A/N: This is a bit of a side story that goes with "A Dream in my Heart" We talk about a night club the is owned by Willow where she and her friends work off of campus. I wanted to write a little story that explains the club and how it came to have it's place in my story. Hope you enjoy!

I don't own any of the characters (except for the OC's) for Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts or anyone else I may have mentioned in this opening.

This is a fictional place my friends and I sit around and talk about, any actually names or places is purely coincidental. Comments are always welcomed.

Chapter 1: The Neon Butterfly

July of 2010

Willow wiped another bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand as she lifted the last of the heavy boxes onto the stockroom shelves. The delivery truck had been early, so the other 2 people that were supposed to be on hand to help her unload and stock the supply room had not yet arrived. She was always here early on theme nights. It gave her time to sort out everything before the rest of the workers and crewmen came in to help do setup.

As she turned to pick up the last box from the floor, her iPod thumped in her ear buds with the latest Katy Perry song and she grabbed the small device at her hip, turning the volume up. She was so busy dancing around and singing out loud that she hadn't noticed there was someone standing behind her until she had spun and was standing in a ridiculous dance pose, that she saw the bewildered look on her boss's face. She quickly lowered her hands and pulled the buds from her ears.

Willow grinned sheepishly as she waved her fingers. "Hey ya boss"

Syrina stood with her hands on her slender hips, her long black hair pulled to one side in an intricate braid as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Willow, how many times have I asked you to not lift these heavy boxes by yourself?" Syrina started walking towards Willow with a mix between the look of a scowl and concern on her face.

Her heels clicked on the hard, cold floor as she stopped in front of Willow and watched her dig into her pocket to shove her ear buds in and turn her iPod off. Syrina shook her head slowly from side to side as she crossed her arms and stared at Willow. She was wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans and an overly large hoodie with Serillia University embroidered across the chest. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a simple ponytail with bits of wispy strands sticking to the sweat on her face.

"I just worry that you'll get hurt being down here on your own." Syrina placed a hand on one of Willow's shoulders as she looked into her blue eyes and spoke firmly but still with kindness to her young employee. Her green eyes blinked as she felt Willow shrug her shoulders lightly.

"I know Sy, but trust me, I lift heavier things then these cases on a daily basis during my drills on the campus." Willow lifted one of her hands to wipe away some the her damp bangs that had fallen into her eyes.

"But that's not my point" Syrina removed her hand from Willow's shoulder. "What if you slip or one of these cases falls and lands on you?" She kept her eyes locked with Willow's as she waited for a response.

Willow pulled a small water bottle from the center pocket of her sweatshirt and began to twist the cap off as she smiled slyly at her boss. "Well don't worry Sy, I wouldn't sue you" She tipped to open bottle to her lips after letting a light chuckle leave them.

"I'm serious!" Syrina crossed her arms in front of her chest as her voice rose and she glared at the young woman standing in front of her.

Willow lowered the bottle of water she was drinking from and swallowed hard. She sighed and started to put the lid back on top of the bottle. "I'm sorry" She spoke light yet firm to Syrina. "I won't let it happen again"

As Willow slipped the small bottle back into her pocket, her face held a slightly guilty look that that of a scowled child. Syrina sighed loudly as she uncrossed her arms from her chest and reached out to put a hand on either side of Willow's shoulders. She spoke more softly to her now.

"You know that I think of you as more then just another employee. You're one of my friends and I just care about your well being" Syrina smiled and was glad when Willow nodded and smiled back.

"Thanks for looking out for me, but I'm a lot tougher than you think" Willow felt as her friends hands lifted from her shoulders.

Syrina pointed a finger as if remembering suddenly that there was a new event occurring. "Oh yes. Student life at the Shinra Academy" She had a huge smiled plastered on her face as she stepped around Willow and motioned for her to follow her out of the stock room. "How's life been since you were enrolled?"

Willow shook her head a few times as they both stepped through the thick doors and turned to push them close in unison. "Well let me tell you, not as easy as things were at the Serillia Academy, that's for sure"

As both girls walked through the dimly lit bar that was stilled closed, the made their way to one of the small round tables stationed close to the bars main countertop and continued to chat.

"The dorms are a decent size at least" Willow huffed as she pulled out a chair before sitting down and continuing to talk to Syrina. "Emily and I have a new roommate, but she seems pretty cool"

Syrina had seated herself at the table directly across from Willow and nodded a few times as she spoke. "Really? Is she local?"

Willow shook her head. "No. She's from the mountain range of Curith Mund. Pretty young too"

"How much younger is she?" Syrina placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward towards Willow like they usually did when they had their casual conversations.

Willow was leaning in the same pose as she continued to talk. "Two years younger than me and Em, but she's in a different class, that's the interesting part.

Syrina furrowed her eyebrows "Different class how? I thought it was all a military based campus"

"She's military, in a sense" Willow ran her hand up to flip her ponytail a few times "But she's a Turk"

"Well that's new" Syrina blew out an exasperated breath as she spoke.

Willow nodded a few times "You're telling me, but apparently, we've changed all kinds of rules." Willow smiled triumphantly as she spoke.

"Yeah how so?" Syrina was leaning on the table with full interest now.

As Willow began to go over all the changes that had recently come about the All-Male based Military Academy currently located in Midgar, she smiled and laughed with her friend as she shared all the great things that were in store for the futures of the women that could now enroll.

You see, at first, society did not approve of the idea of men and women sharing the same base or living within the same quarters as each other, but that all changed when the Hawethorne family had something to attribute to the debate. For as long as she could remember, Willow had always heard stories of all of the amazing things her father, grandfather and even great-grandfather had done while being employed by the military. She knew from a young age that she was destined to follow in their footsteps.

She and her best friend Emily had graduated with high enough honors to graduate from high school at an early age, but still were considered too young to attend a military based school until the age of 18. So instead they enrolled into the local university to study business and medicine. After two years of college life, the girls were moving to live on the base of Serillia Island which just happened to be run by Willow's father, General Hawethorne. The only thing that was really hard in the beginning was learning to schedule your classes and still have the energy to make it through body aching drills and try to hold down the rations of food served in the mess hall. Not that the food was all that bad, but it wasn't what Emily was used to eating and it took a little while for her stomach to get used to eating more greasy and sodium enriched foods.

Soon after though, they had moved up the ladder in ranks and surprised most of the men in their class. Well except for Zack. He always knew there was something extraordinary about Willow from the first day he met her, and Emily had just as much spunk as her best friend. They were probably a few of the most decorated cadets when they transferred to the Shinra Academy only a couple years later.

They had to fight tooth and nail, and appeal to a lot of the higher ranked officials. Luckily for Willow she had few tricks of good favor on her side by the names of Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth. They had a large say on what happened on the Shinra base, and after much dispute that case was settled. Female students would be allowed to enroll and attend classes at the same time as the male students.

It was during the first day of moving heavy boxes through the excited and crowed halls of their new barracks when Willow and Emily had first bumped into Rayna. A new student from the coastal side of the mountains. They were all fast friends, despite the fact that Rayna was a year older and didn't have that many of the same classes as Willow or Emily. But the fact that they had already been at a previous academy meant they didn't have to enroll with the younger students. It put them in higher ranks with most of the other males already attending.

That had been about 6 months ago, and on top of a rigorous class schedule, Willow still felt the need to find a small amount of work. She met with Syrina a few short days after looking through the ads for wanted help. They clicked upon meeting and now were friends. Emily had found work a short distance from campus at a small coffee shop lovingly named La La Latte.

It was becoming apparent that Willow very much enjoyed all her classes, but emphasized her love for her sparing class. In particular one of her male classmates that she was partnered with quite often.

"So tell me more about this Cloud Strife." Syrina smiled as she flipped her bangs from her vision and laced her fingers together on top of the table.

Willow felt a slight blush fill her cheeks and her ears. "Sy, he's gorgeous" She raised her hands to her cheeks quickly to cover up her face.

Syrina tipped her head back and laughed lightly. "You have mentioned his looks, a few times. But tell me more about he's personality. What's he like?"

"Oh,… well" Willow relaxed her shoulders as she placed her hands back on the table. "He's actually pretty quiet, really smart and a very skilled fighter" She counted each of the qualities she'd listed on her fingers as she looked up at the ceiling and thought out loud.

"From a small town. Single parent household, just his mom. But best of all," She smiled widely at Syrina as she spoke excitedly and waved her hands in front of her face "He's friends with Zack. They get stationed together a lot"

Syrina smiled and shook her head back and forth as she stared at Willow practically bouncing up and down in her seat. She crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair. "Damn girl"

"What?" Willow stopped moving and stared wide eyed at the woman across the table from her.

"You've got it bad"

"Got what?" She looked generally confused.

"The hots for Cloud" Syrina said through a smug grin

"WHAT!?" Willow gaped at Syrina "I do not have the…!"

Willow pulled at her ponytail a few times as she accepted defeat "Is it that obvious?"

Syrina nodded as she smiled and laughed. "Oh, yeah. You've been talking about Cloud for at least half an hour without barely breathing, and your face is bright scarlet" Syrina pointed one of her fingers at Willow as her hands flew back to her cheeks.

"So what're you gonna do about it" She asked softly as she leaned back onto the table.

"Nothing" Willow kept one hand on her face as her other slapped onto the table.

"Why not?" Syrina scoffed.

"Because!" Willow stood abruptly from her seat and began to pace. "I have way too much on my plate already. I have my studies and work and keeping in touch with my family and training and getting to know the superior ranks of my class and.."

"You're still in love with Zack"

Willow stopped pacing and looked over to where Syrina still sat. All the smugness had left her face and she looked calmly towards where Willow was standing.

With a sigh Willow spoke quieter "And yes, I'm still deeply in love with Zack" She wrapped her arms around herself and felt a shiver run through her body, which was strange considering it was July and they were located fairly close to a desert. It had to be at least 70 degrees in the bar, since one of the doors was propped open.

As Willow let her hands slide down her arms, she blew a breath up and watched her bangs fly out of her eyes. She walked back over to the table and plopped down into the chair.

"What am I gonna do Sy?" She looked to her older friend for advice.

"Honestly sweetheart, I can't decide that for you" Syrina looked into Willow's eye's and spoke softly to her. "But I'm sure your heart will help you figure it out."

"But what if I make a mistake?"

"That's what growing up is all about. You're gonna make mistakes, and have heartache. But in the end, everything will work out just the way it's meant to."

Willow smiled softly at her boss who she'd come to think of as more of a friend over the past few months as she nodded. "Thanks. I guess it will all work itself out in time"

Syrina stood from her seat and held her arms outstretched towards Willow. As she stood from her chair and walked into the light embrace of Syrina, Willow felt a weight lift from her chest and she sighed.

"You're gonna do just fine, you'll see." Willow felt Syrina pull back on her shoulders to look into her face. "You're an amazing young woman with a heart of gold and a brilliant mind to match."

Willow nodded a few times as her eyes stung with the wetness of tears. She lifted her hand and wiped them away swiftly as they heard two male voices ring through the bar. Syrina rubbed her shoulder a few times before turning to greet her two other employees at the door.

Willow turned from the door and looked to the back where a couple of pool tables sat near the edge of a medium sized stage that was only used occasionally when they had karaoke nights. She surveyed the open space and looked at the current layout of the floor. All at once a new pattern of ideas began to sweep through her head as she thought of the future possibilities. She turned quickly without another thought to go and find Syrina and tell her about her ideas.

Yes, her future was most defiantly going to change and she would make sure that everything would be for the better. But for now, she'd focus on work and school. Men were not of the utmost importance right now. With a determined smile she approached Syrina and let her mind spin with new ideas for the future of The Neon Butterfly.

~XO~

A/N: So, as I've mentioned before this is going to be a series of flashbacks to coincide with another story of mine. I don't want to put too much detail into the description of certain events in this story because I've made them a point already. I had this floating around in my head, and I'm hoping it will all tie together smoothly. Thank you to all my readers and reviews are always appreciated to let me know what you think of my work.