Chapter 4: It's A Surprise (Part 2)

Cloud and I walked through the bustling streets of Midgar. Not much was going on on a Sunday afternoon, no surprise. We didn't exchange any words during our little stroll, Cloud kept his gaze directly in front, a smile still playing on his face. I kept wondering what he was up to, but I couldn't think of anything.

"So, what's this surprise?" I asked.

Cloud was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about whether or not he whould tell me, or maybe he was just ignoring me. I was about to repeat my question, but then he spoke up.

"The surprise is exactly what it is, a surprise."

"I don't get a hint?" I asked.

"Nope."

I sighed and made a pouting face. I heard Cloud chuckle next to me.

"Don't worry," He said, "we're almost there."

"Almost where?"

"You'll see when we get there."

We walked in silence for a few more minutes, then Cloud stopped. I looked at him and he nodded to the right. I looked, all I saw was an abandoned building and an alley way. I looked back at Cloud, not hiding my confusion. He glanced at me, then back at the building.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." He said.

"Cloud, I've been in abandoned buildings before."

Cloud shook his head, released his arm from my grasp, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a red bandanna. I looked cautiously at it. Being blindfolded wasn't my thing. Cloud saw the look on my face and went into a panic mode.

"No no no! I'm not going to rape you or anything like that! I promise you can trust me." He said, "Like I said, it's a surprise, and I don't want the gaps in the wall to give it away."

The sincerity in his eyes told me that he was telling the truth. I knew that Cloud could never do me any harm, but I don't give trust out to easily, anybody who does is in for a world of hurt when that trust is broken. I glanced to the side, then walked closer to Cloud. I looked him in the eyes, my gaze telling him that if he tries to pull anything stupid, I'll kick his ass. Cloud nodded and I turned my back to him. Slowly, the blindfold came over my eyes, and Cloud tied it behind my head. There were no spots for me to peek out of, I was completely blind.

"Ok Cloud, I'm trusting you to be my eyes. Don't throw me through a wall." I joked.

Cloud chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt."

I felt Cloud's hands lightly grab a a hold of my shoulders. His touch sent electricity through my body, an odd sensation for me, but I liked it. Pushing me slightly, I walked forward towards the abandoned building. Cloud stopped me and let go of my bare shoulders. His footsteps stopped in front of me, he grabbed my hand, and lead me forward.

"There's a pile of rocks here, watch your step." He said, "Or would you rather me carry you inside?"

I smiled, "Thank you for the offer, Cloud, but I think I can manage."

With my hand still attached to Cloud's, I slowly, and shakily, stepped on the broken concrete and into the room. My sandals clicked as I stepped down, telling me I was on a hard wood floor. The room smelled of dust and mold, making my nose cringe. Cloud switched the hand holding mine and put his free arm behind my shoulder.

"Ok, start walking." He said in my ear.

Slowly, we started to walk forward. Small stones were crushed under our feet and our footsteps seemed to echo around the old building. I heard water dripping from somewhere, and birds flying around. Cloud never let go of me, he guided me through the invisible structure, leading me to this secret area that I was not allowed to know about. Cloud stopped me and let go of my shoulder. He held into both of my hands and pulled me forward.

"You're gonna feel a difference in the floor texture." He said, "We're at the very center, and this is where the surprise is."

I nodded my head, and let him lead me the rest of the way. The floor went from hard, rough, wood, to a soft grass feeling. I felt long blades of grass tickle my ankles as I walked past them.

"Ok, stop here." Cloud said.

I did as instructed by the guy I was trusting to be my eyes. He walked behind me and untied the bandanna. Still keeping it over my eyes, he leaned closer to my ear.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" He whispered.

His breath sent a shiver down my spine. It's unnatural to get these feelings from a guy that I've only known for a few days, no matter how breath taking he is.

"Yes, I'm ready." I smiled.

The darkness from the bandanna was replaced by bright sunlight and a multitude of colors. I stared wide eyed at the scene around me. Cloud and I stood smack in the middle of a beautiful flower garden. It wasn't a large garden, but it was spectacular in itself. The number of different flowers was more then I could count.

"Was it worth the wait?" Cloud asked beside me.

"It's amazing, this place is amazing." I said, ignoring his question, "How did you find this?"

"I actually found it the day before I met you. I was doing rounds and I thought I heard someone talking in here. They sounded kinda frantic so I came in to check, and I found this place." He said.

I looked at him, "This was totally worth the wait."

Cloud smiled, and sat down. I sat next to him, and set the rose he gave me, beside me.

"So, Cloud, I have a preposition for you." I said.

"Alright."

"I want to know more about you. So, I'll ask you a question, then you can ask me a question." I said, "Sound fair?"

Cloud looked at me and nodded his head. He had a look of eagerness in his eyes. Like he wanted to know more about me.

"Ok, so where are you from?" I asked.

"Just some backwater town called Nibelheim." He answered.

"Ahh, a Country Boy huh?"

Cloud chuckled, "Ok, so where are you from?"

"I'm from another backwater town called Gongaga." I said proudly.

Cloud started laughing the second after I pronounced my home town. I lightly glared at him.

"What's so funny?" I said sternly.

"Gongaga is just such a weird name." He laughed.

"Yeah, well so is Nibelheim. I mean, who came up with that name?"

Cloud smiled and light pushed my shoulder. I pushed him back, and it turned into a game, see who could push the other the hardest. A silly game, I know, but it was fun for the time being, until we started asking questions again.

"Alright, next question." I said, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope, only child. What about you?"

"I have an older brother, he's in SOLDIER also."

Cloud tensed up. I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. Zack is cool. He's funny and...well I can't really say smart, but he hasn't gotten himself killed yet, so smartish. If it wasn't for the two years between us, we'd be twins. No joke, we look alike and act alike."

A long exhale escaped Cloud as he relaxed. The questions continued for what seemed like hours, as Cloud and I got to know each other better. This was another first for me, I felt as if I could tell Cloud anything. I told him everything about me, my past, my hometown. Hell, I even told him everything about Zack. It was so weird to be able to open up to someone like this, but I felt comfortable doing it. Before we knew it, it was already sunset. Cloud stood up and helped me up also.

"So, do I have to be blindfolded while we walk out too, or am I allowed to use my eyes?" I joked.

Cloud pretended to think about my question, a smile on his handsome features, and his hand on his chin.

"Well, I suppose I can let you know the way out, as long as you don't tell anybody about this place." He said.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." I smiled.

The streets of Midgar were illuminated by the few streetlights provided in this part of the city. Nobody was around, which could mean one of two things. Either they all had work tomorrow, or the infantrymen on duty tonight shooed everybody to their houses early. Cloud held his hand out to me. I grabbed a hold of it and laced my fingers with his.

"Want me to walk you home?" He asked.

I smiled at him, "That sounds nice."

I led him back to mine and Zack's apartment. The time was going on 11:30PM, still early, but not early enough. Cloud and I stood at the front door in silence. He looked sheepishly at his feet and scuffed his boots on the cement step.

"Do you wanna come in?" I asked, "Zack is off on a mission and it's just me here."

A tint of blush came onto Cloud's cheeks. I giggled at how cute he looked when he's shy. He nodded his head and I opened the door to let him in. I locked the door and slipped my sandals off, glad to finally be rid of the ridiculous shoes. Cloud kept his boots on. I didn't mind, Zack did it all the time, and we had a disgusting dark green carpet anyway, so it was easy to clean. I had a nervous feeling suddenly come over me. I've never had a guy come over while Zack wasn't home, actually, I've never had a guy over PERIOD. This was the first time ever a guy had been in this apartment besides Zack.

"So, uhh..make yourself at home. I'm going to get changed."

I hurridly walked to my room and quickly closed the door behind me. I took a moment to steady my breathing, then changed into my normal red halter, and black shorts. I stayed barefoot, my feet were killing me from those damn sandals that I would never in my life wear again. My phone still sat where I left it when I rushed out the door this afternoon, I turned it on and it came to life with messages, most were from Zack, but the other few were from my parents. I read through them, then put my phone back in my pocket. I walked back into the living room, were Cloud still stood beside the couch. He looked so uncomfortable that I almost felt bad for inviting him in.

"If you didn't want to come in, you could have said no." I said in a hushed tone.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders, "I did want to come in, I'm just afraid of your brother showing up and mauling me for being alone with his little sister."

A small laugh escaped me.

"Don't worry, Zack's not coming home for awhile yet. He left me a voice mail saying he'd be later than he originally thought. You're safe."

Cloud relaxed and sat down with a 'Thank God'. I rocked back and forth on my feet, then had a sudden idea.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry. Maybe both?" I asked.

Before he could answer, a loud growl escaped from his stomach. Cloud's face turned red and he looked away from me.

"I thought so, well I'll get you some water first. Hopefully there's still some left overs in the fridge."

I walked across the room and into the kitchen. There were some dirty dishes in the sink from my breakfast this morning that I hadn't taken the time to wash yet, but those could wait until later. I opened the cupboard with the cups in it. I took two glasses off the shelf, one slipped out of my grasp and shattered on the counter. One of the broken shards bounced off the counter and embedded itself into my forearm.

"Ah! Dammit!" I cursed.

Cloud came rushing into the kitchen after hearing the crash, and saw me grasp my bleeding arm, muttering a series of curse words that would make Zack's ears bleed. He walked over to me in three long strides, and took my bloody hand off my arm.

"Do you have a first aid kit here?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's in the bathroom under the sink." I replied.

"Alright, come on."

Cloud lightly touched my elbow and led me to the bathroom. I sat down on the counter next to the sink as he fumbled through the first aid kit. He pulled out a bottle of peroxide, some cotton, and a bandage. He turned to me.

"Let me see your arm."

I held out my bleeding arm to him and he examined the cut. He grabbed a pair of tweezers that were in the first aid kit, and pulled the glass shard from my skin. I winced as it rubbed against the inside layers and let out more blood. Cloud held my arm over the sink and poured the peroxide on the cut. I cursed as the medicine cleaned my wound, but stung like hell. I was told to hold the cotton on my cut, to soak up the remaining blood, then Cloud wrapped the bandage around my arm.

"Are you always this clumsy?" he asked.

"No, that glass decided it wanted to fly and hurt me at the same time." I huffed.

Cloud chuckled and put the items back into the first aid kit. He looked at my arm and made sure the bandage was securely wrapped around the cut.

"Do I get a lolly pop for being such a good patient?" I joked.

"Sorry, fresh out."

Cloud looked back up at me, except his face was closer to mine then last time, so close that our noses were almost touching. We both blushed, but neither of us moved away. I reached up and lightly touched his cheek with the back of my hand. I looked into his blue eyes, as he looked into mine. Our lips got closer to each others. Just as the gap was about to be filled, my phone loudly went off, making us jump and move away from each other. I hopped off the counter and took my phone out of my pocket. Zack's name was on the caller ID. I looked back to Cloud, who was looking else where in the room.

"It's Zack. I'm sorry." I said, and walked out of the bathroom.

The conversation was short between my brother and I. He usually checks up on me when he's away, to make sure I'm not causing trouble or out past my curfew.

"Ok, talk to ya later bro."

I flipped my phone shut and slipped it back into my pocket. Cloud stood in the hallway, that shy look on his features again.

"I'm gonna go. I got work tomorrow, so.."

"Yeah..ok. I understand. I should probably get some sleep to." I said.

Cloud nodded and walked to the front door. I walked after him, just as he unlocked the door and walked out.

"Hey, Cloud." I said.

He looked back at me, and I lightly pecked him on the lips. A short brief kiss, but I couldn't stand the remaining tension left from the bathroom episode. His face turned all sorts of shades of red. My cheeks were also blazing, but I still smiled at him.

"Thank you. I had a really nice time today." I said.

Cloud gulped, "Not a problem. Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Yeah, definitely."

He nodded, and slowly walked out of the apartment, and I closed the door behind him. I stood there long then I should have, but I was stuck in a daydream of the entire day, all the events leading up to that little kiss that still had my heart beating. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold wood of he door.

"Ok, Senna. It's safe to admit it now." I said, "You're crushing...badly."