Path
between Light and Darkness
Chapter 3: Friendship
Yuna greeted
me at the school gate the following day. I hung out with her for most
of the day. She started acting a little odd in first period, and I
had a feeling something was wrong. Although, I left it up to her to
tell me. She finally talked to me about her problem at lunch.
"Tidus?" I glanced up at Yuna from my food. She appeared even
more worried than before. "What's wrong?" I queried.
"I-."
"Hello, there, Yuna." A grey-haired teen called.
His maroon eyes unsettled me a bit, and I saw Yuna shiver under his
gaze.
"Hello, Seymour." she said. I growled silently at him.
Finally, he turned his attention to me. I met his glare with one of
my own.
"Oh, hello, Tidus." He sneered as he said my name. My
glare became more venomous. He focused his gaze back to Yuna. "It
was good to see you again, Yuna." He smirked at me, smiled at her,
and strolled away slowly. Before he was out of sight, he glanced back
at me and grinned disturbingly.
"How can you stand that guy?"
I murmured.
"Oh, he's just a little rough around the edges."
Yuna assured. "He was one of my best friends since we were little,
but lately we've been drifting apart. The gap seems to increase
everyday."
"Huh?! I mean what?!" I composed myself. "He
doesn't seem to be the best friend type."
She stared at me
strangely, "What do you mean?"
"Well, lightly speaking, he…
hates my guts."
"But I like you as a friend."
"You
really mean it?"
"Of course, silly. You're a good person,
and no one has ever befriended me for so long except for Rikku and
Paine, obviously."
"Thanks, Yuna, it means a lot to me that
you say that. Hey! I got an idea! We can hang out over at the Play
Island this after school!" She gave me a quizzical look. "Just as
friends." I clarified.
"Oh, well that sounds like fun!"
"Meet
me after school by the docks. I'll bring food and anything else we
need. See you after school." I dashed away down the hall for class,
eager for school to end. I heard Yuna whisper behind me, "Yeah, see
you."
The rest of the day flew by without anything happening,
and I told my plan to Rikku and Paine my plans with Yuna after school
so they wouldn't worry. I raced home and bounded up the steps to my
room. I changed my clothes to a blue shirt, sky blue pants, and
sandals. I went downstairs and snatched two sea-salt ice cream bars
from the freezer. "Tidus, is that you?" my mom called.
"Yeah!
I'm going out with Yuna for a bit; I'll be back before
11:00!"
"Okay! Just be careful!" She warned.
I met Yuna
at the docks. When she turned to face me, I gasped in awe of her. Her
swimsuit hugged her curves perfectly and accented the light tan of
her skin. However, her long hair radiated a golden glow in the
sunlight. Her uneven eyes sparkled like the ocean waves around her.
'Whoa! She's beautiful!' I thought. "Um, Tidus, what are you
staring at?" she asked timidly.
"Oh! Uh, it's just that…
you look very pretty in your swimsuit." I blushed harshly as I said
this, and I could tell she was too by the pink on her cheeks. "Thank
you. Maybe we should go now." She suggested.
"Uh,
right! Let's get going!" We climbed into my boat together, and I
rowed us to the island. "Wow! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. I
just smiled at her as we got closer to the island.
I helped her
out and sat down on the beach; she mirrored my example. I breathed a
relieved sigh and lied down on my back. "This place is amazing. I
never thought an island can be so breathtaking."
"Yeah,
Destiny Islands is full of surprises." I remarked.
"Is the
Twilight Town part of it this unique, too?" I glanced up at her. I
sat up so that I was facing her. "Well, yeah it is. If you go to
the balcony of the clock tower you can see the whole Destiny
archipelago, the sunset, and the Twilight Forest all in one view.
It's pretty awesome."
"Wow, all that in one view. I would
like to see it sometime."
"Don't worry. I'll take you one
day. It's a promise." she smiled that brilliant smile at me. I
handed her one of the sea-salt ice creams, "Here. Eat this." She
licked it and immediately grimaced, "What kind of ice cream is
this?"
"Wait for it." I urged. She gazed at me quizzically
for a moment before she hummed a satisfying "Mmmmm."
"Salty
but sweet." I told her as I licked my own bar. We ate our ice
creams in silence just enjoying each other's company. Purple crept
across the sky as the sun set below the horizon. "We'd better get
back home now before my parents kill me, especially my dad." I
said. Yuna nodded in agreement. I rowed us back to the main island
and watched Yuna run home. "Thanks, Tidus, see ya at school
tomorrow!" she yelled back at me.
"Bye!" I answered loudly.
I turned and raced off to my own abode. My mom and dad were in the
kitchen. "Have fun today, kid?" my dad asked.
I gazed
playfully at both of them: "You have no idea." They looked at
each other eyebrows raised. I grinned widely and went to bed.
