with the lock. A moment later, the door swung open, and Adria was being pushed up a dark, narrow staircase.

"Whoa, wait, where are we going?" he demanded, flinching when the door slammed shut.

"Just keep walking."

Sighing, Adria clambered up the stairs, pausing at the top and staring suspiciously at the metal door in front of his. An arm reached around him, pushing it open. Light flooded the dark stairway and as Adria stepped out, he realised they were on the roof.

He spun to face Riah, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Why are we up here?"

The blond shut the door, running a hand through his long bangs as he turned around.

"Sorry, I just...needed to talk to you."

Adria quirked an eyebrow. "And we couldn't do that in the school?"

A helpless shrug lifted his thin shoulders, an apologetic smile twisting his lips.

"Needed to talk to you alone."

Adria stared at him, nodding slowly. "Right..." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, waiting. Riah shifted nervously, fingers twisting in his purple bangs. His green eyes repeatedly flicked between Riah and the ground, until finally the brunet sighed. "What did you want to talk to me about? I have to get to class."

"I wanted to apologize. For Diane."

Adria blinked and arched a dark eyebrow. "It doesn't get to me," he said. "Besides, it's not your place to apologize for her actions."

Riah shrugged, looking away. "I know. But it's not like she's going to. Apologizing isn't exactly her thing."

"Or being a decent human being, apparently."

The blond glared, suddenly defensive. "That's my girl you're insulting."

Adria bit the inside of his cheek. "Sorry about that," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "I mean, yeah. Didn't really mean that..."

Riah shook his head. "Whatever."

"No, really, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that." Adria's were wide and pleading.

With a sigh, Riah's body lost its stiffness. "It's fine. It's just...we're kinda serious, y'know?"

The brunet's head tilted to the side, interested. "How long have you been going out?"

The expression that crossed Riah's face was strange, a mix of reluctance and...regret?

"Uh, awhile," he replied, fingers picking at a loose thread in his shirt. "We live in the same neighbourhood and everything, and our parents know each other, so they kinda set us up. I guess it's like an arranged marriage? Wait, no, not marriage. I mean, um...right...well, it's not like I don't like her or somethin'...dunno if I would've chosen her myself..." His eyes widened suddenly, and he held up his hands. "I mean, w-we're just going through a rough patch, y'know? High school does that, I guess, 'specially since I haven't been in school since..." He cut himself off, going pale. "I-I guess I'm just a little stressed? Ninth grade and all. So, uh...right."

"Oh," Adria muttered. "She doesn't seem very much like you." He tried to edge carefully around the subject, be conversational without offense.

Riah sighed, offering a crooked smile. "I know. But she's a lot nicer once you get to know her. And we share...interests."

Adria raised an eyebrow. "Interests?"

"Yeah, y'know..." His hand flicked around as though trying to drag invisible words from the air. "We both like the same movies and...stuff."

"I see. You're a regular Romeo and Juliet. Except they were not particularly smart or organized, so maybe it's more like Cleopatra and Marc Antony, minus the suicide and general whorishness."

A small smile crept onto Riah's face. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"As you should." Adria stretched his arms above his head. "So what now? We go to class? Become inspired?"

Riah shrugged, already heading for the door. "I guess so."

Adria moved to follow him.

The blond stepped aside, yanking open the door. "You first. Try not to let anyone see you."

Adria raised an eyebrow. "We're playing spy now?"

Riah smirked, although his eyes remained solemn. "Something like that."

"Any particular reason?"

The blond's face darkened, and he avoided Adria's eyes. "Just...I can't tell you. Please leave first." He raised wide, pleading green eyes, his expression lost and a little scared. "Please?"
Adria shrugged and left without looking back.