She's All That

A/N: Okay. Chapter four is up, though it was a bit rushed, so if there are any mistakes, or if it just sounds choppy, I do apologize.

Chapter Four

Cloud lolled his head against the back of his seat. He turned towards the window, his eyes swarming over the glowing lamp posts that only appeared as bright flashes of yellow light as the car zoomed through the dark night. His fingers drummed against his knee and he shifted lower in his seat, feeling restless. He glanced to his left and sighed. Her gaze was unwavering as she stared out the windshield, her back stiff and straight and her pale hands clutched at the steering wheel. She had barely uttered a word since they left his grandmother's house. And to make matters worse, his phone's battery had died before they had even arrived in Nibelheim, leaving him completely unarmed against the horrible feeling that was boredom.

He groaned and hit his head against the seat, "Mom, it was just one detention," he sighed, "okay, so I was late to the first one so I got another…"

He stared at the roof for a minute before he heard her sigh, "It's not about how many times you had detention, Cloud," she glanced in the side view mirror before switching lanes, "I thought I made it clear that you weren't going to get into trouble this year."

Cloud sighed, "I didn't—"

"Cloud, this year is important, you know that. How're you supposed to get accepted into the top universities if you keep fooling around like this?"

"Mom—"

"Honey, I know you can do better, you're a smart boy. But getting yourself into unnecessary dilemmas will only make it more difficult for you."

"Mom, you're making it sound as if I did some terrible crime. It was just detention, God. It's not like I got into a fight or anything like that…"

Mrs. Strife stiffened at that as she pursed her lips and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered, sending him an icy glare.

Cloud sighed, "And I told you it won't happen again, so will you please just ease up a little? God, why do all parents fret like the world's ending? "he groaned, shaking his head in disbelief when the blonde woman's lips quirked in amusement. "Besides, this is Highwind we're talking about, I'm telling you…he doesn't know beans about English, God only knows why he's teaching it. I mean he gives us homework…homework that I could finish during class in like –five minutes. Hell, I could even get Marlene to do it for me, it's that easy."

Mrs. Strife tipped her head back and laughed. Cloud inwardly relaxed as he watched her smile. He hated causing her disappointment. It was only a year ago when that fight had happened, and though it wasn't too serious, as to say, no one died, the mere involvement of the police was serious enough for her. He hadn't even known how a small quarrel between him and the other guy grew into something so huge. He didn't even remember what is was about, but he did remember the guy always managed to piss the living hell out of him. Fortunately, he hadn't seen him for quite some time…

"Oh, speaking of which, Eleanor needs to go out of town, so she'll be dropping Marlene off first thing in the morning tomorrow."

Cloud shrugged, "Okay. How long is she gone?"

"Just the weekend." She replied as the car exited the highway, making its way through the roads of Midgar.

After grabbing a small bite from the kitchen, Cloud resignedly trudged up the stairs and to his room. It was well past midnight by the time they had reached home and his mom had immediately retired for the night, she needed to get up early for work that morning. Luckily for Cloud, he didn't have to worry about school for another two days, God bless whoever invented the weekend…

The blond let out a tired yawn and stretched his arms before he plopping himself on his bed. To sleepy to worry about changing into his pajamas, he tugged his shirt off and blindly threw it across the room, slipping under the covers and drifting into a peaceful slumber within minutes.

---

The bright rays of the morning sun illuminated from behind her sheer curtains and hit Tifa square in the face. Sighing, she turned on her side and burrowed her head under the covers. At least on a Saturday, she could afford a couple extra hours of sleep. But a sudden crash and a few curses sounding from downstairs obviously proved her wrong. Her eyes snapped open as she lay in silence in an attempt to figure out what had just happened.

"Argh! You Goddamn son of a chicken!" yelled a voice as more sounds of banging ensued.

Tifa quickly rolled out of bed, grabbed her glasses and thundered down the stairs and into the kitchen to find her father standing in front of the stove with his back towards her. His head was ducked and his arm was busily scraping at something.

"…Dad?"

Mr. Lockhart jumped at her voice and turned around, a spatula in him hands. "Good Morning!" he smiled tightly, "I uh," he picked up the pan on the stove and gave it an aggravated look before clearing his throat, "the egg is…stuck."

Tifa sent him a puzzled gaze. Her eyes widened when he turned the fry pan over towards her. A ruptured, dark brown substance had itself plastered all over the surface of the pan. The poor egg was practically pulverized.

Tifa heaved a sigh and folded her arms, "Did you leave it unattended?"

Mr. Lockhart scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable, "Uh—yeah, I kinda got lost in the game coming on…"

Shaking her head at his sheepish smile, she took the fry pan from his hand and made her way to the stove, shooing him away when he protested, assuring her that he could do it. In the end, he reluctantly gave in albeit secretly relieved and feeling rather pleased about getting the chance to watch television without any worries.

"Where's Denzel?" asked Tifa fifteen minutes later, as she set a plate of eggs on the table. Her dad grabbed the carton of orange juice from the refrigerator before sitting down.

"Oh, he's gone to soccer practice, said he'd be back by noon." Mr. Lockhart replied while he buttered his toast. "Say, Tifa?"

"Yes, Dad?" she asked as she poured herself a glass of juice.

"Have you ever thought about working?"

Tifa tilted her head in thought as she chewed. It wasn't like she hadn't; she knew getting accepted into a university meant paying an arm and leg for most people, and snagging a part time job could save her a lot of trouble in the near future, though the only drawback was her fear of falling behind in her studies.

"It might have crossed my mind," she shrugged.

"Hm, well you should give it a little more thought. If you're worried about slacking off in school, pick only a few days of the week to work, and besides, you're an A student, so I don't think you need to worry too much about falling behind."

"I'll think about it…"

"Not that it means you're on your own, financially speaking," he hastily added. "I just think the experience is important. I'll ask around at work, if anyone knows a place that's hiring. I mean, I could get you an hourly job at my place…but, I think it'd be better if you pick a place that you find interest in…"

That was sure, there was really no way she'd want to work at a furniture store, "Yeah…I'll look around, myself. I'll call Jessie and see if she can help."

Mr. Lockhart nodded and stood up, taking his plate and glass over to the sink. After he left the kitchen, Tifa quickly cleaned up before heading up for a shower. If she was going to get a part time job, she had to make sure she had everything under control. There was absolutely no time for fooling around, no slacking off. She had to prove to her herself that she could keep her responsibilities at home, at school, and work at equilibrium.

She picked up the cordless phone and dialed Jessie's number, cradling the phone between her shoulder and ear as she cleaned the glass sliding doors that lead to their backyard.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Tifa."

"Oh, hi, what's up?"

"Just cleaning the house…listen I have to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"My dad thinks I should get a job…to enhance my experiences or something, so…do you know any places that are hiring?"

"Hmm…well you can check on the internet, or in the job section in the newspaper. Hold on, let me check," Tifa heard the sound of fast typing as she waited, scrubbing at a tough mark on the glass. "There's a lot, I'll print it out and give it to you on Monday, how's that?"

"Thanks a lot, Jess,"

"No problem, Oh! Or even better…My dad's shop is running a little behind schedule…so maybe you can help out? I'll be there too and I'll teach you some really cool stuff!"

Tifa hesitated. "Uh, no thanks, I'm no computer geek…I'd probably slow down his business."

"Well, I said I'd teach you—"

"Uh—Jess, I gotta go, I'll call you later!" she quickly said as she shut the phone. She sighed; it was always a difficult task to turn down an offer from Jessie, only because she just wouldn't get it until you stated it rather bluntly. Shaking her head, she moved into the living room and began dusting the furniture.

---

The minute Marlene arrived she pounced on Cloud, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle as she squealed in delight. Cloud choked on a laugh, trying to pry her tiny arms off of him before they both fell over. After a quick greeting with Eleanor, and after she made Marlene promise to be a good girl while she was gone, she took off. Marlene tugged at Cloud's sleeve, pulling him down the hallway as she made herself feel at home. Cloud obliged as he picked up her small bag on the way.

So far, she had made him cook her breakfast, sit next to her as she watched her favorite tv show, play video games with her (he purposefully lost just to make her happy), and then. Then she wanted him to draw her a picture of a flower. That nearly gave him a heart attack. Only because Cloud Strife could not draw even if his life depended on it…

Marlene crawled over his shoulder to peak and immediately fell over laughing.

Cloud sent her a glare before glancing back at his pitiful attempt at drawing flowers, "It's not that bad."

The small brunette rolled over as she clutched at her sides, trying to catch her breath, "They're hideous!" she cracked up again. "They look like balloons!"

"They do not."

"Do too!"

"Fine," he frowned and picked up his piece of paper, "If it's that bad, then I guess I'll just have to rip it in half." And as he made to, quite dramatically, rip his paper, Marlene scampered off the floor.

"Nooo!" she protested, snatching the drawing from his hands and pressing it possessively to her chest. "I want to keep it."

"But why? I thought my drawing's hideous."

"So?" she scoffed. "Doesn't mean I don't like it," she made her way to her bag laying by the couch and slipped the paper inside, "I'll tell everyone you made balloons…and then they'll think it's really good!" she grinned.

Cloud rolled his eyes, smiling in amusement . He watched Marlene skip over to where he sat on the ground and planted her hands on her hips. "So what now?" she asked.

"…Now?" the blond yawned and stretched, leaned against the couch and closed his eyes, "Now…we will take a nap."

"Clouud," she whined.

"…"

"Cloud!"

"…"

"Cloud…? Pleaaase get up?" she pulled on his arm. "I want to go outside, you can just sit and watch, you don't have to do anything, just pleaaaase don't go to sleep!"

Cloud sighed before snapping his eyes open and heaving himself off the ground. He patted her head and walked down the hall, "Let's go, Marnie poo."

"Eww stop calling me that!" she said as she quickly followed him, her brown hair flowing behind.

It was almost noon, now and Cloud sat on the steps to his porch as he watched Marlene run around collecting orange, red, and yellow leaves of different shapes and sizes. He sighed. Though he was quite fond of his niece, he really didn't want to spend the rest of his Saturday babysitting Marlene. He really hoped his mom would come home soon, so he could go out for the evening.

"Where is Zack?"

"Hm?" he looked up to see Marlene standing in front of him, holding a brown paper bag that was over flowing with colorful leaves. "Oh, he's gone out somewhere…with his girlfriend."

"Is she pretty?"

The blond shrugged one shoulder, "She's alright. Zack could do better, though."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

"How come?"

Cloud put on his best sad face, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand, "Nobody likes me,"

The door to his right swung open, and his eyes shifted, watching as a brunette stepped out with a broom in her hand.

"What about her," Marlene asked, motioning towards Tifa, "Does she like you?"

Cloud smirked. "Tifa? Oh, yeah, she's just crazy about me." he said, loud and clear.

Tifa kept her eyes lowered to the ground as she swept the dust off the porch, "You wish." she muttered.

"See? Told you no one likes me…" she heard him say.

Yeah...okay. Ever since Zack Fair had officially started dating Scarlet Vaughn, Cloud had become one of the most sought after senior male students that were actually available. What girls –and some guys— wouldn't do to be noticed by those deep blue eyes. It was pathetic, really. She always failed to understand how just about everyone could go insane for the same person. Especially when the guy was a total jerk, too…

The pair was now standing by his front yard as Cloud scolded the girl when she wanted to throw all her leaves in the air. She did anyway, and had burst out laughing when most of them landed in Cloud's hair.

"Oh now you're in for it." He narrowed his eyes before chasing after her, as she scampered away screaming. It wasn't long before the blond grabbed her by the legs and flipped her upside down as he hauled her inside the house, ignoring her protests in between shrieks of laughter.

And as Tifa furtively watched the two, she couldn't help the sudden nostalgia brewing inside her. The sound of her laughter was just so sweet and melodious; it reminded her of someone she once knew…

---

"She's cute." Tifa murmured as she sat at his desk during English (Highwind had again, asked to share their grade two homework with the person behind you).

It took a moment for Cloud to process what she had meant, before he sneered, "Oh, so now you're jealous of Marlene."

Tifa gave him a dead look, before sighing and turning back to her homework. She felt Cloud lean in as he watched her.

"What." She really felt uncomfortable when people stared at her.

"You know…" he started, "Halloween's coming up soon."

She shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"Just saying…"

"…."

"So who're you going to dress up like?"

"No one."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. You really don't need a costume…"

"I saw that one coming."

"So you think that too, don't you? At least we both agree on something."

"I hope kids throw eggs at you."

"I'd snatch those glasses from you but I'd get detention."

"I'd really punch you in the face but I'd get expelled."

"You don't get expelled by punching someone."

"Whatever. Suspended."

Cloud watched her in amusement. "Are you always like this?"

"Yes. I mean –No."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know."

"Why are you so grumpy all the time?"

"I'm not."

"Well, whenever I see you, you are."

"I wonder why that would be."

"I dunno, maybe you're envious of my good looks…"

"Or maybe it's cause you're just annoying."

"Perhaps," the blond shrugged, "but I'm gonna go with the first one.'

"Whatever." muttered Tifa as she flipped her homework sheet over.

Tifa sighed in relief when Highwind barked at them, demanding that they all return to their originals seats before he started his lesson. At least now they had finished with the rhyming lessons and were moving on to poetry, which was something closer to senior year material.

"Alright, listen up!" Cid smacked his ruler on his desk. "I've been goin' easy on all of ya…just cause yer all a bunch of lame ass morons who can't use yer heads fer crap! But now I ain't gonna do it. Nope. Ya'll need to grow the hell up and pull yer head out yer ass, y'hear me?!" he crossed his arms as he chewed on a black pen and pointed with his ruler towards the blackboard. "I've written a bunch of words here, copy em' and define each of em' for tomorrow!"

Tifa sighed. She could practically feel the students of room 302 silently grieving over Ms. Shera's prolonged absence…

---

"Here," Jessie handed her best friend the list of employment opportunities, complete with the location, contact information, and the position they were seeking. "I researched through most of them and highlighted the ones that were good," she added while scrolling through her phone.

"Wow, thanks," Tifa scanned the list as they walked down the busy halls afterschool. There were a lot of department stores that were hiring at the moment, as well as a few restaurants and a couple grocery stores. She'd have to make time after school some day, so she could submit her application. Her eyes caught a yellow-tinted line near the end of the page as she looked at her friend, raising her brows. "Barmaid?"

Jessie shrugged, "Well, they give you a pretty descent income. And then there's a lot of tips involved, too."

Tifa shook her head as she took out a pen and made to cross it out, "No thanks, I don't think that one's for me—uff!" A sudden push from behind had her tripping forward, ensuing more collisions with those in front of her. Quickly apologizing when a couple of girls sent her glares, she composed herself and kept on walking—only to be pushed again. She whirled around only to realize who it was.

Who else could it be, anyway?

She turned back around, mouth clamped shut as she pushed her glasses further up her nose.

Suddenly aware of her stiff posture, Jessie sent her a questioning gaze before noticing the blond behind them. Hazel eyes narrowed at him, "What is your prob—"

"Hey, that's an awesome phone you've got there," Cloud said, motioning towards the object in her hands.

Jessie blinked, "Really? Thanks!" she smiled, completely lost in the depths of his sparkling blue eyes.

"Jessie!" hissed Tifa as she swatted the smaller girl's arm before pulling her away from the crowd and towards their lockers.

"What?" asked Jessie, a dazed expression plastered onto her face.

Tifa groaned and rolled her eyes, as she swung open her locker, "Not you too." she muttered.

God, why couldn't anyone else see what she saw in Cloud?

Or better yet; what did everyone else see in him that she couldn't…?

Oh, and I also apologize for not including Tifa and Cloud's detention scene, but the truth was...Cloud was late (really late), so by that time she had already left. And also, I know Cloud says Halloween is coming up soon...when in reality, it's actually today, but I wrote that part a while ago, so yeah, just trying to clear up any confusion.

Hope you liked it, reviews and feedback would be lovely!

--Synchypnotic.