Sorry for such a long wait, guys! But, as I said, I would be busy with schoolwork and whatnot. Plus, my really bad headaches came back for a couple days, so it was hard to concentrate on writing. Anyway, a BIG thanks to Tidus Eternity Yuna for all those reviews, and of course, thanks to all my other reviews. You are all my motivators:)
Best Friends or More?
.::Chapter Ten::.
Tidus awoke groggily and feeling like he had just been hit by a large truck. Wiping his mouth tiredly, he pushed himself onto his feet and blinked his eyes wide open. He was in his room. But why was he on the floor? He glanced down at the floor and saw an old notebook he no longer used, covered in Yuna's name and numerous hearts and other phrases including his name with hers. His eyes widened, though it was no surprised he had written that, and snatched up the notebook.
He stared at it thoughtfully, debating whether he should rip it up or not. Finally, he tossed it onto his dresser and stepped into his bathroom to take a long, hot shower.
By the time he had finished showering, he had made up his mind that he would have a talk with Dona. An important talk.
One that would end their relationship.
"YUNIE!" The brunette jerked awake in surprise, her eyes wide.
"Oh my Yevon, Rikku," she groaned when realization had hit her, "Can't you wake me up a little quieter?" She collapsed onto her cousin's bed once more and tugged a pillow over her head.
"C'mon, Yunie, you hafta get up!" Rikku protested, shaking her drowsy cousin. "You can't just sleep all day!"
"Wanna see me?" Yuna countered with a hidden smile.
"Just 'cause you fell asleep later than everyone else, doesn't mean you get to sleep later," Rikku complained, her hands planted on her hips.
Remembering what Rikku had told her last night about Tidus, suddenly Yuna didn't want to sleep anymore. Her body bolted up as the memory had reached her mind, a small smile evident on her face.
"What are you so happy about?" Rikku asked suspiciously, tilting her head and furrowing her brows.
Startled, Yuna quickly shook her thoughts from her head and her smile faded. "Oh, nothing," chimed happily, indicating to Rikku that something was indeed 'up'.
"Yunie..." Rikku said in a voice that basically meant, 'you better tell me what's going on'.
"Rikku..." Yuna mocked.
"What the hell's going on?" Rikku said in a burst of squealing.
Yuna covered her eyes and winced. "Rikku, my Yevon, can't you stay quiet for just a minute?"
"She's such a pest," came a deep, neutral voice from behind them. They turned to see Paine and Lulu standing in the doorway.
"I'm just curious," Rikku said defensively. "So what is going on, Yunie?" she asked, turning back toward her cousin.
Yuna's green and blue eyes glanced toward Lulu, then Paine, and back to Rikku. "Um, I need to speak with you privately, Rikku."
"Oh...kay?" Rikku glanced around uncertainly before being tugged into the nearby bathroom by an anxious Yuna. Stumbling into the room, Yuna closed the door behind her softly and smiled, a slight blush tinging her cheeks.
"What is it?" Rikku asked, obviously annoyed at this point.
"Do you, uh, remember what you told me last night?" Yuna questioned slowly.
"Um... uh, no?" Rikku answered thoughtfully, putting a finger to her lips in wonder.
"You said that Gippal called you..." Yuna started, trying to get her blonde cousin to remember.
"Oh, yeah!" Rikku screeched, snapping her fingers in realization. "That stuff he said about Tidus loving you!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she gasped and clamped her hands over her lips.
Yuna laughed at her childish gesture and said, "Don't worry. I'll make sure this stuff works out!"
"W-wait... What!?" Rikku stared at Yuna in disbelief. "You want to get back together with him!?"
Yuna rolled her eyes. "Oh, c'mon, Rikku. Even a baby chocobo could've figured that out."
"Um... y-yeah," Rikku said simply, seemingly at a loss for words.
"So, do we tell Lu and Paine?" Yuna asked, reaching for the doorknob.
"I dunno, whatever you wanna do," Rikku replied airily with a shrug.
"You know what? ...You do it."
"What!?" Rikku was quite taken aback by her cousin's remark. "Why can't you?"
"First of all, you're gonna spill the beans anyway," Yuna pointed out, "because you just love to get everyone excited. Second of all, you're better friends with them than I am. So you go do it."
"Fine. Whatever." Rikku left the bathroom, but Yuna chose to remain there while Rikku broke the ice about how she and Tidus felt. She heard a neutral, "That's great!" from Lulu and a sarcastic comment from Paine, and then a whole lot of squealing from Rikku. She decided it was alright to leave the bathroom then.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted, as if everything were completely normal. And, in a way, it was.
"So, what are we doing today?" Paine asked, ignoring the awkward silence.
"Shopping!" Rikku cheered happily, which was then followed by a groan from Paine. "Oh, c'mon, it'll be fun!" she added. "Yunie, hurry your butt up and get ready!"
"Okiedoke," Yuna confirmed casually. She turned on her heel toward the bathroom, grabbing her duffel bag with her clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, and make up in it. She noticed there was a slight bounce in her step and a slight smile on her face. One that hadn't been seen for quite some time.
Tidus stared at the clothes in his closet indecisively. "Um, should I wear this...? No... Ugh, I'm starting to sound like a girl!"
Suddenly, his cell phone rang. He tripped over his own feet to get to it and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Hey, Tidey," came that sensual voice that he had grown to hate, "Wanna come to the mall with me and my friends today?"
Tidus thought for a moment. Did he really want to go with her? No, of course not. But was it an opportunity to break up with her? Yes, it was. "Okay, sure. What time do you-"
"In an hour," Dona answered, cutting him off, "And don't be late!" She hung up her phone.
Tidus looked at his phone disdainfully. "Dumb whore hung up on me..." He hastily picked out a pair of blue shorts and a black t-shirt to wear. He ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it out, grabbed his keys, and left his house.
To his surprise, he found Gippal leaning on the door of his car. "Oh, hey, man."
"Um, what are you doing?" Tidus asked.
"What's it look like? I was waiting for your lazy ass to get up!" Gippal answered. "Your old man told me you were still sleeping when I came by at eleven, so I've been waiting out here for you."
"Why didn't you come in?" Tidus questioned, unlocking the door to his car.
"Well, no offense, but you're dad's pretty, uh..." He paused to find the right word.
"Drunk?" suggested Tidus.
"Yeah, pretty much," Gippal agreed.
"Bastard..." Tidus muttered under his breath.
"Hm?" His blonde friend raised his eyebrows.
"Nothin'." Tidus climbed into his car and started the engine.
"Where ya going?" Gippal asked, leaning against his car again.
"I gotta pick up Dona and her stupid friends and drive them to the mall," Tidus answered distastefully.
"Want me to come?"
Tidus looked up at him in surprise. "Um, why would you want to?"
"I think you might need some male companionship," Gippal said, "I mean, c'mon, bro. You're in a mall with a bunch of giddy, teenage whores. No one's gonna pay attention to you. You'll be their bag carrier, left stranded miles behind them, dragging their mountains of mini skirts, halter tops, and make up."
Tidus chuckled and said, "Get in."
"Here we are!" Rikku chirped, pulling into the mall's parking lot. "Zanarkand's famous and gigantic mall!"
Yuna turned when she saw a blur of blue and white. She scanned the parking lot for the familiar car, but shrugged it off. After all, it would be too coincidential for him to be here, too, right?
"C'mon, let's skedaddle!" Rikku cried excitedly, pushing her way out of the car and pulling her sweater tighter around her. Winter had just begun, and even though it was after Christmas, the weather still seemed pretty baumy. Zanarkand was way down south, so it was always slightly warm. But they always got snow at least a few times a year.
"Ske-what?" Yuna asked, stepping out of the car, as well.
"Skedaddle!" Rikku repeated. "C'mon, let's go!" She rushed to the entrance of the mall.
"She is way too cheerful..." Paine grumbled as she followed her friends toward the mall.
"It's like I'm home again..." Rikku sighed dreamily as she walked into the large interior of the Zanarkand Mall.
"Oh, please," Yuna stated in annoyanced, "Just, can we get this over with?"
"Wow, for a preppy dressed girl, you sure don't sound like one," Paine commented with a small smirk.
"Well, you can't expect me to love shopping as much as Rikku!" Yuna said. "...Actually, I don't think anyone's as enthusiastic as Rikku is about shopping."
"Shoes first!" Rikku announced, dragging her friends toward the shoe store.
Once again, Yuna thought she saw a blur of yellow from the corner of her eyes, but when she turned, all she saw was a crowd of girls, hovering over designer clothes. Probably cheerleaders from her school. Damn them and their money.
"Okay, can we go now?" Paine complained as she leaned against the wall next to the dressing rooms. "You've bought your stupid little high heels!"
"We still have a lot of work to do..." Lulu informed her. "Here's a tip: don't ever go shopping with Rikku."
"I'm starting to consider that myself..." Yuna mumbled, stepping away from her cousin.
"Hey, slowpokes, c'mon! We need to buy jeans now! And then coats! It's getting chilly outside!" Rikku called out to them as she practically ran toward the Winter-Wear shop.
"Isn't there a dance coming up soon?" Lulu pointd out thoughtfully.
"Really?" Yuna asked, her face surprised, yet ecstatic.
"Oh, yay," Paine added sarcastically. "Just another lame party to embarrass myself at!"
"Huh?" Yuna looked at her questioningly.
"Paine doesn't like any kind of school dance," Lulu explained humorously, "because the first time we went in seventh grade she and-"
"Hey, shut up!" Paine interrupted, punching her companion in the arm.
"Ow, alright!" Lulu said in defeat. "Anyway, it's a Valentine's Day Dance," she told Yuna.
"Hm... interesting..." Yuna said simply.
"You gonna go with Shuyin?" Rikku asked eagerly, whirling around, obviously listening to their conversation.
"I don't know yet," Yuna answered shrugging. "I wonder why he hasn't called yet..."
Suddenly, she felt the vibration of her phone go off inside her pocket. "Speak of the devil..." she murmured as she brought the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Yuna, when ya comin' home?" came her boyfriend's voice from the other line.
"Oh, I'm not sure," Yuna answered truthfully, "Rikku dragged us to the mall, so we might be a while."
"Oh, okay..." Shuyin responded, sounding slightly disappointed. "So, I'll see you when you get home?"
"Yeah, that works," Yuna said casually. She could've sworn she heard another muffled voice on the line. A girl's voice... "See ya then, I guess."
"O-okay, bye." Shuyin quickly hung up the phone. Why had he sounded so nervous?
Refusing to let the boy she planned to dump soon bother her, she shrugged it off and followed Rikku and the others into a clothing store. She caught sight of Dona and her group of cheerleading friends trying on revealing tank tops and whatnot. She rolled her eyes, and, to prove that she wasn't intimidated by them, she leaned against the wall adjacent to the dressing room they were using.
"Hey, look, girls!" Dona called out mockingly. "Yuna's here! Hi, girl-who-couldn't-keep-her-man."
"Hey, slut-leader," Yuna greeted airily. She smiled in satisfaction when Dona glared at her and looked off in the other direction casually to see none other than Tidus and Gippal. The blondes waved to her and she raised her hand in greeting. She saw Tidus say something to Gippal in his ear, whom nodded and took the shopping bags which Tidus had been carrying.
"H-hey..." Tidus said meekly when he had made his way over to Yuna. He shoved his hands into his pockets nervously. "How've ya been?"
"Um, excuse me, Tidus," Dona interrupted. "Why are you talking to her?"
"Oh, shut up, Dona, and go buy some more stuff with your whore friends so I can carry even more bags around this huge place," Tidus shot back sourly. Dona stared at him in shock, but turned back toward her group of friends.
Yuna found herself giggling. "Wow, great way to stick it to her. I'm proud of you."
"Heh, thanks, but I really don't like her anymore..." Tidus admitted, hanging his head.
"So, why don't you break up with her?" Yuna asked, almost too anxiously.
"I should, shouldn't I?" Tidus said more to himself then to Yuna.
"Definitely!" Yuna practically exclaimed, but quickly regained her composure. "I mean, if you want to. If you don't like her, then what's the point of dating her, right?"
"Y-yeah, you're right, Yu!" Tidus said, feeling more comfortable with her, now that she was acting normally around him. Which had also puzzled him. But why question something when you want it to happen?
"So, go!" Yuna cheered. "Go put that slut in her place!"
Tidus couldn't help but chuckle as he made his way to Dona. "Hey, Dona?"
"What?" Dona asked, trying to sound upset and get him to feel guilty.
"Can I talk to you... Alone?" Tidus asked, eyeing the cheerleaders gathered around them.
"No," Dona answered straightfowardly, sounding angry due to the face that she wasn't getting anything out of him.
"Alright, then," Tidus said, sounding equally angry, "I guess I'll just hafta embarrass you in front of your friends. Dona, you're a two-timing whore and I don't wanna date you anymore. Okay? This stupid little relationship you thought we had going, is gone. It's over."
"Tidey, (Tidus winced at her nickname for him) I never cheated on you!" Dona protested, pouting.
"Yeah, don't think I didn't see you with Issaru the other day at the park," Tidus snapped back at her, "Just stay outta my life. Please."
"Tidus!"
Her ex-boyfriend completely ignored her and approached Yuna who pulled him into a hug, knowing it would make Dona jealous.
"I'll see ya later, okay?" Tidus said, pecking Yuna on the cheek. She touched her cheek where he had kissed her softly, her mouth hanging open. She stared at his retreating figure, smiling and a light blush creeping onto her features.
"Hey, let's go, I broke up with Dona," Tidus explained quickly to Gippal as she continued on toward the exit of the store.
Gippal glanced around. "Hm... Guess we won't be needing these." He dropped the shopping bags, letting its contents spill out in a heap.