April 5, 2009. This chapter... I struggled with for months. I've had the beginning of it written for about six months now, but I just couldn't finish it mixed with the fact that last semester was my last semester of college and I was CRAZY busy with classes. Now I've graduated, so yaaaaaaay. However, I knew HOW I wanted to finish this chapter... it was just the 'getting to that point' part that was difficult. Oh well... it does seem a little dry at parts, I apologize. But hey! They might actually see each other soon~
And I fixed my typo, thank you for bringing it to my attention! :D That's what I get for changing the name of the thing at the last second... lol.
VIII
I now only had about 24 hours left until Yuna was going to arrive in Zanarkand and the countdown had officially begun in my head. Well, she would arrive in less than that really, but I assumed I wouldn't see her for about 24 hours because they would get settled in tonight. It was the seeing her that was important, not so much the fact that she was returning back. I didn't want to bother her and say that I wanted to see her as soon as possible, so I was more than thankful that Bevelle was playing again tonight. Wakka planned a small get together with a select few of the players from A-East, so it would keep my mind off of everything. I hoped.
I grabbed my keys off my desk before walking downstairs, and I was greeted by the amazing scent of my mom baking something. Entering the kitchen, I saw a huge pile of cookies, as well as muffins, a cake of some kind, and some other kind of coffee cake looking thing all arranged in a row on the counter. I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie that was still on the cooling rack and took a bite out of it. "Ow. Hot."
"Of course it's hot, it just came out of the oven," my mom said without regarding my presence, pouring some vanilla into a measuring spoon. "Where are you going?"
"Just over to Wakka's for a little bit to watch the game. Bevelle's playing against the Auroch's tonight," I informed her. She nodded even though she really didn't understand, which was rather ironic knowing that she hardly knew anything about the game and had two completely obsessed blitz players living with her. I opened the refrigerator and reached for the milk as I fanned my mouth to try to cool my now burning mouth. That chocolate was so damn hot right out of the oven, you would think I would've learned this by now knowing I do it every time my mother bakes something. Blinking and swallowing the bite in my mouth, I filled up a glass with some milk to wash it down. "What's with all the baking? It seems like Yevonistmas in here seven months early."
"You know why," she said, switching on the electric mixer before looking up at me. "Okay, I need your help for a second. I remember that Braska likes my chocolate chip cookies, Ariana likes those peanut butter cookies with the chocolate on top… but for the life of me, I cant' remember what Yuna's favorite is, so do you think I should just make a little bit of everything or…"
"Yuna likes your lemon cookies," I replied without missing a beat.
My mom smiled at me and jabbed her pointer finger in my direction with one hand as she turned off the mixer and put it down with the other. "Yes, I believe you're right."
I knew I was right. I would sneak them over to Yuna every time my mom would make them, then I would be scolded because they were usually for company. Yuna was practically always company, more like family really, so I didn't see what the problem was. Taking a few more cookies for the road and finishing up my milk, I added, "just don't make anything with coconut. She's allergic."
"Her mother is too," she said, wiping her hands on the towel that was over her shoulder before putting a few ingredients back into the cupboard. "I completely forgot about those lemon cookies though. I hope I still have that recipe somewhere in the abyss of my recipe holder. Oh well, I have to start making dinner soon, so I will have to look for it tomorrow before they come over for dinner."
I nearly choked on my cookie and this time I didn't have any milk left. "What? Dinner? Tomorrow?"
Looking over her shoulder before she shut the cupboard door, she nodded. "I'm assuming that they will be so busy getting settled in tonight and tomorrow that a nice dinner would be very welcoming, don't you?"
"Yeah," I replied slowly, finding it very difficult to swallow my cookie. I thought that I would be able to go over there at my own leisure when I was able to calm myself down, but now that they were coming over for dinner… I worked at the inside of my lower lip to keep a smile off of my face and I needed to leave to get my mind off of my foolish and boyish excitement. "Um, yeah, but I gotta get over to Wakka's and tease him about how Bevelle is going to destroy Besaid tonight. Jecht at practice?"
Shooting me a disapproving look, she sighed. "Your father is at practice, yes." Pausing, she added, "wait! You're not going to be home for dinner either?"
"Sorry…" I did sincerely feel kind of bad, but staying at home would've made me really jittery… not to mention my mom making me clean nonstop. My room was done and that was about all she was going to get out of me, no need to scrub the place when Yuna and her family had been over when things weren't exactly tidy. Especially my room. More often than not, my room was an absolute disaster whenever she came over, so if she was expecting everything spic and span, she really must've forgotten all about me.
"Well, you have fun tonight then," she said giving me a small wave as she turned off the mixer. "Please be home at a decent hour?"
"Oh, all right," I said, not really enjoying how she was trying to enforce a curfew on me this summer. She preferred to refer to them as 'courtesy hours,' but it was a curfew because there wasn't any leeway. Midnight meant midnight and not five minutes after. "I'll be home around midnightish, I promise, mom."
The game wasn't going to last that long, so if I wasn't going to be able to hold my nerves down past the game, I would probably be home early anyway. It would make my mom happy since my dad was probably going to go out with his teammates after practice and I hated my mother being in the house alone with my dad when he was trashed. He wouldn't hurt her, but I felt the need to be the protective son.
"Thank you, Tidus," she replied with a smile and a nod. "Drive safely."
"Will do, mom." I gave the doorframe a small pat as I passed it and walked outside, giving the key fob a press to unlock my car door. I could've walked to Wakka's house, but now that I had a car (or 'borrowing the parents' car' as they liked to call it. It technically wasn't 'mine' but I was the only one who actually drove it) it was a lot more fun to just drive wherever I wanted to go. It gave me a sense of freedom.
Now all I had to do was get rid of that pesky curfew…
For some reason I wondered if it would change when Yuna came into town. Either that or Yuna would just spend the night all the time so I wouldn't have to worry about a curfew or anything. I assume at least. I mean, my mom didn't allow Lenne to spend the night but Yuna was different, wasn't she? We used to practically live at each other's houses, especially during the summer months, so I was hoping that wouldn't change now. But were we too old for sleepovers now that we were out of pjs with the grippy bottoms on the feet?
Shrugging, I put my keys in the ignition and started the engine. I really hoped time with the boys would keep my mind off the girl for 2 minutes because I was starting to drive myself insane.
--
"Dammit!!" Wakka exclaimed, putting his hands on his forehead and leaning back into the couch.
"That's another one for Bevelle!" I said, letting out a cheer and a reach for my soda. Thankfully Wakka's parents weren't home or else I would've felt bad because the six of us were extremely loud. Not just when one of the teams scored, but we were screaming at the tv through every play that they did and someone who didn't know anything about blitz, or understood the hype that we felt, would've been extremely confused. "I'm telling ya, Wakka, you really should just give up on the Aurochs. Besides the fact that they suck every season, how can you respect a team where the cheerleader's say 'do your best, Aurochs!'"
Jassu laughed and said, "Wow, Tidus. I never knew that you actually listened to what the cheerleaders say."
"Well, I figure if I stare at their asses for about 75 percent of their screen time, that gives the other 25 percent to kind of listen to what they're saying." Mostly, Jassu was right, but the cheerleaders did work hard to keep the fans interested. Being in the sphere, you couldn't hear a damn thing that they were saying… the crowd's cheers were always too overpowering. What a rush it was to be in that sphere… I couldn't wait until my blitz camps.
"And it's haaaaaaaaaaaaaaalftime!" The announcer said, causing all of us to get up and stretch for a few minutes before the game would start again. 15 minutes of commercials weren't that entertaining during a regular blitz game (however, during the Crystal Cup, the commercials were almost better than the game… almost), so I would rather get another soda and keep myself caffeinated. Not like I needed the sugar, I had been hyper enough as it was for the past few days thinking about what it was going to be like to see Yuna again. A lot can happen in five years… I'm sure she looked completely different. We should've sent pictures to each other every once and a while via email or something… I wonder why I never thought about it before.
Giving Wakka's brother, Chappu, a manly punch to the shoulder to change the subject on my mind, I said, "This year, you gonna be on A-East's team?"
"Well, if all goes according to plan, yes," he replied with a smile. He was going to be a freshman, and if I became captain this year – which, hopefully, was going to happen – I needed some great defense players. Wakka and I had been training the boy since he was basically born to be a star blitz player for A-East as soon as we graduated, so Chappu was on the right track. We needed someone to take over our lockers and carry on the tradition.
Just as I was about to reach over the counter for another soda, my phone started to vibrate in my pocket, making me jump about four feet in the air. "Yaaah!!!"
"You okay over there?"
I nodded to Wakka as I reached into my pocket for my phone to check to see who it was. Damn, I sure was jumpy. "It's my mom," I said to myself, a hint of disappointment in my voice that I wasn't able to hide.
I heard a couple of the guys chuckle and I looked over my shoulder as Wakka said, "She's not coming in until tomorrow, you know."
Instead of responding to him even though I knew that Yuna was arriving tonight, I ignored him and put my phone back into my front pocket. It was, what, eight o'clock on the night Yuna and her family were arriving in Zanarkand? No, I wasn't expecting a call from Yuna tonight. Calling me meant only one thing according to my mom. "My mom probably is on the last minute cleaning rush and found something that she wanted me to do or something. She knows I'm out, so if it's really important, she'll just leave a message."
Waiting a few more seconds, it seemed like she wasn't going to leave a message. Therefore, it wasn't important. However, when I turned around with my soda in my hand, the guys were giving me inquisitive looks and I knew it had to deal with Yuna's return. I didn't understand why. Like I said, I didn't pine over the girl while she was gone for 5 years. Moving on to Lenne made it look like I had moved on anyway, didn't it?
"Uh huh…"
"What?" I asked, shrugging my shoulders and trying to act innocent. "You all know my mom. She's been scrubbing the place high and low the past few days to make sure that everything is spic and span. She probably discovered a tiny cobweb on my ceiling room fan and wanted to scold me for it. Believe me, whatever it was, it can wait until I get home."
Wakka jumped over the back of the couch to stand next to me. "What if she was calling you to let you know that Yuna arrived?"
Crap. I didn't want to think about it and he mentioned it. I had to convince myself otherwise. "Nah, I doubt that. I think that would be important enough for my mom to leave a message, don't you think? Also, I know Yuna's mom… she would've called way in advance if she knew that they were going to make a stop at my house before going to the place that they're staying at for a few weeks. She's not one to do something so spontaneous." I wasn't going to add that I would hope that Yuna would call me if she stopped over and saw that I wasn't home.
I walked back to the couch and sat down to continue watching the blitz game. There were still four minutes until the end of half time, but I wouldn't mind watching those commercials as long as it took the attention off of me for a few minutes. Odd, because I loved being the center of attention most of the time. Not today though.
"Now come on, let's finish watching the game so you all can pay me the money that you're going to have to," I said as I gestured everyone to come sit back down. I was pleasantly surprised that they actually listened to me and we watched the rest of the game without so much of a peep about Yuna for the rest of the time.
…That is, until I was about to leave.
"You should give her a call."
I was about 700gil richer than I was when I walked into Wakka's house, which was nice, but being cornered by Wakka wasn't the greatest thing in the world. Thankfully he had waited until everyone had left his house, but still. With a sigh, I looked at my watch to see that it was close to 10:30pm, which wouldn't have been too late to call Yuna on her cell phone… and yet…
"My mom invited them over tomorrow for dinner," I replied simply as I started to make my way to the front door. "She's been driving all day today and she probably is sleeping by now, so I can wait until tomorrow."
Wakka let out a chuckle. "Oh really? You're like a four year old on Yevonistmas Eve right now, you know that, right?"
"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow and lowered my hands back to my sides. I tried to look as nonchalant as possible even though I knew what he was going to say before he said it.
"You haven't been able to sit still the past few hours to the point of me being surprised you were able to keep your attention on a three hour long blitz game," he said, opening the door for me and pointing out to my car. "It's not a crime to be excited about your best friend coming back for the summer and, to be honest with ya, I'm about ready to smack you. Why not call her and see if she wants to meet up somewhere? It's not that late, yeah?"
Okay, so perhaps I wasn't expecting that last part. In fact, my mouth opened, then shut… then opened and shut again. Finally, I was able to say, "I don't know. It just seems like I'm being too eager then, doesn't it? I'm not eleven years old anymore and it just seems like I'm too old to be breaking down her door after all these years."
He gave me a shove out of the door and I wasn't sure if I was expecting it or not. "Tidus. I'm telling ya now, break your pride a little bit. You were too proud when she left and you regretted half the things you said to her. Do you really want to be that way all summer when you only have a few weeks with her?"
Damn best friends. They always were right about things. I let out a sigh and reached into my pocket to clench my fingers around my phone, trying not to let my mind wander to the way that I acted when I found out that Yuna was going to leave and move halfway across Spira. As a matter of fact, I thought we weren't going to talk ever again after she left and I wouldn't have blamed her…
I took a few steps toward my car and gave Wakka a small wave as I said, "one of these days I'm going to owe you a lot for being my therapist."
"The bill will be in the mail by Monday."
Chuckling, I got into my car and put the keys in the ignition. I wish I knew where she and her family were staying for I would've just driven over there to see her. Well, I would've called her when I was outside so I didn't have to knock at the door at 10:30 and risk waking up her parents, but it would've been fun to surprise her. Perhaps my mom knew where they were staying...That sounded like a plan, so I drove home rather quickly so I wouldn't have to waste any time. I just hoped that my mom was still awake… otherwise I probably would've woken her up anyway. Damn Wakka, getting my hopes up!
As I walked into the house, it seemed rather quiet, but I did hear some talking from my parents' bedroom. My dad shouldn't have been home yet, so my mom must've been talking on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt her. Not really. I decided that I would go upstairs and change or fix my hair or something and maybe she would be off the phone by the time I made myself look presentable. Seeing Yuna was different than seeing the guys for a blitz game. For… some reason anyway.
Opening my door, I cringed as it creaked. My dad must've oiled that damn door every other week and it still made that hideous sound every time I opened it more than six inches. In a way, it was good because my mom couldn't sneak into my room early in the morning, but then if she did decide to do laundry early, she woke me up. It was kind of a double edged sword, really.
I used my elbow to flick on the light and walked over to my desk where my comb and gel was. I could at least put some gel in my hair so…
Wait… I noticed that my desk chair wasn't in the orderly fashion that I left in it, but that wasn't really what caught my eye. The little yellow bird that was resting on the seat cushion… Carter? My chocobo from when I was younger? I thought I lost him shortly after Yuna left and my mom must've found him again as she was cleaning the house like a madwoman.
"No way…" I said in awe and reached to pick him up. I stopped when I saw the piece of paper on his feet and gasped as I recognized the handwriting; 'Carter and I missed you! I'm jealous that he was able to see you first…'
Yuna…
Yuna was in my room! Yuna came over and I wasn't home! Yuna came over and my mom didn't call me… No! She did call me but probably didn't want to leave a message because she knows I never check my messages! I should've answered, but all my friends were staring at me and expecting me to do something embarrassing as I heard about my best friend coming into town. Damn my pride! Damn damn damn!!
I ran out of my room with Carter in one hand, I gripped the railing and shouted, "MOM!"
