Now that Christmas is over, I have the rest of the break to avoid my projects and subsequently update my stories! Weeeeeeee. Okay here's the next chapter.
"This is your car?"
"Yeah," Rikku giggled. "I loove it!"
Rikku's car was nicer than any vehicle Yuna had ever seen. It was bright orange, and had a sporty look to it, complete with a spoiler and shiny new rims. Yuna didn't know much about cars, and even she could appreciate its beauty.
"My dad's big into cars, so he helped me get this one cheap and fix it up," Rikku grinned. "Wait 'til you see how fast it goes."
Suddenly, Yuna was a bit terrified to get in it. Very few people in Besaid owned cars, and they never needed to go faster than 30 in the small town.
Yuna's fear was not so irrational.
She gripped the car door handle tightly as Rikku whooped and swerved through traffic, going dangerously fast. Meanwhile, she chattered about her friends and how she hoped they were at the party so Yuna could meet them. Pathetically, Yuna only perked up when she heard Rikku say, "And did you see the way Tidus was looking at you? Oh boy Yuna, you better be ready for tonight."
Yuna's heart sped up and she asked, "Ready for what, exactly?"
"Well, he'll be drunk. So he'll want to.. you know. And you have to decide how to play it. Are you gonna give in and be his toy, or play hard to get and maybe keep his attention for more than one night?"
Yuna was lost. "There'll be drinking? His toy? What?"
Rikku turned her gaze to Yuna and creased her brows. Yuna wished she'd just keep her eyes on the road.
"How many boys have you dated before, Yuna?" Rikku asked sternly.
"Uhhhhh…." Yuna turned her face away to hide her blush. "Well. None."
Rikku gawked. "You're so pretty! How have you never had a boyfriend! For God's sake, even Tidus noticed you! Okay. I'm gonna have to train you in an hour." She sighed dramatically. "Good thing I'm a professional."
Yuna giggled and then added gratefully, "Thank you, Rikku."
When they reached her house, Rikku couldn't stop squealing. "IT'S HUUUUGE! AND PRETTY!" Yuna laughed and had to agree.
"My dad probably spent way too much to rent this place…" Rikku turned and cocked her head at Yuna, asking for further explanation.
"He, well.. He and I were supposed to come here together for the summer. But, he died a few weeks ago…He made me promise I'd still go to Zanarkand, because he knew… it was what I wanted," Yuna didn't realize she was crying until Rikku was hugging her and wiping the tears away. She laughed a little. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so emotional. It's still kind of hard to think about, you know?"
Rikku nodded empathetically. "Of course it is, Yunie. I'm so sorry. But, you're here now, and I'm sure your father wanted nothing more than for you to be happy. So tonight, that's what we'll do, okay?" Yuna grinned genuinely. She felt like she and Rikku were already such good friends, like they'd known each other forever. But she figured with happy people like Rikku, that was always how it was.
They got up to Yuna's room, after Rikku ogled over every room on the main level, and Rikku ordered Yuna to unpack her bags so that she could go through her clothes.
"You've got to wear something that makes you stand out in the crowd. There's gonna be tons of girls over there tonight, and you want Tidus to notice you the most." Yuna nodded weakly, already nervous. She hadn't seen many people in Zanarkand yet, but she knew their style was infinitely sexier than her islander skirts and blouses.
Rikku frowned while pawing through the cloth, until she found a large yellow bow and gasped. It had intricate floral designs on it, in different shades of blue. "This is beautiful, Yuna! And it matches your hair beads perfectly!"
"Oh, thank you," Yuna smiled. "I usually wear it over this," she continued while finding a white halter top that was made to look like multiple layers.
Rikku was nodding enthusiastically. "This totally works! It's islandy, which isn't something you see girls wearing here, but still sexy enough! Plus, I have a blue skirt you can wear with it. No offense Yunie, but only my grandma wears skirts this long."
Yuna laughed good-naturedly and nodded. "Yes, the girls here seem much more comfortable in bikini shorts!" As she said it, she pulled on Rikku's green shorts, which hardly covered her butt. Rikku laughed too.
"What can I say! If you got it, flaunt it!" Both girls sat laughing, until Rikku checked the time. "Oh man! I gotta go back to my house and get your skirt, and obviously an outfit for myself." She paused. "Um, and, my dad won't exactly know that I'm going to this party, so is it okay if I sleep here tonight? I'll just tell him we're having a slumber party?"
"Of course, that's fine!" Yuna said. She was more than thrilled to have company her first night in her huge rental home. She'd had the feeling it would feel very empty with only one person in it, since it was meant for two.
Rikku sped out of the house and Yuna watched through the window as she tore out of her driveway, already breaking the speed limit.
Yuna decided to shower so that she smelled fresh for the party. By the time she had upacked her shampoo, conditioner, body soap, razor, and other miscellaneous bathroom items, and then showered, Rikku was already back. Her hair was damp as well, so Yuna guessed she had also taken a very quick shower. She entered the front door with two huge bags in her hands, grinning. "Okay, Yuna, for the next half hour, I'm showing you how girls in Zanarkand get ready for parties."
Yuna stared at the girl in the mirror, not entirely able to believe it was her. The telltale sign, of course, was her bi-colored eyes, and blue hair beads, but other than that, she looked completely different to herself. Rikku had used hair-waving spray on Yuna's hair and then pinned it up in a ponytail, leaving only her bangs and beads down. She had also gone to town with Yuna's makeup. Her eyes looked smoky and two times bigger, her lips plush and shiny. Rikku stood next to her, nodding assent at her work. "You look great, Yunie!" Yuna glanced at Rikku, who had changed into a strapless black dress that hugged her in all the right places. Rikku's makeup and hair were also expertly done.
"Rikku, you look so much better." She laughed.
"Aw shucks, thank you! But just wait until you're in your outfit. Tidus is gonna die!"
When Yuna had her shirt, waist bow and skirt on, she looked in the full-length mirror of her bedroom uncomfortably. Her skirt was showing more skin than she'd ever expected others to see, and without her hair on her shoulders, her upper body felt exposed, too. For a hint of safety, she added small yellow arm bands, which Rikku agreed helped complete the island look. But her stomach was still twisting in knots.
"Okay, listen." Rikku started, snapping Yuna out of her gaze into the mirror. "The party started like a half hour ago, but that's good. We don't want to come right on time. Tidus should have to wait for you." Yuna didn't really understand this, but nodded anyways.
"When he talks to you, don't ogle. Boys like Tidus like a challenge. Show him you're interested right off the bat, and he'll be on to the next girl in five minutes."
Yuna was thinking more and more that Tidus was a shallow asshole, but,strangely, she still wanted to get to know him. She'd never felt so weird over a boy before- they were either her friend or not. She rarely felt anything romantic for them, especially not someone like Tidus. But she trusted her heart. If Tidus really was as shallow as Rikku made him seem, she'd ignore him for the rest of summer.
"Alright, let's go!" Rikku chirped. They headed downstairs and out the front door. Looking at the house next door, they could clearly tell it was Tidus'. They could hear the bass of party music from outside, and there seemed to be colorful lights going off inside. They watched a yellow car pull up across the street, and three girls hopped out. They, too, had pulled out all the stops, even dressed in stiletto heels.
Rikku rolled her eyes and whispered, "Idiots. They're gonna have to take off their shoes as soon as they get inside, what's the point?" Yuna giggled softly- that was true. "Do you know them?" She whispered back.
Rikku nodded. "One on the left, the one with black hair and horrible makeup- that's Bria. She's well-known at our school, especially by the boys, if you know what I mean. In the middle, with platinum blonde hair and the worst fake tan I've ever seen, is Paula. And the wanna-be hooker tease with brown hair in an outrageous pouf is Helga. Look at her lumpy boobs, ugh! She's totally stuffing." By the end of Rikku's explanations, Yuna was cracking up as quietly as possible. She didn't want the girls to know she was laughing at them, because they honestly all looked the type to start a serious cat fight.
They strutted in to the house, and then Rikku said, "Okay, crap, probably shouldn't have let them go in first. Hopefully Tidus isn't dumb enough to go off with one of them…" Yuna glanced worriedly at the house. "Does he know them?"
"Um, you could say that." Rikku answered vaguely. "But, I don't think he really cares for them anymore. So, let's go!" With that, she tugged on Yuna's arm and headed for Tidus' house.
Stepping through the door, Rikku and Yuna found themselves in a foyer, much like Yuna's. It was packed with people, all holding red plastic cups. Some looked up at the girls, and Yuna found a few guys hold her gaze. She looked away shyly.
It smelled like alcohol, Yuna noticed. She only knew the smell because she made her dad's drinks for him some nights. She'd never even wanted to try it before, though. Tonight would be a night of firsts. Rikku dragged Yuna into the kitchen the right, which was much less crowded.
"Okay, let's get drinks. We're gonna need 'em." Yuna gulped and nodded bravely. She'd seen what alcohol could do to people, as demonstrated through the few small bars in Besaid she'd been to with her father. She had a feeling this would be much worse.
Rikku handed her a red cup with a bright green liquid inside. Yuna sniffed it, and almost gagged. It was fruity, but very, very strong. Rikku laughed. "Come on, drink up! It tastes much better a few glasses in, don't worry." Yuna had nothing but worry when she brought the drink to her lips and tasted it. It tasted just like it smelled- fruity with a strong taste that Yuna had never encountered before. Rikku had already downed half her glass, and Yuna didn't want anyone thinking she was a wimpy island girl, so she drank more heartily.
Suddenly, a voice behind her whooped. "Take it like a champ!" She turned to find Tidus grinning and holding an empty cup of his own. He held it out to Rikku, but still held Yuna's eyes. "Rik, can you mix me something? Yours always taste the best." Yuna wrinkled her nose before she could stop herself, because she couldn't imagine a drink much worse than Rikkus. Tidus laughed at her expression. "What, new girl, you don't like the drinks here?"
"Actually," Rikku interrupted, "Yuna's from Besaid. They don't party like we do." She winked at Yuna when Tidus turned back to her. "Ohh, so the new girl needs to learn how to party! Don't worry," He put his arm around her waist and she swore her heart stopped, "I'll make sure you have the best night of your life tonight." Yuna blushed when Tidus showed his blinding white teeth again- man, that smile was perfect. Without warning, Tidus led Yuna out of the room, still holding her. She turned around to shoot an alarmed look at Rikku, but Rikku gave her two enthusiastic thumbs-up before leaving the other end of the room, probably to find her other friends.
Yuna found Tidus had taken her to his huge living room, the source of the music. All the furniture was pushed against the walls, to leave a make-shift dancefloor. Couples and friends danced seductively to the beat, of which Yuna was unfamiliar. She watched, mesmerized, as the couples held each other close, and moved in a way she had never seen. Tidus said, "You want to try it?" and Yuna, to her own surprise, nodded. She was beginning to understand why alcohol made people act funny- she already felt like she could do anything in the world right now. She wanted to dance with Tidus, to kiss Tidus, to jump out the window, to do something crazy.
Yuna chugged the rest of her drink and set it on a coffee table, and then allowed Tidus to pull her to the middle of the room. He put his hands on her waist and she copied the other girls in the room, putting her arms around his neck. She was blushing from the close contact already but at the same time, she loved it. Tidus began moving to the beat and pulled Yuna along with him. Soon, she was lost in the odd music, mimicking Tidus' and the other dancers' moves.
All too soon, the song ended and Tidus pulled away. Only then did Yuna notice a few girls glaring at her. I guess Rikku wasn't exaggerating when she said he was really popular. But, drunk Yuna didn't care at all, and boldly grabbed Tidus' hand. He grinned at her and the pair made their way back to the kitchen for more drinks. There, Yuna found Rikku again, this time with friends.
"Yuna!" Rikku suealed, immediately noticing the pair's hands intertwined. "I'd like you to meet some people. You remember Keepa?" She gestured at the boy attached to her and Yuna nodded."And this," She pointed at a copper-tan boy with red hair spiked up in the front, "is Wakka." He nodded a "Sup" at her. "And this," Rikku continued on to a girl with long black hair and striking red eyes, "Is Lulu." Lulu smiled at Yuna, and Yuna was quick to give her a hello as well. Meeting people seemed so much easier when intoxicated, she decided. Yuna unlaced her hand from Tidus' and made her way to Rikku and Lulu. Wakka and Keepa came over to Tidus and the three started talking.
Rikku giggled quietly at Yuna. "How's it going with Tidus?" she asked animatedly.
"We danced! It was so fun," Yuna gushed. Lulu was watching the boys, and then turned to Yuna. "Be careful with him, okay? He's very nice, but don't let him take advantage of you." Lulu's voice held a sweet motherly-authority that Yuna liked right away. She nodded, "Of course." After the girls chatted for a while, and drank at least two more cups of their juice, Tidus came and grabbed Yuna's waist from behind and whispered, "Ready to dance again?" Yuna's stomach flipped in excitement and she nodded, noticing her head felt dizzy when she did so.
After dancing for a while, everything started to blur. She was suddenly in Tidus' backyard, pulling him to the pool. He had mentioned it, and Yuna was suddenly adament on seeing the water.
She sat down at the edge and dipped her feet in, sighing in contentment. He did the same beside her, laughing at her good-naturedly. "You like the water?"
"Of course, Besaid is right on the ocean, so I practically grew up in it," Yuna said dreamily. In her mind, she was back on the beach of her hometown, with her father. In her current state, it didn't even make her sad to think about him.
"Tell me more about Besaid," Tidus prompted, so Yuna did. She talked about the festivals, and the boating and the insane love of blitzball, which earned a, "Hey!" From Tidus. Yuna giggled. "What, you another die-hard fan?" Tidus put his hand to his heart in mock-astonishment. "You don't know? I'm Tidus Evans, star of the Zanarkand Abes!" He pulled his shirt sleeve up to reveal a tattoo, as if in annunciation to his statement. It didn't work- Yuna was still clueless. It was written all over her face, so Tidus whistled and said, "Wow, you really don't follow blitzball at all. Weirdo." He shoved her lightly and grinned mischievously.
"Well, excuuuse me, Sir Tidus, for not knowing you were royalty!" She shoved him back, giggling, and by now, Tidus was laughing too. He suddenly stood up, and flipped expertly into the pool. He swam around underwater for a while. When he finally came up for air, Yuna gasped, "You're like a fish!"
Tidus laughed. "That is hardly a compliment." He splashed her and swam toward her. Yuna knew where this was headed. "No, no, dooon-" It was too late, he had grabbed her and thrown her into the water. They were both cracking up and splashing each other, and people from the living room must have seen, because soon, they were all jumping in the pool. Tidus and Yuna laughed, but Tidus was soon pulled away by other girls and Yuna was crowded, so she got out of the pool and went to find Rikku. However, she couldn't walk straight anymore, much less find her friend in a dark room, so she settled for crawling up the stairs to the bedrooms. She was very tired now, and wanted to see Tidus' room.
She opened each door to find couples making out, and they all seemed very irritated at having been interrupted. She giggled a, "Sorry!" before leaving. At the end of the hall, she found the room that had to have been Tidus', because it was empty. She figured the guys at the party respected his personal space and the girls only wanted to be in it with him.
After looking through his trophies, pictures and personal items, she collapsed on the bed, insanely dizzy.
"There you are," she heard some time later. She opened her eyes slowly, realizing she must have dozed off. The music downstairs was gone, as were all the voices. And standing over the bed she lay in was Tidus, grinning. "I lose you for two seconds.." Yuna smiled back and sat up. Her stomach turned and she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.
"My bathroom is right there," Tidus pointed to a door in his room.
Yuna ran for it and got to the toilet just in time. She unloaded her stomach's contents into he bowl, her eyes streaming with tears. After a while, she heard the door behind her open, and turned to see Tidus with a wrinkled nose. "How ya feeling?" He asked. Yuna had to laugh. Clearly, he didn't love the sight of vomit.
"I feel terrible," she answered. He nodded seriously. "The first hangover's the worst. It'll feel shitty for a while, but you should try to sleep." Yuna groaned at the thought of getting up and walking home, but Tidus seemed to read her mind.
"It's okay, you can stay. I told Rikku to go back to your house, and that I'd take care of you until morning."
"Thank you," Yuna sighed gratefully, before turning back to the toilet, feeling her stomach turn again.
She woke up, still dressed, in Tidus' bed. She sat up and noticed faint light coming through the window-it was already morning. There was a glass of water and aspirin on the bedside table. She smiled, thinking Tidus seemed a lot more courteous than Rikku made him out to be. Already, though, she was having trouble remembering exactly what happened the previous night. Why did everything seem so fuzzy? Did alcohol always do this? It was a strange feeling. But, somehow, she felt safe, and happy. She thought she must have had a lot of fun the night before. Frowning, she hoped she hadn't done anything too wild.
She got out of the bed, and blushed as she realized where exactly she'd slept. She crept to the door and opened it, heading down the hall quietly. She didn't want to wake Tidus up. But, as she glanced down to the foyer, she realized she wouldn't need to worry about that. Tidus was already awake. And kissing the girl called Bria in front of his door. Yuna ran back to his room and shut the door as quickly and quietly as she could, before sinking down in front of it. She felt sick again, but in a completely different way now.
Had she really just seen that? And Tidus had seemed like he was having fun with her the night before…
With hot tears in her eyes, Yuna thought that Rikku had been right about him from the start.
DanG! That was a pretty long chapter, for me. I guess I had a lot to write though, with an entire party. So how'd I do? Did drunk Yuna seem the right amount of drunk? Haha. I didn't want her to be suuuuper super crazy, cause she's still sweet little Yuna. Did Tidus seem right? Do you hate him right now because of that ending? Hahah. There needs to be some drama for a good story!
I'm still deciding whether or not to change this story to M, before it gets any readers. Hmmmmmmm. I'll think about it.
Also, I AM NOT TRYING TO GLORIFY ALCOHOL USE/UNDER-AGE PARTIES HERE. I don't want anyone freaking out cause of that D;
Okay Meghan it's way too late, you're rambling like crazy.
Please review and let me know what you think! I probably made mistakes all over the place.
Thank you for reading.
