I don't own anything from FFXIII or FFVII (including sequels)
Things were hard these days. Father died when Serah and I were only young. Mother died two months ago. I picked up the mass of tissues Serah left lying around in the living room. She wiped her eyes and continued to complete her homework. Mum dying hit us hard, but with Serah being so young, it hurt her the most. Her friends were over a lot to make sure that she was doing alright. It's nice to know that Serah has some quality friends. I sighed and sat down next to my sobbing sister. She looked like a wreck. Her hair was messed up and her mascara ran down her cheeks. I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Claire, please don't!" Serah exclaimed and brushed my hand off of her shoulder. I sighed with worry and then left her alone. Serah's the only person apart from the teachers who still call me Claire. I go by Lightning now. I figured that if I changed my name, my past would fade away. I wish.
I wandered into my bedroom and buried my face in my hands. The down lights provided little lumination to my room. I ripped the curtains away from the window and just stared into the distance. The ocean was very calming. Mum, Serah and me used to stand on the beach hours before the annual Bodhum fireworks and just watched the waves lick the sand and eventually our bare feet as the tide came in. The salty sea breeze used to just brush against your body as birds flew overhead and the aquatic animals jumped out of the waves. Those were the happier days. I looked away from the window and decided to face facts. Those days are gone, forever. I sighed and left my window. I now realised that we had no other relatives that I knew of to turn to. Serah and I now had to depend on ourselves.
The doorbell rang and I heard Serah dash to the door.
"Claire, it's Cid!" Serah exclaimed. I headed out towards the front door and Serah went back to her homework.
"You ok, babe?" he asked and he kissed my lips. He released his lips from mine and held me close. Cid Raines, the aspiring leader of the Guardian Corps Cavalry. He was a few ranks ahead of me. I was sergeant rank. He and I met in the Sanctum Academy of Warfare. Serah didn't share my visions and she chose to go to Bodhum High.
"Yeah, I've been alright." I replied. He could read me like a book. Cid knew that I was still shaken by mum's death. He kissed my forehead and cuddled me. Cid's been really supportive and caring towards me, but sadly only when his friends weren't around. I don't even think they know that we're together.
"No, you're not. I know you, Light. I love you." He said and kissed my cheek.
"Cid, don't." I replied and broke free of his grip.
"Claire, what's up? You've been really distant lately." He said and held my shoulders. He kissed my neck and then my lips, only to break away after two seconds.
"No, you have. You never approach me during school hours. It's always after school. I don't think you're serious about this relationship." I replied. He turned me to face him.
"I really do love you Light." He said. I noticed that he wasn't looking me in the eye. He was looking at Serah doing her homework.
"Do you like Serah?" I asked. He looked at me with a surprised expression.
"Cid, I don't think you're boyfriend material. You're a great guy and you take your schoolwork seriously. But you're not taking our relationship seriously." I replied to his silence.
"Light, I'm not in love with Serah. I'm in love with you." He said and kissed my forehead. Serah looked up at the fight waiting to happen. Cid was going to regret his decision.
"Then you lied to me! You told me last night that you loved me!" Serah exclaimed. He looked at her and then at me. I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"You cheated on me with my sister? What kind of boyfriend are you?" I asked with a hiss of fury. I swung at him. He caught my wrist and pulled me into a kiss. I pushed him away from me and then punched him in the nose. The sound was similar to that of a wet fish being smacked against concrete. He fell to the ground and rose again. Serah picked up a shirt I remembered asking who's it was earlier today.
"You can have your shirt back." Serah said and threw it to Cid. He caught it and frowned.
"Serah! You said that was a friend's!" I exclaimed at my sister. She looked at the ground with guilt.
"I'll deal with you later." I said to my sister and then I turned back to Cid.
"Ok, I made out with Serah. Happy?" Cid asked angrily.
"Cid, we're done! I don't want to ever see you again! Get out!" I exclaimed and literally kicked him out of the house and slammed the door behind him.
"Serah, why didn't you tell me?" I asked. Serah looked up at me with tears welling in her eyes.
"Cid made you so happy. I didn't want to hurt you." Serah replied and then hugged me. She cried into my shoulder.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. I sighed and tried to console my sister.
"Don't worry. I don't need a distraction like him in my life." I replied and Serah stopped sobbing.
"Listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let it. I won't let anything hurt you. You're my sister; we're supposed to look out for each other, yeah?" I asked. She nodded and wiped her eyes. Her eyeliner and mascara smudged under her eye and made her look like she's had no sleep in the past five years.
"Finished your homework?" I asked, trying to change the subject. She laughed and nodded her head.
"Good girl." I replied and she picked up her books to put them away. I headed back up to my room and picked up father's prized guitar. He taught me to play when I was four. He died a few years afterwards. The electric guitar was a six stringed, sleek and black silhouette. The hard guitar case sitting on the ground next to the stand and the amp was the same black but was embellished with the emblem of his band before he met mum. 'Storm Blade' was dad's rock band. There were parts of the guitar that were a matte black and there was also a glossy black part. Dad loved music and so did mum. Serah was taught by mum how to play the violin. It was purple and embellished with gold detailing around the edges. Mum was a conductor in the famed stringed orchestra, 'Clawed Hearts'. So music was in our genes.
I could hear the hum of her violin downstairs. Serah took her music seriously, but she always dreamed of being a teacher. The music was an outlet for her. I pulled the guitar upright and tried to harmonise with Serah's playing. The melody was a lullaby that mum used to calm Serah after she woke up from a nightmare. It always worked. Mum later taught it to dad, she taught it to Serah and dad taught it to me. I uttered the words along with the tune, yet again making my voice harmonise with not only the guitar, but with the violin. Serah had started the sing along to her violin, so I again adjusted my harmony with the other melodies.
The violin soon stopped and Serah trudged up the stairs. She knocked on the door and I stopped playing.
"Come in." I replied. She opened the door and then closed it behind her.
"Claire, are you alright?" she asked and sat down next to me. She stared at the guitar and then wore a surprised look on her face.
"I'm fine. What about you?" I asked.
"Fine, when did you get your navel pierced?" she questioned. I smiled and placed the guitar in its stand next to the amp.
"Last year. I got it done after you got your ears pierced." I answered. She laughed and punched me weakly in the arm.
"You were so much like dad. Rock 'n' roll, rough around the edges and the serious one of the family." She said. I chuckled at Serah's response.
"You're a lot like mum. Sweet, gentle natured and strong minded." I replied. An air of silence passed between us. We had never sat down like this and talked about anything, we mainly fought as siblings do. I guess now that it was just the two of us; we had to learn to live with each other. Serah decided to break the silence.
"Hey sis, can we get a cat?" Serah asked. I chuckled at her. She's always wanted a cat. She loves cats. And if her cat earrings weren't proof, just look at all of the posters on her wall.
"Maybe. We'll see." I replied. Serah smiled at me.
"Dinner time!" Serah exclaimed and ran out of my room to start cooking. I rolled my eyes at my sister. She was the cook and I was the maid. Just like mum was the cook and dad was the cleaner. I laughed at my sister as she pranced to the fridge and pulled out the chicken. Then the doorbell rang. I answered the door and it was one of my classmates.
"Hey, Darla. What's up?" I asked and assumed it was about the assignment that I already finished from air tactics class.
"Did you see the picture Cid posted on his student profile?" She asked.
"No." I replied unsurely. She got out her tablet and showed me the photo.
"What the hell?!" I asked with fury. It was picture of me on my first day. I was drenched with water, pelted with eggs, covered in feathers and pushed into a mud pit that day. Cid was the one who pulled all of those pranks on me. I almost forgot about that. I know that revenge is sweet, but this was going too far.
"I'll deal with him tomorrow." I replied and Darla left the porch. I closed the door behind me and I almost lost my temper.
Serah looked at me in shock. I took a deep breath and told her what Cid did.
"That's terrible!" she replied. Cid was a dead man. After we had dinner, Serah flicked on the news.
"Claire. Come on." She said and tapped the space next to her. I sat next to my little sister and she turned up the volume. The news had just started.
"Today on the Cocoon News, Galenth Dysley has announced that a change in weather has wreaked havoc in the Gappra Whitewood. The beasts have managed to break out of the impound and have been controlled before they even left the impound. Next, activity has been found on Gran Pulse. PSICOM are preparing for a war, just in case there is another threat of from Pulse." The news anchor announced.
"Great." I said sarcastically and Serah glared at me before switching to her favourite reality show, Haunts of Pulse. It's the worst show ever to be aired and that's why Serah watches it. I got up to get two packets of popcorn for us to munch on.
"Come on! Kiss her already!" Serah exclaimed at the television. I giggled at my little sister.
"Boo! Go away spook! Leave the couple to smooch!" she shouted and threw popcorn at the screen.
"Great, nice ending. There's another haunt from Pulse! This show needs to rewrite its script again." She exclaimed and then switched to the music channel.
Serah's mood turned sour when the music channel played one of Clawed Hearts' songs mum wrote. It was Serah's lullaby, Princess Dreams (Serah's song). I gave Serah a cuddle and she let the tears fall from her eyes. It was only a two minute song, but it had meaning to Serah. Her body swayed with the violins and her tears fell exactly when the cello was striking a beat.
"Claire, I miss her. I miss mum." Serah sobbed. I gave her a big bear hug. Almost ironically, one of Storm Blade's all time greatest hits played. This time, it was my turn to shed a tear. I remembered pestering dad that day. He wrote the song to get Storm Blade back on the charts. A tear trickled down my cheek as I replayed the scene over in my head.
I was only four at the time and Serah had just turned one. Mum and Serah were out shopping. Dad was in the living room, playing around with chords and lyrics. When he found a combo he liked, he wrote them down and continued to follow the same routine. The sun poured in through the window and I pranced up to dad and messed up his hair. He turned to glare at me and I smiled cheekily at him.
"Hi daddy!" I chirped.
"I'm busy Claire." He replied with a serious tone and went back to work. I began to cook up cheeky things that would get him to get off the couch and talk to me. I tried everything from playing dead, to making as much noise as I could, nothing happened. He was struggling with lyrics for one of the bars and I began to sing my own stupid little tune. I wandered upstairs and closed the door. Dad came in later and asked me what I had sung. I recited what I was singing and he thought it was good.
"Claire? Are you ok?" a teary eyed Serah asked. I wiped the tears away from my eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. I had to stay strong for Serah. I hugged her tighter and then she started to groan.
"Go to bed, Claire." She said and I let her go before heading off to bed. Serah turned off the television and headed to bed herself. I closed the door and the curtains before turning off the light and hopped into bed. I pulled the covers up to my chest and told myself to go to sleep. I picked up my music player and put the buds into my ears before setting all of the Storm Blade and the Clawed Hearts albums on shuffle. The first song was a soft and peaceful tune from Storm Blade. The song was called A Prayer for You (Claire's song). The sound of dad's voice comforted me as my eyelids became too heavy to keep open. I let my tiredness welcome me as the lyrics danced in my mind.
