AN: I want to thank everyone who went through the trouble of leaving me a comment, they really made me smile. And, of course, my gratitude goes to those as well who put Breakdown Point on their alert list. Now I'm feeling very excited with this story.

Also, I'm having a problem with ratings. I started with T, because the beginning doesn't have anything scandalous, but later on things will get heavier. And, this is where I get confused. There will be sexual themes (still not sure how far I'm going with that - it might be innocent or it might not), as well as drinking and swearing. I'm finding it hard to decide if that is suitable for young teens or not, because when I was around that age, I was already reading all kinds of stuff perhaps not really appropriate for me. ..wow, that makes my childhood sound so tainted, but, anyways! If you have better experience with ratings, do leave me a piece of advice. It will be greatly appreciated.

In this chapter we will learn a thing or two about Cloud and Tifa's past, but unfortunately it's nothing shocking. I shall leave the shocking stuff for later, he he he... or not.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter two

'I know her,' was his initial thought. Then realization hit like he had smacked his head against a brick wall.

His new class looked like a bunch of idiots. One more reason to hate Nibelheim. He was feeling a little self conscious under all the looks but he kept his self control.

Then her face, and the detached wall he had made around himself nearly blew. He almost tripped, even if he was just standing in one place. How was that even possible?

Her face and he was stricken with surprised excitement and doubt. Her smile was glowing, glowing just for him, but Cloud's head filled with irritation. Just what were the odds of her being in the same class as him? She would ruin everything for him, she was the one thing keeping him from acting like he knew nothing of this town, like he had never been here before. He didn't want these memories that her mere presence was bringing up. He just wanted to forget he had lived here; he just wanted to forget he had known her. She was nothing more than a constant reminder of the reason for his sudden return.

Even when there was hurt in her eyes as she looked away, the only thing he wished for was not to see her face again.


Tifa was sitting in the school cafeteria and waiting for her friend. The large space was filled with students who were so loud it made her ears ring. She twirled the straw in her soda absentmindedly and stared at nothingness. No-one wanted to sit in her table; they knew it was reserved for Yuffie and Yuffie only.

Tifa had a small set of friends, even though she was popular. She could easily win any contest in her school, be it homecoming queen or student body president, but actual friends were rare. This was mainly because she chose them closely, and everybody else was kept behind a barrier. Sure, there were many who liked her and would have liked to be considered as a friend, but Tifa tended not to let people in easily. For most, winning her trust proved to be too difficult.

She still wasn't feeling too good, and that inflicted in her appetite. Her plate was usually full, as she wasn't one to stress about calories or losing weight. The amount of exercise she did was enough to keep her slim.

It appeared Cloud was attending a few of her classes. She had feigned indifference the whole time and hadn't spoken a single word with him. Normally, she would have welcomed the new classmate and tried to get to know him. Now she would refrain from doing that, no matter how many cross looks it earned her. She pretended as if she had no interest towards the new student, even if the whole school was busy whispering about him.

Nibelheim was a small town, after all, and every fresh piece of gossip was worth gold.

She didn't hear Yuffie approaching, and jumped when her friend materialized in front of her.

"Wake up!" Her friend ordered, her delicate wutaian features in an excited grin. Tifa groaned; she already knew what was coming. Yuffie dropped her tray on the table with a slam.

"Tifa, I need to inform you that I am deeply wounded and offended by your ignorance but that I am also such an amazing, forgiving and god damn noble person that I have decided to forgive you. Now, let's not waste any more time on that and concentrate on what's important," she took a breath before continuing with her ranting, "The new guy! Seriously hot, am I right? Now, spill! The Mighty Yuffie Kisaragi orders you!"

She pointed a fork against Tifa.

"Quit waving that around," the brunette said and hid her face in her hands. "People will think you're trying to kill me."

"Don't change the subject." Yuffie sounded dead serious and refused to put down the fork.

Tifa sighed, mumbling swears into her palms before leaning her head on one hand. She caught a glimpse of blonde hair in the corner table, alongside with Reno's flaming red head. It looked like he had found some friends after all. Reno probably hadn't noticed that Cloud considered him as something that had just crawled from under a stone. Reno was pretty weak when it came to judging someone's character, and even now Tifa guessed Cloud wasn't really smirking at the joke Reno had made. They sat with Reno's usual lot, the Turks, as some called them.

This included Reno himself, Rude, Tseng whom Elena had a major crush on, as well as Rufus Shinra. He was the leader of their little group, at least he acted like it. Students overall respected – or feared – him as he was the richest kid around. His dad was also one of the school's main financial backup, who had singlehandedly funded the renovation of the lobby area. This guaranteed in Mr. Shinra having a lot of influence over the board, and thus, controling the school.

Rufus was intelligent and good looking, and that combined with incredible family wealth was a big attraction for girls. What most of them didn't know was that he was also ruthless and fully capable of using people how it suited him best.

The two other members of their group were Scarlet, Rufus' number one follower and a royal skankoid, and Reeve Tuesti. He was probably the most decent one of the group and Tifa suspected the only reason he hung out with Rufus was to get a job in ShinRa Inc.

"Tifa, you're spacing out."

Her attention snapped back to Yuffie along her whiny voice. Her friend looked unsatisfied and even a little frustrated.

"Sorry," said Tifa, not offering any explanation. This didn't please Yuffie at all.

"Is something wrong? I mean, this is the best piece of gossip in a long time… Is there any way better to spice up our boring high school lives than a new student who is actually hot? Tifa, you must be sick not to be excited." Yuffie wasn't her best friend for no reason; she was already sensing something had happened.

Tifa shot a glare at the corner table. "I just don't get what's so special about him. He seems like a jerk to me." She muttered, moving her eyes to Yuffie.

The wutaian exchange student looked troubled. She hadn't touched her food either. "Yeah? Did you talk to him?"

"…No. I can't really explain it, but I have this feeling about him. Do me a favor and stay away from him, will you?" Tifa knew that not getting to know the fresh piece of meat would be torture for her friend. Poor Yuffie. But as long as this new Cloud continued to act as before, she would just play along and therefore Yuffie wasn't allowed to know of their past together. Why would Tifa even want to know Cloud, if he was such a jackass?

Yuffie had a pained expression and rubbed a hand down her face. She was silent for a moment, before sourly conceding, "If you say so."

Tifa reached across the table and put her hand over Yuffie's. The girl had transferred from Wutai when Tifa was a sophomore and they accidently got to know each other. Being with Yuffie was easy despite their differences, and if Yuffie was something, she was loyal. Before Yuffie, she really hadn't had a friend in many years. 'It took you long enough to get here,' she thought, smiling. Now she was happy to have her.


Tifa was even more grateful to Physical Education than normal. It was her favorite subject by far, but today she discovered newfound pleasures during warm-up in the freezing gym. P.E. classes were divided by sex, and that meant no boys, and that meant no Cloud.

She could finally be free of him and the difficult feelings he brought up in her. She didn't have to profusely look away from him all the time, she didn't have to watch what she said and what the best was – she didn't have to restrain her feelings.

She knew the anger and resentment would finally burn out and fade, only to be substituted by what she really felt. And that would be much, much harder than just detesting Cloud. It was difficult to act you didn't care, when you didn't even understand. There was no way she could understand the new Cloud. She'd have to ask him at some point and finally confront the person he had become.

It scared her. Even if Cloud was connected to something very sad in her past, they still had mainly positive memories about each other. Cloud being like this would ruin those memories, would make them feel like a lie when Tifa very much wanted to believe in them. The moments those memories portrayed had helped her to get through a lot.

On the background the P.E. teacher, Barret, was yelling instructions – and that meant calling them useless mules and ordering three more laps around the gym. The girls complained under their breath, but none dared to challenge Barret.

Tifa simply picked up her pace. Exercise was, in her mind, the best way to relieve tension and work through problems. That was what she would do. Work through this, just like she had worked through much harder things. She was strong, after all.


Tifa was ten when Cloud moved away. Tifa's mother had died nearly one year before, and Cloud pretty much was the closest friend she had at that time. All the kids she thought to have cared about her vanished, not comfortable with the change in their friend. Tifa, who had always been cheerful and social, started brooding and talking less and less every day. Only the boy in the house next door remained by her side, even if he couldn't find any words to comfort her with.

Tifa started visiting the Strife's more often, and at one point she was more likely to be found in Ms. Strife's household than her own. With their neighbors she could find resemblance of a normal life. She'd come by after school and hang out with Cloud until his mother came home, and then Tifa would help Ms. Strife cook dinner. Baking lessons were the only thing to light a smile on her face during that year. Afterwards they'd always make Cloud be the guinea pig and try even their most experimental products.

Come evening, and Tifa would reluctantly return to her own home. Ms. Strife never asked questions, but never shut the door on her. She was always welcome and slowly, with time, she started recovering. She would smile more and her eyes wouldn't be so puffy from crying all the time. In school, her friends would talk to her once again. She didn't have to come around so often anymore.

She was sitting in the Strife's kitchen, happily devouring the freshly made cookies. She had finally gotten the receipt right, and even Cloud didn't turn green when he tasted the cookies. The boy sat next to her, both of them dangling their legs in silence when Ms. Strife announced she and Cloud would be going away.

"To Midgar," she explained, "in next month. I got a better job there, and because Cloud doesn't have a dad, I need to take it. Then Cloud can go to the best schools."

Tifa didn't understand. Why were they leaving her? Why couldn't Cloud go to the same school as her, just like before? Why did everything have to change around her?

She had always thought that the Strife's would be there, in the house next door, forever. When everything else in her world was in turmoil, this house would always be the same, this family would always be something she could come to. She didn't want to lose them. She didn't want to lose a single thing ever again. But somehow everything she wished for just escaped her.

"Tifa, dear, you can always write us. And call, too. It's not like we're going to space." But her comforting words didn't matter to Tifa. No matter how often she would write or call, they wouldn't be there to bake cookies with, to spend the afternoons with when she wanted to have nothing to do with her father, just walking around their home like a ghost and whispering words Tifa's mother couldn't hear anymore.

In the end, she couldn't do anything about it. Of course she couldn't, and so she watched from her window as the men loaded up the trucks and drove away. Then Cloud and her mother got into their small car and took a final look at their house before disappearing for something Tifa thought to be eternity. The Strife's didn't know she was there, as she was supposed to be at school. They had said goodbye last night, but she had wanted to witness them leaving with her own eyes.

The following years weren't easy, but gradually things turned to better. Her dad stopped drinking and started working, but their relationship was already hollow and weak so she didn't mind his long absences. They moved also away from the house they had lived in with the three of them, and one day Tifa read from the paper that their old house had been demolished.


His fingers rumbled softly on the steering wheel. He didn't know why he hadn't left already. The school bell had ringed some fifteen minutes ago, but he still was here. Just like waiting, even when he just sat there without any expectations.

His bright blue eyes scanned over the school courtyard and his eyebrows wrinkled in annoyance. What was he doing? That's right, just being plain ridiculous. He groaned and reached for his keys but then that heavy feeling that had glued him in his car seat came back, and Tifa walked into sight. Her face was almost completely hidden in the red scarf around her neck, but Cloud could make out that she was laughing.

He felt stupid and relieved.

Next to Tifa was walking a short, also dark haired girl who looked foreign. Maybe she was an exchange student. It was so like Tifa; stubbornly pushing away all suspicions and getting to know the odd new kid. Cloud remembered she had been the same about him, always remembering to acknowledge him even if others teased her about it.

He also remembered the crush he had on her. He had been so uncomfortable around her, always thinking of a way to impress her and failing miserably.

Now, he knew he didn't care about her anymore. Of course she was a little special, the only face he recognized here was hers, but the embarrassing crush was gone. They were only feelings of childish admiration.

After their move, he had been very interested in how she coped, but it was surprising to notice he still was, at least on some level. She was smiling and laughing, so she had indeed survived. But that was obvious; of course she did survive. She never needed him to help her, and this only confirmed his beliefs.

His gaze followed her until she left the school and parted ways with her friend. Just like he had suspected, she was headed in a strange direction.

So, she didn't live in that house after all.


AN: Still no explanation on what's bugging Cloud! Maybe next time? ...actually, he does act a little stalker-y in this chapter. He could be just crazy, but I'm not telling.

And, I feel bad about ganging Reeve up with the Turks, but I couldn't resist using that label to group them together. A gang with a name is much cooler. Sowwy :(

Anyways, take care and have a great September! Reviews will be met with lots of love!