Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. All rights go to Square Enix
Author's Note= I don't like adding author's note at beginning of the story but since this is an AU (Alternate Universe) I changed something. Hope and Lightning are both 14 in this. Hope you enjoy (See what I did there? XD)
Much like every other school it was difficult fitting in. Palampolum High was no exception for Hope Estheim. It's not that he searches for problems, these problems find him. Thrown in a locker, duck taped to a toilet seat, locked in a janitor's closet, stepped on and insulted. Hope went through all of it on a weekly basis.
What can he possibly do to stop this? Go talk to his parents? He'd be lucky to even see them these days. They are both scientist in pursuit of a cure for a cursed L'Cie. They wanted to turn a cursed stone back into a human being again. It honestly felt like they were more married to their job than each other and their stupid project is their child. It made him feel neglected. A cloud was hanging over him.
How Hope felt would fit the current weather condition here at Palampolum. Thick grey clouds hovering above the heavens, small droplets of rain fell down, followed by another. Before you knew it the wave of rain would hit everything in its path relentlessly. The wind was howling and strong enough to bend even the most strongest of tree's.
A storm was coming. A big one.
Hope and Fang looked outside at what mother nature caused in its wake. Having been born and raised in Gran Pulse, Oerba Yun Fang was not use to this kind of weather. Truth be told, she was kind of scared. She just hoped that the rest of the class won't pick up the concern on her face. Fang shrugged it off the best she can.
''Summer rain, right?'' a smile formed on her lips as she looked at Hope. ''You can never predict it."
Hope stood there, leaning on the windowsill. He kept focusing on every rain drop hitting the glass with brute force.
'Poor kid' Fang thought. She felt sorry for him. He would always walk in class with a look that he is carrying the entire world on his shoulders. She tried contacting his parents but it's either meeting or business trip of some sort with them. Do they even care? You'd think this will affect his grades. Yet he still does the best in the class, if not, the entire school.
That does not stop Fang from worrying about his emotional well-being.
''Hope." She spoke. "If something or someone is bothering.."
"It's nothing" Hope quickly interjected with a smile, a forced smile. "It's just something I have to deal with on my own."
'Sure as hell doesn't sound like nothing' Fang was not going to force him to talk then.
Hope continued, ''But thank you Fang."
Fang smiled. Hope knew that she would fight teeth and nails for him. She treated him not just like a part of the class but like a family. This was exactly why she was Hope's favourite teacher.
''Well then" She brought her hands together, " toasty or soggy, we are not going to let weather get into the way of education. Is that right class?''
This made the entire glass groan.
''Back to your seat Mr Estheim'' she whispered to him.
The Arts and Crafts class was not like any dull white rooms. It was painted with warm colours and filled with many decorations. The student's paintings were framed and hanged on the wall as was the macaroni necklaces. The other smaller things stood on a rack near the doorway, so that anyone who enters can take a look at it
As Fang told the class about their next crafting project, Hope's attention went back to the window. The wind now was growing even stronger; it pushed the glass with full force back. It looks like it actually wanted to crack because of the pressure. The grey clouds were even darker now.
Lightning striked.
The entire school's power went off, leaving everyone in the pitch black darkness.
"Keep calm everyone! The generator will soon kick in!" Fang assured them.
The door opened slowly. As if it happened on its own, making a dreadful creaking sound. A shadowy figure stood at the doorway like the angel of death.
"Oh goodness. All this cruddy commotion made me forget.'' Fang stood up and made her way to the shadow entity, carefully, not to trip over something in the process.
''Welcome to Palampolum High, sweetheart. Sorry about the lights.''
She led the silhouette figure to the front of the class. Just on cue the lights went back on, revealing the new student to the entire class. Hope's jaw dropped.
Let's just say if you never believed in a goddess then now would be a perfect time to start.
She was the definition of beauty. Her blue eyes can be used to drown in. She wore a brown turtle neck jersey and khaki pants. The new girl also had some pretty cool military boots. What really stood out was her..pink hair.
Pink hair? It was only a matter of seconds before the entire class started gossiping. A lot of them were commenting about her hair.
"Uh-hum." Fang cleared her throat. Her demeanour changed, going from a loving caring teacher to a living nightmare. The people called it "The Look". No words were needed. Everyone knew that it was best if they keep quiet. As quiet as mice.
''What is your name, darl?'' Fang asked. The new girl handed her the registration paper. When Fang read it, she had a puzzled look on her face.
"Lightning Farron?"
She nodded.
'Not much of a talker aren't cha? I got a place for a sheila like you.'
''Well Lightning why don't you take a seat next to Hope?'' She pointed to the staring platinum haired Hope, whose cheeks happened to have a red tint.
"He needs a friend right now." She whispered it to Lightning that only she can hear that. Fang winked at Hope as the new girl made her way to his table. Hope knew Fang's little plan.
She did this before. Fang knew that he was lonely and had no friends at all, so she put someone next to him. Not that it helped. The people around that person will poison them and convince them that Hope Estheim is the world's biggest loser.
The moment she sat down next to him, he felt even more nervous. His face started getting even redder; his palms were getting wet to the point that he had to remove his gloves. The scarf was also irritating him, making his neck feel itchy.
The class went on as usual. Some were discussing what they were going to do with the art project while others talked about non-related stuff. Lightning received a list of all the items she needed. Hope's attention was somewhere else and it was not with the work.
Author's Note= Thank you for reading. There is always more room for improvement! Tell me what you thought of it. Good? Bad? Meh? Thanks to those who supported Lightning In A Bottle. 334 visitors! Thanks to those who are reading this as well. Out of the bottom of my heart, thanks to each and every one of you.
Second update coming soon!
All my love,
The Officer and Gentleman