A/N: Hello everyone! I'm happy to start a new fic, inspired by a lot of different shows that I've seen :)

I really hope that you will all enjoy it. This fic will have quite a bit of different couplings throughout, but my goal is to have it as an eventual Cloud X Tifa. Please review and let me know your thoughts!

Chapter One : A Capella

"Without Instrumental Accompaniment"

Wine colored eyes narrowed at the sight of the crisp white envelope in her hands.

She hated paper mail, especially mail that just looked like another bill. Bills were the worst.

It wasn't her fault. It's the responsibility of an adult in the real world. But not too many people find themselves owing thousands upon thousands of gil to all sorts of creditors. The twenty-two year old brunette was paying house mortgages, school loans, rent and utilities with her measly paychecks from bartending at night and giving piano lessons in the afternoon, and teaching beginner's kickboxing in the morning. Today was actually one of the first days from all three gigs she has had off in seven months.

And instead of resting or enjoying the daylight, Tifa Lockhart, sat around glaring at yet another painful reminder of all the hard work she did just so she could survive.

A bill. Which, by the way, was past due.

Tifa gave out a long defeated sigh. This was the second one this month. She frazzled her hair with her hands in frustration. How long could she hold out like this? She wanted to stay strong. But she was losing the fight, one bill at a time.

"Dad, I wish you would have told me…" she whispered into the air.

Her father had recently died from a massive heart attack by overworking. Tifa never saw it coming. She had always knew that her old man was a hard working person, and like every adult had their share of expenses. He didn't act like they were struggling. He certainly spent his earnings like they weren't struggling.

But, the late Brian Lockhart was deep in debt up to his ears. With the death of Tifa's mother at the tender of age of six, even with the help of insurance, the hospital charges for taking care of the ill stricken woman were beyond outrageous. Had had to use several credit cards for that. Not to mention the family had only moved into their brand new home a year prior to the tragedy. Even though financially, it had set him back, he continued to act like it wasn't a big issue. In fact, he did quite the opposite. Frivolous spending led to luxury items, putting his daughter into high end private schools, and eventually paying for her tuition for college. All with tons of loans and credit cards.

And if she had known, Tifa would have told him not to buy that brand new car or big screen tv.

If she had known, she would have just went to public school instead.

If she had known, she would have gotten a part-time job to help.

If she had known, she would have just attended the community college in Nibelhiem, instead of the costly performing arts university in Midgar.

Thank goodness for the scholarships she had gotten for her higher education, at least he didn't have to take much out for the student loans.

Not once did he ever mention any of these things to his only daughter. And Tifa understood it as her father's pride getting the best of him. Or rather now, herself.

The only things she hadn't sold to help with the situation were her parent's wedding rings, which rested on her neck on a chain necklace, her mother's heirloom pearl earrings, a piano and the house. Although, selling the house would take a big financial burden off of her shoulders, she couldn't bear to let it go.

Thus explains the newly opened past due mortgage bill sitting on her kitchen table at the moment.

"Where else can I cut costs," she thought aloud. "Maybe there's an even smaller studio room here? Ah, I can't possible ask that..."

Barret Wallace, her landlord over Avalanche apartments made a deal if she would give his daughter Marlene piano lessons twice a week, he would take three hundred gil off of her rent. Although, she knew it was a cover up of his generosity, seeing as the fees were clearly overpriced. But she was grateful. Slightly embarrassed, but grateful. She had been residing there for almost 2 years, and had made some really great friends with her neighbors. Tifa had always been such pleasant tenant and paid her rent a week early. Not to mention, Barret had a soft spot for orphans.

As much as brunette wanted to bang her head on the nearest wall, the sound of her doorbell caused her to return to a state of normalcy. She peeked out the peephole to find her best friend, Jessie, waiting on the outside. Jessie had lived two doors down with her brother Biggs, and the two had became fast friends running into each other all of the time, but now Jessie was looking to move out elsewhere since finishing her own education.

"Heeeeeeyyyy, I know you're in there!" her voice rung from the other side. The brunette opened the door to be greeted by a soft hug. "Teef, it's so good to see you! Look at you…. You've lost a bit of weight! You're not starving here are you?"

"Of course not, Jess." Starving, no. Tifa had learned to live off of mostly cereal and instant ramen noodles since inheriting her father's debts.

Jessie gave her a skeptical look and glanced over her friend. She was impressed that her friend knew how to keep a calm demeanor about her whole situation, yet worried all the same. Tifa looked worn down, as if she was at her limits.

"So, what was so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?" the crimson eyed beauty asked, closing the door behind Jessie.

"Tifa, let's go out. It's been so long since we've had a girl's night!"

"Oh, Jessie, you know I don't have the money for that…."

"Don't worry about, Teef. I'll pay. Heck, all you have to do is sit at the bar, and you'll get plenty of free drinks from all the pervy old men." Tifa frowned at the statement, even though her past experiences have proved that theory correct.

"I dunno, I feel like I could be doing something productive. Not that hanging out with you isn't."

"Oh, come on! All you ever do is work! Take a breather! You seriously need it. Don't end up li-" Jessie began, but stopped herself from going on further. She saw her friend's gaze become downcast.

"….like my father?"

"….I'm so sorry, Tifa. You know I don't mean it like that. I'm just worried, you know? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be holed up in her room if she's not working. I don't want to see your youth wasted trying to make up for other people's mistakes. It's not fair." Hoping to not to put Tifa in a sour mood, she switched back to her attention back to the girl's night out. "Plus, it's only one night. Pleeeeeeeeassseee? I got VIP passes from my brother Biggs for Seventh Heaven, and you KNOW hard it is to get inside! I heard that SOLDIER is in town, and it's one of their favorite spots."

"Um, who?"

"Ah, girlie, I forgot how outdated you can be. SOLDIER, only the hottest band ever! Ahhh, so dreamy and handsome…. I hope I'll be able to see Cloud there tonight, he's just soo …ahhhh..." Jessie rambled.

Tifa was clearly ignoring her friend's rants on celebrities, as these schoolgirl crushes were not going to help pay any of the numerous bills she had to take care of.

"Teef! Don't zone out on me! You'll come out with me, won't you?"

The long hair brunette thought it over. It had been a long time since she was just able to go out and have some fun. And she could use a little liquor in her system to calm her nerves.

"Oh, why not," she said, shrugging her shoulder in agreement. Jessie made a squeal of delight at her answer.

Heathens, just plain heathens. Two year olds were easier to handle in his eyes. You would think four grown men would behave better than this.

But no.

The members of SOLDIER would prove Angeal Hewley wrong. The dark haired man rubbed his temples lightly to ward off the next round of headaches to come from the band.

First, there was Zack Fair, the drummer. Notorious womanizer. Slightly goofy and prone to doing stupid (and most likely dangerous) things. Asides from that, he couldn't stay angry at the man for long. Zack reminded him of a lovable puppy, who occasionally ruined the legs of a sofa.

Next, was Sephiroth Crescent, bassist. Skilled in many instruments actually, just preferred the less flashy ones. Always hard to get to show up to press conferences and interviews. Never mixed business and pleasure. So much that it is thought that he may be homosexual, except that, he doesn't show interest in men either. Perhaps he was asexual? Angeal himself wondered about it from time to time.

Afterwards, there was Genesis Rhapsodos, lyricist, vocalist and guitarist. Incredibly narcissistic. Easily irritated, and threw all sorts of temper tantrums. Responsible for many of the scandalous reports that came out about the band (and Angeal's migraines.) Worse than Zack when it came to women; at least Zack was always the gentleman with the ladies. Not so much Genesis. Unfortunately for Genesis, his vocal chords had gotten a vocal nodule that impaired him from singing as well as he really could. Angeal had figured this has been the reasoning behind his rising number of fits, including….

Cloud Strife. The newest member of the band, and the now present lead vocalist for the band. Angeal found him to be bit of a wildcard. He never knew what to expect of the blond one. In his unbothered state, Cloud was pretty subdued and nonchalant about the world. But when he was angry, he was like a firework in the night sky, blazing and all over the place. Usually this happened because Genesis provoked him. And then he'd suddenly become mopey. Then back to being aloof. It was slightly agitating sometimes.

Angeal did not expect these guys to be "best friends forever, let's all hold hands and sing kumbayah together." He just wanted them to act like decent human beings every once and a while. But currently they were being heathens, separated, doing who know's what. The only person he could reliably find right now was Sephiroth. Only because Sephiroth never did anything.

It's not the Angeal wasn't capable of getting them back together and making sure they would not find themselves plastered on the front of a gossip magazine (again), it's that, as a manager for the group, he certainly couldn't do his own job if he had to babysit them at every waking moment.

But he would not deal with their nonsense right now.

Angeal Hewley decided that he would go out for a couple of drinks tonight.

A/N: Yay! End of first chapter. (Drunk Tifa shall be in the next one, I promise!) Now for some shameless promotion for my other fic "The Misadventures of a Princess and a Frog" a FFVII version of the Frog Prince with Yuffie and Vincent as the main characters! But it doesn't end there, other characters with fairy tale backgrounds are (or will be) featured in the story as well.