She stepped outside and with her lightly tanned arm shielded her ocean blue eyes from the immense bright light from the morning sun that was beating down upon her. She sighed inwardly, deeply as she stepped out of her dorm carefully closing the wooden door behind her. Down the long dull corridor she walked with her head lowered, hands behind her back deep in thought. Birds could be heard chirping and the odd one swooped in front of her playing some kind of game with eachother. The simple life of a bird. Careless and free. Able to fly anywhere. She wished she could fly and get out of here. She'd even settle for getting out of here. A light wind blew past and ruffled her dark raven hair and all she could do was place a hand to her head to steady it. Don't get her wrong. Its not that she hated this place. It was her home. The only place she had ever considered home.
The young girl forced a tired smile as she crossed paths with a fellow male student. As she walked through the quad she looked up the the bright blue sky. She had a feeling it was going to be another long day. It was still fairly early in the morning and she was rushing to her first class of the day. History. The teenager pulled a face as she rounded a sharp corner and her class came into sight. Clutching her book tightly she hurried down the corridor. It was just beginning to dawn on her that she was late. The raven haired girl swallow the lump in her throat as she grasped the handle of the door and spun forcing the door to open. The whole class including the teacher looked up at the sudden interuption. It didn't take the students long to grin. She was always late for history.
"Roxy!" a group of hyper active teenage girls called from their seats down the very back.
"Its bad enough you came in late but you have to disturb my class too" the grumpy old professor scolded.
Professor Harvey. He was a funny looking old man. She always thought he looked a bit like a mole or a badger. With his thick round glasses and pointy nose. Not to mention the white hairs not only just on his head but sprouting from his nostrils as well.
Roxanne gave a guilty sincere smile.
"Sit down" he ordered her before returning his attention to the book he was reading from. It had to be one of the thickest boringest books ever created. "Alright, now where was I? Oh yes! The war"
Roxanne removed her sunglasses and sat them on the top of her head as she took her seat next to her best friends. They always saved her her seat. She smiled at the group of girls who stared at her expectantly like she had a big secret that she was holding out on. One that she refused to tell.
Sitting on her left was a small blonde haired girl with bright blue eyes, Allison. On her right was her room mate, Tifa. She had long raven hair and ruby eyes. Roxanne leaned towards the table to look down the line. On Tifa's right was Another blonde haired girl with blue eyes, Namine. Sitting in the bench infront was another row of her best friends. Rinoa, who had jet black hair and dark brown eyes almost seeming black. Kairi, with long auburn hair and blue eyes. Selphie who had bright green eyes and chocolate brown hair that ended in a flick. Probably the loudest of the bunch too. Sitting beside her was Rikku. She had dirty blonde hair and strange green eyes. Her and Selphie sitting next to eachother was not a good idea when it came to being quiet. So those were some of her best mates but not all in her history class. She looked around to the other tables and at the guys. She got on pretty well with all the guys and they all liked her. Sometimes she thought she got on better with the guys then the girls at this school. A boy called Squall looked over her shoulder and smiled lovingly at her. She smiled back.
She exhaled and blew her fringe out of her eyes. The classroom was pretty boring. Creme coloured walls with a white ceiling. History posters covered the walls.
"Roxy!"the small girl beside her squeaked to catch her attention.
"Whoa" the teenager placed her hand to her forehead at the volume in the small girls voice. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "What is it, Allison?"
"Well..." she paused looking around before leaning in close. "Are you alright?" she asked her face turning serious.
"Yeah, fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Roxanne asked scratching the back of her head and leaning back in her chair, realaxing.
"You know...What happened at the party last night with you know who"
"Oh" a frown crossed her face before it disappeared turning into a smirk. "You know what?" she asked resting her elbows on the table.
"What?" all her friends asked in unison leaning in closer.
"Who cares" she laughed falling back in her seat laughing a half hearted laugh.
"Yeah!" Selphie agreed. "You deserve someone better"
"If John wants to be with someone else let him. Kelly's a slut anyway and we all hate her. Everyone pretty much hates her" she laughed harder. Kelly was the slut of the school and branded 'easy' "He was getting kind of old anyway. I never really liked him. I think it's time I had a break from all guys" she said with a determined nod.
"Are you serious!?" Allison nudged Roxanne with her elbow, a sly look on her face.
"Uh huh" Roxanne again nodded.
"How long will that last?" Rinoa snorted under her breath turning away from their table.
"Actually Rinoa, it will last" she said childishly as if trying to convince herself.
"We'll see"
"Okay now, concentrate!" Roxanne said to herself as she turned her attention to her work but her mind was elsewhere. She had no clue what it was going on about. The tip of her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth in concentration. When did they learn any of this?
"Ahem" Prof. Harvey cleared his throat to make himself know.
Roxanne looked up to the old man looming over head. It was not a good view. He placed a white slip on the desk and slid it towards her before walking off with an evel laugh and a contented grin on his face. He loved making her life hell.
"Detention!?" she said outraged. "Are you serious!?" she glared at him with hate.
"Next time you would do well to be on time" he grinned inasanely leaving Roxanne to sit there pouting.
Roxanne locked her hands together as she raised her arms above her head and stretched with a yawn. Her large group of friends chatted around her. She brought them down and her smile widened as she saw the shimmering water. The beach was her favourite place in the whole of Balamb garden. She often came here to get some peace from her hectic life. She was adored by everyone but sometimes it grew tiresome. It was hard to be happy all the time. That's what was expected of her.
She shivered slightly as a crisp wind blew past. Her smile inched higher as she thought about her next and final class. Her favourite subject. Combat. The only subject that she excelled in. That she was actually good at and enjoyed. She gripped the leathery handle of her sword. A gunblade to be exact. She was part of a small group that could use one successfully and it was the deadliest weapon used when properly. Infact only one other in the school could use one, Seifer and he was a pompous jerk. She curled her fingers around tighter and placed a finger lightly on the trigger. She loved it.
She took in a deep breath as she straightened up. Really she wasn't even tired. She wiped her cheek as the experienced professor removed himself from the ground. Out of all the teachers she liked him the best. Valdesa. He was middle aged and had once been a captain in the military. He had short brown hair and a long scar over his right eye which she could only immagine he had gotten from a fierce and vicious battle.
"Very good, Roxanne" he said dusting off his clothes. He looked up and his face softened to a warm smile.
Roxanne looked at the man confused. He wasn't even angry that he had lost. He just laughed at her expression with a bright smile on his face.
"You have exceeded my expectations you know? I would be embarressed to be beaten by anyone but you, but im afraid there isn't much more I can teach you" he smiled a rare genuine smile.
"Thanks" she gave a small nod in acknowledgement. "It's been an honor"
"You were so good today, Roxy!" Selphie squealed as she bounced up and down around her.
"You weren't so bad yourself" Roxanne said as she, Allison, Rinoa, Kairi and Namine crossed the sandy beach, towels slung over their shoulders.
The sand was warm between her toes and the temperature was scorching. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water was just as blue as her eyes. All along the beach was lined with students who were looking their happiest. It had been a while since they had had such good weather. They all needed a distraction to get the up coming exams off their minds. All Roxanne had to do was pass them and then she would be a full SeeD.
Roxanne removed her towel from her shoulder and held it over her arm showing off her brown bikini that didn't cover much. She had a great body and all the boys would agree. Most of them stared at them as they walked gracefully like nothing could bring them down. Her and Allison had recently decided in their last class that they would definately go on a road trip somewhere. They both had always wanted to go on a road trip and this was their last chance. Of course when they became full SeeD's they would be traveling all over the world but it would be for work and not for fun. This they had decided would be full of fun. They heard the summer was going to be warm so all that was left was to plan out the whole thing, like what to wear. She laughed to herself her eyes glistening. They wanted the whole thing to be spontaneous. Whatever they read first on the roadsigns would be where they would go. They even made a pact to be boyfriendless so they could get up to some innocent fun along the way. It was going to be great. Just her and her best friend.
Her mind moved to that of her friends. She loved them. They were like sisters to her. The only family she had known. What would happen when the year ended? She didn't want to think about it. Hopefully they would be put in the same squads so they could fight together.
"Hmmm" she nodded. Thats how she wanted it to stay. Carefree summers on the beach.
"What?" Allsion smirked.
"Nothing, just thinking" she giggled.
"Hmm, okay" The blonde said with an arched eyebrow. She wrapped her arm around Roxanne's shoulder and she did likewise. "This summers gonna be great. Best friends forever, right?"
"Right!"
As they walked Roxanne's eyes caught sight of something. She raised her head slightly and walking towards her was a guy with spikey blonde hair and azure blue eyes. Who is he? She wondered if he was new because she had never seen him before. Their eyes locked together. It was strange. It was like she could see every emotion there, like he had some deep dark secret in his depths. Why was she feeling this way? She smiled to be polite. Their eyes stayed locked together until he walked straight past her without so much as a smile back. The nerve she thought. She turned to watch him walk away mouth wide open. She shielded her eyes from the sun as it sat in the sky in the direction he was walking. It kind of gave him a glowing look. Like an angel she decided. He didn't even glance back.
"Who's that?" she asked fixated on him, unable to removed her eyes from him as he slowly got farer away.
Her friends stopped walking a turned to Roxanne who had fallen behind. They glanced up at the blonde boy.
"Never mind him" Allison's voice snapped her out of her dace.
She tilted her head to her left as Rinoa appeared at her side.
"Remember, you're guy free" she pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah" she spoke disinterestedly.
"He's not your type anyway" Rinoa grabbed her arm and pulled her off in the direction of the water.
Roxanne couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. It was strange...
The sun was beginning to set and it cast shadows all over Garden. It was a mild afternoon and was quite warm out. Roxanne walked lazy through Garden in peace. She loved these moments to herself. It gave her time to think. The crickets were just beginning to sing and the moon would soon be up. It really was a beautiful place at night. She thought about alot of things on these walks. Her life. Her past. Her future. She tried so hard to forget her past but it was here that it always got brought up. She couldn't help but think about it. She hated her past and never wanted to relive it. She'd only ever told one person about her past and she wasn't sure if she would tell anyone else. Only her most trusted friend. Allison.
"Hey, boy" Roxanne whispered with a raspy voice as she approached the big black horse. She placed a small soft hand on the horses nose and pated him lovingly. She loved this horse. He had been with her since forever. He saved her life and she saved his. The horse neighed happily. "You wanna go for a ride, blade?"
Blade snorted in approval and nuzzled her hand gently.
"Alright, alright" she laughed warmly moving her hand down to his mane.
"Yours?" a unfriendly, sleep deprived voice asked from the shadows.
The raven haired girl jumped getting a fright. She turned and peered into the dark shadows and could just make out the figure of a male. To her suprise it was the same one as a few days ago. From his hair she could easily tell it was the new guy. The one who had ignored her.
"Yeah...What's it to you?" she asked defendingly although she didn't know why.
"Hmph, you've got a nice horse" he said in that cold detatched voice of his boredly.
Roxanne took a step into the shadows towards him. Maybe it was a bad idea and she should have been afraid. A lone girl with a stranger, not a good combinnation, especially in the dark. For some reason she wasn't afraid though. She just wasn't afraid of him. It was weird how she felt around him. It was kind of this feeling she had never felt before. Hate was one word she came up with to describe it.
"Roxanne" she extended her hand for him to shake.
"Hmph" he snorted as he walked straight past her again.
She growled infuriated. No one ever walked away from her. Who did he think he was? Who was he and why did he make her so mad? She was so angry she didn't even ride her horse. She went straight to her dorm. Exhausted she collapsed on her bad and stared up to the ceiling. It was just plain white. Her bed was the only one in the room but the one next to it held Tifa. Her room was messy, she should probalbly clean it but, she was too tired. All her clothes were chucked messily all over the floor with her books and other rubbish. With a sigh she fell into a deep dark sleep. She knew her sleep wouldn't last long. The nightmares wouldn't let it.
"Goodmorning class" Valdesa beamed as he greeted the large class. Out of all of the classes he had this was his favourite. It had his star pupil and a new student from which he heard was quite good with a sword. He had agreed to take him on so Roxanne could have a challange and the two could both learn together.
Roxannes eyes narrowed as she noticed the tall blonde standing in the very back, away from the group of students. He really didn't like company. She didn't even really know him but she had something against him. He was placed in the group of people she hated.
I guess you could say he felt the same way. He found her rather annoying and her voice just irritated him. He hated the group of girls she hung around with and the group of guys that were constantly chatting her up. God, this was a school! They were supposed to be here to learn. He crossed his arms and looked to the side annoyed. He would prefer going off and fighting a monster. Training by himself. The only person you can rely on is yourself. That was a lesson he had learnt and was going to stick to. He wouldn't get hurt again.
"Okay, I'm going to put you into pairs for todays lesson" he said with a satisfied smirk. "You will practise your skills on eachother but I'll make it clear that no one is to get hurt. Let me repeat, no one is to get hurt, okay?"
"Yes..." the class mumbled disinterestedly. Slowly they were all paired off one by one and went to practice their skills. Roxanne cursed when she wasn't placed with Allison. Soon there were only two left.
"Ah, Roxanne" Veldesa placed a hand on her shoulder from behind and gave it a squeeze. "You should find our newest student a bit of a challenge" he said with a hint of excitement behind his voice before going to supervise a bunch of guys who were getting a little too into it.
The teenage girl brought her eyes up to her partner and her mouth dropped. "You" she said with hate.
"And you" he said back with equal hate and annoyance. He gave a slight chuckle as he stepped past her for like the hundreth time and she wasn't over exaggarating. She growled. Would he stop walking away from her? He suddenly glaced over his shoulder. "Cloud"
"Huh?" she asked with a dumb founded look on her face.
"Names, Cloud"
Roxanne crossed her arms as she watched him unsure. She wasn't sure if she could trust him or not. Not to mention she had an extreme dislike for him. Maybe it was the way he acted. Like he was too good to talk to anyone here. A smirked crossed her face. She would have to teach him a lesson. She gasped in shock as Cloud turned around. He sliced the air with his buster sword, a cocky smile plastered on his face. Cloud held the sword in his hands ready for anything. His sword was atleast three times as big as Roxanne's and looked like it could do some damage but her's was also deadly sharp and if need be she could use the trigger on the gunblade.
"You sure you know how to use that?" she asked referring to his extremely large sword in his hands.
"Hmph" he snorted as he touched sword tips with her.
The two looked into each others determined eyes and their surrounding disappeared. It was just them and only them. It was just them that mattered at the moment. They circled a few times before Cloud brought his sword down on hers with force and with a grunt. With a hand on the blade and the other on the handle she held him off. She had to say he had certainly caught her off guard. He showed no signs of attacking. With all the strength she could muster she shoved him back and took a quick swing for his midsection. Cloud was quick to react and used her own move to push himself away and get a suitable distance away from her blade. She charged forward and swung furiously, each hit bouncing off his sword like it was connecting with something rubber. It was his turn and he unleashed a flurry of shattering blows and with her great speed she blocked. He had to admit she was pretty strong and agile. It was like watching a perfectly timed dance. Both were perfectly matched and soon they could determine eachothers every move. Cloud had brute strength while Roxanne had speed so they were in a way even. They both leaped back huffing and puffing but never taking their eyes off eachother for a second. They glared at eachother with hate and anger both determined for a win.
All of a sudden they were snapped out of their focused daze by an uproar of applause.
"Huh?" they both scratched the back of their heads confused and a little shy.
They were so fucused on eachother they hadn't noticed the audience that had gathered around them. They hadn't heard their peers cheering for the one they wanted the victor to be. Mainly the girls for Roxanne, the guys for Cloud.
"Best fight I've seen in ages" the professor clapped emerging from the crowd.
Cloud crossed his arms and pouted as he looked away so Roxanne did the same. They couldn't even look at eachother. Who did he think he was?
Cloud heaved a long sigh as he stared out the window of his dorm. His room was pretty plain. A few books hear and their, a table and computer in the corner, nothing on the walls. The floor was covered with a thin layer of cluttered junk. He was never the clean type. Why do today what you could put off till tomorrow. He was still angry that he hadn't beat Roxanne. How could he lose to a girl? But he had to admit she was pretty talented. The way she moved and countered his moves intrigued him. How could she read what he was going to do? With another long sigh he collapsed on his bed face down. He would have to go for an early morning training session so he could get better and beat her. He wouldn't rest until he had beaten her.
Cloud walked through Balamb Garden. He had only been there for a few weeks and he was already the most popular guy there. He sighed as his friends laughed and joked around him. The blonde worrior just wanted to be alone. Was that so much to ask for? He wouldn't mind it so much if there wasn't a group of giggling girls following him wherever he went. He was a loner. He always had been and he always would be. It was in his nature since he was a little kid. He didn't have a family and he had been alone all his life. He guessed he hated all the attention but the one thing that annoyed him the most out of anything was Roxanne. His face scrunched up as he thought about her.
Tidus approached hand raised ready for a high five. Cloud just shook his head disaprovingly.
"Wanna come play soccer?" he asked holding up a soccer ball.
The spikey haired blonde just shook his head. "I just...wanna be alone" he stated sadly before wondering off from the group.
He layed on his bed staring up at the plain grey ceiling. It was pretty boring. He thought about a lot of things by himself. He found comfort being by himself. He found his sanctuary in the quietness of his own mind. He often found himself secluding himself to his mind when he didn't want to be somewhere or talk to someone.
What would he be without fighting? Fighting was his life. The only thing he had known and was actually good at. He sat up in his bed and rested his head in his hands willing the unrelenting headache to stop, for the pain to stop. He was so miserable. He couldn't helped but wonder if he would be missed if he just left. Cloud had no one to look after him. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't let anybody in. He didn't need to. He didn't need anyone in his private life. Someone had once said he had trust issues and maybe he did. It was also the fear of being rejected, of them eventually leaving. That's why he never got attatched to people. In the end they would just leave him. Who cares if they thought he was an arrogant jerk. He didn't care what anyone else though but maybe that wasn't entirely true. He did care what people thought about him but it was only a very select group. With a groan of frustration he got up and turned on his computer to talk to the only person he felt understood him.