7/16/00
All FF7 characters belong to Squaresoft.
Dedication: my friends, my parents, Ryan, and God for giving me the spirit to write this story.
Note: There is light Tifa bashing in this fic, so if you can't handle it, don't read this story; please don't say I didn't warn you.
Final Fantasy VII: Overcoming the First Year
Chapter 1 – A New Start
Dear Diary,
Freshman year in college has finally arrived! Honestly, summer felt like forever. I miss Yuffie since I've only seen her once since school let out a couple months ago. She threw a picnic party about two weeks ago and invited Cloud, Vincent, several other friends of hers, and me (although this sounds kinda mean, I'm glad she didn't invite Tifa!). It's strange; I'm actually looking foreword to going back to school! Believe it or not, I haven't seen much of Cloud either. His family went on vacation only a few days after prom night and didn't get back till two days before college started… Mmm…prom night… Oh, anyway, I packed up some clothes and other supplies, and then took the Highwind to Nibelheim. I arrived there all right, and even got my necessities from the attendance office at school. Except for the fact that I was stumbling around, feeling lost, it was an okay first day (I feel kinda stupid about the being lost thing though… ^_^) Even after the freshman orientation, I still couldn't remember where my first class was; this truly was a new start. Luckily, Cloud was at Nibelheim University and he's practically memorized the campus map, so he showed me around. BTW, you won't believe whom I got roomed with!
"I'm finally here…"
A mahogany-haired teenager dropped her light blue knapsack on the floor and her other hand was gripping the handle of a large black suitcase. Tall strands of grass wavered against her bare ankles as a windy, afternoon breeze billowed around her slender body. Clothed in a lavender cotton dress, she brushed back her long brown bangs away from her face and silently read the sign plastered in front of the huge school campus: "Nibelheim University."
The new student picked up her bag and took in a deep breath. Slowly, she stepped up the stairs leading to the open school campus, keeping a tight hold on her belongings, and went into the office. Other teenagers ran past her, eagerly rushing to get assigned a dorm room and receive a schedule card. The lone girl followed them and waited a while in a long line.
"Name and year, please?" A man behind the counter asked when she had finally arrived.
"Um, Aeris Gainsborough, freshman." She answered quietly.
"Hold on for a moment," He said to her and turned to a computer in front of him, his fingers typing quickly.
"Ms. Gainsborough, your dorm room is number 163, located in the east wing of the campus." The attendance man informed and handed the girl a small piece of tag-board paper with her class schedule, along with two small keys.
"T-thanks," She replied nervously and she grabbed the object, then stepped aside.
Aeris Gainsborough's brows knit together as she took a map of the campus out of her pocket and glanced at it. Numbers and small square drawings were all over the sheet, confusing the girl even more. She brought the paper closer to her eyes and saw that her dorm room wasn't too far from the entrance. Sighing, the new student grabbed her stuff and walked toward the east wing of the school.
She soon arrived at a narrow hallway where a bunch of doors lined up against the wall. The flower girl jogged foreword while reading thick, bold letters hanging over each door.
"128, 130, 132, 134…ah, 136!" The newcomer exclaimed when she saw her dorm room.
Aeris stuck one of the keys into the lock and twisted it. She pushed the door open and stepped in her room, shutting the tall frame closed as she set her knapsack and suitcase on the floor. A lemony fresh scent teased her nose senses and she quickly scanned her new dorm room.
Two queen-sized beds rested next to each other, the sheets and bedspreads made nicely on top of the mattresses. A small nightstand leaning against one of the beige walls separated the beds, and a brown desk was located near the west side of the room; sitting atop a bureau at the front was a television set.
Pretty nice… The teenage girl thought and placed her bags on the floor next to the bed on the right. Wonder who I'm rooming with…?
After she walked around and inspected the other parts of her room, Aeris grabbed her map, deciding to check out the campus. She wanted to get used to the place before class began the next day. The flower girl took her key out of the knob, locked the door, and shut it behind her. As she began her exploration of the school, the teenager keep her eyes on the map in her hands as she was walking down the hallway.
That was a mistake.
Sure enough, about two doors or so away from her room, she collided into someone as they were stepping out from their dorm.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying much attention to the road," Aeris winced and abruptly apologized as she straightened herself, not meeting the eyes of the person in front of her.
A hand rested on her forearm and helped her stand up. Murmuring, "Thanks," she brushed the dirt off the skirt of her dress. The flower girl heard a small chuckle and grumbled quietly to herself as she ducked her hand and started walking away.
The student she'd run into took a hold of her hand and tugged her to a stop. She sighed impatiently and still turned away from the person, she said, "I'm sorry, okay?"
Surprisingly, she was pulled back as two arms wrapped around her waist and soft lips tenderly rested on the surface of her neck. Aeris shivered and immediately recoiled at the touch; she struggled to get out of her entrapment. With a frown, she snarled and tried to twist her head around to see who her prosecutor was.
"Hey, let go of me!" She demanded.
Man, harassed on the first day…? The young girl thought in amazement.
"Aeris, chill!" A low, male voice behind her said.
She paused for a second. "Wait, how do you know my name?"
Instead of answering, the person calmly released her and she whirled around to face him. As she glanced up, she looked at a blonde-headed figure. Aeris gasped when she recognized whom was in front of her.
"Oh, Cloud?!" The flower girl exclaimed.
Her boyfriend of senior year and summertime, Cloud Strife, was looking down at her with a warm gaze in his clear blue eyes. His tall, lean form stood before her, one of his hands placed over his waist in a cocky stance. Spiky bangs hung over his handsome features and a slow, lazy grin spread over his face. He reached a hand over and touched her cheek affectionately.
"Hey. Long time no see," He greeted. Aeris smiled brightly and threw her arms around his neck in a fierce, welcoming hug.
"Hi Cloud!" She replied. "When did you get here?"
The blonde teenager returned her embrace and answered, "A few minutes ago."
"Same here!" She said and pulled back. "Man, this place is huge!"
"Ah, not really for me…" He admitted and scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "I kinda have the map of the school implanted in my head…"
"Then you wouldn't mind giving me a tour around the campus?" His girlfriend asked.
Cloud grinned and offered her his hand. "'Course not, let's go."
She took his arm questioned, "Where to first?"
"Any particular place you want to know about?"
Aeris took her schedule card out and replied, "My classes. First one is Biology, number 248."
"K, let's go."
The reunited couple trailed down the hallway and headed toward the north wing, where all the classes were located in a light brown building. Most of the rooms were indoors as usual, Aeris soon discovered, but quite a few were outdoors as well. She found all her classes, and felt a bit prepared for tomorrow.
Afterwards, her boyfriend continued the tour, pointing out the other points of interest on campus as hours passed by. He showed her the sports gym, courts for basketball and volleyball in the backyard, the library for studying, and small buildings reserved for sorority groups. To her pleasant surprise, Cloud's last stop was in front of a big, beautiful garden at the center of the school. A wide smile spread over her face and she walked around the bushels of flowers; they reminded her of home.
As if reading her thoughts, Cloud commented on cue, "Looks like your garden back at Kalm."
"Kalm…" Aeris whispered softly, her words disappearing into the breeze. "This place sure is different from regular old high school…"
Her boyfriend nodded. "Yeah, but we'll manage fine."
"…Let's go back to our dorm rooms," She said suddenly. "I wanna go see if my roommate's arrived or not."
"Hmm, mine isn't here yet either," He told her as the two jogged over to the east wing.
Aeris led Cloud to the front of her dorm room and paused to take out her key. She unlocked the door and shoved it open. When she and her boyfriend stepped in, they saw a girl with her back turned to them. Her shoulder-length black hair swirled around her neck as she grabbed some objects from a green suitcase at the bed on the left, and jammed them into the last three drawers of the bureau.
The flower girl cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me?" Her roommate turned around, and to Aeris' shock, revealed herself to be another familiar person.
"Oh Gawd, Aeris??" The dark-haired female cried out with a gasp.
There was only one person that the new student knew who used that infamous word. "Yuffie?!"
"Rissy!!" The Asian girl shrieked happily and hugged her best friend tightly.
"What are you doing here?" Aeris questioned after Yuffie had released her.
"I got into Nibelheim University, duh!" She replied with teasing sarcasm.
"This is great! I'm so glad that you're going to school here!" The flower girl exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Yeah, no kidding! Hi Cloud!" Yuffie waved to the boy standing at the door.
"Hey Yuffie," He greeted with a smile.
Aeris let out a joyous sigh and went to her bed, falling back onto the hard mattress as she arrived. She got up momentarily and unzipped her suitcase, pulling out a soft object. The teenage girl hugged the big teddy bear that Cloud had given to at the carnival a few months ago, then plopped on her bed again. She smiled at the ceiling as her friends went over to her.
"Tired?" Cloud asked.
"Nah, I just wanna relax," She replied.
"Tomorrow's the first day of class," Yuffie said with a mock shudder.
Cloud groaned. "Yeah, that sucks…"
"Hey Yuffie, do you need any help with finding your classes? Cloud's a real walking guide book, just like back in senior year." Aeris gave her boyfriend a teasing glance.
"Nope, I'm…fine…" A sudden sad expression came over Yuffie's usually giddy face.
Her best friend frowned slightly and asked with concern, "You okay?"
"I just miss Vince…"
Aeris winced. "Oh…sorry…" She turned to Cloud and started to ask which school Vincent was going to, but held her question when she saw a grin spread over his lips. "'Scuse me for a second…" She told Yuffie and tugged Cloud aside.
"What're you smiling for?" The flower girl whispered.
"You'll see," was his mysterious reply. He went back to Yuffie and said casually, "Say Yuffie, would you and Aeris mind accompanying me to my dorm room? I need to see if my roommate's here yet."
"Why do you need the both of us?" The Oriental girl asked, feeling a bit confused.
"No reason," Cloud replied, shooting Aeris a secretive smile. Mystified, the female student decided to go along with his act.
"Come with me, Yuffie; I don't wanna be stuck alone with Cloud," Aeris chuckled.
"Hey-!" Her boyfriend protested.
Yuffie giggled. "Well, how can I say no when you sound like that?"
"Exactly, so let's go!" The flower girl urged and tugged her friend outside; Cloud snickered and followed them.
"Um, what number is your room, Cloud?" Aeris asked as she looked down the hallway.
"132; right here," He replied after darting to the door of his dorm.
"Go on, open the door." His girlfriend told him.
I hope he's here by now… Cloud thought to himself as he unlocked the door and poked his head inside. He grinned when spotting a dark-haired teenager kneeling down to pick up his clothes from a suitcase.
"Psst! Hey!" Cloud hissed to the boy. "They're here!"
His roommate nodded quickly and rushed to the right side of the doorway. Cloud ducked out again and gestured Aeris in. Before she could turn around, her boyfriend kept her back turned and called, "Yuffie, come in!"
The Asian girl reluctantly stepped in and was surprised by Cloud's roommate. The black headed teenager jumped into her view and before she could so much as shriek he enveloped her in a warm hug. Startled, Yuffie instinctively tried to push him away; he bent down and kissed her before she could gather her thoughts and think of ways to hurt him. Hearing the struggle, Aeris spun around and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Cloud, someone's attacking her!" The flower girl started toward her Yuffie, but her boyfriend held her back and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, it's just Vincent…"
"What??" She asked, feeling bewildered.
He pointed in response and she looked over to see the boy lift his head away from Yuffie and turned to face Aeris and Cloud.
"Vincent!" Aeris exclaimed in shock. "I didn't know you were going to Nibelheim University!"
The black-haired teenage boy smiled wryly and replied, "I just found out that I was accepted here not too long ago."
"Besides, he wanted to surprise Yuffie," Cloud defended.
"Well, how come you didn't tell me?" Aeris questioned.
Her boyfriend looked sheepishly at her. "Girls tend to gossip…especially with their best friends…"
"Hey, I resent that!" The girls said in unison.
Aeris raised a fist in mock anger and grinned wickedly as she threatened, "You better take that back, Cloud…"
He brought up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Okay, okay!"
"The lovers' first quarrel," Vincent remarked with an amused grin on his face.
"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. "It's time that you two stopped acting like such an old married couple!"
"Hey now!" Aeris protested. "What about you and Vince, hmm? You've been goin' together longer than Cloud and I have!"
"Besides," Cloud started, blushing as he looked at his girlfriend. "We're not lovers."
"But you guys kissed sooner, so that's practically like you were 'officially' getting together!" Her best friend shot back.
"Uh, can we continue this later?" Vincent asked, trying to distract his friends from further arguing.
"I'm hungry." Yuffie announced. "Let's get something to eat!"
"Okay; I'll drive," Cloud said and grabbed his keys off the nightstand.
"Is there even a place around here to eat?" Aeris questioned as the group stepped out of the boy's dorm room.
"We'll find someplace," Her boyfriend assured as they walked to the parking lot and drove off campus.
A couple hours later, the four arrived back to the school from a nearby restaurant and decided to turn in early.
"Classes begin tomorrow…" Yuffie reminded them with a yawn. She walked off toward her dorm room, Vincent following behind.
"Do you wanna get together after class tomorrow?" Cloud asked the flower girl as the couple hung back from their friends.
"Okay," She answered and smiled.
"I'll meet you in your dorm room, at say, around seven?"
"Sure."
The two slowly trailed back to the east wing and paused in front of Aeris and Yuffie's room.
"See ya, Rissy," Cloud said and kissed her on the forehead.
She loved hearing him call her that.
"Wait Cloud," Aeris said, making him pause to a stop. She went up to her boyfriend and handed him one of her dorm room keys. "Don't lose it, k?"
He smiled and told her, "Thanks, but why are you giving it to me?"
She shrugged. "Just wanted you to have a copy. Well, bye then…"
The flower girl waved to him and stepped into her dorm after unlocking the door. She shut it behind her and spotted Yuffie gave her a wide grin from her bed.
"Awww, aren't you two just so adorable?" She teased.
Aeris smiled. "Tease us tomorrow, k? I'm going to sleep."
She slipped into her bed as her best friend did the same to hers and clicked off the lights.
"'Night, Aeris."
"Goodnight, Yuffie."
The flower girl said a quick prayer for her family and shut her eyes. Clutching her teddy bear, she wondered about the classes, then soon drifted off into a deep sleep.
End Of Chapter 1