Again, I apologize for the late update! If it makes you guys feel any better, my friend leaves on Tuesday. --SOB--

Also, I wanted to point out that when I write, I just write. I have maybe one thing in mind when I start to write, and I just go from there. So whatever happens, it's always kind of unconscious. Seriously, it's weird.

Well, anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 7: Unexpected Timing

"Damn." It was the tamest word he could think to say. Many words were floating into his head, but all of them were stronger than the curse he'd just said loudly under his breath. They were all words he couldn't say with the numerous kids who had surrounded themselves around him.

The final buzzer of the game had just gone off, with Bevelle losing one-to-two. It was a close game, but Kilika, who was guessed to be the last-place finisher, had just swept the Bevelle Basilisks.

"Excuse me, kids," Tidus said then, standing up. "I gotta get back to the locker room."

The kids all stared after him, their eyes bright and starry-eyed as he walked quickly up the stairs to the lobby of the arena, his hands in his pockets.

It had been a long game, especially sitting from the sides, staring helplessly into the sphere. Tidus had wanted to sit by Yuna, he honestly had, but he continually found himself trampled by kids and parents alike. So, he spent his time surrounded by little tykes, giving out autographs, and taking pictures.

He rushed into the locker room, not surprised to see the guys all looking rather down. He simply forced a smile and said, "Aw, keep your heads up guys! We got Besaid next weekend. We'll kill 'em!"

Everybody looked at him and shook their heads, their frowns not leaving their faces.

"Take a seat, Tidus," the coach said, sighing over his clipboard.

"Okay…" Tidus said, and he took a seat in front of his locker, next to Gippal, who seemed refusing to look at him.

"So, you'll all be swimming a good fifty laps tomorrow," the coach said, shaking his head. "This is an embarrassment. For the first time in ten years, we've lost to them. For the first time in fifteen, they've swept us. We're on the bottom of the rankings now."

The coach went on and on, and Tidus did his best to listen. After all, it was an embarrassment.

Finally, the team was dismissed. The guys walked out of the locker room slowly, with their heads down. Nobody talked, so Tidus decided to just remain quiet and find Yuna.

"See you guys Monday," Tidus said, and he waved at the guys and turned to the right, toward the lobby of the arena.

Yuna was standing in the lobby with her coat draped in her arms. She smiled upon seeing Tidus, and Tidus found himself smiling back, despite the fact that he wasn't really in the mood to smile.

"What a sucky game, huh?" he asked as he walked up to her.

Yuna just shrugged, and said, "You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

"Surrounded by little kids? Nah, that's just in the job description."

"I thought that was sweet of you," Yuna said, smiling at him, "to hang out with them like that. I'm sure a lot of guys would just ditch them."

Tidus shrugged and said, "Again, it's in the job description. We gotta be nice to our fans, no matter who they are."

"You seem to be in a much better mood than you were earlier," Yuna then mused. "Any reason for the change in mood?"

Tidus smiled and said, "I talked to Wakka. He's a good guy."

"I'm glad he's still around then," Yuna said, smiling back. "I would have argued that Gippal was the only one who could break through your thick skull, but I guess Wakka can too."

"I don't know what's up with Gippal," Tidus said, shaking his head. "But I did some thinking. He's giving up chewing. Maybe that makes him moody?"

To this, Yuna wrinkled her face and she said, "Maybe you shouldn't give that up then. I don't think I could handle you any moodier than you already are."

"Good, 'cause I'm not quitting," Tidus said, smiling widely at her.

"Tidus, it's so bad for you!" Yuna cried.

"You're the one that just said I shouldn't stop!" Tidus cried back at her, his smile still on his lips.

"How about we don't talk about it," Yuna said, flashing him her own smile. "After all, I don't want to put you in a sour mood."

"A sour mood? Me?" Tidus said, laughing. "I'm sorry… It's just that nothing was going according to plan, you know. I wanted it to be last year again so badly."

"It's just the beginning of the season," Yuna said, smiling hopefully. "I'm sure things will get better."

"Let's hope so," Tidus said, as he held the door open for her. "It's just that we used to have so much fun, you know? But now everybody's so… so old acting."

"I guess people do grow up," Yuna said, giving him a smile. "And you have to remember that you're one of the youngest guys out there…"

"True, true," Tidus said, and he focused his eyes ahead, as if to show that he was bored with the conversation. Yuna decided to drop it. After all, she didn't want to put Tidus in a bad mood again.

"So, usual place?" Tidus asked as Yuna joined him in his car. He seemed content with ignoring the slews of phone numbers that were plastered over it, for he made no mention of them.

Yuna just nodded. The 'usual place' was the place Tidus had joined Baralai and herself uninvited nearly a year before. Yuna smiled at the memory, but as she read the numbers to herself that gleamed at her in red window-marker, she couldn't help but feel her smile fade.

There were so many girls out there, all after Tidus. Yuna thought about herself, and how she'd felt just about a year ago. She was no different than the girls who wrote their numbers on Tidus' window, praying that he'd write them back. She was no different than them. Well, she was, but only because she was sitting next to him in the car that everybody wanted to ride in.

What made her different than any of those other girls? She thought of Lenne and Elma. They were closer to Tidus than she had initially been. What was to say that they couldn't steal his heart?

"Are you okay?" Tidus asked her then. "If it's about the numbers and stuff, trust me, I don't call them back."

His words didn't make Yuna feel better. In fact, they made her feel worse. He noticed her cringe, for he gave her a quick, confused glance. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

"I'm fine," Yuna answered, deciding that her actions needed some explanation. "It's just that… I know how these girls feel."

"They're just whores," Tidus answered, focusing his attention on the road again, appearing completely uninterested.

"Is that what you thought of me?" Yuna asked. "You just thought I was some whore?"

"No, not you," Tidus said quickly. "I asked you to sleep with me, and you said no. These girls would have all jumped at the chance."

"But I did…" Yuna said, looking at the ground. "I did sleep with you."

Tidus focused his attention straight ahead. He didn't know what Yuna was getting at. It was very, very rare that they ever talked about the days before they officially hooked up. It was as if it was something they had both agreed not to talk about, and now Yuna was bringing it up.

Yuna, noticing that Tidus was unwilling to talk about it, let out a sigh, and said, "It's just not fair that there's not more of you."

To this, Tidus laughed, and he said, "I'm not that great of a guy, Yuna."

His words didn't seem to make sense to Yuna. She stared at him as if he had just said something completely ludicrous, be he paid her no attention. They had arrived at their destination, and Tidus simply put his car in park, turned the car off, and yanked his keys out. Then, he left the vehicle, leaving Yuna still sitting there, staring at where he had just been sitting.

She finally snapped out of her thoughts and jumped out of the car as well, and had to run to catch up with the quickly walking Tidus.

The two were seated immediately despite the fact that the place was busy. A few people cast their attention in Tidus and Yuna's direction, but otherwise they were completely uninterrupted.

"So," Yuna said, deciding that she had to get her mind off of Tidus' words, "Wakka was the one who put you in a better mood?"

"Yeah," Tidus said, looking at the menu, despite the fact that Yuna knew he had it memorized. "He reminded me of all the fun we had and stuff."

"Like what kind of fun?" Yuna asked.

"Just stupid stuff," Tidus said with a shrug. "He gave me shit, I gave him shit. Stuff like that."

"Like what?"

Tidus laughed, and said, "Basically, I was his chosen one to 'pick' on. So he gave me a bunch of crap and stuff, and was surprised that I would deal it back to him. So we had some good times. We pulled a ton of pranks, both on each other and on the other guys."

"I didn't know you and Wakka were close…" Yuna found herself saying. "I always thought it was just you and Gippal…"

"A lot of people think that," Tidus said. "I mean, it's true, Gippal—well, Gippal was my best friend. But we weren't that inseparable. Really, we weren't. You see…" Tidus suddenly blushed, and looked rather sheepishly, "I'm not one for the bar scene. Yeah, I know, surprising, but it's the truth. It does nothing for me. And, since I'm waaaay underage and everybody knows it, it's hard to get into a bar. And when I do, it's really no fun watching everybody else drink. Well, Wakka realized this, so he started hanging out with me. Like a babysitter, kind of."

"That's nice of Wakka," Yuna said, giving him a smile.

"Well, you know how Wakka's a bigger guy?" Tidus said. "It's 'cause he used to drink a lot. And, he got pretty big." Tidus laughed, and said, "He tries to work out and stuff, but… he's just a big guy.

"But," Tidus continued, "I don't want to get big. You know?"

"Right," Yuna said. "I think that's fine that you don't want to drink and stuff..."

"Well, of course you do," Tidus said, "but a lot of the guys aren't okay with that."

"Why not?"

"Because we're a team. We're supposed to do things as a team. So every New Year's eve, the guys go to this bar downtown and get wasted. I'm supposed to go. But I don't."

"Where do you go then?" Yuna questioned.

Tidus shrugged and said, "I go to Lucil and Elma's."

Yuna's face fell at his answer.

"They're really like my best friends," Tidus continued. "Maybe even more than I am with Gippal."

Yuna's face fell even more. Was he telling her that Gippal really wasn't his best friend?

"Usually," Tidus continued yet again, despite the fact that Yuna didn't want to hear it, "I don't even hang out with Gippal during the off-season. Not that much, anyway. Just a little. We go to some games together and stuff, but nothing major. I hang out with the girls and Wakka."

"Wow…" Yuna managed, looking at the table. "So they mean that much to you?"

"Hey, don't get the wrong idea!" Tidus said quickly. "Yeah, they mean a lot to me, but not as anything other than friends! I didn't hang out with them all of last year, you know! Because I was with you."

For some reason, Yuna found herself doubting his words.

"Are you sure it wasn't just because you were in Zanarkand?" Yuna said, her eyes still downcast.

"Yuna," Tidus said, somewhat harshly, "they do mean a lot to me. That's what I'm trying to say. They're like my best friends. But you're my girlfriend. And I swear, Elma and I have never done anything. Yes, I do know that she's in love with me. But really, who isn't? I don't have any feelings for her."

"Lenne said you did sleep with her though!" Yuna argued.

"If I did, I was drunk as hell."

"But you don't like to drink…"

"I didn't say I didn't like to. I just try to keep myself from doing it."

"Why, so you don't sleep with Elma again?"

Her words seemed to slap Tidus in the face, for he sat there, quite taken aback.

"Maybe," he finally said. Then, he lowered his voice and said, "Do you really want to argue right now Yuna? You've been weird all night."

"Because I feel like I don't know you all of a sudden!" Yuna cried. "I thought Gippal was your best friend. Now you're telling me that he wasn't? And you keep contradicting yourself, Tidus! You start by saying that Gippal was your best friend, but not anymore, Wakka hangs out with you when the guys go to the bars, but not on New Year's Eve, and that you didn't sleep with Elma, but yet you did, but it's okay because you were drunk."

Suddenly, Yuna's stomach sank. It sank so low that she was certain that she was sick.

"Wait…" she started, her eyes darting to meet Tidus'. "When did you sleep with Elma?"

"I was drunk," Tidus said. "Hell if I know."

"You must have known," Yuna said. "You keep alluding to the fact that you slept with her."

"It was at the rookie party," Tidus finally said.

"The rookie party?"

"Every year, we have a party for the rookies. Each class has a theme. So the freshman class has to dress up in women's clothing, the sophomores as hicks, the juniors as pimps, and finally the seniors get to dress normally, and do whatever they want."

"Okay, so your rookie year, you had a little too much to drink and slept with Elma?" Yuna said, her eyes on Tidus'.

Tidus stared back, his mouth pressed in a thin line.

Finally, he said, "No. This year."

Yuna shook her head, her lip sticking out in a slight pout.

"This year…" she said, shaking her head, "as in just months ago?"

"Yeah."

"When you were with me."

"Yeah. But you know Yuna, I was drunk."

"Tidus, stop using that stupid excuse!" Yuna cried. "How could you do that?"

"Yuna, I had a lot to drink. I was real happy to see Elma, you know, 'cause she's my best friend and all, and so the two of us hung out, and the next thing I knew…"

"I'm going to go…" Yuna mumbled. She stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Yuna, don't be like this…" Tidus said, his voice very soft. "At least I told you, right?"

Yuna stood motionless for a while, before she finally turned around to face him, and said, "I need to think, okay Tidus?"

"I don't want you to think badly of me…" Tidus said, his face surprisingly blank. "Not right now."

"I'm trying so hard not to," Yuna said, and she had to blink a few times to cover up the tears that were beginning to grow in her eyes. "But you're making it very hard, Tidus. I'll call you later, okay? Bye."

She turned quickly then, and pulled out her cell phone. She was going to have a call a taxi. She walked outside quickly, but stopped when she spotted two giggling girls sticking a note under Tidus' windshield wipers.

It was then that she cried.