The First Meeting

Today was the first day she had ever seen this blond, spikey headed boy. It started with her parents taking her to the town carnival, since it was tradition for the Lockhart family to go every year. It was absolutely beautiful at night with the street lights illuminating the night sky and blinking lights showcasing each ride. Tifa always enjoyed the carnival because it was that one time a year that her and her family stays out late.

"Mommy, where's daddy? Aren't you supposed to take me to the Teacup Tosser?" Tifa whined as she held her mother's hand. They were both standing in front of a large oak tree, with a string of lights tangled around its branches.

"Sweetheart," Tifa's mom looked down at her, "Just wait a little longer. We want you to meet some people who are very important to us. We've been friends for years." She patted Tifa's head.

"Oh-okay, fine." TIfa pouted. The only thing in Tifa's mind was getting on the Teacup Tosser.

Finally in the distance, Tifa saw her father with another tall man, a shorter blond woman, and a young boy who was clinging onto her hand. Tifa hid behind her mother's legs as the people walked nearer.

"Tifa, don't be shy now," said her mother.

"Well, well, well, MRS. Lockhart now huh. AND you popped out a little sprite too," the tall man joked.

"Oh John, it's nice to see you again." She quickly hugged him and pecked him on the cheek.

"Clara…" Then she ran to the blond haired woman to greet her warmly as well. Tifa was left standing there next to her father and she was staring at the boy staring back at her. Her father looked at the two children in amusement.

"Tifa, say hi to Cloud." He took his daughter's hand/

"…Hi..," she whispered.

The boy said nothing in return. Then John slapped his boy's shoulder lightly as a way of encouragement. Cloud looked up to his dad and then looked back at Tifa.

"Yeah… hi." He turned his head away.

"Sorry about him Tifa," apologized John. "Cloud go take her to the Teacup Tosser so we, adults, could have some time to catch up." He winked at him. So then Cloud started to walk away in the direction of the ride. Tifa realized he was leaving without her so she ran after him.

"Hey you! You're supposed to take me. Not leave me." She was out of breath.

"Whatever." He just shrugged his shoulders.

"You're so mean."

"I don't care."

"I hate you because I love the carnival and you're making it not fun."

"Then go with somebody else." He replied nonchalantly.

The children continued to bicker at each other until they reached the ride. At the same time, the adults continued to have their secret conversation.

"So we have an agreement?" asked Tifa's dad. He held out his hand toward John.

"Yeah. Of course Logan. How could I say no to you anyways?" He shook Logan's hand. "We have an accord."

At the Teacup Tosser, the boy with spikey hair was waiting in line with both hands in his pocket and a scarf muffling over his lower face, followed by a young girl eyeing whenever he moved like a hawk to its prey. Unlike a predator though, the girl was pouting, sighing, and even stomping her feet to get his attention but no attempts succeeded. So the girl just gave up, tucked her short hair behind her ears and began staring at her feet. This amused Cloud very much but the scarf hid away his devilish grin. The line started to fill up and being so small and short it was easy for the children to be separated. After looking down for so long, she decided to give Cloud the puppy eyes but when she looked up, he was not there. Tall shadows kept passing her and her blond star was missing. She was scared and alone. Tears began to swell up in her eyes then suddenly a hand grabbed her arm. She was about to scream until she realized it was Cloud.

"Stay close to me or I'll lose you again." He mumbled through his scarf. Tifa nodded in agreement as he led her through the people. He kept his hand on her the whole time.

"Because of you we missed our chance to get on." He pulled his scarf down so that she can see his smile. Tifa glanced at him and quickly pulled her arm away from his hand. His eyes grew wide and he grabbed her hand, gripping it, as if he was clutching his favorite toy.

"Let go Cloud." She turned her head away from him to hide her blush.

"No, if you get lost again, we can't get on the ride."

Finally they reached it.

"Two tokens please." The guy in the red and white stripped hat asked. Cloud fished around in his pockets to get the tokens his dad gave him. After he handed the tokens the concession guy let them through. When they walked to their seats, they were still holding hands. Cloud let Tifa climb in first and he followed after. Both of them buckled their seat belts and waited for it to start.

"Are you cold?" Cloud asked.

"No. Why?"

"Your nose is red." He said plainly.

Tifa glared at him. "I'm not cold." She said confidently even though she was cold.

"Whatever. Girls are weird."

"Boys are weird."

Then the ride started, it suddenly jerked both their small bodies forward. The ride began turning around and around and around. Cloud's head was starting to spin too and it made his stomach churn. Tifa on the other hand, was enjoying the full extent of it with her big smile covering half her face. When the ride was over, she noticed that he was not looking so good.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah… let's just go." His face was pale.

"Hahaha, I thought boys could handle these rides." Cloud just glared back at her.

"I'm fine!" He unbuckled himself but once he stood up he felt even dizzier so Tifa quickly got up and took his hands. She dragged him to the exit to find the nearest bench. When she saw one, she took him there and they sat down together. He looked at her. She had her feet dangling and kicking, and she had her face up towards the sky. What fascinated him was her bright smile as she was looking up at the sky.

"Today was fun right?" She did not even look at him when she asked. Her eyes were still fixed on the sky.

Cloud continued to stare at her and he realized that she was cold. Her nose, cheeks, and ears were getting redder. So he took off his scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Unfortunately for a 7 year old boy, wrapping his scarf is what mom's do. What he meant as wrap was more like him tossing it around her shoulders loosely. Tifa laughed and tied the scarf properly around her neck.

"Thanks Cloud." She smiled. He nodded.

The night ended when their parents came to retrieve them. Both families said their farewells and began to part. Tifa forgot that she was still wearing Cloud's scarf so she let go of her dad's hand and ran to Cloud.

"Sorry. This belongs to you." She untied her scarf and put it into Cloud's hands.

"It's ok. You're cold so use it and give it back to me later." He put it around her neck and tied it for her properly. She smiled and then ran back to her parents. Her hands flew up in the air to wave goodbye, and she turned around to walk away with her parents.

"What's that supposed to mean? Is it a love token?" teased John. Cloud hid has face away in embarrassment. But he smiled inwardly knowing that because of that scarf, he may be able to see her again.