Of Pranks and Paint Splatter
The evening had passed slowly, and finally Selphie's parents got home, eagerly hiding her gift in their bedroom. Her mother got started on dinner while her father sat at his computer desk, working on some business project. Selphie smiled to herself as she walked down the stairs. Her parents were the best in the world, her dad could be a little overbearing at times, but he wanted what was best for her. And her mom…Her mother was an angel, a real angel, she had to be. There was no other way to explain her heart, her kindness.
"Hiya guys!" Selphie grinned and walked into the kitchen.
"Hello Selphie. How was your last day of high school?" Her mother asked excitedly, mixing a big bowl of something. Selphie hoped she was making cookies, those would definetly make her feel better.
"It was great, I kind of got called into the principals office though…" Selphie said nervously, hoping her parents wouldn't make a big deal out of it.
"What did he do this time?" Her mother sighed, referring to Tidus. Selphie giggled.
"He wanted the school year to end with a bang, so he rolled a paint bomb into the music room when the band was practicing." Selphie grinned, remembering how mad the tuba players had been when their instruments and their clothes were covered in green paint. She had to admit, that prank was genius.
Selphie's mother smiled a bit and returned her attention to the batter.
"They leave soon, don't they?"
"Yeah…" Selphie wished her mom wouldn't bring that stuff up. She couldn't even spend this week with them because they were too busy getting their trip in order, and their parents wanted them home as much as possible.
"It's going to be okay honey, but-"
"When's dinner going to be ready?" Called her father, cutting her mother off.
"Soon!" She answered and then gave Selphie a wink. "I'll talk to you about it after dinner, okay?"
"About what?"
"You'll see." Her mother smiled brightly and then shooed her out of the kitchen.
"Alright, be all secretive then." Selphie joked and stuck her tongue out. Her mother did it back.
Selphie reluctantly walked out of the kitchen, wondering what her mom could be planning. She heard a faint ringing coming from upstairs, she waited a few moments, not realizing what it was. Her eyes widened a little as she recognized her ring tone.
Selphie rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom. She dove across her bed, her yellow blanket messily bunching up, and grabbed the phone off of her nightstand.
" 'ello?" She answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"Hiya Selph!"
"Hey Kairi, what are you up to? I thought you and Sora had a date tonight."
"Well, we did, but I cancelled it-"
"What? Why, did you two break up? Oh Kairi-"
"Calm down! No, we didn't break up, but we came up with a fun idea. Sora decided he wanted to have one last guys night out and so I thought I should put together a girls night."
"Tonight?"
"Yep, can you come?" Kairi sounded overly pleased with herself. Selphie grinned, this was a perfect idea! Maybe it'd keep her from getting too upset over Tidus and Wakka leaving.
"Let me go and check in with my parents. I call you back in like ten minutes with the verdict."
Selphie and Kairi said their goodbye's as Selphie ran back down the stairs.
"Mom!" She called as she skidded to a stop in the kitchen. "Can I please, pretty please, go out with my friends tonight! Kairi's got this girls night out thing planned for us. Please!" Selphie said, giving her mother the puppy dog eyes just in case she was thinking about saying no.
"Go ahead, but I really do need to talk to you when you get back, alright? So don't come home too late."
"It's a deal, love you mom, I'll see you later!" Selphie hurried and changed out of her uniform into a pair of jeans and a yellow long sleeved top, and was out the door as quick as lighting.
…
"Wow, they really made this place cool this year." Selphie said looking around. They were on the High School campus, looking at all of the games and such that had been set up. It looked like a miniature circus.
"I know right. So what are we doing here? Let's go have some fun girls!" Rikku said in her high pitched voice, she was just about to graduate too. She was the girl who had followed Wakka around school like a lovesick puppy all year.
"Where should we go first?" Came the monotonous voice of Paine, her Silver hair fell into her crimson eyes.
Selphie looked around at all the other girls, Kairi, Yuffie, Rikku, Paine, Yuna. Her best girl friends in the whole world. They'd been through a lot together. What a great memory this would make.
"Hey Kairi, weren't the guys coming here too?" Selphie asked with a grin.
"Yup, Sora and his whole gang. Why, what were you planning?" Kairi seen that mischievous glow light up Selphie's normally innocent green eyes.
"Still trying to figure out a way to completely embarrass them…But how?"
"Hmm…" Kairi said, and put a finger to her chin, thoughtfully.
"I've got an idea." A rare smile lit up Paine's pale features as she had the other girls gather round to listen to the plan.
…
It was about an hour before operation Liven Up, was ready and organized.
"Alright, so Selphie, you and I will get Axel and Riku to the appropriate spots, while Kairi grabs Sora, Yuffie will grab Roxas, Yuna will find Tidus, and Rikku can get Wakka." Paine said, the slightest hint of excitement in her voice.
"Yay!" Rikku grinned, that was perfect, she'd wanted a chance to ask Wakka out all week. They had to at least go out once before he took off.
"Alright, so it's all settled, let's just try not to do it all at once so the guys don't get suspicious."
"Got it!" Rikku grinned.
"Let's go!" Yuffie said, on the ready.
"Alright, on your marks, get set…Go!" Selphie cried out as all the girls hurried off in their separate directions. After hanging out with Sora's gang so much Kairi's group had a pretty good idea of what would set the guys off.
This would work out perfectly.
…
Selphie wandered through the stalls as innocently as could be, keeping her eyes open for a certain redhead. Axel was a character, that's why she liked being around him so much. He was loud, and bold, and he had a temper to match. Selphie couldn't get enough of him, though she'd never admit that out loud.
Her eyes caught sight of a bright splash of crimson and she smiled brightly to herself. She was glad Tidus had shown her his paint supply when he had pulled that prank on the band kids.
…
Yuna walked around, her usual grace in her steps as she looked around for Tidus. She giggled a little, unable to keep herself from being excited, this would be the best high school memory yet if they could pull it off.
…
Yuffie practically sprinted through the fair searching for the quiet blonde, she had an idea he could help with, and it'd make the guys that much less suspicious.
…
Selphie grinned as a faint blush colored her cheeks. There he was, in his jeans and a black t-shirt. He had a checkered wristband, like Roxas' around his wrist, his red hair spiked up.
Selphie took in a deep breath and then walked over to him with a smile. He and Roxas were leaning over some game thing that they were trying to win. Selphie didn't know what it was though. She rarely paid attention to much when Axel was around.
She tapped the taller of the two on the shoulder and smiled cutely as his emerald green eyes turned on her. They were so alive. Alive like a forest growing in the sunlight, just as vibrant. His upside down tear mark tattoos stood out bright against his fair skin. He must've gotten them young, she'd never seen him without them.
"Hello Selphie." He said in that strange voice of his.
"Hiya Axel! Do you think you could help me win a game? This one stall has the cutest moogle plushy I've ever seen." She flashed her childlike smile.
"Um, sure, hey Roxas, I'll be right back, kay?"
"Sure thing Axel." Roxas said, not taking his eyes off the game. Axel shook his head with a smile, Roxas was certainly determined, he'd give him that. Axel quickly followed as Selphie led him around. Where was she going? She seemed to be taking every twist and turn that she could find as she led him through the fair.
About ten minutes later Yuffie casually walked up to Roxas and leaned down next to him, watching as he tried to catch one of the fish swimming about. He was trying to get that pesky orange one, the prize winner.
"Hey Roxy, how's it going?"
"Pretty good." He said, focus not wavering for an instant. Without a word Yuffie pulled the net out of his hand and scooped up the orange fish in a matter of seconds.
"Hey!" Roxas exclaimed. Yuffie winked and dropped the fish back in it's place, bounding off without a word. Roxas jogged after her, taking the bait, having forgotten about the game for the time being.
…
"Um, Tidus?" Yuna looked up into the bright blue eyes that made her weak at the knees.
"Yeah, Yuna?" He asked, blonde bangs falling into his eyes a bit.
"I've got something…I sort of wanted to talk about with you." She said, looking about nervously.
"What is it?" Concern was in his blue eyes, making her feel guilty.
"I-Could we talk privately somewhere?"
"Sure, pick a spot."
…
Paine managed to get Riku to the place no questions asked, he could be so gullible at times, tell him Xion was waiting for him somewhere and he would be there within seconds. A diligent boyfriend? Yes. A smart one? Not a chance.
…
Rikku and Wakka were chatting not far away from the spot when Selphie brought Axel to the designated place. With an exaggerated gasp she turned around.
"What's up?"
"Omygosh! I forget my purse back at the cotton candy stall. I'll be right back." She said and ran off, leaving Axel there with his hands in his pockets. Now what?
…
All Kairi had to do to get Sora there was to ask him to take a walk with her, he was probably the easiest of the guys to trick. Kairi made a quick excuse that she was feeling cold and had left her jacket in her car and left. Sora looked around the relatively quiet spot, only to see…
"Axel, what are you doing here?"
"Selph dragged me all the way over here and then flipped out about losing her purse or something…" He said with a sigh. It was plain in his eyes that he wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Oh hey guys!" Rikku grinned and waved at the two. Wakka, who stood beside her waved as well. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to Sora and Axel.
"What are you two doing here?" She asked. She was so thankful for all those drama classes now, they were perfect for tricking people
"Waiting." They said in unison, both looking completely bored.
Wakka laughed at the pair and shook his head.
"Girls got you to on a tight leash, ya?" He laughed. Rikku punched him the arm.
"Hey!" She said with a pout.
"Just kiddin', lighten up Rikku." He laughed again, a little more nervously this time.
Before long Riku was standing there with them, arms folded as he looked around for Paine, where had she run off too? Tidus and Yuna joined the group shortly after. The guys all looked at each other, knowing something must be up.
Why had all the girls dragged them here?
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Riku glanced around, pushing his silver bangs back from his eyes. Before he had a chance to think further on this there was a shout.
"Fire!" Came the loud voice of Selphie from somewhere in the bushes. And just like that, they were ambushed. All the girls had disappeared from the scene, hiding behind the bushes with their stash of ammo, water balloons, filled to the brim with green paint.
The balloons hurled over the hedges, splashing the guys like crazy, they tried to run for cover, but it was no use. They were surrounded. Rikku and Paine were on either side of them. Yuffie and Yuna were behind them, and Selphie and Kairi were in front of them. There was no getting out of this.
Roxas stood up from his hiding place in the bushes after the firing had stopped. Every guy was covered in green paint, running down his hair, staining his clothes. Yuffie was the first girl to leaving her hiding spit, she fell to the ground with tears in her eyes she was laughing so hard. Riku's pristine hair was now a matted green mess that he was trying to fix.
"Say cheese!" Roxas grinned and brought out his digital camera. He snapped a few photos and then wisely ran towards the parking lot, knowing he wouldn't get far from Axel after the shock had worn off. He would so kill him.
"Score for the girls!" Rikku and Selphie high fived as they looked at the mess.
"I can't believe you did this. Look at my hair!" Riku growled angrily and then stormed off, unable to handle his pride being wounded. Which only made the girls laugh even harder. Sora was cracking up, Axel let out a chuckle or two as well. Wakka was standing off to the side talking with Rikku again.
"That was awesome!" Sora exclaimed, a playful look came to his face as he slowly made his way towards Kairi.
"Sora…What are you doing?" She asked slowly, amethyst eyes wide.
"Payback." Was all Sora said as he leaped towards her, she squealed and ran off into the fair again, the pair disappeared as they played their game.
Selphie giggled, Sora was such a kid sometimes. She looked at Axel, his red hair weighed down by the thick paint, you could barely even see the real color any more.
"No hard feelings?" She asked and stretched out her hand, ready to shake on it. He smiled wickedly and looked down at her. He ran a hand through his hair and before she had time to think a huge glob of green paint came down on her head.
"Eww!" She screamed, trying to get it out of her hair. She kicked him in the shin and turned her back on him angrily. Did he have any idea how hard it was to curl her hair like that?
"Come on Selph, it was just a joke." He said, a tiny bit of remorse in his voice. His voice was like smoke, drifting and swirling around her like magic. She still had her back turned on him. Without warning he wrapped his lithe arms around her and held her closely to him. Only covering her in more paint. Her breath hitched as she felt his chest rise and fall as she leaned against him. "This was a great plan Selph." She could hear the smile in his voice, making her blush even more. He turned her around to face him, a serious look on his face as he watched her. Strange eyes tracing every feature of her young face. "You know I'll always be here for you, right Selphie?"
"Of course, your my friend. I'll be here for you too." She smiled, not sure why he was saying this. "Are you leaving too?" She asked suddenly, a tear stung the edge of her eyes.
"I'm going to Twilight Town with Roxas, we've got jobs and an apartment all lined up there. He'll be going to school while I work on some community college classes."
"You didn't get accepted anywhere else?"
"Nah, didn't really apply, figured I'd know what needed to be done by the time I graduated. I'm just sort of winging it and seeing what happens." He gave her that playful smirk. She looked down for a moment and then wrapped her arms around him, he had changed. He wasn't that skinny little kid he was when he first came, he had grown up. She just wanted to cry into his paint splattered shirt, and forget. Everyone was leaving, with these big plans, these new lives, and she was going to be stuck here all alone. She wanted to get out too, to find her place too, she didn't want to stay with her parents forever. Selphie wanted to get out of the nest, she wanted to fly.
He stroked her chocolaty hair, turning it green and held her around the waist with his other arm.
"What am I going to do?" She asked, her voice muffled.
"Your going to outdo us all, that's what you're going to do." He smiled brightly at her. Selphie managed a weak grin as a few tears slipped from her eyes. The smile drifted from his face and a curious looked passed over his features, he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Selphie felt the blood rise to her face.
"Dork." She said and pushed him away, her cheeks still bright red. Axel smirked while looking down on her and laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"C'mon kiddo, let's go see what the others are up to."
They walked together out to the parking lot, where Roxas' car was missing, he had no doubt gone home to e-mail all the photos to Selphie and the girls. Riku was arguing with Paine beside her car. Something about 'how dare she lie to him about where his girlfriend was.' Sora and Kairi were being all cuddly as they said their goodbyes. Yuffie was gone too, no doubt following Roxas home so they could send out the photos together. Rikku and Wakka were talking energetically.
"I should probably head home." Selphie said, vaguely wondering where Yuna and Tidus had headed off to.
"Yeah, I'll see you later Selph." He looked at her, a strange emotion in his green eyes. Sadness? She bit her lip before awkwardly hugging him again. Grateful to have him there for her. He returned the embrace and (she thought) reluctantly let go.
"Seeya Axel."
Selphie was quickly thrust out of her sour mood when Tidus and Yuna walked up hand in hand, a green splatter of paint on her cheek from where he had kissed her.
Rikku whooped and cheered.
"Bout time you two got together!" She shouted across the parking lot, making Yuna blush.
Selphie smiled brightly. Another memory, she would never forget.