This is Really Good-bye

"You look..," He gulped, nervous. "li-like Tifa."

I giggled. "Thank you. You look very handsome, Cloud."

I bowed curtly. I don't know why, but I felt like a princess for just a second there. My mistake. Cloud took my hand and led me out the door, just like a prince does in those unrealistic fairytale stories. My face burned with excitement, and bashfulness. I could feel my heart beating agaisnt my chest from the inside. I gulped, my hands shaking. All this time with him, this thought never came across my mind once; that he liked me, and I liked him. Such short time with him, and I never even thought of the possibility of embarrassing myself in front of the guy I (almost) loved.

"I like what your wearing," he complimented.

I looked down at my outfit. A white off-the-shoulder shirt, accompanied by black shorts that was a combination of shorts and capris. I'd like to call them shapris. Or chorts. I thought about wearing those killer black heels in my closet. They would show off my legs, but that wasn't my goal for today. (I chose my all-black Converse instead.) My goal for today was to spend as much time as I could with him. With Cloud. But, even this wouldn't make-up for leaving him tonight. Nothing will. And I'll live regretting this my whole life.

"I-I like your choice of outfit, too." He looked at me, noticing my sudden stutter. I gave him a timid smile, hoping for him to think it was out of shyness, not because I was distracted by something else. He gave me a toothy smile and squeezed my hand.

I wasn't lying. I loved what he was wearing. He was all dressed up today. With his white dress shirt and black vest. His black slacks and black dress shoes. I'm impressed. Which maked me like him even more.

"Hey, Cloud. Can we come back to your house kinda late?"

"Hm. How late?"

"I don't know. After sunset?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me. He shook his head, "We can't. My mom would be really mad. You know that, don't you?"

My gaze dropped to the floor. "Hey..," he says, lifting my head up. "It's okay. We'll have enough time together. I promise."

And that's when my heart broke.

He doesn't know how much time we don't have together.

Stepping closer to me, he kisses my forehead, and embraces me for a minute or two. I don't get him. Does he know or not? I don't have the heart to tell him. And that's why I have to rush him. I pull away and snake my hand in his, "Let's go."

"Wow! This is so cool!"

He brought me to an amusement park! And not just an amusement park. The 5 Year Amusement Park. It's only open once every 5 years. Which is odd since it probably doesn't make that much money. And, come on! It's an amusement park! It should be open almost all the time. I swear, this town is the weirdest.

"What d'you wanna do first? Go on the 'Queer Square'?" He laughed. I'm gonna miss his laugh. I smiled and looked around. Maybe there's a.. Wait, what was that? Was that a pink bow I just saw? And there it came; Aerith. Her brown hair had never made me feel so relieved. My eyes followed her; she was headed to the bathroom. I turned towards Cloud.

"Cloud!"

"Ah! What?"

"Sorry."

"I'm right next to you. No need to scream." He whinned, rubbing his ear as if I bit it.

"I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back, kay?"

I left without having to hear what he had to say. I'm sure he was okay with it. I stepping into the girls' bathroom and spotted Aerith. She was crying. I looked around and saw that no one else was in here with us. Locking the door, I walked towards Aerith. "Aer?" Her head snapped up. "Are you okay?"

She started crying even more at the sight of me. I quickly embraced her in my arms like my mom used to do to me whenever I was upset. "Shh.. It's okay. Everything's gonna be fine. I'm here for you." She clung onto me tightly, as if the world depended on it. I let her cry endlessly until I had remembered that Cloud was waiting for me. "What's wrong?"

She wiped her tears away and sniffed. "Z-zack's le-leaving."

"Leaving? Where's he going?"

"Midgar." She forced out.

"Midgar? For what?"

"SOLDIER," she whispered.

I went speechless. SOLDIER...? No. No... No! My breath hitched. "Where is he?" I demanded.

But she just shook her head. "I don't know. But, I.. I love him. So much." She faced the sink and held its sides. "I don't know why, but the thought of not being able to have Cloud made me want him even more. And now that I look at it, Zack's the one I want. Always has been..," She sunk to the floor. "I was so stupid.."

"I'll talk to him. No, persuade him. I-"

"No, Tifa. Go to Cloud. He needs you. He's waiting for you. I..I just need to be alone for a little while. We'll talk next time, okay?"

My heart throbbed with pain. There was no tomorrow for me here. And if anyone should know..it should be her.

I grabbed her shoulders. "Aerith. I have to tell you something. But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Not even Cloud?"

"Especially not Cloud."

She wiped her tears away. "Okay. I promise."

I pressed my lips together, overthinking if this was a good idea. This is Aerith, of course I can trust her, right?

"I'm leaving." Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened. I covered her mouth with my hand. "Let me finish." She nodded and I dropped my hand. "Cloud's mom found me a new place to stay. No, live. And I'm leaving tonight." I paused. "I want you to..to take care of Cloud for me. He's a good boy. And his mom isn't around much. I mean, he doesn't even know how to dance! I need you to be there for him. Always. If anything happens to him, be at his side. When he cries, hold him and comfort him." At this point, I'm overflowing with tears. Because I'm asking her to love him. To love him in my place. But, that's okay. So he won't hurt as much. So he'll forget me faster and love someone who'll stay with him. "When he's mad, tell him Pablo would be disappointed with him because he's not being a very good Spongebob Squarepants." And I can't say anything after this. All the pain I've kept inside pours out and I'm left on the floor, hugging my knees.

"Hello? Tifa? Are you still in here?"

Cloud.

I'm worried now. Standing up, I run to the sink and turn on the faucet. Splashing water in my face, I'm blinded. Because I can't keep up with all these caged feelings. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I relax. "It's okay, Tifa. I'll be there for Cloud, like you've always been with me. I'll miss you." She leans her head on my shoulder and I look down at my hands.

"Hey! Teef- Why is this locked? Tifa! Tifa! Are you okay?"

Aerith grabs some paper towels for me. I dry my face and turn to her. "You look beautiful," she says, giving me two thumbs up.

I unlock the door and am face to face with Cloud. I smile at him, cocking my head to the side. "Sorry! Girl talk!"

He starts to peer inside. I push him away from the bathroom. "You pervert!"

"No, it's not what you're thinking!" He explains, waving his arms in protest.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Shh. Why are you so curious about everything? Don't you ever want to be surprised?"

"No."

He stopped at my words and shook free of my hands. "Did I say something wrong?"

Silence.

This would be better if he hadn't blindfolded me. I put my arms out, reaching for him. "Cloud, where are you?"

Warm hands grasp mine and pull me forward, almost breaking my balance. Suddenly, I'm being pushed (shoved) into a small space of some kind. Hands untie the blindfold and unveils the scene in front of me: a small screen was above me. Below the screen were some buttons and a slot to jam your money in. Five gil it said. Someone plops down next to me, examining the thing.

Cloud.

He takes his wallet out and pulls five gil, quickly slipping it into the money slot. Leaning forward, he presses a green arrow pointing right. I cock my head to the left, curious. On the screen showed different frames. For like, a picture. Looking through the random frames, he finally decided on the chocobo-framed one.

Leaning back, he puts his arm around me.

3..

I look at his hand on my shoulder, wondering if I should kick his ass or let him be happy. For that moment.

2..

Turning to look at his face, I give him a silent warning.

1..

He shoots me an innocent smile. But that doesn't effect me. Not one bit.

There's a shutter sound and my gaze moves upward, toward the screen. I'm stunned. I don't even know what I looked like when that thing clicked! I glared back at him. "Cloud Strife," I said through gritted teeth. "You're gonna pay."

He leans into my face and pecks my lips. "Look pretty for the camera."

3..

Holy Shiva. He just-

2..

"Cloud-"

1..

Grasping the sides of my head, he leans in and kisses my forehead. I blinked just as his lips pressed against me. From the side, I hear a shutter sound, and a chuckle. He lays his chin on my shoulder and whispers, "You're really bad at posing, you know."

I nod my head, trying to hold onto this memory. "Ready for the finale?" he asks.

"Hm? What's that?"

He puts his fingers by the ends of his eyes and stretches his face. Sticking out his tongue, he motions his head toward the screen. Oh.. It's been videotaping us the whole time. Well, kinda. It's just like a camera but it says 3, 2, 1. Speak of the devil-

3..

I panic. What should I do? Bunny ears?

2..

No. Sooooo last year. Mad face? No-

1..

Blowing up my cheeks, I turn to Cloud and point at him, giving off an angry expression. The shutter sound goes off and we burst into fits of laughter. He steps out and grabs the photos. "Let me see!" I exclaim, reaching for them.

"No. Their mine. I paid for them," he states, sticking out his tongue. His face softens. Grabbing my free hands, he leads me somewhere. Again. "I wanna show you something."

"This is nice."

It was a breath taking scene; the sun was setting, the waves were gently crashing against the shore, and the sky was a shade of purple, brown, red, orange. The clouds in the sky were moving away, towards the setting sun, like something was beckoning them to go. The wind blowing felt nice. It wasn't strong enough as to knock me off my feet, or as soft enough as to not even able to feel the wind. No, it was strong and soft enough to blow my hair. It's a nice feeling. Opening my eyes, I notice Cloud put something in his pocket. A box? He starts to turn around and I flinch.

Walking toward me with bare feet, Cloud extends his hand. "You didn't finish teaching me how to dance."

A smile appears on my face before I allow it to. I slowly place my hand on his and let him lead me to what seems like the middle of the beach. I slip my feet out of my converse, along with my socks and smile up at him. Placing his hands on my waist, he pulls me in, almost crushing my body against his. I give him a slightly mad look and a pout, causing him to pull me in even closer. He didn't know what he was doing to me; my face felt flushed and red, and I could literally feel my heart beating against my chest.

Lifting my arms up, I lay my hands on his shoulders and avoid his eyes. I feel him shift his upper body to the side. I glance at him and he has his head cocked at an angle. I blink several times, confused, waiting. "..Um, are you ready?"

"Oh..oh! Me? Yeah, of course I'm ready! Never been more ready," I babbled.

I bit my lip so as to keep my mouth from opening up and saying stupid things like I just did. I catch sight of a small smile from him and I smile along with him. Ah, what love does to you..

He slowly starts to move from side to side, and I follow. "So...," he starts. "I was thinking...," Pause. Gulp. "Do you wanna go star gazing tomorrow night?"

My growing smile faded. What? "What?"

"Star gazing. Tomorrow."

Silence.

"I know earlier you wanted to spend more time with me before the day ended. I can't do that today. I have..things to do. But, I can give you my whole day tomorrow. How 'bout that?" he asks, leaning down to meet my eyes.

My eyes are roaming. No..No! I'm leaving tonight. Tonight. I shouldn't have led him on. But, I love him. So much. We've stopped dancing now. And I know that this would be our very last dance together. My eyes tear up but I can't look up at him like this. I force out a giggle. "Y-yeah! I'd love that, Cloud."

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

I'm on the edge of tears right now. The more he does and says is like another stab at my heart. After this date ends..

"I've never been mad at you, Cloud."

I'll have to live with this guilt.

"Should we head home?" he asks.

No. Not yet. "Yes," I reply, the words stinging my lips. I'm basically telling him that I'm leaving him.

"Wait."

I whip my head around. "Huh?"

He runs to me, crushing me against his chest, catching my lips in a hot kiss. My whole world stopped. His lips glide over mine gently, but passionately. I feel his breath against my lips and my knees shake. Snaking my arms around his neck, I grab at his hair and pull him closer, if that were possible. He hands roam around my waist, and up my back. We were lost in this kiss, our kiss, for what felt like eternity. But when it ended, when he pulled away, it seemed as though our lips had just connected.

We breathed heavily, and our hearts were beating in sync. "Cloud..," I breathed.

"I love you," he says, locking eyes with me.

"We're just kids, Cloud. How can-"

"I just do." He takes my hand in his. "Here. It's for you."

It was a blue jewelry box. "Don't open it yet. Please."

I nod. "Let's go home," he says.

I take a step forward but he stays were he is. "Cloud?"

He takes a breath. "Whatever happens, I love you."

Here I am. In my room. Alone.

Cloud went to his mom's office upstairs. She's probably stalling for me. I thank her; for everything she's done for me. Even though I've only been here a week, she's given me hope. Cloud's my hope. Because of him, I know I'm not alone in this world. He'll always be in my heart, and I'll always love him. Even though he won't ever forgive me, I can only love him.

My things are packed. I hold onto the necklace Cloud gave me. This is it. Our story ends here. My door opens and in comes one of the butlers. "You're ride is here, Ms. Lockhart."

"Just Tifa, please. Thank you." I bow down to him. "I'll be there soon."

He nods and grabs my suitcases. As he walks out, I close the door and take a breather.

Wait.

I never told Cloud that I..love him. On my desk is a pen. I grab that pen and look for some paper. On the ground was some napkins. I grab them I start writing as fast as I can.

"Ms. Lockhart."

"Good-bye, Reeve. Thank you, for everything."

I look back at his house. It's not mine anymore. Never has been..

x-x

Cloud's POV

I'm finally out. Sighing, I close my door and loosen my tie on my neck. Tifa was acting really weird today. I'll have to give her a present tomorrow to cheer her up. I guess her parents' death keep crawling up on her. Sitting on my bed, I rub my eyes. I should really shower.

My eyes land on something blue and velvety on my desk. It's the box I gave to Tifa just before we got home. Did she not like it? Grabbing the box, I open it up, wondering why she returned it. A napkin falls out of the box, revealing the carved-wolf earring I gave her. PLacing the box on my bed, I pick up the napkin and unfold it.

There's writing on it?

x-x

Tifa's POV

"It's time, Ms. Lockhart. Zangan is waiting upon your arrival."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Stepping into the limo, I feel the door slam shut. I want Cloud here with me. I'm not strong enough.

"Tifa dear?"

I looked towards the source of the voice. It was Cloud's mom. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry for doing this to you. I know you love my Cloud, but I'm separating you two..," she rubbed her tears away. "Just know I'm doing this for you. For your safety."

"Yes, ma'am. I understand. I don't blame you."

Tears fall from her eyes and she runs back inside her house. My window closes and I take another breather.

x-x

Cloud's POV

Cloud,

These past seven days have been very soothing. It's hard for me to leave like this, without giving you a proper goodbye.

His heart stopped. He couldn't finish the rest of the letter. He had to stop her from leaving. Tossing the letter aside, he ran out of his room and dashed down the stairs.

I just hope you'll be okay. Don't do anything reckless. Please don't hurt yourself over this.

Running out the front doors, he caught sight of a leaving limo. Sprinting towards it, he called her name. "Tifa!"

You meant too much to me. These feelings developing inside of me... I couldn't stop them from overtaking me.

"Tifa! Don't leave me!"

And now, I'm leaving you. When you wake up, I'll be gone. Just think of me as a nightmare.

Running after the limo, he yelled after her, trying to get her to hear him. But it just kept going. Never stopping.

I know it's hard to accept this, but try to understand.

The limo had accelerated and was now farther away from Cloud. "No! Tifa! TIFA!"

If we really were meant to be together,, then fate will bring us back together one day.

Cars were crossing the street. They were behind Cloud, in front of him, everywhere. But he didn't care. The one person that meant the whole world to him was leaving him.

Until then, I'll be waiting for that day.

From the side of his face, he was blinded by light and heard a horn blow. And then a scream from somewhere.

Just remember that..

"Tifa!"

I love you.

His whole world turned black. And all he could see was darkness. "Tifa.."

So much.

-Tifa Lockhart

Author's Note: No, it's not over! Was the end confusing? I hope so.. Haha. The italics at the end were what Tifa wrote on the napkin to Cloud.