-To My Beloved-

A/N:I know what you're thinking; holy shit she's updating! Okay, so I don't really want to rant but I got my internet back and I can now continue writing! I have made the decision not to post anything new what so ever as tempting as it may get until I finish at least one damn story! I also want to apologize to every single reviewer who has been waiting for me to return and update! I am very, truly, deeply, sorry xD. I must have been an extreme pain to put up with but thank you for it anyways even though you hate me right now. I also would like to clear up some writing errors in previous "nooby" chapters.

Jacob

Mrs. Strife is a blonde

Ages are as follows:

Tifa: 7-10 years old in the 'younger years' chapters

Cloud: 9-11 in the 'younger years' chapters

Barret: 10-12 in the 'younger years' chapters

Zack: 9-11 in the 'younger years' chapters

Johnny: 9-11 in the 'younger years' chapters

When I finish this story, I will go back and edit those three crappy chapters. Sorry for the rant!

Chapter Four -Knight in Shining Tinfoil-

She didn't want to join them. As a matter of fact, she was dreading the very thought of it. Exactly ten months had passed by since the day she had first arrived at the Strife mansion and she could still recall the great amount of nervousness she had felt from the moment she had stepped inside. She could also recall the very first time she had laid eyes upon Cloud. She had been so curious and so intent on figuring out exactly how he worked. Actually, she had no idea how any boy worked and now that she was suddenly thrown into a group of them, she was worried. She didn't know how to act around them since just the simple fact that she was a girl was enough for Johnny to pick on her and for the rest of them to feel uncomfortable around her.

Johnny…He was as cold and mean to her as the first time he met her. He constantly pulled her hair, scribbled on her drawings, called her names, destroyed her dolls, stole her toys, drew on her shoes, and put tin foil in her food. There were many other things he enjoyed doing to her but he had to be sneaky since Barret had kept his promise. So now, Johnny simply bothered her when Barret didn't show up or when they were alone.

However, for some strange reason, she always found her eyes traveling towards Cloud, as if she almost expected him to react; to help her and tell Johnny to leave her alone. Each time, she looked away disappointed though since Cloud either didn't notice at all or simply stared on blankly at both of them. She needed to stop thinking she could rely on him since he barely talked to her at all anymore. The more they grew up, the more distant he became to her but it may have also had to do with the fact that she was a girl and had other things to do while he was the boy who did whatever he liked to do.

She sighed and quickly followed Mrs. Strife down the corridor, her fancy shoes clicking delicately against the tiled floor. She was told to join Cloud and his gang during the fancy dinner party his mother was throwing. It was strictly for grown ups but Mrs. Strife insisted that she wanted the kids to be there just because she did not believe in dumping children in the hands of someone besides herself. She was a principal at a high school after all and only wanted the best for her one and only son.

"Okay Tifa, we will call you all downstairs when it's time to eat. So just stay in the room unless you need something or one of those ruthless boys is being mean to you, alright? You come and tell me and I'll be sure to take care of the matter."

Tifa nodded her head politely as Mrs. Strife had bent down to straighten out a few loose strands of chocolate crisp hair. She also ironed out the puffy red velvet skirt with her hands as Tifa stood still and allowed her to do so. After everything had been in place and Tifa began to look like a real life porcelain doll, Mrs. Strife smiled at her generously and then stood up to knock loudly on Cloud's bedroom door.

"Who is it?"

Mrs. Strife sighed as Cloud's voice, as well as the noises coming from an obvious videogame. were heard coming from inside the room.

"It's Santa Claus, Cloud! Now stop being silly and open this door! How many times have I told you not to lock it?!"

Tifa tried hard to suppress a giggle by placing her hand over her mouth as she heard Cloud groan and his friends laugh out loud. A small clicking sound was heard and the door creaked open to reveal a very embarrassed Cloud who refused to look up at his mother's face.

"Okay, Tifa is going to be joining you today until you are all called down for dinner. Make sure you let her play with you otherwise she'll let me know and you'll be in big trouble, mister!"

Cloud's mom gave him a stern look and he finally looked up at her, glaring at her sarcastically. She then turned her attention to Tifa and nudged her forward into Cloud's bedroom. Cloud opened his door further so that she could step inside and as soon as she did, she was confronted by Johnny's obnoxious, ugly face. Tifa cringed involuntarily and stepped back as soon as her eyes met with his disgusting, evil grin.

"Look at that, fresh meat! Fresh, frilly meat!" Johnny laughed at his own joke while Barret and Zack looked on at him with careful eyes. Cloud, yet again, paid no heed to anything that was happening as he was too absorbed in his videogames.

Tifa glared at him venomously, practically allowing a hiss to escape her lips and she only wished he had heard it so that he may have cowered away in fear.

"Johnny, you start that kinda stuff again and I'm gonna pummel you into the wall! Just leave the girl alone already!" Barret's voice came booming in Johnny's and Tifa's direction which caused both of them to turn and stare in awe.

"Oh come on! It was just a harmless joke! Besides, she's so fun to tease! Just look at how angry she gets! It's almost like her underwear is on fire!" Johnny let out a loud laugh which no one else pursued. Instead, Barret gave him a stern look; and then smiled mischievously.

"You know…for a girl you say you hate so much, why do you love talking about her or bugging her? It's almost as if…Johnny's got some kind of crush on Tifa!" Barret and Zack both turned and smiled deviously while Johnny's face began to match the color of his hair.

Tifa's face, on the other hand, had turned ghostly pale and her jaw had dropped. Her mind reeled in the possibility, especially after Johnny's fit of denial following the comment as well as the intense blush that had risen to his cheeks.

"W-what?! Just what the hell are you talking about?! Of course I don't have a crush on the little bugger! She's hideous; a street kid, abandoned by her broke father who couldn't afford taking care of her! She is way below my standards! I'd rather date the mole growing on her old father's back!"

Tifa seethed with anger and she had to bite her lip and clutch her fists to keep herself from pouncing on the cocky red head. She was tempted to strangle him to death or beat him with some kind of heavy and harmful object with spikes. However, she knew, as Mrs. Strife had taught her that a lady must have class and class required patience and tranquility. In other words, Tifa had to keep her cool otherwise she'd be the one getting in trouble. Just as she was about to simply comment on how she planned on letting Mrs. Strife know about this, a voice besides Barret's was heard shattering the silence in the room.

"Johnny, shut the hell up. Even a mole on Seymour's ass crack wouldn't wanna date you…so don't flatter yourself."

Silence.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the unmoving bright blonde who had his eyes still glued to the T.V. screen, mashing the controller buttons like an insomniac. It almost seemed like he hadn't said anything at all but…Barret had still been thinking of a comeback and Zack preferred to stay out of these kinds of fights. Tifa blinked once or twice and Johnny stayed silent, his mouth open, unable to grasp the insult processed from Cloud.

"Wow…now that was a good one, Cloud! Can I ask where it came from?" Barret made his way towards Cloud to give him a high-five but Cloud paid no attention to him whatsoever. Johnny however, did manage to find his tongue again.

"That was totally uncalled for! And since when do you defend the little brat?! I thought you hated her too! You're the one who kept ranting to me on how annoying she was and how she's made herself all comfortable at your parents expense cause her father's a broke jerk! So you, of all people, should keep your mouth shut Cloud!" Johnny pointed an accusing finger in Cloud's direction as he shook with ferocity.

Cloud had stopped mashing the controller and a "GAME OVER" was flashing on the screen. He had stopped moving completely. Once again, silence echoed in the room and Tifa, who had said nothing this whole time, felt like she wanted to go somewhere far away and cry. Who were they to judge her poor father who only wanted what was best for his family? He couldn't help that his job didn't pay him enough to take care of her…it was never his fault. She never, not even once, blamed him for anything and here were these snotty rich kids saying how much of a nuisance she was to them.

Feeling a mix of anger and sadness, she exited the room and slammed the door shut behind her. After allowing a single tear to roll down her pale cheek, she sprinted to her room where she locked the door and cried on her bed. She cried for losing her father, for losing her beloved mother, for losing her brothers and sisters, for being thrown into a world she did not belong in, for meeting the nastiest little boys and most of all for her poor father, being judged by such snobby people.

"Kids! It's time for dinner! Come down and eat!"

She refused to move but she did hear the door next to hers creak open, followed by a bunch of feet stomping past her room. A few seconds later, when the noise had faded away, she heard a light and nervous knock on her door. She sat up, alert and curious at whom it could be. If it was Johnny, she decided she was going to punch his face in and not care that it wasn't a ladylike thing to do. Enough was enough. Bravely, she hopped off the edge of her bed and walked towards her door, her tears dried and now filled with revenge. Carefully, she turned the doorknob and swung the door open to reveal the person behind it. Her eyes widened and she was at a loss for words.

"Um, hey Tifa…"

Cloud stood in front of her, vibrant and lively blue eyes meeting with her red tinted brown ones. Her mouth remained wide open and her body did not move as she was in complete disbelief.

"I was just going to call you down for dinner. Mom said to hurry up cause the food's getting cold."

Tifa nodded and walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. Cloud had already started down the stairs and Tifa followed, not quite sure on what exactly to say to him. She didn't know whether to hate him, hit him, tackle him or ignore him but at the moment, silence provided her with a good chance to think upon it.

When they had reached the end of the flight of stairs, Mrs. Strife was seen bustling about with food and cutlery balancing in her arms. She seemed to be under a lot of stress, clearly agitated with the poor job her servants were doing. Tifa stared for a brief few seconds and when she turned to look at Cloud, he had bolted towards the table where all his friends were sitting and chatting while watching cartoons on the flat screen T.V.

She sighed and made her way towards an empty seat which was, unfortunately for her, next to Johnny. A wide variety of dishes were placed on the glass table in front of them and a plate of food was placed carefully in front of each seat. She took her seat and when she did, Johnny had stopped giggling about whatever it was he found funny and stared at her with a sneer on his face. She glared straight back, looking like she was just about ready to strangle him.

"Don't give me that dirty look! You don't need to make yourself look uglier! It's practically impossible." Johnny snorted, the only one in the room laughing at the stupid joke.

"Sorry Johnny, but I don't think I'm related to you in any way to have become as ugly as you."

There was a burst of laughter now coming from every one in the room besides Johnny and even Tifa couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction as she grabbed her plate and began eating like a lady.

"Well…well…well you smell funny! So there!"

Tifa looked up before putting the spoonful of food in her mouth and gave Johnny a quizzical look. He stared back through his stuttering and choked up some obviously forced laughs.

"Real mature, Johnny. It's obvious you spend all your nights trying hard to think of insults since the ones you make up on the spot are just terrible."

The room erupted into laughter again and Tifa couldn't help but notice Cloud was also laughing. She noticed he was clutching his stomach in merriment and she felt a faint blush rise to her cheeks although she couldn't understand why. She quickly brushed it off and averted her gaze. Finally, she put the spoonful of food into her mouth and began to chew on it. It wasn't until she had noticed that Johnny was smirking, even after all the humiliation, that she felt her teeth crunch painfully against a piece of tinfoil in her mouth. The pain seared through her tooth and she spat the food out instantly. It was Tifa's terrible luck that at that exact instant, Mrs. Strife had entered the room to witness her unladylike behavior.

"Good gracious God, Tifa! What on earth are you doing?! That is the last thing a lady should do! That's why I never bothered telling you since I figured it was just common sense! Ladies do NOT spit out their food! I believe you'll be waking up early next morning for a lengthy lecture, young lady." With that, Mrs. Strife strutted away and if she had seemed agitated before, she only seemed to become more so after this particular event.

Johnny then burst out laughing, clutching his stomach in glee that his plan had been overworked to perfection. Tifa glared at him but found it difficult because of the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She didn't want to seem like a crybaby, but she couldn't help it. She didn't like disappointing people, especially Mrs. Strife and now thanks to Johnny, Mrs. Strife probably hated her.

"Mom! Johnny put tinfoil in Tifa's food! He's been doing it for the longest time! He keeps sneaking it from the kitchen, that's why Tifa spat it out! If you don't believe me, come to check her plate."

Tifa froze, watching as Mrs. Strife stepped back into the room with a curious look on her face. The tears had fallen by now and they streaked her pale face but she was now so stunned that she forgot about crying. Johnny had turned around to hit Cloud hard on the arm but Cloud just hit him back, aggravated. Barret and Zack smirked triumphantly; proud that Johnny was going to get it now for sure.

"Now, Cloud…why would you say that? Why would Johnny do something so cruel?"

"Like I said, mom…Look for yourself. You'll find large chunks of tinfoil in there and I don't know about you, but biting on that stuff gives me a nasty toothache. If I were Tifa, I'd have killed him by now."

Sure enough, with a doubtful look on her face, Mrs. Strife came over to investigate Tifa's plate. She used the spoon to flip some of the rice around and lifted it up when she came across a shiny, large piece of foil. Her eyebrows arched upwards and when she dropped the spoon back to the plate, her sharp blue eyes refocused upon Johnny.

"Johnny, you naughty little brat! Just wait until your mother hears about this!" With that, Mrs. Strife stomped out of the room, her heels clicking ferociously against the floor of the mansion. Tifa turned her gaze to see the expressions of the others only to notice tears brimming around Johnny's eyes and Cloud looking angrily at him.

"Cloud you jerk! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! WAIT MRS. STRIFE! PLEASE DON'T TELL MY MOTHER! I'LL DO ANYTHING!!!!"

With that, Johnny leaped off the couch, tears running down his face like a faucet and started wailing and chasing after Mrs. Strife.

Cloud's gaze then met up with Tifa's and he winked at her, a smile playing carefully among his lips. Tifa stared on in shock and disbelief. It was so sudden, this change in him. She wondered if it was what Johnny had said earlier that had made him decide to help her. Or maybe it was pity and he just wanted to redeem himself in her eyes. Whatever it was, it had made Tifa feel a whole lot better and for that, she was grateful. Maybe, in the years to come, she'd grow closer to him and accept him as an older brother. Tonight may not have been perfect, but it was a start and she was willing to take whatever she could get out of all this.

End of Chapter Four

A/N:Hope you enjoyed chapter four! Please give me some feedback! All reviews are welcomed, except for flames. Constructive criticism only please. Look forward to Chapter Five some time soon.

KT