Hey guys! So it's been a while since the update, so here it is! If you follow my twitter, then you guys would know that I haven't been writing because alksjdfowialejfoawef just school again HAHA. Gonna graduate soon, but until then, will not be writing as often as I would like! But I managed to sneak some free time to pump out this chapter, so here you guys go! Enjoy!

By the time Cloud arrived in his car in front of Aerith's workplace to pick her up, he received a very unexpected text from Zack.

I'm so sorry, but something happened with Kunsel. The guy got super hungover last night and he can barely move. I gotta be a buddy and help him out since he's literally bedridden, so I have to flake on this one! Really sorry, and tell Aerith I'm sorry too! I already told Tifa as well.

"You're kidding," Cloud muttered to himself, astonished at how late this notice was. A part of him felt relief, but the other felt a bit off as he read Zack's text message for the second time. "What is going on?"

Cloud didn't hesitate to call his number, but he was directed straight to voicemail. Stunned, Cloud pulled the phone away from his ear to stare at it in shock—something smelled oddly fishy about this. Wanting a little bit more context, he called Tifa. Thankfully, she picked up.

"What's up?" she greeted.

"What do you mean 'what's up'? Is Zack for real?" Cloud was quick to get to the point as he tapped a finger against his steering wheel. "He was getting really fussy all week for this day, and ten minutes before the meet-up, he just dips?"

"I heard Kunsel over the phone when Zack called me," Tifa sighed. "Sounds like a dead man for the day. And I was already out the door too when he called, so you're not the only one."

"So where are you now?"

"Pfft, I'm at home chilling—of course I went back inside my apartment. There's no point if Zack doesn't come, so I think it's safe to say that the plan is postponed."

"But I'm already here with Aeri—"

Knock, knock!

Cloud turned his head to face the window of the passenger seat, only to meet the cheerful face of Aerith as she signaled for him to unlock his car. She waited patiently when she realized how he was on the phone.

"Well then, this works out, doesn't it?"

He could literally feel the eye roll from Tifa from the other line.

"Do tell how this works out," Cloud muttered.

"Well—"

"It was a rhetorical question. Good bye," and he ended the call and unlocked the doors for Aerith.

"Sorry, did you wait long?" she greeted as she situated herself in the passenger seat. "Work lasted a tiny bit longer, but hopefully not too long!"

"I didn't wait long," Cloud sighed as he clamped his phone against the holder. Some sort of expression must've showed on his face, for Aerith gave him a concerned glance as she saw his stiff figure.

"Something the matter?" she asked.

"What? Oh, it's nothing," he quickly dismissed. Now that it was just them two, it was now just a regular hangout, right? With Zack flaking, Cloud could confidently swear that he would never get involved in this type of situation ever again. He already felt like a shitty friend (and person in general) with this whole fiasco, and any more would cause him to rot until nothing was left in his moral conscience.

"So what do you want to do today? Any plans?"

"And here I thought you had the day planned," she giggled as she rolled her eyes. "But no worries. I heard spontaneous plans are the trend now."

"Along with the trend to waste time, sure." Nonetheless, he unclasped his phone and began to scroll through potential places to eat. Considering her hours, Cloud guessed she hadn't had lunch yet, and neither did he. Biggs and his late-night gaming always got to him. So, having only been awake for an hour—enough time to get ready and everything—he was hungry enough for a meal. "What do you like to eat?"

"Ooo, are we going somewhere to eat? It's been forever," yipped Aerith as she clapped her hands together in excitement. "I'm not really a picky eater, so anything is good as long as it's not, uh…"

"No worries," he assured, catching the hint about her finances. "I don't eat bougie things anyway. Do you want to choose where to eat?"

"Ah, but I don't really know a lot of places. It seems like you do though."

"Eh, not really. I insist—up to you."

"No, it's really okay. Like I said, I'm down for anything!"

"I'm okay with anything too, so no worries and just choose."

"…"

"…"

Cloud got thrown off guard when Aerith suddenly burst into laughing. He gave her an odd look, one with which she returned with mirth.

"Is this the indecisiveness I've heard so much about when choosing a place?" she laughed. "Didn't think it'd be this bad once I experienced it for myself. Okay, okay, I'll choose, just for the sake of our stomachs."

"I pass the power onto you," Cloud said jokingly as he handed her his phone. Wondering what kind of place she had in mind, he watched as she typed rapidly on his phone before putting it back onto the holder.

"I want to eat tacos," she announced. "And not just any tacos!"

"Oh, I've been here before," Cloud said as he began his drive over to the place. "With my apartment mates last year. It's the self-serve tacos, right?"

"Yup! I haven't had it in forever. The last time was when my mom helped me move to college in freshman year. After a long day of hauling things back and forth, this place really hit the spot. Too bad I never had the chance to ever go again, but…"

Cloud nearly lost his grip on his steering wheel when he felt Aerith reach over and wrap her arm around his that rested on the armrest between them. She snuggled her forehead against it before she broke into happy laughter. "Things are different now!"

"I'm driving," he muttered as he pulled away from her, but he couldn't fight down the slight red that threatened to crawl from his neck upwards. Thankfully, he decided to wear a collared shirt today, so Aerith didn't notice as she gave him a joking pout before settling fully into her seat.

When they arrived, Cloud could see Aerith's excitement as she sighed happily at the thought of food in her stomach. Feeling a bit awkward since this was their first time ever together voluntarily, he tried not to appear all fidgety as they entered the restaurant. Since it was late afternoon, it wasn't as bustling as prime lunchtime, but there was still a decent amount of people lined at the self-serve bar.

"Ooo, yay, there's a table over there," Aerith pointed out. Leading the way, she got them a seat that wasn't too far from the bar.

"Go knock yourself out first. I'll watch over the table," said Cloud. "You can keep out of trouble, right?"

"I must've set some sort of bad impression. I'm not that bad," Aerith stuck her tongue out, but she didn't put up a long-lasting fight before she skipped over to the bar and hugged a plate happily to her chest as she waited in line.

"How did things end up like this?" Cloud muttered to himself as he took out his phone. He tried to find a distraction in texting Tifa, but the response he got wasn't too encouraging.

You're lame—hiding behind your phone.

"Okay, screw you," he scoffed before he stuffed the electronic back into his pocket. To think that his friends could ever give him comforting support—how naïve.

"I'm done!" Aerith chirped as she placed her plate down onto the table. Instantly, Cloud raised an eyebrow and quickly counted the number of tacos on her plate.

"Really? Five? Guess we'll be out of here real soon."

"This is just the beginning, good sir," Aerith winked. "You seem to underestimate me with many things."

"… What am I about to see?"

He shouldn't have questioned nor wondered because the moment he returned back to the table with his plate, he witnessed something greater than Jessie eating a whole turkey by herself on Moogle's Day.

"This is real good, ugh," Aerith said as she stuffed herself with her third taco. With her clean hand, she pulled some of her front hair back behind her ear before she took another bite, and Cloud watched as some of the filling dropped back onto the plate. However, it was quick to disappear as she scooped it and plopped it back in her mouth. Jaw falling open, Cloud didn't even pick up his first taco yet—he was too awestruck.

It wasn't until she finished her third taco that she realized Cloud was back with a full, untouched dish. She blinked at him, looked at her hands, and looked back at him before she sucked her lips in.

"So the fork and knife didn't come by yet."

Bursting out laughing, Cloud gave her the most bizarre yet amused look. "A fork and knife—really?" Wiping a tear that threatened to fall, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Don't even bother. I don't think table manners are necessary for this kind of food."

"Sorry, I was hungry," she said sheepishly as she wiped her mouth. "Not too thrown off, are you?"

"Remind me not to get you hungry."

"Meanie."

"I'm just kidding. Kind of refreshing, I guess. Continue with the stuffing—I don't mind."

"Now you're just teasing me," Aerith pouted. "Don't mind the lady and eat. It's good!"

Cloud rolled his eyes, but he nonetheless heeded her words as he took his first bite. As they ate their tacos, the two laughed at the many times Aerith spilled the contents of her overfilled-taco. She said something about getting the most out of her meal, but Cloud suggested she just get the meat and ditch the taco shell since it "didn't make a difference." This earned him another round of pouts and silly glares, but he was never on the hook for long with the way Aerith would burst into smiles, causing him to unintentionally crack a small one in return.

"You feeling okay?" Cloud asked once they left the restaurant and greeted the sun once more.

Giving him a look, she raised an eyebrow before saying, "Yeah, I am. Why you asking?"

"I'm really used to Jessie or Barret barfing in my car," he said. "So I've supplied it with some bags if you need one."

"I'm not going to throw up. You're an actual jerk," Aerith playfully shoved him by the shoulder as they walked back to his car. "Are you trying to call me fat?"

"Hold on, we're jumping the gun here. That is not what I was implying," Cloud scoffed with an eye roll. "I'm just saying that the amount you ate warrants a cautionary paper bag."

"Right. Anyway," Aerith stopped by the rear of his car. He gave her a curious look and let his hand fall from the handle of his car when she showed no signs of going back into it.

"Anyway," he repeated hesitantly.

"We're not just going home yet, are we?" Aerith said playfully. "That's no fun!"

"… What's the schedule?" Because, of course, he didn't have one.

Aerith gave him a borderline-morbid look before she stretched her arms out, did a silly twirl, and sighed dreamily as she clasped her hands together against her face. "It's a beautiful day out, it's the weekend, and we're literally in downtown right now."

"… The point?"

Defiantly folding her arms across her chest, Aerith didn't look too amused with the way he seemed completely oblivious despite the obvious hints. He felt a bit attacked with the scrutinizing gaze she set on him, but he didn't get the chance to question it before Aerith skipped over behind him and began pushing him.

"C'mon, we got a whole place to explore! I haven't had the chance to explore downtown since I was a freshman!"

"Whoa, I think the eagerness is getting to you," Cloud complained, catching his footing again as he fumbled for the key fob in his pocket and re-locked his car. "I personally don't think there's anything much in downtown, but sure, if you want."

"Now those are the words of someone who has been here often," Aerith stuck her tongue out. "But that's okay—you can show me around!"

Cloud began to wonder how it ended up like this. He had been intensely questioning Tifa through the phone two hours ago, and now, he found himself dragged by Aerith as the two of them walked down the streets of downtown. Cloud didn't think much of downtown; it was just the usual with the mobs of people, tight street intersections, and the delightful smell of smog mingling with the scent of grilled food that came from the food stands. It was ordinary—as ordinary as downtown could be—but there must've been something about it that made Aerith's green eyes shimmer and shine wherever they landed.

"There's so many people, is that normal?" Aerith asked innocently. She was turning her head left and right so frequently to catch all the sights that her braid confusingly tried to keep up with her movements. "Do events happen every week or something?"

"You're just experiencing a regular weekend down here," he informed her. "There's a lot of things to do here—too many things. I mean, this area's known for the shopping district."

It was a mistake to say that, for the moment the word "shopping" spilled out of his mouth, Aerith did a small hop of excitement, signaling his doom.

"Well then, let's go, let's go! I might not have the money, but I most definitely have the eyes for it!"

"Please, no," Cloud attempted to deny her, but all was in vain the moment Aerith skipped off, leaving him behind to eat the dust.

Shopping was never a pleasant thing for him. He did enjoy it once and while when he was the one buying stuff, but sadly, those were rare moments. It was usually him with Tifa, or him with Jessie, or him with both—being a part-time pack donkey really broke a sweat—but the worst of it all was probably with Barret. At least in a shopping mall Cloud could potentially land his eye on something worthwhile; with Barret, he had to endure hours of browsing through collectors' shops for model guns and model airplanes and model anything. Barret was an enthusiast for that type of stuff, and while Cloud had nothing against him for it, he'd appreciate it a lot more if he didn't partake in the big man's shopping spree.

"Are you really enjoying this window shopping?" Cloud asked after a long moment of strolling past many shops down the sidewalk. Clothes, jewelry, toys, souvenirs—there wasn't anything they hadn't passed yet. "If you want to go in, it wouldn't hurt to take a look."

"Naw, I'm actually fine like this," Aerith giggled as her eyes lingered on a dress on display before they returned back to the cement at her feet. "If I were to go in, I think I'd be harder for me to resist! Perhaps another time when this baby is a little bit more loaded," and she gave her purse a comforting pat before she flashed Cloud a smile. "Plus, I think this is enough for me."

Cloud took in a sharp breath when he felt Aerith reach down and loosely lace her fingers with his. Heart gradually beginning to pick up the pace, he tried not to visibly react as he gave her a lazy eyebrow—a poor attempt to hide how jumbled his mind became within half a second.

"I think it's a little too much," he muttered in response. But he didn't pull away.

Seeing the shy reaction behind the cool façade, Aerith rolled her eyes before she tugged the blond down the street to view more of the amazing things she saw behind the glass windows. For the entire time, Cloud tried his utmost best not to get his hand all clammy as he loosely grasped onto hers. Thinking about it, he felt like an idiot—she had kissed him before. Now, he was getting all jumpy over some handholding? Surely, his mind wasn't at the right place.

"You know, I think I've done a lot of things I've always wanted to do just by meeting you, which is crazy since I only met you a few weeks ago," Aerith hummed. She didn't really look at the shops anymore as she leisurely strolled by his side past all the people who brushed shoulders with her. "Which is kind of sad to admit since this stuff seems like a norm for everyone else."

"The norm is subjective," he said shortly, not sure how to respond. "But what do you mean?"

Holding up a fist, Aerith began to count off her fingers. "Well, for one thing, I've never daringly stole a phone number before."

"Thought it was for the shoes," he sighed, remembering the way she just snatched his phone after she spilled her coffee on them. "I got a call from a party instead."

"Then there's that too," she raised up another finger. "Acting all crazy. But at least I got a late, midnight snack from it."

"Mhm."

"And a kiss."

"…"

"Then there's bowling," Aerith giggled, purposely skidding past the subject just for his sake. "I never hung out with such a big group before, but you guys sure were really friendly! I felt like I… fit in for a change, even though I met more than half of you for the first time there."

"Spare some time in the future then," Cloud managed a small, tight-lipped smile as he thought about the little free time she had in her schedule. "A day or something can't hurt you that bad."

"Mhm! Especially when I'm marking down the things in my bucket list so fast!"

"Bucket list?"

"Remember? Shopping, attending a night market, studying and pulling all-nighters with friends, going to a concert, and most surprisingly to you, sitting at a café with someone!" Aerith listed, making him remember their conversation in the car after their bowling night. "Just a few of the many things I want to do, especially before I graduate! And I think I already knocked one off today already too."

"I'm sorry to say, but I don't think this really counts as shopping," chuckled Cloud.

"Aw, that part's okay. The spirit is still there—I'll count it," Aerith winked. "Plus, I knocked another secret one off the list."

"Oh?"

"Not telling!"

And for the rest of the afternoon, the two of them explored the depths of downtown. Through a lot of persuasion from Cloud to actually enter a store—partly due to his reluctance to continue walking listlessly for so long—Aerith couldn't stop sifting through the things. Cloud noticed that she didn't really look at the clothes. Instead, she went for the miscellaneous things, such as crafted pens she probably would never use, templates for DIY notebooks, and stickers that would probably belong on a kindergarten class calendar. None of it really interested him, but he put up with it for her sake.

His interest did pique, however, when she entered a plant shop. She looked accustomed to it as she looked at the items with a hint of knowledge in her eyes.

"Gardening's your hobby?" Cloud asked.

"Mhm, despite how dingy my apartment looks, it has a pretty nice balcony—enough space for some green life," she answered, slight frown hovering over her forehead. "But being at a tourist area really does hike up the price—these kinds of seeds are not that expensive."

"What do you usually plant?" Cloud felt a bit awkward asking since he wasn't the type to really get to know a person through a Q&A, but it was the only thing that really kept their conversation going.

"I work at a flower café shop, what do you think?" Aerith rolled her eyes playfully. She slipped her hand in his again as she continued to lead him through the aisles. At this point, he had grown used to their connection, but every time it disconnected to reconnect, a familiar lump would always hop into his throat. "People say flowers don't really last that long, but if you know how to take care of them well, that wouldn't be a problem."

"Oh, so working at a flower shop isn't a coincidence."

"Eh, it was. I was looking for any part-time job, to be honest, so I'm grateful I get to work at a place I actually like."

"Yet you never sat down and had a coffee in it," Cloud stated blankly, not forgetting that fact from her bucket list. "That is the most ironic of the ironic."

"Kill a girl for not wanting to just 'sit down and have a coffee' at the very place she worked at for six hours," Aerith retorted, quoting the air with one hand. "It'd be better if it wasn't at my workplace!"

Cloud took a moment to think about it before he actually said it. Biting his bottom lip, he pulled at her hand to stop her travels through the aisles.

"Then want to go?"

Surprised, Aerith blinked at his invitation.

"Go where?" she dumbly blurted.

"… To a café. I'm kind of tired—I want to sit."

"Pfft." Covering her mouth with a hand, she hid her stifled laughter, irking the blond. He almost hiccupped when she reached a hand up and patted his cheek before saying, "How cute. Yes, let's go to a café—just to sit."

With some short time to search up a decent place, the two of went to a café that was on the way back to the car. He was a bit nervous to just sit down and hang out because that would mean he had to talk his way through it once more.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't one to really talk about himself. Nothing too stressful went through his mind too much—which he was grateful for—and he was always that person—the person who just kind of lazed around and lent an ear to whoever needed it. This wasn't a secret either; from Zack to Tifa and Barret to Jessie, he always fed off the social energy from someone else.

With Aerith sitting in front of him with just them two, it definitely felt unsettling, especially since they weren't close enough to just relax entirely within each other's presence. Despite the way Aerith was very straightforward and quite bold, he had a guess that not every nerve within her body was calm. He would awkwardly catch her staring from time to time during their walk, and every time he did, she would show him that smile of hers, all the while hiding the small blush that graced her features whenever she was caught red-handed. It truly was a wonder, what went through her head.

"So are you a caffeine addict?" he asked when they settled down to a table of two with their drinks. As always, he got something non-caffeinated, but instead of tea this time, he just got hot chocolate. From the smell that came from her cup, she ordered some sort of coffee.

"I actually am not," she hummed. "I like the taste—of course, of sweet coffee. Full on black is a no-no. Although you seem like a caffeine addict."

"Your first impression of me is very inaccurate." He rolled his eyes as he again recalled that terrible time in the library. "I only drink it during times of desperation. Otherwise, count me out."

"So do you like sweet things?'

"Guys can't like sweet things?"

"Never said that. Just didn't seem to suit your style."

"What kind of style are you even imagining?"

"Cool. Suave? Something like that," grinned Aerith. As a response, Cloud merely cringed. Before he could counter her terrible choice in adjectives, she continued, and he wished she had just left it at that. "But all of that is super wrong, by the way. I think you're one of the most awkward people I've ever met."

"Excuse me?" Cloud scoffed. "Awkward."

"Look at you, you're barely keeping yourself from stuttering."

He could tell that the brunette was having fun teasing him with the way the ends of her mouth continued to curve upwards. If he was talking to one of his friends, he would've shut them down already, but there was something about the girl that made him hold himself back from spitting fire. Besides, every time he did back during the time when they first met, he somehow said something stupid to hurt her—it was safe to just keep his mouth closed right here.

"Like you're one to talk. You're the weirdest person I've ever met."

But he couldn't keep himself from saying that one.

"Wow," she stretched the syllable out as she shook her head mockingly. "I thought you could come up with something better now that we've reached this far." Then, she put her elbows onto the table and held her face in her hands, scooching closer towards him from across the table. "Can't you think of something better now that we're getting warm and cozy with each other?"

"Uh," Cloud straightened his back against the chair to give some unnoticeable distance between them as he blindly tried to grab some words in his brain. "I mean…"

"Just kidding, just kidding," Aerith sat back up as she waved a hand to dismiss it. Her smile didn't go away, but Cloud was able to detect the hint of disappointment in it. "Can't force things out of you, hm? Seems like I've been doing that kind of often. Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Cloud assured as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He wanted to say something more, but he just couldn't find the right thing to say. With the natural flow of events, it wasn't a surprise for his mind to revisit Zack again.

The first few times, it was all coincidental—his interactions with Aerith. Fate wanted to toy with him and see him struggle, but by the time her phone number first got handed to him on a platter, it was no longer just fate—it was him. Out of all the odd predicaments he found himself in, he had no one else to blame except for himself and his wishy-washy nature.

And now, as the mood between them slightly shifted towards a less natural atmosphere, Cloud knew he couldn't keep doing this.

The truth.

Vrr, vrr!

"Cloud."

Aerith's sweet, concerned voice snapped him out of his little train wreck of a thought process as he blinked and gave her an inquisitive look. With a finger, she tapped at her own phone that sat on the table.

"Your phone's been kind of buzzing."

"Oh. Sorry, give me a sec."

"Got all the time in the world," Aerith smiled.

Turning away from her slightly, Cloud took out the phone in his pocket to see what was going on.

Buddy, I'm so sorry about today. Kunsel got back on track, I think the barf in him is gone and so is the killer headache, but too bad it robbed me of this day.

But no fear! Yo, if you met up with Aerith because of my late notice, I hope you guys didn't just call it. Hang out, you know, I like it when my friends get to know each other, especially you, Cloud.

You're a hella awesome dude.

And don't forget to think about yourself sometimes.

Cloud had to hard-blink at the last text bubble that Zack sent. Everything had been flowing well until the last message, and it struck him as odd with the way it stuck out of context. However, that was just a small concern.

Yes, the truth.

Aerith watched curiously as Cloud typed out a response. He looked hesitant—even unsure—but it was interesting to see the way his expression morphed into one with decisiveness.

"If you need to get somewhere, we can just call it a day," Aerith assured. "It's almost evening anyway."

"No, it's fine," Cloud mumbled as he sighed and settled his phone onto the table. "Just something small."

It's okay, Cloud had texted back to Zack, but this is the last time.

I'm not going to wingman anymore for various reasons. Can we talk soon? It's about Aerith, if that's okay with you.

Hopefully, this fiasco was finally going to come to an end.

"Thanks for coming out with me today," Aerith said, bringing him back into their own world. "I was really excited today, and a part of me was scared that maybe something bad might happen, like me being an extreme clutz and, I don't know, breaking something."

"Mhm, well I wouldn't be surprised."

"Gee, thanks." At this point, Aerith was getting immune to Cloud's little remarks, but she knew they were of no harm as she clutched at her drink with both hands. "But everything went well today. I had a lot of fun, and I got to know you a little bit more."

"… Same," Cloud finally managed to share her sentiment, even if it was just one word. "It was… nice."

It really was. And it was going to be better once all of these misunderstandings were finally going to be over.

Stretching her arms above her head, Aerith let out a small groan as she shook loose her limbs. Checking the time on her wristwatch, she nodded enthusiastically as she pointed to it. "Even though I said you could go home, I think it's late enough for us to both go home, hm? Today's been a blast though, let's do it again!"

"Yeah, we can go home," Cloud said as he cracked his neck a bit. "Just let me go to the bathroom and we can head out."

"Mhm. But one last thing."

"Yes?"

"When are you going to be my boyfriend?"

Cloud sharply sucked in a breath at the sudden question, but before he could even say anything—and he probably wasn't going to say anything intelligent—Aerith became his saving grace once again as she laughed and shook her head.

"You should know by now that I just throw these things out at you to get you a bit bothered. Don't mind it, but I do like your reaction though." And she stuck out her tongue teasingly.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he huffed, giving her a small, joking glare out of revenge before he went towards the bathroom.

Feeling quite satisfied that their day was a lot more enjoyable than he first thought it would be, it would've ended nicely too if he had just taken his phone with him instead of leaving it on the table.

When he came out, the last thing he expected was to see an upset Aerith waiting by the table, and she was no longer sitting as she stood and clutched at her now-lukewarm cup.

"Um, is something the ma—"

"Cloud, you're really hurting me here."

And his stomach instantly dropped at those words.

Frowning, he was completely lost as he watched the way Aerith looked everywhere but his eyes. It was as if she was too ashamed to even look at him.

"What?" was all he could muster as his mind quickly tried to piece the unknown pieces together. He didn't have to though as Aerith took his phone off the table and handed it back to him.

"I really wasn't trying to snoop because that's just not my thing," she laughed emptily. "But it was just vibrating and it lit up, and it just caught my eye, and I just had to see my name pop up, but it would've been better if I just stood still and didn't instinctively sneek a peek because now—"

"Hold on, let me try to understand here," Cloud interrupted her. She was getting flustered with her sentences, and he knew.

"I'm not going to wait for you to just look me in the face after. Sorry, I'm not—I'm going to be okay getting back home, you don't have to drive me back."

"Aerith—" Cloud grabbed onto her wrist to stop her from leaving, but she simply ripped out of his hold, reshouldered her purse, and stomped out of the café. He took this brief moment to look at his phone notifications to see what riled her up, only to pinch his eyebrows together in great agitation.

About Aerith? Yeah, sure, I'm down to talk whenever! I hope it's not anything too bad.

Again, I'm sorry about the double date today. It must've been kinda awkward asking her out for my sake, so I'll make it up to you next week! How does a meal at Cid's sound like? Of course, I'll pay :)

The moment he understood what the entire misunderstanding was about, he instantly rushed out the café to follow Aerith, leaving his drink behind on the table.

The last thing he expected to see the moment he took a step out the door was Zack and Tifa just standing side-by-side next to the entrance.

"Yo, Cloud, what's going on with Aerith? Is she okay?" Zack exclaimed the moment his eyes landed on the blond. "She looks hella mad!"

"What the fu—Zack? Tifa?" Cloud stopped in his tracks, completely lost in stupor as his sapphire eyes scanned the worried looks on their faces. Making sure he wasn't mistaking them for two different people, he frowned immensely as he basked in their sudden arrival. "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"That's not the point," Tifa hurriedly tried to dismiss. "Aerith just turned right on the intersection, I think you should catch up to her before she goes too far."

"Not the point?" Mind split between dealing with Aerith and dealing with the two in front of him, Cloud ran an irritated hand through his hair as he tried to understand what exactly was going on. "I'm so confused right now. How did you guys know we were here, and how—"

Then, it clicked.

He had been set up.

"We can explain lat—"

"Oh, you better explain," he said exasperatedly, feeling both the urgency to catch up to Aerith and the urge to strangle both of his friends. "Or else you're not leaving my apartment tonight. I'll deal with you two later."

And he left to chase after Aerith.

*dodges the angry frying pan* i'm sorry for this cliffhanger, but find out what happens in the next update! HAHA