"I-I uh, w-w-would you li- uh" He shook his head. His trembling hands tightening around the tickets for a concert he had gotten over a week ago.

Kaiko tilted her head. 'This memory…'

Slowly, he held out a shaky hand with the two tickets. "W-would you go o-out w-w-with me?!" He asked in a quick shuttering manner, his eyes never leaving the ground.

Kaiko's posture stiffened as she stared wide-eyed at the boy. This feeling… She had definitely felt it before. She could hear her friends giggle a little from behind her, and people who were passing by the table seemed to froze and stare at them. The girl looked around. She didn't know what to do. Her mind had gone blank, and by now the boy had muster up the courage to look back at her, but he's gaze return back to the floor the instant her eyes made contact with his. Her stomach felt like it was twisting into itself. She knew what would happen next.

He bit his lip, forcing himself to continue, even though in the back of his mind, a voice was yelling at him to turn tail and run. "Y-y-you've tutored m-me this p-past semester…and I know it's a bit… weird for me t-to just… you know…" He shrank a little into himself, a hue of scarlet running across his cheeks. "But I- I think I can… make you… h-happy…"

Kaiko watched as the boy lifted his gaze and shyly locked it with hers. "I-…" She was at a loss for words. How was she supposed to just…? "I- um… you're just…"

"So tiny!" One of her friends cooed, batting her eyelashes.

Kaiko looked towards her group of friends, who were watching the whole scene in amusement. One in particular leaned forward, clasping a hand around her mouth as if she was about to tell a secret. "Oh, Kai! I'm jealous! It's cute how little boys like him flock to you!" The group of girls giggled at the joke. Kaiko however, just frowned and turned towards the boy again, who was practically shaking in fear by now. The brunette looked down with a small smile. Her small hands nervously fiddling with the hem of her sundress.

"I- I…" Kaiko began, a small blush starting to spread across her cheeks as her heart thundered in her chest. "I would-"

She was abruptly cut off when one of her friends threw an empty pack of chips at the back of her head. Kaiko turned her head towards them. The girl who had the pack of chips shook her head a bit, a small glare in her eyes. The others just waited for her to answer, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Kaiko pursed her lips, turning her head to take a glance at the boy.

'Beep, beep! Beep, beep!'

"Ugh! Stupid alarm…" Kaiko slammed her hand down on the alarm clock, frowning when it continue to scream annoyingly. Why did she buy the stupid thing in the first place? Peeking her head out from underneath the sheets, she glared murderously at the offending object, which seemed to be mocking her. She propped herself up on her elbows and pressed the snooze button once again.

"Kai…alarm…" She heard Serah mumble when the clock continued on screaming, her voice heavy with sleep.

Kaiko turned her head to glare at the back of her friend's head. Not only was she annoyed to be woken up by an alarm at… She checked the time on the clock and nearly stood up to throw it out the window. 'Why on Cocoon did I put the alarm for this early in the freaking morning?' She screamed at herself, giving up on snoozing the thing and ended up just plugging it off. She has never liked being woken up early. And having people talking to her after being so…rudely woken up… She just didn't like it at all. Even when she was little she wasn't really a morning person. Her mother learned that by having pillows thrown at her face every time she tried to wake her up. Her sister however, had clocks launched at her instead of pillows. She preferred that method. It shut her sister and the alarm up. She wasn't really that violent. But back then, morning her barely used her brain and just went with instincts.

The photographer laid back down to try to sleep, but memories from the dream she had popped up in her mind. She definitely wasn't going to sleep anymore. Why would she be dreaming of something like that? She knew it wasn't just a dream. It was a memory. And something was triggering it. If she wasn't mistaken, it was the same dream she had a few days ago.

She turned on her back and stared up at the ceiling. She must have gotten hit in the head before going to high school or something. It's not normal to just forget things like that. She should probably see a doctor about it.

'That boy though…' The brunette groaned and took the pillow below her head to cover her face. Today was proving to be quite the stressful day. 'Wait!' She abruptly sat up, the soft pillow falling onto her lap. There was a reason why she had to wake up this early. It obviously wasn't work, and she was pretty sure everything about the trip was taken care of. 'What was it?' She looked around the room as if doing that would somehow help her remember. Her eyes fell on the light silver covers of her bed. 'Silver sheets…' The brunette stroke the sheets a little as she thought. 'Silver… Hope!'

Kaiko scrambled out of her bed, nearly falling onto her face in the process. She had a date with him… She had a date with him! The brunette immediately stood up and ran at full speed into her closet to look for something to wear. Leave it to her to forget such things this easily. As she kept on rummaging through her clothes, Serah sat up, glaring at the closet's door where she knew her friend was for all the noise she was making. The pinkette shook the covers off herself and made her way over to her friend's walk-in-closet. She leaned on the doorway, the tiniest of scowls on her features.

"Kaiko… what are you doing?" Serah asked, curling a hand around her mouth as she yawned. The brunette ignored her, looking for clothes viciously. "If you're looking for what you're going to wear for the trip, it's in the living room already…" The pinkette raised an eyebrow when Kaiko took out a random piece of clothing and ran past her.

"I have a date!" She heard the brunette say, followed by the slam of the bathroom's door. Serah stood in place, staring at nothing in particular. It wasn't until she heard the shower go off that realization hit her.

"You have a what now?!" Serah screeched, kicking the door to the bathroom open. She stared at the curtain of the shower, waiting for a reply.

"Date." Kaiko replied curtly, unfazed by having her friend barge in like that.

"Wh- I…now? Who makes a date at… seven in the morning?" Serah asked slowly, a tad annoyed at being woken up that early, and a small sweat drop rolling down the side of her head at the oddness of it all. She knew the brunette could be a bit weird sometimes… but a date that early was just ridiculous.

Kaiko poked her head from behind the curtain, her damp hair sticking to her face. She stared at Serah with a dull expression. "Well, it would have been much later if it wasn't because of the certain mess a certain somebody pulled me into…"

"…" Serah's mouth open and closed a few times before she nodded in understanding. "You have a point. So," She continued, casually leaning against the doorframe as an excited smile coiled along her lips. "Who's the guy?"

"I knew him back in Palumpolum. We studied in the same middle school…Now, can you let me finish my shower in peace?" Kaiko answered, returning back to her shower.

Serah ignored her friend's request and tilted her head. "Aww! Did he have a crush on you back then?"

"I don't know. If he did, I don't remember…"

Serah could only groan at her friend's lack of memory. "What is up with that brain of yours?" The pinkette asked out loud, shaking her head in disappointment. Kaiko grumbled something inaudible under her breath in response, stepping out of the shower after turning the water off and covering her damp body with a towel. "That'd be cute though." The pinkette stated, clasping her hands behind her back. An almost dazed look appeared on her soft features as she imagined a whole love story between her friend and the mystery guy, since she didn't know who it was.

"What would?" Kaiko tilted her head in confusion. "You okay? What's with the face?"

"Nothing." Serah sang, walking out of the bathroom with a slight smile. Kaiko stared after her, raising a bemused eyebrow. Checking the time in her cell, she hurriedly put her clothes on and followed after Serah, drying her hair with a towel.

"Well, I should hurry."

Serah sighed and turned to face her friend. She knew the brunette was smart and, well, an adult, and she could take care of herself, but she couldn't help but worry. The brunette could be quite dense sometimes. "Just take care, okay?" The younger Farron spoke, running a hand through her hair to tame the pink locks. Kaiko rolled her eyes, but nodded nonetheless to ease her friend's worries. It's always been like that. The pinkette getting worried over the smallest things.

"It'll be fine, Serah! Don't worry." Kaiko began to make her way towards the front door after she finished drying her hair with a slightly pouty Serah in tow. She placed her hand on the doorknob and turned to face the pinkette. "I'll be back aro-

'Knock, knock.'

"Hmm?"

Kaiko stared at the door for a minute. 'Who would come over this early?' She asked herself. Only one face popped up in her mind and she wished, no, prayed she was wrong. 'Oh God, please don't let it be Kairi…' With a questioning eyebrow raised, she peeked into the peeping-hole and nearly fainted on the spot. All color drained from her face, and Serah watched as she turned around, looking as if her soul had just been sucked out of her body. She then began to gape, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. The pinkette sweat dropped at the gapping Kaiko before moving her aside to look through the peephole.

"It's her!" Kaiko whispered loudly, after several minutes of having her mouth open and close without any sound coming out. Serah stared at her for a moment before taking a look for herself, since she would probably get nothing from the brunette at this rate. But judging by her friend's state, it couldn't be good. After looking through the peephole herself, she realized with dread what had the photographer acting this crazy. She would have begun doing the same thing if she wasn't as levelheaded as she was. Because standing right there on the other side of the door, looking as irritated as ever, was none other than Lightning Farron herself. Lady luck sure wasn't on their side as Fang would most likely say at a moment like this.

"Serah! What are we gonna do? She can't see me dressed like this!" Kaiko exclaimed as quietly as she could, so that the pinkette on the other side of the door wouldn't hear them. The photographer was about to start pacing, but Serah immediately intervened, not needing to add any more stress to the situation.

"Um… Go hide or something... I'll see what she wants." Serah said, pushing the brunette in the direction of her room. She then turned around towards the door when the brunette nodded and dashed away.

"Wait!" Serah turned her head to see Kaiko standing in the hallway, looking at her in suspicion, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. "How did she find out where I live?" The brunette asked slowly.

Serah only blinked in response before waving a hand dismissively, a nervous chuckle coming out of her pink lips. "How would I know?" Kaiko's eyes narrowed more, if possible. "Doesn't matter right now! Just go!" Serah said quickly, placing a hand on the doorknob when she heard the door to the photographer's room close. She heaved a small sigh and put on a smile as she opened the door. "Claire, hi!" The pinkette greeted as soon as the soldier came into sight. "Please, come in!"

The older Farron merely sighed at her before huffing a bit. "I figured you'd be here." The soldier looked at her disapprovingly before frowning, staring at her sister's bed hair. "You're still not ready to go?"

Serah blinked owlishly at her. Her brain still a bit fuzzy from sleep to comprehend the words that had come out of her sister's mouth. "Go?"

Lightning let out an irritated sigh, crossing her arms across her chest. "We're leaving to Oerba remember?" The taller pinkette reminded with a roll of her eyes, sidestepping her sister to walk into the apartment.

"Y-yeah, but that's… It's seven in the morning, Light. We're not leaving until like, one in the afternoon…" Serah blinked, leading the taller woman into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, she gestured for her sister to follow suit. The older Farron seemed to hesitate for a moment before she too sat down. The frown on her face slightly deepening.

"I left you a voicemail since you didn't pick up the phone…" Serah frowned in confusion, staring at the taller woman. "I guess you didn't get it…" Lightning sighed, crossing her toned legs one over the other, which were in plain sight thanks to the brown shorts she was wearing. "The flight we were going on was canceled, so we had to go either earlier or later. It would have been troublesome for Fang, since she's the one picking us up, to get us later. So we're leaving in about an hour."

Serah just sat there, a little dumbfounded by the information. Yup. This confirmed it. Neither the Universe or lady luck was on their side. Maybe it was Kaiko's apartment. Since she practically lives there by now, the bad luck Kaiko seems to have was rubbing off on her as well. What was she going to tell the brunette now?

Meanwhile, Kaiko was in her room doing her usual nervous pacing. It was becoming a rather, regular thing for her by now. She had been able to hear Lightning say they were gonna leave earlier. In other words, they had to leave now, and she wouldn't be able to go on the date with Hope.

The brunette walked towards the window in her room and stared out of it. 'Maybe I can climb down from here…' She looked down at the ground below. The building had to be at least twenty stories tall, and she wasn't desperate enough as to climb down it. She wasn't some kind of super human, so that was completely out of the question. It wasn't like she had a death wish or anything… or maybe she did, just judging by the situation she had somehow pulled herself into. She was gonna have to give the silver haired man a call and let him know she wouldn't be able to make it, or… she could just go out there, and pretend she was Kai's twin sister... Kaiko raised an eyebrow, letting the idea roll through her head.

'That's just ridiculous.'

The woman took out her cell phone and stared at it. She was really looking forward to the date, and now she couldn't go. 'Just great.' Her mood had gone from irritated, to angry. No, it wasn't really anger, she was…annoyed more than anything, and tired. Sleep was indeed important, and she barely had any from mentally kicking herself for agreeing to go to Pulse, even though Serah was all in to call it quits. With a heavy sigh, she scrolled through her contacts, and just when she was about to tap Hope's name, the door to the room swung open. Kaiko almost dropped her phone in surprise. She whirled around to find a frantic looking Serah with a pair of clothes in her hands.

"Here." The pinkette pushed the clothes into Kaiko's hands, ushering her to change as quickly as possible. "Lightning's asking for you. I told her I was coming to wake you up. So, hurry up and change! We're leaving now." The pinkette rushed out, walking into the bathroom after taking a pair of clothes for herself.

Kaiko blinked for a moment before looking at her phone. She was a bit startled when the device began to ring, Hope's name appearing on the screen. He was probably calling to check why she wasn't at Beach House yet. But what was she going to tell him? She couldn't just go: 'Oh, hey Hope! Sorry, I'm not gonna be able to make it! I have to pretend to be my best friend's boyfriend and go with her family to my possible doom!'

Yeah, he would probably think it was just an excuse to not go on the date… But she couldn't just ignore the call either. Heaving a sigh, she tapped the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Kaiko!" Came Hope's worried voice, making her feel all the more guilty. "Are you at Beach House yet?"

"No. I was just about to call you. I-"

"Good." She heard the man on the end of the line sigh in relief. The brunette wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "I just got a call from work. Something unexpected came up, so I have to go there right away." Hope let out what appeared to be an irritated grunt. "I tried to cancel, but apparently is urgent. I'm really sorry!"

Kaiko felt a smile coil up along her lips, and some of the stress was lifted off her shoulders. Maybe things were going to look up today. "It's fine! Don't worry about it! We can just make plans for another time."

"Are you sure?" Hope asked worriedly.

"Yes! It's fine!"

"Alright." The silver haired man sounded more relieved now. "Well, I have to go now. I'm about to enter the office. I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure. Bye." She disconnected the call and sat herself on the edge of her bed. About time something went her way. She had one thing less to take care off. But she wasn't really sure if it did go her way. After all, a really intimidating woman was in her living room at the moment.

"You're not dressed yet?!" Serah screeched when she got out of the bathroom wearing the clothes she previously had on her hands. She was wearing a simple white t-shirt and her usual red pleaded skirt. "Do I have to dress you too?" Kaiko frowned in response, but she couldn't help but let out a small laugh for some reason.

"Did you put them on okay?"

"I don't know. Am I supposed to breathe with this thing?" Kaiko asked, once she and Serah were descent enough to go see Lightning. The two were referring to the ridiculously tight bandages wrapped around the brunette's chest as they walked into the hallway.

Serah turned her head to stare at Kaiko. She looked down at the brunette's now literally flat chest before looking back up at her face. "No."

Kaiko blinked at Serah's deadpanned reply. "Huh… Then I did!" The pinkette laughed a bit as they entered the living room, an annoyed Lightning greeting their sight.

"About time." The woman stood up placing her right hand on her hip. Kaiko couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards the woman. She was like a freaking model! Actually, the two Farrons were rather similar in the beauty department. Beautiful pink locks. Sparkling blue eyes. Perfect body. She wasn't that bad herself, but compared to them… She was… average. She wasn't able to ponder much on the thought however. Serah pushed both of their luggage, Kaiko's and hers, into the brunette's hands, a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Thanks, honey." The pinkette said sweetly, lightly patting her cheek. Kaiko would have dropped the bags, immediately protesting to the idea of carrying them with a cold glare. But she couldn't. The cold, blue orbs observing her almost had her petrified into place. She slowly turned her head towards the tall pink haired woman, but once her eyes made contact with the blue hues, she immediately looked down.

"Well, let's go!" Serah exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together before walking out the door. Lightning followed her sister with her eyes before looking at Kaiko, who was having a bit of trouble with the bags. Kaiko managed to take a hold of the four bags and looked up at the soldier with the tiniest of smiles, giving a small nod of her head. Lightning breathed out sigh, and followed after her sister.

The brunette watched her go, heaving a sigh herself. Hopefully, Serah's other family members wouldn't be like this… Cause spending two weeks with people that made one feel as uncomfortable and intimidated as she felt around the pink haired woman, wasn't exactly… well, paradise.

The car ride to the airport was rather silent, the only small talk made was by Serah, when she asked her sister how she was doing or how her job was going. The pink haired soldier gave small replies in return, barely leaving room for conversation.

It wasn't long until they reached the airport and were boarding the plane. Everything was going quite smoothly. So smoothly, that Kaiko couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious about it. However, she was expecting something to happen soon. Something always happened. She was cursed after all. By now, the only weird thing that had happened was that almost everyone in the airport had seemed to be staring at them once they entered. The stares were more directed at Lightning than anyone else. They were either scared and/or intimidated, which she totally understood, or awestruck. A few of the males had shot her weird or dirty looks. Probably wondering why a 'guy' like 'him' would be hanging out with the notorious Lightning Farron and her sister. It seemed to happen a lot though. The pink haired woman paid no mind to this, either she didn't care or she just didn't notice. It was most likely the former. But either way, they were now seated in the plane and everything had gone okay.

Kaiko made herself comfortable in her seat and stared out the window as the plane took off. The ride to Oerba would take at least three and a half hours. Perfect time to catch on sleep. Slightly tilting the seat back, she began to doze off. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over, but a gentle hand placed on her arm stopped her. Cracking an eye open, she found Serah looking at her. The pinkette smiled at her gratefully with a nod of her head, mouthing the words 'thank you'. Kaiko let out a small, tired, smile back, watching as the pinkette nodded once more before turning the other way to face her sister. The older Farron had busied herself with a magazine, and was flipping through the pages uninterestedly. If she was going to be a guy, she would be the best one. She would have to win Lightning over somehow. That was the only way she would get out of this mess alive. With a tired sigh, the woman now disguised as a man closed her eyes once more and let sleep consume her.

Finally arriving in Oerba, Serah breathed out a small relieved sigh. They were still alive, that was something. She turned her head to look at Kaiko, who was looking around the airport in search of Fang. They had been looking for her for several minutes now and there was still no sign of the wild haired woman anywhere. It was best if she hurried. By the looks of it, Lightning was starting to get impatient. Glancing at her watch for what seemed like the twentieth time, the younger Farron tried to spot the familiar face in the crowd.

"Where the hell is that idiot?" Lightning spoke, tapping her feet against the floor. A clear sign of her impatience.

"I'm sure she must be looking around for us." Serah replied, craning her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of the woman. Lightning just scoffed in return.

"Hey Sunshine."

Kaiko and the Farron sisters turned around to find Fang standing right behind them, a cup of what appeared to be coffee in her right hand. The woman smirked, and it only got wider when her eyes met Lightning's. The pink haired soldier was obviously annoyed. Her eye was twitching in a weird way, and a vein seemed to be popping out of her forehead.

"What took you so long?"

"Oh, I felt like gettin' a coffee on the way here." Fang shook the cup on her hand a bit to emphasize what she was saying. Kaiko felt a sweat drop roll down the side of her head. This woman sure was carefree. And it bewildered her how she could talk to Lightning like that, knowing quite well what the Farron was capable of.

Lightning didn't reply however, she snatched Fang's practically full cup from her hands and threw it in a nearby trash can, the scowl on her face just deepening when she turned towards the Pulsian. Fang just watched everything with an amused smile while Kaiko stared at them uneasily, half expecting the wild haired woman to pounce at the other. But no. Fang's smile only widened as she looked at the irritated Lightning right in the eye.

"Is that normal?" Kaiko whispered to Serah. The pinkette merely sighed in return, a small smile grazing her features.

"Lightning's quarrels with Fang? Yup. Happens every time they meet up." Kaiko could only look back at her with her jaw slightly ajar. She turned her attention back to the two older women once she heard Fang's laughter.

The Pulsian was shaking her head while Lightning glared at her. She then turned towards Kai and smirked. "Glad you could join us, mate." The woman made her way towards the 'boy' and placed an arm around 'his' shoulders. "You'll love it here! We better go though. Everyone's waiting."

Kaiko chuckled nervously, looking up at the taller woman. "E-everyone?" She turned her head towards Serah, who was apparently scolding Lightning, well, more like trying to, since the woman was paying no attention.

'Just what did I pulled myself into...'

A/N: Hey, loves! Here's the 10th chapter (finally). I'm sorry it took so long! But I seriously didn't like how this chapter kept turning out. I kept re-writing it over and over... I'm still not satisfied with it v.v... But I decided to upload it before I deleted the whole thing xD I got really frustrated with it and kept neglecting it... But I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer! So there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed the pretty boring chapter nonetheless. But promise next one will be better! (I do this a lot... xD) No worries guys! Hope will have his date soon ;) Oh, you remember I said I'd make a drawing of Kaiko right? Well, it's almost done! The sketch was made like, ages ago... but I'm working on it in Illustrator... it's not easy with a mouse... I want a bamboo..so badly x3

Thank so much to all of you, my lovely readers! Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites! It makes me feel so warm inside when I get feedback like that...lol Anyways! I'l be starting school again soon, but hopefully I'll be able to post another chapter before it gets in my way -.-

Mata ne! :3