Fun Times At Shinra High!
Chapter 10: My Date With a Cloud

X/X/XX

Dear Diary,
I must admit, I had a blast with my friends today! Marlene was just the CUTEST little thing. I should ask her father,
Barret, if I could baby sit for him. I'd love to take care of her for him if he's ever at work. And don't forget the lunch catastrophe! Remind me to never leave a long table full of food when Zack and Yuffie are here. They made SUCH a mess! But,
it was fun having everyone help out with cleaning. And we all banded together to make a new batch of food! It was like a real picnic! I loved it! Cloud was so helpful with the volley ball net he brought. I thought it looked perfect in my garden.
OH and Tifa's outfit was so cute! Purple suits her! I think what I want to know the most, though, is what's going on with Yuffie and Vincent? She follows him around like a hound and he is usually so quiet but the whole time they discussed nothing but materia! I didn't know she felt so strongly with the magical orbs. I wonder why he's so interested in it? I loved the music Red (or shall I say 'Nanaki'?) brought in with his wicked cool boom box! Seriously! It was so cool!
We had a lot of fun playing in the waterfall. Zack tends to cheat in his sports games, but if he's ever in a poker game with Cloud, he becomes quite competitive. Hehe. I feel sorry for Barret. He doesn't have a good poker face. But I'm not one to judge. I'm terrible with gambling. But that does remind me of Cloud's help with the junk we found earlier. It looks like a dirty muddy sock swam into my pool from a pipe. It was disgusting and slimy. YUCK! Thankfully, he told me that I should contact the mayor of Sector 5 about it. Barret knows the guy, it seems.
...Cloud...He's so mysterious. ... Come to think of it. I really should be careful of what I put in here, Diary.
Both he and Tifa know I still use a diary. Even at my age. But I can't help it! I have to let my thoughts out somehow!
*sigh*...I guess I'll just say it. Cloud asked me out on a date. Well, it's more like I coached him into asking me. I HAD to!
If I didn't..w-who knows what he was going to do if he got closer to me in the waterfall. Besides, it's not like I don't want to go out with him. Actually I'm eager to go! I can't wait until tomorrow! I'm both scared and excited! I wonder what he has planned for us tomorrow? I know he wants to take me to the Seventh Heaven. I might see Tifa there, since she works there sometimes. But I'm going to see Marlene and Barret, for sure. I'm glad he's letting me do that. Cloud is so thoughtful! But he did say he had a plan for us and I just can't get it out of my mind!
*gasp* It's 2 in the morning already?! WHEN?! HOW?! Uggggh I'm not even tired! GRRR! Sorry, Diary, but I REALLY have to force myself to sleep! I can't miss out on tomorrow because I slept in! Goodnight!

~Aerith

Luckily for me, Cloud had sent me a text before I went to bed last night. We discussed when he would come to pick me up. I was able to sleep in until noon. He wasn't going to pick me up until 4. It was when he got off of work. Boy, it looks like everyone has a job except me, huh? I wonder if I should get one? It might help mom and I with the bills. Anyway, 4 o'clock came faster than I expected. I made sure to get dressed but now that I look at myself in the mirror, I wonder I dressed up too much?
In the mirror, I wore a knee-length jean skirt. It had two pockets and a small slit on the left side. On the right side was a detailed stitch of white flowers and ribbons twirling up to my hip. I held up my skirt with a brown leather belt,
because my skirt was too big. Mom bought it for me one year and it never shrank, even if we washed it in cold water.
Above my waist, I wore a white-to-pink ombre dress shirt. The sleeves were short and a little poofy at the shoulders while the end of my shirt flowed easily above my belt. The shirt was a little shorter than when I remembered. I must have had this since I was still in middle school. I can't believe it still fits. Sighing at my reflection, I gazed at my jewelry. As my 'sparkle', I wore a couple of colorful bands around my wrists and on my neck, I wore this cute little chained silver necklace.
I bought it a week after moving here from Sector 4. The chain links were all in the shape of flowers. I thought it was adorable!
Hmm. Did I wear too much? Maybe I don't really need all of these bracelets..
*Ding! Dong!*
"Ah!" Breaking me from my thoughts, I looked out my window and grinned excitedly. "He's here." I couldn't help but giggle as I ran down the stairs. Mom had already opened the door for him. At the end of the stairs, I looked at what he was wearing and grinned softly. It looks he had the similar idea as I had, hehe. Cloud wore a pair of dark grey slacks, which actually looked very comfortable on him, and a light blue hoodie. I could also see a white T-shirt poking out from under the hoodie. As bling, he wore one silver round earring on his left ear and a silver necklace. Actually, he wore that necklace yesterday too. It has this little head of a wolf hanging on the end. He called it 'Fenrir'. I think he calls his motorcycle that too. It must be a gang thing.
It took me a few minutes to stop staring at him. Although, now that I look again, I can see he's blushing at me. I giggled once more before walking up to him and my mom. "H-Hi, Cloud." I waved to him, earning another soft blush and shy grin from him.
What's going on in his mind? Mom, on the other hand, got too excited and hugged us both. Making us both blush madly. "Ohhhhh you two are just the CUTEST!" "M-Mom!" I groaned. I looked over at Cloud with a pleading look in my eyes. Save me! Getting the hint, he scratched the back of his head as mom released us both. "Um..We'll be back later, Mrs. Gainsborough." Mom rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, Cloud! Elmyra is just fine! There's no need for formalities. Hehe, look at you trying to butter me up with respect!" We blushed again by her words. I pulled onto Cloud's sleeve lightly. "U-Um..." He nodded and tried backing away with me.
"B-Bye mom!" I waved to her as I raced with Cloud to his motorcycle. "Bye honey! You two have fun!"
Finally driving away from my home, I held onto Cloud's shirt like I usually do while we drove through the highway. "So where are we going?" I asked him. "Tifa's Seventh Heaven first. You said you wanted to see Marlene, right?" I nodded and smiled at him through his side mirror. He smirked back at me. Our drive to Sector 7 didn't take too long. We had to stop a few times because of some kind of road damage from a crash. Luckily, it was further away from our turn. Upon arrival, Cloud parked his bike up front in a reserved spot. It's funny, really. There was a child's drawing of a cloud on the pavement in the spot. I couldn't help but giggle. Marlene must have drawn that for Cloud. AND he uses it as his parking spot! Too cute!
Cloud helped me off of his motorcycle before entering the bar with me. Inside, it was pretty crowded with people. Many people were sitting in large groups, cheering with each other or having an arm wrestle. A few of them in a corner were having a brutal-looking fist fight. Over what? I have no idea and I don't think I'd want to know. "Cloud! Aerith! Ya finally got here!
What took ya so damn long?!" Barret's voice roared over the mass of heads. Looking over various shoulders, I finally spotted my gun-metal friend. When we finally made our way to the bar that Barret was tending to, Cloud helped me sit down and then took a seat next to me. "Yeah. Yeah. Look, is Marlene down stairs? Aerith wanted to see her." Barret scuffed at Cloud's reply but still nodded. "Yea', she's watchin' toons. Aerith, see that pinball machine?" I looked to where he pointed. "Yeah. What about it?"
"If you pull the lever on the left side, it's hidden so look carefully, pull it down and then shove it in towards the wall. It leads downstairs." I looked up at him with a giggle. "Um, Barret. Does everyone who come to drink here know about this secret room?" Barret barked in laughter. "These $$wholes? S^%#! All they do is sit, fight, 'n drink! In that order! Now git! Mah baby girl will be thrilled you're here!" I giggled and went over to the pin ball machine as ordered.
The pinball machine looked beaten up but still had many neon lights and sound effects to tell you the score. The game it promoted was some kind of zombie game, from the looks of it. When played, it'd either make zombie grunting sounds, if you lost the ball, or gunshots, if you won a high score. It looked pretty interesting. I actually love pinball games! But, I don't think I have time to play around. Looking around the machine, I find this small lever, hidden in the corner of the machine. It was rusted and hid very well in the shadows. Luckily, the neon lights made it a little easier to see. I grabbed a hold of the lever and pulled as best as I could, but it wouldn't budge. He DID say to pull it down, right? And then to jam it in towards wall? Was this thing so rusted and used that it just...broke? "Need help?" Cloud said, appearing behind me. He sure gets a habit of doing that. I nodded at him and watched as he did the same routine that I did. He frowned and sighed before kicking the machine and THEN did the same thing with the lever. It worked this time and the whole machine shook, then lowered us both down to a hidden room. In the room, lots of junk were scattered about. On the wall, a giant red 'AVALANCHE' in spray paint overflowed the back wall. There was a large TV, some kind of cartoon was playing, and a large white table took most of the space in the room.
Marlene was sitting on a red couch, playing with a coloring book in her lap. But when Cloud and I descended to the room, she gazed up from her drawing and beamed in joy as she saw me. "AERITH!" Tossing the coloring book aside, she instantly came running at me. I giggled as she collided into me, causing me to fall to the floor. Cloud couldn't help but laugh. "Aerith!
Aerith! Are you here to play with me?" I chuckled lightly but Cloud answered for me. "Sorry, not today. She did want to see you,
though." Marlene looked so thrilled. "Really?!" I nodded and hugged her. "I came here to give you a little something." I lifted up this cute little necklace I made for her. It was all made from my garden. Various types of flowers wrapped together into a necklace. I put it around her neck and grinned. "There we go!" Jumping up and down in excitement, Marlene gave me a big hug and then ran to go find her daddy.
We followed her back up to the bar and soon enough found Barret holding Marlene on his shoulders while she told him about the necklace. "She made that for ya, eh? Oi, flower girl!" I giggled and walked over to the bar. "Yup?" Barret sat Marlene down.
letting her run back to watch her show downstairs. "How would you like to be Marlene's babysitter? I'll pay ya." He must have seen the mix of emotions, from excitement to concern, on my face. He grinned and burst into laughter. "Don't worry. It'll be fine!"
I smiled and nodded. "Okay! I'd love to be her baby sitter!" Barret nodded with approval. Cloud smirked and tapped my shoulder.
"You ready?" I nodded. "Barret, can you tell her I said goodbye and I'll see her next time?" Barret agreed before seeing us off.
I'm so glad! I'm going to be Marlene's babysitter! Mom is going to be so happy! I wonder where we are going to go next?

~~~~~~~~~ After driving around a bit more, we ended up in Sector 3. Sector 3 is widely known for its many restaurants. I see. We're going out to eat! Cloud drive us to this all-you-can-eat buffet called 'Chow Down'. A very simple name but it looks well known.
The place was almost packed. Maybe a few spaces available, but still quite a few groups hanging outside. Smokers, mainly. After parking, Cloud helped me off of the bike and led me inside. The interior was surprisingly cleaner than I'd expect! The inside was made of a dark wood, almost like a cabin. Tons of tables and chairs were scattered throughout the restaurant. In the back, a looooong buffet of various types of food sat prepared and ready to be served. Across from that, in the center of all of the tables, a salad bar along with a mini dessert table stood out with a bright light shining above. Even amongst all of the loud talking from the other customers, I could still hear music being played overhead. I liked it. This place was soothing and welcoming. Cloud sure knew where to go!
We soon enough found a table, ordered some drinks and then we both made our way to the buffet. I grabbed myself a plate of a little bit of salad with ranch dressing and croutons. As my main course, I decided to grab some meat loaf, green beans, a roll and a cup of mixed fruit. Heh, a little much for a girl, huh? I sat back to my seat and began taking a bite of my meat loaf before Cloud sat in front of me. He smirked at me as he sat down. "Feeling hungry?" I giggled at him, noticing his own plate.
"Not as much as you, I think." I giggled a bit more at his blush. Cloud had grabbed a plate of chicken legs and meat loaf as well as some green beans, a baked potato, macaroni salad and a bowl of fruit. "H-hey..Blame Tifa for always making me eat." I laughed again. For some reason, now I'm starting to have shivers again. Was it because I'm literally on a date? This IS my first date.
I better not screw it up.
It was hard trying to figure out something to talk about while we ate. Come to think of it, I always hated it when I ate in front of other people. I always felt like I was being watched. It's probably just a pet peeve of mine since I was little.
But if we could just talk...maybe it'd get the feeling off of my mind? "U-Um..So, you're not originally from Midgar, right?" I asked after taking a sip of my cola. Cloud nodded, liking his lips from the meat loaf. Darn it, girl! Don't STARE at him! It's rude a-and...has his lips always looked like that? "Yeah. I'm from Niebelhiem. Tifa is too. She and I grew up together." I smiled at him. "That's right. I've read about Niebelhiem. It's in the mountains, right? I'm from Mideel. It's closer to the sea,
but surrounded by many trees. It's more like a fishing town, really." He smiled at me. "Do you miss it?" I nodded a bit. "Yeah.
Sometimes. I grew up there, mostly. The children there loved me." I smiled a bit sadly. I remembered watching them in the distance as mom and I drove away. It was so sad. They all stood together, hands held together side by side and each one of them were waving slowly. It was just heartbreaking.
"Mostly?" He asked, looking up from his plate. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm adopted. Elmyra Gainsborough isn't my birth mother.
My birth mother was named Ifalna. She died when I was too young and then Elmyra adopted me. I don't know who my father was. But I'm fine, really! I love Elmyra. She's a wonderful mother. I couldn't be happier." I smiled sweetly. "Marlene is adopted too." Cloud said, taking a gulp from his Sprite. I blinked in slight surprise. "Really? Well, I kinda thought that was so." Cloud nodded,
finishing up the remains of his fruit. "Barret adopted her after his best friend, Dyne, passed away. It was from an accident.
Thing is, Marlene doesn't remember it. She was a few months old when it happened." I frowned at my plate. "T-That's...So sad."
Very quickly, our dinner became quiet with a sense of sadness. This isn't how a date should be. It's suppose to be something to connect us.
"Ah! Um...Can I ask you something?" I asked a bit shyly, remembering something I've been meaning to ask him. Looking up at me, he nodded. "What?" "How did you learn to play the electric guitar?" He blushed at my question and looked at his silverware as a distraction. "Z-Zack taught me back in Niebelhiem. He was visiting friends one day and I befriended him." I smiled at him. "You're really good. You must have a lot of fans." He shrugged a bit, still avoiding looking at me. Although it didn't take long for him to say something again. "I..honestly, I didn't expect you to be there...dressed like that. I knew the girls were going to bring you along b...but..." He was definitely blushing now. I too began to blush at the memory of his concert the other day. I really meant it when I said I liked his music. I just wish Tifa and Yuffie hadn't...dolled me up like that. I felt so different! It was strange. "S-Sorry about that." I looked to my plate in embarrassment. He shook his head, finally looking at me. "No. That's not what I meant. I mean...W-well...You looked...great.." *Thump thump* There goes my heart again.
Time had passed and already the time had flown by. Looking at my cell phone, I noticed it was 7pm. Most of our date was probably gone from driving. But, I still enjoyed it. I like feeling the wind blow through my hair. I stood up from my seat and stretched before grabbing my purse. I guess it's time to go home. "Ready for our next stop?" Cloud asked me after paying for our meal. I looked up at him, confused. "W-wait you're not taking me home?" He shook his head. "Not yet. I want to show you something." Really? I wonder what it is.
~~~~~~~~~

W-Wow...This is so... "Beautiful.." Shivers went down my spine at the breath taking view before us. After dinner, Cloud had driven us through the highway leading to Sector 1. We took a ramp that led to the upper plate. I don't know why he'd want to go to the upper plate, but now I see why. Cloud took me to an artificial park. It looked like a real park, but there was no smell. No true beauty of nature. Not until I saw the horizon passed the gate that led out of Midgar. Various colors of reds,
orange, even a little hint of yellow painted the sky. It was as if the planet itself was trying to end our date with a blissful meaning. But with all of the fake trees and rocks every where, I couldn't see the beauty for long.
Noticing my frustration, Cloud grabbed me by my waist, causing me to blush wildly. But then I realized why he did such a thing. He lifted me up to climb a tall tree and together we sat on a thick branch. He made it so much easier to enjoy the view. "Cloud..t-this is.." "I know." I giggled and couldn't help but lean my head onto his chest. I felt him shiver lightly behind me. Hehe, I was making him nervous. But he didn't seem to mind as he pulled me in a little closer by wrapping his free arm around my exposed arm. His hand was warm to the touch. Almost as warm as the sunlight that floated in the air around us. This was so peaceful. No vehicles drove by, a few birds flew in the distance, even a few specks of stars began to poke through the painted sky. It was truly beautiful. Cloud was waiting to show me this?
I smiled softly as I looked up at him from behind me. "Thank you, Cloud. I love this. It's so beautiful. I-I didn't expect Midgar to hold such beauty." Cloud stared into my eyes, holding onto every word it seemed. "I know.. Beauty isn't truly adored until you embrace it with someone who shares that same beauty." Wow. That was unexpected. Did he just speak in poetry?
Wait...someone who shar-. I gasped and blushed madly. "I-I...C-Cloud are you saying...?" He nodded slowly, moving his face closer to mine. His eyes...they were looking from my eyes to my...lips? Omigod. Cloud wants to...to...KISS me?! What should I do? S-Should I let him?
I couldn't help but stare into those deep blue eyes. The sunlight echoed in his eyes. It made him look so...pure...and perfectly peaceful. He was so relaxed, while I felt so many shivers throughout my body. How can one look into his eyes cause such a reaction within me? "Aerith.." His voice spoke barely above a whisper. I couldn't speak. All I could do was nod gently.
"...Can I...kiss you?" That was it. My heart stopped at his words. My face was blushing with the red sky. But he still wanted me.
I felt his breath caress my skin as my eyes answered for him. I wanted him to kiss me. Ever since I saw him in school. I dreamed of what it'd be like to taste his lips. Were they hard or soft? Did they have a flavor? Would he use his tongue? So many times I thought about what it'd be like to kiss someone and every time I'd think of it, I'd always see Cloud's face as the one I want to kiss. My eyes closed slowly as I waited for the incoming touch of our lips.
Cloud's lips weren't hard or thin. They were lightly plush with a hint of color. But what truly gave them life was the passion he held underneath. A passion only he could let out through a kiss. And, God!, did he know how to kiss. At first, our kiss was ever so gentle. It was barely noticable. It was like he was afraid to kiss a living statue. Afraid it'd break upon impact of his lips. But after taking a soft a breath, he leaned in a little closer. It was still soft, but with more confidence.
Just this one peck had made a reign of shivers echoing everywhere in my body. It wasn't until I made the next move, that I knew he felt the same exact shivers as I had.
I couldn't just let him do all the work. Nervously, I let my hands reach up to his face slowly. I felt his skin upon my fingertips as I touched his neckline. He was sweating, probably more nervous than I was. However, my soft touch made us both lean in closer. Our breaths were hushed just as our kiss deepend. Nothing moved around us. Life stood completely still. My hands reached around his neck, gently feeling his smooth sweaty skin. This lingering touch caused him to lick my lips lightly. Ohhh how that sent a sensation through my body! Hesitating just a little, I slowly parted my lips by a mere breath. And in that instant,
he snatched that breath away by sliding in his tongue with ease. He didn't bother to explore my entire mouth. No, he wanted to taste me. We 'wrestled' with our tongues. Both of us moaning with quickened gasps with each movement we made. Neither one of us could think while we kissed. There was no room for thought. It was all action. Action speaks louder than words, right? Well,
we definitely 'spoke' enough.
None too soon, unfortunately, our heated kiss ended. We both parted at the same time. Our eyes opened slowly and we sat still on the branch, locked in each others gaze. 'Eating with your eyes', as some people say. As if our kiss never even ended.
Yet it had. I didn't even realize I was trying desperately to catch my breath. It seems he was the same as well. Blinking a few times, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the sun had gone down. Now there was nothing but a sea of stars hovering over our heads. It's so magical right here, in his arms, in that kiss. Looking at him now, he was blushing. Embarrassed. "I..I shouldn't have...done that." I blinked and frowned. Did he not want to kiss me? Noticing my frown, he quickly corrected himself. "I..It's bad to kiss on the first date.." His blush grew. I gasped softly, realizing what he meant, and then burst into laughter. He watched me for a bit before joining in with my giggles. What a night to remember!