A/N: Hello there! :) First off, I will start by stating that this story had previously been on here with the title 'Mi'hen High', but I stopped having inspiration for it and eventually abandoned it for some years. However, I picked it up again and changed it up! I hated the name, so I changed it and did some heavy editing on the story (I can't believe some of the corny-cringey-amateurness of my writing back then!). So without further audieu, here is The Choices We Make. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my story.

I.

"Oh, come on! 500 gil is a bit too much, don't ya think?"

The middle aged peddler narrowed his eyes at the exasperated high school student and made a gesture with his hands. "A man's got to eat, too."

"But it's highway robbery!"

"I don't see any highways around here."

The young man let out an annoyed, defeated sigh and clutched the strap of his messenger bag, deciding to give up for today. "This ain't over, ya."

"Hey, how's it going, coach?"

The boy jumped slightly at the hand on his shoulder and sudden voice from behind him.

"Ey, Tidus! Aren't you lookin' just so bright eyed today, huh?" he replied, snagging the other boy in a headlock.

"Cut it out!" Tidus laughed.

The two best friends wrestled a little until the peddler spoke up in an irritated tone of voice.

"If you want to play around, you'd best do it somewhere else, eh? You're in the way of me business."

"Chill out, O'aka. Wakka and I were just leaving," the blond said after regaining his composure.

"No need to get your bloomers in a bunch, ya," the orange haired boy snickered. Tidus joined him in his laugh while the peddler's face quickly transformed into the look of a tomato.

"Geez, how noisy."

A voluptuous, raven haired girl stood with an amused look on her face, her two friends close behind.

"Yeah! Don't you two know how to start the new school year off quietly?"

One of the girls came up next to the first, her small hands balled into fists as she scolded the boys. Her blond hair bounced with her every movement; she would've been wearing her usual tight clothing, but as of then, the school decided on finally doing uniforms for the new year.

"Rikku, they weren't that loud..." the last girl said, with a small chuckle.

Instantly, Tidus' eyes went to her, the gorgeous girl with the milk chocolate brown hair and amazing bi colored eyes. He took her in, already coming to the conclusion that she looked unsurprisingly pretty even in the uniforms.

"Hey, Yuna," he grinned, paying the feisty Al Bhed girl's rants no mind.

"Good morning," Yuna replied, a warm blush coming to her cheeks as she gave him a small smile back.

The first girl spoke up again, her words directed at the suddenly wearing looking peddler.

"O'aka..why are you trying to sell your goods to high school students again?"

"Yeah, you tell em', Lu!" Wakka piped.

" And you're just as guilty for trying to buy from him."

"Yeah, well..."

"So!" Rikku chimed. "Who's ready for the first day of school for us sophomores?"

Collective groans came from everyone, even some random kids who were just nearby.

"Yeesh, don't trample anyone to get inside in the midst of your overwhelming excitement," she muttered, although even she herself wasn't looking all that forward to the aspect of classes again.

But then she remembered why she was anxious for the year to start earlier. "But- but, hey! Hey, I heard we're gonna get a horde of transfer students!"

"A horde? That doesn't sound very accurate." Lulu's eyebrow rose skeptically as she waited for Rikku to continue.

"From where? Did anyone say?" Tidus asked, now a bit curious himself.

"It's a rumor, so where they're coming from is a mystery, duh."

"Oh, well then..."

Yuna giggled and gently tugged on Rikku's sleeve. "Then how do you even know if they're really transferring or not?"

The energetic blond spun around to face her cousin, her green eyes instantly brightened up again. "Because! I know that much at least is for sure!"

"Well, let's just hope we don't get any jerks, ya. Too many of them around here as it is.." Wakka put in, trailing off as he eyed a former member of his blitzball team walking by.

Nix, the first transfer student they had gotten their freshman year, smirked at Wakka and his group, his arm around a painfully clueless girl.

"Arrogant bastard," Wakka growled under his breath.

Lulu glanced between the two and consider her words before asking, "You two are still at odds with each other? I thought that was resolved."

"Yeah, it probably would've been if he hadn't-"

He was cut off by the teacher of the fashion class, Leblanc Syndicate, suddenly popping up and purring, "Girls, you should get moving. I don't want you to be late for my class. I'll be giving out various assignments that could really help you out in the future; it is a new year, after all."

She whipped out her personal fan and fanned her face as the mature Lulu answered, "Of course, Ms. Syndicate. We won't be tardy."

"Good girl." Before she sashayed herself into the building, she threw Tidus a look and gave him a seductive smile that made Yuna's gut clench in a conflicting emotion that wasn't new to her concerning Tidus.

"We should go," she huffed, grabbing Rikku and Lulu by the arms; Wakka and Tidus watched her march all of them inside. With a shrug, Tidus began following, with his friend right behind.

Nix Gremer impatiently tapped his mechanical pencil on his desk, waiting for the teacher to "hurry up and shut up". Of course, like everyone else in Mi'hen High, he heard about the new transfer students, but from his first hand information, he knew that it wasn't just a rumor.

'Hot girls. There's always hot girls.' he smiled to himself as he used his arm to support his head. There would definitely be at least one new kid in his class, and he was anxious for them to come in. What a dumb rule; new students had to wait out in the hall until the teacher was done giving the short morning lecture. Although on this particular day, it seemed to go on forever.

Nix let out an irritated sigh and glanced around the classroom once. He spied Yuna Tollipher, the innocent, goody-two-shoes but overall, quite attractive. He also knew that the popular bonehead jock, Tidus had a hard on for her. He smirked, then upon seeing the sexy, dark Lulu Hanes a couple seats away, broadened his smile whilst fixating his eyes on her well endowed chest.

With an abrupt slam on his desk, Mr. Logos got everyone's attention again and with his small, slitted eyes, surveyed the room to make sure.

"Now. Meet the new students," he said, in his usual unenthusiastic not-caring voice.

The pale haired young boy clutched his friend's hand tightly as they entered the classroom that he suspected was for World History. Ugh, was his first thought when he saw the teacher for the first time. Clad in dark blue robes and weird head wraps, he knew those slitted eyes were on the two of them. His grip tightened considerably.

"Ow! Stop squeezing my hand so hard!" The girl with him hissed under her breath. Her hair was also a pale blond, just like his. "You act like you're afraid of me getting lost."

The boy looked at her over his shoulder. "You might."

The girl scowled at him but managed to quickly erase it and put on a small smile as they stood in front of a full classroom.

"Class, Penelo and Vaan; Vaan and Penelo, class. Your seats," Mr. Logos said coldly, then motioned to the two empty desks in the middle of the room.

The girl gave a short nod to him and somehow managed to free her hand from her companion's; she rushed over to a seat and gave the boy a look as he sat himself behind her.

Throughout the entire class, he couldn't help but feel immensely jealous and protective as he knew all male eyes were on his friend, Penelo Sundries.

Her chest had gotten bigger as of late, and for sure, that's where all of the attention from other guys was directed. He hated that.
Penelo felt her friend's heated gaze on the back of her head. Vaan Ratsbane, the overprotective kid from her old neighborhood. They had quite a history together that dated back to when they were six years old.

'Must he stare at me like that?' she grumbled in her mind.

Ever since their legal guardian, (sort of) Migelo had decided to close down his shop due to his want to suddenly need to retire, he had shipped Penelo and Vaan off so they could get a high school education. There wasn't much hope for them back in their hometown; Migelo had thought it a very good idea to send the two to Spira, the huge continent that was actually very far from where they lived.

Penelo reminisced about how childish Vaan had acted when Migelo told them the news.

"Spira!? Where the heck's that? And why? I thought we were doing just fine here!" he'd shouted.
The blue adult bangaa merely scratched his chin and huffed at Vaan in his scratchy voice, "I'm too weary with age to keep my shop open any longer. Ah yes, retirement sounds quite appealing right now." Then he shot the boy a knowing look. "Vaan m'boy, it's about time you got out to see the world- and around Ivalice doesn't count."

"But Migelo," Penelo started. All at once, she seemed to consider her words and after a minute, said instead, "I'll make sure to keep Vaan on his toes."
Vaan had just stared at the both of them, an expression of disbelief clearly on his face. Without even so much as another word, he huffed and stormed out of the shop.

Migelo turned to the girl and said, "I expect you to keep him in check, Penelo; there wont be anyone else around to do it. Also, make sure to keep both of you out of trouble."

"You bet."

Thinking back on it now, Penelo had to wonder why Vaan had been so upset, but he ended up telling her later on.

A tap on the shoulder made Penelo turn to the side to see a girl with glossy, brown hair and surprising mismatched eyes smiling at her. She was quite the looker, and Penelo found herself feeling slightly intimidated.

"I thought you could use this," the girl whispered, sliding a mechanical pencil onto her desk. Penelo raised her eyebrows, realizing she hadn't even had a plain pencil to begin with. "Thanks," she whispered back, grateful.

Then she settled into her seat more comfortably. Only less than an hour and someone'd already had the common courtesy to offer her a pencil, unlike most of the rude, manner-less kids from home. She felt content, as if the rest of her school life was going to go smoothly.

Meanwhile, in Math...

The ever hyper Rikku Celsius fidgeted in her seat next to the window.

The transfer students had already come in, and she was so excited! Just looking at them filled her little body with an anxiety to quickly get to know them.

The girl seated close to the door was so elegant and mature looking, Rikku believed she even topped Lulu. With dark, cocoa skin and pure white hair, she was obviously foreign; there was no one with looks like that in Spira! She was really tall, taller than all of the boys who went to their school. Rikku was undoubtedly curious, and completely ready to make friends with her.

The lengthy girl shifted uncomfortably at her small desk; At least it seemed very small to her, considering her long body. Trying to mask her discomfort, she tugged at the dark blue denim hat she was wearing and pinched the fabric of her black leggings. (Luckily, the school allowed her to wear them.)

She glanced over at the one she'd come in with; the red haired young man who of course, was good friends with her. Very, very good friends.

Fran Valentina and her possible friend with benefits Baltheir Strahl, sat across from each other. He was a seat or two away, but secretly, she wanted to be closer.

The stares from the other students in the classroom made her a little nervous, and a couple times out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a blond girl oddly squirming in her seat.

She was aware of the looks she was getting from her, along with everyone else.

'Honestly, do they really have to be so rude?' she thought to herself with a small frown.

Across from her, Baltheir simply smirked at all the attention he was getting so soon. He'd noticed the collective-albeit over dramatic-gasps from the females when they'd first entered the room. He gloated on the pride that-in his mind-the girls would be swarming all over him the instant class ended. Why not? He was quite attractive; handsome, charming, and witty. But even though he thought like that, he and Fran were already a couple, as far as he was concerned. And they had been like that for years now. Why else would the young woman decide to leave her home behind and follow him to somewhere new? It could've just been purely out of curiosity and excitement at the prospect of a new adventure, but he prided himself on the thought that in the moment when he suggested leaving to her, she had gladly accepted because she couldn't live without him. It was basically the other way around, though.

"Say, Fran. How about we just up and travel somewhere else? I say blast the damn school and my mother, with her incessant nagging and prying."

The ever calm and collected girl gave a small smile and said, plainly, "Of course. Where to?"

They had been in Fran's apartment, the one she rented when her single mother had kicked her out. She was always depressed anyway, and her moods were just too much for Fran to handle. So she was quite glad when she had forced her out.

Fran walked over to where Baltheir was reclined on her couch and sat down on the small coffee table in front of him. He quickly whipped out a map and displayed it to her, pointing at a marked spot on it.

"I was thinking here. It's a little place called Spira. I looked it up on the internet, and it seems nice enough. Take a hell of a lot of gas to get there, but maybe we can find another way around such ridiculous costs."

"Sounds like a plan."

Baltheir smiled back and took her elegant hand in his. He kissed it gently and murmured, "Why are you so willing? Is it just for my sake...?"

The girl simply smiled at him again and rose up, leaving him there with his thoughts.

In the English Lit. Class...

Tidus continued to pass notes back and forth between his buddies, Jassu Holmes and Botta Kaprinskey.
The last one was from Jassu: Did you see her, did you see her?!

In his somewhat sloppy handwriting, Tidus wrote back. Yeah, cause last time I checked, I wasn't blind.

The next came from Botta's side, halfway across the room from Tidus and Jassu. It was a miracle they had managed to keep sending notes back and forth without being caught.
Man, she's hot! Think I got a chance?

Tidus contained his snicker like an expert. He wasn't trying to be mean, certainly not. But with someone as good looking as the new girl, he didn't think poor ol' Botta even had the slightest of chances.

Although, he had to admit, even he found himself attracted to the girl and though he had a crush on a certain other person, he didn't deny himself the harmless pleasure of ogling her for a while. He watched her short, almost shoulder length, tumbleweed brown hair blow slightly from the cool outside breezes coming in, admiring her back..

Yeah, man! Don't be too quick though, cause then she might get freaked out with you in her face.

Tidus heard the disbelieving snort from Botta as he read his reply, and after that, they discontinued their little chat for the time being.

Ashe D'nar sat rigidly; the cool steel of the desk chairs were freezing against her bare thighs. She wished she'd worn jeans instead of the tight fitting fuchsia skirt and long sleeves instead of her white tank top. The breeze coming from the open window was no joke.

She sighed, thinking about her older friend, Basch Burgronsen and how he'd somehow ended up in another class; a pity it was that they couldn't be together like she suspected the rest of her friends luckily might be.

Glancing up, she sighed again, only on the inside and much heavier. The teacher was so boring! At least her old ones had been a bit interesting, especially her History teacher. He always had pep in his voice when talking about Ivalice's histories; her favorite subject, of course.

But the teacher she had now... Why me!? she couldn't help think.
She spied the nameplate on her desk: Mrs. Belgemine.

Ashe thought nicely of her name, just not her personality. And throughout the rest of the math class, she wondered if Mrs. Belgemine could be a wild partier outside of school.

Memories of her father popped up in her mind, and she remembered with an ache in her heart about the true reason she'd never wanted to leave her home in Archadia.

"Rasler," a heavy breathing Ashe had moaned out. Her boyfriend's lips continued their slow and amazingly wonderful journey down her neck, when suddenly the front door of her house burst open. There stood her father, face red and fists clenched as he took in the scene of his daughter under some boy from down the street! He flew over to the two and yanked the boy, Rasler Venar off and tossed him aside.

"That is the last straw, Ashelia," Ashe's dad huffed, with a pointed finger at his precious teenage daughter. "No more Archadia High, no more little boy-" he turned to sneer the last part at Rasler, who was currently rubbing the back of his head from where it'd been hit upon contact with the wall. "and no more acting out of line! I'm sending you off to somewhere where you'll be able to improve your behavior and make new friends. And just to be sure, I'll include your friend, that nice Basch fellow, to accompany you. That should keep you out of trouble."

The whole time, Ashe had been half sitting, half still lying there on the couch, eyes wide and mouth half open in surprise. "What-" she started, but her father had already stormed upstairs.

Thinking about the whole thing again made Ashe's fists clench and her lip curl instinctively. She didn't mind Basch going with her; she liked him, in fact. Not like that...! But the way her dad had treated Rasler so roughly, and in her mind, she knew full well that he didn't deserve that.

She still couldn't figure out how her father had known she and Rasler were in the house at that exact time. Her father wasn't supposed to get off work for another three hours...

But all was in the past now. Though she still kept bitterness and resentment in her heart, there wasn't anything she could do about it...at the time.

A/N: Thanks for reading!