Word Count: 368

Timeline/Spoilers: set during disc 1; spoilers for cc ending

Summary: Aerith would prefer to keep that between herself and the ghost of a boy who never came back. ; zerith drabbles

Notes: Lines at the end are taken from in-game.

Thanks to sunflowerspot for the review last chapter! :)

"We were never serious."

"He always was a bit of a flirt, a real lady's man."

"I'm sure he just found another pretty face and never looked back."

.

Eighty-nine handwritten letters and a well-worn pink ribbon would beg to differ, but Aerith would prefer to keep that between herself and the ghost of a boy who never came back.

It hurts less to play the jilted lover than to face the truth. Mere months have passed (two months, three weeks, eight days, and nineteen hours ago, but who's keeping count?) since that horrible vision had come to her and she felt the last vestiges of his spirit slip away. That had been the last time the Planet had spoken to her. Mainly because she isn't accepting any more messages.

She is far too preoccupied with living in a constant state of denial – of Zack's demise, of the strange abilities apparent since childhood. Traveling with Cloud, Tifa, and the others is like a clean slate, a fresh new page. She can paint any story she wants.

Once upon a time, there was a flower girl who met a soldier boy. He was sweet and charming, and she was gentle and kind. They enjoyed their time together, but nothing serious ever came of it. He left on a mission one day and never made his way back to see her again. They hadn't made any commitments or held any obligations to one another. But charismatic boys like him rarely stayed in one place, and wholesome girls like her hardly ever left home.

This is the tale of her first love. As far as the rest of the party is concerned, there is nothing to question, and Aerith plays the part all too well. Some days, she almost believes it herself. Because picturing him in the arms of a beautiful blonde, splayed across the beaches of Costa del Sol will always surpass the image of his lifeless body, bloody and battered in the rain.

Seeing him alive, no matter what capacity, will always win out.

.

"Please don't cry."

"Someone dear to you has just died."

"His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet."

#27 – Hide

It hurts less to pretend she doesn't know, to act as if she didn't feel the exact moment his life force faded away, and to play the jilted lover instead; anything is easier than facing the truth of his demise.

A/N: I love writing bitter!Aerith for some reason. Please let me know what you thought!