The storm clouds rolled in and I smiled. Drops of rain began to fall. I heard Aerith scream when the thunder crashed. Lightning forked across the sky in a dazzling display of might. Aerith ran inside and dragged Sephiroth in with her. The bell for homeroom rang. I had my cheer uniform in my satchel, because I was going to be sopping wet when I had finished this.

The boys and I had two frees after homeroom. Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal sat at their usual table and talked about homework. I sat next to Sephiroth and draped my arm around his shoulder. He looked at me and smiled. I went to kiss him and Aerith stormed over and slapped me. I rose from my seat and went to strike her when the thunder crashed. She screamed and ducked for cover. She ran to Seph and cuddled him. The bell for our first free went. And Aerith had to go to class. I waved her goodbye and kissed Sephiroth's cheek. She threw me a death stare and left the classroom.
"What's up with you, Lightning?" he asked. I just chuckled.
"Come with me." I replied and dragged him outside into the rain.

I had hid a rose here earlier this morning. I picked it up and gave it to him.
"I wrote you a song. I hope you like it." I replied and began to sing along to the crashes of thunder. The rain didn't bother me and the thunder sounded like the Bodhum fireworks. Bang, bang... I imagined being there with him as the fireworks danced in their dome. The colours stained the night sky dor a few seconds before letting a new splash of colour explode. The rain drops fell onto my face and soothed the burning on my cheeks. After I sung the final note, he seemed to be touched.
"That was beautiful." He replied and kissed my cheek. My heart stopped as his soft lips touched my burning cheeks.

Sephiroth took me into his arms and I snuggled into his chest as the rain kissed my skin.
"What was the song called?" he asked. I could feel his heartbeat beating quicker than normal. I smiled.
"It's called 'Keeper of my heart'. That's what you are. You stole my heart the second I met you." I replied. I couldn't lie to him and I didn't want to keep the truth from him either.
"How are you so good with music? It sounds so much like that of Storm Blade and Clawed Hearts. How can you word things like a professional?" he asked.
"You a fan?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know that the titles are in a different language and I've had the script translated. It sounds stupid right?" he asked. I tried to hold back my answer, but he charmed me into telling him.
"It's not. The reason my music sounds like them is because my father was the lead singer and lead guitarist of Storm Blade and my mother was the conductor and lead violinist of Clawed Hearts. I guess it came from them." I replied.
"You've got to be joking!" He exclaimed and pushed me away.
"I'm not." I replied.
"Can you prove it?" he asked.

I had no proof. Except the lullabies.
"You know the songs 'Princess Dreams' and 'A Prayer for you'?" I asked.
"Yeah?" He asked in reply.
"Mum wrote 'princess dreams' for Serah. Dad wrote 'a prayer for you' for me." I replied.
"I don't believe you." He said.
"I'm telling you the truth! I swear on my parents' graves! I'm not lying!" I exclaimed as tears welled up in my eyes. I let a tear travel down my cheek and the rain only made the tear bigger as other drops joined the tear.
"I thought you were different." He replied and went to climb through the window.
"Would I be begging you if I wasn't?" I asked and tried to mask the sorrow in my voice. He stopped and walked back to me, his green eyes blazing with fury.

I stepped back and the thunder roared as the lightning struck the ground next to me. I didn't flinch; I just let the tears roll down my cheeks.
"I should have never left Bodhum!" I exclaimed and ran off. I sat underneath a tree and buried my face in my arms. I never should have opened my heart to a guy like him. I never should have tried to get him to break up with Aerith. I never should have left home. I'm sure being teased by my ex wouldn't have even hurt this much. Not even close to how crap I felt now. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I was wet, crying and broken. Love is a bitch.

I heard the squelch of footsteps near the tree. There was only one set. I didn't care who it was, I just wanted to go home to Bodhum, whether Serah would come with me or not. Thunder roared again as the person looked underneath the tree at me. Lightning lit up the sky and from the corner of my eye, I saw Sephiroth kneeling next to me.
"Leave me alone!" I exclaimed and left the tree. He grabbed my wrist and made me try and face him.
"I know why you did this. Genesis and Angeal told me the whole thing. I never meant to shout at you." He said. The bell for the second period went. I ripped my wrist from his grip and stormed into the distance. I wiped the tears away from my eyes as I realised how much of a fool I really was. I lost a friend just by trying to help him through his problems. Could this day get any worse?

I sat on the bleachers of the football field and let the rain batter me. I let myself almost want to drown in my own sorrow.
"Claire?" I heard Serah ask over the pitter patter of the rain.
"Yeah?" I asked and tried to hold back my tears.
"What happened?" she asked and held her umbrella over the two of us.
"I was stupid to even think that he would believe me. I'm a fool. I can't even get a stupid plan to work." I replied.
"You tried to steal Aerith's boyfriend." Serah said.
"There was more to it than that. I wanted to make him happy. Aerith was giving him frustration and I wanted to give her a reason to break up with him or even vice versa. And I failed. I'm a bad person." I replied and left Serah under her purple umbrella and sat on the wettest part of the bleachers. Serah placed her hand on my shoulder and then left.

I let the tears fall again. At this point, I just wanted a behemoth to kill me or to even take me back to Gran Pulse or better, Cocoon. I didn't want to stay in Midgar much longer. I climbed the nearest tree to the top. I looked down and realised that this was the tallest tree on the oval. I looked up at the sky and sighed. I looked down again to find Genesis and Angeal running through the rain. They were shouting at me, but I could barely hear them over the rain and the thunder. A bolt of lightning struck the branch I was perched on and I grabbed the one underneath me. I clung on for dear life. If I slipped and didn't get lucky by grabbing another branch, I was a good as dead. The thunder roared again and the lightning struck the branch I was holding. That one snapped and I fell again. I reached for the nearest branch and missed by a centimetre. I tried to grab another, but I was too slow and I ended up having to plummet towards the ground. I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

That impact never came. I opened my eyes to find that Sephiroth had caught me. He put me down gently as Genesis and Angeal ran over to us.
"Are you nuts?" Sephiroth asked me in disbelief. I went to run away again as I didn't want to face him like this. He pulled me close and pressed his lips up against mine. This took me by surprise, but then I let his lips caress mine and my eyes closed with pleasure. His hands rested on my lower back as I ran my fingers through his soft hair. A flash of light lit up the sky, but Sephiroth still kept me in his arms. If anything, his kisses became more passionate by the second. His hands went wandering up and down my back. I could see how he found this romantic. It was just the two of you as everyone else didn't want to get wet. His lips almost never left mine. The emotion between us was electric and I didn't want it to ever end.

"You psychopathic, man stealing bitch!" Aerith exclaimed. Sephiroth pulled his lips away from mine and then shook his head at Aerith.
"Back off Aerith." He snapped. She stood there with her eyes wide with shock. One girl stood behind her with a purple umbrella.
"Serah? Is that you?" I asked.
"Yeah." She replied.
"You told her? How could you?! I thought you were my sister! How can I trust you?!" I exclaimed at my little sister. She sniffled a little and then began to cry.
"I'm only looking out for Aerith. She's my friend!" Serah replied with a sniffle.
"Well, Sephiroth's my friend and I want him to be happy. Aerith is frustrating him! If only you saw what Genesis, Angeal and I see every day, you would have done the same thing!" I exclaimed.
"No! I wouldn't have! Because I'm not you Claire!" Serah replied. I had never heard Serah yell at me before.

Aerith gave Serah a comforting hug.
"You truly are a monster, Lightning!" Aerith exclaimed and Serah let her tears run down her face. Serah and I had never fought like this before.
"No, you are Aerith! You manipulate people and then discard them when you don't need them anymore. Why you used me for two years!" Sephiroth snapped. Aerith's jaw almost hit the muddy grass.
"Seph, why would I use you hon?" she asked with sorrow in her voice.
"The same reason you're using Serah! Aerith, I'm finished with you. We're done." He replied and led Genesis, Angeal and I back into the school building.