Author's Note: Okay, here's chapter 2. Thank you reviewers! Really, I shouldn't be writing this right now. I should be studying, I mean my exam tomorrow is worth 30 % of my final grade. But, I can't study because I'm not in the mood to study. Which means I will be cramming tonight and tomorrow morning. Anyways, enough rambling from me.

BlueEyedDemon10: I read your story and I thought it was great. Personally, I think that my stories are horrible.

[Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters.]

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Chapter Two

Yuffie stayed in her room until her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since that morning, about twelve hours earlier. Well, actually she hadn't eaten then either, she had just drank a soda. So, obeying her hunger, she began the long walk through the winding halls to the kitchen, hoping she would make it there and back to her room without being detected. Upon reaching the kitchen doors, she discovered it was already occupied by none other than Squall. The ninja almost decided to come back later, but her stomach rumbled loudly, telling her it would not be denied. Cautiously, she slipped through the doors and made a bee line for the refrigerator without even glancing at the man eating at the table.

Squall lifted his gaze from his plate to look at her, noticing how she refused to acknowledge his presence. Silent treatment, huh? Well, two can play that game, he silently mused as he continued to pick at the semi-edible leftover meatloaf Aerith had made the other night. He successfully gagged down another bite, all the while thinking that maybe someone else should take over the cooking duties since Aerith was apparently having difficulties with it.

Acting oblivious to his presence, Yuffie carried a small container of strawberry yogurt and a spoon to the table and sat down at the other end, as far away from him as she could possibly get. Savoring each delectable bite of the smooth, creamy substance, she slowly finished her dinner without saying a word to the emotionless rock at the table.

Still hungry, Yuffie began the search for more food, opening all the cabinets and shoving stuff around until she found her prize: a bag of chips. She sat back down and began to eat them, crunching loudly. Receiving an acidic glare from Squall, she innocently asked, "What?"

"Do you think you could possibly crunch a little louder? I can't quite hear it," he seethed, his azure eyes piercing her dark ones with anger.

Yuffie returned his glower, taking a chip and biting into it purposely loud. "Yeah, I think I can." She continued to crunch the chips, getting louder with each bite. She knew she was being childish, but she couldn't resist a chance to annoy Squall.

"Oh, grow up, Yuffie!" The Gunblade wielder got up to leave the room when she answered him.

"I did. It's not my fault I had such a great role model, like you." She watched him spin around furiously from the door to scowl at her.

Squall could barely control his anger. Why do I let her get to me? he asked himself. "What is that supposed to mean?" he hissed, running a hand through his russet hair.

Before Yuffie could reply, the door swung open revealing Cloud and Aerith, arms wrapped around each other. They took in the scene, feeling the vibes in the air from both the ninja and the Gunblade wielder. "Um, are we interrupting something?" Aerith inquired tentatively, looking from Yuffie to Squall.

"No, I was just leaving." Squall stalked out of the now crowded kitchen, letting the door slam behind him.

Cloud looked at the infuriated ninja questioningly, "What did we just miss?"

"Nothing. Just Squall acting like his normal asshole self," Yuffie answered nonchalantly as she rose from her chair.

"Maybe Squall wouldn't act like a jerk if you wouldn't egg him on," Aerith said quietly from the pantry where she was pulling out a can of soup for her and Cloud.

Yuffie turned to glare at Aerith's back, wishing the flower girl would mind her own business. "Yeah, blame it all on me. Everything's always my fault, isn't it?" She began to leave the room, when she felt strong hands on her shoulders, pulling her back.

"You know very well that you provoke him, Yuffie," Cloud told her calmly as he turned her around to face him. "If you didn't act like a little bitch all the time, things would be a lot nicer here."

Aerith dropped the can of soup in her hand, eyes wide at what Cloud had just told the young ninja. Her hand flew to her mouth, "Cloud!" she hissed, stunned that he had said that.

Yuffie's eyes narrowed as she twisted out from under his hands. "You're right, Cloud. I am a bitch. And as a bitch, I have the right to do this!" She reared her hand back and slapped the blonde with all the force she could muster, leaving a burning red hand print on his cheek. She watched the shock come into his blue eyes before she turned and left the room, letting the angry tears she had pushed back to spill down her cheeks.


Cloud turned to Aerith, hand on his cheek to ease the burning sensation. "Did she just slap me?" he asked quietly, disbelief showing in his eyes.

"Yes, she did. And, frankly, you deserved it," the usually gently flower girl angrily told him, as she left the kitchen to chase after Yuffie.

"What about dinner?" the blonde called to her departing back.

"Fix it yourself, genius!" With that the door swung shut, leaving Cloud alone in the kitchen, trying to figure out what had just happened.

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Yuffie watched from the rafters in the hallway as Aerith ran searching for the young ninja, calling for her as she did so, never thinking to look up. As soon as the flower girl left her line of sight, Yuffie dropped soundlessly to the floor below and crept to the balcony to overlook Rising Falls; they had always had a calming effect on her nerves. She sighed and dried her tears, thinking about the past two years. They had been hellish on her. Everywhere she went she saw Cloud and Aerith wrapped around each other, making her realize how alone she was. She had no one, unless you counted her frigid fighting partner. She pushed the thought out of her head, whispering, "No, Yuffie. He doesn't love you, and he never will."

"Who doesn't love you?" Yuffie jumped, squealing as she saw the man in question walking over to her, stopping to lean on the rail beside her.

She ran a gloved hand nervously through her short ebony hair. "What are you doing here?" she demanded angrily, hoping against hope he would drop the subject.

He chuckled softly, his deep baritone laughter sending chills down Yuffie's body. "Am I not allowed up here?" He turned to look at her eyes, seeing the hurt that ran deep behind them. Yuffie turned to leave, when she felt a gentle hand fall on her shoulder, pulling her back. "Who doesn't love you?" he repeated, trying to find the answers in her pale face.

"Please, just let me go," she begged, looking down at the ground, unable to meet the piercing blue eyes gazing at her. She began to shake, knowing how weak she appeared to Squall.

"Yuffie, tell me," he demanded quietly, refusing to let her go this time. Please, don't hurt me this time, he silently pleaded with her.

Giving up, Yuffie took a deep breath and let it all come out. "You don't know what it's like, seeing them all the time. They're so in love and it hurts, knowing I can't be her, knowing I can't have love." By now, tears had welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill. She didn't realize that Squall had misunderstood her jealousy of Aerith. "And with Valentine's Day coming up, it just makes it worse," she whispered so softly that she scarce believed he had heard her.

Squall stood there stupefied at her confession, eyes wide. She loves Cloud, he mistakenly thought as he turned her words over in his mind. While he was still in shock, Yuffie took her chance and left him on the balcony alone. Memories flashed through the man's brain, making him all the more certain of what he believed. He suddenly remembered what happened when Cloud returned.

They had all been sitting in the library at Hollow Bastion, trying to come to terms with their painful memories of the past when Cid walked through the large doors calling for Aerith.

"Aerith! Aerith, come here. I have something you might want to see," the Gummi pilot yelled across the quiet room.

"Cid! Now really, this is a library. You should be..." Aerith never finished her sentence because by then Cid had stepped away, revealing a blonde man with a red cape behind him. The blue eyes gave him away instantly. Everyone except Yuffie stood in stunned silence.

"Cloud! You're back!" she had cried as she ran to him and tackled him, hugging the poor guy tightly. Cloud began making choking noises as the young ninja cut off his air supply. "Oops! Sorry Cloud," she had said sheepishly as she let him go, smiling her trademark grin at him.

Aerith shook her head, coming out of her shock as she walked slowly to him, a bright smile beginning to creep across her face. "Is it really you, Cloud?" she whispered, half expecting him to disappear in front of her.

He nodded as he closed the distance between them, picking her up and spinning around before he placed her feet back down on the floor and kissed her. Yuffie watched them for a moment before turning to look at Squall who was still leaning against the wall. As the stoic man turned his gaze to Yuffie, he noticed the light begin to fade from her eyes.

Coming out of his reverie, Squall realized that the day Cloud came home was the day the ninja had started to change. I've been so stupid. These past two years she's been tortured because Cloud chose Aerith. He slapped himself on the forehead in disgust at his own blindness. Leaving the balcony, he began to wonder why he was so depressed suddenly. It can't because I love her, can it?

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Author's Note: Well, there you have it. Squall's really stupid sometimes, isn't he? Oh well, that's why we all love him. Anyways, until next time my faithful readers.

Please, please, please review or I'll have to kill a character off in the next chapter. I'll do it, too. *crazy eyes* hehe