A/N: This is a story my sister (Sno Italever) and I wrote a long time ago. It spawned off of a picture I found on the net of a Cloud holding a lantern filled with fireflies and looking hopeful.

It's written in Tifa's view, first person. Jonny is actually a character from FFVII, but Beth we made up. It takes place pre-game, the same year Cloud leaves for SOLDIER.

Disclamer: Sno and I do not own FFVII or Square Enix...but we'd really like too...Really...

You Said You Wanted Fireflies

I live in a small town. You know the type: live there for a month and you already know everyone, the biggest crimes are some cocky eighteen-year-old trying to steal a pack of gum, there's one school for Pre K to College, etc. See what I mean?

That's what you get for living in Niblehiem.

But I'm not bashing my home. Honestly, I love it here. Especially in the early spring, the best season of the whole year. That's when all the fields are full to their limit with fireflies.

Sometimes, it's so bright from the little bugs' glow, it seems like it's day instead of night. Plus, the spring holds a special memory to me; the memory of true love.

Now, in this small town, everyone was friends. Except for one person. His name was Cloud, and he was my neighbor. He lived with his mom, because his dad died before he was born. His mother, Mrs. Strife, was really nice and everyone liked her. But Cloud, he's really different. He has the 'sad and lonely' look about him and he always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…more like all the time. Then again, most people just love to blame things on him.

Such as the instance back when we were ten, my neighbors down the lost their cat. A week later, Cloud showed up at there house with the very cat that went missing. They didn't thank him for finding the cat, though. They actually said he stole the cat and…his scars really never faded away….

I don't like to think about it. I know it's not my fault, but still…

And then, of course, there was the incident with the Mt. Nible…but that wasn't his fault either…

In our society of 'stay in sight and follow the leader', Cloud is the one playing hide-n-seek. He more like Light in Dark's clothing, with messy blond hair and the clearest, brightest, crystal blue eyes one has ever seen. They almost seemed to glow in the dark, too. He always wore the same faded army jacket and camouflaged-colored baseball cap. The hat was always pulled low over his face, so you could only see the tip of his nose and mouth. I never knew why he hid his eyes…maybe they embarrassed him. Oh, and he always had a faded old messenger bag with him. I think it used to be beige once, but now it was just an aged, faded brown.

If I think about it, everything I was, he was the reverse of. I had a caring, loving family, and was loved by society, while he only had his mom and everyone shunned him as an outcast. Even physically we were opposites, for he is male while I am female and have chocolate brown hair, red-brown eyes, and wear all the latest fashions and trends.

Basically, we were the two ends of the same magnet; repelled by the laws of nature but attracted by a force still unknown to us.

But I digress….

It was one night in the beginning of spring. You know, when it's still kind of cold but everyone still starts packing away the boots and winter jackets and begging to pull out the shorts. If I remember right, it was about 10:30 and my friends and I were sitting on a fence, looking out at the fields at the very edge of town. We were waiting for fireflies.

"This is sorta romantic, huh, Tifa?" my friend, Jonny, asked. He'd been my best friend since I was in kindergarten, along with Beth, who sat on the other side of me as we spoke. By the way, in the story of the life, Beth and Jonny are the most oblivious people I've ever met. They both like each other but neither of them have enough guts to ask the other out. Hopeless, I know!

"Yeah, romantic…" Beth said, looking out at the fields.

"It would be if there were fireflies…" I muttered quietly. "I really wish there were fireflies."

"Fireflies would make the evening nice. You know what would make it better? If I had a boyfriend," Beth stated, over-enunciating the last word. Alas, Jonny was totally oblivious to the flashing neon lights implying a want for a relationship. I already told you those two were hopeless.

"That would be nice…" Jonny said, staring off into space.

"You're hopeless!" I laughed, a little louder than I should of.

Behind us there was a yelp that sounded like a mix between a startled human and a hurt dog.

"WEREWOLF!" Beth screamed, jumping from the fence and running to Jonny

"ZOMBIE!" Jonny shouted, leaping into the air and running to Beth. The collision connecting the two of them reminded me of the silent comedy films from the older days.

As the two of them were apologizing and picking up their broken egos, I played the heroine and searched the dark tree-lined street behind us. By the reactions of both Jonny and Beth, I expected to see some type of monster or mythical creature ready to devour us in an instant.

Or maybe the thing that occupied the Shin-Ra Manor.

Of course, in the anticlimactically fashion that is my life, there was absolutely nothing but nature behind us. I thought I'd seen the outline of a body, but it was just a tree.

"Ha! What are you two afraid of? There's nothing there!" I said, laughing, but they weren't convinced, and neither was I.

"I swear there was someone there…" Beth murmured.

"Think it was Cloud? Ya know, spyin' on real people to try to be one?" Jonny asked. I walked over and socked him in the arm.

"Don't be a jerk," I muttered, glaring at him. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry…it slipped…" All of my friends knew that we didn't talk bad about anyone, especially Cloud, when around me. Because the truth was, I actually thought Cloud was…

"Let's just go home. It's probably too early in the season for fireflies anyway," Beth stated, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shrugged, suddenly not caring about if someone had been spying on us, the fireflies, or even the fact that I was out past my curfew. (It was 11:00 p.m. according to my watch…) I just wanted to be alone so I could think.

"I agree, let's…AH!" Jonny yelped, grabbing his head and beginning to do what looked like a prehistoric rain dance. "Something hit me! Oh no! I'm marked! I'm goin' ta die! NO! I'm too young to live! I mean, die! I haven't lived my fourteen years of life to the fullest yet!"

"Um…Jonny? It was just a rock…" Beth said, shaking her head and laughing.

"Oh…I knew that…" Jonny stated, dropping his hands to his sides and staring lamely at the sky. Behind us, someone whispered:

"Oopse…didn't mean to hit him…" We all whipped around, but, once again, there was no one there. Something tangible caught my eye again: a piece of paper was tacked to the fence we'd just been sitting on. I walked up to it and pulled out the tack, unfolding the piece of paper. It read:

Tifa,

Meet me in the far edge of the fields at the twelfth bell. I have a…gift for you…But…um…you don't…have to come if you don't…want to…but…um…the gift might not last after tonight…so…please come…?

"Gift?" I exclaimed. "For me?"

"Twelfth bell…as in…midnight?" Beth gushed, grinning at Jonny.

"Looks like someone has a secret admirer!" Jonny mused, grinning back at Beth. I was glad it was dark so neither of them could see the shade of red I turned. I looked at my watch to hide my face. It was 11:30.

"Um...well…guess I should go, huh?" I said, "Don't want to break this guy's heart or nothing, right?"

"Good idea. Nothing kills guys more than a shattered heart and a pierced ego," Jonny stated.

"Speaking from experience, Jonny?" Beth taunted, starting off towards the far edge of the fields. I followed, snickering. Jonny stood still, confused for a moment, and then caught up with us.

Before I knew it, I was running. I suddenly didn't care about Beth and Jonny and their oblivious nature, or that this could all be just a cruel joke. I just wanted to know what was going on and if my admirer was…

We reached the edge of the field right as my clock hit twelve. I looked around, expecting to see someone, anyone, standing there, waiting for me.

And yet, just like both times before, there was no one. Nothing. Zip, zilch, nil, nada, naught. I let out a heart-broken sigh, even though my head was repeating the same thought, over and over again: told ya so…told ya so…

"What a cruel joke!" Beth scoffed. Jonny agreed whole-heartedly.

"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, thinking anyone would do that to my friend…" he stated.

"Whatever…" I muttered, turning around. "What should have happened? Should my admirer jump from the shadows or fall from the sky?"

Call it fate, karma, chance, whatever you want, but somehow, at that very moment, a dark cloud covered the moon, taking away the little light there was. But the world didn't fall into darkness like it should have.

Across the field was a light, moving slowly, meaningfully towards us. It bobbed up and down, as if it was being carried by an invisible hand, a moving shadow. It was strangely comforting, yet oddly terrifying. I couldn't take my eyes away from it.

As the light grew in size and shape, I began to notice that it wasn't just one light, but many. It looked to be almost like five hundred little dots all clustered together in some type of container. No, a lantern filled with fireflies! And it was being carried to us!

Suddenly, I could make out the distinct description of the person, for the light from the lantern could have rivaled the Sun's in the darkness.

The apologetic look in Cloud's eyes explained everything. Silent tears carved their paths down my cheeks and rained onto the ground. And then he spoke the very words that echo through my memories.

"You…said you wanted fireflies."

A/N: How did you like it? Please review if you get a chance! Thank you for reading!

Sno: Yes, thank you very much.