A/N: 'Pretenses' was originally a plot made for another Kadaj fanfic after 'Thorns on Roses' would be finished. But after becoming so absorbed with Noctis, I realized he and the other FFXV characters would fit the story better. And the education system in this story is different from the real world. Stella, Noctis and the others are graduating college students at the young age of 19. :3 I also created an OC that would play Stella's brother. Originally, I thought about Prompto, but decided otherwise for some reasons. And yes, other Final Fantasy characters will make their various appearances in this story too. Cloud was proof of that in the previous chapter. The only other character that would be sure to not make his appearance is Kadaj [and his brothers. It includes Sephiroth]. Why? Because I might end up writing more in Kadaj's point of view rather than Stella's and Ali's and that would botch the whole story. And I think Sephiroth was primarily cast as the bad guy in my other fics and I think the silver-haired man deserves a break. :3
Thank you for taking the time to review. :) I appreciate it, even though there are only two at the moment. xD I'm updating anyway...
Chapter 3
Thursday could not have come fast enough. To Alisha, the hour hand on the clock seemed to be mocking her excitement. Their assignment only made her excited, and for some reason, she did not feel comfortable about feeling too eager to do a particularly death-worthy task. You had to be insane to want to meet a Mafia member up close. But she really could not help herself. She had been fascinated with these shady groups composed of large numbers and an intricate network. Their hierarchy was one to behold. There was a point in her life when she thought she was crazy herself. It had been a life long dream to at least meet a mafia member or catch a glimpse of them. It was the dream that pushed her to study and learn the inner workings of the mass media. It seemed like her only ticket to accomplishing this dark dream of hers.
It started out merely as childish curiosity on her part. She had read an article about them once and how sheltered and top secret the organization could be. Yes, the Mafia is a group and term largely known all over the world, but even the article she read only seemed to skim the surface of what it was really like. She knew the basics of course; she was familiar with the hierarchy, and how they operated. She knew it was an illegal organization, but the influence had spread around the globe. To take down the Mafia, one had to take down the Mafia Boss. The police hadn't found any leads, and she often wondered why when she was a little girl. And as she grew older, she realized things a little more clearly. The Mafia was a large network that spread around the globe. It was highly likely that they had associates among the police and even the military. Hell, even the government could be involved for all she knew.
In any case, that was how Alisha found herself on a Wednesday night; lying awake in bed, staring up at her purple ceiling, trying to reign in her eagerness to meet whoever this Mafia member was. There was just something dark and dangerous about the organization that fueled her undying curiosity. She had been so happy when Stella hadn't refused her idea for their investigative journalism assignment. She was rather thrilled to get started. And thinking about the assignment, she hadn't been able to come up with a pseudo name yet. That made her wonder what Stella had come up with.
She couldn't very well use Ali, because it was practically her nickname. She had come up with a few earlier today at class, but they all came out either sounding obvious or just plain stupid. She huffed. She might need Stella's help after all, that is to think, the other girl had already come up with one.
Some time later she thought she was far too excited to even catch some sleep, but eventually, Alisha woke up to the sound of her digital alarm clock ringing its mechanical head off, trying to shake her out of dream land. The sun was bright and it shone slightly through the thin curtains framing her glass windows. Groggy sleep-filled eyes blinked up at a bare ceiling before settling on to her phone resting on the night stand on the bed. She reached for it with stiff fingers just to check for messages. Seeing as there were none, Ali figured now would be a good time as any to get out of bed and get ready for school. They were going to be up late tonight, and she was more than eager to get the schoolwork over with so she and Stella could meet this intriguing person.
vVvVv
The school hallways were noisy with college students preparing for first period or merely hanging out. It wasn't such a surprise to see Stella digging for stuff in her locker with Noctis hovering around her like a twittering little bird. The two had been dating for a fortnight now, and Ali still could not understand why Stella ever found Noctis to be her ideal mate. She agreed with everybody else that he was attractive, and she suspected most of the girls in the University only had eyes for him because of the money, but she knew Stella wasn't after that. Her best friend genuinely liked the guy. But there was something about him that generally made her uneasy. He seemed intimidating. Looking at them now as she approached with small and slow steps, she could see that Stella was really enjoying his presence, so she figured it was just her male preferences. After all, Night Light wasn't really her type of guy. He was just too...dark and colorless. Always black. He was a black person.
'Wow, I sound racist.' She thought with a huff.
"Ali!" Well, Stella greeted her before she could.
"Morning, Stella." She replied with a happy smile on her face, only glancing at Noctis to gauge him.
"You're actually early." The man spoke, wonderment laced around his tone.
She shot him a glare. "Can it, Night Light. I don't want to ruin my day by starting an argument with obnoxious little you."
Oh yes. She had failed to mention that Noctis was too much of a smart ass. Sometimes, she wondered if Stella was annoyed with their constant bickering. Not that she could help it though. Noctis riled her up all the time, and she had a flare for talking back especially when she was being provoked relentlessly.
"I'll 'can it' if you would actually stop calling me that, Alice in Wonderland."
"I don't understand what is so terrible with 'Night Light.' It's your frickin' name!"
"No it's not." He shook his head. "My name is Noctis. There's a difference."
"Noctis Lucis literally means 'Night Light.'"
"Ah, but there is a difference. You see, 'Night Light'—" he winced. "—is just a translation of my name. But that is not my name at all. Otherwise, if it becomes a habit—which I already think it is—you're going to start calling Stella 'Star Night' any time soon."
"Don't drag your girlfriend into this. You're the one who's having name problems! Geez, if you're that miserable with your name, why are you telling me? Go blame your mom."
"I think you two should just stop." Stella mused, and Ali turned expecting to see an irritated expression, but didn't really foresee the mirth glittering within her best friend's eyes.
"He started it." She mumbled like a kid.
"Did not." He muttered, giving her an exasperated look as the three of them began walking down the halls to the mini library within the main building.
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too—times a billion!"
"Did not—times infinity, in every space time continuum!"
Stella sighed a martyr's sigh as they paused just in front of the doors of the mini library. She turned to the both of them with a very amused smile and a glitter in her eyes. The two stopped bickering for a while until they were inside and found a table fairly secluded from the rest. Stella approached it and took a seat. Ali took the one on Stella's right, and Noctis sat down across them both. Stella got up a moment later to find a book that would help with her homework, which left Ali alone with Noctis. It was never a good idea to leave them unsupervised.
"Jerk." Ali muttered, doodling on one of her notepads.
"Insensitive creep." Noctis murmured under his breath.
"Homophobe."
"What?" Noctis blinked at her in disbelief. Now that was just random. "Fine. I'll play your game, Pyromaniac."
She glared at him. "There is no game, Night Light."
"Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Calling me a table lamp."
"I don't agree with your last name either. You're not exactly the stuff of Heaven."
"Never said I was, Fish Tail." He drawled, smirking at her discomfort.
"So now you're picking on my hairstyle?"
He shrugged. "It is a fish tail, isn't it?" He gestured to the braid hanging down from her head.
"Shut up. You need an introduction with a brush." She drew a tiny circle on the paper. "Oh no, wait. On second thought, forget the brush. It would probably break in two when it comes to contact with your hair. I don't understand why guys want their hair to stick up straight in every direction. You all look like you've gone through a severe case of electrocution and every part of you has recovered except for your hair."
Noctis was looking at her exasperatedly. "I don't know if you're familiar with the word 'preference.' It looks better that way. Leave it at that."
"You're wasting money on pathetic gel, believe me."
"It's wax." He droned.
"Floor wax?" She asks with wide eyes, feigning innocence.
"Hair wax, you dolt." He hissed at her, tugging at a lock of spiky hair.
"You never specified."
Noctis rolled his eyes. "If you're smart enough to figure anything out, I don't need to specify."
"If you're smart enough to figure out that the other person doesn't know what you mean and needs a clarification of your point, then you have to specify things in the first place."
"Oh so, you're admitting you're a dolt?" Noctis smirked smugly.
"I never admitted to anything." She protested defiantly. Damn Noctis and his thick skull.
"Yeah you did. You're initial statement only served to prove my previous point." He grinned.
"How does Stella put up with your idiocy?"
Stella sighed as she watched the pair she had left behind on one of the polished library tables. She for one did not understand what Alisha found so irritating in Noctis, and what the latter found infuriating about Alisha. The two could get along, but those moments were always brief. Noctis would often say something and soon find himself being countered by Alisha and vice versa. She had never seen two people argue as much as they did before. It was rather amusing to watch. Sometimes she wondered if they could keep it up for twenty-four hours straight. It would make a world record she was sure. The two never ran out of topics to argue on. It was often little things, and could be considered petty most of the time.
Noctis was a challenging person. Even she had her moments of intense bantering with him. All of which ended with her losing and he would give her a knowing look and a smirk. They were often petty things too. Alisha, on the other hand, was an exceptionally talented person when it came to forming comebacks, and she had seen almost anyone who dared to argue with her best friend to lose at some point. But looking at them now as they argued heatedly, she was guessing Noctis and Alisha were close to combust with their words. Noctis was a smart ass and that was why it usually left someone exasperated after picking a verbal fight with him. Alisha seemed to be the only person other than herself who would rise to the challenge head on. The only difference being she knew winning against him was a gamble, but Alisha could still go on and on; never running out of things to tease Noctis with and rile him up even more.
It was a good thing that these things were far from distracting Ali though, because Stella could not have her best friend distracted tonight when they had a grand meeting to prepare for.
vVvVv
Time. They had a lot of that, and they had to find ways to get rid of it. The meeting was at ten in the evening, and they still had roughly six hours of free time. Stella sighed as she flipped through pages of a book she was looking through in the University's archives. They had a mini library in the building, but there was another building on campus that was a library entirely. There seemed to be an infinite number of books. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined the walls and were neatly arranged in rows, making the ground floor look like a maze of reading materials. Ali's dismissal was at five-thirty, and that left Stella to wander the campus alone in search of something fruitful to do, so she figured she would do some added research about the Mafia. Noctis was in class as well, so she took the ample opportunity to stock up a bit on their chosen topic. Their teacher had been skeptical and had warned them sternly when she and Ali told her their idea. In the end, the woman agreed so long as her students would be careful.
She flipped through another yellowed page, trying to read as much as she skimmed one page. Normally, she would have gone to the second floor to use the internet to browse for information, but she decided that there were simply bits and pieces of knowledge unique in written materials. The internet was quite unreliable at times, and she had already browsed through search engines regarding a mafia. Besides, books always had the canny ability to distract her.
Twenty minutes of utter tranquility and peace and she was hit with a tiny crumpled bit of paper. She scowled, looking at her shoulder where she had been assailed and then her gaze shifted to the offensive wad of paper on the floor. Dark blue eyes scanned the room, eager to find the culprit and demand an explanation for the blatant way of trying to get her attention. That was before she felt a hard hand on her shoulder and she jumped slightly, barely suppressing the startled yelp that came out of her mouth.
She whirled around only to catch a familiar head of spiky black hair and vibrant blue eyes.
"Zack, you scared me." She huffed, sending the guy a non-hostile glare.
Zack laughed quietly, before pushing back a chair and claiming the seat next to her. "Haven't seen you all week, Princess."
Stella chuckled at the little nickname. "You have now." She smiled, nonchalantly closing the book and inwardly disappointed that her moment of researching was over. She knew how talkative Zack was, and there really was no stopping him once he started. She couldn't very well concentrate on her task with him chatting her up anyway, so might as well stop.
"Watcha reading?"
"Just an encyclopedia." She shrugged, tapping her fingers non rhythmically against the hardbound cover.
"Studious as ever, eh?" He teased, elbowing her side playfully.
"Necessary when you're graduating." She nodded once. "How have you been, Zack?"
"Still alive." He grinned. "Wanna grab something to eat?"
That was certainly uncalled for, but she figured she could use a snack. She had an hour to wait for Alisha.
"Sure, why not?"
So in precisely fifteen minutes later, she and Zack were seated on one of the picnic tables just outside the cafeteria. Zack was happily licking away at the ice cream cone he had bought, and she contented herself with watching him as she nibbled on the waffles in her hand. Zack—like Aerith—was another friend from high school, one of the few people she really enjoyed hanging out with. The guy was an easy companion, always warm and very welcoming. Sometimes, she couldn't really help but stare at him and notice the slightest resemblance with Noctis. They both had spiky black hair...and vibrant blue eyes. The complexion was the only difference. Where as Noctis was pale, Zack was tan.
"So, how are things going with you and Noctis?" He asked. She forgot to mention he was quite nosy.
"We're fine, I guess." She took a sip of blue iced tea in a cup. The kind you could acquire from a vending machine.
"That implies a lot of things." He grinned knowingly, playing with his phone in one hand.
"It does." It came out sounding like a statement rather than question it was meant to be.
"Damn, Princess. Quite the catch you had there." He winked at her, and Stella groaned.
"Zack..."
"I'm serious, Stell! Do you know how many women trip over their own two feet just trying to get Noctis' attention?"
"I have no desire to count." She sighed. That fact baffled her still.
Besides, it wasn't just Noctis the ladies in this University fawned over. They pretty much did all they can to have every desirable man turn their heads. Zack and Cloud were among the many aforementioned men. Cloud was just too damn quiet and broody to strangers, and Zack had eyes only for Aerith. She wasn't sure about the others. Thoughts of men were usually pushed to the back of her mind; always deciding to ponder on them later when she had spare time. Noctis just made her notice him.
"But you are curious, and I just know it." He flashed a brilliant smile at her.
"Just because I'm curious, does not mean I care to find the answers."
"You're starting to sound like him too!" He laughed at that, throwing his head back as he did.
It was going to be a long afternoon indeed...
vVvVv
The rest of the day went by in a complete blur to Alisha. She was still too giddy about the idea of actually meeting a Mafia member. It had her on her toes. Hell, even her petty argument with Noctis did not serve as an ample distraction from her excitement. Class could not have been over fast enough. When it was dismissal time, she had rushed to meet Stella near the cafeteria where she caught the girl hanging out with Zack. Just another one of those pretty boys this school actually had. They had hours to kill before the meeting and she joined the pair and easily caught on with the flowing conversation; that was dominated largely by Zack. Stella had offered her a bite of some cold waffles but she declined. Soon enough, Stella's boyfriend arrived at the scene, backpack slung over one shoulder as he approached them and dropped a kiss on Stella's cheek. It had her rolling her eyes. Okay, it wasn't really a blatant display of affection, but it was way too cheesy to her tastes, no matter how mundane it looked.
She considered giving a comment but she bit back the words that threatened to spill from her sharp tongue. Instead, she had focused her attention on Zack and to whatever he was saying. It wasn't long before Zack had to leave because he was late for his five-thirty class. Although it never bothered her when Stella and Noctis were together, but she sometimes felt like a third wheel having to trail after them as they walked through the hallways. It was clear what Stella was trying to do though. Her friend had to find a way to send Noctis home so they could proceed with their plans. According to Stella, they were to meet Cloud at the parking lot when their classes were over. He would be waiting for them there.
It wasn't until they were passing the laboratories that Stella finally turned to her with a glint in her eyes. She took that as a sign to go on ahead and meet Cloud so the poor dude wouldn't have to waste hours away waiting without certainty for two students who were practically asking for huge favors. And besides, she had the feeling her two companions would start swapping spit soon. It wasn't a very kind description, but it was what she thought about kissing, in all honesty. The hallways near the laboratories were quite secluded, so she knew a lot of couples often made detours to said area to do some things. So she had left Noctis and Stella to their business, and hoped her best friend would find quicker ways to actually convince Noctis to let Stella ride with her after school. The guy was too damn protective—a quality she would have appreciated and dreaded at the same time.
The early evening air blowing through the trees outside was chilly. It was too be expected at an autumn season. Winter was just around the corner and she did not have doubts that it would be snowing soon. There were still a few students around, and she easily caught sight of another blonde head riddled with spikes standing near a car. Thoughts of her argument with Noctis early this morning came back to mind, and she sincerely did wonder why guys liked their hair styled that way. It made her wonder how much income the hair wax manufacturers generated.
Cloud had called for her attention before she could. So, she wordlessly sprinted over to him and opened the door to the back seat while he took the driver's side.
"So where's Stella?" He asked curiously, looking at Alisha through the rear view mirror.
"On her way now hopefully. She was stalling Noctis." She explained, but didn't elaborate.
Cloud shook his head. "Is he that hard on her?"
She actually smirked at that. "Just overly protective."
"I would have a lot more to say if I knew." He sighed just as they both spotted a lone figure jogging up in their direction.
"Quicker than I expected. I was actually wondering if it would take her a couple of minutes." Ali chuckled.
"That long?"
"You have no idea, Strife." She smirked just as the door opposite her popped open and Stella immediately hopped in and carelessly threw her bag at her feet in the process.
Stella looked a little flustered...and breathless. Ali had a feeling she did not want to know. Either her best friend was red from all the running or she and her boyfriend had been getting busy. Probably both from how breathless Stella currently was.
"We've got loads of time to kill, but are you girls ready? I could use the time to give you a free briefing." He joked, chuckling at them.
"Then go." She nodded eagerly, sparing Stella a glance and giving her time to actually inhale and exhale.
vVvVv
The car was speeding along the asphalt road, whizzing past brightly lit buildings and the twinkling lights wrapped around each tree that decorated the divider between lanes. Ali thought her feet couldn't get any hotter. She wanted to manipulate time right now to rush the moment.
"So Stella, what went on back there?" She asked her friend curiously, trying to distract herself from getting ahead of events.
Stella shook her head. "You don't want to know. Noctis is on his way home and let's leave it at that." She nodded once.
"Didn't put up a fight?" She asked curiously.
"Not needed." Her best friend smiled. "I told him we were going out and it's a girl thing."
"And it's one quality I actually like about him. He's not nosy." Ali tapped the window, just as the car slowed to a halt.
"Traffic. Wonderful." Cloud grumbled from the driver's seat, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as he glowered at the traffic lights.
"Hey Cloud, tell us about the guy we're meeting." Ali chirped, eagerly leaning forward in her seat to gape at the man.
There was a moment of silence when Cloud rubbed the back of his neck in quiet thought before he spoke.
"I think you'll find him to be quite all right." He nodded once, discreetly observing Ali's facial expressions through the rear view mirror.
"And how do you mean?" Stella inquired, arms folded across her chest.
"He's...not what you might expect, I guess." Cloud muttered, mindful of the way Ali's eyes widened in utter fascination.
"You mean, he won't be wearing that classical mafia hat and sunglasses to try and hide his identity?" Ali asked, a wide grin plastered across her overly excited face.
"That's ridiculous." Stella chuckled. "I'm thinking more along the lines of a man wearing a tailored suit and looking like any other regular employee in an office."
"That's just too plain!" Ali argued.
Cloud shook his head, stepping on the clutch and accelerator as they drove through city roads again. "Why are you trying to make guesses on what he looks like anyway?"
"Because I think they're really cool!" Ali bounced on her seat, tousling Cloud's spiky hair in the process.
"I hope you two have your names ready. You wouldn't want to end up like a total idiot trying to bumble out some random name that wouldn't make sense." Cloud mused, shifting gears as he took a turn.
"I'm going as Leah." Ali nodded once, looking at Stella expectantly.
"Seraphine." Stella whispered, looking out the window as she drowned in her thoughts.
A/N: I am aware that according to the internet, Noctis Lucis Caelum can either mean "Sky of the Night's Light" or "Sky of the Light's Night". "Night Light" is a word for word translation of Noctis' name, and Alisha relentlessly taunts him for that... :3 Meeting's in the next chapter, I swear!