Disclaimer:

I do not nor claim to own any aspect of Final Fantasy X/X-2, including the characters, plot line, music, places etc. Please refer to this chapter in the future.

Author's Note:

October 15th, 2012

I'm going through and editing this fic chapter by chapter fixing grammar, punctuation and spelling errors that I missed the first time through.

Teenage Drama Queens

By: Jenna Duffy

Chapter 1

Living Large

"Yunie! Painey!" Rikku exclaimed, bouncing towards Yuna and I as we were making our way to the parking lot.

"Hi, Rikku," Yuna said, greeting her energetic cousin. "How was your day?"

"Boring, as usual," she replied, rolling her eyes. Her face brightened a moment later, excitement shining in her green irises. "Anyways, I finished our costumes last night! I can't wait till you guys see them!"

"About time," I said with a smirk, reaching over and ruffling Rikku's hair.

The skinny blonde quickly ducked and jumped out of reach, rearranging her braids. "I wanted to make them perfect, okay? Sue me!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air.

Both Yuna and I chuckled as we zig-zagged through the parking lot. "Before you tell us what they look like," I began, noticing Rikku had opened her mouth to speak. "at least let us know if we're going to look like a group of prostitutes on stage tonight."

Yuna stifled a laugh as she unlocked her car so herself and Rikku could throw their stuff in the backseat. As soon as Rikku's books were safely in the back, she turned to me with a hurt expression on her face. "The costumes I make for us aren't whoreish," she said with a slight pout.

"What I meant is," I said, leaning against my motorcycle. "I don't want to be half naked on stage – again."

"Oh, come on, Paine," Rikku said, sitting next to Yuna on the hood of her car. "You gotta be able to show a little skin in our line of work. Oh, and you did finish mixing our music, right?"

"Of course," I said, sorting through the front pocket of my backpack and producing a CD in a plastic jewel case. "The whole show's right here."

"Good," Rikku said, snatching it from my hand. "I'll keep this safe till it's show time." She opened Yuna's passenger door and set the CD carefully on the front dash.

"Hey, Riks!"

"Gippy!" Rikku yelled, slamming the car door shut and running toward her boyfriend.

"Hey, Paine! Yuna!" Gippal said, waving at both of us as he plopped himself down next to Yuna as Rikku settled herself in his lap. "There's someone I want you guys to meet." He motioned towards a dark skinned, white haired boy that had magically appeared a few feet behind me. "This is Baralai. Him and his family moved here not too long ago. We're old friends."

"Hi everyone," he said sheepishly, waving hello to Yuna, Rikku and me.

"Nice to meet you," I said, extending my hand. "I'm Paine." Baralai smiled shyly at me and took my hand, shaking it. I paused briefly when something I could only describe as an electric charge shot up my arm. My muscles constricted, startled, and quickly letting go of his hand, nonchalantly wiping it across the leg of my jeans.

Boy, that sure was weird, I thought, staring down at my hand with a perplexed expression.

I shifted my gaze over to Baralai and could tell by the way he was flexing his fingers by his side that he felt the same thing I did had. I frowned and brought my gaze back down to my own hand, still wondering why that had happened. I was relieved that none of my friends had noticed what had passed between us: our whole exchange passed in only a few short seconds, not long enough for them to notice.

"I'm Yuna," the young brunette said, shaking Baralai's hand as well, oblivious to what had happened.

"And I'm Rikku," the blonde Al Bhed said, smiling widely at Baralai as it was her turn to shake his hand.

"Gippal told me that you guys are famous here or something," Baralai began, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "What do you do?"

"We're singers," I blurted, making sure that Yuna or Rikku didn't have the chance to doll up our fame to someone who didn't even know us.

Baralai smiled and turned to me. "How did all that happen?"

"The three of us have been in singing classes almost all our lives. When we started high school, we decided to make our own little singing group just for fun, but we got noticed and...here we are."

"And this is how we're gonna pay for college too," Yuna added, sitting cross-legged on the hood of her car.

"Yeah, if we weren't doing this I have no idea how we would be making a living," Rikku replied, playing with one of her braids. "It's definitely better than working fast food."

Baralai opened his mouth to say something when a horn sounded in the background. I turned my head and spotted a fancy black car with window tint as dark as the paint sitting not too far away from where we were. I quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Baralai, who was now waving at said black car.

"Well, that's my ride," he said. "I'll see you later, Gippal. It was great to meet you guys."

"Later, 'Lai." Gippal paused and waited until Baralai was inside the car to speak up again. "I invited him to come along to the show tonight."

"Oh, that was nice of you, Gippy," Rikku said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Well, he's new here so I figured he needed to meet our local celebrities," he said, putting his hands beneath his head and laying down.

"I'm starting to think that he's a celebrity himself," I said, watching the black car carrying Baralai leave the school parking lot.

Gippal chuckled. "No, his parents are just filthy rich. His dad's the head honcho of some company and his mom runs the new Bed and Breakfast down near the port."

"Must be nice," I retorted, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, lucky," Rikku said, stretching her arms over her head. "Oh, Yunie! Where's Tidus?"

"He had to go to work," Yuna replied, crossing her arms over her chest and setting her face in a scowl.

"Will he be able to come to the show tonight?" the young Al Bhed inquired, hopping off Gippal's lap and running in front of her cousin, resting her hands on her shoulders.

"He said he might be able to make it," Yuna grumbled, not meeting her cousin's eyes.

"Don't worry, Yuna," I said, walking away from my bike to join my friends. "I'm sure he'll be able to come. Everyone in this town knows who we are. I'm sure his boss will let him off early to come watch you."

"Yeah, I hope so," she replied, still sounding none too happy about it.

"So, Rikku," I began, getting the young blonde's attention. "we should probably head over to your house to try on those new costumes, hm?"

"I thought you'd never ask! Come on, Yunie, let's go!" She paused and gave Gippal a quick hug and peck on the lips. "See ya tonight, Gippy! Don't forget to bring our new friend!"

"I won't. See you later, babe," he said, opening Yuna's passenger door for Rikku who giggled a small amount before sliding into the seat.

Gippal shut the door and waved as Yuna started the car. "See you tonight, Paine!" he called, walking off towards his own car.

I waved to him as I put my helmet on and revved my engine to life, following Yuna out of the parking lot and into the crowded streets of Luca. Rikku lived only a few miles away from the school, but, because of how congested the roads were, it took us longer than usual to reach her house. I wasn't worried though, the show wasn't until eight and we still had a lot of time for practice.

"Okay, girls, we're in the clear. Pops still isn't home from work yet. Let's hurry," Rikku said as we followed her up to her front door.

Once we were in Rikku's room and she had shut and latched the door, she rushed over to her closet and pulled out our new costumes. All three of them consisted of knee length, skin tight skirts that had a slit on the right side that reached all the way to the bottom hem, small belly shirts that had tears across the bust to reveal a little cleavage and extremely high stilettos. I wondered for a few seconds how I was going to perform with those things. I sighed in relief when my costume was in my signature colors, black and red. All my costumes were, actually, but Rikku had a thing for experimenting with colors and I was scared that one of these days she was gonna do a little of that experimentation on mine.

"Okay, Paine, you first," Rikku said, pointing to her bathroom.

Once I was in the bathroom, I took the time to more closely examine my costume. My skirt was a little different than Yuna's and Rikku's. Instead of one slit there were two and they were connected at the bottom by a piece of ruffly red fabric. The top was black with red swirly stitching up the sides and on the sleeves. Once I had both items of clothing on, I walked back into Rikku's room. Both her and Yuna whistled and cheered.

"That looks really good on you, Paine," Yuna remarked, grinning.

"No thanks are needed," Rikku said, waving her hands in the air like she had won something.

"I'm surprised, Rikku," I said, being honest. "These outfits aren't half bad." I glanced down at my purple jeweled belly ring and sighed. "Do you think I have enough time to go to my house and change out my belly ring?"

"Yeah, you should," Rikku said, nodding. "We don't have to be at the stadium for practice for another hour. We'll meet you over there, okay?"

I nodded and went back into Rikku's bathroom, quickly changing back into my own clothes. "I'll see you guys at the stadium in an hour." I waved to them then walked out and hopped onto my bike, storing my outfit and shoes in one of my storage compartments.

The drive to my small house near the port didn't take long. I lived alone: my parents were killed in a car accident my freshman year. I've been living off their life insurance and my salary as a singer ever since, which is how I was able to buy my house and my motorcycle. After my parent's passing, I couldn't stand to live in the same house that I had grown up in. It hurt way too much. There were too many memories.

I opened my garage door with the automatic opener on my motorcycle and wheeled it inside. I checked my cell phone as I walked to my room, the LCD display reading 5;18. Still a lot of time to spare.

We usually had about two hours of practice time before , that is, if everything is set up the way it's supposed to be. Since Gippal and I are the ones in charge of everything technical, we have to make sure that all the equipment is running like clockwork before the show starts. While we're performing, Gippal and Tidus are the ones that keep it running smoothly.

I sorted through my belly rings for a few seconds before quickly changing the purple jewel for one with a hanging red heart charm. On my way back out to the garage, I grabbed a couple granola bars to eat when I got to the stadium. All of us – myself, Yuna, Rikku, Gippal and Tidus – usually go out after the show and get something to eat so a small snack would satiate me until then.

I stuffed the granola bars into the storage compartment with my outfit and wedged my helmet onto my head before wheeling my bike out of my garage and closing the door. While I was sitting at the stop light to get back on the main road, the same black sedan that had carried Baralai away from the high school stopped next to me in the double turning lane. What surprised me even more was when Gippal stuck his head out of the back window.

"What's up, Paine?" he asked, a goofy smile on his face.

"Gippal?" I asked as I flipped up the visor on my helmet. "What are you doing?"

"Getting a ride from Baralai, what does it look like?" he replied, chuckling.

"Did your car break down again or something?" I asked, quirking one eyebrow in inquiry.

"No!" he exclaimed before he had a chance to catch himself. "I mean no, I just wanted to show him where he has to park."

"No, Gippal, I'm not going to give you a ride on my bike after the show," I said, snapping my dark visor back over my eyes. The light turned green and I heard Gippal curse and start talking to Baralai as I gunned my bike forward.

Gippal must have told Baralai's driver to follow me because every time I changed lanes to pass someone that black sedan followed right along like it was connected to me with a rope. The traffic got increasingly worse the closer we got to the stadium, to my great dismay. It took about half an hour to reach the main parking lot.

Geez, have things ever been this busy?

I breathed a sigh of relief when the security guard letting people through was one I knew. He smiled and waved at both myself and Gippal, letting us through without a hitch. From there, I went to our private parking area that was blocked off to everyone that didn't know the pass code. This was how myself, Yuna and Rikku are able to get in and out of the stadium without being mobbed.

I punched in the four digit code and waited while the iron gate blocking off our parking area slid into the wall. I was shocked to find Yuna's car, along with Tidus', already there. Nine times out of ten I was usually the one that got to the stadium first. I couldn't help but wonder what had made them move so swiftly tonight as I parked next to Yuna's car. I hopped off my bike, jerking my helmet off my head and hung it on my left handlebar. I dug my outfit from my bike's storage compartment, along with my granola bars, and waited for Gippal and Baralai to get out of the car.

"The gate will open automatically when you drive towards it," I told the driver, who gave me a thumbs up in response.

"Well, Dr. P, you ready?" Gippal asked, jogging up to me.

"Of course. I'm always ready to get up on stage and look like a tramp," I said jokingly as we walked into the stadium.

I heard Baralai chuckle on the other side of Gippal. "Oh, come on, Rikku's costumes make all of you look so sexy though." Gippal paused and looked over at Baralai. "Seriously, 'Lai, they do. Rikku's good at designing their clothes."

"As long as she doesn't start dressing me in pink, I'm fine with it," I said, stopping outside our dressing room. "Go start on the equipment check, that is, if Tidus hasn't already finished it. We'll be out in a few."

Gippal nodded and dragged Baralai away. I stared after them for a few seconds, gazing at Baralai's retreating back. What's with me? I questioned myself. He's just another boy. Nothing special.

I shrugged it off and walked through the dressing room door. Yuna and Rikku were already there working on their hair and make-up at their separate vanities. I smiled when I saw that they had taken the time to get mine ready to use.

Rikku looked at me through her vanity mirror when I walked in. "Paine, I thought you would never get here!"

"Traffic sucked," I said, sinking down onto my chair, beginning to fix my helmet hair. I opened up a granola bar and nibbled on it.

"Yeah, it took us forever to get through it too. Good thing Ivan was the one working the front gate or it would have taken even longer for us to get here," Yuna piped up.

"I hear ya," Rikku chimed in.

"So I assume that Tidus got the night off?" I asked, glancing in Yuna's direction with a smile.

"He did, thank Yevon," she replied as she was curling the ends of her short hair. "He got here a few minutes after we did."

I nodded and continued getting myself show ready, gaudy make-up and all. Yuna and Rikku finished a few minutes before I did, but stuck around and waited for me to get dressed.

"I'm so proud of what I did with your outfit, Paine," Rikku said. "It looks great on you."

"I'm glad you think so," I said, adjusting my top. "I feel like I'm going to rip the damn thing if I lean over too much."

"Oh, quit complaining! Come on!" Rikku said, grabbing my arm and dragging me out the door.

As we walked out onto the stage, I could hear the drum of all the people waiting to be let in. Gippal and Tidus rushed over and fitted us with our wireless microphones. Baralai stood behind them, watching them work and admiring our outfits as well. My eyes met his for a brief second and his dark cheeks tinted red before he looked away.

"Is everything working?" I asked Gippal as he was outfitting me with my microphone.

"Yup, every thing's purrin' like a kitten!" he said, moving on to Rikku. "Alright, boys, let's get up into the sound booth." He looked over at me and grinned. "I'll give you the signal when we're ready!"

We ran through all our songs once – except for the solos, which we did twice – then we went back stage to wait. I ran up to the sound booth for a minute to do a last minute check up on all the equipment. Gippal and Tidus sat back as I examined the sound and light boards and made sure the music was set at the right level. I could feel Baralai's eyes on me as I worked and caught Gippal and Tidus exchanging sneaky glances, signifying that they saw what I was feeling.

"Is everything to your liking, Madame?" Tidus asked, a smile in his voice.

"For now." I smiled at the three of them. "How much longer till the doors open?"

Gippal checked his watch. "Not long now. Only five minutes. Better get your butt back stage."

Once I returned back stage, Yuna and Rikku insisted that we practice our dance moves some more. I grudgingly accepted and we practiced – without our heels – until Gippal flickered the back stage lights, indicating us to get our asses to our places.

The show went on like all the others. We started out with our original song then went on with some new ones and some old ones. Our solos were spread out through the show and I, to my great distaste, was the one going first this time. The three of us rotated who sang their solo first and out of all my solos I was actually looking forward to singing this particular one. It had a rebellious air to it and was more rock than synthesizers, which was my element.

I breathed an audible sigh of relief when the show was over. We retreated into our dressing room to get out of our costumes. I quickly threw on a black, long sleeved shirt, a pair of my favorite jeans and my black high heeled boots. All three of us kept normal clothes in the dressing room just for occasions such as these. I walked into our parking area to stuff my old clothes into my motorcycle storage compartments and spied Baralai sitting out on the sidewalk.

He turned and smiled at me when I came out. "Good job tonight," he remarked.

I couldn't help but smile back at him. His smile was just so...infectious. I shook my head and frowned as I opened the compartment on the right side of the bike, unceremoniously stuffing my clothes inside. "Thank you," I replied, almost forgetting to answer him. I cleared my throat. "So have Gippal and Tidus recruited you to help them out up there yet?"

"They have actually," he replied, standing up and cramming his hands in his pockets. "They've already started teaching me how to do some things."

"That's good," I said, not knowing what else to say. "It's not that hard though."

We stood in awkward silence for a few moments, neither of us able to come up with anything to say to the other until the silence forced me to participate in small talk.

"So, um," I began, scratching the back of my neck in thought. "where did you live before you came here?"

"In Bevelle," he replied easily. "My father decided to expand his company and head up the branch here in Luca while he left one of his associates in charge in Bevelle. It's always been a dream of my mom's to open up a Bed and Breakfast so she jumped at the chance as soon as we moved here."

"What kind of business does your father own?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"He's a lawyer and he basically owns the largest firm in all of Spira. He hopes I'll go to law school once I graduate so I can take over the business when I'm old enough." He rolled his eyes and a smirk played upon his lips.

"Do you want to?" I questioned, moving a little closer to him.

He frowned and scratched the back of his head before shrugging his shoulders. "Not really." He paused and met my eyes for a few seconds, but quickly averted his eyes once again, another blush coloring his dark cheeks. "It's kind of embarrassing, but I kinda want to be a singer too."

One of my eyebrows quirked at his words. I hadn't been expecting that. "Can you sing?"

"A little," he replied, a bashful smile spreading across his face.

The back stage door opened behind us, cutting off our conversation for the time being as our friends poured out.

"Are we ready to go eat?" Rikku asked. "I'm starving!"

I quickly walked away from Baralai before anyone could notice that him and I had been talking. I picked up my helmet and held it between both hands. "So where are we going?"

"Our usual place?" Yuna suggested as she unlocked her car.

"No, we have to go somewhere new this time," Rikku interjected, tapping her chin in thought.

"Like where?" I inquired, holding my helmet in between my hip and my right arm like I would a blitzball.

Rikku placed her index finger on her mouth in thought and tapped her foot on the ground. Her bright green eyes lit up after only a few moments. "I know! How about that new steakhouse that just opened?"

Gippal and Tidus both nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's a great idea, Riks," Gippal replied, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her.

"Would it still be open this late?" Yuna asked, pulling her cell phone out of her purse and staring at the time with uncertainty.

"Oh, come on, Yunie! It's only ten o'clock! It's got to be open still!" Rikku exclaimed.

"I suggest we get going then before they close down," I said, pushing my helmet down over my head and getting on my bike. I revved the engine to life to emphasize my point.

"Yeah, come on!" Tidus agreed, pulling Gippal and Baralai towards his car. "We'll follow you, Paine!"

I rolled my eyes, thankful that my visor was tinted and turned my bike around, waiting for the rest of the group to pile into their cars. I sped through the gate minutes later with Yuna and Tidus following close behind. The streets were surprisingly empty for a Friday night and I was expecting to hit a huge traffic jam as we made our way back up from the docks. The new steakhouse had opened up on the busiest street in town and, yet again, I was surprised how empty it was as we drove down it.

I pulled into the parking lot and groaned under my breath when I saw that almost the entire town had decided to go to the same exact place for dinner. Oh how lovely... I yanked my helmet off my head after I found a parking spot in the back of the lot, shoving the kickstand down.

"Still think this was a good idea, Rikku?" I asked as they all piled out of the cars.

The young Al Bhed stared around the parking lot with a frustrated expression on her face. Out of all three of us, Rikku was the one that took our fame to extreme levels. I knew exactly how she was going to react. "We can't let this stop us!" she exclaimed, confirming my prediction. "Come on, Yunie!" She grabbed her cousin's wrist and drug her through the parking lot toward the front door.

I rolled my eyes as I walked toward where the guys were standing around Tidus' car. "Shall we?" I inquired. "Before Rikku gets herself into trouble?"

Gippal chuckled. "We might as well. She's dragging poor Yuna into it too."

Baralai fell into step beside me as Tidus and Gippal ventured forth after Rikku. Once we found her she was already inside the restaurant, talking with the hostess. There was an enormous group of people sitting in the front lobby, waiting for their turn to be seated. I had to hold myself back from slapping my forehead when I saw every person in the lobby staring at the back of Rikku and Yuna's head with some of the dirtiest glares ever known to man.

The conversation that she had been having with the hostess was already over by the time we got to the podium. The hostess was nowhere to be found and I couldn't help a few concerned thoughts enter my mind. Oh wonderful. Rikku's really pissed her off and now she's going to go find some burly bouncer to throw us out on our asses. My fingers twitched, wishing they could coil themselves around her skinny neck and shake her till her teeth rattled.

I couldn't begin to imagine the look on my face when the hostess came back around the corner, smiling broadly. "Well I was able to pull a few strings and found you a table. Right this way." She pulled a pile of menus out from the inside of the podium and led us through the overly crowded restaurant.

I bit the inside of my cheek when I heard a gaggle of angry and displeased grumblings coming from the people waiting in the lobby. I had a feeling that we would hear about this as soon as we returned to school on Monday. The hostess sat us at a large booth that could easily hold ten people then ran off back to the front of the restaurant.

Dinner commenced as it normally does with our group. We were far from the legal drinking age, but that didn't stop Rikku and Yuna from ordering their favorite virgin drinks. I rolled my eyes when Rikku told Yuna that she was hoping the bartender "forgot" to leave out the alcohol in her drink.

"She acts like she's never drunken alcohol before," I whispered under my breath.

Baralai, who was sitting next to me, chuckled at my remark. The conversations had broken off and they consisted of Yuna and Rikku chatting about an assignment they had due in one of their classes and Gippal and Tidus conversing about the next big blitzball game, which left Baralai and I alone to come up with something to talk about between us.

I took a sip of my water and stared down at the ice cubes as I tried to think of something to say to him. What do you say to someone you've barely known for a day? I thought, twirling my glass around in my hands, watching the ice swirl round and round.

"So, Baralai," I began, setting my glass down and propping my elbows on the table top. "do you have any siblings?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, only child. I kinda wish I had a brother or sister though. It gets kinda boring with just me and my parents."

"Yeah, it does," I replied, staring down at my lap and wishing my parents were still around.

I would give anything to be in your shoes right now, Baralai. You have no idea.

Before he had the chance to ask me about my parents, a subject that was still quite tender, I racked my brain for another topic of conversation. "How did you meet Gippal?"

He was taken off guard slightly by my question and took a few seconds to gather his thoughts together. "Oh, we met during summer camp when we were in junior high. Kept in touch ever since. When my parents told us we were moving here, I was actually kinda glad. I knew it was gonna feel awkward being in a new school, but since I knew someone that went here it wouldn't be so bad."

"Well I would have to agree with you since being friends with teen celebrities is kind of a plus."

That made Baralai laugh and I was suddenly wondering why I liked the sound of it. Men are pigs, Paine. Don't forget that. Our food arrived before either of us could say anything else.

Our waitress, a girl that we went to school with, stared intently at Yuna, Rikku and I as she set our food down in front of us. "I wish I could have to come to your show tonight," she said, folding her hands in front of her. "I'm sorry."

I smirked as she apologized to us. I had no idea why she felt the need to say sorry. "It's alright," I replied. "There's always next week."

A bright smile flashed across the girl's face at my words. "I have next Friday off so I can't wait. Is there anything else I can get for you guys?"

Rikku shook her head and swallowed the bite of food she had in her mouth. "We're okay for now." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Alright, just let me know," she said as she walked off to serve her other customers.

After we had finished our dinner and paid, – leaving a hefty tip for our waitress – we crowded around my motorcycle, trying to figure out what else we could do before going home. Gippal kept trying to convince me to let him ride my motorcycle, which only made me more aggravated with him. We stood around debating what we should do with our Friday night for almost half an hour when Baralai was the one to finally suggest something.

"I know that it's late, but..." he began, grinning sheepishly when we all turned to look at him. "my mom should still be down at her bed and breakfast. "She's been worried that I wouldn't be able to make any friends and I was wondering if you all would like to meet her?"

Yuna, Rikku and I shared a brief glance. I wasn't opposed to the idea at all. It was something to do and I was pretty sure that no one else was going to come up with anymore bright ideas. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go," Rikku said, already jumping into Yuna's car.

I rolled my eyes at her as I crammed my helmet onto my head once again.