Note: This story is a collaboration for Clerith Month with the wonderful Gabriela Romero who suggested the idea. She provided the drawings and I wrote the story to accompany them. Alas, I cannot do her gorgeous artwork justice with my writing. Please check out her work for the story on her twitter account and see what I'm talking about (the link is in her profile — and mine as well since I am not allowed to post it here). And yes, the image for the story here on fanfiction is one of the pictures she drew!

Gabby, I am so honored to have the chance to work on this project with you and only wish I had the ability to write as well as you draw. Thank you for being everything you are, including such a gift to the Clerith fandom and fantastic friend to me.

Everything

"Ya damned runt—ungh! You'll pay for that, you bastard!"

"Jerkface!"

"Stupid little punk!"

The shouts and grunts, jeers and laughter, from the boys on the playground made her stomach turn but she couldn't walk away. She couldn't look away.

Inside, Aeris was screaming. But screaming did little good when no one else could hear it.

Her hands were tied by a promise to the boy getting pummeled at that very moment.

She stood by, watching helplessly, biting her nails, already chewed down to where hard plate met soft flesh.

"Coward!" The blond boy challenged the ringleader foolishly, trying to tug free of the grip the other boys had on both his arms. "Fight me on your own, one-on-one, without your sidekicks holding me back!"

"You really don't know when to stay down, do you?" The older boy snarled and threw a solid punch to the blond's abdomen, followed by a swift kick to the groin area that made Aeris's breath stutter and she whimpered.

Her eyes swept the playground wildly, desperately, searching...for something, anything. Perhaps another soul still lingering around after school, an adult, or simply a friendly face who could do what she couldn't and intervene.

As she whipped her head back around, her eyes collided with another pair of eyes watching them from underneath the shade of a large tree in the school yard, and she froze, caught in a painful paralysis of fear and hope. The eyes belonged to a fellow student at the school, a tall, lanky boy with unruly brown hair who, at about thirteen or fourteen years old, was a few years ahead of her. She shot him an imploring look but a part of her already knew it was useless. He was practically a stranger, a boy she knew only by reputation, a loner who always kept to himself. As far as she could tell, he had no friends and never talked to anyone.

A part of her was surprised to see him even hanging around, although to say hanging around was probably being generous. For whatever reason, he seemed inclined to stay where he was, standing with his back against the tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching the scene unfolding before him with a bored look on his face.

"Shithead loser!"

The blond on the ground wasn't spared a backward glance as the boys sauntered off at last, their laughter jarringly loud in the air.

The leader came toward her, a victorious smile planted on the cruel features that twisted an otherwise handsome face. "He's a nobody," he sneered, a thin trail of blood beading on his busted lower lip. "He's weak. Nothing."

She bit her own lip so hard, she tasted copper in her mouth.

"Look at his sorry ass," he spat. "He's not worth your time."

She steeled herself and didn't give an inch as he leaned toward her, his breath hot in her face.

"What do you say, Gainsborough?" Gray eyes leered at her from underneath heavy black brows. "Ditch the runt and let me walk you home."

"Thank you, but Cloud is walking me home," she said on impulse.

Stunned silence came from the group at her answer and his face contorted with fury and for a moment, she thought he would strike her. Inexplicably, he stepped back and threw her a look of contempt.

"Suit yourself." His lip curled. "It's your loss."

She watched them leave, dizzy with relief, and shaking with anger and pain at the same time. Her chest rose and fell heavily as she struggled for air, trying to breathe, to calm her rapidly beating heart, and quell the storm brewing inside of her.

"He's a lot tougher than he looks."

The low murmur near her ear made her jump and her eyes flew to the striking, dark-haired boy beside her. She didn't know when he had moved out from the tree's shade and joined her on the blacktop but she suspected he had been there for a while.

"A sword would be a better fit for him than fighting with his fists, though." Reluctant admiration lit his pale blue eyes. "At the least, it would put those bullies off. And I could use a good sparring partner." He shrugged. "Whatever."

He walked off, leaving Aeris to stare after him in confusion.

She went to the figure that had dragged himself up from the ground and was curled into a ball on the steps against the side of the school building with his face buried between his knees, trying to disappear.

She sat down beside him and laid a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Cloud?" Her voice throbbed with emotion, her own breathing harsh, uneven, as though she'd taken a beating alongside him. "Are you okay?"

He looked up and she sucked in her breath as she took in the welts on his face and the swelling on his left cheek. His body was battered but it was the bruised look in his blue eyes that made rage boil inside her. Her fingers curled, blunt, jagged nails digging into her palms. Violence was never the answer. She understood the need to stand up and fight back at times but there was a world of difference between defending oneself and being the aggressor and initiating the fight.

"Never better," he wheezed.

"You shouldn't keep getting into so many fights with those boys."

He sighed and let his head drop back down onto his knees.

"If you would just try to get along with them, they wouldn't pick on you so much."

"You sound like my mom," he accused.

Aeris bit back a smile. "Good to know you do hear what she says, even if you don't listen."

"That's not why I get into fights with them."

She nodded somberly. "I know." She reached her hand toward his face and he stiffened, moving his head back. "Don't," she whispered. "Stay still."

Her fingers brushed over his cheeks and he visibly relaxed as the cuts and bruises on his face faded.

"I..." His face turned red and he quickly looked away. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She let her hand drop back down. "Cloud."

"How do you know my name again?"

She smiled and gave him the same answer she had given him the first time he had put the question to her. "How can I not know your name?"

He shook his head, a perplexed look on his face. "You heard them." He hung his head, dejection written plainly in his slumped shoulders and downcast eyes. "I'm a nobody. Nothing."

She gazed at him, letting her eyes drift over each individual spike of blond hair that she could see.

"They're wrong. You are not a nobody or nothing." The deep conviction in her voice came from a place inside of her that even she didn't understand, but she knew her words to be true. "You are everything."

He fell silent and she followed his lead. For some time, they simply sat together, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early autumn evening. Neither one spoke but words were superfluous. Everything that needed to be said had already been said.

At length, she pushed up onto her feet and dusted off her skirt. "I should be getting home."

Cloud glanced up, blond brows knitted in a frown. "I thought..." A hint of red stained his cheeks. "I guess I'm walking you home then."

It was her turn to blush. "You heard that, did you?"

His face turned grave. "I don't know if having me walk you home will do anything. I did just get my ass handed to... Sorry," he mumbled as she grinned. "I mean, I can't even fight off a group of boys."

Aeris's grin widened. "I'm not a damsel in need of protection. I don't need a knight." She proffered her hand. "But I would love to have you walk me home."

He slipped his hand into hers and she tugged him to his feet. He had an inch or so on her, despite being smaller than most of the boys their age.

"Where do you live?"

A bubble of laughter escaped her. "Don't you know?" she teased. "I know where you live."

"Until a week ago, I didn't even know your name," he pointed out. "Aeris."

Her eyebrows shot up. "A week ago?"

"Surprised?"

"Impressed." She was impressed. By more than his learning her name. Much more. But she was getting ahead of herself. They were young and there was no need to rush things. They had plenty of time. She tilted her head in the direction of the bridge that led to the garden district. "My house is near the gardens. Right across from it, in fact."

"I should've guessed." His lips curved slightly, the beginnings of what looked like a smile appearing ever-so-faintly on his face.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Whatever it took, however long it took, Aeris vowed she would see a real smile from him someday.

And if she was really, really lucky, maybe she would even hear him laugh.